"Uncle Jesse!" Daisy exclaimed.
As Luke continued to pull her toward him, Cooter stepped forward to offer his assistance, placing his hand on Luke's arm. But Luke was persistent. In moments, when Daisy's head was near her cousin's, Luke leaned up to plant a wet kiss on her cheek.
"What?" Daisy asked mostly herself as Luke released her and grinned madly. As she felt her own cheek which was still damp from the kiss, her look of shock turned to anger.
"LUKE DUKE!" She exclaimed, using the strap of her purse to propel the bag into his stomach with a hearty thud. "How dare you scare me like that?" She asked as he lay doubled over from the blow.
"That wasn't funny Luke. We might've expected somethin' like that outta Bo, but not you!" Cooter added, looking as if he could belt Luke himself.
Jesse frowned as he looked back and forth from Daisy to Luke. "Ya mean to tell me he's alright?"
"Well, I was." Luke admitted, nursing a spot on his stomach that the buckle of the purse had caught.
"That's still to be decided." Dr. Kilmer announced moving forward to assist Luke into a sitting position. "How do you feel, Mr. Duke? Any pain? Nausea? Emotional issues?"
Luke paused and took a moment to note how he felt. Finally he shrugged his shoulders. "Everything seems okay, doc, 'cept for this spot on my stomach." He added, moving the gown over to note the red buckle welt.
Dr. Kilmer offered him a slight smile. "To be on the safe side, we will wait 30 more minutes to make sure nothing comes up. If it hasn't, then we will go ahead and administer the drug to Bo."
As the doctor left, Daisy smiled at Jesse. "Oh Uncle Jesse, maybe all this is finally coming to an end!"
"With any luck, all ya'll will be back at the farm by the weekend." Cooter estimated.
"And once we get there, my plans involve no more than sitting on the couch staring off into space for awhile, if I don't take a nap that is." Luke added.
"Oh, you might get yer chance to stare off into space, but I'm afraid you won't be doing it sittin' down." Jesse announced.
"Why? We get real behind on the chores?"
"Probably, but what I's tryin' to git at is the fact that you'll probably be too sore to sit. Ya got one comin' fer skeerin' us all like that."
Luke laughed. "I'm sorry, Uncle Jesse. It's just that the lot of you looked so serious standin' around me that I couldn't control myself."
"Yeah, well ya just better hope I can control myself when I git ahold of ya." Jesse replied, half serious, half joking.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
About an hour and a half later, the same group found themselves standing around Bo's bed. Luke had been observed for the required half hour and, after having shown no adverse symptoms, they felt comfortable enough in giving the drug to Bo. Now, enough time had passed for the drug to work, and they stood, prepared to wake him up.
"You want to do the honors again, miss?" Dr. Kilmer asked Daisy.
Daisy shook her head. "I think I'll leaveit to Luke here." She replied, stepping back toward Cooter who put a comforting arm around her shoulders.
"Bo, c'mon man, time to get up." Luke began, giving him a little shake.
When Bo didn't immediately respond, Luke tried again. "C'mon Bo. Uncle Jesse needs help with the chores."
With that, Bo stirred a bit. "Five more minutes." He mumbled.
"Ain't no time for that." Luke grinned. At least Bo sounded like himself. "Come on, get up."
After some more restless tossing, Bo finally decided to open his eyes. He looked at Luke before letting his gaze travel around the bed to the other observants. Yawning then frowning in confusion, he finally asked. "Where am I?"
"You're at the Veterans Hospital in Atlanta." Jesse piped up. "You don't remember being brought here?."
Bo thought a minute. "I kinda remember being brought to a hospital, but why was I brought here? I ain't no veteran."
"It's a long story." Luke had to admit.
"We'll get into that later, Mr. Duke." Dr. Kilmer spoke up. "Let's talk about how you feel right now."
"Hey I remember you." Bo said, attempting to point but finding he was strapped down.
"Yes, I attended to you when you were brought in." Dr. Kilmer explained. "Are you in any pain?"
"No, other than I'm shaking like I'm cold, only I ain't cold." Bo replied, wondering why he felt that way.
"How do you feel emotionally? Happy? Depressed?"
Bo thought a minute. "Anxious."
Dr. Kilmer arched his eyebrow in surprise as he marked Bo's chart. "Anxious nervous or anxious excited?"
"Anxious nervous. But I'm sure it'll pass soon as I get untied here, or at least figure out why I'm tied up." Bo added.
Dr. Kilmer scribbled out the note. "Bo, let me ask you this. If someone who had made you mad were standing here right now, what would you do?"
"Probably beat 'im up." Bo admitted.
"You can't go on that, doc, that'd be Bo's reaction no matter what." Cooter pointed out.
Dr. Kilmer nodded. "Bo, if I unstrap you, do you think you will be okay?"
"I don't see why not."
With that Dr. Kilmer waved two beefy orderlies inside, just in case. Nodding at Luke, the pair went about loosening Bo's straps. When they were done, Bo rose and sat calmly, staring at the group.
"Whoa!" He said, feeling a wave of nausea. Spotting a restroom nearby, he hopped off the bed and rushed inside.
When he emerged a few minutes later, Daisy rushed over to him. "Oh Bo, are you alright?" She asked, hugging him.
"Yeah I'm okay now." Bo replied, kissing the top of her head. He then pulled her back and looked at her with a confused expression.
"What's the matter?" She asked.
"I don't' know." Bo replied. "I feel like I owe you an apology for somethin', but I don't know why."
"That's okay honey." She replied, giving him another squeeze. "You don't need to apologize for anything."
Bo spent the next few days in the hospital. As tremors and acute bouts of anger cropped up, he was administered new detox methods as needed. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, he couldn't recall many of the details of the past few days.Jesse was overjoyed when Bo finally returned to normal and was sent home, with a warning from Dr. Kilmer that the tremors could take several months to completely diminish.
The next morning Jesse woke up earlier than usual, ready to make a celebration breakfast as they had got in too late for a meal the night before. He was surprised when he walked into the kitchen and saw Luke sitting there, his head in his hands.
"Uncle Jesse, what are you doing up?" Luke asked, putting his hands on the table and trying to act nonchalant..
"I's gonna make breakfast. What about you?"
"Just thinkin'."
"Oh." Jesse replied. "About what?"
"Never mind, Jesse." Luke replied, slunking down in his seat and waving his hand as if to shoo Jesse away.
"Out with it." Jesse ordered, pulling out his chair at the table and sitting down. "We finally got that boy home in good condition and I'll not have nothin' spoilin' the celebration."
"I don't want you worryin' about it." Luke replied.
"Well the surest way to git me worryin' about somethin' is havin' to guess what it is yer ponderin' over." Jesse pointed out.
Luke took a deep breath and looked at his uncle. "It's Bo." He finally admitted.
"Oh." Jesse replied. "Well try not to worry about 'im, he's alright."
"Not exactly." Luke replied.
Jesse arched an eyebrow. "Whaddaya mean?"
"Uncle Jesse..." Luke began "...He had another nightmare last night."
Oh no! Don't tell me we're right back where we started!
