1983 AND I DON'T OWN THEM.
Luke anxiously paced the hospital waiting room. Daisy and Jesse were sitting in chairs next to him, but Luke was oblivious to his surroundings. All he could think of was Bo. Sure, this had happened so many times that Luke couldn't keep track anymore, but it still made him sick to his stomach. Apparently Bo'd had an overdose of his inhaler several times when he was away in the marines, but the fact that it'd happened before didn't make it any less concerning.
"Calm down, Luke, he's alright." Jesse knew that Luke was just going to exhaust himself.
"I can't believe they won't let one of us back there with him! He's gotta be terrified." Luke crossed his arms.
"Bo Duke, terrified? Are we talking about the same person?" Daisy half joked, trying to lighten the mood.
"If you couldn't breathe or control your own dang muscles, wouldn't you be scared? Duke or not Duke." Luke continued pacing.
"It's just hospital procedure." Jesse tried to calm his eldest nephew.
"Don't they know that if he's calmer, it'll get better faster?" Luke was quite upset by 'hospital policy'
"They just have to follow the rules, son. He'll be alright, he always is." Jesse walked over to Luke and put his arm around his shoulders.
"I ain't gonna let him do this alone." Luke huffed.
"He's a grown man. A grown Duke man no less." Jesse went back to his chair.
"He has feelings!" Luke raised his voice.
"I know he does, I'm just tryna to tell ya that-"
"That he can't be scared just cause he's a grown man?" Luke was speaking at a volume that was loud enough for some of the nurses and desk people to notice.
"Tell you what, I'm scared right now! I'm scared for his life! If I ain't a grown man, I don't know what one is, and I'm scared out of my wits." Luke lowered his voice, holding back a few tears that wanted to escape from the corners of his eyes.
"I'm sorry, son." Ordinarily, Jesse'd threaten to take Luke over his knee for speaking to him like that, but he knew that Luke was all fired up with anger at the hospital workers and worry over his little cousin. He obviously wasn't angry with Jesse so, he hugged Luke instead of chiding him for being disrespectful.
"He needs someone, Uncle Jesse. He can't be alone." Luke whispered.
"Sit down, Luke. He'll be alright. As soon as they can, they'll let one of us see him." Jesse said.
"I just hope he's alright." Luke sighed as he sat down.
Meanwhile…
Just as Luke could sense, Bo was scared out of his wits: he couldn't breathe, he was with a bunch of creepy doctors, and his family was no where in sight.
"Mr. Duke, you need to calm down." Dr. Hart ordered. Bo was trembling uncontrollably and fighting for air, which he couldn't seem to get any of. He eventually passed out again.
"Intubate him." Dr. Hart ordered the nurses. The nurses did as the doctor ordered.
Several minutes later, Bo awoke and his hand shot up to his mouth to remove the tube.
"Leave it alone, Mr. Duke. You're alright." Dr. Hart had a cold, stern hospital voice, not making Bo feel any better.
"Restrain his arms." Dr. Hart ordered the nurses. Bo fought for his arms, but he was just too weak.
"Put some albuterol in a nebulizer." Dr. Hart ordered.
"Mr. Duke, listen to me. I need you to cough on the count of three, okay? I'm going to take this out like you so desperately wanted." Dr. Hart laughed a little, but it was a forced, joyless laugh.
Not knowing where he was or who this creep was, Bo decided that if he was going to take the tube out of his throat, than maybe he should listen to him. Bo nodded that he understood.
"Alright... 1,2,3." Bo coughed on three as instructed, and the nurse quickly placed the nebulizer mask over his mouth and nose.
"Slow, deep breaths." The nurse instructed. Bo liked her a lot better: her voice wasn't so cold, as Dr. Hart's was, but he still wanted his family with him.
In the waiting room:
"What's taking so long?" Luke was pacing again.
"Uncle Jesse, do ya reckon he's alright?" Daisy was starting to get concerned, too.
"He'll be fine, Daisy." Jesse patted her leg.
"That's it, I'm just going back there!" Luke marched right through the doors, only to be stopped by a nurse.
"I'm sorry, you can't come back here." He stated, blocking the hall.
"I don't care, I need to see my brother." Luke thought he'd be more likely to get through if he was Bo's 'brother' 'sides, that's what their relationship was like anyway so, it wasn't totally a lie.
"I'm sorry sir, you'll have to take a seat in the waiting room. If you'd like I can get a report on how he's doing. What was his name?" The nurse asked.
"Bo Duke. And my names Luke Duke." Luke returned to the waiting room, defeated.
"What were you doing, boy?" Jesse asked.
"I'm sorry." Luke looked at the floor. The same nurse from the hall came out into the waiting room and found Luke.
"Mr. Luke Duke?" He asked.
"Yeah, how's Bo?" Luke asked.
"They had to intubate him because he was briefly unconscious. Then they gave him a nebulizer treatment, and now he's on oxygen in recovery. You can see him now, but it'll just be one at a time. 15 minutes each. At the most." The nurse said. "Room 504."
"Thank you." The Dukes headed for room 504.
"You can go first, seeing as how you're so worried about him." Jesse smiled.
"Thanks, Uncle Jesse." Luke entered the room. Bo was shaking, wheezing, and coughing every three breaths. His face was pale and his eyes showed the amount of pain he was in. Worst of all, he was wearing restraints.
Bo knew he was in the hospital, and he also knew that Luke, Jesse an' Daisy'd be with him right now if they were allowed to, but obviously they weren't. Not many things scare Bo, but hospitals are one of the few.
"I'm here now." Luke whispered as he took Bo's hand.
Finally he was safe. Bo opened his eyes and calmed his breathing a bit. The shaking died down, but his heart was still goin a little too fast. The doctors had him on a heart monitor, which was making him more scared: the more devices the worse. Bo just hoped to all goodness that his dang heart would slow down so he could go home.
"You're safe now. I'm right here." Luke assured as he rubbed the side of Bo's neck. Bo wanted to cry, but he felt he couldn't... he was a grown man.
After his fifteen minutes were up, Bo was almost asleep. Luke couldn't bear to take his hand away from Bo, but he had to. Bo refused to let go.
"Hey, Bo, I'm gonna have to leave you now, but I want you to know that I love you, very much. I would stay with you, but the doctor won't let me. Uncle Jesse or Daisy is gonna come see you in just a minute. I'll ask the doctor to let you move your arms." Bo nodded that he understood, and let go of Luke's hand.
He walked out to where Daisy and Jesse were waiting.
"How is he?" Jesse asked.
"He looks like he just came back from the dead." Luke wiped his eyes.
"You can go next Uncle Jesse, I don't think I even want to see that." Daisy cried in Luke's arms as Jesse walked in to see Bo.
"Howdy, son." Jesse sat next to the bed and stroked Bo's cheek with the back of his hand. "You're gonna be alright, boy." Jesse reassured Bo, who had started shaking more again when Luke'd left, but he was re-regulating his nervous system now that his Uncle was touching his face.
After Jesse's visiting time was over, he came out to his eldest kids.
"Luke, you can have my turn, I've seem him like that so many times..." Daisy sniffed. "I'd go, but I can't bring myself to see him like that today..."
"Are you sure, Daisy?" Luke asked.
"I'm sure. 'Sides, he needs you." Daisy replied as Luke left to see Bo again.
Bo was glad to see Luke again and his eyes lit up. Luke sat in the chair next to him and took his hand.
"I got just fifteen short minutes with you, Bo. Then we all gotta leave and you's gonna sleep here the rest of the night. We'll come get you as soon as we can, alright?" Luke asked.
Bo shook his head no.
"I'm sorry, Bo, you have to stay here. You're still not breathin right, an your hearts workin ovetime." Luke sighed. He hated doing this to Bo.
Bo finally stopped disagreeing: he was too tired. Luke put his free hand on Bo's shoulder, and Bo laid his head on top of it. After 17 minutes, Dr. Hart came in.
"You need to leave now." He ordered.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Bo. I love you." Luke stood up and glared at the doctor as he walked out of the room.
Dr. Hart reached to adjust Bo's oxygen mask, but he jerked his head away from him.
"C'mon son, I'm not trying to hurt you." He turned Bo's face back towards him. "Listen, kid, I've got a lot to do. Just calm down for me, okay?"
...
The doctor reported back to the Dukes.
"He seems to have mostly recovered. His heart beat is still irregular, but it's much better than it was. He shouldn't be shaking any more, but he is. That could mean a lot of things, one of which-"
"He's scared." Luke interrupted the doctor. "He would be alright if you'd let one of us stay with him, and if you'd let his arms loose." Luke replied.
"Can you make him breathe properly and stop shaking?" Dr. Hart doubted this.
"Yes he can, and there ain't no better medicine for Bo than Luke." Jesse piped up.
"Okay, lets just see." Dr. Hart was a by the book old man, but he wanted his patient well so, he decided to give this a try.
When Luke came back in, he looked at Bo, who looked like an abused child, shaking and trying not to cry.
The doctor removed the restraints, and Luke put his hands on Bo's trembling shoulders: they ceased to tremble. Bo was overjoyed to see Luke again: he knew that Luke would shuck and jive a way into seeing him again. Relaxed and pleased with his cousin, Bo leaned on Luke's hand and fell asleep.
"I'm impressed." Dr. Hart smiled.
After about an hour, Bo'd managed to stop shaking with the help of the medicine and Luke's presence. His heart beat settled back to relatively normal, and there wasn't any reason for him to stay longer at the hospital so, the doctor sent him home with oxygen.
