by: Susan Porter

The next several days passed uneventfully and,
dangerously, they found themselves relaxing their
guard. Enos got caught up in Daisy’s wedding plans
and Rosco became absorbed in the day to day running of
Hazzard County while Bo, Luke and Cooter became
absorbed in the preparations for the celebration,
taking Uncle Jesse’s orders.

Meanwhile, the two heavies, holed up in a shack near
Hazzard Pond, kept up on the plans through the Hazzard
Gazzette. And they planned.

Clarence Mathers was the actual planner while Dak
merely followed orders. The plan was a simple one;
take out Rosco and Enos while at the same time getting
something for themselves, the infamous Civil War chest
that was supposed to put Hazzard on the map.

The day of the celebration dawned bright and warm.
Everyone in Hazzard was there to celebrate, unaware of
the danger around them. But for the five men whose
job it was to make sure everything went as planned,
the day was going to be anything but a celebration.

“Are you ready?”

Enos, Rosco, Bo, Luke and Cooter looked uneasy as they
each nodded to the other. They knew what had to be
done and were ready to do it but didn’t like the idea
of putting innocent lives in danger. And they still
hadn’t told Daisy.

Daisy, meanwhile, patrolled the small crowd that was
gathered at the town gazebo, searching the eyes of
each person for someone she didn’t recognize.
Everyone greeted her with the warm friendliness of
hometown knowledge and jokingly quizzed her about the
wedding that was to take place later that day. Though
she was uneasy about it, she smiled and reassured
everyone. She loved Enos, she just wasn’t sure if she
could trust him.

She knew that the men were up to something. Something
that, as a Hazzard County deputy, she should have
known about. It wasn’t good to start a marriage out
this way. They would have to talk. Before the
wedding.

Everyone turned at the courthouse doors opened and
Rosco emerged, followed by Bo and Luke who carried the
chest while Enos and Cooter who brought up the rear.
The two historians who had already made their way to
the gazebo waited impatiently, their speeches in hand.
Bo and Luke hauled the chest up the steps and placed
it at Rosco’s feet.

“This is a great day in the history of Hazzard County.
Two weeks ago, these two men, diving in Hazzard
Swamp, discovered this chest that was buried during
the Civil War by a Confederate general. The contents
of this chest are unknown to everyone, including
myself. Without further ado may I introduce
Professors Mac Peters and George Frost.”

There was a smattering of applause as the two
approached the dais and again after they made their
brief speeches. Finally Rosco, with Enos at his side,
bent to the rusty lock that held the chest closed and
prepared to open it.

Two shots rang out and both Rosco and Enos fell.
There was screaming and Daisy watched, horrified, as
blood sprayed from Enos’ chest. Two men, both
brandishing guns, approached the gazebo and lifted the
chest. “All right, nobody move!

Bo, Luke, Cooter and Cletus took up defensive
positions and prepared to draw their own guns when one
man reached out and grabbed hold of Daisy, holding his
gun to her head. “Nobody moves or the pretty lady
gets it.”

The men backed away and, with Daisy and the chest,
climbed into a dark blue sedan and roared out of town.
Acting quickly Bo and Luke ran to the General Lee and
chased after them, closely followed by Cooter, Uncle
Jesse, Cletus, Rosco and Enos.

As they chased the men through the countryside Bo and
Luke fretted over the plan they had conceived. It had
gone wrong somehow, Daisy wasn’t meant to be taken
hostage.

“Did you see the look on Daisy’s face when Enos fell?”

“Maybe we should have told her what we were up to.”

“Too late now, we can only hope she’ll forgive us.”

“How are we going to rescue her?”

Enos voice came over the radio. “Back off guys.”

“Enos, we can’t. They’ve got Daisy.”

“And they’re mine!”

Luke opened his mouth to argue but Uncle Jesse
interrupted. “Now, boys, you do as Enos says. Daisy
is his responsibility now.”

Bo and Luke watched in the rearview mirror as, one by
one, the others let Enos overtake them. Bo gripped
the steering wheel and eyed his cousin. “What should
we do, Luke?”

Luke nodded toward the car ahead of them. “We got a
better chance of catching them in the General. Go to
it, Bo.”

They sped up but soon found themselves neck in neck
with a very angry Enos. “I said back off!”

Bo, stunned, let off the gas a little and watched in
amazement as Enos maneuvered his way in front of the
sedan, stopping them. With a low whistle Bo
maneuvered the General behind them, blocking the
escape route. Enos exited the car and advanced on the
man who had gotten out of the car and was attempting
to escape while the other tangled with Daisy.

Luke slid out of the General and was coming to what he
thought would be Enos rescue when the man Enos had
been angling with flew through the air and landed at
Luke’s feet, unconscious. The second man, who had
given up trying to wrestle Daisy and had gone for the
chest, soon followed.

Enos, breathing heavy, rushed to Daisy and pulled her
into his arms. “Daisy, honey, are you okay?”

Daisy rained kisses on Enos face then, tearfully, ran
her hands over his chest. “You’re alive!” Her
relief quickly turned to anger. “Why are you alive?”

“Daisy, I…”

“I knew it! You had a plan and didn’t tell me! Enos,
how could you?” She jerked away from him and walked
into a nearby meadow, her back to them all.

“I think we’ve made her mad. Enos, she loves you, you
go talk to her.”

Enos sighed and nodded. “Leave the General here, will
ya, guys?”

As they left Enos started off across the field after
Daisy. “Daisy, come here, we have to talk.”

She turned on him. “We have nothing to discuss Enos
Strate! You just stay away from me!”

He grabbed her arms, preventing her from retreating
further. “No, I will not leave you alone! I love
you, Daisy Duke, whether you want to believe it or
not! And we’re not leaving here until we get this
straightened out!”

“I don’t believe you!” There were tears on her
cheeks.

She struggled against him, breaking away into a run.
Enos quickly caught her and together they fell, Enos
trapping Daisy on the ground. Breathing heavy he sat
on top of her, straddling her abdomen without putting
his full weight on her. “We’re going to get this
straightened out if it takes all day and night!”

She said nothing; her eyes burning anger and hurt.
“Are you mad because we didn’t include you in the plan
to capture those two? We were only trying to protect
you, you know.”

“I could have defended myself!”

“Daisy, I know you can defend yourself, but this was
different. Honey,” he let go of her arms and began to
unbutton his shirt, pushing aside the bullet proof
vest to reveal a long, jagged scar, “this is what I
was trying to protect you from.”

Daisy’s expression changed, she was beginning to
listen. She reached up and traced the scar with her
fingernail. “What happened?”

“Mary Evans. She came to L.A. about three years ago,
leaving a television station in Kansas City to anchor
at KTLA. She also left to escape a man who was
stalking her.”

“Stalking?”

“This man followed her to LA. She called us and I was
assigned to guard her. I was to pretend to be her
boyfriend, go out and be seen with her. Hopefully
draw his attention away from her. It took nearly six
months, but he came after me. Nearly killed me before
some other officers got him. I spent six weeks in the
hospital, recovering.

“When I got out there was an invitation from Uncle
Jesse, inviting me to the homecoming. I thought it
was fate. You see, the entire time I was in the
hospital you were the only person I could think of. I
have always loved you, Daisy. I always will.

“While I was here I discovered that you loved me too.
Knowing that I could wait forever until you were ready
to marry me. When I returned to LA though I received
a shock. I had been removed from active duty and was
assigned to a desk job. They thought I was incapable
of pounding a beat anymore.”

“I…”

“I tried daisy. For nine months I sat behind that
desk and typed reports while my fellow officers risked
their lives. I couldn’t do it. That was when I
decided to look for another job.

“Mary found out what had happened and phoned me. She
felt guilty. She tried to find me a job but I told
her it wasn’t necessary. That was when I came home.”

“You’ve been living in Hazzard?”

He nodded. “I was going to explain when I came to get
you but then Uncle Jesse had his heart attack and
needed you so I was going to wait until after the
wedding. Now I’m not even sure there’s going to be a
wedding.”

Daisy reached up and caressed Enos’ face. “I’m so
sorry. I know how much you love being a policeman.”

Enos took her face between his hands and lowered his
mouth over hers, kissing her deeply. Daisy clung to
him weakly, reeling in his embrace. She loved this
man, she had always loved him and always would, and
nothing else mattered.

“I love you, Daisy. That’s more important than any
job I could ever have.” He whispered the words
against her mouth. Smiling, he stood and offered her
his hand. “I have been busy since I left the force.
I have a surprise for you.”

He lifted her into the General and climbed behind the
wheel, a bandana in his hands. Folding it, he tied it
across her eyes then turned the key, the engine
roaring to life. “Enos,” Daisy clutched at the
bandana, “what’s going on?”

Enos put his hand over Daisy’s, preventing her from
removing the makeshift blindfold. “Just be patient.
I’ll let you know when you can take it off.”

They traveled in silence for several minutes before
Enos turned off the road onto a gravel drive and shut
off the engine. He climbed out of the car and
assisted Daisy, positioning her. “All right, you can
take it off now.”

She pulled off the blindfold and was shocked to find
herself standing in front of the old Sullivan
plantation, the house she had wanted to live in since
she was a girl. “Enos…”

He took her hand and led her up the porch steps to the
front door. Swinging her into his arms he unlocked
the door and carried her over the threshold into a
newly decorated hall. “Welcome home, Daisy.”

“Enos, you did this for me?”

He lowered her to her feet and encircled her waist
lazily with his arms, nodding. “We’re going to live
in Hazzard. That is if you can leave your job at the
university.”

Daisy nodded. “I was offered a job with the EPA,
right here in Hazzard.”

“That fits right in with my plan. You see, Rosco has
decided to retire as sheriff of Hazzard. He offered
me the job.”

As his words sank in, a slow smile crept across
Daisy’s face. Enos was giving her everything she
could ever want. She pulled him close, planting small
kisses over his face. “Enos Strate, you are the most
amazing man. I love you.” She looked up into his
eyes, her own shining with adoration. “Marry me?”

Enos answer was to kiss her breathless.

 

“Do you, Daisy Duke, take this man to be your lawful
wedded husband? To have and to hold from this day
forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for
poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to
cherish, til death do you part?”

Her words were almost a whisper. “I do.”

“And do you, Enos Strate, take this woman to be your
lawful wedded wife? To have and to hold from this day
forward, for better, for worse, for richer for poorer,
in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish til
death do you part?”

Everyone in Hazzard heard the answer. “I do.”

Rosco smiled. “Then by the power vested in me by the
state of Georgia, I now pronounce that you are man and
wife.” He leaned forward. “You can kiss her now,
Enos.”

As his mouth descended over hers fireworks, Rosco’s
wedding present to them, began to explode over Hazzard
Pond, showering colored lights over the wedding party.
Laughing, Daisy looked up into her husband’s eyes,
shouting, “I love you, Mr. Strate!”

Enos enveloped her into a crushing embrace and
whispered harshly against her ear, “I love you too,
Mrs. Strate. I love you too.”