Author's note: Okay, all of you who were disappointed with me, I will apologize but I believe that I have redeemed myself. These next few chapters will show just that.

My Twisted Heritage

Chapter 11

Gunsmoke

Spoilers: Twisted Heritage/Not really any spoilers, I really don't follow the original idea

too much.

Several weeks had passed. Kitty sat on the sofa, reading a book. Tracy came in the room.

"Mama, will you help me with my schoolwork?" She asked her.

"Of course, Honey." She said closing her book and standing up. She became dizzy and grabbed hold of the arm of the sofa. The vision of the stranger came to her. He stood before her smiling down at her. His hands slipped into her hair and he pulled her mouth to his. She felt the intensity of his kiss. Her kisses with her husband had been wonderful and even earth shattering, but this was so much more. She could feel this kiss down in her very soul. Deep in her heart, and she gasped at the incredible sensuality of it all. But the dizziness felt different this time, her mind felt fuzzy and the room seemed to be closing in on her.

"Mama, are you alright?" Tracy asked alarmed at the color of her Mama's skin. It was pale and she had never seen that before.

"Tracy, go outside and get your Pa." Tracy ran outside. The room grew dark and Kitty fell to the floor unconscious. Blane came running into the house with Jesse and Tracy. Kitty lay unconscious on the floor. He gently knelt behind her and turned her in his arms.

"Let's get her upstairs, Blane." She said. He gently lifted her into his arms and carried her up to their bedroom.

A few hours later, Blane and Tracy still sat outside the bedroom, waiting to find out what was going on. The doctor comes out, along with Jesse.

"Doc, is she gonna be alright?" The doctor looked at Jesse and smiled.

"She's fine, Blane." His mother said. "She's gonna have a baby."

"W'what?" He stuttered out.

"A baby, Papa, Mama's gonnna have a baby!" She said smiling up at him. He was smiling and still in shock.

"She's gonna have to take it a little easier than Tracy's mama, Blane. She's not a twenty year old kid. Don't get me wrong, Kitty's in very good health, and she's still quite young, but, this being her first child, a little later in life, well, we'll just have to see how it goes. Keep an eye on her. Don't let her over do it." The doctor said.

"Don't worry Doctor, I'll keep an eye on my daughter-in-law."

"Can I go in and see her?" He asked

"Sure." The doctor said. He smiled at the doctor and knelt down to talk to Tracy.

"Give me a minute. Then you can come in and see her." She smiled and shook her head in understanding. Blane walks over to the door, turns the knob, but looks back before opening the door.

Kitty lay with her eyes closed. "Kitty." He called quietly to her.

"Hi." She said.

"Hello." He said sitting on the bed.

"So. How do you feel about another child?" She said smiling radiantly to him. He said nothing as he took her hand, kissed the back of it, making her wonder if he were at all happy, then he touched her chin with his fore-finger and tilted her head up as his lips covered hers.

"I feel, complete." He smiled.

Moments later, Tracy knocked on the door. "Come in, Tracy." Kitty said knowingly. Blane looked at her in surprise.

"Mama?" She comes in and stands by the bed and looks at her father then at Kitty's belly. "Is….is the baby, is it in there?" She asks pointing to Kitty's belly.

"Yes, she is." Kitty said, taking Tracy's hand and laying it on her belly. "She's all curled up in there, waiting to grow. And waiting to be born, so she can meet her big sister."

"I….I wish," Tracy stuttered, she wasn't sure how she could say what she was feeling.

"What is it, Tracy?" Kitty asked her.

"I just wish, I had come from there." She said looking at Kitty. "I wish I was really yours."

"Oh, Tracy. You are mine. And I couldn't love you any more, if I had you right here, in my belly. You are my daughter. You are my first." She said to her. Blane smiled at the connection between the two of them. Kitty pulled Tracy onto the bed and cradled her to her. "I love you, Tracy. Remember that."

"I love you too, Mama." She laid her face against her mother's breast and closed her eyes. Kitty closed her eyes and thought of the man in her dreams. She loved Blane very much, but this other man, he held her heart, her very soul. How could she have betrayed his love in this way. Was he still alive? Was he still looking for her, did he even love her anymore. Blane gently caressed her cheek and she looked up at him and smiled at him. He could see that there was something different in her eyes, but he didn't know what it was. Realizing that she was showing her emotions, Kitty gently reached up and touched his cheek with her hand.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

It had been six long months since Kitty disappeared. She had disappeared in mid March on her return trip and it was now it was September.

Festus sat in his chair at the table waiting for Doc to make a move. The checkerboard was gathering dust as he spoke. He knew that Doc was distracted by the day. Today, September 21, was Kitty Russell's birthday. Doc kept looking up at Matt's desk. He had been gone for almost a month now. And Doc was missing his presence in town.

"Come on, Doc, I'm growing old waiting for you to make a move." He said to him. Doc just glared at him and then at the board.

Matt Dillon slowly got off his horse as Doc and Festus came walking out of the jail to meet him. Matt looked exhausted. He pulled his bedroll from the saddle, then tied the horse to the pole. "Festus, would you see to my horse?" The afternoon sun was still warm even for this late in September.

"Sure, Matthew."

Doc followed Matt into the office. He watched as Matt threw the bedroll on the table and then collapsed onto the bed.

"Matt, you can't keep doing this. It's been 6 months, since Kitty disappeared. Sooner or later, you're gonna have to accept that she's gone." Doc said trying to be as gentle as possible.

"No! I won't do that, Doc." He sits up and hangs his head. "I can't do that."

"Matt, I know how you feel…."

"Doc, I don't think you do. I love her. I can't let her go. I need to know what happened. I need to know if she's…. if she's dead. Until then, I'm going to continue searching." He gets up and goes over to the coffee pot. "I'll tell you this much, Doc, when I find her, and she's alive and well, I'm not letting that woman out of my sight again."

"Meaning?" Doc said confused as he sat back down at the table.

"Meaning, I'm gonna do what I should have done a long time ago. I'm gonna marry her. Maybe quit being a lawman, settle down and give her the babies she deserves."

Festus come running into the office with a telegram for Matt.

"Mathew! Mathew!"

"What are you yellin' about, Festus?" Doc asked him as he ran into the office, then over to Matt.

"There's this woman, she's a stranger, but she was over at the telegraph office." Festus said trying to catch his breath.

"So!" Matt stated.

"She's got this here Cameo on. I thought it looked familiar. I know I've seen it on Miss Kitty?" Festus asked.

"Festus, there were hundreds of those things made. How could this woman have Kitty's cameo, they're all the same." Doc argued.

"No, Doc, this is Kitty's. There a little space up top, near the hook, Matthew had a diamond put in it. He didn't like the space empty there." He said looking at a very tired Matt.

"He's right. I did." Matt said. "Is she still at the Telegraph office?"

"No she said something about heading over to the general store." He said.

Matt didn't wait any longer, he headed out the jail heading for the general store.

The woman in question looked familiar to him and he wasn't sure why. But he entered the store and as Doc and Festus came in, he approached her.

Hattie Tucker turned around and smiled at the big man. "Well, howdy Marshal." She said to him.

"You know who I am?" He asked her.

"Well, not personally, but I was in Albertville when you road in." She saw him staring at her, not realizing what he was staring at.

"May I ask you where you got that pin?" He asked her.

"I didn't steal it if that's what you're asking." She said as she glared at the man.

"Ma'am, I didn't say you did, it's just that, well, I gave one, just like that to a friend of mine. She wore it all the time." He said.

"Well, I'm sure there are lots of these around, but this one is engraved on the back." She said lifting the cameo.

"To my beloved Kathleen, all my love, Matthew." Matt said somewhat softly.

"I found it, Marshall in an abandoned stage. There were three dead men. I buried them too. I found the necklace along with clothing." She told him.

"There was a woman on the stage…" He started

"No, she was nowhere to be found." She said looking into his sad blue eyes.

"Where exactly was this?"

"Outside of Sayerville, the old ghost town." She told him.

"Thank you, Ma'am." He started to leave, but Hattie took the cameo off and gently took her arm.

"You'll be wanting to give this to her, when you find her." She said. Matt tipped his hat and the three men left the store.

"I've gotta get myself back on the horse and head out to Sayerville." He said as they headed back for the Jail." Festus said smiling.

"Now wait a minute, Matt, you just got back. You haven't eaten or even slept in days. You can't just go running off like this, you'll kill yourself." Doc said as he and Festus followed Matt into the Jail

"I'm goin', Doc." He said. Then he felt dizzy. Festus and Doc helped him over to the cot.

"You ain't goin' nowhere, Mathew. Least not until you get some rest." Festus takes his hat off and they lead him over to the cot in the corner.telegram from Matt and hands it to doc. They helped him lie down.

"Festus, you make sure no one, and I mean no one disturbs him for at least 24 hours." Doc demanded.

36 hours later, at 6:00 am, Matt woke to the smell of coffee brewing on the stove. Festus then comes in with a tray of food, as Matt sat up.

"How long have I been asleep?" He asked putting his boots on.

"Goin' on near 36 hours, Matthew." He said sitting the tray down.

"What?" He said jumping up from his seat. "How could you let me sleep, Festus, I've gotta go find Kitty."

"Oh foot, Matthew, she ain't goin' nowhere." He said taking the cover off of the tray.

"You believe me, you think she's alive too?" He said grabbing his bedroll.

"I would a knowed in here," He said pointing to his heart. "Ifin' she was gone. Doc done sent a telegram to that thar friend of yours and told him to keep an eye open for Kitty. Said, to notify you if he saw someone fittin' her description."

Matt sits down. "He has someone looking for her?"

"Yep, said they'd keep a look out for ya, till ya' can git thar yourself." He looks at the tray. "Now, Ma Smalley done made us a nice big breakfast here, which you are gonna eat. Then you can think about going out to Sayerville."

"Ain't no thinkin' about it, Festus. I'll eat, then I'm heading out." He said as he sat down at the table to eat.

to be continued…..