Disclaimer: I don't own the Dukes of Hazzard. Not making any money, just cheap thrills.

Warnings: Angst, Violence, Character death

Rating: FRT

A/N: I wanted to say thanks for all the great reviews, they really do help me keep writing.

If You Love Something Set It Free

Chapter 15

"Uncle Jesse! Are you okay? Where's Bo?" Luke and Daisy asked together, as they ran into the Tri-County emergency room.

"I'm fine, she didn't hurt me any. Bo's the only one who got hurt, he's in the back with the doctors. Mrs. Shelton...shot him, in the chest," Jesse reluctantly told them, worry and grief plain to hear.

Luke and Daisy both collapsed into the chairs beside Jesse, stunned by this turn of events. "How did it happen?" Luke asked. Spotting Cooter standing off to the side, L.B. beside him Luke saw red. Jumping to his feet he slammed his friend up against the wall, "You were supposed to look out for him. Where were you Cooter? Where were ya while that witch was shooting my cousin?" Luke fired the questions at Cooter, not waiting for answers. He needed somebody to take out his anger and fear on, and Cooter made the most convenient target. Before Luke could do more, L.B. and Jerry were pulling him away from Cooter.

"Luke stop it buddy, Cooter ain't to blame for Bo getting shot," Jerry tried to reason with the enraged man.

"Luke son, Jerry's right, it ain't Cooter's fault what happened. If you'll calm down I'll tell ya what happened." Jesse said, placing a hand to his nephew's chest in a gesture that was both comforting and restraining. "You calm now? Alright, well near as I can figure Bo and Cooter must've been outside the house when Mrs. Shelton fired a shot. She didn't hurt me none, just fired at the floor but your cousin didn't know that and well you know how Bo is. He came running into the house, right through the front door and she turned around. I don't know if she meant to shoot him or not, but either way she pulled the trigger and next thing I know is Bo's sliding down the wall and she's screaming. Cooter come in a minute after Bo, he cut me loose and went to call for help, while I took care of Bo. I'm not sure exactly when, but sometime during all that, Mrs. Shelton ran off screaming. Now you still think Cooter's to blame?"

"Luke, I'm sorry I let Bo get shot, it just... Everything happened so fast, we was outside talking about what to do and then we heard a gunshot. Before I had a chance to do anything Bo had took off for the house, I ran after him...but I's too late. I know it ain't much, but I am sorry, you'll never know how sorry..." Cooter trailed off, unable to find the words he needed.

Looking at his friend, seeing his obvious misery Luke knew he couldn't keep blaming Cooter. "No Cooter, I'm the one who's sorry. I know you better than that, I had no right to think you would just let Bo get shot. I shouldn't be taking my anger out on you, you were just an easy target, friends?" Luke asked, holding out his hand, grinning when Cooter took it. A second later the grin slid from his face as he saw Doctor Appleby coming towards them. "Doc, how is he?"

Amos Appleby couldn't contain the smile that spread across his face, "He's gonna be fine Luke. I know it probably looked bad Jesse, and he did lose a lot of blood. Luckily the bullet didn't hit any organs or major arteries. Now as I said he did lose a lot of blood and there is some damage to the muscle of his upper chest, but he will make a full recovery. That doesn't mean he's going to be his normal self next week though. The blood loss is going to leave him weak for a while and he'll need to do some strengthening exercises after the wound is fully healed."

"That's great news doc, can we see him now?" Luke and Daisy asked, anxious to see their cousin, to see for themselves that he was okay.

"The nurses are moving him to a room now and then you can see him. He'll be in room 210, they should have him settled in about twenty minutes."

Jesse stayed behind for a minute while Luke, Daisy, Cooter and L.B. headed off towards Bo's room. "Is that everything Amos? You ain't left nothing out?"

"No Jesse I'm not hiding anything. He really is going to be fine, he needs to stay here overnight for observation. You do need to know, we had to give him some blood to replace what he lost, and I've prescribed some antibiotics as a precaution only. Don't worry Jess, Bo will be back home tommorrow afternoon and back to himself before ya know it," Amos reassured his old friend. "Now why don't you go join your kids and see for yourself." He suggested, patting Jesse on the back before walking away.

Walking into Bo's hospital room, Jesse's eyes filled with tears at the sight of his youngest, once again injured by the Sheltons. Nearing the bed, he didn't even notice the rest of his family standing around the bed. All he saw was Bo, lying there eyes cloudy with pain and fatigue, but alive, praise be. "Bo, how ya feeling sprout?" Jesse whispered, gently lifting Bo's hand in his own.

"Sore and tired, but I'll be okay. Are you okay Uncle Jesse? I heard the shot...I thought..."

"I'm fine Bo, she didn't shoot me. I guess I was annoying her and she shot at the floor, just trying to scare me. Speaking of scaring me, don't you ever do that to me again boy. I swear I lost ten years when I saw you sliding down that wall, blood all over your chest. You scare me like that again and I'll take a switch to ya," Jesse told him, hiding his fear behind gruffness.

"Believe me Uncle Jesse, I don't plan to. Getting shot ain't something I'm in a hurry to do again, it hurts ya know." Bo replied, grinning up at his family and getting the laugh he had been hoping for. "By the way, what happened to Mrs. Shelton? Is she in jail?"

"Nobody knows yet Bo. She ran off after she shot you, but don't you worry she won't get far," Luke answered. "That reminds me, I better go call Rosco and tell him what's been happening."

"Won't be necessary Luke," Jerry said, coming into the room for the first time. "I already took care of it, he wasn't too happy that ya didn't call him sooner, but I think he understood. He said to tell y'all him and Enos will find Mrs. Shelton. Said they ain't gonna let her hurt any of y'all again and that ya ain't to worry, Rosco P. Coltrane is on the job." Jerry repeated the sheriff's words, not surprised when everybody in the room chuckled.

Rosco and Enos pulled up at the old Perkins place, walking inside they shared a grim look at the sight of Bo's blood on the wall and floor. Searching the old house they weren't really surprised to find no sign of Pamela Shelton. Heading outside, it didn't take long to find the footprints of a woman leading into the nearby woods. Following the prints wasn't hard at all, she didn't seem to be making any effort at all to hide them. But then from what Jerry had told them, it didn't sound like she was thinking too clearly, which would explain it. "Sheriff I think she's headed for Hobson's leap," Enos suggested as they followed the prints.

"I know that Enos, I can see can't I?" Rosco responded irritably.

"Yes sir sheriff, sorry about that," Enos contritely answered.

Continuing on they were soon approaching the cliff. They slowed down and quietly came up to Hobson's leap, not wanting to startle the Shelton woman if she was there. As they came out of the woods it was obvious that there was nobody around. Following the prints to where they ended at the cliffs edge, the two men carefully looked over. A hundred feet below them, lay the broken body of Pamela Shelton her neck lying at an impossible angle, it was obvious she was dead.

"Damn," Rosco softly whispered. "Come on Enos, nothing we can do for her now. We'll call search and rescue, have them get her body. After we do that, you can go let the Dukes know that they ain't gonna have to worry about her no more. I'll...guess I'll go tell her husband what happened. Sometimes I hate this job," Rosco murmurred under his breath, too softly for Enos to hear.

Arriving at the Shelton home a short time later, Rosco sat in his car for several minutes, dreading what was coming. Finally climbing out of the car, he slowly walked to the door and knocked loudly. A few seconds later the door opened, "Sheriff, I was just about to call you," a surprised Lawerence Shelton began.

"About your wife?" Rosco asked, cutting him off.

"Yes, how did you know? She was supposed to be home this morning but I haven't seen her and I'm getting worried. Oh, I'm sorry sheriff, won't you come in, I don't know where my manners are..." Lawerence rambled on, afraid to find out why Rosco was on his doorstep.

"Mr. Shelton please stop now, I got something to tell ya. I'm real sorry to have to tell ya this, but ya see your wife well she kidnapped Jesse Duke..."

"What? Why would she do that?" Lawerence interrupted him.

"Well, seems she had this idea that she could force Bo to lie to the judge so he'd free Kathy Sue. Thing is Bo and Cooter they found her at the old Perkins place and well she shot Bo then ran off. Mr. Shelton there ain't no easy way to say this, me and Enos we found your wife. I'm sorry but she's done jumped off of Hobson's leap," Rosco stopped speaking, grabbing Lawerence before he hit the floor. Helping him over to a chair, he sat him down and went to get him a glass of whiskey for the shock.

After several sips, Lawerence began to regain his balance, "Does my daughter know?"

"No, I haven't told her yet. I thought you might want to do that."

"I suppose I should be the one to break it to her, after all I am her father. Sheriff you said Pamela had shot Bo...is he dead?"

"No sir, luckily even though the bullet hit him in the chest, the doc says he's gonna be okay."

"Thank God for that," Lawerence whispered relieved beyond words.

"Are you gonna be okay Mr. Shelton? Is there anybody I can call for you?" Rosco offered, not sure he should leave the man alone.

"I'll be fine, I want to thank you for coming by sheriff, I appreciate you telling me yourself."

"Mr. Shelton, I want you to know this ain't Bo's fault, nor any of the Dukes. Your wife jumped off that cliff on her own, I suppose the guilt of what she done was too much. I want this to end now, so if you got any ideas of revenge, you just forget..."

"You don't have to worry sheriff. In fact I spoke to the Dukes just the other day, apologizing to them for my daughter's actions. I don't blame Bo for what my daughter or wife have done and I won't be doing anything to hurt him or his family. If you'll excuse me I really need to get ready to go see Kathy Sue." As Rosco began to walk towards the door, Lawerence stopped him. "Rosco? Could you please tell Bo, I'm sorry for what my wife did and my offer still stands?"

"Your offer?"

"He'll know what I mean sheriff, so would you pass on the message?" Lawerence asked again.

"Yeah sure, I...I'll do that. I'm sorry for your loss Mr. Shelton, goodbye," Rosco said, before walking out the door.

Three days later, Bo sat in the witness chair testifying at the sentencing hearing. After hearing about Pamela Shelton's actions, the judge had postponed the hearing until Bo Duke could testify. His arm in a sling, Bo waited for the lawyers to begin and so he was surprised when it was the judge who spoke to him. "Bo, I'm sure this is difficult for you, but I would like to hear how all of this has affected you before I pass sentence on Miss Shelton. Could you tell me in your own words what your life was like and is like as a result of Katherine Sue's actions?"

"Yes sir...I'm not real sure what to say. Ya see when I first started dating Kathy Sue, she wasn't like she was later. I mean, she was kind of demanding, but she wasn't mean or nasty. I loved her your honor, and...well I thought she loved me. Maybe she did, but her idea of love is pretty messed up, I see that now, I couldn't there for a while. I know now that the way she treated me when we dated, it was wrong. Ain't really any word for it, except to say it was abusive. When I finally understood that, knew I didn't deserve to be hit or put down, I broke up with her. I thought that was the end of it, until she kidnapped me. I ain't real sure I can tell you what kind of ways it affected me judge. I know that after everything she did to me, the idea of being with another girl scares me to death. I don't know if I'll ever be able to let another girl get that close to me, I keep wondering if maybe they'll all end up treating me bad, hurting me. I guess I'll get over it someday, hope I will anyway. I used to dream of meeting that someone special, like my daddy did and raising a family, but now...I just don't know if that will ever happen now. I don't know what to say to you judge, I know Kathy Sue needs to be punished. Needs to be locked up where she can't never hurt me or anybody else ever again. But I did love her and because of that, I can't tell you to lock her away your honor, I just can't bring myself to say the words. Guess all I can say is you do what you think is best and it'll be alright with me." Bo hadn't been watching Kathy Sue while he spoke, if he had been he would have seen the hope in her eyes at his words. He didn't see it though, couldn't look at her while he talked to the judge. He knew he'd break down if he did, and so he kept his eyes focused on Luke. Drawing the strength he needed to testify from the older boy, grateful that God had given him someone like Luke to help him through this nightmare.

"Thank you Bo I appreciate you talking to me, you may step down. Court is recessed for twenty minutes while I consider sentencing." Banging his gavel on the bench in front of him, Judge Avery stood and walked back to his chambers.

Twenty minutes later, court reconvened and Judge Avery announced sentencing. "Katherine Sue Shelton please stand. On the charge of kidnapping, this court sentences you to a term in the Georgia State Women's Penitentiary for a period of twenty to forty years. On the charge of felony assault, this court sentences you to a term of ten years in the Georgia State Women's Penitentiary. On the charge of rape, this court sentences you to a term of fifteen to twenty-five years in the Georgia State Women's Penitentiary. And on the charge of attempted murder, you are hereby sentenced to a term of twenty-five years to life in the Georgia State Women's Penitentiary. All sentences are to be served consecutively, defendant is not eligible for parole until serving a minimun of thirty years in the Georgia State Women's Penitentiary. Baliff, please escort the defendant back to her cell, court dismissed." As soon as those words were uttered the courtroom erupted in whoops and yells.

Sitting beside Bo, Luke jumped to his feet with a yeehaw at the judge's words. Turning back around he was surprised to see Bo sitting still as a statue. "Bo? You okay cousin? Never mind that was a dumb question. Come on Bo, let's get out of here and go home," Luke said, gently taking Bo's arm and leading him outside. Getting outside wasn't very easy, all the way to the doors they were met by friends and neighbors extending their well-wishes. Finally though with Jesse and Daisy running interference, they were out of the courthouse. Seconds later they were in Jesse's pick-up, the General being too hard for Bo right now. Luke started the truck up and headed towards home, knowing Jesse would ride home with Daisy.

"Luke? Could we go somewhere for a little while? I just dont' want to go home yet."

"Sure Bo if you want. Just let me holler at Uncle Jesse, let him know okay?" After telling their uncle that they would be home later, Luke headed towards the old indian caves. He figured they'd get some privacy there and he was pretty sure that was what Bo needed. Parking the old truck, Luke sat there letting Bo get out first, giving him some time alone. He sat watching Bo for the next twenty minutes, getting out of the truck only when Bo motioned him over. Walking over to where his cousin sat, Luke joined him on the boulder and waited for Bo to speak. He didn't have to wait long.

"Luke? Do you think I'll ever find anybody to love again?"

"Of course you will Bo. You just have to give yourself time to heal, but I know there's somebody out there for you. You're a good man Bo Duke and you deserve to be happy and loved. I don't believe for a minute that you won't recover from what she did. It'll take time, but you'll get there and when you do...when it's time you'll find that one person you can love for a lifetime. Trust me, have I ever lied to you?"Luke asked, a small smile playing across his face.

"Thanks Luke, you always know what to say. I'm glad you were here, don't think I could've made it through all of this without you." Standing up, Bo reached down, taking Luke's hand and pulling him to his feet. "Let's go home cousin, I can smell that crawdad bisque from here."

THREE YEARS LATER:

Bo lay next to the love of his life, basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking. It hadn't been easy getting to this point. There had been times he'd doubted he would ever find that lifetime love.

It had taken a little more convincing, but finally Mr. Shelton had succeeded in getting Bo to agree to surgery and a few weeks after the sentencing, Bo had met with Dr. Jamison. After examing the scars Kathy Sue had left him with the doctor had told him that he could rid him of that constant reminder. Now, other than faint scars from the skin grafts you would never know her initials had been there.

By the time the surgeries were completed six months later, Bo had completed counseling sessions with the minister and felt ready to try dating. That had turned out to be a mistake, for two years he had struggled to get past what Kathy Sue had done to him. Every time he thought he had found someone he could trust, Bo found himself shaking with fear. Though thankfully most of the time he was the only one aware of just how badly frightened he was at the idea of being with someone else. About the time he'd decided to give up, to accept the fact he would never be able to truly love or trust again, he found the one. Taking him completely by surprise, his once in a lifetime love had stolen his heart and given him back that part of his soul he had thought was lost forever. Turning on his side, Bo wrapped his arms around his love and drifted into a peaceful sleep.

Miles away, Kathy Sue pulled the picture from under her pillow and lay staring at it. "This isn't over Bo, I'll make you mine, but first you have to pay for your betrayal. Goodnight darling," she whispered softly, kissing the picture before hiding it once again.

THE END?

Thanks for reading my tale, please let me know what you think. I would like to thank Jade and HazzardHusker for all of their help as beta readers. Y'all have been great.