Captive Hearts 6

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The ride back to town was a strange one for the Dodge City Marshal, as he cradled his daughter in his strong arms and watched her with awe. He had held babies before, of course. But they were always someone else's children, never his own.

There had been a period of time in his life that he had contemplated putting his badge up and asking Kitty to marry him. And during that time, he had allowed himself the precious image of them having children and what it would feel like to hold them in his arms. But he realized now, his fantasy hadn't come close to how it really felt.

Looking down at the cherubic face of his little girl, Matt thought about her mother. Oh what she must've gone through to have her in a camp of evil men with evil intentions. The woman, who had identified herself as Carolyn Horton, had said Kitty had taken a lot of abuse to protect the baby.

Matt's heart broke at that thought. And once again the guilt crept in on his careworn mind. "If only I'd gone after her." He kept telling himself. "If only….." But he knew 'if onlys' weren't going to help anything now.

When he arrived back in Dodge, he made his way straight back up to Doc's office. Holding his baby girl securely against his chest, he ascended the stairs hurriedly, praying the entire way he would find Kitty better than when he had left.

Doc wasn't in the front office when he stepped in, only Pete. "Hello, Marshal." The sick man greeted him. "Doc's in the other room with another patient."

"How are you doing, Pete?" Matt asked. He still had no idea what the man was there for.

"Oh, I'm alright." Pete replied. "Doc had to take out my appendix. Said I was going to be down for a while but I'll be okay. What's that you got there?" he nodded towards the small cloth wrapped bundle Matt was holding so carefully.

For a moment, Matt was stuck as how to reply. Never one given to discussing or even referring indirectly to his private life he was reticent to say. But looking down at the beautiful little girl he held, he refused to deny her. "It's my daughter." He said softly. "Her name's Emma Rose."

Pete's shock was evident on his face as he stared at the man he had known for years and knew to be the most reticent of all people to even mention his personal relationships. Knowing Miss Kitty had been gone a year and not knowing that she had been brought in, he was confused as to how Matt could've suddenly had a child. As far as Pete knew, the Marshal had never even glanced at another woman after Miss Kitty left.

"Your daughter, huh?" he said with some wonder in his voice. "Sure is a little thing."

"Yeah," Matt confirmed. "But she's all there and awful pretty." 'Just like her mother.' He thought.

Just then the bedroom door opened and Doc came in. Seeing Matt standing there with a baby in his arms was a bit surprising.

"How is she?" Matt qickly stepped to his side.

"What's that you have there?" Doc returned, not wanting to discuss Kitty's condition in front of his other patient and still not quite sure how to tell Matt everything.

"It's my daughter," Matt answered without thinking about it. Somehow it felt right to say that. He didn't notice the astonishment on the physicians face. "And you didn't answer my question. How is she?"

Doc stood stock still for several minutes. Glancing over at his other patient, Doc grabbed Matt's arm and ushered him outside onto the stoop. "What do you mean your daughter?"

"My daughter." Matt repeated. "Mine and Kitty's. And you STILL haven't told me how she is."

Doc looked around to make sure no one was near enough to hear Matt's raised voice. "Matt," he scrubbed his mustache, "I know you're worried about her and I can see you're happy about that baby, but I don't really think we need to let the cat out of the bag to the rest of Dodge, do you?"

Matt took a deep breath and shook his head. "Sorry, Doc. Guess you're right. Too late for that cat though. I've already told Pete that Emma here is mine."

Doc looked strangely at the stoic and usually tightlipped Marshal. "You did?"

"I may be a lot of things, Doc." Matt said seriously. "But I'm not such a heel as to deny my own flesh and blood."

Doc grinned at the tough lawman as he gently held the little girl in his arms, cooing softly. "Emma?"

"Lady at the fort, that was taking care of her for Kitty, told me her name was Emma Rose. I figure that's too long a name, right now, for such a little one, so I'm just calling her Emma." Matt proudly proclaimed as he looked fondly upon the child that up till today he didn't even know existed.

"She sure is a pretty little thing." Doc said as he warmly looked down on the infant, Matt held so carefully. "Looks like Kitty."

"Yes, she does," Matt agreed. "But please answer my question. How's Kitty?"

Doc plowed his hands into his pockets, sighed deeply and looked away for a moment before looking back at Matt. He wasn't sure just exactly what he should tell him. But he found the answer in Matt's face as he stared back at him.

"She had a miscarriage, Matt. She was about three months along."

"Is she… she didn't…" Matt couldn't form the words.

"NO!" Doc instantly reassured him. "No, Kitty's resting comfortably right now. She's weak and it's going to take a while to build her back up, but she's going to be just fine."

Matt released the air he'd been holding and clutched his newfound daughter even tighter. "Can I see her?"

Swiping his mustache, Doc scratched the back of his head and shrugged. "I guess so. Just be quiet and don't disturb her. I want her to have all the rest she can get. From the looks of her, she hasn't had too much of that, or anything else, for some time."

Nodding, Matt followed Doc back inside and stepped over to the bedroom door. Glancing at his friend, Matt opened the door and stepped into the room, crossing over to the bed.

Kitty was lying peacefully. Worry and fatigue momentarily erased from her still beautiful face. Gingerly, Matt sat on the bed beside her, nestling his daughter in his lap and reaching for Kitty's hand with his own.

For the longest time, he sat silently and still, watching her. He didn't know what was going to happen or how they were going to work things out, but right then he didn't care. The woman who had always held his heart, and still did, was home.

TBC