A/N – Hey guys! Thanks for all the feedback. Any suggestions on this one would be greatly appreciated:)
Disclaimer: I don't own the Dukes, and no infrigements intended. (The orange Mustang is mine - not that anyone would want it:)
BALANCING THE BOOKS
CHAPTER 2
STARING
The next time Jackie's eyes fluttered open, there were two people looking down at her: Bo and an older gentleman.
"Ah good. Bo here said you woke up once. That's real good. I'm Doc Appleby, and I'm just going to have a quick look, okay?" When she nodded her consent, he continued. "Can you tell me your name?"
"Jackie Johnson," she replied.
"And where are you from, Jackie?"
"Chicago."
Not just making pleasant conversation, the doctor was trying to ensure that nothing more serious was going on . Satisfied that she wasn't having any type of memory loss, he shared his diagnosis. "Well young lady, I think you'll be just fine, though I'm sure your head does hurt. I'd recommend that you take one of the painkillers I left earlier, and get some more rest. Bo, could you get one for her and a glass of water?"
Returning a moment later with the items the doc had requested, Bo handed them to him, and he in turn, handed them to his patient. At first, she looked at the white object, unsure as to whether she should really take it or not. Sensing her reluctance, Doc Appleby assured her that it was alright.
Giving in, Bo helped her to sit up. When she was finished, he helped her back down, then took the glass away.
"Well, I'd say by tomorrow you should be feeling much better. If you need me, call me, but I don't think that you will. It looks like Bo here's been taking real good care of you."
"Thank you," she offered, though whether she was talking to the doctor or to Bo wasn't clear.
"You're welcome," they both answered at the same time.
Bo walked out with the man that had been taking care of his entire family as long as he could remember. "You sure she's going to be ok?" Bo asked, wanting the truth now that they were alone.
"Yes Bo, she'll be fine," he replied, patting him on the back. "Like I said, if you need me, give me a call. Otherwise, just let her rest and if she needs any more of the pain medication I prescribed, make sure she gets it. She should be up by tomorrow, the next day at the latest."
"Thanks Doc," Bo said, feeling a wave of relief wash over him.
By the time he got back inside, Jackie had gotten herself into a sitting position and was trying to stand up. "Whoa there! What are you doing? You need to lie back down," Bo informed her, trying to ease her into compliance.
"I can't," she confessed.
"Why? What's the matter?" Bo asked, thinking that the relief he felt might have been premature.
Looking sheepish, she answered his question with a question. "Do you have a bathroom I could use?"
Understanding that except for nature's call everything was fine, the blonde relaxed and grinned at her. "Sure. Let me help you," he offered, sliding his arm around her waist and helping her to rise slowly. Even though he'd gotten her up as easily as he could, she swayed when the weight hit both her feet. Bo encircled her with both arms, keeping her still while she tried to get her bearings. "Dizzy?" he asked. Her head was resting against his chest, and he could feel the nod through the fabric. "Okay, just wait a second." He was quite happy to have her remain in the position she was for as long as she needed. After a minute, she started to straighten up. "Ready?" he asked, looking down so that he could see her face.
"Yeah," she said, giving a ghost of a smile that he thought was probably awesome when it was at full strength.
"Okay, let's go," he announced, leading her down the hall, but keeping a tight grip on her.
When they got to the little girls' room, he helped her inside, wondering what to do next. He was scared to leave her by herself, but he doubted she was going to let him stay. "I'm sorry that we don't have any females in the house right now. My cousin, Daisy, lives here, too, but she won't be back until Sunday. You think you'll be okay for a few minutes by yourself?"
"Yeah," she told him.
"Okay. I'll wait outside, but if I hear any thumps, I'm warning you right now, I'm coming in."
Despite making the pounding in her head even worse, she couldn't help but laugh at the threat. "Definitely do," she told him, hoping that it wasn't going to come to that.
Now chuckling himself, Bo assumed that she had a good sense of humor, as well as a pretty face. Banged up and in pain, she'd already managed to make him laugh twice.
Leaning against the far wall, Bo waited until the door opened. Seeing that she was getting more unsteady on her feet by the minute, and assuming that it was in part due to the medication starting to work, he rushed to her side. Their guest already had a concussion; the last thing she needed was to fall and injure herself further. Intending to help her out of the hall the same way he'd helped her in, her feet weren't cooperating. Without warning, Bo scooped her up in his arms. "This will be a lot easier and a lot safer," he told her.
"I can walk," she protested.
"Oh I know, but this just makes me feel better," he said, not wanting to get into a long and lengthy debate over her ambulatory abilities.
"You'll hurt yourself," she mumbled, continuing to protest even though she was already resting her head against him, breathing in his wonderful scent.
"Nah, you're light as a feather, sweetheart," he told her, surprising himself with the term of endearment that slipped out.
Jackie, however, didn't catch it. She was too busy paying attention to the fact that they weren't going back out into the living room. She felt him reach down and open a door, and as she looked around, she could see that they were in a bedroom; she could also see that it was a room that belonged to a female. Bo had told her that his cousin lived there, too, but it didn't stop her from becoming alarmed. Unable to even walk on her own, she knew she wouldn't be able to fight, should her host's intentions not be honorable.
"You'll be more comfortable in here, and Daisy's not using it right now, anyway," Bo told her, noticing that she had become fearful, again. Even after he set her down, he could see that she was anything but comfortable. Pondering what to say, his eyes were drawn to her blood stained shirt. "Would you like me to get you something of Daisy's to wear?"
She looked at him, not knowing what he was talking about until she followed his eyes down to the red spots on her clothing. "Oh no, that's ok. I've already been a lot of trouble," she replied.
"No trouble at all," he assured her. "Well, if you don't want to wear any of Daisy's clothes, how bout one of my t-shirts? I do have a few clean ones," he joked.
It took her a moment to realize he was kidding. "Okay, thanks," she agreed, not able to explain why wearing his shirt seemed like so much less trouble than accepting something that belonged to his cousin.
"Okay, I'll be right back. Now you just stay right here, and don't try to get up," Bo instructed.
"I won't," she promised, "scout's honor."
When Bo looked back, he saw that Jackie was now giving him the scout's signal. He laughed again, but unlike her earlier reaction, he cocked his head to one side. "You do look like a girl scout," he observed, leaving while she tried to figure out if he had just insulted or complimented her.
Returning a couple of minutes later, he stopped suddenly. "Okay, I think this will...work." There was no need to finish; she was already lying down and fast asleep. Smiling and shaking his head, Bo walked over and pulled up the covers around her. He didn't know why he was possessed to do so, but before he straightened up, he bent down and kissed her on the forehead, then laid the t-shirt on the table next to the bed.
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Uncle Jesse arrived home only moments before Luke. The boys had planned on spending the day together, and the absence of the General told the old man that they were still out. With Daisy being away, he wasn't expecting to find anyone in the house, and certainly not in his niece's room. However, like the three bears, Goldilocks was sleeping in Daisy's bed and Bo had made himself comfortable, watching her sleep.
"Bo? What the…..? Who……?" Uncle Jesse didn't know which question to ask first: why there was a strange woman in Daisy's bed or who she was. Before he could decide or Bo could respond, they heard the screen door opening and closing. Looking down the hall, Jesse Duke saw Luke walking toward him, carrying what looked like a prescription from the pharmacy. "All right, what's going on here?" he asked, forming a complete question, and deciding that they could answer in the order of their choice.
Re-grouping in the kitchen, Luke explained the morning's events leading up to their unexpected guest. When he stated that he had no idea how she got into Daisy's room, Bo completed the story up to the current timeline.
"Well, I guess we'll just do what Homer said and check on her every couple hours but let her sleep," Jesse announced.
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If Bo had gotten his way, he would have been allowed to resume his watch. However, his uncle had other ways for the boys to occupy their time. Jesse promised that he'd make sure she was alright, but he caught his youngest peeking in on her every so often.
So, it wasn't surprising that after dinner, the youngest Duke was looking for an excuse to return to Jackie's side. Having completed all the tasks they'd been given, there was no reason that he couldn't. Saying that he was going to see if she wanted some soup, Bo disappeared with a bowl of the miracle cure. Jesse Duke claimed that his chicken soup could cure anything, and what it couldn't cure, it could make feel a whole lot better. The three Duke cousins had always agreed with him, and whenever one of them wasn't feeling well, that's what they looked forward to and exactly what they got. Luke and Uncle Jesse had their doubts as to whether the young lady would be up to eating just yet, and both of them recognized it for the excuse it was.
"Should I be worried about him?" Uncle Jesse asked Luke after Bo left.
"I don't have a clue. I don't know whether he's feeling guilty or Cupid just shot him with an arrow," the brunette replied.
The older man thought about it for a minute. "Knowing Bo, I'd put my money on Cupid."
"I hope so," Luke mumbled, not knowing why he was so irritated with his cousin's odd behavior.
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When Bo walked into Daisy's room, there was still enough natural light coming in the windows to allow him to see. As he approached the bed, he noticed that sometime while he had been gone, the young lady had woken up and changed into the t-shirt he had left for her. Gazing down, still holding the soup, he decided that he liked the way it looked on her.
Resting on her back, her long blonde hair was spread out on the pillow and resembled a halo surrounding her head. Bo smiled to himself, thinking that a halo was perfect since she looked just like an angel, even with the bandage and bruises. He set the soup down on the table, then sat down on the edge of the bed. Softly calling to her, he gently shook her shoulder. Her eyes fluttered open, trying to focus on him while he explained that he had brought her something. She looked at him for a moment, but he could tell that she wasn't exactly awake. When she closed her eyes, he took it that she wasn't interested in the soup, and moved from the edge of the bed back to the chair.
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The next time she woke on her own, it was dark and she was still disoriented. Sitting up, Jackie looked around the darkness, trying to figure out where she was. Looking down at herself, she didn't recognize what she was wearing. She began to panic, finding that she could remember nothing when a figure began to move, only adding to her fear.
Bo moved back to the edge of the bed. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he reminded her where she was.
It took a moment, but finally she nodded as her memory returned and her agitation began to calm.
"I brought you some soup," Bo told her, indicating the bowl on the table. "I could heat it up if you'd like some."
"No thank you," she replied, thinking that food was the last thing she wanted at the minute. Not only was she not hungry, she was trying to convince herself that she wasn't going to be sick.
"How you feeling?" he asked.
"I've been better," she admitted.
She didn't have to go into great detail about how she felt. One look at her answered that question. Remembering a couple of concusions he'd suffered in the past, Bo could sympathize. "Why don't you take another pain pill?"
She didn't know how to respond. Swallowing it might prove to be the final straw on a stomach that was already threatening to lurch. However, if it worked, it might help the symphony playing in her head, allowing her to sleep. The pain won out as she crossed her fingers. "Okay," she agreed.
Having swallowed the nasty tasting drug, and once again snuggled under the covers, she looked at the young man still sitting next to her. "Thank you. You've been most kind."
"Well yeah, you know what they say about southern hospitality," Bo grinned.
"I certainly do, and they sure got that one right."
"Thank you," he replied, taking it as a personal compliment. "Why don't you go back to sleep?"
"I think that's a wonderful idea," she said, starting to close her eyes. She felt the mattress rise as his weight was removed, and assumed he was going to leave until she heard the creaking of the chair next to her. Opening her eyes, she saw that he had once again taken up his position. "Why don't you go to bed? You really don't need to sit there and stare at me."
"I like staring at you," Bo heard himself say, unable to believe that he'd let the words slips out.
Jackie didn't exactly know how to respond to the innocent compliment. If there had been any real light in the room, she would have witnessed him turning twelve shades of red. Unable to see his embarrassement, she wondered if he always said things like that. "What a sweet thing to say," she commented, "but you're going to be tired, and it really isn't necessary."
"You sure?" he asked.
"Positive."
"Well, okay then, but if you need anything, just holler. I'll leave the door cracked open. Uncle Jesse is right next door, and me and Luke aren't that far away, either."
"Okay. Thank you. Goodnight," she bid him, wondering who Luke and Uncle Jesse were. She seemed to remember speaking to an older gentleman earlier, but she wasn't sure if that was real or she had been dreaming.
"Goodnight," Bo told her, pausing to look back before slipping out of the room.
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Luke was surprised to hear their own bedroom door opening. He had assumed when he looked in Daisy's room, before turning in for the night, that Bo was there to stay. Rolling over onto his back, he watched his cousin peel off his clothes. "Didn't think I'd see you til morning. I guess I expected that you'd be spending the night in that chair," Luke commented.
"I was going to, but Jackie told me to go to bed," Bo spat.
Luke grinned, hearing the frustration in Bo's voice. "Hmm cuz, I think you're losing your touch. Maybe I should go try and see if she tells me to go to bed, too," Luke joked. The last thing he expected was that it would make Bo mad, but as he heard him punch his pillow, he knew he'd upset him.
"Bo, you okay?" Luke asked, sitting up on his elbow.
"Fine Lukas, go to sleep," the blonde said, turning toward the wall, unable to explain why he was irritated and taking it out on his best friend.
Luke didn't say anything else, but found that he was unable to close his eyes. Staring up at the ceiling, he wondered just what exactly was going on with his already temperamental cousin. He hoped that in the morning, things and Bo would return to normal.