| �Oh alright.� Sully patted the young boy�s back and helped him lift the box.
Charlotte noticed the way Sully behaved towards Brian and couldn�t help but smile. It was as if Sully was his pa, he had such a way of encouraging Brian. She leaned against the wall and thought back on that afternoon. For the past couple of weeks she�d been having these stomach pains and at first she thought they would go away, but they just kept getting stronger and stronger. She kept on ignoring them, but while she had been at work the pain was so strong it made her double over. Josef was walking down the hall when he saw what was going on. He helped her walk over to his office and waited with her until the pain had subsided. Once the pain had diminished Josef began asking her what was happening. She told him all about the pain she�d been experiencing. Josef told her that before she left he wanted her to go get some tests run, and that he�d let her know the results at the end of he day. She leaned back against the wall more and closed her eyes hoping that there was nothing to worry about. She didn�t know what would happen to the kids if nor did she want to think about it. Chapter 8 She thought about her three children, and a sharp pain shot through her heart. What if something was wrong with her? Who would her children live with? She didn�t have any relatives and she certainly didn�t want them to end up with Ethan�s family. Just then she heard a loud thud and Brian�s cry. She came out of her daydream and her gaze followed the sound of the cries. She made her way towards her youngest son, who had apparently slipped on one of the puddles, and was now holding his knee crying. Sully reached Brian before Charlotte and scooped him up into his arms. Brian buried his face in Sully�s neck and sobbed even harder. �It hurts.� �Shhh�It�ll be alright.� Charlotte stood back and let Sully handle the situation. Michaela had been upstairs with Colleen when she heard a thump followed by cries. She ran out �Does it still hurt?� �Uh huh� Brian said between sobs. �Well, we better make it go away then.� �I want you to close your eyes, think of a color, and tell me what color you choose.� �O.K. ummmm blue.� �Blue it is. Now think of another color.� �Ummm red.�of the room with Colleen close at her heels. �What happened?!� Sully looked up and saw the worried look in her eyes. �Well, he slipped on one of the puddles and banged his knee. It�s nothing serious.� �It really hurts.� Michaela made her way to where Brian was and rubbed his back. Then she noticed Charlotte standing looking at them. �I�m so sorry Charlotte, we should have cleaned up the puddles.� �It�s O.K. Michaela, accidents happen.� Michaela looked at Brian again and when he gave a little sob her heart broke. She took Brian from Sully and sat down on a chair with him in her lap. She rocked him back and forth until Brian had calmed down some. Michaela had Brian think of two more colors and after the last one she told him to open his eyes. �Alright. Does it still hurt?� Brian had been too busy thinking about the colors that he had forgotten all about his pain. �Hey, it doesn�t hurt anymore.� He turned to face Michaela and kissed her on the cheek. Michaela gave him a slight squeeze before putting him down. Sully had been observing the way Michaela handled the situation with Brian and his heart filled with more love for her. She had a natural mother instinct, and he couldn�t wait to see her with their children. |