Rescuing you

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in Dr Quinn Medicine Woman. The rights to those characters and the show belong to the creators not me. This is just a story for fun.

Chapter 17

Town

The second Sully and Michaela stopped at Robert E's. Mathew and Brian came frantically running towards them. "Dr Mike!" they shouted.

"What's going on?" Robert E said.

"Ma's been bitten by a snake," Mathew said out of breath.

Michaela grabbed her medical bag from the horse and took off after Brian and Mathew. Sully handed the reins to Robert E and ran after Michaela, Mathew and Brian.

By the time Michaela reached the boarding house there was a crowd outside. She had to fight her way through. She rushed through the door and up the stairs. Charlotte was led on the bed looking pale and clammy.

"Hey Dr Mike..." She smiled at Michaela.

Michaela sat on the bed next to her. She brushed back Charlotte's hair from her face feeling her temperature. Next she moved to the bite marks on her arm. She quickly grabbed her bag and pulled out her medicine.

Jake Slicker came running in with the reverend. "How is she?" the reverend said concerned over his face.

"I need to get the poison out of her," Michaela prepared the medicine.

"Ya need leaches," Jake said. His remedy for every ailment.

"No we don't," Michaela said firmly. Looking up at a worried group of children on the other side of the room she gave a small smile. "Brian why don't you hold your ma's hand? Colleen why don't you wipe her brow," She wanted to show them it would be ok.

Michaela applied the medicine to Charlotte's arm and squeezed hoping to draw out any poisons. However Charlotte began to shake and her breathing became shallow. The reverend placed his hand on the bible and softly began to pray.

Michaela reached over to take Charlotte's pulse, she was losing her. She couldn't lose her! The children couldn't lose their mother not like this. It was breaking her heart, Charlotte had been her first friend her in Colorado. Working more frantically to save her but she was interrupted by Charlotte's hand on hers.

"Dr Mike...look after my children..." She could barely be heard.

"Charlotte...You're going to be fine...I won't need to...," She fumbled.

"Promise me," Charlotte said stronger.

"I promise," Michaela looked up at the children's heartbreaking expressions of worry and fear.

Charlotte took one more look at her children and closed her eyes. Michaela felt defeated, her friend was gone. Tears streamed down her face.

Colleen looked at Michaela expecting her to do something to help her ma but instead Michaela just squeezed Charlotte's hand.

"No...No she can't be gone," Colleen shouted and grabbed her mother's arm to wake her.

"Ma?" Brian let out a strangled sob. Mathew stood ridged to the spot not taking his eyes off his mother.

"I'm sorry children. Your mother is in heaven now," the reverend said placing his free hand on Brian's small shoulder.

Brian led down next to Charlotte and cried. Colleen held on to Mathew crying.

Michaela felt awful, the lump in her throat grew so large she could barely swallow. She needed Sully, She turned to look behind her. There he was stood in the doorway not moving. She stood and went to him. He opened his arms for her to join him. He cradled her head against his chest and felt her body shake. He felt stunned, one of his friends was lying dead in the bed opposite him and he just couldn't get his head around it. How could things change so fast?

Few days later

They had buried Charlotte in the morning and had gone to Grace's Cafe for the wake. Now Michaela sat on Brian's bed with an open suitcase, it was half full of clothes and some toys. Tomorrow the children would move in with her at the small homestead.

Brian held a small teddy bear in one hand and a small train in the other. "Which one can I take?" He asked solemnly.

Michaela guided him closer to her. "Brian you can bring whatever you want to sweetheart,"

"Ok..." His lower lip began to tremble.

"Oh Brian," She pulled him into her arms holding him tight.

Sometime later Michaela entered the boarding house's kitchen. The life seemed to be sucked out of the place. It looked dark and empty. Gone was the warmth of the stove and the hustle and bustle of dinner preparations.

Michaela saw Sully stood in his dark suite staring out of the window. She approached him and lay her hand on his back. "Brian is finally sleeping," She whispered her voice sounding horse to her own ears.

Sully turned towards Michaela slightly he wrapped his arm around her and continued to look out of the window. She looked up at him, a mask had settled over his face. He had been very quiet since Charlotte's death. It was beginning to worry her. "Tell me," She spoke.

He sighed and squeezed her a little. "Charlotte was a good friend to me. She sorta looked after me and Daniel when we first arrived here...She was a good woman,"

Her heart ached for him. "I'm sorry Sully...I only knew her a short time but she was a special woman," She reached for his hand and kissed the palm.

Sully looked down at her; he leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Sorta reminds me when my ma died. I was about Brian's age..."

"Oh Sully," She reached up to caress his face. She captured his hand once more and led him to the chair nearby. She made him sit and stepped behind him to massage his shoulders.

"She drowned in the Hudson River. I never forgave myself for not being there to rescue her," Sully took a deep breath. He was feeling good that he was telling her, but on the other hand feeling awful that he was reliving it.

Michaela leaned over and wrapped her arms around his shoulders feeling the great desire to comfort him. She kissed his temple. Sully reached for her hand and pulled her around to sit on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her. "What about you? How are ya?" He stroked her arm.

"I'm ok...I'm heartsick for the children...I don't know what to say to them," She sighed.

"There isn't much ya can say. Ya just need to be there for them if they need ya,"

"They barely know me Sully," Her shoulders dropped.

"I couldn't think of anyone better than you and I to look after those kids. We will be there for them. We'll do this together," he kissed her softly.

Michaela's heart swelled with love. "I love you so much," She kissed him again.

"I love you too," he smiled.

The Homestead

The next day Sully helped Michaela and the children move into the small homestead. The bank had seized the boarding house for none payment of loans. The children's home was now with Michaela. And when they married the children would come and live with the both of them.

"Brian this is your bed," Sully sat on the edge of a small bed in the alcove. Brian looked around curiously. He sat next to Sully and hung his head low. Sully placed his hand on the boys back comforting him.

"I know what you're going through Brian," He said softly.

Brian looked up at his idol. "Ya do?"

"Yeah...My ma died when I was about your age," He confessed.

"She did?" The boys' eye widened. "Did she die of a snake bite?"

"Nah," Sully didn't feel like confessing the whole story about his ma this was about Brian. "Your ma was real special...She was a good friend to me. But we'll look after ya and your brother and sister...We'll be there whenever ya need us and when me and Michaela marry you'll always have a home with us,"

Brian's eyes filled with tears. "Thanks Sully,"

Sully pulled the boy into his arms as he cried. Michaela walked in on this scene. She stopped in her tracks concerned. Sully looked up at her and gave her a reassuring smile that everything would be ok.

Later that night

Michaela placed her hands into the washing up bowl. She rinsed off the plate and placed it on the rack next to her. She was so lost in thought she didn't hear Sully creep up behind her until he wrapped her in his arms. He rested his chin on her shoulder.

"I best be going now...The kids are asleep and Mathew said he wants to stay in the barn,"

"Ok," She dried her hands in the nearby towel then turned to face him. Then wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"Ya gonna be ok here tonight?" His brow creased.

"We'll be fine," She nodded feeling a little less confident now it was time for him to go. Maybe it was the night-time that made everything seem scary.

As if reading her thoughts he said "I'll be close by if ya need me," He kissed her forehead.

"Thank you," She whispered.

"What for?" He smiled.

"For so much, Charlotte's passing has made me appreciate you so much more," She looked into his eyes.

Touching her temple, her eyes were beautiful. Leaning in he kissed her tenderly. Colleen rolled over and Michaela broke the kiss and looked over his shoulder at Colleen.

Sully stepped back from her. It was becoming increasingly hard for him to be around her like this. His heart beat wildly in his chest and he just seemed to lose control. Taking a deep breath he touched her arm. "I'll see ya in the morning,"

"Good night," She whispered as she showed him to the door. After closing the door she leaned against it and looked around at her new surroundings. She heard Colleen roll over again then she heard crying from Colleen's alcove. Moving closer Michaela touched Colleen's arm.

"Colleen sweetie?"

Colleen rolled over to face Michaela. Tears were in her eyes and her nose all red. "Oh Colleen..." Michaela sat on the edge of her bed and stroked her arm.

"I miss her Dr Mike," She sniffed.

Michaela caressed Colleen's golden hair. "Close your eyes," Michaela continued to caress Colleen's hair and hummed a little tune. Soon Colleen's breathing was even and she was resting comfortably.

A few weeks later

Now a few weeks had passed since Charlotte's death. Their lives began a new routine. Sully continued to work on the homestead and Mathew helped him whenever he could. Helping Sully do something useful and physical was helping him greave for his mother. And Sully was glad of the help as he was nearer to completing the homestead.

The structure was well on its way, from the outside it looked almost complete. Sully had begun work on the inside and erecting the barn. As he was so close to completing this spurred him on.

Michaela hadn't had many patients since coming to town so now she was spending her days with Colleen and Brian. She felt the children needed her with them in the weeks after Charlotte's death. Things seemed to be getting easier for them and now they were beginning to feel settled.

Colleen loved spending time with Michaela. As much as Michaela felt that she was taking them under her wing, Colleen felt like she was taking Michaela under her wing too. Michaela didn't have the usual homemaking skills a frontier woman would have. She couldn't even collect eggs without help!

Brian missed his ma something terrible but Michaela and Sully's reassurance that they would be there for him and his siblings made him feel better. He enjoyed living with Michaela and Sully. He could tell that they loved each other very much and it made him feel safe.

(Hope to update again soon)