LOST AND FOUND - PART II

JOURNEY

Chapter 11

Ben left the house about mid-morning the next day and when he returned only a few hours later he spotted Wes coming down the sidewalk, so he waited and the two men went up the steps together.

Thea was passing through the front hall when they came in and she ran up to give each man a kiss on the cheek. Ben smiled as he always did and Wes blushed as he straightened up.

"How is Dulcy?" she said, smiling at the huge man.

"Fine, Ma'am."

She looked at him with her head to the side. "You know I haven't made up my mind yet whether or not to be mad at you two for eloping, AND making it worse by not telling anyone for two weeks."

Wes actually looked worried for a moment so Thea took pity on him. "I'm just teasing you," she said as she took one of his large hands in both of hers and smiled up at him.

"Oh," he said as he smiled back shyly with a relieved expression.

Thea laughed and patted his hand. "Adam is waiting for you, so go right on into the office," she said and watched him go across the hall. She turned back to her father-in-law.

"I finished frosting a cake a little while ago and I think I deserve to have a little break, so would you like to join me for some coffee and?"

He smiled down into her animated face and nodded, "Yes I would."

She grinned. "You come with me to my office. Nobody will ever think to look for us there," she said and took him by the hand, leading him through the left archway.

Her office was on the far side of the kitchen and was furnished comfortably in green and white. Ben had expected it to be a feminine room and was pleased by her choice of elegant furnishings that somehow managed to be warm and inviting too.

Thea took his hat and hung it on a row of pegs on the wall then said she would be right back.

Her father-in-law walked around the office looking at the pictures on the walls. He stopped when he came to an ambrotype of Adam and Thea that had to be their wedding picture. Thea was dressed in a simple, flowing, unadorned dress in what looked to be white velvet. She was not wearing a veil, and most of her hair was loose and held back from her face by two braids formed from the front sections of her hair. They met at the nape of her neck and he could see small flowers had been woven into the braids. Adam made an elegant groom in a black suit, and his father could just make out a dark gray embroidered waistcoat. The pose was unusual for a wedding picture, but that didn't surprise Ben at all. The two of them stood with their sides to the viewer and they held each other's hands. Thea was smiling her usual wide smile looking up at her new husband and he was grinning down at her, looking as though he had just finished laughing.

He turned to the next picture and this one was also plainly from the wedding and included the whole party. Adam stood in the center with Thea on his left holding onto his arm and a tall, dark haired woman on his right. Mike and Nate stood next to Thea while Jerry and John stood next to the dark-haired woman. Noticing something odd, Ben stepped up close to the picture and realized that Nate had a black eye. He looked closer at the other detectives and saw a sutured gash on Mike's forehead, bandages on both of Jerry's hands, and that John's face was badly bruised as he tried to smile with hugely swollen lips. The only man in the picture unmarked was Adam.

Ben started laughing and was still chuckling when Thea came back through the door with a tray. She grinned when she saw what he was looking at and placed the tray on a table in front of a large window before coming to stand next to him. He looked down into her smiling face.

"I love that picture," she said and her father-in-law was not surprised. He was getting to know his new daughter very well.

"It's the perfect representation of what was our little family back then."

He nodded, still smiling then looked at the woman on Adam's right. "Who is she?"

Thea's face became serious. "That's Olivia. She was my best friend for years, even before I met Adam."

"WAS your best friend?"

She nodded. "I barely ever saw her again not long after she married Jackson. I was her doctor, but she stopped coming to see me too," she said in a pained voice and looked away.

Ben looked at the smiling face of the lovely young woman and felt sorry for her, now that her husband was facing spending the rest of his life in prison.

Thea took his arm and tugged him away from the picture and toward the table by the window. He went willingly.

She had brought sandwiches as well as the coffee and cake, so they settled in for a long talk. Nearly two hours later the clock on her desk chimed once she jumped up, aghast. "Oh dear Lord! It's one o'clock! The board meeting starts at two," she said as her father-in-law stood.

"Do you know where Hoss and Joe are?"

She nodded. "The plan was for them to have a picnic with the children in the garden. They should still be there."

"Then we will meet you in the front hall in half-an-hour," Ben said as they walked through the kitchen together then separated in the back hallway; Thea took off up the back stairs and he went out the back door to find his sons.

The three men were already in the hall when Thea came down the front stairs dressed to the teeth in an elegant suit of dark green.

"Are we all ready?" she asked as the three men nodded. They, too, had dressed up in their best and she smiled, touched by this gesture of respect.

Hoss opened the front door as Ben gave her his arm, then the four of them went out, down the steps, and into the waiting coach.

When they pulled up in front of the hospital Ben got out first and reached up to help Thea down. The two younger men followed quickly and Hoss told the driver to be back in a half hour as he closed the door and turned to follow the rest of his family into the building.

Thea told Ben where the meeting was being held and they moved through the office areas of the hospital. When they reached the meeting room he opened the door and escorted her in.

Nine men were seated at a long, glossy table with only one chair empty. Ben stopped and put a hand over the one Thea had in the crook of his arm to stop her from letting go and going to her chair. Hoss and Joe had come in too, and after shutting the door, moved to stand one on either side of their father and sister-in-law.

The men turned to look and many of the faces showed surprise, then bafflement when the three men and Thea stood there silently. Ben looked back at the seated men with a stern expression.

"Gentleman, I believe a lady has just entered this room," he said in an admonishing tone.

The men glanced at each other then rose to their feet, some looking annoyed, some looking embarrassed, and the one who had already been standing at the head of the table looking amused.

Ben led her forward then and held her chair for her as she was seated. The board members took their seats again, except for the man at the head of the table.

"May I enquire as to your name, sir?" he said with a pleasant voice, tinged with laughter.

"I am Thea's father-in-law, Benjamin Cartwright." He gave the man a disgruntled look.

The man still standing looked at Joe and Hoss, "And these two gentlemen?" he said, plainly amused.

"Two of my sons, Joseph and Hoss," he answered, "Thea's husband Adam is my eldest son."

"Oh yes," the man said and moved toward Ben with his hand out. "Please forgive our terrible manners, even though I know there is no excuse for being so rude."

Ben gave him a sharp look and must have decided the man was telling the truth because his expression became less severe as the two men shook hands.

"I am Dr. David Charles and I am President of this board and Chief Administrator of this hospital. You may stay for the meeting if you wish."

"Thank you," Ben said and gave the man a look that told him they would have stayed anyway.

Dr. Charles grinned and motioned toward some chairs grouped at the far end of the room and said, "Please be seated," as he moved back to the head of the table.

He had just taken his seat when Thea stood. The rest of the board immediately rose to their feet and Ben put a hand over his mouth to hide his pleased smile.

"I ask to address the board before the meeting starts David," she said looking down the table at him and motioning for the men to resume their seats.

"Certainly," he said, but remained standing.

"I only came to inform you all that I am resigning from this board as of today and giving up my hospital privileges."

Dr. Charles lost his smile and his eyebrows snapped together. "May I ask why?" he said, no longer amused.

"I will be leaving to visit my husband's family in another state and then will be moving there permanently in a few months."

"I see," the president of the board said and his expression changed from angry to just unhappy as Thea sat down again.

"I am extremely sorry to see you go, Thea. You have been an excellent addition to our staff and we will sorely miss your surgical skills. But I hope you will keep in touch and let us know how you are doing."

"Thank you," she said in a quiet voice. "Since I am no longer a member of this board I will withdraw now." She stood and Dr. Charles came to pull her chair out as the rest of the men in the room stood.

He offered her his arm and she took it after giving all the members of the board a cool look. At least some of them had the grace to look ashamed at the petty behavior they had subjected her to through the years and she let Dr. Charles lead her to the door. The three Cartwright men were already there, waiting.

Joe opened the door and the five of them went out into the hall, closing the door behind them.

The president of the board turned to Thea as she let go of his arm. He held his right hand out to her and she smiled as they shook hands, but he didn't release hers right away. "I'm serious, Thea, I can't tell you how much I will miss you. Sometimes it seemed like you were the only physician on staff with any brains." She smiled at him.

"I'm going to miss you, too, but I'm sure you can understand my reasons. And quite frankly I'm relieved to no longer have to deal with the boy's club in there any more."

"I know, but you don't understand. We have another female physician coming to join the staff. I was hoping the two of you could band together and teach them a thing or two. Now she'll be alone to face those idiots."

Thea burst out laughing and the four men joined her. Shaking her head she asked, "Where is she coming from?"

"Chicago."

Thea's brows rose, "May I ask for her name?"

"Hester Graham."

Thea's brows rose even higher and her mouth fell open before she started to laugh again. "David," she gasped, "believe me, you don't have to worry about that woman. If she's the same Hester Graham I know she could probably pick you up with one hand!"

Dr. Charles grinned wickedly and rubbed his hands together. "Oh good, now I have something to look forward to again. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when she gets here!" He turned to the Cartwright men and shook hands with each of them then paused with his hand on the knob of the meeting room door.

"I mean it, Thea. Please keep in touch both before and after you move."

"You bet I will and I want to hear all the horror stories about Hester."

He nodded then his grin disappeared as he looked at her with sad eyes. "I wish you the best of luck and if you visit the city again after you move, please come to see me."

"I will," Thea said, her own eyes sad as he gave her one last look and went back into the room, closing the door quietly.

"Ready to go?" her father-in-law asked and offered her his arm. She tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow, but they all paused when they heard loud voices erupt on the other side of the door.

"David must have just told them about Hester," she said and gave an evil little chuckle. "I almost wish I could stay to see it!"

"I hope she makes their lives a living hell," Joe said with glee.

"Is she really that tough?" Hoss asked, as they started moving down the hallway.

"Oh my, yes," Thea answered, and gave that little chuckle again as they neared the front door of the hospital.

She let go of Ben's arm and he stepped forward to open the door when someone grabbed Thea by the arm, dragged her through an open office door, then slammed it closed and locked it.

Thea had stumbled across the room and now she whirled around to see Olivia Jackson leaning against the door the men had started to pound on. She looked haggard and desperate.

"You've got to help me Thea. You have to talk to Adam and get him to release my husband. He didn't do all those things he's accused of."

"You don't understand, Livvy, it's not in Adam's hands now. The courts will be making that decision."

The taller woman rushed up to her and clamped her hands painfully on Thea's shoulders. "But he could help, couldn't he? I mean he could put in a good word for him. I know Adam has a lot of influence."

"Adam wouldn't do that even if I asked; your husband hired two thugs to kidnap our children. The one knocked me down and threatened to break Annalise's neck." She shook her head, looking at her friend with pity. "I'm sorry, but the only way I can help you now is by being your friend"

The other woman's face went red with fury as she hissed, "You'll be sorry, Thea. You and your husband and your precious children." Overcome with anger she let go of Thea's shoulders and slapped her in the face.

Thea stumbled to the side, but didn't fall down. She turned to see Olivia standing there with her hand over her mouth, tears springing from eyes wide with shock and horror at what she had done.

"I'm so sorry, Livvy, I wish I could help you," Thea said her hand cradling her aching cheek, "but you better leave. My brother-in-law will be bashing that door down in a second and I don't want him to catch you here."

Olivia ran to the other office door and opened it, but stopped to look back at her former friend. Her mouth opened and she started to say something, but stopped and looked ashamed for a second then was gone.

Thea stood there staring after her and holding her swelling cheek as her eyes filled.

Hoss came crashing through the door then with Joe and Ben right behind. Ben rushed up to her, put his arms around her and she turned to bury her face in his chest as she tried to get a hold of herself.

Joe and Hoss went through the other office door as Ben put his hand under Thea's chin and tipped her face up.

"That was Olivia, wasn't it?"

She nodded and sniffed.

"Did she hurt you?"

Thea shook her head, sighing. "No, not really. She's frightened and desperate and came to me for help, but she didn't want the only help I can give her."

"That's not your fault, Thea."

"I know, but that doesn't make it hurt any less."

"I know," Ben said as he pulled her to him again and she rested her aching cheek against his chest until Joe and Hoss came back through the other door.

"Who WAS that woman?" Joe asked the second he came through.

His father answered, "Jackson's wife."

"Oh," Joe said. "Did she hurt Thea?"

"No," Thea answered him, "and I think we better get home before Adam starts to worry."

"Adam!" Hoss said turning a little pale as he realized they would have to try to explain to him how a woman had outmaneuvered them and snatched Thea away.

Joe shook his head, "Oh boy, is he going to be furious."

"He has good reason to be," his father said. "I'll tell him, hopefully, he won't punch me."

The three men looked at each other with anxious expressions and Thea started to laugh.

"Oh now, he'll yell at us for a bit and then it will be over," she said. "I can't believe you would actually think he would ever lay one finger on you," she said to Ben as they moved toward the door.

A small crowd had gathered and they pushed their way through and left the hospital after Thea spoke to someone behind the desk, telling them to send her a bill for the damage to the door.

Once they were inside the house Thea sighed and took Ben and Hoss by the hand. "Come on, let's get this over with," and pulled them toward Adam's office with Joe following close behind.

Adam was sitting at his desk and looked up when they entered the room. When he saw Thea holding both Ben and Hoss by the hand as Joe hovered behind them, he closed his eyes briefly then deeply sighed.

"What happened?" he asked when he opened his eyes and stood.

All four of them started talking at once and Adam raised his hands and shouted, "Quiet!" He looked at his father. "Pa, what happened?"

"Olivia Jackson grabbed Thea, pulled her into an office, and locked the door."

Adam became ominously still and the silence lengthened as his face turned a deep shade of red. Thea was about to shriek, "Say something!" When he took a deep breath and seemed to relax a little and the red began to fade.

"Thea, come here."

She let go of Ben's and Hoss's hands and went around the desk to stand in front of him as he turned toward her. She looked up at him and he cupped her chin in his hand and turned her face to the side to look at her red, swollen cheek. He let go of her chin and shook his head as he pulled her into his arms and hugged her so tightly she gasped.

In a few moments he loosened his hold on her and turned his head to look at his father.

"I apologize Adam, this was all my fault. I wasn't as alert as I should have been."

"It's my fault too," Hoss said earnestly, "you told me to be extra careful today and I let you down."

Joe had come forward to stand in between his father and brother. "I should have been watching the people around us so I'm at fault, too. Olivia never would have been able to drag her away if I had."

Thea cleared her throat and Adam looked down into her serious face. "The fault is really mine Adam," she said, "I could have resisted her, but I let her drag me into that office so I could talk to her."

His face tightened and she felt his body stiffen. "You LET her drag you in there and behind a locked door?"

She looked down and nodded her head, ashamed. "I know it was a stupid thing to do and I swear I won't ever do something like that again."

Adam gave her a little shake and she looked up into his dark, angry eyes. "If you do, you won't be able to sit down for a week. I will be forced to treat you like an irresponsible child if you insist on acting like one."

Thea tightened her lips and nodded before laying her head sideways against his chest. She looked at Joe, Ben, and Hoss with an apologetic expression then closed her eyes, suddenly very tired.

Her husband turned his head to look at his father and brothers. "As for you three, you made a very serious mistake today. But people do make them and that's impossible to avoid, so for God's sake at least learn from this one. Your mistake was in assuming that any attack would come in the form of a man. And since I know Olivia, I can tell you she is extremely intelligent and someone to be very careful of, so remember that and don't let anything like this happen again. Never underestimate women."

The three men nodded, chastened, as Adam sighed and tightened his hold on Thea again, so she knew she was forgiven too.

A knock sounded on the office door and Adam called out, "Come in."

The door opened and a young woman stepped in holding the twins by the hand. She let them go and turned to leave, shutting the door behind her. The twins came further into the room and their little faces became solemn when they sensed the atmosphere so they rushed up to Adam and Thea. They wrapped their arms around their parent's legs and looked up at them with worried expressions.

Thea laughed. "I guess I better get these two ready for dinner," she said and started to pull back, but he didn't let her go at first. He tightened his arms around her one more time and she hugged him back as hard as she could. He actually chuckled a bit when he let her go.

She bent down and picked both twins up, but when she straightened Adam took Annalise from her. "I'll go with you," he said and they left through the back door to the office together.

After they were gone the three men finally relaxed and Joe said, "Whew! The last time I saw him that angry was when he bashed Jackson's face in."

"Yeah," Hoss said, looking at his father. "Do you think he'd ever really put Thea over his knee?"

"I don't know for sure," Ben said, "but I think he might if she ever pushes him too far. I hope he doesn't though."

"Why? I mean besides not wanting anything to happen to Thea?" Joe asked.

"Partly that," his father answered, "but mostly because I think he would end up having to sleep with one eye open for the rest of his life. She's a fierce little thing."

Joe grinned at that mental picture and nodded.

"Won't ever happen," Hoss said with certainty.

His father and brother just looked at him and waited for him to explain why he was so sure. "She lied," he said with a shrug. "She didn't do what she said she did. Thea's too smart for that."

"Are you sure?" Ben asked.

"You two weren't facin' in that direction, but I was and I saw her dig in her heels when that woman grabbed her. She told him that just to protect us."

The three men fell silent then for a minute to think about it.

"Should you tell Adam?" Joe asked his father.

Ben shook his head, "I don't know. On the one hand Thea would be furious and we should respect her wishes. On the other hand, Adam should know that the blame is entirely ours, but she should be the one to tell him the truth."

They were silent again to think about the problem some more until Ben said, "This is extremely complicated and I'll just have to talk to Thea and try to convince her to tell him herself. That's the only thing I can do without interfering and I swore I would never do that again."

Hoss and Joe nodded in agreement, grinning at their father.

Ben's brow furrowed as he looked at them. "What are you two smiling about? Neither of you knows how hard it is for a father to step back and do nothing when he thinks one of his children is making a mistake."

"Yes sir." Joe and Hoss said in unison, still grinning at him.

"Oh, shut up." Ben said, exasperated, and stalked out of the office. They waited until they were reasonably sure he was out of earshot before laughing.

Turning to his brother, Joe said "You know, we really should thank Adam for doing that."

"Yep. It looks like Pa's going to be a lot better about that sort of thing now."

Joe nodded and the two grinned at each other as they left the office to go upstairs to change out of their best clothes.

Everything seemed back to normal at dinner that evening because Joe and Hoss did their best to behave and not tease their father any more. Adam seemed to be over his anger and Thea was the only one who seemed a little quiet. Even the children were on their best behavior.

They didn't gather in Adam's office this time because the adults scattered throughout the house making last minute preparations for the morning. Everyone was tired from the events of the day so they all went to bed early and fell asleep quickly.

The sun had just started to rise when the peaceful and dusky quiet of the second floor of the gray stone mansion was shattered by the shrill sound of a police whistle. The former sleepers then heard Adam's annoyingly cheerful voice.

"Rise and shine, people! We have a train to catch!" he shouted as he pounded on his youngest brother's bedroom door.

Joe had jumped out of bed, heavy-eyed and irritable when the whistle had shocked him awake, and he glared when his brother pounded on his door.

Hoss's door was next, "Up and at 'em Hoss!" Adam yelled as he pounded on his door too. He didn't hear any movement in the room, but his brother's deep, rumbling snore stopped, so he took that as a sign he was awake.

He was about to move on to the next door when it opened quietly and Ben stepped out, already dressed and carrying a small bag - the last of his luggage.

Adam was about to say, "Good morning," to his father when Joe's door opened. He stomped out barefoot, in his nightshirt, and carrying a pillow. Adam was still in front of Hoss's door and had just started to turn his head toward his youngest brother when Joe swung the pillow by one end as hard as he could. The pillow whapped into the back of Adam's head and being unprepared for the attack, it snapped forward and banged into the door.

Without a word, Joe stomped back into his room and slammed the door shut.

Putting a hand to his forehead Adam said "Ow!" before starting to laugh.

He had gotten the twins up and ready earlier and now he motioned for them to follow as he moved to stand in front of the door Joe had just slammed.

He couldn't hear any movement inside the room, so he knew Joe had gone back to bed. Throwing the door open, he saw his brother huddled under the covers, but he opened his eyes and lifted his head to glare at Adam.

"You asked for this Joseph," he said in a angry tone then he looked at the twins saying, "Attack!"

The two children started yelling as they ran into the room, and threw themselves onto the bed. Joe tried to roll away, but he didn't make it. The twins bounced on top of him and their nimble little fingers dug into his ribs, tickling their uncle as hard as they could. Joe began to laugh hysterically, then managed to get his arms out from under the covers to tickle them back.

Adam shut the door on their shrieks of laughter and turned back to his father, who was still standing in front of his room.

"You heard me getting the twins ready earlier, didn't you?" Adam said smiling at his father who nodded in answer. "And you knew I would do something like this, too?"

Ben nodded again, highly amused and Adam laughed, impressed by his father being a step ahead of him. He went to Hoss's door again and listened, but still didn't hear any movement, so he opened the door and looked in. Hoss was still sound asleep laying flat on his back. He went into the room and up to the bed as his father moved to stand in the doorway.

Adam looked down at his sleeping brother's peaceful face, bent over him, took the whistle from his pocket and blew a short, sharp blast. Hoss's eyes snapped open and he quickly sat up, hitting Adam in the head with his own. Ben winced when he heard the ripe-melon sound of the two heads smacking together. Still being half asleep, Hoss threw a heavy arm around Adam's neck and pulled him half onto the bed and on his back, holding him in a tight headlock. In a moment he realized whose neck he was squeezing and let go. Adam slid to the floor.

Hoss looked around the room, then spotted his father in the doorway, shaking his head at the two of them. He rolled to the edge of the bed and looked anxiously over the side to see Adam lying there on his back rubbing his forehead with one hand and shaking with silent laughter. "Morning Hoss," he finally managed to say then sat up, grinning at his brother. Hoss grinned back, relieved that he wasn't angry.

Ben came forward to give Adam a hand up then reached down to rumple Hoss's hair. "Are you two finished with your wrestling demonstration?" Both men nodded.

"Breakfast is ready, so let's get this show on the road," Adam said and turned toward the door to see Joe dressed and standing there with the twins.

"Be right down," Hoss called out to his father and brother as they left the room and shut the door behind them.

Out in the hallway Adam said to the two men, "Why don't you take the twins down and I'll get the last of the bags together."

"Where's Thea?" Ben asked as he bent down to pick up his granddaughter while Joe crouched down to let Alexander climb onto his back.

"She's been rushing around downstairs like a madwoman for a couple of hours now. Tell her Hoss will be there in a few minutes, but don't wait for him," he said and watched the two men go down the hall and disappear down the stairs.

He went into his father's room to make sure Ben hadn't forgotten anything. Then he went back out into the hall, closing the bedroom door behind him. To his surprise Hoss's door opened and he saw his brother standing there, dressed and ready to go.

"You sure were up early," the big man said with a smile.

"Yep, but that's not unusual for me," Adam said, "I can only sleep about four or five hours a night now. We don't know why, but things have been that way since I woke up in that hospital." He smiled at his brother's concerned expression. "Don't worry about it Hoss, it's just the way I am now. You better get downstairs, before Thea comes looking for you."

His brother nodded and hurried down the hall, not wanting his sister-in-law to come after him.

Adam watched him go then turned away to check his brother's rooms, then gathered the last of the bags together. He took them downstairs and out the front door. The coach was ready and waiting in front of the house and the driver came to help load the bags on top. The rest of their luggage had been taken to the train the afternoon before.

After taking some time to speak to the driver, he went back inside and to his office to pick up a document case he had packed the night before. He checked the contents one more time, then closed and locked it. He sat down behind his desk and took out a piece of paper to write a note to Nate. The four detectives would be following them to Virginia City in three days and would be staying in the house until then.

Adam folded the note, wrote Nate's name on the outside and left it on top of the desk. He picked up the document case then and left the office. When he came into the hall he was pleased to see the front door was open and everyone, including the dog, but not Thea, going down the steps toward the waiting coach.

His wife still stood next to the door and smiled at him as she gave him a jaunty salute. "All personnel accounted for, sir!" she called.

Her husband just laughed and shook his head at her as he crossed the hall. When he reached the door she took his arm and smiled up at him with excitement, her eyes dancing.

He leaned down and kissed her on top of the head, and they went out the door to start their much-anticipated journey into Adam's past.