Luke didn't say anything more as he felt an uncomfortable yet familiar feeling rise up in his chest. Looking at his companions, he began to hyperventilate!

"Luke! Luke what's wrong!" Daisy exclaimed as her cousin lay there, weak except for the spasms that claimed his oxygen.

"Just breathe, boy. Breathe." Uncle Jesse soothed him, trying to get Luke to focus on what was happening and calm down somewhat. While Bo had asthma as a child, a condition he couldn't control without an inhaler, Luke challenged his cousin with a controllable breathing malfunction which was always brought about when he became extremely upset about something. Usually those times of heavy upset had corresponded with Bo's attacks, frightening episodes which Luke did not understand in his youth. Poor Jesse and Lavinia frequently found themselves pulling double duty, dealing with two boys struggling for air at the same time.

As the machines began to go off, Dr. Kilmer and Martha rushed back into the room. Dr. Kilmer quickly accessed the situation and, while he didn't ask Jesse to leave, he did insist that everyone stand back until they could get Luke calmed.

Using the same technique Jesse had, Dr. Kilmer more or less stood over Luke's bed and commanded the young man to calm down.

"Just take it easy, Luke." Dr. Kilmer commanded more firmly than Jesse had. "Breathe. That's an order." He continued in his old-school army voice.

That voice unconsciously took Luke back to his old Marine days where there was a heavy penalty to be paid for failing to follow directions. Bringing his focus to his breathing, he forcefully took control of his runaway lungs, managing breaths that went deeper and deeper until he was finally able to stop and let them continue with their unsupervised normalcy as the machines quieted once again.

With that, Martha whirled around to face Jesse, Daisy, and Cooter. "You…." She began, pointing to Cooter. "Can go back to your room and get in bed. And you two….." She continued, bringing her burly finger back to Jesse and Daisy. "………can make yourselves scarce as well. I don't know what you people said to him but we can't have him getting upset like this, not this soon after surgery."

Luke managed to turn his head toward the nurse and ask. "Surgery?"

Dr. Kilmer looked from Luke to Jesse in surprise. "You mean you didn't tell him?"

Jesse shook his head as if he were coming out of a state of semi-shock. "Uh, no doc. We jist come in and all we had time ta do is 'tell 'im how happy we were he's awake and ta get his rest so's he could get outta here. Then all of a sudden he starts this hyperventilatin' on us."

Luke simply shook his head with a pained expression on his face. "Bo." He said simply.

"Relax, don't worry about Bo right now." Dr. Kilmer insisted. "Just worry about taking care of that kidney of his. It had quite a journey of it's own and needs the rest every bit as much as you do."

Luke blinked a couple of times as he looked from Dr. Kilmer to the grins held by his friend and family and then, back to the doctor. "You mean……I…I got the transplant? I got Bo's kidney?"

Dr. Kilmer nodded as nurse Martha decided the demands she had given the family to leave were futile and snuck out to deal with other patients. "It's tucked safe and sound in there, and doing quite a nice job too. It's produced a lot of output these last few days while you've been snoozing away in dreamland."

"But……" Luke shook his head. "Bo was hurt. Last time I saw him was…..on the floor………….bleeding somethin' awful. Dear Lord." Luke stopped, managing to raise his hands to his head at last and running his fingers through his hair until he grabbed wads in his fist and choked back a sob.

"What's wrong?" Daisy asked, rushing to his bedside once again and putting her hand on his arm, offering comfort.

"What'd that Settles do to him?" Luke asked as his eyes were squeezed shut. "If I'd just listened to them….agreed to that experimental surgery………."

"Now jist hang on Luke." Uncle Jesse interrupted. "I don't know what's goin' through that head of yours but it sounds ta me like ya think Bo is dead."

Luke sniffed a bit as he looked at his uncle. "How else would I have gotten his kidney? And why else would you be dressed in black?"

As Cooter looked at Jesse and Daisy's attire, he was perhaps the first one to realize that, while everyone else had been fretting over all that had been happening the past three days, this was the first conscious thought Luke had since he had blacked out at Sherri Settles' residence as many days before."

"Ya got it all wrong, buddyro." Cooter insisted, standing up so Luke would be forced to look at him. He then told his friend everything that had happened, about how Bo was bleeding because Settles had painfully extracted the kidney from him, how Settles had led Cooter on a wild chase with the kidney as he remained in denial concerning his daughters death, how, with Cooters help, the doctor had narrowly escaped death when the mechanic had pulled him back over the rail and out of the path of an oncoming car. And how when the police finally arrived on the scene, they spotted the cooler and having been notified of the situation by Major Edwards, had rushed the kidney to the Veteran's Hospital where, with Jesse's consent on Bo's behalf, the kidney had been given to Luke.

"But, Bo's not dead? He's really not?" Luke asked with urgency, hoping he could believe Cooter.

Cooter shook his head. "He's two doors down from you, room 244." Cooter revealed. "Bo had a big open wound and had to have multiple transfusions, and you just got yourself a transplant, so the doctor don't want ya'll bein' with each other right now, don't want ya'll bein' near many people, as a matter of fact."

"We don't want you boys to be exposed to many germs right now, including each others." Dr. Kilmer explained. "It would delay you're recovery, and believe me, no one in this room wants that."

As Jesse and Daisy shook their heads in agreement, Luke looked seriously at the doctor once again. "So Bo's gonna be okay? And I've got his kidney?"

"I assure you, he'll be just fine." Dr. Kilmer assured him. "Dr. Settles of course lacerated some veins that fed into the kidney, but still, he didn't do any cutting on Bo that would risk hurting that kidney. Bo's most serious injury was the loss of blood which we were able to control and replenish once he arrived here at the hospital."

Dr. Kilmer shook his head and smiled as he looked at Luke. "I thought Settles was a crazy man with a lot of crazy ideas, but even I have to admit he was right on the money when he tried to convince us Bo's kidney would be perfect for you."

"But…" Luke turned back to Jesse and Daisy. "Why are you dressed that way?"

"You remember, Mr. Settles? Dr. Settles father?" Cooter asked.

As Luke nodded, Jesse continued for Cooter. "If it hadn't of been for his work and determination in caring for Bo that day, we could have easily lost him. The very least we felt we could've done fer tha man is pay our respects at Rebekka's funeral."

Remembering something Cooter had said earlier, Luke turned back to his friend. "So you saved Settles life?"

"Don't worry, Lucas." Cooter replied. "It's doubtful he'll ever be past the padded rooms and art classes, but if he is, the rest of his time 'ill be spent at the state pokey."

Luke swallowed as he took everything in. "I wanna see Bo." He announced.

"But Luke, you've jist woke up and the doctor said…."

"I said I want to see him. I gotta know he's okay for myself, Uncle Jesse. I just got to!"

"Well…." Uncle Jesse began, shaking his head before he looked at the doctor.

"It's against my better judgment…." Dr. Kilmer began. "…..but after what you boys have been through to get where you are, I think it's only fair that I try to work something out.

XXXXXXXXX

Even as Luke lay in the bed, he seemed to gain more strength as the minutes passed by. A half hour after it was agreed that the boys would see one another, Luke had managed to sit up in bed without a tremendous amount of pain. As he leaned back against the inclined pillow, rubbing his hands together, Daisy couldn't help but think he'd make a handsome doctor as they all wore the masks that Dr. Kilmer had finally insisted on as part of the visitation deal.

"Here he comes, just as polished and pretty as can be!" A shapely blond nurse announced, holding open the door for Uncle Jesse as he wheeled a chair inside. Sitting in that chair was a blue-robe clad Bo Duke, almost not looking like himself as the nurse had saw fit to slick his long hair back before outfitting him with a mask of his own.

As Jesse wheeled Bo near the bed, the boys tossed all concerns for germs to the side as they clasped each other's hands and squeezed with what strength they had.

"Bo." Luke began, a grin on his face. "You look good. Real good. The last time I saw you, I thought you were…….." He trailed off unable to finish.

"That's funny." Bo replied. "Last couple of times I saw you, you didn't look much better off."

"I guess not, not if I've been here for three days." Luke replied with a slight chuckle.

"Uh, Daisy, why don't we go down the hall 'nd sit with Cooter, give the boys here a chance to talk." Uncle Jesse suggested, looking over his nephews with a paternal smile.

"Might as well Uncle Jesse. If I stay any longer, I'm gonna end up breakin' Dr. Kilmer's rule and kissin' on both of them." She replied with a giggle. With that, they left the room along with Bo's nurse.

The boys sat silently for a few minutes before Luke finally said. "Bo, I'm sorry. This is all my fault."

Bo looked at him bewildered. "Good Lord, Luke. For what?"

"For turnin' you down, I mean, back when you first offered me this kidney." Luke figured. "Maybe if I'd been a little more open-minded about it and agreed to it straight out, maybe Settles wouldn't have gone crazy on us."

Bo smirked. "I have me a feelin' Settles knew exactly what he's gonna do all along, Luke. You don't owe me an apology. If anybody's got any apologizin' to do, it's me."

Now it was Luke's turn to smirk. "Now how in the world did you end up the victim in all of this and figure you owed me an apology?

"'Cause." Bo began. "You're always tellin' me I'm too trustin' of people, and I never listen to you. If I'd a took that advice when I first met up with Dr. Dewberry tryin' to git rid of them nightmares, you'd never have ended up takin' that drug that caused all this mess to start with."

"Bo, me takin' that drug wasn't the beginning of the mess. That goes back to when the Mantooths were crazy enough to bury you alive and think they could get away with it."

"And they did that 'cause I stopped them from robbin' the bank last year. So you see, it's still my fault." Bo argued.

"Bo, we stopped them from robbin' the bank together. And it was just by chance. We wouldn't have even been there if it weren't for us tryin' to get the mortgage in at the last minute.

And so the boys fell silent for a few moments, neither willing to place the blame for their situation on the other and stubbornly insisting they carry it on their own shoulders.

"Well that settles it then." Luke confirmed after a few minutes. "All this is Boss's fault."

"Huh?" Bo asked, looking at him in confusion.

"Yeah." Luke said, managing a grin. "If he wasn't so stubborn about the mortgage payment gettin' there at a certain time, we never woulda run in to those robbers!"

"You're right." Bo replied, perking up with a grin of his own. "This is all Boss's fault!"

Luke's brow creased in thought. "You think we should sue him for emotional damage?"

"Nah." Bo grinned, waving his hand as if to sweep the matter under the rug. "With our luck, 'Judge Hogg' would preside over the first hearing, and we know how far things would go if that were the case!"

As the boys laughter died down once again, Bo looked at Luke. "I'll admit it was a rough road, gettin' here. But if that's what it took for us to arrive at this outcome, I'd travel it again."

Luke offered him a sincere smile. "Well, I guess I gotta admit it'll feel good not worryin' about bein' hooked to a machine anymore. Many more times in there, and you'd stole my title of Duke Poker Champion."

"Hey, just 'cause we ain't goin' to the treatments anymore don't mean I can't still take that title." Bo joked.

As the laughter died down again, Luke looked at Bo. "You think you can get up from there?"

To answer his question, Bo rose from the wheelchair, although it was with some effort and pain clearly showed on his face. But when he was done, he was standing over Luke's bed, a look of triumph on his face.

Smiling, Luke pulled down on Bo's arm, causing the younger man to bend over. Once he was low enough, he wound his arms around him into a hug. "Thanks Bo. We always felt like we's part of one another in some way. Guess now we are."

"Yeah, I guess so." Bo replied. "Luke?"

"What's up?" Luke asked as he let his cousin go, allowing him to sit on the side of the bed.

"Things look alright again, for now. But I's just wonderin' if your famous gut feelin' told you that we ain't seen the end of this yet?"

"Unfortunately Bo…." Luke began. "My gut does tell me that we are gonna have problems again in the future."

"Oh no!" Bo exclaimed, crestfallen. Luke was usually right about these things. "What do you reckon's gonna happen? You think Settles will escape? You think the hospital's gonna change their mind and charge us for all these bills we've run up?"

"Actually." Luke continued, looking at Bo's hair. "I think we're gonna have a lot of trouble gettin' you to lose that butt ugly hairdo after what that cute nurse told you."

"Ugly hairdo?" Bo replied with another smirk as Jesse and Daisy came back in. "You gotta lot to talk about. Look at yours. If people didn't know any better they'd think you's tryin' out for a Mike Brady look alike contest."

"Well Uncle Jesse." Daisy said with a smile as she looked at her cousins. "Sounds like things are startin' to get back to normal."

"Honey, a few weeks of normal are exactly what this family needs!" Jesse replied.

So Luke got his kidney, Cooter and Bo came out relatively unscathed, and the bad guy ended up right where he belonged. Can't find nothin' wrong with that.

But I sorta feel like ole' Bo. At this point it'd be unnatural to wonder what's happenin' next. But as they say, bad things do come in three's, and folks, there's just some laws of nature that apply to the Duke family as well. And since they've met their quota, I just know, or at least hope, that for them, this is truly, finally……..

THE END