Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman. The rights to those characters and to the show belong to the creators of the show, CBS, the Sullivan Company and to A&E.

A Path Through the Dark

Chapter 28

Michaela's wrist was throbbing. Her sleep had been fitful at best. Yet she knew that it wasn't only her wrist keeping her awake. Sully's whispered message from the night before kept playing through her mind. Michaela was half asleep when he whispered it and she kept asking herself if she'd heard correctly. Had it been a trick of her mind? The thought would not leave her alone.

Had Sully declared his love for her? If so, that scared her. It was too much, too soon, she told herself. They knew each other for such a short time. Could you really know that you loved someone in that amount of time? She remembered from childhood a recent widower who married a few months after his wife's passing. Her mother used many choice words to describe him and his new wife. And others had felt the same way, insinuating that they were together before the wife died. Would people think that of her?

Did she love Sully? The question was hard because what she had once held up as love had dissolved in her fingers like smoke. David. Michaela knew she didn't want to be made a fool of again. David told her he loved her and now she felt it was leverage he used to get into her bed.

Would Sully do that? Could he play with her heart to get her into his bed? Michaela swallowed hard. She enjoyed the moments they shared, the touches and kisses. It was so easy to imagine herself losing control. Sully made her feel different than David ever had but she wasn't going to be another notch in someone's bedpost.

.

Certainly, she must have imagined that Sully had said he loved her. There was no definition to their relationship besides enjoying each other. They hadn't said they were exclusive or even that they were dating. That thought stopped her as she imagined Sully with someone else. It was one thing to be jealous of his dead wife and a whole other thing to find herself up against a living breathing woman.

How silly she was being. Sitting up in bed, she reached over and turned on the bedside lamp. Her mind was really working overtime. In the past few minutes, she had Sully using her to get sex and then dating multiple woman at the same time. Was it lack of sleep making her so unreasonable or the pain in her wrist? Sully wasn't David. Sully was different than David, different than anyone she had met. They had walked this path of grief together for the last few months and she had found comfort in him that she had never found in David or in her family.

Michaela unwrapped her wrist now and found that the swelling had increased significantly overnight. Part of the reason it was hurting was the swelling. She tried to move it but the pain was much worse than the night before. She would have to think about Sully later. Right now, her original diagnosis of a sprain did not seem to be correct. Michaela had no choice but to have it x-rayed.

Sully insisted on driving her to the hospital though Michaela had tried to persuade him she could take herself. He laughed at her protests and tried hard to take her mind off the pain on the way here. The closer they got to the hospital, the quieter Michaela became as she worried about what awaited her there. When they pulled into a parking space, Sully remarked on this.

"You okay? You've been very quiet."

Michaela closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Sully, I want to go in alone." Sully frowned and looked over at her. He fidgeted with the keys of the Jeep with one hand but he didn't speak. "I don't want everyone in my business and honestly if you walk in with me that is going to start them all talking." Michaela willed him to say something but the only sound was the keys clinking together. "Sully, they're still talking about me and David and I just don't want to add fuel to the fire."

Sully looked out the window and squinted. "Or maybe you don't want people thinking you would date someone like me." His voice was calm but Michaela sensed the hurt in it.

"That's not true," Michaela protested.

"I'm not a doctor. I haven't even been to college. I mean how would that look if the chief of surgery was with some blue collar worker." He met her eyes now and Michaela could see she had wounded him.

"You are putting words in my mouth." Michaela's voice was shriller than she meant for it to be. Sully didn't respond. Michaela looked out the side window and tried to clear her head. When she spoke again, her voice was much calmer. "Look Sully if you walk in there with me everyone is going to wonder who you are."

"Michaela, I can behave myself. I'm not going to be pawing you," he quickly retorted.

"That's not going to stop them from asking," she tried to explain. "What do I say? I don't even know how to answer that question because we haven't talked about it. When I tried to ask you, your reply was we are just enjoying each other. So what am I supposed to say? 'Oh hey everyone meet Sully, the guy I enjoy making out with.'"

Sully turned around completely, his face contorted as he tried to make sense of what she was saying. "What do you mean?"

"We haven't defined our relationship."

"We're dating," Sully said incredulously. "Or at least I thought we were."

"Sully," Michaela said pleadingly, when she realized she wasn't making any headway.

"No it's fine." He wouldn't look at her now and he put his hand up as she spoke. "Text me when you're done and I'll pick you up." He pushed the key back into the ignition.

"Sully don't be angry with me." Michaela felt torn up inside. She was getting what she wanted but the price she was paying was too high. "I didn't mean to upset you." She touched the back of his hand with her good one and he exhaled loudly.

He looked at her but his face was hard to read. "Text me when you're ready."

Michaela nodded and got out of the Jeep but she felt horrible about it. She had hurt him and that was never her intention. Perhaps she should have explained that David worked in orthopedics and even though he was in Boston, any of the doctors would know her. Who knew what David had told them about her or about Suilly?

She watched from the sidewalk as Sully drove away, fearing she had done irreparable damage. To add to the pain in her wrist, she now felt a pain in her heart. Turning towards the doors of the emergency room, she steeled herself. She could only deal with one issue at a time, she told herself. Sully would have to wait.

Once in the emergency room, she made her way over the registration desk. The triage nurse recognized her right away. They whisked her through registration and had her in triage very quickly. Her blood pressure was high but Michaela knew the pain in her wrist was the culprit. The rest of her vitals were fine. Michaela marveled at how she could feel so bad and yet her body barely registered it.

"Come on Dr. Quinn, let's get you into a room so that you can be seen."

"Things must be slow today. I figured I would have quite a wait."

The nurse winked at her. "Being the boss does have some advantages."

"Oh, please, no special favors. I can wait." The nurse wouldn't hear of it though and Micahela found herself in a small curtained cubicle with way too much equipment for such a tiny space. She had always hated her rotation in the emergency department. The nurse laid out a hospital gown for her and then turned to look at her sympathetically.

"Dr. Quinn, the orthopedic consult today is Dr. Lewis. I thought you might want to know."

Michaela pursed her lips. Dammit! David was supposed to be in Boston. "Thanks," Michaela said. The nurse looked a little worried but Michaela patted her on the arm. "I promise you, it will be fine."

The nurse returned her smile. "Can I get you anything?"

"No, I just want to rest." The nurse gave her one last look and then walked out of the cubicle pulling the curtain closed behind her.

Michaela changed out her top for the medical gown and settled herself on the gurney, fluffing up the pillows behind her. She moved a pillow under her arm and rested her wrist against it. The throbbing in her wrist was now echoed in her head and she knew she needed sleep more than anything. She looked at her phone and considered texting Sully but she didn't even know what to say. With a deep sigh, she set the phone down.

The curtain moved and Michaela looked up as David walked in. "Well, well," he said looking over at her. "It really is Dr. Michaela Quinn. Rumors of your visit are true."

"David." She frowned. "I thought you would be in Boston."

He shook his head. "Decided not to go. I mean who wants to spend the holidays explaining why you are no longer engaged." Michaela felt her anger peak and she swallowed against a hasty retort. David opened his ipad to look over her chart before picking up his stylus and making a few notations.

He came to the head of the bed. "So let's see this wrist." Michaela held out her injured hand and David took it gingerly, beginning to prod with his fingers. When he hit a particularly sore spot, Michaela winced. "Sorry," he said and then let go.

"How did you do this?" He was making notes on her chart as he spoke to her.

"I fell while I was hiking and caught myself with this hand."

David raised an eyebrow. "Hiking? Alone?"

"Not relevant to my injury,". Michaela said, meeting his eyes.

"You shouldn't hike alone."

"I never said I was alone." Michaela's tone was growing impatient.

David sneered. "So who were you with? Sully?"

"Not relevant to the injury and still none of your business." Michaela's tone was clearly hostile now but David was clearly enjoying this.

"When did you injure it?" he asked.

"Yesterday afternoon, about 4 o'clock." Michaela now refused to meet his eyes and was staring straight ahead.

"How have you treated it since then?"

"Wrapped it, iced it, took some ibuprofen."

"Swelling and pain have both increased?" Michaela nodded. "Right, let's get an x-ray. You might have snapped the scaphoid bone. Do you need something for pain?"

"Yes," she said, feeling desperate suddenly.

David nodded and made a few more notations on the ipad. "You know we can be civil to one another," David said, taking a step back from the beside.

Michaela whipped her head in his direction. "We can also be professional, which means not asking personal questions."

David held his hands up. "Fair enough. They looked at each other for a hard moment and Michaela could see him backing down. "Ok, let's look at that x-ray and we will see what we've got."

"Thanks," Michaela said. David turned to exit the little cubicle and then he stopped. "For what it's worth - I'm sorry you're injured." He didn't give her a chance to respond but simply walked out closing the curtain behind him.

Michaela laid back on the pillow and closed her eyes, wondering why David was suddenly being nice. Why did this day have to be so full of confusion? All she really wanted right this moment was to sleep. They would be in soon to take her for an x-ray but maybe she could get a few moments of quiet. Her wish was not granted - the curtains rustled again.

Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and instantly wished she'd left them closed. "Michaela?" It was Will. "Are you okay?"

She faked a smile. "Just injured my wrist. Currently waiting for an x-ray."

"I was down for a mental consult and one of the nurses told me you'd come in. I knew you were out of town so I was surprised."

Michaela pushed herself up on the bed feeling all the emotions of this morning churning inside of her. She took a deep breath to temper herself. "I was out of town - this happened to be the closest hospital."

"What happened?"

"I fell while hiking." Her words were curt but Will ignored her tone.

"Sorry to hear that. I know you were looking forward to being away - I hate that it was cut short." He walked closer to the bed. "Look if you need anything, don't hesitate to call me."

"Thanks," Michaela replied, hoping she didn't seem too ungrateful.

"I could bring dinner by your condo tonight?"

Michaela cleared her throat. He was not going to let this go. "Will, I'm not staying at my condo. I'm out at Shadow Mountain Recovery." A look of recognition quickly dawned on Will's face. Screwing herself up, she dove in. It was time to stop this. "I'm flattered, Will. I really am but right now I'm trying to figure out things between Sully and myself." She paused and looked away from him. "I know that you don't think it's a good idea and maybe it isn't." Will started to interject but Michaela cut him off. "I've already made up my mind to see where this is going, Will. Sully's past isn't stopping me."

Will's shoulders slumped. He folded his hands together and stared at them as he spoke. "Guess my timing was off." He looked up at her, his face a little forlorn.

"Will, neither of us planned this. He hated me when you first put us together."

"I hate that I put you together." He smiled like it was a joke but Michaela knew he was serious.

"Will," Michaela began but this time Will cut her off.

"Listen, if things don't work out, would you let me know. I'd like another chance."

Michaela nodded thoughtfully "I can do that."

"Well, I hope it's not broken." He leaned over and placed a light kiss to her forehead.

"Thanks,"Michaela said watching him as he exited the cubicle.

Unsure what sort of response she would get, Michaela texted Sully. "Ready. Please come in." It was a peace offering but perhaps not a good one. The only thing he sent back was "On my way." The wrist was in fact broken but David wanted to try a brace rather than a cast. Getting the brace on had been very painful and David had insisted on some Vicodan even though Michaela protested. With the pain finally abating a bit, Michaela dozed.

The nurse brought Sully into Michaela's cubicle when he arrived. After glancing at Sully more than once, she promised to be back with a wheelchair.

Michaela smiled at him. "I think you have a fan."

He looked at her with concern. "Broken?" Michaela nodded weakly. "I'm so sorry."

"I'm on painkillers," she said. "Strong ones. So ignore me if I say anything stupid."

Sully smiled in spite of himself but didn't respond. The nurse came back with the wheelchair and then left again to get Michaela's paperwork. Michaela sat up and looked over at her shirt on the one chair in the little cubicle.

"I need that," she said, finding it hard to concentrate.

Sully retrieved it. "Can you put it on by yourself?" Michaela was looking at him with a blank face but she shook her head. "I'll get the nurse to help you," he offered.

"You can help me," she said, already pulling at the hospital gown with her good hand. Sully swallowed hard and tried to avert his eyes, focusing on the task before him. The snaps made it easy to get the hospital gown off with little contact. Sully swallowed hard as she sat before him in only her bra. He reminded himself that she was injured and high on painkillers. Sully pulled her shirt over her head and then set about trying to get the injured hand in the armhole.

Everytime Michaela winced, Sully felt terrible but in the end they managed to accomplish the task. The curtain moved as he finished pulling her shirt down. Sully turned expecting to see the nurse but David stood there instead, staring at the place where Sully's hands were still tugging on the shirt.

"I have Michaela's discharge papers here," he said, trying to stay professional. He looked at Michaela and then Sully. "Will someone be with her today? I've given her a high dose of painkillers so she really shouldn't be left alone."

Sully looked at Michaela to answer but she remained quiet. "She won't be alone." Sully said, trying to keep his answer as neutral as possible.

David nodded. "Good. I have a sling for her. It should help her to keep her wrist protected." David moved closer and Sully stepped aside. He put the sling over her neck and helped her settle her hand inside of it. Sully moved back more, feeling a little flare of jealousy as David touched her.

"No more hiking right now," David said to Michaela jovially before looking over to Sully. "Or other strenuous activity." Sully recognized the challenge in the doctor's eyes but he refused to rise to the bait. David looked back at Michaela and Sully thought his gaze was almost tender. "Okay. You are free to go then."

"Good," Michaela said, her tongue much looser than Sully's. "I need to get Sully out of here before he turns all of the nurses' heads."

The nurse from earlier showed up with the wheelchair then and Sully helped her into it. The nurse pushed her out to the Jeep and Sully helped her in. He leaned over her to secure the seat belt and Michaela touched his face.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Shh," Sully said and then placed a kiss to her forehead. "We can talk later."

"You are so handsome." Michaela was loopy but Sully was enjoying this side of her. She placed her good hand against his chest. "So sexy." Sully knew he shouldn't but he couldn't resist kissing her. Michaela smiled up at him as he moved away and Sully returned the smile. He closed her door carefully and made his way around the Jeep.

As he slipped into the driver's seat, Michaela pushed her seat back and closed her eyes. "I'm just going to rest my eyes for a few minutes."

Sully laughed. "That's fine. You can sleep the whole way home if you want."

"My Sully," she said in the midst of a yawn. "I love you."