Re: Ghosts - ch.55 -- The Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman Fan Exchange

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Date Posted: 16:07:31 05/05/03 Mon
Author: dqfan
Subject: Re: Ghosts - ch.55
In reply to: dqfan 's message, "Re: Ghosts - ch.53 & 54" on 17:54:39 05/04/03 Sun

CHAPTER FIFTY FIVE

Sophie felt incredible. She felt relaxed. She felt peaceful. She felt warm�

Bewildered, she walked along the longest, whitest, stretch of beach she had ever seen, the azure blue waters lapping lazily at her feet.

As always, Sully was by her side. "Did I die?" she asked him, frightened.

"Nah�" With a wink and a smile, Sully bestowed the highest compliment he could upon Sophie - one he'd gifted to only one other woman in his life. "You have the courage of a warrior."

"But, then?" Utterly confused by her altered state, Sophie struggled to understand.

"Your body just needs some time to heal�time to think," he reassured her.

"This place look familiar?" Sully asked, enjoying the tropical view.

Sophie's eyes scanned the horizon. "Tahiti�" she nodded, obviously displeased.

"Didn't ya like it?" Sully probed with interest.

"Oh, it was beautiful�It was paradise..." As Sophie rambled, Sully strolled along contentedly beside her, occasionally picking up a stone and skipping it across the water.

Taking him by surprise, she abruptly ended her hyperbole with the simple truth. "I hated it."

"How come?" Sully figured she must have her reasons.

Realizing how ridiculous it must sound for anyone to hate such an idyllic spot, Sophie confessed her excuse softly, "Because Peter wasn't here to share it with me�"

Pensively, Sophie recalled the conclusion of their tempestuous past�

"After Zimbabwe, I couldn't wait to see him," she brightened at the memory.

"He'd written me that he was sober and happy - and I was so happy for him." Peter's letters were always the highlight of her week. The entire village could tell when she'd received one. She beamed non-stop, for days.

"Naturally, we picked up right where we left off," she admitted frankly. "The usual arrangement: no strings, just total honesty."

"Naturally�" Sully rolled his eyes at their unconventional relationship.

"He keeps this spare key under the rock in the front yard�" she recalled with a smile. "Told me I could come and go as I pleased."

"I stayed almost a month that time." Ruefully, Sophie shook her head and thought back.

"After that, it was a week here�two weeks there�whenever I needed to touch home base." Sophie wasn't proud of her selfishness, but�

"Peter always seemed to understand - until�" Her actions made her cringe, even now.

"Until?" Patiently, Sully waited for Sophie to come to terms with her past, watching as she sat down on the beach and hugged her knees, her flowing, white dress fluttering carefree in the gentle breeze as she spoke.

"I'd always warned him when it was time for me to leave, where I was off to, how he could reach me�" she explained quietly. "But, even that started to feel like more of a commitment than I was ready to make."

Frustrated, Sophie punched at the sand with her fist. "Oh, I don't know! Maybe I was testing him."

Unfortunately, Sophie did know. She knew her failings all too well.

And, by now, Sully knew them, too. "You tried t'push him away for good," he surmised correctly.

Sophie nodded, ashamed. "I left him in the middle of the night, right after we'd made love - without even saying goodbye. And I didn't see him again for three years."

The silence was deafening as Sully allowed Sophie to absorb the impact of what she'd done.

"We ran into each other - at the Los Angeles airport, of all places." Sophie would forever be grateful for the chance meeting that brought Peter back into her life.

"I was on my way to Tahiti and Peter was heading back to Horizon. He'd been in L.A. trying to arrange some financial backing for the school."

Sophie could picture it all as if it were yesterday�

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"How are you, Sophie?" Amidst the bustle of airport traffic, Peter took her hand politely in his; but, in his eyes, she saw the cold reserve of a man who wouldn't be hurt again.

"Peter�I'm sorry I�" Excusing her behavior was impossible.

"You look good." Peter wasn't about to have this discussion in an airport. "Where are you headed?"

"Tahiti." Sophie didn't have much choice but to answer.

"You look great, too," she blurted, her compliment sincere. Peter truly did look wonderful�happy�healthy.

"Thanks," Peter acknowledged with a shy smile. Sophie had played a large part in his recovery, no matter what happened between them.

Not that, for the life of him, Peter knew what had happened between them! Sure, Sophie liked her freedom. That much, he knew by heart. But, the way she left�her three-year silence� That hurt. He wasn't ready to forgive that - not yet.

Awkwardly, he grappled to say anything other than "I miss you."

"Horizon's nuts, as usual," he babbled on. "Frank's great and we just hired a new counselor, Hannah Bower Barnes. She's got a terrific way with the kids. She's sympathetic, caring�"

Pointedly, Sophie took the basic subtext of Peter's comments to mean that this "Hannah person" wasn't the type to disappear after a midnight fling.

Sophie took the blow with a silent "ouch," knowing she deserved it.

"Last call for Flight 275 to Vancouver�" The announcement of Peter's flight came much too soon - for both of them.

"Well, that's my flight�" Peter fumbled with his bag and his emotions. "Take care, Soph," he said, giving her a brief but cordial peck on the cheek.

"Peter?" Sophie couldn't let him go like this.

"Yeah?" Curious, he waited for her question.

Desperately, Sophie struggled to reconnect with the most important person in her life. "If I write?" she offered in quiet apology.

Softening, Peter felt his anger, if not his hurt, melt with her smile. He paused just long enough to look into her eyes and touch her hand in goodbye.

"I'll write back."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"So here I was - in one of the most romantic places in the world - with only the Tahitian postal system to keep me company," Sophie smirked wryly.

"I wrote him every day, letter after letter: what I'd been doing for the past three years�how sorry I was for leaving the way I did�"

"Did he write ya back?" Easily, Sully anticipated her answer.

"Every day�" Sophie smiled. "Mostly chatty stuff, at first - and a lot about Hannah." Sophie's expression clouded. "I could tell he liked her."

"But we were talking again�we were connected again� And, when I wrote and told him Tahiti was highly overrated, he sent me a note."

Sully looked at her expectantly. "You gonna make me guess?"

Sophie grinned slyly. The day she'd received Peter's message was the only day Tahiti had ever seemed truly beautiful to her.

It read simply: "Key's still under the rock�"

Sully's grin matched Sophie's. "You write back?" he wondered.

"In a way�" Sophie teased, her eyes sparkling.

Sully hadn't seen that sparkle in a long time. The doubts that had plagued Sophie since her arrival in Las Vegas seemed finally to be lifting. Her spirits were undeniably brighter. To Sully, it was as if she was coming alive again, right before his very eyes.

"I sent him a map - no note, just the map," she revealed impishly. "I circled the perfect spot - a secluded meadow, not far from Horizon. Then, I marked it with a date and time, and scribbled two words, "Meet me!"

"And then?" Chuckling, Sully was pretty sure he knew.

Even so, Sophie enjoyed recalling the moment. "I parachuted into his arms."

"And the rest was history, huh?" Sully delved.

"Well, there was Nairobi," Sophie's cheerfulness ebbed for just a moment. "But, we needed that time," she explained confidently.

"Peter needed to resolve his feelings about Hannah and I needed to be totally sure of what I wanted, too�"

"Which was?" Sully offered Sophie his hand and she stood to face him.

"More." That single word had struck such amazement in Peter's eyes when Sophie told him, that she still laughed whenever she thought of it.

"Peter�a home�a life�" she finished thoughtfully.

"Then isn't it about time you got back to that life?" Sully prodded helpfully. "He's waiting for ya�"

Utterly manipulated, Sophie exaggerated a scowl, but she couldn't be angry with Sully, even if she tried. "You tricked me�"

"Who me?" he shrugged, with the innocence of a babe. "I just provided some perspective�"

"Perspective, huh?" Sophie nudged his arm playfully.

"Everything happens fer a reason, Sophie. It makes us who we are today�" Sully reminded her.

Wisely, Sophie took the hint. "Including Peter marrying Chloe in Las Vegas, you mean."

"Hey, Las Vegas ain't so bad," Sully riddled mischievously. "Michaela and me got married in Las Vegas. From the sound of your story, you and Peter did, too�"

Sophie was totally, and unequivocally, confused. "What are you talking about?" she puzzled. "You and Michaela were married in the meadow!"

"And you and Peter found your way back to each other in a meadow�" Sully added with a nod, giving Sophie a kiss on the cheek goodbye.

"So?" Stumped, Sophie grabbed Sully's arm. She wasn't about to let him leave without an explanation.

"Las Vegas�" he smiled, touching her chin fondly with his index finger. "It's Spanish for 'the meadows.'"

Bemused, Sophie closed her eyes for just a second. In that brief instant, Sully's voice faded to a whisper inside her head.

"Remember, Sophie, it's all in the way you look at things�"

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