"So the answer was to kill her?" Sully asked as he guided Michaela through the entrance of the park. The opera had ended almost half an hour ago and the newlyweds were taking the time to enjoy the night air. Michaela shrugged her shoulders before replying.

"He couldn't imagine living without her."

"But killin' her ain't solvin' that problem," he pointed out making Michaela laugh at his reasoning.

She had enjoyed this evening tremendously and Sully could tell. He had wanted to give her a night that she couldn't have in Colorado Springs, a small part of what she missed from Boston, and he had succeeded. There wasn't any grand gesture that told him of this. Although most every time he looked at her tonight, she seemed to be shining. It was the small signs that he had spent so much time watching. At dinner, it was found in the way she chewed her food so slowly, almost as if she wanted to savor each individual bite, and every time she looked up at him her eyebrows were raised slightly and there was that subtle, crooked smile that he loved so much. When he would say something, she would blush and giggle. Her eyes never left him and it made him feel so proud to have her with him.

By the time they had gotten to the opera house, she had filled him in on a little of the story, but still withheld some things. "It's not going to be interesting if I tell you everything," she stated rather coyly while allowing him to help her slip out of her wrap. When she sat down, she sat eagerly on the edge of her seat, looking over the rail of their box before settling back into herchair. It reminded him of gesture a small child would do on an evening when the world seemed to present something new and exciting.

Once the curtain came up Sully was lost. Of course, he could have kept up with the story if he had wanted to. Every now and then Michaela would lean over to whisper something in his ear, but even this distracted him. He could feel the warmth emitted from her body and smell the faint scent of her perfume, but it was the way her hot breath seemed to run down his neck and make his hair stand on end that distracted him the most. Besides her proximity to him, Sully caught himself watching her more than what was happening on the stage. He was drawn to the way the emotions of the play were visible across her face. The pain and passion of the characters were so evidently felt by her as well. At one point, when one of the female characters that Sully could safely point out as having been rejected by her former lover sang of her sorrow, he felt her fingers sneak into his palm giving his hand a quiet squeeze. Instinctively, he drew their hands toward his lips and placed gently kiss to the back of her knuckle. Her head turned slightly, almost as if her eyes were being drawn from the stage without her actually wanting to look away from what she saw. When she finally did turn to look at him, she took his breath away. Her eyes were glistening with unshed tears and she smiled ever so softly at him before returning her gaze back to the stage. It was then that Sully realized that he would be happy just sitting and holding her hand for the rest of their lives.

"I suppose you're right, killing her wasn't going to do anything," Michaela consented, still laughing at Sully's common sense observations, "but he couldn't imagine her with anyone 

else. The very thought of it drove him crazy. He loved her." Sully shook his head slightly as he gazed off into the tree line.

"Nah, he didn't love her. Might of thought he did, but it whaten real. If you really love someone, you let them go- to be happy and free. Even if it is the hardest thing you've ever done, you let them fly." His words were so soft and calculated. It was a tone that had come to give Michaela a sense of security. She didn't know how many times she had heard him express his beliefs and ideas in this tone and somehow his words always served to calm her soul. She picked up on this tone now and realized that although his words held an important message they also had a double meaning.

"Yes," she added bringing her left hand up to rest on their intertwined arms, "and if it's truly love they come home." She turned her eyes up to him to find those two blue orbs looking back at her and that subtle smile that curled the sides of his mouth slightly.

"And what if they don't come back?"

"Then you must learn to move on and understand that there is something else planned. Something better." She squeezed his arms as if in silent communication. Tucking a finger under her chin, he pulled her closer to him and kissed her so very softly. The kiss slowly deepened. Her breath hitched slightly when she felt Sully's tongue slide slowly over her top lip. Reminding herself of where they were she tugged slightly on his arm, but didn't pull away. It was Sully who broke the kiss and looked at her expectantly.

"Sully, we're in public." She whispered, slightly out of breath. Sully chuckled. She was his Michaela and no matter what she would never change, but he had learned to love her for the way she was.

"Ain't nobody around," he whispered back before closing the gap between them. This time, however she did pull back, just slightly but enough to tell him that they weren't going much farther- here at least. Then they heard a clicking from around the corner in front of them. Before they had time to speculate on the strange sound, an older couple came into view. When the two strangers had passed, Michaela turned to Sully with a raise eyebrow. Her look was one of pure, "I told you so," and it made Sully laugh. They continued walking for a short distance in silence.

The beautiful silhouette of the mountains could be seen in the distance as the moon climbed higher in the sky. The early spring fragrance of wildflowers and spruce trees filled the air and was flourished by the chilled May wind. After a few moments, Michaela broke the silence.

"Sully why do you think everything happened the way it did if he didn't truly love her?" The question was quietly spoken and her tone was fanciful. It made Sully wonder how long she had been thinking about that it. "It's been my experience that if you don't love someone you truly don't care what happens to them in the end."

"He might notta loved her, but that don't mean he didn't care nothin' for her." He said simply, but knowing this wouldn't be enough for her, he continued. "He had strong emotions. Probably didn't know exactly what it was, but just 'cause she caught his eye he thought it was love. In the end he acted on his passions."

"Everyone seemed to be acting on those passions. Even Carmen allowed her passions to fluctuate from one person to the next, and it really was her actions that lead to her scorning of one suitor for another which initiated his actions."

"Sure was."

"But Sully, one thing I've never understood is how being passionate can be so bad in one instance and good in another." The question was sincere. It did seem to be a paradox that she was forever working her way through. Society seemed to say excess emotions experienced freely were to be looked down on, but in other circumstances to love deeply and live completely seemed to be the greatest thing a person could do with their life.

"I think the difference is the person. It takes a special person to know how to deal with feelin's that deep and to still be practical. It ain't somethin' everyone can do, but those blessed enough to be able to live like that see the world through different eyes." He nodded to her. "Like you, you ain't see things like other folks. I ain't ever met anyone that cared about people so much, loved people so unconditionally, and trusted so completely, but that don't get in the way of what you do up here." He gently tapped his finger against her temple before tucking a loose strain of hair behind her ear. Michaela smiled up at him.

"But you're like that Sully. There are so many things you care so very deeply about- the Cheyenne and their traditions, the nature that you see around you… your family." The last part made Sully grin from ear to ear. Family, His family. Yes, she was right. Perhaps it was this unusual trait that was shared between the two of them that first made him fall in love with her. Wrapping his arm around her to break the chill that was quickly forming in the air, he pulled her close.

"That's why we're perfect for each other."

The subtle flickering glow of the firelight was a welcoming sight to Michaela who had grown very chilled on their way home and was shaking considerably. At one point, she was shivering so badly that Sully had stopped so her could take off his own coat and drape it around her shoulders despite her own protests.

"Sully, don't be silly. It's only a few more blocks. Besides you'll be cold too."

"Nah, I won't get too cold. 'Sides it's only a few more blocks." Michaela eventually just quieted, allowing her husband to care for her and secretly enjoyed the feeling. However, by the time they had gotten to the hotel the night air was even beginning to seep through the coat.

"Thank goodness they lit a fire." Michaela stated coming into the room and standing before the hearth.

"Cold snaps don't usually come 'round this time a year." Sully said removing both his coat and Michaela's wrapper from her shoulders so he could hang them up in the armoire.

"Cold snap? How cold do you think it will get?"

"I don't know. It was already pretty cold outside when we came in."

"It was cold? Huh, I barely even noticed." Michaela said with a teasing smile taking a few steps toward him.

"That's 'cause you were the one with all the coats." Sully teased back, but Michaela's smile dropped slightly.

"I'm sorry. You didn't get too cold, did you?" She reached out and ran her arms up and down his upper arms as if an effort to warm them. "The last thing I want is for you to get sick." Leaning down, Sully gave her a deep kiss, dispelling all of her fears and warming her from the outside in.

"I think I'll manage."He whispered before taking her still frozen hands in his. Placing a kiss to her knuckles, he added. "You're still cold. Go stay by the fire 'til you get warm."

Michaela did as she was told and wandered back over to the warmth being emitted from the soft glow. She reached back with shaky hands and slowly began to undo the buttons running the length of her back. The task was difficult and rather frustrating but she slowly made progress.

Sully could have helped, and probably should have, but as he turned from the armoire, he had to stop and admire the beauty in what he saw before him. His wife's small frame was a dark silhouette outlined against the golden glow from the fireplace before her. Her hair pinned and tucked in an intricate way on top of her head seemed to shine from the light, almost giving the appearance of a halo. Her back arched slightly as she had her arms up over her head and her long slender fingers were working methodically at the buttons. It was a beautiful sight. Sully sighed, walking toward the washroom. His skin tingled with the desire to touch her. He wanted to kiss her and surround himself with her, but he also knew that the longer he drew the night out the better things would be.

Having shed her bodice and laying it over the back of the wingback chair Michaela happened to look up just in time to see Sully cross the room. Their eyes met just before he reached the door to the washroom and the look she saw in his eyes spoke every thought that was going through his body. Her heart skipped a beat and she felt her cheeks turn a deep crimson red.

As her mind traveled back to the past few nights, her still unsteady hands reached back to unhook her dress and pull at the strings that held it into place. Grabbing the tail of the string, she pulled until she felt it stop. Jarring her back from her thoughts, she tugged on the string again. This time it didn't budge. Michaela knew that the lace hadn't been untied because her skirt was not even close to being open enough for her to step out. Following the thread back to the knot, she suddenly realized that it felt like a large tangle of strings. Michaela tried to turn her upper body so that she could see what the problem was, but failed to be able to bend that way. The next plan of action was to try to twist the skirt around to the front, but she quickly realized that there was no slack around her waist, and something was preventing her skirt from moving. Suddenly feeling very constricted by her own clothing she called for Sully.

Although she attempted to sound relatively calm, Sully detected the anxiety in her voice.

"What's wrong?" He asked, sticking his head out of the washroom.

"Something's stuck on my skirt."

"Ok, hang on." He walked around behind her and, after looking at the wad of laces, realized that he couldn't see a thing. "Let me light a lamp." After doing so and returning to his wife's slender back, he realized what the problem was. "The strings are tangled together."

"What?"

"The strings… on your skirt and corset." Reaching around to feel the knot herself, she tried to discern what was what.

"Can you fix it?"

"If ya move your hand." He laughed. He pulled her hand to the side and felt around the knot. It was very tight and he was having a hard time getting any slack. "What did ya do?"

"I didn't do anything! I just tried to untie it." She snapped a little too harshly. Her waist felt like it was shrinking by the minute and she felt like she couldn't catch her breath. "I'm sorry Sully, I'm just getting hot."

"Well, that's better than being cold."His attempt at humor didn't make her smile though. "Hang on, I'm going to get you outta this." Trying to gain a little more slack around her waist he reached up to and tightened the laces running through her corset. Michaela took in a sharp breath as the material tightened around her ribs.

"Sully…"

"I gotta get my fingers around it." He pulled again.

"Sully that's tight enough."

"If I can't untangle this mess I can't figure out what happened."

"And you do that by making everything worse?" Sully sighed in frustration.

"If I can't get my fingers around it I can't get it untied." His voice was lacking patience and Michaela was too tired to argue. She just stood there flinching and he tugged at her waist. Finally succeeding in getting the tip of his finger around the knot, he pulled the bundle of cords toward him unwrapping loops and string from around the bundle so he could see what the problem was. Apparently when he tied her corset there a lot of extra string, string that would have been tied at the front had she done the job herself. When she tied her skirt, she accidentally tied the extra mass into her bow. When she went to untie everything, the loops fell out and left her with a nice, tight knot. Michaela wiggled her upper body just slightly trying to find any comfort in the increasing tightness of her clothes. She was beginning to feel trapped. "Stop fidgetin'." He said losing his patience just a little.

"Just get me out of this thing!"

"I can't if ya gonna keep movin'." Losing her temper with her husband, she pulled away and turned so she could see him.

"I'm sorry, but if you had any idea how this feels at the moment. It's tight and hot and I can barely breathe and all you're doing is pulling on the strings and making everything worse!" Before she had even finished her speech, Sully had bowed his head placing his forehead on her abdomen. Michaela lost her train of thought when she realized his shoulders shaking. "Sully? Sully!" She placed her hands on his shoulder and pushed him back so she could see his face. It was then that she realized he was laughing. Laughing! "Oh, this is funny is it?" Silently he shook his head, laughing too hard for a reply. Although it was irritating her, his laughter was contagious and she was fighting the urge to giggle herself. "Then what?"

"It's… it's just…. Do you realize that our first argument as a married couple going to be because I can't get you out of your corset." Perhaps it was the way he said it, or the shear ridiculousness of the situation but Michaela soon found herself giggling also. Burying her face in the hollow of his shoulder, he wrapped his arms around her waist. They laughed together until Michael pressing a hand to her chest struggled to take a breath.

"Oh, oh, I can… can't… catch my… breath."

"Shh… it's ok… just … take a deep breath." He struggled to follow his own advice, but they had calmed down considerably before he asked. "Are you ok?"

"Yes, I'm just making plans to spend the rest of my life in this dress." She chuckled, trying to stay light hearted.

"That's not going to work." He said teasingly as he made to pull his arms from her waist. His left and came free easily, but as he made to pull his right arm away, he pulled Michaela with it, nearly knocking her over. Trying once more, he glanced over her shoulder. "What now?"

"It's my cuff link."

"You have got to be joking." The grave look on his face told her he wasn't. It was just too much. She started to laugh again. He gave another tug. "I don't think that's going to fix anything."

"Well, this is all I got right now," he mumbled trying to untangle his wrist from the mass of loops at the back of her skirt. It was useless. He couldn't see anything.

"Welcome to my world. Do you think someone's trying to tell us something?"

"If they are, I can't imagine what it was." The situation seemed so comical that it almost didn't seem real. Resting her forehead on Sully's chest Michaela continued to giggle. Mostly because she was afraid that if she didn't laugh she would cry. Everything seemed very dismal at the moment. Suddenly she had an idea and her head shot up.

"Bandage scissors!" She exclaimed proudly.

"What?"

"Bandage scissors, in my bag. You can cut us free." Recognition flashed across his face.

"Can we do that?"

"I have more laces for the corset. Just don't cut my dress." Sully laughed that she was still thinking about her dress at a moment like this.

"Beggars can't be choosers."

"Oh yes they can. Really, Sully don't cut my dress."

When they had first arrived at the hotel earlier in the week they had been rather slow at putting things in their proper place. However, one thing they both had agreed on was to put her medical bag in the bottom of the chest of drawers. "I don't think we'll be need this anytime soon." Michaela had said closing the drawer. She met Sully's curious glance with one of her own. "Besides I don't want to be Dr. Quinn right now, I want to be Mrs. Sully." Little did they know at the time that the location of her bag would later prove a challenge for them.

With his cuff link still firmly attached to the mess of strings, Sully tried to kneel down and manage the drawer with his left hand. Michaela, in an effort to give him as much room as possible ended up bending her knees in an unstable crouch while he reached in for the bag. When Sully picked the bag up, he did so with his thumb and middle finger greatly misjudging exactly how heavy it would be. He almost had it to the countertop when the bad slipped from his fingers. His natural instinct was to catch the bag with his right hand, but when he jerked his arm over he 

threw Michaela off balance. She toppled into him, knocking him over, and showering the contented of her bag over the both of them.

Michaela just lay there curled on top of him with her head buried in his chest. She was laughing so hard that her entire body was shaking. Sully, too, was laughing as he tried to brush medical equipment aside.

"You better not tell anyone about this." He stated simply rolling her to the side and feeling around for the scissors.

"No one… would ever believe… this story even if … I tried." She gasped between breaths.

"Ok It's not that funny." Michaela just nodded. Getting slightly irritated because he now couldn't find the scissors among the myriad of objects scattered across the floor he threw his hand up. "I give up. You were right. We are just gonna hafta live like this for the rest of our lives." However before he could finish, Michaela was rising up on her elbow and feeling underneath her; she pulled out the coveted pair of bandage scissors. Handing them to him, she smiled.

In an instant Sully had freed them both. Her skirt was kicked off and scattered to the floor and his cuff links found themselves lying next to a bottle of chloroform. Pulling the now damaged corset from around Michaela's body, he tossed it across the room.

"That's it. I'm never gonna touch that thing again." He threw his hands up, and Michaela feeling the constriction leave her chest just laughed. "No wonder they say those things are dangerous." He added.

"Who says those things are dangerous?" She asked, taking a deep breath and wrapping her arms around him, pulling him down toward her.

"I do."

"Oh, really?" Their lips met once.

"Mmmhmmm," was all Sully could manage in reply.

"But you got us free." She pointed out, pulling him back down to her. Another kiss, this time longer.

"Only because of your plan." He mumbled against her lips giving her another, short kiss before planting soft one at the corners of her mouth. Michaela pushed him away just far enough to be able to see his eyes.

"Well Mr. Sully, with my brains and your brawn we certainly make a handsome couple."

He winked at her.

"That's why we're perfect for one another." When he kissed her again it seemed to last forever.

Side note: Bizet's Carmen wasn't first performed until 1876, and even then the reviews were not that good. However, I found the story an interesting topic to be discussed in this piece, so I decided to shift the dates around a bit.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this piece. Please let me know what you thought.