In several stories I had written, it is mentioned that the boys were involved in a serious car accident. This is that story. After the accident, Bo didn't drive a vehicle on the road for over 3 years. He drove briefly to bring supplies over to Enos' farm house but never got over 20 miles an hour; story 'Daisy and Enos' Wedding.' He still has fears when he drives, so Luke is the one that drives all the time when they go out. All the races they entered, Luke has driven and won almost all of them. Bo and Luke are now part-time deputies. The story starts out when two men robbed The Boar's Nest so Bo, Luke and Rosco gave chase.
The boys were following the robbers down Widow's Road, with Rosco hot on their tail.
"Get on it, Bo!"
"Relax, Luke. They ain't goin' nowhere. Look where they're headed." Bo pointed to the sign as he smiled. "Widow's peak, they're gonna have to slow down, they don't know the road."
As they got closer, one of the robbers started to shoot at them.
"Luke, put your belt on. Now!" Luke looked at Bo who had a look in his eyes that Luke never saw before; total fear. Luke did as he was told.
"Give me your belt!" Bo got his belt out and Luke was trying to clasp it. The shooting continued and one of the bullets hit the driver's side front tire. Bo slowed down but he had a hard time controlling the General. Luke was still trying to clasp the belt. He got it clipped several seconds before the General went down the embankment. Bo saw the group of trees fast approaching, so Bo turned the wheel as hard as he could; so the driver's side received most of the impact.
Smoke and dust was all Rosco could see when he stopped at the top of the embankment that the boys went down. He looked down in horror, as he saw no movement from the General. He went back to his patrol car and radioed for help.
"This is Sheriff Rosco. I need two ambulances and a wrecker on Widow's Road, mile marker 12. The Duke boys went off the road, I think they're hurt." He threw down the cb mic and made his way down to the boys. The General's engine was smoking and at first glance it didn't look like much damage was done. Until he got closer and looked into the General, "oh God!" He saw that the windshield glass was all over both boys. The driver's side door was pushed in so far that it trapped Bo's left leg. Since Luke was closer, Rosco checked his pulse. Luke was unconscious with blood dripping down his forehead. Then he looked at Bo; Bo was half on top of Luke's lap and his leg was at a unnatural angle.
"Hold on, Luke." Rosco leaned over Luke and checked Bo for his pulse. He was surprised to find that it was strong. He heard the siren of the ambulance and looked up. When he saw Harley he yelled, "down here!" Rosco waved them down to where they were. Rosco grabbed the keys from the ignition and opened the trunk of the General. He grabbed a crow bar and made his way to the driver's side door. He attempted to loosen up the door; so Bo's leg could get free.
"Bo's leg is trapped." He told Glen, as Glen approached the General. Glen accessed Luke as Harley crawled into the back window to tend to Bo.
"Keep working on that door. We need to get Bo out first, before he goes into shock." Glen placed a neck collar on Luke, then checked his eyes for dilation. A few seconds later, Luke started to wake.
"Luke, don't move. You've been in a bad wreck. I need you to remain still and calm. Do you understand?"
"Yeah...Is Bo ok?" Luke looked to his left with his eyes and saw Bo's head and right arm on his lap. He was not moving. Harley saw what Luke was looking at and replied. "Luke, don't move now! We don't know how bad you're hurt."
"Bo?" Luke raised his hand and was going to touch Bo's face. Glen saw the movement and gently grabbed Luke's hand. "Don't Luke. We don't now how bad he's hurt." Glen looked at Rosco and asked. "How much longer on that door?"
"Got it!" Rosco yelled as the door fell to the ground. When the door came off, Bo woke up.
"Aahhh!" Bo screamed, then he looked around confused at what was happening.
"Bo, it's okay. Don't move, you've been in a bad wreck."
"Luke?"
"I'm right here, Bo." Luke placed his hand onto the side of Bo's face.
"Bo, I need to put a C collar on you, then we need to get you out. Do you understand?"
"Yeah." Harley could tell by how Bo was breathing, that he had broken ribs and a possible collapsed lung.
"Glen, we're ready. But we need to get this glass off of them." They brushed the windshield glass off of the boys, then Harley looked at Rosco and told him. "Rosco, we need your help to get Bo out. I need you to put your left arm under Bo's lower back and your right arm under his right leg. Glen will get on the other side. Be careful so Bo's left leg doesn't get bumped." Rosco and Glen got in place to help remove Bo from the General. "On three, we move him. One, two, three." They tried to put him gently onto the ground but it didn't work out the way they planned. When Bo was placed onto the stokes basket, his leg hit the ground, causing him to cry out.
"Bo, I'm sorry." Glen told him. Bo nodded with tears in his eyes. They finally got him up the hill and into the ambulance. Harley placed an oxygen mask on him and made his to the hospital. Glen made his way back down to Luke, just as Cooter showed up.
"Cooter, I need your help." Cooter made his way to Glen.
"Cooter, get under his shoulders. I got his legs. Be careful when you put him down." They got Luke out and placed him in a stokes basket to carry him up the embankment. Several minutes later they arrived at the hospital. Bo heard the doors to the ER open and saw them wheel in Luke. They placed him next to Bo in the exam room.
"Bo?" Luke turned his head to see him. He saw Bo turn his head and lift his hand to take off the mask. The doctor lowered Bo's hand and Bo whispered, "Luke?" Then he started to gasp for air.
"His lung collapsed, I need a syringe. Hold him down!"
The doctor placed the syringe to his side and pushed it into his lung. Bo screamed as the doctor removed the blood from his lung. Luke couldn't believe the fight that Bo was putting up. His breathing improved and the doctor announced, "Let's get him into surgery to fix those broken ribs and leg." With that, they were gone and Luke was left alone with the nurse and one doctor.
"Is he gonna be alright?"
"Honey, I don't know." Replied the nurse. "They will do everything they can. Right now we need to get you to x-ray."
When they got back from x-ray, the doctor that seen Luke went to the waiting area to let Jesse know about Luke's condition.
"Family of Lukas Duke?"
"That would be me."
"Lukas received a dislocated right shoulder, three broken ribs and several stitches to his forehead. He has a concussion as well. When he moved earlier, he ended up with a punctured lung."
"What about Bo?'
"Bo?"
"The other man who was brought in with him. He was the driver."
"I have to ask one of the nurses, I will be right back." Several minutes later the doctor returned with news on Bo."
"He's in surgery right now. The doctor that is working on him will inform you when he comes out. Sorry I can't tell you more."
"Thank you doctor. When can I see Luke?"
"He's resting now. You can see him but I ask you to let him rest."
"Yes, sir." Several hours later, Luke woke up and groaned. He looked around the room and asked Jesse.
"Where's Bo?"
"The doctor has him in another room."
"I need to see him." Luke pushed back the blankets and was about to sit up.
"Lukas, you best stay put." Jesse told him. He was surprised when Luke just glared at him. Jesse didn't say a word. When Luke was in one of those moods, it was best to leave him be.
Just then Doctor Jones came in. "Jesse, we got him stabilized but he's not out of the woods yet. He's has five broken ribs, a punctured and collapsed lung, a concussion and he received a complete fracture in his left leg; which means the leg was broken in two places. We had to place a metal rod in his leg to stabilize it. He also needed several stitches on his forehead." The doctor sighed and pushed back what little hair he had left.
"We put him in a medical induced coma, so his lungs could heal without him being in too much pain. As soon as his lungs heal, we'll slowly take him out of the coma, by reducing the amount of medicine given." He looked at the expression on Jesse's face and added, "this is normal procedure, I can't allow a patient to endure unnecessary pain."
"Is he gonna be ok?"
"Time will tell."
"I want to see him." Luke informed them.
"I can't do that now. Lukas..." Doctor Jones stopped talking, when he saw that Luke was not listening to him. Luke pushed the blankets off of himself and was about to get out of bed.
"Where do you think you're going young man?"
"Bo needs me. I'm going to see him."
"If you don't remain in bed Lukas, I will put restraints on you. You understand me, son?"
"That won't be necessary Dr. Jones." Doc Appleby came into the room and approached the bed.
"I'm going to let you share a room with him. Since Bo is in the ICU, it's basically against hospital policy but I don't see how it can hurt." Luke was situated in a bed next to Bo and the doctor checked him over before he left.
Luke looked at Bo when everyone left. There were several IV lines, one for antibiotics and one for fluids. He had a breathing tube down his throat, a feeding tube in his nose and he was connected to a heart monitor. His left leg had an external fixation devise around it. (A frame that was attached to his leg bones with pins to stabilize the leg.) Luke got out of bed and sat on the side of Bo's bed and held his hand.
"I'm sorry Bo, sorry you got hurt." Luke couldn't help but cry. Several minutes later, a nurse named Jane walked in and Luke quickly wiped his eyes.
"Luke?"
Luke looked at Jane and replied, "Yeah?"
"You should be resting." Luke nodded and let Jane guide him back into bed.
"He's gonna be fine Luke. He's young and strong. You'll see, you two will be racing the back roads in no time."
"We may never race the General again."
"What do you mean?"
"We may not be able to afford to fix him this time." The nurse nodded and patted Luke's hand.
"Don't worry about it, you'll see. You have a lot of friends in this town. Things will be alright." She gave him a small smile and checked his vitals and then Bo's vitals. She wrote down the information and turned to look at Luke. "Try to get some rest. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Jane. Thanks." She nodded and left the room and went to the nurse's station and saw Harley standing by the desk.
"Hey Harley."
"Hey Jane. How's the Duke boys?"
"Luke will be fine. Bo, was hurt pretty bad. The doctor had to put him in a medically induced coma." Harley just nodded.
"Is your shift done?" She asked.
"Yeah, I was gonna see them before I left."
"How bad was the General?"
"Driver's side was heavily damaged. The frame is still intact. He can be repaired but it will cost a lot. The way the tracks were, it looked like Bo turned the wheel the last minute, so his side would take the most impact."
She nodded and replied, "Bo was protecting him."
Harley nodded. "It looked like Bo's belt came unclipped from the buckle, when they hit the tree."
"That's how Bo got hurt so bad?"
"Yeah."
"I heard that Boss Hogg came in and covered all the bills." Replied Jane.
"Really? Seeing that's covered, I'll have Cooter ask for donations at the races, to cover the cost to repair the General." Harley looked at his watch. "I'm gonna see them for for a couple minutes."
When word got out about what happened to the boys, people gave Cooter what they could to buy the parts for the General. Even Buzz helped Cooter rebuild him and donated some parts as well. It took them several months to fix up the General.
Luke was in the hospital for 5 days. Several days later after Luke was released, it was determined that it was time to wake Bo up. The doctor lowered the amount of medicine over several days and monitored him.
"Luke, he should be waking anytime now." The doctor waited in the room on the left of Bo and Luke was on the right.
Bo was slowly waking but there was something in his throat. It hurt him, so he moved his right hand up to get whatever it was out. Someone held his hand down so he panicked, "Bo. Bo, it's ok. Open your eyes for me." Bo recogized the voice and calmed down, he slowly opened his eyes. He blinked several time to clear his vision. Luke was at his side as usual.
"Bo, there's a tube down your throat to help you breathe. The doctor's here, he'll take it out, ok?" Bo squeezed his hand.
"Bo, let's get the tube out. On the count of three, I want you to blow out a breath like you're blowing up a balloon. You understand?" Bo nodded.
"One, two, three, blow." Bo did what he was told and coughed hard for several seconds when the tube was removed. The doctor placed the tube on a tray and the nurse wiped Bo's mouth once he was done coughing. Bo laid on his back, breathing heavily almost struggling to breathe.
"He's having an asthma attack. Nurse give me his inhaler." The doctor placed the inhaler to his mouth but Bo batted the inhaler out of the doctor's hand. The inhaler slid across the floor.
"Bo, you need to calm down and take the medicine." The doctor told him as Bo was struggling to breathe. Luke picked up the inhaler and approached the doctor.
"Doctor, let me." Luke got to Bo's side and gently turned his face towards him. Bo tried to turn his head away.
"Bo? Please let me help you." Bo looked at Luke confused; he didn't realize where he was. He looked around and then finally realizing where he was, he looked at Luke and whispered. "Luke?"
"Yeah, it's me. Let me help you." Luke placed the inhaler in his mouth and Bo took the medicine several times.
"There you go." Luke smiled as Bo's breathing went back to normal. Bo gave a small grin and slowly went back to sleep.
"I'm going to let him sleep. When he wakes on his own, use the call button and I'll reaccess him then."
"Thanks, Doc."
"You're welcome, Luke." About two hours later Bo woke up. He groaned when he opened his eyes.
"Hey Bo, welcome back." Bo looked at Luke confused.
"Where was I?" Bo whispered.
"A coma."
"Why?"
"Bo, what is the last thing you remember?"
"Woke up in pain." Bo was barely keeping his eyes opened.
"Go back to sleep, Bo." Bo closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep once again. Several hours later, the nurse informed Luke that visiting hours were over, so Luke went home to get some rest. He told the nurse that if Bo should wake, just to tell him he'll be back in the morning.
Close to visiting hours the next morning, Bo woke up with a jolt. "Luke?" The last thing Bo remembered was going down an embankment. "Luke?" He looked around the room and when he didn't see Luke anywhere he panicked. He took out the oxygen tubes that were in his nose and ripped out his IV's. Blood slowly dripped out of the back of his hand. He was slowly sitting up when the nurse walked in.
"Bo! What on earth are you doing?" She gently laid him down and pressed the call button. He once again tried to sit up but she held him down.
"Listen Bo, you need to stop moving around so much. Or you'll hurt yourself more."
"Luke. He's hurt!" He once again tried to get up.
"Bo. Listen to me, he's ok. He just went home to rest, he'll be back. It's ok."
"No!" Bo shook his head and once again tried to get up. At that time the doctor came in.
"What seems to be the problem?"
"He's trying to leave. Ripped out his IV." She then whispered to the doctor, "he's looking for Luke." The doctor nodded and took the soft restraints out and handed two of them to the nurse. Before Bo could even notice, his right arm was restrained. The nurse then took a gauze to wrap his hand. She then restrained his right leg.
"No! I need to find him!" The doctor pushed up the sleeve on Bo's hospital gown and gave him a sedative.
"No! Stop! I...need to find..Luke. I have to...find him..he's...hurt." The doctor was surprised that Bo was still putting up a fight. The doctor tried to restrain his left arm but Bo got his arm lose from the doctor's grip.
"No!" Bo tried once again to get up. Since his left arm wasn't restrained, he pushed himself on his right side. This time when he moved, he tore the stitches from his side.
"Aahh." Bo screamed in pain as tears weld-up in his eyes. The doctor quickly restrained his left arm. At that point, Luke waked into the room and was surprised at the sight before him.
"Bo?" Luke walked up to the bed. The nurse moved over so Bo could see him.
"Bo?" Luke touched his face and wiped some of the tears away. Bo starred at Luke, not believing what he saw.
"Luke? You ok?"
"Yeah Bo. I'm fine." Bo tried to move his right hand so he could touch Luke's face; to reassure himself that Luke was really there. He got frustrated when he couldn't move it.
"Damn it!" He jerked his hand several times in order to free it.
"Bo, it's ok." Luke took his hand into his. "It's ok, I ain't goin' nowhere. Let's get you cleaned up huh?" Bo nodded as Luke looked at his hand. "Bo, what did you do?" Bo just starred at Luke as the sedative was taking effect.
"Bo?"
"It's ok, Luke." The doctor said. "I had to give him a sedative, to calm him down." The nurse was getting the supplies she needed to clean up Bo. The doctor left the room to get the supplies he needed to re-stitch the wound. When the doctor finished up with Bo, he asked the nurse, "You got it, Jane?"
"Yes sir, I do." The doctor left to tend to his other patients.
"Luke, can you move to the other side of him please?" Luke nodded and tried to move but Bo had a firm grip on his hand.
"Bo, I won't leave. I'm just going to the other side of the bed." Luke waited until Bo let loose of his hand and got to the other side to hold Bo's other hand. "I won't leave ya, I'll hold your hand until you wake, ok?" Bo nodded.
"Bo? Bo." The nurse waited until Bo looked at her.
"I need to remove your catheter now." Luke winced a little, he knew that it was going to hurt. She removed the top sheet and gently took out the catheter. Bo squeezed Luke's hand as more tears fell.
"I'm sorry honey, I know it hurts." She pulled down his gown and went to get another gown and top sheet; plus other supplies.
"Bo, I have to change..." She stopped mid-sentence because Bo had fallen asleep.
"I'll help you." Luke told her.
"Thanks, Luke." She removed the restraints and she slowly cleaned Bo. As she changed the bottom sheet and pad, Luke and her talked.
"What happened?"
"I'm not too sure. I came in and saw Bo trying to get up. Hold him on his side."
"Like this?"
"Yeah, Luke." She pushed the dirty sheets under Bo, then placed the clean sheet on and tucked it under the dirty one. "Roll him on his back, watch his leg." They got him on his back and the nurse removed the old sheet and pad and got the new ones in place.
"Now for his gown." She removed his gown then got the clean gown on and placed the restraints back on.
"Are those necessary?"
"I'm sorry Luke, they are. Doctor's orders." She saw the look on Luke's face and added, "It's for his own safety Luke."
"I know, but what happened?"
"He was going to look for you, thought you were still hurt. Sometimes a patient who just wakes up from a bad accident gets confused on the time. He may have forgotten that you were here earlier. He may of even thought that he dreamt it." Luke nodded then sat down holding Bo's left hand.
"Did you eat yet?"
"A little."
"I'll bring you something. Could you stay with him today?"
"Yeah, I will. Could you call Jesse for me, tell him what happened?"
"Sure, Luke. Do you need any help on the farm?"
"Coy came over to help because I can't do much yet. But yeah, we do need some help. Bo had bought some sheep and horses that need tending to. Plus planting is coming up in April. We can't pay much, though."
"Let me know when you need help, I know some people that can help."
"Thank you, Jane."
"I'll be right back." About ten minutes later Jane came back with a tray of food. When she walked in the room she noticed that Luke was still holding Bo's hand.
"You going to hold his hand until he wakes?" Luke looked up at her and replied.
"I promised him that." She set his tray on the table and moved it closer to him.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome, Luke." She checked Bo's vital signs and wrote it down in his chart.
"I'll be back to check on him in an hour." Luke nodded and she left.
Bo woke up two hours later. He looked around the room and saw Luke sitting in a chair next to his bed.
"Luke?"
"I'm here Bo." Bo tried to lift his hand but he found that he couldn't move it.
"What's goin' on?"
"You apparently tried to leave, to look for me." Bo looked at his wrists and frowned when he saw that his hand was wrapped.
"You ripped out your IV."
"Could I get some water?"
"Yeah." Luke took the pitcher of water off the night stand and filled the glass up. He placed the straw into Bo's mouth and Bo drank some.
"My leg hurts."
"I'll get the doctor." Luke used the call button and the doctor came in about a minute later.
"Good, you're awake."
"He told me his leg hurt." The doctor checked his IV and gave him some pain medicine.
"That should help. Bo, do you remember the accident?"
"I remember chasin' someone in the General with Luke. The tire got shot out, hit a tree and I woke up in pain."
"Ok, that's good that you remember some of the events before we put you in a coma." The doctor picked up Bo's wrist to check his pulse. Then he checked his stitches.
"I'll let you rest now. Use the call button if you need to."
"Thanks Doc, he will." Luke told the doctor, when it was evident that Bo wasn't going to respond. Bo fell asleep again.
Luke waited several minutes, then left to find the doctor. "Doctor Jones, is it normal for Bo to sleep this much?"
"It is. He suffered sever injuries, sleeping is the body's way of healing. He's still under the effects of the sedative. Plus he has a lot of pain medicine in him, it's going to make him tired. Don't worry Luke, we're monitoring him."
"Thank you." The doctor nodded.
"It will take time Luke but Bo will recover." With that, the doctor left to tend to his other patients. While Luke went back to Bo's room. Luke was still sitting with Bo when Harley came in.
"Hey, Luke. How's Bo?" Harley whispered.
"I think he's getting better."
When Harley saw the restraints, he asked. "Did he try to leave?"
"Yeah. He got confused, wanted to look for me. Ended up pulling out his I.V. and tore some stitches."
"Dang that's gotta hurt."
"No doubt about that."
"I talked to some guys I know. In April when you need help with planting, you let me know and I can get you 10 guys to help. They have tractors and are willing to help, at no charge."
"I'll do that. Seeing it will take Bo time to recover. Thank you." They talked for several minutes, then Harley had to check in. About an hour later Bo woke up.
"Luke, I have to go to the bathroom." Luke pressed the call button and Nurse Jane came in.
"He told me he had to go to the bathroom." Jane took down the urine bottle for Bo to use. Bo just looked at it and shook his head. Jane knew that he was embarrassed, Luke saw it too.
"Jane, could I just do it?"
"Luke, it's against.." She stopped mid-sentence, sighed and told Luke. "Don't dump it out, I need to record the output on his chart." Even though it was against the rules, she stepped out of the room. Luke pushed aside the sheet and pulled up his gown. When he was done, Luke covered him back up and went to open the door. Jane walked in and recorded the information in his chart.
"Do you need anything else Bo?"
"Can you take these off? I'll behave, I promise." He said that as he lifted his arm to show her the restraints.
"I'll talk to the doctor. I'll be right back." She left to get the doctor. Several minutes later the doctor came in.
"How you feeling Bo?"
"Better. I promise I won't try to leave again. Not until you clear me to."
"That's good, seeing I know you have a history of doing just that."
"I won't leave." The doctor removed the restraints and told him. "I trust that you won't break your word."
"I won't break my word." The doctor left and several minutes later, the nurse walked in with Bo's lunch. She also bought in a tray for Luke. After they ate, Bo closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Several hours later Bo woke up again and looked around. Luke turned to Bo and asked him, "Are you alright Bo? You ain't in pain, are ya?"
"No Luke, I ain't in pain. How are we going to pay for this?"
"Don't worry about it Bo." Luke held up his hand; signaling Bo not to interrupt him, "Boss Hogg, of all people paid the bill and the bills for any follow up visits."
"You're kidding me?"
"No Bo, I ain't."
"Well, I'll be." Bo smiled a little. "I'm glad we don't have to put up the farm again. We're finally making a decent living off of it."
"Go that right." Bo pushed himself up a little, wincing at the pain from his side. Luke saw his reaction.
"Do you need me to get the doctor?"
"No, I'll be fine. The pain meds make me tired. I'm sick of sleeping so much." As they were talking, Daisy walked into the room.
"Daisy?" Luke replied surprised as he looked up, when he heard the door open. Both were smiling as she walked into the room.
"I'm sorry it took so long to get here."
"It's okay, hon." Bo replied.
"I surprised you're still here."
"I gave my word that I'd behave." Daisy gave a sad smile, so Bo motioned her over. "Come here, hon." She walked up to him and they hugged for several seconds. She turned to Luke and hugged him as well.
"We don't have a phone..." "Honey, it's okay. We're alright." Luke tried to ease her guilt but it wasn't working. They talked for several hours, before she had to make her way back to Blairsville for the rodeo.
The following day, Luke was working in the barn when a feisty Maudean kicked him in the stomach. Luke fell to his knees in pain. The force was so hard that she broke two ribs that were healing. Luke made his way to the house but only got halfway before he collapsed. Jesse was on his way out, when he saw Luke go down.
"Luke!" Jesse ran to him and knelt down. "Luke?"
"Damn mule kicked me."
"Hold on boy, I'll call for help." Jesse ran into the house and called for an ambulance. Several minutes later, Harley and Glen arrived. Harley knelt down next to Luke; who was barely conscious.
"He's in shock." Harley told Glen, as he looked into Luke's eyes and saw that his pupils were enlarged. "Let's load him up."
Jesse arrived at the hospital 10 minutes after Luke.
"Jesse! I've been trying to call you." When Doctor Petticord saw how pale Jesse was, he took ahold of Jesse's arm and lead him to a chair.
"Jesse?" Doc Petticord guided Jesse to sit down.
"Harley just brought Luke in."
"Jess, I'm sorry." Jesse wiped his tears away.
"What were you going to tell me?" Doc pushed his hair back, not wanting to tell Jesse the bad news.
"Bo took a turn for the worst. One of his wounds got infected and he developed a fever. The fever became dangerously high and he went into shock. We drained the wound and he's on a high dose of antibiotics. The good news is, his fever is slowly coming down." Jesse held his head in his hands.
"I can't lose them boys." Doc rubbed Jesse's back in an attempt to comfort him.
"Jess, we are doing everything we can. His body received so much trauma, there's not much we can do for him, except to keep him monitored."
An alternate plain
Luke woke up and looked around. He was laying in a field, bathed in a soft white light. For the first time in two weeks, he felt no pain. He looked towards the tree line and saw someone standing there, just looking at him. Luke made his way towards the figure. As he got closer, he smiled.
"Hey, Luke. Why are you here?"
"Don't know." Luke looked around. "Where are we?"
"Limbo, I guess." Bo smiled, took ahold of Luke's hand and lead him into the woods. Luke's smile got wider, when he saw what Bo wanted to show him. The General was sitting in a small grass field, bathed in a yellow soft light. It was like he was almost glowing.
"Wow!" Luke walked up to the General and placed his hand on the roof. "I don't remember him looking so good." Bo leaned into the General and started him up.
"Sounds good too." Bo replied as they listened to the engine for a minute, before he shut it off. Bo sat on the hood and stared at the ground.
"What's wrong, Bo?"
"I can't stay for long."
"I know. Neither can I."
"I don't want to hurt anymore, Luke." Luke looked at Bo and gently lifted his head, so he was looking at him.
"I'm sorry, Bo. I really am. We don't have a choice."
"Why not?"
"You want to give up?" Silence.
"Bo, answer me." When Bo remained silent, Luke got worried. "Bo?" Bo looked at Luke with a blank stare. "Bo?"
"I'm hot."
Luke gently placed his hand onto the side of Bo's face, when Bo suddenly jerked away from him. Bo fell to the ground, as Luke watched in horror as convulsions overtook Bo. "Bo!"
Hospital
As Doc sat with Jesse, the call alarm went off outside of Bo's room. Doc said nothing to Jesse but ran to Bo's room and saw that Bo was having a febrile seizure.
"Grab as many ice packs as you can find." Doc told Jane after she administered another cold IV. She quickly left the room and came back with a cooler full of ice packs. They both placed the ice packs around Bo, then covered him with a cooling blanket. Both never noticed that Jesse had walked into the room.
Limbo
Several minutes later Bo woke up. "Bo, you okay?"
"I'm so hot." Luke picked up Bo and carried him to a pond. He gently placed him in the water and got behind him, to hold his head out of the water. Bo was fully immersed in the pond, with Luke holding his head above the water.
"Just relax, Bo. I got ya." Bo smiled as he slowly went to sleep. Close to an hour later, Luke noticed that Bo started to stir.
"Bo?" Bo slowly opened his eyes and looked at Luke.
"I'm so tired, Luke."
"I know but you can't give up on me."
"I won't." Bo closed his eyes once again, as Luke held him in his arms.
Hospital
"I don't understand this, Doc. They both were doing good and now this?"
"We are doing everything..."
"I know! You're doing everyth..." Jesse stopped mid-sentence. "I'm sorry. I just.."
"No need, Jesse. I understand."
Jane walked up to Jesse and told him. "Jesse, let me take you home." Jesse looked at her and nodded. Jane walked Jesse to her car and drove him home.
"Thanks, Jane." Jesse looked around the empty house as a tear went down his cheek.
"Jesse, would you like me to stay overnight?"
"I'm not sure if that would be appropriate."
"If you need anything, you give me a call."
"I will. Thanks." Jane made her way home, while Jesse went to bed.
Limbo
Bo woke up and saw that Luke had fallen asleep next to him. They were both half in the water and half on-shore.
"Luke?" Luke opened his eyes and starred at Bo, without saying a word. "Luke?" Luke closed his eyes and fell back to sleep. Bo watched Luke sleep for several minutes before he fell back asleep.
Hospital; the next day
Doc Petticord made the call that Jesse was waiting on. "Right now they're in a light coma. Basically a deep sleep. I expect them to wake within a couple days."
"Thank you, Amos." Jesse; knowing he couldn't do anything at the hospital, went to the barn to do the chores. As he was feeding the chickens, a truck pulled up.
"Mornin' Jake."
"Mornin' Jesse. I'm here to help you with the animals and anything else you need."
"Why thank you, Jake." Jesse looked around and asked. "Could you maybe chop some wood? I'm getting low and it's fixin' to become cold."
"No problem." Jake looked around and saw the ax near the barn. "Where's the wood that needs to be cut?"
"Up behind the barn." Jesse showed him where it was and added. "Could you stack it up near the house?"
"Sure thing."
"I hate to be a bother to you. You having a young family and all."
"Jesse, what are neighbors and friends for?" Jake turned and grabbed a log. "Best get at it." Jesse nodded and went back to feeding the animals. Jesse had the same routine for several days. He woke up, tended to the animals and then went to the hospital for several hours. Today was different.
It felt like hours but it was several days when Luke woke up. Several minutes later, Bo woke. Luke looked around and saw Bo waking up.
"Bo?" Bo looked at Luke confused.
"Are we?"
"I think we're back." Bo nodded at Luke's responce. Several minutes later, Doc Petticord walked into the room. He was surprised to find them awake. He smiled as he walked up to Bo.
"You're awake!" Doc tried to contain his joy but he couldn't. He patted Bo's hand in excitement, then he went over to Luke and did the same thing. "Oh, Jesse is going to be so happy." He stood there smiling for several minutes. "Sorry, we were so worried about you two." Doc finally got himself composed and checked Bo's pulse, heartbeat and temperature then did the same for Luke.
"Everything looks good." Doc recorded the information onto their chart. As he was writing, Jesse walked in the room.
"Doc?"
"Jesse. I was about to call you." Jesse stood there not saying a word as he looked at his boys.
"Jesse?" Jesse looked at Doc.
"Sorry, I um." He walked up to Bo; who was closest and gave him a hug. He held him for several minutes before he made his way to Luke.
"Jess, it's okay." Luke whispered to him.
"I almost lost you two."
"We'll be alright." Luke told him as he rubbed Jesse's back. Jesse finally composed himself and sat down onto a chair.
"How you feeling?" Jesse asked the both of them.
"Sore." Was all Bo replied. Jesse nodded.
"You've been through a lot." Jesse looked at Luke. "And you?"
"Ribs are sore. How are you holding up?"
"Jake has been helping me the last couple of days. He's going to help comes time to plant."
"What about his farm?" Bo asked.
"Several other neighbors are going to help as well." They talked for almost an hour before Jesse had to make his way home.
"How you holding up, Bo?" Luke asked when Jesse went home.
"Still sore but I'll be fine."
"You regret coming back?" Bo looked at Luke.
"No. Do you?"
"Nope, because you're here." Bo grinned at that. Several days later, Luke was once again released from the hospital. Bo was improving so before he was released, he had to see a physical therapist.
"Let's sit you up." The physical therapist helped Bo sit up on the bed, with his legs over the egde of the bed. As Bo sat up start he felt nauseous.
"I think I'm going to be sick." Bo told her.
"That's normal. Your body is used to laying flat. It will take a couple of minutes for you to get use to sitting up." After sitting still for several minutes, Bo told her. "I'm going to be sick." She was expecting that, so she had the basin handy.
"You okay?" Bo nodded as he held his stomach. "I'm going to let you sit up for several more minutes." He sat for five minutes before he felt better.
"How are you feeling?"
"Better."
"Today, we will be working on your upper body strength. You will have to use a wheechair for a couple of weeks. Only until your leg heals." After they were done with their session, she showed him several exercises that he could do at home. He had to go to therapy three times a week, until his leg healed.
When he got home, several dozen friends and family threw them a welcome home party. The only one missing was Daisy. She was on the road with L.D., with the rodeo.
Several stories that were posted earlier are based on the events that happened in this story.