Hays City
It was a little after dawn, when Kitty woke feeling tired and disoriented. It took her a minute to remember that she was on a cot in Sarah Markman's bedroom, and that Matt was lying in the bed that was beside her, with a bullet in his lower left abdomen. Matt was quiet for the moment, but had slept fitfully, calling out periodically and moaning in pain. For the most part, Kitty had been able to help him settle back to sleep by talking to him quietly. Once, when the pain seemed particularly bad, she got him to swallow some whiskey.
Kitty sat on the side of her cot, and rubbed her temples. Between being up with Matt, and her own tossing and turning with anxiety filled dreams, she didn't feel very rested.
A voice rang out, "Good Morning."
Kitty looked up and saw Sarah standing in the doorway, "Good morning Sarah."
Sarah walked over to the stove to light it, "How did the marshal sleep?"
Kitty stroked Matt's hand, "Not very peacefully I'm afraid, but he seems to be resting quietly now."
Looking over as she put a pot of coffee on, Sarah noted that Matt seemed flushed and a little feverish. Her eyes traveled to Kitty who was still sitting tiredly on the side of the cot, "Kitty listen, once I have this coffee going, I'll make us some breakfast. In the meantime why don't you go over to the hotel to freshen up, and get changed. I'm sure you'll be more comfortable in a fresh set of clothes."
Kitty looked at Matt and hesitated. Sarah gently took Kitty's arm and pulled her to here feet, "I'll be right here with him Kitty. You go ahead."
Kitty nodded and gave Sarah a tired smile, "You're probably right. I won't be long."
Doc and Festus
It was after 2AM when Festus decided to stop to let the horses rest. They had been going for almost 7 hours. Festus took care of the horses while Doc got some food and the bedrolls out of the wagon. After a quick meal of bread and jerky, they stretched out on their bedrolls and fell asleep. At 5:30 Festus was already up, with a fire built and coffee made. After several cups of strong, hot coffee the two men were back in the wagon heading to Hays.
After trotting along for a couple of hours Doc took a bite of bread and a drink of water as he looked around, "Festus, I can see that the fates are smiling upon us. It seems we have a bright and sunny day that is sure to make for good traveling."
Festus shook his head and frowned, "Doc, I hate to say it, but ain't no body smilin at us. I hope ya ain't seeing things – visions and such – my aunt Thebe had visions and it never led to nothin good, nothin good at all.
Doc looked at Festus. He started to explain, but just shook his head as he decided to drop it, "Festus, never mind what I just said. When do you think we'll get to Hays?"
Festus smiled, "Doc, with good travelin weather like this, we can be there by tomorrow mornin."
Hays City
Once Kitty was gone, Sarah quickly took the opportunity to examine Matt. She knew that she could have, and probably should have asked Kitty to allow it, but she wasn't sure if Kitty trusted her abilities enough to let her.
Sarah saw that he was running a fever, a slight one but a fever all the same. She lifted the bandage gently to examine the wound. There were definite signs of the beginning of an infection. She quickly cut the bandage away, cleaned around the wound and put a fresh bandage over it. Sarah wanted to find a way to tell Kitty about the infection without pressuring her to allow the surgery to proceed. She was haunted by the memory of the little boy who died after she pressured his parents to allow her to operate.
Less than an hour later, Kitty returned looking much fresher. Being able to wash up, brush her hair and get into clean clothes had indeed made her feel much better. She handed a package to Sarah, "Since you were making breakfast, the least I could do was to buy some rolls from the bakery."
Sarah served up the rolls with butter along with eggs and coffee. They ate in silence. Kitty was thinking about Doc, while Sarah was trying to determine the most balanced way to talk to Kitty about Matt's worsened condition.
When they finished eating, Kitty started to clear the table, "I'll take care of the dishes Sarah, you have a store to open."
Sarah rose from the table, deep in thought. She analyzed the situation - his fever was slight and the infection minimal, at least at for the moment. Finally she said, "Thank you KItty, I'll go open the shop. Kitty, keep an eye on him. I- well I noticed a slight fever and infection, and infections can spread quickly in a wound as deep as his.
Sarah turned, gave one more glance in Matt's direction, and with hesitation left to open her shop.
Kitty watched her go, Sarah's parting words echoing in her head.
As the hours went by, Matt's fever slowly rose. Kitty, tried to cool him by wiping him down with a damp cloth. Panic was building up in her chest as the fever worsened, and she knew there was no way on earth Doc could arrive before tomorrow.
It was afternoon, and Kitty's mind was still racing in circles. Suddenly she felt Matt stir. He turned his face towards her, opened his eyes and whispered, "It's all right Kitty, you know." He closed his eyes and was again unconscious. Kitty truly wasn't sure if Matt had spoken, if she had just imagined it, or if in her fatigue she had drifted off to sleep for a moment and dreamed it, but a feeling of peace came over her. The kind of peace one feels when a difficult choice becomes obvious. She called out, "Sarah, please come in."
Sarah rushed in from the store, and Kitty looked at her calmly, "Sarah I'd like you to remove the bullet, if you are still willing."
Sarah nodded, "Of course. I'll close the shop and send Maria home for the rest of the day. Please boil water and get a lot of white cloth. I'll get the instruments I'll need. For some reason, I kept have my medical bag and the one that had been my husband's.
Everything was ready and Sarah was poised to begin. Kitty could see her hesitate for the briefest of seconds. She probed the wound with forceps and quickly withdrew, repeating that action several times. At one point Sarah was so still that Kitty wondered if she had given up. Then with a quick nod to herself, Sarah thrust the forceps deep into the wound, and forcefully gave a quick, sharp twist. Just seconds later she lifted the forceps into the air saying, "Voila." There was the bullet. She dropped it into a tray and immediately returned to the matter at hand. She carefully cleaned the wound, and then sewed and bandaged it with great speed and expertise. When she was finished she pulled blankets over Matt's body saying, "That went well, but we have to watch him."
Kitty said simply, "Thank you."
Kitty sat next to Matt as Sarah cleaned up. When she was finished Sarah sat next to Kitty. She was quiet for a few minutes before saying softly, "You know, I've been hoping to meet you for some time."
Kitty was surprised, "Sarah, I don't understand. You couldn't even have known I existed."
Sarah gave a slight laugh, "I didn't know your name, but I certainly knew you existed. In my mind you were the marshal's red-head."
Seeing the puzzled look on Kitty's face she explained, "The first time I saw the marshal was about four years ago when he walked into my shop. I was surprised, because I rarely have a male customer, but there he was, and looking very uncomfortable I might add. I went over and asked if I could help him. He looked around awkwardly, but after a few minutes picked up a beautiful shawl, and asked if I thought it would make a good gift. I said that it depended on the lady, her coloring and so forth, and I asked him to describe the lady he was purchasing it for." Sarah stopped and smiled, "He said he'd try, but knowing men I figured he wouldn't do a very good job of it." Sarah was quiet for a second as she remembered the moment, "I'll never forget the look in his eyes when he described the woman. It was as if he was picturing the most beautiful, precious person on earth. He spoke, and there was - - there was such love, such amazing love in his voice as he described her. The description was simple - long, red hair, blue eyes, pale white skin, but the intensity of his love for that woman was palpable.
Sarah smiled a little, "The marshal came into my shop many times after that, and each time as he chose a gift I felt his burning love for the red-head. So - I was intrigued and curious. You see no one has ever loved me that way."
Kitty looked up, "What about your husband?"
Sarah answered, "It was never like that with my husband." She laughed a little, "It wasn't like that at all. Charles and I shared respect, and – well I don't know, I guess the right word might be appreciation for each other's company. We'd have long talks about medicine and the news. We enjoyed attending social events together, we never had a cross word between us. We had a physical relationship that we both enjoyed, but interest waned over the years, and after a time my husband took a mistress. He was very discrete, so it didn't interfere with anything. I've always had a full life, it's just that after seeing the marshal I've wondered what it would be like to feel a love like that. Now that I've met you I wonder what it's like to share it."
Kitty didn't know what to say. Sarah looked at her, "Please, don't feel sorry for me. I've had a good life and I continue to have a good life. When my husband passed away, I was left with a house and money and had many options. I decided that I had had enough of living in a big city like New York, and came here. I am quite content. Kitty, no one gets everything in life. There are some things that just can't be."
Kitty smiled at Sarah, "That's true, but there is always hope. Sarah, maybe the love of your life will ride into Hays tomorrow or the next day."
Sarah smiled as she patted Kitty's hand, "Maybe so, but right now let's keep a close watch on the marshal. It might be a long night.
TBC