Chapter Seven
That night, Jake was resting comfortably upstairs, but he hadn't woken up. Hank had lost at least twenty dollars by betting that Jake wouldn't make it off of the table. And now that he was upstairs and in the recovery room, all everyone had to do was wait.
The rest of Colorado Springs seemed to be going on about their lives as if nothing had happened to their barber. Hank had started a game of poker, so most of the men, excluding Robert E. and Horace, were at the saloon having cigars and whiskey as they gambled.
Michaela looked at herself in the mirror and saw that she looked worse than she had before she got a bit of sleep early that morning. She needed sleep, but she couldn't sleep in case Jake was to wake. She didn't want him to wake up alone.
As she made her way down the stairs, she decided to go over to Grace's to get a bite to eat. As she was walking out of the hall after coming downstairs, she was surprised to find that her examination table had been pushed aside, and a blanket had been spread out on the floor. In the center of the blanket was a picnic basket. Two candles sat nearby. She was automatically confused, but when she saw Sully walk in from outside with something behind his back and a bouquet of flowers in his other hand, she put two and two together. She couldn't help but smile at him. What a sweet gesture!
"Sully?" she watched as he moved around the blanket and extended the bouquet to her. She didn't know what to say! She was completely taken by surprise. She had to admit that she liked Sully's wonderful gesture, but it frightened her a little. She wasn't at all expecting flowers and a picnic after only knowing him a little over a week! "What is this all about?"
"Well, I just figured ya might be hungry, and ya had a long day." He smiled as she took the flowers from his hand.
"You're right," she said with a smile and a sparkle in her eyes. "I'm very hungry." She looked around. "Candles?"
"Well, we can't eat in the dark now, can we?" Sully asked. "'Sides, I didn't wanna make ya run low on oil in your lamps." She had to giggle at his very poor excuse. He was being so incredibly sweet!
"Where are the children?"
"Grace and Robert E. are lookin' after 'em 'til we're done eatin'." She grinned. "Ya didn't think I was gonna let ya eat alone, did ya?" Michaela sniffed the flowers and inhaled the sweet scent.
"If only I had a vase to put these in," she said with a sigh, remembering that her only vase had been broken.
"Who says ya don't?"
"My only vase was the one that Matthew accidentally broke, remember?" she asked.
"Ya mean, this vase?" He pulled the vase out from behind his back. Michaela's eyes went wide. She could see that he'd put a great deal of effort in piecing it back together.
"Oh! Sully, you fixed it!" She grinned happily, taking the beautiful vase into her hands. She put the flowers inside. "Are you sure it won't leak?"
"Give it a try," Sully suggested positively. Michaela glanced curiously at him for a moment before pouring water from a pitcher into the vase. When no leaks or water droplets formed, Michaela was even more impressed! She looked at him nervously for a moment before standing on her tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you," she said quickly as she pulled away. Sully stood frozen for a moment as she moved to sit on the picnic blanket. The feel of her lips on his cheek was so amazing, and it made him long to know what it felt like to have her lips pressed against his. "Sully?" He realized that he was standing in the exact same place and hadn't moved for quite a few moments. He finally gained his composure and sat down across from Michaela on the blanket.
He noticed that her cheeks were flushed red, and he couldn't help but smile as they dug into the basket and pulled out plates of Grace's finest cooking. They ate in silence, catching quick glances between bites. Michaela felt her heart beating so quickly and thought for sure that Sully would be able to hear it. Little did she know that he was just as nervous. He had never courted anyone before, let alone someone from a completely different world. Boston and Colorado Springs seemed to be as different as day and night, so he was feeling completely under pressure. He knew he was falling in love with her, but he wasn't sure if Michaela could ever reciprocate his feelings.
"Sully?" Michaela wondered, taking a sip of cider from a glass that Sully had had Grace pack in the basket. She had noticed that he seemed full of thought, but none of those thoughts were coming to the surface in any form of a conversation.
"Yeah?" he asked, clearing his throat.
"Is something the matter?"
"Why do ya ask?"
"You just seem to be thinking about something. I know you don't have to . . . but would you like to tell me?" He shook his head.
"It's nothin'." Michaela felt a bit disappointed. Having Sully there to talk to was something she'd come to really enjoy over the course of the past week. She only wished that he wouldn't hold back when he looked as if he really wanted to say something.
Outside of the clinic, Abagail was returning from a late night stroll about town. As she was passing the clinic, she happened to notice the shimmer of a candle's flame on the glass of the window. She held her breath and stepped closer. As she peered into the dim clinic, she gasped when she saw Michaela and Sully sitting upon the floor eating dinner by candlelight.
"No," she breathed, tears forming in her eyes. "This isn't happening." She closed her eyes, wishing it was all a bad dream, but when she opened them again, she saw the same scene. They were talking! What were they talking about? She decided to wait and watch. She had to know if there was truly something going on between Michaela and Sully or if that something was going to start on this evening.
"You're sure you don't want to talk about it?" she asked as her eyes searched his. Suddenly, she felt shy and awkward. She wasn't sure if this was the proper thing to be discussing. As a matter of fact, she knew it wasn't proper to be thinking of anything besides friendship at this moment, but she couldn't help it. She felt free when she was with him. He was so kind and gentle, and she wanted to know more about him. She already knew that there was much more to Sully than met the eye.
"I'm sure," Sully replied. The truth to the matter was that he wasn't sure. He wished he could tell her how he was feeling, but she'd probably think he was crazy or worse if he began pouring his heart out to her. They had become friends from the start, and he didn't want to ruin that.
"Well, why don't you tell me more about you?" That was definitely something much easier for him to talk about. Well, it was easier than talking about his feelings at the moment anyway.
"What do ya wanna know?"
"Well, your first name isn't Sully, is it?"
"No," he replied, nearly choking on his cider.
"Well, do you mind telling me what it is?" she asked. When he nearly choked again, she raised an eyebrow. "It can't be that bad."
"It is. Trust me."
"Come on," Michaela urged. The look in her eyes was one that made Sully want to tell her everything about himself and more! When she looked at him with her beautiful eyes that sparkled with happiness and warmth, he only wished he had a book with all the answers to every question in the world to read to her.
"Ya don't wanna know."
"Sure I do. What is it?" She was really curious now! He sighed heavily and shook his head.
"Byron."
"Byron?" She cocked her head to the side and furrowed her brows. "You don't look like a Byron."
"I know. That's why I ain't goin' by 'Byron.'" Michaela giggled. "See, I knew I didn't need to tell ya. I knew you were gonna laugh at me!" He was just playing around, and Michaela knew it.
"No! I really like your name, but I prefer 'Sully' better."
"Good," Sully replied with a grin. "'Cause I don't think I woulda cared much for it if ya woulda insisted on callin' me 'Byron.'" After a moment of silence, he spoke up again. "Now ya gotta answer one of my questions."
"What? I didn't say anything about me answering your questions," Michaela said with a giggle.
"C'mon. It ain't bad. I promise."
Abagail practically had her ear pressed up against the glass as she waited for Sully's question and Michaela's answer.
"Well, alright then," Michaela said with a sigh, situating herself in a more comfortable position on the blanket. "Go on." Sully thought for a moment, wanting to find the right question to ask.
"Alright. What's been your favorite thing 'bout livin' in Colorado Springs so far?" Michaela took a sip of cider and peered across the rim of the glass at Sully. He now cocked his head to the side to await her answer. The look on his face was priceless, and she only wished there was a way to capture it forever. He looked like a child waiting for the answer to a question that he felt was the most important, and feeling proud to know that he was about to know the answer. "What?"
"Nothing," Michaela said with a grin, placing her glass back down on the floor. "Alright. The best part of living in Colorado Springs, you say?"
"Mhm," he answered with a nod, placing his empty plate back into the basket. He suddenly felt anxious, hoping that she'd say that he was the best part of living in Colorado Springs. His brain told him he was foolish for thinking such a thing. There was no way a woman like Dr. Michaela Quinn was going to say such a thing to a man she'd just met a week ago.
"Well, I'd have to say that the best part about living in Colorado Springs is the fact that there are so many nice people here." She felt herself blushing when the first person that came to mind was Sully. He noticed her face flushing as well, but he knew better than to call her on it. "I feel like I've already made some good friends, and I hadn't expected that."
"Same here," Sully replied with a smile. Michaela felt herself growing warm inside just by the way Sully was looking at her. She felt as if she was coming under some kind of a spell. "Never met nobody like you before, Dr. Mike."
"I could say the same thing about you," she replied softly. She felt herself leaning closer to Sully, and he felt the exact same force bringing him closer to her.
Abagail saw what was about to happen, and she had to stop it!
As their lips were nearly a breath apart, a loud screech from outside was heard, and that screech was immediately followed by a splash. Michaela stood abruptly, nearly knocking heads with Sully. She put her hand over her mouth, feeling like a foolish girl for what had nearly happened. She felt like she should apologize, but she knew that something had happened outside that needed her attention. So, she rushed out the door with Sully close behind her.
What they found was quite a sight. Abagail Bray was trying hopelessly to get out of a horse trough.
"Abagail?" Michaela asked quickly, her face still flushed from the near-kiss inside of the clinic. Sully immediately moved to help Abagail out, and she eagerly reached for his hand.
"What happened to ya?" Sully asked, even though it was as plain as day that she'd fallen in. Abagail thought quickly and tried to stand, feeling pain throbbing in her ankle.
"Ow!" she yelped, wrapping her arms around Sully's neck. He picked her up so she wouldn't have to put pressure on her foot. "Um, some rowdy boy from school ran by and just pushed me in. Told ya the fellas at school ain't grown up."
"Want me to go find 'im?" Sully asked.
"No, that's alright. He's probably clear home by now." Sully and Michaela exchanged glances.
"Let's bring her inside," Michaela said quickly.
"Nah, I'm fine," Abagail replied, wincing in pain again.
"I don't believe that painful look on your face says that you're fine." Sully followed Michaela into the clinic with a soaking wet Abagail. Michaela quickly moved the picnic items out of the center of the floor and pushed her examination table back to it's original spot, being care to avoid knocking over the two lit candles.
"Oh my!" Abagail exclaimed. "I ain't interruptin' anything, am I?" She had to stop herself from smiling, but that wasn't too difficult, considering the fact that the pain was real! Michaela and Sully exchanged glances as Sully went about lighting lamps and picking up the remnants of the picnic that had been interrupted.
"No," Michaela said, blushing a bit. She moved her hand to the young girl's ankle. Abagail jumped a bit and finally relaxed.
"It ain't broke, is it?" Michaela shook her head.
"No, but you've certainly twisted it! It looks like you're going to be fairly sore for at least three weeks."
"Perfect," Abagail mumbled. "That's when I go off to college." She rolled her eyes. Michaela only smiled.
"Well, you'll be healed just in time then," the doctor replied. She began to wrap the girl's ankle tightly. "Sully?"
"Hmm?"
"Would you reach into that closet and find a pair of crutches?"
"Crutches?" Sully asked. Michaela nodded.
"They'll help support her as she walks." Sully found what Michaela was asking for and brought them out."
"Can I go home now?" Abagail wondered.
"Of course. Would you like to try walking on these?"
"Maybe tomorrow," Abagail said quietly. "I'm real tired." She looked up at Sully.
"I'll take her on home," Sully said quietly. "I best be goin' home anyway." Abagail's eyes brightened.
"Alright," Michaela said with a smile. Sully scooped Abagail up into his arms, and she held on tightly as he placed the crutches under one arm to carry. Michaela swallowed hard. "Thank you for everything tonight. Fixing that vase for me was very sweet of you." Sully smiled, his eyes saying much more than words, and he left with Abagail in his arms.
Sully crossed over toward the mercantile to find Loren standing on the porch with a cigar in one hand. He'd obviously left Hank's poker game a bit early.
"Abby? What on earth happened to ya?"
"She fell in a horse trough," Sully said with a grin. "Twisted her ankle."
"I was pushed," she insisted. Sully nodded.
"Right. She was pushed." Loren raised an eyebrow. "Ya probably ought to take her up to her room. She's gonna be mighty sore for awhile." Loren nodded. Sully gently placed Abagail down and handed her the crutches. "Try to take it easy, Abagail." She nodded, smiling at him with a look of puppy love in her eyes. Once Sully was out of earshot, Loren turned to his daughter.
"Abby, ya best give up on him."
"No! I won't!" Loren sighed.
"Alright, well, let's just hope that that ankle of yours is healed by the time ya go off to college."
"It will be. Dr. Mike said it'd probably be a few weeks."
"Good. So you'll get to dance at your party."
"My party?" she asked, her eyes brightening again.
"Your goin' away party," Loren said with a nod. "It was s'posed to be a surprise, but I figured I'd give ya somethin' to look forward to." He tossed his cigar off into the street, picked his daughter up carefully and stared inside so he could take her to her room. The wheels in Abagail's head began to turn. Not only was she going to become the perfect proper young lady, but she was going to have one final chance at getting Sully to ask for her hand if he didn't do so by the end of three weeks. They would dance, and when they would gaze into each other's eyes, Sully would fall in love with her. It had to work! It always worked in all of those books she'd secretly read in the mercantile! Suddenly, she couldn't wait for three weeks to come and go.
Just as Michaela was about to start turning down the lamps and blowing out the candles, a knock came to her door. Now what was it! She needed sleep, though she couldn't let a possible patient know that. So, she opened the door and was surprised to see Sully again.
"Sully? What are you doing back here?" Michaela wondered nervously. She hoped that he wasn't back to finish what they had started, because frankly, she didn't feel think she felt ready to take their friendship to another level just yet.
"I forgot to get Grace's picnic basket," he said sheepishly. "I promised her I'd bring it back when I came for the kids."
"Oh, right," the doctor said softly. She let Sully in, and he picked up the things he'd brought along earlier. "It was a lovely idea, Sully."
"But ya ain't sorry it got interrupted," Sully assumed, immediately regretting his words. "I mean . . ." They both chuckled nervously. "I'm sorry if I was forward."
"No, you were fine, Sully. You were very sweet, and I appreciated the gesture. I needed some relaxation after such a trying day." Sully smiled.
"I'm glad ya had a good time." Michaela nodded as Sully stepped outside. "I'll see ya tomorrow?"
"Yes. See you tomorrow." She closed the door slowly and leaned against after she had done so. She knew that her dreams were going to be quite interesting on this evening!
By the time Michaela woke the next morning, Jake still hadn't woken up. She was growing more and more concerned, because she knew that if he didn't wake soon, it was likely that he never would.
She was also growing more and more frustrated with herself, second-guessing the actions she had taken during the surgery. She kept asking herself all of the 'what if' questions, and it wasn't helping Jake at all.
The sound of the school bell let her know that the Cooper children were on their way to school. Perhaps that meant that Sully would be dropping by. She sure hoped so, though she couldn't help but blush every time she thought of what had almost happened the night before.
"Dr. Mike?" came a voice from downstairs. She recognized that voice as Loren Bray's. She quickly made her way down the stairs to meet him.
"Good morning, Mr. Bray. How is Abagail this morning?"
"Oh, she's doin' alright. She didn't wanna go to school today, but I told her she ain't missin' no more 'til school lets out for the summer at the end of the week. "She's really tryin' to get outta goin' to college."
"I can tell she isn't happy about going," Michaela noted. Loren nodded and sighed a bit.
"Well, she'll get used to it once she gets to Denver, she'll start feelin' better." Loren shuffled nervously in his spot.
"What can I do for you? Are you feeling ill?"
"No," Loren said quickly. "I came to see how Jake's doin'." Michaela let out a sigh of disappointment and slightly shook her head.
"I'm afraid there's been no change, but you're welcome to go sit with him."
"Thanks," Loren replied bleakly. He started up the stairs, while Michaela sat down at her desk to look over her medical books. There had to be some way to get Jake to wake up. She had done everything she could think of to physically help him, and she knew that opening him back up for another surgery would almost certainly prove fatal for the barber.
She didn't know Jake, and she didn't know if he was a fighter, but she certainly knew that he wasn't fighting now. Maybe he didn't want to wake up. After all, he would drink until he'd pass out. Maybe he had just wanted to die. But, she couldn't give up on him. She took an oath when she became a doctor, and she had to do whatever she had to in order to heal her patient.
She was about to search through another medical textbook, but a knock came to the door, followed by a shrill cry. She got up and quickly came to the door.
"Horace? Myra?" she asked as she came face to face with the very tired new parents.
"Mornin' Dr. Mike," Myra said with tears in her eyes as baby Samuel cried in her arms.
"Myra? What's the matter?"
"Oh, I don't know! He won't stop cryin', and I've tried everything! I ain't slept since the night before he was born! I can't even walk 'round the house without him cryin'!"
"It's true," Horace said with a nod. Myra elbowed him in the arm. "Ow!"
"What would you know! You don't gotta walk around all day with him! You get to go to work!"
"Well, it ain't like I can get away from the cryin'!" he snapped tiredly. "Dr. Mike, ya gotta do somethin'!" Michaela had to bite her lip to keep from laughing, but her eyes showed that she was slightly amused. She reached out and took baby Samuel from his mother's arms.
"Let's see what we have here." As she placed the little one on the examination table, she took him from his swaddling and began to gently press on his tummy. She was pleased that her first assumptions were correct. "Has he been eating well?"
"Yeah," Myra said, rubbing her tired, bloodshot eyes.
"Have you been burping him after he eats?"
"Huh?" Myra asked, a look of realization coming over her face.
"Sometimes, when babies are nursing, they swallow air that makes them feel some discomfort. Always remember to hold him up and burp him," Michaela explained. "Like this." She held the baby in a way to show the parents, and a moment later, Samuel let out an impressive belch and his crying tapered off until he was sleeping.
"I knew that," Myra whispered. "Why didn't I remember to do it?" She began to cry. "Dr. Mike, am I a terrible mother!"
"Of course not!" Michaela exclaimed, putting a hand on the young woman's shoulder. "You're just new parents. You'll get used to every cry and noise your baby makes. Believe me, I've seen my sisters react the same way with their children." Myra dried her tears, and Horace put an arm around her.
"Ya see, I told ya he was gonna be alright." Myra nodded and took her baby back into her arms. She placed two dollars down on the examination table.
"That's not necessary," Michaela said quickly.
"Sure it is. Ya made sure my baby boy made it into the world safely. We ain't got much, but we thought we owed ya somethin'." Michaela decided that accepting the money was probably a good idea considering the fact that the amount of money she'd brought from Boston was quickly decreasing.
"May I make a suggestion?"
"Sure," Myra replied.
"Whenever the baby is sleeping, you should sleep," Michaela said with a smile. "Try to rest while he's resting, otherwise you'll never get any sleep."
"Ya sure know a lot about babies, Dr. Mike," Horace said with a smile.
"Well, I don't have much experience with them, but I know that my sisters have recommended the same things. Though, I think they were just pushing that I get married and have a family. I'm sure my mother paid them to try to convince me." She grinned, and Myra laughed a little.
"Thanks Dr. Mike."
"Don't hesitate to come back if you have any questions." Myra nodded, and the Bing family left the clinic. Just as the door was shutting, Loren came rushing down the stairs.
"Dr. Mike!" he exclaimed, bursting into the room.
"What is it?" Michaela asked with immediate alarm.
"It's Jake! I think he's wakin' up!"
Mrs. Simmons had called a half-hour recess and lunch for her students, and while Matthew and Colleen ran across town to the café to have lunch with their father and baby brother, Abagail Sully took a seat at one of the picnic tables and leaned her crutches against the side of the table. She opened up her lunch pail and began to pick at her sandwich. She wasn't really hungry at all. All she could think about was how Sully and Michaela had come so close to kissing the night before. They would have if she hadn't intervened with her dramatic fall into the horse trough.
"Hey Abagail," came a voice from nearby. Abagail looked up from her mutilated sandwich to see a young man from her class standing there. He smiled at her and walked closer. His name was Martin Johnson, and he had had a crush on Abagail since they were five years old. He was sweet as could be, and he never once asked her to go for a stroll due to his incredible shyness. She was quite surprised when he approached her on this day.
"Martin? Do ya wanna sit down? I mean . . . would you like to sit down?" She was trying her best to talk like the Boston doctor, but her accent was slipping quite a bit.
"Do ya mind?"
"I don't," she replied with a laugh. "C'mon. I could use some company." He noticed how she was wearing a fancy dress, one even prettier than the one she usually wore to church on most Sundays.
"Ya look real pretty today," he said shyly.
"Why thank you," Abagail said with a smile. "I borrowed it from my father's store this morning. If I'm going off to college, I must wear clothes that are suitable."
"Ya ain't at college yet, so why are ya talkin' and dressin' like that?"
"Oh, but I must become accustomed to dressing the part of a proper college student," she insisted. She was quite proud of herself! That book on proper grammar and etiquette she had been looking over was beginning to pay off!
"Alright," Martin replied quietly. He couldn't help but notice how the sun made her black hair shine. "Well, I was wonderin' if maybe . . . if maybe ya might wanna come to Grace's for pie after school." He looked away, figuring she would turn him down. After all, she always turned down offers like his from the other boys at school. As a matter of fact, she actually would have turned him down if it hadn't been for her catching a glimpse of Sully at the café, smiling and talking with Colleen and Matthew.
"Well," Abagail considered. "If you wouldn't mind waiting. It will take me awhile to walk over there with my books and crutches."
"Well, I'd be honored to carry you're books for ya, Abagail," Martin said hopefully, his green eyes sparkling. He was cute, Abagail had to admit, and her age. He wasn't like the other boys in her class, but she still only had eyes for Sully. Perhaps spending time with Martin and acting like a proper lady would convince Sully of his true feelings. Perhaps he would realize that he loved her all along, and would try to steal her away from Martin.
"Well then, I would be honored to join you for lunch, Martin Johnson."
"Ya would!" he asked happily. He cleared his throat and tried not to sound so eager. "I mean, ya would?"
"Yes, I would be delighted!"
"Well, can I ask a favor then?"
"Yes?"
"Please don't talk like that at lunch. I like ya just the way ya always been." Abagail sighed and nodded.
"Alright. I'll be the same ol' Abagail," she said in her usual vernacular.
"Great," Martin concluded. "I'll see ya after school then." He started to get up.
"Wait!" He sat back down. "Keep me company?"
"Really? Me?"
"Who else do ya think I'm talkin' to, silly?" Abagail asked. She smiled and batted her eyes. As several other jealous young men from school watched on, Abagail Bray finally looked as if she was showing an interest in someone her own age. They didn't know what it was about him, but from now on, they were going to talk to Martin about how on earth he, of all of the boys, brought a smile to Abagail's face.
As they continued their lunch, Abagail thought of Sully, while Martin talked with her about his family. She would nod and try to pay attention, but her eyes kept darting over to where Sully sat at the café. Martin was such a sweet young man, and she knew that he would definitely be able to help her win Sully's heart.
