The Prodigal Sister
This story and all ideas, themes and original characters are the sole ownership and copyright of J.L. Scott. Any unauthorized use is actionable in a court of law.
To borrow a phrase: Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman and all characters and settings no mine, no permission, no money, no sue...please? Author's Note: This story encompasses almost an entire year, so each segment doesn't necissarily happen like the next day. But it all makes sense!
Sully took a seat on the edge of the bed. Bri was staring off out the window like Michaela said. They had pretty much always been close, always united against their father, even when they were fighting they were close. Sully didn't push her to talk, didn't giver her orders, she didn't push him to talk or expect him to coddle her. They were friends, or at least they had been once. He was glad she was there, but he needed to know why, after so many years. Still, talking wasn't either of their strong points.
"Hey" he started. She made some kind of gutteral sound to acknowledge him.
"How's your side" he tried again. She turned around to look at him.
"Good" she said, "Michaela's good. Says I can get outa bed tomorrow" Sully nodded slowly. This wasn't what he really wanted to talk about.
"How'd it happen?"
"Hell if I know" Bri chuckled, "Hunters, I guess" Sully didn't quite believe her and she knew it.
"What?" Sully shrugged.
"You didn't get it, say, Ridin'?" Bri looked down.
"I stopped Riding, Sully" she told him softly. Sully stopped.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded. Brianna shrugged.
"Guess I felt stupid" she answered. Neither said anything for a moment.
"When?" he asked, more calm now. She still hadn't really said why she was here. Or how she had gotten shot. She swallowed hard and turned away, hugging herself. She had never turned away from him, not ever since she was born.
"Two years ago" she answered quietly, "Colt Running Swiftly died" Sully felt bad now.
"Thunder Rolling" her head dropped, and he felt fear creeping into him. Thunder Rolling was her nephew, Colt Running Swiftly's son.
"Thunder Rolling started Riding" she told him softly, shaking her head.
"He can't be old enough to go Riding" Sully objected.
"He's not!" she confirmed, "But he goes anyway, and they don't stop him. When he started Riding, Sully, god." She closed her eyes for a moment, " It scared me to death every time we went out. I started to understand what I put you through every time I went. And I saw, too, how useless it was. All that anger. Riding doesn't do any good." He had told her that a million times, at least. Every time she came home, and every time she left. She always ignored him. He was sorry she had to figure it out the hard way. To lose Colt Running Swiftly.....they were close friends, even closer than she had been with Laughing Moon. Not as close as she was with Sully, but there had been times he wondered. He knew she considered him to be a second brother, after himself.
"I would have come to your wedding" she said, and he could hear sobs choking her voice, "But Thunder Rolling went out by himself, looking for revenge. Dark Moon went out after him, to stop him" Now she turned around and he could see the tears in her brown eyes. When was the last time he'd seen her cry? Not since the day she was sent away, when he was ten.
"They'd been missing almost a month by the time your wedding day came" she admitted, "Sully, they're still missing" The tears fell and he enveloped her into his embrace. That's why she'd come. How long had he and Michaela been married now? Two months? Two and a half. That meant his brother-in-law and his sister's nephew had been missing three months, at least. With Custer and his men looking for a fight all over the country, the chances were good that she might never see her family again. He didn't blame her for crying.
This story and all ideas, themes and original characters are the sole ownership and copyright of J.L. Scott. Any unauthorized use is actionable in a court of law.
To borrow a phrase: Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman and all characters and settings no mine, no permission, no money, no sue...please? Author's Note: This story encompasses almost an entire year, so each segment doesn't necissarily happen like the next day. But it all makes sense!
Sully took a seat on the edge of the bed. Bri was staring off out the window like Michaela said. They had pretty much always been close, always united against their father, even when they were fighting they were close. Sully didn't push her to talk, didn't giver her orders, she didn't push him to talk or expect him to coddle her. They were friends, or at least they had been once. He was glad she was there, but he needed to know why, after so many years. Still, talking wasn't either of their strong points.
"Hey" he started. She made some kind of gutteral sound to acknowledge him.
"How's your side" he tried again. She turned around to look at him.
"Good" she said, "Michaela's good. Says I can get outa bed tomorrow" Sully nodded slowly. This wasn't what he really wanted to talk about.
"How'd it happen?"
"Hell if I know" Bri chuckled, "Hunters, I guess" Sully didn't quite believe her and she knew it.
"What?" Sully shrugged.
"You didn't get it, say, Ridin'?" Bri looked down.
"I stopped Riding, Sully" she told him softly. Sully stopped.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded. Brianna shrugged.
"Guess I felt stupid" she answered. Neither said anything for a moment.
"When?" he asked, more calm now. She still hadn't really said why she was here. Or how she had gotten shot. She swallowed hard and turned away, hugging herself. She had never turned away from him, not ever since she was born.
"Two years ago" she answered quietly, "Colt Running Swiftly died" Sully felt bad now.
"Thunder Rolling" her head dropped, and he felt fear creeping into him. Thunder Rolling was her nephew, Colt Running Swiftly's son.
"Thunder Rolling started Riding" she told him softly, shaking her head.
"He can't be old enough to go Riding" Sully objected.
"He's not!" she confirmed, "But he goes anyway, and they don't stop him. When he started Riding, Sully, god." She closed her eyes for a moment, " It scared me to death every time we went out. I started to understand what I put you through every time I went. And I saw, too, how useless it was. All that anger. Riding doesn't do any good." He had told her that a million times, at least. Every time she came home, and every time she left. She always ignored him. He was sorry she had to figure it out the hard way. To lose Colt Running Swiftly.....they were close friends, even closer than she had been with Laughing Moon. Not as close as she was with Sully, but there had been times he wondered. He knew she considered him to be a second brother, after himself.
"I would have come to your wedding" she said, and he could hear sobs choking her voice, "But Thunder Rolling went out by himself, looking for revenge. Dark Moon went out after him, to stop him" Now she turned around and he could see the tears in her brown eyes. When was the last time he'd seen her cry? Not since the day she was sent away, when he was ten.
"They'd been missing almost a month by the time your wedding day came" she admitted, "Sully, they're still missing" The tears fell and he enveloped her into his embrace. That's why she'd come. How long had he and Michaela been married now? Two months? Two and a half. That meant his brother-in-law and his sister's nephew had been missing three months, at least. With Custer and his men looking for a fight all over the country, the chances were good that she might never see her family again. He didn't blame her for crying.