Fleeting Touch

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


Warnings: Angst


Fleeting Touch
Chapter 5


When Jesse and Daisy stepped off the elevator they were surprised to
see Luke standing outside Bo's room, a worried look on his face.


"Luke what's wrong?
"Has something happened to Bo?"
Jesse and Daisy asked in unison.


"He woke up and the doctor's in with him right now. Uncle Jesse, he
couldn't feel my hand, I'm worried, what if there's brain damage?"


"What do ya mean he couldn't feel your hand? You mean he's paralyzed?" Jesse asked, confused by Luke's statement.


"Nah, he can move just fine, he just couldn't feel. He said he could see my hand in his, but he couldn't tell it was there."


Before he could say any more, two orderlies entered Bo's room pushing a gurney. Coming out a few minutes later pushing that same gurney, this time with Bo on it, they headed down the hall. The doctor came out of the room immediately after Bo and the orderlies.


"Ah, Mr. Duke I'm glad you're here. Has your nephew filled you in
on what's been happening with Bo this morning?"


"Yeah he has doc, can ya tell me where they were taking Bo?"


"Yes sir, I've sent Bo downstairs for some tests, it will take a
little while. If you like, you can wait in Bo's room for him to come
back. I'll be back to talk to you just as soon as I know more, alright?" Not waiting for an answer Dr. Murphy hurried off down the hall.


Worried about both boys, Jesse did the only thing he could. Knowing
he couldn't do anything for Bo right now, he turned his focus on Luke.
Asking Daisy to run down to the cafeteria and get some breakfast for
Luke, he led Luke back into Bo's room. Luke didn't seem to be aware of
Jesse's presence or even where he was, until Daisy returned with breakfast. The smell of the eggs, bacon, and coffee woke him from his stupor. Protesting that he wasn't hungry, couldn't eat with not knowing what was wrong with Bo, his growling stomach told a different story.


"Well seems your stomach has other ideas Luke. Now Daisy was kind
enough to fetch you breakfast and you're gonna eat it. Besides Luke
you ain't gonna do Bo a bit of good if you pass out cause ya ain't took
care of yourself."


Seeing the sense in Jesse's words Luke began to eat, realizing after the first mouthful just how hungry he was, he'd soon finished. Relaxing back into the chair to wait for Bo and the doctor, the stress and exhaustion caught up to him and he drifted to sleep.


A couple of hours later he woke up as they were bringing Bo back
into the room. Stepping outside so the orderlies would have room to
get Bo settled they were met by Dr. Murphy.


"Mr. Duke if y'all could come with me I'll explain Bo's condition to
you." Seeing Luke's reluctance to leave he assured him that they wouldn't be long, and besides the nurse would need the time to get Bo settled.


As soon as they entered the family room the doctor was pelted with
questions. Holding up a hand for silence he began telling them what
they had found. "I have good news and bad news, the bad news is; Bo is
suffering from a condition called tactile agnosia ,which is the medical term for the loss of the sense of touch. There are several causes of tactile agnosia, in Bo's case it appears to be a result of his head injury. The trauma of the skull fracture combined with the concussion has caused some swelling to occur in the area that controls sensory perception. Believe it or not this is also the good news, because his condition is most likely being caused by the swelling, and as the swelling decreases he should regain his sense of touch. Unfortunately this could take several weeks, perhaps a couple of months and until he can feel again he will need to be very careful. All of you will need to watch him carefully, don't allow him to do anything which has the potential for injury unless one of you is with him. The danger with tactile agnosia is that due to the inability to feel a person with this condition could conceivably receive a minor injury, only to have it become serious because they were unaware of the problem. The other thing you should be aware of is that Bo will probably become very frustrated over the next few weeks, possibly even depressed. In addition, with the concussion he has I don't want him driving or
operating any heavy machinery for the next two weeks at which time I want to see him again to reevaluate his condition. I'm going to keep him here for another twenty-four hours and unless something unforseen occurs he will be released tommorrow after lunch. Do you have any questions?"


"I have one, how sure are you that this is temporary?" Luke asked.


"Well Mr. Duke, that's a valid question, I would have to say I'm
97 percent positive that the tactile agnosia is temporary."


"Can I see him now?" was Luke's only other question, anxious to see
Bo.


"Of course, now if there's nothing else I still have to complete my
rounds." When he saw there were no more questions the doctor left them
alone.


Jesse and Daisy remained in the family room for a little while, wanting to give Luke some time alone with Bo, knowing Bo would be upset and would need Luke.


When Luke entered Bo's hospital room he found Bo was once again alone and obviously upset.


Bo looked toward the door at Luke's entrance, with tears in his eyes. "Did the doctor tell you about the tacti...tacti...oh dang it, he tell you why I can't feel nothing?"


"Yeah Bo he did, he also told us that it's temporary. I know it'll
be hard but we'll get through this."


"I know we will Luke, I just...I don't know why I'm acting like this. I mean the doc said it'll go away, so I don't know why I'm crying like this."


"Aw Bo...darlin I'd say it's a pretty normal reaction, and on top
of that you got a concussion, and ya know those can really mess with
your emotions." Luke said as he wrapped his arms around Bo. Acting on
instinct Luke drew back slightly and began to kiss Bo, stopping after
a few seconds when he felt Bo begin to tremble. "Bo what is it?"


"I can't...Luke how am I supposed to deal with this? I can't even
enjoy your kisses, I know you're lips are on mine, but I can't feel it
at all. And I can't feel your arms around me either, Luke the doc said
this could last for months, how am I supposed to deal with it?"


"We'll deal with it Bo, just like we deal with everything, together." was Luke's heartfelt response. "I wish I could just make this all go away darlin but I can't, only time can do that and all we can do is wait and be here for each other. I do have to tell ya though, even though I'm sorry you're having to deal with this and I know it's gonna be hard I can't be too sad about it. Not after spending part of yesterday thinking you were dead, when I saw your face in that bank when the bullet hit ya, I'll tell ya Bo I died too. The only part of me that was alive was the part that wanted revenge. All I wanted to do was make them pay for taking you away from me, then I was going to..." Luke stopped speaking, as he realized what he'd been about to say.


"Luke...what were ya gonna do?...Come on love, talk to me, you're
scaring me here Luke."


"It don't matter none Bo, not anymore."


"I think it does, tell me Luke, please?" Bo begged, needing to know
though he had some suspicions.


"I was going to join you..." Luke trailed off, too ashamed to go on.


Bo was shocked, Luke was going to..."You were gonna kill yourself?
Oh God, Luke you have to promise me you won't ever do that, promise me
Luke."


"Bo ya ain't got to worry, only reason I even thought about it was
cause I thought you was gone, but you're here and everything is okay."
Luke tried to reassure him.


"No Luke it ain't okay, you have to promise you won't kill yourself,
even if I'm dead. I know it had to be hard, thinking I was dead but I'd hate for you to kill yourself cause of me. Besides according to the preachers if you do that ya go to hell, I'd hate to chance them being right. I ain't worth that Luke, please promise me."


"You're wrong Bo, you are worth everything to me, don't you know that by now? I would risk anything, including hell for you...which is the only reason I'll promise not to kill myself, no matter what. But you better take care of yourself, cause I plan to grow old with you darlin...not grow old because of you."


"Cute Luke, real cute." Bo said, grinning in relief, "thank you love
and just so you'll know, you're worth everything to me too."


Just then the door opened and Jesse and Daisy came into the room.
They spent the next couple of hours visiting with Bo, doing their best
to keep his spirits up. When Bo began to yawn they said good-bye and
headed home, leaving Luke to stay with Bo.


That evening when visiting hours ended, the nurse came in and insisted that Luke go home for the night. Luke began to protest until Bo spoke up from his bed.


"It's alright Luke, I'll be okay and you look about done in. You
need to go home and get some real rest, please Luke, I need you to take
care of yourself too ya know."


"You don't play fair Bo, but if you're sure you'll be okay, I guess
I could use some real rest. Could you give me a minute to say good-bye
and then I'll leave?" Luke asked the nurse.


After the nurse left, Luke sat down on the bed and gave Bo a kiss
goodnight. "I love you Bo and we will get through this. Now are ya
sure you'll be okay if I go home?" After Bo reassured him that he'd
be fine Luke said goodnight and headed home.


Arriving home Luke wasn't really surprised to find Jesse waiting for
him.


"How's Bo doing?" Jesse asked as he got them each a cup of coffee.


"He's okay Uncle Jesse, it's not easy for him of course but he's
dealing with it." Luke said, taking a seat at the table.


"And how are you holding up?" Jesse asked as he joined Luke at the
table.


"Me? Hell I'm fine Uncle Jesse, I'm just so grateful that Bo's alive
nothing else really matters. I mean I know it ain't gonna be easy and
I wish he didn't have to go through this. But the doc said it's most
likely temporary and after yesterday, thinking Bo was dead, this is a
walk in the park."


"I can sure understand you feeling that way Luke, but you just remember if you ever need to talk, I'm here for ya. I know you want to help Bo and I know you want to be there for him, but you won't be able to if ya don't take care of yourself. You just remember that alright? Now we'd best get to bed, morning'll come early and you look about done in. Just what's so funny?" Jesse asked, puzzled when Luke began chuckling.


"Nothing, just Bo said the same thing, guess it just struck me as
funny." Luke explained as he carried his cup to the sink.


The next morning after chores and breakfast, Luke headed to the
hospital. Arriving at the hospital about mid-morning, Luke spent a
couple of hours visiting with Bo. Shortly after lunch Dr. Murphy
arrived, after a quick exam he released Bo to go home. Handing Luke
the after care instructions along with prescriptions for an antibiotic
and some anti-nausea medicine he left the room.


With Luke's help, Bo got dressed and though he hated it, allowed an
orderly to take him to the front doors in a wheelchair. By the time
they had filled the prescriptions and driven home Bo was feeling miserable. The sunlight flashing through the leaves on the drive home left him dizzy and sick at his stomach. As soon as he was home Bo took a dose of his medicines and went to lay down. Glad to be home, but dreading the next few weeks, he just hoped it would only be weeks, Bo closed his eyes and drifted into a restless sleep.


TBC


A/N: It was my husband who came up with the idea of Bo losing his sense of touch as a result of his head injury. After some research I found that it is in fact possible to lose the sense of touch in this way.

Let me know what you think, please send feedback.