I love hearing from readers and take feedback very seriously. I work hard to get characters in character so am concerned if readers don't think they are. Lynne, I can't PM you so will try to address your concerns here. I think Joe would have been a handful as a child, given what we saw of him as a young man. He was less concerned about where the line was than Adam or Hoss and I think he would have kept his father on his toes when he would nudge or outright cross it. Ben was an upright and important citizen who highly valued integrity and honesty and would have been angry at any of his sons if they appeared to continuously lie to him. He would have been furious if his son publicly stole from a friend. He had two concerned conversations with Joe prior to that who never gave his father a chance to understand because he was too worried about what could happen. Teenaged logic is NOT adult logic :-). He was also a busy man who didn't mollycoddle his boys and Joe was pushing to be counted as a man. So as a parent, he misread things. I know I've done that and lived to regret it. They lived in an era when corporal punishment was the norm and I can tell you from personal experience that a licking can leave you sore for a few days. Having said all that, Ben loved his boys fiercely and would admit when he was wrong. I hope that answers your concerns, but if not, feel free to PM me. And no, I'm definitely not done yet!

Chapter Eleven

Roy pushed open the door to Paul's office and noted his inner door was closed. The doctor's standard practice was to leave that door open unless he had a patient with him so Roy growled under his breath and settled down to wait. He wanted to stand and bang on the door, but he managed to restrain himself. A good fifteen minutes later, he was still seated and he found his usual patience was wearing thin. By the time the door swung open and Maggie Wallis waddled out through the door, he was almost ready to burst. Instead, he made his way to the door and opened it for the young woman who looked like she could burst at any moment. Roy swallowed down the cheeky thought and tipped his hat her way as she smiled her thanks.

"Missus Wallis, good day, Ma'am."

"Your shoulder giving you trouble?" Paul's voice from behind him was serious and yet as he turned around, his friend was trying not to laugh. "Not that you'd tell me if it was!"

Without realising he was doing it, Roy began rubbing at the wounded shoulder and when Paul laughed at him, he slowly began to chuckle at himself.

"A couple of inches over and we wouldn't be standing here talking, you know." Paul suddenly sobered as he commented on how different it could have been. His first sight of his friend lying in a pool of blood had not boded well.

"Well it's a good thing that Kent didn't stick around to check. Course with the amount of blood everywhere, I'm not surprised."

Paul nodded without speaking. The grim discovery had left them speculating about how badly hurt Joe could be and the lack of response to the sheriff's wires was grating on them all.

"But that don't matter. I promised you I'd tell you just as soon I got wind of anything." He waved the paper towards his friend triumphantly. "Well, this here wire just came in from the sheriff at Riversbend. Seems our little band of runaways have turned up and Ben and the boys have caught up with them."

Paul slapped a hand on Roy's uninjured shoulder and grinned at him. He suddenly sobered again and the grin slid off his face. "Why would the sheriff be sending that news and not Ben?"

"Hadn't rightly thought of that. Guess I was in too much of a rush to let you know the news. I gotta ride out and let Hop Sing know or he'll skin me alive for keepin' him in the dark."

Paul smiled again as Roy hurried for the door. Hop Sing had ridden into town every day waiting for news as impatiently as the rest of them and he would not forgive any delay in being told about the wire. As Roy left his office, Paul felt the worry sliding back into place. It was his nature to be a cautious man who noted details and there was too much that hadn't been said for him to stop worrying just yet.

Adam handed his father a mug of coffee before settling down on the floor beside him. The room was cramped, but nobody seemed to care. The doctor had been reluctant to allow them to move across to the hotel, but it was apparent that the boys needed sleep more than anything else and Matthew's condition would not change any by being moved to a hotel room. So long as they kept a quarantine in place and limited who came in, he was satisfied with the decision.

Derek had refused to leave him until he had been assured and reassured several times that his brother would be brought over just as soon as the doctor was done with him. The boy looked around the room and marveled at the fine furnishings, although Adam considered it to be barely adequate. It was the only hotel in town and he was past caring about the trappings. A member of the hotel staff hauled up a bathtub and Derek tried arguing that he was waiting for Matthew. Adam wasn't taking no for an answer and Derek reluctantly stripped down and dropped himself into the hot soapy water. He could not remember the last time he'd had the luxury of a hot bath and he closed his eyes with a contented sigh. Hoss smiled gently at the sight of the boy's face and he headed over to offer to soap his hair. Derek almost objected until he remembered how Joe talked of his older brother and he slowly nodded.

A short time later, there was a knock on the door. Adam smiled at the young lady standing there as she eyed him up and down. She looked a little confused as she held up a bundle of clothing.

"I'm not sure I have the right room. The sheriff sent me up with some boys clothes, but you aren't old enough to have sons this size."

Adam smiled at her confusion and nodded. "No, but I am old enough to have younger brothers. Please tell the sheriff we appreciate this very much. The boys' clothes are filthy."

Before he could head back into the room, he caught sight of his father on the stairs. He was carrying Joe, who was still soundly asleep. He'd often remarked that his brother could sleep through an earthquake, but the exhaustion on the kid's face was no laughing matter. He stepped back to hold the door open and tipped his hat at the young woman as she sidestepped his father.

"Pa… is he alright?"

"The doctor seems to think he will be. Did you get that bath organised?"

"Yes, Derek should be done by now."

Waking his brother and getting him undressed proved more difficult than he expected as Joe seemed intent on fighting them. He seemed almost dazed as he stared at his family members, but in a most uncharacteristic fashion, he said nothing. Once again, Hoss offered to soap his hair and Joe sat hunched in the tub as he did so. The ache of so many hours in the saddle had settled into his bones and by the time he was done, it was all he could do to climb back out of the tub.

Ben had reluctantly left his sons to take care of the two boys as Joe refused to even look his way. Instead he went back to the doctor's office to get Matthew. The boy felt like a sparrow weight in his arms and he frowned at the bones he felt poking through the boy's back. Joe had always been small for his age, but he moved with a level of energy that belied his size. He knew that Matthew was seven, but he felt more like a five-year-old in his arms. As he made his way across the street with the child wrapped in a sheet, he looked down into the boy's face. He could not fathom how anybody could not see a child as precious and he vowed he would do whatever it took to find the boys a home. A real home.

By the time he made it into the room again, Joe was stretched out on the farthest bed, apparently soundly asleep once again. Adam sat on the bed beside him while Hoss had taken charge of Derek. The boy could barely keep his eyes open, but he looked up as Ben eased his brother down on the bed beside him. He'd considered renting two rooms, but soon realised it was pointless as none of them would accept being separated.

Hoss already had a bowl of cool water and a washcloth ready and he wrung it out and placed it over Matthew's brow. The boy barely stirred as he did so. The doctor's words rung in his ears and he patted the boy on the shoulder before he stood up. He winked at Derek as Ben pulled a blanket over them both.

"Sweet dreams, fellas."

Ben straightened up and slowly edged across the room to the other bed. Adam moved out of his way and his father nodded at him as he took his place. For the longest time he simply stared at Joe's back; his face a jumble of emotions. Finally he leaned down and kissed the top of Joe's damp head. He inhaled the smell of the hotel soap and he slowly sat back up again.

"Sleep well, Son."

By the time Adam handed him the coffee he was emotionally spent. The days of not knowing had taken their toll. He could not take his eyes off his son as his mind went around and around in circles trying to work out how to fix things between them. He could not put into words the profound relief he'd experienced in finding his boy in one piece, without a bullet wound in him. His mind had worked overtime to torment him on that front and even as he slept on the trail, he'd been tormented with images of his son bleeding to death on the floor of the jail.

"You're an old fool!" He had cursed himself with the same words many times in recent days and nothing would convince him otherwise. Adam said nothing as he'd found it pointless to argue this particular argument. He sat and sipped at his mug of coffee until he heard the door swing open again. The aroma of bacon wafted into the room and Hoss appeared with a loaded tray and the sheriff trailing behind him.

"I sent the wire you requested to Virginia City. Roy Coffee just replied."

Nick handed the slip of paper across and Ben smiled at the comment.

"What's it say, Pa?" Hoss was busy laying out food and piling up plates while Adam was intently watching Joe. He had his suspicions that the boy was feigning sleep as he'd done a thousand times before. His suspicion was confirmed when his father answered the question.

"Roy says to hurry up and bring them all home!"

Joe's shoulders heaved and he slowly turned onto his back. It took a moment for him to push himself upright, but the look on his face was unreadable. He stared across the room towards his father. His breathing was growing more wild by the second and Adam shifted up onto the bed and grasped hold of him.

"Joe? What's wrong?"

"He's dead."

"Who's dead?" It was the same comment he had made the last time, just before he had almost collapsed onto the floor and Adam could feel the tremors under his arms.

"Sheriff Coffee." It was barely a whisper and Adam leaned in closer.

"No, Joe. He was shot, but he'll be fine. He was really worried about you though."

"He threw me out of the way. Against the wall. That man tried to shoot me and ... Sher ..."

Joe stared at his father as he made his way across the room. Ben sat down beside him and cupped his son's face under the chin. "You thought Roy was dead?"

Joe's voice stuck in his throat as tears trickled down his face. The nightmare he'd lived with for far too many days was dissolving in front of his eyes.

"Joseph? That's why you think I hate you?"

As Joe slowly nodded, the pieces began to fall into place. Ben knew he'd left his son with the impression he was ashamed of him and furious at his behaviour, because if truth be told, he was. If Joe truly thought his oldest friend was dead, he could see how the boy would connect the dots and come up with such a preposterous conclusion. He slipped his hands up to grasp either side of his son's face and thumbed away the tears.

"Oh, Son." He could barely breathe as he watched his son's distress play out across his face. "Forgive me for ever thinking I was doing the right thing by locking you up."

"Pa."

It was no more than a whisper, but it was the first acknowledgment Joe had given his father since they had found him.

"I know you aren't a thief and I had no right to do what I did to you."

Joe's face contorted as if he was in pain. He shrank back from his father and tried to push himself away again. His father's forgiveness was based on a lie.

"But I am."

"You are what?"

Joe swallowed a gulp of air, knowing he was about to condemn himself.

"A thief. I took the money we needed … to …"

"To get the boys on the stagecoach?" Adam 's voice sounded too close and Joe tried to scoot away from him too.

Joe couldn't speak and he simply nodded.

"We figured as much when Mitch told us you had the money. I'm assuming you took it out of my drawer?"

There was no condemnation in the tone and Joe looked miserable as he tried to look up at his brother.

"And Hoss's. But we've still got most of it and I'll work until I've earned the rest of it back. I promise!"

"Joe," Adam wrapped his hand around the back of his brother's head. "I don't need you to do anything of the sort. I know what you were trying to do and I'm proud of you, little brother."

Joe stared at him as if Adam had just said he could fly. He felt the warmth of his brother's hand on his neck and the familiar squeeze.

"I'm serious, Joe. I think your planning and execution needs a little work, but the idea behind it was admirable, even if your facts were a bit off the mark."

"Same here, little brother. I'm right proud of you too." Hoss could barely hold back the emotion as he considered all his brother had done and why.

"Son, we have a lot to talk about still, but for now, I think you need to sleep. Unless of course you are hungry."

Joe's hands reached for his father's vest and he pulled closer. He would normally have buried his face in his father's chest and Ben was afraid he was about to do just that. At the last moment, Joe twisted sideways and laid his head against his father's shoulder. Ben wrapped his arms around his son and held on with a determination to never let him go again. He wasn't surprised when he eventually felt his son's body go slack against him.

"I guess that answers that question." He smiled as he eased the boy back down onto the bed and once again kissed the top of his head. "Sleep well, my boy."

"Alright, I think I've been more than patient with you all so far. I need some answers to this crazy story of yours. Just what in tarnation is going on?"

Ben stood up and pointed towards the tray of food. "It may be a little cold, but Sheriff, you are welcome to join us for breakfast and I will try to explain everything. At least the parts of the story that I know. I think these three boys might have to fill in some of the blanks when they wake up."