After the Storm 12

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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When the train arrived in the station, Matt and Doc quickly de-boarded and headed straight to the hospital. Doc had wired a colleague in Boston, and received a reply just before they left. Kitty was in Massachusetts General under the care of a Dr. Franklin Lewis. Nothing was known of her child's whereabouts.

Arriving at the massive white building on Fruit Street, they entered and inquired at the reception desk for Dr. Lewis. Following directions, they traveled the halls until they found themselves in a rather large but plain office with an equally large but plain nurse sitting at a small desk inside.

Looking up as Matt entered, the woman's dark brown eyes widened considerably as she took in the tall handsome man in front of her. As Matt introduced himself and Doc, he had the strangest feeling he was being inspected rather thoroughly by the woman, and was happy when she excused herself to find Dr. Lewis.

"Dr. Lewis will here in a moment" she said, when she returned and resumed her scrutiny of Matt. "Please have a seat."

Doc complied easily enough, but Matt couldn't. He had had enough sitting on the train, and all he wanted, right then, was to find Kitty. Nervously, he twirled his Stetson in his hands as paced fretfully around the room.

Nurse Betty Marks watched the good looking cowboy for a moment, before looking over at the older gentleman who had come in with him. She saw the same pensive, worried expression that the big man wore. 'Mrs. Dillon must be more important than we knew' she thought.

Just then the outer door opened and a man, appearing to be a few years younger than Doc, entered. "Mr. Dillon," he said, causing Matt to jump. "I'm Dr. Lewis."

Matt pounced on him quickly. "How's Kitty?" he asked anxiously, his voice low and gruff. "Where is she? Can I see her?"

Doc, who had risen when Lewis entered, placed a warning hand on Matt's arm to calm him. He understood how Matt felt, but he knew if they were to get to see Kitty, they would need this man's help, not his animosity.

Lewis studied the two men for a moment, before starting towards an interior door to the side. "Let's go into my private office, shall we?" he said, not bothering to hide his dislike. Any man, who would abandon his pregnant wife, deserved no courtesies from him.

Once inside the office, Matt turned on Lewis as he closed the door. "I want to see Kitty" he restated.

Doc tugged on his arm again. "Matt," he gently cautioned.

Lewis ignored Matt's tone, and moved behind a large ornate desk, in center of the otherwise plain room. "Have a seat gentlemen." He stated, as he reached into a drawer and pulled out a large file.

Doc did as asked, but Matt continued to stand. He would not sit down, or relax, until he had Kitty back. "Look Doctor," he forced himself to remain calm, "I just want to know where Kitty is and if she's alright."

Lewis looked at him with an irritated frown. "Mrs. Dillon is upstairs," he said, not noticing the exchange of looks between Matt and Doc at the name. "Though I doubt you really care, I will try to explain her condition."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Matt moved a menacing step closer to the desk and the man behind, but Lewis didn't flinch. "What did Kitty tell you?"

Lewis returned Matt's glare. "Mrs. Dillon has told me nothing sir." He said coldly. "But she did not have to. Any man, who would force his wife pregnant wife to leave her home…."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Matt fumed. "It wasn't like that." Yet in his heart, he felt it was.

Doc saw that Matt's temper was at its fraying point, and he realized how things must look. Before Lewis could respond or Matt could hit him, Doc spoke up. "Dr. Lewis, my name is Doctor Adams from Dodge City. I am Mrs. Dillon's personal physician, or at least I was until she left Dodge. I know how things must look to you, but you do not know all of the circumstances."

Lewis turned a curious scowl towards Doc. "Circumstances?"

Doc glanced over to see Matt turn his back and walk over to the window, surreptitiously wiping a frustrated tear from his eye. Doc looked back over at Lewis, making sure he had his attention.

"Dr. Lewis, Mrs. Dillon's life was in danger in Dodge City. Mr. Dillon there is a US Marshal, and there were some very angry men there who were threatening not only his life, but hers as well as their unborn child. The only way to keep her safe was to get her to leave. Believe me, it was not anything Matt wanted to do."

Lewis sat in stunned silence as Doc explained the situation to him, glancing over several times at the rigid back of the law man. "I'm sorry" he said, when Doc finished, chagrined at his initial behavior towards the two men. "I did not know, and I'm ashamed to say I just jumped to conclusions."

Matt turned around, his expression unreadable. "Just tell me where my wife is." He said wearily, not realizing that he had acknowledged she had that type of role in his life.

"Yes sir," Lewis said with a little more respect. "But before I do, there a few things you should know." He slid the file he had pulled out, across the desk to Doc who opened it, saw it was Kitty's file, and began to read.

Matt looked uneasily over at Doc, then back at Lewis. "What things? What's wrong with Kitty?"

"The answer to that is complicated." Lewis sighed. "Your wife was injured in an accident involving a dray wagon. Apparently she slipped on some ice and fell in front of it as it was coming down the street. Although it didn't run over her it did hit her pretty hard. In addition to numerous cuts and abrasions, she has sustained a severe blow to her head as well as her lower spine."

Matt paled. Licking his dry lips, he pawed a bead of sweat from his forehead, and stared intently at the doctor. "Is she going to live?" he asked.

"Yes sir," Lewis answered un-hesitantly "but I'm not sure what her condition may be. As I said, she did sustain severe trauma to her head and spine, and she has been unconscious since the accident. We really won't know how bad things are until she comes to."

Matt closed his eyes for the briefest of moments and took a deep breath, before turning towards the door. "Take me to her." he said.

Lewis nodded and moved from behind his desk. "Follow me" he said solemnly "and Doctor Adams, please keep the file for now."

Doc nodded, rose from his chair, and tucked the file under his arm, following Lewis and Matt from the room. Though he had only read a small portion of her file, Doc had read enough to be very worried about Kitty.

Lewis led the two men up a wide central staircase and down a long dark hallway, the sound of their footfalls the only thing seeming to disturb the morbid silence around them.

Finally coming to a halt outside the last door on the right, he turned back to them. "She's in here gentlemen" he said. "I'll leave you alone so that you may see her, but if you need me, I'll be just down the hall."

Matt and Doc nodded as he moved away. Looking at each other apprehensively they reached for the knob and opened the door.

TBC