Every rose has its thorn just like every night has its dawn, just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song.
Every Rose Has Its Thorn by Poison
Joe could barely lift his chin off his chest. His head felt like a lead weight and he just knew that the dawn would bring the worst headache he'd ever known. That rotgut whiskey they served at the saloon had nothing on the pulque that somebody had pulled out of the wagon.
Why pulque? He had no idea, but somehow it reminded him of Clay and all that had slipped through his fingers. Of course, those crazy fanfic writers had brought Clay back into his life from time to time and had him be everything from a villain to Joe's saviour. He just couldn't figure out why and his fuddled brain wasn't helping.
"You okay over there?"
Joe lifted his head and tried to look at where Hoss' voice had come from.
"Sure thing, brother. I'm just great!" Joe tried to nod his head and instantly regretted it. "But you know, Hoss … every rose has its thorn … just like …"
"Every night has its dawn?" Hoss thought it was a good analogy, but apparently Joe thought otherwise, judging by the scowl on his face.
"Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song."
Joe looked up to see Adam sitting by the campfire with his guitar in his hands.
"Where'd you spring from?"
"I've been here all the time. Don't you remember?"
"Nooo … I'm sure we left home yesterday and you were still in Placerville."
Adam strummed a few chords as he shook his head. "Joe, you've had far too much to drink. How could I possibly have made it from Placerville to here in one day?"
"Stranger things have happened," Joe muttered to himself.
"Like what?" Ben frowned as he noted the state his two younger sons were in.
"Pa!" Two voices chimed together in protest.
"How can you …?" Joe stopped mid-sentence as he blinked.
"Just what is goin' on here?" Hoss had climbed to his feet and was swaying where he stood. "Pa … you weren't here a minute ago!"
Ben shook his head at Hoss' odd comment. "Don't be ridiculous, Son. I've been here all along. How else would you three manage to get anything done without me keeping track of you? It's not like you are old enough to make your own decisions without checking with me first."
"It's all right. You know the writers always get everything sorted out by the end of the hour." Adam continued to strum at his guitar and Joe caught a hint of Sweet Betsy.
How he hated that song!
"Of course they do," Ben agreed. "It wouldn't do to break continuity."
"Continuity!" Joe shouted. "What continuity? They can't keep track of my bedroom let alone who I'm dating. The same folks keep cropping up with different names and you'd think that after all this time they …"
"Joe! Wake up."
He blinked as he saw the shape of his father before him.
"Pa? Where am I?"
"At home, of course! In sunny Kansas."
"What?!"