There's no better time to write than when you're on vacation and supposed to be at a baseball game . . . but you're not because you came down with a 101.8 degree fever. So basically my misery is your pleasure . . . enjoy.
Chapter 18: A Stranger's Just a Friend Ya Ain't Met Yet
A cringe crept upon Bo's face as a blinding light met his eyes. He soon realized he was not anywhere he usually was - he wasn't in a car, he wasn't at home, he wasn't in town, nor was he at the Boar's Nest. With all those options, gone, Bo could not figure out where he was or why. All he could do was lay there until someone filled him in. He couldn't even think straight enough to try to figure out what this strange place was with the bright light. He was too tired to try to get up.
After an unknown amount of time, Bo heard the creaking of a nearby door. He turned his head, and could just barely make out the forms of a few people entering the room. After a few more seconds, he recognized the people as Luke, Daisy, his daughter, and some unfamiliar woman. Luke was first at his side, grabbing his hand and giving him an encouraging smile.
"Hey, buddy, how ya feelin'?" Luke asked.
"I'm tired," he heard himself respond. "An' I don't know what's goin' on."
Luke grinned. "Don't worry, Bo. Ya had a little accident in the General. Yer in the hospital, but you'll be fine."
"You sure will," Bo heard the unfamiliar woman say. Glancing up at her, Bo found himself attracted to her in ways he hadn't been attracted to anyone since Michelle. He wasn't sure if it was true attraction or if it was just the incessant amount of painkillers doping him up, but it seemed as if this nurse had a glowing aura about her that Bo couldn't look away from. She was positively beautiful to him.
"It just might be a little painful for awhile," she continued in her perfect New York accent. "Ya busted up your knee pretty good. But like he said," she nodded gracefully towards Luke, "you're gonna be absolutely fine. By the way, Bo, I'm Mariah Baker, I'll be your nurse while you're here."
All Bo could do was nod before his daughter took over the conversation.
"Daddy," she said, "does it hurt real bad?"
"To be honest, honey," he croaked out. "I don't feel anything at all. But I guess that's okay." He smiled at Lois, which granted him a smile from Mariah, which in turn made his smile grew.
"Okay, everybody, we need to leave Bo alone and let him sleep a little," Mariah ordered forcefully. "But I'm gonna let someone stay in here with him tanight, but ya better make sure he gets some rest." Bo's smile just stayed on his face at her controlling manner.
Luke stood in the doorway, recognizing that look on his cousin's face. He looked over at Daisy and knew that she noticed it too. Their little Bo had grown up...again. Their youngest cousin was in love...again. Then again, Bo was so doped up with painkillers, he probably didn't know whether he was coming or going. But still, he hadn't had that look on his face in eight years.
01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01
The next time the glorious sun showed its face, everyone had gone home, except for Luke. He sat nearby in a chair, catching as much sleep as one could crammed up in such a position. As Dr. Davis came in that morning to check up on his patient, he noticed that the aforementioned patient's cousin was sleeping in an odd pose. He had to stop and scowl for a moment before checking up on the other sleeping man in the room.
Half an hour later, Luke was aroused from his slumber due to a soft moan from his youngest cousin. Glancing over to see what was the matter, Luke found a groggy Bo peering back at him. Luke grinned as Bo rubbed the eye boogers away.
"Feelin' a little better taday, cuz?" Luke inquired.
Bo nodded slowly. "Yeah. I do," he said. "Has that nurse come by lately?"
Luke shrugged. "I don't know. I just woke up myself. Why? Ya kinda like her?"
Bo smirked. "She was kinda cute, I don't know. I mean I don't know her. She's a stranger ta me."
"Well remember what Uncle Jesse always said 'bout strangers," Luke said. Bo joined in with the next part. "'A stranger's just a friend ya ain't met yet.'"
"That's true," Bo continued. "Well, in that case, I'd like ta git ta know her more. I don't know, there was just somethin' about her. It just hit me, in a way that I ain't felt for no one since Michelle. An' that was real special. But I don't know Luke, I mean I gotta daughter now, an' - "
"Yeah, ya do, Captain Obvious," Luke grinned. "But any woman who can't accept that ain't right fer ya. So ya know what, ya do what ya want 'bout this gal, an' we'll all be behind ya. But, fer now, let's focus on gettin' ya back on yer feet first."
"Oh yeah," Bo said, grinning. "They got me so drugged up I cain't even remember that I'm injured. Ain't that sad?"
"Maybe a little," Luke admitted. Before he could get another word out, the door opened. Enter Bo's dark-haired nurse, sporting a grin.
"Hey Bo," Mariah greeted cheerily. "How ya feelin' today? Get some good sleep?"
Bo nodded. "Sure did," he informed her. "Can ya tell me when I'm gettin' sprung from here?"
"It'll be a couple a days, honey," she told him. "Until then you're just gonna be stuck with us." She winked seductively at the patient, who wore a wide smile. She spent the next five minutes doing routine checks on Bo's vitals. "Get some rest, sweetheart."
"I sure will," Bo responded. "You take care, too."
"Sure thing, honey," Mariah told him, and out the door she went.
Luke, having witnessed the flirtatious moment between his cousin and the nurse, grinned at the younger man's new approach to obtaining a woman. Never before had any Duke boy been so passive with a woman - but Bo could just be too worn out to do anything better. In a week, Luke wondered, would Bo still possess the same viewpoint about Mariah he currently held?
