AN.: Welcome to my little story. This story is Adam-centric but every character plays a role. Adam!Whump because I can't seem to not hurt my favorite characters. Hoss and Joe play noisy but lovely brothers. I do not own any Bonaza characters, only the OCs I used for this story. Enjoy the read. Every review is welcomed.

A dark Night

Sand, a bit of dry, spiky grass… and a few stones maybe? The rough texture beneath Adam's bare soles roused him from his semi-conscious state. The cold ground sent icy waves up his legs and over his spine, making him shiver. Dumbfounded, he looked around seeing nothing but darkness. The howl of the wind going through his dark locks told him that he was outside… at night.

"Wha- "

His raspy voice surprised him, startling him fully awake. He rotated around his own axis, looking or rather searching for a clue which might explain why he was standing outside in the middle of nowhere when the last thing he clearly remembered was going to bed. Gazing down his body, Adam also realized that he still had his rumpled nightshirt on. He would never leave the house on his own accord with only as much as a nightshirt on, which meant the last memory of him being in his room and going to bed must have been the last thing he actively did. Still, this didn't explain the fact that he was currently not in his warm, soft bed, having the snores of his gentle, younger brother wash over him. What if he was taken? What if someone broke into the house and for some reason abducted him? Adam send a prayer towards heaven, hoping his family would be unharmed. Another thought occurred to him. Slumping his shoulders to make himself as small as possible, but with his whole body tensed up, Adam scurried over to something that seemed to be a rock formation. He could barely make out the shape of the rocks from what little light he had. With his back now pressed against the rock, Adam stopped moving and tried to listen for anything that could indicate he wasn't alone. The wind was unusually strong tonight, booming through the leaves on a tree nearby and rustling a few bushes around him. Other than that, there was no sound. Letting out a huge breath Adam didn't realize he had been holding, he slowly rose from his hiding place, determining that if someone had the intention to harm him, they could've done so before when he was defenselessly standing out in the open. Suddenly, the whole world was tinged in a dark gray, as the moon poked out from behind a sad, lonely cloud up in the sky.

"Nice of you to show up." Adam muttered looking up. Finally, he was able to distinguish his surroundings and looking around a bit further, he realized that it looked familiar to him. He wasn't that far away from the house. Deciding he had enough of the cold wind and shivers running up and down his spine, he took a step towards home, towards Joe, Hoss and Pa and most importantly, towards his warm bed. Putting his foot down, he had to wince immediately. His feet were full of blisters from walking for a while without the comforting leather of his boots. After slowly and painfully making his way home, Adam stepped as quietly through the door into the living space as possible. The house was warm and still filled with a sweet and savory scent from last evening's supper. The atmosphere also immediately worked wonders on easing down Adam's nerves. With getting closer to his room, the exhaustion he felt also became more prominent. His limbs were aching, and his feet were burning. Sneaking up the stairs and past his brothers' rooms on tip toes, Adam almost bumped into his still half-asleep father.

"Adam." Ben said. "What are you doing up, son?" His words were slurred and halfway through accompanied by a hearty yawn. Adam stared at his father and scrunched his eyebrows. He thought he would be able to sneak back into bed without waking up any of his family members. Afraid that their conversation might also wake up Hoss and Little Joe, Adam lowered his voice. He wasn't keen on getting too much attention tonight. Or in Adam's case, ever.

"Nothing Pa. I thought I heard something downstairs and checked it, but there was nothing there so I'm off back to bed now."

"I thought I heard something, too." Ben said while scratching his chest. Yes Pa. It was me, coming back from my nightly walk while only having a nightshirt on… Adam thought to himself. He decided now was not the time to mention any of that to his father, especially since Adam still had to figure out what exactly it was that had happened to him tonight. Ben put a big and warm hand on Adam's shoulder in a comforting way, smiled at his son with barely opened eyes and said "Go back to bed then. And have a pleasant rest, son." Turning his back on Adam, Ben made his way back to the master bedroom and closed the squeaking door behind him. Sighing, Adam also entered his room and slowly sat down on his bed. He wasn't willing to admit it to anyone, not even to himself, but in the back of his mind he knew that the experience from tonight made him slightly lose his composure. The fact that Adam woke up in the middle of nowhere with no recollection of how he got there was scaring him. With yet another sigh, he closed his eyes pinching the bridge of his nose. He could feel the start of a headache pulsing behind his eyes. He should probably lay down and try to catch a few more hours of shuteye before the new day would arise. Adam had trouble sleeping lately because he had a lot on his mind. For a few days already, he would toss around in bed, flinging his sheets everywhere trying to ease his troubled mind, until the exhaustion grew too much and he was finally succumbed to sweet oblivion. He had trouble sleeping, yes, but nothing like this had ever happened to him before. He never lost hours of memories… Well, at least not when he was sober as a judge. Opening his eyes again, his gaze fell onto the basin of fresh water Hop Sing had put onto his desk for washing up in the morning. Forcing his aching limbs to stand up, Adam hobbled towards the basin and put it down on the floor in front of the bed. Sitting down, he slowly put his feet into the cool water. At first, the burning increased but it slowly subsided afterwards and the cold liquid brought some relieve to his hurting feet. He let them soak in the water a little longer until his feet were wrinkled, to make sure all the dirt was washed from the open flesh. He couldn't wait to ride to town tomorrow to run all those errands his father had tasked him with. He carefully dried his feet and put a pair of socks on before slipping under the blanket. Closing his eyes, Adam decided to forget about what had happened tonight. There was no point in making a mountain out of a molehill if nobody got (seriously) injured. Besides, there was no sense in worrying his Pa or brothers over a matter which Adam couldn't even explain in the first place. Satisfied with that decision, Adam was fast asleep for a change.