Author's Note: This is a story I wrote about the Dukes and their first years at the farm. I tried to keep it with them from the point where they got to the farm, and carry on throughout a couple of years. It's a growing and learning experience for all of them. There are also notes at the end of each chapter, a credit of sorts to a father from his son.

Warning : The warning is placed here for vinsmouse, who wanted a spew warning here, claiming it might be a bad idea to drink while reading the funnier parts. So please keep in mind that drinking any kind of beverage while reading this, might be hazzard'ous to the health of your screen.

Disclaimer: The Duke Boys are not mine, I don't own the Duke boys, nor the General Lee. I promise that once I'm through with them, there will be nothing broken that a trip to Cooter's garage can't fix….

Learning To Love…

Chapter 13 ……A Good Fight

Jesse had taken Luke and Bo to town with him since Martha was baking that day. She was making both bread and cookies, and not just for themselves either. The old widow down the road had taken ill and while it wasn't too bad Martha was baking for her to so that she would have bread for a while. There was also the church picnic coming up and she thought it was better to get it all done in one day.

While Daisy was enough of a help to her she claimed that it was easier if she got all the men folk out of the way so she could work in peace.

Jesse had spent the morning of the day working in the fields and had kept Luke with him, but now that he was done there a trip to town for some supplies seemed like a good enough idea.

"Uncle Jesse, can I walk around some?" Luke wanted to know as Jesse parked the pickup outside the general store.

"Well, I reckon ya can." Jesse nodded as he picked the baby up and carried him on his arm. "I don't know how long I'm gonna be, but don't go too far an' I reckon I can find ya."

"Okay, thanks Uncle Jesse," Luke smiled as he darted off running down the street. Jesse smiled looking after him, it was good if the boy got all that running out of him before they headed back. He had already learnt that Luke was a very active child. He needed to be allowed to run a certain amount every day or there was just no controlling him.

He had been forced to spank the boy for the first time a rainy day. Being told he would have to stay indoors so he wouldn't get wet and dirty the boy had started to get wilder and wilder in his games until he wound up knocking down a flower pot. He hadn't meant to, and Jesse had been firm but not harsh. Luke was made to clean it up, and was then dealt a fair punishment before Jesse sat him down and talked with him gently. Assuring the boy that it was now over and done with and that they weren't mad at him as long as he had learnt his lesson.

Though, Martha and Jesse had learnt their lesson to, rainy day or not they let him go out and play. It was far easier to deal with a wet and muddy boy than one that was running up the walls from being cooped up.

Jesse stood watching him as he bounced Bo on his arm, turning to the baby. "Ya know, fer someone that small, yer cousin's mighty fast. Reckon he's gonna be a real good runner."

Luke darted into an alleyway, then another until he found himself coming back to the main street. Hastily turning his head to look up and down the street he ran across to the square to see if there was anything there to play with. The best he found was climbing up on the face around it, so he found himself straying away to explore again.

"Hey there Duke," someone suddenly called as he was making his way into an alley and he turned around. "It was a freckle faced boy that looked to be one or two years older than him, though Luke had never seen him before.

"What?" he frowned not sure how polite his uncle would insist on him being with a boy who sounded that rude to him.

"Your one of them Dukes, ain't cha?" The boy demanded folding his arms over his chest and Luke nodded slowly.

"Ya know what, my pa says that all Dukes are just poor worthless moonshiners," he sneered.

"Shut up!" Luke shouted making up his mind, anyone who said things like that was not someone that Luke was gonna be any polite to at all.

"What's yer name?" the boy demanded as he stepped over and pushed him.

"Luke," Luke had been told countless times that if he didn't learn to control his anger he would be in trouble, it was true, but it was the anger that allowed him to face a bigger boy and not flinch. He was far too angry to be scared, he stumbled back as he was pushed but he didn't show any fear.

"Luke Duke, huh," the boy laughed. "I ain't never heard anything so stupid. Ya know what I think, I think ya should change it to Luke Puke instead." He laughed happily as he had insulted another small boy just the same way he would his little brother. There are always those who seemed to enjoy those things. However, while his brother would run away crying, Luke Duke was not minded to do that.

"Take that back!" He declared clenching up his small fists.

"Why should I? Ya can't do nothing to me anyway ya little twerp," the bully pushed him again and Luke fell backwards, but now he considered the fight already started. Scrambling to his feet and throwing himself at the older boy, one who suddenly came to realize that even small kids could put up a good fight.

Luke screamed the same as the other boy did as they hit each others and was able to land some good punches. Luke's nose was bleeding and the other boy had gotten his lip split, but Luke wasn't about to stop.

However, he found himself at a disadvantage when the other boy got him down and was straddling him.

"Hey, you two, stop that!" another voice cried out but Luke couldn't see who it was. He wasn't really in a position to stop anything either, because all he was doing was trying to get free from the boy who was pulling really hard on his hair.

"Get off him ya jerk!"

That voice Luke recognized, because that was Cooter who literally pulled the other boy off him and pushed him aside. Luke got to his feet and made to leap at him but found himself hoisted up into the air. "Oh no Luke, the fight's over." Josh told him firmly as he held the boy still in the air. "Cooter!" He snapped as he saw his own son try to do what Luke had been stopped from doing.

The freckled face bully had no more gotten to his feet before Cooter had pushed him down to continue the fight.

"But he was beating Luke," Cooter objected as he pulled the boy up off the ground.

"Looks to me like Luke did some beating of his own," Josh grinned. "Didn't count on that did ya Brett? Some boys fight back if ya pick on them ya know. Now go on, run off home with ya before I let yer Pa know what ya's been doing, he ought to take a switch to yer hide an' teach ya some manners."

"I could've taught him that," Cooter stated as he glared at the boy who was running away.

"Well ya ain't going to, or I'm taking a switch to you," Josh stated firmly as he put Luke back down at the ground. "Are ya okay son?" he asked softly.

Luke nodded, he was afraid that if he said anything he would start crying, because now that he wasn't as angry anymore it was really starting to hurt.

"I saw yer Uncle's pickup, so I thought I'd come looking for ya." Cooter explained. "Ya ought to stay away from them jerks."

"I's just going in here to look," Luke hurried to explain afraid they were angry at him. "I didn't mean to fight, honest, but he was calling me names an' he was pushing me so I fell."

Josh chuckled, "An' ya sure made him think twice about picking a fight with a Duke again I reckon." He knelt down to Luke's level to look him in the eye. "Listen to me here Luke, a man ain't supposed to fight, but ya ain't supposed to let them push ya around either. Now, Brett there, he likes to push smaller boys around."

Luke nodded slowly, sniffing and looking down at himself. He had torn up both the elbows of his shirt and the knees of his jeans in the fight, and the skin under was scrapped and raw, it was starting to sting and hurt more and more as felt less and less angry. He reached up a hand to rub at his head where Bret had pulled at his hair and winced as it hurt.

"Are ya sure yer okay?" Cooter asked him looking at Luke's face and the bruises there, a single tear mixing with the blood, and Luke nodded again.

"Come on Luke, we'll get over to the shop an' clean ya off," Josh told him softly.

"Come Luke, ya can ride on my back," Cooter offered and bent down so Luke could get on to his back. Luke sniffed again before scrambling up and wrapping his arms around Cooter's neck while Cooter took a hold of his legs and carried him while Luke rested his head against Cooter's back.

Josh and Cooter took him over to the shop where he worked selling farm supplies, and into the office that also had a small pantry. Josh lifted Luke up to sit on the counter so he could look him over. Having raised Cooter he knew exactly what to do with a boy who had been fighting. Taking of the torn shirt to reveal several bruises he wet a towel in cold water before gently cleaning the boy off. Pretending that he didn't see the few tears that the boy couldn't hold back.

"Next time I see Brett, I'm gonna let him know how that feels," Cooter declared angrily.

"Ya ain't gonna do no such thing boy, or I'm taking ya to the woodshed an' putting ya over my knee." Josh wet the towel again. "This is gonna hurt some Luke, I've got to clean that nose an' lip of yers off." He wiped it off as carefully as he could though Luke still whimpered.

"That's a brave boy," Josh encouraged as he rinsed the towel out before starting to clean of his elbows and all the dirt he had picked up.

"I ain't brave," Luke sniffed as he rubbed a hand at the tear tried to escape down his cheek.

"Oh, sure ya are, I've seen kids older than ya squeal like a girl after they's been in a fight Josh stated looking the boy over. He had fixed him up so that he was mostly clean, but the bruises were starting to show and there was no way to miss that the boy had been fighting.

"It hurts," Luke sniffed again, "An' Uncle Jesse's gonna be mad at me."

"I think that yer Uncle is gonna understand Josh assured him as he helped him to get his shirt back on again, and buttoned it up for the boy. "Shall we go find him?"

Luke hesitated, he wanted his uncle and he wanted his uncle to hug him so that he would feel better, but he was still scared that his uncle would be mad at him.

"Come on Luke, we're gonna go with ya, an' we're gonna explain to him." Josh assured him. "Trust me son, ya didn't do nothing wrong fighting this time."

"Promise?" Luke looked down at his shirt where the pocket was near clean tore off, and he couldn't see how they would not be angry at him for it.

"I promise ya Luke," Josh lifted him down on the floor and took his hand as they walked outside. "He's over at the store, ain't he?"

"Yes sir," Luke nodded giving Cooter a pleading look.

"Don't worry Luke, Brett's a jerk an' everyone knows it." Cooter gave him a reassuring smile.

"Cooter, stop calling him by names, I thought ya knew better," Josh sighed.

"But he is a jerk," Cooter objected.

"Cooter," Josh warned, he didn't want his son to teach Luke it was okay to back talk people for any reason.

"Alright, I ain't gonna say it no more," Cooter sighed.

"Good," Josh led the two boys over to the general store and Luke ducked in behind him slightly as he saw his uncle.

"Jesse, I need a word with you," Josh told him quietly.

"Good lord Luke, what happened to ya?" Jesse immediately knelt down and reached out his hand for Luke, who was still half hiding.

"Cooter an' me saw him full in a fight with that boy Brett," Josh explained. "Ya know how he always tries to push everyone younger around, only this time he found someone who put up a fight. I told him it wasn't his fault though, that boy started it, an' all Luke did was defend himself." Josh had promised him that his uncle wasn't going to get mad, and he meant it.

"Oh Luke, looks like he got in some really good licks in there," Jesse sighed as he held Bo on one arm and reached out his hand to touch Luke's chin and turn his head gently. "Are ya okay?"

"Yes Uncle Jesse," Luke nodded. "I'm sorry Uncle Jesse, I didn't mean to fight, I tried not to." Now a few tears started running down his cheeks again.

"I ain't mad at ya Luke," Jesse brushed them away with his thumb. "Worried ya got hurt, but I ain't mad at ya."

"I'm proud of him," Josh stated. "He sure did prove that he is a Duke there, though I think he could use some cheering up, that boy got in some good punches like ya said."

"He sure did," Jesse looked at the bruise on his cheek, "That's gonna smart fer some time."

"Hey Luke," Mr. Rhuebottom came over to them and held out a clear glass jar with hard candy to Luke. "I reckon one of those is gonna make it feel better, least a little."

"Thank ya sir," Luke bowed his head before he reached his hand into the jar and took one of the candies, popping it into his mouth.

"You too Cooter," Rhuebottom smiled as he held the jar to the older boy, knowing he loved them as much as any other kid.

"Thank ya sir," Cooter bowed his head the same as Luke did and took one smiling.

Jesse looked at his boy who stood there putting on a brave face and eating a bit of candy. "Ya know what, I think ya might as well wrap a few of those up fer Luke, reckon Josh here is right about him needing something to cheer him up."

"Sure thing Jesse," Rhuebottom grinned as he wrapped up a paper cone for the boy. He would have done it even if Jesse hadn't told him too. He remembered when he, Jesse, and Josh were young themselves and would get in fights. He also remembered how Luke's father had a temper that would have him fighting near every month, it was good to see something of the father in the boy, and he wrapped up twice the amount Jesse asked for before he gave the boy the cone. "There ya are son."

"Thank ya sir, thank ya Uncle Jesse," Luke accepted the cone and gave them a small smile.

Jesse frowned looking at Luke. "Thought what we are gonna do now I don't know. It's too early to go home yet."

"Come on over to the shop then," Josh grinned. "I was about to brew up some coffee, an' Cooter an' Luke can find something to occupy themselves with I'm sure."

"I reckon I could do with a cup," Jesse grinned back at him.

While the two of them sat down to chat idly with their coffee Luke and Cooter climbed up to sit on one of the tractors that Cooter's fathers sold and Luke offered Cooter a piece of candy from his cone. Jesse still had Bo so Luke was free to check out the tractor, but even if he sat out on the edge of the seat he couldn't reach the pedals and barely the wheel. Smiling Cooter sat him in his lap where he could reach better and started explaining to him how you drove.

In credit of the man who told me to have a good time and kept watching the television when I told him I was meeting up the neighbor kids for a fight…

TBC

Please review, the Cricket is hungry….