Chapter 37
Warning: This chapter has a small amount of adult content that I'm not sure warrants a warning. But, I put one up anyway just in case.
Christmas Night 1870 – Colorado SpringsMichaela blindly searched the bedside table for the box of matches, and as soon as she found one, she struck it and lit the room aglow with a tiny flame. She held it to the wick of the oil lamp, and soon, the room glowed brightly with the light. She turned back toward Sully, seeing him for the first time in hours. His body was tired and full of satisfaction…as was hers.
He smiled at her, gently running his fingers through her now-tangled hair. The lamplight cast an orange glow to her already crimson cheeks.
"Good to see you again," he said with an exhausted chuckle, feasting his eyes on her bare body. She pulled a sheet around herself and blushed, tucking herself under his arm again.
"We probably shouldn't stay…like this," she said quietly, gently tracing circles on his chest with her fingers.
"I know," he said quietly. "I'll leave in a little bit. I just wanna hold ya a little longer." Michaela smiled, and she took in a slow breath, reveling in the feel of his arms around her. His hand picked up hers, and he gently kissed the engagement ring on her finger.
"It's hard to believe," she whispered, "that we've been engaged less than a month."
"Feels like a lot longer," he replied, gently kissing her forehead and then her eyelids. She smiled and wriggled under his touch, adjusting herself. "I love you."
"I love you," she breathed, pressing her warm, slightly swollen lips against his. A moment later, Sully's hand was on the oil lamp, and the room was bathed in darkness again. She suppressed a laugh, when he rolled her onto her back and devoured her mouth, kissing her with more fervor than before. She gasped for breath, when he pulled back, and she began to moan, as their bodies began to react.
"Michaela," he gasped, as she arched her back a little, and her breasts brushed against his chest. His fingers dove into her hair, causing tingling sensations to start at her scalp and move downward to every imaginable place.
Michaela was the first to hear the rumbling of a wagon coming through town. She gently pushed on Sully's chest, but he didn't seem to notice.
"DR. MIKE! DR. MIKE!"
"Sully!" Michaela hissed, hearing the voices outside. She and Sully quickly scrambled out of bed, tossing on their respective clothes before hurrying out into the hallway, thankful that Johnny's bedroom door was still closed.
"DR. MIKE! HELP!" Michaela hurried down the stairs and out of the boarding house with Sully right behind her. Matthew, Ingrid, and the children were all in the wagon.
"We weren't sure you'd be here," Brian said quickly, hopping out of the wagon as soon as it stopped.
"Don't worry, Ma. She's here. You're gonna be ok," Colleen said, wiping her blonde locks out of her face with the backs of her hands, as tears streamed down her cheeks, staining her blouse.
"Oh God," Michaela breathed. "Not Charlotte." She rushed over to the wagon and saw Charlotte lying unconscious inside, her breathing shallow. She glanced up at Matthew and then at Sully. "Let's get her inside."
Without a moment to spare, Sully and Matthew hoisted Charlotte into their arms and rushed into the boarding house. They hurried her up the stairs and to an empty room, where they placed her in bed. Michaela rushed upstairs with Ingrid, Colleen, Brian, and a sleeping baby Charlie.
"Wait out here," she instructed, toting her medical bag into the room and shutting the door behind her. She rushed to Charlotte's bedside and began to examine her. Without a word, Sully ushered himself and Matthew out into the hall to wait.
Inside, Michaela gently examined Charlotte and realized that the damage to her heart was more severe than it had been a few days ago.
"Charlotte?" Michaela gently squeezed the older woman's hand. "Charlotte? Can you hear me?" Charlotte's eyes slowly fluttered open, and Michaela smiled. "Don't try to speak, but if you can tell me by blinking…do you have anymore of that powder? The Digitalis? Blink once for yes and twice for no." Charlotte blinked twice, and Michaela nodded. "Alright." She frowned and searched through her medical bag, desperately emptying the contents out onto the bed. She found some of the medicine and quickly placed some in Charlotte's mouth. Charlotte grimaced at the bitterness, but Michaela gave her water to swallow it down with.
"Thanks, Dr. Mike," she said breathlessly.
"Just rest, Charlotte. Don't try to ta—"
"I wanna see my kids. I wanna…I wanna say goodbye."
"You're not going anywhere, Charlotte. You don't have to say goodbye." Charlotte frowned and shook her head.
"Please, Dr. Mike. I need to see 'em. Somethin' don't feel right." Knowing that she couldn't very well risk a woman not getting the chance to say goodbye to the children she loved so dearly, Michaela nodded and stood up.
"Are you feeling any better at all?"
"A little. Somethin'…somethin's off though." Michaela paused for a moment before nodding.
"Alright. I'll send the children in for a little while, but I want you to stay here tonight and rest." Charlotte nodded tiredly, finding it terribly ironic that the place she had been evicted from could very well be the place she was about to die.
In the hallway, Michaela sent Charlotte's children, Ingrid, and Charlie inside, while Sully leaned against the wall, watching her carefully.
"She gonna be ok?" he asked finally, hearing the door latch firmly in place.
"She's getting weaker, Sully," Michaela breathed. "I'm not sure…if there's anything I can do. She's a strong woman, but there's only so much a disposition can do for one's health." She frowned, the corners of her mouth threatening to spill forth a sob. Sully gently drew her into his embrace, and she wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his shoulder.
Johnny's door slowly opened, and he spied his father and future stepmother holding one another.
"What's goin' on?" he asked, rubbing his eyes in the dim hallway.
"Dr. Mike's just upset 'bout a patient, is all. Go back to sleep, son."
"But, Pa…" Johnny whined.
"Go on," Sully said, pointing to the door. "Ya need your rest." Johnny finally realized he wouldn't get his way, so he glanced at Michaela.
"Don't cry, Dr. Mike. Everything'll be alright." A moment later, he was shutting his bedroom door and going back to bed. Michaela tightly clutched Sully's shirt and cried tears of frustration. She hated the idea of losing a patient, especially one as kind and good-hearted as Charlotte Cooper.
"C'mon. Let's go downstairs…fix some coffee. Sounds like it's gonna be a long night," Sully said soothingly. Michaela merely nodded her head and began to descend the stairs with Sully at her side.
She sat shivering in her cot, as the cool night air pressed uncomfortably against her tanned skin. She felt as if she couldn't breathe, and every part of her body ached, as she sat in the darkness, not daring to turn on a lamp to look at herself. No. She couldn't. She couldn't see herself like this.
"Carrie?"
"Papa," she whispered. No! He couldn't see her. He couldn't. She had to hide. She had to wash away the pain and the filthiness. So, she gathered a few items and rushed out of the back of the tent before he could see her. She could still hear Jack's taunting laugh, as he told his tale to the other cowboys. The laugh turned to drunken screams, and she couldn't hold it in any longer. She fell to her knees, vomiting in the sandy grass.
A coyote howled nearby, and she picked herself up, not caring where she led herself. She didn't care. She just wanted to get away from his laugh, his screams, his eyes, his touch. She'd never felt so humiliated. She'd never hated herself more.
Christmas 1870 – On a Train to Nevada
Carrie's eyes flew open as the train passed through a black tunnel. She couldn't see anything. She felt as if she couldn't breathe. She felt sick. She reached out, but her hands hit the windowpane.
"No…" she whimpered. "I can't…I…" She found herself banging her knee against the wall of the train car, and she grimaced, feeling pain shoot throughout her body.
"Carrie?" She felt two hands seize her, and she tried to scream out. But her mouth tasted bitter, and her throat was dry and scratchy. His hands held firmly to her struggling arms in the darkness, and she kicked, trying to stop her captor.
"No!"
"Carrie! It's me!"
"No! Not again! I don't want…" He knelt down beside her, and he wrapped her in his arms. She struggled relentlessly through the darkness, but when the train emerged from the tunnel, moonlight replaced the darkness, and Carrie saw the sweet eyes of Daniel.
"It's just me," he promised. "I think ya were dreamin'."
"Let go of me," she demanded, wriggling out of his arms. He did as she asked, but he didn't move from his place kneeling beside her.
"Carrie?"
"Just get away from me, please. Ya don't want nothin' to do with me. Ya don't. I just…I don't deserve you." She pushed him away and slammed the door to her compartment shut, leaving a stunned Daniel staring at the oak doors in his face. Slowly, he stood and moved across to his compartment, uncertain of how to react to her pushing him away. It was then that he realized she needed a lot more than he'd been giving her.
December 1870 – Colorado Springs
"Michaela? Michaela." Michaela's eyes slowly opened, and she immediately felt the discomfort in her neck and other joints. She had slept sitting on the floor of the boarding house downstairs with her head resting upon Sully's shoulder all night long.
"I fell asleep," she moaned. "Oh no! Sully, I was supposed to check on Charlotte!" Before he could react, she was scrambling up off of the floor and rushing dizzily up the stairs. When she arrived, all of the children were spread out in cots throughout the room. Baby Charlie was sleeping against his father's chest. Michaela smiled in relief at the sight but momentarily wondered where they'd gotten the cots.
"I'm still here, Doc," Charlotte said with a weak smile from her bed. Michaela gently tiptoed across the floor and sat down on the edge of Charlotte's bed.
"How are you feeling?"
"Better than I was."
"I should have been back to town sooner."
"Ya couldn't help that," Charlotte replied, minding the volume of her voice as to not wake the children. She eyed the doctor. "Did you and Sully and Johnny work things out?" Michaela nodded, opening her medical bag.
"We did. I think everything is going to be alright," she announced, trying not to let her cheeks blush.
"And rumor has it that Sully was shot," Charlotte said, raising an eyebrow.
"He…he was. He's fine now," Michaela replied, fumbling with the instruments in her bag. Charlotte reached out and touched Michaela's hand.
"Just fine?"
"Yes," Michaela said with a nod. "We…we've set a wedding date."
"Have ya?" Michaela nodded.
"May twentieth." Charlotte raised an eyebrow.
"Ain't that a little far away?" Michaela's cheeks flushed. Did she know? How could she?
"Well, it'll give Sully time to build the house the way we want, and…" She glanced over her shoulder, feeling anxious about having this conversation in front of Charlotte's sleeping children and grandchild.
"I see," Charlotte said with a smile. "I just figured ya'll would be getting married a little sooner."
"Why's that?" Michaela asked with worry in her eyes, feeling nervous. Charlotte was a very smart woman, and she had the feeling that she could see right through her at that moment.
"I was young and in love myself once," she said quietly. "I know." Michaela swallowed hard.
"You…you do?" She couldn't believe she was having such a conversation. "Charlotte…" Charlotte sat up in bed a little.
"Need any advice?" Charlotte offered.
"About?" Michaela stiffened.
"Anything?" she asked. "I know how hard it is to struggle with how you're feelin'. Sometimes things…things happen, and…" Michaela suddenly felt as if Charlotte was her mother, trying to teach her to learn from her mother's mistakes.
"Charlotte," Michaela said with a blush.
"Look. All I know is that I ain't never seen Sully so happy. Not even with Abagail." Michaela swallowed hard at the mention of the woman who'd been there before her. Charlotte sensed that she needed to change the subject, so she relaxed against her pillow.
"D'you and Sully and the boy get along alright here last night?"
"Y…yes," Michaela said with a start.
"I mean, 'fore we came burstin' in."
"We managed," Michaela said mildly, not sure of what else to say.
"This place…this house," she said with a sigh. "I had a lot of good years here, and I know it's time to be movin' on."
"I wish I'd been here. I could have given you the money."
"That's sweet, Doc, but no thanks. I know why I got kicked out, and it was a long time comin'. I'm just grateful I got to stay as long as I did."
"It isn't fair that they did this to you."
"It was fair, Doc. I ain't been able to make my payments in a long time." Michaela frowned sadly. "Say…you probably ain't had time to find a place to set up your clinic, have ya?"
"Not yet, but I intend to look today."
"No need," Charlotte said with wide, sparkling eyes.
"What?"
"Buy this place. The banker'll be comin' to town 'fore too long. You could make this your clinic," Charlotte announced. Michaela swallowed hard at Charlotte's suggestion and shook her head.
"Charlotte, I couldn't do that."
"Why not?"
"This was your home!"
"So?" she asked in a hushed whisper, when Brian stirred from his cot.
"So, I just wouldn't feel right about it." Michaela took out her stethoscope to listen to Charlotte's heart. "Breathe in for me." Charlotte eyed Michaela and did as she was told.
"Dr. Mike," Charlotte began, as Michaela withdrew the instrument. Michaela's eyes met her. "I had a lot of good years in this place, and I'm lucky to have a son that's willin' to put up with me at his home. Now, I wouldn't begrudge it if ya wanted to buy this place. Ya need a good place to care for patients. This is the only place in town with so many rooms and enough space. I seen ya lookin' around. I knew you were picturin' it."
"Charlotte," Michaela said quietly.
"What? Or ain't this place good enough for ya?" she teased.
"Of course it is," Michaela replied quickly. "I just couldn't…well, knowing that you…"
"I'll make this easy on ya, Doc. I want ya to buy it. It's a reasonable price, and if ya have the cash, I'm sure there ain't gonna be no problem. I don't want just anybody to buy it for the highest bid. I want somebody to buy it who'll use it to do some good. I want somebody here that understands the memories…" She sighed softly. "This town needs a good doctor, and a good doctor needs herself a good clinic."
"Ma?" Brian sat up in his cot.
"Promise me you'll think about it?" Charlotte asked. Michaela smiled slowly.
"I promise." Charlotte winked.
"Good."
"I'll let you rest now. I'll bring you back something to eat from the café." Charlotte nodded, and Michaela left the room, closing everyone inside behind her. As she was heading toward the staircase, she heard a tiny yelp from Johnny's room. She slowly moved toward the door and tapped on it.
"Come in," Johnny called tiredly. Michaela smiled and opened the door, seeing a tired boy sitting with three wolf pups in his lap.
"Good morning."
"Mornin'," he replied, rubbing his eyes.
"Did you sleep alright?"
"No," he grumbled. "The pups…well…they're a lot of work." Michaela nodded, trying to hide her amusement.
"Yes they are," she replied.
"Oh, but don't tell Pa! I can take care of 'em. I really can!"
"If you want one of us to take them tonight, just let us know, Johnny." He only nodded.
"I'll be fine."
"Are you hungry?"
"A little."
"Hurry up and get dressed. Your father and I will take you to Grace's."
"Okay," he yawned. Michaela laughed a little and reached down to caress Snowball's soft coat.
"You're doing a wonderful job with them, Johnny." She gave him a reassuring smile before disappearing out into the hallway. When she made it back downstairs, Sully was standing there with two baskets full of food. "Sully?"
"Grace brought these over. Said she figured we'd be hungry. One basket's for us…the rest is for Charlotte and her family. Care to join me?" Michaela smiled happily, as Sully placed the baskets down on a chair and moved over to swoop her up into his arms.
"Sully!" she laughed, feeling lighter than air in his arms. He didn't let her down until he got a good morning kiss out of her. She laughed, as he placed her feet back on the floor.
"How's Charlotte?"
"She's holding her own this morning," Michaela replied quietly. "She's trying to convince me to buy this place."
"Why don't ya?"
"I wouldn't feel right, Sully."
"Let me guess. She told ya she wanted ya to buy it, but ya still don't feel right, 'cause it was her home." Michaela narrowed her eyes.
"Have you been eavesdropping?"
"Nope. I just know Charlotte." His hands found hers. "And I know you. You got a good heart. Just remember…Charlotte don't say things she don't mean. She wants ya to buy this place, Michaela. She believes in ya." He kissed her softly. "And so do I."
"Thank you," she whispered coyly. She cleared her throat and stepped away, grabbing one of the baskets. "Let me take this to Charlotte, and I'll come back down with Johnny."
"Don't be too long," he replied, leaning in for another kiss. The fact that he enjoyed spending so much time with her thrilled her, but she had a feeling that if Charlotte could sense what was going on, others could too.
With a shaky breath, she ascended the stairs, hoping Charlotte wouldn't bring up the reservation stay again.
December 1870 – On a Train to Colorado Springs
"Mother? Is everything alright?" Rebecca asked, as she touched her mother's shoulder.
Elizabeth had just woken from a dream that had shaken her to her very core.
"Yes. Yes, I'm fine," she stammered.
"What on earth were you dreaming about? You woke with such a start…"
"Nothing. It was nothing. I'd like to go back to sleep." Rebecca shook her head but went back to working on her knitting.
Elizabeth gently placed her hand to her forehead. Her dream had been so real. So vivid. It terrified her, and she only hoped she got to Michaela before the nightmare came true. Something told her she had just had a glimpse into the future.