Chapter 2
Ben had been trying to reconcile some accounts all morning, but they simply were not coming out right. He almost wished he could have taken Joe's suggestion and sent him out alone and kept Adam there to help him. No, that was too dangerous, besides Joe and Adam needed to work out what ever had been bothering them for the last week.
Hoss walked in just as he finished work through that set of figures for the third time without getting them to line up correctly.
"Hey, Pa?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm finished with the shoein'. Cochise got two new'ens and Chub needed one. All the others look fine."
"Good." Ben muttered distractedly.
"Anything else need doing? I done most of my regular chores already, too."
Ben stopped for a minute to think. "Why don't we grab some food, then head out and give Adam and Joe a hand at finding that cat, then we can all go into town tonight?" They should have been able to work things out by now.
"That sounds great, Pa." Hoss liked the sound of that. They hadn't been to town in almost a month. Maybe that was one thing that was making Joe and Adam irritable.
"You go saddle Chubb and Buck and I'll get Hop Sing to put together something to take out to Joe and Adam." Ben said as he moved toward the kitchen door. Hop Sing might not be real happy about it, but Ben did think it sound like a good idea.
Hoss went out to the barn and saddled Buck. He was just turning to go back into the barn to saddle Chubb when Roy Coffee rode into the yard in a hurry.
"Hoss! Where is Ben? We got trouble." Roy asked as he dismounted.
"Inside." Hoss followed on Roy's heels, wondering what was going on to get Roy so worried.
"BEN!" Roy called when he did not see Ben in the great room.
Ben enter from the kitchen with a confuse expression on his face. "Roy? What's wrong?"
"Joe's hurt bad. Adam brought him into town. Said to tell you 'the cat got him'. Guess he meant a big cat. He's clawed up bad and hit his head when he fell from his horse."
At the first sentence, Ben had bolted out the front door. Roy was almost running to keep up with him as they made their way to the front yard. Roy finally had to grab Ben's arm to stop him.
"Ben, I am sorry, but Adam also told me to tell you that he got the cat. Now, go." Roy released Ben's arm and stepped back to let his friend mount and ride off.
Hoss too had bolt at the first sentence, to get Chubb saddled, and now returned to where Roy was standing. In a few sentences Roy filled him in on what he had missed. "Did Adam say how Joe was doing?"
"No, he had just gotten Joe over to the doc's then he came to find someone to tell you. He looked real worried though."
"Yeah." Both men mounted up and followed Ben down the trail to Virginia City.
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Adam was sitting in the outer office with his head in his hands when his father barged in.
"Adam? What happened? Is Joe going to be all right? What exactly is wrong?" Ben was so worried about Joe that he did not take a good look at Adam for a few seconds.
Adam used the time to compose his face and remove the traces of tears from his cheeks. By the time Ben actually looked at him, his face showed no signs of the turmoil that he had been experiencing. The only thing that Ben noticed was that he was very pale, but he put that down to the stress he had to be under, though he did not know the half of it yet.
"The cat jumped down on Joe from some of the rocks in the north woods. We had just lost his tracks so the best I can figure he climbed one of the trees and jumped from the tree to the rocks. Joe had been doing a great job of tracking until then," Adam explained, a trace of forlorn pride in his voice for his brothers abilities. Adam looked away from Ben as he continued, "Both of our horses went crazy when the cat jumped at Joe. He hit his head on a rock when he fell. I tried to get the cat, but when Sport reared, all I managed to hit was Joe's horse, and.." Adam's voice trailed off as he remembered where his second shot had ended up.
"And?" Ben urged Adam to continue, wanting to know exactly what had happened.
Adam's eyes were filled with pain when he looked back to his father. "I hit Joe in the arm, Pa," Adam whispered.
Ben could barely hear Adam, but understood that Adam was blaming himself for all of his brother's injuries. First for not having figured out where the cat was before it attacked, then with a stray bullet. Ben started to try and reassure Adam, when the doctor entered from the back room.
"Ben," Doc Martin greeted Ben as an old friend. "Glad you got here so fast."
"Paul, how is he?" Ben asked anxiously.
"He's stable, but he is still unconscious. He's got a slight concussion, but it should be minor. I've stitched gash on his forehead and the deeper ones on his back. He is weak from blood loss, but time is the only cure for that. He has no life threatening injuries, though the blood loss could have been if Adam had not gotten him here when he did. The only thing that has me worried is that bullet wound in his arm. I have gotten the bullet out, but it chipped the bone. If it caused any nerve damage, he may lose the ability to use the arm. You can come back and see him in a few minutes, but not quite yet. I'll come and get you."
When the doctor spoke of the damage that his bullet might have done, Adam dropped his head back into his hands. Paul knew that Adam was not usually a demonstrative person, but did not realize the significance of this particular act on Adam's part. Ben, however, did and he knew the reason behind it. As Ben started to reassure Adam, he was interrupted again. This time it was Hoss rushing in from the street.
"Pa! How's Joe?" Hoss was obviously worried and did not notice Adam sitting dejectedly in a chair by the wall. "Is he going to be all right?"
"He's still unconscious, but Paul said that he's stable. He has a slight concussion, a lot of cuts and scratches, and." Ben's voice trailed off just as Adam's had earlier. He cast a glance at his eldest son, not knowing if he should be the one to tell Hoss what else had happened.
Adam settled the problem by speaking up, "A stray bullet may have caused permanent damage to Joe's right arm." Adam quickly got to his feet and walked over to the door. "I'm going over to the hotel and get us a couple of rooms. I doubt that Joe will be able to go home tonight." He then left the office before Ben and Hoss had a chance to say anything.
"Bullet?" Hoss asked in amazement. "But.Adam never misses. I don't think he has missed a shot since he was Joe's age!" Hoss couldn't believe that Adam could have missed.
"Sport was rearing. It's amazing that he managed to get a shot off at all," Ben replied.
"Yeah," Hoss murmured, more worried than before, now for both brothers.
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Adam was almost to the hotel when he became very dizzy. Adam stopped and grabbed the hitching post out front to help regain his balance. Breathing slowly, Adam's balance returned and he made his way is side. He reserved two rooms, figuring that one of them would be with Joe the entire night. Since nothing else bothered him, he shrugged off the inconvenience to himself. He was just tired and worried. He would be fine as soon as he knew that Joe was going to be all right. Adam headed back to the doctor's as soon as he had reserved the rooms.
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After Adam returned, they each allowed to go back and sit with Joe for a few minutes.
Ben went first. His first sight of Joe was far from encouraging. Joe was almost as pale as the sheets on which he lay and his head was swathed in bandages. His breathing though was regular and unlabored. That was a good sign.
According to Paul, Adam had done a good job of getting Joe to the doctor's quickly. He had said that Adam had used his own coat to keep Joe warm and act as a bandage on his back on the way in. Doing this had probably save Joe's life for it had warned of shock to a certain extent, but Adam did not seem to realize that. All he could think of was the bullet that had been in his arm.
Ben didn't try to talk to Joe, he simply sat there and rubbed his hand and arm as he thought. He knew he had to talk to Adam, but did not know how to go about it.
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When Ben's time was up Adam took his place, while his father and Hoss waited in the outer office.
"Joe?" Adam whispered. There was no response.
"Joe, I'm so sorry. I ." Adam could not continue as his voice cracked. Suddenly dizzy again, Adam rested his forehead on the side of the bed as tears ran down his cheeks. After a few minutes, the dizziness and nausea faded. Adam knew if it kept up he was going to have to ask the doc about it, but right now he knew his time was up and it was Hoss's turn. Adam wiped his face and composed himself and went out to get Hoss.
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Hoss entered the room tentatively. He and his father had not spoken while they waited in the outer office. Each had been lost in his own thoughts. Hoss had been remembering some of the good times that he had spent with both his brothers. Specifically he was remembering the many races they had enjoyed, and wondered if Joe's arm would ever be strong enough to allow him to do some of the crazy stunts he loved to do on horse back.
"Joe?" Hoss called softly. Joe still did not react, but Hoss hadn't really expected him to. Adam had told them that Joe had not moved while he had been in the room.
Going to the left side of the bed, Hoss picked up his hand and started rubbing it. "Well, Short shanks, Looks like you found a way to get out of fixing that fence that that stallion broke yesterdee." Hoss kept his tone very light and filled Joe in on some of the things that had happened that morning. It wasn't much, but it was all that Hoss could think of to do.
By the time his few minute were up, Hoss realized that he was crying, and had been for a while. After he dried his eyes, he returned to the outer office.
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After Hoss left the outer office, the silence was almost unbearable.
Adam still sat with his head in his hands, while Ben sat trying to think of how to approach him.
"Adam?" Ben said tentatively.
"Yeah, Pa," Adam answered. "I know you are going to tell me it wasn't my fault. I could not control where the bullet went when Sport reared. But it was still my hand that pulled the trigger!" While Adam did not actually shout, it was said so forcefully that Ben did not know what to say to it. "At least I got the cat with the third shot." Adam whispered.
Ben was still trying to come up with an answer when Paul returned from getting his dinner.
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When Hoss rejoined them, Paul started telling them what needed to be done that night.
"Joe should be regaining consciousness in a little while, so I would suggest that Ben stay for the first few hours. But I want you all to go over get something to eat first and then Hoss and Adam need to get some sleep. You will all need to maintain your own health too. I know that you are worried about Joe, but it will do him no good if you get sick."
"All right, Paul." Ben answered and stood to lead the way out. All three of them went to the hotel and order dinner. None of them had the best of appetites, but Adam barely ate at all. Ben noticed, but nothing he said would get Adam to eat any more. Adam just said that he wasn't hungry. Ben hoped that he could be convinced to eat in the morning.
When Adam told his Pa that he wasn't hungry he was being perfectly honest. He was so nauseated that he thought if he ate he would be sick. Adam hoped that some sleep would help his stomach and his headache. The headache he had had while bring Joe in had returned full force.
After only a token resistance Hoss and Adam got the keys to their rooms and headed to bed. It had been agreed that Hoss would come and relieve Ben at about midnight.
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Adam walked into his room with his head spinning. He knew he was getting sick, but did not want to worry his father further. He was sure that if he got some sleep he would be fine. Staggering over to the bed he collapsed.
Adam was unconscious before he actually touched the surface of the bed.
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Ben went back to the Doctor's off and sat down beside Joe's side. Within a few minutes Joe's eye lids began to flutter. When he opened them the first thing he saw was the worried face of his father.
"Pa?" Looking around he noticed that they were in the doctor's office not their home. "What happened?" Joe was very confused for the last thing he remembered was Adam's shout.
"You're going to be all right. You got knocked out and scratched up badly when the cat jumped you. Adam managed to kill it, but it had already done some damage to you back," Ben explained. "Adam did have some trouble though." Ben took a deep breath as he continued. "When Sport reared, it threw off his aim and he hit you in the arm."
Joe looked at his arm and lifted it slightly. Ben was quietly ecstatic, if Joe could move that arm that easily then there could not have been any nerve damage. "He hit me? Oh, well. Did he get the cat or just scare it off?"
"He got it." Ben thought over that for a moment. When the cat had been sighted before, it had run at the sound of gun fire. This time it seemed to have gotten over its fear of guns. "Adam is feeling very guilty because he hit you."
"But." Joe dosed back off as he thought of that. He knew that Adam should not feel guilt over this but he could not stay awake to say it. After that Joe would wake for a few minutes then dose back off frequently. By the time Hoss arrived at midnight, Joe had been convinced to try to sleep for the rest of the night. Paul had agreed to let him go home the next day since there was no sign of nerve damage.
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Hoss awoke at a few minutes to midnight. His sleep had been, as usual, untroubled, but his first thoughts when he awoke were of Joe and hoping that he had woken up. Hopefully his arm would be fine and Adam would not feel so guilty.
On his way out he stopped to check on Adam. Opening the door, he saw Adam stretch out on the bed fully dressed. That was odd, he still had his holster and boots on. He must have been really tired.
Hoss shrugged and was on his way.
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Adam was bordering on consciousness when Hoss looked in on him, but it took him a few minutes to get the strength to get up. When he finally pushed himself up into a sitting position the room spun like a top. He shut his eyes and tried to breathe deeply. After another minute, the room stopped spinning, but he knew something was wrong. He had to get down stairs and to the doctor's.
Adam was just stepping out of his room when Ben came through the front door. Adam walked to the stairs and grabbed the rail to stop himself from falling. "Pa?"
"Adam, you supposed to be asleep." Ben said in frustration as he got the key form the clerk, not having looked up at Adam.
"Pa?" Adam said again.
"Yeah?" Ben finally looked up at Adam and could not believe what he was seeing.
Adam stood on the first tread of the stair case, whiter than Joe had been. As Ben watched in horror, Adam's knees buckled and he fell down the stairs. Ben raced to try to catch him, but he only managed to stop the fall three steps from the bottom and a second too late. Just before he could stop the fall, Ben heard the sickening crackle of breaking bones. When he looked up he saw that Adam's legs had gotten tangled in the railing to the stair case. Each leg looked as if it had two joints where there should only have been one. And to make it worse it was the lower leg.
"Adam?" Ben called softly.
Adam's lashed fluttered a little then stilled momentarily. Adam's eyes opened, but the pain in the depths made it difficult for Ben to look in his son's eyes. "I'm.sorry.Pa. I.." With that Adam lost consciousness again.
Ben and the clerk, Tom, carefully pulled Adam's legs out of the railing. Though Ben was not young he was still very strong, and carefully hoisted his son into his arms and carried him over to the doctor's office in unknown imitation of Adam's actions earlier in the day.
Ben had been trying to reconcile some accounts all morning, but they simply were not coming out right. He almost wished he could have taken Joe's suggestion and sent him out alone and kept Adam there to help him. No, that was too dangerous, besides Joe and Adam needed to work out what ever had been bothering them for the last week.
Hoss walked in just as he finished work through that set of figures for the third time without getting them to line up correctly.
"Hey, Pa?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm finished with the shoein'. Cochise got two new'ens and Chub needed one. All the others look fine."
"Good." Ben muttered distractedly.
"Anything else need doing? I done most of my regular chores already, too."
Ben stopped for a minute to think. "Why don't we grab some food, then head out and give Adam and Joe a hand at finding that cat, then we can all go into town tonight?" They should have been able to work things out by now.
"That sounds great, Pa." Hoss liked the sound of that. They hadn't been to town in almost a month. Maybe that was one thing that was making Joe and Adam irritable.
"You go saddle Chubb and Buck and I'll get Hop Sing to put together something to take out to Joe and Adam." Ben said as he moved toward the kitchen door. Hop Sing might not be real happy about it, but Ben did think it sound like a good idea.
Hoss went out to the barn and saddled Buck. He was just turning to go back into the barn to saddle Chubb when Roy Coffee rode into the yard in a hurry.
"Hoss! Where is Ben? We got trouble." Roy asked as he dismounted.
"Inside." Hoss followed on Roy's heels, wondering what was going on to get Roy so worried.
"BEN!" Roy called when he did not see Ben in the great room.
Ben enter from the kitchen with a confuse expression on his face. "Roy? What's wrong?"
"Joe's hurt bad. Adam brought him into town. Said to tell you 'the cat got him'. Guess he meant a big cat. He's clawed up bad and hit his head when he fell from his horse."
At the first sentence, Ben had bolted out the front door. Roy was almost running to keep up with him as they made their way to the front yard. Roy finally had to grab Ben's arm to stop him.
"Ben, I am sorry, but Adam also told me to tell you that he got the cat. Now, go." Roy released Ben's arm and stepped back to let his friend mount and ride off.
Hoss too had bolt at the first sentence, to get Chubb saddled, and now returned to where Roy was standing. In a few sentences Roy filled him in on what he had missed. "Did Adam say how Joe was doing?"
"No, he had just gotten Joe over to the doc's then he came to find someone to tell you. He looked real worried though."
"Yeah." Both men mounted up and followed Ben down the trail to Virginia City.
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Adam was sitting in the outer office with his head in his hands when his father barged in.
"Adam? What happened? Is Joe going to be all right? What exactly is wrong?" Ben was so worried about Joe that he did not take a good look at Adam for a few seconds.
Adam used the time to compose his face and remove the traces of tears from his cheeks. By the time Ben actually looked at him, his face showed no signs of the turmoil that he had been experiencing. The only thing that Ben noticed was that he was very pale, but he put that down to the stress he had to be under, though he did not know the half of it yet.
"The cat jumped down on Joe from some of the rocks in the north woods. We had just lost his tracks so the best I can figure he climbed one of the trees and jumped from the tree to the rocks. Joe had been doing a great job of tracking until then," Adam explained, a trace of forlorn pride in his voice for his brothers abilities. Adam looked away from Ben as he continued, "Both of our horses went crazy when the cat jumped at Joe. He hit his head on a rock when he fell. I tried to get the cat, but when Sport reared, all I managed to hit was Joe's horse, and.." Adam's voice trailed off as he remembered where his second shot had ended up.
"And?" Ben urged Adam to continue, wanting to know exactly what had happened.
Adam's eyes were filled with pain when he looked back to his father. "I hit Joe in the arm, Pa," Adam whispered.
Ben could barely hear Adam, but understood that Adam was blaming himself for all of his brother's injuries. First for not having figured out where the cat was before it attacked, then with a stray bullet. Ben started to try and reassure Adam, when the doctor entered from the back room.
"Ben," Doc Martin greeted Ben as an old friend. "Glad you got here so fast."
"Paul, how is he?" Ben asked anxiously.
"He's stable, but he is still unconscious. He's got a slight concussion, but it should be minor. I've stitched gash on his forehead and the deeper ones on his back. He is weak from blood loss, but time is the only cure for that. He has no life threatening injuries, though the blood loss could have been if Adam had not gotten him here when he did. The only thing that has me worried is that bullet wound in his arm. I have gotten the bullet out, but it chipped the bone. If it caused any nerve damage, he may lose the ability to use the arm. You can come back and see him in a few minutes, but not quite yet. I'll come and get you."
When the doctor spoke of the damage that his bullet might have done, Adam dropped his head back into his hands. Paul knew that Adam was not usually a demonstrative person, but did not realize the significance of this particular act on Adam's part. Ben, however, did and he knew the reason behind it. As Ben started to reassure Adam, he was interrupted again. This time it was Hoss rushing in from the street.
"Pa! How's Joe?" Hoss was obviously worried and did not notice Adam sitting dejectedly in a chair by the wall. "Is he going to be all right?"
"He's still unconscious, but Paul said that he's stable. He has a slight concussion, a lot of cuts and scratches, and." Ben's voice trailed off just as Adam's had earlier. He cast a glance at his eldest son, not knowing if he should be the one to tell Hoss what else had happened.
Adam settled the problem by speaking up, "A stray bullet may have caused permanent damage to Joe's right arm." Adam quickly got to his feet and walked over to the door. "I'm going over to the hotel and get us a couple of rooms. I doubt that Joe will be able to go home tonight." He then left the office before Ben and Hoss had a chance to say anything.
"Bullet?" Hoss asked in amazement. "But.Adam never misses. I don't think he has missed a shot since he was Joe's age!" Hoss couldn't believe that Adam could have missed.
"Sport was rearing. It's amazing that he managed to get a shot off at all," Ben replied.
"Yeah," Hoss murmured, more worried than before, now for both brothers.
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Adam was almost to the hotel when he became very dizzy. Adam stopped and grabbed the hitching post out front to help regain his balance. Breathing slowly, Adam's balance returned and he made his way is side. He reserved two rooms, figuring that one of them would be with Joe the entire night. Since nothing else bothered him, he shrugged off the inconvenience to himself. He was just tired and worried. He would be fine as soon as he knew that Joe was going to be all right. Adam headed back to the doctor's as soon as he had reserved the rooms.
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After Adam returned, they each allowed to go back and sit with Joe for a few minutes.
Ben went first. His first sight of Joe was far from encouraging. Joe was almost as pale as the sheets on which he lay and his head was swathed in bandages. His breathing though was regular and unlabored. That was a good sign.
According to Paul, Adam had done a good job of getting Joe to the doctor's quickly. He had said that Adam had used his own coat to keep Joe warm and act as a bandage on his back on the way in. Doing this had probably save Joe's life for it had warned of shock to a certain extent, but Adam did not seem to realize that. All he could think of was the bullet that had been in his arm.
Ben didn't try to talk to Joe, he simply sat there and rubbed his hand and arm as he thought. He knew he had to talk to Adam, but did not know how to go about it.
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When Ben's time was up Adam took his place, while his father and Hoss waited in the outer office.
"Joe?" Adam whispered. There was no response.
"Joe, I'm so sorry. I ." Adam could not continue as his voice cracked. Suddenly dizzy again, Adam rested his forehead on the side of the bed as tears ran down his cheeks. After a few minutes, the dizziness and nausea faded. Adam knew if it kept up he was going to have to ask the doc about it, but right now he knew his time was up and it was Hoss's turn. Adam wiped his face and composed himself and went out to get Hoss.
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Hoss entered the room tentatively. He and his father had not spoken while they waited in the outer office. Each had been lost in his own thoughts. Hoss had been remembering some of the good times that he had spent with both his brothers. Specifically he was remembering the many races they had enjoyed, and wondered if Joe's arm would ever be strong enough to allow him to do some of the crazy stunts he loved to do on horse back.
"Joe?" Hoss called softly. Joe still did not react, but Hoss hadn't really expected him to. Adam had told them that Joe had not moved while he had been in the room.
Going to the left side of the bed, Hoss picked up his hand and started rubbing it. "Well, Short shanks, Looks like you found a way to get out of fixing that fence that that stallion broke yesterdee." Hoss kept his tone very light and filled Joe in on some of the things that had happened that morning. It wasn't much, but it was all that Hoss could think of to do.
By the time his few minute were up, Hoss realized that he was crying, and had been for a while. After he dried his eyes, he returned to the outer office.
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After Hoss left the outer office, the silence was almost unbearable.
Adam still sat with his head in his hands, while Ben sat trying to think of how to approach him.
"Adam?" Ben said tentatively.
"Yeah, Pa," Adam answered. "I know you are going to tell me it wasn't my fault. I could not control where the bullet went when Sport reared. But it was still my hand that pulled the trigger!" While Adam did not actually shout, it was said so forcefully that Ben did not know what to say to it. "At least I got the cat with the third shot." Adam whispered.
Ben was still trying to come up with an answer when Paul returned from getting his dinner.
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When Hoss rejoined them, Paul started telling them what needed to be done that night.
"Joe should be regaining consciousness in a little while, so I would suggest that Ben stay for the first few hours. But I want you all to go over get something to eat first and then Hoss and Adam need to get some sleep. You will all need to maintain your own health too. I know that you are worried about Joe, but it will do him no good if you get sick."
"All right, Paul." Ben answered and stood to lead the way out. All three of them went to the hotel and order dinner. None of them had the best of appetites, but Adam barely ate at all. Ben noticed, but nothing he said would get Adam to eat any more. Adam just said that he wasn't hungry. Ben hoped that he could be convinced to eat in the morning.
When Adam told his Pa that he wasn't hungry he was being perfectly honest. He was so nauseated that he thought if he ate he would be sick. Adam hoped that some sleep would help his stomach and his headache. The headache he had had while bring Joe in had returned full force.
After only a token resistance Hoss and Adam got the keys to their rooms and headed to bed. It had been agreed that Hoss would come and relieve Ben at about midnight.
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Adam walked into his room with his head spinning. He knew he was getting sick, but did not want to worry his father further. He was sure that if he got some sleep he would be fine. Staggering over to the bed he collapsed.
Adam was unconscious before he actually touched the surface of the bed.
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Ben went back to the Doctor's off and sat down beside Joe's side. Within a few minutes Joe's eye lids began to flutter. When he opened them the first thing he saw was the worried face of his father.
"Pa?" Looking around he noticed that they were in the doctor's office not their home. "What happened?" Joe was very confused for the last thing he remembered was Adam's shout.
"You're going to be all right. You got knocked out and scratched up badly when the cat jumped you. Adam managed to kill it, but it had already done some damage to you back," Ben explained. "Adam did have some trouble though." Ben took a deep breath as he continued. "When Sport reared, it threw off his aim and he hit you in the arm."
Joe looked at his arm and lifted it slightly. Ben was quietly ecstatic, if Joe could move that arm that easily then there could not have been any nerve damage. "He hit me? Oh, well. Did he get the cat or just scare it off?"
"He got it." Ben thought over that for a moment. When the cat had been sighted before, it had run at the sound of gun fire. This time it seemed to have gotten over its fear of guns. "Adam is feeling very guilty because he hit you."
"But." Joe dosed back off as he thought of that. He knew that Adam should not feel guilt over this but he could not stay awake to say it. After that Joe would wake for a few minutes then dose back off frequently. By the time Hoss arrived at midnight, Joe had been convinced to try to sleep for the rest of the night. Paul had agreed to let him go home the next day since there was no sign of nerve damage.
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Hoss awoke at a few minutes to midnight. His sleep had been, as usual, untroubled, but his first thoughts when he awoke were of Joe and hoping that he had woken up. Hopefully his arm would be fine and Adam would not feel so guilty.
On his way out he stopped to check on Adam. Opening the door, he saw Adam stretch out on the bed fully dressed. That was odd, he still had his holster and boots on. He must have been really tired.
Hoss shrugged and was on his way.
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Adam was bordering on consciousness when Hoss looked in on him, but it took him a few minutes to get the strength to get up. When he finally pushed himself up into a sitting position the room spun like a top. He shut his eyes and tried to breathe deeply. After another minute, the room stopped spinning, but he knew something was wrong. He had to get down stairs and to the doctor's.
Adam was just stepping out of his room when Ben came through the front door. Adam walked to the stairs and grabbed the rail to stop himself from falling. "Pa?"
"Adam, you supposed to be asleep." Ben said in frustration as he got the key form the clerk, not having looked up at Adam.
"Pa?" Adam said again.
"Yeah?" Ben finally looked up at Adam and could not believe what he was seeing.
Adam stood on the first tread of the stair case, whiter than Joe had been. As Ben watched in horror, Adam's knees buckled and he fell down the stairs. Ben raced to try to catch him, but he only managed to stop the fall three steps from the bottom and a second too late. Just before he could stop the fall, Ben heard the sickening crackle of breaking bones. When he looked up he saw that Adam's legs had gotten tangled in the railing to the stair case. Each leg looked as if it had two joints where there should only have been one. And to make it worse it was the lower leg.
"Adam?" Ben called softly.
Adam's lashed fluttered a little then stilled momentarily. Adam's eyes opened, but the pain in the depths made it difficult for Ben to look in his son's eyes. "I'm.sorry.Pa. I.." With that Adam lost consciousness again.
Ben and the clerk, Tom, carefully pulled Adam's legs out of the railing. Though Ben was not young he was still very strong, and carefully hoisted his son into his arms and carried him over to the doctor's office in unknown imitation of Adam's actions earlier in the day.