Category: Prequel
Any time before the episode, A Rose for Lotta
Naming the Newest Cartwright (by Patina)
Summary: 9th story in The Battle of Wills series. The Cartwrights try to decide on a name for the coming baby
Rating: K+ Word Count=2542
The Battle of Wills series, links to all the stories within the series included.
Suffer the Children (by lminzer)
Summary: Joe’s new friend has a terrible secret; and when Joe steps in to defend his new friend, he finds himself in a dangerous situation….
Rated: T WC 11,000
A New Pattern (by Patina)
Summary: 8th story in The Battle of Wills series. The Cartwrights go into town so Marie can order baby furniture and Adam can get a haircut. Hoss goes shopping with Marie and, while in the store, he overhears her conversation with two elderly ladies about food cravings and whether the baby will be a boy or a girl. Which of course leads to questions.
Rated K+ Word Count=4384
The Battle of Wills series, links to all the stories within the series included.
A Mouthful of Regret (by Patina)
Summary: It’s roundup time for the Cartwrights. Heated words are exchanged between Adam and Joe as they search for steers. A bear attack, though, changes everything.
Rated T Word Count=6472
A Room Full of Memories (by Patina)
Summary: 7th story in The Battle of Wills series. It’s time to clean out the spare room so it can be turned into a nursery for the coming baby. As Ben, Adam, and Hoss go through the room’s contents, they remember the past.
Rating: K+ Word Count=3622
The Battle of Wills series, links to all the stories within the series included.
Birthday Blues (by Patina)
Rating: K
Word Count=2002
Summary: Adam, away at college, is celebrating his first birthday away from his father and brothers.
The Resilience of Youth (by Terri)
Summary: Joe is broken hearted when Molly dies in his arms. In his distress, he disappears causing his family to mount a desperate search to find him.
Rated: K+ WC 2800
Oh What A Tangled Web We Weave (by Terri)
Summary: When Charley joins the cattle drive, he causes one headache after another for Joe and his family. Only Joe is aware that Charley is not all he seems!!
Rated: T WC 14,000
Did They Ever (by Terri)
Summary: As Adam and Joe sit round the campfire, Adam regales an incredulous Joe of their first meeting with Julia Bulette. A meeting that got both Adam and his Pa into big trouble with Marie.
Rated: K+ WC 9300
Boy to Man #1 – Boy to Man to Boy (by Terri)
Summary: Joe the boy was anxious to become the man only to find that in many ways he wished to remain the boy.
Rated: K+ WC 20,000
Boy to Man Series, links to all the stories within the series included.
Remembering Childhoods (by Patina)
Summary: 6th story in The Battle of Wills series. It’s the morning after the events in New Expectations. Ben’s thoughts of the coming baby make him remember Adam’s childhood and Hoss’ early years.
Rating: K+ Word Count=3240
The Battle of Wills series, links to all the stories within the series included.
Father and Son (by Snuffybear)
Summary: Young Ben in the months before he goes to sea for the first time. Note: I’ve invented a family for Ben. He has two brothers (John, of course, and Eddie), parents, a great-aunt and great-uncle who live on Cape Cod, and his father’s cousins, Tom, Will and Charlie.
Rated: K+ (16,820 words)
Ben’s Journal – The Hard Trail West (by acspeej)
Summary: This story is a blend of fiction and historical fact. Ben keeps a journal of his wagon train trip to the West with Inger and Adam at his side.
Rated K+ (5,190 words)
New Expectations (by Patina)
Summary: 5th story in the Battle of Wills series. Marie and Adam race their new horses. Luckily, Paul Martin has arrived in Virginia City to practice medicine. Ben has invited Paul out to the Ponderosa for supper. After examining both Marie and Adam, Paul has to relate Marie’s and Adam’s conditions to Ben.
Rating: K WC=4470
The Battle of Wills series, links to all the stories within the series included.
Emergence of a Man (by lminzer)
Summary: No longer a boy, sixteen-year-old Joe Cartwright is struggling with what it means to be a man. Meanwhile, the Ponderosa is plagued by rustlers, and when Joe uses the opportunity to prove himself and protect his family, he unwittingly puts both himself and his father in grave danger….
Rated: K+ WC 9000