Dorothy still fumed about the way the doctor had spoken to her. To her surprise, no one had supported her wish to keep the child with her real family, not even Loren. But maybe that was unimportant; she just had to find out what Sully had told Mary a few minutes ago. Looking for her, she spotted her daughter among the people in front of the clinic who were preparing for keeping vigil until the doctor came out to tell some news. Dorothy was grateful for what the teacher had done but lingering there wouldn't help him, so she decided to call for her daughter. Hearing her mother, Mary instantly rushed towards the mercantile.
Once inside the store where they would be away from eavesdroppers, the anxious mother asked, "What did Sully tell you?"
Mary smiled. She knew that her mother loved the idea of having a family again, a family which included her, Sully and not to forget Hannah. Actually, she initially only had agreed in visiting Colorado Springs because she wanted to see Sully again. She hadn't had any intentions of winning him over. In fact, she liked her life in St. Louis. She worked as a chambermaid for a really nice and very rich family. Yesterday evening, however, had changed her mind. The cozy chat with Sully had made her want more and the beginning of their talk on the porch had been very promising. So she was somewhat excited when she answered her mother's question. "He told me that he was grateful for meeting me again and he had found out something really important. Unfortunately then the accident happened…"
Dorothy was enthusiastic. "That's great! He told me this morning that last night had opened his eyes. You should go and see him as soon as possible and invite him again. Or even better, visit him at his homestead and show him how perfectly you fit in there."
It was obvious that mother and daughter were in tune with each other.
At the clinic Michaela was finishing the last stitches on the teacher's leg. Charlotte saw the exhaustion on the younger woman's face and asked concerned, "Are you alright, Dr. Mike?" The answer didn't sound convincing. "Yes. Yes, I'm fine, thank you." After a short hesitation the doctor added, "I fear, however, Mr. James won't be."
The midwife didn't understand. "But everything looks fine, why are you saying that?"
Michaela sighed. Sometimes she wished she was back in a hospital where she could discuss her cases with colleagues. "The tibia fracture of the left leg is fortunately just a simple one, it should heal without complications. The major damage was done to the blood vessels, especially in the left foot. Though I could stitch up some of the bigger ones, the blood circulation doesn't work properly yet. I have to watch the foot closely for any swellings and colour changes. I can only hope that I won't need to amputate…" Her voice trailed off. She was almost startled when she heard Sully speak for the first time since the operation had started. "You mean he can still lose his foot?"
Directing her troubled eyes at him, Michaela's pent up emotions suddenly turned into anger towards Sully. "That's exactly what I'm saying." Her tone grew angrier and the volume of her voice raised a notch. "And it's all your fault! You decided that you'd rather chat with Mary than to take care of Hannah! How could you let her out of your sight?" Suddenly realising how close they had come in losing the little girl, Michaela's voice dropped to almost a whisper. "It could have been her under all these crates…"
Burying her face in her hands, Michaela's body began to shake with dry sobs. Sully instantly stepped to her, ready to pull her into a comforting embrace. Michaela, however, lifted her hand warningly to stop him. "Don't. Just get out and find some other men. We need to transport Mr. James into the recovery room." Without another attempt to touch her, Sully turned and left.
After Michaela had made sure that the teacher rested comfortably and that the condition of his foot hadn't changed, she went to the room next door to take care of her daughter. She was surprised to see that Sully was already there. He knelt in front of Hannah who sat on Colleen's lap, clinging to her friend's neck. Looking down into the imploring eyes of her father who had asked her to come with him, she didn't know what to do. Sometimes it was just great having him there because spending time with him could be really funny, but she never was sure what to expect next from him. Although he didn't look like he was going to yell at her because she hadn't listened to him on the porch earlier, there was still the possibility that she had to go back with him to the mercantile. She didn't want to be there. She didn't like Aunt Dorothy and she didn't like that her pa had paid so much attention to Mary yesterday that he'd forgotten to take care of her. She wanted her ma. When the little girl saw her favourite person entering the room right at the moment she had thought about her, she just knew there was nothing she had to fear because her ma would always protect her.
Instantly climbing down from her friend's lap, Hannah rushed towards Michaela and happily hugged her legs. Michaela stooped down to pick up her daughter. Feeling the girl's cheek against hers and the little arms around her neck, the doctor momentarily closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment. But soon her concern took over again. Bending her head back to watch Hannah's face, she looked for any signs of physical discomfort. She needed to be sure nothing had happened to her daughter. "Are you really all right, sweetheart? There is nothing that hurts and you don't feel dizzy?"
The little girl first shook her head and then hesitantly said, "No hurt…"
Michaela immediately knew there was something else. "What is it, sweetheart, you can tell me. You know that, don't you?"
She felt how her daughter's embrace tightened around her neck and then she heard her whisper, "No mertile, pease?"
Again Michaela was wondering what had happened yesterday but she knew she had to support Sully in any case. Seeing the guilty expression on his face, she sighed and then told her daughter despite her doubts, "I'm sure your pa doesn't want you to go there if it isn't necessary."
Instantly Sully assured, "'Course I don't. I just wanted us to go to Grace's, having some lunch." Seeing that his daughter still hesitated, he added, "We can take Colleen with us, how does that sound?"
A tentative smile appeared on Hannah's face, but the little girl wanted to be sure. "No Aunt Dorthy? No Mary?"
When her pa confirmed, "It'll be just the three of us, I promise," the little girl was ready to go into her father's arms.
Although he was relieved he could convince his daughter to be with him again, Sully was alarmed that Michaela didn't want to meet his eyes. Somehow he had tomake sureshe wouldlisten to him; maybe the best way to do that was to show her that he could get along with Hannah just fine.
After the doctor had once again examined her daughter's rescuer without finding any signs of a change for the worse, she returned into the operation room to clean it up. Charlotte, who was still there, followed the younger woman. The midwife was worried; she had never witnessed such an emotional outburst from Michaela like the one that she had directed towards Sully, not even when David had come back and done all those awful things. But she knew Dr. Mike too well to try to force her into discussing her problems, so she just asked, "Do you wanna talk about it?"
Michaela's startled gaze flew to her older friend's face. There was no curiosity written on it, just genuine concern. Michaela knew that she had to talk to someone or she would lose control of her emotions again and maybe next time, she would yell at the wrong person.
Sighing she admitted, "I don't know what I would have done if I had lost Hannah. I just love her so much…" She trailed off for a moment.
While Michaela went on, Sully had reached the slightly ajar door of the examination room He had left Hannah in Colleen's care with the strict instruction for them to stay together. Knowing Michaela would forget about eating if he didn't get her some lunch and bring it into the clinic, he had decided to take care of that. Despite of that, he remained in the hallway when he heard her voice from inside her office. He didn't want to disturb her and eavesdrop even less, but he couldn't help himself. So he kept standing next to the door and heard the woman he loved speaking about her inner feelings for the first time.
Michaela resumed talking to her friend. "When I agreed to take care of Hannah I never expected I could grow so close to that little girl. Of course I always knew Hannah's father could come back, but it was pure horror for me when his first action was to take her away from me. I have never lost the fear of losing her since then. When he told me he would stay with her in Wells, I believed I would never see them again."
Charlotte tried to reassure her friend. "But he came back, didn't he?"
"Yes, he did, but not because he wanted to. Loren sent him a telegram that Maude needed to see Hannah. I still don't know when or if he will go there again."
Outside the room Sully swallowed hard. He wondered why he hadn't told her yet that he never intended to leave again.
Charlotte knew there was more. "But it's not just about Hannah, am I right?"
Michaela blushed. "I just wish he finally knew what he really wants…" Her voice trailed off and she stepped to the window, looking out on the street, somewhat wistful. "I don't know if I can take the back and forth any longer. Every time I think I can let myself believe that we can have a relationship, another woman from his past shows up…"
When the doctor's voice cracked again, Charlotte sympathized, "I know Mary's appearance hit him hard. She is so much like Abigail and I don't just mean on the outside." After a moment, Dr. Mike's words had sunk in fully and she asked, "Another woman?"
Michaela nodded, feeling embarrassed but glad to finally be able to tell someone. "There is an Indian woman at the reservation. He told me they were just friends. But the day we left for Wells I saw them kissing." Suddenly Michaela felt tears rising. "But I think the worst thing was seeing his facial expression when he agreed to her pronouncement that they were the same. I felt as if someone had hit me into the stomach…I just had allowed myself to hope again…"
Her last words were only a whisper but for Sully's ears they sounded like screams.
After a moment of silence Charlotte asked, "Did he explain it to you?"
Michaela shook her head. "He only told me he was sorry." Wiping at her tears with the back of her hands, her voice grew stronger. "After my relationship with David I decided that I wouldn't allow any man to hurt me that way again. It took me a long time to regain my self-confidence. I'm not willing to go through that kind of pain again."
Charlotte watched her younger friend carefully. "Even if that means losing Hannah?"
Nearly composed again, Michaela straightened and raised her chin. "I know I can put my feelings aside, I've done it before. And I owe it to Hannah to insure that she grows up with parents who love each other. Of course, before I left, I would make sure Hannah felt comfortable with the other woman."
The midwife couldn't believe what she'd just heard. "Come on, Dr. Mike, you can't really mean that."
Sully, however, knew Michaela was serious.
After Mr. James had regained conscious later in the afternoon, the doctor made sure he didn't have any broken ribs. Because of the considerable amount of pain he was in, she gave him several doses of morphine so he could rest as comfortable as possible in his state. As the day drew to a close, she examined him once more and was satisfied with his condition. Since she was not quite comfortable leaving him alone, she kept vigil in the rocking chair next to the patient's bed throughout the night. Each time she examined him during her watch, Michaela was more and more satisfied to see that her surgery had worked and the heavily injuried foot was out of the woods.
When dawn came closer, she decided she could leave Mr. James for a short time in Charlotte's care. She wanted to go to the homestead but not only for changing into fresh clothes. Yesterday evening Sully had insisted in spending the night with Hannah there. At first his daughter had resisted but after her pa had cajoled her into agreeing to help him with the animals and had reminded her of the chance of Wolf's presence, both of them had left town. Michaela told herself she just wanted to make sure they were alright. She would ride out as soon as there was enough light. Maybe she could cover a part of the way on foot, something she loved to do after long nights such as this one…
Mary had waited all afternoon for the right time to talk to Sully, but it never came. When her mother suggested surprising him with breakfast, she thought it a splendid idea. She was on her way now, determined to show Sully that all he needed to do was to ask and she would stay forever.
Sully for his part had exchanged the bed with a chair on the porch in the middle of the night. His heart was heavy since he had recognized this afternoon how much pain he had caused Michaela. He needed to be outside under the starry sky to sort out his thoughts.
In the morning he still sat on the chair on the porch of his homestead. With closed eyes he relished the warm sun on his face.
"Sully!" Her voice was soft, exactly the way he remembered it.
"Sully, wake up! We have to talk." Her tone became more insistent.
"Uhm…" He didn't dare to open his eyes. It couldn't be true, he had to be dreaming.
"You don't have to be afraid, just look at me." Sully sensed her impatience and eventually complied. His gaze fell right into a sea of sparkling blue. He immediately tensed up.
"Shh, there's nothing to worry about. You can have your family back, you know that." Mary's expression became seductive and she caressed his face.
Sully shook his head. Doing so, he looked over her shoulder and saw Michaela approaching. Panic began to rise inside of him and he tried to get rid of the other woman's hands. But she bent towards him and he felt a gentle peck on his lips.
"It's gonna be alright, you will see." Mary leant back and smiled at him.
But Sully's eyes searched for the woman he loved. He didn't have even the slightest doubt about his love for her anymore. When he saw her figure leave the yard, he called out, "Michaela!"
Sully knew that it wasn't a dream this time. If he didn't act quickly he would lose her for good. Regardless of Mary's presence he stormed down the porch and despairingly called again, "Michaela, wait!"
Hearing him, Michaela further quickened her pace but Sully reached her nevertheless. Stepping in front of her, he tried to stop her in her tracks. When he saw her face he knew, she needed something more then words and so he dropped his plan of talking to her. Other means were required here. So he just picked her up into his arms. Too surprised to defend herself against his action, Michaela exlaimed, "Sully, what are you doing?"
Carrying her towards the homestead, Sully dryly replied, "Taking you back where you belong." When he reached the porch with his precious cargo, Sully asked Mary to come over to them. Puzzled, the young woman complied. As soon as she stood in front of them, Sully began. "I wanna settle this matter for once and for all." Carefully setting Michaela down on her feet next to him, he grasped her hand firmly and continued, directing his speech to Mary. "I'm holding the hand of the woman I'm loving now and will love forever. Nothing and no one ain't gonna be changing that. Our talk the night before yesterday showed me that I finally can let go of Abigail. For that I'll always be thankful. That's what I wanted to tell you yesterday. I ain't gonna be going back in time." With a sweeping motion, he pulled Michaela close and continued. "I've found my present and future and I have no intentions of letting her go. Have I made myself clear?"
When Mary slowly nodded, Sully added in a somewhat gentler tone, "I didn't wanna be rude but you have to understand that I've moved on." Then, disregarding Mary and looking at a speechless Michaela next to him, he smiled tentatively. "I think I have some making up to do. Will you allow me that?" Seeing some sparkles creeping into the eyes he adored, Sully beamed. "Good."