Jesse's mind was racing as he sped off in his car. He went as far and as fast as he could. Only when he was sure nobody was following him did he park the car in some bushes and get out. How did this happen? What had he done? Had he killed Boss Hogg? No, no he didn't. He couldn't have. Boss had been screaming, so that meant he was still alive. Jesse didn't know what to do. Or what to think. He could hardly tell up from down.
As terrified as he was of what he had done, Jesse knew that he needed to figure out the truth. Owning up to one's mistakes was something he had always taught Bo, Luke and Daisy. He couldn't just go against his own teachings now. The older Duke man located a phone booth off the side of the road and stepped inside. After mustering up all the courage he had, he dialed the commissioners office. It rang once, then twice. After a few short moments that felt like an eternity, someone finally picked up the phone.
"Sheriff office, Deputy Enos Strate speaking. What can I do for you?"
"Enos, this is Jesse Duke. I'm calling about J.D." The words came out slowly and carefully, each one planned out before being spoken. "I heard that he got hurt earlier. I'm calling to check if he's alright."
"That's awful nice of you to check up on him Uncle Jesse." Enos replied. "The doctor's still looking at him, it seems like he's got a concussion. He's going to be off work for a while, but he should make a full recovery."
Jesse could hear some sort of commotion going on in the background of the call. It sounded like someone was shouting at Enos. "What's that?" he asked.
"Oh, that's just the Boss," Explained Enos. "He keeps saying that you're the one who caused the concussion. Don't worry though Uncle Jesse sir, I'll believe your word over his. I know you didn't do it."
Jesse hung up. The guilt felt like it was eating him alive.
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Jesse found himself wandering aimlessly, until eventually finding his way back to the farm. He didn't want to go inside the house, which would be filled with nothing but silence and horrible memories from the earlier hours of the day. That was until he remembered that Dr. Muhammad was going to call him as soon as Bo, Daisy and Luke's condition changed. He went inside to check the messages on the phone. Sure enough, there was a message from the hospital.
"Hello Mr. Jesse Duke. This is Dr. Muhammad. I'm very pleased to tell you that the conditions of Bo Duke, Luke Duke and Daisy Duke have all improved." Jesse felt an enormous weight being lifted off his shoulders. "We still advise keeping them in the hospital for observation, as they are not completely cleared of the legionella, but you are welcome to visit them now." Jesse was out the door almost instantaneously.
Only after he had driven to the hospital did Jesse wonder if the police were going to be waiting for him, after what he did to Boss Hogg. He didn't see any police cars, but they could be hiding out there undercover. He went in anyway. Police or no police, he was going to see his kids.
By the front doors, he found Dr. Muhammad waiting for him. "I assume you got my message. They're down in room 209."
Jesse nodded. The doctor continued to explain the three cousin's current conditions, as he half listened while also glancing around the room to see if anyone looked suspicious. Nothing stood out. "Thank you doctor. I really can't thank you enough." He took her hand and shook it. "I do have just one more request, don't let any else into the room."
"Of course." She said, and Jesse went on his way.
The Duke patriarch tentatively opened the door to the hospital room, his hands shaking slightly as he did so. Inside, he found what he had been praying so hard for. Daisy was sitting up in the bed, completely free of any sort of tubes or breathing equipment. When she saw her uncle, her face lit up. "Uncle Jesse, you're here."
Jesse hurried over to Daisy, hugging her as tightly as he could without hurting her. "Daisy, Darling, are you okay?" The waterworks were starting to come back again. After everything that had happened, Jesse had become so exhausted that he no longer had the energy to try to suppress his crying.
"It's all right Uncle Jesse, It's okay now." Daisy soothed. As Daisy wiped away his tears with her thumb, Jesse could see that her face still had a reddish tint. "Whatever was wrong with us, the doctor figured it out. She's fixing it, it's okay." Jesse smiled at her, the first genuine smile in a long time. Leave it to Daisy to comfort him while she was literally in a hospital bed.
Now that he knew Daisy was okay, Jesse's mind went to his two nephews. "What about Bo and Luke? Where are they?"
Daisy gestured towards a large curtain beside her bed. Jesse pulled it back. Behind it, he found Bo. The youngest Duke cousin was lying asleep on his back. Jesse put his hand on Bo's forearm and attempted to gently shake him awake. "Bo, this here's your Uncle Jesse, can you wake up fer me?" He was warmer than Jesse would have liked, his face still bearing a thin layer of sweat. But before Jesse could worry too much, Bo's eyes fluttered open.
Bo glanced up at his uncle. "Uncle Jesse?"
"Yeah Bo, it's me. You feeling alright."
Bo rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Yeah, I guess so."
Luke's bed was on the other side of Bo's. He was also asleep. Jesse moved to go towards his bed, but Bo reached out to stop him. "Don't wake Luke up. It took him a long time to get to sleep, the pain he was in earlier was pretty bad." Looking over at Luke, Jesse could see that his face wore a pained expression, like he was caught in a nightmare. Jesse could feel his hatred for Boss Hogg bubble back up again. Did Jesse have it in him to kill? He hoped desperately that he didn't, but everytime he thought of what his kids had to go through…
"Please don't get so worried." Said Bo, who could sense the tension in his uncle. "The doctor said Luke would wake up any minute now."
"It's not that that I'm upset about." Jesse replied.
"Is it the hospital payment?" Daisy asked. "Cause I have extra money I save up in case of emergencies. I could cover most of it."
"No, no it's not that either." Jesse sat on the edge of Bo's bed, facing Bo and Daisy. "I went down to the county commissioner's office and found out how y'all got sick. Boss Hogg was paid to get rid of some old car parts, which he dumped at the bottom of Hazzard lake. When I found out he endangered all of us just to make a quick buck, I-I just… completely lost control of my emotions." Jesse averted eye contact at this point. "I ended up…slamming Boss Hogg against the wall."
"What? No, you couldn't have." Daisy yelled.
"How'd you - How did - What?" Bo stuttered out, too stunned to complete an actual sentence.
"What the hell is happening?" That voice came from behind Jesse. He turned around to find Luke, very much awake and resembling a deer in the headlights.
"Well, look who decided to join us." He went over to Luke's bedside and put a hand to his forehead. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine. Go back to the Boss Hogg thing." Replied Luke. "Did you actually - I mean- is he…" Luke gestured vaguely.
"No, I didn't kill him." Jesse said firmly. "He may have done something despicable, but it's not up to us to decide." He paused for a moment. As much as he didn't want to worry his kin, it was important that they knew. "He did get a concussion though. He'll recover, but he could put me behind bars for a long time."
The entire room fell silent as everyone tried to grapple with the situation at hand.
Finally, Bo spoke out. "So what do we do now?"
"I don't know." He replied honestly. "I just don't know."
