A/N: Hey ya'll. First off, thank you SO much for all the fantastic reviews! I know I've thanked ya'll who've signed in personally, but just thankx again to every one of ya'll...my ever wonderful annyonymous reviewers too! You have no idea how much I appreciate it. Secondly, sorry this is a wee bit short...I'm runnin' real short on time to write lately. But please bare with me...I'm tryin' my best. Enjoy!

Warnings: Squeemish warning! This chapter might be a tad gross for some of ya'll. It ain't really graphic, but if ya' really don't like it, just skip over it.

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The Luck of a Duke

Chapter 3: Agony

By: StriderX

Forty-five long minutes of cutting away at fabric, cleaning away dried blood, and cleaning the wound as gently as he could, found Luke with a difficult decision to make.

As he had briefly discerned earlier, the bullet was still lodged in Bo's shoulder. If he was sure he could get Bo to a hospital within the next few hours, he wouldn't think of attempting to remove it himself. But, frankly, he had no idea when or how they were going to get out of the house arrest they'd found themselves under. Frustrated with his options, Luke turned from his place by Bo's side to stare straight into the weary eyes of his Uncle; hoping to find a helping answer.

"What is it Luke?" Jesse dared to ask in a voice exhausted with both anxiety and terror.

Luke sighed and brushed a wrist across his forehead. "The bullet's still inside," he took a deep, weary breath before continuing. "If I knew I could get him to a hospital soon, I'd leave it for a doctor to take out. But, since I don't know that..."

Jesse knew exactly what his oldest nephew was thinking. Yes, it was a risk for Bo's sake—and sanity; removing a bullet isn't exactly painless—but it was a risk they would have to take. "Can you get it?"

Luke looked back to Bo and was instantly met with slowly sobering cobalt eyes. "Bo, can you hear me?" he asked while placing a hand on top of Bo's.

"Yeah," Bo breathed almost inaudibly.

"We have to get the bullet out," Luke did his best to keep his voice steady. "Uncle Jesse's gonna give you some more shine for the pain, but it's still gonna hurt like hell,"

Bo's eyes, though cloudy and uninterested, seemed to widen slightly with a sudden fear. The movement was so slight, though, that Luke was the only to catch it before it was gone; replaced again by the look of a weary, drunken young man. "Okay," he breathed again.

With Bo's answer, Luke nodded to Jesse, who lifted Bo's head slightly and slowly poured a good few swallows of shine down his youngest's throat. At this point, Bo didn't even resist. He simply drank as if he was drinking water. The pain in his side had grown so dim it could very well have been a bug-bite, for all Bo knew. After another half of Jesse's finest was running through Bo's system, Jesse pulled away and gave Luke room to work.

The bullet wasn't that far deep, thankfully, for both Bo and Luke's sake. Since he had cleaned the wound, Luke had long since been able to see the shimmer of metal lodged in a muscle between Bo's collar bone and shoulder. He could get it out without any permanent damage, as long as he was careful. With one last look to Jesse and Daisy, Luke took the large tweezers in hand and readied himself.

"Uncle Jesse? Roscoe? Boss? I need you to hold 'em down while I do this," in just the simple request, J.D moved to steady Bo's legs while Jesse leaned over the back of the couch to hold the blonde's good arm and torso and Roscoe sat next to Luke, ready to help wherever he was needed. Daisy watched from her seat on the other side of the room; first, to give the men room, and second, because she didn't know if she could handle watching the 'surgery' up close. "Ready?" Luke asked as more of a warning then a question.

"Okay," taking the tweezers in a steady hand, Luke unconsciously held his breath and eyed the bullet; curious how such a little thing could cause so much damage.

oooooooo

From their seats in the kitchen, the two escaped convicts watched the entire scene unfold. One was beginning to loose his cool. "I don't like this," Hammer mumbled; mostly to himself.

Suddenly, both men couldn't help but jump at the heart-wrenching scream that ripped from Bo's throat. Instinctively, the boy tried to pull away from the thing causing the excruciating pain. Luke did his best to keep steady and work quickly as Jesse yelled: "Hold him down!", while Bo attempted to rip away from his, J.D., and Roscoe's grasps.

Luke felt his eyes water as Bo's screams dissipated into cryful whimpers as hot tears streamed down his angelic face. "Please...please stop...hurts...LUKE!" even one of the conmen felt a prick in his heart as Bo pleaded through the pain.

Then, in a moment that seemed to last a terrible eternity, Luke got a good hold on the destructive bullet and swiftly drew it from its unwelcomed resting place. The instant Luke pulled, Bo cried a scream that frightened even Maudine the mule in the barn outside.

"Got it!" Luke grinned in the greatest relief. After meeting teary glances with Jesse and Daisy, Luke turned his attention back to Bo and furrowed his brow in worry. Bo was watching him with foggy eyes unfocused and seemingly lost. "Bo?" Luke called him gently; cupping his cheek with a warm hand. As soon as Luke's skin touched his cousin's, he knew something was very, very wrong. He was covered in a sheen of sweat, but freezing cold and growing paler by the minute. "Bo, please tell me if you can hear me,"

Luke could tell Bo was fighting to stay conscious as he weakly tried to focus on Luke's voice. "C-cold," he manage to rasp out; only loud enough for Jesse and Luke to hear.

Quickly, Luke looked to his Uncle, who nodded knowingly. "I'll go git' ya' a blanket, baby," Jesse patted Bo's good shoulder softly before standing and rushing to the closet.

oooooooo

"You did great, Bo," Luke tried to encourage the weary blonde before him. "The hardest part's over. Now I just need you to stay awake for me, okay?"

Bo only nodded in response, but Luke knew he understood. Luke was so proud of his cousin. Bo had never been one to take pain all that well, but today...today Bo proved to be one of the strongest men Luke had ever known. Most man can barely manage to stay conscious after being shot, drunken, and treated—quite painfully—all in less then a couple hours. But Bo: not only was he still conscious, he was still lucid enough to understand what was going on. 'Maybe this'll turn out alright afterall,' Luke thought hopefully. 'Yeah...it's got'ta end out okay…its got'ta,'

To Be Continued...

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A/N2: Will Bo live? or will this finally be the day where Duke Luck runs out? Tune in next week to see the startling continuation...