Sickness of the Heart

     A bright orange car raced along a back dirt road in Hazzard County, Georgia. Its powerful engine breaking the silence of the early morning. Luke Duke was driving, his cousin, Bo, was sitting in the passenger seat next to him. They drove along in silence. Bo sat staring out the side window. He hadn't been feeling very good lately. His whole body dully ached and he was always tired. Luke glanced over at Bo, he noticed that Bo looked kind of pale.
     "You feeling okay cousin?" Luke asked.
     "Yeah. Just a little tired." Bo said.
     "You probably just got a case of the influenza, it is going around Choctaw County, it's probably starting to spread around Hazzard." Luke said.
     "Yeah." Bo responded.
     They got back to the Duke farm, where they lived with their Uncle Jesse and cousin Daisy. They climbed out through the windows of the car, since the doors are welded shut. Bo slowly followed Luke towards the house. Bo's heart started throbbing, it pained with every beat. He started to rub the area above his heart to try to ease the pain, but it did little to help. Luke noticed and glanced concernedly at his younger cousin. They walked into the house. Jesse was sitting in the front room, reading the newspaper. He looked up when he heard the boys come in. His faced paled when he saw Bo.
     "Are you okay?" Jesse asked, his voice fraught with worry.
     "Yeah, I'm fine." Bo said, his sounded extremely tired.
Bo sat down on the couch and leaned his head back against the couch and closed his eyes.
     "I'm gonna call Doc Appleby." Jesse said.
     He and called Dr.Applyby. He returned a couple moments later and sat down on the couch beside Bo. He felt Bo's forehead to see if he had a fever. Jesse gave a small sigh of relief that Bo didn't appear to have any fever. Bo  slightly opened his eyes went he felt Jesse's touch but closed them again after a second as though keeping them open was too much of an effort.
     "Doc's gonna be here in a few minutes." Jesse said.
Bo didn't respond. Luke was standing over by the fireplace, looking over at Bo, there was concern in his eyes.
     "He probably just has the influenza, right?" Luke asked Jesse.
Jesse looked up at Luke. "Oh probably I am sure it's nothing major."
Jesse tried to hide the fear in his voice. He feared it was indeed something far worse. He just kept reminding himself that the doctor's said there was no chance of reoccurrence.
     A few minutes later the doctor's car pulled to a stop in front of the Duke's home. Dr. Appleby knocked on the door. Luke went and answered the door, the two of them then walked back into the front room. Bo had woke up when the doctor had knocked at he door. Dr.Appleby came over and stood in front of Bo.
     "How are you feeling Bo?" Dr. Appleby asked in a very professional voice.
Bo told him. Doc Appleby listened closely. The checked in Bo's eyes.
     "I have to do some blood tests." Dr.Appleby said.
     "I hate needles." Bo mumbled.
Dr.Appleby smiled sympathetically as he took out a needle and two empty sterile tubes from his black bag. Bo turned away and flinched slightly as he injected the needle and started to draw blood. He filled the one tube and then took a second sample. He placed a piece of cotton against where he drew the blood.
     "Hold that there." Dr. Appleby said to Bo.
Bo did what he was told. Dr.Appleby then covered it with a bandage.
     "The blood tests will be back in two to three days." Dr.Appleby said, then he motioned for Jesse to follow him outside.
     "Doc you don't think that . . ." Jesse started to ask his voice trailed off as he found himself too afraid to say the words.
Dr.Appleby sighed. "It's hard to say Jesse. Nobody knew much about the disease, it could have reoccurred. I won't lie I think that Bo's heart disease has returned."
     "But when he was seven the doctor's said it was gone for good and there would be no other problems." Jesse said.
     "Even doctors can be wrong, this is one time I hope I am wrong and this is just a strain of the influenza." Dr.Appleby said.
     "I hope so. I don't know what I'd do if it was the disease again, it almost killed him a few times when he was younger." Jesse said, tears seemed to fill his eyes as he thought back to that time.
     Jesse went back inside, Luke noticed that Jesse looked extremely upset. Bo had fallen asleep on the couch. Luke went out into the kitchen.
     "What did he have to say? It is not serious, is it?" Luke asked his voice full of concern for his younger cousin.
     "He don't know yet. It could be . . ." Jesse said his voice trailed off, he found he couldn't even say what the problem could be.
Luke became worried, he could sense that whatever was wrong it was really upsetting. They both were silent for a moment. Jesse sat down at the kitchen table and Luke made coffee while he tried to think of a way to get Jesse to tell him what was wrong. Luke sat down at the table.
     "Is this like when Bo was younger? I kinda remember that he was sick a lot back then." Luke asked.
Jesse only sighed not responding to Luke's question.
     "Uncle Jesse if there is something wrong tell me." Luke said.
     "It is nothing Luke, don't worry it is most like just a case of the influenza." Jesse said.
 A few minutes later Bo came out to the kitchen and sat down at the table.
     "How ya feeling?" Jesse asked.
     "I'm fine." Bo said, though his eyes said different.
Both Jesse and Luke could tell that Bo wasn't feeling good, but they didn't say anything.
    A few hours later Daisy came home from work at the Boar's Nest. Bo was inside sleeping again and Jesse had went into town to get a few things. Luke was outside working on the General. He went inside every few minutes to be sure that Bo was okay. He had a feeling in the pit of his stomach that it was something serious.
     "Hey Luke." Daisy said as she got out of her jeep and walked towards Luke.
Luke looked up from under the hood of the General Lee. "Hey Daisy."
Daisy noticed that Luke appeared to be quite worried about something. "What's wrong?"
Luke sighed as he wiped the grease of his hands. "Bo's sick."
     "Oh. Is it serious?" Daisy asked.
Luke shrugged. " I don't know. Doc Appleby talked to Uncle Jesse outside, and when he came back in he seemed quite upset but said it was nothing. I just got this bad feeling that it is quite serious."
Daisy wasn't sure what to say, it worried her to think that Bo was seriously sick.
     Bo hardly ate any dinner, he claimed that he wasn't very hungry and he went to bed early that night. Later that night the rest of the Dukes went to bed. Since Bo and Luke share a room Luke said that he would keep an eye on Bo during the night just in case he started to get sicker. Jesse laid awake until the early hours of the morning thinking about when Bo was sick like this before.

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     Bo had been born two months premature, he had only weighed two pounds. Twenty minutes after he was born he had quite breathing and his heart stopped, it took them two minutes to get him breathing and to get his heart going again. Since Bo was born at the farm, Bo's parents and Jesse rushed Bo to the hospital. The doctor's rushed him to the NICU, where they put him into an isolette and hooked him up to oxygen and many other machines to monitor his condition. Jesse stayed with Bo's parents at the hospital. Waiting for word on what the problem was. A couple hours later, a doctor came out. He told them that Bo had a serious heart problem, that was potentially fatal. They said his heart didn't develop right. They said it was more serious since he was so small. His immune system wasn't very strong and he would be susceptible to many diseases. They said there was a change that he would out grow the problem once he got bigger. They said that his heart was not functioning right and restricted blood flow. They said he would have to remain in the hospital for a while. He wasn't strong enough to go home.
     Two weeks after that Bo's parents had been kill in a car accident while they were going to the hospital to be with Bo. They had already asked Jesse to take care of Bo if anything ever happened to them, and he had agreed. He stayed by Bo's side, as often as he could. Luke was already at the farm he was only three, he didn't really understand what was going on. Friends of the Duke family helped look after Luke when Jesse was with Bo.
     Jesse sat by the tiny isolette with tears in his eyes. Bo looked so frail and sick, his deep blue eyes always looked so full of pain. Weeks passed and Bo's condition didn't improve any, in fact it had grown worse. Jesse questioned if there was any surgery, but they said Bo was too small to under go open heart surgery. Also they said there was no point, even open heart surgery wouldn't help. The doctor's knew nothing about the disease, very few cases had ever been seen in North America. They weren't even sure why Bo had developed the disease.
     The doctors said that there was little chance that Bo would ever get better. They said they doubted that he would ever grow to be normal. They said they doubted he would ever really walk or talk. Jesse refused to believe that. They told him that Bo could be disconnected from the machines and allowed to just pass away, they doubted there was much point in trying to save his life as he would either die or suffer what little time he did live. Jesse refused to do that, he said he would never give up on Bo. Shortly before Bo turned one he was able to go home, much to the doctors surprise. However that was not the end of the Bo's problem.
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     Jesse only slept a few hours, his dreams were haunted by events of the past. He got out of bed shortly after dawn, and sat at the kitchen table drinking coffee. Luke got up shortly after that.
     "Good morning Uncle Jesse." Luke said as he walked into the kitchen.
     "Morning." Jesse said. "How's Bo doin'?"
     "He is sleeping he woke up a couple times last night but he seems to be okay." Luke said as he poured himself a cup of coffee.
     Later that morning the phone rang, Jesse answered it. It was Dr. Appleby calling to say that the blood tests were in and for Bo to come into his office. Jesse went outside, Bo and Luke were working on the General. He told Bo that the doctor had called. Luke said he'd go along but Bo said there was no point, it was nothing.
     They arrived at the doctors office about fifteen minutes later. He asked both of them to come and sit in the office.
     "I had the blood test rushed through. I am afraid I have some bad news." Dr. Appleby said.
Bo remained silent, he had already figured it was not just the influenza.
     "What is it?" Jesse asked, fearing the worst.
Dr.Appleby sighed, and looked down at Bo's blood test result. "I am afraid that the heart disease has returned." he said.
Jesse looked over at Bo, and gently placed his hand on his arm. Bo looked up at the doctor.
     "Are you sure?" Bo asked, his voice surprisingly calm sounding.
Dr. Appleby nodded. "You immune system has weakened, and your heart condition has deteriorated."
     "Is there any cure?" Jesse asked.
     "Unfortunately there is no known cure. I can give medication that will ease the pain." Dr.Appleby said, as he wrote out a prescription for the medicine, then handed it to Bo. "I will scehdule you for some more tests, I'll call you later with the dates."
     They went to the pharmacy to get the medicine. Bo and Jesse went and got into Jesse's old, white beat up pick-up truck. They drove towards the farm in silence. Bo sat looking down at the large, red pills in the bottle. He looked over at Jesse.
     "Don't say anything to Luke or Daisy about this." Bo said.
     "What? Why?" Jesse asked, puzzled as to why he wouldn't want them to know, especially Luke, him and Luke had always told each other everything.
     "I don't want them to know." Bo said.
     "Why?" Jesse asked.
     "Because I don't want no damn pity and to have everyone treating me differently." Bo said.
     "They wouldn't do that." Jesse said. "You should tell them . . ." Jesse started to say but Bo cut him off.
     "I DON'T want them to know." Bo said firmly.
     "Okay fine, I will not say anything to them." Jesse said.
They drove the rest of the way back to the farm in silence. Bo slid the bottle of pills into his coat pocket.
     "What did the doc have to say?" Luke asked.
     "It is nothing just a strain of the influenza is all." Bo said.
     "That's good." Daisy said.
     Over the next few days the medicine helped a little. It eased the firey pain in his heart down to a dull aching. He was still always tired and slept a lot. Luke could tell there was something more wrong, then it just being the influenza. Bo was acting so differently. He was normally so full of life and energy, and all he did anymore was sit around, he didn't even care about racing the General around. His eyes that normally sparkled with life were now dull and depressed looking. Luke and Bo were working on the car, rather Luke was, Bo just stood leaning against the side of the car. Luke closed the hood and wiped the grease from his hands.
     "What is wrong Bo?" Luke asked, hoping to get Bo to tell him the truth about what was making him so sick.
     "Nothing." Bo replied.
     "Yeah right. You can cut that lie out, I can tell there is more wrong then you are saying there is." Luke said.
     "I said nothing is wrong, so get off my case." Bo said angrily.
     "Bo . . ." Luke started to say.
     "I said get off my case, I told you nothing is wrong." Bo said.
     "Bo I am just concerned is all. I can tell that there is something wrong." Luke said.
     "Well you are wrong." Bo said.
Luke slammed his fist down against the car. "Damn it Bo just tell me the truth."
Bo didn't reply he just went to walk away from Luke. Luke grabbed Bo by the arm and went to push him against the car to make him talk. Luke pushed Bo against the car a little harder then he meant to, knocking the wind out of Bo. Bo gasped to try to catch his breath as a hot stabbing pain shot through his heart. Luke loosened his hold on Bo, and Bo slumped down to the ground and leaned against the car, his eyes clenched shut tight in pain. Luke knelt down in front of Bo.
     "Oh lordy. Bo I am sorry I didn't mean to." Luke said.
At that moment Jesse came pulling to a stop in front of the house. He quickly got out of the truck when he saw Bo sitting on the ground. He rushed over worriedly to his side.
     "What happened?" Jesse asked Luke.
     "I was just trying to get him to talk about what is wrong, I didn't mean to push him against the car that hard." Luke said.
Jesse just looked at Luke for a moment say nothing then turned his attention back to Bo. Bo was barely breathing.
     "Bo are you okay?" Jesse asked his voice fraught with worry.
Bo went to try to respond to Jesse's question, but passed out instead. Luke carried Bo into the house and carefully laid him down on the couch. Jesse sat beside the couch try to talk Bo into waking up. But Bo remained unresponsive. Luke stood at the foot of the couch looking down worriedly at Bo.
     "Uncle Jesse, I . . ." Luke started to say but his sentence was cut short by Jesse.
Jesse glared angrily up at Luke. "Just get out of here."
Luke looked shocked by his uncle's harsh tone. He wasn't exactly sure what to say. "I didn't mean to hurt Bo."
     "But you did and you could've killed him." Jesse said flatly.
     "What? What is really wrong with Bo?" Luke asked, trying to understand what he meant by that he could've killed Bo.
 Jesse sighed, and his eyes softened. "I can't tell you, I made a promise that I wouldn't."
Luke could see the deep worry in his uncle's eyes, then he looked back down at Bo. "He is really sick ain't he?"
Jesse nodded. "I am sorry that I snapped at you. I'm just so afraid that Bo is not going to pull through this, this time."
Luke looked confused for a moment. "What do you mean this time?"
     "It's a long story Luke. Perhaps when Bo wakes up, we can talk about it. But it is his choice. Don't try to pressure him too much into talking." Jesse said.
     Bo woke up about twenty minutes, the same time that Daisy came home.
Bo sat up on the couch and rubbed the back of his neck.
     "How ya feeling?" Jesse asked Bo.
Bo shrugged.
Luke sat down on the couch next to Bo. Daisy walked into the front room.
     "Hey." Daisy said. "What's going on?"
Jesse looked at Bo. "Bo, you should tell them what is really wrong."
Bo shook his head. "No."
     "C'mon Bo, what is wrong? I just want to be able to help." Luke said.
     "There is nothing you can do. Nothing anyone can do." Bo said flatly.
Luke and Daisy looked at him with concern then questioningly to Jesse.
     "Fine you want to know ask him. I don't care anymore." Bo said getting up from the couch and going into his and Luke's bedroom, slamming the door shut behind himself.
Luke went to get up to follow him.
     "Just leave him be for now, Luke." Jesse said.
Daisy sat down on the couch by Luke.
     "Okay so what is going on?" Luke asked.
     "Bo is quite seriously ill." Jesse said.
     "What?" Daisy said. "But before he said it was just the influenza."
     "He didn't want to two of you knowing what was wrong."  Jesse said.
     "Why?" Luke asked.
     "Bo has a rare heart disease. The doctor's don't know that much about it, or really how to cure it. He had it ever since he was born. You two aren't really old enough to remember how sick he was when he was younger, or that he almost died a couple times." Jesse said.
Luke sat listening in shock not able to believe that Bo could be gravely ill. "I kinda remember him being sick, but not that he ever almost died." Luke said.
     "I don't even remember that." Daisy said.
     "He had started to get better by the time you came to the farm. The doctor's thought he was cured. They say now it just went into remission and has returned again." Jesse said, holding back the tears that brimmed in his eyes.
     "He will get better again though, right?" Daisy asked.
     "The doctor's don't know. They know nothing about his problem nor how to help him." Jesse said.  "Just like they didn't know back then."
     Jesse told them about how Bo almost died after he was born and how sick he had been. He told them how the doctor's gave up hope that Bo would even live. Jesse told them that he refused to give up on Bo then and refused to give up the hope that he would get better again. Luke and Daisy sat silently trying to let it all sink in. Both found it hard to believe that Bo was so sick. They remembered that he had always been small when he was younger until he was thirteen when he grew quickly, and he was now three inches taller then Luke.
      Jesse then told them of a couple times that Bo had got really ill from common colds. When Bo was four he got extremely ill when he contracted the chicken pox. He had be put into the hospital, and even they had trouble making him better. He became dehydrated when he couldn't keep any fluids down, he was hooked up to an IV, even that seemed to help very little. Bo ended up slipping into a comma. The doctor's feared that he was going to die because he was so small and his immune system was weak. He remained in a comma for a little under one week.  Jesse told them of a couple other times that Bo came close to going into a comma when he had been sick, even just from common colds. When he was five he broke his arm when he fell out of the tree house that him and Luke had built in a large tree near the house. Luke said that he vaguely remembered that happening because he had blamed himself for Bo falling, even though it wasn't his fault, one of the branch just broke and Bo fell. Bo's arm took longer to set then it should've, and he could still barely use it for two weeks after.
     Bo lay awake in the bedroom, he could hear Jesse telling Luke and Daisy about what was really wrong. He sighed and closed his eyes, he didn't want to face them after they knew. Bo figured they would look at him different and treat him differently. After a couple minutes Bo fell asleep.
     Daisy and Luke sat trying to absorb all that Jesse was telling them, they couldn't believe that Bo was seriously ill, and tried to avoid thinking that they could lose him.  Luke looked up at Jesse.
     "Why didn't Bo say something sooner?" Luke asked.
     "Yeah. I mean if I'd know he was so sick I'd . . ." daisy started to say her voice trailing of not knowing what she would've done different or for that matter what to do now.
     "Would have what? Treated him differently, pitied him?" Jesse questioned. "That is why Bo didn't say anything sooner."
     "That ain't why. It's just that, it's just concern not pity or anything like that. I mean I had this feeling that there was something more wrong then Bo was telling. I just wanted to know so I could be there for him." Luke said. "I never thought it would be something so serious." Luke added more to himself then to Jesse and Daisy.
Daisy nodded in agreement.
     "The doctors aren't sure yet just how serious Bo's disease is. Doc Appleby has some tests scheduled for tomorrow at Tri-County hospital. They don't know if yet if it . . . is fatal." Jesse said.
     The three of them sat in silence for a few minutes, then Luke got up and went to the bedroom that he and Bo shared. Bo was laying awake on the bed staring out the window.
     "Hey Bo." Luke said.
Bo ignored Luke's greeting, not even turning to give him the slightest glance. Luke went and sat on the edge of Bo's bed, and gently placed a hand on Bo's shoulder.
     "Uncle Jesse said that you have to go in for more tests tomorrow." Luke said.
     "Yeah so?" Bo questioned, still not even making any movement to look at Luke.
     "I thought I would go along with ya to the hospital." Luke said.
     "Why?" Bo asked.
     "Because I am concerned about you." Luke said.
Bo sat up on the bed and turned to look at Luke. "I don't need your pity."
     "It's not pity Bo, it is concern for you. I am . . . afraid of losing you." Luke said.
Bo didn't reply. Luke could see Bo's pain and fear reflecting in his deep blue eyes.
     "I just want you to know that I am here for you, if you need to talk or just don't want to be alone." Luke said, then laughed. "I guess that sounds kinda stupid don't it? I mean it has always been that way. I guess I have just never flat out said it."
Bo smiled and laughed about Luke's commented. Luke was glad to see Bo look so happy, he hadn't heard Bo laugh in days.
     "Seriously though I want to you I am here for you, you don't have to go through this alone." Luke said. "You have always been more like a brother then a cousin." he added. Luke was surprised at how easy he was able to open up as to how he felt now. He had never been good at showing his emotions, he figured it was just from the fear of possibly losing Bo to this heart disease.
      "Thanks." Bo said smiling. "I guess I should've told you the truth sooner, but I guess I . . . I am just afraid is all."
     "Don't worry you'll be fine." Luke said.
     "Oh, yes Dr. Luke knows all." Bo said jokingly.
     "Yeah I know that you are too stubborn to give into it." Luke said.
Bo looked at Luke and smiled. "Cute."
     Luke was the only one that went with Bo to the hospital. They drove most the way there in silence only talking a couple times. Luke could tell that Bo was nervous about getting these tests done. He could tell Bo was afraid of what the tests might say. Luke was also quite nervous, he tried to keep only good thoughts that the test would come back saying Bo would be okay. However he kept fearing the worse, he feared the test would show that Bo was going to die. Luke sat with Bo in the waiting room waiting until it was Bo's turn to go back for testing. An older doctor in about his mid to late fifties came into the waiting room carrying a clipboard, the name sewn on his white doctor's coat was Dr. Edwards.
     "Bo Duke." Dr.Edwards called out.
Bo stood up slowly.
     "Don't worry everything will be fine." Luke said, trying to ease Bo's worries.
Bo just gave a small smile then followed the doctor back through the doors to the room for the testing to be done.
     Luke sat in the small waiting room, trying to distract his mind from the current situation. However all he could think about was what the doctor could find wrong with Bo. About an hour later Bo came back out into the waiting room. Luke stood up, Bo walked over to join Luke.
     "Well what did the doc say?" Luke questioned.
     "The tests were inconclusive. They don't know anything more now about this disease then they did when I was born." Bo said. "The doc said one thing was certain."
     "What's that?" Luke asked, as the two of them walked out of the hospital.
     "That I have to at all costs avoid his influenza that is going around." Bo said.
     "And why's that?" Luke asked.
     "He said that my immune system is shot and if I get the influenza my system won't be able to fight it and I'll more then likely die." Bo said casually as though it were nothing.
Luke wasn't too sure on how to respond. They started to drive back to the farm in silence. Bo sat staring out the side window watching the scenery roll past.
     "Luke?" Bo said, breaking the silence.
     "Yeah what?" Luke questioned.
     "I don't want to die." Bo said.
     "I have no intention of letting you die. I don't want to lose ya." Luke said. "If you were gone I wouldn't have anyone to pick on." he added jokingly.
     "Oh gee thanks. Don't I just feel so special." Bo said, pretending to be upset by what Luke said, though he knew Luke didn't mean it nastily.
Luke smiled and laughed. "Life would be too boring if you weren't around. I'd have nobody to get into trouble with or anything." Luke glanced at Bo seriously for a moment. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you so I am not going to let anything happen. So don't you dare get sick."
Bo smiled. "Yes sir."
     They got back to the farm. Bo told Jesse about the what the doctor found out, or rather didn't find out with all the tests he ran. He told him about what the doctor said about avoiding the influenza at all costs. He said the doctor said there was only a ten percent chance that he would live if he contracted the influenza.
     Two days later, Daisy woke up shortly after dawn, and had a slight headache and a sore throat. She didn't think too much of, thinking she just wasn't feeling good because of the long hours that she had been working. She was completely unaware that she had a slight case of the influenza. She got up and walked into the kitchen. Jesse was already awake, cooking breakfast.
     Meanwhile, Luke was sitting beside Bo's bed. Bo had woken up a few minutes ago saying he didn't feel to good. Luke noticed that he didn't look well either. He felt Bo's head and it was hot to the touch. Bo's breath was deep, and he seemed to be struggling to catch his breath. Luke felt for Bo's pulse, and find it was fast and irregular. Bo cold hardely keep his eyes open, his whole body was filled with a hot stabbing pain. His lungs hurt with every breath that he took. His heart was pounding, and felt as though it was going to explode. Bo opened his eyes and looked at Luke. He rasied his head slightly, he tried to talk but couldn't find his voice. Bo exhustedly dropped his head back down agaisnt the pillow. Luke could see the pain in Bo's eyes, and looked down at him concerndely. Luke wished that he could do something to ease Bo's pain, but couldn't think of anything.
     "I'll go get Uncle Jesse." Luke said trying to hide the fear in his voice.
 Jesse was just going to call the boys for breakfast when Luke walked into the kitchen. Both Jesse and Daisy, immediately noticed that Luke looked pale and that his eyes were filled with worry.
     "What's wrong?" Jesse asked.
     "Bo's really. I think you had better come check him out." Luke said.
Jesse followed Luke back to the boys bedroom. Daisy sat at the table, sipping at a cup of coffee.
    Bo lay on the bed, with only one thin sheet covering him. Jesse immediately noticed that Bo looked flushed. He felt Bo's forehead and could tell that he was burning up with fever. Jesse looked at Luke.
     "Go get a cold cloth and the thermometer." Jesse said.
Luke nodded. "Yes sir." he said then went and did what he was told.
Luke came back with what he was told to bring. Jesse lay the cloth over Bo's forehead and put the thermometer in Bo's mouth. Luke stood behind Jesse looking worriedly down at Bo. Bo was laying with his eyes practically shut, as though it was too much effort to try to stay awake. His eyes only momentarily fluttering open as he attempted to stay awake. Three minutes later Jesse took the thermometer out of Bo's mouth and frowned. A frown that Luke did not like at all.
     "A hundred and three." Jesse said.
     "I think we should get Bo to the hospital." Luke said, even though he was trying to hide the fear in his voice, his voice still slightly shook.
Jesse nodded in agreement. Jesse tried to wake Bo up.
     "C'mon Bo we are gonna take a trip to the hospital." Jesse said.
Bo sat up slowly and tried to stand up to walk out to the car, but just collapsed back down onto the bed. Jesse looked at Bo worriedly. Luke walked over to the bed, and gently picked up Bo and carried him out to the kitchen.
 Daisy looked up when they walked in.
     "What . ." she started to ask but Luke cut her sentence off.
     "Bo is sick. We have to take him to the hospital." Luke said.
    They took the pick-up truck as it would be the easiest to get Bo in and out of. They didn't take Dixie because they figured that Bo would get too cold in the open jeep. Daisy followed them in the jeep as there wasn't room in the truck, because Bo was partly laying down, so he would be comfortable for the ride. Luke drove, Jesse had Bo leaning against him, he kept the cool cloth on Bo's head and tried to keep Bo awake.
     They arrived at the hospital about thirty minutes later. Bo was immediately taken back into the emergency room. The Dukes sat in silence waiting for word on Bo's condition. Daisy had started to feel sicker, she realized now that she had the influenza, but couldn't see how Bo could've got it from her, as she had just started to get sick.  About forty minutes later Dr.Edwards came out and walked over to where the Dukes were sitting. Jesse stood up as he approached.
     "How is he doc?" Jesse asked concernedly.
     "He is stable, for now." Dr. Edwards said.
     "How did he get sick. I mean I just started to feel sick, so he couldn't have got it from me, could he?" Daisy asked.
     "The influenza is most contagious the day or two before you actually notice any symptoms." Dr. Edwards said.
     "So it's my fault that Bo is sick." Daisy said sadly.
     "No it's not." Jesse said, and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
     "Can we go see him?" Luke asked.
     "Yes I will show you to his room." Dr. Edwards said.
     "I'll go back to the farm, I don't want to spread my cold any further." Daisy said.
Jesse and Luke just nodded then followed the doctor to Bo's room.
The doctor paused before the door to Bo's room. "He is hooked up to an IV to keep him from dehydrating. He is also hooked up to machine to monitor his heart. We have him hooked up to oxygen to help him breath, as he was having trouble breathing on his own." Dr. Edwards said preparing them for seeing all the machines. "If you have any questions you can ask him, I'll be at the desk at the end of the hall."
     "Thank you." Jesse said.
Jesse and Luke went into Bo's room. Luke thought it seemed odd to see Bo hooked up to so many machine. However, for Jesse it just brought back painful memories of the past. Luke sat down on the chair by Bo's bed and Jesse stood beside him.
     "How ya feeling?" Jesse asked.
     "Like I got hit by a truck." Bo replied.
     Jesse and Luke stayed until visiting hours were over. Bo had fell asleep a few times sleeping for over and hour a couple times. The medicine the doctor's gave him to fight the influenza was making him even more tired. Luke stayed for a moment longer after Jesse. Bo had been asleep but woke up before Luke left.
     "Luke?"
     "Yeah what is it?" Luke asked.
     "I want to tell you that I promise not to leave y'all." Bo said. He didn't really know why he said that, just something inside had told him that he had to tell that to Luke before he left.
Luke smiled. "Okay good. Just get some sleep and get better soon, okay?"
 "You got it." Bo replied.
     The phone rang before dawn at the Duke farm, waking everyone up. Luke got to the phone first and answered it.
     "Hello?" Luke said.
     "Is this the Duke residence?" the voice on the other end questioned.
     "Yeah." Luke answered.
     "This is Dr. Edwards at the Tri-County hospital."
Luke felt his stomach tighten with worry.
     "I am calling to inform you that Bo's condition had deteriorated. He slipped into a comma approximately fifteen minutes ago." Dr. Edwards said.
     "We'll be right in." Luke said, then hung up.
     "Who was that?" Jesse asked after Luke had hung up the phone.
     "It was the hospital. Bo has got worse." Luke said.
They told Daisy then left for the hospital.
     The doctor asked to speak to Jesse in private. Luke sat by Bo's bedside. He gently pushed back a lock of Bo's blonde hair that had fallen across his eyes. Luke felt tears of worry fill his eyes but he bit them back.
     The doctors office was small. Dr.Edwards sat at his desk and looked across at Jesse.
     "I am not sure how to put this Mr.Duke, but in his current condition there is no chance that Bo will pull though this. His immune system is too weak and his heart is not properly working and is inhibiting blood flow." Dr. Edwards said.
Jesse paled. "Is there anything that you can do for him?"
     "There is one thing. Although it is risky." Dr. Edwards said.
     "What is that?" Jesse asked.
     "Laser heart surgery. It is a new technique. It is hard to say if it will even work and it is highly risky." Dr. Edwards said.
Jesse sat trying to think of what to do, he didn't like the idea of some new fad risky surgery that could kill Bo.
     "If it does work he will never have any other problems again. Without the surgery he will only live for a couple days before his heart gives out." Dr. Edward said.
     "What does the surgery involve?" Jesse asked.
     "We take the laser and open the valve to allow more blood flood. The laser can also fix the damage done to the heart by the disease, and make his heart function normally. The laser won't leave any bruising to the heart, the muscle around the heart and it won't leave any visible scar, unlike open heart surgery." Dr. Edwards said.
     "I don't know." Jesse said.
     "I will give you some time to think about it." Dr Edwards said.
 Jesse went into Bo's room. He looked at Bo, laying so still on the bed, looking so pale. He sighed and walked over and stood beside Luke. Luke was sitting by Bo's bed holding Bo's hand in his. Luke looked up at Jesse.
     "What did the doctor say?" Luke asked.
Jesse told him about what the doctor said, and about the surgery.
     "I don't know if we should try to surgery or not." Jesse said.
     "I think we should." Luke said.
     "How can you be so sure, it could kill Bo." Jesse said.
     "Yeah and if we don't try it Bo is going to die anyway."Luke said.
Jesse sighed then nodded in agreement. He went to go tell Dr. Edwards his final decision.
     Bo was taken back immediately into the operating room. Jesse called Daisy to tell her about Bo going in for surgery. She wished that she could be there, but know since she was sick that she shouldn't be at the hospital spreading it around, and after the surgery it wouldn't be good to be around Bo when she was so sick.
     Luke and Jesse sat quietly in the waiting room anxiously awaiting word on how the surgery went. Hours passed that seemed like an eternity to the Dukes, at around four Dr. Edwards came walking over to where they were sitting waiting. Both Jesse and Luke stood up as he approached.
     "How is he doin' doc?" Jesse asked, his voice fraught with worry.
     "He is stable at the moment, however he hasn't woke up from the comma yet, so it is hard to tell. Though at this point in time it appears that the surgery was a success." Dr. Edwards said.
     "Can we see him?" Luke asked.
Dr.Edwards nodded. He walked with the Dukes to Bo's room.
     "I'll allow one of you to stay with Bo at all times, even over night.  You can try talking to him, to try to get him to wake up. He might be able to hear you." Dr. Edwards said.
     "Thank you." Jesse said.
     "If you need anything at all I will be in my office." Dr. Edwards said.
Luke and Jesse stood by Bo's bedside. They both looked down at him worriedly. They were silent for a couple moments.
     "I will stay tonight." Luke said.
Jesse just nodded, not arguing with Luke wanting to stay this time. He knew that the boys were close he thought maybe to that it would be for the best. Luke picked up Bo's hand and held it between his own. He thought it was odd how cold Bo felt. Luke and Jesse talked to Bo trying to get him to wake up but he didn't respond. After visiting hours were over Jesse left to go back to the farm. Luke stayed sitting by Bo's beside.
     Luke had fell asleep around two am, and was woke up about an hour later by the a buzzing alarm sounding. He sat straight up in the chair. He looked first at Bo then to the machine, he paled when he saw the heart monitor, it was flat line. He barely heard the announcement over the speaker: "Code blue room 214 Code blue room 214."
Two doctors and two nurses rushed into the room with a reverbartor.
     "Bo you can't die. You promised you wouldn't leave us." Luke said. "YOU PROMISED!" he yelled at Bo.
One of the nurses took Luke by the arm and started to lead him out of the room as the others started to try to revive Bo. Luke sat in a chair across from the door to Bo's room. He felt tears burning his eyes, he couldn't believe what was happening. He tried to fight the tears back but couldn't and the started to course his cheeks. It was about six minutes later, though it Luke it felt like at least six hours, when the doctor's came out. Luke stood up as Dr. Edwards approached him. Luke tried to ask how Bo was but he couldn't find his voice.
Dr. Edwards smiled softly. "Bo is okay. We managed to revive him."
Luke smiled and gave a sigh of relief.
     "I'll tell you that cousin of yours is made of some tough stuff, not only did he come back he also awoke from the comma." Dr. Edwards said.
     "Thank you, for saving Bo's life." Luke said.
Luke went into Bo's room, and sat down next to Bo's bed. Bo lay awake on the bed.
     "Told you that you were too stubborn to give into this." Luke said jokingly.
Bo smiled. "Yeah, and I told ya that I wouldn't leave y'all."
Bo was starting to fall asleep, his eyes flickered shut.
     "Just try to get some sleep." Luke said softly.
     "Yeah." Bo said quietly. "Luke?"
     "Yeah what is it Bo?" Luke asked.
     "Don't go.  Don't leave me alone. Just stay here." Bo said his voice half asleep.
     "You got it cuz." Luke said.
     Luke called the farm the next morning to tell everyone else the good news. Jesse came immediately to the hospital. Bo was
feeling a lot better. He wanted to go home but Dr. Edwards insisted he stay in the hospital for the next three days for observation.  By the time he went home Daisy was better as well, so there was no worry of Bo catching another cold while trying to recover from his surgery. It took Bo a month to get back to feeling like his old self again and completely recover from the surgery. Tings returned to what passes for normal in Hazzard County.