Chapter Six

Trixie relaxed on the sofa, smiling as Bo tuned his guitar. Bo had been jumpy for two days now, wound up more than usual. And he had insisted they have a night alone together, which Trixie always looked forward to. He could light her body on fire with a simple look, a press of his lips followed by his sexy smile, and his stamina never ceased to amaze her, especially during the long hours of the night.

Her china blue eyes studied him. In the last two years he had lost the boyish round face, and developed into a simply beautiful man. A man that every girl in Hazzard wanted, and a man who wanted her. A man who loved her. Bo Duke loved short, sturdy Trixie Belden. The thought always gave her heart a little jump.

Trixie had been surprised when Bo announced he wanted to play her a song. While he and Luke often played together, he had never played solo for her.

Bo grinned at her as he began to softly play a slow, sweet tune.

The stars are so close we could touch them

The night air is soft and still

The world has stopped turning outside our door

Your kiss is all that’s real

And it’s just like the first time I touched you

The feelin’ is still oh so right

If I didn’t all ready love you,

I’d fall in love in tonight

The love that I feel goes unspoken

Cause I see that look in your eyes

You slip from my arms just long enough

To turn out all the lights

And it’s just like the first time I touched you

The feelin’ is still oh so right

If I didn’t all ready love you,

I’d fall in love in tonight

Yes it’s just like the first time I held you

The feelin’ is still oh so right

And if I didn’t all ready love you,

I’d fall in love in tonight

Oh I’d fall in love tonight

Tonight

Trixie held back her tears as he finished.

“That’s beautiful Bo,” she said quietly. “Did you write it?”

“Yep,” he eased onto the sofa next to her. His heart was pounding in his ears. “Daisy helped me with some of the notes. But Trix, there’s a reason I wrote it. And played it tonight,” he said softly, taking her hands in his.

Trixie managed to not grin. This was it. Bo was finally going to ask her to marry him. Bo Duke was going to take the plunge.

Bo stared into her bright blue eyes, his rehearsed words flying right out of his head as he saw the love, and the trust, and he faltered. They had been together almost a year. He loved her. Sure he still noticed pretty women but Trixie was the only one he wanted. He thought suddenly, what if they got married and then changed their minds? What if Trixie didn’t want him anymore?

Trixie wasn’t sure why Bo had suddenly gone speechless, and the conflicted emotions she saw in his face were starting to worry her.

Bo pressed his lips together nervously and smiled, the words tumbling out, “Well, I wrote it because uh, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I can’t imagine not havin’ you around. And, and I love you. I love you so much sometimes I can’t breathe, when I look at you and realize how lucky I am to have you in my life, and I,” Bo lost his nerve, “I want you to know that song is for you, ‘cause I ain’t real good at tryin’ to tell you how I feel,” he finished, kicking himself for chickening out, “but I love you.”

Trixie forced a smile, holding back her tears, and her heart felt the sting. He hadn’t proposed after all. Leaning forward, she cupped his chin with her hand and whispered, “I love you too, Bo.”

***

Dan lay sleepily on a Saturday morning in his bed, smiling to himself as Daisy stirred only long enough to wrap her long leg around his.

Had anyone told him last summer he’d be half living with Daisy Duke, he’d have laughed himself silly. Or that it seemed perfectly normal to find Bo Duke drinking coffee in Dan’s kitchen at an ungodly hour in the morning while Trixie slept in, or run into Honey coming out of the bathroom at the Dukes place in the middle of night.

Yet it does seem perfectly normal, he mused. And right. Even before the engagements.

Mart Belden might be his best friend, but the living arrangements were one thing Dan never, never mentioned. Mart wouldn’t take kindly to knowing his little sister was half living with Bo, or any man for that matter, save Dan. And Dan and the girls never discussed it. It was an unspoken bond they shared, like many others. After all, they were consenting adults, all in their twenties, and times were changing.

Luke had even been talking the other night about the direction of technology. The Marshals now had computers to type and file their reports on. Bo hated them, and most any type of technology. Dan had thought Luke was kidding about within a few years, computers would be connected through phone lines, until Honey nodded and said Matthew had been dealing in computers and what he called ‘the information superhighway’. Matthew had it on good authority it was going to change the future as they knew it. The 90s weren’t that far off but Dan doubted they would reach a space age society like the Jetsons by then.

Smiling to himself, he studied the beautiful woman that slept in his arms. Someday he thought, they’d make a family, and then he’d truly have everything he’d ever wanted. His Uncle Bill finding him when he was a sullen teen had started it. Then the Bob-Whites came along, and things had gotten so much better. Now he had Daisy too and he knew there’d never be another woman for him. Life was good.

*** Trixie swore as she ran towards the construction site. The stake out had gone horribly, horribly wrong. The Marshals were swarming in now, trying to correct the situation without losing their fugitive. And Bo was in the thick of it.

Luke had gone in the back while Bo took a side entrance. Dan was covering the front; Trixie and Honey were spread out with three other Marshals.

Their fugitive, Ben Heirs, was smarter than they had realized, and he had booby-trapped the place, which alerted him to the Marshals presence. Of course he had run, crashing through the window at which Bo was. Having knocked the bigger man down with a blow to his head, he ran, but Luke and Dan were hot on his trail. Bo got to his feet and joined the chase as they all moved in.

Instead of running towards the alley as they had anticipated, Heirs changed course and headed for the open construction site across the street. Luke was hot on his heels when they both disappeared into the building in progress.

Dan turned and waved his gun, motioning the others to spread out, before he and Bo followed Luke and the fugitive. Dan went around the side as Bo darted in.

Luke tackled the fugitive and a fistfight ensued. Despite his boxing training, Luke took a smashing blow to his nose, and staggered backwards, falling to the floor and hitting his head on the concrete.

"Think they'll go up?" Honey shouted to Trixie as they split up.

"I don't-yes," Trixie whispered, blood draining from her face as she came to a stop.

Heirs, their fugitive, appeared, running up a flight of stairs, and seemed to realize he was trapped. Bo was almost to him, and Trixie could see Dan on the other side of the construction.

"Mangan, they’re almost to the fourth level!" she shouted into her walkie-talkie, running forward.

Desperately she climbed the stairs, trying to keep the man she loved in her sights.

Heirs was smaller than Bo but wiry, and not about to go down without a fight. He sent a heavy fist into Bo’s jaw, which sent the bigger man back a few steps, but Bo came right back with one of his one.

Bo was holding his own in the fistfight, getting in a few good rounds, when Trixie saw the knife in the fugitive's hand. Time stood still for Trixie.

It was aimed right at Bo. Bo froze, and so did the advancing Marshals. Bo’s leg swung out to knock the gun but it went off. Bo staggered back a few steps, then lunged and tackled the fugitive. The gun went off again and Heirs threw Bo’s lifeless body off of him, scrambling to his feet and bolting. Trixie saw the spray of blood from Bo as he hit the ground.

"Bo!" Trixie screamed in horror. Time began to move, too fast, and she aimed for the running Heirs. A gun blasted behind her and she saw the fugitive drop.

“Get to Bo!” Honey Wheeler shouted, staring at the man she had taken down with one bullet. Dan reached him first, checking for a pulse, and waving Honey to join Trixie.

Trixie’s feet were moving again and she raced to his side, dropping to her knees.

Blood was everywhere, seeping through his bulletproof vest and staining his shirt. Cop killer bullets, Trixie realized. Dear God no! No, no it can’t be! It was the only thing that could even come close to piercing the vest. Then she realized more blood was flowing from his neck. The second shot, she thought. It wasn’t his gun, it was him getting shot!

"No, oh God no," she moaned, ripping his vest off. Shrugging off her Marshal jacket she used it to cover the entry wound, deceptively close to his heart, and placed her other hand over the neck wound. "Dear god, no!"

"This is Mangan, we have an officer down. I repeat Bo Duke is down! I need EMTS up here by chopper, pronto! Luke Duke is missing and I repeat, Bo Duke is down and shot!" Dan was yelling in to his walkie-talkie as he ran towards his friends.

Balling her jacket up Trixie pressed it against the wound as Dan reached her. Honey was already there, moving Trixie’s hand to hold her own jacket against he neck wound. Bo was turning a scary shade of gray.

"Bo, don't leave me," she whispered, tears streaming down her face.

His handsome face was ashen but his dark blue eyes opened.

"Trix," he gasped.

Trixie's tears flowed harder as the spreading blood covered her hands.

"Don't talk Bo, the paramedics are coming." She could hear the chopper in the background, flying in fast.

"Trix, I'm-" he moaned in agony.

"Hush sweetheart," she said softly, pushing her curls out of her face, and smearing blood on in them and on her forehead in the process.

"Trix, when I get outta here-this ain’t the way-"

"You'll be fine, Bo," she could barely see for her tears. “Hush, now.”

"Listen to me-I'll come outta this if you promise me somethin'," he gasped.

"Anything Bo," she whispered, one hand on his neck, the other holding her jacket against his stomach wound to stop the blood flow. Honey glanced at Dan. Bo was losing a lot of blood, and fast.

Bo licked his bloodless lips.

"Marry me. Marry me when I get better."

Trixie's mouth fell open.

"This ain't the most romantic-not what I wanted-" he groaned in pain. "But I got a ring already-"

"Of course I'll marry you," she whispered, leaning over to press her lips against his colorless lips.

Then the chopper was landing, people were shouting and she was pulled aside by Dan as the paramedics slipped an oxygen mask over Bo’s face and loaded him onto a stretcher, shouting instructions.

Honey stood frozen. Where was Luke?

Dan's walkie-talkie crackled. "This is Stodge. We got Luke. He's a bit beaten up and unconscious, but he's all right."

Honey exhaled and sank slowly to the ground, thanking God. Dan held Trixie tight against his chest as Trixie sobbed..

Throughout the evening and night, the Marshals present in the emergency waiting room changed, but Honey and Daisy sat together, with Trixie who was curled up against Dan. Luke had been discharged finally, miraculously without a concussion, and only some bruises. Honey ran to him when he came out, and they embraced tightly, before Luke joined the vigil for Bo. The doctor wanted him to stay overnight but he was determined to wait with the others for word of his cousin.

Honey had wiped the dried blood from Trixie’s face and hands, but it was still dried in her curly hair. Coffee and snacks were brought to them by the other Marshals, but Trixie didn’t touch anything. All she could think of was how very blue Bo's eyes had been when he was asking her to marry him.

“Did Bo ever tell you about the time he got amnesia and Boss Hogg convinced him that he was Boss’ long lost son?” Daisy asked suddenly, with a faint smile.

Trixie and Honey shook their heads.

“Boss had Bo calling him ‘Daddy’ and convinced that we were the criminals! He was gonna get Bo to drive a truck of shine through Chickasaw County. If Sheriff Little had caught him, it would have violated Bo’s probation and he’d be put in jail!”

Trixie and Honey had to smile.

“Remember when me and Bo had to race against each other, to save Cooter’s farm?” Luke asked with a laugh. The other marshals listened eagerly for stories of the young, wild Duke boys. Anything to lighten the direness of the situation.

“Cooter went and got his ankle twisted, while helpin’ us fix a flat, ‘cause we had been racin’ against his new Cale Yarbrough engine. Uncle Jesse figured since he hurt himself helpin’ us, we needed to help him, or he’d lose not only the car in the race, but he had mortgaged his farm and everythin’ he had to buy the engine. Now if he won, he’d be able to sell the engine for a pretty penny. Cooter didn’t want us racin’ against each other, knowing how us Dukes can get competitive,” Luke had the grace to look a little sheepish.

“And boy was he right,” Daisy chimed in. “Bo started it with one crack and it just went down hill from there! Me and Uncle Jesse and Cooter was so worried they wouldn’t talk to each other! But Boss had rigged the race, or so he thought, because he had Sheriff Roscoe driving.”

“Usin’ nitrous oxide to give him some extra power, which is illegal on the circuit,” Luke added, “but we figured it out early on. So there I am, in Cooter’s car, and Bo’s racin’ the General and he’s up ahead of me, when he radios me to tell me he’s lost all his forward gears. I thought for sure I’d win but Bo wasn’t givin’ up.”

“So Bo drives backwards!” Daisy laughed. “He finished the race driving backward!”

“So who won?” Stodge demanded.

“My engine almost blew out, but Rosco, he comes flying over the edge, and hits me, givin’ me enough push to take me to the finish line. We ended dead even,” Luke laughed.

The Marshals all chuckled and began swapping stories about Bo.

"Trixie Belden?" a nurse called.

The entire contingent of Marshals turned, waiting, as Trixie rose, Dan's arm around her for support.

"Can you please come with me and kindly shut Mr. Duke up?"

The Marshals cheered and laughed, and hugged each other. Trixie kissed Dan on the cheek and hurried to the nurse. He was all right.

“Don’t let him talk, that bullet went right through the edge of his neck.”

Trixie nodded.

Bo was pale but he smiled when Trixie rushed into the room

“Hi Sweetheart,” he managed.

Trixie held her tears back as she took his hand gently.

“You’re not supposed to be talking,” she reminded him, china blue eyes brimming with tears.

“I ain’t never been one for much listenin’,” he smiled.

“You had me good and scared, Beauregard Duke,” she whispered.

“Shoot, Trix, you should know by now us Dukes is hard to get rid of. Just ask ol’ Boss Hogg,” he flashed her his grin.

Trixie smiled as the tears came.

“Don’t cry, Sweetheart, I’m gonna be just fine. Who’s blood is that?”

“Yours,” she murmured, kissing his forehead.

“Trix, all I could think about was you, when I was lyin’ there.”

“Shh,” she urged, holding his hand against her face.

“Don’t cry Trix. It’ll all be okay. As long as you hold up your end of the bargain,” he smiled.

Trixie nodded. “Us Beldens don’t exactly scare easily,” she answered, squeezing his hand. “You’re stuck now, Beauregard Duke.”

***

Author’s Notes

-thanks for reading! You didn’t think I’d let Bo die, did you? Y’all come back soon, hear?

-Don’t miss the sub-uni, A Summer of Weddings, coming soon!

-a huge YEEHAA! To Dana, for her hard work and editing. I like to tamper so all mistakes are mine!

-In the episode My Son, Bo Hogg, Season Three, Boss Hogg took advantage of Bo’s amnesia. It’s hysterical.

-The other episode referred to where Bo drove the General backwards is Duke vs Duke, also Season Three.

-The song Bo plays Trixie is called “I’d Fall in Love Tonight”, written (as far as I know) and sang by John Schneider *g*

Word Count - 2830

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