The next morning, Sully awoke as the rooster crowed and the sun was making its early appearance in the sky. Rolling over, he reached out to find his wife and was startled when all he met was an empty cold bed. Sitting up, he ran his hands through his hair as the nights events returned to his memory. With a sigh, he got out of bed, dressed, and went downstairs to see what Michaela was doing.
As he climbed down the stairs, he mentally thought of what he was going to do today. He really needed to talk to Michaela again about the Cheyenne. There was a big Indian conference at the end of the week that Cloud Dancing wanted him to go to. They hoped that by having a white man on their side, Sully could possibly convince those in the government to stop the war on the Indians. The only problem was it would require Sully to be away from the family for an extended amount of time. Sully knew that it wasn't going to be easy telling Michaela.
As he reached the last step, he was surprised to see that Michaela was still sound asleep in the wingback chair. Usually when she left the bed after a fight, he would find her wide awake, busying herself with every day chores. He went into the kitchen and put a kettle on the hob thinking that the noise would wake Michaela. When it didn't, he returned to the chair. Placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, he whispered "Michaela? It's time to get up."
Sound asleep, Michaela jolted when she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder. Dazed and confused by her surroundings, she looked around with bleary eyes. Once she determined that she was downstairs, she looked up and saw Sully staring at her with concerned eyes.
"Are you ok? I can't remember the last time I saw you sleep in this late." Sully asked.
Michaela slowly stood up, easy her aching joints out of the chair. "Hmm? Oh, yes, I'm fine, just a bit sleepy this morning." She replied. In fact, she felt exhausted. Assuming it was from the events of last night plus the previous day's excitement taking its toll on her, she simply shrugged her shoulders. She accepted the fact that today was going to be another long day.
Sully eyed her cautiously. Dark circles made themselves known under her eyes and Michaela appeared to be moving stiffly.
"Well, why don't you go upstairs and get dressed? I'll start breakfast."
Michaela nodded, relieved that they weren't going to immediately rehash the discussion of last night. While upstairs, Michaela sat down on the bed, thinking about what she was going to wear for the day. Tired, she looked out the window. Deciding that it was still relatively early, she slowly lowered herself back onto the bed. Just a few more minutes of rest, on a comfortable bed, would rejuvenate her for the rest of the day.
As Sully cracked some eggs and put some bacon on the stove, he hummed to himself. While Michaela was upstairs getting dressed, he had busied himself by tidying up the remains of last night's dinner and even had time to milk the cow and gather the eggs. Hoping that doing these extra chores would put Michaela in a good mood, Sully smiled. It would certainly be easier to tell her about his upcoming trip if she was happy!
At the sound of footsteps on the stairs, Sully turned expecting to see his beloved wife. Instead, he was surprised to see Brian climbing down with Katie in his arms.
"Good morning Brian. And good morning to you Kates." Sully said as he reached out to grab his giggling little girl.
"Hey Sully. How are you this morning?"
"Oh good. What are you up to today?"
"Well, I was planning on heading to the Gazette since school is still closed. I wanted to talk to Miss Dorothy about my plans for next year."
Sully, who was preparing Katie for breakfast, stopped what he was doing and turn to Brian.
"Oh? And what have you been thinking of doing? I didn't realize that you were seriously considering anything yet." Sully said, a little hurt that he had missed out on such an important conversation.
"Nah, it's nothing. Ma, Miss Dorothy and I have been discussing whether I should look at colleges or look for an apprenticeship in Denver. There ain't many weeks left in the school year so it's now or never with the decision making." Brian said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Hey, where's ma?" Brian asked, hoping to change the topic of conversation.
"Hmm? Oh, you know, I'm not sure. She went upstairs to get dressed a while ago. I'm surprised she's not down here. She probably just got distracted or something. Would you mind watching Katie while I went upstairs to check on her?"
"No not at all."
And with that, Sully bounded up the stairs to see what his wife had been up to this entire time. As he cracked open the door to the room, he was startled to find Michaela in the same position he had found her in last night, sound asleep in the bed. He kneeled down, running his hand along her body.
"Michaela? Honey, it's time to get up. Michaela?" He gentle said.
Michaela turned her head to the sound but was unable to open her eyes. "Hmm?"
"Michaela, come on, it's morning. Time to go to work." He kissed her cheek and gentle shook her once again.
With every effort in her being, Michaela opened her eyes to peer in her husbands. "What time is it? Can't I just sleep in for a little bit longer?" She asked while stretching her body.
"Sorry, but it's already pretty late. You'll be late to work if you don't get moving. I've got breakfast ready downstairs."
The sound of breakfast, had Michaela paling and she opened her eyes. "I'd much prefer to sleep a few more minutes than eat. I'm really not that hungry"
"Michaela, is everything ok? This just isn't like you." Sully asked unable to hide the worry in his eyes.
"No I'm fine…we're all allowed to have our lazy days aren't we? I'll be ready shortly. Why don't you go hitch up the wagon. I'll be down."
Sully stood up still staring worriedly at his wife. Clearly this morning was not the right time to discuss his trip. Wondering what had gotten into her, Sully made his way downstairs to finish the morning chores.
Later that morning, Michaela finished examining the little Pottery boy. As she led him and his mother out of the clinic, she leaned up against the post. Unable to understand what was causing her to be so tired, she closed her eyes only to be startled a few moments later by Dorothy shaking her shoulders.
"Michaela?"
"Oh, Dorothy! I'm afraid you must have caught me daydreaming. I'm sorry. How are you doing?" Michaela asked, a bit flustered by having been caught sleeping on the job.
"I'm fine. I was hoping you'd come to Graces with me for Coffee and pie."
"Well, I don't have any patients schedule for an hour so that sounds perfect to me. Let me just go grab my shawl."
Once they were settled at a table at Graces, Michaela turned to Dorothy. "So how are things going? I heard that Brian was going to talk with you more about his plans."
"Yes, he came by this morning. We may get a chance to talk some more later too once the next edition gets under way. Michaela, Brian has such potential. He's a natural newspaperman. I really hope that he continues with this career. He can do so much."
"I agree. It's nice to see your children find something that gives them joy and fulfillment. I only hope that it doesn't require him leaving so far away. Once Colleen and Andrew leave for Philadelphia, well, I just can't imagine not having all of my children near me," Michaela responded, tearing up in the process.
"Oh Dr. Mike, don't worry. I'm sure Brian won't be traipsing off to the east coast. Especially since he has his eye on the Sarah girl." Dorothy replied with a bit of a grin on her face. "Is there something else bothering you?"
"Oh no. I've just been a bit emotional lately. I think things are just starting to catch up with me."
"Oh? Like what?"
"Well, things between me and Sully have been a bit strained. We've just been at odds for a while."
"About what? You and Sully are wonderful together. I'm sure you can straighten whatever it is out. What have you two been arguing about?"
Always one to be uncomfortable with discussing personal issues, Michaela turned her head. "The Indians. We just can't seem to agree on our role. I'm sorry…"
Dorothy nodded her head, immediately understanding the issue. "No need to be sorry. We all have our reasons for believing things. You and Sully just need to be patient. Things will fall into place." She answered, hoping that she was right.
"Yes. I'm sure you're right. I just wish it would happen sooner rather than later."
After saying good bye to Dorothy, Michaela walked into the clinic feeling refreshed and ready for the afternoon. After such a sluggish morning she was hoping that she could get caught up on all the work that was piling on her desk. However, the tension returned to her shoulders as soon as she saw Sully sitting on the floor fixing the loose leg of her examining table. Her conversation with Dorothy echoed in her mind. While she knew that she and Sully needed to talk, she again simply felt completely drained and unprepared for that task. Before she gear herself up for the particular conversation, Sully noticed her standing by the door. Quickly, he stood up and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Hey. How are you doing this morning? You're still looking a bit pale," Sully said, eyeing her warily.
"Oh I'm fine. I was just at the café with Dorothy. It was nice to take a bit of break. I think I was just having an off morning."
"Well, good. Remember to take it easy, especially since you do have Colleen and Andrew's help. You don't need to go around saving the world alone."
"I know I know. I'm fine," Michaela said, starting to get annoyed with this unnecessary attention.
Realizing he was making Michaela upset, Sully decided to change tactics. Taking a deep breath, he turned back towards Michaela.
"Michaela, do you have a moment?"
"What? Oh, yes, I suppose. My next patient isn't for another fifteen minutes. Why? What's wrong?"
"Well, um, you see, there is a conference between the Indian tribes up in the Dakotas. Cloud Dancing thinks it will be good for me to go to get all the different perspectives of the tribes. I have to leave tomorrow." Sully said all in one breath. He looked at his wife, expecting her to fly off the handle with anger. Instead, she simply turned away from him and shrugged her shoulders.
"Michaela? Did you hear me?"
Standing by the window looking out at the town, Michaela responded softly, "yes, I heard you. If that's what you think you should do then I won't stand in your way."
Before Sully could say anything else, the bell rang by the door indicating that a patient was waiting. Sully knew that the opportunity for further discussion on this matter was over. While he was thrilled that the two of them didn't get into an argument, he was concerned by the lack of fire in Michaela's eyes. It was as if the light had gone out.