James Duke

James kept an arm around Emy, determined to keep her safe.

"Mama? Its me, Bo." Bo said, hating to hear her sounding to upset and worried.

Bo thanked the doctor and smiled a little. Picking up the reciever, he dialed the number to his parent's house.

Bo was silent for awhile, then looked at the phone sitting next to the bed on a stand. He reached over for it, but couldn't quite reach it. Frustrated, he let out a sigh and tried again.

The doctor ended up giving Bo a mild sedative to calm him down, but it wouldn't put him to sleep.

"I'll...live..." Bo panted.

Had his chest not started to hurt again, Bo would've kept on arguing, being stubborn like that. Instead, he got quiet and closed his eyes, breathing a bit hard.

"No...my parents aren't dead..." Bo replied, getting upset.

Bo frowned a little, not wanting to believe it. "That's not true...they did raise me and they are my real parents."

Bo looked at him, confusion written all over his face.

"Uh huh. They live in Tennessee..." Bo replied.

"My parents are probably worried..." Bo said, looking down.

Bo smiled a little, squeezing Jesse's hand a bit. "M'sorry I ran away..." Bo said quietly.

"Uncle...Jesse?" Bo asked tiredly.

Bo looked like he was asleep. His hospital gown was open and his ribs wrapped tightly, but not to tight that he couldn't breathe. Just resting, Bo opened his eyes a little when he heard someone come inside. It took a moment for his vision to clear from the stronge painkillers he was on, but when he saw who his visitor was, he smiled a bit.

The doctor walked over to them, looking at his clipboard, then to the Dukes before speaking. "We had to operate on your nephew to repair his broken ribs. One of the broken ribs did cut into the lung a bit, but fortunatly, it didn't collapse and we were able to repair it easily. We put in some steel pins and short curved rods in his ribs to help them heal properly. All in all, he's quite lucky. His injuries could've been much worse." He explained. "And if you wish to visit him, he's in room 345. Third floor, five rooms down the right hand side of the nurse's station and on the left side of the hall."

It was almost four hours later when a doctor finally came out with news on Bo. He looked around the waiting room, seeing a few families there. Clearing his throat, he spoke. "Family of Beauregard Duke?" He called, looking for anyone to stand up.

"I understand." Jesse said, proud of his oldest charge.

Jesse smiled, seeing how sure his nephew was. "Where is he?"

"Luke, son, did you really find Bo?" Jesse asked, hugging him.

On the way to the hospital, Jesse told Daisy what Luke had said. He wondered why the boys were at the hospital and if Luke had really found Bo.

"You found Bo?" Jesse asked, surprised. "I'll be there soon." With that, Jesse hung up and hurried to get ready. Grabbing his red cap on the way out, Jesse got in his truck and speed off to the hospital.

Jesse was fixing supper, having figured Luke was out looking for Bo again, since it had become a habit for the dark haired Duke to come home late in the evening. When the phone rang, jesse turned the stove down, then went to answer it. He cleared his throat, then picked up the reciever. "Duke farm, Jesse Duke speaking."

"Hope so..." Bo mumbled, closing his eyes once again.