AN: I don't label chapters but if I did, this one would be called "The Talk". Miss LizzyJ, you know what I'm talking about. All of you that have left reviews and wonderful insights, I truly hope this chapter is good. It isn't the last chapter but it was the hardest one of them all to write. Again, thank all of you for your reviews.

Jim was ready to ride out that afternoon but not before warning them all to stay at the shack and keep out of sight. "It's going to take me a few days to get this information to the right people and make sure everyone that deserves it, is locked up." He told them. "In the mean time its best not to let anyone see you all until it's safe."

"We'll be alright." Matt assured him.

"You shore you'll be alright a takin' these two yahoos back to town yer ownself?" Festus asked.

"I don't have much choice, do I?" Jim shrugged as he watched Festus finish tying Bruce to his horse. "It wouldn't be safe for Matt, here, to go with me."

"Wael, I could ride with ya." Festus offered. "Ain't nobody seen me afore and as long as I was with you, I don't reckon there wouldn't be no problem."

"Well, that might not be a bad idea." Jim agreed. "It'd probably help me to get there faster as well, if the two of us had control of them." He nodded at the hill man. "I'd be grateful, Mr. Haggen."

"Be careful." Kitty told him as he nodded, turned and rode away with Jim. "I'm not sure what we would've done without him these last few days." She sighed after he left.

"Yeah," Matt agreed. "He's been a big help. But then so have you, even when I didn't want you to be." He locked eyes with her until she looked down and turned away. "Kitty…"

"No, Matt." She turned back to him with a raised hand. "I don't want to hear about your job or anything else. I'm tired, Matt. Physically and emotionally tired and I'm not sure I can handle too much more right now."

"Alright." Matt nodded. "You just let me know when."

Kitty didn't answer and she didn't initiate too much conversation for a couple of days after that. She wasn't quite sure what to say or how to say it or even if she should. Her emotions were raw and plentiful and she needed to work them out before she said anything to Matt. Words between them were confined to only those of necessity. But finally, she could keep her silence no longer. Things needed to be said and this time alone would be the best time for that.

"What are you planning to do when this is over, Matt?" She started the conversation.

"I don't know." Matt shrugged. "I've got some ideas, but… but well, they depend on you."

"Me?" She frowned.

"Yeah," Matt nodded. "Things have kinda changed between us, Kitty and I don't know for sure where we stand now. I need to know that before I can do much else."

"Why?" She asked, a little puzzled. "You've never needed my input before on your plans. Why start now? You always given your job more consideration then you have me."

"I know, that now, although I never thought of it that way." He answered in a quiet tone.

"Do you?" She turned and looked at him speculatively. "Do you have any idea what I have been through this last year?" Kitty stopped with a half laugh and a shake of her head. "No, you don't. You weren't around this last year. You had other things more important than me to take care of, didn't you?"

Wisely, Matt kept his mouth shut for a moment and merely sat back and listened to her. He didn't know what she'd gone through, though he knew that thinking him dead hadn't made it good. All he could do was wait and let her tell him and hopefully they could resolve things between them.

Seeing that Matt was not going to say anything, Kitty crossed her arms defensively against her chest and paced around the little one room shack. "I went through hell, Matt. Everything that I held dear to me was ripped away and I was lost. I was hurt. I know you couldn't help a lot of it but it might not've happened if you'd been there."

"Kitty," Matt sighed. "I…"

"You what?" She rounded on him. "You had to do your duty?" She chuckled mirthlessly. "Well, you've done it and what have you accomplished? Bad guys will be put away. That's true. And three or more lives were saved and that's true. But there will be more bad guys to replace the ones arrested. And there will always be more lives needing saved. You can't arrest them all or save them all, Matt."

"No, I can't Kitty." He agreed. "But I had to do what I could. I had to save the ones I could."

"And what about me, Matt?" Her voice had taken a sadder note as she fought back tears and looked over at him. "Why didn't you think of saving me? Ever since I met you, you've told me that you didn't feel you had the right to marry me or anyone because of your job. You told me over and over that you wanted to keep me safe by not marrying me. But it didn't work did it? You said you wanted to keep me from the bad things that could happen to a lawman's family. But that didn't work either did it. It didn't matter whether we were married or not, I still got hurt and when I thought you were dead, I still grieved."

Matt didn't answer. He didn't need to.

"Do you know the number of times I laid awake at night worried about you or worked myself into a frazzle to keep from worrying while you were out chasing some outlaw? Do you know how many times I went without rest and food and even medical attention for myself in order to make sure you were okay when you'd come home hurt. Do you know what it felt like to have people point guns at me and threaten my life in order to get to you? How about how it felt to sit and watch you walk out on our plans so you could go to Topeka or Hays or someplace? Do you know how it felt to face one birthday or holiday after another knowing the one person you cared most about wouldn't be there to celebrate it with you?"

Kitty could tell by the slumping of his shoulders he understood what she was saying. Sighing, she lowered her voice and moved over to him.

"Matt, I don't regret a thing I did for you. I don't regret a single thing I did in order to stay with you. I didn't do anything I had to. I did it because I loved you. When we were younger, your wish not to marry even made a sort of sense. At first no one knew about me so no one thought to use me against you. But even after that changed, even after people knew, I was still okay with you're not wanting to marry because we had other things going on in our lives. You were establishing yourself as a Marshal and I had a business to build and I was simply happy to be with you. I always thought that later we'd get married. Later we'd have time for just us. Later we'd have kids and a.." her voice broke at the word 'kids' but she kept on. "And a life apart from our jobs. But later never came, Matt. I once told you that my somedays were almost over. Do you remember what you told me when I asked you to fight for me? When I asked you to help me make a decision to stay or go?"

Matt closed his eyes and nodded. "I told you that was a decision you'd have to make yourself." He almost whispered.

"Yeah," she nodded. "You did and I did make the decision all by myself. I stayed. Not because I didn't want what Will Stambridge offered, but because I didn't want it with him and some stubborn part of my heart refused to give up on you. I still held out hope that you'd come around and choose me."

Matt looked up at her with a frown. "Kitty, it wasn't a matter of choice. Honestly, I didn't see it as choosing my job over you or over us. It was just…" he licked his dry lips. "It was just something I had to do. I don't know how to explain it any better than that."

"Well, you don't need to worry about it, Matt." Kitty's voice was even more sorrowful. "Because I will no longer ask you to even try and explain anything. I'm done, Matt. I love you. I always will. That will never change as long as I live. But this last year has shown me that, despite everything I lost, you, our baby, my business, I could still survive and no matter what you do, I will continue to do just that. I will survive, even if I have to do it alone."

As Kitty turned away from him again, she didn't see the look on his face as her words sank in. At least two of those words. "Our baby?" He questioned. "Kitty, what…"

Just that moment, the door banged open and Festus came in. "Well, them yahoos are in jail, Matthew." He grinned, not noticing the tenseness between the two. "Them and the rest of the fellers in them files."

"That's good, Festus." Matt nodded at him. "But I need…" Before he could finish, the door opened again and Jim came in.

"Well, Matt, Kitty, you two ready to go back to civilization?"

Matt looked back over at Kitty. He wanted to ask about the baby she mentioned. Was she telling him she had been pregnant and had lost the child? Or was she merely saying that they had lost the opportunity to have children? Which ever it was, he wanted… No, he needed to find out. But right then, with Festus and Jim both there, they couldn't talk.

"I heard you, Kitty." He finally sighed. "And I need you to hear me." When she didn't answer, he tugged at her arm gently. "Will you give me a chance for that at least?"

Kitty blinked back a tear and nodded. "I will." She answered somberly.

TBC