Michaela blinked her eyes open. She was in bed, lying on her side. She blinked two or three more times to get everything around her to come into focus. Her eyes searched for her alarm clock, but stopped short when she heard the soft sound of a cooing baby. As soon as she heard it, she knew she was back in her dream world. It was the same dream world that she had been visiting every few weeks since she and Sully became friends.

She turned her head in the direction of the sound and Sully was the first thing to come into focus. The back of him anyway. He was stripped down to his boxer-briefs, so Michaela assumed he wasn't going to leave their bedroom anytime soon.

Their bedroom? She had never thought about it so casually before. It was a lovely thought and something that she would love to one day be her reality... their reality. She didn't care that they hadn't been dating that long. She knew all she needed to know, and she knew that she wanted to marry Sully. All he had to do was ask, and she would say yes.

Focusing her attention back on Sully, Michaela could see his well-toned back and muscular legs. As she focused more closely on his firm bottom, she concluded that he was wearing boxer shorts with a looser fit than the boxer-briefs she'd seen him in before.

He wasn't alone, he was holding the baby that Michaela heard cooing from her bed. He appeared to be attempting to get the baby to burp, and it sounded like he had just succeeded.

Michaela tried to get a good look at whom she assumed was their newborn, but she knew she would never get to see their child's face. She was never allowed that in her dreams. She could see the baby was just in a diaper and Sully was holding him or her skin-to-skin.

"Atta-boy," Sully coached affectionately.

They had a boy, Michaela thought to herself. Then she smiled to herself.

Catching a small chill, she pulled the covers up a little higher. She looked under the covers to see what she was wearing, and figured out why she was cold. All she had on was loosely fitted shorts and a nursing bra. She wondered if she was in a pair of Sully's boxers. She couldn't tell, but the shorts looked like men's underwear.

"I'm so proud of my sweet boy," The happy, albeit tired father continued, "You drank your whole bottle, you just gave me a great big burp, and you didn't even wake up your mama. Now I just need ya to go back to sleep. Then Daddy can go back to sleep, and we'll do this all over again in a few hours."

Michaela couldn't take her eyes off of Sully. Everything about him in this moment was beautiful. The way he gently bounced the baby, the way he dropped small kisses on the baby's head, the way he changed the baby's position so he could hold him close to his chest and rub his little back. All of it was beautiful.

"My perfect little ****," Sully whispered as he brushed his lips against the infant's head, "My perfect baby boy."

Why was she seeing this? There had to be a purpose to this dream world that she always found herself swept up in. Was it to find out she would have a son?

Was this truly a view of the future? This could just be her subconscious mind showing her what her heart desires most.

"Are ya worried?" Sully asked the tiny infant, "Are ya worried about goin' to Boston? That ain't for a few months. I know Grandma wants to see ya, but mama is a doctor, and she doesn't want ya flying until you are at least three months old. I still think that's too young, but mama says it's fine… health wise."

Michaela smiled. It sounded like they would have a disagreement in the future about traveling to Boston.

"You ain't gonna remember the trip anyway, so there's no reason to be afraid," Sully continued. He swayed back and forth and kept rubbing their son's back, "I don't think it will be so bad, takin' ya there. I remember my first trip to Boston. Goin' there ended up bein' the best decision I ever made in my life."

Michaela perked up, she wanted to hear this...

"Happy Birthday, Mommy!" Colleen cheered.

"Happy Birthday, Mom!" Matthew sang, following his younger sister's lead.

"Love you, Mama!" Young Brian added.

Michaela sat up in bed, thoroughly startled awake. She loved her children, but wished they could have waited a few more minutes before they woke her up.

"We made you breakfast in bed!" Colleen announced, as Matthew held up a William-Sonoma baking sheet that had a bowl of oatmeal sitting on top of it.

"We make you pwesents!" Brian added as he held up several pieces of folded construction paper.

"Thank you," Michaela said warmly. Her pulse was now settling to a normal rate, "I love you three so much!"

Michaela hugged and kissed each of her children from her place on the bed. She accepted her handmade cards and took the baking sheet with the oatmeal on it out of Matthew's hands.

"How did you make this oatmeal?" Michaela asked, hoping that Matthew hadn't turned on the stove. She believed he was old enough to cook, but not without her supervision.

"In the microwave," her oldest son answered, putting his mother's nerves at ease, "It was really easy. Try it, Mom. It tastes so good!"

Michaela put a spoonful of oatmeal in her mouth…then she did everything she could not to spit it out. It was overpowered with brown sugar and cinnamon. Michaela forced it down and smiled at her children, "Yum. You guys did a great job."

All three of the kids beamed at her with pride.

"I think it's time for you to start getting ready for school," she said, using her voice to usher them out of her bedroom.

Once the kids had left the room, she quickly got out of bed, dumped the oatmeal in the trash, and then she rinsed out her mouth. She had such great kids and they tried so hard to make her happy and feel special on her birthday. Perhaps she could ask Sully to give them a cooking lesson. She believed that his skills were superior to hers in that area.

At lunch time, Michaela took stock of her day so far. She had a lovely breakfast celebration that was set up by her children in the morning. Although she desperately wanted to hop back into her dream world and find out how a trip to Boston was the best decision of Sully's life, she was content with her day so far. She felt so loved by her three little ones.

Additionally, she received calls and text messages from various members of her family back in Boston. This was the second time they had contacted her all at once in the last two weeks. The first time being when she learned of her nephew's engagement.

When she arrived at the clinic that morning, she received many well wishes from her staff and nurses there, along with a card that was signed by everyone in the office. They all pitched in and purchased a visa gift card as a present as well.

As for her patients, she took care of two sprains and saw an elderly gentleman about an unfortunate case of shingles. The more she worked, the more she found that the most common ailments that she was dealing with that day were sinus and ear infections. Looking back at her laptop notes, she had prescribed at least 10 Z-Paks already that day. However, what amazed her was that no matter how bad any of them felt, when they heard it was her birthday, they all gave her their well wishes too.

Once it was time for lunch, she walked into her office and made sure to admire the twenty-four long stem roses that Sully had delivered to the clinic on the previous day, Valentine's Day. She gazed dreamily at them and pictured Sully's handsome face. Then she sat in her office chair, and pulled the note that came with the flowers out of her desk and read it again.

My Lovely Valentine,

I'll miss you tonight. I'm always thinking about you.

I'm not a poet or a great writer.

I don't know what else to say, except I love you.

I love you more than anything that I can ever say or write.

Forever yours,

Sully

It was kind, loving and honest, just like him. Sadly, they weren't able to get together for Valentine's Day, but today was her birthday and they had plans.

He was going to pick-up all of the children from school, hers and his, and then he was dropping them off at his house for the night. He arranged for his mother to babysit all of the children, so he could take her out.

Now that she was thinking of Snowbird, she wondered if Sully had confirmed who she was dating. His latest theory was that she must be dating a 20-something young man. He believed that his mother was keeping it a secret because she didn't want him to call her out for robbing the cradle. Sully said he wouldn't say anything unless the guy was a jerk.

If the guy was a jerk, then she felt that Sully should say something to his mother. The last thing she wanted was to see another woman get sent to the hospital like Dorothy. That would be an extreme case, but nevertheless; they would always want to protect Snowbird.

As for that evening, Michaela asked Sully for details, but he insisted that it was all a surprise, and she would have to wait and see. All she knew was that he was picking her up from her home at 7:00. Since she closed at 6:00, that would give her time to get home and change for their date.

The only directions he did give her were to wear something casual and warm, and don't put on shoes that will break her ankles. She concluded that he wasn't taking her to the theater, unless it was a movie theater, or to a fancy restaurant with a dress code.

She decided that she was going to wear one of the pairs of skinny jeans and the brown Dr. Martens that Sully had given her for Christmas. She also had a fitted cream-colored sweater, and she could throw her brown suede coat on top.

But where was he taking her?

"Happy Birthday!" Sully beamed from Michaela's front door. He held one hand behind his back and used his free hand to cup her soft cheek. Then he leaned forward and captured her lips, "Mmm." After he broke the kiss he asked, "Did ya just drink somethin' sweet?"

"No," Michaela responded, raising a hand to her mouth.

"Must be your lips then," he replied with a wink and a smirk, "They're real sweet."

Michaela looked down and blushed. He certainly did have a way with words, even if he didn't think so.

"You look great," he said warmly, happy that she followed his directions when she selected her attire for the evening, except for one thing, "I think ya need a warmer sweater. That one ain't warm enough."

"I'm going to put a coat on," Michaela explained.

"Then it's perfect," he said. Now he could move on with his plans for the evening, he thought to himself. He was glad he got to spend some time putting her birthday surprise together because he was still nervous about her going to Boston for her nephew's wedding, and her birthday plans kept his mind off of it. He still didn't know how to express his fears and anxiety about her going so far away. But it didn't matter that night. That night was about spoiling her. They could talk about the wedding and her travel plans another time.

"Won't you come in?" she requested, stepping out of the way. She thought he looked great too, he always did. He had on the jacket that she had given him for Christmas. Other than that, he had on the typical attire that she always saw him in, a t-shirt, jeans, and his work boots. It looked like he'd cleaned his boots, and she could see that his t-shirt had long sleeves from the opening of his unzipped jacket.

Sully entered her house, and once she closed her front door and turned around to face him, he moved his hand from behind his back and presented her with a small bouquet of light pink tulips.

"They're lovely, Sweetheart, thank you," she said, accepting the bouquet.

"I gave ya roses yesterday," Sully said, his grin widening, "I figured you'd like somethin' different."

Michaela didn't care what kind of flowers he gave her, but she could honestly say she had never been presented with pink tulips before and she was going to enjoy them, "Give me a moment to put these in water."

"Of course," he said, that was just what he wanted her to do. As soon as she left the room, he removed a small box from his front jacket pocket and hid it under a couch cushion. It was for later.

When Michaela returned to the living room she asked, "Are the children okay? Is your mother coping well with all of them?"

"Copin'?" Sully questioned with a chuckle, "Ma is just fine and so are the kids. Especially your kids. As for mine, Hanna was askin' for ya earlier today. I think Mia wants to see ya too."

When Sully told her that, Michaela felt like canceling her birthday and just spending the evening with the kids.

As if he could sense her thoughts, "I was thinkin' we could get together this weekend. After conditionin'. And Darlin', tryouts for Little League are comin' up and I was thinkin'–"

"That reminds me," Michaela said, before he could finish. "I was looking over my calendar. It says that Little League tryouts are today. You haven't said anything, and neither has Matthew."

"They were scheduled for today back in the fall," Sully confirmed, he must have told her about that date in the past, he didn't remember, "Then some parents noticed that the fifteenth is a Wednesday and a school day and complained about it. They got rescheduled to Saturday, the twenty-fifth. I was thinkin' that I can take Matthew to tryouts with me and Zac, and you can stay with the rest of the children at home. I don't know how the rest of the kids are, but I know that Hanna gets bored and its best not to bring her."

Michaela smiled and agreed.

Sully smiled back and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "We best get goin'."

"Where are we going?" She asked, getting close to him. She reached her arms up high and placed them around his neck.

Sully reciprocated by putting his arms around her waist, "I'm takin' you to a little diner in Manitou Springs. This place is known for their delicious cakes. The food is pretty good too. But I need ya to do me a favor and don't ever tell Grace that I brought ya there, or I will never hear the end of it."

Michaela giggled, "Why don't we just go to Grace's?"

"We could," Sully replied, "I just wanted us to have some privacy. After dinner, we have another stop, and then I would like to come back here, if ya don't mind."

Michaela's pulse started to accelerate. She believed she knew exactly why he wanted to end the night at her home, alone. They had made love before, but it hadn't exactly become part of their daily routine. As they were living now, there was no way that it could. She was prepared for the possibility though and was glad that she decided to change her bed sheets that morning.

"Shall we?" he asked.

"We shall," she answered.

The drive to Manitou wasn't far, only about twenty minutes. The diner that he took her to reminded her of a Cheesecake Factory Restaurant, except smaller. Michaela was expecting a little hole-in-the-wall, mom-and-pop establishment. This place may have been a mom-and-pop, but it was nicer than just a little hole-in-the-wall.

They also had live music that night, which made the place jumpy, especially for a Wednesday night. People were eating, singing, dancing and generally having a good time. The live music was sung by a cover band that played a mix of music from the pop and rock genres, and a little bit of R&B. She recognized most of the songs that the band played.

Once they'd finished dinner, Sully placed the cake menu in front of her, "They give out huge slices of cake here. I can't even finish one by myself. I thought we could share a piece, but you need to pick out which one you want."

Michaela felt as if she was looking through a whole cookbook of cakes. She saw chocolate, vanilla, red velvet, lemon, and much more, "Is this place known for a particular flavor?" She didn't know what to choose.

"Their Chantilly Cream," Sully informed her.

"Sounds good to me," she replied.

Then Sully signaled for their waiter to come to the table, and he ordered them a slice.

"You're right! This is huge!" Michaela said with a laugh when she saw the size of the slice of cake that their waiter had just set down in front of her. She could have shared it with Sully and all of the kids too.

"This restaurant doesn't do singin' or dancin' or any other forms of cheesy birthday embarrassment like other places," Sully informed her, "But…first things first." Sully took out a single birthday candle and a small lighter from one of his inner coat pockets. He placed the candle in the middle of her cake and lit it.

"You can light things on fire in here?" She asked, most places didn't allow that.

"I don't think so. Ya better make a wish quick, so I don't get in trouble," he warned with a chuckle.

Michaela closed her eyes and thought about what she wished for most at the moment. Then she blew out her candle.

"What'd ya wish for?" he asked, smiling at his love. He wondered if her wishes were the same as his.

"If I tell you, it won't come true," she said, smiling back at him.

"We shouldn't be keepin' secrets from each other," he teased light-heartedly, but was trying to coax her into telling him what she wished for.

"What would you wish for?" she asked, turning the tables.

"It ain't my birthday," he quipped, giving up; leaving the both of them laughing, "Try your cake. Tell me what ya think,"

Michaela picked up her fork and used it to cut a small piece for her to try, "It's so light and moist," she said once she had the piece in her mouth, "You must try this." She forked another piece and then held it across the table for him to try.

Sully winked at her and then opened his mouth and let her feed the cake to him. He'd tried the cake before and knew how it tasted, and she was right, it was delicious. After allowing her to feed him a few more bites he pulled a box out from another one of his coat pockets, it was different from the box he'd hid under her couch cushions, and he set it down in front of her.

Michaela looked down at the box and then back-up at him, "What else do you have hidden in that jacket?"

"Nothin' else in the jacket," he said, though he did have more surprises planned for the night.

Putting her fork down, and moving the cake aside, Michaela opened the box and immediately melted, "Oh Sully, it's beautiful." He'd given her a gold chain necklace with an antique cameo pendant, "Where did you get this?" It wasn't a piece of jewelry that he'd find in a regular store.

"You know that I've been in negotiations with Mr. Barry about my cattle," he reminded her, "He has a thing for antiques, so I took him to an estate sale. They were sellin' everything, even the late homeowner's jewelry. I found it there. Somethin' about it just reminded me of you. I had it appraised, it's real."

"I love it, thank you," she praised, admiring her new necklace.

Getting up from his seat, he sat down on the other side of their table, next to her, "Let's see how it looks on," he removed the necklace from the box, "Lift up your hair."

Michaela moved her long hair out of the way and Sully fastened the necklace around her neck.

"Look's good," he said, leaning forward for a small kiss.

She let go of her hair and then snuggled against him. Then she twisted slightly to give him another kiss.

As they were melding into each other, the cover band started playing a new song. This time it was the cover of the song, Wild Horses by The Rolling Stones.

Michaela looked into his eyes and smiled lovingly at him.

Sully believed he knew what she wanted. He stood up and held out his hand. She stood herself, took his hand and allowed him to lead her to the dance floor. Once there, they held each other close, forehead to forehead. Ever so gently, they swayed back and forth to the music.

Michaela just adored her new necklace and gazed lovingly at it as Sully drove them to his ranch for the second part of her birthday celebration. Well, she tried her best to gaze at her new piece of jewelry. It was dark out and hard to see.

"What's Loren doin' here?" Sully inquired aloud, bringing his truck to a slow crawl.

"Hmm?" Michaela questioned, looking in his direction.

"See that Station Wagon," Sully said, directing her attention out of her window, "That's Loren's car."

"Are you sure it's him?" she asked, looking at the car. Sure, the SUV had replaced the Station Wagon as the optimum family vehicle, in her opinion, but Michaela was certain that Loren could not be the only person in town who still drove a Station Wagon.

"Yes," Sully said with a chuckle, "He's the only man I know who drives a gold Buick Station Wagon from 1992."

"Has Snowbird called you?" Michaela inquired, "Do you think there's an emergency? Should we check on everyone?"

Sully removed his phone from the pocket of his jeans, "Nothin'."

"Perhaps he stopped by to visit with the children," Michaela reasoned.

He'd never done that before, but since his mother hadn't called him or texted him, he figured everything was fine, "I'd like to continue on with our date. Ma would call if there was trouble."

When Michaela nodded at him, Sully pushed on the gas and sped up a little faster. He followed a small road and parked in front of the stables.

"We're going in there?" Michaela asked.

"Yes, Ma'am," Sully answered with a smile, hearing the apprehension in her voice. He turned off the truck and got out. Then he walked over to the passenger side, where Michaela had opened her door. He offered her his hand, as she got out of the truck.

Michaela shut the truck door, and then took hold of Sully's hand. She allowed him to lead her to her second birthday surprise. She wondered what he had in mind in the stables of all places. It was too late to go for a ride in her opinion. Perhaps he was just looking for a place for them to be alone and her surprise had nothing to do with the stables.

As they entered, Sully used his phone as a flashlight to make it easier to lead the way. "Just a little further," he told her in a low voice.

Michaela said nothing; she just held on to his hand. As they were walking through the stables, she thought back to the day he took her riding. She had a nice time with him that day, getting a tour of his ranch, though she was very nervous.

"Right here," Sully said, and looked back to smile at her. Then he shined the light from his phone in the direction that he wanted her to look.

He'd taken her to a large empty stall. Inside he'd spread a few large blankets out over some bales of hay. It looked like he piled some pillows up against the back wall of the stall as well. To one side there was another large blanket that was likely covering her gift. It was draped over something and had a large bow on top. To the other side there was a metal heavy duty utility cart. On top were a few candles, a bottle of champagne on ice, and two flutes. On the second shelf of the cart, there was what looked like a bluetooth speaker.

"Oh Sweetheart, this is so romantic," she gushed, lovingly.

He smiled and drew her in for a small kiss.

"That was the idea," he whispered against her lips.

Letting go of her, he traveled inside of the dark stall, still using his phone as a flashlight. He lifted one of the blankets and looked back at her, "Come on," he directed, inviting her to come in and sit down.

She entered and sat down on the small makeshift sofa that he'd created for the two of them and he covered her legs up to her waist with the blanket.

"Hold on to my phone while I light these candles, Darlin'," he directed sweetly, while handing her his phone.

Michaela accepted his phone and shined the light in his direction as he lit the candles.

"Shoot," he whispered.

"What's wrong?" she inquired.

"I forgot the bottle opener," he informed her. Pursing his lips, he thought about what to do next. He bent down and turned on his speaker. Then he sat down next to her, "Let me see this," he said, taking his phone back from her. He turned off the flashlight and scrolled through his phone.

The next thing Michaela knew, the song, At My Most Beautiful by R.E.M. was playing from the bluetooth speaker. He handed Michaela his phone back and then kissed the tip of her nose.

"I'm gonna run up to the house," he explained.

"Sully," she complained, not wanting him to go.

"It'll only take me five minutes," he tried to comfort her. He knew exactly where he'd left the bottle opener. It was in the hoodie he'd been wearing that morning when he set all of this up, "then I'll be right back, I promise."

Michaela sighed but nodded in agreement.

"You, lean back on these pillows and relax," he told her, "Keep yourself covered with the blanket. Listen to the music, and no peekin' under that blanket over there while I'm gone."

"I won't look," she promised with a small giggle.

Then he kissed her lips once more and took off sprinting towards his house.

Michaela made herself comfortable, and then looked down at his phone. She saw that he made a whole playlist that he lovingly titled, Michaela's Birthday Music.

She scrolled through the list and found several beautiful love songs. Everything from the R.E.M. song that she was listening to, to the classics like Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton and When a Man Loves a Woman by Percy Sledge, to more upbeat songs like You Make My Dreams Come True by Hall and Oates, to newer songs like, Come Away with Me by Norah Jones and One Call Away by Charlie Puth. This wasn't a birthday playlist, this was her wedding playlist, Michaela thought as she read through the music.

Sully jogged right up to his porch and stopped at his front door. He unlocked and opened the door and stepped inside. He smiled when he saw his hoodie right where he'd left it that evening when he left to go and pick-up Michaela. He removed the bottle opener from the large front pocket and stuck it in his jacket pocket. "Hey, Ma…" He started to say, he was planning on checking on things while he was there and then leaving again. But when he looked up, he stopped short at the sight in front of him. It was a sight he'd never imagined he would see. Ever. Well, he had two questions answered for him at that moment in time. First, he learned why his father-in-law was at his home. Secondly, he found out who his mother's new boyfriend was.

"Sully!" Snowbird practically howled. She immediately got herself off of Loren's Lap and straightened her clothes, "What are you doing home so early?"

"Don't ya know how to knock?" Loren snorted and scoffed.

"Not when I'm comin' into my own house," Sully responded loudly, "Ma!" he practically reprimanded, gesturing toward Snowbird with one hand.

"Shh!" Snowbird warned, "You're gonna wake the children."

"Now I know why you didn't want to tell me who your boyfriend is," Sully concluded, a little disgusted.

"It ain't your business," Loren defended.

"I didn't want to tell you because I didn't think you'd like the idea. And I think it's fair to say that I've been proven right," Snowbird asserted.

"You're right! I don't like it!" Sully barked, "I was thinkin' you didn't want to tell me because you were datin' someone twenty years younger or somethin'. Instead, it's someone twenty years older. Are you sure it's wise to sit on his lap like you were when I walked in? He could break a hip!"

"Sully!" his mother warned.

"I'm gonna break you if you don't shut-up! Hippy!" Loren fumed, standing up from where he'd been sitting.

"Save your strength old man," he mocked.

"No," Snowbird said to Loren and then stood in front of him to keep him from getting to her son. She looked up into Sully's eyes, "We're all adults here, and we are all going to behave like adults."

Sully didn't know what to say. Truth be told, if she had been dating a 60-something stranger, it wouldn't bother him as much as it bothered him that she was in fact dating his father-in-law. He shook his head and sighed. "I have a date," he told his mother and then walked out of his house and shut the door behind him.

To be continued. Please review. =)

Michaela's birthday isn't over yet. She still has more presents to open! What else do you think Sully got her?