There was darkness, only darkness around him…and then he saw a moon in the sky and running Cheyenne…and he was one of them, running from his death without any hope. He ran among them: men, women, children...


Children. There were two children with him, his daughter, Katie and the Indian baby he needed to save…he needed to save them both… But he didn't know where they were, and he forced himself to wake and open his eyes.


Sully woke in a unfamiliar room.. He looked around this unfamiliar room...it looked like his old homestead: the darkened walls, simple, hand-made furniture...The rifle above the fireplace and pack of cartridges on the chimney shelf. Then Sully noticed an Indian "dreamcatcher" hanging on the wall. Neither Katie nor the baby were beside him. Sully tried to rise, but the pain in his shoulder forced him to fall back on his pillow.


The door opened, and Katie ran in. Seeing that Sully opened his eyes, she rushed to him. "Pa! Praise the Lord, you're gonna be fine!"


A few minutes later a tall red-haired woman came in.. "Do not tire your Pa, Katie," she told her tenderly. "He needs a good rest."


"I'm glad that you're awake," she told Sully. We have taken out the bullet, and now everything will be all right."


"You took out the bullet?" Sully was surprised. "Are you a doctor?"


She laughed.


"No, certainly not. My husband was a trapper for many years. I should know how to do such things. Mr. Sully, your daughter is very brave, she helped me. Usually girls are afraid of blood."


"My Ma is a doctor," Katie bragged. "Sometimes I help her in the clinic after school."


"You can be proud of your daughter, she probably saved your life. You looked very bad, had lost a lot of blood. But now everything will be alright."


"How long was I unconscious?" asked Sully.


"About a day …I'll tell you right now, your baby is fine, I just fed him."


"Thank you," Sully said. "Thank for everything."


"Don't worry about it," the woman smiled. "People need to help each other. I'm Jackie O'Donnell and Katie told me your name. It seems you're like my husband. Are you a hunter too?"


"Pa doesn't carry any weapons," Katie interfered, "but he has a tomahawk."


Jackie was very excited. "It's a miracle to meet a man, who concerned with the welfare of Indians. If my husband were here, you and he would become good friends. When he was young, he lived with Indians for five years. I think they are just as good as we are."


"They're better," Katie exclaimed, "Cloud Dancing, Pa's best friend -"


Sully looked at her, and she stopped short. Certainly, he could trust this woman, but he did not want anyone to connect him with the outbreak in fort.


"Mrs. O'Donnell," he asked, partly to change the subject. "Can I somehow inform my wife that we're here? She will be worryin'."


"Call me Jackie, please. The post office is at the train station, it's far from here… Well, I shall persuade Lisa to go there. She is my older daughter. Lisa is pretty girl, but," she sighed, "she has a scar running down her face. There was a fire in the barn when she was a child."


"Ma could probably fix it," Katie said. "She's a very good doctor."


"Thank you, but we don't have much money..."


"Ma will do it for free!"


"She is right," Sully confirmed. "Michaela will take nothing from you. If she can help your daughter, she'll do it. You just told us, 'people need to help each other'."


Jackie's eyes filled with tears, and she hastily wiped them. "Excuse me, Mr. Sully."


"Just Sully, please."


"Sully, I think you must be hungry. I'll bring you some food."


She brought a tray with food and sat down on a chair near the bed. "You can trust me," she whispered. "This baby, he's not your own? He's an Indian, right?"


Then she added, "That's not what Katie told me. Usually white mothers do not dress their babies in moccasins. It's a very noble deed, Sully. I respect you for it," she paused and then said, "My husband lived with the Lakota for a long time and had a family there," she paused again, "and they all were killed - all except Lisa. She was 3 or 4…and her scar - it's not from the fire in the barn. I remember, when Jack came into town carrying his crying child. He looked real crazy. He didn't want to talk with anyone, and spent all his time in the saloon drinking hard. He couldn't take care of his daughter in his condition…and I suggested him my help. I was a saloon girl. It's bad job, I know, but I couldn't find any other to feed my little brothers, when our parents died. I was the first Jack talked with. He was surprised that I'm his "namesake". Lisa loved me and called me 'Ma'. After a few months, Jack bought my contract, and we're married. It was 23 years ago, and all these years I've been so happy. He is a good husband and good father, as you are, I think. But it's still too hard for him to talk about his Indian family."


Jackie's words returned Sully to his awful memories: the people, running through the snowy field and falling under the gun fire. He closed his eyes and shook his head with a short moan.


Jackie looked at him with concern. "You need some rest. Just call me if you need something." She closed the door but then turned back and added, "Hold on, Sully. It's not easy, I know, but you must - for your children..."

Michaela was really worried. At first Sully's departure, then Katie. She was so scared when Brian informed her that Katie was not at school. Daniel was going to call the townspeople for searches, but fortunately, Horace brought the telegram … This naughty girl had stowed away on a train... Praise God she was now with Sully. But what was with that negotiation at the fort? It was time to come back… Had something suddenly happened again?


Today in the morning she had heard Matthew and Brian talking outside and caught words "the outbreak in Fort Robinson." The brothers kept silent at first, but then Michaela forced them to speak, and their news was really bad. Now she was sure that something wrong had happened to Sully again. Even Colleen, coming to visit her with her little Charlotte could not distract her from the sad thoughts.


"Ma," Colleen convinced her, "Sully would never do it again." But they both were not sure of it.


Someone knocked on the door.


"Doctor Mike, open up! It's Horace…"


All of Michaela's self-control left. She opened the door and cried, "For Heaven's sake, don't hide anything from me!!!… What happened with Sully?!"


Horace started to move back from the porch. "Everything's all right, they've sent you a telegram … Here: 'Your husband and children are safe, but will be late by a few days. Don't worry …' "


"I don't understand," Michaela was puzzled. "Who sent me this telegram? Why did they say 'children'?"


Horace shrugged. "I have no idea, Dr. Mike …"


Michaela was still worrying, maybe more. Both of them were alive, but why hadn't Sully sent the telegram himself? She needed to wait a "few days", but those days were going to be longer than years.

The next day Sully felt much stronger. His hand still poorly obeyed him, but he was ready to go home. This morning he had seen Lisa O'Donnell. At first Sully thought that she was a boy, because she was wearing buckskins, like his own, and a checkered shirt. Her rich, dark hair fell down her shoulders and half-covered her face. When she turned to the right, it was possible to notice the long, rough scar that ran from her cheek up to her neck.


"I sent a telegram to your wife," she informed him. "I see you're better … Are you going home?"


"Lisa, would you go with us?" Sully asked.


"Certainly. I'll go with you to the train station. You can't drive the wagon in your condition."


"Thanks," Sully said, "but that's not what I meant.


"Would you go with us to Colorado Springs? My wife is a very good doctor, she'll try to help you."


Her eyes lit up. "Do you think, it's possible to fix my face?!"


"Yeah, Michaela has already made similar operations. She had one patient who was scorched in train accident. She helped him, so you have hope."


Lisa silently nodded, then whispered, "I can't believe it …"


"I hope you will," Sully said firmly.

The next morning they set off home. Katie's dress was soiled and torn and Jackie couldn't repair it.


"Would you mind wearing my son's clothes?" she asked. "I think, they're your size."


"Certainly!" Katie answered with delight. "I don't understand why girls have to always wear dresses. They're such a pain to ride in."


"You should have been a boy," Jackie smiled. "Our Lisa also doesn't like dresses. She is her father's daughter."


"Me too!" Katie informed her with pride. "You all must come visit us soon. Ma will be very glad."


"She's right," Sully confirmed. "Thank you for everything, Jackie."


"Thank you too, Sully," she answered. "For Lisa, and for saving this baby. He will be a good son to you. Good luck!"


The wagon started moving, and for a few minutes they still saw Jackie, standing on the porch and waving them good-bye.


"You need to rest, Mr. Sully, " Lisa reminded. "We'd better stop."


"I'm not tired," he objected. "You don't need to stop because of me. And, please, just call me Sully…"


"Well, it's not only for you. We need to feed the baby too."


"Then I'll drive. You need to rest too."


"You can't. Don't worry, I am not tired. I've gotten used to doing men's work. It was difficult to feel like a woman with my face, therefore father brought up me as a boy."


"Ma will help you," Katie promised. "She is the best doctor in the world."


The baby in the basket stirred and discontentedly cried. Lisa pulled him out from the basket, and he stopped crying.


"Look, he likes you!" Katie was delighted.


"I love babies," Lisa told them. "It's a shame that I can't have any of my own. But anyway, I shall be blessed with nieces and nephews when my little brothers marry."


"My brothers are already adults," Katie informed. "Matthew is a lawyer, and Brian is the owner of the town's newspaper. I also have a big sister Colleen. She's a doctor, like Ma. I'd like to have a little brother. Then I wouldn't be the smallest in my family."


"Does your Ma know about this baby?" asked Lisa.


"Ma will not be against it. She adopted my brothers and sister. I am very glad that you will meet them all, you will like them, especially Matthew."


Lisa reddened. "I'll make some coffee. We'll rest an hour and then move on." Lisa rose from the log and disappeared behind bushes.


Katie sat down and asked, "Pa, she's pretty, isn't she?"


Sully didn't answer. The same picture was in his mind: the people, running until exhaustion, shots, screaming and groans... They fell in the snow and remained there. Men, women, children...


"Daddy, do ya hear me?" the voice of his daughter returned.


"I'm sorry", he said. "I didn't hear you."


The baby in his arms woke up and looked at him. Sully found his tiny fist inside the blankets, and the baby seized his finger with his little hand.


"Your Pa is here with you," whispered Sully in his tiny ear. He didn't know why he said it in Cheyenne, as if the baby could understand him.


"Pa, can I talk with you?" Katie asked again.


"Sure."


"I think Lisa is pretty, and loves children…and what if Matthew marries her? I'm sure he would like her."


"Katie, we can't make that decision for him."


Once, many years ago, little Brian had asked him, "Sully, will you marry Ma and become our Pa?" He had been very confused because of this question. Actually speaking, it had been all he wanted, but he couldn't force himself to tell Michaela about his feelings.


"You know Matthew, he'll never make a decision!" Katie said stubbornly. "You couldn't get the guts to ask Ma to marry you for three years. And what if you'd had never gotten married?"


Sully smiled a bit and answered. "It would have been awful."


"If you've rested, we can go on," Lisa said, standing near the wagon.


"I'm sure Matthew will fall in love in her," Katie whispered in Sully's ear. "You'll see."