Bryceton Series: Tortured Souls

[Kristy_DUke]

CHAPTER FIVE

Tiredly I glare out the small hospital window as the dark dreary sky swallow out the remaining sun that had remained only a few moments ago. I sigh wearily listening to my doctor talk quietly to Luke and Daisy off in the corner of my room. Watching the thick area of trees across the dirt road my mind races from thought to thought of the past, from seeing Jesse on the old wooden floor to where I sit now waiting for my cousin's to take me homel. My heart pounds harshly within me tightly with great anxiety and panic of the past to what the future may hold due to my stupidity I had held three weeks ago. Three long weeks in the hospital that seemed to last an enernity of lying hooked up monitors and IVs and of everyone looking over me in pity, just as they have been the past year or so. I hate thier pity them looking down at me just because they feel sorry for me when I am fine, or will be fine, well hopefully will be fine whenever I can move on with my life as Luke seems to want me to do. But how can I do that when Jesse was violently murdered as he was and the murderer remains free, unpunished of his evil deed?

Thinking of the past, of seeing Jesse lying on the floor covered in his own thick blood, and of the man or men that has gotten away with such a hateful crime, anger floods through me. How could anyone want to kill such a great man as Uncle Jesse? And why would anyone want to kill my uncle? Jesse would never do anything to deserve such a thing and yet someone had went in and killed him as if he were just a piece of meat or something, looking as if no second thought had come to whoever pulled the trigger. Anger floods through me with my emotional pain and sorrow to who ever killed my uncle, for the cops for not stopping the jackasses that had pulled the trigger. Tears once again enter my eyes, tears of my pain mixed with the anger toward the men who did this to Jesse, not for me, but for Jesse.

"Luke, I am going to schedule him for an appointment in three days, let's see," my doctor pauses behind me, "that'll be Friday. How about at eight in the morning?"

"That's fine," Luke says confidently, "couldn't Doc. Appleby-"

"He could, but I prefer to check him out the first few times," my doctor's harsh voice says in response, "it is mandatory here for thier hospital's doctor check them in the first two or three times before handing them over to thier regular physician."

"OK, I was just wondering," Luke says behind me, "Friday at eight then."

"Yeah unless something major comes up, don't be afraid to bring him back," he responds, "he should be fine."

"OK thanks doctor," Luke says behind me and I can hear Daisy sob back some tears of her fear, "you ready to go home, Bo?"

Anger flows through me at feeling the tears roll down my cheeks, in embarassment at the thought of what Luke would think if he knew I was crying like a baby. He never cries, the only time I saw him with tears was last week or so when I was dying. 'Damn it' I think angrily towards myself as I quickly wipe my face harshly with my hand. I glare at my casted right arm as I rest it upon my lap as I sit in the hospital's wheel chair, thinking of the events once again. "Of course I'm ready," I force out, though refusing to move myself.

"Let's go then," Luke says in a half cheery voice behind me as he wheels me around to face the door and the doctor who grins thinly at me.

"Tell Luke or Daisy here whenever something hurts," he demands.

"No duh," I answer sarcasticly, "I don't see why I hafta be wheeled outta here, I can walk on my own."

"It's mandatory," the doctor responds.

"What's not mandatory?" I snarl at him, "Breathing?"

"Bo! Enough!" Luke yells from behind me as he wheels me out into the brightly lit hall way, "Thanks doctor, see you in a few."

[Kristy_DUke]

CHAPTER FIVE

Tiredly I glare out the small hospital window as the dark dreary sky swallow out the remaining sun that had remained only a few moments ago. I sigh wearily listening to my doctor talk quietly to Luke and Daisy off in the corner of my room. Watching the thick area of trees across the dirt road my mind races from thought to thought of the past, from seeing Jesse on the old wooden floor to where I sit now waiting for my cousin's to take me homel. My heart pounds harshly within me tightly with great anxiety and panic of the past to what the future may hold due to my stupidity I had held three weeks ago. Three long weeks in the hospital that seemed to last an enernity of lying hooked up monitors and IVs and of everyone looking over me in pity, just as they have been the past year or so. I hate thier pity them looking down at me just because they feel sorry for me when I am fine, or will be fine, well hopefully will be fine whenever I can move on with my life as Luke seems to want me to do. But how can I do that when Jesse was violently murdered as he was and the murderer remains free, unpunished of his evil deed?

Thinking of the past, of seeing Jesse lying on the floor covered in his own thick blood, and of the man or men that has gotten away with such a hateful crime, anger floods through me. How could anyone want to kill such a great man as Uncle Jesse? And why would anyone want to kill my uncle? Jesse would never do anything to deserve such a thing and yet someone had went in and killed him as if he were just a piece of meat or something, looking as if no second thought had come to whoever pulled the trigger. Anger floods through me with my emotional pain and sorrow to who ever killed my uncle, for the cops for not stopping the jackasses that had pulled the trigger. Tears once again enter my eyes, tears of my pain mixed with the anger toward the men who did this to Jesse, not for me, but for Jesse.

"Luke, I am going to schedule him for an appointment in three days, let's see," my doctor pauses behind me, "that'll be Friday. How about at eight in the morning?"

"That's fine," Luke says confidently, "couldn't Doc. Appleby-"

"He could, but I prefer to check him out the first few times," my doctor's harsh voice says in response, "it is mandatory here for thier hospital's doctor check them in the first two or three times before handing them over to thier regular physician."

"OK, I was just wondering," Luke says behind me, "Friday at eight then."

"Yeah unless something major comes up, don't be afraid to bring him back," he responds, "he should be fine."

"OK thanks doctor," Luke says behind me and I can hear Daisy sob back some tears of her fear, "you ready to go home, Bo?"

Anger flows through me at feeling the tears roll down my cheeks, in embarassment at the thought of what Luke would think if he knew I was crying like a baby. He never cries, the only time I saw him with tears was last week or so when I was dying. 'Damn it' I think angrily towards myself as I quickly wipe my face harshly with my hand. I glare at my casted right arm as I rest it upon my lap as I sit in the hospital's wheel chair, thinking of the events once again. "Of course I'm ready," I force out, though refusing to move myself.

"Let's go then," Luke says in a half cheery voice behind me as he wheels me around to face the door and the doctor who grins thinly at me.

"Tell Luke or Daisy here whenever something hurts," he demands.

"No duh," I answer sarcasticly, "I don't see why I hafta be wheeled outta here, I can walk on my own."

"It's mandatory," the doctor responds.

"What's not mandatory?" I snarl at him, "Breathing?"

"Bo! Enough!" Luke yells from behind me as he wheels me out into the brightly lit hall way, "Thanks doctor, see you in a few."

[Kristy_DUke]

~LUKE DUKE~

Tiredly I stare into the reflective silver doors of the closed elevator as it slowly inches it's way down to the first floor. My mind wonders wildly within of what the next few days will hold for us to the past few days that lays scarefully behind us. I sigh thankfully for what has been done, already done, with dread mixed in it in fear of what may lay ahead. Slowly I glance over at Daisy as she places a hand on my shoulder and she smiles comfortly at me before rubbing Bo's shoulder who only tiredly moves away from her touch. "Damn it Bo," I say under my breath in frusteration at the attitude he is holding toward anyone and everyone. Through the reflection of the doors I notice the dull angry tone look in his eyes, one of warning of him falling back into his shell once again.

I sigh thankfully as the floor comes to a halt and the doors squeakily and slowly open ahead of us where we exit into a large brightly lit hall way. "Zip your coat up Bo," I finally say as we come in sight of the double glass doors to the cold and windy outside. I watch momentarily as he slowly zips up his coat, more like a zombie than my cousin. Slowly we walk toward the double glass doors before Daisy opens the doors up widely for us. Glancing down at Bo for a short moment I wheel him out into the cold late fall weather where I wheel him down the cement slope.

Stopping on the sidewalk before the dusty road I glance casually back to Daisy who walks slowly and carefully down the frosted cement stairs. Watching her take the railing in care I jump in shock as a piercing pain etches it's way through my upper chest to cripple me down to the hard and cold cement ground. Pain streaks down from my upper right chest and fear strikes me harshly as I look down to find a bullet hole etched into my denim jacket with my thick red blood quickly oozing out of the hole.

"Luke!" I hear my youngest cousin's voice shout out in fear, sounding distant as he sheds himself of the wheel chair to kneel down besides me. Weakness joins the throbbing pain that streaks through my chest as flashbacks of war flashes within me, the gun shots echo in my head as old stale gun powder reeks in my nose. "Luke!" Bo shouts with more fear, concern and worry like he never allowed himself to feel since Jesse's murder.

"Bo," I say silently to hear myself wheezing in pain as I touch his yet bruised face softly as I suddenly realize that this is real, that I have been shot by some man with a silencer. Slowly I rise my head to cause more pain to streak through me as I glance around for a shooter, to not find any as Daisy forces my head down before running back inside for help. Looking back at Bo who's shell has been discarded for great fear, pain, and sadness of his own. "You hafta listen to me Bo...do as I tell you to do. I know you won't want to do it, but you have to do it."

"What is it?" he asks as more blood spurts out of the hole to stain Bo's shirt that we brought for him.

"You hafta run...run as far and as fast as you can until you find a great hiding place," I wheeze as breathing becomes hard and painful and I wonder if this is how Bo feels each time he has an asthma attack, "I can assure you...this bullet was meatn for you, not me and if you don't run, you'll get one yerself."

"I can't...ca...can't..."he fights his own battle for air, "leave...you."

"Yes you can and you will, you have to," I tell him as blackness slowly comes into me and I fight hard against it, "you have to Bo, that is the only way of your survial...I'll be fine. I'll send Daisy after you within a couple of hours. But you have to run...as far and as fast as you can make it. Find a great hiding place and stay there until Daisy finds you! Please Bo...do this, do as I tell you to do. I don't want to loose you as I about did. If not for you, do it for me. Run for me. You understand what I am saying Bo?"

"That if I don't go, they'll kill me too," he says softly.

"Exactly...I'll be fine, trust me, I'll be fine. But you have to go before they do any more pain, more damage to you," I say in panic as I hear a few foot steps hurriedly walking to me, "Run Bo...Run now!"

"I love you Lukas," Bo says holding my icy cold hand, "You have to be ok! You gotta be! I'll run, not for me, but for you. Bye for now cuz!"

Tears streaks his face as he slowly gets up as he lets go of my hand to begin running just as another shot rings out and I pray that it had missed Bo as pure evil darkness overcomes me.

[Kristy_DUke]

~BO DUKE

Darkness quickly swallows me whole as I disappear into the icy cold caves in hope of escaping the men that had been chasing closely behind me. My heart races within me in fear and pain as my lungs go aflair in pain as my breathing comes out forceful and wheezy in an upcoming asthma attack. Fighting off coughing until I am sure they are out of hearing distance my mind races quickly within me of my cousin lying on the cement ground, clenching tightly onto my hand. I sigh thinking of the fear that shone brightly in his bright inellegent blue eyes, fear that he had fought to hid from me as he had in the past, though this time unsucceeding. Anger races through me at the clear sight of my cousin in my mind, anger at the men that has been after me the past few weeks, not for me, but for Luke.

My mind races within me, full of images of Luke getting shot and falling upon the cold pavement as I slowly realize that they had shot Luke to get to me, only meaning they are willing to do anything to get to me, and to kill me as they had Uncle Jesse. Tears quickly build up in my eyes as chills race up and down my body as fear streaks through my body. Silently I hug my knees closesly into my chest as tears protrude from my eyes to race down my frozen cheeks as my mind is full of clear images of Luke and the thick red puddle of blood he had already lost due to the shooters.

A sharp stab of fear pierces through me as I am startled by the heavy foot fall of the men running reaching the caves or near by the caves to echo off the rocy cliff wall. Thier breathing is ragged and rough as one man says something beyond hearable to me, to the other man. My mind races in fear as I silently pray that they won't find me, that the caves will hide me once again as they had that horrid day so many weeks ago. 'If only they had killed me then, I would no longer have to run from such evil men, and to live my life in fear,' runs rapidly through my head with my uncle's caring voice lecturing me that 'Dukes never run nor hide from their problems, but face them and deal with them as Dukes would.'

Suddenly dark shadows cast over the mouth of the cave as I silently watch in fear, hoping to see them race quickly by. "Let's check the caves...and see if he is stupid enough to hide in the same place twice," a thick voice echos off the icy cold rocy walls of the cave.

I feel my body shaking uncontrollably as I sit crumpled up in a dark black and icy cold corner of the cave, shaking from fear instead of the cold that has numbed me. My lungs are set afire in pain as I fight for air as two large and muscular men appear at the entrance of the lighted end of the cave to send my mind racing in what is about to happen and in fear. Unable to fight back any more coughing, I harshly begin to cough chronically before I fish my inhaler out to use it. "He's here," says the thick voice once again.

"He sure is...must be pretty dumb to hide in the same cave as before," the other laughs as they climb closer to where I sit, "you might as well come out, Bo, for there is no use this time. You're coming with us!"

They both laugh, thier evil laugher echos off the cave's walls hurting my ears as tears of pain and fear swell in my eyes again. I pray franticly in hope of finding a way out, in hope of being saved, but in knowledge that it is too late. They have found me and will do what they wish to me.

After a long moment of listening to thier boots hit the rocky floor a dark large shadow quickly lingers over me and I slowly look up to find a tall muscular man standing over me with thick dark brown hair and a thin goatee. "I found him, Raze," his thick southern accented voice rings out as I hold onto my injured arm as the pain pounds lively within. I yell out in pain as he shoves me over and kicks me continuesly in the ribs and face.

"Brendon!" the man he had called Raze says as he appraches him and I dare a glance up at him to find him taller than Brendon by an inch and more muscular. Tattoos flare up and down his uncovered right arm with a couple on his left as he wears a tight white tank top with black leather pants. His dark black hair lies neatly in a crew cut, just like Luke's when he had first come with sharp stubbles upon his tan face from a couple days of unshaving. "Drake gave us both sharp orders NOT to kick him around or to kill him! We are to take him to him and that is it!"

"Like he cares if he has a few more bruises on him," Brendon snears back at him over me as he kicks me once more before hte other man jerks me to my feet.

"Let me go!" I yell at them as I fight the handle he holds on the back of my collar. Luke's face, his eyes full of fear and pain, shine in my eyes and I once again angered at them for what they did to my cousin. For a short moment, anger controls me over the fear that lies intensly within. "You jackasses shot my cousin!" I yell jumping on Rex's black boots with the heel of my cowboy boot as hard as I can. As he crumples up in pain I quickly knee him in the head for him to let go of me to fall upon the hard cold ground. Fear sneaks back into me as I see Brendon's muscular fist coming at me before I quickly dunk and elbow him in the ribs and then to the head.

Quickly I begin to run as pain streaks throughout my weak body and once again in my lungs as I hear them getting up behind me. I yell out in surprise and in pain as they both jump me from behind to force me harshly to the ground. "You ain't goin' nowhere Duke, nowehre other to our hideout...where you will do as instructed or your cousin WILL be finished off to prove that little bullet we put in him was nothing compared to the concequences of you not listening!" one of the men yell in my ear as the other gets off. "OK Bren, give it to me."

"Give you what?" the man that had gotten up asks niavely as Raze continues to painfully hold me down.

"The seditive Drake gave us for him!" Raze snaps at him and fear clouds my mind even more as he takes an arm off of me to take the needle from Bren's tattoed hand. I yelp in pain as I feel the sharp need edge it's way through my elbow before draining and getting jerked out. "There ya go, Bo, now you won't have a chance to fight us!"

They both begin to laugh, though right next to me, they both sound distant as I slowly fight off the blackness that slowly moves in on me. I sigh in fear thinking of what I will be waking up to before I am engulfed in unconciousness' darkness.

[Kristy_DUke]

~LUKE DUKE~

Slowly, I awaken to the irratating beeping of the heart monitor and to the slow drippings of the IV bags that echo off the thick hollow hospital walls. I sigh in relief to to the hear Bo's heart monitor beeping back to regular, to the way it should be; before my eyes slowly begin to clear from the bluriness enough to find myself lying in the hospital bed hooked up to three IVs and an air tube in my nose. I sigh wearily as I slowly remember all that had happened to feel the pain shooting through my right chest where I had been shot at. Staring at the blank wall ahead of me, I am filled with fear and anger, not for myself but for Bo. I pray for his safety in hope that he will be able to escape the danger that he was put once back in.

"Luke," I hear a muffled voice besides me and I stiffly turn to find Daisy sitting next to me, tears run down her tan face before she quickly brushes them away. "How are you feelin'?"

"Don't worry about me! Where's Bo? Did you find him?" I snap at her, "You were suppose to go find Bo after all this submerged and all!"

"Don't yell at me Luke...don't you think I am just as worried about him as you are?" she snaps back at me as she slowly stands up to pace the floor, "I called Frank ahead of time and he tol' me to stay here with you while he and his men went searching for Bo and for the shooters."

I sigh impatiently as I watch her glare out the window of my room as my mind rushes rapidly within me. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you," I apologize, "I know you are worried too."

"Sergeant Mills will find him, he's an expert on this kinda stuff anyways, not you nor me," Daisy says continueing to glare out the window, "I told them to check the caves where he hid last time...hopefully Bo wouldn't return there, they gotta know he hid htere last time by now." She pauses longly to look out the window before turning to face me, "How you feel?"

"As I said, don't worry about me, I'll be fine," I sigh, "it hurts a bit, kinda like being stabbed when I was at war, but I lived through that, and I will live through this. I will be much better when I can see Bo here and that he is OK. He already is in a lot of pain with his arm and all, he went through a lot already...he surely don't need this."

Silence fills the room as a medium sized thin doctor with thinning reddish brown hair walks in with a nurse. "Ah I see you have awaken," he smiles looking at my chart, "I will be your doctor, Dr. Chatern and will be taking of you while your stay here. I am glad to see your surgery went well to remove that bullet...that was a nasty shot...twenty-three stitches and some torn muscle. You're lucky, it had just missed your heart by like a half inch or less."

"I don't feel so lucky," I sigh.

"You'll be out of here before you know it," he smiles as he finishes checking everything, "I'll be on the floor if you need me."

I sigh silently as they leave only to be replaced by Frank Mills and another man that I presume is another FBI agent he had brought along. For a long moment he glares at me coldly with his creamy blue eyes before he turns to Daisy. "Where is he sergeant?" I break the silence, "Did you find Bo? Is he OK?"

Once again he glares at me as he bites his lower lip and traces his scar with his left hand. "We have reason to believe that he has been kidnapped by whoever had shot you," Frank finally says holding me in his cold eyes, "is this Bo's?"

With that he lies a black leather pocket knife case with a pocket knife entrapped inside. "That's Bo's," I answer finally to break the silence as my heart stops in fear in what all this means.

"We figured as much," he sighs grimly putting it back into a bag and hands it to his agent, "We found in a cave a couple of miles from here. By the looks of the cave, it seems there had been a struggle there, looking to be between three people, but could be more, and less. It was hard to tell. We also found a small amount of blood right outside of the cave that looks to be Bo's. We still have men out look around the cave and searching the caves more, but we believe that they have kidnapped him and bringing him to thier hide out where ever that is at."

The room is filled with silence once again as I stare at him full of shock and fear for my cousin before I turn to Daisy to find fresh tears streaking her cheeks. "Well the whole reason for him being kidnapped is to prevent him from speaking of what he saw or whatever reason they have? Then wouldn't it be easier for them to just kill him?"

"I know, I don't know what they are up to, but who knows when it comes to Drake. Perphaps ransom?" he shrugs, "I hope you don't mind, we have someone out at your farm to answer the phone to see if he will be callin' there for ransom. We will get him back and stop Drake, I can promise you that."

Suddenly Bo's adolecent voice is crying out in my head, yelling at me that I can't promise returning home safely as he had when I had left for war so many years ago. "No sergeant," I sigh feeling Bo's pain and fear he had felt back then, "you can't make no such promises as the one you just made. Drake could be killing him right now and perhaps leaving Hazzard for his own safety afterwards. The truth is, neither your and your men, nor us, know what Drake plans to do. So, until you got Bo back safely, I suggest not making such promises."

For a long moment he glares at me before nodding in agreement. "This is FBI Agent Paul Leiks, he will be serving protection of this room," Franks says seriously, "Daisy, if you need to go, he will call for another one gaurd. Drake is dangerous and will be dealt with caution, so til this is done and over with, both of you will be protected."

[Kristy_DUke]

~BO DUKE~

I slowly awaken to my head harshly throbbing in unbearable pain to find myself tightly tied to an old rusty metal chair by a large thick metal chain. Pain rushes through me with fear as the room spins quickly around me as I am over whelmed by the smell of a fresh fire near by with burnt wood. Slowly, the thick fog that had invaded my eyes clears to find myself sitting in an old dusty and dirty cabin, in the far corner from the door. Through the open and dirty windows, I notice a few snow flakes melting from the darkening gray sky above.

"You've awaken, I see," a gruff voice rings out and I look ahead to find a tall man wearing tight dark blue jeans, a blue flannel shirt under a dark blue denim coat, and a dirty white cowboy hat. His dark almost black brown eyes glares at me as if he is staring through me as I notice the black hair under his hat. "I'm Drake, but you can call me Master!" Suddenly he pauses to laugh with hysteria, "So you the Duke boy that has been giving me so much trouble? Well, you'll be sorry that you messed with ol' Drake Shelbon, cause you will finally know what ol' Drake is all about!"

He laughs once again as he back hands me across the face and I yell out in pain as a couple more men walk in carrying more wood. "Brrr," one man blows out, "it sure is cold out there, can't wait for all this snow to stop fallin'."

"Oh our fiesty little prisoner has now awaken," the other smiles and I recognize them as being the me that had attacked me in the cave, "What your plans for him, Drake?"

"Yeah, why not just kill him and get him over with?" the other man chimes in.

Quickly he glares around at them to silence them up and they both move toward the lively fire place that lies on the opposite wall of me. "I'll tell you why I don't go up and kill him, I have plans for him, that's why!" he yells once again back handing me across the face, "he seems fun to torture that's why, I torture him, I torture his whole family by just one person! This oughta be fun...huh Bo? Besides, this'll give my boy Bryceton someone to play with."

"I thought you gave him the old man to satisfy him with," Bren says after stacking his pile.

"Now he will have someone with his IQ to watch over him, that damn boy can't be related to me!" Drake says and for a long moment more anger flairs in his dark brown eyes, "I'd rather die painfully than to have a son like him, there is no way I am related to a retard!"

With that he begins hitting me continuesly to my chest, stomach and face with anger and pain before the man they call Raze pulls him off. "Drake, it is over and done with," he sighs, "this stuff happens everyday."

"Not to my Lana! He killed her!" he yells brushing the man's thick muscular hand off of him, "That retard killed her!"

"She gave birth, it's a risk," Bren cuts in.

"I don't care! I am without Lana and stuck with . . .with that retard!" Drake yells hitting me harshly, "And you will watch him while you suffer greatly for my loss! Have fun, Bo!"

I look silently at him as he back hands me with his thick hand before wiping his dark eyes that seemed to have cried no tears before. "What about the old man?" Bren speaks up as they both crowd over me, "You can't put them together, I mean -"

"Shut up Bren! I can do as I wish and they both will have to be in that room together, that way they can watch eachother suffer!" with that Drake yells out with laughter before hitting me once again, "I want you to untie him and throw him in there...and don't FORGET to lock the door tightly. Raze, you will gaurd the room inside, until it is Bren's turn."

"Yes sir," they say together.

"Get to it...I'll be taking my nap," Drake says walking to the old cot that lies a few feet away and Raze unlocks the lock to the thick chain and I fight to get up only to be thrown to the ground by a harsh blow to the back of my neck by Bren.

"Let's go!" Raze yells as they jerk me to my feet to once again send pain racing up and down my body.

My body trembles in great fear and harsh pain as they force me to the door that had sat a few feet a head of my chair I had been chained to. My heart races quickly as I watch Bren fumble with the two locks before he pockets the key chain and opens the door. My heart stops quickly as I see a tall figure upon the small bed wearing faded blue jean overalls and a tan undershirt lying asleep on the bed with graying thin hair, with a beard and a mustach. Next to the old and torn cot a heavy and tall man sat upon an old metal chair with his arms folded glares up at us with his black eyes that matches his complexion. "Ah you got his boy," he smiles.

"Yeah and I get to take over for you," Raze cuts in and the large man slowly stands up as both Raze and Bren throws me harshly upon the dirty wooden floor and I grunt in great pain as I yank my broken casted arm out from under me. Breathing once again comes difficult for me as my lungs explode in pain as I force myself to sit up to find a scrawny thin kid in raggy type clothes sits in the far corner hugging his thin knees. The kid looks to be around five or six with shaggy light brown hair and light green eyes that is casted toward the floor.

Quickly I glare up at Raze as the door is thrown shut and the locks are quickly put into place as Raze sits down in his chair with his gun in plain sight of reach. Slowly I force myself to look up at the bed and my heart stops achingly at the sight of my uncle lying there. "But. . .but he's-"

"You wrong again! Ha," Raze laughs, "that wasn't your uncle on the ground, but one of our men dressed to be your uncle, while we kidnapped the old man to keep watch over Drake's boy there, Bryceton."

The boy looks up at Raze with hurtful eyes at the sound of his name before resting his head back down on his sharp knees. My heart races now within me as I force myself to look at my uncle to find his right eye bruised with a cut on his right temple and anger flairs within me at the thought of them injuring my uncle.

[Kristy_DUke]

**CHAPTER SIX**

I awaken to pain swarming throughout my stiff and aching body as I hear the gaurd's sharp and threatening voice ring out besides me. I sigh tiredly as my mind races through me of the long amount of time I have been locked within these horrid walls. Anger flows through me like a raging river as I think of my boys back now, I was certian that they'd have at least attempted to come to my rescue. Way over a year now and no sign of them or no hearing of them trying to break in to save me. What could be taking them so long? Do they no longer care for thier Uncle? Mind them, the uncle that had taken care of them since they were babies. What could be taking them so long? Perhaps they all have enjoyed their freedom over the farm they chose to forget me.

"Damn you," I mutter toward myself in anger at myself for allowing myself to fall into paranoia over my nephews and neices in knowledge they would never do t hat to me, they do care for me. But where are they? Why aren't they trying to save me? Did they kill them throughout the year? No, please no, not them. Silently I stare at the old dusty wooden wall as I pray for my family that lies in the freedom of these ugly walls that I stare at day in and day out.

Suddenly a loud cry rings out on the opposite side of the room followed by harsh wheezing. "Hey...give...me that!" opposes the wheezy breathing person across the room. But who? My thoughts rush to my youngest nephew who suffers greatly from asthma. "That's mi. . .mine!"

"Not any more it isn't!" I hear the gaurd laughs before a loud slap echos off the thin walls.

Slowly and stiffly I force myself to sit up upon the thin and torn cot that I had fallen asleep upon a while ago. Silently I take in Bryceton who remains wobbly in the corner instead of by my side as he normally sits. I sigh as I think of the harsh life he has been given, only knowing pain and hatred the five years of his life.

I gasp in surprise as I see my youngest blond haired nephew sitting on the wall across from the bed, his head staring silently at the ground. My heart aches at seeing the thick cast upon his hand up to under his elbow, his face bruised and cut up. My imagination plays wildly within me at all that he could have wen through as I watch his chest heaving in and out in his struggle for air and I notice that the gaurd has pocketed his inhaler.

Softly I take a deep breath as I slowly climb off the bed and walk over to where he sits and kneel silently besides him. "Bo," I whisper my surprise and I feel Bryceton's soft green eyes in wonderment upon us.

Slowly, Bo forces his head up to look at me and I notice the tears that streak down his bruised face. His baby blue eyes brighten up in joy at seeing me, through his joy and excitement at seeing me, I see the great pain and fear that he is filled with. "Uncle Jesse!" he exclaims jumping up to hug me and I hear him gasp in pain. Slowly he lets go before sitting back down upon the dusty dirt floor. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" I ask as I ache to know what they did to him.

He shrugs as he lets the silence build between us. "For not knowing," he finally responds.

"Not knowing what?" I finally ask as I realize he wasn't going to go on, "Please tell me, explain to me."

He looks at me with uncertianity in his eyes before glaring angrily at the gaurd before looking back at me. "For not knowing you was...well here," he shrugs, "we thought. . .we thought you were dead. I mean I went home to check on you when you didn't answer Daisy's calls, well cause, Luke tol' me to. And you was, " he pauses as tears build up to roll down his cheeks, "well someone dressed to be you, was shot dead in the living room. There was a funeral and all for you."

"It's OK," I sigh comforting him as I draw him in a hug as he dries his face of his cheeks of his tears. Slowly I let go of him to take him in for a long moment, "It's not your fault, nor Luke's. No need for an apology Bo."

"Maybe," Bo shrugs as he looks over at Bryceton.

"Hey Bryce," I call out motioning him over and he slowly gets up to walk over to us, "this is one that I tol' you about, my nephew Bo. Bo this is Bryceton."

With that the small and frail boy throws his arms around Bo silently and Bo glances questionably at me before huggin him back. Slowly the boy lets go to sit next to Bo, glaring oddly around. "Bryceton is an autistic five year old boy," I finally inform Bo, "sweetest thing, too bad he has to be here, to live with this!"

Bo nods in understandment as his unknown story seems to play invisable to me in his head. I sigh wishing I could read his thoughts as more tears run down his face as his body visibly shake either out of pain or fear. "He cryin'?" Bryce says slowly and I am surprised to hear him talk, knowing how long it had taken him to get use to me to even say a word.

Bo glares at him as Bryce trails Bo's tears with his index finger before he gently pushes Bryce's thin arm away. "Yeah he's crying a bit," I answer as I put Bryce in my lap before Bo wipes them away himself, "You wanna talk about it? About what all happened?"

He looks at me then accusingly at the gaurd that sits there smiling evilly at Bo and my anger grows within me. "They shot Luke to get to me," Bo finally speaks up, "after I was released from the hospital, they shot him," he pauses again, "and Luke made me run and hide from them...guess not fast enough; again."

His fear and worry runs into me as I stare at his trembling body as he stares at the floor, his flashbacks seem to be flooding his eyes. "Look, Luke's tough," I try to comfort him with failure,"he'll make it out of it before you know it, just have confidences in him."

"Yeah maybe," he sighs silently as he visibly fights to stay awake as Bryceton slowly gets up from my lap. Toghether we watch as he goes to a small chest and takes out a large light brown teddy bear that is visibly soft and fluffy.

"You can hug this, Bo," Bryceton smiles at him, "he helps me when I'm sad, doesn't it work, Uncle Jesse?"

Bo glares up at me at Bryceton calling me his uncle before taking the bear for a short moment before giving it back. "No thanks, you have it," Bo responds as silence returns to the room.

[Kristy_DUke]

~ROSCO COLTRANE~

I sigh tiredly as I stare silently down at a couple of reports that lies ahead of me upon my old scarred and scratched desk. My mind wanders through the past year and all that it has brought upon Hazzard due to Hogg's dirty greed for money. I pray silently that Drake will be caught soon and to be put away in order to keep harm from Hazzard, any more than what he has already committed. If only I had the courage to stop him when he had entered Hazzard, Jesse wouldn't be dead right now and Bo as hurt as he is. If only I had stopped Hogg in his deals with him, it all wouldn't have gotten this far. But of course, like normal, I was too chicken to stop Drake from doing anything and instead just listened to his plans and gullably tried to believe him when he promised no one would get hurt or worse.

I glare up from my paper work as the office door is thrown open and I sigh in relief at seeing Frank Mills standing there with another man of his. Frank's thick creamy blue eyes stares coldly at me for a long moment as his thick muscular arms lies crossed over his thick chest. "Oh Frank," I sigh hoping that he brings good news, "I thought we would meet somewhere to talk, anywhere but here! If Hogg-"

"I don't need your grief sheriff!" he snaps at me before glaring at the other man that stands a couple of inches taller than him with a dark brown complexion and intense dark brown eyes. "No one saw us and even if they did, I am beyond the point of caring! We need to talk, now you decide where!"

I look at him in confusement before I find the courage to speak, "Uh we could go across the street to that garage, ol' Coot has an office up there that is barely in use."

"Well, let's go," Frank says and I stiffly stand up as Hogg steps out of his office.

"Where you going Rosco?" Hogg orders tiredly.

"Out for patrol," I answer wearily before I walk out and closing the door behind me. Following the two FBI agents down the long brightly lit hall my mind races in anxiety as I wonder what all this could be about. Walking out into the cold winter day I glare around before following them across the vacant stree to Cooter's garage where I find him working silently upon a farmer's old truck. "Hey Cooter," I greet him.

"Oh hi Rosco," he smile stiffly at me as he takes in Frank and his man seriously before looking at me, "What can I do for y'all?"

"We need to a quiet place to talk, could we by chance use that office there?" I ask pointing to the windowless and closed in office that lies up the wooden stairs, "Is it empty?"

For a long moment he glares at the three of us with questioning eye before he puts down his tool. "Look these boys the FBI that's been asking around 'bout Bo and Luke?"

"Yeah so what's yer point Cooter?!" I snap at him.

"Look them Dukes are like family to me and if this deals with them, I want to be in it! You can use my empty office, but I want to come along if you use it," Cooter inquires, "I may not be no FBI agent or officer of the law, but I want to help put them jackasses where they belong!"

I look at Frank who glares angrily at Cooter who stands unbudgingly against the old Ford truck. Slowly Frank nods at him and we all follow Cooter up the old wobbly stiars to where he opens the old office to find it to be occupied by an old wooden desk to our right with an old wooden chair, an holey green couch lies against the right wall while in the left corner stands a small refridgarator by a small wobbly table that holds cups and a coffee machine. Quickly, Frank takes the chair behind the desk while the officer sits down upon the couch and I hesitantly sit next to him while Cooter choses to stand.

"What's this about, Frank?" I order after a moment of silence.

"Well to our new comer," Frank answers testily, "I am Sergeant FBI agent Frank Mills who is in charge of this opperation, this is one of my men, FBI agent Jackson Jebel; one of my best...though we only have the best down here in Hazzard at the momen."

"Very comforting," I answer sarcasticly, "especially when we have a killer running freely around my country. Now what is this urgent meeting about, Mills?"

"Settle down Coltrane, your snapping attitude won't help matters any," he resorts glaring at me with his cold and hard eyes as he rolls up the sleeves half way to his elbows to his sky blue whool sweater, "Bo was to be released from the hospital yesterday, right?"

"And he didn't?" Cooter cuts in worriedly.

"Yes he was released, but upon exitting the hospital Luke was shot in the chest in order for the gun men to get to Bo," Frank says matter of factly, "Bo ran and hid, but they seemed to find Bo in the caves where there was signs of a struggle before the bad guys won enough to kidnap Bo."

"Kidnapped?" I chirp in, "That don't make no sense what so ever after trying to kill him only weeks ago."

"Nothing with Drake makes sense to anyone but him I guess," Frank sighs rubbing his eyes, "we are desperately trying to find thier hideout before it is too late seeing how the destination of thier hideout you gave us before now lies vacant."

"Damn," I say silently.

"How's Luke?" Cooter speaks up from his post.

"They think he will be fine, just missed his heart and his surgery to get the bullet out went well," Frank answers, "When we find his hideout, we will have to move in quickly in order to get Drake out and arrested before he is able to hurt anyone else."

"But won't he spook? Perhaps killing Bo?" I ask frantically.'

"That is always a risk, but he could be dead now, there is no telling," Frank answers, "Do you know anywhere else he could be?"

I shrug hopelessly as I am filled with fear for the Duke Boys as I silently think of how Bo must be feeling. "I don't know," I sigh.

"That is what I figured," Frank responds looking around the room, "I have men looking and searching Hazzard as we speak and once we find it, we are moving in. I'm sorry."

I gulp in fear before my anger kicks in, anger towards myself for not stopping Hogg from working with such an violent person to anger toward Hogg for bringing him into Hazzard to work with him. "Damn it!" Cooter yells glaring at Frank, "You ain't the best of nothing! How can you call yourselves the best if that is the best you can do?! Bo is like a brother to me and you are just gonna let him be shot to shreds just to get your men? As if the Dukes haven't been through enough as it is, just let the youngest get shot to death without a second thought!"

"Look we are trying our best, Cooter," Frank sighs, " We will try not to risk him, but there is always a risk unless we can make him escape before hand. Which is most likely won't happen."

"Trying your best? Not when it will get Bo shot to death, you know what that will do to Luke?" Cooter yells, "Probably not and most likely don't care about that either!"

Frank sighs at seeing the mechanic's anger flare in his brown eyes before glaring around the room. "Look, it won't help to get upset at us, especially not now Cooter! We don't even know where they're hiding and by the time we do, he may already be dead," Frank answers cooly, "Drake won't stop at anything which means he'll kill anyone at anytime for anything or nothing at all. He needs to be stopped."

"Yeah, but Bo don't need to go down with him!" Cooter yells.

"He may already be dead!" Frank yells in his face, "Look, we'll let you know Cooter, but you are not to move in this matter any...this takes a professional touch or else you may be his next victim."

"If you say so," Cooter shrugs angrily moving the door.

"Where you going?" Frank snaps at him.

"To see Luke, is that illegal?" Cooter snaps sarcastically before slamming the door shut behind him.

[Kristy_DUke]

~BO DUKE~

Slowly I awaken to my whole body throbbing in intense pain to find myself lying in a tight ball upon the old torn cot that lies in the right corner of the cold dirty room. Tears still sting my eyes as I stare at the dirty wall only a few inches ahead of me while Jesse silently talks to the little boy and the chair the gaurd sits on squeaks with his movement. My mind wanders thought to thought of the past year or so to force fear swarming through my body. I sob back more tears as I think of the cruel beating I had recieved before I had blacked out from Drake, a beating I had recieved after refusing to go with him. If only I had cooperated...

"Bo," Jesse sighs walking up to me, "how you feel?"

"Leave me alone," I sigh wishing I could disappear as my mind switches from the beating I had recieved from a bat to Luke getting shot. If I hadn't ran from him after that fight we had, I wouldn't have seen what I saw and Luke wouldn't have gotten shot. What if he is seriously hurt? What if he is dead? Daisy could be attending a funeral right now or soon if they killed him...killed him to get to me. If only...

Jesse sighs loudly behind me as the child climbs onto my bed and I feel both pairs of eyes upon me.

[Kristy_DUke]

Luke Duke

The room grows silent as Frank Mills slowly closes the door behind him as he exits my room with a couple of his men. My mind races of all that Frank had to tell us to create anger and fear boiling within me. Slowly I glance over at Cooter who stands at the right side of my bed to find him glaring down at the linoleum flooring with anger flooding his dark brown eyes.

"Cooter, I need you to do me a favor," I finally speak up and he glares at me, "a huge favor."

"What's that?" he questions, his voice thick with fear.

"I need you to help me escape out of this place," I answer.

"Oh no, I can't do that," he says in a dreadful voice, "I can't do that Luke, no matter how much I want to help you. That gaurd out there, I can't get past him and he sure won't let you walk out of here. I'm sorry."

"Just distract the guy and I do the rest myself," I answer grabbing some of my own stubborness.

"I'm sorry, Luke," Cooter says looking around as if he may grab some answers out of the air.

"Yeah I bet you are!" I yell feeling my temper fling as my mind races in thoughts of Bo, "If you won't help me, Cooter, I will find my own way out of here! I will be damned if I lie here and allow them to put my cousin in risk as thier plan will! I don't care, what it takes, I will get out of here to save my cousin, my best friend! And if. . .if it's too late, well somebody better be there to stop me from doing something I may later regret!"

"Luke-" Cooter starts to say.

"Look, I know Drake's dangerous and so is his men...the dang FBI keep rubbing it in our faces, that is even better reason to help Bo. I ain't about to lie here and do nothing to help my cousin...no, I will get out of here and I will search for my cousin, even if it is by myself," I continue to allow my temper to have a hold of me, "The FBI can either help me and we can work together, or I will work by myself; but I can't and I refuse to lie here thinking of what they are doing to my cousin while feeling guilt, fear, and anger. I will save him if it is the last thing I do, Cooter, with your help or without your help. What about it?"

"I'm in," he sighs uncomfortably, "but I am uncomfortable with going against the FBI and what they say, especially since we know they are dangerous."

"Well what is the FBI doing that is so great?" I ask impatiently, "Look, I know they are doing what they think is the best plan, but there has to be something else that we can do and we will do it."

Silently he nods as he looks at the machine then back to me. "What do you want me to do?" Cooter asks.

"I want you to go out there and distract him, take him down stairs or something to give me time to change and slip out of here," I sigh, "I am none to happy about this myself, but it is something we got to do...look, I'll leave a note telling him what we are doing. That'll get Frank unhappy, but oh well."

"I'll try," Cooter sighs heading to the door.

For a long moment I lie staring at the cieling listening to Cooter talk to the FBI agent that sits outside my door, praying that I will find a way out of here. Listening to them talk back and forth I grab a pen and paper that lies on the night stand and quickly write something down. Slowly I let a long breath out as I hear the agent's chair squeak as he gets up and begins to follow Cooter down the hall. Quickly I yank the tube out of my nose and the IVs out of my arms feeling my breathing grow shallow without the tube. I sigh impatiently as I climb out of bed and rush to the closet to get some clothes Cooter had brought me and quickly put them on.

After a moment, I find myself dressed and standing nervously by the closed door before I force myself out into the brightly lit hall. Quickly I rush over to the silver doored elevators and push the down button. Waiting for the doors to open I nervously look down the halls until it opens and I walk into the large elevators to be swallowed by the thick doors slamming shut. Riding down, my mind quickly races in thoughts of our next move, on what to do to save my cousin before they kill him.

[Kristy_DUke]

~FRANK MILLS~

Silently, I stare out of the small window that lies in the back wall of the wooden cottage type building my men and I have been occupying for the past few weeks. My mind runs numbly from thought to thought of what had brought us here and all that we have ran into, all that we have learned up to this point. I stare off into the thick dense forest that lines up a few feet behind the building as small flakes of snow slowly make thier way to the frozen ground. My mind concentrates stubbornly upon the young Duke boy and upon Drake who we had been looking for, for so long now. Anger and fear rush through me at the horrorfying thoughts that invade my imagination of all that Drake could be doing to the young Duke boy; anger and fear that I had never allowed myself to feel in any other case, for either victim or the enemy. Why now? What makes Bo any more different than the other victims I have come along in the past, that I had been assigned to thier case?

Abruptly I am jolted from my thoughts, from my grave anger and fear by the annoying ring of my cell phone. Quickly, I pick it up and answer it on the third ring. "Sergeant Mills," I say coldly into the phone.

"He's gone," I recognize the heavy male's voice as being the guard I assigned to the older cousin, Luke's room.

"He's gone?" I half snarl into the phone feeling my emotions ring through me, "How can he be gone? How could they get to him with you there gaurding the door?! Look -"

"Settle down sergeant," the man half way laughs on the other line.

"Settle down? How do you expect me to settle down when we have a dangerous murderer on our hands killing off innocent civilians!" I yell into the cell phone.

"They didn't get him sergeant, what I mean is Drake nor his men grabbed or killed Luke; at least not right now that is," he sighs on the other end, "that mechanic in town, the family friend, uh can't remember his name at the moment-"

"Cooter?" I question.

"Yeah that's him," he answers and I imagine a large smirk on his face, "anyways he came in, well he was here with you. But he came out and talked to me, a real nice guy. You know?"

"Sure why not," I answer impatiently, "just get to the point officer!"

"Yes sir...well anyways, he offered to buy my lunch, and well, I was hungry," he answers, "I tried to tell him no, but couldn't. So I followed him to the cafe and he bought my lunch for me. When I brough my lunch and drink up to the room, Luke was gone. He left a note saying he can't lie in the hospital while his cousin is in danger."

"Damn it!" I yell, "You were suppose to keep heads on him! You know what will happen if he finds Drake before us...if he goes snooping around!"

"Well he says, that we can either work with him or he will search by himself," the young officer says, clearly shook by my yelling, "Look sergeant, I already searched the grounds and had people looking too. He's gone and so is the Cooter guy."

"Damn it!" I yell again looking out into the woods to find a squirrel running from one tree to another, "Darryl, I want you here now! I told you to guard his room and you failed at doing so! This is a dangerous case and only the best is allowed on it...and the best don't follow thier stomaches, but by orders!"

"Look sergeant-"

"Get here NOW!" I yell hanging up to find everyone looking at me in disbelief before going back to what they are doing.

"He's gone?" asks Sergeant Treyton Beiker who works partially with me and partially on his own, "Luke slipped out?"

"Yeah," I sigh wearily, "Darryl allowed Cooter to talk him away from the room so the Duke could walk right out of the hospital without anyone stopping him. You believe that? Now Luke is on his own mission to help save his cousin...says we can either work with him or he will work on his own."

"Well with that option open," Treyton sighs running his muscular hand through his light brown hair, "I say we work with him, we can use all the help we can use."

"Yeah I know," I sigh watching the squirrel run up the tree, "but we can't endanger him either, which would be doing if we worked with him."

"He'd be endanger working by himself, moreso if you ask me. At least if he works with us, then we can look out for him as well," Treyton shrugs looking at me in concern, "besides we can use his talent, the boy is an retired Marine man with war experience...had word with his higher up officer and he had only the best to say about him. The guy has talent and we can use his talent and his smarts...one of the toughest and smartest his captain had seen and worked for. Got wounded and returned home after seven and a half years of service."

I nod in agreement, knowing he is right. "Well I guess that is what we have to do, work with Luke," I sigh thinking of what this will lead to, "Drake needs to be stopped, and now!"

"I know that Frank, we all know that," Treyton falls silent for a long moment and I glance over at him to find him watching me, "I can't believe what I am witnessing here, Frank. You actually have feelings for the family of this case, for the victims. You of all people never allowed anyone or anything of a case get to you, get personal or close to you. And now...why?"

I look at him, not knowing if I should try to cover it up or to tell the truth. "I don't know, Trey," I sigh tiredly, "I really don't know why...I fear loosing the young Duke boy, angry at Drake for kidnapping and hurting him. I don't know what it is with this case...perhaps I am getting old and mushy."

"You?" he grins, "You old and mushy? Never. We all have our casese we fall close to and let our emotions take over, this is just your case."

"Well I don't like it none," I answer.

"None of us do, for falling close to the victims only bring pain and heart ache, but it happens no matter how hard you fight it," Trey answers seriously, "I had my own cases I fell close to and the emotions just took over me, several cases." He goes silently in thought for a long moment, "And Frank, we'll get Drake and stop him and his men if it is the last thing we do. We all are in this with you Frank, it's not just you who want to yank the Duke boy out of this alive and we will try our damnest to do so."

[Kristy_DUke]

~LUKE DUKE~

My mind races from thought to thought as I stare silently out of The General's clean windshield in a half trance. I gasp in pain as I turn to look out through the passenger side window to find Cooter slowly tredging along from his old shack like garage. "You know I am beginning to regret doing that favor for you," he comments as he forces himself through the passenger's open window.

"What? You too is willing to sit by and wait for Bo's dead body to show up somewhere?" I ask harshly feeling the pain tremble down my body, "Well, I for one refuse to sit and do nothing while they torture him! You are either with me or not with me...you better make up your mind now Cooter, for I ain't turning back! And for your information, if you hadn't helped me escape out of the damn hospital, I would have found my own way out!"

Besides me, I hear him take a long sigh to calm himself down before saying, "I know you would have, that is why I did help you before you tried doing something stupid to get out of there. You aren't doing Bo no good if you wind up dead...or hurt for that matter!" for a moment he goes silent as he glances out his window at the hills that lies off in the distance, looking as if it were lost in the light white fluffy clouds. "What's your plan, Luke? Of finding Bo? Or of rescuing him for that matter?! The feds are being this caustious for a reason and that reason being is that Drake is DANGEROUS!"

"Another reason to move in and save my cousin," I snap as horrid pictures float in my mind of all that he could be doing to him to force my anger to escalate within me, "and as of now, I don't know what to do or where to start; but I will think of something if it is the last thing I do."

"It could be the last thing you...we do," Cooter comments sourly besides me, "YOu know if Hogg would just go to being honest and stop trusting people he don't know to do his evil works, we would never be faced with situations like this!"

"Well that just wouldn't be Hogg if he didn't do such things, " I comment abuot the local commissioner, "Where all has the feds been looking for clues?"

"Uh around here is all I know, they got men in surrounding counties as well, but by the look of things he's still in Hazzard," Cooter responds, "so it is pretty much limited, but a matter of finding it."

"They looked throughout Hazzard already and no clue of finding them? Where was his last hide out?" I ask seriously.

"Uh that old shack farm house and barn that use to belong to Felix Ferrera and to his wife Lucy before Lucy died and thier kids placed Felix in the nursing home in town," Cooter informs me, "On Cottonmill Road."

"Well that is the first place we'll check," I smile at him.

"Frank and his boys already check, they found nothin'," Cooter chimes in as the chilly spring air brushes against my skin to send chills racing up and down my body.

"Frank and his boys are city boys, there just might be more than what meets the eye," I wink at him, "besides it is just a place to start at."

We ride to the old Ferrera place in silence as my mind races from thought to though in hope that we find Bo alive. My chest swells within me at the thought of loosing him to the same men that killed our uncle and I sigh thinking of a future without him, once more.

"Here we are," Cooter breaks the silence as I parck the General on the road ahead of thier dirt drive way.

"Yep...keep an eye out for anything," I say as we both climb out of the car's open windows.

"Yes sir Mr. Luke," Cooter laughs jokingly as we walk through the muddy grass that leads up to the wooden farm house that was once painted white. I sigh remembering how it was before I left for war, how peaceful it seemed here on thier farm and so friendly.

"Knock it off, let's go," I scorn him as we walk up to the old wooden porch together before he walks in, leaving me outside. Silently I glance around before noticing thick tire tracks in the dirt drive way, slowly I walk painfully to the two large tracks.

"Cooter!" I finally yell out to send him running out, "Look at these tracks."

"Yeah so...they probably already checked them out," Cooter states, "prolly some four by four truck."

"That too," I smile cleverly, "but look closer to the mud to the substance on the first layer of the tracks."

For a while we both feel the mud silently before Cooter gasps in shock. "That's right...swamp mud," I state, "I bet the feds didn't take that in when checking it out. Which means, thier hide out, their new one, is in or near the swamp!"

"Holy cow!" Cooter gasps, "How the -"

"I don't know, but that is our next stop...or our next place to look at least," I sigh standing up.

"Not without calling the FBI, Luke," Cooter says standing up besides me, "This gang, Drake they are serious. I don't care how much you will do to save your cousin, you won't do it by getting yourself killed and that is exactly what will happen if you go into this alone with nothing to protect yourselves. Or ourselves with."

"Relax Cooter, I got dynomite bow and arrows in the trunk," I sigh walking back to the car, "but I will call the FBI and Frank...we may need some help. I ain't dumb ya know."

"I know," he sighs, "but I also know that you are willing to do about anything to save Bo."

[Kristy_DUke]

CHAPTER SEVEN

Sweat races down my clammy face as I sit silently at my desk looking down at the local newspaper today. Not sweat of heat, but of nerves of what is to come, of the near future. I sigh wearily at the sight of the FBI on the front cover as I read thoroughly over it before I place it back on my desk in disgust. Like publicitiy will help matters, but make them worse and with Hogg's appointment with Drake in mere minutes, I might as well as be signing my will.

"Sheriff," my loyal deputy rings out from his desk to make me jump a foot in my chair.

"Ding dang it Enos!" I yell out trying to cover up my embarrassment of my surprise, "Don't you ever warn people before doing stuff?"

"Sorry sir," Enos sighs, "I was just wonderin' if you are OK? I mean you have been out more th an in lately and now you look way out of it...almost as if you are very scared of something. Perhaps I could help you?"

"There is nothing that can help me now...might as well as count me as dead," I sigh throwing the paper at him that admits I have been working with the FBI, " a whole fleet of army couldn't save the mess I got myself into. . .I just, well I just had to do the right thing."

"I knew you were a good guy Sheriff," the humble deputy says smiling up at me before fear streaks his face as he suddenly realizes what this means.

"Yeah perhaps a little too late though. Drake is on his way here and Hogg ain't lettin' me go no wheres," I sigh thinking of ways to escape, "Drake ain't gonna forgive me, but make me pay one way or the other. Just like he did Jesse."

"Jesse?" his voice squeaks.

"Yeah Jesse Duke. A week before his death he had called me, saying how he saw Drake himself kill a man in cold flesh; one of his own men...then beat a child afterwards," I pause as guilt rushes through me, "he called and told me the truth, I knew it was the truth, and I did nothing. You know why I did nothing? Because I was chicken! Too loyal to Hogg and chicken of his partner. And because I was chicken Jesse was killed and perhaps now Bo...though killing Jesse was killing apart of Bo. He hasn't even started to recover and it's been a year...he may never recover but live in mourning and sorrow if he makes it through this. Just because of me!"

"Yeah, but what counts sheriff, is that you are now doing the right thing," he sighs stepping up to me to hand me the paper.

"Well it won't matter much now," I grunt, "Drake don't want no witnesses and that is why all this has gone on...hey one good thing may come about this."

He looks at me questionably before saying, "What's that?"

"Hazzard may actually be appointed with a loyal and trust worthy sheriff....you," I say.

"Me?" he squeaks, "No not me, I could never be sheriff of this town or any town. Think positive Sheriff, Frank and his men are searching and working hard to get this man."

"Not fast enough," I sigh and with that the front door to the sheriff station is thrown open and Drake in tight dark blue jeans, black leather cowboy boots, a tight blue flannel shirt and a white cowboy hat walks in. His jet black hair hangs slightly noticeably under his hat, chills of fear races up and down my back as he glares at me with his dark evil eyes. "Rosco!" he snaps signalling me to follow.

I sigh silently as I get praying to myself that this will go by quickly and painless. Slowly I follow him into Hogg's smokey office where we both take a seat across from Hogg's desk where he sits behind. "Look Drake," Hogg starts off, "we all know why you are here," Hogg glares angrily at me with his dark brown eyes, "but I had nothing to do with this dimwitted sheriff of my talking to the FBI. Really I didn't, you have to believe -"

"I don't have to believe anything!" he snaps at us and we both jump at his harsh tone of voice, "We had an agreement Hogg...no officials no FBI and no cops other than your hick sheriff! ANd now...now the FBI is searching everywhere. For what? For me. Why? Because dumbo over there ratted us out!"

"Well if you hadn't killed Jesse Duke they wouldn't be here now would they?" I ask scarcastically no longer able to stop myself, "Nor if you hadn't kidnapped Bo Duke they wouldnt' have to be here! Let him go Drake...alive and well. I will tell them to go, but not until then!"

"That'll never happen!" he yells jumping to his feet. I gasp as he clenches tightly onto my uniform shirt and I yell out in pain as he thrashes me into the wall, "he knows way too much to be sent free and now so do you. I trusted you and now...well you both are gonna say good-bye!"

"No wait!" Hogg yells jumping to his feet, "I had no plan in this or with the FBI...it was him!" Hogg goes silent for a moment in thought, "You killed Jesse didn't you? Rosco was right?"

"Of course I did," he smiles, "Nice and easy...soon it'll be Bo! I'll make sure to send pictures along this time."

"You jackass! I tol' you no one gets hurt or killed for that matter!" Hogg yells momentarily forgetting who Drake is for Drake to pull out a large black hand held gun to aim it at him and then at me. "Wait, can't we work on something? Don't kill me...or Rosco! He may be dimwitted at times, but he's the best I got!"

"Too late for that Hogg, you both double crossed me and thanks to you him the FBI are all over the place, looking for me!" he yells back handing me across the face with the butt of the gun before shoving it harshly against the side of my head and I wince in pain and fear, "Say good bye to your buddy Rosco here, Hogg!"

Drake laughs as my heart races wildly within me at the thought of the next second may hold. "Drake, please don't do this," Hogg pleas him, "I'll pay you, you name the price...just don't kill me or him."

"Why do that?" Drake laughs, "When I can kill you both and then take the money....well I'll have to finish the deputy out there as well, but it all works out. Y'all are dead and I get the money. Say good bye Rosco!"

I fight back tears of pain and great fear as I shove my eyes tightly close as if it would protect me from anything. Gulping I slightly feel his finger move upon the trigger just as I hear the door besides me being thrown open. Forcing my eyes open I sigh in relief to see Luke Duke and Cooter standing there with Frank Mills and a couple of his men.

I fight to squirm as his finger inches closer to squeezing it before Luke tackles him roughly to the ground for the bullet to fly off the roof, throwing plaster around the floor. For a while, I numbly watch Luke beat Drake continuesly, showing the anger that he has trapped within for several months due to the loss of his uncle and now perhaps Bo. "Where's Bo?" Luke finally asks letting go of him while holding him on hte floor with his weight.

"Dead...you'll never find him," he laughs as blood spills out of his mouth, "you shoulda been there Luke, you would have loved to see how we slowly tortured him to death...beat him to death really, with all sorty of things. Shoulda seen all the blood he lost and the pain in his eyes as he yelled his last yell and breathed his last breathe. We should have video taped it so you could have seen it over and over, as much as you wish."

With that Luke angrily punches him over and over with great force as tears roll freely down his cheeks while Cooter stands above watching with Frank and his two men. "OK Luke," Frank finally says bending down to grab Drake, "That's enough, we got him."

With that Cooter forces Luke off of Drake while Frank forces Drake to his feet. I gasp out in surprise as Drake elbows Frank in the chest before punching him to the ground and sending a couple of kicks to the two men. "Rosco! Get him!" Hogg yells, his eyes still full of rage toward either me or Drake.

Fear continues to grab a hold of me as I begin to go after him only for him to grab his gun and aim it at me. "I wouldn't think of doing anything, sheriff," he grins before running out of the room where he shoves Enos down on his way to the door.

"Dan and Eric, I want you to chase him as far as you can get," Frank orders, "I will ride with Luke and Cooter. Rosco, you stay in town and keep us posted."

"On what?" I ask as the two of his men disappear.

"On anything that goes down, " Frank says in a rush, "If we find his hide out and need you, we will call you."

"Ten four," I say reluctantly as Luke pats me on the back before they leave as well to leave me a lone with Hogg.

"I should have listened," Hogg finally says to break the silence, "I shoulda knew it was him...who else woulda done that? I kept telling myself perhaps it was one of his men that did it, against his orders. I fooled myself into believing Drake and for what? Money and greed. Now Hazzard is in danger, Jesse dead and perhaps Bo. Oh Rosco, what have I done?"

"You played with fire and you got burned," I respond, "everyone got burned. Next time you will learn...if there is a next time."

He glares at me before sitting back down in his swivel chair while grabbing a cigar to light. "Everyone burned due to me? I can't believe he is capable of...yes I can believe he is capable, I just didn't want to believe he was. I mean, he had good money and good business -"

"Greedy and illegal business may I add," he glares at me angrily.

"Did I ask for your opinion? If you hadn't gone to the FBI behind my back, we wouldn't -"

"You wouldn't go in with me and you know it Hogg," I respond, "so don't be giving me that it is my fault for the article! I had to do the right thing and the right thing for the county was to go for help before any more harm was done!"

"I just didn't want to believe who he was...how wrong could I be?" he asks himself out loud, "Damn it."

[Kristy_DUke]

~LUKE DUKE~

Slowly I throw the old muscle car into park within three large bushes that rest several feet from the green swamp. My stomach seems to do a long series of flips within me at the retched smell of the swamp floats in through the open windows. For a long moment Cooter and I sit silently in our seats as thoughts of my cousin play clearly in my head, of creating the General Lee together, to working on our car together, to all the races we have entered and raced within the General. Tears swell in my eyes at the thought of my cousin as the thought of loosing him tears through my memories to pierce my heart.

"You ready?" I jump in surprise as Frank Mills shows up at my window with a few of his men.

"Yes sir," I sigh pulling myself out through the door and am soon followed by Cooter who glares questionably at me, "What we do now?"

"We split up into teams and search," Frank orders, "and whenever anyone finds something, we call on our walkee talkies. Understand? Anything and everything gets reported."

"Yes sir," says his men who are bustled around us and I look around the large group of men to count at least fifteen men if not more.

"Good," Frank sighs looking around, "I will go with Luke and Cooter...Agent Jonathen Loaks, Agent Keifer Klerks, and Agent Donnell Zarlen, I want you three to come with us. The rest of you group I want you to group in with three men to group to go seperate ways."

"Yes sir," they say once again and I sigh as I see a tall thin man with his light brownish blond hair cut in a crew cut and hard green eyes walk up to us with a man a couple inches shorter and more muscular with a darker shade of brown that is neatly cut walks up to us, his dark blue eyes are cold and fierce. Glancing around I watch the men gather in groups as a broad shoulder tall and muscular African American reaches us, his whispy black hair cut short and in a crew cut and his dark brownish black eyes are just as hard and cold as the other two.

"Agent Keifer Klerks," says the musuclar man with the thinly cut light brown hair and hard piercing blue eyes, "this is my partner Agent Jonathen Loaks," he says pointing to the taller of the three before pointing to the broad and muscular agent, "and this is Agent Donnell Zarlen."

After shaking hands Frank says, "OK we all set...don't do nothing heroic, stupid, or foolish! Call if anything comes up."

Slowly we all head into different directions of the swamp land, the swampy mud splashes disgustingly over our boots. A few moments pass of silence as my thoughts run wildly of all that they could be doing to Bo right now and as each horrible thought races through my head, my heart tightens worse in grief and in anger towards the men that has him. Anger soars with my grief, anger that I have never known before, anger so deep that it makes me anxious to find them, to attack them, to make them pay for even touching my cousin.

"Stop," Frank mumbles in a harsh whisper that seems to echo through the silence that has grown between us. Stopping I force myself to glance up from glaring at the mudd to find an old dirty cabin with a large relaxing front porch that holds a scarred swing bench on it. My heart races within me as I spot a dirty cabin with a large wooden porch with a scarred swing bench only a few feet ahead of us. Besides me I hear Keifer shift his weight as two tall men walk out of the flimsy door and walk to the wooden railing where the two men pull cigerrettes from thier pockets and begin to light them.

"Raze," the tall dark brown haired man says rubbing his dark goatee, though he holds the height he seems too thin to possess any threat; though doubt that is the case.

"What is it, Bren?" the taller one of the two who holds tattoos up and down his bare arms snaps back at him as he lets out a cloud of thick smoke. Raze is tall and muscular with an old crew cut of blondish brown hair and a thin beard and mustache.

"When will this all end? I mean the killing, the beatings?" Bren finally says looking off into the distance, "I don't mind beatin' the blond, he's fun to torture...but the old man? That's like beatin' my old man! The blond kid, yeah that's fun...but I can't do the old man. Drake said only a couple of months ...three at the most; it's been over a year now and now he's got the blond. Where does it end? I tol' Tisha I'd be home by now..."

"Relax Bren, you are way too tense," Raze smiles evilly flicking some ashes off his cigerrette, "you need to relax and have some fun...go beat Bo good, torture him some, have some fun for yourself. Drake knows what he's doin'...he's takin' this whole town just like takin' candy froma baby. Before we know it we'll have this town all to ourselves, the people too scared to stand up to us and we can get away with everything!"

"You're right," the younger one, Bren finally says, "I just got to worryin' last night about the FBI and all, I ain't gonna go down for Drake; he wouldn't go down for us and you know that Raze...everything is all about himself."

"We're not going down, no one is," Raze says, "Drake says a day or so for the old man to really die and then a week tops for Bo before we slowly torture him to death...placing his body right at the Duke farm...make sure everyone sees his blody body; then it all begins to unravel."

We watch for a moment as they go silent and Frank steps back and sends a call to the rest to where the hide out is. "Damn it," Frank mumbles under his breath as he steps up next to me, stepping on a large twig that makes a large snap, echoing off the swamp walls.

"What was that?" Bren asks throwing his cigerrette out glaring around.

"Damn it!" Raze says throwing his out, pointing right us...we've been seen! "Drake, get everyone out here! They found us!"

[Kristy_DUke]

~BO DUKE~

"How you feelin' Bo?" Jesse finally asks to break the silence as he sits besides me upon the old torn cot, the young child, five or so old sits on Jesse's lap. I sigh warily at seeing another child sitting on my Uncle's lap, someone that isn't even related and I fight the urge to yell at him to get off his lap.

Tensily I shrug my aching shoulders at him as I sit up to force the room to swirl quickly around me in fast circles in a state of dizziness. Pain flashes through my back, chest and my broken arm as well as through my legs. My whole body aches in great pain I have never known before from the beating I had endured before I blacked out from thier harsh beating with fists and boards; of which I just awaken from. My lungs still flame with harsh pain as I fight for air as I fight to clear my blurred vision.

"Tell me how you feel," Uncle Jesse says in a half order and I sigh tiredly as I look up at him to find a fresh cut upon his right cheek with dried speckles of blood in his beard. A dark bruise starting to shape around it.

"It's not like you could do anything to help," I snap at him in my own anger towards Drake and his men. Who could ever hit or say anything harsh to Uncle Jesse? If only Luke was here, he'd stop him...but what if he's dead? Fresh tears sting my eyes as I think of Luke lying in my arms, blood squirting out in a flood from where he had been shot; his clear intelligently blue eyes filled with pain and fear that I have never seen in them.

"I wish I could," he sighs as he throws a caring arm around me and I tense up in pain as I force myself to glance down at my broken arm, the cast holding a thick tear through it. "Let me have a look-see," he finally says and I turn my back against him for him to raise my torn weak blue t-shirt. After a short second of silence I hear him grunt in anger at seeing my back where he had beat me at for a while. "We'll get out here, Bo, then you get some real care."

"I don't care," I grunt knowing he was trying to comfort me.

"You don't care?" he asks, his eyes mixed with anger and pain.

"Not if Luke's dead," I say half way to myself and am shocked to hear myself say it out loud.

"You don't know that...he's tough," he says with a half smile.

Once again I shrug my aching shoulders as I fight back the tears that threaten to come. "It's OK to cry," Bryceton finally speaks up for the first time since the day I came here, "he makes me cry too...you hurt."

I look at him for a long moment, his light greenish brown eyes looks at me with care and the innocence of a child. Silence begins to grow between us as the hard metal chair squeaks as Drake's gaurd moves in his chair as he watches us. Slowly I bring my pained legs in and hug them close to my bruised chest to hide my face into my knees as tears break loose. Emotions of anger, fear, and pain swirls quickly through me to force my heart to swell up with my tears.

I gasp in surprise as the large door is aburptly thrown open and I quickly look up with tears running off my cold face to find Drake himself rushing in towards me. I cry out in pain and fear as he grabs me harshly by the back of my neck to force me on my feet and as I am dragged out the door I vaguely hear Uncle Jesse yell something at him. "I shoulda killed you both the day we got you, none of this would have happened!" Drake yells under his breath as several of his men loads large guns in the living room slash kitchen area of the cabin, "Thanks to you we'll have to FBI agents and the whole works...if you only have kept your large mouth shut, we'd all be happy!"

I bite my lip in my attempt to cry out in pain as his tight grip tightens to make breathing an even harder task. "We're loaded boss, what now?" asks Brenden as he approaches with Raze, the two guys I first encountered.

"Tell the others to surround the place, no one leaves this place alive," Drake threatens, "then you two come join the fun with me on the porch."

"Yes sir," they say heading off in different directions to do as they are told to do.

Drake cusses violently under his breath as he throws open the front door and the bright haze of dreary gray sky hurts my blurred eyes from being locked in the dark room for so long. After a long moment they slowly adjust and I fight off tears as I force myself to look around as I hear a familiar voice calls out in fear, "Bo!"

My heart races in half excitement, relief, pain, and fear at the sight of Luke standing alive with Cooter along with three large men who holds guns out at us. "Yeah...I'm glad you recognize him now Luke," Drake calls out to them as he draws his black hand gun and I yell out in pain as he slams the butt of the gun upon my right cheek before shoving it into my temple, "because if y'all don't drop your guns, I'll pull the trigger and we all know that wouldn't be a pretty sight. Drop your guns!"

I watch as Luke orders them to do as they are told frantically as the other two joins us on the porch. "What you want Drake?" Luke calls out.

"There ain't nothin' for you to do now that I could possibly want...I got y'all surrounded...and none of you are getting out of here alive," he smiles evilly at us, "and then, we'll have the town all to ourselves."

"Drake!" calls the one man I recognize from the hospital, Frank Mills, "Can't we talk this over? Release the kid why don't you...Bo didn't do nothing to you!"

Drake laughs evilly before whispering something to Brendon's ear and he disappears into the cabin. "You want the kid don't you?" he laughs once again as Brendon returns with Bryceton and everyone yells out with surprise and anger. "Bryce, you go join those men."

Bryceton looks up at me for guidance with his soft green eyes that shows anger, fear, and pain. "Go, they'll help you," I answer trying to be strong for him.

"They can try, but they will fail," Drake says as we watch Bryceton walk to Frank and Cooter. Frank talks to Cooter who slowly picks up the kid and points to me as Cooter attempts to walk, "He moves anywhere and y'all are dead." Cooter stands instantly still with the kid.

[Kristy_DUke]

~LUKE DUKE~

"He moves and y'all will die," Drake threatens as his large evil hands tightly hold upon the bruised and torn Bo, his gun digging deeply into Bo's already black and blue right temple. Cooter glances at me to Frank before standing still next to us, the tan child with the light brown hair rest still in Cooter's uncomfortable hold on him until Cooter slowly lets go of him.

Anger, hatred, and frusteration fills within me, anger toward Drake and his men for even lying a finger upon Bo, hatred at them for seeing the harm they already done to him, and frusteration of being unable to do anything to help. My first reaction was to run after him with some hope of attacking Drake, but Cooter's words echo through my head of me being dead won't help him any. From here I can see Bo's apparent harsh struggle for air as he glares at me for help, his bright blue eyes shine of pain and fear. Slowly my attention on Bo is drawn as Cooter kneels besides the frightened boy who shakes uncontrollably in fear, fear that is apparent is all he knows. "What's your name?" Cooter asks caringly.

"Bryceton Shelbon," he answers with uncertainity upon his small voice as his light green eyes glances around in fear as if trying to find comfort where there lies no comfort, "I'm five years old and Drake is my unbearable evil person everyone would say is my dad. He hurt Bo...bad."

Tears glimmer in Cooters light brown eyes at hearing the truth come out of the young child's mouth. "It looks like it," Cooter finally says, "but I'm sure the FBI will try their best to stop Drake...I'm Cooter Davenport by the way and the unsociable dark brown haired guy there is Luke Duke, Bo's cousin...protective cousin I should add."

"Hi," I fight a smile for his benefit and he only glares up questionable at me as if fighting if he should say something or not.

I glance up as Keifer whispers something to Frank and slowly slips behind us. "He's gonna try to join the men in the back," Frank whispers glaring at Bo who slowly begins to fight in pain only for Drake to back hand him across the face with the butt of the gun again, "we are trying to sneak up on them from the back."

"Better not get him killed or -"

"Or what? We have to try somethin'...it is try it and perhaps die trying, or die doing nothing!" Frank snaps at me, "If you haven't noticed, they aint' about to let us go out of here alive, the kid, you, Cooter to Bo himself. You pick!"

"Awright," I finally answer as my mind switches from Bo to Jesse for some reason, fighting for his wisdom that he held so powerfully, wishing I knew what he would do in something like this.

"Drake," Frank picks up the enemies' attention, "let's work out a deal...your freedom for Bo."

"Don't matter," he laughs hysterically, "you'll never arrest us no matter...so either way I'll have my freedom. My choice, I'd rather go down fighting and have my freedom! Bo and y'all are better off dead!"

My heart races in my hatred and anger at the man that lies ahold of Bo as my mind swirls quickly as a whirlwind within me, desperately fighting for answers on how to stop someone as evil and wicked as Drake is.

I yelp out in shock at the familiar sound of gun fire not too far off in the distance, the strong smell of gun powder sends my mind racing in flashbacks of all the years I spent in war. Slowly realization hits me that the gun fire is at the back of the cabin where a group of Frank's men were suppose to sit and wait command. "Damn," Frank cusses under his breath and in his creamy blue eyes I see him as well desperately fighting for answers.

Drake's two men quickly move off of the wooden porch where they had been perched until Drake had given them farther notice. "Time for y'all to visit y'all's makers and to be judged!" Drake laughs once again forcing more pressure upon Bo who slowly begins to whimpper either out of pain or fear or perhaps both.

"Get ready to fire," Frank says, his thick voice coated in fear as they all draw guns upon the two men that hold bigger and stronger guns, "Cooter and Luke, stay back with the kid."

I go to argue only for Donnell to shove us both back until he is shot in the back right under his left shoulder. His yell is etched with harsh pain as he goes to his knees, his dark eyes glare at me, demanding me to help his pain to go away. Flash backs of seeing my own men, my friends die in gun fire at war flash inside of me, my war instinct that I thought I left at war, seems to return to me. Slowly I help him down, to sit him against the tree and press my clean handkercheif tightly upon his gun wound as I listen to his painful raspy breathing. "Stay awake Donnell, fight against sleep," I demand in a weak voice as I glance up to find Frank and his men standing continue to fling gun shots at the two standing targets as well as the two men at them, "with pressure to the wound, you should be fine, but you have to fight against sleep...save your strength."

"You're the boss," he smiles weakly at me, "though knowing Drake, none of us will make it out of here alive."

"Don't talk like that...the good Lord will help us out of here," I answer while giving a short silent prayer, "just watch...have faith."

"If you say so," he sighs.

"I do," I begin to say before a long painful screech of a cry lets out and I look up to find the taller of the two body gaurds going down with a deadly bullet slug ripped through his chest. I sigh sadly at the sight of another dead body of an enemy as more cries let out back and I pray to be able to hug Bo once again...to see him well again and perhaps return to the daily life of farming once again. My mind seems to go numb in fear and regret at the thought of loosing Bo, either physically or mentally...knowing if by chance Bo does walk out of here alive, he may be scarred inside as well as outside for life. Followed by the hatredly evil ghosts of Drake and his men, beating into unconciesouness as well as what all they have done to him. "No...no."

"What?" Donnell finally speaks up from watching the fight.

I glance down at him finally realizing that I had said no out loud instead of to myself as I once thought I was. "Never mind...just rest and save your strength," I sigh glancing up at Cooter who sits next to Donnell, holding the kid tightly for comfort to the kid who just watches me with alert green eyes.

[Kristy_DUke]

~UNCLE JESSE~

Anger and frusterations boils harshly through me toward Drake and his men for all that he has done to Bryceton and now to Bo. If only I had attempted to make some kind of struggle with them, my boys would have known the truth about the awful man and his evil companions; knowing enough to leave them be. My imagination plays lividly within me of all the possibilities that could be happening outside as the recognizeable sounds of gun fire ricochets out side the cabin's walls. Emotions rage within me like an angry river as pictures and thoughts of them killing Bryce and Bo, or hurting them any worse than what they already done.

"You've grown quiet old man," the large guard smiles at me from his post, knowing he now holds the power over me once again. At least with Bo here, they hadn't tried anything with me, because each time they tried Bo would attack them full of anger and hatred, not caring if he got hurt or not.

"You will too one day," I remark, "when you begin to face the concequences of your horrible actions."

The tall muscular man tenses his sharp muscles up his arm to display an array of artwork winding up and around his upper bare arms. "You only wish old man," he laughs at me as the door is thrown open and a smaller and older man walks in with his gun drawn.

"C'mon Raymond," the new intruder says in an order, "we need your help outside...the old man ain't goin' no where...the place is surrounded."

The man the guy called Raymond slowly and stiffly stands up from his post, glaring at me as if to say this isn't over. I watch with a hint of relief as they slam the door shut behind them and listen to thier heavily foot steps tromp out the main area to either the front or the back door, another door slams shuts. My heart races quickly within me as I stare blankly through the dark room that has been my prison for over a year if not more now. Silently I say a long prayer for my safety as well as Bo's and Bryceton's safety out of this evil place, only to realize that through time I had given up hope of ever going home.

Abruptly I my prayers are drawn short as a couple more bullets are shot about outside, followed by a few yells of great pain. I sigh in relief at not recognizing any of the cries of pain as being neither of Bryceton or Bo. Listening to the war unfold outside, my mind focuses on Bo, from the day he stumbled here so full of pain and shell shocked with fear of Luke's death. I sigh with regret and grief at the thought of Luke's death, I had tried to remain calm and confident of Luke being OK through being shot, but part of me agrees with Bo of Luke being dead. My heart seems to stop at the thought of loosing Luke to those evil men, of loosing anyone to them. The few days that Bo had been here, the more time went on, the more he seemed sewn shut in the deep, un breakable shell he seemed to have enclosed himself in. Anxiety and fear flows through me with anger at the thought of never seeing Bo come out of the shell he seemed to close himself in, at the thought of life never returning back to normal.

"If only I hadn't stepped in that day long ago when I had witnessed Drake nearly beat the young child to death, Bryceton, we all wouldn't be here, awaiting for death to come swallow us whole." I think silently to send chills racing up and down my back filled with a sense of guilt mixed with the sense of relief at doing what I knew was right.

"Do something old man," I utter to myself as I begin to feel even more frusterated at being closed in here while the war continues outside. Though instead of moving, I sit silently upon the old torn bed as my thoughts instant turn from the past few days of witnessing my nephew being beat up with anything that Drake thought up of until Bo is slowly swept away in an ocean of unconciousness to the past. To the past where life was normal, where Luke and Bo working on their old car while I worked in the fields or in the kitchen with Daisy. Or perhaps all the times of helping Bo and Luke escape from the crooked law or sitting in the Boar's Nest while Daisy takes our orders and Hogg sits off to the right smoking his cigar with Rosco.

Tears sting my eyes at the thought of the simple life I once lived, of the daily routine I once went through without complaint...everything so simple. Now I would do about anything to return to my simple life I once loved, being home with my family, and working on the farm I had inheridited. Though I highly doubt that I will ever again be able to feed my animals or step upon a freshly harvisted field or smell one of Daisy's home made apple pie. Anger piles atop of anger toward Drake for taking me away from my family, from the life I loved to be imprision in this dark dreadful place where all the hope I once had slowly leaked away from me with each slap I recieved and with watching Bryceton and now Bo being tortured and beaten. "Strengthen up old man," I say to myself once again, "these tears won't get you no where."

Once again my thoughts and visions are sent to an abrupt halt as loud shrieking cry of harsh pain and pure fear cuts through the spitting gun fire that continues to fire outside the wooden walls that entrap me. My heart comes to a quick painful stop at hearing Bo cry out so loud, his cry is filled with heart rippling pain. Chills race up and down my body as Bo becomes silent, but his piercing scream of pain and fear continues to echo in my head and in my heart. Fear increases within me as my imaginations runs wild of all that they are doing to him outside...of Bo falling slowly to the ground due to a deadly bullet or worse!

Thinking of worse I rush to my feet to send an uncomfortable sting through my feet, ignoring the sting I rush to the wooden door and am surprised as I push it open. Glaring through the neatly laid living room and dinning room that they also made all thier bed rooms, I crouch down glancing through the windows. My heart races quickly of fear within me as my mind fumbles with answers of what to do while tears of grief sting my eyes, grief of the pain that Bo has taken in. Glancing to the front door I see Drake's expensive Stetson standing tall and pround and sigh in acknowledgement that Bo would be with him.

Slowly I move to the wooden door while a stray bullet shatters through the small window next to me to send me to a dead halt. Gaining back the little strength that I hold I tightly holding onto the cold metla door handle and shove it open, knowing that there is no better time like the present. I gasp in surprise as I see Luke and Cooter standing in the trees behind seveal FBI men who look serious and mean before I look to my left to see Drake smiling evilly as he holds tightly a hold of Bo. My heart tightens painfully as he seems more bruised and cut than when he was dragged out here as well as seeing Bo's right arm free of his cast to display the dark black bruise that his arm swells in with several large cuts, from here I can tell the extent of the shattered bone that lies within the skin.

Noticing Drake's attention a hold on the FBI, I sigh knowing that this is the only chance I have at attacking Drake, and perhaps the only chance at saving Bo. I sigh as I fight for courage to face such an evil man that holds such deadly concequence. Quickly I charge at him, he grunts with an angry hateful suprise as I tackle him to the ground to force him to let go of Bo who is painfully pushed into the hard wooden railing before falling down the five large wooden steps.

[Kristy_DUke]

~LUKE DUKE~

"Damn," I utter silently to myself as I am filled with guilt as I watch Bo being held at gun point up on the hight wooden porch of the cabin. His baby blue eyes are filled with great pain as tears swell within them to make clear paths of tears down his bruised and cut up face.

"You can say that again," Donnell says silently besides me as explosion of gun fire lets loose in the back of the cabin, "Drake won't let us out alive...we're all dead by morning...or perhaps an hour or so."

"Think positive," I argue as I glance ahead as Frank lets off a round of gun fire on several of Drake's men and I sigh in a bit of relief as a couple of them let out yells of pain as bullets make deadly entries within their chests. "Two down."

"Think positive," Donnell mocks with a roll of his dark brown, almost black eyes, "I started out this profession thinkin' positive, but throughout the years I have found that things seldom turn out for the positive."

I sigh standing up from kneeling down besides the injured agent and watch him warily as he holds the blood stained handkerchief to his wound. My heart races within me in fear, anger, and frusteration of helplessness as I force my way up to where Frank stands with a few more agents to recieve a hateful glare from Frank's hard clear blue eyes. "Stay back Duke, or you are liable to recieve one of thier slugs," he threatens harshly.

"Wouldn't be the first," I answer and he glares angrily at me for arguing with him, "be angry all you want, but I refuse to stand back there helplessly watching him torture Bo! I came here to help him...even called you to help out...not for you to shove me back to watch! Damn it Frank...he's my cousin, my best friend! I am not about to do NOTHING to help him...this should be MY fight, not yours. To you, Bo is just another victim, but to me he is MY cousin and MY best friend!"

He glares coldly at me and is clear that he is fighting whether to argue with me more or not, but instead says, "Fine, but if you get shot standing there, don't come cryin' to me!"

"Wouldn't go cryin' to you anyways," I grunt out, "tell me what needs to be done, I'll do it."

"Benton," Frank snaps and an young skinny agent around my heigth with light brown skin turns from his stance, "hand him a gun." Frank watches as the young agent hands me a well known gun before saying, "fight."

Once again silence splits between us as the metal hand gun sits coldly in my head as flash backs of war flashes in my eyes. Fear and regret flows within me at the thought of having to shoot at antoher person...perhaps killing antoher person.

Quickly, my thoughts are interrupted as Bo yells shriekingly out in harsh pain and great fear and I look up in time to see Drake thrashing Bo's shattered right arm harshly into the wooden pole until the plastered cast falls upon the wooden porch to leave Bo's shattered arm is revealed. My stomach churns as the sight of Bo's black bruised arm that holds a few cuts, but from here lies clearly shattered bone. Tears streak Bo's bruised face clearly now as he fights back yelling out in pain as Drake hits it a couple more times against the pole.

Emotions swirl wildly within me as the gun lies heavy in my right hand as I realize that even with the gun, I am just as helpless as I was without it. I gasp in anger as Drake yanks Bo closer to him by yanking his hair to return the stance with his gun tightly squeezed upon Bo's right temple as his left hand reaches over Bo's chest to tightly clench upon Bo's shattered arm. "This town is as good as mine," he laughs above the gun fire as he sets his predator trained eyes upon the line of FBI men to his men as if taking count of all he has and all the FBI has left standing.

"We're gonna have to shoot Drake," Frank says suddenly looking at his men.

"Don't you even think it!" I yell glaring at him as my heart swells with protectiveness of Bo, with my care of my cousin, "You shoot him or even at him he'll for sure kill Bo!"

"We all are as good as dead if we shoot around him," Frank explains trying to remain calm, "but if we kill him, his gang of men will be reeled into helplessness...this all has to do with Drake. Without Drake, they all don't stand a chance and they know that."

"I don't care...you can't shoot at Drake, I can't let you harm my cousin like that," I say as tears sting my eyes as the truth of his words shoot bullets into my heart at thinking of watching him kill Bo, of watching Bo die watching me, looking at me for help, "I can't fail Bo that way, no...there has to be another way."

"If you think of one in a second, I'll go with it," Frank says, "But if not...I start shooting."

I stare at him blankly as I fight for answers and in my time of need come up empty on any solutions to save my couisn. I glance up at Bo as he heaves painfully for air while his baby blue eyes full of pain and fear stares at me, demanding me to help as I always have been able to do in the past. "I. . .I can't think," I finally say, "but you can't just shoot knowing it'd kill Bo...someone who doesn't deserve it, he didn't do nothing wrong!"

"I know," he sighs, "but if not, we all could wind up dead and him...none of us don't have a chance of returning home if Drake is still alive. Drake is the key, the key we all have been shooting around, but we can't shoot around him any more."

My heart stops as I feel my own tears set in my eyes while I watch Frank secretly aim his gun at Drake in hope of getting Drake without Bo. I pray silently and quickly for Bo's safety, relying on faith, knowing that faith is all I have now to rely on for my cousin's safety.

As if by answering my prayers, the old wooden door is thrown open and my heart is stopped in great surprise of amazement as I see Uncle Jesse standing warily and tiredly in torn overalls and shirts, his face bruised and cut up arms. "Uncle Jesse," I say softly as I see what he plans to do, by sneaking up on Drake, "don't shoot." Frank just shakes his head.

My mind wonders from the past year and a half ago of the funeral we all had attended, the year and a half Bo had been plagued into a deep shell of mourning for the dead Uncle Jesse to the night in the hospital when he was determined that Uncle Jesse was alive...that the Jesse on the floor that day couldn't have been the real Uncle Jesse. Chills race up and down my body at the sight of Uncle Jesse, making anger level over anger at the thought of anyone hurting Uncle Jesse at it looks like they did.

"Uncle Jesse," Bryceton says in a whisper behind us, though loud enough for us to hear.

My heart races as Jesse quickly scans through us for a long moment before he glares at Bo, his body trembles visibly from the distance from fear and anger. Abruptly Jesse tackles Drake to cause Drake to cuss out violently in anger and hatred as he shoves Bo before landing harshly upon the wooden porch. I gasp in fear as Bo harshly is thrown against the railing before richocheting down the long hard five wooden steps to lie silently still in the dusty dirt ground. My heart stops at seeing his still figure before glancing up to see Uncle Jesse atop of Drake in time to see Jesse throw Drake's gun upon the ground, pinning Drake to the porch.

Glancing around, I quickly run past through enemy lines and past the enemy who watches in confusement as gun fire slowly comes to a halt. Reaching Bo I drop harshly to my knees, no longer caring for my own warfare. Holding my breath, I slowly turn him over on his back to check his pulse to find a slow and weak heart beat and him breathing minimally. Unconcious. I sigh taking acount the damage Bo had recieved while being kidnapped, his body seeming to bruised and cut up all over; his right arm is covered in blood that bleeds out quickly, chills race up and down at the sight of his arm.

Sirens rings out in the distance and I sigh in relief at hearing Rosco coming, in hope that he is bringing some sort of help. "Luke!" cries a recognizeable voice that I haven't heard in a long time. Looking up I see Uncle Jesse walking to me slowly, pain and fear still etched into his crystal blue eyes. I am surprised to see him a foot a way from me instead of near Drake and glance up to Drake to see Frank and a couple men arresting him with a lot of difficulty.

"Uncle Jesse...we thought you-"

"I know...Bo told me," he says and we hug for a long moment before we both kneel besides Bo.

"Figured as much...he seems to be ok as ok as he can be, just unconcious right now," I sigh and he holds onto my shoulder.

"Thank-you Luke," Jesse says as Rosco pulls up with Hogg in the passenger seat and I am relieved to see a couple of ambulances behind him.

"I knew how violent Drake was, so I figured I'd be of some help and bring a couple of ambulances along in case," Rosco says stepping out as if by apology, "I had to do something."

I watch a couple of ambulance men visit Bryceton with Cooter and a couple of agents who were talking to him about all he can remember. "Thank-you for what?" I sigh, "I didn't do anything."

"Then you did more than you realized you done," Jesse sighs placing a caring hand on Bo's forehead, "the way Bo talked, you did everything...kept the farm together after I so called died. You were there for him...he needs you."

"I don't know how he gets that...if I did more, we wouldn't be here...well he wouldn't be at least," I sigh filled with guilt.

"You need to give yourself with more credit...we all could do something different, whether we should have or not, is another story," Jesse displays some more wisdom, "you were there and that is what counts...you helped him more than you realize, you just need to talk to him."

I sigh looking down at him and for the first time realize that I once again have tears in my eyes for silence to intrude between us. I glance up at Jesse fighting with what to say only for the silence to be interrupted by a rupture of hoarse, force, and painful coughing as Bo awakes to show his pained blue eyes as he gasps for air. "I...can't...breathe," he gasps as a couple paramedics reach him and he grunts to argue as the slowly help him upon the stretcher to place an air masks upon his mouth and nose.

"We'll need you to come with us sir," one says to Jesse, "can you walk? If not we have-"

"I'll walk," Jesse says stubbornly walking over to Bo's left side, "Things will work out Lukas," Jesse finishes up as they help him walk to the ambulance.

I sigh watching them leave me behind and I look around at the busy agents running around. "C'mon Luke," Rosco comes from behind, "I'll lend ya a ride to the hospital if ya wish...we can call Daisy on the CB."

I flash a small smile at Rosco in gratitude, "Thanks sheriff," I answer and follow him to his car.

[Kristy_DUke]

~CHAPTER EIGHT~

Staring blankly into the ugly peach cream colored wall that hangs hollowily across the room from where I sit in the large waiting room, the rhythmatic ticking of the clock only adds agitation to the fear, anger, and frusteration that eats livily within me. I sigh tiredly as I hide my tear stained face into the palms of my hands as my mind runs wildly within me, with clear thoughts and images of the past year and a half to what I had found out only a couple of hours ago. Ever since I had recieved the frantic phone call from Bo over a year and a half ago, I had accepted the hard truth of Jesse's death, accepting that it was a harsh way to leave this world, but it was his time to go. I accepted Jesse's tragic death in knowledge that I didn't have a choice, but to accept it and to move on. I knew I had to be strong if the farm had any hope of living and growing as Jesse would want it to. But most of all, I knew I had to be strong for Daisy and Bo, Bo needed my comfort, my strength in knowledge that I was there, even if he had trapped himself within the thick shell.

I feel myself tense up in surprise at feeling a soft gentle touch of reassurance land on my shoulder and I slowly force myself to look up to find Daisy sitting next to me. "He...they'll be ok," she finally says wiping her tears away.

"Maybe," I sigh looking around at the half filled waiting room, "but things will never be the same...Drake came here and wrecked what once was, scarring them for life, mentally and perhaps physically."

Tears boil up once again in my eyes and I push them away in my own pride as I fight back my emotions. "Luke," she finally sighs, "You have been there for me when I needed you the most, but what is most important, is that you were there for Bo no matter how frusterated he may have gotten you. You held us together and you are the one that helped the farm stay together...thank-you. You are a great guy all around, but you also deserve to show your emotions, to let your guard down once in awhile."

"Maybe," I answer once again as I feel the shock returning to me at thinking of seeing my Uncle Jesse again, of picturing him tackling Drake who had held Bo at gun point. My imagination plays wildly within me at all that Drake could have done to him and the boy. "I can't believe that anyone would even think of hurting Jesse or Bo...Bo was right."

"He was right? About what?" Daisy asks watching a few FBI men begin to walk around.

"In the hospital, when he was here and I was here to look out after him," I sigh, "he opened up a little to me and I ruined it by doubting him. He said it wasn't Uncle Jesse there that he saw, said after thinkin' of it there was a couple of differences, but I had to be the one that doubted him, tellin' him it was wishful thinkin' or something like that. But he was the one that said it wasn't him there and he was right."

Silence grows between us as Frank Mills and a few men are ushered down the hall way and I sigh wondering where they may be going. "You worry too much Luke," Cooter finally breaks in besides me, "anyone would have said that to Bo if he were to say that to anyone else...everyone saw Jesse's face at the funeral, and they all saw Jesse, not some jackass dressed to be him. Don't blame yourself Luke...as Daisy said, if it wasn't for you the farm wouldn't be a live and growing as it is now nor would Bo ever open up to anyone."

"He may not either," I shove back at him as I stand up, "I can gaurantee you that just 'cause they found Uncle Jesse, that it won't bring him out of it, or ever will. He's forever scarred by seeing Jesse there, to being shot, to being locked up in that room! He will never the be the Bo we all once knew!"

Slowly I walk to the window and stare down at the few cars that drive by on the dirt road and tears begin to break through the dam I had created to block them back. I sigh warily no longer caring if anyone sees the tears trailing down my face as the silence continues to grow between us.

"Dukes," a gruff male's voice finally calls out and I turn around to find a small doctor in his fifties wearing thin rimmed glasses and a thin layer of graying white hair. Quickly we all gather around him, praying for some good news on Bo and Jesse. "I am Jesse's doctor, Dr. Lynerly."

"How is he doc?" Cooter finally asks through the odd silence that had grew between us.

"Jesse seems to be a lucky man who has the good Lord's blessing, seeing how he is a live and the condition that he is in taking in account his age and the man that had held him," he sighs glancing down at his clipboard of papers, "Jesse has suffered a bad concussion, two of his ribs are broken while three more are cracked which has scratched up his lungs, other than that a few harsh bruises and cuts. He should be good and ready to be released from the hospital within a few days."

Silence once again grows within us as we look at one another for a long while. "What about Bo?" I finally speak up.

"Or the kid?" Cooter follows my question.

"Bo is still in the ER and what I heard, is still deep into unconciousness," he sighs, "he has another doctor who will fill you all in when he is done with Bo in the ER. As for Bryceton, the kid has been through a lot within the five years he has been alive...very obvious that he was abused on a daily routine. His condition is pretty much similar to Jesse's, if not a little worse. That is about all I know about him...I think he is out of the ER as well, but he on the pediatric floor, they'd be able to say more on his condition."

"Thanks," Cooter answers.

"Can we see Jesse?" Daisy finally asks with tears trailing down her face.

"One at a time," he answers looking around for volunteers.

"You go," I tell Daisy who looks at me questionably, "I'll stay here and wait for word on Bo."

She nods before she follows the doctor down the hall for a while before I return to the window to glare down at the empty dusty dirt road.

[Kristy_DUke]

~UNCLE JESSE~

"Thanks Mr. Duke," says the medium sized detective with light reddish brown hair as he leans upon the metal railing that lines the end of my bed. His hard cold creamy blue eyes sends chills racing down my back as he glares into me while rubbing a deep long scar that runs up his right lower arm. "Thanks for you time and for your cooperation...you have been through a lot."

"Not as much as some," I am slow to respond as I watch most of the agents slowly walk out the door behind the sergeant.

"Perhaps, but still a lot," the sergeant sighs, his hard cold eyes seems to soften now that his men have filed out of the room, "I guess I'll leave you to your family now...they have my number if anything else comes up."

"OK thanks," I answer stiffly as I watch him slowly and warily walk to the door as if he was an aging man suffering from harsh arthritis. Watching the FBI agent slowly close the door, I finally move in a fight to gain comfortness before giving up in realization that there is no chance of gaining comfortness in an old hospital bed with two IVs running into me and a stiff air tube up my nose.

A long moment of silence creeps by before the silence is interrupted by the loud scratchy squeak of an opening door. Stiffly I turn to find Daisy slowly walking in and by the trail of her mascara running down her soft cheeks, I can tell she has been crying. As she forces herself to look up at me, I throw her a smile in my little effort to try to comfort her. "Uncle Jesse," she finally says as she reaches my bed, obvious that she still is fighting back more tears.

"What's the tears for?" I ask in attempt to comfort before realizing that I am not the only one in the hospital, "How is everyone else?"

"Bryceton I guess should be ok by the sound of things," she pauses to take me in for a long moment, "Bo is still in the ER."

"Things will work out, just like the good Lord plans," I finally come up with an answer and she only nods before rubbing her cheeks harshly.

"How you feel?" she finally asks sitting down besides my bed.

"Sore and stiff, but that is about it," I shrug, "it could be worse and I am thankful that it isn't. They say I'll be out within a week or so."

"Yeah," she answers as she glances up at the blank wall that lies a few feet from the foot of my bed, "we thought you were dead...that is why no one looked or helped you out before."

I look at her for a long moment thinking of her last sentence that she had spoken as if by apology. "Yeah Bo said somethin' of y'all thinkin' I was dead," I shrug thinking of the past, "Drake is something else that is for sure...something I hope is put away for a very long time! . . .Well it wasn't me."

"I guess not," Daisy says almost numbly and for a moment I pat her hand, trying to tell her it is ok. Though as she glances up, I see the emotional pain rolling through her dark bluish brown eyes, pain that says it isn't all of my death that is bothering her.

"What else is wrong?" I finally ask, "I can tell it isn't just me here that is bugging you or what had happened back there by the cabin."

Abruptly she glances back at me for a long moment before answering, "This isn't the time to be talkin' of that...you should get better, rest and regain your strength."

"No!" I say too harshly and unmeantfully, "I mean, I want to know what happened while I was gone...what happened to Bo...well everyone, but Bo...he seems," I pause, "seems so withdrawn. It could be Drake at the time, but the pain he was in was obvious it's been awhile, then the broken arm and all that. I want to know what happened...everything and now."

"Yes sir," she says, her voice sounding appologetically before she slowly begins to tell what all had happened, starting from the day they went to the town picnic and me staying home sick. I listen sincerely as she continues to explain Bo's nightmares and the shell he has hid himself in since he found me supposedly shot to death on the living room floor. Anger explodes through me as she explains of the boys' arguement that led Bo to witness Drake killing another man, the chase they sent on Bo, to Luke finding Bo almost dead on the farm's front lawn. "They musta been keeping tabs on Bo in the hospital because when he was released, they tried a shot on him, but missed and got Luke, or got Luke to get to Bo. One or the other. Luke told Bo to run for it, which he did only after a long moment of persuading...that was the last we saw of him 'til now."

Silence fills the room for a long moment as my mind runs wildly within me and I begin to say a silent prayer for Bo and for Bryceton. "You mean he has been that. . .that distant for that long?" I finally ask, "I mean when they brought him in, he was really withdrawn, I just figured it was from Drake kidnapping him."

"Ever since he saw you lying dead on the living room floor," she answers looking up at me, "has driven Luke in frusteration and worry over the year and a half, he's tried everything. He feels so guilty about it all...the fight only increased that all. The more he sees Bo the more he refuses to forgive himself or to see that it wasn't him...though through it all he was strong. He held Bo up...even if he hasn't or doesnt' see that. Luke kept the farm going as it was before you left and was there for everyone."

"Sounds like Luke," I finally answer, "how is he?"

"Waiting for word on Bo...he refuses to leave until he hears it...just like he refused to leave when Bo was here for that length of time after thier arguement," she answers, "Bo's asthma has worsened...they learned that when Luke tricked Bo into going to town and visited Applebee's office a couple of days before thier arguement."

"Worsened? Damn," I utter out loud, "I never could imagine it getting worse than what it was before all this."

"Yeah...I know. His nightmares seemed to only worsen it by the night," she answers silently.

My heart tightens in grief at the thought of my nephew's asthma getting any worse and at the thought of what all this had affect on it. I sigh looking up at her as a deep long silence interrupts between us. "They want me to adopt Bryceton," I finally interrupt the long silence.

"They?" she asks glaring up at me with emotionless eyes, "Adopt Bryceton?"

"The FBI...Frank Mills more like it," I answer looking up at her, trying to see what she thinks, but she blocks her emotions heavily now, "he says that Bryceton talked heavily of me when they talked to him...that it was me that protected him from his father...all I did, is try to. But Mills says it would be easier if I were to adopt him since he already knows and seems to like me so well than to go to foster homes and what not."

"Are you?" she asks continueing to look at me, "Do you want to adopt him?"

"He's had a hard life," I answer as if to answer her question.

"That is no reason to adopt anyone," she snaps at me, "pity leaves you nowhere...you should adopt him because you want to adopt him, because you love him, not because you feel sorry for him or that he has had a hard life."

"I know," I sigh thinking of what my other children would think, "What would you think of if I did adopt Bryceton?"

"I think you would make a perfect dad for him, that you would love him and take care of him like no one else has ever done or ever will do," she answers, "I think that it has to be up to you and not what I think or Bo or Luke. It is your decision."

"I know...but I want your input," I answer, "I am seriously thinking of adopting him and yes it is up to me, my decision, but I also want your imput."

She looks at me for a long while before answering, "I think it would be good for the both of you."

[Kristy_DUke]

~LUKE DUKE~

Fear and anger continue to gnaw angrily within me as I stare blankly at an month old sports magazine that I had found sitting upon the end table besides me. Tears continue to threaten to fall through the dam I had built to block the tears of the fear, sorrow, and anger that thrashes around within me. Staring at a picture of a baseball player my mind is fixated on Bo, the scene of Drake holding him on the porch plays clearly over and over within me. "Damn it," I utter in impatience as I stare up at the clock to find it to be another hour since they had came out with Jesse's out come. Angrily I throw the newspaper down upon the hard wooden end table to glare around the small waiting room that remains a third full of visiters or mourners.

"How you holdin' up?" asks a familiar voice and I turn around to find Cooter standing there before taking a seat next to me.

"I'm holdin' I guess," I sigh covering my face once more in my hands before looking up a moment later, "I'd be a lot better if they'd actually come out and say something...well maybe I wouldn't. I don't know. Them keeping him back there makes me think he's dead while they are working up the courage to come out and face us with it."

"Naw if he was dead they'd come out and say it...get it over with," Cooter says putting a comforting hand on my back, "besides, Bo's tough...he'll fight it...tough and stubborn. You know Bo...there is no way he'd die without fighting with knowledge that is what Drake wants. Just the thought of Drake wanting him dead will make him fight to remain a live just to spite Drake."

"Well what if he isn't tough enough? What if his fight wasn't enough?" I ask looking at him just as a tear breaks through my dam to trail down my right cheek, "I can't stand to loose him."

"I know...but if it is his time, then it is his time," Cooter shrugs.

"Yeah," I answer silently while wiping my face to allow a long moment of silence to join our conversation before asking, "How's Bryceton?"

"Talkative...talking to him you'd think that nothing ever happened or that he had to put up with all that he had to," he smiles, "I mean he's hurt, yes, but he looks on the positive side. That kid is something else."

"What is it?" I ask after a moment silence and I force myself to look at him.

"What's what?" he asks trying to act innocent.

"You are hiding something from me and you know it!" I snap.

He sighs as he looks up to watch a grieving young woman begin to pace the floor a few feet away. "Bryceton says that Frank and the FBI is tryin' to persuade Jesse to adopt Bryceton," he finally answers looking back at me, "Bryce is very hopeful that Jesse will become his adopted dad...said that Frank said that Jesse is thinking heavily of adopting him."

"Adopt him?" I ask as my mind spins wildly with in me, my heart drops a few notches lower than before in dread, "Damn it!"

"What? The kid needs to live in a loving and caring home where someone will actually love and care for him...something he really needs," Cooter sticks up for the kid, "the kid is so loving and caring himself...Jesse and y'all would be perfect for him. He needs it so much, Luke."

"I know," I sigh looking at him, no longer caring of the silent tears that slowly streaks my face, "I know Bryceton needs all that...needs Jesse as his father. Jesse would be the greatest for the part that Bryceton needs...I agree with you and would be for it."

"But what?" Cooter asks.

"But Bo would hate it and you know it. I mean when ...if Bo makes it out of this he'll need Jesse for himself," I sigh fighting for the right words, "Bo needs Jesse...especially after the year and a half he has had...Jesse's attention. You know Bo wouldn't like it at all."

"I know," Cooter sighs, "I knew that is what you are getting at too...he'd get over it."

"Perhaps," I sigh as silence intrudes once again.

"Dukes," calls a husky voice after a long few moments of tense silence to make me jump out of my seat to find his doctor to be around my size with graying black hair.

"I'm Bo's doctor, Dr. Nelend," he says and we shake hands to find his to be warm and clammy.

"How's my cousin, doctor?" I ask looking him in the eye.

"Well at the moment he remains unconsciense...in a coma state trance; I'd be honest with you, we all would know and feel a lot better when and if he awakes," he sighs to pause to glance down at his clip board, "He has suffered a bad concussion- some hit to the head that was pretty hard, he broke three ribs, two puncturing his lungs to make breathing even more difficult or at all for him. His shattered arm only looks worse than before and he has a lot of bruises and cuts that I imagine he had recieved while being held captive...as well as loosing a lot of blood."

"Will he be OK? Does he have a chance of waking up?" I ask praying silently for my cousin's health.

"As I said, we all would be more comfortable about his health if he woke up," he sighs, "we have came up with that he holds a sixty-five percent chance of waking up or living. He holds the odds at least."

"May I see him?" I ask with anxiousness to see my cousin.

"One at a time," he sighs motioning me to follow him down the large bright hall way.

[Kristy_DUke]

~FRANK MILLS~

Exhaustion sweeps through me as my anger seems to accelarate within me as Bryceton continues to answer my agents' questions. I watch as he slowly answers the questions he is given and notice how alert and aware he is as well as how helpful he wants to be. I sigh fighting for answers to questions that I know will never be answered; how could anyone hurt such a kind and caring cute little boy...or anyone for that matter?

"You don't seem to be autistic," Keifer finally comments half way to himself and half way out loud after the questioning comes to a halt and an long thick air of silence enteres the room. As everyone looks at him he continues, "Well what I have heard of autistic children...they don't seem to respond or comprehend others...or talk that much. I mean Bryce seems alert and aware of what is going on as - "

"I'm not autistic," the boy finally cuts in glaring at me with his soft greenish brown eyes, "that was Drake's explanation to everyone of why I was different...to label me as a retard and gather pitty at the same time. He actually got money off of other's pity towards me...by saying he don't have the money to send me to the right school and what not. I may be slow due to being born early, but I ain't no retard! I acted like to satisfy him...if not he'd put me through a lot worse than that!"

"Smart thinkin'," Keifer smiles friendly down at him and Bryceton looks around the room at one man to another.

"Thank-you," Bryceton finally responds after letting a brief moment of silence to come between us, "for arresting Drake and his men...before they hurt anyone else...or killed anyone else. He woulda killed Bo if not for Uncle Jesse and perhaps Uncle Jesse if not for you. Thank-you."

"It's our job," I smile at him, "wish we coulda stopped him sooner."

"You did a great job, don't doubt it," he smiles weakly at me before silence enters the room, "how's Uncle Jesse?"

"Keifer you inform him on Jesse, I need to go out and talk to the sheriff," I sigh looking around the room, "I'll talk to you later Bryceton, get feeling better."

"Yes sir," he smiles at me before I slowly walk out of the room closing the door behind me.

[Kristy_DUke]

~LUKE DUKE~

My heart races within me as each passing second that passes by seems to last a life time as I follow Bo's doctor down the long brightly lit hall way. Images flash clearly in my mind of how bad Bo will look when I finally enter his room to what the future will hold. My mind flashes from thought to thought, to Jesse thinking of adopting Bryceton to how Bo will handle it if he does adopt. I sigh tiredly as I listen to several doctors' names or nurses' names being called over the intercom to break my thoughts of adoption and of Bo for a brief second.

"Here's his room," his doctor says as he stops abruptly by a closed door and I stop just before running into him, "it looks worse than what it really is-"

"Don't lie to me!" I snap at him, releasing some of my anger upon him, "Y'all doctors say that all the time and for what? If it looks bad, then it is bad enough! Bo being trapped in that room there means it is bad...especially when he won't awaken!"

For a long moment he stares at me in shock before he dares to speak again, "Yes, you're right...I'm sorry Mr. Duke, they's just words of comfort," he pauses in thought, "though I am sure there isn't much of anything I can do or say to help comfort you...at least until he is out of the woods. He just needs to wake up and we should know for sure of his chances."

He smiles apologetically at me before he turns and walks back down the brightly lit hall and I sigh in guilt at leashing my anger out on him. Taking a deep breath I take Bo's cold door handle and slowly begin to open it with images of how bad Bo could look. Silently I pray as I walk into his chilly room to find his room to hold two beds, though the far bed is the only one that lies occupied.

Silently I walk up to his bed listening to his monitors beeping un-regularly along with the IVs that slowly drip into him, echoing off the hollow walls. Walking around the curtian that seperates the empty bed from his I gasp in surprise at the sight of his swollen and bruised face that holds several cuts implied upon it to the large air tube that lies down his throat and into his nose for help with breathing. My heart swells up in fear as tears sting my eyes at his poor condition as I take in his still and bruised body to his freshly plastered right arm.

"Hi Bo," I force myself to say as I bring myself out of shock enough to take a seat next him and I find myself covering his left swollen and bruised hand that lies upon his stomach with mine for comfort, "I'm here Bo...I'm right here."

Tears sting my eyes, forcing a couple to run down my face as all I get for a responce is his irratating beeping of the machines and the dripping of his IVs. Silently I once more pray for his safety, for him to wake up and to be able to hug him once again, to tell him truthfully that everything will be OK. "Please wake up Bo...I'm beggin' you, please wake up! I can't afford to loose you, I refuse to loose you," I sigh as I wipe my cheeks harshly to rid of the tears, fighting to remain strong for my cousin, "they say you have a large chance of dying, but a little better chance at waking up. You got to fight this, Bo, and win this battle, for me, but for yourself. You can do it, Bo...I am here for you...I will always be here for you."

Tears once again run down my face, but this time in an unstoppable flood as the realization comes clear to me, that I may loose my cousin, that he may not be strong enough to fight it, to win it. "I'm sorry Bo...for saying what I did that day we got into that fight and you ran off. If I hadn't been so self centered and if I was thinking of you and not said what I did, you wouldn't have ran off and see what you did...to go through what they put you through with chasing you and shooting you. You wouldn't have gone through all this pain...you wouldn't be lying there with a chance of never waking up if I hadn't said what I said. I should have gotten you out of this...should have protected you like I use to do before I ran off to war. I failed you Bo and I am so sorry," I pause as I watch him lie silently in bed for a long moment, "you are more like a brother to me...my best friend and I failed you; I failed my best friend. You mean so much to me Bo...I can't loose you, I just can't. Please wake up."

"This isn't your fault no matter how much you would like to blame yourself...it isn't your fault," I jump in shock at another man talking to me from behind and I turn around to find Frank Mills standing behind me and I embarrassingly wipe my tears away, "Drake would find some way to do what he did to him...I mean Drake knows he is the one that walked in and found Jesse...or the so called Jesse dead. It wouldn't be long until he got paranoid about him and had him shot off and killed...this way Bo at least could fight."

"Yeah," I answer numbly turning back to look at Bo, "I just have said some harsh things to him...from making him go back and check on Jesse to the fight we had. If he dies, I would never forgive myself...even if techniquely it isn't my fault."

"I know the feelin'," he half way smiles at me and he watches Bo for a moment, "though with the good Lord's blessing he could walk out of this...you just need to have faith in Him."

"Now you sound like Uncle Jesse," I smile at him, "I haven't even gone to see him yet...been too worried about Bo to even leave the waiting room."

"Daisy says he's been askin' for ya...though understands with the bond you two seem to have and all," he shrugs, "I'm sure Bo wouldn't mind if you were to leave to visit Jesse."

"Perhaps in a bit when Daisy or Cooter wants to stop by...I don't feel comfortable leaving him alone yet...call me paraniod," I answer.

"Not paranoid...worried is more like it and you have every right to feel the way you do," he pauses for a long moment, "I just dropped by to say thanks for the help...your help got us here with Drake arrested. I am going to transfer Drake out of here with most of my men, a few of my men will stay a while for a few days...so they'll be around."

"Thank-you...for everything," I smile at him as I watch him walk to the door.

"You bet," he smiles back at me before disappearing behind the door and I go back to watching Bo lie silently upon the bed.

[Kristy_DUke]

~UNCLE JESSE~

I awake yelling out in fear and in pain to find myself covered in thick icy cold sweat as my nightmare plays clearly in my head. The nightmare that I had awaken to several hours ago when I took a short nap, the nightmare that I know will plague me for a long time. I sigh heavily, feeling the pain run down my back, as my mind goes back to the past, to the way life once had been for me before I had witness Drake beating on his boy. I pray wishfully that life will return to normal for all of us while we all take care of the farm and look out for one another, though in the back of my head I know that life will never return back to normal or the way it once had been before all this. Everyone has went through so much, too much to forget about it and move on as if it never happened.

"It's OK Uncle Jesse," I hear Daisy say next to me as she wipes my forehead with a cold damp wash rag, "just another bad dream."

"You're still here," I smile at her as I run my hand over her patite hand that rests on my right hand on my chest.

"Yeah...I'm still here," she smiles, "Cooter was here for a little bit, not for long though. He says Bryceton is doing well concidering it all."

"I hope he'll be OK...I can't believe anyone would want to hurt a kid like him," I answer thinking of the five year old kid as my options of adoption sweeps over me, "Where's Luke?"

"With Bo...they finally got him out of the ER," Daisy sighs and my heart aches tightly as her bluish brown eyes detect bad news, "he lies in a deep coma...they are unsure of he will ever wake up...his chance of survival lies on him waking up."

Tears flow from her eyes through the tight restraints that she held to fight for her strength. Slowly I pat her hand trying to find my strength to give to her but all I can say, "It all lies in the good Lord above now...he has his plans. We need to turn to him to make sure Bo wakes up."

"I know," she sighs before looking up at me, "I can go get Luke for you...Frank says he refuses to leave Bo's side unless me or Cooter are there for Bo...just like last time when Bo was here."

"Could you please?" I ask and she nods as she slowly stands up to leave the room. My mind runs within me full of concern, fear, pain, and anger that I never felt so strong in my life. A hard bolt of reality hits me that I am loosing my nephew without a chance to see him again, to tell him thank-you or good bye. My heart swells within me at the thought of loosing my youngest, the one that needed me more than anyone else did, the one that made me feel important, the one I found myself being too protective of; dying with little chance of survival. Ever since I woke up I had been swept with joy that I am alive, that I once again can live in freedom of my family at the farm, that Bryceton is going to be OK and that he for once in his lifetime will know life without torture and pain, but never did I stop to realize that I could easily loose my own nephew. Tears swell in my eyes and before I can fight them back a flood breaks loose down my aged cheeks and soaking into my thick beard and mustach.

After a long moment I am startled by the door slowly opening and I quickly rub at my cheeks to dry my tears to fight more tears back as I see Luke slowly and stiffly walks into the room. His own tears show through his reddened eyes though he fights to hold them back. "Hi," he finally says as he reaches me, half way looking at the floor and half way looking at me, "how are things goin'?"

"Could be better, but I'm not complaining," I force a smile for my nephew who only takes a chair.

"I'm sorry," he finally says after a long eery moment of silence that had drifted between us, "I shouldn't have been that naive to believe you were dead...it was just so real. Bo tried tellin' me it wasn't you last month in the hospital, sayin' somethin' was different, but I wouldn't believe him. And I should have came up to say hi sooner, but -"

"No need for any apologies Lukas...none of this is your fault or anyone's other than Drake. I know you won't believe that, but I want you too, I don't want you to feel any guilt, for you should not and have no reason to feel guilty for any of this; you did all that you could. Of what I have heard thus far, you kept the farm and the family up and running...I am very proud of you Lukas...very proud," I smile at him and he looks questionally at me, "never forget that...you have done so much to make me proud. What Daisy said, just adds to that. And second of all, you should never apologize for not being here to be with Bo. Bo needs you to be there for him, now as he always has needed you. I am glad that you were there with Bo. As Daisy put it, if not for you, who knows where he'd be now if you weren't there for him and had patience with him."

"Not all that patient," he sighs looking at me, "I said a lot of things I shouldn't have said nor meant that lead to this and I haven't said-"

"Look...Bo requires a lot of patience at times...I know this and so do you...it isn't always easy to keep. But the one thing Bo is...is forgiving, especialy of you, Lukas," I smile at him, remembering old times, "he looks up to you and I highly doubt that there is anything you could do that he wouldn't forgive you of. You are being too hard on yourself...none of the blame goes on you...so relax and be yourself."

"I'll try," he sighs looking around, "be easier if he were to wake up at least...he don't show any sign of improving."

"You just need to have faith in Bo and in the good Lord above, things will work out," I force another smile on him.

"Yeah," he says looking at me, his sky blue eyes show a debate of something going on in him, "So are you going to adopt Bryce?"

"Ah you've heard...from Cooter I take it," I sigh detecting his unapproval in his eyes, "he is a great kid who needs loving and care for...a good home to live at."

"Doesn't mean you got to adopt him! There are others out there that would make just as great of a home as you do!" he snaps and anger flares in his eyes.

"I know, but - " I cut myself off, "I take it you don't agree with me taking him in...why not? You met the kid...who couldn't or wouldn't love him enough to take him in?"

"Yeah he's a loveable kid and he does deserve a great and loving home, but why ours, Jesse? I personally would admit you'd make the perfect dad for him, but that's not what Bo -" he cuts himself off, aware of him almost letting something out.

"Of what Bo? What Luke?" I ask patiently as I seek the fire dancing in his sky blue eyes.

"Of what Bo needs," he finally answers, letting out a large sigh of either regret or relief, "look I know you want the kid and you will do what you want to do, and I'll be happy for you both. But that isn't what Bo needs and that is what I've been looking out for the past year."

"What does Bo need?" I ask.

"He needs you...that's what he needs, he needs you and your attention without having a kid to get in the way," he says, "I don't need to be rude or selfish, but ever since Bo found who everyone thought was you dead, he hasn't been the same person...he's been stuck in that shell of his over a year now without caring what happens to him! Not to mention the nightmares it all has given him and his asthma worsening. Bryceton is a great kid, but Bo needs you and your attention."

Silence quickly comes into the room as all that he has said clogs my head and forces tears to my eyes. "He's been in that shell for that long?" is all I can ask.

"Yes...he was very much tramatized by seeing you dead covered in your blood," he says without any sarcasm, "it is something you don't just forget or ever will, especially since that was the first dead person he's seen. I am not saying you shouldn't adopt Bryceton, because Bryceton needs you and I'd be selfish by saying not to adopt him, I'm just sayin' Bo needs you...he always have and perhaps always will."

"I know," I find myself saying, "but so does Bryceton and I can be there for the both of them. I can't just abandon Bryceton even for Bo, not after all he's went through."

"That's fine, but be sure it's for the right reason and not just because you feel bad for him," Luke says, "I know you love him and you'll make a great dad to him."

"Thanks," I say as silence intrudes more permitedly than before as we are all left thinking of what had happened.

[Kristy_DUke]

~A WEEK LATER~

Emotions swirl like a whirl wind through my aging body as my mind races from thought to thought. This is the day I had been waiting so long for, the day has arrived where I finally can be driven home and walk through the old farm house filled with memories, freedom, and security. Never had I thought that I could walk away from Drake still breathing and still alive to be able to return home and now the day has arrived where I can go home. Excitement rushes through me like a teenager on his first dance or his first date and I fight back from jumping up from the wheel chair to wrap Daisy in a hug.

"I want to see Bo," I finally say cutting through the thick silence that had came between us since she wheeled me out of my room, after talking to my doctor, "I need to see Bo."

"I figured you'd want to," she sighs as my thoughts return to the last few days being held captive with Bryceton, to waking up to finding Bo there all beaten and bruised. I never felt that angry at anyone before, knowing that Drake had beaten him and to see the pain in his pain clouded baby blue eyes. The following days I sat and witnessed Drake beat him repeatedly with anything and everything, torturing and beating him instead of Bryceton. How could anyone hurt them? Tears cloud my eyes as images of Bo's funeral cloud my mind as if I was a psychic and could predict the future, seeing a life without my youngest.

Suddenly Daisy stops in front of a door after a long ride down an elevator and a long walk down a bright dull long hall way. Walking to the door she looks at me and says, "Uncle Jesse, you OK? You could go home and rest...I'd be glad to take you back here after you all rested up and all. That could be best for -"

"That isn't what's best for me! I'm fine...OK...I am fine," I sigh after interrupting her, "I just can't loose him...or anyone of you."

"I know," she tries to smile but is unsusseful at it, "Luke is in there now, but I am sure he will leave if you want some time a lone with him."

I look at her and nod numbly at her as I fight to imagine all that he had went through without me and I can't help but to feel his pain, though his past year and a half is vague to me. I watch warily as Daisy slowly opens the door and from the dark corner I spot Luke standing up at the sight of us. Slowly I motion her to move me in, to Bo's bed. Quickly my attention is averted to the last of the two beds, the one that lies occupied. The two monitors monitoring his breathing and his heart shows that both are very weak and very irregular, his four IVs drip into him, echoing off the hollow walls.

"Uncle Jesse," Luke greets us at the first bed, "how you doin'?"

"OK," I answer numbly staring past him and out of the corner of my eye I notice Luke nodding at Daisy, excusing himself to leave me with Bo. As Daisy pushes me next to his barred in bed my heart comes to a quick halt at the sight of his ghostly white skin that lies bruised and cut in most areas, at the sight of the large tube down his through and in his nostrils. His right hand and arm has been replastered into a new cast while his left hand looks swollen and bruised as well.

"I'll let you to be a lone with him, I'll be in the hall way when you need me," Daisy finally says and I can only nod at her and listen to her shoes squeak against the tile floor and to the open and close of the door.

"Bo," I finally hear myself speaking his name and I slowly begin to run my hand through his thick blond hair as I once did as he was a child only to find his forehead cut and bruised as well. "there is so much I could say to you right now...you are an amazing person, to have made it past all that you went through since I've been gone. You are here for a reason and your reason hasn't been completed yet...so please wake up, everyone here is begging and waiting for you to wake up."

Tears swell in my eyes as all I get for a response is the beeping of his monitors. "I have missed you so much since I have been gone, I am so proud of you," I pause trying to think of what to say, "I spose Luke told you that I am thinking of adopting Bryceton? I wish you were awake to tell me what you think, but I'm sure Luke tol' me best for you when sayin' he didn't approve of me adopting him due to you needing me. I'm here Bo for you...and for Bryceton. I am highly thinkin' of adopting him, all I need to do is sign papers for him, we all went through the legal options the other day. He is such a loving caring boy Bo...I think you would love him too if you gave him a chance."

I look at him fighting to figure out how his action would be if he were awake and hearing me talking to him. I sigh recalling a night in the cabin when Bryceton had called me Uncle Jesse in front Bo, Bo hadn't said anything, but his body tensed up. He didn't approve; wouldn't approve. Luke was right. I sigh fighting for the right choice as I look at Bo's still body, praying for him to awaken. "I know you wouldn't approve...you didn't seem too fond of him in the cabin, I don't know if it was a jealousy thing over me or for some other reason, I just sensed you not likin' him too much," I sigh, "but I just sense that this is what I am meant to do...that I must adopt him. I hope that you and Luke will forgive me and learn to love him as much as I do...I know you will. You just need to give him a chance. I am here for you as for Bryceton and as for Luke and Daisy. I am here for all of you."

I go silent as I take him in with hope of seeing him awake soon after him being in a coma over a week now. Within the week I have witnessed Luke's spirit drown more day by day that he lies in the coma and tears swell in my eyes at the thought of loosing Bo. If Bo were to die, if we were to loose him, it would change so much. I told Luke that Bo needed Luke, and Bo does need Luke as he always do, but I also know that Luke needs Bo as much as Bo needs Luke; even though Luke would never allow to show it or to say as Bo would show it.

Once again I pray for Bo to wake up and to be OK as I fight back the tears that start trailing down my face. "Please wake up Bo...we all need you to wake up...we can't loose you Bo," I finally say as I finish my prayers as Luke walks in behind me with Daisy and as they reach me I say, "I am going to adopt Bryceton...think that is what I am suppose to do. I feel it...it is the right thing."

Daisy puts a comforting hand on my shoulder and Luke smiles weakly at me and t hrough his eyes I can see all the sleepless nights he has spent here with Bo. "He'll love to hear that...let's go see him and get them papers signed," Daisy smiles.

"You wanna come a long?" I ask Luke.

"No thanks...I wanna stay here," he smiles looking at Bo, "I want to be here for ...for Bo."

"Look...he wouldn't want you to just sit here, he'd want you to live your life, move on," I sigh, "yeah be here, but -"

"I am gonna stay," he interrupts, "I'm not gonna move out of this hospital until he does."

"Ok," I smile at him as he leans down and gives me a hug before Daisy leads me to find Bryceton at the orphanage in town.