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Category: Archie/Katrina, AU
Rating: teen and older readers
Setting: follows the events as
they happened through series 2, then goes off into AU (otherwise known as how it was in Michelle’s mind).
Author
notes: I adored this show – until
series 3. Then it kinda became a love/hate relationship. I still adored the characters, just
didn’t like where the show was taking them. It became too soap opera-ish for my taste.
A recent reviewing of series 1 and 2 on DVD reminded me of why I fell
in love with this crazy gang in the first place. But I had to reconcile that bit I
didn’t like and this fic is the result. Many thanks to my editor – for
always making my writing better, and for hooking me up with this show in the
first place.
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognizable
characters and places of Monarch of the
Glen are the property of Michael Chaplin (series creator), Jeremy Gwilt (producer), Ecosse Films
and BBC TV. This piece of fan
fiction was created for entertainment only and no infringement on copyrights
or trademarks was intended.
LEGACY
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by Michelle Lunsford (June 2006)
The
moon was bright that night, its illumination slipping through the library
window and adding to that provided by the small table lamp. The mixed light resulted in odd
shadows falling across the page of the open book, but they’d remained
unnoticed for countless moments now.
As in times before, the written words, familiar and beloved, had
proven a source of comfort. But
as the hours passed by they’d become forgotten, giving way to those
more pressing thoughts from which she’d sought escape.
“Katrina?”
The
voice was little more than a whisper but it broke the stillness so
unexpectedly that she started.
“I’m
fine,” she answered softly. Her chair faced away from the door but
she didn’t bother to turn around.
“I just couldn’t sleep.”
The
floor creaked slightly and she could just make out the sound of bare feet
padding across the rug. There was
the touch, light but strong, of a hand resting on her shoulder for a moment
and then he was there, crouching at the edge of her chair.
“Couldn’t
sleep,” he repeated evenly.
She met his eyes and saw the concern he’d purposefully kept from
his tone.
“Yeah,”
she replied noncommittally, and looked away.
He
remained silent and unmoving for longer than she expected, but eventually he
stood and pulled the nearest chair a little closer. “Mind if I join you,
then?”
Katrina
fought the urge to grimace and tried to make her reply sound more accepting
than she felt. “Go
ahead.”
More
quiet seconds ticked past and she could feel the tension mount ever so
slightly with each one.
“Reading
the family history again?” he finally asked, and this time there was no
mistaking the apprehensive curiosity in his inflection.
Katrina
sighed. Archie has every right to be worried, she mused silently,
recalling the last time he’d found her in this situation.
It
had been just two days before their wedding. She hadn’t exactly been getting cold
feet, but there had been a growing sense of hesitation – a hesitation
she didn’t fully understand.
She’d suspected that, at least in part, she was afraid. She loved Archie and of that she had
no doubt. But something inside
her continued to battle against the idea of becoming the laird’s wife.
At
the time Katrina had rationalized it was related to her long-standing
philosophy to fight the old regime.
Archie had proved, time and time again, that he was different, that he
brought new perspective to the ancient system of Scottish nobility. He’d considered her point of
view as well, and taken her advice and help on numerous occasions, even
before they were officially a couple.
And she’d certainly come to be very fond of everyone at the
“big house”. Despite
all that, deep-rooted feelings and opinions didn’t just disappear and a
small voice in the back of her mind had kept asking if she was selling out.
Of
course, she’d been unable to hide her questioning from her future
husband. He’d found her, in
the middle of the night, sitting in this library and reading this very
book. They’d talked, and
there had been a good share of tears.
But in the end he’d reminded her of what she already knew. She loved him. And
despite any misgivings, regarding either the present or the future, she
wanted to be with him, to share their lives together, and to help him make
the estate a success.
“Not
having second thoughts, are you Sweetheart?”
Katrina,
drawn from her reverie, glanced over at her husband. Her current dilemma, although possibly
related to that initial situation, was still quite different and she owed it
to him to put his mind at ease.
She reached out and took his hand.
“No,
of course not.” She gave
his hand a little squeeze.
“I guess I’ve just got too much running ‘round in my
head, and I thought I’d come down here, try to get my mind off
it.”
He
nodded but still looked unconvinced.
“Is it something you want to talk about?”
Katrina
sighed. They would have to talk about this at some point, and reason told her
the sooner the better.
“I
didn’t want to say anything,” he added, then paused, equivocation
dancing in his dark brown eyes.
“It’s just that I couldn’t help but notice
you’ve been a bit… out of sorts the past few days.” He nodded toward the open book in her
lap. “And the last time I
found you reading up on our family ancestry in the middle of the
night…”
She
looked at the book and frowned.
It had always seemed it a little odd. She’d chosen the book,
chronicling the MacDonald lineage and history, almost out of spite that
night. If all her doubts about
getting married revolved around an outdated ruling system, she’d
thought, then why not face it square off? But later, after the wedding and
honeymoon and when she’d begun to settle into her new life at Glenbogle, she’d gone back to the book and found in
it a sense of connection.
She’d begun to understand, at least to some degree, what it was
that tied Archie to this land and to the people here. She’d even begun to feel a sense
of pride in being a part of that legacy herself now. But tonight… Reading it tonight had only added to
her sense of disquiet.
“Archie,”
she began at last. “There
is something we need to discuss.”
“Okay.” He turned his chair slightly, giving
her undivided attention.
Her
mind raced as she grappled for the best place to begin. “You remember, before we got
married, we talked about lots of different things, and about our hopes for
the future?”
“You
mean what we planned for the estate?” he clarified.
She
shook her head. “No. I mean, yeah, we did talk about that,
but I was referring to the conversations we had about our future, what we hoped our lives would be like down the
road.”
“Yeah,
I remember.” He’d smiled
with the answer but Katrina could still see uncertainty in his eyes. He
doesn’t have a clue where I’m headed with this.
“Well,”
her voice quivered slightly and she swallowed hard, feeling the sting of
tears. Why does this have to be so difficult?
Archie
reached over and took her hand in both his. “Sweetheart, does this have
anything to do with your career?”
“No.” Her answer was quick and adamant. The months she’d spent
partnering with Mary MacBride in London had taught her two things. One, she did love politics and all its
challenging yet rewarding work.
And two, she loved Glenbogle and Archie
MacDonald more. Shaking her head
for emphasis, Katrina went on, “I’m very happy here, Archie,
being with you and helping run the estate. I made the right choice to leave that
job and come back here. I have no
regrets on that issue.”
His
eyebrows rose slightly. “So
you do have regrets on other issues?”
Katrina
bit her lower lip. How could she
consider what had happened as a regret?
And yet…
“That
may depend on you,” she finally replied.
He
drew back a little and his voice increased in volume and pitch. “Depend on me?”
Seeing
his reaction, she now regretted her choice of words. Yes, Archie’s feelings on this
matter would play an important role, but it wasn’t fair to make him
primarily responsible either. She
looked away, her eyes falling again to the words neatly laid out across the
pages. Her heart was pounding and
she feared any minute now she’d lose this tenuous control held on her
emotions.
“We
both decided,” she began
delicately, “we both agreed that we wanted to wait about certain
things.”
“Yes?”
he pressed.
Katrina
closed her eyes in a vain attempt to hold back the tears. I
refuse to just blurt it out, she told herself. I
know Archie can become irksome when he feels confused, but I don’t want
him to find out like that.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, she wiped angrily at a tear that had
rolled down her cheek and met his gaze.
“Do
you remember the day we went to check out that area on the other side of the Loch, the spot that Golly was worried about?”
She
watched her husband’s brow knit together as he attempted to decipher
her sudden change in course of the conversation. “You mean that small area that
flooded due to the storm that blew through a few weeks ago?”
She
nodded, hoping he’d be able to fill in the rest of it from there.
“And?”
Not
allowing his puzzlement to deter her, Katrina pressed on. “We helped Golly begin some of
the clean-up--”
Archie
impatiently cut her off. “Yeah, yeah, and we even stayed
and worked a bit more after he had to head back to his other duties. But I don’t see what this has to
do with anything.”
She
gave him a pointed look.
“And after we finished
working…?” She
allowed her question to trail off.
Surely he’d see where she was going this time.
The
alteration of his expression was confirmation enough. The images flashing through his mind
now were no doubt mirroring her own.
During
the walk back to the house Archie had begun teasing her about how filthy
she’d gotten, despite the fact he was just as grimy. Needling comments were followed by
needling antics and before long he’d good-naturedly pushed her into the
edge of the loch. Naturally, she
pulled him in after her when he offered to help her up. One thing had led to another,
playfulness giving way to more fervent expressions of their affection. They’d been married not quite a
year, and Katrina had certainly been delighted to learn that beneath the oft
somber exterior of her husband lurked a man with great intensity and
desire. And they had engaged in
moments of impetuous lovemaking before.
But the passion they’d shared during that particular encounter had surprised them both.
Archie
met her eyes with a mixture of love and longing, an impish smile beginning at
the corner of his mouth.
“Yes, I remember that
as well. But I still don’t understa--” He broke off suddenly, wide
brown eyes drifting toward her midsection before rising to lock with hers
again.
Katrina
felt she could scarcely breathe, still wondering how he would respond, but
she managed a nod of affirmation.
“But
I thought… I mean,
aren’t we taking precautions?”
She
shrugged. “Precautions
aren’t a hundred percent effective, Archie. Someone has to be that fraction of the
statistic, and I guess this time it’s us.”
He
blinked, released her hands and sat back in his own chair. “And you’re sure?”
She
didn’t like how this was going so far but she nodded again. “I took a home pregnancy test
this morning. It was
positive.”
The
silence was oppressive but Katrina held her tongue. She’d had a whole day to get
used to the idea and it was still throwing her for a loop. She couldn’t expect her husband
to recuperate from the shock any sooner than she had.
After
a long while Archie glanced away toward the empty fireplace and said,
“So. That’s that
then. I’m going to be a
father.”
Katrina
swallowed. “You don’t
sound very happy about it.”
“I
don’t know that happiness has anything to do with it,” he half-barked,
continuing to glare at the fireplace.
“I’m still in shock.”
This
time there was absolutely no holding back the tears, and her voice choked in
a barely controlled sob.
“This is exactly what I was afraid of!”
At
the sound of weeping, Archie’s attention jerked immediately back to
her. “Eh? No, no, Sweetheart, that’s not
how I meant it.” With a huff
of exasperation he pushed up from the chair and made for the ottoman in front
of her seat. “I’m
just surprised, is all,” he went on. “It’s a bit much to take
in.” Reaching up he gently
touched her cheek and began wiping away the dampness there with his
thumb. “But that
doesn’t mean I think it’s a bad surprise.”
She
blinked and sniffled. “Then
you aren’t upset?”
He
took a deep breath. “Upset
in the sense that this will mean changes, new adjustments for our life? Maybe.”
She
felt a resurgence of tears threatening but Archie held up a hand in an effort
to stall any further outburst.
“I
love you, Katrina, and I love the life we have here. I was looking forward to sharing it
with you, just the two of us, for a while longer. Remember, that is one of the reasons
we discussed waiting to start a family?”
She
nodded. “I know. I’m sorry. It’s just all so…”
“I
know,” he smiled.
“Overwhelming.”
She
nodded again.
“But
I’m not upset in the sense that I don’t want a child or that I
dread the prospect of our life changing.
I love you, Katrina MacDonald, more than anyone or anything. And nothing is ever going to change
that.” He pulled the book
from her lap, closed it and set it aside, then opened his arms to her. “Come here.”
Katrina
settled into his embrace eagerly, and before long her tears did subside. “I just wasn’t sure how to
go about telling you,” she finally admitted.
“It’s
okay,” he assured and began stroking her hair. After a moment he asked, “I
suppose this explains why you have been feeling so out of sorts of
late?”
She
nodded against his chest.
“I called and spoke with my doctor this morning, after taking
the home test. I wanted to make
sure there was nothing to be worried about, since I am on birth
control.”
“And?” His query was laced with the same
concern she’d felt.
“He
said it should be fine, but I’m to stop taking them and come in for an
examination. I’ve scheduled
an appointment for next week.”
As
they sat in silence Katrina welcomed the strong warmth of his arms around
her, the loving touch of his hand against her hair. For a moment, at least, it was enough
to reassure her that everything was going to be all right.
“How
do you suppose everyone else will take the news?” she asked.
“Surprised,
but happy,” he responded without hesitation. “Especially Mother. I know that with Lizzie still in London, Mother
isn’t able to see Martha as much as she’d like. She’ll love the idea of having a
grandchild around all the time to dote on.”
Katrina
pulled back just enough to look up at him. “I know your father would have
been pleased.” Wrapping her
arms around Archie’s waist she snuggled against him again. “I’m sorry he didn’t
live long enough to see times like this.”
“Me
too,” he whispered, and she felt him nuzzle his cheek against the top
of her head. “Me
too.”
Silence
fell once more and Katrina’s gaze drifted toward the book, resting
where Archie had placed it in his chair.
Such a long and complex story, the history of the
MacDonald’s. But it was her
story now too. She’d found
her place in it, at Archie’s side, and soon they’d be adding
their own contribution to the tale.
“Would
you like to come back to bed now?” Archie asked softly.
Comfortable
and warm, curled up with her husband, Katrina was tempted to say no. But just as she made to answer, a yawn
escaped. “Yeah, I suppose
we better,” she said instead.
When
she stood, Archie took hold of her round the shoulder, preventing her from
leaving. He drew her closer and
placed a hand lightly on her stomach.
For a long time he just stared there, at his own hand resting against
her midsection. Then his eyes met
hers and he smiled before bending to cover her mouth with a long, slow kiss.
And
this time the assurance that everything was going to be all right was more
than a fleeting notion.
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END ~
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