Chapter 25

Daniel drove the two strangers to Mike's single story brick house. Hank had thought it amusing that he was being driven in a Police van but Elizabeth was less that amused as Daniel had had to move copious papers from the passenger seat to allow her to be seated. Another thing that stunned the men was she made no effort to pick up the luggage and waited for them to do so. Rolling his eyes Hank informed the officer he did not know the woman nor her daughter only Sully since they were young as they walked behind the dignified woman.

Alighting from the wagon Daniel located the key that he was privy too explaining that on occasions Mike was away and he looked after the place with his wife Emily.

The woman grumbled so the men could hear, her daughter had earned the right to be called Doctor and what was it with people not recognising such achievements. Daniel bit back the comment that she should then address him as Sergeant.

Standing outside the home Elizabeth asked in a disgusted voice, "She lives here?" the bare earth with a few succulents pot plants all the adornment that stood on the stark parched earth.

"Yep."

Hank still had the silly grin plastered on his face. Leaving his bag in the car he assumed that Sully was staying somewhere else. Daniel saw this and said, "You better get your gear too as Sully will be coming here as well."

Elizabeth stopped and stared at the man as if he spoke a different language while Hank said. "The sly old dog he got a girlfriend?" to which the policemen nodded and opened the door and pointed towards the town and hastily bid them farewell."You will find anything you want at the grocery store." Next moment he was driving hard towards the town trying not to lose his glee. Thinking "I'd like to be a fly on the wall when they all meet."

At the station he did consider using the CB radio and letting his friends know what was in store for them but then deciding *No* everyone in the whole area then would know about the new arrivals. He was sure they would be back either this day or the next.

Entering the small house Elizabeth was appalled at what she saw, such a sparsely decorated place. Hank who was suffering from his high consumption of a certain beverage flopped on the lounge.

"Well."

Raising his eyes to look at the older woman he asked. "What?"

Elizabeth needed to use that ladies and so she went and looked through the house seeing Michaela had a room as there were family photos on the chest of draws she went to the other room and after struggling with her luggage she dumped it in the centre of the room. Finding the toilet that was no bigger than a broom cupboard she went and lay on the bed. Not registering there was an array of men's cloths adorning various points in the room.

Both new occupants rose later and where in the middle of deciding what to do about dinner when they heard a car arrive. Michaela was the first through the door and her surprise was obvious as Sully bumped into her and his exclamation added to the confusion.

Sully stepped and put a protective arm around Michaela when Elizabeth's shrill voice said."Take your hand off her she is an engaged woman…. " Glaring from Michaela to Sully.

"Yes Mrs Quinn I know." He said thinking she was referring to himself though puzzled how she already knew.

"Michaela David!..."

"I am engaged to Sully and David is old history Mother, remember he was unfaithful." Michaela replied in an icy tone.

"I have given up some very important engagements to come here to the ends of the earth to make you see sense." Looking with distain at her surroundings. "You do not belong here your place is in Boston with people of your own kind" She was using a tone that reminded Michaela of her telling off as a young child when her mother disapproved.

"I belong here were I am wanted and needed."

Hank could no longer stay quiet and said. "Now ladies play nice."

Both women turning and saying in unison. "Shut up." Michaela was surprised at her mother's utterance. Never even to the servants had she told anyone just to shut up.

Sully grabbing his unexpected friend dragging him into the kitchen and put the kettle on.

"Leave them be." Sully warned his friend and then asked. "what ya doin' here anyways?"

"That's a nice welcome I must say, so the young woman ya had ya eye on ya followed her heh?"

"No we just happened to meet again after I had an accident. She's a doctor" Sully was not going to divulge how they both had dreamed of each other since meeting.

"Likely story wanted to keep her to yourself, she looks better than I remember Hank winked. Sully was deciding it may be best to remove Hank and himself as soon as possible and go back to the station. He could see that things with Hank there could become sticky for all of them. He only had to try and get Michaela on her own.

Michaela was still reeling from the shock of seeing her mother here, the last person on the earth she expected. It didn't bode well as she knew her mother was set in a path that would be difficult to dissuade.

When Sully remerged with the coffees, milk and sugar and a packet of biscuits in the wrapping and jokingly with a smile said don't break the barrel Elizabeth huffed. "Are they all savages out here in the forsaken land?"

"Mother, he was only joking." Michaela retaliated.

"Well take me to the local motel and I will stay there." she sarcastically said.

"I'll doss on the lounge." Hank volunteered with a gleam in his eye. Sully throwing him a glaring glance.

No Mother you have the spare room, Hank yes you have the lounge and Sully watched as she continued and Sully will share with me.

Elizabeth's reaction was immediate she stood protesting as the cup of coffee in slow motion tilted towards the standing woman and poured the scalding liquid over her skirt.

"Michaela I forbid it." As she tried to wipe the spreading stain from her clothes with a tea towel that Sully had tried using. "Get your hands off me!" Elizabeth screamed snatching the cloth. "Look my travelling dress is ruined."

"It will be fixed at the dry cleaners and it's only a dress, are you burnt?" Michaela asked with concern.

Elizabeth could stand no more and fled out the front door and began walking towards the town. This was all too much for her and she needed to calm her frayed nerves.

Yes some of her other daughters had lived with boyfriend before marriage Marjory being the main culprit but Michaela was the last one she thought would go against her mother's beliefs.

"Shouldn't ya go after her?" Sully asked.

With a determination Sully recognised Michaela huffed. "No she can't get lost."

As Elizabeth paces along she came across a young boy who looked as scruffy as those in the poorer sections of Boston. He saw her and knew she was new and as he was friendly he fell in step with her.

"Hi! Ya new aint ya?" he stated the obvious. "We don't get many strangers here." He volunteered.

Grumpily the woman who only wanted space to organise her thoughts and formulate a plan to get her daughter away from here as soon a humanly possible looked at the blue innocent eyes of the lad. He has a gap in the front teeth as his older ones coming through.

"Yes does it look like it?" Elizabeth stated the obvious.

Nodding he said. "Daniel told Mum ya had arrived with another man."

"Daniel?"

"Yes the policeman he told Mum she is the teacher of the air."

"Your Doctor Mike's mother right?" He said in a knowing voice.

Nodding Elizabeth watched the small child.

"We really need good doctors here ya know? It is a big land and it's hard to be them out here ya know." Scuffing his toe on the dirt he continued."We all like her and she is a friend to my mum and others. She saved Sully when he was trampled by a bull ya know? She flies in a plane with my brother and Bluey." Looking at the old ladies face he decided it was better not to tell her about the accident, he wasn't sure why she was here but his gut told him she wanted her to leave. "Ya want to look around, I showed Mike I'll show you too if ya like and ya can have some tea with Mum." He offered in a friendly childlike tone.

"Thank you for the offer I do not think I'll be here long and I had better get back now." The older woman said.

Before running off Brian said."Any time just remember to ask." as he ran off down the dusty road. Elizabeth slowly turned to return to the house as she had nowhere else to go.

A car stopped and she was offered a lift. It was Charlotte who knew some of their story. "Your Mike's mother I assume, I am Charlotte the teacher of the air. My children work here with the RFDS and the hospital and you have just met Brian."

Reluctantly Elizabeth climbed into the car.

Charlotte went on to tell the mother about the job that her daughter did. How she was here when Australia needs dedicated doctors. That she had saved men and women over thousands of miles not just in small suburban practices. Elizabeth had never thought about what her daughter's position meant to this huge area and its people.

Mike sitting on the lounge and the two men had brought out chairs from the dining table were drinking the coffee discussing what they should all do about the situation. Michaela had remembered Hank the bar tender at the island and hoped Sully had never told him of what she thought of him.

"I think the best thing would be for me to take Hank to the station." Sully said while taking Michaela's fingers and kissing them tenderly, keeping his eyes on her face all the time. He was cursing to himself for their lousy luck that not only did they have Hank here who could be insensitive at the best of times. But they also had Michaela's mother and Hank had quickly filled them in on her antics since arriving. Separation seemed to be the best option at this time.

"No I need you here" Michaela stated."I have to speak to mother but she will not change things. She will just have to accept them."

When Elizabeth entered the two men rose and Sully yanked Hank out the door saying they would collect the groceries for dinner.

Elizabeth sunk onto the lounge as her daughter sat there as well. Registering that her mother looked worn out, surprised that Elizabeth had undertaken such an arduous trip. Knowing though she had ulterior motives made Michaela wary of their coming discussion.

"I am glad Mr Sully and his friend have left." Elizabeth said looking at the closed door.

"He did it so we could have this talk privately, it was the way he is considerate." Michaela added.

"I see you like it here?" Sweeping her hand around the small house.

Looking at her mother in the eyes she uttered. "I am needed here and I make a difference. People here need good medical assistance."

"I suppose I deserve that. I suppose I deserve a lot of what you think about me... but you deserve a lot of what I feel about you as well."Elizabeth sighed.

"Like what mother?" Michaela remembering the battles she had with her on her choice to be a Doctor, her finalizing her sham engagement to David and so many other things. He father had been the only one who supported her other than Rebecca her eldest sister.

"Unorthodoxy are not expressed simply to annoy you as you seem to believe." She knew that her Boston friends would be surprised and astonished at the situation here in the out back.

"Then why do you express them? Why can't we just agree to be different?" Michaela begged.

"Come on do you really think I can't tolerate you being different than I?"

"Then what is it?" Michaela wanted so much to say YES!

"When you were a child, you always wanted to play with fire... the stove..the hearth... even the matchers your father used to light his pipe. But it was my job not to let you get burned." The faraway look as her mother remembered those years when she was a child, days that Mike had forgotten.

"Well, I appreciate your desire to protect me, mother I really do, but there's comes a point in one's life when it's no longer your job. A point when a child is on her own. And she still wants play with fire. Then so be it."

"No! I am your mother and you're still my daughter. That is for forever and I will always try and protect you from..."

"From what you believe is to be harmful?"Michaela said harshly looking defiantly at her mother.

"That's correct."

"Mother I love Sully. He is kind and considerate and he loves me."

"Then marry him."

"We don't want to get married now. It is not the time. We are engaged."

"You can't be his mistress."The idea repulsed Elizabeth knowing Marjorie's situation. Marjory had been living with a man ever since she had left her unfaithful husband Everet.

"I'm not going to be his mistress! And even if I were. It's my life, I'll be the mistress to whomever I please."

"Disgusting."Elizabeth spat out.

"More importantly I'll be the mistress of myself." Rising and leaving the room she was too tired to be going over all this again and again. Her mother just never seemed to understand her and she was convinced she never would.

Elizabeth rose as well and went and lay on the bed in the spare room.