Chapter 4: A Favor Asked

Kira woke up first this morning and did her best to slip away without waking Bo. The last two days replayed themselves in Kira's mind as she proceeded to get ready for work.

In the last forty-eight hours, she had been shown more affection than she could ever remember being on the receiving end of. As an adult, touch has always meant a professional handshake or two; nothing more. As a child, Kira had learned to dread touch. Usually touch came in the form of pain. Usually...

Kira shook the thoughts away. Looking over at Bo's sleeping form, she worried that she'd hurt him the first time she'll pull away. She knew it would happen. She'd had fought it a couple of times already. It felt so strange to want, love, even need that closeness and fear it at the same time.

After she finished pulling her hair back in a low ponytail, Kira walked over to the stereo, turn it to rock station, then blasted the volume. Kira watched on in amusement as Bo literally jumped off the couch. He quickly looked around trying to figure out what was going on until his eyes fell on Kira. She turned the stereo off laughing.

"Mornin' Darlin'. Rise and shine!" Kira parroted Bo's greeting from the previous morning. Bo ran his hand through his blond hair smiling as he understood that this was her slight revenge for yesterday.

"Mornin'. Been up long?" Obviously, she had by looking at the way she was dressed. "You should've woken me."

"I just did, Bo-bear. Besides, I ain't been up longer than about half an hour. I figured I'd leave the truck for you to use today. If you're stayin' a few days, you'll need to go get a couple changes of clothes. Otherwise, Daisy'll have just burn that there outfit you've been wearing since Saturday."

Kira saw Bo look away. Oh, she knew that he planned on being stubborn about her not spending more money on him. Duke Pride and stubbornness. Well, she had her own share, too.

"If it makes you feel better, you can keep them here when you go home. That way, the next time you come for an impromptu visit, you won't have to worry about packin'."

Kira knew how to read people, knew how to state her argument and set out reason in front them before they could argue back. That's what made her so good at what she did. So of course, Bo couldn't fight with that kind of logic. Actually, he liked the idea of leaving physical proof that he had been here and planned to come back.

"Alright. What time do you think you'll be gettin' back?"

"I should be done by lunch. It'll be a slow week. Really, I only need to run a few quick errands. Deliver some paperwork, have some signed, that kind of stuff. Answer a few calls."

Kira went over to her bike and did a quick once over out of habit. Bo picked up her helmet and noticed it was painted with a bird of some kind on it.

"What's this? I've never seen this before." Bo traced the bird with his finger as Kira came over to him.

"It's a phoenix. I was told that she and I are a lot alike. The phoenix is said to be nearly impossible to kill. If you do succeed in killing her, her body bursts into flames. She is then reborn of the ashes of her own death. Thus, alive and well to take revenge on who ever had brought her harm." Kira took the helmet from Bo and took it to her bike.

Bo was silent for a minute. "It fits. After all, just this weekend you were reborn in a sense from your own death. Remember it was only two days ago you were a ghost. Now, well..."

Bo had intended on being light about it, but he had to stop as his voice cracked. Instead, Bo pulled Kira into a hug. Words weren't his usual way of showing how he felt. So, he fell back on his usual manner of communicating. He felt Kira stiffen slightly before she relaxed into the hug. Some of the shared memories of Kira's childhood floated into his mind. He wasn't sure if it was him or Kira who was remembering them, but he understood that they were the reason for her stiffening.

Bo gave her one last squeeze before letting her go. "You better get goin' I guess," he said as he stepped back.

"I guess so. I left the keys on the table for you. I'll be back in a while." With that, Kira walked her motorcycle out the door.

Bo went to the kitchen to get breakfast and saw the truck keys on the table. Along with the keys was the money Kira expected him to use to buy some clothes. Dang it, he was a Duke. He can't just spend her money. But he agreed to Kira's request, and he had to admit, he did need a change of clothes. So, after he ate, he headed out to go find a place to get some clothes.

"Judge Barclay!" Kira practically ran to catch up to the judge before the elevator closed. Barclay put a hand on the elevator to hold it for the young woman headed his way.

"Miss Kyle, how are you?"

"I'm fine. How's Sam been doin'?" Sam was his daughter. She had gone through a rough patch a while back and Kira had sort of become her mentor. It was her help with Sam that Kira hoped would help her now. "And you, of course." Kira smiled at the older man as his face lit up.

"She's made a complete turnaround. Her teachers all say she's like a different person. I've been meaning to call to ask you to Thanksgiving dinner. It's the least I can do after all you've done to help Sam. What with no family and all of your own, I'd be happy to have you come out."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that none. In fact, I need to talk to you about something." Kira paused before adding, "And I need a favor."

Kira wasn't in the habit of asking favors from anyone. Judge Barclay knew that. He looked at her for a second before answering her.

"Well come on up to my chambers and fill me in on this favor of yours and I'll see what I can do."

Meanwhile, back in Hazzard, despite Bo's call to stop worrying for him, the search party still worried. Now it was because they hoped they could find him before Hogg did. He had traced Bo's call to Atlanta. The call had been too short to get an exact location though. But just knowing Bo wasn't in Hazzard was enough for Boss. And in spite of Rosco's pleas to go easy on the Duke just this once, Boss was insistent that Bo was to be arrested the moment he showed back up in Hazzard.

Back at the Duke farm, the three remaining Dukes were left knowing that this time; there would be no wiggle room in getting Bo out of trouble. Once Bo showed up, the reunion would be short lived for sure. But even with all that was going on, they continued to prepare for the onslaught of Dukes that would begin to filter in over the next couple of mornings.

Coy and Vance were due to arrive the next morning to help set up the extra cots, and whatever else would need to be done, as the majority of Dukes would be coming in throughout Wednesday. Judd would be the last to arrive, not scheduled to arrive until Thursday morning.

Daisy sat at the table trying to plan out what else she needed so she'd be prepared for Thanksgiving but just couldn't seem to put her heart into it. Just a couple of days ago she had sat in this very spot teasing Luke about his pictures. It had been in this spot when Bo had learned abruptly that he wasn't born an only child as he had always been led to believe. It was here that the family seemed to crumble as Bo ran out of here in blind anger. And it was here that Daisy just sat thinking about her lost, baby cousin.

Okay, he could hardly be called her baby cousin anymore. He had long since outgrown all of them; even Luke, who had always seemed larger than life to her.

Bo was by far the most sensitive of the Dukes. He seemed to feel everything on the extreme. When he was happy, no one could seem to do anything but be happy with him. But when he cried, it could break the heart of anyone nearby. Even Boss had been known to fight back tears as the youngest Duke cried.

Daisy looked out the kitchen door as she once again wondered why Bo went to Atlanta and how he'd gotten there. She only hoped that she could ask him before Boss had Rosco put him under the jail.

Bo headed back into Kira's apartment building with his lone bag. The prices here in Atlanta were nearly double of those at Rhuebottom's. He had grudgingly purchased two pairs of jeans and two plain blue T-shirts. The only bright part of the whole ordeal was when he had gotten to flirt with the cashier.

She was already looking a bit frazzled so early in the day due to the other shoppers who seemed to go out of their way to be rude to the sales staff. So of course, when it came his turn to be waited on, Bo had turned his southern charm on in high gear. By the time he had gotten his change, the woman was alternating between various shades of red.

Once inside, Bo hastily changed into one of his newly acquired outfits then set about to doing the laundry so his clothes would be ready for him when it was time to return to Hazzard. Just because he didn't usually do laundry didn't mean he couldn't do laundry after all.

With that done, Bo began to wander the apartment to really take in his sister's home. It had no pictures or personal touches really. It reminded Bo of a set for a play. A place made up to look like someone lived here but lacked real substance. True, at least Kira had set up a keyboard in the bedroom. He should have known. Music was in a Duke's blood just as much as racing is.

Bo knew he was snooping but he figured he'd be forgiven. On the top shelf of the closet, Bo found a scrapbook that held Kira's GED and college diplomas. Go figure, a Duke went off to college and no one even knew she was alive. It also held various articles from some of the races she'd participated in.

In the back of the book, Bo found an obituary to the first person that had ever really tried to help Kira. Bo sent up a silent prayer of thanks for the long since gone, self-appointed guardian angel that had taken Kira in as a teenager. He stared at the picture of the man who had helped Kira turn her life away from the hopelessness that usually comes with having lived on the streets. Closing the scrapbook, Bo replaced it on the shelf in the closet.

Turning back to keyboard, he notices that it had a record feature. Bo pushed play to hear the last piece that Kira had recorded. The melody that flowed around him was a sad, soulful sort. It seemed to convey all the emotions that had been so prominent in Kira's life. Fear, sadness, dread, and anger. Halfway through though, the melody changed. Bits of lighter strands began to filter their way into the piece. Almost like it symbolized a recognition of a turning point in life. Slowly, the lighter strands overtook the melody giving it a happier sound despite the dark undertones that still played in the background.

So lost in the music, Bo never noticed when his sister returned from work. Realizing that she hadn't been seen, Kira slipped back out and headed to the kitchen and began to make sandwiches for lunch. Standing here in the kitchen as Bo listened to the piece that she had not allowed anyone else to hear, it just seemed right that Bo heard it. After all, he was the only living person that knew of everything that she had been through during her childhood. Kira recorded this piece for the first time shortly after Ben died.

Ben Kyle, a stubborn old man who took great pleasure in getting one over on his selfish kids. He told them that if they were too busy and self-important to give him grand kids, he'd just go out and pick one.

Kira still could hardly believe that fate had put her in the right place at the right time. It had irked his kids to no end when the old man had taken in a street urchin. It had totally ticked them off when she had been named in his will, too, with conditions of course. But she hadn't minded them. She had no interest in his money. She fulfilled those conditions out of respect, though, for the man that saw her as being worth something more than street litter. So, through her, Ben had gotten in one last jab at his spoiled kids. They never forgave Ben, or her, for his parting shot at them. But that was their problem, not hers.

"I didn't hear you come in. How was work?" Bo came in and unthinkingly he gave the customary greeting that he usually gave Daisy, a kiss to the forehead. This time though, unlike this morning, Kira didn't shy away from his touch.

"I just got in, and work was actually a little boring with most everyone already gone for the holiday."

"I didn't know you played the keyboard. That piece have any lyrics to go with it? I like it." Bo fished around the fridge to pull out the milk and got a couple of glasses out as Kira put the sandwiches on the table. "You should try your hand at song writing, I think you'd be good at it."

"No there ain't no lyrics. It's a piece that just sort of played itself. As far as knowing how to play, I sort of taught myself to play by ear. I just like to mess around with it some, is all. It's nothing really."

"Do me a favor; bring your keyboard when we go to Hazzard. We'll play together. You on the keyboard, me and Luke can join you with our guitars. It'll be fun."

"I don't know..."

"Come on, please."

Okay, she was definitely going to have to find some sort of defense against those big blue eyes and puppy dog face. Kira got the feeling that that look tended to work for him a lot. Just like it was going to now.

"Oh, alright. But I ain't promising to actually play it."

Bo grinned his assent. He knew he'd won half the battle. He'd win the other half later.

During lunch, the two talked about everything and anything. From Kira's clients to Bo's shopping trip, from which it was obvious that he had enjoyed the fact that even in rumpled, dirty old clothes, he had still been able to get a color show out of the cashier. Kira teased Bo about how one day, someone was going to tame the playboy he'd become. If someone had peaked in, no one would have ever guessed that the siblings hadn't spent their entire lives together.

As the day wore on, Bo convinced Kira to play the keyboard. She played Jonny Cash's Boy Named Sue to which Bo sang along. By the end though they had started laughing so hard that they couldn't finish the song. Afterwards, Bo wheedled Kira into singing a song herself. After a moment of thinking, Kira played and sang Patsy Cline's Crazy with perfect pitch.

Bo tried, unsuccessfully, to convince her that she had sung it great. Despite her lack of confidence, though, Kira sang a few more songs with Bo as she allowed herself to enjoy the afternoon with her brother. Both were all too aware that Wednesday was fast approaching. With its arrival, Bo would be returning to Hazzard and the opportunities to spend time together may be few and far between.