Newest Story: Taming the Spitfire posted 5/6/2022 (see summary below)
A Father’s Thoughts about his Son – by pjb
Summary: A little extra bit for “Hoss and the Leprechauns.”
Rating: K WC 2000
Summary: Even when the time together is brief, memories can last a lifetime. This story was originally published in the Bonanza 2009 Friendship Convention Anthology.
Word count: 3,500 Rating: K
Summary: As Christmas approaches, Joe struggles anew with his grief over Laura’s death. A WHN for “The Storm.”
Rating: K+ 7100
Summary: After the flowers have wilted and the mourners have left, the Cartwrights must learn to live with the loss of the woman they loved.
Rating: K WC 2100
Summary: A tongue-in-cheek kickoff for SJS Month 2011. The smallest crumb can become a masterpiece in the hands of an artist.
Rated: K+ WC 3000
Bank Robbers, Belles, and Puppy Dog Eyes – by pjb
Summary: Start with one fifteen-year-old boy with a brand-new sidearm. Add the prettiest twin girls in school, a pair of matching ponies named Floyd and Feather, two inept bank robbers, a worried lawman, several frantic family members, and a best friend who’s game for almost anything. And then, let the chase begin….
Rating: T WC 23,000
Summary: Faced with a heartbreaking prognosis after a riding accident, Joe finds unexpected solace with a new friend.
Rated: K+ WC 26,000
Barn Cat (The) #2 – The Most Important Thing – by pjb
Summary: In the sequel to “The Barn Cat,” Ben discovers what is–and isn’t–most important about his youngest son.
Rated: T WC 36,000
Summary: In this WHI/WHN for “Emily” and “Salute to Yesterday,” Candy recalls Joe’s experiences with his former fiance and his own encounter with his former wife. This story also refers to “Day of the Dragon,” “Commitment at Angelus,” “The Running Man,” “Riot!” and “Forever.”
Rating: K+ WC 8100
Best-Laid Plans (The) – by pjb
Summary: Laid up for weeks with broken bones, Joe’s getting very, very frustrated. But New Year’s Eve is here, and he’s got big plans . . . if only a certain lady will cooperate.
Rated: MA WC 4100
Summary: On the anniversary of Marie’s death, Ben discovers how much he did not know, including how blessed he truly is.
Rating: T WC 7700
Summary: Well-meaning monks try to protect amnesiac Joe after he witnesses a bank robbery.
Rating: K+ WC 18,500
Summary: A missing scene for “Forever.” On the morning of his wedding, Joe reflects on his absent brothers-and the one who remains.
Rating: K WC 4100
Calamity in the Bathhouse – by pjb
Summary: Remember the season 5 episode, “Calamity Over the Comstock”? Turns out, there was more going on than most of us knew about. Pull up a chair and let Miss Calamity Jane Canary tell you all about it. . . .
Rated: MA WC 6200
Summary: A local girl disappears on the same day Joe is assaulted. Coincidence? Maybe . . . or maybe not.
Summary: The vote in favor of statehood has been cast. Now, in the aftermath of the convention, as one Cartwright struggles with heartache, another learns about respect. A WHN for “The War Comes to Washoe.”
Rated: K+ WC 3200
Christmas after Marie – by pjb
Summary: Even in the midst of grief, Christmas is still a time for miracles.
Rated: K WC 13,600
Summary: A wild stallion and a nine-year-old boy teach Adam a lesson he never learned in college.
Rated: K+ WC 6300
Summary: The Cartwrights become embroiled in a young widow’s fight to protect her baby from her in-laws’ attempts to gain custody.
Rated: K+ 30,600
Defending His Brother – by pjb
Summary: A WHIB for “The Fighters.” In this episode, Hoss swears off fighting after he nearly kills an aging prizefighter. An up-and-coming heavyweight fighter, Charlie Powers, tries to taunt him into a fight. Hoss refuses to fight, walking away from the mocking crowd, but Joe can’t let Powers’ jeers go. He foolishly takes a swing at Powers, and the much-larger Powers easily beats him. When Joe manages to drag himself home, beaten and bleeding, and Hoss sees what Powers has done, he goes back to town to take on Powers. As he delivers his opening punch, he announces, “This is from my little brother.” This WHIB comes after Hoss’s fight with Powers.
Rated: K+ WC 2000
Summary: “What’s it gonna be? Pie or Mary Alice?” Hoss enlists Joe’s help when he decides that he needs to lose weight to win a girl’s heart.
Rated: K+ WC 8300
Fathers, Sons, and Growing Up – by pjb
Summary: As Joe’s eighteenth birthday approaches, Ben comes face to face—so to speak—with the fact that his youngest son is no longer a child. WARNING: contains sexual themes.
Rated: T WC 6900
Summary: WHN for “The Last Viking.” Sometimes, protection can come from unexpected sources.
Rated: K+ WC 5500
Summary: With age comes wisdom . . . sometimes. A gentle, erotic WHN for “Marie, My Love.”
Rated: MA WC 3300
Summary: A WHN for “The Gift.” Sometimes, the hardest ones to forgive are ourselves.
Rated: K WC 2800
French Piano Player (The) – #1 – by pjb
Summary: When a violent argument with Ben drives Joe from the Ponderosa, the Cartwrights learn that sometimes, you can look straight at a man and never really see him.
Rated: T 16,300
French Piano Player (The) – #2 – Be Still, My Soul – by pjb
Summary: This is the sequel to “The French Piano Player.” Joe’s return to the Ponderosa proves to be more difficult than he or his family expected, to the point where questions arise as to whether he can stay on the Ponderosa, or whether he will go back to his life as a piano player in San Francisco.
Rated: T WC 26,000
French Piano Player (The) – #3 – Doubt – by pjb
Summary: A serious misunderstanding threatens Joe’s relationship with Hoss. This is part of a series and refers to events portrayed in “The French Piano Player” and “Be Still, My Soul.”
Rated: T 17,000
French Piano Player (The) – #4 – The Love of his Live – by pjb
Summary: In the conclusion to “The French Piano Player” series, the Cartwrights face their greatest challenge as they learn what a man’s heart can bear, and what it means to love–and to let go. The previous stories in this series are “The French Piano Player,” “Be Still, My Soul,” and “Doubt.
Rated: T 37,500
Summary: Suffering from an embarrassing wound, Joe needs his father’s help to put matters into perspective. This is a set of missing scenes/WHN for “A Nice, Friendly Little Town.”
At the beginning of the episode, Joe has been shot “in the middle of the Ponderosa,” and he returns to the house to find the sheriff, Ben and Hoss there. At the end of the opening scene, Joe turns to go into the house, and Hoss sets out to find the shooter. The episode focuses on Hoss’ efforts to bring in the shooter. These scenes follow Joe for the next few days, while Hoss is away, with one post-episode scene.
Rated: T. WC 5500
Summary: A WHI for “The First Born.” Ben recounts the arrival of Clay Stafford, Marie’s first-born son.
Rated: K+ WC 16,600
Her First Born #2 – Saying Goodbye – by pjb
Summary: Eight years after Clay Stafford’s departure from the Ponderosa, the truth is revealed.
Rated: K WC 3700
High Finance or, How to Keep your Mutton-Headed Sons from Getting Robbed – by PJB
SUMMARY: Oh, the lengths a father must go to in order to protect his sons. . . .
Rating: K Word count: 1,100
Summary: When twelve-year-old Joe comes home from school without his jacket, it’s up to Hoss to find out why.
Rated: K WC 1700
Summary: A WHN for “The Hunter” and “The Crucible.” Twelve years ago, there was Kane; this time, it’s Tanner. Once more, the Cartwrights grapple with the repercussions when one of their own is tortured by a madman.
Rated PG13 WC 20,300
Summary: A ‘What Happened Instead’ for the Julia Bulette Story, seen from Julia’s point of view. Mild sexual content.
Rated: MA WC 26,000
Summary: A WHN for “Bullet for a Bride.” The Cartwrights struggle with the consequences of Ben’s decision not to tell Joe before the wedding that Tessa had regained her sight.
Rated: K. WC 15,000
Summary: The Cartwright brothers vie for the affections of a beautiful lawyer.
Rated: K+ 28,300
Lady Lawyer (The) #2 – Fugue – by pjb
Summary: Tensions mount when Joe is charged with murdering a drifter, but he has no recollection of the incident—and no explanation for why he came home covered in blood. This is a sequel to “The Lady Lawyer,” and it refers to characters and events in that story.
Rated: T 32,000
Lady Lawyer (The) #3 – To Know the Truth – by pjb
Summary: In the sequel to “The Lady Lawyer” and “Fugue,” beliefs unravel and the lines between guilt and innocence blur as one man’s efforts to protect his brother jeopardize the Cartwrights’ hope for healing and love–and survival.
Rated: T WC 77,200
Little Joe Cartwright, So Far – by pjb
Summary: A vintage piece from the days when Joegals ran rampant around the Bonanza community.
Definitely MA. About 6,700 words, or maybe a little more.
Summary: A devastating tragedy sends Joe on a quest for answers.
Rated: T WC 53,000
Synopsis: Be careful what you wish for. A What Happened Later for Marie, My Love.
Rating: PG-13 (mild sexual content)
Word count: 5,275
Summary: A quiet night on the trail and a flask of whiskey lead to contemplation of chances and choices. A WHN for “False Witness.”
Rated: K+ WC 1800
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: Can a man truly know when he is going to die? If that time has arrived, can anything be done to change his fate?
Rated: K+ WC 7000
Summary: When Little Joe is released from prison after serving two years for a crime he didn’t commit, he must fight to rebuild his life as the Cartwrights struggle to protect the bonds that hold the family close.
WARNING: Contains references to violence and sexual assault. Rated: MA
Summary: A WHN for “The Quest.” Adam is taken aback by his reaction to Joe’s success with the Sun Mountain Mining Company contract.
Rated: K+ WC 8300
Summary: A missing scene for “The Quality of Mercy.” A father’s beliefs collide with a son’s questions.
Rated: K+ 4250
Reflections on Killing his Friend – by pjb
Summary: A WHN for “The Far, Far Better Thing.” In the quiet of a moonlit night, two brothers reflect on loyalty, loss, and the love that binds some people together.
Rated: K+ WC 1700
Return of Abigail Jones (The) – by pjb
Summary: Getting Abigail Jones and Hank Meyers married was the easy part. . . .
Rated: K+ WC 20,000
SUMMARY: Early in The Julia Bulette Story is a scene where Joe walks into the house to find Ben waiting to talk with him about Julia. This story, which borrows a bit of dialogue from the episode, explores what Joe might have been thinking.
Word count: 1,150 / Rating: PG
Seasons of a Friendship (The) – by pjb
Summary: Laughter and tears, dreams and disappointments, sickness and health, life and beyond . . . Joe learns the truth of the old proverb: a friend loves at all times.
Rated: T WC 15,000
Sleigh Bells, Rotgut, and Other Miracles – by pjb
Summary: In the middle of a snowstorm on Christmas Eve, in a line shack stocked with beans and rotgut, the Cartwrights are reminded of what truly matters.
Rated: K+ WC 10,900
Summary: “. . . because some things are never over.”
Word Count 1550 Rated K
Studio Executives #1 – The Real History of “The Crucible” – by pjb
Summary: A light-hearted look behind the scenes at how one of Bonanza’s most cherished episodes just might have come to be.
Rated K, WC 1200
Studio Executives #2 – Little Joe Cartwright’s Very, Very, Very Bad Day – by pjb
Summary: The ever-helpful Cartwrights come to the aid of studio executives who need to develop a special episode for Sweeps Week.
Rated PG-13 Word count: 3,175
Studio Executives #3 – The Roberts Dilemma – by pjb
Summary: The studio executives have two problems. First, one of their stars wants to leave a hugely successful show. Second, his fans won’t allow it.
Approximately 1,600 words. Rating: PG.
Studio Executives #4 – Ponderosa Christmas… Or Maybe Not – by pjb
Summary: Have you ever wondered why we didn’t see more Cartwright Christmas episodes? Turns out, it wasn’t an oversight. . . .
Rating: PG Word count: 1,500
Studio Executives #5 – Men of the Ponderosa: A Valentine’s Day Treat – by pjb
Summary: The studio executives pitch a brilliant marketing idea.
Rating: R mild sexual and suggestive content Word count: 2,320
Studio Executives #6 – On the Other Hand – by PJB
Summary: The studio executives find themselves caught between the series regulars, who want some fresh new story lines, and the fans, who want . . . well, you’ll see.
Rating: PG Word count: 2,650
Studio Executives #7 – Fake History – by pjb
Summary: The Cartwrights recognize that they have a great deal to be thankful for. So why won’t they do a Thanksgiving episode?
WC: 2,440 Rating: PG
Studio Executives #8 – A Sharp Idea
Summary: The Cartwrights try to come up with an episode that will cheer up their fans.
WC: 2,450; Rating: PG
Studio Executives #9 – Negotiating Clingers, Going Natural, and the Big-Ticket Item – by pjb
Summary: A day in the life of the Studio Executives. (Believe me–you don’t want their jobs.)
Rating: PG 1,870 words.
Summary: When a friend dies unexpectedly, fourteen-year-old Joe struggles with grief, loss, and the age-old question: “Why?”
Rated PG WC 18,000
Summary: A WHI for The Spitfire. When Joe brings Willow back to the Ponderosa, only one person understands what’s really happening. Rating: PG Word count: 4,380
Summary: The Cartwrights struggle to intervene when a disturbed boy holds his classmates hostage–including Little Joe.
Rated: T 10,175 words
Summary: It’s never business as usual when the Cartwrights are around. . . .
Rated: K+ WC 9800
Summary: Sometimes, dreams reveal more than we expect. . . .
Rated: MA WC 1100
Tree, Traditions, and Three Fine Sons – by pjb
Summary: All Ben Cartwright wanted was a nice, traditional Christmas…but his three fine sons had other plans… A collaborative story by dbird and pjb.
Rated: K+ WC 10,900
Summary: Joe grapples with a moral dilemma when he falls in love with another man’s wife. Fist in a series.
Rated: T WC 11,500
Vivian #2 -Another Auld Lang Syne – by pjb
Summary: Just before his wedding, Joe meets up with the woman he once loved—and thought he’d lost forever. This is a sequel to Vivian and refers to characters and events from that story.
Rated: T WC 6500.
