It was a late night after Marshal Dillon put an end to the terror Will Mannon had brought to Dodge.

Kitty followed the other onlookers and watched from a distance as Festus and Newly guided her big beau up to Doc's office so their old friend could take out the bullet and stitch up his arm. Fortunately, the process had kept Matt's attention off of her and Doc dosed him up pretty good. Once he was asleep, she'd been able to slip back to her own room.

The sun was just above the buildings when she cracked sleepy eyes open after spending a restless night dreaming about what she could possibly say to him. For just a moment, the fog of worry and sleeplessness lifted on the knowledge that Matt was alive and the monster was gone.

A knock on her door startled her but, in her eagerness to know how her man was faring, she didn't give much thought about who it was.

"Come in, Doc." She raised up on an elbow.

Instead Matt himself poked his head into the room then slipped inside before his startled girl recovered. With a basket from Delmonico's in one hand and the injured one in a sling, he couldn't help the soft smile that pulled on his mouth.

Being in her presence made him glow.

"Matt," his name finally escaped her lips, eyes wide as he paused to lay their breakfast out on her table, "what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was just walking around. Taking stock of all the damage, you know. Morning rounds." He gave her another small smile, as if encouraging her to believe him, before settling on the side of her bed, "Then it started getting hot so I thought I'd come up here and sit with my girl."

Looking skeptical, she maneuvered to sit beside him. "Doc let you out to do rounds? Unarmed and with one arm in a sling?"

"He knows I have responsibilities." the Marshal shrugged, "Newly is finishing up so I could come see ya." There was a moment of silence then his voice softened, "I saw your door, sweetheart." He paused again, reaching out, "I'm so sorry I wasn't here to blow his head off for ya." He shook his head, staring daggers at the floor, "I'm so sorry, Kitty."

She felt another surge of relief at having been given the extra time to scheme against the hated psychopath before her beau had faced him. The thought of what might have been was too terrible for her mind to fully process.

Taking a shaky breath, she knew she had to respond. It wasn't that she didn't want him to know. Not exactly. It was that she didn't know where to begin. How could she tell this man she loved so much what another man had done to her?

"He came the night before you got back." she swallowed back the sob welling up in her throat as he put his large hand over her small one, "Said he wanted a drink. I told him we were closed. H-he broke in." She paused to bite her lip hard, "I cut his arm with a piece of glass. I wanted to slit his throat with it. He hit me. I-I fell...then he was on top of me…" Tears rose in her eyes and leaked down her cheeks. "I-I'm sorry, Matt. I'm so sorry."

"Kit, Kitty, Kit..." he hastily wiped her tears, instinctively pulling her close, "Shh, honey, shh… You don't have anything to be sorry about. Absolutely nothing."

He paused to get control of his voice, "Doc—he told me everything. How Mannon came with his arm sliced open. How he found you afterwards. A-and how you worked Mannon over yesterday."

He swallowed hard, seeing the stain on her face. "I-I made him tell me, Kitty. I know he didn't want to."

He paused again. "But I saw your face last night. I saw you looking at Mannon after...I-I didn't get to talk to you, but I saw. I knew...something." He paused again, heart racing as he thought about it, "You weren't there when I woke up last night. I wanted to come then, but the damn laudanum… Doc said it was best to wait till morning. That scared me. He knew it did. That's why he—"

His eyes searched her face. "I've always known that there could be someone someday who was faster than I am, always known this is a chancy job." He shook his head again, "You could have been hurt again, or worse, doing what you did yesterday. I-I'd never forgive myself if that happened, sweetheart."

"Doc didn't want me to do it either." she answered softly, "I made him get Mannon for me, Matt. If I hadn't tried and you were killed, I-I'd never forgive myself."

His grip tightened around her, massaging her back with his free hand as they took each other in. There was no need for words. Just being together was healing.

After long minutes, Kitty spoke. "What are you thinking, Matt?"

"Kitty," he answered, "you always say that my eyes tell you more than my mouth does. What do you think I'm thinking?"

"I-I think you're thinking about exhuming Mannon's body so you can shoot it into little pieces and toss it into the river."

"Anything else?" He smiled softly.

"And…" she paused, overwhelmed by the intensity of his gaze, "And th-that you love me..."

"That's very good, Kit." he lightly caressed her chin and bruised throat with his thumb. Leaning down, he pressed his forehead into hers, "Perfect, I'd say."

Falling silent again, they went back to just enjoying each other's arms. Then Kitty spoke again. "You've gotta take some time off, cowboy. I know you don't like doing that but…"

"I think I'll have too." he smiled, "At least today. Doc will insist."

"Me too." Her eyes bore into him, "Longer…?"

He understood the unspoken question and wrapped his arms protectively around her. "I'll stay up here with you as long as you need me, Kitty."

She tightened her grip around his neck. "I need ya, cowboy."