AN: Thank you readers for your thoughtful comments, opinions and predictions. I've been trying to answer each of you, but for the past couple of days FF messaging seems to have been messed up in a number of ways. Today it didn't work at all for me. So know that I appreciate you, and learn and grow from your comments. Murphycat – succinct and true.

On with the show.

Kitty held Matthew close until he settled down, and her heart stopped pounding. She set him in his crib and smoothed down the front of her satin dress. Most days, she changed out of her work clothes as soon as she got home. Today definitely didn't fall into the category of most days. She wanted to feel fresh and comfortable for her talk with Matt, so she stepped across the hall to her bedroom to change. Her airy, pale green room had been a lovely place of retreat from the day she moved in. For most of her adult life, she lived on the second floor of the Long Branch saloon. First in the windowless corner bedroom, and eventually in the main suite at the front end of the hallway. No matter what room you had, the smell of booze was ever present, and noise drifting up from the bar, more often than not, killed any hope for a restful evening. Here her room overlooked a garden, and any oder drifting in came from rose bushes and magnolia trees. Peace and quiet prevailed. Everything about the room was lovely, but she was suddenly struck by what it lacked – possibility. The possibility that a particular set of strong, sure footsteps could at any moment, be heard coming down the hall. Damn it Matt. She quickly got out of her work dress, and stood barefoot in her undergarments looking through her closet. Her body had gone through changes with pregnancy, childbirth and nursing, and a lot of her clothes didn't feel quite right. She finally put on a blue cotton dress with a loosed fitted waist, that buttoned in front to allow for nursing. She plopped down on her bed and pulled on a pair of comfortable boots, before allowing herself to check the clock. An hour had passed since Matt stormed out. Hopefully, by now, he was ready to have a serious conversation and figure out ... figure out what? She had no idea where their talk would lead, but she did know that her carefully constructed life had been blown to pieces when Matt showed up, and a new life had to be built. She got Mathew from his crib in the nursery and hurried downstairs, glad Gabrielle was gone for the day. Explaining why she was taking the baby out for stroll at 9pm might prove to be a challenge. She set him in his carriage, tucked a light blanket around him and hurried off to the hotel Matt mentioned, the Oak Haven. Fortunately just a 10 minute walk on a well lit street.

8 minutes later she spotted the building. It was large and ornate. She maneuvered the carriage through the heavy wood doors, and spotted a pale, balding clerk at the desk across the lobby. She recognized him as a regular at the bar of her cafe, and hurried over. He looked up and nervously adjusted his glasses, "Oh, it's – it's the lady from Cafe du Monde. Good evening. I didn't know you had a baby." She shrugged with a smile. "I am indeed from the Cafe, part owner in fact. I need to speak to a guest of yours, Marshal Matt Dillon. Please tell me what room he's in."

The clerk scowled. "Marshal Dillon? He checked out. He reserved the room for the night, but changed his mind. He paid the day fee and left. Rude if you ask me."

Kitty frowned. "Are you sure?"

"I know when a guest checks out." The clerk realized he sounded snide and softened his tone. Being helpful might earn him a free drink. "All I know is that an hour or so ago, Marshal Dillon hurried by and went upstairs without a word. A short time later, he came down and checked out. I asked if there was a problem with the room. He said no, it was just that circumstances had changed so he wouldn't be spending the night." The clerk shook his head. "He'd only reserved the room for a single night as it was. Something must have made him want to leave right away."

Kitty nodded mutely and turned the baby carriage around. The clerk hurried over and opened the door. "If I can be of any other service, please let me know." Kitty nodded again, barely able to speak. She hadn't realized, until this moment, how much she needed to see Matt again. Anger surged threw her body. What was she supposed to do now? She stamped her foot. How dare he run off like that, especially now that he knew about Matthew. She whispered into the dark. "Not so fast Marshal. Go ahead and run home to Dodge, but I'm coming after you. I WILL have that conversation." She looked down at the baby, happily gurgling in the carriage. "Matthew, I'm going to throw some things in a suitcase for us, then we'll go to the cafe to let Cecil know I need a week or two off." She quickly pushed the carriage along. "Then we will head to the train depot, and with luck be on the 10pm train to Dodge City. We'll be there in a day and a half, and your father will sit down and talk to me." She picked up the pace almost to a run, feeling more energized than she had in 9 months.

Matt

Staring at the ceiling, Matt put his hands behind his head, and bent his knees to keep his feet on the bed. His room at the Oak Haven had been bigger and more comfortable than this one, but like that cabby said, the Mayflower was nice enough, and a lot cheaper. His original plan had been simple – see Kitty Monroe, speak with her to give finality to their relationship, and go home to Dodge the next morning to try and move on. Then he got a shock that shook him to his core. Not only was Kitty never married, she'd given birth to a baby – their baby.

He turned on to his side, and cupped his head in his hand. He thought he came ready to hear anything Kitty could say to him, but he wasn't prepared for this. Shock and anger had overwhelmed him, like it never had in all his life. When it came to Kitty, he couldn't recall ever being angry with her before, not even when they argued or disagreed. Years ago, when she took off for Pick Axe about a gold mine, he was annoyed that no one stopped her, but he wasn't mad at her, just worried. Last year, when she drove around town with Stambridge, and he heard gossip all around, he felt a lot of emotions but anger wasn't one of them. This was different. Today he found out that woman he'd loved for 19 years, the person he trusted above all others, had kept the very existence of their child a secret from him. All because she was sure of what he'd do, think and feel if she told him she was pregnant. Kitty, of all people, should know that life is way more complicated. She'd seen hard working folks turn to crime, and criminals reform – peaceful men take up arms, and gunslingers set them down. She knew of the time he tried to let a prisoner escape instead of taking him to the gallows, like the court demanded. In life sometimes, there's no predicting. He would have never predicted that Kitty would keep their child hidden from him.

He let out a long breath. He been hard on her, real hard. Now that the storm of shock and anger had abated somewhat, he had to admit he bore some blame in the whole thing. Kitty must have felt desperate and alone when she decided things the way she did. She should have been able to come to him, but she couldn't and that was on him. First thing in the morning he'd go back to her house and let her know that, whatever happened, he never wanted her to feel alone like that again. They'd also have to talk about trust and having faith in another person even if you think you have the best answers. Yep, good thing he moved to a cheaper hotel, he could be here a while.

His eyes grew heavy. The pills always made him a bit drowsy and he'd taken two. He drifted off to sleep with a train whistle sounding in the background. The 10pm train to Dodge City was on its way.

TBC