~Chapter 4~

Matt unlocked the delivery door to the Long Branch, when he entered the bar room he saw Kitty sitting at a table near the bar with his back to him. She was still in her fancy red evening dress, sitting quietly in the dim morning light staring at the bar.

"Kitty," he called softly, but she didn't move. Matt soundlessly went to the table positioning his chair in close proximity to Kitty. He sat down taking Kitty's hand in his. "Kitty sweetheart," he said tenderly.

"He had three older brothers. Did you know that?" Kitty asked, still staring at the space where Sam last stood.

"Yeah, I did." Matt answered faintly.

"He's with them in the hereafter now."

Matt squeezed Kitty's hand. "Yes he is."

"I remember the day he walked into the Long Branch over twelve years ago."

"You hired him that same day." Matt added.

"And it didn't take you long to question him." Kitty countered.

"You knew about that?" Matt asked, with astonishment.

Kitty gave Matt's hand a quick squeeze before finally looking at him. "Sam told me a few weeks after he started."

"You never said anything to me."

"I know you did it out of love for me, so there was no need. Besides, Sam said your show of devotion only confirmed he would be happy working here for me."

Matt gave Kitty a faint smile, "He had a fierce allegiance to you."

Kitty nodded her head. "And protective too. He started sleeping here in the back storeroom about a year ago, whenever you were out of town." Kitty looked at the untouched drink still in front of her where Doc left it. "I came downstairs to get something out of my office one night ,after I had told him goodnight and turned in, and saw him going into the storeroom. I figured he was just getting his things before leaving so I waited at the bar, only he never came out. The next day when he was on his dinner break I looked around the storeroom and found his satchel with his clothes and things."

"You never said a word to him." Matt established.

Kitty looked at Matt, with her brows furrowed. "You knew, didn't you?"

Matt nodded his head, "It was his idea. He convinced me not to tell you."

"He told you?" Kitty said, a bit surprised.

"No. I got back early into town in the middle of the night, and when I unlocked the back door Sam was standing there with the shotgun."

"Bless his soul." Kitty whispered.

Matt rubbed his thumb across the back of Kitty's hand he was holding. "Sweetheart, why don't I take you upstairs so you can get some sleep."

Kitty patted their clasped hands with her free hand. "I have something more important to do before I can get any sleep."

Matt pressed his lips into a thin line. "I'm going with you." He told her in no uncertain terms.

Kitty let go of Matt's hand and stood up. "I was just waiting here for you to go with me."

Matt stood up and embraced Kitty. "I'll be here for you every step of the way. I am going to miss him too." He stated, before kissing the top of her head and releasing her.

Kitty smiled up at him as she patted his chest with her hand. "I'll be right back. I just need to change and then we can go see Percy."

"I'll be right here waiting."

The words tugged at Kitty's heart as she climbed the stairs to her room. How many times had she told Sam she would see him in the morning, or I'll be right back, when he left on his break. Words she would never tell him again and it left a hole in her heart, and a loss so great it left a feeling that her stomach had been hollowed out.

As Kitty walked across the upstairs landing she looked down at the bar. Sam's sudden passing away created a void in her life that she knew was going to take a lot of time to fill. He was a loyal friend that she thought of as a big brother, and she was going to miss him dearly.

Matt's hand on her shoulder brought her out of her thoughts. "He loved you too, Kathleen."

Kitty turned and fell into Matt's arms clutching the back of his shirt in her fists, as her silent tears she had been holding back all night saturated the front of his shirt.

~Fin~