Four

He followed the tempting aroma of the stranger's breakfast to the kitchen where a place had been set for him. Doc was already seated at the table and heaping pancakes on his plate.

"Set yourself down here Mister, I reckon you worked up a good appetite last night." The stranger offered pleasantly. Matt took a chair next to Doc, he was hungry. He hadn't had a real meal since the breakfast Kitty had prepared for him the day before. There wasn't time for much table talk, everyone was intent on filling their plates and stomachs. When they'd eaten the platters bare, Matt stood up and brought the coffee pot over to the table and filled everyone's cups.

"Doc, I almost forgot, how's Bessie Roniger?" Matt asked.

"She's fine, had a girl, they named her… um…" he paused taking a moment to think. "Regina, good size baby, bigger than both of yours put together, but they're both doing fine." Adams took a long drink of his coffee, then asked, "That reminds me, what have you and Kitty decided on for names?"

Dillon chuckled, "We never did get around to making a decision on that. I told Kitty that if we had a girl I wanted to call her Kathleen."

Doc nodded, "That's a fine idea."

Matt shook his head, "Well Kitty didn't agree, she said we'd end up calling her Katie and we'd eventually shorten it to just Kat, and how would that sound if I had to call them both and shouted `come Kitty Kat'."

Sharlow nodded knowingly, "You gots to be mighty careful when you pick a name fer a youngin', makes a difference how they turn out. Course we never got a chance to use it but me and the missus always said we'd call a gal baby, Elizabeth. That's the old woman's name, and she's 'bout as fine a lady as you'd ever want to find." The thought of how much he really missed his wife caught in Kingston's throat and he couldn't go on. He picked up his coffee cup and took a long drink to cover up his emotion.

Munching on the last slice of bacon, Doc asked, "What about the boy?"

"Well, of course Kitty wanted to name a boy, Matthew." Dillon acknowledged.

"And you don't?" Doc asked.

"I never did like hearing a boy called Junior or Sonny; it seems to me it'd be awful hard growing to a man with a tag like that attached to you." Matt explained.

Sharlow placed his cup down abruptly so that it rattled in its saucer. His eyes narrowed as a knot twisted in his gut. "Matthew" the name caused the hurt in his heart to swell and for a moment he thought he'd have to leave the table. Forcing himself to rational thought, he glanced back at the gaunt crippled farmer seated across the table. With a wry chuckle Kingston scoffed at his own foolishness. This broken man could barely walk, and no more resembled the mighty Marshal Matt Dillon than he himself did.

"Looks like you've got a problem on your hands." Doc chuckled.

Matt concurred, "We couldn't even come up with one name we agreed on, now we've got to come up with two." Dillon stood, "I think I'll fix up a tray for Kitty, she'll be hungry when she wakes up."

GS GS GS

Matt Dillon set the tray on the table beside Kitty's bed. She was still sleeping and he didn't have the heart to wake her. The babies were stirring, causing the cradle to rock gently. He limped over just to check on them. "By Golly, they're tiny." He thought. He dropped awkwardly to a knee, just to get a closer look. Number Two's little hands stretched over his head. His eyes scrunched up and his nose wrinkled, his face turned red, and even to an unseasoned father such as Matt Dillon it was obvious that something was about to happen. There was no denying the sound that came from the direction of the baby's diaper.

Dillon felt a sense of panic, he had an urge to run, maybe pretend he hadn't noticed or heard anything, but there was no repudiating the smell. "How could such a little thing make that big a stink?" he wondered. He wasn't going to face this battle alone. This required an expert.

He hobbled to the doorway and called in a hushed whisper, "Doc!"

Adams had been finishing his coffee, but noting the alarm in Matt's voice, wasted no time in getting to his feet. "What's wrong?" Doc asked as he entered the room? A glance in Kitty's direction convinced him she was fine.

"It's Number Two, he … ah… I think he has a ahh … a pant's full!"

If it hadn't been for the seriousness in Dillon's voice, Adams would have thought he was kidding. "Well what do you need me for?" He asked gruffly. "That's a father's job, I've done my part."

"But Doc…"

"Surely you've changed a diaper before?" Doc asked incredulously.

"Well, yeah, but that was a few years back – I don't remember that baby being this small or… smelly." Dillon replied thinking of baby Mary and his time with her on the trip back to Dodge.

With a tug to his ear, Adams replied, "It's very simple, I'll get you a fresh basin of water, wash the baby's bottom off and put on a fresh diaper. "Oh, don't forget to rinse out the soiled diaper."

Doc stood back and watched offering suggestions whenever possible. Number Two's first official bowel movement had the consistency of black tar and was almost as difficult to remove. "Watch out for his belly band!" Adams warned. It took quite a while but finally Number two was changed and dressed in a clean flannel gown.

"Now don't forget about rinsing out that diaper." Doc reminded him.

"Do I have to?" The fearless lawman asked.

"Good Heavens!" Adams declared, "What did you do with little Mary's diapers?"

"I buried them!" Matt replied. Number Two was still fussing and as Matt held him the baby's mouth hungrily searched for something Dillon didn't have.

"I think he's hungry." Matt knowingly informed Doc.

Adams at this point was enjoying himself immensely, "It would appear so. I guess we'd best wake Mother up. I don't think you can help him this time."

She'd been awake for several minutes; sleep being impossible with the commotion occurring in the babies' corner of the room. She was weak, her bottom hurt and every muscle in her body ached, but she'd never felt happier. "Bring that baby over here Cowboy." She ordered.

"Well, hello." Matt responded with a grin as he brought the baby over and laid him in her arms. She offered Number Two her breast, which he greedily accepted. With a laugh she said, "This baby is definitely his father's boy."

"Kitty!" Matt whispered, he gave a slight nod of his head and a raise of his eyebrow in Doc's direction.

She smiled, clarifying her meaning, "He's always hungry."