Title: History Lessons
Author: DrawnToDarkness
Rating: K+
Summary: Post 'Shining Armour and Silver Linings' and 'In-Laws'. A history lesson and girl talk.

All of the talk of wedding plans and preparations got Jess thinking about the first wedding she'd had – and those who'd been in attendance. Her heart ached as she thought of the people she'd left without saying goodbye to – Mary and Elizabeth predominantly – and it was with their faces in mind that she made her way to the lab Sarah had been assigned.

Knocking on the door, she gave the historian a small smile when the dark haired woman looked up from the folder she'd been reading. "I hope I'm not interrupting?"

"Not at all." Sarah's smile was immediate and warm. "I could do with taking a break." She motioned to the stack of files on her desk. "A little light reading. I'm still trying to catch up on everything I missed."

"Well, if you've got any questions, I'd be happy to try and answer them," Jess offered, moving into the lab and sitting down on one of the empty stools.

"I'll take you up on that sometime," Sarah accepted. "But I don't think that's why you've come to see me now, is it?"

Jess's smile faltered a little. She felt nervous, as though she was doing something she shouldn't. In the weeks she'd been back in the twenty-first century, Jess had deliberately avoided looking into what fate had befallen her friends in the past. She'd known a little, of course, but what she remembered from her history lessons at school revolved mostly around Henry VIII and not his parents or his little sister. "I need your help with something. I was wondering... I need to know what happened to them."

To Sarah's credit, she didn't ask who. Instead, she gave Jess an understanding smile and turned to pick up another folder next to the stack of files on her desk. "I wondered when you would," she admitted just as quietly. "I've done the research. It's all here if you'd like to take it away and read it in private or I'm happy to go through it with you now if you prefer."

"Would you mind?" Jess bit down on her bottom lip, her gaze falling on the folder. "It's just I'm not sure I'd be able to read it on my own."

"Of course." Sarah kept hold of the folder, opening it as Jess watched. "Why don't we start with the Queen and her husband?"

Jess exhaled slowly, conjuring an image of the woman – the Queen – who'd befriended her in her mind as she squared her shoulders. "Okay."

Before Sarah could begin, there was another arrival to the lab. Emily and Abby smiled at the duo as they walked in together.

"Just the women we were looking for!" Abby announced brightly. "We need to talk to you about your hen party, Jess. Now, I know you don't want a big, gaudy affair but Emily had a great idea... Wait, are we interrupting...?"

"No, not really." Jess smiled reassuringly at her former flatmate. "Sarah was just going to tell me what happened to the people I met through the anomaly. It can wait. What was your idea, Emily?"

"It can wait," Emily repeated after exchanging a knowing glance with Abby. The two women pulled up empty stools and sat down. They knew Jess had been avoiding learning about the past and were both willing to offer their support as she did so. "Would you mind if we joined you?"

"I could do with a history lesson," Abby chimed in before Jess could answer, giving the Field Co-ordinator her most disarming smile. "It'll be difficult, Jess, but we're all here for you."

Her eyes shone but Jess nodded, gratitude at having such good friends making it difficult for her to speak. "Okay. Sarah? You were saying about Elizabeth...?"

"Elizabeth of York, Queen Consort of King Henry VII," Sarah began, glancing a little anxiously at the papers in her hands. "I'm sorry, Jess."

"Just tell me." Abby reached for Jess's hand and the younger woman took it gratefully. "I know she must've died, Sarah. Please. Just get it over with."

Sarah sighed and continued. "She died in February 1503, nine days after giving birth."

"It was her birthday in February," Jess murmured.

"She died on her birthday, Jess, at the age of thirty-seven. I'm so sorry." Sympathy filling her eyes, Sarah bit her lip.

Jess nodded but didn't speak, overwhelmed for a moment with grief. She'd known, of course, that Elizabeth would be dead – she'd lived over five hundred years ago, after all – but hearing it, imagining the woman who'd been so full of life dying at what Jess thought of as a young age, made her chest ache. "And the child?"

"A little girl. Katherine. She died before her mother."

Nodding again, Jess lifted her head. "What happened to Henry? Did he remarry? He would've hated to, of course, but I know it would be expected of him."

"Henry died a widower in 1509. There was talk of several remarriages for political reasons but none of them went ahead." When Sarah noticed a small smile on Jess's face, she gave the younger woman a curious look. "There's some speculation, some reports that their marriage, Elizabeth and Henry's, was a political one. Some believe Elizabeth was in love with King Richard III. Sir George Buck claimed to have once been in possession of a letter that proved it and historical fiction writers have jumped on the bandwagon so-to-speak."

"King Richard was her uncle," Jess answered dismissively. "Elizabeth said he had every intention of arranging her marriage to someone but she never knew who and he died before he could. And yes, she married Henry for political reasons at first but they did love each other, very much. They were happy together, and wanted everyone else to be happy, too."

Emily leaned forward on her stool. "What was she like?" She asked quietly. "If you don't mind me asking, of course."

"I don't mind." Jess smiled at the other woman. "You'd have liked her, Emily. You all would. And she would've liked you all, too. I wish... I wish there was a way you could've met each other."

"We can know her through you," Abby pointed out with a soft smile of her own. "She obviously meant a lot to you, and she helped keep you and Becker safe which goes a long way in making her a good person in my eyes."

"She did. She gave us a home when she didn't have to."

"Sounds like someone else I know," Abby pointed out, arching an eyebrow when Jess looked at her in surprise. "You didn't need to take me and Connor in but you did. It was only when you were gone that I realised I never actually thanked you for that."

"You don't need to do that. It was nice to have you there. Nice not to be alone." Jess's smile was a little pained so no one objected when she changed back to the original subject. "Elizabeth was an amazing woman. She loved dancing and music and made sure she spent time with her children instead of leaving them for someone else to raise. That surprised me, to be honest." Given what they'd learned about Jess's own childhood, no one was surprised at her surprise. "Her eldest son, Arthur, died before we got there but she talked about him sometimes. I think that's why they were so grateful to us for helping Mary when Patrick kidnapped her, because it happened so soon after their son's death."

"Mary being Mary Tudor," Sarah spoke up when Jess's voice trailed off. "She was their last child to survive infancy."

A fond smile curled the corners of Jess's mouth. "She was a handful," she remembered quietly. "Beautiful and sweet. Everyone doted on Henry because he was the boy and the heir to the throne but it was Mary everyone adored." Her smile faded and she looked at Sarah expectantly. "She was dreading getting older and being forced into a political marriage. Please tell me that didn't happen."

Sarah hesitated for a moment, glanced back at the notes she'd taken. "Mary married King Louis XII when she was eighteen. He was fifty-two." At Jess's pained expression, the historian hurriedly continued. "He died three months later, though, and while his successor attempted to arrange another political marriage for her, Mary married Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, in a secret ceremony in France before returning to England. It went against her brother's wishes but she was in love with Charles and eventually the couple were pardoned by Henry and allowed to marry officially in England."

The tension eased out of Jess's shoulders and she smiled softly. "So she was able to marry for love after all?"

"She did. And by all accounts, she was happy in her marriage. They had four children. Two sons and two daughters. She lived until June 1533 and died when she was thirty-seven." Sarah caught the expression on Jess's face and gave her a sympathetic look. "Thirty-seven was a good age back then. I know it doesn't seem so now."

"I know. I'm just glad she was happy in the end." And she was, genuinely, remembering the wistful expression on the face of the little girl she'd helped care for as her own wedding plans had been discussed.

"What was your wedding like?" Abby asked after a short pause. "Were they there? The Queen and Mary?"

"Mary was, I think. She wasn't supposed to be but I'm sure I saw her. To be honest, I'm a little hazy on the details." Jess's cheeks coloured at the memory; all she'd been able to focus on at the time was on trying to keep her emotions from betraying her as Becker stood beside her in front of the priest. "It was a little overwhelming."

"I'll bet." A mischievous glint entered the blond woman's eyes. "What did Becker wear for the ceremony? And, more importantly, what was your dress like?"

"Becker wore the formal dress uniform of one of the King's men," Jess recalled, grinning through the blush. "He hadn't been knighted but he was generally accepted as being one of them on account of how he'd helped them find Mary and me. It was impressive, to say the least. If only cameras had existed in those days!"

Emily smiled at the expression on her friend's face. "And your dress?" She enquired. "The gown you were wearing when you came home was exquisite. I imagine the one you wore at your wedding was more so?"

"It was, and you'll be able to see for yourself soon enough." Jess laughed at the expressions on their faces. "I brought it back with me and I fully intend on wearing it again when we renew our vows. We brought most of our belongings back with us. The plan was to dump what we didn't need if the anomaly didn't lead us home but I'm glad we brought them with us now. Becker doesn't know," she added quickly. "I hid it in my wardrobe and want it to be a surprise when we get married."

"We will not tell him and ruin the surprise," Emily answered for all of them. "But may we see the gown beforehand?"

"Of course. We need to find you dresses that go with it after all." Thoughts fixing on her upcoming wedding, Jess turned on the stool to face Emily more fully. "Now, what was this idea you had about the hen party?"

A proud smile graced Emily's features as she answered. "I thought perhaps we could have afternoon tea instead of what Abby tells me is the traditional pre-wedding celebration for new brides. There are a number of venues you could choose from..."

The conversation continued for some time, with the past momentarily forgotten as the four women focused on the present and the future they would hopefully share.

After a while, Emily and Abby excused themselves to get back to their regular duties. As Jess rose to leave, she turned to Sarah. "Thank you, for finding out everything and telling me. I appreciate it."

"Any time," Sarah replied genuinely. "It really wasn't a hardship, to be honest. I specialised in Ancient History and civilisations so it was nice to spend some time researching the not so distant past. I hadn't realised how much I'd enjoy it. I just wish there were more records, more details. I was only there for a short time myself and I have so many questions..." Her voice trailed off and she smiled sheepishly. "Elizabeth sounds like a truly amazing woman. I'll admit to being a little envious that you got to know her as well as you did."

Jess returned her smile, an expression Sarah couldn't fully read arranging her features for a fleeting moment. "Like Abby said, maybe you can get to know her through me."

It wasn't until the next morning that Sarah realised the meaning behind that expression. Having assumed the Field Co-ordinator meant she could ask her any questions she had about the last Queen of the House of York, Sarah hadn't expected to come into her lab to find a small pile of carefully opened envelopes on her desk, along with a brightly coloured post-it note.

Curious, she walked picked up the first envelope, the one with the post-it on it, and felt her jaw drop as she realised who had penned the letters stacked neatly on top of the files she'd been working her way through.

'Told you I brought everything back with me. Abby told me you found copies of the letters I sent Elizabeth. Now you can read her responses and hopefully get to know her a little more. Take your time; I can wait to get them back – Jess :)'

End.