Ford McFadden's eyes opened wide with fear. He searched the unfamiliar room with frightened blue eyes, as his heart rate increased. His panic began to subside as his eyes rested on the familiar and comforting face of his brother.

Adam.

"Hey, buddy. It's okay. It's okay. Calm down. You are sick, and in the hospital. Don't flop around okay, pal. Easy now." Adam said leaning over him.

Adam looked different. His face was skinny and he had a beard. His eyes were red rimmed and he was all rumpled.

Adam reached out with a gentle hand, rubbing Ford's cheek. Ford took great comfort in the familiar touch of his older brother's hand. "It's okay, little man. You rest now. Just close your eyes and sleep. You are gonna feel better really soon."

Ford lifted a hand and gestured to the tube that was in his throat.

"I know buddy. It's helping you get healthy okay? Soon as you're a little bit better they'll take it out and then you can talk all you want. I know it is scary, but listen, I'm right here. I wouldn't let them do anything but help you. Okay?" His fingers brushed lightly back and forth across Ford's cheek. "You just rest buddy. I am right here with you and I'm not going anywhere."

Ford watched as Adam turned his head, speaking to someone behind him.

"Can I kiss him?"

Ford didn't hear the answer, and was feeling so tired that he could barely keep his eyes open, but then Adam was leaning close. As his eyes closed, he felt a gentle brush against his cheek. He knew it was Adam giving him a kiss; could hear Adam whispering in his ear, but he imagined it was his mother leaning close and tucking him safely into bed.

"I love you Ford." Adam whispered. "You just get better. I'll be here when you open your eyes again. I love you, little man."

Ford drifted back to sleep, not yet experiencing the pain and discomfort of his illness. For now, he was comforted and content to have his older brother at his side; watching over him, and making sure that he was completely safe.

***7***

"You look like a mountain man." Danny said to his older brother.

"You don't like the beard?" Adam asked rubbing his chin.

"No."

"Well, kid, it might just be you aren't big on change." Adam said tousling his brother's hair.

"I'm not." Danny said seriously.

"Yeah, I picked up on that." Adam stretched and was surprised to see how clean the house was for once. "You can always tell when Marlene comes to town."

"I know. All she does is cook, cook, cook and clean and clean and clean." Danny said. "You ought to see the freezer! It's packed!"

"Listen pal," Adam said squeezing Danny's shoulder. "I'm gonna take a quick shower. See if you can put together a cup of coffee for me, and when I get out, you and I can sit down and have a meeting."

Danny's eyebrows rose in surprise. "A meeting?"

"You know, man to man. You can fill me in on all that has been going on around here." He smiled at his little brother. Happy to be at home. Happy to be looking into the familiar eyes of his most troublesome brother.

"I'll make you a good pot of coffee." Danny smiled. "I can even throw in some toast and eggs."

"Feel free to let Marlene give you a hand." Adam said before disappearing up the stairs.

Danny ran straight to the kitchen, nearly crashing into Crane.

"Watch it!" Crane said juggling a glass of milk in his hand. "You almost made me spill."

"Adam's home!" Danny said excitedly.

"Yeah, I saw him. Ford's doing lots and lots better. Brian's with him."

"Can we go see him?" Danny asked.

"Not yet. You have to be thirteen to go to where he is now. But they'll move him to a regular room sooner or later, and then you can go see him." Crane said sitting down at the table with a book in front of him.

"If I write him a note, will you take it to him?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, sure." Crane didn't even look up, absorbed in his studies.

"Crane?" Danny asked as his brother studied the book in front of him. "Crane?"

"What?" Crane looked up and tried to squash down any irritation.

"Adam wants me to fix him some coffee. Can you show me?"

Crane smiled. If Danny wasn't fighting with his older brother, he was following him around the house. The two of them drove him crazy. He'd spent two whole weeks last summer in the psychology section of the library trying to figure it all out. In the end, he learned two important things: 1. He was never, ever going to be a psychologist and 2. Danny and Adam's relationship was ridiculously complicated.

"Yeah, sure. Then will you let me study?" He grinned at Daniel.

"Well, after you help me cook up some eggs too?" He gave his best angelic smile, and Crane had to laugh. One thing for sure, Danny was a good-looking kid who know how to use it to his advantage.

***7***

"When can I see him?"

"This is pretty good coffee, Danny. Did Marlene make it?" Adam asked.

"No, I told you. She took Evan to Andy's birthday party. Guthrie is with her too. You just missed her."

"I gotta say, I am impressed. Your eggs are better than Brian's! They taste as good as Crane's." He winked at Crane who sat at the end of the table working on his homework.

"Well, he mighta helped a little. When can I see him?" Danny repeated.

"I don't know. He's doing lots and lots better. They are going to take the tube out of his throat tomorrow. And then he'll be able to talk, but they are keeping him in ICU for a bit. He was really, really sick." He sat back in his chair trying not to relive the terror of the last six days. "I'm gonna head back there in a little bit and send Brian home."

"Already?"

"Yeah, sorry pal. But if you were sick, I'd be there for you." Adam said.

"I know." Danny sighed.

"So, do you like Miss Simmons? How's school going?"

"Much better. She's really nice Adam. Didn't you ever have her?"

"No, she's too young! I was in the sixth grade one hundred years ago. All my teachers are in old folks homes." He smiled. "She's pretty?"

"She's engaged. I already checked. Too bad." Danny said.

"You already checked?" Adam looked stricken.

"Listen, you can't spend all your time on the ranch. Someone has got to find you a girl." Danny explained. "I think if you had a girl, you'd probably be a lot more cheerful."

"You do?" Adam shook his head. "Maybe we ought to find you a girl, then."

"He's already in love." Crane said teasingly.

"What? I was gone six days! What the hell happened!"

"I am NOT!" Danny said furiously.

"Sure you are." Crane said. "But don't worry Adam, the girl is engaged." He winked at Adam.

"I am NOT in love with Miss Simmons. She's just nice. You'd be happy too, if you got to switch from Mr. Jacobs to Miss Simmons!"

Crane gathered his books. "I'm going upstairs. I'm never gonna get anything finished down here." He left the room but said over his shoulder, "It's okay to fall in love with your teacher, Danny. Just don't ask her to the dance."

"Shut up!" Danny said standing.

"Sit down." Adam said suppressing a laugh. Danny sat sulkily. "So, you like your new class better. Well, that's good. I gotta be honest with you, Daniel. I really didn't like Mr. Jacobs. Not when he was Crane's teacher. Not when he taught Evan. He's just mean. He shouldn't have treated you like that. I've been meaning to tell you that forever now. I never got the chance with Ford being so sick. You were right to get angry."

"Thanks, Adam." He sat quiet and thoughtful. "Can I tell you a secret?" He said after a long while.

"Sure."

"She had me take out all my notes from Mr. Jacob's class - the ones he made me write about that stupid, stupid book, and she burned them! She burned them right up!"

Adam's eyes grew wide with utter surprise. He felt a powerful sense of relief flood his system. Danny would be okay. "She sounds like she's a really good teacher." He said softly.

"She is." Danny admitted. "And I don't even like school, only maybe, now I do."

"Are you sure she's engaged?" Adam asked thinking that he would like to meet Miss Simmons.

"Yeah. I was pretty sad when I found out too. I was hoping you could marry her." Danny sat thoughtfully. "Hey, maybe she's got a sister!"

"That's okay." Adam said laughing. "I got enough to do around here. I don't need some girl getting things all complicated."

***7***

"Well, look who's sitting up!" Brian said stepping back into Ford's hospital room. Adam looked up from where he sat beside Ford's bed.

"Oh, it gets better. Watch this." He turned to Ford. "Go ahead, partner, show him."

"Hi Brian." Ford's voice was hoarse and gravely.

"Hi yourself, little man!" Brian said tears filling his eyes. "Ain't that the best damn sound you ever heard!" He said to Adam as he kissed Ford.

"Don't say ain't." Adam said in a thick voice. "You sound like a hick."

"He is a hick." Ford said with a smile.

"You watch it, mister." Brian said laughing and sitting down on the bed facing his little brother. "How you feeling?"

Ford shrugged. "Not so great."

"I'll bet." Brian said still smiling and leaning forward gave him another kiss. He glanced over at Adam.

"We were just thinking it might be time for a nap." Adam said, his smile matching Brian's.

"Sounds like a great plan. You lie on back down, Ford. You don't mind if I lie right next to you, do you?"

Ford shook his head.

"Good." Brian said. "I sure am happy you are getting better, little man. You sure scared Adam and me.

Ford lay back, and Brian scooted forward so he sat beside his little brother. He ran his fingers through Ford's blond hair, as Ford fell back asleep.

"He's doing okay?" Brian asked softly.

"Yeah." Adam sighed. "Taking that damn tube out . . . I swear I wanted to put my boot right through that doctor's throat. It was awful, Bri. I'm glad you weren't here. You would've knocked everyone in the room on their ass. It was . . . " He shook his head clearly troubled by the memory. "But he's better now. He feels pretty miserable though."

"Yeah." Brian said leaning over and kissing Ford's forehead. "I don't know what to do. I feel like bawling my eyes out and running around screaming for joy."

"I know what you mean. When I went home I stepped into that shower and bawled my damn head off! I'm glad Marlene was out! Otherwise I would've cried soon as I stepped in the door."

"That was pretty goddamn scary." Brian said. "I mean it, Adam. I have never been so scared in my whole damn life. And I've been scared before."

"You and me both." Adam rose and stretched before coming to stand beside his little brother. He looked down at Ford's face. With Ford's blond hair, and rosy cheeks, he always looked like a sleeping angel. He sighed, and bending low gave his cheek a soft kiss.

"I feel like I am fifty years old." He said looking at Brian. "Don't you?"

"Speak for yourself, I only feel like I am forty-eight." He grinned at his brother.

"Hoops called the other day. He was all stressed out because he'd got a ticket for driving too fast. He was in a panic his Dad was gonna find out and take his car away." Adam rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "He sounded like a little kid. He sounded younger than Danny."

"He's twenty." Brian explained.

"So am I."

"No you aren't." Brian scoffed. "You went straight from seventeen to thirty-eight." He sighed thinking it over. "He's worried about catching it from his dad, and you and me, are trying to . . ." He shook his head.

"We are trying to figure out how to be Dad." Adam finished the thought. "Goddamn stupid ticket! That's the biggest problem he's got." He looked down at Ford and ran his hand along his brother's baby-soft cheek. "You happy, Brian?" He looked up at his younger brother.

"Happy? What the hell you going on about? Happy? I am downright blissful! We pulled Ford back from the jaws of death! And I don't got to spend another afternoon watching them put my family in the dirt!"

"Not about this. I mean in general, are you happy?"

"I dunno. Most days, I guess." Brian studied his older brother. "Are you?"

Adam studied Ford's face and then looking up, met Brian's eyes. "I miss Mama." He said with tears in his eyes. "And I can't think of Daddy without it feeling like my chest is gonna burst. I wish so much . . ." He swallowed hard. "But if I had left, I wouldn't really know Evan, or Ford or Guthrie. They'd have grown up without me. I would've been off at school, worry about stupid tickets and shaking the dust of our tiny ranch off my boots."

"I was sure you were gonna leave and never come back." Brian said softly. "I was jealous. You'd be hanging out with pretty girls, and living the easy life, while I tried to be as good a rancher as you."

Adam looked up suddenly. "You are a good rancher, Bri."

"Yeah, but you and Dad had a kind of rhythm. He didn't even have to tell you what to do. You just knew it. And he was so damn proud of you. Adam Jackson McFadden, Jr." Brian school his head.

"He was proud of you too." Adam said seriously.

"Yeah, I know. But I always wished I was a good of a son as you." He met Adam's eyes. "I still do."

Adam said nothing but reached across and putting a hand on the back of Brian's neck, pulled his brother close, so that their foreheads touched. They looked down at little Ford sleeping peacefully beneath them.

"I am happy, Bri." Adam said finally answering the question. "Right now, I am pretty damn happy."