A/N: Well, long time no see! Okay, check my profile for general notes, but regarding this story in particular - this has been sitting in my dusty hard drive for years - written around the same time as CDIN, actually, and I really didn't think it was worth posting. But, I thought you guys might be entertained anyhow. This story strays pretty far from my usual fanfic rules and standards, and is the product of a "Hmm, what if. . .?" line of thought. You have been warned.

Chapter 1: Wreck

He didn't understand exactly what was going on, but he didn't like it. Voices talked and shouted, loud and urgent. Hands picked him up and moved him, many times. Lights shone bright and confusing in a blur of colors. But mostly, it hurt. Nowhere in particular – just everywhere. It hurt more when they moved him, and more when they touched him, and he shied away from the pain. It was too much. And far from the pain, cool darkness swallowed him.

He heard Daisy and Uncle Jesse, sometimes Cooter too, and even Rosco and Boss Hogg, once or twice. But their voices were distant, like they were calling down to him from the heights of a great hill, to where he stood at the bottom. The hill was too great to climb, too thickly shrouded in the dense forest that surrounded him, and he found another path.

No wider than a deer trail, he followed the narrow path as it wound along a lazy creek, then branched away and led up a gentler slope. The slow walk was tiring, but eventually he rose above the treeline, and he could finally look around. To his surprise he found himself standing high on Ridge Runner's Road, looking out across Hazzard.

Somewhere behind him, back the way he came, he still heard the calls of his family and friends, but he wouldn't answer. He knew something was wrong. There was one voice he didn't hear, and one name they studiously avoided saying around him. He didn't know if it was worth it to go back.

Then the sound of an engine coming up the road caught his attention – no, two engines – three – and then a fourth. As he watched, a car appeared, a gray sedan, speeding around the bend, closely followed by a bright orange Charger, then a sheriff's cruiser and a white Jeep bringing up the rear. The occupants of the gray sedan were shooting feverently at the orange car, and one of the gunmen proved a far better shot than the usual crooks who passed through Hazzard. One bullet smashed through the windshield into the driver, closely followed by a second that took out a tire. The rapid result was a high-speed mangled wreck of an orange Charger, with two equally mangled Dukes somewhere inside. The sheriff's car and the Jeep screeched to a halt while the gray sedan made its escape, and as Jesse Duke ran up to the smoldering wreckage, the scene faded, and the road was empty once more.

He frowned, brow creasing. He knew what he had seen, and he knew now what had come of it. It was a terribly lonely feeling.

He turned to look back over the forest and hills, when something now on the road caught his eye - the General Lee, shining like the first day they crossed that finish line, and a very familiar figure leaning against the hood.

"Bo…"

The blond smiled in greeting. "Hey cuz." He gestured to where the violent scene had disappeared moments before. "That was somethin' else, huh?"

Luke shook his head. "It was so fast…"

Bo gave a lopsided smile and clapped Luke's shoulder as he walked over. "Hey, it's me, y'know?"

Luke had to chuckle a little, but his smile quickly fell. "What now?"

Bo became serious. "Well, now, you've got a decision to make." Luke looked up at him, brows raised. "You can hike back – or not."

Luke frowned pensively. "But you don't get that choice?"

Bo shook his head, and opened his yellow shirt to show the bullet wound that instantly took his life. "No, I don't get that choice."

Luke looked out towards the distant hill, seemingly insurmountable, where he knew Daisy and Uncle Jesse waited. "It's a long way," he murmured, almost to himself.

Sensing his indecision, Bo looked at his cousin solemnly. "They need you, Luke."

The dark-haired Duke hung his head. "You don't think we need you too?"

Bo smiled a little. He expected this. "Luke, go back," he pushed. "You've got a lot of life ahead of you. You don't need me, you never have. And I'll still be with you, right here," he touched his palm to Luke's chest, over his heart.

Tears welled in Luke's eyes, and began to fall as he shook his head. "No, Bo – I've always needed you, and depended on you, even when we were at our worst. It won't be the same without you."

Bo slung an arm around his shoulders, brotherly and consoling. "I know, Luke, but…" But even he was at a loss for words.

They stood there quietly for a while, while Luke searched over the long distance home and deep into his heart. Finally he turned to Bo, sniffing a little.

"Can we take the General?" he asked, pointing towards the distant hill.

Bo smiled again and shook his head. "That ain't where this road leads. Only way back is down the trail."

Luke looked with sad eyes to the footpath that led him here, then looked back to Bo. "Can you walk with me?"

Bo nodded. "A little ways."

When Luke was ready, they set out, down the trail and into the forest again, away from the ridge. Luke found it was much harder going back, and he tired quickly, often stopping to rest, but Bo was right there to lean on every step of the way. He had no sense of time in this place of eternal golden afternoon, but it seemed to take some while before they reached the great hill. Bo led the way to another path that sneaked up the hillside, all the way to the top, but here he stopped.

"This is as far as I can go, cuz," Bo said, looking at Luke.

Luke returned his gaze with sad eyes. "Will I see you again?"

Now Bo smiled again. "Like you could ever be rid of me!" he teased.

Luke smiled. "Promise?"

"I promise. Blood brothers, remember?"

Bo offered his hand, and Luke clasped it, feeling anew the sting in the scar on his palm.

"I'll miss you, Bo."
"I won't be very far, Luke."

The hand clasp turned into a fierce hug, and Bo patted his back. "Better get going, before it gets too late."

Luke nodded, drawing a deep breath.

"Go on!" Bo urged, before he said anything more.

Sighing, Luke nodded, and set foot on the new path. A few short steps proved this path far more difficult than the forest trail, and he looked back where Bo stood below, beginning to regret his decision to return.

"Go on, Luke! You can do it!" Bo called up to him, and the distance hid the worry in his eyes.

Luke took another deep breath and felt new strength wash into him, the scar on his palm tingling. He set his sights on the summit of the hill, and set his legs moving forward. Each time he stopped to rest and look back, Bo was farther and farther away in the distance, while the top of the hill seemed to get no closer. Eventually Luke lost sight of Bo entirely, but he could still feel his cousin urging him onwards. He hardly realized it when he rounded a bend in the path and found himself awash in the blinding sunlight at the hilltop. The afternoon glare was so bright, he turned his head away and shut his eyes tightly, raising a hand across his face. Then, just as suddenly, the glare was gone, and he slowly opened his eyes.

"There's my boy," came Uncle Jesse's soft, rough voice, followed shortly by the blurry image of his face. As Luke's vision cleared, he could see the lines of worry and care in Jesse's old features, as he leaned down to kiss Luke's brow.

"Uncle Jesse," Luke tried to say, but all that came out was a hoarse rasp.

Then Jesse moved back a little, and Daisy leaned in with a smile and a kiss. "Hey there, Luke. We missed you. How ya feelin'?"

When Luke tried to answer, Daisy saw his trouble and brought the straw of a glass of water to his lips. After a few sips, his parched throat was able to answer.

"Okay."

Tiredly, he tried to look around the room. He saw cards, flowers, the usual hospital fare, but also framed pictures, extra clothes, little decorations, all of which gave the room a very lived-in feel. Luke looked confusedly at Daisy, who took a seat beside him.

"You're been here a very long time, sweetheart," she explained gently. "Nearly five months."

On one level, Luke was shocked, but on another, he wasn't. Nothing hurt anymore – his broken bones and torn flesh had all healed while he lay comatose and on life support, leaving an array of scars and weary aches, but no real pain. It was a miracle alone that he hadn't bled to death at the scene of the wreck, as long as it had taken from them to pull him out. Then it was many long, hard weeks for Daisy and Jesse, as they buried Bo and prayed they wouldn't be burying Luke beside him. The thieves had even been caught and brought to justice, serving life sentences in a maximum security prison, but to Jesse and Daisy nothing compared to seeing Luke's blue eyes again.