Chapter 3: The Reservation

"Is he going to be alright?" the Indian woman asked as Michaela gave a young boy a spoonful of medicine. Michaela smiled and nodded.

"The children are all ill because they ate some bad beef. I've given them something that will ease their discomfort, but it should pass. Did any of the older children or the adults eat this meat?"

"No. There was little meat, so it was spared for the children."

"The meat was diseased. They should all be fine, but if there are any other problems, I'll try something else."

"Thank you. Cloud Dancing told me you were a good doctor."

"Cloud Dancing was my best patient," Michaela replied with a smile as she and Snow Bird walked along. "Your husband is a very kind man."
"Yes, but he can be very foolish. He follows his heart, and that's why I love him." Michaela smiled.

"We all can." Snow Bird noticed something in Michaela's eyes.

"You are troubled." Michaela looked at Cloud Dancing's wife and nodded.

"Yes. My father is sick, and he doesn't want me to go to Boston. He's sure he's going to be fine, but I'm not so sure."

"Do you want to go back home?"

"No, but I would go for his sake."

"Cloud Dancing tells me your father is a medicine man."
"Yes. He's the reason I wanted to become a doctor."

"He is very wise?"

"Yes. He's the smartest man I know."

"If he is sure he will survive, he is right."

"But he's stubborn. He never likes to admit when he's sick or hurting."

"That sounds like my Cloud Dancing," Snow Bird replied with a smile. "I'm sure your father will be fine."
"I hope so. I want him to walk me down the aisle on my wedding day."

"I'm sure he will," Snow Bird replied with a smile. She walked off and Michaela stared after her as she joined Cloud Dancing. She adored the way Cloud Dancing looked into his wife's eyes and kissed her in greeting. She was pleased when she felt Sully's strong arms wrap around her waist from behind. She leaned into him and he held her close and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Are you feelin' any better?"

"A bit," Michaela admitted. "Snow Bird spoke with me."

"That's good. How are the kids?"

"They all have some form of food poisoning, but I gave them something for it. They should be fine."

"That's good," Sully replied. "Thanks for comin' out here with me today."

"Whenever they need me, I'll be out here as soon as I can. I want to help everyone that I can possibly help." Sully smiled and nodded at her.

"I know ya do. That's part of the reason I fell in love with ya." Michaela wanted to feel wonderful as Sully pulled her into his arms to hold her and let her know that everything was going to be alright. But fear for her father's life kept her from focusing on Sully. She pulled away.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, swallowing hard. "I need to get back into town."

"Alright, I'll ride with ya."

"No, I'd kind of like to be alone for awhile. I just need to think about some things."

"Alright," Sully replied, feeling a bit hurt, but realizing that Michaela needed time because she was worried about her father. He figured she thought she wouldn't be much company with only that on her mind.

"Thank you for understanding," Michaela whispered. Sully nodded and turned away, wanting to kiss her and take her to a place where all she could feel was happiness. But, he knew that it was 'against the rules.' Michaela stared after him for a few moments before turning to walk over to her wagon and head back into town.

Michaela walked into Hank's room to find him sitting up, trying to put his boots on.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I need to get back to work."

"Jake and Loren are looking after the saloon."

"Even more reason why I need to get back to work," Hank replied. He winced in pain and took a sip of whiskey from a bottle.

"Hank! How did you get that in here?"
"One of my girls did me a favor while I had Myra go get me somethin' to eat." Michaela cringed and pulled the whiskey bottle out of Hank's hands. "What the hell do you think you're doin'?" He stood and stumbled a bit.

"There will be no drinking in my clinic."

"Whatever you say, doc," Hank replied with a smirk. "I'm goin' back to work."

"You aren't ready yet," Michaela warned. Jake walked into the room and saw Hank and Michaela facing each other.

"What's goin' on?"

"The doc's tryin' to tell me that I can't go back to work." Michaela turned to Jake.

"He's supposed to be resting. If his stitches rip, he'll start to bleed, and I'll have to sew him up again. Jake looked at Hank and nodded. "The doc's right. I'd be happy to sew ya up again, but you got a pretty deep hole in ya. Why don't ya listen to her? Loren and me are takin' care of the saloon."

"That's what I'm worried about," Hank mumbled.

"Don't worry. We ain't chargin' nothing less and we ain't stealin' drinks. In fact, we're chargin' a penny extra for whiskey."

"You better not be lyin' or you'll be hearin' from me." Jake smirked and walked out of the room. Michaela turned back to Hank.

"Will you rest just a couple more days? That'll give it sufficient time to start healing."

"I s'pose a couple more days won't hurt nothin'."

"Good," Michaela replied with a pleased smile. Hank laid back down while Michaela went across the hall to check on Emily and the baby. She noticed that the door was open so she walked right in. Emily was sitting in a rocking chair with the baby in her arms. The color had come back to her face and the baby seemed to be healthy as well.

"How are you feeling?" Michaela asked.

"Wonderful, Dr. Mike," Emily replied with a smile. "Ya think the baby and I can go home today?"

"I don't see why not, but I want to check your stitches and examine the baby. Will you come downstairs with me?"

"Sure," Emily replied. "My husband's getting the baby's cradle ready with our son. They can't wait for us to come home."

"I'm sure they're missing you," Michaela replied with a grin. "Come along." Emily followed Dr. Mike with the baby in her arms, walking slowly but surely, happy to finally be able to go home.

Loren was sweeping the floors at the mercantile when Brian came running in.

"Mr. Bray!"

"What's wrong, boy?"

"There's a lady here who says she knows you. She's outside! Come on!" Brian took Loren's hand and led him outside. "Sorry, I gotta go fishin' though! I'll talk to you later, Mr. Bray!" Brian ran off and Loren looked at the woman Brian had been talking about. He was surprised to see his late wife's sister Dorothy.

"Dorothy?!"

"Hello Loren," she said with a slight smile.

"What on earth are you doin' here?"

"Aren't you glad to see me?"

"'Course I am. But why ain't ya home with Marcus?"

"Because Marcus is dead," Dorothy replied quietly.

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that," Loren replied.

"Well, I ain't so sorry. He got himself drunk, lost a poker game, and was a sore loser. He ended up getting himself shot, and I had to hear about it from the bartender the next day." He noticed a bruise on her left eye.

"Did he hit you?"

"It ain't important. He's gone now and I ain't gonna get hurt again." She swallowed hard and she was fighting off the choking feeling in her throat.

"Well, why'd ya come here?"

"Because you're the only family I know. My kids are all over the place now, I ain't heard from 'em in years."

"Well, the Cooper kids are stayin' with me for awhile, but I have another spare room."

"Thank ya, Loren. The Cooper kids? You mean Charlotte and Ethan are still here?"

"Well, Charlotte's here. We call her the Widow Cooper now."

"Oh no! Ethan's dead?!"

"No. That low-life ran off with her money and left the farm to her. She moved into the boardin' house across from the saloon. But that's a clinic now, and the doc's lettin' her stay there."

"Why on earth is she stayin' at a clinic?"

"She's dyin' Dorothy," Loren replied. Dorothy's eyes went wide.

"No! She can't be! She's my friend." Tears formed in the woman's eyes.

"You can go sit with her. I'm sure she'd like the company." Dorothy nodded and hugged Loren.

"Thank you for lettin' me stay here."

"It's no trouble," Loren replied. Dorothy turned and started off for the clinic as Loren watched after the woman he once loved and asked to marry. He had loved Maude, but Dorothy was his first true love. And now he was watching her walk away like she had done all those years ago when he asked for her hand in marriage. But this was different. This time she was coming back.

Michaela had just sent Emily and her baby girl home. Both of them were in excellent health, and there was nothing more that Michaela needed to do for them. Hank was resting upstairs, and the children had just gone out fishing, an order from their mother. She was worried about them staying cooped up inside all of the time, and she wanted them to have some fun.

The door opened and Michaela looked up to see a pretty redheaded middle-aged woman walking into the clinic. The first thing she noticed was the bluish-black ring around the woman's left eye.

"Good afternoon. May I help you?" Michaela asked.

"Yes, I was told this was a clinic. May I speak to the doctor?" Michaela smiled and stood up.

"Certainly."

"Where is he?"

"She is right here." Dorothy's eyes widened in realization.

"You're the doctor?!"

"Yes I am. Is there something you'd like? I can give you something to help take away the swelling on your eye." Dorothy's hand went to touch the sensitive area.

"Maybe later," she replied. "I'm here to see Charlotte Cooper. She was my friend, and I just got back to town. I'm Dorothy Jennings, Loren Bray's sister-in-law. Well, at least I used to be." Dorothy smiled weakly and held a hand out to Michaela. Michaela took it and shook it. She smiled.

"I'm Dr. Michaela Quinn. Everyone around here calls me Dr. Mike."

"Do you mind if I call you Michaela? It suits you?" Michaela's eyes lit up.

"I don't mind."

"Good," Dorothy replied with a smile. "Do you mind if I go surprise Charlotte?"

"Go on up. She may be resting, but I'm sure she'd be happy to see you."

"Thank you," Dorothy replied with a nod. She opened the door that led upstairs and closed it behind her. Michaela sighed heavily and started thinking about her father again when the door opened. Horace came in quickly with a piece of paper in his hand.

"Horace? What is it?"

"Good news from Boston. Your pa's alright."

"What?!" Michaela asked with hope filling her heart. Horace handed the paper to Michaela and smiled at her.

"I've gotta get back to the telegraph, but I wanted to bring ya the news personally."

"Thank you, Horace," Michaela replied, reading over the note. Horace nodded and left. Michaela read the words from her sister Rebecca. The note told her that Josef's condition was improving rapidly and that he was back to his old self. Michaela was delighted, and she couldn't wait to send a telegraph back to express her relief. She left the clinic and started over to the telegraph office. She was just about to turn the corner when she ran right into Sully.

"Oh!" Michaela exclaimed.

"You okay?"

"Yes. I'm fine. You just startled me." Michaela looked up into Sully's eyes and felt a blush starting to creep over her face. Every time she saw him, inappropriate thoughts would overcome her every waking moments.

"Where were ya goin' in such a hurry?"

"Oh!" Michaela exclaimed. "I almost forgot! Rebecca just sent a telegraph, and my father's getting better!"

"That's great!" Sully replied with a grin. He pulled Michaela into a hug, and felt the urge to kiss her. She was also expecting to kiss, but Sully pulled away after their hug. "I thought you wanted some time alone."

"I did. I just didn't expect to run into you," Michaela relied. "Now that you're here, would you like to join me for lunch?"

"Where?"

"Well, Grace and I were talking earlier, and I believe she's thinking of opening a café. She has some money from her job with Loren's sister, so I'm going to assume that she's got enough to open a café. She's invited me over for a picnic lunch to discuss it, so would you like to join me?"

"I'd like to," Sully replied with a sigh, "but I have to go check my traps. I shoulda done that a couple days ago."

"Well, maybe some other time then," Michaela replied.

"I better go. I'm gonna be gone for a couple of days."

"Days?" Michaela asked. She swallowed hard. The thought of not being in Sully's arms for days was starting to get to her. She was already starting to regret suggesting cooling their relationship off a bit. She didn't care at the moment, and she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. "I'll miss you."

"I'll be back before ya know it." Michaela looked into Sully's beautiful blue eyes and pressed her lips against his.

"Come back safe?"

"I will," he replied. He kissed her forehead and breathed in the scent of her hair. He knew that scent was going to keep him awake at night. He wanted to taste her, touch her, and smell that wonderful scent of the soap she used. His dreams were already filled with thoughts of her, but if he had that scent on his mind, he would never be able to fall asleep.

"I love you," she whispered, softly caressing his cheek with her fingers.

"I love you," he answered rubbing her shoulders softly. "Like I said, I'll be back before ya know it." He kissed her cheek and turned to walk off. Michaela stared after him, watching Wolf follow behind him as they disappeared into the woods.

"Come in," Charlotte called as she heard the knock at her door. She figured that it was the Reverend or Myra coming to visit her. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw the friend she hadn't seen since before Brian was born. She had only gotten to tell her friend about the boy after he was born in a letter. But she had never gotten a reply back, and that had always concerned her.

"You up for a visitor?"

"Dorothy!"

"Hello Charlotte," Dorothy said with a grin. Dorothy hurried in and shut the door behind her. She went to her friend's bedside and gave her a hug.

"It's been too long, Dorothy," Charlotte said with a sigh.

"I know. I'm sorry I never responded to your letter. Marcus had us moving a few times, and by the time I had time to write, well, my arm was broken."

"Oh?"

"It's not important anyway. I'm sorry I never wrote you back."

"It's alright. Boy, you have to see the children. Matthew is fifteen now and Colleen's twelve. My boy Brian is a handsome little man."

"I'll have to meet him."

"Maybe you have. He was going over to Mr. Bray's store to look at the candy before he went fishing with the other two. He's got blonde hair and he's still small."

"Oh! That was Brian! He practically dragged Loren out of the store to come see me."

"Yeah, that's my son," Charlotte replied with a smile.

"How are you feeling?" Dorothy asked.

"Better," Charlotte replied. "But every day is hard. I know I ain't gonna be around to see my children grow up. I've been makin' plans for 'em after I'm gone."

"Charlotte, if you need a place for them to stay, I'd be happy to watch over 'em."

"Oh no, I've already asked Dr. Mike."

"Oh?"

"Well, she's got a home and she's gonna get married. They'll have a family, and they already love her. I wouldn't want to trouble you."

"Well, they'd be no trouble, but I think you're right in choosin' Michaela for them. Besides, I'll be stayin' with Loren. Don't think there'd be enough room for 'em anyway." She and Charlotte smiled at one another. Dorothy took her friend's hand. "I wish I'd have know you were sick. I woulda been here sooner."

"You bein' here now is what matters," Charlotte pointed out. For the next couple of hours, Charlotte and Dorothy caught up on what they had been missing from each other's lives. Charlotte beamed about her children while Dorothy told her friend about what Marcus had put her through and how her children weren't in her life anymore. Charlotte was happy to have her old friend back while Dorothy was just happy to have a friend.

That evening, Michaela was sitting at her kitchen table in her quiet little house. She felt so lonely, especially as the night grew colder. She found herself staring into the fire with a cup of tea in her hand, thinking about Sully.

She stood from the table and walked over to sit in a rocking chair near the fire. The chair had been there since she moved in, and she realized that Abagail had probably sat in that very spot, rubbing her swollen belly, dreaming of the future she thought she would have with her unborn daughter and Sully.

Michaela sighed heavily and walked over to look out the window. The moon was full and high in the sky. She could hear coyotes howling outside, but the only sound inside was her own breathing and the crackling of the fire. She wanted to hear the pitter-patter of little feet, the laughter of children, and the cries of babies. She wanted to feel the arms of the man she loved wrap around her to keep away the chill. She wanted to share her bed with her husband and wake in the middle of the night to feed her babies. She couldn't wait to have all of that with Sully.

She found herself worrying about him, wondering if he was alright. She was suddenly overcome with the great urge to find him and make sure he wasn't hurt. She felt something deep within her heart, and something didn't feel right. She was suddenly imagining him hurt or sick, and she couldn't have that. She had to find him. She didn't know where he was, but she was going to start out by going to his lean to. From there, she'd figure out where he had his traps set, and she was going to find him. She had to make sure he was safe and see for herself.

Michaela threw some things into a small pack and grabbed her coat. She put it on and put the pack over her shoulder, grabbed her medical bag, and headed out the door, hoping that the feeling she was getting was nothing, because if anything had happened to Sully, she knew she wouldn't be able to handle it.

Wolf barked as his master lay at the bottom of a steep hill. Only he had seen the men who had attacked Sully from behind, robbed him of the furs from his traps, and ran off, leaving unconscious out in the middle of nowhere.

For a moment, Sully came to, hearing the barks of his faithful dog, and he sat up, screaming out in pain. He pulled a handkerchief from his coat. He called Wolf over and held it in front of his nose. Sully had been meaning to give the handkerchief back to Michaela, because she had left it with him by accident the night he proposed. It still had her sweet scent on it, so he hoped that Wolf could get to Michaela in time. Blood was coming from a gash on the back of his head, and he wasn't sure how much time he had before he bled to death.

"Find Michaela," Sully whispered as the dog took another scent of the handkerchief. Wolf barked and ran off in search of the woman Sully loved. Sully fell back into the grass again, and before he fell unconscious again, he whispered, "Michaela."