Michaela looked down at her sparkling amethyst ring. Sure, it wasn't the diamond engagement ring that she wanted, the one that she'd seen repeatedly in her dreams, but it was beautiful, and her love gave it to her with all of his heart. It was something very special and important to him. That told her that she was special and important to him too, especially since he trusted her with something so personal.

It was Saturday, three days after her birthday. It was also the last practice that Matthew would have with Sully and the boys before his big tryout the following week. She'd allowed Matthew to stay the night with Zachary. She thought it would be good that he was already at Sully's house. That meant that she wouldn't have to get Colleen and Brian up so early to get Matthew there on time.

It was still early that morning. Before she got Colleen and Brian up and ready to go for the day, she decided to go into the basement and make sure the guinea pigs had enough food and water. Her children had done a great job caring for them, but she always double checked. Then she walked to the curb, in front of her house, to check the mail. She hadn't checked it the previous night when she got home from work.

Filing through her mail, as she walked back to the house, she found that she received her electric bill, which was due on the first of March. She didn't even bother to open it. It was a waste of paper, as she paid all of her bills online. Then she found a few ads, and some coupons. Finally, she found a white envelope that was embossed with a shiny white rose pattern.

It was from a Dr. and Mrs. Bruce Vandergeld. She didn't know Dr. Bruce Vandergeld or Mrs. Vandergeld, but they were from Boston, Beacon Hill to be exact. Michaela opened that envelope right away and was instantly surprised.

Dr. and Mrs. Bruce Vandergeld

request the honor of your presence

at the wedding of their daughter

Miss Cornelia Elise Vandergeld

to

Mr. Gardner Charles Dickinson

son of Mr. and Mrs. James Robert Dickinson

on

Saturday, the Eighteenth of March 2023

at three o'clock at

St. Joseph Catholic Church of Beacon Hill

and afterward at the reception at

The Liberty Hotel

Her nephew's wedding was going to be on March 18th? That was only twenty-eight days away. As soon as Michaela returned to the house, she got on her phone and called her sister.

"Hello Michaela!" Rebecca answered in her usual kind fashion.

"Rebecca, I just received an invitation to Gardner's wedding," Michaela informed her, "They are getting married next month? I thought they just got engaged."

"Oh dear," Rebecca replied, sounding uncharacteristically melancholy, "That means that the Vandergelds must have decided to push ahead with the wedding after all."

"What's going on?" Michaela asked. This news didn't sound good.

"There is no reason to keep this a secret from you. You were going to find out sooner or later, Michaela, so I might as well tell you now," Rebecca revealed, "Bob and I, and Dr. and Mrs. Vandergeld will become grandparents in roughly seven and a half months. Nobody in our family knows about this outside of Robert and I, except Mother. I take that back, Jamie and Eliza know too, but Gardner told his brother and sister, I did not. Anyhow, Gardner and Cornelia have both assured me that he proposed, and she accepted, before she found out…"

Michaela closed her eyes and sat down on her chaise longue. Her sister was still talking but she was lost in a fog.

–Seven Years Earlier–

"I'm pregnant," Michaela confessed to two of her older sisters. The three of them were sitting in the living room of Michaela's one bedroom apartment.

"How did that happen?" Marjorie questioned letting out a rather sarcastic sounding laugh.

"Marjorie," Rebecca warned, "Our youngest sister is obviously very vulnerable right now."

"She's always been so… virginal," Marjorie shrugged.

"It's a long story," Michaela whispered. She couldn't believe this was happening and she still couldn't grasp it.

"We've got plenty of time," Marjorie commented.

Rebecca felt her anger flare. She typically tried to stay positive, but Marjorie was doing her best to be difficult, "Marjorie, don't pry. It's hard enough with the father of her baby gone. The least we can do is be supportive," She turned toward Michaela and put her hands on her shoulders, "Look at it this way, you will always have a part of David–"

"No!" Michaela interrupted; her eyes filling with water.

Marjorie and Rebecca paused. They looked at each other and then focused their attention on their sister.

"Are you saying that David isn't the father?" Rebecca asked.

"He's not," Michaela admitted.

Rebecca and Marjorie were both stunned. Michaela had never… As far as they knew, she was saving herself for her wedding night. She had always confided in them that she and David had planned a wedding night consummation. If she had given into temptation and consummated her relationship with David beforehand, they would understand. They were living in a modern world. Neither of them nor their other two sisters had waited for marriage. Most of their friends hadn't either. They weren't holding Michaela to a standard that they hadn't cared about themselves, however; neither Rebecca nor Marjorie would have ever suspected that Michaela would have slept with a man other than her fiancé.

"Michaela, I'm sorry to have to ask this, but do you know who the father is?" Rebecca had to ask the question. She knew it wasn't any of her business, but this was all a big shock. Someone was going to ask her eventually. At least she would do it respectfully.

"Oh, and you're telling me not to pry?" Marjorie snapped at Rebecca.

"This is completely different," the eldest of the Quinn sisters replied.

"Yes, I know who the father is," Michaela answered quickly to keep her sisters from arguing, "There is only one possibility. I was upset, lonely, devastated, and... and..."

"Okay," Marjorie interjected and took Michaela into her arms. She rocked her younger sister back and forth as she let out her grief, "It's okay to cry."

"Forgive me, Michaela," Rebecca requested, "We are not thinking anything. I just thought it was best to ask. I would never question your character."

"Nor would I," Marjorie promised.

After a few minutes and Michaela was composed, Marjorie asked, "Is it Dr. Burke?" Dr. Burke was the only other man that she could think of that could have possibly fathered Michaela's baby. They were good friends and Marjorie could see her turning to him for comfort in her grief. Additionally, Marjorie had always suspected that Dr. Burke had the hots for her, and he would be more than willing to supply the kind of comfort necessary to result in her sister's pregnancy.

"No," Michaela confessed, "I don't think either of you have met this man," Tears were streaming down her face, but she wasn't sobbing. She just couldn't stop herself from thinking, how could she have let this happen?

"Is he someone you care for?" Rebecca questioned. They knew Dr. Burke, but they didn't know all of her friends.

"I hardly know him," Michaela answered, then amended her statement, "I mean, I do know him. He isn't some complete stranger. It's just that I consider him to be more of an acquaintance than a friend."

Marjorie was dying to know more, but it wasn't important, "Does he know?" she asked, and when Michaela shook her head no, Marjorie added, "Then nobody has to know. It will stay between the three of us. You're a doctor. You know a lot of people and you have access to a lot of medicine. Have it taken care of and don't ever tell him or anyone else."

Michaela, who'd been cradled in Marjorie's arms, sat up, "I can't do that," she stated firmly. She placed a protective hand over her still flat belly and looked into Marjorie's eyes.

"Why not?" Marjorie questioned. In her mind it was ridiculous to want to keep it, "I'm fairly certain Maureen–"

"I can't do that," Michaela repeated. She knew all about the exploits of her older sisters. All of them had some pretty questionable skeletons in their closets, except Rebecca. To her knowledge, Maureen was the only one who had that particular skeleton in her closet, and perhaps she could live with it, but Michaela knew she could not. She would never be able to live with herself if she did that, "This is my baby, and I won't do that."

–Present Day–

"Michaela? Michaela, are you still there?" Rebecca asked into the phone. Michaela's side had gone silent, and she was afraid that their call had dropped.

"I'm here Rebecca," Michaela answered.

"Good, there you are. As I was saying, they've been dating since high school. I know that they love each other," Rebecca continued, "I know in my heart that the proposal isn't just a result of the pregnancy. We told Cornelia's parents that it was okay with Bob and I if they wanted to wait a year or so to get married. Have the baby first, then plan a suitable wedding. What difference does it make now? The Vandergelds said that we only think so because our child is the groom and not the bride, and if the rules were reversed, then we wouldn't be so cavalier about it. They don't want the embarrassment of Cornelia beginning to show while she's wearing her wedding dress and taking her vows. Her giving birth before marriage was also completely unacceptable to them."

"Cornelia is a very nice girl," Michaela said, "I don't know much about her family, but they sound like Mother."

"Oh, the Vandergelds are very uppity people," Rebecca informed her, "Compared to them, Mother is easygoing. Mother, believe it or not, pointed out that several of the royals in Monaco had children before marriage, and they were higher up the social ladder than the Vandergelds. But I suspect that Mother only said that because they called Bob and I hypocrites. I doubt Mother feels that having a child before marriage is appropriate. Anyhow, Mrs. Vandergeld's thinking is if they get married quickly, then the only thing people will remember, when Cornelia gives birth, is the beautiful wedding. And for the people who will inevitably do the math, they will spin it and tell a tale of how miraculous their grandchild's premature birth was.

Michaela shook her head. The Vandergelds were obviously very insecure. She saw her mother as being that way too, but at the very least Michaela getting married was enough to satisfy her. Elizabeth didn't make up a big lie about Colleen's birth just to save face. Not that any of it made any difference now, of course. In all honesty, Michaela could care less about the Vandergelds. Her biggest fear was that Gardner had found himself in a situation that she'd once been in, but Rebecca was right. He and Cornelia had been dating since high school. It was nothing like her situation with Ethan.

"I know this is short notice now, but are you and the kids still coming?" Rebecca questioned, "If they are going to go ahead with this, then I'm sure Cornelia still wants the children in the wedding."

Michaela thought about it. She could still attend, but she would only be able to stay a week at most. She couldn't keep the kids out of school for longer than that, "Yes, we'll be in attendance. I will send back my RSVP today, and I will start making flight arrangements."

"That's wonderful Michaela," Rebecca said. "I can't wait to see you and the children."

When Michaela arrived at Sully's ranch, it was already a few minutes past 11:00.

"There you are," Sully said when he saw his wonderful girlfriend and her two younger children coming, "I was gettin' a little worried."

"Hi Sully!" Colleen said and waved the best she could; she was holding a large bag with a bunch of toys in it. Then she freely walked inside the house as if she lived there.

"Hi Colleen!" Sully returned her greeting, "That looks like a lot of Barbie stuff," he told Michaela as she approached him. Looking her over, he saw that she was holding Brian's hand with her right hand and rolling a medium size suitcase with her left.

"Colleen wanted to play with Mia, so she brought far too many toys over, " Michaela informed him with a small smile and then greeted him with a kiss, "I was hoping that we could all stay the night tonight. Didn't you get my message?"

"Suhwy!" Brian greeted him happily, full of excitement.

"Hey Brian!" Sully returned his greeting, then he picked him up for a hug. Sully shifted the toddler, so he was on his hip, and he supported his weight with one strong arm.

"I left my phone in the house," Sully explained, "You and the kids are always welcome." Then he leaned forward for another kiss, "All the other kids got picked up on time today. I'm just waitin' for those two to be done." Sully gestured over to the field.

"What are they doing?" Michaela questioned, it looked as if Matthew and Zachary were in the midst of running in a circle around the field.

"Gettin' the field cleaned up," Sully said.

"Dr. Mike!" Mia cheered when she saw Michaela. Then she ran up to her and threw her arms around her waist, "I put my hair in a ponytail, and I put this bow in it all by myself. It's just like when you do it. Did I do a good job?"

"You certainly did!' Michaela said, and twirled the little girl around as if they were dancing.

"I can read a whole book now!" Mia announced with pride, "Can I read it to you later?"

"How about after dinner?" Michaela suggested, with a wide smile on her face.

"Okay!" the little girl agreed, "Where's Colleen?"

"She's in the house," answered Michaela.

"I'll go find her," Mia said.

"Wait," Sully said, stopping Mia from leaving, "Where's Hanna?"

"She didn't want to get off the swings," Mia explained and pointed behind him.

Sully looked behind him and saw Hanna swinging, "Okay. Take Brian inside with you. I will get Hanna off the swings." Sully put Brian down and Mia held out her hand for him.

"She can read a whole book?" Michaela whispered to Sully, "That was fast."

"It's one of those books that schools use when they are teachin' kids to read. There's one short sentence on each page. My mother says she's excellin' at phonics," Sully informed her, also keeping his voice low.

"That's wonderful. She's going to catch up," Michaela said as she watched Mia and Brian walk hand in hand into the house, "and I'm glad she's starting to like Colleen, I was hoping for that."

"Why wouldn't she like Colleen?" Sully questioned; this was the first he'd heard of it, and it seemed strange to him. They were both six-year-old girls who liked Barbies, ponies, and whatnot. What was there to not like?

"Mia confessed to me that she thinks Colleen gets annoying sometimes," Michaela explained, "Her exact words were 'She gets on my nerves, and I just want to slap her, but I won't.'" Michaela shrugged, "I'm glad she told me the truth, but I must admit, when she said it, it hurt my feelings. Colleen is my daughter, obviously I want her to be liked. When I asked Mia why, she said it's because Colleen is always so cheerful."

"Wait a minute. Mia told you all of that?" Sully asked. He thought it was foolish to be jealous, but he was starting to worry because this child that he had taken in didn't seem to like him very much and he didn't understand why.

"Yes," Michaela replied nonchalantly, "And as I said, at first it hurt my feelings. Then I thought about my sisters. Rebecca has always had a sunny disposition, like my daughter. These days, Marjorie is lighthearted and often goes by the beat of her own drum, but she wasn't always that way. Prior to Marjorie's divorce, she was always in a bad mood, and quite frankly a killjoy. She took her frustrations out on all of us, and it was really only my father who could put her in her place. Rebecca and Marjorie love one another, don't get me wrong, but they get into arguments too, especially when Marjorie was still married. One time, Marjorie actually said the words, 'Rebecca is irritating because she has never had a bad day in her life.'"

"That's kinda like the girls," Sully concluded, "Colleen is a child of divorce, but you've protected her. Mia really hasn't had anyone to protect her."

"Exactly," Michaela replied.

"I wish I could convince Mia that all I wanna do is protect her. Treat her like my own," Sully confessed. He was going to leave it be, but it was bothering him.

"Is she still avoiding you?" Michaela questioned.

"Yes," Sully admitted, his sadness and own hurt feelings showing through, "She responds well to the kids, you, my mother, she even started calling Ma, grandma. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Ma thinks it's my hair."

"Your hair?" Michaela asked with a laugh, "Wait, did you and Snowbird talk about what happened on my birthday?"

"I apologized for actin' like a jerk, but we didn't really talk about her and Loren," Sully explained.

Michaela nodded and then asked, "What's wrong with your hair?"

"Loren didn't like me when we first met because I looked like someone he hates," he said, "He didn't want to get to know me. He didn't care. I reminded him of Hank, and that was it. I was no good in his eyes. Ma thinks that Mia could be doin' the same thing."

"That's possible, I suppose," Michaela said.

"So," Sully said, wanting to move off this topic of conversation, "I have lunch for all of us, it's a casserole from Grace, I just have to pop it in the oven."

"Sounds great!" Michaela replied, "Sully, while we are still alone, there is something that I need to discuss with you."

"Sure," Sully answered and then waited for her to speak.

Michaela was about to tell him about the latest developments in Boston when they were interrupted.

"Dad!" Zachary yelled as he and Matthew came running to him as if there was an emergency.

"Mom!" Matthew greeted her happily when he saw her.

"Hi Dr. Mike," Zachary greeted her too.

"Hello boys," Michaela responded, but then waited for them to tell Sully what the problem was.

"Aunt Olive is about to flip," Zachary warned his dad.

"Why do you say that?" Sully asked.

"Jesse just keyed Mr. O'Conner's car. Right in the parking lot by your office building," Zachary informed Sully.

"WHAT!" Sully reacted. He was completely flabbergasted. He'd heard from Olive that Jesse was an idiot, but he didn't expect that.

"We saw him," Matthew added.

Jesse was the cowboy that Olive complained about all the time. She wanted him fired. Sully didn't agree to fire him because he was good at his job, and he believed his undesirable personality traits could be tolerated as long as he didn't do anything completely stupid. Unfortunately, it sounded like Jesse just crossed the line into stupid.

"Who's Jesse?" Michaela asked.

"One of my workers," Sully said, "I'm sorry, Honey, I have to go and check on this. Then we can talk all ya want."

"It's fine, go and handle it. I will take care of lunch," Michaela replied.

"Thank you," he said and then sprinted off in the direction of his office.

Michaela put an arm around each boy and said, "Did you guys have a good practice?"

"Yes," Matthew said, but was still focused on Sully, and was staring in the direction that he just went.

"It was great," Zachary said, then he looked at Michaela and told her, "I'm sorry to leave like this but I want to go watch my dad kick Jesse's tail."

"Me too!" Matthew practically cheered, "Let's go!"

Before Michaela could stop them, they took off running after Sully.

"Boys will be boys," Michaela muttered and shook her head.

Michaela decided that it was time to turn her attention to Hanna, who was still on the swings. She'd bring Hanna inside with her and then she'd put their casserole in the oven.

"Hanna!" Michaela shouted in the direction of the small playground, "It's time to go inside!"

"I want swing," the small tot insisted, "Five minutes."

Five minutes? She'd been hearing the request of five minutes from Brian quite a bit lately. Michaela wondered if this was something that they'd picked up in school. The trained mother walked closer to the swing set and watched Hanna attempting to give herself enough momentum to swing faster.

"I know you want to swing Precious," Michaela said, "But we need to get ready for lunch. Then we'll eat, and then you and Brian need to go down for your naps. We can come back outside afterward."

As Michaela was talking, Hanna was trying to figure out how to swing faster. She decided to stand up on the seat, which was just a rubber belt. It was strong enough to support the weight of an adult, but it was not sturdy enough for a small child to stand on.

"No Hanna, don't do that!" Michaela said, sensing imminent danger, but it was too late. Hanna lost her balance and fell backwards landing hard on her back. Luckily, Sully had installed very thick rubber flooring under the swing set and play structure, which likely just saved his daughter from a very serious injury. However, the way she'd just landed, could still result in an injury, even if it was only minor.

As soon as she hit the floor, Hanna started wailing loudly, and Michaela was there in an instant. She suspected that Hanna was more startled than anything else. She based her suspicion on the way the child was moving and how she was able to sit up.

Michaela was quickly on the ground beside her; she was attempting to ascertain if there was any serious damage to Hanna's back.

"Let me see," Michaela said softly. She wanted to lift the back of Hanna's shirt and examine her spine, but the frightened toddler was squirming and crying, "Honey, let Mommy see," Michaela said more firmly.

The little girl was still wildly upset but she held still long enough for Michaela to take a look at her back. Michaela felt up and down her spine, and she didn't feel any breaks or muscle swelling. It looked like the worst of it was a superficial skin scrape that Michaela could wash and bandage once they were in the house. Now it was time to handle the small child's adrenaline rush.

"Come here," Michaela said, holding out her arms. She cradled Hanna close to her and held her, "Everything is going to be alright," Michaela kissed her forehead and soothingly chanted, "Mommy's here. Mommy's here."

"I'M GONNA KICK YOUR BONEY LITTLE ASS!" Mr. O'Connor raged at Jesse as he chased him around his car.

Jesse had keyed the words Looking for a Fight on the side of Patrick O'Connor's vintage Porsche Boxster. He even took the time to turn the two Os in the word, Looking, into eyeballs. This car was something that Olive's boyfriend, and Zachary's former teacher, had spent countless hours working on after work and on weekends. He'd never been married, and he didn't have children. The car was his child, and he put a lot of money into it. Putting a lot of money into a car wasn't always easy to do on a teacher's salary. What Jesse did was just cruel.

"What's goin' on?" Sully asked Olive who'd been watching the scene unfold.

"I told you!" Olive lectured Sully, putting a finger in the middle of his chest, "I told you we needed to fire him! He's mad at me for not givin' him the hours that he wanted, so he did this to Pat's car. The hours that he wants are unrealistic for the job that we do, not to mention, if I gave in, it would be unfair to all the other workers."

"Ouch!" Pat yelled, shielding his face. Jesse had stumbled onto a pile of small rocks and was throwing them hard at the older man.

"Dad, do somethin'!" Zachary yelled at his father. He never liked Mr. O'Connor as a teacher, but what Jesse was doing was wrong.

Sully was not pleased when he discovered that Matthew and Zachary had followed him, but he didn't have time to deal with that right then and there.

"Call the cops," Sully told Olive, "Stay back!" He shouted at the boys.

Sully snuck around the car, and watched when Jesse was looking down for more rocks. When the young cowboy was distracted, that's when Sully tackled him, bringing him down to the ground. Jesse tried to struggle, but Sully was stronger and had better control. He was able to use his body weight to keep Jesse pinned.

"Good!" Pat yelled, "Hold him so I can beat the tar out of him!"

"No!" Sully barked, "I'm gonna hold him and someone needs to call the police!"

The older man didn't want to listen. He wanted to beat the crap out of Jesse after what he'd just pulled.

"Pat," Olive said softly, she ran out and put her arms around him, "I've called them, Sully, they are on the way."

"My car," the man whimpered pitifully to Olive. He looked like he was trying to hold back tears.

"I know," Olive soothed, giving him a hug.

Zachary was taken back. Until that moment, he didn't think that Mr. O'Connor had feelings at all. Perhaps he was human just like everyone else.

"It looks worse than it is," Olive said, taking his hand and walking back to the car. She ran her hand over the damaged car door, "The paint is the worst part. The little damage he did to the metal can easily be buffed out. We have the tools here to do that. Don't we Sully?"

Sully sat Jesse up and dragged him to the side of the office building and sat him there.

"Don't even think about movin'," Sully told Jesse. "We do," he answered Olive, "but I think you should try to get an estimate first from a paint and autobody shop and get my former employee here to pay for it."

"Yeah," Olive said and then whispered into her boyfriend's ear so Jesse couldn't hear, "and if that takes too long, I will make Sully write you up an estimate on our letterhead. We're a business. You can take our estimate to court if that goon doesn't have insurance."

"Thank you," Pat whispered to Olive. Then he gave her a big kiss.

"YUCK!" Zachary and Matthew shouted in unison.

"Guys!" Sully scolded, but still chuckled. Though he did find their reaction a little off. They didn't react that way when he kissed Michaela.

"You two are old enough to start likin' girls," Olive shouted, "Your gonna wanna start kissin' soon."

"It's that you kissed me, my dear," Pat said, "It's not the kissin' itself."

"Oh, good grief," responded Olive.

After the incident, Sully walked back to the bungalow with Matthew and Zachary beside him.

He had an arm around both of them as they walked and was giving him his best fatherly lecture, "I know that you boys were just curious, but I still don't want ya followin' me like that again. That could've turned into a very dangerous situation."

"You still haven't explained why you can do that, but I can't," Zachary complained, referring to what happened at school the other day with Colleen. He was just protecting her, but he got in trouble for it.

"We've been over this before, Zac," Sully said, "I am the authority around here. I had to stop that before it got worse. You are not the authority at school. I'm glad you stood up for your sister-"

"My sister," Matthew interrupted, correcting him.

"Right," Sully replied. Matthew's correction made Sully very aware of what he'd just said. He knew that Zachary and Colleen were not brother and sister, it was just a slip of the tongue. He decided to simply shake it off and continue, "I'm sure that Matthew is very happy that you stuck up for Colleen too. But you had other options than to get in a fight with that boy. As soon as you saw him holdin' that book over her head, you could've gotten a teacher. And if you were paying close attention out there just now, you should've noticed that I did not beat Jesse up and I didn't let Mr. O'Connor beat him up either."

"Is hitting ever okay?" Matthew asked, remembering how his own father used to hit him. He also remembered all of the times he wanted to hit his father back. His mother didn't believe it was okay. That's what she said when she used to fight with his dad about it.

Sully let out a sigh. It was difficult to explain this. If he wasn't careful, he would confuse them. Zachary was already confused. He also wasn't aware of what Matthew was thinking in his head at that moment, "I think there are times when hittin' someone is justified, but you have to use your head first. You can't just punch someone for no reason, and I don't ever wanna see either of you boys in the back of a cop car period, but definitely not for flyin' off the handle and assaultin' someone. If you use your head first, you might also find that some people ain't even worth takin' a swing at."

The three of them made it to the front porch, "Any more questions before we go inside?" Sully asked. When neither of the boys had any questions, Sully opened the door to the house. The first thing he noticed was the smell of the casserole that was baking in the oven.

"Hey, little brother," Matthew greeted Brian with a laugh. The scene in front of him was truly funny.

All of the females were out of sight, and Brian was stretched out on the living room floor using Wolf as a pillow and Jimmy as an arm rest.

"Hey there, Brian," Sully said, "Looks like ya caught yourself a couple balls of fur."

"Since we got the guinea pigs, he's started really loving animals," Matthew reported, "He liked them before, but now he really loves them," Then, Matthew got a little worried,
"Um... does that cat scratch?"

"That furball?" Zachary joked, "No. We could probably swing him around by his tail and throw him and he'd still come back for more."

"It's true," Sully agreed, "He's the most docile cat I've ever seen." Changing the subject, he told the older boys, "I want you two to get washed up for lunch and set the table. We'll get Brian washed up right before it's time to eat."

Zachary and Matthew said nothing, they just did as Sully asked.

Sully went in search of Michaela next. While on his search, he found that Mia and Colleen were playing in Mia's room. Everything looked fine with the girls, so he continued his trek to his bedroom. There, he found Michaela in his room with Hanna. She was holding a glass of water up to Hanna's lips.

"Both hands please," Michaela coached, but still held on to the glass so Hanna didn't spill it while she drank. Once Hanna was finished, she placed the half-full glass on Sully's dresser, "Good girl. You stay here on Daddy's bed, and I'm going to go and get you a clean shirt."

"Everything okay?" Michaela asked when she saw Sully standing in the doorway. Hanna's room was close by, so she could retrieve the shirt while Sully was answering her; she would still be able to hear him.

"Yeah," Sully replied. However, his attention was now focused on Hanna. He saw the bandage on her back and immediately bent down. He gently placed his hand on it.

Hanna winced in pain and whined when Sully put pressure on her back.

"I'm sorry, Baby," Sully reacted softly, "I won't touch it." Whatever it was, it obviously hurt, "What happened here?" he asked Michaela once she returned.

"She fell off the swing outside and landed on her back pretty hard," Michaela explained as she helped Hanna put on a soft sweater, "When I examined it initially, it appeared to be just a small skin abrasion, but she's been favoring that spot on her back more than she should. Just now, I gave her a very small dose of Tylenol and I was going to rock her in your chair and hold an ice pack on her back. I'm glad that I am staying the night tonight so I can keep an eye on it. I do believe she will be just fine tomorrow morning, but if not, I would like to take her to the clinic tomorrow for an x-ray."

"Yes," Sully agreed. If Hanna was hurt, he wanted her taken care of.

"Mommy!" Hanna moaned, "I wanna hold you." Hanna was hurt and her words were a little whiney, but both Sully and Michaela heard them loud and clear.

Michaela looked into Sully's eyes nervously for a moment, and then turned her attention to Hanna. She lifted Hanna into her arms and held her close to her body. The little girl responded by closing her eyes and resting her head on Michaela's shoulder.

"She's been attached to me since she fell," Michaela informed him. She would have to explain to him about when she misspoke, out on the playground. Hanna had just called her Mommy, and Sully heard it, there was no mistaking it. Michaela felt that she owed him an explanation for that. Perhaps she could explain when they were alone in his bedroom later that night. With Hanna secure in her arms, Michaela walked out to the living room with Sully following behind, "Can you please get me an ice pack?" She asked Sully before they got too far.

"Sure," Sully agreed, and made a detour to his kitchen before continuing on to the living room.

Although Michaela was very much enjoying Hanna's devotion, she was surprised at that moment. Until that day, the only person Hanna really attached herself too was Sully. She showed affection to other people like Zachary and Snowbird, but in times like this, she typically wanted Sully and no one else.

Sully wasn't all that surprised by his daughter's behavior. When she was still a baby, and before Abagail got very sick, they used to label Hanna's moods as Mommy times, and Daddy times. Sometimes she wouldn't let Daddy go, and sometimes she wouldn't let Mommy go. It all depended on her mood. Hanna didn't remember her mother; Sully had learned that already. Perhaps his little girl felt instinctively that she still needed those Mommy times, and Michaela was fulfilling that need.

However, Hanna had never called anyone Mommy before. Abagail died before the baby was old enough to formulate the word, Mama. She'd heard Brian and Colleen call Michaela, Mommy, several times, but she'd never said it herself. Hanna had only ever called Michaela, Dr. Mike... actually Dr. My. Sully didn't feel angered by it, but he was curious as to what sparked it.

As soon as Michaela sat down in Sully's chair with Hanna, Sully was right there with the ice pack.

Unfortunately, the green-eyed monster was now within Brian. The little boy got up from his spot, leaving the dog and cat behind, and immediately wanted to sit on his mother's lap, but Sully intercepted him.

"Come here, Brian," Sully spoke gently and lifted him up into his arms, "What's the matter?"

"I want Mommy," Brian insisted.

Sully sat on the sofa opposite Michaela and Hanna, and cradled Brian in his lap, "You were just fine a minute ago," he replied softly, attempting to talk the boy out of the typical toddler-age selfishness, "Hanna doesn't mean any harm, and your Mommy loves you. I know that you love Hanna. She got hurt today, and when someone we love is hurt, we need to take care of them. Hanna needs Mommy real bad right now. Leavin' Mommy be is how you can help take care of Hanna." Brian did love Hanna, but he still didn't seem happy, so Sully continued on, "If you are tired of those two furballs over there, why not stay here and sit with me instead?"

A big smile spread on Brian's face, and he agreed, hugging Sully in the process.

As Sully snuggled with Brian on the couch, Michaela was holding and rocking Hanna in his chair. She was gently pressing the ice pack into the little girl's back as well.

Michaela looked in Sully's direction and mouthed the words, "Thank you."

Sully winked at her, silently telling her, "I've got you, Babe."

That was it! Everything was now settled in Sully's mind. Hanna needed a mother and Brian needed a father. All of the kids needed that! Between he and Michaela, they had six young children that were down a parent. Why keep waiting around when all the children could have both a mother and a father as soon as they could get a wedding planned? It wasn't just about the kids, however; he needed and wanted her for himself too. He wanted her to be his wife. He wanted her as a companion, a confidant, a friend, a lover, a co-parent... and he knew that's what she wanted from him too. Saying that out loud wasn't going to scare her off. It wasn't too soon, not for them, and it didn't scare him off. Sully was going to ask Michaela to marry him. He just had to figure out how, where, and he needed to find the right ring for her finger.

To be continued. Please review =)

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. The most difficult part of this chapter was writing about Michaela's flashback with her sisters. I hope I got it right. See you next time.