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Chapter 5: The Nearness of You Sully hadn’t woken up yet, but it was after midnight and all of the children were asleep. They had pulled cots into the room, and Matthew had carried in the cradle so the twins could be nearby. Colleen swore to wake up with them and feed them if Matthew would help her. Sully was unconscious, but his subconscious was working full force. He was dreaming, and his soul seemed to be searching for Michaela’s. Little did he know that she was shivering and unconscious in that little shelter in the woods. His dream took him to the woods outside of the shack. It was surrounded by fog, and Sully sensed that he should go inside. He held his hand out to touch the wooden door, and he could sense that Michaela was inside. “Michaela,” he called out. He opened the door and walked in. He saw her curled up on the bed. He found a lantern and a match to light it. He slowly walked across the room to his wife. He knelt next to the bed and reached out to caress Michaela’s pale skin. Michaela opened her eyes to find her husband staring at her. She sat up quickly, not feeling any pain. “Sully!” she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his neck. He felt no pain, but she could see the bandages on him. “What happened?” “I was shot,” he replied. “I’m alright. They fixed me up real good.” “Oh Sully, I’ve missed you so much.” “You’re safe now.” “Am I dreaming?” “I think we both are,” he whispered, capturing her lips with his own. “I don’t want it to end. I want to be home with you and the children.” Michaela broke down and Sully pulled her into his arms. “Did he hurt you?” “No,” Michaela whispered. “I got away. He never intended to hurt me.” “We’ll figure all of this out later. Michaela, the spirits have brought us together in our dreams, and I need you to stay here for me. I’m coming to look for you as soon as I wake up.” “Sully, you’re hurt.” “I don’t care. Finding you will be worth the pain.” “I’ll stay here,” she whispered. Sully and Michaela both seemed to fade away from one another. *~* Michaela woke in a cold sweat. Sully had come to her in her dreams. She knew he was alive now. She knew he was going to come find her. Now all she had to do was wait for him to come for her. She pulled the blanket around her and felt a chill coming into the room. She stood and walked over to shut the window shutters. She looked up at the moon and could tell that it was about midnight. Tears flooded her eyes as she thought of Sully and how his arms felt around her in her dreams. She longed to feel his touch again, and she couldn’t wait to be in the comfort of her own home again. As she looked up at the moon, she thought back to the time she and Sully told each other they loved each other for the first time. Tears flooded her eyes and broke the barriers to cascade down her bruised cheek. Michaela gasped, swallowing hard as she thought about how she had nearly lost him before she ever got to tell him she loved him. God, she had come so close to losing him forever. “I just, uh, I just wanted to say thank you for takin’ good care of my friend. He’s like a brother to me.” “It was no trouble. I’m glad you brought him here.” Sully nodded and he swallowed hard. He saw a look of nervousness in Michaela’s eyes and he knew he couldn’t say it. She was far too beautiful and sweet to want to be with him. She was from the other side of the continent; raised in a completely different way. She could never want a life with him. “Sully? What’s the matter? You look like you have something on your mind.” “No,” Sully replied quickly. “I think it’s best that me and Cloud Dancin’ head out now.” “So early? Won’t you stay for lunch?” She was desperate. She needed him to stay. Sully looked at her, wanting to say he could stay forever, but he knew that wasn’t possible. He could never accept Boston, and Boston could never accept him. “We can’t. We gotta go now.” He went to wake Cloud Dancing. Michaela was devastated. She needed to tell Sully, but she could tell that something was holding him back from telling her his true feelings. Maybe Sully didn’t feel anything for her after all. Maybe he was afraid that she had feelings that he just couldn’t express. Maybe it was better for the both of them if he did leave. A few minutes later, Cloud Dancing appeared from his room with Sully behind him. He walked over to Michaela. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. Haho.” “Haho,” Dr. Mike repeated, not quite knowing what the word was. But she knew it had to be something good. Cloud Dancing smiled and left the room. Sully looked at Michaela once before he started for the door. Something inside of Michaela made her speak out. “Wait!” Sully froze with his hand on the doorknob, not knowing what to do next or what he was going to hear next. “Don’t go.” Sully turned to look at Michaela. She was standing at the desk with tears in her eyes. Sully’s heart started to break for her. He didn’t want to leave her, and he was relieved to hear her tell him not to go. Sully walked over to her and he took her hands in his. “Don’t go?” he asked. She looked hopefully into his eyes. “Give me a reason to stay.” “Sully, I’ve never done this before,” she replied gently. She wanted to say the words; tell him she loved him, but she was afraid of what it would mean for her and for him. She couldn’t believe how foolish she had been. It was hard to believe that the encounter she was remembering had just been a little over a year ago. Michaela felt as if she had known Sully all of her life, and it was becoming difficult to remember what life was like before he came into her world. She was so very glad that she had made a bold move to go after Sully that afternoon. She realized that she could have lost him forever if fate hadn’t decided for them to find each other at the train station. There had been a possibility of them never finding each other, and of her going back to Boston, never knowing the kind of love Sully had to give. Michaela could hear something in the distance, but she could barely make out anything through the mass of people that surrounded her. But something inside of her told her she had to turn around. As if in a slow-motion moment, Michaela turned and saw a brief glimpse of Sully on the other side of the sea of people that separated them. Her heart nearly stopped beating, and she could barely believe her eyes. But that sensation quickly left and was replaced with tears of joy. She started to run toward him, trying not to trample anyone in the process. She couldn’t let Sully get away this time. Sully saw the look of joy on her face, and he knew this was right. She was the love of his life, and he was the love of hers. “Sully!” she exclaimed with utter astonishment. Sully began to make his way through the crowd to get closer to her. As soon as a barrier broke, they were feet away from each other. They stood; staring in amazement that they were in the same place together when they had worried they would never see each other again. A few seconds passed and the tears in Michaela’s eyes broke their dam and flowed freely. “It’s really you,” she whispered. “I didn’t think I was gonna see you again. But I’m sure glad you’re here.” “You wanted me to give you a reason to stay in Boston.” Sully swallowed hard and nodded. “I can’t do that because I know you don’t belong in Boston. But neither do I. I don’t belong there anymore. I wasn’t cut out for the life my mother wanted for me. I couldn’t even attempt to have that kind of a life. I need to be a doctor and I need to see the world. I need to treat patients who need me. But most of all, I need to let the man I love know how I feel about him before I let him get away again.” Hope filled Sully’s heart and they both smiled. He pulled her into his arms and twirled her around, raising her up a little. He kissed her softly but passionately, letting her know his feelings. “I love you, Sully. I know we’ve known each other for three days, but I feel like I have known you forever. What I don’t know about you, I’d like to learn. I just want to be with you.” “And I want to be with you,” Sully whispered, kissing her again. “I want to show you my world if you’ll let me.” She sat down on the bed and pulled her hand up to her locket. Sully’s heartsong necklace kept her going; thinking of him all the way. As long as she had Sully’s locket next to her hear, she knew that he was going to keep her going. It was as if that necklace had given them a link to each other’s souls, an all-access pass whenever they needed one another but were apart. The sudden realization of Sully’s wounds from her dream made Michaela think. She seemed to be feeling a phantom pain in the areas that Sully was wounded. Perhaps they really could feel each other’s pain when they were apart. That realization made Michaela positive that Sully was her true soul mate. In some ways they shared the same soul, and although they had differing opinions sometimes, they seemed to be traveling the same path. Yes, Michaela and Sully were true soul mates. *~* Sully’s eyes fluttered open just before dawn the next morning. He saw that the children were all sleeping, and he realized that it was probably better this way. If they woke before he left, they’d only advise him not to go. But he had to ride with the men. He had to find his heartsong. The dream he had had the night before told him she was still in the little shack. He had to get back there and bring her home before something else happened to keep them apart longer. He crept out of bed and scribbled out a note for the kids. He bit back a gasp of pain, and crept out of the room, shutting the door behind him. His belt and tomahawk were lying on a table downstairs, so he slowly strapped that onto his waist. He groaned in pain and looked down to see that his stitches were still intact. There was no blood on the fresh bandages, luckily, so he figured he could get through the day as long as he had Michaela’s face to look forward to. Sully walked out of the clinic to find Hank, Jake, Loren, Robert E., and Horace saddling up. Cloud Dancing was also there, already mounted on his horse. Horace looked over to see Sully walking over toward them. Sully whistled for Wolf, who had slept on the porch that night. The wolf obeyed and followed behind his master. “Hey fellas, it’s Sully.” “What are ya doin’ out here?” Jake asked. “I’m goin’,” Sully replied. “I know where she is.” “Well, tell us and we’ll go and get her.” “No!” Sully hissed under his breath. “I’m goin’.” “You ain’t in no condition,” Loren spoke up. “I need to find my wife, and it ain’t gonna do me any good sittin’ ‘round here waiting for you all to bring her back. I’m goin’. She needs me.” “Sully, maybe you should think about this,” Robert E. suggested. “There’s nothin’ to think about. I’m goin’.” Sully started to climb up onto a horse and gasped in pain. He felt a boost behind him and landed on top of the horse with Hank’s help. “Thanks.” “I just figured if a man wants to be with his wife, he’d do anything to be with her.” “Would you do the same for Myra?” “Yeah,” Hank replied without hesitation. “She’s lucky then,” Sully replied. “Are we ridin’?” Sully started off out of town with Wolf following behind. Cloud Dancing rode off after his brother, and the other men stared at each other before mounting their own horses and following behind. *~* After a few hours, Sully looked at Cloud Dancing who had been silent during their journey. “I thought I was gonna die.” “You almost did. I told the barber how Dr. Mike did the blood transfusions.” “Who gave their blood?” “I did,” Cloud Dancing admitted. Sully patted his friend’s arm gratefully. “I guess now . . . we’re blood brothers.” Cloud Dancing smiled and nodded. “Yes,” he agreed. “Hey Sully? Ain’t we getting close to that shack?” Sully stopped his horse and looked around. He recognized his surroundings. “Yeah. You stay here. I’ll go get her.” “Are ya sure she’s gonna be there?” Horace asked skeptically. Sully turned to him. “I had a dream last night.” “The spirits came to you,” Cloud Dancing spoke out. “Yes,” Sully said with a nod. “Michaela and I met in our dreams. She told me she would wait here for me.” “But we’ve done checked the shack.” “Well we’re gonna check again!” Sully barked at Hank. “Look, you all stay here. I’m gonna go get her. I’ll bring her back, and we’ll go back to town.” Sully dismounted his horse and rushed off toward the shack with Wolf at his heels. The pain from his gunshot wound was throbbing, but that didn’t matter. Above all the pain, he was pushing on to find his heartsong. After a moment of being left alone, the men decided they should follow Sully. They didn’t want him passing out or something. Sully could hear the men behind him, and he felt better knowing they were concerned. Sully saw the shack coming up close, and he began to call out. “Michaela!” “Dr. Mike!” the other men called out, with the exception of Hank who also called her Michaela. “Michaela!” Sully repeated. He rushed to throw the door open. His heart nearly dropped when he founded the cabin utterly deserted. He pounded his fist into the wall. She couldn’t be gone! They had met each other in their dreams. She had promised to wait on him! No! She had to be there. She had to be. “Sully, I’m sorry,” Loren said quietly, putting his hand on his ex-son-in-law’s shoulder. Sully shrank away from him. “Something musta happened.” “Sully, you should rest,” Cloud Dancing warned. “You all stay here. I’m gonna go look for her. Maybe she went to get some water. Somebody go find food and build a fire. I’ll bring her back.” “She could be miles from here,” Jake said quietly. “She’s close! I can feel her,” Sully replied. He swallowed hard and rushed out of the cabin. “We should go after him,” Robert E. said, shaking his head. “No. We’ll stay. I’ll hunt.” Cloud Dancing left the cabin and watched his friend hurry off through the trees. Sully hurried along, and felt like his heart was going to burst. He was panicking, and he knew it wasn’t going to do him any good. “Michaela!” he screamed as he ran through the woods like a madman. “Michaela, where are you?!” He knelt down and held a piece of Michaela’s blouse in front of Wolf’s nose. The wolf immediately picked up a scent and started off in another direction. Sully followed, hoping that the worst hadn’t happened. *~* Michaela was sitting on the ledge of a cliff, clutching the blanket, which still had Sully’s scent in it. She had left the small shack when a mountain lion approached. She had ran through the forest with her throbbing sprained ankle hurting all along the way. She hoped to God that Sully would find her. The barks of a wolf startled her, and she pulled herself back into the walls of a very shallow cave. It was only small enough to protect a couple of people, much like the lean-to. As the barks grew nearer, Michaela knew it was Wolf. She took a deep breath and whistled. “Wolf! Here boy! Wolf! Over here!” A moment later, the gray and white companion of her husband hurried up to find her. As soon as he found her, he began to lick at the cuts on her face. She pulled her arms around him and her hands clung to his fur. “Oh thank God.” “Michaela!” She heard his voice and her eyes filled with tears. “Sully!” she screamed desperately. Wolf let out a bark, and Sully began to climb up the ledge. A moment later, he found his wife sitting with her arms wrapped securely around Wolf. She let go of him as soon as she saw Sully. “Oh my God,” Sully whispered when he saw his wife. She looked just like in his dream, but the cuts, dirt, and bruises seemed to be bothering her a lot more than they did in the dream. “It’s really you.” “Am I dreaming?” “Not this time,” Sully whispered. “I told you I’d come for you.” “You had the same dream?” Michaela whispered. Sully slowly walked over to his wife and sat down beside her. He pulled her into his arms and she clutched him tightly. He hissed in pain, feeling his wounds begin to throb. “Oh, I’m so sorry!” She burst into tears and let go. Sully took her and held her close, rocking her in his arms as she began to sob uncontrollably. “Shh . . . it’s alright, Michaela. You’re safe now. You’re safe.” |