𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐄 | outlander ↠ jamie fraser

7 | Finding Warmth

The wind seemed to blow the door shut behind me after I entered the small house. It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the light given from a small hearth fire. I quickly realized that I was the only woman in the room. An American woman from the future with a bunch of rugged Scottish Highlanders from what I assumed was the 18th century. I paused for a moment remembering what Lottie told me about the Highlander way of life. It was stamped out by the British after Culloden. I was fairly certain it happened at some point during the 1740s. Meaning that whatever time it was, it was before Culloden. So, the 18th century likely wasn't a terrible guess. I would need to consult my book to be certain.

My heart sank. My book on the Scottish Highlands was in my satchel and my satchel was still at Mistress Campbell's place. The only worldly possessions I truly care about were there and I had no idea where there was. Eventually, I would need to make my way back there but now was not the time. It was now dark and I would likely die a gruesome death in the wilderness before even making it to Mistress Campbell's. No, my best bet was to stay...for now.

The man Jamie and I had met at the river seemed to be glaring daggers at me from his spot near the hearth. One of the men called him. Dougal. He responded to it, leaving me to assume that was his name. At least I could finally put a name to the face that didn't seem particularly fond of me.

It was then I noticed two men seated near the fire. One of them being Jamie, my savior. I could see his shoulder injury better with the light from the fire. It looked rather gruesome, but I could fix it. I had been trained to do such things. These men had not. One of which looked like they were about to break Jamie's arm to put it back into place.

"Wait! Don't do that!" I called to the man with Jamie's arm in his hand. All the men in the room stopped to look at me. I swallowed hard. I was going to have to explain why I was stopping them. "You'll break his arm if you do it like that."

Jamie looked at the man and gently nudged his shoulder away a bit before looking back at me. The other men didn't look quite convinced. I was going to have to explain how I knew that. I couldn't rightly come out and tell them I was almost a doctor. It was barely believable in my time, so it would be impossible in this one. "My father had a degree in medicine, a doctor. I-I helped him. Many times with injuries such as this one."

I made eye contact with Jamie. "Let me help," I said. It was more of a statement than a question, but I waited for Jamie's approval. It was his arm, so it was his say, I mused. "I owe you," I added, hoping it would help his decision-making process. Although, I owed him for saving my life from Randall and then again for being the reason his shoulder was in this state because I spooked the horse.

It felt like I waited forever for his answer, but finally, he gave a small nod. I quickly approached him while the men that stood around him backed away. I stood in front of Jamie and took hold of his arm, examining the injury once more in the light. His skin was very warm, which surprised me. I wasn't expecting him to be so warm, but thankfully he didn't seem feverish. "I suppose I ought to apologize for causing your condition," I whispered to him without making eye contact, instead I focused on the strong muscles in his arm.

"Ach, no," Jamie said rather quietly. He then quirked an eyebrow, his face still marred with an expression of pain. "Unless ye did it on purpose."

"And risk my own life in the process?" I retorted, raising my own eyebrow back at him, completely forgetting it wasn't just the two of us in the room and that we were surrounded by nearly a dozen men.

His mouth twitched to nearly a smile through the pain. "Ye slipped in the mud. My own fault. I shouldna ha' let ye off there."

I scoffed slightly before looking at him. I smiled and shook my head. I needed to just get on with it. He was in pain, he didn't need me talking his ear off before it was fixed. I had a job to do. I licked my lips before giving him a final diagnosis. "I need to get your arm back into joint, but first I need to get the angle of your bone just right. For a while, it will hurt worse than it does now. But once everything is back into place you should feel some relief. Do you understand?"