To Keep A Promise

Disclaimer: I don't own the Dukes of Hazzard, not making any money, just cheap thrills


Warnings: Angst, Violence, Disturbing Themes


Rating: FRT


italics and/or * indicates thoughts


To Keep A Promise
Chapter 11


For an agonizing moment, Luke stood staring as his cousin swung from the end of the rope. It was the sound of gagging that brought him from his daze, and rushing forward he grabbed his cousin around the knees. Hoisting Bo upward, he was able to take the pressure from his throat, allowing him to breathe. "Cooter, help me," he called, trying not to panic.


"Got it Luke, just hold on," Cooter responded. Climbing onto the small step-ladder, he reached to take the rope from Bo's neck. "Lift him up a little higher Luke," he instructed. A second later, he had enough slack to take the rope off of Bo. Catching him by the shoulders as he pitched forward, Cooter helped Luke to get the younger boy to the nearby couch.


Looking up at Luke and Cooter, Bo tried to get his mind to work as he attempted to figure out what was happening. Glancing around the room, he realized where he was, and as he became aware of what he was laying on, he panicked. With an incoherent cry, he tumbled to the floor, lashing out with his fist when he was grabbed. "No....please....don't," he begged, his panicked mind telling him it was Jonas who was grabbing him, intent on hurting him more.


"It's okay Bo," Cooter tried to soothe him, nearly getting hit with a flailing fist when he got too close.


"Back off Cooter," Luke softly order. "Bo...it's okay Bo, you're safe...nobody's going to hurt you, calm down," he called in a soothing voice, while keeping his distance.


"Luke?" he asked, his voice barely audible.


"That's right Bo, it's me," Luke confirmed. "I'm gonna get closer, okay?"


Nodding, Bo lay still, his eyes constantly darting around the room as he searched for Jonas. "Luke?" he whispered.


"I'm here Bo...I'm gonna help you back onto the couch okay?"


"No...please....not...please," he begged, the thought of laying on the couch sending him into a panic.


"Shhhhh, okay Bo, no couch," Luke quickly soothed. "What if me and Cooter take you outside?"


Nodding his agreement, Bo willed himself not to flinch when Cooter and Luke picked him up. As the night air hit him, he breathed a sigh of relief.


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Rosco came up right behind Luke and Cooter as they opened the door to Jonas Wyndham's house. He knew as long as he lived he would never forget the sound of Luke's scream or the sight of Bo dropping towards the floor, a rope tied tightly around his neck. Trusting Cooter to take care of Luke, he rushed into the room as Dale Richardson took off for the back door. Chasing after the boy, Rosco knew there was no way he was going to catch the younger, fitter man. Resigning himself to the need of firing his gun, he drew it from it's holster, planning to shoot the boy in the leg. As the gun cleared the holster, Dale tripped over something, crashing to the floor. Rushing up to him, he pointed his gun at the boy, "Freeze it right there."


Wisely stopping all movement, Dale glared up at the local sheriff. "He deserved it! His lies cost my sister her life, he had to pay for that," he defended himself.


"Put your hands behind your back," Rosco ordered. Quickly slapping the cuffs on the boy, he holstered his gun and reached to pull Dale to his feet. Paling, he finally noticed what it was that had tripped the boy up. Following the wires that led from the car battery, he saw the chair with ropes lying in it and realized what it most likely meant. Feeling sick, he jerked the Richardson boy to his feet and read him his rights. Turning around he saw Luke and Cooter, carying Bo's body from the house. Following them, he came out the door just in time to hear Luke saying they needed to get Bo to the doc's. "The doc's? He's alive?"


"Yeah, no thanks to him," Luke replied, glaring at Dale. "Rosco, could you call Uncle Jesse for me?"


"Sure Luke, I'll take care of that," Rosco agreed. He watched as Jesse's pick-up disappeared from sight, angrily pulling Dale towards his patrol car. Roughly helping him into the back seat, he drove to the jail and the unpleasant task of calling Jesse Duke.


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Keeping one arm wrapped around Bo, Cooter let the younger boy lean against him as they drove to the doctor's. Only a couple of minutes away from the doc's he realized something had changed. Gently shifting Bo away from him, he ran his eyes over his friend, trying to figure out what was different. Suddenly it hit him, "Oh God!"


"Cooter? What's wrong?" Luke demanded, instinctively stepping harder on the accelerator.


"He's not breathing!" he cried out, looking at Luke with grief-stricken eyes.


"No!" Luke yelled. Parking in front of the doctor's office, he jumped from the truck. Rushing around to the passenger door, he helped Cooter to get Bo out of the truck and up to the door. "Doc! Help us! Hurry!" he called as they moved to the door.


Amos Appleby heard the panicked yells, and pulled his door open just as Luke and Cooter reached it, carrying Bo between them. "What's wrong?" he asked, even as he was quickly leading them to the exam room.


"Help him doc, he's not breathing," Luke plead.


"How long?" Amos asked as he began to examine the unmoving boy. Opening Bo's mouth, he shined a light down the boy's throat looking for any obstruction. The moment he saw the boy's throat, he realized what had happened. With no time to lose, he offered no explanations as he grabbed a nearby scalpel and quickly cut a hole in Bo's neck. Grabbing a piece of rubber tubing, he inserted it into the opening he'd made, smiling as the boy's color quickly returned to a more normal hue. Taping the tubing in place, he looked up into the panicked eyes of Bo's cousin.


Luke opened his mouth to answer the doctor's question, snapping it shut as the older man suddenly began cutting into his cousin's throat. Feeling sick, he would've fallen if not for Cooter grabbing him as the sight of Bo's blood caused his knees to buckle.


"Easy Luke," Cooter soothed, though he wasn't feeling much better himself.


"What happened?" the doc's question brought Luke from his daze.


Blinking his eyes, he gave himself a mental shake. "Dale Richardson tried to kill him, he...he hung him," he shakily replied. "Why'd he stop breathing Doc?"


"His throat's swollen so badly it's cutting off his airway. That's why I had to insert the tracheaotomy tube, it will allow him to get the air he needs, in spite of the swelling."


"Will he have to...is it permanent?"


"No, as soon as the swelling goes down, probably in the next twenty-four hours, I'll close the incision. Is your uncle on his way?"


"I think so, Rosco's supposed to call him," Luke replied. "Why?"


"I don't think you need to be driving home for starters, and I need to let him know what's happening with Bo."


"He's gonna be okay isn't he doc?"


"He should make a full recovery, but I do want him to stay here until I can safely close the incision."


Before Luke could ask any more questions, they heard the outer door opening. "Amos? Luke?"


"You stay here with Bo, I'll be right back," Amos ordered. Leaving the boys alone, he stepped into the waiting room, "Jesse," he greeted.


"Amos," Jesse greeted. "Rosco said that Bo was hurt, what happened? Is he okay?"


"I don't have all the details Jesse, but it seems the Richardson boy tried to hang him..."


"Hang him?" Jesse fearfully asked. "Is he...?" trailing off, he couldn't complete the question.


"He's alive," Amos quickly assured him. "He did stop breathing though, due to the swelling and I was forced to perform an emergency trachetomoty."


"What's that?"


"I had to cut into his trachea and insert a short piece of rubber tubing to allow him to get the air he needs," he gently explained.


"Dear Lord," Jesse sighed. "Is he going to be okay?"


"He should recover fully Jesse," he assured. "I would like him to stay here though until I can safely close the incision. It shouldn't be more than forty-eight hours, and to be honest I think it's probably going to be more like twenty-four hours."


"Can I see him?"


"Of course, he's right in here," Amos led him to the exam room. "Now Jesse, I haven't had a chance to get him cleaned up yet, so brace yourself."


Nodding, Jesse took a deep breath, though nothing could've prepared him for the sight of his youngest. He looked so small and helpless, lying on the exam table, his neck covered in blood and bruises, a piece of tubing stuck into a hole in his throat. "Bo," he whispered, stepping forward and gently brushing a hand through the boy's hair. "What happened?" he asked Luke and Cooter, never taking his eyes from Bo.


"Dale Richardson happened," Luke snarled. "I don't know exactly what happened Uncle Jesse, but somehow he grabbed Bo at the dance. By the time we found them it was almost too late," Luke softly confessed. "He took him to Wyndham's house, I walked through the door just in time to watch him pulled the chair from under Bo's feet." Luke shuddered as he remembered the look of terror in his cousin's eyes as the rope dug into his skin, cutting off his air as it slowly strangled him. "Thank God the rope didn't snap his neck, but it was still killing him, almost did," he whispered, as he absently picked up Bo's hand.


"But he didn't die," Jesse pointed out, "thanks to you."


"Yeah, and if I'd figured it out quicker or kept a better eye on him he wouldn't have even come close to dying."


"Now you listen to me Luke Duke," Jesse ordered, taking the younger man by the shoulders. "You can't beat yourself up over something that's already happened. Yes Bo's been hurt, and yes he could've died, but thanks to you he's alive and that's what you have to hold onto."


"Yes sir," he whispered. "Bo?" he called as the hand he held began to squeeze his.


Turning to the bed, Jesse smiled when he saw his nephew's dark blue eyes looking up at him. "Shhh, don't try to talk," he cautioned as Bo opened his mouth.


*Uncle Jesse? Luke? What's happening? What is this?* Bo silently asked, his panic growing as he discovered the foreign object in his neck.


"Leave that alone Bo," Jesse ordered, quickly grabbing the boy's hand before he could pull the tube out. "Your throat's swollen shut, doc had to put a tube in you windpipe so ya can breathe, he says it'll come out though in a day or two. Just as soon as the swelling goes down enough, okay?"


Nodding slightly, Bo could feel the panic growing less as his uncle's firm, soothing voice told him what he needed to know. Opening his mouth, he quickly closed it when he realized he wouldn't be able to speak.


"What is it Bo?" Jesse asked.


Mouthing the word, he rapidly became frustrated when he was unable to make himself understood.


"Here Bo, try this," Cooter suggested, pressing a notepad and pencil into the younger boy's hand.


Smiling gratefully, Bo held the items up and quickly wrote. Turning the pad around, he held it out to his uncle..*Home?*.


"Not until that tube comes out," Jesse softly answered. He frowned when Bo scowled and again wrote on the pad. *No! Home? Please?* "I'm sorry sprout, doc says you need to stay here until the tube comes out."


Closing his eyes, Bo tried not to let his uncle see how scared he was at the thought of staying here alone.


"I'll stay with ya if you want Bo," Luke offered. "If doc says it's okay," he quickly added.


Snapping his eyes open, Bo looked at Luke, his eyes shining with gratitude as he nodded acceptance.


"Jesse," Amos called as he stepped back into the room.


"What is it Amos?" he asked, stepping to his friend's side.


"I've got a room ready for Bo to stay in, one of you can stay with him if ya like."


"Thank you Amos, I was just going to ask about that."


"If y'all will give me a few minutes, I'll get Bo cleaned up and then with some help from Luke and Cooter we can get him settled."


"Of course," Jesse agreed. "Luke, Cooter? You boys need to step into the waiting room for a minute." Stepping back over to the bed, he looked down at Bo, giving him a supportive smile. "We're gonna be just outside the door sprout," he explained. "Doc's gonna get ya cleaned up and then we'll be right back, okay?"


Reluctantly nodding, Bo watched with sad eyes as his family left the room.


"They'll be back in a few minutes Bo, it'll be okay," Amos soothed. Quickly wiping the blood from his body, he drew out a pajama top and helped Bo into it. As he helped Bo to sit up, he spotted a burn mark on the boy's back. "What's this from?" he asked, lightly touching the mark.


Shrugging, Bo glanced at him, confusion clear to see in his dark blue eyes.


"Can you stay sitting up for a minute?" At a nod from the boy, Amos quickly retrieved a tube of antibiotic burn ointment and applied it to the mark. As he covered it with gauze, he also examined it, horrified to realize that it was an electrical burn. A burn similar to what he'd seen, through his work with the VA Hospital in Atlanta, on returning POW's. Carefully looking over Bo's back, he was relieved to see there were no other marks. Not wanting to make Bo move any more than necessary, he gently examined the back of the boy's head, quickly finding a lump on the back of the skull. Parting the hair, he was glad to see there was no blood. Finding no other injuries he helped Bo to lay back down. "Bo I need to ask you a few questions, okay?"


Nodding, Bo looked at the older man expectantly.


"How many fingers am I holding up?"


Holding up three of his own fingers, Bo gave his answer.


"Good, do you know what day it is?"


A quick nod was the answer.


"Monday?" a shake of the head was the reply. "Friday?" another shake of the head. "Saturday?" this time a nod was the response. As he asked his questions, Amos checked Bo's eyes, shining a small pen light into them. "Head hurt?" another nod. "Well the good news is you don't have a concussion, the bad news is, the only way I can give you something for the headache is through an i.v. ."


Quickly shaking his head, Bo made it clear he'd rather keep the headache.


Smiling, Amos wasn't really surprised. "Do you have any other injuries?"


Bo shook his head.


"Good," Amos said. "I'm going to get your family now, okay?" Not waiting for a response, he stepped into the waiting room. Wanting to keep the tube in Bo's throat as steady as possible, he had Luke and Cooter carry Bo to his room on a stretcher. Getting the younger boy settled into the bed, he left the room to get what he would need for an i.v.. Returning a moment later, he gave Bo an apologetic look, "I'm sorry Bo, but I have to hook you up to an i.v.."


Shaking his head, Bo crossed his arms across his chest.


"Bo," Amos said gently. "I know ya don't like needles son, but you need to have an i.v., you can't swallow son, we need to get liquids and nutrients into you somehow."


"Please Bo, let the doctor do what he needs to," Luke plead.


With a resigned sigh, he laid his arms back at his sides, turning his head away while the doctor put the i.v. needle into his hand.


As quickly and as gently as possible, Amos got the needle into the back of Bo's hand. "There ya go son, all done," he said, patting Bo's shoulder. "I'm going to leave y'all alone now, but don't stay too long, Bo needs his rest."


"Thank you Amos," Jesse said.


"Is he gonna let one of us stay?" Luke asked.


"Yeah, I already talked to him about it."


"Good, I really didn't want to argue with him."


Picking up the pad and pencil Bo wrote: *You're staying?*


Reading what his cousin had written, Luke smiled at him, "You bet."


*Good.*


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Sighing heavily, Rosco picked up the phone and called the Richardson's a short time after ending his call to Jesse. He loved police work, but giving bad news was the one part of his job he absolutely hated.


"Hello," the pleasant voice of Mrs. Richardson greeted him.


"Hello Mrs. Richardson...this is Sheriff Coltrane," he greeted, without his customary giggle.


"Yes sheriff, is there a problem?"


"Yes ma'am, I'm afraid there is....um, is Mr. Richardson home?"


"No sir he's not."


"Oh," Rosco sighed. "There ain't no easy way to tell ya this Mrs. Richardson, I've got your son Dale down here. He's been arrested," he finally said.


"Arrested?" she asked, surprised. "Sheriff, I don't know what he did, but well he's had a hard time since his sister's passing, couldn't you just let him off with a warning?"


"No ma'am, I'm sorry I can't do that. Mrs. Richardson, perhaps you should sit down," he kindly suggested.


Gasping, knowing that it had to be very bad if he was suggesting that, she quickly sat down. Gripping the phone tightly, she spoke, "Alright, I'm sitting. How bad is it?"


"He's being charged with kidnapping and...attempted murder," Rosco quietly told her.


"No! There's got to be some mistake sheriff, Dale couldn't do something like that," she quickly protested.


"There's no mistake ma'am. He kidnapped Bo Duke and very nearly killed him." Rosco told her, hating to cause her more pain.


"Oh my, but Bo is alive? He's going to be okay?" Sandra quickly asked.


"Yes ma'am, he's alive and I think he'll be okay," Rosco informed her.


"Will there be bail for my son?"


"I don't know ma'am, that'll be up to the judge, but I doubt it."


"Will I be able to see him?"


"Yes ma'am," Rosco agreed, not willing to keep her from her only remaining child.


"Thank you sheriff, I'll be there as soon as my husband gets home. Good-bye."


"You're welcome Mrs. Richardson, good-bye," Rosco said, hanging up the phone. Sighing heavily, he rested his head in his hands. He couldn't help thinking how unfair it was that the man who caused all of this was dead and buried, while innocent people continued to suffer as a result of his crimes.


TBC


Sorry it took so long to update, as a reward for your patience I've decided to skip my usual cliffhanger. Please feed the muse with reviews.