At long last, here's the final chapter! Thanks to all of you who have left reviews along the way…it has been so encouraging, and it has helped inspire different twists and changes in the story in ways I never expected. The story turned out better than it was when I first started writing it because of all of you. :)

Special thanks to Jordyn, whose comments gave me the nudge I needed to go with my original idea regarding the dog's name—Chapter ten now is different than it was when I first posted it. I had thought I was okay with some changes I'd made during the final edit, but I realized that I honestly liked it better before. So I have learned that I should always stick to my gut feeling, and once again I have exercised my writer's (and woman's) prerogative to change my mind as many times as I like. ;) I am much happier with the end result. Never underestimate the power of feedback! :)

I do have a couple more ideas in the works…possibly a oneshot if I get it tweaked just right, and there's another multi-chapter story that's been slowly coming together for a few months now. It's going to be a sequel of sorts to this story…It didn't start out as a sequel originally, then I thought: Hey, why not? So that's what's coming down the pike. Updates will be posted in my profile as usual.

Later!

- Flynne :)

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– Chapter Ten –

"What's in a Name?"

Bo and Cooter finished the work on Miz Tisdale's bike in record time, and then the ol' General finally got a new rear window and his new coat of paint. But even in Hazzard, there's more excitin' things to do than watch paint dry; so Bo an' Luke hitched a ride out to the Boar's Nest with Cooter to grab a bite for lunch and pick up a shopping list from Daisy. Cooter went back to his garage to work and the dog stayed with him to snooze while the boys ran their errands. By the time Bo and Luke were done, the General was dry, the dog was awake, and the sun was just startin' to set.

Bo settled back in the driver's seat as the General cruised past the edge of town and hit the open dirt road that led home. His left hand rested casually on the steering wheel while he reached out with his right hand to scratch the dog's ears. The animal's pale yellow fur shone red-gold in the rays of the setting sun, and his tail thumped against the seat as he enjoyed the ride from his place between the two cousins.

"Not a bad day, huh, Luke?" Bo asked, glancing over at his cousin.

"Not a bad day at all," Luke agreed. "The General's fixed and we still got a little left over." Luke patted his pocket where he had tucked the few remaining bills. "And thanks to the mutt, we got a friend on the police force."

"Who?"

"Flash. Who else?"

Bo chuckled. "I'm sure that'll come in handy next time Rosco pulls us over," he said sarcastically.

"Every little bit helps," Luke said. The General suddenly rattled over a rutted part of the road, and the smile on his face disappeared as he was unexpectedly jostled against the door.

Bo looked over in concern as he saw Luke carefully shift position, favoring his right side. "Sorry about that. I didn't think those ruts were that deep. How bad is that shoulder still botherin' you?"

"Well, it's a broken bone."

Bo gave him an apologetic glance. "I'm sorry."

"Nah, don't worry about it. It don't hurt that bad."

"If you say so. I'm still slowin' down, though." Bo tapped the brake a little and started watching the road more carefully. He sat quietly for a moment or two with a slightly troubled expression on his face before he said slowly, "Hey, Luke, I've been thinkin' about something."

"What?"

"Well—that night when this whole mess happened, Brock had three other men with him. I ain't seen hide nor hair of 'em since and I don't know if that's a good thing or not."

"You worried they're still out there?"

Bo shrugged uncertainly. "Well, I don't see why I should be. They didn't seem to care one way or the other what happened to us—it was Brock that was mad. He's outta the way now, so there shouldn't be anything to worry about." He gave himself a little shake to get rid of the chilling memory of Saturday night before turning to his cousin with a small smile. "Guess it just shook me up a little, nearly losin' you and thinkin' I might lose myself, too."

Luke winced. "That ain't something I wanna repeat."

"Amen, end of story, and shut the gate," Bo agreed. He sighed a little as he stared down the empty road. "Luke, you realize this all happened 'cause this here dog didn't look both ways before he crossed the street?"

"I s'pose it did. 'Course, knowin' Boss, he woulda found a way to pin his problems on us, anyway…and you know, if it weren't for the mutt, Brock woulda killed us in our sleep."

"Believe me, Cuz, I ain't never gonna forget that."

xxxxx

When Bo and Luke got home, they found Jesse in his armchair with a newspaper while Daisy—who had gotten off her mid-day shift several hours before—sat cross-legged on the couch with a pile of mending beside her.

"I made you fellas some sandwiches," she said, looking up from a ripped seam in one of Luke's shirts. "They're in the fridge."

"Daisy, you're an angel," Bo said gratefully. "I'm starving."

"Yeah, he's been complainin' all the way home," Luke said dryly, earning himself a wry look from his cousin. He joined Daisy on the couch while Bo came in balancing two loaded plates in his left hand and two glasses of lemonade in his right. Bo handed Luke his dinner and sat down on the rug, in front of where Daisy was sitting on the couch.

"So how did everything go in town today?" Jesse asked, folding the newspaper and putting it aside. "Daisy said you told her an interestin' story at lunch but she wouldn't tell me what it was. Said I should hear it from you."

"Well, things went just fine," Bo replied. "If you don't count the little run-in we had with Boss."

Luke nudged him with his foot. "It wasn't that bad."

Jesse frowned. "All right, what happened this time?"

Bo's eyes widened innocently. "You hear that, Luke? He says it like he thinks we're in trouble!"

Luke shook his head. "Can't imagine where he gets those crazy ideas."

Jesse gave his nephews an exasperated look. "Five seconds, boys, and then I'm gonna shake it outta you. And don't talk with your mouth full, Bo."

So Luke told Jesse the details of what had happened that day: how Boss had stopped Rosco from giving them a ticket and then given them "reward money" for the General Lee, only to turn around and try to trap them again with a second copy of the picture he'd taken of the General loaded down with shine.

"He did what? Jesse growled. "That dratted little—"

"Hey, hey, take it easy!" Bo cut in. "It's okay now…Boss dropped it and Flash ate it."

Daisy laughed as she tightened a knot in her thread. "Good ol' Flash."

Jesse just sighed and shook his head. "J.D. is never gonna learn. Lucky for him he ain't as smart as he thinks he is." Bo glanced over at the dog that was sitting a few feet away from him, watching hopefully as he ate his sandwich. He pulled the crust off his bread and tossed it over, watching in amusement as the dog caught it eagerly in midair.

"That ain't all we did today," Luke continued. "We think we got a name for that dog."

Daisy looked up. "You finally did it! What'd you come up with?"

"Well, we might have it. We're thinkin' about callin' him Fender."

"Hey, that's pretty good," she said thoughtfully. "Y'all spend so much time in cars, it makes sense that your dog would have a name to go with it…'specially since he seems to like ridin' with you so much."

"Yeah, that's true…but he kinda helped us along a little," Bo put in.

"What do you mean?"

"Well…" the young man chuckled with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "…the fender is the spot where he peed on Boss Hogg's car."

Daisy gasped. "Bo! You're terrible!" She bopped him on the top of his head, but she was already giggling helplessly.

"Ow!"

"Hey, it works!" Luke said, coming to his cousin's defense.

Bo rubbed his head, feigning hurt. "Daisy-girl, you got a mean streak hidden behind that sweet face of yours."

"Oh, as if I could hurt you, you big baby." Daisy leaned forward to drop a kiss on top of his head and ruffle his hair with her palm. "Feel better now?"

Bo tipped his head back to grin at her upside-down. "Yep!"

"Anyway, it wasn't just Boss' car," Luke went on. "Didn't you see the General? I think Bo spent half the day Monday tryin' to fix our fender where it got banged up when the dog run us off the road."

Daisy considered this. "Well…okay, that's better. I can live with that," she conceded.

Bo looked back up at Daisy with a devious gleam in his eyes. "Hey, Daisy, if you don't like the name 'Fender', we could always go with what Cooter suggested. He thought 'Robbie' would be a good name. Hey!—ow!" He jumped as Luke kicked him on the leg, only to find himself on the receiving end of another thump from Daisy. "Uncle Jesse!"

Jesse held in his laughter, forcing a chiding look onto his bearded face as he returned to his seat. "Now, Bo, I think you had that comin' to ya," he said. "But Daisy, try not to beat up on the boys…you know they ain't gonna hit back."

"Yes, sir." Daisy gave Bo a look that was half exasperation, half humor. "Okay, you win. Fender it is." When Bo just rubbed the top of his head without answering, she patted his shoulder affectionately and asked, "You need another kiss for your noggin?"

Bo folded his arms across his chest with an air of wounded pride. "I think I do."

Daisy kissed her hand and scrunched her fingers through his honey-blond curls. "There."

Luke smirked. "Hey, Bo—"

Bo scowled and leveled his finger at his cousin. "Not from you." Luke snickered.

The dog trotted back into the room, climbing on Bo to push his muzzle against the surprised young man's face. "Hey!" Bo protested. "Not from you, either!" The dog immediately hopped away and trotted to the kitchen door once again, where he stood wagging his tail and looking expectantly over his shoulder.

Jesse cleared his throat. "Bo, I think he's tryin' to tell you that you'd better open that door for him."

"Oh! Oh, right. Hold on, dog, I'm comin'. We don't wanna have to name you 'Carpet'." Bo scrambled to his feet and hurried to open the door. He left it propped open so the dog could get back inside and made his way back to his spot on the rug in front of the couch.

Daisy rolled her eyes. "I don't know what I'm gonna tell the girls when they ask how our dog got his name."

"Hey, it's a good name!" Luke said defensively. "Anyway, don't blame me—it was Bo's idea."

"Sure was!" Bo said. "So now when your pretty girlfriends wanna know who the smart fella was who named your dog, you can just send 'em my way."

Daisy just laughed at him and leaned forward to rest her chin on his head as she hugged him from behind. "You are impossible!" she chided.

"I know," Bo replied with a playful smile. "But that's why ya love me."

The sound of pattering feet drifted in from outside as the dog bounded up the back steps and into the house. He paused halfway past the kitchen table to lick up a few stray crumbs before ambling up to Bo and plopping down in his lap.

"Looks like it's official," Luke said. "Guess this means we need to go get him a license tomorrow, don't we, Bo?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Well, Fender, welcome to the family," Jesse said, rising from his armchair to give the half-pricked ears a scratch. "Though I ain't sure you know exactly what you're gettin' into."

Luke laughed. "Uncle Jesse, that there is the story of our lives. I'd say that pup is right where he belongs."

Well, friends, after a few days of hi-jinks, looks like things are back to normal—whatever "normal" might be when it comes to Bo an' Luke.

Now, how long you reckon that's gonna last?

– END –