Chapter 20

It Should Have Ended so Differently

Well folks, its all quiet over at the Duke Farm. Has been for a while now. What with Bo 'n all. Things just ain't been the same without that boy around. Four in the mornin' and there's Jesse Duke up again. Guess he still ain't sleepin'.

Tick.....Tick......Tick......Tick

That's the thing 'bout time, Jesse thought to himself. It don't wait for no man. He sat in his rocking chair swaying back and forth in time to the clock, finding solace in its passing as he mulled over the events of the past days. His beautiful wife and wonderful kids smiled up at him from his lap as he rocked, fingers softly lingering on the picture of the blonde haired youth with twinkling blue eyes. He had done his fair share of trouble making as a child, had taken many a well deserved thrashing under his Uncle Jesse's belt, had broken many hearts. But now he just missed him.

"Bo!" he breathed, "house is too quiet without ya boy!"

The past days had been a blur. They had arrived at the hospital only to be told to wait. And wait they did. They waited while his own head injury was tended, they waited while the Georgia State Police Officers spoke to them about what they had found, and that Carlisle and Sharp and their gang were going to be locked up for a long time. They waited until Bo was brought out of surgery, and then waited by his side for him to wake. They waited while the Police Commissioner himself came to the hospital and personally apologised for Carlisle getting hold of police equipment and for Sharp's escape. They waited with their new friends at the hospital, the ones who had fallen victim to that irresistible Bo Duke charm. And they waited with their old friends too, Cooter, Enos, even Boss and Rosco who all understood how bad it was.

They had all waited for what felt like forever.

And here he was waiting again. But this time it was different.

It could have ended so differently. It should have ended so differently.

The four faces blurred somewhat as the tears finally came, locked at bay for so long as he had done his utmost to stay strong for his young 'uns. Pent up emotions were finally allowed to spill over and he rocked harder, breathing deeply to calm himself, hugging the photograph closer to him and whispering softly to himself. "I'm sorry Lavinia, I'm so sorry."

He was like that when Luke found him and it near broke his heart. He had also been robbed of sleep lately and had decided to stop tossing and turning in the empty bedroom and get up and do some chores. But the creaking sound of the rocking chair in time to the ticking of the clock had turned his path from the kitchen and towards the living room. He crept silently over and crouched down beside him, placing a hand on his uncle's shoulder, feeling his own emotions come to the fore in empathy.

"Uncle Jesse," he whispered. "It's all over now. Its gonna be OK."

"Is it Luke?" his voice sounded harsh to his own ears, but in truth he wasn't angry at Luke. "Is it really?"

"We'll be alright. You said it yourself over at the gully. We're family, we love each other. We'll get through this together."

"What about Bo? How can I ever forgive myself?"

Luke was silent. He knew what Jesse was trying to say. How would they ever get over what had happened to the baby of the family? Cut down whilst trying to defend someone who would arrest them (had arrested him) with no due cause; placed in the line of fire by a system that they had fought against all their lives. It was Bo's own moral code, his sense of right and wrong that saved Rosco's life and jeopardised his own. And in truth could he or Jesse have expected any less of him? Ultimately it had begun with a lie. When Jesse Duke had destroyed the treasure and kept the secret all these years, resulting in a fantasy of buried treasure pandering to the greed of heartless villains. How could Jesse himself preach that truth is everything to his kids, when one simple lie by omission was the cause of all this hurt and it seemed that the consequences were almost too difficult to bear?

Luke picked up the photograph and smiled at it.

"I remember this," he said softly. "That was before I went to 'Nam."

"You were all just kids then. Whole lives in front of ya! Just as well we didn't know what was ahead of us then."

"Aunt Lavinia said that we could face anything long as we did it together." Luke was trying to tell his Uncle that he had been right. They'd no cause in trying to do things by themselves, not when they had such strong ties of love to keep them together. They would survive this. He would make sure of it!

"I 'spect that your Aunt Lavinia's lookin' down on me none too pleased," sighed Jesse. "Can't say as I blame her."

"I can hear her now" laughed Luke, "telling us that there's work to be done and we've no cause to be moping feeling sorry for ourselves! She'd be saying that there ain't nothing to forgive either Uncle Jesse. Bo'd be saying that too if'n he were here." He gripped Jesse's arm and squeezed it affectionately nodding when Jesse covered his strong hand with his own work worn one.

They stayed that way for a while, finding solace in each other's company, strength in each other's love for their family. Then the moment passed and Jesse patted his hand then stood up and strode into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. Luke smiled softly at the photograph again and placed it lovingly on the mantle before following his Uncle into the kitchen. Meeting Daisy on the way she greeted him with a sleepy good morning as she shuffled into the kitchen.

"Can't you sleep neither Luke? Oh Uncle Jesse you're up too! I was gonna surprise you with pancakes this morning!" and she bustled her way around the kitchen searching for flour and eggs.

"Don't let me stop ya Daisy!" Jesse gruffed in reply, trying to hide how emotional he had just been with her cousin. She stopped rummaging in the larder and turned to look at her family.

"You boys alright?" she asked, concern etched on her features. "Is something wrong?"

Luke and Jesse regarded each other for a moment then both grinned, suddenly feeling light and carefree.

"We's jest fine Daisy. Come on let's get breakfast done and the chores finished. Its a big day today! I jest can't wait to get Bo home where he belongs!"

"Yeah, he's already been causing havoc with the nurses, I think Louise is threatening to hog tie him to the bed if he don't start behaving himself!" Luke grinned at the thought of his cousin's antics whilst he recovered in the hospital. His stay was longer than they had wanted, but after he had woken from surgery the second time an infection had set in and it had been three days before they had gotten the better of it. It had been close. Touch and go for a while. It could have ended so differently. He shrugged to himself, really it should have ended differently, but luck, and Bo's stubborn resilience had been on their side and they had won through finally. But even still he had been physically weak and still recovering from major surgery, so Dr Jackson had insisted that he stay for another forty eight hours to be sure that the wound was healing adequately.

"Knowing you Bo, you'll be off hunting wild boar or something and would undo my good work again!"

And Bo had muttered "Yessir!" after noticing his Uncle's admonishing glare, settling down under the covers again.

At last, today he was coming home and they were all going to go to Tri State Memorial to get him. Before long they would be tearing up the roads in Hazzard County, stirring up trouble and facing it together just like they always did.

And Lavinia smiled lovingly at them from her spot on the mantle, just under the old ticking clock.

You knew all along it would be a happy ending didn't you? After all this is the Dukes of Hazzard!

-o0o-

A/N – Phew the marathon is finally over! As is Luke's roller coaster ride. Sorry for the somewhat sporadic nature of the posting but you have TS Blue to thank for keeping me at it! And I am eternally grateful for her advice and confidence in me that it was a story worth pursuing. I am also extremely appreciative of the folk who read and took the time to leave a comment or two. I hope you got some pleasure out of this. It is a work of pure fiction and no infringement of copyright was intended. I certainly didn't do it for money!!! Thanks again!!