Click title to read story.
O Come, O Come Emmanuel – by freyakendra
Summary: Caught in a blizzard on Christmas Eve, Joe follows his brother’s song after the trail itself becomes obscured by the heavy snow.
Rated: K+ WC 2500
Summary: Being asked to scout for the army leads to a terrifying ordeal for Joe.
10,110 words Rated: T
Summary: Ben is compelled to defend Marie’s honor. A prequel written for Brand’s Mother’s Day Challenge.
Rating: T Word Count: 1900
Summary: WHB for Winter Kill. Returning from Montana, Ben, Hoss, and Joe witness a rare natural phenomenon. Written to celebrate today’s total solar eclipse — those two and a half minutes may possibly be the very coolest thing I have ever seen.
Rating: K Word Count: 1899
Summary: A strange ranch hand develops an obsession with Joe.
Rated: T 12,825 words
Summary: As Ben travels to see an ill Adam at Harvard, he recalls a similar journey they made together so many years ago, from Boston to what was eventually to become the Ponderosa.
Rating: K+ 101,875 words
Of Knights and Cowboys by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Abigail Jones always considered herself to be a sensible woman except when it came to Adam Cartwright, her knight in shining armor.
Rated: K Word Count: 642
Of Little Boys and Puppy Dog Tails – by Questfan
Summary: It has only been a short time since the family lost Marie and each of them is struggling to come to terms with it. None of them could have foreseen the impact one small, stray dog would have on the whole family.
Word Count: 5846 Rating: T
Of Love and Loss – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Ben and Hoss have a heart to heart about lost loves.
Rating: K tissue warning 1,500
Of Men and Angels – by Inca / Tye
Summary: Written for the 2016 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar.
Rating: K 1,470 words
Of Mothers and Fathers – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Ben’s announcement of his upcoming marriage to a young, widowed woman brings about a serious talk between a ten-year-old Joe and his older brother, Adam
Rating: K 1,625
Of One Man’s Blood – by DebbieB
Summary: Ben’s three sons have vanished, but where could they be? Months of worry and fear leave him devastated over his loss. When Ben offers the Ponderosa for sale, a reformed criminal comes to Ben’s aide and together they set sail on the high seas in search of Ben’s most cherished of life’s gifts, his three sons.
Rated: R Subject matter hints at sexual content, contains cruel and inhumane treatment to certain individuals and deals with white slavery. May not be suited for all readers…proceed accordingly. by clicking into the story, you are adhering to the warning that has been posted. 42,600 words
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
Summary: Because of a misunderstanding, Ben offers Adam as an escort for Clementine Hawkins’ niece for a week starting on a Sunday. Things quickly get difficult for Adam until there’s a problem with potential lifetime consequences. Remorseful, Ben steps in to help his son out of that one, and then helps Adam get some revenge on his brothers too. It’s all in good fun, or mostly it is.
rating = T word count = 4146
Summary: A college friend of Adam’s causes trouble for both Adam and Joe.
Rated: T 18,955 words
Old Dreams and Achieving New Dream – by AdamJoeLuver
Summary: Adam finds a little house and decides to fix it up for Hoss and his fiancé. Alot of family scenes.
Rating: PG-13 Words: 4385
Summary: Hoss and Little Joe started calling Adam “the old man” shortly after their father’s death. Marie regrets how much of Adam’s youth was taken when he took over running the Ponderosa and helping her raise his brothers. She decides it is time that he found a romance to make him feel young again. NOTE: In this AU it was Marie Cartwright who lived while Ben Cartwright died.
Rating: T/PG13 world count: 46,701
Old Man and The Cowboy (The) – by Hooded Crow
Summary: This was written as a tribute and a kind of obituary for Pernell Roberts after I learned about his death in January 2010.
Rated: K 1,410 words
Summary: Adam and Hoss Cartwright reflect on the memory of an old ranch hand.
Rating K Words 800
Summary: Repair and reconstruction of an old stable on the Ponderosa is necessary to keep a memory and a hope alive for the family and leads to some stories that pull the family closer together.
Rating: G Word Count: 1567
Old Teacher (The) – by StephyL
Synopsis: Joe has a run in with a sub that Adam once had and soon things go from bad to worse.
Rating: PG
Words: 3,600
Ole Daniel – by DJK
Summary: Each of Ben Cartwright’s sons had a meeting with Old Daniel. Only Hoss realized the danger they faced when they did.
rating T word count 3126
Olympic Inheritance (The) — a REALLY Lost Episode – by Robin
Summary: Beyond their wildest dreams? Well, it happened.
Rating: T 2,60 words
On a Wedding Day – by Krystyna
Summary: Laura’s wedding day – how does everyone actually feel about this coming marriage?
Rated: K+ 4,745 words
On a Winter Morning – by the Tahoe Ladies
Summary: An interesting meeting for Ben.
Rated: T Word Count: 2200
Summary: This is a series featuring Adam but with significant roles played by Hoss, Joe, and Ben. Each story can stand alone, but features the same OCs and they tell a progressive story as well.–On Borrowed Time— There are conflicting accounts of what happened in a gunfight, and the family of the man killed won’t believe Adam. –On the Run— about five years later, Adam faces accusations and a tragic loss, and has to flee. –On Edge— Adam and Elaine get to know each other but it’s complicated by Elaine’s disapproving father, and court fights too. –On Top of the Mountain— There are ups and downs in Adam’s romance and Hoss gets to be romantic too. Rating: T Word count: 111,885
On Butterfly Wings – by Krystyna
Summary: This is a little story about a little boy who never knew his Mama but loves her and when he overhears some gossip he mistakenly thinks his Mama is alive after all.
Rated: K+ 21,150 words
Summary: Joe’s in a precarious position, and he can only pray that rescue will come before it’s too late.
Rating: T 2329 words
Summary: Joe is having difficulty dealing with his grief over losing love and proving he’s an adult by taking it out on his family. This leads to trouble for him and his entire family. Set after “The Julia Bulette Story.”
Rated: T 7,230 words
Summary: It’s hot and work is hard for Adam and Hoss while Joe is off on a jaunt elsewhere. Then Adam wakes up during the night knowing that Joe needs help …
Rated: K 19,285 words
On the Hunt for Brotherhood – by Puchi Ann
Summary: My Camp in the Pines story, using the following words from the fishing tournament: eggs, petticoat, gunshot wound. Adam had been reluctant to take sixteen-year-old Little Joe on a hunting trip, but when he is Incapacitated by a freak accident, only his baby brother stands between him and certain death.
Rating: T Word Count: 16,760
On the Shores of the Lake – by BettyHT
Summary: Five vignettes of family life tied in some way to the shore of Lake Tahoe. The first four are prequel stories.
PG 5,345
On the Trail and More – by BettyHT
Summary: Joe asks a question about Christmas that leads Adam to tell a story about coming West, and then there are more stories about Christmas with Marie and Elizabeth. Rating: PG Word Count: 5,126
Summary: Everyone take cover . Someone’s on the warpath. Just how will they rescue themselves?
Rating: K 1,645 words
Summary: Though many people choose to write a story for the Advent Calendar, members are free to choose how they wish to respond to their prompt.
Drawn for the Bonanza Brand 2023 Advent Calendar
Summary: Ben is lying on his death bed when three ghostly visitors from the past step in to change the course of fate.
Rating K+ / Word count 1,410
Once Upon a Christmas – by DebbieB & JennieA
Summary: With Christmas fast approaching, the Cartwrights race against time to prolong the magic of Christmas from fading on the Ponderosa.
Rated: G 16,570 words
Once Upon a Christmas by AMG
Summary: A story with a twist. It’s an any-Cartwright story category – it’s up to you to decide who the main hero is.
Rating: PG-13, violence Words: 6,161
Once Upon a Christmas – by JennieA & DebbieB
Summary: With Christmas fast approaching, the Cartwrights race against time to prolong the magic of Christmas from fading on the Ponderosa.
Rated: G 16,570 words
Once Upon a Christmas Eve – by Heather-Chrysalis
Summary: Anything is possible on Christmas Eve.
Rating: G (1,350 words)
Once Upon a Midsummer Night – by Heather-Chrysalis
Summary: One summer solstice night, Adam Cartwright time travels with the aid of a fairy ring to the year 1962. He meets an eleven-year-old girl and takes her to Dairy Queen on his motorcycle.
Rated G Wordcount: 3,707
One (The) – by the Tahoe Ladies
Summary: A tale of wills between a man and a horse
Rated: K Word Count: 7830
Summary: When it rains it pours for Adam who experiences a run of bad luck
Rated: T 6,100 words
One Brother from Boston – by DonnaM
Summary: Hoss and Joe invite Adam to come home from Boston for Christmas. Ben also has a hand in bringing “One Brother from Boston,” and so do an angelic helper and a stranger from Minnesota.
Rating: K 6,910 word
One Bullet & Holding to Hope – by freyakendra
Summary: One Bullet->: Wounded and running out of time, Joe’s only hope is his ability to believe that a single bullet can make any difference at all. Keywords: SJS, JPM, drama
Holding to Hope->: Sequel to One Bullet. In the wake of Annie Grainger’s murder, Joe’s family and hers are brought together in bitterness, compassion, and a shared need for hope: one, for survival of the body; the other, for survival of the soul.
WC 10,200
Summary: A tragic event in Virginia City sends shock waves across the globe and spurs Adam to return home to find the truth.
Rated: T WC 16,000
One for the Ages – by Justafan
Summary: A story of a friendship that ran deeper than blood. Submitted in response to a 2016 Pinecone Challenge.
Rating: K 537 words
Summary: Thirteen-year-old Hoss has to deal with changes, both at home and within himself. In the midst of his confusion a young girl enters his life. She gives Hoss a new perspective and together they share “One Golden Summer”.
Rated: Family Friendly / Word count: 20,000
Summary: Trouble for the Cartwrights in San Francisco. Ben finds out that deeds he did in his past come back to haun him; fortunately, it’s the good deeds that prove to be most useful.
Rating: PG (8,580 words)
Summary: Ben finds it necessary to take a young Little Joe on a long stagecoach trip.
Rated: K 7,090 words
Synopsis: Adam, Hoss and Little Joe manage to test their father’s patience many times over in the space of one day. All four encounter a ‘first ever’ for the Cartwright family.
Rating: G (12,200 words)
Summary: In one hour good and bad can happen.
Rating T 675 words . Warning: Don’t read it if you are a sensitive person
One in One Hundred and Thirty – by KateP
Summary: The story is an attempt to look at the effects of epilepsy on a sufferer and their family. Oh, and the title refers to the number of epilepsy sufferers in the U.K at present – it really is that common. Rated: K+ 20,180 words
One Last Goodbye – by slaine89
Summary: A look into the last few moments of Hoss Cartwright’s life. My tribute to both the character and the actor that played him.
Rated: K+ 1,170 words
One Little Two Little Three Little Thunderbirds – by McFair
Summary: A friend of Ben’s comes for a visit, bringing with him his three daughters and a dark secret from his past. At first it appears the greatest danger the visit presents lies in the insanity of a trio of young females in the Cartwright household. All too soon it becomes apparent that Gil Jenkins’ demons have not been laid to rest and threaten not only him, but the Cartwrights as well.
Rated: PG-13 WC 79,400
Summary: A prank, an accusation, and a journey to death’s door, shows all of the Cartwrights and a few others, just how lucky one man can truly be.
Rating: PG 19,650 words
Summary: A WHN story for Credit for A Kill. When the shooting stopped and the last remaining Jordan brothers were pronounced dead, Joe Cartwright sighed in relief, his troubles were over. Or so he thought; what he hadn’t counted on was that Luke, Virgil, Boone and Walt Jordan had one more brother, and that brother was set on revenge.
Rated: G 7,000 words
Summary: Ben shares his thoughts about both the tragedy and triumph he experiences when Little Joe is blinded. Based on the episode, “The Stillness Within”.
Rating T, WC 7430
Summary: Adam encounters a sweet angel in San Francisco. Written for the R-Rated Anniversary Challenge.
Rated: MA (sexual content)
Word Count: 2350
One Night in Bear River – by SusanG
Summary: Having delivered the herd, the Cartwrights were only planning to spend one night in town before heading home.
Rating: T 6,960 words
Summary: This “what happens later” story for Thanks for Everything, Friend, picks up after Tom Wilson has been dead for several months and a woman comes to Virginia City with one goal in mind: to kill Adam Cartwright for his role in Tom’s death. She holds Adam at gunpoint as she presses her case against him, and he tries to help her see the truth before she pulls the trigger.
Rating: K Word Count: 9492
Summary: Did you ever known anyone to have ‘one of those days’ that stretched into an entire week? No? Well sit back and let Joe tell you all about it.
Rating: K+ 20,630 words
Summary: Little Joe and five of his school mates are playing a game that may come to a deadly end.
WC 850
Summary: A normal trip to the saloon turns tragic. I wrote this back in the summer, you may need some tissues with this too… Warning: Character death
Rated: T 1,450 words
One Somewhere in the Night (The) – by Calim11
Summary: Adam and Hoss are lost and must make their own way home on different paths.
Rated: T 13,885 words
One Special Night – by BluewindFarm
Summary: The Cartwrights await a VERY special delivery, leaving one of them to wonder what their future will hold.
Rating: K 1,705 words
One Step Closer #1 – For Loves Sake Only – by MissJudy
Summary: Adam promised Laura that he’d be back for their engagement party. But he’s delayed and during that time, he unexpectedly meets his first love – a young woman he knew in Boston. After an evening spent talking, they realize that they still love each other, yet they know that it can’t make a difference. Life and time have sent them in opposite directions and they part again, while wondering what might have happened if they had taken one step closer. This is a what happens during, and after the episode, Triangle.
Rated: K+ WC 10,000
One Step Closer #2 – ‘Til Death Do We Part – by MissJudy
Summary: Adam’s getting married! He’s moved to Boston to help his grandfather, and has begun to build a good life there, including an engagement to the girl he fell in love with during college. Their wedding is set to coincide with an unexpected visit from Ben Cartwright.
All is well until Adam’s fiancee disappears and Ben and his son set out to find her. Adam battles a worsening illness along with the lies of those involved. He must rely on help from those more familiar with the city and at one point despairs as he asks his father why the women who love him…die. Will there be a wedding or will Adam sink further into loneliness and pain as another opportunity for love is torn away.
Rated: T WC 82,700
One Step Closer #3 – Two Broken Hearts – by MissJudy
Summary: Adam is back in Boston after a 12 year absence. His career has taken off in a prestigious engineering firm; he’s happily married to his college sweetheart, and he’ll be a featured performer at an upcoming choral production. But the life he’s made is destroyed in three weeks after a beautiful stranger hires him to build a wine cellar. He loses his job; his wife thinks he’s having an affair with the stranger, and he’s forced to participate in a federal crime, knowing that he won’t live through it, but hopes to stay alive long enough to protect the people he loves.
Rated: T WC 28,000
One Step Closer #4 – In Search of Safety – by MissJudy
Summary: Following a harrowing experience in Boston, Adam and his new wife head west to the Ponderosa for a visit, hoping to relax where they feel safe. Unfortunately Little Joe is not happy with their presence. Hoss helps sort things out between his brothers, but when one problem is solved, the Cartwrights “welcome” two more unexpected visitors. A misguided act by one of these guests brings near tragedy. This is a story of new lessons learned while old feelings are dealt with. It ends with Melinda and Adam in London, still wondering whether they can ever escape the trouble that seems to shadow them.
Rated: T WC 36,000
One Step Closer #5 – From Two to Three – by MissJudy
Summary: Adam and his wife, Melinda, are living in England, and getting ready to welcome their first child. After a fall on the stairs, Adam must face the fear of losing his wife and child, and he comes to terms with his own lingering grief over his mother’s death. We also see the family back on the Ponderosa waiting impatiently for the arrival of a new Cartwright. The story returns the young parents to the states where a number of surprises await – including a visit from some Nevadans, and one old foe who leaves them reeling.
Rated: T WC 45,000
One Step Closer #6 – Changes in Fate – by MissJudy
Summary: Ben, Hoss and Little Joe head to Boston to be with Adam after receiving the devastating news that the entire Wadsworth family had perished at sea. The Wadsworths had adopted Adam into their family when he’d been a student, and they’d renewed their support and friendship when he’d returned to marry Melinda and start a family twelve years later. Ben and the two brother find Adam coping, but staggering under the weight of his pain. Adding to his loss, Adam may lose his command over Wadsworth Engineering–the firm he’d helped make into a thriving business–when Frank Wadsworth’s will names an heir. Will this accumulation of loss be the final straw for Adam? Can the love and support of his family: his father and brothers from the West, and his grandfather, wife and children in the East, sustain him as he faces the absence of even more people he’d loved?
Rating: PG 52,135 words
One That Got Away (The) – by Cheaux
Summary: More than a fish story . . . this tale recounts how loss, memories, and discovery shape the friendships we form and the people we become.
WC 9700 Rated: T+
One that Got Away (The) – by Candyfan
Summary: When Candy brings in a murderer, the murderer escapes prison and comes looking for revenge on Candy.
Rating and Reader Alerts: G
Words: 7,980
One That Wouldn’t Get Away (The) – by Visage
Summary: Sheriff Roy Coffee has had it with prisoners escaping his jail. This one isn’t getting off so easily!
Rated: K 1,040 words
Summary: After discovering he has only one week left to live, Little Joe, in an effort to be remembered fondly, turns it into a week that no one will ever forget.
Rated: Family Friendly / Word count: 17,175
One Word at a Time – by Harper
Summary: Adam hasn’t been home from college long before he clashes with the hands—but maybe that’s what he wanted….
1,505 words Rating K+
One-Way Ticket for the Pleasure – by mumu74
Summary: I hope, you’ll have so much pleasure reading it as I had, writing it… The handsome Adam Cartwright will be in the middle of an amazing adventure. R-Rated, because that story was written for the R-Forum writing challenge.
Rating: MA 2,250 words
Summary: Ben sends Joe to New York on business, but also to help him overcome his inner turmoil at being the only son left on the Ponderosa.
Rated K+ ,435 words
Only (The) #2 -Adjustments – by Donna
Summary: Sequel to ‘The Only’, Joe awaits Merrie’s arrival west, and finds himself having to deal with Walsh once again as Walsh and the Empire Railway threaten the Ponderosa.
Rated K+
Only (The) #3 – Finding the Way Home – by Donna
Summary: A sequel to The Only and Adjustments. The success of the Ponderosa causes a long time enemy to seek its destruction, using whatever means possible.
Rated K+ 13,545 words
Only a Brother Can Know – by BettyHT
SUMMARY: Adam is back, but he and Joe are at odds. Ben is surprised to find out why, but the big surprise is in what the brothers reveal in their conversation.
rating = T word count = 1238
Summary: A short WHN for ‘He Was Only Seven’ — a moment on the way back home.
Rating: G Word Count: 1863
Only One Left – by DestinyAdams
Summary: He is the only one left. Joe reflects. Written for the August Chaps and Spurs. Tissue warning!
Rated: K+ 1,150 words
Summary: In this prequel story, a young Hoss gets talked into something that has unpleasant consequences, but they are not the ones he expected.
Rating: PG Word count: 1909
Summary: When a chance thief breaks into the Ponderosa, Joe finds himself at the mercy of a killer who looks only too familiar.
9,170 words Rated: T
Only Skin Deep #2 – Toil and Trouble – by Rona
Summary: Joe becomes the victim of a series of attempts on his life. Why does everyone insist they have seen Adam around, when he is visiting a friend back east?
11,060 words Rated: R
Only Skin Deep #3 – Wolf in the Fold – by Rona
Summary: Joe’s nemesis returns. Will he survive this encounter?
9,755 words Rated T
Only Skin Deep #4 – A Fresh Start – by Rona
Summary: Joe is sought out by a woman who wants him to help her husband. But when Joe discovers who the woman’s husband is, he wants nothing to do with him. Will he take no for an answer?
Rated: K+ 10,975
Only the Truth Can Fix This – by BettyHT
Summary: A ‘guest’ at the Ponderosa reveals a secret that Adam had warned his father would inevitably be found out. The family has to deal with the aftermath of the cruel truth.
Rating: T Word count: 12,471
Operation Barn Dance – by bahj
Summary: Some women are worth a lot of trouble . . . but not all of them . . . Just a short “cheesy” story:0
Rated: Family Friendly / Word count: 2317
Summary: Two brothers separated, each thinking the other is dead.
Rated: T WC 9200
Orange You Glad It’s Christmas – by Puchi Ann
Summary: It was a simple request and one that could not be granted due to circumstance beyond their control. Or could it?
Rating: G 6,880 words
Note: This story was written for the Bonanz Brand 2020 Advent Calendar, originated in the Forums.
Summary: Ben has met a woman in town with a tragic past. Drawn together by a common thread of lost love, their friendship grows until one night one of them makes a proposal for a closer relationship.
Rating: MA/R Word Count: 1755
Other Side of Valor (The) – by the Tahoe Ladies
Summary: There is another side of every story that remains just beyond your grasp sometimes.
Rated: T – Word Count: 7540
Summary: This is my entry for the Missing Man Challenge. The episode is The Other Son and Adam has been added to the story line. The rest of the story of moving the nitroglycerin across the mountains remains intact.
rating = T word count = 7768
Summary: After his father is shot, Joe fights to keep him alive while hiding a deadly secret
Rating: Teens 28,900 words
Our Favorite Story – by acspeej
Summary: A storm is raging outside, and the children are fearful because their father is very late getting home. They ask the woman to read their favorite story – it distracts and soothes them. It’s a very romantic story.
Rated K 3,875 words
Summary: Written for the Michael Landon’s 2011 Birthday – Literary Exercise where we had to put all the words of the song “Be Patient with Me” somewhere in our story.
Rated: K 1,295 words
Summary: Little Joe and Mitch show off their school project. Written for a Pinecone Challenge June 15 , and expanded for the Michael Landon Birthday Challenge.
Rating: K Word Count: 1490
Our Mother’s Keeper = by Jeanie Cartwright
Summary: Hoss and Adam are attacked and robbed on the way home from a trip. Adam is injured and it’s up to Hoss to save his brother’s life and get him safely home to the Ponderosa. During the journey, Hoss reflects on an important bond he shares with his older brother.
Rating: PG-13 for violence, bloodshed and mild profanity
Words: 18,300
Our Secret Love’s No Secret Anymore – by DebbieB
Summary: Only one man that Ben knows of can be held responsible for Ben’s youngest son’s injuries, Austin Baker. But why, after nearly twenty years, would an old friend want to seek revenge on Ben Cartwright? A secret love from Ben’s past may hold the key that unlocks the door to the mystery and Ben’s heart. Ben shares his secret with Adam and Hoss to help them understand why their brother was so badly beaten.
Rating: G 10,275 words
Out of Boredom Comes Fishing – by BluewindFarm
Summary: It’s only been a few months since Adam left the Ponderosa; this story finds Hop Sing and Little Joe in the kitchen, talking.
990 words Rating K
Summary: Joe and Adam find are at odds after a misunderstanding, but soon find the themselves with only each other to rely on for survival.
Rated: G 16,900 words
Summary: When Adam is found with a bullet in his back, Roy’s explanation is unbelievable.
Rating: T 20,720 words
Out of the Darkness – by Sierra Girl
Summary: The murder of a friend, and the ensuing trial, lead an exhausted Adam to confront deeply buried fears and long-held guilt about events in his past. Will he come out the other side unscathed and able to face up to his father?
Rating: T Word Count: 23,980 words
Out of the Shadows – by debpet
Summary: An empty warehouse, a mysterious but vaguely familiar stranger and a blue shirt. Will these things add up to tragedy for Ben Cartwright’s oldest son?
Rated: K+ WC 10,000
Summary: A missing scene for the episode, “Five Into the Wind.”
This story comes between the departure of the three remaining passengers for Owl’s Point and the Cartwrights’ arrival at home.
Rated: T WC 6400
Summary: Betrayal, wounded pride, and jealousy result in one hot tempered brother missing, one having nightmares, one logical brother searching … all is not as you might think.
Rating: T 8,600 words
Outlaw Brother (The) – by BettyHT
Summary: Adam finds himself in dire straits and needs help to extricate himself, but he has to flee to avoid worse trouble. He makes a friend but manipulation takes from him something he had hoped never to lose even though he gains something he had desired. His family worries about him and wonders if he will keep his promise to come home one day.
Rating = T WC = 25,590