The Next Morning

The bright morning sun flooded Kitty's room. Her eyes flew open and she saw Matt, fully dressed, standing by the door. "You shouldn't have let me sleep so late." Matt held out a steaming mug of coffee, he'd been up for hours. "It's only 8:00, not a time of morning you usually consider late, besides I stopped by Doc's and Lola's still asleep. As soon as you're dressed, I'll walk you over." She put the warm mug to her lips and felt the strong, hot liquid flow down her throat. Feeling fortified she tossed her blanket aside. "I'm sorry Matt, I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

"Kitty, I know how hard this is on you. You and Lola go way back." Kitty shoved her feet into pink fluffy slippers, and shuffled over to her closet. "It's more than that, Matt. I don't remember a time in my childhood when Lola wasn't my friend. Not just a friend, but someone who was really there for me. She was always laughing and full of fantastic stories and games. I was the serious one, probably because my home life was taking a toll. I'd hear my father yell at my mother mercilessly, saying horrible things. Then he'd disappear for weeks, even months. I-I loved my mother so much, but I was just a kid. I didn't know how to help her, and sometimes her sadness overwhelmed me. Lola was always there when I needed her, offering kindness, hugs, laughter and crazy adventures that made me forget my troubles. When we were young teenagers, she must have spied on her parents late at night, because she'd tell me things that made me blush – then we'd giggle so hard our stomachs hurt. We were both 15 the last time I saw her. She knocked on my door one day and announced that New Orleans couldn't hold her any longer, she wanted to travel and found a way to do it. I left a year or so later. My mother was dead and my father worthless. I worked saloons, Panacea Sykes took me under her wing and taught me a thing or two, I met Cole Yankton, and then kept moving. Eventually I lucked out. I got to Dodge City and decided to stay – for a while." A smile touched Kitty's lips and her eyes locked with Matt's for a moment. "Zip, me up?" Matt carefully zippered the mint greet dress that Kitty'd pulled on over her head, and gently kissed her neck.. She glanced in the mirror and took a deep breath. "I am as ready as I can be. Let's get to Doc's, Lola will be awake soon.

A Cabin in the Woods

Darlene's eye flew open with the smell of coffee tickling at her nostrils. She sat up on the narrow cot and dangled her thin legs off the side.

"Good, you're up. Go make us some breakfast. Potatoes and eggs are in the cupboard."

Tossing her brother a sour look, Darlene sleepily went to the pantry. "Danny, how do you manage to eat when no woman's around to cook for you?" She picked up a knife and rapidly cut a potato into paper thin slices.

A grin spread across Danny's handsome face. "I make do, but when there's a woman around, it's only right she perform her womanly duties.. Anyway, I got the stove going and even made coffee, just to prove what I said last night is true. I'm not mad that you got Lola in the back instead of splitting her head open like a melon. When I told you to do that, I was red hot angry at Lola for sneaking off with the duffle bag. Us O'Brian men have tempers. But, I'm glad you decided to throw to her back." He watched his sister toss potato slices into the frying pan, and break two eggs on top. "And don't try to tell me you missed her head by mistake. You've been throwing knives in our family's carnival act since you were three years old." Darleen shrugged and filled two plates with breakfast. Sometimes it was better not to speak.

They sat across from each other ready to eat. Danny filled two cups with coffee. "Sis, I mean it. I'm not mad that you disobeyed. If you'd split open her head, she woulda died on the spot. I would have had to go searching for the duffle bag, and Lola would be gone from me forever. Truth is, I miss her. Last night you said she was still alive when you left town, and a doctor was caring for her. That means she'll likely survive, but she'll be scared. That's good. I have a strong feeling I'll be getting the duffle bag back and my wife along with it."

Pleased that her brother wasn't angry with her, Darlene hungrily shoveled food in her mouth, and took a swallow of coffee. "It was smart of you Danny, to send me to Dodge as soon as Lola went missing. You were right that she'd go see her old friend, Kitty. By time Lola arrived, I'd been working at the saloon for a week almost."

Danny puffed his chest out. "Yep, and now you should get back to town, and see how that wife of mine is doing. If anyone asks where you've been, just say you were so upset by what happened, you went off by yourself and got lost. So sis, get walking. You don't even have to wash the dishes before you go."

"It's far Danny, and I'm tired. I want to ride the horse."

"Don't be silly. How would you explain finding a horse. Besides, I'll need to ride into town when the time's right. Oh, before your go, hand over your earnings. Until we get that duffle bag or go back to performing our carnival act, I need cash."

She reached into the front of her dress and handed over a folded up bill. Danny smirked, "Darlene, all of it."

"What am I supposed to live on?"

"Your job provides a room, and you say the saloon serves free lunch. Hand it over." She reached into her dress and pulled out a second bill. Danny grabbed it and gave her a playful shove. "Off with you."

Dodge

In Doc's back room, Lola began to stir. Kitty pulled the window shade up to let sunlight in, and sat beside the bed. Matt and Doc positioned themselves on either side of Kitty and waited, as Lola woke from a drug induced slumber. The beautiful blond blinked her big green eyes, and stared at the ceiling. Fear slowly took hold of her face. "My legs, I can't move my legs. Where am I? What happened?" Kitty took her friends's hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "Lola, this is Doc Adams. You're in his office. He's been taking care of you since you were stabbed. He's a great doctor, and a good friend to me, and to Matt. He'll explain everything." Lola nervously eyed the short bespectacled man."Doctor, my legs?" He ran a hand across his mustache. Giving bad news was the hardest part of his job. He had to be honest and not offer false hope. At the same time he had to give the patient something to hang on to. Doc cleared his throat. "Lola, please call me Doc. We're lucky that knife didn't pierce a lung or you would be dead. Or, you could have bled to death, if that knife got pulled out wrong. But it is a bad wound. It damaged your spinal chord – nerves were severed. Lola that means you've lost the use of your legs. Now, I know it's hard to look at the bigger picture right now, but I need you to remember that no person is just a pair of legs. You are a smart, and beautiful young woman. That knife didn't damage your mind, heart, spirit or any other part of you. It didn't take away your ability to speak, think, use your arms and hands, or anything else – only your legs."

"Get out." Lola stared straight head and spoke cooly. "Get out all of you, now. I need to be alone."

Doc nodded at Kitty and Matt, and they filed out of the room. Kitty turned to Matt in anguish and anger. "Find the person who did this to Lola. He has to be punished. It's up to you Matt." He nodded without a word and left. There was no point telling Kitty he was doing his best. That wasn't what she wanted or needed to hear.

Kitty took a seat in Doc's front room and rested her head on her hand. "Doc, I'm gonna stay here, in case Lola wants to talk." Doc squeezed Kitty's shoulder. "I'll put up a fresh pot of coffee."

Under a cloud of gloom, Matt strode down Front Street. He had to find Darlene, and hope she saw something that would give him a clue to the stabbing. But where the heck was she?

"Hello Marshal Dillon." He stopped short and turned. The very woman he was thinking about was walking toward him. Her clothes were wrinkled, she looked tired and drawn "Darlene, I've been looking for you." She nodded. "Sorry, I-I just. I was pretty shook up seeing that knife sticking out of the lady's back. I went for a walk to clear my head, and got lost. I ended up sleeping in grove of trees. I'm lucky I found my way back."

Matt watched Darlene carefully as she spoke. She did seem weary, but her words sounded rehearsed. She was hiding something. "Darlene, I need to ask some questions, but you look like you've had a rough night. Let's go to my office. You can sit, and I'll pour you a cup of coffee." She nodded. The pull of the man's warm voice was strong. She wanted to be honest, tell him everything, but she couldn't. Danny was her brother, she had to do what he said.

Inside the Marshall's office Darlene sat in a high backed chair. Matt put a warm mug in her hands and sat on the edge of his desk. "Darlene you were in the saloon when Lola was struck. Did you see anyone pull out a knife, or even make a sudden move?"

"No, no Marshal. I didn't see anything like that. I happened to look over at Kitty's table just when the poor woman fall over. I guess I moved pretty quick to see if I could help."

"I hear you checked to see if Lola was breathing. That was pretty fast thinking."

"I-I-I don't know how I thought to do that. I guess you never really know how you'll act when something bad happens. Marshall, is she all right? I mean, will Kitty's friend be all right?"

Matt looked at Darlene's thin face and anxious eyes. She was younger than he thought, probably just 16 or so. "It's sad news. Lola will live, but she won't walk again."

Darlene put a hand to her head, tears filled her eyes. "Oh, Marshall that's terrible, but I don't understand. the knife didn't go in her legs it went in her back."

"According to Doc, the spine – the long bone that goes down the middle of the back, controls a lot of things we do, like walking. Lola's spine was damaged pretty bad."

Darlene's face went pale. She set her coffee cup down and shakily got to her feet. "Thanks for the coffee Marshal Dillon. I'd better get to the Long Branch and let Sam know I'm here and ready to do my shift."

TBC