Whoo-hoo! Another rapid update!

Wait a minute, do my eyes decieve me, or was there really just ONE review on the last chapter?

faints from lack of reviews

Thank you to the one reviewer... KatieMalfoy19. Nobody worry... Bo and Lou have to work things out, no matter how stubborn they are... just give 'em time. :)

Oh, just a little note... I'm thinking of changing my penname, so noone be shocked if suddenly "Oh, Baby!" isn't by Nerca Beyul anymore. :D

I talk to much huh:)

Chapter dedication: to all you good "hicktown" folks out there like me.

All's Fair for the Fair

"Jo," Lou said to her sister's sleeping face. "Oh, come on, lazy-pants, get up!" She started shaking gently and kept it up until Jo groaned. "There you go! Now get up, up, up!"

"Lou," she grumbled, sleepily rubbing her still closed eyes. "What's got you so excited? Did you finally solve that pesky little world hunger problem?"

"No, I'm still working on that one." Lou smiled at the joke in Jo's face as the latter's eyes finally fluttered open. "But today's the Hazzard County Fair. We're all—us and the Dukes—going as a family: the whole Duke clan—or at least the Hazzard sect anyway. Me and you finally get to be a real part of the family!"

Realizing the actual capability of today to be a turning point for her and her sister in relation to their fiancées and soon to be in-laws, Jo started getting herself up. "All right, I'm up, I'm up." She threw her legs over the edge of her bed and sat up, yawning and stretching.

At that, a frown etched itself on Lou's face. "Still sleepy, Jo?" She glanced at a bedside clock. "It's a little past nine."

"I'm very sleepy," Jo replied groggily. "Yvonne was having her own little dance party in there last night. All night, she kept right on dancing. Kept me up the whole time."

Smiling, Lou tossed her sister some clothes. "Well, I thank God daily Xavier doesn't do much." She rested her hands over her stomach and child. "He's a regular old couch potato, I think, destined to lay on the couch all day and get fat off of chips and cake."

Just then, the little one himself decided to kick.

"Oof!" Lou exclaimed in pain and surprise, eyes going directly down to her belly. "I meant that in the best of ways, little man!" She tapped fingers against her stomach and looked down at it. "So don't you go kicking like that again!"

Jo just laughed. She could see where in the near future, Lou and Xavier were going to have a very close, and very odd relationship.

-+-+-+-

Eyes roaming the fairgrounds, Lou spied all ages of people from old men hobbling around with canes to young children escaping parent's stretching arms and babies riding on mothers' hips. The one thing everyone had in common was that small town charm and the excitement that an event like the fair bred.

"That's when you really know you live in a hicktown," Lou murmured at Bo, who was walking beside her. Uncle Jesse, Daisy, Jo and Luke had already split off in opposite directions, heading for different 'attractions.' "When the County Fair's still one of the biggest events for everybody in town, young and old."

He smiled over at Lou. "But it's fun. And who'd wanna be one of those city folk who never get to enjoy all of these little pleasures?"

Now it was Lou's turn to smile. "You never know quite how much you love it until you have to miss it. I speak from experience."

"What do you mean?"

Lou sighed. "These eight months we've been gone from Hazzard, me and Jo, we've been living in a little tiny apartment in downtown Atlanta. I didn't even realize how much I missed everything until I came back to Hazzard. It truly is a wonderful place."

"That it is," Bo agreed. "I don't think I can even imagine living in a big city."

"Well then, I think we've just decided our family's gonna be raised right here in Hazzard," she said, smiling. "Ain't gonna raise no city kids. Xavier's gonna learn to be a good country boy on the farm with his daddy."

Wincing, Bo gave Lou an accusing stare. "You just had to bring all that up, didn't you? Here we were, going along so nicely, no torment, no irritation, and then you have to go and bring all of that up."

"Sorry," Lou quickly apologized. "I didn't mean to."

"Don't you always mean to cause me problems and irritation?" Bo retorted.

"No, actually, I don't."

"You always seem to."

"Well, I don't," Lou informed him. "As much as neither of us wants it, Xavier's here and he's a big part of both of our lives. However, we can stow him away in the closet for now." She stared down at Xavier himself, reassuringly patting her belly. "And I mean that in the kindest of ways, son." She looked back towards Bo with a smile. "See, just pretend like he's not even here, and you and me don't have a wedding and a baby knocking on our doors. We're just friends."

Smiling at the idea, Bo nodded. "I could do that."

"Well then, Bo, what here will we do first?"

-+-+-+-

"So… they've got lots of food," Luke observed in Jo's direction. "Are you hungry?"

"What kind of question is that?" Jo retorted. "I'm pregnant for goodness' sake. I'm always hungry, Luke."

Smiling, Luke was already moving towards a food booth. "Ok, then let me rephrase that. What would you like to eat, Jo?"

"We—Yvonne and me—would just like popcorn and a soda, please," she replied.

Luke retrieved the requested food, and gladly handed it to Jo.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

She took the popcorn and sat it on the bulge of her stomach, just as if it were a table. She didn't notice Luke raise an eyebrow at that, but kept on walking, just a little oddly to keep the popcorn balanced.

"Jo, I've been meaning to ask this for awhile…" Luke started.

When he stopped, Jo turned an expectant look to him, but didn't prompt further. She herself was the master of thoughtful silence, after all, and didn't like to be prompted when she lapsed away. So why should do to someone else what she despised?

"Why did you wait eight months before coming back?" he finally said. "Why didn't you come back when you first realized you were pregnant?"

Now it was Jo's turn to walk in thoughtful silence. To be perfectly honest, she didn't quite know what had taken so long.

And she said as much. "I don't know." She paused, gripping for some sort of answer. "Fear, I reckon."

"Fear of what, Jo?" Luke asked quietly.

"Fear of rejection," she replied just as gently. "Fear of what might happen."

"Of how I might react?"

"Yes," she admitted.

"Well, how did you think I would?"

"I wasn't sure, but I was expecting you to ignore me, and tell me to leave. I was scared to death that even after I told you, you wouldn't much care."

"I wouldn't do that," Luke said.

"I know that now."

"What finally gave you the courage?" he asked.

"Not what, but who," she corrected. "Actually, two people. Courageous Lou, of course, and then little Yvonne. I think I finally realized that I couldn't just go on through life without telling you that you had a child—a daughter. I mean, what would I tell Yvonne when she asked who her father was?"

Silently, Luke nodded understanding.

He's never heard you say so much at one time, Jo told herself. What's he think about that?

And so the conversation just lapsed away for a while.

-+-+-+-

Lou stood and watched Bo throw a baseball at five stacked milk bottles, attempting to knock them over in three tries for a prize. The first hit the bottles with a fair amount of force, but didn't topple any of them.

When he brought his arm back for the second attempt, she watched closer.

Again, it hit but didn't topple a single bottle.

The booth's operative kept hollowly cheering him on, saying he'd get them yet.

Grunting with frustration, Bo pulled his arm back for the final try.

Lou reached out and stopped him quickly. "You're never gonna knock over even one like that," she said. "You've got awful form, and don't get the physics of the whole thing. Center of gravity and such."

Raising a brow, he offered her the ball. "Think you can do better?" he challenged.

"No," she retorted. "I know I can do better." And she snatched it from his hand. "Now because of my current physical state, my stance and form is a little odd…"

She set her feet a little further apart to better accommodate her weight, and brought her arm back.

Staring at her position, Bo laughed. "You're never gonna hit anything like that."

"Shut-up," Lou snapped. "I told you I had to stand oddly. And just let me throw it and you'll see who can and can't hit anything." Again, she brought her arm back…

And she brought it forward, snapping her wrist at the last moment, sending the ball spinning right into the very middle of the middle and bottom rows. The bottom row collapsed, then the second and uppermost after having their support removed.

"Winner!" the booth's operator exclaimed, retrieving the bottles. "Miss, choose any one of these prizes."

Lou turned a smug, satisfied smirk to Bo. "So, what'll it be, loser?"

Bo just scoffed and folded his arms. "Show off," he accused.

Quickly, Lou's smirk became a grin. "Darn straight."

-+-+-+-

The sky was darkening and lights beginning to come on all across the fairgrounds when Jo and Luke got on board. It was a little close to Jo's swollen stomach, but if she sat a little sideways towards Luke, she fit just fine.

She sighed contentedly as the wheel began its lazy rotation, staring out over the lights below. "Thanks," she muttered quietly to Luke.

"What for?" he asked.

"For everything," she replied. "Today in particular."

"You're welcome."

Both just smiled lightly at each other and sat back as the wheel went around like the wheel of time itself.

TBC shortly...

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