Well, I got a good number of reviews for my third chapter so I decided to be nice and go ahead and upload the epilogue. That and the fact that since it's finally my 20th birthday today! I'd like to try and let all of my readers know how much they mean to me, namely islaboe, gaben, flufykitty12, MGM, Bobby, and fanficalicious for their reviews! You don't know how much I've looked forward to your reviews! They have not only given me awesome advice, but also have kept me encouraged to continue updating this story!

This epilogue is kinda short, but it does tie up some loose ends that a few of my readers have kindly brought to my attention. Not mention that it also shows a special Adam/ Sierra moment that has been requested. I hope you enjoy! ;)

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Epilogue

Four weeks later the two youngest Cartwrights were well on their way to being fully recovered. If it were not for Joe's broken leg, the two restless teenagers would have surely been getting up to new adventures.

As it was, neither Sierra nor Joe even had half a chance at escaping the confines of their recuperation. Sierra's wound and stitches, made lifting anything almost impossible, so it was her job, or punishment rather, to keep Joe occupied and off his leg. Which was all fine and good, but dealing with Joe's grouchy mood was making her even more anxious to escape. To top it all off, Hoss too, had been confined to the house and yard chores, so he could be on hand to lift and carry Joe; which he didn't mind too much as staying close to the house meant food... Hop Sing had her baking pies and biscuits to keep the hungry men of the Ponderosa satisfied. Normally the task of cooking didn't bother her too much, recently however, the task only seemed to remind her of her inability to do many of the outside jobs that she was longing to be doing.

Adam had to laugh seeing his little sister, being bossed around by the Chinese cook, knowing too well she would have rather been out riding, catching strays, or even mending fences. Instead she had been sentenced to the more feminie pursuits of ranch life along with the extra studies that he had insisted she complete after having to miss so much school. He remembered the conversation that had taken place not long after he and Hoss had brought their younger siblings home.

It was late and all of the Cartwrights had retired to their rooms for the night, except for Joe and Sierra who had been confined to their beds for the time being. Adam was lying on his bed intently reading a new book when a sound from Sierra's room next door caught his attention. He listened carefully for a few minutes. There it was again.

Slowly Adam closed his book and set it on table beside his bed before making his way to his sister's bedroom door. Inside, he could just barely make out the sound of crying. Silently, he pushed open her door, making his way over to her bed where Sierra lay crying into her pillow. The mournful sound of the fifteen year old girl's crying tore at Adam's heart in a way that nothing else ever had. Although he liked to think of himself as strong and steadfast, he knew that his little sister's tears would always affect him this way. He sat on the side of her bed and gently rested his hand on top of one of hers.

"Hey there, Littl'in, what's wrong?" Adam asked her softly.

With a start, Sierra's head jerked up, revealing her red eyes and tear-stained cheeks. "I didn't mean to wake you," Sierra apologized, wiping away the moisture from her face with the back of her hand.

Adam shook his head. "I wasn't asleep," he told her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothin'," Sierra said, dropping her head and refusing to look at her oldest brother.

Adam wasn't convinced. He knew that having been raised by her father and with three older brothers had made her into a tough cowgirl. She wouldn't cry over nothing."Sierra, look at me," Adam's voice was gentle, but his tone told Sierra that he meant to be obeyed. Slowly, she raised her head just enough so that her eyes could meet his. "Now, tell me what's wrong and don't say 'nothin'."

Adam watched as her eyes began to fill with tears again. "Oh, Adam, it's all my fault! If I had only listened to you, Joe wouldn't've gotten hurt!" she burst into tears as she dropped her head into her hands.

Adam sighed. He should've seen this coming. Despite her headstrong nature, Sierra often tended to blame herself when things didn't turn out like she had expected. He guessed maybe she had gotten that from him as everyone often told that he too did that same thing.

Gently, he pulled his sister's trembling frame into his strong embrace. Sierra wrapped her arms around her brother and buried her face in his chest as the tears continued to flow freely from her eyes. Adam held her tightly, resting his chin on the top of her head and slowly rubbing her back while waiting for her to finish her cry.

When Sierra's sobs had dropped to sniffles, Adam figured that she was now ready to talk.

"First of all, yes, you should've listened to me and stayed with the horses," he began as Sierra gently pushed herself away from her older brother, wiping the tears from her eyes. "If you had, you wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"I'm sorry, Adam," Sierra said softly, not able to meet her brother's gaze. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you."

"Secondly, Joe getting hurt wasn't your fault," Adam continued. "To tell you the truth, if it hadn't been for you; who knows how badly he would've been hurt."

"But Adam, if Joe hadn't been trying to save me, he wouldn't 've been hurt," Sierra reminded him with a sniffle.

Adam chuckled softly. "You know Joe, if he hadn't have been hurt then, he would've been hurt some other way," he assured her.

"Are you really mad at me?" Sierra asked her oldest brother timidly.

A smile lit up Adam's face. "No, I'm not mad, this time. Besides, seeing you hurt dissolved any feelings of wanting to blister your hide. " he smirked, before growing serious again. "Actually, I'm really proud of you."

Sierra's head jerked up to look at her brother in surprise. "You're kidding," she said.

Adam shook his head. "No, Joe told us about how you were determined to get him to a doctor no matter how badly you yourself were hurt," he said, pride evident in his voice. "It took a lot of courage to do what you did, Littlin'."

Sierra blushed lightly at her oldest brother's praise. She longed for the praise and approval of her father and all of her brothers, but for some reason unknown to her, she had always coveted Adam's the most. Maybe it was the fact that he seemed to be the hardest one to please; there was nothing that Sierra looked forward to more than a challenge.

"Next time though, I do hope that you'll listen to me and stay out of the way of danger," Adam sternly told his little sister, though Sierra caught the twinkle in his eyes.

Sierra smiled and nodded. "Don't worry, Adam, I will," she assured him. Her smile spread, causing Adam's smile to grow too. Though she never meant to break her word, Adam knew that it wouldn't be long before her stubborn Cartwright spirit would flare up and no matter how hard she tried, she wouldn't be able to control it.

"All right now, how about you try to go to sleep?" Adam suggested. Sierra lay back down on her mattress and Adam pulled the quilt up to her chin, gently tucking it around her.

"Adam?" Sierra asked.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"Can you stay with me until I fall asleep?" she asked. Adam smiled warmly at her.

"Sure," he told her. "How 'bout I sing?"

Sierra nodded tiredly. And with that Adam started to sing, his voice soft and sweet.

In the pines, in the pines
Where the sun never shines
And you shiver when the cold wind blows

Tell me why, tell me why,
You went away without even saying good-bye
You cause me the grieve
You cause me the mourn
You left me here to cry

In the pines, in the pines
Where the sun never shines
And you shiver when the cold wind blows

The wind, in the trees
Brings memories
Of a love I thought was true
You gave me tears
And empty years
For the love I gave to you

In the pines, in the pines
Where the sun never shines
And you shiver when the cold wind blows
And you shiver when the cold wind blows.
In The Pines

As the last notes of the song died away, Adam looked down at his little sister to find her sleeping soundly. He smiled as he bent to gently kiss her forehead.

"You are one special girl," he whispered softly, lovingly brushing the loose brown wisps away from his sister's face. "Good night, Littlin'."

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Well, that finishes up this story. How did you like it? The next one I have in mind features Sierra when she convinces Ben and Adam to let her go with her brothers on their annual camping/hunting trip. What kind of adventures are the four Cartwrights going to run into and will Sierra be able to keep her promise to Adam to stay out of trouble? You'll have to wait and find out!

Also, I don't know if you noticed, but I didn't give Sierra's horse a name. That's because I haven't been able to decide on one. So, I thought y'all might like to help me name her. The horse is a black Appaloosa mare with white speckles on her rump, a white blaze on her face and three white socks. I had thought about Snowstorm or some Indian name meaning 'spotted' or 'wild one' as the horse was originally an Indian pony. Any suggestions are welcome! Please leave them in your review and if there's anything special you'd like to see happen in the next story, feel free to let me know and I'll see if I can work them in somewhere.

Thanks again to everyone who reviewed this story! Be on the lookout for the next story and go have an awesome day/night!