Well This Is Just Swell
Chapter 3 - Visitors
Kendra ran through the hospital in search of the Duke family. After the call from Daisy, she knew she had to get there fast, even if it meant speeding.
After finding the room, she stood frozen in the doorway. Her eyes were locked on the blond haired man lying in the bed. She had never seen him like that; his faced was all bruised and his wrist wrapped up.
Looking up from the floor, Luke saw Kendra standing in the doorway. He followed her gaze, and it led to Bo. He knew Daisy hadn’t said anything about what happened to him except for that he was in the hospital. He gave his youngest cousin one more look and decided that he needed to explain all of this to the brunette. He stood up, walked over to her, and laid a hand on her shoulder. She kept looking at Bo, but eventually looked at Luke; her brown eyes filled with tears. She opened her mouth but no words came out. He could tell she was hurt by the sight. He wrapped an arm around her and led her to some chairs in the hallway. She didn’t look at him; just stared at the floor.
“How could this have happened?” She whispered. She could barely get the words out, and couldn’t make them louder.
“Some girls were tired of how Bo’s been treatin’ them. They finally decided to take action.” He pulled her into an embrace once he saw the tears running down her cheeks. “I wish I'd gone along with him.”
Kendra pulled away from him, trying to understand what he had just said. “Wait. So you’re saying that you could have gone with him and kept him safe? Ya could have kept this from happenin’. How could ya not go with him?” She wanted to yell it at him, but knew not to disturb the other patients.
“You know I would’ve gone with him if I knew this was gonna happen. I wouldn’t have even let him go. Neither of us knew that Sandy Mae was going to do this. You know I care for him as much as you do.” Kendra looked at the floor again. Luke’s words repeated in her head, and she realized that she had overreacted. Luke would never have let this happen. None of them would. She looked at him and threw herself at him.
“I’m sorry Luke. I’m just full of too many emotions.” She whispered.
Luke ran his hand over her hair and held her tight. He knew how she felt, what with all the guilt he had. “It’s okay. It’s okay.”
She cried on the Duke boy’s shoulder until she could shed no more tears. She sat up and looked into the blue eyes of the oldest Duke cousin. “What was the damage?” She asked in barely a whisper.
He diverted his eyes to the floor, knowing he couldn’t say it without tears of his own. He also didn’t want her to see him cry. He was supposed to be the strong one that everyone came to, to help them feel better. “He was shot in the shoulder which nicked his lung. They were able to fix it and the bullet went straight through so they didn’t have to search for it. The doctor also said that he has some fractured ribs, his right wrist is broken, and he has a concussion.”
Kendra looked away, trying to comprehend everything. He had all of those injuries, and his face looked horrible. She knew that she needed to be beside the bed that held the man. There were also feelings she hadn’t had in years bubbling to the surface; feelings of love that were more than just brotherly/sisterly love. She looked at the door and told herself that she could make it through it this time.
Standing up, she took a deep breath and waited for a second to make sure she could do it. Soon she walked to the door and her eyes went to the bed again. Taking another deep breath, she slowly made her way to the right side of the bed, opposite Jesse. She gently sat on the chair at the side of the bed and softly laid her hand on the blond’s fingers that weren’t wrapped up. Her eyes stared at their hands, but soon she looked up to see Bo’s blue eyes staring at her.
“You made it.” He croaked out. He was still tired and still getting used to the feeling at the top of his right lung.
“Of course. I will always be there for you.” Tears escaped her eyes again. She removed her hand and looked away from Bo’s bruised face. She felt something touch her cheek and looked at Bo to find it was his left hand lying there.
“Don’t cry now,” he said to get her to stop. “It’ll get better.”
She gave him a small smile. “I know. It’s just that ya look horrible.”
They both chuckled. They knew it was true, and they knew it was going to happen someday.
“Excuse me.” Bo’s eyes looked away from the brunette and to the door. She turned and saw a nurse had entered the room, then her eyes moved to the door where Cooter and Hilery were standing.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but Mr. Duke needs to rest.” the nurse said as she walked over to the monitor that was keeping track of Bo’s heartbeat and blood pressure.
“Alright ma’am.” Jesse stood up, kissed Bo’s forehead, and walked out of the room. Daisy took her uncle’s spot and kissed her cousin on the cheek. She gave him a weak smile before she followed her uncle. Luke stood beside Kendra and ran his hand over his cousin’s blond hair. Kendra patted his hand and stood up. She and Luke walked out of the room, leaving Hilery and Cooter to take in Bo’s condition and say a few words to him to make him feel better.
“You look like hell,” Hilery said, sitting down on the edge of the bed. She shook her head and pulled the blanket up to cover him better.
“You don’t look too lovely yourself,” Bo mumbled, gently using his uninjured hand to turn her face back toward him when she turned away. “You okay?”
“I should be askin’ you that, sugar.” She said softly. She touched his hand before taking it in hers.
“Yeah, I guess.” Bo coughed a little and shut his eyes until it passed. When it had, he opened them again and looked at Cooter who had cleared his throat.
“Only man I know of who can fight a ‘gator and not get hurt, but when it comes to a scrap with a couple of girls, ends up admitted to a hospital.” Cooter said. It worked, Bo gave a small smile. Hilery on the other hand gave her cousin a dirty look. The news had spread fast about what had happened. It was all over the Hazzard Net, thanks to the relatives of the girls who had attacked Bo.
“Well Cooter, I guess I’ll just have to get Hilery to beat them up for me when they make bail.” Bo said tiredly. He squeezed her hand, still held in his. It made her smile even though she didn’t feel good. Her face was considerably more swollen than it had been earlier that day, and her limp was more pronounced. Her hands were also more swollen, and she looked like she had gained ten pounds over the course of the day.
“Oh believe me, Bo, they are already on my radar.” She said gently. He didn’t reply, having fallen asleep. Hilery smiled sadly and adjusted his blanket again before standing up and limping toward her cousin.
Cooter gave her a gentle hug before they walked out to the hallway. Jesse was standing out there waiting. He wanted to speak with the two of them, and wanted to be able to answer any questions they might have had.
“Hi Uncle Jesse,” Hilery said softly after Cooter shook the man’s hand. She hugged him, her eyes misty a few moments later. Under normal circumstances, he would have corrected her, but these weren’t normal circumstances.
“Those girls who hurt my boy…” Jesse began, “were girls he was seein’, all at the same time.” he continued gently. “I’ve been trying to warn him and Luke it wasn’t a good idea to treat women like that but…”
“Uncle Jesse, it wasn’t your fault. Bo made his choice… it is unfortunate that it ended up like this, but he knew there was a chance they could turn on him.” Cooter told the older man. Jesse nodded. “Hilery’s been warnin’ him for years that one day he would play the wrong girl or girls and end up hurt.”
“I just hope Bo and Luke both learn from this.” He replied. He looked at Hilery, who had taken a seat in a chair. “Cooter, you should get a doc to look at her.” The statement made her freeze like a deer caught in the headlights.
“But, Uncle Jesse, I’m –…”
“You’re not fine, Hilery Ann.” Jesse snapped. He didn’t mean to, but his boy was in the hospital, and he didn’t want to see anything happen to her. She was a good friend, and knew if something happened to her, Bo’s recovery would be that much harder.
She deflated, and Cooter helped her up to go down to the Emergency Room.
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