{"id":2886,"date":"2013-04-24T15:33:38","date_gmt":"2013-04-24T19:33:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=2886"},"modified":"2023-03-22T13:13:55","modified_gmt":"2023-03-22T17:13:55","slug":"the-friendship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=2886","title":{"rendered":"The Friendship (by frasrgrl)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary:\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span>Did you ever wonder if Joe and Danny got off scott-free after all that happened at the end of The Friendship?<\/p>\n

Rated:<\/span> K\u00a0 (1,200 words)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The Friendship<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright stood with his feet spread apart, his hands firmly planted on his hips, and glared directly at the two young men standing before him in front of the barn.\u00a0 Both had sheepish looks on their battered faces, and eyes directed at the ground. \u00a0Danny Kidd stood as still as possible, worried about the consequences that were to come and how bad they were going to be. Joe on the other hand kept changing his footing<\/strong> every few seconds. He didn\u2019t know what his Pa was going to say and was afraid to even try to take a guess.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoys,\u201d he began in a booming voice that startled both Joe and Danny. \u201cWhat the devil did either of you think you were doing?\u201d<\/p>\n

Danny glanced at Joe out of the corner of his eye and nodded towards Ben. Joe caught the look and gave a slight shake of his head and nodded back. Glaring at Joe he mouthed, \u201cHe\u2019s your father.\u201d\u00a0 Joe swallowed hard and dropped his head even more.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell!\u201d bellowed Ben, \u201cI\u2019m waiting.\u201d Both boys jumped in fright, but were still silent. This didn\u2019t bode well for them. \u201cJoseph, you care to start?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot really,\u201d Joe whispered under his breath.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was that young man?\u201d Ben growled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0um\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0I said, I\u2019d love to.\u201d Joe nervously cleared his throat before he said more. \u201cI know you didn\u2019t, er, want me goin\u2019 after Danny, but Pa, I\u2014I felt it was my responsibility. After all they said it was all left to me. You said so too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI did Joseph, but after that fiasco we had, I also told you, no, demanded you to stay here and let your brothers and I would take care of things in the morning. Did I not tell you that, Joseph?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cY\u2014Yes Sir, you d\u2014did,\u201d stuttered Joe.<\/p>\n

\u201cYet against direct orders you snuck out of the house in the middle if the night to go looking for him. What did you plan to do once you found him?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBring him home, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBring him home\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0\u201c Ben repeated softly; so softly that it was blaringly loud, making the two young men cringe. \u201cBring him home? Then why was it, Joseph, that you came riding up to us ALONE!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, Pa, he did\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben held up his hand stopping his son mid-sentence. \u201cNo, don\u2019t say another word. Let me try to make some sense of today\u2019s events.\u201d He pinned his glare onto Danny. \u201cAnn comes into the barn being her usual teasing self\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0.\u201d With pin point accuracy Ben\u2019s attention shift to Joe. \u201cAs you very well know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben returned his attention to Danny. \u201cI can understand how you got upset and you actually taught Ann a bit of a lesson, without meaning to. I know it was all an accident. You should have trusted us more, Danny.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, Mr. Cartwright,\u201d he didn\u2019t get any further before Ben\u2019s hand was in the air again cutting him off.<\/p>\n

Shifting back to Joe, Ben nailed him with a disgusted glare. \u201cAnd you! Always reacting first. Never stopping to think. You know Ann and what she\u2019s like. You should have known what happened before you ever walked into that barn. If memory serves, the young lady had you reacting the same way on more than one occasion. Am I correct on that account, Joseph?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Sir.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut what did you do? You thought the worse. You acted like everyone else; charging into the barn and making false accusations. Never giving the benefit of doubt; not once stopping to ask what happened. No, just condemned him right off the bat. You were going to take him back. No chances, no explanations. If I treated you that way, you would still be locked in your room for past indiscretions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Feeling ashamed, Joe\u2019s shoulders hunched forward, and he lowered his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, you\u2019re not completely innocent either, are you, Danny?\u201d<\/p>\n

Danny swallowed hard and squirmed under Ben\u2019s scrutiny. \u201cNo, Sir.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou didn\u2019t even try to explain. You just let Joseph assume the worse, didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Sir,\u201d came the soft reply.<\/p>\n

\u201cMmm. You sent your horse at Joe and when he was down, you made sure he stayed down. You took his gun and you ran.\u201d Ben paused and watched the two young men before him, and shook his head. \u201cWe already went over your disobedience and poor judgment, Joseph.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe nodded his head, acknowledging his father\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you both understand what you had done wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Sir,\u201d they both whispered and waited in trepidation for what would come next.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood, then this should come as no surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben pointed over to the forge that was just to the left of them. \u201cYou boys fire up the forge, there are some horses that need shoeing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, Pa, it\u2019s over a hundred degrees today. You can\u2019t expect us to work the forge,\u201d Joe protested.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can and I do, Son. In fact, you better get a good supply of coal<\/strong> so you can keep the forge going for a long . . . long<\/em> . . . time!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe looked at Danny and moaned as he pulled off his shirt. It was going to be some hot and sweaty work, so he figured he may as well find what relief he could now. Danny followed Joe\u2019s lead and soon two shirts had been tossed onto a hay bale as the young men loaded the forge with coal and worked on heating it up.<\/p>\n

Adam and Hoss came around the corner of the barn leading a string of horses. When Joe saw what they had, he groaned loudly and slid to the ground putting his face in his hand. \u201cNo, not them. Please not them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Danny looked from the horses, to Adam and Hoss, who both had smirks plastered on their faces, to his friend down on the ground. He was confused, not understanding Joe\u2019s drastic reaction to the horses.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with them?\u201d<\/p>\n

Slowly, Joe pulled himself up. He started to dust his pants off, but realized it would be a wasted effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with them? I\u2019ll tell you what\u2019s wrong with them! Those dustpans<\/strong> are the most cantankerous, mule-headed, obstinate, stupid string of horses you will ever meet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDustpans?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, Danny, that\u2019s what we call them on account they end up turning whoever is working with them into dustpans. You know, they\u2019re the broom, and your face, or whichever part of your body they use, is the dustpan.\u201d Hoss nudged Adam in the ribs and the two older brothers walked away in gales of laughter.<\/p>\n

Half way across the yard, Adam paused and looked back at the two despondent, young men. \u201cWith your luck<\/strong>, Pa almost had you out picking up cow<\/strong> patties.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laughter followed them into the house and soon the baritone sound of Ben\u2019s laughter joined in with his sons. Outside a chorus of low groans could be heard.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter End Notes:<\/p>\n

As always many thanks to Cheaux, for her expertise with finding my errors and helping with some wording.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/g><\/svg><\/i> \"Loading\"<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary:\u00a0 \u00a0Did you ever wonder if Joe and Danny got off scott-free after all that happened at the end of The Friendship?<\/p>\n

Rated: K\u00a0 (1,200 words)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":11258,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","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_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-whn","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-13-id"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":1942,"today_views":1},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/The-Friendship.jpg?fit=478%2C340&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7129,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=7129","url_meta":{"origin":2886,"position":0},"title":"Affinity (by Rona)","author":"Rona","date":"July 30, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: \u00a0Sent to help at a neighbour\u2019s ranch for a couple of weeks, Joe and Danny run into prejudice that leads to tragedy. Rated:\u00a0 K+ (9,960 words)","rel":"","context":"In "Drama"","block_context":{"text":"Drama","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/The-Friendship.jpg?fit=478%2C340&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":61512,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=61512","url_meta":{"origin":2886,"position":1},"title":"I Will (by Wrangler)","author":"Wrangler","date":"January 9, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: Little Joe is consumed with guilt when his best friend is accidently shot and killed. Unable to forgive himself, Joe heads down a dangerous self-destructive path. 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The ordeals and trials faced by the three of them, especially Joe, draw the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Action\/Adventure"","block_context":{"text":"Action\/Adventure","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":38697,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=38697","url_meta":{"origin":2886,"position":3},"title":"The Beauty of Darkness (mcfair_58)","author":"mcfair_58","date":"March 1, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"A sequel to The Friendship, The Guilty, The Tall Stranger, The Crucible, and The Storm.\u00a0 Jimmy Partridge. Margie Owens. Peter Kane. Laura White. Things were far from routine on the Ponderosa. His life \u2013 his family \u2013 was a shambles. That indefinable \u2018thing\u2019 that held them together, what made them\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Drama"","block_context":{"text":"Drama","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Beauty-of-Darkness-one-.jpg?fit=503%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5520,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=5520","url_meta":{"origin":2886,"position":4},"title":"Premonition (by EPM)","author":"EPM","date":"January 25, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0Poor judgement leads to a young man's death, and Adam and Joe are caught in the aftermath. 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