Hey Everyone. Sorry for the delay, and I know that I really should be posting a chapter to Uncle. Somewhere I got off track – nothing new! I wanted the chapter numbers to be the same for both stories, before I end up posting the wrong one:) Anyway, the next chapter of Uncle will be up soon, too.

Thanks again for the feedback and reviews.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Dukes, and no infringements intended.

BALANCING THE BOOKS

CHAPTER 20

NEW BEGINNINGS

Jackie was glad that the next day was Saturday. Not being a workday, she didn't have to call her office, possibly setting off alarms for her strange behavior and early departure the previous day. Having spent the rest of that afternoon becoming reacquainted with each other, Bo had used the early evening hours to get to know his son. It wasn't until after the boy had been put to bed for the night that the couple spoke of their dilemma. Sleeping wasn't on the agenda. They had issues that needed to be addressed, and in between heated debates, they had other ways to occupy themselves. Terribly unsure that Bo wasn't making the biggest mistake of his life, Jackie discovered that his mind couldn't be changed. So after a long night, the only thing that they both knew for sure was that they still loved each other.

Calling his family at their motel room, Bo asked them to come back for breakfast. The blonde knew he was doing the only thing he could, but he doubted his family would be happy, and he knew that Jackie believed him to be making a mistake. Understanding that she was extremely nervous over their expected arrival, Bo walked up behind her and put his arms around her.

"I know what I'm doing, and I know that what I'm doing is right," Bo whispered.

"I think you're gonna regret this, Bo."

"The only thing that I would regret is not doing this. I've been miserable these last three years. I love my family, and they were always there for me, but something was always missing. There's no way I could go back to living like that, not now that I know."

They'd already been through this many times over the past several hours, never changing the outcome. Still, Jackie couldn't help but feel that she should try, but she didn't get the chance. As she opened her mouth to repeat what she'd already said numerous times, a knock at the door interrupted them.

"I'll get it," Bo said, removing his arms from around her waist.

"Make sure you look, first," Jackie instructed him. Simple things like knocks on doors that anyone else could take for granted, she couldn't. No longer an agent, she didn't carry a government issued weapon anymore, but she had been granted a private license. The one part of her job that she'd always hated was now a part of her everyday routine; something Bo was going to have to learn, and quickly.

Checking the peep hole first, Bo nodded. "It's them," he said, swinging the door open to invite his family in. As Jesse Duke stepped inside, the little, blonde boy abandoned his Saturday morning cartoon, rushing to the older man that he'd taken an immediate liking to.

"Hi! Hi!" he yelled, running toward him.

Bo may have been new to the situation he found himself in, but seeing his son run to the front door, he instinctively grabbed him.

"Hey!" Bo Jr. protested. Jackie and Bo had told the little boy the night before that the taller and older version of himself was his father, but to a mind as young as his, that had not registered. He knew what he was familiar with, and for him, that was his mother. He also knew what he liked, and while he liked his newly discovered dad, he also liked his uncle. At the moment, he was more interested in the older man. "Put me down!"

After securing the door, Bo did set the boy down, and he immediately wrapped himself around the overall covered leg of Jesse Duke.

"Well now, how are you this morning?" Uncle Jesse grinned.

"Fine, c'mon, I have something to show you!" the boy urged, tugging him by the hand.

The three cousins and Jackie watched the affectionate exchange, smiling at how the gruff old man always seemed to be a favorite with the youngsters. It was a side to him that the cousins remembered, though didn't often see anymore.

While Bo Jr. whisked his uncle into his own room, Jackie moved into the kitchen. Accepting Daisy's offer to help, she was surprised that the girl's anger was no longer audible or visible. Jackie wondered exactly what Bo's family would think when he told them about his plans.

While the girls were busy fixing the morning meal, Daisy asked only about Jackie's current job. It was only small talk, but working at a record company was still more interesting to Daisy Duke than working for the government. Chatting as they worked, the meal didn't take long, and Daisy was soon inviting the men to join them at the table, calling down the hall after her uncle and nephew.

Plates full and no more pleasantries to be made, Jackie lowered her head as she waited for Bo to make his announcement. "Me and Jackie did a lot of talking last night," Bo started, shooting Luke a warning look at the sly grin that crossed his cousin's face, "and I made a decision, one which I don't think ya'll are gonna like."

Interrupting him, Luke and Daisy started talking at once, trying to prevent Bo from saying what they already knew he was going to.

"Now look, if there was any other way, you know we'd do it," Bo said, speaking over his protesting cousins.

"Bo, there's gotta be some way to get you guys back to Hazzard," Luke countered.

"Well, if there was, we'd sure be interested, but there ain't." Putting up his hands, Bo again silenced them. "This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life. You know how much I love ya'll, and Hazzard. I don't want to leave the farm or you, but I love Jackie, too. I've been unhappy since that accident, and I don't' want to go through that again. I can't just let her disappear, possibly forever."

"But we're supposed to let you do that?" Daisy asked in a high pitched voice.

"You have too. It's too dangerous to go back to Hazzard, and I'd never be able to forgive myself if anything happened to anyone of you," Bo replied.

"Bo, I think we can take care of ourselves," Luke reminded him.

"Against the local crooks, yeah, but these ain't good ole boys, Luke. We wouldn't stand a chance, and you'd be looking over your shoulders the rest of your lives, too."

"Bo," Luke tried again.

"Besides, it ain't just about us anymore," Bo stated. "Luke, I gotta son now. I'm a dad, and I can't be that unless I'm around. It's my job to take care of my family, which is what I'm gonna do."

"That's what I've been trying to say, Bo. We're all family. We should take care of our own."

"I know you mean well, cousin, and I wish I didn't have to do this, but I do," Bo told Luke in a way that signaled there was no more need for discussion.

Uncle Jesse had remained silent throughout the conversation, as had Jackie, letting the cousins debate amongst themselves. The Duke patriarch knew what Bo's decision would be, even before Bo did. He didn't like it, and he wished there was an alternative, but he did understand it. No man, especially a Duke, would simply allow their wife, which is what he thought of Jackie as, and child to vanish into thin air. No one knew better than Jesse what it was like to lose the other half of your soul, and he couldn't condemn his nephew to live with that from a much younger age than he had been forced to. The family would miss them, all of them, and they would mourn the lost opportunity of getting to know Bo Jr., and to watch him grow up, but Bo, Jackie, and the little boy were a family now, too. Their happiness was at stake, and something much more important, their safety. Showing that he supported and accepted the decision, Jesse spoke. "When?" he asked, glancing at Luke and Daisy.

"Jackie will make the call right after breakfast," Bo answered, turning to his substitute father.

"That soon?" Luke croaked.

"No sense waiting, just in case," Bo said, feeling as sad as everyone else looked. "I think it would be a good idea if ya'll left for home right away," Bo told them, watching their reactions turn from sadness, to surprise, to a deeper sadness.

Understanding that Bo's family had every reason in the world to hate her, Jackie was surprised at the lack of anger as each member of the Duke family bid her farewell and wished her the best. Watching them with Bo Jr., she, too, regretted that they wouldn't be able to be guiding forces in her son's young life. She wondered if they would ever see Bo's family again.

"Bo," Luke said, looking at his cousin, unable to believe that he may never seen him again.

Having said goodbye to his uncle and Daisy first, Bo knew that Luke would be the hardest. The youngest cousin had always been better at showing his feelings rather than vocalizing them, so he walked up to his older cousin, his brother, and wrapped his arms tightly around him. "I love you, Luke. I always have, and I always will."

"I love you, too, Bo. I don't know what I'm going to do without you."

"You'll be okay, Luke. You're a survivor. You promised you'd come home from the war, and you did," Bo reminded him. Then, lowering his voice, the blonde whispered the next part in his cousin's ear so that only the two of them knew what was said. "And I promise you that, someday, I'll come home, too. I'll find a way to let you know we're ok. I swear."

Luke knew that he should tell Bo not to do it. If it was that dangerous for the family to know their whereabouts, it was a risk they shouldn't take. Yet, Luke knew that it would do no good. If Bo said he was going to do something, he'd do it, no matter how many people told him not to. Slapping his cousin on the back, Luke gave him one final squeeze. "You take care of yourself, cousin."

"You too, cousin," Bo replied.

One more round of quick hugs and tears, and Bo, Jackie, and Bo Jr. found themselves alone. Waiting for the nod from Bo, Jackie went to her purse and retrieved a card hidden inside her wallet. Grabbing the phone, she dialed the number. "Randolph Charleston, please," Jackie requested. Looking at Bo, he assumed she was on hold. "Who is this?" she asked, obviously not getting who she asked for. "I need to speak with Mr. Charleston. My ID number is 458214," she added, remaining silent again for another pause.

She didn't want to say it, but something didn't feel right. She'd only had to call once before, and that hadn't been on a weekend, but these people didn't seem to know who she was even asking for. Smiling as Bo turned Bo Jr upside down, then told the boy they needed to be quiet since his mom was on the phone, Jackie shook her head. 'Leave it to a man to rile up a kid and then tell them to be quiet.'

"Yes, I'm still here," Jackie said, then told Bo they were transferring her. "Agent Connors?" she asked in a shocked voice. "Why did they transfer me to you?" Listening, she informed him that she needed to speak to him, and they arranged a meeting for the following day.

Having been given directions to a house in a small town outside of Nashville, Jackie, Bo and Bo Jr. set off to meet the FBI agent they hadn't seen in almost three years. Having a feeling that they wouldn't be coming back, they took everything they could, trying nonchalantly to get it out to the vehicle that Jackie Johnson now drove. "It ain't the Mustang," she muttered, explaining and apologizing at the same time. No one would ever know just how much she missed that car or how hard it had been to watch its demise from a hillside one sunny afternoon that forever changed her life.

"Hey, it's transportation," Bo replied, raising her face so that he could kiss her lips. "Besides, with kids, it's more practical."

"Kids? In case you haven't noticed, we only have one. Where'd the plural come from?"

"Never know. We weren't planning on Bo Jr. either," Bo chuckled.

Jackie's cheeks turned red, knowing that what Bo was saying could very well be true. Talking hadn't been the only thing they'd been doing since finding each other again.

Sliding into the passenger seat, Bo let Jackie drive. Having been a resident of Nashville for a while, she was more familiar with the area. A little over an hour later, they pulled up to an isolated house, and saw that a car was already there. Looking around cautiously, Jackie recognized the form standing on the porch. It was Agent Connors, the junior agent assigned to her case after she'd been shot in a staged bank robbery; the start to this entire mess.

"Agent Connors," she greeted, extending her hand, which he accepted. "Where's Randolph and Agent Matthews?"

"Dead," the agent informed her.

"Both of them?" Jackie asked.

"Afraid so," the young man said. "My partner was killed in the line of duty, and Charleston had a heart attack or something." Seeing no reason to continue with that subject, Agent Connors turned to Bo. "Mr Duke?" he greeted, remembering him, but surprised to see him.

"Connors," Bo acknowledged.

"Wow!" the agent exclaimed, noticing Bo Jr. for the first time. "I think we need to update your files," he grinned, inviting them inside.

Jackie explained that through a total coincidence, Bo and his family had found her only days ago. However, knowing where she was jeopardized her cover, and she'd been told to call if that ever happened. Though she couldn't erase the knowledge of her existence from the Dukes' memories, if they didn't know where she was, they couldn't tell anyone anything. She explained that Bo had decided to go with them, and that the family was going to make up a cover story for the residents of Hazzard. So, they needed new identities, as a family.

"I've been looking for you for a long time. When witness protection buries someone, they do it well, rest assured. Even the FBI can't access the information," Connors stated.

"Why?" Jackie wanted to know, wondering what business she could still have with the FBI.

Opening her file, Connors glanced at it before looking at Jackie. "We jumped the gun a little," he told her, his voice indicating that he was nervous about something .

"What?" Jackie asked, not understanding what he was talking about.

"Remember that shell casing you gave us? The 44?" he asked, waiting for her to confirm that she was following him. "Ballistics got a match, something we weren't expecting."

"Match to what?" Jackie asked. She knew that they had paid killers' weapon information on file, but without the finger that pulls the trigger, or even the gun, all that could tell them was that the same firearm had been used in other crimes, or murders. That information alone should not have been making the agent so uncomfortable.

"Not to what we were thinking," Connors admitted. Seeing that Bo was confused, and the former Special Agent was growing angry, he elaborated. "The gun was registered to a resident of Hazzard."

"Are you sure about this?" Jackie asked, her eyes growing wide.

"Yeah, an Ernie Ledbetter." Hearing Bo snort, Connors turned his attention to him. "You know him?"

"Yeah, real interesting guy. Likes to cause trouble, but I can't see him taking a shot at me or Jackie."

"He didn't," the agent confirmed. "When we got the match, we interviewed him. Seems he loaned his gun to a few youths from the area. We tracked them down, and they admitted that they'd been using that piece of property for target practice. They weren't aware that anyone had purchased it or was planning on living on it. They shot you by accident, but when they realized what they had done, they got scared and took off."

"What kids were these?" Bo wanted to know, having guessed this scenario on his own. "I don't remember ever hearing about them being charged or nothing. How come I wasn't told?"

"Mr. Duke, I'm sorry. The kids were sentenced in a sealed agreement outside of Hazzard. We wanted to tell ya, and we planned on it, but we couldn't."

"Why not? I'm the victim. I had a right to know!"

"I agree, but we had staged a death and Special Agent Johnson had already been moved into protective custody because we believed her life was in danger. We wanted to let her know that it wasn't, and she was safe, before we let anyone else know. That's why we were looking for you," Connors added, looking at his former colleague. "But, we couldn't access your records and we couldn't get Randolph to believe us or put us in touch with you. After he died, we had them note your file that should you ever contact them, they were to put you in contact with me, and here we are."

"You mean, we can go home?" Bo asked.

"Yes, you are free to go home or anywhere else you want," Agent Connors told them. "You're not in danger, never were."

"Jackie, that's great," Bo exclaimed. Trying to hug her, she avoided his arms, jumping to her feet instead.

"Great?" she repeated, ignoring Bo and glaring at Connors. "Great?" she repeated. "You people robbed me of almost three years, and stole my life! On a mistake? That is not great!"

Standing up, too, Agent Connors tried to calm her. "You believed it to be true, too," he reminded her.

"I had a hunch, a theory, instinct. I gave you that casing to check it out. I assumed that you had done so before you put that accident plan together. Ballistics doesn't take that long. What happened?" she screamed.

"We all knew what we thought ballistics was going to say," Agent Connors tried to assure her.

Grabbing the file before he could stop her, Jackie started flipping through the pages. Stopping, she looked up, angrier than she was before. "You thought you knew what it would say! This file says you didn't even submit it until after the accident! I've been on the run for three years because you didn't follow procedure?"

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"Me too," Jackie responded. Bringing back her right arm, she hurled it forward until her fist made contact with the young man's nose, sending him on a journey until his butt met the ground. As he laid there looking up at her, Jackie threw the folder on top of him. Turning on her heel, she marched out.

"If she hadn't punched ya, I would have," Bo told him, grabbing his son and following his heart.