Category: Drama
Stay in the Darkness (by Wrangler)
Summary: After Little Joe is finally found after months spent in captivity, his family’s joy is short-lived. Now Ben, Adam, and Hoss must decipher why Joe adamantly insists that for the rest of his life he must “Stay in the Darkness”
Rating T-13. Word count 40,990
Catamount (by SydneyFate)
Summary: The Cartwrights’ new friend, Black Bear, encounters a wild cat, and they catch the tail end of the adventure.
This story was written for the Chaps & Spurs 2025 1st Quarter Challenge.”
Rating: T (2,350 words)
Seven to One (by LillianMontane)
Summary: The only one not captured, Joe must figure out how to rescue his brothers from a gang of outlaws who invade their home.
Rating: T 9,647 words)
The Family Conference (by Glenandme)
Summary: When Joe gets into big trouble he expects a punishment, but a family conference? That’s worse than any punishment.
Rating: G, Word Count: 1365
The Kidnapping (by LillianMontane)
Summary: Little Joe gets kidnapped during a bank robbery. Will he survive? Will he be found?
Rated: T Word count: 7192
Bonanza – a Lost Episode (by SydneyFate)
Summary: The Cartwright family is forever changed when Adam encounters a wandering stranger in Virginia City.
Rating: T (12,420 words)
Ever With You (by Wrangler)
Summary: Little Joe couldn’t believe it when Pa turned his back and walked away. Adam had been injured and it was Joe’s fault and Ben refused to get him out of the charges or even post bail. Now after six weeks in the Virginia City jail Joe must face Pa for the first time and make a tough decision about his future. A lesson about love, the tough kind.
Rating T (word count 21,290)
How Sweet the Moonlight (by Pat D in PA)
Summary: The vastness of the heavens speak to the poetry in a young man’s soul, offering comfort during the lonely times. Created for the First Quarter 2025 Chaps and Spurs Challenge. My deep gratitude for Cheaux’s willingness to beta read; the story is better because of it. (1,462 words)
Soldier Boy (by Puchi Ann)
Summary: When Adam Cartwright left college to join the Union Army, he had no idea he would be involved in three of the most significant battles of the Civil War. Nor did he know that the experience would mark his life forever and influence the man he would become.
Rating: MA for battlefield violence
Word Count: 94,855
Links to stories of A Separate Dream Series are included within.
Trials and Tribulations (by LillianMontane)
Summary: Joe has a hard go of it with some ranch hands. Can Adam help him through it before they do some serious damage?
Rated T Word count: 11,127
As Ye Sow, or Minor Adjustments (by Pat D in PA)
Summary: In this AU tale of the Cartwrights of the Ponderosa, evidence from a very painful part of Adam’s past turns up to forever change his present and that of his family.
Rating: T Mature language and themes are present throughout this story. (122,275 words)
Justice Served (by BluewindFarm)
Summary: What was the real reason behind Adam leaving the Ponderosa? He claimed Justice.
Rating: Teens, due to western-themed violence. (29,265 Words)
The Marshal (by BettyHT)
Summary: Adam is home for a short visit and goes with Joe, Jamie, and Candy on what is supposed to be a short hunting trip. Things get complicated when Joe goes to a nearby town to replenish their supplies. The four men learn important things about each other as a result. Originally a Man In Black challenge but completed for the Better Late Than Never Challenge.
Rating: T Word count: 4,183
Hypothermia (by LillianMontane)
Summary: Adam and Little Joe rely on each other to survive.
Rating: T Word Count: 3,758
Melancholy Rain (By JC)
Summary: Rainy day reflections from Hoss Cartwright in the aftermath of a tragedy.
Rating: T Word Count: 644
