"No Power On Earth" A MM from "Hostage" (Season 18) Kitty's thoughts when she was in Doc's office.

Pain. Physical pain and emotional pain engulfed her. But right now pain, no matter how terrible, was a good thing. Pain meant that she was alive. She was pretty sure that dead people did not feel pain. She couldn't be dead because she felt pain.

Several hours earlier Jude Bonner and the Dog Soldiers had taken Kitty back to their hideout and held her hostage. Jude Bonner was trying to get even with the Marshal for having Virgil Bonner, Jude's brother, sentenced to a hanging. Being Jude's brother, Virgil was very important to Jude. Jude couldn't fathom not having his brother around. If Jude was going to lose someone important to him, then the Marshal would lose someone just as important to him. Jude knew the Marshal didn't have any family, but he did have a woman. He would go to Dodge City, find his woman, and take her.

While at the Dog Soldiers' campout, Kitty was beaten, tortured, and assaulted. Everything came from Bonner. He felt he deserved to be the one to torture the Marshal's woman. After all, it was his brother that was going to hang. Bonner's plan wasn't to kill Kitty at their campout. He would enjoy beating her, assaulting her, and watching her suffer, but he would make sure he didn't kill her. His plan was to return her to Dodge, a broken woman, and then shoot her. Bonner wanted the Marshal to watch his woman suffer and die. The Marshal would lose just like Jude was going to lose.

Now Kitty was up in Doc's office, laying on his examining table. Jude's bullet was still in her body. She could hear voices. Doc's voice, Sam's voice, Festus' voice, and Burke's voice filled her senses. But there was one voice that she was longing for, a rich baritone voice that always sent tingles up her spine, a voice she cherished. She knew Matt wasn't in town, but she longed for him to be there. Kitty heard Doc say to get out of here. After that the pain started to fade. Doc must've given her something.

Kitty didn't know how long it had been, but the pain was back and so were the voices. Pain and sound meant she was still alive. She could hear Festus talking to Doc. Festus wanted to do something, anything, he could to help Kitty. Doc said there was something Festus could do, but Doc didn't say anything. There was silence. However, Kitty knew what Doc was doing. He was praying. She knew that's what Doc did after he exhausted everything that he could possibly do.

During the silence, the door opened and Kitty heard the voice she longed to hear for, the smooth, rich baritone voice of her Cowboy. He was there. Kitty could hear Matt asking Doc how she was and she heard Doc tell Matt of her condition. Doc was telling Matt of the shooting, the beating, and the assault. Kitty could only imagine what was going through Matt's mind. She knew how much she meant to Matt. He meant the same to her. She knew how she would feel if he had been the one suffering like she was.

As Kitty listened to Doc talk to Matt, she heard him tell Matt that she was alive and he did all he could do for her. The words that stood out the most were the ones that Doc had stated that he didn't think Kitty wanted to live anymore. Doc could not be more wrong. She did want to live. She wanted to live more than anything. She wanted to live for her friends. She wanted to live for Doc, who was like a father to her. She wanted to live for Matt, her soulmate. Most importantly, she wanted to live for herself. Jude Bonner had taken so much from her. He took what had belonged to Matt Dillon for the last eighteen years. She wasn't about to let him take her life. Kitty wouldn't give him that final victory.

Kitty felt her hand being lifted and held by a large, warm hand, Matt's hand. She loved Matt's hands. They were so powerful when dealing with the bad guys and the outlaws, yet so gentle when they held her. She didn't know how that was possible, but it was. When he held her hand, Kitty could swear she could feel Matt giving his life to her so she could survive. It seemed to be working. Kitty could actually feel herself healing.

When Matt first took her hand, he spoke to Kitty. He told Kitty that he needed her, not that he loved her, but he needed her. Kitty knew how much Matt loved her. He didn't always use words to tell her he loved her. He used actions to show his love. She figured he told her that he needed her so he could still show her how much he loved her.

Kitty wasn't sure how long Matt had been there, but she felt at peace. She felt enough peace to completely relax in a deep sleep. She was afraid to let herself go into a deep sleep for fear she might not wake up. That was no longer a fear for her.

Kitty could tell she was no longer on the examining table. She was now in an actual bed. She knew it wasn't her own bed, but it was much more comfortable than that hard examining table. Matt wasn't there. Kitty could no longer feel his presence, but she could feel Doc's presence.

Kitty knew why Matt wasn't there, but she still asked Doc where he was. When Doc told her that Matt went after Jude, Kitty could feel her world start to crumble. She fought to live for Matt, but now he was on a suicide mission. Doc told her that no power on Earth would've stopped Matt from going after Jude Bonner. Kitty knew nothing would've stopped Matt from going. She wouldn't be surprised if God himself couldn't stop Matt Dillon. No power may have stopped Matt from going after Bonner, but that still didn't quench her fears of losing him. Kitty told Doc that she couldn't live without Matt. Doc told her he knew that. But to put her worries and fears at rest, Doc also told her that a day hadn't dawned when Matt Dillon couldn't take care of himself. Kitty held onto those words. Matt just had to return to her.

Return he did. Matt returned to Doc's office to be with Kitty. He was close to killing Jude Bonner. As much as Matt felt that Jude Bonner deserved to die for what he did to Kitty, he was grateful that Festus and the others were there to stop him. He wasn't thinking ahead earlier. He wasn't thinking of what would happen if he did kill Jude Bonner as Matt Dillon and had not taken him in as the Marshal. All that was on his mind was getting revenge for the woman who owned his heart. Now Bonner was in custody and Matt was with Kitty.

When Matt entered Doc's back room, Kitty's eyes met his. He was here. He was safe. Matt walked over to the bed and sat down on the chair next to the bed. He took her hand and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. Healing would begin for both of them. No power stopped Matt from going after Jude Bonner and no power stopped him from coming back.

The End