Epilogue

A lexandra didn’t need to be the Seer of Huntly to see some things were inevitable. There was no use trying to resist Callum Fraser’s simple, persistent, and straightforward romancing. And who could say no to the offer of a happy life in Scotland?

The maternity ward at Queen Margaret Hospital had never seen anything quite like it. Nurses hurried back and forth, trying to maintain order as kilted men filled the waiting room, spilled into the hallways, and congregated near every vending machine.

"Sir, you can't smoke that pipe in here," a harried nurse told a particularly burly Highlander.

"Auch, sorry lass." He tucked it away, then pulled out a flask instead.

Inside the delivery room, Alexandra gripped Callum's hand as another contraction peaked. Through the window, he could see more Highlanders gathering in the parking lot below, their tartans bright in the June sun.

"Bronagh told them not to come," Alex said, when she could catch her breath. "But I don't think any of them listened."

"Ye'd think someone promised free drinks," Callum grumbled. He didn't like sharing his wife's attention, and her former husband hadn't been exaggerating about the number of friends he had.

"One more push," the doctor said. "She's almost here."

Callum kissed Alex's sweaty forehead. "Ye can do this, my sweet."

A few minutes later, a tiny but healthy, angry cry filled the room. The doctor lifted the baby, pink and perfect, into the air. "Here she is!"

A heartbeat later, bagpipes started screeching from somewhere down the hall, only to die off mid-tune. That was followed by the sounds of a heated argument between a man and a woman--or more likely, a nurse and a piper.

"Welcome to the world, Huntly," Alex whispered against her baby's head, which was covered with thick black curls. Tears streamed down her face and dripped unchecked onto the swaddling blanket.

The baby's eyes, when they opened, were clear and bright. No signs that she saw anything other than the moment she was living in. No curse of generations past marked her tiny velvety brow.

And somewhere, Alex knew Spreag was smiling.

~ ~ ~

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