Kindling Sparks

I do not own any of the rights to Dr Quinn Medicine Woman as they are owned by the Sullivan Company and CBS. I also do not one any of the rights to the lines from the pilot episode, I just used them for this story…please don't kill me for it!

The night air swept across the bare flesh of her hands and face; causing her to tremble in the surrounding darkness. Staring out into the nightly abyss, searching for everything yet seeing nothing in those blackening lines of trees, Michaela cowered into herself, trying desperately to insolate the little amount of warmth that was emitting from her own body. Finding the process useless, she let out a soft sigh and enclosed into herself even more so, as tears welled silently into her contrasting eyes.

"You think he'll be alright out there all on his own?" Michaela breathed, ashamed of her lack of experience and failure. Honestly she didn't really want the answer, knowing that the odds of animal attacks and conditions from the harsh weather were against them. Yet she spoke the inquiry, perhaps just to be assured by another voice that she was not as alone as she felt. His voice.

He gazed at her shaking form, sensing the fear and vulnerability which was evident in her voice. Something deep within him longed to take away that fear, and explore the susceptible side of the lady doctor. Instead, he took in a deep breath and spoke off hand. "There's no way of really knowing."

Those weren't the words of comfort she had anticipated and hoped for, and her body reacted to the ill received news. Her shoulders fell and her breath caught for a beat, halting her ability to move or speak or do anything. Finally the tense moment of fear and disappointment passed as Michaela made an admittance of the thoughts that had long raked at her heart. "I let Charlotte down…"

Sully didn't need to see the tears that continued to cling to amber and sage eyes to know that they were there. The slight cracking in her voice and distressed disposition was more than enough for him to take in the pain and agony behind those words. Using a stray stick to kindle to fire, he slowly raised his eyes back up to Michaela as he attempted to take away some of the pain he felt he was responsible for causing. "No ya didn't…ya did your best…life just has a way of takin' its own course."

His words were those of comfort and understanding, and although she appreciated them greatly, they could not take away the stagnant feeling of failure which consumed her. Blinking back the tears which threatened to cascade down her cool cheeks, Michaela peered through the thin layer of smoke from the fire and glanced out the small flap of the teepee, one last time.

The stillness in the teepee was abruptly altered, as Michaela heard the rustling of Sully behind her. Assuming that he was readying himself for bed, she gazed into the fire, trying to ease the worry that tormented her entire being. But it was a fruitless effort, still watching the occasional sparks fly from the glowing embers before they lightly swayed down to join the thin blanket of ash, which lay across the floor of the teepee. The hairs on the back of her neck, sudden rose from their relaxed position when Michaela sensed Sully rise and walk towards her. Refusing to meet his powerful gaze, Michaela's eyes flashed around at everything across the shelter floor, as she raked her brain to come up with a reason for why he was approaching her this way.

Carefully, Sully crept across the vast distance which separated him and Michaela. Gripping the soft material gently in his hands, he kneeled behind her, careful to leave a fair few inches between them still. The lump in his throat continued to mount as his hand rose from his sides, carrying the blanket up with them. Staring briefly at his hands, he suddenly realized that he had lost control, that his heart and emotions were the driving force behind his actions, instead of his brain. Trembling ever so slightly, Sully watched as his own two hands slid their way closer and closer to her shoulders.

The fine hairs on her neckline stood straight up as she felt his heated breath blanket the exposed flesh behind her ear. Michaela's breathing quickened as her heart raced off into the night, sprinting away, as she wished she could at this very moment. But she found herself paralyzed with utter fear and confusion. She sensed the two masses closing in on her and the feeling of being cornered consumed her. In those agonizing moments of tension and fear, all Michaela yearned to do was to break loose from the confines of the teepee and dash off into the night away from this man who effected her so. Yet she stayed. She moved not from her position, but sat, waiting for the masses that were his hands to connect to her body. Waiting for that fearful impact.

They were close, oh so close…

He could feel the warmth from her body washing over his hands, stiff from the cold and tension…

She could feel the magnetism that his hands held over her, pulling her and themselves closer towards her untouched form.

A moment apart, a mere brush apart, waiting for one of them to be inclined enough to move…just a hair…and then, in the same second in time, they both moved. Contact was made. A jolt of electricity, a burst of unidentified emotion, an infusion, a trigger, a flash, a spark…all and everything was passed between them in that flicker of contact. And in that moment when hearts stopped and breaths were held…all was known…and it would never be forgotten.

The End

PLEASE REVIEW! I HAVE NEVER DONE ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE SO I WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE FEED BACK! Even if all it says is: This was awful stop writing immeadiately! I'll take it!

Penny