"I never thought that life could be so unkind,
until I lost you.
No more times by the lake in June,
no more walks beneath the moon...

We talked for hours over things we believed in,
caring for each other,
hand in hand through life before you left me standing all alone
- helpless without you."
-Saigon Kick

In a large farmhouse set high on the ridge between Hazzard and Choctaw Counties - some eighteen miles northwest of the Dukes as the crow flies, Christmas dinner was almost ready. It had been a good year, what with corn prices low and whiskey prices high, and the McCullums were among the families who knew how to make a dollar stretch as far as it could.

A girl – almost seventeen, with long, golden, untamed curls that seemed to dance about her head with a mind of their own, gathered six plates from the oak china cabinet in the small dining room and set them on the table. Inspecting the first one, she sighed at the thin layer of dust on it. The good plates were only used for special occasions, and so she'd come prepared, wiping each one down with a clean cloth before setting it in turn around the table.

"Momma," she called into the adjoining kitchen, "does Paulie need a big plate?"

Paulie was her four year old nephew, her eldest brother, Alex's, son.

A woman in her mid-50's, with a kind face and chestnut hair in large roller-curls, peeked from around the corner. "Oh, let's go ahead and give him one, Amy." She grinned. "It'll make him feel special."

Amy grinned back and set another place. No sooner had she done so than she was grabbed from behind and slung around, a hand over her eyes. She laughed.

"Brody!" The man set her down, and she spun around to hug her brother.

"Hey, sis! Long time, no see."

After he'd graduated high-school two years prior, Brody McCullum had gone north and had landed a job with Boeing in Everett, Washington, building 747 transport planes. That he'd not only gotten out of the hills, but had moved to the other side of the country had been gossip for nearly a year around town.

"Oh my gosh! When did you get in?" She noted it must be raining again, he was soaked.

"Just now," he answered, shedding his water-logged coat. "I tell you what, though. I'm sure glad I flew into Nashville instead of Atlanta. They're getting some nasty stuff down that way."

Alex McCullum came up from behind and wrapped his younger brother in a tight bear hug. "Hey!" he called back towards their father who was smiling from the doorway, "I caught a stray! Should we send him back or keep him?"

So it went, with the family happily together once again.

The mood in the Duke's kitchen was a grab-bag of mixed emotions. Luke, Vance, and Bo had taken to avoiding Daisy until supper - she'd seemed greatly put-off by something, and Luke wondered if maybe it had something to do with her so-called "date". He knew just as well as every other guy what Darcy was all about, and he had a mind to talk to Uncle Jesse about it tomorrow. Not only that, but Darcy's overbearing, play-acting attempts to be chummy with him were enough to make Luke want to whack the guy upside the head.

Luke was sure he wasn't the only one who felt like something was amiss when it came time to eat. This was the first year he could remember that Enos wasn't with them. Granted the guy got on his last nerve sometimes, but he was practically family for crying out loud. It wasn't right for him not to be here, and Luke didn't know why he'd hadn't at least stayed until everyone got back from town before leaving.

"Where'd you say Enos ran off to?" he asked Daisy, as he helped himself to a plate of ham before passing it on to Bo's eager hands.

"I already told you, Luke" she snapped, irritated, "he said he was going to see his mother."

Luke looked up from his plate. "Well, there ain't no call to get grumpy about it. I just don't understand's all."

"Well, now, I'm sure if he comes around later or tomorrow morning he'll fill us in," said Uncle Jesse. "Though it ain't like him to miss Christmas dinner." He was quiet a moment, a thoughtful look on his face. "I sure hope Agnes is alright. Come to think of it, I ain't seen her around town lately."

"That ol' bat couldn't be bothered unless somebody's dead or dying," Luke muttered.

Uncle Jesse looked sternly at him. "Luke, that ain't how I raised you to talk about other people, specially not when we have a guest."

"Yes sir," muttered Luke.

Darcy smiled winningly. "Oh, never mind me, Uncle Jesse. I'm just happy to be here."

Jesse first impression of Darcy had been that he wasn't anything like his father who he knew as a down-to-earth, quiet man, that would just about do anything for a friend. He wasn't sure what to think of this boy with the syrupy smile and false enthusiasm, but he nodded anyway. "Well, we're happy you could come, Darcy. But I ain't your Uncle Jesse."

Darcy's smile faltered a bit. "Sorry, Mr. Duke."

Happy reunions aside, Amy and her mother had loaded the table down with food and had finally gathered everyone together to sit down and eat.

Not able to get enough of Alex's two year old daughter, Sarah Jane, Amy had planted the child's highchair next to her own chair and was feeding her bites of sweet-potato casserole while listening happily to several conversations at once.

She sighed contentedly. It had been so long since everyone had been together like this. Alex, his wife Carrie, and their two children lived up in Knoxville and, although not a terribly long ways away, there never seemed to be enough time to make a visit. Brody might as well have moved to Siberia as Washington State - this was the first time he'd made it down since the summer before last.

She was the last one left - the baby of the family, and though she knew her father would like to see her leave the hills as well someday, she had a feeling she never would. It wasn't a regret - more a resignation. This life was all she knew, and she was comfortable with that. Moonshining was in her blood and, though she'd never in her wildest dreams admit it, she found the danger exciting and to some degree romantic - alone in the middle of nowhere at night, with only her dreams and the stars above her.

Amy was still reminiscing when there was a knock at the door.

Talking suddenly ceased, and for a moment everyone held their breath as they glanced at each other around the table. In a home where moonshining paid the bills, strangers knocking at the door was always a cause for alarm. In fact, the only one who immediately thought of something different was Amy. For a split second her heart seemed as though it might fly from her chest.

"I'll get it," she said, getting shakily to her feet.

All eyes followed her out of the dining room. The knock came again.

Amy turned the lamp back on in the empty living room, her eyes automatically flicking to the shotgun resting beside the door before she unbolted the lock and opened it. For a moment, she could only stare in disbelief. Not in a million years would she have ever dared to hope -

There on her doorstep, standing in the rain, was Enos.

He looked up at her nervously, and she got the distinct feeling that if she did not do precisely the right thing, he might bolt off into the woods - like a frightened deer or some other woodland creature, unaccustomed to human interaction.

"Hi Amy, um...I'm...uh...I'm sorry to bother you."

She smiled slightly. "You're not bothering anyone, Enos. You're just in time for supper." She held the door open for him and took a step back. "Come on in."

He hesitated before mumbling a thanks and brushing past her into the living room. It had been a long time since he'd been here, at least three years, maybe more. It hadn't changed much - the same over-sized brown couch against the far wall with Mrs. McCullum's shelf of nick-nacks above it and the huge Vermont wood-burning stove taking up most of the left side of the room, and he suddenly felt himself being drawn back through the years, back into his childhood. So easily could he imagine his pa' out on their porch, talking to Henstep, that a lump stuck in his throat. He swallowed several times.

Amy watched him silently, wondering if he was remembering the last time he had been in her house. After a long minute, whatever had stalled him seemed to pass. His face cleared and he ran his hands through his wet hair, shaking the rain out until it was damp and spiky instead of plastered to his head.

"Here, give me your coat," she said. "I'll hang it by the stove so it'll dry." She waited while he took it off and then draped it over a chair that sat close to the stove. "Come on," she motioned him to follow her, "Everyone's here, and I'll bet you ain't seen Alex in forever."

"Hey!" Amy called into the room ahead of her, "look who came!"

Enos followed her into the cozy dining room where everyone was eating, feeling suddenly very out of place with all eyes on him. Her parents both got up and came over to them.

"Enos! It's sure good to see you, son," said her father, shaking his hand. "We've been hearing lots of good things about you down at that Academy."

"Thanks, Mr. McCullum," he replied, shyly. "I'm trying my best."

"Your pa' sure would be proud of you. I reckon Amy's prob'ly told you he ain't the only one."

"Yes sir, she did, last time I's down." Enos glanced at Amy's mother, who was smiling happily. "Hi, Mrs. McCullum. Thanks for inviting me."

Alice McCullum, who'd had no idea that Amy had invited him, played along anyway. "Oh, Enos, you know you're always welcome here, dear." She gave him a warm hug that reminded him distantly of Aunt Lavinia. "Now...you just come and sit yourself down, and Amy'll get you a plate. I don't know what they feed you at the Academy, but I'd wager it ain't as good as these here mashed potatoes, collard greens, and ham. "

He laughed. "No ma'am. It ain't even close."

Darcy hadn't stuck around long after supper and Daisy had seen him off with only a vague attempt to be cheerful while the others retired to the living room. After a few minutes she joined them, choosing the seat next to the window that looked out onto the road.

Uncle Jesse turned down the lights and they sang carols while bathed in the soft colors from the Christmas tree lights. Ordinarily, it was Daisy's favorite tradition, and she would always make sure and sit next to Enos. He had a wonderful voice, but he never sang, and unless he happened to be going to church with them it was the only time she got to hear it. Her heart wasn't in singing this year. She kept one ear tuned to the driveway, hoping to eventually hear the sounds of a car pulling in, but all was quiet and still.

After they'd sung the last song, Bo hopped up and turned the lamp back on. "It's my turn to be Santa this year!" He was fairly dancing with anticipation.

"Uh, well, alright," said Uncle Jesse, motioning to the ten year old. "Go ahead."

Bo grabbed a brightly colored package from under the tree. "Here you go, Uncle Jesse. I got your name this year. I hope you like it."

Jesse unwrapped the paper to find a shiny new whiskey flask. "Well, looky here," he said, examining it carefully. "This is just what I needed." He looked up at the beaming child. "Thank you, Bo, that was mighty thoughtful."

"You're welcome, Uncle Jesse!" He scrambled back to the tree and fished out a long, thin one. "Hey, this one's for me from Daisy!"

"Well, go ahead, silly," she said, "open it up."

He tore the paper off. It was a new fishing rod. "Wow! Thanks, Daisy! This sure is a swell one!"

"Yeah, well, don't be losing this one in Possum Swamp."

Luke was next, and received a new shifting knob for his race car from Uncle Jesse.

The next present was to Enos from Luke. "I guess Enos can open his tomorrow," said Bo, setting it back under the tree.

Vance had already had Christmas with his and Coy's families and wasn't part of the usual gift exchange, so with all but her present accounted for, Daisy knew Enos must have gotten her name. He'd said that, though, hadn't he? That he'd come by to drop off her gift.

"Oh, hey," said Bo, pulling a small box out from under the tree, "this one's for Daisy. I guess Enos brought it by before he left."

Bo handed it to her. It was heavy, but in a box so the shape gave her no clue what it was. She tore the paper off and opened up the box.

"Well, don't just stare at it," complained Luke. "Show us what it is."

She reached in and gently pulled it out. It was shaped like a large snow globe, but inside the globe, instead of a Christmas scene, there was a beautiful yellow rose -moving and swaying in the water as though it were alive and being blown by the breeze. It sat on a heavy wooden base which had a key in the side that turned a music box, and inscribed around the middle of the base were the words:

"A single rose can be my garden ~ a single friend, my world."

Something between a cough and a choked sob was all that she uttered before running with it to her room and shutting the door behind her.

"Wonder what got into her?" asked Luke, turning to his uncle.

Uncle Jesse shook his head. He wasn't sure what to make of Daisy's odd behavior, but he had a feeling it had something to do with the guy who'd been missing all evening. "I dunno, Luke," he said. "I s'pose if she wants us to know, she'll tell us."

Later that night when Jesse went to check on her, he found her curled up, sound asleep on her bed - her pillow damp with tears and Enos' gift clasped tightly in her arms.

After supper, the McCullum family gathered back in the living room, bringing their chairs from the dining room with them, while Amy and her parents sat on the couch. Enos sat on the floor, his back against the side she was on, watching the children play while everyone else chit-chatted around him. Feeling like he didn't really belong there, he tried to make himself as invisible as he could, and tried to think of a polite way to excuse himself and leave, though he had nowhere to go but to his mother's house. He couldn't face Daisy again, at least not tonight.

His mind wandered, trying to come up with any other options. He supposed he could go out to one of Uncle Jesse's still sites, but with his luck they'd show up there to run a batch. Holidays were the best times for making moonshine since even the revenuers took Christmas off.

His thoughts were cut short by Henstep rising from the couch and taking his coat down from the hook beside the door.

"Well, I think the rain's done passed on. I guess I'd better get to it if I want to grab some shut-eye before you kids have to head out tomorrow," the man said, shrugging on his coat. "I let that mash set up any more and it's gonna go over."

"Oh, no, Pop," said Amy, hopping up, "you go ahead and sit down. I'll go run it."

Her father hesitated and looked as though he'd like to take her up on the offer, but instead he shook his head. "Amy, you've got company. 'Sides, I really don't like the idea of you all by yourself out there."

"I could go with her," offered Enos. As soon as he said it, he cringed, thinking that one or more people might get the wrong impression. "That is if you and Amy don't mind, sir. I know it's been a long time since you've had your family all together."

Henstep cleared his throat and gave Enos a puzzled look. As fond as he knew Amy was of the boy, he'd never reckoned it for the other way around. Still... "Well...that's mighty nice of you, Enos. I don't mind, but I reckon it's up to Amy."

"Sure. That's fine, Pop." She tried not to blush, knowing that it likely wasn't because of her Enos was willing to go.

They grabbed their coats and headed out the door, Amy taking the shotgun with her as they left.

As she drove through the dark roads in her father's pick-up, she struggled with exactly what to make of the situation. She'd heard some interesting rumors at school earlier that week, and she had a feeling his being here had more to do with Daisy than herself. Though she'd had quite a few daydreams about being alone with the guy sitting across the cab from her, she highly doubted tonight would play out like any of those.

She stole a quick glance at Enos. He was staring silently out his window, and if the tenseness of his posture said anything it was that he wasn't all that comfortable – either with whatever had happened to bring him here in the first place, or being alone with her. Amy figured it was probably both.

Enos watched the scenery go by, knowing intuitively even in the dark where they were and where they were going. He counted the bumps they passed and watched the sides of the road for the jewel-like eyes of deer reflecting the truck's headlights. Anything to keep his mind off of the movie that played over and over behind his eyes.

The McCullums' still was only about ten miles away from their farmhouse, and it wasn't long before Amy pulled the truck over to the side of the road.

In the moment between her turning off the truck lights and her finding the flashlight, the woods were cloaked in utter darkness. Enos raised his head, watching as the clouds moved swiftly across the sky, their edges illuminated by the half moon shining behind them. The smell of the rain permeated the air – more of an 'unscent' than a true fragrance itself, and it was one of the few times that he could not smell the forest that he knew stood all around him nor the mud from the rutted dirt road.

Amy switched on the flashlight, bathing the path before them harsh, artificial light. Enos followed her.

The McCullums' still sat in a small clearing beside Crooked Creek. Enos took a seat in one of the lawn-chairs there and watched Amy with detached fascination as she lit the fire in the furnace, removed the top of the boiler which held the fermented mash and connected it instead to the thump keg. After all the years he'd grown up in the hills, he wondered if she realized it was the first time he'd actually seen a still in action. If his father knew what he was doing... but he didn't and never would. Otis Strate slept beneath the quiet trees at Pine Ridge Cemetery.

His father...Aunt Lavinia...now Daisy. Of the three people who had been the most important to him in his life, two were gone forever and the third one...

He recalled the day his mother tried to take him away from Hazzard, forever for all he'd known, and that he could not bear the thought of never seeing Daisy again. It was Daisy who had brought him back, both physically to Hazzard and spiritually to the world of the living - practically kicking and screaming at times, but she'd never given up on him. He shuddered to think of who or where he would be without her.

The morning after he'd come back home, she had been there. He closed his eyes, the memory of her fingers softly brushing his cheek for a moment displacing the bitter one from earlier that day. He had loved her even then, though he hadn't known the word for it. They had always been so...close, and he had taken for granted that nothing would ever change. He'd never stopped to think of her as his, or he as hers, because they just were. They had always seemed to belong to each other, though no words were ever spoken of it.

Amy watched Enos warily from her own lawn chair across from him. "So..."

His head jerked up towards Amy. He'd completely forgotten about her.

"Sorry," he said, rubbing his eyes. "It's been a long day."

She nodded. "I know why you're here."

His heart skipped a beat, thinking perhaps one of the Dukes called them, wondering where he was, but he dismissed the idea. Amy was the last person Daisy would expect him to be with. He narrowed his eyes at her. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, I mean...I guess I don't really know why you're here," she admitted, "but I know about Daisy - and Darcy."

If the fire had been brighter, she would have seen his blush. "How the heck did you know about that?"

"It's been all over the school this week, 'bout how Daisy asked him out," she said, gently, unknowingly driving another nail into his heart. "I'm really sorry."

It was the honest truth. No matter how she felt about him, she didn't like to see him hurt.

He shrugged indifferently. "Why would I care about that? I reckon it ain't none of my business who she dates."

"You're really gonna sit here and tell me that?" she asked in disbelief. "I ain't stupid, Enos."

Their eyes met and she held his gaze as he regarded her solemnly. Abruptly, he stood up. "I shouldn't of come here," he said as he walked past her, towards the trail and the road.

Amy caught his arm. "Enos, stop." He did, but continued to stare straight ahead, as though keeping his escape route in his line of sight. "Look...I'm sorry. I...I just don't want you to think I've gotten the wrong impression," she said, trying to keep her voice even. "I know you're not here for me."

He turned to her, his eyes locking on hers. "Don't tell me this ain't what you've been waiting for, Amy," he said, quietly, a touch of anger behind his words. "Daisy to find someone else. I ain't stupid, either."

She flushed. "I am not that kind of person, Enos Strate!"

Her words seemed to unsettle him, to bring him back to the present, and he dropped his eyes, embarrassed. "Shucks, I'm...I'm sorry, Amy," he said, shaking his head, "ain't no call for me to talk to you like that." He went back and sat down in his chair. "I'm just...I ain't myself right now."

"It's okay," she sighed, "I didn't expect you would be."

She went back to the still, and tried to turn the lever on the end of the copper worm that stuck out of the cooling barrel. "You know what I wish?" she asked, still messing with the lever, "I wish you could forget how I was such a pest around you when we were younger, maybe you'd let me be your friend without dragging that up..." She picked up a rock and whacked the lever with it. "Dang it!"

Enos went over to where she knelt, smacking the lever with a small rock, and saw that it had rusted shut. He motioned her out of the way. "Here, let me try." He grasped the lever with both hands and pulled as hard as he could until it broke free, then closed it again, not sure she was supposed to be loosing the moonshine.

"Thanks. Leave it open for a minute. You drink the first stuff to come outta there, you'll be trying on robes and halos."

He sat back down and watched while Amy let about a gallon run out into the creek before re-closing the lever. She wiped her hands against her jeans and took her seat across from him once again. He looked away and they sat in silence, each lost in their own worlds.

Amy was desperately trying to think of something to say to him. As much as the subject wasn't perhaps the lightest, she wanted to hear him talk - to see for once inside his mind. To her knowledge, Daisy was the only one who'd ever seen him loose his temper, and tonight was the first time she could remember ever being privy to any other emotion of his but polite indifference. She had been under the impression, along with most everyone else in Hazzard, that the two of them were practically engaged and merely waiting for him to graduate and her to turn eighteen before getting married. Apparently Enos and Daisy hadn't gotten the memo.

"So, what are you gonna do?" she asked, finally.

He looked back at her, his eyes dark and brooding. "About what?'

She shrugged. "Well, I'm sure my parents would be happy to let you stay until school starts back, but they're gonna wonder why you ain't over at the Dukes so I'd have to do some explaining. You can get away with crashing on the couch 'till tomorrow since you're out here with me. Mom and Pop'll just think you're catching up on sleep."

"Oh." He'd been thinking she meant about Daisy, not about where he was going to stay. "I guess I'll just go back to the Academy tomorrow," he said, with resignation. "I really need to spend some time out on the shooting range if I want to get on at the Atlanta Police Department."

"Atlanta! I though you were coming back..." Suddenly she understood. "Oh."

"There ain't much here for me anymore, I reckon." He got up and wandered away, over to the edge of the woods, gazing out into the darkness.

She would've liked to tell him that it wasn't true - that there were plenty of people, herself especially, that would like to be there for him, but she held her tongue, knowing it wasn't what he wanted to hear. Instead she gathered the jars that her father had stashed away for this batch, re-opened the lever, and filled them one by one with the whiskey before placing them back in their crates. An hour passed without another word between them.

As she worked, it occurred to her that perhaps there was an opportunity here to set right some things that she wished she'd done differently. If he needed a friend, then she could be the best one that he had...nothing more...well, at least not right now anyway. Call it a long term plan, if you will. She'd waited sixteen years for Enos to give her the time of day, she could stand to wait a couple more.

He was sitting down again, watching her quietly. She took a deep breath.

"You can't stay in Atlanta forever, you know," she told him. "There's holidays and times when the school'll be closed and stuff."

He looked up at her, but didn't answer, waiting for her to make her point.

"Well, what I mean is...if there's something you want to do, or you'd like someone to talk to...just as a friend...I wouldn't get the wrong idea."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, alright, Amy. I'll think about it." He stood up and walked over to the crates of moonshine. "Are we done here?"

It was as close to a truce between them as she was going to get right now, and she knew it. Smiling, she picked up a crate and handed it to him.

"Yep, all done."

Enos didn't take the McCullums' up on the offer of their couch for the night, preferring instead to drive straight on to Atlanta.

He reached the city just as the morning sun was lighting up the horizon, but as the new day dawned, he found his eyes drawn to the west where the night was quickly dissolving - the night that carried before it so many years of warmth and love and happiness, now drawn to a close. Forever afterwards Enos would remember that Christmas with an ache in his heart, because that was the day he lost everything...the day he lost his Daisy.

A/N:The gift - this is setting on Daisy's nightstand next to her bed in Witness for the Persecution. I was looking up famous quotes about flowers and this one was the first one I found and I thought it fit Enos and Daisy so well. It is by Leo Buscaglia (don't know who that is, lol)...A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world.