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 Eleven

Sully whistled as he drove across town, confident in the plan he concocted over the afternoon. He knew Michaela was going to need a little push tonight and though he was risking her being upset with him, he was going to be the one to do the pushing. Glancing at the clock he assured himself he had plenty of time. It was only six and Michaela wouldn't be home before seven thirty at the earliest.

After work, he'd stopped by home to shower and change. He knew how important appearances were to Elizabeth Quinn and he wanted to start off on the right foot. Sully chose an outfit that he knew Michaela liked as well, remembering fondly what had happened after the hospital's annual gala when he had to dress up. A repeat of that evening would be most welcome. Sighing deeply, he gave a shake of his head and reminded himself to stay focused on the matter at hand.

The nerves didn't hit until he pulled up in front of her apartment, perhaps because it was only then that things felt real. Stepping out of the car, he brushed off his clothes one last time and took a deep breath. This was for Michaela, he told himself. With her face in his mind, he moved forward ready to take whatever Elizabeth threw at him. At least he knew Rebecca and Marjorie were on his side and strangely that was very comforting.

Rebecca answered the door when he rang, smiling widely at his clean cut appearance. "Don't you look nice this evening?"

"Thank you," he said with a little smirk.

Marjorie's eyes grew wide as she stepped in close to her sister. "Yummy… break me off a piece of that."

"Marjorie," he greeted wondering what she was whispering in her sister's ear.

"Where are you taking us for dinner?" she asked in lieu of a greeting.

"A local place – trust me, you'll love it." As he spoke, he looked around for a glimpse of Elizabeth still not seeing her.

"Mother's on the patio," Rebecca said with a nod of her head. "She's been rather quiet all day, perhaps introspective. Now might be a good time to catch her."

"I hope so," Sully said the nerves becoming more acute by the moment. He walked slowly to the glass patio door, taking deep even breaths. Elizabeth looked up as he stepped out onto the stone and slid the glass door shut.

"Good afternoon Mr. Sully," she said casually, her eyes meeting his.

"Afternoon and please it's just Sully." Elizabeth gave a slight nod in recognition and continued to hold his gaze as if she sensed what was coming. "Could I speak to you for a moment?"

"Certainly," she replied and following Sully's lead she took a seat at the glass table in the middle of the area.

"I know things are strained right now between you and Michaela, and I know a large part of that has to do with me." Elizabeth started to speak, but Sully stopped her. "Please let me finish what I need to say first." There was no nod of assent but she grew silent crossing her hands on the table in front of her which Sully took as a sign to go on. "I love your daughter very much, Mrs. Quinn. This isn't some line I use on her or on you. I've never had much in my life. Lost my mom and dad when I was young – got kicked around from place to place. When I lost my wife and daughter, I felt like I had no place in this world – like I had never belonged anywhere. Michaela changed all that." He paused for a moment to get a handle on his emotions, not wanting to seem over the top as he continued.

Elizabeth wasn't sure if was finished or not and so she looked up to see the wetness lingering in the corner of his eyes, speaking more to her than any words ever would. "When I asked your daughter to marry me, I wasn't trying to get her in bed with me. I wanted us to get married that weekend – to elope but she wouldn't cause of you."

"Because of me?" Elizabeth asked, her forehead wrinkling in confusion.

"She didn't think you'd approve of such a rushed ceremony."

"Well, I… she was right," Elizabeth finally admitted.

"But for me it's like we're already married. I don't need a piece of paper to tell me that I love her and am committed to her. Marriage ain't some sort of contract that ya enter into and then decide to dissolve whenever you decide someone isn't keeping their end of the bargain. We've made our commitments to each other, God was our witness and no piece of paper or official church blessing is going to make that any more real."

He stopped suddenly, afraid he had gotten carried away. The look on Elizabeth's face was unreadable as she took in everything Sully had expressed. The silence soon became unbearable for him and having spoken his peace he stood. "I'm going to take Rebecca and Marjorie out to dinner this evening. I hope it will give you and Michaela a chance to talk." With that he stepped around the table to head for the glass sliding door.

"Sully." The voice caught him off guard and he froze in position, unsure whether to turn around or not. "I'm sorry that I've misjudged you."

Sully couldn't help the smile that spread over his lips. Slowly he turned back to face her. "Thank you," he whispered sincerely.

"I've given this all a lot of thought today and the one conclusion I keep coming back to is how happy Michaela is with you. I want you to know that I see that."

"I'm gonna do everything I can to keep her that way."

"Yes I believe you will." Elizabeth looked past him. "And I believe she's here now."

"Oh," Sully said in surprise. He hadn't counted on her just yet but as he turned, he laughed softly. She was standing at the kitchen counter pretending to flip through the mail as she cast quick glances out the sliding glass door at her mother and Sully.

"Perhaps you should put her out of her misery," Elizabeth said knowingly.

Sully nodded. "Have a good evening," he said reaching over to take her hand in his and give it a soft kiss.

"I think we will," she replied with a confident look in her eye.

Sully felt his nerves flare again, worried how Michaela would feel about his behind the scenes scheming. As he stepped back into the apartment, he met her questioning look. The sisters were noticeably absent.

"They're waiting in the car," Michaela informed him.

"What?"

"My sisters. They're waiting in the car."

"Oh. Did they tell you?" Sully couldn't tell if the look on her face was anger or curiosity.

Michaela shook her head. "No. They said you would explain." Her eyes ran down the expanse of his body, quickly taking in his appearance.

"I'm gonna take them out for dinner so you can talk to your mom." Michaela sighed deeply and dropped her head. Instantly Sully pulled her into his embrace, softly kissing the side of her head. "Just talk to her."

Resting her head against his shoulder, she breathed in deeply the smell of his aftershave. "You smell good."

"And look good too," he added cheekily.

"Tell Marjorie hands off," she laughed. Sully knew that was her statement of acceptance and he quickly nodded then leaned down to kiss her goodbye. "Will I see you again tonight?"

"Leave your window open," he whispered and then raised his eyebrows at her.

From outside the sliding glass, Elizabeth carefully watched the scene in front of her. Everything Sully had said still ran through her mind and she felt foolish for her hasty judgments. When he left, she reentered the apartment and instantly crossed to her daughter, giving her the hug that was two days late in coming.

"Mom," Michaela whispered warm and affectionately clinging to the woman she spent half of her life trying to get the approval of.

"We've been at odds for too long," Elizabeth said as she pulled back. Michaela nodded her agreement and motioned for her mother to sit down. Once they both were on the couch, Elizabeth spoke again. "I'm sorry that I've misjudged Sully so." She reached for her daughter's hand and held it in her own as she spoke.

"I'm sorry I've hid so many things from you," Michaela returned feeling as if the apologies were the beginning of clearing the air. "I wasn't trying to hurt you. I just wanted…" She stopped for a moment and looked down considering her words carefully.

Elizabeth stopped her though. "There isn't a reason for us to beat ourselves up anymore. Let's let the past be the past. Perhaps we could start fresh?"

"I'd like that," Michaela said, the corners of her lips curling into a smile.

Her mother closed her eyes and nodded, giving Michaela's hand a light squeeze. "A fresh start," she whispered and then added. "A new beginning." For one moment, she held onto the past tightly finding it hard to believe she was about to say what was in her mind. "I think we should set a date for this wedding."

Clearly grinning from ear to ear, Michaela reached for her purse to get her agenda. "Sully and I were thinking a fall wedding, perhaps September."

"The twentieth," Elizabeth replied looking straight ahead.

"But the twentieth is a Thursday."

"May twentieth," Elizabeth amended.

Michaela looked up in confusion. "But that's this Saturday."

"Precisely."