The Flame Within The Storm

Chapter 10

Mirrored Memories

Both kids were becoming anxious. While Cooper expressed his anxiety in a quiet, withdrawn manner, Hadley had become even more demanding than usual. Despite the fact that Kitty was asleep, Calleigh and Doc agreed that the children should at least be able to see their mother.

Calleigh explained to them that they had to be very quiet, but could tiptoe into momma's bedroom to assure themselves that she was all right. All the shades were drawn, leaving the room in a calm, shadowy light. The young doctor placed a finger to her lips to insure quiet.

Cooper walked up to the bed, staring first at his momma, then back to Poppy. "Is she really asleep?" he whispered. The older man nodded with a reassuring smile. "Can I give her a kiss?" Again, Poppy nodded. Cooper leaned forward and left a kiss on his momma's cheek. He wiped the tear from his eye and ran from the room.

Hadley had watched her big brother with a child's curiosity. Calleigh stepped closer to the bed with the toddler resting on her hip. "Do you want to give momma a kiss?"

The little girl stared at her momma, then began squirming in an attempt to be free of her sister's hold. At first, Calleigh thought that Hadley just wanted to copy Cooper, but soon the crying began. It started in a soft sob, but within seconds, burst into a full-blown tantrum. Hadley Reign Dillon wanted her mother!

Somehow, the smallest redhead broke free. Just as Hadley was about to scramble onto the bed, her sister managed to reclaim her. Even though the little one wasn't able to reach her goal, the screaming did rouse Kitty enough to see her youngest child in tears. Doc hurried to give his patient something that would send her back to sleep.

Hadley's little fingers found a home wrapped around her sister's neck "Don't cry baby, Sissy's here." Calleigh struggled to breathe as she continued to comfort the toddler. She paced around the kitchen attempting to calm the child. "Shhh, momma is going to be fine. Don't cry, babygirl"

Little by little, with an occasional gasp and lots of hiccups the crying began to subside. Calleigh met Doc's eyes when he entered the room.

"She's out," Doc took a seat and put out his hands to Cooper. The boy wasted no time climbing up onto the old physician's lap. "Are you alright?" Cooper nodded, then snuggled deeper into Poppy's arms. The room fell silent, except for the occasional sniffle from Hadley.

Matt/Kitty

Kitty felt the drug coursing through her body, relaxing every achy limb and sore muscle along the way. Hadley's voice echoed inside Kitty's head, but the medication softened the reality of what had just happened, leaving her only sweet memories of her baby girl. As her mind was sifting through memories, one in particular surfaced, taking her back to a more pleasant time…

The rain was beginning to let up, but Matt realized it was too late to make a difference. Somewhere in the distance, he could hear the sounds of nature's gentler side come out of hiding. One sound in particular caught his attention, when somewhere close by he could hear the drumming of a ruffled grouse. The sound was enough to elicit a much-needed happy memory. 'Drummy-birds', Hadley called them, as she would giggle with delight. His babygirl. Another memory shoved into this one, taking the man even further back…

Kitty

Matt had been gone almost two weeks, tracking down a couple of bank robbers. She could hear him down the hall, putting Cooper to bed while she was taking a bath. She'd finished bathing and stood up in the tub. Her reflection in the mirror left her feeling very unattractive. Not that she resented the baby. Being pregnant a second time was truly a miracle for her, but...it didn't do much in the way of making her feel desirable.

Kitty let her eyes travel slowly down her body, then back up, settling only fleetingly on those freckles that she simply could not keep covered up! She then wondered exactly when her hair had become this disgusting color?

Matt could have any woman he wanted. She had watched enough of them throw themselves at him over the years. Though she could hardly blame any of them. What, with those liquid blue eyes, it was like diving straight into the ocean. She just wanted to drown in them.

Matt

It was his first night back after two weeks of chasing a couple of bank robbers. Cooper was snuggled up in his arms as he carried the boy up to bed. He could hear Kitty in the water closet; and to be honest, he was in a hurry to get to her. However, right now, his son came first, so he tucked in the boy and kissed him goodnight. Matt moved as quietly as possible toward the water closet and gave the door a gentle push. Kitty had stood up in the tub and he could see her reflection in the mirror. He hoped she didn't hear his quiet gasp as he watched her stand up. Beads of water ran down her breasts and across her swollen belly.

She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, but when she was pregnant...she just radiated. Her porcelain skin was the perfect background for those freckles that he loved so much and there was a luster to her hair that made it glow even more, like copper dancing on flames. "Of all the men in Kansas, hell in the country, she could have her pick," he thought to himself, "why would she choose me?"

Kitty

Sometimes, she felt that she was happier than she deserved, but what had her happiness cost him? Matt Dillon was a rugged, born-and-bred cowboy. He loved to hunt, to camp, to fight and to ride on the open prairie. He loved the sense of freedom these things brought. Sometimes, she worried that she had taken too much from Matt. He had been the one to suggest a family, but she was already pregnant; what choice did he really have? Poor Matt, two children—and a third on the way—not to mention, a fat wife, she concluded ruefully.

Matt

For a moment, a scary moment, he contemplated what his life would have been without her: There would have been nothing to come home to, no one that cared whether he lived or died. There would have been no little ones to hug, or give him purpose. He would have ended up one of those lonely, bitter lawmen—too broken down to fight, too tired to hunt and too old to ride on the prairie. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought of the life he had barely escaped.

Matt/Kitty

She was so deep in her own thoughts, she failed to notice Matt standing in the doorway. An involuntary gasp of surprise escaped. "You startled me! How long have you been standing there?"

Matt stepped into the room and took the towel from her hand. "Here, let me help you with that."

Matt took the towel and began to dry his wife's back; but within a few minutes, he seemed to forget his original objective, letting the towel drop to the floor. Before Kitty was able to put on her nightgown, Matt slid his hands down, letting his long fingers spread protectively across the resting place of his child. "She is so much smaller than Cooper was."

Kitty leaned back into his chest, laying her hands over his. "I'm hoping for an easier time with this one."

He leaned down and nuzzled the side of her neck "You look gorgeous when you're pregnant, you know that?"

"Matt..." his words embarrassed her and she reached for the towel.

"Hey, hey," He twirled her around, forcing her to look at him. "Never be embarrassed with me. Kitten, you are absolutely beautiful." he reached for the cotton gown she had laid out.

She let him slip the gown over her head and smooth it down over her protruding belly. "I never would have guessed you would behave this way. All those years you didn't want any children." Matt scooped her up into his arms and carried her into the bedroom. "Why are you always picking me up?" There was a trace of laughter in her voice as she laid her head against his chest.

"I love the feel of you in my arms." Matt laid her on the bed and stretched out beside her. "It wasn't that I didn't want them, Kitten, I just thought I was being unfair to them. I grew up without a dad and... I didn't want to do that to them—or you." Again, he reached over, his large hand splayed across her belly. She doesn't kick nearly as hard as Cooper did either." Matt's brows furrowed as he contemplated this latest discovery.

"You keep saying 'she'." Kitty pulled back, scrutinizing his actions, as well as his words. She watched as his hand hovered over the baby, his ear close, as if it were going to speak. "What are you doing?" She had to smile; he was so preoccupied with his touching and theorizing.

"Just feeling her kick. Remember when Cooper would actually knock the book right off your stomach when you were reading?"

"I do."

"And he was so big, just like his dad. She's going to be all tiny and delicate, with the cutest sprinkling of freckles." Matt took his attention away from his daughter and began to scoot up on the bed, until they were face-to-face, giving him access to Kitty's lips, "just like her momma," he whispered in a kiss...

Kitty

…As the memory dissolved in the final stages of the drug induced sleep, it left behind a peaceful smile.

Matt

…Without any warning, his dream was gone like a puff of smoke in the wind.

GunsmokeGunsmokeGunsmokeGunsmoke

Matt's lids popped open as if they were on a spring and his heart began to race...Kitty...something was wrong. He had to get out of here! Somehow, he had to get to her. Matt struggled to free himself, but the more he tried the deeper he sank.

The hole was now so waterlogged that the mud had taken on a force similar to quicksand. He could feel himself being sucked deeper into the mire. Dillon's body was being swallowed by the black, thick sludge and he remained barely a head above suffocation. His hands, although still free, were needed to keep wiping the deadly muck from his face, as it crowded in around his mouth and nose, but it was coming in faster than he could sweep it away.

"Please God, let her be all right."

TBC