Adams shivered in his coat. The night was clear and cold, suspending the moon high above all things worldly, casting eerie silver shadows across the prairie. He took in a long breath of air looking skyward into the imaginable, and he instinctively knew that despite the lack of clouds, snow was on its way. He smiled slightly; he always loved the first snowfall of the season. It brought with it a slowing down of life in Kansas. It was a time for quiet reflection and family, allowing them to love each other just a little bit more with each passing day until Christmas. His gloved hands tightened on the reins as it hit him that he wouldn't be around to raise a toast at Kitty's annual party. His eyes misted over slightly, stung with the emotion of loss.
And he could suddenly taste the fear. But Doc Adams wasn't afraid to die; yet it was the worst fear he'd ever known. Instead of dying quietly in his bed, an old country doctor, he would die on a public platform, swinging from a rope. It was a shame that would cause heartache and grief to the three people he loved the most in the world: and it was that which he could not stand. He hadn't realized that his horse had stopped, the two of them frozen like statues, casting their own shadows across the vista. He hadn't heard Matt call to him from ahead, nor the sound of Buck's hooves as Dillon rode back toward him. It wasn't until Matt touched his shoulder softly that Doc returned from a place of spiritual destitution that no man should ever visit.
Matt's voice was full of concern, "Doc? What's wrong?"
For a long time, Doc didn't answer, then finally, Adams speared Dillon with his pale, wet eyes. "I'll miss this time of year. The snow, the crispness of the air, and the warmth it brings with a wealth of friends." Doc looked down at his own gloved hands gripping the saddle horn, and his voice was colored in sorrow. "I'm gonna miss Dodge, Matt. I'm gonna miss it a lot..."
Doc kicked his horse and started moving once again toward the last place he would ever see. And he desperately wanted it to be home.