Afternoon Reverie

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters which are the property of Beth Sullivan, CBS and A&E Video. I am merely borrowing them for the moment, and will return them in the pristine condition in which I found them.

This story describes Michaela's musings on the state of her relationship with Sully after he rescues her from the Dog Soldiers. It is set just before 'Return Engagement.'

A quiet afternoon at the clinic

Michaela tapped her fingers on the blotter on her desk. Her keen eyes took in the tidy condition of her clinic, tidy that was, with the exception of a pile of bandages which needed rolling. The clinic had been quiet all afternoon. Even Horace hadn't been by yet with one complaint or another. The slack period gave her a chance to muse on the events of the past few weeks, and she couldn't repress the urge to giggle in sheer happiness at the renewal of her courting with Sully.

Suddenly her face sobered, as she recalled the conversation she'd had with Cloud Dancing, warning her of his vision of a hawk coming to carry her away from Sully. Surely after everything she and Sully had gone through to be together; Boston, her jealousy, the abduction and then the campaign and Sully's worries about their privacy – surely they had surmounted all possible obstacles?

Michaela rubbed the back of her tensed up neck. She got up from her desk and leaned against the window looking at the passers-by. She wondered if Sully was around today, maybe he was over at Robert E's livery, but she had no reason to go and see him. After all, she didn't want him to feel trapped or that she was being too forward.

The lanky figure of Andrew Strauss caught her attention. There was something strangely familiar about him… His recent arrival had proven a distraction from her worries about the possibility of a future with the man she loved. As he had introduced himself that morning, he had approached them with a job offer for Sully, as they had returned from their daily walk in the woods. This time spent together was a habit dating from her safe return to Colorado Springs after Sully had rescued her from a band of Dog Soldiers.

The only positive that had come out of that entire traumatic episode was that she had learned to trust Sully implicitly. She could trust him with her life, and, for Michaela, something much more difficult: with her emotions. Her petty jealousy of Catherine had been due to her own insecurity: she knew that now. Sully would never abandon her.

She had also come to realise that her life-long attachment, or obsession, with observing the finer points of propriety was an obstacle to the closeness she desired to achieve with the man she loved. On that bleak mountain top, she had shed her inhibitions about physical intimacy. She had reached out without hesitation to embrace Sully who had held her close in his comforting arms. His attention to her comfort and safety had been absolute and unwavering. Seeing him standing at the cliff edge, his back to her, had awakened primitive needs inside her body she had not known existed.

On awakening that morning after her rescue, she had found herself alone. She had looked around her, anxiously, only to feel relief at the sight of Sully's broad tanned figure standing guard by the overhang under which they had sheltered. Sully had responded immediately to her call, coming to sit beside her and taking her outstretched hand, greeting her with the gentle voice he reserved for her.

'We're safe'. He had gently kissed her bruised knuckles, and after making a tentative enquiry as to whether she had been 'hurt' by the dog soldiers, gestured to a flat piece of bark on which he had laid out a honeycomb and some berries, the only sustenance that he could find. Michaela had understood the implication of his careful question. He had seemed to heave a sigh of relief when she told him that she was unharmed. She answered his fears about the possibility of assault with understanding. His relief obvious he had looked back at her, his gaze no longer closed but full of loving devotion. In his usual quiet way he advised her to try and eat something.

The taste of the honey had been so sweet, so delicious to her parched lips and tongue that she had closed her eyes in ecstasy for a brief moment. She had opened them to gaze on her lover. Yes, she could use that previously forbidden word, now. She knew without doubt that he was the man for her. Even though they hadn't yet resumed their closeness, here on the mountain, and away from prying eyes and gossiping tongues, they were free to be just Michaela and Sully, just a man and woman in love.

Caught in the warmth of Sully's gaze, Michaela knew that the sweetness of the honey would soon be followed by an even sweeter taste: the taste of Sully's lips against her own. His eyes seemed to observe every inch of her face, her eyes, her nose, her cheeks, before finally settling on her lips glistening with the residue of the honey. Unable to hold back any longer, he took her lips in a sweet hungry kiss, so gentle yet so passionate that it made her yearn for so much more…

'Hold me', she begged, her voice hardly above a whisper. His arms tightened immediately around her slender figure, the warm strength of his arms and chest an immeasurably welcome source of comfort to her battered soul and body. Despite their closeness, it still wasn't enough. She had to express her love for him in a way she'd never been able to do before. Yet, despite the almost physical ache that she felt for his touch, a part of her mind recognised that this was not the right time, and this cold desolate mountaintop was certainly not the right place.

Now that her conscience could rest a little easier, Michaela felt free to imagine what would be the right time and place for them. Her cheeks flushed at the image of a soft bed and Sully's lips and hands caressing her, loving her as he made her his wife…The image caused her to shiver with excitement, making Sully's arms tighten even more as he rocked her to sleep.

'Rest for a while, Michaela,' he said softly. Michaela closed her eyes with a relaxed sigh. She was safe in his arms. She was home.

She didn't hear the soft knock, or his quiet entrance. Michaela came awake at the feeling of his arms around her waist and the gentle sensuality of his soft kiss at her nape. She leant against him like a cat, her body humming with sensual delight. He turned her around to face him. She raised her caress his cheek, her palm tickled by the rasp of his afternoon stubble.

Their lips joined together feverishly. Michaela needed little urging to allow her lips to open in a generous response. The entry of his tongue to mesh with hers was a new and delicious intimacy, one which they had been indulging in more and more frequently since the abduction. She could feel her heart rate increase, but the physiological reasons for this escaped her. Her being was solely focused on the pleasure of his touch, of his kiss. Sully was such a great kisser. Each time they touched was more pleasurable than the last: but as their intimacy increased, it was becoming more difficult to control their mutual desires.

Sully trailed tender arousing kisses across her chin and down the slender column of her neck. His hands were approaching dangerous territory as she became aware of the edge of his strong fingers almost touching the underside of her breast. If she didn't stop him soon….

'Sully!' His name burst from her lips in an almost breathless pant.

Michaela saw his eyes refocus on her. A deep flush coloured the planes of his face. His breath came short, gasping between moist open lips.

'Michaela'. Sully's voice was husky with repressed passion. His head bent low and he took a guilty step back from her. Suddenly, she knew she couldn't let him go like that.

'Sully,' she pulled him back into her arms. 'Sully, I um, stopped you well, because…'

'Because'? A relieved, mischievous twinkle appeared in his blue eyes. He appeared to remember the last time the word 'because' was spoken by them…

'Because,' she murmured, her eyes sparkling with their shared memories. 'Because I was afraid that if I didn't stop you, I – I mean us, now, I wouldn't be able to say no.'

Sully digested her words for a moment then his face lightened into a broad cheeky grin.

'You mean,' he growled playfully, before his voice dropped to a whispered breath against her ear, 'you're starting to ache for me, as I ache for you?'

Michaela couldn't hold back an embarrassed giggle. 'Sully, stop it! It's such an overwhelming, completely new feeling for me. I just can't put it into words.'

He stopped her mouth with a soft lingering kiss.

'It's just how I feel, and I'm so happy ya want me as much as I want you.'

Michaela dropped her head to hide her blushes. Although they'd come a long way together since their first nervous attempts at 'courtin' and sparkin', some fear and nervousness still remained, at least on her part.

As if Sully knew what she was thinking, his lips gently caressed the side of her mouth where she was anxiously chewing, displaying her anxiety. Drawing away from her, slightly, he raised her face to meet his.

'Michaela, I love you so much, and all I want is to spend the rest of my life making ya happy, but until that time….' He stumbled, his face taking on a pink tinge, as the subject of marriage had not been broached between them as yet. 'But until that time, don't feel afraid to kiss me, and show me how you feel. I'd never make you do anything ya wouldn't wanna do, my Michaela…'

This time it was her turn to kiss him. Her mouth blended against his to stop the unusual flow of words from her usually reticent mountain man.

The two were so absorbed in their kiss that the sharp rap on the clinic door was an abrupt and unwelcome interruption. The two hurriedly broke apart, Sully heading over to start fiddling with a pile of unrolled bandages, his back turned as he struggled to maintain his breathing and cool his tense body. Despite her own blushes, Michaela felt some sympathy for Sully's discomfort, she was feeling some herself, and her usually mellow tones were strained as she bid the unwelcome visitor to enter.

'What can I do for you, Horace,' she asked quietly, making an effort to calm her rapid heartbeat.

Horace held out his hand showing her the raised angry welt on his broad thumb. As she bade Horace to climb onto her examining table, Sully went to go past her, but stopped as if he was making his mind up about something.

'I'll try and get some rabbits for supper tonight, Dr Mike. I'll bring 'em over to the homestead and help you cook 'em if ya like?'

Michaela covered her mouth in surprise. 'Gosh, yes. I'd almost forgotten I'd invited Mr Strauss over for supper….