Chapter 8
The Consequences of a Storm
Disclaimer: I don't own the original Gunsmoke characters, I'm just using them. Had I owned the original characters, well let's just say life would be just a little more exciting.
I'm only borrowing these characters, but promise to return them unharmed. Happier, but unharmed. (Sort of.)
KR
Kitty snuggled against the strong back on which her face lay. In her dreams, she was laying behind Matt with her nose crinkled up into his strong back, inhaling that familiar scent that was only his. Matt always smelled of lye soap and smoke from a campfire. But then her sensitive nose noticed something different. This was the scent of sage and this was not her Matt. Jerking her head up quickly, she felt his arm quickly move back wrapping around her waist to keep her from falling off of the horse. The ride had been long and strenuous. Her body ached from head to toe and all she wanted was to get off of the damned horse and bathe. She also noted, with slight embarrassment, that her butt was going numb as well as her thighs. It was at that time, that they road up to the house.
Reaching over, her pulled his blade from the sheath that lay on his chest. He had moved it there after she had grabbed it and tried to hurt him. He had learned that even with her hands tied, she was still dangerous. He cut the rope from around her wrist. Kitty scooted towards the horse hind end, suddenly sliding off and smacking the horse hard on the rear. The horse stood on its hind legs, and her capture quickly found his perch on top of the bareback horse, quite unsettling. Desperately he attempted to get the horse under control, but instead found himself on the ground, face down. Looking up from the ground, he saw Kitty running back down the valley. Shaking his head, he got to his feet and took off, running after her. His legs were strong and he was quite used to running, so it did not take long for him to catch up with her. Grabbing her about the waist, they tumbled to the ground. Kitty fought him like a lioness, kicking, punching, doing whatever she could do to try and pull free from his grasp. But he was much too strong for her and he had no problem overpowering her once more. He shoved her onto the ground onto her back, her blouse came opened, and her breast, once again, were bared to his sight. But he reached down and pulled her blouse closed as he pulled her to her feet. Hearing her inhale deeply, he realized she was about to scream, and he could not have that. His hand clamped down over Kitty's mouth just as she did so. Kicking him furiously, she tried one last attempt to pull free, but he had a good grip on her arm and one arm was tightly wrapped around her waist. He never said a word to her, not even in his own language. Never made a noise, even when she had kicked him as he dragged her back up the hill to the cabin. Pushing the door opened with his foot, he carried her still fighting into the small cabin, which was lit by the fireplace and two lanterns. Kitty stopped fighting when he pushed her towards the table and turned to lock the door. Breathing heavily, she attempted to button her blouse, but there were only two or three buttons left to it. She then heard the soft mewling sounds behind a curtain, and it peaked her interest. Moving towards the curtain, she gently pulled it back to reveal a woman, a white woman, sitting in the bed with an infant lying in her arms. She was sitting up against the headboard and Kitty could tell that she was very sick. Her skin was very pale as were her lips. Her eyes had deep dark circles under them and Kitty knew by the baby beside her that she had given birth in the last few days. She also knew that the woman must have had a bad time with this birth, as it seemed to have taken a great deal out of her.
"Hello, my name is Rachel." She said weakly to Kitty.
"I'm Kitty, Kitty Russell." She said looking at the tiny form resting against her mother's breast.
"The big idiot over there, is my husband, Nekuma, and I apologize if he has frightened you in his cold manner. Sometimes, he forgets he's a man and not an animal." She said smiling at Nekuma who knew she was talking about him. "Yes, he is my husband. Perhaps we did not have the Christian ceremony that would qualify us as man and wife in your world, but he my husband and I love him." She said as if she were trying to defend her choice of husbands.
"Nah te unah, sema kei eah, Naomi?" He asks her and she nodded to him. He walked over to the cradle and lifted his other daughter up into his arms. Kitty watched as the man lifted her up above his head and playfully danced her about as he sang to her.
"Kuche al, potala neque." She told him and he frowned but only for a moment as he gently lowered Naomi into his arms. He kissed the baby's cheek and she in turn played bashful, trying to hide her face in her gown. "He is a good man. He loves his girls very much." She gently lifted the baby up in her arms and motioned Kitty to come to her bedside. Kitty walked over to Rachel and gently sat on the edge. "This is our little one. She was born two days ago." She tells Kitty as she gently lays the infant in her arms. "I have no milk and can no longer nurse her. The reason Nekuma brought you here was because of them. You need to feed the baby. She is hungry and if you don't she will die. She won't keep down cow's milk or even goat's milk." She said, her sable eyes, glistening with tears as she weakly laid her head back against the pillow. "Please help her, help them." She said looking at her husband, who now stood beside her bed, he reached out and took his wife's hand and held it. They both watched, as Kitty began to unbutton her blouse without even thinking about where she was at the moment, her only thought was to help the baby. She didn't even think about the fact that Nekuma was standing beside his wife's bed. Rachel smiled at Kitty as the baby quickly latched onto her breast and she looked up at her husband and squeezed his hand. He felt regret, that another woman had to nurse his child while his wife lay there sick and dying. And he felt badly for all he had caused this redheaded stranger. Looking back at his wife, he knelt on the floor still holding Naomi in his arms. Leaning over, he kissed Rachel on the cheek then stood up and gently placed Naomi in the cradle. She immediately began to fuss and he knelt down and spoke to her. "Che ukahnai, Welela." Kitty looked up at the name he had called the child. She had heard of it before. It was Cherokee for hummingbird, and she knew this because of some of Matt's friends. Looking back down, she saw that the baby was now looking up at her. Her big brown eyes gazing into deep blue eyes and Kitty smiled and whispered gentle words to her as she lovingly caressed her cheek with her finger and watched as the infant smiled around the nipple for a moment, then returned to feeding.
"I wish that there had been an easier way to have gotten you here, but Nekuma was desperate. She's going to need to be fed quite often because she is so weak." Rachel said to her.
"What if she doesn't like my milk?" Kitty asked her.
"Then my little girl may not make it." She said sadly.
"She's so tiny." Kitty said as she gently took her little hand in hers. The baby was already fast asleep, but her mouth kept up the sucking motion on the proffered nipple.
Rachel watched as Kitty nursed the infant and she smiled. She felt a pang of regret that she was not the one nursing her child, but she knew that this woman would save her daughter. "What happened to your baby?" She asked Kitty, trying to get to know her a little better.
"She died." She said, her voice cracking with sorrow. "I had lost too much blood when I was injured, and she..she didn't survive." Kitty said looking down at the baby at her breast. A single tear ran down her face as she thought of the child Doc had laid in her arms. The angelic face, so round and perfect brought more tears. This should have been her daughter nursing at her breast. This should have been her baby lying in her arms, smiling up at her as she suckled. Reaching up, she gently swiped at the tears.
"I guess you and your husband took it really hard." She said to Kitty.
"I'm not married." She said and looked into the surprised eyes of the woman.
"I…I'm sorry, I just assumed…." She didn't know what to say.
"I was taken hostage nine months ago, by a group of outlaws known as Dog soldiers. Matt, the man that I am in love with, is a U.S. Marshal and I was used as a bargaining chip to attempt to free another man. I was held hostage by Jude and his men while Matt attempted to get this other man freed or get a stay of execution, but he couldn't. When Jude got the news that his brother had been executed, they raped and beat me. I was taken back to Dodge, shot and left for dead. At least he thought he had killed me." Looking at the baby. "Matt wasn't the father of the child. But he was willing to be the father." She said as she gently pulled her nipple from the sleeping baby's mouth. She pulled her blouse closed to cover her breast and stood up and took the infant to her mother.
"You are a strong woman to have been through so much and able to survive that." She said as she watched Kitty closely.
"I had to survive. Matt needed me." She said without looking up at her.
"Your Marshal will no doubt be looking for you. He sounds like a good man." She said as she moved in the bed trying to get comfortable.
"Neche une myout, senan opune." He said to his wife and they shared a look. Kitty looked up to see Nekuma heading for the door.
"Where is your husband going?" Kitty asked as she anxiously looked at the door. She then head a heavy metal lock slid into place. He had been prepared for this. "Where is he going?" She said becoming angry.
"He's going to tend to the animals and the horses. I have not been able to do so, so they have gone unattended these past two days." She said trying to convince Kitty, but in truth, he was taking the horse out and going down the valley to create a false trail for those whom he knew would follow.
As he led the horse away from the house, he looked back, not really knowing what he had felt. He was ashamed of what he had done, but it was done in desperation. He needed to help his daughters and ease his wife's fears. When he had walked far enough away so that Kitty would not hear the horses, he mounted his horse and headed further down the valley, heading west.
"Do you need anything, can I help you?" Kitty asked knowing that Rachel was in pain.
"No, I'm fine. In fact, I feel much better now that you are here." She said gently reaching over and touching Kitty's knee. "I'm truly sorry that we have put you through even more pain, Kitty. I wish there had been another way."
"Why don't you let us hitch up a buckboard and get you to a doctor?" Kitty asked her as gently pulled her nipple from the sleeping baby's mouth. Pulling her blouse closed, she leaned up and gently placed the infant in her mother's arms, laying her on her belly so that her mother could pat her back. Gently she began to pat the baby's back and soon she was rewarded with several tiny burps.
"No, a doctor can't help me now. I'm not going to live to see my babies grow up." She stopped for a moment then looked up as her sable eyes were shining with tears. "He doesn't want to believe that. He's afraid. I need you to help my baby survive. Once she's strong enough he can try cow's milk again or even goats."
Naomi's fussing brought their attention back to the child. Kitty looked over at the cradle, wanting to hold the child but not sure of what to do. Smiling slightly she listened to the fussing for a few seconds more.
"Kitty, Naomi needs to be nursed as well. I'm sorry, she does eat some things, like mashed apples and such, and sometimes I can get her to drink cow's milk, but she really needs your milk. It's better for her and you need to bond with her." She said as she looked up at Kitty who was confused. Kitty walked over to Naomi who looked up at her with the same dark brown eyes as her sister and smiled. Lifting the little girl into her arms, she went over to the chair beside the table and sat down, then bared her other breast and gasped as the baby immediately latched onto the nipple and began to suckle.
"How…How long do you nurse your daughter, I mean, there comes a time when she's too old." Kitty said, not sure of this nursing job and a bit uncomfortable when she felt the slight edge of a tooth that made her jump slightly in discomfort.
Smiling, Rachel looks at her. "I was only going to nurse her for another few weeks and wean her off. Mother's milk is good for the child. It helps them fight illnesses better." She said watching as Naomi lay in the stranger's lap, her mouth attached to the woman's breast and her hand laying flat against the breast. She watched closely as Kitty gently lifted the child's hand from her breast and Naomi immediately gripped her thumb by wrapping her tiny fingers around it. She had lied to Kitty, she had actually stopped nursing Naomi weeks ago. But she needed Naomi to bond with Kitty like the baby would. "I haven't named the little one yet." She says lifting her large family bible from the stool next to her bed. "Nekuma wants me to name her as I did Naomi, through the bible. Kitty, what is your given name?"
Kitty looked up at her, surprised. "You should name her Rachel. It's such a pretty name." Kitty said as Naomi playfully pulled away from the nipple and smiled at Kitty. Kitty watched as she skillfully took the nipple back into her mouth and closed her eyes.
"I like Rachel, but what is your name?" She asked her.
Kitty finally gave in. "Kathleen Elizabeth." She said to her as she continued to watch the child nurse.
"Naomi will stop when she's full, she's much easier to gage." She said. "Kathleen Rachel, I think I like that very much." She said looking over at her husband as he came back into the cabin. He nodded his head to her letting her know that he had made a false trail to lead those who would be looking for the woman, away from the cabin. Kitty only glanced up at her for a moment, unsure of what she should say. She then watched as Nekuma walked over to his wife and kissed her hand before he sat on the edge of the bed with her.
TBC