Chapter 28

A few days later…

Sully brought Little Wolf to help cheer up Katie. Little Wolf had missed Katie and Katie had missed her puppy. Having Little Wolf there seemed to make Katie happy. She looked better than she has looked since her accident. Animals always seem to make the best medicine.

Michaela stands at the door and watches Katie play with Little Wolf. Little Wolf chases the ball that Katie throws and brings it back to her. She smiles as she leaves the room and decides to leave them alone. She decides to find out how Sarah is doing. It has been several days since she has checked in on Sarah. She goes to look for someone to stay with Katie while she's gone.

She goes over to the telegraph office to see if Horace or Myra can look after Katie. Once she gets there, she sees Samantha but no sign of her parents.

Samantha sees Michaela come in.

"Hello, Dr. Mike. Is there something I can do for you?"

"Yes, are your mother and father around?"

"No, sorry. Pa is out running an errand and ma is back at the house taking care of Micah."
"She's taking care of Micah? Is he alright?"

"Yes, he's just been coughing and ma wanted to keep him at home."

"He's coughing and she hasn't brought him in to see me?"

"He just started coughing yesterday but if it gets worse she will probably bring him in to see you."

"I hope so. Micah is my godson and he's named after me. I care about him very much."

"I know you do Dr. Mike. What did you need to see my folks about?"

"I needed someone to look in on Katie while I run out to Matthew's to check on Sarah."

"Oh. I'm sorry my folks aren't here to help out. If I see my pa I will let you know you were looking for him."

"Thanks, Samantha."

"You're welcome." She replies with a smile as she goes back to what she was doing.

Michaela leaves the telegraph office and walks over to the mercantile.

Once there, she sees Dorothy's daughter Christina running the store. Loren must be lying down. It is very busy this time of day. Christina is not an option so she walks over to Grace's café and sees Brian and Maggie together at a table.

"Brian! Maggie!"

Brian and Maggie look up and smile.

"Ma, what are you doing here? Why aren't you at the clinic with Katie?"

"I need to go out to Matthew's and check on Sarah. Can you stay with Katie at the clinic while I'm gone?"

"Sure, ma."

"She has the puppy with her so she will be occupied for awhile. I just need someone to stay with her in case she needs something."

"Okay. We can play checkers or chess and just keep her occupied. It won't be a problem."

"Thanks Brian."

They all walk back to the clinic as Michaela grabs what she needs at the clinic and gets on the wagon that Brian hitched up for her.

She heads on out to Matthew's while Brian and Maggie stay with Katie at the clinic.

Meanwhile…

Brian and Maggie go upstairs to check on Katie because she is being so quiet. They go to her room and look in on her. Little Wolf is sitting on the floor whining with a ball in her mouth. Katie is lying on the bed motionless. Her eyes are closed. They decide to go over to the bed to get a closer look. She just appears to be sleeping so they decide to leave her alone and let her sleep. Brian picks up Little Wolf and takes her with them.

They play with her downstairs in Michaela's office while Katie sleeps.

Meanwhile at Matthew's…

Sarah is happy to see Michaela and she is actually able to get up and walk around a little bit. She is still in some pain but is feeling better each day. She's grateful to Michaela for saving her life. The twins are down for their naps so the house is quiet. Sarah goes to lie down while Michaela sits with her as they talk and catch up. Sarah is very concerned and worried about Katie and cannot wait until she is well enough to go see her.

Michaela gets up and makes them both some tea as they continue to talk well into the afternoon. The twins wake up hungry so Sarah makes them something to eat. Michaela takes this as her cue to leave. She needs to get back to the clinic to check on Katie. The twins give hugs and kisses to grandma as she leaves and she promises to come and check on Sarah again in a couple of days.

On the way home Michaela gets a nagging feeling that something is not right. Her mother's instinct is kicking in and she cannot wait until she gets back to the clinic to check on Katie.

Back at the clinic…

Brian and Maggie are sitting at the desk playing chess while Little Wolf sleeps on the floor next to the desk.

Sully comes in and sees them playing chess.

"Hey you two, so who's winning?"

Maggie grins as she looks at Brian.

Brian has an exasperated look on his face.

"Maggie's winning. She always wins."

"Where's your ma, Brian?"

Brian looks up at Sully and answers him.

"She went out to Matthew's to check on Sarah. She should be back soon."

He goes back to playing or rather getting beat by Maggie.

Sully smiles as he watches them for a few minutes and then he goes upstairs to check on Katie.

Once he gets upstairs, he heads straight for Katie's room and sees her sleeping. He approaches her, leans over and kisses her on the forehead. After he kisses her, he realizes how hot she is. She is burning up. She is sweating profusely. She didn't even wake up when he kissed her on the forehead. This is not a good sign. He looks at her leg and the wound is swollen. It is red and purple and looks horrible. He starts to get terribly worried and cannot wait for Michaela to get back.

Michaela is not going to like what she is coming home to.

Chapter 29 coming soon…is Katie going to live? What is Michaela going to do? Stay tuned and find out!