"Sully," he heard the slight sound of a feminine voice say. The voice was so muddled and low that it didn't register enough for his brain to fully respond, "Sully," the voice said again, more clearly this time.

Sully opened his eyes, but everything in front of him was foggy, so he closed them again. He'd dozed off while sitting straight up at the kitchen table. He could tell, based on the numbness in his wrist, that he'd been leaning on his hand. He began to shake his wrist in an attempt to regain feeling in it.

"Is your hand asleep?" the woman asked sweetly, "Well, you were sleeping on it. Remember what I told you about getting rid of the pins and needles feeling quickly? Move your neck and back; that will help your nervous system wake up."

Now that Sully was more fully awake, he recognized that the woman's voice was Michaela's. He didn't remember them having a conversation about waking up with a numb hand or foot, but he willingly took her advice and started to move his neck and back. Her advice worked, and the feeling rapidly returned to his hand.

"Let me make you some coffee," Michaela offered, "I'll make you that horrible, bitter, dark roast that you love so much."

Sully smiled and looked up at her, opening his eyes fully. The fogginess had gone away, and he could see clearly now. Everything felt calm, but he began to notice that some things weren't right either, starting with Michaela.

He looked at her as she was making his coffee. Her long hair was braided to one side. She was barefoot and in her pajamas. What was most noteworthy to him, was how carefree she looked. That struck him as odd because it brought to mind the other day, when she fell in the mud. At first, she wore his robe out of necessity after having taken a shower. Eventually, he did give her a pair of his drawstring pajama bottoms and a small Steve Miller Band graphic tee that he had since he was a teenager. Whether she was in his robe, or in his pajamas, she didn't feel comfortable enough to walk around as freely as she was at this moment. Both options that he'd given her covered more skin than what she was wearing now; a loosely fitted gray tank with a matching pair of shorts that reached her mid-thigh. Her attire, alone, was another thing that seemed unusual because her night clothes were clearly made for summertime, and it was almost time for Thanksgiving.

Sully looked out of the large kitchen window. He could see that it was bright and sunny out, the grass was a vibrant green and not a dormant yellow, and he saw several hibiscus flowers in full bloom.

Then he looked around the kitchen and found that he didn't know where they were. They weren't in his kitchen or hers, so where were they? He got up from his chair and looked out the window. When he could see the foothills that were just outside of his ranch, he concluded to himself, that he hadn't woken up at all. He was still asleep, and this was a dream. He felt deep in his heart that he was in the same house that he dreamed about before when he "woke-up" in bed next to her.

He glanced at her sideways to find the evidence he needed to know that this was a dream. He saw the same gold wedding band and engagement ring on her left hand that were there the last time. The main difference that he saw in Michaela this time was that she wasn't pregnant.

Looking around the kitchen, his eyes found a four-by-six snapshot that was taped to the stainless-steel refrigerator. Sully smirked at that. He knew that inside Michaela's house, she had pictures of her kids secured to her white refrigerator door with magnets. It seemed that since their fridge door wasn't magnetized, she made do with scotch-tape.

He walked to the refrigerator and looked at the photo. Sully's immediate thought was, why would she have put that picture on the fridge, it was so blurry. He could make out that it was a family picture. He and Michaela sat side-by-side on a bench with all five kids standing around them. Michaela appeared to be holding a baby, but he couldn't see the baby's face.

Michaela approached him with his cup of coffee.

"Thank you," Sully said, taking the cup from her.

"I love that picture, don't you?" Michaela asked, "I want to have it blown up and framed. Then you can hang it on the wall for me."

Sully nodded for her sake, and silently concluded that she could see it clearly, even though he couldn't. Otherwise, he didn't think she'd want to hang it up on the wall.

Since he knew that this wasn't a regular dream, it was more likely a vision, he wanted to ask her questions. He wanted to find out as much as possible about their lives. He believed that if this was a true vision, then he was having it for a reason. Cloud Dancing would say that the ancient spirits were trying to tell him something, but what? He also had to figure out how to ask her questions without worrying her or frightening her.

"While you were dozing off, I didn't know that you had fallen asleep out here," Michaela said with a giggle, "I talked to Dr. Bernard on the phone. He asked me how I was, and I told him that I was fine. She's three months old now, but she is still keeping us up at night," Michaela put her arms around his middle and kissed him under his chin.

Sully hooked his free arm around her as she was talking and rested his hand on the curve of her waist.

"I wish I'd known at the time that you were sleeping sitting up," Michaela explained, still laughing about it, "But anyhow, he gave me some news that I think you'll like."

"What kinda news?" Sully asked curiously.

"He said that based on my last check-up, I'm healed up and perfectly healthy," Michaela informed him, "Then he gave me the green light."

"The green light for what?" Sully questioned.

"You know," Michaela said and then lowered one hand from his waist and pinched his bottom.

Sully jumped, not expecting that and earned another laugh from Michaela.

"Don't spill your coffee," Michaela told him, smiling wide and happily, "I know I'm up for it. If you're up for it, how about we go to our bedroom for some quality time?"

"You want to do that now?" he questioned, and then wondered just how sweet this vision was about to become.

"The baby is down for a nap," she told him, "The children are at school. Why not?"

"DADDY!" Hanna shouted, startling Sully awake, "You no go night-night. Mickey on."

"Daddy's wide awake now," Sully said, he'd dozed off sitting straight up on his couch while watching an old episode of The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with Hanna.

"I good helper," Hanna said, proud of herself for making sure that her daddy got to watch Mickey with her.

"Yes, you're a good helper," Sully said. He loved his daughter dearly but wished she would've let him nap just a little longer. Unfortunately, now that he was awake, he was unsure if it was a true vision or just a very nice dream.

It was Wednesday, the night before Thanksgiving, and Sully was at Michaela's house helping her prep the turkey and go over ingredient lists to make sure they weren't missing something vital. He came with the kids at six o'clock that night and the plan was to stay until about eight o'clock. Then they would be back in the morning and cook, play games and finally eat together. Sully planned to leave briefly, around noon, to pick up a pie from Grace.

"What is this container for?" Michaela asked Sully, and she looked at a large container that was made of thick plastic. On the side, there were measurements for quarts and liters.

"That's what we're gonna brine the turkey in," answered Sully, who was busy rearranging the items in her refrigerator to make room for the twelve-quart container.

"I didn't even think about having a container for that," Michaela admitted, "I do have a roasting pan. Not that I ever use it."

Sully smiled and shut the refrigerator door, "You'll use it tomorrow. Along with all the other fancy servin' plates and bowls that you have in this place. For someone who don't cook, you sure have a lotta stuff."

"They were mostly gifts," Michaela said with a smile, "My mother thought it was best for me to be prepared."

"It's always good to be prepared," Sully said, smiling back.

"Shouldn't we put the turkey in the refrigerator?" Michaela asked. Sully bought the turkey and brought it in an ice chest.

"It's still a little frozen. I was gonna check it, and if it's not completely defrosted, it's best to leave it out at room temperature. I think it'll be fine in about an hour," Sully said.

"Do you want to go over the ingredients?" Michaela asked.

"Sure," Sully replied. They're plan was to make stuffing, green bean casserole, squash casserole, candied yams, sauteed Brussels sprouts, and mashed potatoes and gravy.

On Michaela's kitchen island, she put out all of the ingredients that she had, and Sully put out all of the ingredients that he brought with him. They went through each recipe and checked off each ingredient.

Michaela felt very confident until Sully asked her, "Did you get the can of cranberry sauce?"

"Oh no, I forgot," Michaela said, feeling terrible. When Michaela was at the grocery store that morning, Sully called and asked her to pick up a can of cranberry sauce because it was Hanna's favorite. She agreed, but she didn't write it down, and forgot to buy it, "I think the stores are open. I'll go get it this minute."

"No," Sully said, "Don't go out and get that tonight."

"But you asked me to," she insisted.

"It's alright," he also insisted.

"But it's Hanna's favorite," Michaela said, getting overwhelmed.

Sully came up behind her and started to massage her shoulders in an effort to get her to relax, "It's fine. Tomorrow when I pick up the pie, I'll stop and get a can."

"What if Hanna thinks I forgot her?" Michaela asked, still getting worked up.

"She won't. She'll never know the difference," Sully said, continuing to knead and rub her shoulders, trying to soothe her nerves. He was touched that she cared so much about Hanna, but he didn't want her to get so worried. This was a holiday celebration, and they were supposed to be having fun, "When we sit down to eat tomorrow, she'll be very happy. It's nothin' to fret over, I promise," Sully leaned in closer and kissed her cheek.

"This is my first Thanksgiving in my new house," Michaela told him, "I just wanted everything to be perfect."

"I think you're a little stressed about how the food is gonna come out too," he said, using his intuition, "That's a natural concern. Nothin' is ever perfect, but I think the food will taste great. I think with all of us together, we'll have a good time."

Michaela nodded and closed her eyes. She focused on the feeling of Sully's hands on her shoulders, and she felt him kiss her cheek again.

"Now let me show ya how to brine a turkey," Sully whispered in her ear.

"Okay," Michaela said with a smile.

It was now 8:30 and Michaela and Sully were done prepping the turkey. Everything that they were going to do that night was done and put away in the refrigerator.

"Brining a turkey isn't that difficult," Michaela commented as she finished wiping down her kitchen island with a Clorox wipe. She threw the wipe away and washed her hands, "I didn't realize that I was just putting ingredients into a bowl of water and making sure the turkey is fully submerged."

"Yeah," Sully agreed, "Brine is just a fancy word."

With nothing else to do that evening, Michaela was starting to get dispirited. She knew that Sully needed to leave soon and take the children home, but she wanted him to stay longer.

"Can I make you a cup of coffee?" Michaela asked, "My sister, Maureen, sent me this brand-new Keurig machine, and a couple of assorted K-cup packs so I could try the different drinks. I'm sure we can find something in here that you'll like."

"I'd like that a lot," Sully said. She had no idea how much he wanted to try one of her coffee drinks and stay longer that evening with her, but he knew it was time to leave, "I think, though, I need to get the kids home. How about a raincheck for tomorrow mornin'?"

"Okay," Michaela said. She was disappointed but knew that he probably should get the children home, especially the two-year-old.

The kids had been playing in the basement. Michaela and Sully left the door open so they could hear if there was any trouble. Additionally, they took turns going downstairs to check on them every once in a while.

"We haven't heard anything for a while," Sully commented, "I don't know if that's a good or a bad sign."

"Let's go find out," Michaela said as they walked down the stairs to the basement.

"What happened here?" Sully said when he saw what the children were doing, "This never happens at home."

"It doesn't happen here either," Michaela said, "Whenever there's a holiday, that is when I have to do the most negotiating with them so they go to bed sometime before midnight."

Sully smiled knowingly as the two of them looked at the scene in front of them. All five kids were sound asleep on the carpeted basement floor. It looked like they'd been watching a movie, and it was over because the T.V. was off. Michaela's T.V. turned off automatically when it wasn't actively being used.

From left to right, was Hanna, sleeping on her side, with her head on Zachary's chest. Zachary was on his back, with one arm cuddling his little sister. Next was Matthew. He was sleeping flat on his back, with both hands behind his head and his ankles crossed. Last were Colleen and Brian. Colleen was sleeping closest to Matthew, but was on her side, with her back to him. She was spooning with Brian.

"Um…Can my kids stay the night?" Sully requested. He didn't want to wake them up.

"Yes," Michaela said and turned off the light. Then the two of them returned upstairs.

"I think I'll take you up on that coffee now," Sully said.

"Certainly," Michaela responded.

After a while, Sully and Michaela were on Michaela's couch chatting. They found a nice dark roast K-cup for Sully, and for Michaela, who didn't like drinking caffeinated drinks at night, they found a decaf peach tea that she wanted to try.

Sully had Michaela laughing so hard that she was in tears at one point. He was discussing his childhood before age ten and his different experiences with the cattle. He told her how his brother used to sing to the cows, and he could never bring himself to sing, so he would talk to them instead.

A story that Michaela found particularly funny was when he was about eight and he tried to lasso a calf. His father made him learn on the calves first, before he would let him try to lasso a cow. Somehow, he tied himself to the small calf and couldn't get himself untied.

"My parents, my brother, Miss Olive, and a couple of the men were just laughin'," Sully said, feigning irritation. He saw the humor in it now, but it wasn't funny to him at the time, "They were gonna untie me, but Ma made them wait because she wanted to take a picture first."

"Oh no," Michaela said, laughing at the mental image that the story conjured up.

"It's not like we had cell phones," Sully said, "So I had to wait for a good thirty minutes, I think, for my mom to ride back to the house, find the camera, then find film to go into the camera, and then come back to take the picture. And then, as if things weren't bad enough, she made me smile while she was takin' the picture, because she wanted it to be a good one."

"Was it a good picture?" Michaela couldn't help but ask.

"She thought it was," Sully said, "She framed it and put it on the mantle over the fireplace."

"Please tell me you still have it," Michaela said, hoping that one day she would be able to see this picture of him tied to a calf.

"Miss Olive has it on her desk in her office," Sully informed her and shook his head.

Michaela was still laughing. The story was funny and cute, but it was also Sully's facial expressions and how animated he became that was humorous to her.

"You told me once that you don't brand the cattle," Michaela said, "But you never explained why."

"That's another childhood story," Sully said, "My family, goin' back a couple generations, used to brand the cattle. The brand looked like the sign that is by the front gate of my ranch. Just the part that says Sully."

Michaela thought about the sign. It said, Welcome to The Sully Ranch. Sully was in small capital letters that were formed in an arch. Outside of the word Sully, was the outline of a cow's head.

"When I was six or seven, I went with my father while they were brandin' the cattle. I'd seen it my whole life and I didn't think anything of it," Sully explained, "I knew that the cows didn't like it, but I didn't understand why."

Michaela nodded at him and watched him while he pulled up his pant leg to his knee.

He showed her his toned calf, "You see this?"

"Yes," Michaela could see that he had a scar.

"That is from one of the brandin' irons," Sully informed her, "I was a kid, and I wasn't watchin' what I was doin'. After one of my father's men branded the cattle, I backed up. The man who had the iron in his hand was walkin' to put it back on the fire. My leg caught a corner of the iron."

"Oh no," Michaela said sympathetically, "That must've hurt."

"Yes," Sully confirmed, "It hurt a lot. I don't remember everything, but I do remember my father cursin' at the guy holdin' the iron. Then he threw me over his shoulder and climbed on his horse and rode to the closest pond on our land. Then he jumped in the pond with me. I remembered that was the pond that I didn't like because it had the coldest water. The cold water didn't bother me that day."

"It was probably very soothing," Michaela commented, "Your father did the right thing. If you have a burn, you want to submerge it in cold water to stop your skin from, essentially, cooking."

"Yeah," Sully said, fondly remembering his father, "He wasn't the most affectionate of men."

"Your father?" Michaela inquired.

"Yeah," Sully said, "I think he was affectionate with my mom, but not with us. I remember him rufflin' my hair if I did a good job on somethin'. I remember when I hit my first homerun. It wasn't off a tee; it was from a pitch. After the game, he threw me up on his shoulders while we walked to the car. He did that, but he wasn't the huggin' and kissin' type. When we were in the pond, he kept on askin' if I was okay, and he kept huggin' me and kissin' my forehead."

"It scared him," Michaela concluded aloud, "If one of my children got burned like that, it would scare me."

"I think so," Sully said. He'd never thought about it like that before, but the incident had likely scared his father to death.

"Was your second father affectionate?" Michaela asked, "You are very affectionate with your children. I've heard that men learn that from their fathers."

"He was with Walter in private sometimes. Walter was already twelve when we started livin' with them. He wasn't affectionate with us because we were already older kids. I was ten, Brecken was thirteen, and when Daniel came to live with us, a couple years later, he was twelve," Sully said, "He spent his time gettin' to know us more than anything else. As time went by, he would do casual pats on the back. Ma said that he used to be affectionate with Walter when he was young. She said that he wouldn't dare hug or kiss Walter in public after he reached a certain age. I understand that, because Zac is the same way. I think I woulda been too."

"So is Matthew," Michaela said. She used to hug and kiss Matthew all the time when he was little, but as he got older, he didn't want her to touch him in front of his friends.

"I hug, kiss, and hold Hanna all the time," Sully said with a smile, "I can't help myself, she's my sweet little baby. She ain't gonna want me doin' that forever, so I figure that I better do it as much as I can now. I used to hug Zac all the time, after we got to know each other. He still wants to hug me now, just not in public, especially in front of his friends. I can get away with a side hug sometimes. He prefers the good, old-fashioned, high-five."

Michaela laughed and nodded. She knew exactly how that was, "I wonder if they'll grow out of that. I don't remember being embarrassed to hug either of my parents in public. I know after a certain age; I wouldn't have kissed them. Now that my father is gone, part of me regrets that. If I had him back for five minutes, I think all I would do is hug and kiss him and tell him that I love him."

"Yeah," Sully agreed, "I think I would do that too. With all three of my parents that I've lost. How did we get on this topic?"

Michaela giggled and said, "At first, you were explaining why you don't brand your animals."

"Oh, right," Sully recalled, "When I got burned, that is when I realized what brandin' them meant, and I couldn't believe it. Some things just stick with ya from childhood, so I give them a little earring instead, a quick pinch and it's done."

Michaela started laughing when he said that.

"What?" Sully asked.

"You reminded me of what my sister, Claudette, told me when Colleen was a baby," Michaela said, "On Colleen's first birthday, Claudette wanted me to mark the occasion by getting her ears pierced. I didn't want to do it because I didn't want to hurt my baby. My sister said, one quick pinch and it's done."

"Did ya end up gettin' it done?" Sully inquired.

"Yes," Michaela admitted, "The place we went to pierced both ears at the same time. She only cried for a minute."

"Was your ex-husband on board with that?" Sully asked.

"I didn't discuss it with him, nor did he notice afterward," Michaela explained, "Why do you ask?"

Sully wanted to ask her why she didn't discuss it with him but decided against it because he knew that her ex-husband wasn't involved with the kids. Instead, he answered her question, "Me and Abagail didn't argue that much. We had normal spats every now and then, but nothin' serious. Now…we fought over that."

"Oh dear," Michaela said, remembering at that moment that Hanna's ears were pierced.

"When Hanna was about six months old," Sully said, "This was before we found out about Abagail's condition. I wouldn't've ever argued with her after we knew about her heart problem. Anyway, Abagail took Hanna to get her ears pierced. She didn't run it past me at all, and she didn't tell me when she got it done either. I remember, after I got home from work that day, seein' light reflecting from my daughter's head, so I went to her and got a closer look. I saw that she had a diamond stud in each ear."

"What did you say to your wife?" Michaela inquired.

"I hit the roof," Sully recalled, "I remember askin', 'How could you punch holes in the baby's head?'"

"What was her answer?" Michaela asked.

"She said that I was bein' dramatic," Sully replied, "Then she got mad at me for raisin' my voice and makin' the baby cry. Hanna didn't like loud noises when she was a small baby. It doesn't bother her as much now."

"How did you resolve it?" Michaela questioned.

"After we cooled down," Sully started to explain, "she said she was sorry she didn't consult me first, but she really didn't think that it would bother me. Then I said I was sorry for shoutin', I did yell a little too loud, but I wasn't expectin' it. Then we forgave each other."

"You're an involved father," Michaela commented, "I'm sure she appreciated you, Sully. I had Colleen's ears pierced on her first birthday. Ethan was on a business trip for his company at the time. I wasn't keeping it a secret, I just forgot about it, and didn't say anything. He didn't notice until Christmas when he saw me remove her earrings and then put in a different pair to match her dress. It wasn't that he never held her, he did sometimes, but he just didn't pay attention to it."

"What did he say?" Sully asked.

"Nothing of consequence," Michaela replied, "I don't remember exactly."

Sully yawned involuntarily and decided to look down at his phone to check the time. He smirked when he saw what time it was. He held the phone up so Michaela could see it and then said, "Happy Thanksgivin',"

"Oh, my goodness, it's two in the morning!" Michaela exclaimed, "I can't believe we talked that long."

"I should get goin'," he said.

"Why don't you spend the night?" Michaela offered without even thinking about it, but then made sure to clarify her meaning, "I will make up the couch or you can sleep in Matthew's room."

"I still need to go home, shower and change," Sully said, though he wanted to take her up on her offer. He didn't feel like driving home, "I know you've showered at my house, but I have clothes that will fit, um, loosely on ya. I can't squeeze into your clothes. Plus, I gotta get a change of clothes for each of my kids."

"You have to leave here tomorrow anyway," Michaela explained to him, "Remember, you have to pick up the pie and get the can of cranberry sauce for Hanna. You can go home and take care of those things then."

Sully grinned at her, he hadn't thought about it like that, "Alright, I'll stay."

After a small talk, they decided that it would be best for him to sleep on the couch and not upstairs. If one of his kids woke up before he did, he would want to be nearby in case they came looking for him. Michaela covered the sofa with a sheet and brought him a pillow and a blanket.

Before she went upstairs, Michaela took their empty coffee mugs to the kitchen sink. When she returned, Sully was sitting on the couch. He'd kicked off his shoes and was sitting cross legged. She turned off the lights and used her phone as a flashlight to make her way to the couch in the dark. She turned on the Tiffany table lamp that was on the side table next to the couch.

"Can I get you anything? she asked.

Sully patted the spot next to him and invited her to sit back down. When she did, he looked into her eyes and said, "I'd love a kiss goodnight."

Michaela looked at him and saw his clear blue eyes sparkling at her. This was the first time since they kissed in the parking lot of The Brew that either one of them had mentioned kissing again. She wanted to kiss him, but she didn't think it was wise for them to let it become too heated. She leaned toward him and brushed her lips against his.

Sully gently cupped her cheek and kissed her back, and then rested his forehead against hers, "Can't ya stay down here a little longer?"

"I don't want to go upstairs," Michaela confessed, her forehead still pressed against his, "I don't think it's a good decision for us to push this relationship too far, too fast."

"Why not stay down here and snuggle with me for a little while?" Sully suggested. He didn't think that was too far, too fast, or too risqué. He lightly pressed his lips against hers and then stretched out his legs behind her on the couch and laid down on the pillow. He lifted his arm up, inviting her to join him.

Michaela laid down next to him on the couch, and Sully covered them both with a blanket. It was a tight squeeze, but that made it more romantic.

Michaela planned on only staying downstairs until she knew he'd fallen asleep; she didn't count on falling asleep first.

It was now five o'clock in the morning. Sully and Michaela were sound asleep on the couch, with neither one of them stirring. Then the doorbell rang, and someone started banging loudly on the door.

They both woke up, and Michaela let out a small, groggy whimper.

"Who is that?" Sully asked with a yawn.

When the person pounded on the door again, Michaela reluctantly got up to answer it. Sully got up too and followed her for safety reasons.

Michaela opened the door with Sully standing right behind her.

"Mother!" Michaela said aloud.

To be continued. As always please review.

What do you think Elizabeth Quinn is going to say?

P.S.: This is version two of this chapter. If you read version one, sorry about that.