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 38 …..Ice Cream And Hugs

Holding a bowl of ice cream in each hand Jesse stopped for a moment watching the two children. They were so precious to him, made every day so special, and hearing that one of them had been thrown out of a window just helped you to know how much. Smiling he walked over to them.

"Bo, yer gonna have to sit down before ya can eat," he suggested.

"Busy, I's hugging Luke," Bo declared seriously.

"To busy hugging Luke to sit an' eat ice cream?" Jesse teased him lightly.

"Kinda," Bo agreed.

"Ya can eat yer ice cream Bo," Luke told him. "Don't want it to melt do ya?"

"Are ya hugged 'nough?" Bo frowned.

"Yeah, right now anyways," Luke assured him.

"Then I can eat ice cream now," Bo gave Jesse a smile full of teeth.

"I'm glad to hear it," Jesse smiled, helping Luke to sit up so he could eat better, giving him one bowl, and then giving Bo the second. "Try not to spill too much."

Watching the boys eat he sank down in his favorite armchair.

"Something the matter Luke?" he asked when he noticed that the older boy wasn't really eating.

"My shoulder hurts," Luke complained. "It hurts to eat Uncle Jesse."

"Poor Luke," Bo got up on his knees and pressed a kiss that was sticky with ice cream on his cheek.

"I can give ya the pain medicine in a little while," Jesse assured him.

"But it hurts to eat," Luke pouted and put the bowl on the table, pushing it away from him. "I don't want any, my shoulder hurts to eat it."

"You poor little thing," Jesse sighed softly.

"Poor Luke," Bo repeated, looking mighty thoughtful, and while Jesse had been considering getting Luke the painkillers he decided to wait and see what Bo would do.

Bo looked between his cousin and the ice cream bowl, he loved ice cream, loved it a lot, but then he figured he loved Luke more. Ice cream didn't let you crawl down and sleep beside it when you had bad dreams, and it didn't hit older kids that was being mean. Luke did that, he was always there to hug him when he was sad. Sometimes not right when it happened, but he was a real good big brother, and Bo knew it, he knew what it meant to love someone because his uncle said the way he felt about his cousin was love. If you loved someone, then Bo figured that they had to come before even ice cream.

Loading up his spoon he brought it over to Luke, if his shoulder hurt to eat, then well, Bo's shoulder didn't.

"It's okay Bo, I don't care if I eat anymore ice cream," Luke mumbled.

"But I's care," Bo told him seriously. "Good ice cream, taste yummy."

Luke smiled at him, before taking the ice cream from the spoon, "Thanks Bo."

"Love Luke," Bo beamed feeding him another spoonful, then eating a few for himself. As much as he loved him, Luke wasn't getting all his ice cream.

Jesse smiled to himself and quietly snuck up to get the old camera and get a picture of Bo feeding his older cousin, they were so cute them two boys and you just never knew what was coming from them.

"Bo, Luke's bowl is still on the table," he pointed out. "If yer giving Luke from yours, you can have that as well."

"Good," Bo grinned as his was almost all the way empty. Giving Luke the last of it he put the empty bowl down and grabbed the other one instead, but now Luke only wanted a few spoonfuls, letting Bo have the rest. Luke wasn't really hungry and a bit embarrassed to be spoon fed.

Checking his watch Jesse was relieved to see he should be able to safely give Luke one of the painkillers, giving it to him with some water, and then it was only minutes before Luke was asleep where he lay on the couch.

"Luke's sleepy," Bo declared seriously.

"Yes Bo, he's sleepy," Jesse nodded. "Are ya done with yer ice cream yet?"

"Think so," Bo turned the bowl upside down and peered into it. "Ain't nothing in there, empty."

"Then yer done, come on son, lets wash these off," Jesse told him, taking the two bowls.

"How long's Luke gonna be sleepy?" Bo wanted to know, pulling a chair over to the counter before climbing up on it while Jesse ran up some hot water in the sink.

"I don't know sport, an' don't ya touch the cookie jar," Jesse cautioned as he saw what Bo was looking at.

"Wasn't gonna," Bo declared quickly, pulling his hand back.

"Well, ya had better not gonna, no cookies Bo," Jesse told him sternly.

Bo sat down on the chair with a pout, kicking his feet at the chair legs as he sulked. Jesse sighed, he hoped Bo wasn't having a bad day, he could be rather hard to deal with when he did. Then again it was possible he was just upset about what had happened. For a child that small, it had to be frightened. Drying the bowls he decided that maybe all Bo needed was some comfort and attention.

"Bo, how'd ya like go sitting on the porch swing an' read a story?"

"Story?" Bo jumped to his feet on the chair, standing looking at him with blue eyes sparkling. Not a bad mood then, a little baby boy needing some comfort from his uncle.

"Yes, I'll read ya a story while Luke's sleeping," Jesse promised.

"What story?" Bo wanted to know, looking up at him with big blue eyes.

"Why don't ya go grab the story book an' we'll see what ya wanna hear?"

"Okay," Bo slid down from the chair and walked quietly into the living room, getting the story book from the bookcase. Then he tiptoed back out of the room and held the book up to Jesse who had put the chair back in its place by the table. "Can I bring Teddy?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes you can Bo, go get him an' I'll go out to the porch swing." Jesse knew what was coming when Bo returned, not only with the teddy bear but with his arms full of pillows and blankets as well. Bo wanted to get cozy, really cozy. He didn't make a sound as he stepped on the corner of the blanket that dragged on the floor and tripped himself. He just got back up and slipped out the door Jesse held open for him, putting everything on the porch swing before sitting down and pulling off his boots. Then he climbed up to burry down into the nest he had brought out, settling the teddy bear in his arms.

"Comfy enough there?" Jesse asked smiling.

"Yeah, fer now," Bo declared. "So yer gonna want to be more comfy later huh?" Jesse asked as he opened the story book.

"Yeah, when Luke will let me curl up with him." Bo grinned. "I wanna hear the coon story now Uncle Jesse."

"The one with the little coon that was always stealing all the pies?" Jesse asked though he knew it was the one Bo wanted. He thought the little raccoon was cute, as so many kids thought.

"Yeah that one, please Uncle Jesse," Bo begged, bouncing a little up and down so that the swing started swaying.

"Keep still Bo before ya fall down," Jesse cautioned.

"Okay," Bo leaned against him as Jesse searched the index for the right story. Bo enjoyed hearing his stories a great deal, Luke had never been one to cuddle up like that, though he was happy to let Bo cuddle up to him. He didn't really read stories to Bo though, he would make them up anytime when Bo couldn't sleep. Jesse pretended not to hear the voices coming from their room those nights, he wasn't really keeping Bo up when the boy couldn't sleep, and Luke never had much of a problem waking up in the morning. Besides, it was such a sweet thing.

"Here it is," Jesse stated as he found the right story, letting Bo see the picture of a raccoon with a pie in his paws. Bo giggled as Jesse read about how the other animals got tired of the raccoon always stealing pies, and finally worked together to make him stop.

"Is that what happened to the blueberry pie that disappeared?" Bo asked when he was done. It was a couple of months ago when a blueberry pie he had left to cool had gone missing.

"No Bo, that wasn't no 'coon made off with that pie," Jesse shook his head. He was pretty sure he knew what had happened to that one. Cooter had been over with Luke, before they went on a long bike trip, finding a blueberry patch, and he was pretty sure they had found the wild berries to cover up their tracks.

"Don't 'coons steal pies then?" Bo asked curiously.

"I don't know Bo, maybe some 'coons do, most of them go after the chickens though," Jesse answered.

"Do ya reckon Luke's sleeping yet?" Bo asked twisting around where he sat, even if he couldn't see inside the house.

"I don't know sprout," Jesse shrugged, he was starting to suspect that Bo was in a curious mood at the moment.

"Can I go see?"

"Can ya go see without waking him up if he is?" Jesse countered his question.

"I dunno," Bo shrugged. "Can I?"

"Luke needs his rest Bo," Jesse insisted.

"But if he ain't sleeping, I don't have to worry about waking him up," Bo figured.

"Why don't ya go play some outside, or we could read another story," Jesse suggested, hoping he'd take the bait.

"I dunno, I wanna hear one of Luke's stories," Bo shrugged, twisting around again, hugging the teddy bear.

"Not right now Bo," Jesse told him.

"When then?"

"Later."

"How much later?" Bo stood up in his seat and Jesse quickly pulled him back down to sit.

"Ya wanna fall down an' get hurt?" he chided.

"No, but I wanna go to Luke," Bo beamed.

"Luke need to rest right now, ya can go to him later," Jesse repeated.

"When later?"

"Later Bo, I don't know how much later," Jesse sighed. "Tell ya what, why don't me an' you go take care of some of the chores?" Bo usually loved to feed that chickens, so that would distract him for a while.

"The chores now?" Even Bo knew this wasn't the time they usually did the chores.

"Well, if we do them now, ya can be with Luke later," Jesse explained, and that Bo liked to hear.

"Okay," Bo agreed, bending down and getting his boots before pulling them on. Jesse chuckled as he watched. "Bo, why don't ya take them boots off an' I'll give ya a hand?" he suggested.

"I got them on," Bo declared kicking his feet in the air.

"I see that Bo," Jesse knelt to take them off. "But ya got them on wrong, ya got the right boot on the left foot."

"Yeah, it's the right boot," Bo grinned at him even while Jesse switched. "Can I feed the chickens Uncle Jesse?"

"That's yer job ain't it?" Jesse smiled, taking him along and giving him the feed bucket. Not saying anything as he kept scaring them to make them scatter, laughing as he feed them. When the feed bucket was empty he gave him a brush and asked him to brush the goat, Bo liked to do that. He'd sit and lean his head against the fur as he brushed, one arm around his neck and cuddle with the goat. He loved doing it so much he forgot to be in a hurry back inside.

In credit of the man who figured it was always okay and never asked if it really was…..