The first thing Joe noticed as he began to awaken was the sound of voices nearby, voices he knew well. Groggily, he began to realize he was much more comfortable than the last time he woke up. Ropes no longer held him upright, digging into his wrists , his head was pillowed on someone's arm and oddly he felt secure. Then a familiar deep voice rumbled near his ear and he relaxed. Adam was taking care of him, there was nothing to worry about.

Pa's voice sounded near him. "Joseph?" he said.

Joe slowly opened his one good eye and a blurry Pa and Hoss swam into view. Joe shifted his gaze up and saw Adam's face. "Welcome back, kid," Adam smiled.

Joe gave a faint smile in return, then struggled to try and sit up. "Not so fast, Joe," Adam said, holding him back.

"Here, Shortshanks," Hoss held a canteen for Joe who gratefully sipped the cool water.

"That's enough for now," Pa said, pulling the canteen back.

"Looks like you tangled with a mountain lion, Joe," Hoss joked, recorking the canteen.

"More like a couple of coyotes," Joe breathed, gingerly touching his face.

"No need to worry about those coyotes anymore, Joe," Adam reassured him. "We've taken care of them."

Asner pushed his hat back and squatted down next to Hoss. "Howdy again, Joe. Wish it was better circumstances."

Joe smiled, then winced when Pa began to wipe his face with a cool cloth.

"How did you find us, Sheriff?" Adam asked.

"After we stopped for water at your place, we rode on into Virginia City to talk to Roy." While Troy continued on about how they eventually rode back to the Ponderosa and picked up the trail, Adam tried hard to listen but he couldn't quite make out the words. The roaring in his ears was growing louder and something warm was starting to ooze down his neck. He felt exhausted, the adrenaline that had fueled his earlier actions beginning to fade; dimly he realized the talking had stopped.

"Adam?" Ben asked. "Adam did you hear me?"

Abruptly Adam folded forward, Hoss catching him before he tumbled over on to Joe. Ben took hold of his youngest while Hoss eased Adam back. "Pa! There's blood on the back of his head!"

Asner quickly took charge. "Reynolds! Bring me some extra blankets. Foster the bandages from your saddlebags. Quint!" he shouted over his shoulder, "Stoke that fire and get some water from the stream. We're going to need it boiled." The deputies moved swiftly to their assigned tasks.

Hoss gathered Adam in his arms and for the second time that night, gently settled him on the readied bedroll. Ben and Troy brought Joe over, easing him to lay next to Adam.

"Do you want me to send one of my deputies for the doctor?" Asner asked Ben.

Joe interrupted. "Pa, we brought Hop Sing's bag. It's on my saddle."

"I believe we can manage with that for now," Ben said.

The camp quickly became a hive of activity. With Ben's ok, Sheriff Asner dispatched one of his deputies, the posse and five of Ben's hands to take the two dead outlaws and wounded Red back to Rader Crossing. Ben sent two hands after the chuckwagon, while the rest remained to help where needed. Hoss took a few extra bandages and applied pressure to the gash on the back of Adam's head.

Minutes later, the water was boiling. Hoss rolled Adam on to his side for Ben to properly clean the shallow gash and wrap the bandage around Adam's head. "Thank heaven it's not too deep," Ben said, tying a knot. Hoss rolled Adam back. Together, Ben and Hoss tended to the wounds Adam and Joe had acquired, applying clean bandages and cold compresses.

Just as Hoss covered him with the blanket, Adam groaned softly and opened his eyes. "Just lie quiet, older brother," Hoss said, tucking the blanket around Adam. "You're gonna be all right."

"Where's Joe?" Adam rasped, bringing a hand to his forehead.

"He's right next to you, son," Ben said, reaching forward to lay a comforting hand on Adam's shoulder. "He's sleeping, you should be too."

Adam slowly turned his head to the side to see for himself, Joe resting a few feet away, his chest rising and falling steadily. Adam sighed in relief; it was over. Joe was safe and they were both alive.

Ben poured some liquid into a cup. "Here, son, drink some of this," he said, lifting Adam's head. Adam swallowed the medicine and lay back, closing his eyes. "I already gave some to your brother. Now you need to rest and let Hoss and I take care of things. You did a fine job, Adam."

Adam frowned slightly. What fine job had he done? Gotten them both into this mess, potentially setting his brother up to be killed. If he had been more aware of his surroundings, he would have been able to take both outlaws down, thus sparing his family the injury and heartache. He sighed heavily, wondering how to approach it with Joe. He hoped they would be able to forgive his lapse of judgment. Pa already looked more white-haired, and Adam had been the cause of it. Guilt eating away at him, Adam slowly drifted off to sleep.

BNZ BNZ BNZ

Ben watched his eldest son carefully. After years of seeing his boys grow up, he could tell when they were hurting, physically or emotionally. While Adam did his best to keep things to himself, Ben could still see his son was blaming himself for what had happened, especially in the way Adam had told his father he had to come along to rescue Joe. Ben sighed quietly. Adam and Joe were safe, physically, but the emotional turmoil remained to be dealt with.

Hoss looked up. "Adam's blaming hisself again, ain't he, Pa?"

Ben nodded sadly. "He thinks it's his fault he and Joe got into this," he said, tucking the blanket around his eldest.

"How could he have stopped it, Pa? There were two of them! And what if it had been Joe got to the house first?" Hoss demanded quietly.

"I know, son, I know." Ben shook his head. "The most we can do now is help them regain their physical health. The rest will be up to them."