Many, many thanks to my comrades who have written such gracious comments about my little ol' stories. I am humbled by your support, and I truly appreciate the kind words. My writing is strictly for entertainment, and I am cheered to read that many of you find enjoyment in my labors of love. Some of you have noted that those of us who write risk being vulnerable to whoever reads our work; positive feedback, as well as helpful critiques, are our rewards - besides just playing with the characters we love so much.

To Lilyjack, Singerme, Glow1012, LadyRedzz, Dene, ladybrit, and LadyofDodge, I send my sincere thanks for your stalwart support. We are just fans, after all, who enjoy celebrating the continued adventures of those wonderful characters of Dodge.

I have about two more chapters, then this story will be completed. I hope those of you who are reading, whether you comment or not, will enjoy the rest of it. Thanks to the Gunsmoke family for letting me be part of this!

MAHC (Amanda)

My irritation with "Guest's" comments is two-fold. In addition to the fact that she (or he) hides behind the cloak of anonymity, the entire response is based on a false premise.

Please be advised, Guest, that the criteria you cite, "suitable for more mature childen, 9 years and older, with minor action violence without serious injury. May contain mild coarse language. Should not contain any adult themes," pertains to a "K" rating, not to a "T" rating as you proclaim. See ratings guide posted elsewhere on this site.

Rather, the "T" rating is described as, "Suitable for teens, 13 years and older, with some violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes." And that is exactly what MAHC's wonderful story is and does. It gives us some violence (although nothing as violent as the early Gunsmoke episodes themselves), and it is suggestive of adult themes without being blatantly sexual, or sensual, which is the item with which you seem to take issue.

Those of us who write and post our fan fic in the public domain leave ourselves open to the judgment and appraisal of our readers, and feedback to us is as the sound of applause to an actor. Positive comments are always a good thing; constructive criticism is never bad. However, unfounded accusations and jibes based on inaccuracy and, dare I suggest, jealousy, are never good and have no place on this, or any other, site.

Suzanne

I thank you so much for writing this story, Mahc. It is a great treat to read something that leads the you through such a wide range of emotions. I hope you will not be deterred from continuing because of one obviously mean spirited reviewer, who hides behind the cloak of anonymity.
Thank you once again for all your hard work and please be assured that it is highly appreciated,

Guest is defined as a person who is the recipient of hospitality. I am thankful to the writers on this sight who continually invite us into their home. These authors labor over a piece, editing and revising many, many times. Then, they post their story for our viewing pleasure. It could stop there but no many let us review their work. How very brave!

I am not a writer. So needless to say, I am in awe of those who write. The stories Mahc has written have been terrific. They are have provided us with angst, drama, romance and compassion. They are pure and delightful entertainment. Mahc has invited us into her Gunsmoke "house". As a guest, I want to extend my gratitude and thanks to her.

Dene

I also agree with Lilyjack and Singerme... Crude obnoxious commenting are uncalled for. If you have a problem with the stories "Don't read them" These ladies are fantastic writers and many people enjoy the time and hard work it took to write and post them..
How sad it must be that you must spit so much Venom.
"D "

You know how I feel about this story! I think its awesome! I think Guest is mean. Please ignore what this person has to say. You are talented and have a lot of fans on here who eagerly await your work!

I feel I must add my voice to that of Lilyjack. To hide behind the annonymous signature of "Guest" and make snide and hateful remarks is abhorrent. I have been thoroughly enjoying this story and could care less about the rating. Most intelligent readers feel the same. It is sad that someone feels it necessary to try and tear someone down for no real reason at all.

Dear "Guest",

I hope you are not the same "guest" hiding bad manners behind the cloak of anonymity, aka GStales' bad-tempered "guest." If so, you have been a busy little beaver. "Guests", unfortunately, cannot be messaged privately, so our response to them (in essence, our defense of the fanfic writer) has to be made publicly. Why are you lecturing a fanfic writer on the ratings system? I am sure the author is well-versed in the ratings system. If you do not like the story, please, do us all a favor and just don't read it.

And, as for ratings, I, myself, know of no innocent children who are surfing a Gunsmoke fanfiction site trolling for a good read. If, by some miracle, they are, it is the responsibility of the parent to block their children from even visiting such sites that plainly state they contain adult material, either by means of blocking software or persistent monitoring of what their children are doing online. Letting children surf the internet unattended or without monitoring software is a dangerous, irresponsible thing to do which no loving, attentive parent would ever do.

If it is your own sensibilities you are concerned with, as you delineate the difference between M and MA so carefully, then that is a different matter entirely. If you don't like sex, then you probably should read your stories elsewhere, as most of the writers here are Matt and Kitty romance fans who wish to explore an area of their relationship that the writers of the television program were never able to portray on the air.

That is the beauty of fanfic. We can write anything we like. We can make dreams come true. And excellent writers like MAHC do a wonderful job of fulfilling our need to see that wonderful, heartfelt, touching romance blossom. Human interrelationships are a beautiful thing, something to be cherished and enjoyed. Not nitpicked and publicly chastised.

Once more I will say this because it is one of the wisest and kindest lessons I ever learned from my dear mama: If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

Sincerely,
Lilyjack

The content contained in the fanfiction is irresponsibly rated. Due to the sensual topics shown throughout the body of the material, this should be rated "MA" not "T".

Definition of "T" rating: Suitable for more mature childen, 9 years and older, with minor action violence without serious injury. May contain mild coarse language. Should not contain any adult themes.

Definition of "MA" rating: Not suitable for children or teens below the age of 16 with non-explicit suggestive adult themes, references to some violence, or coarse language. Fiction M can contain adult language, themes and suggestions. Detailed descriptions of physical interaction of sexual or violent nature is considered Fiction MA.

Do the readership of fanfiction a favor and rate your works accordingly. Thank you.

Excellent chapter. Matt sure is stubborn and has a lot of stamina. Chester can come through when he's needed. Looking forward to the next chapter.

Jane

Always excited to see a new MAHC chapter, and this one does not disappoint. I love the title and Chester's observation that (I presume) prompted it. And, of course, I'm eagerly waiting for more. ;-)

Suzanne

Chester trying to hard with Matt, to keep him up right. Matt's not going to quite until its all over. Providing he makes it.

It was a very good weekend! A new chapter from you and one from my other favorite Gunsmoke story teller. Thank you.

All I can say right now is gahh! You're killing me! haha

Matt's like another fictional hero of mine...stubborn as a rock! So nice to read another chapter, can't wait to see hoe he and Chester pull this one off. Thanks Amanda :)