Bonanza "Remember Me."

Chapter Five

The next day, Doc Martin stops by for a visit to check on Alice and her progress. Ben and Joe are waiting in the living room as Doc Martin comes down the stairs. Ben and Joe both look up and Joe then hurries over to him as he asks him. "Well, doc, how is she?" "Well, she seems to be doing better physically, but mentally is a different story unfortunately." Doc Martin tells him. Joe looks down as Doc Martin then tells him. "It seems as though her memory isn't returning as soon as we had hoped. So now there are some decisions to be made." Ben looks at him puzzled as he asks. "What do you mean by decisions, doctor?" "Well, the longer she stays here, the harder it's going to be on her and on you, Joe." Doc Martin explains. "If her memory does not return soon, you may have no choice but to let her go her own way." Joe looks at him in disbelief as he says. "You mean just let her leave?" "Yes. We let her find out who she is on her own." Doc Martin replies. "Doc, she's my wife." Joe says. "I can't just let her leave." "I know it's hard, but you can't tell her who she is and you can't keep letting her stay there either without her asking questions." Doc Martin tells him. Joe then says. "But she said it herself that she's feeling things she can't explain. She feels a connection to me, to our baby. A mother never forgets her own child." "That may be so." He says. "But her memory is still fighting its way back. We can't force it to come back, pushing her to remember will only make things worse for her." "How do we know what it would do?" Joe says in frustration. "Maybe if we just tried it." "It's still too risky. I'm sorry, but it's the best thing we can do for her right now." Doc Martin tells him. "The best thing?" Joe says in disbelief. "How can being with her family not be the best thing for her?" "I'm sorry, truly I am, but there isn't anything else we can do for her at this point." Doc Martin says. "You're going to have to let her go and decide for herself what she wants to do." Joe looks down as he struggles to keep his composure as Doc Martin then tells him. "I need to get back to my office, but let me know what you decide to do." "We will, thank you for your help, Paul." Ben tells him as he walks him to the door. Doc Martin then says to him as Ben opens the door. "In time..her memory could still come back to her, Ben. And if it does, I'm sure she'll find her way back home again." Ben doesn't respond as Doc Martin then tells him. "Have a good evening, Ben." "Same to you, Paul, thank you." Ben replies as Doc Martin then heads out the door and Ben closes it behind him.

Joe stands in the middle of the living room as he struggles to keep from breaking down as he says. "It isn't fair, Pa..I shouldn't have to just..forget about her and move on.. with my life. She is my life, Pa." Ben walks over to him as he responds. "Doc Martin isn't suggesting for you to forget about her." "Well, it certainly sounds that way to me, Pa." Joe tells him and then says to him, tearfully. "I can't just let her go, Pa, I can't. I won't." "Joe, I know this isn't easy for you." Ben says. "But he has a point." Joe then says to him, angrily. "You really want me to just let her go and expect me to be okay with it and pretend like nothing ever happened!?" "Of course not." Ben replies. "But we can't just keep her here against her own will either, to her we are still merely acquaintances, not her family." "But we are her family, Pa." Joe responds and then looks up at the staircase and says. "I'm gonna tell her." Joe starts to head up the stairs when Ben grabs his arm and stops him. "Joseph, you can't." "Why not!?" Joe yells. "You know why." Ben replies. Joe then moves away from him as he then yells. "Well, I don't care what it does!" He walks up to the table as he rests his hands on top of it and leans against it as his chest heaves and his breath shutters.

Ben looks over at him and then walks over to him as he tells him. "Alright, suppose you tell her the truth and she believes you, what then? You just get back to your own lives and pretend that everything is normal? Well, it wouldn't be normal, Joe, no matter how much you want it to be. She would only be with you because you forced her into a life she doesn't remember. Her love for you wouldn't be the same as it was before. You can't make her love you in the same way she did before because she wouldn't remember why she loved you in the first place. You can't force love, Joe. Real love. It doesn't work that way. Now, if you truly loved her, you would give her the chance to love you on her own and that would be to let her go." Tears spill down Joe's cheeks and Ben tries to hold back tears himself as he places his hand on his shoulder and then tells him. "I know how painful it is, believe me. I remember how painful it was when I had to let your brother, Hoss go. But I also knew that I couldn't force him to stay with us. We had to let him come back on his own." Joe sniffles and then asks. "What if she..what if she never comes back to me, Pa?" Ben then replies. "She will. In time..I believe her memory will be restored and then..nothing will stop her from getting back to you again." Joe then tells him. "I just don't think I have the strength, Pa." "Find it." Ben tells him. "You find the strength to let her go." Joe looks at him and nods slightly as he then turns and heads out the door.