Warnings: Established couple, slash, angst, drama
Pairings: Bo/Luke
Rating: FRM
Archive: Yes, but please let me know
Feedback: Feed me Seymour
Summary: This is an answer to a challenge on the Hazzard Zone group.
Write a story using a photo album as a focal point. Sequel to Shine of
My Life.
Pictures, Dreams and Friendship
Cooter Davenport sat at his kitchen table looking through a photo
album, a look of sadness and longing on his face. As he flipped through
the pages his heart breaking a little more at the thought of what would
never be. He had loved Bo Duke for years, thinking Bo would never be
interested in a man, he had contented himself with pictures, dreams and
friendship. As he sat looking at his favorite picture he imagined it
was him Bo was thinking of as he relaxed in the pile of hay, unaware of
Cooter taking his picture. 'Nothing's changed really, I still only got
pictures, dreams, and friendship, but now Bo and Luke are together, not
just cousins anymore. I don't know if I can stay around and keep longing
for what I know I'll never have' Cooter thought to himself. Cooter was
so lost in thought he didn't hear the General pull up outside, was unaware
of his kitchen door opening, didn't know he had company until he heard
the sharp intake of breath. "Cooter...why are you sitting here looking
at pictures of me?" Bo asked, a little afraid of the answer. Cooter
looked up at Bo in surprise, "Bo, I...I...that is I was just thinking
about old times." Cooter stuttered out as he tried to close the album.
Bo grabbed the album out of Cooter's hands and began flipping through it.
It was filled with pictures of him, starting when he was about sixteen,
there were also some clipping from the local paper about races he had
won.
Luke entered the kitchen and saw Cooter staring at Bo with a look
of fear on his face, while Bo was looking at the book in his hands.
Hands that were beginning to shake, neither man seemed to be aware of
Luke's presence in the room, reaching out, he removed the book from
Bo's trembling hands. "Luke...what...when did you come in?" Bo asked
still in a state of shock.
"That don't matter none. What's wrong Bo, why'd this book upset you so much?" Luke asked as he finally looked at what he held. Seeing the pictures he became very afraid, "What the hell? Cooter why do you have all these pictures of Bo?" Luke calmly asked, not wanting to startle Bo by yelling. Cooter looked away for a moment, unable to find the words to explain. "Cooter," Luke asked again, "why do you have this?"
"It's not what it looks like." Cooter started only to be interrupted by
Bo. "Really old buddy, cause it looks like you've been stalking me, I
don't remember a lot of these being taken. So how'd you get them without
me knowing? More important why did you want them?" Cooter tried to
answer but Bo didn't give him time, "Were you just waiting for your
chance, waiting to betray my trust, just like Jeff did? Is that it
Cooter? Is that what you want? You planning to rape me too?" by this
time Bo was shaking like a leaf, though whether it was from fear or
anger he wasn't sure. "NO! I could never do that to you. I love you
Bo, I would never hurt you, especially like that." Cooter cried out in
shock and surprise that Bo could ever fear him. Luke's head snapped
around at Cooter's words, "You what? Come on Bo I think we need to
leave, no Cooter now's not the time." Luke said as Cooter began to once
again try to explain himself. "I'm taking Bo home and I think it'd be
best for all of us if you stayed away for a few days. Bo ain't in no
condition for this right now but we're definitely not done with this yet"
Luke stated as he gently steered Bo out the door and towards the General,
after getting Bo into the passenger seat, Luke slid into the driver's
seat and started for home.
When they returned home Luke was relieved to see Daisy and Uncle
Jesse were still out, he didn't really want to deal with the questions
they would have if they saw them right now. Bo was obviously upset, he
was white as a sheet and still trembling, Luke knew he probably didn't
look much better. He couldn't believe what he had found out today,
Cooter was in love with Bo, had apparently been stalking him for years,
if that album was anything to go by. He couldn't blame Cooter for loving
Bo, he knew how easy it was to fall for Bo, but that didn't give him
the right to take pictures without Bo's knowledge or consent. Leaving
Bo in the bedroom Luke went to the kitchen, soon returning with a glass
of water and one of the sedatives the Dr. had left for Bo after his last
run in with Jeff Miller. "Here darlin you need to take this and get
some rest," Luke said as he handed Bo the pill and water. Bo looked up
at Luke with tears shimmering in his eyes, setting aside the water he
asked, "Luke, how could Cooter do that to me? I thought he was our
friend. Is this what my life is destined to be like, just a series of
betrayals. First Jeff betrayed me, then Diane, now Cooter, what did I
do Luke, what'd I do wrong? Why do the people I thought I could trust
keep turning out to be liars and worse?"
"Oh Bo, you're breaking my heart here, darlin you did nothing wrong.
There is nothing you could have done to deserve any of the things Jeff
did to you, and you didn't deserve Diane's betrayal either." Luke paused
for a moment trying to figure out how to continue. "As for Cooter I'm
not sure he's capable of hurting you. I mean I think he love's you,now
hold on," Luke said as Bo started to interrupt. "He played it wrong yes,
he had no business taking those pictures without your consent. Basically
he stalked you, but Bo I can understand why he did it. He fell in love
with you but he couldn't tell you, so he took pictures but I still say
he wouldn't hurt you. Hell look at what he did when he thought I was
attacking you, I think after we've both had time to calm down and recover
from the shock we should at least give him a chance to explain. If you
want him to stay away from you after that, I promise you I'll make sure
he does." When Bo didn't answer Luke once again handed Bo the water,
waiting until Bo had taken the pill and swallowed, he gently eased Bo
down onto his back and pulled the cover up over him. "Bo" Luke started
as he gently carressed Bo's cheek, "do you trust me darlin?"
"Of course I do Luke, you're the only person I trust completely, besides
maybe Uncle Jesse and Daisy." Bo replied. Luke smiled and went on, "Then
trust me when I say I will never let Cooter hurt you, but I honestly
don't think he would. Now I want you to rest and we'll talk more later,
right now you need to relax, you've had a pretty big shock, so close
those beautiful blue eyes of yours and rest, knowing I'll be here to
watch over you." Luke finished his statement with a gentle loving kiss,
a while later Luke heard Daisy and Uncle Jesse pull up. Hurrying outside
Luke let them know Bo was asleep this of course caused them to ask what
was wrong, as it was too early in the day for Bo to be sleeping, Luke
wasn't sure what or how much to tell them, but he knew it would probably
be best to do this outside. Heading for the picnic table Luke waited
for Jesse and Daisy to sit down as well. "What's going on Luke? Is Bo
sick?" Jesse asked. Luke sighed, he knew this wouldn't be easy, "No Bo
ain't sick he just, well we both got us a shock earlier. We went over
to Cooter's and I guess he didn't hear us pull up, so Bo went in the
house to see if he was there, while I checked the barn. When I came
into the house a few minutes later Bo was staring at this book and I
noticed his hands were shaking, Cooter was just staring at Bo."
"I don't understand," Daisy said,"what was so upsetting about a book?"
"I'm getting to that Daisy," Luke said with a sigh, "when I got a look at it I saw it was a photo album. The whole thing was filled with pictures of Bo, turns out Cooter's been in love with Bo for years."
"What!" Jesse yelled, "so Bo's upset cause he found out that Cooter loves him like you do. That don't make no sense Luke, why would that be upsetting, I understand he don't feel the same but it ain't nuthin to get that upset over." When Jesse finished speaking Luke just shook his head, "Bo is upset, for that matter so am I, because Cooter has been stalking him. A lot of those pictures were taken without Bo's knowledge or consent. Jesse there were even pictures of Bo skinny dippin, after what Jeff did to him and Diane's lies he's scared that Cooter will hurt him. I don't think he will, he handled things badly but I don't think he'd ever hurt Bo intentionally, but right now Bo can't see that. He's just too shocked and scared right now to think straight so I gave him one of the pills Doc left for him and I'm hoping when he wakes up we'll be able to talk about it all."
"What about Cooter?" Jesse asked.
"Well I told him he should stay away for a few days, let us both calm down, then we can talk." was Luke's answer.
A few hours later Daisy was passing the door to the boy's room and
heard Bo crying out. Opening the door she saw Bo tossing his head back
and forth, his shirt soaked in sweat and crying out for Luke. Approaching
the bed she attempted to wake him but he seemed to become even more
frantic at her touch, as he continued to call for Luke. Quickly running
outside Daisy saw Luke coming out of the barn, "Luke," Daisy called,
"hurry Bo's havin a nightmare and I can't wake him up." Luke ran to
the house and got to Bo as fast as he could. Sitting down beside Bo,
Luke reached out,"Bo wake up darlin, you're safe, it's okay no one's here
to hurt you." Luke reassured. Jerking awake Bo threw his arms around
Luke, "Oh Luke it was awful, they were all there, they kept hurting me and
I was calling for you but you never came and they kept sayin I deserved
it. That I was bad and you weren't gonna help me cause you knew I deserved
what I was getting." Luke rubbed Bo's back as he shuddered in his arms,
"Bo calm down, it was just a bad dream you know I'll always be there for
you, don't you?" Bo nodded "I know love, it was just so real, Jeff and
Diane were there and then Cooter came in. I'm scared Luke what if he
decides to hurt me, like Jeff did. I don't think I could survive that,
I don't mean just being raped but it being Cooter." Bo sobbed in fear.
"Oh Bo" Luke soothed, "I promise that's not gonna happen, I'm sure he
would never hurt you, but if he tried I would kill him before I'd ever
let him hurt you." Luke could only hold Bo and try to soothe him as he
shook in his arms. Finally Bo calmed down and drew back, "Thank you love,
I don't know what I'd do without your love and support." Bo said leaning
forward for a kiss. "I know you want to talk Luke but do you think we
could wait until tommorrow. I don't feel ready yet, don't think I could
talk without getting upset, and frankly I'm tired of crying like a baby."
"Okay, why don't you take a shower and I'll let Daisy and Uncle Jesse know not to bring it up."
"You told them, why did you tell them Luke?" Bo asked
"Now Bo, I had to let them know why you were sleeping in the middle of
the day and I thought it'd be better if they knew so they know to be
careful what they say about you around Cooter. Don't need him coming
around trying to talk to you before you're ready." Luke explained.
They all carried on as best they could for the rest of the day, all of
them were relieved when the end of the day finally came.
Next day Luke found Bo hiding out in the hayloft, "So this is where you've been hiding, you know Bo you can't avoid it forever."
"I know," Bo started and then paused, "you're right we need to talk.
I've been thinking, maybe you're right, it seems Cooter has been watching
me for a while now and he ain't never tried anything. So maybe that
means he won't ever, hell I guess if I hadn't caught him with that album
I probably still wouldn't know." Bo looked at Luke, unsure of how to
continue, he took Luke's hand in both of his. "Luke you've been wonderful
to me, after Diane and Jeff, now with this situation, but I don't want
you to ignore your own feelings. How is all of this making you feel"
Bo looked down at their joined hands for a moment before continuing,
"please don't hold back on my account love. The only way we can deal
with this is if we're both honest about our feelings and about what we
want to do." Luke looked at Bo in amazement, "When did you get to be
so smart? Honestly darlin I'm not sure how I feel, at first I was as
shocked as you and I guess I was angry. No that's not true, I know I
was angry, Cooter had no right to take those pictures, he had no right
to stalk you. Now though, now I think we should give him a chance to
explain, we've been friends for too many years, he's almost family"
here Luke paused. Giving a sigh Luke began again, "He can't help who
he fell in love with any more than we can. Sides I can't really blame
him for who he fell for, the man definitely has good taste. He made
some mistakes, but he's never tried to hurt you, never acted on his
feelings and I think we owe him the right to explain. What do you think"
For several minutes there was silence, finally Bo answered. "I guess
you're right, and I know he probably wouldn't hurt me, but love no
matter what happens please don't leave me alone with Cooter anytime soon.
Even if we stay friends I doubt I'll be comfortable alone with him for
awhile." After Luke reassured Bo that he would stay close whenever
Cooter was around until Bo said otherwise they decided to head on out.
Knowing that putting things off would only make them harder to deal with
the boys headed for Cooter's, pulling up at the garage and taking a deep
breath they climbed out of the car. Cooter looked up, surprised when
he saw who had just come into the garage. "Bo, Luke, look fellas I'm
sorry. I know I had no business taking them pictures but please give
me a chance to explain." Cooter asked hoping they would at least give
him that before asking him to stay out of their lives. Bo was the one
to answer, "That's why we're here Cooter, I need, no we need to know why.
Why did you take the pictures? Why did you stalk me?"
"Could we sit down boys?" Cooter asked. "Coffee?" Cooter asked after they
were seated, at their nods he poursd three cups and returned handing a
cup to each of his friends. He just hoped they would still be his
friends after this. "Well...this is...I'm not sure where to start"
Cooter said.
"The beginning's usually a pretty good place." Luke replied.
"Right..." Cooter started again, "right, the beginning. Well I don't
know exactly when that was, I just know sometime during the summer Bo
was sixteen I realized my feelings had changed. He wasn't just your
little cousin Luke or just my friend, I knew I had fallen in love. The
thing is I knew he would never be interested in me. I knew he liked girls
and so I figured I'd settle for friendship, one day I was out at the
pond fishing and I saw Bo sitting up in a tree, the look on his face
was beautiful, I ain't even got the words to describe it. But I remember
thinking, I wish I had a picture of this moment, that's what got me
started on that. I started carrying a camera with me all the time,
but I swear Bo, I promise I never stalked you. I just carried the camera
and whenever I had a chance I took a picture, I knew it was all I'd ever
have. Even when I found out about you and Luke I knew all I'd ever have
is pictures, dreams and friendship. I hope someday you'll be able to
forgive me, but I now I've lost your friendship and I understand"
by the time he finished Cooter couldn't even look at them. There was
never a man more surprised than Cooter when Bo reached out and took his
hand. "Cooter, I'm sorry that I reacted the way I did yesterday." "God,
was it only yesterday," he whispered before continuing. "I should have
known you wouldn't hurt me. You're nothing like Jeff, but Cooter please
you have to move on. You deserve someone who can return your love, as
much as I care for you, I love Luke and that's not gonna change. Cooter
you're a great guy and you deserve to be happy, so please give up the
pictures, keep the friendship and stop dreaming long enough to find
someone real to love instead of a fantasy." was Bo's heartfelt plea.
Cooter couldn't believe what he was hearing, but he was grateful for Bo's
understanding. So glad Bo still wanted to be his friend, turning to Luke
he saw Luke smile. "What he said," Luke stated, "Bo's right Cooter you
deserve to be happy too. Friends?" Luke asked holding out his hand.
Cooter couldn't speak as he pulled both boys into a friendly hug. Things
between Cooter and the boys were a little awkward for a while, but they
did eventually get back to what passed for normat with them. After all
real friendship was so much more important than pictures and dreams.
The End.