On a beautiful winter afternoon Hoss and Mitch Cartwright were out riding quite a while their dog Cody was with them as well and ran ahead of them. Suddenly he stood still. He sniffed around and began then to bark loud at the Cartwrights.
“Uncle Hoss, Cody has found something”, Mitch said.
“Let’s go and have a look”, Hoss said worried.
They gave their horses the spurs and stopped at the shepherd dog. The two dismounted and looked at the foundling. Hoss examined the foundling and turned her around carefully. His amazing was very big when he saw that it was a pregnant woman. Slowly she woke up and she looked in the eyes of Hoss and Mitch.
“Don’t be afraid because our dog has found you. I am Hoss Cartwright and this is my nephew Mitchy. That is Cody. He found you”, Hoss said.
The woman want to get up but then she felt her belly.
“I am Lily Johnson. My father has left me here behind when he saw that I am extremely pregnant”, Lily said slowly.
“We take you to our place. There you can come by and have your baby”, Hoss said calm.
He helped Lily up on her feet and saw that she was well on her way to become a mother.
After Paul had examined her he said to Lily, “You make sure that you get plenty of rest until the delivery. You are in very good hands with the Cartwrights.”
“I will do that. Thanks doctor”, the young woman said.
Paul left the guestroom and went downstairs. Lily stroke over her big belly and praised herself lucky that she was found.
“She is healthy and so is the baby. Let her rest as much as possible because she is due any day now. When the time comes, warn me then”, Paul said.
Ben nodded and let the doctor out.
When Lily was in bed Hoss sat by her.
“How can I thank you? I have no home, no money and am about to have a baby”, the young woman said.
“It is alright. I am not a father yet so maybe we can help each other by staying together”, Hoss said.
Lily turned away from looking.
“Hoss, will you stay with me when the baby comes?”, she asked.
“I stay with you as long as you like”, he assured her.
Lily nodded and fell asleep. Hoss tucked her in and left silently the bedroom.
In the living room he said, “Pa, if you don’t mind Lily stays here for a while. She had nothing or no one and I don’t want to let her down. Especially now she is so close to give birth.”
“It is alright son”, the rancher said.
Hoss was reassured. Mitch came up to him.
“Uncle Hoss, Does she stay to live with us and her child too?”, the boy asked hopeful.
“I don’t know that. Maybe she does. Why do you ask that?”, Hoss asked at his turn.
“Well, if you marry her then her baby has a daddy too”, Mitch answered.
“We have to wait and see what happens”, Hoss said.
By suppertime Hoss brought Lily her supper. When he came inside with the tray she just woke up. With much difficulty she went to sit.
“How does this little lady feel herself now?”, Hoss asked while he put the tray in front of her.
“Very well rested. I just needed this. Only I felt the baby very hard kicking. Now again. I will be glad when it is born”, Lily said.
“When is the baby due?”, Hoss asked while he went to sit upon the bed.
“Next week. I got raped by my father whereby I now walk around with a big belly”, Lily answered.
“When you were sleeping Mitchy asked if you wanted to stay and the baby too”, Hoss said carefully.
“Why?”, the young woman asked amazed.
“Well, if we marry then the baby has a father and a mother”, Hoss explained.
“I love to take care of you and the baby. But the biologic father of the baby is someone else”, Lily said.
“That really makes no difference for me. So you stay?”, Hoss asked hopeful.
The extremely pregnant woman nodded. A passionate kiss followed which sealed their love.
When Mitch went to bed Lily came out of bed for a moment. The boy laid in bed when Hoss and Lily came to see him for a moment.
“Mitchy, we must tell you something”, Hoss said seriously.
The boy looked at the two grownups with a full expecting look.
“I have decided to stay with you and your uncle. Together we are going to raise the baby”, Lily said.
“May I say aunt to you?”, Mitch asked.
The young woman nodded.
The days that followed were in token of the arrival of the new baby in the Cartwright house. Lily started to feel more and more at home at the male household of the Cartwrights. She could get on great with her sister-in-law Mary.
On December 23 Mitch was playing inside because the weather was quite bad. Lily was resting. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Or better said a slam. The Cartwrights were all away except Hoss. He answered the door and saw a dignified guy standing.
“Where is that gal of a Lily? She has something that belongs to me”, the man said.
“Who are you?”, Hoss asked with suspect.
“Her father. And who are you?”, Gary Johnson asked who the dignified man was.
“Cartwright, Hoss Cartwright. Who says that she is here? I don’t even know her”, Hoss said.
Gary wanted to come in but got harsh stopped by Hoss and Cody.
Gary became calm and said, “If you see her, tell her then that she and her child must do it without my financial support. All my money is not for her!”
He went away at once. Hoss closed the front door and looked at his nephew.
“Uncle Hoss, I think that there but one solution and that is to marry her as soon as possible”, Mitch said after a while.
“I think that too”, Hoss said after a deep sigh.
He went upstairs.
In the bedroom of Lily the resident had just woken up. Hoss went to sit upon the bed and looked at her seriously.
“Lily, how would you like it if we got married as soon as possible? Your father just came at the door and he has disowned you”, he said.
“Ever so much. When?”, she asked.
“Tomorrow?”, Hoss asked.
Lily nodded.
“The ceremony just takes place and then we first celebrate our wedding and the next day the birthday of Mitchy”, Hoss suggested.
“You have a big chance that the reception must be postponed because the baby is very low”, his fiancée said.
“So what? We just keep it here privately”, her finance said.
Lily was at eased.
When the others heard about the unexpected wedding everything was at once in commotion. Hop Sing baked a great cake with support of Mitch. Ben arranged everything so that Hoss could pay all his attention to Lily. Adam, Little Joe and Candy decorated the house further if that was still necessary.
“It will be very strange when Hoss will be a daddy soon. I may hope that the baby will become as busy as Mitch and Lisa are”, Little Joe said at a certain moment.
“Joe, just you wait until you may suffer under the yoke of fatherhood. Then you will talk differently”, Adam reacted.
“I will remain a bachelor for quite a long time and enjoy all the female beauties that is walking around”, his youngest brother said.
Adam and Candy looked at each other laughing.
“Just a few years and then Mitch will become your biggest competition. You know that he already is a real heartbreaker”, the foreman remarked.
Christmas Eve 1872.
Lily woke up with a strange feeling. Not only today she would become Mrs Hoss Cartwright but the baby could be born as well. ‘As long as the baby doesn’t come during the ceremony’, the bride thought. She went to sit carefully and rubbed over her round belly.
Adam and Mary made sure that Mitch and Lisa were looking fine. Even though the boy himself didn’t like it at all.
“Daddy, I am really not wearing a tie. That looks so stupid”, the boy said in his bedroom.
“Kid, Uncle Hoss and Aunt Lily want that you look at your best at their wedding day and we want that also. You can hardly appear in your dirtiest clothes while everyone else is dressed at their best?”, Adam asked.
“After the wedding may I play outside then with Cody? Then I will do it”, Mitch suggested.
Adam kept silent for a moment and looked at his wife. They knew that this moment of bribery would ever come.
“Okay”, he said sighing.
He put Mitch a tie on and helped him with his walking brace. Mary helped Lisa with getting dressed.
When Mitch came downstairs being shy Ben, Little Joe and Candy were standing looking at him smiling.
“Eh Joe, is that now little Mitch or his little double?”, Candy asked teasing.
Mitch said nothing but only put out his tongue to his uncle and the foreman.
“Mitch, just let them talk because I think you look perfect”, Ben said.
“Well, daddy said that after the wedding I may play outside with Cody and they may not anymore”, Mitch said.
“What do you mean?”, Little Joe asked.
“Because you are grownups all along and I am just a kid. That you behave like children isn’t my fault”, Mitch defended himself.
“Shall we make a very big snow doll tomorrow together?”, Candy suggested.
Mitch nodded and said, “Then Uncle Joe is the model and we make him very ugly. I mean himself and not the doll.”
“That’s a deal”, Candy said smiling.
At ten o’clock the ceremony began. Reverend Jordan was leading the ceremony.
“We gather here together to bind this man and woman in the holy matrimony. Do you, Eric Haas Cartwright, take this woman to your officially wedded wife till death do you part?”, the reverend asked.
“Yes I do”, Hoss said.
“Do you, Lily Johnson, take this man, Eric Haas Cartwright, to your officially wedded husband till death do you part?”, the reverend asked Lily.
“Yes I do”, the bride said.
“Then I declare you now husband and wife. Hoss, you may now kiss the bride”, the reverend said.
That happened and right at moment Lily got the first contractions.
After the congratulations Lily said, “The reception will have to be postponed because it is time. The baby is coming.”
Paul said, “It is a good thing that you gave me an invitation.”
“Paul, why do you think that you did get an invitation?”, Hoss asked.
Everybody laughed. Hoss took his new wife by the arm and helped her to their bedroom.
It was deadly quiet in the living room and the only sounds they heard where the screams of Lily. Hoss was a big support for her. During the delivery Lily was calm. She did have a lot of pain but Hoss remained by her side.
When she laid in bed Lily said, “The contractions are coming faster after each other.”
“Try to relax. I am by your side”, Hoss said calm.
Lily held his hand very tight and relaxed as much as possibles.Though this wasn’t easy. Lily had very much pain due to the contractions. She knew that is was needed but hadn’t count on it that would be so bad. Hoss stayed with her and was a big support for her.
“Isn’t the baby coming yet? I have heavy contractions”, the mother to be said.
“Not for a while. The first baby often comes later after the contractions have started. But you are doing it good”, Paul said.
Not much later Lily felt push contractions.
“As soon as you feel the contraction coming push as hard as you can”, Paul said.
The young woman nodded. She took a deep breath and started to push. When she felt the baby coming Lily screamed.
“I cannot keep her inside anymore”, Lily said gasping.
Paul examined her again and knew enough.
“Just push very well because the baby is coming”, the house doctor said.
Lily started to push and gave a moment later life to a daughter.
“She is in perfect good health”, the house doctor said.
“We call her Amber”, Lily said tired but very happy.
Hoss didn’t know what to say from happiness.
“You have a daughter. Congratulations”, Paul said smiling.
Hoss kissed his wife and she got the baby with her. The young couple enjoyed the baby.
“She is a real Christmas angel”, Lily said tired but very happy with her new family.
Maybe it was because of the birth of Amber but when Ben held his second granddaughter a bright star appeared exactly above the Ponderosa. Adam, Mitch and Candy were outside with Cody when Mitch saw as first one the star.
“Daddy, Candy, look a star. Is that for Lisa, Amber and me?”, the boy asked.
Adam took his son in his arms and said, “Yes, that star shines for you. Because you brighten up our lives.”
Now Christmas was at the Ponderosa become a real Christmas at the ranch.