{"id":5644,"date":"2013-08-30T10:00:52","date_gmt":"2013-08-30T14:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=5644"},"modified":"2026-07-22T13:32:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T17:32:52","slug":"only-one-left","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=5644","title":{"rendered":"Only One Left (by Destiny Adams)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>He is the only one left. \u00a0Joe reflects. \u00a0Written for the August Chaps and Spurs. Tissue warning!<\/p>\n

Rated:<\/span>\u00a0K+ (1,150 words)
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

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\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 Only One Left<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Author’s Notes:<\/b><\/p>\n

Beta’d by Mam711 on fanfiction.net.<\/em><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

The Tahoe was beautiful.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Joe was mounted on Cochise as he surveyed the lake, even though he had done this so many times that he knew exactly what he would see.\u00a0 It was a calm night, the waves only lapping gently on the shores.\u00a0 The late August sunset echoed off the water, setting off a majestic purple hue.\u00a0 The trees that grew along the shore were old and strong; Pa would never allow anybody to cut that lumber.\u00a0 He had said in a moment of vulnerability that Marie had loved those trees and that she had taken Adam and Hoss under them for small picnics and games that would keep them occupied for hours and exhausted them into a peaceful afternoon nap.\u00a0 Adam had never said if he remembered such outings and Hoss had been rather young at that point.<\/p>\n

If there was something that all four of them had had in common, it was their love for Lake Tahoe and the land that surrounded it.\u00a0 Pa had always taught him that if you take care of the land, it will take care of you.\u00a0 Adam and Hoss had taught him that too, just with their actions instead of their words.\u00a0 Joe had always known that both of them had loved the Ponderosa, and not only the land, but what it represented.<\/p>\n

The Ponderosa represented them as a family.\u00a0 The four of them, together, living and working the land.\u00a0 The image had never died, not even when Adam had left to travel the world.\u00a0 It had taken years, but Joe had learned that Adam hadn\u2019t been rejecting the Ponderosa or even the family; his brother had just been built to explore, to gain knowledge.<\/p>\n

Everything he had ever learned had been taught to him by his family.\u00a0 They had always been there, teaching and coaching him along.\u00a0 They had loved him and supported him; it had taken a long time for Joe to realize that the depth of their love was something that he would never quite understand.\u00a0 And he had loved them back fiercely.\u00a0 He had fought for the land, for\u00a0them,\u00a0<\/em>and he would continue fighting because he felt like that was all he had left.<\/p>\n

Joe shook himself from his thoughts and nudged Cochise down the well-worn trail that led to the meadow where they all were.\u00a0 Once there, he dismounted and threw Cochise\u2019s reins over a branch, even though he knew the horse wouldn\u2019t go anywhere.\u00a0 He slid his hat from his head and held it loosely in his hand as he stared down at the five grave markers.\u00a0 They were all here.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t remember much about his mother.\u00a0 There were times when he was able to grasp a faded and loose memory, but his image of her had all faded; all the remained was a photograph in a locket.\u00a0 She had been beautiful.\u00a0 The prettiest woman he had ever seen.\u00a0 All his life, there had been a desire deep within him that he was going to make her proud.\u00a0 That when he finally got to heaven, the first thing that she would tell him was how proud of him she was.\u00a0 Pa thought she would be, it was one of the final things he had said.\u00a0\u00a0She would be proud of you, Joseph.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Pa had given everything he had to his sons.\u00a0 He had given all the love, all the wisdom, all the tears for his sons.\u00a0 He had loved the three of them with everything he had.\u00a0 Some had found his presence imposing, but Joe had always found it comforting and familiar.\u00a0 No matter what, his Pa had always come through for him.<\/p>\n

For years, it had been difficult for Joe to get along with Adam.\u00a0 His brother had had a way of making him feel small and insignificant.\u00a0 College had changed Adam a lot, and when he had come home, he had gone from being the worshipped big brother to a dignified stranger.\u00a0 But something had changed after the accident at Montpelier Gorge; Adam had started to view him as an equal and not some child who needed to be led by the hand.\u00a0 After Adam had left, Joe had been angry at him for deserting the family; a conversation after being held at gun-point by a drifter always came back to haunt him.\u00a0 But Joe had come to realize that Adam had missed them as much as they had missed him.\u00a0 And he had never really come home; his body had been buried at sea, only a white cross next to Pa\u2019s and Hoss\u2019s to remember him by.<\/p>\n

When Hoss had died, Joe honestly had never thought he or Pa would survive.\u00a0 The days following were dark and hollow, Pa locked in his rooms for days and Joe just traveling the trails on the Ponderosa for hours every day until he exhausted himself enough to sleep.\u00a0 The funeral was just a hazy picture; his mind had still been stuck between denial and rage.\u00a0 The ranch began to fall to disarray, neither Pa nor Joe really caring one way or the other.<\/p>\n

It was only because of Alice that he had been finally able to start healing.\u00a0 She had been there for him every step of the way, had been patient with him, had held him numerous times and just let him cry for the brother he had never thought of facing life without.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t until he had come upon her weeping at Hoss\u2019s grave that he remembered that Alice had loved him too.\u00a0 They hadn\u2019t even been married yet, but Hoss had already welcome Alice into the family and had loved her in his own noble and gentle way.\u00a0 He made a resolution that day to be strong for Alice.\u00a0 The wedding day had been bittersweet, but the moment she had appeared at the top of the stairs, dressed in her beautiful dress, all other thoughts had fled.<\/p>\n

And his world shattered again when he had held Alice\u2019s lifeless body in his arms after a cruel and needless act of hate.<\/p>\n

They were all gone, everyone he had ever loved.\u00a0\u00a0 But he held a part of each one with him every day. \u00a0He had his mother\u2019s locket, Alice\u2019s beautiful smile, the Ponderosa, his father\u2019s legacy passed on to him, Adam\u2019s sage advice and Hoss\u2019s simple wisdom.\u00a0 It was a small token from each of them, and he had learned to grasp those things until that day when he would see them all again.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer:\u00a0All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.<\/p>\n

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

Summary:\u00a0\u00a0He is the only one left. \u00a0Joe reflects. \u00a0Written for the August Chaps and Spurs. Tissue warning! \u00a0<\/p>\n

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