Dreaming of Escape
I don't own these characters. I just like to spend time with them. No other profit to be had than that.
M&KM&KM&KM&KM&KM&KM&K
"Miss Kitty! Doc!" Festus greeted them amiably as he jangled over to the table they were occupying in the back of the
saloon. "It's hotter than a jug full of red ants, ain't it?"
"NO!" Doc said gruffly with a wink to Kitty.
Festus frowned down on him. "No, what?"
"No, Kitty will not give you a free beer and NO I will not buy you one." Doc looked up at him, rather pleased with himself that he'd gotten something up on the hill man.
"Smart eleck." Festus cast him a glare before looking back at Kitty, his expression somewhat more pleasant. "It jes so happens, I wadn't in here for no drink. I come to give this here tellygram to Miss Kitty." He handed her the yellow square of paper with a flourish and a sneer at Doc.
Kitty arched a brow at him as she took the paper and opened it, reading it quietly.
"Well?" Doc asked when after a moment she didn't speak. "Who's it from?"
"Well that ain't none a your bidness." Festus told him. "That there's Miss Kitty's wire, not yourn."
Kitty suddenly pushed back from the table and got quickly to her feet. "Gentlemen, if you'll excuse me, I have something I
need to do." Turning to the bar, she caught Sam's attention. "Sam! I'm going upstairs. Don't disturb me, okay?" Without further explanation or waiting for a reply, she disappeared swiftly up the stairs leaving her puzzled friends below.
"What was in that wire?" Doc asked Festus.
"I don't know." Festus shrugged. "That new telly graph feller, what's coverin' fer Barney whilest he's gone, jes handed it to me when I was pickin' up a wire from Matthew this mornin'. Didn't tell me not nary a thang what was in it. I'll tell ya, I'll be glad when Barney gits back from seeing his kin folk. I garontee ya, I will."
Absently, Doc nodded. "Normally, I hate Barney's loose way of handling confidential information. But today, I sure wouldn't mind knowing what caused Kitty to react as she did."
Upstairs, Kitty hurried to her rooms and let herself in. As fast as she could, she changed from the satin dress she was wearing and quickly threw on her riding clothes. As soon as she was ready, she stealthily crept from her room and cautiously made her way down the back stairs to the alley below.
She had no sooner reached the bottom stair, when a hand clamped across her mouth and she was spun around in the arms of the man she loved.
"Sssshhh." Matt cautioned her. "Come on, I have horses waiting."
With a nod and a grin, Kitty gave her hand to him and followed him as he led her down to where he had two horses waiting for them. Swiftly mounting, they turned and made their way hurriedly and quietly out of town.
For several miles they rode at a gallop, no words exchanged. When Matt finally reined in, Kitty followed suit. "Want to tell me now what this is all about, Cowboy?" She asked with a raised brow.
"Us." Matt answered with an easy smile.
"Us?" Kitty's brow crinkled in wonder.
"Um, um." Matt leaned over and kissed her. "In the last four months, I've been gone more than I've been here. I think we've spent a total of six nights together."
"Five." Kitty glumly corrected him.
"Five." Matt agreed. "And I figured it was time to try and correct that situation for a little bit. With the trial in Hays ending early, and Barney away so he couldn't blab to everyone and the town being fairly quiet right now, I decided it might be our only chance to escape for at least one night."
Kitty leaned in towards him and returned his kiss with interest. "I'm glad you did."
"Come on." Matt grinned when she pulled away. "I already have a place set for us."
Nodding, Kitty followed Matt without question. Riding silently, the two made it to a small cabin hard by the side of a clear and swift moving stream.
"This is it." Matt told her with a sly grin. "Disappointed?"
Kitty shook her head. "I'd accept a cave, Matt Dillon, as long as you were in it with me."
Matt chuckled. "Well this is a little better than a cave at least." Getting off his horse, Matt swiftly came around to her side and reached up a hand for her. "Come on, let's go on in. I'll take care of the horses later."
With a smile, Kitty slid down into his arms, hugging him tightly once her feet were on the ground. "I love you." She whispered into his chest.
Matt nodded. "I know. I feel the same. Come on."
Taking her by the hand, Matt led her onto the small stoop and into the cabin. Both of them stopped at the doorway and Matt smiled when he heard the gasp coming from Kitty.
"Matt, it's beautiful." She exclaimed as she looked around at the small, spotless room with a large stone fireplace in the middle of the north wall and the large fur rug on the floor in front of it. On the wall opposite was a large bed covered in bedding and pillows. On the west wall was a stove and a table and on the east wall a large window looking out over the stream with a rocking chair in front of it. "Whose place is this?"
"Mine." Matt beamed down at her. "It's not much, sure not what you deserve, but I figured it might do us for the night,
anyway."
Happily, Kitty jumped up and\ wrapped her arms around him, locking her lips with his. "Oh, Matt! It's perfect!"
Early the next morning, Matt lay on his side, head propped up on his hand as he watched Kitty sleep. She was beautiful and he wanted nothing more right then, than just to lay there and gaze at her. For an hour, as he kept his eyes on her slumbering form, he wondered what it would be like if they could have a lifetime of mornings like this.
Would he grow tired of waking to her next to him? Would their ardent kisses give way to a peck on the cheek and mumbled goodnight? Or would it remain as it was now, alive, passionate and full of life? Looking down at the red headed vision before him, Matt knew the answer to that.
Their love was too strong, too vibrant to fade and rust. No, he had a feeling that no matter the years, no matter the trials, they would always have the same feelings towards one another and always want the other in any way they could get them.
Of course that thought, led to another. Would they always be able to be together? Sadly, Matt thought he knew the answer to that one too.
NO.
Not as long as he wore that badge. It would always overshadow their lives and chances were, he could get shot down any day, or she could as some sort of pawn in an outlaw's game. It had happened before. But even if that never happened again, there was still her job.
Ownership of a saloon like the Long Branch, though a little safer, was still risky. Any given day there were bar fights and guns drawn and she could get caught easily by a wild shot. He'd discussed that with her, of course, and it'd had no effect. Kitty Russell was a stubborn and independent woman who ran her own life her own way.
He still remembered her taking off cross country, alone, to go to that gold mine in Pickax when he'd specifically warned her not to. It was her mine, she reminded him and her responsibility and she would go where she wanted to, when she wanted to whether he agreed and liked it or not. Many times, he didn't like it.
But her stubborn independence was one of the things he loved most about her and he would never try to take that away. No more than she would try and deprive him of the freedoms he loved and enjoyed. With a sigh, Matt realized there was no escaping their current places in life without some major adjustments on both their parts.
And Matt wasn't sure either of them was ready for that.
"What'cha thinking about?" Kitty asked as she pulled herself up slightly and kissed him.
"Us." Matt answered.
"Oh?" Kitty finished sitting up in the bed, pulling the sheet up over her and looking at him curiously. "What about us?"
Matt shrugged slightly. "Ever want to escape?"
"Every day." Kitty answered with a smirk. "Why? You dreaming up escape plans?"
"Well, not plans exactly." Matt sat up beside Kitty and leaned back against the wall, pulling her into his arms. "But I was wondering what it might be like. You know; no badge or saloon to tie us down or endanger us."
Kitty chuckled. "We'd be bored stiff inside of six months unless we had something interesting to do."
"Like what?" Matt challenged. "What, besides this…" he trailed a hand across her breast and then softly kissed her, "do you think would be interesting enough to keep us from being bored?"
It was Kitty's turn to shrug as she considered the question. "I don't know." She answered at length. "I've never really given it much thought."
Matt looked down at her with an almost saddened expression. "You haven't? I mean, you've never thought of us being together permanently? Maybe even married?"
Kitty shook her head with a smile. "I think of that just about every day. But I… well, I guess I've never thought it possible. You said you didn't want to, so I… I just…" She sighed and looked up at him. "Where is this coming from, Matt? Are you thinking about quitting your job again or something?"
Matt pursed his lips and studied the now cold fireplace for a moment before answering. "I don't know." He finally answered. "I admit, it's tempting. But other than some cowboying here and there, I don't know how to do anything else. I'm too set in my ways to work for anyone other than the government and I'm too broke to start a place of my own."
"I'm not." Kitty said with deliberate emphasis. "If I sold the Long Branch, we'd have plenty of money to start a ranch or anything else you want. If I played my cards right, if you know what I mean, we wouldn't even have to work. We could just take off and travel for a while."
Matt shook his head. "First of all, I do know what you mean and you promised me a long time ago, you wouldn't deal anymore. And secondly, I would never let you sell the Long Branch. You love that place."
"Not as much as I love you." Kitty countered. When Matt looked away, Kitty reached out and turned his face to hers." Matt, don't you get it? Nothing I have and nothing I do will ever be as important to me as you are. Yes, I do love the Long Branch but if I lost it today, I'd still be okay as long as I had you. It is, after all, just a wooden building. You are the flesh and
blood man of my heart."
"You mean that, don't you?" He studied her face intently and knew the answer before she gave it.
"You know I do." She met his gaze unblinkingly. "Matt, I love you. It's never been a question of what would I do for you, it's always been a question of what would you do? If you really want to escape from that badge and the responsibility and pain that goes with it, you know what you have to do."
Matt closed his eyes and dropped his head, knowing she was right. It was up to him, it always had been.
"Marshal. Marshal?"
Matt opened weary eyes to see Newly looming over him, the lightening sky, beyond the young man's head, giving proof that he wasn't in a snug cabin with Kitty beside him. "Wha… what's wrong?" He managed to ask as he forced himself to sit up, reluctantly allowing the last vestiges of the all too real dream to drop away.
"Well, nothing." Newly looked at him a little strangely. "But you told me to wake you up at dawn and it's about that
time."
Nodding with a groan as he rubbed his tired eyes, Matt pushed away his blanket and got to his feet, ignoring the twinges and pain that always followed a night sleeping on the ground. Roughing it was getting harder and harder.
"You reckon we'll make Dodge by tonight, Marshal?" Newly asked as they sat over coffee and biscuits.
Matt nodded. "We'll make it." He told the young man with conviction. He had no plans of spending another night on the cold hard ground when he knew there was a big, soft bed and warm, loving woman waiting for him in town.
After finishing their sparse breakfast, Matt and Newly saddled their horses, mounted and rode on, their pace faster than the day before.
As they silently rode through the prairie, Matt returned to his dream of the night before. "If you really want to escape from that badge and the responsibility and pain that goes with it, you know what you have to do." Kitty had told him. Dream Kitty made sense even in the light of day. He did know what he had to do. Question was, would he do it?
Late that evening they arrived back home and Newly agreed to take their horses on to the stable, Matt stiffly made his way to the Long Branch. He had a question for Kitty and he didn't want to wait to ask it. The saloon was closed, as late as it
was, but there was still the warm glow of a lamp in the upstairs window.
Matt took the stairs as fast as his worn out body would allow and swiftly let himself into her room. Though the lamp was still burning, Kitty had already retired and was sweetly slumbering away."Kitty." He lightly shook her arm. "Kitty?"
Kitty opened her eyes and looked up at Matt's careworn face with joy. "You're home." She said as she sat up and wrapped her arms around him. "When did you get back?"
"Just now." Matt answered. "I came straight here."
"Well, get out of those clothes and into this bed." Kitty smiled, unsure as to why he hadn't already done that.
"Not yet." Matt answered seriously. "I need to say something to you and I need to ask a question first."
Kitty could tell by the tone of his voice that whatever the topic, this was of utmost importance to him. Leaning back against the head board, she nodded. "Alright. What?"
Matt took a deep breath and plunged in. "I can't do anything right now, about my job." He began.
"What do you mean?" Kitty frowned. "Wh…"
"Wait a minute, Kitty." Matt placed a hand on her arm to still her. "Let me finish." When Kitty sat quietly, he continued."I can't do anything right now about my job, but in six months or so, I think I can. I've been giving things a lot of thought, Kitty, and I want to change."
"Change?"
Matt nodded. "Change. I want to quit being Marshal and start a new life…." He hesitated to make sure she understood him. "...with you."
Kitty swallowed hard, praying fervently that she wasn't dreaming and that Matt actually had said what she'd just
heard. "You… you mean…"
Matt offered her a warm smile. "I do. Look, I'll explain everything later, but right now, I just need to know that you'll wait for me."
Kitty shook her head with a smile as she leaned up and kissed him. "I've been waiting 19 years. A few months more won't make any difference. I'd wait a lifetime for you, Matt and you know it."
"I know, Kitty." He placed a kiss on her brow before continuing. "And I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this next question as well, but I need to ask."
"Alright." Kitty tilted her head, waiting.
"If we needed to, would you be willing to sell the Long Branch?"
Kitty laughed out loud. "I could have it sold today if you wanted. There's a woman I know who's been after me forever to sell it to her or at least let her buy in." Grabbing his arm, Kitty's smile disappeared to be replaced by intensity. "Matt, I love you. It's never been a question of what would I do for you, it's always been a question of what would you do? If you really want to escape from that badge and the responsibility and pain that goes with it, you know what you have to do."
Matt's eyes widened at her words, the same words she spoke to him in his dream. Pulling her to him, Matt silently hugged her tightly to his chest. "I love you." He whispered when he finally released her. "I think you're crazy for waiting so long for me, but I'm awful glad you did and if you'll wait just a little longer, I promise…"
Kitty silenced him with a deeper kiss." Save your promises for the day light." She whispered as she began to reach for the
buttons of his shirt. "I need something else right now."
Early the next morning, Matt silently rose, dressed and paused for a moment, staring at the beautiful woman who'd made life so good for him for so long. Despite all the misery his job had dished out, she'd unwaveringly provided an escape from it. And he was determined, that as soon as he could, he was going to do the same for her.
As soon as his badge allowed, he and she would no longer be dreaming of an escape, they would actually be making one.
The End.