Chapter 10

Over the next few days even Bo started to believe that this place might be the best place for Luke. The staff was so caring and genuinely concerned about Luke's welfare that the difference from the care at the hospital was noticeable. And no matter who was in the room, even if it was only the cleaning staff, they talked to Luke as if he could hear them instead of ignoring him because he was in a coma.

The family had just arrived one morning to visit Luke and was surprised to find his bed empty. When Jesse stopped a passing staff member to ask where Luke was, the aide smiled and told him that Luke's therapist had taken him outside into the courtyard for awhile. The family found the courtyard and went outside where they found Luke sitting in a specially designed chair that leaned back like a recliner. His therapist, a pretty blonde named Cindy, was sitting beside him reading the Atlanta paper out loud to him.

“Hi, y'all” she said when the Dukes came into the courtyard. “I thought Luke might like some sun for awhile after being cooped up in the hospital for so long.” She grinned “Get that killer tan back that I bet he had before this all happened.”

The family members smiled and greeted Luke warmly. Cindy smiled as she noticed the way they all touched him in one way or another, Jesse picked up his hand, Daisy kissed his cheek, and Bo put his hand on his shoulder. It was obvious that they were a close and loving family and that made her job a lot easier. After they had finished saying hello to Luke, Cindy smiled and said “I have some good news for you. I started the range of motion exercises with Luke and he's resisting me.” At the blank looks on their faces, she explained “Luke was in the hospital for almost three weeks without anyone doing any exercises or anything else with him, so that means that his muscles had already started to contract or tighten up and his joints had started to get stiff. Unfortunately that's what happens with bedridden patients. So when I start working with them, it hurts and Luke is resisting me because he can feel the pain.”

“And that's good?” Daisy asked in a confused voice

“Yes, it's very good. It means that he's in a lighter coma than he was before.”

“Does that means he's gonna wake up?” Bo asked in an excited voice

“It's a good sign. But coma patients don't just open their eyes one morning and wake up. It's a more gradual process than that. They start exactly the way Luke is now, slowly responding to their surroundings and the first response is generally reacting to pain.”

“That's wonderful!” Daisy exclaimed with a huge grin

“You bet it is.” Jesse said now that he understood what Cindy meant when she told them she had some good news. They needed some good news about Luke for a change.

“Our nutritionist also changed the formula he'd been getting through his feeding tube and increased the calorie intake so he should start putting some weight back on.”

Jesse nodded gratefully. Luke had lost almost 25 pounds since the accident and he hadn't been that heavy to begin with. The weight loss showed especially in his face which looked haggard and drawn, the bones sharply defined.

Cindy smiled and reached out to touch the back of Luke's hand “And I'm going to be bringing him out here everyday to get some sun and fresh air again. How's that sound, Luke?”

“You said he'd start responding more to his surroundings….” Bo said “How exactly?”

“Well, obviously reacting to painful stimuli, which he's doing now. You may start to notice small muscle twitches, facial expressions, he may start making some movements in response to your voice when you talk to him. He'll be able to hear you before he wakes up completely. That's why we encourage everyone to talk to him even if he isn't responding. He may even start making some sounds and appear like he's trying to speak.” Cindy told them “I do have one question….he responds to pain when I move his arms or any part of his body above the waist but he doesn't respond when I move his legs or anything below his waist….but the reports from the hospital didn't say anything about any paralysis.”

“Wait a minute,” Bo said in an alarmed voice “Luke did say something while we still on the plane about not being able to move his legs. Dang it! How could I have forgotten something like that?”

“Bo, you were hurt yourself and worried about getting help. It's understandable that you forgot.” Jesse told him soothingly.

“I'll make sure that our doctor is aware of that and runs some tests to see if there are any injuries to his spinal cord that could be causing problems.” Cindy reassured them

“And we are done for now, so I will leave you all alone. Whenever you wanna take him back to his room that's fine or you can just stay out here.”

Jesse thanked her and they all found chairs, sitting close to Luke and talking to him, including him in their conversations the same way they'd been doing ever since the accident.

Chapter 11

Bo was sleeping when a soft thud awakened him. Opening his eyes, he yawned and tried to figure out what had awakened him. He was sleeping in the second bed in Luke's room, which he had been doing frequently ever since Luke was admitted to the facility. All of the staff had come to know the Duke family and liked them. They were all rooting for Luke to recover and so he would be able to return to his home and his family. Several of the younger aides were quite taken with Bo and enjoyed flirting with him (and more than one of them enjoyed flirting with Luke too even if he wasn't in any condition to flirt back)

As his eyes adjusted to the dark, Bo realized what had awakened him. Luke's arm had fallen over the side of the bed and his hand had hit the side of the bed. Crawling out of bed, Bo gently picked up Luke's arm and laid it back on the bed, only to have his arm fall over the side again almost immediately. Bo frowned and then grinned as a thought suddenly occurred to him. “Cuz, are you doing that on purpose?” he said with a soft chuckle. He picked up Luke's arm again and this time laid it across Luke's stomach where it stayed.

Bo stood there for several long minutes just staring down at Luke's face trying to see if he could notice any change but Luke still looked as if he were deeply asleep and didn't seem to respond to Bo's voice or to his touch but Bo couldn't help hoping that Cindy was right and he was trying to wake up. “Now stop making so much noise and let me sleep.” Bo said with a grin as he gently touched Luke's shoulder, rubbing it for a moment and then he returned to his own bed. Soon he was sleeping soundly again.

______________________________

Where the hell am I? What happened? Why can't I remember? Why can't I open my eyes? Who was that talking to me? What the hell is going on here?

  _______________________________

The next morning one of the aides brought Bo a breakfast tray, smiling as she sat it down on the coffee table in front of the couch. “Thank you, darling.” Bo told her flashing his best killer smile. The aide blushed and hurried out of the room. Bo grinned as he sat down and started to eat. Just after he had finished, Cindy came in to the room to start her morning routine with Luke

“Uh…hey,” Bo said “Last night, his arm fell off the bed a couple of times. Could he have done that himself?”

“Maybe….” Cindy said thoughtfully “It could have been an involuntary reflex. But I think I'm going to have a few tests done this afternoon to see just how much he can respond to.”

Cindy started her range of motion exercises starting with Luke's legs first. When she had finished with that, she started on his arms and hands. She frowned when she felt a definite resistance on Luke's part stronger than it had been before. “Oh, we don't wanna work today, do we?” she said “Well, I'm sorry but I'm not gonna let you off that easy.” When she had finished, she looked at Bo and said, “I don't wanna get your hopes up, but his resistance to the exercises is stronger today than it's ever been. I think he may definitely be trying to come out of the coma.”

“That's great!” Bo said enthusiastically.

“Bo, listen to me. Even if he comes out of the coma, we don't know what kind of condition he'll be in. He's still gonna need a lot of therapy to get back to normal.”

“Yeah, but at least he'll be awake instead of just lying there.”

“Since you're here you wanna help me get him into the chair?”

“Sure. What do ya want me to do?”

“Well, if you want to, you can just pick him up.”

“Okay.” Bo said. Carefully, he slipped one arm under Luke's knees and the other arm behind his cousin's shoulders. Gently, he lifted him out of the bed and then sat him down in the chair. Cindy handed him a specially designed contoured pillow to put under Luke's head to keep it upright so it wouldn't fall to the side. She handed him a second pillow and instructed him to put it under Luke's knees. When Bo had finished, she handed him a lap blanket to cover Luke with.

“I'm going to go see about getting those tests done.” Cindy told Bo with a smile “I know he'll be in good hands till I get back.”

As she left the room, Bo sat down beside Luke and gently started stroking his arm. “I know you're in there somewhere, cuz….and I know you're trying to come back to us. Just keep fighting…I know you can do it.”

Bo and the rest of the family were in Luke's room having supper when Cindy came in to the room. She smiled at the picture of the family having their meal with Luke sitting in his chair beside them, still included in this ordinary family routine even if he wasn't aware of it.

“I just wanted to stop by for a minute and let you know the results of the tests I had done this afternoon. They are very promising. Luke is trying to wake up. I'm positive of that now. He's responding not only to painful stimuli, but also to certain sounds and I'm fairly certain that he can feel it when he's touched he just isn't awake enough to respond to that yet. I wish I could tell you how soon he'll actually wake up but I can't. It could be a few days or a few weeks. All we can do is wait and see.” She smiled as she walked over to Luke's side and gently stroked the side of his face “But I don't think it'll be long before he's back with us. Will it be, Luke?”

“We can't begin to tell you how much we appreciate what you've all done for Luke.” Jesse said gratefully

“That's our job. That's why we're here.” Cindy told him “And it's cases like Luke that makes it all worthwhile…for all of us.” Bidding the family goodbye, she left the room.

Chapter 12

Three days later, Bo was sitting in the courtyard with Luke relaxing in the sun and reading a car magazine out loud to his cousin. Needing a break from reading, he laid the magazine down in the chair beside him and reached out to rub the back of Luke's hand. “I sure wish you'd wake up so you can do your own reading.” He said in a quiet teasing voice. Suddenly he felt a slight movement under his hand, startling him. He held his breath and then he felt it again. Luke had moved his hand! Not much, but enough that Bo noticed. “Luke?” he said anxiously “Can you hear me, cuz?” He held his breath, waiting but Luke didn't move his hand again. Bo didn't care. He knew he hadn't imagined it. Luke had moved his hand.

The rest of the day, Bo watched Luke carefully. He began to notice little things that he hadn't seen before. A twitch of a muscle, the faint movement of a finger, a slight tilt to his head when Bo said his name. Bo could hardly contain his excitement. After almost 6 weeks, Luke was finally trying to wake up. When Cindy came out to check on them, Bo excitedly told her the things he's seen.

“I know” Cindy told him “I told you he was trying to wake up. And you'll see a lot more of the things you saw today as he gets stronger and closer to waking up.”

“You really think he can hear me?”

“I'm sure he can. Just keep talking to him. When he does wake up he'll probably be disoriented and confused at first. And he's probably really scared right now because he can hear you but he can't open his eyes. It'll help if he knows he has family around him and that he's safe. Just reassure him of that as much as you can.”

“You don't have to worry none about that.” Bo assured her with a smile as he gently rubbed Luke's shoulder fondly.

Cindy smiled back and put her hand on Bo's shoulder. “I have no doubt about that.” She told him. “He has no idea how lucky he is to have the family he has.”

As Cindy went back inside, Bo leaned over closer to Luke and said “Hey, cuz….did you hear that? You're gonna be okay, Luke. You were hurt but you're gonna be okay now. I'm right here and I ain't going no place.”

_____________________________

Bo? Is that you? How'd I get hurt? Where am I? Why can't I open my eyes?

Stay with cuz, don't leave me alone. I'm scared. I don't wanna be alone.

  ____________________________

Instinctively Bo knew that Luke could hear him. He didn't know how for sure, call it that physic bond between the boys, but he knew. And he knew that Luke was comforted by his voice and by his presence. After so many weeks with no response of any kind from Luke as he lay locked in the depths of his own mind, Bo was overjoyed at the idea of finally having his cousin back again.

When Daisy and Jesse arrived later that afternoon, Bo couldn't wait to share his good news with them. They were overjoyed to when they learned that Luke was showing definite signs of waking up. They didn't question it when Bo said that Luke could hear them. They had never doubted that for a minute.

____________________________

Even though he couldn't open his eyes. Luke could feel the love of his family surrounding him. And that love both comforted him and soothed him. And gave him the strength to start fighting his way back to them.

Chapter 13

As one of the aides was doing his nightly care, she commented to Bo that Luke seemed restless that evening. And it was true, Luke had began making more random movements, including moving his head from side to side in the past few days. Which was what he was doing while the aide did his personal care. He stopped when Bo stepped up beside him, gently put a hand on his shoulder and said “Its okay, Luke. I'm right here.”

“That's amazing.” The aide told Bo with a grateful smile as she finished her work. “The way he responds to you like that.”

“Actually I think he's upset cause there's a pretty girl touching him and he can't touch her back.” Bo teased the aide with a grin. The girl giggled and blushed. Gathering up her things, she quickly left the room. Bo glanced at his older cousin and smiled gently. “Time to get some sleep, cuz…..unless you wanna open your eyes. Then we can stay up talking all night.” Bo meant it as joke but he felt a jolt of excitement when he saw Luke's eyelids flutter. He held his breath for a minute, then grabbed Luke's hand and held it tightly. “Come on, Luke…” he coaxed “Open your eyes. Wake up for me!” Luke's eyelids fluttered again but remained closed.

For the next hour, Bo tried to get Luke to open his eyes but to no avail. Bo sensed that he was right on the edge of waking up but still couldn't cross over. Not yet anyway. Finally Bo sighed and gently squeezed Luke's hand “Okay, we'll try again tomorrow. Good night, cuz…” Bo walked over to the other bed, stripped down to his shorts and climbed in, pulling the blankets over himself.

Sometime late that night, while Bo was sleeping soundly, Luke opened his eyes and tired to figure out where he was. He saw Bo sleeping in the bed next to him but he knew that they weren't back home on the farm. His heart beat loudly as he tried to figure out what had happened to him and why he was in this unfamiliar room. He had only a vague memory of the accident. Too tired to try and figure it out, he closed his eyes and drifted into a natural sleep instead of the coma that had been holding him in it's grip for so long.

Bo awoke early the next morning from force of habit and quickly dressed. He knew the aide would be in soon to do Luke's morning care and to bring Bo's breakfast tray. He glanced over at his cousin and frowned. There was something different about Luke this morning but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. Something about the sound of his breathing or maybe it was the relaxed position of his body but there was definitely something different.

Bo walked over to Luke's side and gently reached out to take his hand. Just like he'd done every morning for almost two months, he said “Morning, cuz…” Bo gasped when Luke responded to his voice by turning his head towards the sound of Bo's voice and slowly opened his eyes. “Luke?” Bo said in a broken voice, unable to believe that Luke had finally opened his eyes. “Luke, can you hear me?” Instead of speaking, Luke nodded his head, not much but enough that Bo knew he was actually awake and alert. Bo grabbed the call button and rang for the nurse as tears gathered in his eyes and fell without shame down his face. “Welcome back, cuz…” Bo said his voice filled with such deep emotion that Luke looked at him with a puzzled expression in his eyes.

As a nurse hurried into the room, Bo told her that Luke was awake. When the nurse saw for herself that Luke really did have his eyes open, she hurried from the room to find Cindy and the staff doctor. Cindy arrived first. She grinned happily when she saw that Luke had his eyes open and found herself thinking how beautiful those sapphire blue eyes looked. “Hi, Luke.” She said quietly “I'm Cindy and I'm your physical therapist. Do you know where you are?”

Luke looked at her but didn't answer. Instead he turned his head and looked back at Bo. “It's okay, Luke.” Bo told him “You were hurt. The plane crashed. Do you remember?”

After several long minutes, Luke nodded and said in a barely audible voice that was hoarse and raspy from not being used for so long “Yes…..”

“You were in a hospital for awhile and then they sent you here.”

“Where….” Luke managed to say, although it was obvious that it was an effort for him to speak.

“Our facility is called Indian Falls . We're just outside of Atlanta .” Cindy told Luke “We're a long term care facility for comatose patients.” Luke eyes filled with anxiety and fear. Cindy reached out to touch his hand reassuringly, it was oblivious that he knew what the word comatose meant. “You've been in a coma for almost two months.” She told him “But you're awake now and we can start working on getting you out of here and back home where you belong.”

“Home…” Luke repeated, looking back at Bo again.

“You bet, cuz.” Bo told him “Just as soon as you're strong enough.” Cindy motioned with a slight turn of her head for Bo to step into the hall with her for a moment. Bo nodded to let her know he understood, then he looked back at Luke and said quietly “I'll be right back…I'm just gonna step outside for a minute to talk to this little lady, okay?”

“K….” Luke said, closing his eyes and drifting back to sleep, exhausted from the effort of talking and trying to make sense of what was happening to him.

Bo stepped out into the hallway with Cindy. She looked at him with a smile and said “Now that he's awake, you should see significant changes in his condition. He's still confused and disoriented but that's to be expected after being in a coma for so long. It should clear up quickly. Just stay with him and reassure him that he's okay and he's safe. The doctor should be here soon to examine him. I'm gonna make sure he checks his legs. We did find a dislocated disk in his lower back but that can be fixed.” Bo nodded and then went back into the room to be with Luke. Luke was still sleeping, so Bo sat down beside him and let him sleep.

The doctor arrived shortly after that. Luke woke up as the doctor started examining him. More alert, he was able to answer the doctor's questions, correctly telling him his name, his age, and his birthday. Bo watched anxiously as the doctor moved to the foot of the bed and ran the edge of penlight across the bottom of Luke's foot. Luke didn't respond to the pressure.

“Luke, can you feel that?” the doctor asked. Luke looked at the doctor, then Bo, and then back at the doctor. Finally, he shook his head. “Alright,” the doctor said, “Luke, I'm gonna poke you a little and I want you tell me when you can feel it, okay?”

Luke nodded to show the doctor that he understood. Bo took his hand and held it reassuringly as for the next few minutes, the doctor poked Luke's leg with a pin all the way up to his waist before Luke said he felt it. Then he checked the other side with the same results. The doctor looked at Luke solemnly and said, “We did X-rays of your back when you were first brought here and they do show a dislocated disc in your lower back. That's more than likely the problem. It's probably putting pressure on the spinal cord and causing the paralysis. Now, we can fix the problem with surgery but it'll be a few weeks before we'll know if the paralysis is permanent or not.” Luke nodded, indicating that he understood, but he had no expression on his face, his feelings carefully hidden from this stranger. He remembered the terror he'd felt in the plane when he realized he couldn't move his legs or feel anything from his waist down and he felt that same terror now.

Chapter 14

Jesse and Daisy were overjoyed when they arrived later that morning and discovered that Luke was finally awake. They were worried and concerned when they found out he couldn't move his legs, but they tried to keep from letting their own fear show through. They knew they had to be strong for Luke right now and not upset him. As the day passed, Luke gradually became more alert and oriented and his speech started to improve. His voice was still hoarse from disuse but at least he could talk to them again. The news spread rapidly through the facility that Luke had come out of his coma and that he was alert and oriented.

Without much discussion, it was decided that Bo would continue to stay at the facility with Luke so that he wouldn't be alone. Jesse realized that Luke was going to need Bo now more then he ever had before. He still had a rough road ahead, at least for the next couple of weeks, and he was going to need Bo's strength to help him to continue to improve.

That was another amazing thing about the bond between the boys, ever since they were children if one of them was hurt they always seemed to get better when they had the other one with them to draw strength from. But Jesse also knew this whole ordeal was hard for Luke, he was used to being the strong one, the one who took care of Bo. It would be hard for him to accept the reversal in their usual roles.

Cindy had decided not to do her regular session with Luke that day. She felt it was more important for him to spend time with family and to feel their love and their support. Now that he was awake, she could add new routines to her sessions. Routines that included getting him sitting up by himself again and feeding himself so that the feeding tube could be removed. He would also have to learn to use a wheelchair, at least for now, and she had a feeling that was the thing he was going to resist the most. She had already seen the stubborn pride that flashed in his eyes. She just hoped that future therapy sessions wouldn't turn into a battle of wills between her and her patient.

The first sign of rebellion on Luke's part came that evening when the aide came in to do his usual evening care. He didn't say much as she emptied the catheter and took his vital signs, but he absolutely refused to let her wash him or change his clothes. Finally, Bo told her that it would probably be better if he took over that part of Luke's care. Cindy had already anticipated this particular problem and had told the staff that it was already for Bo to take over part of Luke's personal care if Luke resisted the aides doing it. The aide nodded and left the room.

Bo walked over and shut the door. Usually, it was kept open at night but now that Luke was awake, Bo decided it was time to start closing it at night like they did at home. It wasn't much but it at least gave Luke back a sense of privacy again. “Okay, cuz…” Bo said as he wet a washcloth and handed it to Luke. “You can wash your own face and anything else you want washed that you can reach.” Luke gave him a dirty look but didn't say anything as he took the washcloth. Bo smiled as he turned his back to give Luke some privacy. A few minutes later, he turned around and looked back at his oldest cousin. “You want your clothes changed?” he asked giving Luke the choice. Luke shook his head. “Okay. Do you want anything?”

“To go home.” Luke said clearly

“I know that.” Bo said, smiling gently and rubbing Luke's shoulder “But you can't do that just yet.”

“I'm scared, Bo….” Luke said, averting his gaze from his younger cousin's eyes.

“I know…but it's gonna be okay. Just give it a little more time.”

“What if I never walk again?”

“Don't say that…you heard the doctors, they can fix what's wrong with your back.”

“But they still won't know if I'll ever walk again or not.” Luke said

“Yes, you will.” Bo told him firmly “You're a Duke you're too stubborn not to walk again.”

Luke smiled thinly “Tell my legs that.”

“Luke, you almost died. I was so scared when I got back to plane with help…I thought I was too late…that I'd already lost you.” Bo told him, sharing with Luke the fear he'd dealt with since the accident. “Then when you went into the coma and wouldn't wake up….I was so scared you'd never wake up….”

“I can't believe I've been out of it for almost two months.” Luke said, finally looking back at Bo.

“Believe it, cousin….I know. I've been here every day waiting for you to wake up.”

“Who's been helping Uncle Jesse with the farm?”

“Cooter, L.B, B.B., most of the neighbors. They're all pitching in so Jesse and Daisy can be here as much as possible. Everybody has been praying for ya and asking about ya.”

“I did some praying of my own.” Luke admitted “After you left to get help.” He sighed, tired out from the stress of the day. He could barely keep his eyes open but there was a part of him that was afraid to go to sleep, afraid he wouldn't wake up again. He knew it was irrational but he was still scared.

A soft knock on the door caught both boys attention. “Come in” Bo called out. The door opened and Cindy came into the room. She smiled at both of them and walked over to the opposite side of the bed.

“Hi, Luke. Remember me?”

“Cindy.” Luke said, letting his gaze run boldly up and down her trim figure.

“That's right and if you're finished checking me out, I thought we could talk about what we're gonna do tomorrow.” She grinned when she saw the flush that crept into Luke's face. “We're gonna be doing some things tomorrow to find out just how much you can do on your own now that you're awake. I'm sure you wanna get rid of that catheter and that feeding tube.” Luke nodded “Well, we're gonna start with seeing how well you can feed yourself. If you can do that, then they can take out the feeding tube and you can start eating real food again. The catheter might take a little longer to get rid of they'll have to run some tests to see how much bladder control you have since you can't feel anything below your waist right now.” She didn't miss the look of disappointment that crossed Luke's face at that statement. Bladder control was a big issue with any patient in Luke's condition. It was the one thing that they hated the most, losing the ability to control those basic functions. It was part of her job to help them learn to deal with their limitations and keep them from getting depressed or frustrated.

“We're also going to work on getting you used to sitting up by yourself again and using a wheelchair.” She definitely did not miss the dirty look Luke gave her when she mentioned using a wheelchair. She had a feeling they were going to butt heads over that issue. She ignored the fire in his eyes and said, “So, you might wanna think about getting some sleep because tomorrow is gonna be a busy day. And we're gonna get started bright and early.”

Bo caught the scowl on Luke's face as Cindy left the room. “Okay, Lukas….” He said “What's the problem?”

“Nothing.” Luke said, refusing to talk about what was troubling him and Bo knew better than to push the issue. Luke hated feeling like an invalid even if that was what he was right now. And the last thing he wanted from anybody was pity. And the fear of never being able to walk again was overwhelming.

Chapter 15

True to her word, Cindy came in the next morning after the breakfast trays were collected. Smiling at Luke who looked back at her warily, she said “First thing we gonna do is sit you up on the side of the bed for a little while. You'll probably feel really dizzy at first but that's normal so don't worry about it. I'm gonna be standing right in front of you and I'm gonna have Bo stand behind you and neither one of us is gonna let you fall.”

Before Luke could object, she threw back the covers and grabbed his legs, glancing at Bo, she said “Bo, just get Luke's shoulders and help him set up. On the count of three.”

Bo got into position and waited for her signal. “One, two, three…” when she reached three, Cindy gently swung Luke's legs over the side of the bed while Bo held his shoulders and helped him raise into a sitting position. Immediately, Luke felt a severe wave of dizziness sweep over him. He was sure he would have fallen on his face if Cindy hadn't been standing in front of him, supporting him and keep him upright. It took several minutes but finally the dizziness started to pass, leaving him feeling slightly nauseated. “How ya doing, Luke?” Cindy asked

“I feel kinda sick…” he admitted

“That's okay. It's because your body's used to lying flat and not sitting up. It'll pass.” She told him “Just let me know if you feel like you're going vomit, okay? I don't wanna have to change my clothes this early in the day.” Luke nodded slightly, ignoring her feeble attempt at humor. After a few more minutes of having him set up on the edge of the bed, she nodded to Bo to let him lay down again.

“Now, I'm gonna let you rest for just a few minutes, then we're gonna get you up in the geri chair and take you down to therapy.” Luke laid his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes willing his stomach to stop churning. Sooner than he would have liked, Cindy was asking Bo to help get Luke into the geri chair. He felt Bo picking him up in his arms, then gently sitting him down in the geri chair. The foot of the chair was elevated and the back was reclined so that he was in a semi prone position instead of sitting straight up.

He kept his eyes closed as he felt Cindy fastening a seat belt around his waist. “Thanks, Bo” she said as she moved around to the back of the chair. “We'll be back in a couple of hours.” Luke felt her pushing the chair out of the room and into the hallway. He opened his eyes, watching the lights on the ceiling passing overhead as she rolled him down the hall. He hated feeling so helpless but he knew that if he wanted to get better so he could go home, he'd have to do whatever Cindy told him to do. After two months in a coma, he felt as weak as a baby and his muscles were almost as useless. The only thing that still seemed to work the same as before the accident was his brain.

In the therapy room, Cindy adjusted the chair to a sitting position, forcing Luke to sit up even if he didn't really want to. He fought back another wave of dizziness. She fastened a board to the chair in front of him making a table. She sat a plate, a glass and silverware on the board in front of him. Walking over to a small refrigerator in the corner, she came back with a small carton of milk that she poured into the glass and a container of chocolate pudding that she opened and spooned out onto the plate. She also laid some vanilla wafers on the plate. “Okay,” she said “Eat.”

Luke reached out and slowly grabbed the glass. He had to concentrate to make his fingers close around the glass. Slowly, he raised the glass to his mouth and took a sip, not spilling too much. The vanilla wafers he could manage without too much trouble, but his fingers refused to grasp the silverware, he kept dropping it. “Okay,” Cindy said gently before he got too frustrated “We'll have to work on that a little more. But it looks like you can handle drinking out of a glass and eating finger foods.” She told him. “So, I'm going to talk to the nutritionist about changing your diet order so we can get rid of the feeding tube.” Luke rewarded her with a faint smile “Now, they'll probably put you on liquids first, then soft foods and then normal food. We need to make sure you can keep it down okay after being on the feeding tube for so long. And I don't think it'll take long for you to get used to using silverware again, your fingers just need to get a little stronger and we need to work on your coordination a little.”

She put her hands on her hips and looked at Luke “Are you ready to get into the wheelchair for awhile?”

“No.” Luke said clearly, shaking his head stubbornly. Cindy saw the same fire in his eyes that she'd seen the night before when she mentioned the wheelchair. She was right, they were going to butt heads on that issue.

“Alright, we'll work on something else for awhile.” She said “But you're getting in that chair for awhile before we go back to your room.” She removed the dishes from the lap tray and replaced them with some wooden blocks of different sizes. For the next half hour, she worked with Luke on sorting the blocks according to size and color and stacking them. The exercise was designed to help improve his fine motor skills and his eye/hand coordination. It didn't take her long to realize that Luke was the kind of patient who was going to get easily frustrated when he couldn't do something that he could have done without even thinking about it before. And his way of dealing with that frustration was going to be getting angry and refusing to cooperate. She knew she had to gain his trust and make him see the benefits of what she was doing if she wanted his cooperation.

She put away the blocks and sat on a stool in front of Luke so that he was forced to look at her. “Okay, Luke….I know you don't wanna be doing this…and that it's frustrating as hell to you.” She paused to let her words sink in “But the things I'm doing right now are going to tell me how much you can and can't do and what areas we need to work on so you can get out of here and go home. Now if something is really frustrating you or you really don't want to do it, tell me and we won't do it during that session. Okay? But I also want you tell me why you don't wanna do it.” She smiled “Do we have a deal?”

“Okay.” Luke finally said with a smile.

“Hey, at least I got a smile out of ya.” She told him with a grin “I bet all the girls in Hazzard love to see that killer smile.” She saw the sparkle in those sapphire eyes and knew she was starting to make some headway. She sensed that Luke Duke was stubborn and used to being in control and the biggest thing they'd have to overcome was his anger at his present condition. She knew he really didn't want to try getting in the wheelchair, not yet, so she decided to let that go and cut their session short for today. She had a feeling that spending the day with Bo was going to be more beneficial to him right now.

Luke looked mildly surprised but grateful when she told him that she was finished for now. She wheeled him back to his room where Bo was waiting. Turning his care over to his younger cousin, she said “Okay, you two…why don't you go outside for awhile? I have a feeling that you don't spend too much time inside at home.” She smiled when both boys flashed identical grins at her. They were both very attractive men and she was sure that the girls in Hazzard thought so too.

After she left to care for her other patients, Bo grinned and wheeled Luke out of the room and down to the courtyard. As they went outside, Luke sighed and leaned back his head, enjoying the warm of the Georgia sun on his face. This was the kind of winter weather he was used to not the cold frigid weather up north. It felt good to be back in Georgia and he hoped that he never had to leave again.

Chapter 16

Luke lay back in the whirlpool and closed his eyes, feeling himself relaxing as the warm water swirled around him. He had to admit that it felt good. He was still uncomfortable with the aides providing his personal care. Even though Bo provided a lot of the care for him, there were times when the aides had to provide the same care. Some of the aides were young, not much over 16 and Luke knew it embarrassed them to have to care for someone like him whom they considered young and attractive.

It was one thing to work with a patient who was comatose. It was something entirely different to deal with one who was awake and alert enough to talk to you. It embarrassed Luke too, the nudity didn't bother him, but having to depend on them to help him with his more personal needs did. He still had a catheter because he had no control over his bladder, he couldn't tell when he had to go and when he didn't. The same thing applied to his bowels so he had to be cleaned out every other day which was really humiliating and embarrassing.

The therapy sessions with Cindy were starting to help. He could feed himself now using his silverware so the feeding tube had finally been removed. And they had started him on solid foods that morning which was a vast relief even though he didn't really care for hospital food. He had to admit the food here was a lot better than most of the hospitals he'd been in but he still missed Daisy and Jesse's home cooking. He had finally let Cindy coax him into the wheelchair but he still hated it. He was terrified of the thought of spending the rest of his life in one.

He also knew that he'd end up bedridden again in a few days. The doctor had decided that he was strong enough to have the surgery to repair the disk in his back. And he'd be stuck in bed for at least a week after that if not longer. But he was praying that the surgery would be a success and that once the pressure was relieved on his spinal cord, he'd be able to walk again.

Bo was still staying with him and he was grateful for his younger cousins company, especially at night. He still didn't want to be alone although he did encourage Bo to go home sometimes during the day so he could change clothes and have some time for himself.

Luke opened his eyes as the door opened and Cindy came in. She smiled as she reached out to turn off the whirlpool and hit the button to let the water drain from the tub. “How was that?” she asked

“Pretty good.” Luke admitted with a crooked smile.

“I figured you'd enjoy it. You're doing really well, Luke. I'm proud of you.”

“I have you to thank for that.”

“Hey, you did a lot of work once we stopped butting heads over your therapy.” Cindy reminded him with a soft laugh.

Luke chuckled. He knew he hadn't been the most cooperative patient in the beginning. But once he started being able to do more things for himself, he started working harder to improve the skills he did have. His upper body strength had returned and thanks to Cindy's exercises, his lower body was in good shape too even if he couldn't feel anything down there yet. The muscle tone had been restored and his joints were functional.

After the water had drained from the tub, Cindy handed Luke a towel so he could dry off as much as possible before she opened the side of the tub that swung open and closed to get patients in and out of the whirlpool. Once she had the side lifted up, she used a special lift to get him out of the tub and back into his wheelchair, where she helped him put on a tee shirt and covered the rest of his body with a blanket. Then she took him back to his room, where she used the lift to get him back into bed. Once he was in bed, it was simply a matter of rolling him from side to side so she could put on his sweat pants. Once she had him dressed, she asked him if he wanted to get back up for awhile but Luke declined, deciding he'd rather take a nap.

Later that day, Jesse and the rest of the family arrived, along with Cooter. Daisy surprised Luke with a homemade meal of all of his favorite foods. He grinned when he realized that Cindy must have called and told her that Luke could eat solid foods now.

With the first real appetite he'd shown since the accident, he ate the fried chicken, corn on the cob, potato salad, fresh rolls, and apple pie until he couldn't eat another bite.

“You'll be home soon, sugar.” Daisy told him with a grin “And then you can eat like this every day.”

“I hope so.” Luke told her with a smile “It just feels good to be eating again.”

“At least you ain't so danged skinny anymore.” Bo told him with a teasing grin and earning himself a stern look from Jesse for talking with his mouth full. Luke had regained the weight he had lost and his face had filled out again softening the contours of his features.

Jesse smiled as he listened to the interaction through the three cousins. He was grateful that Luke was alive and would be coming back home to them soon. He had been terrified that they were going to lose him, not so much to death as to the darkness of his own mind. Jesse never wanted to go through something like that again. He had already warned both boys that he never wanted to hear of either one of them getting on a small plane like that again. He knew that his warnings might not be heeded as much as the boys enjoyed the thrill of racing and tearing around in the General Lee. They loved living on the edge and he didn't want to do anything to dampen the spirit that had made them into the men they had grown up to be. Jesse was extremely proud of both of them.

Chapter 17

Luke opened his eyes, then groaned softly and closed them again. He could feel the pain in his back from the surgery and taste the metallic aftertaste in his mouth from the anesthesia. He was also severely nauseated, a side effect he always got when he was given any kind of anesthesia to put him to sleep. He knew it would pass but he'd be sicker than a dog for awhile until it did.

“Luke,” Bo's voice said softly at his side “Are you awake?” Luke nodded without speaking but kept his eyes closed. He felt Bo holding his hand and rubbing it gently. Bo knew the side effects that Luke experienced when he had any type of anesthesia, so he was well aware of how sick Luke felt right now. The doctor had left an order with the nurses to give Luke something to help with the nausea if it got too bad. But Bo knew that Luke wouldn't ask for anything unless he got sick enough to start vomiting which could rip open the stitches.

Bo left his cousin's side just long enough to wet a washcloth with cool water and bring it back to put on Luke's forehead. The doctor had told the family that the surgery had gone well and that the disc had been repaired. Now all they could do was wait and see if the feeling returned to Luke's legs or not and the doctor had told them that could take a few weeks before they'd know for sure. Luke heard the door open and then Uncle Jesse and Daisy's voices but he still didn't open his eyes.

“Hey, honey…” Daisy said, gently kissing his cheek “Hang in there…you're gonna be okay.”

“How ya doing, boy?” Jesse said, gently rubbing his shoulder. “The doctor said everything went okay so if the good lord's willing you'll be up and around before too much longer.” Jesse glanced at Bo questioningly. Bo shrugged his shoulders slightly, letting Jesse know that Luke was sick from the anesthesia and that he wasn't talking to anyone right now. Jesse nodded and turned his attention back to his oldest nephew. He leaned over and whispered to Daisy telling her to ask the nurse to give Luke something for the nausea even if he hadn't asked for anything. Jesse decided it was time to overrule Luke's stubborn nature. There was no reason for him to suffer so.

Daisy left the room and returned in a few minutes with a nurse. The nurse walked over to the bed and said quietly, “Luke, I'm gonna roll you over for a second so I can check your bandages and then I'm gonna give you a couple of shots.”

Luke winced in pain as she gently rolled him over onto his side. She checked the bandage covering the incision on his lower back, then took two hypodermic needles out of her uniform pocket. Lying one of them on the nightstand, she uncapped one and squeezed the plunger to make sure there was no air in the needle, then deftly jabbed the needle into Luke's hip. She took did the same thing with the second needle and then helped Luke roll back over onto his back. She carried the used needles into the bathroom to dispose of them. When she came back out, she told the family “Those shots will probably make him drowsy but that's alright. He needs to rest right now.”

Luke felt the effects of the pain killer almost immediately as his body started to go numb and he started to get sleepy. As he dozed off, he realized the nurse must have given him something for the nausea too. Sighing softly, he let himself drift off into the darkness and away from the pain and the nausea.

“Why does he get so sick, Uncle Jesse,” Daisy asked “When they give him anything to put him to sleep?”

“I don't know, darling. His dad was the same way and so was my brother, George.” Jesse told her “And even Aunt Pauline has problems sometimes. You and Bo were just lucky it doesn't affect you two like that.”

They stayed for awhile longer then decided to head for home before it got too late. After they had said their goodbyes, Bo checked to make sure that Luke was resting comfortably and then he went to bed too.

  ___________________

In his dream, Luke was behind the wheel of the General Lee driving through the countryside. He could feel the wind in his face and see the scenery flying past from the corner of his eye. He felt the same sense of freedom he always felt when he was behind the wheel of the powerful orange stock car. The thrill of driving along at a high rate of speed, ever alert for any danger, feeling as if the car was an extension of himself, a part of his very soul.

  ____________________

Luke awake with a start and a slight jerk that sent a shockwave of pain through his back. He lay there staring into the darkness, the tears burning his eyes, as he remembered the dream and found himself wondering if he would ever feel the thrill of driving the General Lee again. He turned his head and glanced at the other bed. Bo was lying there sleeping soundly. Luke sighed and turned his head to stare back at the ceiling, wondering what his life would be like if he never walked again. Against his will, he found himself thinking of the things he would never be able to do again if he couldn't walk. Drive the General, climb the ladder to the hayloft to hide and make out with one of the local girls, swimming at the pond, helping Uncle Jesse around the farm, or just taking a walk by himself through the woods. He wondered if he'd ever be able to make love to a woman again or to have children someday. Until now, he had taken those things for granted and hadn't realized how much they meant to him. He shook his head to make himself stop thinking about things that he may never be able to do again. It was long time before he finally slept.

The next morning, Luke was still in pain from the surgery but at least the nausea was gone. Thank god for small favors. An aide brought in the breakfast trays for him and Bo, but Luke left his untouched. He wasn't very hungry so Bo ended up eating both trays of food. Luke smiled faintly. Bo always did have a healthy appetite. Jesse always swore that Bo could eat a person out of house and home if he had half a chance.

Since Luke couldn't get out of bed because of the surgery or even move around much, the boys spent most of the day talking and watching TV, which was a challenge since most daytime TV consisted of either game shows or soap operas, at least the facility had HBO and Showtime. Luke tired easily mainly due to the pain medication he was being given so he also kept dozing off during the middle of a movie, then waking up to realize he's missed all the good parts. Bo tried to tell him what he'd missed but it just wasn't the same as being able to watch it for himself. They tried playing checkers but Luke found it hard to concentrate on the game. Finding things to do when you were stuck in bed was a challenge in itself.

As a special treat, Bo went out and brought them back a pizza for supper. He also snuck in a couple of cans of beer which was against the rules but he figured nobody would say anything if they got caught. Most of the aides on the evening shift were pretty cool. Tired from being stuck in the room all day with not much to do, the boys turned in early that night.

Chapter 18

Luke was laid up in bed for six days. Then he was finally allowed to get up again. Cindy started his therapy sessions again, concentrating on working with the muscles in his legs. If he regained the feeling below his waist, she wanted him to be in shape to start working on learning how to walk again. She had explained to him that he would have to learn how to keep his balance all over again because he had not been able to walk in almost three months but she was confident that he would relearn how to walk fairly quickly once they were able to start working on it. He had already accomplished all the goals she had set for him in his other therapy sessions. Secretly, she was pleased with his progress. He was one of her biggest success stories.

Two weeks after the surgery Luke woke up in the middle of the night, not sure at first what had awakened him. Then with a start, he realized that he had a cramp in his right leg and that was what had awakened him. He moaned softly and tried to straighten out his leg to work out the cramp but couldn't quite manage it. Bo apparently heard him moan because suddenly he was awake and at Luke's side.

“Luke, are you okay?” he asked anxiously

“Cramp…in my leg.” Luke told him through tightly clenched teeth

“Which one?” Bo asked without really realizing what Luke had just said

“The right one.” Luke told him

Bo gently began to massage the bunched up calf muscle in Luke's leg trying to work out the cramp. Suddenly, he stopped and looked at Luke with a surprised expression on his face. “You can feel that?” he asked in a startled voice

“Yes, I can I feel it and it hurts.” Luke told him with a soft laugh “Keep massaging it would ya?”

“Oh, sorry” Bo said, gently massaging the muscle again until it finally loosened up and relaxed. “There you go, cuz.” He grinned at Luke happily “You're getting the feeling back….that's fantastic!”

“Yeah….it is.” Luke admitted with a relieved sigh. He suddenly felt as if a huge weight had been taken off of his shoulders. Maybe he was going to be normal again after all. Unable to fall back to sleep, he stayed up the rest of the night talking with Bo. The next morning he told Cindy the good news as soon as she came in for their morning therapy session.

“Honey, that's wonderful!” she cried, giving him a big hug. She blushed when she pulled back and said “Don't tell anybody I did that.” She grinned and said “I'll be right back.” She left the room for a few minutes and returned with a straight pin. “I'm gonna poke ya and I want you to tell me when you feel it and when you don't.”

As she began to poke him with the pin, Luke told her that he could feel in on both sides from his feet up to his waist, although he didn't feel it as well on his left side as he did his right. But Cindy wasn't worried about that, she told him that was normal. Since he was right handed that was why he had more feeling on his that side since that was his dominant side. The left side would catch up it just might take a few days. She told him that she was going to let him rest for the day but that tomorrow they would start the process of helping him to learn to walk again.

Bo helped Luke get dressed and put him in the wheelchair, taking him out to the courtyard. They were both in good spirits, excited by the news that the surgery had been a success and that soon Luke would be walking on his own again. Daisy and Jesse were thrilled with the news too when they arrived later that morning and Luke told them what had happened during the night. The family spent the day together talking and enjoying each others company. Luke was his old self again, smiling and joking with his cousins and having fun.

When Bo and Daisy decided to go home, Luke encouraged Bo to go with them. For the first time since he'd come out of the coma, he didn't mind the idea of spending the night alone. Bo argued at first but then reluctantly agreed. He knew that this day would come eventually but he was still going to miss being the one that Luke depended on instead of the other way around. But he was happy to have his oldest cousin back and finally on his way to a full recovery.

That night Luke even managed to do most his personal care by himself, only needing the aides help to change from his jeans into his sweatpants. He had already learned in therapy how to transfer himself from the wheelchair to the bed by himself. For the first time in weeks, he slept soundly throughout the night without any bad dreams or pain waking him up.

The next day Cindy started the sessions to help him learn how to walk again. Within two days, he was struggling to take a few faltering steps using the parallel bars. These sessions were more taxing and tiring than any of the others had been. Each one left him exhausted and ready for a nap. It also took longer for him to make any noticeable progress. The only good thing that happened in the first week of therapy was that he was finally able to get rid of the catheter since he could control his bladder on his own now. That alone was enough to make Luke feel confident about the outcome of the rest of his therapy sessions.

By end of the third week of therapy, he could walk with the aide of crutches since his balance was still a little off. It had never felt so good to be able to stand upright again and get from one place to another on his own. Best of all, Cindy told the family that they could take him out of the facility for the afternoon and into Atlanta . If he kept improving, she also told the family that he'd be ready to go home for good in another two weeks. Luke made himself a promise that he would reach that goal no matter what it took.

In Atlanta , they went to a Taco Bell for lunch and then decided to go to a nearby park for the afternoon. Luke was content to just sit on a bench and enjoy the feeling of being outside again and around other people. Several girls walking through the park stopped to smile at the two Duke boys, flirting outrageously. The boys flirted back enjoying themselves. As for Luke, it just felt good to be doing something normal again with his family. He was disappointed when it was time to go back to the facility. But he kept his spirits up by reminding himself that with any luck he'd be able to go home soon.

That night he had cramps in his legs again which Bo carefully massaged away for him. Cindy had told Luke that he would get cramps for awhile since his muscles were still adjusting to being used again. He understood all that but the cramps still hurt like hell. He was glad that Bo was there to help him because he could never have massaged them out by himself. Luke still got frustrated at times like this but not as much as he had in the beginning when he first came out of the coma. He knew that he had come a long way in the past few weeks but he also knew that he was lucky to be alive.

He could still remember the terror he'd felt after Bo left to find help and he was left alone on the plane by himself. As he got colder and colder and it got harder and harder to stay awake, he had resigned himself to the idea that he might die before Bo returned. When he woke up from the coma he was actually surprised to find out that he was still alive. And shocked to find out how long he had been in a coma. He tried not to think about those days as he got stronger and stronger but sometimes he couldn't help it.

Chapter 19

Luke sat on the bed anxiously watching the door waiting for Jesse and Bo to arrive. Today was the day he was finally going to go home. He glanced up and smiled when Cindy came into the room, disappointed that it wasn't Bo and Jesse, but pleased to see the therapist that he owed his recovery to.

“I couldn't let you leave without saying goodbye.” Cindy told him with a grin and a hug. “I'm gonna miss my favorite patient.”

“I'm gonna miss you too.” Luke admitted with a wicked grin.

“There's that smile again.” She teased him “I'll bet you're gonna have the girls lined up back home just waiting for you to ask them out again.”

“I'd rather ask you out some time.” He told her

“I'd really like that but it's against the rules.” She told him regretfully. She leaned closer and whispered “But I can still give you a kiss goodbye as long as you don't tell anybody.” She gently kissed his lips, startled only momentarily when he suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, returning the kiss. When he released her, she blushed and felt the butterflies in her stomach. “Goodbye, Luke Duke.” She said, hurrying out of the room before she forgot that she was a professional and he was her patient.

Shortly after she left, the door opened and this time Bo and Jesse came into the room. “You ready to go?” Jesse asked with a huge smile on his face

“You bet.” Luke said, grinning back. Bo took Luke's arm and helped him to his feet. Even though he no longer needed the crutches, he still had to take his time and concentrate on his walking so he wouldn't stumble and fall. But Cindy had assured him that would go away as he got stronger and gained more confidence in his ability to walk again.

Outside, Bo led the way across the parking lot to where he had parked Uncle Jesse's truck. He had wanted to bring the General Lee but Jesse had reminded him that for the time being it would probably be easier for Luke to get into the truck than it would be for him to crawl in and out of the General. Once Luke was settled in the front seat between Jesse and Bo, Bo turned on the engine and headed for home.

Luke smiled happily. There had been days when he thought this day would never come and now that it was finally here, he was overwhelmed with emotion. As they got closer to Hazzard, his eyes drank in the familiar scenery that spelled home. He felt as if he had been gone for a lifetime. He felt a surge of excitement when Bo turned into the drive behind the farmhouse and parked the truck beside the General. He was finally home, the one place in the world where he wanted to be more than anywhere else. As they walked into the house through the back door, all of his friends and most of Hazzard started yelling “Surprise” and “Welcome home!” Luke smiled and ignored the tears that started running down his cheeks. He had never felt so happy or glad to be home in his life. And he had never felt so much love.