Missing in Action

By

Marty Chrisman

EPILOGUE

June 8 th , 1973

Jesse Duke frowned worriedly as he sorted through the envelopes that had come in the mail. There was still no letter from his oldest nephew, Luke, who was stationed in Viet Nam . It had been almost two months with no word from him and that just wasn't like Luke. Usually the family received at least two letters from him every couple of weeks, one for Jesse and Daisy and a separate one for Bo. Granted, the letters themselves might have been written several weeks before they actually got them but they always arrived. Something was wrong. Jesse could feel it in his bones. Besides his big toe had been hurting and that was never a good sign. Sighing, he laid the mail down on the table and started to pour himself a cup of coffee from the pot sitting on the back of the stove.

He glanced up as his youngest nephew, Bo, came into the kitchen. Bo was a handsome young man who had just turned sixteen. He had feathered blonde hair, baby blue eyes and a smile that could melt your heart. In the past few months he had grown at least two inches and his skinny frame had filled out into a well muscled build. He glanced at the letters lying on the table with a hopeful look in his eyes. A disappointed expression crossed his face when Jesse looked at him and shook his head sadly. Bo's shoulders sagged dejectedly as he went out the back door and walked across the barnyard, disappearing into the barn. The two boys were as close as brothers and it had hit Bo the hardest when Luke enlisted in the Marines and left Hazzard. Bo missed him terribly. He had already been gone for almost two years and it seemed like a lifetime to Bo.

Jesse sighed as he finished pouring his coffee and started to sit down at the table to drink it. He paused when he heard the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. He glanced out of the window above the kitchen sink and frowned when he saw an unfamiliar dark blue Sedan parking next to his battered old pickup truck. He watched as the door opened and a middle aged man in full dress uniform stepped out of the car. Jesse's breath caught in his throat and the cup in his hand fell to the floor unnoticed where it shattered. He barely noticed the hot coffee that splashed against the pants of his overalls as he threw open the kitchen door and stepped out onto the screened in back porch. Just as he reached the top step, the other man was arriving at the bottom step. They stopped and looked at each other for a moment and then the military man said,

“Are you Jesse Duke?”

“That's me. What can I do for ya?” Jesse asked trying to keep his voice calm even though his heart pounding loudly in his chest.

“Mr. Duke, I'm Sergeant Benson of the United States Marine Corps. I'm sorry to inform you that your nephew, Lucas K. Duke, has been reported as missing in action and is presumed dead. His squad was attacked and there are no known survivors. I'm very sorry for your loss.”

Jesse's face turned white and he reached out to grab the edge of the door frame as his knees threatened to buckle beneath him. In a tightly controlled voice he said “Thank you for letting me know.” The other man saluted Jesse and then turned to walk back to his car. Jesse stood there, fighting back his tears, as he watched the Marine climb into his car and back out of the driveway.

Bo came running out of the barn and towards the house. He skidded to a halt at the bottom of the steps when he saw the expression on his uncle's face. “Uncle Jesse,” he asked in a fearful uneasy voice “What's the matter? Who was that man?”

“Luke's been reported as missing in action and is presumed dead. His squad was attacked and there were no known survivors.” Jesse said in a stunned voice as a single tear rolled down his face.

“NO! IT'S NOT TRUE! NOT LUKE! NOT LUKE!” Bo screamed as he fell to his knees in the dirt and buried his face in his hands, breaking into hysterical sobs.

Chapter 2

August 22 nd , 1978

Jesse opened the bedroom door and called Bo's name Bo simply mumbled under his breath and buried his head in his pillow. Bo was not a morning person and getting him out of bed in the mornings was a chore. Finally, Jesse resorted to taking his pillow and his blankets and leaving him to the chill of the early morning air to force him out of bed. Jesse closed the bedroom door and went on downstairs to the kitchen.

Reluctantly, Bo shoved himself out of bed with a yawn. As usual, for just a moment, he let his gaze linger on the second twin bed in the room. Luke's bed. A bed that had been empty for over six and a half years now. Bo still missed him with every fiber of his being. A big part of Bo had died that day too along with his cousin somewhere over there in the jungles of Viet Nam . For over a year Bo had been so depressed he would hardly came out of his room. He barely graduated with his class. All he wanted was the one thing he couldn't have. He wanted Luke back. The family had forced themselves to go on but things were never the same, not with Luke gone.

Uncle Jesse seemed to have aged ten years overnight. Some of the spring was gone from his step and the lines on his face deepened considerably. Luke had been the oldest of the three cousins. He had been the first one to come and live at the farm with Jesse and his wife, Martha. Luke had only been four years old at the time. To Jesse, Luke was his oldest son. His first born. The one who loved and cherished the land as much as Jesse did. Jesse spent more time by himself at the still sites now, running off batches of his finest as he followed an age old family tradition.

Bo's cousin, Daisy, who had been 18 when Luke went M.I.A., had taken a job at the local honky-tonk, a rowdy bar called the Boars Nest. Daisy was the prettiest girl in Hazzard with long chestnut colored hair, big blue eyes and a figure that could make any man sit up and take notice, so she made good tips especially when she worked the evening shift. She worked long hard hours, often pulling double shifts. That was her way of dealing with the pain of losing her older cousin. Life went on and the Duke family had no choice but to go on with it.

Bo pulled on his clothes and went downstairs to join the rest of the family for breakfast. Daisy greeted him with a warm smile as she sat a plate stacked high with pancakes on the table in front of him. After she had served Uncle Jesse and sat a plate on the table for herself, they all bowed their heads and Jesse said grace just as he had done at every meal ever since Bo and Daisy could remember. It was just one of the family rituals that Jesse insisted on and enforced faithfully. After breakfast, Bo went outside to do the morning chores. Before Luke left for basic training, the boys had done the chores together, laughing and joking between themselves. But now Bo did them alone, working in silence and remembering happier times.

While Bo did the outside chores, Daisy started on her chores in the house. Although she did her share of the farm chores and often helped Bo with the morning chores, she couldn't do a lot of the heavy work that the boys used to do together that Bo now did alone. So it fell to Daisy to keep the household running and the inside chores done. As she worked, she often found herself thinking about her older cousin, the one she had always considered her overly protective big brother. She missed him terribly but she knew that none of them missed him as much as Bo. The two boys had been closer than brothers and completely inseparable all of their lives, in spite of four years difference in their ages. Bo had idolized Luke and looked up to him. Luke was his hero and Bo wanted to be just like him some day. Bo and Daisy were close but they each had their own interests and besides nobody would ever be able to take Luke's place in Bo's eyes.

Bo had been in a number of fights defending both the Duke name and Luke's memory when some local roughnecks had made negative comments about the war in Viet Nam and the men who fought there. Six young men from Hazzard had left to fight in that war and only one of them had returned home alive. And he had lost a leg over there in battle. The Duke family still heard unconfirmed reports on the radio and the TV about prisoners of war that had been left over there when the American troops pulled out. They all prayed that those reports weren't true and if they were true than they prayed for the young men left behind under those conditions and forgotten by the government they served.

Bo had just finished feeding the animals and milking the goats when he saw the unfamiliar dark green Sedan pull into the driveway and park beside Bo's car, a 1969 black Dodge Charger. Bo stopped what he was doing and watched as a older man in full dress uniform climbed out of the car and headed towards the back steps. Bo felt his heart start pounding frantically in his chest. The last time someone like this had shown up at the farm was the day they told Jesse that Luke was missing in action and presumed dead.

Bo walked across the barnyard towards the stranger with long determined strides just as Uncle Jesse and Daisy came out of the house and stood on the screened in back porch.

“Jesse Duke?” Bo heard the man ask in a clipped military tone as he halted at the bottom step and looked up at Jesse and Daisy.

“I'm Jesse Duke.” Jesse told him “Have you finally found my boy's body? Is that why you're here?” he asked gruffly, struggling to control his voice and the emotions that the sight of this man in uniform caused to swell inside of him, bringing back painful memories of the last visit Jesse had received from someone in uniform just like this one. Without a body to bury, Jesse had refused to even have a memorial service for Luke.

“Mr. Duke, I'm Sergeant Mallory from the United States Marine Corps and…uh…I don't quite know how to tell you this but your nephew, Sergeant Lucas K. Duke, has been found alive in Viet Nam.”

“Luke's alive!” Bo said sharply, startling the uniformed officer who hadn't heard the young man come up behind him “Where he is?”

Daisy gasped at the news and clutched her uncle's arm, while Jesse stared at the unformed officer in disbelief and said quietly “Luke's alive? My boy's not dead?”

“No, sir. Your nephew is not dead, he's very much alive.” The older man said “He'd been taken prisoner by the enemy and the camp where he was being held was only recently discovered.”

“Where is he now?” Bo demanded, unable to believe that Luke was still alive and would probably be coming home soon.

“He's been in a military hospital in Thailand for the past six weeks but he should be coming home soon.” Sergeant Mallory said

“How soon?” Jesse asked voicing the most important question to all of them.

‘Probably within the next couple of weeks.”

“Yeeehawwww……” Bo yelled one of his trademark rebel screams, almost scaring the Sergeant out of his skin.

“I'm sure that you will be hearing more from someone soon.” The other man said, anxious to get on his way now that his news had been delivered to this family.

“Thank you for letting us know.” Jesse told him, politely reaching out to shake the other man's hand. He returned the handshake and then saluted Jesse as he turned and walked back to his car. As the Marine officer climbed into the Sedan and drove away, Bo couldn't help letting out another rebel yell because he was so excited. Luke was alive and he was coming home.

“Let's go inside, Uncle Jesse.” Daisy said, gently slipping her arm around her uncle's waist “You look like you need to sit down.”

“I think we all need to sit down and talk.” Jesse said quietly. The three members of the Duke clan went into the house and sat down at the table. Jesse took a deep breath to soothe his ragged nerves and said “Luke's alive and he's coming home….praise the lord for that. But you two young'uns need to realize something…..war changes a man and if Luke's been in one of those camps all this time….then he's not gonna be the same person we all remember…..he's gonna be different….just how different remains to be seen.”

“But he'll still be Luke, Uncle Jesse.” Bo said in a fiercely defensively voice

“Yes, there's a part of him that will still be Luke….but it's gonna be a hard adjustment for him and for us for him to be back home.” Jesse said “Luke's done things over there, seen things, went through things that no man should ever have to see or do…..probably been treated in ways that no man should ever be treated…..and all we can do is be there to love him and take care of him….and make him part of this family again.”

“Uncle Jesse, do you really think he's going to be that much different?” Daisy asked voicing her own doubts and concerns.

“I'm afraid so, Baby…..the conditions in those kind of camps are terrible….the men are treated like animals….most of them don't survive.” Jesse told her trying to avoid being too graphic but wanting her and Bo to understand what Luke had been through if he had been a P.O.W. for over five years. “For Luke to have lived this long under those kind of conditions just proves how strong he really is…..but he's still bound to be different….to have changed because of what he's been through.”

“But he'll be all right, won't he?” Daisy asked in a suddenly frightened voice

“I don't know, baby…..we'll just have to wait and see…..some men never recover completely from something like that…..and we don't know yet what kind of condition Luke is going to be in when he finally gets home.”

“You're worried about his mind, ain't ya?” Bo asked his Uncle with one those flashes of insight that he got occasionally.

“Yes….I am.” Jesse admitted, not wanting to tell Bo or Daisy that Jesse's best friend when they were children had come home from Korea with a broken mind that was never right again. He eventually had to be admitted to a mental institution after he viciously attacked his wife and newborn child when his mind snapped and he thought they were the enemy.

“He's still gonna be Luke.” Bo said in a firmly determined voice “And I'll do whatever I have to do to take care of him and make sure he's okay….the good lord kept him alive for a reason and saw fit to send him back home to us…now it's up to us to be there for him.”

“We're all going to be there for him, Bo.” Jesse told him “And do whatever we have to make him feel safe again…..and we'll deal with whatever problems he might have the same way we always have……as a family.”

Chapter 3

September 5 th , 1978

The young man sat in the back of the bus alone, staring out of the window. Even as the landscape turned more familiar, there was still very little emotion or much of anything reflected on his face or in his sapphire eyes. And even though his posture appeared to be relaxed, there was underlying tenseness in his muscles as if he were prepared to jump up and run at any time.

“Are you getting off at the next stop?” a young woman sitting in the seat in front of him asked trying to make conversation to pass the last few miles of her trip. The young man slowly turned his head to look at her, the flat dull look in those beautiful eyes startling her for a moment. There was something vaguely familiar about the man but she couldn't put her finger on what it was that made her think she knew him from somewhere. He simply nodded his head slightly in response to her question and then turned back to stare out of the window again.

The woman turned back around and chewed at her bottom lip thoughtfully. She stole glances at the young man sitting behind her from the corner of her eye. Except for the strange vacant expression on his face and in those eyes, he was a handsome young man with rugged good looks and dark brown hair worn slightly longer than the norm. He was painfully thin, as if he hadn't had a good home cooked meal in quite some time. His clothes hung on his almost frail frame and he wore a plastic bracelet on his left wrist like they put on you in a hospital. Suddenly, she realized what it was that seemed so familiar about the young man. It was his eyes. She had only seen one other man who had eyes that shade of blue before. But that was impossible. That man had been killed in Viet Nam almost six years ago. She twisted back around in her seat and looked at the young man in disbelief and said almost in a whisper “Luke? Luke Duke?”

It took several minutes for the young man to respond to her but then he slowly turned his head to look at her again. That was when she knew, when she saw those eyes again. It was Luke. Somehow, miraculously, he was still alive and not buried somewhere deep in the jungles of Viet Nam . “Luke, it's me. Angie Barnes. We went to school together, remember?” He just looked at her with no hint of recognition or any real sign that he even cared. Then he simply turned to stare out of the window again. Startled by his unsettling reaction, Angie turned back around and avoided looking at him again. This wasn't the Luke Duke she remembered. This man appeared to be seriously disturbed.

Fifteen minutes later, the bus pulled up to the bus stop in Hazzard. As Angie climbed down the front steps to the curb, she saw the Duke family standing to one side, watching anxiously as the passengers came off the bus. That seemed to confirm that the strange young man sitting behind her had indeed been Luke Duke and he was coming home to Hazzard. Angie smiled when her husband and little girl came running up to greet her and she forgot about the Dukes as she happily greeted her family.

“Where is he, Uncle Jesse?” Daisy asked anxiously “Where's Luke?” Everyone seemed to have gotten off the bus but none of them had been Luke. The family stared anxiously at the open doors wondering if one of them should go on the bus and see if Luke was on it or not. He was supposed to be. That was what the telegram Jesse had received two days ago had told them anyway. Then Jesse saw a lone figure walking slowly down the aisle between the seats towards the door. A few minutes later, a young man stepped down to the curb. In spite of his frail appearance and the distant look on his face, Jesse knew that it was Luke. And so did Bo.

“LUKE!” Bo yelled, running to the other young man and grabbing him in a fierce hug. Jesse saw the older man flinch and the frightened look that clouded his eyes at Bo's enthusiastic greeting. Quickly, Jesse stepped forward and put a gentle hand on the young man's arm.

“It's okay, Luke…” Jesse said in a gentle soothing voice much like he would have used for a skittish mare who wasn't quite broke yet. “It's Uncle Jesse and Bo and Daisy. You're home now, boy…..” He tried to keep his voice steady even though his own emotions were in a turmoil. He glanced at Bo who was still clinging to Luke almost desperately. “Bo,” he said gently “Give Luke some air….” At his uncle's words, Bo let go of Luke and stepped back, grinning broadly as he gazed at his older cousin's face happily. Luke's expression didn't change and he still had a frightened look in his eyes that tore at Jesse's heart. Jesse could feel him trembling violently beneath the hand that still rested on Luke's arm. “Let's get you home.” He said gruffly, gently slipping his arm around his oldest nephew's waist to guide him over to Bo's car which they had brought for the trip to bring Luke home. Luke meekly allowed Jesse to lead him over to the car. He still hadn't said a word to any of them and the vacant almost dead look in his eyes worried Jesse terribly. This was not the same Luke that had left them over six and a half years ago. This was a stranger in a body that only vaguely resembled the Luke they all remembered. Jesse had a feeling that they all had their work cut out for them if they ever hoped to find that Luke again.

Jesse helped Luke into the front seat of the car, putting him in the middle between himself and Bo while Daisy climbed into the back seat. Even Bo had fallen silent, unnerved by Luke's reaction to seeing them again. They all sensed that there was a part of Luke that recognized them and knew who they were but simply refused to respond to them in any way. Daisy was afraid, Jesse was worried, and Bo was just plain angry as he wondered what they had done to his cousin over there in that prison camp to make him act like this. Even though Jesse had done his best to warn them that Luke might not be the same when he came back, Bo had never expected anything like this. The ride back to the farm was made in an uneasy silence, none of them really quite sure what to say or to do to reassure Luke that he was really back home again and that he was finally safe.

When they got back to the house, Luke let Jesse help him out of the car and up the back steps into the kitchen. Gently Jesse sat him down in his old place at the table and glanced up at his youngest nephew and Daisy as they came into the house behind them.

“One of us is going to have to stay with him all the time as long as he's like this.” Jesse said somberly

“I will” Bo volunteered in a fiercely protective voice

“We'll all take turns.” Jesse told him firmly “That way it's not all on one person.” He glanced at Daisy “Honey, why don't you fix something to eat? I'm sure Luke could probably use a bite to eat after that bus ride.” Daisy nodded relieved to have something to do to keep her busy and to keep her mind off Luke and the bizarre way he was acting. Jesse opened the refrigerator and took out a jug of milk “Bo, hand me a glass.” He said.

Bo reached into the cabinet beside the sink and handed his uncle a glass. Jesse filled it with milk and sat it on the table in front of Luke. Luke just stared at the glass for several long seconds until Jesse gently touched his shoulder and said “It's all right, Luke….go ahead. It's for you….” Jesse's words seemed to penetrate the fog clouding Luke's mind and he slowly reached out to pick up the glass. Jesse watched smiling encouragingly as Luke tipped the glass and slowly drank the milk in one long swallow. When he sat the glass back down on the table, Jesse refilled it. Luke picked it up and drank half of it before sitting the glass back down. Jesse was relieved to notice that Luke did seem to understand them when they spoke to him and even though his reaction times were slow, he did respond. He was confident that with time, love and patience, Luke would get better and start responding more to them and to his surroundings. In spite of the vacant look in his eyes, Jesse sensed that Luke was cautiously watching every move that each of them made. Luke was still in there somewhere, they just had to find him again.

Chapter 4

The rest of the day was spent helping Luke get settled in and the family trying to adjust to the fact that he was really alive and back home with them where he belonged, at least physically if not mentally. Jesse was positive that Luke's strange behavior would fade once he felt safe and secure again. In spite of his strange vacant stare, he did seem to be aware of the fact that he was back on the farm and back with his family.

Daisy fixed all of Luke's favorite foods for supper: fried chicken, corn on the cob, peach pie, and mashed potatoes with white gravy. She was disappointed when Luke simply picked at his food, eating very little. After supper, Bo heard Luke in the bathroom getting sick as his stomach rebelled against the food he was no longer used to eating. Bo was standing in the hallway when his older cousin came out of the bathroom. For a brief moment their eyes met and Bo was positive that he saw a flicker of the old Luke in those sapphire eyes. Then just as quickly it was gone replaced by the vacant empty look in those eyes that was so unsettling to those closest to Luke.

When it was time to go to bed for the night, Bo tried to keep up a conversation as the two cousins got ready for bed, not an easy thing to do when only one of you is talking. He watched as Luke slowly sorted through the clothes in his dresser, looking at them as if he had never seen them before. Finally, Luke pulled out a pair of gray sweat pants and began stripping off his clothes for bed. As he took off his shirt and casually let it drop to the floor, Bo gasped out loud when he saw the scars on Luke's chest and back. Scars that could only have been made with a whip of some kind. In the back of his mind, Bo knew that Luke had been tortured in that camp but seeing the physical proof of his abuse made Bo physically sick and he had to run to the bathroom where he prompted threw up his supper.

He didn't realize that Jesse had heard him and came into the bathroom to check on him until he felt his uncle's hand gently rubbing his back. With Jesse's assistance Bo stood up and looked at his Uncle with tears glistening in his eyes. “Uncle Jesse,” he said in a hoarse voice “Luke has scars all over his back and his chest. How could anybody do something like that to him?” he let the anger he felt at the way his cousin had been mistreated creep into his voice..

“It happens in places like Luke was in.” Jesse told him sadly “In a war to the enemy….you're not human anymore….you're just someone to kill before they kill you.” Bo buried his head against his uncle's shoulder and cried for the abuse he knew his older cousin had suffered for so long before he had finally been found and rescued. Jesse held his youngest nephew tightly and let him cry. Bo had always been the more emotional of the three cousins and seeing Luke's scars had affected him deeply. Finally, he regained his composure and pulled away from Jesse's embrace.

“I'm okay now.” He said, wiping the last of his tears off his face with the back of his hand “I better be getting to bed. Good night, Uncle Jesse.”

“Good night, Bo.” Jesse said, giving him a final pat on the back as he headed back to his own bedroom.

Bo sighed and went back to his own room. He was startled when he noticed that Luke's bed was empty, the pillow and blanket both missing. His breath caught in his throat when he stepped closer to Luke's side of the room and saw Luke curled up on the floor in the corner of the room apparently sleeping. Bo fought back the tears that sprang to his eyes again as he walked over to his own bed and lay down, burying his face in his pillow to muffle his sobs as he cried for his cousin's pain and his suffering for the past five years. Bo finally fell into a restless sleep.

Sometime later, he was startled out of a sound sleep (and about ten years growth) by a blood curdling scream that made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end as he jumped out of his bed. As the sleep cleared from his mind, he realized it had to be Luke who was screaming. The door to the bedroom slammed open and Jesse ran into the room “What's wrong?” Jesse asked anxiously, then noting Luke's empty bed, he demanded “Where's Luke?”

As another long drawn out scream filled the air, Bo said “He's sleeping on the floor.” He ran around the other bed with Jesse right behind him. Luke was huddled in the corner, drawn up in a tight ball, still screaming.

“LUKE!” Jesse yelled, trying to break through the terror that had a grip on Luke's tortured mind. He reached out to grab his older nephew's shoulders, shaking him lightly to try and get him awake enough to realize that he was safe and not back in a prison camp in the middle of the jungle. “LUKE!” he yelled again, as he pulled the younger man in his arms and held him tightly in his embrace, making gentle soothing sounds as Luke finally stopped screaming. Jesse gently rubbed his older nephew's back, continuing to comfort him as he felt Luke quieting down.

“Uncle Jesse….” Luke whimpered in a barely audible voice, speaking for the first time since he'd been home. “Help me….” There was a plaintive tone to Luke's voice that almost broke Jesse's heart. Luke had always been so strong, to see him as he was now was heartbreaking.

“Shhh….” Jesse said quietly “It's alright, son….you're home with us now, Luke. You're safe. Nobody is gonna hurt you anymore.” Jesse felt Luke grasping at his nightshirt almost desperately, holding on as if his life depended on it. Jesse could feel the fear that consumed Luke as he trembled violently, unwilling to move from the security of his Uncle's arms. Jesse sat there, gently rocking Luke back and forth as if he were a child until he finally stopped shaking and his breathing slowed down. Finally, Jesse said “Why don't you lay down on the bed? It'll be more comfortable than the floor.” Luke allowed his Uncle to help him to his feet and lead him over to his bed. He lay down and pulled himself into almost a fetal position, still whimpering softly. Glancing over at Bo, Jesse said “Sit with him until he goes back to sleep.” Bo nodded and sat down on the edge of the bed beside his older cousin. Reaching out, he started rubbing Luke's back gently. Satisfied that Bo could handle the situation, Jesse went back to his own room, closing the bedroom door behind him.

“ It's okay, Luke…” Bo whispered “I'm right here, cuz…..I'm right here.”

“Bo?” Luke whispered so softly that Bo barely heard him.

“Yeah, it's me.” Bo said smiling in the darkness when he finally heard Luke say his name. He stretched out on the bed beside his cousin and gently wrapped one arm around Luke's waist, cuddling up against him just like he used to do when they were children. Somehow he sensed that the physical contact was what Luke needed more than anything else right now to assure him that he wasn't alone. He soon heard the sound of Luke's breathing deepen and slow down as he finally fell back to sleep. Comforted by the sound of Luke's breathing just like when he was a child, Bo soon fell asleep himself. They both slept through the rest of the night without Luke having any more nightmares.

When Jesse opened the door the next morning to wake Bo up for breakfast, he was only mildly surprised to see him sleeping in Luke's bed with one arm thrown protectively around Luke's waist. When Bo was younger and had a nightmare, Luke had always comforted Bo by letting him crawl into his bed to sleep with him and now Bo was simply returning the favor. Jesse hoped that the boys could regain that closeness they had always shared before Luke left. Jesse knew that was the one thing that could help Luke the most right now, the strength of that unique bond those two boys had always had with one another. Jesse quietly crossed the room and reached out to shake Bo's shoulder. “Bo, time to get up.” He said quietly trying not to awaken Luke. He needed to rest right now more than anything else. He still wasn't in very good physical condition even though he was supposedly in a military hospital for the past six weeks. If he still looked so frail and sick after six weeks in a hospital, Jesse hated to think about what he had looked like when he'd been rescued. Bo slowly opened his eyes and looked at his uncle, blinking the sleep from his eyes. Jesse put a finger to his lips silently signaling Bo to get up and to let Luke sleep.

Moving slowly and carefully so he wouldn't disturb his cousin, Bo gently eased himself out of Luke's bed and followed his Uncle out of the room. “You can check on him after breakfast to make sure he's okay.” Jesse told him, as they started down the stairs. “Right now he needs to sleep.”

Chapter 5

After he had finished his morning chores, Bo went back upstairs to check on Luke. He found him awake and sitting in a corner of the room with his knees drawn up against his chest and his arms wrapped tightly around his legs. His eyes watched Bo as he slowly walked across the room towards him, the look in his eyes was so cautious and fearful that it tugged at Bo's heart. “Hey, cuz….” Bo said gently, kneeling down in front of his cousin so that they were on eye level to each other. He reached out to touch Luke's shoulder, feeling the trembling of his body beneath Bo's hand. “Why don't you come on downstairs with me? Daisy saved ya some breakfast.” Luke didn't resist when Bo gently took his hand and tugged him to his feet. “Let's get ya dressed first…” Bo suggested not wanting Jesse or Daisy to see the terrible scars on Luke's chest and back.

He led Luke over to his bed and sat him down while he walked over to Luke's dresser and pulled out a fresh pair of jeans and a blue plaid shirt. Lying the clothes on the bed, he said quietly “Go ahead and get dressed.” Slowly, Luke did as Bo instructed. The clothes still hung on his body loosely. He needed to gain at least thirty more pounds to be back at his normal weight again. He was so skinny that Bo could see his ribs and hip bones outlined clearly when he was undressed and the lost weight made his face look drawn and haggard.

Luke followed Bo downstairs to the kitchen. He sat down at the table while Bo got the plate Daisy had put aside for him out of the refrigerator and slid it into the microwave to warm it up. When the buzzer beeped, he took the plate out of the microwave and sat it on the table in front of Luke. When Luke glanced at him, Bo nodded and said “Eat.” Once Bo had given permission, Luke began to eat. Daisy had made his favorite, pancakes and grits with maple syrup. Luke seemed have a better appetite this morning than he'd had the night before and he cleaned the plate and then glanced at Bo, his eyes silently asking for more. “How about I scramble you some eggs?” Bo suggested. Luke nodded and watched as Bo got what he needed out of the refrigerator. If Luke was still hungry then Bo was going to feed him, he really need to put some weight back on. When the eggs were done Bo sat the plate in front of Luke watching with a satisfied smile as Luke cleaned that plate too. “Want anything else?” Bo asked with a grin

“Coffee….” Luke said his voice still so soft that Bo could barely hear him. Bo poured a cup of coffee from the pot on the back of the stove and sat it down in front of Luke, who took a cautious sip. Bo leaned back against the kitchen counter and watched as Luke slowly drank his coffee. At least Luke was talking even if it was only a word here and there. His voice sounded strange, so weak and coarse, as if it had been a long time since he had spoken at all.

“I..uh…have to go up to one of the still sites for awhile.” Bo said “Ya wanna come with me?” Luke looked at Bo with almost a guarded look in his eyes and then slowly nodded his head. Bo smiled, pleased when Luke agreed to come. He had discussed it with Jesse and they had both decided that exposing Luke to as much of the normal day to day routine on the farm as possible would be good for him. They hoped that it would help Luke to reconnect with the family and the life he had left behind. And a major part of their daily routine centered around the stills where Jesse made the best moonshine in the entire state. Both boys had helped tend the stills since they were teenagers and before he enlisted and left Hazzard, Luke had made most of the deliveries for Jesse, a job that now fell to Bo. When Luke finished his coffee, they walked outside to Bo's car and climbed in with Bo behind the wheel. He drove along the old dirt road that ran beside the back of Duke land until he came to the hidden turnoff that led deep into the woods that surrounded the still site he was going to. Jesse had eight different stills hidden in the heavily wooded area deep on Duke land . After making sure that there was nobody around to see him turn off, Bo turned the car onto the hidden trail and disappeared into the woods. Luke sat beside Bo in silence but his eyes darted restlessly from side to side, not missing anything going on around him. The old Luke was in there somewhere, Bo was sure of that. All he had to do was find a way to reach him and bring him back.

When they reached the old still site, the boys climbed out of the car. Bo gathered up some loose brush and carefully started using it to cover the still, hiding it from view. The next batch would be made at a different site and this still wouldn't be used again for a few weeks. Until then, the brush would keep it hidden from prying eyes that might stumble across it by accident. Luke sat on an old fallen log, watching Bo as he worked but not saying anything. From the corner of his eye, Bo saw Luke tilt his head to one side, listening intently. Bo couldn't help smiling as he watched Luke automatically mimicking the lessons they had learned at Jesse's side, to always be alert for any signs of danger when they were working at one of the stills. There were trip wires set up all around the hidden still. Anyone stumbling into one of them would give the boys enough advance warning for them to disappear into the woods before they got caught. Luke's mind might not be functioning up to par but here in the woods, he was acting on instinct more than anything else.

“Hey, Luke…” Bo said, sitting down on the log beside his older cousin and smiling at him. When Luke turned his head and looked at Bo with a slight questioning look on his face, Bo continued “I really missed you, cuz…..” He struggled to keep his emotions under control as he went on “I almost lost it when they told us you were missing…..I could never accept the idea that you were really dead….” Bo lowered his head unable to look into those sapphire blue eyes that had always been able to see right into his very soul “For awhile….I wanted to die too….I didn't wanna go on without you….” He looked up, startled, when he felt Luke's hand on his shoulder. Luke smiled at him faintly and said, “S'ok, Bo….”

“I'm glad you're still alive, Luke and that you're finally back home….” Bo whispered “I missed you so much.” Without even thinking about it, Bo leaned towards Luke and rested his head against his older cousin's shoulder. He felt Luke tense up for a moment and then his arms slowly slipped around Bo, holding him loosely.

“Home….” Luke said slowly, his voice sounding a little stronger than it had before but still strained and hard to hear.

“Yeah….you're finally home.” Bo said, looking deeply into his cousin's eyes and smiling broadly. Suddenly, he noticed that there was a different look in Luke's eyes. The vacant blank stare had been replaced by a guarded but alert gaze that was more like the old Luke. Bo blinked back the tears that gathered in his eyes as he looked into the face of the man who had always been like his big brother, his idol, his hero. His Luke. Through the fog that still clouded his mind, Luke could feel Bo's love reaching out to him. He knew that he was home and he should feel safe but there was still a part of him that couldn't believe it was true and not just a dream. He had totally given up hope of ever being rescued from that place and ever seeing his home and family again. And when the rescue finally came, his mind still refused to believe it had really happened.

Chapter 6

Luke's nightmares continued, waking the family up almost every night. The only one who seemed to be able to calm him down when he had one was Jesse. Most nights, Bo ended up lying beside Luke until he finally fell back to sleep. As long as Bo was there beside him, Luke seemed to be able to sleep without dreaming. It was a sacrifice Bo had no problem making not if it helped Luke stay focused in reality instead of slipping back into the torture of his own mind. As the days passed, Luke started interacting more with the family. He still didn't talk that much but at least he was more aware than he had been when he first came home. His appetite was back and he was starting to put on some badly needed weight. Even though the news had spread rapidly through Hazzard that Luke Duke had been found alive over in Viet Nam and was back home, most folks had the courtesy to stay away until Luke was more settled into his old life. And Luke had no desire to leave the safety and the security of the farm.

The closeness between Bo and Luke was evident once more as Luke relied more and more on Bo to help keep him focused. But Bo didn't mind, not as long as Luke was trying to come back to them and it was obvious that he was trying. The bond between them seemed just as strong as it ever was. And just as Jesse had hoped that bond was helping Luke to reconnect with the family. There were still times when he would get a vacant look on his face and his eyes would cloud with fear, times that Jesse knew his mind was slipping back to the years in that place and the horrors he had gone through. He would usually snap out of it when Jesse would gently touch his arm and reassure him that he was home and that he was safe. Jesse knew that sooner or later Luke would have to deal with what had happened to him or it would eat him up alive and end up destroying him in the process.

It still seemed strange at times to have his oldest nephew back home again. He was still so quiet and withdrawn. He seldom smiled and always seemed to be watching everyone with that guarded look in his eyes. He'd put on enough weight that his face had filled back so he looked more like himself again, he just didn't act like himself. Jesse knew that the things he'd gone through over there had changed him and that some of those changes may very well be permanent but he missed the boy who had gone away to war and came back a broken shell of a man that seemed more like a stranger than part of the family.

Luke was standing on the front porch, leaning against the railing and staring out over the horizon. This was the one place where he should feel safe and secure but he didn't. He didn't feel like he fit in here anymore. He knew the family was trying their hardest to make him feel at home and pull him back into the normal family routines but he kept resisting them because he just didn't feel like a part of the family anymore either. The only thing that still felt the same as it always had was his relationship with Bo but he was terrified that he'd lose that too if he ever told them about some of the things that had happened to him over there in Viet Nam. Luke sighed as he struggled with the fears and doubts that still clouded his mind. It was still hard for him to stay focused and grounded in reality.

“Hey, Luke…” Bo said coming out onto the porch behind him. Luke looked over his shoulder acknowledging Bo with his eyes but not speaking. Bo still couldn't get used to Luke being so quiet all the time. That just wasn't Luke, at least not the old Luke that he remembered so well. “I'm going to the Boars Nest for awhile. Ya wanna come?”

Luke shook his head “No.” he said quietly. Even though his speaking voice had returned to normal, he still didn't talk very loud when he did decide to speak. He'd been back a little over a week and hadn't really left the farm. The thought of being around other people petrified him. He could only imagine what they were saying about him behind his back. He knew that he was being paranoid but paranoia seemed to be lingering aftermath of his ordeal that he couldn't seem to shake off.

“Okay.” Bo said in a disappointed voice “Well, if you need anything Jesse's gonna be here. I'll see ya later.” Luke turned back to stare at the horizon, lost in his own thoughts once more.

Finally, Luke turned and went back into the house. He climbed the steps to the second floor and went into the bedroom he shared with Bo. When his mind had cleared enough for him to start noticing his surroundings more, he had been surprised to find that all of his things were still in his room just as he had left them. Bo was the one who told him that Jesse refused to throw anything away because his body had never been found and with no body to bury, Jesse refused to let anyone touch any of his things. Bo didn't realize how guilty that made Luke feel because he had given up hope after he'd been in the camp for over a year. And as the years passed and things just got worse, he had stopped caring and starting praying for death to finally end his suffering but death didn't come, only more pain and more suffering. Sometimes Luke felt as if his mind had snapped somewhere along the way and he hadn't even noticed when it did. Why else would he feel the way he felt now when he was finally back in the one place he used to pray that he would live long enough to see again? He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, too confused to try and sort things out any longer in his mind.

Sometime later, he awoke with a start, a strangled scream caught in his throat. He lay there staring into the darkness, his heart pounding with terror. He glanced over at Bo's empty bed on the other side of the room and then shoved himself to his feet. With the tattered images of the dream still clinging to his mind, he turned and ran blindly from the room. And kept running, out the back door and into the darkness.

Chapter 7

It was shortly after one in the morning when Bo finally got home. He'd had a good time at the Boars Nest but he kept worrying about leaving Luke back at the farm. A nagging feeling kept telling him that he needed to get home and finally he decided to listen to it. When he let himself into the quiet house, he made his way upstairs to his room without making any noise so he wouldn't wake Uncle Jesse. When he opened the door to his room and stepped inside, he stared in surprise at Luke's empty bed. A quick glance around the room told him that Luke was gone. Quickly, he stepped back into the hallway and made a hurried search of the house but soon decided that Luke was not inside. He stepped outside, grabbing a flashlight from the shelf by the back door, and looked around the barnyard, then he searched the barn including the loft (one of their favorite hiding places when they were children) but there was no sign of Luke. Worried and scared now, he knew that he had to wake up Uncle Jesse. They had to find Luke. He was in no condition to be wandering around somewhere out there by himself in the dark.

“Uncle Jesse?” Bo called out anxiously as he rapped lightly on his Uncle's bedroom door. After a few moments, the door opened and Jesse looked at Bo with a puzzled frown on his face..

“What is it, Bo?” he asked in a worried voice “Is Luke all right?”

“He's gone, Uncle Jesse. I looked everywhere in the house, I even looked outside and I can't find Luke anywhere.”
“Now where in tarnation did that boy get to?” Jesse said gruffly “We have to find him. Give me a couple of minutes to get dressed.” Bo nodded. As Jesse shut the bedroom door so he could dress, Bo wandered downstairs to the kitchen and turned on the overhead light. He paced the floor anxiously as he waited for Jesse to join him. He felt guilty about leaving Luke alone tonight. If he had been there Luke wouldn't missing now. Luke might be a lot better than he was when he first came home but he was no where near being strong enough or even stable enough to be out somewhere on his own right now. Finally Jesse came into the kitchen. “He couldn't have gone too far on foot.” Jesse said “We'll take the pickup and go look for him.” The two Dukes hurried outside and climbed into the cab of the old truck.

“I shouldn't have gone to the Boars Nest. I should have stayed here with Luke.” Bo said in a worried voice as Jesse pulled out onto the old dirt road that led to the main highway.

“Now, Bo, it's not your fault. You can't stay with Luke twenty four hours a day….and he's the one who decided he didn't want to go with you.” Jesse said “So don't go beating yourself up….we'll find him.”

“Why would he take off like that? Something must've happened …..”

“Well, when we find him, you can ask him…” Jesse said a little more gruffly then he intended to. He regretted his words the minute he saw the hurt look in Bo's eyes. “I'm sorry, sprout.” He said gently “I'm worried about him too….I shouldn't have snapped at you like that.”

“I'm just worried about him….he shouldn't be out there by himself right now….”

“I know. I agree but we can't help him until we find him.” Jesse pointed out. They drove along the back roads around the immediate vicinity of the farm but saw no sign of Luke. Jesse knew it would be impossible to try and track him in the dark and after two hours of driving aimlessly without finding him, Jesse knew they had no choice but to go back to the farm and wait until daylight to start the search again. Bo didn't like giving up the search even though he understood the logic of waiting until daylight.

“Are you sure that he'll be okay until morning?” Bo questioned as they headed back to the farm house.

“Of course he will.” Jesse said trying to reassure Bo even though he was worried himself about Luke being out there alone overnight. Especially since Jesse had no idea what kind of frame of mind Luke was in right now or what had happened that made him take off in the first place. It was almost four in the morning before they got back to the house. Daisy was sitting in the kitchen, waiting up for them. She had come home from work around two o'clock and immediately knew that something was wrong when she found everyone gone and Jesse's truck missing.

“What happened? Where were you?” She asked as soon as Jesse and Bo walked in the door “Where's Luke?”

“We don't know where Luke is.” Jesse told her “He was gone when Bo got home. We was out looking for him but we're gonna have to wait till morning to keep looking.”

“Where could he have gone?” Daisy asked anxiously, her own concern and fear for her cousin's safety clear in her voice. “And why would he just take off by himself?”

“We don't know, baby.” Jesse said gently “But I'm gonna find out as soon as we find him…..”

They all knew they wouldn't be getting any more sleep that night because they were all too concerned and worried about Luke. So Daisy went ahead and started breakfast while Jesse and Bo went outside to take care of the morning chores even if it was awfully early yet. But this way, they could all start looking for Luke again at the first sign of daylight.

When the first rays of the rising sun came over the horizon, all three of the Dukes prepared to start looking for Luke again. They started out on foot, using their tracking skills to try and find a trail that would show them where Luke might have gone. Bo was the one who picked up the trail first, leading into the woods that surrounded the Duke land . Once the trail was located, they all started looking for the subtle signs that would allow them to follow it and find Luke. Signs that anyone who didn't know how to track someone would have missed: crushed down grass, a broken branch, scuffed patches of dirt, even footprints when they were lucky. Luke was wearing his favorite boots which had a distinctive design on the sole making it easy to identify his boot prints. As they went deeper into the woods, Bo started getting a bad feeling. Glancing at his Uncle and Daisy, he said, “Uncle Jesse, I think he's headed for Ogee Swamp .”

“So do I, sprout, so do I.” Jesse said worriedly “And if he went into the swamp, we're gonna need help finding him.”

“Why don't I go back to the house and get hold of Cooter on the CB?” Daisy suggested “Maybe he can get hold of L.B. and B.B. and they can all help us look.”

“That's a good idea. Hurry, girl. Bo and me will head on to the swamp and wait for y'all there.” Daisy nodded and turned to run back to the farm so she could call for reinforcements to help them in their search for Luke. Bo and Jesse continued following Luke's trail which was definitely heading towards the swamp. Not many people would head into the swamp unless they had too. It was simply too dangerous. There were hidden pits of quicksand, snakes, gators, and overgrown foliage. It was an easy place for a man to get lost in if he didn't know what he was doing. Unfortunately, Luke knew that swamp like the back of his hand. The Dukes had ran shine through there for years which meant that Luke also knew how to get lost in the swamp if he wanted to making him next impossible to find if he didn't want anyone to find him. They were going to need all the help they could get to look for him there.

Chapter 8

Bo paced anxiously as they waited for Daisy to return along with help to look for Luke. If Bo could have, he would have gone on into the swamp on his own to look for Luke but Jesse held him back insisting that they wait for help. After twenty minutes of nervous pacing, he finally saw Daisy's jeep approaching followed closely by Cooter in his tow truck. The vehicles pulled up at the edge of the swamp and parked. Daisy climbed out of her jeep and Cooter Davenport and his cousin, L.B. Davenport, climbed out of the tow truck. Cooter was the local mechanic and owned the garage in Hazzard. He was also a close friend of the Duke family. His last name might be Davenport but he was a Duke at heart. Even though he was a few years older then Luke, he still considered the Duke boys his best friends.

“Hey, Uncle Jesse.” Cooter said, greeting Bo and Jesse at the edge of the swamp.

“I ain't your Uncle Jesse.” Jesse replied automatically. Although his voice sounded a little annoyed, Cooter didn't take offense. He knew that Jesse had be to worried out of his mind about Luke, especially if he was somewhere in the swamp.

“We can cover more ground if we split up.” Jesse said, automatically taking charge. “We can each go in a different direction and see if we can pick up his trail. So far it's been pretty easy to follow so I don't think he's trying to hide…he's running scared.”

“I brought some portable CB's” Cooter told him “That way we can keep in touch and let everybody else know if we find him.”

“Good idea, Cooter.”

“L.B., grab them CB's out of the truck, will ya?” L.B. ran to the tow truck and grabbed five hand held CB's that he brought back and passed out to each person in the search party. “Set ‘em to channel 5” Cooter said, as he turned the channel on his own CB, while everybody else did the same.

When they were ready, they all ventured slowly into the swamp. Bo went east, Cooter went West, Jesse went north, Daisy went south, and L.B. would follow the trail by the water. They kept in constant contact with each other via the CB's as they looked for the missing Duke boy. Bo was the one who picked up Luke's trail again and quickly notified the others of his location so they could join him. He waited impatiently for the others to catch up to him. Jesse was right, Luke was running scared, he was making no attempt to hide his trail so it was relatively easy to follow.

As they moved deeper into the swamp, they had to slow down because of the thick foliage, overgrown tree roots, and tangled vines that they had to make their way through. As the same time, they had to keep a close eye out for snakes and other nasty little critters that lived in the swamp. Even though the sun was high in the sky overhead, it was gloomy in the swamp with deep shadows, the sunlight blocked out by the dense foliage. Bo panicked when he found blood on a patch of grass that looked fairly fresh. It looked like Luke was hurt. It wasn't a lot of blood but it was enough to cause them all to be concerned.

As they came into a large clearing, Bo suddenly spotted Luke leaning against a tree on the other side of the clearing. “There he is!” he told the other anxiously

“Careful now, Sprout.” Jesse told him “We don't wanna spook him. Call to him and let him know we're here.”

Bo nodded. Cupping his hands around his mouth so his voice would carry better, he called out “Luke! It's Bo and Uncle Jesse. Stay there….we're here to help ya.”

Luke glanced up but instead of obeying, he suddenly darted back into the woods.

“Dang it!” Bo growled, breaking into a run with the others right behind him as he ran in the direction Luke had disappeared in. As he ran into the woods, he suddenly skidded to a halt when he saw Luke directly in front of him struggling in a pit of quicksand where he had fallen. He saw the frantic, terrified look in Luke's eyes as he fought against the quicksand that was sucking him down. Bo threw himself to the ground on his belly at the edge of the pit, trying to keep his voice calm as he said, “Hang on, Luke….we'll get ya out of there….stop struggling….it'll pull ya down faster!” Luke looked at Bo but Bo could tell that Luke was too frightened for his mind to comprehend completely what Bo was saying.

Bo stretched out his hand as far as he could reach, trying desperately to reach his cousin. The quicksand was already up to Luke's chest and he was quickly becoming more and more frantic and panic stricken. “Give me your hand!” Bo ordered sharply. Weakly, Luke tried to obey was he couldn't reach far enough to grab Bo's outstretched hand. “Cooter, give me your belt!” Bo ordered glancing over his shoulder at the mechanic “Fasten it so it makes a loop!” Cooter nodded and quickly took off his belt, fastening the buckle so that it formed a loop and handed it to Bo. Turning his attention back to Luke, who was up to his shoulders now in the quicksand and fighting harder to keep his head above the surface, Bo said sharply “Luke, you have to grab the belt! Do you hear me? Grab the belt!”

Bo held tightly and reached out as far as he could trying to get the belt close enough for Luke to grab. He just hoped Luke had enough strength left to hold on to it long enough for Bo to pull him close enough to grab his hand. Luke grabbed at the belt but missed, he was rapidly getting weaker, exhausted from struggling against the pull of the quicksand. “Come on, Luke!” Bo ordered “Try again! Grab it!” Luke tried again but missed. Frustrated, Bo knew there was only way to get Luke out. Switching the belt to his other hand, he jumped to his feet and handed one end of the looped belt to Cooter and said, “Don't let go!” Realizing what Bo was going to do, Cooter nodded as Bo turned and jumped into the quicksand himself. Instantly, he felt it sucking him down. Fighting against the relentless suction, Bo reached out his hand to Luke and managed to grab hold of his wrist. Holding on as tightly as he could, Bo nodded at Cooter, who started pulling on his end of the belt slowly dragging Bo close enough to solid ground that he could grab his hand and pull him back to safety, while Bo drug Luke back to solid ground with him.

Bo felt Jesse, Cooter and L.B. all grabbing him and pulling him out the quicksand, then quickly reaching out to drag Luke back onto solid ground. Bo fell to the ground, panting and exhausted, while Jesse gently laid Luke on the ground, cradling his head in his arms. Luke's eyes were closed and his chest was heaving as he took deep raspy breathes, struggling to pull air into his exhausted body.

“We need to get him back to the house and call Doc to have a look at him.” Jesse said anxiously.

“Here, Uncle Jesse,” Cooter said “Let me and L.B. take Luke. You help Bo.”

Jesse nodded as he turned Luke's over to the two Davenport cousins. Cooter and L.B. gently lifted Luke to his feet, each of them draping one of Luke's arms over their neck, as they each wrapped an arm around his waist, supporting most of his weight between them. Luke was only semi-conscious but still able to take a few stumbling steps.

Jesse grabbed Bo's hand and pulled the exhausted boy to his feet, wrapping an arm around his waist as they all started to walk back to where they had parked the vehicles.

Chapter 9

When they got back to the cars, Cooter and L.B. put Luke in the back seat of Daisy's jeep and Bo quickly climbed in beside him, gently reaching out to cradle his older cousin in his arms, while Jesse climbed into the front seat beside Daisy. L.B. and Cooter climbed back into the tow truck and they all headed back to the farm.

By the time they reached the house, Luke was unconscious and still breathing heavily. Cooter helped Bo get him upstairs to their bedroom where they gently laid Luke on his bed while Jesse called Doctor Applebee and asked him to come to the farm immediately. Cooter helped Bo strip off Luke's clothes which were coated with the slimy quicksand. Cooter's eyes widened in alarm when he saw the scars on Luke's chest and back but he didn't say anything. Bo went into the bathroom and came back with a basin full of warm soapy water, a washcloth and a towel. With Cooter's help, Bo gently washed the muck off Luke's body and redressed him in a pair of clean underwear and sweat pants. While bathing him, Bo found the deep gash on Luke's left calf, obviously the source of the blood he had found in the swamp. It was a nasty gash that was probably going to need some stitches. Bo rolled up Luke's pants leg on that side so that Doc could take a look at it when he got there.

Informed of what had happened, Doc got to the Duke farm in record time, arriving within twenty minutes of Jesse's call. He quickly went upstairs to examine Luke while Bo and Cooter waited anxiously with the rest of the family downstairs. Finally, after almost half an hour of being alone upstairs with Luke, Doc Applebee came back down the steps. He looked at the anxious faces that greeted him and said, “Physically, Luke seems to be fine. I stitched up the wound on his leg and gave him a tetanus shot. I also gave him a mild sedative to keep him asleep for awhile so his body can rest. He'll probably sleep for at least twenty four hours.” He looked at Jesse, who was also an old friend, and added “I'm going to give you a prescription for some pain pills for that leg.” Doc sighed and chose his next words with care “Jesse, you don't have to do this alone. After everything that Luke has been through in the past six years….he may need some professional help to get through this.”

“I ain't putting Luke in no hospital if that's what you're suggesting.” Jesse said firmly “He's been through enough….he needs to be here with his family where he belongs.”

“I agree. But I can contact someone from V.A. for you and they can send someone out here to the house to try and talk to Luke and help get him through this.” Doc suggested

“All right.” Jesse said “As long as Luke's stays here with us.”

“I'll give them a call when I get back to my office.” Doc told him. He wrote out the prescription for the medication and handed it to Jesse. “In the meantime, you're gonna have to keep a real close eye on him. He's lucky you found him this time before something happened to him.”

“We know that and one of us will be with him from now on.” Jesse said firmly. He walked Doc to the door and watched as he climbed into his car and drove away. Turning back to the Davenport cousins and the rest of his family, Jesse said “Cooter, L.B., thank you both for your help.”

“No problem, Uncle Jesse.” Cooter said “I'm just glad Luke's okay. We'll get out of here. Call me if you need anything.”

“Thanks again, Cooter.” Bo called after them as the Davenport cousins left to go back to Hazzard.

“Now, I think the rest of us need to get some sleep.” Jesse said, suddenly exhausted himself now that the crisis was over and Luke was safely back home and taken care of.

“Y'all go ahead.” Daisy told her Uncle and Bo “I'll run into town and get that prescription filled and then I'll get some sleep when I get back.”

“Thank you, Daisy.” Jesse said, handing her the prescription the doctor had written out for Luke. “You make sure you do and be careful on your way to town.”

“Yes, sir.” Daisy said as she turned to run her errand.

Bo and Jesse went upstairs, each of them going to their own bedrooms for some much needed rest. Bo automatically checked on Luke who was sleeping deeply thanks to the shot Doc had given him. Satisfied that Luke was okay, Bo lay down on his own bed without bothering to get undressed and was soon sleeping soundly himself. He slept until Daisy knocked on the door to wake him up for supper. He checked on Luke again before leaving the room and going downstairs to eat.

“How's Luke?” Jesse asked in a concerned voice as Bo joined him at the kitchen table.

“He's still sleeping.” Bo told him as he settled into his chair. Without thinking, he started to reach for a hot biscuit which earned him a stern warning glance from Jesse. Bo smiled sheepishly and withdrew his hand.

“Sorry, Uncle Jesse.” He said automatically, as Daisy finished setting the supper dishes on the table. When she had finished and took her own seat on the opposite side of the table from Bo, Jesse bowed his head and said grace before they started eating. Daisy was an excellent cook. All of the Dukes could cook to some degree, Jesse had made sure of that although neither one of the boys was very good at cooking anything except relatively simple meals. So usually Jesse and Daisy shared the cooking chores and tonight it had Daisy's turn to make supper. She had made meatloaf with mashed potatoes, white gravy, peas with mushrooms, and homemade biscuits. Even though most of the families income came from the moonshine trade, they raised most of their own meat and grew all of their own vegetables. Once a year, they slaughtered 2 pigs and a cow for their pork and their beef. Their chickens provided them with plenty of fresh eggs and they had three goats and a cow that they kept for milk. In the fall, Daisy and Jesse spent two weeks in the kitchen canning meat and vegetables for the winter months.

After supper, Bo excused himself to go and do the evening chores while Daisy started the dishes and Jesse retired to the living room to relax and read his newspaper. Bo had a moonshine delivery to make later that night so he would not be home until the early morning hours since the delivery would not be made until close to midnight . As he did his chores, Bo thought back to when he was younger and Luke was right there by his side helping him. He missed that. He wanted Luke back by his side where he belonged. They had always had such a good time together and never got tired of each other's company. Bo had always known that Luke was there for him and now it was his turn to be there for Luke. He just hoped that they got the old Luke back soon. Bo had a special project in mind that he needed Luke's help with. They had always talked about building their own race car someday and Bo had a half completed engine in the barn that he had been working on for months. When it was done, he planned to put it in his car and add some other modifications to make it the best dang stock car in the state and the fastest one too. But it just wouldn't be the same unless Luke helped him do it. He remembered all the nights they had stayed up late into the night talking about the car they planned to build together someday and use to win races around the state. After Luke had been declared M.I.A,, Bo had continued with those plans as a tribute to his cousin's memory but now with Luke back, that dream could finally become a reality with Luke's help. That is once Luke got back to normal again.

Chapter 10

The sun was streaming through the bedroom window when Luke slowly opened his eyes. His gaze swept slowly around the room as the events of the day before slowly crept back into his mind. He vaguely remembering running out of the house, filled a panic and a mind numbing fear that he couldn't seem to control. He didn't even remember going to the swamp but he distinctly remembered falling in the quicksand and being terrified that he was going to get sucked under. He knew that Bo had been there and had managed to pull him out but he didn't remember much more than that. As he shifted positions intending to sit up on the edge of the bed, he felt a throbbing pain in his leg and noticed the bandage wrapped around his left calf. He frowned. He didn't remember hurting his leg but he must have hurt it somehow.

Bo yawned and sat up in his own bed, smiling brightly when he saw that Luke was awake. “Hey, Cuz…” he said “How do ya feel?”

“Groggy….” Luke told him, slowly easing himself up to the edge of the bed.

“Yeah, Doc Applebee gave you something yesterday to make you sleep for awhile. And Jesse has some pills for you for your leg.”

“What did I do to my leg?” Luke asked in a slightly confused voice.

“You cut it somehow. You got a pretty nasty gash. Doc had to stitch it up.”

“I don't remember.” Luke admitted

“Why'd you take off like that?” Bo asked, as he shoved himself out of bed and started to dress.

Luke simply shrugged his shoulders but didn't answer Bo's question. He wasn't sure he could answer it because he wasn't entirely sure himself. Walking over to his dresser with a noticeable limp, he pulled out a tee shirt and slipped it over his head. He knew that Jesse and Daisy hadn't seen the scars on his chest and back and he didn't plan on letting them see them if he didn't have to.

“I don't know about you but I'm starved.” Bo told his cousin with a grin. “Let's go find something to eat.” A faint smile tugged at the edges of Luke's mouth as he followed his cousin out of their room and down the steps. Bo had always had a big appetite and could eat any place and any time. Daisy always made plenty of food because she knew that Bo would have two or three helpings. And he never seemed to gain any extra weight. He was too full of nervous energy.

When the boys went into the kitchen, Daisy smiled at them and said “Good to see you two finally got up. Lunch is in the refrigerator.” As Luke sat down at the table, Daisy poured him a cup of coffee and sat it down on the table in front of him. He smiled his thanks. Bo opened the refrigerator door and pulled out the plate of ham sandwiches that Daisy had made for them and sat the plate on the table. He poured himself a glass of milk and sat down beside Luke. Daisy smiled as she watched the boys as they started to eat. It was a relief to see Luke finally eating again and putting back on some weight. He was still far too skinny and needed to gain at least ten or fifteen more pounds.

“Where's Uncle Jesse?” Bo asked between bites of his sandwich

“He went into town to get some feed for Maudine.” Daisy told him. She glanced at Luke. “The pain pills Doc left for you are in on the fireplace if you need one, sugar.”

“Thanks, Daisy.” Luke said as he finished his sandwich.

“You want me to get ya one?” Bo asked, finishing off his sandwich and reaching for another one.

Luke shook his head. His leg hurt but not bad enough to take a pain pill, at least not yet. Luke hated taking any kind of medication. He was hyper-sensitive to certain types of drugs and the side effects could be pretty bad. Unless, he had no choice, he'd rather not take any medication even if it meant a little discomfort now and then. And after the pain and suffering he had gone through in the prison camp, a little pain now was easily tolerated.

“So what are you guys gonna do this afternoon?” Daisy asked as she leaned back against the kitchen counter and gazed at her two male cousins fondly.

“I don't know.” Bo said. He glanced at Luke “You feel up to going fishing?”

“Okay…” Luke said agreeably. He didn't really feel like doing much of anything but he knew it he told Bo that it would only worry him and Daisy. “Need to change first though…”

“Why don't you go ahead and do that?” Bo suggested “And I'll put the poles and stuff in the car.” He finished his sandwich and shoved himself to his feet, heading for the back door so he could get the fishing poles and tackle box out of the barn.

Luke sighed and shoved himself to his feet. As he slowly made his way towards the stairway, Daisy said softly “I'm glad you're finally back home, Luke. I love you.” Luke turned is head and smiled at her faintly “Thanks, Daisy….I love you too.” He said quietly as he continued towards the stairs. He went upstairs to his room and changed into a pair of jeans and a blue shirt. When he was finished dressing, he went back downstairs and joined Bo outside. The boys climbed into the car and Bo drove to Hazzard Pond which was both a good fishing spot and a favorite make out spot after dark.

The boys grabbed their poles out of the trunk and walked over to the edge of the pond, finding a good spot under a large elm tree that gave off plenty of shade. Bo sat down the cooler on the ground between them that contained some cold drinks that Daisy had packed for them. Bo expertly baited his hook and cast his line out in the water, settling down on the bank to fish. Luke baited his own hook and cast out his line, settling down beside Bo. He felt himself relaxing as he did something that he had enjoyed since childhood. Bo stole a glance at his cousin, noting his relaxed posture, the strained and guarded expression noticeably absent from his face for a chance. At that moment, he looked like the old Luke again.

“Feels like old times, huh Luke?” Bo said with a relaxed easy smile.

“Yeah…” Luke agreed with a ghost of a smile touching his lips.

“I missed doing stuff like this with you.”

“I missed it too.”

“Nothing was the same with you gone……everytime I did something like this….I just kept remembering all the times I did it with you…….and it hurt so bad not having you here….” Bo said “I'm just so glad you're back…..I don't wanna lose you again….and you scared me yesterday when you took off like that….I was so worried that something happened to you.”

“I won't do it again.” Luke said quietly, staring at his line without looking at Bo.

“You promise?'

“I promise.” Luke said with just a hint of hesitation in his voice.

“On your word as a Duke?” Bo demanded, asking Luke to make the solemn oath that all the Dukes held sacred.

“On my word as a Duke.” Luke repeated somewhat reluctantly. Silently, he prayed that it was a promise he would be able to keep to his younger cousin. Bo smiled, temporarily satisfied with Luke's response. He turned his attention back to his fishing, content and happy to just be spending a lazy afternoon with his older cousin again. He hoped they would be able to share a lot more days like this in the months to come.

Chapter 11

Jesse was in the kitchen gathering the ingredients to make a stew for supper when there was a light knock on the back door. Opening the door, he found a young woman in her early thirties with freckles and short brown hair standing on the back porch. Smiling pleasantly, she said “Are you Mr. Duke?”

“Yes, how can I help you?” Jesse asked wondering just who the young woman was and what she wanted. He knew everybody in Hazzard and she sure wasn't a local. From her clothes and her jewelry, he guessed that she was from the city.

“I'm Linda Harrison.” She told him, introducing herself. “I'm from the V.A. in Atlanta . Doctor Applebee called me and told me about your nephew, Luke.”

“Oh, yes. Please come in and have a seat.” Jesse said remembering his manners. She came into the kitchen and sat down at the table. “Would you like some coffee or a glass of lemonade?”

‘Coffee would be nice.” She told him. Jesse got a cup from the cupboard and poured her a cup of coffee, sitting in on the table in front of her. Pouring himself a cup too, he sat down at the table beside her.

“So Miss Harrison, what are you here to do for Luke?” Jesse asked getting directly to the point.

“First of let me tell you that I'm a trained counselor from the V.A. and I work with men like Luke who have been in prison camps in Viet Nam . Obviously, Luke is the first man I've encountered that's been rescued after being in a camp for so many years.” She took a sip of her coffee and then continued “That's one of the reasons he really needs to talk to someone like me about what happened over there and some of the things he went through. If he doesn't he could have a major breakdown and get overwhelmed when things hit him all at once.”

“Miss Harrison, I'll be honest with you….I know my nephew and he may not even want to talk to you.”

“I understand that. A lot of the men don't want to talk to me at first. They wanna just forget what happened to them over there. But I've seen Luke's records from the Marines and I can't tell what they say but I can tell you that the camp he was in was one the worst ones I've ever seen….you have no idea how lucky your nephew is to even still be alive.”

“I realize that…..is there something else you're not telling me?”

“Yes….I know about some of things that probably happened to Luke and I can not stress strongly enough how important it is that he talks about it to someone.”

“I understand but Luke's never been one to open up for easily to anyone….not even his own family. I honestly can't see him opening up to you voluntarily.”

“I just wanted to stop by today and introduce myself and talk to you a little about Luke and let you know that I'm there if you need me….and that includes the rest of your family….not just Luke. This is a unique situation and I'm sure that it's a major adjustment for all of you…not just to find out that Luke was still alive after all this time but to actually have him back home again.”

“I appreciate that, Miss Harrison and I promise that I will keep that in mind.”

“Thank you. That's all I'm asking you to do…..and even if Luke won't talk to me….try to get him to talk to you….”

“I'll do that.”

She reached into her bag and handed him a business card “That's my number at the office and my private number is on the back of the card. I'm available anytime you need me…..twenty-four hours a day.” She finished her coffee and stood up “Thank you for your time, Mr. Duke. And I hope that you can convince Luke to talk to me eventually.”

“I'll try. It's been nice to meet you, Miss Harrison.” Jesse shook her hand, surprised at the firmness of her grasp. Smiling, she let herself out of the house. Jesse sat back down at the table to finish his own coffee. Jesse knew about the conditions about those camps. When he'd been in Korea his unit had rescued men from a couple of prison camps and he knew that the condition of both the camps and the men in them were atrocious. He knew about the torture both physical and mental that the prisoners were subjected to, they were treated as something less than human. It tore at his heart to think about some of the things Luke had probably been forced to endure over there. And he knew better than anyone how miraculous it was that Luke had survived over there for as long as he had and had lived to come home at all. His conversation with Miss Harrison troubled him. He had a feeling that she knew something important about what had happened to Luke and that was why she was so concerned about him. Jesse just wished he knew what it was. He agreed that Luke was going to need to talk to someone eventually but Jesse wasn't going to force him to talk to Miss Harrison if he refused to.

It was late afternoon when the boys returned from their fishing trip. For the first time since he'd been home, Luke was in fairly good spirits and he was smiling. Jesse was surprised at how relieved he was to see that smile on Luke's face again. Every improvement in his mental status no matter how small or insignificant was a cause for celebration as far as Jesse was concerned. He decided not to mention Miss Harrison's visit at least not for awhile. The boys had caught a good mess of fish, which Bo stored in the old freezer in the barn until they had time to clean them. The smell of the stew Jesse was fixing for supper filled the air as the boys went upstairs to wash up.

After supper, Bo talked Luke into playing his old guitar along with Bo. Luke hadn't played since he left for the Marines and he was rusty at first but it didn't take long for his fingers to remember what to do as he tuned his old guitar by ear and then started strumming along with Bo. As his fingers limbered up, he began picking out the more intricate chords and riffs as Bo started singing. With a lot of encouragement from Daisy and Uncle Jesse, Luke finally started singing along with Bo. Their voices blended together in almost perfect harmony and then they started trading off verses on the old songs they were singing. It was obvious that Luke was enjoying himself doing something that he had always loved to do in the past. Once more, at least for a little while, he was the old Luke again. The boys played for almost two hours before Uncle Jesse reminded them that they had to get up early in the morning and they decided to call it a night. For Luke it had been a good day.

But it was not destined to be a good night. Around two A.M. , his screams woke everyone up as he thrashed around in the grip of another nightmare. Jesse hurried into the room and tried to soothe him but Luke wouldn't wake up. He kept screaming as if he were in terrible pain, his screams making Jesse's blood run cold as he tried to get him to open his eyes. Finally, Jesse felt like he had no choice since nothing else seemed to be working and he slapped Luke's cheek sharply, yelling his name at the same time. Luke's eyes flew open and he struck out blindly, punching Jessie in the arm, before Bo grabbed his hands to keep him from hitting anyone else. Finally the sound of Jesse's soothing voice seemed to penetrate Luke's terror filled mind and he looked at his Uncle with tears welling up in his eyes.

“I should never have come back….” Luke whimpered hoarsely “I don't belong here anymore….I should have died over there…”

“Lucas Kristopher Duke” Jesse said sharply “Don't you ever let me hear you say that again! We already thought we lost you once….we ain't gonna lose you again!”

Luke looked at his Uncle, his eyes full of so much pain and fear that Jesse caught his breath. In a broken voice that sounded like a lost child, Luke whimpered “They hurt me, Uncle Jesse….they hurt me so bad….” Suddenly he was crying, deep heart wrenching sobs that tore at Jesse's heart. Gently, he gathered the young man in his arms and began rocking him back and forth as if he were a child again. Jesse felt his own tears falling down his face at the pitiful sound of Luke's broken sobs.

Chapter 12

The next day, Luke was quiet and subdued and back to not really talking to anyone. For every step forward he took, it seemed like he took two steps back. The demons that preyed on his mind seemed determined to keep dragging him back down with them instead of setting him free. After breakfast, Luke slipped out the back door. Glancing out of the window, Bo saw him heading into the barn. He had a pretty good idea where he was going and after a few minutes, he followed him. Climbing the ladder to the hayloft, Bo found Luke sitting in the corner closest to the open loft door, staring out at the landscape. Bo sat down beside him and reached out to touch his shoulder. Bo's eyes clouded with hurt when Luke flinched and pulled away from him.

“Luke, I just wanna help if you'll let me.” Bo told him

“You can't help me, Bo…..nobody can…” Luke said in a sad forlorn voice that tore at Bo's heart.

“You're right we can't….” Bo told him “Not unless you let us.” He waited for a reply but when Luke didn't answer, Bo said “Luke, last night after Jesse woke you up from that nightmare….you said they hurt you…..they hurt you bad. What did they did they do to you, Luke?”

“I don't wanna talk about it.” Luke said in fiercely, his voice tight and strained.

“Hey, you're the one who always used to tell me that it was better to talk about things…even when I didn't want to…instead of keeping it all bottled up inside….”

“This is different, Bo.” Luke said with a hint of desperation in his face as he bounced to his feet “I can't talk about it! Please don't ask me to!”

“You need to, Luke!” Bo insisted, jumping to his feet and grabbing for Luke's arm to keep him from running away. “You need to talk to somebody about what ever it is that's eating you up inside!”

“Just leave me alone, Bo!” Luke said, pulling away from Bo's grasp. He stumbled backwards, suddenly losing his balance, and before Bo could grab him, he fell through the open loft door and to the ground over twenty feet below.

“LUKE!” Bo screamed, leaning over to look out the door to the ground below. Luke was lying there, not moving, with one leg twisted awkwardly beneath him “LUKE!” Bo screamed again, as he turned and ran for the ladder, half climbing and half sliding down it in his haste to get to his injured cousin's side. By the time he ran out of the barn doors, Jesse was already at Luke's side and Daisy was running back into the house to call for help. Bo sank down on his knees beside his cousin and his Uncle. In a broken voice, he said “Uncle Jesse, is he okay?”

“I don't know.” Jesse admitted “I think his leg is broken and he hit his head on that rock.” For the first time Bo noticed the rock sticking halfway out of the ground beside Luke's head. A rock smeared with Luke's blood. Jesse looked at Bo “What happened?” he demanded, a little more harshly then he intended to.

“We were in the loft.” Bo said, tears starting to fall down his cheeks “I was trying to get him talk to me and he started to leave, I reached out to try and stop him and when he pulled away from me, he lost his balance and fell out of the loft door.” Realizing how upset Bo was, Jesse reached out, gently patting his arm and said,

“It's alright, sprout. It wasn't your fault. It was an accident.”

Daisy came running out of the house and over to where Jesse and Bo were kneeling beside Luke. “The ambulance from Tri-County is on the way.” She said breathlessly. “They said they should be here in about fifteen minutes and not to try and move him.”

“Well, we know that! What do they think we are? Dummies?” Jesse growled “Anybody with half a brain knows you don't move somebody that's hurt!”

“Is he hurt bad, Uncle Jesse?” Daisy asked anxiously

“I don't know, Baby.” Jesse said “Let's hope not.”

Approximately ten minutes later the ambulance from Tri-County Medical Center pulled into the driveway. Jesse and Bo stepped back so the two paramedics could tend to Luke. They watched anxiously as they carefully loaded Luke on a stretcher after putting a neck brace around his neck and sliding his body onto a back board. They all piled into the jeep with Bo driving and followed the ambulance to the Medical Center in Cedar City .

At the emergency entrance, the Dukes hurried into the building while the paramedics took Luke in through the ambulance entrance to the emergency room. The nurse on duty at the main desk instructed them to have a seat in the waiting room and told them that a doctor would be out as soon as possible to advise them on Luke's condition.

Jesse and Daisy sat down on one of the sofas while Bo nervously paced the floor.

After almost three hours, a doctor came out of the swinging doors that opened into the emergency room and said “Duke Family?”

“Here.” Jesse said, rising to his feet anxiously. As the doctor approached, Jesse asked “How's my boy? Is he all right?”

“I'm Doctor Ames. Your nephew has a badly broken leg and a mild concussion. I'd like to keep him here overnight but barring any complications, he should be able to go home tomorrow afternoon.”

“Can we see him?” Bo asked worriedly. In spite of the Doctor's assurances that Luke was okay, Bo needed to see that for himself.

“As soon as they have him settled into a room, I'll have one of the nurses let you know.” The doctor told them

“Thank you, doctor.” Jesse said gratefully. They all sat down to continue waiting, even Bo. Finally a nurse came over to them and told them that Luke was in room 311. The Dukes thanked her and found their way to the elevators, taking one up to the third floor. They found room 311 and went inside. Luke was lying on the bed with his eyes closed. Under the sheet that covered the lower half of his body, the Dukes could see the outline of a half cast on Luke's right leg that covered his leg from his knee down to his foot. There was a bandage on the back of his head where he had hit it on the rock.

“Is he okay?” Jesse asked a young nurse who was in the room making sure Luke was settled in.

“He's fine. They just had to sedate him to set his leg. He'll probably sleep for a couple of hours until the anesthesia wears off.”

“Uh…Uncle Jesse…maybe I better stay here with him…..you know how Luke reacts to anesthesia.” Bo said

“You're right.” Jesse said, knowing that Bo would have insisted on staying even if Luke hadn't been given anesthesia. “You better stay.”

“Is there a problem?” the nurse asked overhearing Bo's comment about the anesthesia.

“Luke don't handle anesthesia very well.” Jesse told her “He gets awfully sick from it.”

“I see. I'll make sure that the doctor and the other nurses are aware of that.” The young nurse said as she excused herself and left the room. Since Luke was sleeping, Daisy and Jesse only stayed for a little while and then they left to head back to Hazzard, leaving Bo behind to care for his injured cousin.

Chapter 13

Luke let his eyes open just a slit and then immediately closed them again. His head throbbed and he was severely nauseated. A soft moan escaped his lips as he turned his head to one side and started to gag. Instantly he felt hands assisting him, holding him as he retched violently his body trying to rid itself of something that wasn't there. Luke recognized the symptoms. He knew he'd been given anesthesia for some reason and he would be deathly ill for at least the next twenty-four hours as the drugs worked their way out of his system. It was not going to be a pleasant time at all. Through the haze in his mind, he heard Bo's voice, talking to him, soothing him as he continued to retch.

Slowly, he tried to piece together the puzzle. He vaguely remembered falling but that was all. And besides at the moment he was too damn sick to care. He felt Bo gently wiping his face with a cool rag but he didn't open his eyes. He groaned in defeat as he started retching again. Bo held his cousin as he continued to be sick throughout the day. Since the doctors in the emergency room were not aware of his medical history they had put him under to fix his broken leg and now Luke would just have to suffer through it until the drug was completely out of his system.. All of the male Dukes had a reaction of some sort to anesthesia but for most of them it was relatively mild, more of an annoyance than anything, Luke was the only one who had such a violent reaction.

It was late that evening before the retching finally began to subside, leaving Luke drained and exhausted. He tried to lay as still as possible, knowing that any sudden or unnecessary movements would only start it all over again. His whole body ached and his muscles twitched with involuntary spasms. Luke felt disoriented and confused but took comfort from knowing that Bo was there beside him. Finally, he opened his eyes just enough to see his cousin's anxious face peering at him.

“Water…” he whispered though his dry throat and parched lips. Bo nodded and disappeared into the bathroom. He came back with a clean washrag that he had dipped in cold water. Gently he held the rag to Luke's mouth, letting just a few drops of the deliciously cool water slip into his mouth and down his parched throat. Bo knew from experience not to actually give Luke a drink because his body wouldn't be able to handle more than a few drops at a time just yet. Luke nodded slightly to let Bo know he'd had enough for now. Bo laid the rag down on the bedside table. “What happened?” Luke managed to whisper.

“You fell out of the loft door.” Bo told him quietly “You hit your head on a rock and broke your leg. They had to put ya under to fix your leg.” He used the wet washcloth to gently wipe Luke's face trying to give him some measure of comfort. He knew that the worst of it was over but it would still be a few more hours before Luke was back to normal again.

“I'm sorry, Bo….I shouldn't have tried to walk away….when you were trying to talk to me…”

“I shouldn't have pushed it when you made it pretty clear you didn't wanna talk about it.” Bo said adding his own apology.

“Don't matter….even if I don't talk about it…it's still there…in my head…and I can't get rid of it…” he turned his head slowly and forced his eyes to focus on his younger cousin's face “There were only 4 of us left when they found us….4 men left out of 150.”

“Thank god you were one of them.”

“God had nothing to do with it. The only reason the 4 of us were still alive was because we belonged to the guards….”

“Belonged to the guards?” Bo asked not sure he understood what Luke meant.

“We were their property. They bought us….they did whatever they wanted with us.”

“Is that how you got all those scars?” Bo asked in a quiet subdued voice

“Yeah….I wasn't cooperative enough in the beginning to suit the guard that bought me…so he used to beat me until I was too weak to resist….then he did what he wanted with me anyway…..”

It took several minutes for Luke's words to make sense, for Bo to read between the lines and realize what he was saying without actually saying the words. His eyes widened in alarm and he whispered “Luke, are you saying that he……that he…” Bo choked on the words unable to say them out loud. Luke's eyes filled with a deep pain giving Bo the answer without speaking. “Oh, my god…Luke….” Bo whispered, tears gathering in his eyes as he realized the source of his cousin's pain.

“I used to beg God to just let me die…..but he wouldn't listen…and then after awhile….I just stopped caring….” Luke told him in a tightly controlled voice that betrayed his inner turmoil and anguish.

“He listened!” Bo said fiercely “He sent you back home to us.”

“He didn't do me any favors…..he should have just let me die over there…” Luke whispered, closing his eyes to block out the pain he saw in his cousin's eyes at his tortured confession.

“I wish I could get my hands on those bastards that did that to you.” Bo growled in outrage. “I'd kill ‘em myself.”

“They're already dead…” Luke said in a flat emotionless voice “The men who rescued us made sure of that.”

“Good. I'm glad. They deserved to die.”

“I'm glad too….” Luke whispered “But that doesn't chance what they did to me…..” A tear ran down Luke's face without shame and Bo could feel the trembling of his body as he gently reached out to rub Luke's shoulder soothingly. Bo heard the strangled sob that caught in Luke's throat and automatically reached out to gather his older cousin in his arms.

“It's okay, Luke…” he said consolingly “You're home now. You're safe. Ain't nobody ever gonna hurt you like that again.” He felt a shudder run thought Luke's body and then he began to cry again, the same deep heart wrenching sobs as before when he had the breakdown in Jesse's arms after his nightmare. Like Jesse had done, Bo gently rocked Luke back and forth as if he were a child, gently stroking his back and trying to soothe him. Luke had always been the strong one, the one who had always comforted Bo, and now those roles were reversed and Bo reached out to give his cousin all the love and support he had to give as Luke struggled to come to terms with the worst nightmare any man could imagine.

“Can you scootch over a little?” Bo said quietly. As Luke slowly shifted positions as best he could, Bo stretched out on the narrow hospital bed beside him and continued to hold Luke in his arms while he cried until he had no more tears left to cry. Bo could tell by the sound of Luke's breathing that he had fallen asleep but Bo continued to hold him, protecting him fiercely, the way Luke had always protected him when they were children. A new and deeper bond had been forged between them, one that Bo knew would never be broken. He prayed that now that Luke had shared his terrible secret with Bo, maybe he could finally start to heal.

Chapter 14

When Daisy and Jesse arrived at the hospital the next morning, they were surprised to see both boys in bed together sleeping. Bo still had his arms wrapped protectively around his older cousin, who for once looked rested and at peace.

A young nurse who was in the room when they came in, smiled and whispered “We didn't have the heart to wake them. Your nephew had a really bad day yesterday, he was pretty sick…but the other one took excellent care of him and never left his side.”

“That's my boys.” Jesse said as he gazed at his two sleeping nephews fondly. As the nurse smiled and left the room, Jesse walked over to the bed and gently touched Bo's shoulder to awaken him. “Bo? Wake up, son. It's Uncle Jesse.”

Bo's eyes slowly opened and he blinked away the sleep that still clouded his mind. Seeing his Uncle and Daisy, he smiled faintly “Hey, y'all.” He said. He gently and carefully moved away from Luke's side, not wanting to disturb him so he could continue to sleep. He needed his rest now more than ever.

“How is he?” Jesse whispered

“Better….I think he's gonna be okay, Uncle Jesse. We talked some last night…” Bo told him. Jesse nodded. He wouldn't ask Bo to break Luke's confidence by telling him what was said. Jesse knew that if Luke wanted him to know he would tell Jesse himself when he was ready to. But something in Bo's voice told Jesse that whatever Luke had shared with Bo it had been something important.

“Good.” was the only comment that Jesse made to Bo's statement. “The doctor said as long as he doesn't get sick again…..he can go home this afternoon.”

Deciding that Luke would be all right for a little while by himself since he was still sleeping deeply, the three Dukes went down to the hospital cafeteria so that Bo could get something to eat. Luke was still sleeping peacefully when they returned to his room forty-five minutes later. He continued to sleep until the doctor came in and woke Luke up so he could examine him. When he had finished his exam, the doctor told the family that Luke could go home later that afternoon. He would have to take it easy for a couple of weeks because of the concussion and in six weeks the doctor would put a walking cast on his leg. Until then he would have to use crutches to get around.

Jesse decided it was time to approach Luke about talking to the woman from the V.A. After lunch, he cautiously brought up the subject to Luke. “Luke, a woman from the V.A. came to the house the other day. She'd like to talk to you.”

“About what?” Luke asked in a guarded tone

“About what happened over there.”

“I don't wanna talk to her.” Luke said in a firm voice “Not about that.”

“Luke….I really think you should. Maybe she can help get you through this.”

“Do I have to?”

“I told her that I wouldn't make you do anything you didn't wanna do. But would you at least think about it?” Jesse asked. He could see the indecision in Luke's eyes and the fear. But Jesse had faith that Luke would make the right decision in the end.

“I'll think about.” Luke reluctantly agreed. He couldn't tell Jesse that his reluctance to talk to the woman from V.A. was because of the things he didn't want to talk about that went on over there in Viet Nam . He knew that the family was worried about him but Luke had always been guarded about his emotions and his problems. Sharing those problems and emotions with anyone had never come easy for Luke, not even to Bo with whom he had always shared everything. And he was terrified that if he talked to her about some of the horror he had gone through over there, then he would lose his mind completely. He still felt like he was barely hanging on by a thread and there was no safety net to catch him if he fell. Jesse wisely decided to let the subject drop. Later that afternoon, Luke was released from the hospital and allowed to go home.

Over the next few days, Luke didn't say a whole lot to anyone as he tried to decide what course of action he should take. Finally, he told Jesse to call the woman from the V.A. and that he would talk to her, at least once. But he refused to make any promises beyond that. Jesse knew that was all he could ask for from his oldest nephew. But at least it was a positive step that might really do him some good.

Miss Harrison immediately agreed to meet with Luke the next afternoon and told them that she would be at the farm around two o'clock . To give her time alone with Luke, Jesse took Bo and Daisy with him into town after she arrived. Luke self consciously led her into the living room where he sat down on the sofa, propping his broken leg up on a footstool, while she sat down across from him in Jesse's favorite chair.

“I know this is awkward” Linda said with a smile trying to put the tense young man before her at ease. “But I want you know that I do this all time….I work with men who've been in the prison camps over there…because I was in one myself for almost six weeks.”

“I didn't think they put women in the camps…” Luke said without thinking

“Yeah,…they do.” Linda said “It's unusual but it happens. So, I do understand some of the thing you went through and what you're still going through.” She paused and then added “I've always read the reports from the Marines so I know how terrible it was in the camp where you were.” When Luke just looked at her without responding, she took a deep breath and said “I know that one of the guards bought you and I know what that means….I know what he probably did to you…...”

Luke's face crumbled and Linda could tell that he was struggling to control himself. In a tight, bitter voice, he said “So you're here to make it all better?”

“No, nobody can ever make it all better. But maybe I can help you find a way to deal with it and go on with your life.”

“What life? I don't have a life anymore…..” Luke said coldly “My families afraid to leave me alone because they're afraid of what I might do….I'm scared to fall asleep at night because I never know when I'll wake up in the middle of a nightmare that I can't find my way out of…...” He stopped talking and hung his head unable to go on. Linda noticed that his hands were trembling as he fought with his emotions.

“Those are all things we can work on together…..if you'll let me help you.”

“How?”

“You've already taken the first step by agreeing to talk to me…..and we can keep talking till we find a way to get you through this.”

“Just by talking?”

“Basically, yeah….cause you need to talk about what happened over there….not just to me but to your family too so they can understand what you went through…..but you don't have to do that right away. But the most important thing is for you to realize that none of it was your fault….you had no control over what those men did to you….and you survived….a lot of men didn't…but that's not your fault either. That was god's choice. You'll never be able to forget what happened over there or what those men did to you….but you can learn to live with it and get on with your life. But you can't do it alone.”

“Can you really help me?” Luke asked in a plaintive voice, his sapphire eyes looking at her hopefully.

“I know I can.” She told him “It's gonna take some time….but we can get together as much as you need to…and take as much time as you need to work this out.” She stood up and walked over to where he was sitting on the sofa. Kneeling down in front of him, she put her hand on his knee and smiled up at him. “Trust me, Luke.” She said “I'm here to help and together we'll get you through this. Deal?”

Luke looked at her and slowly nodded his head, agreeing to accept the help she was offering him. He was desperate. He wanted to live but not like this.

Chapter 15

The Boars Nest was crowded and smoky. Daisy smiled as she weaved her way through the room waiting on her customers and pocketing her tips. She glanced up, grinning broadly when she saw Bo come in the front door. Her smile grew even wider when she realized that Luke was with him. It was the first time Luke had come to the bar since he got home a little over two months ago. Things had improved dramatically since Luke started meeting with the woman from the V.A. She came to the house every other day and met with Luke privately for a couple of hours. Luke was slowly returning to his old self, he was even smiling and laughing again, something Daisy had missed terribly.

Several friends called out greetings to the boys as they came into the room and a couple moved from a table near the front door so they could sit down since Luke was still on crutches. Everyone was happy to see Luke out and about. He had more friends than he realized and they all cared about him deeply. People kept coming up to the table where the boys sat to talk to Luke for a few minutes and to welcome him back home. And Daisy made sure to keep their drinks coming. The boys stayed for almost three hours, both of them having a good time, before leaving to return home.

“You looked like you had a good time.” Bo told him as they headed back to the farm

“I did.” Luke admitted with a grin “Thanks for talking me into coming along tonight….”

“It's good to have you back, cuz…” Bo told him with a huge grin.

“It's good to be back. I was worried there for awhile if I was ever gonna make it back again…..”

“That lady from V.A. has really been helping ya, hasn't she?”

“Yeah……she has.” Luke admitted “I can't change what happened to me over there….but I think I can finally learn to live with it….”

“Good…..cause I sure missed having you around, cuz…”

“I missed being around.” Luke's eyes took on a thoughtful look as he added “Everybody's life went on without me…..and I guess I just wasn't sure where I fit anymore….or if I even fit in….It felt like a big part of me still died over there in ‘Nam and I didn't think I'd ever be able to get it back…..”

“At least the nightmares have stopped.”

“Thank god for that.” Luke said with a soft chuckle. “And thank god for letting me live and letting me come home again….”

“I love you, Lucas….” Bo said quietly, smiling at his older cousin shyly.

“I love you too, Bo.” Luke said smiling back.

Bo grinned happily. Luke was home again and the old Luke he remembered was slowly coming back. Life was getting back to normal in Hazzard County and the Duke family was whole again. Bo knew that Luke still had a long way to go before he could really cope with what had happened to him over there but he was making progress and that was all that counted. Bo had been lost without Luke around and now with him back and acting more like himself, Bo's life was returning to normal too. Luke was still his idol and he was still Bo's hero. But more than that, he was also Bo's best friend.

Since Luke was feeling better and acting more like himself now, Bo showed him the engine he's been working on in the barn. Luke's eyes lit up in interest when he saw what Bo had accomplished so far and together they began making plans to finish the project just like they had always intended to do. Side by side, they began working together to finish putting the powerful engine together. It took them another two months but they finally finished it and they were both proud of what they had accomplished when they were done. Luke hoped to have the cast off his leg in time to test drive their new car once they had it finished.

When they were ready to put the engine in Bo's black charger, Cooter came out to the farm to help them. He also brought along all the paint he could find at the garage and the three of them worked all night finishing the project that the boys held so dear to their hearts. The boys were still busy working when Daisy and Jesse got up the next morning. Around noon , Bo came into the house with a huge grin on his face and asked Daisy and Jesse to step outside for a minute.

They stepped out into the barnyard while Bo ran back to the barn and slipped inside. A few moments later, they heard the sound of a powerful engine roaring to life. Cooter pushed open the barn doors and stepped aside, grinning from ear to ear as Bo drove his new car out of the barn and into the sunlight. Daisy gasped as she saw the car that Bo and Luke had dubbed The General Lee.

It was definitely a memorable looking vehicle with its bright orange paint job, the big black 01 trimmed in black painted on each door, the confederate flag on the roof and the name General Lee painted above each door frame. Bo gave an excited rebel yell and blew the car horn which played the first twelve notes of Dixie .

“What do ya think?” Bo asked in an excited voice as he climbed out of the window on the driver's side since they had welded the doors shut.

“Honey, it's beautiful!” Daisy exclaimed, clapping her hands in excitement.

“I hope you don't plan on using it to make any shine deliveries…” Jesse joked in a teasing voice “The law wouldn't be able to miss seeing ya coming in that.”

Cooter and Luke came out of the barn, grinning broadly as they joined Bo beside the car they had created. They were all immensely proud of the car that the boys had build together as a team. The Duke boys were definitely back and all was well in Hazzard County .

THE END AND A NEW BEGINNING