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 46 …Fear

Luke tried to tell himself that he wasn't scared, only little kids were scared, and he wasn't a little kid no more. He wasn't even scared of being high up anymore, not after that girl threw him out of the window. His uncle had said something about the hairs of the dog, but Luke wasn't sure exactly what it meant.

Now though he was scared, very scared.

"Cooter!" he cried.

"Hold on Luke, I'll get ya outta there," Cooter promised him, looking around.

"Cooter!" Luke called again, he was getting more and more scared.

"Hey, Cooter, maybe I should go run for help," Brody suggested.

"Don't try it, if ya let go we can't hold on that long," Cooter snapped. They had been out on an adventure picnic with Enos, and when they rough housed around a little Cooter's ball cap had fallen into the creek. The creek looked a bit wilder than usual, but the cap got stuck on a branch stuck on a rock, and Luke figured he could get it. Not that he was the best swimmer, wasn't really a swimmer, but usually it wasn't deeper than that he could wade. The thing was that it was mighty cold, and none of the others wanted to get in the cold water. When they noticed the stream really was stronger Brody had jokingly tied together some hay bale strings he had in his pocket for a life line. Both boys held it and laughed while Luke got the cap. It was when he tried to get back to shore that he slipped and fell. The water pulled at him and he couldn't find his footing again. The others quickly grabbed the makeshift rope as well, and Cooter stood knee deep in the water trying to reach him, but no matter how much Luke fought against the stream, he couldn't get closer to the shore. He was getting really scared.

"Come on, we need to pull him back to us," Cooter urged the others.

"We're trying," Brody stated, Enos looked plumb terrified. He wasn't really surprised since Enos was mostly more nervous, and they all knew what would happen if Luke got swept away. He'd be miles down the stream before anyone had the chance of doing anything about it.

"Luke, stop fighting an' just hold on, okay?" Cooter called.

"Cooter!" Luke called, he was getting mighty cold from the water, his fingers felt numb and he could hardly feel the pain where the string bit into his hands anymore.

"Just hang on," Cooter told him firmly. "An you two hang on," he told Brody and Enos. Then he grabbed the string closer to Luke and slowly pulled, trying to get him closer to the shore.

Luke was too scared to really help, but as they got him a little closer to the shore Cooter waded out to his waist and grabbed him, quickly pulling him all the way up on the shore.

Luke sat shaking in the grass, trembling from fear and shiver from the cold.

"You okay Luke?" Cooter asked worriedly.

Luke nodded slowly and handed him the cap.

"Man, I can't believe what happened to the creek," Brody shook his head. "It ain't ever been like this before."

"That was awful scary," Enos stated, looking at Luke nervously.

"I'm cold," Luke complained, it was easier to admit to being cold then scared.

"I bet, that water is ice cold," Cooter took of his own shirt. "Here, use that to dry off."

"Cooter, we ain't gotta tell Uncle Jesse, do we?" Luke pleaded. "He'd get mad."

"We just get ya dry, an' he don't need to know," Cooter assured him. "Come on, get dried off now, my place ain't far from here, an' we can go there an really thaw up."

"Good," Luke stated, sitting down on the ground so he could really dry himself off, it wasn't the first time he used a shirt for that.

"Ya ain't hurt are ya?" Cooter asked as he saw a couple of cuts and bruises, some of them bleeding a small trickle.

"Nah, not really, just sore," Luke rubbed at a bruise. "That's gonna be a big one."

"Yeah," Cooter grinned as he saw the area on his thigh. "Huge."

"Does it hurt?" Enos asked. One of the older of the boys, he still tended to look up to the others.

"Yeah, but that's okay," Luke told him. Out of the water he felt a lot better. "Ya know, we ought to get a good rope, an' charge kids to get to do that."

"I don't think it'd catch on," Brody giggled as Luke started pulling his clothes back on.

"Least ya saved my lucky hat," Cooter grinned as he pulled the cap back on. The cap meant nothing to him, compared to the trouble they nearly got into. He wasn't going to say that though, that wouldn't make Luke feel any better.

"What will yer folks say?" Enos asked worriedly as they headed towards Cooter's place.

"They ain't home," Cooter grinned. "An Enos, try not to tell yer ma, okay."

"I'll try," Enos agreed. "But if she asks, I'm gonna have to."

"Just tell her we was playing by the creek," Brody advised. "An that we went over to Cooter's."

"I got some dry clothes ya can borrow Luke, an' then we clean yours off," Cooter promised him. "An' I'll make hot chocolate."

"I want a big mug," Luke declared. "Lots of hot chocolate."

"Well, I figured to use the big pot, so we can have as much as we like," Cooter grinned. He did know how to cook enough to feed himself when his mother wasn't home, and he soon had the chocolate on the stove, as well as grilled cheese sandwiches for the lot of them.

Luke felt half silly though when he had borrowed Cooter's clothes, his was a bit moist, and a few bloodstains from the adventure, and Cooter had promised to have them clean and dry before he left. Cooter's clothes was too big for him thought, and that was why he felt silly.

"Are ya sure ya can fix up my clothes, Cooter?" Luke asked him sitting down at the kitchen table.

"Sure, won't be a problem," Cooter grinned. "Just let me finish here first, we got time enough before ya have to head back."

"Sure," if Cooter said it Luke believed it.

"Okay, you guys can just help yourself," Cooter told them as he put the grilled cheese sandwiches on the table. Getting ladling the hot chocolate into the mugs since the pot was to big for pouring it. "Sorry I ain't got no marshmallows or nothing."

Luke grabbed the mug eagerly as Cooter put it down in front of him. Ignoring that it was hot enough to burn his mouth a little he drank it down in big gulps. Cooter was eating on his sandwich and drinking his mug pretty quickly as well. Then he refilled Luke's mug and went to straighten up his clothes.

"What I don't get is what happened to the creek," Brody pondered as Luke was halfway through his second mug, and done with his second grilled cheese sandwich. He had tried some of Cooter's not so successful cooking attempt, but he was good at making grilled cheese sandwiches.

"I don't know, an' I don't care," Luke told him firmly. "But next time I'm tossing a stick in before I go in."

"What good would that go?" Enos frowned thoughtfully.

"Well, I know about how fast a stick is supposed to go down the creek, if it goes down faster, I ain't going in," Luke explained.

"Do ya know what I don't get?" Enos asked him quietly.

"I ain't got no idea until ya tell me Enos," Luke emptied his mug, he wanted more, but he had a strong feeling that there wasn't much more room in his stomach.

"How it can come I'm getting better grades in school than you are, you're always the one who figures everything out," Cooter told him, slightly awed. He knew he would never have thought about a trick like what Luke was talking about with the stick.

"School is boring," Luke shrugged. "There's no real point going there, just a waste of time when ya could be doing better things."

"Wanna play hooky tomorrow then?" Brody wanted to know, his grin spreading. "I heard there was some real big fish over in Hazzard Pond that was biting."

"Sure thing, unless Uncle Jesse finds out about the creek, cause then I'll be in too much trouble to be able to."

"Well, I don't see how he could," Cooter grinned as he returned. "I'm gonna have yer clothes clean an' dry in two shakes of a lambs tail Luke."

"Looks like I'm going fishing then," Luke beamed, accepting the refill Cooter gave him. "But I ain't gonna be able to bring my pole, Uncle Jesse would figure that out for sure."

"We'll share," Brody looked at Enos. "Wanna join us?"

No one was surprised when Enos shook his head though. "No, I don't think so, ya know my ma would find out as soon as I got home, an' then she'd know about you guys as well."

"Enos, did anyone ever tell ya that yer too honest?" One of the old dogs that Cooter and his folks had was coming into the chicken, and Luke reached down a part of a grilled cheese sandwich for her. The Davenport farm now held five dogs, one was just a puppy but this was one of the older ones. She came over and ate it out of his hand, and Luke scratched her behind the ears. He and Bo both loved to play with the dogs when they were over. One of them in particular, that dog enjoyed wrestling games.

"How can ya be too honest?" Enos wanted to know.

"When yer admitting to something before ya do it, then yer too honest," Luke informed him.

My ma expects me to do like she tells her an' not make any mischief," Enos mumbled. When she asks me, I've got to tell her, ya know."

"I reckon so," Luke shrugged as the dog licked his hand hoping for more food. "The difference is just how quick we admit to it. I only do it if Uncle Jesse wanna know if it was me, cause by then I've already done it."

"Yer like Denis the menace," Brody giggled. "Is there more hot chocolate Cooter?"

"Sure," Cooter took his mug and got up to the stove. There was skin on the chocolate in the pot, and with a grin he put it all in the mug, adding more hot chocolate on top of it, it'd be fun when he tried to drink that. He gave the mug back and hid a grin. Luke slipped down from the chair so he could play more with the dog.

"Hey Luke, give her some dog biscuits," Cooter suggested. Luke and him had taught the dogs a couple of tricks.

"Sure thing," Luke got the box from the cabinet where they kept them. "Sit," he told the dog who sat down on her haunches to wait for the treat. "See this," Luke waved the treat in the air, the dog following it with her eyes. "Get it," Luke called, tossing it to the other end of the kitchen, the dog shooting after it. The tricks they had taught the dogs were tricks they thought was funny. Since they already knew to sit and walk heal, it had been easy to teach them to attack the treats on command.

Brody laughed, then started coughing and making faces. "Ew, yuck, what is this?" he complained looking into his mug.

"Hot chocolate," Cooter laughed. "Don't ya like it?"

"This can't be hot chocolate," Brody objected. "There is something yucky in here," he went to the sink to rinse it out of his mug. "Looks like the skin from the chocolate. Cooter, did ya put it in my mug?"

"Sure, seemed like a good idea," Cooter laughed.

Luke was using another practical trick they had taught the dog, how to be a good pillow. "How long before my clothes is gonna be dry Cooter, Uncle Jesse is gonna pick me up in an hour."

"Don't worry, they's gonna be done in half an hour," Cooter promised him.

"Good," Luke smiled to himself, it was a mighty comfortable dog to lie and wait on.

In credit of the man who wouldn't have pets…..

TBC

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