The Importance of Family

Disclaimer: I don't own Bonanza, not making any money, just cheap thrills.

Warnings: Angst

Rating: FRT

The Importance of Family
Chapter 6


He jerked, coming awake with a start. Where was he? What...it all came rushing back, drawing a gasp from his dry throat.

"Easy son, you're gonna be okay," Ben soothed. Joe waking like that, had caught him off guard and it took him a second to register the fearful confusion on the face of his youngest.

"Dad? Told him...you'd come," Joe smiled.

Ben automatically glanced around the area, searching for signs of the man Joe spoke of. Seeing nobody, his focus quickly returned to his son, "Told who son?"

"Don't know," Joe replied. "Stayed in the shadows," he rasped past dry lips.

"What did he say Joe?"

Blinking his eyes, he tried to remember, to make sense of his confusing memories. "Said you didn't love me...wouldn't come," Joe finally, uncertainly, replied. "He left...I was alone..." he trailed off; it was becoming too hard to talk.

Ben felt his anger rising, wrapping around him like a living thing and threatening to choke him with its strength. Somebody had stood by and watched his son lie here in pain, but instead of offering help he had offered taunts. He wondered for a moment if perhaps there was more to Joe's injuries than a simple accident. Before he could follow that thought, Joe spoke, dragging his attention back to where it rightfully belonged. Even as he focused on his boy, he made a mental note to have Adam and Hoss look for tracks or signs of more than an accident having occurred here.

"Dad? Could I...thirsty," Joe rasped, interrupting his father's thoughts.

"I'm sorry son, I can't give you anything yet, you may have internal injuries," Ben sadly explained. He hated to deny his child the relief of a small drink, but he knew that it could cause more harm than good if Joe was busted up inside. Before anything else could be said, the others returned with the rescue crew, a backboard and a stokes basket. Reluctantly he stood up and backed away, giving the rescue team room to work.

"Dad," Joe called out, "don't leave...please" he begged, his voice thick with the fear of being abandoned.

Ben stepped forward, moving as close as he could without being in the way. "Calm down son, I'm right here," Ben quickly soothed. "You let these men take care of you," he gruffly ordered. It always amazed him how quickly Joe would calm just by hearing his voice. Not like Adam, who when sick or hurt had to see his father before he would calm, as if his sight were the only sense he could trust; nor Hoss, who needed a touch on his arm or hand before he was reassured that his father was nearby, watching over him. Only Joe had ever responded so quickly to nothing more than his voice and no matter how many times he saw the effect, it still took him by surprise.

“Joe said somebody was here,” he informed his older boys as he joined them.

Adam arched an eyebrow, “Did this somebody go for help?” It was the only explanation he could think of to explain why they had found Joe lying alone and injured.

Ben shook his head, “Joe said the man stayed in the shadows. He was taunting him, telling him we didn't love him, that we wouldn't come for him,” Ben explained, nearly growling the last.

“He what?” Hoss asked, his face already turning red. “I'm gonna pound him,” he vowed. “I'm gonna find him and...”

“Calm down Hoss,” Adam soothed, placing a supportive hand on his brother's broad shoulder.

Hoss turned his formidable anger on his oldest brother, if he couldn't beat the person who had hurt Joe, then he could hurt the one who wanted to stop him. “Calm down? I ain't gonna calm down until I make sure whoever hurt Joe pays for it. You gonna help me, or you gonna stand here being logical?” he nearly snarled the question.

Adam blew out an exasperated breath, “I'm not saying we shouldn't find this man Hoss, or that he shouldn't be taught a lesson, but we won't get anywhere going off half-cocked.”

Ben listened with half an ear to the argument between his sons, it was a familiar argument, though usually it was between Adam and Joe. He knew, from past experience that they would work it out in a few minutes. It was only that they both needed to work through their feelings about what had happened to their brother before they could focus on the job at hand. Seeing that the rescue team was ready to take Joe up the embankment, he turned to his older sons. “I'm going with Joe in the chopper,” he told them. “You boys look around here, see if you can find anything to tell us who was here with your brother or what happened.”

“If there's anything here, we'll find it,” Adam assured him. “Tell Joe we'll be there as soon as we can.”

Hoss nodded, “Take care of short-shanks Dad, we'll take care of this.” He watched as his brother was carried up the embankment, his father only a few feet away, his eyes never leaving Joe's face as he made his way up the hill.

“Sorry.”

Adam smiled as they simultaneously tried to apologize, he was rewarded with a glimpse of his brother's infectious grin, before Hoss turned serious. “Right, why don't you check up on the trail, see if you can find anything that would point to this being anything but an accident. I'll look around down here, see if I can find our mystery man's tracks.”

“You got it,” Hoss nodded. “Adam,” he called from the base of the small hill.

“Yeah?”

“Why would anybody want to hurt Joe?”

Adam sighed, “I don't know Hoss, we'll just have to ask the bastard when we find him.”

Hoss nodded, his face grim, “That we will big brother, that we will.”


The flight to the hospital was one of the longest in Ben's life. It was torture to sit by, helplessly watching as his youngest struggled through the pain of his injuries, his breathing labored. He knew the biggest concern, for now, was spinal cord damage. He prayed that Joe would escape this accident, if it was an accident, with nothing more than bumps, bruises and the leg he suspected was broken. Finally they arrived at the hospital, the medics loading Joe onto a gurney and whisking him away before Ben could climb from the chopper.

“Is he your son?”

Ben startled, glancing to the side, he took in the kind looking woman standing there. “He's my youngest,” he told her as they stepped into the elevator that had already taken Joe down. Ben stared helplessly at the buttons, “I don't even know which floor.”

“I do,” the woman spoke, pressing the correct button as she did. “They'll take good care of him Mr....”

“Cartwright, Ben Cartwright,” he supplied.

“Doris Landry,” she offered with a smile. “I volunteer here at the hospital, I see these people working to save lives everyday, your son couldn't be in better hands.”

“Thank you Mrs. Landry.”

“Please call me Doris.” From the corner of her eye she watched Ben, alert for any signs of impending breakdown. She didn't expect to find any, he seemed like a strong man, the type that wouldn't easily break. Her job would be a bit easier this time then. When she had begun volunteering at the hospital, she had never expected to be asked to work the escort duty for the chopper. It was seldom easy. Those who came by chopper were usually among the most seriously injured, though not always, sometimes it was just a matter of their location being easier to reach by air. Yet, serious injuries were the most common reason for air transport and the family members along for the ride were usually a sobbing mess or so deeply in shock you could barely get them to move under their own power. Which was where she came in. The doctors and nurses needed to focus on the patient, the chopper pilot on his machine, leaving nobody to help the able-bodied to navigate the corridors of the hospital.

Ben was grateful for Doris' presence. He didn't know why she had been on the roof, but he knew it was a good thing she had been. He wouldn't even have known what floor the emergency room was on, or if, indeed, that was where they were going. They could have taken Joe to surgery for all he was aware. Doris stayed with him until he was seated in the waiting room, a cup of coffee in his hand and assurances that his son would be alright, he'd see, ringing in his ears.

“For Joe Cartwright?”

In a few long strides, Ben was standing in front of the middle-aged, balding man who had called Joe's name. “I'm his father, how is he doctor?”

“I'm Dr. Moore,” he introduced himself. “Your son has a good chance Mr. Cartwright, but there is some internal bleeding and he's being prepped for surgery now. From what our tests show, the bleeding isn't too severe, but of course it does need to be stopped.” Here he paused, giving the worried father a chance to ask any questions he had. With none forthcoming, he continued. “Luckily, while his leg is broken, it's a simple break and will require nothing more than a simple cast.”

“Can I see him before you take him up for surgery?”

“I'm sorry Mr. Cartwright, there won't be time. While the bleeding doesn't appear too serious, a delay wouldn't be good and should be avoided.”

“I see, then shouldn't you be in there getting ready?” Ben asked in a somewhat dangerous tone.

“No sir, I won't be performing the procedure, Dr. Simms will be handling that. He is an excellent vascular surgeon, your son couldn't be in better hands,” he assured the worried father.

“Is there anything else I should know, papers I need to sign?”

“There are consent forms, yes, I have them right here,” Dr. Moore replied, holding out the clipboard he carried. “There is also the matter of his back...” He grabbed the suddenly pale man's arm, “Mr. Cartwright, are you okay?”

Ben nodded numbly, “His back?” he managed to ask. Dear God don't let him be paralyzed, he silently prayed. His youngest was a very active young man, all of his boys were, but Joe, it seemed was always on the go. How would he cope if he was left paralyzed from his accident?

“There is some swelling around his spinal cord and an absence of certain reflexive responses in the lower extremities.”

“Dr. Moore are you telling me that my son is paralyzed?” Ben demanded, cutting to the chase.

The doctor sighed, “For the moment, but it could be due to nothing more than the swelling. It isn't necessarily permanent at this point.”

“But it could be?” Ben pushed. He had to know what they were facing if they were to help Joe through this.

“Yes sir, he could be,” the doctor reluctantly confirmed. He wished he could tell the man that there was a good chance the paralysis was temporary, but he had learned early in his career not to offer what could be false hope. It was, in the long run, more cruel than withholding such hope until more conclusive tests could be performed. “You can wait in the surgical waiting room on the third floor, Dr. Simms will find you there after the surgery.”

Ben nodded, “Thank you doctor. How long do you think the surgery will take?” he asked. He was wondering if he should wait for Adam and Hoss to join him here or ask the nurse to send them up to the surgical waiting room when they arrived.

“That's difficult to say Mr. Cartwright, it could be anywhere from a couple of hours to six or seven. I doubt it will take longer than that.”

Ben acknowledged the information and headed for the nurses' station. He would head to the third floor now, rather than risk missing the doctor. Adam and Hoss should be able to find him, but to make sure he took a moment to tell the nurse where he would be, asking her to give them the information when they came in.

That was where Adam and Hoss found him three hours later, holding a picture of Marie and Joe. Both young men felt their hearts stop as a tear fell from their father's eye onto the picture of their baby brother.

TBC