Synopsis:\u00a0<\/b>Ben and Adam have a confrontation that changes their lives forever.
\nRating: G
\nWords: 2,900<\/p>\n
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The Brandsters acknowledge that the authors are the owners of their stories.\u00a0 Should an author included in the project reach out to us and indicate they do not wish their work to be archived in the Bonanza Brand Fanfiction Library, we will remove their stories.\u00a0 We would also be happy to change the e:mail address for any authors who wish to continue to have their stories archived in the Library.<\/p>\n
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A Thief in the Night<\/strong><\/p>\n “Adam?”<\/p>\n Adam cursed as he straightened up. “Damnit, I thought you were in bed.”<\/p>\n Ben\u2019s eyebrow lifted at the language but his attention was soon returned to the satchel that his eldest son held next to the open safe.<\/p>\n “What are you doing? It\u2019s two o\u2019clock in the morning. You can get the money out tomorrow for your trip to San Francisco.”<\/p>\n “I wanted to be gone before everyone was up. I wanted an early start.”<\/p>\n Ben took a tentative step forward. His intuition was telling him that something was amiss here. Adam saw the look of uncertainty in his eyes and laughed.<\/p>\n “Oh, hell, I\u2019m tired of acting.” He looked at his father with amusement glittering in his hazel eyes. The moonlight edged in through the drawn curtain at the window behind Ben\u2019s desk.<\/p>\n Shadows stretched out the length of the great room. He leaned back against the desk with his easy grace and casually folded his arms.<\/p>\n Ben had always admired that grace. He had a grace of his own, but it wasn\u2019t Adam\u2019s pantherish style. Little Joe came the closest in the family with his willowy quickness, but no one could match the way Adam moved. He wondered why these thoughts should cross his mind at this strange hour but he didn\u2019t understand a great many of the emotions swirling around in him right now as he looked at Adam\u2019s amused face. The amusement did not seem kind.<\/p>\n “Adam?”<\/p>\n A sigh escaped his son. Adam\u2019s eyes had grown cold, the rich amber now obsidian.<\/p>\n “Did you think I was going to remain your quiet, dutiful son by your side the rest of my life? Keep submerging myself with responsibility for this ranch? I\u2019ve known crushing responsibility practically since the day I was born. I was cold, tired and hungry for the first five years of my life when we came West. I had to act like a \u2018little man\u2019 then. And when Hoss was born, I had to take care of him. Same for Little Joe. I had to help out with the ranch and never got the time to be a child.”<\/p>\n Ben\u2019s mouth opened in shock, then closed in shame. It was true that responsibility had been laid early at Adam\u2019s doorstep, but he had not been given a choice. He had been forced to put that responsibility on his young son\u2019s small shoulders. Guilt washed over him like the moonlight streaming in through the dining room window. He looked at Adam\u2019s hard expression.<\/p>\n “Son, I…”<\/p>\n Adam lifted an admonishing palm. “I don\u2019t want to hear it.” He stared at his father. “Did you really think that I was going to live my life buried out here in the wilderness? I could feel my brain rotting from disuse for years. I got a lifeline thrown to me in the form of college in Boston, and I finally had a chance to feed my mind as well as my stomach for four glorious years.”<\/p>\n Stung, Ben asked, “Why didn\u2019t you stay there?”<\/p>\n “Oh, I thought about it. Then I realized that would still be on your terms. You\u2019re very controlling, old man, even a continent away. If I wanted real independence, I\u2019d have to come home first. I realized that it would take me years to earn the kind of money back there that I could get here in much less time. So I came home, the Dutiful Son, and resumed my place as your right-hand man.” His lip curled. “Often no better than a hired hand. And fighting me every step of the way when I tried to use my intellectual skills and knowledge from college.” A cool expression settled over the handsome face. “But I realized that your stubbornness could work to my advantage.” He leaned forward, eyes flashing. “Though I paid a price. Do you realize just\u00a0how<\/i>\u00a0frustrating it was to sit here, night after night, listening to my two brothers playing those damned checker games hour after hour and you pontificating from your chair by the fireplace? Thank the stars I had a good supply of books to keep me distracted!”<\/p>\n “Adam…” Ben\u2019s voice was weak from shock.<\/p>\n Adam leaned back against the desk again. “You taught me well, old man. I learned early in life that what I want is all that matters. You had a dream to go out West and build a great ranch, but that meant dragging a young child along for the hardships. We could have stayed in Boston and I could have enjoyed a life of the intellect instead of breaking my back to clear land and herd cattle and take care of two brothers. You didn\u2019t care how your dream would affect me.” His lips curved into a mocking smile. “Well, at least Joe will get a taste of what it was like to grow up like I did.”<\/p>\n “What?” Confusion fogged Ben\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n “He\u2019s a lazy, cantankerous whelp but he\u2019s a charmer, I\u2019ll give him that. He\u2019s had it too soft, though. That\u2019ll change.” A flash of regret crossed Adam\u2019s face. “I will miss Hoss some. He could be dumber than a red brick but now I think about it he was the smartest one of us all. Part of him knew what I really wanted. He can\u2019t articulate it but he knows just the same.” A shrug of the elegant shoulders. “Ah, well. Can\u2019t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.” He looked at Ben again with that sardonic amusement. “Count yourself lucky, old man. Do you know how many times I came close to taking one of those shotguns and just tearing through the house like Rhett Twilight avenging his brother Willie? It would have been so easy. I would have had the entire ranch to myself, not to mention all our mining holdings. But it was more of a challenge to plot and plan and to see if you noticed if the books were cooked. You didn\u2019t.” A cruel smile twisted Adam\u2019s mouth. “It was easy. You trusted me completely.” He shifted his hip on the desk. “Of course, I\u2019d been building up that trust for a lifetime. People got to know me as Reliable, Dependable Adam. The Good Son. The Dutiful Son. The Dependable Big Brother. The Reliable Second-in-Command.” He shrugged. “It kept things interesting.”<\/p>\n Ben felt frozen to the spot. His dark eyes were wide with pain.<\/p>\n “You can come back from this little setback. It\u2019s true that I embezzled quite a bit of money, but you\u2019re still smart as a whip. You\u2019ll make it back. When I made a deal with Jeb Drummond to get the Ponderosa, everything went so well, including the \u2018kidnapping\u2019, but then he got out of control. Damn, if that Billy boy had only obeyed orders! Ah, well. I knew that I could drain the money out of the Ponderosa instead. More of a challenge, you know? Drummond was wily as a fox but he let his temper get the best of him.”<\/p>\n Ben thought,\u00a0This can\u2019t be true! It can\u2019t be! Dear God, what is happening to me? My son, my son!<\/i><\/p>\n “You\u2019re smart, old man, but I\u2019m smarter. I was able to fool you and my brothers for a long, long time. Though as I said, I think Hoss had a feeling.” Adam shrugged. “Anyway, it\u2019s a moot point. I grew tired of the game. And it\u2019s time for me to move on.”<\/p>\n He finished cleaning out the safe and snapped the satchel shut. His smile was easy and mocking as he looked up, then it faded as he saw the shotgun pointed at his heart. For a fleeting second, Ben saw the craftiness in his son\u2019s eyes, then they softened as a gentle smile curved his lips.<\/p>\n “Do you really want to take me in, Pa? What will that do to Hoss and Little Joe? I\u2019ll have to serve a long sentence in prison.”<\/p>\n Ben\u2019s hand wavered and he began to lower the gun, then brought it back up as Adam took a step toward the door. “I have to turn you in,” he rasped.<\/p>\n “Why? Because of the Cartwright name?”<\/p>\n “Because it\u2019s the right thing to do.”<\/p>\n “Is it?” Adam\u2019s eyes glittered in the moonlight. “That\u2019s all you ever cared about, wasn\u2019t it, old man? The good Cartwright name? Our reputation?”<\/p>\n “You know that isn\u2019t true!” Ben\u2019s hand was shaking but he kept the gun leveled at his son.<\/p>\n “Isn\u2019t it?” Adam\u2019s tone was conversational as he relaxed with the satchel over his shoulder. “You were always concerned with what others thought. That\u2019s why you\u2019d get upset if I stayed in town occasionally and drank and gambled or visited a whorehouse. You were afraid what people might say about your eldest son. You didn\u2019t care that I\u2019d been breaking my back and refereeing between hard-headed cowhands or fighting that spoiled whelp of yours or struggling with dumb cattle all day. You just cared that I might put a stain on that spotless reputation of yours.” The smile reappeared. “Though I don\u2019t know how you expected to keep a spotless reputation after you married that New Orleans whore.”<\/p>\n Outrage showed in Ben\u2019s eyes, but flickered and died as his heart grew heavy. He kept the gun steady but it took every ounce of his strength.<\/p>\n “Well, you\u2019d better shoot me in the back, old man, because I\u2019m walking out of here. I\u2019d rather die than spend a goodly portion of the years I have left in prison.”<\/p>\n “You would walk out of here like a thief in the night, taking my heart with you?” Ben asked with no voice at all.<\/p>\n “In a heartbeat.”<\/p>\n Adam began walking for the door, his grace still easy and communicating his confidence, yet he risked a glance behind him. Triumph flashed through his eyes as he saw the lowered shotgun.<\/p>\n “A little warning: I had to cut some deals to have the bank records match what I was doing. I had to sell some of our mining stocks and timber rights to a gentleman who was very eager to get them. I\u2019d recommend going to the bank in Placerville as soon as possible. I hear that John J. Harrison is declaring the branch there insolvent tomorrow. All the operating capital for the Ponderosa is there.” Adam smiled and tipped his hat. “Goodbye. I\u2019m finally free.”<\/p>\n With a jaunty step, Adam opened the front door and stepped through, closing it softly behind him.<\/p>\n The moonlight streamed in, illuminating the defeated posture of Ben Cartwright, his silver hair highlighted as his face was shadowed.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n “Pa! Pa! What is it?”<\/p>\n Ben was gasping, his heart racing in his chest. He turned wild eyes to his son, who was looking at him in concern. With a strangled cry he put his arms around Adam and pulled him in a crushing hug. Adam\u2019s arms slid around him and he stroked his father\u2019s back.<\/p>\n “It\u2019s all right, Pa. It was just a nightmare. It\u2019s okay. Everything\u2019s fine.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “My son, my son!”<\/p>\n After Ben\u2019s sobs subsided, Adam gently separated them but he held on to his father\u2019s arms and Ben clutched desperately at him. Moonlight illuminated Adam\u2019s dark hair and eyes.<\/p>\n “It\u2019s really okay, Pa.” He added softly, “Killing Eden had to be done. He would have killed you trying to get away.”<\/p>\n Ben nodded wordlessly. Ye gods, what a nightmare! He was still shaking.<\/p>\n “I\u2019m…I\u2019m sorry I woke you, son.”<\/p>\n “It\u2019s all right.” Amusement twinkled in the expressive eyes. “Good thing that Hoss and Little Joe are so bushed from work today. They\u2019re still dead to the world.”<\/p>\n Ben laid back against the pillow, trying to calm his pounding heart. Adam still looked concerned and Ben said, “I\u2019m all right now, Adam. Go on back to bed, son.”<\/p>\n “All right, Pa.” Adam started to leave, then turned back. “You sure?”<\/p>\n Ben nodded. Adam walked toward the doorway.<\/p>\n Ben closed his eyes and tried to relax enough for sleep. He didn\u2019t see Adam pause and turn around, his eyes glittering in the moonlight.<\/p>\n He had been interrupted downstairs at the safe by his father\u2019s cries. Since it would take awhile for Ben to fall asleep, he would have to try again tomorrow night. He smiled as he shut the door quietly.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Surprise!<\/p>\n Okay, since this is my first twist ending, I\u2019ll cut you some slack. For those who like the twisted, *Twilight Zone*-style ending, consider this the end. For those who like sappy and happy endings, read on:<\/p>\n <\/b><\/i>*****<\/p>\n Ben sat up in bed, his cry half-strangled, his heart threatening to race out of his chest. Drenched in sweat, he shuddered as the dream, no, nightmare<\/i>\u00a0played out before his mind\u2019s eye again. He leapt out of bed and pulled on his robe, jamming his feet into slippers. He slipped out of his room and hurried across the hall, quietly opening the door to Adam\u2019s bedroom.<\/p>\n He nearly fainted with relief as he saw his eldest son sound asleep in his bed. He crept forward, the moonlight shining on Adam\u2019s bed and illuminating his innocent son.<\/p>\n He wanted to wail and howl, crying out his relief and joy, but he silently stood by the bed, a shaking hand reaching out and lightly touching silky black hair. He padded away from the bed toward the window and looked out at the peaceful night scene: the cleared space at the back of the house, the woods only a few dozen feet away…<\/p>\n The nightmare had shaken him not once but twice. The second horror had been worse than the first. The nightmare-within-a-nightmare had shaken him to his very core.<\/p>\n As he gazed out on the familiar but soothing scenery before him, listening to his beloved son\u2019s breathing, he reasoned that he had conjured such a nightmare because of the killing of his Katherine\u2019s son Eden.<\/p>\n Katherine had been completely fooled by Eden. He was no good, selfish and manipulative and a killer to boot. It was not surprising that she had been fooled. She had been the boy\u2019s mother. And he had been possessed of a certain charm, able to fool some people, but most saw through him, including Charles, his father. It had nearly killed Katherine to realize what Eden really was, and she had drawn a shotgun on him, but couldn\u2019t shoot him. Ben had been forced to do that as Eden had tried to get away.<\/p>\n He rested his head on his hand which in turn rested against the windowpane. Why had he dreamed such a dream? Because he\u2019d had to kill Eden? The love he\u2019d held for Katherine couldn\u2019t erase what he\u2019d done, and their plans for marriage had been buried along with Eden. He didn\u2019t blame her. If the situation had been reversed, he would have done the same.<\/p>\n But why dream that Adam had turned out like Eden? Did he really fear that his son, or any of his sons, were playing a game with him? That the nightmare Adam had made some points that had hit too close to home?<\/p>\n He lifted his head and glanced over at Adam. No, that couldn\u2019t be it. What he really feared was that he knew that no matter how good or loving a parent was to a child, that child could turn out to be a bad seed. That had always been a fear of his when his children had been born, and was probably one of the reasons for his firm discipline. Yet he\u2019d been lucky. All of his children had turned out to be fine young men he could be proud of and love without the terrible price paid by a parent like Katherine.<\/p>\n “Pa?”<\/p>\n The sleepy voice startled him and he said softly, “Shh, Adam, it\u2019s all right. Go back to sleep.”<\/p>\n Adam yawned, still almost asleep. He listened to his father\u2019s voice and obeyed, rolling back over onto his side. Ben picked up the blanket and tucked it around the broad shoulders. He whispered, “My son, my son,” and lightly kissed the dark hair, a tear glistening down his cheek, and left the room with gratitude in his heart.<\/p>\n Adam was no Eden.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Okay, you\u2019ve had your freebie. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n How did I come up with a story like this, you ask? Well, I\u2019d just seen “MY SON, MY SON” and it got me to thinking (dangerous, yes, I know): what if a son of Ben\u2019s had turned out to be a bad seed like Eden? At first I thought Little Joe would perfectly fill the bill: he was<\/i>\u00a0young,<\/i>\u00a0could play the brooding James Dean type, had a hot head. But, nah, that was too easy. Hoss? Another good choice, as who would suspect, but he just didn\u2019t fit this story. No, it was Adam, with his cool reserve and keen intelligence that fit.<\/i><\/p>\n This story can be considered an alternate universe (ending at the twist) or a nightmare-within-a-nightmare (with the alternate ending). Your choice as to which suits you (both may).<\/p>\n Did I surprise you? I know that \u2018our\u2019 Adam could never be like this, but what of another Adam in some other time and place? Well, I know that if you have opinions, you\u2019ll let me know them. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n *Adah* (*The Magnificent*)<\/p>\n December 30, 2000<\/p>\n