A Woman Scorned

Chapter 5 of A Woman Scorned


The Rescue


"No!" Diane screamed as she was grabbed from behind, "Let me go, he
has to pay for what he's done." Diane fought with a surprising strength
giving Bo a ferocious battle for control of the knife. Finally managing
to wrest the knife from her Bo dragged Diane to a post where he tied
her up.


"Luke...oh Lord what has she done to you?" Bo whispered as he reached
to check for a pulse with a suddenly shaking hand. Sagging in relief
as he felt Luke's pulse beneath his fingers, Bo quickly began the task
of freeing Luke from the stakes. "Why? Why did you do this Diane? How
could you hurt Luke like this?"


"I had to Bo, don't you see he's lied to you all this time. I'm the one
you belong to, he's just been using you, he likes the control. I had
to make him admit it so you'd know the truth, you should be mine Bo you
know it's true."


After calling for help on the cb, Bo confronted Diane again, "You're
crazy Diane, Luke loves me he's always been here for me in ways you
couldn't begin to understand. Did you even listen to yourself, you say
I belong to you and then accuse Luke of wanting to control me. Sounds
to me like you're the one who wants to control me, well it ain't gonna
happen lady."


"No, don't say that Bo, you love me we'd still be together if he hadn't
turned you against me." Diane cried.


Just then Daisy and Jesse arrived saving Bo from the need to worry
about Diane, allowing him to focus on Luke. Time seemed to move in
slow motion as they waited for the ambulance to arrive, Bo ran a hand
through Luke's hair, his anger towards Diane growing as he took in Luke's
condition. Uncle Jesse brought a blanket from the house to cover Luke,
worried about his boy going into shock. "It'll be alright Bo, you'll
see Luke's strong he'll be okay." Jesse reassured as Bo looked up at
him with fear filled eyes. Bo gave a short nod as he went back to taking
care of Luke, hoping and praying his Uncle was right. Finally after
what seemed like forever the ambulance arrived to take Luke to the hospital.
Following Daisy to her jeep Bo let her drive him to the hospital, Uncle
Jesse would join them later after he turned Diane over to Rosco and Enos.


Arriving at the hospital Daisy and Bo found that Luke had already
been taken into an exam room. After the nurse told them the Dr. would
be with them as soon as possible they sat down to wait for news. That's
where Jesse found them when he arrived, he couldn't help but worry about
both of his boys as he made his way towards Bo and Daisy. The disappointment
on Bo's face when he looked up as Jesse stood in front of him broke his
heart. "No word yet?" he asked, though by their manner he already knew
the answer. Daisy just shook her head sadly as Bo returned to his study
of the floor. When Jesse sat down on the other side of Bo he wasn't
really surprised when Bo leaned towards him. Holding out his arms he
offered what comfort he could, "I can't lose him Uncle Jesse, I just
can't," Bo whispered.


"Shh...don't you go giving up on him yet Bo. Luke is a strong man
you know that and...he loves you Bo he'll fight with everything he has
to stay here with you."


Before any more could be said a Dr. was coming towards them, Bo looked
at the woman, afraid of what he would see. "Are you here for Luke Duke?"


"Yes maam, I'm his Uncle Jesse, this here's his cousins Bo and Daisy.
How's my boy, is he gonna be okay?"


"Mr. Duke, I'm Dr. Saunders, Luke's condition is serious but I would
say his chances are very good. Right now he's being prepped for surgery,"
holding up a hand for silence the Dr. continued. "Luke was severely
beaten and as a result there is some internal bleeding, that's why he's
being taken to surgery. In addition he has four broken ribs, numerous
cuts and bruises and several second degree burns, one of which has become
infected. Once he's out of surgery he'll be taken to the post-op ward,
now his ribs have been taped and we'll begin treatment of the burns after
surgery, also we've begun a course of antibiotic treatment for his
infection. If you'll follow the nurse she'll show you where the surgical
waiting area is, I'll come and talk to you as soon as the surgery is
over."


After two agonizing hours waiting Bo jumped to his feet when he saw
Dr. Saunders coming their way. It was all he could do to keep from
grabbing her and demanding to know if his life could go on, "Doc, how
is he? Did he make...is he..?


"He made it through surgery, as I said before he has a very good chance
of making a full recovery. I'm sorry it took so long, but we had a little
trouble finding one of the bleeders, we did however manage to find it
and repaired the damage."


"Can we see him?" Jesse asked for all of them.


"For a little while Mr. Duke but he needs his rest so only thirty minutes
then I'll have to insist you go home and get some rest. You can come
back in the morning to see him, I really don't expect him to wake up
before then anyway."


"Thank you Dr. Saunders, come on kids." Finding out what room Luke
was in they were soon standing in front of the door. Although they had
seen Luke in that barn, they were still unprepared for how bad he would
look. Dressed in a pair of hospital pajama bottoms, his chest was bare,
making it easier for the nurses to change his bandages and check his
incision for signs of infection. Seeing him under the harsh lights of
the hospital they could see just how badly Diane had tortured him. Bo
nervously reached out for Luke's hand, afraid he would hurt him he wasn't
sure if he should touch him, but his need for Luke overcame his fear
and he gently picked up his left hand, avoiding the one with the i.v..
"Oh Luke, I'm so sorry I didn't find you sooner, I wish I could've kept
you from going through this. It's over now though, you're safe love,
Diane's in jail she'll never hurt you again, I promise." The thirty
minutes passed much too quickly and soon the nurse came in to tell them
they had to go home.


The next morning Bo was the first one through the door of Luke's room.
Stopping in his tracks he stared at the empty bed, the empty made-up bed.
"Oh God...No!" Nearly running Daisy and Jesse over he ran to the nurse's
desk, "Where is he? Luke Duke...where is he?" Bo demanded.


Startled the nurse quickly explained that Luke had been moved to the
I.C.U., taking off for the I.C.U. the Duke family left before she could
explain what had happened.


Having been alerted by the nurse, Dr. Saunders met them in the I.C.U.,
"Mr. Duke if you'll come with me I'll explain what happened." Leading
them into a private room set aside for the families of patients, the
Dr. began. "Early this morning your nephew's fever spiked, in his
confusion he attempted to get out of his bed. The nurse heard his fall
and was with him in seconds, but the damage was done. In his fall one
of his broken ribs shifted and punctured his left lung, we've inserted
a chest tube to drain blood from the chest cavity, and repaired the
damage to his lung after reinflating it. The good news is he was found
and treated quickly so I expect him to recover, further his fever broke
a short time ago which indicates we have the infection on the run. He
will need to remain in the I.C.U. for a few days, mostly as a precaution,
we're not expecting any further problems."


"Why weren't we called when this happened?" Bo asked barely controlling
his anger.


"Actually I was about to call you when I was told you were here. We
were more concerned with treating Luke than in calling you."


"We understand Dr. and we're real thankful you're here to take such good
care of Luke. It's just been a long few days and we're all a little
short tempered."


"I understand Mr. Duke and I'm sorry too, I'm afraid I'm a little short
tempered myself, I get that way when I see a patient suffering needlessly.
If you'd like to see him he's in room 318, turn left and it's just down
the hall."


Hearts breaking at the sight of Luke in the hospital bed, an i.v. in
his arm, an oxygen mask on his face and a tube coming from the side of
his chest draning blood into a bag. It was amazing how a strong man
like Luke could look so small and helpless lying in a hospital bed, the
bed itself wasn't large, there was just something about a hospital that
had that effect. It was really disconcerting to see Luke looking small
and vulnerable, Bo had never thought of Luke as helpless before this,
but seeing him like this...Bo prayed he would be strong enough to help
Luke.


As the days passed Bo spent as much time as he could at Luke's bedside,
leaving only when the nurses made him or when his family drug him home
for meals and sleep. Never sleeping for more than a few hours, Bo would
soon return to his lover's side determined to be there when Luke woke up.
Why couldn't they understand, the last thing Luke saw was Diane over him
with a knife, Bo wanted to be the first thing Luke saw when he awoke,
so he would know it was over. Luke's fourth day in the I.C.U. Bo was
as usual sitting beside him, the nurses working around him as much as
they could having gotten used to his nearly constant presence. After
the nurses left them alone again, Bo once again spoke to Luke encouraging
him to wake up. "I'm here Luke, you're safe love, I promise you, you're
safe. I know the Dr. said it was normal for you to be out this long but
you're really starting to scare me, please wake up Luke, I miss seeing
those beautiful blue eyes of yours. Please love, please wake up for me,
I need you Luke, I can't live without you, please don't let Diane win.
...She's in jail you know, she ain't gonna hurt you again, I swear I'll
never let her hurt you again. Come back to me love, come back to me
don't make me go on without you." Laying his head on the bed next to
Luke, Bo began to softly cry. Holding his breath, afraid that if he
moved he would wake up and find out it was a dream, Bo waited. Oh God
he hadn't imagained it, Luke was stroking his hair, lifting his head
he saw Luke looking at him in concern, "You're awake! Thank God!"


"Course I am, ya know I can't stand to see a grown man cry. You okay?
You don't look so good."


"You should look in a mirror love, I'm fine, just tired. You really
scared me Luke, I...I thought I was gonna lose you, I couldn't stand
that."


"Not a chance, you're not getting rid of me that easy. Ya think I
could get a drink?" Luke asked, licking at dry lips.


"Of course, I'm sorry, guess I ain't thinking too straight." Going to
get some fresh water Bo let the nurse know that Luke was awake. Returning
to Luke's side, Bo helped him get a drink, leaving to call Jesse and
Daisy with the good news when the Dr. came in to examine Luke. When he
came back the Dr. told them that Luke would be moved to a regular room
the next day and barring complications could go home in a few days time.
Bo grinned in relief, knowing now that Luke would be okay, he knew there
was still a ways to go but at least now there was light at the end of
the tunnel. Sitting down he lifted Luke's hand, gently brushing his
lips across the knuckles, he gave a gentle squeeze and settled in to
wait for the rest of their family to join them.


TBC


It's not over yet folks, one more chapter at least, please review. As
you know reviews are food for the writers soul and I'm starting to get
hungry.