A/N: Here we go, another chapter! I decided to make the balladeer comments bold, because I was wondering if maybe it was confusing ya'll earlier. Enjoy, and remember to review! I think after this, there will be one more chapter before the end, and warning, this chapter leaves ya hangin' a lot.

Chapter 7

As Daisy and Doc Watson were sitting waiting for Luke and Perkins, or Rosco and Enos, they were discussing Bo and how he was dying.

"I couldn't stand to see him die just like that," Daisy said, once again on the brink of tears.

"Well, I wonder who his doctor was," Doc Watson wondered.

"I know it was that Perkins fella in there."

"Maybe he just didn't know. Maybe Bo ain't dyin'. I mean he prob'ly ain't a real doctor."

Daisy's face lit up at the mere thought that Bo might live. "That would be great!"

Well, I was wonderin' when someone would figure out Bo might not be dyin'.

Doc Watson told Daisy he would run some tests on Bo himself when the situation blew over. Daisy felt more hopeful than she had in days.

Not too long after they retreated to silence, Rosco and Enos pulled up. Enos rolled down his window. "Daisy, I'm gonna go in there and check on Luke. Rosco's gonna drive you two on ahead to look for Bo," he proposed.

Daisy nodded. "Sure, Enos. Be careful in there." She allowed Doc Watson to ride shotgun, and she herself got in the backseat.

Inside the Kasan Farm, Enos found Luke coming up the basement stairs. "Hey, Enos, how's it goin'?"

"Good. Say Luke, do you know if a fella named Louis Perkins is here?"

"Yeah. Actually, he told me that's an alias. His real name is Gregory Figgs," Luke said, but he wasn't thinking quite right, and he never made the connection between Perkins and Bo's "doctor". However, Enos did. Enos also already knew about the alias thing.

"Hey Luke," Enos started, "do you think this Perkins dude is the same guy that Bo said was his doctor?"

Luke looked at Enos, amazed. "I never even thought of that. But you might be right, Enos."

Well, now ain't that more backward than a field mouse pouncin' on a frisky feline? Enos thought of some possibility before Luke did.

"Do you think this means …" Luke's voice trailed off as he tried to think of the best way to word his question.

Enos took the hint. "I don't know, guess we'll find out." There was a touch of barely detectable concern in his voice. He hadn't told anyone, but he found out that Perkins, or Figgs, as the case may be, was actually a doctor, and that he might have been telling the truth about Bo's "illness".

Meanwhile, in Rosco's patrol car, Bo was still being held at gunpoint to drive back to the hideout. Bo tensed up, but he didn't want to show he was scared. But he was listening to Charlie and Nicodemus talk.

"Y'know, Nicodemus," Charlie began, "if this kid and his cousins would stop poking their noses into our business, we'd have a good deal on our hands."

"Well, we did kidnap one of 'em. And it was your idea," Nicodemus threw back at him.

Charlie shrugged. "Oh well. It ain't my fault her cousins had to go look fer her."

Nicodemus turned to look at Charlie. "What would you do if it were yer cousin?" Charlie looked at him blankly for a moment. "That's what I thought."

Y'know, I can't tell which one of them dudes is smarter. Sometimes it seems like Charlie; sometimes it seems like Nicodemus.

Rosco, Daisy, and Doc Watson came at them from the other direction. As they passed, Rosco did a 180 so he was following Bo, Charlie, and Nicodemus. Bo's heart leapt at the sight; he'd rather spend whatever time he had left in jail with Luke than have no time at all.

Now why do I get the feelin' Bo's gonna do something real drastic here?

So Bo took a huge risk. As quickly as he could, he opened the door and jumped out, landing in the open ditch along side the road.

There was an oversight though. Without a driver, the car came to a stop, so they were free to attack Bo.

Uh-huh. That's why. Cause he did.

But they decided instead, they would go on ahead. Nicodemus got in the driver's seat and drove away in order to evade the cops.

Every muscle in Bo's body ached, so he just lay there in the ditch, breathing heavily. Rosco had let Daisy off so she could check on her cousin before speeding off to catch the bad guys intending to cuff them and stuff them.

"Bo!" Daisy called out. She limped slowly down the ditch. "Are you alright?"

"Daisy," Bo cried weakly. "That was a mistake."

"No, this can't be it fer ya Bo. I won't let it." She knelt down beside her cousin and pushed a stray lock of hair out of his face.

"That might be the case, but I wasn't talkin' bout me. I was talkin' bout Luke. They're gonna kill 'im."

The thought of losing both her cousins killed Daisy more than any bullet would. "Why're they gonna kill Luke?"

"Cause they told me if I tried anything they'd kill you and Luke, but you're here, they can't kill you."

"No, no. Rosco, Enos—they won't let that happen."

"I hope yer right Daisy." Bo, still breathing heavy, shut his eyes.

"No Bo. Stay awake fer me, sugar," Daisy pleaded. The dream she had had was replaying itself in her mind as she thought about it coming true.

"I can't Daisy," Bo's voice was growing quieter.

For the first time, I'm almost wonderin' if maybe Bo really is dyin'.

That was the last Bo said, maybe just for now, who knows. Daisy knew she had to get him to a hospital—and fast.

This sure don't look good. If he weren't dyin' before, he might be now.

Let's check in on Jesse. When the boys wouldn't answer his CB call, Cooter did. Now he and Jesse are out lookin' for the boys. Right now, they're at the Boar's Nest, askin' Boss Hogg if he's seen hide or hair of them boys, and Daisy.

"I'm sorry, Jesse, I don't know where they could be," Boss said.

"How do I know yer tellin' the truth?" Jesse yelled.

Boss really was telling the truth. "Cooter, ya know I'm tellin' the truth, don'tcha?

Cooter nodded. Boss Hogg had some sort of look on his face, the kind he gets on those rare occasions when he actually does tell the truth. When Cooter let Jesse know he believed Boss, Jesse started to believe it himself.

"Alright JD. I believe you, too."

Boss Hogg looked relieved. "Thank you, Jesse," he said.

Luke and Enos left the Kasan farm and went to go find Charlie and Nicodemus. Enos finally broke down and told Luke everything he knew.

"So Figgs is a real doctor, so I don't know about Bo."

Luke sighed. Then he started to remember the time when he was about to go off to the Marines just after his 20th birthday. Bo was almost 15.

"I can't believe yer leavin' like this, Luke," Bo said angrily.

"Bo, I'll be back in two years," Luke tried to comfort his cousin. "It will be over and I'll be back before ya know it."

"But I need ya here, Luke," Bo said desparately. "I mean, yer gonna miss everything. My first car chase with Rosco, maybe my first real girlfriend, my first high school party, everything."

"Bo-" Luke began.

Bo cut him off. "I need ya Luke. Who'm I gonna talk to?"

"You can write me, an' I'll write back."

"It ain't the same. Who's gonna take me out when Uncle Jesse ain't around and show me some tricks fer drivin'?"

"I'm sure ya could ask Daisy," Luke pointed out.

"It ain't the same, Luke, don'tcha get it?"

Luke looked down to the floor. "I'm sorry, Bo, this is just somethin' I have ta do."

"Ya don't have ta do it, ya weren't even drafted or nothin'," Bo contradicted.

"I know that, Bo." Luke sighed.

"Here Luke," Bo held out this old ring. "Take this fer good luck. Bring it back ta me safely."

It was his father's wedding ring, given to him by his Uncle Jesse on his 13th birthday after holding onto it. "Bo, I can't take this," Luke said, making no move to take the ring.

"Take it," Bo insisted. "And promise me ya won't get killed or nothin'."

"I promise Bo. I'll be back." After hugging Bo, he picked up his bags and left the room he and Bo had shared since Bo came to live at the farm.

"Luke?" Enos asked, "did ya hear what I said?"

"No, I'm sorry Enos, what did you say?" Luke pulled back into reality.

"I said it looks ta me like we're goin' the wrong direction."

"Alright, whip 'er 'round," Luke said.

Enos turned the car around. They drove in silence a few more minutes, each lost in their own thoughts.

Suddenly, up ahead, Enos saw Daisy run out onto the road, and he immediately threw on his brakes. Both him and Luke scrambled to get out of the car.

"Daisy, what's wrong?" Luke asked worriedly.

"It's Bo, he was bein' forced ta drive them dudes back to the Kasan farm at gunpoint. When he saw us drive by, he opened the door and jumped out. We need ta get 'im to a hospital, fast, he ain't doin' too good."

Luke ran down the ditch to his younger cousin as fast as he could, while Enos and Daisy lagged behind, due to Daisy's sore ankle.

"Bo! Bo, can ya hear me? Bo?" Luke pleaded to the unconscious Bo. "Enos, help me get 'im to the hospital.

"I tried ta keep 'im awake," Daisy explained, "but I couldn't."

"It's okay Daisy."

Well, now, this ain't lookin' too good fer poor ol' Bo. Don'tcha dare git up now, ya'll, or else you'll never now how this turns out.