Chapter 19

We all ate breakfast together the next morning. Festus, Newly and Dr. Lassiter joined Kitty and me in the hotel restaurant.

"I been a-wonderin', Doc, are ya' ever planning to come back to Dodge to stay? I been talkin' to this here young Dr. Lassiter, and he seems a might less irritable-like than you. He might be a nice change fer the folks of Dodge City."

I gave him a look that should have turned him to stone, but of course it had no effect on Festus. I noticed that even Kitty was laughing at that.

"Yes, Doc," she added. "I bet half your patients wouldn't recognize you if you walked down Front Street tomorrow."

"Hrrmph," I snorted. "I bet they'll remember pretty quick when they want me to give 'em some free medical advice."

Lassiter seemed to have adapted well to the company of Festus and Newly. He was a very affable young man and would probably manage to fit in almost anywhere. He didn't seem in the least surprised at the banter between Festus and me.

Newly had hired a wagon to take all three of them to the train depot, and breakfast was about over by the time it arrived. That left just Kitty and me sitting next to each other. I placed my elbow on the now deserted table and leaned forward a little. It would make our conversation somewhat more private. "Listen, Kitty, I'm going to have to step back a little from Matt. He needs to start trusting Harrington more. I'll still look in on him when I take you down to the clinic and pick you up in the evening."

She looked away from me for a moment and found some crumbs she could brush from her blue silk skirts. It gave her time to think about what I'd said before looking back at me. "Doc, you know how he looks to you for advice and to answer his questions."

"I know, but right now Dr. Harrington is in charge of his care and that's the way it has to be."

"So you're not going to stay with him at night?"

"I will if necessary, but Harrington has his own staff and they do things their own way. Matt will be fine."

I thought about the conversation I'd had with Matt the night before and hoped it had been enough to push him into working with Harrington. Kitty was looking at me as if I was abandoning her man to the wolves, but I knew I had to do this - for both Matt's and my benefit.

"But Doc, you always take care of him!"

"That's the problem. You can't have two doctors treating the same patient. It doesn't work. Matt has to get used to listening to Harrington and I'm only getting in the way of that."

"But you're not going to leave Denver, are you?" As she spoke a shadow of fear crossed her face.

I leaned over to pat her hand and reassure her. I didn't want to distress her. She already had enough to worry about. "No, I'm staying right here. I'll take you back and forth to the clinic just like I have been doing, and I'll look in on Matt and say hello. It's all going to be fine."

She gave me a sideways look that I took to mean she didn't believe a word of it. Nonetheless I knew it was what I had to do.

()()()

I found Denver to be an interesting town to explore. There was a much greater variety of stores here than Dodge ever dreamed of. I particularly enjoyed browsing in a bookshop I found on a street not too far from the clinic. I spent several hours there one day and came out with a copy of Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne. I took time out over the next few days to read it and it served as a good distraction, taking my mind far away from the concerns I had for Matt Dillon.

About a week later I dropped Kitty off at the clinic. I was just about to leave the building when Harrington called to me.

"Galen, do you have plans for today?" I admitted I had nothing much to do except wander around the town and visit the bookstore I'd found. "I've got some free time and thought you might like to go fishing. There's a little place I know, and I don't get to go there often enough." Somehow I couldn't imagine Gabriel Harrington sitting by a fishing hole, baiting a hook.

I looked at him for a moment and smiled at the suggestion. "Are you serious?" I asked

"Of course. I make sure I get one day a month away from the clinic."

I smiled and pulled on my ear. Rarely did I manage to sneak out of Dodge to go fishing - once in a blue moon, I thought.

"What happens about your patients here? What if you have a new patient come through the door?"

"I have an advantage, Galen. This is not a general practice. I don't have pregnant women coming to my doorstep about to deliver. Neither do I have to dig bullets out of lawmen who faced the wrong gunfighter. I also have a competent staff who can manage very well without me for a few hours."

Maybe I was in the wrong branch of medicine. There is no way a practice such as mine could afford any regular staff, let alone one that was full time and competent. But I enjoyed what I did - mostly. I was an integral part of the community in which I lived, and I had friends there. I'm not sure that Gabriel Harrington could say that. He looked on his practice as a business. He had ambition. He wanted that business to grow and become famous so that patients would be drawn to him. My practice barely made me enough money to live on. It would never make a profit.

Harrington picked me up from outside the hotel an hour later. He looked different, dressed in work pants and a dark blue shirt, no tie - I had never seen him without a freshly laundered white shirt, with a neat looking string tie around his neck.

I climbed into the buggy and couldn't help noticing several fishing poles and a large picnic basket.

"Maria made us lunch," he explained. "She always packs far too much."

We drove in silence for a while and I enjoyed watching the unfamiliar countryside pass by.

"We're heading to Bear Creek. There's a spot I found some years ago. It's about an hour's drive away. Just enough distance to be out of reach."

For the remainder of the hour we managed to talk about everything except medicine. That changed when we arrived at Harrington's fishing hole. It was a lot cooler here than it would be in Kansas. Bear Creek was running high and the water was clear and very cold. I saw three or four bass swim by and agreed that this was a good place to stop. We unpacked the buggy and set up two poles.

Harrington cast his line out into the deeper part of the stream and sat watching the bobber as it settled in the water.

"I find this place to be very calming. It gives me a chance to think things over. Sometimes I finish working through a case in my head, and other times I mull things over that are entirely unrelated to medicine."

I had to agree. The bright, cool air and the clear water was very conducive to just sitting and thinking.

"Tell me about Dodge City, Galen. Is it as wild as people say?"

"Oh! It used to be," I answered as I cast my line out into the water. "It still is when the cattle drives arrive. Those Texans have been on the trail for three months with only a thousand head of longhorns to look at. When they get to Dodge they have a pocket full of money and a thirst for all the hell-raising they can find."

"So your marshal has to keep them under control?"

"Yes, the town wouldn't be in the shape it's in today if it weren't for Matt Dillon. Many of the businesses in Dodge depend on the cattle drives for a big proportion of their yearly income. They want the drovers to come to town, have a good time and spend their money. On the other hand they don't want their businesses destroyed. It's a very delicate balance to achieve but somehow Matt figured out how to do it.

Just as I finished speaking Harrington pulled a big trout out of the creek. I watched as he removed the hook with surgical precision then bent down and gently returned the fish to the water.

He looked at me, "You're surprised I didn't keep it?"

"Yes" I admitted, "It would have made a good meal."

"Sometimes I do take one or two home, but often, like your drovers, I'm just out here for fun."

I wanted to learn a little more about Harrington. "Maria told me she's your daughter. She's a beautiful and very competent assistant for you."

"Yes, I don't know what I'd do without her. She married about a year ago, and for a while I thought I would lose her. Her husband owns a successful freight business right here in town, so fortunately she promised to stay and work with me for a while at least."

"What about your wife?"

He didn't reply for a minute or two, and I knew my question had ventured into forbidden territory.

"It was a long time ago, Galen. She died in childbirth. Maria never knew her."

"I'm sorry Gabriel, I didn't know."

There was silence for several minutes, and I listened to the chirping of crickets and the sound of the water running by.

"Galen, tell me a little more about what being a marshal entails."

His question worried me. Was he working up to saying that Matt wouldn't be able to continue wearing that badge?

"Some of his duties are as simple as delivering legal papers. Other times he's gone for weeks tracking an outlaw or two, maybe all the way to the Mexican border. Officially he covers the whole of Kansas and a few other outlying areas. It's not an easy life."

He sat there thoughtful for a while. "I'm planning to go check him over when we get back this evening, just to see how he's progressing. By all accounts, Marshal Dillon is a very determined man and has been working hard to get back on his feet." He paused for a moment, "I'd like you to be there."

"Gabriel, if this is bad news, I'd rather you tell me now."

"I think you need to be there. He's very anxious to go back to Dodge and I want you to judge for yourself whether you'd be comfortable with that decision."

I didn't quite know what to say. I had time to think about it while we ate a very satisfying lunch made all the better by a bottle of excellent wine. Eventually I agreed with Harrington that I'd be there.

We returned to the clinic, mostly in silence.

()()()

"We were expecting you, Dr. Harrington, Dr. Adams."

I recognized Dr. Barry Winslow. He was one of Harrington's protégés who'd been working with Matt.

Kitty was sitting there beside Matt exactly as I expected she would be. I went to her and laid a hand on her shoulder. She seemed amazingly calm when I said we were going to see how Matt was doing.

"He's been waiting for you to come, Doc." Her smile told me that our visit was not unexpected.

Harrington had walked across the room to Matt's bedside. Kitty and I moved away to give him room to do what he needed. I watched him as he did a few routine checks which out of long habit, I felt I should be doing. He checked the new back brace to see that it was correctly applied.

"Galen, come here. I need to show you how this works."

While he pointed out the salient features I couldn't help but think that it was not a comfortable device and figured Matt wouldn't agree to wear it for too long.

I went back to stand with Kitty as Harrington and Winslow helped Matt to sit up and swing his legs over the side of the bed. I watched carefully as Gabriel Harrington took a small hammer to test Matt's reflexes. The left leg was perfect - the right a little less so but had definitely improved since we were on that ill-fated train.

Dr. Winslow looked towards Kitty and me. "The marshal and I have been working on something." A mischievous grin permeated his youthful face.

Harrington nodded his approval. "Go ahead," he said.

Carefully Winslow helped Matt slide off the side of the bed and onto his feet. He stood in front of him long enough to let Matt get his balance. I could feel Kitty's excitement as she watched. She grabbed my arm with a little fear but mostly she was anxious to see what Matt could do. We stood side by side, holding our breath as Winslow handed him a walking cane. Matt took it in his left hand then turned his face to Kitty. "Come a little closer," he said softly.

Kitty took a few steps forward until there was about fifteen feet between them.

"That'll do," Matt said. His face was fixed with determination. Maybe a little fear was there also. I don't think the fear was for himself. It was because he didn't want to let Kitty down. This was going to be his gift to her. He'd worked hard for this moment and now he couldn't let her down.

I became aware of my heart beating faster in my chest as Winslow stepped aside. Matt was on his own now. He straightened and stood there a moment with that same commanding presence I had seen him use several times before to face down an angry mob, or prevent a group of drunken cowboys from killing each other. Carefully he started forward, using the cane to compensate for the weakness in his right leg. One step at a time he worked his way towards Kitty. She stood frozen to the spot watching his every movement and all the while his eyes were focused only on her. He had about three more steps to go and I could see that he was tiring.

"Come on Matt! Keep coming, you can do it, " she encouraged him.

Two more steps should do it. He took one step and I was concerned that he wouldn't make the last one. There was sweat breaking out on his forehead and for a moment I thought he was about to fall. I nearly moved forward to lend a hand but Winslow was already there - just in case. Kitty reached out and suddenly she was holding his free hand. They almost embraced but held back at the last moment, almost out of habit I thought.

"You did it, Matt." Kitty was exuberant. I hadn't seen her smile like that since the evening I'd returned from Baltimore and walked into the Long Branch. Even the joy she showed then was nothing like the relief and happiness that radiated from her face now.

"I did," he said. He was exhausted and breathing a little harder than normal. There were beads of sweat all over his face now, but it was his eyes I noticed most. There was something there I'd wondered if I'd ever see again. They were alive, a spark of humor mixed with a large dose of determination. It was the Matt Dillon I'd known for all those years.

He didn't object when Harrington and Winslow stood one on each side ready to help him back to bed. He was pleased with himself. "See Doc, I told you I'd do it."

The words were directed to me but I noticed that his eyes didn't leave Kitty. I just smiled and nodded. I knew deep down that somehow Matt Dillon was going to find a way.

TBC