Category: What Happened Next/Later
Episode inspired stories.
One Moment in Time (by Wrangler)
Summary: Little Joe relives what he believes was one moment in time when he was in between life and death and explains what made him come back. Inspired by the episode, “Bushwhacked!”. Rating T, WC 10,002
A Private Lesson (by JC)
Summary: Lotta Crabtree’s arrival in Virginia City seemed to spell trouble for the Cartwrights, or was it the beginning of a beautiful friendship? (WHN after “A Rose for Lotta”)
Rating: PG Word Count: 630
Figures from the Past (by Tavia42)
Old friends and enemies from Joe’s past return to up-end the Cartwrights’ lives. One wants to marry Joe, while others want to kill him. With Ben away, the Cartwright sons – with a little help – will have to figure out who is targeting Joe, and how to keep the culprit from finishing the job. Part of my continuing Lady in the House AU series.
Rating: PG | Word Count: 44,082
My Brother’s Brother (by Tavia42)
Hoss and Clay bump into each other again, with some brotherly conflict to work out, in a What Happened Later for The First Born. Written for the 2026 Brothers Day Challenge.
Rating: G | Word Count: 994
Being There (by Tavia42)
Summary: Just a conversation between Candy and Joe, because they’ve both been there. A brief WHN for The Stalker.
Rating: G | Word Count: 908
Older Brothers (by Tavia42)
Summary: Hoss Cartwright and Clay Stafford have at least one thing in common – they’re both older brothers to Little Joe. A Missing Scenes and What Happens Next for “The First Born,” mostly exploring events from Hoss’ and Clay’s points of view. Connected to my ongoing series, but you can also jump in here.
Rating: G | Word Count: 17,642
The Trap–WHN (by Puchi Ann)
Episode summary: During what he believes to be a search for rustlers, Little Joe is fired upon and fires back in self-defense, only to learn that the man he has shot is his friend, Burke Shannon. Then Burke’s wife Hallie intimates to him that he did it deliberately out of love for her. When Burke’s twin brother Booth arrives, believing the same thing, he intimidates Hallie until she “confesses”. When Booth demands she repeat the story to the sheriff, she flees and apparently falls to her death. Booth then launches a campaign to convict Little Joe of both “murders” and to settle the issue, Little Joe challenges him to a duel in the Virginia City street. Shot down by the superior gunman, he is carried by his father to the doctor . . . and that’s the last we see of him. Adam and Hoss have also disappeared halfway through the episode. For this fan, at least, neither of these omissions was acceptable, so here is my take on what happened next.
Rating: T 11,100 words
The Last Trophy? #2 (by sklamb)
Summary: The second of a two-day what-happened-before, what-happened-in-between, and what-happened-later for the first season episode “The Last Trophy.”
Rating: G (2,010 words)
Written for the 2025 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar
The Last Trophy? #1 (by sklamb)
Summary: A two-day what-happened-before, what-happened-in-between, and what-happened-later for the first season episode “The Last Trophy”.
Rating: G (1,135 words)
Written for the 2025 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar
If I Could Turn Back Time (by Annie K Cowgirl)
Summary: Foolishly, I had thought I’d have more time; there were places I wanted to see, things I wanted to do. Now, due to my stupidity, I’d never get to. A WHN for the episode The First Born.
Rated: T (only for mentions of death)
Word Count: 1,167
The Burden of Guilt (by CareBear)
Summary: Adam carries a self-enforced burden of guilt, haunted by memories of the past that are dredged to the surface by Delphine’s death.
Rating: T (violence) Word Count: 6823
A Rare Courtship (by Tavia42)
Summary: Hoss and Joe become convinced that their father intends to marry the Widow Hawkins – and that it’s up to them to save him from this terrible fate. A “What Happened Later” for “The Burma Rarity.” Written for the 2025 Ponderosa Paddlewheel Poker Tournament.
Rating: PG | Word Count: 8,040
End Game (by AC1830)
Summary: A prisoner who escapes from the Nevada State Prison in Carson City has not only freedom but also vengeance on his mind. Little does he know that someone from his past is shadowing him, bringing full circle some unfinished business between them.
Rated: T Word Count: 10,050
A Stop at The Shady Villa (by JC)
Summary: After a nearly fatal case of mistaken identity in Kiowa Flats, Joe and Hoss continue their quest for Texas Longhorn breeding stock, inadvertently stumbling across a potential goldmine (What Happened Next after “The Gunmen”). Written for the Chaps & Spurs 2025 Third Quarter Challenge*.
Rating: K+ Word Count: 2974
The Journey Home (by Tavia42)
Summary: On a trip away from the Ponderosa, the Cartwright boys encounter some old friends and one old foe. Even though he has a grudge against Hoss, Joe becomes the target in his scheme for revenge. A What Happened (Much) Later for “The Ape,” featuring Leonard Nimoy as Freddy, and a What Happened (Long) Before for the “Quaker Girl” episode of Gunsmoke, featuring William Shatner as Fred Bateman. No knowledge of Gunsmoke is necessary to read this story.
Rating: PG | Word Count: 22,322
