Chapter 15 Confirmation

If Matt wanted her to be examined by Doc Adams, then that's what Sarah would do. She would do anything to be with her man. Yes, as far as she was concerned, Matt Dillon was her man. She was carrying his child and she was confident that Doc Adams would confirm that. When Doc made the confirmation, Matt Dillon would be her husband. He would have no choice. She would agree with the other terms.

Sarah walked down the boardwalk of Front Street, on her way to Doc's office. She reached the building that housed Doc's office and climbed the steps. Reaching the top landing, she knocked on the door. Sarah waited for Doc to give her permission to enter. Once she heard him telling her to come in, she entered.

Doc looked up and saw Sarah walk into his office. He had been reading from one of his medical journals. He placed the journal onto his desk and took his spectacles off his face one earpiece at a time. Doc folded the spectacles and placed them in their case. He stood up and extended his hand to Sarah. Looking at Sarah, you would never believe she was capable of what Matt said she did. This was definitely a case of looks being deceiving.

"Welcome, uh," Doc hesitated. "I guess I don't know how to address you. I know you the first time you were here you were dead set on getting to Fort Wallace to get to your fiance. Observing your left hand and not seeing a ring, I can only infer that you didn't get married."

"Your inference is correct," Sarah affirmed. "I decided I couldn't marry Jamie, if I loved Matt. That wouldn't be fair to Jamie. Now that I'm pregnant with Matt's baby, I should be with him. Oh and by the way, you can call me Sarah."

"Well, that's why you're here, so I can determine if you are pregnant and if so, how far along you are," said Doc.

"I am pregnant," Sarah stressed. "Doctor Plowman from Garden City has already confirmed that. Do you know Doctor Plowman?"

"I know of him. I don't know him personally," Doc answered. "In these last several months, have you and Jamie had sexual intercourse?"

"Yes, we have," Sarah replied. "In the last month or so we have been sexually active." Doc was about to say something, but Sarah quickly spoke again. "But that doesn't matter. I know I'm further along in this pregnancy than what I would be if Jamie was the father. Doctor Plowman's due date further attests to that."

"What due date did he give you?" asked Doc.

"He wasn't quite sure, but he put the due date sometime in April," said Sarah. "That would be nine months after I was with Matt."

"Were you sexually active with Jamie before you came to Fort Wallace?" Doc questioned.

"Jamie and I have been sexually active throughout our relationship," said Sarah. "We were sexually active before he was stationed in Fort Wallace, but that was over six months ago. So if I were pregnant from those encounters, I would have already had the baby."

"If you had been sexually active throughout your relationship, why did you wait until a month ago to be sexually active again?" Doc inquired.

Doc's questions were more like questions a lawyer would ask and not those of a doctor. Doc knew exactly what he was doing. He was trying to see if he could catch Sarah in a lie. Sarah could also see the questions Doc was asking weren't all medical questions.

"What does that have to do with why I'm here?" she asked.

"Matt and Kitty are very good friends of mine," Doc replied. "I don't want to see either of them getting hurt. I will do an examination, but…"

"But you're trying to see if I'm lying," Sarah interrupted. "I'm not. If you must know, Jamie and I didn't have sex until a month ago because he broke his leg. It was a compound fracture. Sex was out of the question. We postponed the wedding because Jamie didn't want to be married while he was in bed recuperating. He wanted to stand at the front of the church. We didn't start having sex again until a little over a month ago. Does that satisfy your question?"

"Yes," said Doc. "Let's get started on this examination. I'm going to feel the size of the uterus to determine how far along you are. I need you to get up onto the examination table and lie back."

Sarah did as Doc told her. Using his hands, Doc probed around Sarah's stomach trying to feel the size of Sarah's uterus. As he was measuring, Doc didn't like what he was feeling. If he were to be honest, Sarah's uterus was measuring closer to three months than just over a month. Sarah saw the look on Doc's face and smiled.

"How far along do you say that I am?" she asked.

"Judging by the size of your uterus, I would say you're more than a month along," Doc answered.

Sarah sat up. "You said they were very good friends of yours. Will you be telling the truth to Matt and Kitty? I hope you won't lie because of that "

"It's going to be hard, but I will tell the truth," Doc promised. "You can even be there when I do tell them."

"Trust me," said Sarah. "I plan on being there."

Sarah got down from the examination table and left Doc's office. She was overjoyed with the results of her examination. So much in fact, that she wanted to run over to the jail and give Matt the good news. However, she was able to contain herself. Sarah returned to the Dodge House, unable to wipe the grin off of her face.

Doc on the other hand was miserable. He knew the news would be devastating to Matt and Kitty. Kitty should be the one marrying Matt and having his baby, not Sarah Drew. Matt told Sarah he would marry her if she accepted his terms. He even added the term of having Doc examine Sarah to determine pregnancy and to see how far along she was. If Sarah agreed to the other terms, and she more than likely would, then Matt would have to marry her. Doc really couldn't think of a way out of this for Matt and Kitty.

Kitty was in the Long Branch. She knew that Sarah was supposed to be having her exam. Kitty was trying her best not to dwell on that exam, but it wasn't too easy. Normally Kitty could take her mind off of things, if she kept busy. She was trying to keep busy at the Long Branch. She was trying to act as normal as possible. Kitty didn't want anyone to expect something was wrong.

Matt was sitting in his office. Like Kitty, he too was trying not to dwell on Sarah's exam. He was still having a hard time believing he was involved in any sexual activity with Sarah. If Doc's examination proved that Sarah was three months along, then he would have to accept it. He would hate it, but he would have no choice.

Later that evening Matt, Kitty, Doc, and Sarah met in Kitty's office. They entered the office from the back. Walking through the saloon would have invited too much gossip. Once everyone was situated, Doc gave the results of Sarah's exam.

"After my examination, I would have to lean towards Sarah being closer to three months pregnant, than just a month," said Doc.

The only sound you could hear in the room was Kitty's sudden intake of her breath. All four people in that room were going through different emotions. Doc felt as though he had failed his two dearest friends, but he couldn't lie. As a doctor, he couldn't lie about the diagnosis he made. Matt felt extreme guilt, even though this wasn't his fault. He unknowingly participated in the conception and in Kitty's heartbreak. If he was being honest, his own heartbreak. Kitty was devastated. Her whole world had fallen apart that very moment. All of her dreams and plans were crushed. She didn't even try to stop the tears. Kitty looked over at Sarah, who had a satisfied smile on her face. Kitty had to fight with all the willpower she could muster not to slap that smile off Sarah's face.

"I can tell by the looks on your faces that you're not happy with the results of the exam," said Sarah as she observed the faces of Matt, Kitty, and Doc.

"How do you expect us to be happy?" asked Kitty.

"I would think you would be happy for Matt," said Sarah. "He's going to be a father."

"Sarah, the only reason I'm going to be a father is because of what you did," Matt said as he glared at her. "The conception of this baby is not something I'm proud of."

"Okay, I get it. What I did wasn't the best thing I've ever done," admitted Sarah. "But I can't change things. What's done is done. Don't blame the baby. He or she didn't ask to be conceived."

"Doc, are you one hundred percent sure of this?" asked Kitty.

"I can't be one hundred percent sure," Doc replied. "I don't think any doctor could, but the percentage is more than fifty percent. I wish I could give you a more definite answer." Kitty just nodded.

"Matt, you told me we would get married if I accepted your terms and if Doc determined that I was pregnant and three months along," said Sarah. "I've accepted the terms and Doc has made his diagnosis. Now we need to discuss marriage."

"Sarah, before we discuss anything, I need to talk with Kitty," said Matt.

Sarah didn't like it that Matt wanted to discuss things with Kitty, but she had no say in the matter. "Alright, you can discuss things with her, even though I don't see why she would be involved in our marriage plans."

"I'm discussing things with her because I love her," Matt strongly stated.

As hurt and upset as she was, Kitty had to smile. Matt told her he loved her in the privacy of her room, but he never declared it to other people. Kitty was curious as to what Matt wanted to discuss with her. She knew whatever he wanted to discuss, he wanted to do it in private. Kitty would just have to wait until they had privacy.

TBC