SCENT OF SUN

"I don't know what I should hope, uncle Jesse," sitting in the back seat of The General Lee, Daisy rested her head on uncle Jesse's shoulder, "I hope the man found in Rockdale County is Enos, so ending this wait, but at the same time I don't want to think of Enos… that way."

Head trauma and gunshot wound… Atlanta Medical Center… critical conditions: the words written in the report from Rockdale County hovered inside The General Lee in its run to Atlanta, brief grant given to Bo and Luke's probation by County Commissioner J.D. Hogg.

Being Enos missing and being Rosco the only lawman left, the Sheriff couldn't leave Hazzard, so he was sending the Dukes to that hard task. The shocking idea of Enos Strate dead or lying unconscious in a distant Hospital was spreading in Hazzard County like fire through dry straw, to the point even Boss and Rosco were temporary forgetting their personal fight and their tricks against the Dukes, sharing now a common priority: if someone hit Enos Strate, Hazzard's deputy and Dukes' best friend, both Hazzard County Police Department and the Dukes were involved, same side, the side facing a loss.

Daisy squeezed Enos' wallet in her hands, recalling Rosco's words, "if the man in Atlanta Medical Center is Enos, they'll ask you his ID card" So strange to see Rosco acting as police officer (Enos was usually the only one to do his duty and to follow police's procedures), but that situation was so strange that Hazzard County was turning upside down, and, for sure, Boss, Rosco and the Dukes moving in the same direction, driven by a common goal, was pretty rare.

Along the last days Daisy was realizing how much people (Boss, Rosco, folks… everybody) liked Enos and cared of him; she already knew Hazzard's people respected and liked Enos, of course, but along the last days she was understanding that affection's deepness.

Boss, Rosco, folks… everybody… and especially her family: she glanced at uncle Jesse's tight features by her side and at her cousins' in the front seat, Bo silently driving The General Lee and Luke staring at the road.

Boss, Rosco, folks… everybody… her family… and especially her: Daisy opened Enos' wallet and took off his ID card, staring at the small picture of him; inside his wallet also some pictures of her (a picture of her near a horse, her with him at the airport before his leaving, her at the Boar's Nest, her near a racing car during her fleeting career as racer). Daisy wondered how many pictures of her Enos cherished in his apartment beside the pictures in his wallet, maybe larger versions of the pictures she was looking at.

Her image in those pictures became blurred and she buried her face against uncle Jesse's shoulder, sobbing desperately, while uncle Jesse hugged her.

"What if Enos is dead? I can't live without him, uncle Jesse, I can't stand the idea I won't see him ever again. Why am I realizing how much I need him just now?" through her sobs, she managed to let go what lay heavy on her heart.

Uncle Jesse held her close while Bo and Luke remained silent.

Atlanta Medical Center's windows reflected the morning light but, despite the sunlight sparking on it, the high building looked like a cold and metallic object absorbing the sunlight and transforming it into an artificial light.

The Dukes came out The General Lee, indifferent to people looking at them because of their strange car, their coming out from its windows and their country look. Before to enter the building they looked at each other, sharing the same hope and fear.

Inside the hall, the same cold they felt outside: the tidy and shiny floor reflected the artificial light, and everything looked anonymous and professional, everything too much Hospital-like.

They walked to the counter where a nurse was ready to answer any kind of question from visitors. Just the counter between them and the nurse, they looked at each other, sharing again their hope and fear.

"Please, Madam," uncle Jesse cleared his voice, trying to ease the pesky sense of dryness in his throat, "four days ago a man was brought here from Rockdale County. He was severely injured," he glanced at his hands resting on the counter, his throat more and more dry and his hands more and more sweaty, "but he hasn't been identified, yet. That man could be a friend of us, Madam."

The nurse opened her eyes wide and nodded, "OK, wait a minute, please," she walked to the telephone hanging on the wall behind the counter and she grabbed the receiver, talking about "John Doe's friends" with her soft voice and nodding while she listened to the voice at the other side of the receiver. When she came back to the counter she stared at the Dukes, her eyes lingering on any of them, "We're going to take you to the man brought here four days ago. He hasn't been identified, yet, and we were waiting for someone who could identify him."

The Dukes glanced at each other, nobody being able to ask the nurse what was killing them: was the man still alive or were someone going to take them to the coroner's refrigerated room?

At the opposite side of the hall, the elevator's doors opened and a nurse came out, walking to them; the Dukes turned to her, trying to read into her features.

The nurse stood in front of them, "Come with me, please," then she turned round and walked to the elevator without waiting for any answer from them, so the Dukes simply followed her along the hall and finally inside the elevator. When she pushed the button with the number "5" on it, they held their breath, their mind running in unison: what was at the 5th floor? For sure not the coroner's refrigerating room, hope getting stronger in their heart, unless the nurse was taking them to a doctor who was going to explain them how John Doe died and finally to take them to the place they feared the most.

"Madam," uncle Jesse took his hat off, "please…"

"Doc Hunt is waiting for you. He's going to explain you what's happened to the man brought here four days ago," she stared at them, studying them, "then you're going to see him."

Daisy took Enos' wallet off her jeans' pocket, opening it with her trembling hands and giving Enos' ID card to the nurse, "This is our friend's ID."

The nurse took the card and watched it, "The picture is really small, but your friend looks like John Doe… I mean, the man brought here four days ago… we call him John Doe. In this picture he looks younger and his hair are a bit longer. Yeah, it could be, but…" she handed Daisy the card, "…we can't be sure of it until you see him. You are the only ones who can identify him."

Daisy nodded and slipped Enos' wallet into her pocket, her hope and fear not solved, yet. When they finally came out the elevator, a smell of disinfectant and soap assailed her, she stopped and grabbed Luke's arm, "Luke, I'm feeling sick."

Luke turned to her and wrapped his right arm around her shoulders, "Calm, Daisy. Stay calm. Come on," he helped her to walk along the corridor heading to Doc Hunt's office.

Though Luke's voice was calm, Daisy felt the gentle trembling in his hand: they were fighting against their worst fear but they couldn't run away.

When the nurse opened the office's door, Doc Hunt was waiting for them behind his desk; he stood up, "Please, sit down," and he showed them the chairs in front of his desk.

Alone in the corridor in front of the door of Doc Hunt's office, nurse Emily had a deep sigh: looking at that family she felt her heart cracking, her mind driven to another Hospital and to a different final. John Doe was alive, though still in coma, but he was going to recover; he wasn't a corpse like his son.

Washing away her painful memories, Emily repeated in her mind the name of the man those people were looking for: Enos Strate. The man in the small picture looked like John Doe, Emily was pretty sure he was John Doe, but she decided it was better not to delude them, 'cause pictures sometimes can betray people's eyes.

She came closer the window and looked at the city lighted by the sun.

After 10 minutes the door of Doc Hunt's office opened.

Emily turned to the door and looked at Doc Hunt, nodding at his silent order, then she focused on the men and the woman in front of her: in their eyes shock mixed with pain but also relief.

"OK, now I'm going to take you to the I.C.U. Before to go, I want to warn you that the I.C.U. is a department pretty different from any other department. We take care of people in really bad conditions, supporting their vital functions, and it means tubes, monitors, machines, and so on. It's pretty normal to us, but I understand it may shock someone who enters the I.C.U. for the first time," she smiled, a soft smile in order to support them, "Doc Hunt already told you your friend is safe, though still in coma, but he's going to wake up. We don't know when but he's showing positive signals, so we have just to wait and help him."

Emily's eyes lingered on any of them: the older man had blue eyes and a white beard, he had a red hat in his right hand and he was circling the woman's shoulders with his left arm; the woman was in her late twenties, hazel green eyes, long and curly hair, blue shirt, long legs wrapped in blue jeans, high-heeled brown boots; one of the young men had dark and curly hair, blue piercing eyes, blue checkered shirt, blue jeans and brown boots; the younger man had blond and curly hair, blue eyes (different shade from the older one), yellow shirt, blue jeans and brown boots.

"Come on," she turned round and she walked to the I.C.U. When they entered the department, she felt the men and the woman behind her slowing down a bit, probably holding their breath and looking at the wide space divided in several rooms by thin walls, in any room a patient: common reaction of people entering for the first time in the I.C.U.

She walked to John Doe's room and she turned to them, "This is the man we call John Doe," she stood aside and she let them see the man lying unconscious in the bed, observing their reaction.

The woman opened her eyes and mouth wide, her hands covering her mouth, "Enos! Oh my God! Enos!" She turned to the older man, "Uncle Jesse, he's Enos!" then she walked closer the bed and she knelt down, her right hand gently caressing the man's cheek while tears started to flow from her eyes, "Oh Enos! What's happened to you?"

The bearded man rested his right hand, his hat still in it, on his chest, his lips gently moving in what Emily read as a whispered prayer.

The brown-haired man remained still, his arms folded while he took a deep breath: perfect self-control of his gestures whereas his eyes showed all his pain and shock.

The blond man scratched his nape in frustration, walking around the bed like a lion in a cage, unable to control his emotions. He pointed at the man lying in the bed and he stared at the bearded man and at the brown-haired man, "Whosoever did it to Enos will pay for it! We have to find out what happened and who hurt him. Nobody can hurt someone like Enos, our best friend and Hazzard's best deputy ever!"

The older man nodded, "We're going to find whomsoever did it to Enos, Bo, but now, please, keep calm. When Enos will wake up, he'll tell us what happened to him."

The brown-haired man nodded too, "Uncle Jesse is right, Bo. The most important thing, now, is to know Enos is alive. We have found him and we're going to stay by his side 'til he'll wake up," he walked closer the bed and knelt near the young woman who was sobbing into the blankets, "Daisy, Enos is going to wake up. We have found him, so, please, stop crying and talk to him, maybe he can hear you," he turned to Emily, "Can he hear us?"

Scent of soap and lavender, scent of Daisy's skin: scent of sun.

"Can he hear us?"

Enos turned to Luke's voice, his hand on his eyes to screen the sunlight, "Hi Luke! I'm here!"

"Hey buddy, how are you?" Luke walked near Enos and sat down by his side, on the grass.

Lying on the grass, Enos looked at the tree above his head and at the sun playing through its branches, "Daisy is still sleeping."

Daisy's head on his shoulder while she slept by his side, Enos had a deep breath and smelled every scent around him.

He was happy.

Emily shook her head, "We don't know what they feel or hear during coma, exactly, but … yeah… maybe he can hear you. Talk to him, I'm going to leave you alone for a while," she silently walked away, keeping her eyes on them from the counter placed in the middle of the wide space (strategic position in order to see every patient inside the I.C.U.).

She took John Doe's nursing record: he wasn't John Doe anymore, but Enos Strate, now, Hazzard's deputy.