Summary: A short WHN for ‘He Was Only Seven’ — a moment on the way back home.<\/p>\n
Rating: G\u00a0 Word Count: 1863<\/p>\n
Only Fifteen<\/strong><\/p>\n Pa was going to skin him alive, and he would deserve every minute of it.<\/p>\n Joe blew on the fire, long and full, and when the flames caught he sat back, feeding twigs in until a good blaze licked at the wood.\u00a0 He set up the coffee, put on a pot of beans\u2014he really hated his own beans, but tonight wasn\u2019t the night to complain\u2014and sat back on his heels, glancing toward the tree where Jamie was bedding down the horses.<\/p>\n The kid was taking an awful long time about it.<\/p>\n The sorrel and the bay weren\u2019t even their own, so there was no chance Jamie was lingering for an in-depth conversation with Cinnamon.\u00a0 They had all set out together after the bank robbers who had shot young Jonah Morgan, the elder Morgan\u2019s wagon their only transport.\u00a0 Joe hadn\u2019t registered any problems with that at the time, but now he wondered why he hadn\u2019t thought to have at least one of them ride alongside.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t expected that he and Jamie would be coming back without their elderly companion, of course \u2026 but then again, Joe knew better than to assume anything would go as expected.\u00a0 Things just didn\u2019t generally work out that way for him.<\/p>\n They hadn\u2019t this time, either.\u00a0 The three had caught up to the gang (or what was left of it) bit by bit, strung across graves and saloons and old abandoned sheds, and there at the end he\u2019d had to pry Joshua Morgan\u2019s hands off the ringleader\u2019s throat.\u00a0 Joe understood the old man\u2019s anger\u2014at least, and here Joe\u2019s lips twisted, he understood that Morgan was hard and driven in his grief.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t, as the man himself had made perfectly clear, understand the feelings of a man who had lost his only family, a grandson of only seven years.\u00a0 Even so, he couldn\u2019t give Morgan free rein.\u00a0 Not if they wanted real justice for Jonah \u2026 and not with Jamie in the room.<\/p>\n A shadow detached itself from the horses, and Jamie joined him at the fire.\u00a0 The boy hunkered down on the opposite side of the flames, digging his hands into his pockets.\u00a0 The air was nippy, yes, but not that cold.\u00a0 Joe wondered how much of the kid\u2019s chill was due to what he had seen over the past days.<\/p>\n Things he never should have seen at all.<\/p>\n He never should have let his little brother come.\u00a0 What had he been thinking<\/em>?<\/p>\n He hadn\u2019t been, apparently.<\/p>\n \u201cYou hungry?\u201d\u00a0 Jamie shrugged, staring into the orange depths, and Joe reflected that he was starting to get an idea why his pa hated that gesture so much.\u00a0 \u201cWon\u2019t be too long.\u201d<\/p>\n Jamie nodded, eyes never leaving the fire.\u00a0 Joe sighed, and stirred roughly at the gloopy mass of beans in the bottom of the battered old pot.<\/p>\n The sheriff in the little town where they\u2019d finally caught up with Jonah\u2019s murderer was a drunk, and possibly in league with the outlaw himself\u2014it was impossible to know which man\u2019s account to believe, if either was to be trusted.\u00a0 Joe had marched the man to the telegraph himself, sending off a wire to Clem in Virginia City to come and collect the prisoner.\u00a0 That still left the time until Clem arrived, and Joshua Morgan had settled himself into the corner of the sheriff\u2019s office, clearly intent on seeing that the prisoner remained behind bars until Virginia City\u2019s more competent (not to mention trustworthy) lawman arrived.\u00a0 Joe disliked leaving Morgan with full responsibility there, but his own responsibility had been growing heavier by the minute, and he finally decided that he couldn\u2019t in good conscience do anything other than get Jamie back home.<\/p>\n Joshua Morgan seemed unconcerned.<\/p>\n \u201cI been talkin\u2019 to a few others, and there\u2019s them that\u2019ll take shift with me.\u00a0 Hold the fort.\u00a0 There\u2019s them who know that he,\u201d Morgan nodded toward the sheriff, slumped behind his desk, \u201cain\u2019t ta be trusted here.\u201d\u00a0 The flat, dark eyes turned toward the blond man lounging in the cell.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t plan to be anywhere but here until Clem comes to take him, Joe.\u00a0 I\u2019m seein\u2019 him all the way home, and then I\u2019ll see him hang.\u201d<\/p>\n The man\u2019s intensity was disturbing, but he had reason.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s memory supplied that moment against his will, Jamie kneeling on the bank floor holding the limp little boy.\u00a0 Rocking him.\u00a0 Tears rolling silently down his cheeks.\u00a0 Oh yes, Morgan had reason.<\/p>\n And what reason did Joe have for letting Jamie come along on a manhunt that was little more than a grandfather\u2019s quest for vengeance?\u00a0 The insistence of a fifteen-year-old.<\/p>\n \u201cI brought Jonah home.\u00a0 I\u2019m just as much a part of this as you.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll just catch up to you on the trail.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Joe had backed off then, too distracted with the need to keep Joshua Morgan in line to consider what he was agreeing to.\u00a0 He\u2019d had plenty of time since then to regret it, with every new discovery and confrontation, and even though at the end he had tried to get the kid out of the line of fire \u2026<\/p>\n Well, that had turned out to be too little too late.<\/p>\n \u201cBeans are ready.\u201d<\/p>\n Jamie jumped at the words, coming back from wherever his mind had drifted.\u00a0 He took the plate silently from Joe, along with a mug of coffee, and spent the next fifteen minutes stirring aimlessly at the contents.\u00a0 Not much of it, Joe noticed, made its way into the kid\u2019s mouth.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re not that bad, are they?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d\u00a0 Jamie blinked, then shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cOh \u2026 naw.\u00a0 I just ain\u2019t too hungry, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe drew in a long breath.\u00a0 \u201cJamie \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think I\u2019m gonna turn in.\u201d\u00a0 Jamie set the plate aside and rose, long body taking Joe by surprise yet again.\u00a0 The boy\u2019s sudden growth spurt had caught them all off-guard, and none of the older Cartwrights had grown quite used to seeing this new version of their youngest member.\u00a0 He was growing up \u2026 and yet, he wasn\u2019t grown.\u00a0 Not yet.<\/p>\n Jamie had seen a lot in his years, but that was no reason to add more.<\/p>\n As the kid moved away Joe caught a flash of movement\u2014hands rubbing restlessly against the brown coat\u2014and a sudden realization struck him.\u00a0 He stood abruptly, his own plate tumbling unnoticed to the ground.\u00a0 \u201cJamie, come back here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJoe?\u201d\u00a0 The kid\u2019s voice was genuinely puzzled.\u00a0 As he stepped back into the firelight Joe swept the fabric with careful eyes and found the dark stains he feared.<\/p>\n The kid had been running all over the countryside for the past two days covered in a dead child\u2019s blood.<\/p>\n \u201cGet outa that coat.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHuh?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYour coat.\u201d\u00a0 Even as he spoke, Joe was stripping his own.\u00a0 Jamie looked down at himself then, and didn\u2019t even try to play dumb.\u00a0 Instead, he just shrugged slightly.<\/p>\n \u201cIt don\u2019t \u2026 I mean, it\u2019s cold, Joe.\u00a0 It don\u2019t \u2026 matter.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt does matter.\u00a0 Come on, now.\u00a0 Off with it.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe tugged at Jamie\u2019s sleeve.\u00a0 The kid\u2019s movements were almost reluctant as he finally stripped out of his jacket, but Joe didn\u2019t miss the soft sigh of relief as Jamie handed his coat over.\u00a0 Probably the kid wasn\u2019t even aware, himself\u2014Jamie\u2019s thoughts would be focused on Jonah Morgan, and Joshua Morgan, and the single-minded vengeance and violence of the past days.\u00a0 The kid had done well, warning them there at the end and even providing Joe with the opening needed to overcome the outlaws and finally bring them to justice, but he had been unusually quiet ever since.<\/p>\n He\u2019d been unusually quiet even before that.<\/p>\n \u201cHow you feelin\u2019?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cAll right.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cAll right\u2019s an easy answer.\u00a0 Never shoulda let you come with us.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n It was too late for that now.<\/p>\n Jamie balked when Joe handed over his own coat, but then pulled it on without argument.\u00a0 Joe watched as the kid settled his shoulders and flipped up the collar, and it was like a punch in the gut.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t even noticed when Jamie had started wearing his collar like that.\u00a0 When he finally did and asked their father about it, Pa had just laughed.\u00a0 \u201cJoe, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.\u201d*<\/p>\n Right now, it just made him want to scream.<\/p>\n He had promised Pa he\u2019d look after Jamie, and then he had dragged the boy into \u2026 this.<\/p>\n \u201cJoe?\u201d\u00a0 Jamie\u2019s voice was soft, uncertain.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDo you think \u2026 well, if I\u2019da gone into the bank first, or if I\u2019da\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Joe cut him off, vaguely horrified that his little brother even had to ask the question.\u00a0 \u201cNo, Jamie, there was nothin\u2019 you coulda done.\u00a0 It\u2019s not your fault, what happened.\u201d\u00a0 He reached out to grip the kid\u2019s elbows.\u00a0 \u201cIt was just bad timing.\u00a0 Coulda happened to anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, I guess.\u201d\u00a0 Jamie sighed, and looked away into the darkness.\u00a0 \u201cWish it hadn\u2019t happened to Jonah.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMe too.\u201d\u00a0 They stood for a long minute, and the silence was heavy around them.\u00a0 Finally, Joe rubbed Jamie\u2019s arms briskly.\u00a0 \u201cI am sorry, though.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat for?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFor getting you into this.\u00a0 Letting you come.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI told you, I\u2019da followed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I could have dealt with that when it happened.\u201d\u00a0 Joe gave the boy a little shake.\u00a0 \u201cBut I\u2019m your brother.\u00a0 It\u2019s my job to look out for you, and I shouldn\u2019t have brought you.\u201d<\/p>\n A faint smile twisted Jamie\u2019s lips, and he looked down almost shyly.\u00a0 \u201cYou look out for me real good.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe snorted.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t think Pa\u2019s gonna agree with you.\u201d\u00a0 Jamie shrugged again\u2014who had ever decided that was an acceptable form of communication, anyhow?\u2014and sighed.\u00a0 Joe took a long breath, then thumped the boy\u2019s elbow gently and released him.\u00a0 \u201cGo on.\u00a0 Get some sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n Jamie turned a concerned glance on him.\u00a0 \u201cAin\u2019t you gonna be cold?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I\u2019ll sleep closer to the fire.\u00a0 Go on, now.\u201d<\/p>\n The kid hesitated for another moment, then nodded and wandered over to his bedroll.\u00a0 Joe hunched back down beside the fire, scraping the uneaten beans from the dirt and the plates and tossing them into the coals.\u00a0 He listened as Jamie settled in, heard the rustling that told louder than words the boy might be lying down but he wouldn\u2019t sleep any time soon.<\/p>\n \u201cI kinda felt sorry for that fella in the saloon.\u00a0 What was his name?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cClem.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know why.\u00a0 I just felt sorry for him.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Jamie had made the admission as if he was vaguely ashamed, as if he didn\u2019t understand the feelings and didn\u2019t approve of them.\u00a0 In a way Joe understood.\u00a0 The man was part of a gang\u2014voluntarily\u2014that had robbed a bank and murdered a child.\u00a0 But he was also drunk and pathetic and grieving his own loss, and Joe was suddenly glad\u2014fiercely so\u2014that Jamie could still feel that kind of pity.\u00a0 That he wasn\u2019t old enough, wasn\u2019t jaded enough, hadn\u2019t seen enough yet to burn it out of him.<\/p>\n Across the way, Jamie rolled restlessly onto his other side.<\/p>\n No, Joe never shoulda let him come.\u00a0 The kid was only fifteen.<\/p>\n ***The End***<\/p>\n <\/p>\n *Charles Colton (1780-1832)<\/p>\n Dialogue in italics is taken from the episode.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tags:\u00a0 brothers,\u00a0Jamie Hunter Cartwright,\u00a0Joe \/ Little Joe Cartwright<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Summary: A short WHN for ‘He Was Only Seven’ — a moment on the way back home.<\/p>\n Rating: G\u00a0 Word Count: 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