I do NOT own Bonanza nor any of the original Cartwright characters… nor do I own Albert Michaelson or his father, Sam.
A/N IF there is an appearance by a sheriff in this episode, I have not caught it for some reason. That being the case, Roy Coffee gets the job.
Don't Forget the Stars Chapter Two
Adam, Little Joe and Hoss each sat on chairs in the doctor's office waiting nervously for the doctor to come out and talk with them. Hoss had hurried over from visiting one of the waitresses over at the café the moment Sheriff Coffee had run into the café and told him about the accident. Little Joe had practically flown out of the saloon the moment his friend, Kyle Tanner, had ran into the saloon yelling 'Mr. Cartwright just went flying through the air! I think he's dead!' The first chance he got, Little Joe was going feed the man his fist, for scaring the daylights out of him! They kept telling themselves Ben would be all right, but the longer they had to wait for Dr. Martin appear the more worried they became.
When the front door opened all three turned their heads. Mr. Michaelson and Mike stood in the doorway; Mr. Michaelson's worry for his friend shown in his troubled eyes, and Mike kept his head turned down slightly. As worried as Adam and his brothers were for their pa, they were just as concerned for Mike. They knew full well if their pa didn't fully recover, or should pass away, he would blame himself.
"Any word yet." Mr. Michaelson looked at Adam as he closed the front door to the doctor's office. "He has to live; he has to be all right."
Adam shook his head and replied, "We're still waiting." He then looked at Mike. He had to do what he could do to make sure the boy knew none of them were going to seek any 'revenge' of some sort. Mike had to know Adam and his brothers knew it was a pure accident that landed their father in the doctor's office. "Accidents happen, Mike. I'm sorry for snapping earlier."
Mike lifted his head and looked at the Cartwright brothers. "I should've have made sure the telescope wasn't pointed at anything." His father's words from only minutes before rang through his ears. "How could you be so foolish! You were supposed to be cleaning your room, not sitting on top of the roof with your head in the clouds! Now Mr. Cartwright has been hurt, maybe very seriously! What were you thinking!" Mr. Michaelson had laid into his son the moment he'd entered the store, right after Adam had snapped at him. Michael said nothing as Mr. Michaelson grabbed his arm and started marching him over to the doctor's office.
Adam felt frustration rising inside him. The boy hadn't listened to a word he'd just said. Before he could say anything, before any of them could say anything, Dr. Martin came out from the back room. All their eyes turned to the good man.
"Paul?" Adam stiffened, as did they all, the doctor wasn't looking very happy. How badly had their father been injured?
Dr. Martian looked at them all, especially Mike. Adam had told him what happened and he knew what it would do to the boy to hear what he, the doctor had to say. Paul took a deep breath, "Your father broke his back…", before he could say another word Mike bolted and ran out the front door as everyone's heart stopped at the good man's announcement.
Adam would have gone after Mike, but he had to hear everything the doctor had to say, as they all did. "How bad is the break?" Adam looked at the doctor and asked, and then found himself holding his breath, as they all did.
"I don't know." Paul shook his head as he continued; he wished he did. "He's suffered a concussion, and he's not awake yet. Until he comes to, and I can test his ability to move his toes and feet, all we can do is wait. That is," he said before pausing for a few minutes. The pause put everyone on edge, "if he wakes up. I'm afraid it might be more than a broken back your father is suffering from," Paul said as he looked at Ben's three sons, "There is a possibility he has a skull fracture; he's not responding to stimuli. If he doesn't wake up soon, we'll have to get him on a train and send him to the hospital in Reno and have him operated on."
Shock waves ran through each of them and Mr. Michaelson. No! Ben had to wake up! That kind of surgery was high risk, and they all knew it. "M…May we see him?" Little Joe voice quivered ever so slightly as he spoke up and looked at the doctor.
Paul nodded as he said, "Only one of you at a time though, he doesn't need more visitors than that right now." Little Joe made a beeline for the room where his father lay.
Mr. Michaelson, who was feeling bad for both his friend and the things that he, himself, had said to his son, looked at Adam and said, "Please, let us know if there is anything we can do. I would stay, but," he said as he sighed and looked towards the open door, "I have a son to go talk to." He had to do what he could to undo the emotional damage that had been done to his son; Mr. Michaelson knew that.
Adam nodded. "Sure thing, just tell him we don't blame him, really." His eyes showed the sincerity of his words. He didn't want Mike to be blaming himself. He had seen what that kind of guilt could do to a person, and he didn't want that for Mike. The lad had such potential, that potential needed to be allowed to grow and flourish.
"Pa." Adam's thoughts turned to his father as Mr. Michaelson turned and left the office. "You have to live; I still need you." He did too; with everything that had changed time after time on him, his father had been the one consistent thing in his life, and that just couldn't change. Could it?