A/N: No, Hannah has not developed retrograde amnesia or early onset Alzheimers G This story takes place during the only season, sometime just after Christmas, and long before the aired episode Winner.

Over The Edge

-1-

For the first time in ten years, the Bret Harte Union high school basketball team was on the way to a state championship title.

The Bullfrog's last step before qualifying for the state tournament was to win a game against arch-rival Fred C. Beyer High School from Modesto. In a weird coincidence, ten years before the Bullfrogs had faced the Patriots in the state finals. Adam McFadden had made the game-winning shot as the buzzer sounded, giving the Bullfrogs their first, and so far only, state championship. That had also started a decade long rivalry between the two schools that was in high flame tonight, as Adam's younger brother Evan McFadden and the rest of the BHUH team took to the boards against the Pats.

The gym was packed to the rafters with the excited crowd. It might be a home game for the Bullfrogs, but Beyer had bussed a good sized bunch of their own fans which fully packed the south side of the gym. Signs proclaiming "Gig the 'Frogs!" and "Stomp the Patriots!" were hoisted high in clenched hands. Beyer's red, white and blue colors packed the south bleachers while the royal purple and gold of the Bullfrogs surrounded the gym on three sides.

The whole McFadden family – with the exception of Daniel, who was playing a gig with his band in Sonora – had made the trek to Angels Camp for the game. A couple of reporters and a camera crew from the local CBS affiliate had been looking for someone from the 1972 team to interview. Although there had been thirteen boys on that team, history only really remembered three of them, and of those three only Adam was at tonight's game. The high school principal himself had led the newsmen over to where the McFadden clan was seated, presenting Adam like he was a belated Christmas gift for their perusal. Adam reluctantly went along with it, climbing out of the bleachers and stepping outside the gym where there was a possibility of the reporters actually hearing him.

The youngest McFadden, Guthrie, who couldn't possibly remember the 1972 game as he had been only two at the time, was nonetheless an expert on the subject. He had practically memorized Adam's old yearbook and the stories that went along with it. Now he elbowed his brother Brian. "Why don't they interview you?" he asked. "You were on that team too."

Brian laughed. "I was on the bench most of the game, squirt, and you know it." He shot a grin at Adam's wife, Hannah. "It's a good thing Hoops didn't make it today or Adam would have been left behind in his dust."

Guthrie ruffled up like an angry chicken. "No he wouldn't've! Adam made the winning basket!"

Hannah, who was new to the family and didn't know the entire story, looked at Brian. "Why were you on the bench? And why isn't this Hoops here tonight?"

Brian grinned. "He plays pro ball now. For the…what team is it, Guth?" he asked teasingly.

"The Philadelphia Seventy Sixers!"

"Oh, yeah I remember now." Brian ruffled his youngest brother's hair. "And I was on the bench because I was only a sophomore," he explained. "Now they have a JV team, but back then there was just the one team. And I played the same position as Hoops. So I only played when Hoops needed a break. And that night, Hoops wasn't taking too many breaks!"

"What about the next year?" Hannah wanted to know.

The smile vanished from Brian's face. "I didn't play the next year." He glanced at his brothers, shrugged. "Things were different, then. I stopped playing sports so much. I was kind of needed at home."

A look of understanding crossed Hannah's face. "Oh," she murmured. "I'm sorry."

Brian shook his head. "Nothing for you to be sorry about," he reassured her.

"If Brian had been on the team the next year they probably would have gone to State again," Guthrie avowed loyally.

Crane, who was sitting one row above them, snorted. "Sure. If Brian could have kept his eyes off the cheerleaders long enough to actually play ball!"

Brian reached back and mock-punched Crane. "I didn't have to watch the cheerleaders. They were busy watching me!"

Adam hurried back into the gym and climbed up to sit next to his wife. "What a bunch of lousy questions," he groused. "They asked me if Evan is as good now as I was then. I mean, really, what do they expect me to say?"

"That he's shorter now than you were then?" Ford quipped, grinning.

Evan McFadden might not be as tall as some of his brothers, or some of the other players, but he was wickedly fast and pretty powerful. He was also deadly accurate. His ability to make baskets from all over the half court was a big reason the Bullfrogs had had such a winning season.

Another reason was forward Ty McClain. A junior like Evan, his family had recently moved to the area and his almost six-six height and long reach quickly made him a team favorite.

"Did you ever play, Crane?" Hannah questioned.

Crane shook his head. "I was a klutz," he said, looking embarrassed. "Especially in high school. I was lucky if I could walk down the hallway without knocking something or someone over."

"You just grew too fast," Brian said. "You couldn't keep track of where your feet were in relationship to the rest of you." He turned to Hannah. "Evan is the first one since Adam and me to make the team. Daniel never liked basketball that much."

That surprised Hannah because Daniel was pretty athletic. He played football and soccer and even volleyball, she knew. "I would have thought he would have been good at it," she said. "He seems to have springs in his feet. He's always jumping over the fence rather than opening the gate!"

Crane and Brian both smiled. "Oh, he's good at it," Crane said. "He just doesn't like it that much. He'd rather play music than sports, these days, anyway."

"This might be the last year Evan plays," Guthrie said.

"Why do you say that?" Adam asked, a frown crossing his face. "He's still got another year."

"He says it's interfering with his rodeo classes," Ford stated. "I think Cooper Johnson said something to him about it. And if it comes down to choosing one over the other, Evan will go with rodeo."

Adam and Brian both frowned. "I'd hate to see him stop playing for that," Adam commented. "What about football?" Evan was on that team as well.

Ford shrugged. "Don't know."

"We can talk to him later. This weekend, maybe," Brian told Adam, who nodded.

"Yeah, we should. I hate to see him stop playing, he's really good."

Just then, the Bullfrog mascot, followed by the cheerleaders, ran onto the floor leading the team, and the game got started.

It was a close game, the lead see-sawing back and forth between the 'Frogs and the Patriots, until BHUH made a run in the last minutes of the game. Three times, Ty McClain passed to Evan McFadden, who shot the ball for a basket. The other team tried manfully to catch up, to stop the run, to no avail. When the final buzzer sounded, BHUH won by seven points.

The packed gymnasium went crazy. The yelling was so loud it almost rattled the roof. The desolated Patriots lined up to shake hands with their victorious rivals as the two coaches met in the middle of the floor. The BHUH cheerleaders started a cheer which was quickly taken up by the crowd. "State! State! STATE!"

In the bleachers, Adam closed his eyes briefly and thought back ten years to when he'd heard that same cheer. How different his life had been then. His parents had both been alive. He remembered how his dad had beamed and his mother cried as they watched their son being swarmed by his classmates.

Back then, it had seemed like anything, everything was possible for him. He'd graduated valedictorian of his class just a few months after that championship game. He'd been offered several scholarships, but he'd taken the one that was based on his brains, not on his football or basketball ability. He hadn't wanted anything to get in the way of becoming a doctor.

Something had, of course. Life. And death.

He opened his eyes and glanced around at his family, smiling a little. So his life hadn't turned out the way he'd planned. He looked at his beautiful wife, cheering her heart out. He'd probably never have met her if he'd gone off to San Diego to college. He'd never have really known his younger brothers, especially Evan, Ford and Guthrie, if he'd left home at eighteen.

His mom had always said: When God closes a door He opens a window.

Ford was making his way down the bleachers. Adam looked back at Brian and raised his eyebrows. Knowing what he wanted, Brian leaned close so that Adam could hear him. "He's going to call Cleo. He promised he'd call her as soon as the game was over."

Adam nodded. He still couldn't believe it. Ford – the shyest of his brothers – actually had a girlfriend. And that girlfriend was Cleo Wheeler, the daughter of the man who seemed determined to run the McFaddens off their land. Although, come to think of it, they hadn't heard much out of him since the Circle Bar Seven had won Wheeler's prize bull at the county fair. "Why wasn't Cleo here tonight?" he asked.

"Think she has a cold, or something," Brian answered.

Adam glanced back down at the floor, catching sight of Evan watching him. Smiling proudly, he gave his younger brother a thumbs up. Evan's face lit up and he waved back before heading into the locker rooms.

7Bf7B

The McFaddens were standing near the exit to the parking lot when Evan joined them, closely followed by his teammate Ty. "Hey, Ford," the blond-haired McClain greeted the equally-blond haired Ford McFadden. "You're going with Ev and me to celebrate, right?"

"Where exactly are you going?" Adam asked curiously.

Up until recently, the go to hangout for students at BHUH was Cap's, less than half a mile away from the school, and, like the school, on the Murphys side of Angels Camp. For many years, since before Adam had been in high school, Cap's had been there, first as a burger joint, then growing through the years, adding a pizza parlor and a dance floor as well. Cap Cunningham had passed it down to his daughter, Riley, when he'd retired and gone off to Florida three or four years before.

For a while, Riley kept the place exactly as her dad had had it. Then she added an arcade stocked with the video games like Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, and Space Invaders, that were starting to be so popular. A year before, Riley had taken a trip to a convention in Anaheim, and returned with more ideas to expand the business and with a husband, Kent.

Rumor had it that Kent, used to a much more exciting life in southern California, wasn't too delighted with the ways things were in Carbon County. More than a few times patrons heard the newlyweds screaming at each other in the office or the kitchen. Riley, who was a few years older than Adam, seemed to be torn between her promise to her father, her business, and her husband.

Two months ago, Cap's had burned to the ground in the middle of the night. Adam wasn't the only one around who thought that was just a bit too convenient for Kent. But the sheriff and arson investigators couldn't prove anything, and Riley, faced with the nightmare of rebuilding and the risk of losing her husband, took the insurance payout and moved with Kent back to his home.

Since then there didn't seem to be any one place that could replace what Cap's had been to the high schoolers. There was a pizza parlor in Angels Camp but it wasn't that big and catered more to the family crowd. A lot of businesses, afraid of damages, discouraged large groups of teenagers from hanging around.

"Everyone's going to the Blue Boy," Ford answered.

"Cool!" Guthrie exclaimed. "That place is the greatest."

"In Sonora?" Brian asked.

"Yeah," Evan said.

"That's a drive," Crane pointed out.

Evan shrugged. He was looking at Guthrie thoughtfully. "You want to come along?" he asked the youngest McFadden suddenly.

Guthrie's eyes lit up. "Can I?"

Evan looked over at Ty, eyebrow raised.

"Hey, more the merrier," the other boy said cheerfully.

"Um… wait a minute," Adam stammered.

His three youngest brothers all turned to look at him. Guthrie pleadingly, Evan almost challenging, and Ford… okay, Ford looked almost as pleading as Guthrie did. Adam raised his hands helplessly. "I mean… he's twelve."

Evan, Ford and Guthrie looked at him with "Well, duh," written all over their faces. Brian stifled a laugh behind him. "Come on, dad," he teased. "Let the kid have some fun."

"Don't you trust us with him?" Evan asked, meeting Adam's eyes.

"Oh, of course I do. That's not even in question. It's just –"

"Just what?" Ford asked reasonably.

Adam sighed. He'd break Guthrie's heart if he said no. And probably insult Evan and Ford, not to mention this new kid. He glanced over at his wife, who nodded.

"Okay," he surrendered.

"Thanks, Adam," Guthrie shouted, hugging him around the waist.

"Just…don't lose him," he said, trying to make his voice sound teasing. "Do you need some money?"

Evan was already leading Guthrie away. "Nope, we've got it covered!" he said cheerfully. "Come on, Guthrie, we'll show you the night life in Sonora," he teased, looking back at Adam and winking.

"Thanks," Ford said quietly. "You know we'll take care of him, right?"

Adam smiled. "Yes, I know that. Go on. Have fun!"

Ford grinned and hurried after his brothers.

Adam stared after his youngest brothers and suddenly felt lost.

Brian squeezed his shoulder. "The babies are growing up," he said quietly. "Even Guthrie."

"Not sure I'm ready for that," Adam admitted. His mind flashed back to those first nights after his parents had died, when, even though exhausted, he'd lain awake thinking about his brothers, about how he'd care for them. He remembered thinking, I'll be old and alone by the time they're all grown.

He had to smile. To his eighteen year old self, thirty four seemed so old.

So here he was at twenty-seven, with a gorgeous wife whom he adored, feeling bad because his twelve year old brother didn't need him every minute anymore? He should be celebrating an evening alone with Hannah.

Well, not alone exactly. He glanced over at Brian and Crane. Brian was trying to put a brave face on it but he seemed a little lost too. And Crane had his arms folded as if he were cold.

"I think it's sweet," Hannah said. "When you were there age, did you want your little brother tagging along?"

All three men looked at her. It was Brian that finally answered, his voice very gentle. "When we were their ages, we always had little brothers tagging along."

Hannah looked puzzled, then she flushed. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.

Brian shook his head. "It's okay. It was just the way things were."

Brian had really worried a lot when Adam brought Hannah home as his wife. He'd even said, "What do you need me for anymore?" Adam was glad his brother was becoming more comfortable with her now.

Hannah took his hand and they started walking toward the truck, Brian and Crane close behind. "When's their curfew, anyway?" she asked.

"Well, they don't actually have one," Adam said awkwardly.

Hannah stopped. "They don't?"

"Not on weekends," Crane said. He shrugged. "It… we just never seemed to need to set one. I mean, Adam and Brian had one, when they were teenagers. But after Mama and Dad died, it just…"

The January night was frosty cold and Adam's breath made little puffs of steam as he spoke. "It wasn't like I was going to give myself a curfew. And Brian… well he was helping me raise the kids."

"And Crane never went anywhere but to the library to study. And it closed at nine," Brian teased.

Crane aimed to pop his brother on the head. Brian dodged and then said, more soberly, "We did talk about it when Daniel and Evan started going out at nights but…I guess it was kind of, it ain't broke, so let's not try to fix it."

Adam opened the truck door. "Still don't know why they volunteered to take Guthrie, though. I wonder if he asked them earlier."

Crane shook his head as he slid into the truck. "I doubt it. I have a feeling—" he stopped.

"Well?" Brian asked impatiently. "Come on, Crane, share with the class."

"Have you noticed – since everything that happened with Guthrie and the poachers, when he was out panning for gold – it seems like Ford and Evan are watching out more for him? I know they feel really bad about what happened. Like it was their fault."

Adam sighed. "I think we're all keeping a closer eye on him now. And I'll never understand why one of them didn't tell me what he was up to."

"It wasn't just them," Brian said reluctantly. "I knew he was panning for gold and I never told him to stop, or to stay close to the house. I just thought he would."

"I knew, too," Crane admitted. "I even asked him where he was panning and he sort of prevaricated about giving me an answer."

"He prevaricated, huh?" Brian snorted. "Geez Crane, that should have tipped you off right there! What the hell does prevaricated mean?"

Crane lifted his hands and brought them down again. "He was evasive, okay, Brian? The point is, I didn't do anything about it! I should have followed him, or something."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because I… well…"

"Because you never thought he could be in danger, that's why," Brian said. "Neither did I. And neither did Ford or Evan. You yelled at them, Adam, but Hannah was right. We all just assumed Guthrie was fine, that someone else was watching out for him."

"Well, it's water under the bridge now," Adam said. "And I guess we all learned a lesson." He started the truck and steered it out into the road toward Murphys.

"I heard someone say Ty was new to the school this year," Hannah said.

"Yeah. His folks moved here…just about the time school started, I guess. They're from Phoenix, I think. Someplace in the desert. We met his mother, remember? At that school board meeting."

Hannah shook her head. "There were so many people there. And I didn't know many of them. I don't remember her. Do they go to our church?"

"Never saw them there. Ty's father is some kind of engineer, I think," Crane said. "They bought the old Rice place. I was thinking we should see if we could lease some of the grazing land. They're not using it, they have a couple of horses, I think, but no cattle."

"Oh, I know who they are now," Brian said. "They're redoing that whole house. Adding a second story and expanding out the back."

Adam frowned. "The Rice place needed a lot of work but I'm kind of surprised they're enlarging it that much. I got the idea that Ty is the only kid at home."

"More money than sense, maybe," Brian said, laughing. "Going to turn it into a showplace."

"Were they there tonight?" Hannah asked.

"I wouldn't know him, but I didn't see her," Adam answered.

"That's sad," Hannah said, a little catch in her voice.

7Bf7B

Later that night, as they were in their room getting ready for bed, Adam brought up what she'd said earlier. "You seemed kind of upset that Ty's parents weren't there tonight."

Hannah was standing in front of the bureau. She didn't turn around, but he saw her back stiffen. "I just think it's important that parents are there for their kids. You and Brian and Crane… at least one of you is always there for their activities."

"Not always," Adam said. "We try, but with the ranch to run and all of them being so active in things—"

"But his parents only have the one son at home now."

Adam studied his wife. She still hadn't turned around, but he could see her hand – the one wearing his ring – tightly gripping the smooth wood of the furniture. Rising, he went to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Talk to me, girl," he entreated.

He felt her shoulders relax under his grip. She turned around and leaned against him, her arms going around his waist.

"I've told you my dad had a small ranch south of here. That's where we lived until I was thirteen. My mom was from around here, too, originally. From what I gather, neither one of them really liked ranch life when they were young. My mom especially. She couldn't wait to get away."

She sighed, then went on.

"They met when they were in college in Colorado. They used to laugh that they had to go all the way to another state when they'd grown up probably fifty miles from each other. They met at a mixer and fell hard for each other."

Adam smiled. "Kind of like us?"

She looked up into his eyes. "No, I think it was different. They really didn't know each other. They hadn't talked about things that were important to them."

"Did your dad not mention he had six brothers at home he was raising?" Adam asked drily.

She laughed a little. "Okay so maybe they were like us. Anyway they got married and right away my mom got pregnant with me. She never came right out and said it, but I know I was a mistake. They hadn't planned on having children so soon."

She took a deep breath. "Neither one of them was done with school. I guess my dad got worried about how they'd make ends meet if they were both still going with a baby on the way. Right about the time I was born my grandfather died – my dad's father – and his mother was all alone trying to run the ranch. My dad decided that we'd move back there and he'd run the ranch and I could grow up the way he and my mom did.

"My mom didn't want to go. She wanted to finish college, or have him finish and she'd finish later. What she really didn't want to do was go back to ranch life. But she went along with it, I guess because she loved him." She paused. "But I think she always resented him, and maybe me, because of it."

"Hannah—"

"No, let me finish. Anyway, after he died, she couldn't wait to get away from here. She took the first offer she got for the ranch – which wasn't very much – and she moved us to Denver. I don't know why there, really. I think it was just that she was happiest when she was in college and she wanted to recapture that," she added thoughtfully.

"She didn't have a degree or really any training in anything. But she had a friend from school who had gone on to law school and was a partner in a big firm. She got my mom a job there. She was a file clerk at first, then she started taking night classes and got promoted to secretary. Eventually the firm paid for her to become a para-legal. She worked really long hours. She dated a lot too. She was always too busy or too tired to come to my games or things at school. She'd say, Sorry honey, maybe next time, and then she'd give me twenty dollars and tell me to take my friends out for pizza after."

Adam hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry that happened, girl. I'm sorry she wasn't there for you."

Hannah blinked tears from her eyes. "The thing is, I bet if you could ask her, she'd tell you she was there for me. She always made sure I had nice clothes and if I was having trouble in a class she'd hire a tutor to help. When I wanted to keep up with my horseback riding she paid for lessons. She always told me to just tell her and she'd make sure I got whatever I wanted. The thing is, the one thing I wanted most was her time. And she never had any for me."

Adam didn't know what to say. He'd known, from things she'd mentioned, that she hadn't been close to her mother and that her father had died when she was young. He ached to comfort her, but he couldn't find the right words.

Maybe he didn't need to say anything.

Maybe he could just hold her.

to be continued...