Gunsmoke: Never Wanna Live Without You

Part 10

The next morning, everyone was still sleeping when Kitty woke up. She pulled her stiff body up off of the hard floor and looked around to see everyone sprawled out, except for Ginger who had hustled her way into using J.R.'s cot. He had fallen asleep behind the counter. Walking over to the window, she saw that the snow had stopped and the sun was beginning to rise. It was sure to be slow going on the stage again, but she didn't care as long as they were going. She was tired of the weather and she wanted to be away from Matt as soon as possible. This trip was only reminding her of why it was a good thing she had left Dodge. There was no way she could have been so close to him everyday.

Making sure to be quiet, Kitty slipped out the door and onto the porch for a bit of fresh morning air. It was windy out and she pulled her cape tighter around herself, flipping the hood up and over her head, as well. The landscape was a bright white as far as she could see, only marred occasionally by a naked tree here and there. She had never seen so much snow before, being from Louisiana. She took a step off of the porch and sank down deep into the deceiving snowfall. She cursed as she felt it once again spilling into her boots. Slowly, but surely, she trudged her way around the corner of the building and to the back towards the outhouse. It was a dreadful thing to have to go outside to use the loo—a friend of hers called it that once—in such chilling weather.

Once finished, she stepped out of the confined building and proceeded to make her way back inside. She had taken no more than five steps before she heard the fast crunching of snow coming up behind her. She was pushed face first into the snow and she quickly scrambled around to see who her attacker was.

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Inside the relay station, Matt awoke to the sun streaming in through the windows. He sat up on the floor and rubbed at his sleepy eyes. The fire had died sometime during the night. Paul and Jeff were still sleeping a few feet away and he assumed Ginger was still in the other room. J.R. was at the counter and the only person unaccounted for was Kitty. Not panicking, Matt simply assumed that she had gone outside to do her business. If she didn't come back in a few minutes, he would go looking for her. He stood slowly from the floor and walked the few steps to the fireplace to try and get it going again. As he was placing kindling around some of the logs, he heard the muffled sound of horses snorting and whinnying. More than curious he went over to the door, his heavy footsteps waking the others. Stepping out onto the front porch, he heard commotion coming from the back.

"What is all that racket?" he heard an annoyed Ginger ask in the background. Just as he rounded the corner of the house, he saw Ben and Jace come roaring out of the open barn doors with the team of horses and the stage.

"Yah! Yah!" Ben yelled as he slapped the horses with the reigns, urging them on faster.

They went thundering by and Jace screamed, "See if you can save your little girlfriend now!" As the stage passed by him, Matt peered inside and caught a glimpse of Kitty slumped in the corner.

By this time Paul and the others had come out onto the porch. Matt immediately took off for the barn to get a horse, but before he could reach it, he heard a terrible noise. "Marshal!" He turned back at the sound of his name to see that the stage had crashed onto its side, the horses fighting to stand. Paul and Jeff had already started running toward it, while Ginger stood on the porch aghast. Matt ran as fast as he could to the wreck trying to get to Kitty, while Paul and Jeff tried to steady the horses that were still dragging the stage some in their struggle. Matt reached the stage and pulled himself up onto the side of it. He flung the door open and looked inside to see Kitty unconscious and lying awkwardly. There was a deep gash across her forehead and a smaller wound on her cheek. He lowered himself in as to not step on her and kneeled down to assess the damage. He unbuttoned her cape and ran his hands down her body, checking for injuries.

"Kitty?" he whispered frantically. "Kitty, can you hear me?" He placed two fingers on her neck and was relieved to feel a steady pulse. He gently lifted her head and smoothed his fingers down the side of her face. "Kitty?" he called again. Her eyes slowly blinked open and she looked at him dopey.

"Matt," she slurred. "What happened?" she asked before passing out. Matt laid her head back down and stood up.

"Paul! I need you help," he yelled. It was going to be hard getting her out without jostling her. He bent down again and lifted Kitty from under the arms. Paul reached inside and got a hold of her and once she was out, Matt climbed out and took her in his arms. "Where are Ben and Jace?" he asked as he high stepped through the snow. He hadn't even thought twice about them.

"Jace is dead," Paul answered. "He must've landed wrong when they got thrown from the stage. His neck was broke. Ben's got a busted leg. Jeff already took him inside." They reached the porch and Matt rushed passed a still stunned Ginger and J.R. He passed Ben who was writhing in agony on the floor and immediately went to lay her down carefully on J.R.'s cot.

"Is she going to be alright, Matt?" Ginger asked from the doorway.

"See about getting some water for her," he ordered. He didn't have time to listen to Ginger's false concern. She was caught off guard by his tone and turned to leave the room. Paul came back a few minutes later with a bucket of water and some cloths.

"How is she, Marshal?" he asked quietly. Matt could hear the genuine worry in his voice.

"I think she'll be alright. She's just banged up is all." Paul nodded and watched as Matt gently cleaned her wounds. It was quite obvious that he cared about the woman a great deal. He turned to leave, feeling like he was intruding on a private moment.

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This time it was Matt's turn to go out onto the porch for some air. Kitty had woken up a few times only to pass out again. Aside from her cuts, a few bruises had started to form on her jaw. Matt wanted to pummel Ben for what he and Jace had done. His thoughts went back to that morning and he was more afraid than he liked to admit when he saw the stage turned onto its side. He couldn't stop picturing Kitty's lifeless body. He shook the images away and took a deep breath.

Somehow, he had forgotten that Kitty could be hurt in other ways, aside from being with him. If they went their separate ways once they got to St. Louis, he would never ever know if something happened to her. She would probably look at him like he was crazy if he asked her to send him a telegram from time to time so he could keep tabs on her.

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The throbbing behind her eyes was what woke her up this time. Kitty opened them slowly and looked around the Spartan room. The walls were plain wood with no insulation and there weren't any pictures or trinkets anywhere. Definitely not her room at the Long Branch. She tried to sit up on the uncomfortable bed and she regretted it as soon as she did it. Her breathing became shallow and she willed her body not to puke. She was breathing so hard that the sound filled up the entire room, her body breaking out into a cold sweat. She wanted to call for someone, but she didn't have the strength. Just then, the door creaked open and in came Matt with a fresh bucket of water.

"Kitty," he said kneeling down in front of her. Her face looked pale and clammy.

"Matt," she said quietly, "What happened to me?" she asked as the nausea subsided a little.

"You don't remember?"

"No."

"Ben and Jace grabbed you this morning and they tried to take off with you in the stage. It flipped over and you were hurt," he explained as he placed a hand under her chin trying to look into her eyes to make sure they were focusing. "How does your head feel?"

"It's pounding," she told him painfully. "When are we leaving this place?" she asked, realizing that they were indeed still at the relay station.

"Well, the only real damage to the stage was the wheel. There was a big rock buried under the snow and Ben and Jace didn't see it. It was enough to send the stage crashing though. Paul and Jeff are out fixing it now. Do you feel well enough?" he asked her. Kitty looked into his eyes and saw the worry in them. Her sickness had subsided for the time being.

"I think I'll be okay. I just want to get out of here."

"Lean on me and see if you can stand." Kitty braced herself on his arms and slowly stood from the bed. She by no means felt great, but she was sure she could handle the stage if it meant leaving. What she wouldn't give for a little privacy right then and maybe by the time they arrived in St. Louis, she would feel like eating a real meal.

To be continued…