Chapter 2

As night fell in Colorado Springs, a quiet hush had fallen over the medical clinic. Three tired but steadfast children lounged outside the treatment room whilst Dorothy tried to convince them that their mother was safe now and that there really was no need for a vigil outside her room whilst she slept. Sully, of course, had paid no attention to Dorothy's efforts and had already made himself comfortable by Michaela's side, drifting in and out of sleep himself whilst he rocked back and forth on the chair, never letting go of the sleeping woman's hand.

Michaela stirred and slowly opened her eyes, feeling calm and secure in knowing immediately where she was, but what time it was remained a mystery. She thought to herself how remarkable it was that her body had been able to grasp at some of the sleep it so desperately needed despite the throbbing in her feet and the ache of her stomach, protesting at the few spoonfuls of soup she had managed after being empty for days. Smiling softly to herself, she realised that sleep had probably only been possible thanks to the large, warm hand entangled in her own - or rather thanks to the man to whom it belonged. Although her own belief in God had been shaken at times, she couldn't help but believe that some higher power had brought Sully into her life, a man who she knew would go to the ends of the earth to find her and bring her safely home. She thought back to the words they'd spoken at the top of that cliff, words that she wasn't sure she would be able to say to him again after Catherine's appearance in their lives. In that moment though, in amongst the panic and the fear, she had never known with such clarity how connected her heart was to another person's, how much she herself would go to the ends of the earth to make sure that he was safe too. It scared her, knowing that she needed him in this way, but at the same time it felt like the steadiest ground she'd felt beneath her feet in a long time.

The door creaked open and Dorothy entered, her voice low but breaking Michaela's reverie and waking Sully from his sleep anyway. "I'm sorry Michaela but I don't think the children are going to settle. I've just about convinced Matthew to go back to the homestead but Colleen and Brian are just too darn scared to be any further away from you than in that corridor!"

Sully turned his head so that he could see Michaela fully for the first time in an hour or two and sighed. "What do you think? You feel up to riding home now?" He moved to gently stroke a loose piece of hair away from her eyes, Dorothy casting her own gaze down to the floor, feeling like an intruder on an intimate moment. Michaela nodded her agreement and Sully rose, placing a soft kiss to the back of her hand, his eyes focussed steadfastly on hers, almost afraid that if he turned away for a moment, or even blinked, he'd find himself back in a moment where she was lost to him somewhere in the hills.

"I'll hitch up the wagon, be right back."

Dorothy moved to fill the now empty space by the bed, smiling down at her friend as she perched beside her. "You feeling ok Michaela?"

A response came after a deep breath in, "I think so, I'm a little tired, the abrasions on my feet and hands seem to be less painful than they were. I'm afraid there might be some internal bruising, but I won't know for certain until tomorrow. I'm sure that -"

"Michaela, I meant are you feeling ok - on the inside, and I don't mean any bruising. I want to know before you go back to the homestead that you're not hurting in ways that none of us can see." Dorothy silently urged Michaela to meet her gaze but that was fruitless for the time being, as she picked away at the sheets knotted up in her hands. "You know, when I was with my husband, on the nights when he would…" she took one of her friend's fidgeting hands in between her own, "when he would beat me, I used to just pray to God for some kind of reason why. At first I thought it was something I had done - I wish I'd had a friend to talk to you know, because I think the loneliness and the shame was the worst part of it all."

Dorothy felt another hand join her pair and raised her eyes to meet those across from her. "I want you to know, Michaela, that no matter how late at night, or how early in the morning, if you need to talk to someone, someone who might know even just a little of how you're feeling, well," she squeezed her friend's hands tightly in her own, " well, you just have to find me, alright?"

Tears welling in her eyes, Michaela nodded silently before surging forward to capture the other woman in a fierce hug. "Thank you," she whispered, both to Dorothy and again to God, for sending her not just Sully but a whole raft of people to keep her afloat at times like this. She marvelled time and time again at Dorothy's strength and she wondered if she'd ever really let her know how much she admired her bravery. Her thinking was again interrupted by Sully's gentle footsteps entering the room.

"Robert E's just finishing up getting the wagon hitched, you 'bout ready to head out?"

"Yes, yes I am." Seeing her children's hopeful faces for the first time in hours, peering around the doorframe, she opened her arms to them both and received their cautious hugs with a smile. "Oh but, I'm not dressed for a ride in the night air!" Michaela noted, laughing softly.

"Here, brought you this from downstairs, we cleaned it up a little whilst you were sleeping," Sully said, handing her the thick blanket she had been wrapped in on the journey home. She smiled a gentle smile, meeting his eyes again as the children started downstairs with Dorothy. "Don't worry, I'll keep you warm all the way home," Sully smiled back at her, offering his hands to her as she stood, gingerly, from the bed. With a silent question, he asked if she was comfortable walking to the wagon and she answered by heading towards the door, turning back at the edge of the door to take a breath and ask, still facing away from him, "Sully, will you stay at the homestead with us tonight, please?"