Bang! Bang! Bang! Sighing in frustration, Hoss rose from his bed and shuffled wearily to his window. "Dadburnit," he muttered to himself, "Iffen someone can't visit at a reasonable hour, they ought to stay home and wait 'til tomorrow instead of coming here so late. It's got to be ten o'clock, at least." Pushing aside the curtains, he peered down from the open window and gasped in surprise. Without bothering to light a lamp, he turned and raced down the stairs and into the den. He stumbled, stubbing his toe on his elder brother's chair, but was in such a state of excitement that he barely registered the pain. "Son of a-" Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang! The door rattled with the force of the blows raining upon it from the other side. "Hold on, I'm a comin'!" Reaching it, he slammed it open and stared in shock at the sight before him. A young girl, flaxen curls blowing wildly in the breeze, stood clutching a well-worn carpetbag to her chest. Beside her, a small boy, no older than six, held her skirts in a white-knuckled grip. Both were shabbily dressed, the girl moreso than the child. She wore a faded gingham dress much too short for her lanky frame. The hem was badly frayed, and her skirt was riddled with holes. The boy wore naught but a tattered pair of breeches, seemingly patched in their worst places with what appeared to be the missing hem of the woman's dress. Only he wore shoes. "Rose! Michael!" Hoss shouted excitedly as he enveloped them in his warm embrace. They returned his affections with equal fervor. Rose stood on tiptoe and proceeded to kiss Hoss on his cheek. This, unfortunately, was the moment Ben and his other sons entered the room. "What on earth?!" Ben shouted in disapproval, frowning sternly as his eldest and youngest chuckled in the background. "Pa," Hoss stammered in embarassment, "This is Miss Rose Gentry and little Michael Dunn. She's my... uh... good aquaintance from Carson City. They're the ones I asked you about staying for awhile." "Seems to be more than an aquaintance to me." Adam muttered. Joseph tittered wildly at the remark. Ben's eyes widened in shock. "Hoss, when you said a woman and child, I thought you meant a widow and her son, not some- some teenaged girlfriend and her little brother!" Here the boy began to protest. "Miss Rose is my mama, mister!" Ben gaped at the girl. "Why, you can't be much older than eighteen! How in the world-" "Actually sir, I just turned seventeen this May." Ben's face flushed in anger. "Eric Haas Cartwright, you are twenty-one years old! If you think that I- " Hoss held up a hand. "Pa, it's a long story. I think it'd be best if you could rouse Hop Sing and have him fix us all a pot of coffee, and some grub for our guests, too."
Upon Hop Sing's awakening (and a rather lengthy fuss over his "too-tin" guests), the boy and the chef were sent to the kitchen to prepare a meal. The Cartwrights and the girl took seats around the fire. Ben began to speak, but Hoss again raised his hand to silence him. "Now, Rosie," he spoke, wrapping an arm around her, "Do you think you can manage telling the story, or should I?" She sighed. "I shall, Hoss, but thank you. When I was thirteen, my mother and father passed during an outbreak of influenza. I myself had barely pulled through. Being an only child, and with no other living relatives to be found, I was sent to stay with a family friend by the name of Daniel Clayton. His wife had just passed from the birth of her daughter, and I was to be a sort of impromptu nanny of sorts to her and her eldest brother, despite the fact that I was but a child myself at the time." She burrowed further into Hoss's arms and continued. "Mr. Clayton, to be honest, was an abusive drunkard. He drank away all of his earnings and savings, and beat the children and I mercilessly. He must've came home late again from the saloons, knocked over a lamp or dropped a match... three months ago, he burned our home to the ground, with him and baby Rachael in it. She was four years old." A tear coursed down her cheek, carving a trail through the grime and dust upon it. Hoss took it upon himself to complete the tale. " I came upon her and little Michael when I went to Carson two months ago on business. He was living in the doctor's office, burned so badly he required constant care, and she was sitting outside in the street corner crying over being unable to afford the child's pain medicine. Pa, he was laid up in there screaming and hurting because she couldn't pay, so I paid for it. Over the course of the next two weeks, I learned of their situation and we sort of, er, fell in love. I've been sending her money for his treatments and such until he was declared fit enough for travel, so I had them sent here on the stage. Speaking of which, how'd you two get out here from town?" "I had a passing-through rancher and his family give us a lift. The stage got us here a little earlier than planned." Rose explained. Ben sighed in frustration; seeing no way out of allowing his son's love interest to remain there, and too upsetted by her story to ask them to leave, he forced a grim smile upon his face and spoke. "Hoss, I expect you to act the same towards Miss Gentry as you would any other guest during their stay, nothing more. Once she and the boy have eaten, lead them to their rooms." Rose smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Mr. Cartwright. I am well-aware of the strain and uncomfortability my stay is causing you, and I promise to try and remain as little of a burden as I can possibly be." He smiled and nodded."Thank you, Miss Gentry. Now, everyone, off to bed!"