The Historians

Chapter 19

After what seemed forever, even to Doc, the door to the waiting room opened and Thomas was standing there, still dressed in blue surgical scrubs, mask hanging loosely around his neck. From the look on his face and the dejected stance of his body, the elderly man knew that the news was not good.

He looked up at him enquiringly and there was a slight shake of the surgeon's head. Doc swiped his mustache with his hand and frowned. This was not going to be easy.

"Kitty, its time to wake up now." He moved the arm that had been holding her and spoke gently. She opened her eyes and looked from one man to the other. A cold, paralyzing fear went through her. Their eyes conveyed the message she dreaded.

"I'm sorry Kitty, I did everything I could."
"But…but you have all this wonderful equipment and medicines we know nothing about. How…. You saved his life in Dodge with just a probe and forceps, here you have…" her thoughts were muddled, her emotions taking over.

He sits on the couch next to her, taking her hands in his.
"I know Kitty. There are some things even modern medicine can't fix, there had been too much damage. I'm so sorry."

Kitty could do nothing. It was as if her mind stopped working and her body froze. She put her elbows on her knees and placed her head in her hands. Doc could feel the sobs wracking through her body as he put a gentle arm around her shoulders.

"What happened?" he asked, looking at Thomas.

"There was a lot of damage to his right lung. I managed to fix most of it. I had to remove a lobe but he should have done fine with that. There was a lot of other damage too, maybe it would have healed in time but then his heart stopped four times. The first three we got it got it going again. The fourth time – well… we weren't so lucky."

The man stood there a minute looking at Kitty. He took a big breath
"Kitty I think you will be going home soon, I know that Matt accomplished his mission here."

"How can I go home without him, I just can't go back to Dodge without Matt." She reaches for Doc's hand and sits there a minute staring into empty space.

"Can we see him?" The tears are leaving her eyes and starting their journey down her face.

He continues quietly, "They are cleaning him up and getting rid of all those wires and tubes and then they'll move him to a small quiet room down the hallway. In a few minutes I'll take you there, you can stay as long as you need."

Kitty held her breath as she entered the room. The lighting was subdued and the colors of the walls and furnishings were muted. There, to one side was an ordinary looking bed, with an ivory color quilt as covering.

He was lying there, peacefully. He looked just as he had in her dream. The dark curly hair, the half-smile on his face, it all looked perfectly normal. His arms and hands were lying on top of the quilt so naturally that she thought any second now he would raise one to welcome her. She let go of Doc's hand to go sit in a chair that had been placed by the bed. She took his hand in hers. Although she knew better, she waited to feel that slight squeeze. She took her other hand and curled the long fingers around her own then lifted the hand to her face. She sat like that for a long time.

There was a quiet knock at the door. Doc went to see who it was.

Kitty heard the man introduce himself.

"Allen Cranbourne," he said, "I need to see Kitty."
"This is not a good time," Doc tells him.

" I was working with Dillon, he saved my life. I have to talk to her."
"Let him in Doc."

Kitty recognized the man she had seen walking to the hangar with Matt the evening he had seen her off to come back to London. That was the last time she had seen Matt alive, unless she counted the dream. The thought brought new tears to her eyes.

"Mrs. Dillon?"

She nodded, why not? It didn't matter now.
"I just had to tell you that Matt saved my life, he didn't have to do that, but he did. I will never understand why."

She smiled, she knew why, she understood Matt better than anybody.

"Not only that but because our job went well, we stopped a lot of very deadly weapons and ammunition reaching people who would try to do harm to both our countries. He probably saved a lot more lives than just mine. Your husband deserves all the credit. He figured everything out." He stops and looks at her. "Of course the Agency will never acknowledge anything about it, but I wanted you to know." He grasps her hand briefly then walks over to the bed and stands looking at the man he had known for such a short time.

"He wanted me to give you a message, he tried very hard but didn't have the strength to finish it. 'Tell Kitty I..' that was all he managed. I think I know what he was trying to say."
"So do I."

"I just wanted you to know how proud I am that I got to work with him, he was a good man."

With that he heads for the door. There was nothing else he could say.

Kitty goes back to sit beside Matt. She is lost in her own thoughts.

She becomes aware that Thomas is standing in the room with them. He is talking to her.

"I'm glad I got to meet you all again, I just wish it hadn't it turned out this way. I don't know for sure but I think everything will be all right when you get home."

He leaves quietly and closes the door.

Doc sits in a large leather armchair across the bed from Kitty.

Her head is resting on Matt's chest and he thinks she is asleep.

TBC