Okay, I'm back from Texas… and of course it was freezing when I went, but oh well! Here is the next chapter. Please be kind and review!

Luke awoke when he was seized with a coughing fit in the middle of the night. His shoulders hunched as pain coursed through his back. He quickly wiped the tears that had begun to form in his eyes and took a drink of water that was placed on the table beside him. He then turned his attention to Bo.

It sickened him to see how pale his cousin was… and how still.

He scooted his chair nearer to the bed and took Bo by the hand once more. It was cold… too cold. In fact, were it not for the steady beat of the heart monitor, Luke could have sworn that his baby cousin was gone.

"Bo…" began Luke hoarsely. "C'mon, Bo, wake up will ya?"

The room was deathly quiet.

"C'mon, Bo, ya can pull through this. Ya gotta. I need ya, cousin. Please…"

Luke could hold it in no longer. Still holding tight to Bo, he buried his faced in his hands and released all the emotions that had bottled up inside him. He about fell out of his chair when, between sobs, he felt Bo's hand tenderly squeeze his own.

"Bo? Bo, do ya hear me?" asked Luke eagerly with tears still trickling down his cheeks.

There was no response.

Luke pressed the nurse call button.

"Mr. Duke is there a problem?" asked the nurse as she entered the room a couple minutes later.

"My cousin's wakin' up… he… he squeezed my hand."

"Has he opened his eyes, or verbally responded in any way?"

"No, but…"

"Mr. Duke, I'm sorry, but it was most likely just a reflex."

"Ya don't squeeze a hand in reflex. Get the doc in here," ordered Luke.

The nurse opened her mouth in protest, but decided against arguing with the young man, and left the room.

Ya know, that was a smart move on her part. Most folks who do try arguin' with Luke get the raw end o' the deal.

Luke was holding tight to Bo's hand and speaking softly to him when Dr. Jamison entered the room moments later.

"Mr. Duke… the nurse said you noticed a change?"

"Yes, sir… he… he squeezed my hand. I… I think he's tryin' to wake up."

"Well, let's take a look."

He slowly examined Bo, checking for any type of response.

"His vitals are certainly a good deal better than before…"

He was interrupted by Luke pointing to his hand. Bo was squeezing it tightly.

"It looks like he's trying. Keep talking to him. With any luck, he'll do more than squeeze your hand," began the doctor. "I've got a few rounds to make. I'll be back shortly."

"Thank ya," replied Luke turning his attention once more to his younger cousin. "Hey, Bo… Bo, it… it's Luke, can ya hear me cousin?"

Bo again squeezed Luke's hand, causing a wide grin to spread across Luke's face.

"That's it, Bo. C'mon, buddy…"

Bo let out a soft moan before slowly opening his eyes.

"Bo!" cried Luke excitedly.

"Luke?" whispered Bo.

"Yeah, buddy, it's me. I'm right here, cousin."

Bo turned his head towards his cousin and after blinking several times, frowned and said in labored words, "You look… as bad… as I feel."

"I look as bad … Bo, ya can… ya can see me?" faltered Luke in disbelief.

Bo's head shifted in the pillow, letting his eyes focus on Luke for a moment.

"Yeah."

"Yah-hoo!" yelled Luke, bringing several nurses and Dr. Jamison quickly to the room. "He can see, Doc! He can see!"

"Well, well, well. Looks like you decided to wake up after all," began the doctor moving towards Bo.

Bo breathed some raspy breaths but made no reply.

"Tell me Bo, could you rate your pain for me on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the worst?"

"It's… pretty bad," replied Bo softly. Luke looked on in concern. Bo was no wimp. If he said his pain was bad, it was really bad.

"Where are you hurtin', son?"

"My head... an' chest…it's hard… t' breathe…feels like… my asthma…. came back."

"Well, now let's have a listen here," began the doctor listening to Bo's heart with an experienced ear. "Nurse, could we get him down to X-ray?"

The nurse nodded and left to schedule Bo in.

"What's wrong, Doc?" asked Luke, his voice filled with concern as he placed a hand on Bo's shoulder.

"Well, I don't want to make any assumptions until I have a look in there," answered the doctor. "I think, though, that he needs some more rest for starters," he added pointing to the now sleeping young man in the bed.

"Doctor, we can get him down to X-Ray at 8:00am, first thing," said the nurse as she returned to the room, and gave Bo a pain killer through his IV.

"Alright. Meanwhile, Mr. Duke, if you're gonna stay here you best try and get some sleep yourself. We can get you a cot if ya like…"

"No thank-ya, sir. I'm just fine."

The doctor nodded and left the room, with the nurses following behind him.

Yawning, Luke grabbed one of the extra blankets at the foot of Bo's bed and wrapped himself in it before plopping into his chair. He took hold of Bo's hand once more. Bo never did like hospitals which was kind of ironic since as a kid he spent as much time in them as out of them it seemed. Luke remembered how, as a child, Bo would cry, between breaths, for Uncle Jesse or Luke to not leave him when he had to be taken for his asthma.

"Don't worry, cuz. I ain't goin' nowhere," muttered Luke gently stroking his cousin's wavy blond hair. He meant to stay awake a while longer, but the darkness of the room soon claimed him for its own and he fell asleep, still clutching Bo's hand.

Whew! What a night! I don't know 'bout y'all, but I'm jumpier than the General Lee in an off-road race… an' we all know how jumpy that is… stick around.