Chapter 2

Mid-afternoon arrived faster than Sully had expected, and Michaela was becoming a little more alert, but the pain was still increasing, and he could tell by the way she squeezed him tight with each attack. By two o'clock, he arrived at a larger creek, and he propped her up on the bank, letting her dangle her feet in the water.

"Best get those cuts tended to so they don't get infected." Michaela watched him quietly, as he ripped off pieces of her already torn skirt.

"What are you…"

"Gotta have somethin' to clean it with." She nodded, deciding not to protest, and she watched Wolf sniff around, keeping alert in case Dog Soldiers were tracking them. Sully dipped the cloth in the water, soaking it. He looked at her in her pitiful state. Her outfit was soiled in unmentionable things and soaked in blood. Her face was pale, but one could hardly notice without paying special attention, because blood and dirt and grime covered her features, but those gorgeous eyes sparked through like two pearls in a sea of obsidian. She saw the way he was looking at her, and she looked away, tears welling in her eyes. She leaned her head back, as he began washing up her legs, and she gasped, when one of her cuts opened up and began to bleed again. "Did I hurt ya?"

"No. No, I can do that." She leaned forward, but she became dizzy, and Sully caught her, before she could slump over.

"Not even a bump on the head can make Michaela Quinn stop bein' stubborn can it?" She studied him for a moment. It was like he saw right into her soul, and she wasn't certain that was a good thing. She would have to trust him to get her to safety, but after that, she needed to take care of herself and get home.

"When you asked…about the Dog Soldiers." He froze for a moment before continuing his work on her legs. "Sully?" Her voice wasn't harsh, but it wasn't like the Michaela he knew. He missed her, God did he miss her, but having her safe was the most important thing. After she was safe and settled, perhaps he could try to work with her and help her remember. He hoped this was only temporary, but how could she forget such a huge part of her life? She actually believed she still lived in Boston. She knew who she was, yet she had no idea who he was. She hadn't even asked about the children. Could she not remember little Brian, whose birthday she'd just missed? Could she not remember Colleen, who helped her at the clinic day in and day out? Or Matthew, who was soon to be married?

"Believe it or not, Michaela, you're a friend to the Cheyenne people," he said, afraid of scaring her further, but when he saw no evidence of fear in her eyes, he continued on. "There are some rebel Indians though—the Dog Soldiers—and ya saw somethin' terrible happen, and they took ya. General Custer took the Cheyenne people into Colorado Springs and is buildin' a gallows. If I don't get ya back, he's gonna start hangin' 'em." Michaela's eyes were brimming with tears.

"I can't believe any of this," she whispered, "but something tells me you're telling the truth. What is it?" Sully frowned, starting to wash Michaela's other leg. "Sully?"

"Hmm?"

"How do you know me? Why do I feel like…like I know you?" Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she studied him like one of her medical texts.

"I don't think it's the time to get started on that. Ya need…" She sighed heavily.

"You're just like all of the others. They never tell me anything."

"What others?" Sully asked slowly.

"My mother and father. My sisters. Even though I'm a grown woman, I'm the baby of the family, and they insist that I can't know about the scandals that have gone on in our family. Honestly, I'd rather not know about them, but the fact that they don't want to tell me—"

"Makes ya want to know even more," Sully concluded. Michaela paused.

"Yes. How did you know that?"

"I know a lot about ya. Ya used to know a lot about me too." He lowered his eyes, and he reached up to wipe a trickle of blood from the side of her face. His face was level with hers, and their eyes met for a moment. He could see confusion but the need to understand lying below the surface, so he cleared his throat. "We need to be goin' soon."

"I'm filthy," she said quietly. "I don't even recognize this dress." Sully shook his head.

"Things are a lot different 'round here, Michaela."

"Michaela…why do you call me that?" Sully smiled a little.

"I usually call ya Dr. Mike. I don't…I guess I never really called ya that to your face before." He looked down.

"Mike…my father calls me that."

"Yeah. It's kinda your nickname around town." He looked up at her, knowing that his words weren't registering with her. He shook his head.

"C'mon. We best keep movin'." He washed the dirt and grime off of her face, and she closed her eyes, feeling grateful for his soothing touch, but alarmed at the same time. She hadn't ever experienced such emotions toward a perfect stranger before. She'd never opened up to someone quite like this…not even her mother and father. So how was it so easy to talk to a man she couldn't even remember ever meeting?

"I'm tired, Sully. I need…"

"Ya need to stay awake. I know. I ain't gonna let ya sleep." Michaela nodded, and she allowed Sully to pick her back up. He whistled to Wolf, who quickly obeyed and heeled at Sully's feet. "We'll be there by nightfall."

"Ma'll be back soon, Brian," Colleen said for the tenth time that day, as Brian brushed down his newly acquired horse Taffy in the barn. Luckily, Hank had come to his senses and had kept his end of the bargain, giving the horse to the boy as he had owed him.

"Ya keep sayin' that, Colleen, but that don't mean anything." He shook his head. "What if Custer decides not to wait? He already told Sully he'd wait 'til he got her back, but I've seen 'em testin' them ropes all day. I don't think he's gonna wait."

"He will," Colleen said sternly. "And if he don't, ya know Ma and Sully. They'll take it all the way to Washington."

"But it won't bring Cloud Dancin' back. Or…"

"Don't think about that right now, Brian," Colleen said, worry creasing her brow, as she paced back and forth in the stables.

"Why not? What if we…" He turned to his older sister.

"What're you thinkin' Brian?" she asked cautiously.

"What if we break 'em out."

"Brian, no!" Colleen exclaimed. "We do that, and they're gonna kill 'em whether or not Sully gets Ma back here. We better just wait it out."

"But he could kill 'em tomorrow! It ain't fair, Colleen! It ain't fair!" With that, he threw down the brush he'd been tending to Taffy with, and he clung to his sister's middle, sobbing softly.

"Don't worry, Brian," she soothed. "It's gonna be alright. You'll see. Sully is gonna bring Dr. Mike back any day now, and…and everything is gonna go back to normal."

"Michaela? Michaela, you awake?"

"I'm awake," she said groggily, hearing the panic in his voice. "How much further?"

"We should be comin' to a main rode real soon. Hopefully then we'll find somebody who'll be kind enough to give us a ride into town." Michaela nodded slowly. "You feelin' alright?"

"A little better. I could use something for the pain, but I can manage." She closed her eyes.

"Ya always do," he assured her.

"What does that mean?" she wondered, but he shook his head.

"Nothin'. It's…just…I've seen ya tough out some pretty bad pain before. None as bad as this, but you're strong, Michaela…I mean…uh…Dr. Mike." She smiled a little.

"You sound more comfortable calling me Michaela. Call me that, Sully. Please? It seems as if we're going to be…traveling companions for a while, so we might as well be as comfortable as we can be." He stared at her, as they walked, amazed at how calm she was now. Did he have that affect on her? Or were her recent injuries slipping away from her memory just as he had? But as she tightened her hold around his neck, he knew she felt safe with him for the time being, and right now, that was all that mattered. Everything else would have to be dealt with in time.