Friends or Lovers?

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


Warning: Angst, Slash


Rating: FRM


* indicates thoughts


Friends or Lovers?
Chapter 9


"What are we going to do about Uncle Jesse?" Daisy asked her cousin as they drove to the Boar's Nest.


"I don't know Daisy," Luke despondently replied. "I can't figure out why he's acting this way, he's always been so tolerant."


"Yeah, sure never expected to see him acting like a judgemental preacher."


"I know, me neither." Parking the General in front of the Boar's Nest, Luke climbed from the car, "Ain't anything we can do about it right now, come on I'll buy ya a beer."


"Can't turn that offer down," Daisy teased, wrapping an arm around his waist and walking inside.


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"You feeling okay babe?" Cooter softly asked, glancing over at his lover as he drove them to his house.


"Tired, head hurts."


"We'll be home soon and then you can lay down, okay?"


"Yeah," came the quiet reply as Bo tiredly turned his head towards the window. For several minutes they rode in silence, neither man willing to speak. One from a desire not to cause more pain and one from a fear of what he would be told. "Cooter?" Bo finally spoke, if much more timidly than usual.


"What is it Bo?" Cooter gently asked.


"Something happened that ya ain't telling me, didn't it?"


"What makes you think that?" Cooter stalled.


Shrugging his shoulders, Bo turned away, "Just a feeling."


Cooter sighed, thankful that they were nearly home. Parking his truck only moments later, Cooter wearily climbed from the cab and walked around to the passenger side. "Ya ready to go inside?" he asked, pulling open the door.


"Yeah," came the soft answer as Bo climbed from the truck. Grateful in more ways than one for his lover's support, he let him help him into the house.


"You want to go lay down?"


"Could I sit on the couch instead?"


"Of course," Cooter quickly agreed, helping the younger man to the couch, gently lowering him to it.


"Sit with me?"


Looking into those dark blue eyes, filled with love, Cooter couldn't have refused if he'd wanted to. Sinking down onto the couch, he carefully wrapped his arms around his lover, "Better?"


"Yeah," came the soft reply as Bo snuggled into his lover's embrace. "Cooter will you tell me what happened?" he asked after several minutes.


"You were in a car wreck."


"But how did it happen?"


"I don't know for sure babe, I wasn't actually there."


"Was I in the General?"


"No, you were in a car ya borrowed from me."


"Oh," Bo quietly said, wondering why he kept feeling like something was being kept from him. Sighing heavily, he decided to try a different line of questioning. "I remember Uncle Jesse coming to the garage and then the next thing I knew I was waking up in the hospital. What happened in between?"


"It don't matter Bo, all that matters is you're alive and you're going to be okay," Cooter answered, hugging him close.


"Matters to me," he quietly informed his lover.


Those few words in that quiet voice was more than he could stand and Cooter found himself telling his lover everything he knew.


"He hit me?"


"Yeah," Cooter quietly confirmed. "He figured out by the way I reacted that I'm the man you're in love with and he wasn't happy about it."


"I'm sorry."


"Sorry? Why?"


"For running out and leaving you to deal with him."


Turning Bo so that he could look him in the eye, he put his fingers under his lover's chin and tilted his face up "If I had thought you were doing something wrong I wouldn't have told you to take that car," he softly pointed out.


Staring into his lover's eyes, Bo could see that he meant every word he said, "Thank you."


Leaning forward, Cooter closed the distance between them, softly pressing their lips together. "You ain't got to thank me," he whispered as the kiss ended.


Wrapping his arms around his lover, Bo leaned his head on Cooter's shoulder, sighing heavily. "He had something to do with you not being there when I woke up, didn't he?"


"Yeah," Cooter reluctantly confirmed. "He told the doctor that he didn't want me to see you."


"Were you planning to keep that from me forever?"


"I don't know Bo," Cooter honestly replied. "I don't like the idea of keeping things from ya, but I don't like the idea of upsetting you either."


"Well you're right about one thing, it does upset me," Bo said, his voice tight with anger. "He had no right to do that, no right at all."


"He thought he did, and I really think he was doing what he thought was best for you."


"How can you defend him?"


"He loves you Bo, no matter what he thinks of us being together, he still loves you. I can't condemn him for doing what he thinks is necessary to protect you."

"Protect me? From what, you? He ain't trying to protect me, he's trying to control me."


"You don't really believe that do ya?"


"I don't know," Bo tiredly admitted.


For a while Cooter simply held his lover in his arms, wishing there was some way he could fix this whole situation. Try as he might though, he couldn't come up with a solution that wouldn't cause somebody pain. "I think right now you should go lay down and get some rest, we can figure this out later," he softly suggested.


"Yeah," Bo quietly agreed, letting his lover pull him to his feet.


Wrapping one arm around Bo's waist, Cooter led him to the bedroom. Lowering the younger man to the bed, Cooter knelt on the floor and gently pulled his lover's boots off. Quickly helping Bo to get undressed, he tucked him into the bed. "You get some rest," he said, leaning down and softly kissing his lover. "I'll have ya something to eat when you wake up."


"Know what I want," Bo teased, looking at him with desired filled eyes.


"Damn," Cooter whispered, his cock reacting instantly to his lover's words. "I'd love to take ya up on that offer babe, but you ain't up to it yet."


"Spoilsport," Bo pouted.


"Yep," Cooter agreed. "I'll make it up to ya later, when you're fully recovered, okay?"


"Gonna hold you to that," Bo softly replied, pulling his lover down for one more kiss.


Reluctantly ending the kiss, Cooter smiled gently at the younger man. "Sleep," he softly ordered. Giving his lover's face a gentle caress, he stood up and left the room.


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Jesse drove home alone, worried for his youngest and disappointed by his other two kids. Shaking his head, he couldn't believe that they were okay with what Bo was doing. *How can they not see that this is a sin? Don't they realize that Cooter is taking advantage of Bo's vulnerable state? Lord forgive me for my part in this situation, I know if I hadn't done what I did, Bo wouldn't be so messed up.* Silently he went over Bible verses in his head, looking for proof that what Bo was doing was a sin. He hoped that if he could make Luke and Daisy see the truth, they'd be willing to help him convince Bo that he had to stop being with Cooter. He had to somehow make the boy see that he couldn't keep being with Cooter without suffering eternal damnation.


Pulling into the driveway, he suddenly remembered something he'd read in the Guidepost magazine. Parking the truck, he climbed out and hurried into the house. Looking through the magazines on the coffee table, he found the one he was looking for. Quickly, almost frantically, he searched the booklet, praying that he was remembering correctly. Heaving a heartfelt sigh, he started reading the article, hoping there was information on how to contact the group mentioned. "Thank you lord," he whispered when he found what he was looking for. Picking up the phone, he dialed the number listed in the article.


"Christians Saving Gays," a pleasant voice answered the ringing phone.


"Um, hello I was wondering if I could speak to somebody about my nephew?" Jesse nervously asked.


"Yes sir, just a moment."


It was only seconds later that a new voice was heard on the phone, "Hello this is Pastor Jensen, how may I help you?"


"Pastor my name is Jesse Duke and I'm concerned for my nephew."


"Has your nephew been led astray Mr.Duke?" the quietly sympathetic pastor asked.


"Yes sir, that's it exactly. You see my nephew was hurt about a year ago..."


"Hurt? What do you mean Mr. Duke?"


"Well it's a long story, but a man who wanted revenge on me and the boy's father kidnapped him. Then he kidnapped me and brainwashed me into hurting the boy, physically and emotionally. When it was all over, he spent several months at a friend's recovering. Now before all of this happened, he was a perfectly normal young man, enjoyed datiing girls, hanging out with his friends, that sort of thing," Jesse explained.


"You said he kidnapped you, why didn't he take the boy's father?"


"Well Bo's folks died when he was three years old, that's the reason this man went after Bo in the first place."


"I see," Pastor Jensen said.


"Well he was finally back home, but then a couple of days ago he announced that he'd fallen in love with a man," Jesse told him, whispering the last word.


"That must've been quite a shock to you."


"Yes sir it was," Jesse confirmed. "Since then I've found out that the man he thinks he's in love with is that same friend he stayed with after the kidnapping. I think this so-called friend is taking advantage of Bo's confused state, but it seems like I'm the only one who does."


"Well Mr. Duke I'm sorry to say it, but more and more people are coming to accept the lie that homosexuality is normal. We can help your nephew though, if you can get him to us."


"I'm not sure I'll be able to convince him to talk to me alone, but I'm more than willing to try. Now I read about your group in the Guidepost magazine, but it didn't say exactly how it is you help these folks to see that their not really gay."


"There's a reason for that Mr. Duke, the truth is that it can be quite upsetting to folks if they know the details of our procedures. Have you ever been in the military Mr. Duke?"


"Yes sir, I was in the army for a short while."


"Then you're familiar with the tactics used by drill instructors in training their raw recruits."


"I'm not sure what you mean."


"A drill instructor breaks down the recruits with what most non-military would consider abuse. However there's a reason for their actions, by destroying their pre-military identity they can then remold them into good soldiers. We do a similar thing with the young men who come to us."


"I don't know," Jesse said, starting to have doubts about this.


"I understand your concerns Mr. Duke, it's a perfectly normal reaction and it's the reason we don't allow family to visit the lost soul for the first month. Most parents simply couldn't stand to see their sons being broken down as they must be in order to establish their identity as good Christian men. As difficult as it is to think of your loved one going through this process, we have a very good success rate. Most of our young men leave here much happier than they were before they came to us. Many of them have already found the right woman for themselves and are married, some of them with children."


"It's just that Bo was already put through such a horrible time with the kidnapping, which I'm sure is why he's confused now. Well pastor, I'm just not sure that putting him through something that would manipulate him like that is the best thing to do for him."


"Mr. Duke maybe it would help if you thought of it like this," the pastor began. "Bo is confused because of the mental manipulations he experienced during the kidnapping, so what we would be doing is balancing that out so he can be normal again."


"I...I hadn't thought of that," Jesse admitted. "If I do this, do I need to set up an appointment with y'all first?"


"No sir, you just get him to us, anytime day or night and we'll do the rest."


"What's your address?" Jesse asked. After getting the necessary information, Jesse hung up the phone, thanking Pastor Jensen for his help.


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Hearing a pick-up pulling up outside, Bo laid the newspaper down and went outside to see why his lover had come back. "What'd ya for...." trailing off, he stopped when he saw who it was.


"Hi Bo," Jesse greeted him. "You alone?" he asked, surprised that Cooter had left the boy home by himself.


"Yeah, Cooter's got a business to run," he replied a little testily.


"I know that, just surprised he'd leave ya alone," Jesse defended himself.


"He didn't the first couple of days, but it's been three days since the accident and he's got bills to pay. What are you doing here Uncle Jesse?"


"I don't like the way things are between us Bo, I want to make it right."


"That mean you're ready to accept that me and Cooter are together?"


"It means I'm willing to talk about it," Jesse hedged.


"So talk," Bo sullenly said, crossing his arms over his chest.


Glancing around the place, Jesse shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, "Could we go somewhere else?"


"What's wrong with here?"


"I just ain't real comfortable being here right now," he honestly replied.


"If you can't even stand to be here to talk then I don't think we really have anything to talk about."


"Please Bo don't be like this," Jesse plead, praying the boy would come with him. Fingering the item in his pocket, he truly hoped Bo would agree to going for a drive, he really didn't want to use his back-up plan. "Won't you come for a drive with me?"


"And what, listen to you tell me that being with Cooter is a sin?"


"I'm trying to accept this sprout but you have to understand that it's going to take time. I just want to talk that's all, please come for a drive with me."


"No, I don't think so," Bo refused, some instinct telling him that getting in that truck would be a mistake.


Stepping closer, Jesse stood in front of his nephew, "Bo please talk to me. Give me the chance to fix this," he plead.


"I'm willing to talk Uncle Jesse, but I ain't going anywhere with you," he said, turning his back, planning to sit down on the porch.


"Forgive me sprout," Jesse whispered. Taking out the sedative filled syringe, provided by Pastor Jensen, he jammed it into Bo's arm.


Flinching from the unexpected sting, Bo looked down, his eyes widening at the sight of a needle in his arm. Turning towards his uncle, he looked at him, his eyes reflecting the hurt and betrayal he felt. "Why?" he asked as his knees buckled and he collapsed into his uncle's arms.


"Someday you'll thank me for this son," Jesse softly said as he caught him. Struggling with his nephew's dead weight, he didn't notice when he dropped the syringe in the dirt. With some difficulty, he finally managed to get his nephew into the truck. Climbing behind the wheel, he drove away from the Davenport farm, sure that he was doing the right thing for his youngest.


TBC

Sorry it took so long to get this chapter done, hope y'all enjoyed it. You know the routine, please feed the muse with reviews.