Lord John has listened to her explanation, somewhat skeptically, but then again she has proven herself to be right about everything else thus far. And of everyone here in this strange place with him, Lord John knows he can trust Claire the most.
So he had paid attention to what she had told him about the meditation, done as she had explained and...
Suddenly finds himself here. In the front entrance of a Scottish country home. He glances around before taking a tentative step forward and clearing his throat, not wishing to startle her.
She'd done her best to explain meditation and breathing exercises, but one never knows if they've done a good job until things are in practice. Luckily, Claire is a bit better than she thought, and she turns her head at the clearing of his throat. When she stands, she brushes her hands free of dirt, offering a warm smile.
She's dressed comfortably and steps forward, her nerves spiking oddly in the pit of her stomach. There are conversations to be had, and she never knows when a piece of her life in the next ten years will be revealed. Still, Claire finds herself happy to see him, a familiar face she can discuss home with.
"You managed, I see. If it isn't medical, who knows how well I explain," she laughs softly in good humor. "It's good to see you, John. Welcome to Lallybroch, or at least my memory of it."
"And you as well, my dear," John says, stepping forward to greet her, refraining from offering a kiss on the hand or the cheek as he may have done otherwise -- this is still the Claire he had met in Jamaica, the Claire in the cabin at Fraser's Ridge whose eyes had flashed at him with distrust and distaste. He should count it a blessing she has taken to him at all, just yet, if he's being entirely honest with himself.
He glances around their surroundings as she welcomes him in, and finds himself awash in a number of feelings that threaten to overwhelm him at once.
"Lallybroch," he repeats, trying to regain his bearings and keep those thoughts and feelings from being quite so apparent on his face. "Jamie's ancestral home?"
There's something endearing about his my dears when he greets her. It feels akin to being called Sassenach; something she wouldn't want anyone else calling her now that the name has been claimed.
Claire isn't unaware, in any way, of the feelings there, and she knew what it might mean for John to see Lallybroch. That can't be helped and she won't call attention to it. Instead, she offers her arm with a smile that can only be interpreted as glad to see him.
"It is. Built by his father as a wedding gift. As far as grand gestures go, the men in this family do know how to make them as impressive as possible. Come, we'll have a drink in the courtyard. Tea, whisky, or coffee?"
It's good to see him in one piece as well, another benefit to the Horizon: he has both eyes in proper condition.
“Whiskey,” John answers, faster perhaps than is polite. He offers her a somewhat sheepish smile — with both eyes, yes, thank heavens for that — before adding, “If you please. I think we could both use a proper drink.”
Being in this place… It may not truly be Lallybroch, but it’s likely as close as John will ever get, and the thought of it fills him with many mixed emotions. Having a whiskey to help him get through them all would not be unwelcome, all things considered.
“It has been some time since I set foot in Scotland,” he says, trying to make light conversation to ease the light churning of his insides.
Claire pours a double triple for both of them, then invites him to sit in front of the banked hearth. Drinks poured, she sits beside him so that they can talk properly and holds up her glass to his.
"To Scotland, then. Or at least my very small and likely inaccurate rendering of it." She smiles highly before taking a healthy sip, knowing when they leave the Horizon, they won't feel the effects of the alcohol at all.
"You know, I couldn't go back, before? When I was in my time and I didn't know Jamie'd lived. I avoided Scotland as though it might strike and take away the one piece of Jamie I had left if I dared to go." A very quiet and unspoken superstition. But she'd made her way back, otherwise, she and John truly would be strangers.
"Silly, to think a place could hurt you. And yet, Abraxas seems to be pushing the limits of what I believe."
"But you chose this place for yourself here, now…?" John points out, a gentle question in his voice, though he is not without kindness. He misses Jamie too — had missed him, under different circumstances, both before, and then more recently, when he too thought he had been dead. And then… Then the man has reappeared and John had been fool enough to tell him the truth.
"You did choose this place for yourself now," he points out. Was it to have something of him here with her, he wonders? His expression softens. She had said she thought they both might have died in that storm, and knowing that, knowing that she chose Lallybroch knowing that.
He fights the urge to reach out and take her hand. The pair of them do not know each other well enough, in her mind, for such informalities.
Claire's quiet for a long while, first tracing the rim of her glass with her thumb, then looking at the home in front of her, thinking about the man who built it, brick by brick, at the love that went into Lallybroch.
"I'm very likely never going to see it again." When she looks at John, there's a touch of sadness but not as melancholy as it could be, since she knows both she and Jamie are alive. "Perhaps it's rubbing salt in the wound, but it's where we were happiest when we were younger. We never had a home before Culloden, it was supposed to be this after we changed things. I was supposed to raise a family here."
Taking a long pull from her glass, she savors the burn before speaking again. "Even though those days are long behind me, it's an old dream I've never let go of. I suppose I could have come up with anything else, and yet nothing has ever come to mind."
For her part, a comforting touch wouldn't be unwelcome, It wouldn't even necessarily be surprising, given he knows her. It would, however, cause all her questions to begin swirling in her mind again, about who they are now to one another.
"Have you given any thought as to what your space will resemble?"
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no subject
So he had paid attention to what she had told him about the meditation, done as she had explained and...
Suddenly finds himself here. In the front entrance of a Scottish country home. He glances around before taking a tentative step forward and clearing his throat, not wishing to startle her.
"Ehm."
no subject
She's dressed comfortably and steps forward, her nerves spiking oddly in the pit of her stomach. There are conversations to be had, and she never knows when a piece of her life in the next ten years will be revealed. Still, Claire finds herself happy to see him, a familiar face she can discuss home with.
"You managed, I see. If it isn't medical, who knows how well I explain," she laughs softly in good humor. "It's good to see you, John. Welcome to Lallybroch, or at least my memory of it."
no subject
He glances around their surroundings as she welcomes him in, and finds himself awash in a number of feelings that threaten to overwhelm him at once.
"Lallybroch," he repeats, trying to regain his bearings and keep those thoughts and feelings from being quite so apparent on his face. "Jamie's ancestral home?"
no subject
Claire isn't unaware, in any way, of the feelings there, and she knew what it might mean for John to see Lallybroch. That can't be helped and she won't call attention to it. Instead, she offers her arm with a smile that can only be interpreted as glad to see him.
"It is. Built by his father as a wedding gift. As far as grand gestures go, the men in this family do know how to make them as impressive as possible. Come, we'll have a drink in the courtyard. Tea, whisky, or coffee?"
It's good to see him in one piece as well, another benefit to the Horizon: he has both eyes in proper condition.
no subject
Being in this place… It may not truly be Lallybroch, but it’s likely as close as John will ever get, and the thought of it fills him with many mixed emotions. Having a whiskey to help him get through them all would not be unwelcome, all things considered.
“It has been some time since I set foot in Scotland,” he says, trying to make light conversation to ease the light churning of his insides.
no subject
doubletriple for both of them, then invites him to sit in front of the banked hearth. Drinks poured, she sits beside him so that they can talk properly and holds up her glass to his."To Scotland, then. Or at least my very small and likely inaccurate rendering of it." She smiles highly before taking a healthy sip, knowing when they leave the Horizon, they won't feel the effects of the alcohol at all.
"You know, I couldn't go back, before? When I was in my time and I didn't know Jamie'd lived. I avoided Scotland as though it might strike and take away the one piece of Jamie I had left if I dared to go." A very quiet and unspoken superstition. But she'd made her way back, otherwise, she and John truly would be strangers.
"Silly, to think a place could hurt you. And yet, Abraxas seems to be pushing the limits of what I believe."
no subject
"You did choose this place for yourself now," he points out. Was it to have something of him here with her, he wonders? His expression softens. She had said she thought they both might have died in that storm, and knowing that, knowing that she chose Lallybroch knowing that.
He fights the urge to reach out and take her hand. The pair of them do not know each other well enough, in her mind, for such informalities.
no subject
"I'm very likely never going to see it again." When she looks at John, there's a touch of sadness but not as melancholy as it could be, since she knows both she and Jamie are alive. "Perhaps it's rubbing salt in the wound, but it's where we were happiest when we were younger. We never had a home before Culloden, it was supposed to be this after we changed things. I was supposed to raise a family here."
Taking a long pull from her glass, she savors the burn before speaking again. "Even though those days are long behind me, it's an old dream I've never let go of. I suppose I could have come up with anything else, and yet nothing has ever come to mind."
For her part, a comforting touch wouldn't be unwelcome, It wouldn't even necessarily be surprising, given he knows her. It would, however, cause all her questions to begin swirling in her mind again, about who they are now to one another.
"Have you given any thought as to what your space will resemble?"