Category: What Happened Next/Later
Episode inspired stories.
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…
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
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
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
A Journey Changed (by AC1830)
Summary: A missing WHN scene at the end of A Journey Remembered.
Rating: G, Word Count: 745
Melancholy Rain (By JC)
Summary: Rainy day reflections from Hoss Cartwright in the aftermath of a tragedy.
Rating: T Word Count: 644
Encore (by JC)
Summary: On a trip to San Francisco, Ben has a choice to make when the fire from an old flame is rekindled.
Rating: T Word Count: 623
Between Forever and Where No One Stands Alone (by BluewindFarm)
Summary: A benefactor arranges for the modernization of the Ponderosa.
Rating: G 1,625 words
Written for the 2024 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar