After getting things ready for the rest of the family to come in the next day, one of Jebb’s favorite things to do was to relax with Kira on the chaise. He’d collapsed into the chair and had Kira leaning back against him. Already, various seasonal movies were being played on T.V. and he and his wife were lounging in the living room enjoying having the house to themselves for the last time until after everyone left after Thanksgiving. With his arms wrapped around Kira, Jebb rested his hands on her stomach waiting for the next time that one of the babies decided to move. Instead, a few times throughout the night, he felt Kira’s whole stomach tense up.

“It’s just Braxton Hick’s. According to the books, it’s just the body preparing for real labor. Think of it as ‘False Labor’, though I didn’t think that they’d be so uncomfortable.”

“Do we need to call the Doc?” Jebb asked.

“No, it ain’t nothin’ really. Just annoying.” Kira shifted her weight as she tried to relieve the ache in her lower back.

“Come on, we’ve got a lot of company comin’ in the morning. Let’s go on upstairs.”

Once upstairs, Kira tried to get comfortable; a chore that seemed to take longer to do every day. Snuggling in with Jebb, she listened to the quiet of the house as she tried to get some sleep. In no time at all, Jebb was sound asleep with his arm still around Kira. She wished that she could drift off so easily.




The next morning when Jebb woke up, Kira was already making a breakfast of biscuits and sausage gravy. He knew that meant that she’d not slept well for her to be up before him. After all, she was less of a morning person than her brother. Jebb walked up behind her and gave her a hug and accepted a kiss readily just as she was about to put the food on the table.

“You ready for the invasion to begin this morning?”

“Might as well be. At least I survived one Duke Thanksgiving already,” Kira said with a shrug.

“And this year, you still have managed to make it where you’ll be the talk of the family. Everyone in the family will be coming up giving you guesses about the baby, even though we’ve told everyone that we’re having a boy. They’re bound to each have one old wives tale or another about pregnancy, an opinion about names, and...”

“Is this supposed to gear me up for the day or send me packing for the hills until the coast is clear?” Kira groaned.

“Come on, I know just about everyone in town’s just about has already done all of this anyway. It will just be family doin’ it for a few days now,” Jebb said with a chuckle.

“And over runnin’ the house.’’ Suddenly an idea to have some fun hit her. “Jebb, how much do you think I can get away with by being pregnant?”

“What do you mean?” Jebb asked since there was no telling what Kira had in mind.

“You know. If I get really bored or can’t bite my tongue anymore, would Jesse threaten a tanned hide for having a food fight at lunch?”

“Now that’s an interesting thought. Though lunch wouldn’t be no fun. It’ll be sandwiches. Tomorrow, now that’s a different story,” Jebb said with a shake of his head.

“Mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans...”

“I wonder if I can remember how I made them pea shooters.”

“...biscuits. You know, I’m tempted to just so I can see the faces of all the aunts and uncles,” Kira said with a smile.

“Mom’s would be priceless.” Jebb laughed as he imagined just what his mother would do if he and Kira started a food fight at the dinner table at Thanksgiving this year.

“She’d have a heart attack. Then she’d go find a switch.” Kira giggled as she thought about Jebb’s mother reacting to a food fight.

“Which Jesse would help her with. I bet you wouldn’t do it though.”

“You want to bet? I didn’t have the same upbringing as you. I don’t have your mother’s or Uncle Jesse’s voices in my head tellin’ me that they’d tan my hide seven ways ‘til Sunday if I do it.” Kira grinned as she considered if she really would have the guts to start a food fight. “Plus, the farm dogs will be loose so they’ll clean up the mess with lunch being served outside.”

“Wait a minute. You cannot try to be logical about a food fight. It takes all the fun out,” Jebb said with his hands up as if that could stop the line of thinking.

“Knock, knock! What takes the fun out of what?” Bo came in through the kitchen door as he spoke.

“We were just thinking of some ways that we could have fun tomorrow with all the extended family comin’ in. Why are you here so early?” Jebb was sure if his cousin heard what Kira had suggested, he’d be all for it, but wouldn’t dare actually do.

“The pipes busted in the kitchen this mornin’. We fixed them but the kitchen’s flooded. Uncle Jesse wanted to know if you’d mind havin’ lunch over here,” Bo said from the doorway.

“I don’t see why not. People will be in and out of here all day anyway. But if we have to move all of those tables and chairs over here, we might as well have lunch here tomorrow too. No sense in moving them back. Why didn’t you just call instead of coming over though?”

“Because we all knew that it’d be okay so we went ahead and brought the first truck load over,” Bo said with a grin.

Kira raised an eyebrow before she spoke, “Well, I don’t suppose we could get in trouble if we start one at our own house.”

“Maybe.”

“Would one of you tell me what you’re talkin’ about?” Bo asked while glancing back and forth between his cousin and sister.

“A food fight. Do you think we could get away with it at our own home? I think it could be fun.”

Jebb knew that a monster had been unleashed. “I still don’t think that Uncle Jesse would stand for it.”

“I don’t know, you might could get away with it. Your home, your food. I bet you wouldn’t do it though,” Bo said thoughtfully.

“That’s two. Both of you have bet that I wouldn’t do it. What do I win if I prove you both wrong?” Kira said as she placed her hands on her hips.

“Oh no, Bo I know that look. You may want to bring over a change of clothes tomorrow. Otherwise, you may be wearing mashed potatoes and gravy home after dinner.”

“This I’ve got to see. Come over as soon as you finish breakfast.”




Since lunch was indeed just sandwiches today, Kira by passed the idea of a food fight. Though the more she thought about it, the more enticing it became. Especially once Jebb’s folks arrived and Pauline assumed the role of Matriarch of the family. Daisy, Aunt Bess, and Pauline put all of the food out for lunch, which Kira was sure that Pauline was going through a silent diatribe about how lazy her daughter-in-law was.

Kira had thought about getting her pregnancy books back out to read but considering that the one she wanted was the one for twins, she left it upstairs instead. She was wondering just how long false labor lasts. She’d not gotten hardly any sleep last night because of the contractions and she’d eaten very little today since they just seemed to make eating uncomfortable. They’d gotten stronger and closer, too, it seems. She wasn’t sure if she could handle having bouts of false labor off and on for the next two and a half months.

“Kira, I’m goin’ off with the guys over to the flats. Alright?” Jebb came over to where Kira was lounging on the chaise.

“Go. You don’t need my permission. Besides, Coy and Vance don’t get out here very often.”

“I’ll be back about dinner.” He bent down to give Kira a kiss before adding, “Remember, you’re not allowed to do any work.” Kira rolled her eyes but gave him a small smile since she knew he meant well.

“Have fun.” After Jebb left, Kira became curious about all of the noise coming from the kitchen so she got on up to see what was going on. Plus, as bitter of a pill that it may be to swallow, Pauline was probably the person she needed to ask her questions about her pregnancy. After all, she’d been through it three times, once was even with twins just like her. When she walked into her kitchen, though, her blood boiled. Pauline was rearranging HER kitchen! “What do you think you’re doin’? The last time you were here, it took me nearly a week to put everything back where I wanted it.”

“Well, if I’m going to be cooking in this kitchen, I insist that the lay out makes sense.”

“It’s MY kitchen! I had it the way I wanted Pauline. I don’t recall rearranging your kitchen when I was in Placid.”

“Well, you didn’t do any cooking there either.”

“Pauline! I want everything put ba-” Kira stopped mid-sentence as another contraction hit and she bit her lip to keep from crying out.

“Kira? Are you okay?” Pauline dropped the argument and placed a hand on her niece’s shoulder.

“Pauline, is there anything that can stop false labor? This is driving me nuts.”

Pauline furled her brows. “How long has it been like this?”

“Since right after supper.”

“Last night?” Kira nodded. “Go on upstairs and lie down. On your left side. It’s better for you and the baby. I’ll be up in a bit and bring you some tea to relax you.”

Pauline watched Kira go up the stairs toward her room and turned to try to find the tea as she tried to remember just how far along Kira was. No, she shouldn’t be in labor right now. But that’s an awful long time for false labor to go on. She was about to go upstairs with the tea when Emily and Emma brought the little dog that they’d recently gotten inside. She set about to getting the dog back out and scolded her daughters for bringing the animal inside their brother’s home. By the time Pauline got upstairs, it was about fifteen minutes later. When she walked in through Kira’s opened bedroom door, she was biting her lip again.

“Here, sit up and drink this.” Kira looked up and saw Pauline standing over her with a cup. Sitting up Kira took the cup of chamomile tea and drank some.

Laughing slightly, “I have the feeling that we’ve done this before.”

“Huh?”

“You taking care of me, bringing me stuff to drink while I’m pretty much stuck in bed.”

Pauline thought back and remembered back to nearly a year before when she’d taken care of Kira during the flu. “Hard to believe that so much has happened since then. How often are you having contractions?”

“At first it was sporadic. Now it’s a couple of times an hour. Why?”

“Just wonderin’. Where’s the pain at?”

“I’ve got a lot of pain in my back, and I’m cramping like it’s that time of the month, it feels like there’s a lot of pressure down there.” Pauline frowned at Kira’s description.

“Has lying down helped any?” Kira shook her head. “I’ll be right back.” Pauline went down stairs and asked Bess to find Jesse for her. From the hall, she watched as Kira seemed to be having another contraction.

“Pauline? What’s wrong?” Jesse asked as he came up the stairs.

“It’s Kira. I think she’s in labor.”

“Now Pauline, you know she ain’t due ‘til February.”

“I know it, she thinks it’s just false labor, but they’re steady. She’s had three in the last hour. They’re about fifteen minutes apart. Could you just check her?” Jesse eyed his sister-in-law but nodded. The two went in to the room and closed the door behind them.

“Kira, I hear the baby’s tryin’ to keep your attention today.”

“Been at it since last night.” Jesse looked over at Pauline who nodded to indicate that was part of her concern.

“I asked Jesse to check to make sure everything’s alright.”

“Uncle Jesse?” Kira looked at her uncle in confusion.

“Now don’t worry. I’ve delivered many ‘o babies here in Hazzard. I’m just gonna make sure that the little man isn’t trying to join us for Thanksgiving Dinner. Lie back and try to relax.”

Kira laid back and tried to relax as much as she could with her mother-in-law and uncle right there. When another contraction hit, Jesse frowned.

“Kira, you’ve got to breathe through it. Holdin’ your breath won’t do you or the baby any good. Pauline, go and get Kira’s coat. I think we’d better get you over to the hospital, Kira.” Kira’s eyes went wide as Jesse spoke. “This ain’t false labor. It’s actual labor.”

“But Jesse! It’s too early!” Kira said with her eyes wide.

“I know. That’s why we’re gonna get you to the hospital.”

“EMMA! COULD YOU GET ME KIRA’S COAT FROM THE HALL CLOSET DOWN THERE?” Pauline hollered down to her daughter as she moved toward the dresser.

“Come on, let’s get you up.” Jesse helped Kira sit up and got her to her feet.

“What are you doin’?” Kira asked as she watched Pauline rummage through her dresser.

“I’m gettin’ you a bag together. They’ll probably keep you overnight.” Kira was getting more scared, now.

“Pauline,” Jesse sent an under-lined warning. There was no need getting Kira worked up.

“I’ll just get a gown out for you. Every woman feels better in her own clothes.”

“Next drawer down.” Kira figured that she’d better just tell her where to look so she wouldn’t go through every drawer.

“Pauline, have Abner head out to the flats to tell Jebb what’s goin’ on. I think John’s out there too.”

“Why not use the CB?”

“Cause that boy will break his neck tryin’ to get to the hospital if you do. Have either John or Abner drive him. Then call the hospital and tell them we’re on our way. They can call Doc Appleby.” With that, Jesse guided Kira on down the stairs and once at the bottom, took the coat from a wide-eyed Emma and got her out to the truck. Leaving Pauline to inform the rest of the family of what was going on.




Jesse waited for word on his niece while saying silent prayers. Sooner than he’d thought possible, his brothers and all of his nephews came running into the emergency room.

“Uncle Jesse! What’s goin’ on? Mom said Kira’s in labor. But...but...” Jebb said the moment that he saw his uncle.

“Calm down. All we can do right now is wait; okay. Your mom had me check on Kira and I’m glad she did. Now we’re here and the doctors can try to stop the labor.”

“She thought it was false labor. I asked her about it last night, but she didn’t seem worried. She was just annoyed. She... she...” John put an arm around his son as he searched his brother’s face for any sign that Jesse had been told anything that he wasn’t sharing. Looking up, he saw Doc Appleby walking through the door from the back. “Doc, how is she?”

“We gave her some medicine to stop the labor. She’s on an IV of Magnesium Sulfate to stop delivery. She’ll be on it for about twenty-four hours so that there won’t be an extra Duke at the dinner table for Thanksgiving. I’m gonna keep her here through Friday to make sure she doesn’t go back into labor. After that, I’m afraid she’ll have to stay in bed to try to keep this from happening again,” Doc Appleby said grimly.

“Can I see her?”

The doctor nodded, “She’s asleep now, but you can go in. She pretty much drifted off as soon as we got the contractions to ease up a bit.”

“What would have happened if you couldn’t stop the labor?” Jebb wanted to know, and by the increase of pressure on his shoulder, he figured that his father already knew.

“Well the chances for babies born this early is better than they used to be, but I’ll be honest. The longer that a baby stays in the womb the better. A baby born at this time could expect an extended stay in the NICU unit in Atlanta since we don’t have a unit here at Tri-County. But we’re gonna do all that we can to keep that from happening. I’ll let a nurse take you back. I’ll keep watch for a while, and then I’ll be back in the morning.”

“Thanks Doc.”




Pauline had gotten Jebb some clothes together and added them to the bag that she’d made up for Kira but had been left behind yesterday. She figured that if he’d spent the night in the hospital with Kira, he was going to need a fresh change of clothes for the day. Daisy had claimed that she and Kira had a lot of the food ready for Thanksgiving days ago. Pauline was skeptical about anything that Daisy claimed Kira had a hand in but Daisy informed her that her niece really was a fine cook, despite what Bo had told her last year. Pauline will believe that when she tastes it for herself; though it appeared that it would be a while yet.

Pauline had left out as soon as she served her family breakfast to go to the hospital so that she could get back early enough to finish cooking lunch. Now she was making her way down the hall in search of her daughter-in-law’s room with her small bag. Seeing a nurse about her age, she asked to be pointed towards Kira’s room.

“It’s three doors down on the left. They’re probably still asleep though. They looked so cute in there; we didn’t have the heart to wake them yet.”

“Thank you,” Pauline said slightly confused.

Finding the room that the nurse had indicated, Pauline quietly opened the door and found both her son and his wife sound asleep on the bed. They’d left it reclined, and Jebb was sitting halfway up on the bed with the pillow behind his back and his arm around Kira. She was leaning up against Jebb with her head in the crook of his neck and he was resting his cheek on the top of her head. Despite herself, Pauline admitted that they did make a picture. Not wanting to wake them, she put the bag down on the chair in the room and walked back out.

“I told you they were cute. I see you couldn’t bring yourself to wake them up either,” The nurse said with a grin.

“Huh?” Pauline looked up to see the nurse in the hall again. “Oh, yeh, I figured I’d let them sleep.”

“We’ve been trying to not wake them when we go in to do our checks. You know when word got out that a Duke Boy got married; I believe that the young women in at least four counties started to panic as one. Of course learning that it was your son eased the blow a bit. It might have even given a few of them hope for the others.”

“Well, I don’t think that any of Jebb’s cousins are in that big of a hurry to follow him down the aisle anytime soon,” Pauline said in despair.

“You must have been so excited when he met someone that made him want to settle down. Duke Boys have always been the hardest to tame for as many years as I can remember. It doesn’t seem to matter what generation they’re from. Why, I can remember when Jesse and all of his brothers were the talk of the county.”

“Yeh, well...” Excited wasn’t exactly how she’d describe how she felt upon learning about Jebb and Kira.

“How’d they meet? How long have they known one another?” The nurse asked out of curiosity.

“Racing, I think.” Pauline wasn’t comfortable thinking about it. Mainly since she knew that the nurse was only asking a question that she figured that any mother would know. Questions that she didn’t have the answer to. “I’ll go ahead and leave. I really only wanted to bring the bag of clothes in anyway.” With that, Pauline left the hospital to head back home to get back to fixing Thanksgiving Dinner.

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