A Flicker Of Light In The Darkness

Shoot-Out At The Long Branch

Chapter 19

Kitty peeked between batwing doors straight into trouble. Three guys, two big rowdy ones and one regular sized, all in desperate need of a bath, had been drinking all day and it was getting ugly. She looked around and saw that aside from them, the place was empty. They had probably driven off all the regulars. Kitty took a deep breath and headed in to see if she could calm them down—or better yet, get them to leave.

"Boys, how are you doing today?"

They did stop, unfortunately, when they turned to look at Kitty. Their eyes were full of something all right, but it wasn't cooperation. The biggest and ugliest of the bunch, who answered to the name of Gib, staggered over to Kitty. With a giant meaty paw, he grabbed her around the waist and jerked her hard into his chest. "Come here, Red!"

She struggled to get free, but before she could get a foothold, the other one was trying to grab her for himself. Kitty knew this was quickly going downhill. She looked around for Sam and for the first time realized that he was tied up, helpless, behind the bar.

They had him bound and gagged, but he was struggling in vain to break free. The smallest of the three saddle tramps was sitting on the bar, more of a spectator, than participant. Kitty was trying hard not to panic, but both men were getting more and more possessive.

The one called Nye, had decided that he was going to take his turn first. To close the deal, his fist closed around the collar of her dress and ripped it open. Tiny pearl buttons flew all over the room and she fought to cover herself. Kitty's mind went to Matt, but he wasn't going to be back until later this evening; and of course Newly was with him. Festus had ridden out to the Plazer farm.

Gib had now pulled her away from his partner and slammed her up against his chest. His hands were already grabbing into places forbidden to anyone but Matt. She was futilely fighting him off, when a voice suddenly sounded from the doorway.

The voice was female, but it held no soft or genteel qualities. The tone was flat, the inflection dangerous. It was that voice that frightened Kitty even more than the two animals she was caught between. "Gentlemen! I think you need to let the lady go." Blue eyes blazed with rage and her small jaw set hard. She was still dressed in jeans, the flannel shirt...and the gun.

The two men stopped, unsure whether they were drunker than they thought, or…were they really seeing what appeared to be in the doorway?

"Gib, do you see what I see?" Nye blinked long and hard, his hands still wrapped around Kitty waist.

"I see it Nye, but I don't believe it. Robey!" He hollered to the one sitting on the bar, "Look at this, boy. It's a girl-a tiny girlie cowboy! With a gun, no less." The three of them burst into laughter—but still refused to let Kitty go.

Calleigh took a calculated step inside the door. "I said, let her go." She took the stance of someone ready to draw. There was no longer any hint of a young girl, only that of a trained gunman. She met Kitty's eyes, and saw the desperation. The fear was not for herself, but for what she knew Calleigh was about to do. She shook her head no, but she knew in her heart, Calleigh would never back down and leave her at the mercy of these two.

"I think she wants to play, Nye. Now we can each have a girl. A party—we can have a party!"

"Or we can have a funeral." Calleigh said quietly. "You have about five seconds to decide. Let the lady go."

Even as drunk as they were, both men realized she was serious. The laughter had stopped and they were becoming irritated.

"Just who the hell do you think you are? Scrawny little bitch! I think we need to teach her a lesson, Gib; then we'll party with this one."

Kitty closed her eyes and silently prayed. She opened them in time to see the two men spread apart, as if to cover Calleigh from both sides. She saw the one called Gib go for his gun, but he didn't even clear his holster when she heard the shot.

The second shot was right on top of the first and Nye fell to the floor. The third man had quickly abandoned his perch and now scrambled on his knees toward the exit. He made no attempt to draw on her, and Calleigh was more interested in getting to Kitty.

She slid her gun back into the scabbard and stepped over the bodies. "Are you all right?" Her eyes darted to every scratch and torn piece of dress. "Are you all right!" She screamed this time, her irritability spawned from her growing fear.

Kitty grabbed her hands, "Yes; please, calm down. I'm fine." She smiled, as the tension began to diminish. "So, that's why you keep in practice." The racket behind the bar suddenly drew her attention, "Oh, Calleigh, please untie Sam."

Calleigh started for the bar, when the batwing doors swung open, making room for Doc to enter the room. "I heard the shots. What happened?" When he spied Kitty's state of disarray, he hurried to her side. Despite her objections, Doc started to poke and prod. Finally, he saw the two dead bodies, "What the heck happened here? Who are those men?"

There was a certain amount of pride in Kitty's voice when she answered, "Well, she didn't bother to ask names, but it's pretty obvious what happened. They came up against our little spitfire here."

"It was amazing Doc. She's her father's daughter, that's for sure," Sam said, as he rubbed his wrists where the rope had burned into his flesh.

His proud gaze was on the young girl, as she walked back around the bar toward Doc and Kitty. He didn't see the doors open just a crack. He didn't see the barrel of a .45 slip through. He didn't see anything, but he did hear the shots. One on top of another, until all six had been fired…

Calleigh's eyes opened so wide, the ocean blue centers were lost in a sea of white. She felt a hot force blow through her body, knocking the wind clean out of her. Kitty winced, recoiling from the crimson blast that seemed to explode all over her. Somewhere in the distance, a voice was yelling, calling their names; but it was too far off to break through the horror passing between the two women. Calleigh frowned, confused by the shock on Kitty's face, that quickly morphed into terror. She followed Kitty's downcast eyes, until she came to the source of the terror.

"Kitty..." Calleigh swallowed hard, her voice barely audible, "Kitty, there..." Her eyelids fluttered as she looked back up, while falling into Kitty's outstretched arms. "There's a hole." She was teetering on consciousness and with each word, blood bubbled out of her chest. Kitty held the girl in her arms, blood spreading slowly across her blouse. "Kitty, am...I going...to...die?"

"No, Sweet Pea," Kitty brushed the hair out of Calleigh's eyes, "Of course not!" She looked toward Doc, but was greeted by fear, instead of promise.

"We need to get her to my office. Sam, get somebody to help get her up to my office." Sam nodded and disappeared through the doors. The gunshots had attracted attention, so it was easy for him to get volunteers. Within minutes, two of the townsfolk had gathered Calleigh up and taken her into Doc's office. He turned to Burke, one of the volunteers, and ordered him to go find Festus and see if Matt and Newly were back.

Kitty had already started cutting away the remains of the flannel shirt, sickened by the bloodied holes where the bullets had torn through her beloved protector. Instead of passing out, Calleigh was becoming more agitated, even struggling against Kitty. "Doc...I can't keep her still."

"Just hold her until I can get this shot ready...hold her!"

Calleigh began to choke again, "Poppy...I'm...losing...blood…" Her words were sporadic and layered on top of a gurgling noise. She clutched at the air, while trying to draw a breath. Kitty tried to control Calleigh's hands, as they flailed wildly, then at her chest, trying to stop the blood flowing. "Kitty, I...can't...can't...stop it."

Amidst the chaos, a familiar voice cried out, as he ran to the girl. Newly, nodded to Kitty and stepped into her place. "Calleigh, honey...listen to me. Listen to my voice." With wide eyes full of terror, she looked into those soft, brown velvet eyes, that she loved so much.

"Newly?" His name was said in nothing more than a breath inside a whisper.

"I've got you, Calleigh girl, please...trust me." Her panic began to subside, but their eyes remained fixed on each other. Whether it was the shot, loss of blood or just exhaustion, she finally began to lose consciousness.

Once Calleigh's thrashing about stopped, the room took on an organized system. With Newly working at Doc's side and Kitty stepping into a nurse's position, they began to make some progress.

For the second time where Calleigh was involved, Matt was helpless to do anything. Just as he had when those riders caught them at the camp, all he could do was watch. It seemed like hours, as Doc dug out mangled shells and cleaned up the damage done by the ricocheting bullets. The coward must have been scared, because as close as he was, two of the shots actually missed. One went clean through her chest missing her heart by a breath. One tore through a kidney, shredding it. The other two hit a little lower.

At last, Doc got to the end of the destruction and began to close up the wound. Kitty remained silent, handing him whatever he asked for, trying her best to hold it together. When they were eventually done, Doc pulled the sheet up over Calleigh's back and dropped down into a chair. He pulled his glasses off and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Checking his watch, Doc was surprised to see that it was almost ten. This ordeal had started about six. Four hours of chaos. He clicked his watch shut and looked around to the other people in the room.

Once the bedlam stopped, they had to face the reality of what had happened. Newly sat holding his bride's hand, his shirt still covered in her blood. On the other side of the bed, Kitty sat in a straight-back chair, her face void of any expression. Matt stood behind his wife, his hands resting on her shoulders. All were pale, all were quiet and all were scared.

Newly kissed the hand resting in his and began to talk to her. His voice was strained and filled with tears that he was forcing himself to hold back. "You can't leave me, baby girl. We just got started. Why, you still have to get those new curtains made for the house. And what about those babies we're planning? No, you can't leave me; we have too much to do." He buried his face in her hair and some of the tears escaped. "Please don't leave me, Calleigh."

Matt crouched down next to Kitty, but her gaze remained fixed straight ahead. "Kitty, honey," he cupped her cheek in his hand. "Doc," Matt glanced back over his shoulder, his face in a panic, "Something's wrong. She feels cold, clammy and it's like she's not hearing me."

Doc immediately alert once again, left one patient, to tend to his next one. "She's going into shock, Matt. Bring her into my room."

Matt swept Kitty up into his arms and followed Doc. "Put her on the bed and put a pillow under her feet." Doc retrieved some blankets from the closet. "Help me get these blankets around her. Get my bag and bring in some water, she needs fluids…"

Doc worked diligently, trying to stabilize the woman he loved like a daughter. When he finally got her vitals under control, he started to back away, and then looked toward his old friend. Matt's grave expression revealed a pain he felt every time Kitty had ever been hurt; only this time, it was compounded with the additional pain of his daughter.

"Matt, how are you doing?"

"I've never been so scared in my whole life, Doc. Both my girls... Does anybody know what happened?"

"Two men were...they were in the Long Branch and got the drop on Sam. They had Kitty."

"Doc, did they-"

"No!" The older man cut him off before the thought could even be completed. "Calleigh showed up before that could happen. You of all people know how she would react to anyone threatening Kitty. She killed both of them, but there was a third guy. He got scared and crawled out during the shooting. They thought it all over, but he came sneaking back and shot her in the back. None of us even-" Doc's words were interrupted by a soft voice calling his name. He turned to see Ma Smalley standing in the doorway.

She eased a couple of steps into the room, acknowledging Matt with a nod, but she couldn't take her eyes off the sleeping patient. "How is she, Doc?"

"She was going into shock, but I think she's going to be all right."

"And Calleigh?" Her face reflected her fear.

Doc swiped his hand across his mustache and shook his head, "We don't know, Ma; we just don't know."

The older lady tiptoed closer, "I was here earlier to see if I could help." Both men frowned at her, not understanding her comment. "Oh, I didn't stay; you all seemed to be handling everything and I didn't want to get in the way."

She had been holding some clothing in her arms and now she held them out to Doc. "I saw how...bloody she was…and Newly. You can't leave her in that dress, Matt. The last thing she needs to see when she wakes up, is Calleigh's blood all over her." She looked at both of the men and realized neither of them had even considered Kitty's clothes. "I brought a dress and I'll be glad to help you change her...if you want."

Matt looked at Kitty, and then stood up beside the bed, "I'd appreciate that Ma, thank you."

As Ma Smalley stepped closer to the bed, she handed a shirt to Doc. "This is for Newly." Doc took the garment, and then moved aside to let her step up next to the bed. Ma looked at the bloody dress and was shocked to see that it was ripped open, almost half way down. She had already heard the rumor that the two dead men had tried to rape Kitty. This was obviously some of their handiwork. She thought about trying to pull the dress off, but she didn't want to move Kitty anymore than necessary.

"Doc, why don't you just get me a pair of scissors?" Doc quickly grabbed them from the table and handed them over. Within minutes, the offending garment was cut away and discarded. She slipped the fresh one over Kitty's head and pulled her arms through like a child. "Marshal, can you hold her up, so that I can pull the dress down?"

Ma watched Matt slip his arms under his wife and lift her up from the bed. After she worked the dress into place, he laid her back down and brushed the loose strands of hair from her face. The older lady was amazed at how gentle this giant of a man was with her. The same man she had seen nearly beat a man to death, was handling his wife as though she were made of spun glass.

"I know she's still a mess underneath but...maybe this will help." Ma had started out the door, when she felt a hand on her arm. When she turned around, she was confronted with a very worried, but very grateful husband. He seemed to be struggling for words, but none were needed, as far as she was concerned. She patted his hand and gave him a comforting smile. "You're welcome."

GunsmokeGunsmokeGunsmokeGunsmoke

Matt was grateful that Kitty slept through the night. He wandered from one bed to the other, needing to reassure himself that they were both still with him. He pulled up a chair opposite Newly and took Calleigh's other hand in his. She felt warm, he figured she was running a fever. He kissed the frail white fingers. This was his daughter, his own flesh and blood. Without looking up, he made an offer to Newly, "Ma Smalley brought up some coffee, do you want a cup?"

Newly shook his head "No, thanks." He glanced off into the bedroom. "How's Kitty?"

"Doc's keeping an eye on her, but he thinks she'll be all right."

"I can't even imagine what it's like for you, Matt."

The lawman stroked his daughter's cheek. "We did not get along when she first came. I didn't know what I was dealing with and to be honest, it scared me. She stirred up my whole life," he began to speak his memories aloud, to no one in particular. "She was so small, yet so self-reliant. Even then, she was fiercely protective of Kitty." Matt leaned down, kissing her forehead. "She certainly can say the most outrageous things." This last confession brought a weak smile to his lips and an agreeable sigh from Newly.

"I was terrified to get involved," Newly admitted. "I thought for sure you were going to shoot me."

"I was worried, but Kitty said you would do the right thing. You know, you didn't stand a chance, once she set her cap for you."

Newly looked across the sleeping girl, into the weary face of her father. "She could have her pick of any man in Ford County; I don't know what she sees in me."

Matt flashed back to those terrifying moments earlier, when nothing could calm her down, but Newly. "I think she saw someone who would love her, protect her and care for her all of her life." He rose from his seat and stretched his six-foot-plus frame.

"Matt," Newly looked up at the big man, "I definitely won't be going for that Marshal's position."

"I think that's a wise choice." The Marshal moved suddenly, causing Newly to look behind him. "Kitty, what are you doing up!?" The drug Doc had given her had left her head woozy and her legs wobbly. Matt thought she was going down and his long legs carried him the distance between them in seconds. He had scooped her up, just as she was going down. He started to take her back to bed, when she began to squirm in his arms.

"No, I see...I want...to see her. Please, Matt." She was frustrated because her mind was still muddled from the medicine and her words were getting twisted. He stopped and looked back to Calleigh. Matt turned, walking back to the girl and gently sat his wife down on the chair he had just vacated. He kept his hands on her shoulders to keep her steady. "Not for long, you need to get back to bed."

She looked at the pale face lying in front of her. "She better?"

"There's no change yet." Newly offered. "But she would be real upset if she knew you weren't listening to Doc."

Kitty turned a wobbly head up toward Matt, surrendering to the medication. He carefully lifted her out of the chair. "Let's get you back to bed."

Her head fell against his chest. Her voice so fragile, "Matt, what if..."

"Hush, we're not going to allow any 'what ifs'." A tremor of fear caused his voice to quiver, robbing it of any conviction. He held Kitty closer to him, hoping they could draw strength from each other to drive this monster out of their lives.

Matt. Doc. Newly. They would take turns stretching, walking around the room; but no one ventured down the stairs. Festus brought food, that no one ate and Ma Smalley made several attempts to get them to come over to her place and get a good night's sleep. Of course, she never had any takers.

It was going on the third day. Calleigh still had not regained consciousness, but the wounds seemed to be healing. Doc was worried about parts of a more personal nature that weren't healing. He decided it was time to talk to the new husband.

Newly had dozed off in the chair, his head resting on the bed beside his wife. Doc shook him gently, his normally gruff voice unusually compassionate. As much as he wanted to let the young husband sleep, he needed talk to him. "Newly, I need to speak to you."

Newly's first reaction was to look at Calleigh to make sure she was all right. At least as all right as she had been. He was trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes. "What is it Doc. Has something changed?"

Doc pulled up a chair and sat down beside him. "Newly, I'm afraid there's a problem. You know one of those bullets just kind of ricocheted around in there."

"I know you removed one of her ovaries. I saw that. Is that what you want to talk to me about?"

No. I'm fighting infection on the other one. I'm still trying to save it but..."

Newly had studied enough medicine to know what that meant. With just one ovary they could still have children; might be a little harder, but still possible. But if she lost them both...well that would be the end of the family. He looked down at his sleeping wife and felt his heart swell. He would miss having a child, maybe a son; but without her...there would be no life without her. "Don't let her die, Doc, I don't care what you have to do."

The room was quiet. The full moon shining through the window cast a silvery shadow over everything and a gentle breeze drifting through the room. Matt had stretched out on Doc's bed, with Kitty lying next to him. Newly was sleeping in the chair next to Calleigh. Doc was taking another reading of her vitals when he noticed she had moved. At first, it was just a faint fluttering of lashes and then, she finally garnered the strength to open them completely… At first there seemed to be no awareness in her gaze, as though she didn't recognize anything. Then she blinked hard a couple of times and looked up at Doc. Her voice was barely audible, but the smile brought tears to Docs eyes. "Hi, Poppy."

With a heavy breath she struggled to lift her hand, then gently brushed her fingers through Newly's hair. The tender touch was enough to rouse her husband from his sleep. He bolted upright in his chair, grabbing her hand between his. It started as a smile, but Newly couldn't control it as it spread clear across his face. His first reaction was to grab her up into his arms, but Doc had put a stop to that.

"Hello, Mr. O'Brian." Calleigh closed her eyes again, but this time only for a few seconds.

"Hello, Mrs. O'Brian." He leaned down to kiss her cheek.

"Happy Anniversary," her voice was faint, her smile a shadow of itself.

"What's all the commotion in here?" Matt growled, as he crossed into the room with Kitty at his side. "Don't you know people are trying to sleep!" he leaned down to kiss her cheek. "You look beautiful, Sweet Pea."

Calleigh was instantly surrounded by loving faces. Her gaze traveled from one smile to another. "You guys look terrible. I hope I don't look that bad."

The cool air blowing through the lace curtains seemed to carry the tension away with it. Calleigh was still enjoying the effects of the drugs and suddenly began to giggle. Her laugh was infectious and for the first time in a week, the tears were tears of joy. Matt pulled Kitty back against himself, as he leaned past her to brush a loose curl from the girl's face. "My daddy is a giant and my momma is a Princess." she giggled as she pointed to them both. Suddenly, her little face became deadly serious. "No wait, I'm the Princess; my momma is the Queen. Did you know that Poppy is really a Wizard?"

"Oh yes," Doc stifled a grin, "the drugs are working fine."

"Newly, are you my Prince?"

He leaned down and brushed his lips across hers in a gentle kiss, "Always."

"Matt you need to take Kitty home and get her to bed. You could use some rest too. We'll see about moving Calleigh tomorrow. She'll rest better in her own bed." Doc tipped the coffee pot and discovered it to be dry, "Newly, you need to go, too. Get some sleep. I'll watch her."

The young man shook his head. "Thank you, Doc but I'm staying right here." His eyes remained fixed on his bride.

"Prince Newly, please go get some rest." Calleigh tried to stroke his cheek, but he diverted her hand to his lips. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I need to stay and guard the kingdom." He leaned down kissing her again "I love you, Princess Calleigh."

Doc checked his watch and started for the back room. "I'm going to get some sleep. Newly, don't you keep her up all night. She needs her rest."

"I know Doc, I'll make sure she goes back to sleep"

TBC