A/N - Hi everyone! Here's the next chapter. Thanks again for the reviews!
Disclaimer: I don't own the Dukes, and no infringements intended.
BLOOD BROTHERS
CHAPTER 8
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BO!
No one was looking forward to the next dose of drugs that Bo needed, but as he got stronger and the days went by, it was a topic that they had to deal with. Sitting in Doc Appleby's office, Luke, Jesse, and Bo listened as he discussed the recommendations.
"Bo's oncologist, Dr. Peters, reviewed what I sent him from the last treatment. He concurs that there's adjustments that need to be made. He's changed the actual drug and the quantity, and we both think it would be best to admit Bo this time. If he's given the anti-nausea medicine from the start, he probably won't be so sick."
"Is this new stuff as good?" Jesse asked.
"It's fairly new, but it seems to be as effective, yet it's a little more gentle on a person's system. You know we like to be as aggressive as possible, but we don't want what happened last time to recur. That doesn't do the patient any good, either."
"Amen to that," Jesse said, speaking for all three of them.
Taking Bo home, they were glad to hear that it didn't sound like he would be so sick this time around. They hoped he wouldn't be, because his birthday was coming up and they were planning a party like Hazzard had never seen to celebrate it. Like the Christmas before, they didn't know if it would be Bo's last or not, but he was turning 18, and they were going to make sure that he had a birthday to remember. They just hoped he'd be telling his grandkids about it years from then.
How well the new therapy would work remained to be seen, but admitting Bo to Tri-County had spared him from the miserable aftermath. They kept him in the hospital for a few days, eventually weaning him from the preventative medications, pleased when he showed no symptoms even after they'd been stopped. Except for being tired and sleeping a good deal of the time, he wasn't in the least bit sick, and that was a relief to everyone.
"Luke, go home," Bo instructed during one of his alert intervals.
"I'm fine, Bo. Don't worry about me."
"I am worried. You're gonna end up in a bed here, too. Please," he pleaded, but to no avail. Luke was stubborn, and even Uncle Jesse couldn't force him into doing something that he didn't want to, no matter how hard he whipped him. Bo knew that if the roles were reversed, he'd do the same, though it didn't make him feel any less guilty.
Since Bo hadn't been so ill, it didn't take as long for him to recover. Within the week, Bo was back home. Not confined to a bed, the teenager felt better than he had since the holidays, and everyone prayed that the drugs were really starting to do their job. He even looked better, or so everyone told themselves. Medicine and prayer seemed to be working, and just in the knick of time. Bo's birthday was right around the corner.
It wasn't everyday that Bo would turn eighteen, but that year, he would officially become an adult. Bo, however, didn't want his family to go to so much work; he'd been enough over the past few months. Telling him that it was three to one, they vetoed him. Boss gave them permission to use the Boar's Nest, and everyone in town was planning on attending. Since Bo had been over-ruled, he decided to make the best of the situation. He informed his family that he expected his first beer, legal one that was. Only after Jesse checked with Doc Appleby did he let Bo know that he could have one, and only a few sips.
The day couldn't have been more perfect. It wasn't too hot and it wasn't too cold. The sun was shining and the sky was a beautiful blue. They couldn't have asked for a more picture perfect day if they'd custom ordered it, but no one was concentrating on the weather outside. Everything important was taking place inside.
Daisy had been busy in the kitchen for two days getting ready for the event. Making up small sandwiches and other types of party food, she capped it off with a cake for her cousin. Chocolate cake with chocolate icing was his favorite, and that's exactly what she made him. It even had eighteen candles on it, which was almost enough to light up the room when they turned out the lights and set it in front of him. The rendition of 'Happy Birthday' that accompanied the delicacy had never sounded worse thanks to so many people that couldn't sing, trying to. It didn't make any difference, it was the thought that counted.
After cutting the cake, Bo was presented with more gifts than he had ever seen in his life. He feared that there wasn't enough time left in the day for him to open all of them. Then he feared that he wouldn't have enough stamina left to do so, and he couldn't wear himself out just yet; he still hadn't gotten that beer. Yet, nothing could have ruined that day, and Bo made it through the presents and got his beer before Jesse saw that he was getting tired and announced that the party was over, for them. He invited the others to stay and have a good time, which many of them did.
Once they got home, Luke started carrying in all the things Bo had received. Luke had given him a pouch for his belt where he could keep the pocket knife he'd given him a few years back. Bo hadn't realized it, but as his family was admiring his new possessions, Bo wandered outside to the porch swing. The one thing that he really wanted for his birthday, he hadn't gotten.
"Bo? Hey Bo?" he heard his name being called.
"I'm out here," he called back, sorry that he hadn't told them where he was going. He should have realized that they'd miss him and start worrying, even if he was just outside the door.
A minute later, the door swung open and Luke walked out. "Here. Daisy sent this to you," he grinned, as he held out the sweater.
Bo chuckled, but put it on, hating to admit that it did feel good.
Luke took a seat next to his cousin. "Happy birthday, Bo," he told him for the millionth time that day as he slid his arm around his shoulders.
"Thanks Luke, but you already told me that," Bo snickered.
"Yeah well, when you get as old as I am, you'll be forgetful, too."
"And, you'll always be older than I am, cuz," Bo reminded him. He remembered when they were young, and there were times that he couldn't go with his cousin because his aunt or uncle said that he was just too young. One day his aunt told him that when they got older, Luke would be jealous of him for being younger. He hadn't understood it at the time, but now that Luke was joking about being older, it seemed appropriate.
"You sure got a lot of loot, kiddo. So, did you get everything you wanted?"
"Pretty much," Bo replied, not really thinking about his response.
"Pretty much? What did you want that you didn't get?" Luke asked him.
Bo could have kicked himself for not just saying 'yes'. He knew that his cousin would want to know what he hadn't received that he wanted. The problem was that what he wanted wasn't a tangible item, and it was the one thing that Luke didn't want; he wanted to talk, really talk to his cousin, but Luke either ran or changed the subject. He doubted that anything would be different just because he aged a year that day.
"No, I didn't mean that. I got everything I wanted," Bo said, hoping that he could convince Luke that his words were true.
Luke leaned over, and studied his cousin. "No Bo, tell me. What did you want that you didn't get?" Luke still had part of his pay sitting in Boss Hogg's bank. He'd asked Bo many times what he wanted prior to his birthday, but his cousin hadn't given him any ideas. If there was something he wanted, Luke would do his very best to see that he got it.
"Nothing Luke, really." He didn't know how to tell his cousin that the one thing he really wanted he couldn't or wouldn't give.
"Bo?" Luke asked again, becoming agitated.
"Really Luke, I got everything I wanted! Come on, let's go to bed," Bo said, standing up a little too fast.
Luke saw it coming. They were all trained to watch for it. They had to be especially careful when Bo was tired, hadn't eaten, or upset. His body would simply shut down where ever he was. Luke was faster than Daisy or Jesse, though their uncle had proven a couple times that he could still move at a high rate of speed when needed. They always worried about Bo hurting himself further, something they had to be careful of. All of the doctors had warned them what could happen if Bo sustained any type of injury that involved bleeding. Between the drugs and the disease, Bo's blood was thin and didn't clot properly. If he started to bleed, he could bleed to death in minutes. Thankfully, Luke caught him before anything like that could happen.
The festive mood of Bo's birthday was short lived. The phone call from Doc Appleby put a damper on their spirits. Jesse knew that his friend wasn't calling with good news when he asked to see him without Bo. He agreed, promising to be in his office the following day. He didn't mention it to Bo, but he did tell Daisy and Luke. He didn't want a repeat of the anger his silence had caused when Luke arrived back home from the war. They couldn't afford any arguing amongst themselves; they had enough to worry about with Bo. He shouldn't have been surprised when Luke announced he was going, too. Jesse might have been Bo's legal guardian until a few days ago, but Luke had been his protector since they were kids, and that didn't come with an expiration date. When Daisy took Luke's side, saying that she thought they should go together, Jesse gave in. Daisy would stay with Bo while they pretended to go into town for any other reason than what they were really going for.
"Jesse, we've been friends for a long time," the older doctor said. "If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have even considered doing this without Bo being here. Since he's of legal age now, I really shouldn't be doing this, and I'm telling you right up front that I am going to have to talk to Bo about this. I just wanted to talk to you first."
"Okay Amos, I appreciate you doing this. I assume that what you've got to tell us isn't good?" Jesse asked.
The man shook his head sadly. "No, I'm afraid it's not. I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but the treatments just don't seem to be doing any good. He's not responding to the drugs. When we first laid out this treatment plan, I explained that a cure wasn't always the end result, but that even a remission would be a good sign. So far, we're not seeing any of these things. In fact, the disease is progressing."
Nodding slowly, Jesse digested what they were being told. He'd expected it, yet it wasn't quite the same as really hearing it. After a few minutes of silence, he said the first thing that came to mind. "So, what are you suggesting? Changing the medicines or something different?"
The doctor knew that this was hard to accept. He was used to curing people, and he hated it when he couldn't. He also knew that Jesse knew what he was trying to tell him, deep down inside, he just wasn't ready to admit it. Patients and their families often had to hear the words before they'd even consider them a possibility. "Jesse, Bo's been given the most effective drugs that we know of. There just aren't any others."
"So what now?" Jesse asked, cringing as he waited for the answer.
"Well, you know that we originally talked about six treatments. Bo's had four with no effect whatsoever. Two more aren't likely to help him, and they may make him worse. What I'm saying, Jesse, is that you may want to consider letting him go in peace." Jesse looked at the pained face of his long time friend. "We can make him comfortable. I'm just not sure you want to make him suffer without good cause."
Jesse's eyes filled with tears. "How much time would he have?" he asked with a quivering voice.
"About six months."
"That's it?"
Luke had been sitting there the entire time. He'd been shocked at what the doctor was suggesting, but now he was furious with his uncle for even entertaining the possibility of just letting Bo die.
"You can't seriously be thinking about going along with this?" he yelled, looking at him.
"I don't know what else to do, Luke. I don't want to see Bo suffer," Jesse whispered.
"I don't want to see Bo suffer, either, but I sure ain't just gonna give up on him." Luke jumped to his feet and started pacing around the room. "Surely doc, there's got to be something else to try?"
"There isn't Luke. This is a blood disorder. It's not like a tumor that you can remove. The chemo is the only real treatment, except for that relatively new bone marrow transplant, but that doesn't apply to Bo since we weren't able to find a donor."
"What's that?" Luke asked.
"Well, it's that new procedure I told you about. They've had some success with it so far."
"Well then, why can't we do that?" Luke asked, thinking that the alternative sounded even better than traditional chemo therapy.
Doc Appleby looked at Luke strangely. He had explained all of this before. He sighed, not really bothered by re-explaining it after the bad news he'd just given them. "It's not that easy, Luke. Blood and marrow work with everything in the body. It's got to be compatible or a person will reject it. It used to be believed that it would only work between identical twins, but it's been proven that it can work between siblings and other relatives, too. The problem is Bo doesn't have any siblings. Ya know we already ran the tests trying to find a match. Not only around here, but Dukes were voluntarily being tested all over. There just isn't a match for Bo."
Luke looked at the doctor than at his uncle. "I don't know what the heck you're talking about, but no one ever tested me for anything like this!"
Jesse looked at his friend as they both realized what had happened. "He's right, Amos. He wasn't here when we had everyone go in."
Doc Appleby nodded, remembering that they had thought about requesting that he be tested through the military, then deciding against it since Luke hadn't been told about Bo. In the event that all else failed, they would have sent the request, but Luke had come home, and they'd all forgotten about it. "I had forgot about that," he said.
"Well then, test me! What do I have to do? I'll do anything!"
"I doubt it will do any good, Luke. One thing we found with Bo is that his blood is rather rare."
"I know that," Luke assured him. "I have the same rare blood type."
"It's still not that simple. Bo's is even more rare, and it has to be completely compatible or it won't work. If Bo had siblings, only 2 out of 8 should have the exact same type."
"Well, ya got any better ideas?" Luke spat, picking up his pacing again.
"What can it hurt, Amos?" Jesse asked, knowing that until Luke was told that he wasn't a match, he wouldn't rest.
"I guess it won't hurt anything," came the reply, knowing what his friend was thinking and going along with it. Part of being a country doctor meant acting as a psychologist at times, too.
"Okay, so what do we do?" Luke wanted to know, glad that they were talking about doing something other than letting Bo die.
"Take a simple blood test," he was told.
"That's it?"
"Well, that's the first step. If the basics don't match, there isn't any point in going any further."
"What happens when it does match?" Luke asked, refusing to even acknowledge that it might not.
"If it does, they'd take another sample and run additional tests."
"How long does this take?" Luke inquired, hoping that they hadn't waited too long.
"Not that long, Luke. Initial testing only takes a couple of days, and the rest is usually completed within a couple of weeks."
"Well, let's get started," Luke said, rolling up his sleeve.
"I can't do it here. You'll have to go in to Atlanta."
"I'm gone," he said, forgetting that he had arrived with his uncle.
"Wait a minute, Luke. You can't just go wandering in. I'll make you an appointment, for tomorrow," he added, seeing that his patient's cousin was about to make a flippant remark.
"Okay," he agreed, wishing that it was already the next day.
On the way home, Luke turned to his uncle. "I don't think we should say anything to Bo, yet. No sense making him worry about something until we get the good news."
Jesse couldn't resist the temptation, though he asked his maker for forgiveness in advance. "Gee, if I didn't tell Bo, wouldn't that kind of be like lying? After all, Bo is the patient, and a part of this family. Don't you think he's got a right to know?"
Luke spoke before his brain processed his uncle's words. "He's got enough to deal with, no sense making...him...worry," Luke said, understanding dawning upon him. He saw the grin on his uncle's face. Jesse Duke was still the master at teaching lessons. This one was a lesson in reverse. Bo hadn't told him that he was sick before he'd shipped off because he didn't want him to worry. Now, Luke was withholding information from Bo on the same premises. "Okay, okay. I admit it. I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry. I'm just glad that you understand. Anyway, I agreed with Bo's thinking and I agree with yours. He wasn't real happy about us asking everyone to get tested before. I don't think that he should be told unless there's good news."
"It'll be good news, Uncle Jesse. I just know it," Luke stated as if it were a matter of fact.
Jesse hoped that for both of his nephews' sakes, it was. However, with the number of Dukes that had already submitted to the blood test, not one had made it past the initial stage. Bo's blood did appear to be rare. The boys shared a lot of things, but Jesse doubted that this was one of them. He knew it was their last hope, and he didn't relish having to tell his youngest that there wasn't anything else they could for him, and then watching him slowly slip away. He also didn't relish what would happen to Luke if it did.
