HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
by Mia
Author's Note: This piece was written for the "Dr. Quinn" forum's special November/December Christmas Fan Fiction Challenge. This 4-chapter story takes place in December 1873, about 7 months after the date of the final episode of the series, entitled "A NEW BEGINNING," where Colleen gets married and heads off to medical school. As you'll see when you read the story, my piece follows-up on the events of that final episode, but is not necessarily consistent with some facts and plot points that appeared in the subsequent 2 "Dr. Quinn" T.V. movies, "REVOLUTIONS," and "THE HEART WITHIN." Rather, this fanfic represents what I would have liked to see happen to the characters after the series ended, which diverges at times from what occurred in the later movies. Hope you enjoy!
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.
Home for Christmas
December 1873
Part I - Coming Home
On a brisk, picturesque morning about a week before Christmas, Dr. Michaela Quinn awoke to the cadenced, but strangely comforting, sounds of wood being chopped. As the cobwebs of sleep cleared and she became more aware of her surroundings, she smiled when she discerned the source of the echoing thumps. Her husband of three-and-a-half years, Byron Sully (or "Sully," as everyone called him), had arisen well before dawn to begin preparing for the arrival of the visitors who would soon fill their homestead with holiday cheer. It would be her adopted daughter Colleen's first Christmas back home in Colorado Springs since she'd left to start medical school at the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania. It was hard to believe that it had already been well over six months since Colleen had married Dr. Andrew Cook and moved to Philadelphia to pursue her medical degree. It seemed like only yesterday that she'd been running around in pigtails, assisting Michaela during the influenza epidemic that had hit the frontier town in the winter of 1868.
Today would also be a homecoming of sorts for Michaela & Sully's eldest adopted son, Matthew Cooper. Having recently found his calling in the law, he'd been in Denver for the past two months assisting one of the city's most respected attorneys on a major constitutional case. Though Matthew's adoption had been largely symbolic (since he'd already been of age), he loved and admired the couple, and considered them just as much his parents as Brian and Colleen did. Denver was only a few hours from his hometown by train, but Matthew's apprenticeship had kept him so busy that he'd only been able to send a few telegrams to his folks during his time away. He'd missed them terribly and couldn't wait to get home, especially at this time of year when families and loved-ones came together to celebrate Jesus' birthday.
Sully had been so excited about today's impending arrivals that he'd had a difficult time getting to sleep last night, and had risen just a few hours later to get a jump-start on the day. Michaela knew that when she ventured downstairs, she would find all of the wood surfaces freshly varnished, and the creaky step at the bottom of the staircase repaired. She laughed softly at the thought. Although the sun had just crested over the horizon, she already knew that her similar sense of anticipation would make it impossible for her to go back to sleep. Besides, there was so much to do! The bedrooms would have to be cleaned and readied for their guests, and the living room would need to be straightened-up. Moreover, she'd invited a few of their closest friends -- Dorothy, Cloud Dancing, Grace and Robert E. -- over for dinner, to join in welcoming her older children back home. Michaela recognized that, since she was hardly an expert in the kitchen, she'd probably spend the better part of the day cooking the evening feast.
This year, there would be an extra guest at the Quinn/Sully household for the holidays: Blythe Pennington, a new friend of Colleen's from Philadelphia. As Colleen had described in her many letters to Michaela during her first semester of medical school, Blythe was a nurse at the local hospital where Colleen was performing the internship portion of her studies. The two young ladies were fairly close in age, and, discovering that they had quite a bit in common, had become fast friends. Blythe had grown up in Fort Collins, about one-day's train ride north of Colorado Springs. An only child, she'd practically worshiped her father, who'd been an army medic at the military base there. Coincidentally, he'd fallen victim to the same typhus outbreak that had nearly decimated the Cheyenne reservation just outside of Colorado Springs a few years ago, when Michaela and Sully had unknowingly given the Indians contaminated blankets from the nearby army barracks. A mere three months later, Blythe's mother had followed suit, after losing a two-year battle with consumption. Now that she was in the medical field, Blythe knew that most people afflicted with consumption eventually died from the disease; sometimes, several years after contracting it. However, a small part of her couldn't help thinking that her mother had lost the will to fight the illness due to her father's passing.
Barely fifteen years old when her mother had died, Blythe had gone to live with her only surviving relative, an elderly aunt who'd lived in Norristown, Pennsylvania, about twenty-five miles from Philadelphia. Remarkably progressive for her time, her aunt Hilda had supported Blythe's natural affinity for learning and encouraged her to finish high school. When her aunt had passed away shortly before Blythe's eighteenth birthday, she'd headed to Philadelphia to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a nurse, in honor of her father's memory. With the modest bequests from her father and aunt, she'd paid for nursing school, working nights as a legal typist to cover her living expenses. It had been a physically and emotionally grueling time, but now, she was using her innate gift for healing in a job that she loved. However, despite her sense of professional fulfillment, she found herself homesick for Colorado. Although she no longer had any family or close friends living there, she missed the fresh air, the crisp scent of pine during the winter, the breathtaking mountains, and the rich, verdant forests that were never more than a five-minute walk from anywhere. She'd accepted Colleen & Andrew's invitation to spend the holiday season with Colleen's family not only to avoid being alone on Christmas Day, but also to see whether returning to Colorado would quell the niggling feeling of restlessness that had been troubling her recently. If it did, she might consider relocating back to the Territory permanently.
It was the late afternoon by the time the train from Denver pulled into the Colorado Springs station, announcing its arrival with a loud whistle. It seemed as though the entire town had turned out to greet the two elder Cooper siblings, home-grown youngsters who'd made good and done the townsfolk proud. Michaela, Sully, Brian and Katie stood at the front of the fray, anxiously scanning the disembarking passengers for signs of Colleen and Matthew. They soon emerged, together with Andrew and Blythe, and were quickly enfolded in a succession of hugs, kisses, and warm welcomes.
In the midst of the flurry, Michaela couldn't help but notice Matthew hovering close to Blythe, and his eyes frequently drifted over to her even as he engaged in the animated chatter around him. If the young nurse's coy, answering smiles were anything to go by, it appeared that his interest was mutual. Michaela suppressed a smile, making a mental note to ask Colleen later about this fledgling romance.
Michaela's perceptiveness was right on the mark, as Matthew was, in fact, quite taken with Colleen's friend. He'd deliberately bought a ticket back home today, planning to meet up with Colleen and Andrew at the Denver station, where the train would make a final stopover before beginning the last leg of their journey to Colorado Springs. What he hadn't expected, however, was the enchanting young lady accompanying them. The moment Matthew had first met Blythe, he'd felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. He'd been spellbound by her striking green eyes, glossy blond hair, and petal-soft skin when she'd shaken his hand as Colleen had introduced her.
But he found himself drawn to Blythe by more than merely her physical attributes. Beneath her soft-spoken exterior, she possessed a sharp wit and a keen sense of humor, and he found her incredibly easy to talk to. They'd spent the entire train ride between Denver and Colorado Springs chatting about anything and everything, without so much as an awkward pause or a lull in the conversation. Having previously worked in the legal field, she'd sat enraptured as he'd regaled her with stories about the cases he'd worked on. In her, he'd found a kindred soul of sorts: Like him, she'd known the crippling sense of emptiness that came with losing loved-ones at an early age; and, like him, she'd had the courage to move beyond that grief to pursue a dream.
The connection between the two had not gone unnoticed by his sister or her husband. Andrew and Colleen had exchanged meaningful looks as they'd witnessed the growing infatuation between Matthew and Blythe across their train car. The light in her brother's eyes had warmed Colleen's heart; it was a light that she had not seen since his fiancée Ingrid's untimely death over three years ago.
After their bags were unloaded and the welcomes concluded, the Quinn/Sully clan and their dinner guests got into their wagons to begin the trek out to the homestead. Instead of riding with Michaela and Sully or borrowing his own horse from Robert E. (as he normally did), Matthew opted to ride in the second wagon with Colleen, Andrew, and Blythe. He didn't quite know why, but he felt the inexplicable need to be near the pretty young nurse. That was probably why he'd been secretly pleased when she'd revealed that she'd be staying in Brian's room over the holidays; Brian would (happily) sleep in the barn, and share Katie's room if it got too cold outside. For some strange reason, Matthew was both comforted and elated by the prospect of Blythe being close by.
"How come Matthew's not ridin' with us?" Brian innocently asked his parents, as he hopped into the wagon behind them.
"Seems like Matthew's taken a likin' to Colleen's friend, and I guess they just wanna talk some more," Sully replied. He tried his best to sound nonchalant, not wanting to tip Brian off that there could be more to Matthew's actions than met the eye, since the youngest Cooper was known for his loose lips. But, even after three-plus years of marriage and a baby, Michaela and Sully still understood all too well what the would-be lovebirds were feeling! They exchanged knowing smiles as Sully flicked the reins to begin the short journey home.
[END OF PT. 1 - CONTINUE TO PT. 2]