"How'd he sleep Doc?" The early morning sun poured into Doc's office as Kitty walked in carrying a bag of sweet rolls, knowing a pot of coffee would already be brewing.

"Pretty peacefully, he's still running a fever, but no where near as high as one he rode in with last night."

Kitty set the rolls out on a plate. She picked one up and went to take a bite, but quickly set it back down, "Doc, he could hardly stay upright on his horse when he rode in. He should have headed back way sooner."

Doc poured two cups of coffee and handed her one, "We both know better than that Kitty. He'll just push himself until every ounce of strength is gone. I still don't figure how he was able to bring that Mason fellow back with him."

The two old friends sat side-by-side picturing Matt swaying in the saddle as he rode into town. He was obviously succumbing to a high fever, but somehow kept a firm grip on the reins of the horse carrying his snarling, handcuffed prisoner.

Doc's eyes rested on Matt's sleeping form as images from the past 18 years flickered by. He and Kitty had logged a lot of hours by Matt's bedside over a lot of years. Years that had flown by. He suddenly set his coffee down. "Kitty, this may be none of my business but where are things with you and Matt?"

One side of Kitty's mouth curled into a knowing smile, "Seeing as things not being your business never stopped you from anything, I'll just say that when Matt takes the badge off we're going to get ourselves a spread. It's a pretty vague plan, and I don't quite know what I'm going to do with the Long Branch, but Matt figures he has another year or two of marshaling in him so there's plenty of time to ….."

Kitty's voice petered out and her eyes narrowed as she looked at Doc, "Doc, you were asking about the future right? I mean you weren't asking about where we're at now."

"If what you mean by now is the way you and Matt have been carrying on for 18 years, you're right, that's not what I'm asking. I was wondering about the future.

Out of nowhere Kitty felt color creep up her cheeks.

Doc laughed, "Why Kitty Russell, I do believe you are blushing. That's something I thought I'd never see in a million years."

"I am not blushing."

"Oh yes you are, but I don't see why. Like I said, I've known about you and Matt for 18 years. Way in the beginning, Ma Smalley used to say…"

Kitty jumped to her feet, "MA SMALLEY! You mean you and Ma Smalley have been discussing my personal, private life for 18 years."

Doc knew he'd said too much and wanted to backtrack. He spoke rapidly, "Well, Kitty in the beginning you went to Matt's room at Ma's. Ma & I figured it was hard for Matt to discreetly get you home, and if he was called to take care of something, you had to find your own way home. We reckoned that's why things got switched to him spending nights with you at the Long Branch – smart move. Like Ma said, 'If there's a commotion the marshal can hear it from anywhere.'

Kitty glared, "Like Ma said!" Her voice was dripping with sarcasm, "I hope you and Ma Smalley have enjoyed many hours discussing and judging my life and decisions."

"Now Kitty, Ma comes from a more worldly background than you'd think."

"Oh – a WORLDLY BACKGROUND. The kind of background that gives insight into the mind of a saloon woman who sleeps with a man."

"Kitty, that's not what I meant."

Mmm.

Hearing a moan from the bed, Doc rushed over, glad to have something to do, "How do you feel Matt?"

"Like something the cat dragged in. Is Mason in jail?"

"Oh yes, Festus has him locked up good, real good. Now you rest, you're going to be fine. As good as new, and soon, real soon. I'll get you some quinine."

Puzzled by the torrent of words pouring from Doc and his awkward demeanor. Matt's eyes rested on Kitty. "Hi there."

She took his hand and was glad to feel it was cool and dry. She meant to say something soothing but before she knew it blurted out what was on her mind. "Matt, did you know that our good friend Doctor Adams has been having daily discussions about our relationship, our intimate relationship, with Ma Smalley, and who knows who else."

Matt blinked, not quite understanding what was going on or why Kitty sounded so angry.

Doc spoke indignantly, "I do not have daily discussions about your relationship." He put a cup of white liquid to Matt's lips, "Drink this Matt, all of it." As Matt was swallowing the vile tasting medicine Doc took on an exasperated tone, "All I said to Kitty was that Ma Smalley said - said, well never mind."

Kitty crossed her arms in front of her, "You see Matt, Dr. Gossip Pants there has been hard at work, day after day, year after year, talk-talk-talking about us."

Matt still couldn't grasp what was going on, but he wanted the bickering to end, and he wanted to be alone with Kitty. His head was pounding, his muscles ached and he yearned to have Kitty's cool hands on him. Out of desperation an idea took shape, "Kitty, since Dr. Gossip Pants knows all about us, how about you take off some of those clothes and get into bed beside me?"

Kitty and Doc looked horrified, but Kitty quickly saw the playfulness in Matt's eyes. "Of course Matt. I'll strip down to the essentials and get next to you to give you a nice back rub. I'm sure you can use it."

Doc's eyes widened in growing horror as Kitty sat down and slipped off her shoes. He sputtered, "You can't do that in front of me."

Kitty smiled sweetly, "You're a doctor, a worldly man. You've seen it all."

"This is not a medical emergency, this is, this is - well, I never."

He grabbed his jacket and stormed out the door.

Kitty got down to her undergarments and climbed into bed beside Matt. She started rubbing her cool hands up and down his spine and then kneaded his cramped back muscles.

He whispered softly, "Kitty, I don't know the whole of what went on here, but it seems to me even if he shared with Ma Smalley, Dr. Gossip Pants has kept our secret well. If Ma knows so has she."

Kitty gently kissed Matt's neck and continued massaging his achy muscles. She thought it over and let out a big sigh, "I know Matt. Really, I don't know why I got so emotional about the whole thing. I'll apologize to Doc later."

Doc stormed down the stairs and marched down Front Street – Dr. Gossip Pants indeed. He wondered if he should go talk to Ma, but in truth they hadn't mentioned Kitty and Matt's relationship in years. It was an unspoken, acknowledged fact, and he knew Ma was pleased that she'd witnessed the start of their blossoming love, but it wasn't a point of discussion.

Ruling out a visit to Ma and knowing he couldn't go back to his office, Doc thought about where to go. There was the marshal's office, but he wasn't in the mood for Festus' chatter. He was too unsettled to sit in Delmonico's and eat alone, and he had no patients to see until afternoon. On a whim he decided that a morning of fishing was in order. That's it he'd go fishing. As he gathered his gear he couldn't get over how emotional Kitty had gotten. He'd seen her through terrible things, but had never seen her lose it like that.

He stopped and thought. Uncharacteristically emotional, paler than usual, she'd brought the sweet rolls she loved but lifted one, took a sniff and set it down without taking a bite. It could just be that Kitty Russell was expecting. Yep, it could just be that those vague plans of Kitty and Matt's were going to have to take shape a little sooner than they knew. Doc laughed out loud. He put down his gear and started walking towards Smalley's boarding house. This is something Ma would appreciate. They'd have a good laugh about this one.

He stopped in his tracks, "Dr. Gossip Pants, think again. Go fishing – they'll be plenty of time for talk later.

TBC