A/N: A rather sombre start to the story I'm afraid...as most of you probably heard, Steve Irwin passed away on Monday. It is a deep and tragic loss to a lot of people everywhere, and while I didn't personally know him, I still feel so sad and my heart goes out to his wife and children, especially 3 year old Bob who will never get to know his dad. As a tribute, there is this thing going round on MSN to put a turtle symbol in your name as a sign of respect over his passing. He was a gerat man, and I urge as many of you to do this as possible.
Hope you all enjoy this chapter and read and review as always
CROCS RULE!
xR.I.P Steve Irwin - Crocodile Hunter and wildlife extrodinatre...more than an ordinary blockx
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Luke gave his Uncle a look that clearly stated that he wanted to be alone with Bo for this. the doctor had already left and it was only their Uncle and Daisy that remained. Jesse ushered Daisy towards the door though they both paused by Bo first, Daisy giving him a kiss on the cheek and a few soft words while Jesse brushed the hair out of his eyes and gave him a warm smile, assuring him they would be back really soon.
"What bad news?" Bo asked again as the door closed behind them and he was alone with Luke, a slight agitated tone starting to creep into his voice. "What's wrong Luke, what's happened?"
"Easy Bo, don't worry, I'm gonna explain in a minute." Luke said softly as he pushed himself up to sitting. God his arms and shoulder hurt. At the moment he was even grateful for the sling on his left arm as it kept him from using that arm which would hurt a lot more than this did.
It also made walking over to Bo's bead easier. His legs were fine, but walking included moving your upper body more than some people realized, and that part was very painful to Luke right now. Still he shuffled over to Bo's bed and sank down on it, leaning into the pillow beside him, managing to ignore the fire that raged through his body enough that he could put his right arm around Bo's shoulder.
If he had tried to express the pain he felt to have the weight of Bo's head on his arm in words, Uncle Jesse would have had him in the woodshed if he had heard it. It was funny though how it couldn't have mattered less to him…within the next few moments Bo would need to be comforted and Luke was going to give him that, and he didn't care if it hurt.
"What's the bad news Luke!" Although Bo was so grateful to his cousin for coming over to comfort him, during the time it took Luke to shuffle over and settle down Bo had had time to get agitated.
"In a moment Bo." Luke gave him a warm smile. "Do ya still hurt?"
Bo nodded slowly and looked at him with big eyes.
"Where does it hurt?" Luke asked. He was doing pretty much the same thing Daisy had, but for a completely different reason. Luke was doing it because he wanted Bo's brain to confirm it. If he just told Bo, he might find it hard to believe.
"Everywhere," Bo told him, still sounding very scared. "What's wrong Luke?" He reached out and pressed Luke's hand from where it rested across Luke's chest in the sling forcing the older Duke boy to suppress a small groan.
"I'll get too it in a moment Bo, now please tell me everywhere it hurts, every part of your body that hurts." He focused on opening his hand and moving the arm enough to take Bo's hand.
"It hurts everywhere." Bo repeated. "I've got a headache, an' me arms an shoulders hurt so bad it's like fire. Me back an' legs ain't all that bad, but sure does hurt."
Luke nodded slowly. "Bo, the reason yer arms an' shoulders hurt so bad is cause they were holding up yer whole weight." He squeezed his hand a little. "It hurts really bad, but it ain't so very bad at all." He tried to assure him.
"Is that what's wrong wi' ya arm?" Bo asked concerned.
Luke nodded, "Yeah, so believe me I know how bad that hurts. Ya don't have ta worry about it though Bo, it's gonna heal just fine." He gave him a big smile. "The reason ya back hurts is ya hit it against the rock wall when ya fell. An' that's why ya legs hurt as well. Bo, when ya hit the wall, ya knocked ya back, an' before it was a pressed disc made ya paralyzed, now, ya knocked it lose."
Bo looked at him as if he had gone crazy. "Luke, what are ya talking about?" He frowned.
"Bo, ya are partially healed now, yer on yer way to healing up." Luke told him. "Yer legs hurt right, so ya can feel them. Seems yer able ta move them a bit as well, if only a little."
Bo shook his head. "No Luke, it don't work, I can't anymore." He told him, his baby blue eyes filling up with tears.
Luke released his hand and wondered how he could prove this to his younger cousin, it was not going to be easy. In the end he pulled his arm away from behind Bo's head and moved it down to pinch his leg.
"Ow," Bo gave him a hurt look and started rubbing his leg.
"See Bo, ya have more feeling in yer legs now." Luke told him. "It's gonna be okay, ya ain't really paralyzed no more."
This time Bo gave him a confused look. "But Luke, then what was the bad news?" Now he was really scared since bad news didn't seem to fit with what he had just heard. That sounded like good news, so what could be the bad news.
"Bo, it's only partial. They don't know if it's gonna slide in place full or not. If it does, it might be a year or more before it does. Until then, ya still won't be able to walk Bo, the thing is they want to perform surgery and they say that if they do, you would probably be walking within two or three months."
There, he had said it all, and now it was up to Bo.
Suddenly he found himself short of air as a wave of pain stole his breath away….A wave of pain caused by suddenly having a cousin wrapped around his neck. He put his good hand on Bo's back and tried to sooth him. Bo only cried for a short time and Luke wasn't really surprised that he did. The poor boy had had so many bad things piled up on him that it was little wonder.
"Luke, what should I do?" Bo asked pulling his head up from Luke's shoulder.
"Uncle Jesse had them scheduled for surgery." Luke told him. "Bo, I don't like it no more than ya do, but they wouldn't say they could unless they weren't sure they could. An' if ya do it, well, then ya wouldn't have ta use the wheelchair no more, ya could really get yer life back here cousin." Luke reached up a hand that was trembling with fatigue to brush the tears from his cheek.
"I want that." Bo told him in a shaky voice.
Luke nodded and hugged him. "I know Bo, I know."
"Luke, if I do that, will ya be here then?" Bo asked. "I ain't gonna be there alone am I?"
Luke shook his head. "No Bo, ya ain't. I won't be able ta be with ya while they do it, but ya can bet ya boots I'm gonna be wi' ya when ya git out, an' I'm gonna take care o ya."
Bo gave him a small smile, then he nodded. "Okay, I'll do it."
Luke smiled even as Bo was once more splayed across his chest and wrapped around his neck seeing comfort. Funny, it didn't seem to hurt at all anymore.
Luke kept his word, while Bo was in surgery the Dukes was allowed to wait in his room, they'd bring Bo there when they were through with the surgery, having learned that it would be the best for the boy. It wasn't exactly normal procedure, but normal wouldn't be normal if there wasn't exceptions.
Luke was nervous, but still in to much pain to walk around the room. Instead he was stretched out on top of the bed and tried to rest as much as possible knowing that he would need to be strong for Bo once the ordeal was over. It would be an ordeal to Bo.
Finally Bo was brought back to the room, appearing to be sleeping soundly. Luke moved to the chair beside the bed he was in so that he could hold his hand, determined that when he woke up the first person he would see was Luke. It would probably be a long time before that happened, but it didn't really register with Luke, he was far to focused on his cousin. Meanwhile, the doctor told their Uncle that as far as they could determine while he was asleep Bo was doing fine, and it was a 100 success. They did however need to make sure that those numbers was correct as he woke up, as well as hope there were no complications arising.
Luke listened in case there was anything he needed to hear, but he was focused on Bo.
When Bo slowly started to come awake it was to soft encouragement and the loving touch of his cousin, Luke brushing his hand gently with his thumb.
"Did it work?" Bo asked in a hoarse voice, not really daring to open his eyes yet.
"We think so." Luke told him in a soft voice. "We need yer help ta prove it, come on cousin, open yer eyes an' look at me now."
Bo slowly opened his eyes and saw Luke smiling; it made him a little more confident. "How can we know?" He asked and swallowed as Luke squeezed his hand.
"We are going to test your reflexes." The doctor said as he stepped in. "Nothing much yet, just a small check to begin with. I want you to do what I tell you now, can you do that?"
Bo looked at Luke who gave him an encouraging smile, then he nodded, if Luke was there with him and thought he could then he could. They gave him a little water first though which he was really grateful for seeing as how his throat was dryer than an empty gas tank.
The Doctor lifted the cover away from his legs, and then he put his hand on Bo's thigh and asked if he could feel it. Bo kept his eyes on Luke and the smile on his face as he nodded yes. Having made sure that he did seem to feel the touch no matter where it was the doctor asked him to wiggle his toes.
Bo hesitated and looked at Luke again, he still felt as if his head was foggy, and he was still scared after the whole surgery thing. It felt to him as if it would determine his future, and he was scared.
"It's okay Bo." Luke moved his hand to his cheek. "Now, I've made ya some odd requests before, even if never this. So what ya say, wanna wiggle yer toes fer me?" He gave Bo a smile as he said it, feeling as if there was weight lifted of his chest as Bo gave him a small smile back.
The following seconds you would have thought that Bo's feet were the most interesting view in the whole world as everyone in the room had their full attention towards them. It was only Bo who was afraid to watch as first. He kept his eyes on Luke's face as he tried to remember how the simple act worked and send the correct signals from his brain. As he saw Luke's smile broaden and felt his grip on his hand tighten he looked down. There was no mistaking it, he was wiggling his toes. He seemed to be doing it a lot, but the second he realized he could move his legs again, he was wrapped around Luke's neck and sobbing his heart out onto his shoulder in pure relief.
The doctor realized that with Bo being so emotional it wasn't the best time to continue any serious examination. So telling them all seemed fine and that he would be back later to check on him he excused himself and asked Bo to rest.
"It worked, didn't it?" Bo asked tearfully.
Luke nodded and hugged him close. "Yeah Bo, it worked. Ya did great, ya did great little brother, and now yer gonna be just fine." He hugged him hard. "Ya did great Bo."
Bo nodded slowly. "Thanks Luke." He whispered.
"T'was ya did it." Luke told him, still feeling so incredible happy that Bo was going to get better now. "Yer quite amazing cousin, did ya know that?" He was so happy for him that it took him by surprise when Bo started crying again, this time seeming really sad. However neither Luke nor Uncle Jesse or Daisy was able to figure out what had him so upset all of a sudden.
In spite of all their best efforts it seemed that he was just too upset about something to settle down fully before he cried himself to sleep in Luke's arms.
