Thank you for making me laugh and keeping me going as this story has grown way longer than I first thought it would be.

Chapter Fourteen

Nick climbed the stairs towards the first floor, holding the piece of paper tightly in his hand. He hadn't read it, but he'd asked the telegrapher to deliver any wires for the Cartwrights to him immediately. For some reason, he found himself wrapped up in the saga that had come to such a climax in his town. He was about to knock on the door when it opened from the inside and he saw the town's doctor heading his way. He tipped his hat at his friend and hoped the visit was good news.

"Doc … I hope this means what I think it does."

Ben stood just behind the doctor in the doorway and nodded at the sheriff.

"That little fella's made of stern stuff. He's been awake a couple of times and he's definitely turned the corner. I was just telling Ben here that he's gonna need some more rest before they head home, but my professional opinion is that he'll eventually be alright."

Nick clapped his hand on the man's shoulder and grinned broadly. He'd seen just how sick the child was when he'd carried him into the doctor's rooms and he wasn't at all confident of anything.

"Great to hear."

"Something we can do for you, Sheriff?" Ben looked concerned as a visit from a lawman could go either way.

"It's Nick, remember? And I brought you this wire. Hot off the line."

Ben reached for the piece of paper and quickly scanned the words. A slow smile spread across his face and he looked up to see both men watching him. He waved the piece of paper towards them both and lowered his voice.

"That's the best news I could have asked for. The boys' adoption was illegal!"

Nick had already figured the man planned to challenge things from a legal point, but the wire had just added extra weight to things.

"Well that changes the picture, now don't it?"

As the two men headed back down the stairs, Ben pocketed the paper and walked back inside. His emotions had swung from one end of the pendulum and back again many times over recent days and he smiled as he headed towards the youngest boy who was half asleep again after the doctor's examination. It was time to lay all the cards on the table and fill in the holes that had plagued them for weeks. But first, they needed feeding.

"Hoss, how about you and Adam head down to the kitchen and rustle up some food? You heard the doctor – these boys need feeding up! See if you can get some broth for Matthew and maybe some biscuits and gravy. That'll be all he can handle yet."

"Sure thing, Pa!" Hoss grabbed at Adam's elbow and shoved him towards the door.

Ben sat down on the bed beside Matthew and reached out to ruffle the boy's hair. Matthew slowly opened his eyes again and flinched at the brightness of the room.

"Easy there, son. You're gonna feel better real soon."

"You promise?" Derek's face still carried a trace of fear, but he was clearly trying to push through it.

Ben smiled at him and nodded. "You heard the doctor. Your little brother is still not well, but he's going to get better. This rash is starting to fade and with some good food inside him, he'll get his strength again. When the boys get back, we'll talk a bit more, but for now, how about we let him sleep again?"

Ben looked up to see that Joe was standing almost at his elbow. Without thinking, Ben reached for his son and wrapped an arm around his waist as he pulled him closer. Joe draped his hand around his father's shoulder and smiled at the news.

Before long, Hoss and Adam arrived back with two trays that were loaded with food while a young woman trailed behind them with a coffee pot and another tray full of cups. She paused at the door as Adam had asked her to and she waited until he came back to retrieve them.

It was a relatively quiet meal as Ben sat with Matthew propped up against him while Hoss spoon fed him the beef broth. Derek hovered around and tried not to get in the way while he simultaneously devoured the ham and cheese sandwich that Adam had made for him.

Joe grabbed his sandwich and headed for the window ledge and Adam smiled as his brother did his usual thing when he wanted to think. He propped himself up on the sill with one leg against the glass and the other one planted on the floor. Adam decided he'd had enough of waiting and sucked in a deep breath before blowing it out again. He took his own food and coffee and headed across the room. He noted Joe had stopped eating and was staring at the dusty street below.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"Huh?" Joe startled as he realised how close Adam was and he quickly took a bite of his sandwich to save himself having to speak.

Adam leaned against the wall and swilled the coffee in the mug as he tried to think of how to start. It wasn't often that he was lost for words and he tried desperately to find the right starting point.

"Joe … you do understand that I'm not mad at you, don't you? I mean about the money … or anything else."

Joe nodded, but continued chewing slowly. Adam almost smiled at the old chestnut. It was Joe's favourite stall tactic, but at some point he would have to swallow.

"Then I don't understand what I've done for you to be having a nightmare about me."

Joe's gaze dropped to the floor and Adam finished his coffee before placing the cup on the windowsill.

"Joe? I know we've somehow miscommunicated a whole lot recently and I'm really sorry about that, but I'm listening now. I want to fix whatever it is I've done to make you scared of me."

"It's nothin'. Just a stupid dream. It didn't mean nothin'."

"Well whatever it was that you dreamed about, you looked mighty scared of me when you woke up."

Joe found his breath caught in his chest as he tried to fight off the image of his father's body that threatened to overwhelm him once again. He wanted Adam to stop so he could stop thinking about it.

"It was nothin'!"

"It was your pa again, wasn't it?" Derek licked at his lip as he tried to figure what to say next.

Adam frowned at the comment as it made no sense. "Pa? What about Pa?"

"He keeps dreamin' his pa gets hung … for helpin' us!"

The room was silent as Joe refused to comment. Finally Adam reached a hand out to lift Joe's chin and saw his eyes pooled with unshed tears.

"Joe? That true?"

When Joe still refused to speak, Adam nodded at him. "I can see why that'd cause a nightmare. But you were scared of me, Joe. You were calling out my name and you were scared of me!"

"It was my fault." The whispered words caught his attention and Adam shifted closer.

"What was your fault?"

Joe finally looked up and stared at his eldest brother's face. It wasn't the angry face that had pursued him though his dreams while threatening him with a knotted rope. It was full of concern.

"If somebody … if somebody killed Pa … what would you do?"

Adam didn't stop to think before answering; totally unaware of where the question was going.

"I'd bring them to justice."

"Exactly!"

Adam stared at his brother, unsure of what he was getting at.

"Joe? I don't understand."

"If it was my fault … what would you do?"

It was as if somebody had lit a lantern and Adam suddenly realised where his brother's agile imagination had taken him. He had dreamed of his father being hung and blamed himself.

"Joe … you thought I was mad at you? Tell me what happened in this dream of yours?"

Joe's voice cracked as he described his father being hung for his son's crime of aiding and abetting two fugitives. When he got to the part about Adam and Hoss hunting him down and Adam slipping a noose over his head in retribution, his voice gave out altogether. The sandwich he'd been eating fell to the floor and he turned his face towards the window. Adam moved closer and Joe flinched involuntarily.

When Adam's hand wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him upright, Joe struggled against him. His brother was taller and stronger and Joe found himself unable to escape.

"You listen to me, Joe Cartwright and you listen good! There is nothing … and I mean nothing that could ever stop me loving you. Some days I wanna pound you into the ground, but that's because you are my brother and brothers are supposed to fight with each other. Now I know that nightmare would have rattled you, but it's just a dream. Nothing has happened to Pa and nothing is going to happen to you. Certainly not at my hand! You hear me?"

As Adam looked at his father over the top of Joe's head, he saw his father's anguish at the comment. It was well known by all of them that Joe's greatest and most deep-seated fear was that he would lose his father as quickly and as unexpectedly as he had lost his mother. The fear had surfaced in different ways over the past ten years, but it was never far away. As Adam felt his brother's arms wrap around his waist, he debated trying something else. It was something he had never shared with another living soul, although he had shared it with Marie when he'd been to visit her. Finally Adam decided it was time for it to be aired with the rest of his family if it would help his youngest brother.

"Joe … there's something else that I never told anybody. Not even Pa."

Joe didn't move, but he had at least stopped fighting his brother's grip.

"Joe, when Marie died it scared me too. Not like it was for you and Hoss, but in a different way." Adam watched his father's face as he stared back at his son. "I was only sixteen and it scared me that something could happen to Pa and I'd lose you and Hoss as well. I was old enough to know the law and it scared me that I couldn't do anything to hold onto you both."

Ben's face quivered with emotion as he had never heard his eldest son express such doubt. Of course, he'd been oblivious to so much through that time when his life had been ripped apart once again. His boy had become a man overnight and had kept all such thoughts and doubts to himself. It wasn't a thought that had ever occurred to him before, but he could see how his analytical son would have come up with such a thing.

"I started making plans. I had it all figured out that if anything ever happened, I'd take you and Hoss and leave. Before anybody could take either of you away."

Ben's eyes shone with tears as he knew his son would have made good on that plan if he'd ever been forced to.

Finally Adam reached to lift Joe's face towards him. "So you see, little brother, I understand this whole thing way more than you could ever know."

As Joe squeezed his arms as tightly as he could around Adam's waist, he buried his face against his brother's chest and allowed the tears to finally fall.

It was many hours later by the time the rest of the details had come out. Most of Joe's misunderstandings were already clear to his family after talking with Mitch, but it felt good all round to finally lay it all out and clear the air. Allaying Joe's fears that his family could somehow get into trouble with the law had been the toughest sell, but finally it seemed he was reassured on that front.

Matthew wasn't at all sure what was going on and he clung onto his brother's arm as he tried to listen. His head still ached and he had to squint to stop his eyes from watering, but it felt good to have a full belly. He was growing sleepy again and had missed a chunk of the conversation when something suddenly caught his attention.

"You can't make them go back to Walter! Pa, you gotta do something!" Joe's voice was rising as he stopped in front of his father.

"Joseph, I have no intention of allowing them to go back there. Now, the sheriff dropped by earlier and gave me this." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the piece of paper. "It's a wire from Roy and he's been doing some checking up on things. It seems the adoption wasn't legal so the boys will not be going back to Walter Maddington."

"Really?"

"Yes, Son," Ben smiled. "Really! And just so you know, even if Roy hadn't sent this, I planned to petition the judge in Virginia City for temporary custody anyway."

Joe's whoop of joy could be heard down the hallway as he rushed at his father. Hoss laughed at the incredulous look on Derek's face and he patted the boy on the shoulder. "I think you're both stuck with us for a while yet."

Neither boy could speak as the fear of being forced to go back had hovered in the background for days. It sounded unbelievable, but Derek had finally decided that Joe's family really was all that he had talked about.

As Ben pulled the blanket up over Joe's shoulders he paused and stroked a hand over his head. The bruising had faded and turned a spectacular array of colours and the swelling had almost subsided as well. For the moment, in spite of the markings across his face, Joe finally looked at peace as he slept.

Across the room, Hoss had tucked in the two younger boys while Adam had settled himself on the same windowsill where Joe had been earlier. As Ben straightened up, he smiled at the sight. His youngest and eldest were more alike than either would have ever admitted.

There was a knock at the door and Hoss wandered over to open it to collect the coffee his father had ordered sent up. As he set the tray on the table, he realised that Adam hadn't even heard the door open. It was clear that his thoughts were miles away until their father tapped him on the shoulder and pointed towards the coffee pot.

"Pa … what are we going to do with those two?"

"Well, as soon as young Matthew is well enough to travel, we will rent a buckboard and take them home."

"And then?"

"And then we see what Roy has come up with. Like I told Joe, I intend to petition for temporary custody to give us time to make some decisions."

"Temporary … or permanent, Pa?" Hoss nudged at his father's elbow with a cup of coffee and Ben smiled at him.

"What? Five males in the house already isn't enough for you?"

"That ain't it, Pa. Those two boys ain't had a home in a real long time. We can't just send 'em packin' back to that orphanage!"

"I don't intend to, Son. I'm certain that given time we could find a home for them. If not in Virginia City, then maybe Carson City."

The three of them settled at the small table and tried to make a list of possible families for the two boys. There were several childless couples who had either never had children or had lost them to sickness or accidents. There were a couple of families with older children who might be possibilities. It was over an hour later when they finished up and decided it was time for bed. As Ben eased himself into the bed beside his son, he smiled as Joe shifted in his sleep and rested up against his arm.

"Goodnight, Son."

The shadows ran down the length of the main street as Kent pulled his horse up against a hitching rail. He had stayed to the backroads and kept out of sight, but he needed supplies. He was down to his last handful of bullets and the coffee in his saddlebags had run out two days earlier. If he had come across another man's camp, he would have just taken whatever he wanted, but instead he'd been forced into town. He slung his hat low over his face and settled down against the verandah post to wait for the mercantile to open. It didn't look like much of a town, but then Riversbend weren't such a big place. He appeared to be asleep, but from underneath his hat he could see the immediate area and he was alert to anybody who may pass by.