Author's Note: I received several requests to write a sequel to "Revelations," and this story picks up exactly where that one left off with Kitty, Matt, and Laura at the hotel in St. Louis. As before, I created my fantasy onscreen reunion movie since the powers that be did not. I don't own any characters except the ones I made up. And Happy Birthday Miss Amanda Blake.

Family Matters

Chapter 1

Kitty sat on the edge of the bed next to her sleeping daughter, gently stroking her hair. It had been mere hours since she had followed those bloodcurdling screams to the home where Laura's life was in danger, but it felt like days. Now her precious child lay in peaceful slumber, looking like an angel, oblivious that her entire life was about to change.

Kitty extended her left hand and stared at the ruby ring on her fourth finger. It was her favorite ring, usually worn on her right hand, but they had decided to use it as a placeholder until he could buy her one himself. A perfect circle, no beginning and no end, symbolizing a union that is unbroken and everlasting. She still could hardly believe this was happening, an unexpected turn of events that was both sudden and yet had taken a lifetime. She was finally going to be Matt Dillon's wife, proudly and publically, their love on open display for the world to see. No more secrets or hiding the truth, from each other or anyone else. For the first time in her almost sixty years, Kitty Russell was going to be part of a family that society considered normal.

Her stomach was twisted in knots as Laura began to stir. The girl had been through so much and had finally gotten some needed rest, almost certainly expecting that today they would say goodbye to the brave man who had rescued her and head home to New Orleans. How would she take the news that this man she had heard about for so many years was not only her biological father, but was about to become her legal father as well? Would she resent Kitty for keeping this from her—and from him—for so long?

Laura's eyes fluttered open and she stretched hard, relishing the benefits of a good night's sleep in a safe environment. She'd had only one dream that she remembered, bolting straight up in bed at the sound of the gunshot. Heart pounding, she had scanned the room to see her mother lying next to her, and after a deep breath she had calmed her nerves and fallen back to sleep.

"Good morning, sunshine," Kitty cooed as she continued to stroke Laura's hair. It felt good, and Laura smiled groggily. "Hi Mama," she croaked in her morning voice.

"How are you feeling?" Kitty asked.

"I'm okay," she replied, surprised that she actually meant it. There was nothing more comforting or reassuring than a mother's touch.

"Are you hungry?" her mother asked hopefully, knowing she had barely eaten a thing the day before. Laura shrugged. "I guess I could eat a little something," she decided. "And some coffee would be heavenly. Good coffee, not that Chester coffee."

Kitty chuckled. She could already see glimpses of the old Laura, sweet-natured and funny, and she couldn't be more relieved. "Why don't I order us some room service?" she suggested. "I could use some good coffee myself."

The Berlin Hotel was equipped with telephones, and Kitty placed an order for eggs, croissants, jam, and plenty of coffee. Laura took her time getting up, then slipped into one of the two dresses she had been alternating during her ill-fated week with Gil Cloyd. She sniffed her underarms and grimaced. "I cannot wait to get home and put on some clean clothes," she announced with an air of disgust. "What time does our train leave?"

A knock at the door saved Kitty from answering. "Oh, there's breakfast," she stalled. "Let's eat and then we'll figure it out." She had no idea how Laura was going to react to her announcements and wanted to make sure she ate something first. Kitty pulled out a chair from the small table in the corner of the room and uncovered the tray. Everything looked and smelled wonderful, especially the coffee. She poured two cups and motioned for her daughter to have a seat. Laura happily obliged, taking a big gulp of the brew before even looking at the food.

"Oh, that's good," she sighed, closing her eyes. Kitty heaped a pile of eggs onto each plate and they began the pleasant task of emptying the tray, bite by bite. Kitty kept the conversation light, determined that they would both keep their appetites throughout the meal. They chatted about St. Louis and how it differed from New Orleans, with Kitty telling her of the vacation she had taken there long ago while keeping the details purposely vague. The clock on the wall read 10:20am when the last bite was gone, and Kitty wondered how Matt had been passing the time all morning. He typically awoke early and was surely as nervous as she was about how this day would go. They had agreed that Kitty would first talk to Laura alone and then decide how to proceed if that went well. The travel plans back to Dodge they would play by ear.

Laura tipped her cup and swallowed the last drop of coffee. "I am so full," she declared, setting the cup on the table. "Can we look at a train schedule now? The front desk probably has one."

Kitty knew she couldn't stall any longer. "Laura, Honey, I need to talk to you about something," she began seriously. Laura frowned. "Is something wrong, Mama?"

"No, not wrong," she replied quickly. "In fact, this is good news. I mean, I think it is, or I hope it is, and—well, it's a long story and I need for you to understand why certain things have happened." Kitty stopped, realizing that this was coming out a jumbled mess, not at all like it sounded in her head.

"What are you trying to say?" Laura asked, slightly alarmed. She didn't have a clue what her mother was talking about.

Kitty bit her lip and started over. "You know that Matt—um, Marshal Dillon, was a good friend of mine in Dodge City." Laura nodded. "Of course, you've told me all about him."

"Well, the truth is, I didn't tell you everything. We were more than friends—much more."

Laura arched an eyebrow, an expression that made her look exactly like her mother. "You mean, you were…lovers?"

"Yes, we were. For many years."

Laura silently took in this new information. Her mother had always been tight-lipped about her early personal life, and Laura never understood why. She was so candid about everything else.

"How many years?" Laura wondered.

"Well, I met him my first day in Dodge," Kitty explained. "In fact, he was the sole reason I decided to stay in Dodge. We were instantly attracted to each other, but our lives were complicated in different ways and we were only friends at first. It didn't take long to turn into something else, and we were together the whole time I lived there."

"But weren't you there twenty years?" Laura gasped, her eyes growing wide. That was longer than she had been alive. Why would her mother keep such a large part of her life a secret?

"Almost-nineteen years, to be exact," Kitty told her.

"What happened?" she asked. "I mean, that's a long time to be with someone. Did you just fall out of love?"

Kitty shook her head. "Oh no, not at all. I still loved him when I left, desperately so. It was a difficult situation, Laura. We couldn't have a normal relationship. He had a dangerous job, and he didn't think it was fair to have a family under those circumstances. There was a lot more to it, but I finally decided I couldn't live like that anymore, not knowing if we would ever have a real life together. So I left. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done."

Laura could sympathize. It was in no way a similar situation, but she had recently discovered the gut wrenching effects of love lost and felt genuinely sad for her mother. "I'm sorry you had to go through that, Mama. Did you stay in touch with him?"

"No, I couldn't." Kitty answered. "It was just best not to." She would get to that part later.

Laura pondered for a few seconds. "But he must still care about you, because he helped you to find me," she deduced.

"He does," Kitty confirmed. "In fact...we've discovered over the past few days together that our feelings for each other never really changed. He was the love of my life, and I never got over him. It turns out, after all these years, that he feels the same way." Kitty stopped and took Laura's hands in hers. "Honey, he has asked me to marry him."

Laura's mouth flew open. "Marry you? What did you say?"

"I said yes," Kitty admitted. "I should have talked to you first, and I'm sorry about that. It just happened, and it felt right…we both really want this, Honey. We'd like to go to Dodge from here and have a small ceremony with our friends there. And then…he's willing to move to New Orleans with us."

Laura inhaled deeply and blew out a big breath. This was quite a shock, and she needed time to absorb it. Marshal Dillon was no doubt a good man, and she could certainly understand her mother's attraction to him. She could tell that he had been strikingly handsome in his younger days, and he still exuded masculinity. Her mother was a strong woman and this seemed exactly the type of man she would fall in love with. It made sense now, her mother's tepid interest in other men. None of her suitors in New Orleans had measured up to Matt Dillon, in any sense of the word.

Kitty was treading lightly, aware that she had just made it through the less shocking of her two announcements. She had decided to start with that and work up to the rest, wondering if Laura would put the pieces of the puzzle together before she got there. She searched her daughter's face for some hint of reaction and saw only the expected expression of surprise. She knew this was a lot to take in.

"Please tell me what you're thinking," Kitty prodded gently. "I—we—don't want to do anything that isn't in your best interest, Laura. We don't have to do anything right now, not if you need more time."

Laura ran a hand through her thick mane of red hair. "I don't know, Mama. It's always been just the two of us, and this has happened so fast. It's a big change and I'm not sure how I feel yet. Of course I want you to be happy, and I've always wondered what it would be like to have a fa…ther." She faltered on the last word, a sudden thought occurring. Numbers began running through her head, the young age her mother had once mentioned leaving New Orleans, plus nineteen years in Dodge, plus nine months. It was adding up, and she stared at Kitty in disbelief before finally finding her voice. "Is Matt Dillon my father?"

Kitty felt every nerve pulse through her body at once. She had been preparing for this revelation in some ways for the better part of fifteen years, but she couldn't have felt more ill-prepared than she did at this moment. All of her practiced words, her convincing explanations, failed her miserably. She could only manage a weak nod.

Laura jumped up and put a hand on her forehead, unsure which emotion to express first. She was not feeling particularly rational and the famous Russell temper took over. "Why didn't you tell me?" she screamed. "You let me think my father was a..a nobody all these years, some brief fling who didn't matter. And all the while, telling me stories about your 'friends' in Dodge City and the legendary Marshal Dillon. How could you lie to me like that? Giving me a hero to look up to, and not telling me that it was my own father! How can I ever trust you again?" Her voice was shaky and her face was growing red with anger.

Kitty stood up and tried to put her arm around her daughter, only to be pushed away. "And what about him?" Laura continued, unaffected by the gesture. "Did he not care enough about me to even be curious what I looked like? Not one visit or even a letter in all these years? What kind of a husband do you think he's going to be when he has made no effort to be a father?" She was practically spitting the words. Kitty shook her head as tears pooled in her eyes.

"Don't blame him, Laura, blame me. He didn't neglect you, Honey—he didn't even know about you until yesterday. I left Dodge before I knew I was pregnant. I never told him."

Laura felt her insides explode at this confession, feeling out of control and afraid of what she might do. They were trapped together in this tiny room, no stairs to dramatically ascend before slamming her bedroom door like their recent arguments at home over Gil. She had no idea where she was going, but she had to get out of there. Laura grabbed her handbag and ran off without a word.

Kitty found herself alone, feeling the sting of her daughter's words and actions with not a clue how to handle them. She did the only thing she knew to do, hurrying across the hall and knocking rapidly on the door. Matt had been up for hours, waiting, wondering what was happening with his soon-to-be wife and daughter. He opened the door and she fell into his arms, sobbing with her face buried in his chest. "Oh Matt," she wailed. "I've made such a mess of things."

TBC