AN: Thank you for reading, and a special thanks to those who took the time to comment. I appreciate you all, and some of you have awesome plot ideas! On with the finale.
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Four Days Later
Matt knocked at Kitty's door, not wanting to use his key until announcing his presence. "Come in Matt." She looked towards the door as he entered but her beaming smile turned into a frown. "Matt, did Doc say you could take that sling off your arm?" "Yep, I just came from his office, and I had to listen to another lecture about how lucky I am that that bullet didn't do major damage." He set his hat and gun-belt on wall pegs and looked at Kitty with searching eyes. "How are you?" His words were drenched with meaning. She smiled reassuringly. "Fine, like I keep telling you, all I needed was a hot bath, some extra sleep and a few good meals."
"I know, and I also know that a hot bath can't wash away what happened, and what the Taylors almost did to you."
"Matt, the important word is almost."
Looking unconvinced he sank down into the couch. "The fact is, you wouldn't have been in the situation at all if it wasn't for your connection to me." He let out a long sigh. "Like so many other times over the years. Sometimes I look back and I think you would have been so much better off if ….." She put up a hand to interrupt. "Matt, I have no regrets. We all have to make choices, and I'm responsible for mine. That's the way it should be. I wouldn't change one choice I've made, not even the difficult ones. Now, tell me - when do the Taylors go on trial? To be honest, I can hardly wait to testify."
"Judge Brooker will be here the end of the week. He's making a special trip because of the long list of charges against the gang members. Marlene will be charged with some of those crimes, and conspiracy to commit some others. Even though she didn't ride with the gang, she's likely to get some stiff jail time for the part she played in everything. Yes, you and I will both have to testify."
"I look forward to it." She sat beside him on the couch, and they were silent for a moment. She ran her hand across the top of his. "So, are you ready to tell me what else is troubling you? You've been thinking really hard about something, since we got back from Willow Creek."
He smiled wryly as he turned and looked at her. She knew him all too well. "Kitty, when I was tracking the Taylors, part of me knew that following them was too easy. They were practically laying tracks for me. An alarm bell kept going off in my head saying it was a trap, but I ignored it, because another part of me, the weary part, wanted to get the job over and done - quick and easy. I should have known better." He fell silent. Kitty waited, giving him space to gather his thoughts. "It's hard for me to say this, Kitty, but over the past few days I've been thinking that the job might need a younger, fresher man. One who doesn't wake up wondering how how his shot up leg is going to hold up that day, or how stiff his back is – one who isn't all too ready to believe an easy answer, the way I did when I was following the Taylors. I guess I always figured I'd die doing this job, but now that I've lasted this long, I – I don't want to hang on to the badge for all the wrong reasons. I don't want to keep wearing it because being Marshal Matt Dillon is how I see myself. It's not that I can't keep doing the job, in truth I could, for a time anyway. The question is, am I still the best one to be doing it." He took a deep breath. "I answered that question for myself, and made a decision. I'll finish out the year, 4 months, then I'll turn in the badge with my head held high. I'll know in my heart that I did the job the way it needed to get done for 20 years, but when I realized it was time to pass the torch, I was honest with myself and did it."
Kitty looked at him for a long moment. She knew what the decision had cost him. He'd been a lawman for all of his adult life. Longer than that. As a teenager he lied about his age to be given his first badge. Keeping folks safe was part of him. So was trying to do the right thing, no matter what. She spoke gently. "You'll always be Matt Dillon, with or without that badge. What do you think you want to do next?"
Matt tenderly ran a finger down her cheek. He knew her to her very core - her steely courage and her strength, her feisty sense of humor, her fiery temper, and even the kernel of vanity she had inside, when it came to her looks and beauty. She wasn't flawless, but she was perfect. "Kitty, I'm not sure what I'm going to do or what my life will be, but I'd be honored if you'd be willing to share that life with me."
Kitty's eyes were lit with love. "I'd be honored to share that life, Matt." A smile touched her lips. "Um, just to be clear, that was a marriage proposal, right?"
"Well yes," Puzzled, he frowned. "Didn't I do it right?"
"Let's just say, you didn't ask the way most men would." Kitty laughed. "But you're not most men are you, you're Matt Dillon, the man I love. The way you asked was perfect."
Looking relieved he took her hand. "Kitty, if you want, when Judge Brooker gets here for the trial we can ask him to marry us. We don't have to wait the 4 months."
"No, no, no – not on your life. I have 4 months to plan the best and biggest party this town has ever seen, and I have to have a dress made, that will take some time. In the meantime, Matt, for 4 more months you'll keep on setting an example of how the job should be done. When you pass that torch, the path will be lit real clear."
He put an arm around her and pulled her close. "When we tell them the news, who do you think will be more surprised, Festus or Doc?"
Kitty shrugged, "Well, they'll claim to be either really surprised, or not surprised at all, and they'll argue about who was righter."
Matt chuckled, but his laugh turned into a heavy sigh. "Kitty are you worried? I mean about the future. At this point, I really don't know what I'm going to do."
"No, I'm not worried. Matt, you're setting a burden aside. One you've had to carry for a long time. And, even though I struggled sometimes, I understood why you had to carry it. But, there is a big world out there, my love, and you have special gifts to offer. There is not one seed of doubt in my mind, that the right thing will come along for you – for us."
He kissed the top of her head. "You've always been a deep redhead."
"I know that." She stood and took his hands to pull him to his feet. "Let's go downstairs and join Doc and Festus for a beer. We have an announcement to make." She raised an eyebrow. "They'll take it from there."
Arms around each other's waists they left the room together.
The End
