The New Hand, Part Ninety-Five

by J. Rosemary Moss

Genre: Slash Fan-Fiction (Bonanza)
Rating: PG-13

LINK TO PART ONE

~

David was sitting up in bed, staring out the window into the night. He had been reading one of Dickens’ novels, but he’d been doing that most of the day. He could wait until tomorrow to finish. Right now he just wanted to sulk at the fact that he was stuck in bed.

A knock at the door startled him. Despite his sulking, he forced himself to answer civilly. "Come in," he called out, expecting to see Abby or his mother.

But it was neither. Ben Cartwright opened the door.

David felt his mouth start to drop open, but he had enough presence of mind to wipe the shock off of his face. "Ah, good evening, sir," he managed.

"Good evening," Ben returned. "How are you feeling?"

David shrugged. "I’m doing well enough, sir. I thinking I’m more frustrated than anything else—I don’t like to be stuck in bed."

Ben smiled. "Your mother told me that you were always a horrible patient. Well, I can help keep you occupied for a little while: would you care for a game of chess?"

"I’d like that, sir," David agreed.

Ben nodded and left the room, presumably to fetch the board and pieces. David sighed and sank back into his pillows.

Why was Mr. Cartwright offering to spend time with him? David couldn’t fool himself into believing that the patriarch had any great fondness for him—he might have decided to accept the relationship between David and Adam, but that didn’t mean that he was happy about it. He wasn’t likely to adopt David as a son the way that Hoss and Joe had adopted him as a brother.

Which was fine with him, David reminded himself. He’d lived without a father in his life for this long—he certainly didn’t need to acquire one now. In fact, he’d always been glad that his own father took so little interest in him and lived so far away. An interested, concerned father could have proved quite inconvenient, considering David’s inclinations.

Well, maybe Mr. Cartwright was determined to get on with him for Adam’s sake. Or perhaps David’s mother had something to do with it. Either way, David decided not to squander this opportunity. He would stay on his best behavior for the duration of Ben’s visit.

Of course, being on his best behavior didn’t include throwing the chess game, he reminded himself with a wry smile.

At length Mr. Cartwright returned. He repositioned a small table by the bed, drew up a chair and then they set up the chess board together. When they determined who would start the game, David ended up with the black pieces. He cocked his head at Adam’s father, waiting for him to make the first move.

LINK TO PART NINETY-SIX