Michaela finally received her first check from the hospital and was very relieved that working all night in a building that had a decidedly low morale was finally paying the bills, and then some.

She was able to pay her mortgage, fill the house with groceries, pay Dorothy, send some money to her office staff to hold them over until their building reopened, and pay Matthew and Colleen's school tuition. She still had some money left over to save for emergencies and she wanted to buy Sully, Zachary, and Hanna a Christmas gift.

Michaela was a planner, when she could be, and she already had gifts for her children and for her family back home. She wanted to get something for Sully and his children and thanked God that she was going to be able to do it.

It was Tuesday, so she had the night off to go to the children's Christmas Program at the school that evening. She would be picking up Brian from school, and then she'd be driving to Sully's house to pick him and Hanna up. Then they were driving to the academy to watch their children perform together.

Michaela took advantage of the free time that she had. Instead of sleeping all day, like she usually had to, she decided to go to the mall and look for presents. She and Sully had already agreed that the dance costumes that he purchased for Colleen were gifts and she wasn't paying him back for those, but he still had to accept her Christmas gifts for him and the children.

She decided to shop for Hanna first, as she had no idea what to get for Zachary and Sully. She walked through the mall, stopped at Starbucks for a warm drink and proceeded to Lyndals.

Once she was in Lyndals, her plan was to walk straight to the toddler section but stopped short when something caught her eye. It was the lingerie section.

Michaela bit her bottom lip. She and Sully had not made love yet; they hadn't even discussed it. He did mention something along those lines at his birthday dinner, but he was joking around, so it wasn't a serious conversation. Still, she didn't see the harm in looking to see if they had anything interesting there.

Her older sisters had discussed surprising their husbands and boyfriends in lingerie before. Her sister Maureen once went to pick her fiancé, who was now her husband, up from the airport wearing a long trench coat with nothing but a lacy slip under it. Maureen said that after she let him know what she had on, he insisted that they skipped dinner and went straight home, and it was the fastest she'd ever seen him drive. Rebecca and Claudette had similar stories. Of the five of them, the only two that hadn't done something like that were Michaela and Marjorie, but that was only the case because they both loathed their husbands.

However, things for her were different now. Michaela didn't loathe Sully, she loved him. She felt it in her heart that she wanted to enjoy making love with him. As she started to walk through the lingerie section, she tried to imagine the look on his face if she surprised him in something short, lacy, or see-through. Even if it didn't happen anytime soon, it would happen sometime.

Weaving in and out of the section, she saw a black baby-doll slip that was all lace. She'd have to buy a black satin bra and panty set to go with it. She saw an off-white satin and lace camisole with a full lace matching panty that was also very pretty. Lastly, a very short pink satin slip that was beautifully made, caught her eye.

She believed that Sully would like to see her in all of those pieces but decided to not buy any for now. She felt it would be better if they had a talk about sex first, then she'd go shopping second.

Leaving the lingerie behind, she started her trek to the toddler section so she could look through all of the dresses there.

"Michaela," a strange masculine voice called.

Michaela stopped in her tracks and looked around.

"Michaela," the masculine voice said again and the man the voice belonged to, approached her.

"Daniel," Michaela greeted him with a relieved smile. She wasn't expecting to see Sully's brother there. Since she didn't know where to start for Zachary, she counted his presence as a blessing, "How are you? Are you shopping for your girlfriend?"

"No, ma'am," he answered, admiring her beautiful smile, "Deerie and I broke up."

"I'm so sorry to hear that," Michaela stated respectfully.

"Thanks," he replied, "I'm here runnin' an errand for my mother. She wants to build a gingerbread house with Zac and Hanna, and they have the kit she wants on sale here."

"That's very kind of you," she stated sweetly, "It's actually a blessing to me that you're here right now."

"Really," he said, starting to feel a little weak in the knees. How could he be a blessing to this beautiful angel that was standing before him?

"This has to be our secret," she insisted.

"Yes, ma'am," he answered. If she asked him to run away with her, he'd faint.

"I'm Christmas shopping for Hanna and Zachary," Michaela confessed, "and Sully too. I know exactly what to get for Hanna, and I will find what I want to give Sully as soon as I see it, but I could use some suggestions for Zac."

"Oh," Daniel said, starting to laugh nervously. His bubble burst and his feet were now planted firmly on the ground, "Zac likes the typical stuff that most eleven-year-old boys like. What did ya get for your oldest boy? You can probably get something similar for my nephew."

"Guinea pigs," Michaela informed him, "That's his big gift."

"Guinea pigs?" Daniel questioned.

"It's a shared gift. I have three children who have been begging me for a pet since our first visit to Sully's ranch," she explained.

"They asked for guinea pigs?" he questioned again. Her kids asking for guinea pigs seemed a little weird to him. Most children asked for puppies and kittens, not guinea pigs.

"Not exactly," she said and let out a giggle, "My youngest asked for a cow. Matthew and Colleen both asked for horses and a dog like Wolf."

"I know someone who breeds dogs like Wolf," Daniel informed her, "I can get a puppy here by Christmas."

"Uh…No!" Michaela stopped him, letting out a nervous laugh. She wasn't ready for a puppy, "I've researched guinea pigs. They are very low maintenance animals. I read that they are social animals, so I got three, one for each of my three kids. I think we need to try the guinea pigs first, then perhaps we can graduate to kittens or something like that."

Michaela had it all planned out since November. She went to the pet store, put down a deposit on three guinea pigs, one large cage, food, and everything else needed to care for them. She told Sully all about it, and he was going to help her pick everything up and set it all up on Christmas Eve.

"Why guinea pigs and not hamsters?" he questioned. Hamsters were low maintenance too and required a much smaller living space. If it were him, he would've opted for hamsters.

"Because I don't want rats or anything that looks like rats in my house," Michaela stated firmly, earning a laugh from Daniel.

"Fair enough," he commented, "Is that all that your oldest is getting?"

"He's getting clothes, a book about baseball, and some brain teaser puzzles," Michaela listed, "He's getting some basic stocking stuffers as well."

"Video games?" Daniel asked.

"No," Michaela said, "He loves them, but I don't normally allow my children to play with electronic toys for long periods of time."

"I see," Daniel said. The longer he talked to Michaela, the more he thought she was lovely, beautiful and fine, but wrapped a little too tight. Gosh, how he wanted to be the man that got to loosen her up.

"Zac likes baseball, and art…um… drawin', paintin', even sculptin', and he likes video games," Daniel shared.

"You've given me a good idea," Michaela informed him with a nod, "Thank you."

"You're very welcome," Daniel replied, "Is there anything else I can help ya with?"

"No, I think that's it," she answered, and then inquired, "How long are you going to be in town?"

"I'm leavin' the day after tomorrow," he explained, "I'm a manager at Costco, so I have to be home for the Holiday rush. I'm also runnin' a small business that I need to be home for, plus I have my band. I don't usually travel durin' December; this was a special trip."

"You certainly have a lot going on," Michaela commented.

"I do," Daniel agreed. All he needed now that would make his life complete was the love of a good woman. Why did his brother have to meet her first?

"Thanks, Loren," Sully said and pushed end on his phone.

Since Sully never did make his way over to Loren's house to talk with him after Thanksgiving, Loren decided to give him a call to tell him what Zachary had told him on Thanksgiving. Especially the part about what Hank's grandmother was telling Zachary about Hank. Sully was already aware of some of it, and he told Loren what he knew about it.

Loren didn't care what Ilsa wanted. He wanted Sully to keep Zachary safe and away from Hank. Sully didn't know what was going to happen when Hank eventually got out of prison, but he did vow to keep Zachary safe. That was something he'd make sure of.

"Thanks, Loren?" Olive questioned from the doorway of Sully's office. A happy smile spread across her face, "Are you guys talkin' again?"

"Yeah," Sully said, "A little bit."

"What brought that on?" she questioned.

"Didn't Loren tell ya about Thanksgivin'?" Sully questioned back.

"He told me some," Olive confirmed, "And as I said, what brought that on?"

"We'd been fightin' too long," Sully explained.

"That's for sure," she agreed, "Did you invite him to that Christmas thing you're goin' to tonight?"

"He's gonna go to the church social," he informed her, "He decided he wanted to skip the Christmas programs. My mother decided to do the same thing."

"How are you gonna feel about goin' to the church social?" Olive asked, knowing Sully hadn't set foot in church, except to pick up Hanna from the preschool, since Abagail died.

"I'll cross that bridge when I get to it, I suppose," Sully informed her.

Michaela was still at the mall. She left Lyndals after her talk with Daniel and went to the mall directory to buy a gift card for Color Me Mine. The card was for Zachary, so he could get the chance to paint a ceramic bowl, plate, or whatever they had available.

She found a beautiful suede bomber jacket for Sully. She'd seen him in hoodies, and she knew he had a leather coat that was lined with wool. He also had an older suede coat that was decorated with fringe. It was a hand-me-down, from one of his fathers, she couldn't remember which one. The jacket that she purchased for Christmas was a more modern style and she knew that it would look good on him.

Last but not least, Michaela went back to where she started. She was in Lyndals, but this time she made it to the toddler section. She was determined to find something for Hanna.

After looking through the racks of beautiful dresses, she decided on a gray dress with white cuffs around the sleeves. It also had a white peter pan collar. Michaela loved peter pan collars for little girls and she wanted to dress Hanna like she would dress her own daughter.

With the dress in hand, Michaela started to walk to the cashier to make her purchase, but before she got too far, something told her to stop and turn around. She didn't know what, she just sensed it all of a sudden. She needed to stop in her tracks and turn around to see what was behind her.

When she did, she instantly became captivated by a little dress that was in front of her. There was nothing particularly special about this dress, it was just a green sweater dress with a matching bonnet.

Still, Michaela found that she was enthralled by the little dress.

She felt like she had seen the dress before, but she knew she'd never purchased anything like that for Colleen.

Maybe her intuition was telling her to get that dress for Hanna?

This dress was giving her the most curious feeling. The only thing she had to compare the feeling to was the uneasiness that she sometimes felt when she had to take an early morning shower. Whether she was in her pajamas or naked, she always felt the same uneasy feeling as she shivered in the bathroom until the shower warmed up. That feeling wouldn't go away until she stepped into the steamy hot shower, and the hot water cascaded down her body.

Then it hit her. She knew where she had seen that dress before, and it was calling to her now. This dress was the same one that she'd seen her little girl with the blonde curls wearing in her most recent dream about Sully and their future.

Michaela became overcome with her emotions. Maybe it was silly to have such strong feelings about a dream, but she felt so many intense emotions in her heart just then. She needed to buy that dress. She had to take it home with her and save it for her daughter.

"Are ya gonna hold Brian in your lap for the whole program?" Sully questioned. He carried Hanna inside using his left arm, and he used his right hand to hold Michaela's left hand. He wanted to hold her hand that night. It felt very natural to him especially since he was guiding her through a large group of parents and grandparents who came to see their children perform at The Evangelical Christian Academy. Since she didn't have the upper body strength that he had, he made sure to hold her left hand so she could use her dominant arm to carry her son.

"Yes, I think so," Michaela answered as they made their way into the crowded auditorium.

"I see two seats in a good spot. Don't let go of my hand," Sully said as he clamped onto Michaela's hand tight, "Careful goin' down these steps, 'specially with them heels on," he warned as he went down a few steps and weaved them in and out through the maze of proud parents. Sully got them to two seats that had a clear and unobstructed view of the stage.

The school had a state-of-the-art auditorium with theater seats. Under each seat was a cargo net and Michaela was able to place her purse inside the net, so it was out of the way and safe under her seat. Before she put her purse away, she removed two programs that were given to her by Colleen's teacher.

They finally sat down with Brian on Michaela's lap and Hanna on Sully's. Michaela handed Sully a program and they read through it together.

"We got the kindergarten class first," he read, "They're singin'... Away in the Manger. I've heard that one before. Then we got first grade, that's Colleen's class, and they're singin'...Baby Jesus, We love you? Have you ever heard that one before?"

"No," Michaela answered him, "I just know that all of the children are dressed as animals, sort of. They have regular clothes on, but they're wearing hats to indicate which animal they are. Colleen insisted on being a cow."

"Why a cow?" Sully questioned with a chuckle.

"Because she knows that you're in the audience tonight and she wanted to impress you," Michaela told him with a soft smile.

Sully simply smiled back. Colleen wanting to be a cow for him warmed his heart.

"It looks like they have some secular songs in the program too," Michaela said as she read ahead, "The second graders are singing Run, Run, Rudolph and the third graders are singing Santa Claus is Coming to Town."

"A Hot Cup of Cocoa?" Sully read next, "That's the fourth grader's song. Have ya ever heard that?"

Michaela shook her head no, "Have you ever heard of Wonderful Counselor? That's what the fifth graders are singing."

"I guess we'll be surprised," Sully commented and then continued to read, "The boys are in the last one. The sixth graders are singin'... Go tell it on the Mountain and scenes from A Charlie Brown Christmas?"

"I think they're doing a skit," Michaela informed him.

"Before I forget, did ya get next Tuesday off?" Sully asked. The Christmas Program for the church preschool was the following Tuesday and he wanted to watch Hanna and Brian perform that night with Michaela by his side.

"Yes, I got it off," she replied.

"Good," he practically rejoiced, "I didn't wanna hafta sit through that alone."

"Sit through it?" Michaela laughed at his distaste, "You don't think the children are cute?"

"I think our children are cute," he said honestly, "I think our older children will be cute when they sing tonight. I think our younger children will be cute when they sing next Tuesday. I think Colleen is gonna be real cute when we watch her dance at her recital this comin' Saturday afternoon. I'm sure all these other kids are cute to their parents. I just don't care to watch anyone else's kids perform. Unless they're plannin' on playing baseball on stage. That would keep me interested."

Michaela giggled at him and shook her head.

The lights went down in the auditorium and brightened on the stage. There were three microphones set up so the audience could hear what the children were singing more clearly. The school headmaster came to the front of the stage and welcomed all of the parents. Once he was finished and out of the way, the curtains opened, and music started playing.

First was the kindergarten class singing Away in the Manger. When they started singing, Brian and Hanna began to sing along and perform all of the hand movements that they had obviously learned from their teacher.

"I guess we know what they're singin' next week," Sully remarked with a laugh.

Michaela couldn't help but laugh as well. It was very funny to see the two-year-olds react to what they were watching on stage. They were so innocent and sweet.

Once both parents regained their composure, they tried to get their children to sing quietly, so they weren't disturbing the people in the audience that wanted to watch and hear the kindergarten class sing. They made sure to clap loudly when the kindergarten class was finished, and then they waited for the first-grade class to perform.

"There's Colleen," Michaela said, when the first-grade class was lined up.

"She makes a great cow," Sully whispered to Michaela. His heart still felt full because Colleen wanted to wear the cow hat for him.

Then they heard Country/Western music start to play and the children started singing, "What did the cows at the manger say, to baby Jesus in the hay? Moo, moo, moo, moo, baby Jesus, we love you…"

Once Colleen's class was done singing, Sully, of course, clapped his heart out. Nevertheless, now, he was downright bored. He didn't know which class he was watching now, and he couldn't pull out his cell phone at that moment to tell him what time it was, he'd placed it inside Michaela's purse. He just wanted the performers to get a move on so he could watch Zachary and Matthew perform, and then they could all do something else.

Looking down, he saw that his daughter was enjoying the show, as was Brian. His eyes found their way to Michaela next. She was also enjoying the show, clearly thinking the children were adorable on stage.

Sully's eyes focused on her hair. Michaela wore it in a loose French braid, and she'd secured the long-braided tail into a bun at the nape of her neck. She had a few short tendrils that escaped the hairdo and were hanging freely. They were starting to curl on either side of her neck.

In order to keep himself busy, he reached a hand over and took the curls, one at a time, between his thumb and first finger. He wasn't doing anything particular with her hair, just fidgeting with it as his eyes looked toward the ceiling. When fidgeting with her hair no longer kept his interest, he gently rubbed up and down the smooth nape of her neck with his index and middle finger. His fingers were hidden by her bun, so if anyone happened to glance their way, it just looked like a husband resting his hand on his wife's back.

Michaela focused on the show in front of them and her young son on her lap, so she could suppress the urge that she was currently feeling to make-out with her boyfriend in the auditorium with everyone watching. His gentle caressing touches were sending electric tingles down her spine, and it made her want more from him. She wanted him to touch her like that all over her body. She wanted to feel his lips on hers and was starting to fantasize about his lips being on her neck, her back, and perhaps down the soft skin that covered her sternum.

The class that was on stage finished their performance. Michaela and the two children clapped their hands and then she looked at Sully, who was still staring up at the ceiling.

"That was fifth grade," Michaela whispered to him, getting his attention, "Sixth grade is next."

"Finally," he whispered back, and used both hands to adjust Hanna on his lap. Then he rested his elbow on the back of Michaela's chair, and he placed his hand on her upper arm.

Michaela giggled at the clear excitement in his voice that the program was almost over. She wanted to pinch him. She wanted to squeeze the sensitive skin of his upper thigh between the tips of her fingernails just to watch him jump but resisted that urge because Hanna was sitting on his lap. Instead, she adjusted Brian on her lap. Then she put her hand on Sully's neck under his hair and used her thumb and index finger to massage his earlobe.

Sully felt the warmth radiating from his ear send a shockwave down his back. He bit his bottom lip and shifted a bit, causing Michaela to stop and just rest her hand on the back of his neck. He glanced over and saw her lips form into a smirk.

Michaela knew she couldn't push him too far, not in the middle of a crowded auditorium and not with their small children present. She got the feeling that if they were alone, he'd let her massage his earlobes all day long.

The stage brightened up again as the sixth-grade class filed in and up on the risers. Once everyone was in place, they began singing Go Tell it on the Mountain.

Sully looked at each child who was on stage and then said to Michaela in a low voice, "I don't see our boys."

"I don't think that's the entire sixth grade class," she explained.

Once the first group of kids were done singing, the curtains closed, and they heard the music from A Charlie Brown Christmas playing. It appeared that Zachary was cast as Charlie Brown and Matthew was cast as Linus.

"Zac didn't tell me," Sully said, "Did Matthew tell you?"

"No," Michaela replied. She was as surprised as he was to see the boys acting on stage.

They both watched with pride when Zachary asked what the meaning of Christmas was, as the title character. And when they watched Matthew deliver Linus' famous monologue about the true meaning of Christmas, Michaela had tears in her eyes.

Finally, the curtains opened back up and there was a large Christmas tree on stage. The children who were in the skit, joined the children who were already in the risers.

To close the program, the entire sixth grade started singing Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. They were soon joined on stage by all of the children in the school, from kindergarten all the way up to the sixth grade.

Sully and Michaela loaded everyone into the Mercedes once the program was over. After praising the children and telling them what a great job they did, they had a brief family meeting and decided it was best to pick up a pizza from Sully's favorite gourmet pizzeria and then go back to his house to eat dinner, have some hot cocoa, and then watch A Charlie Brown Christmas. Sully still had it on DVD.

After that, unfortunately, Michaela and the kids had to go home. It was a school night and the kids' last day, before the break, wasn't until Friday.

Once they got home, Matthew and Zac carried in the pizzas with the younger children following behind.

Michaela and Sully slowly walked to the house, holding hands.

"This was such a lovely night, Sully," Michaela commented. After that night and once again experiencing how easily they fit together as a family, she just wanted to throw caution to the wind and marry Sully right then and there. After seeing that sweet green dress at Lyndals, earlier that day, she just knew that everything would work out if they went through with it. Then they could all live together, and she wouldn't have to leave him to go home.

No, she didn't want that. She did, but not that way. She wanted him to get down on one knee and ask for her hand. She wanted to plan a wedding with him, a real wedding with Colleen and Hanna as her flower girls and Brian as the ring bearer. She felt that Zachary and Matthew were old enough to be junior groomsmen. As they planned for their wedding, she wanted them to plan for their future. She could imagine the two of them together looking at home designs and deciding what they wanted as a couple who were building a home for their growing family.

"It was a lovely night," Sully agreed, deciding to soak up as much happiness with her as he could for the night. He hated when she had the leave, hated it. He wanted her with him all the time. He wanted their children together all the time, they already acted like brothers and sisters. Though he felt it was too soon to ask for her hand, as he didn't want to scare her off, he needed her hand.

To keep himself from going completely mad from missing her when she was gone, he decided to start on sketches for the home that he'd been seeing in his dreams. If an opportunity presented itself, he could show them to her, and ask for her input. If she was receptive, then he'd ask for her hand. Or… perhaps he should just man-up and ask her to marry him as soon as possible. He still was unsure of the best course of action to take.

While they were alone outside, Sully took the opportunity to pull her into his arms and give her a deep kiss. Moving his arms to circle the small of her back, he positioned her, so her body was flush against his, and he moved his lips against hers.

At first, Michaela put her arms around his neck, but then she decided to playfully spice things up. Using her fingers, she gently started to massage his earlobes, similarly to the way that she touched him when they were sitting in the auditorium. Except this time, she used both hands and massaged both ears at the same time. She smiled against his lips when she felt him shiver.

"Tryin' to make me putty in your hands?" he asked against her lips.

"Doesn't it feel good?" she questioned.

"It does," he admitted. Sully had some places on his body that he enjoyed having touched when he was intimate with a woman. His neck was one of those places, which was why he liked to rub her neck, he knew that felt good. However, he didn't realize that his earlobes were one of those places that made him feel pleasure when they were touched, "How could ya know that I'd like that before me?"

"I'm a doctor," she whispered, and continued to stimulate his ears, "I know that you have nerve endings all over your body. I know exactly where your largest bundles of nerves are."

"Do ya?" he asked with a goofy grin on his face. Heck, it wasn't that late yet. He could probably get a sitter at his house in twenty minutes. Then they could go back to her place, and he'd let her show him exactly where his largest bundles of nerves were.

Unexpectedly, they both heard someone clear their throat.

"Hey, Daniel," Sully greeted his brother who was standing on his front porch. Sully knew he had to be turning red. He wasn't expecting Daniel to be at his home at all that night, and he wondered how long his brother had been standing there watching and listening to their private talk.

Michaela, feeling like she'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, immediately removed her hands from Sully's ears and put them behind her back. She put her forehead down on Sully's chest, effectively hiding her face.

"Don't mind me," he said, feeling jealousy radiating through his body, "I was returnin' your screwdriver set."

"Thanks," Sully said awkwardly, "Ya wanna stay for some pizza?"

"Uh…" Daniel began.

Michaela looked up from Sully's chest, her embarrassment subsiding, "You should stay Daniel. There is plenty of pizza and hot cocoa for everyone. You can talk with Sully and I while the kids are watching Charlie Brown.

"How can I refuse?" he responded. Daniel wanted to refuse, especially after what he just witnessed them doing. But he knew that Sully was very polite, and he had a feeling that Michaela was too. They weren't going to act all lovey-dovey in front of him, so he could likely make it through the evening.

Sully served everyone pizza and turned on the movie. Daniel sat with the kids in the living room. Michaela was in the kitchen watching Sully make hot chocolate.

"You never cease to amaze me," Michaela told him, "I was expecting Swiss Miss."

"Swiss Miss is for amateurs," Sully commented.

"Oh, really," Michaela said with a giggle, "I guess I'm an amateur."

"That's okay, Darlin'," he flirted, "That's why ya have me."

"I'm glad I have you," she said as she watched him mix in ingredients. He used stuff she expected like chocolate, milk, and cinnamon, but then he added something she didn't expect: chili powder, "Did you mean to add that in?"

"Chili powder?" He asked with a chuckle, "I did. Trust me, you're gonna love it," He mixed the ingredients and then used a teaspoon to scoop up a little sample of the concoction. He blew on it to cool it down and then held it to her lips.

Michaela opened her mouth to try it, "That is good."

"It's gonna taste even better when I add whip cream to the top," he informed her.

"Really, Sweetheart, it's delicious," Michaela complemented, "Where did you learn to make cocoa like that?"

"When I was in school, we had multicultural week," Sully said, turning off the burner as he spoke so his creation wouldn't curdle, "My friend Teresa, she's a teacher at the public school now–"

"Mrs. Morales?" Michaela questioned. Michaela remembered how Matthew liked her as a teacher before he was moved to Ms. Chamber's class.

"Yep," Sully confirmed, "She brought Mexican Hot Chocolate for all of her classmates. She shared her secret with me."

"It's very good," Michaela said, and then she winced in pain.

"What's wrong?" Sully asked.

"I stepped wrong," Michaela confessed.

"You and those skinny heel shoes," Sully complained.

"Aren't they pretty? Michaela asked, attempting to butter him up. She knew he didn't like it when she wore her three-inch stiletto heels.

"Not pretty enough to make me forget that they hurt your feet," Sully scolded, "Go sit on the couch and take them off. After you're done with church this Sunday, I'm gonna take ya shoe shoppin' myself."

Michaela went to sit on the sofa and took off her shoes. She adjusted her black tights and started to massage the arch of her right foot because that was where she was the sorest.

Sully was right. She needed a pair of shoes with a thicker sole and a more supportive heel, especially to wear at his ranch. As a doctor, she knew that it was possible to buy orthopedic high heels, she just hadn't done it yet.

"Your feet hurt?" Daniel asked as he moved from his spot on the couch to sit next to her.

"Just a little," she informed him.

"I know how to give a really great foot massage," Daniel said, and then he pulled her right foot up and onto his lap.

"Oh, thank you, Daniel, but–" Michaela protested and tried to bend her knee to get her foot off of Daniel's lap.

"Just relax," Daniel said, holding her leg straight and her foot in place, "What kind of brother would I be if I let my brother's girl sit here in pain?" He started to massage her foot and then brought his hands up to her ankle and lower calf.

Michaela felt very uncomfortable with this, and kept her eyes on the children who were, thankfully, all engrossed in the film and not paying attention. After she allowed him to give her a massage for about thirty seconds, she told him, "Thank you, Daniel, I feel much better now." Then she successfully got her foot off of his lap and she scooted away from him.

"You shouldn't wear tights when you have on heels that high," Daniel told her, "They will just make your feet slip inside your shoe and make it more difficult for you to walk. Then your feet will hurt more."

"I'll keep that in mind," Michaela said politely.

"Why don't ya go take off your tights in the bathroom and let me give ya another massage," Daniel suggested, "Barefoot massages are the best. I'm sure Sully has some lotion in this place."

Michaela didn't know what to say. She thought Daniel was very nice, and trying to be helpful, but she didn't feel comfortable with him touching her like that.

Sully came into the living room with a tray full of hot chocolate. He placed it on the coffee table and then sat next to Michaela on the couch.

"Gee, Brother, I didn't know you were a podiatrist," Sully hissed quietly, his voice laced with venom.

"Sully, I was tryin' to help," Daniel attempted to explain himself.

"I think you were tryin' to cop a feel," Sully accused angrily.

"You guys, please," Michaela interrupted in a low voice, "The children."

Sully looked over and saw them watching the movie, none of them appeared to have been paying attention to the argument he had brewing with Daniel, "Hey kids," Sully called to them, getting their attention, "The hot chocolate is ready. Hanna, Brian, you get the cups with the lids." Once all the children had their cup of cocoa and were watching the movie again, Sully raised his eyebrows at Daniel and whispered, "Let's take this outside."

Daniel got up first and went outside.

Sully tried to get up and follow, but Michaela took hold of his arm before he got too far, "Sully, please. He's your brother. I don't want to cause a quarrel, and I would never–"

Sully kissed her cheek and vowed, "My quarrel ain't with you, Honey." Then Sully got up and went outside, closing the door behind him.

To be continued. Please review. =)

Uh oh…