Howdy ya'll! I hope you noticed that I classified this story as tragedy/humor, which rather mirrors life, when we look at it over periods of time. The next few chapters are 'lighter', and while I know that deep down, most of us are partial to angst – I tried to keep this realistic. A few readers thought that the last chapter was the ending. I suppose it could have been if I would have done this more in parts, but I didn't. Therefore, it's longer and as it follows Ashley as she grows up. It will go up and down, but I had to give them a break or the poor girl would have grown up to be a psycho:)
Disclaimer: I don't own the Dukes, and no infringements intended.
UNCLE, UNCLE
CHAPTER 14
DOMESTICATED
Two days later, Bo Duke came home to a clean house, revitalized cousin, and a crowd of friends. He was told that he could expect a full recovery, though he was moving slow, and had been restricted to virtually no work. Feeling bad about not being able to help Luke, the brunette assured the blonde that he owed him.
The following morning, Luke didn't want to leave Ashley alone with Bo, reminding the patient that he wasn't supposed to be doing anything strenuous. Bo promised he'd be careful, and Luke ended up giving in, deciding that his cousin would probably heal faster with his favorite princess around.
Luke hurried with his work, wanting to return as quickly as possible. Despite Bo's solemn promises, Luke didn't completely trust him, and he didn't want to return home to find Bo on the floor again. The image of that night would remain with him forever; he didn't need an encore performance. Finishing early, he stopped by the house. Seeing that they were fine, he continued on to the Widow Jenkins.
That night, the boys sat on Bo's bed, watching Ashley in her cradle as she dreamed of gourmet bottles. Slipping his arm around his baby cousin's shoulder, Luke knew the time had come.
"You know, cuz, she's getting a little too big for that thing," Luke softly said.
Bo nodded. He'd noticed that himself, before his unexpected illness. It was time to move her into the crib in her nursery, and while Ashley may have been ready for the move, Bo wasn't so sure he was.
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A few days later, while Ashley and Bo were alone during the day, the little girl decided that she didn't like her lunch. Soaking herself, and Bo, they were in need of a change of clothes. Contrary to Luke's, and the doctor's orders, Bo bathed, then changed her. Bo came away unscathed, but as he was dressing her, he noticed that he was having a hard time squeezing her into her outfit.
"You are growing like a weed, kiddo. I think these clothes are history," the blonde announced, as she giggled at the face he made for her.
Clothed and clean, he laid her down for a nap, thinking about taking one himself. He could have used it, but decided that there was something else he could do instead. Going into the nursery, he started looking through the various things that Daisy had accumulated. He and Luke had wondered, at the time, why she had bought clothes in so many different sizes before the baby was even born. According to them, their niece should have been well dressed though her toddler years. Daisy had laughed at them, and with as fast as she was growing, Bo now saw the wisdom behind it. He was glad they had the larger outfits, knowing that if they hadn't, they would have been the ones shopping. The thought alone brought a frown to his face.
"Guess your mama knew what she was doing, after all," Bo whispered, looking to the sleeping child.
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When Luke came home that afternoon, he walked into a house that smelled of pot roast and potatoes. He could see that his cousin hadn't been listening very well about taking it easy.
"Bo? Didn't I tell you not to worry about dinner?" Stopping between the living room and the kitchen, he took in the sight before him. Ashley was on the floor on her blanket, and Bo was sitting on the couch, surrounded by little piles. Forgetting about dinner, he was now more interested in what else had been going on. "What are you doing?" he asked.
Bo looked up at Luke while folding a little shirt. "Going through these clothes. Ashley can't fit in the little ones, anymore."
"Wow! We had all this stuff?" Luke asked, picking up another miniature sized shirt.
"Yeah. Daisy got it all," Bo said, immediately searching Luke's face for a reaction. So far, the mere mention of their cousin's name had always upset the oldest Duke boy. Bo held his breath, waiting to see what would happen. Luke had to get over it because Daisy Duke had been part of the family, and as Ashley's mother, her name was going to be said in their house.
Freezing briefly, Luke gave a small smile, then nodded, and Bo felt like another hurdle had been overcome.
A timer rang in the kitchen, interrupting their conversation "I think the pot roast should be done," Bo announced, starting to get off the couch.
"I'll get it. You stay there. What'd I tell you about overdoing it?" Luke scolded over his shoulder as he went to check on their dinner.
Ignoring Luke's order, Bo got up anyway. "It was just a roast, Luke. Ain't like it was gonna kill me to throw it in a crock pot along with some potatoes and carrots," Bo chuckled. "I'll get Ashley's bottle, you set the table. How's that sound?"
Luke looked at his cousin, wanting to reprimand him further, but knowing that it wouldn't do any good. "Okay," he agreed, going to the cupboard for the plates.
Enjoying a nice dinner and a comfortable evening, Luke joined Bo after the dishes were done, and the two bachelors continued sorting through little girl baby clothes. Coming to the end, they noticed something unusual at the bottom. The rest of the clothes had all been washed and folded long before Ashley arrived. However, the last item must have been very important, since it was wrapped up tighter than Fort Knox.
"What do you think it is?" Bo asked, as he slowly began removing the protective coverings.
"Not a clue. Keep going and I guess we'll find out," Luke told him.
Finally getting to the last layer, Bo found the opening. Reaching inside, he could feel a silky material as he reached in to remove it. He didn't know exactly what it was, but he could tell it wasn't meant for everyday wear. Pulling it out carefully, both he and Luke stared at it, understanding the significance, before looking at each other.
"Luke, we forgot all about this," Bo said. "We need to do it. Obviously, Daisy was thinking about it and thought it was important," Bo added, lowering his voice, wondering what Luke would say.
For a moment, Luke neither said or did anything. Being agreeable that evening, he nodded. "We'll talk to the Reverend on Sunday."
Bo's eyes widened in surprise. "Yeah?"
Luke nodded again. "Yeah. It's time, for all of us," he grinned, knowing that Bo hadn't been expecting that answer. He'd made a deal with the Good Lord that if he sent Bo back to him, he'd change. A Duke's word was good, and Luke intended on living up to that promise.
"Yeah," Bo repeated, happier than he had been in a long time.
When Daisy died, Luke changed, in a lot of ways. One of the first things that he did was to stop going to church on Sundays. The first few, he made up the excuse that just because it was the Lord's Day didn't mean that there weren't things to be done. He added that he really thought 'God' would understand, beings he'd been the one to inflict all these plagues on them, anyway.
After the first two Sundays passed, the deeper into his despair that he got, Luke stopped bothering with reasons. He came right out and said that he didn't want to go to church anymore, to praise a God that would do the things he had done. The drinking followed later, but Luke's anger at the church and the almighty had been the first sign that things were terribly wrong.
Bo, on the other hand, attended services with Ashley for those first few weeks before giving up. He wasn't angry at God, not the way his cousin was, though he didn't understand his reasons. He wanted to be there, wanted to try to accept and go on, but it was just too hard to be there without Jesse, Daisy, and finally, Luke. The final straw was trying to explain to everyone where Luke was, and having to admit to himself what was going on inside the home that may never have had much money, but had always been filled with love. He knew that once Ashley was older, he'd have to go back, with or without Luke. Jesse and Martha had raised all of them to know and respect God, and Bo knew that Daisy would want her daughter to be brought up the same way. Bo prayed that by the time she was old enough, Luke would be ready. Saying a silent thank you, he was grateful for one prayer that had been answered.
However, while each boy had been struggling internally with their views on God and the church, they'd forgotten about one very important ritual. Inside the plastic wrap was a reminder; a beautiful, silk christening gown.
Glad now that he hadn't thought about it sooner, Bo would have never wanted to christen Ashley without Luke being there. It just wouldn't have been right, but until a week ago, he would have never been able to have dragged his oldest cousin along. Now, both of her uncles would be there to witness the first big event of her life.
"Ah princess, you're going to be so pretty in this," Bo said, noticing that she was starting to get sleepy.
"I think it's someone's bedtime," Luke said, picking her up and heading into their room.
"I think it's my bedtime, too," Bo said, a yawn escaping his lips.
Luke smiled at his cousin, knowing that he wasn't quite healed yet if he was ready to go to bed that early. As Luke laid his niece in her cradle, he wondered if Bo had been thinking about another issue that they mentioned briefly the other night. Bo let him know that it had been on his mind.
"Just one more night, Luke?"
Luke hadn't been about to argue with his cousin, but Bo must have thought that he was. Before Luke could say anything, Bo plead his case.
"I know that it's time for her to go in the other room, but I want her to spend one more night in here, with us."
"I think she'll be okay for one more night," Luke said. "But, if we wait any longer, we'll stunt her growth and give her a flat head, like yours. Hey, maybe that's what happened to you! ."
"Cute, Luke, real cute," Bo snorted.
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The next day, Bo made sure the little princesses' room was ready for her. Luke let Bo carry her into the room, but wouldn't allow him to reach over and lay her down. Bo wanted to, and Luke knew it, but the doctor warned that any serious stretching for a few weeks could give him a hernia, and they had enough problems without asking for more.
Standing back to watch for a few minutes, Ashley seemed to like her new bed, not giving any indication that she was fearful of her new surroundings. As the lights went out in the Duke household that night, two uncles stared up at the ceiling, and Bo wasn't the only one that missed her. They'd moved Ashley into her own room, but as grown men, they were still sharing a bedroom, themselves. There wasn't any need to, anymore. There were enough rooms in the house for each of them to have their own. However, that would mean one of them would have to move into Daisy's, and so far, they'd left it in tact. They were making progress, but they weren't quite ready to take that final step yet.
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"Hey buddies! Anybody home?" Cooter called through the screen.
"Come on in, Cooter," Bo and Luke both told him at the same time.
Opening the door, Cooter stepped in, laughing and scratching his head as he took in the sight before him. Bo was standing at the sink washing dishes, Luke was mopping the floor, and Ashley was in a secured swing that was suspended in the entryway between the kitchen and living room. Squealing as she bounced around, she appeared to be having the most fun.
"What?" Luke asked. "Ain't you ever seen anyone doing housework before?"
"Sure buddyroe, but I never thought I'd see you two doing it," Cooter joked.
Bo turned around and looked at Luke. "Neither did we," they both responded.
If someone would have told the Duke boys that this had been in their futures, they wouldn't have believed it. No one in Hazzard would have believed it, either. Having been dealt an unfair and bad hand, they'd managed to do the best they could, and so far, they'd been doing a fairly good job. Everyone in the community was impressed with how far they'd come. Though Luke had given them cause to worry at first, no one could fault the job they were doing now. All anyone had to do was take one look at Ashley to see that she was healthy, happy, and loved. The once wild Duke boys had been domesticated.
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"Oh Princess, ya know I love ya, but these diapers are something else," Bo said, gagging as he changed the little girl. The older and bigger that she got, the more Bo and Luke found the task distasteful. Everything else they were starting to master, but this one was getting worse by the day. "I will be so glad when you get potty trained," Bo told her, moving his head to the side to get a breath of clean air. Unfortunately, the day Bo was looking forward to was well into the future. Normally in a good mood, Ashley just giggled. "I'm glad you think it's funny," Bo said.
Having scrubbed her down, Bo stripped her of her clothes. Grabbing onto her toes, she wasn't cooperating. "Come on now, Ashley. You want to be pretty for the party, don't ya?" Bo asked her.
She babbled, but continued to wiggle so that Bo was having a hard time slipping on her outfit.
"If you don't let me get you dressed, we ain't gonna be able to go, and you're gonna be the prettiest little girl at the ball," Bo told her.
"Don't you mean pumpkin, Bo?" Luke asked, coming into the room. "You haven't got her dressed yet?" Luke hurried forward, seeing his naked as a jay-bird niece squirming around on the dressing table.
"Well, she doesn't seem to want clothes on right now. Here, you try," Bo said, handing the outfit to Luke.
Not having much better luck than Bo, between the two of them they finally wrangled her into the costume.
"That was like pulling teeth," Luke gasped, glad that she wasn't normally that difficult to get dressed.
"Yeah, but look at her. Ain't she the cutest pumpkin you ever seen?" Bo asked, picking her up.
"She sure is, but we better get going or it'll be next Halloween by the time we get there."
"We gotta take a picture, first," Bo said, going for the camera. He wanted to make sure that besides getting photos of Ashley, someone at the annual Hazzard Halloween Ball would take one of all three of them. The boys had already taken her for her first professional picture, and it had turned out very well, but the ones they snapped themselves were always the most special. Keeping a loaded camera on hand wasn't something that they'd ever thought of before, until they realized that without one, they missed capturing moments that would never come again. Ashley's first Halloween wasn't something they wanted to forget.
Not even looking for it, Luke had been the one to spot it. An orange child's jumper with a puffed middle and a little hat was about as complicated a costume as one could put an infant into, but it was adorable. Bo remembered Luke holding it up at the store to show him, and after sharing a look, the older Duke boy threw it in the shopping cart. The boys would have never believed that they would have ever found themselves doing more browsing in the kids' department than the auto parts store, but that's exactly what was taking place in the lives of Uncle Bo and Uncle Luke.