Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman. The rights to those characters and to the show belong to the creators of the show, to CBS, The Sullivan Company and to A&E.

A Sense of Belonging

Chapter Two

Rebecca sat forward a little and looked out the window onto the tarmac at the men scurrying to and from the plane as they prepared for take off. Glancing once again at her watch, she tried to assess what time they would arrive in Colorado Springs. Elizabeth insisted they be at the airport close to two hours before their scheduled flight though Marjorie said there was no need. When they checked in, an earlier flight was just boarding and the girl behind the desk asked if they would like to be on that flight instead. Without even consulting her daughters, Elizabeth agreed, insisting that it would be nice to surprise her daughter. This put them in Colorado Springs two hours before they should have been and Rebecca knew this could be trouble.

Marjorie leaned over and stilled her sister's knee which was bouncing up and down nervously. "Little anxious about the flight?" she asked.

Rebecca glanced over at her mother to see if she was listening and then moved in close to her sister. "I don't think we should show up early and surprise Michaela."

"Why?"

"Last Saturday I called about ten-thirty and Sully answered."

Still not understanding what her sister was getting at, Marjorie wrinkled her forehead. "So?"

With another nervous glance at her mother, Rebecca lowered her voice once again. "I'm pretty certain I was interrupting something."

"Interrupting something?" Marjorie asked and then her eyes grew wide as it dawned on her what Rebecca was talking about. "No way!" She laughed and smiled broadly. "Are you sure?"

Rebecca shrugged. "Well I wasn't in the room but I'm pretty certain." She found her own lips curling into a smile as well. "Slightly out of breath... hurrying off the phone without giving a reason." She looked knowingly at her sister who was nodding.

"Yes we better call first," Marjorie agreed, still smiling to herself at this new information.

Yet neither sister counted on how determined Elizabeth was to show up unannounced. The more excuses they offered, the more adamant Elizabeth became that they not call. As they climbed into a cab to head over to Michaela's apartment, Marjorie opened her cell phone ready to dial her sister's phone number.

"Where are you ladies off to this morning?" the cab driver asked, still puffing from the lot of luggage he had to fit into his trunk.

"1735 Presidential Heights," Elizabeth barked out.

Rebecca and Marjorie exchanged a glance behind their mother's back knowing they needed to act. "I really think we should call Michaela to let her know we're here early," Marjorie protested. "What if she's still asleep?"

With an impatient flip of her wrist, Elizabeth checked the time on her watch. "Nonsense, it's almost ten. I'm sure Michaela is awake."

The water continued to cascade over the two of them as Michaela leaned back heavily on Sully. Her legs felt like jelly and she found herself grateful for Sully's arm which still held her fast around her midsection. Little sounds of pleasure continued to pour forth, as he kissed the side of her neck his chest still heaving with the most recent encounter.

Nuzzling the sensitive skin under her ear, Sully spoke quietly not wanting to destroy the moment. "You okay?"

"That was…" she managed to utter and then found she had no words to describe what she'd just experienced. Sully pressed another hard kiss to the side of her neck and then turned her in his arms. Michaela pushed herself against him and initiated a deep kiss that left Sully gasping for breath. "What you do to me," she whispered pulling back and giving a shake of her head.

"I think we should take showers together more often," Sully chuckled his fingers still moving over her back and down her sides. "Matter of fact, think I'll put a bigger shower in our new house."

Michaela blushed deeply, drawing her bottom lip into her mouth. She hadn't planned on them making love again though she should have known that was where they were headed when he offered to wash her hair. The feel of his fingers working tiny circles against her scalp sent her over the edge. If her mother and sisters weren't due to arrive in a couple of hours she would prefer to simply climb back in bed with Sully, knowing they would cuddle together until they feel back to sleep. Yet there was no denying reality. Elizabeth Quinn would be upset if she was late and it was important that this visit start off on the right foot. "You're going to come to the airport with me, aren't you?" she asked, finally able to put a coherent thought together.

"'Course I am. But we should probably drive separately. I told Robert E I'd drop by and check how the work was coming on that house over in Oakfield." Michaela groaned at his mention of work which made Sully laugh. "After last weekend you don't have any room to complain."

"I was on call," Michaela defended reaching past Sully to turn off the water. Last weekend they barely saw each other as Michaela was called in to operate on a baby born with an enlarged heart. On Saturday, Michaela spent close to seven hours in surgery and then kept a vigilant watch on the child through Sunday afternoon when another neonatal doctor finally relieved her. Though he missed her, Sully didn't mind her absence. It was that degree of caring and compassion that first caught his eye over four years ago.

After a drunk driver hit and killed his wife Abby, it was Michaela who had kept a vigilant watch over his daughter born nearly three months early as a result of the accident. When they had lost Hannah after a week of valiant fighting, Michaela had openly cried and apologized to him. Sully still remembered how he hugged her tightly, clinging to her as they both grieved the loss of his little girl. A friendship was born out of that tragedy – a friendship that grew until each was hopelessly in love with the other. Sully recognized his own feelings early on but guilt that he could be happy only months after Abby's death kept him silent. Eventually neither of them could hide their true feelings and on her birthday after one too many glasses of wine, he kissed her beginning their romantic relationship.

Michaela's movement awoke him from his trance and Sully moved quickly to open the glass door of the shower. He stepped out before her and grabbed a fresh towel for her to step into.

"Thank you." Michaela smiled and then took the edges from him closing it around her body. She stepped away knowing she could easily become lost in his touches again. Sully watched her for a moment before grabbing a towel for himself.

The sound of the doorbell echoed through the apartment suddenly. "Sully do you mind? It's Matthew dropping off the keys to my car."

"I hope his car is all fixed," he said, wrapping the towel securely around his waist. He moved over behind Michaela and gave her bottom a playful pat.

"Sully," she warned as he slipped out of the bathroom with a wide grin on his face.

With water drops still glistening on his chest he made his way to the front door when the bell sounded again. "Comin'," he called nonchalantly still assuming it was Michaela's next door neighbor Matthew. After undoing the deadbolt he opened the door, his jaw dropping open.

"Mrs. Quinn?" Starting at his feet, Elizabeth ran her eyes up his body, a disapproving look on her face. "What are you doing here?"

"I suppose I could ask you the same question." Averting her eyes, she cleared her throat loudly.

Struggling to gain his composure, Sully corrected his earlier statement. "I just meant we weren't expecting you this early."

"Obviously," she replied, annoyance apparent in her voice.

Seeing the awkward look on Sully's face and feeling the pain of the situation, Rebecca stepped quickly forward. "Sorry for the inconvenience Sully. We caught an earlier flight. Mother thought it would be a nice surprise." She pushed past her mother and stepped into the apartment with a roll of her eyes.

Sully crossed his arms over his chest as Marjorie ogled him from her post behind Elizabeth. He suddenly felt rather naked and unsure of what to do next. "Please come in," he whispered.

Reluctantly stepping over the threshold, Elizabeth motioned out the door. "Our bags are in the hall," she said as if she expected Sully in his undressed state to take care of them.

He hesitated for a moment giving Marjorie a chance to come in and then quickly began to shuttle the bags inside, dropping them right inside the door. "Sully we can do that," Rebecca protested.

The bedroom door swung open at that moment, Michaela's voice preceding her. "Sully what's taking so long?"

"Uh…Michaela…" Sully began but it was too late.

She stepped into the living room clothed in her satin robe from earlier, her hair still up in a towel. The two different colored eyes grew large as she took in the scene before her. Her cheeks a deeper shade of red than Sully had ever seen. "I thought… you were supposed to…" She stopped speaking, too dumbfounded to continue.

"We caught an earlier flight," Rebecca said apologetically. "We were going to surprise you."

Marjorie, who found the whole scene rather humorous, couldn't help herself. "Surprise," she said holding out her hands and smirking at her younger sister.