Chapter 21

Sully had barely ended telling Michaela what was deep in his heart, when Wolf's scratching at their door interrupted their private moment. Normally, they would have ignored his wish to join them, at least for a while. Today, however, the dog's being up meant that Myra's son was awake as well, and soon enough they heard little feet running back and forth along the hallway, until they heard Myra beckoning her son to come downstairs.

Sighing, Michaela turned away from Sully, throwing back the cover in order to get out of the bed. Yet as soon as she sat, she needed to lie down again. The sudden move had darkened her sight, and much to her horror she realized that she was sick the second time this morning. She didn't even hear Sully's concerned question whether she needed help. All her thinking was concentrated on the task to get to the bathroom without throwing up or, even worse, fainting on the way there.

Silently cursing his still lingering partial immobility, Sully followed her with his eyes as she at last hurried out of the room, leaving the door open. He wished he were able to support her, but he still depended on help himself. As if to affirm his thought, Daniel called up to him from the foot of the stairs, "If ya need me just holler, Sully!"

"In a minute!" he yelled back whilst sitting on the edge of the mattress, putting on his old pair of tracksuit trousers.

The least he could do for Michaela was to spare her to be seen by the others in her disheveled state. Thus he was determined to get to the end of the hallway by himself. Much to his astonishment, it was considerably easier to stand upright than yesterday. Still having the warning of his physiotherapist to be careful on his mind, he still used the crutches though as he made his way to the top of the stairs.

Michaela was grateful that she had the upper floor to herself for the moment. Although feeling a lot better now, she preferred being alone when she unwrapped her leg in order to see whether the stitches were broken. As it turned out, the wound was as fine as could be expected, but right over it a bad bruise began to show its ugly blue-purplish face. Relieved, she put on the bandage again. There was no need for her to go back to the hospital; some ice would help to relieve the pain.

As she joined the others in the kitchen some minutes later, she was greeted by three voices speaking simultaneously. She wasn't able to discern single words but it wasn't hard to get the meaning of what was said. Frowning indignantly, she set them straight, "I won't spend the day in bed; the couch will do. But first I'll have breakfast. I'm starving."

Myra, however, stopped Michaela's venturing further into the room. Sleeping an entire night for the first time in days had revived the young woman, and she knew that she owed Dr. Mike more than a simple thank you. That was why she rose from her chair. "The doc said ya should rest as much as possible. Just tell me what ya want, Dr. Mike, and I'll bring it to ya in the living room."

"Myra," Michaela retorted, the wrinkle between her eyebrows growing deeper. "Thank you for your suggestion, but I'd appreciate eating here in the kitchen."

Whilst Zack was unfazed by the conversation and continued spooning his Cheerios up from the bowl before him, the adults at the table glanced at each other. It was Daniel who eventually settled the problem. Pushing back his chair, he straightened to his feet, offering, "Ya can sit here. I gotta leave anyway."

Puzzled, Sully looked up at his friend. "Where ya wanna go?"

Daniel sighed in pretended exasperation, "It's April, 26th. Does that tell ya anything?"

"Oh, of course." Sully rolled his eyes at his forgetfulness. "I guess I lost track of time. I hope ya won't tell him," he grinned at Daniel.

"Tell who what?" Michaela wondered, looking from one friend to the other whilst she sat down, pulling the chair closer to the table.

Knowing how much Michaela despised being left out, Sully, still grinning, hastily explained, "Cloud Dancin' and Snow Bird'll arrive today. I've promised to meet them at the airport, but since I can't drive Daniel will go for me."

Although Michaela felt a pang because Sully hadn't told her about their friends' return, her face lit up. "It will be wonderful to have them back," she said, already making plans for the evening. Turning to Daniel she requested, "Would you please invite them for dinner tonight?"

When Sully was about to protest, she quickly assured him, "I'll ask Grace to deliver the food so we won't have any work with it."

Realizing that her mind was already set, Sully consented, even though reluctantly, "If ya are sure, it's alright with me."

As Daniel opened the entrance when he left the house, a cold draught of air blew through the living room, making the kitchen door move slightly. Wolf, who had been sitting next to Sully's chair all the time, laid his ears against his head. Whining softly, he crawled under the table.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Myra, baffled by the dog's strange behavior.

Michaela and Sully glanced at each other worriedly. They knew that Wolf never acted so frightened without a reason. Ducking his head so he could see the sky through the window, Sully explained, "Maybe we'll have a sudden change of the weather. At the moment it only looks like rain though."

Discussing the unusual cold spring was a favorite topic in Colorado Springs these days. Doing the same for a bit, the adults in the kitchen entertained themselves until a car driving onto the yard stopped them.

"It ain't the van," Sully stated after carefully listening to the engine, reacting to Michaela's questioning gaze.

They didn't have to wait for long until the unexpected visitor revealed his identity. After a short banging on the entrance, it was thrown open, and Hank stormed in.

"Myra?" he yelled, looking around, "Ya here?"

From the noise, baby Samantha startled out of her sleep in Sully's room next to the kitchen. A loud wail alarmed her mother, and whilst she hurried to her daughter, Myra angrily answered her husband who was filling the doorframe between living room and kitchen by now, "Ya have no right to come in here, Hank. And could ya keep your voice low? You're frightening the kids."

"Shut up and rather hurry," Hank retorted, unconcerned that this wasn't his house where he was bossing around his wife. "Ya can't stay here."

"Says who?" Michaela cut in, glowering at the hotel owner from her place at the table.

"Me and the weatherman. And if ya're smart, ya come with us to the Gold Nugget," Hank replied, not bothering to make an attempt at appearing more friendly.

"What the hell are ya talkin' about?" Sully didn't make a secret of his dislike for the intruder. "This house is as good as any other..."

"Not when a twister's around," Hank interrupted impatiently. "Ya should turn on the TV now and then, or at least the radio."

Yet Sully was unflappable. "We had storms before."

"Well, then ya might wanna look at that." Hank strode into the living room, looking for the remote. Whilst doing so, he called for his wife again, "Get movin', Myra! I don't wanna be on the street once it's here."

Insecurely, Myra looked at Michaela who nodded at her encouragingly, "He really seems to be concerned for your safety."

Relieved, Myra smiled back at the doctor. The note of urgency in her husband's voice frightened her somewhat. It wasn't in Hank's nature to make a fuss about nothing, and thus she actually preferred to go home with him rather than to stay at Sully's.

Shifting her daughter to her other hip, she reached for Zack, gesturing for the little boy to follow her. "Thanks for everythin', Dr. Mike and Sully," she at last said, hurrying out of the room, "I best be goin'."

Before they knew it, Michaela and Sully were left alone in the kitchen. Obviously, Hank had turned the TV on for they heard voices from the living room. Casting each other a quick look, they simultaneously rose to their feet. They made quite a pair as one of them limped and the other one hurried with crutches to the room next door, but neither of them found the situation amusing. Their eyes were glued to the screen instead where the local station showed the damages in the area north of Denver whilst its speaker continued giving severe thunderstorm warnings. Only when Wolf pushed himself between their legs did they spring into action.

"I'll close the shutters upstairs," Michaela said matter-of-factly.

Knowing that they might not have much time left for them to prepare the house, Sully agreed.

"I'll do my best here," he replied, silently pleading with his legs to carry him until everything would be secured. Wolf seemed to sense his master's anxiety; that was why he followed his every step making sure Sully knew someone was at his side.

"A new twister is reported. It's moving from the south of Denver with around 50 miles per hour towards Colorado Springs," the man on the TV informed his viewers. Although he tried his best to give his voice a tragic note, his excitement about what was happening was still shining through. Although tornados weren't uncommon in the area, they were usually not as big as those that were keeping them on their toes right now.

As the first thunder was heard outside, Sully pulled out the plug of the TV. There seemed to be silence for a split second once the set was quiet but then the noise of the howling storm filled the house completely again.

Cursing the weakness of his legs, Sully was still busy with the last window in the living room when Michaela joined him downstairs. "The kitchen and my room," he simply said, and Michaela was already on her way.

She had, however, barely entered the kitchen when he heard her first quiet voice that grew louder with every word, "Oh my God! Sully, it's coming directly towards us!"

"Come here!" he instantly yelled. Not even noticing that he had let go of the crutches, he pulled Michaela under the stairs as soon as she was close enough for him to reach her.

It was not one minute too early when they took shelter under the wooden construction. Michaela kneeled, embracing Wolf whilst Sully mirrored her position, shielding them both with his body.

The approaching noise outside grew unbearably loud until it sounded as if a train raced directly through the building. It felt as if the house became alive for every single piece of it seemed to move. The alarmingly rattling sounds were even topped though when a blood-curdling crash shook the entire house.

And then it was suddenly over; only pieces of glass that continued raining down onto the floor were still to be heard. It didn't take long though until the wailing of sirens replaced the sound of destruction.

"Ya alright?" Sully asked worriedly as he felt Michaela's body tremble beneath his.

With her heart hammering against her ribs, she wasn't able yet to produce a tone. Never before in her life had she been so scared, not even when the gun had been pressed against her head. Only slowly recovering from the earth-shattering experience, she attempted to take in a deep breath yet a tight bond around her chest didn't allow it.

"Come here," Sully said concerned by her quietness, gently guiding her into a sitting position. As she leaned against the wall, he positioned himself next to her laying his arm around her shoulder. Wolf, wanting to help as well, affectionately nuzzled Michaela's face with his nose. Softly whining he even began to lick her face, and that seemed to help.

Still shaken, Michaela patted his back, "I'm fine," she assured, "I'm fine."

Only now did Sully relax somewhat. Running his hand through his hair, he contemplated what to do next. Although the twister seemed to be gone, it was still raining heavily. Straining his ears to catch any sound that might tell him about the damage at the house, he could tell that more than the kitchen window was broken for the wind appeared to blow right above their heads. Yet before he'd made any decision, Michaela said quietly, "I should go and look if someone needs my help out there."

She didn't move though. It wasn't only because she knew that there would be enough of her colleagues on their way to do their job. Just for once, she wanted to be selfish and think of herself and her baby first. She was fully aware that not only her body but her psyche had endured quiet a lot lately which was more than enough to provoke a miscarriage. After all, she was still in the first trimester of the pregnancy which was the rather unstable part of the all the nine month. But ever since she had seen the tiny heart beating she knew she would do anything to protect the new life that was growing inside of her. In addition, she was the one who could walk around almost normally, and someone needed to take stock of the damage here. Yet she still remained sitting. As did Sully. He wasn't ready yet to face the fact that the house of his ancestors that he had re-built with his own two hands might be damaged beyond repair.

Their peaceful moment was, however, over soon enough when suddenly the entrance burst open. Two firemen stormed into the house, shouting, "Someone here?"

"Yeah," Sully immediately called back, straightening to his feet. Yet a painful cramp in his legs reminded him that he wasn't able yet to move around like he wanted. As he sank back onto the floor, groaning, one of the men approached their hiding place under the stairs.

"Anyone hurt?" he asked, ready to spring into action.

Michaela gave him a strained smile. "We are fine," she assured, "only a bit shocked."

"Good," the other firemen responded, relieved that they would be able to move on quickly, "but we gotta ask ya to leave the building with us. Ya are only to enter it again after our colleagues checked the construction to make sure it's still safe in here."

Worriedly glancing at Sully, Michaela pushed herself up from the floor, yet like in the morning, she'd moved too fast. Seeing black wisps before her eyes, she clutched the first railing she could grasp.

"Ma'am?" the first fireman asked.

"Low blood pressure," Michaela explained away her condition whilst she pointed to a spot next to her desk. "Would you please give Sully his crutches?"

As they at last crossed the living room they were able to cast a look into the kitchen, and Michaela gasped by the sight. A huge tree branch had been slammed through the kitchen window, and broken glass was everywhere. Yet once they stepped out of the house, it became even worse. Debris of all sorts littered the yard, and from the barn was merely an untidy heap of boards and planks left.

With his head hanging down, his back still turned to his home, Sully stood motionless, propping himself up on his crutches. Michaela hadn't looked at the house yet either, fearing what she might see. As she glanced at Sully, she saw something like desperation in his expression and realized how very hard this must be for him. He had taken a lot of odd jobs to earn enough money for the material he needed, and had worked on the building for many years.

Her heart went out to him, and all she wanted was to let him know that he didn't have to go through this on his own. That was why she stepped closer to him and carefully took one of his crutches away. Although they hadn't spoken one single word since they'd stepped onto the yard, Sully lay his now free arm around her shoulder, accepting her support before they slowly pivoted together to face what the storm had left for them.