When Sully didn't arrive at his usual hour in the morning, Michaela couldn't decide wether to be more worried or angry. It wasn't because she had to milk the cow by herself or to ride out to the reservation alone, she had done that before. What worried her most was that she knew that Hannah hadn't wanted to go to the supper at the mercantile without her. She was sure her little girl hadn't changed her mind and sleeping without her bunny would have further added fuel to the fire. The concerned mother just knew in her heart that her daughter had had a difficult night. If that was the case, Hannah would be up early and willing to go home. Sully and Hannah not being there yet just meant something was terribly wrong. Michaela wasn't sure if she was willing to enter a new rollercoaster of feelings and her loyalty towards Sully began to waver. Maybe she should have listened to her inner voice which had told her right from the start it was too soon for them to court. On the other hand she hoped that she knew Sully well enough by now to be sure she could trust his promise. Well, she just had to wait and see.
When Sully woke up very well rested, it was still dark. For a moment, he was confused because he already felt like getting up. Added to that, he didn't recognize his surroundings. Then he remembered he was sleeping in the mercantile. That felt strange, he had never done that before. Abigail's and his engagement had been met with Loren's unshakeable disapproval and the older man had never allowed him to spend the night in his house. Why had he yesterday? Surely, it was because of Hannah but his daughter had slept here alone with her grandparents many times. Loren couldn't possibly hope…
Closing his eyes again, Sully tried to summarize the events from last night. Once again, he hadn't paid enough attention to his daughter. She had turned away when he wanted to give her a good night kiss. There was no doubt that this was his fault. He had talked to Mary all night. It had been a long time since he had felt so…comfortable. What did that mean? Strangely enough, talking about the time Abigail, Mary and he had spent together years ago hadn't made him sad. On the contrary, it had felt good to exchange their memories.
And suddenly it hit him. That's all what it was: the past. They had been so young then and he finally accepted that he could never get these times back. He was able to let go of them now. Even if Abigail herself had returned, it wouldn't have changed anything. Abby and Mary were parts of his youth, and his youth was over. Knowing the truth in this realization, he had to smile.All that counted were the present and future. Abigail would always have a special place in his heart but he shared his soul with Michaela now. Michaela…what would she think, knowing he had spent the night at this place? He didn't want her to jump to the wrong conclusions; he was sure, he himself would do it. He should get up right now and see her at the homestead.
With determination, Sully stretched his limbs and then swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Straightening, his gaze fell onto thick brown curtains which hid the window. When he opened them, he was startled. The sun was already shining brightly. Judging from its position, he knew it had to be quite late in the morning. Realizing that Michaela was probably even at the reservation already, he silently cursed. He wasn't used to sleeping without seeing the night's stars as he fell asleep and having the day's lights to wake him and so he had obviously lost his sense of time.
Not wasting another second, Sully left the room and went downstairs. The first thing he saw was his daughter, her hair bound in neatly plaited braids, sitting forlonly on a chair behind the counter. He immediately rushed towards her to lift her into his arms, but his little girl resisted. She crossed her arms against her chest and shook her head. "I want Ma!"
Hannah was terribly angry with her Pa. First he hadn't talked to her all evening and when she woke up in the morning, he hadn't been there for her either. Aunt Dorothy had combed her hair without caring when the brush pulled it and her braids were so tight that her head already ached. Then Aunt Dorothy had made her eat scrambled eggs that she hated and her fatherstill wasn'tthere to help her. All she wanted was to finally be with her ma again.
Sully crouched down beside his daughter to be at eye level with her. Touching her crossed arms, he looked into her eyes and told her in a sincere voice. "Listen to me, Hannah." The little girl tensed up. Her Pa rarely used her real name, only when she had done something wrong or when there was bad news.
Seeing the fear creeping into her eyes, Sully hastily continued. "I'm sorry about yesterday evening and I'm sorry I slept in. But the talk with Mary was important for me in a way you can't understand yet."
His daughter still didn't budge. Realizing that this wasn't the right way to get through to her, Sully simply said, "Let's go and see where we can find your ma."
Instantly, Hannah's face lit up. She threw her arms around her father's neck and hugged him tightly. Sully chuckled. "Seems it's real easy to make you happy. Well, that's fine with me because seeing your ma's gonna make me happy, too."
Their moment was broken by Dorothy'svoice. "There you are, Sully. I have breakfast ready for you in the kitchen. Mary should be back in a minute to join you, she is just helping Loren outside."
Sully straightened with his little girl still clinging to his neck. "Thanks for a really eye-opening evening, Miss Dorothy, but I'm gonna be going now. I'll see you later." With that he turned to leave the store.
"But your breakfast is waiting," Dorothy tried to hold him back. Sully, however, didn't pay any attention to her and had almost gained the door already.
Stepping outside onto the porch, Sully saw two men from the Railroad Company which always came to refresh the supplies for their camp on the first Sunday of the month. Loren and Mary had just finished loading their wagon with their purchases. Sacks and big wooden crates stood neatly stowed away on the loading space butthe back flap that would secure them stood still open.
Passing Sully with his two customers, Loren acknowledged his presence with a nod and entered his store. Mary didn't follow the men but stepped toward Sully instead. "Good morning, Sully. Slept well?" Her smile was expectant. It had been a great evening and she knew that he had enjoyed it as much as she had.
Sully knew he owed it to her to be honest. "Can I have a word with you?"
Mary was pleased. "Sure, why not?"
Sully didn't want Hannah to hear their conversation, so he put her down on the porch, telling her, "Listen to me, sweet girl. You stay right here for a moment. I have to talk to Mary, it won't take long. When we are done, we go and see your ma, alright?" The little girl nodded. She couldn't wait to finally get home.
At the same moment Michaela turned around the bend at the other end of the street. She wanted to get the fresh milk to Charlotte and look in on Hannah before the church service started. When she reached the clinic, Mr. James emerged from the sideway to Grace's Café, unnoticed by Michaela who immediately spotted Sully and Mary talking on the porch of the mercantile, neither of them paying attention to Hannah. Of course her daughter had seen her right away and was starting down the mercantile steps and onto the street.
In the meantime Mr. James had reached the side of Michaela's wagon and offered to help her down. "Good morning, Dr. Quinn, may I?" He stretched his arms in her direction.
Glancing at him, the doctor replied, "Thank you, but would you please escort my daughter down the street instead? It seems her father is occupied and I don't want her to walk on the street by herself."
Chris already started rushing towards the little girl. "Of course I'll do it. It's my pleasure," he called over his shoulder.
For the next few moments a second seemed to last a minute. The horses of the Railroad Company's wagon suddenly spooked and pulled the vehicle forward with a jerk. This caused the unsecured crates to fall down on the street, right where Hannah was walking. Chris had somehow sensed what would happen and started to run towards the girl who was stumbling now and falling down. While Michaela screamed her daughter's name, the new teacher reached the child and covered her with his body to protect her from the falling crates. Sully reached the scene of the accident a few seconds too late. He only came in time to see that Mr. James upper body was free but from the waistline downwards he was buried under sacks and wooden crates. Hannah was lying under him, crying on the top of her lungs for her ma.
Robert E. had stopped the horses by now and a crowd had already gathered around the place. Some of the men started to take the crates off of Mr. James and when Michaela reached the group of people, they made room for the doctor. Instantly switching all emotions off, Michaela knelt down beside Hannah and her rescuer. She searched for Mr. James' pulse on his neck. It was there, quick but still strong. At the same time she tried to calm her daughter. "Sh, sweetheart, it's alright. I'm here now. Tell me where it hurts." Hannah wasn't able to speak yet; her body was still shaking with heavy sobs.
When the last crate was finally taken off Mr. James' legs, the crowd gasped seeing the amount of blood on his trousers. After a quick preliminary examination the doctor gave her instructions. "Jake, Hank, please turn him carefully onto his back. Sully, we will need a ladder to transport him into the clinic." When Sully started to object because he wanted to stay with his daughter, Michaela didn't let him speak. Giving him an impatient and angry look, she added, "Hurry!"
Directing her attention on her still on the ground lying daughter, the doctor examined her as well. Relieved she noticed that there weren't any serious injuries but just some scratches. And of course her little girl was scared to death. Picking her up and cradling Hannah against her chest, Michaela kept talking to her, "It's alright, sweetheart. I'm here, shh..."
Feeling secure in her mother's arms, the little girl slowly calmed down and her sobs abated. "Is she alright, Dr. Mike?" Loren anxiously asked.
When the doctor responded, "She's fine, just still scared," everyone in the now large crowd around the accident breathed a sigh of relief.
In the meantime Sully was back with a ladder from the blacksmith and helped Jake to put the teacher onto it. When the men carried Mr. James towards the clinic, Michaela started to follow them. A firm grip on her upper arm held her back though. Turning around to see who it was, she found herself face to face with Maude's sister. Dorothy's tone was almost commanding when she said, "Give her to me, she can stay with us."
Pivoting again to head towards the clinic, Michaela was short. "She's staying with me."
But once more she felt the red-haired woman's grip and heard her insisting, "The child should stay away from the clinic and be…"
Michaela had enough. She felt her temper rising and turning towards Dorothy, she told her in a dangerous low voice, "Take your hands off of me and don't you dare tell me what I have to do with my daughter."
Dorothy, however, was sure she had the support of the still lingering crowd. "The child has a family here and should…"
Losing her patience, Michaela wriggled her arm free and almost yelled, "Stop that! You are the most selfish person I've ever met and I have no time for this nonsense right now, I have a patient to take care of. Oh, and as long as you are not sick, stay away from my clinic!" With that she turned and rushed towards the building where a patient was waiting for her.
When she entered the examination room, she had returned into her doctor mode. She placed Hannah on top of her desk and gave her another quick examination. Relieved that she had just found some bruises and scratches on the knees, Michaela looked in her daughter's eyes. "Sweetheart, I have to take care of Mr. James right now. I want you to rest in our old room."
Pausing to look over her shoulder and see who else was there, she spotted Charlotte's daughter next to her mother. "Colleen, would you mind tending to Hannah's scratches and then watching her as long as I treat Mr. James?"
Before the girl could reply, Sully volunteered, "I'll do it."
Sensing her little girl tensing up, Michaela asked herself what had happened between them. Dismissing that thought for now, she decided, "I will need Charlotte for the chloroform and you to help me with the light. If Colleen doesn't mind I'd prefer her to stay with Hannah." When she saw that both girls grinned at each other, the doctor added, "Good, that's settled then."
The next two hours Sully watched in awe how Michaela tended to the shattered legs of the teacher. He had seen her setting a shoulder, using her stethoskope and applying ointments onto wounds but had never witnessed her skill in an operating room. She worked quickly but not hastily. Without hesitation she knew what to do and handled the scalpel with professional sincerity. Besides, "Light, please!" and "How is his breathing?" no words were spoken. Sully couldn't believe that this was the same Michaela who blushed when he touched her. How could such an incredible woman love him after all he had done? As soon as the operation would be over he had to tell her that his sleeping in the mercantile meant nothing. Although, nothing wasn't the right word. His talk with Mary had convinced him that there was nothing for him to feel guilty about. He was absolutely free, free to cherish the love of his life.
Hopefully, Michaela would listen to him.