Category: What Happened Instead
Episode inspired stories.
If Not for Aura Lee (by BluewindFarm)
Summary: What happened after Jean was taken into custody, and Julia’s window went dark.
Rating: T (for mild cursing and references to adult themes) (11,940 words)
Someone to Watch Over Him (by Cheaux)
Summary: A Ponderosa Paddlewheel Poker Tournament story for 2015 (A What Happened Instead for the episode “Bushwhacked” written by Preston Wood).
Word Count: 8974 Rated K+
Marcy (by Tauna Petit-Strawn)
Summary: A ‘what if’ I got off the episode “Three Brides for Hoss”.
Rated: T (8,950 words)
And Afterwards (by Krystyna)
Summary: This story is a spin off from an episode called The Tall Stranger in which Hoss proposed to Margie Owens and lost out to Mark Connors, who married Margie and then dumped her. Hoss found Margie just before she died in childbirth.
In this story Hoss is battling the worse misery of his life as he struggles to overcome a broken heart with no hope of ever seeing Margie again. He has to suffer physical anguish, and experience other peoples direst heartache, before he can bury the past and get on with his life, find happiness and return home to his family.
Rating: T (21,580 words)
Desperate Rescue (by devilwind)
Summary: A WHI for “Desperate Passage.” After rescuing Mary Burns from the Paiutes, Joe has to be saved as his attempt to mount an Indian pony and ride to safety goes awry.
Rating: T (Some Violence) WC: 3396
Worth Fighting For (by No1ButJoe)
Summary: A What Happened Instead to The Crucible. What if Joe went with Adam? WARNINGS: Rated due to bad language, descriptive violence, and extremely harmful injuries.
Rating: T Word count: 58390
Eternal Justice (by Cheaux)
Circumstantial evidence incriminates Joe Cartwright in his fiance’s murder. A WHI for “Justice” written by Richard Wendley.
Rated K+ WC 8100
Forever – The Love of My Life – #3 (by Rider)
Summary: Joe and Alice think about their relationship on the eve of their wedding.
Rated: K+ (990 words)
Forever Series, links to all the stories within the series included.
Forever – I Would Do Anything For Love – #2 (by Rider)
Summary: As the birth of Alice and Joe’s first child approaches, things take a turn for the worst. Part II in “Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Cartwright” Forever WHI series.
Rated: K+ (2,230 words)
Forever Series, links to all the stories within the series included.
Forever (by Rider)
Summary: Part one of my WHI “Forever” series “Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Cartwright” Joe meets and marries Alice Harper.
Rated: K+ (2,020 words)
Forever Series, links to all the stories within the series included.
Riot! — What Happened Instead (by CwrightGirl)
When Adam arrives at the Nevada State Prison for a routine inspection, he is taken hostage by desperate inmates who are ready to change the prison’s abusive conditions by any means necessary, even murder. Outside the prison walls, Joe and Candy work together to end the riot and save Adam. While trapped, Adam meets Griff King, a young covict who enlightens Adam about the corruption found at the prison.
Rating T WC 15,000
Alternate Ending for ‘Quality of Mercy’ (by csb)
Summary: This is an alternate ending for Quality Of Mercy. I wanted to pursue Adam and Joes’ argument further and resolve their differences.
Rated: K (3,690 words)
Becoming Family (by pjb)
Summary: In this WHI/WHN for “Emily” and “Salute to Yesterday.”
WC 8100 Rated: K+
Huckleberry Friends (by Sue)
Summary: This is my take on what might have happened if Mark Twain had revisited the Ponderosa seeking inspiration. It is meant as a purely affectionate look at my favourite tv family. It mainly features Hoss and Joe although the whole family appear.
Rated: K+ WC 6700
Aftermath of a Hanging (by Dodo)
Summary: A What Happened Instead for The Gamble. Joe escapes from Alkali and heads towards Virginia City to fetch help. But what if he never got there?
Rated: T (37,450 words)