Most Recent: Home for the Holidays — posted 11/13/2021 see summary below
A Family Affair – by southplains
Summary: What happens when a Cartwright loves a girl who, in turn, favors his brother? In Season 3’s ‘The Lady From Baltimore,’ Joe fell for Melinda Banning; Melinda had her eye on Adam. Things were brought to a head when Joe found Melinda and Adam together in a rather compromising tableau. To head off the unavoidable clash between the two brothers, Ben quickly found some other place for Adam to be while the Bannings were still around. But what about when Adam came home after the episode’s ending?
Rating: T WC 9300
A World of Hurt – by southplains
Summary: Failing to heed Adam’s advice, Joe leads his brothers and himself into harm’s way.
Rating: T WC 15,600
Summary: A man doesn’t always hit what he’s aiming for—even when he’s a Cartwright. Sometimes all he can do is hold his breath, squeeze the trigger, and just do the best he can.
Rating: T WC 22,600
Another Chance – by southplains
Summary: A What Happened Instead for the episode “Second Chance.”
Rating: K+ 21,880 Words
Summary: Is anything stronger than blood ties?
Rating: T WC 15,000
Summary: Adam’s choices regarding his torment at the hands of a madman result in an ever-widening ripple effect. A WHN/WHI for “The Crucible.”
Rated: MA WC 35,000
Summary: Did Amy Bishop know of Joe’s love affair with Julia Bulette? If she did, what did she think and how did she come to terms with it? Written in response to the ‘Missing Scenes’ challenge here on BB, and inspired by a question posed on another site.
Rated: K+ WC 7900
Summary: An unlikely alliance between two people spells deadly trouble for Joe. His survival depends entirely upon the strength of family bonds.
Key words: SJS, ESJ, SHS, Julia Bulette, kidnap, drugs, drugged, hallucinations, indians, ropes, seduce, hurt, Joe gets hurt, Joe gets kidnapped Rated: K+ WC 31,400
Summary: “If I’ve told Joe once, I’ve told him a thousand times to keep those elbows in!” We’ve all heard Adam utter those words while Joe is getting himself thoroughly beaten by Jean Millain in the “Julia Bulette” episode. This is the story behind that line.
Rated: K+ WC 4200
Summary: A WHN for “My Brother’s Keeper”. Sometimes the invisible wounds are the ones that take longest to heal…
Rated: T WC 10,400
Glory #2 – Howl of the Wolf – by southplains
Summary: This R-rated story is an expansion on a short scene described in my story ‘Glory,’ which is a WHN for ‘My Brother’s Keeper.’ It was written in response to the ‘Dirty Words’ Literary Challenge in the R-forum. Contains strong sexual content.
Rating: R 2,965 words
Summary: What makes a hero? Sometimes the answer isn’t what you’d expect. A bank robbery goes bad; in the midst of the chaos Joe and Adam are badly injured, and the Cartwrights struggle to find a way out.
Rated: T WC 16,200
Home for the Holidays – by southplains
Summary: Inspired by a Pinecone prompt.
Rating: K Word Count: 1400
Invincible #1 – by southplains
Summary: An Adam/Joe story. Thrown together for the day to work out a disagreement between themselves, Joe and Adam suddenly find themselves struggling to survive.
Rated: T WC 13,800
Invincible #2 – Worry – by southplains
Summary: Joe and Adam are injured and in danger. Hoss and Ben struggle to bring them back.
Rated: T WC 10,500
Legacy’s Promise – by southplains
Summary: A What-Happened-Instead for ‘The Legacy’.
Rated: T WC 7000
Summary: The mysteries of Marie’s background are deeply threaded through the lives of not only Joe but all the Cartwright men; her past is twined among their destinies. Exploring Marie’s part in Cartwright family history.
Rated: T WC 7000
Mama Died Today – by southplains
Summary: A Cartwright son’s short life story.
Rated: K WC 774
Summary: Adam tells how Little Joe’s nickname really came about.
Rated: T WC 9800
Night of the Sword – by southplains
Summary: Danger in the form of a vengeful general invades the Ponderosa.
Rated: T 8500 words
Riding on Faith – by southplains
Summary: WHN for ‘The Ride’ – a story of faith, hope, and thanksgiving. One of the Cartwrights has vanished and it appears that he is lost for good. Can the remaining family members accept the loss and learn to go on without him?
Rated: T WC 21,700
Still the Best Story in Town – by southplains
Summary: Just where did David Dortort get the ideas for his characters in the best television show ever made? Written as an exercise to get the creative juices flowing…
Rated: T WC 4500
Strength of Conviction – by southplains
Summary: Vengeance WHN. When Red Twilight breaks out of prison, Adam is forced to reexamine the wisdom of his moral convictions.
Rated: T WC 9400
Which Brother? – by southplains
Summary: Which brother is Adam closest to? It’s a question that seems to keep popping up, and when I saw it come up again on a forum thread on another site, Adam told me it was time to set people straight. He’s ready to talk.
Rated: K+ WC 2000