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“Yes, I understand that Julian but it's not his fault his parents never registered his birth…” Rip could hear her on the phone from the other side of the round pen. She looked incredible, in a straight black pencil skirt and a flowing cream blouse as she wielded her intellect to get her own way. “No, really?” She said sarcastically before he watched a smirk creep into the corner of her mouth. “That sounds completely reasonable Julian, I appreciate the gesture. Thank you.” With that she ended the call and turned to face him, a grin spreading across his face as she saw him approaching.
He kissed her as soon as she was within arm’s reach, it had been a long time since they had said goodbye, well before sunrise, and he had missed her. With the way she returned the kiss and her fingers wove through his hair to hold him in place, it was clear she had missed him too and a small part of him was ridiculously happy that they could openly share it now. Once she had released him, he asked, “What was that about?”
She smiled mischievously before taking his hand and walking him over to the barn, once they had taken a seat on a bench on the far side, she turned to face him. “That was an old friend who works at the State Department, owes me many a favour. He agreed to get the ball rolling on sorting out your papers, so you can have a legal identity.” She smiled at him and Rip could only return the smile as he took in her excitement, it was a side of his wife he rarely got to see and he enjoyed every opportunity to relish in it.
She was excited for the first time in her life about her future, when she and Rip had first gotten together after the Beck brother’s attack she hadn’t dared to hope for too much. Too afraid that as soon as she got used to something it would be ripped from her all over again, she could survive most things but losing Rip was a wound that would never heal. Then over the time that passed, all the challenges they had faced, they had faced them together and never once had he doubted them.
With him and Carter in her life, she had never hoped for the future so much, not to mention that Rip had agreed to look into having children once he had gotten his identity back. She put that thought on hold though as she saw a stressed Lloyd jogging over towards them, Rip immediately picked up on the change of expression and turned to see Lloyd making his way over.
Rip stood and made his way over to the older cowboy, “What’s wrong, Lloyd?” He asked and he could feel Beth tense as soon as the older man’s eyes glanced over to her nervously. He looked at Beth with concern, his uncertainty about the situation increasing with every second, “Lloyd.” He said sharply, snapping the man out of his thoughts and prompting him to speak.
“Rip, it's Carter. He was running the fence line with a couple of the other hands. They come back in and he and another of the hands were bruised to all hell, looks like there were definitely some punches thrown but neither of them is saying a word.” Rip sighed, he had hoped that watching Lloyd and Walker fighting in the ring would teach the boy a lesson, but now it looked like he was going to have to do the same thing to the boy he considered a son.
“Fuck.” It was all Rip could think to say at that moment, he could see the look Beth was giving him and he knew that if he handled this the normal way she would be pissed as all hell with him but if he didn’t then the wranglers would know that Carter got off lightly because of his relationship with Beth and himself. Neither of which was a good option. “Who were they out with?” He asked and he could feel Beth’s gaze on the back of his head.
“Walker.” He said and Rip couldn’t help but sigh, of all the hands they could have gone with it had to be that guy. Rip nodded his head towards where the cowboy in question was standing and Lloyd nodded, turning quickly to go fetch him for the foreman.
Rip turned to Beth then and sighed, “I need you to go up to the Lodge or the house, anywhere that isn’t here.” He asked and he could see every inch of her go tense at his words.
She huffed a laugh of disbelief at his words, “Oh, fuck that.” She began but Rip stopped her before she could continue.
“Beth, just listen to me okay. I know this ‘cowboy macho bullshit’ seems completely ridiculous to you but if you run in there, all Mama bear, trying to protect him you are only gonna make his life harder with all the other cowboys.” She looked at him like he had grown a second head, her own head shaking in disbelief, “Ryan and Colby and Teeter, any branded hand know he’s our boy and they respect that. Those other hands, the day workers, they are gonna harass the shit out of him for it and he’s got enough on his plate at sixteen without his Momma coming in there to protect him.” He could see the second she saw the truth in his words, her head sagged and her whole body seemed to deflate and Rip hated that he was the reason for it.
He pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her as her head buried itself into the crook of his neck. After a few moments, she wordlessly pulled away and began to make her way up to their cabin, not even glancing at him as she left. He knew she understood but that didn’t mean that she particularly liked him at that moment. Rip couldn’t dwell on it though as he heard two sets of footsteps approaching from behind, taking a deep breath he turned to face Walker and Lloyd.
“Lloyd, grab Carter and the other hand, have him drag the corral and get Carter to sort out the tack in the barn. Tell the rest of the hands to call it a day.” Lloyd nodded and went to do as Rip asked leaving Rip and Walker alone by the barn, “Tell me what the fuck happened.” Rip said as he took a seat on the bench that he and Beth had been occupying not ten minutes ago.
Walker takes his hat off and runs his fingers through his hair, uncertain as to where to start, “Well, Peter… that’s the other guy, he’s been a day worker for a few weeks now but he was asking around about staying here permanently. It’s why I took him to run the fences today, with Lloyd’s permission,” Rip nodded at that and allowed the man to continue, “Turns out he and Carter shared a few foster homes together, even a group home a few years back. He’s been saying shit about Carter’s parents. Boy’s been taking it pretty well, normally just brushing it off or going to do another job whenever he comes around chatting shit again but…” he trailed off and shifted in his seat.
Rip could see the wrangler was nervous, “Whatever happened, I’m not pissed at you, so just get it out and then you can go shower, okay?” Rip said and surprisingly it seemed to do the job in relaxing the ex-con enough to continue.
“Peter… he was Carter going up for dinner at your cabin a few days ago and made a comment about how Beth was… well to be honest it don’t bare repeating in polite company. Suffice to say it was along the lines of her getting killed like his crackhead mother, made some other comment ‘bout you only having him outta pity and the boy snapped. The rest is pretty self-explanatory.” Rip took a deep breath and nodded.
“Appreciate it Walker, you can head off to the bunkhouse now. Tell Carter to come to see me, he’s cleaning up some tack.” The other man nodded and then made a quick exit towards the main barn and left the foreman to his thoughts.
The similarities between him and Carter were plenty and Rip knew that the best way to get the boy to see his view of things would be to enlighten him on just how similar they really were. He glanced at the direction of the cabin he and Beth lived in and wondered how she was handling all this, he and Beth were the same in a lot of ways as well. Especially in the way they fought for the people they loved, asking her to stand down and let him handle this was a massive show of trust on her part and he hoped to God it was something he wouldn’t let her down on.
He was brought from his thoughts once again by the sound of approaching footsteps, lighter than the previous sets and with a slightly uneven step. Boy had probably hurt his knee in the fight with this Peter guy. He turned to face Carter and took a breath when his eyes fell on the boy's bruised-up face, one eye had clearly swollen shot and he had a bruise already spreading across the bottom of his left jaw.
His hands were swollen and he could see a rip in the boy’s right glove that was hanging loosely from his jeans pocket, he beckoned the boy over and immediately checked the boy's hand. Fingers worked their way over each knuckle, searching for any kind of indication that they were broken but after a few minutes he reached the conclusion that they were simply bruised and swollen, nothing ice wouldn’t fix.
“I’m sorry, Sir.” He said quietly and Rip couldn’t help the chuckle as he shook his head.
Turning to Carter, he smiled, “You got no idea how many fights I got in with other hands over all sorts of shit, some of it petty, some of it not. Walker says he was making comments about your mother… and Beth. That true?” He asked and he watched as the boy shuffled before he nodded, not saying a word as they sat in silence. Patting the bench next to him, Carter carefully took a seat and waited patiently for Rip to continue.
“You and me we're a lot alike.” He watched as Carter nodded, he figured he had already figured out some things but Rip needed him to know the whole story. “My father was an addict too, alcohol mostly and gambling when he had the money for it, which wasn’t often.” They sat for a moment, before Rip spoke again, “The only thing he preferred to drinking and gambling was throwing his weight around. He used to beat the shit out of all of us on a daily basis, I pretty much grew up in a warzone the way my father treated us, so I know perfectly well how easy it is to throw a punch.”
He turned towards the corral and watched the other hand hard at work evening out the sand, “Don’t turn into me, Carter. You’re better than that, you’re smarter than that. We may not share blood, but John Dutton is the closest thing to a father that I have. I love him more than the man who abused me my whole life, the man I beat to death aged fifteen after watching him stab my mother to death. Kill my little brother. Despite the blood that we don’t share, you are mine. You are Beth’s. You are here ‘cos we want you to be here, you understand me.” Carter was blinking back the tears as he looked at the older man.
Before either of them knew what was going on, Carter had thrown his sore arms around the man he considered a father and squeezed tight. Rip didn’t respond for a few moments, too surprised to fully understand what was happening until he felt the boy’s arms start to slacken and he pulled the boy back in. Cupping the back of his head in a sign of affection he only thought he was capable of giving Beth, the two sat together for a few seconds.
A few moments passed before they pulled away and Rip grabbed Carter’s hat that had slipped to the ground in the last few moments and placed it back on the boy’s head. Pulling the front of the hat down in front of his eyes caused the young boy to laugh slightly, “Head straight on up to the house, okay? Beth will sort you out.” He saw the doubtful look cross the boy's face and smiled, “Don’t worry, she’s been fixing me up for decades. She’s well-versed in injuries. I’ll be up within the hour, okay? Tell her we can have dinner then.” The boy nodded and stood carefully before beginning the slow walk up to the cabin.
Straightening his hat he stood and began making his way over to the day worker, he was tall and blond-haired. Rip didn’t get a great feeling from him but suspended his personal feelings until after he had actually had a conversation with the guy, “Hey!” he called out and beckoned the hand over. It took a minute but he walked over to the fence and hung his hat on the post as he leaned against it, the picture of relaxation.
“You wanna tell me what happened?” he asked and waited.
The guy had the audacity to laugh at Rip’s question, “We were joking around, we knew each other in foster care and the kid just got all touchy about it, ya know. Didn’t need to start throwing punches but shit if he’s willing to start it, I’m happy to finish it.” He said, still smiling happily as he leaned against the fence.
Rip smiled at the kid, all bluster and false bravado. He reached for the guy's hat, handing it to him he placed a hand on his shoulder as he nodded, “Yeah, yeah I know what you mean. Here’s the thing though, there’s no fighting on the ranch. You wanna fight someone, you come fight me.” He paused for a second as he squeezed the hand's shoulder and smiled again. “You wanna fight me, Peter?” He saw the boy's resolve begin to waver as the smile fell slightly and his eyes darted to the left, avoiding his gaze. Rip laughed quietly, “I didn’t think so. Pack your bags. You’re done here.” Rip said as he nodded to the bunkhouse in the distance.
Peter looked like he was about to say something until he saw the rest of the hands and Lloyd come out to the bunkhouse, “Fuck this place anyway, piece of shit. Fuck you and that bitch of a wife.” Rip just laughed as the hand stomped off in the direction of the bunkhouse.
“Lloyd!” Rip shouted and the hands all turned to face him, “Escort that piece of shit off the ranch will you!” He said and laughed as the rest of the hands cheered at the news, Rip took a breath. He hadn’t realised how much discord the guy had been sowing and made a note to check in with the hands more often. Day workers came and went, even hands had a short shelf life at the Yellowstone but the branded boys were here for life. They were the loyal ones, the ones who had gone to war for John, for him and he owed them his loyalty as much as they did.
As promised, he came through the front door of the cabin only an hour after Beth had left to find Carter sitting at the kitchen table with an ice pack held carefully against his swollen eye and Beth wrapping a clearly bruised knee. The boy was definitely looking a little worse for wear.
“Hey,” Rip said roughly as he set his hat on the stand by the door and hung his jacket next to it, he took a seat next to Carter and smiled slightly at Beth as she fussed over Carter. Catching the boy’s gaze he gave him a small smile and leaned forward slightly, gently taking the ice pack off his face he took in the swelling and grimaced, “That’s gotta hurt like a bitch.” Carter huffed out a laugh as he looked at the older man, “Your gonna take a few days, okay. Between that knee and your eye, you’re not fit to be on a horse. More likely to do yourself a damage,” Glancing at Beth for a second, he stood and tucked his chair in, “Then your Momma really would kill me.”
Smirking at the looks of surprise on his wife’s face as well as Carter’s, he made a quick exit to go shower with a promise to come down and sort out dinner once he had cleaned up.
The evening passed quickly and the mood was relatively relaxed given everything that had happened that day and before long Carter was heading towards the small room at the back of the cabin he had claimed as his own. Rip and Beth settled in front of the fire, a beer and a whiskey in hand as they enjoyed the quiet of the evening in front of the fire. “So… Momma huh.” Beth said and Rip couldn’t help the chuckle that rumbled through his chest.
Taking a sip of beer he smiled, “I got thinking.” He said but didn’t go on to elaborate any further until Beth took an elbow to his ribs that ended with a pointed look, giving in he turned to her, “Part of me wished that I could have been a son to John. That I had a place in this family besides being your partner but if I had, then who’s to say anything would have happened between us. That I wouldn’t change for the world.” She gently squeezed his hand, resting her head against his shoulder and taking a moment to enjoy the simplicity of this moment they were sharing.
Never had she even dared to hope that at some point in their shared lives, they would be able to have moments like this.
“That boy. He’s already ours Beth,” he glanced in the direction of the door to his room and took in the jacket and hat thrown across the back of the other couch and the worn-out boots that sat to the side of it. He smiled at the set of reins Carter had been working on, left at the small table between the two other armchairs that they so often occupied on the evening. “and if we want to have kids… I can’t help but think that he could benefit from being a brother as much as I would have. Having that bond with someone, it's important. Not to mention, it feels kinda wrong to go and have more children without acknowledging the one we already have, the one that made us realise that maybe we could be parents. Even with all the shit that’s happened to us.” He finished.
He had a realisation in that moment that he hadn’t been nearly as vocal about anything in his life, as he had been with Beth since returning from Texas. He had come to a realisation while he was gone that for all Beth relied on silent communication that came from decades of loving the same person, she loved to hear what he was thinking just as much. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying Rip?” She asked, suddenly filled with nerves.
He smiled at her, “If it’s something you want as well, then I think it's worth a conversation.” He said quietly and before he knew what was going on she had closed the gap between them, pressing her lips against his.
His mind went blank, as it always did whenever she kissed him. The feeling of Beth consumed him and the rest of the world could burn to the ground and he wouldn’t even notice, in that moment his whole world was in his arms. He pulled her close, drawing her to him and sinking his hands into her hair and delighting in the groan of pleasure that came from Beth and went through his blood like electricity.
God the things this woman could do to him should be illegal.
Suddenly the warmth was gone and his arms were empty. Opening his eyes again, he looked up at Beth who was standing directly in front of him with a small smirk stretched across her face. Holding out her hand to him she curled her finger in a slight ‘come hither’ motion that had him moving before his brain could even process the information.
“Take me to bed, Baby.” She said, wrapping her arms around the back of his head and pulling him down for yet another consuming kiss. He pulled away and smiled at her before bending down slightly and slipping his right arm underneath her knees and sweeping her into his arms with a slight squeal of surprise. He shushed her slightly, glancing at Carter's room before making his way up the stairs and down the corridor to their bedroom.
“Beth, it's good to see you again. This must be the man in question, Mr Wheeler?” Julian asked as Beth and Rip entered his office. It had taken a few weeks to get all the paperwork organised and more than a few payouts in the name of bribery that Beth would never tell Rip how much this had actually cost to get sorted.
Rip nodded and took the man’s hand and shook it firmly but didn’t say anything else preferring to let Beth handle the details today, Julian then greeted Beth and the three of them took a seat. “Let’s get to business shall we, I still remember how much you dislike social niceties, Beth.” Julian smiled at his comment before handing over a folder. “In here you will find all the paperwork required to legally exist. Even went so far as to backdate all your school records to the age of fifteen.”
Beth began flipping through the folder until she found the section she was looking for, noticing what she was currently looking at Julian explained, “The police report for the incident involving the death of Mr Wheeler’s father has been sorted out as well, as you requested Beth.” Rip glanced at his wife in surprise, when she said that she was going to get his identity back he hadn’t thought that she would go this far. Then again, she never did things by half so he really shouldn’t be that surprised, “In all honestly all Mr Dutton had to do was explain what happened and he likely would have been in the clear, from what the local Sheriff said it was clearly a case of extenuating circumstances.” Flashes of that day went through Rip’s mind and he took a breath, trying to leave those memories in the past.
His wife continued to search the folder Julian had given her and watched as she came to a stop, opening the file she showed the document to Rip. It was his birth certificate. It clearly showed the date and even the time of his birth and Rip couldn’t help but smile. 04:37am on the 28th of September. The exact time she had woken him, long before the sun had risen, to discover he didn’t know his own birthday. 04:37 in the morning, she had remembered after all this time.
Beth continued flipping through the papers until she came across his driver's licence and social security card and gently passed them over to Rip. He took them and looked over them, he had imagined what it would feel like to look at his face, to see an address next to it, his name and date of birth. Beth had held fast on his birthdate, the 28th of September was printed clear as day. He smiled as he glanced at her but schooled his features in front of the other man.
They left quickly after that, having slipped the cards into his wallet they made their way outside and without words began walking in the direction of Beth’s favourite coffee shop. They ordered quickly and took a seat in the back, sinking into the deep couch they had chosen. Rip slipped his free hand into hers and held it in his lap as he thought about the cards that now sat in his wallet and all the opportunities they would provide not only him but his family too.
Taking a sip of his coffee, Rip slipped his arm around Beth’s shoulder and pulled her into him, “Thank you.” He said quietly, breathing in the scent of her as she relaxed against him, “I know that can’t have been easy but… I appreciate it.” He said with a small smile and simply enjoyed sitting with his wife, drinking his coffee as they watched the people go about their days.
Finishing her coffee, she turned to face Rip, tucking her legs under her as she leaned against the back of the sofa, he watched her intently as she focused in on him. He figured she wanted to talk about something and so simply waited for her to tell him what was on her mind, “Were you serious when you said you wanted to adopt Carter.” She asked bluntly and Rip was a little taken aback, that was definitely not on the list of things he had thought she wanted to discuss.
Turning slightly to face her, he set his now empty coffee mug on the table, “Yes. I would like to at least give him the option,” He was the look of apprehension that crossed her face at the idea of the boy saying no, “if he says no, Baby we’ll love him either way. We make sure he knows that whatever his decision he will still be ours.” He could see the tension leaving her shoulders at his words, both of them had grown to believe that their parents' love was conditional. That they were in a constant state of having to prove themselves worthy of that love, Rip no longer had to worry about that but it was still something Beth struggled with.
Both Rip and Beth had made an unspoken agreement that they would never make their children feel like that, that they would know they were loved no matter what they did or who they were. All of their children, that included Carter.
Coming to an agreement they both decided to talk to Carter after dinner that night, neither seeing the logic of waiting longer to have this conversation with him. Though neither would admit it they were both nervous as they ate their meal that evening, glancing at each other and the file they had left on the desk in the corner with the papers that Beth had already gotten from a social worker. Carter could feel that something was off, the tension in the air was palpable but he could tell it wasn’t a bad one.
Not like when he was a boy and he nervously watched his father, waiting to see when he would snap, the drug-induced craze making him see things that weren’t there or that had never happened.
No, this was the kind of nerves that meant something big was going to happen and Carter was sick of watching them fidget, “Is there something you guys wanna talk about?” He said quietly placing his cutlery down on the table, while he was a lot better about speaking his mind than he used to be, it still made him nervous to actually voice those questions. He had made a promise to Beth though, that he would ask those questions. Whenever he needed to and she would answer them.
Rip followed suit and stopped eating for a second but Beth had been too nervous to really eat, only picking occasionally at the meal they had prepared. Rip went over to his jacket, thinking the best way to explain would be staring at the beginning. “When I was born, my parents never registered my birth. It meant I had no birth certificate, no licence, no social security. I didn’t exist in the eyes of the government. It’s why when Beth and I married we didn’t have to plan much because legally I didn’t exist, therefore we’re not legally married.” He waited for a second letting the boy process the information.
He smiled when the boy simply waited, it was moments like this that reminded him how similar Carter acted to a young him. Pulling out the cards that sat in the undented slits in his wallet he handed them over to the boy, oddly proud that he was able to do such a thing. “Beth sorted out getting my identity back, legally I’m as real as you or her. That means I can do things now that I couldn’t before, like maybe let Beth make an honest man outta me if she wants,” He winks at the boy who couldn’t help but chuckle as he saw the look of surprise on the woman’s face.
Beth smiled at him, leaning forward she placed a hand on his arm and spoke for the first time, “It also means that we can… well we were wondering if you would be interested in,” she glanced at Rip nervously before she continued, “We want to adopt you, Carter.”
Silence fell across the room, Rip and Beth too nervous to say anything and Carter too shocked to be able to form any words at all. They sat there in a stalemate for a moment, simply watching each other before Beth broke, “If you don’t…”
Carter didn’t allow her to continue though as he stood and threw his arms around her neck, “Yes.” He said as the tears began to well up, Beth would deny it to her grave but she was just as tearful as the young boy. “Yes.” He said again and pulled away to look at Rip, still a little unsure as to where he stood with the older man.
Rip smiled slightly and lifted his arm slightly inviting the boy in and he didn’t need to be told twice, it was briefer than his hug with Beth but Carter couldn’t help but think that he had never been hugged by someone he considered a father. His biological father had barely earned the title, another kid in foster care had called him his sperm doner and nothing else, and now he understood a little better. Rip could be his father now, he vowed silently that he would be a better son than his sperm doner said he was.
Not two days later they were leaving the social worker's office, Beth having once again pulled a load of strings to speed up the process, Rip and Beth either side of the newly adopted Carter Jacob Dutton Wheeler. Carter had gone to John hesitantly the day before and asked him about the history of the Dutton family, wanting to know everything the older man was willing to tell him. By the end of it, he had hesitantly asked if it would be okay to take Jacob as his middle name, in honour of the brother of James Dutton, who had seen the dream become reality.
John would never admit the tears that had flown as soon as the boy had left. Looks like he had another grandson after all.