A/N Well, I said bye bye to Mac Donalds, cause payin me so little for so much work? That ain't right... So, more time for writing! I sure hope you'll like this chapter, cause it took me a while to think where I was going with this story. But I think I've got it outlined by now. So, thanks for all your kind reviews, and keep on reviewin! Enjoy

8

When Boss Hogg ran out the back door he bumped into his sheriff who was standing there, looking dumbfounded at the thug rushing away.

"Roscoe! Move! It's gonna blow, now get outta my way!" Boss yelled as Roscoe rushed after him.

The explosion that followed rocked the ground around them, as the two threw themselves on the ground, hands covering their ears.

As the dust settled around them, Roscoe sat up slowly, looking at Boss' reddened and definitely angered face, he swallowed hard.

"Ehh Boss, what jus' happened?" he asked, ears still ringing from the loud blast.

"What happened? What happened!" Boss yelled, his face getting even redder. Roscoe was almost expecting steam to come out of his boss's ears.

"Macky happened! That thug ruined my pretty Boars Nest! If I get my hands on him…" he said before slowly turning around. That wasn't… No, they were long gone… Were they?

"Roscoe?" Boss whispered slowly, "That ain't Daisy Duke's jeep ain't it? She left already right?" he asked fearfully.

Roscoe felt like a stone had settled inside his stomach as he saw Daisy Duke's jeep standing there. Which could only mean one thing…

"Boss," he said seriously, leaving away his nervous giggle, "I think they were still inside, cause I haven't seen them get out…"

Shock was imprinted on Boss Hogg's face. He didn't like those Dukes, but he never meant for them to get hurt.

Standing up from the dusty ground, he ran towards the ruins of his café as fast as his chubby legs could take him.

"Roscoe, you call Enos, an' tell im to get here, now! An' also call in medical reinforcements, we're probably gonna need them. But first we need ta get them outta there!"

Rushing over to the ruins of the building he saw a way to get in, and he saw Roscoe following him after putting back the CB in his patrol car.

"Boss! Over there!" Roscoe exclaimed, seeing one slender arm sticking out from under some rubble at the far end of the still standing wall.

Getting there seemed to be another problem as the place was falling apart around them. Pieces of roof came crashing down around them, leaving nasty bruises and splinters, but they kept going.

Reaching the person who was laying on the ground next to the smashed jukebox, Roscoe quickly felt for a pulse. And he was relieved he found a strong one.

"Boss, help me get this stuff off of her," he said, sounding so full of authority Boss quickly did as asked.

"Oh my…" Boss exclaimed upon seeing Daisy's battered face and body. She had a big gash on her forehead and several cuts and bruises covering her body. And those were only the visible injuries.

"We need ta get her out of here," he said, pulling Daisy slowly over his shoulder. Puffing a little he told Roscoe to go search for Bo, for he knew he had been there too. After Luke had left, those two stuck together like real Dukes. And while he had always thought Daisy was being left out a little, these past few weeks had proven that Bo and Daisy were as close as Bo and Luke could be.

Roscoe nodded solemnly, knowing the building was about to collapse. They had to act fast.

Scanning the floor around him he only saw pieces of wood surrounding him. The bar was still standing, even though everything around it seemed ruined. Broken pieces of glass were lying on top of it, as well as… wait a minute, a piece of yellow fabric. That could only mean one thing!

Roscoe P. Coltrane immediately recognized the piece of cloth, and knew he had to get over to the bar. Bo Duke had to be there somewhere…

Roscoe cringed as a particularly nasty piece of wood splintered as it fell a few inches away from him.

He reached the bar unscathed, but knew that the way out from here, was difficult. But first he needed to find Bo…

All of a sudden his foot hit something soft. Looking down he recognised a boot. A boot, firmly attached to a leg, which disappeared beneath two big pieces of wood and other rubble.

"Bo!" Hearing the other voice a few feet away from him, Roscoe jumped up. He was relieved to see it was Enos.

"Enos, get over here! I found im, but I need yur help ta get him out," Roscoe yelled, knowing Enos could hear him and would be over within seconds.

"I'm a comin sheriff…" pause, "I'm here!"

The exclaim coming from next to his ear made Roscoe jump up angrily.

"Enos! You dipstick! Stop scarin me like that…" his tirade flattened out a little, as he saw Enos' diverted eyes being attracted to the foot lying beneath them.

"Sherrif?" He asked softly, "what happened?"

Looking in the younger deputies eyes, Roscoe saw the worry and panic settling there. He knew he had to calm Enos down a bit, or he would be of no help.

Putting one hand on his shoulder he spoke in a soft tone, "Enos, we've gotta stay calm now. Somethin exploded in here, an' we already got Daisy out. Now, ya gotta stay with me here an' help me get Bo outta here, okay?"

Enos would have been amazed to hear those words from Roscoe P. Coltrane, corrupt sheriff and dimwit extraordinaire, hadn't it been for the dangerous situation they were in right now. He nodded slowly and turned his attention to the foot they could see.

Outside they heard the sirens of the ambulance, which had already arrived. They both heard the rumbling of the building and they knew they had to work fast.

Picking up the loose rubble which was covering the young Duke boy they slowly uncovered him bit by bit. They kept working, beads of sweat forming on their heads, until there was only one large piece of structure covering Bo's lower body.

"Enos, we gotta get this beam of of him, so we's gonna use all our strength now," Roscoe breathed, not used to the effort of lifting heavy thinks. But after seeing the pale face of one of the most vibrant people he had ever known, he knew they had to hurry. There wasn't much time left.

"On three! One… Two… Three!"

Muscles were being strained, as arms shook with the power surging through them. Lifting the heavy beam, inch by inch, they got it high enough to move it backwards, over Bo's legs and on to the damaged floor.

"We got it sheriff! We got it!" Enos yelled, seeing how the paramedics were already waiting for them on the outside of the ruins.

"Sir, please take the victim out, slowly! There's a fair chance of collapse, so please move cautiously but try to get here fast," the paramedic said, pointing to the beams dangling from the damaged ceiling.

Roscoe and Enos both nodded, this time, there were no comebacks about being ordered around or something. Even Boss Hogg was standing still, looking at the scene in front of him with a grave look on his chubby face.

Together, the sheriff and his deputy cautiously picked up Bo, trying to move him as little as possible, as they made their way out of the crumpled building.

They were halfway there when the rumbling intensified. Pieces of roof started falling down again, as well as large chunks of glass from the bulbs which had sprung after the explosion.

Enos cringed when one piece of sharp glass flew past his nose, only to end up sticking out of the ground, dangerously sharp edges glinting in the bright light of day.

He was hauled out of his reverie when he heard Roscoe cough loudly.

"We're almost there Enos, jus' a few feet…"

Roscoe's plea was drowned out by the loud collapse of the back wall. The two man, with their precious cargo hanging in between, saw the domino effect it was going to cause, and with only one look between them, they made a jump for it, pushing Bo forward, right into the arms of Boss Hogg.

The county commissioner would have normally recoiled of a Duke touching him, but this time he caught the slumped form as gently as he could, laying him down on the sandy ground where paramedics immediately started to work on the wounded Dukeboy by getting his vitals.

Enos en Roscoe sagged to the ground together several feet away, while the building they had just come out of, collapsed completely, swallowing the bar, chairs and other furniture which had been lying around them mere seconds ago.

But they didn't give the collapse any attention. Their attention was focused on the feminine form lying in the ambulance, but most importantly the one the paramedics were now frantically working on…

As they lifted him in the ambulance and closed the doors behind them, the last thing they heard was a frantic beeping and a shout from the paramedic…

"Hurry, we're losing him!"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Lying there in the high grass, birds chirping and a slight breeze caressing his face and bare arms, Luke felt at peace. For a short moment his troubles seemed so far away. No betray of his own family, no feelings of rejection, worthlessness or shame. Just a clear mind, as he listened to the sounds around him, letting them fill him.

Unfortunately, it didn't take long before his mind took him to other places. A place where he had two parents, parents who loved each other, and him… But it had changed, when his momma made a mistake. A mistake she would pay for, with her life and the life of her loved one. She had turned away from his dad, and by doing that, she had left him to deal with things he couldn't deal with.

In some way, he understood why his dad turned to the bottle, and for some strange reason, he also understood how the man could see things so unclear he lost sense with reality. His father had been a victim. Of his own love, but also of the love of his wife. It burned him from the inside, and he made a mistake. Luke was convinced it had been a mistake. He hadn't wanted to die, he was drunk, and in the wrong place at the wrong time. He made a mistake.

The wheels in Luke's head were turning, they were turning hard, and somehow, things started to make sense to him as things were falling into place

His mom lost one of the most important people in her life. She tried to ignore her pain, and be there for Luke, lord knew she had tried.

Luke remembered one time when he had come home from his aunt and uncle, to find her with a brand new bike, just for him.
She didn't smell, or act weird. Her cheeks had been a little red, and her smile had been bright when she had seen his reaction.

The pride he had seen in her clear blue eyes when he had kept riding and didn't even fall was something he would remember his entire life. Even now, he could clearly see her face, the dark hair falling over her eyes as the wind played with it, and the sparkle in her eyes while her full lips formed a broad smile.

She had lost her husband, and she couldn't deal with it.

Thinking about the important people in his own life, Luke did some soul searching. Would he survive? If something happened to his uncle, Daisy… Or Bo?

A frown clouded his face. What would he do? When he would lose someone so close to him? He knew he wouldn't be able to deal, close off and seek comfort. Weather it would be a family member of something bad like shine, was something he didn't know. And he didn't want to find out.

But still, the perspective was coming back to him. Through his own hurt and pride, he hadn't seen that side of his parents. The side with the undying love.

Sitting up, he found his train of thought was becoming lighter. The love they had had for each other had been so strong. Too strong. They couldn't deal with loosing each other, so they choose another path. A path Luke had trouble with. But somehow, he was now able to understand why they did what they did.

And now, for the first time in two weeks, his heart felt a little lighter. They hadn't resented him. They loved him. But they had loved each other more. And he could live with that.

Looking up he saw a few tiny clouds covering the bright sun. He grinned humorlessly at the irony of it. A large burden had been removed from his shoulders, but there was one other thing.

Duke honesty. Uncle Jesse had lied to him, and that was something he couldn't reason away. He desperately wanted to, but somehow he couldn't get rid of the feelings of betrayal.

He was just about to get up to get something to eat when the CB crackled to life. He had put it on the emergency channel, so he wouldn't be completely cut off.

When Enos Strate's cracking voice came on, Luke shot up, listening to what the deputy had to report. But when the words started to make sense to him, the only thing he felt was panic. Sheer and violent panic.

"Uncle Jesse? Are ya there? Please pick up, this is Enos!"

Uncle Jesse's voice came through like a dagger, edged with worry.

"This is Jesse Duke, what's wrong Enos? Is it Luke?"

A slight pause and a mumbling on the other side of the CB as Roscoe P. Coltrane's voice came through this time.

"Jesse, listen to me, this is Roscoe. There's been an accident at the Boars Nest. Yur youngins… Well they was hurt. Ya better meet us at Tri-County… Fast."

The immediate response his uncle gave, told the listeners he was already grabbing for his keys.

"I'm on my way."

Mumbling under his breath Luke jumped into the General, his thoughts only on his family as he left the campsite in a cloud of dust.

"Me too, uncle Jesse, me too…"

Well folks, that ain't gonna be a joyful family reunion if ya'll ask me. 'Specially with two members lyin in a hospitalbed… Y'all don't go to the fridge now, this 'll probably git worse before it 'll it better…