Author's Note: This is Bo and Luke's life together, from the first year Bo was with them, until when Luke leaves for the Marines, and one year after he gets back. It is all different events, but they allare tied together bymore or less the same phrase. I thought it might be fun to tell their lives together by something that keeps happening. This follows on the same line as 'It's Cold,' and some of the events are even similar with the ages. This time it is the ending phrase taht is the same, not the beginning.
Big thanks to Earendil Eldar for beta work.
Warning: The warning is placed here for vinsmouse, who wanted a spew warning here, claiming it might be a bad idea to drink while reading the funnier parts. So please keep in mind that drinking any kind of beverage while reading this, might be hazzard'ous to the health of your screen.
Disclaimer: The Duke Boys are not mine, I don't own the Duke boys, nor the General Lee. I promise that once I'm through with them, there will be nothing broken that a trip to Cooter's garage can't fix….
I've Missed You, Part Three
Luke had said he wanted to get some time alone to think, and when Bo asked their uncle about it Jesse had just smiled and said it seemed to be about some girl. He also told him that he should just let Luke be for some time. However the nine year old boy thought he had given his cousin plenty of time to think.
How much did you need to think about a girl anyway? If they were pretty you kissed them, and that was it. It really wasn't anymore complicated than that.
He hadn't seen where Luke went off to either, but he had been looking for him for some time now. He was tired of only having had his own company. So he had started looking for Luke. Going to all the places where he thought he might be.
It was stupid, he really couldn't find him, usually he knew where to find Luke, the same as Luke knew where to find him, but now he didn't have any luck at all.
Finally he had to give up and go back to the farm. It was hard to decide whether he should be glad or angry when he saw that Luke was already there. He pouted for a bit when Luke gave him a confused look.
"What's he matter with ya Bo?" Luke asked, a bit concerned about the look on Bo's face.
"I've been looking for ya all day." Bo stated.
"Why?"
"Because I've missed ya."
Bo sat with his elbows propped up on the window frame and sniffed loudly. His nose was either so blocked he couldn't breath, or so runny it didn't matter how often the wiped it.
He was looking out the window to see when Luke would be coming back.
Daisy was at a sleep over with some of her friends, and so Luke and Bo was going to sleep over at Cooter's place. He had been looking forwards to it ever since it was decided. He was only ten, and he had never really done that before, and it would have been so much fun.
Then because he caught a cold, Jesse wouldn't let him go. It wasn't fair that he should be made to stay at home. Still his uncle told him he had no business going anywhere as long as he had a fever, and there was no point in objecting when his uncle used that tone of voice.
Jesse had tried to cheer him up though, making him his favorite food for supper, he had also given him both lemonade and ice cream for his sore throat.
If you were sick, having uncle Jesse look after you wasn't really bad. It was just that Bo really missed going with his cousin, and he missed his cousin all by himself. Luke was great, he was the best older cousin anyone could have.
Now Luke should be home any minute again, and Bo sniffed again. He just wouldn't leave the window to get himself a handkerchief, and the one in his pocket was so soggy it was of no use anymore.
"Hey, there Bo, how are ya feeling now."
Bo looked up as Luke came in from the other door.
"Bout the same." He said. "Did ya have fun?"
"Yeah." Luke nodded. "And ya know what, Cooter said we could booth come over soon as ya lose that cold, how's that sound."
"Great, Bo grinned. Cause I've missed ya."
Bo stood with his arms over the fence, if he had been any older than eleven, he could have gone hunting with Luke and Cooter, he just knew it. Normally Cooter never thought he was to small, but they said that hunting could be dangerous. Maybe he could have talked Cooter into letting him come anyway, but not uncle Jesse.
He was very firm that even if the two older boys were going, Bo was not.
Cooter had given him a pat on the shoulder and told him he would get to come along when he was older. He knew Cooter wasn't just saying that to be nice, he meant it.
It just seemed like so very far away, when he got older. He got to hear that awfully often. That he would be allowed to do more things when he got older. There just never seemed to be something he was old enough for, well, he was always told he was to old for whining about it, but that didn't really count.
They had been gone since yesterday, and Bo still thought that it wasn't fair that he was always to little for that kind of things. He had been awake most of the night, because he was not used to being alone in the room, and now he was tired as well.
Then they came back, and Bo had to grin over the fact that they were empty handed. Obviously they hadn't gotten anything.
Cooter just laughed about it thought, he didn't care enough to get upset about it.
"So, what've ya been doing when we were gone?" Luke asked as he draped an arm over his younger cousin's shoulder.
"What do ya think Luke." Bo frowned. "I've missed ya."
Bo felt really good about sitting in the pick up truck, fitting snuggly between his uncle and his older cousin. They had picked Luke up after he had been away on a week long trip with the school.
It had been a very long and boring week at the farm. Except the chores there wasn't really a lot of things for him to do. There were more of those though since he were doing Luke's share as well as his own.
When Jesse had asked him if he wanted to go along and pick Luke up, Bo couldn't have moved any faster, and Jesse laughed at him when he came running.
Bo didn't care though, he wished that his uncle would drive faster.
Then he had been running again, to embrace Luke as he caught sight of him, nearly knocking him over.
The first few moments on the way home he had tried to tell Luke about everything that had happened, but since nothing really had happened, it wasn't really all that exciting. So instead he twisted around a bit so he could look at him.
"It was boring when ya was away." He stated.
"I bet." Luke smiled as he ruffled his hair.
Bo smiled at that as he went on. "I've missed ya."
Bo looked up as he thought he heard something, but it was nothing. Luke had gone with a girl, and left him all alone at home. All alone, it wasn't as if he was so small he was afraid to be home all alone. He was thirteen, big enough by far.
It was just that it was so very boring to sit home all alone in the evening. He had turned on the radio, and he had read some car magazines. Then as it grew late he turned off the radio, but he wanted to wait for Luke.
Jesse and Daisy was away, and they had never told Luke he had to stay home. They trusted booth of the boys to take care of themselves, and they kind of liked being trusted in that way.
Luke had still promised he wouldn't be too late, so that the two of them could have a night snack before going to bed. Partially to make it up to Bo that he had been left all alone, but also because he had known he would be hungry when he got back home.
Now he grinned as he saw Bo shooting to his feet the same time as the screen door slammed shut. "Hey there, had a great time?" He asked with a grin as Bo glared at him.
"Well, what do ya think?" Bo demanded.
"I think you are about bored out of your mind." Luke chuckled.
"Yeah." Bo nodded. "It was kinda boring here, I've missed ya."
Luke sighed as he looked over at the other bed, Bo was shifting uneasily in his sleep. The fever had gone down again, and then up once more in the night. The Doc still said there was no need for them to worry though. Not as long as the fever didn't get to high. He said that one of the reasons he was sick for so long was because he had been just worn out when he got sick.
Jesse had agreed, he claimed Bo had been so anxious about Luke getting back that it had plumb worn him down.
Luke wasn't sure he liked the sound of that. It sounded almost as if Bo had been worried about whatever Luke would really care about him anymore, it sounded as if he had been worried about that. It was just so easy to imagine how Bo felt about it. Seeing as how he felt much the same way.
Bo had done some growing when he was away, when he left the kid, he was still taller than him. Yet now it was the seventeen year old one that was the tallest one. It was a strange change to get used to. Especially since Bo was still so skinny Luke bet he could hide behind a flag pole, with room to spare.
Yet he had feared that now that he had been gone for so long Bo would have done another kind of growing. That he would have gotten so many friends that he didn't really need Luke for anything anymore.
It wasn't true, Bo was popular around the school, he found out about that fast enough. The girls loved him, and the boys liked him, but Bo still needed Luke as much as ever. Not only because he was sick either. He had been home for about two weeks before Bo got sick, and it was clear that they both needed each others just like before.
It had been very strange not having Bo around, he had taken him for granted for so long. To think that when Bo got to them, he had not really wanted him. He had been so used to being the only child in the house that he hadn't really wanted to share it with some other child. Having lost his parents himself he would never have begrudge the baby someone to take care of him.
He just didn't know whether he wanted a baby cousin or not.
His aunt and uncle had been right though, he couldn't really imagine life without Bo now, especially not after having had a taste of it.
He wished he could just make Bo better, all the plans they had made that was now on hold. All the fun they had been looking forward to, but it just had to wait. If he tried to get out of bed, Bo just kept falling over sideways. Most of all though, he just couldn't stand to see his cousin suffering in any way.
He glanced at the watch, it was about time to give Bo some of the medicine that the doctor had left him, and he had a treat for him as well.
He measured up a spoonful from the bottle into a cup and swirled it around with the spoon for a bit.
"Bo, time for the medicine." He said softly as he shook his shoulder gently. While he didn't like to wake him when he was sleeping, he was supposed to take the mixture regularly. "Come on Bo, wake up kiddo."
Bo stirred with a groan and Luke smiled as he tried to twist away, turning his head on the pillow, even while his hand fumbled around after Luke.
Luke took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "It's time for you to take that medicine Bo." He smiled.
"Aw, Luke, feel bad enough already." Bo groaned. "Stuffs awful."
"yeah I know." The last time he took it he had nearly retched. So it wasn't just Bo who was whining, it really tasted that bad. "Ya have to though."
"Aw, Luke." Bo groaned, but when Luke put the cup to his lips he still drank, Luke found it flattering that his younger cousin trusted him that much. Then Bo blinked surprised as something registered even through the fever that had muddled his brain the last time.
"Wasn't so bad." He mumbled as he gave Luke a questioning look.
"That would be because there was more honey there than it was medicine." Luke grinned.
"Thanks." Bo gave him a look that was as grateful as it was sleepy.
"I thought it would make it easier for ya." Luke said as he smoothed out his hair.
"Did, thanks Luke." Bo mumbled his eyes drifted close again. "Luke." He mumbled sleepily.
"Yeah." Luke thought he might be need something more before he went fully asleep.
"Ya know when ya was away in the Marines."
"Yeah." Bo sounded as if he was pretty much talking in his sleep, and it made Luke smile.
"Ya know all that time, I've really missed ya."
The End
Thank you all for reading, I'll do my very best to reply to all signed reviews, Elenhin