Chapter 31
The family arrived at the train station just before the train came in. Katie rushed to her father, older brother and sister who were all waiting along with Andrew to bid farewells. Katie immediately snuggled into her father's arms as he held her, resting her head against his shoulder and curling into him as she used to do when she was an infant. Softly he whispered to her, "I love you, Kates. Never forget that I love you and I'll come see you as often as I can. Remember that your Ma loves you too and be good for her, you hear? Boston will be fun and you'll meet lots of new friends. You show them what a great girl Katie Sully is and never think I'm not proud of you. You're goin' on an adventure, but whenever ya need me, just look inside ya, I'll be there. If you really need me, I'll only be a wire or a letter away." Katie snuggled deeper into his shoulder, unwilling to let go.
Finally she spoke, her arms still tightly wrapped around her father. 'I love you, Papa, and I don't want to be Katie Sully in Boston, I want to be Katie Sully here in Colorado, where you and Mama made me from your love and had me by the big tree, where you and Mama love each other."
Sully didn't have the heart to explain to his little girl that even in Colorado, he and Michaela would no longer be together, and so he just rocked her a little before setting her down and bringing her to Michaela, who was busy bidding farewell to the older children.
Brian and Colleen were trying their best not to sob, but there were tears running down their faces as they felt more like they were eight and twelve again, losing a mother for a second time, a mother whom they had come to love no less than a biological mother. "I love you both," Sully could hear Michaela saying, "all three of you," further addressing Matthew, whose face remained stoic, but whose eyes betrayed a pain as great as that any of his siblings. "I'm sorry I have to go, but I'll be back for a visit and the clinic will stay open. So, Colleen, I want you to take over my practice, while the hospital is finished. Then I want you to head it. You are a fantastic doctor."
"But Ma," Colleen stuttered, now sobbing, "I don't want…"
"Shhhh," Michaela said gently. "Please, Colleen, know that I love you and I always will, no matter where I am." Turning to Brian, she now addressed the first baby she'd ever really had, though he was not her own by blood, he was her first son. "You have grown up to be a wonderful young man and though I am leaving you now, know that just as when you were living in Boston, I am still your mother and will do everything in my power to be there when you need me. When I am not, know that you are inside of me and that I will always be inside of you as well." Pulling him tight to her, she held him in a firm embrace as he cried like a young child for the loss of the woman who had become the only mother he really remembered. Finally letting go of him, and after kissing his cheek once more, she walked towards Sully, who had set Katie down, bid farewell to her, and let her go say goodbye to her siblings.
"Sully," she said, 'Thank you for signing the papers. When I get to Boston, I'll get them on record, officially, and send you a copy. You can come visit the children at Christmas or on their birthdays or any other time you can get away from work. I'm going to be staying with Rebecca. She lives alone and would like the company. You can contact me there."
Sully stood still for a minute, observing the fact that his wife and his children were leaving him, probably forever. Slowly tears made their way down his cheeks as he wordlessly pulled her into an embrace, an embrace she did not fight for she knew it was what her heart desired. 'I love you," he said, whispering the words against her ear. "I always have and I always will. You are my everything, and I promised ya once that if something else ever made ya happier than me, I would want you to be happy. So even though it breaks my heart, go on, Michaela, I can't fight ya. Just know you are forever my heartsong." With one last kiss to her temple, he released her and picked up Katie. He hugged the little girl tightly and whispered one last 'I love you' before struggling to place her sobbing form in her mother's arms.
Michaela too embraced the little one before putting her down. She then took the twins from Colleen and Andrew, who were holding them and held them up to receive one last kiss from Sully.
Bending to kiss them, he whispered, "I love you, Charlotte Ingrid. Always know that." Then, turning to his son, he said, "I love you, Josef Michael." At his utterance, Michaela caught his eyes and they exchanged a wordless look of pain, of love, and of farewell before the train whistle blew, signaling its entrance into the station. She gathered up her bags, pulled Katie close and waited to board the train. When it stopped, she gave each of the older children one last hug and then a kiss and with a final backward glance at Sully, boarded the train, found her seat, settled her children, and looked out the window as the train pulled away from the station.
This is my first fan fiction and I would appreciate any and all feedback, so please feel free to review the chapter and any subsequent chapters if you think they are of interest either here or be orginal and comment on the "Stand By Me" thread of the fanfiction section of the Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman forum The link to the thread is: http/forum.drquinn.us/viewtopic.php?t3949
Thanks, Corinna
