"LUKE!...Luke what's wrong?" Bo asked frantically, sliding to a stop on his knees before he tried to hold Luke's head steady enough to look into his eyes.

"His side, Bo! Turn him on his side." Doc Appleby barked, having emerged from the General and rushed up to the boys. He quickly joined Bo in rolling Luke onto his side, where he jerked only a few more times. As Luke's body finally began to ease, Uncle Jesse managed to join the group.

"Homer, what happened to him? Jesse demanded as Bo frantically examined his cousin.

"He was having a seizure, Jesse. You ever notice him having one before?"

"No." Jesse replied simply as he looked at Luke with concern.

"I ain't never seen nobody do that before." Bo added in a nervous breath. "Luke, are you okay now?"

Luke moaned a bit but Dr. Appleby quickly quieted him. "Easy now, Luke. Just rest a minute then we'll see about getting you up from there."

Although Luke followed the doctor's orders because it seemed like a good idea considering the way he felt, he also realized that the longer he lay there, the longer he could go without listening to Uncle Jesse's questions.

But the time quickly came when Luke realized that his family would move from concern to panic if he lay there any longer. With that in mind, he put his hand up and allowed Bo and Jesse to ease him into a sitting position.

"Here Luke, try this." Dr. Appleby said, walking back over from Mr. Selmer's stream, offering Luke a small cup from his bag that had been used to collect some water.

Luke drank the couple of swallows the cup held and handed it back to the doctor, who patted Luke's back. "Feeling better now?"

"Yeah. Thanks Doc." Luke nodded. "Guess I just got dehydrated out here workin' in the sun."

"Well, that's a real possibility, Luke." Dr. Appleby replied, realizing that Luke probably knew as well as he did that the sip of water wouldn't ease hydration problems. He also knew that it was Luke's way of convincing himself that the problem, whatever it was, might not be too serious. "But I think we best get you to the Tri-County emergency room to find out exactly what's going on."

"Ain't no need for that." Luke argued. "It's a hot day, I didn't have enough sense to drink a lot of water……end of story."

"No Luke that ain't the end of the story." Bo argued. "Now you's supposed to see Doc Appleby today to talk to him about that blood work and everybody here know's you didn't go. So when you git over to that hospital and they say there ain't nothin' wrong, then it'll be the end of the story."

"Look lil' cousin, I ain't got time to argue with you. Like I said, I just got too hot." Luke shot back. "Now Mr. Selmer's been lookin' for us to fix this fence for two weeks and I intended for it to git fixed today."

"You want it fixed today? Fine. If that's all that's holdin' you back, I'll fix it. In the meantime, Uncle Jesse here'll be glad to get you over to the hospital, won't you Jesse?"

"Glad to? I'll drag him over there by his toenails, if that's what it takes." Jesse replied, glaring at Luke. "Just try to talk me out of it. It's all I can do to keep from whoopin' you for not goin' to tha doctor this mornin' when you's supposed to."

Luke looked at his uncle. "I'm sorry, Jesse. I just didn't see any need in it. This Robbins fellow said the results would more than likely turn out to be nothin'. I figure there wadn't any need in lookin' for trouble that wadn't there."

"Well the little episode we jist witnessed tells me there's trouble worth lookin' into. So you kin jist haul yerself to ya feet and git ready to go to tha hospital 'cause ain't nobody here takin' no fer an answer."

Luke sighed. "Okay, Uncle Jesse. If it makes you feel better I'll go, but I'll go by myself. I'm a grown man and I don't need nobody holdin' my hand."

"I ain't holdin' your hand but I will go with you. Bein' a grown man, ya outta have enough since ta know when ya need ta see a doctor, and you've already proved you're lackin' in that area."

Luke simply nodded in defeat before he allowed Bo to help him to his feet. "Hey cuz." Bo said as Luke began walking toward the General with Jesse's help. Luke turned around to face his cousin and Bo embraced him. "Take care now, huh?"

Jesse watched as the cousins hugged each other. Bo's face was full of concern and love. Luke's face hinted at an unusual emotion for the eldest Duke cousin. Fear.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Luke Duke?"

Luke looked up from his hospital bed and saw a familiar doctor coming through the door, followed by his own Doc Appleby. The doctor came over to his bed to shake his hand. "Hello, Mr. Duke. I'm Doctor Wilson."

"Oh I remember you!" Luke replied, shaking the doctor's hand. "You did a fine job awhile back takin' care of my Uncle Jesse when he came down with a 'bout of appendicitis."

Dr. Wilson nodded. "I thought the name Duke sounded familiar, but I didn't make the connection 'till Homer here filled me in on that fact." He turned to shake hands with Jesse. "How you doin', Mr. Duke?"

"Fine, just fine." Jesse replied, shaking his hand. "But I'd be doin' a whole lot better if you can tell me what's wrong with my nephew."

"Don't worry, Mr. Duke. I need to go over Luke's paperwork but I'll be glad to answer any questions you have."

"Well I've got the first one for you. Howst come I had to be admitted to the hospital?" Luke asked, already restless to get out of bed.

Before he had a chance to answer, Daisy came into the room. Spying Luke, she rushed over and embraced him, before she was reintroduced to Dr. Wilson.

"Well Luke." Dr Wilson continued, acknowledging Luke's question. "When someone of your age has a first time seizure, it's important that we know exactly what's going on, which means a period of observation and a few tests."

"How long are these tests gonna take?"

"No more than a couple of days." Dr. Wilson replied.

"Two days!" Luke complained. "I'm gonna hafta be here for two days?"

"Maybe not, but that's up to you." Dr. Wilson replied, holding up the paperwork Luke had filled out when he was admitted. "I've never seen anyone admitted with a seizure before to have a completely blank symptoms checklist."

"Luke!" Jesse scolded him. "The doctor can't help you if you won't tell him everythang that's goin' on."

"I'm sorry Uncle Jesse." Luke stuttered. "I guess I's hopin' they'd just do a quick exam and send me home with a prescription. Now I know I's wrong,"

"Luke, we know there's no such thing as symptom free seizures." Dr. Wilson explained. "Which is why telling us the full story is going to greatly cut down on the time you spend having tests."

"He's been tired a lot lately….sleepin' a lot." Jesse explained, jumping right in. Luke looked at his uncle in surprise. "Tell 'im what else, boy." Jesse demanded.

"I…I guess I've been havin' some headaches." Luke admitted.

"Uh-huh." Dr. Wilson replied, checking off 'fatigue' and 'headaches' on the symptom chart.

"I performed a minimal observation of Luke where he had his seizure today, and I noticed he appears to be a bit swollen." Doc Appleby added.

"Where?" Dr. Wilson asked.

"Abdomen, legs…..everywhere."

"Hmmmm…." Dr. Wilson frowned, quickly glancing at Homer Appleby. Jesse peered at them, trying to distinguish if they were sharing a mutual thought, but it was hard to read. "Let's take a look at that, Luke." He said, preparing to slide Luke's sheet down.

"Ummm…." Luke began, nodding toward Daisy who quickly turned around before they proceeded.

"Yes I see what you mean, Homer." Dr. Wilson said, examining Luke's body. Something on Luke's arm then caught his attention. "What's this?" He asked, examining a large dark area.

In confusion, Luke looked at his arm. "Looks sorta like a handprint, don't it?" He observed, genuinely surprised to see it.

"Any idea how it got there?" Doc Appleby asked.

Luke shrugged his shoulders. "Ain't been in no fights lately. Only person I can think of to have his hand there would be Bo….and that was just helpin' me to my feet today. 'Course it wasn't no easy task, but still………" He trailed off, looking at the bruise again.

As Luke focused on the bruise, Dr. Wilson and Doc Appleby focused on each other. This time, there was no mistaking that they had a knowing look.

Looking back at Luke, Dr. Wilson smiled. "Well Mr. Duke. I think that's all the information I need. I'm going to go to the lab and check on the other blood tests that have been performed, and I'll be sending a nurse in to get some of your vital statistics soon. I'll be sure to let you know something as soon as I'm able."

"Doc?" Jesse asked as he turned away. The doctor turned back and focused on the elder Duke. "You got any idea what might be wrong?"

Dr. Wilson opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly interrupted by Doc Appleby. "Uh Jesse, it's a bit too early to say. Besides, it's necessary for us to consult with………well with someone else before we offer any suggestions. Might not be anything serious at all, but families tend to take the worst case scenarios to heart, ya know."

As Jesse nodded, Doc Appleby and Dr. Wilson exited the room, whispering silently to each other as the door closed behind them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A little while later, Luke woke up. He initially thought he must have dropped off for a short nap but that was quickly ruled out when he realized the room had grown dark and Bo, Enos and Cooter had joined Jesse and Daisy in the time span. As he focused on his family and friends, he noticed they were focused on the door. The sound of it opening was apparently what had waken Luke as Doc Appleby walked inside.

"Well Homer……" Jesse smiled, the only purpose in the gesture being that he was trying to stop his panic as his heart had already leapt into his throat. "You figure out what's wrong with my boy?"

Doc Appleby smiled a sad smile before he looked at Jesse, then at Luke. "Yes, we have." He said simply.

"Well what is it, then?" Bo asked, not liking the tension in the room.

Tears immediately welled up in Daisy's eyes and she started sobbing against Enos. "He's got cancer I just know it." She moaned.

Doc Appleby tried to comfort Daisy. "No Daisy, he doesn't."

As more than one relieved sigh was heard in the room, Homer Appleby quickly realized that Daisy wasn't the only one to have suspected leukemia.

Jesse, however, wasn't one to sigh. "Well we kin thank tha good Lord fer that but I ain't sure I'm altogether comfortable with tha situation, considerin' the look on yer face."

As Doc Appleby looked at his friends, he shook his head. "Jesse, when we first got here I volunteered to break the news-whatever it was- to Luke here because you're more than just patients, you're all my friends. But the situation, well, it's complicated….in more ways than one. And for that reason, I've decided to let the ones who know about it best explain the situation."

With that, Doc Appleby went back to the door and opened it. Once he did, Dr. Wilson stepped inside, followed by two shadows.

Once they were inside, Dr. Wilson flipped on the overhead light so all could be seen. The Dukes peered at what was once the two shadows and let out collective gasps of recognition.

It was Major Gene Edwards and Dr. Bryan Kilmer, from the Atlanta Veteran's hospital!

Ya know, it just don't look too good when people like that show up in places where they ain't suppose ta be.

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