runningwild

With a closed fist she let it tap the table in defeat. "I know Bo. It was worth a try though wasn't it?" Daisy paused and let her finger slide off of the CB's two way button. This was her opportunity to think; to say something profound. "Do you want to know how Luke is?" Luke was fine. He spent the last few days sitting in his cell, talking to Uncle Jesse once a day and Daisy, when she could find the time to stop in. His only good company was Enos and that was even getting a little old to him. Things hadn't been straightened out, but the wheels were turning and something was going to happen soon. On the other hand, Sawyer had made himself a quiet little place in town staying in the Hazzard Hotel. He used his free time to float unnoticed around the city, picking up useless pieces of information. Still he always managed to pick up a good word or two about Luke Duke at the Boarsnest. Everybody was asking Daisy how he was and what they were going to make of him. It wasn't until his ears perked at the mention of Cassie Morgan's name that Sawyer was put back into focus. Having overheard Boss Hogg telling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane a bit of information about the girl, he sighed to himself. Apparently, Cassie had successfully went through her surgery. She had lived. Someone that had abused drugs for so long was lucky to live through an overdose and such a complicated surgery. The odds weren't always likely. Cassie was recovering in the hospital, before the state police arrive to move her to their medical facility in the state prison. Sawyer had to see her as soon as possible.

Daisy's face held a softness that became apparent in her smile. "Bo, I don't need to get me anything nice. That's sweet, but the farm needs all the money that can be spared." She paused, "When do you think you'll come home for a visit? Everyone misses you. It's just not the same around here." In truth, it really wasn't the same. Luke was still in jail and Uncle Jesse was trying his best to run the farm along with Daisy's help. That's all they could do.

Daisy's eyes came to life for a brief second because Bo's voice held some kind of hope for her. "Hey Cousin," she smiled to herself. "How's the racing circuit? You bringing fame to the Duke name?"

As Daisy sat at the farm, her fingernails drummed on the dinner table. This wasn't like her to just sit around, but with everything that was happening she needed a minute to herself. She mostly spent this minute thinking and considering the situation. Suddenly, she rose to her feet and picked up the CB. "Bo Peep to Lost Sheep.. Bo Peep to Lost Sheep." In her attempt to contact Bo, she hoped that somehow he could hear her and would respond.

A strange car pulled into Hazzard and looked only slightly out of place. Usually people from Hazzard only thought that anyone driving a fancy car must be there to see Boss Hogg. Sawyer hadn't even bothered to check his rearview mirror. He wasn't so much afraid because he figured that time would tell whether his memory lingered in Hazzard. For now, he looked like a classy businessman. His hair was cut shorter, but still dirty blonde. His beard was trimmed a little neater and he didn't walk with such a hickish sway. There was more class in this man than anybody in Hazzard. The sad thing was that he was a murderer. Pulling into town, his eyes scanned the sidewalks, as he scoped out people. They were just tending to their everyday business. He shrugged his shoulders and parked his car. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and got out. Never had the sun shined so brightly, causing him to squint. Closing the door behind him, he headed down the sidewalk. Once again, he wanted to give this town the once over. However, before he had taken a handful of steps, he froze at the sight of the jail. That was no place for him to loiter. He needed to stay out, but he needed to find out what was going on with Cassie.

News had spread all over the state of the fugitive that had been caught and was currently receiving medical treatment. People were breathing easier, but most hadn't worried about this girl. She was but a girl; however, most, like those in Hazzard, refused to believe there was any innocence to her. The ones in Hazzard that felt this way thought that they had some kind of insight to what was going on, but in reality, they had the wrong person. Sitting in a bar, he had his elbows propped up on the counter top, when the whole place was interrupted by a special bulletin on the television. The newscaster was reporting that Cassidy Morgan had been taken into police custody after eight months of legal issues and finally they decided to issue an official warrant for her arrest. The man because interested in what the television had to tell him, but his facial expression didn't change. It was a solemn one and he refused to give way to an emotions he felt. Still he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Did this finally mean that he was off the hook? He had in fact committed those crimes that Cassie was taking all the blame for. But, she wasn't intentionally taking the blame because of the situation she was put in that's just where the blame fell. Tossing a few dollar bills on the counter, he nodded to the bartender and walked out to his car. Sawyer had planned to head back into Hazzard, figuring that no one remembered him enough to pen him to the murder of Jimmy. Revving the engine, he sped off down an old country road. His trip back to Georgia just got a whole lot more interesting. In the Hazzard hospital, doctors had been keeping a close eye on Cassie since she'd been brought in. Because her kidney had begun to fail, they had prepped her for surgery. Her mind was so scrambled that she couldn't tell them what was going on or why she was there. That's what a couple good years of drugs can do to a person. But still she was little Cassie Morgan on the inside. A real southern belle that had enough charm to bring a man to his knees with a ring. If anyone really got to know her, they'd know that she was fiesty and could scrap with the best of them. That's what brought her up with the Dukes. She's threatened to beat the mess out of Bo when they were toddlers and ever since she had been friends with them. Poor Bo. Now, he can't even stand the site of Cassie, but if his memory serves him right it wasn't Cassie that pulled the trigger that shot him. He'd been shot by Sawyer, in order to cause a distraction. Two lackeys grabbed Cassie and high tailed it to an old abandoned warehouse. There she was injected with a chemical that slowed her heart and put her in a comatose state. To anyone that didn't take the time to really notice, she was dead. But, it was Luke that noticed her body temperature was still right. But, before he could do anything both he and Sawyer were carted off to jail, leaving an injured Bo and Cassie to figure out how to get him out. But, as soon as Sawyer's boss told her that Harvey, her ex-boyfriend, knew where she was, Cassie panicked. Now, she was battled for her life in the hospital and undergoing surgery to remove one of her kidneys. The procedure would be painful and the recovering even more so, but that's only if she makes it. With the rate her body is declining from all the medicine there was a good chance she could bleed out. May God have mercy on her.

Luke sighed hard and his back was to his cousin. (Uncle Jesse had left the courthouse) "How am I doing? As well as can be expected.. I'm worried about Cassie.. I'm going to be doing some hard time in the state prison.. and I guess all those lucky breaks I got in the past are over." In truth, that's how it seemed. Nothing was going as planned and Luke couldn't be informed of what was going on. Cassie was potentially dying in the hospital and Luke was pushing his family away so that he could harden his heart. "You should go too Uncle Jesse's going to need all the help he can get.. him and Daisy can't handle all this by themselves. And, they shouldn't have to."

Luke just nodded. "Bo's gone Uncle Jesse.. I'm in jail. There's no hope for anybody getting the truth. You believe what you want. I'm done trying to convince you. Now, go on and take of Daisy I'm sure she's worried sick. I'll be leaving soon to head to the hospital." The cold of a man's heart is scary and is enough to send a chill through anyone. Luke knew the truth and what he had been saying the whole time was what had happened. (Yeah, it is.) "Thanks for stopping by." He was officially done with hearing everything his uncle had to say. There was nothing left to say. No one believed him and here he'd rot for the rest of his life.

So, Bo had saved Cassie from a slow but somewhat instant death. Good thing he hadn't let his hatred for the girl get in the way of his humanity. Unfortunately, she was still clinging onto life at the hospital. In the time she had been there, one of her kidney's had began to shut down and the doctor's weren't sure what they could do for her. Ultimately, they would have to perform surgery. Luke was helpless to how everyone felt about the situation. Maybe at one time he had felt the same way, but he knew what happened that day. The day when everybody's lives changed. Nothing he could say to his uncle would change his mind. The events were forever imprinted in his mind just the way he wanted to remember them. "How noble of Bo to rescue her. Remind me to thank him, if he ever comes to visit me in jail." Luke didn't sound bitter; he didn't really even carry any emotion in his tone. It was as if he was coming to peaceful acceptance for everything that was happening. "Cassie and Bo were trying to find a way to get me out of jail that afternoon. They'd been with each other for almost two days and had gotten no sleep. Sawyer's boss had told him to capture Cassie, so he could pick up the reward for returning her to her boyfriend. Except this fella didn't care if she was dead or alive, when he got threw with her. There was a struggle..after the fella got Cassie.. Bo tried to save her and he got shot. Cassie had nothing and I mean absolutely nothing to do with that." He paused and took in a long breath. "You can't accept her.. I accept that. There's nothing I can say to change your mind. I never thought I'd see the day when Jesse Duke would be blind to the truth. Now, the family's broken.. and it's uncertain that'll we'll ever see another day together at the supper table." Luke looked his uncle straight in the eye, "I respect you Uncle Jesse, but I'll be damned if you or anybody's going to give up on her.. you might as well give up on me to."

Luke couldn't believe what he was hearing, "He what?" The older Duke cousin didn't even raise his voice, by now he was so devastated by everything and it didn't matter. No matter how loud he got nothing was going to change. "So that's really it.. that's why I'm getting people turning against me left and right because of Cassie. Bo left because Cassie came back to town." He had gotten quiet for a long minute and wanted to choose his words carefully. Then, he shook his head, "I'm really torn Uncle Jesse. She don't deserve what's happened to her.. and my family doesn't deserve what's happening to them. I love you both, but I don't think I can give up on Cassie."

Luke stood up and pulled away from his uncle. Out of frustration, he turned and kicked the wall behind him. "What else is there to do?" He wasn't yelling just speaking in a stern tone. "I know what kind of a mess I'm in and unless we try I'm not getting out of it.. and what do you mean Bo's gone?" He question was accompanied by a pause, "If him leaving has anything to do with Cassie, then he might as well say I'm the guy who shot him.. Uncle Jesse, we have to do something." Word was traveling fast throughout the state that a wanted fugitive was finally in police custody. People now knew that Cassie Morgan was being contained in the hospital, while she's treated for a drug overdose. And, that Lucas K. Duke had been brought in as an accomplice not to her previous charges, but because he had broken her out of jail. What a way for word to spread; hopefully, the right people would hear about this and come to their senses.

"I don't know..." Luke didn't have a clue how he could prove Cassie innocent and how he could do that while he was rotting away in prison. "I'm sorry, Uncle Jesse, I never meant for this to happen." He fell quiet because he was so caught up in sorrow that he couldn't believe what a predicament he was in. After a few seconds, he got a look on his face of pure genius. "What about that fella? Sawyer? He killed Jimmy.. wouldn't he know if Cassie was really in on it or not? Couldn't he sort things out?"

"A million times, Uncle Jesse. A million times we've busted people out of this jail, but it only took one to cause this. She's not guilty. She shouldn't even be a priority of the police." Luke never once had looked up at his uncle; he wasn't sure he could. "How'd things get so crazy?" With that statement he looked up.

The Deputy watched the old man go on down the road. In his heart, he was sad because the Dukes were like family to him; they were his best friends. It was too bad that all this had to happen to them: Bo's gone, Luke's in prison, Daisy's has no remorse for Cassie, and Cassie, herself, is laying up in the hospital struggling to hold onto life. Getting back into his patrol car, Enos thought that it was best that he head back into town. Rosco P. Coltrane couldn't handle something this big on his own. Luke sat on the floor with his back against the cement wall, in his cell. With his hands clasped together, he hummed a soft tune. His life was seeing the beginning of the end. He couldn't understand how things got so crazy for him.

Enos just nodded, "He's up at the jail now. Sheriff promised him he could see Cassie, after he took care of some things." The young man looked down, "You can see him Uncle Jesse. I think he'd like to see you."

Enos got out of his car and tipped his hat to Uncle Jesse. "Howdy Uncle Jesse.." he forced a smile. When the old man didn't say anything, Enos knew that he was expecting bad news. For a second, he tried to figure out how to tell the old man the bad news. Sighing, he just began to tell him, "Now, Uncle Jesse I hate to tell you this, but Luke's been locked up for breaking his probation, in more ways than one. Cassie's at the hospital she's barely hanging on, but I pray to the good Lord that she makes it. After she's out, both of 'em are going to the state prison on some pretty big offenses." Without a word, Enos remained standing there. "I'm so sorry Uncle Jesse." At the hospital, Cassie was in a room and resting in her bed. The doctors had hooked so many tubes and wires to her that she looked like a machine herself. Her attempted overdose had really took a toll on some of her organs only because she had already damaged them so much with the pills before. Her unprescribed pills weren't meant to be taken in such a high count, when the dosage was so large. A police officer stood outside her door to ensure that the criminal wouldn't escape. Things were looking grim for both Luke and Cassie.

"You're right, Rosco," Luke spoke up. "I did this myself.. because I was trying prove to all the stubborn fools in Hazzard that Cassie Morgan didn't help kill anybody." He heaved another sigh and shook his head. Knowing what he did was wrong, Luke would still bust her out, if he had it all to do again. After falling silent for a few minutes, he decided to try and bargain. "What would it take to clear us both or at least her?" Enos pulled up at the Duke farm. At first, he was hesitant to get out of his vehicle, but he knew that he had to talk to Uncle Jesse. The old man was watching him from the porch.

Luke sat in the back of the patrol car and sighed out loud. "Rosco?" He continued to be calm, "I ain't going to fight you.. and I know I'm not your favorite person, but do you really have to do this?" Everything in Luke's life had fallen a part and now this was happening. Enos watched Rosco pull out of the drive and head down the path. He pulled Cassie's front door shut and noticed that he couldn't hear the siren of the ambulance any more. Silently, he prayed Cassie would be alright and he cursed for the misfortune of Luke. Getting in his patrol car, he picked up the CB. "Deputy Enos Strate to Jesse Duke.." After a second the old man's voice projected over the speaker, "Yeah Enos, everything alright?" "Well Uncle Jesse.." He paused thinking it'd be better to just find out where he was, like he'd planned, and then tell him face to face. "Are you at the farm?" Uncle Jesse held his breath for a moment because he could sense that there was a bad reason for Enos to ask that. "I am." "I'll see you in a few minutes, Sir." With that he hung up the CB and started for the Duke farm. The old man slowly set down his CD mic and sat back down on the front porch. After everything that had happened, Jesse Duke was expecting to hear the worst.

Luke watched with sad eyes, as they carried Cassie out of the house. He noticed how she just seemed to have given up because she was fighting the system. Her head just rested on the gurney and her eyes were closed, but the shallow breaths she took were still noticable. Without a word, Luke nodded and looked up at Rosco. "Do you know what its like to watch the love of your life being carried out barely alive on a stretcher and you can't even follow her?" His anger had subsided and he was going to comply with everything Rosco wanted. "Enos, tell Uncle Jesse what's going on.." He stood slowly, "Let's hurry I'd like to see her as soon as I could."

Cassie was trying to hold her head up and look at Rosco, "Don't take in Luke. He didn't help me break out.." She was telling a bold-faced lie. "Leave him be Rosco.. you can take me in.." The blonde coughed and looked extremely drowsy. Luke sat in his chair feeling his anger rise, "She didn't help get Bo shot that fella shot Bo first that's why he was in jail in the first place." Finally, he was setting straight a fact that had been wronged from the start. "Now, everything else is a mistake she made, but she didn't help that man kill Jimmy. He did it all on his own!" The dark haired Duke leaned forward in his chair and looked over at Cassie, "Uncuff her Rosco.." his warning was the most intimidating thing that Rosco had to have heard in his entire life. Luke's voice was sounded as if he were in fact filled with venom.

Enos shook his head, "Sheriff, come on the ambulance is coming.. you can't handcuff her she can barely move." The deputy hardly agreed with what Rosco did, but he still obeyed the law. His morals sometimes got in the way and that's how this mess got started anyway. Right now wasn't a time for Enos to obey Rosco's orders.

Enos sighed and hit the CB, "Yeah, Dusty I'm here. But, can this wait I've got to tend to Cassie." He let his weight rest on his patrol car window, and his mind was still racing. Luke looked at Dusty, "Come on Cousin..." He sighed and bit his lip. The news about Cassie really hit him hard, and he didn't know exactly what to say.

Enos shook his head and entered the house hurrying to wear Cassie sat. She was against the bottom cabinets, which at the time was her only support. Her eyes were red and looked like hell. "Cassie?" He bent down beside of her. Slowly her head turned to look at him, "Enos.." She coughed for a second. "Leave me alone," Cassie spoke in a hushed exhausted voice. Still holding the bowl of pills in his hand, Enos shook his head. "I can't, Darling. Right now, I'm all you've got and you need to go to a hospital." "No," she spoke sternly. "I don't want to cause anymore problems. I want this.." Enos didn't know what to say it was all he could do to shake his head. Seeing her like this visibly upset the deputy. "Look just sit tight.. I'll be right back." He sat the bowl of pills on the counter and hurried back out to his car to radio for help. Cassie sat on the floor and struggled to keep her eyes opened. She hated Bo for what he'd done. It was that simple she hated him. Luke laid back on the ground for a second looking at Dusty, "When is it ever enough?" He asked getting up slowly, "Huh?! When is it Dusty? You stuck up for me and I'm grateful, but what did you expect out of it?" Now, Luke was pulling himself to his feet, "You want to hit me again. Please do.. hit me until I can't get back up. I'm useless now.. I might as well be dead." Her tears made his heart break even more, but he couldn't help how he was acting. "Life isn't fair.. everything that's happened hasn't been fair to somebody, Cousin." Reaching out slowly and carefully he pulled her into a hug, "Now, I'm sorry.. you have to understand that I love her.. and it hurts not to be able to help her. I want the family to be alright again, but that means I've got to be left with a void. It's a little hard to accept that." In pausing, Luke ran his hand over her hair, "Don't cry, Dusty.. I'm sorry." Suddenly, the CB behind the bar cracked and Enos' voice came on. He had already switched the emergency frequency and called an ambulance, but this time he was looking for the Sheriff. He voice was soft, "Sheriff? Sheriff, I need you to meet me out at the old Morgan place. I called an ambulance.." He paused and anyone listening could here his stressed sigh. "Cassie's in real bad shape." Everyone in Hazzard with a CB would've heard that message and it surprised Luke that the Boarsnest had got quiet, upon hearing it also. Luke's heart had already been cracked, but now it was completely broken in two.

Cassie began to choke, as fluid was pouring out of her mouth and into the sick. Bo was saving her, but for the wrong reasons. When she stopped throwing up, she was too weak to move, but chose to speak instead, "Leave me alone, Bo! Let me burn in hell for what I've done. That's what you want isn't it." Straightening her stance a little she wiped her mouth sloppily with the back of her hand. Luke stared at Dusty, "Look Cousin, I surrender." He held his hands up in defeat. "I've torn our family and I'm ready to try to mend it. I know where my heart truly has to lie and I let Cassie go. I didn't bring her to the farm to talk things out like I wanted to, so ya'll could understand. I bit my tongue and let her get out of the truck because she wanted to." Pausing, the dark haired Duke cousin shook his head, "I don't need your stubborn ass speech, right now. That's all I ever get nowadays about how I've hurt you..and maybe its really you that's hurt me." Maybe Luke went a little too far in saying that, but it was truly what he felt. Being as strong and brave as he was, Luke was sacrificing the thing that mean most to him to save his family. He was truly a real man.

Cassie sighed heavily and cursed God out loud. Her morals had been stomped on so many times that they didn't exist to her anymore. Still she tried her best to be a better person. She cut herself off from the only person that was willing to forgive her, Luke. He needed to make things right with his family and Cassie knew that. She understood that she couldn't hinder that in any way. Sacrifice is one thing that she knew how to do. And, that's only because she did it often because she aimed to please. The one time she thinks of herself a good friend of hers is shot and another killed. Everyday she begs for redemption. Retrieving the bottle of pills, Cassie open it and stared at its contents for a long second. In her mind, she knew she needed the pills and she knew that they'd ultimately kill her one day or kill more people that she loved. As she turned around, Cassie reached to pick up the glass Sawyer had used off the table. Because it was empty, she set down her pill bottle and filled the glass with water from the sink. Dumping a few pills into her hand, she tossed them in her mouth and took a long drink from the glass. However, she paused after taking them, which meant there was something wrong. She never paused. Then, Cassie began to pour more pills in her hand and pouring more water down her throat. In a matter of minutes, Cassie would have the bottle completely gone. Enos had quietly got up from his desk and headed out to his car. He had headed for the Boarsnest. Once he arrived, he shook his head, when he saw Luke sitting there at the bar. All he could do was feel sorry for him because it didn't seem like his friend could catch a break. "Luke..." Luke didn't look at Enos, but he knew the voice. "Enos.. look I'm sorry about earlier.." "No, don't.. I'm here as your friend," he sat on the empty stool beside of him. "What happened?" He didn't know if he could find the words to express what happened. It wasn't so much of a moment as it was a feeling. "She told to let her go.. and then she went." Luke paused. "I couldn't stop her Enos.. God, I wanted to, but what about Bo.. Daisy.. and Uncle Jesse." The deputy didn't know what to say at first, but after a moment he smiled. "She loves you Luke and she knows she can't be the reason your family falling apart. I talked to her.. back in the big city.. she told me how she was sorry and prayed everyday that things would get better for you. She never once.. told me she wished things got better for her and at times things were bad for her and she knew it." Luke looked over at Enos, "I love her.. more than anybody will ever know, but I have to put my family over my feelings. I can't let them down anymore." Sighing, Enos placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, "You'll work it out alright. I suggest you find Bo and tell him what you told me..because ya'll need to patch things up. You're the Duke boys." With a big grin on his face, he got up, "Now, I hate to ask you this, but where is she?" He hesitated, "At her house.. we were near there, and I just know her." "Thanks, Luke. Now, you take care of yourself." "Thanks Enos.." Luke didn't finish his beer; he just sat there and stared into his glass of despair. Enos, on the otherhand, let the Boarsnest and headed over to the old Morgan residence. Cassie had taken over 3/4 of the pills in her bottle, but because of the amount of drugs in her body and sunk over the counter. She struggled to stand, but she didn't look sloppy. Her body was just shutting itself down and the pills were killing her. Someone of her small frame couldn't handle the medication. Never could and never would be able to. She had began to sweat profusely and her breaths were shallow. Trying to straighten up her stance and back away from the counter, Cassie's legs gave way and she slipped. Her arm caught the pill bottle on her way to the floor and scattered what was left of them everywhere. As she attempted to get off the floor, Cassie started to cry. Choking on her sobs, she realized she couldn't get up and that this really might be the end. Slowly the room spun and she couldn't do anything but rest her head on the floor. Here's how she made everything right.