After the Storm 6
I don't own these characters; I just like to spend time with them. No other profit to be had than that.
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After leaving Kitty's side, Nathan Hancock settled once again in the hallway outside of her room, to wait, his mind in turmoil. Should he contact this Matt Dillon and let him know what was happening? Or wait and pray for a happy outcome?
Kitty had told him little about her past, mentioning only that the baby's father was not in her life, and that she had taken his name for the sake of her child. She had used her real name of Russell, when signing the paperwork for the pub and her home, but otherwise, the only thing anyone knew, was that she was the widow of a man named Dillon.
Her little deceit had not mattered to Nathan of course. Kitty had proven to be everything he wanted in a business partner and a friend, and if the fates would've allowed it, he would've made it more.
But one look at the beautiful red head, and he knew her heart was not hers to give. Whoever this mysterious Dillon was, he still owned that particular part of her and always would.
Pacing nervously in the cold hallway, his eyes kept darting to the door of her room. Dr. Lewis had disappeared behind that door a couple of hours ago, and hadn't yet resurfaced. He prayed that was a good sign.
But he kept remembering the horrible sight of her on the floor of her house, and how pale she was as she lay there on the hospital bed. Staring at the door to her room again, he paced a little more.
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Doc slowly descended the stairs outside of his office and shuffled down the sidewalk towards Delmonico's. His mind however wasn't on the mediocre meal he was certain to consume, but rather on a certain someone, whom he used to have a meal with almost every day.
If his calculations were correct, and he believed they were, she should be pretty close to delivering about now, and he wanted to be there so badly, it was all he could do not to rush down to the train station and buy a ticket to Boston.
But he wouldn't and couldn't, do that. If Matt ever did find these despicable men, and get the attacks stopped, then Matt would need to be the first one to contact Kitty. It would be his responsibility to make her understand the reasons behind his actions.
But so far Matt's considerable efforts, to find and stop those hateful men, had been fruitless. He had done everything humanly possible, but had obtained little useful information. It was like a violent storm that made its way unseen through Matt's town and his life, leaving nothing but destruction and fear behind.
But Doc knew the lawman, and he would not stop, not until he either found and stopped the culprits of these vicious attacks or they found and stopped the lawman.
Doc shuddered at that thought. It was bad enough he had lost the woman he thought of as a daughter, he did not want to lose the man he thought of as his son, as well.
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Nathan continued to pace fretfully in the long cold hallway, waiting for word. Dr. Lewis had told him that he would operate in a couple of hours, if the baby wasn't born naturally. Well, it was now well past a couple of hours and still he had heard nothing.
Finally the door opened, and Dr. Lewis stepped out into the hallway. Nathan tried to read the look on his face, but couldn't tell a thing. This man would make a good poker player, he thought.
"How is she?" He asked nervously.
Dr. Lewis smiled, but the expression somehow didn't look quite natural, as though the doctor was unused to such gestures. Nathan couldn't tell if that smile meant good or bad.
"The baby was finally delivered a little while ago," Dr. Lewis told Nathan. "And he is in excellent health. Mrs. Dillon however, had a very rough time of it, and to be honest I wasn't sure she was going to pull through this, but she has rallied finally." Suddenly, the doctor's smile seemed very natural indeed.
Nathan's relief was almost palpable.
"She will, of course, have to be here for a while, until she recuperates sufficiently to be able to take care of herself and the baby, but I believe she will be just fine."
Nathan released the breath he wasn't even aware that he was holding. "Can I see her?" he asked.
Dr. Lewis regretfully shook his head. "No, not right now I'm afraid. I have given her something to make her sleep. She is going to need quite a bit of rest and care, for some time to come. Perhaps later she will be up to company."
Nathan nodded in understanding, glancing at the door as Dr. Lewis spoke again. "Mr. Hancock. Do you perhaps know what Mr. Dillon's first name was?"
"Why?" Nathan asked, wary of divulging too much of Kitty's personal information, even to her doctor.
"Oh, nothing really I suppose," the doctor answered, "it's just that, at one point, when it seemed like Mrs. Dillon wouldn't make it, she started calling for someone named Matt. The name seemed to give her some comfort and strength."
TBC