Triallaire

Eye of the Storm

22 March, 1767

The Artemis

CATRÌONA POV

"And... there!" I said as I finished giving Archie another dose of penicillin in his bum, and I rubbed the injection site a little to distribute the medicine. "Tha's yer last dose. How's yer head feelin', lamb?"

"Better, Mama, thanks," Archie said to me.

"Still gettin' headaches?" I asked him.

"Aye, a little, but they're fadin' fast," he replied.

"Good, we cannae have the Captain of our ship down, can we?" I said with pride, taking his face in my hands and kissing his forehead. "I'm so proud of ye, Archie... Ye've grown into such a fine young man, and verra handsome, too. Just like yer grandsire."

"I'm glad te make ye proud, Mama, and I'm glad yer stayin'," he told me with a soft smile. "Cannae wait te return te Scotland."

"Neither can I," I said, sighing softly. "Ye've found yer niche, havenae ye? As a sea captain."

"I mean, I'm fond of it... but if ye and Da dinnae live by the sea, I dinnae think I would do it," he replied.

"Daddy and I willnae be around forever, lamb... It's best ye find somethin' yer good at when yer young, somethin' ye enjoy, so ye can do it fer the rest of yer life."

"Like ye have wi' yer healin'?" Archie asked me, and I nodded.

"Aye," I replied. "Ye should ask Baxley te take over fer a wee bit so ye can rest. Tha' head's no' gettin' better without rest."

"Aye, I ken, Mama," Archie said with a soft sigh. "Now that I share my cabin wi' Young Ian, he willnae let me rest until he's mastered Spit."

"Spit? Yer uncle's favourite card game? He taught ye tha'?" I asked him with a chuckle.

"I always preferred Gin Rummy, but aye, Spit's always been fun, when we were bairns," he told me, and my smile faded a little. I pushed a piece of hair out of his eye and sighed softly. "As I've said, Mama, I'd not have had it any other way. Ye had te go... Yer here now, alive and well, and so is Maevis in her time."

"I feel selfish, wantin' all three of ye together," I said to him. "I want my three bairns under one roof, safe and sound where I can see them, watch them... Wi' Maevis four hundred years away, how can I be certain she's safe?"

"Because she's yer daughter, Mama. She's tough, I imagine," Archie replied with a smile, and I nodded.

"All right, time fer ye te rest," I said when I saw him grimace a little. "I'll give ye some peppermint salve te rub on yer head when yer lyin' down." He did as he was told like the obedient and loyal son he was, gladly accepting my salve and making his way to the cabin he shared with Ian. It was near dusk, and Ian was on the deck making friends with some of Jamie's men and the other sailors, which meant that Archie would have a chance to rest in peace. I decided next to check on Caoimhe, who I had seen fairly little of in the last few days. It wasn't often she came out of her cabin since we left Jamaica, and frankly, I was a little concerned. I knocked on her door, expecting to be ignored, but was surprised when I heard her voice on the other side.

"Come in," she said, and I opened the door and stood in the doorway, finding her folding up her skirts to put them away for the night. "Oh, hello, Auntie."

"How are ye, hen?" I asked her, and she sighed a little.

"All right," she said, a bit melancholic.

"Ye dinnae sound 'all right'," I said, entering the room and closing the door behind me. "Are ye sleepin' well? Ye look tired, Caoimhe."