"Do ya think they're back yet?" Brian impatiently asked his older siblings. Matthew was driving the buckboard back to the homestead so they could work on their chores.
"I dunno, Brian. Maybe." Matthew looked at Colleen and raised his brows. "Hopefully, Dr. Mike's doin' better."
Obviously pouting, Brian crossed his arms. "Why did she haveta go do the lodge?"
Colleen sighed in frustration. "Brian, Dr. Mike has been real sad ever since… ya know… And Sully wants see if this helps. You want Dr. Mike to be happy again, right?"
Still maintaining the pout, he nodded. "S'not fair. Sully and Ma were happy before David came here."
"Don't worry, little brother."
When they came about the bend, Brian's pouting ceased. Sully and Michaels were sitting on the steps of the homestead, his arm around her shoulder as they played with their coffee cups. When the children arrived, they smiled and moved to greet them.
"You're back!" Colleen exclaimed, smiling broadly at her adoptive mother's evident mood change.
Michaela's obvious happiness was not lost on Brian either, who jumped into her embrace and held her tightly. "Ya ain' broken anymore!" he exclaimed. When she set him down, Brian immediately rushed towards Sully and proceeded to essentially tackle him as well. "Sully! You fixed her! You fixed Ma!"
Chuckling, Sully brought Brian up into his arms and grinned at the other two children. "I didn't do nothin', Brian."
Sniggering at the display of modesty, Colleen and Matthew proceeded to hug their essential mother in turn. It was at some point during this exchange that Colleen noticed Michaela's ring finger on her left hand.
"Ya got married?" She pointed at her hand, her bright eyes wide and turning her attention to Sully in search of an answer.
"Married?" Brian yelled, looking at Sully.
"What?" Was Matthew's response, staring at Sully in shocked confusion.
Sully looked at Michaela, a blush creeping over both of their cheeks along with the smile that was given only to one another. It was as if they were communicating with their eyes while the children waited in anticipation and curiosity as to the answer they would be granted. The silence lingered only briefly, the last parting kiss of their secret before the revelation was given.
"We would like to talk to you," Michaela began, carefully withdrawing her hand from Colleen's grasp and moving to stand beside Sully. "We know it sounds rather impromptu, but… well…" She wasn't certain how precisely to articulate this without it worrying the children. What would they think of them?
"You eloped, didn't ya?" Colleen interrupted the hesitant silence, her eyes bright with anticipation. When neither immediately answered, her hands flew to her cheeks. "You did!"
"But we wanted a weddin'!" Brian immediately complained, bypassing what had happened between his surrogate parents and moving to the more important matter at hand. "With food!"
Matthew watched in a curious silence, noticing that neither had confirmed it, but neither had denied it. In fact, the light in their eyes made the truth obvious.
"Listen," Sully intervened. "Yeah. We… we eloped. But it ain't that simple." Inner conflict was obvious as he reached for Michaela's hand and held it tightly. She reciprocated, holding onto it as if it was a lifeline.
"Does this mean Sully's gonna sleep at the homestead?" Brian shifted impatiently. "Can we have a pretend weddin' with cake?"
Sighing, Michaela shook her head. "We would like to have a reception after the homestead is finished…"
"When can we tell Mr. Bray?"
"Hey." Matthew placed his hand upon Brian's shoulder. "Give them a chance, okay?"
Taking a deep breath, Sully attempted to answer the questions. "The homestead will be finished in a few months. Once it's done, we'll tell the town. Brian," he turned his attention to the young boy. "Listen, this is… this is like a secret. It's special, just between us. As a family. Your Ma and me… we didn't plan to marry like this. And we want the town to be apart of the reception. But us gettin' married…"
Michaela intervened, saving him. "Brian. Do you recall how everyone began to interfere with the wedding for Horace and Myra?"
"Yeah…" he looked up at them.
"We wanted… we wanted our marriage to be just for us. The reception will be for the town. But we don't want to tell the town just yet."
"But Dr. Mike," Colleen intervened, pointing out the logical problem. "You have somethin' that looks like a ring."
"Are we s'posed to lie?"
This was not going as they had planned, but then again there had not been much of a plan when they decided this course of action. "If people ask us, we are going to avoid it. We do not want you to lie…"
"So, it's like a game." Brian decided. "We're going to see how long we can keep 'em guessin'! And do it without lyin'!" He paused. "There's still gonna be the reception, right?" He had to confirm it once more, despite the twice previous mention.
Matthew grinned. "I think it's… gonna be an interestin' couple o'months."
"So Sully is gonna be sleepin' inside?" Brian asked.
"Ahh… I don't… perhaps the barn…" Michaela stumbled over her words. How was it that the people who made her feel so exposed, the five total, that four of them were here at this moment?
Colleen looked up. She had been listening sympathetically, and even a bit amused. It was romantic, their eloping. And the fact that they were going to keep the truth a secret between the five of them made her feel as though it was a bonding experience. That she and her brothers were privy to the rare and beautiful love that these two people shared.
And it seemed like fun.
Blushing relentlessly, Michaela turned her head towards Sully and he kissed her forehead. "So that means you're... you aren't bothered... you're alright with it?"
"Yup." "Sure." "Reception?"
"Yes, Brian." Michaela turned and ran her fingers through his hair. "There will be a reception And there will be food. And a new dress." She looked up at Colleen. The girl grinned and threw her arms around her mother's neck.
As the boys filtered into the homestead, Colleen pulled on Michaela's arm. Noticing that the girl wanted to talk, she remained behind and looked at her softly. "I know that this is not what we had anticipated…" she began, looking down at her hands.
"No, but… I think it's kinda sweet, Dr. Mike. I'm happy for you."
She smiled. "Thank you. When we do have the reception, I would be honoured if you would stand by my side."
There was a kind silence between them as they reached for a tight embrace.
"I think," Colleen looked at her mentor with her careful eyes, dancing around the subject with the embarrassed care. "That if you're married, Sully should sleep in the house." She smiled softly, the blush feverishly consuming her face. "Until you can have your own room… maybe he could just make a bed by the fire?"
Michaela had not been anticipating that answer and the blush that crept over her face in a brilliant red attested to this fact. "I… I don't know."
"You should be with the one ya love." Before her surrogate mother could venture into the lecture that Colleen knew would come, she spoke. She knew Michaela attempted to secure the knowledge that she had not permanently corrupted the lives of the children by doing something against society. "And don't worry. You'll be at my weddin'."
The days that passed bringing them closer to the end of summer were comparatively uneventful. Sully had not spent the first night of their marriage at the homestead, but after that most of his nights passed by a mere arm's reach from Michaela's bed. The first night had been strange for the both of them; being so close to one another, but not actually being in the same bed. Brian quickly grew to love their circumstances, tackling Sully in the morning if the man had not managed to be awake before the boy. Brian had been curious as to why they weren't sharing a bed, and they just avoided the conversation. In order to prevent the child from giving away the secret, Michaela and Sully gave Brian incentives – candy, a book, and a new hat was the next prize. Sully helped more with the chores in the morning as they ate together as a family before he and Matthew went to work on the new homestead. Every few days Sully would take the day off to hunt or spend time with Cloud Dancing and the Cheyenne.
But every day he was around, he worked meticulously on his wedding present for Michaela in secret. The structure of the homestead was finished, with the individual rooms separated. The floors were not yet sanded, though. It was just a skeleton. But in what would be their bedroom stood a now nearly finished bed, painstakingly carved with sweat and love by Sully for Michaela.
It had felt strange at first. He had a family. Two sons, a daughter, and his wife. Despite the fact that they had dinner together so often before, it felt so different now. It was… home. Adjusting hadn't been incredibly easy, he would admit. He couldn't leave in the middle of the night, or he would waken someone. If he left early in the morning, he would worry Michaela. He found his solitude while working on the homestead in the silence that he was afforded with Matthew.
But the greatest sense of peace he had felt had come by the end of the first week during their "marriage."
He heard her sighing in frustration, despite how quiet she tried to be. She was tossing and turning. Not that he could blame her – he was still awake.
Finally giving in, she opened her eyes and turned her head to gaze at his form, laying down beside the hearth as the low fire covered him in a gilded light.
"Can't sleep?" he whispered. At first she wasn't certain if he had indeed spoken; perhaps her mind was playing tricks on her. But when he turned his head, she saw that he was still awake and she nodded in confirmation.
"I can't seem to get comfortable," she sighed quietly. Biting her lip, she let her gaze wonder to the separating sheet and then back to him. Bravely, she slipped out of the bed and let her feet land on the cool, bare wooden floor. Letting her toes drum against the wood, she took a deep breath.
At first, he thought that he was dreaming. Then she stepped towards him and he knew he was dreaming. Turning so he was on his back, he felt the fabric of her nightgown as she settled onto the floor next to him. But then she did something that broke his reverie and forced him to acknowledge the fact over the believed dream – she was on her knees before him, as if waiting for his permission.
"Ya know," he reached up for her elbow and drew her into his embrace. "Ya can ask me to hold ya." He was teasing her and they both knew it.
"Sully," she sighed, positioning herself against his shoulder. "I just feel… safe. Safe in your arms."
"I'll always wanna hold ya." He turned his head and pressed a kiss into her hair. "Right there. That's your place. And it's always there for ya. And you'll be safe."
But she had already fallen asleep. And it began to happen more and more – she would sneak out of her bed after the children were asleep and curl up next to him until very early morning. Either she would waken herself or he would waken and put her back to bed before the children awoke and Brian announced the new day.
As for the town, well. The reaction had been anticipated, but that did not make it any easier to bear. Surprisingly, it had taken a whole six hours before Dorothy was constantly interrogating Michaela as to what happened. But Michaela had confirmed nothing and let her friend speculate as to whether they were married or not. Unfortunately, Dorothy mentioned her assumption to Loren. That had been a mistake.
The heckling from Hank and Jake was not a surprise either, but Hank had mentioned it didn't feel like a "real marriage" to him. Loren had his brows raised and stared at the couple every time they were together. But since neither would confirm the marriage, speculation ran its course heavily through the gossip. Michaela held her head high, secure in the belief she had done nothing wrong. Sully ignored them, secure in the knowledge that no matter what he said would be taken the wrong way so he just didn't say anything. Matthew and Colleen danced around the game, never actually lying. And when Brian had been asked by Loren what he knew, Brian's response was the best the children had heard so far, mainly because it threw everyone off.
"I'm plannin' the reception and there is gonna be chocolate cake!"
Sully had to admit that he was rather surprised at Michaela's resolve in their marriage. Granted, she was stubborn, strong willed, and reluctant to bend, but she had been so proud of their union. The embarrassment she felt in front of the children had begun to fade away, smiling contently. Matthew and Colleen had never questioned Sully sleeping on the floor; then again, it had been Colleen's idea. And he suspected that they knew she was sneaking to sleep with him. There was an embarrassed, but knowing smile behind their eyes. As secure as Michaela felt in her matrimony with Sully, the children felt that security and let it serve as the foundation for them to fall into the familial life.
Letting out a deep breath of air, Michaela smiled at Horace as she entered the telegraph office.
"Good morning, Horace."
"Mornin', Dr. Mike. Got yer mail here for ya." The small stack was handed to her. He smiled at her, the overeager grin that indicated he would probably inquire, as he had every time they had seen one another since the rumours surfaced.
"How is Myra handling the morning sickness?" She deterred him.
"Doin' better, but still awful. She said…" his voice lowered as he looked around to see if anyone was listening. "She said she wanted to eat dirt, Dr. Mike. That ain't… normal, is it?"
Grateful for the distraction, she gave him a reassuring smile as her eye caught a letter from Boston – Rebecca, however, and not her mother. Forcing herself to focus, she began to explain. "I have read about this before, Horace. They believe that it demonstrates anaemia in pregnant women. Send Myra by the clinic tomorrow and we'll go over her symptoms."
"Ann-ee-me-nia?" He stared. "Is she gonna be alright?"
It took much of her self control not to laugh, though the overprotective nature that could only be blamed upon his impending fatherhood was amusing at best. "Don't worry, Horace. It is not that uncommon in pregnant women. I'll see her tomorrow. Have a good afternoon."
She turned and left the telegraph office as she sighed in frustration. There had been no real letter from her mother since she had sent the telegram announcing her engagement. Actually, there had been. Two. The first had been sent prior to the announcement of their engagement while the second had requested her presence in Boston so that they could "discuss this matter properly." Less than ten words. Michaela had not told her mother about David. She believed that if she had, Elizabeth would have seen it as a sign that David was meant to be the husband of her youngest. She would have been in denial that he could have been capable of doing what he had, and would have accused her of over-exaggerating. It hurt. It hurt so much that Elizabeth wouldn't even pretend to be happy for her daughter.
