Thanks for all of your kind reviews. You have no idea how nervous I was submitting that last chapter. I suppose I thought it wasn't very good, or well written, or something! Oh well, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

Chapter 10: Ever a Surprise

She didn't need anyone to tell her whether she was well or not. Everything was perfect. It was Christmas day, and she had received the best gift of all: The gift of love. She clasped her hand in his as they waited for Dr. Bernard to return with her diagnosis. Her skin tingled under his touch, as he gently massaged the back of her hand with the pad of his thumb. Even with adverted eyes, she could feel his eyes gazing over her with such an intensity that unnerved her and caused her cheeks to glow crimson. Trying to control the overwhelming feelings that caused her head to spin and soul to yearn for freedom, Michaela closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip.

Through out the journey to the hospital and even when they had first entered the waiting room, Michaela had been acting almost giddy with joy. Yet, slowly she had seemed to draw into herself, and act almost embarrassed to be around him. As he saw her cheeks become a shade rose and her eyes close, Sully's finger ascended to her chin and he gently attempted to raise her gaze, to look into her eyes. Accepting his request, Michaela looked up into Sully's eyes.

What he saw confused him. Amidst the beacon of joy, there lay aloft a twinge of emotion that Sully could not identify. Was it embarrassment? Was it fear? Or worse yet, was it resentment? "Michaela...is there something wrong?" Sully asked with evident concern.

Michaela shook her head and smiled slightly. Honestly she didn't know what she was feeling right now, it was all so new to her. "No Sully, I'm wonderful!"

Sully still wasn't all that convinced. "If ya don't want me to..." He began, letting his left hand drop from her face and his right hand begin to slip from her grasp.

Michaela realized what Sully was thinking and she immediately moved to re-clasp his hand. "No, no Sully. I...I just...I don't really know how to explain it..." Truth be told, Michaela was feeling rather frightened. At first thought, she feared she was feeling the same anxiety she had felt with David. Yet as she thought about it, Michaela realized it was quite a different emotion. For unlike David, where she feared what he would do or how far he would push, Michaela was actually afraid of what she, herself would do. Even in the short time since admitting her love to Sully, she realized what Sully did to her, what emotions were brought around by his mere presence. She was afraid of herself.

"I don't what to make you feel uncomfortable." Sully said in a calm, caring tone, while clasping both of his hands around one of Michaela's and bringing it up to his heart. "I love you, Michaela."

Michaela smiled broadly, not believing how three small words could cause such powerful emotions to burst within her being. Michaela brought her free hand up to lightly caress Sully's cheek. "I lo–" But Michaela was cut off by the reentrance of Dr. Bernard. Upon seeing the elderly gentleman, Michaela instantly broke away from Sully and the blush that had once faded, reaffirmed itself on her cheeks.

"Well, Dr. Quinn, it seems you have recovered fully. However, as you know, there is the possibility of a relapse. I suggest you go home and relax, and as much as it will pain you, please don't go to work tomorrow. Although I'm sure you could prove yourself to be otherwise, they don't need weakened interns in the surgery room." Dr. Bernard said with a slight smile. "You're free to go."

After Dr. Bernard left the room, a slight sigh escaped Sully's lips and Michaela looked up at him in confusion. "What is it Sully?"

Sully looked at Michaela briefly, then allowed his lips to form into a small smile while looking back at the door that Dr. Bernard had just exited from. "Nothing, just glad you're all ok."

Michaela smiled at his compassion and slid from the examination table she was seated at. "I told you I was fine." She said while wrapping her arm around his waist.

Sully mirror Michaela's actions and drew her close while kissing the top of her head. "Well, as the doctor told ya, you're gonna go home and get some rest."

Michaela rolled her eyes as they started out the door and down the hall towards the exit. When they reached Sully's parked car, Michaela gazed over at the Children's Hospital across the street. Suddenly her mouth dropped open as if she remembered something. "Oh, Sully, I forgot...I promised to visit some of the children at the hospital on Christmas day...I had presents for them and everything..."

Sully shook his head. "Michaela, I'm sure they'll understand...you can't go there in your condition."

"But Sully, you heard the doctor, I don't even have a condition anymore."

"Michaela, he said there was a chance of a relapse, and I'm not gonna let you take that risk. Besides, you a) don't have the presents you were supposed to give them, and b) you don't want to affect any of the children at the hospital." Sully said while getting into the car.

Michaela was not about to let this argument pass. "Sully, Hypothermia is not an illness that you catch from someone else, it's your body's way of reacting to the cold. And some of these children, they don't have any friends outside of that hospital. Many of them have been there since they were born. The least I can do is..." Michaela said hotly, as she got into the car and sat in the passenger's seat.

But Sully interrupted her. "No, Michaela, the least you can do is go home and rest. Maybe you can call them in their rooms later, tell them you'll stop by another day."

Michaela heaved a sigh of exasperation. "Sully!"

"No Michaela! I wont lose ya..." Sully shouted and looked her dead in the eye. It was then when Michaela saw all the worry and angst in Sully's eyes, and she realized how taxing this entire ordeal had been on him. She saw how much he loved her. This knowledge suddenly silenced Michaela from any rebuttal, and Sully felt completely guilty for yelling at Michaela. "I'm sorry Michaela, I..."

"No, no I'm sorry...you're right, I'm just not thinking." Michaela said while looking at her lap.

Good job, Sully! Ya really messed up this time! Sully chastised himself upon seeing Michaela's submissive behavior. Sully let his hand rest on Michaela's knee as he tried to string words together to explain himself. "Michaela, I didn't mean to yell..."

Michaela shook her head and looked up into Sully's eyes, blue as the Colorado Columbine. "Sully, you don't need to be sorry...I...I'm sorry, I've never had anyone care for me like you do...I've never had anyone looking out for me, well, except my father...and my mother, but she was so over protective and manipulating, I always did the opposite of what she told me to do; and I'd fight to the bitter end with her." Michaela said sighing deeply the placing her hand lovingly over Sully's. "What I'm trying to say is, thank you Sully...I suppose it's true what my father used to say to me... I'm just as stubborn as my mother."

Sully smiled with Michaela at this last phrase. "Well, you two must be a sight to watch." Sully said, as he started the car.

"Sully! I can't believe you just said that...although I will admit it probably is quite entertaining from a bystander's point of view. Just don't let either of us see you laughing during our quarrel, otherwise you may be pulled in to it yourself!" Michaela said laughing.

Before pulling out, Sully reached over and caressed Michaela's cheek, then leaned towards her giving her a sweet kiss. Michaela smiled as Sully pulled back and drove out of the hospital parking lot. Never had Michaela felt so happy and loved. Her heart wanted to break from within her rib cage and soar to the highest peaks of the tallest mountains.

As Sully drove them to her home, Michaela couldn't get over how lucky she was to have met Sully. She knew she was lucky a month ago, if not before that. But now she realized how amazingly fortunate she was, not only to have known him, but to have him love her the way he did. Everything seemed so right. That is, until they pulled up into the apartment complex's drive-way, and Michaela saw someone that was oh-so-familiar, talking to Dorothy and a policeman. This was the last time or place that she needed to see this person.

"Michaela!" Dorothy shouted, when she noticed her pull up with Sully.

Michaela took in a deep breath and exited the car with a fake smile plastered on her face. Sully, who couldn't understand why she become so tense, was about to be informed.

"Why Mother, what are you doing here?" Michaela said while walking up to the middle-aged woman.

"What am I doing here? Why Michaela, what do you think I'm doing here. You disappear for almost twenty-four hours, after not contacting with your mother in over a month, and you ask me what I'm doing here! Well for your information, you've had the entire Denver Police force out looking for you for the past five hours! Dorothy, here, was wise enough to contact me early this morning, when no one was able to locate you. Fortunately, I was able to get a flight out here." Elizabeth Quinn said feverishly.

"You needn't overreact so, Mother. Sully and I..." Michaela began.

"Whom?" Mrs. Quinn asked with a bit of edge to her voice.

Michaela sighed and turned to look at Sully, while waving him over, before turning back to her mother. "Sully...he...we...um, Mother we'll talk about this later...sir..." Michaela faced the police officer, "...I'm sorry to cause so much trouble. We got stuck in the mountains last night with the storm, I ended up with a case of hypothermia, and we were just at the hospital this morning. There wasn't much we could do to contact anyone." Michaela said apologetically, ignoring her mother's gasps every so often.

The policeman merely nodded. "That's ok Miss, we though it may have had something to do with the storm; but your folks just wanted to make sure you were ok. I'll send out the announcement that you've been found."

"Thank you very much." Michaela said, as the police officer made his way back to his car.

"Michaela! What do you mean..." Elizabeth began again.

"Mother, I really would rather we discuss this later." Michaela pleased through gritted teeth.

"Ma'am, we just came from the hospital. They said that Michaela needed to get some rest before she did anything." Sully stepped forward to help, much to Michaela's appreciation.

Elizabeth looked Sully up and down before responding. "And who might you be, sir?"

"This, this is Sully, mother" Michaela answered in the same accusatory tone that her mother had just asked in.

"And who, might I ask, is Sully?"

For this question, Michaela was lost for words. How could she ever explain this to her mother. "He's...Sully is...mother some things have happened...in the past month...I mean..."

Just then, Michaela's nervous behavior followed by Sully's kind and tenderness struck a note in Mrs. Quinn's brain. "Oh, Michaela! What...no...where is David?" Michaela suddenly paled at the question and Sully stepped up so that she could feel him on her back; being there, right behind her all the way. Elizabeth, didn't wait for Michaela to respond. "I'm suppose to check on David as well while I'm out here. Supposedly he hasn't contacted home in a month either."

"You mean he's not back in New York?" Michaela asked while fear started to simmer in her gut.

Elizabeth shook her head. "Of course not! He's been here, or at least we thought as much...Michaela what is going on?"

Michaela shook her head, as the headache that was usually associated with her mother started to come around. When Sully noticed Michaela begin to touch the temples of her head, he knew she needed to get some rest. "Mrs. Quinn, Michaela really needs to lie down. Perhaps we can discuss this later."

Elizabeth turned her attention to Sully. "Who are you to say what my daughter needs. You're the reason she was lost aren't you? Well I suggest that you don't pay any more visits to Michaela."

"MOTHER!" Michaela yelled as the pain in her head mounted, and she became a bit lightheaded.

Dorothy stood aside, watching the entire confrontation in amazement. She had been with Elizabeth for a few hours before this entire argument;and although she did find the woman to be bossy and stubborn, she never dreamed that any mother would act so controlling over their own adult daughter.

Much to the surprise of all those present, Michaela suddenly cried out in pain and passed out into Sully's arms. "Michaela!" everyone shouted at once. Sully lifted her fully into his arms and nodded towards the apartments. "Dorothy, can you get the door, please?" Dorothy immediately nodded and ran hurried to the door, with Sully, carrying Michaela, at her heals.

Elizabeth simply stood in the parking lot, completely shocked by the entire confrontation. It appeared to her that something, something very big, had happened not only between Michaela and David, but also Michaela and the odd-appearing Sully. And what ever that something was, Elizabeth Quinn was going to get down to the bottom of it!

Sully lay Michaela onto her bed while Dorothy went to get a cloth and some cool water. Sully kneeled on the floor beside Michaela's bed, holding her hand as he had done not six hours before. Slowly, Michaela came around, squinting into the room. "Sully?" She requested shakily.

Sully leaned over more so that she could see him and pulsed her hand once, gently. "I'm right here. You're in your bed right now. Are you ok?" Sully asked with concern, for about the hundredth time in the past twenty-four hours.

Michaela, who continued to squint due to her eye's current sensitivity to light, nodded her aching head. "I'm fine...Sully? Is my Mother actually here?"

Sully smiled a bit and exhaled deeply. "Yes, yes she is here. Well, I was right about one thing."

Michaela looked at him confused. "What's that?"

"It is actually quite amusing to see you two go at it." Sully said with a smirk on his face.

Michaela sighed with exasperation and rolled her eyes. "Oh, if my head didn't hurt so much, I'd throw this pillow at you."

"Michaela, your head's hurting? Should I call the doctor or..."

"No, no, no...it's a usual migraine. They come and go sometimes. To be specific, they normally come with the presence of my dear Mother." Michaela huffed. "I'm sorry she acted the way that she did. And unfortunately, I can't promise you anything to become different over time. That's just Mother for you, as ornery and quick-to-jump to conclusions as ever." As she watched Sully smile at this last comment, Michaela knew that she had to say one more thing. "Sully, I'm sorry..."

Sully shook his head, with the smile still present on his face. "Don't worry about your mother Michaela, I'll be fine. Besides, I gotta make a good impression with her; don't I?" Sully said with a bit of coy in his voice.

Michaela sighed and shook her head. "No, Sully...I mean, well...back outside, I don't...I didn't know how to explain to mother...She still thinks I'm with David. I, I didn't tell her about everything yet because...well, you can kind of see how she acts...I just couldn't explain everything to her out there like that...I..."

Sully placed a finger to her lips, silencing her troubles. "Ya needn't worry about it, Michaela. I knew and I understand, completely." Sully whispered while bringing his finger from her lips to stroke her cheek bone tenderly. Slowly, Sully leaned over even more and kissed Michaela lovingly on the lips, as she relaxed into the pillows.

Their intimate moment was suddenly discontinued, with a crash of a glass bowl. Sully spun around on his knees, and Michaela peered over Sully's shoulder. There in the doorway, stood Dorothy, who, at one time, was carrying a bowl of cool water and a rag. Right behind her was, of course, Michaela's Mother.

"Michaela! What on earth do you think you are doing?" Elizabeth croaked out in utter shock.

Michaela closed her eyes, praying for this entire mess to just go away. Unfortunately, her prayers were not exactly answered. "Michaela! I asked you a question!" Elizabeth said as she pushed past a still-perplexed Dorothy, and made her way towards the bed standing directly in front of Sully.

Michaela gritted her teeth and composed herself before answering. "I am trying to come up with an excuse that you will find legitimate, Mother."

"What is that suppose to mean?"

"It means that I already know that you will never understand my relationship with Sully. I know you will probably never except it; and I know that I really don't care anymore." Michaela said, with angry tears in her eyes.

Elizabeth shook her head. "What do you mean, 'relationship with Sully'? Where is David? You had better tell me what on earth is going on soon or I'll..."

"You want to know what happened? So you really want to know what happened between David and I?" Michaela cried out, feeling Sully's hand on her arm, attempting to calm and reassure her.

"Yes that is exactly what I would like to know! And sir, I ask that you take your hand off of my daughter this minute or..."

"DAVID TRIED TO RAPE ME MOTHER!" Michaela screamed over her mother, deafening all other sounds in the room. "On Thanksgiving eve, David attacked me. I was able to get away, but it was Sully who picked me up in the middle of the night and took me in. He cared for my exterior injuries and he listened and helped me reveal what happened. And what's more is, even after he found out, he didn't turn away. He, unlike William, didn't become afraid of me and distance himself from me. Both Sully and Dorothy have been there for me this past month, and I own them everything, including my life."

Elizabeth stood, disbelievingly at her daughter. "If all of this truly happened, then why on earth didn't you think to tell your own mother?"

Michaela closed her eyes before continuing. "Two reasons Mother. Firstly, how was I suppose to tell you something like that over the phone or in a letter. What am I supposed to say, 'Hey Mom, I was sexually harassed today by a life long friend, thought you might be interested'? And Secondly, I knew what you would do. You'd do exactly what you are doing now; try to make me see the error of my ways and come back to Boston with you. Because that's why your really here isn't it Mother? Isn't it to come and find my broken body lying somewhere in the woods waiting to be eaten by some bear, and let you have your moment of glory by telling me 'I told you so'?"

" Oh, Michaela! How dare you make such vulgar accusations!" Elizabeth rebutted

Michaela sighed. "But it is partially true mother. You had hoped to take me back to Boston with you. Am I correct?" Elizabeth made a move to say something, but Michaela didn't allow her to even answer. "Never mind, mother. What you need to understand, is that I love Sully, and it doesn't matter what you say. Because you can't change what's in my heart." Michaela said as tears tumbled down her cheeks onto her be covers.

Elizabeth Quinn bit her lip; for the first time in history, she was completely speechless. "Well, if that's truly how you feel...I'll be leaving on the eight o'clock flight to Boston. I hope life serves you well, Michaela." Elizabeth said turning on her heal and starting for the door, before she was stopped by Michaela.

"Wait Mother, I lied about something. I do care about what you have to say, and your approval. It means more to me than you could ever imagine." Michaela paused, hearing a humph from Elizabeth. "But Mother, I wont let your opinion change who I am or what I do with my life, if you wont be accepting with the choices that I have made. I love you, and I hate to see you leave like this. But perhaps it's for the best..." Michaela trailed off looking at her lap.

Elizabeth took a half-glance over her shoulder, before continuing on, passed Dorothy and out of the apartment.

A mother who left her daughter heartbroken, because of something as foolish as pride.