"Playing House" This is an MM to "Cows and Cribs."

Kitty thought she could see Chester's head bobbing up and down outside Long Branch doors. She had no idea what he was doing. He was obviously trying to get her attention, but she didn't know why. Kitty had a mind to go and see what was going on with Chester, but at the moment she was having a drink with Emmett Bowers, and she didn't want to be rude and get up and leave. If Chester needed her that badly, then he would've come in and gotten her.

"Is that Chester?" Kitty asked Emmet.

"Is what Chester?" asked Emmet.

"There's a half a head out there and it looks to be Chester," Kitty replied, looking towards the batwing doors.

"That's Chester alright," Emmett lightly laughed.

"That's very peculiar behavior, even for Chester," said Kitty as she continued to observe Chester's odd behavior.

"Drink your drink, Kitty," said Emmett, pointing to Kitty's drink. "Maybe he'll go away."

Kitty took a sip of the drink in front of her, still watching Chester. After a patron left the bar, Chester finally came in. Kitty could see that Chester was holding something and he was trying to make his way over to the table where she was sitting. When he was getting closer to the table, Kitty stood up. By now she was definitely curious about the cause of Chester's peculiar behavior. She knew it had something to do with what he was carrying in the blanket. Chester pulled down the blanket to reveal a baby. A baby was the last thing Kitty expected to see.

"That's a baby!" exclaimed Kitty.

"Yes, ma'm Miss Kitty," said Chester. "It sure enough is a baby alright. Mr. Dillon wants you to have him."

Kitty was looking at the baby, making cute little faces. That quickly changed after Chester told her that Matt wanted her to have the baby. "Matt wants me to have him?!"

"That's because you're a woman. It's just for the night. We'll take him ta Ma Smalley's in the morning," explained Chester. "Here, go on and take him. Hold him."

Chester carefully put the baby in Kitty's arms. Now that Kitty realized that this baby situation was only going to be temporary, she accepted the baby with a smile. She sat back down next to Emmett Bowers, while Chester sat down in another chair. Emmett leaned towards Kitty and the baby to get a better look.

"That's the Thorpes' baby, isn't it?" he asked Chester.

"Yes, Mr. Bowers," said Chester. "They're both dead."

"Dead?" questioned Emmett.

"Oh the poor little thing," said Kitty. "Doc said they had the spotted fever, but I didn't dream it was that bad."

Emmett was also feeling sympathy for the couple and the baby. "They owned a little piece of land on the south side of my ranch."

"We was gonna get a wagon from yer ranch," Chester said to Emmett. "But we used one of Naddler's. I guess we'll have ta take it back out there tomorrow."

"Ma Smalley's going to take him," Kitty stated. She didn't want to be tied down with a baby, but she wanted to make sure he had some place to go.

"It's just fer tonight," Chester reassured her. "Ya don't mind keepin' him for tonight, do ya?"

"Oh I don't mind, as long as he doesn't mind," said Kitty. "I don't have much of a hand with babies."

"You'll do jest fine, once you get the knack of it," Chester chuckled. "It come to me jest natural." Kitty and Emmett softly laughed at Chester's statement.

While Kitty was holding the baby, Emmett observed her. She seemed to be a natural and knew what she was doing. He figured that someday Kitty would make a great mother. Emmett wasn't married at the moment, but he also was opposed to the idea. He knew that Kitty would make a wonderful wife and mother. She was beautiful, kind, and smart to say the least. Things a man would want in a wife. Emmett also knew that Kitty belonged to Matt Dillon. It wasn't official public knowledge, yet the public could see the way Matt and Kitty felt about each other. Matt was a good friend to Emmett, and Emmett wasn't going to ruin that friendship by taking Matt's girl. Even if Matt wasn't a good friend, Emmett wouldn't make a play for Kitty. He wasn't the type of man to come between another man and his woman.

"Well, I better get him upstairs," said Kitty, as she stood up. "This isn't exactly the proper place."

Chester also stood up. "Goodnight, young feller," he said to the baby. "Don't ya fret none."

Kitty took the baby and began to walk up the stairs with him. She stopped when she realized how noisy the saloon was. "You all keep it quiet down here. Do ya understand?" The saloon instantly became quiet.

Kitty walked in her bedroom with the baby and turned and locked the door. She looked around for a place for the baby to sleep. Kitty knew baby's slept in cribs and she obviously didn't have one. She then saw her chest of drawers. Inspiration struck. She could remove the clothing that was in one of the drawers and use that as a makeshift crib.

Kitty placed the baby on the middle of the bed and walked over to the chest of drawers. She opened the drawer that had the least amount of attire. She placed the attire on top of the chest of drawers. The drawer wasn't too heavy. Kitty was able to pull the drawer completely out and place it on the floor.

After doing so, it dawned on Kitty that the inside of the drawer was hard. It wouldn't be the most comfortable place for the baby to sleep. The poor little thing had already lost his parents to the spotted fever, and now he was in a strange environment. Kitty wanted to make him as comfortable as she could while he slept. Looking around the room, Kitty saw the pillows on her bed. She took a pillow and placed it in the drawer. It fit perfectly. Kitty took the baby off the bed and placed him in the drawer. He too fit perfectly.

Satisfied that the baby was content, Kitty decided to get herself ready for bed. She stripped out of her dress and into her cotton and lace nightgown. With her nightgown on, Kitty sat down in front of her vanity and started to remove the face paint off of her face, revealing the freckles she hid. She still couldn't get herself to like those freckles, but Matt seemed to like them.

The last thing she did was take her hair down. She saved that for last for two reasons. The first one was because it was easier to wash her face if her hair was still up. The second reason, maybe more important than the first, was because Matt liked to help Kitty take the pins out of her hair and then run his fingers through it. Kitty loved the feeling it gave her when Matt did that. Kitty went upstairs earlier than she usually did, so she figured Matt probably wouldn't be there anytime soon to help her with her hair. Kitty thought about waiting, but then decided against that, and took her hair down.

All ready for bed, Kitty got up from her vanity chair, walked over to her bed, and climbed under the covers. Before doing that, she paused at the drawer to check on the baby. He was having a hard time keeping his eyes open. Kitty knew he would be asleep soon.

Kitty wasn't in bed too long, when she heard the familiar sound of Matt's boots coming up the backstairs. She had been reading out of her poetry book and set it on the side table. Kitty wanted to go to the door to remind Matt about the baby and to be quiet. However, she knew that wasn't necessary. Matt was always as quiet as he could be when he came to see her. She stayed in bed and waited for him to come in, giving him a smile when he did so.

"I'm surprised you're here this early," Kitty whispered to him.

Knowing why Kitty was whispering, Matt softly explained why. "I usually make the Long Branch my last stop and stay for a bit. But since my favorite girl wasn't there, I really didn't see the point in staying. I heard she took someone upstairs with her." Matt smiled and winked at Kitty.

Kitty pointed to the baby in the drawer. "I must say I was shocked when Chester brought me the baby and said you wanted me to have him. It was pretty comical to see Chester come into the Long Branch carrying a baby."

"Oh I can imagine that scene," Matt laughed. "I really hope you don't mind. I didn't know what else to do. I thought since you were a woman, you would have some instincts on what to do."

"Well, I'm not too familiar with babies, but he seems to be doing fine," said Kitty.

No sooner did those words come out of Kitty's mouth, and then the baby started to fuss. Kitty got out of bed to see what the problem was. Matt followed her. Kitty picked the baby up and started swaying back and forth with him. She then discovered the problem. The baby was wet and needed a changing. She wasn't sure, but he could also be hungry.

"He needs his diaper changed and he could be hungry," said Kitty. "The only problem is that I don't have any diapers or a bottle for him."

"I am so sorry," said Matt. "I completely forgot. There's a basket of baby items that Doc prepared. It's still in the wagon. I'll go get it."

Matt left Kitty's room to retrieve the basket. In the meantime, Kitty placed the baby on the bed and prepared him for a diaper changing. Matt returned a few minutes later and placed the basket on the bed. Kitty rummaged through it and found a clean diaper. She removed the wet one and replaced it with a dry one.

"When did he eat last?" asked Kitty.

"It was before we came into town," said Matt. "That would have been around seven."

Kitty looked at the clock. It was just past midnight. She knew that the little guy was probably hungry. Rummaging through the basket once more, Kitty found a bottle of milk. Kitty lifted the baby in her arms and put the bottle in the baby's mouth. The baby immediately began to drink. After the baby finished the bottle, Kitty made sure to get a burp out of him. Fed and burped, Kitty placed the baby back in the drawer. It wasn't long and the baby was asleep. Matt watched this and knew he made the right decision to leave the baby with Kitty for the night. She seemed to know what she was doing.

Kitty walked back over to the bed and removed the basket and wet diaper. She put the basket on the sette and the diaper by the door. "I'll wash the diaper out tomorrow."

While Kitty was attending to the baby, Matt was getting himself ready for bed. He had removed his boots, placed his hat on the peg, and his gun belt on the table on his side of the bed. He removed his clothing and was about to get into bed, when he noticed there was only one pillow.

"You seem to be missing a pillow," said Matt, pointing to the bed.

"I'm using one for the baby," said Kitty. "It didn't even occur to me that we would be without one."

"Don't worry," said Matt. "I can solve this problem." Matt took the pillow to his side of the bed and crawled under the covers. "Come here."

Kitty watched Matt take the pillow and wondered what he had in mind. She crawled into bed and didn't have to wonder too long. The moment she got into bed, he gathered her into his arms. Kitty knew what Matt had planned.

"I figured you could use my chest as your pillow," said Matt.

"It's the best pillow I've ever slept on," said Kitty as she laid her head on Matt's strong and massive chest. "Matt, what's the baby's name?" Kitty was suddenly curious.

"To tell you the truth, I don't know," Matt admitted. "Chester would call him little feller."

"He was calling him that downstairs," said Kitty. "I guess he's only going to be here for the night. A name isn't important." After a moment of silence, Kitty continued. "Matt, do you ever think about what you want to name your future children?"

"Kitty, to be honest with you, I try not to think too much about the future," said Matt. "I don't want to dream about something I'm not guaranteed."

"Nobody is guaranteed a future," said Kitty.

"I know," sighed Matt. "But I still think that others have more of a guarantee than me."

"Let's set aside all of that," said Kitty. "Do you want to have a future with me?"

"More than anything," Matt replied. "I would love to have a future with you that included a house and a family."

Kitty was pleased with Matt's answer. "In that future, what would you want to name our children?"

"I'm not quite sure. But if we had a son, I wouldn't name him Matthew," said Matt.

Matt's statement took Kitty by surprise. "Why not? I thought every man would want a son named after him."

"I wouldn't want a son of mine to feel he had to follow in my footsteps, just because he shared my name. I would want my son to be his own person. In order to do that, I feel he should start with his own name," Matt explained.

"I understand," said Kitty. "Are you opposed to giving a son of ours your name as a middle name?"

"I would be alright with that, as long as you'd be okay with a possible daughter of ours having Kathleen as a middle name," answered Matt.

"It's a deal," said Kitty. "Matt, I want you to know that I do want a future that includes a family with you, but I'm not ready for that family now. I bought the Long Branch less than a year ago, and I'm not ready to give that up anytime soon. I want to make sure both of us are ready."

"That sounds reasonable to me," said Matt.

Matt and Kitty quietly laid with one another in bed, content on being together. They both knew there wasn't going to be any lovemaking. Doing so with a baby in the room didn't seem proper. It was only one night. They would manage to survive. As they continued to lay there, something occurred to Matt.

"You didn't wait to let me help you take your hair down," said Matt, sounding disappointed.

"I'm sorry," said Kitty. "I wanted to do it while the baby was content. If you want, you can make sure I removed all the pins."

Kitty sat up and Matt did the same. Matt took his hands and lovingly ran them through Kitty's luscious red locks, enjoying the silky feeling. Kitty enjoyed the feeling of Matt's loving hands going through her hair.

"Did I get them all?" she softly asked.

"It appears you did," said Matt.

"Good," said Kitty. "Now let's get some sleep."

Matt and Kitty settled back down and gave each other a sweet kiss. Kitty placed her head on Matt's chest. Both drifted off to sleep, dreaming of a future they both wanted with one another.

The End