Disclaimer: I don't own the Dukes, and no infringements intended.

HORRENDUS MIX-UP

CHAPTER 2

PIE ANYONE?

Luke stood at the doorway trying to catch a glimpse or a sound that might tell him what everyone was doing. He heard the TV going, but no one was talking, and that was odd. In the Duke household, someone always had a comment or a laugh to accompany the actual script, especially Bo. Uncle Jesse might be reading, but that didn't account for his two cousins. He wanted nothing more than to yank the door open and rush inside, but he let Cooter do the honors of knocking.

"Stay here! I don't know who it is this time of night," he heard his uncle say.

The older man burst into the kitchen, somewhat cautiously, somewhat aggresively. When he got close enough to really see who it was, he stopped. "Cooter, what in the blue blazes are you doing here this time of night?"

"Well, Uncle Jesse...," he said, opening the door and stepping inside.

"I ain't your Uncle Jesse."

"Ah yes sir, Uncle Jesse, well I brought someone with me that just wanted to say hello," Cooter informed him.

"What do you mean you brought someone with you? I don't see anyone but you. Who is it, and what's so dang fired important that it couldn't wait til morning?" Cooter stood there and listened as the older man fired off one gruff comment after another. "Well, don't just stand there, bring in whoever you got with you. I want to go to bed sometime tonight."

"Yes sir," the mechanic said, opening the door behind him wider to let his surprise in.

Luke stepped inside, but didn't say anything. For a minute, neither did his uncle. "Luke?"

Luke raised his eyes to that of the old man's. "Uncle Jesse," he said back. Jesse Duke stretched out his arms, and Luke ran into them the way he had when he'd been a little boy, cause right that minute, that's exactly the way he felt.

"Oh Luke, I can't believe you're here," the old man said in a tear filled voice.

Within a few seconds, he felt another pair of arms go around him from the back. Judging by the strength and size of them, he knew that they belonged to his cousin, Daisy. "Luke!" she cried in her female voice, confirming his suspicions.

Half turning to include her, she slid in between her uncle and cousin. Luke looked around, trying to find the person he'd been most anxious to lay his eyes on, but he was no where in sight. He returned to the group hug where the words 'I love you' were flowing faster than dumped moonshine. Finally, Uncle Jesse released him and stepped back. Daisy, however, was still clinging to him.

"Let me take a look at you, boy!" his uncle said through his tears. "Luke, you're a man," he announced, the pride evident in his voice.

"How long can you stay, Luke?" Daisy asked him.

"Six weeks," Luke replied as his family said silent prayers of thanks. After answering several of their questions, he couldn't put off his own any longer. "Where's Bo?"

"Probably in his..., I mean your room," Daisy told him.

"Would ya'll mind if I went and said hello to him?" Luke asked, not really thinking that he needed permission, but not wanting them to think that he wasn't glad to see them, too. He couldn't believe that his cousin hadn't come out to see what all the commotion was about.

Luke knocked on the door, but got no response. He turned the handle and opened it to see what was going on. Bo's back was facing him. He was stretched out on the bed, and there was a headset sitting on top of his blonde locks, which explained why he hadn't heard anything. Luke heard pages flipping, and as he walked closer, he had to smile. Since Luke had introduced him to his own prize toy ones, Bo had developed a love of cars. He was reading a magazine about high performance vehicles and the men that drove them. Luke squatted down next to Bo's bed. He hated to have to startle him, but he didn't see any other way to get his attention. He laid a hand on his shoulder, and Bo jumped, ripping off the headphones and turning to see who had just scared the living daylights out of him. Realizing who it was, he froze. His eyes became big as saucers, and as they looked into each other's, the last two years and everything between melted away, just like Luke had thought it would. Whispering his cousin's full name, which he sometime did as a term of endearment, he flung his arms around the older boy's neck. "Lucas."

"Bo," Luke said back, wrapping his arms around him like he'd never let go.

"Missed you...scared...love you, Luke...sorry," the youngest Duke boy mumbled.

Bo's words were spontaneous and spoken freely, and that was the best homecoming Luke could have asked for. He'd been a little fearful that Bo's greeting might have been more reserved, the way his letters had been. There was nothing being held back by the boy in his arms at that minute. Luke felt the shaking shoulders, and knew that Bo was crying. What he didn't realize was that he was, too.

"Oh Bo! I missed you so much. I love you, cuz," Luke told him.

Those words didn't seem to be welcomed by Bo. The blonde pulled back. His eyes, however, refused to stop looking, afraid that if they blinked Luke would disappear again.

"Are you all right?" Bo asked, suddenly realizing that there must be a reason for his cousin to be home.

"Yeah, I'm ok. They sent me to Albany for some training so I asked for paid leave while I was here."

Bo nodded, glad that his cousin was ok. Despite everything, he didn't want to see him hurt.

Daisy and Jesse joined them, pausing in the doorway, but Daisy left her uncle's side, and threw her arms around Luke's neck. "I'm just glad you're here, sugar."

"Amen to that," Uncle Jesse agreed.

"Me, too," whispered Bo, though he lowered his eyes when he said it, and sat back down on his bed.

The kitchen table had always been a place where the Dukes prayed together, talked together, and ate together. Looking from Luke to Bo, he thought both of his boys could use a few pounds, and praying and talking would be good, too. "How bout something to eat boys and girl?" Uncle Jesse asked them.

Daisy was gone in a flash, saying that she had homemade peach pie she'd get out. The thought alone made Luke's mouth water, and he'd expected Bo to steam roll over him to get to the table first. The youngest Duke had always loved to eat and he was always hungry, a nasty combination, but so far, he'd said nothing or made no move to get up.

"We'll be in the kitchen," Jesse said, leaving the boys to have a few more minutes alone.

Luke didn't know exactly what to say. He wanted to know what was wrong, and he could see clearly that something was, but he'd only been home a few minutes. He couldn't very well start barking out orders or pressuring Bo into talking. "How bout some of that pie?" he asked, extending his hand.

Bo looked at the offered appendage, then looked at Luke. The Marine thought that he saw mistrust in the younger boy's eyes, then scolded himself for being paranoid, another effect of war. Bo shrugged and said ok, finally accepting Luke's offering. The older boy gave the younger one a tug, and only when Bo was standing next to him did he realize that the younger Duke was now the tallest Duke.

"Bo, you're taller than I am," he exclaimed, to which Bo grinned and nodded. Looking at him closer, he finally got his first glance at the new Bo Duke. He may have grown height wise, but he was still skinny as a rail. His wild blonde curls and midnight blue eyes were still the same, too, and earlier he'd seen that childlike expression that always melted his heart, and always ensured that Bo got whatever he wanted, but it had been fleeting. "I left a boy, and came home to a man," Luke told him.

Bo didn't know whether he'd just been complimented or insulted, so he didn't reply.

Throwing his arm around Bo's shoulder, Luke suggested that they go get the pie. He couldn't help but notice how Bo tensed at his touch, and his reply of 'okay, Luke,' was very polite. This was not the cousin he'd left behind.

Sitting around the table, three Dukes did a lot of talking, and one did a lot of listening. Luke saw that whenever Bo thought he wasn't looking, the blonde listened intently, his midnight blue eyes glued to him. Yet, as soon as he looked at Bo, he'd look down, focussing on his plate. Luke tried to include him in the conversation, but was only rewarded with very short responses. He had no idea what to do. The only thing he knew about Bo right that second was that he didn't have a girlfriend, and that he still liked cars and racing. They'd always shared an interest in the latter subject, and he hoped that one of his dreams of building their own car together might still be possible. He hoped in time, he'd get his cousin back because he sure missed him.

Thinking that Luke was probably tired, and that the boys might want to be alone, Uncle Jesse suggested that they turn in. Luke smiled at his uncle, wanting nothing more that to have some time alone with Bo.

In the service, the nights were the hardest. It was the time he missed Bo the most. Always having the hardest time sleeping of anyone in the house, Bo kept Luke up a lot when they were young, citing that he'd seen monsters or had a bad dream. Luke always said that Bo spent more time in his bed than he spent in his own. As they got older, they'd stay up half the night talking, only to be tired the next morning. Those were the nights he missed the most, and the kind he was hoping this one would turn into. He couldn't have been more disappointed.

The boys rid themselves of their clothes, stripping down to the shorts they were both going to wear to bed. As Bo turned out the lights, Luke prayed to hear Bo's voice. When he did, it didn't even sound like his cousin.

"I'm glad you're ok and that you're back, Luke, and I am sorry."

"Sorry for what Bo?" Luke asked, hoping that this was his chance to get him talking. Before he could think of anything else to say, Bo told him goodnight, pretending not to have heard Luke's question, climbed into bed and turned to face the wall, closing the opportunity for an all night chat.

In the moonlight, Luke could see the outline of Bo's bare back. As the hours dragged on, he knew his cousin wasn't sleeping. He could hear him struggling with his pillow and sheets, and he knew by his breathing that he was awake. It wasn't until the wee hours of the morning that he finally drifted off. Luke, on the other hand, was no closer to meeting the sandman than he was when he had first laid down. Sleep eluded him, and now it was a combination of his experiences of war coupled by a concern for Bo. He looked at the clock, and gave up trying. In a little bit, he'd be able to get up.