The gunsmoke was still rising from the barrel of Haggen's pistol when Kitty regained her wits.

"Sam, Burke, get that man up to Doc's!"

The two men obliged, carrying Kendall's limp body out of the Longbranch and across the street. Kitty tried to smile at the rest of the patrons in the saloon.

"Drinks on the house!"

As the men bellied up to the bar, Rudy stepped in to handle the drinks, and Kitty went to Festus.

"Who was that feller, Miss Kitty?"

"I don't know, Festus, I've never seen him before."

"He sure did seem plumb crazy."

"Yeah, right before you walked in, he kept sayin' that he hadn't done anything and kept askin' why we had drawn on him."

"Nobody had a pistol out that I could see."

"No, Festus, nobody did."

Haggen holstered his weapon. "Well, I'm sure glad I got here when I did."

"So am I, Festus, if you hadn't, I probably wouldn't still be here. Come on, let me buy you a drink."

"I'll have ta git that drink later, Miss Kitty, if'n yore obligin', I mean, I need to git up to Doc's directly, and see if I can talk to that feller."

"Okay. I'll be here... I don't think it's gonna cool off enough for business to slow down any."

"I'll see you directly then."

She watched as Festus walked through the batwing doors, and she felt her body tremble slightly from the close call; she realized she could use a drink herself.

"Whaddya mean I cain't talk to him? I aimed at his shoulder, I couldn'ta kilt him."

"He ain't dead, Festus, at least not yet, but he's not conscious either."

"I don't understand it, Doc."

"It's not the bullet wound, there's something else wrong with him."

"Like whut?"

"I don't know."

"Whaddya mean ya don't know? Yore the doctor!"

"I know that for corn's sake."

"Wull then--"

"--I'm a doctor, Festus, not the almighty."

"Wull foot, I coulda tolt ya that..."

"Look, if I were you, I wouldn't count on talkin' to this fella anytime soon."

"Ya don't think he's gonna die, do ya, Doc?"

The old man wiped a hand across his mustache and chin. "He might, Festus. He just might."

The sun continued to beat down on the trail, and Matt was just plain tired of it. He headed toward a slightly shaded area, and stepped down off Buck for a few minutes. The animal found a small water hole under a tree, and began to lap up the cool liquid. Matt pulled down a canteen, and took a few swigs. He thought back to the gruesome scene in the canyon, and still couldn't find a reason for it. He suspected he never would. He wondered how Eli Kendall had escaped it, and where he was headed. Dillon hadn't seen a soul on the trail, but that wasn't too surprising given how warm it was.

His mind wandered to Kendall. The man had simply disappeared. There hadn't been a trace of him. What if the man had gone into Dodge? Matt swallowed hard; he had to remember that Festus was there, and the deputy was as good as any Dillon had ever known. Festus would take care of the town, Matt was sure of it. But still, Eli Kendall was one of the slipperiest, dirtiest outlaws Dillon had ever tangled with, and Dodge wouldn't be safe if Kendall was walking free in it.

The heat momentarily forgotten, Dillon mounted Buck and took off at a dead run for Dodge City. With any luck, he'd be there by nightfall.

Doc had spent the better part of the evening pouring over medical texts, journals, articles, and notes he had taken during medical meetings back East. It didn't make sense. Whomever this fella was in his office, it wasn't the bullet in his shoulder causing all the symptoms he was presenting. Fever, chills, swollen glands and throat, a barking cough, and when he did come round, psychosis. Adams had ruled out a number of illnesses, but he was no closer to what was causing it than he had been several hours ago. He took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. He was tired.

The hand on his shoulder made him jump, for he hadn't heard her come in.

"Take it easy, Doc, it's just me." He looked up into the soft eyes of Kitty Russell. "I brought you a little supper, since I'm pretty sure you haven't eaten a thing all day."

He took the tray from her, and set it on the desk. He leaned back in his desk chair, his legs crossed, leaning his head into his hand, and he smiled slightly at her.

"I don't need a mother hen, you know."

"Sometimes you do." She smiled back at him, and it warmed him a little. "Now eat, before it gets cold."

He couldn't keep the vulnerability from his timbre, "Pull up a chair and keep me company for awhile?"

The depth of the request did not escape her, and without a word, Kitty pulled up a chair and sat down next to him. For several minutes, he didn't say a thing, but just picked at the food on the plate she had brought him. She thought about prompting a conversation, but decided against it. He seemed unusually tense, and on some level deep down, that scared her. Needing to feel her calming presence, and unaware of the effect his pensive mood was having on her, Doc let the silence lie between them for some time. When he finally looked at her, the palpable fear in her bright blue eyes sent his heart into his throat.

"Kitty?"

His concern, tenderness and deep regard had all been conveyed in the one word, and she reached out her hand, letting it rest on his forearm.

"Somethin's got you spooked, you wanna tell me about it?"

He looked down at his shoes for a minute, wondering how long it had been since he'd polished them. He took a deep breath, and then his steely blue eyes returned to meet hers.

"It's more frustrated than spooked, honey. I feel like I've seen this before, but in vastly different circumstances, and I can't put my finger on it."

Kitty glanced over to look at the unconscious man on the table, then she leveled her eyes back on Doc. "You're worried."

He stood and began pacing, his hands in the pockets of his pants. "This man's symptoms keep compounding, and I'm at a loss as to how to help him."

"What can I do, Doc?"

He smiled at her then, softness flooding his eyes. "You're already doing it, Kitty, and I appreciate it more than you can know."

Uncomfortable with his own emotion, Doc awkwardly sat back down at his desk, once again looking for a clue to what ailed the unknown man. Kitty silently watched him for a moment, then turned to leave, quietly closing the door behind her.