Summary: After the Cartwright brothers fall in love with the same woman, things don’t seem like they can get worse until the family is caught in a dangerous blizzard.
Rating: K+ WC 12,000
A Different Kind of River – by dbird
Summary: Ben and Hoss try to rescue Adam and Joe in the aftermath of a deadly flood.
Rating: K+ WC 24,000
Summary: An argument, an impasse, and the truth that really matters.
Rating: K+ WC 2700
Summary: The Cartwright brothers struggle to put their lives together, after surviving a brutal Indian massacre.
Rating: K+ WC 17,500
Summary: The Cartwrights face an unfathomable situation, when Joe pulls a gun on his father. A companion piece for the story, “The Truckee Strip”
Rating: K+ WC 5300
Angels Crossing Moonlight – by dbird
Summary: A story about grief, fear, and love, told from the top of a mountain. A prequel for the episode, “Between Heaven and Earth”.
Rating: K+ WC 4500
Another Kind of Ending – by dbird
Summary: WHN for “The Magnificent Adah.” Adam tries to understand his father’s words: there are many kinds of love.
Rating: K+ WC 2700
Summary: My 50th story! The Cartwright family must rebuild their lives after a devastating fire.
Rating: K+ WC 12, 700
Summary: A fight, a flower, and a little bit of faith. A Bonanza fable for Christmas.
Rating: K+. WC 3600
Summary: After being bushwhacked and left for dead, Adam and Joe find that some things are best kept between brothers.
Rating: T. WC 9200
Summary: Advice for the Cartwright brothers comes from the most unlikely sources.
Rating: K+
Summary: WHN for “My Brother’s Keeper”. Caught in a blizzard, Adam and Joe are forced to confront the rift that has grown between them.
Rated: K+ 9900
Summary: The Cartwright brothers lose their way on a dangerous ride home…
Rating: K+ (11,050 words)
Summary: Adam makes a desperate decision that may lead to tragedy for the Cartwright family.
Rated: K+
Death, Defiance, and a Fine Day for a Swim – by dbird
Summary: Adam and Joe find their own way through grief, on a summer day at the lake. A WHN story for the episode, “The Julia Bulette Story.”
Rated: K+
Summary: WHN for “The Crucible”. Joe learns that finding Adam in the desert is easier than saving him.
Rated: K+ 9,085 word
Dividing Line 1 – Prelude – by dbird
Summary: Ben fears for his sons in the face of imminent civil war. This story takes place before my “Dividing Line” series and before the events portrayed in the episode, “A House Divided.”
Rated: K+ 4,570 words
Dividing Line 2 – Dividing Line – by dbird
Summary: Adam and Joe return from fighting in the Civil War only to find a different kind of battle waiting at home. A “WHI” story for “A House Divided”.
Rated: T Word Count: 16,900
Dividing Line 3 – The Telling – by dbird
Summary: Sequel to “Dividing Line.” Adam and Joe learn that living with the memory of the War may prove as difficult as surviving it.
Rated: K+ Word Count: 16,675
Dividing Line 4 – Peace Offering – by dbird
Summary: Adam and Joe continue to come to terms with their wartime experiences. This is the fourth story in my Civil War series.
Rated: K+ Word Count: 15,000
Dividing Line 5 – The Quickening – by dbird
Summary: For Adam and Joe, life after the war is fraught with trials and possibilities. The fourth story in the Civil War series.
Rated: T Word Count: 12, 400
Summary: On a battlefield, Joe carries out a disorienting search for his brothers among the dead, but instead he discovers something entirely unexpected.
Rated: T (6600)
Everything They Had – by dbird
Summary: A brutal attack on the Cartwrights leads to an unlikely lesson about family.
Rated: K+
Summary: Inspired by the episodes “My Brother’s Keeper” and “The Crucible.” About a wolf, Peter Kane, and the way a brother protects his own.
Rated: K+ 3,000 words
Given the Circumstances – by dbird
Summary: Trapped in a cabin with his family, Adam tells the story of a rockslide, an ambush, and the possibility that everything happens for a reason.
Rated: K+
Good Advice from a Shotgun Father – by dbird
Summary: Sometimes, the best advice comes from the business end of a gun.
Rated: K+ (4,000)
Summary: Ben blames himself for the condition of his two desperately wounded sons.
Rated: K+ 6,590 words
Summary: The aftermath of bloodshed from a different perspective…the one who has to clean it up.
Rated: K+ 3,540 words
Last Time I was Dying (The) – by dbird
Summary: The Cartwrights must turn to each other after being caught in a disastrous avalanche.
Rated: K+ 4,815 words
Summary: Ben’s plan to reconcile Adam and Hoss leads to disaster for the Cartwright family. A WHN for “She Walks in Beauty”.
Rated: K+ 20,795 words
Summary: It was the summer Joe turned ten, Adam fell in love, and the Cartwright family’s world wouldn’t be the same again.
Rated: K+ 7,065 words
Summary: Between brothers, one moment can change everything.
Rated: K+ 1,320 words
Summary: From tragedy to laughter, a family’s life is made up of many passages.
Rated: K+ 11,680 words
Summary: Adam tells a story of redemption and loss, while Little Joe lingers between life and death. A WHN story for the episode “The Tin Badge” –
Rated: K+ 7,680 words
Return Series (The) #1 – The Return – by dbird
Summary: What if Marie left Ben Cartwright early in their marriage? What if Joe Cartwright grew up running wild on the streets of New Orleans? What if, sixteen years later, he returned to the father and brothers he had never known?
Rated: K+ 9,075 words
Return Series (The) #2 – Abide – by dbird
Summary: How does a man abide in a world he never knew? How does he make the choice to remain? How does a family show him the way?
Rated: K+ 12,420 words
Return Series (The) #3 – Interlude – by dbird
Summary: A hunting trip turns into a different type of quest for Adam, Hoss, and Joe: a struggle to survive against an unknown gunman and the ominous arrival of winter.
Rated: K+ 11,975 words
Return Series (The) #4 – Gravity – by dbird
Summary: New threats and old scars come together to jeopardize the Cartwrights’ future as a family.
Rated: K+ 18,330 words
Return Series (The) #5 – New Orleans Moonlight – by dbird
Summary: Memories return on a moonlit night.
3,580 words Rated: K+
Return Series (The) #6 – Fallen – by dbird
Summary: Joe’s relationship with Julia Bulette brings back painful memories for the rest of his family. This story incorporates characters and events from “The Julia Bulette Story”.
Rated: K+ 14,695 words
Summary: Justice proves dangerous when the Cartwrights are caught between vigilantes and a new sheriff in Virginia City.
Rated: T 8,780 words
Summary: Cartwright relationships are threatened, when Hoss is suspected of murder and Ben is the sole eyewitness.
Rated K+ 14,845 words
Summary: The Cartwrights struggle to come to terms with tragedy.
Rated: K+ 3,265 words
Sleigh Bells, Rotgut, and other Miracles – by dbird
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. Written by dbird and pjb.
Rated K+ 10,920 words
Summary: Protecting his brother from a posse could cost Adam the ultimate price – his life.
Rated: K+ 8,345 words
Summary: When Joe disappears during a cattle drive, the Cartwrights must follow a disturbing trail to find him.
Rated: K+ 17,025 words
Summary: Fighting to save his family from a deadly fever, Hoss learns that there are many kinds of strength.
Rated:K+ 5,065 words
Summary: Adam’s decision to leave the Ponderosa is interrupted when the Cartwright brothers are forced to embark on a grim journey. Thanks to Jo for the encouragement.
Rated: K+ (19,205 words)
Tending to Business – by dbird
Summary: It’s never business as usual when the Cartwrights are around. . . . Written by dbird and pjb.
Rated: K+ 9800
Summary: After Ben is gravely injured, will his love for his sons be enough to save him?
Rated: T 4,630 words
Summary: “WHI” for “Vengeance”. What if Adam did not stop Joe from killing Red Twilight? Joe’s quest for vengeance has devastating consequences for his family.
Rated: K+ WC 21,000
Trees, Traditions, and Three Fine Sons – by dbird
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+ 10,950 words
Summary: A trip through the desert turns into a nightmare for the Cartwrights.
Rated: K+ 6,820 words
Waiting on the Wolf #1 – by dbird
Summary: WHN for “My Brother’s Keeper” What if Adam left the Ponderosa after all and didn’t return until two years later? What if Joe never forgave him for leaving? What if Adam never forgave himself?
Rated: K+ 13,850 words
Waiting on the Wolf #2 – Staying for Supper – by dbird
Summary: Coming home is hard. Staying is even harder…
Rated: K+ 12,330 words
While Holding a Colicky Baby at Night – by dbird
Summary: The Cartwright family learns that trials and blessings sometimes go hand in hand.
Rated: K+ 5,715 words
