| Closer Than Brothers |
| It was closer to an hour and a half before they got in to see Jesse. Cooter had headed out, knowing the Dukes needed some time on their own. As they sat and waited, Daisy got her first chance to really see the boys together. She thought it was sweet the way they were always touching; not real obviously, but now that she was looking for it, she saw it. The way Luke would lay his hand on Bo's back. Or just lean a little toward him so their shoulders touched while they were sitting. // How can he think this is wrong? // she wondered. They seemed to take such strength from each other. As if together they could conquer the world. Which she'd always known they could, if they wanted it. It really wasn't all that different from what she was used to seeing from them. // Of course, that'll change the first time I see them kissing! // That thought did feel kind of strange. But she was sure she could deal with it when the time came. Finally a nurse came by to take them to Jesse's room. "Now, just for a few minutes, and don't over-excite him. He needs his rest." They all looked at each other; that might be a tall order. But they nodded and the nurse left them as they went into the room. Jesse lay in a hospital bed, tubes hooked to his arm, looking so old and frail it almost broke Daisy's heart. Bo and Luke weren't so steady, either. Jesse's eyes fluttered open at the sound of their approach. "Daisy? That you, girl?" His voice was raspy and dry. She reached out and took his hand. "I'm here, Uncle Jesse. We're all here." Jesse's eyes slowly focused on Bo and Luke, standing behind Daisy. "Ya came back?" A single tear spilled down Bo's cheek as he reached out and laid his hand over Jesse's. "Of course we did." Luke moved to the head of the bed and picked up the cup of water on the bedside table, holding the straw so that Jesse could wet his dry lips. He looked into Jesse's eyes. "Family don't desert family, Uncle Jesse. That's what you taught us." It could have been said in anger; pointing out how Jesse had deserted Bo. But all Jesse saw in Luke's eyes was love and concern. This wasn't about Bo; it was about him. Ashamed, Jesse bowed his head. "You're good boys �" Luke smiled softly and reached out and touched Jesse's shoulder. "You get some rest, Uncle Jesse. We'll be back tomorrow, ok?" The old man nodded and closed his eyes. Daisy and Bo gave his hand one final squeeze before they left. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ That evening, Bo and Luke took up their favorite spot on the back porch again to watch the sunset. Daisy had made them all some dinner, then gone to get ready for work. She wasn't even thinking about it when she breezed out the back door. But there they were. Luke was sitting behind Bo, his arms wrapped around his cousin's chest, his chin on Bo's shoulder. They looked so happy to be there together, here at home again. And then Luke gently kissed the side of Bo's neck. It really hit Daisy now how different this relationship was going to be. She had thought if anything about it was going to seem weird, it would be seeing them like this. It was definitely different, but in a nice way. She grinned at them as she ran down the steps past them. "Don't have too much fun, you two!" Luke had felt Bo tense under his arms as they heard Daisy coming up behind them; maybe they shouldn't have been so open so soon? But their fears were dispelled by her cheery greeting and wave as she ducked into her car and headed off. They were still sitting there, quietly watching the sunset, just glad to be home, when they heard another car drive up. Bo hurriedly got up, not wanting anybody outside the family to see them like that. A familiar pickup truck pulled up to the house, "Relax, boys, it's only me," Cooter said as he got out of the truck. "Cooter? What brings you out here?" Bo asked. "Well � kinda had somethin' important I wanted to talk to you boys about." Cooter joined them on the porch. Bo and Luke looked at each other, then back at Cooter. Luke took it. "This have anything to do with �?" Cooter just sort of shrugged and nodded. "Why don't we go inside?" Luke and Cooter headed in to the living room, while Bo ducked into the kitchen, returning with three beers. He passed them around, then took a seat beside Luke on the couch, but not too close. He wasn't quite sure what Cooter was leading up to. Cooter could feel the tension in the room; he couldn't blame Bo and Luke for being a bit nervous. "Easy, boys, it ain't nothin' bad. I meant what I said this afternoon. I'm on your side. Really." He looked at them, wondering if they'd get it. Bo visibly relaxed. "Thanks, Cooter. Like Luke said before, that means a lot to us." Cooter just shook his head. "No, Bo. I mean REALLY." He hesitated a moment before continuing. "You two think you're the only gay men in Hazzard County?" It took a minute for it to sink in. And then Luke nearly choked on his beer. "Cooter? Are you sayin' � you're gay?" The mechanic just gave them his trademark grin and a shrug. Bo just sat there with his mouth hanging open, until finally it sank in. The fear they'd felt just minutes before seemed silly. So he started laughing. Pretty soon all three of them were wiping the tears from their eyes, they'd been laughing so hard. The tension in the room vanished utterly. Luke was the first to catch his breath. "Cooter? How long have you known?" Another shrug. "Pretty much since I was old enough to notice the other boys noticing girls � why do you think I never got married?" They tended to forget that Cooter was more than a few years older than they were. Bo just shook his head. "Dunno, Cooter. That's just kind of the way it is." Cooter grinned. "When I was younger, people kind of talked about why I never went out on dates, but after a while they just sort of accepted it as just the way I am, and stopped askin' nosy questions. But you two are gonna have to be careful. You're known skirt-chasers; if you suddenly stop, people are gonna wonder why." They kind of quietly absorbed that one; neither one of them had thought that far ahead. But now Bo was curious. "Cooter? Do you � I mean, is there someone we don't know about?" It was kind of a nosy question, but Cooter could understand Bo bein' curious. And he didn't mind answering. "Nobody special, if that's what you're askin'. I got a couple of guys I get together with once in a while, just to scratch the itch, if you know what I mean. I never really needed more than that." Luke shook his head. He couldn't imagine doing this with anybody who wasn't special; hell, with anybody who wasn't Bo. Even what he'd shared with Greg back then seemed pale and insignificant now. But, it seemed to satisfy Cooter. "If that works for you, my friend �" Cooter shrugged. "It's kind of got to, Luke. Around here, it ain't really a good idea to be openly gay. Oh, we act tolerant of outsiders like your friend Irwin, Bo!" His grin brought a flush to Bo's face. But then he got serious. "But I don't think folks hereabouts are ready to accept it from one of their own, you know? At least you two got an advantage; everybody's so used to seein' you together they won't really notice, as long as you play it down in public." Bo sighed. He was starting to realize that things weren't gonna be like their little two-week vacation. There would be lots of people who wouldn't take kindly to them being together. Luke heard his sigh and figured what was on his mind. He slipped his arm around Bo's back. "It's ok, Bo. We'll handle it." Cooter smiled. It warmed his heart to see them like this. At least here at home they could be themselves � that is, if Jesse didn't get stupid on them again when he was feeling better. That bothered him; he'd expected Jesse to be more tolerant. Speaking of tolerant, he suddenly put something together. "Uh, Bo? Can I ask you somethin'?" At Bo's nod, he continued. "That city slicker, Irwin. He started this all, didn't he?" The bright red creeping up Bo's neck answered for him. But somehow he found words. "He wanted me, Cooter. I could tell. And it drove me nuts that that made me feel good. That I wanted him too �" Now Cooter felt like a heel. "Damn, Bo. I'm sorry I teased you about it that night. That's what was wrong, wasn't it? You was wantin' him instead of your date?" Bo nodded. Luke hugged him. "It's ok, Bo. Ultimately, it brought us together. So in my book we owe him. Although I doubt we'll ever see him again to pay up." Bo actually laughed. "God, I hope not. Now that I got you, what would I do with him?" Cooter shook his head, laughing with them. True love, that's what these two had. Deep down inside, he was a little bit envious of them. And now that he thought about it, he knew it had always been there. They belonged together. Conversation turned to cars and racing and other 'normal' things. It was well past midnight by the time Cooter went home and the boys headed back to their bedroom. Luke was kind of surprised to find the beds still pushed together; he guessed things had happened so fast Uncle Jesse hadn't had the chance to find them like that. Grateful to be home, they stripped to their shorts and climbed into the bed. Luke lay on his back, with Bo half laying on top of him, his head on Luke's shoulder. He let his hand run down Bo's back, sliding down over his bottom. He was a little worried about their activities this morning. "Bo? You ok?" The location of his hand conveyed the details of the question. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" Bo wiggled his butt under Luke's hand. "It stings a little bit when I'm sittin', but I kind of liked that. It reminded me all day of how close we were this mornin'." Luke smiled. "It was special, wasn't it?" Bo lifted his head to look into Luke's eyes. "It was the best thing I ever felt, Luke. And I'm not just talkin' physically �" He shifted to a better position, then bent down to kiss Luke, long and hard. Luke's hands gently caressed his body. Soon they were both hard, craving more and more contact. Bo sat up and squirmed out of his shorts, then pulled Luke's off before laying over him. He'd liked this morning, but wasn't quite ready for a repeat performance just yet. With their cocks snugged together, they moved against each other while trading deep, probing kisses. They were so wrapped up in each other that they didn't hear Daisy's car pull up. Since all the lights were out, she crept quietly into the house so as not to wake anybody. She walked past the door to their room on the way to hers, and was startled to hear sounds from inside; moans, groans, and squeaky bedsprings. // Oh, my god, they're goin' at it!! // She couldn't help grimacing with the 'ick' factor. It was kind of like when she and her friend Mary Sue had walked in on Mary Sue's parents doin' it. You knew grownups did that, you just didn't want to think about your parents � or your brothers � doin' it. Well, she couldn't blame them, having the house to themselves for the evening. She thought about saying something or making some noise so they'd know she was there, but decided that would be cruel. They'd been through a lot the past couple of days; let them have their time together. So she just quietly shut her door and hoped they didn't get too vocal there at the end � ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was a couple of days before Uncle Jesse was up to more than a couple of minutes visit at a time. But every day after breakfast and again in the evening, Bo, Luke and Daisy all drove out to the hospital to spend a few minutes with him. A certain topic was never mentioned, although Bo and Luke didn't go to any special lengths to hide their connection. Jesse couldn't help noticing how Luke always stood close to Bo, and how occasionally they'd look at each other before answering a question. But then, hadn't they always done those things? As somebody had said the other day � god, was it only a few days ago? � these two had always been closer than most brothers. Lying there in the hospital bed, Jesse had a lot of time to think, even in between sleeping most of the time. Bo and Luke were good boys, devoted sons. Because, of course, that was how he thought of them. And like any father, he wanted the best for them. Dreams of a better life, now that the family was finally free of the moonshine business. Futures with pretty wives and a whole passel of kids. The next generation of Dukes. But it looked like that wasn't going to be. Whether or not they was together. Without Bo, Luke might have chosen a more normal path. But Jesse could see now that Luke had always been fiercely protective of his younger cousin. Bo had always come first to him. And from what Bo had said, his path seemed pretty certain, for all Jesse had tried to cajole him otherwise. Of course, he understood that himself all too well. Maybe that was why he'd been so hard on the boy � Finally the day came when he felt up to talking about it. Fortunately, even though he was technically in a double room, there was nobody assigned to the other half. So when the kids got there that morning, he asked Daisy to please shut the door behind them. He could feel the tension in the room going up. He beckoned them to come close. "Bo, Luke, I believe I owe you an apology. I just may have overreacted a bit the other day �" He looked up at them, praying that they would accept it. Bo and Luke looked at each other; they hadn't expected this so soon. Luke reached down and touched Jesse's shoulder. "It's ok, Uncle Jesse. We don't need to talk about this now." Jesse smiled and patted Luke's hand. "Always the protector, that's you, Luke. Whether it's Bo, or Daisy, or even me. No, Luke, I need to say this. As you reminded me, family don't desert family, and I feel like I deserted you, especially you, Bo, that night. I gotta make amends. A man looks his creator in the eye like I just did, he wants to keep his slate clean." The boys nodded, letting him continue. "Bo, I came down on you so hard the other day because I knew just exactly what you was feelin'. See, I went through the same thing myself a long time ago. Exceptin' back then, there was no choice. You was either a man, or you wasn't. And if you wasn't, you'd better leave town, or make damn sure nobody ever found out. So I did what I had to do instead of what I wanted to do. Lucky for me I married Martha. Women back then were taught that sex was somethin' nasty you had to put up with to get babies. When I told her I didn't want no babies from her, she was a bit disappointed, but kind of relieved to not have to go through it. Back then everybody knew someone who'd died in childbirth. I know that sounds crazy to you kids, but that's the way it was. And then when we lost all your parents in that big storm back in '59, she got her babies without havin' to do it the hard way. And so we had a good life. "But in all that time, I never did have the guts to do what you two did � follow my heart and do what I really wanted. When I caught you two together the first time, it made me crazy. I didn't want you to have to face the decision I had to make, to live the life of sacrifice it required. I wanted better for you, you understand? Like any father does �" He looked up at them with eyes filled with hope that somehow they could understand. And then Bo's hand softly covered his, and Luke's landed again on his shoulder. Luke spoke for them both. "Uncle Jesse, you've been a good father to us all. But the world's changin'. It's still not easy for men like us, but it's possible now. And Bo's not alone; he doesn't have to risk everything just to get laid every now and then. He's got me; we've got each other." As if to emphasize the point, Luke moved to stand beside Bo, his arm around his cousin's back. Jesse could see the almost physical bond between the two young men. Luke was right; together it would be a lot easier for both of them. He nodded. "Ya have my blessin' for whatever it's worth." Luke suddenly found he had swallowed a grapefruit; at least that's what the lump in his throat felt like. He hadn't thought he needed Jesse's blessing, but now that they had it, it meant the world to him. Bo turned to him and brushed away the single tear trickling down his cheek, then leaned in and kissed him softly. Watching them, Jesse knew they had it right. No power in the universe would ever come between them. Although he was damned well sure that somewhere along the way one certain J.D. Hogg would try. But that would be another story, for another time. The end. Continue to "Christmas in the City" Send me some Feedback Back to the Other Fandoms Index Back to my Home Page Disclaimer: I don't own them, just borrowing them for fun, not profit! |
| Chapter 7 |
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