Dinner was not quite as somber an affair as had been lunch, nor, thankfully, breakfast.
There was a dark cloud of something hard to put one's finger on, but it had been slowly lifting as the day had worn on. Maybe because Joe had shown signs of not dying and in fact eaten some at both meal times. However minimally.

Hop Sing hadn't been happy but Ben had insisted that at least the boy had eaten something. Which had unexpectedly been enough to calm the chef for the present.
'Surprisingly' to Candy anyway. Adam and Hoss had been unmoved by the earnest exchange between the two most mature members of the household when Ben had left Joe's room with most of a bowl of soup on a bed tray.

Must've been pretty normal then. Who'd'a thunk Hop Sing could be talked down from a 'someone wasted food' rage?

Then something similar had happened around lunch time, and then someone had wised up and offered the man in the convalescence room a considerably smaller helping. It seemed a victory when the bowl came back just about empty.
Might've contributed to the improved mood around the table. Which culminated in a happy, full Hoss declaring that he was in the mood for some checkers and that he bet Joe was too.

So the man with the larger than life body took the board and pieces from their resting place in the living room and shut the door behind him. Leaving the others chortling as they went about beginning their evening relaxations.

Only just a short half hour after dinner'd been concluded, Candy watched as Hoss stepped out of the guest room currently being used as a recovery room; a look of disbelief on the big man's face.
Realizing there was something more mixed in there, Candy stood from where he'd been lounging across the seat and one arm of a living room armchair and approached the middle Cartwright brother.
"Somethin' wrong, Hoss?"

"I, uh- I just beat Joe at checkers," came the stunned reply.

"Well, that's known to happen now and-"

"Twice," Hoss said. Expression not improving.

Candy considered that and its myriad implications for a moment before remembering it was a family member of the infirmed he was speaking with.
With that in mind, he gave a soft smile and moved to put an encouraging hand on the poor guy's shoulder. Missing by a few inches when he forgot just how tall Hoss was and settling for a hand on the behemoth's upper arm.
"You remember what Doc Rosebaum said?"

"Huh?" Said Hoss, likely having to pull himself away from the distracting memories he'd just accrued inside Joe's interim room. "Which part?"

"The part where it might take him a while to get back to one hundred percent again?"

"Oh, yeah. I 'member that part," Hoss informed. "I just... never thought that might include checkers." Said with a frown as he gave his head a vexed scratch.

"Well, checkers is a game of strategy and skill, right?" Candy asked, a relatively serious look on his face.

"Yep, I recon so."

"And laudanum would put a full grown hellephant to sleep, right?"

"You give it enough," Hoss confirmed with a quirk to his brow.

"Can't expect a body to be very skillful nor strategic while they're takin' in a steady helping of somethin' that powerful, can we now?" Candy said, a little lilt at the end to lighten the argument.

"Huh. You got yerself a good point there. Poor feller did look two seconds from sleepin' through most of it," Hoss said. Looking like he'd only just now realized he might have been playing someone who wasn't fully awake.

Wow, Candy thought, holding in a chuckle as he remembered something he'd had joked at him not so long back. On a beautiful day, after a picnic by a little lake, a gaggle of ducklings quaking by the water's edge.
Joe'd been right: Hoss could beat him. So long as they played while Joe was sleeping!

Wiping any undue mirth from his face, Candy refocused on the marginally less worried form before him and offered an additional pat to the upper arm.
"I wouldn't worry too much 'bout it. Soon as he gets over the bump to the noggin and don't need none of that hellephant tranquilizer any more, he'll be back to beaten the pants off ya. And you'll be complainin' 'bout that again instead," Candy tacked on with an encouraging smile.

"Oh, I got a feelin' I ain't never gonna complain about losin' no game of checkers to Joe again. Well, aside from to his face a'course," Hoss amended.

"Oh, of course," Candy agreed. Glad Hoss wasn't planning to treat Joe any different after the whole mess was over and done with.

"Well, uh, sorry if you was plannin' on a visit yerself. Those games o' checkers took it outta him. Pretty sure he's out for the night," Hoss said, a tint of real apology to it.

"S'alright, Hoss. He's your brother. 'Sides, I just wanted to say g'night."

"I recon he'd appreciate it anyhow. Joe's always loved attention. Prob'ly don't even need to be awake to know he got some."

Then the big guy gave him a pat on the shoulder and a gentle shove towards the door. The combination of which had Candy wincing and stumbling in tandem, then covering up the evidence of both with a smooth, "Night, Hoss." Which was received with an encouraging incline of a big brother's head.
At which, Candy knew he had no choice but to pay his sound asleep special friend a good night visit. Before following Hoss's example and moseying on off to his own bed for a good night of his own.

No worries ya'll, next chapter's gonna be a longer one! Meantime, I thought it might be kinda nice to have Candy and Hoss interact for an entire, two person scene!
Hope Hoss felt right and hope ya'll enjoyed!