Hello Everyone! Thanks again for the reviews and thanks to everyone who let me know how to see if I'd replied to a review or not. As you can probably tell, me and this site aren't getting along very well!
On that note, my heartfelt apologies for the way my story has posted. I've proofread each chapter several times before uploading them, but I never actually checked them on the site until today. I was horrified when I saw that my story line breaks hadn't been inserted properly as well as a few other things. I'm sure it's made for difficult reading not being alerted to a new topic or thought process. Starting with this chapter, I'm editing in html and hope that it will make a difference. Now, a technical question: Is there any way to edit what's already live without deleting it, and if I delete and re-post, will I lose all my stats and reviews?
Now, on with the story. I'm posting two chapters this time as Chapter 4 is rather short and not very action packed. It's a transitional chapter leading into the next parts, but I didn't want anyone to get bored!
As always, comments and suggestions are welcome.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Dukes, and no infringements intended. Please don't sue me.
POT SHOTS
CHAPTER 4
BO GOES HOMES
It was a beautiful, spring day when Bo's family finally wheeled him out into the sunshine. They'd been given three days time to prepare for Bo's arrival, and no one realized how much stuff they were going to actually need. They figured that a wheelchair was going to be in Bo's future until he could learn how to walk. Restraint bars and other devices had not been counted on, but Dr. Fitzgerald managed to find them relatively new ones at used prices. She knew that they weren't rich, and the hospital's administrator had already wanted to transfer Bo to the low-income hospital a couple weeks back. The good doctor intervened, saying that they couldn't provide the care he needed, and as his doctor, she wasn't authorized to work there. Getting no cooperation from Bo's primary physician, he'd had no choice but to turn his threats to the Dukes, telling them that he was going to sue them if they didn't pay off their debt. Uncle Jesse assured him that they would make monthly payments, he just never said how much those would be. He couldn't have cared less at that point what the man did to him. Bo was alive, and he was going home, and that was all that mattered.
Daisy stayed behind at the farm, finishing up for her cousin's homecoming. Everything was ready, but that was just an excuse. They thought that it would be easiest and safest to get Bo in and out of Uncle Jesse's pickup truck, but the cab only held three people. Jesse had to be there to sign all of Bo's forms, and there was no way they'd get Luke to sit this one out. Therefore, it made more sense for her to stay behind so they didn't have to worry about where to put her.
When Bo was loaded up and buckled in, something they didn't always do but we're going to have to get used to, Uncle Jesse pointed the truck in the direction of Hazzard. They knew they'd be back in Atlanta from time to time for doctor's visits, tests, and other things that Bo might need, but after spending so much time in the big city, it felt good be going home, and not just for Bo.
The blonde was looking out the window of the truck as if he were seeing everything for the first time. In a way, he supposed he was. Except for the time when Luke was off fighting for his country, Bo had led a rather sheltered life. They ran from Rosco's planted speed traps and Boss Hogg's schemes to land them in jail, but his sense of safety had never been tested quite like this. It wasn't that he didn't know death, he did, in an indirect way. His parents had been killed when he was a baby, and his aunt had died when he was young, too. He understood that death and dying were very real. He feared death, often waking up after having a nightmare about someone he loved dying, but he never really thought any of them would, including himself. Now, he was going to have to really learn what it meant to live after almost being denied the chance. Unfortunately, he had more to learn than most folks who had a brush with a near death experience. His learning didn't focus just on how he perceived things, he really did have to re-learn how to function, and that thought dampered the slight smile he had been wearing.
Luke had been watching him closely, seeing the world for the first time through Bo's eyes. He had an inkling as to what Bo was probably feeling, and when he saw the smile leave his lips, he assumed he was thinking about the long road ahead of them. Luke slid his arm around Bo's back, and helped him so that he could lay his head on his shoulder. "It'll be ok, Bo. You'll see. We'll get through this together." Before they were half-way home, Bo was asleep.
(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Daisy Duke was waiting for them on the porch when she saw her uncle driving up the path. She smiled, seeing that the vehicle was only traveling at a fraction of the speed it normally did. She hoped that Bo didn't mind being treated like he was made of glass because that's exactly how they all felt. Luke wasn't the only one that was ecstatic to have the baby cousin back home. She'd been looking forward to it since they'd made the decision in the doctor's office. She loved both of her cousins dearly. Luke was older, her protector, her rock. Bo was younger, he was the one that she played with, joked with, and told things to that she didn't share with anyone else. Bo had always been emotional and sensitive, and she knew that he better understood and dealt with feelings, his own and those of others. They hadn't spent too much time at the farm since Bo had been shot, but the house was just too quiet without him. She thought back to the conversation that they'd had with Dr. Fitzgerald about putting Bo in a home, despite what she had called it. She still couldn't believe that Uncle Jesse had actually considered it, and she was glad that Luke had stood his ground. He had been right, Bo would have died there, probably a long, slow, and agonizing one, but he would never have recovered, no matter how good the staff was around him. Like Luke, she didn't want him there, anyway, and she vowed to help her oldest cousin share the work of taking care of Bo until he was well. They'd decided to bring him home, now they had to make sure that he was cared for, and they all loved Bo so much, she didn't think that was going to be hard. They'd probably all be tired, having to keep up with the house and the farm, and covering for Bo's share plus caring for him, but the goal of seeing a happy, healthy Bo Duke was well worth it.
Luke shook Bo slightly to wake him up, not because there was anything he could do to help get himself out of the truck, but simply because he didn't want to scare him when he picked him up. Luke slid his arms under Bo, and made sure that he had a good grip on him. This was the one of the hardest parts in caring for Bo, since the youngest Duke couldn't help and couldn't wrap his own arms around his eldest sibling to help ensure that he didn't fall. Still, Luke was learning just how to do it to provide the most comfortable position for Bo and to be sure that he wouldn't slip. Uncle Jesse got the wheel chair out of the back, and only when Luke had Bo inside, did he put him down in it. He never bothered to ask if Bo would have preferred to go straight to bed. He figured he'd been in a bed for the past several weeks. Sitting up and being around the family in a normal environment would be good for Bo, and he didn't seem to be protesting. When he was in the chair and strapped in, all of them went to Bo, hugging him, crying, and welcoming him home. The only way he could reciprocate their affection was to use his lips to kiss their heads or their cheeks.
(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((As darkness fell on the Duke farm that night, so it had fallen over Bo's mood. He hadn't even been home a full twenty-four hours, and he couldn't believe how much work he had caused his relatives. It wasn't just the demanding physical needs, one or all of them were always hovering over him, afraid to leave him alone. That was a ridiculous notion, he told himself, since he couldn't exactly run off. No one complained, it was just the opposite. He hadn't went five minutes without someone telling him that they loved him or that they were glad he was home, and he did feel loved. He also felt guilty, wondering how long it was going to take before one of them collapsed from exhaustion. He couldn't even imagine how they were going to keep up this type of a grueling schedule, between the farm and him. He was most worried about Luke. The oldest cousin seemed to be taking this the hardest, and had appointed himself as Bo's twenty four hour companion. The problem was that he couldn't talk to Luke, he couldn't tell him that it wasn't his fault and that he didn't have to do this. He'd been quite aware that Luke had spent almost every minute since he'd woken up with him. He was already running on empty. The last thing he could handle was seeing Luke make himself sick.
"C'mon buddy. You've had a long day. Let's get you to bed," Luke said, waiting for Bo's approval. When he got it, he wheeled his cousin into the room they'd shared their whole lives. Luke bent down to take off Bo's boots, then proceeded to undress him. He was getting to his jeans when he looked up to see a river of tears flooding Bo's cheeks. "Hey Bo! What's the matter, buddy?" he asked, only frustrating Bo more since he couldn't respond. "It'll be ok, Bo. It's only been one day. It's going to get better, you'll see." Luke told him, not thinking much about it since Bo cried every night.
Luke looked over at their beds, each butted up against opposite walls, separated by a dresser. He didn't know why he hadn't thought about it before, considering that he'd been sleeping with Bo in his hospital bed, holding him as he cried himself to sleep. That bed had been small enough, theirs were even smaller. Somehow, he'd never thought about their sleeping arrangements, but now that it was time to turn in, it was obvious that Bo still needed him at night.
"Wait a minute, cuz, I got an idea," he said. He called to his uncle to help him rearrange the furniture. Uncle Jesse saw what he was doing, and didn't protest. He knew it was just as much for his oldest nephew's sake as it was for his youngest. When Bo had been little, he'd spent more time in bed with Luke, or vice versa, than they did in their own. It was only natural for them, and he knew that Luke had been holding him through the night in Atlanta. If they had both been healthy, and Luke was pushing their beds together, he might have been worried. Under the circumstances, he wasn't. When they were finished, the dresser had been moved into the corner where Luke's bed had been, and his bed was now butted up to Bo's. Between himself and the wall, he doubted that there was any way Bo could fall out, especially since he couldn't turn himself over. Thanking their uncle, Luke finished taking off Bo's jeans, than helped him into the old sweat pants he wore before ridding himself of his own clothes. Reaching down, he lifted Bo into his arms, then laid him in his bed, crawling in beside him. After arranging them both so that they were comfortable, and pulling the blankets up, Luke kissed the top of Bo's head.
"Goodnight, little cousin. I love you, Bo."
Bo responded by exerting a little pressure from his finger against Luke's arm.
"I know, Bo," he told him.
Reality hit Bo Duke in the wee hours of the morning in a very unpleasant way. As if Bo didn't feel bad enough as it was, he woke up in the middle of the night having to go to the bathroom. In the hospital, he'd had a catheter, and since he'd been home, Luke knew to ask him every so often if he had to go, but this they hadn't thought of. He tried to wake up his cousin by pressing his finger, but Bo's touch was so light and Luke was so sound asleep that he couldn't get his attention. In his predicament, Bo did something that he had never even done as a child. He couldn't have been more embarassed.
When Luke woke up the next morning, he planted another light kiss on the top of his cousin's head, then noticed that Bo's eyes were open. "Morning Bo. You're awake early. You ok?"
When Bo refused to look at him, he became concerned. "Bo, what's the matter?" It didn't take long for him to discover the source of the problem. "Oh!" he said, and actually grinned. "Is that what's bothering you?" Bo stole a glance at him. "Well, don't worry about it. Accidents happen, and it's my fault. I should have set the alarm or something." Luke said, telling him that he'd get him up, showered, and dressed, and then throw the bedding in the washing machine. He was pretty sure he could bribe Daisy into providing them with clean sheets.
No matter how hard Luke tried to dismiss the incident, Bo was uncomfortable around him all morning. He decided to pretend like he didn't notice and that it never happened. He distracted Bo by informing him that they had shown him a few exercises they could work on until he was actually assigned a real therapist, and that they were going to start that morning.
"Sorry Bo. I know that the little gal they'll probably send will be a lot better looking than me, but until she gets here, you're stuck, buddy."
