Author's Note: This fic is the result of a quote dare from my friend Bratling. The quote I was given was "I'd have ta be three days dead for your touch not ta affect me."
The article of Ovaritis mentioned in this fic did actually appear in the July 21, 1870 issue of the NEJoM.
Michaela was sitting at her desk in the clinic, reading an article on Ovaritis in the most recent issue the New England Journal of Medicine, when she heard a knock on the door. "Come in," she beckoned to her visitor, even though he was already beginning to enter.
"Ya busy?" her visitor asked, shutting the door behind him.
"Sully!" she exclaimed, happily surprised to see him so early in the afternoon. "I'm never too busy for you."
"I need some wil'w bark tea," he said weakly, his speech slightly slurred in pain.
"Sully! What's wrong?" she rushed to him worriedly, finally noticing his strained expression on his handsome face.
"Think I'm gettin' an'ther migrum," Sully said as he rested in the embrace of his wife.
"How long have you been having symptoms?" she asked sternly, afraid that he had brushed them off for days as he had done right before they were engaged.
"Jus' now," he assured her. "M'be 'bout a half h'r."
"You're going to need more than willow bark tea," she informed him. "I'm taking you upstairs to lay down immediately."
"Really?!" he perked up instantly.
"To sleep, Mr. Sully," she informed him in a feigned tone of exasperation. "Although your libido seems to be unaffected by your pain."
"Nothin' can affect that now that we're married," he said impishly, the idea of spending some time in bed with Michaela miraculously dissipating some of the pain allowing his speech to be more clear.
"Come on," she rolled her eyes at him.
"Now undress and get into bed," she ordered him as they reached the first recovery room, the very same room where they had snuck away for a tryst between patients just two days prior.
"Th'ght ya tol' me I hadda sleep?" he asked, attempting to raise an eyebrow in spite of his pain.
"You are," she did her best not to smile. "I just thought you'd be more comfortable, and I want you as cool as possible, in case we didn't catch it in time and you develop a fever from the pain."
"Ok..." he pouted.
Michaela chuckled.
"What is about this bed?" Sully asked in a serious tone. "Every time I'm in it, I'm naked."
Michaela turned her back to him so he wouldn't see her smirk. She loved him dearly, but he certainly was one of her more high maintenance patients. While she composed herself, she drew the curtains shut to make the room as dark as possible.
"Now, you get into bed and I'll be right back," she said, ignoring his comment, as she turned back to him. "I'm going to start the tea, then stop at the school to tell Colleen and Brian we probably won't be home tonight and have Grace bring us supper."
"Ok," he said, gently pulling off his shirt.
"I love you," she said, kissing him gently before leaving.
"Love ya, too," he replied.
As Michaela was preparing the tea in the kitchen, her thoughts drifted to her husband, who was lying in bed in pain down the hall. This was the second migrum he'd suffered in less than a year and a half. What could be causing them? Suddenly, a thought came to her. They had only been married two months... could the transition from his former lifestyle have been a source of stress, or worse, dissatisfaction for him?
"Stop it, Michaela," she berated herself aloud. "That man loves you more than his own life. You know that."
Shaking off the thought, she returned to her task. She hoped that the fact that he had come to her sooner and that he was indoors would prevent it from becoming as severe as the last had been. While she hoped he would be feeling much better by then, she would take him out into the woods to build a sweat lodge after dark if need be.
The tea started, she crept out of the clinic, locking the door behind her, and putting up the "Closed" sign.
As she left the porch, she noticed Wolf laying curled up by the bench. "Don't worry about Sully," she told her husband's faithful companion, rubbing his head. "He'll be just fine."
Michaela quietly entered the school house, not wanting to cause any more of an interruption than was necessary.
"Dr. Mike, may I help you?" Rev. Johnson asked her when he had seen her enter.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," Michaela apologized "But I need to speak with Colleen and Brian just for a moment."
"You may go," he replied, turning to the children.
"Ma, what's wrong?" asked Brian when they were outside.
"Nothing really," she assured her son. "Your father has a minor migrum. He'll be fine, but I'm closing the clinic and I need to stay with him, so we probably won't be home until morning. After school, I want you to go right to Matthew's and tell him. Do your homework right away and help Matthew with any chores. If you don't want to cook dinner, you may go back home to get some money from the tin bucket on the mantel to eat at Grace's. I want you to stay with Matthew tonight. You may either stay at the old homestead or have him go with you back to our home. If he does, I want him sleeping in the house. Wolf is laying on the porch by the clinic. I doubt he'll leave your father, so I'll bring him with me inside the clinic when I go back."
"What if someone needs you? What are you and Pa going to eat?" Colleen asked.
"When the clinic is closed, people know to go to the homestead," she assured Colleen. "If you're not there, I'm sure they'll look for you at Matthew's. I'm going over to Grace's now to ask her to bring a tray over for us later. We'll be fine."
"Tell Pa I hope he feels better," Brian pipped up.
"I will," she smiled at her children. "Now go back to school and we'll see you tomorrow."
"Yes, ma" they said in unison.
"I love you," she hugged both of her children.
"I love you too," they each said before returning to the school house.
"Coffee break, Dr. Mike?" Grace asked as Michaela approached her where she worked at the stove.
"I wish," Michaela sighed. "Actually, Grace, I was wondering if you could do a favor for me."
"Sure, whatcha need?" Grace asked, looking up at her.
"Sully is at the clinic with a migrum and I don't think we'll be going home tonight. The children are taken care of, but I was wondering if you could bring a dinner tray over to the clinic. Chicken soup for Sully so he doesn't have to chew much and I'll have the meat loaf with mashed potatoes, corn and coffee. I'm also keeping Wolf at the clinic with us, so maybe some meat scraps for him if you have any."
"Sure thing, Dr. Mike, but if ya wanted to have a night alone with Sully, ya didn't have to make up an excuse about him bein' sick. We could've taken the kids," she winked, letting Michaela know that she knew that Sully was really in pain and it wasn't just a ruse.
Michaela chuckled, "Thank you. I'm locking up the clinic to keep Sully away from unnecessary noise, but I'll leave the key under the mat. Just come in and set it on my desk. Don't bother knocking. Don't be alarmed if you hear odd noises. I'm taking Wolf in with me."
"I'll be by around 6:30. Tell Sully that Robert E. an' I hope he feels better soon," Grace said.
"Thank you, Grace. I'll see you later," Michaela said as she turned to return to the clinic.
Back at the clinic, Michaela noticed that Wolf, as expected, hadn't moved. "Come on, boy," she encouraged.
When she opened the door and stood to the side so Wolf could enter, he remained seated, tilted his head, and whined, as if to say, "Since when am I allowed in there?"
Michaela chuckled, "Yes, you can go in."
At her repeated invitation, Wolf walked into the clinic and followed her up the stairs to the kitchen.
"Let's go see Sully," Michaela suggested to Wolf when the tea was ready.
After looking around briefly, Wolf turned around and tipped his head as if to ask, "Where is he?"
"First door on the left," she told him. "But I need to open the door first."
At her words, Wolf promptly sat in front of the door to the recovery room where Sully lay, hopefully, sleeping.
Reaching the door, she whispered, "Stay," and he immediately obeyed.
Walking in, she saw Sully's naked form under the sheet, his eyes closed. Her breath hitched. How could she find him so virile and attractive when he was clearly weak and in pain? Silently, she moved toward the bed and was startled when she heard him speak.
"Hi," he whispered softly.
"How did you know I was here?" she asked.
"Smelled your fancy soap," he replied with a smirk.
"How are you feeling?" she asked in a whisper, placing a kiss to his cheek.
"Better. Feels good ta lay down in the dark. I'm fine if I don't lift my head or open my eyes."
"Well can you open your eyes for just a moment?" Michaela asked. "I brought a visitor."
"Michaela!" his eyes shot open. "I'm..."
Michaela smirked, amused at his reaction, before she called to Sully's visitor to enter.
"Wolf!" Sully happily, but quitely, exclaimed as he slowly turned his head to look at his faithful companion.
At his master's voice, Wolf whined.
"I'm ok, boy," Sully assured him. "Lay down."
Wolf immediately curled up on the floor with a sigh of relief.
"Do you think you could try to sit up just enough to drink your tea?" Michaela asked. "I'll help guide it to your lips so you don't need to open your eyes."
"Yeah," he replied simply.
Michaela gently raised her husband's head and guided the cup to his lips. When he finished, she set the cup down.
"'Chaela..." he whispered.
"Yes?" she replied in the same hushed tone.
"Lay down with me," he requested.
"I suppose I could do that," she stated, Sully recognizing the smile in her voice in spite of his eyes being closed.
"Aren't ya gonna take your clothes off?" he asked as she was about to get in the bed, the left side of his mouth curled up in a smile.
"I'm laying with you- and that's it. You need your rest," she said sternly.
"But wouldn't ya be more comfortable?" he asked, using the point she'd used on him earlier. "'Sides, you say skin ta skin contact is good for babies, why can't it be for adults, too?"
Unable to deny him, or herself, anything, she laughed quietly, undressed, and got in bed, gently wrapping her arm around Sully's waist, laying on her side with her head against his shoulder.
"I don't want you out in the sunshine so we'll try bed rest and willow bark tea first, but if you're not feeling better by dark, we'll go out and build you a sweat lodge," Michaela explained.
"Ok," Sully replied.
"Sully, do you know what causes your migrums? I don't remember you ever mentioning having them before the last one," she inquired.
"Not for sure, but I think a part a me knew somethin' was up with Andrew even before we found out he was David." he answered.
Not knowing how to reply, she simply leaned over and kissed his cheek. "And this one?" she finally asked.
"Not sure," he replied.
"Sully... Are you happy?" Michaela tentatively asked.
Her question caused him to laugh and he winced at the pain the movement caused. "Chaela, I wish I didn't have this headache, but I'm in bed naked with my wife, how could I not be happy?"
"I don't mean at this exact moment," Michaela chuckled. "I mean in our marriage. Living in a home with a wife, who has a career and can't cook worth beans no less, and three children is a far cry from living under the stars with no one to worry about, but yourself. Maybe the transition caused some stress or unhappiness that is manifesting as a migrum."
At her words, Sully whipped his head around and opened his eyes to look at Michaela, not caring that his actions caused searing pain that almost made him pass out. "Chaela, how can you even ask that?"
"I just thought..." she began.
"Michaela Anne Sully, stop it!" he said in a tone that he'd never used with her before, not to mention that he left off "Quinn" to make his point even stronger. "How could you even think somethin' like that? You know I love you. I've wanted ta be your husband and the father to our kids for longer than you know."
Michaela just looked at him, stunned that he had used such a stern tone.
Sully turned his head carefully and kissed her softly. "I've obviously been lackin' in my husbandly duties. As soon as I'm well, first thing I'm gonna do is make sure I leave no doubt in your mind how much I love you."
"I'll hold you to that," she replied impishly.
Sully chuckled softly, returned his head to its previous position, and closed his eyes once more.
As they layed together, Michaela slowly traced random patterns on her husband's chest with her finger tips, hoping her caresses would lull him to sleep. Her ministrations; had the opposite effect. "Mmm..." Sully suddenly moaned softly.
Hearing his reaction, she pulled her hand away from his chest as if she had been burned. "Sorry," she apologized as she blushed.
"'Chaela, never apologize for touchin' me," he said.
"But you're supposed to be resting. In fact, most people wouldn't even think of such things in your condition," she said in a professional tone.
"Well, I ain't most people," Sully smirked. "More importantly, neither are you. An' most patients don't have their doc lyin' naked next ta 'em. As for my condition, I'd have ta be three days dead for your touch not ta affect me."
"Three days, huh?" Michaela raised an eye brow at him. "If you die first, I just may have to test that statement."
Sully's eyes widened, "Michaela! That's creepy!"
"Why? Physicians use corpses for many medical uses," she said in her most serious tone.
Sully looked at her blank faced and stunned, having thought she was... for lack of a better term... "dead serious".
"I'm kidding!" Michaela finally broke out in laughter. "You're right. That is creepy. But you were the one that brought it up."
Sighing in relief, Sully smiled broadly at the woman he loved more than life itself, amazed that she never ceased to surprise him. "Just you bein' around me affects me," he said as he kissed her hand gently. "Heck just thinkin' about ya affects me... I sure had a long time ta experience that."
"No," Michaela said. "You definitely aren't most people, Byron Sully. That's largely why I married you."
He smiled at her and claimed her lips in a soft kiss before straightening his head again.
Michaela relaxed back on the bed, closed her eyes, and resumed her caresses. Although, continued efforts to calm him failed again when her fingers accidentally ran over his nipple, causing Sully to gasp and his body to react. While Sully's body was always very enthusiastic and responsive when it came to Michaela, a simple touch like that wouldn't normally cause such a strong physical reaction. However, the combination of her laying naked beside him and the fact that his migrum had caused every nerve to become ultra sensitive, effectively transforming his body into a fuse waiting to be lit, which was a dangerous combination when Michaela's passion for him always burned bright, just below the surface of her prim exterior.
Michaela only realized what happened when she heard Sully draw in a deep breath and felt his manhood brush against the leg that she had curled around his as it rose and hardened.
"Mmm... 'Chaela... I need ya..." Sully moaned as he felt his body harden.
"Sully, your lower half may, but your upper half is in no condition," she retorted.
"You mean you're turnin' me down? When I'm sick?" he said, trying to guilt trip her.
"Well, the increase in your blood pressure isn't good for your pain or increased sensitivity," she said as if she was evaluating a patient on rounds as she had done in Boston with her father. "And I would hate to give you unnecessary medication when a homeopathic remedy would work just as well."
"Chaela, I wanna make love ta ya and you're talkin' like it's some kinda medical treatment," Sully laughed.
Michaela chuckled softly. The doctor in her wanted to insist that he be sensible and follow her instructions to lie quietly and rest, while the woman in her wanted nothing more than to give into his pleas, and grant him the release he so desperately needed.
"Byron," she whispered in her most sultry tone. "Do you want me, or not?"
Sully gulped, thinkingq that his body just might achieve its release from her words alone. "Yes," he finally managed to stutter.
"Then let me rationalize this," she said simply as she removed the sheet from his body and carefully moved over him, positioning her body as he had so many times over the past two months, aware that only a mere inch remained between her feminine core and his throbbing manhood. "A doctor's first priority is to not only treat her patient's symptoms, but their whole body."
Noticing that his eyes were still closed, Micheala leaned down to claim his lips in a slow, luxurious kiss, careful to make sure that her breasts didn't brush against his muscular torso, as she didn't want to bambard him with too much pleasure at once. It wasn't long before Sully's tongue ran across Michaela's bottom lip, begging for entrance, which Michaela quickly granted. After a few minutes of sensual kissing, Michaela moved her lips down, not wanting Sully to move his head. Her hot breath tickled his skin as she kissed and licked his neck, causing him to hum happily.
Michaela raised herself up slightly and began trailing kisses down his hairy chest, this time careful to avoid his nipples. She wanted him to achieve his release so he could calm, and hopefully sleep, but she didn't want him over exerting himself.
When she reached his waistline, Michaela looked up to notice a satisfied grin plastered on Sully's face. Smiling to herself, she gently ran her fingers over his hardened shaft.
"Mmm... feels good," he moaned, trying to keep his body still.
At his confirmation, Michaela tightened her grip around him slightly and began to move her hand up and down his manhood in slow, purposeful movements. As she worked, Sully's moans grew louder. His eyes still closed, Michaela decided to surprise him and gently slid her lips over the head.
She glanced up the length of his masculine frame and saw his eyes fly open in surprise as she gently slid her lips over the head of his shaft.
Sully's eyes flew open in surprise as he felt the moist heat of her lips settled over the length of him. The feel of her mouth on his body drove away the blinding pain that shot through his eyes when he opened them. They fluttered closed again as he was swept away by his mounting pleasure.
"Oh 'Chaela... yes!" Sully gasped, gripping the clean white sheets under him as he stared at the ceiling, trying to keep his breathing calm and his head motionless.
Michaela continued her slow movements on her husband's body until she felt him stiffen.
"'Chaela... I need you... Now..." he said between clenched teeth.
Wanting to keep his need to thrust to a minimum, she carefully placed her body over his and guided him inside herself. With a single thrust, which Michaela counteracted by pressing her hips into his, he exploded into her with a low growl.
Although she didn't achieve a climax of her own, Michaela was equally sated and curled into his side after he had softened enough to leave her body.
"I'm sorry," Sully whispered, still panting.
"Why?" Michaela asked, completely confused.
"That was selfish," he replied. "You didn't even have your climax."
"Sully, I always love you willingly," she assured him, kissing his cheek and running her fingers through his hair. "You told me that I should always ask when I want some holding, so why can't you? And loving you is satisfaction enough."
"I love you," he said, his eyes still closed, in complete awe of the woman he treasured so much.
"I love you, too," she replied, leaning up to kiss him softly on the lips.
When the kiss broke, Sully yawned. "I think I'm finally ready for that nap."
"Finally!" Michaela jokingly exclaimed.
The pair laughed and Michaela curled back into her husband's embrace, joining him in slumber.