eventually I was forced to put it down and settle my head heavily on the pillow.
It wasn’t long before Simon slid into the bed beside me. He reached out and pulled me towards him. “Learn anything worth sharing?” he said, with a cheeky smile.
“Perhaps,” I said playfully.
“Well then?” he asked.
“Not now. I’m tired,” I replied with a wide yawn.
“Can I ask you something?” he asked.
“Mmm,” I mumbled, closing my eyes.
“Will you go and see this doctor Rose was talking about?”
“So she mentioned it to you too?”
“Aye, lass, she did.”
“Can we discuss it in the morning?”
“We can, but I would like it very much if you would at least hear the girl out.”
“Alright, I’ll hear her out tomorrow,” I moaned grumpily closing my eyes.
“Thank you,” he said, resting his hand on my thigh. “I miss you, Corran.”
“I miss you too,” I murmured, nudging closer to Simon so that our legs touched beneath the covers.
His lips curved up in a smile as he rolled himself onto his side to face me. Resting his elbow on the mattress he supported his head in the palm of his hand and surveyed me quizzically.
“Are you sure you wouldn’t care to share the details of your book?”
“I …”
Before I had the opportunity to object he leaned over and covered my mouth with his, my hand instinctively reached out and our fingers entwined. His kiss grew ever more urgent and I could feel the weight of him against me, a solid mass of muscle, firm and strong. His hair hung around his shoulders like a thick black mane and as he moved it lightly brushed against the base of my neck. I could feel the rough stubble of his chin prickling against my face and quivered as a low groan escaped his throat. His lips teased my mouth, his tongue skimmed the edges of my lips and his teeth lightly nipped at my bottom lip. A shiver of excitement ran through me as his hands cupped my hips and he pulled me hard against him.
“Would you like to hear about a book I read?” he asked, with a low chuckle.
“Do I have much choice?” I asked, breathlessly.
“Do you want a choice?”
I swallowed hard and shook my head in surrender.
The following morning, after Simon and Duncan had left for the shop, I sat across the table from Rose staring at some registration forms. The questions were endless and each one as unanswerable as the next. Name and address of previous G.P, date of birth, place of birth, previous address, family medical history…
“So what do I do now?” I asked, throwing the ballpoint pen across the table in frustration. “I can’t answer a single one of these questions.”
Rose picked up the pen and held it out in front of me.
“Yeah you can,” she replied patiently.
“How?” I asked, raising my hands palm up in front of me.
“We’ll make up the answers.”
“What?”
“We’ll create a credible past for you.”
“How I am supposed to come up with a credible reason for why I don’t exist?”
I looked again at the pen, still held aloft in front of me and slid it from my friend’s hand.
“Just tell me what to say,” I said, eventually, tapping the pen’s end on the table top.
“We tell them you’re a traveler.”
Despite the master plan, I still stumbled at the first question. Simon and I had never actually married. Even in our own time we had resisted the use of our real names and had therefore been unable to officially marry. Simon had asked me to be his wife and I had agreed. As far as I was concerned we were bound in marriage as firmly as if we had stood in a church and been declared married by a priest. Until this moment I hadn’t thought about our family name. I was, of course, born a MacDonald, and Simon a Campbell, but at one point we had borrowed the identity of a ship’s captain and gone by the name of Lamont. Now I stared at the question and wondered if perhaps the time had come to stop hiding from the past for the sake of the child I carried.
It wasn’t long before Simon slid into the bed beside me. He reached out and pulled me towards him. “Learn anything worth sharing?” he said, with a cheeky smile.
“Perhaps,” I said playfully.
“Well then?” he asked.
“Not now. I’m tired,” I replied with a wide yawn.
“Can I ask you something?” he asked.
“Mmm,” I mumbled, closing my eyes.
“Will you go and see this doctor Rose was talking about?”
“So she mentioned it to you too?”
“Aye, lass, she did.”
“Can we discuss it in the morning?”
“We can, but I would like it very much if you would at least hear the girl out.”
“Alright, I’ll hear her out tomorrow,” I moaned grumpily closing my eyes.
“Thank you,” he said, resting his hand on my thigh. “I miss you, Corran.”
“I miss you too,” I murmured, nudging closer to Simon so that our legs touched beneath the covers.
His lips curved up in a smile as he rolled himself onto his side to face me. Resting his elbow on the mattress he supported his head in the palm of his hand and surveyed me quizzically.
“Are you sure you wouldn’t care to share the details of your book?”
“I …”
Before I had the opportunity to object he leaned over and covered my mouth with his, my hand instinctively reached out and our fingers entwined. His kiss grew ever more urgent and I could feel the weight of him against me, a solid mass of muscle, firm and strong. His hair hung around his shoulders like a thick black mane and as he moved it lightly brushed against the base of my neck. I could feel the rough stubble of his chin prickling against my face and quivered as a low groan escaped his throat. His lips teased my mouth, his tongue skimmed the edges of my lips and his teeth lightly nipped at my bottom lip. A shiver of excitement ran through me as his hands cupped my hips and he pulled me hard against him.
“Would you like to hear about a book I read?” he asked, with a low chuckle.
“Do I have much choice?” I asked, breathlessly.
“Do you want a choice?”
I swallowed hard and shook my head in surrender.
The following morning, after Simon and Duncan had left for the shop, I sat across the table from Rose staring at some registration forms. The questions were endless and each one as unanswerable as the next. Name and address of previous G.P, date of birth, place of birth, previous address, family medical history…
“So what do I do now?” I asked, throwing the ballpoint pen across the table in frustration. “I can’t answer a single one of these questions.”
Rose picked up the pen and held it out in front of me.
“Yeah you can,” she replied patiently.
“How?” I asked, raising my hands palm up in front of me.
“We’ll make up the answers.”
“What?”
“We’ll create a credible past for you.”
“How I am supposed to come up with a credible reason for why I don’t exist?”
I looked again at the pen, still held aloft in front of me and slid it from my friend’s hand.
“Just tell me what to say,” I said, eventually, tapping the pen’s end on the table top.
“We tell them you’re a traveler.”
Despite the master plan, I still stumbled at the first question. Simon and I had never actually married. Even in our own time we had resisted the use of our real names and had therefore been unable to officially marry. Simon had asked me to be his wife and I had agreed. As far as I was concerned we were bound in marriage as firmly as if we had stood in a church and been declared married by a priest. Until this moment I hadn’t thought about our family name. I was, of course, born a MacDonald, and Simon a Campbell, but at one point we had borrowed the identity of a ship’s captain and gone by the name of Lamont. Now I stared at the question and wondered if perhaps the time had come to stop hiding from the past for the sake of the child I carried.
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