Author's Note: What Vinsemouse did not know is that there was already a joke where Luke was called Humming bear, and here is that story…
Big thanks to Vinsemouse for beta.
Warning: The warning is placed here for Vinsmouse, who wanted a spew warning here, claiming it might be a bad idea to drink while reading the funnier parts. So please keep in mind that drinking any kind of beverage while reading this, might be hazzard'ous to the health of your screen.
Disclaimer: The Duke Boys are not mine, I don't own the Duke boys, nor the General Lee. I promise that once I'm through with them, there will be nothing broken that a trip to Cooter's garage can't fix….
A word by Vinsemouse: When Elenhin proposed the idea of linking my Bo bear with the Humming bear she had created, I thought it was a great idea. This story is what she came up with, hope y'all enjoy it as much as I did. Vinsmouse
A Humming Bear for A Duke
"No." Bo told his aunt firmly, pouting and crossing his arms over his chest. It was a show of stubbornness that would normally get him in trouble, especially when it came to eating the part of the dinner that he did not like. The kids had been raised not to be picky but to eat what was put on the table. Today however Bo had decided that he did not want any sprouts.
"Bo, eat half of them." Martha tried to bargain with him but Bo shook his head. The ten year old could compete with Maudine the mule for stubbornness at times and this was one of them. The reason Martha allowed it was because the boy was coming down with a cold and she could accept and excuse a bit of crankiness as long as it didn't go too far.
Bo was the baby of the family, though there were times when he strove to be as old and mature as his older cousin. Luke was Bo's all time hero and he wanted to grow up and be just like him. One good thing with that was that his striving to be like Luke and his natural cheeriness made him a rather easy child to handle. Still Bo was only a child and when he was scared or felt insecure or was coming down sick it showed by him craving more attention.
That was the problem more than the sprouts were. With the cold the boy had lost his appetite and he wanted to be sat down for a cuddle, not for eating dinner.
"I ain't hungry no more," he pleaded with her squirming on his chair. Reaching over to put the back of her hand against his forehead and determining that his fever had gone up a little so she decided to let him go without finishing. "Do you want to sit with me while I knit on Daisy's sweeter?" She asked and was not the slightest surprised when Bo started to nod.
"Okay then, you go get my knitting basket and I will just clear off the kitchen." Watching him as he slipped off the chair and headed into the family room to grab the basket that stood by the sewing machine before he climbed up to sit on the couch.
When Martha had finished the dishes she walked out there and smiled softly. Bo had curled up on the couch and was snuggling into the section that was supposed to the back of the sweater. Apparently he thought it was soft because he was holding it to his cheek like a child's favorite blanket. He was also holding a knitting needle and was looking at it with a small frown as if he was trying to figure out how she did it.
As she settled on the couch and watched Luke and Daisy on the floor with their homework Bo immediately sought out his due cuddle. He had always been the more huggy one of the three children. The only one Luke ever went to hug was Bo, and that was mostly because he knew Bo always wanted to be hugged.
Now Bo laid down against her with his head in her lap and kept snuggling with the section of sweater. It was amazing how he could go between cranky and cuddly so fast, but it went to prove that he got cranky when he didn't get the cuddle.
There were women who told her she spoilt Bo letting him do that, but on the other hand it went to show that he would not grow out of demonstrating his affection, and that was something Martha was more than willing to encourage. Especially when she enjoyed it herself.
Bo stayed where he was the whole evening until it was bedtime. Helping him to get ready for bed she hoped he would sleep. By now he was definitely running a fever and he was prone to nightmares when he was sick. A few years ago the trusted old teddy bear would have helped with that, but Bo had outgrown that and the only stuffed toy within reach was Billy, Luke's stuffed goat. That animal was currently in Daisy's room since the ribbons she had tied on his horns made Bo refuse to hug it. According to him Billy was a boy goat and boy goats did not wear ribbons.
As soon as Daisy left it somewhere where Bo could get to it he'd remove the ribbons to reclaim his honor as a boy goat, but for now he was made to suffer the girlishness.
Martha thought the whole thing was rather cute.
By the time Bo had said goodnight to Jesse and Daisy, and was tucked into bed hugging Martha goodnight for the tenth time Luke came in to creep down into his own bed.
"Luke, if Bo needs anything tonight you can come get us." She told him, hugging her oldest nephew.
"I know." Luke told her seriously and he had that look in his eyes that told her that he would most likely not. Luke believed in taking care of his baby cousin himself and would only get them if it was something he could not handle.
As Martha turned off the light and closed the door Luke settled on his side to watch Bo. His baby cousin kept squirming, twisting and shuffling around in the bed as he refused to sleep. Luke waited a moment to see if he would settle down, and for a moment it seemed he drifted asleep but then he sat up rapidly with a whimper.
"Bad dream?" Luke asked softly and Bo nodded.
"Scary?" Bo turned pleading eyes to him and Luke could see even in the darkness how his eyes begged.
"Don't worry Bo, I'm gonna look after ya." He told him softly, knowing all to well what Bo's reply would be.
"Can't, yer too far away Luke," Bo pointed out. Then he slipped his feet down on the floor and quickly padded over to Luke's bed. "Now ya can." He declared.
Nodding Luke spread the cover over him and wished he would bring his pillow but offered his arm to him to use instead. It was not the first time they shared a bed, and it was not always Bo who was the one upset. He had done that for Luke a time or two, even so that Luke had named him 'Bo bear' when Bo had unselfishly offered himself after Luke had lost his teddy bear.
"I don't like bad dreams." Bo mumbled as he dug his face into Luke's side.
"I'm gonna keep them away, just like ya do fer me, Bo bear." Luke smiled at him.
"Are ya gonna be a Luke bear then?" Bo asked, though it didn't sound right to him. Just then Luke started to hum one of Bo's favorite songs as a lullaby to put him to sleep and a sun bright smile lit up a fever flushed little face. "Humming bear." Bo declared as he threw his arms around his cousin.
Luke grinned, it appeared he had gotten a matching nickname for he could tell by the force in Bo's hug that it was something that would stick. Well, if Bo had agreed to be his Bo bear the least he could do was to be a humming bear in turn, and so he kept humming and hugging until Bo was asleep.
The End
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