In 07x03, we see on screen a small, yet powerful scene from early in An Echo In The Bone:
I...turned the blade and pricked the end of my own thumb with the point. It was amazingly sharp; I scarcely felt it, but a bead of dark-red blood welled up at once. I put the knife into my belt, took his hand, and pressed my thumb to his.
"Blood of my blood," I said.
What I *love* about this moment - even more than the deliberate parallel to the blood vow that Jamie and Claire made at their wedding - is that it's Claire who chooses to cut herself, reaffirming her vow.
Because at the altar, she didn't choose to marry Jamie. And Jamie knew it - which is why he honored her with a church wedding, and a nice dress, and the best wedding night he could provide.
Claire didn't expect or choose the blood vow, either - Dougal took care of that part.
I saw Dougal draw Jamie's dirk from its sheath and wondered why. Still looking at me, Jamie held out his right hand, palm up.
I gasped as the point of the dirk scored deeply across his wrist, leaving a dark line of welling blood. There was not time to jerk away before my own hand was seized and I felt the burning slice of the blade. Swiftly, Dougal pressed my wrist to Jamie's and bound the two together with a strip of white linen.
So - almost thirty years later, Claire shows Jamie how not only is she yet again recommitting to him, most importantly she CHOOSES him. She chooses to honor him, and their marriage, in this way.
Even after so much catastrophic loss - their reputation, their family, their home. All of which they worked so very hard to build for each other. They shoulder the burden together - they choose to continue, side by side.
Which is why, to me, this vow is so profound.
He knows what she's doing. He holds out his thumb, and honors her choice. Knowing that despite it all, he has her, and she has him, and they will always continue to choose each other.
