A/N - Hi ya'll! Thanks so much for the reviews. I'm afraid I'm not through torturing Bo just yet!

Just a little note - I haven't made this all up. This is a real condition that does happen, though not necessarily always to this level of seriousness (hint, hint).

Thanks again. I look foward to hearing from you!

HORRENDOUS MIX-UP

CHAPTER 8

CLOSE CALL

Bo was hooked up to several machines, too many to ignore the severity of the situation. The only positive notes were that he didn't look like he was in pain, and he wasn't stark white; his heightened temperature had left him rosy and flushed. As soon as they opened the door, they heard Bo having a difficult time breathing, and with each lungful of air that he swallowed, there was a persistent rattling. The doctor may have said that the seepage amounts were acceptable, but to untrained ears, it didn't sound that way. It sounded like he had pneumonia, an ailment which he had battled a couple of times in his youth. He wasn't terribly alert, but he wasn't unconscious, either. He turned to the door to see who was walking into his room, afraid that they were bringing more needles to stick him with. Relieved to see familiar faces, he gave them a small smile and raised his hand, which Luke immediately rushed to grab.

"Hey cuz, you scared the dickens out of me," Luke told him.

"Some people will do anything to get out of going to church," Uncle Jesse said.

"Hey sugar," Daisy greeted him, bending over and kissing his cheek. "How ya feel?"

"Okay," he replied, smiling at Daisy. "Wanna go home...don't need to be here."

"Bo, you just relax and get well. Doc says you'll be fine," Uncle Jesse ordered him. If Bo was able to convey that he wanted to go home, sometimes he wasn't the most cooperative of patients.

The family stayed with him for a couple of hours, but they could see that he was torn between getting the sleep that his body wanted, and staying awake, which his mind must have told him to do. Believing that it was better for the boy in the bed if two of them left, it didn't take long to decide who would stay. Luke announced that it would be him.

Normally, Jesse would have wanted to do it himself. He had the most experience with hospitals, and he was the boy's guardian, should any decisions have to be made. Under the circumstances, though, he gave in. Luke was an adult now, and the person that Bo needed the most. Even with their strained relationship, whenever he looked for someone, it was his oldest cousin. Jesse feared that sending Luke away might only aggravate Bo more. He also knew that Luke was good under pressure, having shown that by getting his cousin to the hospital right away in his absence. He trusted his eldest's judgement should he have to use it, and he knew that he was just a phone call away. Besides, Daisy was upset, and Jesse knew that he needed to be available for her. So Jesse and Daisy left, making Luke promise to call if there was any change. The old man prayed that the phone wouldn't ring in the middle of the night. No one ever called then to offer good news.

Luke returned after walking the rest of his family out to the parking lot. Standing next to the bed, he looked at his cousin, who had finally sucummbed to his heavy eyelids. He stroked his cheek, which was scorching hot to the touch, then ran his fingers through his hair. "Oh Bo, you gotta get better. We've got some things to straighten out, and then we've got so many things to do together, you and me. We've got a car to build, races to win, fish to catch, and girls to chase. I may not know what I'll do with the rest of my life, but there is one thing I know for a fact, you'll always be at the center of it. I love you so much Bo. I still can't believe that you could ever doubt that, but I'll die trying to prove it to you. Ya just gotta get better."

Luke sat back down in the plastic chair next to Bo's bed, holding his cousin's hand in his own. He watched the numbers on the monitors. Bo's fever was still over 105, having went up a few notches despite the medications that they were injecting into his veins. He stared at the number, willing it to go down, but it remained unchanged.

In the wee hours of the morning, Luke was roused from his nap by the shrill pitch of one of the machines. He looked around, trying to find which one it was. The first one he looked at was the one he'd been watching all night, the one that showed Bo's temperature. It was unchanged. His eyes darted to the other screens, and he gasped as he realized that the line on the heart monitor was jumping wildly only to go flat. It was the one responsible for the assault on his ears, and without the steady beeping of that one, the others were pointless. People were already running into the room, and one of the nurses told Luke that he had to leave.

"Bo! Don't you die, Bo! You promised you wouldn't leave me, and a Duke always keeps their word," he screamed, suddenly finding himself in the hall. As the door slammed in his face, he hoped that Bo had been able to hear him. He sagged against the wall, listening to them working frantically to bring Bo back. From what he could hear, their efforts didn't seem to be working, and the tears streamed down Luke's face as he slowly went into shock. When the door opened and the doctor finally came out, Luke really expected to hear that Bo was gone. Following on the doctor's heels was a gurney being pushed by two men, and Bo was on it.

"No!" Luke cried, unable to believe that they were taking Bo away that quickly.

"We got him back," the doctor said, putting a hand on the distressed man's shoulder. Luke looked up, wondering if he had heard right. Before he had time to get too excited, the doctor continued. "But, the bleeding has increased. We're taking him into surgery."

"With the infection and that high of a fever?"

"Under normal circumstances, you're right, I wouldn't dream of putting him under, but right now, we don't have a choice. It's dangerous, but he will die if we don't." The man squeezed Luke's shoulder again for reassurance, then told him that he could wait in the waiting room or in Bo's room. "I'll find you when we're finished. It's whatever you prefer. I'm sorry, Mr. Duke, but I really don't have anymore time."

Luke nodded, watching him trot down the hall, praying that he didn't see him for a while. If he came right back, it wouldn't be good news. Luke called the farm, unable to answer his uncle's prayers, and within the hour, the three Dukes were waiting in Bo's room for any word on how he was doing.

Daisy was sleeping in one chair, Uncle Jesse was seated in another, and Luke was standing at the window watching the sun peek over the horizon when the doctor finally came back. It hadn't been a lengthy proceedure, but it seemed like hours considering that it hadn't been expected. They all turned to see what he had to tell them.

"He made it through the surgery," he announced, and that was the best news they could have hoped for.

"We've stopped the bleeding and drained the lung, and it only required a small incision," he said, holding up his fingers to indicate approximately one and a half to two inches.

So far, the news had all been good, and the Dukes were counting their blessings. They should have listened to the old saying about not counting your chickens before they're hatched, especially when the source of the news was a doctor. They just couldn't finish a conversation without adding the word 'but.'

"But, his lung collapsed. We had to insert a chest tube and put him on a respirator," he said, hating to tell them the rest. "The infection is still hanging on, and his fever isn't going down no matter what we try. All of this together has really left him in a weakened state, and he's slipped into a coma."

Daisy put her face in her hands, unable to hold back the tears any longer. The men nodded, understanding that Bo was still with them, but had entered that sleep world that the doctor had told them earlier he may never wake from.

For the next three days, the Duke family hovered around their youngest, the one who was once so full of life who now looked lifeless. It was hard to see him lying there so still, a machine doing his breathing for him, lingering somewhere between the here and now. Each of them allowed their minds to recall memories of Bo, young and laughing, quick with a hug and quick tempered, but always the most loving one of the family. The only bit of good news was that the doctors believed that the respirator could be removed the following day. Bo's lung was healing, and they were sure that it was able to work on its own. The bad news was that the infection was still raging and his temperature was about the same.

One of the dangers the doctors had not prepared them for was that an infection that bad for so long could cause additional damage to other parts of the body. They didn't think there was any need to tell the family that since they weren't convinced that their patient would even wake up to worry about future problems. At first, the staff just made insinuations that they didn't hold much hope for Bo ever making a complete recovery. As more time passed, they came right out and told them that his chances were slim to none.

"He's a Duke," Jesse spat. "He'll be all right," he told them, then turned his attention back to Bo and encouraged him to prove everyone wrong, the way he loved to do.

At night, Luke refused to leave. He insisted that he wanted to be with Bo, whatever happened. He was getting good at sleeping in the chair, saying he'd slept in a lot worse places for the past two years, but he was still dead on his feet. Regardless, Daisy and Jesse knew that once Luke's mind was made up, there was no changing it, and if they forced him to leave and something happened to Bo, he'd never forgive them.

Luke was sitting in the chair, nodding off. This sure wasn't the way he'd imagined spending his paid time off. He thought he'd ride in on his white horse, solve whatever was wrong, and end up spending several wonderful weeks with his family, most of that time being devoted to having fun with his cousin. He never would have believed that with half of his vacation over, he still wouldn't have really talked to Bo about the misunderstanding, would have kept him from falling to his death from Widow's Peak, only to end up waiting by his hospital bed to see if he'd ever wake up. A terrible thought entered his mind; it was extremely possible that by the time he went back to Viet Nam, he might have attended Bo's funeral and watched as he was buried. That was a thought he couldn't deal with, so he pushed it away. Opening his eyes, he reached in his pocket for the worn picture that was still there. He looked down at the happy, healthy face of his cousin, never knowing that he'd need the strength he got from that picture more in Hazzard than he ever had in Asia.

Jesse and Daisy were standing next to Bo's bed while Luke was fighting with his inner demonic ideas. His uncle was talking to Bo, and Daisy was playing with his hair. Everyone loved the thick, curly mop, and had a hard time refraining from touching it. Bo ususally didn't mind, but there were a few that he had met over the years that he would have preferred they kept their hands to themselves.

'Uncle Jesse, look," Daisy cried, as she pointed to Bo. At first it scared him, not knowing what she had seen. When he looked closer, he could see that Bo was trying to open his eyes.

"That's it Bo. Come on son, open your eyes and prove all these quacks wrong," Uncle Jesse told his nephew.

"Luke, Luke!" Daisy said, shaking his leg. "Bo's waking up."

Luke Duke was out of his chair and next to his cousin when they got their first glimpse of his blue eyes. The first person he saw was his uncle, who was welcoming him back. Though still affected by his high fever, Bo was awake. It didn't take long for him to grow agitated, not understanding where he was or what was going on. His agitation turned to fear as he realized that there was something down his throat. Uncle Jesse was trying to calm him, but it wasn't working.

Luke reached out and touched Bo's cheek, telling him to look at him. When he did and saw his older cousin, it helped for a minute, but Luke saw the fear returning in Bo's eyes. His hand flew to the tube in his mouth as if he was going to attempt to remove it. Luke grabbed Bo's hand, preventing him from doing anything that could be harmful.

"Bo! Bo look at me!" When he had his cousin's attention, he continued. "It's ok, Bo. You've been real sick. You're in the hospital, but you're going to be ok."

Bo's eyes watched Luke for a second, taking time to absorb what he was being told. Then they looked down at the offensive tube again.

"I know you don't like that thing, but it's helping you breathe. The doctors say they can probably take it out tomorrow, but you need to leave it alone until then. I know it's hard, Bo, but try to forget about it, ok?"

Bo nodded, closing his eyes for a second before opening them again. Daisy and Jesse were talking to him, too, and if they'd been able to see his mouth, they would have seen the slight curve of the lips. Luke saw it, and knew that Bo was giving them a small smile. He looked down at his cousin and gave him a big one.

Luke was still holding his cousin's hand. He'd taken hold of it for practical reasons, but once he had it, he refused to let go. He watched as Bo's right hand started moving, ready to grab it, too, if necessary. Rather than reaching for the tube, Bo laid it on his chest, directly over the area that had been operated on.

"Does it hurt there Bo?" Luke asked him, and Bo nodded a little. "Daisy, see if you can find a nurse. Tell them that Bo's awake and that he's in pain," Luke instructed, sounding very much like he was the one in charge of his cousin's welfare.

"I'll be right back," Daisy told him, bending down to kiss him on the forehead. This time both of the men noticed the corner of Bo's mouth lift. Since Bo had started believing that Luke only befriended him because he'd been told to, Daisy was the only one that he allowed to remain close to him. He had a soft spot in his heart for her, which she returned, and he had long ago dismissed the notion that she had only cared about him because Jesse ordered her to. She was more like himself in that respect. Even if Jesse had told her she had to do it, she wouldn't have, if she hadn't wanted to. Daisy had a mind of her own; she picked her own friends, even if they were family. Dukes may have always stuck together, but there were a few that Daisy didn't care for, and everyone knew it. Bo knew that she was sincere in her affections, and he'd loved her since he was a baby. Luke was his big brother and best friend, but Daisy was his sister, mother, and pal all rolled into one. She had tried to talk to him several times, but he wouldn't confide in her about his discovery. He just couldn't talk to her about Luke; he couldn't talk to anyone about Luke. In some ways it was strange, because when they were very young, there were things that Bo had only shared with Daisy. Sometimes, Luke was more of a parent than a child, and when Daisy and Bo thought that he might be mad over something or tell their uncle, they turned to each other. As the boys got older, a lot of that stopped. They loved the only girl in their family with all their hearts, and Daisy could keep up with them on any given day, but as boys, they felt the need to protect her, not include her in their shenanigans.

When Daisy left the room, Bo started rubbing the area lightly, not understanding why it hurt so bad. "Bo, I know it hurts, but we're gonna get you something for the pain," Luke told him. Seeing the question in Bo's blue eyes, Luke answered it. "You had surgery, that's why it hurts."

After Bo heard that he'd been operated on, only then did he realize just how serious the situation really was. He looked at Luke with more questions in his eyes.

"It's ok, Bo. You're going to be ok," Luke told him, not believing that he was up for any lengthy explanations. The words seemed to suffice him, and he relaxed a little. The doctor interrupted them before anything else could be said.

"Well young man, you're awake. That is good news. How bout we take a look, then give you something for the pain, ok?" He asked the family to step outside, but Bo refused to let go of Luke's hand.

"Can't you just work around me?" Luke asked. "If he doesn't want me to leave, I ain't going anywhere."

The doctor wasn't happy, but couldn't do anything short of prying their hands apart, which he feared would only make matters worse. When he was done, he told Bo and the rest of the Dukes that he'd take him off the respirator the next day, and that he did seem to be doing better. "We still gotta get that fever down, young man," he said, nodding to his patient.

The family thanked him as a nurse came in and injected something into Bo's IV line. Still gripping Luke's hand, he tried to fight the sleep that was claiming him. He wanted something for the pain, but not something that would knock him out. The last thing he remembered was being in his own room. Then he woke up in a hospital with a tube down his throat, being told that he'd been operated on. He was a little scared to go back to sleep, wondering if his next stop might really be the pearly gates. Luke saw him struggling, and leaned over the rail.

"Don't fight it, buddy. I won't leave you. I'll be right here when you get back, and you will be back," he assured him, brushing the hair away from his eyes.

With that promise, Bo fell into a natural sleep.