Unexpected Decisions

Author's note: Thanks to CHERYL P. , who helped all the characters “to talk” by their special ways…

"I've got a letter from Mr.Sanders." Matthew said, waving the large envelope.


"Who is this Mr. Sanders?" Brian asked.


"A well-known attorney from Philadelphia. He agreed to check my skills for about two months."


"So, you're going to Philadelphia?" Brian sounded disappointed.


"Yeah, next Tuesday. I'll give your regards to Colleen and Andrew."


"Of course," Michaela said, "such a pity we couldn't go with you. Can't wait to see their new house."


"I miss Colleen," Brian sighed, "What if I go with you?"


"Why not?" Sully suddenly said, "You have vacation now, it's a good time."


"He will disturb Matthew." Michaela objected, "Colleen and Andrew are very busy and I don't want Brian to be alone in a strange city."


"He's not a kid Michaela, I don't see any reason why he couldn't go visit his sister. Ya don't have to worry." Sully said softly.


"Well…if Matthew isn't against this…and if you promise to be careful," Michaela resigned.


"Yahoo!" Brian shouted, then embraced Sully and Michaela, "Thank you!!!"


They waved as the train departed and walked to the wagon, when suddenly Michaela noticed a teenage boy about Brian's age who was standing outside the train depot, looking lost. He looked very familiar, and she came closer to him:


"You're Zach Lawson, aren't you?" Michaela asked.


"Yes. I am," he answered, "and you're the lady doctor. I remember you."


Michaela smiled at him, "Call me Dr.Mike. Are you here for a vacation?"


"No, he replied, "school has vacation later."


"Did you send a telegram to your father?"


Zach just shook his head, "I think he would be mad at me."


"No he wouldn't!" Michaela objected, "After all, he's your Pa, and you're his son! Come with us, we'll go to town!"


Hank was not there. All the girls in the GOLD NUGGET were new, they couldn't even imagine that Hank had a son.


"He's in Manitou," one of them said, "should be back this evening. You can wait here, if you want."


"No," Michaela looked around, "we'll wait at Grace's. You must be hungry, Zach. Aren't you Sully?" She turned to her husband.


"Sure, come on Zach," Sully took the boy's shoulder, "let's go."


"Thank you, I'm not," he answered shyly,pulling away from Sully.


Taking a look at Zach's face, Sully changed their plans,


"Zach, I got an idea. We'll let Dr. Mike go to clinic, and we 'll go for a walk. There are some beautiful places here in the woods."


"In the woods? I don't know," the boy said reluctantly.


"You can paint some landscapes," Sully offered, "Best place in the world to paint."


Zach hesitated for a while, then nodded shyly. He didn't want the townsfolk to be staring at him until Hank's arrival.


"Fine," Michaela said. She kissed her husband's cheek, "I'll see you later. Zach, can I tell Hank you're here, if I see him before you do?"


"No." Zach answered.


"Okay, first we need to go home and saddle Brian's horse for you." Sully said.


"I never rode a horse before!" Zach objected


"Don't worry, it's not difficult, and you will learn quickly. You know, I was afraid of horses for a long time, but once I decided to learn, I did it. Can't explain it, but Cloud Dancing, my friend, helped me not to fear horses. I can help you now."


He put his hand on the boy's shoulder and they walked to the wagon.


"You're learning very quickly," Sully noticed, "I needed much more time than this, but you're an artist, you can see and feel things others can't. How do you lilke it so far Zach?"


"It's okay," Zach answered, "I'm afraid, a little…just a little, but I like it."


"Cloud Dancing always said, 'you can overcome all your fears, if you want it'. He's a wise man, you can trust his words."


"Pa always said, 'only fools can trust Indians'," Zach said bitterly, "Why does he hate Indians?"


"Last year some Indians blew up some dynamite right near his hotel…but he didn't like them even before that. I think he just wants to be "like the others", not care about them, hoping they'll go away."


"I don't think he likes anybody!" Zach suddenly exclaimed with fury, "sometimes …sometimes I even hate him!"


"Cloud Dancing told me once, ' Never let the hate fill you, it will poison you inside .You must get rid of it as soon as you can'."


"My Pa visited me at school just a few times." Zach said, his eyes filled with tears, "he told me last time, that he could read and write - but he never wrote me any letters! As if I don't exist! All the parents were at our last exam, except him! He still thinks I'm an idiot, and he doesn't need me! I'd be better off dead than with him."


Sully felt the boy’s anger, "He does love you Zach, every father loves his son. He just doesn't know how to show you. He's afraid."


"Afraid? Afraid of what?" Zach looked at Sully.


"Afraid that his feelings for you look like some kind of weakness. You gotta help him show you his feelings. You can do it."


"Are you sure?" Zach asked hopefully.


"Trust me. Just be patient…" Sully smiled at the boy.


"I'd like to have a father like you," the boy sighed.


"Your father isn't any worse than me, just be patient." Sully said.


Looking at Hank's facial expression, he was not very happy to see his son.


"What the hell are you doin' here?" He asked without even saying "hello".


"You didn't come to school for my exam." Zach answered.


"So? I was busy!" Hank bristled.


"All the parents were there except you," the pain evident in his voice.


"I have a business, don't you understand?! Hey, how did you come here without permission? The school know you're here?"


Zach fought back tears. Sully looked at Hank furiously.


"I missed you…Pa." Zach finally muttered, his voice trembling.


" Ya missed me? You're a "man", not a damned girl!!!" Hank yelled.


"I ain't gonna fuss over you here, if they kicked ya out of school! Tomorrow morning you're going back to Denver!"


Zach gave his father a hateful look, and disappeared inside the hotel.


"Do you have anything else to say to him?" Sully asked


"No!" Hank said, staring at Sully.


"I think you'd better," Sully began.


"I know what’s best for him, more than you do!!" Hank yelled so loudly, that the townsfolk walking through the square turned anxiously. "Why do you always stick your nose into everybody's business, Sully?"


"You're wrong Hank, and I hope you see it soon enough," Sully insisted.


"Listen, you have every right to spoil your own children with all this Indian stuff…but Zach is MY son, and I'll tell him what I want!!! Just want to warn you," He leaned closer to Sully, "KEEP AWAY FROM MY SON!!!!!!"


Hank threw the cigar-butt on the ground and entered the GOLD NUGGET.


"I thought he’d changed for the better, when he confessed that Zach is his son." Michaela sighed. "I guess we were all wrong, he's unable to love anybody. He only thinks of himself, he's a selfish man."


"No," Sully suddenly objected, "that's just a "label" we put on him, and he acts that way cuz we let him."


"I can't believe you'd try to defend him! He wanted to be a bounty-hunter to capture you, when you were hidden! He's offended me a lot of times! He…"


"He saved your life, Michaela…" Sully interrupted her.


"Well…he did, but…," her shoulders lowered.


"And this time he didn't think about how he looks," Sully continued.


Gunshots near the hotel ended their discussion. Michaela and Sully ran from the clinic, and noticed three riders on two horses, leaving the town.


Hank appeared from the saloon door. He held his revolver, and there was a large graze on his head


"What's wrong?" Michaela asked with concern. "Do you need help?" She reached for the wound on his head.


Hank shook his head: "Just a scratch. They took Zach…I tried to shoot one of them, but missed, was afraid to shoot Zach…I'm going after them!"


"Wait Hank, you can ask Daniel to form a search party …"


"No time, Michaela, I need to go right now."


"I'll go with you." Sully said.


Hank nodded and ran to his horse.


Michaela looked at Sully pleadingly and grabbed his arms, "It's so dangerous! Perhaps we should get the sheriff…that's his business," She hugged him and didn't want to let him go.


Sully pulled back, "What if it were Brian? We'd go then?"


"You're right,…Just be careful." She kissed him.


"I'm always careful, I love you," Sully returned her kiss and mounted his horse…


"Damn!" Hank lit another cigar, "We've lost their trail!"


"Wolf has lost their trail." Sully corrected him.


"So, you have a better scent than him?" Hank chuckled.


"The rain washed out only the scent, but there is something else, like broken branches, cigar butts," Sully went on.


A few minutes later he suddenly stopped and raised his hand.


"What's wrong?" Hank asked him, "why did you stop?"


"Smoke," Sully pointed, "they made a campfire. We'll leave our horses here, and go up and around by those bushes."


There was a small campfire at an open spot in the woods. One of the robbers dug in his saddlebags and another one sat on the log with Zach, holding the rifle against his chest. Zach's hands were tied.


The first robber lifted his colt, when he had heard a noise, but it was too late. Hank shot him dead..


But the second one grasped Zach by the hair and yelled. "Throw down your rifles, or I'll kill him!"


Hank obeyed, but at the same moment Zach kicked his kidnapper and struggled free as the man doubled over. The robber screamed from pain, but immediately lifted his rifle and aimed at Zach's back.


Within a second Sully rushed to the boy and knocked him down to the ground.


Then two gunshots thundered into the air at the same time. Hank lowered his colt and ran up to his son. "Zach, you all right?" he asked, his heart pounding in his chest.


"Yes." Zach stood up slowly, his eyes widened with shock, "Sully saved my life…"


They both looked at Sully, who was still lying on the ground motionless.


"Seems he took your bullet." Hank muttered.


He kneeled by Sully and turned him carefully. There was a bullet wound under his right clavicle, bleeding heavily. Hank noticed another wound on Sully's forehead, probably from hitting his head on a stone as he fell.


"He's still alive." Hank said, "Go get Michaela, take my horse and ride to town, as fast as you can. Tell her to bring a wagon. I'll try to stop the bleedin', but hurry."


Zach stood still looking at Hank with horror.


"What are you looking at?! Move on!" Hank was going to yell, but the words suddenly got stuck in his throat…


"You gotta hurry, son!" Hank said as Zach awkwardly went to the horse, mounted and headed to town.


Hank sat at the ground near Sully, trying to find his pulse. He couldn't at first, and screamed in despair


"Sully!!! What the hell are you doing?! Hold on, Michaela is already on her way here!!! Hold on!!!!" Hank finally found a weak pulse beating under his fingers, and sighed with relief.. Soon he heard the wagon approaching.


Zach arrived with Michaela. "Hope they didn't hear me.” Hank thought knowing it was unlike him to care for anyone, least of all Sully.


They carefully took Sully to the clinic, where Michaela stopped the bleeding and removed the bullet..


"He's lucky," she said to Hank. "The bullet miraculously missed the vital organs. He 's lost a lot of blood though." She looked at Sully, her eyes deep with concern over the man she loved.


"So, he’ll be all right?" Hank asked.


Michaela continued to look at Sully, but finally turned to Hank, "There are other symptoms I'm still worrying about. You told me he hit his head? His pupils are dilated, and he's still unconscious."


"What's that mean?" Hank asked softly.


"This could be a concussion or even skull trauma. If he doesn't wake up in a few more hours, I may need to operate, but I hope not."


Suddenly, they heard the bell ring at the front door. "Just a minute, Hank." Michaela said, "I'll go see who's at the door."


She quickly ran down the stairs.


"I'm sorry, Mrs. Jackson," she said to her patient, "I can't check your furuncle today. Sully has been badly hurt and I need to prepare for an operation…I'm sorry, would you please, come back tomorrow?"


"Sure, Dr. Mike, don't worry." Mrs. Jackson said, "I sure hope Sully will be all right." She tapped Michaela's hand.


"Thank you, I hope so." Michaela sighed.


As she locked the door, she heard Hank's scream from upstairs. "Michaela!!! Come here! Hurry!!!"


Within a second she was there, out of breath. "What's happened, Hank? Is he waking up?"


Hank shook his head: "No! I think he's stopped breathing!!" Michaela grabbed her stethoscope . Again and again, she tried to hear the heartbeat, but could only hear her own heart pounding.


"No!!" She repeated, over and over again. "He can't....he can't die…no!!"


"I 'm sorry." Hank mumbled, moving backward to the door.


She suddenly looked at him with unexpected fury: "This can’t happen! I 'm sure he's alive!" She screamed.


"But…" Hank tried to object.


"Get out of here!" She raised her voice at him, then added in a lower voice, "Please....go."


Leaving the recovery room, Hank heard the door slam behind him and the lock turn.


"Certainly." Jake Slicker declared, "She's going to lose her mind!"





Sully's death was unbearable for Michaela. "Michaela is strong, I can't imagine this happening to her." Hank said "When I offered her my help with preparing for the burial, you know, that is part of my business, she just tuned me right out, and locked the door. Yelled to me "get out, he's not dead!"


"Sure he is!" Hank told him, "I've seen him with my own eyes.


Michaela checked his pulse and heartbeat over and over, I seen her do it!"


"Well, she's gonna lose her mind, if she hasn't already!" Jake said.


"Maybe we oughta send a telegram to her mother and sister in Boston." Loren offered


"We'll take Katie." Grace said, sadness evident in her tone of voice.


"We need to let her know right away, of course." Reverend Johnson said.


"Will they put her in a insane asylum?" Hank shrugged.


"Hank! What are we going to do?" Loren was exasperated, "We need to take her from there and get Sully buried the proper way. Ya know, I bet they could cure Dr. Mike there in Boston." He looked for agreement from the others.


"He's right." Jake said, "It's impossible to persuade her to leave him, but Sully's body can't be left there for so long in the heat. I'll go ask Horace for help."


Mrs. Quinn arrived in Colorado Springs as soon as possible accompanied with a tall, refined man in his middle years. He introduced himself as Dr. Cheaseholm.


Michaela, however, did not openly welcome them.


"What are you doing here, Mother?" She asked through the door.


"What am I doing here? Why I 'm worried about you, Michaela.


I know how difficult this is for you, but this isn't proper for Katie. You need to go Boston with me, even for a while."


"No mother, I 'm not going to leave anyway! I cannot leave Sully's side!"


"But he's..." Elizabeth began, but the doctor stopped her.


"Don't try to argue with her, if you want her to open the door. You need to agree with her"


"I am here with Dr. Cheaseholm, you can talk with him!"


Michaela finally opened the door.


Her face was pale and tear-stained, but she didn't look out of her mind. "Dr. Cheaseholm?" She asked, her voice trembling a little, "Would you please look at my husband, I think, there are some signs, that he's not dead."


"Well, of course I'll do it." He said. "Mrs. Quinn, please wait for me here."


A few minutes later he returned and reported to Elizabeth.


"He is dead. Of course, I didn't check him as thoroughly as she insisted, there is simply no need, but we need to agree with her, to ease her mind. I can take her to Boston, to my clinic. This is not unusual thing in this circumstance, she is having a hysterical reaction to her husband's death. But of course she will be fully recovered in time, it will take time."


"But how are you going to take her to Boston without her agreement?"


"Unfortunately, she can't reason sensibly in her conditions, so we need to take some extra measures."


"Like what?"


"I need to give her some soporific in her tea or lemonade, and take her to the train before she awakens. Mrs. Quinn, you must go inside, talk with her, and offer her a cup of tea or any other drink, but not a word about Boston!"


Elizabeth looked at him suspiciously.


"I can't do it, she'd never forgive me."


"Mrs. Quinn," the doctor said firmly, "we can't bring her husband back, but we need to return her back to health. Just think about her children."


"Well, all right." Mrs. Quinn agreed.


Several hours later the train left for Boston with Dr. Cheaseholm, Mrs. Quinn, and the unconscious Michaela on board.


"I feel sorry for them two, when she wakes up!" Hank muttered to himself, following the train with his eyes Then he walked to the cemetery, where the Reverend began the burial service.