Disclaimer: I did not invent, nor do I own or benefit from the characters in this story. I just like to make stuff up.

AN: Some readers had asked for a sequel to my story Foundling. Here it is, but I believe it works as a standalone. Warning - departs from canon. Also all places are totally fictional. Hope you enjoy it.

Kitty was pensive as she stood on the second floor of her house, gazing out a window onto her blossoming garden. She and Matt had been married for almost a year, but it had been almost 19 years since their lives as passionate lovers, intimate confidants and best friends had begun. Marriage had changed nothing and everything. She turned and looked around the freshly painted room, pleased with her choice of pale green for the walls and off white for the molding and window ledge. The green curtains with the butterfly print, had been hung on the window that morning and looked lovely. She and Matt had lived in the house for six month, but had just gotten around to decorating the smaller of their two bedrooms. There had been no reason to until now. At the moment the only piece of furniture in the other wise empty room was a beautifully crafted rocking chair that had been a gift from her friend and employee, Sam, but more furniture would follow. She gazed out the window again, and remembered the day she and Matt bought the house, the day they lost a child and gained a home.

It all started when Matt came home late one night, and thrust a tiny infant into her arms. Matt had gone into a cave seeking shelter from the rain, and found a newborn and a terrified teenage girl inside. The teenager, whose name was Lettie, had just given birth. Matt thought the best thing the girl could do was return to her parents with her baby, and hope for acceptance. He took them to the family's farm, and after much discussion, Lettie's parents took her back, but couldn't accept a baby who was not only illegitimate, but born of rape. Matt had no choice but to take the little thing back to Dodge with him.

Kitty smiled as she remembered how quickly she had come to love the tiny baby, who she soon named Mary. Matt took a little longer but fell in love with her as well and arranged for a legal adoption. That was when Lettie and her father, Joseph, arrived to reclaim the baby. Joseph explained that after speaking to a minister, he and his wife had had a change of heart.

Kitty watched the bees buzz around the violets and blue bells growing in her garden. She had thought about Mary when she planted those seeds, and watching the flowers grow held special beauty for her, as she came to understand that as painful as it had been to return Mary to Lettie, the infant's presence had been a blessing. Mary had given her a taste of motherhood, and awakened in Matt not only a desire to have children, but a recognition that even a lawman just might have the right to have a family.

After Lettie left with Mary that day, she and Matt started looking at houses. The need to have a real home suddenly felt urgent, but it was a bittersweet experience. The pain of losing Mary was fresh, but so were their hopes for the future. This house, the third they looked at, grabbed them right away. It was on the edge of town, and Matt could be easily gotten if needed, but was away from the Dodge nightlife. On the first floor was a cozy sitting room with a fireplace, a spacious dining room and a large kitchen with a back door that led to the garden. Upstairs were two bedrooms, one large and one smaller. Both had big windows that looked out over the garden. Next to the house was a small stable, corral, and storage shed.

They purchased the property immediately, and had spent the last 6 months making the house into a home. The only thing missing was the child they both so desired.

"There you are."

Kitty turned at the familiar sound of her husband's voice. He kissed her lips, lingering as he savored her scent and taste, "Sorry I'm late. It took longer than expected to get Mike Bates to drop those ridiculous charges against his brother.

Kitty smiled, "That's all right. There's plenty of time to make the train, and I have our bags all packed."

Matt nodded, "I'll get them. Festus and Newly are officially in charge of Dodge. Oh, and they'll bring the cradle and other things over in a day or two, when the carpenter has them finished."

An hour later Matt and Kitty were seated on the train to Topeka eager to get going as last minute passengers wandered up and down the aisles searching for seats. When everyone was boarded, the whistle sounded and the train lurched forward, and quickly picked up speed.

Matt looked at Kitty as she stared out the window, and was struck by how beautiful she looked in her dark green traveling suit, and matching hat, with her red hair swept up into an elegant bun. He marveled that the woman he had loved for almost 19 years was more wonderful, beautiful and desirable today than on the first day he noticed her so long ago at in Delmonico's restaurant.

Kitty felt husband's eyes upon her, but continued to peer out the window. Since the loss of Mary her need for a baby had been powerful. For the many years that she and Matt had been lovers, she had practiced whatever forms of birth control were available. There had been just one "accident." 17 or so years ago she became pregnant and had a miscarriage before she had been certain she was pregnant. Kitty recalled how relieved she had been. She hadn't wanted a baby then, and thought she had plenty of time. Now she wanted a baby in the worst way. She stopped practicing birth control right after Mary had been taken from them 6 months ago, and expected to become pregnant quickly. She hadn't, and for the first time in her life, seeing blood each month was a disappointment not a relief. She wasn't old, but being in her late 30's, was starting to feel the end of her childbearing years closing in on her.

Matt touched her arm, and she looked at him, "Kitty, what are you thinking?"

She smiled weakly, "Nothing really, Matt."

"Kitty, I know better."

She looked down without responding. He lifted her chin, and looked into her eyes, "Kitty, you are a wonderful, accomplished, caring, beautiful, desirable woman who will be a great mother. Maybe we are meant to give a loving home to a child who would otherwise grow up in an orphanage."

Not being surprised that Matt had read her mind, Kitty whispered, "I love you."

"I love you too. Now why don't you put your head on my shoulder and rest. I know you didn't sleep much last night."

Kitty moved closer and leaned into him, "Now how would you know that?"

Matt didn't answer as Kitty relaxed and closed her eyes.

While Kitty slept, he thought about the place in Topeka they were going to visit, the "Kansas Single Women's Hospital." Some just called it "the place." Doc had told him about it in case he and Kitty wanted to consider adopting.

According to Doc, girls and women who were unmarried and pregnant went there when they could no longer hide their condition from family, friends and neighbors. They would wait out their pregnancies and give birth. Their ages ranged from around 14 to about 35.

After giving birth, the women had limited options. A few would keep their babies, and go home to accepting families, who made up stories to explain the presence of an infant. Fewer still would take their babies and strike out on their own with a story about being widowed, hoping to be hired as a seamstress, cook or maid, and maybe even find a man to marry who would accept the child.

Most women left their babies behind to be adopted. They went home to family if they could, and if they couldn't, tried to find a way to survive on their own. These women would never utter a word about having had a baby, and go to their graves with that secret.

Matt and Kitty were going to Topeka hoping to adopt one of those babies.

TBC