Michaela sat in her wingback chair by the fire with her latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine reading an article on extra-uterine pregnancy, which was probably a horrible idea given the news she had received earlier that day, but it didn't really matter that much. It's not like she could concentrate anyway. To her surprise, Brian had come home alone, only saying that Sully had something to take care of before coming home himself. Now, she was staring blankly at the pages in front of her, anxious to see how he would react to the news of Mr. Collins and Andrew, as well as her own news. She wasn't left musing for long; however, and soon heard Sully uncharacteristically thundering up the steps to the homestead.
"Michaela, where's Colleen?" Sully frantically asked, nearly breathless from running.
"What in the world?" Michaela asked, wide eyed as she made her way to him and noticed his expression. "The children are all in their rooms. Sully, we need to talk. Today, Mr. Collins..."
"I know," Sully calmed, putting a hand on her shoulder and interrupting his wife.
"You do?" Michaela looked up at him, puzzled.
"I'll explain in a bit," Sully nodded. "You look tired, go on up ta bed. I'll be up in a bit. I jus' wanna see Colleen first."
"Alright..." Michaela looked at him, still a bit confused.
"I love you," he whispered, kissing her quickly, but soundly.
"I love you, too. Welcome home," she whispered in return after the kiss broke as Sully ran for the stairs.
Reaching Colleen's door, Sully took a deep breath to calm himself before knocking quietly. He wanted... needed... desperately to see and talk to her, but he didn't want to wake her if she was already asleep. She had been through a great deal in the past week and needed her rest.
"Come in," she replied when she heard the knock.
One look on her his face and she instantly knew that Sully had found out about her altercation with Mr. Collins, so she immediately got out of bed and went into his waiting arms.
"Are you ok?" he asked in a whisper, holding her tight with one arm and petting her hair with his other hand.
"I'm fine, Pa," she replied, burying her head in his chest. "I don't know what would have happened if Andrew wouldn't have been there..."
"Shhh..." Sully soothed her. "But he was. You're ok."
"I love you, Pa," she said, relaxing in the protective embrace of her father.
"I love you, too," he spoke into her hair. "I'm jus' glad it was Andrew's lip an' not yours."
"How'd you know about Andrew's lip?" Colleen asked, lifting her head to look at him puzzled. In the scheme of everything, it seemed like a small detail for her mother to mention, even if she was a doctor.
"Andrew told me," Sully explained. "He was waitin' for me out on the road when me an' Brian came home."
"Oh..." Colleen said nervously, biting her lip, wondering just how much he had told him, the fact that he had waited for Sully rather than just speaking with him in the morning only added to her nerves.
"Colleen, I think we need ta have a talk," Sully said gently as he guided her to sit down on the bed before taking a seat next to her, one arm still around her as if he was afraid to let her go, even in the safety of her own bedroom.
Colleen simply nodded as they sat.
"I ow ya an apology," Sully began.
"What for?" Colleen's head snapped up at his unexpected confession, half afraid that he had hit Andrew if he told him about their kiss.
"I didn't realize til now that I may nota been the best pa I coulda been. I've known ya so long that maybe the transition from your friend, ta your ma's beau, ta your pa wasn't thought out like it shoulda been," he replied.
"How can you say that, Pa?" Colleen asked, hugging him tight. "Even before you adopted me and Brian, you were more of a father than Ethan ever was."
"Thanks," he said sincerely, kissing the top of your head, "But you're not the shy little girl I first met. You're a woman now, and I didn't realize how my role as your pa would change."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Andrew told me what happened after his altercation with Mr. Collins," Sully explained.
"Oh... Pa, are you ashamed of me?" Colleen asked, hanging her head, not being able to bare the look of disappointment in his eyes that might be there.
"Of course not!" Sully quickly assured her, pulling her tightly to his chest once again. "Colleen Elizabeth Sully, you hear me and you hear me good. Nothin' ya could do would ever make me ashamed a ya. I'm so proud a ya."
"Thanks, Pa," Colleen said, smiling up at him, blushing slightly.
"So, tell me about you an' Andrew," Sully said in a tone that let Colleen know that he was genuinely interested in her feelings rather than just looking to give her a lecture.
"Well, I've had feelings for him for a while, but..." she began.
"I meant tell me somethin' I don't know," Sully said, chuckling softly.
"You knew?" Colleen's head shot up.
"Colleen, I ain't blind," he chuckled again. "'Sides, ya think your ma an' I don't talk?"
Colleen blushed before continuing, "I've been hoping for so long that he might have feelings for me, but I never imagined he would kiss me today. I was so happy when he told me he loved me that I told him that I love him, too, but then he didn't ask me to court him, so now I don't know what to think."
Sully sighed. As much as it hurt that he had been, albeit unintentionally, left out of their courting process, what hurt more was the fact that Andrew's actions had inadvertently left Colleen unsure of his feelings for her.
"Colleen, I can tell you that Andrew is very smitten with you," Sully assured her.
"He is?" she tried in vain to hide her excitement.
"You think I woulda let him live after he kissed ya if he wasn't?" Sully asked with a laugh, but Colleen knew he was serious.
"No, probably not," she giggled. "But then why didn't he ask me to court him when he told me he loves me?"
"Because he loves you," he replied.
"What do you mean?" Colleen asked.
"Andrew didn't intend ta kiss ya or tell ya he loves ya, an' while he meant it, he also knew he didn't come ta talk ta me first. He knows ya deserve ta be courted properly, so once he realized what he'd done, he didn't wanna do anythin' else til he talked ta me," Sully explained.
"Oh," she replied, holding her tongue to keep from asking the details of their conversation.
"That's why he was out waitin' for me when me an' Brian came home. He wanted ta make sure he righted his wrong right away," Sully finally said. "He told me everything that happened an' asked for my permission ta ask ya ta go courtin'."
"What did you tell him?" Colleen bravely asked.
"I told him," Sully began, putting a finger under her chin so her eyes met his. "That it took a lotta guts ta come talk ta me after makin' a mistake like that, an' that I thought he was a good man for my little girl."
Colleen beamed, not only that he had given his approval of them, but at his reference of calling her his little girl."
"But I also told him," Sully went on. "That I need ta talk ta Matthew an' so does he."
"Thank you," Colleen tearfully whispered.
"No need for thank yous," Sully said, hugging her tight. "I'm so glad I'm your pa, but I also know how much you an' Matthew mean ta each other. I think it's important he's involved in this decision, too."
Colleen nodded.
"I also told Andrew that, after what happened with Mr. Collins, ya both need some time before ya start courtin'... an' durin' that time you'll jus' be friends an' colleagues. No kissin'."
"Yes, Pa," Colleen replied in both obedience and agreement.
"It's gettin' late. You should be gettin' ta bed," Sully said, standing so Colleen could get back under the covers.
Colleen yawned in agreement.
"G'night, nâhtona" Sully whispered, kissing Colleen's forehead as he tucked her in.
"Goodnight, Pa," Colleen tearfully replied in response to the term of endearment that, until then, had been reserved for Katie, as well as the fact that Sully had tucked her in for the first time.
Seeing that she was already drifting off to sleep, Sully quietly crept out of the room and made his way to join his wife.