Chapter 2

"I wanna see her. I just wanna see her," Sully urged, as he rushed into the clinic. Sterile, quiet. No sign of life, of death, of anything.

"Sully," Colleen said tearfully. For a moment, he was re-living the moment Charlotte told him Abagail and Hanna were dead. He would not let that happen again.

"No," he said. "She's not…"

"She's got a bad fever," Colleen explained. "This happens sometimes after an ordeal like this. We had to take the babies, Sully."

"Ya mean…cut 'em out?"

"Yes," Colleen replied. "Andrew's with her now, trying to bring down her fever. I thought I should stay and warn you…"

"Warn me about what?" He could hear the kids pacing the porch outside, wanting to get in and see their mother so badly.

"The girl baby…she was blue when she came out. The cord was wrapped around her neck, and…" Sully froze with fear. She wasn't saying what he thought she was saying…she couldn't be.

"She's alright, ain't she?"

"We don't know." Sully started to move past her. "Sully." She was firm and direct. "There's a good chance she could be perfectly fine. But there's also a chance there could be problems, but we won't know for a while."

"For how long?"

"I don't know." She felt like a failure. "It could be anywhere from a few days to a year, Sully. We just don't…"

"I want to see my wife."

"She isn't awake. She opened her eyes for a few moments. She was asking for you. I…" It was amazing how much like Michaela Colleen had become. She seemed to have shed so much of the little girl she used to be. She spoke like a Bostonian. She held herself like one. Yet, right now, she looked like the same little girl, distraught and lost after Charlotte's death so many years ago.

"She's gonna wake up, right? She has to wake up, Colleen." Colleen started to speak, but Sully left before she could get a word out. He was up the stairs in moments, and as soon as he reached the door, he saw his wife lying in bed, her face covered in perspiration. She was still, but she was breathing. Andrew was listening to her heart, and the only sound in the room was that of the clock.

"Andrew." Andrew looked up to see Sully standing there looking as if the world was moments away from crashing down around him.

"Sully. Come in," he said quietly. Sully did, closing the door and carefully approaching the bed. One bassinet rested nearby, and he peered over into it, seeing two small babies resting inside, curled up together as if they were still protected inside their mother.

"How are they?"

"They're doing much better. Colleen told you…"

"Yeah," he said quickly. "She's gonna be fine. She…she looks good."

"Yes she does," Andrew said with a hopeful smile. Sully turned his attention back to Michaela. "She has a slight fever. Colleen and I are going to stay here for a while and monitor her condition. If you'd like to go home and…"

"I ain't goin' nowhere. My family is stayin' together. We're gonna stay here tonight." Andrew nodded in understanding. He'd do just the same if he were in Sully's place.

"I'll give you a few minutes. I need to get some things from downstairs." Andrew bowed out of the room quietly, and Sully pulled up a chair next to Michaela's bed. He took a few deep breaths, trying to keep his composure, but seeing her here like this brought him back to when he nearly lost her to the grippe. Only now, she looked weaker, paler, if it was possible.

"Hey," he whispered. "I'm here." He leaned forward to kiss her forehead. He reached under the blanket, finding her hand and gently touching it. He could feel her wedding band, almost warm in comparison to her hand. He linked his fingers with hers, hoping that maybe his nearness might wake her. "We got two beautiful babies that need their Ma. So ya gotta wake up." He let the tears fall, but he tried to keep his voice under control. He didn't want to upset her. He just wanted her to be well. He wanted to see her smile again.

One of the babies began to fuss, and Sully cleared his throat, reluctantly letting go of Michaela's hand. He moved over to the bassinet and picked up the crying baby. This was his son.

"Hey," he whispered. "I'm your Pa." He held the child close to his chest. "You should go back to sleep…stay with your baby sister and keep her warm." The baby seemed to find his father's voice soothing, and he relaxed a little. "You think good thoughts, ok? Think good thoughts about your ma wakin' up."

A brief knock at the door caused Sully to look up. Colleen opened the door all the way, and Katie, Brian, and Matthew stepped in with her.

"I told them they could come up for a few minutes. But they shouldn't stay in here too long. She needs her rest." Sully nodded and motioned for them all to come in.

"This is your brother," he said quietly. "And that," he motioned toward the bassinet, "is your sister."

"They have names yet?" Brian asked.

"Not yet. I wanna wait for your ma to wake up."

"She's gonna wake up," Matthew said matter-of-factly. The truth was, he couldn't think of any other option. She was always so strong, and the idea of her dying because of something she had wanted so much made no sense to him.

"Yeah, Pa," Katie said quickly, "she'll wake up. You'll see." Katie moved across the room, leaning over the bed and kissing her mother's cheek. "I love you, Ma. Wake up soon, ok?"

Dear Diary,

Ma had two babies today. One's a girl, and I think she looks like me. The other's a boy. I hope he's nice, because I don't want a mean little brother like Susie Combs has. Pa's been real worried all day. Ma wasn't feeling good this morning, and we came into town. My big sister Colleen got off the train with her husband Andrew just a couple days ago. They were here just to see the babies, but they ended up bringing the babies out! Ma has a fever, and Pa's still worried. I'm worried too. I took her some soup, but she didn't wake up to eat it. I hope she gets better soon. Brian and Matthew are real sad too. Well, that's all for now.

Katie

Katie closed her diary and slumped back on the bed in one of the recovery rooms. She had the room right across the hall from her ma and pa. Sully was sleeping on a cot so he could be near the babies and Michaela. Brian and Matthew had the room next to theirs, while Colleen and Andrew stayed next to Katie's room.

She sighed, having only had the opportunity to see her new siblings once. She couldn't wait to play with them, but first, she wanted her Ma to wake up so everybody could stop being so sad.

Frowning, she wondered if there was anything she could possibly do. Maybe she was small. Maybe she was young. But she was her mother's daughter, as she'd been told by many time and time again. Her mother was strong-willed, and when there was something that needed done, she did it. Maybe…just maybe, Katie inherited even more from her mother than she thought.

She crept out of her room with her doll, Annie, in her arms. She leaned stepped across the hall, and she tried to peer through the crack in the door, but she couldn't see anything. She softly nudged the door open with her foot and looked in. Her pa was still sitting in the chair next to her ma's bed. Both babies were nestled snugly in his arms. Michaela was less-sweaty, but she was still asleep.

With a sigh, Katie entered the room. Sully looked up with surprise, and he moved to put the babies to bed. He'd been feeding them with that instant infant formula, which he knew Michaela didn't want, but at this point, they didn't have a choice.

"What're you doin' up, Kates?"

"I couldn't sleep," she said with a sigh. "I can't sleep without a bedtime story."

"You want me to tell you one?" Sully asked. Michaela usually told Katie her bedtime stories, but sometimes, Sully would fill in and do just as good a job.

"Mmm," Katie considered, "tell Ma one. It might help her sleep better, so she might wake up sooner."

"You think?" Sully asked, appreciative of the hope that still remained in his daughter's voice. Katie nodded.

"What story should I tell her, hmm?"

"What about...ummm…the first time you saw her? You never told me that story before."

"I haven't?"

"Nope," Katie replied. "Tell her, Pa." She sat on her father's knee, and he wrapped his arms around her. She leaned her back against his chest, and he rocked her, as he'd done when she was just a little girl, barely old enough to walk.

"First time I saw ya," he said, staring at his beautiful wife, "your hair was done up and hidden under some fancy hat. I couldn't get a good look at ya, but I knew you were beautiful." He took a deep breath, trying to control his emotions. "'Course, then ya fell in the mud, got back up, brushed yourself off, and ya kept goin'. I knew at that moment, you were a force of nature. If a little mud all over your fancy clothes couldn't scare ya off, nothin' could. And it didn't. You're still here with us, and I'm grateful for that."

"Wake up, Ma," Katie whispered. "Please…" Sully gave his daughter a gentle squeeze.

"Go try to get some sleep."

"Ok, Pa. Good night." She turned and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"I love you, Kates."

"I love you too, Pa." Katie hopped down from his lap and headed off to her own room, as Sully sat in the silence of the recovery room, praying to the Spirits for a sign that he would have his wife back in his arms again.