Jebb had gotten to the hospital right about supper time with the food he’d saved from lunch for Kira and himself to eat for supper. Bo left after a nurse had pleaded that she needed a ride home at the end of her shift. Kira was willing to bet that the nurse’s car was sitting in the lot right now, with absolutely nothing wrong with it. Jebb had then given his own version of the food fight to Kira who enjoyed watching Jebb tell it as his face lit up at the memory of the free for all that had occurred earlier that day. She noticed that some of the tension was gone from his face which in turn made Kira feel a little bit better. Jebb wasn’t supposed to worry so much. It didn’t suit him. He was supposed to be carefree and reckless. That’s what he’d always seemed to be when they’d first met. This responsible Jebb needed to take a back seat for a while. At least until AFTER the twins were born.

When Jebb started to try to get comfortable for the night, Kira had to say something. “You know, there’s no reason for you to stay. You don’t have to be uncomfortable here when there’s a perfectly good bed at home.”

“I don’t recall you tryin’ to get rid of me last night.”

“That’s because I was scared.”

“But you’re not scared now?”

“No, I’m annoyed,” Kira said with furled brow.

“Heck, I’m used to that,” Jebb said as ignored the look on his wife’s face as sat beside her on the bed. Kira rolled her eyes but let him pull her closer to him.

“You’re gonna have a sore back again in the morning.”

“I’ll live. Go to sleep.” Kira rested her head on Jebb’s chest as she closed her eyes. It seemed to her that she was getting the better end of this arrangement. She guessed that she shouldn’t complain.




“Welcome home, Sis.” Bo and the rest of the family were all out at the house waiting for her and Jebb to get back to the hospital. No one had left out to go back to their respective homes and had each remained to see for themselves that both Kira and the baby were okay before they all began their treks back to where ever they call home.

“Thanks. I see that the invasion force is still here. I kind of thought that the horde would have cleared out by now.” Kira got out of the car and looked around the farmyard and noticed that there were, if anything, MORE cars here than when she went into the hospital.

“Everyone had to wait to see if you and the baby were alright,” Bo said as he shrugged at Kira’s questioning look that she gave him.

“You can finish this conversation inside Bo. Kira’s supposed to go straight up to bed.” Kira gave Jebb a dirty look but headed on inside. Everyone that she passed had something to say but Jebb was determined that she was going straight upstairs.

“Well how does it feel to be back in your own home again?” John asked as he watched his son annoy his daughter-in-law with his fussing as she tried to get comfortable on the bed.

“It’d feel better if I got to see more than just four walls of it.”

“I know that being stuck in here ain’t exactly your idea of fun. But it’ll be worth it.” John personally couldn’t wait to see his new grandbaby. Pauline doesn’t hold the market on wanting grandkids all alone. He just didn’t push at it the way she had.

“Fun or not, I promised the doctor that I’d make sure that Kira stays in that bed even if I have to tie her down.”

Bo couldn’t let that comment pass by him. Not after yesterday. “Jebb, we’re talkin’ about Kira and the BABY. Leave your sex life out of this.”

“BO!” Kira reached back behind her and grabbed a pillow and threw it at her brother. The cousins that had followed her and Jebb up chuckled and snickered at her reaction.

“Sis, I do believe your face is as red as you hair. What’s wrong Jebb? No come back?” Bo laughed and tossed the pillow back onto the bed.

“I think considering just who all is in the room, it’d be in my best interest to stay quiet.”

Coy nudged Bo, “Congratulations, Cuz. You’ve found a way to keep Jebb quiet.”

“Yeh, but I think it only works if both his wife and mother are in the same room.” Bo looked over at his aunt as her eyes finally stopped bugging out after Bo’s comment. He’d bet she was trying to figure out if Bo knew something that he ought not know in regards to her son and daughter-in-law.

“You think you’re real cute, don’t you Bo?” Kira scowled.

“I’ve been told that I am on occasion,” Bo smirked. “Who am I to disagree with so many women in Hazzard?”

“I think someone should check the date on that ham. It’s gone bad.”

Once Kira was settled, most of the family members started to filter out of the farm. Daisy came back from shopping after lunch with the television that Jebb and sent her to get and she’d seen some silk pajamas that she figured that Kira might would like since, in Daisy’s opinion, what was the point to get dressed in regular clothes if she had to stay in bed.

With Pauline’s help, Daisy moved the sewing machine up into the master bedroom. Pauline had reluctantly approved the material that had been bought for the baby quilt. At least Kira had started on one. Once the cross-stitching that Kira had been working on was brought up, she was given a little time alone to herself. After having so many people hovering over her, she was glad to get a little peace and quiet. This is going to be a long, boring two months.




“I still think that we should stay longer. You’re going to need help around here with Kira on bed rest.” Pauline was finishing cooking supper as she spoke with her son.

“I’ll have help, Mom. Jesse and the others are here. You’ve told the girls y’all won’t be leaving until Sunday already so they can go to the festival. That’s longer than you usually come to Hazzard for Thanksgiving. But you know as well as I do that you have to get them back to school on Monday. Besides, y’all have the farm to deal with. You can’t expect Uncle Carl to look after it for much longer.”

“I know.” Pauline sighed. “Maybe we’ll come down for Christmas.”

“Aunt Grace will panic if you’re not there to run things for when the Loftlin family converges on the farms in Placid.” Not to mention, he doubted that Kira could handle having his mother here for an extended stay.

“Well, we’ll just come in for the New Year instead. The girls will love it. They’ve never been in Hazzard to start the year off.”

“Alright, I’ll plan for y’all to come down that week.”




“I’m sorry; I couldn’t talk her out of it. She had an answer for every excuse I gave.” Jebb set the tray with Kira’s supper down beside her.

“Don’t worry about it. Just make sure she puts my kitchen back before I give birth. That ought to give her plenty of time. It’s not like I’ll be using it anytime soon.” Jebb smiled since it seemed that his wife accepted the news a bit too easily. Kira ate her dinner as she and Jebb continued to talk. When Kira took her first bite of the chocolate chess pie, she felt like she’d died and gone to Heaven. “On second thought, I’ll forget about the kitchen if she’ll leave another pie behind when she goes back to Placid.”

“I think that could be arranged.” Jebb grinned. No one had ever been able to pass up his mother’s chocolate chess pie. “I’m sure she’ll appreciate knowing that you liked it. You know, she really does care; in her own way. I think she got the scare of her life this week.”

“She’s not the only one. I guess it’s a good thing she was here. I didn’t think that there was anything wrong. I’d hate to think what would have happened if ...”

“Then don’t. I better get these dishes down stairs. I think Emma and Emily are coming in here to play monopoly.”

“I’ll be here waiting.”




The next morning Kira woke up, surprisingly, first. She went to the adjoining bathroom and got ready for the day. Jebb was up and putting on his jeans when she came out. Without thinking, Kira headed to the door to go down to make breakfast.

“Where are you goin’?” Jebb folded his arms as he spoke.

“What?” Kira looked back at Jebb still half asleep. “Oh. Right. Forgot.”

“Back to bed.” Kira went back to bed none too happy that she was restricted from even going to the breakfast table. After making the bed, Kira sat back down on top of the blankets and crossed her own arms in response to Jebb’s own stance.

“Happy?”

“Ecstatic. I’ll be right back.” Jebb walked over and gave her a quick kiss to let her know that he knew that the restrictions were hard on her. With that, he headed on down the stairs. As he expected, his mother was preparing breakfast. Already, Jebb was wondering how long Kira could stay off her feet if she already was slipping up.




Jebb went with his sisters to the festival since Kira had pretty much told them that he would. Her way of getting him out of the house even if she couldn’t get out with him. He’d ridden nearly every ride with both of his younger sisters. Emma threw up on the Tilt-a-whirl and Emily couldn’t help but laugh at her sister’s misery. Emma took after their mother. She never could handle speed or rides that to most other Dukes would have been considered tame. The Ferris Wheel was more her speed. Jebb volunteered to take Emma home, which in turn gave him an excuse to go and check on Kira.

“You’re back early.”

“Emma got sick. We came back for some clean clothes. Figured I’d check on ya while I’m waiting for her to change.” Jebb went to sit down on the bed.

“Checking to make sure I’m still in bed?” Kira leaned over and put her book back into the nightstand. “Look, I ain’t looking to go into labor again anytime soon.”

“I hope not.” Jebb pulled her over to him and kissed the top of her head.

“I’M READY!” Jebb looked up as he heard his sister holler to him.

“Why don’t I drop Emma off with Mom and Pop and come back? Being stuck in bed doesn’t have to be all bad.” Jebb tilted Kira’s head back and lightly took her lips with his. His hand came up and squeezed one of her breasts as his tongue fought for dominance. Kira would have loved to let him keep going, but knew she needed to stop him before he went any further. Otherwise, she might not have the restraint to stop him.

“Uhm...Before you start revvin’ that engine of yours, I think you’d better read that list of restrictions that the Doc gave me.” Kira pulled back reluctantly. “I think you’ll find the third one down the list of Don’ts of some interest to you.”

Jebb gave Kira an odd look before reaching over to the nightstand and grabbed the sheet of paper that had the doctor’s instructions on it for Kira. Third one down, huh, alright. He scanned down the list with explanations.

3. No vaginal sex. No orgasms. Uterine contractions can occur after sex or after having an orgasm, inducing preterm labor. In addition, semen contains a chemical that may actually stimulate contractions once introduced to the female system.

“He’s got to be kidding.” Jebb stared at the paper with disbelief.

“What’s the matter Jebb? Don’t think that the Duke libido can handle being put into dry dock?” She wasn’t happy about the restriction either, but at least this one didn’t just affect her. He was already looking sexually frustrated just reading the paper.

“It just means that we’ll have to be creative is all.” Leave it to a Duke Boy to look for loop holes in that restriction. Kira cocked an eyebrow wondering just what Jebb would consider creative. He’s never exactly lacked in the creativity department.

“J-E-B-B!” Emma’s voice came from the stairs.

“I think you’d better go. Your sister’s waiting.” Kira didn’t exactly want her to come looking for her brother.

“I’ll be back.” Jebb gave Kira a kiss of promise and headed out the door. Still wondering why the doctor had left that not so little detail on a piece of paper rather than telling them about it instead. The coward.




Jebb’s parents drove out back to Placid the next morning right after the family went to church. With the exception of Kira. Word had already gotten out about the laid up Duke and the reason behind it. A few of the women took the opportunity to flirt with the married Duke though he seemed oblivious to it. It had become common place so long ago that he might have only noticed it if none of them had flirted shamelessly with him.

Once his parents and sisters headed out, Jebb set himself to putting the house back in order after the visit from all of the relatives. He knew that despite the fact that Kira couldn’t get into the kitchen anytime soon, she’d feel better if it was put back the way she liked it. Afterwards, he went up to relax with his wife. Starting tomorrow there would be a lot of work to do to put up a new barn so he might as well enjoy a lazy Sunday afternoon while he could. Before he headed upstairs, he locked the doors. Just in case he and Kira decided to get a little creative again. Because sure as anything, if they did, one of the others was bound to show up and walk on in.




“J.D. I need to see you.” Doc Appleby stormed into the back room out at the old roadhouse that the crooked commissioner owned.

“What about Doc?” Boss asked as he shuffled some papers around on his desk. No sense in letting anyone see the plans for his latest scheme. With so many Dukes around, he’d learned that he needed to be more careful. And right now he had six Duke Boys to worry about getting in his way.

“It’s about one of my patients. I want your cooperation in keeping one of them safe and healthy.”

“How can I do that? I ain’t no doctor. That’s your job,” Boss snickered.

“This is serious J.D. I’ve had to put Kira on strict bed rest. And if you go chasin’ them boys all over the county and puttin’ her kin folk in jail, framing them for God knows what, I doubt that she’ll just sit back and do nothing about it. Until she delivers, I want you to promise that whatever ‘Business endeavors’ you are involved in right now, that you’ll keep them operating OUTSIDE of the county.”

“Not that I’m saying that I have anything goin’ on, but just WHY should I do as you suggest?”

“Because I didn’t put that girl to bed for no reason. She went into labor last week and I had to stop it. She ain’t due until February so you do the math. Her blood pressure is through the roof and I have the feeling that if I want to lower it, it starts right here. You have to lay off the Duke Men before I can get anywhere with making sure that she stays as healthy as I can keep her. So NO BUSINESS ACTS RIGHT NOW AND KEEP ROSCO OFF OF THEM BOYS. I’ve got Kira’s pregnancy to worry about. So do we have an understanding? Because if we don’t, my next stop will be to see Lulu. You know how she likes all of the Dukes. If she thought you were putting that girl’s life at risk and the life of that baby, I think you know what she would do.”

“Now, you know I’d never risk a life. I’m a crook, not a murderer. Is it really as serious as you say?” Boss eyed the doctor.

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t.”

“Alright. I’ll pass on to Rosco to leave them boys alone. JUST UNTIL THE BABY’S BORN. Then the deal is off.”

“And?”

“And what?”

“And promise you’ll behave. That’s what.” Doc Appleby glared at the commissioner.

“Alright. I’ll operate out of the county for a while.”

“I’m goin’ to hold you to that J.D. This isn’t just about an inconvenience. Lives are at stake. As the doctor, I’m bound to do everything in my power to keep them well. And that will include a call to the state police if you step out of line. Now, I’m off to go check on my patient.”

Boss watched as the doctor left his office at the Boar’s Nest. This sounds like something that Mr. Kyle will want to know about. What with him being family and all. He wondered how much information like this will be worth.




Kira sat up reading her twin pregnancy book and couldn’t help but think various thoughts in response to the statements in the book.

Being bedridden is not fun, No kidding especially if you still have many weeks left until the birth of your child. But, if this is what your doctor has ordered, don’t question it, just do it. Your actions will not only affect your health but the health of your baby. While, this seems like a severe way to treat a disease (toxemia), it is necessary. There are things you can do to help you cope with this confinement.

Make sure you have plenty of things within reach to keep you entertained. Reading material should not include just novels. You may get bored of reading this one type of material. Have magazines, newspapers, and non-fiction books as well. That’s how I survived the last TWO times I was stuck in bed for weeks at a time. At least this time it’s because I’m pregnant; not fighting cancer. Of course, you’ll want a television in the room with you. Jebb already took care of that for me. Though I never thought that I’d need a T.V. in the bedroom in a million years. Especially after marrying Jebb. There usually was barely enough time left to SLEEP once he’d get tired for the night. Of course she hadn’t needed to worry about sleeping at night since she’d started taking naps in the day. Sometimes she wondered how he made it through the day on such little sleep.

Make sure the remote is right there next to you. However, watching television will get monotonous, so you’ll want other entertainment, too. A deck of cards will be useful in playing solitaire or playing card games with anyone who comes to visit. Crossword puzzle books, word search books, coloring books and crayons (What am I? Six?) are other things that can help you pass time.

Another good way to help you keep yourself occupied is to write. Have stationary, notebooks, and pencils and pens nearby. And, if you are someone who possesses one, have your laptop there with you. But, no WORKING, only writing that will bring you entertainment. You can write letters, to do lists, shopping lists, or keep track of names for your baby. Use a notebook as a journal and write down your feelings and thoughts as you pass these days in bed. If you are someone who really enjoys writing, you can use this time to write articles or stories. You can even ask your doctor for a list of exercises that you can do while in bed.

Exercising in bed is how I got pregnant in the first place; though what a way to stay in shape. Kira giggled to herself as she thought about how Jebb’s been dealing with some of restrictions that had been placed on their favorite night time activity. She’d be willing to bet that Jebb hadn’t gotten so much sleep in a night since they’d gotten married. But of course being a Duke, once he’d set his mind to working his way around the loopholes of the restrictions, it didn’t take him long to come up with some ideas. Of course it was a bit of a kill-joy when he had to call the doctor to make sure that those ideas wouldn’t put her or the babies at risk.

You are bound to get hungry, and there may be times you are home alone. Not likely. Jebb seems to have arranged it so that someone is always here. No doubt to make sure she isn’t sneaking out of bed. Even right now, he and the other fellas are outside working on the barn and one of them keeps coming in for one reason or another. Coy came in for water. Judd came in to look for some more tools, even though Kira knew that they had all of them outside. Luke came in for a bathroom break but used the upstairs bathroom instead of the downstairs one. Any minute now one of the others is bound to be coming in with a lame excuse. So, make sure you have it all set up so you don’t have to get out of bed to get anything. Have someone pack a picnic basket with all the foods you like to eat that can be kept at room temperature. Dried fruit, apples, bananas, and veggies should be in this basket. Cut down on the sodium and the sweets as much as you can. Yeh, well considering that I won’t be burning off many calories as I would be if some of the restrictions weren’t put on me, I kind of already knew that sweets were out. And salt has been out since my blood pressure started to climb. Make sure they include forks, knives, spoons, salt, sugar, plates, napkins, or anything else you may need in this basket. Okay, I’ll admit, I am hungry now after reading about it all. I’m guessing that going down to the kitchen is out of the question.

Have a cooler with the things that need to stay cold next to the picnic basket. Keep your drinks in this. More than one kind of drink, such as orange juice, milk, vegetable juice, should be kept there for your convenience.

Allow other people to help with your household. Again that’s been taken care of. Daisy even got together with Lulu and got the ladies club to each volunteer to do various tasks throughout the week. Let mothers or sisters come in and clean for you. Get your husband or brother to do laundry and clean up the kitchen. Having Bo do the laundry? An interesting idea. Though I might want to just set fire to it instead. Any kind of household chore that you usually do, you’re going to have to let someone else do for a while. Be grateful for the time off, it’ll probably be the last time in your life you get this break. Let’s hope so.

No matter how you chose to occupy yourself during this time, keep in mind you are doing this to take care of yourself and your baby. Quite often babies have to be born early through inducement or C-section. The more you rest the longer you’ll be able to go without having to give premature birth to your child. It is, for this reason, very important that you do as your doctor says, and stay in bed. This will more than likely mean only getting up to go to the bathroom, no exceptions. While it may be a difficult thing to live with at the time, you know it will be well worth it when that precious bundle is in your arms. Two bundles.

“Well how are my three favorite patients doing today?”

Kira looked up to see Doc Appleby in the doorway. She put her book down as he came on over to where she was sitting on the bed. “I’m fine. I think the other two are sleeping. They’ve been a little quiet today.”

“Well, let’s take a look and make sure everything’s alright. Have you been getting up or are you following my orders to the letter.”

“Doc, I couldn’t NOT follow your orders if I wanted.”

“Good. That makes my job a little easier when the families of the patient cooperates. Of course, I’ve never had to worry about that with any of the Dukes. When one of you are down, the rest all seem to watch out for their own.” As the doctor spoke, one of the babies kicked, which made him a little less worried since Kira had said that the babies had been less active today. “There he is. I guess he’s just waking up. Now, I want you to try to keep track of the babies’ movements. You should be able to feel them moving around about ten times in a two hour time-frame. If you can’t, try eating something and wait a while and start counting again. If they stop moving around, I want you to call me. Understood?”

Kira nodded then asked, “Why eat? What would that have to do with anything?”

“The babies should respond to the change in blood sugar. I’m just giving you something to watch out for. Now, there is just one more thing I want to ask.” Kira looked up at the doctor, not sure if she wanted to hear his question. They never seemed to be good for her lately. “Just HOW have you and Jebb managed to hide the fact that you’re having twins from the rest of the family for so long? I kinda figured that you two would have told them by now.”

“I have too. I guess it’s been one way to have some fun though.” Kira grinned at the doctor. “I’m surprised that Jebb isn’t in here. He made me promise that I would NEVER see a doctor alone again after I went to Atlanta.”

“Yes, well, the fellas outside told me that he and Bo took the truck to town to get some more lumber.”

“Let’s just hope that they can get it back without being chased all over Hazzard. Jesse’s truck doesn’t have the horsepower that my truck has.”

“I’m sure that they’ll be okay.” Doc hoped that J.D. had talked to Rosco. If he hadn’t, he’ll be seeing Lulu real soon. “Well, everything’s just fine. I’ll be back out in a few days to check on you. You need anything before I leave?”

“No, I’m sure one of the others will be in here soon... Doc, there is one thing… Is it possible to get my bed rest downstairs during the day? You know, sitting on the chaise? I feel kind of strange having to have everyone come up to the bedroom whenever they come to see me. I can’t even see anyone at dinner while stuck up here.”

Doc Appleby considered the question. “Alright. But the same rules apply. Once you go downstairs, no climbing back up those stairs until bed time. Understand?”

Kira nodded and the doctor helped her up off of the bed and saw to it that she got settled without needing anything before he left. After the doctor left, Kira decided that she might as well take a nap. Daisy would be over in a little while to start dinner. Everyone was eating over here for right now.

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