3
By mid-morning it felt like they had been in San Francisco for a week already.
Elizabeth was the first awake. Finding that she wasn't trapped in a crib or a pen, she crawled across the bed and lowered herself to the floor. She tottered to Joe's side of the bed and tugged on his hand until he started making noise, then went to the chair where Hoss sat.
She grabbed his giant fingers in both of her hands and tugged until he was awake, then did the same thing to her father. Having done her morning duty, Elizabeth went to the luggage, found her favorite doll, and woke her as well, before starting a lengthy dictation on the merits of pee and poop.
Hoss rolled his head gently, feeling like the whole of his skull was made of delicate porcelain. He watched Joe, then Ben, slowly sitting up, and mumbled, "I just remembered...this is why we keep her in that crib in the mornin's."
"I'll wake up to that alarm every day for the rest of my life, if it means we never repeat last night." Joe said, softly.
"Amen to that." Hoss agreed, closing his eyes and starting to snore.
Joe laughed softly, then moaned, and rolled over on the bed.
Elizabeth looked up at Hoss with a betrayed look at the loud snoring and Ben smiled.
"Your brothers are sick, Elizabeth. We have to let them rest. Come here."
His daughter pushed herself to her feet and walked to the cot and Ben set her on his lap.
"Is this Sally or Emma?"
"Emma."
"How is Emma this morning?"
"Sweepy."
"Sleepy?" Ben asked, smiling.
His daughter nodded.
"Is she hungry?"
Elizabeth nodded again.
"What should we feed her?"
"Mik."
"Milk?" Ben asked.
Elizabeth nodded.
"That sounds wonderful, but it's not very filling. What if she's still hungry?"
Elizabeth "hmmmed", tracing her doll's face with her fingers.
"What if we gave her toast with jam, or pancakes with fruit? Would she like that?"
Elizabeth nodded, her curls bouncing.
"And will Emma's Mama be having the same?"
Ben got another nod.
"What do you think Joseph will like to eat?"
"Poop!"
"Poop!?" Ben asked, trying not to laugh. His stern look failed him. "You know we aren't supposed to eat that. Your brother is sick. We want him to feel better. What food would make him feel better?"
Elizabeth's eyes took on a munchkin-like gleam and she pulled her doll close to her face. Ben knew that whispers would follow this move and he put his ear closer to her.
"Appo pie." Elizabeth whispered and Ben laughed.
"I agree, Joe would very much like apple pie. What about Hoss?"
"Ticken!" Elizabeth whispered excitedly.
"What a brilliant suggestion. Chicken and apple pie. And milk and toast for you. And what about me?"
He saw the smirk again and put up a finger. "Don't say poop."
Elizabeth rocked back with laughter, but refrained from saying her new favorite word. "Toffee."
"I would like coffee, yes." Ben said enthusiastically. "And I bet...if you whisper sweet nothings about apple pie, and chicken, into your brother's ears, you'll get them up and at'im in time for breakfast."
Elizabeth slid to the floor and Ben tugged her nightdress down as she tottered away, headed for the bed. With her on her errand Ben quickly moved the cot and slipped out the door long enough to flag down one of the staff members and ask that they have breakfast and coffee delivered to the room.
Elizabeth still hadn't figured out that he had left by the time he returned. He could see that Joe had captured his sister, pulling her into the bed and talking to her quietly. Joe and Elizabeth had begun to share a special relationship as the two youngest and Ben delighted in watching them.
The fact that he was missing one of his four, and didn't know if he was in danger or not, bothered him. One of the notes he had written the night before had been sent to the boarding house where he knew Adam to have been staying. Another had been sent to the girl's school where Sarah Vince had been temporarily employed, teaching riding classes. He hoped that one or both of them would have answers for him.
He'd already come to presume that the person who had sent for them, and who had purchased their tickets, was not his son. His search for answers, and the note left at the hotel for him, signed "Adam" but not in his son's handwriting, had been evidence enough of that.
When breakfast came he, Joe and Elizabeth ate, letting Hoss sleep.
"We had just gotten Lizzy to settle down when the guy knocked on the door and said he was room service. We let him in and four other guys piled in after him. I put Lizzy on the floor and told her to crawl under the bed, and me and Hoss went at it. When they knocked Hoss over the head with the lantern…" Joe gave Elizabeth a sidelong glance, then carefully said, "He was sleeping better than I thought he should be. And I could smell that kerosene. One those jokers lit a match and ordered me to get Elizabeth and do what they told me or they'd...drop the match...on Hoss."
"You did the right thing, Joe." Ben said, tempering the fury in him. "I can't imagine if either of you had been killed, or if Elizabeth had been taken alone. If she had been…"
"I tried to tell them you were the wrong man to trifle with, Pa." Joe said, a knowing look in his eyes that Ben rewarded with a small smile. He resisted the urge to once more pick up his daughter and crush her to his chest. Instead Ben reached out to cup the side of Joe's head, then went back to his meal to choke down the burst of emotion.
An hour after they had finished eating, Hoss woke up in pain, and not at all hungry. Ben and Joe helped him to the bed and tucked him in, getting him to at least drink some water before passing out again. But for his ribs, Joe seemed to be healing fine, and the bruise on his back wasn't any bigger or darker than it had been the night before. Elizabeth continued to act normally, but for a more attentive nature. Her play was frequently interrupted by her calling for Joe, Hoss or Papa. Ben thought it interesting that Elizabeth knew they were the only three there, and not Adam.
They were paid a visit by the local police and Ben spent almost three hours writing out a statement, even while he and Joe explained what had happened. Ben gave the police the name of the hotel clerk, and described the prostitute and the busboy in detail, and he and Joe both identified each of the men in the room at the inn.
When Joe explained who Jamie was, Ben realized why the boy had been so familiar. He also realized what had made him so hard to recognize. When he was rid of his wheelchair, standing on legs that were at least partially functioning, Jamie was a lot taller than he had been outside Portland, Oregon.
The police promised to get back to Ben as soon as possible, and also agreed to look to the lodgings of both Adam and Sarah. They had been gone only a few moments before a hasty knock came at the door.
Ben opened the door and smiled. Adam stood in a dark gray colored suit carrying a stack of boxes that came up to his chin. His boy looked thinner and more pale than usual but he was whole, healthy, and for a brief moment looked more concerned about them, than Ben had.
"I got your note a few hours ago. I don't know what brought you all here, but I'm delighted to see you." Adam said while Ben pulled him into the room, took the packages and hugged his oldest son. When Joe stood to hug his brother, Elizabeth caught on to the presence of someone else in the room. She got to her feet and padded over to Ben, hugging his leg. Ben stooped down and picked her up and she worried at her fingers, wide blue eyes studying Adam. It wasn't until he took his hat off and smiled at her that she giggled and launched herself towards him.
Adam hugged and kissed her, and grinned brightly. "Hi Lizzy. I missed you."
"Do you remember who this is?" Ben asked, already knowing the answer.
Elizabeth gave a shy, exaggerated nod.
"Do you remember his name?" Ben encouraged.
"Bid brudder Adam." Lizzy said, throwing her arms wide. Adam laughed and peppered her with kisses.
"I take it she's been practicing."
"Working very hard in preparation for your return." Ben said, smiling.
"I tell ya, Pa, I was two days away from buying a return ticket when your note came to the boarding house." Adam looked from Ben to the damage on Joe's face to Hoss in the bed.
"We were about to have lunch brought up. Why don't you join us." Ben said.
"I plan to. I had some things packed that I was going to give to you all when I got home, but I guess now is as good a time as any." Adam said, going to the bed and sitting gently by his middle brother. As soon as the bed dipped Hoss's eyes came open. The light in the room clearly pained him, but Hoss smiled and his hand came up. Adam took it.
"Hey big brother Adam."
Adam smiled softly. "So you're the one."
"Good to see you." Hoss said, his eyes already drooping.
"Oss sleepin'. Shhh." Elizabeth said, her hands pressed together as she quietly watched her biggest brother.
"You're right, Lizzy. We should let him sleep." Adam said, not hiding the surprised look on his face.
They ate together in the room, Ben and Joe bringing Adam up to speed with their trip to San Francisco and the previous night.
"Sarah and I are...we're certainly closer to being more than friends, but we aren't to the point of making wedding plans. I don't like that someone knows our relationship enough to use it to trick all of you into coming out here."
"Seems to imply that someone has been watching you for some time." Ben said, thoughtfully.
"We haven't necessarily announced our relationship, but we've been seen in public together." Adam said, shrugging. "Sarah spends most of each week out at the school and I've been working with the mining engineers. We occasionally have dinner together, and we've gone out boating or riding on the weekends. We're hardly social news."
"One of your letters said she was thinking about staying on permanently." Joe said.
Adam nodded, his head tilting a little. "She wants to teach permanently, and she likes teaching riding and horsemanship. I don't know that she'll stay here to do it, though. She misses her family, very much. I think she might be ready to head back to Reno."
"Is there a girl's school in Reno?" Ben asked.
Adam adjusted Elizabeth in his lap. Shortly after she had finished eating she had fallen asleep in his arms, sleeping tucked into his chest, her fists closed around his shirt. She had slept like that from infancy. It was a way of keeping her source of security and warmth from leaving.
"No. But the head mistress of the school is in the process of purchasing land outside of Carson City. Sarah's...uh...braggadocio, may mean I'd have some architectural plans to draw up in the near future. And it may mean a timber contract for a certain timber baron, and an ongoing beef contract with a certain ranch owner...etc." Adam said, smirking. "Best case scenario of course, but Sarah's made a lot of friends at the school, and made a very big impression."
Ben smiled broadly. "I'm glad. She deserves the attention."
"And the students love her." Adam said with relish.
"They'd have to try awful hard to hate her." Joe said from where he was nearly asleep in the chair Hoss had spent the night in.
Adam tossed a look back at his youngest brother then glanced to Hoss.
"How long are you staying in town?"
Ben leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. He sighed, passing his hands over his face, before he rested his chin against his palms. "Until Hoss can travel. And until we have some sense made out of yesterday's fiasco."
"I wish I'd known." Adam said, studying the pale face pressed to his shirt. Her lips were moving back and forth as if she were nursing in her sleep.
Ben put a hand on Adam's wrist and patted it. "I thought I knew worry when it was just you boys." He shook his head, his eyes focused on nothing. "Knowing that Elizabeth was in danger…"
Adam straightened the bits of lace and ribbon on Elizabeth's dress, and let one of her curls ring around his finger. The fine strands were like gold, their owner even more precious.
"Well…" Ben said. "I would suggest we get to opening those presents, but three-fifths of the recipients are unconscious."
"And one-fifth, unfortunately, has to go back to work." Adam said. "I have one more class to teach, and essays to grade."
Ben smiled, started to say something, then shook his head.
"What?"
"I was...I was just thinking…" Ben smiled distantly. "It would be fun to hear you teach."
"Come with me, Pa." Adam said, standing.
"No...no, I can't leave the boys."
"They'll be fine here. If you want, we can ask Gregg Hopps to sit outside the door. We'll only be gone a few hours."
Ben stood and laughed softly. "Bring Elizabeth into an engineering college?"
"Why not?" Adam said, shrugging. "It's my last lecture of the class. I've bragged enough to my students about the great Ben Cartwright. It'd be fun to show you off, in the flesh."
Ben made a face but Adam could tell that he'd won the debate. "You write your brother's a note. I'll get Elizabeth ready."