The Importance of Family

Disclaimer: I don't own Bonanza, not making any money, just cheap thrills.
Warnings: Angst, AU
Rating: FRT
The Importance of Family
Chapter 4
"What do you boys have planned for today?" Ben asked as they sat down to breakfast.
Adam looked up from his cup of coffee, "I've got a meeting with Mr. Phelps."
Ben frowned, "Any luck getting permission to cross his land?"
"Not yet," Adam sighed. "I think, though, after I give him our proposal today he'll be willing to let us use that trail."
"What are we gonna do if he won't?" Hoss asked.
Adam shook his head, "We'll have to use the ridge trail to get to the falls."
"That's going to limit who we could take to the falls," Joe put in.
Ben nodded, Joe was right, the ridge trail was too dangerous for any but the most experienced riders to use. "If he doesn't agree I want you to go see Mr. Simmons and have him come up with a waiver for any guests who want to go to the falls."
Adam smiled, as usual his father and he were thinking along the same lines. "Already planned to Dad."
"What's Phelps problem anyway?" Joe asked.
"He's worried that our guests will damage his property."
Joe shot his brother an incredulous look, "You're kidding?"
"Nope," Adam smirked. "Ah Joe, you know how these city guys are. They buy a place up here, dreaming about getting away from all the noise and people in the city. Then they find out, that even up here you have to consider your neighbors and work with them, it's hard for them to accept. I will give Phelps this much, with the way some of our guests have behaved in the past, his worries aren't completely unfounded."
Joe reluctantly nodded, "I guess so. Still, it's not like they're going to burn down buildings or anything."
"No, but they do leave litter behind." Smiling softly, Adam lifted his cup and took a sip. "I'm sure once I assure Mr. Phelps that we won't let any guest use that trail without one of us along to make sure there's no trouble, he'll let us use the trail just like the Petersons did."
Any reply Joe might have given was interrupted by a knock on the door. Being nearest to the entry, he stood up and walked the short distance to it, pulling the solid wood door open. "Mr. Bowers," he curtly greeted the older man. "What can we do for you?"
Mike took a deep breath, damn, but he hated apologizing. "Actually Joseph I came to apologize to you," he quietly replied.
Ben stood up and joined Joe at the door, "Mr. Bowers, come in," he invited the other man.
"Thank you Mr. Cartwright," Mike acknowledged the older man. "As I was just telling your son, I came to apologize to him and to you too for that matter."
Ben's eyebrow went up, "Oh?"
"Yes sir, I waited up for Sarah last night. Seems my daughter made a fool of us both," he added, turning to Joe.
Joe nodded.
"I'm sorry for the things I said last night and for the trouble my daughter caused."
"Apology accepted," Joe responded, at the same time as his father. Taking the hand the older man offered, he shook it, glad there had been no serious trouble from the night before.
"Well, that was all I came for," Mike uncomfortably continued. "I'll be recommending your place to my friends Mr. Cartwright," he assured Ben, shaking his hand before he left the house.
With a smile, Ben clapped Joe on the back, steering him back to the table. "Can't a man eat in peace," he mildly grumbled as the phone rang before he could sit down. "Good morning, Ponderosa Outfitters."
"Hello Ben," a familiar voice greeted him.
Ben smiled broadly, instantly recognizing the voice of his old friend. "Jason, how have you been?"
"I've been good Ben, how are you and the boys?"
"Oh, we're all doing well."
Jason smiled, his blue eyes twinkling. "The place keeping you busy?"
"Most of the time, we only have a couple of guests at the moment though."
"So you won't have any trouble putting me up for a week or so?"
Ben laughed, "You know we always have room for you old friend."
"Glad to hear it Ben," Jason smiled, giving an exaggerated sigh of relief.
Ben chuckled good-naturedly, "When will you be here?"
"Next week all right?"
"That'll be fine Jason, it'll be good to see you."
"Right back at you Ben," Jason returned. "Well I'll let you go now, see you next week."
"See you then Jason, bye."
"Jason Lewis?" Adam asked when Ben joined them at the table.
Ben nodded, "He'll be here next week."
Adam smiled, "It'll be good to see him again."
"It's sure been a long time since Mr. Lewis came for a visit," Hoss observed.
Ben smiled, "Seven years." Helping himself to a couple of pancakes and some sausages, he began to eat. As conversation flowed around him, he paid no attention, his mind on the impending visit of his friend.
The past week had been busier than usual, given the number of guests they currently had, but it hadn't helped Joe any. In spite of dropping into bed each night, exhausted from a day of catching up with various chores or escorting the Millers, their two remaining guests on outings, he continued to experience the same strange dream. Joe'd had strange dreams before, of course, but he'd never had one that continued each night. That was just what it did too, continued, not repeated. Each night he would find himself, sometime after falling asleep, back in that hallway filled with doors, but the memories behind those doors changed each night as did whether or not his brothers were there. Joe sighed heavily, the only two things that stayed the same every time was the long hallway filled with doors and the haunting tune that he could never identify.
It was steadily getting worse, the tune now following him into his waking world. He didn't know how much longer he could handle this. He'd never been known for his patience and these cryptic dreams that wouldn't leave him alone, even for one night and only seemed to be growing worse, were stretching what little patience he possessed to its limits. Backing his dirt bike out of its spot in the small shed, which sat next to the garage, he prepared to get away from the house for a while and blow off some much needed steam.
Hoss came around the corner of the garage, his eyes widening in surprise at the sight he beheld. "Where ya going shortshanks?"
"Going for a ride, what's it look like?" Joe snapped.
Taken aback by the irritated tone of Joe's voice, he nevertheless plowed ahead. "I can't let you do that little brother..."
Joe whirled on him, his eyes flashing with anger as he stalked the few steps between them until he was standing toe to toe with his giant of a brother. "Let me?" he asked, his voice holding a dangerous tone that would make anybody listening think that of the two of them, he was the bigger threat, in spite of the size difference.
Hoss, usually the gentlest of men, saw red. He didn't know what was bothering Joe exactly, though he had a good idea that he felt the need to prove himself, but he'd had all he was going to take of being snapped at. "That's right Little Joe, let you," his own voice taking on a hard, dangerous edge. "I need your help fixing some fence. Maybe, if you get the work done early enough, you can go for a ride then." Clamping a large, meaty hand on the smaller man's shoulder, Hoss began to steer him towards the pick-up they'd be using to get to the fence section in need of repair. He wasn't prepared for the sudden twist of his little brother's body as he quickly escaped his hold. Hoss turned to grab Joe, but he wasn't fast enough; before he could take more than two steps, Joe was on his bike, kicking the engine to life. The bike was quickly in gear and roaring away from the ranch, leaving Hoss to scratch his head in puzzlement and concern.
"Did I just hear a dirt bike?" Adam asked as he joined him a moment later.
"Yeah," Hoss absently replied.
Adam shot a speculative look in the direction of the riding trails, "Joe?"
Hoss nodded, "I don't know what's got into him Adam."
"I don't either Hoss, but I plan to put a stop to it."
Hoss sighed, it was never a good sign when Adam got that tone, especially if it concerned Joe. "Now Adam, don't you think we should let Dad handle it?"
Adam shook his head, "How? All he's been doing is letting Joe have his head without even trying to rein him in."
"He's not a horse," Hoss immediately protested. He never liked it when Adam seemed to forget that Joe was his brother, not his son, and he sure as hell wasn't a piece of horseflesh in need of taming. For a smart man, Adam sure could be stupid sometimes and he told him as much.
"Stupid?" Adam bristled. "That's rich coming from a man that barely finished high school."
Hoss glowered at his brother. "There's more to being smart than knowing facts and figures big brother, it's about time you figured that out for yourself." Turning on his bootheel, he stalked off in search of their father. He hoped the older man would be able to come up with some way to help Joe with whatever was bothering him.
Joe rode away from the main ranch house as if a thousand demons were chasing after him. As he rode, the haunting tune from his dreams began to play in his mind. After the incident with Sarah Bowers, he'd been successfully clamping down on the urge to take crazy risks or act the playboy. Then the dreams had started, each one becoming stranger and more disturbing than the last, until he felt as if he were walking on the knife edge of discovery. The question was, did he want to discover whatever his dreams were trying to tell him or would it be better to shove the dream back under whatever rock had been hiding it? He had no idea what the dream was about, or where the tune came from; what he did know, was that the dreams had him on edge, renewing his urge for risk-taking and playboy behavior.
Distracted by his thoughts, Joe didn't see the newly fallen tree across the trail until it was too late. Turning the dirtbike sideways, his front tire hit the tree at a slight angle so that he wasn't thrown quite as hard as he would have been. The thud of a body hitting the hard, unforgiving, earth was followed by a cry of pain that rent the air, disturbing the animals for a mile around.
Joe blinked his eyes open, sometime later, moaning in pain. What happened? he asked himself. How did I get here? Shifting slightly, flames of pain licked at his back, bringing with them memories of the accident he'd had. "Damned idiot," he cursed himself as he quickly fell back into the waiting darkness.
TBC