Summary: Adam takes care of Joe after a run-in with a wild animal.
Rated: T
Word count: 2917

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Another day, another ranch chore. It was early spring. Snow still covered the mountains, but it was melting off in lower areas. Most of the calving was done, and now came the task of finding the cows that had hid and calved in secret. There were always a few that had to be located and brought back to the main herd. Joe walked up a gully, searching in the brush for any stragglers. He looked up when he heard a cow bawling and found it just around the next creek bend. She was a young pretty cow, light brown with a white face. Joe frowned as he noticed her to be in distress. Her eyes rolled and she lowed mournfully. Her udder was swollen and she paced back and forth. 

He looked around, expecting to see a dead calf, but nothing was apparent. Thinking maybe the calf was stuck somewhere, he pressed further into the brush. Scouring this side of the creek and finding nothing, Joe crossed the water and searched the far bank. He heard some rustling in the brush ahead of him and angled toward it wondering what the calf had gotten itself stuck in. No sooner had he reached to pull the branches away when two things happened simultaneously. He caught the tip of his boot on some roots and fell forward and the small animal that was behind the brush startled and squealed as Joe fell onto it.

Joe cried out in pain and tried to push himself away, only succeeding in getting a handful of agony as well. He scooted backwards and cradled his hand to his chest as he tried to make sense of the situation. His eyes widened and he laughed through the pain as a fat porcupine stared balefully back at him before waddling away. 

He sat there for a few minutes just trying to get a handle on the throbbing that coursed through his body before taking stock of his situation. He had quills sticking out of his left hand. There were at least two dozen. Some had gone all the way through, some were stuck at odd angles, but all of them hurt. He staggered over to the creek and plunged his hand into the cold water, hoping to dull the pain. Further down, there were more quills sticking out. He didn’t bother counting this time. They’d gone through his shirt and the waistband of his pants to jam into his left side, lower torso, and tender area at the front of his pelvis.

Everytime he took a step, it made the quills shake and sent waves of pain through him. Joe awkwardly reached across his body and pulled his pistol from its holster with his right hand. Aiming away, he fired two times into the air. Settling back, he hoped someone was close enough to hear. 

 

******

 

The shadows had moved, and Joe figured about an hour had passed. He fired again, another two shots and waited. Thirty minutes went by. His last two bullets went into the air then Joe returned the pistol to his hip. If no one showed up in a half hour, he would have to figure something out. He had left Cochise at the bottom of the draw, but wasn’t 100% sure if he’d be able to mount, let alone ride. Joe was still contemplating his situation when he heard a faint shout. 

He jerked his head up and returned the yell. “Over here! Up the draw!”

“Joe! Keep making noise! Where are you?”

He recognized the voice as his oldest brother Adam. Joe felt relief spread through him. He’d be ok, now. He kept calling to guide his brother to him. Presently, he saw a dark hat turn the bend. Adam crossed the creek and knelt beside his youngest brother.

“Joe, what happened?”

In response, he simply held up his impaled left hand then gestured down to the rest of the quills. He heard Adam suck air sharply between his teeth. 

“That looks like it hurts. Can you stand?”

“It does hurt. And mostly.”

Adam steadied his brother as they stood up. Joe inhaled quickly and his face drained of colour. He gripped Adam’s arm tightly in his right hand and closed his eyes trying to ride out the pain that came from moving the quills. When he felt he got a little better control over it, he nodded and they started walking back down the draw. Joe could take only short, measured steps. Every time he moved, the quills were jostled, and the barbs on them cut deeper into Joe’s flesh. By the time they’d made it the quarter mile to the end of the draw where the horses were waiting, Joe was sweating, breathing hard, and seriously considering the merits of just curling up and crying. 

They stood next to the horses. Adam waited until Joe had his breathing under control before asking, “Think you can mount?”

Joe opened his eyes and seriously considered the question before he responded, “Not from the near side. But maybe from the far.”

Adam turned Cochise so Joe stood next to his far side, bracing his brother as he put his right foot in the stirrup. It went well until Joe swung his left leg over the saddle and bumped the cantle with his knee. He cried out as that caused all the quills to shake. Settling into the saddle, Joe blinked hard to clear the spots that flickered in front of his eyes. He was not looking forward to the movement from each step of his horse. Adam looked up at Joe, “It’s not too far back to the house, Joe. We’ll take it slow.”

Joe nodded and Adam patted him on his right thigh before moving to mount Sport and lead them home.

 

******

 

The house was in sight now. They’d be there in just a few minutes. The ride had been rough on Joe. At first, he had gritted his teeth and avoided making any sound. That had been given up on quickly though, and now Joe whimpered as every step Cochise took jarred the quills and made the barbs cut into him more and more. He’d had to stop twice just to rest and get some relief. Now Adam had the reins to his horse and his one job had become to stay in the saddle. 

“Almost there, Joe.” Joe didn’t respond, but at least he hadn’t fallen off the horse yet. That meant he was still conscious at least. Adam guided Sport into the main yard and dismounted before leading Cochise as near to the porch as he could. “Ok, take it slow. I’ll catch you.” He encouraged Joe to dismount.

Joe kept his left hand cradled against his chest and balanced himself with his right as he gingerly moved to dismount his horse. He had never been so happy that he had spent the time to train Cochise to a far side mount. It certainly came in handy today. Joe got his left leg over the saddle and felt Adam’s hands touch his back. He gave up and just fell from there, trusting his older brother to catch him. Adam braced himself as he took Joe’s weight. 

“Maybe I should just carry you, Little Joe.”

“I can walk!”

“I have no doubt. But you’ll be in pain either way, and at least this will be faster.” With that, Adam picked his brother up, his right hand under his knees and left around his shoulders. Carefully avoiding the quills and trying to minimize jostling, he took Joe into the house and settled him on the settee in the main room. 

Adam knelt beside Joe and took his uninjured hand into both of his own. “You know I gotta take these out.” 

“I know.”

“It’s gonna hurt.”

“I know that too.” Their eyes met and Joe nodded. Adam squeezed his hand and rose to gather what he would need. He came back to the main room carrying a set of pliers, forceps, bandages, leather gloves, towels, two bowls, and a bottle of iodine. He set the supplies down on the low table in front of the settee and sat down next to them. “Here, Joe. Lift up a bit. I gotta put this towel under you. Gonna do the ones on your hand first. Then the ones on your side.” He slid one towel underneath Joe then placed the other on his own lap. 

“What’s the gloves for?” Joe looked at the supplies Adam had brought out. “These are barbed all the way down. I don’t want to end up in the same situation as you. Now give me your hand.”

Joe straightened his elbow and placed his hand gently on his older brother’s lap. Adam put a leather glove onto his left hand and picked up the pliers. 

“Ready?” 

Joe took a deep breath then laid his head back and closed his eyes before nodding. “Ready as I can be.”

Adam braced Joe with his left hand in between the quills and placed the pliers around the base of one of them. Holding it tightly, he pulled quickly straight back. Joe yelped but the quill popped out. Adam looked closely at it to make sure the tip hadn’t broken off, then dropped it into one of the bowls. “One down, Joe.”

Adam had gotten 10 quills out unbroken. The eleventh snapped. 

“Damn it!” That surprised Joe enough to open his eyes and look through the haze of pain to try to focus on his brother’s face. 

“Wh… what’s wrong?” 

“It snapped. I gotta get the tip out. I’m sorry, fella. It’s about to get worse.” 

He switched tools, setting down the pliers and picking up the forceps. He uncorked the iodine and poured some over the forceps into the other bowl to disinfect them before using them on Joe. Then he took a deep breath and pressed the tips firmly into Joe’s skin around the broken quill. Slowly, he drew it out and blood beaded up from the small hole left behind. Adam dropped the remains of the broken quill into the bowl and switched back to the pliers. “Just a few more, Joe. Then I’ll give you a break.”

Joe nodded, but kept his mouth shut and his other arm flung over his eyes.

 

******

 

They’d gotten through the rest of the quills on Joe’s hand. The majority had come out without any problems. Six had broken and required the forceps. Joe had underestimated his guess of the number earlier. There had been a total of 33. Adam had given Joe a break after removing 18. His youngest brother was panting now, tears leaked out of his closed eyes, and sweat beaded on his pale face. Adam uncorked the iodine again and poured it over all the punctures that the quills had left behind. Then he took the bandages and tightly wrapped Joe’s hand.

“Take a break, Little Joe. We’ll do the rest in a bit.” He stroked the unruly curls back from Joe’s forehead. “You’re doing so well, little buddy.”

“It hurts, Adam…” Joe’s voice was small and he just wanted it all to end. He hadn’t let himself cry in front of his older brother for years, but today was just too much. “Please!” He sobbed. Adam felt his heart tug for his little brother. “I know, buddy. But it’s already half done. You can do this. I know you can.  I’m sorry I don’t have anything to give you to help. We don’t have any laudanum.”

Joe nodded and inhaled deeply to steady his nerves. “Just do it.”

Adam moved to brace his gloved left hand on Joe’s hip. He placed the pliers and began the arduous task of pulling the quills from his brother’s side. These were more challenging as they had gone through his clothes, which led to a higher percentage breaking. There were also more here than were in his hand. After 15 and another rest break, Joe begged Adam to just leave the others there. 

“Joe, you know I can’t do that. It’s not like a splinter that will gradually be pushed out. These are really deep and could get infected.” Joe knew Adam was telling the truth, but his mind was so far gone with the pain, he also wondered why his brother was doing this to him.

Adam had gotten all the quills out of Joe’s side and now only had the ones remaining in the soft tender area in front of his hip. As he removed the third one from that area, Joe about flew off the settee, screaming shrilly. 

“Joe! Hold still!”

“Stop!” Joe shouted back and fought his brother, kicking out and flailing his arms. “No!”

“Joe, I can’t hold you down and pull them out at the same time! You must hold still! Joseph!” 

But Joe was beyond reason. He knocked Adam back into the table, scattering the items on it. Adam stood and quickly left the room, returning just moments later with a rope. He didn’t like doing this, but there was no one around to help and he couldn’t stop now. Joe had calmed down minutely now that the source of his pain was paused. His eyes were still wild, but he seemed lucid again. He looked at the rope then flicked his gaze up to Adam’s eyes. They shared a look and Joe knew what his older brother had to do. He nodded his acceptance.

Adam looped the rope around Joe’s legs just above knees and threaded it through the gap at the back of the settee tying his little brother down firmly. He spoke quietly to him, trying to calm him as much as he could before continuing the unpleasant task. This time, Adam braced his knee on Joe’s chest and pinned his upper body down, relying on the rope to keep his legs constrained. He internally bolstered his reserve and went back to work.

 

******

 

There were just five quills left when Adam felt all the fight leave his little brother. He glanced quickly at Joe’s face and found him passed out cold. Adam breathed a sigh of relief and as quickly as he could removed the last of the offending spikes. Once he got the last one out, he pulled up Joe’s shirt and pushed down his waistband to pour iodine over the punctures. He watched as it ran down Joe’s side to stain both his skin and the towel beneath him. He covered the wounds with a bandage and wrapped it around Joe’s waist to keep it in place. 

Having finished his task, he untied the rope and lifted Joe up slightly, sliding in behind him on the settee and holding him close. He rested his head on his little brother’s brown curls and exhaled shakily, blinking as tears silently tracked slowly down his face. Adam was a stoic man. He could take a lot. But even if it was necessary, hurting his own brother, his youngest brother at that, was something that shook him to the core. 

 

******

 

Adam woke to the feel of someone gently shaking his shoulder. His eyes flew open and immediately went to the slight form leaning against him. Joe was still asleep. His face was much more peaceful now. Adam tracked his gaze down and noticed that there were some pinpricks of blood on the bandage around Joe’s waist, but he didn’t seem to be in any pain anymore. 

“Adam, son. What happened here?” 

He looked up, surprised to see their father leaning over them. 

“I had to take them out. There was no one here to send for the doctor, and I couldn’t leave him alone.”

“Take what out?”

Adam gestured to the bowl that remained forgotten on the table nearby. “Porcupine quills. Almost 70 of them, Pa. It was… unpleasant.” He looked around, just now noticing that Hoss was not in the room with them. 

“I’ve sent him for the doc, Adam. We didn’t know what happened, but finding you both like this was bound to warrant a visit from a physician.”

Adam nodded then turned his attention back to Joe when he shifted and moaned. “Easy, fella. Don’t move too much. You’re gonna be sore for a while.”

 

******

 

Doctor Paul Martin had inspected Adam’s handiwork and declared that he approved of the measures taken. There was no sign of infection and all the quills had been removed cleanly. He left some tincture of opium to dissolve in water if Joe needed it and some more iodine to replace the bottle that Adam had used up.

Joe had refused the tincture. Now that the quills were all removed, the pain had gone with them. He moved carefully, but seemed to already be healing. Now they sat in front of the fire. Ben smoking his pipe, Hoss adding more wood to the fire, and Joe leaning against Adam who was reading on the settee. He tapped his oldest brother on the arm to get his attention.

“Thanks, Adam.”

“I’d say ‘anytime’, Joe, but I’d really rather never have to do that again.” 

Joe chuckled quietly. “Fair enough. I’d really rather never go through that again. Hey, Hoss. There was a cow up there that lost her calf. We had to leave her there. Think you could find her and bring her back down tomorrow?”

“Course, Joe. Where abouts where you?”

Joe grinned. He glanced up at Adam before flicking his gaze to Ben then back to Hoss.

“Porcupine Creek.”

 

END