When Friends Ain't Friends...

[B.L. Davenport]

Luke sighed and nodded Daisy was right she usually was he thought.

"I know and I'm tryin' not ta worry guess I'll just hafta try harder. 'Fore Bo gets wound up about and starts yellin' at me to stop it that I'm drivin' him crazy."

[BoJamesDuke]

Daisy smiled and shook her head

"We're all worried hunny, but Bo is more likely to tell you if something is wrong or if he's feeling worse if you leave him be. If you try and convince him somethings seriously wrong he's only gonna try and deny it"

[B.L. Davenport]

"Daisy's right"

B.L. agreed quietly while Cooter nodded his agreement. Luke sighed and nodded he knew they were right.

"Yeah I know."

[BoJamesDuke]

Daisy smiled and hugged him close again, resting her head on his shoulder.

"He's important to all of us Luke...but we all know how important he is to you...you know there is never anything you can do wrong in Bo's eyes...keep being there for him and tell him when there's something he's doing he shouldn't be an' all....but otherwise just act like everything's normal..."

She smiled and sat up as she called into the kitchen cheekily, trying to lighten the mood.

"Same goes to you too Uncle Jesse!"

[B.L. Davenport]

Luke smiled and hugged her back kissing her temple.

"Thanks Daisy I'll take ya up on that advice, you know us both so well and ya the best 'little sister a guy could have."

Jesse called back gruffly

"watch the sass girl"

B.L.,Cooter and Luke all snickered knowing Jesse wasn't really upset with Daisy.

B.L. nudges Cooter's shoulder playfully with a grin

"Ya 'bout ready ta go, I got to get to work in a couple of hours."

Cooter pushed her back with a cheeky grin nodding

"Yup whenever you are."

[BoJamesDuke]

Daisy giggled a little at Jesse's repsonse before hugging Luke again.

"And no one could ask fer a better bigger brother Luke. Don;t know what we'd do without you...besides the constant parties and sneaking out without worrying about being caught by you."

She said with a grin.

[B.L. Davenport]

B.L. giggles nodding agreement with Daisy.

"Here,here I worry more about being caught by you than I do about being caught by Cooter."

Luke looked at the two of them with a mock scowl and a scoff.

"I ain't that bad you two."

B.L. grins playfully at him.

"Yes you are!"

Luke rolls his eyes, hitting her with a cushion from the couch. It always amazed him how his cousins and friends could lighten the mood no matter how bad things seemed. For that he was always greatful and loved them all the more.

[BoJamesDuke]

Daisy laughed

"Oh yes you are, now what was it last time..."

She grinned and stood up in front of eveyone, hands on her hips as she put on an imitation of Luke's voice.

"And where are you going Daisy? Don't ya know you'll get yourself a reputation for sneakin' out late at night, now get back to bed 'afore I call Uncle Jesse on ya."

She grinned, seeing B.L. already laughing but not being able to see Luke's reaction as she was laughing too before saying.

"No wait wait, it gets better...then he does the whole disappointed look that is a cross between Bo's puppy dog eyes and Uncle Jesse's stern gaze that makes ya feel so low..."

She then attempted to put on an imitation of that too.

[B.L. Davenport]

By the time Daisy was finished B.L. was laughing so hard there were tears streaming down her face.

"Yup that's you to a tee Lukas"

Luke looked at them scowling doing his best to give both laughing girls a stern look that neither of them were paying any attention to in the least. Maybe he was a little over protective of Daisy and Bo but it was because he didn't want them hurt or in some sort of trouble they couldn't get out of. As for B.L. he felt that it was his duty to protect her the same as Daisy especially when she was staying the night with Daisy and Cooter wasn't there to protect her himself or give her guidance.

Cooter chuckled at Daisy's antics before seeing the look Luke was giving him and sobering immediately.

"Now you gals ought not ta give Luke such a hard time."

He scolded them both to no avail neither one looked contrite.

[BoJamesDuke]

Daisy and B.L looked up and sobered, nodding and sniffing a little when silence fell...broken quickly when the two girls made the mistake of looking at each other, causing them to burst into peels of laughter again.

[B.L. Davenport]

Luke shook his head at the two of them when they errupted into peels of laughter again. The two could be impossible when together giggling like school girls.

Cooter on the other hand watched them with amusement. Looking up as Jesse came back into the room.

"Cooter you and B.L. wanna stay for supper?"

Regretfully shaking his head negatively Cooter answered for the both of them.

"We can't tanight Uncle Jesse, B.L.'s gotta work and I got some chores ta catch up on.

Jesse frowned and pointed a finger at Cooter giving his usual reply when Cooter called him 'Uncle' sending the two girls into peels of giggles again.

"I ain't your Uncle Jesse"

Then smiling he nodded.

"Alright, but ya'll got to come one night for supper ya ain't been in a coon's age"

[BoJamesDuke]

Daisy eventually settles back down and sunk into the armchair Jesse usually sat in, her sides aching from laughing, something she hadn't done in a long while.

[B.L. Davenport]

B.L. sank down on the couch wiping the tears from her eyes sighing an amused sigh.

[BoJamesDuke]

Daisy chuckled a little more one more time before settling against the back of the seat, content and much happier.

Bo meanwhile lay on his bed, smiling as he listened to the sounds going on outside. He was pleased that everyone was happier because it meant they wouldn't be as tense and stressed when it came to dealing with him, which only ever served to rub Bo up the wrong way and he and everyone else knew it too.

[B.L. Davenport]

Cooter chuckled one last time himself then slapping both knees got to his feet.

"Well c'mon girl ya got to get ta work and them chores ain't gonna do themselves."

B.L. holds out her hands for Cooter to pull her to her feet, leaning back instead of coming all the way to her feet when he tries making it difficult to do, gins up at him from her seat. Now it was Luke's turn to be amused at Cooter being the one to get trouble from B.L. like Daisy had been giving him just a few minutes ago. Finally after another couple of tries to get B.L. to her feet Cooter bends over wrapping his arms around her lifting her up and over his should grinning as he makes way to the door.

"Hey! put me down!"

B.L.'s protest falls on deaf ears though as Cooter continues to the door and out onto the porch turning back to the Duke cousins.

"We'll see ya'll later."

Turning back and bounding down the steps so that it jarred B.L. slightly causing her to grunt in discomfort he wasn't hurting her just making being over his shoulder more uncomfortable.

"See... ya... later"

B.L. called in hitched breaths as Cooter jarred her again.

Luke chuckled raising his hand in farewell to them and calling.

"See ya"

[BoJamesDuke]

Daisy laughed as she watched the antics between B.L. and Cooter, waving goodbye along with Luke and Uncle Jesse before standing up and stretching a little and moving to the kitchen to help Jesse with cooking the tea, ruffling Luke's hair as she walked past.

[B.L. Davenport]

Luke gave Daisy a mock scowl as he straightened his ruffled hair then goes to the barn to start on the chores as Jesse and Daisy go back inside after the tow truck had pulled out of the yard. Jesse busily buzzed around the kitchen making the tea.

[BoJamesDuke]

Bo watched as Cooter and B.L. pulled away, unable to sleep now that he was actually in his room. As soon as he saw Luke heading off to do the both of their chores he felt bad, he should be doing something too.

So, without a thought to his still slightly healing injuries and his cough that Luke thought was really terrible, he got out of bed and started to tidy up the bedroom, in full view of the window......

[B.L. Davenport]

Luke turned and looked back toward the house he could clearly see the window to his and Bo's room and he saw movement pass the window. Striding back to the house he went straight to the window leaning against the side of the house peeking in to confirm his suspicions before doing anything. Seeing Bo moving around tidying things up he wrapped on the window a frown on his face. Bo was supposed to be resting not working.

[BoJamesDuke]

Bo jumped a little as he heard the rap on the window, dropping some of the things he had been holding. He looked over to the window and swallowed a little as he saw Luke's scowling face and sighed softly, crossing over and opening the window.

[B.L. Davenport]

Luke leant in the open window his arms crossed on the window sill chin atop them. All the while the glare never leaving his face as blue eyes met blue eyes one set blazing the other trying to melt ice.

"Care to explain what your doin' tidyin' the room when ya s'posed ta be restin'?"

[BoJamesDuke]

Bo sighed and swallowed a little before saying.

"Luke...I ain't disabled...I just got a few bruises is all....I'm bored an' I can't sleep...I's been sitting in a....hospital bed with nothing to....do for weeks....can't ya at least let me tidy the room?"

[B.L. Davenport]

Luke sighed and ran a hand across the back of his neck massaging it. He knew there wasn't anything seriously wrong with Bo but the fact he'd left with their friends sitting there still troubled Luke. But trying to do as the others had suggested earlier and not baby Bo so much he nodded.

"Fine...... but tidyin' up the room better be all you's do...got it!"

[BoJamesDuke]

Bo sighed gently and nodded, turning away to carry on his tidying with a mumbled

"Yes oh master of mine..."

[B.L. Davenport]

"Watch the cheek Bo."

Luke warned before turning and heading back to the barn to finish the chores. It was going to be a long road ahead, he couldn't totally stop himself from worrying and being over protective and that was already grating on Bo's nerves. With a sigh he picked up the pitchfork and began mucking out Maudine's stall.