A/N - Hi Everyone! Thanks for the reviews. I'm nervous about these upcoming chapters, so I hope you approve. Just remember, this is Hazzard - nothing is ever simple here.

Dislcaimer (which I think I forgot the last couple of times) - I don't own the Dukes, and no infringements intended. Please don't sue me, you won't get anything, anyway!

HORRENDOUS MIX-UP

CHAPTER 7

BRUISED

Luke was ringing wet when he opened his eyes to see the sunlight shining through the window the next morning. It was the first night in two years that he had slept that long without being woken by a nightmare or something exploding around him. Bo was still in his arms, and it looked as if neither of them had moved a muscle during the night. His cousin was no longer shivering with chills and his skin temperature was much cooler. Luke was thinking that his uncle had been right, Bo was better that morning. Slipping out of the bed, Luke headed for a desperately needed shower.

When he was cool and clean, he dressed in the clothes he'd carried into the bathroom, not wanting to risk waking Bo by dressing in their room. Daisy and Uncle Jesse were already up, dressed for church, and breakfast was on the table when he joined them in the kitchen.

"How's Bo?" Uncle Jesse asked his oldest.

"Better," Luke replied. "I think you were right, and he's going to be ok."

"Dr. Jesse knows these things," he laughed. "Guess I did learn something taking care of you three all these years."

"You always took real good care of us, Uncle Jesse," Daisy said, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him on the cheek.

"Yeah, well your aunt was a pretty good teacher," Jesse said, smiling fondly as he remembered his beloved wife.

Though Bo was now believed to be on the road to recovery, they knew he wouldn't be going to church or anywhere else. They didn't think that he should be left alone, and they figured Luke would never agree to it, anyway. Seeing him dressed in jeans, their theory was confirmed. However, discussing it as a family just made it official; Luke wold stay home with Bo.

Since they had a little time before they had to leave, Luke decided to see if Jesse knew anything about what Bo had told him the night before. "Uncle Jesse, I think I finally figured out what's been bothering Bo all this time."

"Well, spit it out boy," his uncle said.

"You remember that rumor you wrote to me about, the one where everyone was telling Bo that I left Hazzard to get away from him because you made me be friends with him all those years?"

"That old hogwash?" Jesse answered Luke's question with a question. "Course I remember it. I always said that if I found out who started it, I was gonna take a switch to him or her." Pausing, the older man looked at his nephew. "I told Bo years ago that there wasn't any truth to it. You think he started believing it?" Uncle Jesse asked, yet not terribly surprised since Bo could be naive at times.

"Yeah, but not necessarily because of what people were telling him," Luke answered, to which Daisy and Jesse gave him a questioning look. "Bo said something about seeing a letter to you. Do you know what he's talking about?"

"I have no idea," Uncle Jesse said, trying to think back. "He said he saw it?"

"Yes sir."

"Well, I don't remember reading it, so I don't know what he's refering to. Maybe now that he's told you that much, you can get him to tell you the rest, when he gets better, of course."

"Believe me, I plan on doing just that," Luke replied.

"Well Daisy Mae, we better get going or the preacher will give us a sermon about the virtues of being punctual to the Lord's service," Uncle Jesse joked, getting up from the table.

Daisy and Luke laughed while she and Jesse walked out the door, promising to be back in a little while. Luke watched them drive off, then turned his attention back to Bo. Believing that he was going to be so much better when he woke up, Luke decided to make him some tea and toast since he hadn't eaten anything for two days, and he knew that Bo loved to eat.

Bo'd been having a nice dream. Luke was home again, safe and sound, and they were still friends. In fact, he dreamt that for some reason, Luke had spent most of the night holding him. When he opened his eyes, though, he was alone. Disoriented by the return of his fever, he now had a fire raging in his chest, and he couldn't think straight. He wasn't sure if Luke had returned home, alive, only to have left him again, or if it had all been wishful thinking. Bo felt like he was in the twilight zone.

Praying that he hadn't been dreaming and Luke really had been there, he thought he might be able to find him. He didn't want him to leave again, and if he didn't want to be around Bo, he'd be the one to go. "Luke," he whispered, as he stepped out of bed. He didn't get very far as the fire in his chest turned to an inferno. The combination of the pain and weakness caused him to collapse after a couple of steps. He was unable to get up, but he wasn't totally unconscious. He reached out with his hand. "Luke, don't leave me again," he whimpered, not knowing if the physical pain or mental anguish was worse.

Wanting to surprise his cousin, Luke walked toward their room carrying a plate and a cup. He was expecting to have to wake up Bo, but when he opened the door, he found him sprawled across the floor.

"Bo!" he screamed, tossing the dishes on the dresser and sliding to his knees.

"Luke, don't leave me again. I'm sorry Uncle Jesse made you. You don't have to pretend anymore. Just don't go," Bo rambled.

Luke heard his cousin's excited utterances. "Oh Bo! I'm not going anywhere," he said as he reached out to turn Bo onto his back. As soon as he laid his hand on Bo's skin, he knew that his cousin was delirious again. His fever had returned, and it was higher than it had been two days ago. Reaching around, he touched Bo's forehead to confirm his diagnosis. Bo was so hot that Luke decided he had to get him into the shower again to cool him down before he could take him to the ER. His fever was way too high, and whatever nasty bug had Bo in its clutches, it wasn't letting go.

"C'mon Bo," Luke said, finally rolling him over so that he'd be easier to pick up. When Luke saw Bo's face, his eyes grew big and his heart started beating wildly with fear. This was no longer a bad case of the flu, it had crossed the line to life threatening. Bo was having a hard time breathing, still rambling, and Luke knew that wasn't helping. His lips had a blue tinge to them, and there was a thin line of red running down the side of Bo's face. Something was depriving him of oxygen, and the blood indicated internal bleeding. Knowing that his cousin was still semi-conscious and still trying to talk, Luke had to reach him. He held Bo's head in both of his hands to keep it from flopping from side to side.

"Bo! Bo look at me!" Luke told him using a firm voice. He then leaned over the blonde so that Bo's blue eyes could see him. When he was sure that he had Bo's attention, he continued. "Bo, listen to me. You've got to calm down and try to stay as still as possible. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere! You understand?"

Bo tried to nod, but Luke was holding his head in place. He felt the resistance, and knew that Bo had understood what he'd told him. "Ok, good! Bo, you remember how I promised that I would come back, alive, from Nam?" Again, he felt Bo trying to signal yes. "Well, I did Bo, and I will again. I kept my promise to you, just like we've always kept our promises to each other. Now, I need you to promise that you won't leave me. Can you do that Bo? Can you promise me that you'll stay with me?"

"I promise, Luke," Bo said in a raspy voice as a new rattling sound developed.

"Thank you," Luke whispered, as a couple of tears escaped from his eyes. "I love you, Bo."

"Love you, too, Luke."

"Ok. Now Bo, we're going to take a little trip to the hospital where they're gonna fix you right up so we can start working on our car again. Okay?"

"No!" Bo replied. "Don't want to go to the hospital. I hate it there."

"I know you do, Bo, and I'm sorry, but you've gotta go. I promise I'll be right there with you. Okay?"

"Okay," Bo agreed reluctantly.

"I'm gonna pick you up now, Bo. If something hurts too bad, you tell me, okay?"

"Kay."

"Ready?" Luke asked him.

"Yeah," Bo said, starting to wheeze harder, then coughing up another pool of red.

Having no more time to spare, Luke carried his cousin out to his uncle's truck, grateful that Daisy had her own car. Otherwise, they would have been stranded without a vehicle, and Luke didn't think they had time to wait for an ambulance or a ride. Getting Bo inside first, Luke slid into the driver's seat. The ill boy slumped against him, his breathing becoming more labored by the second. Luke slid one arm around him as he sped toward Tri-County General. "Hang on, Bo. You just hang on," Luke told him, praying that they'd make it in time.

"Can't breathe," Bo choked out.

"Yes you can!" Luke yelled. "Just take it nice and slow," he said, trying to calm them both down as he broke every speed limit in the county. He cursed the local law enforcement, thinking to himself that there was never a cop around when you needed one. Then he reminded himself that the law in Hazzard wouldn't have been able to have kept up with him on a good day, which this wasn't.

Luke pulled up in front of the Emergency Room, and Bo was ripped away from him. After giving the admitting clerk all of the information that he could and telling her that she could check Bo's records from previous visits, he took a seat in the waiting room. He thought it was ironic that his uncle and cousin were in church praying while he was sitting there begging harder than he'd ever done in his life. He was praying that somewhere in that hospital, they were saving his baby cousin. The thought of losing Bo scared him like nothing had ever scared him before.

The thought of Bo dying was petrifying enough, but knowing that he could die believing that Luke had never really been his friend, had never really loved him, was almost too much too handle. Sitting there now, he realized that the worst decision he'd ever made in his life had been signing up for the Marines. It made Bo think that he left him on purpose, and he certainly hadn't gotten anything out of it. There wasn't much need in civilian life to know how to kill someone by snapping their neck. He wouldn't have been any worse off if he had just waited for his letter to arrive the same way everyone else had. He wouldn't have been in any more danger, learned any less, and Bo wouldn't have spent the last year and a half believing that Luke had joined just to get away from him.

Looking up at the clock, Luke saw that it was late enough that the rest of his family should be home from church services. He used the phone rather than leaving the building to use the CB. It wasn't long before the three of them were sitting in the waiting room, waiting. It had been a few hours, and all they knew was absolutely nothing. That was too long to treat the flu.

Luke was about to lose it, wanting to know what was going on and why they couldn't tell them something. He was pacing back and forth, making Daisy and Jesse dizzy and nervous. He swore that if they didn't hear something within the next few minutes, he'd open every door in the joint until he found Bo and found out what was going on. Before he could make good on his threat, an older doctor walked in looking for the family of Beauregard Duke. Despite his fear, Luke had to smile when he heard his cousin being called that, and he pictured Bo's reaction had he been there to hear it himself. His smile quickly faded as a terrible thought occured to him. If something happened to his cousin, what name would they place on the headstone? He hated his given name, and it seemed cruel to make him use it for eternity. Luke shook his head, clearing it of the morbid thoughts. 'There will be no headstones in Bo's future for a very long time!' he told himself.

"How's my boy?" Uncle Jesse asked, rushing to the doctor as Luke and Daisy joined him.

"He's a very sick young man," they were told, as he pointed to the chairs. Since there wasn't anyone else in the room, there didn't seem to be a need to go into a private office. "Has he been in any kind of an accident recently?"

"No," Uncle Jesse answered. "He's been sick the last couple of days, but we just thought he had the flu. Why?"

"Well, he definitely doesn't have the flu. His left lung indicates that he sustained some type of injury to that part of his body which, in turn, has caused a very serious bacterial infection."

"Damn it!" Luke said, slamming his fist against the handrest of the chair he was sitting in, not caring what his uncle thought of his outburst. "I knew I should have made him go!" he screamed, blaming himself for Bo's condition. Seeing that everyone was watching him, having no idea of what he was talking about, Luke knew he had to tell them, especially the doctor. He hoped that not remembering this sooner hadn't hurt Bo further. "Me and Bo got in a fight about a week ago with a couple of guys at the scrap yard. The next day, he had a really bad looking bruise," Luke said, pointing to the area where he had seen the mark on Bo. "I told him he should get an x-ray, but he said it was just a bruise. He was positive that he hadn't cracked or broken any ribs, which was what I was worried about, so I let it go. This is my fault. I should have made him go!"

"Now Luke, this ain't your fault. None of us would go get an x-ray for a brusie. Heck, we'd be here everyday, boy. Me and Daisy saw it too, and didn't think nothing bout it. That boy's got so many bruises on him that I'm surprised people don't think we beat him, which we don't," Jesse said, directing his last comment to the doctor. "So what did happen, doc? Did he bust a rib?"

The doctor shook his head. "No, his ribs aren't broken or cracked," and he looked at Luke as if to tell him that Bo had been correct. "We just took several x-rays, and they haven't revealed any type of major damage. Bo must have been hit just hard enough and in the right location to have caused small ruptures in the tiny blood vessels. We see this a lot with people in auto accidents that hit the steering wheel. The blood leaks into the surrounding tissue causing the bruising."

"How serious is this?" Luke asked, not caring what the medically correct terminology was.

"It depends. If the injury cuts off the airways, it's very serious. So far, that hasn't happened. Bo's breathing is labored, but he is breathing on his own. We'll have to watch him to make sure that nothing develops. If it does, we'll have to put him on a respirator and possibly repair or remove the restriction. We also need to monitor the amount of blood that's being released. It's minor, but if it increases, a major hemorrage can fill the entire lung in a matter of seconds, and in essence, drown a person."

The Dukes looked at the doctor, then at each other, not knowing what to think. Bo didn't fit the worst case scenarios, but something about the way the medicine man was talking to them led them to believe that there was more.

"Is he going to be ok, doc?" Jesse finally asked, feeling that was the only important question.

"It's too soon to tell," came the reply, once again answering their question with rhetoric. "The real problem right now is the fever, which is being caused by the nasty infection due to the leakage. Bo's temperature is over 105 and he's not responding real well to the antibiotics. With it that high, there's a good chance of brain damage, and he could slip into a coma which he may never wake up from."

"Can we see him?" Luke asked, thinking that Bo needed to be around people who believed in him a little more than this guy seemed to.

"Sure," he nodded, getting up and leading them to the small area of the hospital that was designated for the sickest patients.