by: Essy Jane

Annie walked into the hospital and looked at Vance. “Hi, I haven’t met you before. I am Doctor Larson,” Annie began.

“Hi, my name is Vance. I heard a lot about you Doctor Larson. You helped out both Bo and Luke many times. Bo says you’re the best doctor. By the looks of ya I think you’re good at a lot of things,” Vance answered. Annie blushed. “Oh, sorry ma’am…”

“Call me Annie.”

“Alright then, Annie. What are you here for?”

“I am going to do a test on Jesse here.”

“Brain function right?”

“How did you…?”

“I studied to be a nurse after my aunt got sick. Then I turned into a sauce hound. I did some awful things. Now, I am stuck in this chair.”

“We all make mistakes Mister Duke.”

“Call me Vance.”

“Well, I got divorced from a rotten fella. I hated him a lot.”

“It happens ma’am, not everyone should be married. Annie cleared her throat. She looked at Jesse and swallowed hard.

“Well, I’m goanna pull this off of his tracheotomy tube and we’ll wait to see if he breathes.” As they pulled the blue tubing off of Jesse’s neck. Vance watched hopefully for Jesse’s chest to rise. Sure enough, it rose on his own.

“Alright Jesse!”

“Actually, he’s breathing pretty good. The swelling is down in his throat. I think we can leave this off.” Annie wrote down the results and put the chart down. She walked out of the room.

“Hey, Jesse…did you hear how good you did? Still have an opening in your throat but at least you can breathe out of it. Now all you need to do is wake up. Your Daddy’s awake. Your cousins are off fighting another one of Hazzard’s major wars.”

Vance waited a minute, hoping for some sort of movement, nothing. All Jesse did was breathe which was better than the doctors thought he would do. Vance wanted more though. He really loved his cousin Jesse. Vance liked him because of his willingness to accept people no matter what. It reminded the aging man of his Uncle Jesse.

Jesse Vernon Duke Senior, he was a very welcoming man. He helped everyone in sight. He was definitely one of the best people around. Jesse Duke was known for how often he helped in the community. If anyone needed help, he and his Duke boys were there. Even if it meant they would have less, Jesse Duke would lend a hand to anyone in need.

Jesse Vernon Duke Junior was much the same. He knew the value of a hard day’s labor. He was good with people. Jesse wasn’t afraid to help people. He would do things for people even if it meant the lawmen were after him. Children were his specialty. He seemed to bond with them extremely well. Jesse, like his father, was good with the ladies. Especially with Laurel who was a lot like him.

“Hey, you remember that one day when you let us stay at your place? You know, I felt pretty low after what Daisy said to me. Suddenly you opened up and helped us. You didn’t ask any questions, you just did it. Jesse, that my friend shows compassion. I know right now you’re having a problem waking up but you know what? Everyone needs you right now. Jesse, your Dad wants you to wake up. Jose says he’s not goanna have his wedding until you wake up,” Vance said. There was a knock on the door.

“Hey, we’re back,” Coy announced. Vance rolled himself over to his cousin. “Are you alright?”

“I was just thinking about Uncle Jesse…and just how many qualities Jesse has.”

“You miss him?”

“Every minute of every day.”

“Me too.”

“You know, I can’t believe we didn’t get to say goodbye.”

“All because we were selfish.” Vance shook his head. “Hey, you know what? We’re here now.”

“For yet another Jesse Duke.”

“I have always wondered…what it would have been like if we were there.”

“Bo said the cancer was harsh…he told me about how he died in a happy place for him. Bo wouldn’t leave his side.”

“You know, our cousin is a good man.”

“I never thought he would grow up.”

“He hasn’t…he’s still a kid. Jo said he goes to the funnies first in the morning.” They both laughed. They looked over at Jesse.

“Does he read to his kids like Uncle Jesse used to do to us?”

“Everyday. I am telling you Vance, Jo Anna, Jose and Jesse have what we had. Bo worked very hard to teach both Jo and Jesse the finer parts of life. They learned what family was all about. When Jose came along, Bo didn’t love him any differently than he loved Jo and Jesse.”

“That would be a hard thing not to do.”

“Well, he worked at it, everyday, Bo took both Jesse and Jose in the fields to work with him. Jo Anna and Bo played a lot of checkers together.”

“You know Coy, we shouldn’t have questioned him.”

“No, he’s so much like Uncle Jesse. I guess we have just got to accept that he is a changed man.”

“He was so wild, Coy. He wouldn’t back down from a fight even if the odds were fifty to one. He would think of something.”

“Vance, you seem to forget that we were once the same way.”

“Well, I can’t believe how much he has changed. If I wasn’t in this wheel chair, I would still be out there racing cars, instead of fixing them.”

“He still is.”

“Are you sure Coy?”

“According to Daisy, he still races Jose and Jesse.”

“Bo will be a good ol boy for life huh?”

“Oh yeah, that’s why I wonder why in the world would he move to LA.”

“Beats me, he seems like he wants to stay.”

“Daisy’s up there.”

“Yeah so what? She could easily come down here and visit.”

“Do you think he wants to pass on the farm?”

“Sorry to interrupt you two but, I want to sit with my cousin,” Jose commented. Vance and Coy nodded. “Sorry…I just really…”

“We understand,” Coy said.

“Don’t even think that you’re sorry. You and Jesse have what Coy and I had,” Vance added. Coy pushed Vance and soon, they were out of sight. Jose sat down on the wooden chair. He looked at Jesse and broke into tears.

“Hey, you wake up. Jesse, I can’t stand to see you like this, I just can’t. You’re the strong one. You remember when that bear came out of nowhere? You were the one that saved me from it. I thought that you were going to flip right out. No, you were brave. Scared him away and took me to the doctors. Now all you have to do is be strong for me and wake up,” Jose mumbled. He sat there for a long while and ended up falling asleep.

When he woke up, the sun was up. He looked at his cousin and then into the hallway. Suddenly, Jose’s eyes shifted back to his cousin. Jesse’s eyes were wide open. They were staring into Jose’s eyes. Jesse looked around. His baby blue eyes widened. He pulled his arms up and saw two purple casts. Jesse shook his head softly and smiled.

“Hey are you okay?” Jose asked. Jesse tried to talk but the words wouldn’t come out. “Oh, you have a tube down your throat.”

Jesse rolled his eyes. He felt the plastic on his neck. His eyebrows rose. When he moved his left leg, he saw a tube move with it. Jesse smiled. He looked at Jose and shook his head. Jesse touched Jose’s face where a bruise had appeared. He gave his cousin two thumbs way up.

“Well you see, I had a little fight. I guess we’ll tell you all about what happened.” Jose began. As he continued to talk, you could see the picture as clean as day. As the young man continued his story, Jesse seemed to get more into it. When Jose was finished his story, Jesse was laughing. “Yep, we took them in and they were mad. Man, I wish you were beside me.” Jesse nodded. They looked at each other and smiled. “You know what? I was sure that Bo would stay in Hazzard forever.” Jesse nodded.

“I…thought…so…too,” Jesse mouthed. Jose cleared his throat.

“But, if there was anyone else to replace him here, the only one I can think of is you. You have inherited many great qualities from him. You’re a great cousin and you’ll make a great dad.”

“Thanks…coach,” Jesse mouthed again. Whelp alls well that ends well, in good old Hazzard County. What’s the next adventure? Whelp, you just need to wait for your next visit to Hazzard County.

THE END