#eisenach | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

underthewingsofthblackeagle · 1 year

Photo

Foto: Panorama Helsinki / Finland - Dom und Parlamentsplatz (by tap5a) “We only do this for Fergus!” is a short Outlander Fan Fiction story and my contribution to the Outlander Prompt Exchange (Prompt 3: Fake Relationship AU: Jamie Fraser wants to formally adopt his foster son Fergus, but his application will probably not be approved… unless he is married and/or in a committed relationship. Enter one Claire Elizabeth Beauchamp (Randall?) to this story) @outlanderpromptexchange

Chapter 16: Visit to the Wartburg (1)

The Saturday and Sunday following Matthieu von Klarenberg's visit were spent largely apart by "the men" and Claire.

Claire enjoyed sleeping in late. On Saturday she wrote some letters, and kept an extensive diary, reflecting in particular on Matthieu von Klarenberg's visit and her conversation with him. The conversation with Matthieu lay heavily on her soul. His person and his character had impressed Claire very much. She felt so bad at the thought of playing such a charade on this sincere man, this good friend of Jamie. After he had left that evening, she and Jamie had cleaned up a bit. Then, she had taken off his mother's jewelry and given it back to Fraser. In the process, she had almost started to cry. Only with difficulty had she managed to hold back the outburst of all the emotions that were fighting with each other in her soul. But she was too tired, and after the days of preparation, too exhausted. She simply had no strength left for a discussion on this whole subject. Besides, she knew how Fraser would react. He would reassure her again that she should let all this be his worry. He would take care of everything and Matthieu would understand him. Claire jotted down all these thoughts in her journal. But even that brought her no real relief. She sighed, and then suddenly all the tears she had so desperately held back until now broke trough like a stream. She closed the book and put it in a drawer of her desk. Then she reached for a paper handkerchief to dry her tears. But at that moment she had to think of Matthieu again and that triggered another stream of tears. The outburst of suppressed emotion made Claire angry. She felt more and more torn. It seemed to her as if she was trapped in a situation she didn't feel comfortable with and couldn't really do anything about. Eventually, her tears dried up. Claire got up to make herself some tea. Standing in front of the open hanging cabinet where she kept her teas, she decided on a sleep and nerve tea with valerian and other calming herbs. She needed rest and it seemed best to sleep for a few more hours.

Humboldt Forum in the New City Palace Berlin * Picture by wal_172619 auf Pixabay

Jamie and Fergus, who knew nothing of Claire's inner struggle, visited an exhibit at Berlin's Humboldt Forum on Saturday morning, had lunch in the city, and went to a cinema to watch a movie in the afternoon.

On Sunday, Claire decided she really needed a little change of scenery. She needed to experience something nice to get away from her negative thoughts. A little trip to the city of Potsdam seemed like the right solution. Claire had brunch at her favorite café and was driven back home by Mr. Curtius in the early afternoon, where she took time to read. Jamie and Fergus had also slept in late on Sunday, then ordered pizzas and headed out for a long hike that took them to Lake Sacrow and the King's Forest. On Sunday evening, all three had dinner together again and told each other what they had experienced. Claire and Jamie put Fergus to bed together and then, over a glass of whiskey, discussed the following week's chores and appointments.

Over the next two weeks, the Fraser household returned to everyday normalcy. Jamie went to work in Berlin and Claire took care of Fergus, who went back to school. They spent weekends largely apart so Claire could relax and Jamie could spend more time with Fergus.

Window picture: Luther nails his 91 theses on the door of the city church of Wittenberg * Picture by falco on Pixabay

On October 24, Jamie had already arrived home around lunch. Shortly thereafter, Fergus and Claire arrived as well. Fergus could not contain his joy at finally having two days off school again. When he saw his father sitting in the living room by the fireplace, he immediately rushed toward Jamie.

"Papa! Papa! You're home already!"

Jamie stood up, spread his arms, and took Fergus in his arms. After a brief greeting, he sat back down in his chair and let Fergus sit on his lap.

"Yes, there wasn't much left to do for the week, so I thought I'd better go home and do something with you after all."

Claire watched the interaction between father and son from the dining room and couldn't help but smile. Shortly thereafter, she called "the men" to lunch.

During lunch, Fergus chatted blithely, talking about how they had talked at length in school that day about Reformation Day on October 31 and about the Person of Martin Luther. Jamie listened to him intently, but when Fergus forgot to eat over talking, he did have to intervene:

"Fergus, I think it's very exciting to hear what you're saying about the Reformation Day, but could we please talk about it after lunch? Your schnitzel is getting quite cold."

Claire could only stifle a grin with difficulty. Fergus rolled his eyes slightly and sighed audibly. But then he did prick his fork into the meat his father had cut off for him and began to eat.

As Mrs Curtius cleared away the dishes from the main course, Jamie suddenly said:

"Maybe we can do something together that Reformation Day weekend?"

"Really, Papa? What?"

Fergus could hardly contain his enthusiasm:

"We could go to Wartburg Castle, after all! Oh please, Papa! It's not that far away! And Claire has to come too!"

Jamie took a deep breath and Claire again suppressed a big grin.

Before anyone could say anything, Mrs Curtius appeared with the dessert.

"We'll all eat our chocolate pudding in peace now," Jamie said, "and then we'll sit down in the living room and discuss this quietly over a cup of coffee and a glas of juice for you. All right?"

Fergus sighed again.

"So, if you don't want chocolate pudding, Fergus ..." said Jamie emphatically calmly, but before he could finish his sentence the boy snatched the small bowl of dessert and began to eat his pudding.

Fifteen minutes later they were all sitting in the living room. Mrs Curtius had cleared the dining table and Claire had put the coffee on the small table in the living room for Jamie and herself, and shortly after Mrs Curtius came in with a glass of lemonade for Fergus, who had sat down on the sofa next to Claire and immediately snuggled up to her.

"Now Fergus," Jamie began, "if you really want to go to the Wartburg, we can do that ..."

"Yes, but Claire has to come with us!"

"What Claire has to do or not, Fergus, we'll have to leave that up to her," Jamie objected, looking at the boy seriously.

"Well, if you ask me," Claire spoke up now, "I'd like to do this with you. I've never been to Wartburg Castle, and other than the little I learned in school about Luther and the Reformation ..."

"Oh, great! Yes, Clair ..."

Before Fergus could begin a new lecture on what he had learned in school, Jamie said:

"Good, so it's agreed that we'll visit Wartburg Castle. But here's what I suggest: We don't go there on October 31. Because I'm very sure that on Reformation Day, the place will be crawling with tourists. I suggest that Claire has that day off and we do something else. Then on November 1, we go to Thuringia very early in the morning. And I mean early. There we visit the castle, have lunch and then look around the area. We will then spend the night in a hotel and on Sunday morning we will take a look at the important places of the city of Eisenach. This is always a part of a visit to the Wartburg. We'll have lunch in Eisenach and maybe coffee there, and we'll be back here for dinner. I'll take Monday off then so Claire can have her second day off. What do you think of that?"

Claire and Fergus looked at each other and then nodded.

"Good," Jamie said, "then it's settled!"

They sat together for a while longer, and then Fergus was drawn to his train. Since the boy had no homework, there was nothing left for Claire to do either. She said goodbye until coffee time and went to her apartment.

Jamie again took a seat next to the fireplace, grabbed a newspaper and began to read. Every now and then he glanced over at Fergus, who was playing with his train set in the conservatory and muttering to himself. Clearly, he was processing his anticipation of the trip to Wartburg Castle in his play.

The following weekend Claire and “the men” again spent largely apart. On Saturday, Claire stayed home, reading, talking on the phone with several friends and former colleagues, writing letters and journaling again. Jamie and Fergus had slept in late, and then had a hearty breakfast. After lunch, they had gone to a soccer game in Berlin. A business partner who had his own box at the soccer stadium had invited Fraser and his son. The men eagerly watched Hertha BSC's game against Schalke 04, which Hertha BSC won 1-0. Afterwards, Jamie and Fergus drove into town and had dinner at an Italian restaurant. When they returned to Potsdam two hours later, Fergus had fallen asleep in the back seat of the car. Jamie carried him into the house, where he carefully removed his clothes and put on his pyjamas. He then put his son to bed, where the boy immediately fell back asleep. Fraser remained sitting by Fergus' bedside for a few more minutes, then carefully slipped out of the room and quietly closed the door.

As Jamie stood in the hallway, he pondered what to do with the rest of the evening. He was tempted to call Claire, but then let it go. No, Claire needed to be left alone for once, too. He went into the fireplace room and drank another whiskey while browsing through a book.

Whisky at the fireplace * Picture by Ralf on Pixabay

The two weeks until the planned weekend away passed quickly and before they knew it, Reformation Day, October 31, had arrived. Claire had the day off and didn't show up again until dinner. Afterwards, they put Fergus to bed together. Claire had made him some fennel tea, hoping he would sleep quickly and well. Still, there was no mistaking the child's eagerness for the trip.

On the morning of November 1, 2025, they left early, very early. The alarm clock read 4:00 a.m. as it roused Claire from sleep. Since she had prepared everything the day before, she was able to get dressed right away and was standing at Jamie's door just a few minutes later with her packed travel bag and backpack. The apartment door was open and as she set her travel bag down, she heard Jamie call out:

"Claire? Come on in. I'm dressing Fergus right now."

As Clair stepped into the doorway of Fergus' room, she saw a Fergus who looked more like a ghost than the mercurial boy she knew. He moved somnambulistically in Jamie's direction, lifting first this arm, then the other. Slipped on his undershirt and sweater. Claire wondered what miracles Jamie had performed to get the boy's pants, stockings, and shoes on. When Fergus was fully dressed, Claire grabbed his hand and gently led him out into the hallway. Jamie looked around the room again, then closed the door. Mrs Curtius would come in the morning to air out and make the beds. When Jamie got to the apartment door, he reached for his own travel bag and the travel bag he had packed for Fergus. Then they all rode the elevator together down the hall. There, Clair put a jacket and cap on the sleepwalking Fergus, while Jamie retrieved a bag of rations and several thermoses that Mrs Curtius had prepared from the kitchen. After Jamie and Clair had also put on their jackets, the small group rode the elevator together to the garage. Once there, Jamie stowed the travel bags in the trunk of the BMW. Claire and Fergus climbed into the back seat of the car, where Claire rested the boy's head on her lap. Jamie handed her a wool blanket he had taken from the trunk and Claire spread it over the now-sleeping child. When Jamie had stowed the bag of food in the passenger seat, he closed the car doors and sat down. Using the remote control, he opened the garage door and drove out into the yard. Once again, he pressed the remote control and the door closed behind them. Then he drove off.

It wasn't long before they had left Potsdam behind them. They drove past Michendorf, then Beelitz and Mühlenfließ. Shortly after Rabenstein, they left the territory of Brandenburg and were now in Saxony-Anhalt.

resting area * Picture by Frank on Pixabay

They drove past Coswig and Dessau, the old royal seat. Later they passed Zörbig and at Landsberg, they crossed the border into Saxony. They drove past Leipzig and were then already back on Saxony-Anhalt territory. After passing Weißenfels, they stopped. They had now covered almost two-thirds of their way. It was 6:15 a.m. and Jamie thought it was time for a break. He stopped at a rest area. No cars were parked there except for them. Slowly, he eased the car to a seating area of wooden benches and a wooden table.

"Wonderful," Fraser said, "we can have a cup of coffee and something to eat here at our leisure."

Fergus, who had woken up in the meantime, looked around sleepily:

"Where are we?"

"At a rest area," Claire replied.

She helped Fergus get out of the car, then took him in her arms and sat him on one of the wooden benches. Jamie came to wrap the blanket around him. Then he retrieved the bag of rations and thermoses. Claire unpacked cups and sandwiches and only moments later they were sitting around the table, drinking fruit tea (Fergus) and coffee (Jamie and Clair) and enjoying sandwiches topped with salami or cheese.

"Anyone seeing us sitting here like this," Clair thought, "might think we were a young family on a weekend getaway."

But she did not allow herself to spin that thought any further.

Beside her, Fergus woke up more and more, letting his father explain to him where they were, how long they had to go, and which states they had already crossed. After twenty minutes, they finished their cups and packed up. After everyone had taken a little "pee break," they were back in the car after half an hour and headed toward their destination again. Shortly after Osterfeld, they crossed the border into Thuringia. Then they drove past Jena and Weimar. Fergus had dozed off again at this point. Jamie and Claire conversed in whispers. Jamie was particularly taken with Weimar, and he suggested to Clair that they take another weekend trip with Fergus to the historic city the following year. Claire liked this idea very much and in her mind, a first scenario was created for how to prepare Fergus for such a visit. Then they passed Erfurt and Gotha and finally reached Eisenach. Even from a distance, they could see the Wartburg Castle towering over the city. Claire gently woke Fergus, then pointed to the castle and said:

"Look Fergus, we're almost there."

Wartburg by night * Pictur by L. Gerst on Pixabay

Instantly, the boy was filled with new energy.

Jamie steered the car to the foot of the mountain on which Wartburg Castle towered. There, at the beginning of the 20th century, a hotel had been built for visitors to the historic site. The ensemble, renamed "Romantikhotel Wartburg" in the meantime, had been renovated several times and was now a 5-star hotel. Immediately after deciding to visit the Wartburg on November 1, Jamie had booked a room here for Clair and a double room for himself and Fergus. When they arrived shortly after 8:00 a.m., a hotel employee was already standing at the entrance to greet the guests from Potsdam. A porter unloaded the travel bags from the car and then drove it to the underground garage. While the hotel employee who had greeted the guests showed them to their rooms, another brought their luggage shortly after.

"I suggest we get some more rest," Jamie said, continuing, "the castle opens at 9:00. That's when you can tour the outer courtyards. There are guided tours starting at 9:30. So we still have some time. Are you still hungry? There are still rolls with egg and also coffee or tea."

Claire and Fergus answered in the affirmative, and so all three sat down around a table in Jamie and Fergus' room, ate the rolls that Mrs Curtius had lovingly prepared, and drank their coffee or tea. Then Fergus stretched out on his bed and shortly after Claire went to her room to get some rest as well. They had decided to leave at 9:15 a.m.

#Outlander #Outlander Fan Fiction #We only do this for Fergus #Jamie Fraser #claire beauchamp #Fergus Fraser #Modern AU #The Frasers in Prussia #berlin #eisenach #Wartburg #Refirmation Day

42 notes · View notes