Author's Note: Michaela and Sully are having troubles in their marriage. It seems they always end up fighting. I am currently writing another fan fiction titled Days of Golden Dreams. So this story may take a little longer than my other fan fictions. I hope you enjoy. Thank you!

Sully slammed the bedroom door as he left his room. He was furious. Why did his wife have to get so upset sometimes. She had been having a short temper for two months or so. She was tired all the time. Then she would get teary eyed. He didn't know how to act around her sometimes.

He walked downstairs and outside. He went over to where his horse was tied to the fencepost. He untied the rein and then mounted and rode off. He needed to get away from all of his problems and to seek some guidance.

Michaela looked out the window and saw her husband ride away. She felt mad at herself for making him angry. She didn't know what got into her the last couple of months. She felt like her whole world around her was changing. She sometimes would wonder why she would get so angry and then she would just cry for no reason at all. She felt fine physically except in the morning. She felt like she was going to puke. She laid down and soon fell asleep.

Michaela woke up the next morning. She got up out of bed. She felt dizzy and fell to the floor. She laid there on the floor unconscious. Downstairs Sully and Brian were fixing breakfast.

"What's wrong with Ma?"

"I don't know Brian, but I hope that these mood swings will stop real soon. It puts a lot of tension between the two of us."

All of a sudden they heard crying from upstairs. Sully climbed the stairs and went to his daughter's bedroom. He opened the door and looked in. There was his daughter standing up in her crib with tears coming down her face. He moved toward the crib and picked her up. Then gave her a kiss on the cheek. He carried her downstairs and put her in her highchair to eat breakfast.

Then he went upstairs to cheek on Michaela. He opened the door slowly. Making sure not to wake her if she was asleep. Then he saw his wife's body motionless upon the floor. He went to her. He slowly picked her up from the floor and set her down on the bed. He felt he forehead. She was burning up. He went over to the washbowl and got a wet cold cloth. He then gently dabbed her forehead.

Then Sully went downstairs and asked Brian to go get Andrew right away. Brian then saddled his horse and rode off to get Andrew. Sully mean while was picking up Katie and bringing her upstairs. He put her on the bed beside Michaela.

A few minutes later two horses rode up. Brian and Andrew dismounted. They came running inside and upstairs. Andrew ran inside the bedroom with Brian right behind him. Andrew took action immediately.

"Brian I want you to take Katie downstairs and feed her. Then do something to keep her mind off of her mother right now."

"Okay.",he replied as he picked up Katie.

"Sully I want you to describe how she was laying on the floor?"

"She was laying some what on her back and right side. Her head was on the ground, and her arms were dangling out."

Andrew went to work on a thorough examination. He didn't find any broken bones. Soon he concluded his examination.

"I can't find anything seriously wrong with her. She might have overdoing her hours at the clinic. What kind of mood has she been in lately?"

"She sometimes will get real mad, then all of sudden she is real sad, and she gets real sick in the morning."

Andrew checked Michaela once more before making a diagnoses. After he was finished he washed his hands and then put his equipment in his bag.

"What aren't you telling me. What's wrong with her Andrew?"

"Nothing is wrong with her Sully. She is perfectly healthy."

"What do you mean. You call fainting a healthy thing."

"In her case yes. Sully she's pregnant."

Sully was surprised when he told him. He had never thought about that before being the cause of it. But he was so happy that it was.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yes quite healthy. I'd say about two months along. Tell Michaela she needs to start cutting back on her hours though."

"Thanks Andrew for everything."

"Your welcome Sully."

Andrew left and went back into town. Sully climbed into bed next to his wife and he soon fell asleep and dreamt of what might be.

Michaela woke up the next morning. She tried to get up, but a stiffness ran through her body. She sat up and stretched her limbs out. As she began to get up she felt nauseous. She ran over to the washbowl and threw up.

Sully woke up. When Michaela wasn't beside him he sat up and started to get out of bed when he saw her over by the dresser. He got up out of bed and went to her side. He put his arms around her.

"Michaela are you alright?"

"I felt a little nauseous. But I think that I am alright."

"Michaela do you remember fainting last night?"

"No, did I?"

"Yes, I came up to check on you and you were on the floor unconscious. Andrew came and made sure you were alright. But he did find something."

"What did he find?"

"Michaela he told me your pregnant."

Michaela felt a small smile come on her face."I suspected it might be that for awhile, but now I guess were sure now."

"Your happy about it right?"

"Oh Sully of course I'm happy. I'm just overwhelmed that's all. I can't believe it's really happening."

"Why don't you and I spend a night underneath the stars?"

"That sounds so wonderful. We can let the kids stay at Matthew's tonight."

Soon they rode into the night and had made a campsite in which they had set to making supper. After they finished eating they held one another and looked at the stars above them.

"Sully do you ever regret the way your life has turned out. I mean do you wish you could change some of the choices you made in your life."

"I wouldn't change a thing except that Cheyenne were all here and alive. But other then that everything that happened in my life led me to you and I am happier then ever with you and the kids. You all mean so much to me."

"Did you feel that. I think it's gonna rain."

"We better go to a nearby cave until it stops."

As soon as they got all of their things packed up the rain was pouring down. They rode their horses for a long time until they finally came upon a cave. They jumped down off the horses and grabbed what few supplies they had and ran into the cave to escape the bitter cold rain. Michaela and Sully stripped all of their clothes off and wrapped the blankets around their cold bodies. They held one another to keep warm.

A few hours passed and the rain did not stop. Instead it seemed to be getting worse. Michaela and Sully still were not warm. Michaela could hardly feel her arms and legs. She was so cold she couldn't even move. Soon Michaela and Sully had high fevers and were coughing uncontrollably. Michaela thought to herself why hadn't she brought her bag along.

"Sully I should try and find some bark for some willow bark tea."

"You can't go back out there. It's so cold and the rain's not letting up any it's only getting worse."

"But Sully I don't have my bag and your fever is getting worse. I have to find something to bring down before it gets so high that I won't be able to help you at all."

"Michaela you don't feel good yourself. What if you can't find your way back."

"Sully I won't be gone more than 5 minutes."

"Alright, but if your not back in 5 minutes I coming to look for you. Here's my knife. You'll need it."

Michaela put her soaked clothes back on to her icy cold body. She went outside of the cave and went in search of what she needed. After a little while she found what she was looking for she took out the knife Sully had given her and cut a few pieces off. Then she placed it in her pockets. As she made her way back to the cave. She didn't know where she was. The rain attacked from all over. She began to run. All of a sudden she slipped and fell.

Sully put his clothes back on and went outside to look for Michaela. He feared she had gotten lost or worse yet she hadn't gotten hurt and he would not hear her cries for help against the howling of the wind.

"Michaela can you hear me. Please answer me."

Sully had been searching for her for what seemed to be hours. He felt like he was ready to pass out. His body had become so cold and the rain only got worse as he made a desperate attemp to find his wife. Soon he saw someone lying on the ground a few feet in front of him. As he reached the person he saw that it was his wife. He called to her but she did not answer. He picked her and put her over his shoulder. Then he saw his knife on the ground where Michaela had been laying. He saw blood on it. He realized that she had fallen on his knife.

He finally made his way back to the cave. He put Michaela on the blankets and striped her clothes off. Soon his eyes came to rest at a cut on her side about 4 inches long. She was loosing a lot of blood. He took off his shirt and put it on her wound to try and stop the bleeding. He feared that by how deep the cut looked that she might have cut one of her organs. He hoped that the storm would stop soon so he could get help.

Several more hours passed and the storm finally stopped. Sully packed up their things and he rode with Michaela in his arms back to town as fast as he could. But he was feeling so tired and his body was exhausted. Soon the town came into view. Just as he reached the clinic he fell from his horse and blacked out from exhaustion.

Colleen left the clinic to check if there was any mail for her or her Ma. When she saw Michaela on her horse and Sully laying on the ground. She ran to them and called for Andrew and Matthew to help. As she checked Sully she saw that he was blacked out. Soon Matthew and Andrew came running from the clinic. Soon Michaela was on the operating table as Andrew examined her wound. He sewed up the major organ and then closed the wound. He feared that she might night make by the amount of blood that she had lost.

A few hours later Sully awoke to find his daughter looking down at him. He tried to sit up but she pushed him back down on the bed.

"Pa you need to rest. Your fever's broke but your body's exhausted from your ordeal."

"Michaela! Where's Michaela!?!"

"Pa she had a bad gash on her side. Andrew sewed up her wound. But she's lost a lot of blood and he's not sure if she will completely recover."

"Is there any way you can do a blood transfusion?"

"Yes we can."

"Give her some my blood."

"Pa I don't think that's such a good idea with you being sick and all."

"Colleen I need Michaela to live. She is like my air for me to breathe. I will do anything I can to save her. Now don't argue with me."

A few hours after the blood transfusion Michaela woke up. She looked around at where she was with a confusion. She had no idea how she had gotten to the clinic or why she was even at the clinic. As she tried to move her side had a terrible pain. She got out of bed and opened the door. She didn't see anyone. She looked in the other rooms when she opened the door to third recovery room she saw Sully in bed with Andrew doing an examination with her daughter assisting him. Soon they both turned to see Michaela at the door.

"Ma your up. But you shouldn't be up and moving with your injury." Colleen replied as she tried to make her mother go back to her room. But Michaela started to argue with her.

"I will rest in here. Is that alright with you?"

Colleen smiled to herself and replied,"Yes Ma."

"Andrew is the baby alright?"

"Yes the cut or your fever did not affect the fetus."

Michaela made a prayer to God for looking over her child and her husband.

"Andrew and me got a few things to do downstairs."

"We do?" Colleen gives him a look. "Oh yes we do."

Andrew and Colleen went downstairs. Michaela went over and climbed into the other side of the bed. She laid her head on Sully's chest. She could feel his chest move up and down as he slept. Soon Michaela drifted off to sleep herself.

Soon Sully woke up to find his wife sleeping with her head on his chest. He looked down at her. He couldn't believe how innocent and beautiful she looked as she slept. Soon his thoughts were interrupted as Michaela woke up.

"Morning beautiful. How are you feeling."

"My side hurts and my muscles are stiff by I'll be alright."

Then Sully thought about there unborn child. He didn't think he could bear to loose another child after all that had happened in his life and all the terrible things that had happened to him.

"Michaela do you know if the baby is alright?"

"Yes the baby is fine. Andrew checked and said that what happened didn't affect my pregnancy."

He let out a small sigh of relief and thanked the spirits for watching over his wife and unborn child.

"I love you Michaela."

"I love you Sully."

They held one another for the rest of the night. As the their hearts beated as one and their love had grown stronger as they had almost lost their lives.

Seven Months Later

Michaela pushed one last time as her child made it's way into the world. Michaela cried for joy as she heard the sound of a baby's cries. Sully was beside her through it all as their child was born.

Andrew told them happily,"It's a boy" Then he placed the infant into his mother's arms. Michaela looked down at her son for the first time. He gazed up at her. Michaela felt so much love for the little one.

"Oh Sully, he so beautiful. What should we name him?"

"How about Samuel Josef Sully."

"It's perfect for him. I can't believe he's finally here."

As Michaela held their child in her arms for the first time she realized just how close they had come to dying and how much Sully risked to get her help. She realized that if they had died she never would have met their son or seen their child grow up and have children of their own. As she looked into her son's eyes she saw a piece of herself and Sully within them. She and Sully held their son close to them as they cried for joy of his blessed birth.

The End
© May 2001 by Megan J.P.