Hi so here is my first fanfic for this fandom that I literally just stumbled across. I love this fandom I love Adam. S1-6 are hand downs the best.

This story and all stories coming from it exist S1-6.

I do plan to write series of this story so if that's something your interested in let me know.

I do have an Fanfiction account under a different name, this story will be posted there as well in case you come across it.

Disclaimer-Nothing is mine,

Please Read and Review.

And I swear in my works. If you don't like don't read.

This is part of a series, this isn't episode related. Neither is this series. Assume everything is S1-S6

Any inaccuracies please let me know.

I might add to this...I'll leave it up to you.

Please be aware...some triggers.

Running To A Standstill

Chapter 10-Mine Is A Long And Sad Tale

The world is suspended for a moment as Adam finds his daughter in the lake...and she is not breathing.

He only came up for air, and that was when his lungs were begging him too. Screaming at him too because without air there was no other means for living. Like Adam needed air to keep breathing. He had never needed air to keep breathing. He needed his child. His child who was somewhere down below in the water and not coming up. But then he needed air to keep searching and so he only came up for air, only came up to grasp handfuls of the thing so that he could go down into the cold depths—a lake warmed by the sun on the surface and cold within. Deceptive. Beautiful. Deadly.

Water…natures greatest friend to the human race and it's greatest weapon.

His brain was somewhere down by his shoes he knew, somewhere down by his knees and he couldn't get it to work, couldn't get it to focus on anything other than the pain and the panic and the fear. He was a man accustomed to it, was not a man who was to sit ideal by the fireplace, the life that he and his brothers led was not one that had come with a danger free exsistance like the men in New York had and yet he here he was diving down into the undergrowth desperate for anything and every sign that he could get.

He didn't know what was going on, if Clarence Carter was dead or not, if the fight that had taken Samuel to all four corners of the country following the string of broken babies and their wailing parents was to be broken…he did not know nor did he care. He dove down again and searched and then finally he saw what looked like a flash of blonde amongst the weeds and the seaweed that had migrated south and he dove downwards curling a hand around Ivy.

Finally…

The lake was not dangerous…not in terms of currents but it was a large lake and debris littered the floor and it was clear that when Ivy had fallen in she had gotten tangled up in debris. He heaved another gulp of air and he swam downwards to the floor to untangle one little foot out of the rope and then he dragged her upwards.

Ivy was like some little spectre in the water, blonde hair flying around her face, eyes closed. She seemed almost peaceful and Adam broke the water heaving in air drinking in deep his daughter close to his chest. He had gone quite a while downstream and he looked around Ivy on his chest her head lolling and only Adam's hands keeping her upright.

Joe was on the embankment and he saw them and within seconds his little brother was crashing through the lake until he was with them helping him pull Ivy ashore. They managed to make it Joe's dark hair plastered to his head making him look more like his French Quarter mother than anything else that had gone before and Adam watched feeling like he was outside of his body as his brother laid his daughters head down on the grass warmed by the sun and stared down at her eyes determined and focused.

For a second he didn't understand, couldn't get his brain to work. He had been running on very little sleep and too much worry since May Mitchell's body had been found, couple in with what he knew now, Ivy and then the events of the day and Adam thought it was a miracle he could focus at all. Already he felt drained and shaky as if he was sick and he knew that this was going to be the stuff of nightmares that were more than likely going to be legendary for a very long time.

Joe pushed his fumbling hands aside and then started to pump on his daughters chest.

"What—"

"Learnt it form a nurse up in San Francsico" Joe panted eyes closed. "Shut up and when I tell you to tilt her head back and breathe air into her lungs"

Adam did what he was told, he had no idea if it would work but he was grasping at straws now to keep his daughter safe in the land of the living, he wanted nothing more to do than to keep her here. To anchor her to this world with his bare hands if he had to. He was not a religious man far from it and even now but he found that he was praying as he emptied his breathe into his daughter's lungs even though he knew it was not to God, but to someone else.

Don't you dare, he thought as Joe started pumping again. Don't you fucking dare Isobel, don't you dare take her from me. You gave her to me and told me to run, you don't get to turn around now and take her from me. She needs to stay with me for just a little longer…

There was a crashing through the undergrowth and Hoss came to a skidding stop before them mouth open and pistol in his land looking ridiculously childlike, his brother the gentle soul that he was, had been more confused by the depths of evil that polluted this world rather than been outraged by it. Now he stood there as Joe tried to bring Adam's daughter back to life and Adam was slowly losing the will to live.

Because this was where it ended surely? Because Joe was doing…well whatever Joe was doing and it wasn't working and his daughter was just as pale as May Mitchell had been, a ghost child and not the pink cheeked girl that was his entire world. God how could something up there be good and kind and patient and yet take Ivy away from him.

How was he going to get off the fucking floor?

"Come on Ivy" Joe hissed violently looking dangerous. "Come on Ivy work with me here"

Adam opened his mouth though weather or not it was to tell Joe to continue or not he didn't know, the world had become a grey place, had been sapped of colour and feeling and joy and all he wanted to do was lie on the floor and never get up. He opened his mouth and then just as he did there was a spluttering nose and water exploded from his daughter's mouth the little body convulsing as air got back into the lungs and blue eyes fluttered open.

For a second everyone was stunned. Even Joe was stunned looking down just as their father ran with more youth than he should have done towards them and then Ivy looked at him and said in a voice that sounded like she had been gargling razor blades.

"Pa?"

And Adam…Adam was gone.

Joe let out a watery laugh not sure if it was water on his face or tears. Hoss had no such hiding place but Adam…Adam collapsed on the ground suddenly like a puppet at the fair with their strings cut, he collapsed shaking so violently that Joe thought he was going to vibrate out of his skin. He looked up to see his Pa gently as if it was Adam that was the baby and not Ivy pull his eldest into his arms and Adam for all his talk that he was the oldest and the strongest curled up in his Pa's arms and started sobbing as if he was a baby loud and violent sobs that racked his whole body hands over his face as if he was trying to force them in and yet he couldn't.

His Pa smiled though it didn't meet his eyes as if he understood that and a lot more and Ivy breathed into the sunny afternoon again and then.

"Un..Joe?"

"Yeah sweetheart?"

Blue eyes met his and then.

"I'm not dead am I?"

"What the fuck?"

"Joseph" his Pa hissed but Joe didn't care. He had no idea where that had come from and he didn't know what to do with it.

"No" he said staring down t his niece. "No Ivy you are not dead. Despite best intentions"

Hoss threw him a look that was a copy of the one his father threw him. Any other time Joe was sure he would be getting a stern talking too but right now with Adam still sobbing and shaking like an injured wolf cub that had come too close to a trap he wasn't sure if that was still going to be the case.

Ivy blinked slowly and then.

"Where…is…he?"

"Pa?"

"No…Mr…"

"Oh…"

There was a pause as even Adam dragged a hand down his face and then crawled out of their Pa's arms so that he was half in front of his daughter and his Pa gripped his shoulder knuckles white.

"Dead" his Pa said finally. "He's dead."

"Sam?"

"Oh yeah. I'd say several time to be honest"

Adam nodded. Joe caught Hoss's eyes and Hoss shrugged. There was a part of this story that they were missing he was sure of it but neither one of them cared right now. The nightmare was over or at the very least at bay and that was all that mattered.

Joe found that as Adam gathered his baby up in his arms he too was collapsing on the ground. Hoss came and sat next to him and then for a second said…

"How did you know how to do that?"

"Nurse. San Francisco. Showed me."

"When?"

"When you were with the red headed saloon girl after the bar fight"

"When was this?" his Pa said suddenly.

Joe sighed staring up at the sky. "Doesn't matter"

He didn't have to look to know that his Pa was debating weather to push this conversation or not. In the interest of the good and the great however he let the sentiment slide only to say quietly.

"Do you ever think you missed your calling son? You could be a great doctor"

There was a pause in which Hoss, Joe and Adam all turned to look at their Pa before Joe found that he was laughing uncontrollably unable to stop. Maybe it was the hysteria kicking in but he didn't know.

"What…funny?"

"Nothing baby girl. Nothing"

Samuel Wylde stood there looking down at the body of the nightmare, the man in the mask, the thing that had taken everything from him. Admittedly he'd maybe gone to stabby town a little bit though neither Ben Cartwright nor Roy Coffee had stopped him. Maybe they had known what he was going to do, maybe they had known why he was going to do it. Hard to tell to be honest.

Moving past the body he turned to see Roy Coffee standing by the edge of the lake. The man had gone after his friend and then had come back.

"She's alive" he said and Sam sighed.

"Good" he said and he found he meant it, he would not wish what he had gone through on his worst enemy and Adam Cartwright was far from his worst enemy. In fact he suspected that in another life he and Adam Cartwright might have been good friends.

Roy Coffee edged around the body and then gently he placed his hand on Sam's shoulder. Sam didn't shrug him off just stared out at the lake with the glittering sun reflecting off it and wondered how something so beautiful could be so dangerous.

There was a pause and then.

"Whatever your thinking off don't" the older man said quietly. "You did what you came here to do"

"Doesn't make it easier" he said finally. Elsa's face shimmered and shivered in front of him. Roy Coffee nodded and then quietly.

"You grieve son. And then you move on"

He clapped Sam on the back and then moved to take care of the body and Sam looked over the lake and knew the monster to be dead and found that his face was wet.

It was wet for a very long time.

Roy Coffee didn't seem to mind though.

Samuel Wylde found he liked the man even more.

And I hope you all enjoyed that, four more chapters left to go.

Next Chapter-Adam and Samuel Wylde have a conversation. Ivy is back on the Pondarosa.