A/N - Hi ya'll. Crazy and busy is what I've been lately, but not exactly in that order. Sorry for the delays. I proofed the chapter, then decided to tweak it, and it took longer than I anticipated. Sorry for the delay. Thanks for all the reviews. I'm not sure you'll need a tissue warning here, but better to be safe than sorry. Hope everyone likes where this is going, and is feeling better than they were a couple of chapters ago!

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


BLOOD BROTHERS

CHAPTER 12

A DIFFERENCE OF OPINION

The next two weeks were the longest two weeks in the history of the Duke family as they waited for the results of the blood test. The day Bo had been released from Tri-County General, Jesse put both of his nephews to bed, despite the protests from Luke.

"If you're driving to Atlanta tomorrow, I want to make sure that you're awake, both of ya," the old man told his eldest.

Giving up the fight, Luke did as he was told. Within a few minutes, the boys were fast asleep, both in Bo's bed. They both figured out that some days, they just got more rest that way. Reinforcing the fact that they were tired, they slept all the way through supper, but Daisy kept some warm for them. Barely keeping their eyes open, it was straight back to bed.

Luke got up as usual the next morning. Helping Jesse with the chores, he had to admit that he hadn't felt that good in a long time. He smiled, knowing that soon his cousin would be feeling better, too. After getting himself cleaned up and ready, he helped Bo do the same. Daisy offered them her car, thinking it would be easier and more comfortable, and the two took off for the big city. Sightseeing and fun weren't on their agenda, but Luke couldn't stop smiling.

Though comfortable, most of the trip was made in silence. Luke was wondering if he should take advantage of the situation to confess that he had accidentally found, then purposely read the letter Bo had written to him. If he did, he knew that Bo would want to talk about it, and Luke wasn't looking for a conversation about what it said. He was simply pondering whether he should confess, wanting absolution, and then to forget all about it. Convincing himself that it had been discovered by accident, Luke dismissed the notion. He'd put the letter back, so he doubted that Bo would be the wiser. Then he assured himself that there was no longer any reason to have that conversation; Bo wasn't going anywhere. The test was just a formality to confirm something he already knew. Finally, capping off his self-induced presentation, he assured himself that not telling Bo was not the same thing as lying to him.

Having resolved the issue in his own head, he turned to look at Bo. He couldn't help but smile at his wide eyed innocence as he watched him looking out the window.

"Whatch ya thinking?" Luke asked, glancing over at his cousin. The question killed two birds with one stone. It saved Luke from pursuing the letter issue, and addressed his curiosity as to what was going through Bo's head.

"I was thinking how good it would feel to be able to drive right now, cousin."

"Well, as soon as we get these results back, and I give you a little of my marrow, you'll be up and driving in no time flat."

"Luke, ya know that it probably won't match."

"Don't start thinking that way, Bo. Ya gotta have faith. Lord knows I do. It'll match."

"Them doctors told me I got weird blood, Luke. Actually, I think they thought I was a vampire or something the way they were carrying on about it. Ya know, almost everyone in the family got tested and they didn't match, so chances are you won't either."

"They didn't even make it past phase one. I did," Luke announced proudly.

"Yeah, but you heard what Doc Appleby said," Bo reminded him.

Despite Bo's warnings, Luke wouldn't be budged in his faith. "It'll match, Bo. I know it will," he said, changing the subject, but wondering why his cousin was being such a pessimist. Luke knew that they hadn't told him that the treatments weren't working, so he knew that couldn't be the reason. He assumed that Bo didn't realize just how important it was that they did match, but he fully understood it, and knew they would.


Luke parked in a no parking zone, helping his cousin out of the car and flipping off the drivers who were honking at him. They were at a hospital, for crying out loud. Couldn't they provide some place to park for ill people who couldn't walk very far? Besides, he wasn't planning on leaving the car there. He knew that it would be towed by the time they got back, if he tried. He was just helping Bo to the closest seat, where he could deposit him, while he did park the car. The other drivers didn't need to worry about him being that long.

Settling the temporary parking issue, Bo and Luke found themselves sitting in another medical office, waiting. This time, though, it was Luke that was there for a reason, not Bo. When Luke's name was finally called, the brunette was surprised that Bo insisted on going, too.

"Ah Bo, you might want to wait here," he suggested, knowing how his cousin felt about needles.

"No, I want to go, too," Bo replied, refusing to let his cousin do this alone, since he was doing it for him in the first place.

Luke gave in, draping an arm around Bo's waist to keep him steady. Together, they walked back to the area Luke had been a couple weeks before, without Bo's knowledge. Bo appeared apprehensive, but Luke didn't fear this; he welcomed it. This was the starting line in the race that was going to save Bo's life.

Bo's eyes watched as the nurse set the empty syringe down next to Luke. The needle was big, and he started to shake. He watched as she took a cotton swab and dabbed it with alcohol, then proceeded to clean Luke's arm with it. When she threw the wad in the trash and picked up the instrument, Luke saw Bo starting to look a little green. Holding up a finger to the nurse, asking for a minute, Luke placed his hand under Bo's chin and turned his head away from the instruments that his cousin considered to be torture devices.

"Look at me, Bo," he told him.

Bo did as he was told, but he didn't need to see the prick to know that it had been performed. Luke barely moved at all, but Bo could still see the nurse's movements out of the corner of his eye.

"It doesn't hurt, cuz. Remember, I'm not the one that doesn't like needles They don't bother me the same way that they do you," he said, giving him a squeeze and a wink.

Bo couldn't comprehend that. He hated needles and couldn't understand how anyone else could not. He hated knowing that he was the reason Luke was being poked and prodded.

It was over in a few minutes; a few ticks of the clock that would determine how many more Bo would be granted. Luke saw that his cousin wasn't doing very well. Between the trauma and just the progression of the disease, he was watching Bo very closely. He shouldn't have brought the boy. It tired him out, and he knew how upset his cousin got with needles. He should have made him stay at home, but it was a little too late to do anything about it, except stay close to him. They barely made it outside when he felt his cousin leaving him, temporarily. Luke never thought about the fact that Bo might not wake up at some point; fainting was something they'd gotten used to. A minute later, Luke was glad that he'd had a firm grip on Bo because the concrete could have caused some major injuries.

Several people rushed to help them, but Luke assured them they were all right.

"He's been sick. He does this, but he'll be all right."

All he could do was to hold Bo until he felt him stir and saw the blues of his eyes peer up at him.

"I did it again, didn't I?" he asked.

"Yep," Luke replied.

"Sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry for. Ain't like you plan it, kiddo," he told him, bending over and kissing him on the forehead.

Bo couldn't have been more surprised by Luke's public display of affection. It wasn't his cousin's style, but Luke was so happy in the knowledge that the blood he'd just donated would match, and would play a key role in saving his cousin, that nothing could have phased him. Remembering that God awful dream, Luke was willing to do most anything if it would change that ending.


Finally, the call came. "Hello. Duke residence," Jesse answered.

"Jesse, it's Amos. Got the results back. Get your family and get em in here. We gotta talk."

"Well tell me, Amos. Did they match?"

"Not over the phone, Jesse. Just get down here."

Jesse hung up the receiver, not knowing how to feel. One way or another, Bo's fate might very well be decided in the upcoming hour. He knew that their doctor could be requesting their presence because Luke didn't match, and he needed to inform Bo of his options. No one in the family had a doubt that Bo would chose to discontinue the treatments once Doc Appleby told him that they really weren't doing any good. Luke hadn't accepted the possibility at all. He and Daisy were somewhere in between. Bo seemed to be the only one with a real good grasp of the situation, and he seemed the most at peace with it.

The drive into town was speedy, but quiet. The only cheerful one in the car was Luke, and Jesse hoped that they'd all be as happy as he was on the way home. An hour later, four Dukes were seated in front of the large desk, watching a person they'd known all their lives review papers they were sure he'd probably read several times.

"Amos," Jesse finally said, requesting that he begin. Their nerves were frayed and couldn't take much more.

The man behind the desk looked up from his files, adding to the suspense by not saying anything for a minute. "I don't know how to quite tell ya'll this, but Luke you were right. You're a match. You can be a bone marrow donor for Bo, if you still want."

People in the surrounding countryside probably thought that their good old, country doctor had switched professions from the hooting and hollering taking place inside his office. He let them celebrate for a while before suggesting that they sit back down.

"I take it that this means you're still interested, Luke?" the doctor asked with a grin.

"You gotta ask, doc?" Luke responded with his own question.

"I know this seems like a miracle cure, but let me caution you that it isn't. They've been using this with successful results, but it's not successful in every case."

"It will be in Bo's," Luke said, and this time Jesse and Daisy agreed. Luke had been positive he would match, the same way that Bo had been so sure Luke wasn't dead when he'd been in the service. The two boys seemed to know these things about each other, and there didn't seem to be any reason to doubt or question it now.

"I certainly do hope that you're as right about that as you've been about everything else," the doctor told him.

"Okay, now what?" Daisy asked, not having had the process explained to her as well as the others had.

"The boys gotta go to Atlanta?" Jesse inquired.

"No," the gray haired man stated, shaking his head. "This has only been around about five years. Hospitals around the country are starting to ready themselves for this procedure, but that's going to take a while yet. You're going to need to go to Minnesota."

"Minnesota?" they all repeated.

"They're the experts in this treatment. They invented it. And the good news is, they've agreed to accept Bo after reviewing his case. They wouldn't if they didn't think they could help him. Now, I can start making the arrangements, if you still want to go through with this."

"Yes," three Dukes said, while Bo said "no."

"No? What do you mean no, Bo? You don't have a choice," Luke told him.

"Look, how we gonna get there? We can't just leave the farm, and we sure as heck can't afford this."

"Bo, I'll sell the farm if need be. Ain't no piece of land more important than your life," Uncle Jesse told him.

"You can't do that, especially since it might not work anyway," Bo objected.

"Doc says that they wouldn't take you, Bo, if they didn't think it would help, so you let me worry about the rest of this stuff," his uncle told him. "You just worry about getting better."

Turning to his doctor, Bo ignored his family. "Doc, we can keep doing the treatments, instead, can't we? I mean, we should probably finish those before we go to these extremes. It might save us from wasting time and money," Bo said, sounding very much like a grown-up rather than a teenager.

Doc Appleby looked at Jesse, while Daisy and Luke looked at each other. They hadn't told Bo about their secret meeting, so he didn't know that the treatments weren't a viable option. After Luke showed potential as a donor, they didn't see a need to tell him. Now, they didn't have a choice.

"Bo, I'm sorry, but the treatments aren't working. There isn't any reason to continue with them. This really is the only option left," Doc Appleby informed him.

Thinking that the news would cause him to change his mind, they were surprised when he didn't say anything.

"Bo, what the heck is wrong, cousin?" Luke asked him.

"It's expensive, and it sounds dangerous for you. Plus, I'm sure it's painful. I just can't ask ya'll to do this."

"You ain't asking," Luke told him, squatting down in front of his cousin. "We're doing this, and that's all there is to it."

"Luke..." Bo started.

"No! Now I don't know what exactly is going on here, but you can stop this right now. How do you think I would feel if something happened to you, and I knew there was something I might have been able to do and didn't? You really think I could live with myself?"

Bo looked at his cousin, understanding what he was trying to telling him. He was feeling the same thing, in reverse.

"Well, I couldn't, so you can just forget about this." Luke stated, then looked at his uncle for validation.

Jesse gave the official Duke seal of approval. "Set it up."

All the way home, Bo said nothing. He wasn't the hard one in the family to read, but this reaction none of the Dukes were able to decipher. As soon as he got out of the car, he walked into the barn, closely followed by Luke. Going to the far corner, he sat down on his bale of hay, staring at their engine which was sitting there in all its glory. Luke slowly walked toward him, thinking that throughout his entire illness, he'd never seen him looking more lost. He could understand if it had been the news that there wasn't anymore that could be done, but this, he just didn't get. Sitting down next to him, he slipped his arm around his shoulder.

"Talk to me, Bo."

"Nothing to say."

"Yeah right. C'mon on Bo, I don't get this. It's the best news we've had yet. Why aren't you happy?"

Turning large, innocent eyes to his cousin, he whispered, "I'm scared Luke."

The words turned the dark haired boy's heart into a little puddle. It seemed that Bo had been scared of something or other since the day he could tell everyone he was, but he hadn't heard his baby cousin utter those words once since he'd been back home, in spite of everything. Bringing his other arm around the front of the boy, Luke pulled him close. Bo leaned in, sinking against him. Luke noticed his defeated demeanor, and that scared him. He knew that Bo was tired and sick, but he'd never been a quitter. It terrified him to think that Bo might finally be ready to give up. He wasn't ready to give up on Bo, and he never would be. He just had to reach his cousin before his efforts became futile.

"You don't have to be scared anymore, Bo. This is the answer we've been praying for."

"It's one thing, being scared for myself, but I'm scared what this could do to you, to all of ya. We don't know that much about all of this, with it being so new. If it don't work, what then? I'll still die, and you guys could lose everything. I can't have that on my conscience. It's not that I don't want to live, but I don't want to if it's without you, and I don't want ya'll to give up everything for nothing, especially if it's because of me."

Luke hugged Bo tighter, shuddering himself. Giving up because you were too tired or ill to go on was probably somewhat natural, but that's not what the oldest Duke cousin was hearing. Family and the farm meant everything to Bo, and he'd do anything to protect them, even if it meant the ultimate sacrifice. If Bo was thinking along those lines, he would give up, and there wouldn't be anything Luke or anyone else would be able to do but watch. Somehow, he had to make him see that a piece of land was the least of their concerns.

"Nothing's gonna happen to me, and we're not gonna lose the farm or anything else. We'll work out something. We always do. This is gonna make you well. It's gonna work, Bo. I know it, and everything else will work out, too."

Seeing the doubtful look that Bo was giving him, he added, "have I ever lied to you before?"

"No."

"Do you trust me?" Luke asked.

"Yes."

"Then trust me when I tell you that it's gonna work."

"Kay," Bo replied, nodding his head, but sounding anything but sure. He just didn't have the energy for any more debates, which he knew he'd never win, anyway. This was something he was going to have to work out on his own, and Luke was going to have to accept his decision.

Bo didn't have to say the words for Luke to know what he was thinking. Recycling the only trump card he had, Luke knew there would never be a better time to play it. "Bo, you promised me before, even when we didn't know about this marrow stuff. You gotta promise me now, again, that you'll keep fighting. It wouldn't make sense to give up now, buddy. You're too close. Promise?"

Bo didn't want to answer him, but Luke wouldn't give up.

"Promise me, Bo!" he said in a voice filled with panic. "Please," he begged.

"I promise, Luke," Bo whispered in a barely audible voice. Yet, the volume wasn't important; those two little words were.

Sitting in silence for another few minutes, Luke held Bo tight. Attempting to lighten the mood, he said, "it's gotta work. I mean we got this monstrosity sitting here. It needs a home Bo, inside a race car, our race car, and when we get back, when you're all better, that's exactly what we're gonna do. Got it?"

"Got it."