Three days later, Ben Cartwright jumped off his wagon before the horses had come to a stop. "We won, we won!" he excitedly announced to his three grinning sons. "I'm still not sure how it happened. It was going terribly, they were producing legitimate-looking documents of deeds way back when this country was just getting settled. Then at the very end, my attorney got an almost exact duplicate of a previous deed, with just a few alterations. How could it be an original if there were two of them, and not even identical? Also, we received two physical print moulds that were used to create the forgeries—definitely modern!"

"Did it come from an anonymous source?" Little Joe asked with a smirk.

"Sheriff Coffee sent it over, he was able to link some of the—" Ben cut off and shifted his weight, eying the three suspiciously. "Why do I get the feeling that you lads aren't as impressed with this news as I thought you'd be?"

Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe looked at each other knowingly. "Come in and sit down, Pa."

"So you three will be telling me a story, huh?" Ben said ten minutes later, ignoring his tea.

Adam looked pointedly at Little Joe.

Joe relished the idea of taking credit where credit was due, but was also uneasy at some of the reaction he knew he'd get. "Well, uh…it started when…well..."

"Yes?" Ben prompted.

"The Petricci clan started behaving nicely toward me…" Little Joe moved an inch farther away from his father, as if that would help anything. "I asked myself why…I saw some documents on your desk about this court case…I knew what their family did for a living—"

Ben sprang to his feet menacingly. "When did you come to these conclusions?" he demanded.

"Well…maybe six weeks ago."

"And you—you kept this secret from the family!—"

"Not secret, exactly, Pa, I just knew that you all would be afraid for me, and I was in the best position—"

"Let's finish our story, Pa," Hoss interceded, and Ben grudgingly sat back down.

"So Joe made my life a living hell, just to go along with this friendship ruse," Adam said with an eye roll.

"Your right arm creates a burning inferno of its own," Joe retorted. "At least you were on the more comfortable side of the desk."

"And?" Ben snapped.

"Adam got jumped, and Joe went along with it, and moved in full-time with his buddies," Hoss hurriedly explained.

"Earlier that day was the most important part," Joe interrupted, and smiled with pride. "The reason I got home so late the night before, (which Adam loved, by the way), was because I'd spent that day fulfilling the fruits of my labor. I stole those two physical moulds that the clan used to create the first document, which was due to be used as evidence in court next week. I paid the post master a generous tip for creating a fake telegram from the people who were suing you, Pa, who they were of course working with, and using their own encrypted language to send a telegram telling them to securely deliver a new deed for the northwest section of the Ponderosa, since the "y" and "p" were too identical to a similar deed they had forged."

Ben opened his mouth to continue lecturing, but closed it again, impressed despite himself. "Wow, you sure learned a lot about forgery, printing, land deeds, and cracking secret codes in a short period of time."

Little Joe flushed with pleasure.

"That fake telegram was sent just in time, since the Fetuccis were just about to burn all evidence of their fake printing press," Adam further explained. "The clan put the "y" and "p" print moulds to the side and created new ones, Joe hid them in his shoes, and they printed a new deed as quickly as they could. They were frantically waiting for it to dry on the day they got busted, and they burned all the moulds all at once."

"They were also working on making the paper look old," Joe added. "Painstaking little wrinkles, some yellow age spots—it's actually pretty interesting—" he cleared his throat at Ben's stern look to proceed. "The jig was up pretty much after we jumped Adam in that old barn behind—"

"We?!"

"Adam's look of surprise and despair was so genuine, the clan was convinced that I really had parted from the family," Joe said. "Ten minutes later they pretty much said thanks, now that gives us all a few days to get out of dodge before your brothers start looking for you, you're our hostage now—"

Ben groaned and facepalmed.

"They'd already packed up their house and been planning to leave earlier that day, and only needed to stay to print that new deed right away," Hoss said. "The only halfway decent set up printer is at the postmaster's, so they gave Mr. Anderson something nice to drink, which knocked him out for 24 hours. They dragged him into the woods three miles away and left him under some bushes to wake up."

"I went in to send you a telegram, Pa, which I guess they were expecting, because then they had two hostages to use against each other," Adam said. "They burned the print moulds, which Joe had wanted to take a couple but never got the chance, and they put us in…specially crafted coffins in order to escape." Adam shuddered.

"Coffins!"

"Thank God Hoss showed up just when he did, wondering why I hadn't come home right away. He shot the wagon wheels, the sheriff was summoned, and somehow Hoss persuaded Coffee to thoroughly search two very deep "coffins" with a secret compartment underneath."

Ben walked to Hoss, sat down, and wrapped his arms around him. Hoss flushed and smiled, looking a bit unintelligent in his deep happiness.

"And the last order of business was convincing Sheriff Coffee not to tell you all this immediately, since you still had a court case to finish," Adam concluded. "We needed you at the top of your game."

"And…we needed to say this in person," Joe said.

Ben was silent, as he hadn't been during the story. He took a moment to process. He got up and began pacing.

"Thanks, Hoss, for saving the day at the end. Thanks for your attempts to hold down the fort during all this, Adam." (Adam winced at his father's choice of verb.) "And, Joe—" Ben Cartwright turned and faced his youngest son squarely.

Joe looked uncertain, but hopeful.

"All's well that ends well, and I understand that you're young, you want to overcome challenges, be the hero, all that. But don't you ever…ever…" Ben leaned in to punctuate his remark. "keep secrets from the family again. You had to give a lot of information about our personal business in order to get some of theirs, right?" Joe nodded, and wiped his sweaty palms on his pants in discomfort. "And what was your plan on how to escape, hmm? Why didn't you abandon the project after you sent the telegram?"

"Pa, I—I had to see it through, I had to be a witness, and if problems came up—"

"And you being a hostage is not a problem?" Ben yelled, and Joe flinched. "Or dragging your brother into that situation as well?"

"Pa…I'm sorry, they were side effects. I don't see how I could have saved the Ponderosa without doing what I did."

The four men looked at each other, processing each side of the argument. Ben finally released a breath, and passed a hand across his cheek. "I won't give any consequences for this, Joe, since Adam has taken care of that previously. But I want your word of honor that this is the last time."

The two shook hands, and the four men quickly dispersed, relieved to be released from the emotional tension.

BBBBBBB

"Can I join you?" Adam asked later that evening, joining Little Joe by the fence. "I come bearing gifts."

Little Joe grinned, and accepted a small glass of which contents neither man spoke of. He downed it in one smile, trying unsuccessfully to hide a grimace.

"It should go without saying, Joe, but I'll say it anyway. That was damn impressive, how you saved our ranch."

Joe turned away, but Adam could hear the smile in his voice. "Thanks, Yankee."

Adam turned the conversation to its needed direction. "I've got apologize for my part in the past few weeks, Joe."

"You were doing what you thought best, under the circumstances." Joe gazed contentedly into the sky, rubbing his thumb around the glass.

"In some ways, yes…but I also didn't think outside the box. I was too authoritarian, which isn't the best way to handle teenagers. I figured if I wore you out once, that would be the end of it…but you're might persistent, and I was forced to follow through on my promise."

"I was surprised that you took that approach, yeah. But what else were you supposed to do?" Joe shrugged. "I was trying to piss you off, and succeeded. I got my reward."

"Alright. Thanks." Adam felt some tension leave his shoulders.

Joe paused. "But, of course…never again, right, Adam?" His tone of voice made it known that this was a statement more than a question.

Adam laughed. "Never again, whelp." He clapped Little Joe twice on the shoulder. "Good to have you back, Joe. I was afraid you'd changed completely."

"Not yet. But I wonder. I'll have to make a decision in the next few years, whether to stay or go."

"You've got time. I still wonder that myself occasionally. When you get the wanderlust, you'll know." Adam used his forearms to push off the fence, and began walking toward the barn to care for the horses.

Joe caught up with him. "So, uh—I guess I should also apologize for adding to your grey hairs, beating you up in the barn, and indirectly leading to your abduction and enclosure into a very tight space."

Adam laughed. He threw Little Joe a brush and began grooming his favorite horse. "Par for the course. It comes with being a Cartwright. But never again, right, Joe?"

"No more secrets," Joe affirmed.

"Really?" Hoss appeared from a stall further down. "You know, my life wasn't too great during this stunt, either, Little Joe. You're even with Adam, but how about me?"

Little Joe sighed, and Adam hid a smile. "I guess you have something in mind, Hoss?"

Hoss contemplatively knocked one book against the other. "How about shining my boots every day for two weeks?"

"Hoss, you've never shined your shoes in your life!"

"So these two weeks will be extra special, then, huh Joe?" Hoss arched an eyebrow.

Little Joe shrugged in resignation. "Have it your way, Hoss."

"Don't mind if I do." Hoss shook Little Joe's hand a tad too dramatically, walked outside and into the pig pen, and waded through the pig slop.