Well, here it is: last chapter of the first book, and my goodness, it's crazy and long. Personally, I can't believe that it only took me a little over a month to finish this 34,000 word story! That's fast! Anyway...

Thanks to anyone WHO EVER reviewed, special thanks to those who constantly reviewed, and BIGGEST thanks to those who put the story on their favorites lists.

Oh, one last thing before you start reading... Everybody knows that wonderful Toby Keith (now who doesn't love him?) song "As Good As I Once Was," and I personally love it, and I was listening the other day... and in the beginning, he says: "She said 'Hello, my name is Bobbie-Jo, meet my twin sister Betty-Lou'..." Well, isn't that just a weird little coincidence?

What a Crazy Day

Somewhere along the line of her life, Lou had picked up the odd habit of biting at her nails in stressful situations. And right now, she was nibbling away as she crouched by her sister's side.

"Who's driving?" Lou demanded of the people huddling around.

"Uncle Jesse's already out starting the truck," Luke urgently replied, crouching on Jo's other side. "Now Jo, we're gonna stand you up and get you out to the truck so we can get up on to the hospital."

With shaky, rasping breaths, Jo nodded tightly. Before her family could even lift her up to her feet again, she curled into a ball again and groaned loudly, voice building towards a shriek that sounded to Lou like sharp nails on a chalkboard.

And for the first time in their lives, Lou heard some rather nasty phrases grating out of Jo's mouth. But what else was the woman going into labor during her wedding to say?

"Jo, just hold on," Lou encouraged urgently. "We're gonna get you to the hospital real quick." She turned her eyes over to Luke and his panicky expression. "Get her up and out to the truck quick. I'll be right behind you."

Standing and moving past Jo, Lou grabbed Bo by the collar of his shirt and pulled his shocked face down close to hers, taking his eyes from Luke and Cooter guiding Jo out of the church down to her own eyes.

"Now then, we're gonna finish our vows, and we're gonna do it now," she growled into his face. "Fast enough to get to the hospital with my sister while she has her baby." Lou knew that her voice was harsh, mean and probably murderous in tone—which she knew Bo didn't deserve—but right now she just didn't have time to care.

She turned simmering gray eyes to the waiting pastor. "Get on with it quickly."

Wide-eyed and nodding like crazy, the man fumbled with his book for a long moment before flipping it open to the right page and stammering as quickly as Lou had ever heard a Southern Baptist minister talk. "Uh… uh… Beaureguard Duke, do you take this woman to-to to be your lawfully w-wedded w-wife to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, t-till death do you part?"

Lou remembered a time about a week ago when she'd argued with Bo about the vows. She wanted to write their own, something new instead of the traditional stuff crammed down their throats at every wedding. Bo, on the other hand, had adamantly defended the tradition and wouldn't condone writing new vows.

Eventually conceding, Lou had realized there wasn't really much she could say in a vow to Bo Duke. Besides, why talk any longer than she had to at the wedding?

Now, she was definitely relieved that the vows were so wonderfully short.

"I…" Bo started, stopping quickly. "I… I…" Unable to get out the second half, he just opened and closed his mouth a few times, frowned and shook his head.

Angrily, Lou tightened her grip at his collar, drawing the fabric taut around his neck. "Out with it, and out with it fast, Bo Duke!" she demanded. "We've got places to be and babies to see born, so get on with it as fast as possible! Out with it, man!"

Gulping at his bride's fury, Bo forced the words out. "I… do."

Satisfied for the moment, Lou turned her hot gaze again to the hesitating pastor. "On with it quickly, preacher man, I have a niece to see born!"

"Right…" the man said, looking back to his book for confirmation. "Do you, Betty-Lou Johnson take th-this man to be your l-lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health till death do you part?"

Lou's response was quick and rushed. "I do." Finished with the vows, she grabbed Bo's hand with one of her own, gathering her fluffy skirts with the other. And with that, she flew down the steps and hurried back up the aisle, dragging a stumbling Bo along behind.

And as she ran from the church, she could hear the pastor calling out after them. "And I now pronounce you man and wife: Mr. and Mrs. Beaureguard Duke!"

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Luke paced restlessly in the waiting room of the hospital, quietly cursing the fact that fathers weren't allowed in the delivery room. If not for that stupid rule, he could be at his new bride's side right now, helping to comfort her in the middle of this painful and probably frightening ordeal. He could be helping Jo…

"Luke, calm down," Uncle Jesse's voice broke into his worrisome thoughts. "She'll be fine, and there's not really anything you can do to help her anyway."

"Well then what's Lou doing in there helping?" Luke retorted angrily, turning to face the chairs in which Uncle Jesse, Daisy and Bo were sitting fairly calmly.

"She's Jo's sister, Luke," Daisy answered first, as if that statement should answer all questioning and calm all fears.

"And I'm her husband!" he protested.

"By little more than an hour, son," Uncle Jesse reminded him. "Now Lou's been there for Jo since the day they was born. That's about twenty-six and a half years longer than you've been around for your wife."

Reluctantly, Luke conceded that point. "Yeah, but—"

"No buts, boy," Uncle Jesse cut in. "Just stop yer pacing and sit down."

Grudgingly, Luke complied and dropped into a chair beside Bo, Daisy and Uncle Jesse. He would obey Uncle Jesse and wait. Really, there was nothing he could do about it.

Somehow though, he just felt like he should be there to see the birth of his little daughter and to help sooth his probably anxious new wife. She'd been in labor for over an hour now, and Luke was worrying about just how long he'd have to sit here like this, not really knowing anything.

If it was getting to him now, he was going to go crazy if it lasted much longer.

But chances were, it was going to.

His foot was tapping out some odd rhythm that Luke didn't hear, didn't notice and couldn't stop. His fingers kept their own rhythm separately from his feet, making a motley mix of tapping sounds.

Luke didn't notice, he was too busy thinking nervously about Jo…

"Stop that!" Bo insisted angrily. "You're getting annoying. No, you're done past getting there. You are annoying."

"Sorry, but I can't help that," Luke replied tightly. "My wife is in there, having a baby and I'm just sitting here. Do you know how that feels?"

Bo's jaw set. "No, but I probably will soon. In case you've forgotten, my… wife is nine months pregnant too."

"So you and Lou finished the vows?" Luke guessed from Bo's hesitant terminology. "Is that why you two were a little behind? I wasn't really paying attention."

"Oh, yes," Bo grumbled, rolling his eyes. "Crazy Lou wasn't taking any chances with those vows—none at all. For a couple of seconds, I hesitated and she just about wrung my neck. Literally." He rubbed at his neck underneath his loosened tie and collar.

Closing his eyes, Luke chuckled lightly at that.

You had to give Lou credit: she got what she wanted, even if she had to twist arms and wring necks to do it. Unlike Jo, she went and got what she wanted.

Jo, Luke thought, groaning inwardly. For a moment there, he'd been able to forget his anxiety and leave worries about Jo in the dust. But one thing led to another and here he was back at those same old qualms.

Lord, just let this be over with quickly before I go insane!

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It had been four long hours of waiting around, sitting in not-quite-comfortable chair and now it was quiet frankly past dinner time for a very impatient, tired and annoyed Bo Duke. After all, it wasn't his wife in that room having a baby. Why should he have to wait around?

He'd wandered on down to the cafeteria, but there wasn't much worth eating down there. Since when was there ever anything edible in any hospital? Still, he was nibbling on some hard, circular thing that looked like a biscuit—if you really used your imagination—as he strolled reluctantly back to his chair.

When he got back to the waiting room, he saw the stretch of chairs marked first by Uncle Jesse's tuxedo jacket, then Daisy's small bouquet and sheer scarf, Luke's black jacket and then Bo's own, but none of the other Dukes were in sight.

"Bo," came a gentle voice from off to one side.

He turned to see Lou, still in her wedding gown, standing at the opening to a branching hallway.

"Hey," he responded. "Where is everybody?"

She smiled, and Bo could see a bit of a tired glint in her eyes. "Visiting the latest member of the Duke family." She gestured for him to come to her. "C'mon, Uncle Bo, let's go meet and greet your and my new niece—who's also consequently your second cousin."

Frowning as he walked over, Bo thought about that. "That's weird. My niece is my cousin—seriously, that's weird."

Matching him step-for-step down the hall and guiding him towards the right room, Lou smiled again at Bo. "Oh, the weird-ness doesn't end there. While Yvonne is your cousin and niece, she's just my niece. And then there's the fact that you and Luke are now cousins and brother-in-laws."

"That's really confusing," Bo replied, trying in vain to grasp the concept. "How in the world did you get all of that?"

Rolling her gray eyes, Lou sort of snorted lightly. "I've had about four or so hours to think about things like that, since the only other thing interesting to me was my screaming, cussing sister, and trying to calm her down."

"Oh, right."

Lou stopped outside a door, which Bo assumed was Jo's. "Speaking of which, I wouldn't be mentioning that to her. Especially not the fact she was cussing in the church. She'd never let herself live that one down."

Understanding, Bo nodded and followed Lou inside the room.

"Look who I found out there looking around for us," Lou announced to the others standing gathered in the room, who turned towards her.

Luke was cradling his daughter in his arms lovingly, obviously relieved. With a sweat-covered face, Jo—now in a hospital gown—was lying heavily on her bed with equally heavy silver eyes that were underscored by violet semi-circles. Daisy and Uncle Jesse stood off to the side.

"Hey, Bo, look at my beautiful little daughter," Luke said, showing off the bundle of blankets out of which a small, round, red face and two curled fists peeked. "Meet Yvonne Marie Duke."

Bo could see the pride in his cousin's face, and smiled at his baby niece. "Well, hey there, honey," he said down to her, tickling one of her balled fists with his fingertip. "You sure picked a fine day to show up, you know that?"

It was just then that an angry groan behind him startled Bo. Bewildered, he turned to see Lou clutching a hand across her own swollen stomach.

And annoyed dread gripped his heart.

"It seems your son's got an impeccable sense of timing himself," Lou grumbled. "Whether he got it from his cousin Yvonne or his lunatic daddy has yet to be decided." She fumbled out the door still holding on to her belly. "C'mon, let's find a nurse."

Uncle Jesse was already in the hall, getting one's attention. When a orderly did happen to notice the groaning pregnant woman, she hurriedly went for a wheelchair.

Following into the fairly busy hall after a moment, Bo smacked a palm to his forehead and groaned himself. Today was a crazy, eventful day but for him, it was about to be back to waiting in that same, stiff chair…

Oh, joy, my favorite thing in the world, Bo thought to himself.

"Bo!" Lou's voice calling his name sounded rather harsh. And when he looked up to her face, it didn't really look all that calm or happy—or truly sane for that matter. "Get your butt over here, man, you're coming along for the ride."

"Ma'am," the nurse said calmly, "fathers aren't allowed—"

"Doesn't matter," Lou interrupted through tightly gritted teeth. "He's coming."

"Lou…" he groaned in reply. "Don't—"

"Bo!" she shot back, grabbing him by the collar as she had hours earlier. "You're coming, end of story. And you're gonna learn pretty dang fast how to calm a pregnant woman in severe pain!"

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Disbelieving, Luke watched Lou get ushered off to a room herself, towing Bo along behind. Not only did they get married on the same day, both newly created families were now welcoming babies into the world.

"Isn't that something?" he said aloud.

"It is," Daisy agreed from across the room. "Jo, have you two always been neck and neck like this? One does something, the other has to too?"

Half-melting the tired look on her face, Jo smiled brightly. "Well, more or less," she said, obviously remembering past examples. "But generally, it's Lou who gets to do most stuff first—even though I'm the older twin."

"Well, you got to get married first, and have your first child before Lou," Daisy pointed out. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," Jo replied politely. Cutting off any further reply she might have made, she yawned widely.

Daisy got the hint. "Well, I'll leave you to get some rest." And she left the two newlyweds alone with their daughter.

Luke still cradled his new daughter in his arms, an overwhelming sense of pride and joy welling up at the sight of the little baby. She was his, and she was Jo's, and that meant the world to Luke. This was his daughter, his firstborn daughter—and the feelings that brought were indescribable.

"I think she looks like you, Jo," he finally said, turning towards his weary wife. "Yes, Yvonne, you look like your mommy." He rocked his baby slightly then pointed out the similarities to Jo. "See? She's got eyes like you, and curly hair like yours too." He took one of the two chairs in the room—the only available one, since the other was currently seating Jo's simple wedding dress—and scooted it as close to Jo on the bed as possible.

"Well, honey, she coulda just as easily gotten those curls from you," Jo said, reaching out and twirling her fingers through his dark, messy hair. "It's not like yours is that much straighter than mine. And I think she looks more like you. She's got more of your face shape and such."

He shook his head. "She's got your good looks."

Raising a brow, Jo didn't wholly agree. "You're not ugly, half of Yvonne's good looks must've come from your side of the family."

That made Luke blush a little. "Regardless of who she looks like, she's beautiful and precious," he changed the subject, smiling first at his daughter, then at his wife. He hesitated before he said the other thing that was on his mind, but said it still, hoping to get a better reply than last time. "And I love you."

Unlike Luke, Jo didn't hesitate, instead responding immediately. "I love you, too, Luke."

That honestly took Luke by surprise. "Really?"

Smiling both meekly and truthfully, Jo smiled as she nodded her head. "Yeah, really."

Grinning at the suddenly warm feeling in his heart, Luke moved to kiss his wife—which he'd missed doing at the wedding. She met him halfway there with passion.

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"Your labor was fairly easy, you know that?" Bo told Lou while she held their newborn son in her arms. "One hour. Jo's was four."

"Yes, well I wouldn't go saying anything about an easy labor if I were you," she grumbled in reply. "You weren't the one in all that pain for a whole hour."

"No, I was in a different kind of pain with you screaming in my ear and pinching my arm like crazy." He held up his bare forearms, showing off the long, reddish purple scratches and nail-marks Lou had inflicted. "That really hurt."

"Oh, hush, you big baby," Lou retorted, cradling their son and rocking slightly. "It was all for our baby, and he's most certainly worth it. Worth all the pain—mine and yours."

Moving closer and smiling down at the bundled up, red-faced baby, Bo agreed. "Yes, he was. You hear that, Xavier? You were worth it—something your mom and me finally agree on. And let me tell you, Xavier, that's something miraculous."

"Hey, don't say that!" Lou protested strongly.

"Don't say what?" If she meant to say their agreement wasn't miraculous, she was—

"Don't call your son Xavier," she said sternly.

Frowning, Bo really did look at Lou like she was crazy—not for the first time, most certainly—and he was about to tell her she was. "Why not?"

"Because that's not his name." To her credit, Lou had lasted this long with a very stern look on her face, but here her façade finally crumbled and she smiled lightly.

Both happy and wary of Lou's statement, Bo couldn't keep himself from smiling in return. "Well, what is it then?"

Lou's smile got bigger and wider till it could almost be classified as a grin and she looked up with a kind tint to her eyes Bo hadn't ever really seen directed at him. "Well, his name is Jesse John Duke. But from here on out referred to as Johnny. It'd be way too confusing to have to Jesse Dukes running around."

"I thought you weren't gonna ask for my opinion in the matter—"

"When did I?"

"—and that you weren't honoring Rock, Paper, Scissors as a name-decider. Seems pretty obvious to me that you did."

"No, I did not!" Lou protested strongly. "I didn't ask your opinion in the matter, I didn't honor your choice—I decided it would be a nice gesture to name him for Uncle Jesse. And besides, I told you to begin with that I might name the baby Johnny!"

"You told me you weren't gonna use that."

Lou's eyes burned with angry fire.

Knowing that no matter how she tried to deny it, he had her caught, Bo's smile became rather smug. "So you do have a soft spot for me after all."

"Do not!"

Still smiling and enjoying turning the irritation tables on Lou for once, Bo wrapped his arms around her in a light hug. "Oh, thanks, Lou. You're so sweet."

"Stop!" she protested, struggling. "And stop squishing me, weirdo!"

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Sighing at the fact that while it was only past eight thirty, it felt like midnight already, Daisy sank back into her chair in the waiting room, after having just visited a still arguing Bo and Lou—and Johnny, not Xavier, as it turned out. Today had been eventful, and she leaned her head on Uncle Jesse's shoulder where the old man sat in the next chair.

"Long day," she said.

"Yes, it was," Uncle Jesse agreed with a sigh. "Very, very long."

Smiling lightly, Daisy asked, "What do you think of all of this crazy stuff happening in one day?"

She could hear her uncle's light laugh and feel his body jiggle a little underneath her head. "I think that August 29th is going to become a huge holiday for us Dukes from now on. We'll be celebrating two birthdays and two anniversaries. What a crazy day."

THE END (of Book One, at least)