A/N I appreciate the reviews for the first chapter and enjoyed all the guesses about who might be there to see Kitty. Hope no one is too disappointed about who it is or what he brought. Also, I had told several people I planned to have the new chapter done yesterday, and as you can see, it wasn't. So here it is, a day late….

Chapter Two The Best Thing For Her

Somewhat worse for the wear, although still in one piece after fighting Jude Bonner, Matt went directly to Doc's, not bothering to clean up or even check in at the jail first. Relief that she was still alive mingled with guilt over not having been able to save her as he sat in a chair at Kitty's bedside, watching her sleep. According to Doc, she had come to several hours after he left and drifted in and out of consciousness ever since, asking for him every time she woke. If that was the case, she'd start to wake again soon enough, in the meantime he'd not disturb her while she rested. Soon, pain tightened her battered but still beautiful face, and she began to toss her head from side to side on the pillow. "Mmmm...Matt," she called weakly.

He took her hand to comfort her. "Kitty," he whispered. "I'm right here, honey." She turned in his direction, and tears welled up in her eyes as she took in his appearance.

"Cowboy...I was so afraid-" she paused to take a breath and he could see her struggling not to break down. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers gently. He could only imagine the terror she must have felt while those animals were carrying out their revenge on her, but he should have known that wasn't what she was talking about. "-afraid you weren't going to make it back this time," she finished with a sob.

Matt bowed his head against their clasped hands, humbled at the thought that he didn't deserve this woman, who could still be more concerned about him than about herself, even after everything she'd just been through. He reached out to stroke her hair gently. "Kitty, you shouldn't be worrying about me," he said hoarsely. "Get some rest, now."

A smile flickered over her lips briefly. "You sound like Doc," she murmured, squeezing his hand.

"Well, Doc's right. But don't you let him know I said that." They shared a look that said everything they weren't able to put into words, and then Kitty's eyes began to droop and she surrendered to sleep again, more peaceful this time knowing that Matt was by her side.

Kitty's peaceful sleep was short-lived, Matt recalled as he rode across the endless prairie from Hayes to Dodge, memories coming to him unbidden as he allowed Buck his head. Late the night of his return, Kitty had developed pneumonia, likely a complication of both the bullet wound and her broken ribs, Doc explained. For more than a week they, along with Ma Smalley and Bess Roniger, had sponged Kitty off around the clock until her fever finally broke. She was barely out of the woods when word came that the Dog Soldiers' trials had been set beginning the next week in Hayes. Kitty had put on a brave face, but he could tell she didn't want him to go. However, Doc had practically shoved him out the door of his office. Kitty was still so physically and emotionally fragile the day he left that he berated himself for not trying harder to get a postponement. "Nonsense!" Doc had barked at him cantankerously. "You just get on up there to Hays, Mr. Marshal, and make sure those bastards pay for what they did. You know I'll take good care of her while you're gone. She'll-she'll be all right," he finished a little uncertainly, turning away and swiping across his mustache. "And don't show your face around here until every last one of them has been hanged." By the time he got to Hayes, he had managed to once again cover his emotions with his controlled lawman's exterior. He had no other choice. Doc would let him know if anything was wrong. In the meantime, worrying would not bring the animals who hurt Kitty to justice.

Kitty looked down at the solitaire game she had laid out on the quilt in front of her and had been half-heartedly been trying to play for the last hour. She didn't feel like playing solitaire; she'd much prefer to have Doc come in and beat her at checkers again, but she knew he had work to do. He'd been spending entirely too much of his time playing nursemaid to her since Matt had left town and she wouldn't ask any more of him than he'd already given. The same went for her other friends. Once she was finally able to attend to some of her own needs, she'd insisted that Bess and Ma Smalley get back to their own lives. She couldn't ask Sam to come sit with her when looking after the Long Branch for her took so much of his time, and Matt needed Festus and Newly to look after things in his absence. She knew even the brief visits they made took more time than they could really spare. While Matt had been there, she hadn't needed any other visitors, and Doc had put the word out to the town that Kitty wasn't to be disturbed. Now that she was finally able to sit up and take notice of things, she was of two minds about visitors. Even though she finally felt like she was starting to look human, she was still self-conscious of the bruises and scars on her face and wasn't sure she wanted anyone to see her. But Kitty was by nature a social person and felt well enough that she wanted the company of others. She thought she understood why no one but her closest friends came to see her. She tried to tell herself that people were just respecting her privacy. But during the long afternoons and evenings, she was bored and lonely and wondered if people weren't afraid to come by because of what had happened to her. Even so, she wouldn't blame them for feeling uncomfortable.

Kitty shifted her hips, trying to get into a more comfortable position, and the stacks of cards fell together in a disorganized pile. She looked at it with a mixture of disinterest and disappointment. Oh, who cares, anyway? She shook the quilt, sending the cards flying to the floor, and turned on her side, pulling the covers over her. Who cares? she repeated with a sigh. She closed her eyes, hoping she could take a nap that wouldn't be cut short by an unwanted dream, when she heard a hesitant knock on the door.

"Come in," she said hopefully. Matt hadn't sent word that he was on his way back, but maybe….

As she turned to her back and propped herself up a little, a little, disheveled man peered around the door uncertainly. "Louie! Come on in," she said, managing a smile.

"I hope I'm not disturbing you, Miss Kitty. There's someone I thought you might like to see." Louie stepped all the way into the room and immediately a ball of orange and white fur shot out of his arms and jumped onto the bed with her.

"Pumpkin! Have you been a good boy for Louie?" Kitty felt a twinge that had nothing to do with Pumpkin crawling over her still-healing ribs to get to her. She had known for some time that on the nights he wasn't sleeping in her room at the Long Branch, her cat often kept Louie company. Sam and the girls had no doubt been looking out for him, too, since she'd been attacked. He had obviously not suffered any neglect while she'd been confined to Doc's, but she felt horribly guilty all the same that she hadn't once thought to ask about him since her ordeal.

"I thought you might be lonesome, what with the Marshal being out of town," Louie continued. He noticed her wince when Pumpkin jumped on her, and now she looked close to tears as the cat rubbed his head against her bruised face. "I'm sorry, Miss Kitty, I shouldn't have let him bother you like that."

"It's all right, Louie, he's not hurting anything."

Louie stood twisting his hat in his hands, ill at ease from seeing his friend in such a vulnerable state. "Maybe I'll come back and see you tomorrow?" he asked tentatively.

"Sure, Louie. You come see me anytime," she whispered.

Louie closed the door behind him softly as he left the room. Doc looked up from his journal.

"I thought I was doing the right thing, Doc, but I just made her cry." Saddened at the thought that he might have caused Miss Kitty even more distress, Louie looked ready to cry himself.

"You did just fine, Louie. It might not seem like it, but that's probably the best thing for her right now." Doc got up and walked to the outer door with him, patting his shoulder. "You come back tomorrow and I'll bet she'll be real glad to see you then."

Somewhat reassured, Louie went out the door. Doc thought he'd probably better go check on his patient. Despite what he'd said to Louie, he was worried about the affect her visitor was having on her.

Doc peered through the door to see Kitty sitting up, both arms wrapped around the cat. Pumpkin's head was curled into her shoulder and he purred loudly. Kitty's face was buried against Pumpkin's side and Doc could hear her sniffling.

"Kitty? Can I get you anything, honey?"

"Not right now, Doc," she said, her voice muffled. "I'll be all right."

Telling her to call if she needed anything, Doc left the door ajar and went back to his desk. He ran his hand over his mustache thoughtfully. It was probably too soon to tell whether Pumpkin would be enough to sustain Kitty until Matt's return.