Chapter 12: Endings and Partings

When Bo was escorted back into the cell with Cooter, Daisy knew by the look on his face what he had done. She looked away, refusing to meet his blue eyes pleading for understanding. Once the guard had left, Bo sat down miserably on the floor next to Cooter's cot. He wasn't sure just how much the mechanic knew about what was going on, until Cooter shoved him away with one hand. Bo looked back and his insides twisted at the betrayed and disgusted expression on his friend's face. Cooter had endured a lot for the Duke family, and Bo had revealed the secret his broken jaw had kept safe. Daisy still refused to look at him, and he saw tears welling in her eyes. His wool coat lay crumpled on the floor where she'd thrown it. Looking for all the world like a whipped puppy, Bo settled against the wall away from Cooter and Daisy both, holding his knees tight and burying his face in his arms.

Daisy saw him shaking out of the corner of her eye, and risked a direct look. He was shuddering with quiet sobs. One part of her wanted to say something comforting, but another part of her wanted to yell and shout at him like never before. How could he do such a fool thing? There was always, always a chance, no matter what scrapes they got into! Maybe Daisy had given her cousin too much credit for his efforts since this all began. Maybe it didn't take much thought for a country boy to tangle a hound's scent trail, and only brute strength to endure the long cross-country runs and horseback rides to run Uncle Jesse's errands. She shook her head sadly as his sobs eased, and Daisy realized he'd fallen asleep. He was lucky then. Every minute without a doctor's attention was misery for Cooter, and the waiting was grinding Daisy's patience to the quick. She didn't disturb him, though that same part of her wanted to – she's worry about wringing his neck after they escaped from Brown & Company.

It was only an hour later, maybe noon, that Brown and his men roused the prisoners for the drive to the lake. Bo looked up from his place by the wall when they unlocked the cell door. The snatch of sleep hadn't done him much good, Daisy thought. He looked at their captors will a dull, defeated expression and made no fight when they ordered him to his feet. He'd made no attempt to clean off the dried blood at his nose, and looked quite pathetic overall. They tied his hands behind his back again and marched him out of the cell, doing the same to Daisy and Cooter. The miserable mechanic had to be held up by men at both sides to keep from falling, and Daisy thought he still might pass out. Then all three were brought upstairs to the cars waiting outside.

Brown smiled wickedly to see Bo's crushed expression and Daisy's continuing refusal to look in his direction. Bo even flinched when Daisy angrily brushed right past him to climb in next to Cooter in the first car. Brown waved a motion for Bo to be put into the second car instead. Then they were off. Brown didn't take all his men with him, only enough to fill the two sedans and the pickup truck, while the rest remained at the sheriff's department. Rosco and Enos were nowhere in sight, presumably still in the south end of the county where Brown had sent them to search.

The drive to the lake was quiet. Daisy divided her attention between Cooter, who was ghost-pale and silent beside her, and watching the familiar scenery pass by for what she hoped wasn't the last time. She was surprised when she realized their destination, remembering too well the events of the previous summer. It was appropriate, she thought, and gave a certain finality to it all – finishing this ordeal in the same place it had all started.

When they reached the lake, the vehicles rumbled along the dirt road circling the calm water, parking above the beachfront close to the entrance. The prisoners were herded from the cars, looking around in hope or fear. There was no one in sight. Brown approached Bo once his men had reported in.

"Where are they, boy?" he growled menacingly.

Bo bowed his head. "We're early. They might not be here yet."

Even as he spoke, the rumbling sound of an engine echoed across the lake, and a grey sedan pulled into view at the top of the cliffs on the far side. Brown's men hid from sight as two figures climbed out, looking around. Daisy's heart sank; one was dressed in denim overalls and a distinctive red cap, and the tall dark-haired one had to be Luke. One thug with binoculars confirmed their identities, looking far out across the lake. Brown pushed Bo forward from the trees.

"Call to them. Get them over here."

With a downcast look at Daisy, Bo cleared his throat and hollered at the top of his lungs, waving one arm. "Uncle Jesse! Over here!"

The figures sighted him and climbed back into the car, and soon it was rumbling down the dirt road around the lake. Daisy could only watch in horror. Cooter, at that moment, passed out, and his escorts let him crumple to the ground next to the pickup truck, unable or unwilling to hold him up. Somewhere in the bushes, something that sounded not quite like a brown trasher trilled. Furious, Daisy launched herself at Bo, knocking him to the ground despite her tied hands. Somehow, though, his hands were free, and he rolled with her assault, shoving her into the cover of the bushes.

"Stay down!" he ordered, climbing to his knees and looking around.

The calm late morning air had exploded all around them.

At the trilling signal, men in black and green camouflage burst out of the trees all around them, assault rifles at the ready. Brown's men fired back, using the vehicles for cover, surrounded on all sides. Bo looked up in time to meet Derek Brown's eyes, his face twisted in an ugly snarl as he spotted the Duke cousin. Both charged to reach the other, Brown for revenge, Bo to protect Daisy and Cooter. They collided like two freight trains in the middle of the fracas, crashing to the ground and wrestling as Brown tried to bring his gun to bear. Bo managed to knock the gun away, but left himself open to Brown's heavy fist, and was sent sprawling. He scrambled back to his feet while Brown went for the gun, and desperately tackled the rotten agent's legs. Brown went down again, and this time Bo came out on top, slugging the man for all he was worth with a heavy right fist. Then the muzzle of a rifle appeared in front of Bo's nose and he looked up, wide-eyed. It was Jack Carter, painted in camouflage like his men, and his rifle was pointed at Brown, not Bo.

Bo held Brown, one knee on the man's chest, while Carter handcuffed him, and then looked around. The fighting was done; Carter's men outnumbered Brown's two to one, and the ambush had done its job. Two green-painted men knelt by Cooter, a med kit on the ground beside them, while others gathered handcuffed prisoners on the beachfront. Bo walked over to where Daisy sat. It wasn't until he tried pulling her to her feet that he noticed his left arm hanging at the same odd angle, dislocated again. One of those tackles must have done it. Bo cut Daisy's bonds one-handed with a borrowed knife as she gaped at him wordlessly, and when she was free, she threw her arms around his neck.

"Oh Bo! I thought you…I couldn't believe it…I'm so sorry!"

Bo hugged her back with his good arm, grinning as a laugh worked its way out of him. "It's alright, cuz. All part of the plan."

Daisy stepped back and looked up at him. "I thought you said getting captured wasn't part of that plan?" she asked half-accusingly.

"Well, getting captured before getting you free wasn't, but I had to work with what I got!"

The grey sedan from across the lake had reached the gathering by now, and Jed Hawkins and Henry walked towards the Duke cousins, dressed in Luke and Jesse's clothes. Bo introduced them, and Daisy greeted both warmly with enthusiastic hugs. While Bo watched with a grin, a green-painted medic stepped up to his side, holding the med kit.

"Sir?" the medic got his attention, and Bo followed him over to the pickup truck, sitting patiently on the tailgate while the man reset his shoulder and handed him a wad of gauze for his broken nose, which was heavily streaming blood again. The knuckles on Bo's right hand were split down to the bone, courtesy of Brown's face, and the medic also tended these and a half-dozen other minor hurts he'd accumulated.

Bo looked around while he worked, smiling to see young Jack Carter in charge of the scene, giving orders with authority to the men around him. He overheard a radio transmission from an agent – a real agent – back in town, reporting that Brown's men there had been likewise mopped up and were cooling their heels in the crammed jail cells. It sounded like Rosco and Enos had returned just in time to get mixed up in the ambush, and Bo figured it would take some explaining to convince Rosco of which side was telling the truth. Bo chuckled at the thought – better Carter than him.

When the medic was done, securing his left arm in a sling until his shoulder could be examined, Bo saw Cooter being loaded into a waiting ambulance. He motioned over to Daisy, Henry, and Jed, and they quickly agreed that the Duke cousins would ride with their friend to the hospital, with Jed and Henry following behind. Carter joined the discussion with words of thanks to Bo and Henry both, and promised to catch up with them later on. Then Daisy and Bo climbed into the back of the ambulance. As the door was shut and they rumbled off, Bo noticed his headache was finally gone, and he smiled, very pleased with himself.

Hoo-eee! That was some bear trap! Bo even had me going there for a bit – I'm thinkin' that boy would have a career in Hollywood if he wanted it.

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Jesse Duke sat beside his sleeping nephew's bed, trying very hard not to look at the clock on the wall. He'd hardly finished worrying himself to death over Luke the night before, when Jed Hawkin's man Henry had arrived at the hospital with the news that Bo had been captured. Luke had just been moved out of ICU, conscious and breathing on his own – albeit still on an oxygen rebreather mask and a slue of IV antibiotics. He lay with the head of the bed raised so he was nearly sitting up, all the easier to breathe. Jesse left his side long enough to hear the news from Henry and Jed, and to contact Carter at the number Henry gave him. When Carter had explained Bo's plan, Jesse became worried all over again. Then this morning, Carter called with an update, and Henry and Jed had left to help, while Jesse watched the minutes tick by. Now it was nearly two p.m., and he should have heard something by now.

Luke stirred and opened his eyes, looking over at his uncle. The last few days had hardly been more than a blend of dreams and waking nightmares to him, but after Henry and Jed left, he'd hoarsely insisted that Jesse tell him everything that was going on. He was worried about Bo as well, but not so much as his uncle – he knew his cousin had a good head on his shoulders, when it came down to it, and Jesse's full story of the last few days had only boosted his confidence in Bo.

"Any news?" he asked in a raspy whisper through the mask covering his mouth and nose. His throat was raw, his chest sore, and he ached all over – that rib was still broken too - but he could hardly believe it when Jesse told him how sick he'd been.

The elder man looked down and saw his nephew was awake, and shook his head. "Nothing yet."

He had hardly spoken when a long-haired figure in short shorts stepped cautiously into the doorway, peering to see if she had the right room. "Uncle Jesse! Luke!" Daisy ran forward as Jesse rose to meet her, pulling her into a fierce hug.

"Oh Daisy, honey! Are you alright? Where's Bo?" Jesse asked, reluctant to let go of his little girl. It had been nearly four days since he'd seen her last, and a long four days at that.

"I'm just fine, Uncle Jesse," Daisy assured him, moving over to Luke's side and taking his hand. "Bo's downstairs somewhere, gettin' fixed up. How you feelin', Luke?" He looked awful to her eyes, but she hadn't seen him the day before.

"Better, thanks," Luke rasped, moving the mask off to speak more clearly. "How did everything go?"

"Did you know about Bo's plan too?" Daisy asked, looking from Luke to Jesse in surprise. "Seems like I'm the only one he didn't tell! No, everything worked out fine, though poor Cooter's gonna be hurtin' for a while." She explained quickly about his injuries, and told them he was already getting worked on.

"What about Bo? Was he hurt? Luke, put that mask back on, it's there for a reason," Jesse scolded.

"Bo is fine," the blond nephew in question announced from the doorway, strolling in with a wide grin. His arm was still in a sling, under orders to rest it from the doctors downstairs. His right hand was wrapped in gauze, covering his torn knuckles. "Couple of stitches, busted shoulder, and a heck of a lot of cotton shoved up my nose to stop the bleeding," he tallied, sporting an assortment of bruises and smaller cuts from the morning's painful interrogation as well. The cotton packing was none too comfortable, but after his nosebleed had continued strong for the full hour until the emergency room doctors saw him, he was glad of it. Jesse pulled him into a fierce hug as well, before releasing him to see his cousin.

Bo looked Luke over with hopeful concern. "You look better," he finally declared.

Luke smiled and stifled a sore laugh. Bo's words were a far understatement.

The Duke family talked for the better part of an hour and a half, pulling up chairs and catching up. Daisy made light of Bo's convincing performance back at the jailhouse, and Luke tried not to laugh at her descriptions. Bo blushed more than once at Jesse and Daisy's praise, but they were all three proud of him, and Luke commended him for his ambush plan. After a while, though, Jesse noticed Luke starting to grow tired again. Like a good uncle, he herded his youngest nephew and niece out of the room so Luke could rest, with the excuse of looking for Cooter to find out how he was doing.

Cooter was sleeping when they found his room, on strong painkillers, the doctor told them. The bone had been re-set and his jaw wired firmly in place, and with some rest, he'd be allowed to go home in a day or two. Of course, he'd be taking his meals through a straw for the next month, but Bo doubted the injury would slow his gregarious friend for long.

They returned to Luke's room to give him the update, only to find him sound asleep. Back out in the hallway, Henry, Jed and John Hawkins found them, and Jed suggested they get something to eat. Against Jesse's objections, John paid for their dinner at a nearby restaurant. Many thankful prayers were said at the table that afternoon. Later, after visiting with Luke again, Henry drove Bo and Daisy home to the farmhouse. They ignored most of the wreckage for the time being, said their goodnights and went to bed early, both glad to be back in their own beds again. Jesse stayed for one more night at the hospital, taking no argument from any of them.

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The next morning – Wednesday morning – after a trip to visit Cooter and Luke both at the hospital in Daisy's newly returned Dixie, she and Bo began the task of tying up the loose ends of the whole ordeal. They checked in with Rosco and Enos, the former muttering and avoiding them when he saw them, the latter delighted to be proven wrong yet again. Boss Hogg, they heard, was roaringly angry over losing his reward money for their capture, but neither of them made a point of searching him out. They stopped at Bentley's Caves and gathered the belongings left untouched by Brown's men, and stopped to thank the Kellers again on their way home. Henry had already returned Black Morgan safe and sound, and Bo held no ill will against the horse for acting like a horse, even if he was an ornery one.

Back at the farmhouse, they began picking up the wreckage left by Brown's men, making a small pile of broken items on the kitchen table. It was while they sorted and cleaned that Daisy heard Bo start coughing, and when his cough repeated a little later, she immediately sent him to bed. He was still sleeping when she finished cleaning and Jesse arrived, finally convinced by Luke to go home. Luke was stronger by the hour, no longer dependent on supplemental oxygen and able to move about his room a bit on his own. Jesse checked in on Bo and called Doc Appleby to come have a look at him – he wasn't about to take chances, after seeing Luke sick like that. While Daisy worked on a pot of chicken soup for dinner, Appleby came and went, leaving orders for Bo to rest and drink plenty of fluids, and to call him if he got worse. Jesse, Bo, and Daisy were all in bed early again that night.

Thursday, Cooter was discharged from the hospital, and Jesse drove out to pick him up in his truck. Cooter was back to his old self, though quieter than usual, and Jesse left him in the care of his family at the farm. Luke was surprised to hear that Bo was sick now as well, coughing worse this morning. Doc Appleby was called back after lunch, and this time gave a diagnosis of bronchitis, leaving a regimen of antibiotics behind and orders to go to the hospital if Bo started having trouble breathing. It was Friday afternoon before Luke was released to Jesse's care. Jesse kept Bo and Luke both strictly confined to bed, and though Luke was now used to the idea, Bo made a pretty irritable patient. Fortunately they had to make no hospital trips in the next week, though Bo was still sick even after Luke was back on his feet.

The next Thursday, a day shy of one week since Luke had come home, was Thanksgiving Day. Daisy ended up heading into the hills to hunt a turkey for the feast, while Uncle Jesse cooked up some side dishes and Luke worked on small chores around the house and farm. Quietly he slipped into his darkened bedroom and left Bo a mug of warm tea on the nighttable, liberally laced with a shot of Uncle Jesse's finest. Half of Bo's bad mood came from trouble sleeping with the constant cough, and that whiskey ought to knock him out cold for the afternoon. The other half of Bo's bad mood came from a heartache Luke shared – the continued absence of the General Lee. Agent Carter had visited over the weekend with news of the case, the thanks of his superiors, and a hefty check for Uncle Jesse covering the boys' bills, a reward, and repairs to the General. He'd given a similar check to Cooter for his bills and the replacement of the ruined car parts. Unfortunately, Carter told them, the General would have to remain impounded for evidence until Brown's trial was complete – news Bo had not taken very well, with an angry and vocal protest cut off by a fierce coughing fit.

Luke was headed out to the barn to tackle Maudine the mule's stall, when he heard a familiar sound that stopped him in his tracks. His jaw dropped speechlessly as a bright orange '69 Dodge Charger roared up the drive from the road, sliding to a dusty halt in front of the farmhouse. As Luke walked over, the engine cut and Cooter climbed out of the driver's seat, grinning as broadly as his wired jaw would allow. Of course, he had long since forgiven Bo for the scene in the jail cell.

"Cooter! How…? They…?" Luke was at a loss for words, running his hands over the finely waxed gleaming finish. "Carter told us it would be months!" he finally exclaimed, looking inside at the new upholstery. There was no sign at all of the awful crime inside.

"Ah'know," Cooter gave a muffled reply as best he could, "E'got shum 'ellas in, took 'ictures, took the sheats when Ah 'ulled 'em ou', an' gave h'm t'me Tshueshday – shaid 'ey had 'll the evidenshe 'ey need."

"You're one in a million, Cooter! Bo's gonna love this! Come on in, I'll see if he's up."

Luke bounded inside, full of energy, though he quieted his steps as he approached the bedroom door. Peering inside, he saw the mug empty and Bo sleeping quietly, and decided against waking him. Not even the General was that important. Closing the door quietly, he returned to the kitchen, where Jesse was thanking Cooter again. When they saw Luke return alone, they both reckoned his results, and Jesse turned back to Cooter, inviting him to stay for dinner. When Cooter refused, citing his jaw, Jesse appealed again.

"Are you sure? I've got some crawdad bisque on here," he lifted the lid to one pot simmering on the stovetop. The smell was enough to make Cooter reconsider and happily accept.

"Plus, you can be here when Bo sees the General. He's sure gonna want to thank you!" Luke added.

Daisy came home shortly after that bearing a medium-sized turkey, which she quickly cleaned and put in the waiting oven. Cooter passed the afternoon helping Luke with his chores, which still tired out the eldest Duke cousin. Hours later, while Daisy set the table, Bo emerged sleepily from the bedroom, headed for the bathroom to wash up. About fifteen minutes later, Luke and Cooter passed him, clean and dressed, as they went in to wash their hands and he walked out towards the living room. They both chuckled when they heard his yelp of surprise from out front, followed by the front door banging shut, and Uncle Jesse yelling after him to get back inside and put some shoes on. After inspecting his beloved car, Bo obeyed, entering the kitchen again just as Luke and Cooter did. Luke hadn't seen such a delighted grin on his face in oh, two weeks, since mudding in Chickasaw.

"Cooter! Did you bring the General back?.!" Bo asked. He didn't wait for an answer, but grabbed the mechanic in a fierce bear hug. Even a brief coughing fit didn't douse his enthusiasm. It was better than Christmas.

"Well, are you boys gonna stand there all day?" Daisy chided as she set the roasted turkey on the table amidst the other dishes. Only slightly chastened, the boys all took their seats and waited as Uncle Jesse sat down at the head of the table. All five folded their hands and bowed their heads as Jesse said grace.

"Dear Lord, we thank thee for this bounteous feast before us, and for keeping our family and friends safe this year. Bless us, Lord, in these months to come, that we may have the strength to stay united and overcome. Amen."

The meal was long and lazy, and the boys especially lingered, picking at bits here and there. Cooter had to be content with his crawdad bisque, which was a far sight better than his other meals of late. At last, though, even Bo was done picking, and they all retired to the family room, discussing this and that.

Luke's crowning achievement of the evening was convincing Uncle Jesse to let him drive Cooter home, and more still, to take Bo with him. Both boys were in sore need of getting out of the house, and after much pleading, Jesse relented, as long as Luke drove. He fussed a bit as they got ready to go, making Bo put on an extra jacket, still not quite ready to let either one of them out of his sight – especially after their lastride in the General! Still giving assurances that it was just a little trip down the road, Cooter, Luke, and Bo headed out the door, the latter two running to jump into the car once more. Bo climbed in the back seat to leave Cooter the front, Luke turned the key, and they were off.

Once out of sight from the farmhouse, Bo leaned forward and tapped Luke's shoulder with a grin. "Hey Luke, how 'bout we make a little detour on the way back?…"

"Just what I was thinkin', cuz."

Well, if that don't beat all! Just goes to show, you can't keep a good Duke down – that is to say, any Duke at all. See y'all next time!

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The End