Category: Joe Cartwright
Stories that focus on Joe Cartwright
A Good Shirt Is Hard to Find (by Tavia42)
Summary: In the Season 12 episode “El Jefe,” Joe is unaccountably wearing a red shirt. This is so strange and unprecedented that it required a What Happened Before to explain it.
Rating: G | Word Count: 2,293
Caught in a Storm (by JC)
Joe’s plans for a romantic rendezvous go awry when Mother Nature intervenes, but that’s not the worst of it…
Rating: T Word Count: 745
One Way Or Another (by Annie K Cowgirl)
Summary: “He’s just one kid against the whole town….” Sheriff Gains’ words echoed in my mind and my guts twisted as I scrambled up onto the roof of the livery stable. A missing scene from the episode The Gamble.
Rating: K+
Word Count: 891
Thin Ice (by DJK)
Summary: Little Joe does not heed Adam’s warning that Joe is skating on thin ice. rating: teen word count: 728
Life Is Never Dull With Little Brother Around (by Joefan1)
Summary: A light hearted, fun (at least fun to write) story about Joe and his brothers getting even with each other.
Fluff story
Word Count:1224 Rating: PG
The Long Dusty Ride (by bonanzagirl)
Summary: A long, hot, dusty stagecoach ride home becomes a journey Joe Cartwright will never forget.
Rating: M Word count: 3200
Candy’s Knife (by bonanzagirl)
Summary: Missing scene from The Running Man after Little Joe got shot.
Rating: PG Word count: 1900
Dr. Miles (by bonanzagirl)
Summary: What they should have shown us: Missing scene of Gideon the Good, for those who wished for another SJS scene.
Rating: PG Word count: 14400
A Visitor from San Francisco (by Tavia42)
Summary: After a few too many heartbreaks, Joe promises himself he’s done with serious romances. No one really believes him, and his resolve is tested when a pretty stranger’s carriage breaks down on the Ponderosa. Will a romance finally end well, or will it just mean yet another heartbreak?
Rating: G | Word Count: 60,221
Tiānyì (by PatD in PA)
Summary: Written for “Hop Sing’s Chinese New Year Challenge 2026,” honoring the year of the Fire Horse.
Rating: G/K
Word Count: 1,350
Crosses to Bear (by VCLS)
Summary: Candy encounters an old friend from his army days, who turns out to be a wanted man on the run. Written for the 2026 Ponderosa Paddlewheel Poker Tournament.
Rating: T Word Count: 9,149
The Most Precious Gift of All (By MelissaR1992)
Summary: As Christmas draws near for the Cartwright family, Joe faces the ultimate test of faith as a husband and father.
Rating: PG Word Count: 16,684
Part of the Forever Reimagined series, links to all stories included within.
Spring–A Season for Miracles (by Joefan1)
Summary: Joe discovers that sometimes good things happen.
Rating: G Word Count: 2959
The Second Honeymoon (By MelissaR1992)
Summary: Joe and his wife, Alice, take a second honeymoon trip to New Orleans where they get mixed up with a couple of jewel thieves and their only hope is a clumsy, down-on-his-luck, detective.
Rating: PG Word Count: 16,010
Part of the Forever Reimagined series, links to all stories included within.
Vengeance is Mine (By MelissaR1992)
Summary: As Joe and Alice prepare for the arrival of their first child, their happiness is short-lived when the sinister Damion unexpectedly returns with a vengeance. This is a WHI story based on the two-part episode, Forever.
Rating: PG Word Count: 13,861
Part of the Forever Reimagined series, links to all stories included within.
