Chapter Two: Caught strippin'
It sure is a pretty day in Hazzard. But them fellas look a mite uncouth to me. Wonder what they're doing sitting in them bushes. And what about that fella in the road? Somethin's mighty fishy.
A blue sedan pulled up short as it went around a sharp turn on Ridge Road, kicking up dirt as the driver just barely managed to stop in time to avoid hitting the man lying face down in the middle of the road.
The elderly driver jumped out of his car, quick as he could, and knelt down beside the man. "Hey sonny? You all right? What happened to ya?" He shook the man's arm gently, but fell back on his behind when the man pointed a gun at him.
"Just fine, Mr. But I reckon you're gonna need to walk home." He beckoned to his partners in the bushes, who proceeded to reveal themselves and soon another car, a black four door, pulled out from behind a clump of bushes. "Take this gentleman out to county 3. Someone'll pick him up there."
Nudging the stuttering gent off, the man who was almost-road-kill hopped behind the wheel of the blue sedan and took off up Ridge Road. He turned off the road a little ways further up and pulled under a canopy next to a large trailer.
"Special delivery. First one of the day…this one's got a powerful engine in it!" Jumping back out, the man patted the hood. "Boss oughta be happy with it. C'mon. Let's get cracking."
He was joined by a few others, who had up til then been idly sitting in the back of the truck waiting for the first sucker to drive by. Hazzard being as it was, citizens were liable to help out a fella in need. Only this time, they would be shucked and jived when they did.
The men wasted no time in taking apart the engine and loading various parts into boxes, which were then neatly stacked inside the truck. When they were done, they pushed the stripped cars over the sharp bluff across the street and waited for the next person to drive along.
Little did they know what was comin' up the road next.
"Bo I reckon we've tests the shocks enough, let's hightail it for ole' Ridge Road now and give that radiator a good shake down. And hope it works this time. I don't fancy another tow into town."
Luke clung to the door as Bo whipped the General around a full 180 and headed off toward the old Ridge Road; a favorite of old moonshiner's, seeing as it was the road that they always managed to shake revenuers, police and anyone else on their tales on.
They skidded around the next corner, narrowly avoiding a black sedan, and turned toward Ridge Road. The General tore up the ground as Bo pushed him up the steep incline at the start of the road, each Duke looking anxiously at the General's hood for signs of a burst radiator.
"So far, so good!" Bo exclaimed, slapping the wheel. "The ole General just might be back up to snuff, Luke!"
"He might be, but that fella don't look so good! Bo, hit the brakes! We're gonna run'im over!" Luke held tight to the dashboard as Bo slammed on the brakes, skidding to a halt a mere few feet from the prone figure on the ground.
"Gosh, Luke. Did I hit'im?"
Luke shook his head and let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "No, but let's go check him out. I don't see a car around here, wonder how he got there."
Slipping out the windows of the General, Bo and Luke hurried to the man's side and knelt down, the latter gently rolling the man over to reveal his injury – or lack thereof. All Luke revealed was a six shooter and a toothy grin.
"Well now, what have we here! A sports car! And a mightly pretty one at that. Why, I'll bet there's a fortune under that hood! Boys!" Gunman waved his free hand toward the nearby bushes. "We got us a beaute here."
Bo and Luke exchanged glances, and frowns, as four more men came out from the bushes. They were covered in grime and dust, like they'd been under the hood of one too many cars recently.
"Well, seein' as we ain't got the sedan to take'em to town in, we're just gonna have to dispose of them some other way," almost-road-kill said. "C'mon boys, hands where we can see'im and no funny business."
Luke made eye contact with Bo and cast his eyes deliberately downward, hoping Bo would look where he was pointing him to look. Bo, luckily, did. And he saw the loose dirt on the road.
A small smile spread across his face.
Luke started to rise, at the same time as Bo, and the boys made sure their heads met in mid-rise and both hit the ground again, thrusting their hands out to catch their falls – and carefully grabbing handfuls of dirt.
"Hey, git up!" The man with the gun yelled, waving it at the boys. "I said no funny business. Unless you two are just stupid…"
Bo shook his head. "Stupid I guess."
Wasting no time, Luke and Bo flung the dirt they had grabbed into the eyes of their would-be captors, especially ole would-be road-kill. While the men clawed at their watering eyes, Bo and Luke high-tailed it to the General and jumped feet-first through the windows intent on making a clean getaway.
Bo gripped the wheel and threw the car into reverse, churning up dirt as the tires spun to gain purchase on the loose dirt road. When they caught, the General lurched backward and Bo yi-hawed for good measure, leaving the would-be carjackers in the dust. Literally.
But as luck would have it, the black sedan was back and wasted no time in spinning around to charge off in pursuit of the General Lee. The men the boys had thwarted cheered the black car on!
Luke looked out the back window of the General and shook his head. "That's a fast car, Bo. We're gonna have to outsmart'em in addition to outrunning them. What do you think? Hickman's Gulch?"
Bo smiled. "I think it's worth a shot, Luke. But we ain't never jumped it. Reckon we'll make it?"
Luke laughed. "Hey, we jumped 32 cars. I think we can handle a gulch? Right General?" He patted the car and leaned back, every so often gripping the door frame to keep his seat.
The black sedan nipped at their heels the whole time, but Bo kept the General as far ahead as he could and prayed they would reach the gulch before something else went wrong.
"There it is!" Luke called out, pointing out the windshield at the 30-foot-wide or more gulch ahead of the boys, approaching fast. "Floor it Bo. This might be our only chance."
Nodding, Bo hit the gas and the General vroomed a throaty growl as it lurched forward and gained momentum. In seconds, they were soaring over the open space of Hickman's Gulch and hitting the ground on the otherside with a bone-jarring crash.
"Did we make it?" Luke asked, feigning fright, but having difficulty holding back the smile and chuckle. Bo just smacked him on the shoulder. "I know, of course we made it! Nice drivin' Bo!"
The black sedan, game for a little flyin', gave the gulch a shot. But it came up short and landed down in it, hood flying up and crashing into the front window with a loud, explosive bang.
The General Lee, meanwhile, roared off toward Hazzard Square. This was too important not to report it to Rosco at the county Sheriff's Office.
"Three days, Rosco, three days until Casey and Randall pick up those parts and I'm another $2,500 richer! I can almost smell the money now! And I didn't spend a penny to get it, either! Them suckers out on Ridge Road."
Rosco khee'd as usual. "Yeah Boss, and no matter how many times I drive up there to investigate, I ain't never gonna find nothin' out of the ordinary! Khee! You're a smart one, little fat buddy."
Boss stopped laughing. "Dang it, Rosco. It's them Duke boys and they're comin' in here awful fast like. You better not have let them get near Ridge Road!"
Rosco cocked his head sideways. "I been here with you all day Boss, I couldn't be out there makin' sure them Dukes weren't out there. But I had Cletus set up a speed trap at the county highway near Ridge Road."
The door to the Sheriff's Office banged open, and shut, and the voice of Luke Duke rang out. "Rosco! Where you at, Rosco! We got an attempted robbery to report! Hey Rosco!"
Boss grabbed Rosco by the shirt collar. "You make sure them boys think this is a one time deal, you numbskull. Otherwise you'll be out of a job come morning. You here?"
"Loud and clear Boss. I'm gone."
He flung open the door.
"What's all this ruckus about? You two want to turn yourselves in for a robbery? You couldn't hack it, worried I'd catch ya?"
Luke laughed and Bo chuckled from beside him. "No, Rosco. We come to report a robbery against us, not by us. Someone done tried to steal our car out on Ridge Road. We got away, but only after they chased us and crashed down in Hickman's Gulch."
Rosco huffed. "Yeah and I'm supposed to believe that hogwash. You boys never tell a stitch of true. Why should I believe you now? You don't have any proof exceptin' your word."
Luke rolled his eyes. "We know you never believe us, Rosco. But at least check it out?"
Nodding, the Sheriff agreed to do so. "Now git! Before I arrest you."
"For what?" Bo called out.
"I'll think of somethin' if you aren't out of here before I turn around."
Bo and Luke gave in and headed out the door of the Sheriff's Office. Rosco smiled as they turned their backs, not intending on bothering to check Ridge Road of course. But little did he know, the Dukes' minds were churning.
"Bo, don't you think he gave in a little too easy? Agreeing to check things out on old Ridge Road?"
The blonde-haired Duke shrugged. "Well, maybe he's ready to believe us for once, Luke? Do you think Rosco's had a change of heart?" Just one look at the smirk on Bo's face let on he was being sarcastic.
"Not a chance," Luke said. "I reckon we're gonna have to get to the bottom of this ourselves." He cut himself off, looking at a point over past Bo. "Hey, Mr. Linton? Why are you riding that thing?"
Bo turned around and followed Luke's gaze. The elderly Mr. Linton was just climbing off an old, worn-looking bicycle. The boys knew he lived about three miles out of town and it must have taken him the better half of the morning to get to Hazzard Square.
The old man sighed as Bo helped him lean the bike up in the bike rack. "Thanks, Bo. I'm ridin' this cuse someone done stole my car, Luke. And the sheriff ain't found hide nor hair o' them folks either!"
Luke and Bo exchanged glances. "Stolen? Whereabouts, Mr. Linton?"
The man looked at Luke and frowned. "Out on the old moonshiner's highway. I was just takin' a ride up it for old-time's sakes, you know? Never thought anyone would be up there, least of all carjackers."
The boys frowned and looked pointedly at each other. "You gonna take long in town, Mr. Linton?" Bo asked the man, who shook his head no. "Well then, you get what you need to get done and meet us at Cooter's garage. We'll give you a lift home in the General."
"That's mighty nice of you fellas," Mr. Linton said. "I think I'll take you up on that. These old bones can't take much of this cycling. I'll just be a few minutes at the grocers." He waved and promised to meet the boys at Cooter's.
As for Bo and Luke, they hopped in the General and pulled him over to Cooter's where they weren't liable to get a parking ticket should Rosco or Cletus show up anytime soon. They weren't about to press their luck anymore today.
"Hey fellas!" Cooter poked his head out from under the hood of an aging green pick-up truck. He was covered in grease and had his ball cap perched on his head. A rag was tucked in his back pocket and he used it to clean off his hands some – not that it did much. "What's goin' on over your way?"
"Car thieves, that's what," Luke said, cutting right to the chase. "We think Boss – and by association Rosco – are involved in it somehow. Don't seem like Rosco is investigating ole Mr. Linton's car theft and someone just tried to steal the General from us, both on the same road."
The mechanic frowned. "Ya know, I heard tell of a few more armed car thefts lately too. Out on Ridge Road."
Bo shook his head. "That's where they took Mr. Linton's and tried to take ours, Cooter! It can't be a coincidence. Something's going on up there. And it's up to us to find out what."
Luke held his cousin back. "Maybe, Bo, but we could use some help. We were outnumbered up there and I don't they'll fall for the same trick twice. We best give Uncle Jesse and Daisy a call. Think things through a bit."
"Don't forget about old Cooter. I'll help ya out too. I hate car thieves."
The three young men laughed and set about discussing the situation out on old Ridge Road.
"Them Dukes!" Boss shook his pudgy hand in the air, his cigar angled upward as his mouth twisted into a grimace. "I knew it, if you want something done you gotta do it yourself. Rosco, you dipstick, you go arrest them Dukes!"
Rosco looked confused. But he usually did. "What for, Boss? They ain't done nothin' illegal."
Boss smiled his wicked little I'm-scheming-and-you're-doing-what-I-say grin. "Why for grand theft auto of course. Them Duke boys are stealing those cars out on Ridge Road. They were up there, weren't they? And I can round up some witnesses too."
Rosco grinned. "Khee, I love it! I'm gonna cuff'em and stuff'em, Boss!" He turned to leave. "Uh, Boss. What witnesses?"
"The ones I hired, you nincompoop! They're on my payroll and they can say whatever I tell them to. Don't you worry about the complicated stuff. Just go catch me them Dukes."
"I'm gone."
"Uh-oh Bo, looks like trouble," Luke pointed toward the police department. Sure enough, there was Rosco, his hand twitching awfully close to his pearl-handled pistol in its holster. "Time for us to go, Cooter."
Bo gulped and slid into the driver's window of the General. "Uh, Luke? We promised Mr. Linton a ride home."
Luke nodded. "And we'll give him one. A really fast one."
They hit it as soon as Luke was in the car window half-way, peeling around the corner as Rosco turned tail and ran toward his patrol car, punching the air in frustration. "This is never a simple cuff and stuff, is it?" He muttered.
Meanwhile, Bo and Luke had pulled to a halt outside the grocery store. Mr. Linton looked at Luke incredulously as he jumped out the window of the General and even more incredulously when Luke literally scooped him up and put him in through it.
"Boys! What's the hurry!"
Bo looked in the side mirror as Rosco roared around the corner. "Well, Mr. Linton, looks like Rosco thinks we are the car thieves. The usual, ya know." The old man was about to respond, but Bo hit the gas and he was knocked back a bit into the backseat.
Luke kept an eye on Rosco. "Bo, it's gonna be close. We gotta get Mr. Linton out of here before we shake Rosco."
The younger Duke nodded. "You get him out. I'll take off as soon as you do and come back for you," Bo said, looking back again at Rosco on his tail. "Just sit tight at Mr. Linton's place."
Luke didn't really like the idea, he hated Bo being on his own in a chase in case something happened, but he couldn't think of another idea so he nodded. "Right. Let's do this."
The General came screeching to a halt and Luke flew out the window and grasped Mr. Linton to pull him out. Rosco rapidly closed the distance between him and his quarry, but as he reached the General Lee it took off again, minus two passengers.
Rosco flew off after it.
"Well, Mr. Linton, I reckon we can take these groceries in. Bo might be a bit with Rosco that close," Luke said, warily eyeing the plume of dust the two cars had kicked up as they roared away.
"He'll be fine, Luke. Bo's a right good driver."
"Yeah…he is." But I'm still worried.
"Dang he's getting' better by the hour!" Bo spat as he wretched the wheel to the right and put the General into a 180 degree turn, backtracking past Rosco at a blinding speed. Rosco was right behind him again in no time. "This calls for drastic measures."
Up ahead was Hazzard Pond. Which Bo and Luke had jumped before, many times, but not when it was this swollen with rain water and the shoreline slippery and all mud. But Bo didn't think on that. Luke was around for the thinkin' most of the time and right now Bo just wanted to get back and pick him up. So he went for it.
The General was moving at a fast clip when Bo reached what he was planning on using for a ramp. Except at the last possible minute, the General slipped on the muddy ground and lurched to the side.
Bo knew it was going to happen, he could feel it, but he still wasn't ready for it.
In seconds, the General had flipped once, twice, three times and landed upside down half in the water of Hazzard Pond. Rosco skidded to a halt just shy of smashing into the car and his eyes widened.
The driver's side was crushed completely.
"Bo…" he said. "Possum on a gumbush…I sure hope he's all right."
Flinging the door open, Rosco slipped and slid down the slight embankment and to the General Lee's side. He couldn't see anything from the driver side, so he clamored over to the passenger's side.
Peering inside he saw Bo. The young man's blond hair was matted with blood and he had been pretty well crunched under the weight of the car. Rosco let out a shaky breath and called out.
"Bo! Bo, can you hear me? Bo?"
There was a groan. At least he's alive, Rosco thought. "I'm calling for help, Bo. Then I'm gonna get you outta there. Just hold on."
Rosco ran back up the hill, only falling once, and grabbed the CB. "Emergency dispatch! This is Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane. You got your ears on out there?"
"Sheriff Coltrane, this is dispatch? What's your emergency?"
Rosco gulped. "I got me a real bad car wreck out here. We're gonna need an ambulance out at Hazzard Pond."
"We're on our way, Sheriff."
Hoping Bo was still alive, Rosco stumbled back down the hill and to the General. When he looked inside, he could see Bo had a jagged slice down his side from where the roof of the General had fractured and cut into him. That and whatever was causing the blood in his hair appeared to be the worst of his problems. But it was dark in there.
"All right, Bo. I'm comin'!" He said as he eased his way into the passenger window of the General Lee. "I wish this dang car had doors that opened right about now." He muttered.
Reaching out, Rosco took hold of Bo's arm and pulled, eliciting a short, cut-off cry from the young man. "Sorry, Bo. But I gotta get you outta here."
There was no further noise as Bo helped Rosco pull him from the wrecked General Lee. As soon as he was out, Rosco could see more damage from the crushed car. It looked like Bo would have bruises all up and down his left side from the door and his right side would need a good few stitches from the gash.
Luckily his head wound was small, though it bled a lot. "Thanks, Rosco," Bo muttered, holding his side painfully, trying to staunch the bleeding wound so he wouldn't pass out before the ambulance arrived.
"You shouldn't have run, Bo," the sheriff said. "Why do you always run?"
Bo gulped, unable to smile, but unwilling to let this go without a quip. "Cuse, Rosco, we're always innocent and I'm beginning to hate having to break out of jail to prove it. Though this time I wish I hadn't run. I'm just glad Luke wasn't in there too."
Luke! He was going to be worried when Bo didn't come back. "Rosco? Could you go get Luke? At the Linton place? I'd…I'd really like him here. Please."
Bo, pleading with me? He must really be hurting, Rosco thought to himself. "All right, I'll get'im. You just stay put, Bo Duke. And don't die on me, you got that?"
"Roger, loud and clear, Rosco," Bo said with a small grimace. Rosco looked unconvinced, but he hurried off toward his patrol car. "Please hurry," Bo added under his breath.
"Where is he?" Luke asked aloud for the umpteenth time. He was about to sigh again when he heard the car pull up. But not the car he had been hoping for. It was Rosco and his patrol car. Where was Bo?
Rosco jumped out and Luke did a double take. Was that blood? "Luke, come with me quick. It's Bo, he had an accident. He wants you."
Luke didn't waste a second; he jumped right in that patrol car. "Is he all right? Where is he? What happened? How bad was he hurt, Rosco, tell me something!"
The sheriff hit the gas and peeled off down the road. "I was chasin' him and he tried to jump the pond, but the ground was too slippery and he lost it at the last minute and the General flipped a few times and landed on its roof."
Luke sucked in a breath. "Bo?"
"He got pretty banged up, Luke. I called Tri-County. But he wanted you and I said I'd getcha to him."
They pulled in where Rosco had left Bo. The ambulance had not arrived and Rosco was beginning to wonder if they had gotten lost or something. Luke was out of the car before it fully stopped, sliding down the hill toward the wrecked Charger.
"BO!" He called out, falling to a kneeling position in front of his younger cousin. He reached forward and touched the blonde's shoulder. "Bo?"
Blue eyes opened and a small smile of relief crossed the pained face. "Luke. I'm sorry."
Luke hushed his cousin and instead turned his attention to the head wound. He fingered it gently and decided it was the lesser of two obvious evils. "Don't apologize, Bo. It could have happened to anyone. I'm glad you're awake and talking."
Bo twitched and jerked back as Luke pried his hands away from his side. He gulped at the sight of all that blood, but didn't turn away. He's seen blood in the Marines. This was no different. Except he's kin.
With a frown, Luke pulled off his checkered overshirt and folded it over a few times to make a good pad. Then he looked up at Bo's face, which was calm, but tight with pain. "I'm gonna have to put some pressure on it, Bo, to stop the bleedin'. It's gonna hurt."
"Already does, cuz. Might as well do it."
Nodding, Luke gulped again and positioned himself so he was sitting next to Bo on the same side as the jagged gouge. He wrapped his left arm around his cousin and placed the shirt on the wound and pushed.
Bo lurched away from him, but Luke was ready with the other hand and held him still. In effect, hugging him, Luke trembled with the effort of holding Bo and hurting him, even though it was necessary.
"Luke…" Bo whispered. "Luke…I…it…"
"I know, Bo, I know it hurts. I'm sorry," he said. But his cousin suddenly gripped Luke's hand, the one that was loosening its grip on his wounded side. Luke was about to argue, but Bo stopped him.
"Don't let go, Luke. I need you to do it. You know that. I'll never blame you for the hurtin'," Bo said, his voice even thicker with pain now that he was adding his own pressure to the wound.
The conversation ended there as the ambulance from Tri-County pulled up. Paramedics wasted no time in getting Bo into the ambulance and reluctantly let Luke in with him, seeing how it calmed the blonde considerably.
The lights and sirens blared off, leaving Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane to inform Jesse and Daisy about the Duke boys. "This isn't gonna be a nice visit," Rosco muttered as he pulled away from the wreck of the General Lee. "Neither will this call. Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane calling Cooter Davenport."
"This is Crrrrrrrrazy Cooter, comin' atcha, Sheriff, what can I do for ya this fine Hazzard day?" came the response over the CB.
Rosco sighed. "Cooter, can ya git down to Hazzard Pond. The General's been wrecked and Bo and Luke are off to Tri-County. It's gonna need more'n just a tow. It's upside down here."
Cooter nearly dropped the CB over at his garage. "Are they all right?"
Rosco shook his head, but quickly realized Cooter couldn't see him and spoke up. "Bo's been pretty banged up, Cooter. Luke weren't in the car. He went with Bo to the hospital. I think Bo'll be all right, though."
"I'll be there, Sheriff. You call Jesse?"
Rosco told him he was going there in person and would take the Dukes to the hospital in his patrol car so they could run with the lights on and get there quickly. Cooter thanked Rosco for that and cut the chatter.
Daisy laughed at her uncle, who at the moment was talking to Maudine out in the barn while he milked the goat and Daisy gathered eggs from the chicken coop. She was a little worried that Bo and Luke weren't home yet, but it was actually just like them when they got to having a good time in the General Lee.
He worry came back full force, however, when Rosco pulled up. "Uncle Jesse, it's Rosco. And no Bo and Luke."
Jesse's eyes narrowed. He stood from the upturned bucket he had been sitting on and moved out of the barn toward the patrol car as Rosco climbed out. The look on the sheriff's face stopped him in his tracks.
"Jesse." Rosco stammered, raising his hands helplessly into the air at his sides. "I was just doing my job, Jesse. Them boys…them boys always run."
Jesse swallowed the lump in his throat and Daisy latched onto him from behind. "What happened, Rosco?"
The sheriff came closer and looked down at the ground, gathering his wits about him. "Jesse, Bo was runnin' in the General Lee and he went to make a jump at Hazzard Pond. What with the rain we had the other day he didn't make it and flipped a few times. He's on his way to Tri-County."
Jesse clutched the hand Daisy had snaked around him tightly. "And Luke?"
"Luke wasn't in the car, he's fine."
That's something, Jesse thought. "How bad is Bo?"
Rosco gestured for the patrol car. "I'll tell you more on the way to Tri-County. I'm drivin' you there. It'll be faster that way. And I feel responsible for Bo's crashin'."
Daisy patted him on the shoulder. "Oh, Rosco, you ain't at fault. Let's just hurry."
So Rosco proceeded to tell Jesse and Daisy about Bo's injuries, which was small comfort to the two Dukes who just wanted to be by Bo's side and see for themselves he was really going to be all right.
"Boss?"
"What Cletus?"
"I just heard from Rosco. He said Bo Duke was in a bad accident while Rosco was chasing him and he's up at Tri-County right now. What are we gonna do? We can't arrest him in the hospital."
Boss chewed on the end of his cigar. "No, but we can arrest Luke Duke."
Cletus shook his head. "He went with him."
"I don't care!" Boss yelled. "Go arrest Luke Duke now! He ain't hurt, he's got no reason to be at the hospital. Move it, or you're out of a job."
The door slammed shut behind Cletus. "I guess that's a no on the raise, then."
As soon as he was gone, Boss grabbed the CB. "Road raiders, this is white ranger. You got those ears on up there?"
"We hear you white ranger. Go on."
"Keep things moving, we have a schedule to keep. Them Duke boys won't be a problem for a while. One of them's laid up in Tri-County and I doubt the other will stray far from his cousin's side."
"Right'o Boss. Road raiders out."
"Money here I come."
Luke was in the waiting room, pacing back and forth, when Daisy, Jesse and Rosco came in and approached the anxious young man. Luke stopped pacing and threw himself at Jesse, to the old man's immense surprise.
"Easy Luke, it's all right. Bo's gonna be fine."
Luke shook his head, which at the moment was on his uncle's shoulder. "I couldn't help but remember all them times in Vietnam, Uncle Jesse, all them times I held a friend's wound and then saluted at their grave. I was so scared when I saw'im, Uncle Jesse."
The old man patted Luke on the back and whispered in his ear. "Get a hold of yourself Luke, the doc's comin' I think. We'll talk more later, son."
"You all here for Beauregard Duke?"
Nods all around prompted the doctor to continue. "Well, Mr. Duke is lucky that wound in his side wasn't deeper, otherwise he would have had some extensive internal injuries. It need 63 stitches, a few internal ones, and will take a bit of time to heal. The head wound was minimal, only needed five. He doesn't have a concussion, but I'd keep an eye on him for a while."
Luke let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. "So, he's gonna be all right, doc?"
"Reckon so," came a soft voice from the emergency room exit. Bo stood, albeit unevenly for he was favoring his right side, and smiled weakly at his cousins and uncle. "Least ways as soon as I can move right again."
His cousin rushed over to him and put out an arm to steady him. Bo nodded his thanks and took hold, leaning a little on Luke to take pressure off his right side and ease the dull pains.
"Oh, Bo, I'm so glad you're all right, sugar," Daisy said, planting a kiss on the unstitched side of Bo's forehead. Jesse patted him lightly on the left shoulder, smiling happily that Bo was indeed all right.
Rosco hung behind, but Bo saw him. "Oh, Rosco, come on over here, I ain't blamin' you for what happened to me. It's my fault for tryin' to jump Hazzard Pond with the ground all wet. I shoulda known that."
"I'm so glad you think so Bo." He would have continued, if Cletus hadn't shown up at that moment and collided with him. "You dipstick, what's wrong with you? Can't you walk?"
"Sorry Sheriff, but Boss' orders. I'm supposed to arrest Luke Duke."
"What!" Came cries from all four Dukes simultaneously. "On what grounds, Cletus?" Uncle Jesse asked, his eyes dark and narrowed in anger. Of all the unfair things J.D. Hogg had done, this was taking the cake.
"Uhm…stealin' cars, Uncle Jesse."
"I ain't your Uncle Jesse!" Jesse shouted, looking around sheepishly when he drew stares from the hospital staff around him. "You know that's a load of hogwash, Cletus. And Bo here just had a bad accident. You can't be takin' Luke away now."
Rosco was torn. Obey Boss, or face the consequences if he didn't. Jesse and the boys seemed to think the same thing at the same time because they looked over at the usually clumsy sheriff.
"I…well…gosh…" he stammered. "Cletus. You found me, but you didn't find the Dukes. They were already on their way back to the farm in … Cooter's truck."
"Cooter's truck? Rosco, he ain't here."
"Oh yes I am." Cooter came up behind Cletus. "And I'm takin' Bo, Luke, Daisy and Jesse home to the farm. And you two ain't seen any of us. Righto?"
Cletus shrugged. "What the hay. I ain't gettin' a raise from Uncle Boss anyway."
"Thanks Cletus, Rosco, we owe you one!" Luke said with a broad smile as he helped Bo out toward the parking lot. The others followed, leaving the two Hazzard policemen in the waiting area.
"Oh, Boss is gonna get me for this one," Rosco muttered. "I might as well cuff and stuff myself. Just wait til he hears about this one. Oh I don't wanna be there. C'mon Cletus. Let's go."
A/N: I know I already posted recently, but I was on a roll and decided to post more. I sure hope someone reads this and enjoys it as much as I enjoyed it while writing. Anyway, pretty please leave me a review…just so I know someone read it!