The summary: Due to his weight, Hoss hurts Adam accidentally in a cart accident (pun not intended) and for the first time feels extremely bad about his own size. The
family is trying to help.

Hoss moved slightly, coming round for a short moment. He faintly recalled the cart falling down, Adam jumping, and himself, too... It caused dizziness to come over
him again. Another small movement - he felt something like a branch give way under him - somebody cried out in pain - Adam! Struggling for consciousness, he fell
into the darkness again.

***

Adam was suspended in a state between unconsciousness and full awareness. Dull pain came in waves, robbing him of breath. Once he cried out, as most extreme
pain shot through him; then a fit of coughing seized him, his lungs fighting for air against the crushing force. Something pressed hard against his chest; he gasped for
breath, coughing with effort. In this condition, he was just conscious enough to be cognisant of pain and a fairly elusive anxiety. What was this thing he should do so
promptly? Pain would not let him think, all that was left to him were his instincts.

***

Hoss opened his eyes with effort. He felt awfully sick. Nausea came suddenly and weakened him further. One usually felt better when the feeling left one, but in the
back of his mind Hoss gained a terrible certainty that under him there trembled a body. He realised that the moans intermixed into the almost ceaseless spasms of
coughing just beside his head had become audible some time ago. The deep voice could only belong to Adam. So... this body Hoss lay on top of, the body
trembling with every fit of cough, had to belong to his brother as well!

Hoss moved slightly, wanting to help his brother. Immediately, he heard a loud cry of pain, followed by gasping and a wheezing breath. His own head was so heavy,
and it was dark, and silent...

***

Adam would have gladly howled with the sudden pain waves; he just couldn’t get enough air into and enough room for his lungs. The specific sound and movement
of the pressure upon him led him to the conclusion Hoss was lying on his chest, and was sick. He must have been hurt in some way; he had to be taken care of! And
if he stayed there?... Adam felt he was suffocating in panic; Hoss was heavy enough to break all his bones that way, or simply make him choke to death! Between
coughing and moaning, he began whispering a repeated plea towards his brother.

***

Hoss realised at some point that the voice had been repeating the words over and over again ever since he gained the faintest awareness of reality. Eventually, he
came to an understanding of what he’d been hearing for so long.

"Hoss, wake up... I beg you, Hoss, wake up and get off me... wake up, Hoss, please... I can’t breathe... please get off me, Hoss, I beg you..."
Another fit of coughing shook the slender body under him, producing new cries and groans.
"Hoss, I beg you, I beseech you... please get off me..."

Hoss suddenly remembered the sickness which befell him earlier. He had to be careful with moving. Ever so slowly, inch by inch, second by second, stopping every
so often to catch his breath, with the greatest delicacy, and as carefully as possible, minding to avoid the proof of his sickness, he slipped off Adam. It would never
go in the other direction, it might have taken longer and Adam would have suffered greatly, as it was exactly this side that caused the most pain.

They both lay gasping for a while; Hoss anxious to stop the waves of nausea, Adam wanting to fill his lungs quickly with the life-giving oxygen. However, with greater
awareness of reality, the pain also grew stronger, cutting his arm into strips, inciting his stomach to revolt, exploding in his head, no longer undefined and dull, but
strong and very, very real.

He had to help Hoss, he knew that.

"Hoss...", he managed to whisper at last. "Hoss... how d’you feel?"

He heard his brother moving.

"Adam, are you all right?"

Why can’t that boy just answer a simple question!...

"Yeah... how d’you feel?... Nausea...? You’re... hurt?..."

"Bit nauseous, " Hoss admitted in a whisper. "And... how are you?"

Adam coughed, winced and moaned almost simultaneously. "Perfectly all right," he wheezed out, pain written all over his face. "Have a headache?"

"Yeah... You were moaning, Adam."

"Shut up," he gasped. "Any head injuries?..."

They were both lying on their back now. Hoss carefully touched his head in several places.

"A few bumps and bruises," he reported. "Are you injured, Adam?"

Adam concentrated. All right, he knew now where the pain came from.

"Something wrong with my arm... maybe just grew numb," he carefully turned his head to Hoss. "You may have a concussion, be careful with moving."

"Sure thing, Adam," now Hoss turned his head to face his brother. Adam’s right arm lay on his chest, it looked broken; his face was drawn and ashen from the pain
it must have been causing.

They had to get up the slope, to the road, where somebody would find them and help them get home. Hoss tried to get up, determined to get them up there. He was
the strong one.

---

"Why don’t you take me?", complained Joe. "Why Hoss?"

Adam shrugged his shoulders, annoyed at Joe’s persistence. "Because of his size and strength. Frankly speaking, I’m not going to do most of the job myself. With
Hoss, it will go quick and easy. Recently, we’ve had problems getting home because of a certain quarrel, remember? Without your company, Hoss is
problem-proof."

"You’re not being nice," Joe snorted.

"I am being sincere. You can’t have it both ways," Adam put his jacket on and nodded at Hoss. "Let’s go before our little brother here gets really mad at me."
In the door, he stopped for a moment and smiled almost apologetically.

"Next time, Joe."

---

"Hoss, don’t get up!", snapped Adam. "You have a concussion, stay where you are! Don’t expect me to drag you!"
Hoss persisted in trying when unexpectedly everything went black around him.

"Oh, boy," Adam puffed angrily. Slowly but with desperation he sat up, looked carefully around, still light-headed, and reached to Hoss.

***

Joe listened to the rain tapping on the roof, and absent-mindedly turned another page of the book.

"I’m sure glad I didn’t go with them," he noticed aloud. "Do you think they were on their way back?"

This question he directed towards his father, who was quietly reading. Ben shrugged his shoulders.

"I don’t really know, son. I suppose they might have been. Anyway, the supplies will get wet, and that’s bad. Hopefully, they won’t catch a cold or anything like
that."

For a moment Joe considered the situation his brothers were in, and shook his head. "Phew! As much as I hate to say that, I’m grateful to Adam for not taking me.

The fire here feels really good..."

He stretched his legs with a delighted expression. "I’d like to see them come back now, in the midst of rain...", he chuckled.

***

Adam was looking with certain interest at the rare sight: a wall of rain some 50 meters away. The cloud was apparently going to pass them, and so was the rain. It
seemed as though somebody had put a great windowpane between them and the rain. They were as dry as a bone.

He felt Hoss was shifting. "Don’t move, Hoss," he said weakly.

Hoss realised he was sitting under a tree more or less at the time he heard Adam speaking. His eldest brother was sitting next to him, resting his head on Hoss’
shoulder. "Don’t move," he repeated, coughing again.

Hoss raised his hand under the blanket to feel the fabric. It was the old blanket they used to put under the load of supplies. Adam wasn’t covered with it, however.
He wasn’t covered with anything. His arm was obviously broken, and strangely twisted, as Hoss observed. It looked as though it hadn’t been taken any care of.

"Adam, your arm’s broken."

Adam’s reaction was delayed.

"Maybe," he answered indifferently. "Are you warm?"

"I am, Adam, but somebody has to set your arm," noticed Hoss worriedly.

Adam sighed. "I suppose," he admitted strangely obediently. "I guess I need to take care of the shoulder first, it seems I’ve dislocated it while jumping out of the
cart."

Hoss looked down. The cart was crashed, but it had been closer before... they were now closer to the road. Hoss realised Adam had to drag him there.

"You carried me?", he asked in amazement.

Adam snorted.

"Not since you were seven."

He sat upright, carefully palpating his shoulder. "No pain in the chest?", he asked so as to reassure himself. Hoss was not the one to hide pain unnecessarily.

Hoss shook his head. "Nope, why?"

"From the fall," explained Adam, raising himself slowly and carefully stepping to Hoss’ left side. Once there, he sat down, holding his arm tightly above the elbow. "It
seems that you fell onto me, so the impact was lessened. Listen... hold my arm here, I have to put the shoulder back into shape. Just hold tightly."

From the way he swallowed Hoss concluded without much difficulty that Adam was indeed afraid to cause any further suffering to himself, his condition was bad
enough.

"Adam, let me do that," Hoss gently took hold of his brother’s arm and shoulder. "It’ll be a moment. Now... look at... why, look at the rain!", he was amazed at the
sight - but... it may absorb Adam just enough. "How come it rains so strangely?"

"Oh, well...", Adam sighed nervously. "It happens, you know, the cloud must reach to this place and no further, it simply... Aaah!" He twisted in pain in Hoss’ hands,
wheezing and gasping.

"It’s all right," Hoss caught him in his arms, careful not to touch the broken forearm, and stroked Adam’s face. "It’s all right, it’s popped back, the shoulder. It’ll hurt
you less now. It’s all right." It hurt him to know that his own hands inflicted such pain upon his brother, but there was no other way to decrease his suffering.

"O-kay," Adam managed to get out eventually between quick, short breaths. "It’s all right, it doesn’t hurt."
He calmed down slowly. For some time he lay there in Hoss’ arms, bringing his breathing under control, relishing the relief, be it partial, in his suffering.

Squinting at his brother’s concerned face, he admitted:

"All right, maybe it hurt a bit."

A faint smile assured Hoss that Adam remembered having some sense of humour.

"I have to set your arm," Hoss reminded his brother worriedly.

Adam winced. "Somebody will find us soon, let’s wait."

"They don’t expect us in the city," argued Hoss patiently. "And Pa won’t look for us in the rain, he’d rather expect us to wait in the city until it goes over."

A sigh was the only answer.

"Come on, Adam, I don’t like it either! Listen, I’ll get down for some splints..."

"No way!", Adam snapped at him. "I won’t let you get up, you’ll get sick or faint, I have no strength left to help you!"

He sat upright with certain difficulty.

"No protests, now," he said, more calmly. "I get you the splints, damn it, just don’t get up, you have a concussion to deal with."

‘Damning’ wasn’t a part of Adam’s usual vocabulary, but Hoss didn’t say a word. Adam was irritated enough, and in too much pain to get anymore upset. He
virtually crawled down to the cart and after a while brought something that could be used as splints.

"Happy?", he gasped, almost falling onto Hoss. "Got news - my wrist is sprained, you’ll have to set that, too."

Meeting Hoss’ gaze, he shrugged his left shoulder.

"I’m aching all over, and the whole arm is like in fire, I can’t know exactly what’s hurting."

He coughed and winced. "Maybe apart from my ribs. Some may be cracked, be careful with me," he smiled unconvincingly.

"Well, the arm must be set," Hoss touched the broken limb.

Adam bit his lip immediately. "Wait... wait."

He breathed deeply. "I appreciate your devotion and help... just... please, knock me out first," he asked. "I... just do that, Hoss."

Hoss looked at his brother’s ghastly, pain-filled face, raised his fist - Adam closed his eyes and ducked his head subconsciously - then hit; a quick, strong,
well-aimed hit. Adam collapsed without a sound.

Hoss carefully palpated the broken forearm, took a deep breath and pulled. Adam startled and moaned quietly but did not rouse. Hoss was actually glad to have hit
him that hard; otherwise, Adam would have jerked or at least shouted in pain. Now, Hoss quickly immobilised the arm and took care of the wrist. It was swollen
already, and did not look well. After bandaging the hand with his handkerchief, Hoss felt suddenly sick and had to abandon Adam for a moment.

Exhausted, he decided to lie down. Adam had made him sit for fear he’d choke if nauseous, Adam wouldn’t lift him enough to help; however, a lying position was
much better for somebody with concussion. Hoss pulled Adam gently to his chest, careful not to hurt him further, and anxious to keep an eye on him. He wrapped
the old blanket around them and then unbuttoned Adam’s shirt to palpate his chest; bruises were already to be seen, the greatest one where Adam’s arm had lain.
Some ribs may well have been cracked, as Adam had suggested.

Adam’s arm had lain on his chest...

"It seems that you fell onto me..."

"I’m aching all over..."

"I can’t breathe... I beg you..."

It was not a branch that broke...

Adam had shouted...

He coughed... moaned... couldn’t breathe...

"Hoss, I beg you, I beseech you... get off me..."
"... I can’t breathe..."

***

"They should be back by now," Ben looked up from the book. "The rain’s stopped some time ago."

"I’ll go outside, " offered Joe. "Maybe they’re coming just now."

Having opened the door, Joe froze for a moment; then he shouted, "Pa! Pa, the horses are back! They seem to have broken loose!"

He rushed to the animals, standing in front of the stable’s closed door. They were completely wet, and so were the parts of the cart they didn’t lose on their way.
They must have come back during the rain, which was heavy enough to drown out the sound of their hooves.

"Saddle your horse," ordered Ben in an instant. "They may need help, we have to find them quickly."

A few moments later they hurried down the road to Virginia City.

While they were on their way, the wet soil suddenly gave way to a dry, rather dusty ground. They stopped, amazed. It looked as though somebody had neatly cut
the line of rain in halves.

All of a sudden, there came a low whistling sound from among the trees. It was a song, actually the beginning of it. "Early one morning...", then it stopped. The next
moment, it guided them again, this time one verse longer.

"Don’t expect me to shout," Adam greeted them testily. "What kept you?"

"Adam," Ben kneeled beside them and looked at Hoss with anxiety. "Is he all right?"

"He has a concussion, he sleeps now," explained his eldest quietly. He was propping himself on the elbow; he spoke gently enough for Ben to notice he had
problems talking, and he did not look well.

"You’re pale, son," Ben gently turned Adam’s head so that he could see the left side of it. "What’s... that?!"

"Chloroform," mumbled Adam. "Hoss had to set my arm. It wouldn’t have been any easier if I shouted and writhed in pain, would it?"

"You’re injured? What happened?"

Adam patiently let his father and brother examine him while he was explaining, "I believe something broke near the wheel, so that it came off. We jumped out - I
think the horses broke loose - and we landed somewhere around here. Hoss has a concussion; I’ve dislocated my shoulder, broke the arm and sprained the wrist. I
may have cracked some ribs... Hoss had a fairly soft landing, he should be all right, maybe apart from the headache."

"I’ll get the cart up here, we can make a travois out of it," Joe got up from the ground and headed down the slope.

"I can ride," Adam sat up with Ben’s help. "I don’t know about Hoss, however. It’s maybe better he doesn’t try yet."

Hoss shifted and opened his eyes. "Adam... Pa?"

"Yes, they’ve found us," answered Adam gently. "We’ll be home in no time." He struggled out of the blanket. "I’ll help Joe."

"Stay where you are!", thundered Ben instantly. "Have you hurt your head, too?"

"Nope," answered Adam briefly. "But it sure feels like an oncoming headache."

"I hurt his head," Hoss answered almost immediately after Adam, who flapped his hand at that, "Whatever."

Ben puffed with annoyance, but refrained from any comments. Soon, they were on their way home.

***

Hop Sing muttered something in Cantonese and complained aloud to Ben, "Mr Hoss eat little, Mr Hoss get weak!"

Truly, Hoss had lost his enormous appetite lately, and seemed to be feeling unwell. Ben raised his eyes with a worried look. "What’s wrong, Hoss?’
The big man shifted uneasily. "Pa... could I stay home and help Adam? Joe’ll manage with the supplies..."

"I’ll manage," Adam answered instead of his father, taking the fork with his left hand. "Joe needs a problem deterrent and a hand with loading, and you’re just big
and strong enough."

"That’s just that," Hoss raised his voice suddenly. "I’m too big and too strong!"

He leaped up and rushed out. Bewildered, Adam looked at the chair knocked over by Hoss. "What’s got into him?"

"I’ll talk to him," offered Joe, up already.

"No, you harness the horses," decided Adam. "I’ll talk to him. Pa?", he excused himself with a nod and went outside. Hoss was standing on the porch, motionless,
with his back to the door.

Adam approached him slowly, touched his back and started to massage it gently. "What’s wrong, Hoss?", he asked, using his best ‘big caring brother’ tone.
Hoss startled at Adam’s voice, but otherwise didn’t react.

"Hoss," Adam made half a step closer. "You’ve lost appetite, you don’t want to go to town, you’re so much upset. I can see that something is wrong. What is it,
Hoss? You’re still unwell after the accident? Is your head hurting?"

Hoss turned abruptly.

"No," he said hoarsely. "My head’s all right. It’s here where it hurts," he hit his chest with a fist. "Why can’t YOU understand it?" With that, he turned and rushed to
the cart, leaving Adam astounded.

Hearing Ben approaching, Adam asked him with concern, "What has that to do with me? Why do I have to understand it so necessarily?"

Ben sighed heavily. "I don’t know, son, but I’m mightily worried."

"So am I," Adam winced suddenly. "Oh. Pa, may I help you with the ledgers a bit later? I guess I’ll lie down for a while. The doctor didn’t allow me a full day out of
bed yet..."

"You’re arm’s hurting?", Ben scanned the sling worriedly.

"Oh, I just need some rest," Adam smiled half-heartedly. "Maybe I’ll guess what’s troubling Hoss so much."

***

Joe slipped into Adam’s room quietly.

"What took you so long?", Adam put his book aside. "Well?"

Joe sat down with an upset look on his face. "He says he’s broken your arm, and sprained your wrist, and cracked your ribs - he finds himself guilty of everything, it
seems. He says he’s too big and too heavy."

Adam thought for a while. "Hoss landed upon me," he recalled. "Maybe that’s..."

... Once he cried out, as most extreme pain...

Adam looked up, eyes glittering with realisation.

"Now as I think of it, the arm may indeed have broken under him. I had some problems breathing... he may have noticed that. This must be exactly what’s on his
mind," he mused.

"What do we do?", Joe was very upset with Hoss’ odd behaviour. He hoped for Adam to find some solution to the problem; his own persuasions did not help much.

"We have to convince him of two things," answered Adam. "First, that we need him just as big and just as strong, second, that I’m fine. The second thing is easiest,
I’ll just show him how well my arm heals."

"And how to convince him?", doubted Joe. "I’ve tried already, nothing’s working."

Adam shook his head. "Give him time. Pa should assign to him the chores which require special strength, so that nobody else can do that so easily. I’ll see to that."

"He asked several times to stay home and help you," Joe reminded his brother. "Maybe you should allow him."

"Hm," Adam shifted on the bed. "I may use the opportunity to talk to him."

"You think it works? I’ve tried," Joe was sceptical.

"It will if instead of asking how he feels I’ll say that I worry, and that it makes me miserable. He’ll do anything to make me feel better, don’t you think?"

Joe grinned. "You sneaky thing, what do you teach your innocent youngest brother?"

"Gathering facts and logical thinking. Now, go find Pa and tell him everything. Oh, and tell him, I’d like to talk to him after supper. You think you can do that for me,
my busy hard-working kid brother?"

Joe stood proudly. "Now as you’ve acknowledged my duties and responsibilities, my lazing adult brother, I may be as kind as to grant your request."

"Mhm, do that," Adam had his nose in the book again. "And tell Hop Sing I won’t come down for dinner."

"Why?", Joe was surprised.

"Because," replied his brother briefly. "Go, go."

"Oh, er," Joe turned from the door with hesitation. "Should I bring you the dinner?"

"No," Adam turned a page slowly.

"Should Hoss?..."

"He well may," he smiled broadly over the book. "Now, weren’t you as kind as to go?"

Joe sent him his most brotherly grin.

"I run to do your bidding, sir."

"See that you do," said Adam, not troubling to raise his eyes. He only winced as the door slammed. Now, as to the tactics...

***

A shy knock on the door, then Hoss peered in.

"Will you... er... eat something?"

"Maybe," Adam raised his eyes indifferently, stiffly turning another page with his right hand. "Come in."

Hoss put the tray on the bed’s cover and sat down with a worried look on his face. "Adam, you look miserable. Is your arm any worse?"

"It’s healing best," Adam put the book aside. He did his best not to look fine. "But you’re right, I feel miserable, in truth."

"Can I help you in any way?", Hoss was indeed as eager to help as he was upset.

"Tell me, Hoss," Adam scanned his brother’s face, "do you feel well?"

Hoss gave him a sheepish and surprised look.
"Why do you ask that?"

"Do you, Hoss."

"No, Adam, I don’t!", Hoss shifted uncomfortably. "I hurt you so much, I damaged your arm so badly, I know you couldn’t breathe, you begged me to get off
you..."

"I don’t remember that," Adam interrupted him with annoyance. "But you do hurt me now. I cannot feel well if I know you blame yourself unnecessarily for the
accident; I can see how upset you are, you’ve lost appetite, you’re not yourself anymore - that hurts me, Hoss. I may be overprotective, I know that, I often treat
you like small children, but I helped raising you, and it hurts me to see you like that, just as it hurts Pa. You’re not only my younger brother, you’re my friend, Hoss.
Don’t treat me like that."

He looked worriedly at his brother.

"You know I’m not well yet," he continued. "Help me get well, Hoss, show me the strength I’ve always admired in you, and stop hurting me, please, stop."
Hoss’ gaze swam with tears. It was so different from Adam’s usual off-hand comments; he rarely revealed what he held within, and such revelations were the more
precious for that. Eventually, Hoss reached over to Adam and hugged him gently, careful not to hurt his arm.

"Oh, Adam, I’m so sorry I hurt you, but all my strength was only useful to knock you out then, and I should have helped you."
"Hoss," Adam patted his back gently, "hadn’t you set my arm, I would have suffered greatly. And thanks to you, I didn’t feel a thing. Remember that I asked you to
knock me out, and this was something I needed most then." He hugged him tighter with his good arm. "And if you give me what I need most, how can you blame
yourself?"

They remained like that for a short while. Then, Adam gently backed. "Would you mind if I have my dinner now?", he smiled most sweetly. "I guess I feel well
enough to be hungry."

Hoss, delirious with joy, hugged him once more and left. Adam felt indeed hungry, and tired; he wasn’t as well yet as he’d thought, but it was only a matter of time
now.

***

Several months passed since the accident, and Hoss seemed to have come back to his old self. They were just coming back home, all three Cartwright brothers,
after taking care of the supplies in certain points they used as shelters in case of heavy snow in the area.

Of course, Joe was the first one to think of some fun in the snow. "Hey," he turned to his brothers with dangerously bright looks. "I know a place in the forest where
we could hunt a little. It’s pretty close, I’ll see if there’s any hope for finding deer."

"Joseph, come back!", Adam shouted after him, but in vain. He turned to Hoss, "Wait here, I’ll get him back myself. It’s no use looking for each other in the
shadows, you know."

"Sure," Hoss slowed down, watching his other brother hurry. Hopefully, Joe wouldn’t do anything silly, in this snow it was easy to fall of the slipping horse or hurt
oneself due to one’s own slipping. At least, Hoss thought, there was nobody as heavy as to hurt him through falling itself. Oh, Adam had never blamed him for what
had happened, but deep within, Hoss held himself guilty of Adam’s injuries. So good he could use the arm as well as before! Hoss would have fain given his own
arms to him - arms that were just good enough to hit somebody instead of helping. Hoss shook his head in pain. It turned out so easy to hurt somebody, and so
difficult to help.

Suddenly, he thought he heard a cry of pain. Then a thud. A moment later, he heard his name being called; Adam sounded desperate.

The sight which welcomed him, was indeed frightful. Joe lay under a tree trunk, motionless, while Adam was trying to push it away. He would, obviously, not
manage.

"Hoss," he called out with relief. "Please help me, Joe’s leg is caught in an animal trap, I can’t just pull him from under there."

Hoss kneeled hurriedly beside. "How is he?"

"It’s just the leg, as it seems," Adam gasped, pushing with the greatest effort. "He fell deeper in the snow than the tree. Well, so he says."

"Hey, Hoss," whispered Joe with a faint smile.

"His leg’s bleeding some," continued Adam. "I told him not to move. We’d better hurry, he’s hurting; only you can move it, push as strongly as you can."

Hoss pushed without another word. The trunk moved slowly aside. Some thick branches cracked loudly.

"Guess the branches saved you," Adam tousled Joe’s curly hair. "The trunk rested on the thick ones which dug in the ground. Now, bite on it," he gave him his
closed penknife. "We’ll get you out."

"All right," Joe winked with as much smile as he could manage. "How bad is it?"

"Simple thing, don’t worry," Adam kissed his forehead. "Sorry if it hurts any. You’ll be free in no time, so just bite on it for a moment, good?"

"Right," mumbled Joe obediently.

Hoss already put the rifle’s barrel between the metal teeth. He placed himself with his back to Joe so that Joe couldn’t see his face. Adam was just as concerned, the
leg was bleeding heavily.

"Infection?", mouthed Hoss. Adam ignored it and ordered, "Now."

The metal jaws slowly parted. Just when the gap between them was big enough, Adam daringly put his hands in the trap and gently took hold of Joe’s leg. This way,
it would hurt the least and be the most comfortable for Joe. At last, Hoss quickly pulled the rifle away and the jaws snapped at the empty air.

"Go to him and hold him," Adam calmly began to clean the wound. "He needs you now." He quickly though carefully cut the shoe apart and made a makeshift
bandage out of his handkerchief. It seemed too little.

"Hoss, give me your handkerchief," he said, looking around. "What can I tie his leg up with, how do you think?"

Joe shifted in his brother’s arms. "Bleeding, huh?", he asked weakly.

"Nothing we can’t handle," Adam was careful to save his brother the sight of the little pool of blood around his leg. "Never heard the word ‘precaution’? Too difficult
for you, huh?"

Aware that Adam was joking, Joe smiled. "It’s not me who’s been in college, big brother."

"At last you’ve acquired some respect for elders," Adam grinned to him, tying quickly Hoss’ handkerchief. "It was a punishment for the disrespectful idea of throwing
snowballs at your eldest brother from hiding, think of it."

Joe reached aside, took some snow and threw feebly at Adam. "Get you next time."

"We’ll see who gets whom," Adam tightened his belt on Joe’s leg.

"Hey, that’s too hard," protested Joe with all his might, as little of it as he had. "The blood won’t get to the foot."

"It’s just as it should be," answered Adam with pretended sternness. "You won’t die of it. Now, Hoss will get you on Chubb, and I’ll take care of your horse."

Joe closed his eyes, resting his head on Hoss’ chest, and mumbled, "Just take good care of him."

"Never heard him complain."

Adam quickly sprinkled some snow at the blood to cover it, and hurried to the horses so as to get home quickest.

***

Paul Martin pulled the bed’s cover over the sleeping Joe and turned to his family who were waiting for him to speak up.

"Nothing broken," he announced. "You should only watch out for an infection, although I don’t expect any to show up. He should be fine soon, and he’ll be escaping
out of bed again."

Their relief was overtly visible. "Any painkillers, Paul?", Ben nodded towards the bed.

"Only the one I left, you’ll know how to use it."

"Thanks, Paul," Ben shook the doctor’s hand. "Would you like some coffee downstairs?"

"Sure, Ben," Paul smiled broadly. "I could do with some."

Adam and Hoss stayed upstairs for a little longer. On the corridor, Adam touched his brother’s arm gently. "Hoss... thank you."

Hoss looked at him, slightly surprised. "What for?"

"I wouldn’t have managed without you, I wasn’t strong enough." He hugged Hoss tightly, "Thank you, thank you for being there for Joe. I would never forgive
myself..."

"Oh, Adam," Hoss felt tears coming to his eyes, so he tried to change the subject to save Adam the moving scene. "I never thought you’re such a liar."

"What?", Adam seemed disoriented.

"Joe wasn’t aware of his state, he believed your every word and grin so much," noticed Hoss with his best imitation of a cheeky smile. "I’ll never believe you again, if
you tell me everything’s all right."

Adam looked at him with mock disdain. "You’re being disrespectful. That’s worth some spanking."

"Just try," Hoss rested his big hands on his hips. Once again, he felt good with his size. "I’m all yours, brother."

"I’ll be magnanimous this time," Adam headed towards the stairs. On the top of them, he turned and winked. "So good to have you."

***

At supper, Adam understood that the incident had helped Hoss to finally get over the depression, as no words could. It was enough to see his face, his smile and his
knife and fork. And the amounts of food he was stuffing into his stomach. Adam thought he himself would fall ill had he eaten half of it. He looked at Ben and they
smiled, Hop Sing almost beaming in his corner. They were indeed all happy to have the old Hoss back.

THE END


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