AN.: Enjoy the read :)

Count on us

Adam sat hunched over in an armchair in the living area of their house, occupying the spot at the fire to read but instead, the book laid disregarded on the table close by. Adam pressed the heels of his palms into the sockets of his eyes, deep in thought, contemplating if it had been such a wise decision to make his brothers 'help' him. It had been over a week since they had found out about his condition. At first, Adam greeted the idea of having Joe and Hoss to look out for him with childlike enthusiasm. He had felt like they were children again, conspiring behind Pa's back, planning the perfect fishing trip they bravely planned on going on alone... He sighed heavily and straightened his back, sitting back in the armchair, resting his head on the backrest and closing his eyes for a brief second to give his tired mind the chance to recover. He sat there for quite a while, just enjoying the silence. It was a rainy day and with their main tasks already sorted out, Ben told them to stay in and get some peace and quiet. The concerned look which Ben send Adam's way never reached his oldest son though, but Adam welcomed the concept of staying in and relaxing wholeheartedly.

"Adam! Are you asleep?" slowly opening his eyes, he stared at a crouching Joe who had sneaked up on him. His youngest brother looked around nervously, clenching and unclenching his fists until his wavering gaze stopped on Adam's open and staring eyes. Joe let out a relieved breath and allowed himself to slowly rise from his obvious hiding spot.

"Thank god, I thought you were asleep..." Joe muttered, more to himself than to Adam but Nonetheless, Adam felt the need to respond.

"I was merely resting my eyes, little Joe." Adam realized it was kind of difficult to talk through gritted teeth.

Oblivious to Adam's teeth grinding, Joe stuck out his chest and smiled at his older brother. "Don't worry Adam, we are looking out for you, you can count on us." Apparently, Joe was on Adam-watching-duty today. For over a week, Joe and Hoss had been dancing around Adam, taking note of every step he made and fussing over him in the most annoying and persistent way possible. They took way too much liking to their self-declared duty and to the role of being the protective brother for a change. They worked in shifts for a day each to watch over Adam. He had told them that it was not necessary to fuss over him to that extend and that it was only dangerous when he fell asleep... He had told them that their behavior was more suspicious than usual and that that was not part of the whole 'keeping it a secret' idea but they simply waved him off, telling him that they were going to operate discreet. Yeah, as discreet as a mountain lion cub crying for its mother.

One time, he woke up in the middle of the night, feeling the need to relieve himself only to remember that Hoss had insisted on tying him up quite tightly before they all went to bed, making it impossible for Adam to free himself on his own. Bound to his own bed, Adam started banging his bed-frame against the wall by bouncing up and down, hoping either Joe and Hoss would be alerted by the noise and release him from his bounds and also praying to god that Ben wouldn't hear him and question the obscene sounds coming from his oldest son's room.

After that experience, they refrained from binding his hands, trusting that moonstruck-Adam, or as Joe had started to refer to his alter ego, Madam (A mixture of moon and Adam, well thanks Joe) wouldn't be able to untie the bounds which on the contrary, Awake-Adam (or simply Adam) was.

So Adam was grateful to be able to untie himself when he woke up one night, being incredibly thirsty. Looking at the nightstand beside him revealed an empty glass. Sighing and bending down to untie his feet, Adam swung his feet out of his bed and left his room to get something to drink from the kitchen. Glass in one hand, he opened his door as quietly as possible and proceeded to go just as quietly towards the staircase when he heard a squeaking door behind him being shoved open and an exclamation around the lines of 'Stop right there Madam!' as he was tackled to the floor from behind, his limbs being entangled with Joe's as they struggled and he tried to free himself from his little brother. The ruckus in the middle of the night resulted in both Hoss and Ben soon joining them in the hallway trying to get them both entangled and to their feet. Joe had a panicked expression on his face when he realized that their father might have caught them in the act of trying to keep Adam's secret and therefore, failed doing so. Adam caught sight of Joe's wide eyes staring at his father and was suddenly overwhelmed by the need to protect his clumsy, stupid brother. There was a tiny voice whispering in his mind that he should return the favor.

"Thanks for unknotting me from little Joe, Pa. I was almost afraid that I might have to stay a tangled mess of limbs." Adam said, the hint of a calm smile playing around his lips. He could rather feel than see Joe looking at him and relaxing at his side.

"What on earth happened here?" Ben asked in a stern voice.

Joe had apparently found his voice again as he eagerly explained the mishap to their father. "It was my fault, I went to go to the kitchen to get something to drink when I ran into Adam."

Adam was quick to raise the glass he still clutched in one hand. "Same here. I just wanted to go to the kitchen to get something to drink." He couldn't stop himself from sending an accusing glare at Joe while saying that. Both Joe and Hoss eyed the glass Adam held in one hand, understanding dawning in both their expressions. Joe guiltily looked at his feet, which nervously tapped the ground in an unknown rhythm as he suggested to get something for Adam to drink as well since he already was on his way to the kitchen anyway. Adam smiled at little Joe and handed him his glass. Ben watched his youngest son retreat to the kitchen, a bushy eyebrow raised in astonishment. It was not often that he saw Joe doing something for Adam so eagerly. He must finally be growing up Ben thought, a fond smile curling his lips upwards, as he turned to walk back to his room, the incident in the hallway almost forgotten already.

Hoss closed the distance between himself and Adam as he lowered both his gaze and voice before addressing his older brother. "You didn't-"

"No I didn't, don't worry. I just went to get something to drink." Adam stared in the direction Joe had disappeared to earlier, a soft laugh leaving him as he pondered out loud. "I don't know if I should be mad at him for tackling me to the ground or proud of him that he not only keeps his promise of watching over me but that he also is so passionate about it."

"It makes 'm proud to be of help to ya, Adam." Hoss said.

Adam nodded slowly, watching as little Joe came stumbling up the stairs, balancing a full glass of water while spilling half the content over the floor. At that point, Adam was still not sure if it was such a good idea to include his brothers in his plan of keeping his condition a secret, especially since they tempted to overdo it and Adam, with being annoyed rather quickly and all that, simply had no nerves of dealing with that on top of his other problems. He soon learned how wise it was to have Hoss and Joe on his side though.

Eyes. Eyes everywhere. Hatred, pain, and fear dripped from them. He could also sense love and loyalty and they all spoke of untold tales of suffering, of happiness of betrayal and the will to fight for for him, no matter what it meant they were sacrificing. Adam was used to emotions like these, both experiencing them himself or of them being directed at him but something about the current situation was so utterly wrong, it had Adam's stomach twisting in painful waves.

"Yes, I recognized Mr. Cartwright, the defendant, as the murderer." Adam ripped his gaze from the eyes surrounding him and turned into the direction that sentence had come from. Chocolate, brown eyes, tan skin and raven hair stared down at him from the witness stand. As if looking into a mirror, Adam saw himself staring back at him.

"What...?" Adam was rendered speechless.

"You murderer! How could you have done that to our daughter!"

"You should be executed right now!"

"He didn't do it! I don't believe a word that crook is saying."

"He would never harm anyone! I'd trust this man with my life!"

"Silence!" The judge hammered furiously, trying to get the room to calm down. Adam took the ruckus as an opportunity to turn and look around. He was in the court room, sitting in the place of the defendant and apparently, he was tried for murder.

"No!" Adam gasped. How was this possible? He didn't do it. But you did something, didn't you? A deep voice in the corner of his mind asked. It sounded suspiciously identical to his own voice. Yes. He stared up at the witness stand again, looking straight into his own face, brown eyes gleaming down at him and his own facial features being corrupted as the imposter's face contorted into a vicious snarl, followed by silent words being formed on his lips: Liar.

"-dam, we got you Madam, don't worry." Adam was confused. Did he miss out on a female visitor coming to the Ponderosa? No it couldn't be that, Adam would've known about it. Then who was the voice... Joe? Yes little Joe - who was little Joe addressing? And why was he in his room? Adam tested his throat by emitting a low groan. He suddenly stopped moving. He had been moving? - And the grip on his shoulders and under his knees tightened.

"Adam? Can you hear us?" That was Hoss.

"Adam?!" That was an overly-dramatic little Joe.

Adam opened his eyes and found himself being propped against Hoss' chest who currently held him in both his arms. His younger brother looked at him with concern in his eyes as Adam begun to struggle immediately against being held in such a way.

"I'm awake, I'm awake, you can put me down." Adam sputtered, his voice cracking ever so slightly. As Hoss put him down, Adam stared at his feet, waiting for the pinkish flush to leave his face before he dared to look his brothers in the eyes. They hovered near him, giving him the time and space he needed, but they were ready to act if Adam requested assistance.

"What happened?" Adam asked Hoss and Joe.

"I heard the front door closing and immediately checked on you but you were gone." Joe chided in. "Adam, what about the bonds? Why were you able to leave your bed in the first place?" Joe huffed, crossing his arms in front of a puffed out chest. Adam looked at his little brother in surprise, not being used to the authority radiating off of Joe. Was he being lectured by his younger brother?

"I might have forgotten to retie my legs after I left the bed earlier this night..." Adam confessed, feeling a bit guilty but tried not to show it.

"Adam, Ya shouldn't underestimate ye condition. Imagine if little Joe didn't hear you leave the house." Hoss said in a low voice, his eyes gleaming with both concern and relief.

Adam turned to little Joe and slowly started nodding. "Yes, you are right, Hoss." Adam said, while still looking at Joe, whose eyes darted around, not being comfortable with being looked at like that. "I shouldn't underestimate it. And especially... I shouldn't give you more reason to worry about me than necessary. I'm sorry, Joe, Hoss... And thank you both for catching me." Adam smiled at his brothers and before things started to become too emotional for Adam's liking, he turned towards home and started walking. The sudden pain he felt crawling up one leg and the hiss escaping his mouth made him stop and his brothers appear right by his side.

"Ya should move carefully. We got to you before you could throw yourself off a cliff but not before you tripped and fell." Hoss knelt down to prod at a bloody gash on Adam's shin. Adam jumped away from the pain and muttered under his breath in annoyance.

"Come on Adam, let's go home and have a look at that." Joe had already picked up his pace to scout the way ahead and only stopped to turn and look at both Adam and Hoss making their way home as well. Hoss had held out a hand, an offer to help Adam but Adam refused, still embarrassed about the whole situation and how vulnerable he felt in front of Hoss and Joe. Still, the feeling of being able to have someone to rely on, someone to talk to and to get help from outweigh all those unpleasant feelings in the end. Adam would never admit it to Joe and Hoss openly, but right there and then, besides the trial and townsfolk crawling in the back of his head, besides the pain and ache he felt and despite the condition Adam had to face every time he dared to close his eyes for the night... despite all that, he looked at his brothers and was happy.

AN.: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was more of a filler but I enjoyed writing this so much and I'm a little ashamed to admit that I had to laugh a lot while writing some of the scenes. Please let me know what you think about this. Next chapter will turn more serious and will push the story foreward. Until next time and thank you for reading :)