Author's Note: This short story was written for the Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman Forum's Fanfic Challenge #6 (July 2009). The piece is a first-hand account of the weddings of Michaela & Sully (1870) and Colleen & Andrew (1873), told from the point of view of Michaela's (and later, Colleen's) wedding dress. I.e., it's sort of a "diary of a wedding dress," in which the story is told as though the dress itself is a person.
This story was obviously written just for fun, so please don't take it too seriously! :-)
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman." The rights to those characters and to the show belong to the creators of the show, to CBS, The Sullivan Company and to A&E.
THE WEDDING GOWN
by Mia
Part 1
To be quite honest, I don't remember the exact moment when I came into existence. But I figure that it must have been on the wedding day of my first owner, Dr. Michaela Quinn. Based on the conversations surrounding me on that day, I gathered that I'd started out as two dresses: One made by the ladies of Colorado Springs; and the other, a gift from Michaela's mother, purchased from one of the finest boutiques in Europe. Separately, neither gown possessed all of the qualities that Michaela wanted, but together, they were just perfect. Hence, my creation by an impromptu sewing team comprised of a few of the town's ladies, two of Michaela's sisters, and her adopted daughter, Colleen.
For the wedding ceremony, Michaela paired me with an ethereal veil that blew enchantingly in the late-Spring breeze. As she stepped off the bridge and began to walk down the aisle, I could feel her heart pounding with nervous excitement. She looked lovingly at her groom, Byron Sully (or "Sully," as everyone called him), and he returned her adoring gaze, giving her a subtle smile of reassurance as she walked towards him. As the wedding march played, I could hear the wedding guests commenting on how beautiful Michaela looked, how well I fit her, and how much in love the bride and groom were. I couldn't agree more: I'd been acquainted with the couple for less than a day, but already, I could tell that the bond between them far surpassed mere affection or even physical attraction. While there was certainly an abundance of romantic magnetism between them, it was clear that their love was also deeply spiritual; almost otherworldly in nature.
As I witnessed Michaela and Sully exchange their vows, I became so completely enveloped in their love that my surroundings ceased to exist for me. The congregation and the sounds of the meadow seemed to disappear, and all that mattered was listening to the bride and groom exchange their mutual promises to love and cherish each other until death. It was a moment that I'd never forget.
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During the reception, Sully could barely keep his eyes or hands off his bride, though he tried to be discreet out of respect for her modesty. His eyes repeatedly strayed to my low neckline, which revealed the enticingly smooth skin of Michaela's shoulders and just a hint of her cleavage. I could feel the fervor radiating from the groom as he eagerly took her in his arms for their first dance.
"Thank goodness I finally get to hold ya in my arms," he murmured suggestively. "Ya look absolutely stunning."
I could sense Michaela's blush as she coyly returned his gaze.
"Thank you," she replied shyly. "You look very handsome yourself."
He twirled her around in time to the rousing music, sending my skirts swishing attractively around Michaela. Then he fervently pulled her back into his arms with a flourish.
"This reception is great an' all, but I'd just as soon get straight to the honeymoon," he said with a naughty grin.
"Sully!" she pretended to scold. But, as I could feel, her body betrayed her: Her skin flushed and her heart skipped a beat in anticipation.
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A good wedding dress never tells too much about the wedding night! But I will say that the passion that had simmered between Michaela and Sully on the dance-floor of their wedding reception certainly came to fruition on their train ride to Denver. Besides, I didn't get to see too much of the newlyweds' first intimate encounter, since I was very quickly dispensed with; flung in the heat of passion onto a wing-back chair out of their view. To be quite honest, as gorgeous as I looked on Michaela, I got the feeling that her new husband couldn't wait to be rid of me. No sooner had the door of their train suite closed, than Sully began to ardently loosen the laces of my corseted bodice. I could feel Michaela's heart beating so hard that I was sure she would split my seams!
Sully helped his innocent bride overcome her wedding night jitters by playing a little game. Apparently she'd been told that marital congress should only occur under cover of darkness. But the groom quickly put her at ease by lowering the window-shades of their train car, provocatively murmuring, " ... but it's getting darker ... and darker," as he closed each of the blinds. When Michaela joined in the game and pulled down the last of the shades, I knew it wouldn't be long before I became a mere afterthought in the wake of the newlyweds' passion.
Obviously, from my perch in the armchair, I didn't see much else after that. But, from the sounds of things, it certainly seemed as though the newlyweds thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each other in this new, sensual way.
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Part 2
Things were pretty uneventful for me for the next three years or so, as I sat within the dark recesses of Michaela's special keepsake chest. I only enjoyed rare glimpses of daylight on those infrequent occasions when she opened the trunk to add new mementos to it, such as her baby daughter Katie's christening gown.
Just when I thought that I was doomed to spend the rest of my days in a useless, isolated existence, Michaela opened the chest and removed me. As she shook me out and examined my seams, I learned that Colleen would soon be getting married to a man named Andrew, the other local doctor. It warmed my heart to know that Michaela considered me attractive and significant enough to pass on to her daughter.
Because Colleen wanted to be married before she began medical school in Pennsylvania in three weeks, there was very little time to plan the wedding. But the ladies of Colorado Springs soon had me altered to fit my second owner; and, from what I could gather, the remaining wedding preparations came together just as quickly and seamlessly, with the help of the bride-to-be's family and the townsfolk.
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As the ceremony came to a close and the reception festivities began, I couldn't help comparing the men that my two owners had married. When it came to Michaela, Sully always seemed to emit a smoldering sensuality that appeared as natural to him as breathing. Even after three years of marriage, you could still feel the sparks between the parents of the bride. While Andrew clearly held no less affection for Colleen, his amorousness was decidedly more understated, shaped by his conservative Boston upbringing.
Nevertheless, even at the reception, there were subtle signs that that the young couple's marriage would certainly not be lacking in passion. As the newlyweds sat for their wedding photo, Andrew's hands delicately caressed his new wife's shoulders, and I could feel the answering shiver of pleasure run through her body. Like her adoptive mother before her, Colleen's heart began to hammer from a combination of apprehensiveness and innocent desire.
Just as Michaela had had "the talk" with her own mother before her wedding to Sully three years ago, Michaela had gently tried to explain to Colleen what to expect on her wedding night. (Although, based on what I'd heard about Elizabeth Quinn, I was sure that Colleen's conversation with Michaela had been much less foreboding!) Even so, I could sense that Colleen was still a bit anxious about her first intimate encounter with her new husband. As she must have known from helping Michaela perform operations at the clinic, reading or talking about something, and actually doing it, were often two very different experiences. Like many an untried bride before her, her body divulged her trepidation at not knowing what to expect: I could feel her chest rapidly rising and falling against the inside of my bodice as her breath came in shallow pants, and a bead of sweat ran down her neck and back, into my lace neckline.
As it turned out, Colleen's fears were completely unfounded. The newlyweds spent their wedding night in the finest suite at the Springs Chateau & Health Resort, where Andrew had previously worked as a doctor. Actually, I was privy to even less of their first time together than I'd been to Michaela and Sully's, since I spent the entire time ensconced in a closet. Earlier in the evening, Colleen had changed out of me and into a beautiful lace-trimmed nightgown for her first night as her beloved Andrew's wife. Like a proper wedding gown, I won't reveal too much. But, even through the sturdy closet door, I could hear Andrew whispering lovingly to his new bride, soothing her fears as he awoke her passion.
I couldn't help but smile to myself at my heartwarming romantic track-record: Two weddings, with two couples that were absolutely besotted with and devoted to each other. And I was honored to have been a part of both.
THE END
(1,490 words)