The only news to rival the joy on Claire’s face when she learns of a new grandchild is when Marsali tells her they’ll return home to the ridge with them; this war has cost them so much — their safety, for one — and it almost cost them their children. Too close… They’d come too close to a nightmare they’d never return from.
She suspects Claire’s joy is actually greater now than months ago when Marsali shared the news of her fifth pregnancy — because they will be home for the birth, and altogether.
Marsali already knows the name, whether lass or laddie.
Since the moment he discovered Claire taken, his thoughts have become one arrowing whole — each footstep, breath, word meant only to bring him closer to finding her.
Still, returning from donning his kilt, he pauses in the surgery where Marsali has woken, bruised and shaky and unbowed. Fergus holds her hand. Jamie clenches his own empty one.
"I'll bring her back," he vows, bending to kiss Marsali's forehead, feeling beneath his palm the strength of their grandchild within. "I'll make this a safe place for ye again."
He cannot think of how he has already failed to keep that promise.
She raised her face, shining, and found her mirror in Fergus’s eyes. I saw them look at each other, and felt the tears prickle behind my lids.” – Voyager, Diana Gabaldon
Marsali is one of my favorite characters on Outlander and I think Lauren is one of the most promising young actors to come out of the show. She has so many scenes which showcase her humor and spunky personality, but the one scene where I felt Lauren shined brightest as Marsali was this scene from Season 6 where she finally confronts Fergus about his drinking.
We have always seen this couple as a United front, madly in love and on the same page as partners. Season 6 saw the dissolution of that relationship, and with that storyline came many moments for both actors to shine. For Marsali, we saw her tenacity shine through. She is a fighter, she is a strong woman. Her reaction is so commanding, and her conviction is palpable. I cried watching her in pain, especially after being so brave in saying her peace to Fergus and breaking down when he walks away.
Lauren is a wonderful actress and she is so good at conveying the human experience - even in the 18th century setting. I really hope we see more of her in Outlander because she steals every scene she’s in!
Remember… I've been learning the art of healing. Mistress Fraser has taught me well. She took an oath to do no harm. I have taken no such oath. You hurt me. You hurt my family. You hurt my ma. I'll watch you burn in hell before I let you harm another soul in this house. — Marsali Fraser
Claire has been trying — and not totally succeeding — to separate who Marsali is from the one who bore her. It does help that the more she gets to know Marsali, the spitting image of Laoghaire but quite her own in spirit, Claire begins to see only the girl herself when she looks at her.
When Marsali snaps at Father Fogden for the insensitive comment about Fergus’s missing hand — no, she will not mind — it’s the first time Claire feels something akin to maternal pride, the first time she sees her as not just Fergus’s betrothed, but something more — as family.
When Jemmy cries in the night, Jamie lifts him immediately; he hadn't been able to sleep himself despite the long day and Claire's earlier enthusiasm, John's news back on his mind as he lay in the dark.
Jem, larger than the first time Jamie held him, is still so small. Regret washes over Jamie again that he lost the chance to hold Brianna this way. She isn't even meant to be his responsibility after today.
That doesn't matter, he decides, rocking his grandson against his chest. They will always be his to protect, just as they are his to love.
Make History (5x02)
Sometime between the autopsy and her first look through the microscope, Marsali decides that her children will be educated.
She was taught her letters and household sums, and she knows that her own skills — spinning, sewing, cooking, butchering — are strong, necessary ones. But learning from Claire has opened new worlds to her: the idea that what she does can save folks' lives, that her thoughts and deeds might be consequential enough to be remembered. She wants that for her own children, and is grateful that they will have a grannie and auntie and even a mother to show them the way.
Soon, the Sight of You (5x03)
Jamie leaves Hillsborough at first light, pretending to Knox that he is only eager to gather his troops for the militia. He pushes the horse more than he usually would, glad that he has no companions to slow or question him.
He always wants to return Claire when he is gone from her, the longing to stay peaceful by her side sharper these days. But now he also wants her listening ear, her counsel — she who knows his heart best, who loves Murtagh too. He doesn't take those things — her very presence — for granted.
He spurs the horse toward home.
Baby Proof (5x04)
A rasping wakes Claire (although luckily not the baby) at midnight. Downstairs, she finds Jamie crouched shirtless, a file in hand as he smooths his fingers over the floorboards.
“We can keep Jem and Germain safe from splinters ‘round the house when they’re only visitin'," he explains, glancing at her. "But this is where Bonnie'll grow up."
"Yes," Claire agrees softly. "And there's plenty of time before she does, so perhaps save the repairs for tomorrow."
When she rises at dawn, she finds Bonnie in Jamie's arms as he details all the ways he will make this home for her.