Medicine Miseries

By Beth C

Summary: Bo has now visited the doctor in Atlanta. However the medications seem to make things worse instead of better. This is the third part in the Bo's Allergy series. Please read the others first or this won't make too much sense.

Rating: PG

Feedback: Sure. The more the better and the more I will write.

Dislaimer: Not mine. I sure wish they were. WB owns them, I think.

----------

Atlanta was not the place Bo Duke wanted to be right now. He would rather have been back at the Duke farm bailing hay or even cleaning out the barn. He would even settle for painting the darn thing just to get away from the place he was at now. He rubbed absently at the sore spot on his arm where that doctor had stuck him with a very large needle to draw blood for some tests.

Normally he didn't mind pain, he certainly saw more than his share when dealing with Rosco and Boss Hogg. However needles were something he could certainly do without. He didn't like them and never would.

Right now he was sitting in the General Lee with Luke outside the pharmacy where Uncle Jessie had told them to stop. They had just left the doctor's office with some prescriptions to fill.

Bo hadn't liked the doctor either. He preferred Dr. Applebee to most any doctor, but Uncle Jessie had insisted that Bo come see a specialist about his allergies. Dr. Applebee was good at general medicine, but he was no specialist. Dr. Martin was nice enough to Bo, but he had used big words that Bo didn't quite understand when discussing the allergies to him. Bo hadn't wanted to appear ignorant, so he had nodded and agreed to most of what was said. Luke and Uncle Jessie had been outside in the waiting room during the main examination.

It had been embarrassing enough to strip down to his underwear and sit on the cold metal table that had been covered with a thin sheet of paper. Then the doctor had come in and Bo had been poked, prodded and questioned nearly to death as the doctor touched different parts of his body and made notes on a clipboard. Bo had been lucky enough not to have been sneezing the whole time, but he sure felt like he could have. His nose had been tickling and itching ever since leaving the farm. Finally after what had seemed like forever, Bo had been allowed to dress and join his cousin while Uncle Jessie was called into the doctor's main office.

When his uncle finally came out he had three small pieces of paper in his hand. He had gone to the receptionist and Bo watched with a sinking heart as Uncle Jessie paid for the visit to the doctor with the hard earned crop money.

Now they were outside the pharmacy where his uncle was most certainly paying more money for some pills. Bo had been told there were three prescriptions that he needed to get filled. Uncle Jessie had insisted that they do it today.

Bo rubbed at the itch in his nose. Sitting outdoors as they were was driving his sinuses crazy. The city was filled with pollution, pollen, and unusual city smells that made Bo want to just roll up the windows in the General and turn on the air.

In order to distract his mind from his current situation he began drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. That didn't help much and he found himself massaging his nose again as the tickles grew worse.

Luke sighed. He had been watching Bo fidget for nearly thirty minutes. "Will you quit that?"

"Quit what?" Bo asked while pinching his nostrils together in an attempt to force the oncoming sneezes to back off.

"Fidgeting. Uncle Jessie should be out soon." Luke replied while turning to look again at the pharmacy doors. How long did it take to fill some bottles with pills anyway?

"I am..." he wrinkled up his nose then rubbed it again. Great. Now it was starting to drip. He sniffed harshly and tried to continue. "Am n-not," he wriggled his nose a bit and knew that he was fighting a losing battle, but he had not sneezed all morning and was not about to start now. "Not fidgeting." He finished at last the sentence he had been trying to say. He sniffed again and swallowed, then rubbed at his eyes which were starting to tear up.

Luke had to hold back a smile. He could tell Bo was fighting an ever growing urge to sneeze. As much as he disliked provoking his cousin's misery, he was indeed bored. Besides, if Bo would just sneeze and get it over with, he probably would feel better. "Well, what would you call it then?"

Bo tossed his cousin an amused look before turning quickly away to swipe at the underside of his nose with the back of his hand. He had forgotten to grab the handkerchiefs that Jessie had put out for him this morning. "I call it," he paused and quickly sniffed. "be-being bo-bored." He had just barely held back the sneeze that threatened him. He knew Luke was watching him and he tried to appear nonchalant. "What do y-you suggest," he paused to wipe and sniff again, "suggest we do?"

Luke patted down his jacket until he located the pocket in which he had stuffed the handkerchiefs that Bo had forgotten to grab. He pulled one out and passed it over to his cousin. "I suggest that you do something about all that sniffing."

Bo's grimaced as he saw what was being offered to him. Leave it to Luke to remember. He took the soft cloth and brought it to his face. Without another word he blew his nose. Unfortunately that had the side effect of making the suppressed tickles worse.

Bo finally gave up fighting and pressed the cloth to his face as he relaxed the muscles and closed his eyes. "HehheChIshhh!! KHET-Chhhhh!" He took in a breath of air but the tickle was still lingering, forcing its way out of his system. "hah-Hahchuhh!!" His blond hair was tossed forward with the force of the strong sneeze. Once released, Bo found himself unable to reign in the remaining sneezes. His eyes squeezed shut as they burst out of him. "HahChuhh!! KEHT-Chhhh! Heh-EhhShooo!"

Luke waited a moment until he was sure that Bo was done. "Bless you. You okay?"

Bo nodded as he blew his nose again. "Thanks." Satisfied that the tickles were gone for the moment, he stuffed the balled up hanky into the front pocket of his jeans.

Both boys were interrupted by the sound of something being put on the top of the car. Luke looked out the window to see Uncle Jessie standing there. Luke slid easily out the window. "You done?"

Jessie nodded and took the bag back. He looked at Bo and then tossed it in the window where it landed right into the younger boy's lap. Luke then helped his uncle into the car and in the back seat before climbing back inside himself.

Bo had opened the bag and was examining the bottles. "I sure hope you are gonna tell me which ones to take and when." Bo felt a sharp tickle rise and was unable to pull the hanky out in time. He turned away and pressed the back of his hand to his nose. "Heh-KESHhhhh!" he sneezed harshly. "HahChuhhh!"

"God bless," Jessie said and reached into the front seat for the bag. He took one bottle out and read the label then put it back. He took out the second bottle and scanned the label. "You can start with one of these." He opened it and shook out a single small pill, which he handed to Bo before closing the bottle up again.

"What is it?" Bo asked while studying the small pink and white pill.

"It's an anti-histamine," Jessie told him. "It'll help you stop sneezing so much. Go on, swallow it."

Bo popped the pill in his mouth and swallowed. It slid down his throat easily.

"Good boy," Jessie said. "It'll take about a half-hour to really kick in. That's accordin to that there pharmacist."

Bo nodded and shook his head as he suppressed the urge to sneeze again. He reached down and started up the General. "Let's head home, shall we?"

----------

Twenty minutes into the ride home, Bo started feeling drowsy. The horizon swam before his eyes. All he wanted to do was lay down for a few minutes until his head cleared. He felt like he had downed one too many at the Boars Nest.

He shook his head to clear it and realized that the General Lee was starting to drift out of his lane. He quickly corrected, and realized within moments that he was drifting again. He was having a hard time keeping the white lines of the road from dancing in front of his eyes.

Luke was the first to notice. "Bo? You alright?"

Bo shook his head and blinked his eyes. Just ten minutes of sleep, that was all he needed. Just to rest his eyes for a bit. They started to slide closed and he quickly jerked them back open.

Luke reached over and shook Bo. "Cuz? Why don't you pull over?" He reached one hand over to the wheel and helped Bo guide the car into the breakdown lane.

Bo watched with fascinated interest as the horizon dipped in front of his eyes. Instinctively, he stepped on the brake, as if doing so would steady his view. Once the car was stopped, his head leaned forward and rested on the steering wheel as his eyes closed. Luke shifted into park and turned the car off.

Luke glanced into the back seat where Uncle Jessie was watching Bo with concern. "Well, we better mark those pills 'no driving.' He can't keep awake long enough to focus on anything." The older man said with a wry grin.

Luke nodded. "That's for sure." He climbed out of the window and walked around the car to the driver's side. This was going to be a chore. He needed to get Bo into the passenger's seat. What would wake his cousin long enough to get him to move?

He smiled and stuck his head into the window. "Bo! Watch out! You're gonna drive us into a ditch!" He shouted practically in his cousin's ear.

Bo jerked awake and grabbed for the steering wheel, only to find the car parked on the side of the road. He looked around, confused and found Luke laughing his ass off outside the car. "That wasn't funny," he remarked while trying to shake the cobwebs out of his vision.

Luke settled down and nodded. "Sorry, Cuz. Now slide over so we can go home in once piece."

Bo took one look out the window and the still dipping horizon. Ugh, now he felt carsick. He swallowed down a lump in his throat and slid over to the passenger side of the car. Home sounded very good right about now.

Luke hopped into the drivers seat. He nodded to the back seat. "What say you to getting Rip Van Winkle here home to bed?"

"I say it sounds like a good idea." The reply came back.

Bo nodded and rested his head on his arm that was lying on the doorframe. "It sounds good to me as well." His eyes slid shut.

Luke sighed and started the car. If this was the reaction Bo was going to have to medication, this was not looking very good to his future. He drove off and touched his cousin lightly on the arm. "Get some rest, Bo."

Bo didn't reply, as he was already fast asleep.

----------