{"id":14111,"date":"2017-03-30T20:27:42","date_gmt":"2017-03-31T00:27:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=14111"},"modified":"2025-09-25T15:41:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T19:41:15","slug":"the-long-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=14111","title":{"rendered":"The Long Night (by AC1830)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary:\u00a0 <\/strong>This is a missing scene for My Brother\u2019s Keeper.<\/u>\u00a0 What happened from the time Ben arrived home with eyes blazing and gun drawn, to the next morning when he and Adam appear quite calm, despite Adam’s horrific, days-long ordeal of caring for his brother?<\/p>\n

Rating: K\u00a0\u00a0 WC = 1498<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Long Night<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Since receiving the telegram from Hoss that Joe had been shot, I pushed Buck to his limits to get home from Placerville.\u00a0 Once I was well onto the Ponderosa I slowed my pace a little to give the horse some respite.\u00a0 After camping that first night we rode carefully over the rocky terrain, getting ever nearer to home.<\/p>\n

Dear Lord, keep Joe safe.\u00a0 Don\u2019t let my son die.<\/em> These words became my mantra as I rode. Hoss had only said that Joe had been shot and that I needed to come home.\u00a0 Oh, Hoss, couldn\u2019t you have told me more?\u00a0 Who shot him, how bad is it?\u00a0 Of course it must be bad if Hoss needed me at home.<\/em>\u00a0 I tried to recall what Joe had been doing.\u00a0 Oh yes, he and Adam had gone looking for the wolf that had been ravaging our newborn calves.\u00a0 They had headed off toward Montpelier gorge.\u00a0 The next day was when I had gotten word of a contract offer for beef in Placerville.\u00a0 I rode out immediately, leaving Hoss in charge of the ranch.\u00a0 That was how many days ago?\u00a0 Since getting the telegram everything melded into one time frame.<\/p>\n

Loud shooting yanked me from my anxious thoughts.\u00a0 Buck shied, then leapt forward, prepared to run.\u00a0 I pulled tight on the reins, controlling my mount until I could determine the direction of the shots.\u00a0 Three more loud cracks rang out.\u00a0 \u201cThe Ponderosa!\u00a0 Come on Buck.\u201d\u00a0 I didn\u2019t need to kick Buck into action, the horse was more than ready.\u00a0 His powerful legs ate up the remaining ground to reach the house.<\/p>\n

All was silent as I dismounted behind the barn and walked into the yard, my gun drawn.\u00a0 No one was around so I tied Buck to the rail and headed to the front door.\u00a0 My blood went cold when I saw all the bullet marks on the wooden door.\u00a0 Swinging the door open my black eyes quickly scanned the messy room.\u00a0 An older man and young girl faced me.\u00a0 Once I determined they were not a threat, I tried to figure out what had happened and where my sons were.<\/p>\n

Puzzled, I called out, \u201cJoseph?\u201d\u00a0 Silence.\u00a0 \u201cJOSEPH!!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s up here, Pa!\u201d\u00a0 Adam\u2019s voice sounded strained, weak.<\/p>\n

I ran across the room and mounted the stairs rapidly.\u00a0 Entering Joe\u2019s room I froze.\u00a0 Adam, disheveled and unshaven, was attempting to give Joe some medicine. Seemingly satisfied his brother had had enough he placed the bottle on the night table and took a cloth to wipe away the sweat from Joe\u2019s face. I quickly shed my hat and coat and moved to stand beside Adam.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat…what happened?\u00a0 Adam?\u201d\u00a0 When I looked at my eldest son I was struck by the guilt and pain in the hazel eyes. My son was near collapse from exhaustion. \u201cAdam, sit down before you fall down.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa, no…I have to\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m here son.\u00a0 I can care for Joe now.\u00a0 Sit down and tell me what happened?\u201d\u00a0 I had no clue where Hoss was but decided I\u2019d deal with that later. Adam needed my full attention right now.<\/p>\n

Adam sat and let his head sink into his hands while I checked on Joe.\u00a0 His skin was hot and he moaned from any touching.\u00a0 I glanced at the bandage and stole a look under to find a bad wound but not as red as I expected. Satisfied for the moment that Joe was resting I turned my attention back to Adam.<\/p>\n

Pulling up another chair I sat and rested a hand on Adam\u2019s knee.\u00a0 \u201cSon, tell me what happened?\u00a0 Who shot Joe? What happened downstairs?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam rubbed his face and looked blankly toward Joe.\u00a0 \u201cI shot him,\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n

Did I hear him right?\u00a0 \u201cWhat did you say?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam exploded out of the chair and moved to the window.\u00a0 \u201cI shot him, okay? I shot my own brother!\u201d\u00a0 Adam placed his hands on the cool glass and leaned his forehead against it. \u201cI aimed at the wolf.\u00a0 I never stopped to think where Joe could be.\u00a0 I pulled the trigger and Joe fell from the shadows.\u00a0 The wolf was right there and attacked him.\u201d\u00a0 He leaned harder against the glass.\u00a0 \u201cOh Pa, what have I done?\u201d<\/p>\n

Chills ran through me as I listened to Adam\u2019s story.\u00a0 At first I couldn\u2019t believe what my son was telling me but now it made more sense.\u00a0 It was an accident, horrifying yes, but an accident nonetheless.\u00a0 Knowing Adam I knew he wouldn\u2019t take it that way.\u00a0 He took his care for his family seriously and this, well who knew what it was doing to Adam inside.<\/p>\n

I slowly moved to stand by my son.\u00a0 I place a hand gently on Adam\u2019s shoulder and squeezed it as I spoke.\u00a0 \u201cSon, I can\u2019t begin to understand what you must be feeling, but you\u2019ve got to understand, it was an accident. You\u2019re not to blame for this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam spun around knocking my hand off.\u00a0 \u201cNo Pa!\u00a0 I should have known he\u2019d be there.\u00a0 I should have looked for him or called to him.\u00a0 But all I could think about was that damned wolf we\u2019d been tracking for days.\u201d\u00a0 Adam turned his head and looked at Joe then back at me.\u00a0 \u201cFunny thing.\u201d There was no mirth in his cold voice.\u00a0 \u201cJoe wouldn\u2019t give up on the animal.\u00a0 I tried to get him to head home but he had to have one more try, one more try\u2026\u201d Adam gasped.\u00a0 I could see the stress had been almost too much for him.<\/p>\n

Adam rubbed his face again.\u00a0 I saw the mask going into place so I moved quickly before it locked the pain inside forever.\u00a0 \u201cAdam, son?\u201d\u00a0 I pulled Adam close and wrapped my arms around him. I felt Adam tense up and resist but I continued to embrace him. After a few moments I could feel him began to relax.\u00a0 Then the pain and guilt came flooding out in sobs and broken words.\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t mean it, Pa.\u00a0 He\u2019s got to know that.\u00a0 I\u2019m sorry; I didn\u2019t mean to shoot him…. The doctor didn\u2019t come for hours…The men took the medicine that we needed\u2026. If he dies I\u2019ll never forgive myself, never.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just as I felt Adam was letting it all go, Joe moaned and began to shift around.\u00a0 Instantly, Adam was by his side, wiping him down with a damp cloth and talking quietly, gently to him.\u00a0 As I watched, I realized this ritual must have been repeated over and over since it all began.\u00a0 Adam had never left Joe\u2019s side.\u00a0 He won\u2019t until Joe recovers.\u00a0 Adam\u2019s voice seemed to soothe Joe because he settled down quickly.\u00a0 When Adam straightened his back, I noticed the full out exhaustion in my son.\u00a0 He needed to sleep, but how was I going to convince him to do so?<\/p>\n

I cleared my throat.\u00a0 \u201cSon, Adam?\u00a0 Go get some sleep.\u00a0 I\u2019ll stay here with Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam started to protest, but I could see the fight was nearly gone from him.\u00a0 He merely nodded, spoke quietly to Joe about returning soon, then left the room.\u00a0 I pulled the chair closer, took Joe\u2019s hand in mine and began my vigil, for both my sons.<\/p>\n

Somewhere in the distance I heard the clock strike five-thirty and noticed the morning light beginning to brighten the room.\u00a0 I rubbed my eyes and stretched the kinks from my body.\u00a0 Joe was resting easily though still rather warm. The young girl came to sit with him so I went downstairs to make some coffee.\u00a0 Noticing Adam on the settee, sound asleep, I crossed the room quietly.\u00a0 I found Hoss in the kitchen.\u00a0 He told me he was taking the outlaws to town as soon as he finished eating some leftover biscuits and drinking his coffee. I joined him with some coffee then I went out to help him. When I returned to the living room Adam was just waking up. That was when the young girl called down to say Joe was awake and asking for Adam.<\/p>\n

Adam tore up the stairs two at a time.\u00a0 By the time I got to Joe\u2019s room, Joe was smiling at Adam then he saw me and grinned even more.\u00a0 As I checked for fever, Joe kept talking.\u00a0 \u201cPa, Adam really clobbered him. He really clobbered that wolf. He\u2019s not gonna…he\u2019s not gonna touch our cattle anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s forehead felt cool to my hand. \u201cI think his fever\u2019s broken.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs he going to be all right?\u201d Adam asked quietly, tentatively.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I\u2019m no doctor, but I think he\u2019ll be all right.\u201d\u00a0 I felt so relieved.\u00a0 Stealing a glance at Adam I saw a small smile peek out as Joe continued to smile at him.\u00a0 Yes indeed, everyone was going to be all right.<\/p>\n

The End<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tags:\u00a0 Adam Cartwright,\u00a0Angst,\u00a0Ben Cartwright,\u00a0ESA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary:\u00a0 This is a missing scene for My Brother\u2019s Keeper.\u00a0 What happened from the time Ben arrived home with eyes blazing and gun drawn, to the next morning when he and Adam appear quite calm, despite Adam’s horrific, days-long ordeal of caring for his brother?<\/p>\n

Rating: K\u00a0\u00a0 WC = 1498<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8333,"featured_media":14112,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"template-full-width-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[23,61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-missing-scene","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-61-id"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/MBK-1n.png?fit=649%2C430&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8333"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14111\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}