I don't have time to be writing anything lengthy, but writing is still my best idea of relaxation and de-stressing. This should be three or four chapters, I think. So here goes and I hope you enjoy.

Something Important

"You'll keep … for another day."

Adam stood his ground as the man brushed past him and swung himself up into the saddle. His father stood too far away to hear the spiteful words that were hissed at him. Part of him wanted to step back towards the safety of his father's presence while a larger part of him simply wanted to hold his ground. He would not allow the man to rattle him any further. At least he would not allow him the satisfaction of seeing it. The truth was, the man's final whispered threat had his gut churning and threatening to erupt through his mouth. Something about the venom in his eyes told Adam that it wasn't really over between them. He clamped his jaw shut and watched as the man ambled his way off the Ponderosa. He didn't even have the sense to hurry and Adam felt a grudging sense of admiration at the man's sheer audacity. As he stared after the dust trail, he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder and he turned to see his father eyeing him. He blew out a short breath before turning towards the warmth of the open doorway.

"Let's eat, Pa. I'm starving!"

Ben nodded as he watched his eldest son plaster on a face that he knew did not echo his insides. His own stomach twisted as he felt the rider's presence withdraw from his land. It was as if a dark cloud was drifting away and he hoped whatever wind was behind it would keep it moving away from them. He noted several hands had come out onto the porch to watch as Harrison had been given his marching orders. None of them seemed bothered to see the back of the man and Ben gave a curt nod as they passed by. A few dipped heads was all he received in return, but he noted the way the men watched Adam as they walked past. If he could have named what he saw, it might have been pride.

Adam lay flat on his back with his hands clasped behind his head. It would be a long time before he found the solace of sleep as his mind kept going over and over the man's words that had been meant for his ears only.

"When you least expect it, young'un, I'll be back and I'll be takin' somethin' from you. Somethin' important!"

Adam twisted his fingers together as he considered the words. He wondered if he should tell his father, but the moment had already passed and the man was gone. He was a loner who had turned up a couple of months back, asking for work, but there was something about the man that had grated on the eldest Cartwright son. Try as he might, he could not explain what it was to anybody else and he had eventually stopped trying. It wasn't like Harrison ever did anything overt and could be caught out. That was the problem and Adam had begun to wonder if he was simply imagining it after all. He may be the owner's son, but he still had to earn the respect of their men. Being back from college for only a short time meant that many of them still needed to get the measure of him. Only a couple of them knew him from before he left and the rest had all heard about the boss's pride in his son's academic achievements. None of that mattered much to men of the land and Harrison had taken every opportunity to show up how dumb a book-learnin' fella could be. Little things had added up over time and he had become increasingly agitated by the man who seemed to slither past like a snake, silently and unnoticed for the most part. Just like a snake, Adam knew he had a poison within him. He just couldn't prove it. He had kept his suspicions to himself and tried to find a way to deal with it.

Until Joe messed up that plan.

His brother had a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He had to wonder if he wasn't secretly glad that Joe had opened his mouth and told their father of his suspicions. He had apparently overhead a conversation that was meant for Adam's ears only and when he confronted his older brother about it, he'd been shocked when Adam told him to butt out and mind his own business.

But Joe, being Joe, he couldn't do that. His senses pricked up whenever Adam was around their newest recruit and he didn't like what he saw. His brother was fiercely independent and for as long as Joe could remember, he'd hero-worshipped his oldest brother. Adam was invincible in his eyes. Oh sure, he could be a royal pain when he chose to be and his taste in reading material was a little dubious, but Joe had never seen his brother afraid of anything. He faced challenges square on with his head as well as his heart. Unlike Joe, who usually just charged madly at life with his emotions on display for the whole world to see. His head often got left behind somewhere and it was often Adam's job to hand it back to him while picking up the pieces.

Until he went away to college.

Everything had changed in that time and Adam found himself struggling to catch up. Somehow, he had been shocked when he came home and found his brothers didn't need him anymore. Hoss had grown into the image of his uncle and stomped around the ranch in boots that seemed made for a giant. Or a Viking. Adam chuckled to himself as he recalled Gunnar telling him about the meaning of the name, Hoss and just how well it applied now to his brother.

In spite of the obvious changes in Hoss, it was Joe who bothered him most. The child he had left behind had grown into a gangly almost-adolescent. He was still far too scrawny, but his limbs now finally gave him the ability to chase the things he had always hankered after. From the moment he could walk, Joe had followed his nose. Whatever caught his attention, he grasped for. It was a trait that had brought the youngest Cartwright to grief on many occasions and Adam smiled as he considered the countless bruises, cuts and stitches that his brother had endured over the years. Not to mention the broken bones. Joe had no concept of fear and he would climb higher and stretch farther than his body could safely manage. He wore his injuries as some kind of badge of honour, almost like the growth markers that his mother notched into the pantry doorframe. Marie had once openly despaired of her adventurous son surviving into adulthood. Adam found his breath caught in his throat as that random thought ran through his mind and he shifted on the bed. He had assured Marie that he would always protect his little brother, even if it meant protecting him from himself!

Somehow he found himself at a loss as to how he could fulfill that promise, made so long ago. Joe had made it abundantly clear that he didn't need or want his big brother hovering over him. In the short time since his return to the Ponderosa, Adam and Joe had butted heads more times than he could count. Ben had stepped in one night when Adam had stormed out of the house and he found himself leaning against the corral, trying to rein in his wayward emotions.

"He's just adjusting, Son. Give him time."

"He hates me, Pa! I lost him somewhere while I was away and he resents me for coming back."

Ben laid a hand across his son's shoulders and shook his head. "No, Adam. He loves you. But he's not the child you left and he doesn't quite know what to make of the man who has come home. Give him time."

Time.

Adam glanced across at the curtains that fluttered in the breeze and sighed heavily. Time was something that was so subjective. His time away in Boston had gone by in a blur and yet it had also dragged interminably. The time away from his family had grated on his soul while the time spent pursuing his dream had felt like the blink of an eye. Suddenly he sat upright on the bed and shook his head. How much longer would that timeframe have seemed to his brother? Joe was never one to be patient and waiting was not his strong suit. The time Adam was gone would have felt like forever to a child who lived in the moment! It was no wonder his father had told him to give Joe time. It was the only answer to rebuilding their relationship. Starting tomorrow. As he finally allowed himself to drift into sleep, a smile ghosted across his lips as he recalled his baby brother saying his name for the first time. In that moment, Adam resolved he would spend the rest of his days if need be, restoring what had been damaged by his long absence. Unfortunately, after dismissing Harrison, his father felt it would be a good idea to get Adam back in the saddle, literally. He found himself sent out on a cattle drive the following day and he knew the much-needed time with Joe would just have to wait until he got back home.

It had been almost two weeks since Harrison had left the ranch and Joe found himself smiling at the thought. Something about the man had caused his skin to crawl and he could not explain it to anybody. The day he overheard the hired hand threatening Adam rated as another reason to be glad the man was gone. Adam had been livid when he found out that Joe had gone to their father behind his back, but he didn't care. He may not have understood all the meaning behind the words, but he knew a threat when he heard it.

"Joseph Cartwight, are you listening?"

"Huh?"

Joe lurched forward in his seat to find Miss Jenkins glaring in his direction. He felt the flush of heat rising up his face as he noted the rest of the room also staring at him. A few giggles were stifled behind hands and Joe squirmed in his seat.

"Joseph, I know the view outside is far more enticing than your primer, but I would very much appreciate if you would pay attention while you are in my classroom." The slight softening of her tone did not erase the stern face that watched him and Joe felt himself shrinking further into his seat. He had been staring out the window, but not at the view. His mind was back in that barn when he had been crouched down in a stall, searching for a lost bridle buckle in the straw and Harrison had no idea he was there. The tone of the man's voice still made a shiver run up his spine.

"When you least expect it, young'un, I'll be back and I'll be takin' somethin' from you. Somethin' important!"

"Joseph? I'm waiting for an answer."

Joe forced himself back to the present and gulped. "Yes Ma'am. I'm sorry."

The afternoon dragged on as Joe stared at the window. For some reason he could not define, he felt anxious to escape the confines of the schoolhouse and talk to his brother. He hadn't had a chance to really speak with him since his brother got back from the drive. He needed to ask Adam what the man had meant. In the aftermath of his revelation of the man's threat against his brother, he'd never actually gotten to clarify what the threat was. He just knew that his invincible older brother was rattled by it. And that shook the foundation of his world. It had caused him to pull back from Adam and his brother was still clearly angry with him. Of course his brother would take off on the cattle muster and avoid him. Of course his brother was angry that Joe had embarrassed him in front of his father. He had no idea how to put things right with Adam; he just knew he had to try.

Harrison kept himself hidden in the shadow of the building and waited for the school day to draw to a close. He felt the heat of the day sticking his shirt to his back and he wondered why anybody would want to wear black when it held onto the heat. He shuffled the black hat a little lower across his face and kept a wary eye out. It wouldn't do for anybody else to see him and mistake him for Adam Cartwright.

As Joe pushed his pony down the street towards home, he hoped that Adam would be at the house by the time he got there. He had questions that needed answers and his stomach was still churning from the unease he had felt all day. His mind was elsewhere as he rode and he almost rode right past his brother. Until he heard his name being called.

For some reason, Adam was lounging against the wall and beckoning Joe towards him. His hat was pushed low on his face, but Joe would have known his brother's lean anywhere. He had no idea what Adam was doing there, but a lot of things his brother did made no sense to him anymore. He figured that one day when he was old enough, he'd understand the workings of being a grown man. He just hoped he didn't have to go away to college to manage that. Until then, he'd just have to try not to rile Adam any more than he already had. His brother had fairly boiled over when he ran to Pa and told him about Harrison, but Joe knew he'd do the same thing again. As he tethered his pony to a rail, he watched as Adam sauntered down the lane, casting a glance over his shoulder every so often. Joe followed behind him and tried to think what his brother might be up to. As he turned the bend towards the back of the building, he felt a hand clamp over his mouth and something hard connect with the back of his head. His last coherent thought was that Adam must be really mad at him after all.

Adam stared at the piece of paper in his hand and he felt the world spinning wildly around him. Hoss had collected the mail earlier and unwittingly delivered an envelope marked simply for "Adam". It was sitting on the credenza when he walked in and he had picked it up without much thought. The sounds around him swirled into oblivion as he stared at the scrawl on the page.

That important thing of yours is now mine. You tell anyone and he will die. Meet me at the end of Metters Lane at 6 o'clock tonight.

His gut churned as his mind processed the implication of the words. Harrison had not left after all and his threat was apparently being played out as he had promised. Adam's logical, analytical mind refused to link things together until he read the words again. They leaped off the page at him and in that instant he knew exactly what Harrison meant. Joe had inadvertently gotten in the way of his threats and the snake would take pleasure in getting his revenge via the boy. Using something of utmost importance to all of the Cartwrights. Adam spun on his heel and climbed the stairs towards his room before anybody could find him and register anything was wrong. He needed time to consider his options.

Time.

A bitter laugh escaped his clenched teeth as he thought about his father's words. Time was the very thing he had sought from his little brother and now it seemed he may have used it all up.

"Joe." The name was barely a whisper and Adam felt himself sinking onto his bed. "I'll find you, little buddy. I'll find you. Just hold on."

Adam scrunched the offending piece of paper into a ball and shoved it into his pocket as he pushed himself up off the bed. All he needed to do was slip back out of the house and get away before anyone asked any questions. Joe's life depended on it. As he headed down the stairway, he was relieved to see no sign of either his brother or father in the great room and he quickly made his way to the door.