Picking Up the Pieces

[BoJamesDuke]

Rosco looked up and saw the dangerous glint in Luke's eyes and gave a small noise but remained firm in his decision, shaking his head.

"Wellll yu can just let Luke attack me because then it'll had another criminal offense to his record and send him down to Atlanta State for even longer than he's already goin' there for! Khew Khew...helping a state prisoner escape is a state offense and that's a no no! You blown your probation wide open an' yer gonna pay for it this time!"

[Dusty Rose Duke]

Dusty grunted again as she held Luke back. "Rosco you know those faulse charges any way. You had no evidence to hold Cassie in the first place. You had no proof." Dusty said with a smirk.

"So Luke didn't break his probation. But he will if I let him go. So please Rosco, for once in your misserable life, just take the cuff of Cassie." Dusty said.

[BoJamesDuke]

"Guh uh, that's where you're wrong Dusty! Cassie has a federal APB put out on her and has done since she disappeared, there ain't nothin' false about these charges! In fact, State Police are waitin' fer her at the hospital same as I'm here waitin' fer Luke. So unless you want to be charged with obstructin' the law, I suggest you wipe that smirk off yer face an' quit gettin' in my way."

Rosco said, with actually a hint of regret and sadness in his tone that only someone who knew Rosco well could pick up. He liked the boys, he really did and to hear of Bo's leaving, and then that Luke was to be put away too actually hit him fairly hard. And this time, there was now way he could just, let something slide...this was a serious matter, Luke was involved with a federal offence now and he had to do his job...as much as it pained him to do it.

[Dusty Rose Duke]

Dusty looked at Rosco for a moment. She grabbed a chair and then pulled Luke towards it. "Luke sit and don't move, or I'll kick your ass so hard you wish Uncle Jesse was doin it." Dusty said through clutched teeth.

She turned to Rosco and stared at him then took a step closer to him and put her hands on her hips. "Rosco I warn you right now and right here, if this is one of Boss's schemes to get rid of Luke, I will never speak to you again. If you are part one of Boss's hair scheme's, Our friendship is over. You won't see me anymore because I'll be leaving Hazzard. So decide now Rosco." Dusty said with an icy fire to her blue eyes.

[BoJamesDuke]

Rosco sighed and shook his head.

"Dusty...Cassie helped a guy outta a state prison and helped someone get killed, helped get Bo shot...she's been wanted by the State police since she disappeared....helping her escape is a state offense...Luke committed a state offence...therefore he's gotta be brought in....I'm sorry Dusty..."

[runningwild]

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.

[BoJamesDuke]

Rosco made a small noise at the tone Luke used, but knew he couldn't let it intimidate him. He had never been this serious about a case before in his life and he genuinly believed Cassie to be the troublemaker and criminal that everyone else beside Luke sad she was. He had no evidence beside Luke's word that she wasn't, and when had he ever listened to a Duke anyway.

Shaking his head, he looked up thankfully as he heard the ambulance pull up outside and Enos showed the paramedics in. As they were loading Cassie, still handcuffed onto the gurney, Rosco sighed and with Enos's help, put the cuffs onto Luke's wrist, saying harshly but also with a slight pleading tone.

"C'mon now Luke, don't lets add another offence to your growing record. Come along quietly and I might even get to arrange a visit ta see Cassie at the hospital before yer transferred."

[runningwild]

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."

[BoJamesDuke]

Rosco nodded, slightly surprised that Luke wasn't fighting what he was doing. Luke was going to state prison, probably for a long time especially without Bo to interfere and work on Luke's case. Jesse couldn't do much on his own, and with Luke busting his probation wide open there was no room for parole at all...20 years for breaking probation...possible another 5 for breaking a state offence...that was nearly a full life sentence...

Sighing gently and a little sadly, Rosco led Luke out to his patrol car and put him in the back, hearing Enos tell them that he would go out to the farm and tell Uncle Jesse what was happening with Dusty. Rosco got into the front of his patrol car, locking the back doors and pulled away from the old house, heading for the jail in town.

[runningwild]

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.

[BoJamesDuke]

Rosco swallowed gently and sighed, focusing on driving more as he answered.

"I'm sorry Luke....you broke the law...you really did this time an' I gotta arrest ya....fer one Boss'd have my badge if I didn't an' also the state police would be lookin' fer me too....I'm sorry Luke, I never wanted you boys to ever end up like this but....but you done put yerself in this position...ain't no one else done it fer ya..."

[runningwild]

"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.

[BoJamesDuke]

Rosco shook his head and said truthfully.

"A very good lawyer..."

Sighing Rosco pulled into town and let Luke out the car, taking him inside and locking him in one of the holding cells downstairs before going to call the state police and the hospital to see how Cassie was doing.

[runningwild]

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.

[BoJamesDuke]

Jesse paled slightly as Enos told him what was going on. He knew Luke had been dead set on helping Cassie but he had trusted the boy not to do anything foolish...which was obviously a mistake. He had given the young woman a chance to prove that she wouldn't be so badly influencial on his family again, but now Bo had left and Luke was facing a long prison sentence....

"I want to see him Enos.."

[runningwild]

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."

[BoJamesDuke]

Jesse sighed and nodded, going to his truck and getting in as he said.

"Thanks Enos....Thanks fer tellin' me..an' tryin' ta help..."

Without waiting for a reply, Jesse shut the door and headed for the jailhouse, wondering how on earth he was going to manage to sort all this out with just him and Daisy...that is if Daisy even wanted to help seeing as she practically felt the same way about Cassie as Bo did.

[runningwild]

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.

[BoJamesDuke]

It didn't take long for Jesse to arrive at the prison, his heart heavy as he thought about what was going to happen and all because of one girl who Luke had set his heart on.

Shaking his head at how much destruction one person could cause, he headed into the jailhouse, walking straight past Rosco who didn't een bat an eyelid as Jesse strode in looking completly weary and downtrodden.

Jesse headed down to the cells and stopped in the doorway as he saw Luke sitting on the floor of his cell, shaking his head as he stepped into the room and saying, his voice thick with emotion.

"Luke..."

[runningwild]

"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.

[BoJamesDuke]

Jesse sighed and walked over to the bars, kneeling down and reaching through to hold Luke's hand.

"Luke....because, busting out a prisoner of the local law who we know an' can prove ain't guilty but a victim of unjust law is different to busting out a wanted STATE criminal...who has been proved guilty by a jury...Luke...we could have sorted this all legal like...if you had evidence that she didn't play a part in any o'that...but now, how're ya gonna do that behind bars....you got a near life sentence now Luke...."

[runningwild]

"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?"

[BoJamesDuke]

Jesse sighed, nodding gently.

"He could....but...that's gonna take...a lot of time to catch a criminal who don't wanna be caught an' with Bo gone....its just me an' Daisy now, an' we still have ta run a farm an' the like...and then even after that there's not garuntee that Cassie or you is gonna be released...you really dug yourself in good this time Luke...this is...way over my head..."

[runningwild]

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.

[BoJamesDuke]

Jessie sighed as Luke pulled away and shook his head as he kicked the wall. With an attitude like that, Luke could be stabbed twice and beaten up after not even a day being in the State Pen. Swallowing gently when he realised Luke still didn't know about Bo, Jesse looked to the young man and said gently.

"Luke...Bo left...to go back ta NASCAR...he's moved some of his stuff out the farm and said....he'd consider coming back when the cousin he had before Cassie came along was back....and he also reflected that...the cousin he's talking about might never be back again...I'm gonna try an' do everythin' I can ya know that youngin'....but just what I can do is beyond me..."