"Adam" came the worried shout from his father as he watched his oldest son collapse to the ground. After assuring himself that his son was uninjured and only passed out from exhaustion he turned to his only conscious son, "Hoss help me get him into the wagon." Once Adam and Joe were laid out in the back of the wagon, they tied one of the mares and Buck to the buckboard they set off towards the Ponderosa with Ben driving the team. Hoss followed behind on the stallion bringing the remaining mares behind.

The ride back was uneventful, neither Joe nor Adam woke from their sleep. As they pulled into the yard they spotted Bobby and another hand by the barn, and called them over to put the horses away.

"Mr.Cartwright, Doc wasn't in his office but I let a message for him to get here as soon as he could." Bobby spoke worriedly while he lead the horses to the barn.

Ben jumped into the back of the wagon and started to get Joe. "Hoss help me get Joe up to his room. Then we'll get Adam up to his." Before Ben could finish his sentence he was already helping his father. In short time they had Joe cleaned up and resting in bed. Adam was groggy but managed to make most of the way on his own. He was too tired and cold to put up much of a fuss. When he was finally left alone he wasted no time on pulling his robe on and making his way to his youngest brother's room. The sound of the buggy pulling into the yard sent a spark of relief through him. He listened to the footsteps of the doctor in the hall as he made his way into the room. His entrance was quickly noted by his father with a sigh of annoyance. "Adam you should be in bed." Adam chose to ignore the comment of concern from his father, he didn't feel he deserved it. His brother was deathly sick and he was the one responsible. He made his way to his brother's side and inhaled sharply with the deathly pale pallor of the youngest. Except for the bright fever spots he could have passed for a corpse. His breathing was shallow and ragged. It was the stillness that caused Adam the most worry. If it wasn't for the movement of him breathing he would have thought he was dead.

"Ben we need to get Joe cooled down, his fever is dangerously high" the doctor informed. Soon the room was in motion with everyone working to cool Joe down. Ben with the help of the doctor tried to convince Adam that he should rest. After much refusal they slipped him some sleeping powder in his coffee. Not long after that before Adam was fast asleep and being carried back to his room by Hoss. When Hoss returned he told them that Adam felt a bit warm. They feared whatever Joe had they suspected might be contagious and was starting to affect Adam as well. The doctor left to check up on Adam and returned shortly with news that assured Adam was fine just suffering from exhaustion. "After a good night's rest he should be as good as new." With that information they sighed in relief. One sick boy was more than enough to deal with. Throughout the night they worked to drop the temperature in the youngest boy. As early morning arrived the temperature was still very high, but did seem to be improving.

As like everyday of his life, Adam woke as the sun met the new day. Feeling much better he dressed quickly and made his way back to his brother's room. He could hear the rasping sounds of breathing before he even made it to the doorway. Quietly he made his way to his brother's side. "Oh Joe, I should have stayed in that town longer, then you wouldn't be so sick now" Adam thought to himself. Although he and Joe were often at each others throats, he loved the boy deeply. He couldn't decide though if his love for Joe was more paternal than brotherly. He looked around and saw the drawn faces of the men around him. He couldn't help but feel responsible for the pain he had caused them all. He had made the wrong decision and now everyone was suffering. "Pa, how's Joe?"

"Not so good son" Ben said sadly. "His fever is still very high, he's got pneumonia and can't get good air movement with those ribs." Ben sat close to Joe on the bed while he whipped his brow. "I just wish he would move some, but he hasn't stirred at all."

With each reply Adam was more and more devastated. How could he have allowed his little brother to get like this. He failed his father's trust in being the older brother with the youngest son. He failed Marie to watch over his brother the way he should have been. Most of all he failed his little brother by not keeping him safe. There was no doubt in Adam's mind that he was a failure in his most important job in life. "Pa why don't you, Hoss and Doc go get something to eat and rest. I'll watch over Joe awhile." Even as he spoke the words he wondered if it was a good idea. "Yeah Pa, I've done such a great job of watching out for him already" Adam thought. He saw the reluctance in his father, "Yeah Pa doesn't even trust me now" he continued to think to himself.

"Come on Pa, Adam's here. He'll take real good care of Little Joe." Ever the peacemaker, Hoss encouraged his father to leave Joe.

"Adam's right Ben, we'll do no good to Joe if we are sick ourselves" the doctor added.

Reluctantly Ben rose to leave the room. "If there's any chance get me immediately" Ben ordered before he left the room.

"I will Pa." With the exit of his family and the doctor he took over the cooling efforts of his little brother. "I'm so sorry Joe. I should have insisted we stayed until the weather cleared." Over the next few hours Adam continued his ministrations. As the hours drug on with no improvement Adam's depression ran deeper and deeper.

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Sorry this is so short, more soon:)