It'd been years since he'd touched that toy car. Normally, it sat on their dresser, by Luke's army box, collecting dust right along with it. But today, Bo found it to be gone. Nothing better to do, he went off in search of it.

He avoided Luke's army box, knowing better than to look inside. He remembered that year when Luke had first gotten home from Vietnam. Bo and Le Minh, curious as to what was inside, attempted to open it, despite it being locked. Unfortunately, Luke caught them before they could get it open, giving them both quite the earful.

As he looked through the cupboards for the car, he stumbled upon something he didn't think he was meant to see. It looked like Luke's army box, but smaller, and it wasn't painted. Bo pulled it out, shutting the cupboard door. He studied the box in his hands, shaking it a little to hear what was inside.

It didn't feel right opening it, since it wasn't his, but he was too curious. He pushed the latches up, slowly opening the lid. Inside, there were envelopes. Envelopes by the tens, hundreds maybe. The odd part about them was that they were all unopened, none of them had a return address, and they were all addressed to him…

First, making sure that no one was around, he quickly opened one of them. Inside, there was a picture and a letter. He looked at the picture first, dropping it as he did. His stomach grew weak, he felt as if he were going to vomit. The photo landed face-down on the floor. He refused to pick it up again, bloody images still flashing through his mind.

Who would send me this? Bo wondered. As he unfolded the letter and began reading, a few things occurred to him. One, they wrote as if they knew him well. Two, they had a sick, twisted way of putting things. And three, they knew what happened at Hollow Hill, and they were very unhappy about it.

When Bo finished reading the letter and began folding it back up, he noticed some writing on the back of the page. He read it over twice.

P.S. At least leave me a sign that you're reading my letters if you're not going to reply to them. You know that I love you, I always have. I didn't want to leave you behind, but I had no choice. Now that you're older, I think you'll understand better. Please, son, if you're reading this, come home to me, your father misses you.

Bo folded the letter, stunned. This has to be a mistake, he thought. I don't have a father, not anymore at least. My dad died sixteen years ago, he abandoned me the day I was born. Bo's blood boiled, at the thought of this. What is going on? None of this makes any sense, who hid this from me?

Angrily, he stuffed the letter and photo back into the envelope. He threw the envelope back into the box, closed the lid, latched it, and stashed it away in the cupboard. He wanted so badly to burn those letters. What other gory photos were in the envelopes? What else had this man claiming to be his father supposedly written to him? Whatever it was, Bo didn't want to know. He didn't ever want to think about that box ever again. He wanted to forget that he'd even dared to look inside. It was hidden well for good reason, something that Bo should've respected more.

He shuddered, the image from the photo popping back into his head, uninvited. It reminded him too much of that night at Hollow Hill-when Luke had been whipped so badly. He remembered having all of the blood on his hands, too much blood. How scared he was, fearful of the possible loss of his cousin. However, the next day, Luke assured Bo that he'd seen and experienced worse in Vietnam-and that he was going to be okay, that everything was going to be okay…

Bo couldn't imagine what Luke's life must've been like in Akatashi. Being tortured and beaten, every day, for months, Bo couldn't bear the thought of it, let alone knowing that his cousin had gone through it. He remembered when he was younger, and how much he'd hated Luke for leaving them. He remembered how broken he was when everyone, including him, was convinced that Luke was dead. And when Luke finally came home, he remembered how much he hated him for being alive. But, as he grew older, he came to understand that everything came with a price, especially freedom.

Thinking about these things, Bo realized that he'd never apologized for his rudeness those few years ago. He figured now was a good of a time as any, so, without a second thought, went to go bother Luke. Despite Jesse having told him and Daisy to let Luke be for today, Bo's mind insisted that he apologize for his attitude towards Luke and Le Minh. It wasn't right, and it wasn't fair to them.

As he made his way out to the barn, Thunder stopped him, growling in his face. The heat from his engine was suffocating, and Bo was forced to back up.

"I'm just goin' to go see Luke." Bo protested.

Bo watched as General rolled up, outputting a series of noises towards Thunder. The pick-up backed away slowly, allowing Bo to pass. Bo walked past them briskly, hustling to the barn.

Thunder and General exchanged glances.

I sense there's something wrong. Thunder rumbled uneasily.

Where? General asked him.

Here. I feel as though the dark-haired one is feeling something… I don't know how to describe it.

General looked to his intuitive friend. That's a problem. We have to get Bo out of there, now.

I know better than to ask why.

General rolled towards the barn, pushing the doors open with his nose. He looked around, seeing a vacant barn, he realized that he was already too late.

That knife toyed with his emotions. After the things he'd been going through lately, he wondered why he'd bothered to keep it on him. Now, he was paying the price. He cursed Russel Williams for doing what he did, permanently scarring his cousin, and triggering the worst flashbacks in the world. Whenever Russel would raise his whip, Luke didn't see him, all he saw was a Viet Cong. So, thanks for that.

Luke closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the hayloft wall. His mouth twitched into a scowl as tears rolled down his cheeks. The cold knife blade dug into his wrist, eventually breaking the skin. He absently made another cut as he relived the memory of a Viet Cong beating him to a bloody pulp. He cut himself again as his past self sat cowering in a corner, bleeding and scared, staring up at the Viet Cong standing before him. Once more, the knife took its toll as Luke remembered the Viet Cong's name who tortured him for months: Lavan.

He rolled the knife into his left hand, ready to do the same to his right wrist. Blood ran steadily from the wounds, but he didn't feel a thing. Balling his right hand into a fist, he started cutting again as the rope on Lavan's whip dropped to the ground. The Viet Cong sneered, raising the whip above his head; Luke's past self put his arms up to protect himself.

Luke watched his wrists bleed through blurry eyes; tears waiting to be shed impaired his vision. He felt the knife drop from his hand; he began to feel dizzy, and blacked out for a few seconds, or maybe even a minute.

When he finally awoke, he could feel the pain, and it felt awful. As he lay, doubled over on the hayloft floor he could hear soft sobs, and feel a weight on his wrists. He watched through bloodshot eyes as his youngest cousin desperately tried to wrap his wrists, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Leave it, Bo." Luke growled weakly.

"No, you lied to me! You promised!" Bo argued, tears streaming down his face.

Luke sighed, closing his eyes. "I know."

Bo squeezed Luke's wrists, blood seeping between his fingers. "I'm… I'm sorry."

"What'd you do now?"

"I'm… sorry for all the things I said to ya… when you came home. I'm sorry… I cussed ya, I'm sorry…" Bo choked on his own words.

Something inside Luke snapped, watching his cousin cry over the fear of losing him. He pushed himself up onto his knees, pulling his arms away from Bo. He wrapped his wrists himself, just like he was taught to in the Marines.

He pulled Bo into a hug, feeling him hug him back. They stayed like that for a while.

"You broke your promise." Bo said quietly.

"I know… and I'm sorry." Luke replied, recalling the promise he'd made to Bo years ago when the young Duke had first found out about his PTSD. He'd promised Bo that he would never do anything to intentionally harm himself.

"Never again. Please… tell me you'll never do this again."

Luke hesitated for a moment, unsure if he'd be able to stay true to his word. "I swear, on my life, that I'll never try to kill myself again."

"Why do you stay so bottled up all the time?"

"It's better that way; if anyone knew what was goin' on with me, they'd think I was the weakest man alive."

Bo pulled away from him. "That ain't true, and you know it."

"Whatever you say, Bo."