DISCLAIMER: BONANZA and the original Cartwright characters are not mine...only the "guest stars" and storyline are.
Author's note: I am giving my apologizes right up front. I watched (and am re-watching) the episodes with the three sons a lot...when it comes to the later episodes? I only started watching them on You tube. That being the case, please bear with me when it comes to Candy. Adam flat out refused to be in this fan fiction so Candy got the job only...like I said, I'm just starting to really get to know him. I don't know how old he was supposed to be-I have him at roughly 27-and I get the impression he was supposed to have traveled from one place to another a lot before settling in as foreman for the Cartwrights. I hope I have understood that right.
TEACH ME TO FLY
CHAPTER SIX
SCENE NINE
'Eva's father...poaching..I had to shoot him..." Candy's eyes were part way open as he mumbled the words. Eva wiped the perspiration from his forehead with a wet cloth. He'd indeed developed an infection as the good doctor had feared he might. She looked up at Ben; who was standing next to her. Her eyes pleaded for him to help relax the man.
"No need to worry, son, we know all about that. You just relax and rest," Ben put his hand on Eva's shoulder, "You need to rest too. You will not do him any good if you run yourself into the ground. Just how much sleep have you gotten in the past three days?"
She gave him a sheepish grin and signed 'Little'. How could she rest not knowing if Candy as going to live or pass on?
Ben put his foot down as he pulled her wheelchair over, "You, young lady, are going to get some rest in your own room!"
'Yes, sir!' She signed the words as forcefully as she could. He only chuckled as he wheeled her out of the room.
While Eva slept and Ben watched over Candy, Hoss and Little Joe were talking in the barn. "I sure hope Candy pulls through; it just would not be the same without him around here." Little Joe was leaning against the side of the door looking up towards the window where Candy lay.
"I know and I think it would just do that little gal in. I poked my head into Candy's room last night. I saw her with her hands clasped and her head bowed. Maybe I was wrong only I kept an eye on her for a good ten minutes and she was still that way when I left. I figur' she was doin' some pretty hard prayin'. She really does love him with all her heart."
"I know, I can not believe how much energy she has been putting into not only taking care of him but also doing her own exercises. She just might surprise us all and be walking by the time he comes to, " Little Joe turned his attention back to his work, "I wish I had a girl that cared like that for me."
"Well," Hoss grinned, "Now since Adam's married and livin' in Australia maybe the girls around here will start lookin' more seriously at ya." That only served to get a pitchfork full of hay thrown his way.
SCENE TEN
Candy had finally won the battle over the infection and his fever had broken. He lay sleeping peacefully. Eva could hardly stand it; she wanted him to wake up. She wanted him to see that she really had been listening to everything he'd been saying.
Slowly Candy opened his eyes; it took a few seconds for it to come back to him. Eva was sitting on the side of the bed smiling down at him. He smiled back and asked softly, "How long have you been sittin' there beautiful?"
She blushed but before she could answer Ben spoke up from the doorway, "Except when I had to order her to bed or when she was doing her exercises; she never left your side." By the time he was finished speaking he was standing at the foot of the bed.
Candy's heart felt like it skipped a few beats as he stared at her, he'd had to kill her father. Candy was amazed she would still stand by him. He thought back on the conversation they'd had at the pond, he looked at her and said, "You once asked me once to teach you how to fly. How are you goin' to do that if I hold you down?"
Eva shook her head and signed 'Many ways fly. You help me fly.' She then shocked him by standing up.
His eyes widened then he started grinning from ear to ear, "You did it, girl, you did it!"
She nodded and sat back down and took a hold of his hands. He held on tight, "Ben, do you mind leavin' us alone for a bit. I promise, I will behave myself."
Ben laughed as he headed out the door. 'How come I hear wedding bells in the works?' He couldn't help but think as he looked back over his shoulder. Eva had her head laying on Candy's chest and he was brushing her hair with his fingers.