True to their word, four days later, Bo was on his way back to Hazzard with Cooter, having been cleared by the police when Bo told them everything that had happened. Even before Bo could finish telling them, he had broke down crying several times. Bo hardly said two words the entire trip home. Cooter had tried several times to start a conversation, but each time Bo just gave him the cold shoulder. Eventually the mechanic gave up and drove the rest of the way in silence.
Two days later, Cooter's beat up truck pulled into Hazzard Square. Stopping at the garage, Cooter helped Bo out and helped him get settled in. Once Cooter was positive Bo would be all right by himself, he went to make Bo something to eat. Though Cooter's specialty was fixing cars, he was a fairly good cook. At least good enough he didn't burn the food or make people sick.
After fixing Bo a meal that consisted of pork chops, biscuits and corn, Cooter went out to the main part of the garage and got to work on a car.
Bo looked at the plate sitting on the table before him. Though he wasn't in the mood to eat, he picked up the plate and ate some of it so the food wouldn't go to waste. After eating as much as he could, Bo settled back against the old beat-up couch and started to space out.
Sometime later, Cooter came back in to check up on Bo. Seeing him staring out into space, Cooter became concerned. Going over to his young friend, Cooter gently shook his shoulder.
"Bo, hey Bo, you alright?" Cooter asked the concern clear in his voice. Bo blinked a couple of times and looked to Cooter, but said nothing. "I think you should be kept busy for awhile. I got a job you can do." Cooter said. Without a word, Bo got to his feet and limped out to the main part of the garage, his ankle still tender. Sighing, Cooter followed after him.
After showing Bo what needed to be done, Cooter watched him work for a minute before going back to work on the car he'd been working on earlier. For the rest of the day, the garage was filled with near complete silence. The only sounds to be heard were those of Bo and Cooter working. When night came, Cooter and Bo closed up for the night, and then headed for Cooter's farm. After eating dinner, Cooter showed Bo to his room and let him settle down for the night while he went to his own room to do the same. After what seemed like an eternity, Cooter finally fell into a restless sleep.
Three days later, Bo was alone at the garage while Cooter went to pick up Enos, who had wrecked his car on the other side of the county. Sitting outside, Bo watched the people of Hazzard walk by, happy as could be. Looking away, Bo pulled a picture out of his shirt pocket and looked at it.
It was a picture of the Dukes that was taken just after Luke's 20th birthday. In the picture, Luke and Daisy were smiling brightly, while Jesse was sitting on the old porch swing, watching them. Bo saw himself sitting on the porch step, a hard cast covering his left leg. Bo looked the picture over, thinking back to that day when everything was fine, or at least as fine as it could be to him at the time.
It was three days after Luke had just turned 20 and a week after Bo had broken his leg after jumping off the barn roof. A friend of his had been visiting and boys being boys, they dared each other to jump off the roof of the barn. Bo's friend, Andy, had jumped and landed in a pile of hay. When Bo made his jump, it was clear he'd beaten Andy, since he missed the hay by about five feet. Landing wrong, Bo's leg had snapped in two different places and he was knocked unconscious, which was in a way, a good thing, otherwise Bo would have been in excruciating pain.
The next thing Bo knew, he was waking up in the hospital, three concerned faces hovering over him. None of the other Dukes had actually seen Bo jump, but when Andy had run inside yelling that Bo was hurt, Jesse, Luke and Daisy all ran outside. Jesse had been very ticked when he found out Bo had jumped off the barn roof intentionally. Instead of taking Bo to the woodshed, Jesse let Bo's broken leg be his punishment for doing something as stupid as what he'd done.
When Bo was finally allowed to leave the hospital, Jesse gave him a firm lecture on the way home. Luke and Daisy had stayed home to prepare for Bo and so the truck wouldn't be so crowded and uncomfortable for Bo. When Bo and Jesse got back home, Jesse ordered Bo to go straight to bed. Bo had thought abut protesting, but figured he'd already ticked his uncle off enough for one week. Going to his room, Bo closed the door, stripped out of his clothes, and put on his pajama bottoms, which were more comfortable with the cast. Once that task had been done, Bo laid down on his bed after arranging a couple of pillows to rest his leg on. With that done, Bo got as comfortable as he could and dozed off.
Four days later, the Dukes were busy getting things ready for Luke's surprise birthday party, which only the three of them knew about. Because they didn't have enough money to invite many people, Bo, Daisy and Jesse all agreed to have a private party for Luke instead. While Luke was gone for the day, running errands for Jesse in town, the remaining Dukes set up the party stuff. Bo wrapped the gifts they'd gotten Luke while Jesse hung up decorations and Daisy made the food.
By the time Luke arrived home, it was almost dark. Jesse had hidden his truck in the barn and the lights had been shut off inside, making it look like no one was home. After parking his car, Luke got out and headed inside, only to be greeted by his family jumping out of their hiding places, except Bo, who had a bit of trouble standing up. To say Luke had been surprised was an understatement. Though small, the party was a lot of fun. Three days after that, Cooter had come over to visit and see how Bo was doing after having heard about his accident. Later in the day, Cooter had gotten out an old camera his father had given him, and was messing around and taking pictures. Upon Bo's request, Cooter took a snapshot of Luke and Daisy playing around, getting Bo and Jesse in the picture completely by accident.
Bo hadn't realized tears had started to fall down his cheeks as he thought back to that day, that is, until someone got his attention.
"Alright Bo Duke! Your under arrest." Came the all to familiar voice of one Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane. Not having heard about what happened, Rosco thought that Bo was thinking about causing trouble.
Looking up, Bo saw Rosco approaching him, cuffs in one hand and his gun in the other.
"I'm not in the mood." Bo said as he stood up. Bo had just turned to go back inside, when Rosco stopped him.
"I don't think so. Your under arrest for loitering." Rosco said again.
"I said I'm not in the mood for your crap!" Bo yelled, shocking Rosco beyond words. Without saying another word, Bo stormed off down the sidewalk, instead of going inside like he originally planned. By the time Rosco stopped mumbling, Bo was long gone. For the rest of the day, Bo walked around the back roads of Hazzard, going nowhere in particular. Eventually, by the time it got dark, Bo had found himself at the old Duke family cemetery.
Because Bo had been unable to pay for three funerals, he had decided to have his family buried without one. Deep down, Bo was glad for that so he wouldn't be faced with everyone telling him how sorry they were and bringing up what he wanted to forget about, but he also felt terrible for not giving his family a proper burial. Going up to the freshly dug graves, Bo sat down in front of them. As he looked at the new headstones, tears escaped his eyes.
And that is how Bo Duke ended up in the Duke family cemetery, looking at the graves of his family. Sometime past midnight, Bo felt a friendly hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw the sympathetic face of Cooter Davenport.
"You alright, buddy?" Cooter asked softly.
"Yeah, just visiting them." Bo replied softly.
"Alright. I'll go wait in the truck." Cooter said. Giving Bo's shoulder a gentle squeeze, Cooter turned and left the cemetery. Bo watched him go, and then looked back to the graves.
"See ya'll real soon." Bo whispered. Standing up, he walked out of the cemetery and over to the waiting truck. Getting in, Bo shut the door and waited for Cooter to drive off.
Cooter drove in silence, completely oblivious to the plan forming in Bo's mind.
When they got back to the Davenport farm, Bo and Cooter got out and went inside. Since it was so late, Cooter and Bo headed to their separate rooms. Bo, however, made a quick stop to the bathroom. Making sure Cooter wasn't around; Bo opened the medicine cabinet and looked through it. Finding what he was looking for, he grabbed the small white bottle and headed to his room. Hiding the bottle under his pillow, Bo snuck downstairs.
Entering the kitchen, Bo went to the refrigerator and opened the door. Looking around, he spotted what he was looking for. Grabbing the cold can, Bo returned to his room and shut the door. Sitting on the bed, Bo got out a piece of paper and a pen. After writing a note and sitting it on the nightstand, he grabbed the bottle and opened it. Dumping out several small white pills, Bo popped them into his mouth and swallowed them. Opening the can of beer, Bo drank over half the can before sitting it down next to the note on the nightstand.
Laying down, Bo took the picture out of his pocket that he carried with him everywhere. Looking at it, Bo felt tears stinging his eyes. Clutching it tightly to his chest, Bo turned over onto his side and closed his eyes for the last time.
The next morning, Cooter woke up sometime before noon. Going downstairs, he fixed himself some coffee. After he was more awake, he went to the bottom of the stairs and called for Bo. Not getting an answer, Cooter went upstairs to wake him.
Knocking on the door, Cooter waited for an answer. When he didn't one, he walked inside. At first it looked as though Bo was sleeping deeply, but as Cooter got closer, he noticed that Bo's lips were a blue-ish color. Worry swept through Cooter, fearing the worst. Touching Bo's arm, Cooter was shocked at how cold Bo's skin felt. Thinking fast, Cooter checked for a pulse, paling when he didn't find one.
Cooter was just about to go call an ambulance, when the note caught his eye. Picking it up, he unfolded it and read it.
Dear Cooter,
I'm sorry. I couldn't stand it any longer. It just wasn't fair that Uncle Jesse, Luke and Daisy died and I didn't. Don't worry about me though, I'm finally happy again. I'll be with my family again really soon. I know when you find this, I'll be gone, but please understand why I did it.
I couldn't stand having the nightmares every night and living with the guilt of me living and them dying. I hope you can forgive me, but I won't be mad if you don't.
Your friend,
Bo
To say Cooter was shocked was an understatement. He knew Bo was hurting, but he had no idea just how bad it was. Pulling himself together, Cooter made his way downstairs to call Rosco.
Bo watched the scene below him play out. He knew Cooter was hurt, but at last, Bo was finally happy. He'd already seen his family once and knew they were waiting for him nearby. Watching Cooter for a moment longer, Bo went to where his family was waiting. When they were all together, the Dukes walked through a beautiful golden gate and into their eternal home.
When the entire town of Hazzard found out about the Duke family's fate, everyone was shocked. After raising enough money for a funeral, the Hazzard citizens made sure that Bo's body was buried next to Luke.
After the funeral and burial, the last people to leave the Duke family cemetery were Boss Hogg, Rosco, Lulu, Flash and Cooter. After saying their goodbyes, everyone went their separate ways, each of them knowing that Hazzard would never be the same.