With All My Heart
Disclaimer I do not own the characters in this story. I wish the people who did would use them and create new series. I have just borrowed the characters.
A/N I commenced this story in March. I never dreamt that there would be this sadness in the world this week. Robin Williams being in so much pain, and the outcome is really sad.
Arthur Mendelson:-
See what no one else sees. See what everyone chooses not to see... out of fear, conformity or laziness. See the whole world anew each day!
Sitting at the dark wood desk in her consulting rooms Doctor Michaela Quinn waited for a knock on her door. She was waiting and listening to the clock on the pale blue wall as seconds ticked by. This was her usual routine in this hour. Why did she expect it to be any different this time?
She did hope that one day there would be a break through, wondering when. She would ask the reception to reschedule the appointment. The pile of clients was growing and now she wondered if she should be wasting her time waiting for this particular ex serviceman to come. Her supervisor had told her to forget him and move on.
His file lay open on her desk, she knew the printed words off by heart. That he carried a lot of scars even before he had enlisted. His service record read like some imaginary battle game that Matthew and Brian played, the sound track driving her crazy.
Getting up from the desk she wondered if he would ever show himself in the office. Looking out the window she was surprised to see that it had begun to rain. Her eyes settled on one drop trundling down the pane. As it collided with others and got bigger it moved faster, finally dissolving onto a puddle on the window ledge.
Then she made a decision: if he didn't come to her she would go to him.
It was unethical but Michaela, was convinced it was necessary. She would hand deliver his next appointment, and then see what happened.
Driving out of town she was surprised when she arrived at the gate. In the distance she saw a beautiful double story log house. Getting out of her car she shifted the two logs that acted as a blockade, mentally thinking to herself it was the first barrier before driving through and alighting and replacing them. The code of farming was that if a gate is shut leave it shut.
Sitting in the car looking at the home in front of her she was aware that her stomach was beginning to churn and her heartbeat escalated. Suddenly she was thinking this was a really bad idea and she should retreat. It was obvious that this man didn't want any help.
Unexpectedly words like loner, hero, widower, no family paraded past her thoughts. Gritting her teeth she put her foot on the accelerator, and the car moved forward towards the house.
Stopping in front of the steps leading up to the porch Michaela looked towards the door. Nobody had come to see who the visitor was. Scanning the yard she thought the place could have been abandoned. The door to the barn was hanging on one hinge. The shutters on one window were shut tight, dirt on the porch looked like it had been there for months. There had once been a garden but it was dry and dead. Some tumble weeds lay on the drive, another was hard up against the barn.
It was as if the entire place had ceased to breathe, there appeared to be no life wherever she looked.
Taking a long breath she had to remind herself why she was there. It was to check on a man that had been red flagged at needing help on his discharge papers. His file had been handed to her for two reasons. She lived in the area and she was renowned for her good work in this field.
Deciding to leave the file in the car and only taking a business card with a date and time for another appointment on it she alighted from her car. Looking at the house she commenced walking up the steps. Suddenly in front of her she saw a door of wood; the large oval fine cut glass feature in it appeared out of place in all the other harshness and neglect. Someone had loved this home she thought, seeing the superb exterior of the house up close.
Standing close to the door she took a shuddering breath and knocked on the timbers.
There was a resounding silence in reply. Undeterred she knocked a bit louder. If she had been able to see into the dim room on the other side, she would have seen a dishevelled head move from the arm of the wing backed chair pulled near the fire place where ash testified to a fire having burnt there some time ago.
Haunted blue eyes blinked out of a hairy face. There was no evidence that the person had shaved nor bothered about his hair in some months. Disbelief was on his face: nobody came knocking on his door. They had all given up hope, friends from his unit were away overseas. The groceries he ordered where left at the door when he bothered to ring the grocery store. He put the money in a jar there to pay for them.
His face fell; he had no family so there really was nobody he would expect to come by.
Hearing a louder knock he was tempted to tell it to go away. Sitting quietly he thought if he ignored it, the person would eventually leave.
Michaela decided one more attempt to get a reply and she would then have to give up. She knocked even louder and stepped back and waited.
The man exhaling a huff, it seemed obvious that the person was not about to give up. He rose from the chair and wandered aimlessly to the door, what possessed him to do so he had no idea. Opening the door a crack he looked out to see who the intruder was.
Michaela smiled at the small gap in the door with an eye looking at her in surprise.
"What ya want?" a raspy voice asked. He had not used his voice for such a long time it surprised him.
"Mr Sully? My name is Michaela Quinn. I have an appointment card here for your next appointment."
"No thanks,"Sully replied as he tried to closing the door.
...This is a completed story I will post once a week. I hope you like it as it is a necessity we look out for our friends and those who serve their countries.