1 Adam meets Jack
This takes place before season 1 part 2
The first thing Adam became aware of was that his head and leg hurt, and his face was up against something rough. As his senses came fully back to him he realized he was sitting somewhat upright straddling a rather large tree with his arms wrapped around it too. As he tried to pull away from the tree he was horrified to realize two things, first, his wrists were tied together and second, his left leg was definitely badly broken. Who had tied him up? The last thing he could remember was being shot at, jumping off Sport and firing back, then pain flashing across his upper thigh, his leg giving out, then falling. Which would explain why his head hurt. The tree obstructed his vision, so he sat still and listened. Someone was using a hatchet nearby. Adam hoped sound of the hatchet would obscure any noise he might make trying to get free. He struggled with the leather thongs until his wrists were raw, but made little progress. Abruptly he realized the hatchet sounds had stopped and he could hear dragging sounds, then thumps as poles were dropped. He tried to pretend he was still unconscious as he heard soft footsteps coming closer. Then he felt hands on his wrists, gently turning them. "I know you're awake." The voice sounded faintly amused. "I'm gonna cut your wrists free, don't try to move away. I've set your leg, but I still have to splint it, and if you move too much you might knock the bones out of alignment." As the person was speaking Adam felt a tugging and sawing as they cut the leather thongs. His arms came free and he stretched his shoulders in relief. "I'm sorry I tied you up, I had to catch your horse before it got to far, and I had to make sure you'd still be here when I brought him back. Here." A canteen was thrust into his hands and he drank deeply from it. Finished with the canteen Adam leaned back on his elbows and the owner of the voice came into view. A dark gray hat with a brightly beaded hat band sat on top of black braids which hung on either side of a face that was pretty like Little Joe's. His amber eyes had bits of green and gold in them, and his white teeth flashed in a friendly smile. He wore plain buckskin pants and a buckskin coat with a light gray shirt. It was apparent that the man had a strong Indian heritage. "Are you hurt anywhere else besides your leg?"
"I'm pretty sure I hit my head."
"I'll take a look at that in just a minute." The man pulled out a knife. Adam tensed, and the man looked up at him sensing his unease. "I need to finish bandaging the graze on your thigh, and I need cloth to tie the splint on your leg." The man reached for Adam's leg and deftly began to cut the black pants leg off. "Hold this." The man gestured at a wad of batting on the outside of Adam's upper thigh. Adam obeyed and watched the man walk quickly over to where the horses were tied on the other side of a small clearing beyond the tree which Adam was still straddling. When he walked back he was carrying a small leather case. Adam's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Are you a doctor?" The man glanced at Adam as he knelt back down by Adam's leg. "No, I'm a nurse." He pulled a dark bandanna off his neck. "Alright, I want you to lay down and I'm going to lift your leg and tie that batting down. Let me do the work, you just hold still." Adam nodded and laid down flat on his back. Gritting his teeth against the pain he knew was coming, Adam tried to focus on the trees above his head. He felt firm hands lifting his leg and he grunted in pain in spite of himself. After a few moments he felt his leg being lowered again. "Done. Now I'm going to splint it." For a few moments it was quiet except for the sound of tearing cloth. "I'm Adam Cartwright."
"Jack Crow. You live around here?"
"On the Ponderosa." Adam couldn't help gritting his teeth against the pain as his leg was lightly jostled.
"Never heard of it, but I'm a stranger to the area." Jack glanced up as Adam hissed in pain. "Sorry. Almost done. Is the Ponderosa a farm or….?"
"It's a ranch. The biggest one in the area, we're actually on the border of it right now."
"Sounds amazing. There, done." Jack moved from down by Adam's ankle to up by his waist. "I need you to sit up." Adam grasped Jack's hand as the half breed helped him into a sitting position. Grabbing the leather medical bag, Jack moved behind Adam. "Where does your head hurt?"
"Back here." Adam gestured toward the back of his head.
"This might sting a bit." Jack moved his fingers carefully through the hair on the back of Adam's head until he encountered a large goose egg. "Ow!" Adam winced.
"Sorry." Jack reached into his medical bag and pulled out a clean piece of cloth and a brown glass bottle. "Hold still." Jack poured some of the liquid from the bottle onto the cloth. Very gently he pressed the cloth to the goose egg. "Ow!!" Adam mouthed, trying not to flinch away.
"Done." Jack pulled the cloth away from Adam's head and put it back in the bag with the brown bottle. Once he had moved back in front of Adam, he searched through his bag again, this time he took out a tin about the size of his palm. "Let me see your wrists." Adam tilted his head, studying the other man for a moment, then held out his right wrist towards Jack. "Is this going to sting too?" Adam couldn't keep the annoyance out of his voice. "Probably, but not as bad as the other one." Jack started to gently rub the salve on where Adam had chafed his wrists trying to get free. "What happened to the men who ambushed me?"
"You shot one of them and I shot the other one."
"Quite the coincidence." Stated Adam, with a raised eyebrow.
"Not really." A friendly smile flashed across Jack's face as he gestured for the other wrist. "I overheard them in town planning to rob someone. So I followed them to see if I could at least scare them off. Unfortunately I followed too far back. Sorry." Jack gave an apologetic shrug. Nodding in acknowledgment Adam replied "No apologies necessary, I'm glad you showed up when you did." Adam allowed himself a faint smile. Until then he hadn't been sure about Jack's role in his ambush, but the friendly man's words and gentle care reassured Adam. Jack was telling the truth. "Why didn't you go to the sheriff?" Adam asked out of curiosity. Jack shrugged again not looking at Adam as he returned the tin of salve to his bag.
"I haven't…" Jack swallowed. "I haven't had the best experiences with the law."
"Are you wanted by the law?"
Jack's head jerked up and his eyes widened in surprise. "No! It's just… folks don't always listen to people like me."
"I see." Adam could easily believe it. Most half breeds were treated badly by both whites and indians alike. Jack took his medical bag and canteen back across the clearing to refasten them onto his horse. Adam watched Jack secure the bag and fasten a litter to the golden colored horse. Once he had finished with the litter Jack walked back over and sat next to Adam. After fidgeting for a moment Jack asked "So… when I bring you back hurt like this, is your wife gonna stick a gun in my face?"
"Not likely, unless I got married without knowing about it." Adam grinned slightly at Jack's confused expression. "I'm not married, it's just me, pa, and my brothers, Hoss and Little Joe."
"Hoss?" Jack's smile was back.
"Hoss." Adam returned the grin.
Jack shook his head and chuckled, then moved closer to Adam. "I need to check for a fever."
"I don't have one." Adam leaned away as Jack reached forward. Jack stopped reaching and sighed. "Maybe not now, but it would help me know what your temperature usually is, in case you start to develop one."
"Fine." Adam stopped pulling away, since what Jack said made sense. Calmly, Jack placed his hand against Adam's forehead for a few moments before pulling it away. "Of course if you don't like that I could always kiss it like my Ma did." Adam's expression made Jack chuckle and grin ear to ear, eyes twinkling.
"Alright I deserve that." Adam chuckled. Jack's laugh was infectious and Adam found himself smiling back. "Well…" Jack stood up and dusted off the seat of his pants. "No sense in putting things off any longer. We gotta get you onto that litter, without putting any weight on that leg."
"Ah." Adam grimaced.
"I'm gonna pull you away from the tree first then we'll get you on your feet."
"Alright."
Jack got behind Adam and wrapped his arms around Adam's chest, lifting and stepping backwards as he did. Once Adam was far enough away from the tree Jack got him balanced on his good leg before moving beside Adam to act as his crutch. As Adam put his arm over Jack's shoulders he became acutely aware of something. Jack was short. In fact he was a good couple of inches shorter than Little Joe. "Good thing you're not a real big fella." Jack grunted as Adam leaned his weight on him. For a second Adam wondered if the little man would be able to hold him up, then Jack put his arm around Adam's waist and got a firm grip on his belt. They began an awkward hopping shuffle across the clearing to the horses. It felt like hours, but in reality it was only a few minutes until finally Jack lowered Adam onto the bedroll which covered the litter. After wrapping Adam in the bedroll, Jack used two thin leather straps, one across his chest and one across his waist to tie him securely to the litter. "Which direction?"
"That way." Adam pointed.
"Alright. Need a drink or anything before we get started?" Jack reached down and felt Adam's forehead again.
"No, I'm fine." Adam resisted the urge to bat the little man's hand away.
"Holler if you need anything." Adam gave him a little wave of acknowledgement. Grabbing the reins of the golden colored horse, Jack mounted Sport. "Hey-yup!" Jack turned Sport in the direction Adam had shown him and they slowly started towards the ranch.