From Beginning to End

...a Gunsmoke story

By wxchic

Disclaimer: none of the Gunsmoke characters are mine. I just enjoy reading ( writing!) stories for them.

Author's note: Thank you for reading my fic! I do have to warn the purists though, it won't be canon to the series. Even still, I will try my best to honor their individual personalities. So with that being said, if you choose to read on, I hope you enjoy! Kind reviews are always welcomed, but mean ones will be deleted. Thanks so much! *

It was a dreary spring morning on out on the Kansas praire. Clouds covered the sky for as far as the eye could see. The rain, a little heavy at times, seemed to slack off the closer the stage got to Dodge. For that, Kitty was thankful. She was on her way to California and had a ways to go yet but somehow found herself unable to sleep. She stared out the window out at the never-ending prairie and began to let her thoughts drift. Before she knew it, the steady sound of gentle rain had lulled her into a much needed slumber.

She wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed when she was jarred awake by the stage driver opening the door and announcing that he was stopping in Dodge City to water the horses and get a bite to eat. They would be on their way in a couple of hours.

" What a miserable little town.." Kitty thought to herself as she was helped off the stage. The roads were thick with mud and the buildings weren't terribly exciting – nothing but wood, nails, and shoddy paint jobs. A far cry from her idea of a great place to stop..

She plodded across the mud and stepped up on the boardwalk, walking and glancing around looking for a place to eat. It was then that she noticed the sign for Delmonico's. " This is as good as any place, I suppose..." and she entered the modest café. She took a seat at a table near the door and placed an order for a couple pieces of toast and a cup of coffee. She knew her money was running out and didn't know how much farther she could go, so the modest breakfast would have to do. It wasn't too long after the waiter brought her order and she began to eat that she overheard a conversation a couple of tables over. She wasn't the prying type but she hadn't heard such a deep, commanding voice before so it caught her attention and caused her to look up and glance over in their direction.

Doc and Matt had been jawing back and forth when the waiter brought them their order. The sheer amount of food caused Kitty's eyes to widen with wonder. "How could one man possibly eat that much food.." she thought quietly to herself. She hadn't been meaning to stare when Matt caught her fleeting glances.

"I just don't understand what's gotten into him, Matt.." Doc said, continuing their conversation after the waiter had left. "That isn't like him at all." Doc, noticing that Matt was staring off and not paying him a bit of attention, tried to snap him out of his daydream.

"Matt?" He asked, annoyed. He waved his hand in front of his face. "Hello? Matt..?"

"Oh yes Doc, sorry… What was it that you were saying?" and he went back to his staring. Kitty's cheeks flushed when she realized she had been caught and she quickly looked back down at her own plate and went back to eating.

By then Doc had noticed Matt seemingly staring at the red haired beauty sitting a couple of tables over. He gently ribbed the young marshal to regain his attention.

"Ouch, what was that for?" Matt said as he shot a dagger at Doc.

"It's not polite to stare," Doc chided. "Who is that, anyway?"

"Don't know, never seen her before, but I'm going to find out." Matt said as he stood up and scooted his chair away from the table.

"Oh you'll do no such thing. Sit back down and let that poor woman eat in peace."

Matt smiled down at Doc. "It's my job to know everyone who comes to town, isn't it?" and he began to talk over to Kitty's table. All Doc could do was shake his head at the young marshal and mumble under his breath to himself.

"Excuse me, miss.." Matt said politely as he approached Kitty's table. Kitty looked up in a wide-eyed wonder. Not only had the man ordered the biggest breakfast that she'd ever seen, it was for good reason. He was the biggest man she had ever seen!

"Hello, the name's Matthew Dillon, but you can call me Matt. I'm the US Marshal out of Dodge City." Matt greeted.

"Pleased to meet you Matt, I'm Kitty Russell," she replied, heart pounding. "I'm just passing through on my way to California but the stage stopped here to water the horses. We should be on our way in just a little bit." Matt tried not to make his disappointed frown obvious.

"Well, if you ever find your way around these parts again, I'd sure be glad to show you around. Have a nice day." He smiled, tipped his hat, and made his way back to his table with Doc. Kitty's heart was skipped a beat as he walked away.

"So, who was she?" Doc inquired once Matt had retaken his eat.

"Oh no one, just someone passing through."

Kitty looked at the time on the wall. She should be getting back to the stage for they would be ready to leave shortly. She dug into her reticule to get the money to pay for her meal only to realize just how low on money she was getting. She placed the coin on the table and made her way out on to the boardwalk. She knew that she wasn't going to make it much further and the big man intrigued her so much.

She made her way back to the stage and the driver lent her a hand to help her into the coach but she just shook her head. "Actually, I think I'm going to be staying a spell. I'd appreciate it if you'd hand me my bag."

First thing was first. She had to find a place to stay, and cheap. She took her bag from the driver and then turned around, looking for a hotel.

She didn't know what she was doing, but she was out of money and needed an excuse to stay in this miserable town.

She figured getting to know more about the tall, gangly young lawman was plenty enough of an excuse to stay.

TBC