Chapter Text
“Oh, bugger!” Claire muttered under her breath, taking a seat on the bitterly cold bus, rubbing her hands together as she sat. She could scarcely see out the bus window, it was six am and the frost was just beginning to thaw from the windows. Clearly this bus had not long left the depot and began its daily tour of Edinburgh. With each stop more passengers got on, all with different days ahead. Looking around, it was clear who was going where. Some going to their respective lectures, others heading into town to begin their respective retail jobs and others, well it was clear they were heading into different office jobs. However, Claire had much different ideas for her day. This was the first bus out of her two-bus journey to Little France, where Claire was in her final year of her General Surgery PHD – a science she had been enthralled with since she was just a girl, travelling the world with her late Uncle Lamb.
Claire smiled softly, looking out the window of the bus. It was times like this she enjoyed, the peaceful roads, the cold mornings, and the journey to the hospital most of all. While she was studying, she took as many shifts at the hospital as she could manage – after all she did need as much experience as she could get and while it could be an inconvenience, she didn’t much mind the two buses she needed to take from Oxgangs to Little France. It was often, the only time she could take for herself - a welcome time to gather her thoughts and relax.
She felt a soft buzz in the pocket of her winter coat, pulling out her phone, a text from her fiancé, Frank, appeared; “Good morning, love. Must have just missed you. Have a good day. F x”. Her smile faltered a little. While it was clear Frank had loved Claire, she was beginning to fear herself that she did not feel quite the same. Leaving the house early was a deliberate attempt to avoid Frank, a deliberate attempt to have time to gather her thoughts on her life and situation. She sighed a little, typing out a reply – trying her best to keep up appearances until she could figure herself out. “Morning, love. Sorry, I needed to get in early. Joe and I having to go over lecture notes ahead of mock surgeries today. Will see you after my shift. C x”. After hitting send, Claire slid her phone into her pocket and let herself fall into her thoughts.
“Well, well, well if it isn’t the fabulous Lady Jane herself!” A familiar American voice called out behind Claire. Joe Abernathy jogged to catch up with her, she beamed back at him as he came closer. “Ready for today’s fabulous shift? ‘Cause I sure as hell am not!” Claire laughed softly at him, “When are you ever ready for a 14-hour day?” He pointed at her with a grin on his face, “You just know me!”. Claire just laughed at him, shrugging her shoulders in agreement.
“Y’know, Joe, I really hate these bloody NHS scrubs, they honestly aren’t the most flattering attire.” Claire mused, tying her thick dark curls back in a scrunchie. “I can agree to that L.J. but unfortunately needs must!” Joe agreed, hanging his coat up on the rack before moving to grab his coffee off the desk. “If only that Hancock fellow would take a leaf out of America’s book and get those scrubs that would be fab.” Joe nodded, clearly thinking that those scrubs would be better. “Actually, Joe,” Claire chuckled, “I think even the type of scrubs nurses wear would be better than the ones we have to wear.” With a shrug of his shoulders, Joe agreed.
The first few hours of their day seemed to drag, “A quiet day in paradise” Claire thought to herself. On days like today, Claire liked to help the nurses when she could – anything to keep herself busy. However, this was not always appreciated by some Senior Staff nurses. When she would eventually be shooed away from this, she decided to sit down in the hospital café, trying to write up notes on her latest surgeries.
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“Now, James Alexander Malcom MacKenzie Fraser, am no gonnae to tell you again,“ Ellen Fraser piped up, staring up at her son with a look so mother-bear like, “ye need to grow a pair and leave that girl. She’s makin’ you miserable!”
“Ach, Ma’, I’ll dae it when am ready!” Jamie answered back, trying to shrug off his mothers comments. He knew she didn’t ever like Laoghaire, she was only meant to be a fling. But the poor wee lass had fallen head over heels with Jamie, a sentiment he did not reciprocate. “Aye, well I’ve heard that one before.” Ellen muttered, rolling her eyes and climbed out the car. With a sigh, Jamie followed suit, accidentally slamming the door of the car shut and ducked as he realised what he did – his mother did have a hand for clouting the back of his head, even now he was twenty-three.
“Now, lets go see how Jenny’s getting on with the bairn,” his mother smiled, heading towards the main entrance of the Royal Infirmary. Hands stuffed in his pocket, Jamie followed – why he was dragged to the hospital and not his older brother Willie, he would never understand, but alas, he did what he was told and followed his mother in to see his sister and newest niece.
Looking at her watch, Ellen sighed and turned to Jamie, “We’re a wee bitty early, visiting doesn’t start for another twenty minutes. Fancy a cuppa?” Jamie nodded, “Aye, please. It’s bloody baltic so ah need something to heat me up!” Ellen chuckled and took him towards the café.
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Claire ran her fingers through her hair, trying to remember what happened at the last of her weekly surgeries – unfortunately, she needed to keep a detailed record of each surgery she did in order to write up her final assessment. With a sigh, she pulled her glasses off her face and placed them on her notebook carefully before running her hands down her face. She was normally excellent at remembering every detail of her surgeries, but she knew deep down there was one thing plaguing her mind – Frank. When she couldn’t be kept busy, he crept into her mind, guilt coursing through her as she thought of him. Maybe she should just call off the wedding, try and be single for a while, after all, she hadn’t been single since she was 19. Maybe she just needed time to be herself and not have to worry. Claire picked up her coffee mug and sat back, allowing herself to fall into her thoughts.
“Uhm, ‘scuse me?” Claire was suddenly awoken from her thoughts to see a tall Scotsman stood in beside her, trying to get her attention. “Sorry, is this chair taken? Only I need it for my Ma.” The Scotsman asked, gesturing to the empty chair across from Claire. “Oh, sorry. Uhm, it’s not, just take it!” Claire smiled up at him. As she looked at him, she could feel a small flutter in her heart and her breath caught in her throat. “Cheers.” The Scotsman replied, grabbing the chair from across the table and sat it at another table. Sneakily, Claire glanced at him – taking in his features. While she lived in Scotland, Claire had never really paid attention to many Scotsmen, after all, she had been engaged to Frank. But there was something about this Scotsman in particular that sparked her interest – he was tall, incredibly handsome, polite and had the most beautiful red curls she had ever seen (a trait more often seen on the Jimmy Hats sold in tourist shops than on an actual person). Quickly, she snapped herself out of the trance she had fallen into, reminding herself that she was still engaged to Frank and shouldn’t be allowing her mind to wander to other men – even if they were as handsome as this Scotsman.
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Jamie sat down next to his Ma’, trying not to have his back to the beautiful English woman he had just spoken to. “Ye alright, son?” Ellen asked. “Aye, Ma’.” He replied, grinning. “Am grand.” Ellen chuckled at him, “Is yer big grin to dae wi’ the Sassenach sitting over there?” Jamie flushed a shade of red. “Naw, its no.” He shuffled trying to hide it. But his grin didn’t falter as he took another glance at the Sassenach.
Jamie tried his best not to stare, but he needed to take in all the features he could of this woman. He admired her unruly coffee coloured curls, a trait that women often try to hide or tie back tight (at least that’s what the curly haired woman he knew did). As he admired her, he felt his heart flutter; a feeling that he had not felt in a long time. The woman across from him stood up, gathering the books that cluttered her table into her arms. As she stood up, Jamie admired her from behind – his breath caught in his throat as his eyes caught her backside, it was truly one of the best arses that he’d seen.
Broken from his admiration, his mother laughed at him. “Will ye just go and get her number ye daft lump.” Jamie gulped, his admiring mightn’t have been as subtle as he thought. “What about Laoghaire, Ma’?” He asked, knowing it wouldn’t be right to be chasing other women while he was still with her, he was raised better than that. “There’s nothing wrong wi’ starting a friendship.” Ellen shrugged with a smile. Jamie sighed and stood up nervously, “Ah suppose no.”.
The woman started to walk away, so it was truly now or ever. Looking for a reason to follow her, Jamie noticed that she had left her phone on the table. “’Scuse me!” He called after her, trying to catch up, “Ye left yer phone!”. The woman turned round, gasping and turned back to him to retrieve her phone. “Oh, thank you so much! I’d be a little lost without that!” She exclaimed. Jamie smirked, his heart fluttering, “Well, am glad to be of service.” He handed it over to her carefully. She thanked him and went to turn away, appearing that she was needing to be somewhere. “Uhm, wait!” Jamie called nervously. The woman turned round once more “Have I forgotten something else?” Jamie shook his head softly, palms sweating with nerves. “Well, uhm, no. But ah was wondering,” he gulped, “ah was wondering if ah could maybe get your number? Tak ye out fur coffee sometime?” The woman smiled a little. “Uh, I’m really sorry but I actually have a fiancé…” Jamie felt his heart shatter a little bit – not that it had the right to, he was still with Laoghaire. “You thought I wanted a relationship? Naw, I just saw you and thought you’d make a good friend.” He said, knowing his mum was right. There is nothing wrong with starting a friendship. “Well, in that case,” the woman chuckled, ripping a bit of her notebook and scribbled down her number and passed it over to him, “there you go.” Jamie beamed at her. “I may actually need a name, y’ken, because I doubt ‘doctor lady’ will go nice in my phone.” A sweet laugh escaped her lips and Jamie felt his heart flutter again. “My name’s Claire. Claire Beauchamp.” Jamie smiled at Claire, “Claire,” he repeated softly, “my name’s Jamie.”. Claire smiled at him and nodded. “Well, nice to meet you Jamie, but I do need to go back on shift.” And with that, she turned and left Jamie stood there with a big cheesy grin plastered on his face. He went back to join him mum, carefully placing Claire’s number in his pocket. Sitting back down next to him mum, he knew he would have to leave Laoghaire. And what a task that would be.