| Chapter 19 Michaela turned around and ran back to the cave her heart caught in her throat. �Oh God� she whispered, �Please don�t let it be Sully. Not Sully.� She picked up her pace and as she neared the cave she saw three of the men move. �Sully!!� Sully heard her and took off running towards her. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her as tight as he could, kissing the top of her head. �Oh Michaela, are you alright? Did he hurt you?� �No. He didn�t hurt me.� �Sully! Michaela!� They both turned around and saw Hank kneeling down. They turned their gaze to the ground and saw Preston lying there in a pool of blood. �Oh my�� Michaela rushed to Hank�s side and together they tried to stop the bleeding. William thought he could take the opportunity to make a quick escape without being noticed, but he forgot about Sully. Sully ran and tackled him down to the ground. �You aren�t going anywhere this time.� Sully straddled him and yelled for Hank to throw him the handcuffs. He found a small tree and he handcuffed William to it. Meanwhile Michaela and Hank were trying to save Preston�s life. After working for what seemed like hours Hank put his finger to Preston�s throat to try and feel a pulse. �He�s gone.� All three of them hung their heads and had a minute of silence. ~ ~ ~ A couple of hours later Sully, Michaela, Hank and William returned to town with Preston�s body. They took it to the morgue and while they dropped William off at the police station, they told the deputy what had happened and told him to call Preston�s parents to let them know. After everything was settled in the police station, Sully and Michaela went to pick the kids up from Katherine�s house. The rest of the afternoon consisted of the children and Sully pampering Michaela. Sully had remembered what Josef had told him and he had decided to make Michaela stay in bed the rest of the day. Michaela had been through quite and ordeal and she didn�t really mind staying in bed resting. While she took a nap Sully and the kids decided to start working on the nursery. Brian was too small to help so Sully thought it would be a good idea if he gave him the most important job of all. �Brian, I have a very special job for you.� �What?� �Well, your brother and sister are going to help me get started on the nursery, but I want you to do the most important job of all.� �Really? What is it?� �I want you to spend the rest afternoon with Dr. Mike and take care of her o.k.?� �O.K. I�ll take good care of her.� Sully rustled Brian�s hair and gave him a hug before he took off running upstairs. Brian ran upstairs and when he reached Sully and Michaela�s room he turned the knob slowly. He saw Michaela sleeping and he quietly climbed into the bed next to her. He lifted the covers and after making sure they were both covered up he lifted her arm and slid in under it. He let out a small yawn and before he closed his eyes he whispered, �I love you ma.� ~ ~ ~ The next day started off like any other day. Sully and Michaela were asleep in their bed with Brian between them. Sully had tried to get him to go to his own bed, but all he got as a response was. �No, I�m taking care of ma.� So rather than arguing with him Sully let him sleep with them. Truth was, Sully liked it. He loved having a family and he couldn�t wait until their baby arrived. Michaela woke up to the smell of oatmeal and biscuits. Her eyes fluttered and she felt something weighing her down. She looked over and saw Brian sleeping peacefully. Then she looked across to Sully�s side and saw that he was awake and was looking at her. |