A/N: This is another story born of insomnia... it's based on the Rascal Flatts song, Skin.

Also, I'm kinda hazy on the exact ages that the cousins are supposed to be, but for the purposes of this story, Luke's already in Vietnam, Bo's a senior in high school, and Daisy already graduated.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Duke family or the song this story was inspired by.

Skin

At that exact moment in Bo Duke's life, things could not have been more perfect. This realization was the only thing running through his mind as he hiked up the ridge, chatting and laughing with his friend Cooter, his cousin Daisy, and his girlfriend, Sarah Beth. Sarah Beth, his girlfriend for the better part of a year, and the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Sarah Beth, for her part, felt equally lucky to be alive that day. She had only lived in Hazzard for a little over a year. Her family had moved in from Atlanta during the summer, and she had reluctantly began her senior year of high school at Hazzard High.

With Bo Duke.

Sarah Beth had had her doubts about Hazzard when they first moved. Coming from a big city like Atlanta, she had half expected to find the boys in small town Hazzard to be big, dumb, and thoroughly unexciting. A mistake, of course, that she very quickly realized she had made. Bo Duke had caught her eye the very first day of class, along with the eye of every other girl in the school. Who could resist that mischievous grin, those gorgeous blue eyes, and the delightfully wavy blonde hair?

Especially the hair. Even on the first day of class, Sarah Beth wanted nothing more than to run her fingers through his hair and call herself his girl. And so friendly too! He had noticed her on the very first day, too, sitting by herself in the lunch room because she was new and didn't know anyone yet. He had come over and started chatting, and in less than a month, they were dating steadily.

Now it was April, and the single most exciting event for the students of Hazzard High was fast approaching: senior prom. Prom. The dance dominated lunchroom conversation and locker room gossip… who was going with who, who was wearing what, who would be voted queen. Every girl lived and breathed prom from the beginning of March to the end of April, and Sarah Beth was no exception.

"Come on, Sarah Beth, keep up!" Bo called back to her suddenly, breaking her reverie.

"Maybe y'all should slow down," she retorted. Bo, Cooter, and Daisy all just laughed and kept going. Sarah Beth picked up her pace a bit, but was still quite a bit slower than them. She frowned. She hadn't really wanted to go hiking, not being much of an outdoors kind of girl, but she wasn't going to pass up spending time with her boyfriend and her other two friends.

"Cain't y'all slow down for a cotton pickin' minute?" Sarah Beth gasped out again, holding a stitch in her side. She hadn't realized how out of shape she was. It didn't seem like she should have lost her breath so early in the hike. "Y'all, seriously, I need a rest."

From quite a few feet in front of her, the other three all stopped and turned to her in surprise.

"We ain't gone that far yet," Cooter mentioned unhelpfully. "You alright?"

"Just need a rest," Sarah Beth wheezed. Feeling dizzy suddenly, she had to take a step back to catch her balance, not realizing how close she was to the edge of the ridge.

Unfortunately, when she stepped back, there was nothing there.

With a shriek, Sarah Beth waved her arms frantically, trying to catch herself before falling hard on her side and rolling backwards to the bottom of the hill. Landing flat on her back with the wind knocked out of her, Sarah Beth could do nothing but lay there, immobile, as her vision began swimming in and out of focus.

"Ow," she groaned, putting a hand to her pounding head.

"Sarah Beth!" Bo yelled, hurrying down the slope to help his girlfriend to her feet. "Sarah Beth, you alright?"

Sarah Beth winced, trying not to yell out in pain as she stood up. Glancing down, she was surprised to see that several large, purple bruises had already formed within seconds of the fall.

"I'm… I'm fine," she said painfully. Bo looked at her, worry lining his face. He was about to argue the point when Sarah Beth's legs suddenly buckled underneath her. Bo caught her just before she hit the ground, and glanced around, wondering what to do.

"Bo, is she ok?" Cooter called down from the top of the incline where he and Daisy were watching in concern.

"I don' think so!" Bo yelled back. "Gimme a hand here!" As his cousin and his best friend came down the hill, he turned back to Sarah Beth. "Sarah Beth, you're gonna be fine, ok? We're gonna get ya to Doc Appleby."

"No, no, I'm fine," Sarah Beth insisted. "Please, Bo, I don' wanna ruin your hike…" Bo ignored her protests and pulled her back up to her feet, slinging one of her arms over his shoulders as Cooter appeared to take her other side.

"No, don't-" Before she could argue any further, Sarah Beth suddenly started coughing. Bo twisted towards her, trying to see what the problem was, but she couldn't stop.

"Sarah Beth?" Bo asked nervously, motioning for Cooter to help her sit back down on the ground. "Sarah Beth?"

Sarah Beth could barely hear him. Before long the coughs turned into wheezing as she gasped for breath. As she struggled to get her breath back, Sarah Beth suddenly realized how light headed she was. It was the last thought she had before passing out without warning.

01 01 01

"Well, Doc?" Bo asked quietly. He, Daisy, and Cooter were crowded around Doctor Appleby as he examined Sarah Beth. She had woken up as they had pulled into the Doc's driveway. They had been forced to practically drag her inside once she realized what was going on and argued profusely that she was fine.

"No broken bones," Doctor Appleby finally announced. "And yer lungs sound clear. Sarah Beth, it's possible the wheezin' an' passin' out were just 'cause of the stress from the fall."

"There, ya see?" Sarah Beth shot at Bo. "I'm fine."

"We just wanted to make sure," Bo answered defensively. "I'm glad you're ok."

"You said the bruises came right away?" Doctor Appleby interrupted suddenly, scribbling in his notebook. Sarah Beth nodded. The doctor scrutinized her carefully, looking thoughtful.

"I'd like ya to come back in about a week, alright?" he said at last. "Just for a follow up to make sure everythin's ok."

"Ok," Sarah Beth sighed. "Thanks, Doc."

Swinging off the examining table, Sarah Beth stalked outside, followed by her friends. She really hadn't wanted to go to the doctor… not because she knew she was fine, but because for quite some time now she had begun to suspect that she was not. She knew, of course, that if something was wrong, it would be better to catch it early, but right now she was living happily in her state of denial.

But every day it was getting harder and harder to deny. She had been getting tired much easier than she had ever before. She had begun getting bruises easier too… simply banging her arm on a desk as she sat down would now leave large, mottled bruises where before it would have merely been sore for a few minutes. And the headache... the headache that just wouldn't go away... She was already worried, and it didn't help that Bo was starting to notice, too. Her own fears she could hide from, but there was no avoiding Bo's concern.

Nearly a week later, she unwisely decided to wear a short skirt to school. Bo, being the sweet protective boyfriend that she loved him for, immediately noticed that the bruises from the tumble she had taken had not only failed to disappear, but even to fade at all. At first, he decided not to mention it as she climbed into Uncle Jesse's pick up to sit beside him that morning.

"Mornin', Bo," she greeted him cheerfully.

"Mornin', Sarah Beth," he answered, flashing his grin at her before sliding slowly out of her driveway. He always drove slower and more carefully when he was in view of her house, just in case Sarah Beth's parents happened to be watching out the window, but as soon as he hit the main road he would open the truck up, as much as it would go.

"Don't worry," Sarah Beth said with a laugh as she noticed his unnaturally responsible driving. "Mama and Daddy ain't home today."

"Really?" Bo asked slyly, raising an eyebrow at her, making her giggle that adorable little giggle that he loved so much.

"Don't even think about it," she said, slapping his arm lightly. "We ain't playin' hooky today. We got a history test that you cain't afford to miss, an' you know it."

Bo sighed regretfully, but he knew his girlfriend and part-time conscience was right. Affectionately, he rumpled up her hair just to hear her shriek at him in mock anger. As he turned to smile at her again, he couldn't help but notice how much paler she was getting, even though they spent plenty of time out in the sun.

Again, he decided not to say anything, at least not until later. But for a guy like Bo, waiting until later usually didn't last for very long, and he couldn't keep his curiosity in check.

"Sarah Beth," he said cautiously later that day, as they sat together at lunch. "Ya still got them bruises on your legs."

"So what?" Sarah Beth asked crossly. She'd much rather talk about prom then her possible health conditions, not to mention that the headache that had been growing steadily for the past week was driving her mad and making her more irritable than usual.

"And you got more on your arms now. Ya been to see Doc again?"

"No," she sighed. Why couldn't he leave well enough alone? "I'm fine."

Bo hesitated, having picked up on how touchy Sarah Beth was getting whenever he mentioned the subject. "Sarah Beth, I think ya oughtta go see him. Them bruises oughtta be gone by now, but they ain't."

"I'm fine, Bo!" Sarah Beth snapped. "I gotta go… I got gym class." She jumped to her feet, hauling her tray off with a huff as Bo watched her leave, a worried look on his face.

Gym class. Sarah Beth had never been the most athletic girl in the class, but today she felt particularly uncoordinated. The rope that they were supposed to be climbing was a larger obstacle than it should have been.

"Sarah Beth, are you ok?" the gym teacher asked her, watching in concern as Sarah Beth tried and failed yet again to get more than a few feet above the floor before her arms simply gave out. "Do ya need some water?"

Shaking her head, Sarah Beth simply sat down on the ground where she was. Something was wrong… she was pale and shaking, out of breath and having to gasp for air. Why was she this tired, when she hadn't even gotten up the rope yet?

"Why don't you go see the nurse?" the gym teacher suggested, kneeling down next to Sarah Beth. "You don' look good… maybe you should call your parents to come get ya."

"My... parent's... ain't home. I... came to school with... Bo Duke," she managed to get out between her deep breaths. She didn't like the thought of letting her boyfriend see her like this, but it didn't look she had much of a choice. Part of her wanted him to force her to see the doctor, because she knew she didn't have the courage to do it on her own.

Nodding, the gym teacher called to another student, asking her to find Bo Duke to come and take Sarah Beth home. Sarah Beth closed her eyes, focusing on breathing… in and out, in and out, in and out… one breath at a time, just staying alive.

She didn't have long to wait, of course, before Bo was there. Bo, snapping at the crowd of girls around her to give her some room. Bo, picking her up off the ground like she weighed no more than a baby. Bo, packing her into the truck and taking her, not home, but straight to the doctor like she had known he would.

TBC

A/N: So, what do you think so far? Leave me reviews!