Disclaimer: I do not own the characters who act in this story; I only borrowed them from Beth Sullivan, CBS and whoever else is holding the rights on them.

The Challenges of the Plains

by kruemi

The challenges of the mountains lie behind us, ahead we have the challenges of the plains. (Bertolt Brecht, German author; freely translated)

Chapter 1

On a warm June afternoon, Dr. Michaela Quinn turned with her red Toyota Corolla into Colorado Spring's Stout Road. She didn't only smile because her shift was over and she wouldn't have to go to work for the next two days. The corners of her mouth also turned up because she exactly knew what picture she would see in a few seconds. She was sure that the gate to the yard of Sully's property stood wide open and Wolf, an Alaskan malamute, lay on the porch, opening an eye from time to time in order to look whether he missed anything. Right now he would recognize the sound of her car's engine. Michaela chuckled to herself as she bent around the last corner and saw the dog jumping down from the porch, just like she'd expected. She had found Wolf last year when he was still a puppy; he'd been tied to a tree on the sidewalk with a message from a child under his collar, begging the finder to take care of the dog. Of course she hadn't been able to look away, although she had no idea what to do with her new friend since she was only on vacation in Colorado Springs. Fortunately Sully had immediately offered to take the malamute in when she told the dog's story to a crowd of men in the Gold Nugget, the hotel owned by Hank Lawson and Jake Slicker.

Anyway, ever since then, Wolf was devoted to Sully and her. His exuberance when he welcomed her home increased with every new day rather than waned. He made no exception today.

Sully had heard the car pulling into the yard and hurried to do the last touches on an eight-inch wooden bear he'd just finished carving. Usually he preferred making smaller figures, but for the bigger ones the gift shop at the Gardens of Gods paid him more, and he desperately needed any cent he could make. A rough time lay behind him; not only had he been paralyzed for weeks after an accident so he wasn't able to his job as a guide. On top of it a tornado had hit his home, which actually was Michaela's as well for she had rented half of the house as her apartment after she'd gotten a permanent job at the Memorial Hospital Central.

Of course she'd known that he didn't have the money to rebuild the almost destroyed structure, and thus she had offered her rent for a few years in advance. The only reason he had agreed to this loan in disguise was that this way, he could be sure she would stay at his place. He'd almost lost her because he'd been too proud to accept her help when he was sick. That he had done it because he hadn't wanted to burden her had only made things worse once he told her so. They still hadn't recovered from that set-back in their relationship, and that she had rejected his proposal although she was pregnant with his child complicated things even more.

However, he was determined to win her back. He'd been extremely careful to not do anything to make her shy away again, and so they'd at least re-established their close friendship. As hard as it was to not touch and kiss her in a lover's way, let alone share the bed, he would wait as long as it needed for her to trust him fully again.

Actually, at the moment he wasn't quite sure where they stood. Cloud Dancing had asked if he could step in for a sick colleague of his who was supposed to be one of the people in charge at a kids' summer camp at Woodland Park. It was only eighteen miles away from town but he had to stay there around the clock all fortnight because he would be responsible for a group of twelve-year-olds not only during the day but at night as well. Deep down it bothered him that Michaela had taken it very easily when he'd announced that he would leave tomorrow for two weeks. He couldn't decide whether that meant that she agreed that he had no choice but help his friend or that she simply didn't care. If he was honest he had to admit though that his being away might not make a big difference. Since they shared the house again, they hadn't spent much value time together. Michaela was still working shifts, and he took every job he could get to earn some money.

Sighing, Sully put away the carved bear and hurried to join Michaela in the kitchen, wondering how she would take the surprise he had prepared.

xxx

Without looking left and right, Michaela had hurried up the stairs to her room, Wolf at her heels. Sitting on the threshold to her small chamber he watched her as she impatiently pulled the clothes off her body. The skirt of her costume that she usually wore at work began to fit a bit too tightly, making her uncomfortable. She really needed to go shopping. For some reason this thought didn't cheer her up, not even the knowledge that Snowbird would accompany her. Cloud Dancing's wife had suggested showing her the right places for buying maternity wardrobe once the men would have left town.

Although her morning sickness had eased and she wasn't so tired all the time anymore, her pregnancy gave her a hard time; not physically but emotionally. All her friends and every colleague at the hospital knew about it - but not her family. Of course she knew that the longer she waited the angrier her mother would be when she learned about her condition. Michaela could imagine all the questions that would be posed, yet as long as she didn't know the answer to some of them herself, she wasn't ready to put up with Elizabeth Quinn. However, tonight she only wanted to relax. Sully would leave in the morning; afterwards there was enough time for her to worry again.

Once she had stripped herself to her underwear, she reached for the sweat pants she loved to put on these days. Yet she stopped in the middle of her move. A strange sensation in her belly made her look down. Carefully placing her palm over the area beneath her navel, she tried to feel it again. Holding her breath she waited, and after a few moments she was rewarded with another soft flutter under her hand. Her child was moving.

A wide grin lit her face, and excitedly she hurried to get dressed. She couldn't wait to tell Sully. At this moment it didn't matter that they still had unsolved issues; all that counted was that their baby was already strong enough for her to feel his or her movements.

Wolf sensed the change in the atmosphere and immediately rushed to her, wagging his tail and nuzzling her waist. Laughing out loud, Michaela patted his head whilst she pulled at her top with her other hand.

At last she crouched down, scratching the dog behind his ears. "I hope you will like having a baby in the house," she said, growing thoughtful for a moment.

Yet her mood already shifted again. Rising to her feet, her excitement was back. "Come on," she told Wolf, "let's see what Sully will say to the news."

As she eventually entered the kitchen, she stopped right at the door though. Holding something behind his back, Sully looked at her with a strange expression on his face. It was a mix of anticipation and anxiety, which she couldn't interpret.

"What's wrong?" she asked worriedly, her cheerfulness immediately vanishing.

Not taking his eyes from her, Sully carefully moved, producing a plate with a chocolate cake on it. A burning candle was put on its center, and he asked her with his voice cracking, "Make a wish."

Despite her puzzlement, Michaela complied. Bending forwards, she gathered her hair to hold it back and closed her eyes. After a split second, she blew out the small flame. There was only one wish on her mind these days: that her baby would be healthy.

"What's the occasion?" she wondered as she straightened, her gaze still longingly lingering on the chocolate icing.

"Happy anniversary," he simply replied, his tone full with emotion.

Finally tearing her eyes from the cake, she looked up at him, her bewilderment obvious.

"It's one year today since I first met ya," Sully explained, swallowing hard. "Turned my life upside down."

Watching how the familiar red slowly colored her cheeks, he tentatively smiled. "And I wanna thank ya for that," he added.

"You remember the date?" Michaela asked incredulously, recalling their first awkward encounter at Hank's.

"Sure," Sully replied, putting the plate onto the table next to him. With both his hands free now, he edged a little closer to her. "It's kind of a second birthday to me; how can I forget that?"

She barely noticed that his palms were warming her shoulders; it was his intense gaze that coaxed her heart into a gallop, and all she could reply was, "Oh Sully!"

Only now did she acknowledge how much she had missed this kind of intimacy between them. Sully had avoided any advances since she'd moved back into the house, and she had felt comfortable with it. Knowing he was her friend had been all the reassurance she thought she needed, as well as the fact that he wanted to be there for their child. Yet as his lips touched hers, she knew that she had fooled herself.

The kiss wasn't a passionate one but tender and loving. It was enough though to immediately set her senses on fire. Out of the blue the thought hit her that she might not be able to take his being away for so many days and nights. Giving in to her desire for feeling the safety that his embrace had always offered, she put her arms around his neck, pressing her cheek against his chest.

They stood this way for some moments, both hoping that they had just taken the next step towards their healing. However, the thought of his leaving in the morning was so painful that Michaela told him what was on her mind at this very moment.

"I will miss you," she whispered, waiting somewhat anxiously for his response.

The relief Sully felt by hearing her muttered admission was indescribable. She did still care, and he would make sure to not disappoint her again.

"I'll miss ya, too," he assured, pressing his lips on the top of her head. They stood silent for a minute before he continued, "These two weeks will be gone in no time. And once I'm back…" His voice trailed off for he wanted to formulate it right. After a brief consideration he finished, "… ya won't be alone again."

Michaela sighed. She knew he meant well, but she didn't want him to think he had to drop everything only to be with her. "Sully, you can't give this kind of promise. What if Cloud Dancing needs your help again?"

"Well…" Sully hesitated. Michaela had once told him that their relationship wouldn't have a chance if they weren't honest with each other.

Since the paused stretched, Michaela bent back to look at his face, asking concerned, "What is it?"

"Uh," Sully shuffled with his feet, "actually, he asked me not only because he quickly needed somebody to step in but also because he knows that I can use the money that comes with the job."

Immediately, anger started to bubble inside of her as she took a step back, feeling she needed a distance between them. His guilty expression, however, softened her, yet she knew she couldn't simply ignore what he'd just revealed.

Sully watched nervously as she pulled out a chair from the table and sat down. For a while, she stared at her clasped hands in her lap before she lifted her eyes to him again.

"Let's just assume for discussion's sake we get married one day. Will you want me to quit my job?" she asked, taking him by surprise by seemingly changing the topic.

"'Course not!" Although he was puzzled he didn't have to think about the answer. "I'd never stop ya from bein' a doctor."

"I'm happy to hear that." Michaela followed him with her eyes as he took a seat across from her. "But then I'd like you to consider what you expect me to do with my salary, and I'm not even talking about the money I inherited from my father."

Sully swallowed hard and despite his best intentions, he wasn't able to overcome himself. "It just ain't sittin' right with me when I let ya pay for everythin'."

"I understand," Michaela assured. She really did. But she also knew they had to find a solution they both were comfortable with. If they didn't, starting a family wouldn't make sense.

"Like I said, I'd like you to give it some thoughts," she continued before she changed her tone into a playful one. "But now I'm really hungry and this chocolate cake smells delicious. How about…?"

"Sure." Sully pushed back his chair and got up. It was obvious that he was happy about the new direction of their conversation. "It's nice outside, and I thought we could have it on the porch," he suggested, looking at her expectantly.

"I'd like that," Michaela nodded and got to her feet as well.

The moment she straightened, she felt the now familiar flutter inside of her belly. Remembering that she had rushed to the kitchen to surprise him with this news, she was about to tell Sully. He was already on his way out though, and with her cheerful mood crashed now anyway, she didn't call him back.