Hey, y'all - thanks for reading and special thanks to those who review.

It's yet another bad time at work for me, so I'm sort of scarce out here myself - sorry about that. It'll get worse, but then it'll get better.

I don't own the Dukes, and let's face it, this time I had about as little control over this as I do over any given episode (and how many times have you wanted to tell smack Bo upside his head and tell him that Diane is obviously using him, or wished you could grab Luke by the arms and forcefully suggest to him that drinking the pond water is a very bad idea?). I earn no money and mean no harm. And on a good day, I beat all you ever saw and been in trouble with the law since the day I was born.

It's okay, I'm done now...

Chapter 6 – Miss You Enough to Put Up With You

Bo could hear the telltale shuffling followed by the bathroom door closing. Luke was up already. Just like his cousin to come home all exhausted like that and yet not be able to get more than a few hours of rest. Luke's internal sleep-clock had been broken long ago, on the other side of the world. And fifteen years of civilian life hadn't fixed it.

But the short time had been enough for Bo to orient himself to his cousin's small abode. Without really trying, he'd been able to locate anything he wanted in the kitchen. You keep it just like Uncle Jesse's, too, huh cuz? Cups in the left cupboard, plates in the right…

By the time Luke yawned his way into the kitchen, Bo had poured him a cup of coffee.

"I see you made yourself right at home." Luke almost smacked himself for that, because sarcasm was the perfect tool when he and his cousin were getting along. It just never seemed to help when they were at odds.

But Bo was oblivious. Would have had a harder time responding if his cousin had actually been nice.

"Ain't much to make myself at home with. All them years Daisy spent tryin' to teach us how to shop for groceries was wasted on you."

Even a few hours of sleep were apparently enough to replenish Luke's healthy repository of brilliant comebacks. "I suppose you got gourmet foods at your place? Bo – you own even one spatula?" Finger scratching at the back of his neck, smile of superiority in his eyes despite the innocence of the rest of his face.

Got a silly little grin in response, because this wasn't a real competition. "Nope. But neither do you."

"Ah…" Luke answered, digging through a rather mildewed pile of dishes in his sink. "Ha!" he finished, yanking out the utensil, and accidentally splattering some manner of goo across the front of Bo's shirt.

"You, uh," looking down at his own chest with a grimace. "You win, Luke."

"Come on," Luke chuckled, with a gentle slap to his cousin's shoulder. "Get that shirt off. Daisy done taught me how to do laundry, too."

September in Montana was a lot cooler than what Bo had left behind in the southeast. Not unpleasant, but something of a shock to his system, to sit out on the rugged piece of land where Luke's cabin was situated, and feel a cool breeze across his face. He hadn't thought to pack any warm clothes, but it wouldn't matter a bit. What was Luke's was his, and he knew it.

Looked at his cousin with a shake of his head. "You really must have been out of it, Luke. Ain't no way to come up that hill and not see that rental sedan next to the tree there." Bo hadn't parked in Luke's usual spot, obviously, but he hadn't exactly hidden the car in the bushes, either. He'd lost most of his moonshiner instincts by now.

A shake of his head and (do I see a strand or two of gray in that hair, cousin?) Luke explained, "I's just on my last legs is all. You stay until the job's done, and you don't get much rest. Kinda like harvest."

Bo's disagreement was silent, and unusually subtle, just a slight wobble of his head. Might have been shaking the hair out of his eyes, except he was wearing it a little shorter these days. Not quite, cuz. You don't drive on public roads when you're that tired from harvesting. But he was smart enough not to say it, at least not right now. As much as Luke loved to tell Bo what to do, he didn't exactly take advice well himself. No, he'd have to make that point another way, somehow. Wished he could offer to bring his cousin home after a grueling job, but… this wasn't Hazzard.

"What're you really doing here?" Luke finally got around to asking, squinting as he turned from the relatively dark mountains to the north and looked back towards his cousin, and the sun.

For all of his so-smart attitude, Luke was sometimes just dang slow.

"We got stuff to figure out." That, and a shrug, about covered it.

Apparently Luke agreed, because he nodded. Finding himself a seat on a stone not too far from the one that Bo sat on, he squinted at his cousin again.

"We don't gotta do it now." Backtracking, because Bo really wasn't sure this trip had been a good idea after all. It was impulse that made him come here, the thought that if he and Luke could only be within arm's reach again… "You still ain't had much sleep."

A wave of Luke's hand and the notion was dismissed. Should have known better than to suggest that his cousin didn't have endurance. At least it looked like Luke would take the lead.

"Bo, I…" Some lead. Shook his head and stood again. Bo was about to put him out of his misery, when he opened his mouth. "I really mean it when I ask you what you want. I ain't givin' you a hard time, just askin' is all." And such a tremendous effort had left Luke a slightly pinker version of himself. His cousin really was an easy mark, Bo suddenly realized. Just ask him to say something that wasn't sarcastic, and it completely wore him out.

Then again, the younger man had spent his whole life (not fair to say that, not really) just trying to get Luke to take him seriously. For every one thing that Bo knew, his irritating cousin always knew two more. Wasn't exactly shy about pointing out just how smart he was, either (but he was a good cousin anyway, never complained about half the things he should have…). So it just made sense that Bo always wanted to deck him. Except the first time Luke made a point of asking him how he really felt, didn't assume, but asked, Bo had acted like an overgrown kid. How was I supposed to know he was really asking? A sulking thought that almost instantly crumbled into a painful one. Why should I have assumed he wasn't? But, well, here he was with a second chance to get it right. Luke was asking him again.

"What do I want? I want…" and found that the sentence couldn't be finished, not without difficulty. It was easier to fight with Luke than to answer the question. He supposed he owed his cousin an apology for that, taking the easy way out all the time. But he couldn't say he was sorry, because he was about to do it again. "I don't know, what do you want?"

Both of them chose to ignore the heated sound to that, at least for now.

"I want… to do the right thing," Luke said with a sharp nod that almost dared his cousin to challenge the wisdom in that. And was rewarded with a snort.

"That ain't an answer, cuz."

The temptation to remind Bo that he had not exactly answered the question either was very strong, but wouldn't get them anywhere. Instead, Luke sat back down.

"It is, though. I'm good at what I do here, and my team, well, they count on me, Bo. And what we do is important. So, that's one right thing. But goin' home, takin' care of the farm, that's also right. I just have to choose between two right things, is all." Is all, as if it was just a small thing. Just the future direction of my life, cuz. No big deal.

How could Bo understand, if Luke couldn't explain it? But he should have known better. Bo didn't need perfect words.

"Kinda like me." Bo mistook Luke's surprised look for skepticism. "Well, it's different. I guess fightin' fires is more important. But I like drivin' you know?"

Half smile across Luke's face and lord Bo had missed that. "No kiddin'."

"Funny. Anyways, I like drivin', but I want to go home, too."

Home, that word again. Hard to know exactly what it meant anymore. Resuming the natural rhythm of their lives together, Bo interrupted Luke's thoughts.

"One thing, though." Bo was looking at the horizon, not Luke. "I don't like the circuit as much as I used to." Didn't want to say this next part, but he'd always been honest with Luke. So he turned towards his cousin and said it. "Not without you."

A chuckle was not at all what Bo wanted in response to that, but it was what he got.

"Oh, fine, Luke."

"Aw, Bo."

Right, that made it forgivable, then. "Never mind," Bo said, turning away almost, but not quite, before Luke could see the hurt mingling with anger on his face.

And then, quietly, "Come on, Bo." Like he was just too tired to fight. "I'm sorry. It's just, when you're driving, it don't matter who your pit crew chief is. You're just beautiful," flushed slightly at the word and was glad Bo was still looking away. There just wasn't a better word, or he would have used it. "You know?"

Bo's voice was no happier. "I guess. I just," stopped for a second here, worried about what his cousin would say. Luke was nothing if not sarcastic, and Bo didn't want to be laughed at any more. But – he'd always trusted his cousin. And if he was ever going to get what he really wanted, he would have to trust him again. "I miss you Luke. And I guess I just hoped that you might have missed me, too."

Again, that stupid chuckle. Bo ought to teach his cousin a lesson, and right quick, about laughing at him like that. Turned towards the man, ready to pin him to the ground and saw Luke's hands up in surrender, even before he could lunge.

"Bo," still that mirth in his voice, and Bo was starting not to care that Luke was probably too tired to hit him back. "Of course I miss you. You don't spend years doing everything together like that and then just walk off without… missing someone." Though until now he'd managed to think that somehow Bo had done just that – outgrown him or something, not just no longer needing him, but not even wanting him around.

Cool breeze, made Luke's tired body shiver, and Bo was just wondering whether they ought to go back inside. But no, Luke's mouth was opening again –

"It's just…" Oh it was always just something or other. Should have yanked Luke inside after he'd said that (semi-)nice thing, distracted him before he could give Bo some dissertation about what it just was. "Is that enough?"

Enough? It's only everything, cuz…

"Enough?" Did he say that out loud? And did it sound every bit like he was thirteen and his voice was changing again? Apparently the answer to both questions was yes, judging by the half-confused, half-amused look on his cousin's face. Starting to turn into that smirk that was smarter than Bo.

And now his chest was puffing, he could feel it, and his chin was coming up…

"Easy, Bo." Hated that Luke could read him like that, but at least the offending smirk was gone, replaced by Luke's calm-face. That was annoying in its own way, mostly in that it usually worked, and it was going to this time, too. It was a good dang thing that he wanted to work things out with Luke. Otherwise his cousin would be hitting the ground pretty hard right about now.

"We ain't kids no more." And wasn't that just news. Like they hadn't had this discussion years ago. But he obviously didn't need to inform Luke of that, since he could see his cousin wincing and shaking his head at his own words. "Maybe it's better to miss each other than to… fight all the time."

Luke had never been eloquent about these things. But he was blunt as ever. And Bo wanted to argue against the notion that they would fight all the time, but had actually managed to learn how to control his tongue – some of the time. He didn't need Luke smirking at him again.

"Why did we start fighting in the first place?" Bo moaned. He'd meant it to sound more adult than that, but he was too busy hating this conversation because it really ought to have been easier than this.

"Oh, Bo, we always disagreed about things. When we was young, we just decided not to let it bother us. Maybe it was even good for us, back then. Kept us on our toes. But after awhile it – caught up to us, I guess."

"I know, we ain't kids no more." At least when Luke smiled this time, it was because Bo wanted him to. "Yeah, I think I miss you enough to put up with you being such a jerk all the time," Bo said, with finality.

Well, with a flattering endorsement like that what else could Luke say? "Thanks, Bo."

And if it was as simple as that they would have left everything and gotten on a plane. But it wasn't and they both knew it. Saying they could walk away from the independent lives they'd been building and right back into each other's faces and actually doing it were two very different things.

They spent the few days that Bo had allotted for his visit to Montana hiking the woods near Luke's cabin, not hunting, but as close as they could get on this trip. And as they rested at the top of a steep mound, Luke picked up the conversation that had wound its way through everything they did.

"You know if you leave the circuit again, you won't be able to go back. Teams get tired of drivers that drop out. We got away with it once, but if you leave again, you better mean it." Searched his cousin's face for some proof that he was ready to walk away for good and not be sorry later. Didn't find it.

"I know that, Luke. Don't think I ain't thought about it."

"But you ain't come up with any answers." Not a question at all.

"Not yet."

"Take your time." Nothing would make them fight harder than Bo giving up something he wasn't done with.

They called Daisy, because they just knew she'd wring their necks if she learned they'd gotten together and not found the time to talk to her. Hoped, in fact, that she wouldn't give them a hard time for not having invited her to join them (I didn't even invite Bo). It wouldn't even have occurred to them to talk her one at a time, not two boys who'd shared one CB handle for all those years. As always, the Lost Sheep put their heads together with the phone between them and made it a three way conversation.

"I done served L.D. with divorce papers." Matter of fact, the way she said that.

"Aw, sweetheart, I'm sorry." Couldn't quite tell who said that. Probably both of them. Definitely both of them were feeling guilty that they weren't there for her, that she wasn't within arm's reach. And definitely, she wasn't going to tolerate that.

"Nothin' to be sorry for. It was time. Besides, now I'm free to keep goin' to school." Yep, that was Daisy. Positive attitude about even the worst of things. "I'm gonna major in ecology."

And that challenge was in Luke's eyes again, that smirking superiority. Do you even know what ecology is, Bo? written everywhere across his features. Yeah, I do, but I'm just really glad you can't ask me right now because I actually sorta do and sorta don't, and I can drive better than you, so shut up. All this passed between the two of them in a split second look. No time to take action on it because Daisy was talking again.

"I'm learning so many interesting things about how nature works. It's like finally knowing how it all fits together, how the hills and the woods and the swamp all make one big environment…"

Bo smirked. Well, now I have an answer, if he asks. Would have been bored by the topic if he hadn't thought there might be a test in his immediate future. And if Daisy hadn't sounded so excited. Until she stopped being cheerful, like flipping off a light switch.

"I wanna go to graduate school, too, but it ain't gonna happen."

"Why not?" If it was a matter of money, Bo would give her what she needed. Luke would, too, he knew, but Bo was in a better position at the moment, sometimes winning more from a single race than Luke could earn in a month.

"Cause I'm gonna need to go back to Hazzard someday." Said carefully, in a way that assigned no blame, but there was no way possible for Luke not to hear the silent because you boys are just too thick-headed to work things out. Daisy would never say it, probably wasn't even thinking it, but Luke was. And when Bo felt his cousin stiffen a bit, felt it because they were just that close together, he remembered exactly what it meant.

But – "Don't worry about that yet, sweetheart," was all the oldest Duke cousin said.

Jesse, he was the harder one to call. He might be happy to know that his boys were together, but well, he might also yell at them for taking so long. Never knew what you'd get with the headstrong old timer, but he was the man who had raised them and one of the things they had learned was that calling home was pretty much a requirement, whether you were fifteen miles away or fifteen hundred. They'd made worse calls.

"Luke, is that you? Well, just slow down. You're talkin' so fast only a chipmunk could understand you."

"I just know you ain't gonna like what I'm gonna tell you. So… listen. What Rosco's chasin' us for is… well… we got caught with some pot."

"What!?"

"Yeah, marijuana."

This couldn't possibly be as bad as that one had been.

To their surprise, their uncle wasn't cantankerous, he was gentle. And this worried them both more than anything. A look across the handset between them, does he sound right to you, cuz? An answer – no…

Still, there was nothing to do except ask the old man how he was doing and accept the answer that he was fine. Nothing to do at the moment, anyway. But by the end of that night they had agreed to meet in Hazzard for the holidays, and make some decisions. And the next morning it was time for Bo to head back to the airport, which he would only do after securing a promise from Luke that the older Duke would be careful while working and even more so while driving. And Luke snickered and asked for the same in return, since working and driving were the same thing, when it came to his cousin.