A Long Trip

PART I

Note: Hi, Hi ! This is my first Doctor Quinn fanfic, I hope you will like it. I discovered this series in 2020 and I literally fell in love with it hehe.

English is not my mother tongue, I always try to do my best. I also just wanted to explain that I am fully aware of the difference in accent and way of speaking of people from Boston and Colorado in the series. Unfortunately, I was unable to recreate this. Be indulgent please :) In short Enjoy!

Disclaimer: The series and the characters do not belong to me! Doctor Quinn Medicine Woman is the property of its creators.

INTRODUCTION :

Michaela was reading a book, sitting on the fresh grass, in the shade of the fig tree in her parents' large garden in Beacon Hill, Boston. Although it was the beginning of winter, the temperatures were strangely warm. As if in order to take the inhabitants by surprise when the freezing cold finally decides to settle. The sun had been shining in the sky for several days.

The young woman was so focused on her book that she did not notice any commotion behind her. She suddenly heard a noise coming from the bush to her right. She tried to turn her head and her chest, but her corset momentarily blocked her breathing. She gasped in pain, resting her hands on her sides. Decidedly, she had worn it every day for years, she would never get used to it.

"Hey!" Suddenly exclaimed a little girl coming out of the famous shrub.

Michaela smiled as she got up from her place under the fig tree.

"Penelope…" sighed the young woman with amusement when she saw her youngest sister's daughter: Claudette.

"I scared you. Say it, I scared you…" the ten-year-old girl spoke, smiling mischievously.

"Yes, I was very scared." replied the young woman delicately with a knowing little laugh.

Michaela closed her book that she still held in her right hand and tucked it under her arm before reaching out to the little girl.

Penelope was one of her few nieces to really appreciate her. But she could not blame her sisters' other children. She was not often present at family gatherings, and even when she was, she tended to argue with her father and colleagues about medicine.

Initially, when she had just graduated from women's medical school, the top of her class, her father's friends and associates wore expressions of disgust when she joined in their discussions. Unfortunately for them, they had been forced to listen to her, not daring to upset the great Doctor Joseph Quinn whose daughter Michaela was his greatest pride – although he would never admit it. Then, after many discussions and years of working with her father at his private clinic – four years to be exact – she had found with a small victory in her heart, that these gentlemen seemed to be beginning to consider her words.

Little Penelope grabbed her hand and smiled at her with a look of defiance. In reality, Michaela recognized herself in this child. She had been like that when she was younger. She was rather brash and tended to do things that her mother considered inappropriate for a little girl from a good family. For example, she loved to climb trees. She knew it was not an exceptional action but, apparently, it was not suitable even for a child.

"What are you doing here? Is your mom there?" Michaela asked curiously, not remembering her mother, Elizabeth Quinn, telling her about any family meals.

"Yes… She wanted to ask Grandma something, I think." she answered innocently.

Michaela nodded, then took the girl home with her. When they both joined the living room, hand in hand, they saw Elizabeth and Claudette sitting on armchairs, face to face, in full discussion. Her younger sister turned to her daughter and Michaela and saw her face fall.

"Come Penelope." she told her kindly, holding out her hand to her daughter.

Michaela crossed her hands in front of her, watching Penelope join her mother. She stopped herself from sighing sadly. She knew her sister would never tell her, but she understood that she hated her daughter's affection for Michaela. Surely she must have thought that she would exert a bad influence on her daughter who seemed to have become attached to her and had generally the same thoughts and dreams.

"Michaela… There you are at last. Where were you ?" her mother asked her with a frown.

"I was in the garden, I was reading a book."

"Let me guess? A medical book." her mother laughed falsely.

"You could say that." the young woman blushed slightly as she wedged her book a little more under her arm.

Her mother chuckled and Michaela felt her ego take a hit, like always. She had noticed that her mother practically only came to her to reproach her. Maybe it was not the truth and she was exaggerating things. Yet, unfortunately, that was the feeling she had.

The young woman looked down, still standing, her hands crossed in front of her, almost as a sign of protection.

"Fine, if you do not need me here, I will slip away." she declared gently.

Elizabeth sighed as she watched her youngest daughter head upstairs. They were constantly in conflict. Michaela was not doing anything she had wanted for her since the moment she was born. She had tried so hard to reason with her, but nothing had worked. She resented her husband slightly for that. For her, he had directed her dreams of having a son on Michaela who had done nothing but follow her father with stars in her eyes. She had become a doctor and she was not married. People were already starting to call her "old girl" behind her back.

Elizabeth sighed as she looked back at her second youngest daughter: Claudette. All of her other daughters were married and had children. It was her pride. Magnificent marriages with men from very good families. What more ? she thought to herself.

Michaela sat down heavily on her bed and put her book beside her. She watched it for a long time. In reality, she was not reading a medical book. A few days ago, she had come across a love story in her parents' library. She had seen very few among all these books and she had always hesitated to take one. Her mother had always forbidden her to read this kind of thing, and so far, she had made do with this rule. But, at 35, her curiosity had taken over. She had just started it: a young girl from a good family falling in love with one of her servants, against the opinion of those close to her.

She sighed. The young doctor had never known such things. She had been courted at times, but the men seemed to shun her after a few weeks, seeming to realize that her spirit was too quick and her intelligence too enlightened. Moreover, she had always been enormously approached during various evenings. She thought her physique tended to attract men, but they soon realized she was not what they were looking for.

In the end, she did not believe in love. She had never felt this feeling that all her sisters had seemed to talk about since their meetings with their current husbands. Yet she saw no change in her sisters' behaviors, leading her to believe that love was literally pointless. It was an exhausting and boring feeling. However, when she read this book, she had the feeling that she had perhaps been slightly mistaken. What if reality was not in what her sisters were going through? What if they told what their mother wanted to hear? Well, after all, it was just a book.

Michaela stood up and tucked her novel under her pillow. She walked over to her mirror and stared at her reflection for a few moments. She was a doctor. And she thought that was really the best thing she had done in her life. Moreover, it was true that she was alone and that, apart from her family, she had no real social life. Still, it suited her just fine, despite what her mother and some of her sisters said.