{"id":2983,"date":"2012-04-24T18:03:58","date_gmt":"2012-04-24T22:03:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=2983"},"modified":"2026-07-22T13:16:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T17:16:20","slug":"after-the-dragon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=2983","title":{"rendered":"After the Dragon (by frasrgrl)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"label\">Summary:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>This is a WHN for Day of the Dragon.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s my entry for the March Chaps and Spurs challenge along with the Pinecone Trifecta.<\/p>\n<p>Word Count: 1,063\u00a0\u00a0<span class=\"label\">Rated:<\/span> K<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>\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 \u00a0After the Dragon<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>This month&#8217;s words are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bloat<\/li>\n<li>Prickle<\/li>\n<li>Sleuth<\/li>\n<li>Smack<\/li>\n<li>Dray<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>After The Dragon<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As Dr Kam Lee press the cloth against the young man\u2019s shoulder trying to stem the flow of blood, Joe felt a <strong>prickle<\/strong> of pain flow down his arm. Each wave that followed grew more intense as the adrenaline left Joe\u2019s system. Suddenly, he staggered and would have fallen if it weren\u2019t for the quick reflexes of his father and Dr Lee.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMr Cartwright, the bullet is still in his shoulder and needs to come out as soon as possible,\u201d the doctor explained in his soft, unassuming voice. \u201cIf you wish, I\u2019ll ride to town and get Dr Martin.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat won\u2019t be necessary, Dr Lee, I have complete confidence in you,\u201d reassured Ben. \u00a0He turned to his two oldest sons. \u201cHoss, help me get Joe into the buckboard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPa, I\u2019m fine. I don\u2019t need any help,\u201d protested Joe.<\/p>\n<p>Ben ignored his son\u2019s protests, and with Hoss\u2019 help was able to get Joe into the back of the <strong>dray<\/strong>. Once Kam Lee was settled next to Joe, Adam tied his father and the doctor\u2019s horses to the back of the wagon.Ben assisted Su Ling up onto the seat before climbing on himself. He picked up the reins and with a light <strong>smack<\/strong> to the horses backs, turned around and headed for the house.<\/p>\n<p>*****<\/p>\n<p>Hop Sing heard the buckboard enter the yard and knew it didn\u2019t bode well. Shortly after the oldest Cartwrights left, a <em>crow<\/em> landed on the kitchen window sill. He hurried and shooed it away. The oriental man knew the omen the bird brought with him, <em>one crow for sorrow, <\/em>and felt a chill run down his spine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, family be okay. Nothing happen to them.\u201d He tried to reassure himself, but he couldn\u2019t help remembering the threats General Tsung make, especially to Little Joe, or as the General called him, \u2018the toothless puppy\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Before he headed out the door he looked at the stove to make sure the large pot of water he put there, just in case, was boiling. When he saw Little Joe and the doctor in the back of the conveyance, he tore into a tirade of Chinese that was so loud it would have even scattered a <em>flamboyance of flamingos.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d he demanded.<\/p>\n<p>Joe tried smiling at the family cook and caretaker, but it wasn\u2019t even a forth of the normally dazzling smile that usually graced his lips. \u201cI\u2019m fine, Hop Sing. The General and I, uh, well, we had a little conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The youngest Cartwright would have been more convincing if his face wasn\u2019t set in a grimace of pain and looking like he was ready to pass out at any second.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHumpf,\u201d responded Hop Sing.<\/p>\n<p>Before anything more could be said, Ben and Hoss were at the back of the buckboard, and as gently as they could, helped the young man out and into the house. Ben had to let go of his son when they reached the staircase. Hoss wrapped his arm tightly around his brother\u2019s waist and supported the boy up the stairs and to his room.<\/p>\n<p>Before following, Kam Lee stopped and turned to Hop Sing, \u201cI\u2019m going to need hot water, towels and bandages.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHot water ready. I have up in a minute.\u201d The family cook turned and hurried into the kitchen to collect the requested items.<\/p>\n<p>Su Ling entered the house with Adam and Hoss, and the trio made their way to Joe\u2019s room.<\/p>\n<p>Dr Lee was examining Joe\u2019s wound when he heard Hop Sing enter and place the requested items on the dresser. \u201cThank you, Hop Sing. If you would be kind enough to take Mr Cartwright and his sons downstairs for something to eat and drink, I would appreciate it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not leaving Joseph,\u201d Ben stated.<\/p>\n<p>Kam Lee smiled, he had heard from Paul Martin how this family, especially the father, was protective of each other. \u201cPlease, Mr Cartwright, I need room to work and you need to rest while you can. I\u2019m sure Joseph will keep you running around in the next few weeks.\u201d The doctor smiled gently at the older man. \u201cYour son will be fine. I just need to remove the bullet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPa, go on. I\u2019m in good hands,\u201d assured Joe.<\/p>\n<p>Ben looked at his son and couldn\u2019t help but to feel extreme pride. His chest <strong>bloated<\/strong> with it and the emotion shone in his eyes. \u201cAlright, Joe, I\u2019ll be downstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Once the Cartwrights were out of the room, Kam Lee and Su Ling went to work removing the bullet and mending the youngest Cartwright.<\/p>\n<p>****<\/p>\n<p>A soft moan escaped Joe\u2019s lips as consciousness returned. His eyes fluttered a few times before opening completely. He saw his father leaning over him and as he looked around he could see not only the rest of his family, but Kam Lee and Su Ling also.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHi, Pa,\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHi yourself. How do you feel?\u201d Ben asked.<\/p>\n<p>Joe closed his eyes briefly and tried to swallow. His throat felt like he had been eating sand for days. \u201cThirsty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Su Ling brought a glass of water over to him, and while Ben supported his head, she helped her friend to drink. Once Joe had his fill, his father gently lowered his head back to the pillow.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBetter. Thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Su Ling stepped back to allow the doctor room in order to examine his patient.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, Doc, what do you think? Am I going to live?\u201d chuckled Joe.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know he\u2019s goin\u2019 be fine now, if he\u2019s makin\u2019 them awful jokes.\u201d Hoss shook his head in mock annoyance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe is going to be fine, Mr Cartwright. I will let Dr Martin know what happened when I get back to town and I\u2019m sure he\u2019ll be out tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd I will stay and help Joe,\u201d Su Ling said, reaffirming her statement from earlier in the day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou little <em>weasel<\/em>! Leave it to you to get hurt right before we\u2019re supposed to start haying,\u201d complained Hoss.<\/p>\n<p>The only response Joe had was a huge grin on his face.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeriously, Joe, do you need anything?\u201d Adam asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah, could you get a new <strong>sleuth <\/strong>novel?\u201d Joe asked with a smirk on his face, for he knew how much his oldest brother hated the books that he enjoyed so much.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI should have known better than to ask,\u201d moaned Adam.<\/p>\n<p>Smiling, Joe closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Summary:\u00a0\u00a0This is a WHN for Day of the Dragon.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s my entry for the March Chaps and Spurs challenge along with the Pinecone Trifecta.<\/p>\n<p>Word Count: 1,063\u00a0\u00a0Rated: K<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":11271,"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_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":[39,23,1007,40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chaps-spurs","category-drama","category-joe-cartwright","category-challenges","wpcat-39-id","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-1007-id","wpcat-40-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\/2014\/04\/dotd.jpg?fit=476%2C338&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2983","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\/87"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2983"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2983\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}