A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, y'all! And to "Smithy", thanks, I did not know that about the death penalty, that might come in handy :) Thanks! No without further ado, here's chapter four!

Straightening the Curves

Chapter Four: Help

Balladeer: As Rosco had said he would do, he talked his sister Lulu into hirin' Eve as an attorney for the Hazzard Courthouse so it would be legal for her to take Cooter's case to court. After all the documentation was sighed, an' all that jazz, Eve drove herself to Atlanta to pick up her cousin from the jail where he was being held at.

Cooter sat in the dreary cell, waiting to get bailed out. He couldn't believe this was happening to him. Murder! The very thought of someone thinking that he could be responsible for such a gruesome act was just crazy. About as crazy as him counting the number of bars on his door for thefortieth time since he'd been sent in there.

"Of course I paid the bail, geez, ask anybody!" he heard an all-too-familiar voice say in a raised tone, probably to a security guard. "Just 'cause I'm blonde doesn't make me an idiot, now you open this door right now before I pry it open myself!"

The door to the jail section of the courthouse creaked open and Eve's figure came into view, much to Cooter's relief.

"Evie!" he called out, waving his hand through the bars of his cell door.

She spotted him, gave a little shriek, and rushed over to where he was located. "Oh, my poor lil' baby cousin!" she cried, holding his face with her hands as if she hadn't seen him in years. "Guard, open this and let him out this instant."

The guard looked hesitant, fumbling with his keys and then ever so slowly unlocking Cooter's door so that he could exit. "Thanks," Cooter grinned at the guard, who glared back at him.

"Come on, let's get outta here," Eve said, taking Cooter by the arm and leading him out of the jail and into the regular part of the courthouse. "I can't believe this, I honestly cannot," she fussed as they walked down the hall, mainly to herself. "Keepin' my baby cousin locked up in that hell-hole. Got some nerve—" She ran a hand through her hair. "Dammit," she muttered under her breath, pretty much summarizing how she felt about this whole situation. It wasn't very often that she cursed, and this seemed like a good time to let one fly.

They walked out of the main door of the building and into the parking lot without anyone bothering them, fortunately. Eve was not in the mood to deal with reporters at the moment.

"You're under my care no, so you'll have to stay an arm's length away from me at all times. Okay, not really, but I have to know where you are at all times," she informed him as she headed straight for her parked tan-colored sedan. "An' seein' how the trial's gonna be in Atlanta, we're goin' to have to stay put until the trial's over. Of course, the trial don't start 'til next week, surprisingly, so we'll have to run back to Hazzard, pack up what's necessary, and come back here."

Cooter gave her a sheepish look. "I'm sorry I dragged ya into this. I really appreciate you helpin' out, y'know. You didn't have to come."

She gave him a shocked look. "Cooter Davenport, don't you dare apologize to me for this. You're my favorite cousin, an' hell will have to freeze over before I let some bullyin' Feds try to stick you with murder charges." She enveloped him in a hug, which he returned with tears in his eyes. "Don't worry, I'm gonna get you outta this. If it drives me outta my mind and back again, I'll figure out somethin'."

Luke pulled up in front of Bo and Rachel's place in Jesse's truck. Bo had the General to himself since Luke had been gone, and the beloved race car was sitting in the driveway, which meant Bo was more htan likely at home. Luke smiled as he remembered the wild-and-free days when he and Bo would race around Hazzard in that car—days when Bo wasn't married. Luke wasn't too sore. He was glad that Bo had found somebody to share his life with. Now if only he could do the same.

He saw Bo peek out the blinds when he heard Luke pull up. The blinds snapped shut and the front door went busting open, Bo flying down the stairs and nearly jumping Luke before he even got out of the truck.

"LUKE!" he exclaimed, grabbing his cousin and giving him a huge bear hug. "Oh, Luke, it's so great to see you! Why didn't ya tell us you were comin'!"

"Wanted to surprise ya, I guess," Luke smiled, patting Bo on the back. "Great to see ya, cuz. How's Rachel doin'?"

Bo pointed at the front porch. "Ask her yourself."

Luke looked towards the porch and smiled when he saw his pregnant cousin-in-law trying to make her way down the stairs to see him. "Rach, ya look great," he said, going and gently hugging her so he wouldn't accidentally hurt her or the baby.

"Thanks, Luke," she said in a tired voice, smiling just the same. "You were the last person I expected to see drive up into the yard."

"Daisy and Jesse felt the same way. You okay there, Rach?"

She nodded. "Just tired. Baby's takin' all my energy away."

"Hon, maybe you need to take a nap for a while," Bo suggested. "You wantin' anything back from town?"

"Ummmmm. . . how 'bout . . . a jar of honey and some ice cream. Yeah, that sounds good—honey-covered ice cream."

Luke gave her a disgusted look at the very thought of the combination.

Balladeer: Hey! That sounds pretty good actually . . .

Rachel laughed at him then gave Bo a kiss. "You an' Luke have fun. I know y'all have a lot of catchin' up to do."

"All right, hon. You sure you want honey and ice cream?"

She lightly slapped his arm. "Get outta here before I decide to make you eat some with me."

The boys sat in the Boar's Nest in the corner table discussing what had been going on over a couple of cold beers. They mainly talked about babies and training camp, but they had a good time talking about it anyway. By now, Rachel'd had her fill of honey-covered ice cream and was now at work behind the counter while Daisy ran around filling up everybody's orders, stopping ever now and then to talk to Enos, who was by himself at the bar. Luke sighed deeply and decided to bring up what was going on with Cooter.

"Bo, now you an' I both know that Cooter didn't do anythin' wrong, right?"

"Of course I know."

"An' we both know that the real murderer is out there runnin' scot free, right?"

"Yeah . . ."

"Then you'll understand why I have to go to Atlanta and help figure this mess out."

Bo gave his cousin the blankest look he had ever given him. His jaw dropped several inches and his eyes got big as plates. "No, Luke----no, you just came back to Hazzard! You can't leave so soon!"

"Bo, I have to! Cooter's my best friend next to you, an' he's gotten me outta some big jams before. It would only be fair if I help him clear his name," Luke explained. "It's not like I'm leavin' forever. I'll be back."

"But, Luke, it's just that—just that you just came home. We ain't seen ya in months! It would break everyone's heart if you just up and left like this."

"I know," Luke sighed. "But it has to be done. I don't trust any of those detectives they got in Atlanta are goin' to try too hard to find the real killer because they think they already got him. Please understand."

Bo was silent for a minute, gazing into the remains of his beer that he had in his mug. He ran a hand through his hair and replied, "Good luck, Luke. Don't get in any trouble while you're there."

Luke put a hand on his cousin's shoulder. "Thanks, Bo."