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 Four

Feeling the dip of the bed, Sully stirred and opened his eyes to find Michaela slipping out from under the covers. "Where are you going?" he asked stretching his arms out in front of him.

"Home." Her voice was soft and gentle as she leaned over to place a soft kiss to his lips.

Sully wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her down on top of him, loving the feel of her bare skin against his. "But it's so early."

With a smile, Michaela kissed the tip of his nose. "My mother will be up early. She's still on Boston time."

Suppressing a yawn, Sully ran his hands down her back. "Want to take a shower before you go? You're kind of sticky."

Michaela blushed terribly but shook her head. "I really better get back."

"I'll come with you then."

"No you need some sleep." Pushing up a little she kissed him once again but this time she could feel Sully's body reacting to hers. Michaela swallowed hard trying to suppress her own desire as she rolled to the side.

Sully took advantage of her slight hesitation to initiate another kiss, moving his hand to rest against her inner thigh, slowly working its way upward. "Stay with me." His voice made her tremble but Michaela knew she had to resist. His lips moved lower trailing kisses down her neck, making a path to her desire hardened nipples. His fingers moved upward in lazy circles until they came to rest in her nest of soft curls.

Instantly, Michaela tensed as he parted her legs. Sully pulled back, a look of concern in his eyes. Last night was unbelievable for him but perhaps in the heat of the moment, he had confused a look of pain for pleasure. "Did I hurt you last night?"

"No," she quickly assured him laying her hand against his chest. "Last night was… amazing."

Sully couldn't help but smile. "What's wrong then?"

"Nothing," she said with a smile. It wasn't a lie. Nothing was wrong other than the fact that Michaela wanted to stay here rather than going back to her apartment. She couldn't sneak over here to sleep with him every night and the next possibility for them to be alone would be on Monday, if her schedule permitted it.

"You can't leave me like this," Sully said with a little smirk on his face moving so that his arousal rested against her leg.

Despite the color of her cheeks, Michaela laughed. "Go take a cold shower." As she rose from the bed, Sully groaned loudly but finally released her fully. Quickly, Michaela gathered her clothing unaware that Sully watched her every move. With her pajama top and bottoms firmly in hand, she turned towards the bed. "Do I have some clothes here?" The boldness from the night before was gone and the idea of driving home in pajamas wasn't as appealing.

"Top drawer on the left," Sully said nonchalantly. "Ya left them here the night we got caught in that rainstorm."

Michaela opened the drawer to find a tee shirt and a pair of jeans folded nicely. Tucked in between was a pair of underwear and Michaela smiled as she imagined Sully folding them. Silently, she pulled on the clothes, still feeling naked without a bra.

When she turned back around Sully's eyes were closed. She grabbed his foot which was sticking out of the end of the blanket and gave it a shake. "See you in a bit."

"Sure," he mutered curling up on his side, sleep already reclaiming him.

Rebecca stood in the shower and let the water run over her as she washed the soap off her body. Her eyes settled on the bottles on the left shelves and she couldn't help but smile. It was odd to see men's products in her sister's bathroom but only because Michaela was single for so long. After David and she broke up, Michaela hadn't dated again. Within the year, their father passed away and Michaela fell into a depression. When she made the decision to move to Colorado, Rebecca worried about her. She knew that in a sense she was running from Boston and all the memories it held for her.

Yet things turned out better than anyone expected. When Michaela called to say she was bringing a friend for Christmas last year, no one expected the friend to be a man. It was obvious right from the beginning that they were desperately in love with one another and it was no surprise when Michaela called a short time later to announce her engagement.

Turning off the water, Rebecca stepped onto the bath mat and dried herself with a towel. The opening of the front door sounded throughout the apartment and Rebecca hastily put on her robe, to greet her sister and find out where she had been. Stepping out into the living room, she smiled at Michaela who was pulling the toaster out from underneath the counter. "You're up early."

Michaela nodded. "I couldn't sleep. Decided to go get us some breakfast." She held up the bag from Bruegers where she'd stopped on her way home for fresh bagels.

Rebecca smiled knowingly. "Hard to get used to an empty bed, huh?"

"Sully doesn't stay over that often," she quickly replied.

"Sure he doesn't," Marjorie said sarcastically from the door of the bedroom.

"He doesn't." Michaela was on the defensive now even though there wasn't a reason to be.

"Don't get your panties all in a bunch," Marjorie laughed crossing to the kitchen. "I mean if he was my boyfriend, I'm not sure I'd let him out of the apartment. You could keep him chained to the bed as your love slave." Michaela simply shook her head as Marjorie chuckeld and moved over to pour herself a cup of coffee. "Don't be angry at me," she said giving her sister's shoulder a squeeze. "You smell good." Without warning, Marjorie leaned in closer to her sister's neck to get a better sense of the smell. "Like mangos."

Michaela could feel the heat rising on her cheeks but she ignored it. "Must be my body wash," she whispered hoping Marjorie would let it drop.

"Oh that is such a nice scent. I mean it really smells like fresh mango. You'll have to tell me what kind so that I can get some."

Elizabeth emerged then, bringing all conversation to a halt for which Michaela was silently grateful. "Good morning mother," she offered. "I hope you slept well."

"I did," she said politely but still somewhat short. Each sister gave a little shake of head, silently hoping that she would be more agreeable than the day before. Yet things didn't improve much. She remained uncharacteristically quiet throughout breakfast and only shrugged when Michaela asked if she felt up to a picnic that afternoon.

Sully arrived shortly before lunch, looking more refreshed than Michaela. Without a thought of Elizabeth, he greeted Michaela with a kiss letting his hands linger around her waist longer than necessary. "Did you sleep alright?" he asked raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"Not exactly," she replied with a smirk. "But you certainly look refreshed."

"That's what a cold shower does for you," he returned quietly making Michaela laugh. Turning to the room at large, he greeted Elizabeth next who was civil but not overly friendly. Marjorie and Rebecca were both considerably warmer, greeting him with a hug.

"Where are we going on the picnic?" Rebecca asked as they finished with the formalities.

"Michaela and I thought we'd show you our property and the progress on our house." He smiled proudly as he said it, reaching over to take Michaela's hand in his.

"Oh have they already started building?" Excitement was clearly visible on Rebeeca's face.

Michaela nodded and smiled happily. "About two weeks ago."

"Well what are we waiting for?" Marjorie reached over and grabbed the picnic basket she'd helped Michaela pack earlier. "It's too beautiful to sit inside a minute longer."

"We'll have to take two cars." Michaela looked over at Sully as she spoke, wishing she could ride with him but knowing that wasn't possible. Hopefully they would be able to find a few spare moments alone out at the house.

"I'm going with Sully," Marjorie announced reaching over to link her arm through Sully's. Michaela cringed wondering what conversation Marjorie would start with him and got ready to warn her to behave when Rebecca spoke up.

"I'll ride with Sully too." Michaela cast a disapproving look at her sisters as Rebecca leaned in towards her and whispered, "It'll give you and mother a chance to talk."

The ride out of the city was conducted in complete silence. Michaela continued to stew that her sisters stuck her like this, but she also knew Rebecca was right. She would have to talk to her mother eventually. Taking a deep breath, she glanced over at Elizabeth determined to speak. "Mother I know you're upset about yesterday but I never intended for you to know."

"So you would simply lie to me?"

"That's not what I meant," she whispered. "I simply mean I would have kept it private. We weren't expecting you until later."

Her words were met with silence at first as Elizabeth tried to put her feelings into words. "We raised you better than this Michaela." Her voice was quiet and non-emotional but it instantly put Michaela on the defensive.

"Better than what, mother? What am I doing that is so wrong?"

Elizabeth gave an impatient snort. "Have you set a date for the wedding?"

"We thought perhaps this week, while you were here." As Michaela finished, she gave her mother a hopeful smile.

"I doubt that."

Michaela's expression fell. "You doubt what mother?"

"I doubt you'll set a date while I'm here. Why would he buy the cow when he's getting the milk for free?"

A deep blush settled on Michaela's cheeks and she gave a shake of her head. "It's not like that. Sully's not like that."

"He's a man Michaela. All men are like that. Look at Everett and how he was running around on Marjorie."

"Sully is nothing like Everett. How dare you compare the two of them?" She was angry now and her voice clearly reflected it.

"It's this place," her mother continued as if Michaela had never spoken. "I would never have thought that you would be so easily swayed Michaela." Gripping the steering wheel tightly, Michaela tried hard to contain her own rising temper. "I don't know why you had to leave Boston in the first place."

This was a familar argument- one that Michaela wasn't willing to get into again. "Please don't start that."

Elizabeth shook her head. "And I still don't understand why you broke up with David."

Michaela bit her tongue to keep from revealing the truth. Only a few truly knew the reason they'd broken up. David wanted to keep it a secret, scared of ruining his reputation among the social elite of Boston. He had asked her to marry him, to maintain a sham marriage just so that he could be looked on in a favorable light.

"He's head of surgery at Boston General, Michaela. Asked about you just the other day." Elizabeth sighed unhappily. "He was a better match for you Michaela."

"A better match? Really? Well, I have news for you mother. David is gay."