A Family
by Janet
Disclaimer: The characters and situations of the TV program
"Big Valley" are the creations of Four Star/Republic Pictures and
have been used without permission. No
copyright infringement is intended by the author. The ideas expressed in this story are copyrighted to the author.
Jarrod was now well enough to move around. Although he still had headaches and some
dizziness he was happy to be up.
“You know Heath,” he said as he walked down the hall to
the living room, “I was thinking about taking you fishing. That is if you want to go. I’ll bet if you ask Nick he’ll go too.”
“Yes Jay,” Heath replied smiling. “Me like that. Me fish when me with mama.
Eat what me got.”
“You had to take care of your mama didn’t you Heath?” he
asked very concerned. “I know she must
have been proud of you.”
“Yes,” Heath answered remembering. “Mama good.
She pretty.”
“I bet she was,” he said smiling at his younger
brother. “My mother wants to help you
too. She loves you as if you were her own son.”
“Me know but she not mama,” Heath replied stopping to look
at Jarrod. “She nice but not mama.”
“She doesn’t want to take your mama’s place,” he told
him. “Your mother was special and so is
mine. But now your mother is gone and
mine is here wanting to help you. Please give her that chance Heath. I don’t think you’ll go wrong.”
“Me see,” Heath said beginning to walk again.
“I hope you will accept her Heath,” he replied
smiling. “She doesn’t want to take your
mother’s place by no means. She just
wants to help when you need someone and she really loves you.”
“Me see,” Heath told him again.
Jarrod decided not to push Heath. He knew that Heath needed time to adjust to
his new family just as he had had to adjust to having a new brother. The two
boys walked into the living room where Victoria sat reading.
“You sure you should be up walking Jarrod,” she asked very
concerned. “You just got over that bad
head injury. I don’t want you to do anything to hurt that head of yours.”
“I’m fine mother,” he answered smiling. “If I have to stay in that bed one more day,
I think I’ll go crazy.”
“I understand how you must feel honey,” she said smiling,
“but the doctor said for you to be careful for a while. And I intend to make
sure that you continue to take it easy until you are completely well.”
“I will mother,” he replied nodding and then regretting it
as a wave of pain hit him.
“Are you all right?” she asked very concerned for
him. “I want you to lay down and rest
if your head is bothering you. You
still need a lot of rest young man.”
“I’m fine mother,” he told her again trying to ease her
mind as well as his own. “I just did
something too fast that’s all. I want
to take Heath fishing.”
“No,” she said shaking her head. “I don’t want you going off while you’re still recovering from
that terrible fall. It’s too soon to do something like that. Maybe you can go in another week or even
two.”
“I’m fine,” he replied looking at her. “Honest I am. I need to get out of this house.
Please mother. I promise not to
do anything that will hurt me.”
“I don’t know,” she told him still not wanting to give
in. “I don’t mean to dampen your
excitement about getting out of bed but I think fishing is too much too soon.
Jarrod you took a very nasty fall just two weeks ago and I’m not at all sure
that you are ready to get up and go fishing.
You shouldn’t even be up walking yet.”
“What if I take Nick too?” he asked hopefully. “He can make sure that I don’t do anything
to hurt myself. I promise to take it easy mother. Please let us go.”
“Well,” she answered looking at him. “I guess you can if you’re back here in no
more than three hours. I think that’s enough excitement for one day.”
“I promise,” he said smiling. “Thanks mother.”
“Do be careful Jarrod,” she replied watching them
leave. “I mean it.”
Jarrod and Heath met Nick outside near the barn.
“Heath and I are going fishing,” he said as they came to a
stop near Nick. “You want to go with
us?”
“Yeah,” Nick replied smiling. “Just the three of us.
How did you swing that Jarrod?”
“I told mother I would ask you and you would make sure I
didn’t do anything to hurt myself,” he told his brother. “After some begging
she finally agreed.”
“That doesn’t sound like mother,” Nick said shaking his
head. “She usually puts up more of an
argument. You know how she is.”
“She didn’t,” he replied looking at Heath. “Maybe Heath’s our good luck charm. She’s
been different since he came here and I guess truth be known we all have been
different. It was a big adjustment for
all of us and she wants to make Heath feel at home.”
“What that?” Heath asked looking at Jarrod.
“It’s something that brings nothing but good luck to a
person,” he answered smiling. “I think
you are ours. Before you came if Nick or I had been hurt we wouldn’t have been
able to leave the house for another week at least.”
“Me glad Jay,” Heath said smiling. “Me love you and Nick.”
“We love you too,” he replied picking up the poles and a
bucket to put the fish in. “Let’s get
started. We only have three hours.”
“Mother put a time limit on the fun,” Nick told them. “Now that sounds like her. And Jarrod’s
right Heath. We love you.”
The three boys headed toward their favorite fishing
hole. Tom watched them go from the door
to the barn. He smiled as he watched
his three sons doing something together for the first time.
“You all right?” Murphy asked as he came to a stop beside
of Tom.
“Yeah,” he answered smiling. “I think they’re going to be brothers finally. I just saw Jarrod and Nick taking Heath
fishing. I’ve waited for three weeks for this day and I am so happy that those
boys are finally acting like brothers.”
“You knew it would only be a matter of time before they
completely accepted Heath,” Murphy said looking at Tom. “After all they are your sons.”
“Yes,” he replied nodding. “But I’ve had my doubts of late.
Especially the way they kept turning on Heath. One minute they would be
happy he was here and the next they hated his guts. I just wasn’t sure they would make it to this stage.”
“They had to adjust,” Murphy told him. “It takes time to allow some stranger into
your life Tom. You should know that.”
“I guess I should but remember I spent six months with
Heath’s mother,” he said remembering Leah.
“She was so beautiful and she just made my heart melt.”
“What about your wife?” Murphy asked looking at Tom’s
face. “You shouldn’t be saying things
like that now.”
“Victoria knows how I feel about Leah,” he answered
turning to look at his foreman. “I’ve
told her the feelings I had.”
“Yes but you can’t expect her to just accept this without
reservations of her own,” Murphy said.
“She is the mother of your two older sons and you two have been married
for almost sixteen years. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”
“Of course it does,” he replied sharply. “I love Victoria but as long as Heath is
here he will remind me how much I loved his mother. And for your information I
love my wife and Leah equally. I can’t
help it but I do. I lost one son but I’ve gained another one.”
“I don’t mean to pry Tom,” Murphy told him. “I’ve known you since you first started this
ranch and I know I can talk to you without you getting too angry.”
“I know,” he said smiling. “You are my conscience. I
really rely heavily on you. Maybe I shouldn’t
lean on you so much but I do. And you are not prying Murph. I rely on you to help me deal with things
that go on. But this is something that
I have to do on my own. I don’t mind
talking to you about the ranch but my wife and Leah are from this moment on off
limits.”
“You and I are almost as close as brothers,” Murphy
replied smiling. “I’m only thinking
about how your family used to be before the revaluation about Heath and his
mother. And I realize what you’re saying.
Maybe I’m overstepping my bounds here but I want you to be sure that you
don’t drive your wife away.”
“Yes,” he told him.
“But I’m glad it came out. I
don’t know just how long I could have kept it bottled up inside. I still remember what I did to Jarrod when I
came back. I was trying to deal with a
love for a woman who had saved my life and a love for the woman who I had lived
with for many years. It was hard
leaving Leah but I realized that I was needed here. God knows that I didn’t mean for any of this to happen but I didn’t
think I would live and it went from there. I appreciate you letting me know how
you feel Murphy. I don’t think Victoria
would ever leave me. Not with the boys
around. It would hurt them too
much. We are now happy and I don’t see
dredging this up again and again.”
“You don’t have to explain it to me,” Murphy said. “I know some of what you went through.
Remember I saw what you did to that boy.
Or at least what you did to him here at the ranch.”
“Yeah you do,” he replied heading back into the barn. “I think we had better get back to work.”
The three boys had sat down on the side of a bank beside a
large body of water that ran through the ranch. Each had a pole in his hands and were relaxing while they waited
for the fish to bite.
“You know Nick,” he said as he looked skyward, “I was just
thinking how lucky we are to be part of a loving family. It’s had its ups and downs of late but we
have become closer because of it.”
“Yeah,” Nick replied smiling. “You know when Heath first arrived I was happy to have him and
then when you were hurt I resented him blaming him for your accident. I realized that it wasn’t his fault when he
called you a hero. I think he’s going
to be a wonderful brother.”
“Yes so do I,” he told his younger brother. “I didn’t want him to be part of my life
either after we came back to the ranch.
I resented him taking father away from me but I think now that I am
happy to have him here. He’s going to
make a great brother for me and for you.
I still don’t like the kids teasing me over it but what do they
know. You and I know just how important
Heath is to us.”
“Yeah,” Nick said smiling. “Who needs them anyway? I
have you and Heath and that’s all I’ll ever need.”
“Me have you two,” Heath replied speaking for the first
time. “Me happy here.”
“I’m glad you are,” he told him. “You are a very special person Heath. You have come into our lives and made us better. I mean that. I’m sorry for all the bad things I said about you and your
mother. I know that father saw
something in your mother that made him love her and out of that love you
came. I’m also glad that when she died
she wanted father to raise you. You are
a gift from God. I truly mean that Heath.
You are very special.”
“Not God Jarrod,” Nick said smiling. “A gift from Thomas. Since he couldn’t be here with us he made
sure we had someone we could depend on.”
“You’re absolutely right,” Nick,” he replied smiling.
“Who Thomas?” Heath asked.
“Thomas was our as well as your older brother,” he answered
remembering what his father and mother had told him. “He died before I was born.
Nick and I didn’t even know about him until just a few days before you
came to live here. I guess that was one
reason we didn’t take to you at first.
We had had one shock and then you came into our lives. We were just in shock that’s all I can say.
But Thomas is living through you in a way I guess. He’s helped you come to live with us and for that I’m very
thankful to him.”
“Gee Jay,” Heath said smiling. “Thomas special.”
“That he was,” he replied. “That he was. Even though I didn’t know him he has turned out to
be very special to me.”
Three hours later they headed for home.
“How was the fishing?” Tom asked as they walked into the
barn to put the poles up.
“Not so good,” Nick answered showing him the empty
bucket. “They just weren’t biting.”
“Better luck next time,” Tom said as he smiled at his
three sons.
“It wasn’t just fishing father,” he replied speaking for
the first time. “It was spending time
with our new brother. And I mean
that. Heath is our brother.”
Tom beamed when he heard Jarrod’s words. He had longed to hear his two older sons
truly accept their brother and his wish had finally come true. Now his family was complete.
“Did you catch anything?” she asked as the three boys
along with Tom walked into the house.
“Nope,” Nick answered shaking his head. “But we had a real good time together. We
talked and laughed. It was really fun.”
“Yes,” he said smiling.
“We sure did. I want to tell you and father that I wasn’t very nice
about this situation at first and for that I’m very sorry. I didn’t want Heath
to be a part of my life. I wanted
things to go back to the way they used to be.
But after the accident I realized that Heath is here for a reason and
I’m willing to give him a chance.”
“Honey,” she remarked smiling, “I’m so happy to hear you
say that. It’s been a hard struggle and
I know that you’ve been hit with one shock after another. But you’ve handled it like a man. You have a lot going for you Jarrod. I mean that.”
“I appreciate that mother,” he said smiling.
“Me too,” Heath replied.
“Mother.”
Victoria’s breath caught in her throat as she heard the
word she had longed to hear from Heath.
Tom smiled too.
“Jay say you want help me,” Heath said smiling at
her. “Me want that now. Mama say good.”
“Oh Heath,” she replied pulling him into a hug. “I want to help you all I can but I didn’t
want to push you. I want to help you grow and learn but only if you want me
to.”
“You not,” Heath told her. “And me do.”
“Mother,” he said smiling, “we helped Heath realize that
you didn’t want to take his mother’s place.
You only wanted him to be happy. I think that’s why he decided that it
was time for you to become his second mother.”
“Yes,” Heath replied.
“Me very happy with new family.”