You guys are all so wonderful. You haven't given me any death threats for killing the boys. Since you all have been so kind, here's the next chapter. Don't forget to Review and tell me what you think when you're through.

The Ghosts of General Lee

Chapter 2

Bo and Luke stood on the shore of the pond to the side of all the emergency vehicles. The blonde Duke boy looked around and seemed confused.

"Cousin, weren't we just in the General?"

"Bo. We still are in the General… look"

Luke pointed at the water where Rosco and Enos were. The two officers went under water for a moment and then came up again bearing a third limp person.

"Luke… That's me… Are we dead?"

Luke looked back at the water and saw Rosco and Enos pull himself out of the water. He watched as Enos fell to the ground in a sobbing mess and then looked over at Bo.

"It looks like it Bo."

"Yes boys, the two of you are no longer alive."

Bo and Luke turned around startled at the female voice that came from behind them. It was a familiar voice, a motherly voice, one that they hadn't heard in ten years, not since she had had a heart attack and died in Uncle Jesse's arms. Bo smiled in shock when it finally registered who it was.

"Aunt Martha!"

"Yes Bo it's me. It's so good to talk to ya again, you too Luke. Look at what wonderful and handsome men you've turned out to be. I've been watchin' ya and I'm proud at who've ya become."

"Thank ya Aunt Martha, but it looks like we ain't gonna be growin' up any longer."

"That may not necessarily be true Luke."

"What? But ain't we dead?"

"Yes Bo ya'll are dead. But what I'm sayin' is that you and Luke have a day to still be on this earth and then y'all have a big decision to make."

"How can we be able to do that, our bodies are over in that ambulance, prob'ly goin' to be taken to the morgue."

"Luke. You are allowed to be on this earth while you are like you are now… in spirit form."

"Ya mean we're ghosts?"

"Yes Bo, essentially you are ghosts and there is something that you must do while you are still here. You will have what it takes to do that job."

"I'm curious as to what that big decision is. What is it?"

"I'm not allowed to tell you yet. Boys I love you, just get what you must do, done, otherwise people we both love will have to suffer."

Aunt Martha gave them both a hug and then disappeared, leaving Bo and Luke to think on what it was they had to do, and what they could and couldn't do as ghosts.

Rosco pulled himself together and got back into his car and headed back to town. He had to tell Boss Hogg that the Duke boys were dead. Rosco went to the Boars Nest, which was the most probable place that Boss Hogg would be. Rosco was right. He went into that back room and told him the bad news. Boss was shocked.

"Bo and Luke Duke. Dead. Rosco. I just ain't prepared ta hear a thing like that."

Rosco had tears in his eyes again and tried to control the emotion in his voice. "Well they're dead alright. Enos uh found their clothes down in the pond and uh Enos and I… we drug for their… b…bodies and…we … we found 'em."

Boss got up from his barber chair "You know. I expected anything and everything from them Duke boys, but not that they'd get themselves killed. I just can't believe it."

Rosco took off his hat, and still had emotion in his voice. "Well the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. And them Duke Boys, they've been took.

Boss grimaced a little feeling just a little sad "It gets me. They're gone forever.

Rosco echoed "Forever."

Boss got a little glint in his eyes. His mind was thinking up something, something not good to the Duke boy's reputation. "But not forgotten Rosco."

Rosco shook his head and mumbled "No."

Boss Hogg talked a little more about Bo and Luke how they were good clean American stock and cut down in their prime. Boss then got to the point of his soliloquy. He started to let Rosco in on what he was thinking.

"Bo and Luke may have gone to their reward but they can still do us a big favor."

"Uhhh favor? But Boss see, d… d... but they're dead. Ya see. The dead folks, they can't help the live folks."

"Well of course there's nothing they can do. That's exactly why they can do it"

"Well how's that?"

Boss Hogg then explained to Rosco about his famous watch and chain. It was once owned by Boss Hogg's name sake, Jefferson Davis who was the first president of the Confederate States of America. Boss destroyed the watch right in front of Rosco and told him that that one was a fake. He had the real watch hidden in his safe. Boss explained that now the watch he had fooled everyone with was gone, he would let them think that the watch was stolen. Not just stolen, but taken by someone who couldn't prove that they didn't do it. Boss would blame Bo and Luke Duke and then he would get the 20,000 dollar reimbursement money from the insurance company.

Jesse Duke, Daisy Duke, and Cooter Davenport were at the Boars Nest waiting for Bo and Luke. They were supposed to meet up there. Jesse sat at the bar while Daisy and Cooter stood nearby. Jesse got a little bit impatient and started to wonder out loud.

"I wonder where that dang Bo and Luke are."

Daisy replied "Uncle Jesse, you know they'll be here you know how they are."

"Sure I know how they are. That's why I'm worried. 'Sides that. My big toe is been hurtin', and when that big toe hurts, that means trouble."

Cooter tried to hide his smile, "Well, maybe your shoes are too tight Uncle Jesse.

"Shoes too… I'm not yer Uncle Jesse."

Cooter and Daisy laughed. The three of them looked up when Boss Hogg and Sheriff Rosco walked into the room. Boss called out.

"Oh Jesse, you're here."

"Yeah. I'm here" he said good naturedly.

"eh Jesse, I got some bad news for ya"

"Well that's nothin' new J.D. What is it?"

Boss started to say solemly "Well…. Bo and Luke are…" Boss couldn't say it so he looked over at Rosco, "You better tell him."

"Me Boss?"

"Well you're the sheriff round here aren't ya?"

Jesse encouraged the sheriff "Well go on Rosco."

Rosco pulled off his hat and some tears came to his eyes. He took a breath and waited a few seconds trying to get his voice to work.

"Well Jesse uh… I don't know how ta tell ya this easy. I was chasin' Bo and Luke in the General Lee and they uh… They done run off the road and into the pond."

Jesse giggled "That's them."

Rosco blinked and then added sadly "They didn't come up."

Jesse's face went from a smile to one of shock. Daisy and Cooter both looked shocked and tears began to form in Daisy's eyes. Cooter turned away from Rosco and put a hand over his face in disbelief. Jesse still looked shocked and tears came to his eyes. He slowly stood up and then slightly shook his head in disbelief. While Jesse slowly walked toward a nearby chair to sit on, Cooter slapped the bar and loudly exclaimed to the lawman.

"You gotta be wrong Rosco. You gotta be wrong!"

Rosco looked over to Jesse who was now sitting at a nearby table, tears were now silently falling from the elder's eyes. As Rosco walked over to go sit next to Jesse, he quietly answered, "I wish I was Cooter. I really wish I was."

Rosco sat next to Jesse and placed his hand on the table, tears were visible in his eyes. He needed to talk to Jesse and tell him something. Rosco tried hard to keep the emotion from his voice as he spoke to the Duke Clan patriarch.

"Jesse, I… I chased the boys a lot you know that. When they… when they messed up a little. But they seemed to enjoy that. I... I think sometimes I did too. But ya gotta believe 't … was never anythin' personal."

Jesse nodded as more tears streamed down his face. Jesse placed his own weathered hand atop of Rosco's and let more tears fall. Daisy and Cooter moved away from the bar and stood behind Jesse. Each of them placed a hand on Jesse's shoulder trying to bring comfort to him, and what comfort they could to themselves.

Boss Hogg who had been listening from off to the side came forward and addressed the mourning Duke elder.

"Jesse. I just want you to know that I'm sorry too about what happened. And Rosco. Well it wasn't his fault. He was just doin' his duty. Bo and Luke, may their souls rest in peace, had just stolen my one of a kind Jefferson Davis gold watch and jewel chain.

Daisy turned her face in anger "That's not true! You know it isn't true!"

"Oh yes it's true. Sorry to have ta say it… it's true. That's a charge of grand theft jewelry. So you see. By going to their reward, them boys saved themselves from some big trouble."

Jesse sadly promised to himself and to his family, "I'm gonna prove they didn't do that if it takes the rest of my days."

Bo and Luke back at the pond after their Aunt Martha left did some serious thinking. They figured that they would probably need to see what would happen with the rest of the family now that they were dead. Luke figured they'd hitch a ride in the back of Enos' patrol car (unknown by him) when he left. He figured on Enos' car because Rosco had already left the scene.

In the mean time, Bo was more than curious about bein' a ghost. He wondered if it was possible to be visible or heard by those who were alive. He knew already that none of the emergency people or Enos or Rosco could see them. He just wondered if it would be possible for them to see him if he wanted them to.

Bo thought of an idea and then looked around the area of the pond, and found a deer to test it on. He approached the dear in what he thought was a loud and visible manner, but it didn't see him. The blonde then thought 'what if I tried to think myself visible.' He figured he just needed to concentrate. Bo decided to do just that. He concentrated and he yelled, and to his and Luke's surprise, the deer darted off.

"Luke did you see that? The deer saw me and I think it heard me too!"

"It did Bo. Hey, ya know something. This gives me an idea. We can actually talk to people. It'd be good to say goodbye to Uncle Jesse and Daisy."

"Yeah it would."

Bo thought out loud, "Luke, do you think we can disappear like Aunt Martha did, and reappear somewhere else?"

"I don't know cousin, maybe. Maybe if we try and concentrate, like what you did with that deer. Bo I'll stand over here, you go over by Enos' car and then concentrate. Try and will yourself to be next to me without walkin'."

Bo went over to the car and thought hard. He thought to himself that he wanted to be next to Luke. Bo slowly disappeared and then rematerialized right next to the gurney that held Luke's body.

"Uhh Luke, it sorta worked. I'm right next to ya."

"Ha ha very funny Bo."

He giggled "Yeah funny. So, now what Luke?"

"Well I do know now we don't need ta get a ride wherever we do decide ta go. I think we should go and see if we can find Uncle Jesse."

"Weren't we supposed to meet Daisy, Uncle Jesse, and Cooter at the Boars Nest?"

"Yeah. Let's look there, they're likely goin' ta still be there wondering what the heck happened to us and why we haven't come yet."

Both Bo and Luke concentrated on the Boars Nest and then disappeared. They rematerialized right in the middle of the dirt parking lot. The boys walked to the door and Luke tried to open it. His hand went right through the doorknob. He looked over at Bo, shrugged, and then walked straight through the door, and Bo followed right close behind.

Neither of the boys was prepared for the sight that met their eyes as they came into the bar. Daisy and Cooter were holding Jesse's shoulder, and Rosco holding his hand. Boss Hogg was saying that it was Bo and Luke who had stolen the gold watch before their death. Bo smiled when he saw Daisy lash out at Boss in their defense. Daisy knew that they wouldn't have done such a thing. When Boss was saying that they had saved themselves trouble by dying, Bo and Luke walked behind their family. Tears came to both their eyes as they each placed one of their own ghostly translucent hands on Jesse's back just before Jesse said,

"I'm gonna prove they didn't do that if it takes the rest of my days."

Bo and Luke right then and there figured out what they had to do with their time as ghosts. They had to help Uncle Jesse prove their innocence before they could rest in peace.