Thank you all readers/reviewers!

Glad you all enjoyed the Lou/Bo dynamic... Now for a bit of a more gentle relationship...

Chapter rating: K

Reason: Jo's alot less inclined to blabber about intimates like Lou. ;)

Chapter dedication: To anyone who's ever had to struggle with themselves about what they wanted to say.

Bobbie-Jo and Luke

Quietly, Bobbie-Jo sat at Luke's side, attempting to rouse him to consciousness. She was gently slapping his face, shaking him… everything short of smelling salts. Silently—for Jo never really spoke to anyone but Lou more than necessary—she was cursing him. It was safe to say she wasn't really thrilled by the way he'd reacted. Not at all.

Come on, get up, Luke, she thought at him. I need to talk to you. Take this and make it all better. Please, just get up.

As if he'd heard her thoughts, Luke stirred.

Feeling a bit of Lou-ness possess her, she reached out and grabbed Luke by the chin, turning his face towards her. "We need to talk," she said shortly.

He nodded.

With a huge surge of effort, Jo rocked herself—huge belly and all—so that her feet were under her, and with that, she struggled with balance and gravity to stand upright. After a moment, she had it, surprised at herself for not waiting around to be helped up.

She'd even seen wildly independent Lou linger for Bo to help her up moments before.

But then again, Lou always got what she wanted, even if it was a small gesture from Bo.

Keep it up, Jo, she told herself. You may be better at the end of this mess yet.

----

"You sure you're alright?" Cooter asked as he helped Luke to his feet.

It took a moment of blinking his eyes and shaking his head, but then Luke was ready to assure Cooter that he was just fine. After that, Luke stole a glance at Jo, who was standing a few feet away almost uneasily.

Yes, he told himself. She really did take you and shake you. She really did get up by herself.

"Well, if you're really alright," Cooter said into his thoughts, "I think you've got a conversation to get on with. Go ahead and sort it out with the mother of your child."

Shut-up, Luke wanted to say.

He was tearing himself up on the inside for Jo's pregnancy, but he wasn't stupid enough to actually tell anyone. Especially Jo. He wasn't dare going to tell her

"So, what did you want to say, Bobbie-Jo?" he asked, walking over to his former… girlfriend?

What exactly was Jo to him?

Was she a one-night stand of sorts gone wrong?

Was she a former girlfriend?

A former date?

A current love interest?

Not now, he told himself. Things like that were for sorting out later, when he had time and room to think.

Jo's gaze went past Luke's shoulder to Cooter in an unvoiced request for privacy. Luke threw a glance at the greasy mechanic, and decided that any personal conversations were definitely better if shielded from his ears.

That way it was a lot less likely to spread all across Hazzard.

"Uh, let's take this elsewhere," he said out loud, consciously taking Jo's arm and leading her out of the garage. He was careful to walk slowly towards the bench in the town square, always conscious of the odd way Jo was striding.

He noticed with interest that Bo and Lou were very heatedly conversing inside the twins' car already, and Bo was not happy with Betty-Lou's statements, apparently. Those two always did have fire, Luke remembered.

"What did you want to say?" he repeated as he sat down.

"Several things," Jo said lightly, slowly lowering herself down to the bench too.

When she failed to continue, Luke took it on himself to gently prod her towards words. "What kind of things?"

One of the things about Jo that so frustrated him at times but comforted him at others was her gentleness. She never burst out what she wanted to say like fiery Lou, but held things under consideration. Now though, that stillness was being severely agitating.

It was a while before Jo deemed to answer the question. "How do you feel about the baby, Luke?" she said at length.

The question caught him by surprise with its bluntness, causing him to take a deep breath.

How did he feel about Jo's baby?

"I'm fairly mixed," he said after consideration. "I've always dreamed about a family and all—who hasn't? But timing's everything, and now's not really the time."

Silently, Jo nodded tightly. And that was the only reply she gave.

"So… The baby's a girl?"

Again, Jo just nodded.

"Have you thought about a name?"

"Yeah," she finally replied with words. "I'm going to name her Yvonne Marie."

The name took Luke's breath away. "That was my mother's name," he said quietly.

Jo smiled that small, gentle, timid smile of hers as she said, "I know."

That's Jo, he thought. So considerate and thoughtful in spite of everything. And Luke knew he had the pleasure of being touched by her selective kindness.

They sat in silence for a moment then, Luke not knowing how to proceed, and Jo either opting not to move ahead, or not yet deciding how to. But the silence wasn't really too strained, considering the situation. Silence with Jo never really was.

"Jo, what do you want from me?" Luke finally exclaimed. "What is it that you want me to do? Do you want me to support the baby? I'll do that. It's my daughter, I have to support her. Do you want me to take the baby? I really think you'd be wrong to leave her, but I'll raise the baby. Or do—" He cut off as suddenly, a thought struck him hard in his heart. "Do you want me to marry you?"

When Jo looked over at him, her lip was quivering with either fear or distress—Luke couldn't tell which. And then slowly, she nodded.

"Oh, jeez." Luke rubbed his face against his palms, finally seeing just how humongous of a life change this could really be—and how far he'd underestimated it.

Married? He couldn't get married yet! He was still in the stage of his life where he didn't even really want a girlfriend for any long stretch. He just wanted to fool around and flirt like crazy.

"I do want you to marry me, Luke," Jo said softly. "We have to raise the baby together."

"Oh, Good Lord!" he cried, standing up quickly.

This was just all too much—

"It's the right thing to do."

The sheer tender truth in Jo's voice stopped Luke then and there.

She was right. It was the exact right thing to do, and as a good country boy Luke felt honor bound to fix this the proper way, all neat and tidy. But his tomcatting charm wasn't going to let him go that easy, wasn't going to let him slip into married life just like that. So it turned into a nasty internal argument.

After a moment, he quickly blew out his breath and ran his fingers through his hair. "Alright, Jo, you're right," he admitted, staring into her quiet gray eyes. "It is the right thing to do, but I'm not entirely sure I could do it. See, I—"

Luke was interrupted by a very loud shout from Bo back at Cooter's.

"That's it!" the younger Duke cousin exclaimed at Betty-Lou, stepping out of the car and slamming the door. "I'm not taking any more of that!"

"Like heck you ain't!" Lou shouted just as loudly in return, following out of the car. "I ain't through with you, Bo Duke, so get your butt back here!"

And at that, Luke just had to laugh. "Huh," he said. "Seems like they're solving their problems just fine."

TBC soon!