Author's note: Read before you read the fic.

This story takes place roughly seventeen years after The Heart Within. I put everyone's current ages in the parenthesis. I am not sure if they line up exactly with the show. These are the stats for my fic.

Sully (61) and Michaela (62) have been married for 25 years. Michaela runs the Elizabeth Quinn Memorial Hospital. Sully is retired from his federal job as a surveyor and receives a pension. He calls himself a house husband, but makes a fair amount of money teaching survival skills classes to the tourists who come to climb Pikes Peak.

Matthew (43) is a lawyer in Denver. He is married to a lovely woman named Bernice (36). They have three children, Oliver (8), Alexander (6), and Wilhelmina (2).

Andrew (47) and Colleen (41) have been married for 22 years and have twin sons, Wyatt and William (both 15). They sold their practice in Boston and moved back to Colorado Springs to work in Michaela's hospital.

Brian (35) worked for the Boston Globe for 5 years, but got a much higher paying job at the St. Louis Post. In St. Louis, he began to court and eventually marry Samantha Bing (26). Brian, Samantha and their two children, Ada (6) and Jack (3), recently moved back to Colorado Springs after the death of Dorothy Jennings. Dorothy left The Gazette to Brian in her will. Though it was a much smaller newspaper, Brian was happy to return home and be editor-in-chief of his own newspaper. Samantha was sad to leave St. Louis, alas, her mother and step-father live there, but she was happy to live close to her father, Horace, who still runs the telegraph office at the train station.

The saddest story in this is Katie's. Katie Sully-Rutherford (24) was married to Finn Rutherford (24, if still living) and the couple had a daughter named Rose who was nearly a year old. When the small family took a trip to San Francisco, California, Finn took the baby out on a sailboat while Katie was shopping in the city. Katie waited for them to come back, but they never did. She hired investigators to try to find the location of her husband and daughter, but was left disappointed at every turn. It's now been three years since her family went missing. Katie is paralyzed with the constant not-knowing and not wanting to give up. Katie lives with her parents now. They are trying their best to get their daughter through this, but their hearts break for her.

Robert E. and Grace have the surname of Evermore in this fic.

The sun was shining through Mr. and Mrs. Sully's bedroom window. It was Sunday morning, but they still had a good three hours before church. The couple lied in a loving pose in their much loved and used bed. They still slept in the same bed for the last 25 years, though the mattress had changed a couple of times.

Michaela rested her head on her husband's chest and listened to his gentle breathing and the beat of his heart. She felt his arm protectively draped around her and his hand rested on her hip. She was not yet ready to open her eyes and greet the new day. Instead she kept her eyes closed and allowed her hand to touch and feel the skin of his broad chest.

Sully lay soundly with his head supported by their soft pillows and his nose nestled in his wife's coppery brown hair. Though her long mane now possessed some silver streaks, he still thought she had the prettiest long brown hair he ever saw. It still smelled the same as it always had; like her floral scented shampoo. He had his eyes shut as well as he breathed her in on this quiet morning.

Though she was quiet and he felt her soft cheek against his chest, he knew she was awake because he felt her small fingers climb up from his right peck and were now playing with his silver streaked beard. Then he felt her little digits travel once more and were now keeping themselves busy in his brown and silver hair.

Michaela loved nothing more than toying with her husband's hair and beard. She suspected that he loved when she toyed with it too, which is why he grew a short beard and allowed his hair to grow to his neck. He loved feeling her fingers in it as much as she loved putting her fingers in it.

Sully had not moved or made a sound, but Michaela suspected he was awake because she felt his hand that had been resting on her hip move. He began to softly rub her body from her rib cage to her outer thigh. His hand stopped on her thigh and he began to gather the material of her nightgown. He lifted the nightgown to her breast and then went back to rubbing her body like he had before, though his time, he was touching and caressing her bare skin.

The couple lied like this, quietly with their eyes shut. They petted and caressed one another lovingly, intimately. It felt nice and was becoming quite sensual until...

CRASH!

Sully's and Michaela's eyes jolted open with a start. Michaela rolled over onto her back and pushed her nightgown down. She and Sully laid side by side and looked at each other. Then they heard...

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

The sound was coming up the stairs...

BOOM!

Their bedroom door flew open and hit the wall loudly.

"Grandma! Grandpa!" Two small children cheered. Then they climbed on the bed and started jumping up and down.

"Let's play Jump on Grandpa!" the little girl yelled.

"No!" Sully whined in horror, but it was too late, he had two small children come crashing down on his abdomen, knocking the wind out of him.

Sully gagged and coughed.

"Stop it!" Michaela scolded, "Get off of Grandpa! Brian! Brian! Come get your kids!"

"Hey Ma!" Brian said, completely obvious to his parents' irritation, "Did they wake you up?"

"Take them downstairs and keep them quiet," Katie groaned coming down the hallway.

"Sounds like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Brian teased his sister.

"Sounds like someone needs to spend a little more time disciplining their kids this morning," Katie answered back. She was in no humor to hear the annoying noises and general rowdiness of Brian's spoiled children.

"Sully, are you alright?" Michaela asked Sully, who was still wheezing and trying to catch his breath, "Breathe, Darling," she coached as she lifted Sully's arms above his head.

"Were sorry, Grandpa," Brian's daughter, Ada said, "We were just playing, Jump on Grandpa." The little girl didn't understand what she had done wrong.

"Why don't you kids go downstairs and play Jump on Daddy," Katie suggested sardonically and gave Brian the evil eye.

"Ada, Jack-Jack, lets go downstairs," Brian said to his six-year-old daughter and three-year-old son. He couldn't help noticing his sister glaring darkly at him, "Come on Katie, they were just playing. It's actually kinda cute, if you think about it."

"Yes, isn't that cute?" Katie mocked her older brother and crossed her arms at her chest, "Pa can't catch his breath, it's so cute!"

"Are you okay, Pa?" Brian asked.

"No he is not okay!" Michaela scolded her son with annoyance, "When did I ever let you run into your grandmother's house, burst through her bedroom door, jump on her bed, and then jump on top of her?"

"Never," Brian said, still not fully contemplating the problem, "They didn't mean any harm."

"That is why you have to teach them," Michaela said, "They cannot knock the wind out of Grandpa every time they visit."

"They are just trying to be friendly," Brian insisted, "They do it to Horace all the time."

"I'm sure they do," Katie said sarcastically and went back to her room to change out of her nightgown and into her clothes.

Brian shrugged off Katie's irritation. Katie had been in a state of melancholy since the disappearance of her family. She was often in a bad mood. Brian thought the best way to be supportive was to not tell her that she was being moody for no reason.

"We're sorry," Brian said, "Are ya gonna make it, Pa?"

"Yes," Sully said, finally catching his breath.

"How about I make everyone breakfast," Brian suggested, "Afterwards, you can get ready for church and we can all go together."

"That sounds fine," Michaela said and Brian went downstairs.

When they were alone, Sully said, "I feel like an old mule."

"I'll make you feel like a young stallion later tonight," Michaela said suggestively.

"Is that right?" Sully asked with his eyebrows raised.

"That's right," Michaela answered back, "It's a promise."

After breakfast, the Sully family went to church. Sully and Michaela noted that Brian's cooking skills had improved since the last time he cooked for the family. They believed that they had their daughter-in-law, Samantha, to thank for that.

Since the hospital was built, the town of Colorado Springs had nearly doubled in size. The old church building and school house were torn down and bigger buildings were built in their place. One of the larger buildings was used as the new school house. It was big enough to house three teachers. Miss Elsie Slicker, the daughter of Jake and Teresa, taught six to ten-year-old students. Miss Lucy Evermore, the daughter of Robert E. and Grace, taught eleven to fourteen-year-old students. Katie Sully-Rutherford taught the fifteen and sixteen-year-olds, which was mainly college prep.

A new church was built past the new school and meadow. It was built in a location that used to be woods. The new church was nearly double the size of the old one. Timothy Johnson was still the town reverend and lived in a small cottage next to the church with his wife and family. Reverend Johnson eventually did regain partial sight in his right eye. He thanked God for that daily.

On this Sunday, he greeted all of his flock as they filed into church. Sully, Michaela, and Katie sat next to Robert E., Grace and Lucy. Behind them, sat Brian, Samantha, Ada, Jack and Horace. Behind them, sat Colleen, Andrew and their fifteen-year-old, twin boys, Wyatt and William.

"Welcome!" Reverend Johnson greeted the filled church, "Before beginning our service, I would like to remind everyone that the potluck and fundraising fair is next Saturday. Mrs. Johnson has been making her candles and soaps for the fair. I understand that the school children have been preparing different carnival games that they are excited to share," The reverend nodded to Katie and Lucy, then nodded to Elsie who was sitting in the front row of the church with her parents and brother, "Mr. Lodge, owner of the Lodge Mercantile is donating prizes for the games," The reverend nodded to Preston Lodge in the audience, "Since this is the Loren Bray memorial fundraiser, make sure to pick up a special edition of The Gazette. Brain has written some very nice stories about Loren's life," he nodded to Brian in the crowd, "If you have not signed up for the potluck or for a booth at the fair, and you want to, please sign up with Mrs. Johnson after the service today."

Michaela and Sully smiled at each other. He had signed up to sell his hand-carved wooden toys for children. Michaela made pumpkin and pecan pies for the potluck.

"May I also welcome and introduce a new family to our congregation. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson would you please rise?" said the reverend, "This is Mr. Isaac Nelson and Mrs. Thea Nelson. They have moved here all the way from San Francisco, California with their daughter, Lily."

The family of three waved to the crowd and the people greeted them.

Sully and Katie had taken a glance at the new family, then looked away. Michaela, however, could not take her eyes off the family. Mr. Nelson was a tall man, with olive skin. He had dark eyes, with thick dark eyebrows and dark brown, almost black, hair. Michaela thought he looked like Charlotte Bronte's description of Mr. Rochester in her novel, Jane Eyre. She supposed he was part English, because of his last name, and part Italian or Greek. She wasn't sure. Mrs. Nelson had curly red hair, brown eyes, and light skin that was full of freckles. She looked like she had some acne scars on her cheeks as well. Michaela thought she looked like she was of Irish or Scottish ancestry.

What was most striking to Michaela was the little girl in her mother's arms. She looked nothing like the two parents. She had blonde hair and blue eyes. Michaela had no idea how a man with such dark features could have fathered a child with such light features. Not only did the child look nothing like the father, she didn't resemble the mother either. She had straight hair, the mother's hair was very curly. The little girl had fair skin like the mother, but no noticeable freckles at all.

Michaela looked away because she didn't want the family to think that she was staring at them. She couldn't think about anything else. She didn't know how two people who looked like that could birth a child that looked just like...Katie.

Michaela thought more. The little girl looked just like Katie did when she was little. She had blonde straight hair, fair skin with no freckles and the same little button nose. The only difference was that Katie had Michaela's eyes, one of them anyway, they were brown. Michaela took another quick glance at the little girl.

She looked as if she was about four-years-old. That's the same age her granddaughter, Rose, would be now. Didn't the reverend say that they were from San Francisco? San Francisco was the place where Katie's husband Finn, and daughter had gone missing. Rose had blue eyes when she was a baby, just like that little girl. Rose's eyes were blue like Finn's… blue like Sully's.

Michaela couldn't jump to conclusions. Just because this child looked like she could be her granddaughter, doesn't mean she is her granddaughter.

When they first went missing, Katie just about went crazy, especially when every lead that she found, to find her family, came up empty. The only person who could do anything to console Katie was Sully. Sully had once lost his family and knew what to say to Katie to calm her down and not make her more angry. Of course Sully's situation was different. His wife and child had died and he knew exactly where they were. He didn't have to hold on to false hope or spend his nights wondering. He was still able to talk to his daughter about what she was feeling. Michaela learned not to say anything because she didn't want to accidentally make her daughter feel worse. She was sick for Katie and silently suffered her ups and downs with her. She and Sully sometimes cried in each other's arms at night to release their own hurt, depression, and anxiety. This was something they hid from their daughter because they had to stay strong for her. If Katie watched them cry, it would make her feel worse.

Michaela thought it was best to not say anything to Katie at first. She would ask Sully for his thoughts on this new family and investigate them herself first.

After church, Katie had to perform her Sunday ritual before returning home. Michaela and Sully sat in their wagon and watched their daughter from afar.

Katie brought a large bouquet of wildflowers to the cemetery and laid some flowers on a few graves: Aunt Marjorie, Loren and Maude Bray, Dorothy Jennings, Anthony Evermore, Ingrid, Charlotte Cooper, Abagail and Hanna Sully, and finally on a memorial.

"Haho, Katie," Cloud Dancing said as he approached the cemetery. He brought flowers for Dorothy.

"Haho, Uncle," Katie smiled, "I won't be long."

"You may stay as long as you'd like. No one owns the cemetery," Cloud Dancing said, "May I ask why you laid flowers on your father's former wife's grave? Some would say that dishonors your mother."

"I disagree," Katie said looking up from the memorial that she was standing in front of, "I believe that the dead deserve our respect. Yes, my father was once married to her, but she is also the daughter of Mr. Bray. He was always good to me. Why shouldn't I respect him and his family? Other than that, next to her are the remains of my sister. My actual blood sister, whom I will never meet. She is my sister's mother. Why shouldn't I show respect to Loren's daughter and my sister's mother?"

"I agree," Cloud Dancing said, "The dead deserve our respect and reverence. That is why I am paying my respects to Miss Dorothy this afternoon. You must tell your father that I will visit him soon, we are due a fishing trip."

"I will," Katie smiled.

"Looks like Katie and Cloud Dancin' are talkin'" Sully said to Michaela as the couple sat in their wagon, watching Katie from afar.

"Should we invite Cloud Dancing over for dinner?" Michaela asked.

"Yes, after she's done," Sully said, not wanting to disturb her while she was performing her ritual.

Michaela was about to ask Sully something else, when she saw the Nelsons come into view. She froze and watched them walk over to the cemetery. It looked like Mr. Nelson was asking Cloud Dancing a question.

"Are you Mr. Cloud Dancing?" Mr. Nelson asked.

"Yes," Cloud Dancing responded.

"I'm Isaac Nelson, this is my wife, Thea, and our daughter, Lily." he said, gesturing to his wife and daughter, "I'm told that I can buy some corn from you and also some seed starters."

"I will be happy to do business with you starting Monday," Cloud Dancing offered.

"Thank you, that'll be great. We are from San Francisco, and we lived in the city," Isaac said, "I'm also told that I can pay you to teach us how to farm and garden."

"You need to learn how to farm and garden?" Cloud Dancing said in a question, "I had to once learn too. It is not hard once you get the hang of it. What brings you to Colorado Springs?"

"I used to have a job at the docks, but circumstances back home occurred which made it so I couldn't do that job anymore. We heard that Colorado Springs is an up and coming town," Isaac said.

Michaela felt a pit form in her stomach when she watched Katie approach Mr. Nelson from afar.

"You're from San Francisco and you used to work at the docks?" Katie asked, wondering if she had heard that correctly.

"Yes, ma'am," Isaac said.

"I didn't catch your name," Katie said.

"I'm Isaac Nelson," he said, "You may call me Isaac."

"It's nice to meet you, Isaac," said Katie, eager to get past pleasantries, "I'm Katie Rutherford. Have you ever heard of anyone getting lost at sea?"

"Yes, ma'am," he answered.

"Really?" Katie reacted with excitement in her voice, "Have you ever heard of anyone being rescued from the sea?" she asked.

"Rescued, ma'am?" he questioned.

"Yes. Have you ever heard of a young man and his infant daughter being rescued from the sea?" Katie asked with hope in her eyes.

"I've never heard of anyone being rescued in particular, but I'm sure it happens on occasion," he answered, not knowing what else to say.

When Katie heard his answer, all her hopes were dashed once again. This man didn't know anything but was trying to be kind and give her false hope. She felt the tears well-up in her eyes and she knew her face had to be getting red, "Thank you. Please excuse me," Katie said and quickly ran back to her parents who were waiting at the wagon.

"You must forgive her," Cloud Dancing told the Nelsons, "she lost her family a few years ago."

The husband and wife looked at each other blankly. Then Mr. Nelson walked to the memorial that Katie had just been standing next to. It read:

In loving memory of Finn Christopher Rutherford.

Husband to Katherine Elizabeth.

Father to Rose Elizabeth.

In loving memory of Rose Elizabeth Rutherford.

Daughter of Finn Christopher and Katherine Elizabeth.

Lost at Sea. Watched over by Our Heavenly Father.

To be continued.

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