Forbidden Love

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


Warning: Slash, Angst, Violence


Rating: FRT-17


Italics and/or * signify thoughts/dreams


Pairing: Bo/Rosco


Forbidden Love
Chapter 4


Bo couldn't contain the relief he felt at finally being home, the last three days in the hospital had been torture. He never had been very good at sitting still and the more he healed the harder that became. The first two days hadn't really been all that hard since he slept most of the time. But as he regained his strength it became more and more difficult to stay indoors and in bed, especially without Rosco. Bo kept telling himself that Rosco was fine, Daisy would've told him if anything had happened, he was sure of it. The problem was that after five days in the hospital and not one visit from Rosco, he was beginning to have doubts about that. Bo knew Rosco couldn't very well stay with him like his family had done, but he could've stopped by for a visit. Not even Boss Hogg would think there was anything strange about that, so the question was why hadn't he? If Daisy were telling him the truth and Rosco was okay, then where was he?


"Bo, where ya going?" Luke asked, seeing his cousin headed towards the front of the house.


"Just thought I'd sit in the porch swing for a bit Luke, tired of being cooped up."


"You sure that's a good idea Bo? Maybe ya ought to go lie down for a while."


"Go lie down? What's going on Luke?" Bo questioned, confused by his cousin's behavior.


"Ain't nothing going on Bo. You're the one got shot and just got out of the hospital. I just don't want you to overdo it, that's all." Luke explained, kicking himself for raising Bo's suspicions. *Uncle Jesse's right, if I don't watch it Bo's gonna figure out something's wrong. I hate to make him feel bad for worrying us, but better that than the truth. He don't need to be knowing what Rosco tried right now, it'd just upset him. *


"I'm sorry Luke, I didn't mean to upset ya. I know y'all got scared but you got to stop hovering cousin. You heard the doctor, I'm gonna be fine, just need rest and time, that's all. I can rest just fine on the porch swing, and I really need a change of scenery. Besides, ain't Uncle Jesse always saying fresh air and sunshine is good for us?" Bo asked, stepping over to his cousin and laying a hand on his shoulder. "I know you're worried Luke. I'd probably be the same way if you were the one that got shot, but seems to me you're taking it a little too far. You know with as much time as you spent at the hospital with me, maybe you're the one that needs to go lie down and rest," Bo suggested, beginning to get worried about Luke and the toll all of this had taken on him. He couldn't believe that he hadn't noticed the dark circles under his cousin's eyes or how pale his skin was.


Now that he thought about it Bo realized Luke had been there everytime he woke up in the hospital and his cousin was always awake. No matter what time of day or night it was, Luke was there, awake and watching, living on coffee and chips seemed like. No wonder he looked like he would fall over any minute. "Dang Luke, I can't believe I didn't notice before. Did you even leave the hospital while I was there? Luke, I don't understand. I mean I knew you were worried about me, but once the doctor said I'd be fine you could've went home. Y'all ain't keeping anything from me are ya?"


"Like what Bo?" Luke snapped, realizing as soon as he spoke that he'd managed to worry Bo. "Sorry, didn't mean to snap. I guess I just didn't want to leave ya alone, ain't used to having someone in my family getting shot." Hating himself for doing it, but knowing that it would get Bo off the subject of secrets, he went on. "It was just a little too much like Nam, holding you in my arms before the ambulance got there and you were bleeding so bad. Guess a part of me was just afraid that if I left ya alone, you'd leave us," Luke whispered the final few words, barely able to speak.


Bo looked down at the ground, ashamed of himself for thinking that Luke would keep anything from him. "I'm sorry Luke. Sometimes I wonder why you even bother with me, but I'm sure glad ya do. Think I'll go lay down now," Bo muttered softly, suddenly feeling worn out. Giving Luke a quick hug, Bo headed inside to their room.


Luke stood in the yard, stunned by his cousin's words and feeling more ashamed than he'd ever felt before. "I'm sorry Bo," he whispered after the retreating form of his little cousin. He hated making Bo feel guilty like that, but it was better than his finding out about Rosco. Luke was determined that he would do whatever he had to if it would protect Bo from the older man. Seeing his uncle walking into the barn, Luke headed in that direction.


"Uncle Jesse, what are we gonna do?"


"You talking about Rosco? He ain't tried something else has he?" Jesse asked his nephew, thinking maybe something had happened on the trip home from the hospital.


"No, nothing happened. Well nothing except me anyway. Uncle Jesse I don't know how I'm gonna keep this from Bo and Daisy." Turning away from his uncle, Luke looked at the ground, scuffing the surface with his boot.


"What do ya mean boy? Why wouldn't ya be able to keep the secret? Ya know it'd only upset the two of them," Jesse reminded him.

Looking up, Luke turned back to his uncle. "When we got here, he wanted to go sit on the porch swing and I tried to get him to go lay down. Got him worried and suspicious, not even any reason for it. I mean it ain't like Rosco's gonna come out here and try to attack Bo. I just can't seem to help myself Uncle Jesse, I want to keep him locked up somewhere safe. I hate the thought of Rosco ever doing anything to hurt him and I know I can't.... Sooner or later Bo's gonna go off by himself, what if...? Maybe we should tell him, if he knew about what happened leastways then he'd know to be careful around Rosco."

Jesse thought about what Luke had said, reminded himself that Bo was a grown man not a little boy. Not like he'd been, no he wasn't gonna think about that. "We could do that Luke, but you know your cousin. What do ya think he'd do if'n we was to tell him?"


"He'd probably go find Rosco and hit him."


"Exactly and then Rosco would have the perfect excuse to lock him up...alone."

Luke's head snapped up at those words, "Uncle Jesse? You don't suppose he's ever done anything...before this I mean?"


"No I don't think so. I figure that cousin of yours would've hit him if he'd ever tried anything before this. Probably that's why he tried it at the hospital, Rosco had to figure Bo wouldn't be in any shape to fight back. Could be he even was figuring on Bo being asleep, only thing he didn't figure on was you being at the hospital to stop him," Jesse assured his nephew, praying that he was right. "I don't think we got anything to worry about, Rosco probably won't try anything now that Bo's home and better able to defend himself. We'll just keep our guard up until Bo's completely well, then he'll be able to take care of Rosco himself, if he tries anything."


Luke wasn't sure his uncle was right, though he prayed to God that he was. Knowing that there was nothing more he could do at the moment, Luke turned to helping Jesse with the chores. Thirty minutes later, Jesse was shooing Luke off to the house. Recognizing that his uncle was right and he was nearly as exhausted as Bo, he only put up a token argument before heading in for a nap.


"Rosco, son what's wrong?" Evelyn Coltrane asked, walking up behind her youngest as she sat supper on the table. "Bo's alright isn't he?"


"Yeah mama Bo's okay. Least I guess he is, I haven't seen him since that first night in the hospital. What am I gonna do mama? Luke thinks I was taking advantage of Bo and won't let me near him. After that first night I couldn't see him and now that he's home it'll just be harder," Rosco miserably told his mother.


"Well son I know it's hard, but now that Bo's home it won't be long before you'll be able to see each other again. You don't think that boy is going to stay away from you once he's healed do you? Why I'll bet that just as soon as he's able, you'll be the first person he wants to see," Evelyn assured her son, patting his back before sitting down. "Now you better eat up son, got to keep your strength up. You don't want Bo to be worrying about you when he finally does get to see you, do ya?"


"No ma'am I sure don't." Reaching over, Rosco picked up his mother's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, "Thank you mama, I love you."


"You're welcome son and I love you too. Now eat up," Evelyn ordered, her eyes shining with love for her boy. *You are a lucky woman Evelyn Coltrane. After that fiasco with that Sue Ann woman I was so afraid for my boy. I thought for sure I'd lose him to the depression, probably would've too if it hadn't been for Bo Duke. Who would have ever thought I'd be glad to see my son in a relationship with another man? Thank you God for allowing those two to find each other.* Evelyn watched Rosco carefully during the meal, glad to see that he was beginning to perk up a bit. Though she knew he wouldn't be himself again until he could see Bo for himself. Evelyn thought back to when she first learned about her son's relationship with Bo. She realized now that in a way Sue Ann had been a good thing. If she hadn't seen how devastated Rosco was by that woman's betrayal, hadn't watched him spiral into a terrible depression, things would've been different. Evelyn Coltrane was an honest woman, most especially with herself, and she knew that without Sue Ann, she wouldn't have accepted Bo Duke into her boy's life. *Oh well, at least with Bo I won't have to worry about competing with another woman for my boy's attention. Shoot, that boy needs a mother's care as much as my Rosco does.* Evelyn chuckled silently to herself and at the thoughts going through her mind.



Bo was getting frustrated, he'd been home for three days now and still Luke barely let him out of his sight. The few times he had thought he'd have a chance to call Rosco, Luke had walked back into the house. Bo couldn't figure it out, he knew Luke had been worried about him. That he understood, but he was healing good, shoot Luke was there when the doctor said so, why wouldn't Luke quit hovering? None of this was making any sense, normally he'd ask Uncle Jesse what to do, but he was acting as strange as Luke. If it hadn't been for Daisy's assurance that Rosco was okay, Bo would have been going crazy with worry on top of the frustration. As it was, even with Daisy's assurances, Bo was getting worried. If Rosco really was okay, then why didn't he stop by to see how Bo was doing? Bo was starting to wonder if the older man had changed his mind about them. Maybe he had done something wrong, or maybe Rosco had finally had enough of the lies and hiding. Turning over, Bo punched his pillow trying to get comfortable. He needed to get a good nights sleep if he was going to give Luke the slip and go see Rosco tommorrow. Bo just hoped that Rosco would be glad to see him.


Several hours later Luke woke up, unsure of the cause. Laying in the bed, he listened carefully, wondering if maybe there was a coon in the henhouse. It only took a few seconds to figure out what had woke him up. On the other side of the room, Bo tossed and turned in his sleep. Wondering what had his cousin so upset and wanting to help, Luke walked over to Bo's bed. Reaching out to shake Bo awake, Luke's hand froze in midair at the words coming from his youngest cousin.


"No...Rosco...don't....please don't do it....don't make me..." Bo moaned, sounding as though he were in pain. * 'Please Rosco, don't do it. Don't make me live without you.' Bo begged his lover not to jump from the cliff where he stood. Rosco turned to Bo, tears in his eyes. 'I'm sorry Bo, I can't live with the guilt of what I did to you. I didn't mean to shoot you, I'm sorry.' Suddenly the scene shifted and they were no longer on the cliff. They stood in the bedroom at the old Jenkins place, their sanctuary. Relieved more than he could say, Bo reached out to take Rosco in his arms. Before he could though, Rosco stepped away. 'I'm leaving you Bo. I can't live like this anymore. I already spend so much of my life as a lie, I can't lie about us anymore. Find somebody else Bo, somebody you can love openly.' As Rosco walked out the door, out of Bo's life, Bo fell to his knees. Staring at the space where only moments ago his lover had stood, Bo found himself back on the cliff. As he took his final steps over the edge, he screamed out his lover's name.* Jerking awake, Bo was surprised to find Luke standing over him. "Luke? What are ya doing?"


Pulling his hand back, Luke took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "You were having a nightmare Bo. I was gonna wake ya up, but you beat me to it." Luke told him, hoping that he could keep his supper in his stomach where it belonged. After hearing the words Bo had spoke, the sound of his cousin begging Rosco not to make him do something, the thought of what that might be made him sick. He wanted nothing more than to apologize to Bo. Wanted to tell him how sorry he was that he had failed to protect him from their county sheriff. Luke opened his mouth, intending to do just that, but the words stuck in his throat. Fleeing to the bathroom, Luke lost the battle, barely making it to the toilet in time. Retching violently, he fell to his knees, not even aware when Bo came up behind him.


"Luke? You gonna be okay for a minute?" Bo asked, rubbing soothing circles on his older cousin's back. Running some water in a glass, he handed it to Luke. While Luke rinsed his mouth, Bo wet a washcloth and handed it to his older cousin. "Feel better?" At Luke's nod, Bo sighed with relief. He had been really worried when Luke had suddenly bolted for the bathroom. "Come on let's get you back to bed," Bo gently suggested, leading his cousin back to their room. "Hush Luke, whatever it is we can talk about it tommorrow. After you get some rest, no arguments," Bo said, stopping Luke before he could say anything.


Luke didn't want to talk to Bo about what he'd heard, but he knew they needed to. He realized though that he wasn't in any condition for that conversation. So he let the younger man guide him back to bed, allowing himself to be tucked in, smiling at the irony of it all. Laying there, Luke desperately tried to turn off the words which continued to repeat in his mind. Just before dawn, he succumbed to the stess and exhaustion, drifting to sleep.

The sunlight streaming in through the window woke him several hours later. Looking at the clock near his bed, Luke was surprised to see it was nearly ten o'clock. Jumping out of the bed, he hurriedly pulled on his clothes, the events of the night rushing back to him. Running outside he searched desperately for Bo. It took him ten minutes to realize the General was missing too. "Uncle Jesse!" Luke called as he headed into the barn for his bow and arrows.


Coming out of the kitchen door, Jesse was surprised to see Luke with his bow and arrows. "Luke! What's going on boy? What's wrong?"


"What's wrong?" Forcing himself to calm down, Luke told his uncle about the nightmare Bo had woke from the night before. "Uncle Jesse...the things he was saying...what if...? I think maybe Rosco already did more than we ever knew about." Luke told his uncle, his voice thick with despair. Hoping Bo was safe, Luke asked Jesse where he'd went.


"I don't know Luke. He said he needed some air. Next thing I know, he's in the General and taking off. You don't suppose he went to see Rosco, do ya?"


"Maybe, I just can't figure out why he'd let Rosco get away with hurting him like that? I mean it ain't like he ain't big enough to fight back," Luke wondered out loud, confused by his cousin's actions.


"Only one who can answer that is Bo. Could be Rosco threatened him somehow, or maybe he threatened one of us. You know your cousin, he'd do anything to protect his family," Jesse reminded him.
"Well we ain't gonna find him standing around here that's for sure. Come on boy, let's find Bo and make sure Rosco don't get the chance to hurt him again," Jesse ordered.


The older man walked into the house. Grabbing his keys and shotgun he was quickly on his way to the truck. Tossing the keys to Luke, Jesse climbed into the passenger side and prayed they would find Bo before it was too late.


Waking up the next morning, Bo had told Jesse about Luke's illness. Deciding that it would be best to let Luke sleep, Bo had done what he could to help his uncle with the chores. Taking advantage of the unusual occurrence that had Luke in bed so late, Bo left the house soon after breakfast. Hoping he would be able to track Rosco down, he began driving through the county, past his lover's favorite speed traps. Just before ten, he finally spotted the older man parked in the trees, waiting for a speeder to happen along. Though he didn't seem to be aware of what was going on around him, not even reacting when Bo pulled the General up beside him. Climbing out of the General, Bo quietly walked over to the sheriff's car and squatted down beside the driver's door. "Rosco?"


Turning startled eyes on his young lover, Rosco stared at the apparition before him. Jumping slightly when Bo placed a hand on his arm, he grinned when he realized Bo was real. "Bo! You're really here." Carefully opening the door, giving Bo time to stand up and step back, Rosco climbed from the car and wrapped his arms around Bo. "Oh Lord, I didn't think I'd get to see you so soon. Are you okay? What are ya doing out here by yourself sweetheart? Come on now, you sit down here," Rosco rambled on, leading Bo to the sheriff's car.


"Rosco, stop it. I'm alright, I swear. As for what I'm doing, came to find you. I missed you cowboy, why didn't you come to see me? Ya aren't mad at me are ya?" Bo asked, voicing the fear he'd been fighting for the last couple of days.


"Mad at ya? Why would I be mad at ya?" Rosco asked, confused by the fear he clearly heard in the younger man's voice. "I did come to see ya Bo, didn't Luke tell ya? No, of course he didn't. I'm sorry sweetheart, I should've figured he wouldn't. I came to see you that first night Bo, you were asleep and I.... Well I kissed you and Luke caught me. Thought he was gonna kill me there for a minute, that's why I didn't come to see you again. Figured he told you and you'd tell him about us. I was waiting for you to call me and let me know if it was safe for us to see each other again," Rosco quietly explained.


"Luke never said...guess now I know why him and Uncle Jesse wouldn't hardly let me out of their sight." Before Bo could say more he was distracted by the sound of a vehicle approaching. Turning towards the sound, Bo saw his unlce's pick-up headed towards them with Luke at the wheel. Knowing that the time had come to tell his uncle and cousin his secret, Bo opened his mouth to begin. Staring in shock, the sight of his Uncle stepping from the truck, shotgun in hand and aimed Rosco, stopped him cold.


"Step away from him Rosco, I ain't gonna let ya hurt my boy again." Jesse ordered, aiming his shotgun at the sheriff and waiting for his order to be obeyed.


TBC


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