Betsyraeduke

Folks, one's things for sure, that's girls got a whole mess of troubles. I sure hope the Dukes can get to the bottom of things.

Betsy looked at them, unsure, but knowing she couldn't fight them or get away from them, she agreed. Besides, she was hungry, and they seemed nice and anything was better than going home. She walked slowly out to the General with Bo and Luke, not speaking, just staring at the ground. Bo and Luke helped her into the car and climbed in themselves. Putting the car in gear, they drove off heading toward the farm as they CB'ed Uncle Jesse and Daisy on the way to tell them that they were bringing Betsy for dinner.

"Yes", Bo replied in agreement with Luke, "We will take you to our farm for a while. We won't take no for an answer on that."

"Ok, ok, calm down girl. We won't take you home if it's that important to ya. But we can't leave a young girl out here all by herself. Uncle Jesse would tan our hides if we did that. Would you like to come back to the farm with us for a while? You can have something to eat, and I'm sure Daisy's got some clean clothes that'll fit ya too."

"Honey, would you like Bo and me to drive you home?" "Nooo!" Betsy-rae said looking up, fear registering on her face once again. "Please, I don't wanna go home. Please don't make me."

"Shhh----shhhh. It can't be that bad, sweetheart." He whispered softly as he held her. He looked up at Luke with a questioning look. Luke shrugged, and shook his head. He didn't have any idea why Betsy was at their still site or why she was sleeping in their shack, but he did know that something was seriously wrong. That much was obvious. Not knowing what else to do, Luke touched Betsy on the shoulder, and asked softly,

"What's wrong, darlin'? You can tell us." Betsy, shook her head, sobbing harder. "N--no, I can't", she stammered, "You wouldn't believe me anyway. No one ever does. It don't matter none no how. N--nobody...nobody c--cares." Betsy was now crying to hard to say another word even if she wanted to. Bo pulled Betsy close to him and cradled her in his arms, rocking her gently back and forth.

So she simply sat there staring at the floor as her thoughts whirled in her head. She felt hot tears forming in her eyes and beginning to spill down her cheeks. Luke and Bo could see that there was obviously something wrong. Bo looked at her sympathetically as he spoke.

Betsy just looked at the floor, not sure what to do. Part of her just wanted to run, to get away, part of her wanted to spill her guts about the problems she had and beg for help; and yet another part of her said doing either would be pointless. She couldn't get away, she would never be able to outrun them. She couldn't tell them her troubles. They wouldn't understand. They probably wouldn't even believe her. She knew all to well what kind of reputation her family had. Most people assumed she was just like them, but she wasn't. No one believed that though. No one cared. Nobody knew about the physical abuse she suffered at the hands of her daddy, or the verbal abuse that she put up with from her mama. No one knew that she suffered this abuse simply because she refused to live like and do all the awful, and terrible things which her family did. Her family told her she wasn't fittin to be a Beaudry. The other folks in the community thought she wasn't fittin, period, because she was a Beaudry. The truth was, no one wanted her. No one cared what happened to her either.

Startled, the girl woke and sat bolt upright on the bed. Rubbing her eyes and shaking her head to clear it, she looked around. Upon seeing Bo and Luke there, both staring at her with confused looks on their faces, she backed away slightly, her eyes widening a bit in fear. Noticing her fear, Bo and Luke smiled, their gaze softening a bit. "It's ok. We're not going to hurt you." Bo said, "We would like to know what you are doing here though."

Betsy rolled over and groaned softly but remained asleep. Bo and Luke looked at her and then at each other. Then looking back to Betsy, Luke took hold of both of her shoulders and shook her firmly as he called out loudly, "Betsy-Rae Beaudry! Wake up now!"

"Well, lets wake her up and ask her!" They walked over to the cot and nelt down so they were level with the sleeping figure on the bed. Luke reached out and gently nudged Betsy's shoulder. Betsy did not stir. Nudging her again, a little harder this time, but still gently, Luke called out softly, but in a firm tone. "Betsy. Betsy-rae Beaudry, wake up. Betsy."

Now somehow, I just knew Betsy-rae and the Dukes were going to cross paths sooner or later. Wonder what's going to happen next. Luke shook his head puzzled. "What do you suppose the Beaudry girl is doing here?" He asked. "You got me." Replied Bo. They both looked at each other for a moment in bewilderment. Bo was the first to speak. "She seems to be alone, she can't be much harm by herself." "I agree with ya Bo, but she must be here for a reason."

"Bo, we have company." "What do you mean, we have...." Bo stopped in mid sentence as he focused in on where Luke was pointing. There on the bed was Betsy-rae, fast asleep.

Bo and Luke entered the building, laughing as they did. Luke started to cross the room intending to get a couple of the chairs, which were stacked in a corner, so that he and Bo could sit a while and reminisce. Suddenly, about halfway across the room, Luke stopped short and let out a puzzled, "whooa"

Betsy-rae lay on the cot sleeping soundly. Oblivious to anything that might be happening around her. It was the first decent rest she had gotten in a couple of days.

Luke smiled in agreement with the suggestion as he hurried to follow Bo. "Cuz, you took the words right out of my mouth!"

"Let's go inside for a while. How about it cuz?" They loved this old site. It was one of their favorites. It was the one which they came to most often when they needed serenity for any reason. They had a lot of fond memories of this place. The good times that they had shared here as kids were endless. The parties they had here, the girlfriends whom they'd brought here, oh what fun times they had here.

A few minutes later, Bo and Luke pulled off the road and parked next to an old still. Climbing out of the car, they stretched their legs and looked over the familiar surroundings. Though the Dukes were no longer in the shine business, they came to their old sites often. They served useful for secret meetings and when they needed to hide out from Rosco for a while. Motioning to Luke, Bo headed toward an old building on the site.

Meanwhile, Bo and Luke, knowing that Rosco was sure to be steamed for a while after their latest evasion of a phony ticket, had decided to lay low for a while. Luke gave Bo a side glance as he spoke. "What do you say we head for still site 4. Rosco won't look for us there." "Sounds good to me cuz"

Betsy-rae walked slowly down the side of the road. She was a small girl, who looked closer to 10 than her actual 13yrs. She wore a light blue spaghetti strap tank top with a pale blue and white, short sleeved blouse over the top, along with a pair of faded blue denim shorts and white canvas sneakers. Her clothes were a bit soiled and wrinkled. Her face was red and puffy from crying. Her long strawberry blond hair was uncombed and a few strands stuck to her tear streaked cheeks. She was so hungry she'd be willing to eat just about anything, but she was to scared to go home. So she wandered along, picking and eating wild berries here and there, which wasn't nearly enough to satisfy the intense hunger that was gnawing at her. More than anything, she was exhausted. She searched for a place to rest where she thought she would be safe. She needed a place where she was sure her parents wouldn't find her. Finally after walking for what seemed like an eternity to her, she spotted an old cabin. Wandering over to inspect it closer, she saw that the whole place looked abandoned. Betsy-Rae climbed the steps to the shack and peeked cautiously inside. Seeing that no one was inside and the place was indeed deserted, as far as she could tell, she tried the door to the shack. She was thankful to find that it was unlocked and opened easily. She stepped inside the small room and took another look around. Spying a small cot against the far wall, she gratefully walked over to it. Betsy-rae layed down on the cot and stared up at the ceiling as her thoughts churned around in her head, tormenting her. She wished someone would help her. She wished someone would come and take her away from that awful place she had the misfortune of calling home. She wished....

"Looks like he's ok, let's get out of here Luke" Yep, so far it looks like just another typical day in Hazzard County..... Oh lookie over there. Who's that? Why it's little Betsy-rae Beaudry She's kin to the Beaudry family of Tennessee, grand niece of the 'ol polecat, himself, Pa Beaudry.....And folks, those Beaudry's are mean and lower than a snake's belly....Last time any of them varmits were around, Milo tried to run off with Daisy. But Betsy looks harmless. In case you're wondering what Betsy-Rae is doing in Hazzard, she just moved here with her folks.....Urrr, let's see what she's up to.

"Oooooo, you Dukes. You've gone and done it now. You really done it now! Scuffin' my vehicle like that. I'll get ya. Gonna cuff ya and stuff ya, I am!" Bo and Luke both laughed

Bo's famous yell along with the notes of Dixie could be heard as the car glided smoothly through the air. They landed expertly on the other side, stopping to look behind them. Rosco had climbed out of his squad car and stood in the pond, where he had landed, in water that was almost to his knees. Brushing himself off and pulling his composure together, he looked across the pond toward Bo and Luke. He shook his fist at them and cursed.

Turning sharply and driving fast toward the pond, Bo smiles with a familiar wild look in his eyes. Catching the look on Bo's face, Luke chuckles knowing what's about to happen. "Hang on Luke!" Picking up speed, the orange stock car races up a mound of solidly packed dirt which made for a good ramp and sailed into the air, gliding over the pond below. “Yeeehawww!"