"I'm gonna go and see if he's up yet." Luke announced.
"Now just hang on." Jesse replied. "Let 'im be. I ain't gonna give him that stuff no more and if things keep up the way they have, then it's best to let him rest while he can."
Luke reluctantly nodded as Jesse continued. "We can handle things by ourselves for today. Now let's go in their 'n git them sandwiches so's we can git back to work."
Bo continued to stand by the door while Luke and Jesse banged around in the kitchen, waiting to see what else they would say. However there was no more talk concerning Bo, with the subject turning to things such as the work on the farm and the barbeque at the McGill farm that weekend. After a little while, Bo could hear the sound of dishes hitting the sink before the men trudged to the door, closing it behind them. After that, all was quiet.
After another moment, Bo felt comfortable enough to open the door and rush to Jesse's bedroom, where the window there offered a view of some of the back forty, at least the parts that weren't hidden by the rolling hills. Watching as Luke and Jesse disappeared over the first hill, Bo turned and made his way to the living room.
Once he got there, he picked up the phone. "Mabel, can you get Boss Hogg for me?"
Moments later, J.D. Hogg picked up the phone from inside the Boar's Nest. "This is J.D. Hogg speakin'."
"Uh, hey Boss. This is Bo. Bo Duke."
"Oh Bo!" Boss exclaimed, the smile on his face evident in his voice. "It sure is good to hear from you. There somethin' I can help you with?"
Bo frowned suspiciously. Boss was never 'glad' to hear from him. "Well actually, I's hopin' you could tell me where I might find Doc Dewberry."
"Oh, Doc Dewberry!" Boss smiled. "Why of course. He's stayin' at my fishin' cabin over on Carter's Lake. Just for a couple days, mind you, while Lulu finishes up her sessions."
"That's great, Boss. Thanks alot for the tip."
"Not a problem!" Boss sang out as he started to hang up.
"Oh and Boss?"
"Yes?"
"If it should come up, don't tell Jesse I's askin'. Alright?"
"Agreed!" Boss sang out again as he hung up.
Bo hung up his phone and looked at it quizzically. He then shrugged his shoulders and got up. He scribbled a quick note before going outside, where he hopped in the General and took off.
Don't be surprised that Bo didn't take Boss's cheery greeting in stride. Gettin' a big, pleasant howdy-do from him's 'bout the same as gittin' one from the draft board.
Boss laughed a greedy laugh as he picked up the phone again. "Mabel, ring my cabin over at the lake. Hello…..Doc Dewberry? J.D. Hogg. This call's just to let you know that the chicken has flown the coop."
"I owe ya another one, Hogg." Dr. Dewberry confirmed before hanging up. He then opted to dial the phone rather than going through the Hazzard operator.
"Amanda………Get me Dr. Foster……………..George, It's all set. Meet me here in Hazzard just as fast as you can…….You might want to get a piece of paper. The directions are kind of complicated."
XXXXXXXXXXX
It was almost two hours later before Dr. Foster showed up at the cabin. While they had been waiting, Dr. Dewberry had accompanied Bo on a walk around the lake where he tried to extract as many details on his experience as possible, as well as Bo's true feelings on the whole thing. By the time the chat was complete, Dr. Dewberry had accomplished his primary goal, which was to gain Bo's complete trust.
"Hello Bo." Dr. Foster greeted him after Dr. Dewberry had introduced them. "I'm Dr. George Foster. Tom and I work together in Atlanta."
"Well it's nice to meet you, Dr. Foster." Bo replied, shaking his hand. "I hafta say I'm a might surprised to see you though. I thought Dr. Dewberry would be taking care of me."
"Oh he will be, Bo, along with me. You see, you're kind of a special case, and we thought you would benefit more from our combined effort to get you well- I mean, over your dreams."
"Yes, my dreams." Bo replied in a short tone, not comfortable at all with the idea of him being labeled as 'not well', especially after the talk he had overheard between Jesse and Luke that morning.
Well, let's go inside, shall we? When we get there, we'll go over any questions you have then we will begin the procedure.
Now that the time was at hand, Bo was a little nervous. He remembered an incident in the family before, when Luke had been hypmotized to get rid of the General Lee. Of course, that hypmotist was a crook hired by Boss Hogg for one of his nasty schemes. This time however, the doctor seemed legitimate, having an ad in the Atlanta paper and being used by Boss and Lulu as well. And if Ms Lulu was comfortable in his care, then, Bo told himself, the doctor had to be trustworthy.
Soon, the trio had settled into the cabin.
"Okay Bo, if you have any questions to ask, now is the time to ask them." Dr. Dewberry announced, patting him on the shoulder.
"Well, I guess I just have one." Bo replied.
"What's that, young man?" Dr. Foster asked.
"Just a curiosity question, really. Why is it two big city doctors is willing to team up and go out of your way to help a poor country boy like me for free?"
Dr. Dewberry and Dr. Foster looked at one another for a few moments before Dr. Foster cleared his throat and spoke. "Because we're not only doctors, we're researchers. You see, we're in the process of writing a college textbook in which we hope to offer…..examples of real case studies and the outcomes. You, Mr. Duke, are a very unique individual. We would be very hard pressed to find anyone else who has gone through anything like you've experienced. With that in mind, we'll gladly offer free services, with the understanding on your part that the whole matter will eventually end up in a textbook. Be assured though…." He added. "…..you're name will not be used."
"So in a nutshell, you're helping me for free in exchange for the right to publish the results."
"Exactly." Dr. Dewberry nodded.
Bo thought a minute, then shrugged his shoulders. "Well, that's the only question I could think of."
Dr. Dewberry then pulled out an ink pen. "Then let's begin, shall we?"
Dr. Dewberry waved the pen back and forth in front of Bo's eyes, commanding him to relax. Had Bo not been immediately taken in by it, he would have laughed. 'You're getting veeeeeery sleepy.' He thought momentarily, remembering all those sci-fi flicks he enjoyed as a child. Not long after that, he was in a state of semi-conciousness.
XXXXXXXXXXX
"Bo! Bo wake up!"
That was what Bo heard through his haze. 'Leave me alone Luke, I'm sick.' He wanted to say, but his brain failed to make his mouth say the words.
"George, get over here, I think he's waking up!" He heard someone say.
Bo listened as the footsteps drew closer. "Thank goodness. He's been out for a good eight hours."
Bo tried to open his eyes, and it took a great deal of effort to accomplish the slits he finally managed. Even so, his vision was so blurry that he simply closed them again.
"C'mon Bo, ya gotta wake up." One of them said. "His family will start looking for him soon if they haven't already." He whispered to the other.
Bo suddenly felt a wave of sickness come over him.
"Tom, get that trash can over there!" Dr. Foster exclaimed.
Bo didn't know how he found the energy to do so, but by the time the footsteps rushed across the room toward him again, he was sitting up in bed, expelling the little food he had in his stomach.
"There ya go, Bo. You alright now?" Dr. Dewberry asked.
"I'm….I'm…" was all Bo managed before he slipped into unconciousness again.
Ya'll know where Antartica is? It's way way south. Almost as south as that experiment seems to have gone----whatever it was.
