Michaela awoke to the feeling of someone's warm lips pressing against hers. She felt a warm palm on her cheek, and fingers in her hair that were also touching the upper helix of her ear.
"Mornin'," she heard Sully say. She slowly blinked open her eyes and smiled when Sully's clear blue eyes came into view.
"Good morning," Michaela greeted him, and immediately became very aware that she was naked under the covers. However, before she had time to contemplate anything, she felt a bubbly feeling in her lower abdomen. The sudden movement caused her to bring a hand to her belly. She felt her stomach threw her warm blanket.
"Is someone else up?" Sully chuckled.
Sully lifted the blanket and sheet that was covering her, and the next thing Michaela felt was his hand on her bare belly. She immediately looked down at her hands that were still resting on top of her cream-colored blanket. There on her left hand was a gold wedding band and diamond engagement ring. She was dreaming again, and the rings were the same set that she'd seen in dreams past.
This was the third time that she found herself waking up in this dream world with Sully and she felt that God was sending her there for a reason. She hoped that she could stay asleep long enough to find out more information.
"I have somethin' for ya," Sully told her. He kissed her cheek and climbed off the bed, giving Michaela a chance to look around the room.
The bedroom was definitely theirs, she thought to herself. The white sheers flowing over each window and the placement of the furniture was definitely her taste. The subtle Native American influences and the simplicity of the decor was his taste. The light-colored Scandinavian style wood furniture was not something that seemed to match either one of them, but it looked nice in the room. Michaela figured that it must have been a compromise that they would eventually make.
"When ya went to bed last night, I called Grace and she swung by the mall and picked up a few of these," Sully said, and handed her a supportive maternity bra, "I told her how tender you are this time around. She said that she swore by these when she was pregnant with Anthony."
Michaela wasn't sure how she felt about Sully talking to his friend about her sore breasts but appreciated the sentiment anyway. She couldn't see any other man that she knew seeking a female friend's advice about something like this.
"How about I help ya get dressed?" Sully said, shooting her a genuine smile, "Then let's go down for breakfast."
Once she was done getting dressed, they went downstairs to breakfast, giving Michaela a chance to look around the house. It looked like the entire house was decorated with the same simplicity and airiness of their bedroom. She did see a few things that looked familiar. The chaise longue that was in her home currently was mixed into their living room furniture. She could see the medicine arrows that Snowbird had given Sully for his birthday were displayed in a large shadow box frame on one of the walls. Her antique grandfather clock that had been bequeathed to her by her late grandmother was also present.
She followed Sully into the kitchen and saw a very large breakfast nook there. The large table was surrounded on three sides by a padded bench storage seat. On the long side that was opposite the wall of the nook, there were two chairs that matched the bench seats, and a highchair.
Michaela immediately walked to the bench seats and opened them to see what was inside. On one side she saw dry dog food and dry cat food, and on the other side, she saw board games and jigsaw puzzles. She wanted to know what was in the long back bench, but the table was in her way. She sat down on one of the side benches and leaned over, which was a little strenuous to do while pregnant.
She thought it a little funny that the effects of pregnancy on her body were still very much present, even while in her dream world. When Sully was helping her dress that morning, she looked at her bump in the mirror and figured she was about twenty weeks along, which meant that she was half-way through. The bump was still large enough to make maneuvering in unusual ways a little difficult.
She put her hand on one side of the long back bench and attempted to lift it, but it wouldn't budge. She attempted to stretch a little further, thinking that perhaps if her hand reached to the middle of the bench, it would open.
"Um… Honey?" she heard Sully say, his voice sounded very concerned, "Sit up," he said and then she felt his hands on her middle, "Please."
Michaela acquiesced and then looked at him, frustrated.
"What are ya doin?" he questioned; a look of immense worry was present on his face.
"I was just trying to see what was in the bench seat," she confessed.
"You know what's in there," Sully stated firmly, "There's nothin' new, and I don't want ya bendin' like that in your condition."
"Sully, I am perfectly capable of bending," she replied stubbornly, using his word.
"I didn't say ya weren't capable," he said, as if he was trying to avoid an argument. Then he quickly added, "I'm askin' ya not to do it because it scares me when ya bend like that. It scares me in the same way that it did when you got on that stepstool last week. You could hurt yourself, Michaela. You don't need to be doin' anything like that anyway, I will get ya anything that ya want."
"I just want to know what's in there," she explained, "and why won't it open?"
"You know what's in there," Sully stressed, telling her a second time that she already knew what was in the bench seat, "Ya know why we keep it locked too."
How was she going to get around this? How could she ask him to show her without it sounding too strange? She was trying to find out information and didn't know how much longer she had until she would wake.
"I forgot," she insisted, it was the only plausible thing she could think of.
Sully laughed and shook his head. Letting out a sigh, signaling that he was giving up, he moved the chairs and highchair out of the way. Then he kicked one of the table legs, and Michaela heard some kind of latch release. He picked up the kitchen table that had previously been locked into the flooring somehow and moved it out of the way.
Michaela looked down and saw that there were holes in the floor shaped like each of the table legs. Sully got down on his knees and retrieved a key from one of the holes. Then he lifted the bench cushion and inserted the key into the keyhole there. After that, Michaela heard a second set of latches release, and then Sully opened the bench seat easily.
"It's just our survival stuff," Sully said, "Our emergency cash, backpacks filled with standard emergency supplies, freeze dried food, water, medical supplies, and our firearms. We keep it locked because neither one of us wants the kids anywhere near the guns."
"So, there's nothing new in there?" Michaela asked, attempting to ensure that he didn't get suspicious of her motives for wanting to look inside the storage bench.
"Nope," Sully answered, "The last thing we put in there is the LifeStraws that ya bought. That was a few months ago now."
"Oh, okay," Michaela said with a shrug.
"That's all ya wanna see?" he asked.
"Yes," she answered.
"Ya sure?" he double checked, "Before I put everything back?"
"I'm sure," she replied.
"Okay, Sweetheart," Sully said, sounding a little exasperated, and then he shut and locked the bench.
Michaela smiled when she heard him say the words, "Darn pregnancy hormones," under his breath. She decided that she could live with him thinking she was asking to look inside the bench for hormonal reasons.
Once Sully was finished putting all of their furniture back, he asked, "Want your special breakfast?"
"Sure," she said, a little wary, not wanting to ask him what that was.
"Comin' right up," he told her and traveled to the pantry to get out a few things.
From Michaela's vantage point, it looked like he was making her pancakes. That was a safe meal. Then she got back to business at hand, which was to find out more information, "Where is our little girl?" she asked him.
"Which one?" Sully asked with a laugh, "We have four."
Four? Michaela thought to herself. Colleen, Hanna, and the little blonde, made three. Who else was there? Perhaps he meant the child she was pregnant with.
"Maybe five," Sully amended, "We haven't met our little bun in the oven yet."
No, he didn't mean the child she was pregnant with. There were actually four girls. How far ahead was she in the future? How many children had she given birth to?
"The youngest one?" Michaela asked, hoping that he would give her more information about the little blonde that she'd seen before. She couldn't ask Sully about the blonde one because Colleen was also a blonde. For all she knew, this fourth little girl could be a blonde too. She wanted to know more about the fourth little girl too, but first, she wanted to learn about the little girl she'd seen in previous dreams. She hoped she was the youngest one, but she didn't know for sure.
"Our sweet little ***** is at preschool," Sully said as he continued to mix ingredients.
"What?" Michaela said and turned around and looked at him. She heard everything he'd said, except for the child's name.
"I said, our sweet little ***** is at preschool," Sully repeated.
She could hear him, but when he said the child's name, she just heard gibberish. Attempting to read his lips, it looked to her like he said Haley, Sadie, or possibly Davy? Why would they name a girl Davy? That's what people typically used as a nickname for David, a classically masculine name that also happened to be the name of her late fiancé. Yet, she couldn't see herself agreeing to Haley or Sadie either, and both were traditionally feminine names. Well, she didn't know what he'd said for sure, she was unlikely to find out even if she asked him for the child's name outright. She believed that information was something that she wasn't supposed to know yet.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Michaela awoke to the sound of her alarm. It was Christmas Eve, and she had a lot to do. She'd worked the previous night and early morning. Sully offered to take the kids so she could sleep in until noon and then Snowbird was going to go to his house to stay with them. He'd been looking after them all week, but that morning was the first time that he offered to take them out of her house. When she was ready, she would text Sully and then the two of them would go to the pet store to pick up the guinea pigs that she was giving Matthew, Colleen, and Brian for Christmas.
Michaela stopped for a second to think about her dream. She believed that God was trying to tell her something when she dreamed those dreams, but she didn't know what. The dream itself just left her with more questions. How many children was she going to have? In the dream, Sully said they had four girls, and she was also pregnant. That is five children. If she counted three boys, then that meant she would have eight children…that she knew of.
She was already thirty-four going on thirty-five. For argument's sake, she decided that she and Sully would in fact get married someday, but when? If they married within the year, that meant that Michaela could be pregnant by almost thirty-six. Perhaps she could conceive again at thirty-eight? She couldn't see herself getting pregnant after that. Where would the third child come from? What if there were more kids than that?
Sully couldn't stop smiling. Ever since they'd said those three special words to one another, he felt so rejuvenated. He didn't hesitate when it came to saying those words to her again and again either. Each time he said it, he got the reward of hearing her say it back.
The first time they'd said them was last Saturday, and now it was Saturday again, Christmas Eve. They'd said the words at least three times a day for the whole week.
Sully thought about the work week with an ever-growing grin on his face. Michaela had worked from last Monday, up until early Saturday morning. They said the words when he talked to her at night, they said them when he came over in the morning to look after her kids so she could sleep, and they said them again when she woke up.
It just felt really good to have her in his life. Since Abagail died…no…he thought, since the doctors told them that Abagail didn't have very much longer to live, his heart was ripped to shreds. With three little words, Michaela was able to find all the pieces of his heart and mend it back together: making him whole.
However, his happiness was put on hold when he saw Zachary sitting by himself on the staircase in the bungalow. All of the other children went with Miss Olive to see how big the baby cows had grown. Why wasn't Zachary with them?
"What's wrong, Son?" Sully asked the boy.
"Nothin'," Zachary said, he was afraid to tell his dad what was going on.
"I know when you're fibbin'," Sully warned, not appreciating being lied to, "I know we haven't had conditionin' in a few weeks 'cause of the holidays, but I ain't gotta problem makin' ya run laps outside until you can tell me the truth."
The boy groaned and said, "I'm scared to tell ya the truth."
"You don't ever hafta be scared to tell me the truth," Sully explained, thinking Zachary might have said something stupid to a teacher before he left school for the break. He was probably worried about the punishment he'd get when school started up again, "That doesn't mean that you're consequence free if you did somethin' wrong, but whatever it is, we'll get through it."
"I like Dr. Mike," Zachary confessed, "It was really nice of her to string popcorn with me and try to get to know me the other day."
"But?" Sully questioned.
"I miss Mom," Zachary explained, "I didn't wanna tell ya, 'cause ya seem so happy lately."
"Zac," Sully said with a sigh, "It's normal for ya to miss Mom. I miss Mom too. You don't ever hafta be scared to tell me that. You're right, I am very happy with Dr. Mike, but you can always talk to me about Mom."
"It doesn't ruin your happiness?" the boy asked.
"Askin' about Mom?" Sully questioned with surprise, "No. Of course not, and I think you're lookin' at this the wrong way, Son. Dr. Mike is a new person to love. She and her kids are addin' more love to our family. They ain't here to take love away, and she ain't here to replace Mom."
"I guess you can't ever have too much love," Zachary reasoned, starting to snap out of the little funk he was in.
"You're right, you can't ever have too much love," Sully said, "Tell ya what… The other kids are with Aunt Olive right now. Dr. Mike ain't gonna text me for another hour or so. How about you and me take a drive to the cemetery and wish Mom a Merry Christmas?"
"Really?" the young boy sang, getting excited. When he saw his father nod yes and smile warmly at him, he asked, "Can we stop at the Christmas Tree lot and get her one of those wreaths? Ya know, the ones made from real pine needles?"
"Sure," Sully agreed with a smile. He was happy to see Zachary go from sad to happy so quickly, "I think she'd like that a lot. Get your coat." Then he grabbed his keys and put on his own coat, and the father and son duo started walking to the truck.
"Should we take Hanna with us?" Zachary asked.
"Um…She's a bit young for that," Sully told him, "Let's leave her with Aunt Olive. We'll take her when she gets older."
"What about Grandpa?" Zachary requested.
"I can send him a text message," Sully said, "but he is busy at the store right now with last-minute Christmas shoppers. Don't get upset if he doesn't answer."
"I won't," the boy promised.
Sully and Zachary made it to the Christmas Tree lot, and Sully let his son pick out the wreath that he thought that his mother would like the best. Zachary picked out a wreath that had a gold bow. His reasoning was that gold was close to yellow, and yellow was Abagail's favorite color. Sully agreed and purchased the wreath, and then the pair made their way to the cemetery.
When they reached the cemetery, Sully noticed a red and black Harley parked in the spot where he typically parked his truck when he visited Abagail. He parallel parked in front of the Harley and went about his business.
As they walked to the grave, Sully held the wreath in the crook of one arm and placed his other arm protectively around Zachary.
To Sully's surprise, there was someone already there who was paying his respects to Abagail. His hair was similar to Sully's, but it was longer and about a shade lighter. He wore blue jeans, brown cowboy boots, and a black leather biker jacket. Sully wondered if the Harley he saw on the way in belonged to this man.
Sully didn't recognize him, but he obviously knew Abagail. He was on his knees in front of her grave. He had tears in his eyes, and he was holding a bouquet of yellow button mums.
"Can I help you?" Sully asked aloud.
The man sniffled and wiped his eyes but didn't make eye contact. He simply answered Sully, "No thanks, I'm alright. I'm just visitin' my wife. I haven't been able to see her in a long time."
Was this Hank? It had to be. Sully didn't even know he'd gotten out of prison. He thought for sure that Miss Ilsa would've said something when he got out.
When Hank realized that Sully wasn't going to see a loved one, but instead was staring at him, dumbfounded, he asked him, "Are you here to see my wife?"
Sully didn't answer, he was still trying to unpack what was going on.
Hank looked him up and down, trying to see if he could recognize him as someone from his past, or from his shared past with Abagail. Hank didn't recognize him, so he shifted his attention to the eleven-year-old boy who was standing next to this man that he'd never met.
"Oh my God," Hank said under his breath when he saw Zachary. He was still on his knees, but he shifted his body to the direction of the boy.
Keeping his arm around his son, Sully's eyes automatically darted toward Zachary too. His protective fatherly instinct was kicking in.
"Hello, Zachary," Hank said with a warm smile on his face, "It's me, Daddy. That's what ya used to call me when you were little. I don't know what ya call me now. Dad? Pops? Scumbag? What do ya call me, Son?" Hank lightly chuckled at his own joke.
Zachary didn't answer. He didn't know what to do or how to react. He recognized the man in front of him but wasn't interested in having anything to do with him. This was all too much for the young eleven-year-old to take. Becoming overwhelmed, he jumped and hid behind Sully. He wrapped his arms around Sully's waist from behind and buried his face into his back.
"I ain't gonna hurt you!" Hank insisted and then sighed. He rolled his eyes and then made eye-contact with Sully, "I guess you ain't here to visit my wife, you're here to visit your wife."
"Yes," Sully answered, it was the first word he'd said since Hank had inadvertently identified himself.
Hank laid the flowers on Abagail's grave and then stood up, "I'm Hank Lawson," he said and held out his hand.
"I'm Byron Sully," Sully replied, and to be polite he shook Hank's hand.
"I know Abagail hated my guts in the end, and she probably told ya all kinds of horror stories about me," Hank said, getting angry, "You probably think I'm the scum of the Earth!"
"I don't even know you," Sully said, awkwardly, wanting to leave the cemetery as soon as possible. Hank was clearly very bitter. He thanked God at that moment that Loren never answered his text, "We came to bring Abagail this wreath and then we're goin' home."
"Why don't you go home?" Hank suggested as if he was trying to compete with Sully, "And let me spend some time with my son."
"No!" Zachary yelled. The sound was muffled, because he yelled into Sully's back, but both Hank and Sully heard what he'd said.
"Zac, I ain't gonna hurt ya," Hank promised, "I've been sober since your grandmother died. I know your mommy and your step-daddy here have spent years poisonin' you against me, but–"
"We did no such thing!" Sully snapped, ready to punch the jailbird in the face.
Hank tried to reach around Sully so he could physically pull Zachary away from him, but Sully was quicker. He put his hand flat on Hank's chest, physically warning him to keep his distance. Hank put his hands up and took a step back, "Look, Zac needs time to adjust to all of this. You already paid your respects to Abagail, could ya give us our time now?"
"I ain't leavin without my kid!" Hank yelled, standing firm, "I'm gettin' him even if I have to knock you down to do it!"
"You're on parole," Sully pointed out, "Try it and I'll call the police and they'll throw ya right back in prison to finish your sentence."
"Throw me in prison? For what? You're the one who's kidnappin'," Hank argued, "I'm his father, you're just his step-father. You don't got any rights."
"Legally, I'm his father," Sully countered, he was not about to be bullied, "I have signed, court approved, adoption papers at home, would ya like me to send you a copy?"
"This ain't over," Hank said, leaving in a huff. He'd heard about the adoption from his grandmother, and he knew there was nothing he could do about it right then. He'd have to regroup and call his lawyer.
The next thing Sully heard was the sound of a motorcycle revving up. Then he saw the red and black Harley speeding down the road. "Come on," Sully said softly, "He's gone." Taking Zachary's wrists in his hands to pry the boy's grip off of his waist, Sully could feel his pulse racing. Sully turned to face Zachary then pulled him into a hug.
"I don't wanna go with him," Zachary told Sully, holding on to his father tightly, "Don't make me go."
"You ain't goin' anywhere," Sully vowed, running his hand through his son's hair, "He can't take you anywhere, Mom and I made sure of that. That was her last gift to you." Sully could feel him starting to calm down, "We came here to visit Mom. You wanna give her the wreath?"
Zachary nodded and let go of Sully. He stood there looking up at him, waiting for Sully to tell him what to do next.
"Give her the wreath and tell her Merry Christmas," Sully directed, placing the wreath in his son's hands. When Zachary didn't budge, Sully placed both of his hands on the boy's face and asked, "Ya wanna do it together?"
When he nodded, Sully put his hands on his son's shoulders and turned him around. Together, they walked to the grave and stopped. Zachary gently leaned the wreath against his mother's gravestone, careful not to crush the flowers that Hank had brought for her, and then he stood up. Sully stood behind him and placed his hands on his shoulders. Zachary appeared to need physical contact for support at that moment and Sully gave it to him.
"Merry Christmas, Mom," Zachary said.
"Merry Christmas, Abagail," Sully echoed.
"We love you," Zachary continued, "Hanna loves you too, and we miss you."
"How frightening," Michaela said, as Sully told her what happened with Hank earlier that day at the cemetery, "I hope Zachary isn't still scared."
"He ain't afraid when he's with people," Sully informed her, "Ma is with the children at the ranch and knows what's going on. Olive and a couple of cowboys, who are tryin' to make extra money by workin' on Christmas Eve, are gonna hang around until I get back. They're packin' and Zac knows it."
"Packing?" Michaela questioned. She was unfamiliar with that term.
"They carry guns," Sully explained, "and they know how to use them. Olive is a great shot, actually."
"I see," Michaela said. She didn't like guns, but in this particular case, it didn't bother her so much.
"What worries me right now," Sully continued to explain, "Is that this whole thing has scared my son enough that he is afraid to sleep alone in his bed because Nana knows where we live and can give Hank directions. I told Zac that he doesn't have to worry. I already threatened to call Hank's parole officer, so he's not gonna chance comin' anywhere near our house unless he has a lawyer with him."
"What are you going to do?" Michaela asked. She was currently sitting on the basement floor, holding three small guinea pigs on her lap. Sully had gone with Michaela to pick up the guinea pigs and accessories and was putting together the cage in Michaela's basement. Michaela selected an area in the basement that was next to the small windows down there, so they had natural light during the day when the children were at school.
"On Monday, I'm calling the social worker that handled the adoption. I'm also gonna call my lawyer," Sully informed her. The cage was built, so Sully was now focused on making it homey for the guinea pigs. Neither one of them were experts on guinea pig care, so Sully decided to do a little research on his iPad. According to what he read online, puppy pads and fleece blankets were good things to line the bottom of the cage with.
"I'm mean about tonight," Michaela clarified, "you told me that Zachary is afraid to sleep alone in his bedroom. Are you going to leave him with Snowbird for the night?"
"I can't," Sully said, "She's in a women's group at church. Ma and some other single women her age, widows and divorcees, are havin' a Christmas Eve get together tonight at 8:00. I'm glad she has her friends; I don't want to get in the way of that. I guess I'll camp out with him in the livin' room, so he won't be alone. I don't know what else to do."
"Stay here for the night," Michaela suggested, "Hank's grandmother has never been here, so Zac won't be scared of that. Matthew has a full-size bed that will accommodate both him and Zac, so he won't have to sleep alone."
"That ain't a bad idea," Sully said, liking the sound of it. The puppy pads were down in the bottom of the cage, and Sully layered fleece blankets on top. Then he started to attach water bottles to the sides of the cage.
"I will pull out Brian's pack 'n' play for Hanna, and she can sleep in his room," Michaela continued, "Colleen will sleep in her own room, of course. You can bring over all of your presents and set them under my tree. We can open everything together on Christmas morning. We've already planned to have dinner together anyway."
"I think that's a great idea," Sully answered with a nod. He wanted to ask her where she wanted him to sleep, but he didn't want to spoil the mood and make things awkward. They'd discussed their relationship, sex, and how they felt about one another, but they still hadn't made love. That could be because of her current working hours or because she wasn't ready, he didn't know for sure. If she invited him to sleep in her bed without sex, then he'd be okay with that. If she wanted him on the couch, he wouldn't enjoy it as much, but he'd be okay with that too, "I have two huge chicken pot pies from Grace's in my freezer. She makes them from scratch, and they're real good. I was gonna bake one for my kids and I to share for lunch. I can bring both over and it will be plenty for all of us."
"That sounds lovely," Michaela said, and petted each of the guinea pigs that she still had on her lap. She watched Sully as he placed food containers in their cage and filled them with pellets, "I usually make pancakes with powdered sugar on top for my children on Christmas morning. I have plenty of Bisquick for all of us."
"Bisquick?" Sully complained, "I know I agreed to let you order Christmas dinner from the Honey Baked Ham store. I felt bad, you've been workin' all them crazy hours, and ya don't want to cook all day, even if we're doin' it together, but I gotta put my foot down when it comes to Bisquick."
"What's wrong with Bisquick?" Michaela asked with a laugh.
"Nothin', but there is also nothin' to makin' pancakes from scratch," Sully said, placing all of the guinea pig hiding places and tunnels in the cage.
"Are you offering to make them?" Michaela questioned, as if she was challenging him.
"Absolutely," Sully said, accepting her challenge, "I'll show you how easy it is." The next thing Sully did was open a bag of timothy hay and pour it into the cage. He spread the hay around with his hand and said, "I think we're all ready."
One by one, Michaela gently picked up each guinea pig and set them in the cage, "They're so cute," she said as she watched the small animals scurry happily around their new home, "Thank you for helping me."
"My pleasure," Sully said. Still sitting on the ground, he scooted over to Michaela, who was also still sitting, and kissed her lips.
Michaela closed her eyes and took in the lovely sensations that his mouth was giving hers, "How much longer do we have before we need to go and pick up the children?" she asked against his lips.
"No later than 6:00," Sully informed her.
"So, that's a few hours from now," Michaela concluded aloud.
"Yeah," Sully said with a nod, "About three hours."
"I have an early Christmas present for you," she told him with a nervous smile, "It's up in my bedroom, I have to get it ready before I can give it to you."
"You have to get it ready?" he questioned.
"Yes," she said, her hands shaking a little, "You can make yourself comfortable on the couch and I will give it to you when I'm done preparing it." She stood up and walked away, nearly stumbling on her way up the basement stairs.
"Okay," he chuckled. He thought she was acting a little strange, but he would accept a gift from her.
Sully was sitting on her couch mindlessly looking at his phone. He'd been sitting there for twenty minutes and was wondering what was taking her so long to get his gift ready. What was she doing? What was she giving him?
Finally, he received a text message. Michaela texted him from her bedroom and told him to come upstairs to receive his gift, and also instructed him to turn off his cell phone.
What was she up to? Sully chuckled to himself and did as she asked. He turned off his cell phone and then jogged up the stairs to her bedroom and found the door closed. When he opened the door and he saw inside her bedroom, his eyes widened in shock, and his jaw just about dropped to the floor.
She had the shades drawn and the lights off, but she had candles lit all around the room.
Michaela had unmade the bed and was sitting in the middle of it with her back against the headboard. Her hair was down, and a little wavy because she hadn't run a straightener through it. She was wearing a short white nightgown that was made of silk, except for the cups that were holding her breasts. Those were made of white lace but had a thin silk ribbon that laced to cups together in a crisscross pattern over her chest. Lastly, she had on white nylon thigh high stockings.
Sully pinched himself to make sure this was real. He wasn't expecting her to surprise him like this. He'd wished for it, but he never got his hopes up. Looking her over, he could tell she was nervous by the way her chest was heaving. She was trying to stay calm and breathe, but it was difficult.
"You look beautiful," he said, hoping to ease her nerves.
"Do you like your present?" she asked him. She'd been wanting to surprise him in lingerie for a while. She just didn't know when. It hadn't even been in her initial plans to surprise him that afternoon. She thought they would do some last-minute Christmas shopping together or plan out Christmas day, or something else like that. However, when they were downstairs in her basement, she thought that since they were alone and without children present, it was the perfect time, and she didn't want to waste it.
"I love it," he answered, kicking off his shoes.
"I love you," she told him.
"I love you too," he returned. Then he approached the bed and stopped to remove his gray hoodie and t-shirt.
Michaela then moved from her position on the bed and reached for the button of his blue jeans. She wanted to unbutton them and help him get undressed, but her hands were shaking too much. Sully took her hands in his and brought them to his lips. He caressed the side of her face, and afterward, he stripped down until he was naked in front of her.
Michaela's eyes widened when she saw his manhood. It was long, thick, and hard; surrounded by wiry dark curls. Then Sully did something that she didn't expect. He turned around and picked up his pants off the floor. He retrieved his wallet and pulled something out of it. Then he placed his wallet on her nightstand.
"Do ya wanna help me put it on?" He asked her and presented her with a lubricated condom.
Michaela nodded silently and accepted it from him, then she scooted over, inviting him to sit on the bed. She opened it, tossed the wrapping aside and held the condom in her hands.
"Go ahead," Sully coached, and then almost had a heart attack when he felt her warm hands sliding it on. Breathing heavily, he leaned forward and placed a warm kiss on her lips. He kept kissing her as he guided her backwards onto the pillows. He opened her legs and sat on his knees between her knees. He looked down and got a clear shot of her beautiful flower. She didn't have underwear on, and the sight of her most private place made his body quiver.
Michaela kept her eyes focused on his. Her body was tingling all over and her breathing was labored. She knew if she didn't focus on something, she'd start to hyperventilate. She almost started to do that anyway when she felt Sully's hands on her upper thigh and then felt him start to roll down her stocking. When he removed the first stocking from her body, he dropped a kiss on her ankle and then switched to the other leg. Michaela bit her bottom lip and struggled to keep control. It was a hard thing to do as electric currents of sexual energy traveled throughout her body.
Sully's heart was pounding and many of his nerve endings were exploding. He tried to avert his eyes from her naked center, but it was calling to him, begging him to come inside. He looked up and focused on her still heaving chest. He saw the silk ribbon that was holding the cups of her short nightgown in place. Eager to finish unwrapping his gift, he pulled on the ribbon and began unlacing the front of her nightgown.
Michaela closed her eyes and started gripping the sheets beneath her. She felt the ribbon little by little being undone and then finally removed from the center of her chest. The next thing she felt was the cool open air on her breasts and then the warm palms of his hands massaging them. It felt good, the pressure on her chest was firm enough that it made the nerve endings all over her torso react. Then she felt his mouth. He was giving her tender kisses all the way around her areola and then he took her nipple in his mouth. He massaged her nipple with his tongue, and then he switched to her opposite breast to give it the same treatment.
Sully smiled when he heard her let out a small moan. He paused momentarily but kept his mouth on her nipple and found the straps of her nightgown. He wanted it off her body and was trying to figure out the easiest way to remove it. He wanted to make love to her, skin to skin.
Michaela was entranced by the sensations that she was feeling on her chest. Then the next thing she knew, Sully had the hem of her nightgown and was pulling it up. He wanted to lift it over her head, so she helped accommodate him and sat up so he could get it off of her.
When she sat up, that made it so they were face to face. They smiled at one another, and Sully kissed her lips and guided her back down onto the pillows. He continued to make-out with her and then ran his tongue across her lips, encouraging her to open her mouth. When she did, he meticulously pleasured her mouth with his tongue. He massaged her there until he heard her moan with pleasure. He gave her a small peck on the lips and then brought his mouth to her neck.
As his mouth was on her neck, she did something that she knew he'd like and started to massage his ears. She heard him moan into her neck, so she kept doing it. Then she felt his hand move down her body, and his fingers found her clitoris. The stimulation felt so good that she cried out.
He'd found her sweet spot. He continued to rub her there, using the natural moisture from her center as a lubricant. She started to convulse beneath him, and he knew he'd brought her to her first peak of the afternoon. She started breathing heavily and removed her hands from his ears. The next thing he felt was her hands on his lower back. He removed his hand from her clitoris to avoid over stimulation and used it to move one of her hands to his bottom; nonverbally telling her where he wanted her to touch him next.
Using both hands, Michaela massaged his bottom. She was more relaxed now and was more than happy to give him that kind of massage. Then he kissed her lips again, and sweetly looked into her eyes.
"I love you," he whispered.
"I love you," she whispered back.
Sully kissed her once more. Sitting up, he positioned her legs, so her knees were bent, and her thighs were spread wide. He laid back down on top of her and braced himself with both arms.
Michaela closed her eyes, her heart was pounding again, and then she felt him enter her body. She held onto his back as he started to move inside her.
Sully pumped inside her over and over. He knew he had to be stimulating the right spot inside of her because she started to lose control and writhe beneath him, next he felt her fingernails digging into his back. She was close to another peak. Thank goodness, he thought. He was getting close too, and once he reached his, they'd have to stop.
Michaela held onto him tightly, and then cried out for a second time since they'd started their adventure in bed. She reached her second orgasm and then went limp beneath him, taking in the wave of pleasure that she felt throughout her body. Sully let out a loud moan and then collapsed on top of her, resting his head on her chest. He must've found his release, Michaela thought to herself.
Sully laid on his back gazing up at the swirling ceiling fan that was circulating the air in Michaela's bedroom. She was resting on his chest, and he mindlessly drew pictures with his finger on her bare back. He smirked to himself, wondering if he'd have a little scar on his back where she dug her fingernails in. He couldn't believe that they'd just made love. His mind traveled to one of his old favorite Christmas films from childhood: How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The version made in 1966 was always his favorite. He thought about how the grinch's heart grew three sizes and broke through the little gold x-ray thing. That was how he viewed his own heart. It was so big and so full that it could bust out of his chest at any moment.
Michaela was relaxing on his chest, listening to the sound of his heartbeat beneath her ear. She wasn't sleeping, she was thinking about what had just happened. She wanted it to happen, and she was glad it did. Somehow, he managed to give her more than she was expecting. When she became engaged to David, her older sisters talked to her about sex. They told her that as soon as she did it the first time, she was going to start to want it, need it, even crave it. She had never understood what they meant until now. She believed that Sully had just awoken that in her.
"Are you awake, Darlin'?" Sully questioned as his eyes spotted her alarm clock.
"Yes," she answered but didn't move.
"We can lay in bed for another half an hour at most," he informed her, "Then we are gonna have to make ourselves get up and get dressed."
Michaela whined into his chest. She didn't want to move.
"Did you like your present?" she asked. She asked him once before, but that was before they made love, she wondered how he felt now.
"It was wonderful. It was the best present... ever," Sully answered honestly, "How long have ya been plannin' that?"
"I've only been planning it for a few days," she replied, "But I've been thinking about it for a few weeks. I thought that now was the best time, since we had a few hours without children around. I wanted us to be able to be uninhibited. If we do it while the children are in the house, we'll have to be more discreet and reserved."
"After they go to bed is the best time," Sully stated. He wasn't exactly inexperienced at the art of silent lovemaking with children asleep down the hall.
"I agree," Michaela said, "But I should warn you that sometimes Colleen wakes up in the middle of the night, so I can't be completely naked. Since tonight is Christmas Eve and she is excited for Santa to come, she will likely wake up and want to come in here to ask me if Santa has arrived yet."
"Understood," Sully said, remembering that Zac used to do the same thing when he was Colleen's age. Sully was a parent too and believed that such things as being prepared for the children to burst into mom and dad's bedroom at the wrong time were normal and it was easy to make adjustments for that. He wasn't worried about it. He was actually relieved that he didn't have to ask her where she wanted him to sleep that night. Whether they had sex or not, he was glad that he was going to be sleeping in her bed that night, and not on the couch. Whatever happened that night, he thought it was best to be prepared, "Do you have condoms in the house?"
"No," she said and then sat up to look at him, "How long have you had that one in your wallet?"
"Since our date in the hot tub," Sully answered with a laugh, "It's new. I just bought a new box, it's in my bedroom at home. I didn't want you to worry about gettin' pregnant should the right moment come for us."
"That's very considerate," Michaela told him, but wanted to be truthful with him, "I didn't tell you this before, but I think you should know that I had an IUD put in when Brian was six months old."
"Thanks for tellin' me. That's a good thing to know," Sully replied with a nod. Then he leaned forward to kiss her, "I really had a great time today."
"So did I," she said. Michaela returned his kiss and placed a hand on his face. She caressed his cheek and then asked, "You are attending church with us tomorrow, right?"
Sully growled, gave her another quick peck, and then answered, "I think I'll stay home and clean up the house. I'll send my kids with you."
"Why, Sully?" Michaela complained loudly.
"I already went once," he said, excusing himself, "Last Saturday."
"That was a party, and it was in the hall, not in the church," Michaela scolded, "Why won't you attend the service? I know you're not an atheist, and if you are secretly, then why do you send your children to church?"
"I'm not an atheist," Sully made sure to clarify for her, "You don't want me in the church. It'll turn into fire and brimstone if I walk through the door."
"Don't say that," Michaela told him. His words made her feel very sad, "Why would you say that?"
"Why do you want me to go so bad?" he asked.
"Because I love you," She answered clearly and unshakably, "and I think it's good for your soul."
"I love you too," Sully said honestly and then sighed. He caressed her cheek and then explained, "The last time I was in church was for Abagail's funeral. After everyone had gone to my home for the wake, I went back into the church alone and got very angry with God. I called Him a merciless and hateful father. I asked Him why He chose to curse me like this. Then I said some other terrible things like He was no better than Lucifer. After that, I just don't think I'm welcome in church."
"Yes, you are," Michaela countered, "That was grief talking, Sully. He knows that. God is a merciful and loving father, and He hasn't cursed you. It's just that He has His own plan. We don't always understand it, but He does have a plan. He has a plan for you too."
"You really believe that?" Sully asked, sounding unsure.
"I do," she insisted, kissing his cheek, "I certainly do, and I believe that you must have faith."
"Then why won't He answer my prayers?" Sully asked.
"It's not like rubbing a magic lamp," Michaela said.
"It's worse than not answerin' me," Sully continued to explain his point, "It's like He's teasing me."
"What does that mean?" she questioned.
"When I was ten, I lost my parents," Sully said, "So I hoped and prayed for a new family, and I got one. Then at sixteen, I lost half of them, so I prayed for a family again. But…When I was sixteen, my prayer changed. I remember sayin', 'Since me havin' parents and siblings ain't workin' out so well, could ya please send me a beautiful wife and a bunch of children?'"
"How many children do you consider to be 'a bunch'?" she asked out of curiosity.
"I don't know, but I think I said somethin' like eight kids at the time," he confessed.
"Eight?" Michaela questioned, making sure she heard that right.
"Ya, I'm pretty sure I said eight," Sully said, "I wasn't expectin' to actually have eight kids. That's just somethin' I threw out there. When I got married and I had a family again, I was happy. That's what I prayed for, what I wanted...Then my wife died."
Michaela felt like her head was spinning. She couldn't believe he'd just said eight kids. How could his prayer match-up so perfectly with the dreams she'd been having? She believed what she said, prayer was not like rubbing a magic lamp. God was not a genie that was there to grant endless wishes. She believed He listened to prayers and made the best decision possible, but people still had free will and they still had to deal with the lemons that life handed them…
"You alright?" Sully asked, she hadn't spoken for a while and appeared lost in thought.
"I believe that God has a plan for you even if bad things have happened in the past," Michaela told him, glad he'd awoken her from her thoughts, "I wish you would attend the Christmas service with the children and I tomorrow. Please come."
Sully picked up Michaela's hand and brought it to his lips, "Alright, I'll come," he agreed.
To be continued. Please review. =)
As always, thank you for reading, and I am happy that everyone is enjoying the story. This chapter does have an M rated scene. I didn't put that at the top because I thought it would spoil Michaela's surprise.
I've always imagined Sully and Michaela having lots of kids. After the show (including the T.V. movies) ended, my head canon was that they somehow found a way to have more kids: adopted or natural.
So, Hank's out of jail... What do you think he's going to do next?
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!