A/N: Up next is Five Candles. This one turned out to be the shortest one yet due to how I wrote it. Then, we've got three episodes back to back and I might play around with the last one of the season, too. And then we're into Candy's "last" season until 14. I fully intend to do a lot of wrecking in season 11 and I hope it meets your expectations. Again, I don't own Bonanza, only my OC. Until next time, enjoy.
"Here you go, Joe, volume one, Yankee Meadows." Her brother gave Callie a charming grin and took the heavy book.
"Just what Pa needs. Hey, sis, did he say when he'd be down here?" Chin in hand, Annie sat at the table beside him, and shook her head slowly.
He knew their pa had told them he might be running late depending on how long it took at the bank. Why did he always have to do this around a pretty girl – even when she was engaged?
A low rumbled rose through the floor; dust floated down out of the rafters. Annie's heart skipped a beat. "What was that?" Callie looked around, too, her face twisted in confusion. Joe flipped open the book with a shrug.
"The courthouse is built over the Golconda Mine. They're probably blasting." Blasting? Mine? Oh, no. No, no, no.
"I thought they weren't supposed to blast near the surface." Joe smiled up at the pretty brunette.
"They're not. It's just bigger than usual. Nothing to be afraid of." She sighed in relief.
"I'm glad that's over." The door at the top of the stairs opened and a man hurried down into the basement.
"Callie! Happy birthday, darling. And a surprise." He swept off his hat and held up a basket. "A picnic basket prepared by the chef at the Nevada Club. Chicken and wine. And I've … I've made a special reservation for the willow grove, back of the opera house."
The look on Joe's face was comical; almost enough to override her uneasiness with the rumbling down below. She raised an eyebrow and let a tiny smirk pull at her mouth. His nostrils flared and he slammed the book shut.
"Oh, I'm delighted … but I thought you had to be on the witness stand."
"I was, but I've been dismissed." He kissed her hand and Callie blushed.
"Oh!" She dragged him over to the table. "Joe, Annie, this is Jonathan Pike, my fiance." Annie kicked Joe's leg under the table and he grudgingly stood to shake hands.
"A pleasure." He sounded like it was anything but. Pike smiled.
"I've met your father."
"Yeah. Well, it was nice to see you." Joe sat back down and threw the book open to a random page. Annie sighed internally. Would he ever grow up? Callie licked her lips and turned to them.
"Will you two be all right?"
"Hmm? Oh, yeah. We're fine. Just waiting on Pa." Callie's smile grew and she collected her shawl. Another low rumbled drifted up and they froze. Annie jumped to her feet.
"I'll wait for Pa upstairs." Joe rolled his eyes.
"Annie, for the love of heaven they're blasting a couple hundred feet down. There's nothing to be afraid of."
"I don't gamble when dynamite's involved," she shot back and stalked across the records vault towards the stairs, meeting Deputy Gibson as he escorted Bristol Toby down into the basement.
"Why's he not going back to the jail?" Toby stared down at her as she slid sideways, giving them room on the narrow stairs.
"Sheriff fears the crowd might turn ugly and said to put him down here." The deputy gestured with his rifle. "Come on, step lively." But Toby had caught sight of Pike next to Callie.
"Liar!" Toby erupted and lunged for Pike, Gibson struggling to restrain him. Joe leaped from his chair and ran to help the deputy. "Liar! They haven't hung me yet!" Her brother and the deputy threw him in the cell under the stairs and locked the door.
"Johnny, did he hurt you?" Callie looked up at her fiance with concern.
"He didn't touch me."
Another rumble rose through the floor and the building groaned. Her heart leaped into her throat and she looked up. Dust sifted through the creaking, groaning rafters. The building shook and a cloud of debris shot out of the past. She scrambled up the shifting staircase.
"Annie!" Joe lunged for her. "Annie, get off the stairs! Annie! All of you, take cover!"
The floor lurched, timbers shrieked, the windows exploded, and the whole building swayed and groaned like it meant to drag them down into the mine below. The ceiling collapsed behind her, launching a cloud of dust across the room.
Please no, please no.
Weight slammed into her back and she crashed to the buckled floor hard enough she tasted blood. A scream clawed at her throat. Something struck her head and the world went black.
Her ears rang. Dust clogged her throat and she coughed, flinching when it jostled her aching ribs. What had happened? Where was she? She squinted through the dust hanging in the air and sucked in a sharp breath.
The courthouse.
Joe.
She tried to turn around, see if the stairwell was clear, but she couldn't move, couldn't even really see past the jumble of rafters, plaster chunks, and bricks. Her heart skipped a beat.
Buried alive.
Please, God, no, she couldn't be. Had the whole building caved in? Was she down in the basement? The silence was eerie … where was everyone frantically searching for survivors? How long had she been out? Had they already given up? She reached out, searching for the connection they'd shared since they were born, and found it intact. He was alive. Relief warred with panic. Footsteps scrambled across the floor and it swayed a little under her belly, giving panic the edge.
"Mrs. Conner said they were down there!" Candy sounded frantic. Debris groaned as it shifted.
"Candy, get back here before you go through the floor!" Her pa's voice rang out sharp, tinged with fear. "I sent a rider for Hoss, and Tremayne from the Golconda should be here any time now, we have to wait. Come on."
"No." It sounded like a scuffle broke out, but she couldn't be sure through the ringing in her ears.
Annie fought to move, but the wreckage wouldn't budge. She drew in a breath to scream and her chest constricted, reducing whatever noise she may have made to a pitiful whine. If she could just dislodge one of those splintered beams over her head … She stretched her hand out, fingers barely grazing the old wood. No. "Candy …" It hurt to speak, but she had to keep trying. She choked on dust and sucked in as a deep a breath as she could manage without sending stars dancing behind her eyes. "Candy!" It wasn't near as loud as she'd hoped.
Silence descended, then, "Did you hear that?"
"Over there. Be careful." The footsteps inched closer, and the floor dipped, sending her heart into her throat. She turned her head and blood thundered in her temples, the pulsing throb making the room spin sickeningly. She blinked hard, desperate to keep awake, and tried again.
"Candy!"
A beam crashed to the floor, then another. "Over here!" The debris over her head shifted, and his face swam into view. "Annie! Hurry," he hollered over his shoulder and kept digging. "We're coming, sweetheart, I promise." He slipped his hands under her arms. "I'm gonna slide you out."
"I can't move," she choked out. "There's …" Her pa appeared behind Candy and dropped to his knees.
"Dear God, Annie … was Joe …?"
"Basement," she whispered and his face whitened. "Pa, I can't move my legs, there's a beam or something," she hissed in a rush that ended in a moan as pain shot through her chest.
"Easy, now, don't talk." His lips thinned and he swallowed hard. "We'll get you out, just don't move, you could hurt yourself worse." He crawled around behind her and began tossing debris towards the wall.
Now that she could see around her, it didn't feel so much like that mine …. Weight lifted off her hips.
"I've got it, slide her out. Easy." It had to be heavy; even though she couldn't see him, she could hear the strain in his voice. Candy's hands tightened on her arms, and she was sliding across the floor. "Doc Martin's in the saloon, get her down there, now!"
She was cradled against his chest, and then he was rushing out of the courthouse and down the street. Every step sent pain stabbing through her chest and she choked on a breath that wouldn't come out. "Easy, easy," he sounded panicked. "Doc!" Oil lamps flickered on the walls and a chandelier spun past.
"Over here." He laid her down and her breath hitched in her throat. Doc Martin's face swam into view. "Thank God. Where's Ben?"
"Courthouse. Joe's still in there." Candy swallowed hard. "She was under … if she hadn't …"
"No sense borrowing trouble." Hands touched her head and she flinched. "Easy, Anne. What hurts?"
"My head … and my chest …" He felt her ribs and she flinched again, biting back a cry of pain. Her head rolled sideways. "Joe … they have to get … Joe …."
"They will," Doc Martin soothed. "Couple ribs broken. I'll get Mrs. Bowen to help me wrap them."
"What about her head?"
"She's got a nasty cut for sure. Anne, can you remember if you lost consciousness after it collapsed?"
"Yes … I don't know how … how long." He leaned in and checked her eyes.
"Probable concussion. She needs to stay here and rest. Bring her upstairs for me and we'll get her settled in bed."
"But, Joe –"
"Right now, young lady, you need to worry about yourself. There's nothing you can do for your brother at this point."
"But, I –"
"No arguments."
But I left him down there. Further protest died when Candy picked her up and her head spun. She closed her eyes and buried her face in his shirt as he carried her upstairs "You have to get Joe, please, Candy, promise me," she said in a rush.
"I will." He gently laid her down and she moaned again. "I promise." The bed was softer than the courthouse floor, but it didn't stop her chest from going tight.
"Candy, you go on back and tell Ben I think she'll be all right."
"You think?"
"Calm down, young fellow. Head injuries can be tricky, but unless something changes she should be fine in a few weeks. She's lucky she didn't get crushed."
"I know." His voice sounded thick. "I'll be back as soon as we get Joe out, it shouldn't take more than a few hours to clear that stairwell." He left the room and she closed her eyes.
"Anne, your whole family possesses the luck of the Irish, or something, else the lot of you would have been dead years ago."
"Ma was French," she whispered hoarsely. "Water?"
"Of course, just not too much at once. Don't want it coming back up." Doc Martin brought her a glass and she drank gratefully. "Easy. We'll get those ribs wrapped and you'll be more comfortable." He sighed. "I probably know the answer to this, but you have no plans to stay here and rest, do you?"
"You know us too well."
"Humor me and stay here, please. Joe would pitch a fit if you aggravated your injuries trying to dig him out."
"I can't." She pushed herself up and hissed at the sharp stab of pain. Doc Martin folded his arms over his chest.
"If you dislodge one of those ribs and it goes into your lung, you'll be laid up far longer than a few hours. And you certainly won't know about your brother until at least tomorrow when you woke up from the ether."
"Fine." She eased back down. "You win … this one, Doc, but don't … don't gloat. It's never gonna be a … a habit."
"I'll take my victories where I can get them." He reached out and touched her shoulder. "You rest. They'll get Joe out soon, you'll see." A knock came at the door and Mrs. Bowen bustled in carrying a small pile of cotton winding.
"Annie, dear." She rushed over and hugged her gently. "I'm so glad you're all right. When Ben realized the both of you were still down there when it collapsed … I was afraid the poor man was going to keel over right in the middle of the street. Here, let me help you sit up so we can take care of those ribs."
By the time they were finished with her ribs and the cut on her head, she was secretly glad they'd made her stay in bed. She was so tired, and her head still pounded mercilessly. Mrs. Bowen sat with her, chatting on and on about nothing in particular. Annie tuned her out and tried to rest, but all she could see when she closed her eyes was the courthouse caving in on itself, Joe trapped in the rubble.
She'd know if he was dead, or if he was the one hurt bad, but she didn't feel it in her gut. He was fine, he had to be.
The afternoon dragged on, but Candy didn't return with news. No one did. Doc Martin stuck his head through the door at one point to tell her that Hoss had come back from Golconda with the compressor and they had it set up beside the courthouse, and word was there were five people in the basement, all alive, but one hurt bad.
She thanked him with her eyes closed against the headache, and he went back downstairs to tend to the other injured.
Three dead, that was the number she'd heard whispered when they thought she wasn't paying attention. She knew they were afraid it was higher, at least until those trapped in the basement had managed to send Morse Code up a stove pipe.
But she knew otherwise. Joe wasn't dead, he wasn't even hurt. Which explained why they hadn't bothered to ask if she had been found alive; Joe already knew she was.
"Anything?" she asked when Mrs. Bowen came back with a fresh pitcher of water. The woman shook her head.
"I'm afraid not yet. And they're running out of daylight."
"But they'll keep digging." Annie pushed herself upright. "Won't they?"
"Of course, honey." The dressmaker dipped the cloth in the water and laid it over her forehead. "Rest."
"I'd rather be downstairs, it's too quiet up here."
"But –"
"Please."
"Oh, all right." She moved to help her up. "Come on." Doc Martin wasn't happy when he spied her working her way down the stairs, but he ought to be glad she hadn't just slipped out the back door. He waved her to a chair near the bar with a scowl dark enough to scare most people.
"I guess I ought to be happy you stayed up there as long as you did." He checked her eyes. "Sit there and behave yourself. I'd rather not have Ben grouching at me because you got hurt again."
"Unless the Silver Dollar also runs over top the Golconda, I think we're fine," she replied while rubbing her forehead. Doc Martin snorted.
"I can tell you're feeling better." He walked away to check on Mrs. Conner. Annie closed her eyes. Her head ached, but it had lessened from earlier. She peeked through her lashes at the darkening sky outside.
What was taking so long?
She stood, intending to go find out for herself, but a wave of dizziness washed over her, and her stomach threatened revolt. She steadied herself against the bar. "Anne?" Mrs. Bowen studied her with wide eyes. "I think you'd better sit back down. I'll get you some water." She took the cup the woman offered and drank slowly, then closed her eyes again.
A flicker of confused fear telegraphed down the connection to her twin and she jolted upright, making her head spin. "Annie? Honey, what is it? Doc Martin!" He rushed over, but she shook him off.
"I'm fine. I just moved too fast." He didn't look like he believed her, but she didn't care. What was going on down in that basement? An accused killer was down there, but what could he do? He was trapped as much as the rest of them were. He might even be the one hurt.
Time crawled by, and Annie was close to ignoring the doctor completely and marching down the street to see what was going on. Her head might not like it, but she was tired of just sitting there doing nothing.
The bat wing doors flapped open and she caught her breath. "Doc, can you take a look at Candy, please?" Her pa ushered their limping foreman inside. "Don't argue, sit down and let the doctor take a look at that knee." Candy huffed out a breath and sat down carefully. Doc Martin examined his leg and he winced.
"It's not that bad."
"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?"
"What happened?" Ben's head jerked up and he rushed to her and wrapped her in a tight hug.
"Why isn't she in bed? Do you have any idea how many years you took off my life today?" His arms tightened even more. "I thought I'd lost you." He pulled back and framed her face with trembling hands. "When I ran out of the bank and Candy told me the courthouse …." He drew in a shaking breath and let go. "I don't think I've ever been so afraid in my life."
"What happened to Candy?"
"We were trying to punch an air hole through the floor and an interior wall collapsed. He jumped out of the way, but it struck his legs. He insisted it could wait until now or I would have had him down here sooner."
"I'm fine," he protested, but she didn't miss the wince he tried to hide. Her pa sighed.
"I've got to get back down there … Paul … take care of them, please."
"I always have, Ben." Her pa nodded stiffly and hurried back onto the street. "I think it's all right, Candy. You'll be sore for a few days, but that's nothing you haven't dealt with before."
"I told you, Doc." Candy stood and limped a few steps. "I'm going back." He shot her a sideways glance and swallowed hard. He didn't want to say it, but it had to be said.
"They're running out of time." He flinched, but nodded, head hanging. "I'm going with you." His head shot up.
"But –"
"If the worst comes," she interrupted, "at least I'll be there when it happens."
"Never argue with a Cartwright," Candy muttered. "Let's go, sweetheart." He offered his arm and they slowly made their way down the street.
"You walked off and left this thing out of water and let it blow itself up?" They traded glances and rushed the last couple dozen feet to the courthouse, finding Hoss and Banty Williams facing down a scowling older man with a lined face. Ben turned a piece of something over in his hands and shook his head.
"How long will it take to fix it?"
"If I had the parts, half the night. Meantime, those people down there are gonna run out of air and be dead before we can get to 'em, thanks to you, mister!" The other man stabbed a finger at Hoss and her brother's face darkened.
"There's still a chance, Tremayne, there's a coal chute down to that basement!" Tremayne. He was the superintendent at Golconda.
"A coal chute?" She looked at Hoss like he was crazy. "In Virginia City?"
"I don't believe it," Tremayne declared.
"There is and we're going to find it, come on, Banty." He paused long enough to sweep her up in a tight hug. "I'm mighty glad to see you in one piece, little sis. We're gonna get Joe out, I promise." He stalked deeper into the alley behind the courthouse. Tremayne threw up his hands and stormed back into the courthouse. Ben sighed and dropped what he was holding.
"I don't want either one of you in that courthouse again." He looked over his shoulder at the glowing lantern bobbing down the alley. "Give Hoss a hand. I'll see if Tremayne has any more ideas."
"Right." They made their way down the alley and met Hoss and Banty. "Any luck?"
"Not yet. Annie, you ain't talking me into letting you do anything more than holding a lantern so we can see." He handed it over and they worked their way down the back of the courthouse.
"It's got to be close, Hoss, I just know it." Banty scratched his head with the crow bar he was carrying and squinted at the ground near the base of the building. "I just know it. Know every stick and stone in here." He smelled like a whiskey vat, but his eyes were clear in the lantern light. Her heart slammed against her ribs. What if he was wrong, and thinking of a different building? What if there was no way in besides the staircase? What if she had to feel that bond dim and wink out completely? What if – "There, Hoss!" Her breath caught in her throat as the lantern's glow illuminated a small, boarded-over door, a lot like a cellar door, a few feet farther down.
"Let's get it open, Banty." The three of them attacked the boards while she held the lantern up. Her pa arrived while they were ripping the boards loose. Candy moved to throw himself down the coal shoot, but he grabbed his arm.
"Be careful. Tremayne wrecked the compressor and just tried to burn down the courthouse. I don't know why, but I suspect the answer is down in that basement." Candy nodded once and dove down the chute. Annie winced. His knee was going to hate him in the morning, but she doubted he'd care.
A faint scrabbling sound reached them and then Ben was helping Callie McGill out of the chute. "You all right?" She nodded, her face smudged with dirt and her dress torn. More men ran down the alley to help, including Roy, who had the look of a man waiting for something.
"They need a rope." Hoss motioned behind Banty and the little man grabbed it and threw one end down the chute. "Annie, thank God. Joe said you were all right, but we had no way to be sure." Pike scrambled up next and stumbled away, completely ignoring Callie, and looking a little dazed until he ran into Roy. He deflated even more, if such a thing was possible.
"I guess you want to talk to me, Sheriff?"
"I certainly do. Come on." He led Pike away and Annie snuck a glance at Callie, but she didn't look upset. What had happened down there?
"Start pulling up, Hoss," Candy hollered up the chute, and the men heaved on the rope.
"Easy, fellas, easy. Take it slow, don't jerk it now." They lifted Deputy Gibson out of the chute as gently as if he were a basket of eggs. Her heart squeezed. He didn't look good at all. Men carried him away and then their pa was helping Joe climb out of the chute.
"Joe." He looked over their pa's shoulder and pulled free, throwing his arms around her and squeezing until it hurt. But she wasn't about to protest now.
"God, Annie you ever scare me like that again and .…" He buried his face in her hair and sucked in a breath. "I was so afraid it …"
A rumble echoed up the coal chute and she tore herself out of his grasp, heart beating double time. "Candy!" Dust billowed up and crashes sounded from the basement. "Candy!" Hoss reached down the chute, and Joe scrambled back to help.
"Come on, get up here." Her brothers hauled him up the last few feet and he stumbled out into the alley, filthy and covered head to toe in powdery dust, but smiling.
"You know, I still don't get paid enough to go into mines."
"After Toby got Pike to admit he'd lied, Callie just … something went out of her. It was like she'd never seen him before." Joe stared down at the floor.
"She wouldn't be the first," Annie said slowly, savoring the coffee she might or might not have laced with whiskey. The answer to that would depend on who asked and why. Joe sighed and scraped his hands through his hair, then looked up.
"I know what you meant. Before." His eyes were haunted as he stared at nothing, words falling from his mouth without conscious thought, "Have you ever watched death coming at you head on?" A chill shot down her spine. "Not quick like a gunfight or Ma falling off her horse. Creeping in, coiling itself around you like barbed wire and you know you can't stop it, or keep it at bay. All you can do is sit there and watch it come for you." His throat worked. "You said we couldn't understand because we didn't know, and you hoped we never would." She swallowed hard and set her coffee on the table.
"That's why I took my chances on the stairs."
"I figured that out a couple hours in." He stared into his empty cup and set it aside. "Sitting there with the air getting thick as Hop Sing's gravy … if you all hadn't found that coal chute, we wouldn't have made it to morning." He scraped his hands over his face again. "I understand now. And I wish to God I didn't. Toby's the one who really held it together down there, not me. Oh, I was fine at first, but as the hours dragged by and he kept asking when they'd be sending air with no response …." He hung his head. "All I could see at that point was you and Candy huddled together in that mine shaft, waiting, and I finally understood."
"It's over." She picked up her coffee and drained the cup. Her headache had finally eased enough she thought she might be able to sleep. Candy had reluctantly gone to bed over an hour ago, her pa glaring at him with crossed arms and a frown, until their foreman had thrown up his hands and limped upstairs.
"I'm sorry I didn't understand." Annie stood and set her cup on the table again, then turned to look at him.
"I'm sorry you do."
