AN: Thank you to the guests who took their time to write a little review for this to me. Encouraged me a lot and I'm glad that you like the little tale I'm telling.
I also took the time to make a little cover for this :) I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.

Caught

A slight shiver run down Joe's spine. They had worked in the heat all day wishing for a cold breeze and now, they would've shivered if it wasn't for the coats they had put on. It was night, dark and cold and Joe and Hoss were nestled in a stack of hay on the hayloft of their barn. They were positioned at the window and were able to overlook the ranch house in the best way possible. They were also safe from being spotted; A searching gaze rarely goes upwards. Now, they only had to wait, like a predator waiting for its prey. This was the plan. After dinner Joe and Hoss both told their family that they wanted to hit the hay early and retired to their rooms. That earned them a suspicious glare from Adam and merely of nod of acknowledgment from their father who was glued to a warm spot at the open fire with a book in his hands. In reality, Joe and Hoss went upstairs to prepare for a night outside on watch. They both took a water canteen, a coat, a firearm for safety and a lamp with a candle they could lit if they needed to. As soon as Adam and Ben were in their rooms as well and no more sounds could be heard, Joe sneak out of the house and climbed the ladder to the hayloft where he'd agreed to meet Hoss. Joe was the first one to arrive and silently started to build a nest out of hay he and Hoss could sit in. Spotting a movement out of the corner of his eye, Joe glanced out of the window spotting Hoss scurrying over to the barn. He heard him climb the ladder as the wood creaked under his tall brother's weight and finally saw the top of a huge beige hat appear, poking over the edge. A gentle face with searching blue eyes followed. Joe could've sworn they lit up as soon as they spotted him in the nest of hay and all of a sudden, Joe wasn't that cold anymore. He loved working together with his brothers. It deepened their bond and proved to Joe in a way that he was important to them, to their plans and actions and that he wasn't replaceable. Today, Joe and Hoss were working together for Adam.

"You beat me to it, Joe. Yer mighty fast in sneaking out. As if my little brother has experience." Hoss whispered, a challenging smile on his lips as he carefully made his way over to Joe. Little Joe didn't feel a need to answer that challenge and simply smiled at the gentle giant as he took a seat next to Joe on the hay. Reaching into his coat, Hoss pulled out something wrapped up in thin paper. He unfolded it revealing delicious pastries. "Ya think Hop Sing is gonna notice that they are missing?" Hoss asked, one corner of his mouth rising into a mischievous grin.

"I'm not gonna rat you out." Joe answered playfully, earning him a pinch from Hoss. They both sat in silence, eating the pastry and sipping little mouthfuls of water while letting their gazes search the property and their minds wander. After the initial excitement had subsided, little Joe started to feel the tiredness grabbing him and pulling him under. He managed to stay awake but lost all sense of time. Hoss was tired as well but was able to get a few hours of shuteye during the day and therefore didn't have that much of a problem with staying awake.

"I wonder what kind of woman Adam is meeting." Joe wondered out loud all of a sudden, making Hoss jump slightly. "He must have a good reason to keep her secret from us." Joe stiffled a yawn while looking at Hoss.

"Maybe she is the most beautiful and graceful woman who has ever walked the earth and Adam needs to keep her secret from us, especially you, because he fears you'll try to court her." Hoss suggested, challenging Joe with a smile. Joe blew his nostrils in arrogance as he fixed Hoss with a 'you-are-completely-right' look.

"Yes, he better hides her from me." Joe laughed. "No, you know how Adam is. He needs a challenging woman, someone intelligent who can keep up with his lectures about the newest book or whatever he is reading. Maybe he finally found the perfect bookworm?" Joe added to the list of potential future sister-in-laws.

Hoss nodded in acknowledgment, seeing Joe's argument. "He also likes strong women who know how to get their hands dirty if needed, who love nature and have a sharp but loving personality..." Hoss continued to muse, a dreamy smile plastered onto his face. Joe watched him with a goofy grin on his face as well.

"Are you sure you are not describing your perfect image of a woman?" Joe snorted.

"Oh, shut it Joe!" Hoss pouted.

Silence grew between them while waiting for something to happen... Chewing on what was presumably his fourth bun, Hoss saw movements from the front yard. Hoss leaned forward, closer to the window, startling Joe, and fixed his eyes on the dark figure that had clearly just walked out of the front door of their house. Joe, who had followed Hoss' gaze, was also following the figures movements and couldn't help the excited whisper from escaping his mouth.

"There he is! We caught him Ho-" Hoss had pressed his huge hand over Joe's mouth to keep them from being discovered. Little Joe understood and tapped the hand covering his mouth to signal his older brother that he'd be silent. They both followed the man in the yard with their eyes as he wandered off. As soon as he left the shadows, Joe and Hoss were greeted with a strange view: The normally dark-cladded man wore a white nightshirt and just like the many nights before when Adam had been caught, nothing else. In the dim moonlight, they also were able to spot Adam's feet; He had a slim shoe, kind of like a slipper, on his right foot and the other foot was only covered by a sock. That view was unsettling. Joe and Hoss silently climbed down the ladder from the hayloft and set off to follow their older brother as he put one wobbly step in front of the other. Staying in the shadows behind him, Joe and Hoss exchanged worried glances. This is not what they had imagined Adam to look like while he sneaked out. They thought it would at least be a bit more… professional. They both were determined to follow Adam to the mystery lady's hideout but soon started to doubt if Adam was out to meet a woman at all. They witnessed him stumbling over roots and stones falling down and hitting the ground painfully, only to lay there for a few seconds motionless and then slowly getting up and continuing his way. His shoulders were slumped and his arms were loosely dangling by his sides and his head was wobbling up and down, from side to side inflicted by the motion of Adam dragging his feet across the rough landscape.

Hoss took a deep breath. "I've seen enough, Joe. Somethin's not right." Seeing a look of agreement on Joe's face in the moonlight, they both stepped out of their hiding place.

"Adam! It's okay, you can stop now!" Joe shouted at his still tripping brother. No reaction. Hoss raised an eyebrow and tried as well.

"Adam! We saw you leave and went after you. You shouldn't be out here in this getup." Adam still continued walking on his path, further away from them. With a sudden sense of deep wrongness nestling itself inside their stomachs, Joe and Hoss started running to catch up with their brother, their hearts racing and their breaths hitching in their throats. They finally caught up to Adam and stepped in front of him to block his way. What they saw left them speechless:

Adam had a bloody nose and mud on his cheek from painfully slamming into the ground, head first, earlier. His eyes were open and he was blinking to keep them wet, but they were unfocused. Joe and Hoss were right in front of him, right in his sight but Adam wasn't seeing them. It seemed like he was seeing through them. Hoss swallowed to ease his sore throat opened his mouth to say something, but Joe beat him to it again.

"Adam, what is wrong?" Joe had a slight edge of fear and panic in his voice, making it waver slightly. "Stop it Adam, it's not funny." Joe was scared. And Hoss was scared as well. Scared for his brother. Adam had slowly continued to move towards Joe and Hoss and if Hoss hadn't placed a hand over Adam's chest to stop him, he would've walked right into them.

"It seems like he is looking through us, as if he is not seeing us." Joe voiced Hoss' earlier thought.

"I don't think he is seeing anything right now, Joe…" Hoss said, a dark expression on his face.

"What should we do? I've never seen anything like this before. Do you think he is sick?" Joe asked, a tremor lacing his last few words.

"I don't know, Joe." Hoss was almost trembling with worry now. How could this be happening? He looked his brother up and down and realized that his limbs, no, his whole body was trembling. It was cold and he only had a thin cloth covering him. Besides the slow but still strong heartbeat, Hoss could feel the coldness of the flesh beneath the thin fabric through his hand which was still resting on Adam's chest. "Let's get him back home for now." Hoss took off his large coat and put it around Adam's shaking shoulders. He pulled it close, wrapping Adam completely in the large coat and effectively pinning his arms to his sides. Adam showed no sign of resistance, even when Hoss bent down, putting a strong arm in the hollow of Adam's knees and the other around his brother's shoulders, and lifting him up like a newlywed bride. Without exchanging another word, Hoss and Joe made their way back to the ranch house. Hoss glanced down at Adam's pale face periodically. His eyes were firmly shut now and his head had tilted towards Hoss, resting against his younger brother's chest. Little Joe was scouting the way to find the best path in the darkness and led his older brothers safely back to their home.

"Hoss, how should we handle this? Should we wake up Pa? Get Dr. Martin? What if it is a sickness?" Little Joe stumbled over his words and stared at the middle brother with wide eyes, searching for advice.

"Joe, calm down, you'll only wake up Pa. From what we have gathered, this isn't the first time this had happened to Adam. It's highly possible that he is aware of the problem. He is also not that stupid. If it was a serious sickness, he probably would've told us the first time it happened." Hoss whispered, trying to reason.

"Oh, I'm not sure about that, Hoss, you know how Adam can be when it comes to sickness and injury…" Little Joe countered, angrily staring at the motionless heap pressed against Hoss' chest.

"Joe, he had his reason to keep it a secret!" Hoss hissed. Joe looked with surprise at his brother. Hoss rarely raised his voice but when he did, he had a reason as well. Scanning his face, Joe saw the tiredness and exhaustion, the worry and fear and the same asking expression Joe wore himself.

"Alright," Joe put his hands up in defeat. "We will question him about it in the morning and see what he knows and if we can find a solution together." Joe put his hands down again and turned to the still open front door of the house. Hoss sighed in relief and followed his younger brother through the entrance and up the stairs as quietly as possible. They sneaked back into Adam's room and laid him down on the mattress. Pushing the cover aside, Hoss found a shoe matching the one Adam wore on the other foot and something else as well. There was a cloth fastened to the bed-frame and on the end of the soft fabric was a sling. Hoss held it up to Adam's foot to see if it matched. It did. Joe stared down at it too, realizing it's meaning as well.

"He tied himself to his bed." Joe whispered, voicing both their thoughts out loud. The realization of what Adam must've gone through to take such measures hit them both with full force. Hoss could feel himself tearing up but wiped at his eyes quickly. Adam needed a strong brother now, not the mess he was currently letting himself turn into. Joe had busied himself with getting a cloth and wetting it in a bowl to wash the blood and mud off of Adam's face. They agreed to stay with their brother to make sure he'd stay safe and both took a seat at his bed.

"I wish it was a mystery lady…" Joe mumbled as he slowly drifted to sleep as well.

AN.: Adam's in trouble now :D Please leave a review and let me know what you thought about the chapter.