The darkness had long since descended over the woodland encampment and the fire burned ever lower in the shallow pit, its scant heat swiftly whipped away by the biting wind. The group of hardy Highland men slept deeply whilst Murtagh sat on watch at a nearby tree, mostly asleep but primed to jerk awake when a change in the dark woodland caught his sharp senses. I lay huddled near some shrubs a few feet from the men, I tried to avoid lying too close to them even though it meant being even colder than necessary. I pulled my woollen wrap closely around me and curled my legs up as far under my voluminous skirts as possible. The temperature continued to drop and my chattering teeth and uncontrollable shivering made sleep impossible.

I was mournfully contemplating my miserable condition when Jamie stirred not far away. "Sassenach", he whispered, "move nearer to the fire or ye'll wake us all with your chittering".

My lip wobbled a little in the darkness, "n-n-n-o", I stammered, "I'm fine here".

"Ye can trust us no more there than you can nearer by lassy", he replied softly.

"I know…" He was right of course, but I felt safer here with the shrub for company so I need only worry about three angles of attack instead of four. "I don't want to move though", I said shakily.

Murtagh stirred a little. Jamie whispered as quietly as he could, "do ye trust me, Sassenach?"

"More than anyone else", I murmured honestly.

He scooped his plaid up around him and crawled to me stealthily, scarcely making a sound.

"Move forward a wee bit lass", he said in a low voice.

I obeyed and he laid himself between me and the shrub, his large body curving into place next to mine. He threw his plaid over me and pulled me tightly to him. The warmth flooded over me and the biting chill that had tortured me for hours were at last blocked out. His arm lay heavy across me and his hand rested on my arm, brushing lightly against my breast. I instinctively shuffled myself even closer to him and felt glad that he had come to me as I was, in truth, utterly freezing. I did slightly fear the same scenario that had occurred when he had comforted me on our first day in Leoch but I was really too helplessly cold to be overly concerned.

"I wouldna' usually lie like this with ye, or any woman, Sassenach… But I fear that ye will catch your death from the cold if I dinna keep ye warm", he said softly. His warm breath fell on my neck and I shivered, though not from the cold.

"Thank you", I replied sleepily. I breathed in his smell of forest earth and whiskey and my head began to feel heavy with the tide of sleep.

When I woke in the morning Jamie and the other men were already awake and paying me their usual lack of attention. I guessed that no one knew that Jamie had spent the night holding me as there was nothing to suggest that anyone was aware or even slightly concerned about our impropriety. He glanced at me and flashed me a quick smile. My stomach flipped a little as I met his piercing eyes. I bowed my head and smiled back at him shyly, looking up through my fluttering lashes. I didn't mean to look provocative but my body seemed to respond in ways that I did not intend.

The day progressed like any other with only a few moments when I caught him looking at me for longer than was customary. I wondered if perhaps he had always done this and I had never noticed? I tried determinedly not to look at him too often but his imposing figure and gleaming mane tended to catch my eye and keep me transfixed despite my best efforts at disinterested indifference.

That night was warmer than the one before and I felt slightly disappointed that Jamie would not need to come to my rescue again. To my surprise, he made his way over to me when the other men were sleeping and once again covered me with his plaid and wrapped me tightly in his arms.

"I dinna want ye to freeze wee Sassenach", he murmured into my neck. We both knew that I would have been fine without him but I squeezed his arm against me in an effort to show that I appreciated his presence. I felt safer with him there, and I knew he wouldn't take advantage of me, even if perhaps he wanted to. There was something noble and trustworthy about this wild young Scot that made me relax into his arms. His hot breath against the nape of my neck made me feel weak and fluttery and I fell into exhausted dreams in his embrace.

The same routine continued night after night. Jamie would always make the excuse that I needed him to avoid freezing to death, and I was always too happy to accept his comforting presence. Every morning he was already up and the men seemed none the wiser to our nighttime ritual. During the day we would try to avoid seeming any closer than we should but when I fixed the dressings on his wounds every touch between us grew increasingly charged. He would touch my hand softly as I tended to him and the feeling would linger, tingling on my skin. When he looked at me I would feel my cheeks burn and I knew that steadily a powerful infatuation was growing between us. I thought guiltily of Frank, but I knew that nothing would come of my feelings for Jamie, so I was relieved that I needn't betray Frank's memory and I could go on enjoying my relationship with Jamie as nothing more than a somewhat inappropriate friendship.

Our routine was broken when it was Jamie's turn to take the watch. He was settled against a tree and I knew that he could not come to me as lying down would mean falling asleep and leaving the men unguarded. To begin with I thought that I should not risk going to him but the aching of being left huddled alone in the darkness spurred me into action. He had smiled as he saw me creeping as quietly as I could toward him and he opened his arms, ushering me to sit between his legs so my head rested on his broad shoulder. He had stroked my hair softly and whispered, "I was worried about ye Sassenach. I thought ye might catch a chill without me". We both knew well that this was just an excuse and chuckled silently as we cuddled close and enjoyed the intimacy of our dark night together.

I woke some time later to Jamie kissing my head and whispering, "Sassenach, Sassenach!" softly into my ear. When I stirred he told me I must go back off alone or the men would wake and see me in his arms. I nodded and made my way back to my original resting place. I lay there feeling unsettled until I realised why, he had been kissing me to wake me. Had he done that before? I had a vague memory of feeling his lips on my neck one night but perhaps I had been dreaming. I fell asleep again and dreamt of him kissing my neck, my shoulder, my collar bone… I dreamt that he had turned me to him and kissed me passionately, pulling me into him, his muscular body heaving against mine...

I woke cold and alone and looked eagerly for Jamie. He met my gaze and I could not mistake the craving in his expression, and I felt it reflected in my own. There was a silent understanding between us, and he smiled.