A/N: Hey y'all. My first time writing about The Boys, so I hope you enjoy! Please, give it a read and let me know what you think! Thankx!

Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah...everybody knows I ain't got ownership of the show, any characters (even though I'd love to have Bo), or places.

Warnings: None, really. The nightmare is a bit, well...nightmare-ish, but that's about it.

A Brother in the Night

By: StriderX

The cool night air of ol' Hazzard Georgia wisped lightly over tall grass and through windows left open to welcome its visit. Soft beige curtains ruffled in the breeze as it caressed over the light fabric. You could almost hear a smile of contentment as soft snores of sleeping farmers lulled the tranquil air. Among the curious whistles and breaths of sleep, came the exhausted sighs of young Bo and Luke Duke.

Cousins closer then brothers, Bo and Luke—despite their difference in age—were inseparable. Whether it be fixing a car, plowing a field, or simply sleeping after a hard day's work, where there was one, there was always the other. After loosing their parent's to a horrible car accident nearly eleven years ago, the boys were sent to live with their Uncle Jessie and Cousin Daisy in the backwoods county of Hazzard. The first few years were hard on Luke, more then anyone; seein' how he remembered well his parents and the night death came 'a knocking on his family's door. Night after night he would spend trying to keep his cries for his Mommy and Daddy hidden from the rest of the family. He was the oldest of the cousins...he was supposed to be strong for everyone else. Or, so he thought.

As Bo grew from infancy in the care of his Uncle and two older cousins, he knew of no life other then the one he lived everyday. To him, his life was as perfect as any could be. He had a father, his Uncle Jessie, a sister who also coupled as his mother, his Cousin Daisy, and closest to his heart, was his big brother. Luke. He looked to Luke for everything—answering his questions about why the sky is blue; learning how to reach the gas pedal of a car; how to talk to a girl without stuttering; to Bo, Luke was everything.

It took a while for Luke to understand why Bo thought of him the way he did, but the moment the spark turned into a fire and realization dawned, his heart opened to heal of the wounds he never thought were possible.

----

It must have been edging on two o'clock in the morning by now, Luke thought dazedly as he stared blankly at the ceiling above him. He was exhausted; all day he and Bo had been working hard to get the fields plowed and ready for planting season. But yet, he found himself unable to sleep. He tried to coax himself into the welcoming black he desired so dearly and closed his eyes to relax against the soft snores beside him. A new thought dawning, he opened his tired cerulean eyes and let his head fall to the side; his eyes coming to rest on the innocent face in the bed next to him.

He couldn't help but smile when Bo yawned lightly in his sleep; his face closely resembling a blonde, shaggy-haired angel. He looked so calm; so carefree. A strange surge of brotherly pride suddenly swept over Luke in a way it had never had before. He finally realized something: he wasn't alone. He'd never been alone. He's had a little brother right next to him all along. Sure, he had always loved Bo as a cousin—and occasionally as an annoying little kid who wouldn't leave him alone—but he had never till then actually thought of him as his brother. An odd mix of happiness and relief washed over the elder Duke boy then...he was never alone.

Just then, an abrupt hitch in the rhythm pulling him into sleep made his heart jump. Bo's breath was coming up short and panicked; it seemed a nightmare had taken hold of the young boy who had so often tried to seem like a man. When he was just a small child, nightmare's were not uncommon for the boy, but these days, it was rare for anything to take hold of his sleep more important then what he'd do if he said the wrong thing to a pretty lady. But this was different; somehow Luke knew that the moment Bo's breath caught in his throat.

Luke sat up in his bed and watched Bo for a moment more; waiting to see if the dream had passed as quickly as it came. It hadn't. Suddenly, a cry filled whimper tore at Luke's heart as Bo pleaded to the night, "No...no, please...don't go...please..."

----

Bo wasn't sure what he was looking at. It was like watching a twisted movie from a past he never knew. He saw a winding road break apart the never ending blackness of night. The scene was calm, but eerie in a way Bo did not want to understand. But just then, blinding lights of a speeding eighteen-wheeler semi-truck came flying out of the darkness and onto the road. Its window's were black, as was its body. With glaring headlights and a roar of its powerful engine, it sounded to Bo like one of the monsters from books he'd read.

Soon after, another vehicle appeared on the road. This one was smaller; a mere car filled with four happy, carefree passengers. He knew them all; he had seen them in photographs. The driver was his father. Next to him was Luke's father and in the back sat Bo's mother chatting with Luke's mother.

He looked back to the black monster careening frightfully down the road; aiming straight for the innocent car filled with his family. It was then realization dawned and Bo tried to cry out for his Father and Mother. He screamed out over and over, but no one could hear.

Seconds later, young Bo screamed a cry of 'bloody murder' as the monster crashed into the small car; tearing it to unseen pieces.

Tears streaming down his face, Bo quieted as the scene was engulfed in black and opened again to an equally dismal picture of the car's passengers being rolled away into ambulances under the cover of black sheets. Bo was scared; more then he had ever been in his life. He looked to the blanket-covered body in front of him. He held his breath tight to hold back the tears as a paramedic began to pull the sheet away to reveal the victim's face. Bo's eyes widen in terror-filled shock as the face belonged; not to his father, but to Luke! Petrified beyond reason, Bo tried to scream but found his voice had abandoned him to his fate. Doing all he could, Bo picked himself from his terror and turned to run; running further and further away from the terrible scene.

----

"Bo!" Luke shook his cousin in desperate attempt to wake him. The nightmare had gotten much worse since its beginning and Luke felt his heart break with the very expression on Bo's frightened face. "Bo, you've got to wake up," he coax firmly; grasping the preteen's bare shoulders with his strong hands.

In one last cry mixed with a terrifying shock and fear, Bo jolted up to a seat and found himself staring into familiar cobalt pools with eyes clouded and dazed with fear. He was confused at first; what happened to the accident? Was it all a dream? Where was he? And then, with the soothing voice of his cousin filling his ears and breaking through the cobwebs floating through his thoughts, Bo's eyes widened for a moment before filling with a pool of tears. "L-Luke?" he stuttered breathlessly.

Luke smiled warmly despite the worry threatening to tear through him. "Yeah Bo, I'm here," he said while placing a gentle hand on Bo's cheek.

Bo was emotionless for a moment—shock still evident on his features. He sat perfectly still; as if he was afraid that if he moved, Luke would disappear and the nightmare would return. But then, with one last assurance from Luke that is really was just a dream, all emotions crumbled and Bo found himself collapsing in the arms of his cousin; crying out his heart and pain to one.

Luke quickly gathered the sobbing young man into his arms and wrapped his arms around him; comfortingly rubbing his back and running a loving hand through his messy blonde hair while whispering reassuring nothings into his ear. "It's okay, Bo...it was just a nightmare. I'm here, it's okay," he whispered warmly as Bo clung to him as if his very life depended on his hold.

Young Bo's cries dissipated not ten minutes after. He was exhausted from the experience and found himself to tuckered out to do anything but breathe shakily into his cousin's neck. 'Luke's okay...Luke's alive...he didn't die...he's right here...' he kept assuring himself silently over and over again.

"Bo?" Luke's soft, but strong voice suddenly broke him from his weary musings. Bo looked up to see Luke's loving face staring back at him with worry shining in his eyes. "You alright?"

Bo thought for a moment. 'I don't know...' he thought. 'Am I?' against his thoughts, Bo merely nodded his head...then shook it slightly.

Luke allowed the smallest smile to cross his features before encouraging him again. "It's alright, Bo...it was just a nightmare," he paused for a moment before continuing with a thought he believed might be helpful. "You wanna talk about it, buddy?"

Bo was silent. He thought for a moment with closed eyes before turning to face Luke again. "Luke?" he began in a voice sounding much like a little child's. "Do you like me?"

The question hit Luke harder then he could ever imagine. How could Bo ever even feel the need to ask such a thing? But then he realized...his feelings were obvious to himself...but what were they to everyone else? "Bo..." he began; slowly searching for the right words to tell the shaking boy in his arms. "Not only do I like you, I love you...very much! Believe it or not, little buddy, you're the best friend I've ever had...and the best brother I could ever dream of!" Luke could feel tears welling in his eyes, but he didn't care; he still looked better then poor Bo. "No matter what happens, Bo, I will always love you...and I will always be there to protect you."

Bo was more then shocked or stunned...he was happy. It felt to him that Luke's words made all his horrors and nightmares simply disappear. It really was alright...Luke was his brother, and more then that, Bo was Luke's. With a wave of emotion hitting his fragile heart, new tears sprung into Bo's eyes. But this time, he cried in the arms of his cousin not because of a nightmare or a pain he never knew, but for the assurance and the knowledge that he was loved...not as just a kid who everybody felt obligated to protect, but as a brother...as a true friend.

The End.

A/N2: Well, hope y'all enjoyed! Don't forget to let me know what you think, k? Thankx again. Later!

Strider