To Keep On Keepin' On

[DaisyMaeDuke]

(For DaisyMaeDuke and BoJamesDuke only)

Luke Duke had always been somewhat of a loner. He had always been somewhat closed-off and distant, except to those he truly loved and trusted. Even then, at times it was like pulling hen's teeth to get the older Duke boy to open up, to verbally say what was going on in that head of his... and more often than not, there was some wheel-a-turnin'.

He had always been labeled the "smart" one... the one who could devise and carry out a plan in a matter of minutes...a plan so detailed that even the likes of Boss Jefferson Davis Hogg couldn't help but admire and wish, from time to time, that them Duke boys were on his side. Luke found silent satisfaction in that- more than he had ever let on. It was an irony the thoughtful young man couldn't help but smirk at. He had always been book-smart (when he chose to open them) and being a school of hard knocks graduate, he was street savy as well. But when the USA government got hold of his young mind,training him to think even more than he had before, they unknowling released their worst enemy. Now Luke Duke fought the system with the best of them, and usually won every battle he undertook. Payback, he supposed, for turning a naive farmboy into a war-hardened man in a span of 1460 days, give-or-take a few.

Yes, Luke Duke knew many things. He knew how to charm the ladies and throw a mean left-hook, often within the same minute. He knew how to run a farm, outrun the law and could assemble an engine with his eyes shut. With the same blue eyes he could calm a frighten child or make a hitman resent the day he had crossed Luke's path. By the time he was four he had learned the meaning of loss, losing his family and the only home he had ever known in a manner of days. He knew how to drive a tank, ride a horse and drop, fully geared, into a cave full of enemy who would just as soon kill him as look at him. He knew how to set aside all fear and escape into his own mind, despite the horrific tortures being brought on him.

Now, he sat alone looking to the pre-dawn starlit sky, his legs dangling procariously over the edge of Widow's Peak, hoping that Bo didn't notice he was gone. He thought long and hard about himself, who he was, his former dreams and life-goals. He thought about his past, but thought more about the present, specifically, the past month, when the life he had come to depend on as a tightly-woven life-line, began to quickly unravel.

Yes, Luke Duke knew a lot of things, but how to go on was not one of them.

[BoJamesDuke]

Little did Luke know, that as soon as Luke had stepped out the bedroom Bo was hot on his heels. He knew his older cousin wouldn't want him to know that he had gone missing, but as soon as Luke had started this kinda downward spiral in his life, Bo had been more alert and atune to his older cousin than ever.

This time in life was hard on all of the Duke cousins, and most of Hazzard too...but to Bo, it seemed like Luke was starting to think that life just wasn't worth living anymore. Out of all the emotions Bo had ever imagined Luke going through because of this....depression and thoughts of suicide were never one of them. And he knew too that that was what his cousin was thinking of...just by things he let slip sometimes or by the way he looked. Bo had never needed his tightly closed cousins words to understand how he was feeling, same as Luke never needed his. They knew each other like twins, and sometimes Bo couldn't help but think that they had that sort of connection too.

No...Luke Duke - as far as Bo knew - had never considered suicide...though if he had in the War and the POW camps Bo couldn't really say that he would blame him. But Luke had always said the thought of his family back home - especially Bo - always got him through because he knew how much he, Daisy and Jesse needed him. Luke Duke had never given up...though right now he wasn't sure if Luke was even there. Usually Luke would have noticed Bo was following him in an instant, with all the Marine training and all, but this time he hadn't even appeared to notice.

Bo had been sitting behind Luke hidden in the trees just as long as Luke had been there...his heart beating loudly at Luke's procarious position on the edge of the cliff. This situation was affecting Bo badly too...but he could put aside all thought of his own hurt if it meant keeping his cousin with him...

[DaisyMaeDuke]

Luke had never been one to give up, no matter what the circumstances. He was a fighter, in every sense of the word, and "quit" was not a word in his dictionary. Yet, as he sat contemplating his life, he couldn't help but wonder why: why life had led him down the paths it did, why he had gone through what he did, and why things continued to spiral out of control.

He looked down, down over the cliff watching as a small rock jerked loose as he shifted and tumbled down the steep embankment, soon lost in the darkness of the morning.

Luke felt just like that rock...as if his life too was just continuing downward, with no thought of stopping, soon lost in the darkness.

Another tear dripped down as he felt his body tremble a few more rocks cascading down the cliff as he did.

[BoJamesDuke]

Bo bit his lip as he heard the rocks crumble, shaking his head as his body now too started to tremble in fear. Swallowing gently he stepped out the darkness of the trees and headed quietly towards Luke, calling out softly so as not to startle him.

"Luke...Luke c'mon cousin...please come away from there..."

[DaisyMaeDuke]

Despite Bo's efforts not to startle him, Luke jumped slightly, the jagged rocks tumbling down the cliff as he did. Luke didn't move, didn't face him. He knew he had failed his family and couldn't bare the look of disappointment on Bo's face.

"Go home Bo...please..."

[BoJamesDuke]

Bo shook his head a little more as he stepped closer towards Luke, knowing that the rate the rocks were falling it wouldn't be long before Luke was sent tumbling down with them. At that moment he had never been more scared or more hurt at the fact that Luke had told him to just leave him to die.

"I can't cousin....I can't...You can't really want t'do this Luke...please don't do this..."

He knew he was begging, and he knew that if a few people in Hazzard were to hear him now then he would get teased about it for weeks...but he didn't care. The only thing that had ever really got Luke to talk properly was to beg him to stop doing whatever he was doing, to put on his well practised puppy dog eyes and appeal to the only part of Luke that he could...the one that cared about his little brother, the one that would do anything to get Bo out of the upset frame of mind he was in and make him happy again...the one that wanted to protect Bo.

[DaisyMaeDuke]

Luke near growled at the teary plea from his cousin. He hadn't wanted Bo to follow him out here. He knew that this was just adding to the problems...but somehow...when he was out here...he could forget everything...and everyone. He could be alone with himself. Now though, Bo and his teary eyes tugged at his heart. Much as he wanted to end his own pain, he couldn't stand the thought of causing more pain for Bo. He loved Bo more than his own life, and unfortunately for him, Bo knew this.

"Bo...don't..."

[BoJamesDuke]

Bo swallowed, knowing he was getting through...whether he had enough time to get through before the ledge decided to give way though was another matter.

"Don't ask me t'just leave ya Luke...please don't...you can't leave us now...you can't..."

[DaisyMaeDuke]

Luke looked back over the cliff. "Bo..you don't understand...I...I just..." He tried to put into words how he felt but to no avail. With a choke that was anything but happy, he asked, "Why're ya doin' this...why can't...you just leave me?"

He knew the answer before Bo could open his mouth. Bo loved him, in some ways idolized him. In his mind, Bo still needed his big brother.

In Luke's mind, he was no good to anyone anymore.

[BoJamesDuke]

It hurt Bo's heart more to hear Luke pleading with him to basically let him fall off the cliff to his death...

"Because yer my big brother Luke...yer Daisy's big brother...how...how can you want t'leave us when we should all be sticking together..."

[DaisyMaeDuke]

"I...I just...." The pleading of his baby brother was tearing at his heartstrings. He was doing all he could to avoid those puppy eyes of his. Tough as he was, Bo knew how to make him crack. "Bo...I just...I wanna be alone...I...I want..."

He didn't say what he wanted, but the sob that escaped his throat told Bo more than his words could.

[BoJamesDuke]

Bo shook his head some and gently put his hand on Luke's shoulder, squeezing softly.

"You don't wanna be alone brother...you want someone to be there and tell ya its gonna be all okay...that aint nothing gonna change again, that...your not gonna lose one more person in yer life...but no one can tell ya that...which is why yer up here aint it..."

[DaisyMaeDuke]

Tears started flowing rapidly from his eyes, feeling Bo's squeeze. Luke was a lot of things, but a liar was not one of them and he could not deny the truth in Bo's words.

"I can't...I...I just can't..." he said, stones falling more as if each word he spoke sent them downward*

[BoJamesDuke]

Bo quaked inside as he heard more rocks fall, needing to get Luke away from the edge and fast...both away from the physical edge of the cliff...and away from the edge of danger that Luke seemed to be at in his mind. Luke was always such a strong person, so to see him crumble like the face of the cliff piece by piece was horrifying and hurtful for Bo and the rest of his family to watch. The family would need Luke during the time to come, Luke would need them...he had to be a part of that circle or everthing would fall apart...he just knew it would, how could it not. For many years Jesse had been their guiding light in times of trouble, but as Luke grew, gradually Luke had taken over that role and taken much of the pressure of their uncle to the point where if they couldn't go to their Uncle, Luke was the next in line. Just as he was next in line to be the patriarch.

"Please come away from there Luke...please dont do this...I know you dont wanna do this really...come away so we can talk more..."

[DaisyMaeDuke]

Luke glanced at him as more rocks tumbled. His normal carefree blue eyes now had a haunted look about them.

"How do you know Bo...how do you know...this isn't what I want?" he asked in a hushed voice, choked with pain.

[BoJamesDuke]

Bo swallowed hard, shaking his head.

"Cause ya love me...yer brother...you love Daisy...yer sister...you care about the farm...you wouldn't...wouldn't wanna upset Uncle Jesse like that..."

[DaisyMaeDuke]

Luke hung his head tears welling again in his eyes. He didn't want to hurt his uncle or any of them...but his own pain was just too much.

"Bo...I...I do...love you..." he stopped as as a large section of cliff tumbled down the peak. There was no turning back-if he so much as moved what little piece of cliff he was on would break off completely.

[BoJamesDuke]

Seeing it, Bo did the only thing he could. Whether Luke wanted to or not, he was coming back away from the edge. There was no way his cousin, who had fought through a War, fought through being a POW, fought through heartbreak and the loss of his parents...there was no way Bo was going to let him go like this. Shaking his head, he quickly apologised before grabbing Luke under his arms and running backwards with him, dragging him with strength powered by pure emotion and the drive to save his older brother.

[DaisyMaeDuke]

Just as Bo dragged him back the piece of the cliff Luke had been sitting on a moment before gave way, tumbling below and crumbling to pieces.

"No! No! Lemme go! Lemme go Bo! I don' wanna go back...please..." he choked on a sob. "Please.... let me go..."

[BoJamesDuke]

Bo held onto him tightly until they were far enough away from the edge of the cliff that Luke was outta danger, turning him round and hugging Luke tightly to him, shaking his head softly.

"I can't let you do it Luke...I can't...you can't do this cousin...that's the only thing you cannot do to us..."

[DaisyMaeDuke]

Luke was by now a bundle of trembling nerves. "Why? Why?!" he demanded shaking profusely, tears starting to trickle down both cheeks.

[BoJamesDuke]

"Because we love ya Luke! Because yer like our brother! Luke if it were the other way around you would never ever let me get away with this, why on earth are you trying to do this?! Your not like this, we've all got to stick together..."

Bo begged him again, trying to talk some sense into his older cousin's head. It was scaring him beyond belief that Luke was actually talking like this...he'd seen Luke upset before...he'd seen Luke angry...but never had he seen Luke so depressed.

[DaisyMaeDuke]

Luke shook as Bo spoke to him. He could tell in Bo's voice how much he had let his little brother down. He had never wanted that. All he wanted was for the pain to end...the pain that was with him from the time he opened his eyes to the time he laid down. Even his dreams had been pain filled lately. There was no escaping it. There was no facing it. There was only one thing to do...end it.

He had never before realized how much of a coward he was, but he reconed that that was how Bo saw him now. That hurt him too. He didn't want to be a coward. He didn't want to give up. He just didn't know how to keep going. How do you go on when the world around you stops turning?

[BoJamesDuke]

"Luke...as much as this hurts...and as much as its going to hurt when...when the time comes its...its a natural part of life...it was gonna happen sometime, we all knew it...you cant be like this just because your losing someone close to you...it happens in life...I know we've both experience it more than we should - especially you - but it happens..."

Bo tried to reason, even though he didn't think it would do much good.

[DaisyMaeDuke]

Luke didn't want to hear him. He knew death was a part of life. He had seen that part of life more in his first 18 years of life than most people did in a lifetime. He had had that same thing said to him each time... and it never helped.

"You don't understand...no one....no one...understands..." he pleaded, visibly shaking.