Was this place real?
That was the question on Luke Duke's mind as he willed his tired eyes to open. He then slowly turned his head to observe his stark white surroundings. He didn't recognize the place at all. It certainly seemed real enough, but he wasn't drawing any conclusions. Before he had opened his eyes, he had been in a one-on-one, foot-to-tire competition against the General Lee to see who could jump higher (and he had actually won) and that had seemed every bit as real.
When Luke swallowed, his throat felt extremely dry. The fact certainly led to the authenticity of his surroundings. Glancing down, he managed to see an IV attached to his arm. Nearby, a big machine was sending out a series of beeps and a small screen displayed information on what Luke assumed was his vitals. It didn't take a high IQ for the Duke boy to figure out he was in a hospital, but it didn't look anything like the Tri-County Hospital the Dukes normally used when the need arose.
He wondered where his family was and thought it might be a good idea to go look for them. But when the not-so-simple act of lifting his head from the pillow very nearly made him break out in a sweat, it was quickly decided that the family would be the ones to have to look for him.
A few moments later, the larger of the two doors in the room opened and a blond-haired nurse stepped inside. Immediately engrossed in a chart, she was almost to Luke's bed before she decided to look at her patient. When she did so, she stopped abruptly and opened her mouth slightly. After another moment, she finally started inching back toward the door.
"Mr. Duke, you're awake! I'll…..I'll be right back, I'm going to get Dr. Kilmer."
Before Luke even had a chance to respond, she was back out the door. Left alone for a few minutes once again, Luke could do nothing but relax his head and will himself to stay awake.
When the nurse finally returned, she was in the company of a very pleased looking Dr. Kilmer and a small army of professional looking young men and women in doctor's coats. As the group formed a semicircle around the bed, the younger members of the group stood ready to observe and take notes.
"Well, Luke, I'm certainly glad to see you awake." Dr. Kilmer announced. "We were afraid there for awhile we were going to lose you."
"You were?" Luke simply asked, still trying to comprehend the situation. "Where am I? How long have I been here?"
"This is the Veteran's Hospital, and you've been here for three days." Dr. Kilmer replied, turning his attention to the interns. "The subject was initially admitted through the emergency room three days ago, unconscious and unresponsive. After a brief review of his medical history and several tests, it was quickly determined that he had a very severe case of waste buildup which we believe was a result of an improperly functioning dialysis machine provided to his local doctor."
Luke blinked a couple of times as he took in the information. "You mean I sat in Doc Appleby's office all that time and the machine wasn't even doing its job?"
"Oh it worked to a certain extent, Luke, just not well enough. Had it not worked at all I'm afraid we would have seen you in here a lot sooner."
"May I ask how you feel now, Mr. Duke?" One of the interns asked.
"I'm……..tired, but….I know it sounds strange, but in a way, I feel like I have more energy, or maybe I'm stronger, than I've felt in awhile."
Dr. Kilmer chuckled slightly. "Well I should certainly hope so. You see…."
He was interrupted when the door behind him opened once again.
"I'm telling you one last time to get back in that bed or I'll have the doctor authorize a sedative administration!"
"And I'm tellin' you one last time I ain't gettin' in no bed 'till I have a chance to check on my buddy."
"Mr. Davenport." The nurse commanded, putting her hands on her hips. "Mr. Duke isn't even awake and you're not doing either him or yourself any favors by wearing yourself out."
"Martha?" Dr. Kilmer asked, causing the nurse who was arguing with Cooter to whirl around. "Is there a problem?"
"Dr. Kilmer!" She exclaimed, gazing first at the doctor then at Luke, a smile appearing on her face. "You're awake, Mr. Duke. Uh, no, doctor. I didn't realize Mr. Duke was awake and I was just trying to get Mr. Davenport here to get his rest."
"No harm done Martha." Dr. Kilmer replied, turning his attention to a grinning Davenport. "Don't be too hard on her, Mr. Davenport. Martha's just doing her job and she's one of the finest nurses we have."
Cooter simply nodded his forgiveness toward her as he took painful steps toward Luke's bed.
"Well considering the circumstances, he can visit, but I want him back in bed in ten minutes!" She replied somewhat harshly even behind her smile.
"I'll personally see to it." Dr. Kilmer replied as Martha left the room. He then turned to the interns. "Mr. Davenport has been waiting quite some time to visit Mr. Duke. Let's give them a few moments, shall we?"
As the interns began to file out of the room, Dr. Kilmer assisted Cooter into the lone visitor's chair. "I'll be back for you in ten minutes, Cooter. Even us veteran M.D.'s are a little afraid to rile Martha."
"Thanks doc." Cooter nodded as Dr. Kilmer left the room. He then turned to Luke and offered him a sincere smile. "Sure is good to see you awake buddyro. Got kinda scary there for awhile."
"Cooter." Luke replied, looking his friend up and down. "You look like you got hit by a truck."
Cooter chuckled. "Well you ain't far off. I didn't exactly get hit by a truck but I did perform some not-so-graceful gymnastics moves on a very sharp bed of boulders trying to prevent that from happening."
"You gonna be alright?" Luke asked.
Cooter nodded. "Busted a couple a ribs and got a pretty good conk on the head, on top of the bruises and scratches. But it looks like I'm gonna get sprung tomorrow, that is, if Major Marsha don't interfere with it in any way."
Luke's head swirled as he tried to comprehend everything. "And I've been here for three days?"
Cooter nodded with a slight smile. "Kinda seems to be a magical number with the Duke clan."
"But….how exactly did you end up in here too? I mean, getting tangled up with a car?"
"Well, my only meeting with Myron Settles was enough to tell me there wasn't any love to be lost on that s.o.b." Cooter replied. "But despite my feelings, I couldn't exactly stand there and let him commit suicide and walk away after without a guilt trip. When he found out about Rebekka, he threw himself in front of a car to try to end his own life. I simply did my best to prevent that from happening."
"How is he…..Rebekka!" Luke exclaimed, the events before his blackout suddenly falling into place once again. He remembered being in the Settles' apartment, finding a dead Rebekka and comforting an elderly Myron Settles Sr. He remembered showing up at the residence of Sherri Settles and finding a hysterical woman covered in blood. He remembered helping to carry that same woman back into her home and standing amazed at the amount of blood everywhere. He remembered looking around and finding out that that blood didn't belong to Sherri, but it belonged to………..
"Bo!" Luke exclaimed, suddenly becoming wild eyed. With reserved strength, he managed to lift himself off the bed slightly.
"Lay down Luke!" Cooter commanded, pushing his friend back down gently. "You set the alarms on that machine off and they'll kick me out 'fore my time."
"But Bo." Luke replied, willing himself to settle down but still feeling anxious. "Where's Bo, Cooter? Is he okay?" He then thought of something else. "Where are Jesse and Daisy?" If he was as bad off as everyone had said, he found it unusual that they wouldn't be there with him when he awoke, and the thought made him extremely nervous.
As if to answer his question, the door opened and Jesse and Daisy walked in. Focusing their attention immediately on Cooter, it gave Luke the time to notice the forlorn expressions on their faces and the fact that Daisy was dabbing at her eyes.
"Luke!" Jesse exclaimed, happiness becoming evident on his face when he turned his attention to his nephew. "Son, you're awake!"
"Oh Luke!" Daisy added as she rushed forward to give her cousin a hug. "This is the best news we could have had today!"
"But Bo." Luke insisted, gently pushing Daisy away. There were more pressing matters to him at the moment other than his own health. "Where's Bo?"
After a pause, Jesse simply replied. "Don't worry about Bo right now, just worry about getting stronger."
"But where……." Luke began to ask. He immediately stopped when he noticed something most unusual. And the sight before him made his heart pound with anxiety.
Because not only had Jesse and Daisy seemed sad when they entered the room, they had entered the room dressed way too formally for a bedside vigil.
They were dressed in their black garments, reserved exclusively for funerals!
Knowin' Luke the way I do, now might not be a bad time for ole' Martha to show up with one of them sedatives.