A/N: I have a confession to make. I've kept this last piece on the computer for a while. I guess I'm not quite ready to be done!
To everyone who has read, reviewed, alerted, made a favorite, given me an idea, and anything else I can't think of at the moment, I cannot say thank you enough. This has been a great experience and a lot of fun, too!
Ok, ok, enough of the mushy stuff. On to the story! Enjoy!
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'You shoulda seen it, Pa!' The excited words tumbled quickly out of Joe's milk-ringed mouth as he took another large gulp from the glass he held in his hand. Setting the glass down and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he turned to look at his brother. 'Me n' Hoss had ol' Storm ridin' circles in that corral, didn't we, Hoss?'
'Sure did,' Hoss glanced up from his dinner plate and smiled warmly at his little brother. His gaze quickly shifted over to his father and he said proudly, 'Little brother sure is gettin' to be right good with horses.' He gave a quick nod of his head at his little brother, causing a pink flush to rapidly cross Joe's features, his green eyes bright with excitement.
'Aw, thanks Hoss,' he stuttered shyly, dropping his eyes back to his plate. Joe cleared his throat and looked back up at his pa, his words imploring his father in the excited tone. 'Pa, maybe…maybe you can come out with us tomorrow and take a look? I mean, you should just see 'im, Pa! Please?'
Ben smiled at the excited chatter, responding to his son's pleading eyes with a quick nod as he laid his fork down and pushed back in his chair. His smile broadened at Joe's excited shout, the boy's body bouncing up and down in his chair in anticipation. Ben sighed contentedly as he looked around the table, watching his boys finishing their dinner. A slight moisture came into his eyes as he thought about the changes he had seen in all of his boys since that day at the old fishing spot.
It had been almost two weeks since Jenkins had gone after Adam, and Ben still felt a slight chill creep down his spine at the memory. His first instinct, once he had heard those three shots echoing across the countryside, had been to protect his sons. He shuddered as he thought about the frantic ride to the clearing, afraid of what he might find. When he had arrived in the clearing, his relief immeasurable at seeing his sons alive, all he had wanted to do was get them home.
Then Adam had asked to talk with Joe, alone. To say he had been apprehensive about leaving his boys in the clearing while he took a prisoner to town would have been putting it mildly, but Ben had always had unwavering faith in his oldest son. Ben knew he could trust Adam to make sure his younger brother was safe. And, just as his father had known it would be, Adam had proven his reliability yet again. Both his boys had come home, before dark as he had admonished, and Ben had felt a weight drop from his shoulders at the sight of both looking happier than he'd seen them in a long time.
Ben himself had relaxed considerably when he'd seen his oldest son's face: while his exhaustion was still evident, gone was the tension and worry he had seen in Adam's eyes since he had returned home. And Ben's heart had skipped a beat at Joe's almost instantaneous relaxation of his 'I'm all grown up now' attitude. Ben had known all along that most of his youngest son's actions had been due to his fears about his brother returning home.
So it was only natural that a little hope had risen in the father's heart when Adam had confided in his pa later that night that he and his little brother had spent a long time talking about those fears. It was the hope that maybe, once in a while, the little boy that Ben so missed seeing in his youngest son would come back out. Some of his hopes apparently having some merit, he relished every moment when his spirited, excitable little boy came back to him, just as he was doing now. His eyes watered slightly as he looked at his little boy: Joe's ever-present grown-up seriousness all but forgotten in the current excitement.
Ben blinked the moisture away as his glance fell to his middle son; Hoss putting still another helping of mashed potatoes onto his plate. Shaking his head slightly, Ben ruefully thought about the amount of food that his son could consume in a single sitting. His eyes softened as he noticed Hoss looking up again at his little brother, the smile in Joe's direction lighting up the teenager's gentle features.
Ben felt a small smile of pride cross his face at the memory of Hoss coming to him, asking his father's permission to give Joe a chance to help with the newly-broken horse. Ben hadn't been entirely agreeable to the idea; despite the number of years that had passed since the accident, his memory was still very good and it held a very vibrant picture of Marie's fatal fall. He also had the recollection of Adam's retelling of Joe's recent stunt to further dissuade him. As if that wasn't enough, his reservations had only grown after he heard the nickname that Joe had christened the animal with. But Hoss had solemnly vowed that he would be responsible for Joe and Storm at all times, and Ben couldn't help the growing smile of pride as he thought about how his middle son had kept to his end of the bargain. Hoss had remained patient the whole time, taking care of both the horse and his little brother.
Ben then turned his eyes to his oldest son, and he couldn't stop the full-fledged grin that crossed his face as he watched Adam's eyes blinking sleepily, the young man trying his hardest to stay awake long enough to finish his dinner. His heart swelled with a mixture of sympathy and pride as he thought about his stubborn oldest boy. In the past week since they had hired a new boss at the lumber camp, Adam had spent every waking minute on the plans for the new mine. He had been making the long treks back and forth to the lumber camp almost daily, working out all the logistics of the operation. Thanks to his son's stubborn determination, they were no longer just caught up to the project's original schedule, but they were now actually ahead of said schedule. Ben smiled again as he promised himself that later he would tell, no insist, his son take it easy the next day. He pushed himself up and stood behind his chair, clearing his throat in preparation for the announcement he was going to make.
'Boys, I would like you to all follow me into the front room,' he stated seriously, waiting as three sets of eyes lifted their gaze to meet his.
Hoss's eyes glanced up quickly at his father with knowing expectation, and Ben just shook his head slightly when he noticed the mischievous twinkle appearing in his youngest's bright green eyes. Joe stifled a giggle and bobbed his head in his pa's direction, his amusement at what his father wasn't saying clearly indicated. Ben shot his eyes quickly to his oldest son's face, hoping Adam hadn't seen the exchange. Ben's breath caught in a slight sigh of relief at Adam's slightly puzzled nod in agreement, the expression on the young man's face obviously betraying how clueless he was as to what was going on.
Ben stood and walked into the other room, an amused smile on his face as he shook his head at the friendly pushing and shoving he could hear between his two youngest as they followed. He reached his hand behind his desk and waited expectantly as his three boys gathered around him. Ben smiled broadly and his two youngest sons' faces suddenly broke into huge grins at the confused look appearing on Adam's face. His hand pulled out a large box from behind the desk and he handed it to his eldest son.
'This is for you, son,' Ben smiled warmly, Adam's face widening in sudden recognition, his hands trembling slightly as he opened the box.
Adam had to blink back the tears as he pulled the wrapping away from the box, exposing a beautiful, hand-carved frame. His face broke into a grin and he let his fingers trace along the intricate carvings as his eyes focused on the certificate protected under a layer of heavy glass.
'Oh, Pa…' he couldn't say anything else as his words caught in his throat. He looked up at his father, Ben's eyes shining and his mouth turned up in a proud smile. Adam felt his face growing warm as he blushed slightly, and he dropped his gaze back down again to the frame, trying to swallow the lump forming in his throat. He looked up again when he felt a small hand on his arm.
'Adam?' Joe's face grinned up at him as the small boy pointed to the empty space on the wall above the fireplace. 'I think that's a good spot to hang it…'
All Adam could do was smile and nod in agreement.
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Adam stretched himself out in his bed, a huge yawn that threatened to split his head in two escaping from his throat. He was so tired, he felt like he could sleep for a week. His tired mind ruefully toyed with the idea that maybe he should take his father's suggestion and take it easy for a day or two. He yawned again and rolled over to face the wall, the idea becoming more and more appealing by the minute as his eyes struggled to stay open. He was almost asleep when he felt a slight pulling on his arm.
'Huh?' he mumbled softly, flinching away from the touch. Incoherent thoughts jumbled in his head and he had almost had himself convinced that he had imagined the slight touch when he heard a small voice and felt the slight pulling again.
'A…Adam?'
Adam sighed deeply and rolled wearily over, his eyes slowly focusing on the little brother standing beside his bed. Despite his exhaustion, Adam couldn't help but smile at his brother's disheveled curls and sleep-flushed cheeks as Joe stood in front of him.
'What is it, buddy?' His voice was soft. 'It's kinda late…'
'I…I'm sorry,' Joe stuttered quickly, backing towards the door. 'It's nothin'…I'll just go…'
'Wait,' Adam called gently, sleep momentarily forgotten as he looked at his brother. Joe stopped and turned back around, his green eyes wide. 'What is it? Everything okay?'
Adam kept his eyes focused on his little brother, slight concern crossing his features as he watched Joe's eyes drop and a faint blush color his cheeks. He was about to ask his brother again what was wrong when Joe suddenly lifted embarrassed eyes to his brother.
'I…I just had a bad dream, that's all…'
Adam couldn't help the sympathetic smile as he watched his brother twist uncomfortably in front of him. While his little brother had been more relaxed in his grown-up attitude lately, Adam knew the dream must have been pretty bad for Joe to completely abandon his pride. Adam just nodded his head and asked softly,
'Do you want to talk about it?'
'I…I can't,' Joe mumbled awkwardly, his green eyes widening again. The sight caused Adam to flinch a little, the look in his little brother's eyes suddenly haunting. 'I…I don't remember…'
Adam's heart melted and he took pity on the boy in front of him. Whatever the dream had been, it had certainly spooked his little brother. Beckoning Joe with a head nod, he scooted himself over to the edge of the bed, leaving a wide space. Joe abandoned any reservations he had and within seconds threw himself down next to his brother as Adam's arm instinctively pulled his little brother close into a protective embrace. Joe yawned and smiled up gratefully at his big brother.
'Thanks, Adam,' he whispered, yawning again as his green eyes struggled to stay open. 'I love you.'
Adam tried to swallow the lump in his throat, listening to his brother's breathing relax into an even rhythm indicating he was sleep. He brushed his hand clumsily across his face and closed his eyes, his body relaxing into the warmth of his little brother curled next to him. Sometimes yesterday wasn't all that long ago.
'I love you, too.'
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I really hope the ending matches with the rest of the story! I'm kind of sad to see this finished, but I have several new stories in mind (did you catch the little possible clue?). I hope to see you all again for the next adventure!
As always, I would love to hear what you think! Thanks again for everything - RJ :)