Summary:   Adam was put in charge of watching two-year-old Little Joe while Ben and Marie are in town, but there’s a problem. Where did he disappear to?

Word Count: 1,056  Rated: K

                                                    Where’s Little Joe?

“Where can he be, Hoss?” fourteen-year-old Adam demanded of his younger brother. “You were supposed to be watching him.”

“Was not,” Hoss protested. “Pa told ya to watch us. I was helping Hop Sing make cookies.”

Adam stood looking at his younger brother and pinched the bridge of his nose. He could feel a headache coming on, but there was nothing he could do about it right now.

“He’s two! How far can a two-year-old go?” Adam started to pace the room.

Hoss smiled at his brother. “You’re talkin’ ‘bout Little Joe, Adam. What do ya think?”

“This isn’t funny, Hoss. He could be anywhere.” He looked around the great room hoping to see a curly-headed, green-eyed imp peaking out from behind a piece of furniture.

Adam stomped over to Ben’s desk and looked under it. Little Joe thought crawling under there was a big adventure, to him it was a cave and he liked to hid in it and pretend he was a bear waiting for the unsuspecting prey to wander by.

“Pa’s going to kill me,” Adam grumbled.

“I don’t think ya need to worry about Pa, Mama is going to skin ya alive,” Hoss advised him.

“Oh, God, Marie…” Adam gulped. “I’m dead.” Adam turned and ran up the stairs taking them two at a time.

Hoss stood in the middle of the room waiting for his brother when there was a deafening crash from upstairs.

“Adam!” Hoss yelled. When there was no answer Hoss ran up the stairs after his brother.

Hoss saw Joe’s door open and ran to it. He stopped cold in his tracks when he saw the scene before him. Sprawled in the middle of the floor, surrounded by a battalion of miniature army men, was Adam lying flat on his back.

“Uh, what happened?” Hoss asked.

Adam turned his head and looked at eight year old Hoss. “I’m fighting the battle of Bunker Hill. What does it look like?”

“Are ya winnin’?” Hoss asked, trying to keep a straight face.

“No, they are.” Adam griped as he pulled a private out from under him. “Well, I think he’s a casualty of war.” Adam pulled himself to his feet and rubbed his back. “It’s safe to say Little Joe’s not in here. I would have heard him the minute I hit the floor.”

“Ya okay, Adam?” Hoss asked realizing his big brother could have hurt himself.

“I’m fine, Hoss. It’s my own darn fault. I should know better then to come running into Little Joe’s room.”  Adam looked down at the toys scattered all over the floor and shook his head. “Go check your room and the guest rooms. I’ll check mine and Pa’s.”

“But, Adam,” Hoss started.

“I know, you checked them already, just check them again.”

Hoss nodded his head and left the room.

Minutes later both brothers met in the hall, neither had any success in finding the missing two year old.

“He’s not upstairs, and I didn’t see him downstairs. Let’s go check the barn,” Adam instructed.

Both boys hurried down the stairs and out the door.

“Little Joe?” Hoss called as soon as he entered the barn.

“Joseph!” Adam yelled. “You come out here right now!”

They stood waiting for the toddler come out of his hiding place.

“This isn’t funny anymore. Get out here, NOW.” Adam tried to use his most Pa-like voice, the one that Little Joe would never disobey if his father were there. But there was nothing. Not even a giggle.

“Check everywhere, Hoss. He’s got to be here somewhere.”

The boys scoured the barn, checking every corner, under every table.

“Dadburnit!” Hoss exclaimed.

“What?” Adam turned to look at his brother, who was hopping on one foot and shaking the other.

“Horse manure. Darn you, Sport!” Hoss glared at Adam’s horse.

“Don’t blame him. It’s not his fault you weren’t watching where you were walking.”

“I didn’t step in it, he dropped it!”

Adam had to turn away and bite down on his lip to keep from laughing. “I’m… I’m going to check the loft,” he choked out.

“He couldn’t get up there, Adam.”

“Like you said, we’re talking about Little Joe.”

Adam climbed up the ladder and Hoss could hear him moving around. Suddenly there was a thump and a cuss word, and if Ben would have heard it, Adam would have been the recipient of a very necessary talk.

It was Hoss’ turn to stifle his laughter. He knew exactly what had happened. Adam had forgotten about the lowest beam in the loft.

“He up there?” Hoss was finally able to ask.

Hoss could here quite a bit of grumbling, but was unable to make out any of the words.

“No,” came the strained answer. If he didn’t have a headache before, he definitely had one now. Adam made his way down the ladder and leaned against it. “I don’t understand it, Hoss. He never wanders any further than the barn.”

“Let’s go ask Hop Sing if he’s seen ‘im.” Hoss turned and had taken two steps towards the door when Adam grabbed his arm.

“NO!” he yelled in a voice filled with panic. “If we tell Hop Sing we lost Little Joe, he’ll tell Pa and Marie, and we’ll be in a lot of trouble.”

“I didn’t lose him. You did,” Hoss corrected.

“Hoss, Pa and Marie put us in charge of Little Joe before they left.”

“No they didn’t. I wasn’t even there when Pa and Mama left. Ya ain’t getting’ me in no trouble,” Hoss declared.

“Ah, come on, Hoss.”

Just then they could hear a horse entering the yard and a very distinctive giggle. Adam and Hoss turned and looked at each other before racing out the door.

There, in the middle of the yard, was Hank helping Little Joe down from his horse.

“Hi, Boys,” Hank greeted. “Here’s Little Joe, home safe and sound, just as I promised your father.”

“A’am, Oss, me see pu’pee’s.” Little Joe ran over to his brothers and threw his arms around Adam’s legs. “Want a pu’pee,” Little Joe exclaimed when he released Adam’s leg. “Pleaz, can I?Pleaz, A’am. Pleaz, ‘Oss,” begged the little boy.

Adam and Hoss looked at each other as realization dawned on them.

“The Puppies!” they said in unison.

The End