Christmas- One Shot

"It's so nice you're here again, darling," Ellen says as we all sit down at the table. Claire smiles sweetly. "I'm very happy to, I've missed spending Christmas with special people," I reach for Claire's hand and give it a small kiss.

"We're very happy to have ye," I whisper. "Thank you, thank you all," she says and everyone smiles. Mam had suggested inviting Claire for Christmas since she was going to spend it alone. I had asked and she had happily said yes. Everyone would be there, Mam, Dad, Jenny, Ian and their bairns.

We eat the dinner and talk a lot. Claire's laugh sounds all the time and I love it, it makes me want to smile all the time and I do. My mouth almost hurts from smiling. We had dated for 7 months now and I never get tired of seeing her smile, hearing her laugh or holding her hands. She is perfect and mine.

After dinner we sit down on the couch by the tree with a movie and dessert. Mam made a nice cake, like she always does and it still tastes amazing after eating it for more then twenty years. Beside me Claire is eating her own cake while talking to Jenny about some book they read. Another romantic one. Claire could spend hours reading her books and she'd do it everywhere. When I stay over she's always cuddled up against me and she reads, for so long we barely get sleep. Sometimes I doze off but she quickly wakes me up again showing me what someone said or did.

I look at her for a while and suddenly she reaches for her troat, gently rubbing it. ''Everything alright?'' I ask her. She looks at me and nods. ''I think so, my throat tingles a little, but it's probably nothing,''she says softly. Not even ten seconds later she starts coughing and I reach for her. Her arms and throat show red spots and her breath gets heavier. ''I can't breath very well,'' she whimpers. I grab her tightly and I notice her throat swelling up.

''Call on ambulance! It doesn't look good, she needs help!'' I yell while Claire leans back. ''Hurry!'' I hold her gently but tight and try to reassure her. ''Are you allergic to anything, Sassenach?'' I ask her. She shrugs. ''I don't know, I've never had anything like this before,'' she presses out. ''You're parents? Were they allergic to anyhting?''

She nods slowly. ''My mom was allergic to peanuts,'' she whimpers and coughs loudly. Jenny has come back with an icepack and I hold it against her throat. ''It's alright, Mo Grádh, yer going to be fine,'' I whisper softly. Holding one of her hands. ''There were peanuts in that cake, Jenny.'' Everyone in the room looks worried and dad helps me get Claire up a bit.

''It's going to be alright, the ambulance will be here soon and you're going to be fine,'' he reassures us both. I nod and keep holding Claire until the ambulance arrives. They lift her up a stretcher and take her in the ambulance immediately. I'm allowed to go with her and so I do. I sit down and try to smile whenever she looks at me, although I feel very panicked I must stay strong for Claire.

''What exactly is wrong, sir? Do you know what happend?'' One of the paramedics asks. I shake my head regretfully. '"I asked her if she had any allergies and she said she didn't know but that her mother did have an allergy for peanuts and the cake we ate contained that so maybe it's that?''

She nods. ''It is most like an allergic reaction so we have to give her an epipen and make sure she's breathing properly. We can test for allergies later, alright? For now you must keep her calm,'' I nod and grab her hand. They lift her dress a bit and take down her panties till her knees. ''It's okay, Sassenach. They're going to save you,'' I say and she looks at me, almost emotionless.

They practically stab Claire with the epipen and it looks mighty painful. Soon we arrive at the hospital and they rush her in. They tell me to wait in the waiting room for a while. I shout 'I love you!' before sitting down.

Mam and dad rush in ten minutes later but I don't notice until Mam touches my shoulder. Her worried look and my fears cause me to burst into tears. ''I can't lose her like this Mam, I really can't!'' I sob and she hugs me tightly. ''I ken baby, and ye won't,''

''I can't lose her like we lost William, it'll be too much,'' I say, my body shaking in her arms. ''That won't happen, don't be afraid,''

We lost William twelve years ago, during the summer he ate lots of strawberries without anyone knowing he had a severe allergy, he died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, aged 15. I was only 11 and Jenny was 13. Our family was pretty miuch broken for months, but together we got through it. But he was still very missed.

-------

An hour later.

We hadn't said anyhting to eachother anymore. I just stared at the door Claire went through and prayed. Finally the doctor came towards us and we all stand up, preparing for the worst. ''Family of Claire Beauchamp?'' he asks, looking at us. ''Yeah, is she okay?'' I ask. The doctor nods and we all let out a relieved sigh. ''She had an allergic reaction, probably to peanuts. The test is being done now, and a result should be in soon,''

''Thank you, doctor. Can I see her now?'' I ask and he nods. ''She is in room 45C,'' I look at my parents and they nod. Quickly I search for her room and quitely open the door. She sitting in her bed, staring outside, but when she hears the door she turns to me. ''Hey,'' she says softly.

I rush towards her bed and grab her hand. ''Hi,'' I whisper. ''How do you feel?''

''Better, especially now you're hear,'' she says and I give her a gentle kiss. ''I love you Claire, I love you so damn much, I couldna bear to lose you, no' like this and so soon,'' I say, a tear escaping my eye. ''Shh, I'm here, I'm fine,''

''But?'' I ask, looking her in the eyes. She glances down for a second before facing me again. ''I was so scared, Jamie, I thought I was going to die,'' she says, breaking down in tears. I sit down on the bed and hold her. I stroke her back gently and kiss her hair.

''Dinna be afraid, it's just to two of us now,'' I whisper and she smiles. ''I love you, please protect me from this Jamie. I don't ever want this happening again,''

I hold her for a little longer before she speaks up again. ''I'm sorry for remind you about..'' she starts but I cut her off. ''Dinna apologize. It isna yer fault, but please, never again,'' I barely spoke about William but I had told Claire everything. I thrusted her and it felt good.

''I promise,'' she whispers. A while later the doctor comes back with the results. ''You've devoloped a peanut allergy and we'll get you an epipen, but try to avoid it as much as you can as it can be quite dangerous,'' she nods and the doctor leaves again.

''I guess Mam will have to shake her recipe,'' I say and she smiles. I hold her for a little while longer before she speaks again. ''I heard you yell I love you before everything went black,'' she says and I smile. ''Today we willna part, but if the day comes that we do part, if my last words are not 'I love you' ye ken its because, I didna have time,''

She smiles and kisses me on my lips. ''I love you,'' she whispers. ''I love ye, Sassenach, I love ye so much,''