Unshown Moment for The Widow – S7

This is for LeighAnn

"I can't believe the nerve of that…" Kitty shook her head, seething as she thought about the smelly man that accosted her on the street as well as knocked her into the water trough. "Ohhhh, that… If Matt hadn't shown up…"

"That man would be dead, most likely." Doc picked up. "You had him pretty well bested there, Kitty. How'd you learn to use a whip like that?"

Kitty grinned briefly. "A girl's gotta have some secrets, Doc." When she saw his expression she relented. "Actually, I wasn't paying attention to what I had. I was just so mad at him punching you and then causing me to fall in that trough that I just grabbed the first thing I came upon and started hitting him with it."

"Well, you certainly did a good job of teaching him a lesson or two. Remind me never to make you that mad at me."

"Oh, I will." Kitty laughed as they entered the saloon, ignoring the stares of patrons and employees alike. "Sam," Kitty called. "Give Doc here a drink on the house."

"You okay, Miss Kitty?" Sam asked taking in her sodden, bedraggled appearance.

"I'm fine, Sam. I'm going to go change my clothes." She answered, turning for the stairs. "I'll want a drink myself when I get back down."

"Yes, Ma'am." Sam frowned over at Doc. "What happened to her, Doc?"

Doc took a swipe of his mustache and a gentle trace of his sore jaw as he watched Kitty climb the stairs to her room. "What always happens when a man puts his hands on Kitty and she doesn't want him to." Doc glanced over at Sam with a smirk. "Kitty taught him not to."

Later on, when Kitty reappeared, clean and dry and her hair fixed, Doc was still there, waiting for her with a drink as he'd promised. "You feel better now?"

Kitty nodded. "I do. How about you? How's your jaw?"

"Its fine." Doc answered. "Little sore, but I've been hurt worse."

"Yeah, well, you shouldn't have been hurt at all." She shook her head in irritation as she thought about it. "That man shouldn't be allowed to walk the streets, much less go around accosting women and punching doctors."

"Well, I know, but it could've been worse." He shrugged.

"How?" Kitty questioned.

"I could've been out there alone without you to defend me." Doc quipped with a chuckle.

Kitty shook her head as she took a drink of her whiskey. "I'll always defend you when I can, Doc. You know that."

Doc sobered as he nodded. "I know, honey. And I you. I guess we're just meant to be friends, huh?"

Kitty smiled over at him. "I think you know; you're more than a friend to me, Doc. You and Matt, you're my family."

Doc reached over and patted her hand as he got to his feet. "I do know that, Kitty. I do know that and I'm awful grateful."

Kitty sat watching him as he shuffled out of the saloon. Doc was more a father to her than she'd ever known and if she had to take a whip to every smelly buffalo hunter in Ford County to defend him, she would. She just hoped that the next time, there weren't any troughs around for her to fall into.

End