Summary:  The Cartwright’s take in one of Joe’s school friends.

Rated: K (15,530 words)

Less Than Blood Brothers

***

My name is Andrew Wesley, though most people just call me Wesley. I was born in 1842 which puts me at being 26 years old since the year is now 1868. I was 14 when I met Little Joe Cartwright in Virginia City and I’ll never forget some of the best years of my life, needless to say they were also some of the most dangerous years of my life.

I had just moved there from a little town west of Placerville with my uncle Matt. I had only been going to school a total of four months since we moved and already I hated it. Even my teacher Miss Jones I hated and worst of all was the bullies, but we’ll get to that later. I couldn’t wait for spring vacation away from here with my uncle, we were supposed to go to San Francisco and get me some new cloths. I was really looking forward to it.

It was the last day of school and I was just itchin for it to be over so I could go home and finish packing. Well wouldn’t ya know it I bumped into this kid and we both dropped all our books in a horse trough, I had all my homework which included a book report that I actually studied for soaked and destroyed.

I looked at him and he looked at me, we both had anger and frustration in our eye’s and from my guess he had his book report in with his papers too. I thought of the best insult to say and surprisingly we both said the same thing in unison.

“Hey clumsy, watch were your goin next time! What? No, you did it, hey! “

We both couldn’t stop saying the same thing and before we knew it, we were both laughing at how funny the whole situation became.

I remember seeing him before because he helped me fend off some bullies. It was kinda strange how much we had in common, we both had a very sad coincidence that his mother died and both my parents died from horse accidents, it was nice having someone know what it felt like to lose someone so important in your life. We also had something else strange in common and that’s why we met in the first place.

We both had Creole heritage and it showed through our features. We had the same texture in hair but mine was darker, our eyes were both green and we had similar lean body torsos. Other than that we were the same age and had the same problem with bullies, other fella’s were just plain jealous of our popularity with the girls at school.

This one kid named Frank Nelson had been raised by very prejudice parents and soon he quickly decided not to like either one of us.

I’ve seen other kids pick on Joe but they soon met Joe’s older brother Hoss, who ended the matter. If you saw how big Hoss was the matter wouldn’t have gone too much further for you either, seeing as how much he loved his little brother.

Unfortunately I didn’t have an older brother and this Frank Nelson was considerably bigger than me, so as you could imagine the first time we met didn’t go to good.  From the first day of school and on I tried my best to avoid him and his pals; who evidently didn’t like other races such as me, neither.

It was a Thursday after school when little Joe noticed me hiding behind a tree; he asked was I scared of something and I answered him no but if he had three bigger guys lookin for him he’d be hiding here too. That made him laugh and he offered to wait with me since he was supposed to meet his brother Adam and go into town for something, then his brother would make sure I got home okay.

We exchanged names and at that moment I noticed how much we resembled each other, I wanted to ask him if he was Creole but the circumstances changed before I could.

We got to talking about stuff we had in common and we didn’t even notice the three guys standing behind us. Frank grabbed me by my shirt and spun me around to face him. He told Joe, “beat it Cartwright if you know what’s good for ya.” Now as I got to know Joe Cartwright, the first thing I learned was that he could get really hot headed and would almost never back away from a fight.

He stood there for a moment and asked Frank why he wanted to pick on me; Frank answered it was because his father said Creole people were just no good and don’t belong over here.

That made Joe burn inside; he remembered all the stories about how people treated his mother when she deserved so much better. He pulled me away from Franks grasp and stood face to face with him, courtesy of his tippy toes.

He said; “look at him and then look at me, we both got Creole in us so if you wanna fight with him then you got a fight with me too.” Joe got the first punch and knocked him down.

Before long we had a good rumble goin between us and the three bullies. I managed to deck a couple of good ones here and there and Joe soon got the better of Frank and had pinned him to the ground.

Before we got any further into the fight I stopped and saw this dark haired fella pick Joe off of Frank with one arm and then help Frank up, it wasn’t Hoss but he was definitely strong like him. I figured it must be his other brother Adam even though they didn’t favor each other, then again neither did Hoss. For one thing he looked mad so I decided to just stay out of the way and keep quiet.

He checked Joe over to make sure he was alright, then he dusted Frank off and took him and his pals to the Doc’s office while me and Joe stood there waiting. “Is that your brother? He don’t look anything like you.” I asked out of pure curiosity.

“I know; we all got different mothers.” He lowered his shoulders and sighed.

“Oh, there’s nothing wrong with having a different ma then your brother… err’ brothers; is that why you’re so upset?

“I’m not upset about that, it’s just that my pa’s gonna be mad cause I’m not supposed to be fightin.”

“What’s he gonna do?”

“What! Haven’t you been in trouble before?” He asked me sharply.

“Well yeah but I’ve never been caught.” I lifted one eye brow and joked with him a little.

We laughed and kept talking until his brother got back. I was right about him being mad, you could fry an egg on his forehead. He yelled at Joe first and then turned to me.

“And how did you get in the middle of this, who are you?” He asked abruptly.

“I… I’m Wesley sir, Andrew Wesley but people just call me Wesley.” I was honestly startled by this man’s powerful concern. I’d never seen my parents or anyone in my family act like this before.

He fixed a mean glare on Joe and said; “Well Wesley I’m taking you home right this minute and you and my brother over here can just explain how all this got started on the way home.” He grabbed our arm’s and took us up to where are horses were tied, the whole time all I could think about was if Joes father would have the same reaction, then it dawned on me what would my uncles reaction be?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Well here we are, nearly three and a half months later and it seems our paths have crossed again. Ever since the fight Frank hasn’t bothered anyone else and I haven’t spoken to Joe since what happened. I never found out just what happened to Joe but I think his father was probably upset that he couldn’t handle the situation without conflict. Now my uncle didn’t react at all the same way as Adam or I’m guessing Joe’s father did to what happened, but then again he never really gets involved in anything  so I never bothered to tell him what happened. Even though my lip was busted I never said a word and my uncle didn’t do more then take a second look when he walked passed me.

When my parents died he was the only living relative the sheriff could find. He never wanted kids and didn’t care too much about me or what happened at school as long as I didn’t get suspended. If I was suspended then I would be in his way and if my uncle had any rules, I couldn’t get in his way. I was just lucky he said I could go with him to San Francisco on his business trip because I needed some new cloths; otherwise I’d be left at home by myself, but I guess this time I thought me and my uncle might actually bond a little while on our trip. “It was wishful thinking.”

Over the past few months me and Joe have just waved at each other every so often but nothing more, we were both just letting the steam wear off before we started talking again. But now we had to say something because all are work was ruined and school was about to start.

“Well how’ve you been?” I managed to sound casual.

“To be honest I was doing a lot better before I bumped into you.” From his tone I could tell he was joking.

“Yeah same here, what do you think we should do?”

The bell had just ringed as if on cue, he picked up one of the papers where the writing was obviously smudged and ruined. “I guess we’ll have to tell her what happened and maybe she’ll understand,” he said not at all too confident.

Tuff luck, this was going to be a long day; I muttered under my breath as we walked into the school house.

Well sure enough I was right, and Miss Jones wouldn’t believe a word we said. Even though we had the wet papers to show her, she assumed we had written down random words on them and gotten them wet on purpose just to have an excuse as to why we didn’t study.

You can’t really blame her; I mean we weren’t exactly honor students.

“You really think we planed all that just for an excuse? Gee, you’re ridiculous and crazy!” I said without thinking.

Joe’s eyes got big and he turned to me and covered my mouth. He had actually thought to say the same thing but that thought was followed by another which was of his pa; I seemed to have missed the thought of consequences and carelessly said what was on my mind.

It landed us both held late after school and then sent home with notes. I was the most bothered by being held late because I needed to be home on time to pack since we were leaving tonight on the last stage. Joe seemed to be worried about the note most and said I have to come home with him and explain it to his pa.

I tried telling him about the stage I had to meet but he wouldn’t take no for an answer, he kept saying his hide depended on me to tell his father what happened. I wasn’t really sure what he meant but I went along anyway, I’m guessing his record of telling the truth must be a little tarnished, then again so was mine but at least his family didn’t know that.

I knew my uncle wouldn’t really care about the note and on any other occasion wouldn’t mind me being late. He was always busy and never had time for me. Looking back my parents wouldn’t have minded very much either, my dad was just as busy and my mother would’ve been a little disappointed but there wouldn’t have been any consequences.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When we got to Joes place I thought it was the biggest place I’d ever seen. It was magnificent and I must admit I was curious to see the man in charge of it all. From what Joe told me his father worked hard for everything he had and had lots of good morals, he never broke a promise and always did things the “proper way” as his father would put it. And he also expected the same from all of his sons.

We finally pulled up to his house which was also very big, or at least just bigger than mine. His father was inside sitting at his desk when we walked in three hours from when he would have expected Joe. It was already past dinner time at nearly eight and I could tell his father had been worrying up a storm. When we tied our horses Joe looked at the barn and noticed his brothers horses were gone which made him more nervous, knowing his brothers were probably sent to find him.

His father must have been expecting them first instead of Joe because he stood up real fast and said “you found him?” But then he stopped and looked at us. I could tell a weight was off his shoulders just by the look on his face, I could also tell by the look on his face that he was puzzled by my presence.

“H…Hi pa, I’m sorry I’m late but I kinda… got held after school.”

I could see Mr. Cartwright’s face become dark.

First he sighed and then he said, “Joseph you either did or you didn’t get held after class, now which is it?”

Honestly, I was just scared of the tone he used, my parents never once showed as much concern as he did. I looked over at Joe who scrambled to find the right words. I decided to jump in and help.

“Umm, Mr. Cartwright my name is Andrew Wesley and I can explain why Joes late; It’s kinda… I mean it is my fault.” From the half-look I got, I could tell his patience was wearing thin and I’m glad I caught myself.

He first eyed Joe and then looked at me, then he said “Alright Andrew, go ahead and tell me.”

“You can call me Wesley, Mr. Cartwright.”

“Okay fine, Wesley, please explain this to me.” If I didn’t know any better I think he sounded sarcastic.

“Well first you see; we sort of bumped into each other and dropped are books in the horse trough, then when we told Miss Jones what happened she accused us of doing it on purpose because she thought we didn’t study and needed an excuse. That’s why she held us after class so we could redo our reports. But I can assure you Mr. Cartwright that we both studied and we were prepared.”

“I see, is that all that happened?”

“Well no, that’s not all.” I started my sentence off by saying “we” but by the glare I received from Joe I stuttered and changed it to “I”.

“We, I mean I’ got us in more trouble, because I called the teacher ridiculous and she sent both of us home with notes umm, sir.”

I added the sir part just in case. But the whole time I talked Joe let me say everything and just eyed the floor, you should have seen him looking as innocent as a lamb and I could definitely tell it was a practiced look and that he’s been in this situation before.

“Hmm, Wesley I certainly appreciate your honesty and thank you for clearing this up. You and I can talk about this later on Joe.” He looked at Joe and was seemingly calmer, so I knew my friend would be okay thanks to my explanation.

I wasn’t sure but I think it’s a bad thing when Mr. Cartwright calls little Joe Joseph. I could tell that Joe wasn’t as nervous when he called him by his nickname again.

“Wesley I would invite you to stay for dinner but I’m sure your parents must be worried.”

‘”Pa, Wesley’s parents passed away and he stays with his uncle.” Joe very modestly informed him.

“Oh, I’m really sorry to hear that Wesley, I wasn’t aware.”

“No, it’s alright Mr. Cartwright you weren’t aware and it doesn’t bother me as much anymore. I really do need to get home though; I’m going to San Francisco with my uncle tonight on the eleven o’clock stage.”  I couldn’t help but notice that for the first time when someone said they were sorry for the loss of my parents, they actually sounded sorry. I was starting to like little Joes family and how close, warm and comforting they were.

“Certainly we need to get you back home right away then, and….wait did I hear you say the eleven o’clock stage?”

“Yes, that’s what my uncle said; I should’ve been back right after school to finish packing and then leave with him. Why do you ask?”

“Well, is your uncle by any chance named Matt?”

“Yeah, that’s my uncle Matt. Why do you ask Mr. Cartwright?”

“I checked the schedule for the stages yesterday and there’s none leaving at eleven o’clock tonight. There was one earlier today at twelve that a friend of mine asked me to meet and see him off, the only other passenger on board was a man by the name of….Matt Wesley.” He stopped and cast his eyes down.

“But my uncle said I could go with him, I don’t understand?”

“You said your uncle was leaving for San Francisco?” Ben asked.

“He had some business to take care of and he said he would buy me some new cloths when we got there.” I answered.

I hope Mr. Cartwright couldn’t tell how upset I was becoming; I just couldn’t understand why my uncle would leave me like this.

“Wesley, I’m afraid that stage was headed for Chicago, not San Francisco.” Mr. Cartwright tried to say this as gently as he could, but the damage was done.

Tears began burning my eyes; I just couldn’t believe he would do this to me. I mean leaving to San Francisco without me was one thing and I could understand if he did it because I was late, but the stage he told me to meet was never real and he left on a different one for Chicago! I mean what would he be doing in Chicago? Did I deserve this? Did anyone want me? Or was there something wrong with me?  All of these questions flooded my mind. My life was falling apart all over again, just when it seemingly started to get better.

“Thank you for telling me this Mr. Cartwright, I think I’d better be going.” I was visibly holding back my sniffles and tears when I said have a goodnight. I think Mr. Cartwright was actually going to call me back at the door, but I bumped into Adam and Hoss.

“Hey, haven’t I seen you before” Came Adams response.

“Yeah, I met you before with Joe; you’re Adam and you’re Hoss, right?” I looked at them both.

“Yeah that’s right; and you’re Wesley. I remember you were helping Joe in that fight a few months ago.” He looked up at Ben. “What brings you here this time of night?” He asked me.

“I was just helping Joe clear up a misunderstanding, it was nice seeing you but I really must be going so goodnight.” Before I could make my way out of the door, I felt a big warm hand touch my shoulder. To my surprise it was Mr. Cartwright and I couldn’t believe that he actually cared enough to stop me.

“Wait Wesley, I don’t think you should be staying alone; why don’t you stay the night and have some dinner. And in the morning we could talk to the sheriff and see about finding a relative for you to stay with until we find your uncle.”

“That’s real nice of you Mr. Cartwright, but I don’t have other relatives to stay with, you would be stuck with me. And I wouldn’t want to put you out, so I’ll be fine by myself.” Sadness was clearly in my voice.

“Be stuck with you? Oh no that would hardly be the case Wesley, I understand that your upset about your uncle and what he’s done isn’t right at all; but I would really appreciate it if you stayed with us until some other arrangements could be made. You shouldn’t be by yourself without someone to take care of you.” He drew an arm around my shoulder and I looked up at him in disbelief, I was so close to crying right then and there in front of them all.

“I guess so Mr. Cartwright, if you see it that way.” What he didn’t know is that I’ve practically raised myself all this time.

“Say uh, Hop sing’s got some left over roast and some mash potatoes’ and if I’m not mistaken, he’s still got some of that cherry pie left too.” Hoss was trying to win me over, and it worked.

I turned and smiled at Hoss, then I looked at Joe who had eager eye’s and seemed thrilled at having a friend stay over. I gave him a nod which set his spirits to an all time high.

“Alright, I can’t wait to show you my room and everything!” Joe exclaimed loudly.

He grabbed my arm and rushed me upstairs, the last thing I saw was all the other Cartwright’s smiling with their arms folded and giving each other knowing looks.

Joe seemed to be happy and so was I, our friendship would soon blossom and become greater than I would even think to imagine. We stayed up a little while and played checkers until we both got really tired and then Hoss and Adam picked us up and twirled around like they would drop us, Adam said it was time us miscreants got some sleep. I had no idea the reason they suddenly did it but I was happy they did, it was so much fun having someone to play around with like that.

They carried us up and showed me the guest room, then we all said see ya in the morning. And later that night Mr. Cartwright came in my room to check on me, but I wasn’t asleep so we talked.

He said he was sorry for everything that’s taken place and that he would try his best to help me; and that things like this happen sometimes. He said some other stuff about school an how important it is and that he would talk to me more about it in the morning, then he said goodnight and sleep well.

It was strange to me for someone I just met to care about me so fast. I did cry that night before I fell asleep, it did make me feel a little better about what was going on. But then I realized that I should be happy to have met a family that wanted to help me. I went to sleep smiling.

Wesley and the Cartwright’s I thought to myself, wow it even has a ring to it. I wasn’t sure how long this would last; but it seemed like a great new beginning to what was almost a lonely end.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The first night I slept pretty well considering what had taken place. I did wake up once last night to look around; I guess you could say I wanted to make sure it was all real and not a dream teasing me.

I woke up that morning greeted by Hoss and Joe, which was so new to me and I enjoyed every minute of it.

“How’d ya sleep last night Wesley?” Joe asked me in a cheerful mood.

“I slept great, thanks for asking.” All of a sudden the smell of bacon and eggs with homemade biscuits filled the air.

“Breakfast is ready short shanks number two.”  Hoss told me with a big grin and left the room.

I got up and put my same shirt back on and headed for the door, when Joe handed me a different shirt that was clean.

“Here, you can have one of mine.” He said

“Thanks Joe, I really appreciate this. Hey umm, can you tell me why Hoss just called me short shanks number two?”

“Because I’m short shanks number one, now ya want some breakfast or don’t ya?” He couldn’t help but giggle at his own words.

“Yeah, I guess I do want some breakfast short shanks number one.” I joked right along with him.

“Right this way, short shanks number two.” He laughed aloud showing me the stairs.

We made it down stairs together where our two seats were reserved and sat down. If you ask Mr. Cartwright, the way we were laughing and kidding with each other you would think we were brothers. He was in a good mood that morning and asked how I slept.

“I slept very well Mr. Cartwright, thank you for having me stay with you.”

“No trouble at all, I’m sorry you couldn’t be staying under more pleasant circumstances.”

I began eating my breakfast as Mr. Cartwright told Adam and Hoss what he wanted them to take care of today. He also said he wanted me and Joe to do something, something I had never been asked to do before in my entire life.

First he asked both of us if we remembered what he had told us about school last night and we both nodded yes.

He said; “Joe and Wesley I have something I want you to do today, I looked at both of the notes your teacher sent home and I would like for both of you to write an apology letter to her.”

Out of wonder I asked him why; before Joe could put a hand over my mouth to stop me. Apparently we were getting off easy as Joe later put it.

Adam and Hoss chose that moment to leave and get started on their chores; it was afterwards that I realized the reason why.

Mr. Cartwright took forever to explain respect and how to do things the proper way after you’ve made a mistake and that even though it was a misunderstanding this would be the right thing to do. I was so tired of him talking that I just nodded my head and agreed yes sir.

I did write an apology letter along with Joe, but I guess it wasn’t what you would call sincere enough so Mr. Cartwright asked me to redo it. At this point I realized that it was gonna take a lot of work to fit in with the Cartwright’s and their proper ways.

By the time we were finished with the apology letters and ready to give them to Miss Jones, Mr. Cartwright was ready to go in town and meet with the sheriff. I was pretty nervous; I mean what if we never found my uncle? Or what if when we found him he refused to take me? What if we couldn’t find another relative for me to live with and I become an orphan?

This was gonna be a long day.

End Notes:

“This is my first series, so let me know what you think and any ideas are welcome. Chapters will be added every two months or less.”_Thank you!