TWO LONELY PEOPLE…PART TWO-CHAPTERS ONE TO FOUR
THE FIRST FOUR CHAPTER ARE BEING RE-POSTED DUE TO TECHNICAL PROBLEMS.
I used poetic license for some of the dialogue in this episode/FF. I did not change any of the meaning. I know it has been quite a while since Part One was posted. So, you might want to go back and re-read it. Unfortunately, "LIFE HAPPENS", and that is what occurred here. I hope you enjoy this and sorry for the delay.
Thanks so much to my Beta, Dodge City Angel, who makes this so much clearer, crisper, and readable. She puts her heart and soul on all she does, and I am so lucky she will do this for me.
Reference: "Helping Hands, Season One, Episode 21
*In this episode, Emmett Bowers' foreman was named Bill Pence. I couldn't figure out why they used the name for two characters, especially one in a recurring role. I liked the Bill Pence as Kitty's partner best, so I gave the foreman no name.
CHAPTER ONE
Kitty Russell had been injured, badly injured. Doc had given her medication to help her sleep but it hurt to breathe, let alone move. Thoughts ran through her brain like drunken squirrels making sleep impossible. This all seemed like a nightmare. Dear God, let it be a nightmare.
There was this recurring dream she was having that Matt sat in a chair, in a bedroom holding her in his arms as she whimpered and shook. Then he and Doc had cleaned her up and put her to bed. After that, snatches of reflections and odd imaginings filled her waking and sleeping hours.
Slipping in and out of consciousness made Kitty wonder if she dreamed all this. Doc had been upset with her that she was so restless and wanted her to take more laudanum but she was afraid it was creating these hallucinations. After all, the big marshal had rejected her attentions. However, the thoughts of him rescuing and holding her kept coming.
In this dream state she thought she had wanted to tell him she knew how it had to be with them, and that was alright-for now. That having had his arms around her, and feeling his lips on hers, Kitty knew this was the man she never thought she would meet. Knowing this, and knowing it was out of her reach had made her sadder, and lonelier. She just knew all her instincts had been right when she first saw him in the café that morning. He was something special. If only she could have convinced him loving her would only enhance his life. He sure could be stubborn.
It was time to get her thoughts in order. She needed to get back a sense of reality. It was important to remember how this situation all began. It had been on a hot, lazy afternoon and the saloon was almost empty she seemed to remember. She was playing cards with one of the regulars, when a young man, hardly more than a kid, came in through the batwing doors. He was handsome and she had walked over to him. "Expecting someone?" she'd asked.
He'd looked at her. It seemed she had to pull an explanation out of him. Eventually he had admitted some men were coming to hang him for cattle rustling. It had ended with her locking him in her room.
Then she seemed to remember that she had run to the marshal's office to get help. Matt and Chester had come to the Long Branch to confront the men. It was cattleman Emmet Bauer's men and they were not happy.
Remembering all this seemed to make her head hurt. The broken ribs made her wince when she breathed hard and she wanted to sleep but something was nagging at her recollections. Something about the marshal. As she was finally relaxing into sleep, she remembered his odd reaction to her begging for help for a stranger.
"Where is he now?" The marshal had asked after she let him know the situation.
She hesitated and said in a halting manner, "In my room".
He looked pointedly at her as he strapped on his gun belt. "Well, just askin"
Her last thought that afternoon had been about why it mattered to him. Once again, she was overcome with the need to sleep, the kind of sleep she desperately needed, a healing sleep.
CHAPTER TWO
Morning seem to come to soon, but the healing was slow, and Kitty Russell wasn't happy to be so incapacitated. Matt had stopped in for a few minutes that day. It was so obvious he was nervous around her, as he kept twirling his hat not knowing what to do with his hands. Of course, there was no hope for them as they were both so aware of her being a soiled dove.
A tear trickled down her cheek and she wanted to forget how she got in this shape, but the dreamlike thoughts would not stop What had her mother had once said, "no good deed goes unpunished".
She realized now the situation with the kid had only worsened and when Matt had started to leave the saloon, that day, she stopped him telling him she was afraid for him."
The Marshal had remarked, "I thought you were taken with him".
She was hesitant replying, "I know….I…"
"Well, what, Kitty?" He was unusually brusque.
Was he mad at her, she had wondered? He couldn't possibly be jealous. She finally took a deep breath, "I know what I saw in his face when he was taunting the foreman. I'm afraid something terrible is going to happen. Don't trust him too far Matt."
Dillon had turned and walked away from her without a word. The thought he just might be jealous ran through her mind again. Then again, maybe she was crazy. After all, Matt Dillon wasn't the most emotional guy in the world.
She recalled that Matt had been away and after he had returned, he discovered that the kid was still in town and had gotten himself a partner, a no-good by the name of Hander. The men exchanged words and since Elser still hadn't found a job, the lawman told him to find one or get out of town. He walked out of the saloon with barely a look at Kitty or Chester. She had jumped from her seat and hurried out the door as Chester yelled, "Miss Kitty, come back!"
As Matt got closer to the jailhouse, he paused when he heard footsteps running behind him. Whirling around, hand on his gun, he exhaled sharply as he recognized her. "Don't do that in the dark again," he had warned. "I might have shot you."
Her lips had quivered as she whispered, "I guess I can't do anything right where you are concerned, Marshal."
Then he had pulled her into the office and demanded, "Is there more trouble?"
By then she was trembling slightly and had looked anywhere but at him as she admitted, "Nooooo...no. I was just worried about you. I know you are disappointed in...uh…well…uh...concerned."
"This isn't your fault, Kitty," he'd said. "You aren't responsible for everyone you try to help." He was fiddling with his saddle and avoiding looking at her.
He had looked so weary as he said, "I would have gotten dragged into it somehow." Then he had walked over to the cot and taken off his boots. "I really am tired. I need to get some rest."
She remembered laying her hand on his arm as she came over to sit next to him on the cot. He sharply pulled it away at her touch. That had been the last straw. Jumping up, she had apologized sarcastically, "Well, excuse me, Marshal Dillon, for caring about you."
As she headed toward the door, he pleaded. "Kitty, please understand, I am no good for you or for any woman."
"Maybe you need to let me be the judge of that, Mr. Dillon. Obviously, you think you are more irresistible than you are!" she had shouted, slamming the door as she walked out.
Chester had been coming in the door as she left and she heard him ask, "Whut's wrong with Miss Kitty? Wyah, she almost knocked me over as ah wuz comin' in, an' she din't even speak!" At that point, she wasn't sticking around to give explanations.
Had she really been so rude? Maybe if she could get some rest she could get rid of this beastly headache and think straighter. Things were so mixed up in her mind, the marshal's odd behavior, her attacker's motives, and whether she even wanted to stay in this dirty, dusty town any longer.
CHAPTER THREE
Waking up to darkness, Kitty was disoriented. Her headache was gone. Doc had been in and had put ointment on her injuries but she had barely been able to rouse herself. He must have been talking to someone because she had heard him say, "Sleep is the best medicine for her at this point."
There was a knock at the door and Ginny, one of the newer girls, came in. "Kitty, do you need anything?" she inquired.
"Could you help me to the water closet?" Kitty asked.
The young girl smiled and agreed. "Just take your time. Bill said to help you with whatever you need."
It turned out it was painful to move and the other girl winced at the extent of the redhead's injuries. "I really appreciate this, Ginny, I feel pretty wobbly on my feet."
"Just lean on me. Everyone is so worried about you," Ginny replied.
"Now Bill is a girl short and I have pushed him out of his room, too," Kitty lamented.
Ginny smiled. "Don't let that bother you. Bill is so glad you are all right. In fact, he was so angry at what happened, he instituted a new policy. We don't go anywhere with anyone drinking too much; anyone getting too aggressive downstairs doesn't get upstairs; and we can have a weapon to protect ourselves if we want."
Kitty stared at her before she finally said, "Oh, the marshal will like that."
Her eyes grew big and wide as the younger hostess explained, "It's the talk of the town! No one has ever seen the marshal react like he did when he saw what that guy did to you. It took four men to pull him off the foreman and by then, he had broken the man's nose and jaw!"
The redhead was stunned. "You're kidding!"
Shaking her head, Ginny went on, "I came in with a blanket to cover you. The marshal's hands were bruised and bloody, yet he wrapped you and picked you up like you were a baby and took you to Bill's room."
Tears pricked Kitty's eyes. The other girl continued, "You could hear a pin drop downstairs. Doc came in. He looked frantic and Chester had tears in his eyes. Mr. Dillon didn't leave you for hours. People were afraid he would kill the foreman! I heard Mr. Bowers came in and fired the guy and told him to get out of the area."
Kitty was still stunned by this news as Ginny led her back to bed. Settling under the covers once her helper left, she closed her eyes and tried to remember what had brought about such violence upon herself. Her last memory before the attack was running from the marshal's office. Kitty could barely remember that she had almost run over Chester that night. All she knew was that she was feeling so frustrated, angry, and hurt. Tears had been running down her cheeks as she ducked into the back alley behind the Long Branch. Sitting down on the steps, she'd given in to her heartache.
An arm had wrapped around her. It was Doc and his soft voice brought more tears. "What's wrong, honey?" he had wanted to know.
Ashamed to let him know she had practically thrown herself at the marshal and that he had rejected her, she explained, "I'm just having a rough day, Doc."
"So what did that big public servant do to you now?" he asked.
Kitty hadn't been able to hide her surprise. "What… what do you mean?" She remembered her voice had been tremulous.
Patting her arm, he'd gone on to explain, "Do you think I don't notice the chemistry between you two?"
"But, Doc," she had begun.
"I know Matt Dillon. I've seen him in all kinds of situations. He couldn't keep his eyes off you if he tried. The harder he fights it, the more certain I become that this is no ordinary attraction."
"Sadly, I think you are wrong this time, Doc," she had confessed.
Looking at her swollen eyes, he replied, "You listen to me, young lady. I told you before that he almost got caught once and at the time, I was sorry he wasn't. I think now she would have tried to change him, but you are a different story."
"He isn't interested," she had lamented softly, wringing her hands.
The wise physician had taken her hands and explained, "Oh, yes he is and both of you are fighting so hard against it. He needs someone like you, Kitty, understanding, feisty, independent, and who has had as rough a life as he has lived. Do me a favor - don't give up on him. That young man needs you, he just doesn't realize how much yet."
As she hugged him, her mouth muffled against his coat, Kitty had promised, "I'll try Doc, I'll try."
Slowly they had walked to her back door. "Wash your face, finish your work, and get a good night's sleep," Doc had told her.
Hurriedly, she had thanked him again, unlocked the back door, and headed to her room to straighten herself up. Before she went back downstairs, she needed to put a cold cloth on her flushed face. As she remembered leaning against the bedroom door, her future had seemed bleak. She would have to get over this fascination with the marshal or think about leaving Dodge.
It would be much later that Kitty would find out that neither she nor Doc had noticed someone watching them from the shadows. They had no idea this man thought he could do a lot more for the beauty with the copper curls than an old man could any day. They would have been astonished at the revenge he was plotting for her interference in his plans for the cattle rustler and for a big marshal who thought everyone should bow down to him. Rumor had it the lawman was interested in the Long Branch hostess. Well, two birds with one stone...
Looking up at the window where the light had just come on and seeing her shadow as she moved around her room, he had begun to make his plans. No woman had ever refused him. This redhead was going to be no exception.
I want to thank everyone who has reviewed this story. Your words have been positive and helpful. This is the hardest FF I have ever tried to write. In theory it was easy, but in reality, writing these flashbacks so they make sense has been extremely difficult. Thank you for your patience and understanding and so many thanks to Dodge City Angel who helped me make sense of it all.
CHAPTER FOUR
Kitty had awakened early the next day, having been plagued with dreams of struggling with someone, of trying to get away, and of trying to scream but no sound coming out. She was exhausted but determined to get up. The only problem was, every time she closed her eyes she drifted off and awakened with a start. She was still drowsing when Doc came in.
He looked down as her and she seemed to sense him in the room. Before she could speak he said, "Well, you look some better today. Do you think you could get up and sit in the chair?"
Her voice was husky as she smiled at the man who had become like a father to her. "I would sure like to try, Doc."
"Good, we need to have you just a little more active. Matt said every time he has been in here you have been asleep."
A surprised look crossed her face as she asked, "Matt has been here?"
Swiping his finger across his moustache, Doc informed her, "Every day."
Kitty tried not to look excited and to sound calm. "Well, that is nice of him."
"He was absolutely frantic," the doctor shared. "I have never seen him so upset. I guess that should set your mind at ease as to how he might feel about you."
Ducking her head a little, she admitted, "Maybe I WAS wrong about him."
"Well, let's get you up after I have changed your bandages."
An hour later, Ginny had helped her wash up, change into a new gown, have breakfast, and had helped her to sit by the window.
Chester came by with a small bouquet of flowers. He treated her like she might break and she tried to put him at his ease. "I'm so happy to see you, Chester."
"Miss Kitty, ah was so worried about ya. Ol' Doc and Mr. Dillon wouldn'ta let anyone bother ya. With Mr. Dillon havin ta go ta Garden City, they let me come up taday."
Holding out her hand to him, Kitty said, "You are such a good friend. Come sit by me and tell me what is going on in Dodge."
His face brightened at the thought of sharing a little gossip and the time passed quickly. Unfortunately, just that little amount of activity caused her to feel exhausted. After he left she closed her eyes and more memories flooded back.
A cowboy had run into the saloon that day and shouted that two men had tried to rob the freight office and that there was trouble down at Moss Grimmick's. It looked like a standoff between the marshal and the troublemakers. Nothing was going to stop Kitty from going outside and look toward the marshal's office as more gunshots were heard.
Moving slowly and holding his side, Dodge's lawman was headed for the jail with one of the troublemakers. He seemed almost unaware of any pain as he reached the door. Kitty had been watching from the Long Branch and saw a spreading dark mark on his shirt where he was holding his side. Doc was just arriving back in town and she ran to his buggy.
"Doc! Doc!" she had shouted and remembered feeling breathless, "I think Matt is hurt. There were shots at the freight office and then the livery. I wanted to go but Bill wouldn't let me."
Gently taking her arm, Doc asked, "Why do you think he's hurt, Honey?"
Her tone had been urgent as she told him, "He was bringin' a prisoner to the jail but walkin' real slow, holdin' his side, and it looked like he was bleeding."
The doctor had tried to reassure her by patting her hand. "He'll be fine if he could walk on his own. Don't you worry, I'll let you know…."
Kitty remembered saying stubbornly, "I'm coming with you, Doc, and don't you try to stop me."
Grabbing his medical bag, he told her, "Then let's get started."
By the time they'd gotten to the marshal's office, Matt was slumped down on the cot. Blood covered his hand and the side of his shirt. As the doctor began probing the injured area, he moaned.
"Rest easy there, Matt," Doc instructed. Doc pulled back his shirt and examined an angry-looking hole in his blood-caked side.
Kitty seemed to recall suddenly dropping into a nearby chair, feeling as if her legs could no longer hold her up.
Then Chester had come through the door as she asked, "Is he going to be alright, Doc?"
"I won't know until I get that bullet out and see what damage it has done." Doc had replied. "He should never have brought Hander back here himself. He should have been taken right to my office, but some people are so stubborn, they do whatever they want. Then they figure I can patch them up good as new."
Matt had tried to sit up, demanding, "Is that so?"
"That's so," the physician sarcastically replied. "Now, I don't want to hear any more out of you." Then he and Chester helped him up to Doc's office.
It had been time for Kitty to go back to work but she made them promise to let her know as soon as the operation was over. When she had gotten back to the Long Branch, Emmett Bowers' foreman and his men had been there drinking.
The head man had come over, settled into a chair next to her, and asked, "Have you heard how the marshal is doing?"
"They just took him up to Doc's office. Doc won't know much until he sees how much damage the bullet did," she had told him.
She remembered him smiling at her and saying, "You look like you could use a drink."
Feeling a bit shaky at that point, she had replied, "I think I could drink a beer." The man had always seemed friendly and she thought talking to him would make time move faster. It would do her no good to sit and brood over the lawman's fate.
Now the memories were beginning to fade. Her eyes were hurting, and she decided to rest a little more, then try to stand on her own. These recalls were driving her crazy but she felt like she would burst if she didn't remember. Sometime later, trying to pull herself up, her legs sure felt wobbly, but she was determined. It was time to take her recovery into her own hands.
Holding onto furniture, she slowly made her way to the bed, but when Doc's voice boomed from behind her, "Just what do you think you are doing, young lady," she collapsed on the bed.
It was pointless to argue with him. Finally he agreed to let her be propped up in bed but that didn't really help, as she was soon sound asleep once again.