Chapter 8

Enos hesitated before picking up the phone but the Dukes were his friends and he felt like this was something he had to do. He finally picked up the receiver with a deep sigh. “Maybelle, would you get me the Duke farm please?” he told the operator when she came on the line. In a few minutes the connection was made. The phone rang three times and then Jesse's voice said, “Duke Farm. Jesse Duke speaking.”

“Uncle Jesse, this is Enos.” The young deputy said

“Enos? Is Luke okay?” Jesse questioned in a concerned voice. “Is there anything wrong?”

“No, sir….Luke's fine. It's just….well…I'm worried about him. He ain't been sleeping the whole time he's been here….except a little bit here and there and then when he does sleep…he has these bad dreams that just wake him up again….” Enos paused “Then he won't go back to sleep….he just sits there staring at the wall….”

“I know….he's been having bad dreams ever since the accident.” Jesse told him with a deep sigh “I don't know what to do for him. He won't talk to nobody about ‘em….”

“I know….I tried talking to him but he just told me to leave him alone…that he was okay.” Enos said “Uncle Jesse, Luke ain't never been rude like that…..it's like he ain't the same person….”

“I'm sorry, Enos. I'm sure Luke didn't mean it. He just needs to get some decent sleep. He's exhausted and it's making him short tempered with everybody.”

“Well, I just thought you should know. Y'all know he gets out in the morning. You want me to bring him home?”

“No, that's alright. Bo is coming to fetch him.”

“Alright….good night, Uncle Jesse.”

“Good night, Enos.”

Enos hung up the phone and stood there for a moment just staring at the receiver. He could hear the worry and the anxiety in Uncle Jesse's voice and knew how concerned he was about Luke. Enos was still worried too. He had never seen Luke quite like this before. He walked over to the coffee pot sitting near the complaint desk and poured two styrofoam cups full of coffee. Balancing them carefully, he went downstairs to the cells in the basement.

Luke glanced up from the bunk where he was sitting and nodded his thanks as Enos passed one of the cups of coffee through the bars to him. Enos observed Luke closely as he took a sip of the coffee. It was easy to see that the oldest Duke boy was worn out. His face was drawn and there were dark circles under his eyes.

“Why don't you try to lie down and get some sleep?” Enos said quietly “You look like you could use it.”

“No….I'm fine…” Luke said, he leaned his head back against the cell wall and closed his eyes. He knew that Enos was right but if he slept he'd dream and he'd rather stay awake.

“Well…if you don't wanna sleep…do you wanna talk?”

“No….I'm alright. You can go back upstairs, Enos.”

Enos and Luke were childhood friends. He knew the oldest Duke boy well enough to know that if Luke didn't want to talk, he wasn't going to talk and Enos wasn't going to make him. Even though he was still worried about him, Enos decided to leave him alone. “If you need anything, just let me know.” Enos told Luke. Slowly, he turned and went back upstairs.

Luke sighed as he listened to the sound of his footsteps as Enos went back up the steps. Luke kept his head leaned back against the wall. The fatigue he'd been fighting was overpowering him. His vision swam in and out of focus whenever he opened his eyes. His body was rebelling against him, demanding the rest that he was refusing to give it. He had no choice. He finally slept. But at least this time, he didn't dream. His mind was simply too exhausted.

The next thing Luke knew it was morning and Enos was waking him up to tell him that Bo was there to pick him up and take him home. Luke forced himself to his feet as Enos unlocked the cell door and then escorted him upstairs. Bo was waiting for them in the main lobby. Enos stopped at the booking desk and opened the bottom drawer. He handed Luke his wallet, his keys, and his buck knife. Luke stuffed his keys and wallet in his pocket and clipped the knife to his belt.

“Ready, cuz?” Bo said. Luke nodded and silently followed Bo out to the General Lee. “If you don't mind…I'll drive.” Bo told him with a thin smile as he walked around the car and climbed beneath the wheel “Don't need you getting into another ruckus with Rosco before I get you home or Uncle Jesse will have both our hides.”

“Cute, Bo. Real cute.” Luke said in a voice that was anything but amused as he climbed into the General and settled into the passenger's seat. He leaned his head back against the seat. He was still exhausted but he'd had enough sleep so he knew that he could stay awake for a couple of days if he had too before his body collapsed again.

As Bo pulled away from the curb, Bo glanced over at his cousin and said in a concerned voice “Dang it, Luke….what's going on with you?”

“It doesn't concern you, Bo.” Luke said in a weary voice “It's my problem and I'll handle it…”

“Well, it don't look to me like you're doing such a good job handling it when you go around punching Rosco.” He chuckled softly “You shocked the hell out of him.”

“I shocked myself.” Luke admitted with a thin smile “I didn't intend to hit him.”

“Luke, ya have to stop blaming yourself for what happened to Becky…..nobody else blames ya…..”

“Let it go, Bo….I don't wanna talk about it right now.” Luke said, shutting him out again. There was a slight warning in his voice that Bo chose to ignore.

“You're gonna have to talk about it sooner or later, cousin.” Bo said “Cause from what I can see…it's eating you up alive…..and I don't wanna be the one who has to pick up the pieces.”

Luke turned his head to stare out of his window and refused to speak to Bo the rest of the way back to the farm. When they got there, he climbed out of the car and went into the house. He walked through the kitchen, right past Uncle Jesse without speaking to him, and upstairs. A few moments later, there was the sound of his bedroom door opening and then closing. Jesse looked at Bo questioningly as he came in the back door behind Luke.

“He still won't talk to me, Uncle Jesse.” Bo said shaking his head discouragingly. “He just keeps shutting me out. That ain't like Luke.”

“I don't know what else to do with that boy…” Jesse said gruffly “If he don't start talking soon….I don't know what's gonna happen” He sighed deeply “But I know my big toe is hurting and that always means trouble.”

Chapter 9

Daisy kept glancing across the bar at her oldest cousin. Luke was sitting at a table in the back by himself and had been for the last hour. He was also drinking whiskey and that was definitely not like Luke at all. Luke hardly ever drank more than a couple of Boss Hogg's watered down beer so Daisy had been shocked when he ordered a shot of whiskey. She wanted to refuse to serve it to him but knew she really had no reason to. Luke was an adult. He had the right to drink a shot of whiskey if he chose to. And she knew if she refused to serve him, he'd just get mad and go find someplace else to drink. At least if she served him, she could also keep an eye on him. But now she was starting to really get worried, since Luke normally didn't drink that much, the whiskey was hitting him hard and he was drunk.

Daisy was relieved when she saw Cooter come into the bar. Quickly, she motioned for him to come over to the bar so she could talk to him. She quickly poured a mug of beer and sat it down on the bar in front of the town mechanic.

“Hey, Daisy…” Cooter said cheerfully. He picked up the mug of beer she had poured for him and took a deep swallow.

“Cooter, I need ya to do me a favor.” Daisy said in a loud whisper as she leaned across the bar towards Cooter.

“Sure, darling….whatcha need?”

“Luke's been drinking whiskey for the last hour and he'd getting pretty drunk. Would you see if you can do something? Maybe get him to go home or at least to stop drinking?”

“Luke's drinking whiskey?” Cooter said in a surprised voice. He knew that Luke wasn't a heavy drinker and this change in his normal behavior worried Cooter too. “Don't worry, Daisy….I'll see what I can do.” He picked up his mug of beer and casually walked across the bar to the table where Luke was sitting.

“Hey, Lucas…..” he said as he sat down at the table across from Luke “How y'all doing?”

Luke glanced at Cooter sullenly his sapphire blue eyes anything but friendly. The icy coldness in their depths sent a chill down Cooter's spine. He'd seen that look before and knew that at the moment, Luke was not totally in control. He was looking for a fight and Cooter didn't really want to be the one to have to give it to him. But he didn't want to see Luke going off on someone else either and ending up in jail.

“You know buddyroo….maybe you need to lay off that stuff.” Cooter said, nodding slightly at the glass in Luke's hand.

“Why should you care?” Luke snapped, finishing the alcohol in his glass in one long swallow.

“Because I don't wanna have to call Uncle Jesse and tell him that you're in jail for doing something stupid.”

“Did Daisy put ya up to coming over here?” Luke demanded, his voice still sullen and unfriendly

“Since when do I need anybody to give me a reason to sit with one of my best friends?” Cooter said trying to diffuse the situation before it got out of hand.

“I don't remember inviting you to sit down.” Luke snapped “And I sure don't feel like any company.” He shoved himself to his feet and took a few staggering steps. Cooter immediately jumped to his feet and grabbed Luke's arm which only gave Luke the excuse he was looking for to spin around and take a swing at Cooter. Cooter easily ducked under Luke's swing. Because he was so intoxicated, his coordination was off (which was lucky for Cooter. He knew from experience how hard Luke could punch when he was mad)

“Sorry, Luke….” Cooter said “But I can't let you go no place in this condition.” With those words, Cooter drew back his fist and punched Luke in the jaw as hard as he could. Luke stumbled backwards and dropped to the floor, knocked out. Cooter knelt down and easily lifted Luke's body up over his shoulder. As he walked past the bar towards the door, he glanced at Daisy and said “I'll take him to the garage and let him sleep it off.”

“Thanks, Cooter.” Daisy said gratefully as she watched Cooter carry her unconscious cousin out of the bar. She walked over to the payphone on the wall to call Uncle Jesse and let him know what had happened.

Cooter managed to get Luke's limp body into the front seat of his tow truck. Climbing under the wheel, he turned on the engine and drove into town to his garage. Parking as close to the front door as possible, he climbed out of the cab and walked around to the passenger side door. He pulled Luke out of the truck and slung him over his shoulder again. He carried him into the garage and then into the tiny room he used as an office. There was a couch in there that he laid Luke down on with a grunt. “Lucas, you are a big boy to be toting around.” He looked down at his friend, his concern showing clearly on his face. He didn't know what was going on with Luke but he knew that this was not good. Cooter decided to spend the night at the garage. He wanted to be there when Luke woke up. Maybe he could talk some sense into him before he did something so foolish again. Besides that, Cooter was fairly certain that Luke was going to wake up with one hell of a hangover. (Not to mention a sore jaw)

Cooter made a big pot of black coffee and sat down at the battered old desk, propping his feet up on the top. Tilting his hat down over his eyes, he fell into a light sleep. A groaning sound from the direction of the couch awakened him the next morning. Tipping back his hat, he sat up and looked towards the couch. Luke was sitting up on the edge of the sofa holding his head in his hands. Cooter stood up and poured a cup of coffee. Carrying it over to the couch, he held it out to Luke and said “Looks like you need some black coffee and a couple of aspirin. Why don't you start with the coffee and I'll go get the aspirin?” Luke shook his head without looking up. Cooter sat the coffee on the beat up old coffee table sitting in front of the sofa. “It's right in front of ya if ya change your mind.” Cooter told him “I'll get that aspirin.”

He left the office and went to the bathroom in the back. Rummaging around in the medicine cabinet, he grabbed the bottle and went back to the office. Luke was lying back down with one arm thrown up across his eyes. Cooter knew he was still awake and sicker than a dog. “Here's the aspirin.” Cooter said, sitting the bottle down next to the untouched coffee. “Ya need a bucket? Cause I really don't wanna clean it up if you decide to get sick.”

Luke managed to shake his head slightly, stopping when the movement made the pain in his head even worse. “What the hell am I doing here?” he muttered, his voice barely audible.

“I brought ya back here to sleep it off.” Cooter told him brusquely “Before you got yourself in trouble.”

“I don't remember…” Luke muttered. “Did I get in a fight with somebody?”

“If you're talking about your jaw…..that was me. I…uh…figured if I didn't take ya out with the first punch….I wouldn't get another chance…Sorry about that.”

Luke moved his arm and looked at his friend with a surprised expression on his face. His eyes were bloodshot and he squinted against the glare of the sunlight streaming through the window above the sofa. “You punched me?” he said slowly.

“Well…you weren't exactly in the mood to have a conversation…” Cooter told him “Besides….you took the first swing…”

“Damn it….” Luke groaned, throwing his arm back over his face again. His head was pounding relentlessly and his stomach churned uneasily. Suddenly, he jumped to his feet and ran out of the office towards the bathroom. Cooter stayed where he was waiting for him to return. It was several minutes before he did. He walked back into the office, his head hung sheepishly, and slumped down on the sofa.

“You ready to talk about what's eating at you?” Cooter asked gently

Luke shook his head stubbornly “There's nothing you can do, Cooter….nobody can…”

“Why don't you tell me what's wrong and let me be the judge of that?”

Luke was silent for several long minutes. When he finally raised his head and looked at his friend, Cooter was alarmed by the lost, desperate look in his eyes. In a whisper he said, “Cooter, have you ever felt like you were losing your mind? I mean….really going crazy…..and couldn't do anything about it?”

“Luke….I ain't sure what you're talking about but you're starting to scare me…”

“I'm scaring myself, Cooter….” Luke said with a catch in his voice. He buried his face in his hands again.

Cooter looked at his closest friend and felt at a loss. He didn't know what to do for him and he still didn't know what the problem was. He figured this was a situation best left to Uncle Jesse. Keeping a careful eye on Luke, he picked up the phone and asked the operator to connect him to the farm. Moments later, Jesse's voice came on the line. Quickly, he filled Jesse in on what was going on. Jesse told Cooter not to let Luke leave. He was coming after him.

Fifteen minutes later, Jesse pulled up in front of the garage and climbed out of his truck. When he saw the pickup pull up, Cooter came running outside and said breathlessly, “I tried to keep him here, Jesse, but Luke took off when he realized that I called you.” Cooter was agitated and upset but more than anything else he was worried about his best friend.

“Dang it!” Jesse growled “What on earth's gotten into that boy?”

“I don't know, Uncle Jesse…but something is really wrong and I'm scared of what he's liable to do in the state of mind he's in right now.” Cooter admitted to the elder Duke.

“So am I, Cooter. We have to find him before he does something crazy.” Jesse reached into the cab of his truck and grabbed his CB. Pressing the transmit button, he said “Lost Sheep and Bo Peep, this is Shepard. Come back.”

“This Bo, Uncle Jesse.” Bo's anxious voice came over the radio a few seconds later “What's up?”

“Luke took off before I got here.” Jesse told him gruffly “We have to find him.”

“Daisy and me are on our way.” Bo said quickly, the edge of worry clearly showing in his voice. “You want us to meet you at the garage?”

“Yeah….why don't you do that?” Jesse said “And hurry. Cooter said Luke was talking crazy…..” He hung the mike back on the bracket and looked at Cooter solemnly. “We're gonna have to split up….Luke knows this county like the back of his hand….no telling where he took off to.”

“Ya think we should call Rosco?” Cooter suggested trying to be helpful.

Jesse shook his head “Not unless we have to. Let's see if we can find him by ourselves first.” He didn't want to let Cooter just how worried he really was about Luke. From the way Cooter said Luke had been acting, it sounded almost as if he had had some kind of breakdown. Either way, he was definitely not in his right mind at the moment. They had to find him and they had to find him as fast as humanly possible. And they could do that faster without involving Rosco or any of the local police. None of this made any sense. Luke was more level headed than this and he knew that he could always depend on his family to help and get him through anything. Why was he acting this way? Jesse was scared to death. Something was just not right.

Daisy and Bo arrived within minutes of one another, Daisy in Dixie and Bo in the General Lee. They both jumped out of their vehicles and ran over to where Cooter and Uncle Jesse stood waiting on them.

“What's going on, Uncle Jesse?” Daisy asked in a worried voice, touching her Uncle's arm frantically.

“Luke took off before I could get here. And Cooter said he was talking crazy before he left.” Jesse said gruffly, gently patting Daisy's hand to comfort her.

“Crazy how?” Bo asked his eyes darting anxiously back and forth from his Uncle to Cooter

“Crazy for real….” Cooter said in a worried voice “He said he thought he was losing his mind and didn't know what to do about it…”

“That don't sound like Luke.” Daisy said in a frightened voice. She looked at her Uncle her eyes widening with alarm “Uncle Jesse, what's wrong with Luke?”

“I don't know, darling…but when we find him I'm gonna find out what this is all about if I have to hog tie that boy until he talks about it” Jesse declared in an agitated voice “And if that don't work….then I'll tan his hide for scaring the daylights out of me!”

“Well, he's on foot, right?” Bo said “So he can't get too far too fast.”

“He might have gone to the Boar's Nest looking for the General.” Daisy suggested. She looked at her youngest cousin “He doesn't know that I called you last night and you came and got it.”

“That's right.” Bo said “I bet that's the first place he goes.”

“Why don't I check it out?” Daisy offered eager to start the search for her missing cousin.

“And I'll check out some of our usual hiding spots.” Bo said

“You do that.” Jesse said agreeing with their plan “And I'll check out the old still sites.”

“And I'll check the old Indian Caves and the Silvertree mine.” Cooter volunteered

“Alright….let's git going. The sooner we find that boy the better.” Jesse said “And the first one to find him, get hold of everybody else right away. Stay on channel 12 so we can keep in touch.” Everyone hurried back to their own vehicles to start searching for Luke.

Chapter 10

Everyone checked out the locations they had agreed upon but none of them had any luck finding Luke. When they all reported back with their lack of success, they decided to meet at the farm to decide what to do next and where to look. Daisy arrived at the farm first and paced anxiously as she waited for the others to arrive. Cooter was the next to arrive. He climbed out of his tow truck and walked over to join Daisy. He put a comforting arm around her shoulders.

“Don't fret, Daisy. We're gonna find that cousin of yours if we have turn this whole county upside down.”

“Oh, Cooter…” she said “I'm so worried about him. Luke's never acted like this before.”

“I know…I wish I knew what was eating him up like this.” Cooter said in a concerned voice “I'm really scared that he's gonna do something crazy the way he was talking.”

“You don't think he'd try to hurt himself, do ya?” Daisy said in a frightened voice as a new fear for her cousin suddenly crossed her mind

“Now, darling….you can't start thinking like that.” Cooter told her even though the same idea had crossed his mind. They looked up as Jesse's pickup pulled into the drive. He climbed out of the cab and joined the others just as the General Lee came tearing into the barnyard. Bo climbed out of the window and hurried to join the others. They went into the house to decide what they should do next.

They sat at the kitchen table and Daisy got everyone a cup of coffee, then took her own place at the table. Everyone looked at Jesse for guidance.

“It looks like that boy ain't gonna make it easy to find ‘em.” Jesse said glumly

“Yeah…” Bo said flatly “If Luke wants to get lost bad enough he knows how to do it. I just wish I knew what was going on in that danged mind of his right now.”

“Well, from the way he was talking at the garage, his mind ain't exactly on track right now.” Cooter said

“Which means we have to figure out how to find him right quick.” Jesse said

“I don't see how this can all be because of what happened with Becky.” Daisy said “That just don't make sense.”

“Ya know, Daisy's right.” Bo said thoughtfully “I think this has to do with something besides the accident.”

“But what?” Jesse asked in a gruffer voice than he intended. “And why won't he talk to any of us about whatever's got him so worked up?”

“I don't know.” Bo admitted “But I sure don't like it.”

“Neither do I. ” said Daisy “I feel so helpless. Luke's in trouble and none of us know where to even start looking for him.”

“I guess we're just gonna have to divide the county into sections and check each section out till we figure out where he got to.” Cooter said solemnly

“And hope we're not too late.” Jesse added “I swear to god I'm gonna lock that boy in his room for a month for worrying me like this.”

“But that's still gonna take a lot of time with just the four of us looking.” Daisy pointed out “And time is the one thing we may not have a whole lot of right now.”

“Hey, y'all…we could cover a lot more ground if we git us some help.” Cooter said “How about if I give L.B. and B.B. a call on the CB?”

“That's a good idea, Cooter.” Jesse said, nodding his head in agreement.

“Yeah, and we can get Dooley and Dobro too.” Bo said “They'll be glad to help if we tell ‘em what's wrong.”

“Do it.” Jesse said after considering Bo's suggestion for a minute. “Have them all meet us here just as soon as they can.”

Cooter pushed back his chair and walked over to the CB sitting on a stand in the corner of the kitchen. He keyed the mike and called the four friends they had decided to ask for help and told them all to switch to channel 13 so the whole county wouldn't know what was going on. As soon as he explained the situation, they all four told him that they were on their way. Even though there were plenty of other people in the county that would have been glad to help, they knew it would be best to keep the search party limited to just the eight of them. If anyone besides one of them found Luke in his present state of mind there was no telling how he would react. The four at them sat at the kitchen table discussing their options while they waited for the others to arrive.

Chapter 11

When everyone else arrived, they decided on the different areas of the county that needed to be searched yet and divided the search area up between the eight of them. Bo was searching the south part of the county. They decided to search any place where someone might hide, caves, abandoned houses or barns, old mines. The first one to find Luke would immediately notify the others. They all realized the importance of finding him as soon as possible.

Bo sighed softly as he drove along the old trails and back roads. He knew that if Luke was trying not to be found, he would avoid the main roads. He was desperately worried about his oldest cousin. He glanced around to get his bearings; he had been so lost in his own thoughts that he hadn't been paying attention to where he was. He realized that he wasn't far from Devil's Ridge. So he decided to check it out. Devil's Ridge was a high cliff that overlooked a ravine lined with huge rocks and jagged cervices. Most of the locals used it as a make out spot since it was so isolated but there had been a couple of suicides there over the years.

As Bo got closer to the ridge, he slammed on the brakes and stopped the General. In the distance he could see the outline of a figure standing at the very edge of the cliff. Instinctively, he knew that it was Luke. Shutting off the engine, he grabbed the CB and keyed the mike. “Lost sheep to Shepard. Lost Sheep to Shepard. Come back, Shepard.”

“This is Shepard. Go ahead, Bo.”

“Uncle Jesse, I found Luke. He's at Devil's Ridge.”

“Is he alright?”

“He's standing right at the edge of the cliff.” Bo said anxiously. “I parked the General back a ways….I'm gonna try to get as close as I can to him without spooking him.”

“You be careful.” Jesse ordered “I'm on my way.”

“So am I.” Daisy's voice said over the radio

“Right behind y'all.” Cooter's voice replied

“Ten-four, y'all.” Bo acknowledged “Hurry….okay?”

Bo hung the mike back in place and climbed out of the General. Slowly and quietly, he started making his way towards the ridge. He didn't want to alert Luke to his presence until he had to since he didn't know what Luke had in mind. When he was within a few feet of Luke, he said softly,

“Hey, cuz….” He saw Luke's shoulders stiffen when he realized that he was no longer alone but other than that he did not acknowledge Bo's presence. Bo took a deep breath and swallowed hard. “Luke…..step back from the edge….you're too close…..” Luke continued to ignore Bo but Bo knew that Luke heard him and knew he was there.

When he took a step forward, Luke spoke for the first time, in a low quiet voice,

“Don't come any closer, Bo.”

“Why don't ya step back away from the edge so we can talk about whatever's wrong….” Bo said, his heart in his mouth as he kept a careful eye on Luke.

“Leave me alone, Bo….” Luke said in a strangely flat voice that sent chills down Bo's back.

“Come on, Cuz…” Bo pleaded “You're scaring me….I just wanna know what's wrong….”

Luke was silent for several long moments, then finally he said in a barely audible voice “I can't make it go away….I can't get it out of my head anymore….no matter what I do….it's always there…”

“What is?”

“The bodies….all the bodies….”

“What bodies?” Bo asked in a confused voice

“Women….children…babies….everywhere…..”

Now Bo was getting really scared. Nothing Luke was saying made any sense. Bo tried to stay calm. “Luke, whatever is wrong…..we can find a way to work it out….just talk to me…..you don't wanna do this…..you just want it to quit hurting…..” Bo hoped he was saying the right thing. “I get that.”

“No way to make it stop….”

“There's always a way…..we can find a way together….”

“No…” Luke said. He took a slight step forward, causing loose stones to scatter under his boot and fall over the edge of the ridge. Sensing immanent danger, Bo reacted instinctively. He threw himself at Luke and tackled him around the waist, pulling him away from the edge. They both fell to the ground with Bo on top of his older cousin, pinning him to the ground with his weight.

Luke lay there, staring at Bo blankly, his eyes flat and empty. Now Bo was terrified. “Luke….” He said sharply “Talk to me!” When Luke didn't respond, Bo shifted positions and gathered Luke into his arms, holding him closely. “Come on, Cuz….” He pleaded “Talk to me….don't do this to me…..” Luke still lay limply in Bo's arms without responding. Vaguely, Bo was aware of Jesse arriving at the scene. Jesse came running up to where Bo was sitting on the ground with Luke cradled in his arms.

Bo looked at his Uncle helplessly with tears streaking his face. “I stopped him from jumping….but now he won't even talk to me….” Bo told Jesse in a choked voice.

“Luke? Talk to me, son. It's Uncle Jesse.” Jesse said as he gently touched Luke's face but Luke just continued to stare sightlessly into space, seemingly unaware of Bo or his Uncle's presence. “We need to get him to a hospital.” Jesse said trying to keep the worry and fear out of his voice. He knew that something was desperately wrong with his oldest nephew. Jesse looked at Bo and gently reached out to touch his youngest nephew's shoulder trying to offer whatever comfort he could. “Did he say anything at all to you?”

“He was talking about bodies….women, children, babies…..I don't know what he was talking about, Uncle Jesse.” Bo tried to keep the fear out his voice but he wasn't doing a very good job of it.

“Let's git him in the back of the pickup.” Jesse said “So we can get him to the hospital.” Bo gathered Luke into his arms and carried him over to Jesse's truck. As Jesse and Bo were settling Luke into the back of the truck, Daisy and Cooter showed up. Jesse quickly filled them in on what was happening and told them that he was taking Luke to the hospital in Capital City .

“Y'all go ahead.” Cooter said knowing that the family all needed to be together right now “I'll hook the General up to my truck and take him on back to the farm for ya and then I'll meet ya there.”

“Thanks, Cooter.” Bo said, as he climbed into the back of the truck beside Luke and sat down with Luke's head gently cradled in his lap.

Cooter nodded. He watched as Jesse sped away with Daisy following close behind in Dixie . Sighing dejectedly, he walked over to his truck so he could back it up to the General. When he had his truck in position, he hooked up the General so he could tow it back to farm, then he would head over to the hospital to wait with the family for news about Luke. He got on the CB and told B.B., L.B., Dooley and Dobro that Luke had been found and was on his way to the hospital.

Chapter 12

At the hospital, Luke was immediately taken into an examining room while the rest of the Dukes were instructed to wait in the waiting room. Daisy and Jesse sat on a sofa while Bo paced back and forth across the waiting room. This wasn't the first time they'd had to sit in a hospital waiting room because one of the boys had been hurt. But this time it was different because Luke's injuries weren't physical but mental. And that scared them more than anything else ever had. This wasn't something a medical doctor could just fix by examining him and determining his injuries. How do you fix a broken mind? And right now, it seemed that it was Luke's mind was broken. Jesse prayed that it wasn't broken beyond repair.

True to his word, Cooter arrived at the hospital an hour after they did. Jesse told him that there was still no news, so he sat down to wait with them for news about Luke. It was another two hours before a doctor came into the waiting room. Since the Dukes were the only ones in the waiting room, she walked over to them and said,

“Are you the Duke family?”

“Yes,” Jesse said, rising to his feet. “I'm Jesse Duke. Luke's my nephew. And this is cousin, Daisy and his cousin, Bo. How's my boy?”

“”I'm Doctor Nelson.” She said, introducing herself. “Right now your nephew is resting comfortably. He's been sedated so he's sleeping and he's been moved to our mental health unit. Has he been having problems sleeping lately?”

“Yes, he's been having really bad nightmares…so he's been refusing to sleep.” Jesse told her

“Do any of you know what those nightmares were about?”

“No. He won't talk about that.” Jesse told her

“Have there been any recent traumatic events that could have triggered the nightmares?”

“There was a car accident about a month ago. A young woman in the car with Luke was killed. He's been blaming himself for the accident.”

“That could explain the nightmares….is there anything else?”

“He's been drinking and Luke's not normally a drinker.” Jesse told her

“I think that we're dealing with two distinct problems….sleep deprivation and post traumatic stress syndrome. Either problem by itself can be bad but the two together can cause a psychotic break and I think that's what happened with your nephew.”

“Can you help him?”

“Yes…once we find out exactly what triggered the nightmares.” The doctor told Jesse “Was your nephew in Viet Nam ?”

“Yes….for almost eighteen months…” Jesse told her with in a surprised voice “But he's been home from the war for almost five years. Why do you ask?”

“Because sometimes one traumatic event, like the accident that you mentioned, can trigger repressed memories from another traumatic event. And unfortunately, this seems to happen more often with Viet Nam Veterans. I'd like to have someone from the V.A. come and talk to Luke. Would you have any objection to that?”

“Not if that's what Luke needs to get well.” Jesse said “Can we see him?”

“Not right now. Like I said, he's been sedated and he's sleeping and right now his body really needs the rest. And I would like to have someone from the V.A. talk to him as soon as possible. If you come tomorrow afternoon, you can see him then.”

“Doc,” Bo said anxiously “When I found him at Devil's Ridge, he kept talking about dead bodies….women, children, babies….and how he couldn't get it out of his head….”

The doctor nodded her head solemnly. “He was saying things like that when I examined him. That's why I asked about Viet Nam . I honestly believe that he's dealing with some kind of suppressed memory from the war that's resurfaced probably triggered by the accident that killed the young woman he was with. And that's where the V.A. comes in. They have people who are specially trained to deal with these kind of situations. They can help Luke as long as he lets them.”

“Thank you, Doctor.” Jesse told her gratefully. “We'll be back tomorrow.”

As the doctor walked away, Bo looked at Jesse worriedly and said “Uncle Jesse, do you really think that what's been going on with Luke has something to do with something that happened in Viet Nam ?”

“Let's wait and see what the V.A. has to say.” Jesse said “But it makes more sense than him reacting this way just because of what happened with Becky.”

“Uncle Jesse, I still don't understand….” Daisy said

“It's hard to explain, Baby…unless you've been in a war yourself.” Jesse told her as they started to walk out of the building. “A war scars a man….he sees things…does things…that sometimes it hurts too much to remember…and then sometimes things happen to make you remember things you don't wanna remember..…”

“Is that what happened to Luke?” Daisy asked

“It sounds like that's what the doctor thinks happened.”

“But why wouldn't Luke tell us that's what was going on?” Bo asked in a confused voice

“Maybe because there are things that happened over there that he doesn't wanna tell us about….things he's too ashamed of….” Jesse said quietly. “Or things that were so terrible that he doesn't want to remember them himself….”

“Do you think he's going to be okay?” Daisy asked anxiously

“I think it'll take time but yes…I think he'll be okay once he starts talking about what's going on in his head.” Jesse told her “And right now I think it's gonna take a professional to help him do that….”

Chapter 13

Late the next afternoon the Duke family returned to the hospital. When Jesse went up to the nurse's station to ask about seeing Luke, she asked him to wait while she paged the doctor. A few minutes later, Dr Nelson came down the hall towards them.

“Please come into my office for a few minutes. The counselor from the V.A, is here and would like to speak to you and then you can see Luke.” She led the way down the hallway to a corner office and stepped inside. Another woman was sitting in front of the desk. She smiled as they came into the room and stood up. “You must be Luke's family. I'm Carla Benson, the crisis counselor from the V.A.”

“Nice to meet ya, ma'am.” Jesse said courteously “How's Luke? How's my boy?”

“Please sit down and I'll explain everything I can to you.”

After the three Dukes had taken seats in front of the desk, Carla smiled warmly and said “First of all, I want you to know that I can help Luke. It's going to take a little time but he should come through this okay.”

“We do want him to stay here in the hospital for a few more days” Doctor Wilson said “We just wanna make sure he gets some decent sleep and we're going to put him on some medication to help him sleep once he goes home so we can break the pattern of the nightmares.”

“Luke is suffering from both sleep deprivation and post traumatic stress.” Carla told them “I have talked to him briefly and the nightmares are related to something that happened to him in Viet Nam that was extremely traumatic….so traumatic that he shoved that memory deep down inside of him so that he wouldn't have to remember it. Unfortunately, in cases like this….sooner or later something happens that triggers that memory and brings it back to the surface and that's what happened with Luke.”

“But why he didn't he tell us that was what was going on?” Bo asked “We could have done something to help him before it got this bad.”

“He thought that he could handle it by himself….that the nightmares would go away but they didn't, they just got worse. And that combined with not sleeping led to a psychotic break……basically what that means is that he did go a little crazy for awhile…but he is okay now….”

“Are you sure?” Daisy asked fearfully

“Yes, I'm sure. Right now he's very upset about what almost happened.”

“You mean at Devil's Ridge?” Bo asked

“Yes…..he doesn't even remember being there…or being so close to the edge.”

“What can we do to help him?” Jesse asked

“Just be there for him, love him and support him. And let him talk about what happened. I'm going to leave it up to him if he wants to tell you or not what happened in Viet Nam that triggered this whole thing. But I will tell that it was very traumatic and it's very painful for him to talk about….he wasn't actually involved directly in what happened….but he was there and he blames himself for not being able to stop what happened…”

“Kinda like him blaming himself for what happened to Becky?” Daisy said

“Exactly….and that's why the accident was a trigger for this particular memory to resurface.”

“What about when he gets out of the hospital?” Jesse asked

“We'll set up some out patient appointments and I will work with him for as long as it takes to help get him over this.” Carla told them “He's a very strong young man….emotionally and mentally….he will get through this…he just needs a little help right now and that's the hardest thing for him to accept.”

“That's Luke.” Daisy said with a fond smile “He's always worrying about everybody else instead of himself.”

“Well…this has made him realize that he needs to worry about himself right now.” Carla said. She smiled warmly “So, if you are ready to see him….I'll take up to the unit.”

“Yes, we are.” Jesse said. The three Dukes followed Carla down the hallway to the elevators. She pushed the button for the third floor. When they stepped out of the elevator. She led the way down the hallway to a set of double doors with a keypad on the hall beside them. She punched a code and waited for a buzzer to signal that it was okay to open the door. “The mental health unit is a locked unit for the protection of the patients. I know it's going to be hard seeing Luke here but it's only for a couple of days.”

“We understand.” Jesse said as they followed her into the unit.

“Visiting hours are from 9AM until 10PM , There's buzzer below the keypad, just ring it and tell whoever answers who you are here to see and they'll buzz you into the unit.” She led the way through a large open room where several patients were sitting watching TV, reading, or just sitting around staring at the walls. She walked down the hallway to a room on the left and knocked lightly before opening the door. Luke was standing by the window with his back to the door, staring through the glass.

“Luke, your family is here.” Carla said. She backed out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her. Luke didn't turn around immediately, he just kept staring out the window. Jesse crossed the room and gently put his hand on his shoulder. “Luke….” He said gently

Luke finally turned around. His gaze was clear and his face was relaxed but tears glistened in his eyes. When he looked at his uncle, the tears slowly started slipping down his cheeks. Automatically, Jesse wrapped his arms around his oldest nephew and pulled him close. Luke buried his face against his Uncle's comforting shoulder and began to sob. “Shhhh…..it's alright, son…..just let it out.” Jesse said soothingly. He rubbed Luke's back in slow gentle circles just as he done so many times when he was a child.

Daisy and Bo stood watching the scene awkwardly. They had never seen Luke cry not since Aunt Martha died and it made them both uncomfortable. Finally, they both went over to their Uncle and Luke and wrapped their arms around both of them, sharing a group hug with Luke safely enclosed in the middle. Daisy and Bo both shed a few tears of their own, caught up in the emotion of the moment.

“I'm sorry…..I'm so sorry…..” Luke's muffled voice said from against his Uncle's shoulder.

“Shhh…” Jesse soothed him “There's nothing to be sorry for. You're alright now and that's all that matters.”

Luke slowly composed himself as they broke apart from the hug. With a self conscious smile, he gave Daisy a hug and then turned to give Bo one too. “Thanks, cuz….” He whispered in Bo's ear. “I owe ya one….big time….”

“Anytime, cuz…” Bo whispered back “But if you ever do something like that again….I'll kill ya…”

“Welome back, sugar…” Daisy said when Luke looked back at her with the warm open smile that she loved.

“It's good to be back….” Luke said slowly “I'm sorry about everything I put you guys through….”

“It's okay. Like Uncle Jesse said, you're alright now and that's all that matters.” Daisy told him

“It sure is.” Bo said, clasping his cousin's shoulder and squeezing gently.

“I still should have told you what was going on before it got so far out of hand.”

Luke said self consciously

“Don't go beating yourself up for that, Luke.” Jesse told him “Any one of us could have done the same thing if we'd been in your shoes.”

“They said I have to stay here for a couple of more days.” Luke said “But then I can come home….”

“We know. The doctor told us.”

“Then I have to go see Carla at the V.A. for awhile.” Luke said, lowering his eyes. “But that's okay……I wanna work through this…..”

“I'm proud of you, Luke.” Jesse told him “It takes a big man to admit when he needs help…”

“I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Bo….I don't even remember being up there on Devil's Ridge…..” Luke said, his voice threatening to crack with emotion. “Or being at Cooter's for that matter….”

“It's alright, Luke….you don't have to talk about it until you're ready.” Jesse told him

“I need to talk about it.” He said in a tightly controlled voice. “I need to tell y'all what happened over there in Nam …”

Chapter 14

Sensing that Luke needed to tell them his story in his own way without any interruptions. The Dukes found places to sit and waited for him to begin. Luke turned to stare back out of the window so he wouldn't have to look at any of them as he told them what had happened to him over there.

“Y'all remember all the protestors just before the war ended……the ones who said the soldiers over there were baby killers?”

“We remember.” Jesse said quietly

“They were right……we were…..” Luke said quietly. “We were on a routine patrol. I hadn't been in country very long…..just a few months. It was when I was stationed with my first unit over there….” He paused and took a deep shuddering breath before continuing. “We came across this village……mostly women and children….and all of sudden…..the other guys just started shooting…..some of them took the younger girls….some of them not more than 10 or 12…..and raped them before they killed them. They kept asking me if I wanted some before they finished ‘em off……” he choked back a sob from somewhere deep inside of him before he continued “This one guy came up to me with his baby in his arms……and he cut it's throat right in front of me…..he said it didn't matter…..it was the enemy.....” His shoulders started to shake with deep sobs he could no longer control. “I couldn't do anything but just stand there and watch ‘em…..

I knew I couldn't stop them….or they would have killed me too…..and that was just the beginning….it got worse the longer I was there….” Jesse automatically rose to his feet and walked over to take his nephew into his comforting embrace. Luke kept crying as his mind flooded with memories of the horrors he had witnessed in Viet Nam . He forced himself to turn back to the window even though he was still visibly upset “I watched them slaughter that whole village….and there wasn't anything I could do about it.” He paused for several minutes before going on “I watched my best friends get killed, a couple right beside me…..and I was so scared that I was gonna be next…..Remember, Scottie Thompson….he was from Hazzard too….he died in my arms. He got hit by mortar shell….there was nothing left below the waist….I knew he wouldn't make it….but I still held when he died and kept telling him it was okay….he was be okay…he was gonna go home….” He started crying again unable to continue but something in his rigid posture warned them to stay away….he didn't want their comfort. Not yet. Finally, he sighed deeply and said in a barely audible voice “When I got home…..I swore I'd never be responsible for someone else getting killed again…..then Becky died and somehow….it just brought it all back. The nightmares started again and they just kept getting worse….and I couldn't get the pictures out of my head no matter how hard I tried.”

“Oh, my god….” Daisy said softly, her own tears falling down her cheeks, feeling her older cousin's pain as if it were her own.

Instinctively, Bo went to Luke and pulled him into his arms, holding him tightly. Luke had never really talked about the war and what little he had just shared with them was enough horror to remind Bo just how lucky he was that they stopped the draft before he turned 18. Luke leaned heavily against his youngest cousin and continued to cry until he had no more tears to cry. But at least now Luke could finally start to heal from the trauma he had gone through over there thousands of miles from home.

The family stayed with him until visiting hours were over that evening. Luke shared a few more things that day but nothing as horrific as the suppressed memory that had almost destroyed him when it finally resurfaced. By the time they left that evening, Luke was acting like himself again much to the rest of the family's relief. But after they left for the night, Luke was left alone with his thoughts. He was relieved when the nurse came in with his nighttime medication so he could sleep and escape from the thoughts that still threatened to overwhelm him.

Over the next two days, his mood improved as he finally started getting some decent sleep again. Even if he had to be medicated to do it, it still felt wonderful to be able to sleep with any dreams, good or bad. Still, he was relieved when he was finally released and could back home where he wanted to be more than anywhere else.

He met with Carla at the V.A. twice a week. Slowly he began to open up about the horrors he had experienced in Viet Nam . Even though it was hard for him to talk about it, he found out that it did help. Carla was very supportive and shared several of her own experiences in Viet Nam where she had worked as a nurse. Slowly, Luke began to learn to live with the memories. He was also slowly weaned from the medication and started sleeping again on his own without any nightmares to disturb his rest. And through it all, he had the love and support of his family. The one thing he knew he could always count on.

The End