A/N: Just couldn't make up my mind…read on and see what I mean. -Gwen

Chapter Five: Double whammy

Luke cringed at the red hot fire on his upper-arm, but he didn't make a single sound, just flinched and gritted his teeth. Blood began to run down his arm, soaking his blue-checked shirt.

But he was still standing.

So who wasn't?

Bo grunted with the effort it took to sit himself back up from where he had fallen when the bullet had hit him in the shoulder. At first, seeing the small jerk of Luke, he had thought the bullet had hit his cousin, which it obviously had, but it had kept going and knocked him right off his feet.

"Of all the dang luck," he muttered, feeling no pain really but knowing that he sure would later if all that blood was any indication. Not to mention the fall had done a nifty job of jarring his previous injuries.

The two car thieves were all but forgotten as Luke spun around and looked for Bo, his eyes sliding downward to take in his cousin sitting on the ground with his left hand firmly gripping his right shoulder.

"Bo, why does it always have to be you?" He whispered, kneeling beside Bo and moving forward to try and get a look at the wounded shoulder, not really noticing he was moving his left arm until a sharp pain reminded him. "Yeow…that was dumb. Real dumb, Luke."

Despite the gravity of the situation, Cooter and Bo chuckled at the wounded look on Luke's face as the dark-haired cousin sat back on the ground and held tight to his own gouged shoulder.

Cooter came up behind Bo and commented darkly. "It appears to have gone in and back out, Bo, so at least the bullet didn't bounce around in there and cause all kinds of trouble. That's a good thing."

Bo mumbled something about how could a gunshot wound be a good thing in any way, shape or form, but chose not to elaborate when he drew a "huh" from Cooter, who hadn't really heard him.

Luke, on the other hand, smiled at that. Only Bo could make light of such a dire situation. "Well, I reckon we oughta get you to a doctor, cousin," Luke said, and with the help of Cooter the two were able to lift and maneuver Bo into the General Lee.

As soon as he was in, the blonde slumped against the seat and was relieved when Cooter took the wheel and he was able to lean on his cousin. Luke kept it quiet that Bo was leaning on his own wounded arm. He couldn't bear the thought of moving him after all he'd been through and besides, it was keeping a steady pressure on his own bleeding.

With his good right arm, Luke added pressured to Bo's right shoulder, bringing a hissing wince from the latter. Still, the pain was manageable while the adrenalin was still pumping.

"Doc Appleby's place is closer," Cooter commented. "Reckon he could stitch Bo up as good as new, there don't appear to be too much damage ceptin' that hole right through'im."

Bo glared at Cooter. "I'll hit ya later for that, Cooter."

If he was joking, he wasn't dying, that much Luke was sure. So joke away, Cooter, just keep him awake and his spirits high. Now, about them crooks who done shot'im…

"Hand me the CB, will ya Bo? If you hold it, I'll hold you're arm and do the talkin', sound all right," Luke said, looking over at his cousin who barely nodded before reaching a long arm forward and grasping the CB.

Once in position, Luke called out over the net, "Lost sheep calling Shepherd and Bo Peep out on county three, y'all got your ears on?"

Only a moment passed before Uncle Jesse's voice came back over the CB. "We hear you loud and clear, Lost Sheep. What's your twenty?"

Luke explained about the shooting, and took a moment…or three…to convince Uncle Jesse that Bo, and himself, would be fine, then told him they were on their way to Doc Appleby's place to get fixed up.

"Can you and Daisy try and keep on those crooks while they complete their business with Boss? We need Rosco and Boss to find them, with the loot, and we're gonna have to help'em do it. Maybe make Boss an offer, after all, we know where that truck is. If they get away there ain't no clearin' our names for them robberies."

Jesse must have been mulling things over. "All right, Lost Sheep. Bo Peep and I will make sure we got to Boss before they do and we'll try and crack a deal with him. Boss loves his money and he won't wanna part with that deposit, even if he don't deserve it."

Luke agreed and signed off as they pulled into the doc's driveway. Thankfully, he appeared to be in and soon came scurrying out of the house. Luke and Cooter were carefully extricating Bo from the General as he reached them.

"By golly, Bo Duke, whatcha done this time?"

Bo gulped in pain. "I ain't done nothin', Doc. Honest. It was all them fellas' fault, they done shot me and Luke here," he replied, gesturing toward the bloody arm of Luke's shirt.

With an exaggerated sigh, but unable to hide his concern for the boys, Doc lead them into his home and had both Bo and Luke sit down on the sofa, which was conveniently covered with something to keep it clean.

Seeing that Bo was worse off than Luke, Doc examined him first, eliciting a fair number of grunts, groans and quite high-pitched yelps from the blonde Duke boy before he was finished with closing the wound.

"Mighty lucky one, you are, Bo, that went clean through and it weren't too difficult to fix," Doc said with a half smile as Bo pulled uselessly on the part of the sling wrapped around his neck. "And you better wear that at all times, ceptin' when you sleep, for the next two weeks."

Now Bo really showed them he could groan.

Luke laughed at his cousin's response, but Doc rounded on him and he shut his trap real quick-like. "You ain't gonna be laughin' when I'm done, Luke. You need stitches too and I am puttin' you in a sling for one weeks. No using that muscle for that whole time."

Now it was the dark-haired Duke's turn to groan and Bo didn't waste the opportunity to laugh at him for it. Cooter stood by with a wide grin on his face. He was worried, of course, but the two of them were quite a sight.

Balladeer: While them boys are laughin' it up, in between the yelps of pain o'course, wonder how Daisy and Uncle Jesse are trying to cut a deal with Boss and Rosco?

"You mean to tell me, Jesse, that you want me to work with you and Daisy here? And to let your nephews, them darned Duke boys, off the hook to boot?" Boss said, his cigar pointing upward while he frowned. "I don't see what's in it for me?"

Jesse glared at Boss. "Them boys are innocent and you know it, J.D. You're the one who done hired them original strippers to sell them parts to these new fellas. Well, these fellas double-crossed you and we know where they's hidin' them parts."

He cut Boss off before he could say anything further. "And if you drop them charges, we'll lead you to'em and you can arrest them men when they come here to bargain with ya. That way, you keep your deposit and get them parts back."

Keeping the money he had been paid already, plus keeping the parts the money was partial payment for, sure sounded like a win-win situation for Boss and he wasn't about to let the opportunity go without some good thinking on it.

"And all you want is them boys to be left alone on the charges?" Rosco said, shaking his head. "You ain't gonna report none o' this to the state police?"

Daisy shook her head. "Ain't gonna tell no one, Rosco. We Dukes don't like lyin', but we care about them boys and if this is the only way to get them charges dropped, so be it. We'll make the deal."

Course, Boss and Rosco didn't know there was more to the plan than they were letting on. While letting Boss keep that deposit was one thing, they weren't about to let him keep those parts.

Daisy and Jesse knew Boss owned the junk yard, with plenty of cars that need various parts. And what better way to reimburse those fellas whose cars were stripped then getting Boss to give them each a car and the parts the need to get it running?

But that part they kept to themselves.

Balladeer: I wonder how they plan on accomplishin' that?

A/N: That's all I can write tonight. Been sick last few days and with today being Valentine's Day I was lucky to get this update in! How'd you like my indecisiveness on who to shoot? I thought it worked out well this way.