Author's Notes - I realized when I posted New Opportunities the other day that it's been so long y'all might need a cheat sheet/Cliff Notes so you don't have to go back and read the small monster that is A Million Reasons if you don't want to. (You'll be kinda lost if you don't know the Million Reasons Universe.)

- Matt and Kitty meet by chance on a train, 3 years after Kitty has left Dodge.

- They reconcile, and Matt moves to NOLA where Kitty has been living.

- They get married (and have a lot of sex).

- Kitty gets pregnant and Doc moves in with them.

Original Characters

- Laura Russell Dillon – Matt and Kitty's infant daughter.

- Annette – their next-door neighbor. Also Doc's special friend.

This is a longer story, but not as long as the original. Maybe 8 chapters. If you don't like waiting between chapters, please wait for the full story to be posted/marked complete. Fair warning.

Also, this is a rough one. It's not a fun, lighthearted story. If that's not your thing, please skip it.

That's enough notes for now, don't you think?

~MKMKMKMKMK~

Kitty took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. She was beyond exhausted, and the screaming baby in her arms only made it worse.

"I know, honey, I know…" Her voice was a whisper, drowned out by Laura's cries.

She knew what the issue was, why her child was so distressed. And it was her fault, but there was nothing she could do about it.

Laura was hungry.

Now nearly seven months old, they'd started trying to introduce other foods to her diet, but the baby turned her nose up at most of it, still preferring her mother's milk for her nourishment.

Kitty didn't mind so much at first, thinking eventually she would grow out of it. But in the last month, everything had changed.

It started gradually, feeling sick here and there, feeling a bit more tired throughout the day. But it grew worse, the nausea becoming constant, to the point of her not being able to keep much of anything down. She found herself falling asleep while playing with Laura, or talking to Matt.

The longer it went on, the more she noticed the impact. If she stood up too fast, the room would spin. Her arms grew tired carrying Laura when they hadn't before. And now, she wasn't producing enough milk to feed her child.

Once her middle started to thicken, she realized she was undoubtedly pregnant.

She found herself laughing at the absurdity of it – for nineteen years she and Matt had been so careful. And the moment they stopped being careful, it was like her body was making up for time lost. She didn't even think it was still possible, although thinking on it she knew several women back in Dodge who had become pregnant later in life. It usually didn't end very well, however.

She didn't need Doc to confirm her diagnosis, although as he said to her, he had eyes and could see what was going on. In the past week, those eyes had looked at her with increasing concern.

Matt was a bit of a different story. He'd started consulting on cases with the police two months prior. He was away from home most of the day, but it was becoming harder to hide it all from him.

A knock on the bedroom door shook her out of her thoughts.

"Kitty? Just got home. You need anything?"

She opened her mouth to tell Doc no, but thought better of it when she looked into Laura's eyes. "Yeah, can you take the baby for a bit?"

The door opened and Doc entered, a frown on his face. "Now, what's all the fuss about? Papa doesn't like when his princess is upset, you know."

She handed him the baby. "Did you stop at the market? Maybe she'll eat some potato, or mushed up carrot?"

Doc pursed his lips, but before he could say anything, she raised her hand to stop him.

"I know. Believe me, no one feels worse about this than I do."

"Annette said she was making some soup today. She should be bringing it over soon."

"I appreciate that, Doc, but soup isn't going to really help me here." She looked at the baby. "We can talk later."

"You want to come down and sit with us?"

She shook her head and slid down under the covers.

Doc shook his head and turned his attention to Laura. "Papa's going to fix you right up. Wait until you see what I got for you…"

~MKMKMKMKMK~

Kitty had asked Doc not to mention anything to Matt. To his credit, he hadn't. But she wasn't feeling any better, and she knew she'd have to have a talk with him at some point. She could tell that her excuses for her tiredness and lack of appetite were wearing thin with him.

Matt was a bit hesitant at first when starting his new job. He fretted about leaving her and Laura all day, and Kitty wasn't sure if she wanted to hit him or kiss him. She gently reminded him that women frequently stayed home to take care of the children while men went off to work, and that she would be just fine. Still, his sweetness made her heart swell.

It wasn't the pregnancy that she was concerned about. She knew that he'd be happy. But the more it affected her health, the more her worry grew for him. She knew how important it was for him to be out of the house and do some good for the city. As much as they enjoyed each other in the beginning – alone, with no real responsibilities – she knew it couldn't last forever. If he knew she was ill, she'd never get him out of the house.

Laura started to fuss in her bassinet, and Kitty got up and went over, bending over to pick her up. "What's the fuss about, sweet baby?" She kissed her on her cheek. Laura immediately quieted. "You were lonely, hmmm? Calling for Momma?"

Kitty turned to walk over to the big chair, and the room began to spin. She reached out for something to grab to steady herself, but it was too late. She stumbled backwards and fell hard on her backside, bumping her head against the wall. Laura immediately started to wail, and it took Kitty a moment to recover before she turned her attention to the baby.

She had fallen into a sitting position, her body taking the blow, so the baby wasn't hurt, just startled. "It's okay, honey. Mommy's sorry." She held Laura close, kissing her head.

Doc charged in then, his eyes wild. "Kitty?!"

"Over here, Doc. We're okay."

"My goodness." He ran over and bent down, his hands running over mother and child. "What happened?"

"I lost my balance, Doc. She's okay. Just scared."

"Yeah, and what about you?"

"I'm fine. Just fell on my backside."

He began to feel her scalp. "Did you hit your head?"

"I bumped it on the wall. Not hard though. I'm okay."

"I'll be the judge of that." He took the baby from her and placed her on the floor next to them. He grabbed a couple of wooden blocks that Annette had given her, and handed them to the baby, hoping she was calm enough to be distracted for a minute.

"Lean forward," he instructed, running his fingers along Kitty's head. "Any of this hurt?"

"No, Doc. I promise."

He frowned, then nodded. "Does your back hurt?"

"Just what I landed on. Help me up, will you?"

"I don't know, Kitty. Just wait a minute."

"No, help me up. I'm alright."

Doc helped her up with some reluctance and pushed her against the wall until he was sure she was steady on her feet.

"I'm really okay." She squeezed his hands as she pushed him away. Laura began tugging on the hem of her nightgown, looking for attention. "Doc, can you?"

He picked up the baby and gave Kitty a look before handing her over. Laura settled into her mother's arms and started gumming on the block still clutched in her hand.

"This is serious, Kitty. You know that."

"I know."

"My God…you could've…" he stopped himself with a swipe of his mustache. "You need to be on bed rest, and you will have regular meals. Whether you keep them down or not."

"But Doc…"

"No buts, Kitty. I mean it."

Kitty pursed her lips and nodded, nuzzling the baby's hair. "I still have to care for Laura, Doc. I can't do that from the bed, especially now that she's really active."

"We'll figure something out, Kitty. The most important thing is keeping you safe and getting you healthy."

"There's one thing, Doc."

"Yeah, what's that?"

"Don't tell Matt about this."

"What?! Kitty, you can't keep this from him anymore."

"I know. I just mean the fall. He's going to worry enough. Please Doc."

"I don't like this, one bit. Not one bit."

"I know. But Matt doesn't need to know."

"What don't I need to know?"

Kitty jumped as Matt entered the bedroom, staring at them with narrowed eyes.