Hey, guys; I'm back! Here what little I could do while taking freshman nursing classes.

(For those planning on a carreer in nursing, those were really tough.)

Chapter 11

The next morning, Tharyn came bouncing down the stairs for breakfast. She was wearing the green dress and was wearing her hair like Ben had showed her again. Ben, Adam, Hoss, and Joe were in the dining room waiting.

"You seem happy about something." Ben commented when he saw her big grin.

"I am happy!" she laughed and put her hands on her hips. "I'm getting a family!" Ben and the boys laughed.

"How did you sleep?" asked Ben. "I did hear a peep all night."

"That's the other reason I'm happy this morning; I didn't have a single nightmare last night!" Tharyn said.

"That's wonderful!" said Ben as Adam, Hoss, Joe agreed.

"I hope this means that I won't have any more nightmares at all." Said Tharyn.

"So do I." replied Ben. "Well, after breakfast, you boys could go and get the team and wagon ready, we'll go and talk to the sheriff about adopting Tharyn." To this they all cheered and quickly finished their breakfasts so they could get going sooner.

Once in town, they went to Sheriff Coffee's office.

"Well, howdy Ben! I see you brought the boys with you." He said as he shook their hands. "And your young house guest. How are you, miss?" he offered Tharyn his had as well.

"Well, thank you." She replied with a bright smile.

"I see staying at the Ponderosa as done you some good. Before, you were hardly grinning, and now your lighting up the room!" Sheriff Coffee smiled.

"Thank you, sir." Said Tharyn shyly.

"Well what can I do for you folks?" asked the sheriff.

"Well, Sheriff, my sons and I would like to adopt Tharyn as a member of the family." Said Ben.

"Oh!" The sheriff said. "That's what all the big smiles are about. Well, I can help you with the petition, but only a judge can sign off on it and actually make it all official."

"Well then, let's start on the petition!" said Ben. It took a couple of hours for them to figure out and sign the paperwork. It was a little more complicated since Tharyn was eighteen and had to give her consent to be adopted since she was legally an adult. However, they had most of the difficult paperwork done by one 'o' clock.

"Well, the afternoon is getting on. Why don't you go and have lunch." Said Sheriff Coffee. "We can finish this up afterward or even another day. The judge won't be here for another week."

"Thank you, Sheriff." Replied Ben. "This really means a lot to us."

"Indeed it does." Said Adam as he shook the sheriff's hand. Hoss and Joes shook the sheriff's hand and said their goodbyes as well.

"Thank you, Sheriff." Said Tharyn as she took Ben's arm.

"Your very welcome, little lady." He replied. Tharyn smiled and let Ben lead her out of the office and onto the boardwalk.

"Well, how does lunch at the hotel sound?" Ben asked. He received a cheer of approval from Hoss, at which everyone else burst out laughing. After a leisurely lunch at the hotel restaurant, they headed back to where the wagon and horses were tied up, and passed by the general store. Tharyn glanced at the window, and saw one of the prettiest dresses she had ever seen on a manakin in the window. It was cobalt blue with a white, viney floral pattern. There was a wide ruffle of white islet lace like a collar on the round neckline. The straight sleeves came to the elbow and had a wide ruffle of white lace too. The big ruffle at the hem had lace as well.

"How lovely." She whispered to herself. She didn't dare hope for such a nice dress; she would almost be afraid to wear something that fine. However, her glaze did not go unnoticed by Adam who walked just behind her.

"Well, you boys, head back to the Ponderosa and get started on our chores. I see I can finish up this paperwork with the sheriff." Said Ben when they reached the horses tied up outside the sheriff's office. Adam, Joe, and Hoss nodded and said good-bye as Ben and Tharyn reentered the office. Luckily, there wasn't too much left to do, and Ben and Tharyn were able head back to the Ponderosa.

Chapter 12

"Seamus, I'm telling you she's gone." Said Sean. "She wasn't here when I got here." Sean's older brother Seamus had just got back from their rounds of stagecoach robbing. When He came home to find their "sister" missing, he was furious.

"Then where is she?" he yelled.

"I thought I saw her riding with someone in a pasture down below the foothills."

"You thought you saw her?"

"Well, she was quite a distance away, and she was riding, but it looked like her." Replied Sean.

"I guess we'll just have to ride down there and find out if it is her." Said Seamus.

"Do we have to?" asked Sean. "I mean, she looked so happy there were she is. Ma would want her to be happy, and I haven't seen her smile in I don't know how long."

"Are you forgetting? She knows where we are! She could tell a sheriff or marshall were we are. Do you want that?" Seamus answered. "We have to bring her back before she talks!"

"Okay, Seamus. I lead the way." Said Sean reluctantly.

After an hour's ride down the hilly mountain, the O'Rileys found themselves on the Ponderosa. They came to a pasture and saw Adam, Hoss, and Joe helping some hands round up cattle.

"If we play it nice and easy, they probably won't notice anything." Said Seamus. "I'll do the talking." Sean nodded warily. Seamus rode up to the Cartwrights with a fake smile plastered on, Sean more hesitantly following.

"Hello!" called Seamus.

Adam, Hoss, and Joe turned to face them. "Howdy." Said Adam after he told the hands to keep the cattle moving without them. " I'm Adam Cartwright and these are my brothers, Hoss and Joe. What can we do for you?"

"Well, you can tell me if you've seen our little sister." Seamus replied. "She's petite, has dark brown hair and eyes, and she was wearing a grey dress last time we saw her."

"You lost your sister?" asked Hoss. He passed a fleeting look in Adam and Joe's direction which they returned.

"She went out riding while we were out working. When we got back to the house, she was still not home. We've looked for her for three days and have found little trace." Said Seamus.

"You know, meetings usually warrant introductions." Mentioned Adam. "Just who are you two?" he recognized them immediately from the description that Tharyn had given the sheriff.

"Well, I'm Patrick and my brother is Devin." Seamus quickly lied. "Our sister's name is Tharyn. Have you seen any lass that might be her?"

"Could be. "said Joe. "Pa and I found a young lady not far from here that matched that description."

"Thing is, her story is a little bit different from your's." added Hoss.

"Oh?"

"According to her, she was running from two men who claimed to be her brothers but were actually her parents' murderers and her abductors." Said Adam. "and she isn't interested in returning at all."

"Is that so?" asked Seamus. "Supposin' we go and see this young lady you found. See if she is our sister or not.

"I'm afraid she is not here right now. She is in town with our pa."

"Well, we'll wait then." Said Seamus stubbornly.

"All right," said Adam. "Follow me." With that, he and his brothers led Sean and Seamus to the house.

Ben was just in the act of helping Tharyn down from the wagon seat when Adam, Hoss, Joe, Sean, and Seamus came riding in.

"You're in luck, here they are now." Said Joe.

"Who is this?" asked Ben.

"their names are Patrick and Devin." Said Adam. "They're looking for their sister, and wanted to see if Tharyn was her."

Tharyn sat frozen on the edge of the wagon seat. It couldn't be them. How did they find her so soon? They should just be getting back from the trail about now! The Cartwrights could see how tense and scared she was. Ben gently helped her down and she stayed close to his side.

"Tharyn? Don't you know your own brothers?" asked Seamus in mock concern with his arms out-streached towards her. "We've come to take you home, colleen."

"No!" she cried. "I know who my brothers are, and they certainly aren't you! You're not taking me anywhere!"

Seamus lowered his arms. "If we're not your brothers, then who is?" he asked, his voice casual, but his eyes glinting dangerously. The Cartwrights caught the look in his eye and Ben immediately put his arm around Tharyn's shoulder as the boys took a step closer to her. Tharyn knew that they were silently claiming her as their own, and she felt safe with her pa and brothers-to-be surrounding her protectively.

"Ah, I see." Said Seamus. "you think you can just run away, leave us, get yourself a new family, and get away with it. Well, that not happening. You're a-comin' home with us right now!" he cried angrly and reached forward to take Tharyn by the arm. However, he was looking at the barrels of Adam, Hoss, and Joe's pistols before he could lay a hand on her.

"You are not takin' Tharyn anywhere, Mister." Said Hoss.

"I want you to mount your horses, ride off my ranch, and never come here again." Ordered Ben gravely.

Seamus seemed to size up his opponents and think better of using force. "Very well, you win today." He turned and mounted his horse. "But don't think this is the end of this, especially you Tharyn." He threatened and galloped off with Sean following close behind.

"If they come here after Tharyn like that again…." Hoss began angerly, but Ben stopped him.

"Calm down, Hoss. We need to let the sheriff know that they are in the area and that they are looking for Tharyn." Said Ben. "Joe, you're probably the fastest rider. Go and tell Sheriff Coffee that the O'Rileys are back."

"Yes, Pa." Joe replied and immediately mounted his horse and cantered off in the direction of town. Ben, Adam, and Hoss took Tharyn inside.

"How did they find me so fast?" Tharyn whispered to herself as she sank sown onto the couch. She buried her face in her hands, trying to stay calm. Sean and Seamus's sudden appearance had left her shaken.

"Tharyn, are you all right?" asked Ben.

"I don't know how they found me so fast. They should have just been getting back to the cabin today." She said raising her head. "I'm sorry" she whispered.

"What for?" asked Adam.

"For bringing the likes of Seamus and Sean upon you. If Seamus says he's going to do something, he'll do it without hesitating.' She replied.