Chapter Text
Normally, it was Hoss who brought home strays to the Ponderosa. This time, however, Little Joe was fairly certain he would be the one to have the questionable honor of doing it.
The cabin, the supposedly empty cabin, where he had planned to stay for the night on his way back home, was very much Not. Empty, that is.
Though, how the man occupying its single cot had gotten there remained a mystery, as there were no sings of a horse, and the man himself was clearly in no shape to have been walking to this rather remote place in the wilderness. A hand on his brow had confirmed the fever, which had painted his face and clothes with cold sweat.
Little Joe used some choice words that he was glad his Pa wasn't around to hear.
"Guess I'm gonna miss Mary-Anne's birthday party after all. But I can't just leave you here, now can I?" he muttered to the unconscious man, who didn't answer back, unless you call more sweating an answer.
Having seen his fair share of illness in his days, Little Joe took upon himself the rather tedious work of checking the man over for any infected wounds that may have caused the fever. But other than a myriad of old, healed over wounds that had left some rather weird looking scars, the guy seemed to be whole and healthy. Well, apart from the fever, of course.
"Right, well. I'm gonna fetch some water. Try'na get that fever of yours down. You just stay there, mister", Little Joe said, a bit awkwardly, to the unhearing occupant of the cot. As if the man could go anywhere when he wasn't even awake!
A short trip to the nearby brook later, the mysterious man was outfitted with a wet cloth over his brow, and several somewhat successful attempts from his caregiver to get some water inside him as well.
Thankfully, Little Joe was equipped for actual outdoor sleeping, so he simply found the least uncomfortable and drafty place on the floor when he finished up a brief evening meal, and fell asleep almost right on the spot once he lay down on his bedroll.
A loud crash woke him up the following morning.
"Ah, shit, sorry. Didn't mean to wake ya. I was just gonna get some water..." a deep, out of breath voice said.
Dragging a hand over his face, Little Joe blinked at the light from the morning sun, and took in the fallen jug of water and the clearly still feverish man sitting up in the bed, one arm leaning against the small table where the water had been before it decided to function as a wake up call for a poor, tired, law abiding citizen. The last part, Little Joe said in his head with a voice attempting to imitate his oldest brother.
He thought he had it down to a T.
Adam would have disagreed rather vehemently. Hoss would just have laughed.
Suddenly missing his older bothers, who would probably have known exactly how to take care of the whole situation, Little Joe got up to help the man pick up the jug, add some water into it, and drink without dropping it. He spotted the cloth next to the pillow, and put it on the table.
"Ahh, that's good. Sorry kiddo, I feel as if I'd been on a real bad trip, you know. Hands still a bit shaky," the man said, after laying back down and closing his eyes.
"I'm not a kid!" Little Joe bristled. "I'm almost nineteen!"
One eye peered open at him. "Sorry. Man."
It sounded suspiciously like Adam when he was humoring his youngest brother.
Deciding to be the greater man (he WAS a man, not a kid! ) Little Joe let the subject drop.
"How're ya feeling, mister? You look like you were caught in a stampede and then fell into a lake."
A lope-sided grin and two eyes that remained close accompanied his answer: "Add being run over by a car to that and you have it."
Frowning a bit at the possibly delirious ramblings, Little Joe dipped the now mostly dry cloth back into the water before putting it on the brow of the stranger.
"I'm heading out for a bit, shout if you need me," he said, picking up the bucket to refill it in the brook.
No answer, the man had fallen asleep again, it seemed.
"Didn't even get his name" Little Joe mused to Coochise when he walked past his loyal companion. "He better get better soon, or else Pa and the others are gonna have kittens when I'm late!"