Chapter Four
1974, Luke 18, Bo 16:

1. As usual, Bo was sick with pneumonia. Although he didn't complain at all, Luke could see how miserable Bo was. He'd finally gotten him breathing good enough to go to sleep, but now he was the one who couldn't sleep. Looking over at Bo, he decided to leave him a note, since he probably wouldn't see him awake again until after chores tomorrow morning:

"It hurts me real bad to see you so miserable, but I know it don't hurt me even half as much as you hurt right now. Please don't worry about me so much when you're the one who can hardly even breathe. I don't mind taking care of you in the slightest! You don't have to feel bad about it, I'm your cousin, part of your family... families take care of each other. I can't stress this enough, Bo: the toughest guys always end up hurt the worst, and sometimes you're too tough for your own dang good. I love you a lot, kiddo, and all the care you need from me is yours... accept for my socks, thems mine."

After he'd gotten all of that off his chest, Luke was able to get some sleep. After all it was 3 in the morning and he'd need all the sleep he could get to do get up for chores.

...

The next morning, Bo woke up briefly while everyone was doing chores and found the note. He turned it over and wrote on the other side of it:

"You suffer more than I do with all that worrying you do. I love you, too, and thanks for everything you do for me."

When Luke came back to see to Bo after breakfast, he found the note. "You suffer much more than I do, silly." Luke sighed as he placed the back of his hand gently on Bo's cheek to check for fever.

"At least your dang fevers comin down a little." Luke smiled. Then he realized he was talking to someone who was asleep... he laughed softly to himself: maybe he did worry too much... just a little too much. Okay, yeah, he was paranoid.

2. Bo and Luke were going to go fishing. Bo was already in the truck with his stuff, and Luke was heading back to their room to get his things. When he grabbed his tackle box, he found a note on it:

"I asked you to go fishing with me cause I wanted to talk to you. I realize now that I am too nervous to talk to you so, I left you this note...Why didn't you just burn the draft notice? I don't want you to die or nothing, and I don't know what I'm gonna do without you."

By the time Luke was finished reading, he had a few tears in his eyes. I don't want me to die neither. He didn't want to go either, and he'd wanted to burn the draft notice, but Uncle Jesse had persuaded him not to. Of course it was his own decision, seeing as how he was 18, but he felt obligated to go when his country called him. He knew that Bo understood that, but that didn't mean that the 16-year-old wasn't a little scared to grow up the rest of the way without his older brother figure. Then Luke realized that he didn't know what he was gonna do either without Bo in his life: they'd been closer than close brothers since Bo was a baby. He sighed and walked out to the truck, where Bo was waiting.

"Ready ta go?" Luke asked as he got in.

"Yeah." Bo sighed, putting the truck in gear.

"I don't know what imma do without you either, cuz. But I'm gonna try my very best to come back to ya'll, I swear. I'm gonna miss you somethin powerful, but I think that'll help me to have somethin to fight for, ya know?"

"Yeah." Bo sighed.

"I ain't sayin its gonna be easy... cause thats just what it ain't gonna be. We can get through it together, even if we's separated by an ocean an' how every many 1,000's of miles. We'll each be fightin our own battle, an' at the end when we've won we can tell each other all about it an' show off our scars." Luke offered, patting Bo's shoulder.

Bo turned and smiled at Luke, "An' we will win!"

"You can bet the dang farm on that." Luke agreed.

3. Jesse'd told the boys to go pick up some things in town after they were finished with their chores, which they now were. Luke went out to the truck, expecting Bo to be there already, having stolen the fun part of the job: driving. But, Bo wasn't there, instead there was a note on the seat:

"I'll do it all next time if you go this time."

No way! Luke marched back into the house to find Bo.

"Bo!" he shouted as he looked through rooms. "I don't know where yer hidin', but I'll find ya! Get your rear lazy end in gear, c'mon lets go! I ain't doin all yer work!" he shouted as he searched the house.

He finally found Bo, standing outside the bathroom door... well, more leaning on it. His face was pale and his eyes bloodshot.

"I weren't gonna tell ya, but ya had to go an' make me..." Bo mumbled. "I been throwin up." he admitted.

"You okay?" Luke asked, taking the back of his hand to Bo's cheek.

"m'fine... I jus' don't wanna go no place." Bo replied, forcing vigor he didn't have into his voice so's not to get Luke all scared for him.

"I'm sorry, Bo. I'm sorry." Luke sighed. "Ya don't have a fever so-"

"Yeah, its just my inhaler an' stuff. I'm okay." Bo assured him.

"I'm sorry I shouted at ya." Luke offered.

"Ain't yer fault, ya didn't know." Bo smiled slightly and turned to go back into the bathroom.

"I'm gonna tell Uncle Jesse 'fore I go." Luke warned as he left for the barn.

"Kay. Thanks fer goin fer me." Bo called from behind the door.

"Don't worry about it. See ya later."

...

About an hour later when Luke got back he found a note on the kitchen table:

"Promise me you won't get scared: I drove myself to docs... I'M OKAY! Take a deep breath before you do anything else."

WHAT THE HELL? First off, for what reason did Bo need medical attention? Was he bleeding? Was he suffocating? Did he have a fever? Jesse was out in the barn right? SO WHY THE HELL DID HE GO BY HIMSELF? Luke ran out to the barn to find Jesse gone, and there were no vehicles on the entire farm aside from the truck he'd just driven up in. There was only one other truck... so how could Jesse not be home and Bo have driven himself to docs?

Luke ran back into the house and picked up the phone. He called docs place.

"Have ya got Bo over there?" he asked.

"Yes, Luke. And he's fine." Doc assured, with a small chuckle, of course: he'd known Luke was gonna call any second now.

"What the hell happened to him?" Luke demanded.

"He just couldn't catch his breath. He's fine now."

"Let me talk to him." Luke requested.

"Hey, Luke."

"Why did ya drive yerself? Where's Uncle Jesse? Why didn't you CB someone for help?" he demanded.

"I didn't want you to come drivin top speed an kill yerself if I CB'd ya, old man whats his face picked Uncle Jesse up to help him with one of his hens, and lastly, I'm perfectly capable of driving myself." Bo explained.

"And you're okay right?"

"Ya heard the doc, I'm fine." Bo laughed.

"I'm gonna come pick you up." Luke decided.

"I'm fine to drive home, right doc?" Bo asked, handing the phone to him.

"I assure you, he's fine. He can drive himself home, so long as he takes it easy for the rest of the day."

"Alright. Take care of yerself Bo."

"I will. Bye."

kay thats it y'all. ik ik this one had too few sections and the sections were too long, but i ain't no pro. next year is gonna be 1976 i think.