Sully pulled his horse to a stop as he looked out at the amazing scenery that the Dakotas held. While turning toward his brother he asked, "Cloud Dancin' I don't even have the words to describe this."

"Yes. The spirits talk here. Beauty is around us. But there is also danger," he replied.

"Danger? You mean, the army, wild animals?"

"I do not know. The spirits simply tell me that there is danger around us. I cannot tell what it means."

Sully stared at Cloud Dancing with a worried look on his face. He has known his brother for too long not to realize that Cloud Dancing was often right. He wondered what this danger had to do with. In the back of his mind, he thought of Michaela and the defeated look in her eye as she said goodbye. Something just isn't right with her. Things aren't right with us. When I get home, I promise that I'll stay for a while and try to get things back to normal. I miss her.

And with a swift kick of his foot, Sully and his brother started moving down the trail at a swift pace.

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"What's wrong? Andrew? Colleen?" Michaela asked, worried after seeing the look of shock and fear dance across her son in law's face.

Quickly, Andrew glanced at his wife. With that one small gesture, Colleen knew immediately that she needed to distract her mother. Going toward her side, Colleen grabbed her mother's hand and stroked her forehead. Andrew then proceeded to finish the examination, trying desperately to gain control of the situation that was rapidly getting worse.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Several hours later, Michaela began to stir once again in bed. As she opened her eyes, she noticed the furniture of the recovery room and was immediately brought back to reality. Oh my God. What happened? Why had Colleen and Andrew looked so terrified? As panic started to set in, she heard the door open and Colleen enter the room.

"Ma? Are you awake?" Colleen whispered, afraid to wake her mother from her peaceful slumber.

"Hmm? Colleen? Yes, I'm awake. What happened? Is everything ok? What's wrong?" Michaela asked, trying to hold onto the last pieces of control.

"Shhh. Calm down. Everything is going to fine now," Colleen said, secretly hoping that what she said would be true. "Let me go get Andrew so you can discuss what happened."

Before Michaela could even say otherwise, Colleen was out the door. It wasn't long, however, before Andrew came following into the room. Immediately, he sat down beside the bed and started measuring Michaela's heart rate and pulse.

"Andrew? What's wrong? What aren't you telling me?" Michaela asked, frantic with worry.

Andrew set down his stethoscope and pulled a chair beside the bed, motioning for Colleen to do the same on the other side. "Michaela, you suffered some serious injuries from the fall. I'm concerned about what internal damage that may have caused, particularly from the broken ribs. However, I'm even more concerned as to what caused your fall. A healthy woman should not be having such spells as you have had these past few days. While examining your injuries, you experienced severe pain in your abdomen. At first, I thought it was from your ribs but the pain was more severe lower in your stomach. I did a more thorough examination and that's where I discovered what I believe is the source of the problems." Andrew paused, allowing the information he just told Michaela to sink in.

Thinking about he just said, Michaela racked her brain trying to come up with a reason. Putting the pieces together, she looked up with wide eyes brimming with tears. "I'm pregnant!" She asked. So happy and surprised with this unexpected discovery, Michaela nearly forgot the state she was in and the worry that could be seen in both her daughter and son-in-law's eyes.

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After riding hard for several hours, Matthew pulled his horse to a stop in order to refill his canteen. Looking down at the tracks he had been following, he was hoping that Sully would only be a few more hours ahead of him. If he kept his pace, and the light stayed with him a bit longer, he thought that he may be able to find Sully by sunrise.

I sure hope I can find Sully. Dr. Mike needs him now. With everything that went on last year, he needs to be with her. He'll hate himself if he finds out she's in pain and once again he was absent.

In frustration with the situation and knowing the two people he has come to see as his parents were at odds with each other, Matthew swung back up onto his horse and once again set out at a fierce pace.