The streets of Colorado Springs were barely visible as the sun shyly started to rise behind Pikes Peak.
Horace yawned as he stepped down the stairs that led him to his office. Another working day was about to begin.
The door squeaked a bit as he opened it and he shook his head, frustrated. He should definitely ask Robert E. to fix this door as the sound of that squeak was driving him nuts.
He stretched and yawned once again before turning to go and sit in his chair. But, before he could even make three steps, somebody gripped his shoulder firmly with a hand and Horace yelped, startled.
«Sssshhhh, you'll wake up the dead! » a female's voice was heard and Horace frowned as he turned around.
«Mrs. Heart?» he huffed. «You almost gave me a heart attack.»
«Well, if I did, I'm sure that our dearest could fix ya. She's good at that,» was Heart's reply and Horace couldn't help but notice a hint of sarcasm in the woman's voice. But before he could say anything else, she handed him a piece of paper, «I need to send this as soon as possible.»
«That's what I'm here for,» smiled Horace, taking the sheet.
«It is very important that you sent it immediately,» Heart said seriously.
Horace read what was written on the paper: «We're in Colorado Springs.»
«Oh, you are contacting a relative?» he asked, sitting behind the telegraph. Heart raised her left eyebrow.
«Yes, a relative,» slightly leaning over the counter, the red haired woman added, «And it's confidential, Horace.»
As the tall man looked confused at her, she faked a smile ,«It's a surprise for Atlantis.»
Grinning, Horace nodded, «Don't worry. I took an oath.»
«Good,» Heart plastered a smile on her face. «Have a good day, Horace.»
«You too, Ma'am.»
Heart stepped out of the telegraph office and looked around. Nobody had seen her.
«Good,» she whispered as she stepped down the stairs and strolled down the street.
~*~
«You'll need to carry these bandages for a while longer and take it easy because your ribs are still sensitive. Other than that, you can start to take few small walks each day, but don't overdo it,» Dr. Mike said, softly smiling at Atlantis.
«And I brought you a dress for your first walk,» Colleen chimed in, carrying a light green dress with red lace around its neckline.
«Oh, Colleen, it's beautiful,» whispered Atlantis. «You shouldn't have to.»
Colleen smiled happily as she sat beside her friend on the bed. «Come on, silly, I'll help you get dressed and then we can go over to Grace's for getting some pie and coffee.»
«I'll leave you two alone and take Katie and Matthew for lunch,» smiled Dr. Mike. «Colleen, make sure that Atlantis takes it easy.»
«I will, Ma,» nodded Colleen.
«See you at Grace's then,» said Michaela and went toward the door.
As Michaela left the room, Colleen carefully pulled the dress over her friend's head and slowly took her hands to put them into the sleeves. Atlantis bit her lower lip as her ribs reacted to the movement.
«You all right?» Colleen raised her eyebrows.
«Yeah, it's just still a bit sore like Dr. Mike said,» replied Atlantis.
«You sure you're up to go for a walk?» Colleen was worried.
«Yeah,» nodded Atlantis. «I'll go crazy if I stay between these four walls another second.»
At that, both girls giggled and got up from the bed. Atlantis glanced down at the dress as Colleen brushed her long brown hair, careful not to do it harshly when she came to the soft curls at the end of Atlantis' hair.
«The dress is beautiful, Colleen,» whispered Atlantis.
«You look beautiful in it,» smiled Colleen.
«I still have that blue dress you gave me when I was here last time,» whispered Atlantis and the friends hugged each other. «It's so good to be here again,» Atlantis added quietly.
«I'm so glad you came back,» whispered Colleen, tears of happiness collecting in her eyes. She was so grateful for Atlantis' presence; she could see the effect it had. Her older brother was coming back to life. Even though nobody said anything to her, even though nothing actually happened, Colleen could see it. She knew Matthew very well; she could read her brother's face better than anyone else. She could see the smiles that had been coming back in his eyes recently when he spent time with Atlantis' son, and how it healed the souls of them both. Colleen knew that Matthew understood better than anybody else what it is like to have a bad father.
Now, that she was grown up, Colleen understood better the sacrifice her brother made years ago when their father abandoned them and left their mother with nothing. It was Matthew who stopped being a kid back then; it was Matthew who went out and did all kind of jobs; rounded up cattle for Miss Olive, chopped wood for the Browns when Mr. Brown was lying with his leg broken. It was Matthew who looked after her and Brian every time when their ma went to deliver a baby or cook dinner for guests in the boarding house. It was Matthew who hid his tears from her and Brian when their ma died and always comforted them when they looked up at him. It was Matthew who hugged her and calmed her down when Ethan came back for the second time and tried to talk to her and she ran off.
She saw him now, with little Matthew, finally getting some help for himself. Finally healing. And as far as Atlantis' son was concerned, he adored Matthew. Colleen could see that in their small conversations and the large amount of time they spent together while Atlantis was so sick.
And she could definitely see what was going on between her brother and her friend. She couldn't count all the times she opened the door of the recovery room and saw Matthew asleep in a chair next to Atlantis' bedside. She saw the fear in his eyes during the first few days; she saw the relief on his face when Dr. Mike said that Atlantis would be just fine. She saw every look her brother gave to Atlantis.
«Thank you,» whispered Colleen, still hugging her friend.
«For what?» Atlantis asked, confused.
Colleen pulled back and wiped at her tears. «For being here,» she whispered.
Atlantis creased her brow in confusion, but Colleen didn't say anything else. She took Atlantis' hand and went toward the door.
~*~
«Thanks, Loren, I'll be back after lunch to pick up those supplies,» said Matthew, shaking hands with Loren.
«I'll have them ready by then,» the old man smiled as he started to get on with his work.
Matthew left the mercantile and started to walk down the street, planning to find Katie and Matthew in order to see whether those two were in the mood for some lunch and Grace's apple pie.
He reached the clinic and knocked on the doors.
«Dr. Mike?» he called. As nobody replied, he shrugged, reckoning that they all were probably at Grace's already. Deciding to just go on and check, he stepped down from the porch – and in that moment, the door that led toward recovery rooms opened, causing him to turn around.
His heart skipped a beat as he saw Atlantis slowly walking out onto the porch, supported by his sister. Colleen was holding Atlantis around her waist with one hand while Atlantis held Colleen's other hand to steady herself. As they reached the porch, both girls smiled and looking up, Atlantis met Matthew's blue eyes.
Her breath got caught in her lungs as her eyes took in his handsome features. She could feel her heartbeat quickening. She didn't even notice that her grip on Colleen's arm tightened, but Colleen did and hid a smile.
"Hey," Matthew finally found his voice. "You're up?"
Atlantis nodded, "Just for lunch and a short walk."
As Matthew nodded, Colleen rolled her eyes. These two were totally hopeless.
"Matthew, care to help me here?" Colleen tried to sound frustrated. "She still can't walk well by herself." Raising her eyebrows, Colleen shot daggers at her brother with her eyes.
"Uhm, yeah, sure," Matthew quickly stepped back on the porch and stopping at Atlantis' left side, he gently wrapped his hand around her waist. He couldn't take his eyes off her; she was gorgeous. That dress fit her just perfectly and her hair had a scent of a million roses.
Atlantis felt warmth coming up her spine as she felt Matthew's hand encircling her waist for support. She looked up at him. His eyes were resting on her face, offering so much comfort… and was there something else or did she just imagined that she saw love in those blue orbs?
They slowly went toward Grace's, all three of them watching each step that Atlantis made. As they reached the café, they saw Katie and little Matthew waving to them from the table where they sat with Dr. Mike, Sully and Brian.
Colleen stepped aside a bit, allowing Matthew to help Atlantis sit on the chair by himself. She shared a look with Dr. Mike and they both smiled. So did Sully and Brian. Nobody couldn't help but notice how gentle Matthew was with Atlantis and how she clung to him.
"You okay?" Matthew asked concerned as Atlantis sat down, closing her eyes and taking in a shivering breath.
As she looked back at him, he felt her look reaching the most hidden parts of his heart and healing every wound there.
"I am, thank you," was her quiet reply.
He softly smiled at her and sat down on the chair beside Atlantis, turning toward Katie who wanted to show him the flowers she picked up before lunch. Katie giggled as her big brother scooped her up on his lap and started to show him each flower, having a special story for each one of them.
Listening to the little girl's chatting, Atlantis felt a smile coming upon her lips. She watched Matthew as he pretended that he didn't know anything about the flowers that the child was showing him and smiled every time at Katie's delight to teach her brother something new. Katie gave one flower per one to her brother, putting all her strength in the explanations. He is so good with her, thought Atlantis, not being able to take her eyes off Matthew's handsome face.
She was disturbed from her thoughts by small hands on her left leg and looking down, she saw her son looking up at her with the biggest grin ever. She smiled widely back at him and slowly picked him up on her lap, giving him a big kiss on the cheek.
"Hey, my darling, what have you been up to?" she asked her son, slowly rocking him on her lap.
"I helped Katie to pick up the flowers for you, Mummy," replied the little boy, smiling widely.
"Yeah, we picked them just for you!" confirmed Katie.
"Looks like these are for you," Matthew's voice was heard and Atlantis looked at him, not knowing what to say. His gentle smile and sparkling blue eyes hid everything else from her sight and she slowly accepted the flowers from his hand, feeling herself blushing intensively.