by J. Rosemary Moss
Genre: Slash Fan-Fiction (Bonanza)
Rating: PG-13
LINK TO PART ONE
~
David was being an impossible patient again. He was keeping his temper under control, but keeping him in bed was another matter. Adam was sorely tempted to tie him down.
Voicing that particular threat proved to be a mistake, however. David just raised his eyebrows at him and gave him a wolfish grin. "Now that has possibilities," he remarked.
Adam laughed. "When you’re better, perhaps."
David winked at him. "Do you know something? I think I like being in trouble with you."
Adam, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, reached out to him and pulled him into his arms—lifting him just enough so that he could give his backside a firm smack.
"Good thing, for your sake," Adam commented. "That was just a taste of what you’ll get once I can put you over my knee without worrying about jostling your shoulder."
But David was not in the least chagrined. "Promises, promises," he chided just before kissing Adam soundly.
The two men were both smiling in amusement as they broke apart—David especially. "We’re going to have some lovely fights, you and I," he said with a keen look of anticipation.
"I can tell," Adam agreed. "But you’re in enough trouble for getting out bed this morning—no need to make it any worse."
David put on his best mock-obedient look. "Oh, don’t worry. I’ll stay under the covers for now."
Adam opened his mouth to respond when he heard the door downstairs open and Little Joe call out to him. As he stood up he could hear Joe racing up the stairs.
Joe flung open the door to Adam’s room without bothering to knock and burst inside. "You two aren’t going to believe this," he said. "We’ve got Gregory Miller downstairs—he’s the one who shot you, David."
Adam watched David bolt up. He frowned at him and placed a restricting hand on his shoulder to keep him from getting out of bed. Then he turned to Little Joe.
"Start from the beginning," he told his little brother.
Joe nodded. "Miller approached me and Hoss at the Silver Dollar. He wants to make a deal—if we promise him amnesty and pay him off, he’ll testify that Ed Niles hired him to kill David."
Adam and David exchanged glances. Adam was the first to speak up. "Where’s Miller now?" he demanded.
"Right outside," Joe answered. "Don’t worry, Pa and Hoss have him under watch."
Adam relaxed a little. He glanced at David, whose face had grown thoughtful.
"If the amount of money he wants is reasonable, we ought to take the deal," he said. "I can afford up to about five grand."
"He’s asking for ten," Joe explained, "but that doesn’t matter. This’ll come out of the Ponderosa accounts."
"If we can be sure of him, I’d as soon give him the ten and not try to haggle," Adam agreed.
"Just a moment," David objected. "There’s no reason the Ponderosa should be paying to save my skin."
"Of course there is," Joe said. "You’re family, David. Even Pa recognizes that."
"Me taking ten thousand dollars of Ponderosa money isn’t going to help endear me to your Pa," David pointed out. "Besides, it’s not even a possibility. I won’t take it."
"Well, no one’s asking you," Joe retorted.
Adam tightened his grip on David’s shoulder to prevent him from exploding at Joe. "David," he said soothingly, "we’re willing to fork up the money only because we know how much you’re going to contribute to the Ponderosa. We’re assuming that she’ll become as much a part of your life as she is of ours."
That mollified David somewhat. He gave Adam a long, hard look and then grudgingly shrugged. "Very well," he agreed. "But I mean to pay back every cent. I’m not looking to be on Cartwright charity."
"Sop acting like an ungrateful ass—it’s not charity," Joe said, rolling his eyes. "It’s family looking after each other. We’re not looking for repayment, David. We all take money from the Ponderosa accounts in an emergency. Besides, if our situations were reversed, you’d do the same for one of us, wouldn’t you?"
David stared at Joe for a moment and then sighed as he considered his words. Adam felt him relax a little more.
"Yes, I would," he owned. "Sorry Joe—I didn’t mean to seem ungrateful. It’s just that, well, your Pa and I had a chat last night. It’s going to take some time for me to feel comfortable accepting this much help from him."
Adam looked down at David in surprise. He hadn’t realized that David and Pa had spoken at any great length with each other. He’d have to get that story from David later on.
Joe flashed David his most charming smile. "Don’t worry about it," he said. "I’m sure older brother here’ll take you take you to task for your lack of gratitude."
Now it was David’s turn to roll his eyes. "Does everyone in this family want to see me punished?"
"Hell yes," Joe said with an easy smile as he seated himself on the edge of the bed next to David. "I even heard Pa tell your mother last night that you could have used a good tanning or two growing up. But don’t worry—wanting to see you punished is just our way of saying we love you."
Adam grinned, waiting to see David’s reaction. Fortunately he took Joe’s words in good part. He smiled back and treated Joe to a brotherly punch with his good arm. Joe laughed and put his own arm gently around David’s shoulders, making sure not to jostle his wound. David accepted the friendly intimacy and looked back to Adam.
Adam felt himself sigh in relief—and not only because David was willing to accept the money. He was also relieved that Joe and David were on such good terms. They were really getting to be like brothers.
It was a funny thing, Adam reflected. For some reason, when it came to a potential partner of his, Adam had always worried more about Joe’s opinion than about Hoss’s or even Pa’s. It had always been most important to him that Joe like and approve of his choice.
It was hard to say why that was. Maybe it was because, despite all their arguments, Joe had always looked up to Adam. He was more than a little brother—he was almost a son to Adam as well.
That wasn’t surprising, was it? There were twelve years between Adam and Little Joe. And with Marie dead and the Ponderosa keeping Pa’s hands full, Adam had taken a significant role in raising Joe. He could remember teaching Joe how to ride, how to shoot and how to work out his math problems. And, of course, he could remember giving the boy a good spanking when he needed it or a good tanning when he got older. Hell, even now there were times when he would like to take Joe over his knee.
Adam had had a few parental moments with Hoss as well, but not nearly so many. Hoss was only six years younger, after all. Adam had never been quite as much an authority figure to Hoss as he had been to Joe. And Hoss had always been more self-sufficient than Joe—he’d never needed the constant supervision that Joe had required.
And so Adam and Hoss had grown up with an easy friendship that only occasionally exploded with brotherly wrath. But Adam and Joe—well, their fights and misunderstandings were legendary. And when Joe got to the age where he wanted to test his boundaries, challenge parental authority and generally make himself a pain in the arse, he had picked on Adam just as often as he had picked on Pa.
So maybe that was it. Adam had worried about Joe’s reaction to any potential spouse of his in the same way he would have worried about a son’s reaction to a potential step parent.
Adam almost shook his head at himself. How could he have ever thought about keeping his relationship with David a secret from Joe? That would never have been possible. Joe would have sniffed it out with the unerring nose of both a little brother and a son, even without his surprise visit to San Francisco.
He stared down at Joe and David, who were now discussing the possibility of legally pinning the attempted murder on Niles. Despite the grim subject, Adam couldn’t help but smile.
David must have made a deep impression on Joe back in San Francisco when the two men had their private chat. Joe had never looked at him with disgust or distaste again. Moreover, he had accepted both David and the relationship.
But maybe that wasn’t surprising either. Joe never did things by half measures—so when he decided to accept David, he had accepted him as a brother and as a friend of the heart.
And David had responded to that with equal warmth. Adam could see his genuine love and affection for Joe. He loved Joe not only as Adam’s little brother, but as a brother of his own. Not quite as a younger brother, though—and certainly not as an older brother. He seemed to regard Joe more as a fraternal twin and kindred spirit.
Adam would have to watch himself, he thought with a wry smile. He’d already seen the good-natured pranks these two were capable of when they put their heads together. If they ever decided to gang up on him, he’d have a real problem. It would be impossible to reason with both of them at once.
LINK TO PART 101
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