And the Days Flu By

By Rackuhn

Disclaimer: This story is written only to torture the characters (especially my favorite) not for money.

Chapter 1: Welcome Home

Bo Duke's misery all started the day when he came home from a three-day fishing trip he had taken with a friend of his. It was still early morning as Bo watched his friend's truck drive down the road, waving back when he heard the sound of the horn bidding him farewell. He walked to the house with his stringer of fish, gear, and his duffle bag only to find that everything was quiet, much too quiet. Seeing that the General, Dixie, and Jesse's truck were all parked out front, he knew that everyone else should be home. He swallowed down his uneasiness while he placed his fish and gear on the porch, and then headed inside to a quiet house, walking down the hallway towards the bedrooms. Coming to his uncle's door, he dropped the duffel bag he still carried in the hallway, quietly knocked and entered to find that Uncle Jesse was covered up to his chin with several blankets and a thick quilt.

"Uncle Jesse?" Bo softly called out as he moved over to the side of the older man's bed.

Jesse stirred and slowly opened his glassy eyes and looked around in confusion until he saw his nephew's face. "Bo?"

"Yeah, it's me, Uncle Jesse," Bo said with a smile. "I just got home. Are ya okay?"

"I'm fine," Jesse answered hoarsely, causing Bo to frown in concern.

Sitting down on the side of the bed he gave his uncle a questioning look. "Where's Luke and Daisy?" The youngest Duke could see that his uncle wasn't up to his usual chipper self being that he was pale and sweaty, so he quickly reached out a hand to checked Jesse for a fever and frowned slightly when he felt how hot the man was.

"Daisy's in her room," Jesse answered as he swatted Bo's hand away. "She came down with the flu the day before and Luke and I have been takin' care of her. Haven't seen Luke yet. What time is it?"

Bo quickly scanned the room for the clock. "It's just after eight thirty."

"Eight thirty? The day's half gone. I better get movin'." Jesse started to get up only to be pushed back down by Bo.

"You just relax, Uncle Jesse," Bo ordered. "I don't think that you're up ta doin' anything at the moment. I think ya done caught Daisy's flu."

Jesse scowled back at Bo. "Nonsense boy, I ain't been sick a day in my life," he grumbled and tried to sit up again only to start coughing loudly, while Bo gently pushed him back down onto the bed. Jesse closed his eyes as he lay there wishing that the room would stop spinning. It was then he realized that his nephew was right and that he wasn't feeling up to par.

"Luke and me will take care of things until ya get better. He's probably in the barn already takin' care of things there."

Jesse sighed and closed his eyes. "I suppose you're right. I don't think I'll be much help right now anyhow."

"You get some rest. Is there anythin' I can get ya ta eat or drink?"

"Naw, I'm okay for now. Don't feel like eatin' right now anyhows."

"Alright, I'll check on Daisy and after that, I'll get you two some tea," Bo smiled again, only to realize that his uncle was already asleep.

Bo quietly left the room and headed over to Daisy's door. Knocking lightly, he pushed the door open to see Daisy curled up on her side. "Hey Daisy, ya awake?" he softly asked as he entered her room and stood beside her bed. He saw that she was sleeping soundly and that she still looked kind of pale. Bending over, he reached out to place his hand on her head and noted that she was still warm but not as bad as Jesse.

"Obviously, you're still not feelin' good," Bo sighed quietly as he pushed her hair off of her face. He started heading back towards the door when he heard a soft voice calling out his name. Turning back, he saw Daisy's blue eyes staring at him.

"Hey Daisy," Bo said as he knelt down beside her bed.

"Hey," she answered tiredly.

"Not feelin' too good yet, huh?" Bo asked as he ran his hand over her hair in a comforting manner.

"'Fraid not. When'd ya get back?"

"Just a little bit a go. Heard ya were sick though so I thought that I'd come and check up on ya."

"Thanks," Daisy replied weakly as the strength that she had began waning.

"Ya just relax and I'll bring ya some tea in a bit, okay?"

"Okay," she answered as she fell back to sleep.

Bo knelt there for a few more moments smiling at his sleeping cousin. Getting up, he headed back out the door and picked up his duffle bag that he had dropped down earlier. He then went to his own room and opened the door only to stop when he noticed that Luke was still sleeping in his bed. Throwing his bag to the side, he went over to his cousin's bed and reached out his hand, feeling for the fever that he knew his cousin would have. Bo groaned when he realized that if Luke too was still in bed, that none of the morning chores had been done yet.

"Bo?"

The blonde haired man jumped when he heard his name called out. Looking down at Luke, he saw that his cousin was awake but his eyes had a glazed look to them. "Hey Luke, how ya feelin'?"

"Definitely been better," Luke answered in a gruff voice. "When'd ya get back?"

"A few minutes ago. Billy and I caught some nice fish. You'll have ta go with us next time."

Luke smiled and closed his eyes. "I'll do that." Suddenly, Luke's eyes flew open. "What time is it?"

Bo looked down at his cousin with a stern look. "Time for you ta stay in that bed and get some more rest, you're sick."

"I'm fine."

"Yeah, that's why ya look like death warmed over. Don't ya worry, I'll take care of things."

"How's Daisy and Jesse?"

"They're both under the weather, but like I said, don't worry, I'll handle things." Before Bo could say anything else, Luke was throwing off his covers and pulling himself up. "Whoa there, cousin. Ya just lay back down." Luke found himself struggling against Bo's grip and losing badly.

"You're gonna need help. Ya can't do everythin' and take care of us too."

"There's really not that much ta do right now especially since harvestin' time is over, and it'll be a lot easier if you stay right here in bed that way I won't have ta worry about ya fallin' down," Bo argued back as Luke gave him a skeptical look. "Really Luke, I'll handle it. Only the basics need ta be done around here right now."

"What about fixin' the barn roof or the fence that ya knocked over the other day? Not ta mention the chicken coop needs ta be rebuilt."

"All of that can wait until you, Daisy, and Uncle Jesse are better. I'll just make sure that the animals are taken care along with the three of you."

"Are ya sure?"

"Yeah I'm sure. Ya just lie back down and get better. Like I told Jesse and Daisy, I'll bring ya some tea in a little bit. So just rest and quit worryin'." Bo finally got Luke to lie back down and covered up and he smiled when he saw that his cousin was quickly falling asleep. Bo stood up and sighed. "All right Bo Duke, time to take care of things around here." Quietly as he could, he left his room and headed towards the kitchen.


The morning started out less than spectacular in Bo's opinion. The first thing he did was start the water to brew three cups of tea for his cousins and uncle and made toast for each of them…three times…before he finally got the toaster set to where it wouldn't make charcoal briquettes. He knew that his cooking skills were limited but he figured that even he couldn't mess up making toast that badly…boy was he wrong. Once he got everyone settled back into bed, himself fed, and the breakfast dishes washed up, he headed outside to the barn to start the chores that normally would have been taken care of by now.

First thing he did was grab a basket and head out to gather up the eggs. He was doing fine until the chickens started giving him a hard time by pecking at his fingers as he reached for the hen fruit. "Come on girls, we do this every mornin'. Why are ya being such a pain for me today?" he complained as he put a finger in his mouth after having it pecked. "You weren't the ones I used to chase when I was little." He continued gathering the eggs, dropping three of them because of the ornery chickens, and almost dropping the entire basket itself. "Keep this up and I won't feed ya," he warned as he shook his hand after another disgruntled chicken took its aggressions out on him.

After placing the eggs in the refrigerator, he quickly checked on his charges and found that they were all still sleeping soundly. Heading back out to the barn, he went over to the group of goats to grab Sadie, the only one who needed milking and almost had her in his hands when she ran away from him. "Now don't ya start!" Bo shouted as he ran after her. Finally cornering her, he tied her off so that she couldn't escape again, and began milking her.

Fifteen minutes later, he finished up and was putting her back into the pen when one of the other goats escaped. "Nelson, get back here!" Bo yelled out as he chased after the runaway goat. Nelson discovered he didn't like the game he was playing with the human and decided to let Bo know it. After eluding Bo for the third time, Nelson quickly turned around and butted Bo in the back of his legs causing him to fall flat on his face. "Now whatcha go and do that for?" he yelled out as he turned over and glared at the critter. Nelson stared back at him with a look of satisfaction on his face. "Keep that up and I'll trade ya in for a newer, nicer model," Bo threatened as he stood up, rubbing his offended backside. "And don't expect anythin' extra in your feed today," he grumbled. Moving quickly, Bo was finally able to capture the wayward goat and placed him back into the pen. Taking the pail of milk he headed back towards the house to empty it into the pitcher and place it in the refrigerator for later.

Wanting to make sure that the rest of his family didn't need anything, he quickly peeked in on Jesse and then Daisy and found them sleeping soundly, but when he went to see how Luke was doing, he found his cousin lying on the floor instead of his bed. Rushing to his cousin's side he turned Luke over and found that he was awake and shivering violently. "Luke, what are ya doin' out of bed?"

"Ya need help," Luke answered weakly.

"And I told ya before, you'll be more help ta me if ya just stay in bed."

Luke looked around in confusion as Bo sat him up. "How'd I get down here?"

"Ya fell down," Bo grunted out as he picked Luke up and place him back into his bed. "It's also called not listenin' ta those who told ya ta stay in bed," Bo huffed as he covered his cousin back up. "Now do me a favor and stay there."

"But I can help ya," Luke tiredly said.

"Not in the condition you're in. Now stay in that bed and get some rest and I'll check on ya in a little bit. Understood?" Bo sighed and shook his head as he noticed that his cousin had fallen asleep on him. "Oh yeah, you'd be a big help," he chuckled to himself.

Quietly leaving the room, he headed back to the barn pulling "Millie" the cow out of her stall to be milked. "Come on girl, your turn," he told the beast as he patted her on the rump. "Sorry I'm late this morning girl, but a few things came up." Tying her to a nearby post, he grabbed the stool once again and sat down placing the bucket underneath the old cow. Finally getting a rhythm going, he soon had the bucket half full when a tail smacked him in the side of the head.

"Ow! Millie, that hurts!" he yelled out while rubbing offended spot. "Stop it now."

A few minutes later, WHACK! "Millie, cut it out now," he hollered again. "What is with all of you today? Keep this up and I'll just let y'all fend for yourselves." Bo knew it was silly arguing with a bunch of barnyard animals, especially when Millie turned her head and just looked at him like he was crazy. He couldn't help shaking his head at what he just said and had just settled back down to milking her again when, WHACK! "I give up," Bo grumbled as he just continued to milk the cow, trying hard to ignore the tail that kept smacking the side of his head.


Seeing that it was getting close to lunchtime, Bo finished up the milking and headed back inside placing the whole bucket directly into the refrigerator to deal with it later. He then stood there looking at the food that was being kept cool and realized that there was nothing that his uncle or cousins would be able to eat, especially with all of them complaining about being nauseous.

"Great. What can I make them that won't end up makin' them sicker or kill all of 'em?" he asked himself as he remembered his early morning attempts at making toast.

Walking around the kitchen, opening cupboard doors as he went along, he finally came across a couple of cans of the same kind of soup. Pulling them out, he carefully read the directions so as not to poison his family, and soon had the soup heating on the stovetop. "Hey, maybe I can cook after all," he chuckled to himself. After preparing three trays for soup and tea, something else he was proud about being able to do without messing up, he carefully grabbed one tray and headed to Daisy's room.

Quietly knocking, he entered and placed the tray on the nightstand and turned to wake her up. He was surprised when he saw a pair of blue eyes staring back at him. "Hey Daisy. Feelin' better?"

"A little," she smiled back.

"Hope you're hungry, I brought ya some lunch," Bo said with his own smile.

Daisy looked up at him with a shocked look on her face. "You made lunch?" she asked skeptically.

"Yeah, I made lunch," Bo answered, slightly hurt by her accusing tone then realized that she was joking with him. "Well, I least was able ta open the cans without cutting my fingers on the lids."

"Thought so," Daisy chuckled. "Help me up." Bo got Daisy into a sitting position and carefully placed the tray on her lap. Taking the spoon, she stirred the soup and slowly raised it to her mouth, hesitating slightly, before placing it in her mouth and swallowing. Peeking up at Bo, who had an expectant look on his face, she smiled back in pleasure. "This is good, Bo." She laughed when she saw the look of relief upon his face. "See, you're not just a pretty face, ya can cook too."

"I don't know about the cooking part," Bo chuckled back. "It only took me three tries this morning before I managed ta make a decent piece of toast."

"Oh Bo," Daisy laughed back as she took another spoonful."

"Hey listen, I'll be back in a few minutes. I have ta take Uncle Jesse and Luke their soup."

"Luke? What's wrong with Luke?"

"Same thing as you…the flu."

"Oh honey, I'm sorry. Let me finish this up and I'll give ya hand."

"Now don't you start."

"Start what?"

"Wanting ta help me," Bo explained. "I've already had ta put Luke back ta bed earlier 'cause he wanted ta help. He ended up on the floor instead."

"But I'm feelin' better," she argued.

"That may be true, but you're still not one hundred percent yet and like I told Luke, you'll be a bigger help ta me if ya just stay in bed."

"But…"

"No buts," he countered as he pointed his index finger at her. "Just eat your soup and drink your tea and then get some more rest. I'll be fine."

"Are ya sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," he smiled. "I've got everythin' under control."

"All right, if you're sure."

"I am. Now I've got ta get the others their soup. Be back in a few."

"Thanks Bo."

"For what?"

"Takin' care of us even though you've never had ta do anythin' like this before."

"Hey, that's what family is for," he smiled as he headed out the door.

After placing bowl of hot soup and a cup of tea on another tray, he entered Uncle Jesse's room. Placing the tray to the side, he gently woke his uncle and helped him to sit up. "It's not much, Uncle Jesse, but it's the best that I can do," Bo shrugged sheepishly as he placed the tray on Jesse's lap.

"I'm sure it's just fine," Jesse smiled up at his youngest.

"Well, Daisy at least thought so." He watched as Jesse took a few spoonfuls of soup and smiled when his uncle turned to him with a surprised look on his face.

"Boy, this is some of the best soup I've ever had," Jesse commented proudly.

"Yeah, not bad for canned soup."

"Now ya stop that. Even if it did come out of can, ya made it with love and that's what makes it so good."

"Thanks Uncle Jesse," Bo answered, bowing his head, slightly embarrassed. "Oh, I better go get Luke's soup ta him."

"Luke?" Jesse asked as he eyed his youngest suspiciously.

"Yeah, he's sick too."

"Well who's helpin' ya?"

"Nobody, but don't ya worry, I can handle things."

"Just let me finish…"

"No sir, Uncle Jesse."

Jessed turned a surprised face to his youngest. "What do ya mean "No Sir"?"

"You tryin' ta help me when ya can't even stand. Like I told Luke and Daisy, y'all will help me by stayin' in bed 'til ya get better."

"I am better."

"Don't try ta shuck and jive me, Uncle Jesse. I can see that ya still don't feel good and like ya always threaten me with, I'll tie ya ta the bed just ta keep ya there."

Jesse looked at his nephew and saw that he meant it. "All right, all right, ya win. I'll stay in bed. But if ya need me for anythin', ya make sure ya come and get me." Bo knew that it was an order when Jesse made sure to point his finger at him.

"Yes sir," Bo smiled triumphantly, somewhat shocked that his threat actually worked. "Now I'll be back ta fetch those dishes in a little bit and ya remember ta stay in that bed and rest," he said as he headed towards the door and quickly ducked out before Jesse could say anything.

Finally making it to his and Luke's room with the last tray, he pushed opened the door to find Luke back on the floor again. Groaning in frustration, he set the tray down and bent over to help his cousin back into bed. "Luke will ya listen ta me for just once in your life?"

"All I was doin'…"

"Was tryin' ta help and let me tell ya something, Cuz, ya ain't helpin'," Bo said as he placed the covers back over the sick man. "Now, are ya up ta eatin'?"

"Not really," Luke admitted.

"Well, how about ya try eatin' a little bit anyway?" Bo suggested as he placed the tray on Luke's lap.

"Ya make this?" Luke asked as he warily looked at his cousin out of the corner of his eye.

"Yeah, I made it and I'll have ya know that Daisy and Jesse both think it's good too. Boy, first the animals and now you givin' me a hard time."

"Okay, okay, I'll eat some," Luke acquiesced while taking a spoonful of soup and eating it. Bo smiled as Luke gave him a look of surprise. "This is good."

"Told ya," Bo laughed as he sat down on the side of the bed. "Now eat some more."

Luke did as he was told and continued to spoon soup into his mouth. It was then he looked at his cousin with a questioning face. "What do ya mean by the animals are givin' ya a hard time?"

"Oh just the usual. Chickens pecking my fingers, the cow smacking me with her tail while I was milking her, and Nelson butting me from behind. Can't wait ta see what Maudine does ta me when I muck out her stall."

"Seems ya been busy," Luke said as lifted the spoon to his mouth but paused as he made a strange face.

"Luke, ya alright?" Bo asked worriedly.

"ACHOO!"

Bo flinched and closed his eyes tightly as he felt the soup spattering against his face, hair, neck, and shirt. He opened his eyes to see a sniffling, remorseful Luke looking back at him. "Oh Bo, I'm sorry, it just hit all the sudden…"

Bo held up his hand and sighed. "It's okay Luke," he said as he slowly stood up and went over to his dresser for a new shirt. "But that just shows ya how my entire mornin' has been goin'. Why should it change now?"

"Bo really, I'm sorry…"

"I know ya are, Luke and really, I'm not mad," Bo smiled, showing his cousin that what he said was true. "I guess I'll go change my shirt and wash up a bit. I'll be back in a little bit ta get those dishes," he said as he headed out the door towards the bathroom.