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Post by Luke Duke on Oct 13, 2009 12:04:52 GMT -5
Luke heard a noise. Not just any noise...one that woke him from a sound sleep and sweet dream involving himself and a pretty young fillie. It was frightening, chilling, not in a late-night horror movie sort of way, or in a Hellish memory from Nam sort of way, but in an eery, familiar sort of way.
He had heard it before...years ago....
His blue eyes were open in a second as realization hit, jumping out of bed and hurrying over to Bo.
"Bo...Bo...you okay?"
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Post by Bo Duke on Oct 15, 2009 4:09:28 GMT -5
As soon as Luke reached him though, it was obvious that Bo was anything but okay. His face, in the light of the pale moon that flooded through the window, was as pale as the pillow his head rested on. Sweat was dribbling down his face, which in turn was wracked with pain, his fists clenched on the bedcovers. He was curled into a tight ball underneath said covers, and the noise that Luke had heard that had been that of Bo's tortured moans.
Such was the pain that Bo simply couldn't answer Luke's question, he didn't even want to open his eyes which were clenched tightly shut as if that would magically make the pain go away. Tossing his head from side to side, he moaned again deeply as tears he wouldn't normally show began to dribble down his fevered cheeks.
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Post by Luke Duke on Oct 15, 2009 8:20:31 GMT -5
"Oh Lord," murmured Luke softly as he rested his tan hand on Bo's forehead finding it hot to the touch. "You're burnin' up."
Luke bit his lip, whispered that he'd be right back, and hurried to the kitchen wishing, as he did that his uncle was still here. He would know what to do. But Jesse had passed away suddenly earlier that year and, with Daisy away at college, everything done by his uncle in the past now fell to Luke... And he felt as fit for the job as an elephant in a henhouse.
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Post by Bo Duke on Oct 15, 2009 11:27:32 GMT -5
What Luke failed to notice though were two things...one...that the window in the bedroom that they usually left shut in the cold winter days to keep any heat inside the house was open. Secondly...because Bo was curled so tightly in a ball and hidden under the covers, he didn't notice that Bo was fully dressed....and there was now blood staining the front of his yellow shirt and the hands that were clenching desperatly onto the bed covers.
To say Bo was in trouble was an understatement...
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Post by Luke Duke on Oct 15, 2009 12:52:23 GMT -5
Luke hurried back with a bowl of water, cloth and a hot waterbottle, not really sure of what was needed. He wet the cloth gently sponging his cousin's forhead as he pulled back the covers to put the hot water bottle underneath in an attempt to break the fever.
His stomach churned as he saw the blood stains on his shirt.
"Oh God.." He wasted no time, dropping the hot water bottle and racing out the room and grabbing the phone.
"Maybelle...this is Luke Duke... Send an ambulance out t' the farm... Hurry!"
He didn't wait for an answer dropping the phone so that it hung by its cord, racing back to Bo.
"You're gonna be ok..." he said trying to comfort Bo. He wasn't sure where the blood had. Come from or even if it was still coming. He could feel the fear and panic rising inside of him. He took hold of his brother's hand raking his fingers through the damp blond hair. "You gotta be okay".
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Post by Bo Duke on Oct 15, 2009 13:01:42 GMT -5
Again, there was no reply from the blonde though his blue eyes were now open, filled with fear and pain. The shaking had really started to set in as the shock started to creep through his body more, choking a little, his hand shaking and limp in Luke's as his older brother tried to keep him calm.
It was an odd sensation, he could see Luke besides him, and yet when Luke spoke to him it all just sounded like noise...comforting noise...but noise all the same, his voice sounding far away.
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Post by Luke Duke on Oct 15, 2009 13:38:12 GMT -5
Luke was trying his best to stay calm, but he couldn't tell if it was Bo's hand trembling or his own. His cousin's unfocused gaze worried him as much as the blood stains adorning his shirt.
He turned hearing the ambulance outside the door. "Help's here Bo... You're gonna be ok."
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Post by Bo Duke on Oct 15, 2009 13:45:14 GMT -5
Bo did nothing but groan in response as the noise around him grew louder, starting to loose focus more as he lost more blood and the pain became too much for his body to keep handling. Slowly his eyes started to slip closed, his breathing hard and fast.
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Post by Luke Duke on Oct 15, 2009 14:02:24 GMT -5
Luke was pacing the waiting room an hour later, his hair a mess of curls from running hi hand nervously through it. Noone would tell him anything...just that a doc would come as soon as possible. He swallowed hard going to get hiimself a drink from the water cooler, his hands shaking so bad he could hardly hold onto it.
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Post by Bo Duke on Oct 15, 2009 14:15:20 GMT -5
Luke's wait wasn't about to get any shorter either. For many hours the older Duke Boy was kept waiting while the doctors worked on his younger cousin, keeping him in the dark...a place that Luke never liked to be. The waiting was driving him crazy, maybe even more so than the fact he didn't understand what had happened between the time he fell asleep and the time he woke to Bo's agonized moans to find him in such a state. Some people say that no news is good news, but Luke knew that no news in a hospital usually meant things were happening that were critical to saving someone's life...or trying to anyway.
It wasn't until at least 4 hours after Bo was brought hurriedly through the double doors, paramedics, doctors and nurses alike shouting medical jargon at each other that Luke hadn't understood, that a doctor finally came out into the waiting room looking grim.
"For Beauregard Duke?" he asked quietly.
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Post by Luke Duke on Oct 15, 2009 16:40:52 GMT -5
By the time the doctor showed up, Luke had drank 14 cups of coffee, counted 214 ceiling tiles, and paced an uncountable number of steps. His hair stood on end and he was so pale he more resembled a patient than a visitor.
He was sitting tapping his foot (whether from nerves or caffeine he couldn't say) when the doc finally showed up. He jumped to his feet.
"I'm his brother...is...is he okay?!"
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Post by Bo Duke on Oct 19, 2009 16:31:49 GMT -5
The doctor nodded softly, more to calm Luke down than anything, gesturing him to sit back down. Half gesturing, half actually guiding him back to the seat. Quietly, he took a seat next to the tense, nervous young man and spoke in a gentle and a confident tone as possible.
"He's in a stable condition right now...but that isn't to say he's out of the woods yet. He's suffered a fairly deep stab wound to his side and some internal bleeding...if I didn't know any better I'd say he'd been in a fight...and not an entirely legal one at that. His temperature is coming from an illness I'd say started before this fight but is presenting itself full force with the added stress his body is under. We've managed to control that, nothing more than a common cold really, but he's lost a lot of blood so his body is weaker than it should be at fighting this thing. If we don't watch it carefully, it could get worse very fast."
He paused a moment to let Luke take this in, seeing the look of panic and worry rise fast in deep, scared blue eyes that were staring at him like his life depended on it.
"Now Beauregard's a young man with a fightin' chance...its a good possibility he'll recover from this quickly...its just not a 100% chance that it won't get worse..."
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Post by Luke Duke on Oct 19, 2009 16:42:19 GMT -5
Luke blinked in shock. "A stab wound...a fight...." He shook his head. "That's impossible....I mean...he was fine..." He raked his dark curls with his fingers nervously. "Can I see him?"
Luke was usually the calm one, cool and collected. Now though, he felt his heart pounding with fear. Bo had to be okay...he just had to....
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Post by Bo Duke on Oct 19, 2009 16:45:21 GMT -5
The Doc nodded gently, standing up as he said with a small smile.
"Of course, if you'll follow me i'll take you to him. You have to understand though, he's on some pretty heavy pain medication at the moment so he probably won't be awake. Even if he is though, he probably won't be very responsive or making a lot of sense...like if he was drunk or really sleepy." he explained gently as he lead Luke down the stark white hallways, past nurses who were busy bustling about the place, doing their jobs.
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Post by Luke Duke on Oct 19, 2009 16:48:31 GMT -5
Luke nodded following closely behind him. He could care less what kind of sense Bo did or didn't make. It didn't matter if he was wide-awake or groggy. All that mattered was that he would be okay...
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Post by Bo Duke on Oct 19, 2009 16:51:42 GMT -5
Eventually the doctor stopped outside Bo's room, the door closed and the blind drawn down on the window so as to keep him away from prying eyes. Placing his hand on the door handle, he said quietly.
"Just so you know...anything in here is to help Beauegard...no matter how scary it might seem...you just need to be prepaired and realize at the moment Beauregard is a very sick young man..."
When he got a small, and quite an impatient nod from Luke, he carefully opened the door, biting his lip at the small noise that came from the young man's throat at the sight of his younger brother laying before him.
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Post by Luke Duke on Oct 19, 2009 16:59:25 GMT -5
The sound escaped Luke'smouth before he knew it- a half cry/half whimper. The man in the bed before him was a pale, lifeless shadow of his brother.
"Bo..."
He crossed to him slowly, and sat quietly in the chair beside him. "I'm here Bo..."
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Post by Bo Duke on Oct 19, 2009 17:18:57 GMT -5
Bo however didn't respond to the gentle words, laying still and quiet in the hospital bed. He was attatched to a couple of IV's which supplied him with blood, pain medication and fluids. The bed covers were pulled down to his waist, so Luke could see the damage that the doctor had been talking about. HIs chest was littered with rapidly forming bruises, although none went any higher than that. A dressing was placed over an area on his side, a small blood stain already formed on it from underneath.
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Post by Luke Duke on Oct 19, 2009 17:25:51 GMT -5
Luke clenched his jaw, taking his brother's hand carefully. He was so pale...too pale...and his skin was clammy. From the blood loss, Luke supposed.
"Bo... I'm here with ya Bo...you're gonna be fine...just fine."
He didn't know who he was trying to convince more: Bo or himself. All he knew was that he couldn't lose Bo too...he just couldn't...
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Post by Bo Duke on Oct 19, 2009 17:29:14 GMT -5
As Luke took his hand, it became clearer that Bo's knuckles were also bruised...at least if he had been a fight he'd been attempting to give as good as he had gotten. Bo never was one to just sit back and take a beating, if he was going down you could be double damn sure that he would try and take his opponent with him. That was Bo's problem, he didn't know when to back down, didn't know the meaning of throwing in the towel, refused to stay down.
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Post by Luke Duke on Oct 19, 2009 17:39:42 GMT -5
Luke swallowed, holding the hand carefully avoiding tuching his knuckles. "Who's sister didja bring home late this time Bo?" he asked softly.
Of course he doubted that this was the case. Bo wasn't one to get into a fist fight over a missed curfew...besides, Bo could his own against a disgruntled brother...even two for that matter...but from the looks of things he had been outnumbered, a fact that angered Luke to the bone.
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Post by Bo Duke on Oct 19, 2009 18:02:36 GMT -5
The pale young man still didn't respond, laying as still as ever while the monitors beside him beeped softly and continued to give out their readings that only the medically trained could understand. He had a slight tremble to his hands, even whilst unconcious, and his chest was rising and falling at a steady slow pace.
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Post by Luke Duke on Oct 19, 2009 18:16:29 GMT -5
"I'll be right here Bo...I'm stayin' right here," said Luke softly running a hand over his brother's blond curls softly. He debated about calling Daisy, but he didn't dare leave Bo. Something might happen and then...well, he didn't want to think about it.
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Post by Bo Duke on Oct 22, 2009 11:33:39 GMT -5
As the hours passed Bo remained as still and as quiet as when Luke had entered the room, a stark contrast to what he had been like when Luke had woken to his moans of pain. The only movement in the room was largely the doctors and nurses coming in to check his readings, adjusting things slightly, changing the bags as needed.
It wasn't until morning started to break that Bo finally gave a small sigh, turning his head a little on the white pillow.
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Post by Luke Duke on Oct 22, 2009 12:02:47 GMT -5
Luke remained hunched over in his seat, his head bowed in ferverent prayer. Bo's hand was still clenched in his own, moist with tears that had fallen from the older boy's eyes.
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Post by Bo Duke on Oct 22, 2009 12:52:35 GMT -5
Slowly Bo became a little more aware of his surroundings, slowly blinking his eyes open against the blinding light bouncing off the white walled room, making it hard for him to open his eyes fully without it hurting. Swallowing a little, he rolled his head to the side to avoid the bright light, able to make out instead a blurry blob of dark hunched over and resting on the bed. Soon after came the feeling of some kind of pressure on the hand that lay hidden underneath it.
Wetting his lips a little, he clenched his hands carefully and whispered out hoarsly.
"Luke..."
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Post by Luke Duke on Oct 22, 2009 16:03:48 GMT -5
Luke shot up quickly. "Bo..."
There was something in the way he said that monosyllable...something different that Bo couldn't quite place. It was almost questioningly, pleadingly, but above all else fearful.
"I'm here brother," he said softly, running his strong warm hand over Bo's clammy forehead.
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Post by Bo Duke on Oct 22, 2009 16:08:42 GMT -5
Bo closed his eyes again a little as Luke touched hid forehead, struggling to keep them open against the glare of the light.
"T..too...br...bright..." he pleaded quietly, his voice scratchy.
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Post by Luke Duke on Oct 22, 2009 16:29:34 GMT -5
Luke swallowed, getting up quickly and dimming the lights in the room, before returning to him. "That better brother?"
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Post by Bo Duke on Oct 22, 2009 16:35:27 GMT -5
He finally breathed a small sigh of relief when he could open his eyes properly, blinking away the fog that covered his eyes and made everything blurry. He nodded a little at Luke's question, glancing around the room with a small swallow as he slowly started to register where he was...
"M...M'I...in ho..hospital?"
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