1985. Luke is 29, Daisy 28, and Bo 27. This chapter takes also place during my other story "A Father's Love?" in where Bo got shot in the arm. This picks up right after that story ended. anyway, as usual I don't own the Dukes of Hazzard.
Kenny and his father had left, Daisy and Jesse had come home, and the Dukes had had dinner. It wasn't quite time to go to bed, but Bo was exhausted so, he stretched out on the couch in the living room. He fell asleep and remained that way for about an hour and a half.
"Why don't ya get Bo settled into bed." Jesse suggested to Luke.
"I'm gonna have a heck of a time convincing him to take them pain pills." Luke sighed.
"If it hurts him enough, he'll take 'em." Daisy reasoned.
"If he don't he'll be up all night in pain." Luke sighed, looking at his sleeping cousin. He'd hate to wake him up, but he knew what was best for him: in bed with his medicine for a good nights sleep.
"Let's see if he wakes up on his own." Jesse suggested.
Luke, Daisy, and Jesse sat in the chairs surrounding the couch. Shortly after, Bo's eyes fluttered open and he sat up.
"Time for bed?" Bo yawned.
"Yeah." Luke got up and sat next to him. "How's your arm?"
"To be honest with ya, it kinda hurts." Bo looked down at his left arm.
"Will you take some pills before ya go to sleep?" Luke showed him the bottle of morphine.
"I don't know..."
"Scale of 1-10, how bad do ya hurt?" Jesse asked.
Bo knew he couldn't lie to his uncle Jesse. "I don't know, maybe 7-8 or so."
"You'll take the pills, then." Jesse decided.
Bo remained silent. He didn't want to argue with his uncle, and he also desperately didn't want to take the pills.
"How many do I have ta have?" Bo asked.
"2 every 6 hours." Luke read the label.
"I don't want 'em." Bo sighed.
"Why not?" Daisy asked.
"I hate being high." Bo replied.
"You didn't seem to mind gettin' drunk at that party ya went to in the 9th grade." Jesse almost chuckled.
"You'll be asleep for most of the time." Daisy assured him.
"Bo, I told you you're gonna take 'em, and that's it." Jesse gestured for Luke to open the bottle, which he did, and handed Bo two of the pills, and the glass of water that he'd brought in and put on the table earlier.
Bo took the pills and stalked into the bedroom. He struggled to attempt to pull his shirt off, until Luke came in.
"You need help?"
"I can do it myself." Bo grunted.
"You let me know." Luke undressed and got in bed.
"Heck, I'm sorry Luke, I can't do it." Bo sighed, dropping his head.
Luke got up and headed over to Bo.
"I can't get my left sleeve off." Bo explained.
"Let me see." Luke went behind Bo and pulled his arm back gently, removing the shirt slowly.
Bo clenched his jaw against the pain and grasped the air with his fist.
"There ya go." Luke put the shirt on the dresser.
"Thanks." Bo crawled under his blankets.
"Can ya move that arm much?" Luke asked.
"Some parts of it are numb, and other parts hurt, but I can move it for the most part."
"Don't move it too much." Luke rolled over and shut his eyes.
Luke didn't know how long he'd been asleep, but when he woke up, Bo was laying sprawled out on the floor, laughing softly and twirling his hair around his pointer finger.
"Bo, what are you doing?" Luke turned on the lights.
"Curlin' ma hair..." Bo laughed.
"Get up off the floor." Luke grabbed him under the arms.
"No!" Bo pouted.
"Bo, listen to me, cousin: you're high on morphine 'cause you got shot in the arm remember?" Luke tapped his face.
"Yeah, Kenny." Bo remembered.
"Yeah, that's right. Anyway, you need to do what I say for you to do, okay?"
"Sure, I'll do what ever you want." Bo giggled.
"Alright. Let me put you back in your bed." Luke eased him back into bed.
"Why are you being so funny?" Bo laughed.
"I ain't, you are." Luke chuckled, pulling the covers back up to Bo's neck.
"I'm gonna go run Boss Hogg over." Bo grinned.
"You are?" Luke asked.
"Yeah..."
"Can I come, too?" Luke asked, playfully.
"Sure, cuz, come on along. I've fitted the 'ol General with a rocket for extra power..." Bo sounded like he was serious.
"You did?"
"Yeah, it's real slick." Bo grinned.
"Why don't you get some sleep, an' I'll drive us into town, okay?" Luke tucked him in tighter.
"Okay, good idea, I ain't feelin' so good." Bo turned his head into the pillow and fell asleep almost instantly.
Luke went back to bed, chuckling to himself. When he woke up the next time, Bo was laying curled up on the foot of his bed, crushing his feet.
"Bo?" Luke turned on the lights.
"My stomach hurts..." Bo slurred.
"That's jus' the side effects of the pills, you're okay." Luke removed his blankets from himself and pulled them over Bo.
"I feel drunk..." Bo complained.
"You'll be okay, you just need to sleep." Luke rubbed his back gently.
"My arm feels like it's gonna fall off..." Bo showed Luke his left arm.
"It ain't gonna fall off, I promise." Luke assured him.
"It's loose..." Bo mumbled. "Luke, somethings wrong with me...the rooms spinnin' like a top an' I my arms gonna fall off..." Bo turned his head to the side, trying to cope with the spinning.
"You're gonna be okay, nothin's wrong with ya." Luke put a strong arm around Bo's shoulders.
"Ya sure, cause I feel like I jus' drank a whole barrel 'o uncle Jesse's finest..." Bo tried to open his eyes, but his lids were too heavy.
"I'm sure. You're okay." Luke rubbed his back until he fell asleep again. Then he gently shifted Bo into a more comfortable sleeping position. Then, realizing he'd just given his bed to his cousin, he slipped into Bo's bed to sleep instead.
An hour or so later, Luke woke to the sound of incoherent moaning. He switched on the lights and stood over his bed, which was currently occupied by Bo.
"What's the matter?" Luke asked him.
Bo was just coming off of the drugs, he was dizzy and unsure, and the pain in his arm was coming back like a wildfire that had just hit gasoline.
"It hurts..." Bo showed his arm to Luke.
"I can give ya some more pills in about about an hour." Luke ran a hand through his hair.
"What's wrong with me, Luke?" Bo pleaded.
"You've just come offa some heavy drugs. You're gonna be okay." Luke pulled him close to his strong chest.
"I feel sick..." Bo coughed.
"Your body don't like morphine, does it? I reckon it'll take some getting used to." Luke continued to hug him.
After a while, Bo went silent, accept for wheezing that was getting worse by the breath.
"Bo?" Luke rolled him onto his back.
"I can't breathe, Luke, why can't I breathe?" Bo gasped, desperately attempting to get air.
"You have asthma, remember?" Luke stated calmly as he helped Bo with an inhaler. He used it for several minutes.
"You okay, now?"
"I'm gonna be sick..." Bo grabbed Luke's arms and pulled himself to the edge of the bed: he couldn't wait to be carried to the bathroom so, he just let it all out on the floor.
"Oh, Bo, cousin..." Luke watched Bo wretch over the side of the bed, not even noticing the mess, as all he could see was the pain that Bo was in.
"Whatssa matter with me?" Bo choked between heaves.
"Nothing, you're alright." Luke tried to calm him.
"Luke, help me..."
"Listen to me." Luke embraced Bo as best as he could with him being in the funny position that he was, leaning over the side of the bed. "You've been hurt so, you're on some really strong pain pills. They're just starting to wear off so, your arm hurts again. Unfortunately, the drugs also cause some other unpleasant things to happen to ya. After you get used to 'em ya won't have so many side effects." Luke assured him.
Bo pulled himself back onto the bed, inhaling sharply as his arm stung when he used it to grip.
"There ya go, it's okay." Luke let Bo collapse into his lap, even though he was covered in vomit.
Bo muttered some things that Luke couldn't understand (probably about running Boss Hogg over with a rocket powered General Lee), and then he fell asleep again. Luke picked Bo up and cleaned him up, then he placed him back in his own bed. Then, Luke cleaned up the mess on the floor and on his bed.
Luke had been patient with Bo all night, but now he was exhausted. He knew Bo was gonna wake up in pain soon, but that he'd more than likely not be high anymore so, he'd be easier to deal with. Luke decided not to fall asleep until Bo woke up again, which happened shortly.
"Hey, Luke?" Bo didn't open his eyes.
"Yeah?" Luke approached Bo's bed.
"Drive a little faster, huh?"
"Bo we ain't in the car." Luke sat on the bed and placed a hand on Bo's shoulder.
"We'd better get in it then." Bo mumbled.
"Where do we need to go?" Luke asked.
"The hospital, I've been shot..." Bo slurred.
Luke turned Bo onto his back and started shaking his shoulders.
"Ow!" Bo's right hand shot up to his left arm to protect it.
"Wake up, Bo." Luke stopped shaking him and tapped his face instead.
"I'm up, I'm up." Bo's eyes shot open and darted around the room.
"How's your arm? You can't tell me it don't hurt, cause ya just showed me that it did in your dream."
"Yeah, it does." Bo looked down at it with hatred.
"Well, it's been six hours since you-"
"No, I don't want any." Bo put his hand up. "They ain't worth all the trouble they give."
"Bo, I've lived with you since you were three months old: I can tell when you're in a lot of pain, which you are right now, and you know it."
"It ain't worth it." Bo repeated. The agitation due to the pain was quite evident in his voice.
"How are you gonna sleep, then?" Luke asked.
"I'll figure it out." Bo shut his eyes and put his good arm over them: more evidence to Luke's point that he was in too much pain to sleep.
Luke rolled his eyes.
"Good night?" Bo asked sardonically.
"You ain't gonna get no sleep in that much pain." Luke stated.
"So I won't sleep." Bo turned his head away, telling Luke to get his ass off of his bed and leave him alone: his arm was burning and his head was pounding.
Luke took the hint and stood up. He watched Bo sigh and attempt to get comfortable.
"What are ya standin' there starin' at me fer? Go to bed!" Bo demanded.
"I ain't gonna until ya take your pills." Luke avowed.
"It's my dang arm!" Bo shot into a sitting position, regretting it when it made his head throb even more and the room start to spin. He tried not to let on, but the look on his face told Luke all that he was feeling.
"Just take 'em Bo, the side effects will go away more each time ya take it."
Bo, seemingly forgetting what'd happened when he'd sat up, rushed to his feet.
Luke, seeing the look on his cousin's face, the way his eyes were moving, and how his body was melting underneath him, put his arms out to catch Bo, and he did fall.
"Ya see what you done to yourself?" Luke picked him up in a bridal carry.
Bo kept his eyes closed: his head was throbbing beyond belief, as if someone was inside his head with a hammer.
"Here ya are." Luke laid him down in bed again.
"Luke my head..." Bo finally caved and accepted Luke's care.
"Ya dizzy?" Luke asked him.
"Yeah, an' my head's throbbing..." Bo reached his arm out to see where he was in the room, as far as he was concerned, it was spinning, even with his eyes shut.
Luke got two pills from the bottle and put them against Bo's lips.
"Will ya take 'em?" Luke asked.
"If it'll make it stop..." Bo moaned, still trying to find his bearings.
"Yeah, it'll make it stop for a while." Luke promised.
Bo opened his mouth and let the pills drop in. Luke took the glass of water that was on the bedside table. Then he lifted Bo's head up and helped him swallow the pills with the water.
"You won." Bo mumbled.
"No, you did: you're gonna get some sleep now." Luke took Bo's arm from it's position in the air and lowered it down to the bed, taking his hand.
"It'll be morning before you know it." Luke promised.
"I hope so..." Bo mumbled. The room had slowed down a little bit and the hammer in his head was more of a small rubber mallet now. His arm was only sore now, rather than the raging fire it had been earlier.
Luke stayed right next to him until he was sure that he was asleep. This time through, Bo only woke up twice, once to tell Luke about the General Lee's rocket again, and the other time to throw up a few times.
Jesse let his boys sleep in that morning, he figured on what kind of night they'd had by the looks of 'em when he peeked into their room.
When Luke finally woke up, he headed for the kitchen, where Jesse was sippin' coffee and Daisy was about to head out the door to go to the Boar's Nest.
"Mornin, Daisy." Luke waved.
"Mornin', Luke. You and Bo okay?" She asked.
"Poor Bo had a heck of a night last night on that danged morphine." Luke sighed, pouring a cup of coffee.
"I take it you did, too?" Jesse looked at his nephew's bloodshot eyes.
"He was up most of the night." Luke rubbed his eyes.
"I'll take him tonight it ya want." Jesse offered.
"No, I can do it. He'll be better off tonight, seeing as how he's had two doses now." Luke yawned.
"Well, I gotta go now, or Boss Hogg'll fire me again. Tell Bo I said 'bye' when he wakes up." Daisy waved and headed out to Dixie.
"Bye." Jesse waved.
"I hope he's okay." Luke sighed.
"He's sleepin' he's jus' fine." Jesse assured Luke.
"I think I'll take a nap on the couch." Luke moseyed into the living room. "He had his last dose around 3 this mornin'." Luke told Jesse before he fell asleep on the couch.
Jesse opened the door to the boys' room sat in a living room chair, where he could see both of his nephews and make sure they were alright.
After a while, he saw Bo's eyes flutter open and dart around the room until they reached Luke's bed, filling with panic when they found that Luke wasn't there. Jesse stood up and trotted into the room, placing his hands on Bo's shoulders.
"You're okay." Jesse laid him down, as he'd shot to a sitting position when he'd seen that he was all alone.
"Where's Luke, is he okay?" Bo demanded.
"He's fine, jus' a little tired. He's sleepin' on the couch. How 'bout you, you alright?"
"I'm so tired."
"Do ya want yer next dose?" Jesse asked softly, he could tell that Bo was in pain as well as being tired.
"I don't know... it makes me dizzy and high, but it hurts now...I don't know if its worth it...I just wanna sleep." Bo looked up as his uncle with desperate eyes.
"The more often ya take em, the better you'll get used to 'm." Jesse reached for the bottle. Bo agreed, and Jesse helped him take the pills, before shushing him off to sleep again.
As happens with morphine, after about a week of taking it, the side effects had dulled to only minor head aches. And, within a few weeks, Bo's arm was all healed up and ready to be in trouble with the law again.
