A/N: Hey, everybody, here's the last chapter, sorry if it's seems rushed or anything :)

Straightening the Curves

Chapter Twenty: Home Again

A Few Days Later . . .

Balladeer: Nick Rogan was arrested on charges of contempt of court, conspiracy, assault an' attempted murder; Peter Yulch was charged with contempt of court, conspiracy, an' withholding evidence; an' Elijah Moore was arrested for the Caskells and Kent murders, conspiracy, an' holdin' hostages. We're in the courthouse now, so shhh.

"Mr. Davenport," Judge Whitney said from his podium. "The state and the court is herby acquitting you of all charges in the murders Summer Caskells and Heather Kent. We apologize for any inconveniences this may have caused you." He banged his gavel. "Case dismissed."

Balladeer: Y'know, we just witnessed the shortest murder case in history.

The crowd applauded. Eve was so used to shaking hands with clients that she was almost taken aback when she received a rib-crushing hug instead. It took a few seconds but she gave him a hug back.

"Thank you," Cooter whispered, tears in his eyes. "Thanks for believin' in me."

"You're welcome, baby," Eve whispered back. "Let's go home, huh?"

Home. The word never sounded so much like music before.

Baby Chelsea was lying in her bed for the first time in her room. As Dr. Reynolds had said, the surgery had been a success. She shouldn't have any problems from now on. A little mobile was above her attached to the side of the bed, multi-colored ponies turning in circles that played the tune "Over the Rainbow". She would lay there and stare at it for long periods of time, almost until she went cross-eyed. Then she'd kick her legs and start sucking furiously on her pacifier, drool running down her little chin. Her fine brown hair had developed static electricity from the blankets, which gave her an almost eccentric look.

Even though that's all she did the entire time, Bo and Rachel still thought her the most wonderful thing in the world. They couldn't get enough of her. They would semi-argue over who got to feed her next, rock her, dress her, tuck her in—except when it was time to change her diapers, Bo would always mysteriously disappear.

At night, they discovered that Chelsea was a good sleeper. Not once did she wake up during the night. Rachel had a feeling that it wouldn't last long though. She'd more than likely start screaming at two o'clock in the morning.

As Rachel had hoped, her side of the family finally got to see the new addition. Eve was adored by her, much to Rosco's dismay—he hoped she didn't start getting upset that they couldn't have any kids; although she assured him that it didn't matter either way. Ali had come along with them to see the baby, much to Rachel's surprise. She was also surprised to see that her and Luke had apparently patched things up—but that was good, she had hoped that they would.

Bo was ecstatic to see Luke again, and everybody was glad to see Cooter had gotten out of his mess. There was a huge party that night, to celebrate everybody's homecoming including Chelsea's, which even included warm apple pie made special by Daisy.

At the party, Luke went up to Ali when she was alone and asked her what her plans were going to be. He had hoped that perhaps she would stay in Hazzard, seeing how things had started patching up with her sisters since they had at last seen each other again. She gave him the answer "I'll think about it." Hopefully that translated into a "yes".

Balladeer: It was a few more days later and things seemed to go back to normal. Ali, who had been staying with Bo and Rachel, had mentioned to her sister that she was thinking about sticking around for a longer while this time. Rachel said she'd see about getting her a job at the Boar's Nest with her. Chelsea had become an instant hit with everyone, already so much a part of their lives even though she'd only been around for a week or so.

Bo and Luke went back to racing around in the General, when Bo had time away from his new family of course. Rosco would still give 'em a run for their money—literally. They'd made it a sort of game; if the boys could outrun him, he owed them one dollar. But if he caught 'em, they owed him a dollar. So far, neither one was a dollar richer or poorer. As for Cooter, he went back to workin' at his garage alongside Bo.

Cooter had been back in town for a few days now, but he was noticing that there was something a little funny about the folks. He'd pass them on the sidewalk and they would give him a suspicious look, walking past without even returning his hello. If a customer drove up to the garage, they'd make some quiet small talk whenever Cooter showed up. Some guy didn't even want him to pump his gas for him.

After a while, it became apparent to young Davenport that although he had been acquitted, the fact that he had been charged with murder in the first place had made a deep cut in his reputation. It became depressing after a while.

One day, when he was alone with just Bo and Luke for company, he came up and said,

"Fellas, I know y'all ain't gonna like it, but I think I'm gonna pack up an' move on."

The Duke boys exchanged glances and stared at their best friend. "Cooter, you can't do that!" Bo exclaimed. "You just came back not too long ago! What about the garage?"

Cooter dug his set of keys out of his pocket and tossed them at Luke. "Here. You two can handle it. I'm sellin' my half to ya, Luke."

Luke gave him a baffled look. "But—Cooter, I can't accept this."

"Guys, I have to go. You haven't seen the looks these people have been givin' me since I came home. It's like I'm still on trial—an' all of Hazzard's the jury."

The boys looked a little upset at this. "Where'll ya go?" Bo asked quietly.

He shrugged, sticking his hands in his pockets. "Around. Might get a truckin' job. It don't matter none though, just so long as I ain't here." He noticed the somber looks on their faces. "What? It's not like I'm leavin' forever. I'll come back for a visit."

"Just do what ya feels best," Luke told him. "We'll sure miss ya though."

"I know ya will. I want y'all to take care of this place for me," he said, looking around and sighing. He was sure gonna miss this place. "An' I promised Evie two years of free service as part of my payment, so I'll just transfer it to y'all. She shouldn't mind. So, whattya say, Luke? Deal or no deal?"

Bo looked at his cousin, hoping he'd say 'yes'. "Come on, Luke! It'll be fun, us workin' together!"

Luke chuckled. "All right, it's a deal."

Balladeer: An' so, that was the legend of how one Duke became a father, another helped a friend in need, an' how everybody learned that life throws some really twisted curves at ya—an' it's your job to straighten 'em back out.

Epilogue

A few days earlier . . .

J.D. "Boss"Hogg---the name used to mean power, dignity, and control. Here in Bonner State Prison, it meant less than a hill of beans.Prison does stuff to a man. It tears away at the soul, casts a dark shadow over him---but most of all it gets a man to thinking about how he got there in the first place . . . and who's to blame.

The television was slightly blurred with static in the mess hall where the prisoners ate every day. Boss---orbetter knownas "Hogg" inthe prison---hovered over his less than ample servings of mashed potatoes, corn, and fried chicken, wary that the others around him would try to steal what he had. He hated it here. He waswasting away intonothing with the meals theydished out.

The last thing hecould have cared about at that moment was whatwas on the televison but several names that the newscaster spat out caught his attention---

"Live from Atlanta, the charges brought forth against Cooter Davenport have been dropped due to mistaken identity. The actual "Hammer Head" murderer turns out to be an Elijah Moore, who has an uncanny resemblance to Mr. Davenport. Davenport's lawyer, Evelyn Coltrane, and his best friend Luke Duke managed to figure out this misunderstanding and brought forth the truth before it was too late."

Boss heard the name Duke and gripped his fork almost enough to bend it. Dukes--those rotten Dukes, the ones that put him in this miserable place. And that two-timing brother-in-law, that sheriff, he must've married that little secretary. Boss shoveled a helping a potatoes into his mouth, a glare cemented on his face. If it was the last thing he ever did, Duke and Coltrane alike would be sorry that they ever messed with the likes of him.

The End (for now . . . )

Thanks to all who reviewed and encouraged me to keep writing! Sorry if the ending seemed a bit rushed, but that always tends to happen with every story I write. Coming up in the future----the third part of the story, an angsty tragic story titled "Deliver Us From Evil", starring the Dukes, the Coltranes, the Hoggs, and yes even Flash the Wonder Dog.

I'm going to be getting ready to move back to the college dorms, so I don't know how fast my updates are gonna be. I'll try and get the first chapter up this week (maybe tomorrow), but I ain't gonna be able to update everyday like I did with this story. Be patient though, 'cause the way I got it figured, it's gonna be a real tearjerker.