Standard disclaimers apply. An ATC to the episode "The Dreamers" from Season 7, written by John Meston. Thanks to some special friends who challenged me to tackle this episode and offered helpful suggestions.

My Girl

Chapter 1

Kitty Russell closed her eyes and took a deep, calmingbreath. If the past month were a fish, I'd throw it back, she thought to herself.

Against all odds, she was standing in front of the saloon she still owned and operated, watching through misty eyes as Henry Cairn slowly disappeared from view. If anyone had told her a day ago that she would be shedding tears of pity for the man who had put her through such hell, she wouldn't have believed it. But that man had saved her life last night, and she found herself looking at him through a more forgiving lens today.

Kitty felt as though she had finally awakened from a month long nightmare. She glanced over at Matt Dillon, thumbs hooked in his pants pockets as he stood next to her watching the same bittersweet scene. She found herself looking at him through a different lens today too. This one was not quite so forgiving.

She still couldn't believe that the Henry Cairn situation had gotten so far out of hand. He had initially seemed like many men before him, an overeager admirer with the potential to become a nuisance. It was a scenario with which she had become quite familiar.

Kitty had been the object of more ogling, propositions, and proposals than she cared to remember. Men were drawn to her, as much today as the owner of The Long Branch Saloon as they had been in her earlier years as one of its working girls. She had always been a natural beauty, but the Kitty Russell who was now in her 30's had an added maturity and confidence that made her more desirable than ever.

With years of practice, she had mastered the art of turning men down. She was polite but firm, learning that men's egos were unpredictable and anything less than blunt rejection could be misconstrued as playing hard to get. Kitty Russell was indeed hard to get, but she never played games. She just wasn't willing to settle for less than she deserved.

She had been no less blunt when the now infamous Henry Cairn became the latest man to fall under her unintentional spell. One look at the striking redhead at the end of the bar and he was planning their future together. An unrefined man who had seen none too many baths, Henry Cairn was definitely not her type. Though it wouldn't have mattered what type he was—she was already taken. Not the married kind of taken, but she couldn't have belonged more to a man if she had a ring on her finger and a house full of kids.

Unfortunately for her, Henry wasn't the giving up type either. His dream of traveling east to buy a riverboat with his partner, Jake Fogle, had quickly become sidelined by his newfound love in Dodge. His refusal to accept that Kitty wasn't going to marry him had been infuriating, but she was absolutely blindsided by what had happened next.

Henry's plan to run her out of business had almost worked. Buying The Lady Gay and selling whiskey cheaper than either of them could buy it left The Long Branch with no customers. He figured that a lady without an income would have no choice but to marry him. Of course, this particular lady would starve before she let a man tell her what to do, a fact that could have saved them both a lot of money and aggravation had he actually gotten to know her first.

It turned out The Long Branch wasn't the only thing she almost lost.

Kitty shuddered as she replayed the previous evening's events over and over in her head. Henry's partner had decided that they were never going to get their riverboat as long as Henry's obsession with this woman continued to eat up their time and money. If something drastic didn't happen soon, they were going to lose everything.

Fogle determined that something drastic would have to be Kitty Russell's death. He watched as she was escorted home from a night out with the Marshal, and to his delight her date had left shortly after seeing her inside. Fogle entered with every intention of using his gun to get rid of the only thing standing between him and the Mississippi River. Fortunately for Kitty, Henry had arrived in time to stop him. He had killed his own partner—and along with him, their dream—rather than see an innocent woman die.

As Henry walked away from Dodge forever, leading a donkey in each hand, Kitty was relieved that her ordeal was finally over. She and her business had both survived. But she couldn't help feeling a deep sadness for this man who had gambled everything over some foolish delusion and had lost. His life would never be the same. She wondered if hers would be.

This wouldn't have happened if only he had claimed me. Kitty felt almost guilty for having the thought, but it was true. Henry Cairn might have been a crazy old coot, but he likely would not have pursued her had an intimidating six foot, seven inch Marshal uttered two simple, accurate words: "She's mine."

But that would have required a public declaration that he had forbidden to happen. Their affair was to remain clandestine, the eyes of the town seeing only two "very good friends" chatting over a drink or having dinner together. A lot.

Kitty knew they weren't fooling many people, but she picked her battles and decided long ago that this wouldn't be one of them. If it eased his mind to believe that he was protecting her this way, she would not deny him that. In his line of work, anything that made his considerable burden lighter was worth the effort on her part. It was something that came with the privilege of loving and being loved by Matt Dillon.

So while it stung, she understood why he had not attempted to shut Henry Cairn down with those two little words. But he hadn't said any other words either, and that she didn't understand. Even Chester had come to her defense when he witnessed the unwelcome advances of this man who was so clearly overstepping the boundaries of acceptable behavior. But Matt had seemed more like a sympathetic bystander through it all. She had been so melancholy last evening on their date, envisioning her life without The Long Branch and wondering what the future held for her. And he had walked her home and just left her there.

Standing together in front of The Long Branch, Matt turned to Kitty and saw the pained expression on her face. He knew she had been through hell, and he thanked God it was all over.

"Can I buy you a drink?" he offered with a smile. "You sure look like you could use one."

"No thanks," she said. "I have a lot of work to do, and I'm sure you do too." It was a polite tone more suited to a new acquaintance than a lover. Kitty turned and disappeared through the batwing doors.

Matt stood alone in front of The Long Branch. "What was that about?" he wondered.

Matt had a lot to learn about women, but he knew enough to understand that he should follow her in and find out.

TBC