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

Warning: Slash, Incest, Established Couple, Angst, Violence

Rating: FRM

Choices

Chapter 9

"Luke, wake up you're having a bad dream," Jesse called, shaking his nephew's shoulder.

"No...don't do it Jud..." Awakening with a start, Luke immediately turned to check on Bo.

"He's alright Luke, ain't nothing happened to him. You okay?" Jesse asked.

"Yeah, Jud was here and he...nevermind that, just a nightmare. There been any news yet?"

"Not yet, but Daisy just went to ask the nurse if she's heard anything yet."

"You sure he's okay Uncle Jesse? Shouldn't he have woke up by now?" Luke asked, climbing out of the bed and picking up Bo's hand, gently caressing it.

"I'm sure he's okay Luke, just wore out that's all," Jesse assured him, hoping he was right.

"mmmm...Luke?" Bo called out in a sleep thickened voice.

"I'm here Bo, I'm here. How are ya feeling?" Luke softly asked, leaning forward and placing a gentle kiss on his cousin's forehead.

"Tired...sore, but I think I'll be okay. Any news?" Bo asked, looking at Luke through sleep bleared eyes.

"Bo you're awake!" Daisy said in surprise as she stepped into the room. "The nurse said Dr. Bennett should be here soon with Bo's test results Uncle Jesse." Daisy told her uncle, turning towards him as she spoke.

A couple of minutes later, the doctor knocked on the door before walking into the room. "Hello Bo, I'm glad you're awake."

"Hey Doc, so...am I gonna be okay?" Bo asked, trying to hide the fear he felt.

"You're going to be just fine Bo. As you are all aware we ran several tests to determine what, if any damage was done to Bo by the overdose of potassium chloride he was given. I'm happy to say that my initial suspicions were correct. There is no permanent damage to Bo's heart." Dr. Bennett paused for a moment, allowing the Duke family a chance to celebrate the good news.

"However, that does not mean you can go back to a normal routine immediately. Because of the overdose you did suffer a mild heart attack Bo, and you need to give your body a chance to completely heal. To begin with, I want to keep you in the hospital one more night, then if all goes well you can go home tommorrow after lunch. That brings me to the next step, once you are home it's important that you rest as much as possible for the next month." Seeing the protest beginning to form in his patient's eyes, the doctor held up a hand for silence. "Now hold on a minute Bo, before you start arguing let me clarify that. Getting rest doesn't mean you can't do anything. In fact I want you to engage in some activity so you can gradually build your strength back up. The key word there young man is gradual. You may begin with ten minutes of light activity, such as walking. Each period of activity should be followed by at least three hours of rest. After a few days with no difficulty, you can increase the activity to twenty minute increments. As long as you experience no problems, continue to gradually increase your level of activity until you are back to a normal routine."

"That's great news Doc. Ya hear that Luke, I'll be back to normal in a month, I'm gonna be just fine." Bo said, not even trying to keep the excitement out of his voice.

"Just a minute Bo, I said if all goes well. I don't want to dampen your spirits any, but you need to be aware that you're not out of the woods yet. There are some symptoms you'll need to watch for, such as difficulty breathing or an increased pulse. Before you leave tommorrow I'll go over everything with you, let you know what to watch for. In addition I'll be giving you a list of exercises to help you rebuild your strength. I will want to see you in a month for a final check-up, unless there are problems in the meantime, do you understand?"

Bo nodded his head in response, gripping Luke's hand, looking for comfort.

"Good, now as I said in the beginning you should be fine. I just don't want you to overdo it thinking that you're perfectly fine and cause yourself a problem, okay?" The doctor smiled at his patient, hoping to reassure the young man and his family. "Well I'll be going now and I'll see you in the morning young man. Oh, it would be helpful if one of you could be here when I go over everything with Bo tommorrow."

"That'll be me Doc," Luke answered, allowing no room for argument.

"It'll be good to have Bo home tommorrow, won't it Uncle Jesse?" Daisy asked, slipping an arm around Jesse's waist as they walked towards the house.

"That it will Daisy, that it will."

"I just, oh Uncle Jesse I hate to say it about kin, but I hope. ...I hope they catch Jud before he hurts Bo again." Daisy told her uncle, laying her head on his shoulder. She snuggled against him as he wrapped his arms around her in a gesture of comfort.

"I know honey, it hurts to think such about kin, but Jud brought it on himself. Kin or not, he had no right doing the things he did to Bo. He may try to tell himself he did that out of love for his brother, but that ain't love. What he done ain't nothing more than hatred and prejudice, plain and simple." Feeling Daisy shudder in his arms, Jesse decided he should change the subject. "Well them chores ain't gonna do themselves. Why don't you go on in and get supper together, I'll take care of things out here, okay?" Jesse offered, giving his niece a gentle nudge towards the house as he headed to the barn.

Hidden in the loft, Jud listened to their conversation. As he listened, he couldn't believe the things he was hearing. How can you take his side Uncle Jesse? I know you ain't known me as long, but you're supposed to be a Christian. You know it ain't right for Bo to be a faggot, and it's even more wrong for him to be leading Luke down the path of destruction. I can't believe you'd say I should be in jail and that I don't love Luke. You're the ones that don't love him. If you loved Luke, you'd be trying to save him too, instead of letting Bo turn him away from the ways of God. How can ya let that go on under your roof Uncle Jesse? How can ya let Luke put his soul in danger and call it love? How can ya say that it's wrong for me to try to save him? I don't understand you Jesse Duke, but I sure ain't gonna let you stop me. I won't let anybody stop me from doing what needs doing! Jud crawled to the back of the loft. As he sat in the loft, waiting for morning, Jud was busy planning his next move.

At ten o'clock the next morning, Dr. Bennett arrived in Bo's hospital room. For the next forty-five minutes he went over the aftercare information with Bo and Luke. By the time he was finished, both young men looked slightly dazed at the extent of the the instructions. "I know it seems like a lot boys, but once you start reading it over, you'll see there's a lot of repetition. Don't let it overwhelm you, mostly it's just common sense. Now that I've covered the material, do either of you have any questions?"

Looking at his cousin, Bo licked his lips nervously, not at all sure he should ask. As the doctor began to stand up, Bo found his nerve. "Uh...Doc? I, well I was just wondering. Um...you know I'm only twenty-five and well..." Bo trailed off, turning red with embarassment.

Fortunately Dr. Bennett had plenty of experience with recovering heart patients. Taking Bo's words along with his obvious embarassment, he had a pretty good idea what Bo was trying to ask. "Bo, are you trying to ask me if you can safely engage in sexual activity?"

Turning even redder, Bo could only nod his answer.

"Well Bo as I told you, you'll need to be careful not to strain yourself physically. That doesn't mean you can't engage in intimate activities, however until you're given a clean bill of health, no intercourse. Other activities should be safe though, okay?" Receiving another nod from his patient, Dr. Bennett quickly left the room, allowing Bo to recover from the difficult conversation.

As soon as the doctor left the room, Bo turned his head into Luke's chest and wrapped his arms around him. For several seconds he just sat there, holding onto his lover, relieved by what the doctor had said.

"What's so funny?" Luke asked, hearing a small laugh coming from him cousin.

"Just thinking...it's a good thing embarassment ain't fatal, or I'd be a goner," Bo answered, chuckling.

"Don't joke about that Bo!" Luke snapped, grimacing when he realized how harsh he sounded. "Aw darlin, I'm sorry," he apologized quietly.

"No Luke, I'm the one that's sorry. I should've thought before I said anything, I didn't mean to upset ya," Bo told his lover, kicking himself for not realizing that Luke wouldn't be up to hearing jokes about death right now.

"Tell ya what, why don't we just say we're both sorry and leave it at that?" Luke asked, tilting Bo's head up and placing a soft kiss on his lips.

"Sounds good to me," Bo responded, returning the kiss. Reluctantly they broke apart at the sound of the door opening. Seeing that it was a cafeteria worker with a lunch tray for Bo had them both grinning, knowing that it meant Bo would soon be going home.

Soon after lunch, Bo's release papers had been delivered to his room. It hadn't taken long to get Bo ready for the trip home. The only thing to dampen their happiness was knowing that Jud was still out there on the loose. Walking to the car, Luke felt like he was back in Nam, watching for any possible attack from the enemy. He couldn't contain the sigh of relief when they pulled out of the hospital parking lot and were on their way home. Reaching over to Bo, he wrapped the younger man's hand in his and gave a gentle squeeze. "It's gonna be okay darlin. I promise Jud won't hurt you again."

"I know Luke. Just wish you didn't have to choose between us." Bo mumbled, swallowing back the tears that tried to fall.

Pulling to the side of the road, Luke turned the engine off and pulled Bo to him. "Don't Bo, please don't beat yourself up over this. The only one who has anything to feel bad about is Jud, and... Look at me Bo." Luke ordered, reaching out with one hand and forcing Bo to look him in the eye. "There was never any choice to be made Bo. I love you, you are the world to me and I will always choose you over anybody or anything else. Never forget that darlin and stop blaming yourself for the choices that my brother made, please."

"I love you too Luke. I wish I had the words to tell you just how very much I love you. I know you want me to stop feeling bad about Jud, but all I can promise is I'll try." Leaning towards his lover, Bo pressed their lips together in a passionate kiss. "Can we go home now love?"

Wrapping his right arm around Bo and pulling him close, Luke started the car and pulled back onto the road. Thirty minutes later they were parking the General behind the farmhouse and climbing out. They were both a little surprised that neither Jesse or Daisy was outside to greet them, but didn't really think about it. Stepping inside the kitchen door, they were expecting to see Jesse or Daisy working in the kitchen. What they saw took them completely by surprise; sitting at the table, a gun pointed at Daisy, was Jud.

"Come on in big brother, cousin. Don't make me ask again." Jud snarled, seeing Luke's hesitance. Pulling back the hammer on the gun, he pulled the trigger putting a furrow in the table next to Daisy. "Next one goes in cousin Daisy."

Having no choice, Luke and Bo stepped the rest of the way inside the room. "Where's Uncle Jesse?"

"Oh he's fine Luke, he got a little cantankerous so I made him take a nap." Jud told him, smiling pleasantly as though they were discussing nothing more than the weather.

"He knocked him out Luke, and tied him to his bed." Daisy cried out, more angry and scared than she had ever been in her life.

"Have a seat Luke...not you Bo, just Luke. Now!" Jud ordered. Afraid to obey, but equally afraid to argue, Luke did as he was told for now. "Good, good. Okay Bo over there in the corner is some rope, you go get it and tie Luke to the chair. Do it Bo or I shoot Daisy!"

Bo slowly reached down for the rope and began to tie Luke to the chair. "Don't think about cheating either, I will be checking."

Tying Luke tightly to the chair, Bo finished and straightened back up. Overcome by a wave of dizziness, he stumbled into Daisy, barely managing to keep her upright before regaining his balance.

"Step back to the door Bo," Jud ordered. Satisfied that Luke was securely tied, Jud motioned Bo to turn around. "You know it's really too bad you stopped me Luke. It would've been a lot easier on everybody if Bo had died in the hospital. Of course this way is going to be so much more satisfying." Jud told his brother, before forcing Bo to walk outside to the barn.

As soon as the door shut behind Jud, Luke immediately began to work at the ropes holding him to the chair. "Oh God, please help us." Luke prayed as he worked, nearly crying in frustration at finding no give in the ropes. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Daisy whispered in his ear as she began to untie him.

"Hold on Luke, let me get it."

"Daisy? How did you...?"

"Bo, when he stumbled against me, he loosened the ropes." Daisy told him as she continued to free him.

Feeling the ropes falling away, Luke jumped to his feet and raced outside, leaving Daisy to see to Uncle Jesse. Halfway to the barn, he froze in his tracks, the sound of a gunshot turning his blood cold with terror.

TBC

Sorry to leave you with another evil cliffhanger. Please review and I'll try to update quickly.