Author's note: Ooltewah, Tennessee is a real place. So is Sequatchie County. Thing is, in reality, Ooltewah is not in Sequatchie County. I, um, liked both names and decided to put them together. I cheated.

Also, Sheriff Kalb is neither real nor based on anyone that is real. And that tidily leads to: I own nothing Duke, and earn nothing for what I choose to do with Dukes.

Chapter 4 – Sweet as a Rose, With as Many Hidden Thorns

Rosco. Enos? He couldn't tell with Bo's fuzzy blonde head in the way. His cousin had dropped his second boot and was looking out the glass of the kitchen door, forcing Luke to try to see around or over him, and neither was working very well because Bo was just too darn big.

Bo still had a death grip on his arm, too, pulling on him, maybe planning to run. Running might not have been a bad plan if they had any idea what they were running from, but they didn't. Bo, he probably wanted to run from bad news (he always had) but that wouldn't do them any good. Best to know the worst of it right up front; then you could make plans for dealing with it, but Bo didn't always think that way. As if hiding under the bed the way he had all those years ago would somehow make Aunt Lavinia less dead. It didn't work then and whatever was wrong now, running probably wouldn't help.

"Take it easy, Bo." Always the first words out of his mouth and somehow they always worked, took all that energy bouncing around inside of his cousin and held it still for a moment or two, which was usually all Luke needed in order to assess things, make a plan and give Bo a new order.

Switched the grip so he was holding Bo's arm instead of the other way around, half in self-preservation, because Bo was on the ragged edge of leaving bruises in his wrist. The other half was because he knew Bo would manage to contain himself only so long and Luke wanted a fighting chance of keeping him from bolting or, worse, swinging at the bearer of bad news. Because there were no lights or sirens, and Luke could see now that it was Enos, looking nervous as a turkey on Thanksgiving. The deputy wasn't here to chase down the Duke boys. "Jesse," he called, though the old man was probably on his way back already, no more noise coming from Daisy's bedroom door. "Enos is here."

He didn't quite remember sitting, but Luke was behind his chair, gripping the back. Bo could feel the hard, probably white, knuckles of Luke's hands brushing against his shoulders when he leaned back.

Enos was across from him and Jesse stood at the head of the table, looking every bit as dangerous as he had when facing down the revenuer that had caught his boys all those years ago.

"How did it happen?" their uncle was demanding, but it was obvious enough. Daisy had been trying to protect them, her cousins, who were at the center of most of the trouble in Hazzard. Just this time the trouble had crossed the state line.

Enos swallowed again, and there couldn't have been any moisture left in his mouth at all, with all the swallowing he'd been doing. But like the good sport he'd always been, their nervous friend told the story one more time.

"Well, you see, the guys that started the fight at the Boar's Nest, the one Bo got hurt in, it turns out they was them Robinson brothers that we got them wanted posters on, hanging in the courthouse. And it also turns out they had some girls that was accomplices, working with them." Girls, apparently, whose description matched what Bo could remember of Cherry and Louise. Seemed like a week ago he was thinking there was just enough of them to go around between him and Luke, but the clock said it was just yesterday around noon. "So while they was distracting everyone with that big fight, them girls done took all the money in the cash register. Then when the ambulance came for Bo, and no one was watching them, the Robinson boys and their girls done took off. I was comin' to help Bo – and I'm mighty glad you're okay Bo – when I saw 'em getting into a station wagon. I chased 'em, but they lost me…"

In Hazzard Pond, because that's where everyone lost Enos. Maybe he and Luke shouldn't have done it quite so many times. It was common knowledge now that if a Hazzard Sheriff's car was after you and you took that low road down near the water at high speed, you stood a better than average chance of dunking a deputy in the pond.

Bo didn't need to hear the rest of the story, hadn't wanted to hear it the first time, really, but now that he had, he was ready to crack some skulls up there in Ooltewah. Or maybe he'd start down at the Hazzard County Courthouse. Because it was Boss that started this thing.

"After Cooter fished me out and I got back to the Boar's Nest, you boys was already on the way to the hospital, and most everyone else was gone, too. Mr. Hogg was there though, and the sheriff was, and Mr. Hogg was hollering about the money that was gone out of the cash register. He was saying y'all was behind it…" and why were they sitting here listening to Enos tell this story again, face flushing in exactly the same spot as it had last time? They should be…

"Daisy said she was gonna clear y'all's name. That y'all didn't plan no robbery and she was gonna prove it." Yeah, they knew this. Boss hadn't let her go right then, and she'd finished her shift, spilling beer left and right in frustration or spite. That was their cousin, sweet as a rose with just as many hidden thorns. Even living with her all his life he'd never been able to figure out which things she did on purpose, and which were actually mistakes.

"An' when she left at the end of her shift, she went on up to Ooltewah." Tennessee, that was, in Sequatchie County. The Robinson brothers' last known address. Not that far and yet a whole set of laws away. Like the laws that bound him and Luke here, to Georgia.

Daisy was, quite simply (oh, not at all simply, this was Daisy, the woman of just about every man's dreams), imprisoned. Like Osage County, where the boys had spent a couple of days on a chain gang, Sequatchie County, Tennessee retained older laws, from a wilder time, giving the local law full powers of jurisdiction. Trials took all of a minute and consisted of Sheriff Kalb (whom the Duke boys had never met and didn't need to; his reputation was enough to know they'd be prime targets if they ever wound up in Sequatchie) pronouncing you not-from-here and therefore-guilty. And then you disappeared into his prison system. There was a building there in the tiny downtown of Ooltewah, right next to the sheriff's station, and there were grounds, and that was all anyone knew about the Sequatchie prison, because anyone who'd seen the inside never saw the outside again. At least that was how the stories went. The Dukes had never had any reason to find out whether or not they were true.

And Luke was just about physically keeping him from finding out now. The first time through the story Bo had nearly flown out the door when he heard 'Sequatchie.' Luke had caught him by the arm and told him to settle down. He'd almost hit Luke, half on instinct because no one should ever hold him back when he was this mad, and half because Luke was clearly crazy and needed to be smacked to bring him back to reality. Settle down when Daisy was trapped with… who knew what kind of people… men? Did they house men and women together there? Maybe, and they needed to get there now and break her out.

"Let's plan this right," Luke was saying, still crazy as far as Bo could tell. "So no one gets hurt." No one gets hurt? Daisy could already be— "Any more than they already are." Luke's hands had moved off Bo's chair and onto his shoulders now. It was an interesting feeling, Luke trying to be gentle when all the muscles in his hands were tight like that. Almost like a token pat, but at least this, Bo understood. Luke was just as angry as he was, but would never admit to it. He'd plan them around in circles first. Which was a useful enough thing.

He didn't like it not one bit. It was his own idea and he hated it. It made perfect sense, his plan, but Bo's was still better. Not that Bo was even fully aware of having a plan, he wasn't. He just wanted to go in, fists swinging, and make it right. Luke thought that was probably the best plan in the world. Except it could lead to Bo getting hurt and his cousin still wasn't recovered from yesterday.

So they were going with Luke's rational plan. Which he hated because his part in it consisted of staying home with Bo, trying to keep his anxious cousin calm, maybe convincing him to get some sleep, because it was only yesterday that he'd gotten smacked over the head by the same guys that were responsible for… no point in going too far down that road. He couldn't keep Bo settled down if he was all riled up himself.

"He's been gone too long, Luke." Well, at least Bo was intent on providing him with a distraction, even if it came in the form of nonstop complaining.

He gave his cousin the best eye roll he could manage. After all, they only had hours before they'd know anything useful, so he'd better nip Bo's worries in the bud. "He ain't even had time to get out of Hazzard yet, cousin. Why don't you just…" lying down would be the best choice, but unlikely. Bo didn't read a ton and wasn't about to take up the habit now. What other relatively calm thing could he send his cousin to do? They didn't do a lot of relaxing things, him and Bo didn't. "Come on," he changed his mind. Grabbed his cousin by the arm so he'd get up off the couch and follow him outside.

He left Bo by the General and headed off to the barn alone. So long as they stayed near a CB they'd be doing their part in the plan. Which was simple really, or should have been. Jesse was on his way to Sequatchie County to try to talk sense into a sheriff that had no need for sense, not in a county where he exerted absolute power. Didn't even have to answer to a county commissioner because Tennessee didn't work that way. But if anyone could make a man see reason it was Jesse. And then there was the fact that their uncle wasn't on probation and could go anywhere he dang well pleased, plus the fact that no one, not even a crazy sheriff, could lock up Jesse Duke. Even Boss felt ashamed of himself any time he tried to keep Jesse in a cell, and set the Duke patriarch free at the first opportunity he could do so without hurting his own pride.

Letting it go, Luke was supposed to be letting things go. Not letting the fact that Bo was hurt and Daisy was imprisoned get to him. How in heck he was supposed to let anything go, he didn't know, but he was also supposed to keep Bo calm and at least he had something of a plan with regard to that.

"Fishing? Luke, you sure you ain't the one with a concussion?" Because clearly Luke's brain had gone into remission.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Come on, as long as we're right by the CB it'll be all right."

Well. Maybe his tough, strong cousin could just sit back and wait for fish to impale themselves on a hook while Daisy was maybe being beaten (or much, much worse things that he was putting almost all of his energy into not thinking about) but Bo wasn't going to…

"You got anything better we can be doing?" Yeah, of course he did. They could be on their way to Tennessee right now, except for a little thing called probation.

"No." Must've sounded downright miserable, because Luke stashed the fishing poles in the trunk of the General, then came around to throw an arm across his shoulders.

"Then come on," and the arm hadn't been to comfort him at all, it turned out, but just to lead him to the passenger side of the car. Which he should have fought Luke on, but maybe he'd had enough of being mad at Luke. So he let his cousin help him into the car and protect the stitches on his head against the roof of the General (not that Bo had ever missed his mark when getting into this car, not once). Let Luke slide into the driver's side and start the car and drive them the mile that they could have walked if Luke wasn't such a mother hen, to the fishing hole just south of the farm, at the old retention pond. Not a great place to catch anything, but it would be a reasonable way to spend a day that was likely to be several times longer than any other day he'd ever spent, and he and Luke had been through some long ones.

Bo pulled himself out of the car, quick before Luke could get around to his side, and endured a half squint for that. He didn't want to argue with Luke, but he didn't have to give in every time, either. Got around to the trunk at the same time as his cousin and pulled out his own pole. Settled on the bank within listening distance of the CB and poked around in the dirt until he came up with a worm. This spot was a great place to catch worms, even if the fish were scarce. Baited his hook, chucked it in the water and pretended to care whether anything bit on it.

"Luke."

Just the barest grumble for an answer, because they were fishing and had to be quiet. At least that would be Luke's excuse, if Bo bothered to call him on it, but he wouldn't. He knew Luke's moods well enough.

"Jesse ain't going to get nowhere, is he?"

Another noncommittal grunt. Any stranger happening on them now would think Luke couldn't talk. And he couldn't, at least not nicely. Way back when, amongst the various instructions and reminders and just plain rules of growing up with Aunt Lavinia had been that if you didn't have anything nice to say, you didn't say anything. This explained Luke's verbal habits as well as anything ever would. He grunted as much as he spoke, because he almost never had anything nice to say about anyone or anything.

"Luke?" It was just the two of them, and Luke could just get over his sudden need for manners now.

"What?" It was growled, but it was at least a word.

"If Jesse don't get nowhere… I ain't hurt that bad."

"Bo." Oh that tone, he was about to get called an idiot. "That don't make no sense." Of course it made sense, Luke was just being stubborn in his thinking. Then again… he was Luke Duke.

"All I'm saying is, when the time comes that we have to do something about Daisy, don't you be worrying about my head."

Luke wasn't looking at him, but there was a curl at the corner of his lip and Bo really wanted to swat him. "I ain't any more worried about your head than I am on a normal day, Bo."

And Bo was putting his pole down, turning towards Luke to make his cousin take him seriously by whatever means necessary, when Luke quit making that face that Bo hated so much.

"All right, Bo. If Jesse can't fix this," and Bo didn't reckon his cousin really believed Jesse could, "and we have to go after her, there ain't no one I want beside me more than you. Okay?"

Okay then. As long as Luke wasn't going to treat him like a kid.