Michaela was settling in nicely with Katie. She had been home for two weeks. Sully checked in a few times per week. He wanted to give her some time and space so she could bond with her. He knew how special the early days were. He had only been a father for a few months himself but it felt like it had been ages since Hannah was born.

She was sitting in the recliner in Katie's room, watching her as she slept. This was a very peaceful time for her. It had become part of her routine. She reminisced about David and how happy he would have been now. Katie had his blue eyes and dark hair. She vowed that Katie would know who her father was. She rose and leaned over the crib to gently rub her back.

"I love you, sweet girl," she murmured. She grabbed the baby monitor and took it downstairs to the kitchen. She poured a cup of coffee and went to sit on the front porch. It was still early morning and the sun was just now rising over Pikes Peak. This was her favorite time of day. The world was still quiet and she could be alone with her thoughts. There was a soft, gentle breeze with a slight chill to it. She felt it caress her face as she leaned back against the chair and closed her eyes. She listened to the birds chirping and relaxed while listening to their songs. This was certainly something that you cannot hear in Boston, she thought.

She heard her phone ringing on the living room table. She quickly rose to make sure she reached it before it stopped ringing.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Hi, Michaela," Rebecca answered.

"Rebecca! I've missed you, how is your ankle?"

"The doctor says I am completely healed!" Rebecca gushed.

"That is great news! Now when are you coming out for a visit?"

"Well, that is why I am calling," she began, excitedly. "What days are best for you?"

"How does this weekend sound?" Michaela offered.

"Perfect! I will see you then," Rebecca responded.

"I am looking forward to seeing you and can't wait for you to meet Katie! She looks a lot like David," Michaela replied.

"I can't wait to meet her and spoil her. I will see you in a few days. I love you."

"I love you too," Michaela answered.

Michaela ended the call and placed the phone back on the table. Oh my! I have so much to do to get the house ready for Rebecca's visit! She thought to herself.

She sat at the kitchen table to make a list of items when she heard Katie starting to stir on the baby monitor.

"Good morning, Katie," she cooed at her newborn. Michaela picked her up and cuddled her closely. She changed her diaper and put on a fresh gown. She settled on the sofa to nurse her when she heard a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"It's Sully."

"Come in, Sully," she answered.

He came in and closed the door behind him. Sully looked down at Michaela and Katie. They made such a beautiful sight. His heart swelled with love for them both. He shifted Hannah on his hip. She was growing heavier by the day. They settled on the chair across the living room from Michaela.

"How are you doing, Sully?" she asked.

"Things are going well. I finished up another large furniture order last night. This will free up more time for me and Hannah….and you," he answered, patting Hannah's back. He looked at her after he finished talking, not sure how she would take that but it didn't appear to have bothered her.

"I'm glad you will have some free time, my sister, Rebecca, is coming out for a visit in a few days to see Katie."

"That is great! What do you think about having a small party?" he asked.

Michaela mulled over the thought of a party. She still had so much she wanted to do to get the house just the way she wanted it.

"I don't know, Sully, it sounds like it would be fun but I have so much left to finish here," she answered.

"We could do a barbeque in my backyard," he reasoned. "That way it will remove the stress of preparations from you."

"That sounds like a fun idea," Michaela agreed.

"Why don't you and Katie come over in a couple of hours and we can set up a menu."

"That sounds lovely, Sully. Thank you for offering," she stated, moving to rise from the sofa.

"No, please don't get up," he stated, moving toward her. "You have your hands full," he smiled, leaning over to give her a kiss. Sully let himself out and quietly shut the door behind him.

A couple of hours later, Michaela and Katie arrived at Sully's front door. She quietly knocked. Wolf announced her visit with a loud yelp. Sully called after Wolf and announced for her to come in.

Michaela opened the door to see Sully on his hands and knees on the floor cleaning up Cheerios with Hannah in her high chair excitedly clapping her hands. She suppressed a chuckle at the amusing display.

'What happened here?" she asked, smiling, putting the baby carrier down next to her on the floor.

Sully scooped up the last of the cereal and stood up. "Hannah is discovering snack time is more fun when the food is thrown on the floor," he answered, laughing.

"I see that!" she mentioned, no longer able to control her laughter anymore.

"So you think that is funny?" he teased, walking toward her.

Sully gently grabbed her wrists and pulled her close to him. He put his arms around her waist. She felt her heart rate speed up. He gazed into her eyes with an amused smile on his face. She felt her face flush with warmth. He was mere inches from her lips. Sully had this special way of looking right into her soul. She relaxed and let him pull her closer until their lips met. She felt the tingle of his touch. She raised her hands to his neck and entwined her hands in his hair. He had such thick, soft hair.

He trailed kisses along her neck to her ear. This made her shiver with excitement. She felt his hands sliding up her back to cup the back of her neck. She felt herself drowning in his touch. This felt so good and it had been so long since she'd had such close, intimate contact with someone.

As he continued to trail kisses down her throat, Michaela was afraid they would get carried away if she didn't pull away. After all, the babies were in the room with them. Darn my sensibilities! She thought to herself.

"Sully," she whispered, barely audible.

"Hmmm?" he absently answered as he continued to trail kisses along her collarbone.

"I think we should stop," she stated, without conviction. "The girls are in the room with us."

Sully reluctantly pulled back from her. He touched his forehead to hers and emitted a low rumble in his throat.

"Michaela, you have no idea what you do to me! He stepped back to look at her.

She blushed and looked toward the floor. She needed to calm her nerves and change the subject.

"Perhaps we should discuss what we want to serve at the barbeque?"

Just then Michaela heard her phone ring in her bag.

"Excuse me, Sully," she stated and picked up her bag next to Katie's carrier.

"Hello?" she asked, somewhat annoyed.

"Michaela Quinn?" the person on the other end asked.

"Yes, whom may I ask is calling?"

Sully picked up Hannah from her high chair and turned to look at her, a concerned look on his face.

"Hi, this is William. William Burke," he answered.

"Hi, William," she answered.

Sully grew concerned at the mention of his name. He needed to ask Michaela about him. There was something about William that caused her distress. He walked up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and looked at him. He gave her quiet strength.

"I'm not able to talk right now, can I call you later?" she disconnected the call and put the phone down.

"Want to talk about it?" Sully asked.

Michaela took Katie from her carrier and sat down at the table. "Sully, I don't want to involve you in my past problems," she answered.

He moved to sit down next to her. "Michaela, you can tell me anything," he replied, caressing her hand.

She knew that this was something that she should get off her chest. It was something that happened so long ago, it was time to close that chapter.

"Sully," she began, trying to get her thoughts in order. "William and I were introduced by mutual friends. We dated for a while before I met David. There was no hint of his true personality in the beginning. He was charming to everyone around him but when we were alone, he was a different person. As time progressed, he became more controlling and possessive of me. This went on for a while. I was afraid of doing anything to upset him out of fear of what he may do.

Sully felt his heart break for Michaela. What kind of man treats a woman like that? He saw a tear slip from her eyes. He leaned closer and wiped them away with his thumb. She touched his wrist and smiled. He gave her such strength.

"I met David in medical school and he gave me the strength to leave William. No one believed me or understood that he was capable of anything improper."

"I'm glad that David helped you to get away from him," Sully mentioned.

"Yes, he urged me to stop all contact immediately. I didn't tell William that I was leaving the relationship, I just stopped answering his calls. In retrospect, I probably should have handled that differently." She reasoned.

"Michaela, you did what you thought was best."

"Thank you, Sully. I can't believe after all this time that I ran into him out here on one of the happiest days of my life," she lamented.

"It's probably for the best. As one door opens, another should close," Sully mentioned.

"Yes, I suppose you could be right. I will call him later tonight."

"Do you want me to be there with you?" he asked.

"No, I should be okay, but thanks for offering."

"Well, how about we get these plans together?" Sully asked, getting up from the table.

"Yes! Let's do that!" she cried, grateful for the change of subject.

Later that night, Katie was settled in bed. Michaela decided it was the right time to call William. She settled on the sofa to call. Her heart was pounding in anticipation of bringing up the past and her memories.

She dialed his number. "Hello?" he asked.

"William, this is Michaela," she stated, a little nervous.

"Michaela, it's nice to hear from you. I was beginning to wonder if you were avoiding me." Michaela cringed slightly at those words. This brought a lot of hurt to the surface that she thought was gone.

"Look, William, we need to move forward from the past," She began, steeling her nerves. "We had our difficulties in our relationship."

"I don't know what you are talking about," he stated.

"Don't you remember the way you treated me?" Michaela asked, finding it hard to believe he didn't recall anything.

"Now, Michaela, you know I didn't mean any harm by anything I did. It's just my way, I guess," he answered. "What I don't understand is why you just stopped answering my calls?"

"William, I can't understand why you would think it's okay for the way you treated me? You never let me go anywhere or do anything without you around!" She could feel her blood starting to boil. How dare he brush her feelings under the rug like they didn't matter.

She had changed since she last talked to William. David had helped her rebuild her self-confidence and self-worth.

"Now, Michaela," he said. "I never realized you felt that I treated you wrong."

"You did and it scared me that's why I stopped responding to your calls."

"Michaela, I never knew you had issues with our relationship but this explains why I never heard from you again."

'William, I tried to talk to you but you never wanted to listen to me."

"Michaela, I apologize for any misunderstanding between us. But I assure you that I never meant to make you feel bad. But I don't feel I did anything wrong."

She couldn't believe she had just heard him apologize to her, albeit, an offhanded one.

"William, I must go. At least we partially cleared the air. I am in a good place now and don't wish you any ill will but please do not contact me again."

With that she disconnected the call. She was upset but she was much stronger this time than when they were dating. She had much better things to look forward to and she was letting this go.

Michaela was pouring a glass of water in the kitchen when she heard a knock at the door. She checked the peep hole and discovered it was Sully and Hannah. She opened the door quickly, thinking something was wrong.

"Sully, is everything okay?" she asked, concerned.

"Yes! I was just checking on you. Did you talk with William?"

"Yes, I just finished speaking with him. Everything is as good as it will be. I am glad to put the past to rest."

"Now, we can look forward to having fun this weekend!" Sully stated.

"I can't wait!" she kissed him soundly on the lips. In her relief to be finished with confronting William and the excitement of her sister coming, she let her inhibitions drop a little. She didn't realize what she did until she saw Sully's reaction.

I'm sorry! She cried, embarrassed. "I don't know what I was thinking."

Sully loved that about Michaela. She could be shy and demure but also bold and self-confident. He felt his blood heat up with her kiss. Oh how he loved her! He couldn't wait for the barbeque, he had something special planned for her!