by: TNRiverRat

Chapter 15

Doctor Bob Shackelford was a middle-aged, balding man who had always depended on hard facts and medical science to carry him through; he didn’t hold much stock in miracles or such stuff. After today’s visit with Bo and his family, the tall, thin doctor could not believe what he was seeing. He had never had a patient in Bo Duke’s situation make such a miraculous turn around! Comatose patients in critical condition just don’t start to wake up…if anything, they slip deeper into the coma before they finally die. There were absolutely no medical reasons why Bo should be doing what he was doing…all of the data from the past couple of days said the young man should be dead right now. Maybe it was a miracle…he certainly didn’t have any explanations.

He shook his head as he remembered scoffing at Nurse Riley when she burst into his office yesterday, shouting that Bo Duke was responding to light stimuli. He chalked her irrational behavior up to her unusually close bond with the patient and his family. However, he had to revise his opinion when he examined the young man. Bo was indeed beginning to show signs that he was coming out of his coma…after six months with no signs improvement. The blond haired man was still in critical condition due to a severe case of pneumonia, but he was steadily coming back to consciousness and had made even more strides toward waking up completely…now he was starting to move a bit! Perhaps he would make it through. Dr. Shackelford hoped, for the family’s sake, that the young man would at least be able to know them and communicate with them in some way. He still doubted that Bo would ever be close to normal after such a traumatic injury. He also worried about his best nurse. He feared Nurse Riley’s attachment to the man and her irrational belief that he will greatly improve could end up in heartbreak and discouragement. He sure would hate for that to happen…the hospital didn’t need to lose such a good nurse. Dr. Shackelford sighed and began to write up Bo’s current condition in his notes.
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Jesse Duke knew his prayers were being answered. His “baby boy” was improving by leaps and bounds. He fondly brushed his nephew’s blond hair back from his face and smiled. “You’ll be back with us in a little while, son,” Jesse turned his eyes toward the IV pump holding the bag of what had been Bo’s ‘food’ for the past six months and sadly shook his head. “And when you get home, I’ll fix you the biggest dinner you’ve ever seen. I know you’re bound to be gettin’ tired of that liquid stuff,” he said, glancing at the tubing that snaked from the pump and attached itself to Bo’s body somewhere beneath the hospital gown. The tired old man rose from the bedside chair; pulled the watch from the pocket of his faded overalls, glanced at it and began to stretch. He was going to spend the night alone with Bo. Jesse had sent Daisy and Luke back to the farm to get some rest. Luke argued, briefly, but the younger man was so tired that he was literally swaying on his feet. Jesse smiled as he thought of his eldest nephew’s and niece’s devotion to their “little brother”. Luke and Daisy had not missed a day coming to see their cousin since the accident and Luke had barely moved from the bedside since Bo had finally started improving. Jesse paused in his musing as he saw movement outside Bo’s room. It was Meghan Riley; passing by in the hallway, busy with her end of shift duties. He smiled and waved at her as she passed.

He chuckled, “We’re not the only one’s who want to see you get better, Bo.” He knew that the petite, brunette nurse really cared about his nephew…and in more than a professional way. He let his thoughts run as he walked around to the other side of Bo’s bed, tidying the room as he went.
“That girl would be good for you, son…real good. I just feel it…you two would be a good match. Maybe the Good Lord meant for you to meet.” Jesse sighed and shook his head, “I just wish He’d had a little different way in mind…but who am I to question. I’m just thankful He’s seein’ fit to bring you back to us.” The old man paused beside the bed, reached over and laid a weathered hand over Bo’s right hand and squeezed; a slight smile twinkling in his soft blue eyes.

Bo Duke had been able to understand more of what was going on around him for the last couple of days. From what he had gathered from listening to his family and the doctors, he had been shot, in some sort of car accident and had… brain surgery!?! ‘Dang, I didn’t realize it was that bad! No wonder they all thought I was gonna kick out! But I’ve got news for them…I ain’t in any hurry to leave.’ He was rather uncomfortable about the idea that he hadn’t moved in so long. At least someone came around daily and moved his arms and legs and kept him turned from side to side to ‘keep him from becoming stiff’ (that’s what they told him, anyway). He was so embarrassed about having to be tended to like a helpless infant! ‘I’ve got to wake up…that’s all there is to it.’ He had also heard the voices of his family and Meghan urging him to wake up. He wanted to see them all so badly…he loved them beyond belief.

Bo still had trouble, at times, believing that this was reality. ‘Had all those awful events been a dream? Could I have really dreamed that I had lived out twenty miserable years while I was sick? Or is this the dream?’ He didn’t really know, but what ever this was…it was what he wanted! All his family was here and his sweet Meggie was here and he had a chance to let them all know how much he cared. Gradually, Bo was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of his Uncle Jesse’s soft, rumbling voice and gentle touch.

Jesse continued to hold Bo’s hand while he read aloud to him from the Hazzard Gazette. The fingers of Bo’s right hand twitched, ever so gently. Jesse paused in his reading; the room silent except for the hissing and beeping of the machines. They twitched again, this time stronger. Jesse turned in his chair, grabbing Bo’s hand with both of his.
“Come on Bo, that’s it! Wake up for your Uncle Jesse, son!” Jesse urged, his eyes bright with excitement.

The heart monitor by Bo’s bedside began to beep louder and faster. This caught the attention of Meghan, who was coming to say her goodbye’s for the evening. She ran into the room to see if anything was wrong. Jesse Duke looked up at her abrupt entrance and smiled. “He’s movin’!” was all he said. Meghan quickly went to Bo’s side. She checked him over and determined that he was OK for the moment.

‘Professionalism be damned’ she thought, ‘I’m off duty!’
She sat on the bed and began to stroke Bo’s hair…uncaring that Jesse was right beside them. “Bo, Sweetie, wake up. I want to see those pretty eyes of yours lookin’ back at me. Please, Honey, wake up for us. Your Uncle Jesse is here and he loves you so much. I…I love you too…” she said, haltingly. Meghan paused and tried to calm her own racing heart. She ran her hand through her hair, “I know you don’t even know who in the world I am…I don’t even understand it myself…but I do love you. Please wake up and give me the chance to know the real Beauregard Duke.” She whispered the last bit as she leaned over and gently placed a sweet kiss at the corner of Bo’s mouth.

Bo’s brain seemed to explode. He felt too many sensations at once. It appeared that Meghan’s kiss had broken down the last barriers that were keeping him from regaining full consciousness. He could feel the gentleness of Meghan’s lips, her soft hair brushing across his face; he could even smell the shampoo she had used early that morning. Unfortunately, he could also feel the harsh scratching of the breathing tube down his throat, the aching of his muscles and the pain in his lungs from the pneumonia. Bo gasped as best he could with the tube down his throat and struggled to open his eyes. He finally won the battle and his eyes sprang open. He briefly caught a fuzzy glimpse of Meghan’s face before the stress of the moment caught up with him. He felt his chest seize and heard the tell-tale sound of the cardiac monitor going flat-line. “NO! Not now! Please God, don’t let me d…” Bo prayed frantically before he sank into darkness again.

Meghan’s face froze in a mask of horror. Her brief joy at seeing Bo open his eyes was quickly replaced by heart-wrenching fear that she would lose the man she had grown to love so deeply.

“No you don’t! You’re not gonna leave me now, Bo!” she yelled; her fear quickly turning to anger.

Meghan became a whirlwind of motion. She let the head of Bo’s bed down and climbed into the bed. The petite nurse straddled the tall, blond man and furiously began CPR. She instructed Jesse to go into the hall and get help. After what seemed an eternity, two nurses and a doctor burst into the room with a crash cart. Jesse looked on from the doorway, his brow creased with worry. The doctor had to pull Meghan away from Bo’s chest in order for the others to start work. She was sobbing and collapsed into a nearby chair; watching as her colleagues worked diligently to revive Bo. Finally, after being defibrillated twice, Bo regained a steady pulse and was stabilized. Jesse and Meghan had moved to the hall and were both trying to comfort each other. They nearly didn’t hear the doctor tell them the good news: not only had Bo been revived, but he had completely awakened from the coma!

Meghan and Jesse slowly walked over to Bo’s bed. They each had to touch him to see if he was really still with them. Bo opened his eyes in response and the two were almost overwhelmed with gratitude and joy. “He’s back. He knows me, I know he does! You can’t forget your old Uncle Jesse, can you, boy?” Jesse said while wiping tears with his free hand. Both he and Meghan hadn’t stopped grinning since Bo looked at them. Meghan thought he seemed to recognize her! But how? He had never seen her…didn’t even know her. Maybe he did recognize her voice…but…Oh well, who cares? She loved seeing him looking back at her. She would just enjoy whatever she could get right now. She couldn’t keep from telling Bo that she loved him when Jesse briefly left the bedside to phone Luke and Daisy to tell them the great news.

Bo had slowly opened his eyes when he felt Meghan and Jesse’s hands on his skin. His senses were all still fresh and almost raw. Everything seemed too loud or…just too much. His vision was fuzzy and the dim lights were almost too bright for him, but he still recognized the bearded face that hovered above his! ‘Uncle Jesse!’ The small woman with the halo of brown hair and that sweet voice just had to be…‘Meghan!’ His vision might have been fuzzy, be he heard perfectly when his sweet Meggie told him that she loved him. “I love you, too” he desperately tried to tell her with his eyes. Bo closed his eyes briefly, his eyes tearing from recent lack of use and emotion. ‘I’m back! Thank You, Lord! Thank You for givin’ me another chance!’

Bo listened to Meghan and Jesse for a long while, trying to convey his feelings through his gaze. He wished he could talk back to them, but the breathing tube prevented speech and he really felt too weak to talk anyway. He was able to slightly squeeze Jesse’s hand and move his fingers and toes in response to Meghan’s prompting. Soon, however, Bo was completely tuckered out. He fell into a deep, healing sleep. Jesse was alarmed at first when Bo fell asleep, but Meghan assured him that Bo needed the rest.
“You’d think six months of sleepin’ would be enough rest for anybody…but I guess it’s a different kind of sleep. At least this time he’ll wake up in the morning, Lord willin’.” Jesse said as he stretched and settled into the visitor’s cot next to Bo’s bed. He told Bo and the young nurse ‘goodnight’ before he rolled over on his back, cap over his eyes, to sleep for the night.

Meghan knew that all the Dukes knew of her feelings for Bo, so she no longer made any attempt to hide them. She tiptoed over to the side of the bed and brushed the wheat colored hair from Bo’s forehead. She placed a soft kiss above his eyebrow. “Goodnight, Sweetie. I’ll see you in the mornin’,” she whispered before she left the room, turning out the light as she left. As she walked out into the parking lot after this long, emotional roller-coaster of a night, Meghan smiled. Her heart felt lighter than it had in months. Bo was going to be fine…she just had a gut feeling about the good-looking blond; and maybe…just maybe…everything was going to turn out fine for her as well.
“Lord willin’,” she said looking up to the star filled Georgia sky. She unlocked her white Camero and headed out toward her apartment; her mind full of thoughts about a future that definitely included a certain young man named Duke.