Author's Note: This is a story I wrote about the Dukes and their first years at the farm. I tried to keep it with them from the point where they got to the farm, and carry on throughout a couple of years. It's a growing and learning experience for all of them. There are also notes at the end of each chapter, a credit of sorts to a father from his son.

Warning: The warning is placed here for vinsmouse, who wanted a spew warning here, claiming it might be a bad idea to drink while reading the funnier parts. So please keep in mind that drinking any kind of beverage while reading this, might be hazzard'ous to the health of your screen.

Disclaimer: The Duke Boys are not mine, I don't own the Duke boys, nor the General Lee. I promise that once I'm through with them, there will be nothing broken that a trip to Cooter's garage can't fix….


Learning To Love…

Chapter 29 ….. Trickery

"What happened to you?" Jesse asked as the two children came home after school. He had long ago learnt not to panic before he knew what had been going on. Something had obviously happened to Luke though. His left eye was covered by a white square of bandage taped in place, and Jesse knew he had not worn that when he left the house in the morning. He also looked like he might have suffered a nosebleed, and seemed awful mad.

"Dewey tricked me," he spat.

"Tricked ya how?" Jesse wanted to know. Dewey Hogg was the nephew off Boss Hogg, he was a true Hogg, but he was also very mean. While Luke had made a painful enemy of Ernie Ledbetter, it was just that they fought a lot. Dewey seemed to take pleasure out of tormenting younger kids, especially Duke kids…

"He said I was a cry baby, an' I told him I was not," Luke explained. "He kept on saying I was, so I shouted at him I weren't, an' then he bet me I was gonna cry, an' I said I wasn't gonna no matter what he did."

"So what did he do?" Jesse asked softly.

"He threw a big rock in my face," Luke told him sourly.

"To make sure ya did cry I reckon," Jesse nodded. "He's a mean boy that one, real mean."

"Yeah," Luke nodded.

"Who took care of ya?" Jesse wanted to know. All the classrooms had some band aids and such, but they couldn't deal with much more than small cuts or scraped knees.

"They had Doc Appleby come over there," Luke explained. "They do that all the time when it is something."

"So what'd he say?" Jesse wanted to know.

"I don't remember really," Luke admitted. "It hurt real bad, an' I's trying not to cry. An' I didn't, at least not so much I really did it, just a very, very little."

"Didn't want to let him win there, did ya?" Jesse asked with a small smile.

"Yeah, didn't," Luke agreed.

"Think I should call doc though, see what he said about it, looks like it hurt pretty bad," Jesse stated looking closer at it.

"I remember that," Luke shone up. "He said he's gonna come by later to talk to ya."

"Oh, that's good," Jesse nodded. "Are ya feeling okay?"

"My head hurts," Luke stated. "But I ain't really surprised."

"Me neither," Jesse agreed. "Did Dewey give ya that to?" he asked, spotting a bruise on his forehead.

"No," Luke shook his head. "We had P.E. class later, an' I tried to catch the ball, but I missed."

"Rough day huh," Jesse nodded. "Anything to cheer ya up, like a cookie?"

"Doc Appleby gave me a lollipop," Luke told him. "I couldn't eat it in school though."

"Then why don't ya go sit down somewhere fer a spell an' eat yer lollipop," Jesse suggested to him. "How's that sound?"

"Can I use the tape recorder?" Luke asked hopefully. He had just learned how to use the huge thing with the two big rolls where the tape went from one to the other. He had also learnt how to use the record player, but he was supposed to ask first.

"You can," Jesse promised him. "Go on son, ya let me know if ya need anything. Bo's napping, so he might wake up in a bit."

"Okay," Luke nodded. Going into the living room he opened the cabinet where the record player was tucked away, he took it out carefully and selected a tape before mounting it on the player. Making sure that it would play quiet so as not to wake Bo before he turned it on. He had more trouble than usual mounting the tape, but he was able to work it out.

Settling down on the floor right next to it he grabbed a comic book from the table and pulled the lollipop out of his pocket. Pulling the wrapper from it he put it on the floor beside him, putting the lollipop in his mouth while reading about heroes.

Glancing in from the doorway Jesse thought it was amusing. The local boys might be slightly amused by Flash Gordon and other super heroes. Luke could read those comics at times, but he preferred the Lone Ranger and country music. He was a little redneck, though Jesse worried he'd get a sore neck, he kept his head turned a little to the side while he read so he could look at it with his good eye.

Since he didn't know when the doctor would be over, Jesse busied himself in the kitchen, not wanting to miss him. Instead he decided to try to make the kids a pie, something that would cheer Luke up some. He'd even let him have it before supper he though, and put a few cans of soda in the refrigerator.

Eventually Luke came out into the kitchen to throw away the lollipop stick and the wrapper, frowning as he saw what his uncle was doing.

"Are we gonna have pie today?" he asked curiously.

"We might," Jesse answered. "If I don't burn it or something."

Luke smiled a little at the joke, his uncle didn't make bad food so he figured the pie would be good.

"Is Bo awake yet?" Jesse asked him and Luke shook his head. "I ain't surprised," Jesse grinned. "The boy wore himself plumb out racing around. Ya got any homework Luke?"

"Yeah," Luke nodded. "I have to do twenty math problems."

"Alright, why don't ya get started on them, an' then later when Bo gets up yer gonna be done already," Jesse suggested.

"Okay," Luke agreed.

"Yer gonna have to do it in the living room though, since I'm using the table," Jesse told him, knowing Luke would think he could get away with keeping the music on as he worked, something Jesse was gonna let him get away with.

Getting his bag with the books Luke settled down on the floor in front of the tape recorder again. Getting his pencil case out of his bag and opening the math book and the note book so he could start working out the problems. They were tricky, and they didn't really interest him, but today he wanted to be a good boy so he put more work to it than he usually bothered to. Working hard so that it didn't take him very long. They were supposed to learn ten words and how they were spelled as well, but Luke already knew how all of them were spelled. He was pretty good at spelling.

"All done?" Jesse asked as he put the bag away again.

"Yeah, done the math, an' I already know how to spell the words we got," he assured him.

"Alright," Jesse nodded, knowing Luke would never lie about that. If the boy said he already knew them, then he did, and if he made a mistake on them later it wasn't because he hadn't practiced more on them.

Having put his bag away neatly Luke went back to the tape player, and soon a very sleepy Bo came out of the bedroom to join him.

He didn't really notice about the bandage Luke wore at first, he was still rubbing the sleep from his eyes and just went over to lie beside Luke with his Teddy bear in his arms.

"Tired?" Luke asked him.

"Miss ya," Bo stated, then he looked up at Luke's face. "Ouch," he mumbled reaching up a hand to touch the bandage.

"Yeah, ouch," Luke agreed.

"Kiss it better?" Bo asked, smiling a little and taking his thumb out of his mouth.

"Okay," Luke agreed. It hurt to touch, but Bo was really sweet when he wanted to do that. He was smart as well, he kissed the spot just bellow it, so it didn't really hurt.

"Come on Bo, lets get ya dressed," he told him.

"Why?" Bo wanted to know. He wore his pajama after the nap.

"Because ya have to be dressed," Luke told him.

"Why?" Bo didn't figure that was a good enough reason.

"Because, if ya don't, some ants may come crawl down yer pajama pants, an' bit ya in the toes," Luke stated, quickly pinching Bo's toes. The little boy shrieked and kicked out with his feet.

"No!" he cried. "No ants!"

"Oh yes, an' they's gonna be biting ya," Luke stated, pinching his butt, and then his belly, fingers and toes. He didn't pinch hard, just so much that Bo felt it and his imagination let him have a vague impression of ants all over his body.

"Stop it! Make the ants go away!" he cried and Luke stopped, gathering him up in a hug before he took it so far Bo got sad or upset.

"There, no more ants," Luke told him. "Wanna go get dressed now?"

"Carry me," Bo demanded.

"Okay, hold on to ya bear," Luke instructed him, scooping him up and carrying him to the bedroom where he put him on the bed to get his cloths.

As he leaned forward to help him out of the pajama jacket Bo pinched his nose. "Ants," he declared, and so had taken his revenge.

"Right," Luke nodded, it was only fair after all.

"Why are ya always so loud?" Daisy suddenly demanded from the doorway. "I'm trying to play tea party with my dolls, but yer too noisy."

"We's boys," Bo stated. "Boys are noisy."

"We sure are," Luke grinned.

"Well, if yer gonna be making that much noise, go outside an' make it," Daisy declared testily before stomping back to her own room.

"Luke, why's girls so silly?" Bo asked thoughtfully as Luke buttoned up his shirt and his jeans for him.

"Because if they weren't, they'd be boys an' not girls," Luke simply stated.

"What do we need girls for anyway?" Bo asked. "What good are they, Luke?"

Luke thought about how to answer that, he was told boys fell in love with the girls, and he knew they had a point there, because he would never fall in love with Cooter or Enos. He had started to see that a boy might, but he hadn't really fallen for girl yet, and Bo for sure hadn't.

"Well, the girls grows up to be mommies an' aunts, an' nice old ladies," he explained. "They're the ones make ya cookies an' such things."

"Oh," Bo nodded. "We do need those."

"We do," Luke agreed.

"But why do we need little girls for, they don't make no cookies?" Bo objected as Luke held his boots so that he could get into them.

"No, but the ones makes cookies fer us now, was the ones were little girls when Uncle Jesse was a little boy, so there has to be some little girls now to make cookies for the boys later," Luke guessed.

"When was Uncle Jesse a little boy?" Bo asked. "An' girls still ain't nice, she didn't even see ya got ouch, an' she don't kiss it better either."

"Girls are like that," Luke told him. "But don't worry Bo, we can put a spider in her bed later, an' then she's gonna be real loud to."

Bo gave him a huge grin. "I'll find a spider," he offered. "I know where there's lots an' lots, an' lots of spiders."

"Good," Luke grinned, getting an empty matchbook from their drawers and handing it to him. Bo put it in his pocket and the two shook hands. It would be interesting to see just how loud a girl could be.

In credit of the man who always seemed to figure it was just the kind of things that happened….

TBC

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