England, 1245

Her fever got worse at an alarming rate. She fought delirium and dreams he knew nothing about and he was the object of her aggression as she lashed out at him in anger demanding to be let go.

He held her down as she fought his hold and cried out. But her strength was no match for his. She tried with all her might but weakness, heat, and darkness surrounded her. Her eyes fluttered shut and she lost consciousness.

Duncan stood beside Moira and watched her tend to Tara quickly. The fact that her fever was not going down concerned them both. He saw Moira flinch when she placed her hand above Tara's forehead.

"Poor lass is burning up," she panicked.

Thinking quickly he stepped forward and pulled her sheets to the side. He picked her up, cradled her in his arms, and walked out of the chamber quickly towards the stairs. Taking the steps in twos he was out the door to the great hall and in the courtyard. The brisk cool air made her shiver and inch closer to his warmth. Instinctively, he hugged her close alarmed that the heat rising from her body was very warm and getting hotter.

He cursed.

He needed to get to the river closest to them.

He turned and stomped off to the stables. The familiar voice that trailed behind him gave some relief.

"Duncan, what are you doing?" Aidan asked.

Aidan walked to his side and gasped at Tara's state. She was pale and shivering in Duncan's arms.

Turning to face his brother, quickly he placed her limp form in his arms and grabbed his horse, and mounted him.

"I must get her in cold water she burns with fever," he explained.

Reaching for her, Aidan helped Duncan place her in his lap.

Pulling his steed around, he did not hesitate or wait for Aidan to join him. He rode as fast as his steed could take them both to the nearest river.

The sense of urgency to get her cooled down grew in him. Why did he care so much for her in this way?

He hugged her closer and she shivered with the cold air that blew on her with the horse ride.

In a matter of minutes, he pulled up the river and carefully held her as he dismounted from his horse.

He walked with swift strides towards the edge of the water.

Using his toes he pried off his boots and braced himself for the cold plunge walking in.

Getting waist-deep with an oath he growled clenching his teeth as the ice-cold water slowly rose higher with his steps.

He finally stopped and looked down at her shivering form. Placing his lips above her forehead, he felt it was scorching hot.

He held her tight and slowly lowered her into the brisk cool water. She gasped and buried her face in his chest and began to mumble.

Looking down into her pale face he watched her as she began to shiver violently in his arms and pull herself out of the water. He lowered her more until the water covered her completely up to her chin. He smoothed back her hair from her forehead and noticed she wasn't too warm. He continued to submerge her until she no longer felt warm to the touch. She slowly stirred awake, her fever-induced sleep weighed on her eyes as she drowsily looked up into his face. Confusion and fear stared back at him. She panicked, she began to shiver and pull herself out of his grip and the cold water.

At this moment, the fever had her still delusional as she pleaded for her life. He frowned at her words.

"P.pplease don't hurt me," she gasped trying to free herself from the freezing water.

He slowly stood straight and turned to walk out of the water. He sat her down in the grass and gently attended to her. He didn't realize it until he softly pulled his hand away from her cheek.

Her teeth chattered as she spoke and shivered. Incoherent words spilled from her trembling lips begging him to help her return home.

"P..please, I live in New York. My friends must be worried trying to look for me."

Silently he stared at her. She continued to beg but immediately got upset when he did not respond.

"You don't want to help me do you?" she cried.

He couldn't if he tried. He sadly looked away. If what Aidan said was true then it was impossible for her to return home.

He leaned forward and touched her forehead as she continued to speak. The fever returned.

With a curse, he stood and reached for her again. She began to panic and pull away.

"P...please don't do this, I promise I won't tell anyone you held me captive," she cried.

He stood her up and looked down into her face.

"You burn with fever and you must be cooled down," he said.

But it seemed as if she did not understand.  

He walked quickly into the water and dipped her in holding her close to him and she cried out.

"Shhh, I know its cold," he hissed trying to control his shivering as well.

She tried to hold on as much as she could but the fever was too great and the pull of darkness defeated her fight.

She fainted in his arms again.

He looked over her and felt relieved that she was finally out. He didn't know why he was feeling this way. Why the need to take care of her was so great if he didn't know her. She was a distraction to him he frowned.

A distraction he wanted...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Days had passed and she was still in and out of consciousness.  He was the object of her nightmares he realized as she fought him and cursed him.

He often stayed away just not to hear her insults.

It was the fever talking Moira would remind him. But, he knew deep down that somewhere in her fever addled mind, Tara meant what she was saying.

Duncan felt weary by the time he returned from his ride. He needed to forget about her.

Her defiance boiled his blood.

The keep was silent and a calm glow from the hearth welcomed him to the chairs before it. Too tired to call a servant for ale, he sat down and rested for a while. Slowly he began drifting off to sleep, but he gave up on the little comfort the chair did not offer and decided to go to his bed. Walking down the long corridor he noticed he was two doors down from her chamber. Hesitating, he gave in to the urge to go towards it. The glow from the room came from the slightly opened door.

He slowly walked in and looked around noticing Moira slumped in a chair beside the bed in a deep sleep. Moira slowly stirred in her sleep, startled when she opened her eyes and saw Duncan standing there looking at Tara. 

"How does she fare, Moira? his concerned eyes went back to the petite form of the girl laying in the massive bed.

"She still burns with a low fever, the poor lass" she looked over at Tara.

"For a petite lass she is very strong she is," Moira boasted.

 Duncan knew what she meant.

"Aye, that she is," He shook his head with a smirk.

"Are you needing anything lad, mayhap some supper?"  She looked into his loving stare.

"Nay, Nana" He answered.

She smiled up at the young man she raised, he was no longer the small lad she fought with to finish his porridge, but, a tall muscular Lord of the Keep he was now. A true Warrior.

"You go on to bed Nana," he insisted softly rubbing her shoulders.

"Nay, lad what of the lass?" she looked surprised.

Duncan looked towards the bed then at Moira.

"She is asleep, she will not know you are gone, she will be fine," he assured her.

Taking his advice into consideration, she smiled up at him and pat his cheek. She was very tired from her long day.

"Don't hesitate to wake me if you need anything," she pointed out to him.

He nodded with a smile and bent to kiss her on her rosy cheeks and watched her leave.

With a soft click of the door, he turned to the task of watching over her.

Walking over to the side of the bed, he looked down at her. She slept soundly.

He slowly placed the back of his hand against her cheek and indeed she still burned with fever. 

He stood and observed her for a moment while his thoughts wandered back to when he found her in the chapel.

She was a spitfire. He thought.

He watched her intently, never has he seen anyone such as she. Her hair lay in long raven curls around her small face.  She was beautiful.

Exhaling with a gruff he shook his head to keep his thoughts straight. 

Why did she anger him so much, yet all he could do was think of her? he fumed.

Was it her defiance or was it because she spoke to him as no others have?

She does not fear him, but everyone fears him. He fumed

Feeling weary and tired, he sat down in the very same seat he found Moira in. Laying back, he looked up at the ceiling praying for tomorrow so he could continue training with the men.

The further he is away from this...mysterious beauty that angered him, the better.

His eyes watched the slow flicker and shadow of the hearth danced above him while drifting off, sleep claimed him immediately.

Pain and heat wracked her body from head to toe. She felt like she had been rolled over by a truck. Slowly her eyes opened to the soft orange glow from the hearth.

How long has she been asleep? she wondered.

Looking around she realized she wasn't in a hospital room.  Tears began to fill in her eyes as she remembered she wasn't in a dream. Andrew, Mimi, and Carl were not there. She turned her head to her side and her eyes fell on the tall figure asleep in a chair by her bedside. Her breathe caught in her chest as she noticed it was Duncan, Long muscled legs stretched out before him, head tossed back fast asleep with his arms crossed over his broad chest.  She could not imagine him being over 6 foot 2 or more.

He was probably sitting there to keep her from running away. she fumed.

The arrogant pig made her so furious. 

She felt very thirsty. A few feet away there was a table with a pitcher of some sort. As she looked at it and turned to look at him she refused to wake him to ask for anything.

Slowly she sat up, she noticed she was dressed in a thin nightgown. Stiffness and pain radiated through her body from head to toe as she leaned forward to remove the covers.
That fall in the chapel must have been awful. She thought.

She swung her feet slowly to the edge of the bed. They barely touched the ground as she slid from the large bed. Her legs wobbly from being in bed for so long barely held her up. Gripping the sides of the bed she inched closer until she got closer to the poster of the bed and clung to it. The room sinned furiously before her eyes and the throbbing in her head returned. Gritting her teeth and closing her eyes she breathed in deeply not willing to give up. She had to get to the door.

She needed to leave.