Now, if there was on thing Bo hated more than anything else, it was throwing up. He had never been one to toss his cookies much as a kid, and now he only ever did it when he had a little too much to drink. Everyone always assumed he just never got sick enough to throw up, but, really, it was that he hated it so much he forced himself to keep it inside...
Until now, anyway.
Lately, his mornings followed a pretty particular schedule. He would wake up an hour or so before the first lights streaked across the morning sky, dart to the bathroom, throw up what felt like everything he'd ever even THOUGHT about eating, then stumble back to the bedroom and flop next to Luke in the bed they shared .
It had started as a big bed made by pushing their old beds together, then they decided to spend one free day fashioning a new frame with some scraps of wood. They drove all the way out of the county to the nearest mattress store and spent all of their most recent tips earned from odd jobs around the county on a new, big mattress.
For a long time, Bo and Luke had tried to hide their feelings for each other and the more intimate sife of their relationship, but it became harder to deal with after Luke arrived back from the Marines. Bo had grown in a lot of ways during Luke's time away, and they both had needs and wants that every man experiences.
They'd gotten away with some sweaty groping in the dead of the night for almost a year after Luke got back, but, one day, Uncle Jesse sat them both down and the three of them had a long talk. The boys expected to be threatened and beaten until they learned what was appropriate...
But it didn't happen. Jesse had known all along about his boys and their special bond, and he figured that they really weren't doing much wrong. Love was love, after all, and most of Hazzard accepted that fact.
Besides, the good Lord had taken so much from those two boys at such a tender age... Jesse just knew He was behind their love. And who was he to argue with the Lord?
So, Bo and Luke would snuggle down into their mattress, holding each other tight.
"Oh..." Bo mumbled under his breath, rubbing his tender stomach as he wriggled back into Luke's embrace, feeling his cousin's even breaths ghost across his bare shouder.
Some mornings, Luke would wake up when Bo started to stir, then rub his back until he was able to slip back into a restless sleep for the few hours he had before they needed to get up to tend to the animals.
He really couldn't blame Luke for sleeping through this one, though. He certainly wished he could have.
"Bo, you ain't even touched your pot pie," Jesse observed as he wiped the corners of his mouth with his handkerchief, arching an eyebrow at his youngest charge, "I know it's leftovers, boy, but you never minded before."
Bo stared blankly at his plate for a few more moments, then glanced up at his uncle and simply shook his head glumly. He hadn't been able to put away more than two biscuits and a glass of milk for breakfast, and now he really wasn't feeling lunch, either.
"Sorry, sir... Ain't hungry," Bo sighed quietly, carefully spreading his hand over his stomach, "Not feelin' too well."
Jesse nodded slowly, pushing himself up from his seat and walking over to Bo, placing his cool palm against his nephew's forehead. He felt no trace of a fever, but it was clear that the boy was sick.
"How long you been feeling ill, son?" Jesse asked, running his fingers through Bo's hair gently and watching as the youngest grimaced, "Just hit you?"
Before Bo could try to lessen his feelings and/or his definite illness, Luke set down his favorite coffee mug and stared at his uncle and his cousin, deciding it was time for him to get involved.
"He's been throwing up on and off for over a month, Uncle Jesse... Every single morning for a few weeks now, I think," Luke frowned, picking his empty mug up and nursing it between his palms, "First I thought he just ate something that didn't agree with him or something, but now... Now, I'm worrying. I was gonna ask Bo about it soon if you didn't, sir."
Jesse turned from his oldest nephew to his youngest, watching a familiar expression cross Bo's face. One of slight embarrassment a guilt... It was similar to the expression Bo wore when he was a toddler and got scolded for getting caught with a hand in the cookie jar before dinner.
"That true, boy?" Jesse asked, already knowing the answer but wanting to hear it from the sick lad himself, "You been throwin' up?"
"Yessir," Bo slurred, screwing his eyes shut when a wave of nausea and something that felt a lot like a muscle cramp hit his stomach, making him double over slightly, "Sorry, I's... I thought it would pass, sir. Honest. But... But it keps gettin' worse and it hurts..."
Jesse nodded, smoothing Bo's unruly hair down once more before he turned to Luke and fixed him with the same stare he'd used since Luke was just a sprout.
"I'm gonna go call Doc Appleby and tell him we need him to come out here, then I'm gonna call Daisy at work and let her know what's happening," Jesse explained, patting Bo's shoulder gently, "You take him to bed and get him comfortable, you hear? Out of them jeans and boots, and under the blankets."
"Yes, sir," Luke nodded, getting to his feet and offering Bo his hand, smiling a bit worriedly as he led his baby cousin to their room and obeyed their uncle's wishes. It wasn't long before Bo had been stripped down to his undershorts and his blue shirt, tucked under the sheets and quilt on their bed.
"I ain't feelin' too hot," Bo admitted, poking Luke's arm with a socked toe from where his foot poked out from his pocket of blankets, "Hope I didn't make you catch anything, too..."
"You worry about you, cousin," Luke chided sweetly, leaning in close and snatching a kiss from Bo's pouty lips, "I'm sorry I ain't been taking good enough care of you..."
"Now now, you don't wanna get sick, too, boy," Jesse chided with a gentle smile, walking in and standing at the foot of their bed, "I'm too old to be takin' care of two sick pups."
Luke grinned up at their uncle, then glanced at Bo and shrugged a shoulder up. Idly, he wondered how on earth he got so damn lucky, but he figured he wouldn't stare at that gift horse's chompers if he didn't have to.
"What's going on, Uncle Jesse?" Luke asked, scooting closer to Bo on the bed and setting a comforting hand on the younger Duke's tense shoulder, "Any word from the Doc?"
"He'll be here within the hour," Jesse nodded, patting Bo's knee gently and offering both boys a bright smile, "He says he'll patch you up no matter what, boy."
Bo offered a weak smile in return and burrowed down further under the blankets, snuffling against his pillow.
"Alright... Well, I think I's gonna catch a few winks until he gets here," Bo yawned, rubbing at his aching belly as he settled down and let his eyes flutter closed, "Wake me when he gets here, y'all..."
True to his word, as usual, Doc Appleby parked next to the farm a little over forty minutes after he got off the phone with Jesse. He grabbed his medical bag from the back of the car and headed to the door, chatting with Jesse and Luke as he was led back to the boys' room.
"Poor boy's tuckered out," Jesse explained with a little smile when they entered the room and Bo was still snoozing fairly peacefully, letting out a few soft snores every so often, "Luke said he ain't been sleeping too well lately."
"Yeah," Luke agreed, walking over to the bed and shaking Bo carefully, grinning when his cousin blinked blearily up at the three of them, "Been waking up in the dead of the night to toss his biscuits."
Bo groaned at the mention of food, part of him certain that they'd been getting a repeat performance from that morning a little early. "Oh, Lord... Please don't say biscuits..."
The doctor shooed Luke and Jesse out of the room and started his examination of the youngest Duke cousin. He started with some routine questions and procedures, then, following a hunch, started to dig a bit deeper into what could be causing Bo's symptoms. He ran a few tests to be sure, but, as it turned out, his intuition was pretty accurate.
"Well, Bo," the old doctor began, shooting Bo a bright, happy smile as he began packing away his supplies, "I think I know what's makin' you feel so sick. We outta bring Luke and Jesse back in so we can talk."
When Bo nodded in agreement, the doctor called for the other two men and leaned against the doorframe, smiling at the tight-knit family in front of him.
"Well, I hope you're all prepared to add another Duke to the family," the doctor grinned eagerly, "Bo here is expectin' a baby."