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 Seven

Michaela awoke before the sun rose or her alarm went off. Sully was spooned against her back, his hand tucked around her ribcage. Stretching carefully so not to wake him, she smiled to herself wishing that she could wake up like this every day. When Sully proposed, he intended for them to get married right away. If it had been his decision, they would have been at the justice of the peace the next week. It was Michaela who insisted that they wait, knowing her mother would be appalled at such a hasty marriage.

Having grown up in Boston society, she knew that her mother expected year long engagements and proper church ceremonies. Of course Sully agreed to do things her way, knowing that the actual wedding was more important to her than to him. He simply wanted her to know that he was committed totally and completely to her for life. Tonight they would go look at wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses which Michaela was dreading. She had already gone with her friends Grace and Dorothy but she knew her mother would carry definite opinions about the sort of dress she should wear.

Reaching back, she laid her hand against Sully's bare leg and instantly felt guilty for falling asleep on him last night. Sully knew her though. When she was tired, she was moody and irritable and that was something nobody wanted. Curiosity overcame her then and she ran her hand up his lean muscular leg still not encountering any barrier between the two of them. She continued with only her fingertips now, brushing them against the hard smoothness of his hips. He was naked. That thought thrilled her as she removed her hand so not to wake him. Did he always sleep in the nude? Not that she minded but it had never occurred to her before and she wondered if he minded her being clothed.

His breathing was so deep and even that she too felt herself drifting back to sleep. Moving back against him, she made her body perfectly fit his contours before lowering her mouth and placing a soft kiss to the arm draped over her. Sully stirred a little but never awoke. Michaela laid one hand against his thigh and then closed her eyes, enjoying the warm strong embrace that enveloped her.

It felt as if she'd only dozed off when she opened her eyes again, the offending scream of the alarm clock signaling that it was time to get up. Reaching over she hit the snooze button and then turned prepared to snuggle up for a few more moments with Sully. Yet her plan never came to fruition as his side of the bed was empty. "Sully?" she called out quietly thinking he must be in the bathroom. Sliding over onto his side of the bed, she slipped out onto the floor and pushed open the bathroom door only to find it deserted. Michaela reentered the bedroom and fell back onto the bed in disappointment. It was then that her eyes caught sight of the open window and she couldn't help but smile as she saw the rose perched on the sill.

Quickly she rose and crossed to it, holding the delicate flower in her grip. A single folded piece of paper accompanied it. Opening it, she grinned broadly his large sloping letters reminding her that she hadn't dreamed his presence. There was simply a heart and his name emblazoned there but it made her heart beat a little quicker. With a smile on her lips, she moved happily through the room turning off her alarm and pulling out clothes for the day. In the shower, she sang as she scrubbed her hair, another telltale sign of the happiness she felt inside. Stepping out of the shower, she sniffed deeply, breathing in the scent of breakfast cooking. It was probably Rebecca, the most domestic of all of them and her stomach grumbled to let her know it was ready to eat.

When she emerged from her bedroom, her eyes grew large at the sight before her. Sully was at the stove with spatula in hand flipping pancakes on the griddle while Elizabeth stood a few feet away slicing strawberries. Hiding her surprise, Michaela stepped up to the kitchen bar. "What are you doing here?" she asked with a little grin on her face.

"Woke up a little early this morning and thought I'd treat you all to something homemade. He looked across at the bagels in the plastic bag as he spoke teasing Michaela.

"At least one of us can cook," she tossed back, her mother's presence not dampening her spirits in the least. Sully glanced up at the clock, knowing she would have to leave soon. Opening the cupboard door he removed a stack of plates and set them on the counter before taking the top one and flipping two fresh pancakes onto it. Moving over he grabbed some of the strawberries that Elizabeth had cut and topped the pancakes with them.

"Whipped cream?" he asked tipping the aerosol container up over the food. Michaela nodded and watched as he made little dots of cream on the berries before handing it to her. She was certain by the look in his eyes that if her mother wasn't here, he would feed it to her himself or perhaps that was what Michaela wanted to happen. She swallowed hard at that thought as she picked up her fork to begin eating.

Elizabeth turned now to face her daughter, making eye contact for the first time since yesterday morning. "I trust you slept well."

"I did mother and you?"

"Yes, yes… fine." She brushed her hand to the side as if done with all the polite formalities and got down to business. "I told Mr. Sully our plans for tonight. He'll meet us after shopping for a late dinner."

"You don't want to shop with us?" Michaela teased, looking over at her fiancé.

"Wasn't invited," Sully returned from his post by the stove.

"We're shopping for a wedding dress. The groom isn't supposed to see it before the ceremony." Elizabeth's forehead wrinkled as she spoke making Michaela feel as if she were an idiot.

"Oh right," Michaela said. "Well I never was good at remembering all the protocols." She couldn't help but smile as she said it dropping her head to hide the grin. Michaela continued to eat the pancakes, rarely stopping to talk as time was quickly slipping away.

Stepping around the bar with her empty plate, she placed it in the sink and then turned to Sully to give him a quick kiss on the lips. "Thanks, that was delicious."

"You're welcome." His hands lingered on her hips as he looked into her eyes. Michaela stepped away reluctantly, moving to the table to collect her messenger bag. "Sully I left you some money on the table."

"Thanks," he called after her as she ran out the door. "See you tonight."

"Bye mother. Bye Sully." She gave a short wave and then disappeared out the door.

Elizabeth's ears perked up at the mention of money and though she knew it was none of her business, she was curious. Sully continued to cook the pancakes, his back to the table. "I'll go wake the girls," Elizabeth announced giving her an excuse to go by the table.

"Alright," Sully said pouring the last of the batter onto the griddle.

As she walked by the table, she looked down at the check and frowned. It was made out to Byron Sully for eight hundred dollars. Elizabeth couldn't believe her eyes. Why would her daughter be giving Sully that sum of money? With a shake of her head, she turned to look at him. Was it possible that he was simply using Michaela and her daughter was too blind to see it? She reminded herself not to jump to conclusions but her suspicion was aroused and she made a mental note to talk to Michaela about it later.

Monday mornings were always busy at the hospital and today was no exception. Morning rounds took thirty minutes longer than they should have due to the fact that one of her residents was late. Another twenty minutes was wasted speaking to the young doctor privately, as this was the third time in two weeks. Michaela warned him if it happened again, she would start rounds without him and a note would be made in his record. After that she spent the rest of the morning with the obstetric team as they planned for the birth of triplets. The mother was only at thirty two weeks but had already gone into labor twice. The last time was over the weekend and they needed a careful plan for safely delivering and caring for the premature babies if it happened a third time. With the consultation past her, she stopped by the neonatal until to answer the questions of a new single mother whose baby was born six weeks premature. That meeting took longer than she expected as well but she didn't mind as much. It was her job to emotionally reassure the parents as well as treat their precious children.

It was twelve thirty when she finally made it back to her office, a pile of charts waiting upon her desk. Opening the door to find Sully there, she smiled but felt guilty. There was no way she could leave the hospital for a secret rendezvous with so much work waiting for her. It didn't help matters that she would be leaving two hours early from her twelve hour shift to try on bridal gowns.

"Hey," he greeted her as he stood and placed a soft kiss to her lips.

"I missed you this morning."

Sully nodded. "I wanted to spread some goodwill and I figured you wouldn't feel in the mood if your family was right outside the door." Michaela sighed and rested the weight of her body against him, grateful that he knew her so well. "Busy morning?"

"You have no idea," she replied letting her eyes close as his hands began to work at the kinks in her neck. "Oh Sully I can't leave today. I really want to but I have so much work waiting."

His soft chuckle made her open her eyes. "That's fine."

"You're not upset?"

"No, why would I be?"

Her cheeks turned pink as she tried to explain. "Last night I fell asleep and then now…"

"Hey, hey." Cupping her cheek in his hand, he held her head still so that he could look in her eyes. His voice was soft as he spoke, his words tender and warm. "I don't ever want you to think I expect anything. I love just being with you." Michaela smiled widely at his words. "'Sides I asked you to marry me before I even knew how incredible you were in bed." Before she had a chance to chastise him, Sully silenced her with a deep kiss which turned into several long drugging kisses that made her forget about the morning and her mother. "Let's go get something from the cafeteria." Michaela gave a shake of her head, her lips curling a little on the sides. "We could go over to Subway."

"No," Michaela objected once again. "Let's stay here for lunch." Sully narrowed his eyes wondering what exactly she was suggesting. "Perhaps we could make out." She batted her eyelashes as she spoke and then dropped her head coyly.

"Come here." Sully pulled her close and then walked her to the couch against the side wall.

Michaela stepped back though, running over to lock her office door in case someone might disturb them. Before she knew it, she was laying on the couch pinned against the back with Sully snuggled right up next to her. Though fully dressed, their bodies were aroused fully, each keenly aware of the other's movement. Sully kissed every inch of her face and neck, lingering over her lips and ears. Their tongues danced repeatedly together as the kisses became more and more intense. There was something thrilling about knowing they could go no farther. The repression heightened each of their desire until they were left panting and gasping for air. Michaela, who had been unconsciously writhing against him, wasn't aware of the effect she was having on Sully until he held her still taking deep calming breaths to avoid losing control.

"Are you alright?" she asked as he closed his eyes and pulled away slightly.

Sully chuckled as a wide smile spread across his face. "Just need to cool down," he managed to mutter as his body finally began to calm.

Looking up at the clock, Michaela sighed loudly. "I've got afternoon rounds," she whispered now rolling slightly on top of him. "Perhaps we can drive back alone tonight from the restaurant and just happen to run out of gas."

"You mean do this in the car?" He looked at her as if she had just shocked him but Michaela simply pushed him off the couch, laughing as he sprawled out into the floor.