Family-a missing moment fic

by Bratling

Disclaimer: Not mine. I hugged them, squeezed them, called them George, then gave them back like a good girl. Dr Quinn belongs to Beth Sullivan and CBS

Author's Note: Wouldn't leave me alone. These are some missing scenes from The Comfort of Friends. Very little time was spent on how Matthew and Brian reacted to the miscarriage. This was, after all, their new sibling.. and their mother's anguish.

"Sorrow is so easy to express and yet so hard to tell." -Joni Mitchell

Brian sat down in one of the wing chairs next to the fire and cuddled Katie close. "Matthew?" he asked, his eyes on his baby sister.

Matthew was leaning against the mantle, staring into the fire. "Yeah?"

"I think we need ta take care of Ma now more'n before." Brain said. Katie started wiggling and trying to get away.

Matthew took the baby from Brian, dropped to the floor, and settled her in his lap. "You've never been the man of the house," he said. "I was for years... an' I think it's our job 'til Sully... Pa... comes home. Yeah. We need ta take care o' her."

Brian spent a few minutes staring into the fire. He'd been so excited about the prospect of having another baby brother or sister. No baby. It was dead. His Pa gone. His Ma hurting. "And each other," he said, getting choked up.

Matthew looked at his brother, his eyes shiny with unshed tears. "I'm puttin' Katie to bed," he said, standing up. Leaving his brother, he walked upstairs quietly. "Katie-Kates," he said quietly. "Ma's real sad an' upset right now, so we need you ta be extra good for her." He hugged his baby sister as he entered the nursery. He'd never had much practice with babies, but living back at home had given him some experience. It took a few minutes and some fumbling, but soon he had his sister into a clean diaper and night clothes.

Matthew sat in the rocking chair and settled her in his lap. "Once upon a time," he said quietly, his voice low and rough. "There were three kids living with their Ma in a boarding house. Times were tough 'cause their Pa had run off with their Ma's life savin's and sometimes it was hard ta make ends meet. Then a lady doctor came to town, and she was the prettiest doc that most people had ever seen... but most people didn't trust her a'cause she was a girl." He kissed the top of Katie's head. "But then th' kids' Ma got bitten by a snake an' died. 'Afore she died, though, she asked the beautiful lady doc to be her kids' new Ma."

Brian chose that moment to creep quietly into the room. "But the kids didn't want a new Ma," he said. "They wanted their old one and their old life back."

"And the beautiful doctor didn't know how to be a Ma," Matthew added, "But she was willing to try because she'd promised her friend."

"And then the youngest got mad when the doc punished him for something he did," Brian said, "and ran off."

"And the doctor moved heaven and earth to find the little boy," Matthew said. "She got help from the Indians and a mountain man and found him and brought him home."

"And that was the beginnin' of them becomin' a family," Brian said.

"Eventually," Matthew said, "they decided that their new Ma needed a husband and picked one out for her so that he'd be their Pa."

"But their Ma didn't see it that way... and neither did the mountain man that they wanted for their Pa," Brian said. "It took a couple a years for them ta come around, but the kids got what they wanted, and a year after that, they got a baby sister named Katie."

Matthew looked down to discover that his baby sister was asleep. Carefully, he gathered her into his arms so as not to wake her, stood and put her into the crib. Brain came over, covered her with a blanket and tucked her in securely. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Night, baby sister," he said softly.

Matthew kissed the baby's head. "Night Katie-Kat," he whispered.

Together, the brothers walked out of the room, shutting the door gently behind themselves. Matthew motioned for Brian to follow him downstairs.

The boys went down the last few stairs and walked to the table. "Matthew?" Brian said.

"Yeah?"

"Is it a bad thing that I don't remember our first Ma much anymore?" Brian asked as he pulled out a chair and sat down.

Matthew pulled out another chair and dropped into it. "It's natural," he said finally. "You were real little when she passed... and we were real lucky in who we got to take care o' us."

"I know," Brian said. "Anthony tol' me what it's like to not have anybody."

"And we had Ma... and she did her best."

"Yeah," Brian said. "And took care of everybody else, too. She's always made sure we had what we needed."

"Even when it meant that she couldn't have something she wanted or needed," Matthew said. "Like I said, real lucky." He looked at the clock. "Almost your bedtime," he reminded his brother. "I'm gonna go check on Ma."

Brian's eyes strayed to the clock, too. "I know," he said. "Not sure I wanna go to the Founders' Day celebration tomorrow. I'd rather stay with Ma."

"Maybe she'll come," Matthew said. "But I don't think she'll feel like celebratin', all things considered." He stood up and pushed his chair in. "I'm gonna go check on her," he said. "You go on and get ready for bed."

Without another word, Brian got up and headed towards the stairs. "Matthew?" he asked, pausing at the foot of them.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think Ma will be all right?"

"Yeah. We just gotta love her and take care of her," Matthew said. He hesitated a bit. "I remember when our first mother had a miscarriage, too. It's why you and Colleen are so far apart. And as long as we're there for Ma, we'll all be okay."

Brian nodded. "Thanks," he said, and then headed upstairs.

Matthew pulled off his boots and tiptoed upstairs in his sock feet and to the door of his parents' room. He opened it-just a crack-and peeked inside. Dr. Mike was asleep, her face covered in tear stains. He crept into the room and shivered. The window had obviously been left open and as the sun went down, the temperature had dropped. Quietly, he crossed the room and shut the window, and then pulled an extra blanket out of the armoire and used it to cover his mother.

Matthew stood quietly by the side of the bed and brushed a lock of hair away from his mother's face. He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I love you, Mama," he said, using a name for her that he practically never used. "Brian and me are gonna make sure everythin's okay." He stood up and watched her sleep for a few more minutes before leaving the room and heading downstairs to read more law books.

Brian sat straight up in bed and glanced over at his brother. Matthew was asleep. He'd been dreaming of the last time he'd seen Sully-he'd promised his Pa that he'd protect his Ma. But he hadn't, had he? He'd failed. Guilt, worry, and sorrow welled up in him. He threw off his blankets and quietly left the room. He crept into his parents' room, gently shutting the door behind himself. He knew he was technically too old to ask to sleep with his parents, but it didn't matter. He needed to see for himself that his Ma was okay.

Brian shivered a little and quickly climbed up beside her. Michaela's breath hitched, as if she were crying, even in her sleep. He sat next to her, and watched her sleep for a few minutes. "Ma?" he murmured.

Michaela's eyes cracked open. "Brian?" she said, her voice blurry with sleep. "What are you doing here, sweetheart?"

"Needed ta see that you're okay," he said, hating how vulnerable he sounded, even to himself.

Michaela pushed herself up and held out her arms. Brian threw himself into them. "I'm fine, Brian."

"No, you're not, Ma," Brian said, trying not to cry. "But Me an' Matthew are gonna take care of you."

"Sweetheart," it going to be okay," Michaela said quietly.

"I know," Brian said. "Can I sleep here tonight, Ma?"

"Of course, Sweetheart," she said. They laid down, and she covered him with one of the blankets.

"I love you, Ma," Brian said softly. He watched as she drifted back to sleep. He didn't sleep much that night, preferring to watch over his mother. Part of him was angry with Sully for not being there. but the more logical part of him knew that even if Sully had been there, there wasn't anything that could have been done. All that he, Brian, and his siblings could do was to take care of their mother-after all, she'd taken care of them when she didn't have to and had chosen to love them when they were alone in the world.

End.