#I wish there had been an intervention by Claire at some point or something

[tenebrius-excellium]

Thanks, I agree. I imagine Barbara was far more relieved when she heard about Merlin’s death than Jim. To her, the old Wizard corrupted her polite, responsible High School son and brought him on a dark path. To Jim, Merlin was the great mentor who shaped him into the warrior he is - no matter if he thought of him more as a “good” or a “bad” mentor in the end. If anything, Jim would keep any negative remarks between himself and Toby out of respect for Douxie.

Oh my gosh we never DID see Jim's reaction to Merlin's death did we O_O how did this completely fly over my head??? How do you think he reacted??? Not in memes, but genuinely???

You know.... I'd love to say he thought good riddance, but this is Jim we're talking about. Jim that is unbelievably forgiving at times, that makes friends of enemies, that cares too much, that cries and blames himself for every death and injury. So I would imagine he was sad and upset, especially since he unwittingly played a part in it (and sadly remembers everything he did while corrupted, though as if a bad dream), and because of Douxie and Merlin's relationship (as depicted... I know fandom is split on that). It probably weighs just as heavy as the loss of anyone else.

In my head though... it's totally the meme lol.

[scapegrace74-blog]

New Ways of Turning into Stone, Chapter 5

A/N  Sorry for the long break between chapters.  As some of you might have seen from my Tumblr blog, I’ve been off on vacation these past two weeks.  Plus, when I felt the urge to write, it was my new Vaquero AU that kept calling to me (21,000 words and counting!), rather than this fic.  Which is probably a good argument for why I don’t like to post WIPs.  In any event, here is the next chapter some of you have been asking for, entitled Third Appointment.  Be careful what you wish for.  Angst ahead, plus a trigger warning for infertility trauma, miscarriage.

The first four chapters are available on my AO3 page.

The Thursday after her impromptu encounter with Jamie and his niece at the Royal Hospital for Children, Claire woke with a strange twisting pain in her gut.  Skipping breakfast, she was halfway to her office before she diagnosed herself with an acute case of nerves, the kind that sprouted between her lungs and ribcage like a vestigial organ whose sole purpose was to unsettle her.

She wasn’t in the habit of meeting patients outside of the clinical confines of her practice, but it was more than that.  Jamie had caught her in a moment of weakness, with both her personal and professional armour missing.  What he might have seen and how he could have interpreted it had occupied her thoughts ever since.

Eating lunch was out of the question.  By the time two o’clock approached, her insides were a buzzing hornets’ nest of anxiety, her palms clammy with sweat.  A half-empty bottle of Xanax called to her from the bottom of her purse.  Before she could weigh the implications of taking one at work on an empty stomach, Jamie’s familiar knock intervened.

She could tell as soon as he entered that Maggie hadn’t needed a transfusion that week.  His russet curls shone like garnets in the midday sun and his uncanny eyes glittered like sapphires.  Still, he avoided looking directly her way as he settled into his usual chair, and she wondered if the overlap of their personal and professional lives had left him feeling unnerved as well.

“No wheat grass smoothie,” he commented, his gaze running over her desk.

“No, I didn’t have time for lunch today.”  It was a blatant falsehood, since she’d spent her lunch hour picking her cuticles until they bled, but he didn’t need to know that.

“Ye should eat more, Sassen..., Doctor Beauchamp.  Ye canna help anyone else if ye’re no’ properly nourished.”  She caught the slip, and for some reason it angered her.

“Is this your attempt to negotiate a reduction in your fees, Jamie?  Dietary advice in return for counselling?  Because if so, I’m afraid I don’t bill on the barter system,” she snapped, despising her churlish tone.

Jamie’s eyes narrowed, then dimmed.  Message received, he sat up straighter in the armchair and crossed a foot over his knee, assuming a position of poised and detached calm that had no doubt served him well during business negotiations.  She regrouped by pretending to glance at her journal for the notes from their previous session, although the space next to his name was accusingly blank.

Boundaries thus defined, the session went surprising well.  Jamie spoke of his relief that Maggie’s latest round of chemotherapy was over, allowing her to return home and to some semblance of a regular life for a child of six.  Claire coaxed him gently towards the topic of his overwhelming guilt for abandoning his family when he was most needed.  Jamie processed pain through the recounting of stories, coming to terms with his self-decreed transgression by weaving together the tale of those he loved and pointing to the holes his absence had caused.

As his resonant voice spun its web of words, Claire became aware of an underlying hum.  At first it was subtle, like the mumble of traffic from a far-off motorway.  But as their hour together ticked by, it grew in strength until she could no longer ignore the buzz that pressed against her from all directions.

“... saw that it was really Jenny and Ian who I was... Claire?  Doctor Beauchamp, are ye well?”  Jamie was watching her with concern, and she realized she’d been shaking her head, trying to dislodge the omnipresent hum.

“Yes, I’m... yes.  Sorry.  Just a funny noise that’s...  Please, continue.”  When Jamie didn’t immediately pick up the thread of his narrative, she tried again.  “You were saying something about Jenny and Ian?”

Instead of continuing his previous thought, Jamie picked that moment to broach the topic she’d desperately hoped he would avoid.

“I hope ye’re no’ upset about the other day, at the hospital.  I didna mean tae impose or tae... o’erstep the bounds of our relationship.  No’ that we have a relationship, mind,” he hastened to add.  “Only a professional one.  But when I saw ye, I couldna resist introducing ye tae wee Maggie.  I hadna told ye about her yet, and I thought...”

“Jamie, it’s fine,” she cut in, halting his rambling explanation.  “She’s a lovely girl.  They all are.  It’s only that, I’m sort of...”

“Ye’re verra good with them.  Children, that is.  Ye’ll make a fine mother one day.”

All the oxygen left the room at once.  Her heart beat so hard there was a bruised feeling behind her sternum.   Launching to her feet, Claire stumbled blindly away from her desk.  She wanted to run, to scream, but her vision was a narrow chasm and a now-deafening throb filled her ears.  She only made it a few steps before her knees buckled and the carpet floated upwards to meet her.

“Ifrinn!”  Jamie leapt to her side, catching her by the shoulders before her head could hit the floor.  He lowered them both carefully to the ground, resting her body against his lap.  “Sassenach?  Claire?  Can ye hear me?  Do I need tae call an ambulance?”  The words reached her from very far away, but the threat of medical intervention acted like a dose of smelling salts.

“No,” she groaned, the room spinning around her like a kaleidoscope.  “No hospital.  I just... need to eat,” she grasped at the most innocuous explanation for her current state.

Without dislodging her, Jamie stretched his long arm and brought back the small basket of miniature muffins that were the day’s offering from Geillis.  With surprising dexterity, he peeled away the paper one-handed and broke apart a bite-sized morsel, holding it gently against her lips.  Realizing that her dignity couldn’t get any more battered, Claire opened her mouth and allowed Jamie to feed her.  After only a few bites, the buzzing disappeared and she was able to sit up on her own.

“Thank you,” she murmured, afraid to look into his eyes for fear of the pity she knew she’d see there.  “You were right. I  should have eaten lunch, I guess.”

“Claire.”  Jamie made a prose poem of the single syllable of her name.  She looked up at him through her lashes, stunned to find him looking back, not with pity, but with something akin to adoration.  “Mo nighean donn,” he ran a tender hand through her loosened curls.  “Ye need tae care more for yerself.”

“I will.  I’ll try.”  And when she said it to him, she really meant it.  Jamie made the impossible seem probable.

They stared at one another, shoulder to shoulder on the floor of her office.  She couldn’t think of anything else to say, but nor did she move.  Her gaze flitted over his face, noticing a vestige of boyish freckles across the bridge of his nose, a mole hidden in the harvest stubble on his cheek.  Jamie was performing a parallel inventory, eyes finally coming to rest at the level of her mouth.

“Ye’ve got a wee crumb, jus’ there.”  Unconscious, her tongue swept out, triggering a predatory response, twin blue laser beams narrowing on the target she had just painted on her lower lip.

“I... I’d verra much like tae kiss ye, Claire.  May I?”

An amputated moan was all she could manage in response, but Jamie must have understood its meaning.  He bent his head until only a whisper separated them.  The air crackled, sending that extra organ plummeting towards her hollow womb.  Clenching her eyes shut in defeat, she closed the infinitesimal gap until they met in an effervescent caress of lip and tongue.

Cold washed over her skin, bathing her in gooseflesh.  Jamie tasted like he looked; a banquet of fresh, volatile flavours that called to mind a picnic in a meadow, a spray of sea foam, the warmth of hearth and home.  She could feel him trembling against her, his moist breath rushing against her cheek in shallow pants.  For a score of heartbeats, Claire was the happiest she had ever been.  Then, reality crashed down around her.

“I’m sorry,” she stammered, pulling away.  “I... this can’t... I’m sorry.”

Jamie leaned back with a mixture of longing and resignation.  She hated adding herself to his list of regrets, but it was for the best.

“I’m your doctor, Jamie.  This isn’t right.”

“Aye, I ken.  I should apologize, but I canna seem tae find it in me tae repent.”

Jamie stood, reaching down to help Claire up as well.  As soon as it was apparent she was able to stand on her own, he dropped her hand as though it burned.  The line between his brows deepened, and she could see the question forming before he gave it voice.

“What if ye werena my doctor?  Would it be right then?”

“That’s neither here nor there, because I am, Jamie.  A relationship between patient and doctor of a romantic nature is ethically off-limits.”

Jamie nodded, apparently accepting her explanation at face value. Her heartbeat calmed.  He moved slowly, gathering his coat and starting to leave.  

“But what if ye weren’t?” he said, facing the door.  “If we’d met at the hospital, or out on the town?”

“I...” she stammered, searching desperately for any answer except for the truth.  “No, Jamie,” she said at last, watching as she destroyed his last bastion of hope.  “I’m sorry.  I just don’t feel that way about you.”

Nodding abruptly, Jamie let himself out of the office.  She listened to his low murmuring voice through the door as he spoke to Geillis, heard him make an appointment for the following week, then the loud snap of the main door closing.  Only then did she allow herself to collapse once more to the floor, angry sobs overtaking her.

***

“Are ye out of yer fuckin’ mind?” Geillis inquired with her usual brutal eloquence.

With the help of a Xanax, Claire had managed to see her last two patients of the day, and only needed to navigate the shoals of her office manager’s ire before she could go home and fully medicate herself into a dreamless sleep.

“Jes so we’re clear, ye want me tae write a letter terminating your services as a doctor an’ suggesting suitable alternative providers?  An’ ye want me tae send this letter, over email, tae Jamie Fraser?”

“That’s right.”  She had determined that icy calm was the best antidote to this conversation, which was fortuitous, since she felt numb all over.

“An’ what reason am I tae give fer this abrupt conclusion tae yer association wi’ Mr. Fraser?”

“I don’t owe him an explanation.  Only sufficient notice and an opportunity to seek counselling elsewhere,” she said, feigning reasonableness.

Pushed past her limits, Geillis rose from behind her desk, a tiny tempest of moral indignation.

“Claire Elizabeth Beauchamp, ye are a good friend, a fine doctor an’ a fair employer.  But I swear by the Almighty that if ye dinna drop the façade and tell me wha’ is going on I am going tae smack ye until yer ears ring!”

There was a certain relief in knowing that Geillis wouldn’t take no for an answer.  And unlike Jamie, she knew where Claire lived and would not let her rest until the truth came out.

“He kissed me.  Or rather, I kissed him.  And I liked it!  That’s why, Geillis.”

Her friend’s shoulders sagged, all righteousness gone in an instant.  She reached around Claire’s frame and held her in a bone-crushing one-sided hug.

“Och, hen.  An’ ye figured ye could deal wi’ those pesky feelings by jes, what? firing him as yer patient?”  

“I can’t deal with this right now, Geillis.  I can’t feel the way he makes me feel.  And this practice is all that I have left.  There’s no way I can risk losing it just for an affair that won’t even last the summer.”

She didn’t need to elaborate on her reasons for that dire prediction.  Geillis knew them as well as anyone.

“He’s an intelligent man, Claire. He’s gonna ken something is up.  Moreover, he’s a good man.  He deserves tae hear the truth.”

Shaking her head sadly, Claire walked towards the door.  Just before exiting, she called back softly to her friend.

“Geillis?  Make sure to include Dr. Rafferty’s name on the list of referrals.  I think they’d be a good match.

***

Monday morning dawned with little promise for the fledgling week.  Moving robotically through her weekend routine, Claire thought frequently of chickens.  How their bodies kept moving once their heads were lopped off, nerves and muscle and bone continuing to function for a time despite the fatal blow.

The elevator chimed its arrival on her floor.  As the doors slide open, Jamie was the first thing she saw.  He loomed by her still-locked office, a sun-topped thundercloud gripping a sheet of printer paper.

She’d worn her best black suit and a pair of chunky heels that brought her closer to his height.  Perhaps, on some subconscious level, she’d anticipated this confrontation.  Perversely, she relished it.  Vitriol and deceit didn’t suit her, but it was preferable to feeling absolutely nothing.

“Do ye mind tellin’ me,” Jamie began before she’d even set foot in the hallway, “jus’ what this is about, Claire?” He brandished the paper like a wanted poster.

“I would think it was self-explanatory, actually.  I’m terminating our professional relationship,” she huffed, golden eyes coming to life for the first time since Thursday.

“Via email.  Sent tae me by Miss Duncan, because ye dinna have the guts tae do it yerself.  Christ, Sassenach, even my ninth grade sweetheart didna dump me so cruelly!”

“I’m not your sweetheart!” she burst out, a flood of emotion cresting with her rising anger.  “Don’t call me that!  I was your doctor, Jamie, and now I’m nothing to you.  Nothing.  Just go.  Please.  Just go,” she finished weakly and without any hope that he’d listen.

“All this jus’ because I kissed you?” Jamie persevered.  At her stubborn silence, he continued, “Nah, I dinna think so.  Ye’re many things, Claire, but a coward isna one of them.”

She found this hysterically funny, since a coward was the only role she played to perfection.  She didn’t have time to laugh, however, because Jamie was suddenly standing much closer, forcing her to lift her chin to meet his stormy eyes.

“Nah,” he continued smoothly, a big cat alerted to the smell of its prey.  “If ye’d objected tae the kiss, ye would have told me so.  Read me the riot act or kneed me in the bawls.  I think ye’re scared, Doctor Beauchamp.  I think that kiss terrified ye, because ye realized ye liked it.  Somethin’ ye couldna  plan for in yer wee journal, right there under yer nose.  Bet it made yer heart beat so fast. So fast, jus’ like it is now.”

Jamie’s hand rested gently over the placket of her suit jacket, where he could surely feel the trip hammering of her pulse.

“Please,” she begged.  “Don’t.  I can’t...”

“Can’t what, Sassenach?” he whispered back, goading her.

The truth hung on her lips, and the toll of the past few days meant that she no longer had the strength to stop it from spilling forth.

“Can’t have children.  Ever.  I tried, for years.  Fourteen miscarriages, fourteen lost chances.  And seeing you with those children last week.  I know it’s presumptive, but I could never deny you that chance, Jamie.  That’s why I can’t see you anymore.”

She was looking down, watching the buttons of his shirt rise and fall with his agitated breath, but as she finished speaking, their movement ceased.  Chancing a glance upward, she was stunned by the fury that had overtaken his expression. 

Jamie opened and closed his mouth several times before he managed to speak in a gritty growl.

“Mutation of the RUNX1 gene tha’ causes leukemia.  I was tested, along wi’ Jenny an’ Ian, after Maggie was diagnosed.  I have a fifty percent chance of passing it along tae my children.  An’ since I canna stand the thought of ano’er bairn havin’ tae suffer as Maggie has, as soon as I got the test results, I went out an’ had a vasectomy.”

Claire recoiled as though she’d been slapped, a high pitched whine in her ears.

“Ye’re no’ the only one who’s hurting, Claire!” Jamie continued, voice dashing against the rocks of her name.  “We’re no’ meant tae suffer alone.  Ye, of all people, should ken that.”

Stunned in the silence following the thunderclap of his revelation, she couldn’t find the words to express her sorrow, her outrage, and her crippling shame.  By the time the power of speech returned, Jamie was gone. 

[according-to-the-laura]

StackedNatural Day 150: 14x17

StackedNatural Masterpost: [x]

April 4, 2022

14x17: Game Night

Written by: Meredith Glynn

Directed by: John F. Showalter

Original air date: April 4, 2019

Plot Synopsis:

Sam and Dean race to help a friend in need. Meanwhile, Mary is concerned for Jack's wellbeing, and Castiel enlists help from Jo/Anael to track down a miracle.

Features:

Mousetrap and Jiffy Pop, Donatello speaking in tongues, Anael and Cas bonding, Nick breaking Jack’s nose, a new Samulet, the most disgusting lockpick, battle of the Satan vessels, a ritual to rescue an angel from the Empty, an intervention gone wrong.

My Thoughts:

The first time I watched this episode I was so delighted by the family game night and I couldn’t wait to have a cute happy episode where they get like, transported into Mousetrap or something. Whoops.

It’s nice for Stacked purposes that we get the new Samulet and the information about Joshua so close to having watched Dark Side of the Moon. I wish Cas had been involved in the main plot of the episode though - it would have been interesting to see him see Jack doing the first truly horrifying soulless thing with killing Nick. It’s a nice thematic line up with Anael making him accept the reality of the situation, though, and having two people capable of healing would have messed up the plot a bit.

I like seeing Sam dealing with anger issues again, it was such an integral part of the earlier seasons and I missed that kind of fire and interesting characterization.

There’s a lot to be said about Mary being fridged again, but honestly I don’t hate it as a plot development. After all, we’re not far away from learning that God is telling a story, and what do you do right before the last act other than take away every support that your protagonist has? So Mary has to die, which drives Jack and Cas from Sam and Dean, who are then left at their darkest point. I also think the scene between Jack and Mary is really well played. Jack is going by the script he learned from the Winchesters, which is that you stop the bad guy and that makes you a good guy. They haven’t taught him the nuances because they barely understand them themselves, and he doesn’t have the mechanism to feel out what’s right. He’s still a child in terms of experience, and he has a child’s reaction to being told he did a bad thing, only he has way too much power to do that safely.

I am so torn between the ritual plotline, because on it’s own it’s kind of a sexy plot to have the devil’s vessel choose him and want him back so much that he’s willing to go to insane lengths to do it (if only it wasn’t Pellegrino, rip). On the other hand, they PERFECTLY SET UP a way to bring Cas back from the Empty and then just… didn’t. They have his blood on Dean’s jacket, if they needed a vessel or some leftover grace they could have gotten Claire, it would have been perfect.

Notable Lines:

“So he saves one angel… and watches millions of people die screaming, every day. What does that say about him?”

“Everything’s gonna be fine.”

Laura’s (completely subjective) Episode Rating: 8.6

IMdB Rating: 7.8

In Conclusion: This is beautifully setting up what is in contender for my favourite season finale, so I love it for that at least.

<< Previous Day  |  Next Day >>

[sablelab]

Covert Operations - Chapter 89

DISCLAIMER: This is a modern AU crossover story with Outlander and La Femme Nikita. LFN and its characters do not belong to me nor do those from Outlander.

SYNOPSIS: Back at Section One the Rising Dragons mission has come to a standstill due to its two main operatives’ non-involvement.  Things are starting to unravel and Operations and Madeline decide to call a truce and ask Jamie to return and they will help him search for Claire. She leaves a clue for him that implicates Karen Yee and he goes in search of her as a starting point.  Meanwhile Jonathon Randall pays Claire another visit but doesn’t get the answers he wants.

Previous chapters can be found at … https://sablelab.tumblr.com/covertoperations

THANK YOU for coming along on this ride as Claire faces her foes and Jamie tries to find where she is. I appreciate your patronage and support of my writing and I am glad you are enjoying this story.

  CHAPTER 89

Murtagh Fitzgibbons observed the comings and goings at Section One from his post in munitions. Although operatives went on about their duties like clockwork, something was missing. The halls of Section One appeared austere and even colder without James Fraser and Claire Beauchamp’s presence. The fact that his Sugar had been kidnapped only exacerbated his feelings of melancholy, but as he watched and observed, Murtagh’s eyes suddenly lit up as if struck by a thunderbolt. He knew what it was. It was Claire’s lightness that was missing. He missed seeing her luminous face and he missed their friendly banter whenever she came over to his station. Every time he looked up or turned a corner, Murtagh kept expecting to see her striding purposefully down the hallway coming back from a mission with the target apprehended ... but that hadn’t happened for some time. He really missed his Sugar for she was the ray of sunshine in his day. He missed her laughter, her smile and her calming presence in this world of ruthlessness. Claire was in trouble and Jamie had gone looking for her, but it was the not knowing if she was alive or dead that was eating away at him. The fact that Fergus hadn’t been able to make contact with her or her with them was also very worrying.

How could they find Claire’s location, if they couldn’t track her? She could be anywhere in Hong Kong and had probably been transferred to God knows where because they couldn't discover her whereabouts. 

Although he hadn’t put much faith in God over the years, Murtagh thought it appropriate that he say a few prayers in hope of divine intervention of a miracle. However, even that was of little solace to him. He hadn't realized before how deeply Claire Beauchamp affected everyone at Section One, even Operations and Madeline had seemed a little more short-tempered since they’d known of her kidnapping and Jamie’s request for the fifteen days owing to him. Perhaps they’d realised that they had made the wrong decision, not that Madeline or Operations would ever admit to that. Their pigheadedness would be their downfall one day and now the Rising Dragons’ mission had come to a standstill due to its two main operatives’ non-involvement, and without their participation, things were starting to unravel. 

Would Operations and Madeline call a truce and ask Jamie to return and offer Section’s resources to help him search for Claire? Pigs would fly before either of their leaders would change their minds and reverse their decision as far as Jamie and Claire were concerned, Murtagh thought. If he ever saw that day, he vowed that he would run naked through Section. Shrugging his shoulders, the weapons’ expert looked over towards Tactical to see if Fergus was there. He was. Knowing how worried that his buddy had been since Claire’s disappearance, he decided to mosey on over to see if he had made any inroads in his attempt to contact her or if he’d heard anything from Jamie. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Operations strode through the corridors of Section One and made his way to Madeline’s office. He’d been having second thoughts about his decision where Jamie was concerned and had been weighing up the conversation, he’d had with him in the perch the other day. His persistence to search for Claire had goaded him and he’d forbidden him to pursue her citing that the triad was the target and that Claire was expendable. He realised now how that must have sounded to his Level 5 operative particularly knowing of their bond. There were obvious similarities to her persistence that they retrieve him when Jamie was missing in Russia. However, that was where the similarities ended. Madeline had been sent with Claire to find him, but the retrieval mission was really a hidden agenda to bring in deep cover operative. No doubt Jamie had been reminded of their subterfuge, hence his reaction to the orders he had given him. His reluctance to do anything about Claire’s kidnapping had not been well received. In retrospect, had the tables been turned and Madeline was the one kidnapped, he too would have reacted as Jamie had. Dougal knew that Madeline would be able to be more rational, hence he sought her counsel. However, little did he know but his second in command had gone behind his back and had already asked Fergus to keep her informed on any progress on Claire’s whereabouts. Grappling with the wisdom of his decision Operations continued on through the halls of Section One and as usual entered Madeline’s office with his normal aplomb to see her working on her computer. She looked up to see who it was on hearing footsteps enter. “Ah, Dougal ... Come in ... What are you doing here?” “I want some answers.” “Answers to what?” she asked curiously not being able to make sense of what it was he was after. “Claire Beauchamp's status.” “I thought you had dismissed her kidnapping as a fate accompli and that Jamie was not to go after her?” “Yes, I did say that but in hindsight I feel I may have been a little hasty,” he announced, the words almost choking him as they were uttered.  It was not often that Operations had to eat humble pie and admit that he may have been wrong in his judgement. “Hmm ... yes that may be so, but it’s not the first time you have been a tad irrational in a decision Dougal.” Operations raised an eyebrow at her pointed retort. “Really?” “Yes ... you were reckless, but fortunately I have made contingencies.” “Good. I like your surprises.”

Operations smiled at Madeline’s forward planning ... she always did play the end against the middle. He knew immediately that his second in command had her finger on the pulse. She knew him well and he was right in his decision to seek her input.

“We will need to take care of this soon ... The mission has come to a standstill since Claire’s kidnapping and Jamie going dark to look for her. The Rising Dragons will be able to regroup if we are not proactive.” 

“It seems we have a dilemma then doesn’t it?”  Was her tacit remark. Operations refused to give her question credence and merely asked a question in return. “You obviously are familiar with the most recent situation Madeline ... So, tell me ... where are we with locating Claire then?” She too refused to be irritated by his words and answered concisely, “Fergus has been trying to initiate contact with Claire but he hasn’t had any success as yet.” “And Jamie? Does he have a next move?” “I don't know ... but you of all people know what James Fraser is like.” She paused before continuing, “His level of commitment to Section is extraordinary but Jamie’s commitment to Claire Beauchamp is inimitable. He will leave no stone unturned until he finds her. You’ve seen the lengths he goes to with targets. I don't think he's finished ... not by a long shot ...this is his partner after all.” Operations pondered the wisdom of her words before asking, “Has he tried to communicate with Section at all?” “There’s been none as far as I know. If Jamie doesn’t want to be stopped, he won’t be.” “Then get Fergus on to it immediately. I’m sure he has a way of getting in touch with him.” “Very well Dougal ... I’ll see to it. By the way, have you heard from Colum?” “Indirectly. Oversight is still monitoring this mission closer than I'd like.” “At least it keeps his attention away from other things.” “Yes, but if he gets wind that our two best operatives are missing Madeline, all hell will break loose.” “So far, everything's covered. That's not the problem.” “What is the problem?” “Fergus is working on a location, but there's been no response whatsoever.  Your brother Colum is going to look at anything out of the ordinary as suspicious.” “Then we’ll need to move quickly to ally his inquisitiveness. I'm sure we can shore this up.” “I wish I were as optimistic.” “What do you mean?” “There are too many variables beyond our control.” “That's true. But so far, so good. I’m sure things will go exactly as planned.” “The Rising Dragons members are ruthless; we can’t forget that.” “Yes ... but Section One is more so,” he stated proudly. Acknowledging the wisdom of his statement, Madeline replied. “I’ll have Fergus come to my office and we’ll set the wheels in motion to contact Jamie.” Good ... I knew I could count on you Madeline. I’ll be in the perch should you need me.” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* “Thank you for coming, Mr. Claudel,” Madeline stated when Section’s computer whiz stepped through the door into her domain. She watched as he came and stood in front of her desk, then without any preamble asked, “What are your plans?” Fergus raised his eyebrow at her question not quite understanding what Madeline meant. “Plans?” he queried a little perplexed. “Regarding Claire.” “I’m at a quandary as to know what to do. Claire’s comm. unit is down and I haven’t been able to establish contact. Until it becomes operable, then we have little to go on.” “I see.” “Have there been any communiqués with Jamie since he left Section?” “No ... nothing.” “Then I feel we should try to make contact with him.” “Does Operations know about this?” Fergus asked a little wary of her statement given that she’d asked him to go behind his leader’s back. “For the good of the mission, Operations has had a change of heart. He insists that we allow Jamie to use Section’s facilities to assist in Claire’s speedy return.” “But Jamie has gone dark ... it may be impossible to make contact.” “I’m sure you will find a way Mr Claudel,” Madeline implied categorically knowing that if anyone could contact Jamie then Fergus could. “It doesn't look good if we can't keep track of our own people.” “I’ll try my best.” “Good ... Don't worry. Both you and Jamie will be protected. I expect to hear something soon. You may go.” With her dismissal Fergus turned on his heel and left Madeline’s office and immediately went in search of Murtagh. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* The two friends nearly bumped into each other as they each came around the corner into the Common area of Section in search of one another. “Hmm, you scared me.” “I didn't think anything scared you, Murtagh.”

 Fergus adjusted his glasses and they briefly held looks until he broke eye contact. 

Understanding his unspoken meaning the weaponries’ expert replied flippantly for anyone who may be watching, “Get out of here,” then he continued on back to Munitions knowing that the two would get together secretly later on. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Fifteen minutes later, the two friends met up in the hallway away from the prying eyes of the perch and the common area. “So, what’s up amigo ... what's going on?”  Murtagh inquired eager to know why they were meeting in secret. “Operations has had a change of heart about Jamie.” Taken aback by his announcement, he was gob smacked. “You’re joking ... right?” However, by the look on Fergus’ face, Murtagh knew he was deadly serious. “No ... he wants me to contact him.” “But why? ... Operations never changes his mind. ... It’s set in concrete.” Murtagh suddenly had a mild rush of blood to the head as he thought of his earlier musings about a nudie run through Section. Perhaps the day pigs would fly was actually here. I didn't see that coming, he thought. “So, what happens now? Have you had any word from Jamie yet? “No ... It's still too early ... it’s only been two days. But now, I’ll have to try and contact him on a deep channel.” “Whoa, whoa Fergus, not so fast.” “Do you have any better ideas?”  he asked needing some inspiration for what he‘d been asked to do. “No, all I'm saying is that we should put some thought into your next move.” “Well, the way I see it, I don't have any choice. Operations wants me to contact Jamie ASAP.” “He’s gone dark and unless we have something to give him about Claire’s whereabouts, he won’t listen ... Operations knows that. You can’t pull off the impossible.” Murtagh looked at Fergus for a reaction to his statement before asking the obvious question, “Do you have a location for Claire?” “No ... nothing.” “There ... see what I mean?” “So, this is a waste of time?” “No, I didn’t mean that ...” “What do you mean?” “Something's not right. It doesn't make any sense. Operations is cold and ruthless but he's not generous. Does he want to help Jamie for ulterior motives?” “I don’t know ... Look; I've got to go Murtagh.” “Just keep your head down and your mouth shut, you'll be fine until we figure something out or something happens to force our hand.” “Okay ... I’ll think of something to put Operations off for a while.” “Good.” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

James Fraser had a conundrum to solve and the quicker he did so the better. His Sassenach had been missing now for nearly 48hours and although she had left him a clue as to who may be involved in her kidnapping, he seemed to be wasting precious time criss-crossing Hong Kong in search of leads for her kidnappers. He wished he could have been more expeditious, for if he had, Claire would now be safe with him. But that was not to be. She'd been transferred from her first place of incarceration to somewhere he didn't know and couldn't discover ... but he would. 

All of his instincts and resolve were telling him that he was not too late to save his Sassenach despite this setback.  He was certain that Karen Yee would provide the crucial lead as to where the triad was holding her, and once again Jamie sped off back to Hong Kong. This time however, he would get the answers he wanted. This time she would have no option other than to tell him where Claire was. He would accept nothing less. He'd never trusted Karen or her boyfriend and now they would face the cold operative that he was. Whether Karen or Andy gave him the information about Claire's whereabouts voluntarily or not ... it was of no consequence to him, but they would tell him what he wanted to know. How they did so was the decision they would need to make. He would have no compunction as to how he dealt with them. They meant nothing to him ... but Claire meant everything and he would do whatever was in his power to find out where she was being held captive.

Without the resources of Section One, his task was made that much harder, but he would prevail ... he would find her and once those who held his Claire incarcerated were found, they would pay the price.  Death would be the only consequence for their brutality.  His suspicions would be verified about Claire's neighbour and she and her kind would suffer the consequences of their actions and deception. The thought of his Sassenach suffering at the hands of this ruthless triad was an anathema to him, but what worried Jamie the most was that he had no control over what happened to her. Therefore, expediency was so crucial. The longer she remained incarcerated the greater the risk to her safety. So far, he was no closer to finding where she was being held captive although he felt buoyed by the clue she had managed to leave for him.

Karen Yee knew something ... she probably knew much more than he even realised ... and she would divulge what she knew to him or die. Karen had no significance to him whatsoever ... she was a target... nothing more, nothing less. Her life for Claire's life was, in his mind, a fair exchange. She would tell him what he needed to know or better still ... take him to where the triad was holding her.  Whatever choice she made was irrelevant. There was no way it would end well for Karen ... her fate was sealed.

Hoping that his Sassenach was still alive was keeping Jamie going ... if she had met her demise, he didn't know what he would do. He hadn't realized how deeply she affected him, how her spirit lifted him up, or how her laughter warmed the recesses of his heart. He ached. Fear and unadulterated trepidation played on his mind.  Jamie was worried for her safety and what might be happening to her at the hands of the triad. Steven Bonnet and William Ransom had already paid with their lives.  He would have no compunction in killing any and all of the bastards who in any way had hurt his Sassenach.  They would all pay with their lives once he had found where the triad was holding her. However, Jamie felt powerless as he was no closer to finding her and he was struggling to remain focused, but that is just what he needed to be. Claire was depending on him. She needed him to find her and he would, with or without Section's help. He'd thought about contacting Fergus but had decided against that. However, if this lead didn't pan out, he would reassess the situation. Despite his orders from Operations, Jamie knew that he could enter and leave Section without detection if he came up cold with a lead. But at the present time he felt confident that he was on the right track and that Karen Yee would provide the answers he was seeking. His sole purpose was focused on finding Claire before the triad had no further use of her. He knew she was strong but ... how long could she endure being tortured? This very thought brought bile to his throat. Jamie swallowed the rancid liquid forcing it back to the depths of his stomach. He refused to acknowledge the muses in his head. He had scarcely slept and he'd eaten only when he could no longer ignore the demands of his body. Jamie knew there was little chance of getting any rest before confronting Karen Yee and Andy Ma ... but that was not a problem unless there was some hold-up to finding the targets. He'd make that decision when and if he needed to. He had functioned for days without respite and would rest only when his Claire was safe and sound. Putting these thoughts to the back of his mind, James Fraser had clear and precise objectives. Nothing would stand in his way of executing them. Failure was not an option. It never was and never would be. He depressed the accelerator a little harder breaking all speed limits in his haste to return to Hong Kong to find Karen Yee and her accomplice. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Jonathon Randall was deep in thought as he watched their prisoner sleep in the darkness. Was this woman really associated with the deaths of senior triad members over the past months or did they have the wrong person? If she was ... she would pay the price, but if not then they would need to cast the net further to find out whoever was responsible. It didn't really matter one way or the other though. The woman was damned. Claire Beauchamp would never leave here alive. There was no way that she could possibly live especially now after all that she had seen and heard. Leaning back in his chair Jonathon reread the reports from MacNab and Robert about both Claire and her companion. Karen had been explicit in her observations of Claire's so called "brother" and had relayed all the information she had on Jamie Fraser. But they were none the wiser as to his role in the turmoil that had befallen the triad other than he was her lover. Ronald on the other hand had been asked to give him something he could use next time. He'd come up trumps and had managed to find some information about the covert Section One. His report specified that Section One was the most clandestine organisation on the planet whose job was to bring down the criminals and terrorists that no one else could get. Jonathon gave a chuckle at their profile and pondered this information. Suddenly it all began to make sense. Had it not been for Steven Bonnet finding Claire's dropped revolver, then they would not have known of her affiliation to Section One. Jonathon had heard of it but this was the first time that the triad had come in contact with anyone associated with Section One. So ... this was the organisation that Claire was a member of. Was her companion also a member? If so, it would explain such a lot, but they would fail in their mission. There was no way that these two people could bring down the might of the Rising Dragons ... the triad was invincible especially here in Hong Kong. Claire Beauchamp was an enigma and this Jamie was more so. James Fraser didn't seem to exist which gave more credence to the fact that he was Section material ... ghosts that moved among people but who were "dead" to the real world. He certainly fitted the mould. There was only one thing Jonathon could think of that would prove if they were both working for Section One and that was to flush out her companion. Karen had alluded to this Jamie's conduct around her and Andy as if the man was always sizing them up but in turn giving nothing away of himself. Jonathon knew that he must mean something to Claire for she was too evasive and guarded when his name was mentioned.

Was he her weakness and vice versa? If so, it was something he could exploit. 

It was time to find out. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

 Randall activated the surveillance speakers and snapped the light switches on in Claire's room. Glaring white light flooded the room and shone on her beleaguered face. Her body jerked as she woke abruptly. Unable to focus because of the brightness, she automatically raised her arm to shield her face from the glare. Claire then gingerly sat up on the bed and lowered her head slightly. Through her closed eyelids she felt the light searing its way through her light deprived eyes. The glare was unbearable and the white-hot rays shone on her face burning the corneas of her eye sockets if she so much as opened them even a fraction, so she kept them tightly shut. "Are the lights too bright for you my dear?" "No ... they're just peachy thanks." "Good ... I see you haven't lost your sense of humour." It took Claire a short while to adjust to the light, but she did. She sat up straighter on the bed and waited for what was to come next. "I told you I would be back," were Randall’s menacing words as he made his way back into the room. "So, I noticed," Claire replied equally disinterested in anything that came out of his mouth. "Now ... Let's talk about James Fraser again ... shall we Claire?" Jonathon Randall remonstrated in a more sinister voice.  

 “You really love him, don’t you?” He persisted with some glee in his voice.

 “Did I love him?”  She asked herself already knowing the answer to her question. “Beyond the urges of the flesh?”

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

Jonathon Randall continued his tirade as he watched Claire’s face for any indication that his words had touched a nerve. "You do love him. Not just to bed him; I know you’d want that, and he does too, doesn’t he Claire? Men all do. But do you love him?"

 The incarceration of this place had the dark anonymity of the confessional, and a soul on the verge of death had no time for lies. She knew not what lay ahead or how long she would be here until Jamie could rescue her as she knew he would. 

"Yes," her mind and heart muttered silently as she stared unflinchingly at her captor. “Yes! Yes, I love him.”

It was silent in the room for some time, as Jonathon Randall waited for any sign from Claire Beauchamp that his words had touched a nerve.

With a look that would kill, Claire refused to comply to his aspersions.  He could go to Hell for all she cared, for she would never admit to anything concerning James Fraser. Randall could speculate all he wanted about Jamie or who had sent her ... but she would never capitulate.

"You'd be wrong then," was her only reply.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

The interrogation had been fruitless yet again. Their hostage never gave an inch and once more Jonathon had gotten nowhere with his questioning of her. The woman would not break and would not be compromised. His frustration was at its zenith. Hence, due to her headstrong behaviour, Claire Beauchamp left him with only one option. It was time to set his other plan in motion. He called for Ronald MacNab to come and prepare a video transmission. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ to be continued

 I will be posting two chapters next week as the following week is Christmas and I will be busy with family and Christmas preparations.

Therefore, I will post Chapter 90 on Tuesday 17th December … and then …

Chapter 91 on Saturday 21st December.  

I will also post Chapter 92 on Monday 30th December just before New Year.

[three-drink-amy]

If After All These Years, You’d Like to Meet

master list - AO3

Chapter Ten

John pulled Claire back into the restaurant and sat her down at the bar. “So...you’re actually admitting it? You think this was because of your dream. I hate to say it, Claire, but maybe your feelings are just lust.”

She shook her head at him. The last 24 hours had been a series of confirming events, only prompting her to actually admit the truth to herself. Claire didn’t really know why she’d told John about it. She almost wished she’d kept it to herself and just gone home to stew. “No,” she told him, “it’s not just lust. God, it would be so much easier if it was that.” Claire sighed deeply before she felt she had to continue. “It’s everything. He’s kind and generous. He’s somehow always there when I need him. I end up spending so much time with him or I spend time thinking about what he might be doing. I don’t honestly know how I went as long as I did not talking to him after that blasted intervention. When he just showed up at the hospital, I felt so much lighter. I was just happy he was with me.” She looked over at John and he raised his eyebrows in reply.

“That does sound deeper than just a naughty dream,” he agreed.

“It is. But I never wanted to admit it to myself. That makes things far too complicated. Plus some of my feelings could predate me being single and that makes things even more complicated. Frank accused me of breaking up with him to sleep with Jamie and I was horrified at the comment. But I’ve probably had feelings for him since not long after I saw him again. Even just after the first time we met again in the bar, the night I moved here, I couldn’t stop thinking about him until I saw him again,” Claire continued, finally spilling the truth. She didn’t know how badly she’d needed to talk about this. “He’s a wonderful person and even just as my friend he treats me better than anyone I’ve dated ever has.”

“So why don’t you tell him then?” John asked, making it seem like the obvious next step.

Claire bit her lip. “Because I can’t.”

John groaned. “Don’t say that. Why? Why couldn’t you tell this person who is easily the closest person in your life that you have feelings for him?”

“Because I know he doesn’t return them. I can’t put myself out there when I know the result,” Claire insisted. John stared at her, a dumbfounded expression on his face. Then he began to laugh. He leaned his head back dramatically as he continued to laugh right at her. “What is so funny?”

“You actually think he doesn’t return the feelings?” John cried, wiping away a tear that had leaked from his eye in his laughter. “Seriously?”

“Yes, I do.”

John gaped at her. “How is that what you think? Do you have eyes, Claire?” Before she could reply, he continued. “Because Jamie does and they’re always on you. And the rest of us do and it’s easy for us to see that there is something between you two.”

“Then why would he tell me he thinks of me like his sister?” Claire demanded.

John sat back in his chair and eyed her suspiciously. “He actually said that?”

“Yes.”

“When?”

Claire huffed. She didn’t really want to rehash the glancing blow Jamie had dealt her with his words. John’s steady gaze proved that she would have to, though. “It was at the party I held when Frank was in town.”

“Oh,” John replied, drawing out the word. He nodded with a smile on his face. “I get it. So how did he say it?”

“He was telling Louise how he brought you to the party to prove that there were men who didn’t want to sleep with me,” Claire informed him.

“Oh my God, he told you that too?” John asked. He rolled his eyes. “He must have thought that was really funny. He laughed to himself for like five minutes in the car on the way over.”

Claire couldn’t help but smile at the image. Jamie was in fact a funny man. Apparently he thought so himself as well. She nodded in reply to John’s first question. “Yes, he told me and then also Louise. He really must have wanted everyone to hear it. Anyway, so Louise then asked him if he fell into the group of men who didn’t want to sleep with me.”

“That’s when he said it?” John asked, cutting off Claire’s story. She nodded. “You can’t believe it, then.”

“What?”

“I’m a man, trust me. You can’t believe it,” John insisted. “He was asked point blank if he wanted to sleep with you and he denied it because it would be too awkward to say yes. Next question.”

“That really didn’t seem like what he was doing,” Claire argued.

“Were you standing there?”

“Yes.”

“You can’t believe it.”

Claire huffed and sputtered, trying to fully explain the situation to John. She felt as though he wasn’t really listening to her.

“Was Frank around?” John asked further.

“No. I didn’t see him. I don’t know where he was at that point,” Claire replied, trying to call who’d she’d seen Frank talking to before she walked over to talk with Jamie and Louise.

“So he could have been nearby,” John said with a wave of his hand. “That’s another point in the “You can’t believe it” column.”

“You really think that Jamie has romantic feelings for me?” Claire asked hesitantly.

“One hundred percent I think so,” John responded with certainty. “Look, Claire, it comes down to this Jamie is usually very particular about the company he keeps. He spends more time with just you than he does with all of us. He certainly spends more time with you individually than he does with any of the rest of us individually. He’s never had lunches with Geillis or Louise just the two of them. And bottom line, he never even looks at them the way he looks at you. He looks at them like they’re just his friends. He looks at you like you are his world.”

Claire rolled her eyes. Surely she would have noticed if Jamie was staring at her lovingly all the time. John had made a good point with the fact that she couldn’t necessarily trust his “sister” comment. But the thought of actually telling Jamie that she had feelings for him truly terrified her. Jamie had become so important in her life that she couldn’t imagine risking it.

“So are you ever going to tell him?” John asked. Claire flashed him an unsure expression. He shook his head in response. “What if I can give you an answer? What if you could know what he would say?”

Anger flared up in Claire. “You are not allowed to tell Jamie that I have feelings for him! If anyone is going to actually do so, it is going to be me, not you, John! I swear to God that if you tell him, I will make your life a living hell,” she promised.

John’s hands flew up in defense. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, Claire. That wasn’t what I meant at all. I was just thinking that the two of you must be pretty used to some of us asking what it is between you. Jamie wouldn’t likely be suspicious if one more person asked.”

Claire sighed, dropping her head in her hands. “It doesn’t matter. Don’t worry about it. Maybe one day I’ll actually be able to work up the nerve to talk to him about it. Right now I just can’t.”

“Claire, maybe you should remember this, then,” John began, leaning toward her, “you are an incredible woman. Jamie would be lucky to have a woman like you. Maybe don’t worry about rejection. It’s his loss if he’s dumb enough to send his amazing best friend away.”

He stood up suddenly from the bar and held a hand out to Claire. “Come on, we should get you home. You’ve got a lot on your mind.”

Claire laid her hand in his and stood up, nodding in agreement. “You may be right.” John drove her back to her flat. He smiled at her sympathetically as he stopped. Claire looked over at him before getting out. “I appreciate having a shoulder to lean on and an ear to talk to,” she told him with a smile. He nodded. “Although, I still blame you for this stupid realization.”

John laughed. “I can take the blame for now,” he said, grinning. “I’m certain that soon enough the blame will turn into thanks.”

Claire shook her head in amusement. “We’ll see.”

“All depends on you.”

Claire turned back and glared at him. “Gee, that’s no pressure. Thanks, John,” she replied sarcastically. She reached out and laid a hand on his arm. “But on a more serious note, thanks for the ride home.”

John nodded. “Not a problem. Thanks for letting me crash last night.” Claire stepped out of the car and closed the door. “I’ll see you soon,” he yelled out the open window. She waved as she disappeared into her building. Claire walked up to her flat wondering how the hell she was going to find the courage to actually tell Jamie how she felt. It seemed like an easy enough thing to do, but she truly had no idea how it would happen. She hoped that John was right about Jamie’s reasons for saying she was like his sister. Even when she just wanted to forget it, even when she swore she only saw him as a friend, it still stung. Claire threw herself down on her couch once she entered her home. How on earth would she get through breakfast with Jamie in the morning? Despite herself, she felt a zing of excitement at spending more time with him.

Jamie couldn’t help but notice that there seemed to be a change in Claire recently. He found she didn’t look him in the eye much. When they were out with friends, she barely ever sat next to him anymore. They still were meeting often for lunch throughout the week, still usually at the hospital. Jamie would have never thought of a hospital as a romantic place, but the little courtyard where they ate on nice days was quiet and secluded and actually fairly romantic. It did nothing to help Jamie suppress his feelings for Claire. He still insisted to himself that he wouldn’t tell her. Surely it was too soon for her to even consider an offer like that. She’d only just broken up with Frank a couple of months ago. There was no way she would return his feelings and then it would just make things tense between them. Or at least those were the fears Jamie felt each time he considered telling her.

He often wanted to ask Claire what had changed. Why was she subtly distancing herself from him? They never touched, not even a graze of hands as they passed something. The time he’d reached out to pat her on the back at his football match, she’d fliched. She still talked to him. Lunches weren’t awkward, but they were always across each other at a table. They never sat on the benches as they had a few times before. When they’d go out with their friends, Claire still seemed like herself around the others. It was only Jamie that she acted reserved around. Had he done something to her? Had he accidentally revealed his feelings somehow? Scanning back in his mind, he was fairly certain that he hadn’t. It bothered him that he didn’t know why Claire was acting differently.

Also acting differently was John. Many times when Jamie looked over at John, John was watching Claire. If Jamie didn’t know that John was gay, he would think John had feelings for her. Maybe John knew something Jamie didn’t. The thought of Claire confiding in John and not Jamie tied his stomach in knots.

Jamie hadn’t been home from work too terribly long when a knock sounded at the door. He opened it to see John standing before him, a six pack of beer in his raised hand and a smile on his face. “What are ye doing here?”

“Well I realized that we’re friends and you let me stay here when I need to, but we never really just hang out the two of us,” John informed him. “I thought we could this evening.”

“What if I was busy?” Jamie asked, still blocking his way inside.

John glanced around Jamie at his empty flat. “Well are you?”

Jamie shrugged. “No, but what if I was? Ye didna call first or anything.”

“Oh, I didn’t even think about it to be honest. I figured if anyone was here it would be Claire and I would fit right in,” John said with a grin. Jamie rolled his eyes and stepped aside so John could walk in. “So Claire isn’t here?” John asked over his shoulder.

Jamie shut the door and met John at the couch. “No. Were you expecting her to be?”

He shook his head in reply. “Not really. Just curious. You two seem to hang out a good amount on your own.”

“We’re close,” Jamie offered as a lackluster explanation.

“Mhmm, I’ve noticed,” John mused. Jamie looked over at him suspiciously. What was he trying to say? Jamie opened one of the beers and started drinking. “You know, I never asked you. How was the date you went on?”

Jamie grimaced. He didn’t know why he’d told John about that date. John had told Claire and Jamie’s heart had about stopped when Claire had asked him the same question. He didn’t really want everyone to know he’d gone on one crappy date. Why was it anyone’s business but his? He shouldn’t have even agreed to the date to begin with, his feelings as they were. Shrugging in response to John, Jamie said, “Och, it wasn’t anything special. There hasna been a second date.”

“Why did you go out with this girl?” John pressed, much to Jamie’s irritation.

“A friend from work set us up.”

“So why did you go?” he asked further.

“Because I figured there was no harm in humoring a coworker. It would have been awkward to tell him no. He asked if I was seeing anyone and I’m not so I said no. He told me he’d found the perfect lass for me. But she was rather dull and I believe the only reason he deemed us perfect is because we’re both from Scotland,” Jamie explained.

“I suppose you could have lied to him,” John said with a laugh. “You could have said Claire was your girlfriend. You spend enough time together.”

Jamie rolled his eyes. “I could have hardly done that. We do spend enough time together and what if we ran into this friend and he asked me if this was my girlfriend, Claire? How on earth would I explain that to her?”

“You could just use that moment to tell her that you want her to be your girlfriend,” John suggested with a wry smile.

“Excuse me?” Jamie asked, nearly choking on his drink.

“Oh come on, you can’t tell me there’s nothing there,” John said bluntly. He took a drink of his beer. “You don’t spend nearly as much time with Louise. Or Geillis,” he pointed out.

“So? What does that have to do wi’ anything?”

“Jamie, look me in the eye and tell me that you don’t have some sort of feelings for Claire?” John all but demanded. He continued before Jamie could reply. “And if you did actually do that, I still don’t think I’d believe you. I see the way you two are together. It just seems like you’re already a couple.” Jamie sputtered, not knowing where this conversation was coming from or how to respond without giving himself away. John turned to face him. “Okay, say you got a promotion at work. Who would be the first person you’d want to tell?”

“Well I’m already the head of marketing,” Jamie reminded him. “So I dinna ken what promotion I’d be getting, really.”

John rolled his eyes. “Oh stop being difficult, man. Fine, you get some exciting news, who is the first person you want to tell?”

Jamie knew the answer but he wouldn’t say it. John was right. He’d tell Claire first. But he had no idea why John was being so aggressive about him and Claire. So instead, he just stared at John in mock confusion.

John sighed. “Fine, I won’t ask you to say whether or not you have feelings for Claire.” He paused and looked at Jamie. “Though I would tell you that you would be crazy not to. And I’m gay. But that’s not the point. I won’t dig the truth out of you. At least not tonight. But what is a good enough reason to not try and go after her? She already spends most of her free time with you. Do you think she wouldn’t be interested?”

Jamie set his beer down and crossed his arms. “Why are we even talking about this? You realize she just broke up with her boyfriend?”

John nodded. “Sure, yes, she’s freshly single. There’s something to be said for letting her have some time to herself, for letting her experience being single for a while. And yeah, it was obvious to all of us how utterly wrong for her Frank was. He was a nightmare who didn’t make her happy.”

John paused and took a drink of his beer. “But let’s say you’re puttering around, sitting on your ass, keeping your feelings to yourself and Claire meets someone. Maybe this guy is actually perfect for her. Maybe this one gets along well with the group and so he starts to hang out with us all the time. You’re forced to see Claire with her perfect man, knowing that could have been you. Maybe this is the last guy she ever dates and she ends up married to the perfect guy for her and ends up having perfect children.” John leaned forward and stared Jamie down. “Tell me, how does that image make you feel?”

Jamie knew full well how it made him feel. It left him feeling sick to his stomach. He loved Claire, whether he could say it out loud or not. The idea of her with another man, of blowing his chances with her made him feel hollow. They spent enough time together that if she started seeing someone else, he’d have to hear about the bastard all the time. Or worse, she’d stop spending time with just him. Frank had certainly been uncomfortable by how much time she spent with Jamie, perhaps another lad would too. Jamie had no idea how to go about finally telling Claire how he felt. He didn’t want to do so too soon after her break up and blow his chance with her. But as John pointed out, he also didna want to wait too long, either. There was a fine line to professing his love for Claire and Jamie had no idea how to find it.

Jamie could feel John’s eyes on him as he argued with himself in his head. Looking over, he noticed the smug expression on John’s face. He knew he’d won the argument. Jamie’s silence was answer enough. With a smile, John stood up off the couch. “It seems like you might have a lot to think about, Jamie.” He put his bottle in the kitchen before turning toward the door.

“Ye’re leaving? Ye’ve barely been here,” Jamie wondered aloud.

“I am leaving. I wasn’t expecting us to have that much of an important conversation, but now I feel like I need to leave you alone with your thoughts for a while,” John explained as he put his jacket on. “You’ve got some thinking to do, mate.” John walked over to the door and looked back once more. “If you want my advice, it’s this: don’t be an idiot.”

Jamie stared at him as he nodded once and left, closing the door behind him. Jamie had to wonder if John had just come over to grill him about Claire. There was no way John could actually know the depths of his feelings for her. Jamie leaned his head back on the couch and sighed. John was right; he’d be an idiot to sit on his feelings too long. Each time he saw Claire, he wished he could sweep her up in his arms and tell her the truth. He longed for her even when she was right in front of him. Jamie was certain that if Claire did return his feelings, they’d make a good match. They already were so in sync with each other. He knew her preferences, her history, and genuinely enjoyed hearing her thoughts on anything. Perhaps it was time he stepped up. No. No “perhaps.” It was time.

Claire sat at her kitchen table, hoping for any kind of distraction. It was a Saturday afternoon and she was trying to ignore the paperwork that had come home with her the night before. She could not figure out the reason a patient could be having their symptoms and it was driving her crazy. Claire enjoyed being a surgeon. She liked the precision and the healing. But the puzzles in the cases drove her crazy. There was no doubt that she was capable of figuring out why these symptoms were presenting, but her mind could not land on a sufficient answer. Sighing, she folded the file and left it on the table as she walked away from it. She desperately needed a distraction.

Claire spotted her phone on the kitchen counter and she picked it up, trying to decide which friend to call on to distract her. Realistically, she knew who it would be. It didn’t take any deciding. He was always her first instinct. She pressed on Jamie’s number and waited for him to answer. As it got to the third ring, she wondered if he was busy. Maybe she would be bothering him. Perhaps he was out on another date. The thought tied her stomach in knots. She still hadn’t put herself out there.

His voice pulled her from her thoughts. “Hello? Sassenach?” he asked, after her delay to respond.

“Hey!” she nearly yelled. “What are you up to?”

“Uh, I was just about to go for a run.”

A run. That could help clear her head. “Would you mind some company?”

“Not at all. I was going to go to the park. Want to meet me there?” he asked.

“Sounds perfect!” she replied, a smile wide on her face. “I’ll see you there soon. Just let me change quickly and I’ll head out.”

“Great! I’ll see ye soon, Sassenach.”

She hung up the phone and for the first time, felt a bit excited about a run.

Twenty minutes later, she was walking over towards him. Maybe this hadn’t been the best idea after all. He was wearing a tight tee and pants that fit him quite well. Claire felt her heartbeat quicken at the sight of him. Since her revelation about her feelings for him, she’d pulled back a bit from him. She hadn’t stopped seeing him. There was no way she could, for her own sake. But she hardly ever let there be contact between them. She never touched him anymore and would avoid sitting too close to him where their legs could touch. In her mind, she was trying to act as a friend would, and less like a woman with secret feelings. As she approached him though, she couldn’t deny that it would be nice to run her hands along the lines of his body.

“Sassenach!” he greeted with a wave. “I was glad ye called. It will be nice to have company.” He surprised her by wrapping her in a hug. Her breath caught in her throat as his arms closed around her. She quickly reciprocated the hug before stepping back.

“Yeah, I needed a distraction from some work stuff and this seems perfect,” she explained. Looking around the park, she tried to figure out which route would be the best. “Do you usually run here?”

“Sometimes,” he commented, following her gaze and looking around at the park. “I usually have a rather random path. I can try and tell it to ye.”

“I’m sure I can just follow along,” she commented.

“Are ye sure ye can keep up,” he teased, a competitive gleam in his eyes.

“Am I sure I can keep up?” Claire repeated. “Am I su-” she cut herself off as she took off running. Jamie’s laugh carried forward to her as he raced after her.

They ran for the better part of an hour. Jamie’s path had indeed been random, but they went in each sector of the large park. Claire threw herself down on the grass once they finished their run. Jamie laid down next to her, both of them still breathing heavily. She tried hard to push away the image of him laying panting beside her in a different setting. “I’ll be honest, this was a much longer run than I was expecting.”

Jamie chuckled beside her as he sat up. Looking down at her, he started grinning. “Did ye have trouble keeping up?”

Claire slapped his arm. “Clearly, I did not as I was right on pace with you the entire time.” She glared at him for emphasis.

Jamie laughed, standing up to stretch. He reached a hand down to help her stand. Claire wondered if he’d noticed the fact that she never touched him anymore. Reluctantly, she laid her hand in his. Jamie pulled his arm back fast, rocketing Claire off the ground, and making her collide with him. Her hands flew to his shoulders as she tried to catch herself. His hands caught her waist and held her in place. “Sorry, Sassenach,” he said with a laugh.

She shook her head. “No worries.” Standing a bit back from him, she started stretching along with him.

“So have ye seen much of John lately?” Jamie asked.

Claire certainly had. John seemed to spend plenty of time with her. He always initiated it. Occasionally, they’d meet for a dinner or a quick drink during the week. She wondered if he pitied her for the confession she’d made. But then she also wondered if he was trying to figure out if she’d told Jamie yet. Whichever it was, she’d been seeing a lot of John. “Yeah,” she replied. “Sometimes too much.” Jamie looked at her with a mixture of shock and concern on his face. Suddenly she heard it the way Jamie must have. “Oh God! Not like he flashed me or anything!” Claire laughed to herself. “No, I’ve just seen a lot of him recently. For whatever reason, he’s latched onto me.” She paused as she realized something. “Oh my God,” she muttered.

“What?” Jamie asked.

“We’ve all joked that John is like your son. I think he’s making me his mother,” Claire explained.

Jamie doubled over as he laughed at her revelation. “We’re his parents?” Claire nodded. “Well that certainly does explain his attachment to us, I suppose.”

Claire laughed with him. “Why did you ask if I see John a lot?”

Jamie crossed and sat on a bench behind her. Against her better judgment, Claire joined him. “Just something he said recently. He made it seem as though the two of ye spent a lot of time together. I didna ken if it was just all the times we’ve been together as a group.”

“What did he say?” Claire asked, her body tensing. John couldn’t have been stupid enough to actually have told Jamie how she felt. He’d promised her that he’d keep it a secret.

“Och, nothing bad. It was just a feeling I got from him,” Jamie looked over at her. “He seems quite fond of ye.”

Claire smirked. “Well aren’t most boys fond of their mothers?”

Jamie laughed beside her, laying his hand on hers. She left her hand there, allowing herself a moment to appreciate his touch. After a short silence, Jamie removed his hand and spoke again. “Can I ask ye something, Sassenach?” Claire wished he’d have just asked the question rather than starting with that. It set her on edge. She nodded for him to continue. “Have ye been back to Scotland?”

“You mean since my parents died?” she asked. Whatever she expected him to ask, it wasn’t that. He seemed nervous as he nodded. “No, actually I haven’t.” She tilted her head and looked at him with curiosity. “Why?”

“Well I’m going up to Scotland next weekend to visit Jenny and Ian and their bairns,” he explained. He swallowed harshly before he continued. “I was wondering if ye’d want to come with me.”

Claire stared at him for a moment. “You want me to come with you to visit your family in Scotland?”

“Well ye already ken them,” he pointed out. “I just thought it could be fun. But if ye dinna want to go -”

Claire cut him off. “I never said that. I was just surprised.” She broke her own rule and reached out to lay her hand on his. “I would love to go to Scotland with you.”

A large smile bloomed on Jamie’s face as he laid his hand over hers. “Really?” he asked. She nodded insistently. “Great. I can’t wait.”

Claire returned his smile. “Me either.”

Next chapter

[imagineclaireandjamie]

Fast Forward.

Previous part: HERE.

wecouldhangout said:  Love this variation of Jamie and Claire. Don’t let it fall by the wayside.

:: <3 ::

The bright lights of Inverness city faded in the rear view mirror as Raymond drove Claire home. Neither of them spoke, the taint of the evening coating the inside of Claire’s mouth as houses blurred into trees as they passed over the river Ness and out towards Drumnadrochit.

“How did you know where I’d be?” Claire whispered, plucking at the sewn pattern along the hem of the skirt she’d borrowed from Jenny. Tears welled in her eyes as she caught the torn portion of the fabric, vivid memories of her illicit night out coming unbidden as she did so.

“Some things, my dear,” he began --cryptically, “are more obvious than you give them credit for.”

Sniffling, Claire leaned her head against the cold glass, watching as her breath steamed the window - fogging the blue scenery as Loch Ness came into view. Shaking his head, Raymond slowed down, pulling the car into a parking spot overlooking the glorious loch. The moonlight glimmered off the water as he turning the ignition off and shifted in his seat, the fine leather squeaking beneath him as he moved. His hand hovered over Claire’s briefly as he coughed, waiting for her to acknowledge him before he spoke.

“I’m so--”

“No, Claire. You don’t need to apologise to me,” he interrupted, his voice soft as her glassy eyes looked over at his in the dark car. “But you do need to understand something of importance.”

Swallowing back the excess moisture that had gathered in her mouth, Claire nodded, fatigue pulsing through her achy bones.

Having firmly settled herself to 20th century highland life, Claire’s lust for adventure had intensified. When a few of the local lassies had spoken of a bawdy dance being held in Inverness, Claire had been excited. She’d enjoyed staying with Jenny, Ian and Jamie at Lallybroch and their rural lifestyle had been something to which she’d grown accustomed to. But the stories she heard at work kept floating around her head.

The girls often indulged her, talking of the loud hum of the music, the busy pubs that entertained them over the weekends and the men who took them drinking and dancing. The war and the return of the soldiers had signalled a revival of an active social life and Claire was desperate to see how people her age socialised in the 1940’s. Licking her dry lips, Claire tasted the blood from where they’d cracked, the skin breaking apart easily with the stress of her illicit night out. Goaded on by her *friends*, she’d begged Jamie to let her go, promising she’d be back at a reasonable hour. Worried about her safety, and her naivety, Jamie had rejected her ideas, his solid stance on the matter irking Claire no end.

Fed up of being babied, she’d snuck out. Carrying her plimsolls in one hand, she’d crept out of the big house and along the lane, catching the last bus from Beauly to Inverness. Balling her hands into fists, Claire pulled her feet up onto the passenger seat and wrapped her arms around her scuffed knees.

She --had-- been naive. And foolhardy. Stupid to think she could blend in when she still knew so little of the people who inhabited this particular time period.

“Is he mad?” She whispered, her curls falling forward to cover her tear-stained cheeks.

Exhaling loudly, Raymond patted Claire gently on the shoulder. His knee jingled the keys where they sat, idle in the ignition and the sound broke some of the tension that had built in the small space.

“I think it’s time for me to be honest with you, Claire,” Raymond said, ignoring her original question, his pupils dilated in the low light.

Wiping her eyes, Claire nodded shakily. Making herself comfortable, she pulled the thin cardigan across her chest feeling more exposed than ever after her run in earlier.

Twirling the bronze ring around his pinkie finger, Raymond looked out behind Claire, into the abyss that surrounded them, steeling himself for his confession.

“I brought you here, Claire,” He began, waiting as Claire processed his words.

“H-here…?” She questioned, the skin puckering between her brows as she tried to make sense of what he was telling her.

“Yes, Claire.” Nodding, he lifted his finger, moving away a stray piece of Claire’s hair as she tilted her head to the side. “It was always your destiny. Why do you think I employed you, kept you close by and tried my very best to keep you out of danger?”

His French accent softened the ‘r’, coming through more strongly in his heightened emotional state. He’d made an investment in Claire. Seeing her suffering in her own time, he’d watched as her fate changed from day to day until he’d decided the only thing to do was to intervene himself.

“Is that why you told me to stay?” Gulping, her heart pounded out an erratic rhythm in response, “all those times you hinted that this was my rightful place, that Jamie and Jenny were supposed to look out for me. That was because y-you...knew?”

“Yes,” he replied, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “I wasn’t sure how much I should tell you. When we first met,” he chuckled, recalling her arrival into his wee apothecary, “you were so...captivated by everything. So timid and yet courageous.”

“Can you --travel?” She interjected, feeling altogether exposed in the face of the vocal admittance of her journey through time.

Eying her carefully, Raymond raised a brow sardonically.

Understanding his apprehension, Claire nodded.

Seeing it as her permission to continue, Raymond turned back to look straight out of the front window. Lights flashed and disappeared as other late night travellers roamed in and out of Inverness. The hum of them passing soothed him like nothing else, the soft swish cars made as they passed each other at speed creating this odd illusion of peacefulness.

“You and I, Claire, are inextricably linked. Something far more powerful than us holds pieces of our souls together. I don’t know how I truly discovered it, but when your parents died -- that horrid disease taking them both and leaving you all alone in the world -- I suddenly became hyper aware of you.”

“D-did you live close?” Claire asked, unable to keep silent through Raymond’s story.

“No, I did not. I was in Paris at the time. I had a shop there too, in your own time.” Taking hold of the steering wheel, Raymond glanced back to Claire, watching as she kept her focus solely on the dashboard now. “I foresaw something, --someone-- *you*”

Inhaling, Claire began to wind the window, breathing in another fresh gulp of air as if feeling suffocated.

“You saw Captain Randall?”

“Yes.” He confessed, feeling wretched that he hadn’t made a single attempt to rescue her from that particular cruelty. “I saw him...and you. I felt the blackness within him and the impenetrable light in you.”

“He offered to save me from it, you know.” She spoke, her voice empty of all emotion.

Raymond watched as the glow faded from Claire’s eyes, numbness seeping over her face as if she were back there, her hands bound uncomfortably as Randall laid out his dark plans for her.

“Then you were wise enough not to accept.”

Scoffing, Claire shifted her back against the seat, old wounds itching with the memory the punish lash as it bit into her fragile flesh. “It wouldn’t have mattered what I’d done. He would have still dragged me out into that square, just for the sick pleasure of it.” She spat, vitriol coating her tongue as she spoke.

The sinister image of the vile men who’d grabbed at her earlier rose behind her irises as she remembered her time incarcerated in Fort William. Bile erupted from her stomach, causing her to inhale sharply as the feel of their wretched hands against her legs caused her thighs to tighten. What had started out as innocent flirting, a dance here and there and some idle banter had turned nasty quickly. A tall brunette male, whose name Claire couldn’t quite recall now in the post-evening haze had pushed her into a dark corner, his dirty great paws tearing at her borrowed dress as she’d tried to push him away. If it hadn’t been for Raymond’s swift intervention…

Claire stilled, pushing away the combined image of the man in the bar and Randall as she tried to calm her pounding heart and refocus her energy on the present.

Keeping his mouth shut on the matter of Captain Jack Randall *and* tonight's new assailant, Raymond continued with his own diatribe. “I orchestrated a plot to save you the most dire fate, Claire. I hadn’t counted on Captain Randall being as devious as he was, but once I knew what was to befall you I had to step in. Had you not been tempted to steal that bread, you would’ve ended up here on your own merit of course, I just aided the process once fate had been changed.”

“So, you saw…”

“Yes, but too late to save you from the flogging.” He said with some regret. “I could, however, ensure your easy escape from Fort William.”

“Easy,” Claire whispered, nervously tapping her foot on the mud-mat at her feet.

“You know how I mean it, my dear. I only knew that you had the strength to bear it. Some things I can see, others I can only feel. It’s hard to explain, but I will try if you wish to hear it?”

Shaking her head, Claire wiggled her bottom in the seat, the numb sensation fading from her extremities as the inky blackness over the loch began to slowly fade. Dawn was approaching.

“No, it’s alright. I --believe you.”

Slumping his shoulders, Raymond watched the soft dappled light sway over the water and started the engine up once more.

“What I truly wanted to impress upon you, Claire,” he finished making his point entirely clear as he pulled back onto the road, eager to get her back to Jamie and Jenny now the main part of his tale was done, “is that although it may seem safer here, there are still dangers lurking. I made damn sure you got where you needed to be, and it doesn’t matter what it cost me to ascertain it, I would pay that price time and time again. But,” he paused, glancing at Claire out of the corner of his eye to make sure she was listening, “since you seem keen on attracting all sorts of strife, I think you need to be reminded of the perils you experienced and how they might manifest in this era.”

Her heart plummeted in her chest at the realisation. Actions had consequences, she had been incredibly aware of that before. Since finding herself here, those worries had all but dissipated on the cool Scottish winds. Wanderlust had replaced her well trained sense of jeopardy, slowly extinguishing it completely.

She’d been wooed by visions of modern living whilst not truly accepting the underlying threats that still loomed over them all.

“Would I…” she sighed, part of her not wanting to know the answer, “would I have died in those cells, in Fort William?”

“Yes,” Raymond replied, the whir of the engine rolling through him, masking the shudder that slipped like ice down his spine at the vision of her cold on the slabs of that awful place.

Silence surrounded them as they rode the rest of the way in the dim light of early morning.

Claire bounced nervously as the porch light of Lallybroch came into view, her palms sweating at the idea of having to face Jamie. Emotionally spent, she had little energy left to deal with his anger but she knew that it was what she deserved.

They’d been up all night too, no doubt. Only weeks before Jenny and Ian’s wedding, Claire was certain this was a stress none of them needed.

The acrid taste of beer lingered at the back of her throat as the car came to a standstill, its stale odour coating the roof of her mouth as she practiced her apology, mumbling incoherent words as she tried not to break down before she’d even come face to face with the Frasers.

“T-thank you, Raymond,” she whispered, reaching out to tap his hand twice before clicking open the door and putting one shaky foot onto the cement path, “for absolutely everything you’ve ever done for me.”

Not waiting for his reply, Claire pulled herself from the vehicle and made her way around the bonnet towards the front door.

Hearing the click rather than being brave enough to look up and see who’d come out to welcome her, Claire slunk forwards until his feet came into view. Standing stock still now, she kept her eyes stubbornly downcast.

Pursing his lips in suppressed anger, Jamie’s flushed cheeks stung in the breeze as he let out a huge breath and wrapped his arms around Claire, bringing her flush against his chest. Rubbing his large palms in circles over her back -being careful not to knock her still sore scabs - he buried his nose into her tamed curls and closed his eyes.

“I’m so --sorry-- Jamie.” She hiccupped, her ribs throbbing as she tried to hold back her sobs.

“I thought I’d lost ye tonight, Claire,” he whispered, hopelessness dripping from each word as he tried to still his trembling hands. “When I went to see you and you werena there…” inhaling jaggedly, Jamie tried to remain calm. Shouting at her wouldn’t do any of them any good. The attempts to subdue his temper caused his Scots burr to thicken, his chest rumbled with the pressure of it sending shockwaves through Claire as she huddled closer.

“I won’t...next time, I’ll listen, I promise,” she cried openly now, her shoulders hunched as she shifted her feet and clenched Jamie’s shirt tight.

“Ye ken, Claire,” Jamie replied, turning them both towards the house and warmth, “that I’m only trying to keep you safe. I want you to have fun, aye? But I also only want what is best for you.” Pausing as he closed the door behind them, he slid his fingers under her damp chin, bringing her head up so that she was forced to meet his eyes.

Biting her bottom lip, Claire blinked away fresh tears and hiccuped. Her nose was red from the crying, her eyes wide and sore as she finally looked at Jamie. Thick lines creased his brow, accenting the bright red that stained his eyelids. Bags sat heavily under his eyes. He looked shattered.

The tickling sensation of fresh sobs bit at her nose as she saw what her evening's misadventures had done to the one person in this world who cared for her and her well being above all else.

“You’re verra precious to me, Claire,” he sighed, leaning his forehead against hers before gathering her up once more. “When I found you, broken and bleeding on that wee hill, I didna ken why, but I felt it then. I feel it now more than ever.”

Gasping between her weeping, Claire nodded as she burrowed her nose against Jamie’s neck, the bright glow of the table lamp encasing them in a yellow hue. “S-same,” she forced out, fatigue pulling her under as Jamie carried her up to bed, “...and I’m s-so sorry, Jamie. So very sorry.”

Placing her gently on the bed, Jamie tried to disentangle himself, his arms nearly slipping free as he reached to turn off the light in the attic.

“Stay,” Claire whispered. Her voice, a wisp in the darkness, held only innocence as she begged quietly for Jamie to lie beside her. “Please, Jamie. Just for tonight...stay?”

[keiraknighted]

too late to make a sound

Summary: If Betty doesn't tell Jughead the truth soon, Archie might accidentally tell her the truth about how he feels. Set during 2x06.

Archie wakes with a start, sweating, his heart pounding. He doesn’t remember what he’d been dreaming about, only that it hadn’t ended well. He immediately reaches for his phone and opens his conversation with Betty as if it’s second nature. She’s often the first thing on his mind lately.

He can’t help but be worried about her, with this whole black hood thing plaguing her. And he’s the only one who really knows what’s going on. She’s had to cut ties with Veronica and Jughead, her sister is out of town, and it’s not like she could ever tell her mother the truth. So he’s really all she’s got right now. It has crossed his mind to question why the black hood hasn’t forced Betty to cut ties with him as well. There’s some sick part of him that’s proud that he’s the only one she’s allowed to keep. And besides, he figures it’s pointless trying to get inside the head of someone whose face he hasn’t even seen. The best he can do is be there for Betty.

Archie gets up and goes to the window, slipping his fingers between the curtain to pull it aside slightly. Glancing through the gap he can see Betty’s own curtains are still closed and he quickly taps out a message to her.

Hey, you up?

Betty’s reply is almost instantaneous.

Meet you out the front of your place in 5.

Archie presses the lock button on his phone and throws on the first items of clothing he can find, running a hand through his hair to make sure it’s slightly presentable, before pulling on his shoes and running downstairs and to the front door.

His dad calls something to him as he passes, but Archie misses the exact words. He presumes his dad wants to know where he’s going.

“Meeting Betty!” Archie calls back as he heads outside. Betty isn’t there yet, but he spots her walking down the street towards him, her blonde hair and pale pink shirt hard to miss. He feels an instant sense of relief when he sees her, and he exhales, his shoulders dropping. Perhaps whatever the dream he had was affected him more than he’d originally thought.

Amidst his relief, there’s something else, a sort of tug in his stomach that seemed to be a recent development whenever he sees Betty, or thinks about her. A feeling he’s been trying very hard not to acknowledge because it would make things very inconvenient. Although lately, conspicuously since her break up with Jughead, he’s been squashing the feeling less and less. Feelings are harmless, right? And anyway, he’s not even sure he knows what the feelings are. It’s probably nothing. His concern for her bringing out some human response that feels a lot like… well, something else.

Archie makes his way towards Betty as she draws closer, meeting her in the middle.

“Everything okay?” she asks him. She looks exhausted, and stressed. He wishes there was something he could do to fix everything, to make her feel better.

“I should be the one asking you that.”

Betty shrugs, and glances at her phone. Archie stiffens, reading into her gesture.

“The black hood?” he questions. Betty nods reluctantly. “What happened?”

Betty sighs.

“Walk me to Pop’s?”

Archie nods and he falls into step beside her as they walk in the direction of Pop’s. He stays silent, waiting for Betty to give him the whole story.

“He called me last night, and he threatened Polly,” Betty starts. Archie opens his mouth to say something angry and supportive, but Betty cuts him off, sensing his thoughts. “It’s fine, just let me finish.”

Archie nods, keeping his silence.

“He told me to give him another name, or he’d kill Polly.” Betty pauses. “I refused at first, but he was so persistent.”

It’s an effort for Archie to hold his tongue.

“I told him Nick St Clair,” Betty says. Before Archie can decide how he feels about that, (on the one hand, Nick is awful and the world wouldn’t miss him, on the other, Betty could never live with herself if she had someone’s death on her hands, even someone as grotesque as Nick St Clair), Betty hurries on. “He’s not dead. I checked. The black hood called me before and told me giving him the name was enough. Apparently it shows my true nature.” She scoffs, but Archie can tell it bothers her.

“I know your true nature, and that’s not it,” he assures her. “You’re a good person, Betty.”

“I know,” Betty says, but he’s still glad he said it. “I know that now. I needed to clear my head, and I did. And I realised that this is just a sick game to him. Psychological torture. So… I’m done. With the black hood, with his letters, his Simon says.”

“So what happens when he calls you again?”

“I won’t answer,” she says vehemently, and Archie almost believes her. “I can’t… keep playing. I can’t.”

“Didn’t he threaten Polly?” Archie reminds her of the fact, as if she hadn’t just told him a minute ago.

“He did, and I talked to her. The people at the farm are gonna help her disappear for a while, just until it’s safe again.”

“Whenever that is,” Archie scoffs as the two of them approach Pop’s. “What about Jughead, and Ronnie? We have to tell them the truth.”

“And we will,” Betty promises. Archie’s not sure she realises how much the two of them need to know, not just for their sake, but for Betty’s own sanity. And for his own piece of mind too. Whenever he thinks about Jughead he feels a wave of guilt wash over him. He feels like it’s partly his fault the two of them aren’t together. Plus there’s the whole confusing feelings about Betty thing. But Jughead and Betty are going to get back together, this he knows. And besides, he has Veronica, whom he’s very happy with.

“I’ll tell them. Let’s just… you know, let things settle first. Make sure it’s all over.”

As she speaks, Archie notices Jughead through the window of Pop’s, sitting across a table from some girl from his new school, Toni or something. Archie stops in his tracks, grabbing Betty’s arm automatically, and she trails off, following his line of vision.

Jughead’s laughing with Toni, and it’s not like laughing is against the law or anything, but he’s not exactly looking heartbroken over his break up with Betty, and Archie’s no expert on body language, but it kind of looks like flirting. Maybe Pop’s wasn’t the greatest idea. It’s probably a totally innocent breakfast, but either way, Betty doesn’t need the heartache of seeing Jughead at all right now.

Archie glances at Betty, gauging her reaction. Is she worried about Toni? He’s pretty sure Jughead would never do anything to hurt Betty, but then again, technically they’re broken up, and the things he said to Jug on Betty’s behalf were pretty brutal. Still, if it were him, he’d at least have the decency to wait a few weeks before moving on. Betty deserves some respect.

He’d like to say something comforting, but before he gets the chance his phone is ringing, and Betty’s along with it, and it’s their parents demanding they come home right away.

“This can’t be good,” Betty mutters as she ends the call with Alice. Archie couldn’t agree more.

The “intervention” or whatever it is their parents are trying to pull is a complete waste of time. All it does is put Jughead in danger, and even though Archie gets to him in time to rescue him from the raid of Southside High, Jug isn’t exactly happy to see him, not that Archie can blame him. To top it off, Archie has this irrational annoyance at Veronica for the things she’d said about Betty earlier. He should understand, after all, what Betty said to Ronnie was pretty mean, and Veronica has always been proud. But does his girlfriend really think she can trash talk his best friend to his face? Not going to happen. He’s glad he has bigger problems to deal with to distract him. And once Betty finally reveals the truth everything can go back to normal.

There are a lot of things Archie wants to say to Jughead. He wants to tell him to stop being such an idiot and quit hanging out with the Serpents. He wants to interrogate him about Toni, let him know what an idiot he’d be to jeopardize things with Betty. And of course, he wants to tell him about everything going on with Betty and the black hood. But that’s Betty’s to tell not his. And Jughead is mad enough without him bringing up either of the other things.

He listens to Jughead’s rant patiently, knowing Jughead needs to get it out of his system before he’ll listen to reason. Archie suggests going to Mayor McCoy, telling her the Serpents aren’t the problem.

“Mayor McCoy?” Jughead says, and Archie can sense the venomous sarcasm. “The same McCoy that just arrested all my friends for no reason?”

“What do you care anyway, man?” Jughead says flippantly. “I thought you and Betty wanted nothing to do with me. Right?”

“Look, I’m sorry about what happened. And how it happened. And as for Betty, you should maybe talk to her.”

He needs Betty and Jughead to talk this out. Because the longer they’re broken up, the more he finds himself thinking about Betty, and not always in ways that people should think about their best friends.

Guilt pools in Archie’s stomach and as he takes in Jughead’s stony face, he’s hit with a similar image of Jughead from his dream last night. He almost says, hey, I think you were in my dream last night, but before he can blurt it out, Jughead is racing out the door.

As the rest of the dream comes back to him, Archie can only be relieved that he saved himself the torture of having to explain why Jughead was in his dream last night. He closes his eyes as he now recalls, in vivid detail, being in a darkened room with Betty, a gun pointed at them by a man in a black hood.

Confess, or I’ll shoot both of you, the black hood had shouted. Dream Archie had no idea what he was supposed to be confessing.

Betty, his dream-self said, urgently, before we die, I need you to know that I love you okay?

I know.

He kissed her, to make sure she really got it, expecting the black hood to fire any second. Nothing came. He turned to see the black hood pull his mask off, revealing his identity. Jughead.

His eyes screamed, how could you?

But what he said out loud was, I knew it. He pulled the trigger and that’s when Archie had woken up.

Archie opens his eyes, still reeling from the memory of the dream. Dreams don’t really mean anything, he knows that. But he’s suddenly certain of something, and the knowledge makes him practically groan out loud.

Of all the people he could go and fall in love with, it had to be Betty Cooper, didn’t it?

Archie tells himself he’ll just have to get over it. For one thing, he has a girlfriend, who happens to be Betty’s best friend. For another, Jughead is his best friend and even if Betty and Jughead aren’t together right now, they’re still in love. Telling Betty how he feels is not an option. He had his chance to be with Betty and he missed it, and now Jughead gets to be the lucky one.

But no matter how hard he tries, there’s this evil little voice in his head, whispering, Jughead doesn’t deserve her. You and Betty were meant for each other.

Archie does his best to ignore it.

But Fred says, “Kinda like that when I was trying to help FP. I don’t know what it is. Never ending battle with those two. Just hope with Jug it’s not a losing one,” and Archie hears, Jughead is a lost cause, he’s just like his dad. He’s not right for Betty.

The voice is wrong, Archie knows it’s wrong. The whole thing is wrong. But he looks at Jughead and he sees FP, and even the rational side of him can see history repeating itself. And it’s not that FP is the worst guy in the world. But he was in a gang, he was a pretty shitty father and now he’s in jail.

And Jughead joined the Serpents so easily. And he agrees to an illegal street race so easily. It’s like he doesn’t even think about the consequences. Jughead is supposed to be the smart one. But this drag race could end badly. If he doesn’t die in the process, there is every likelihood he’ll get arrested and thrown in jail, just like his dad. If that’s Jughead’s path, Archie knows there is absolutely nothing he can do to stop it. But he just might be able to keep Betty from going down with him.

And if he keeps thinking like that he’s going to do something stupid, like tell Betty how he feels and ruin basically every single one of his relationships.

They aren’t even together, the voice in his head says. You and Veronica aren’t in love, what does it matter?

Archie looks over at Betty as he picks up trash for their community service. She shouldn’t even have to be here as far as Archie is concerned.

Tell her, tell her, tell her, the voice says.

“Betty, you have to talk to Jughead,” Archie says. His chest aches and he can’t seem to dislodge whatever it is that’s stuck in his throat. He’s afraid that if she doesn’t come clean to Jughead soon, he’s going to come clean to her.

“Soon, I promise,” Betty says, “I just need to take care of a few things.”

Betty turns away, back to the task, but Archie’s eyes linger, his feelings bubbling to the surface, threatening to overflow. He’s sure it’s only Veronica’s overwhelming presence that stops him this time, and he swallows, getting back to work. This isn’t exactly the place for a declaration of love anyway.

Guilt gnaws at Archie constantly. When he’s not feeling guilty about having feelings for his best friend’s (ex) girlfriend, he’s feeling guilty about not having feelings for his own girlfriend.

And when he’s not feeling guilty about either of those things, he’s feeling guilty about calling Sheriff Keller and telling him about the street race. At least his motives for that one are pure. If the Ghoulies are in jail, maybe Jughead won’t make any more stupid decisions, and he and Betty can get back together and Archie can put this whole thing behind him. See? He’s a good friend after all. At least, that’s what he tells himself.

Veronica stays over the night before the drag race. He tells her he’s too tired for sex, but then he spends most of the night awake anyway. He should break up with her. He’s in love with someone else.

Someone you can’t have, he reminds himself. What’s the point in breaking up with a girl he likes if he can’t even be with the girl he really wants? He might fall in love with Veronica one day. There is every possibility it could happen.

Only, it hasn’t yet. And that’s not enough for him right now. And though Archie had tried to strengthen his resolve that morning, the blows that follow only serve to make it crumble.

His thoughts sliding to Betty as Veronica kisses him. Jughead’s look of pure glee as he presses the accelerator to the floor. Jughead’s lack of concern for his own life, and Archie’s. Jughead’s rage when he finds out Archie called the cops. That look Betty gives him that grips his heart and squeezes tightly.

It all only serves to make him want Betty more, and worst of all, make him believe he has any right to want her.

Archie goes to bed early to wallow, turning down the offer from Veronica and Betty to go to Pop’s. He can’t deal with that right now. He lies in bed, dreaming up scenarios where everything is fixed, and everyone gets to be happy, including him. Especially him.

Betty calls him a little after ten, and his stomach swoops when he sees her name on his phone screen.

“Betty,” he answers.

“I found the Sugarman,” she tells him immediately. Archie sits bolt upright.

“You did? Who is it?”

“I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow. I’m going to call Sheriff Keller in the morning and I’m writing something for the Blue and Gold that’s probably going to take me a few hours,” she says. “I just wanted you to know.”

“Okay,” Archie swallows.

“Night, Arch,” Betty says. She sounds triumphant. Better than she has in days. Archie wants to drink that in.

“Betty?” he says hesitantly.

“Yeah, Arch?”

“Never mind. I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”

He hangs up the phone, his gut churning with a mixture of anticipation and anxiety. Tomorrow. He’s definitely going to tell her tomorrow.

Except she doesn’t show up to school the next morning, and his disappointment is overwhelming. He doesn’t have the nerve to ask Veronica or Kevin if either of them knows where she is, but he keeps looking around, hoping she’ll show up.

He needs to do it now, today, before it’s too late.

He walks out of first period to see her waiting in the hallway, beaming. He can’t help but smile back at her, though his heart is beating a million miles a minute.

“Betty,” he says, and it’s like he can’t get enough of saying her name.

“Hey, Arch,” she grins. He just stares at her for a moment, as other students stream around and between them.

“Have you got a minute?” he finally says. He’s going to tell her now. Just not here, in a crowded hallway.

“Sure,” Betty says. He’s about to take her hand, lead her somewhere else. But then, “But first I have to tell you something. You’ll be happy to know I finally told Jughead everything.”

“You did?” Archie’s stomach drops. He tries to keep his face impassive.

“Yep! And he understands. Everything is good between us again!” she says happily.

“So you’re back together?” Archie verifies. Betty nods. Archie forces himself to mirror her smile. “That’s great, Betty,” he lies.

“I know. So what did you want to talk to me about?”

“Oh, uh… just wanted to know all about what happened with the black hood and the Sugarman,” Archie supplies.

“Oh, have I got a story for you,” Betty laughs, and the sound fills the air and works its way into his lungs, into his heart.

It’s better this way, he tells himself. It’s really a blessing in disguise. What did he think would happen? He’d confess his love for Betty and she’d suddenly just stop being in love with Jughead? Jug and Veronica would just give them their blessing and they’d get to live happily ever after?

It was always an impossibility.

Well, not always. But now it always will be, and he only has himself to blame for letting her get away.

[allinfozone-top-news22-blog]

CPAC Activists Say Winning Solves Everything — For currently

CPAC Activists Say Winning Solves Everything — For currently

The Conservative Political Action Conference was consumed last year by one burning question: Is Donald Trump a conservative?

This year, attendees have found associate answer: United Nations agency cares? he is doing what we would like.

“Trump isn’t ancient something, however the proof is within the pudding,” Mark Skogerboe, a 71-year-old pastor from SD, told NBC News. “He’s a Johnny-come-lately…

[sablelab]

Covert Operations - Chapter 85

DISCLAIMER: This is a modern AU crossover story with Outlander and La Femme Nikita. LFN and its characters do not belong to me nor do those from Outlander.

COVERT OPERATIONS …. THE STORY THUS FAR

James Fraser informs Operations that Claire Beauchamp has been kidnapped, however, Dougal Mackenzie is unsympathetic and tells Jamie to forget about going after her. When Operations refuses any help, Jamie calls in a marker owed to him of fifteen days. He will use this time to cut ties with Section and his superiors to go on Mandatory Refusal. Meanwhile Murtagh and Fergus both offer their assistance to search for Claire.  

In the meantime, Claire is just beginning to realise who her captors are when she meets one in particular. Jamie’s search for her comes up empty handed until he looks at surveillance tape from Claire’s apartment building. He asks Fergus to help him trace the number plate of the car in the car park and they find the name of one of the kidnappers and a possible location.  On leaving Section Jamie picks up a bag of tricks from Murtagh which he will put to good use in his pursuit of his Claire.

And so, the story continues …

SYNOPSIS: James Fraser goes on Mandatory Refusal until he discovers Claire’s whereabouts and he returns to Hong Kong to track down one of the kidnappers. However, when this William Ransom is not at the address Fergus gave him, Jamie checks with the university he is a student at for a current address. During this time Sun Yee Lok hears Intel about Claire Beauchamp and when Fergus Claudel is called into Madeline’s office, he is wary of why.

Previous chapters can be found at … https://sablelab.tumblr.com/covertoperations

CHAPTER 85

  It was very late; in fact, Fergus was really not sure if it was morning or still night. He was tired and was ready for the comfort of his bed safe in the knowledge that he had done something good. He'd left Jamie's office not so long ago well pleased with himself that he had finally been able to help him with a name and his possible location from where to start looking for Claire. Although it wasn't much to go on, at least Jamie had something concrete to build on now that he'd left Section One. Also knowing the determination of the man, Fergus knew it wouldn't be too long until he found her. However, as he was returning to his quarters Fergus was unexpectedly summoned to Madeline's office. The sound of her voice sent a shiver down his spine and sent a myriad of thoughts through his mind. Why would she be asking for him at this late hour? They'd been careful not to arouse suspicion and the perch had been dark so there was no reason that he could think of that might incriminate him in Jamie's quest to find Claire.

Although his ever over active mind rationalised that Madeline must need something else, Fergus was still in trepidation of what Section's second in command really wanted and he couldn't help but think the worst. Nevertheless he made his way to her office and on arrival knocked and waited for her affirmation to enter. It was not long before his superior’s voice echoed the command.

"Come in Mr. Claudel." 

"You wanted to see me?" he asked as he walked over to where Madeline was sitting at her desk. Looking at him with a expression he'd seen many times before, Fergus knew Madeline was well aware of what he had done for Jamie and her words only confirmed his suspicions. "You utilized Section's facilities and manpower to assist an off-profile operation." "I can explain ... Jamie needed some information ..." Fergus stammered while trying to think of a plausible reason to give Madeline as to why he'd done what he'd done. "You know very well what I mean Mr Claudel." "All right, so I helped him out. It only took 10 minutes." "Why did you do it?" Madeline's steely gaze sent shivers down Fergus Claudel's spine with her question. There was no way to avoid her scrutiny. His only course of reply was the truth. "Claire's been kidnapped. Jamie's trying to find a location on her. All he's doing is helping out someone he cares for. I don't really see the harm in that." "And despite the rules you believe it all comes down to how you see it?" She replied with a countenance that cut him to the quick. "It just seems strange. Claire Beauchamp is one of ours and we need to protect her," he replied boldly standing his ground in front of his superior. Madeline's look made him nervous as she continued. "Jamie was told he had to do it on his own and not use any of Section's resources." "I get the point. So, what now? You're not going to cancel me about that are you?" "No ... I'm actually quite pleased that you helped him." Suddenly looking up Fergus couldn't believe what he had just heard. "You ... are?" he asked incredulous that Madeline would go against Operations' wishes. 'Yes ... If Jamie is able to locate Claire, then the quicker we can get back on track for the Rising Dragons' mission. Section has used enough man hours and Claire is crucial to its success." Fergus stammered not knowing what to say or how to reply. "Ahhh ... yes." "I know Jamie has been granted his fifteen days and won't report in. I want you to keep me informed on his progress ... if by chance he does."

The stare Madeline gave him made Fergus jumpy, as her eyes held his waiting for his reply. Having heard her request, he was in two minds about what to tell her about the Intel they had found on one of the alleged kidnappers that could lead to Claire's whereabouts. Deciding it was in his best interests to come clean, Fergus took a panel from his pocket and handed it to Madeline. She immediately loaded it onto her computer. 

"Where did you get this?" she enquired studying the Intel on the disk. "From the DMV database I did of the number plate of the car seen on the surveillance tape that Jamie had of Claire's underground car park." Madeline looked Section's Techie in the eye before demanding, "Tell me what you know." Meanwhile ...

Sun Yee Lok sat in his office waiting for confirmation from one of his personal bodyguards Wang Yu or Karen on the success of the kidnapping of Claire Beauchamp. It had been a long time coming but her incarceration had finally been arranged and it was all thanks to brother Jiang Ng. Karen and Andy had befriended Claire as ordered and now they would be able to extract the information from her that they knew she had on the Rising Dragons. Systematically they had been keeping a dossier on her and had it not been for Jiang Ng's intervention they may not have been able to have her in their midst as soon as they had. His suspicions had set in motion the events that had occurred, but it was with great sadness that he would not be able to partake in the interrogation of this woman. Jiang's sad demise from a heart attack was so unexpected that it had caught them unawares. Not only had the Rising Dragons lost a fine brother, but they had now lost their hold over the police at the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau. His loss would be great and a replacement hard to find. Had it not been for Jiang's quick thinking, the kidnapping of Claire Beauchamp may have been postponed. There had been far too many coincidences surrounding her time in Hong Kong. The Inspector's investigations had been leaving far too many questions unanswered and it was this that had raised his suspicions about the coincidence of her movements and the disappearance of Tony Wong and Madame Cheung in particular. Miss Beauchamp would certainly be an interesting study and the triad leader looked forward to getting to the bottom of her knowledge about the Rising Dragons. The sound of his private line ringing was the signal that things had obviously been put in motion. This was the call he had been waiting for as he'd been expecting an update on their prisoner's detention. Reaching for the telephone's handset he placed it to his ear but showed no surprise when Karen's and not Wang Yu's voice was heard. "I have news ..." "Ah Kai-lin ... has it been done?" "Yes." "Good," Sun Yee Lok answered waiting for her to elaborate further on the state of affairs thus far. "It went very smoothly." "Excellent … Did our recruits William Ransom and his accomplice Steven Bonnet, have any complications in the kidnapping?" "No … They served the triad well." "This was an initiation test for them both that Wang Yu organized, which by your own admission they have passed with flying colours. We may use their services again then." "Wang advised them to lay low for a while though just in case." "Wang's a good man, I trust his judgement." "So, do I ... There is also no way that Andy or I can be implicated in her kidnapping if questioned because of him and ... my alibi is watertight thanks to Jiang." "Yes … How fortuitous that Jiang had called you in to the OCTB for questioning by his detectives. It is certainly the perfect alibi." Regrettably, Sun Yee Lok remembered the last conversation he'd had with the head of the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau when he had cut him off in mid conversation in regard to the nightclub incident. Jiang had wanted to tell him something and he wouldn't let him. Thankfully Wang had informed him personally of Jiang's recommendations about Claire Beauchamp's kidnapping. Little did he know but it was the last thing he had organized for the triad. It was unusual for the leader of the Rising Dragons to show any emotion but Karen heard sadness in his voice at his next words. "Our brother Jiang's death is a great loss to us and one we will find hard to replace." "That is true … That's why there is something I need to discuss with you." Sun Yee Lok was intrigued, "I'm listening." "I fear that we are not safe here. I would suggest that we transfer Claire Beauchamp to a more secure location. It is too close to Hong Kong." He too had anticipated this very thing and was glad that she had brought it up. "Where do you suggest?" "Somewhere more remote and less accessible ... perhaps one of the outlying islands?" "Hmmm … yes … I understand. Wang will see to it." "We will need to move quickly. Her male companion, James Fraser, will be making inquiries about her whereabouts shortly." "We will take care of him … you take care of the woman." "I will." "Is that all?" "I do have some other concerns." His voice softened, "What is troubling you Kai-lin?" "Claire will be a difficult target ... I feel that we may need to use some force if we are to extract the information we need." "Wang Yu, will provide everything that you need there. Knowing of his close association to me, Jiang Ng chose him personally to arrange the kidnapping of the woman and that went well. Now he will be your "Hung Kwan". Whatever you need ... just say the word and it will be done." "That is good …" "I will also contact Jonathon … I'm sure he can be of use too." "Yes … We may need his services soon when we have a new location." "You have done well my daughter … very well.  I am proud of you." "Thank you, father." Heading back to Hong Kong ...

James Fraser had one thought on his mind as he made swift headway back towards Hong Kong ... he would complete his mission to find Claire before reporting back in to Section One. He had automatically gone into mandatory refusal for this left him with few options other than to go dark for a while until he found her. He’d been given no choice in the matter as Operations had refused to allow him to use any of Section's facilities or time to search for Claire. Then when he had called in his favour, his superior had reluctantly given him the fifteen days owing to him when backed into a corner. 

Although he'd been completely cut off from Section One by orders from Operations, there were always ways and means around his directive. Jamie knew Section back the front and could easily make his way in and out if needs be. If by some strange miracle Section heard anything from the kidnappers about Claire, Jamie knew Murtagh and Fergus would try and contact him someway or other on an undetected channel. Regardless of what Operations had ordered Jamie knew they would be there if needed for assistance. The two men would certainly make sure that Section's leader didn't find out if they were helping him in any way. Madeline and Operations would not be happy if they found out he was using Section One's resources or personnel. Although he was a master at deviation from protocol, Jamie didn't want to implicate the two friends. Fergus and Murtagh had already helped him with a possible location but he didn't want to put them in jeopardy any more than necessary. He would locate Claire no matter what. With a steely determination and his normal methods of persuasion, he would make sure, one way or the other that William Ransom had no choice but to give him the information he wanted on his Claire's whereabouts. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Jamie accelerated the SUV wishing that it had wings to fly. Although he made steady progress, the time spent in travelling was an anathema to him. Expediency was a necessity at the moment and the quicker he could find Claire, the better it would be for all. Armed with the address of one of the kidnappers he made his way to the beginning of Route 1. His destination was in Waterloo Road north of Kowloon Tong and towards the Lion Rock Tunnel. Turning at the intersection with Lai Cheung Road and Ferry Street, he drove east past Nathan Road then proceeded on to a northeast-southwest alignment through the eastern part of Yau Ma Tei. Passing by the wholesale Fruit Market, the abandoned Yaumati Theatre and the Yau Ma Tei Station of MTR, Jamie then proceeded on to Mong Kok. When he reached the intersection with Princess Margaret Road, Waterloo Road turned in a northward direction. This was the route Jamie took as it was close to the address he was seeking. He cruised along the road and soon arrived at the proposed destination of the kidnapper. Parking the SUV a short distance from the house, James Fraser surveyed the perimeter for movement along the street. Although there was a car parked in the driveway, the house looked deserted. He watched for several minutes before approaching the door. Jamie knocked once ... but there was no answer. He knocked again and waited. Yet again there was no answer so he peered in the window. What he saw was of some concern. It didn't look like William had been at his house for some time as there seemed to be no presence of it being occupied. Jamie's spirits were somewhat dashed. That could mean one of two things ... his Claire was not here ... this was not the kidnap site or William Ransom had done a runner. Either way he needed to find something in the house that would help him find where William and ultimately Claire could be found. This was a quiet neighbourhood and few people passed by. Casting a glance up and down the street Jamie made his way around to the back of the house. Breaking the glass of the back door with his clenched, gloved fist, he leaned in and opened the door. He entered with his gun drawn. There were two plates on the table and signs that someone had eaten a meal recently. There were pots on the stove that had clearly bubbled over and the stove top was still warm. Jamie went to the living room and quickly made his way through the house but it was unoccupied. He made his way up the stairs and searched all the rooms but alas, no one was there either. It was obvious that whoever was here recently had left in a hurry. Clothes were scattered and the bedrooms were unkempt. Regrettably the location Fergus had given him was cold, for the house was now abandoned. It looked like Jamie had just missed whoever was here but he knew he couldn't be far behind them. What now? he thought. Precious time was slipping away and the longer it took to locate William Ransom the longer Claire was in captivity and the longer she was at the mercy of the Rising Dragons. Making his way downstairs Jamie checked for any Intel that may help in locating William.  He entered a small study where he found a desk littered with papers, a diary and a notice board that contained a series of papers and clippings. Rifling through them he came across an assignment paper with the insignia motto "Sapientia et Virtus" … "wisdom and virtue" … the Latin motto from the prestigious City University of Hong Kong the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. It was apparent that he was a university student at HKU. Jamie declared that these words would come back to haunt William Ransom for he had neither wisdom nor virtue. This student had become involved in the dirty work of the Rising Dragons by kidnapping his Claire. He would pay the price for his association with the triad. If her kidnapping was some form of initiation into the triad, there may be other students who were involved as well. University student bodies provided opportunities for students to participate in extracurricular activities but were more renowned to be the main driving force behind the student activist movement. William Ransom, if involved in such a group, would be ripe for the picking by recruitment personnel for the Rising Dragons' triad. His kidnapping of Claire was probably just the first step to his acceptance into the brotherhood. William had made his bed and would have to lie in it for there would be no going back if he'd been recruited by the triad. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ He knew what it was like to become involved in student organisations only too well. Along with some other extremist students of London University, he'd formed the radical activist group called "The Bloody Hour.”  Like his fellow student activists, he was so filled with the anger of youth that they had gone too far. There was a bombing during the student protest.  

Jamie could remember vividly the video of the protest and the British announcer describing the action. The protest didn't start until everyone had had lunch. But then, the niceties were over ... Students, and their teachers, hit London in waves, the largest in the month-long series of demonstrations ... Officially, nearly 3,000 extra riot police turned out to meet them, but some said the number was double. At any rate, they and the students have played this game before. They both knew the rules ... It was the biggest so far of the recent student demonstrations, a national one called to protest against government plans to reform the universities. But the government has handled it so clumsily that, although the plans are deliberately vague, everyone - left and right - feels threatened. It was mostly the right who turned out today ... He'd been arrested during those student protests and had ‘died’ in prison ... then his life had changed forever in Section One. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Breaking from thoughts of his youth, Jamie systematically sought another plan of action. Perhaps William Ransom had come back to collect an assignment that was due in for assessment today to make things appear as normal as possible. The university wasn't that far away and although it was a long shot it was something he could check out. At the moment he had few leads to go on, hence it was at the City University of Hong Kong that Jamie decided to begin his search once again. Someone would surely know William on campus and where to find him.  Somebody, somewhere, knew something. And ... if he were to find William Ransom, he would surely find his accomplice too. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ James Fraser drove past luxurious residential houses on LaSalle and Oxford Road as he made his way to the university in Kowloon Tong. Eventually he came to the university's main campus on Bonham Road and Pok Fu Lam Road. He drove his car along the driveway past red brick British Colonial architecture and pulled the SUV into the parking lot out the front of the administration block. Getting out of the car, he quickly climbed the stairs and entered the university offices. One of the clerical staff saw the imposing man enter and came to the front desk. "Oh hello ... Can I help you sir?" "Hi ... I am hoping that ye can help me. I'm looking for my nephew William Ransom. He's a student here. I was wondering if ye could give me his current address." The woman gave Jamie a cursory glance before replying officiously. "I'm sorry sir, but I can't give out any personal details about our students ... confidentially you know." Showering the woman with one of his irresistible smiles Jamie asked, "Could ye make an exception this one time lass?" Taken aback she retorted, "Excuse me?" His eyes held hers as he wove a spell around the woman with his tale. "Ye ken... this is a family matter ... My sister ... his mother has just died in Scotland, and I have come to Hong Kong to tell him in person, but he didn't know I was coming." "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that,” the woman responded in sympathy on hearing his tale.  “I'll see what I can do but I'll have to check with my supervisor. Could you wait a moment please?" "Certainly ..." James Fraser watched as the woman singled out another person and spoke rapidly to them while looking in his direction once or twice. Finally the supervisor came to the front desk. "I believe you are looking for William Ransom?" "Aye, that's correct." "He's a fine student ... I only just saw him today." "Ye did?" "Yes ... He handed in a due assignment and asked for a leave of absence from his studies for personal reasons." "Do ye ken where I can locate him? ... ‘Tis most important. I've already checked his current address but he was nae longer there. Did he say where he could be located?" "Under the circumstances I would refuse ... but he was obviously in an agitated, distressed state. He needs his family around him at this sad time. One moment please. I'll check if he left a forwarding address ... it's a mandatory requirement of this university." Nevertheless, the supervisor checked his student database and gave Jamie the address where he could be found. "Ah ... there you are." "Thank ye." Jamie replied taking the address from the supervisor. "My sincere condolences. I hope you find your nephew soon." "Aye ... so do I." "Something was really bothering him today. Perhaps someone has already told him about his mother's death." "Perhaps ... thank ye kindly for yer assistance." With a determined gait James Fraser quickly strode from the office hoping that the address wasn't a bogus one and that he wasn’t chasing a red herring. He desperately needed to locate this William Ransom for his Claire's life was at stake and the sooner he found her the better.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ to be continued next week