Before Simon had a chance to add anything else, Daisy took the phone back from him. "Luke, Simon here's takin' a risk by calling you with medical advice he isn't licensed to give. That's how concerned he is with his findings. Consider that while you decide whether or not to look into this."

Luke had gone a bit numb, but he managed to reply. "Okay, Daisy."

"Oh, not that it matters, but you left the t-shirt behind that you got for being the first donor today."

"Well what was that all about?" Uncle Jesse asked after Luke hung up the phone without offering Daisy a reply.

"Oh." Luke replied after a long pause. "It was nothin', Uncle Jesse. Sounds like I won a t-shirt for being the first donor today."

"That was the big emergency?" Bo asked verbally while Jesse thought the same thing.

"If that's all it was why didn't Daisy jist worry 'bout bringin' the shirt home with her?" Jesse asked.

"Oh you know how women are." Luke replied, shrugging the situation off. "A prize is a prize to them, don't matter how small it is. She's just excited, that's all."

"Well, I hope she's just as excited 'bout supper when she gits home. We're stuck with grilled cheese sandwiches for tonight. Ain't gonna git to go to tha meat market 'till we unload some corn at the swap meet this weekend. And speakin' of corn, you boys got a couple hours daylight left after ya eat yer sandwiches, so's I don't see no reason why ya can't git ta pickin' some of it."

"Yes sir." They replied in unison.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey Luke, there's some good ears out this way." Bo announced, going deep into the first plantings of the year to reap the fruits of their labor.

"You go ahead, Bo, I think I'll go this way." Luke replied, staying toward the front of the field, within site of the house.

"Whatcha stayin' up here for? Ya keep lookin' at the house like you're expectin' it to blow up." Bo asked, staring off toward the house as Luke had been doing.

"Corn's corn, Bo. Does it matter where I pick it? I just prefer to stay up here if it's all the same to you."

"Alright." Bo replied, holding up his hands before bending down to grab an oversized crate bearing a few ears. "If I ain't back by midnight, send a search party." He announced before turning to traipse deep into the stalks.

Luke started to reply when he heard the sound of a familiar vehicle. He looked toward the house and spied Daisy pulling up.

Putting the ear he had just picked in his own crate, he took off in a full sprint toward the house. "Daisy! Daisy wait up!"

Daisy had just dropped her keys in her purse when she turned and spied her cousin coming toward her in a full sprint from the fields. Once he arrived, he grabbed onto the side of her jeep to hold himself up as he panted.

"Luke! You alright?" Daisy asked with concern.

"Just catchin' my breath." Luke announced, beginning to calm down somewhat.

"Oh Luke." Daisy replied, hugging her cousin and laying her head on his shoulder. "Luke, I'm so worried about you."

"What exactly did Simon say?" Luke asked.

"He wouldn't tell me much. He just said somethin' was comin' up that didn't look good. Said it could be nothin' but it needed to be checked."

"And that's it?" Luke asked.

"Yeah." Daisy nodded, letting him go.

"Listen Daisy, there ain't no need in gettin' Jesse all worked up until we know there's somethin' for him to get worked up about, so let's just keep this between you and me 'till we know exactly what's goin' on."

"Does that mean you're goin' to see Dr. Appleby? Tomorrow?" Daisy asked hopefully.

"I'll take care of it." Luke assured her.

XXXXXXXXXXX

The next afternoon, Daisy was wiping down the bar at the Boar's Nest, anxiously looking at the clock. Luke was supposed to have gone in to see Doc Appleby first thing that morning, and promised to come by soon as he was done. However, it was now closing in on one o'clock, and she hadn't seen any sign of him yet.

Not long after that, the door of the establishment opened, and her cousin stepped inside. Her momentary hope was dashed away when she learned it was not the cousin she had been looking for.

"Hey Daisy." Bo greeted her, sitting on a barstool before grabbing a handful of peanuts. "Luke been through here today? He's supposed ta go fix that fence we tore down on the Selmer property the other day but I figured he'd be done by now."

"Oh I'm sure everything's fine." Daisy replied, knowing that was the excuse Luke had offered Bo in order to go to the doctor. "You get the oil changed on Uncle Jesse's truck?" She asked, setting a beer in front of him.

"Got the scars to prove it." Bo replied, pointing out some rather obvious oil spots on his yellow shirt.

As Daisy examined the stains, Luke walked through the door. Daisy quickly turned from Bo and rushed over to Luke.

"Hey Luke." She fired off. "How'd everything go?"

Luke gave her a heartfelt smile. "Everything went fine, darlin'."

"So he didn't find anything?"

"Nothin' for you to be worried about."

"Now Luke, you wouldn't lie to me would you? Promise me that Doc Appleby didn't find anything."

Luke held up his hand. "I promise you Doc Appleby didn't find anything!"

"Oh Luke!" Daisy exclaimed, hugging him in joy. "I was so worried."

"I know ya were." Luke replied.

"What's all this about Doc Appleby?" Bo frowned.

"Ain't nothin' to worry about, Bo. Nothin' at all." Luke replied before asking Daisy for a beer.

"Well if it ain't nothin' why didn't I hear about it earlier?" Bo insisted.

"Well Bo, the guy performing the lab work at the drive yesterday found something he was concerned about when he tested Luke's blood, but it sounds like Doc Appleby gave him a clean bill of health." She smiled, giving Luke his beer.

"Well what was it Luke?" Bo asked.

"Ah, I can't remember the name of it." Luke replied, downing the drink. "Speakin' of fences, we best git over there and fix it 'fore old man Selmer shows up at the house with a gun."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A little while later, Bo walked through the kitchen door to the Duke farm to find Doc Appleby there, examining Jesse's finger.

"Well, what's the prognosis, Doc?" Jesse asked.

"All signs say you'll live 'till next Friday, Jesse." Doc Appleby smiled as he closed up his bag. "Afternoon, Bo."

"Hey Doc Appleby. What happened to Uncle Jesse?" Bo asked.

"Well, it seems your uncle got into a little spat with a carving knife….and the knife won." Doc Appleby explained.

"That's the last time I try to filet fish whilst they're still froze." Jesse announced as Bo noticed the fish he and Luke had put into the freezer the day before laying on the counter.

Bo laughed. "Well I can filet 'em for ya real quick, Uncle Jesse. I'm sure Luke can handle things by himself for a few minutes."

"Well what's Luke doin'?" Jesse asked.

"He's over at Mr. Selmer's repairin' that fence." Bo replied as he began working on the fish. "I just came home to get new board. We accidentally busted one of 'em."

"Well Bo, keep the bustin' to the boards and not your fingers, ya hear?" Doc Appleby asked as he pointed at the fish. "I really don't care to have to mend any more Dukes today."

Bo laughed. "Don't worry Doc. We'll keep our limit today to two."

"Two?" The doc asked with a curious frown.

"Yeah. Luke, then Jesse here." Bo replied, nodding toward Jesse.

"Homer, you didn't tell me my nephew had been in to see you today." Jesse scolded the doctor. "And neither did you." He added, frowning at Bo.

"Well that's cause he ain't, Jesse." Homer replied in defense.

Bo looked at him. "You say you ain't seen Luke today?"

"Any reason I should have?" Doc Appleby replied as Jesse listened in.

Bo almost felt as if he were telling on his cousin, but quickly explained what he knew of the situation, and how it was his understanding that Luke had visited the doctor that day.. When he was done, Jesse was on his feet.

"I don't know exactly what's goin' on with that boy but we're gonna git to tha bottom of it. Homer, you got time to ride with us out to the Selmer place?"

"Considering the situation, I'll certainly make time, Jesse." Doc Appleby assured him.

A little while later, the three men arrived at the Selmer farm.

"Now where's that downed fence you two was workin' on?" Jesse asked, scanning the fence.

"Right there between them two trees, but I don't see Luke nowhere." Bo replied, pointing to a section that was shaded by two old maples.

"Well let's go on over there and see if the tools are still layin' there. If they are he probably jist took a break or somethin'." Jesse theorized.

Bo nodded and drove the General on ahead. As he got near the trees, he saw something that made him slam on the brakes.

"LUKE!" Bo yelled, scrambling to get out of the General. As Bo ran ahead, Jesse peered through the window and gasped at the sight before him.

Luke lay on the ground, thrashing in what appeared to be a very intense seizure!

As much as we might wish that was just a reaction to that watered-down Boar's Nest beer, I got me a feelin' that we ain't gittin' off that easy.