Disclaimer: I don't own the Dukes of Hazzard, not making any money, just cheap thrills

Warnings: Angst, slash, incest.

Rating: FRT

A/N: When I started this story I didn't know who Bo would end up with. However as I've been writing the road was leading to this chapter. Even at the start of this chapter I still wasn't sure, until I got more into the chapter and then it became obvious that Bo wasn't going to end up with a woman after all. So I warn you now this story is going to be slash, though the most graphic thing you will see is a kiss.

Learning To Love

Chapter 4

When Bo woke up the next morning he was surprised to find Luke sleeping beside him. As he started to sit up, Bo couldn't help moaning in pain at the feel of a spike stabbing through his skull.

"Bo, you okay?" Luke asked in concern when he heard Bo's moan.

"Luke?" Bo whispered, "What happened?"

Luke instantly became even more worried, "Do you remember anything at all Bo?"

Bo lay still, trying to remember. After several minutes the night before began to come back to him. "Bobby hit me with a bottle?"

"Yeah that's right. You remember anything else?"

"I remember...the doctor's office?" Bo answered, not sure if he was remembering it right or not.

"I took you to Doc's after Bobby hit you, he said you have a mild concussion. That's probably why you're having a little trouble remembering what happened." Climbing out of the bed, Luke helped Bo to his feet and into the bathroom.

"You gonna be able to handle showering on your own?" Luke asked, grinning when Bo turned red with embarassment and glared at his older cousin. "Okay, okay I was just asking. I'll go get you some clean clothes, holler if you need anything." Luke told him, chuckling at his younger cousin's reaction as he left the room.

After getting undressed, Bo carefully stepped into the shower, using the wall for support. Standing under the stream of hot water, Bo found himself wondering again why Luke had been sleeping in his bed. Twenty minutes later, he turned off the water and started to get out of the shower, stumbling slightly as a wave of dizziness hit him. Before he could hit the floor, strong arms were catching him and he was being helped to a seat on the closed toilet. "Luke? What are ya doing in here?"

"I was just bringing you some clean clothes, good thing too." Luke answered, grabbing a towel and helping Bo to dry off.

"I can dry myself off," Bo snapped, yanking the towel from Luke's grasp.

"Fine, just trying to help," Luke snapped back, turning towards the door.

Bo looked down, ashamed of the way he was treating his older cousin. "Sorry, just feel stupid," Bo mumbled.

Bo's words stopped him in his tracks and Luke turned back to the younger man. "Ain't no reason to feel stupid Bo. Everybody needs help sometimes."

"I know, and you're right. So...um...ya think ya could give me a hand?"

"Sure thing Bo," Luke answered with a grin, grabbing another towel.

As Luke helped him to get ready, Bo started to think again about when he woke up. "Uh, Luke? I was just wondering...why were you in bed with me?" Bo asked, thinking that it had felt good to wake up with Luke next to him.

"No reason really. I was sitting beside you when you fell asleep. Guess I must've been more worn out than I knew, cause next thing I knew I was waking up next to you." Luke explained, hoping Bo wasn't upset about it.

"Okay," was all Bo said in response. "You gonna get a shower before breakfast?"

"Nah, I'll get one after chores and breakfast." Luke answered, helping Bo to his feet and down the hallway to the kitchen.

Six months later, Bo stood at the top of Hobson's Leap, thinking that maybe Mrs. Shelton had the right idea. As he stood there, looking down at the canyon below, Bo thought back over the last six months and what had brought him to this point.

Luckily it only took a few days for Bo to fully recover from the concussion. As soon as he did, he was right back to dating and having fun. For the next six months, Bo was behaving as any other young man his age. To watch him out with a different girl every night, you would never know the hell he had been through. Anybody seeing him would never have guessed at the fear and confusion he still dealt with every day. Even before the fight with Bobby Jensen, Bo had been having problems. No matter how hard he had tried, he simply couldn't get past what had happened with Kathy Sue. Even being with girls from outside Hazzard had only helped to a point. He still couldn't go beyond kissing, not even when they made it obvious that they were willing. Most of the girls he had gone out with in the last year had been real nice to him. Not one of them had ever said anything to him about Kathy Sue or what she had done, but it hadn't mattered. Every single time he was alone with a girl, the minute she began to run a hand under his shirt he would pull back. Some of the girls thought he was being a gentleman and some got mad about it, but none of them would go on more than a few dates with him. By the night of the fight, Bo had been determined that he was going to do more than kiss Sam. He wasn't letting Kathy Sue stay in control anymore, but now he had a bigger problem.

When he woke up the morning after the fight, with Luke beside him, it had felt good. For the first time since Kathy Sue had raped him, he felt completely safe. As he recovered over the next few days, Bo began to realize that he had fallen in love with Luke. Horrified at the thought, he began to date girls like he'd never done before. Before the fight, he wasn't dating anybody steadily, but he was dating the girls more than once. Now though he was out with a different girl every night, laughing, dancing and generally having fun. Trying desperately to hide the confusion he was feeling, Bo was running himself ragged. Working all day on the farm, hiding his feelings for his cousin from everybody, including himself and dancing all night was bound to take a toll. Which is how he'd ended up here, at Hobson's Leap, wondering what it would feel like to jump.

Bo had come home from his latest date exhausted, the pace of the last six months finally catching up to him. As he stumbled into the house, Bo quietly made his way down the hall to his room. Stepping inside and softly closing the door, he jumped a foot at the sound of Luke's voice.

"About time you made it home cousin."

"Luke! Don't do that, ya scared me half to death. Why are ya still up?"

"Waiting for you, I'm worried about ya Bo." Luke told him in a firm, even voice.

"Well ya can quit worrying, I'm fine," Bo insisted.

Getting out of his bed, Luke grabbed Bo's arm and turned him towards the mirror. "Take a good look at yourself Bo, ya call that fine?" Luke asked.

Looking at himself, Bo winced at the dark cirlces under his eyes and the dullness in them. Bo knew Luke was right, but he couldn't admit that, not if he was going to keep his secret. A secret he could no longer hide from himself, though he was still determined to hide it from Luke. "Let go of me Luke, I told ya I'm fine. Don't need you acting like my father." Bo demanded, attempting to pull his arm from Luke's grasp. "Dang it Luke, will you let me go?" Growling in frustration, Bo turned towards Luke, staring in fascination at his cousin's mouth. Watching Luke's lips moving, Bo didn't hear a word that was said as he was drawn forward like a moth to the flame. Reaching out with his free hand, Bo wrapped his hand around the back of Luke's neck and pulled him forward. Leaning down, he brushed his lips lightly across Luke's before deepening the kiss. Hearing himself moaning in pleasure, Bo suddenly jerked away from his cousin, horrified by what he had done. "Oh man, I'm sorry Luke...I don't know...I'm sorry." Bo stammered out before turning and running out of the house.

Jumping into the General, Bo left the farm he had always called home, with no idea if he would ever be back. Driving aimlessly for the next hour, Bo had finally ended up at Hobson's Leap. Standing near the edge, Bo looked down, imagining the fall. In his imagination he saw himself falling, saw himself lying at the bottom, his body broken. Thinking it would be better for all of them if he ended this pathetic excuse for a life right here, Bo couldn't help thoughts of his family entering his mind. As he imagined the looks on their faces when Rosco came to tell them what Bo had done, he came to a decision. Stepping back from the cliff edge, Bo knew he couldn't do that to the people he loved.

Luke hadn't been this worried about his cousin in a long time. When Bo had pulled him forward into that kiss, Luke thought he was dreaming. After that night at the Boar's Nest and waking up next to his younger cousin, Luke's feelings had gradually changed. Knowing the hell Kathy Sue had put Bo through, Luke had kept his feelings to himself. Sure that Bo would hate him if he ever knew the truth. Hearing the powerful engine of the General, Luke came out of his dazed state and quickly pulled on his jeans and boots. Grabbing Daisy's keys from beside the kitchen door, he jumped into Dixie and took off after Bo. By the time he had made it outside though Bo had too much of a head start and Luke was having no luck finding the younger man.

"Lost Sheep 2 to Lost Sheep 1, you got your ears on Luke?" Bo's voice came over the cb.

Grabbing the mic, it took all of Luke's self-control to keep his voice calm. "I'm here Bo, where you at cousin?"

"I'm up at Hobson's Leap, could ya come up here? We need to talk."

"I'll be there in five minutes cousin, just stay there okay?" Luke barely managed to get the words past the lump in his throat. The defeated sound of Bo's voice scaring him more than anything in Nam ever had.

"I'll be here," Bo assured him.

Stepping on the gas, Luke made it to the cliff in three minutes. When the headlights of the jeep landed on Bo sitting on the General's hood, Luke sighed in relief. Coming up here he had been so afraid that Bo would be gone before he could get there. Now seeing that Bo was safe, Luke began to get angry. Jumping out of the jeep, he stalked over to the General and jerked his cousin from the hood.

"Damn it Bo, what were you thinking?"

"I'm sorry Luke, I didn't mean to do it." Bo hated seeing that anger directed at him, but he knew he deserved it. "Don't worry, I won't ever do anything like that again. I'll go home and pack, be out of your hair by morning. Would you tell Uncle Jesse and Daisy bye for me?" Bo asked his cousin, looking away in shame.

"You think I'm mad cause you kissed me?" When Bo nodded his answer, Luke threw back his head in laughter. "I'm sorry Bo, it's just...I'm not mad cause you kissed me. I'm glad ya kissed me, I've wanted that for months now."

"You're not...you did?" Bo asked, having trouble catching up to the fact that Luke didn't hate him.

"Yes, I did, and I still do." Luke answered, wrapping his arms around the younger man and claiming his lips in a soul deep kiss. Reluctantly ending the kiss, Luke pulled back, keeping his arms around Bo. "We do need to talk Bo, and we will, but not now. I think right now we need to get home, you need to rest. Shh...we'll talk tommorrow, we got plenty of time to figure this out. Come on let's go home, we'll leave the jeep here, I'll drive Daisy up later to get it." Luke told him, steering him towards the passenger side of the General.

"Daisy ain't gonna be too happy about that. You go on and take Dixie, I'll drive the General," Bo protested.

"Okay Bo, but first answer a question. How many fingers am I holding up?" Luke asked holding up two fingers.

Squinting at the hand Luke was holding up, Bo reluctantly answered,"Three?"

"Wrong, and that's why I'm driving us home. Don't worry Bo, Daisy'll understand. Now will you get in the car?"

Bo didn't offer any further argument but simply slid into the passenger seat of the General. Exhausted and dazed, Bo was nearly asleep when Luke pulled into the driveway five minutes later. Letting his cousin lead him inside, Bo mechanically got ready for bed. He was barely aware of Luke lying down beside him, but still he instinctively turned towards him. Feeling safe and content for the first time in two and a half years, Bo drifted off to sleep, wrapped in his cousin's arms.

TBC

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