Colleen walked right into Andrew's clinic that afternoon to see him looking in a medical textbook. She stood there for a moment not wanting to interrupt him. She always loved how passionate he was about his work and the people he cared for. After a few minutes, he looked up and saw her standing there.

"Oh Colleen, it's wonderful to see you." Andrew smiled. Then he walked over to her and kissed her. She smiled.

"I have something I want to tell you." He tilted his head.

"Is something wrong?" Colleen shook her head happily.

"Oh no, there's nothing wrong. It's good news. I promise."

"Alright." He stood in the middle of the clinic holding the book in his hand, but he couldn't take his eyes off of the love of his life.

"I've been doing some thinking and I want to get married as soon as possible."

"Are you sure?" Andrew asked. Colleen nodded.

"Of course." She smiled. "I finished my last year in Denver, and I'll be home all the time. There is no better time for us to get married." Andrew hugged her and then stood back to look at her. He took her hands in his.

"What about your Ma?" Colleen shook her head.

"It's alright; we don't have to worry about her. She'll be happy for us, eventually. She thinks that we're getting married too early, but that's because she and Pa waited so long. I'm out of school and I'll be in Colorado Springs. I can stay and help you in your clinic and be there for Ma." She paused. "But the point is Andrew, I want to marry you. You asked me and I said yes; and I want to be married as soon as possible."

"I just don't know if we should if your Ma doesn't agree." Andrew stated. One thing Colleen loved about him was how considerate he was of other people, but it was times like this that it conflicted with their true feelings for one another.

"Andrew, she'll get used to the idea. We just have to agree to get married."

"I don't know if I can do that." Andrew replied. "I love you Colleen, and I'll love you even more so when your Ma is ready to give you up."

"I'm not a child anymore Andrew. Ma doesn't have to dictate my decisions anymore."

"Colleen."

"Andrew." She stated and looked at him. Then she walked towards the door.

"Don't go." Colleen turned around and looked at him. "It's not that I don't want to marry you, but I know you'll want your family to be there and I don't want to get married without them. My father won't come in from Boston and so we'll want your family to be there."

"If you are expecting me to choose my family over you, it'll never happen. I love you, but I don't know if I can wait for you to decide what you want." Colleen walked out of the clinic. She had been anticipating the conversation with Andrew to set a wedding date. Unfortunately she never realized he wouldn't want to marry her.

Matthew looked up from the desk in the sheriff's office in time to see Andrew walk in.

"Andrew?" Matthew asked and stood up. Andrew nodded and took off his hat. "Are you okay?"

"I'm here to talk about Colleen. Have you seen her recently?" Matthew shook his head.

"I haven't seen her in a few days. Last time I talked to her was in the church cemetery." Andrew gave him a strange look. "Colleen was trying to find some answers that were different than what Ma and Pa said. She wonders what Ma would think."

"Colleen mentioned that when I first asked her to marry me." Matthew nodded.

"Ma and Pa are just worried that she's not going to go to medical school."

"I don't want her to give up medical school Matthew. I'd follow her to Pennsylvania, or I could wait for her until she got home."

"That's what she's afraid of. She thinks she'll lose you if she goes to medical school." Andrew shook his head.

"That won't happen. I love your sister and no amount of time will change that."

"Did you tell her that?" Matthew asked and Andrew shook his head no.

"She didn't give me the chance. When I didn't tell her right away that I wanted to marry her just as soon as she wanted to marry me, she took it that I didn't want to marry her and she left the clinic. When I went to look for her I couldn't find her." Matthew nodded.

"Colleen's that way sometimes. She'll come around Andrew. I know my sister."

"I hope so. I thought I knew her too."

Michaela waited for as long as she could stand it standing downstairs after Colleen ran past her. She'd been upstairs alone for about half an hour when she rushed up the stairs and knocked on the door.

"I don't wanna talk about it." Colleen said through the door. Michaela cracked the door.

"Please let me in." Michaela said. "I want to talk to you.

"Alright." Michaela walked in and sat on the bed. Colleen was lying across the bed. "You got what you wanted." She said without looking at her mother.

"What do you mean?" Michaela asked. She touched Colleen's back.

"Andrew doesn't want to marry me because you don't want us to."

"I never said that." Michaela rebutted. Colleen sat up and looked at her.

"Of course you did! You didn't want me to get married because you wanted to control me just like grandma tried to control you." Michaela shook her head.

"I want you to be happy Colleen, but I think if you waited until after medical school you'd be happier. You could practice medicine with Andrew and you could work together." Colleen turned to her.

"I could work in the clinic with him now." She exclaimed angrily. Michaela rubbed her back.

"I'm sorry that you feel that I've hurt you in some way, but I think you'll both appreciate it in the long run." Colleen looked at her.

"Ma, you have made me lose my chance with Andrew. It won't happen again. If I find somebody else that I could feel as strongly for as I did Andrew, I'm not going to wait. You may not even know about it. For years you've said that you did everything for us, but now, I see that you've just done it for yourself." She stood up and stormed out of the room.

"Colleen."