Chapter 23

"Sweetheart!" Michaela's tone held both, light anger and amusement at the sight of her daughter.

Hannah had only been left alone for a few minutes; Sully was busying himself with getting the wagon ready for their drive into town and Michaela had had to visit the outhouse. As she was entering the house again, her little girl welcomed her with a broad smile; she was fully equipped with all her birthday presents from the day before, ready to start her day. Somehow she had managed to slip on her new apron, the pocket bulging on one side as it struggled to contain a whole wolf family and the one on the other side could barely keep holding the new picture book. Tucked under the little one's right arm was the bunny, wearing its new sweater, and under the left one grandpa's gift, the doll, lay awkwardly and of course she hadn't forgotten Colleen's necklace that hung rather loosely around her neck.

Michaela sighed somewhat exasperated, she was running late. School was starting today and she had to take over the job of watching Amanda from Chris as soon as possible. She crouched down in front of her daughter and tried to explain, "Sweetheart, you can't take all your things with you…"

At that moment, Sully stepped into the room and Michaela was interrupted by his chuckle and Hannah's question, "Why?" which had become her favorite phrase lately.

The mother tried to be patient. "Because you can't play with all of your toys at the same time, sweetheart."

Hugging her things only tighter, the little girl insisted, "I wanna!"

Automatically, Michaela amended, "I want to."

When Hannah innocently asked back, "You wanna pay, too?" Sully dissolved into laughter.

Letting out a long breath, Michaela rose and turned towards him. Frowning, she attempted to hide her impatience by keeping her tone even, "You aren't being really helpful here."

Instantly recognizing that Michaela might lose her temper, Sully tried to calm her down. "Just let her bring them for once, she's still so excited. All right?" Raising his eyebrows, he indicated that it wouldn't hurt to give in. Although Michaela knew better, she pivoted to face her daughter again and agreed, "All right, but only today."

Hannah impishly grinned at her ma and then scampered towards her pa because she knew it was he who she had to thank for her ma giving in. When she reached Sully, he bent down to pick her up. Once he held his beaming daughter in his arms, they shared a secret and satisfied look of understanding. They were lucky that Michaela didn't see it.

A few minutes later, the little family was on its way into town and Michaela finally relaxed a little. While Hannah had been seated with all her toys and Wolf in the back of the wagon, Michaela sat on the driver's bench next to Sully, who held the reins. She knew though, if they were really going to start to do more things together, Sully had to understand some of the rules she had set for Hannah. Glancing sideways at him, she tentatively began, "Sully?"

"Hmm?" he smiled back at her, happy that she didn't seem to be mad.

"About earlier…"

He gave her an encouraging smile. "What about it?"

Unsure how to begin because she didn't want to lecture him, Michaela bowed her head and didn't respond right away. However, before she was able to tell him what was on her mind, she felt Sully's hand on her forearm. Although the material of the sleeves from both her dress and her light-brown leather coat kept her skin separate from his palm, it was as if his touch connected their bodies. Her head turned on its own accord until she met his gaze. The blue in his eyes matched the azure of the bright spring sky and mesmerized her. She was lost for a moment until she heard his soft voice, "It was an exception."

Sully knew that she was only concerned for Hannah and although he sometimes thought that she worried far too much, he had no intention of changing Michaela's way of raising her. He only wanted to bring in his way of seeing the world a little more… Knowing, that his words had the desired effect as Michaela gave him one of her half smiles in return, he took the reins in both hands again.

They rode the rest of the way in comfortable silence and after Sully had pulled the horses into a halt in front of the clinic, he hopped down and rushed around the wagon towards Michaela's side in order to help her down. As always, Sully gripped her at the waist, only today he did so beneath her open coat as Michaela laid her hands on Sully's shoulders for support. When she then stood in front of him on the ground, she started to turn and go for Hannah, but Sully didn't take his hands away. Stopped in her movement, Michaela looked questioningly up into his eyes. Recognizing that he just wanted to prolong the moment to be close to her, she blushed but held his gaze.

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Chris and Amanda stood on the clinic balcony and looked down at this scene. Amanda felt much better after a good night's rest and secretly reveled in the thought that the doctor would have to wait on her all morning until Chris would be back from school. Seeing how Sully and Dr. Mike were staring at each other made her suddenly grow uncomfortable. Although she had already witnessed Sully kissing Michaela, this time, the intensity of their feelings was almost palpable and seemed to heat up the atmosphere around them, and so Amanda was glad when the little girl, still on the back of the wagon, made her presence known and broke the spell. Noticing that Chris had watched the silent communication down on the street as well, she murmured somewhat indignantly, "Wasn't that embarrassing?"

Chris' quietly spoken response, "You have no idea how much I envy him," made her heart suddenly race in fear. Was her fiancé in love with the doctor? They had spent a lot of time together… The young woman had to know and so she managed to ask in a tremulous voice, "You do?"

Chris turned and let his gaze fall on her face as he answered, "I wished someone would look at me the way she looks at him."

Amanda was stunned; it had never occurred to her that Chris could seriously doubt her love. For the first time, the reality that she might still lose him despite the fact that they were engaged, hit her. Not able to respond, she only stared back at him.

Chris could see that his fiancée had understood; he wanted the woman back he had fallen in love with; although, he had started to think he hadn't met that woman yet. Maybe he had fallen in love with the thought of having a beautiful and smart wife when he had gotten to know Amanda. His feelings for her were confused right now, but he was still willing to give their relationship a chance as he saw the expression of fear and uncertainty on Amanda's face. He took it as a sign that their engagement still meant a lot to her and thus that there was hope for them.

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The stagecoach brought three strangers into town that morning. As soon as they escaped the vehicle, they headed in different directions and so it couldn't be known whether they knew each other or not. Hank, who was looking out for new customers as usual, suspected it though; he could have sworn that he had seen a short exchange of a secret look between them. However, none of them made a beeline to his saloon and so he let them drop from his mind. Although… the one who went towards the meadow had carried a large wooden box like the one he had seen being used by a photographer in Denver once, maybe someone wanted him there to take a picture of the kids on their first day at school…

The second stranger, John Owens, was a tall, smart looking man in his forties. When he entered the mercantile, Dorothy immediately noticed his handsome appearance. Before she could approach him though, she heard her brother-in-law ask him, "Can I help ya?"

Mr. Owens smiled; he could tell that the older man would be a rich source of information. "I'm looking for Dr. Michaela Quinn." He keenly watched the reaction to his statement because he actually was only there to get to know as much as he could about that woman as possible.

Loren's mind raced. He had never seen this man before which meant somehow word about the doc must have spread. When people came looking for her even from other towns, then this would bring more visitors to Colorado Springs and that would do, in turn, some good to his own business as well. He shot a look in Dorothy's direction to warn her not to speak a word, before he responded to the stranger, "Dr. Mike has a clinic down the street and you've made the right decision in lookin' for her. She's a great doctor, even saved my granddaughter's life."

"Really?" The stranger sounded surprised as though he didn't believe what he had just heard. Mrs. Deaver happened to be in the store as well and felt compelled to join the conversation, "If it hadn't been for Dr. Mike, my son Tom would've died when he was attacked by a wasp…"

John grinned inwardly; it always worked when he needed to investigate a certain person to make people talk by appearing as though he doubted their statements…

While his colleagues from the Denver Post were doing their parts of the job, Peter Sacks felt rather uncomfortable as he stood on the street. He saw himself as a true artist and only worked for the newspaper when he ran so short of money that he didn't have a choice but to take any offer he could get. This time, he had been sent with the photographer because the boss suspected that the lady doctor wouldn't allow anyone to take her picture and that's why he was there to draw a likeness. For that, he needed to take her features in at a close distance and the best way to do that was to visit her as a patient. Taking a deep breath to steel himself for his upcoming task, he at last knocked at the clinic door.

"Come in!" Well, at least her voice sounded nice; maybe the rest of her wasn't as unpleasant as he had feared. Tentatively opening the door, he attempted to look ill. He could have spared himself the trouble though, because the doctor still stood with her back to him, placing some files into a cabinet. The artist instinct within him took over instantly as he watched the petite woman pivoting to face him. Her movement was graceful; her long almost coppery shimmering hair softly swung down her back and when he could finally see her face, he was stunned. As she smiled at him and offered her hand in greeting him, he knew that he had never seen a more mesmerizing woman in his life, and he had seen a lot of beautiful women so far.

Since Michaela was used to odd reactions when people met her as a doctor for the first time, she thought nothing of the fact that the young man in front of her looked as if he had momentarily lost his speech. "I'm Dr. Quinn, what can I do for you?"

Peter was still staring and tried to remember which story he had been supposed to tell her. His memory refused to work though and only when the doctor asked, "Are you sick, Mr.…?" did he finally catch himself and shake her hand he still held in his. "Peter Sacks, ma'am. And yes, I don't feel well, my stomach…"

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By the time Daniel Watkins was done with the photograph of the schoolhouse, he had gained much more information he hadn't even asked for. As soon as he had settled on the right spot to take the picture, a crowd, that was still growing, had begun to watch him. He wasn't interested in talking though; he was looking for interesting sights… However, his boss had received an article two weeks ago that told about some events in this little town. Since the editor of the Denver Post always recognized a good story but doubted that a doctor would kill a patient to inherit his money only to donate it later, they had been instructed to start their research in Colorado Springs incognito. Well, as a photographer he was rather a man to watch and he still hoped that Dr. Quinn wasn't as bad as described and hopefully would allow him to take her portrait. He speculated that as a woman she must have been through a lot to become a doctor and he was sure that she would at least be an interesting person… His thoughts were interrupted as he felt the interest of the people around him shifting. Looking into the direction all heads were turned now, he saw Peter approaching with a woman at his side. The closer they came, the quicker Daniel's heart pounded. When he locked gazes with the artist momentarily he knew that the young man felt the same way, they both recognized when they were lucky enough to meet real beauty. It was obvious to him though, that the doctor had still no clue why they were here. Since he was seriously interested for himself now to take her portrait, he knew that he had to be honest with her right from the start. As soon as Peter made an effort to introduce him, Daniel cut him off. "Dr. Quinn, it is a pleasure to meet you. I'm the photographer of the Denver Post and I'd like…"

Startled by the gasp of the crowd and the change in the woman in front of him, he stopped and let his hand drop. Michaela froze hearing his identity and glancing at the young man beside her she knew, that he had fooled her. Her tone was quiet though as she responded, "Well, Mr. Watkins, I can't say that I am pleased. If you excuse me, I still have a patient at the clinic."

With that she started to turn and leave them, but both men reached simultaneously for her arm to stop her.

They let go of her instantly though as they heard a dangerous growl of a wolf that suddenly had appeared at the doctor's side. A moment later, Sully, who carried Hannah in his arms, was there as well and set the strangers straight. "Ya heard the lady, she ain't willing to talk to you." With that, he laid his arm protectively around her shoulder and accompanied her back to the clinic.

Michaela refused to see any of the men from Denver until they left in the evening. Mr. Owens and Mr. Sacks were satisfied nevertheless, the reporter had got enough information to write a well investigated article; although his biggest pleasure had been to give Mrs. Jennings a lecture about the responsibility of a reporter, and Peter had already made some sketches of Dr. Quinn, whose face he would never forget anyway, and of Mr. Sully, whom he had studied intensively as the mountain man had stood guard in front of the clinic to make sure that no one would disturb the doctor, as well. No one could know yet that only a few months later, the young artist would show Michaela's portrait in several versions at his first exhibition and one of the visitors there would be incredibly interested in the model of the paintings.

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The arrival of the gentlemen of the Denver Post had been the only remarkable event that week. Amanda, who had grown atypically quiet, was going to be allowed to leave the clinic on Thursday and Sully thought that that would be a good chance to finally ask Michaela out to the reservation. He had already talked everything through with Cloud Dancing and Snowbird and now all he had to do was to convince Michaela to come with him.

In the evening, as all chores were done and Hannah slept, Michaela and Sully took their usual places on the porch step. Although they both had been reluctant to resume the physical part of their relationship, neither of them wanted to miss this part of their daily routine. Michaela had sensed all day that Sully had something on his mind and she hoped he would now tell her what it was. Sensing that she was ready to listen, Sully asked in a quiet voice, "Remember when ya said Hannah can't understand why it's important to me to go hunting with the Cheyenne?"

Since Michaela still didn't know where this was leading, she just nodded when he looked at her. Keeping eye contact, Sully continued, "I wanna show her how it is to be out there more than a few hours on a visit. Me and Cloud Dancing will leave for a couple of days tomorrow, and I want you and Hannah to live in the Cheyenne village until we're back."

Instantly, he could tell that he had chosen the wrong way of breaking the subject. Michaela slid farther away from him and her voice sounded angry, "Sully, you can't just come and tell me what you want me to do. I have patients to see tomorrow morning…"

Laying his hand on her forearm he cut her off and in an attempt to reassure her he said, "We'll leave in the afternoon and I have talked to Robert E., he will take care of the homestead while we're gone…"

Michaela, however, wasn't relieved in the least to hear that. "That doesn't matter, Sully; you can't just make plans for me without even asking me!"

His temper rose as well. "That's not how it is! And I'm telling you now! You said it yourself that Hannah needs to understand and I finally want my daughter to get to know my Cheyenne family because it's her family too! I think she's old enough by now to get her to understand that!"

Michaela turned away from him and looked down on her clasped hands in her lap. Her heartbeat quickened as she contemplated that Sully might have changed his mind as to where he wanted Hannah to live. She had to know and so she said quietly, "I thought we had agreed that Hannah lives in Colorado Springs." She didn't dare say, "That she stays with me." Forgotten fears of loosing her little girl gripped her heart and she tried in vain to mask it with a stoic look on her face.

Sully didn't notice though because he was caught up in his own emotions. Why couldn't she understand? All he wanted was to finally be the responsible-minded father his daughter needed and he wanted to include Michaela in his life as well. Maybe it was her who wasn't ready for them to grow closer. Deciding to give her the freedom to choose herself, he rose from his seat and said without looking at the woman he loved with all his heart, "I'll be here tomorrow after lunch and get Hannah, I would like you to come, too though. Good night, Michaela."

Before she could even blink, Sully was gone. Of course she would go as well; she couldn't let her daughter be alone with people she barely knew for two whole days.

Little did she know that this decision started an event that would roll over her life like an avalanche that raced down the slope of a mountain to bury the village on its foot.