The New Hand, Part Ninety-Three

by J. Rosemary Moss

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

LINK TO PART ONE

~

Little Joe put on his hat, his jacket and his gun belt as he prepared to relieve one of the hands from guard duty. Standing outside, keeping watch in the middle of the night was not his idea of a fun time, but they had to make sure that Niles didn’t send someone after David again.

As Little Joe was preparing himself, Hoss walked out of the kitchen, munching on an apple. He nodded at Joe and walked over toward him to fetch his own gun belt and hat—he’d be keeping watch as well, as would Adam.

"Where’s older brother?" Hoss inquired.

"Upstairs with David," Joe answered as he fastened his gun belt. "Did you know that Pa knows about them?"

Joe had the satisfaction of watching Hoss’s eye nearly pop out of his head. "Pa knows?" Hoss demanded.

Joe nodded. "Yeah—since yesterday. Good thing that David had enough sense to get shot and nearly die. Under the circumstances, Pa couldn’t really despise him and he certainly couldn’t tear into Adam. I’m not saying that Pa’s thrilled, mind. But as long as those two don’t flaunt anything in his face, I think things will be ok."

"Well, David’s got good timing—I’ll give him that," Hoss owned. "He sure picked the right time to get shot. But I’m glad he’s going to be ok. I’m kind of getting used to him, even though I still think that he’s got a devious streak."

"He does," Joe agreed. "But don’t worry—Adam’s got him well in hand. He’ll make sure that David walks the line. But speaking of devious streaks, we’ve got to do something about Niles."

He paused and thought about how serious this was. David’s life was at stake, after all. "Me and Adam were talking," he said at length. "We have to make Niles see that David is one of us now. If Niles comes after David, he’s coming after all of us."

Hoss narrowed his eyes at him. "What do you have in mind?"

Joe gave his big brother a level look. He had to play his hand carefully here, in order to convince Hoss to follow along. It would probably be a good idea to keep his cards close to his vest.

"I have an idea," he admitted. "But it’s going to require you and me to go to San Francisco. Adam should stay here—after all, David hasn’t really recovered yet. Besides, the Ponderosa might need his gun."

"Joe, what do you see us doing in San Francisco?" Hoss demanded.

"We’re going to go talk with Niles," he answered. "I think I know how to get him to see reason—but I need to get to San Francisco first and check on a couple of things to be sure we can pull it off. And I’m going to need your help."

He watched his big brother furrow his brow. "I wish we could go after this Niles fellow legally," Hoss said. "I wish we could haul him before a judge."

"So do I," Joe assured him, "but even if Roy finds out who shot David, I doubt we’ll be able to link it to Niles. Now will you come with me?"

Hoss nodded. "Yeah, I’ll come. Do you want to tell Pa or should I?"

"I’ll go for the direct assault on Pa—you just be ready to back me up."

Hoss smiled grimly. "Knowing Pa, I reckon you’re going to need that back up."

LINK TO PART NINETY-FOUR