Chapter 10
When Michaela sat in the BMW again, her pulse was racing. Clenching the steering wheel and pressing her brow against it, she tried to calm down. She didn't succeed though her heart refused to believe what her mind suggested. She desperately looked for a simple explanation for Sully being half naked in this woman's apartment. And now she remembered that Catherine only wore a bathrobe as well. And what about the table? It hadn't been set for a simple meal but an intimate dinner, with candles and roses on it. But the most disturbing question for Michaela was why Sully was spending time with Miss Miller when she herself didn't even know that he was back. Had she been blind once again and not seen what was right under her nose all the time?
Yet at this point, her heart overruled her mind and made her stop following this line of thought. She couldn't spend her life doubting, and deep inside she knew that Sully would never cheat on her; they had already been through too much together for that. He was the most honorable man she'd ever met and she trusted him with all her being.
As her hands finally ceased to tremble, she started the car. She had to hurry if she didn't want to be late at the hospital. Yet one question stayed and continued to distract her: why hadn't he called yet?
When she drove into the parking space before the Bray's house, curiosity and the remnants of insecurity got the better of her. Pulling out her cell phone, she dialed his number. She needed to hear his voice again but she waited for it in vain. He didn't take her call. Frowning, she stared at the mute item in her hand. If there weren't two little girls waiting for their bedtime story and her shift due to start in forty minutes, she would turn right back to Sully's apartment without thinking twice and find out what was going on there.
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After he finished fixing the faucet in Catherine's kitchen, Sully didn't take more time than was necessary to get showered and pull on fresh clothes. It was quite late and he feared that his little girls would already be asleep when he arrived at Michaela's, but at least he could see them. And then he would tend to Michaela…
The dreamy look in his eyes vanished though as he pulled the van to halt and noticed that her windows were dark. Maybe Michaela had had a hard day as well and was asleep, too. Well, then at least he could snuggle close to her, hold her…
Sully only took every second step as he rushed up to her apartment. As quietly as possible he unlocked the door and crept into the narrow hallway. Yet a strange silence engulfed him as he stood there and listened. Even before he opened the children's door he knew that the room would be empty.
For a moment he lost the ability to think clearly. What if Michaela had grown tired of waiting for him and had gone back to Boston? After all, she hadn't heard anything from him for ten days. Hesitantly, he eventually turned on the light, his heart thumping heavily against his ribs. Yet as soon as he could see his surroundings, Sully calmed down. This apartment hadn't been abandoned, not for longer than a few hours anyway. The children's shoes were still there and they didn't exactly stand neatly in a row. Michaela's favorite cardigan lay over the small table by the wall and the kitchen door was wide open. Sighing in relief, the smile returned to Sully's face. He was home.
Now he only had to figure out where his three favorite women were. Knowing that Hannah had a hard time missing him, Michaela could have decided to sleep in his apartment tonight. Maybe they had passed each other on the road without knowing it.
Determined to call his own number, he entered the living room, striding straight to the phone. Grinning with anticipation, he pushed the numbers but only to hear the beep-beep of an empty line.
At a loss for what to do now, Sully let himself fall on the couch. With his thoughts still at his apartment, the first idea that came to his mind was to call Catherine. Maybe she had seen Michaela and the kids.
He had to wait a while until she picked up. She sounded annoyed when she mumbled, "Hello?"
"It's me," Sully simply replied. "Are Michaela and the kids at my apartment?"
The time Catherine needed for her response was too long for his liking and thus he went on, more urgently now, "What's wrong? Somethin' happened?"
Before he could get worked up even more, Catherine finally spoke, "If she's mad I'll talk to her, if you want me to. I'll explain that she has nothing to fear from my side…"
"What the hell are ya talkin' about?" Sully cut her off, in complete bewilderment. "What has this got to do with you?"
At the other end of the line Catherine realized that there was obviously trouble in paradise. Completely forgetting Marc's presence, she prepared herself for playing the role of the understanding friend. "I'm so sorry, Sully. If she knew you as well I do, she would know that she can trust you…"
"Catherine!" Sully was almost yelling now, "What have ya done?"
"Nothing," she replied, sounding indignant now. "It's not my fault if she draws the wrong conclusions."
Letting out a long breath, Sully took the receiver from his ear, gripping it tightly. Closing his eyes he tried to get his rising temper under control, reminding himself that he wouldn't find out anything if he kept screaming.
When he finally spoke again, he sounded somewhat composed. "Catherine, I need ta know what happened."
Now it was Catherine's part to be puzzled until it finally dawned on her. "She didn't talk to you?"
"'Bout what?" Sully's impatience was shining through again, "Ya ain't makin' sense!"
Catherine audibly enjoyed the situation as she explained, "Well, I guess your fiancée wasn't happy to find you in my apartment, wearing nothing but your jeans." And saucily she added, "You were a nice sight, by the way." She was laughing openly now.
Sully, however, didn't go along with her. He still tried to digest the news, "Michaela was there?"
"Yes, she came when I was about to leave your apartment and when I went there the second time, she heard you call for me. That was when I told her to feel free to meet you in my kitchen. I'm coming!" Obviously the last words were directed at her guest for she continued, "I gotta go, Sully. Good luck!"
Sully heard her still laughing when she put the phone down. Stunned, he looked at the receiver, trying to picture the situation Michaela had seen. He had been shirtless and Catherine only wore a bathrobe. But that wasn't all; he was in her apartment and since he had seen the table set for two, Michaela had seen it as well.
Panic began to rise inside of him. Sure, Michaela should trust him but he knew about her past with David. She was still vulnerable…
Knowing that he had to find her as quickly as possible he considered where she could be. Deciding to first call the hospital, he eventually hung up before he dialed again.
"Pediatric ward, Nurse Becky. What can I…"
"Becky," Sully cut her off, "Thank God it's you. Is Mi… Dr. Quinn there?"
"Mr. Sully?" The young nurse sounded insecure.
"Yeah, it's me. Sorry for bein' rude but I'm desperately lookin' for Michaela. Do ya know…" he asked almost breathlessly.
"Dr. Mike is here; she's on the night shift." Noticing how upset Mr. Sully was, Becky's professional instinct made her say exactly the words that were needed so as to calm the man down. "She said you might call, and she asked me to tell you that Katie and Hannah are staying with the Brays."
This was news Sully hadn't expected. Taken aback, he needed a minute to sort his thoughts. Becky waited patiently to find out whether there was something else he wanted to know and at last he spoke again, "Did she say when she'll be back home?"
He heard the smile in the nurse's tone when she replied, "In case you asked, I am to tell you she hopes to talk to you in the morning." Anticipating his next question she added, "If there is no emergency, she should leave here around six."
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Sully had called Maude to ask if he could come over in order to see Hannah and Katie, but she had talked him out of it. Waking up the little girls in the middle of the night was not such a good idea. Abigail's mother even asked him not to show up in the morning for the children would be torn about what to do. On the one hand they would want to stay at home with Sully but on the other hand they had looked forward to the day at the kindergarten for a photographer was due to come. In the end they agreed that Maude would take the girls to school, keeping his presence a secret, and Sully would just fetch them early.
After the discussion with Maude, all adrenaline suddenly left Sully's body and tiredness overwhelmed him. Thus he went to Michaela's bedroom. On his way there he pulled his shirt over his head. He barely noticed how he, once sitting on the bed, automatically got rid of all the other clothes as well, apart from his boxer shorts. He was already asleep before he even laid his head on the pillow.
When Michaela came home, she found him still in her bed. She had called Maude before she left the hospital and learned about the agreement with Sully as well as getting a moment to say hello to her daughters. Hannah and Katie didn't mind that Grandma Bray would take them to the kindergarten; they were already excited about the photographs. These wouldn't be the usual ones, with each child sitting on a chair. The pictures were to be taken for a brochure about the school and of course the little girls hoped to be in the pictures that would be chosen.
Remaining on the threshold of her room, Michaela considered whether to let Sully sleep and take a nap herself. Yet she knew she wouldn't be able to rest and relax without hearing an explanation. That was why she eventually decided to make herself a coffee and wake him after she drank it.
She had barely stepped into the hallway when she heard his voice, "Wait!"
As she pivoted around, he already stood across from her. It was obvious that he had just risen from a sound sleep. He couldn't really focus yet and ran his hand through his hair as to brush it out of his face. "Michaela," he instantly began though, fearing she would leave before he had the opportunity to explain himself, "What ya saw last night…. It's not what ya thought." She didn't budge but waited for him to go on. "When I got there she needed my help. The faucet of her kitchen sink was broken and the water jet was soakin' the room and her… and then me, too."
Sully paused for a moment to see whether he was getting through to her. She still refused to meet his gaze, yet at least she slowly nodded.
His words made sense to her. However, there was still the dinner for two...
As if reading her mind, he gave the explanation, "She was waitin' for her new boyfriend, Marc, but he wasn't there yet. I couldn't deny her my help, Michaela."
He waited again, knowing that their relationship had to pass this test. If not, they were in serious trouble. Would she trust him?
Before the silence grew too long as to separate them, Michaela lifted her head. Everything sounded logical and all the pieces had fallen in place. Yet one question still remained and she needed to see his expression when she asked it. "Why haven't you called me?" she finally whispered.
"Wanted to surprise ya," he simply replied, holding her gaze.
Seeing it in her eyes that she believed him, his face broke into a wide smile as he raised an eyebrow, announcing cheekily, "Surprise!"
"Oh Sully!" Michaela threw her arms around his neck, and he didn't hesitate to hold her as close as possible.
While the uncomfortable tension between them had dissipated, another one was building up.
Michaela only now became aware that he wore close to nothing. His body still radiated the warmth of sleep and again she marveled at the strong muscles under his skin and softness of the fine curls on his chest. She noticed the change of his heartbeat and felt her own starting to speed up as well.
Sully wasn't sure whether he could do what he wanted the most: just scoop her into his arms and then carry her to the bed. Trying to maintain some composure for her sake, he loosened his embrace and brought some distance between their bodies. Clearing his throat he wondered, "Where were ya headin'?"
Yet Michaela had enough room now to see the full length of his body and was distracted when she replied, "The kitchen."
And then she couldn't help herself. She had never believed that she would once have the nerve to give a saucy comment but now she did. After considering his boxer shorts she gave him a playful smile, "After Katie slept over at yours for the first time, she told me that you had Snoopy shorts. It's nice to finally meet them; they suit you."
However, as soon as the words were spoken, she blushed heavily. Yet Sully didn't give her time to go back to her old, rather shy self. Without warning he whisked her off her feet and took her to the bed, already starting to place light kisses wherever her skin was exposed to him.
Feeling his warm lips was Michaela's undoing. Desire skittered through her stomach making her stop thinking. She helped him to get rid of her clothes and when they both wore nothing but their skin, their bodies united almost immediately. Their movements held an urgency that would have frightened her if she had noticed it. But she didn't; rather she craved for more. He did, too.
Neither could tell afterwards how much time was gone, but they didn't care anyway. They had sealed their pact of love again, that was all that counted. Contented, they lay in each other's arms, simply savoring their being together again.
Although Michaela had been exhausted when she had entered her apartment, she didn't feel like sleeping at all now. Still glowing in the aftermath of their encounter, she snuggled even closer to Sully yet to her surprise he shifted so that he hovered over her again. The way he peered into her eyes made her heart race again. He gave her his special smile when he asked, "Ya ready?"
Somewhat puzzled she asked, her shyness shining through again, "Ready for what?"
Sully raised an eyebrow as to playfully indicate that he had to wonder about this reply and explained, "Ta welcome me back home."
The heat of anticipation already started to consume her body again, but she was still bewildered, "I thought I just did."
Sully grinned openly now. "Nah, that was the makin' up."
"Oh," was all Michaela could manage for she already felt his lips on her skin again, only torturing slowly this time. They first lingered on the crook of her neck, then wandered down to the soft mounds of her breasts and even further to her navel and then beyond it…
"Oh, Sully," she whispered, burying her hands in his hair, guiding him…