The gunshot man was pale and still in the bed, his chest barely moving as it rose and fell under the sheets. Adam sat on the side of the bed and Meeker opened his eyes with pain contorting his features. Sweat beaded the sick man's brow and his voice was thick as he tried to speak. At first, only a few croaking sounds exited his mouth but then he was able to gather his dimmed thoughts.

"C...Cartwright...Adam...C...Cartwright?"

Adam nodded solemnly. "May I ask who are you, sir? Is there anyone I can contact for you?"

"No...no..no one. Except...J...Jody...I guess...but...I don't know where he is..."

Adam's back stiffened and he grimaced at the burning sting that action had caused. "Jody? Do you mean Jody Grant?"

The man's fevered eyes opened wider. "Y...you know him?"

"Yes...I do," Adam felt a caution that niggled at his memory. "Your name Meeker? George Meeker?"

Much to the other man's chagrin, Meeker nodded. A tense expression covered Adam's face as he rose from his seat and the faint pity of only seconds before faded from his eyes. "Who was that man who shot you then? A man you cheated out of his life's savings? Or was it a bounty hunter, intent on collecting on your crimes?"

Meeker sighed, an exhausted rush of air that he couldn't afford to lose. He turned his head away and groaned at the ever-present pain gnawing into his abdomen. He felt trapped by his body and as worthless as the persistent fly buzzing around his face. Why he ever had borrowed all that money from Anderson he'd never know but he had and now he was in a mess up to his neck. Far from being a seeming savior, this Adam Cartwright was becoming a devil to deal with. He just wanted the wretched man to go away and leave him in peace.

The compassionate part of Adam's brain told him to calm down but even so, Adam wasn't a man to be ignored. "I asked you who was it that shot you and I expect an answer. Bringing you here could have been a mistake, one of folly that could put my family at risk. The man who tried to kill you certainly was earnest and was prepared to sacrifice himself to do the deed."

Meeker's voice came on a whisper, "Is he dead then?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, I was the one who killed him. To save your sorry hide apparently, Meeker. What were you doing on the Ponderosa?"

"Looking for a...job."

That statement filled Adam with incredulity. "If that's true, what made you think that we would ever accept you on our payroll?"

Meeker coughed once and moaned but Adam was becoming increasingly irritated, his own growing back pain fueling his emotions. He managed to remain silent until the former cardsharp could talk again. Resigned to the conversation, Meeker turned his head back to face his interrogator.

"I had heard that...that the Ponderosa was a good pl...place to earn an extra buck for a f...fellow on the move."

"Running from the law, you mean."

Attempting to be forceful in his denial, Meeker shook his head but the slight movement only served to make him feel and look more pathetic. "It doesn't matter, Mr...Mr Cartwright. When you are on the move all the time and pl...playing cards just in order to get your next meal...people will blame anything on you."

"They will if you give them a reason...like threatening a ten-year-old boy, perhaps."

"I didn't threaten Jody. I yelled and scared him, I know, but...but I was frustrated and...he wasn't being c...cooperative."

"That is his right. If he doesn't want to live on the road with a no-account like you, he has the choice to refuse. He's a remarkable boy with a lot of potential and doesn't need a role model like you to ruin his life. He's been through enough with losing his entire reality. If you would have known his parents, what fine people they were, you'd understand his grief."

A tear trickled down Meeker's cheek coming to pool in the hollow of his wet neck. "I did know his parents. Anne was a kind older sister...to me."

Adam was floored, realizing that he had been conversing with Jody's uncle this entire time. A sinking pit opened in his heart, where the hope of adopting the boy himself should have remained. After a few more inquiries but not finding much more out than he already knew, Adam had heard enough and needed some air. His back was burning and his legs felt like they might betray him as he backed up and found the room's doorknob behind him.

Meeker followed Adam's shadow with his own eyes until the door closed then tears did come then. For he too felt deep remorse that he had ever come to Carson City. He wished that he could just erase the events of the past few weeks but he knew that he couldn't, that he'd have to live with the consequences.

I* * * * *I

When his eldest exited the guest room, Ben turned from talking to Evangeline and knew at once that something had happened. He moved to Adam's side as the younger man dropped into the nearest dining room chair, his head coming to rest in his hands.

"Adam? Are you alright?"

"No," came the reply. Adam's mind was reeling with not only a pounding headache but also with the weight of his troubles. He felt so tired and knew that he should probably take a nap but his pride prevented him from admitting that with his actions.

Walking briskly to her man's side, Evangeline placed a hand on the back of Adam's neck, making him flinch. Surprised that Evangeline had arrived while he had been occupied, he looked at her but seeing his future wife brought another trouble to mind that he didn't want to deal with. He had been unconscious for most of the night before but he knew that she had been there during his episode and that she had been upset about it. Yet another hidden fear seemed to be coming true for him as well and he couldn't process what he thought he was losing.

"Adam...we need to talk," Evangeline said as gently as she could.

Shaking his head, Adam struggled to his feet and shrugged off his father's help with a stone expression settling on his face. Evangeline debated letting him go in peace but then a stubbornness rose up and she caught up with him by the steps. She clutched at his arm, halting his progress.

"I won't be ignored, Adam. I need to talk to you. There's too much that has been left unsaid between us and we need to settle it."

At last turning his head to gaze at her with that same granite expression, Adam stared at her for what seemed to be an eternity before proceeding to pull himself up the stairs, step by step. Evangeline was stunned and turned with bewilderment to Ben still standing by the table. He shrugged, shook his head and lowered it to avoid her questioning gaze.

Beginning to become angry, Evangeline lifted her skirts with purpose to run up the stairs. "Adam Cartwright, don't you dare walk away from me! I'm not finished!"

She disappeared into the hallway and Ben grimaced when the sound of Adam's door slamming reverberated through the house a few seconds later. Almost immediately, muffled voices could be heard. Ben couldn't hear what was being said but he prayed that the couple would be coming out of that battleground the better for going into it.

The front door opened and admitted a smiling Hoss with a laughing Jody held high on his left shoulder. The smile fell from Hoss' face when he saw the contemplative distraction on his father's face. He lowered the giggling Jody down to the floor and patted his behind as the boy ran to the kitchen to talk to Hop Sing and show off the new whistle.

Hoss put his hands in his front pockets and sidled up to Ben's side. "What's the matter, Pa?"

Ben sighed and wanly smiled as he gestured toward the upstairs. "Your older brother is finding out what married life is going to be like."

Raised voices drifted down to their ears although specific words couldn't be deciphered. A guffaw grew in Hoss' chest, the merry sound toning down the tension in the room. He didn't know the extenuating circumstances of Adam's strange behavior and he only knew that his brother was coming up against one strong woman above them. He patted Ben's arm and grinned. "Sounds like both of them are going to do great together. Don't worry, Pa. I still remember you and Marie's to-dos. I always made sure to be somewhere important when that happened."

Ben frowned and squinted at his middle son. "Keep up that smart talk, boy, and we can have Adam's second round right down here while he's busy up there...Marie gave me plenty of practice over the years and her son has fine-tuned my skills."

Jody came from the kitchen just then with a metal pail in his hands and he wondered what was so amusing as to have Hoss doubled over in laughter. Adam's pa wasn't much better, leaning on the back of the settee for support. Hoss noticed the boy first and came over while still wiping tears from his eyes.

"You ready to feed Coal, Jody?"

"Sure am, Hoss. Hop Sing gave me the right amount of milk."

Ben walked to the door and opened it, ushering out the other two. A grin lit his handsome face, making him look many years younger as his eyes twinkled. "Let's go feed the little guy then and leave Bull Run to be fought in here."