Ok Ya'll another long chapter but I think that "Alone" was anxious to see it so I made it longer than the first few.

I'm still not getting enough reviews...Would love some more...

I don't own anyone in this except the 2 out of town girls.

The rest are borrowed soley for the purpose of story entertainment.

Hope you like it !

Thanks to the few who have reviewed already.

Bo had been looking out the window every 10 seconds all night long. It was almost midnight when Cooter's truck pulled in towing Cherokee's car behind it.

The hairs on Bo's neck stood up as he raced out the door toward the truck and headed straight for the passenger door pulling it open a little more urgent than he'd intended. "Cherokee? You ok? What happened?" Bo fired questions at her.

"I'm fine Bo. I just got lost and when I came upon Cooter he offered to give me a ride"

"Oh, I see" Bo said skeptically as he looked from her to Cooter.

Cherokee started to climb down from the truck when Bo held his hand out to help her. She started to refuse when Bo gave her a look and said

"I'm only trying to help. Please let me."

She looked in his bright blue eyes and sighed allowing him to take her hand and assist her from the truck. But as soon as her feet hit the ground she moved away so as not to give Bo any chance to touch her anywhere else. If he tried to hug her, it would be all over.

Bo watched her for a second before turning to Cooter "Hey thanks Cooter, are ya hungry? We got some leftovers in the house"

"No problem. What ya got?"

"Uncle Jesse's famous crawdad bisque"

"Oh Bo, you sure do know my weakness but I best be gittin' on back to the garage" Cooter said as he lowered Cherokee's car to the ground.

Just then Luke and Heather emerged from the house.

"Hey Cooter, how are ya?" Luke asked.

"Lucas ducas, I'd be a lot better if'n I had some of that crawdad bisque of Uncle Jesse's in my gut"

"Well come on in and have some"

"No, I gotta be gittin' back to the garage. Gotta a lotta work to do"

"Well at least take a plate to go" Bo said.

"Alright, I think I can find room in here for it" Cooter said pattin his stomach.

"I'll get it" Heather said as she winked at Cherokee and headed for the house.

Luke turned to Cherokee " You have car trouble?"

"No, I got lost and Cooter helped me out"

"Oh, well that was mighty nice of ya Cooter." Luke said.

"Yeah, we're much obliged to ya" Bo added.

"Think nothing of it" Cooter replied.

Just then Heather came out and handed him a steaming plate covered with tin foil. "I warmed it up in case you want to eat on the way home"

"Thank ya kindly."

"Sure thing" Heather said before turning to Cherokee "You must be hungry too. Let's go on in and get you a plate" Heather threw her arm around Cherokee as they started for the house.

Cherokee turned one last time and hollered "Thanks again Cooter"

"Your Welcome" Cooter hollered back as Cherokee and Heather disappeared inside.

Bo immediately turned to Cooter "Is she ok? What happened?"

"She just stopped to ask for directions and it happened to be me she was askin'. Although she didn't know that at first. I had my head buried in an engine"

"Oh" Bo said.

"But I'd keep my eye on her. I think she might be ailin or something"

"Why's that?" Luke asked

"Well, I was working under the hood of an out of town car and she was standin behind me. When I closed the hood and turned to her she about fainted. If I had been standin any farther away, she woulda hit the ground like a sack of taters"

"What? Why?" Bo said with extreme concern.

Luke stepped up next to Bo and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Now Bo, calm down. She's fine. You saw her walk in the house. She wasn't staggerin and she didn't look light headed neither. She's ok"

"But Luke"

"Bo…" Luke cut him off. "Look at me."

He waited for Bo to look him in the eye. "She's ok" Luke said and waited for Bo to acknowledge that fact.

Bo finally sighed and shook his head "Alright, alright"

Cooter watched this exchange with interest. "What's goin on ya'll?"

"It's kinda complicated Cooter" Luke said.

"No it ain't. I love her and she don't want me to" Bo said with sarcasm.

"Now Bo……" Luke started.

"Well, it's the truth Luke" Bo replied.

Cooter looked confused.

Luke took it upon himself to explain. "Bo tried to tell her how he felt about her earlier today and she walked away from him. When he caught up with her she took off highly upset. Bo's been pacin around here like a caged animal ever since worryin about her"

"Oh that must be what she meant by she needed alone time. That's what she told me when I asked why she was out by herself." Cooter said.

"Yeah that's what she said when she took off. I just wish I knew what was really going on. Heather makes it sound like she's in some kind of trouble." Bo said.

"Don't worry Bo, sooner or later we'll know. I'm keeping my eyes peeled" Luke said.

"Ya'll want me to be on the lookout" Cooter asked, Always up for excitement.

"Just keep your ears open Cooter and let us know if you hear of anything out of the ordinary." Luke said.

"Will do good buddy, will do. But right now I best git goin"

"Ok, see ya Cooter" Luke said.

"Bye now" Bo hollered as they watched Cooter drive down the long drive way.

When he was out of sight Bo turned to Luke with a concerned yet heartbroken look on his face. Luke threw an arm over Bo's shoulder and headed him toward the house. "Come on Bo, It'll be ok. Just keep your temper down and your questions to a minimum ok"

"Ok Luke, if you say so"

"That's my cousin, now come on it's late. Let's get some rest"

They walked in the house and stopped momentarily in the kitchen where Heather and Cherokee sat at the table chatting. "It's getting late so we're gonna head on to bed. Just leave the door unlocked for Daisy when you turn in. She'll be coming home from work." Luke said .

"We sure will" Heather said.

Luke walked over and gave Heather a slow sweet kiss. When he pulled away he looked in her eyes and softly said. "Good night sweetheart"

"Good night" Heather said as she gazed back at him. He finally pulled away and headed for the hallway. He called back over his shoulder "Night Cherokee"

"Night Luke" Cherokee hollered back as she turned to look at him. When she did she caught Bo standing in the doorway to the hall staring at her. She shifted uneasily in her chair and said "Night Bo"

Bo stared at her for a few more minutes not saying anything.

When Luke silently put a hand on his shoulder he said "Night Darlin, Sweet dreams" He lingered a moment more before finally turning and walking down the hall to his and Luke's room.

Cherokee watched him walk away and then turned back to Heather with a blush in her cheeks.

Heather smiled softly before concern crept into her blue eyes.

She softly spoke "Are you ok?"

Cherokee sighed. "No, I don't think I am"

"You want to talk about it?"

"Heather, I saw Kevin's car"

"When?" Heather asked alarmed.

"Tonight"

"What? Where?"

"Well I got lost and I came upon Cooter under the hood of a car. He offered to help me out so I waited for him to finish with his job. When he shut the hood I almost fainted, It was Kevin's car. It had them fuzzy picture dice hanging in the window"

"Are you sure? A lot of people have fuzzy picture dice."

Cherokee got a little annoyed "Heather I know it was his car. I'd know it anywhere. And besides, it had those pictures of us in it. The ones with you and Danny and me and Kevin"

"Oh god" Heather sighed quietly as it finally hit her.

"Did they see you?"

"No, I don't know where they were I didn't see em'. Of course I kinda hid behind Cooter's truck for as long as I could." Cherokee informed her.

"Well let's hope they were nowhere around. Because if they saw you..."

"Heather Stop………….The sooner we leave the better. Cooter said that our car would be done by the day after tomorrow and if we can just lay low until then maybe they won't find us. Let's just hope that Cooter keeps that car out of sight." Cherokee said as she held her hands up.

"But Cherokee I don't want to leave. I feel like I've finally found a home here, not only a home but ……..I've found Luke. And now that I've got what I've always wanted…….I don't want to lose it." Heather said as her lips started to tremble.

Cherokee was on the verge of tears as well "Don't you think I know that this is the best we've ever had? I love it here and I love being with Bo but if we stay…. Their gonna find us and if they find us, you know what will happen"

"No ma'am I'm afraid I don't, What'll happen?" Cherokee whipped around to see Bo leaning against the door jamb looking at her "And while we're at it, who are they?" Bo said as he came over and sat down backwards in a chair next to her.

He folded his arms across the back of the chair and looked at her with concern and annoyance on his face.

Cherokee got a little flustered and looked down at her nervous fingers. "Bo, don't do this."

"Do what?"

"This. Don't start something you can't finish"

"I can finish anything that comes my way especially when it concerns someone I care about"

"Bo, Please……."Cherokee's voice started to crack.

"No, now dang it Cherokee. You gotta admit this is getting a might ridiculous. Your pushing me away as hard as you can and I ain't done nothing wrong" he said angrily.

"Believe it or not Bo, I'm doing this for your own good." Cherokee said as she tried to stay calm.

"Oh please, spare me alright. All I want to do is get close to you and show you how special you are to me. Now don't that count fer something ?" he said, sarcasm apparent in his voice.

Cherokee got angry, really angry.

She jumped to her feet, pushed her chair backwards as she did so and slammed her hands down on the table

"Your right Bo, That should count for something but pardon me if everything doesn't revolve around YOU and YOUR feelings."

Heather tried to step in "Cherokee, calm down."

Just then Luke stepped out into the kitchen after being awakened by the shouting. "What's goin on out here?" He asked sleepily.

"Hell, I don't know Luke." Bo said.

Cherokee was shocked "You don't know? Well, that just proves my point. Your not even listening so why bother to ask"

"Just hang on a second" Luke said as he put his hands up to calm Cherokee down. Cherokee backed away as quickly as she could with a frightened expression.

Luke saw this and stopped "Whoa, it's alright"

"NO, IT'S NOT ALRIGHT" Cherokee yelled.

"Cherokee please calm down." Heather tried to soothe her.

"What do you mean calm down? Heather you know what we're up against. How can you just sit there like your not even concerned?" Cherokee accused

"Concerned about what?" Bo hollered.

"Bo, stay out of it" Heather warned.

Bo jumped up angry.

He slammed his hands on the table and yelled "NO, I'M TIRED OF BEING TOLD TO STAY OUT OF IT"

When he did this Cherokee jumped so high she stumbled into her chair behind her and fell backwards into Heather who tried to catch her but ended up on the floor with her.

Bo immediately went to help her but was quickly stopped by Luke when Cherokee started screaming "NO" and clawing at Heather to get away.

"Bo hold up………. Bo stop. It's ok Bo………….It's ok"

When he finally got Bo to stand back and Cherokee quit screaming he looked to Heather for some kind of answer.

Bo was looking very confused and worried as he looked at Cherokee huddled in Heather's arms.

Heather just continued to stroke Cherokee's hair as she hushed her with quiet words.

When Cherokee's breathing finally calmed considerably she looked up at Bo and Luke who were still staring back at her.

She was in the process of getting to her feet when Daisy walked in, her eyes got as big as saucers "What's goin on?"

Cherokee walked around the table away from Bo but toward Daisy and the door "You want to know what's goin on? I'll tell you what's goin on. Your cousin doesn't know how to keep his nose on his own face" Cherokee said heatedly and took off out the door.

"Now wait just a damn minute………….." Bo hollered as he took off after her.

Heather immediately jumped to her feet as she hollered for Bo to stop. When he didn't listen she turned to Luke.

"Luke please stop him. If he touches her she'll flip. Please Luke, Please"

Without a word Luke took off after Bo but unfortunately he was to late.

He came out just in time to see Bo grab ahold of Cherokee's shoulder.

Cherokee started screaming like a banshee and fighting for all she was worth. She swung at Bo numerous times and managed to land a few good punches. Bo was not fighting back but he was not letting go either.

Cherokee continued to hit him as she broke into tears "No, let me go. Let me go. Please, I won't run please……." Cherokee stopped hitting. She started to sink to the ground, Bo held her up.

"What? Run? What are you talking about?" Bo questioned.

Cherokee was sobbing now "Please, I'm sorry. I won't go anywhere I promise. Please just let me go……….Heather Help me" She yelled.

"Cherokee, What's goin on?" Bo asked

"HEATHER" Cherokee hollered again.

Just then Luke came up and took ahold of Bo's left arm as Heather touched his right. Heather looked him right in the eyes and made her frantic final plea "Bo, I'll explain everything I promise just let her go."

When he hesitated she continued "Please"

Bo finally released his hold on her. Heather caught her and lowered her to the ground while Luke backed Bo away from them.

"Cherokee, it's Heather….It's alright….I'm right here….Your safe…..I won't let anything happen to you……I'm right here…..Shhh, I'm here……" Heather looked at Bo and Luke wide eyed as she whispered these words into Cherokee's ear.

The boys just stared at them and Daisy watched all this from behind the boys.

"Alright, what's goin on?" Luke spoke quietly.

Heather looked up at him. "I told you on our picnic that we had some circumstances back home that we had to get away from"

"Yeah, but I think we deserve more than that." Luke said.

"She's screamin like I was tryin to hurt her." Bo said astonished.

"She thought you were"

" I would never…………"

Heather cut him off "I know that Bo and so does she but in her mind it wasn't you who was holding her"

"Come again?" Bo questioned.

"It was Kevin"

"Kevin?" Luke asked.

"Kevin was her boyfriend back home. He was not a nice man. She ran from him a year ago and she's been runnin ever since"

"What do you mean?" Daisy spoke up

"Kevin has found us everywhere we go and when he finds us, it's not a pretty sight. I always try to help but Kevin brings my ex Danny with him. Danny's not as mean as Kevin but he does what Kevin tells him to. So he never let me get anywhere near enough to help her." Heather said through her tears.

"You mean to tell me that he beat on her?" Bo asked as his temper started to rise.

Luke put a hand on his shoulder to calm him "Settle Bo"

Bo took a step back and held out his hands to show Luke that he was calm.

Heather continued. "Not did,……..Still does. We run every time but every time he finds us. And each time he does, it gets worse. We tried the police back home but he only got 30 days and then he was back at it. We were runnin from him when we came to Hazzard and met up with ya'll. Anyone touches her when she's like this and she loses it."

"But your touching her" Daisy said.

"I'm the only one who can, I guess because I've always been there to help her run"

"I'll kill him…" Bo started.

Luke put a hand out warningly "Bo…………" Bo turned to Luke.

Luke saw the tears in his eyes and heard the crack in his voice.

"Awww Luke, She thinks I tried to hurt her"

"No Bo, she wasn't thinking. She thought it was this Kevin guy"

"But it was me, She's gonna hate me. Luke I don't think I could handle that"

"No, she won't hate you. We'll get this all straightened out I promise."

Tears were starting to run down Bo's cheeks and Luke looked into his eyes to reassure him "I promise, ok?"

Bo shook his head yes as they hugged each other tight and then turned back to face Heather and Cherokee.

Cherokee was seeming to be back to her old self again as she dried her eyes, embarrassed. She had not heard what Heather had told them. "Uh,…. I'm sorry. I don't know what happened but I know from past experience that when I wake up on the ground cryin with everyone looking at me, it ain't good." she said as she got to her feet.

"Oh darlin, I ……" Bo started as he stepped toward her.. She jumped back and Bo stopped "I ain't gonna hurt ya, I promise"

"What?" Cherokee asked.

Heather spoke up "I told them."

Cherokee turned to her "What? How could you do that?"

"How could she not?" Luke spoke up

"Pardon?"

"Heck you slugged Bo so hard he dang near fell backward and coming from a little lady like you that ain't easy. Now, I think we deserve an explanation for that if nothing else, don't you?"

Cherokee turned to look at Bo, who smiled and showed her his red and puffy cheek "Yep, gonna have a shiner in the morning for sure'" Bo laughed.

Cherokee's mouth got wide "Oh Bo, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it"

"I know, it's ok."

"No it's not. I didn't want to involve ya'll. I'm sorry"

"Shoot darlin, I was involved from the minute I saw ya. And there ain't nothing you could'a done to stop it. I fell hard and I'm still tryin to pick up the pieces"

"Oh Bo……….." Cherokee said through her tears

"She saw him tonight…………"

Cherokee whipped around and stared at Heather

"Saw who?" Luke asked.

"Kevin, well not him actually but his car. Which means he's got to be near by" Heather answered.

"Heather………." Cherokee tried to stop her

"No Cherokee, now enough is enough. This has got to stop and if we keep running it's never gonna end. He'll just keep finding us. I don't know about you but I'd like some semblance of a real life. Not this life on the run that we been leadin."

"Honey, look at me" Bo said to Cherokee "He aint' gonna hurt you no more. I'll make sure of it"

"You don't know what he's capable of. He'll kill us both"

"I'd like to see him try" Luke stepped up

"Me too" Daisy added.

"Me three" Uncle Jesse said from the porch where he'd been standin.

They all turned to him "Uncle Jesse, how long you been there?" Luke asked.

"Long enough to know that there's two fella's out there who are gonna be awful sorry they ever came to Hazzard County"

Everyone smiled.

"That's right nice of all of you but I can't let you put yourselves out over us" Cherokee said.

"You ain't letting us do anything. I'm doin it wether you like it or not so you might as well help me out instead of fightin me all the way" Bo stated matter of factly……

Cherokee stared at him for a few minutes before turning to Heather who shook her head in agreement with the Dukes. She looked back to Bo "Thankyou" she whispered quietly.

"Alright now that's my girl………………Can I hug you?"

"No, Bo I "

"Cherokee please, I need to feel your arms around me right now. I need to know that your ok. I hurt you and I'm sorry for that. I need to know that you forgive me"

"There's nothing to forgive Bo, you didn't hurt me. I thought you were Kevin"

"You know I wouldn't hurt you for anything in the world don't you?"

As her tears fell she shook her head yes and said "I know"

"Then please, let me hug you?"

Cherokee hesitated only a second before agreeing. "Alright………." she hesitated as Bo wrapped his arms around her. He started to squeeze gently and Cherokee let out a shrill shriek and jumped out of his grasp.

"AAAAAhhhhhhhhhh"

Bo was stunned "What?"

Heather stepped in "She's bruised Bo, Look"

Heather started to raise Cherokee's shirt a little.

Cherokee fought her "No Heather don't" But she was to late Bo, Luke, Daisy, and Jesse had all seen the bruises.

"Oh my" Daisy gasped

"Good Lord" Luke spoke

"Holy Mackerel" Jesse said.

"Oh darlin, ………………..I'm gonna kill him" Bo said as he stared at the bruises. They were all over her back, sides, and stomach.

"She's got them on her legs to . Why do you think she never wears shorts?" Heather asked.

"Cherokee this has to stop. Let us help…." Daisy said.

"She's right gal, these fella's need to be stopped." Jesse said with age old wisdom.

"We won't let anything happen to neither one of ya" Luke added.

Bo held out his hand and waited for Cherokee to take it "Trust me?"

Cherokee looked from him to everyone else then finally back to Bo. Their eyes connected and she slowly took his hand.

Very softly and Very gently he pulled her into a hug being careful not to aggravate her bruises. He stood there like that for a very long time just holding her and running his fingers through her hair. She buried her head in his shoulder and cried.

Bo sighed and with tears running freely down his cheeks, and without letting her out of his grasp, he spoke. "I love you Cherokee. And I'll never let anything happen to you. You can take that to the bank"

Luke put his arm around Heather and walked inside. Jesse and Daisy followed leaving Bo and Cherokee alone. Cherokee felt so much love and comfort in Bo's embrace that she never wanted to let go.

So, they stood there for a good long while and when Bo finally pulled back she looked into his bright blue eyes shimmering with tears and she knew that for the first time in a long time, She'd found a home!

Heather and Luke had curled up on the couch together and fell asleep. Jesse was in his room reading the bible, as he did every night. And Daisy was at the kitchen window watchin Bo and Cherokee.

Jesse saw the light in the kitchen but heard no noise so he went to check it out. There he found Daisy leaning against the windowsill peering outside. He quietly came up behind her "Hey girl, You alright?"

Daisy whipped around to look her uncle in the face.

"You look like you been a cryin, What's the matter?" Jesse asked.

"Oh Uncle Jesse………" Daisy hugged him.

"There, There. You wanna tell me what this is all about?" He said as he stroked her hair.

Daisy lifted her head up to look at her uncle. Slowly she pulled away to look out the window again. "Uncle Jesse, you know them guys that Heather was talkin bout' ? That Kevin and Danny?"

"Yeah"

"Well, I saw them tonight at the Boars Nest"

"You sure?"

"I'm positive, They asked me if I'd seen their friends. They gave me a description but it wasn't one that matched Heather and Cherokee so I told em' I hadn't seen em"

"Well, if the description didn't match then what makes you so sure it was them?"

"Well, now that I'm looking at em' and they've told us their story, I can see the resemblance. It's just small differences"

"What differences?"

"Well, their hair. Them guys said one had straight hair and the other permed both blonde with brown tints. Look at them Uncle Jesse, Their both dark haired. No perms, And no tints at all. And their names, the guys called em' Ann and Dawn"

"Well, that ain't their names"

"No, but I'm bettin they would answer to em"

"Now Daisy don't go accusing unless your 100 percent sure"

"I'm sure Uncle Jesse, I just got this gut feelin. I know it's them"

"Did you say anything to Luke or Bo?"

"No sir, I didn't catch on to it until after that little ruckus outside. It was then that it hit me and it didn't seem like the right time to be letting that cat outta the bag if ya know what I mean"

"I know what ya mean. But maybe it's best if ya don't tell the boys just yet"

"You think?"

"Maybe you should make sure they are who ya think they are before you go ruffling everyone's feathers"

"Yeah, I guess your right" Daisy said as she continued to stare out the window.

"What'cha looking at?" Jesse peered through the window beside Daisy.

"Bo and Cherokee, Look at him Uncle Jesse. He seems so happy and yet he's cryin so hard"

"He's in love, and love hurts"

"Yeah but this is unusual, especially for Bo"

"True, we ain't never seen it before but I'm glad he's goin through it"

"But what if she leaves? He'll be heartbroken"

"Tis' better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all"

"Oh Uncle Jesse, how'd you get so wise"
"It's just a wisdom that comes with the years girl, you'll have it to someday"

"I hope that's true Uncle Jesse"

"You're a Duke ain't ya?" Daisy laughed and allowed her Uncle to lead her toward her room.

On the way through the living room they stopped to look softly down on Luke and Heather. Daisy smiled as Uncle Jesse covered them with a blanket. "I guess Luke's been bitten by the love bug to." Daisy said.

"Well, you know them boys always do everything together." Jesse replied.

Daisy laughed "Night Uncle Jesse"

"Good Night" Jesse said as Daisy's door shut behind her. Jesse looked at Luke one more time, smiled to himself, sent a silent prayer toward the sky, walked into his room and shut the door behind him.