{"id":7338,"date":"2013-02-27T23:32:43","date_gmt":"2013-02-28T04:32:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=7338"},"modified":"2026-01-20T15:18:26","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T20:18:26","slug":"ben-and-adam-on-the-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=7338","title":{"rendered":"Ben and Adam on the Road (by Sibylle)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary: \u00a0<\/span>WHB Inger My Love \u00a0Even Ben wasn\u00b4t always the perfect father.<\/p>\n

Rated:<\/span>\u00a0K \u00a0WC 1250<\/p>\n

A contribution to the Trifecta and the CS\u00b4s Challenge (February 2013)<\/p>\n

Story Notes:<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

Thank you, Sklamb, for beta-reading and polishing the story!<\/em><\/p>\n

WHB: Inger My Love<\/em><\/p>\n

The bold words were given.<\/em><\/p>\n

Ben and Adam on the Road<\/strong><\/p>\n

The young dark haired man sat on the cold ground beside a fireplace he\u2019d built roughly from a few stones. It was dark; only a dim\u00a0violet<\/strong>\u00a0glow on the eastern horizon, where the rising sun fought the night, announced an upcoming new day.<\/p>\n

A new day. Ben Cartwright sighed. Another day in an endless row of days while he struggled to fulfil his dream \u2013 their dream. When he had won the heart of his captain\u2019s daughter, he\u2019d thought his life would be a chain of happy days. But the chain had broken, and now he was struggling to hold the ends together by following their dream. As long as he and Adam were on the way, he couldn\u2019t lose his Elizabeth completely. He must go on, even if at the moment his\u00a0fortune<\/strong>\u00a0seemed to be at its lowest ebb.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d been told Galesburg was less than a week away but nine days on he still saw no sign of the town. He\u2019d had to buy supplies at an expensive hostelry four days ago\u2014even that was mostly eaten\u2014and now he possessed less than a dollar. But he wouldn\u2019t give up! He would find a job in Galesburg, and earn the money he needed for the next stage! With an early start they might arrive that very day.<\/p>\n

Ben stood up, stretched his muscles, turned his back on the rising sun, and, setting his jaw squarely, glared down the road before him.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, wake up!\u201d he called loudly, as he started to build up the fire and scrape together some sort of meagre breakfast.<\/p>\n

When a small voice answered, he reached for the pot with some leftover rabbit stew from the day before yesterday. Yesterday he\u2019d stretched the stew with the last carrots. Squinting into the pot now, he decided that if he added some water he could make some kind of soup.<\/p>\n

It was quiet in the wagon again. \u201cAdam, come out now! We have to leave early.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Pa.\u201d But no boy appeared.<\/p>\n

Ben looked impatiently towards the wagon as he fed the fire with some bigger branches. They sent up a shower of sparks and Ben wet down the dry grass near the fire with the last of the canteen\u2019s water.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need some water but I can\u2019t leave the fire alone. Come on now!\u201d Another minute went by. \u201cAdam, must I count to five?\u201d<\/p>\n

The threat worked; a small tousled form crept from the wagon, mumbling, \u201cMorning, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood morning, son. Go and wash your face in the creek, brush your teeth, and fetch some water.\u201d Ben handed his son the empty canteen. The boy shuffled in the direction of the creek. \u201cDon’t dawdle!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ten minutes passed by. Ben set the pot beside the fire; he didn\u2019t want to burn the remaining spoonfuls of stew. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he shouted \u201cAdam! I need the water. Come back!\u201d<\/p>\n

Surely the boy was playing at the creek. Of course Adam was only five but there was a time for everything. He could play in the wagon later but now they had to hurry. They couldn\u2019t drive in the heat of the noon, so making good use of the early morning hours was essential.<\/p>\n

Just as Ben was on the verge of going to look for his son the boy finally appeared, carelessly dropping the canteen next to his father.<\/p>\n

\u201cBe careful! It\u2019s very impolite to\u00a0cast<\/strong>\u00a0things at somebody\u2019s feet. Why didn\u2019t you come back?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I came!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t talk back. You know what I mean. Go and comb your hair while I finish our breakfast. And hurry!\u201d Ben gave his son a swat to spur him and the little boy ran to the wagon.<\/p>\n

Ben filled a bowl for Adam, making sure to include all the meat he could find, and handed it to the boy. Deciding to put some more water in his own portion, he swirled the canteen and upended it over the pot. A brown slurry of water and sand landed on top of the stew.<\/p>\n

\u201cDa\u2014arn, it, Adam, look. Now the food is ruined. You should know better than to scoop sand instead of clear water!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s too late to be sorry. You must learn to be more responsible!\u201d Ben spat angrily, before he emptied the pot\u2019s contents into the fire. Grabbing several canteens and a bucket, he headed for the creek himself. When he came back, he ignored the boy who sat motionless, eyes\u00a0cast<\/strong>\u00a0down, and untied the small brown mare to take her down and water her at the creek. Once again, when he came back, the boy was still in the same place, spoon in hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy don\u2019t you eat?\u201d Ben asked impatiently.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s too hot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNonsense, it can\u2019t be. Eat now, we want to leave.\u201d Why was the boy being so slow? Ben grumbled to himself. He packed away all their camp items, extinguished the fire, hitched the horse up. Finally he looked back at Adam. The boy still didn\u2019t seem to have moved.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow eat! Or I will feed you like a baby. One \u2026 two \u2026 three\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt hurts, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat small swat? It can\u2019t. Don\u2019t make such a fuss. Four \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe soup hurts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNonsense. Five.\u201d Ben grabbed for the spoon in the boy\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n

He winced when he brushed Adam\u2019s skin. He couldn\u2019t remember it ever seeming so hot. Alarmed, Ben felt at Adam\u2019s forehead, then his stomach. The boy was burning up. \u201cYou\u2019re sick, Adam. Why didn\u2019t you tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou didn\u2019t ask.\u201d The boy looked earnestly up to his father.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I didn\u2019t. I\u2019m sorry.\u201d Ben held the small boy close to him. \u201cDoes your throat hurt?\u201d<\/p>\n

The boy only nodded and snuggled deeper in his father\u2019s arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll put you to bed, son. You must be exhausted\u2014you need to rest.\u201d Ben grimaced as he spoke; it wasn\u2019t just rest Adam needed, but also something warm and soothing inside him; something like the hot milk with\u00a0honey<\/strong>\u00a0his own mother had always given him when he was sick.<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s nod was barely visible. He was already back asleep.<\/p>\n

The horse\u00a0drew<\/strong>\u00a0the wagon along the road again. As Ben sat on the coachman\u2019s seat, eating the last apple from the supply box, he listened for noises from the back of the wagon. He didn\u2019t want to miss his son waking up or needing fresh cold compresses. His son, the strongest link between his future and the past. \u201cElizabeth, forgive me. I was impatient and unfair to our son. I should have known there\u2019s something wrong with him. A mother would have seen he was sick! Please look down for us. I want to keep my promise and fulfil our dream, but please help me to do it the right way! Please guide me, for our son\u2019s sake!\u201d<\/p>\n

When two hours later he came to a sign, \u201cGalesburg 5 miles,\u201d Ben smiled. They would arrive that afternoon and he suddenly felt sure he was on the right path.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/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

<\/div>\n

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

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

Summary: \u00a0WHB Inger My Love \u00a0Even Ben wasn\u00b4t always the perfect father.<\/p>\n

Rated:\u00a0K \u00a0WC 1250<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":38606,"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":[1016,39,23,41,30,40],"tags":[14,15],"class_list":["post-7338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adam-pa","category-chaps-spurs","category-drama","category-hurtcomfort","category-prequels","category-challenges","tag-adam-cartwright","tag-ben","wpcat-1016-id","wpcat-39-id","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-41-id","wpcat-30-id","wpcat-40-id"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":1751,"today_views":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Young-Adam-and-Ben-Journey-to-Remember.jpg?fit=537%2C355&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15649,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=15649","url_meta":{"origin":7338,"position":0},"title":"Every Day Is a New Day (by Hart4Ben)","author":"Hart4Ben","date":"February 29, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: A brief window into the Cartwright family if Inger had lived. 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This story was originally published in the Bonanza 2009 Friendship Convention Anthology. 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