WATER'S GURGLING AND VOICES

"Hey Daisy," Enos sat by Daisy's side at the river's bank, "are you OK?"

Daisy turned to him and read his worrisome in his hazel eyes; she smiled, "Sorry sugar. I'm feeling just a bit dizzy."

He kept on looking at her, a serious look on his face.

She sighed, "Ok, I admit I don't like to hear 'bout…" she shrugged and wrapped her arms around her chest, "… such things. It's scaring, and it reminds me of the Hospital and of the days before we found you."

Enos lay down on the grass, closing his eyes, "You're right. It's scaring, but I am not only the victim of it, I am also a cop, and I have to find the culprit before someone else is injured. I have to protect Hazzard's folks 'cause they trust me. And I have to protect you too. Whoever hurt me is dangerous."

Daisy stared at him and thought of his words, so typical of him. She smiled and rested her hand on his belly in a soft caress, "Enos, you are a great cop. And the sweetest man of the whole World."

She felt his abdominals tensing under her touch and him holding his breath, so she moved her hand away, "Sorry." She would have slapped her face because of her wrong touch and because of her stupidity in talking to him about how much the Hospital shocked her whereas he was the one having all the reasons to be shocked (much more than her, for sure).

He finally relaxed and had a deep sigh, his eyes still closed and his eyelids gently trembling. Lying on the grass, the sun lighted his face and gave his hair a honey shade; his breathing became slow and deep, and Daisy realized he was sleeping.

Bo reached them at the river's bank and sat by Daisy's side, "Is Enos sleeping?"

Daisy nodded, "All in a sudden. He lay down and fell asleep."

Luke sat by Enos' side, "It's what Doc Hunt said: Enos is goin' to be really sleepy and weak for some time, probably several weeks. It's pretty normal."

Bo glanced at Enos' motionless body, "Did you notice how people looked at him?"

Daisy shrugged, "They looked at him as someone who spent some time in Hospital, fighting against death. Since we visited him while he was in the Hospital, we got used at his look, but people didn't. I perfectly understand their surprise and shock to see him this way, though they smiled cheerfully."

Luke shook his head, "If we could find a way to understand what happened and to catch the culprit. Enos' reports are useless, and he doesn't remember anything." He stared at Enos and he shook his head again, he put his jacket off (similar of Enos' one but a different shade of blue), he folded it, he gently raised Enos' head and placed his jacket on the ground, finally resting Enos' head on it.

Daisy smiled; she loved her cousins, strong but caring men. Her grateful eyes moved from Luke to Enos, "He's sleeping so deeply, poor Enos. He's exhausted."

Bo stirred, lying on the ground, his arms folded behind his head, "Well, we can enjoy the sun while he is sleeping, don't you think?"

Luke followed Bo's advice whereas Daisy remained sitting, her eyes on the limpid river and in her ears the water's calming gurgling.

Voices around him, more and more distant voices.

Faces looking at him: nurses, doctors, the Dukes, Hazzard's folks.

Everything surfaced to his mind and then was sucked again underwater.

Water's gurgling and voices.

The sun warmed him up while he was lying unconscious on the grass.

Luke's voice: "Can he hear us?"

He opened his eyes and he stared at the ceiling on him, a white ceiling with neon lights on it.

Doc Hunt's face entered his visual field and started to talk about bumps, cuts, wounds, blood transfusions.

He started to panic and he tried to move, but he was confined to bed by various tubes and needles: he could feel every tube and every needle inside his body.

"We have to remove the bullet," Doc Hunt dressed his surgical mask and gloves, and took a sharp lancet from the handcart.

A woman was crying by his side.

When the lancet came closer to his belly, he tried to shout but he didn't emit any sound.

Enos opened his eyes wide and sat up, breathing heavily.

"Enos! Are you OK?" Daisy caught the shock on his face and grabbed his arm, "Enos?" She stared at him who was slowly turning to her, his blank eyes finally focusing on her.

"I…" he looked around, "Where am I?"

Luke kept his voice calm and low, "We are in Yellow Creek, buddy. Don't worry. You were sleeping and you probably had a nightmare."

Enos nodded and collapsed on the ground, his eyes wide open, "Yeah, a nightmare." He rested his right hand on his eyes and he tried to control his breathing. He was drenched in cold sweat and he felt sick, "I think that… I'm not feeling well."

"Can you stand up?" Bo knelt by Enos' side.

Daisy looked at Bo and Luke helping Enos to stand up and walk to The General Lee. They helped him to enter the car and Daisy reached him on the back seat.

Enos rested his head against the seat and closed his eyes, whispering, "I'm feeling sick. Sorry."

The General Lee left Yellow Creek heading to the farm, while Luke grabbed the C.B. receiver and called uncle Jesse.

A strong pressure around his arm made Enos moan and open his eyes.

"Don't worry, everything's OK. You just need to rest," Doc Appleby removed the blood pressure pump from Enos' arm and stood up while Enos closed his eyes, his conscience plunging again into darkness.

"Doc Appleby…" Daisy walked to him.

Doc Appleby raised his right hand, blocking her and repeating his previous words, "Everything's OK, don't worry."

"BUT…" Daisy glanced at Bo, Luke and uncle Jesse, then she stared at Doc Appleby, "…but… all in a sudden he…"

"Do you remember when you got the flu, during winter, Daisy?"

Doc Appleby's question surprised Daisy, so she simply nodded, not understanding what Doc Appleby was trying to tell her.

"Well," Doc Appleby nodded and placed his blood pressure pump and his stethoscope in his bag, "you stayed in bed burning with fever for three days, and when you finally got up you complained you felt so weak you were barely able to stand up." He closed his bag and glanced at Daisy, "Enos had something pretty different than flu, and he didn't stay in bed for just three days. You understand what I am meaning, don't you?"

Daisy folded her arms and looked at the floor, "Yeah. Enos needs time to recover."

Doc Appleby walked to the door, "And don't forget of his psychological trauma beside the physical one. Someone nearly killed him, he woke up in a distant Hospital and he doesn't remember anything about the night he got injured… and about the last two months. He is scared and confused, and it's pretty normal, though he's probably trying to act as everything is OK." Before to leave, he looked at uncle Jesse, "Take care of him, Jesse. And call me if you need some advice or help."

Uncle Jesse shook hand with Doc Appleby, "Thanks Doc."

After the door closed behind Doc Appleby, Daisy sat on Enos' bed and caressed his cheek.

Enos rolled on his side, in fetal position, his body wrapping around Daisy.

Luke folded his arms and rested his back against the door, looking at the floor, while Bo walked around the room, unable to stop.

Daisy caressed Enos' nape and stared at Bo and Luke, "Stop it! Please. It doesn't work. We have just hurt Enos. Talking 'bout what happened that night, asking him to read his reports and bringing him to Yellow Creek: it didn't work. We know nothing more we already knew and we have hurt him."

Bo stopped his wandering and Luke raised his head; they looked at Daisy and opened their mouth to answer her, but uncle Jesse anticipated them: "Nobody wants to hurt Enos, Daisy. But you're right, it didn't work." He glanced at Bo and Luke, "if we try to force Enos' memory, we risk to hurt him. Let him recover, and probably he'll recall everything. And if he won't…" he shook his head, "… if he won't recall what happened, we won't probably find the culprit. Just pray the culprit is far away Hazzard, forgetting of Enos and not wondering if he is still alive or not. Just pray the culprit is already in jail for some other crime. We can't solve everything, and sometime we have to surrender. Now our priority is to help Enos to recover, staying by his side and not forcing painful memories on him. Forget of the culprit for a while and how to find out what happened that night."

Bo and Luke sighed in resignation while Daisy nodded, her eyes thanking uncle Jesse.

In town, the culprit was sitting at the kitchen' table of his apartment, a picture in his hands.

When he saw Enos coming to the town, that morning, he felt a brief pity for the deputy; brief pity, then his hate for him got stronger and stronger.

He stared at the brunette in the picture and he gritted his teeth: she was HIS woman, and Enos Strate couldn't interfere with it.

Everything happened was Enos Strate's fault.

He rested the picture of his woman on the cupboard and he left his apartment, heading to the place where he worked.