Chapter 2

I DO NOT OWN ANY RIGHTS TO ANY OF THE CHARACTERS FROM BONANZA.

The Cartwright's sat at the dining room table eating a very scrumptious dinner that Hopsing had prepared for them. Ephraim had filled his plate full of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and a biscuit. He then filled his sister's plate up with a chicken leg, one scoop of mash, a scoop of peas and one biscuit. Gertie gave her brother a pleading look as to ask for no more. Ephraim nodded to her plate to encourage her to eat. Gertie took a small bite of her biscuit which seemed to satisfy Ephraim as he continued to dive into the wonderful fried chicken. The Cartwright men were engaged in a conversation about moving cattle from one pasture to the next. Ephraim found this to be a very interesting topic of conversation and was doing his best to follow along while Gertie continued to sit there and play with the food that was on her plate. Even though Ben was engaged in the conversation with his sons by no means was he ignoring the two Callahan children that were sharing his table tonight. He had been keeping a close eye on little Gertrude for the past few minutes. He was taking note that the only thing she had touched was her biscuit, whereas her brother had almost cleaned his whole plate just as fast his Hoss had.

"Ephraim, if the weather is warmer tomorrow, Adam and Little Joe are going to the north pasture to round up some cattle and move them to the west pasture. How would you like to join them?" Ben asked placing his napkin down on the table.

Ephraim couldn't have been more delighted to be offered an invitation to ride along with Adam and Little Joe. This was truly a big deal to ask to go along. "Oh, Mr. Cartwright that would be just grand." Ben couldn't resist the smile that was tugging at his own face when he heard the excitement in Ephraim's voice. The boy was practically grinning from ear to ear.

"You might need to buddle up though, that wind might still be with us tomorrow. Is that the only coat that you have?" Ben's eyes darted over to Ephraim's well-worn coat hanging on the hook by the door.

With a little embarrassment Ephraim answered in a low voice, "Yes, Sir."

"Well, I'm sure we have an extra coat hanging around this place. Joe, will you look in the trunks in the spare closet and see if you have one of your old coats in there. It might not fit him, but at least it will be warm if you're riding across those pastures with the wind blowing.

"I'll do it right after dinner, Pa. I'm sure there's one in there. You're right, it might be a little bit big for him, but that just means we need to put some meat on his bones." Little Joe's comment made Ephraim blush. He was kind of tiny for his age, but it never really bothered him much before.

"Good then, now what about you, Gertrude?" Ben moved his attention from Ephraim to the small child sitting to his right.

"It's Gertie." The little girl mumbled under her breath. Ben's eyebrows came together as he pondered how to handle the mumbled comment that was meant for him. Ben's boys knew this look on their father's face all too well. They couldn't help to stare at the little pint of a girl sitting at their table just playing with her mashed potatoes. The boys all knew that if she was a Cartwright child she would be probably heading for a trip to the barn, but where she was a guest in their home they all wondered how this was going to play out. Before Ben or his sons could say anything to the little girl Ephraim was already on top of it.

"Gertie, you're being rude, again!" Ephraim started scolding his sister. "Papa would be so disappointed in how you are behaving. You're a guest in the Cartwright's home and you're being plain rude. If Papa was here right now…" Ephraim stopped himself before he said something he was going to regret. "Papa would be taking you out to the shed. And let me remind you little sister, just because he isn't here doesn't mean that I can't still do it. Now apologize to Mr. Cartwright for being rude." It was right about then that Ben thought he better jump in before anything else was said or happened.

"Ephraim, your sister has every right to correct me on what she wants to be called. So Gertie, it is." Once Ben had spoke Ephraim gave Gertie a swift kick under the table to urge Gertie to say something.

"Sorry, Mr. Cartwright. I shouldn't of mumbled and corrected you like that."

Ben continued to study the young child and realized that these two children are total opposites. Ephraim is well mannered. He's kind and polite, protective of his loved ones, fair, and logical. Whereas, Gertie, seemed to be strong willed, stubborn, and determinedr. She seems to stand up for what she believes in, but quick tempered, hot headed some would say. Ben couldn't help but smile for these two children reminded him a lot of his own children's personalities. "No problem Gertie. I just wished you would have spoken up sooner if it was bothering you that much. But now that we have that settled, Gertie, would you like to ride into town with me tomorrow, while Ephraim rides out with Adam and Little Joe?" Instant panic set in Gertie. She had this feeling of uncertainty creeping in with the thought of being separated from Ephraim. Ephraim was finishing off his glass of milk when we could feel his sister's eyes piercing through him. He turned to look at her and the look on her face was almost that of when they were both told of their father's death. Ephraim's heart was starting to throb with pain just looking at Gertie, but the invitation and excitement to go with Adam and Little Joe tomorrow was over taking that pain. He couldn't help her this time and just gave a shrug of his shoulders. Gertie released a tiny sigh, right at the time Ben addressed her again, "Gertie, did you hear my question?" Gertie looked away from Ephraim and locked eyes with Ben. "Well?" It was then that Ben noticed Gertie stiffen in her chair and her whole body seemed to have tensed up at the mention of coming with him. Instead of pressuring her for an answer Ben decided to take a different approach. "It's ok if you don't want to come along, Gertie. Hopsing will be here at the house. I'm sure he can find some things for you to do. You can be his little helper for the morning." Ben thought that by giving her another option she would speak up, but instead she just continued to play with her food. When there still wasn't a response, Ben decided that his smooth, soft tone now needed some sternness to it. "Gertie?"

"Can I ride with Ephraim, Adam and Little Joe?" Gertie's soft voice rang out around the dinner table. The Cartwright boys were trying their hardest to hold back their chuckles to the request Gertie was just making. Ben cleared his throat to get his Sons attention and to address Gertie's most serious question.

"Gertie, it's a long ride to the north pasture. It would be hard riding doubles with Ephraim all the way there and then to the west pasture and back here." Ben paused and waited to see what Getie's reaction was going be about the decision that he was trying to make.

"I understand, Mr. Cartwright, but I really want to go with Ephraim." Gertie stated.

"Pa, I'm working around the barn and corrals tomorrow, if Gertie wants she can stay and hang out with me." Hoss was hoping that his suggestion would help get Gertie off of the subject of going with Ephraim, Adam and Little Joe.

"Hoss, I might be gone for a while. I need to make a deposit at the bank, check in with Roy at the sheriff's office, then pick up our order from the mercantile. I don't think it's fair of me to ask you to keep an eye on her that long and still get done what you need to. No, I think her options are to come with me or stay with Hopsing for the morning." Hoss looked over at Gertie and gave her a wink and a reassuring smile.

Gertie could tell that she wasn't going to get her way, but she really just wanted to be with Ephraim, she didn't care if she had to ride doubles for a hundred mile, as long as they were together. But she could tell by the expression on Mr. Cartwright's face that wasn't going to happen. So instead of causing more of a scene she decided that she would take Mr. Cartwright up on his first option.

Remembering her manners and not wanting another swift kick from Ephraim she spoke up. "Thank you for your offer, Hoss, but I'll go to town with your Pa in the morning." Unlike Ephraim, Gertie had zero excitement in her voice when answering Mr. Cartwright's about his offer.

"Then we'll leave right after breakfast in the morning. I'll make sure that Hopsing has some warming blocks ready and a nice heavy throw blanket to keep you warm. It looks like you and your brother could use some new coats. Winter is sure coming in like a lion."

Ephraim let his pride get the best of him and spoke up to Mr. Cartwright. "Mr. Cartwright, my sister and I appreciate your offer, but we are fine with the coats that we have. No need to spend money on new clothes and coats. We have what we need." The Cartwright boy's couldn't help but grin knowing what their Pa's reaction was going to be.

"Ephraim, your father was on my payroll, and he never received his last pay, so I believe that money he earned could be used towards some new things for you both. Things that you will need to get you through the winter."

"No disrespect Sir, but like I said before we don't need new things, and if you owed my father his last pay, then we will take it and save it for when we truly need it. Until then we are fine with what we have." Ephraim was trying to get his point across to Mr. Cartwright but was also watching his tone for he didn't want Mr. Cartwright to change his mind about letting him ride with Adam and Little Joe. Ben wanted to respect the child's decision for he could tell over the past few days how much Ephraim was trying to act like the man of house now that his father had past. Even though Ephraim was only 10, Ben knew he was still very much a child, but until the time comes, Ben will allow Ephraim to keep acting like he was a man.

"Fine Ephraim, your father had almost 12.00 in earnings. I will keep the money in a safe place until you need it. Just let me know if there is something that you or your sister think you might need and we can discuss handing over the money. How does that sound?" Ben thought that this was a good way of handling it.

"Sounds just fine, Mr. Cartwright."

"Boys, if you're finished with dinner, I do believe that there are chores waiting for you out in the barn." Ben stated taking a sip of coffee.

The boys started to get up from the table, including Ephraim.

"Ephraim, I meant my Sons have chores to do in the barn. You can sit back down and enjoy the warmth from the fire."

"If you don't mind Mr. Cartwright I want to go out and help." All three Cartwright Sons had stopped by their chair to see what the response was going to be from their Pa.

"Ephraim you are a guest in my home. I do not expect my guest to do chores around the Ponderosa."

"Please, Sir? I want to help." Adam had motioned for Hoss and Joe to head out to the barn, while Ephraim was getting anxious that they would go without him. Ephraim looked back at Mr. Cartwright, "Please, Sir? This guest wants to be useful around here. It's the least I can do. Think of it as payment for room and board. I mean your feeding us and giving us a warm bed. It's the least Gertie and I can do. My Papa would insist. No free hand outs he would say. Please?" Ephraim sound like he was doing a sales pitch and Ben couldn't help but enjoy it a bit.

"Come on, Pa. If he wants to help us, it'll get the job done faster and we won't all be freezing our tails off." Little Joe was joking but also trying to help Ephraim with his pleads.

"Please, Mr. Cartwright? You heard Little Joe, I can help them get it done faster." Ben was actually admiring the work ethic that Ephraim seemed to possess.

"Oh, alright Ephraim, but if you get too cold or tired you come right back into the house, you hear?"

Ephraim practically was jumping with joy as he raced over to grab his coat off the hook. Adam was already heading out the door when Ephraim hollered for them to wait. "Wait for me guys."

"Ephraim." Ben called over.

"Yes, Sir?" He said pulling his coat on.

"Rule number one, no running in the house. Rule number two, no yelling in the house."

"Oh, sorry, Mr. Cartwright." Ephraim's shoulders slumped in embarrassment of being caught breaking some of Ben's pet peeves.

"Have fun." Ben waved the boy out the door.

"Fun? Pa, since when is mucking stalls fun?" Hoss teased his father, but ruffled Ephraim's head as he started out the door. Hoss stopped to let Ephraim out, when Ephraim took one last look over at the table where he noticed his quiet, sad looking sister sitting. He quickly walked back to the table where she sat and whispered into her ear.

"I'm only going to be gone for a few minutes, you best be on your best behavior. Be polite and use your manners while I'm gone. If I hear otherwise, I promise I'll be taking you out to that barn." Gertie looked up at her older brother with wide eyes. "I mean it Gertie. Be good. I won't be long." Gertie looked up into her brother's bright blue eyes and returned back a weak smile.

"I will." Gertie replied. What the two children didn't know is that Ben heard every word that Ephraim was supposed to be whispering. Ben was watching the two interact with each other when Ephraim noticed that Ben was watching them. Ephraim gave his sister a quick rub of the arm and left her at the table alone with while he headed back outside. Ben's eyes followed Ephraim over to the door where Hoss waited for him still.

"Thanks for waiting for me Hoss. What should I do first?" Hoss let out a boisterous laugh and grabbed Ephraim around the shoulders.

"Oh, my boy, where have you been all my life? Why don't you start with feeding the horses? Then we'll go from there." Ben let out a small chuckle as he listened to Hoss and Ephraim. He heard the door close and took another sip from his coffee wondering what he would do with the child that was still left at the table.

" done dinner?" Hopsing asked coming from around the corner from the kitchen.

"Yes, Hopsing. I'm done with dinner. It was very good."

"Missy done with dinner?" Hopsing directed towards Gertie while gather the boys dishes up. Gertie didn't answer but instead pushed her plate towards the other empty plates.

"Gertie, are you sure you're done with that? You've hardly touched anything." Ben was hoping that he could encourage the child to eat a little more. He had been keeping a mental note of how much the child had been eating. He had been very satisfied with what Ephraim was consuming, but Gertie was like a bird. She only picks and hasn't consumed too much while under Ben's watch. This was starting to concern Ben.

"I'm all set, Mr. Cartwright." Gertie answered, remembering to do as Ephraim had asked.

"Oh, right. You heard the girl, Hopsing. You can take the plate away."

"Hopsing make apple pie. Missy want some of that?" Ben was wondering if Hopsing was also keeping a mental note of what Gertie was eating.

"No, thank you, Hopsing. I'm fine." Gertie said trying to surpress a yawn.

"Are you tired, Dear?" Ben asked getting up from his chair and walking over to Gertie to help pull it out for her. "Why don't we go site by the fire and wait for the boys to come back in. I can almost bet that they will want some of Hopsing's apple pie. Ben was holding out his hand to help Gertie, and she slowly accepted it. Gertie slipped her soft, tiny hand into Ben's big rough and calloused hand. Gertie noticed right away the roughness was that of her father's and warm and inviting like her fathers. For a split second when Gertie looked up to Ben she thought she saw her father standing there instead of Mr. Cartwright. Gertie shook her head a little to clear out the cob webs and when she looked again, it was indeed Mr. Cartwright standing in front of her and not her father, Jack Callahan. Gertie followed Mr. Cartwright over to the couch where Gertie sat and Mr. Cartwright retreated to his favorite chair where he picked up the Virginia City Gazette off of the end table that sat beside his favorite chair. Gertie sat quietly and watched the flames in the fire while Mr. Cartwright read up on the weekly going ons in town. The two sat in a comfortable silence, Gertie looking around her surroundings and Mr. Cartwright taking a peak at her every now and then when he was flipping a page. A few minutes had passed when Ben had heard Gertie's soft sweet voice.

"Mr. Cartwright? How long are we going to stay here with you?" The little girl had been wondering this for the past few days now; she had just finally found the courage to ask, now that it was just the two of them. This question definitely caught Ben's attention and he slowly and carefully folded up the Gazette and placed in on lap.

"I don't really know that for sure, Gertie. I'm waiting to hear back from some telegrams that I sent out earlier this week. I was hoping that you might have some relatives out there that would like to have you come live with them."

"No one has replied yet?" Gertie asked with a touch of sadness in her voice.

"Not yet. But these things take a little time. Tracking down possible family can sometimes take weeks." Mr. Cartwright sensed the unsettledness in Gertie so he decided to add, " I promise Gertie, that once we hear something, I'll let you and Ephraim know."

"Alright." Gertie responded.

"Gertie, are we making your stay her comfortable enough?" Ben was wondering if a house full of men was the best place for Gertie, but the families that he had inquired about couldn't take the children in so it didn't work out as he intended. Ben knew that this little girl needed something more than him and his sons were offering, for they haven't been able to break through to this little girl unlike her brother Ephraim. Ephraim seemed so happy here despite just losing his father, but Ben couldn't say the same for Gertie. She just seemed so lost. Ben understood this to be a natural response, but it was different with Gertie. She couldn't remember her mother, all she knew was her father and now he was gone, her home was now gone, her security now gone and basically her whole world, and Ben didn't know what to do to help fix that. Before Gertie could respond to Mr. Cartwright's question of if she was comfortable here, the front door flung open and laughter and cold air lingered in from outside.

"For Pete's Sakes Boys, shut that door!" Mr. Cartwright bellowed.

"Phew, it's down right cold out there, Pa." Hoss said shutting the door behind him.

"Pa, we put down some extra straw for the horses and pigs. I think it is below zero out there with that wind."

"Smart thinking Adam. I bet the animals will appreciate it as cold as it is."

"Well, actually it was Hoss' suggestion." The boys hung their coats and hats up and wandered over to warm up their bodies by the fire.

"Hey Pa, I think we need to keep this young lad around as long as we can. He's a hard worker. I think he did more work than Little Joe did." Adam said slapping Ephraim on the back while making room for him to warm up his hands.

"Hey, now I was working." Joe said coming to his own defense seeing none of his brothers were.

"He's not afraid to get his hands dirty that's for sure." Hoss added.

"That's excellent to hear. It sounds like he's going to take right after his father. Now seeing you boys don't mind getting your hands dirty why don't you all go wash up and Hopsing is going to bring out some apple pie and hot coffee." And almost on cue, Hopsing came out of the kitchen carrying a tray full of apple pie and coffee.

"Hopsing hear boys coming in and bring out pie and coffee. Bring warm milk for young ones." The boys scurried off to wash up and left Gertie and with the pie and coffee.

"Sure does smell good, Hopsing." Hoss said coming back into the living room sitting down on the stone in front of the fireplace. Adam wasn't far behind taking a spot in his red chair. Little Joe stopped at the dining room table and grabbed a chair from it and placed it beside Adam. Epharim took a seat beside his sister on the couch and they all started digging into the pie.

"Gertie, you're not having any of Hopsing's prize winning apple pie?" Hoss asked looking for seconds.

"No."

"You don't know what you're missing." Hoss urged Gertie to try it.

"You keep saying that." Gertie muttered.

"That's it, Gertie May Callahan, out to the barn! Now!" Ephraim had put his pie plate down and had grabbed a hold of his sister's arm pulling her up from the couch.

"You have no right! You're not the boss of me Ephraim." Gertie hollered.

"I am now! And if you continue with this attitude and behavior, Mr. Cartwright will ship us off to an orphanage, is that what you want?" Ephraim was pulling at a very resisting Gertie.

"Ephraim sit down. Gertie, sit down." Ben couldn't stand watching these two any longer.

"But, , Gertie needs to learn that she can't continue to be rude to her elders." Hoss, Adam and Little Joe couldn't help but laugh, thinking of themselves as elders.

"Boys!" Ben warned. This hushed up the Cartwright boys instantly. "Ephraim, I understand that you think you need to be in charge of your sister. I understand that, but I think you might be going a little too far with this. I don't believe that Gertie meant any harm." Ben hated to have to be correcting Ephraim but as the adult he felt like Ephraim needed to be put in his place at that moment.

"But Mr. Cartwright." Ben held his hand up to stop Ephraim from talking any further.

"Gertie, if you're not going to eat any pie, why don't you go on up and get ready for bed. I'll be up in a few minutes." Gertie obeyed Mr. Cartwrigh's instruction without any back talk and got up and started to head for the stairs.

"Good night Gertie." Adam said grabbing another cup of fresh coffee.

"Sweet dreams Gertie." Hoss added after Adam spoke.

"Good night." Gertie softly spoke back to the boys. Little Joe stood up and placed his chair back at the table. He started for the stairs after Gertie.

"Joseph?" Ben asked as he watched his youngest son approach the stairs after Gertie.

"Just grabbing something from my room Pa." Ben nodded his head and watched as the two walked up the flight of stairs together. When Gertie and Joe got to the top of the stairs, Gertie shuffled her feet towards her room and Joe followed. As Gertie entered the guest room that she was staying in, Joseph followed.

"Why are you following me?" Gertie asked a little harshly.

"Because my Pa asked me to get a coat for Ephraim to wear tomorrow and it's in your closet." Joe wasn't about to take any lip from a seven year old girl.

"Oh," Gertie dipped her head down and sat on the edge of the big soft bed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound so rude."

Joe let out a loud "Humph" while he pulled out the trunk for better light and to open it. "You sure do know how to be rude, that's for sure. Maybe my Pa should of let Ephraim take you out to the barn." Joe muttered while digging through the trunk.

"I know." She said with a little crack in her voice. Joe heard it and stopped what he was doing and looked up. He wasn't sure if the little girl was crying or not, but she looked pretty near to it. He got up and walked over to where she was sitting and motioned towards the spot next to her. Gertie nodded her head in approval and Little Joe slowly took a seat next to her.

"Gertie, I know that this is hard for you. I was just a little younger than you when I lost my Ma. I know how lost you must feel. I guess I can't know exactly how it feels to lose both parents, but I know that you are hurting, and I know that sometimes we say hurtful things when we are hurting, that we don't really mean. But you can't continue to treat people rudely. It's just my suggestion but you might want to stop with it. Or my Pa just might take you out to the barn himself." Gertie turned and looked at Joe like a spooked deer looks when it is approached by humans. Joe let out a little laugh, "It's just a warning."

"Little Joe, I don't mean to be rude, I really don't. If my Papa was here I would never say such things. It's just that I have all these feelings and they change so fast. One minute I'll be sad, then the next I'll feel mad, and then the next I feel lonely. I just can't help it." Joe placed a hand on Gertie's shoulder.

"I know exactly how you're feeling, but I promise Gertie, you won't feel this way forever. It'll take time, but it does go away."

Gertie gave Joe a small smile and said, "Thanks Joe. That makes me feel a little better."

"You're an ok kid, you know that?" Joe chuckled and ruffled the top of Gerties head and got up and walked back to the trunk. He dug for a minute or two and pulled out some clothes that he thought would fit Ephraim.

"Are those all for Ephraim?" Gertie asked as she watched Joe from the bed.

"Yup, you think they'll fit him?" Joe asked standing back up and placing the trunk back into the closet.

"They look a little big."

"Yeah, but he'll grow into them. You best get ready for bed, before my Pa comes up here." Joe noticed her nightshirt on the back of the chair and tossed it over to her. He watched as Gertie fumbled with the button at the top of her dress. He walked up behind her and asked, "You need help?" Gertie shook her head yes and Joe undid the button for her.

"Thanks, Little Joe."

"You're welcome." Joe stood there for a minute wondering what it would be like to have a younger sister. When he snapped out of his thoughts he flashed Gertie a smile. "Sleep tight, Pigtails." Gertie was shocked at first with the nickname but as she let it set in she kind of felt a warm sensation run through her body. She liked it…. Pigtails. Other than Gertie she's never had a nickname, and she liked this one, she liked it a lot actually. As she got into her nightshirt and climbed into the soft, warm bed all she could think of was Pigtails, she sure could get used to being called that, matter of fact she could get used to almost everything here on the Ponderosa.