Summary: While it\u2019s become abundantly clear that some hurts never heal, a small bullet wound and a night trapped out in the rain reveal that the scars that stick around do so with a vengeance. Every time Adam tries to take a step toward healing, his mind forces him to take two steps back. This time around, Joe is there to have his back. A WHN for The Crucible.
\nWord Count: 2,561 \u00a0Rating: G<\/p>\n
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Author\u2019s note: This story is part of the Scars series, which takes place a year after the episode \u201cThe Crucible.\u201d While it isn\u2019t necessary to have read the first few before reading this story, reading the first parts of the series might enhance the overall storyline a bit and make more sense of the following story. Enjoy!<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Early July 1863<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n \u201cThere!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n It took Joe shouting in his ear to pull Adam back to reality. As the thick sheets of rain continued to stuff his head with cotton, it was all too easy to zone out.<\/span><\/p>\n The gaping hole in his side wasn\u2019t doing him any favors, either.<\/span><\/p>\n Biting back a grimace, Adam nodded, urging Sport forward and following his little brother toward the cave. How the kid had spotted it in the storm, he\u2019d never know.<\/span><\/p>\n Maybe if you weren\u2019t so distracted all the time, you would\u2019ve seen it, too.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Doubt it.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Somehow, the cave was just tall enough to fit their horses, and just deep enough not only to give them adequate shelter from the rain but to add a somewhat creepy feeling to the atmosphere.<\/span><\/p>\n Joe was at his side mere seconds after he dismounted. \u201cYou all right, Adam?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n His smirk fell short, he could just tell by its feel, and he nodded once more. \u201cFine, Joe.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019ll be just fine\u2026<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t <\/span>look<\/span><\/i> fine,\u201d the kid shot back with a frown and it was all Adam could do to keep from rolling his eyes.<\/span><\/p>\n “All right, I’m <\/span>not<\/span><\/i> fine then. Help me sit down over there, will you?”<\/span><\/p>\n As Joe aided Adam in his descent against the wall, he chattered a bit, trying to fill the blaring silence.<\/span><\/p>\n Breathe.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Just <\/span><\/i>breathe<\/i><\/b> so you don’t scare him more than you already\u2014<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n The hiss slipped out before he could bite half his tongue off in a vain attempt at stopping it.<\/span><\/p>\n “I’m fine,” he told Joe’s worried face. “I’ll be fine…”<\/span><\/p>\n Always so sure of yourself, aren’t you, Cartwright?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Oh, shut up.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n He was already fighting a bullet to the gut, he didn’t need to fight the voice as well.<\/span><\/p>\n That’s the <\/span><\/i>last<\/i><\/b> thing I need right now.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n The voice had gotten pretty good at sticking around; at popping up during the worst possible times.<\/span><\/p>\n And Adam was getting pretty bad shooing it away. What used to be a relatively easy task had become damned near impossible as of late.<\/span><\/p>\n You’re weak, Cartwright. That’s why.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n You always have been, always will be.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Right\u2026<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n “Adam?”<\/span><\/p>\n Snapping back to attention was his only indicator that he had been on the verge of getting lost again. Lost in his own thoughts, in the torment that just wouldn’t leave him alone.<\/span><\/p>\n In the shroud of that <\/span>voice…<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n “What?”<\/span><\/p>\n You know what.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Joe’s brows creased. <\/span>You’re gonna give that kid elevens before he’s even twenty five.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n “You zoned out on me for a second there.”<\/span><\/p>\n He tried for a laugh that ended as a grimace and Adam braced himself for the next wave of pain.<\/span><\/p>\n Because Joe was reaching toward his wound\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n It was going to hurt like hell, he knew that from experience. He also had practice in not letting the pain show, no matter how hot or sharp it grew to be.<\/span><\/p>\n “Looks like it went clean through,” Joe observed after a few moments\u2014moments that felt for all the world to Adam like hours. Long agonizing <\/span>hours.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n It was all he could do to bite out a reply. “That’s good.”<\/span><\/p>\n “Man, those guys came out of nowhere.”<\/span><\/p>\n They always do.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n I did, didn’t I, Cartwright?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Shut. Up.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Maybe you would’ve seen them coming if you\u2019d stop spending so much time trapped in your own mind.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Right. And who trapped me there, exactly?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Who?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Who?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n “Adam…?”<\/span><\/p>\n Blinking didn’t do much but simulate life, even though Adam had felt dead inside for some time now.<\/span><\/p>\n “I’m still here, Joe. Always have been.”<\/span><\/p>\n The look Joe gave him was less than reassuring, but his baby brother kept on working all the same. Tying parts of his jacket around Adam’s stomach; hurrying to staunch the bleeding before it got any worse.<\/span><\/p>\n And running his mouth double time to keep the eerie silence at bay.<\/span><\/p>\n Any silence with Adam in the room these days was far from comfortable\u2014he knew that for a fact. After all, <\/span>he <\/span><\/i>wasn\u2019t comfortable in those hesitant, cautious silences, so why would any of his family be?<\/span><\/p>\n Just another thing you have to fix\u2026<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Thunder clapped outside, a cruel reminder that they were stuck in that blasted cave for the foreseeable future.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI think\u2026\u201d The amount of concentration on Joe\u2019s face was almost painful to look at. \u201cI <\/span>think <\/span><\/i>I got it under control before it could get worse\u2026 Hold on a second\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Worse? How could it possibly get any <\/span><\/i>worse?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n You really want me to answer that, Cartwright?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n At last, Joe sat back on his heels, wiping a bloody hand across his forehead. “There. That should hold for now.”<\/span><\/p>\n As he studied his brother\u2019s handiwork, Adam wondered when he would stop getting ambushed in the desert.<\/span><\/p>\n We weren’t even carrying any cash this time.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Do you really think rustlers are going to stop to think about that?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n “Thanks, Joe,” he managed through a sigh, shifting into a more comfortable position. Or, trying to, at least. “You all right?”<\/span><\/p>\n “Yeah, I’m fine. They didn’t even graze me.”<\/span><\/p>\n “Good.” Adam let his eyes flutter closed for a moment. <\/span>Just a moment\u2026<\/span><\/i> When he opened them, Joe was gone.<\/span><\/p>\n A mere glance to the side revealed the kid had just gone to check on the horses, soothing his precious Paint, but the jolt his sudden absence had sent through Adam lingered on.<\/span><\/p>\n You never should\u2019ve left him back at Eastgate.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Maybe then, none of this would\u2019ve happened.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Shut\u2014<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Try as he might, Adam couldn\u2019t reconcile with the odd contrast that had taken over his life lately: the need to be left alone, and the overwhelming, almost panicky urge to not be deserted.<\/span><\/p>\n To not be left alone in the desert to die with no family or friends or\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n You’re fine. It’s <\/span><\/i>fine.<\/i><\/b> Joe’s fine\u2026<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Speaking of the kid\u2026 Joe had wandered around a bit, making his restlessness known before plopping back down beside Adam.<\/span><\/p>\n “I’d build a fire, but…” Joe jerked his head at the mouth of their stoney prison.<\/span><\/p>\n “It’s okay.” And it took a good portion of his already dwindling energy to keep the edge of pain out of his voice. “I don’t think we’ll be here long.” At Joe’s <\/span>you’ve got to be kidding me<\/span><\/i> look, Adam couldn’t help but chuckle. A poor choice, considering it rattled his throbbing wound. “The power of positive thinking.”<\/span><\/p>\n “Oh.” Joe slumped, elbows resting atop his knees. “Right. Figured you were gonna say something dumb like that.”<\/span><\/p>\n Much as he wanted to slap that smirk off Joe’s face, Adam restrained himself, flashing a smirk of his own instead and praying to God it didn’t look more like a grimace.<\/span><\/p>\n “Even if you hadn’t been shot,” Joe went on, a pinch of worry still swirling around his overly casual tone, “we would’ve had to stop anyway. I couldn’t even see my hand in that storm.”<\/span><\/p>\n As a shiver wracked Joe’s lanky frame, it occured to Adam that he should probably feel guilty. The kid’s only source of warmth was wrapped around <\/span>his<\/span><\/i> midsection and Adam couldn’t have snaked off his own jacket if he tried.<\/span><\/p>\n Yet, the guilt wouldn’t come. It couldn’t seem to push itself through the thick layers of unease, of anxiety\u2026 of <\/span>foreboding.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n When he closed his eyes, he could feel it. The dense air, the suffocating heat. The sweat pouring down his face and neck\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n “Maybe I should just leave you be.”<\/span><\/p>\n Adam glanced at Joe, snapping out of his thoughts again. <\/span>What good is thinking anyway?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n “You keep zoning out on me.” And there were those furrowed brows\u2026 “You didn’t even lose that much blood.”<\/span><\/p>\n “My mind’s just on\u2026 other things, I guess.”<\/span><\/p>\n Joe snorted. “Yeah, I <\/span>guessed.<\/span><\/i>“<\/span><\/p>\n “Like how we’re going to get home and all that.”<\/span><\/p>\n “Sure.” Joe didn’t believe him, but they both pretended he did.<\/span><\/p>\n They were always pretending these days, weren’t they?<\/span><\/p>\n
\nThe Scars Series<\/strong>
\nScars That Never Fade<\/a>
\nScars That Shatter Trust<\/a>
\nScars That Distort Reality<\/a>
\nScars You Can’t Ignore<\/a><\/p>\n
\nScars That Distort Reality<\/strong><\/p>\n