"What's that damn fool doing?" Coy thought, watching his cousin climb out the window of the moving General Lee. "Hey cuz, want to let me in on you plans." Coy shouted out the window.
"I'm going to grab onto that 'copter." Vance called back.
"WHAT?!"

Boss's latest scheme was to destroy people's farms through crop dusting with poison, therefore enabling him to buy up the land for development at dirt cheap prices. His partner had used a helicopter to keep an do-gooders away. Of course, the Dukes caught on and the criminals had Daisy. It was up to the cousins to get her back.
"There's got to be an easier way." Coy yelled
"Well, if you think of one, parner, I'm all for it, if not hold the General as smooth as possible."
And with that Vance grabbed a hold of the rails above him. Vance could barely hear Daisy struggling with her captors. He hoped that would keep the criminals busy, while he got aboard. But that wasn't to be
Coy looked on horrified as one of the crooks battered Vance's hands over and over again. It wasn't long before Vance lost his holding and plummeted to the ground.
Daisy meanwhile had no idea what was going on. She was focused on saving hersel. She always knew she could handle herself, even when her cousins seemed to forget. A sudden lilting of the helicopter gave Daisy the advantage she needed. She caused enough damage and confusion to force a landing. Daisy slugged the man next to her and was about to hit another when Enos and Rosco came up to 'save the day".
Now safe on the ground, Daisy looked around for her family. She spotted Coy crouched on the ground with Uncle Jesse standing over him. Daisy's stomach turned to ice when she realized Vance was on the ground and not seeming to move.
As Daisy approached the scene, she found it worse than she imagined. Vance was writhing on the ground, his mouth open in an unheard scream. His eyes were open wide and reflected a lot of pain. All of a sudden, Vance's body seemed to relax. As Coy neared him, Vance's body suddenly went into spasms.
Daisy grabbed a hold of Coy's shoulder to move him back. He looked ready to cry.
"Give him some room honey, I think he's having a seizure." Daisy whipered.
Daisy looked up when she heard the wail of sirens and met Uncle Jesse's eyes. He had grown ol in the space of a few moments. Jesse didn't even notice Daisy watchful eyes on him. Jesse only had eyes for the pain his nephew was going through.

The tension was thick in the waiting room. Uncle Jesse sat unmoving in his chair with Daisy leaning her head on his shoulder, swallowing back tears. Coy was pacing from one end of the room to another.
"Why did I let him do such a fool thing? Why didn't I stop him?" Coy questioned, tears forming in his eyes.
Jesse looked up and waved his nephew to come sit beside him. "It ain't your fault, boy. Your cousin is stubborn and wouldn't have listened anyhow."
"Besides," Daisy said, "if it's anyone, it's mine."
Jesse's face grew red and stern "Listen here, it ain't no one's fault but those no-good lowlifes. Now, stop blaming yourselves and fucus on good thoughts for you cousin."
Daisy and Coy nodded their heads sheepishly. They both bowed their heads in silent prayer for their cousin. They were so lonst in thought, that they never heard the doctor approaching until they heard Uncle Jesse.
"How's my boy?" Jesse asked, his voice sounding more sure than was the case.
"Can I speak to you alone, Mr. Duke?' Coy and Daisy stood up, ready to protest, but held back when Jesse gave them a knowing look.
Jesse followed the doc down a corridor that seemed miles longer than it should be. "What's all this about, doc?" Jesse asked nervously.
"Well Mr.Duke, your nephew is in stable condition.."
Jesse let out his breath, not realizing he was holding it. "I hear a 'but' in your voice, doc," Jesse predicted.
"Yes, Mr. Duke, your nephew has suffered from a major blow to the head and has experienced at least one seizure. There was  a lot of swelling to the brain and we won't know the extent of Vance's injuries until we test his cognitive and motor functions."
"Well, can we see him. . . I mean is he awake?" jesse asked.
"Of course, and yes, Vance has been slowly been regaining consciousness. You and your family know Vance best. Please let me know if you see any odd behavior or problems."
Coy and Daisy were anxiously awaiting their uncle's return.
"What'd the doc say?" Coy asked, his voice trembling.
Jesse filled them in before they went into Vance's room.
Vance looked lost in a labyrinth of machines-IV, oxygen and heart monitor. He looked extremely pale, but smiled brightly when he saw his family. Coy and Daisy stood on one side and Jesse on the other side of the hospital bed.
"How you doing partner?" Coy asked
Vance smiled "I feel like I fell...I guess i did, huh?"
"Do you remember it all?" Jesse asked
"No, but the doc says that's no. . . normal.' Vance stuttered. Vance scrunched up his face at the sound of his own voice.  Vance's eyes darted back and forth between his family and tried to smile. Everyone could see Vance's new found nervousness.
"I guess i hit my head, h..ha....harder thatn I thou..thou...thought." Vance sputtered. Vance looked ready to cry and sat up straighter in his bed. "What's happ...pp..ening to me?"
Coy put his hand on Vance's shoulder, trying to give him som support. "I'm sure it's nothing cuz." Coy said trying to hide his own worries.
"I'll get the doctor." Daisy said, hightailing it out of the room before she started crying in front of her cousin
The doctor checked Vance's vital signs before disconnecting him from the machines. "Okay, Vance, first I want you to sit up in bed. Good. Next, I want you to raise your hands above your head one at a time and hold them there for a moment."
Vance did as he was told but his arms were shaking so hard that he could only hold them up for a few seconds. Next, Vance had to hold a rolled up bandage in his hand. It was so hard to grab on to. Vance was literally sweating bullets and felt his face burning in embarrassment.
The doctor noticed Vance's reaction, "Its okay. It is very normal for delayed motor skills after an accident such as yours."
Vance swallowed and nodded his head, not really sure he believed the doctor.
The doctor motioned the rest of the Duke family to stand back and let the orderly move up to the hospital bed. The doctor asked Vance to stand up next to the bed, reassuring Vance that the orderly was there if he need any help.
Vance looked over at his worried family, wishing he had sent them from the room, and then immediatly dismissing the thought.
Vance gingerly put his feet onto the floor and stood up. He was swaying a little, but he was upright and on his own. Vance smiled over at his family. Maybe the doc was right and he just needed to give his body some time to heal.
"Vance, I want you to walk over to your family, please." the doctor requested.
Vance began to walk over. He felt so uncoordinated and off balance. He kept tripping over his own feet. Jesse held back his nephew and niece from offering their aasistance. Jesse knew that Vance had to see what the effects of the accident were and that could only be done on his own.
Vance practically fell into Coy's arms. Vance kept his head down, not wanting to meet his cousin's gaze. He didn't want Coy or the rest of his family to see how up set he really was. What he wanted was to crawl into a hole, and never come out.
Coy and the orderly helped Vance back to his bed.
The doctor spoke "Don't be to dishearted, Vance. What you experienced is not uncommon with your type of injuries. It will just take some time and some exercise to get back to your regular old self." The doctor paused for a breath. "Now, I've realized you haven't uttered a syllable." Vance looked up from behind his bangs with a guilty smile "In order to help you, I need to know what help you need, ok."
Vance nodded again and received a very unamused look from the doctor. Jesse stepped forward.
"Vance, Vance, look at me  boy."
Vance looked up to meet his uncle's gaze.
"You have to help yourself. Ain't no one here who's going to laugh or make fun. We all just want to help."
Vance was about to nod again, but caught himself. "Okay, Uncle Jesse." Vance gave a sigh of relief to have got the sentence out. But the relief was short-lived "What do you want to kn..kn..know, doc." Vance said feeling his color rise again.
The doctor went through a series of questions about what Vance remembered and how he felt. Vance felt fine and remembered little about the fall. Vance seemed to stumble over words in every sentence. By the time the doctor was done with his questions, Vance just wanted to never speak again.
The doctor explained to Vance that his speech problems were much like his motor problems. It was a skill that needs to be relearned to some extent, but there was no reason to think that Vance would not fully recover in time. The doctor and the orderly left. The doctor promised to return the next day to check on Vance's progress and set up a therapy schedule
Vance sighed with relief when visiting hours were up almost as soon as the doc left. He just couldn't face his family right now. Each one of his kin gave him a reassuring hug before leaving. Coy lagged behind
"I could stay if you want."
Vance knew he was going to have to speak. "Th..th..th..that's okay." he eked out. "I just w..w..want to sle..e..p."
Vance laid back on the pillows and tried to hold back his tears. He felt like a stranger in his own body. He felt fine, his thinking was clear, but nothing seemed to work right. He wondered what life would be like if he couldn't walk right, hold things, or speak clearly. He imagined not being able to drive and having strangers stare at him and laugh. He thought about the burden he would be placing on his family. All of a sudden, Vance noticed the stream of tears coming out from under his tightly closed lids. He heard the racking sobs of his own body and nearly laughed at himself, thinking at least you're supposed to stammer when you cry. Vance spent himself with his crying and soon fell into a fitful slumber. It wasn't long before he was caught up in a nightmare.

     *********************************************************************************

Vance was standing in the middle of the Boar's Nest. He was at the bar ordering beer. He smiled to himself thinking that nothing had changed. But as Vance moved to a seat, he began to sway and stumble, falling to the floor. He tried to apologize, but his words kept tumbling over themselves. He looked up as the roar of laughter assaulted his ears. He saw Coy and Daisy laughing so hard tears rolled down their faces. Uncle Jesse was in the far corner, simply shaking his head as if very embarrassed. Boss and Rosco were pointing fingers and Vance heard Boss say that "people like that should be kept, preferabley out of sight." Vance felt his face redden and his body shake with sobs. He wished he were anywhere but here. He wished he didn't feel so alone. "ST...st..st...stop, pl..pl..please," Vance tried calling out, only to be meet with more laughter and finger pointing.

      **********************************************************************************

Vance woke up, drenced in sweat and shaking so hard he thought he would never get his breath. Vance decided sleeping wasn't worth the trouble and spent a long night trying to find a way to avoid speaking to anyone the next day.

Jesse stopped his nephew and niece at the door to Vance's hospital room. "Now, remember what I told you. Don't help unless it's needed. And I dont' want to see you two accepting a nod or a shake of the head or a gesture for words. Vance ain't gonna get better unless he helps himself."
Daisy  and Coy exchanged unsure glances and nodded slowly.
"Alright, let's go see your cousin."
The doctor was in the room talking to Vance. "G'morning, Mr. Duke. Vance and I have worked out a therapy schedule. I'd like to go over it with you before his discharge."
"When can he come home?" Jesse asked.
"Just as soon as the paperwork is complete. Let's step into my office and discuss this schedule."
Jesse followed the doctor. The doctor explained that Vance could practice his motor skills around the farm, mostly on his own. The low fence in the back acreage could be used as a balance beam. There were stones in the creekbed for stepping. Plus, Vance had some weight equipment in the back of the barn. An occupational therapist would come two to three times a week to check on Vance's progress. A speech therapist would come after the first week at home. The doctor knew Vance would have to get comfortable talking with his family before work with the therapist began. The doctor also made sure Jesse knew that Vance had to be forced to do for himself and that he would need a lot of encouragment and support. Jesse thanked the doctor and went to collect his nephew.

Meanwhile, back in Vance's room, Vance wasn't doing so hot at being quiet.
"How ya feelin' cuz?" Coy asked
Vance shrugged his shoulders and kep his eyes downcast. Daisy walked to the other side of the bed. She lifted Vance's chin with her finger so she could look straight into his eyes. "You have to talk. No one is going to laugh. It's the onlly way to get better, honey."
"Okay," vance whispered.
"I didn't quite hear that." Coy prodded
Vance looked at his cousin, smiling "I said OK"
Dasiy gave Vance a "you can do better" look. Vance cleared his throat and bagan to talk.
"I feel fine. Ju..ju..just read to go ho..ho..home." Vance said, yelling at the end in his frustration to get the words out. "I  just wish everything wo..wou...would get back to norm...normal."
"It will," Jesse said as he entered the room. "But first there's going to be a lot of hard work." Jesse was waving the therapy schedule. "The doc said you can go home. We'll wait outside, while you get ready."
Vance nodded
"That just won't do, boy." Jesse said "as long as you're in my home, you WILL talk. Do you understand me?"
Vance was a bit taken back by Uncle Jesse's tone of voice but it is hard to argue with someone who is right.
Vance nodded again, but he caught himself. "Yes, sir."
After his family left the room, Vance laid his head in his hand and tried to regain his composure. He didn't want to worry his family anymore and crying would do just that. Vance sighed and threw his leg over the side of the bed. He stood on unsteady feet and tried to dress himself. It seemed to take forever. He had to sit to get his pants on without falling. He managed fine with his shirt but couldn't get the bouttons on his flannel workshirt done for lover or money. Vance closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He tried one more time... but he just couldn't manipulate the small buttons. He was ready to throw the garment aside when Coy stepped back in.
Coy could see the frustration written on Vance’s face. "What’s wrong, partner?" "It’s these stu…stu..stu.."
Vance let out a howl of frustration. Coy put a hand on his cousin’s shoulder, "It’s okay, Vance. Just tell me what’s wrong." Vance took another deep breath, what seemed to be his hundreth for the day. "I can’t wor.work these but…t..butttons."
 Coy smiled and reached down to help his cousin. "No problem, cuz, that’s just another thing we’ll work on at
the farm." Vance gave his cousin a confused look. "Well, you didn’t think you’d be all alone through this, did you, partner?" Coy asked.
Vance smiled and began to walk over to the door. He couldn’t get over how badly his body seemed to move,
 especially when his brain seemed to know what to do. Coy didn’t help him at all. It wasn’t easy, though. It pained
Coy to see Vance have so much trouble doing something as simple as walking. Coy knew how easy it would to lend a hand, but that would really be hurting Vance. Besides, Coy never doubted Jesse’s ability to take him over his knee, no matter how old Coy may be.
Vance didn’t say a word on the way home and Jesse let it go. However, when Vance went to go into his
 room, Jesse decided to break the silence. "Where are you going?" " I want to..to get some rest.st," Vance
 stammered. "Okay, I’ll wake you for dinner."
Vance slept most of the afternoon. Coy worked on improvements on the General’s engine. He figured it would
give him something more than small talk to share with Vance. Dinner was stressful to say the least. Cooter came by and Jesse invited him for dinner. Jesse figured the sooner Vance got talking around others, the better. But it only
made it worse.  Coy tried to get Vance talking by telling him about the General. Cooter tried to help by keeping up the other half of the conversation. But, Vance sat quietly through most of dinner, while Jesse sat stewing at his nephew.
Finally, Jesse had had enough. "Vance, you HAVE to talk. You aren’t gonna get better by not using your voice."
 Vance looked from Daisy to Coy for support but found they wouldn’t return his glance. Vance tried to calm himself and pace his words. "You . don’t. unders…unders..underst..and.." Vance looked
down and tried not to look at Cooter. Jesse let out a breath,"I know this is hard, but I told you at the hospital, as
 long as you live under my roof, you will do your best to do well."
 Vance bit his lip to keep back tears. Vance stood up, supporting himself by holding onto the side of the table.
 "Then.. then..I guess..ss I nee…nee…need to lea..lea..lea…leave." Vance went to walk away from the table.
 Vance was shaking badly from emotion and plain old lack of coordination. He didn’t get very far from the table before he fell.
 Coy started to get up to help his cousin, but Jesse grabbed his arm, shaking his head. Jesse knew this was a
  battle best fought now and between his nephew and himself. Jesse slowly got up from the table and went over to Vance’s side.
Vance was crouched down by the couch in the front room. His hands held his face, as he drew in ragged  breaths. His body was shaking violently with his sobs. Jesse took a deep breath himself. Jesse’s heart broke a little
with each sob, but Jesse knew what had to be done—and giving in to pity was not an option.
Coy, Daisy, and Cooter had quietly left the room for the back porch. They all stood silently, listening to the
conversation going on in the house.
Jesse held Vance in his arms, letting Vance cry out all his pity and grief. When Vance began to calm, Jesse forced Vance to look him in the eye. "Now, that’s enough," Jesse said calmly. "You ARE going to get well, even if I have to stand over you every step of the way. That is the first and last time I want to see you feeling sorry for yourself. You will be all right, but ONLY if you work for it."
Vance looked unbelieving into his uncle’s eyes. He didn’t expect a lecture but he sure got one. Vance slowly picked himself up off the floor and walked, albeit unsteadily back to his room.  "You can come in now," Jesse called to the rest of the family.
 "I’m sorry, Uncle Jesse. I shouldn’t have stayed, ’’ Cooter said. "No, Cooter," Jesse replied with a sigh," this
was something that was coming. And you being here had nothing to do with it. Let’s finish our supper."
 Daisy and Coy looked uncertain. "Uncle Jesse, shouldn’t we check on Vance?," Daisy asked.
"No, Vance  needs help, not pity." Even if it costs me his love, Jesse thought.
  Later, Coy went into the room Vance and he shared. Vance was curled up on his side, facing the wall. Coy
 did his best to be quiet, knowing how much his cousin needed the rest. Coy had just crawled into bed when he heard Vance’s uncertain breathing. At first, Coy was ready to panic, thinking Vance was sick or something, but
  soon realized Vance was crying again. That really unnerved Coy. Coy understood why Vance was upset. Hell, he
 would be upset, too. But Vance was just not one for crying and lately it seemed all Vance could do to express
  himself.
 Coy came over to the side of Vance’s bed and sat down. He reached out to hold on to Vance’s shoulder and
 was surprised when Vance flinched at the touch. "Tell me about it," Coy said with worry in his voice. Vance shook
 his head vehemently from side to side. "Come on, cousin, this isn’t about you talking or not talking. I want to help,
 but I don’t know how until you tell me."
 Vance looked over at his cousin with tears in his eyes. Vance wanted to talk to his cousin, he really did, but he
  couldn’t seem to find the words to say how he felt. Vance moved his head back to focus his gaze on the wall.
 Coy sighed deeply and said, "If you need me, you know where to find me."
 Vance tried to stop his tears and focus on solutions. He had always relied on his smarts to get him out of any
  situation. This was no different. Or was it?

The next morning, Coy woke to find Vance had already gotten up. "Good morning, Uncle Jesse."
"Morning, Coy." Jesse didn’t look like he got much sleep last night. Coy got himself some coffee. "Did Daisy
 go to work?" "Uh huh," Jesse nodded. "Where’s Vance?"
 Jesse looked up, startled. "I didn’t think he was up yet," Jesse replied. They both ran out the back door and
scanned for Vance. "I don’t see him, Uncle Jesse. We best take the pickup and look for him."
 &nbspCoy was worried, worried didn’t even cover it. Where could that cousin of his be?
 Jesse began driving toward the old creekbed and spotted a figure in the distance. Vance was up on the lower fence. He fell, but picked himself up and got on again. Coy was half out the door when Jesse stopped him. "Look  at him, Coy, he’s fighting," Jesse said with happiness. Maybe things would work out just fine.
Vance worked most days, all day on his motor skills. He walked the fence posts, hopped on the flat stones of
 the creekbed, worked out with weights, and even took up sewing (thanks to Daisy) to help steady his hands.
 Vance’s occupational therapist was amazed at the progress Vance was making. If only he would work on his speech half as much, Jesse thought.
 While Vance worked diligently on walking and moving, he still avoided speaking as if a curse would befall him if he uttered a syllable. It irritated his uncle to no end. Vance even avoided talking to Coy and they had been inseparable since putting in together a few years back.
Jesse came into the barn, where Vance was working with the weights. Jesse took a deep breath before going over to talk to Vance. Sometimes it’s hard to be the bad guy, thought Jesse.
 "Hey, boy," Jesse started, "how are you doing?" Vance licked his lips before starting to speak. "I’m feelin’
 better." Vance smiled, happy to get through a whole sentence without any mistakes. "You seem to be doing much
 better." Vance smiled even brighter, happy his uncle seemed proud of his progress. "But, you know the speech
 therapist comes tomorrow." Vance’s eyes clouded over with uncertainty. He knew he would be forced to talk, to sound like an idiot and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Still, he tried.

Well, if you know Jesse Duke, you know there wasn’t any way Vance was getting out of therapy. Vance sure
 tried—feigning sickness even, just like when he was in school. Finally 2 PM rolled around and the therapist had arrived.
 Jesse met the therapist at the car. He was startled by the fact that the therapist was a woman. It’s not that
Jesse felt it wasn’t a woman’s place. He just hadn’t thought what the effect on Vance would be, being forced to talk to a pretty face.
"Hello, I’m Jesse, Vance’s uncle," Jesse pointed behind his shoulder, "and this is my nephew and my niece,
 Coy and Daisy." "Nice to meet y’all, I’m Kathy," she looked around, "where is my patient?" "I’ll get him," Coy
 volunteered. Coy ran into the bedroom, but Vance was no where to be seen.
Coy ran out and pulled Jesse aside. "He must have run off, Uncle Jesse." Jesse was madder than a hornet’s
nest. Jesse never believed in lying, so he went over to Kathy to explain the situation. Jesse told her how upset
Vance was at the sound of his speech and how he avoided speaking at all times. Kathy nodded her head as if she had heard this all before.
"This isn’t so uncommon," Kathy said, trying to calm Jesse’s obviously strung out nerves. "Let’s just find him and go from there."
It didn’t take long. Vance was curled up in the corner of the barn, talking to himself under his breath, as if rehearsing. Kathy pulled the Duke family aside and asked to be allowed to approach Vance on her own. Jesse wasn’t so sure, but Kathy insisted and won out in the end.
Kathy waited until she saw the family approach the back porch. Then she took a deep breath and entered into
the barn. "Knock, knock, it’s just me, your friendly neighborhood speech therapist," she said smiling. She went
over to Vance and kneeled in front of him. "Vance, my name is Kathy and I’m here to help you. I’ve been in this
game for years, you aren’t going make any mistakes in your talking that I ain’t never heard. These sessions are for you, not your family, just you. It’s up to you to decide to take me up on my offer of help or to just give up. What do you say?"
Vance slowly looked up at her and met her gaze. He thought back to how Uncle Jesse said Dukes were never quitters and how hard work gave him back his motor functions. Basically, what did he have to lose?
"Ok," Vance said, "wh..what do I have to d..d…do?" Kathy laid out a schedule for Vance. They would meet daily for one hour. They would talk for half the session and go through vocal exercises for the other half. Also, Vance had homework—he had to read aloud every day from any book he wanted. Kathy went on to explain that all sessions were private, and his homework did not have to be done in front of any one. That eased Vance’s fears a lot. The resistance seemed to melt right off of him and they went to work.
 Jesse was pleased at the hard work Vance began to put into his speech. However, Vance still didn’t like to talk to other people, including his family. In fact, that’s what lead to the big blowout between Vance and Jesse.

Jesse had vowed that he would do whatever he had to, just as long as Vance was well in the end. Jesse desperately wanted Vance to talk, at least to his family. So like any Duke, Jesse came up with a plan. You see,  Vance and Coy both looked up to their cousins Bo and Luke. They had done well on the NASCAR circuit and  never let it go to their heads. All the boys, when they managed to be at the same place at the same time, were known to talk for hours. Jesse called Bo and Luke later that night. The boys were aware of Vance’s accident but at the time, Jesse hadn’t wanted to worry Bo and Luke or push Vance too far by forcing a conversation. That time had passed.
"Hello?," a clear, deep voice answered. "Hello, yourself, Luke. This is your uncle. I thought I’d check up on how you two young’uns were doing."
"We’re fine," Luke replied, waving for Bo to come over to the phone. "We hadn’t heard from you in a while….how’s Vance doing?" "Well, that’s what I called for." Jesse explained the progress Vance was making and his refusals to speak. "I thought he may be willing to speak to you two."
Luke shrugged his shoulders, "We’ll give it a shot. Put him on."
Jesse motioned for Coy to get his cousin. Vance came out of the room with a bewildered look. "Wh..what do ya need , Un..uncle Jesse?" "Your cousins are on the phone and want to hear from you." Vance shook his head, looking at Jesse with distrustful eyes. "I…I can’t." "You can and you will," Jesse said, handing the phone over to Vance.
Coy and Daisy looked on as Vance took the phone as if he were holding a poisonous snake in his hand. "Hello?" "Hey, cuz," said both Bo and Luke at once. "How ya feelin’?", Bo asked. "Ok, I guess," Vance said,
relieved that his speech seemed to be holding out okay. "We’re glad to hear it," Luke said. "What’s new out in your neck of the woods?" Vance began, feeling more confident, "Not a thing. But that’s Ha..ha…*deep breath*..Hazzard for ya." Vance’s face began reddening and his voice trembled, "I can w..w..walk much better but sp…sp..speaKING is still hard for m..me." Vance choked back a sob and handed the phone swiftly back to Jesse.
"Is he okay," Bo asked, clearly worried about his cousin. "He will be. I’ll make sure of it. Thanks for the help
 boys." "Call anytime, and let us know what’s goin’ on," Luke said. They hung up and Jesse turned on his heels like a general on the warpath.
Coy and Daisy intercepted Jesse on his way to the boy’s room. "Now, Uncle Jesse, he did try," Daisy said. Coy chimed in, "He just needs more time." Jesse’s face was getting redder by the minute, "That boy doesn’t need
 time, he needs to talk, he needs someone to set him straight and I’M the one to do it." Coy and Daisy exchange uneasy looks. They had never heard Uncle Jesse so angry.
 Jesse burst into the room. Vance opened his mouth to explain, but Jesse wasn’t having any part of any
explanations. "Now you listen to me, boy, and you listen good. There ain’t no use having therapy if you ain’t going to use it. Now this family has supported you in good times and not-so-good times, we DESERVE to be talked to."

Vance’s eyes swam with unshed tears, he had promised himself there would be no more crying. "Uncle
 Je..je..jesse, it ain’t like th..th..that. I just got em..em…embarrassed."
"That ain’t gonna cut it any more. This is my house and my rules.", Jesse’s yelled, his face getting redder by the second. "You WILL speak to your kin. You WILL say more than one syllable answers. And you WILL get better. DO YOU HEAR ME?"
Vance’s face tensed up in anger. "Fi..fi.. fine, I’ll leave then. No one un..un..unders..*pause*..understands me. You just don..don’t care."
Vance never even saw Jesse’s palm as it flew to connect with Vance’s face. Coy and Daisy gasped at the sight. Jesse had taken his hand to his kid’s backsides when they were little, but he had never hit any of them like this.
Time seemed to slow down, almost to a standstill. Jesse slowly turned and walked into his own room. Vance
looked to his cousins, first one then the other. Then, Vance just turned silently into his room as well. Coy and
Daisy looked at each other in confusion. What had just happened here?
Daisy finally broke the silence, telling Coy to talk to Vance, while she talked to Uncle Jesse. Daisy entered her uncle’s room quietly and kneeled at his feet. "Talk to me, Uncle Jesse." "There ain’t nothing to say, girl. I did what I had to." Daisy shook her head. "I know," Uncle Jesse said, placing his hand on Daisy’s shoulder, "I didn’t need to hit him, but he needs to know how serious this all is." &nbspDaisy knew, by the way her uncle said his words so slowly and quietly, that her uncle wasn’t going to
change his mind, least of all right now.
Coy wasn’t having much luck either. No matter what Coy said or how much Coy tried to reassure Vance of
his uncle’s love, Vance simply would not answer. 
 
Things remained subdued at the Duke farm. Cooter and Enos visited often to see how Vance was getting on.
They noticed that a depression clung to the farm. Vance refused to talk at all to anyone and had even stopped his
speech therapy. Jesse said little to nothing, dividing much of his time between stewing in his room and arguing with
his nephew. Coy and Daisy just withdrew, spending less and less time at the farm, in order to get away from it all.
Everyday was the same—Jesse arguing for Vance to help himself and Vance saying nothing at all.  Jesse still felt in the right. He regretted hitting Vance, but the message had to be clear. Vance had to get well  Jesse wondered if he had really lost Vance’s love, but then thought that if Vance was well—it would be worth it.
Vance just couldn’t get over Jesse hitting him. The man he had always looked up to seemed to turn on him. A small part of Vance knew Jesse just wanted what was best, but Vance would shut those thoughts out. It was easier to be silent and angry, than to risk losing another person’s love. Vance had convinced himself that Jesse no longer loved him, simply because he couldn’t speak right no more. He just couldn’t risk losing anyone else, he just couldn’t. 
 
Maybe things would have stayed the same, if it weren’t for the mail collecting on the corner of the kitchen cabinet. The Dukes had no health insurance to speak of and the bills kept coming in. It had been a fairly good harvest, but there was no way the Dukes could cover the medical bills that piled in.
Jesse called for a family meeting to discuss what to do. Vance sat with his head down, saying nothing as usual.
"What will happen if we don’t make the bills?", Coy asked, hesitantly. Jesse sighed deeply, "We’ll have no
 choice, we’ll have to sell the farm." "You can’t!", Daisy said, fighting back tears. "There isn’t anything else I can
 do," Jesse replied wearily. "What about asking Bo and Luke if they could help out, what with bein’ on the NASCAR circuit and all?," Coy asked. "I thought about that, but the money they bring in goes back into keeping up with their expenses. I can’t ask them to give up their dreams."
They all sat in silence. Finally, Coy spoke up. "What about Boss Hogg?" "What makes you think he’d help us?," Daisy asked. "Well, he is the cause of all this, couldn’t we go to court and ask the court to make him pay?"
"We can’t prove JD had anything to do with this, besides we know that JD may have tried to clear out the farmers but he ain’t never cottoned to violence, that had to be those crooks’ idea." "Then let’s get them to pay."
Jesse mulled it over. It did make sense. However, winning a case like this would mean one thing—Vance would have to be willing to testify in court. "Is that something you are willing to do, Vance?," Jesse asked. All eyes turned on Vance. Vance tried to meet their gaze, but he just couldn’t. His thoughts swam with all his fears. People would laugh at him, but more importantly—who would believe anyone sounding like I do, thought Vance.  Vance shook his head and went to his room. He kept his head down so no one could see his eyes. Vance broke his promise to himself. He was crying, soundlessly crying bitter tears of shame and anger and fear. Vance knew that his testimony about what happened before the accident and the effects from the accident would be crucial to make a case. But Vance was afraid. Afraid if he messed up no judge would believe him. That would cost Vance everything. It would cost Uncle Jesse the farm, possibly Bo and Luke’s dreams, and especially, his family’s love. He just couldn’t face up to the possibility of failing his family, again. Vance’s thoughts seemed to spin out of control and the tears just kept coming.
Out in the family room, Daisy ran over to her uncle, encasing him in a big hug. "What are we going to do?,"Daisy cried into her uncle’s shoulder. "I don’t know, baby, I just don’t know." Coy couldn’t believe how much Vance had changed. Watching this scene unfold opened up all the floodgates of anger Coy had been feeling these past weeks. He wasn’t about to stand by and watch his family go through any more pain. Coy stalked into his and Vance’s room, ready to have it out. "WHAT IN BLAZES ARE YOU THINKING OF? I can not believe you would risk the farm or our cousin’s dreams just ‘cause you’re afraid to talk. I’ve never seen anything so selfish in all my…" Coy stopped when he noticed Vance trembling. Vance swallowed and sat up in his bed. He walked out to the family room, not bothering to wipe away his tears. "I’ll do it," Vance said in a whisper. Then, he turned back into his room and fell into a fitful sleep. 

Vance sat wearing his Sunday best, waiting to be called to the stand. He walked forward when his name was called and swore to tell the truth. The lawyer asked his name. "Vance Duke." So far, so good. &nbspThe lawyer then smiled wickedly and asked Vance to tell everyone what had happened on the days prior to the accident. Vance stumbled over every word, every syllable. He could feel everyone’s stares like a thousand wounds to his heart. Uncle Jesse shook his head and handed a deed over to Boss. Bo and Luke stood at the back of the court. They looked hatefully at Vance, throwing a trophy they had one against the wall. Coy, Daisy, Cooter, and Enos walked out of the courtroom. Vance called to them, but they wouldn’t turn around. The courtroom walls seemed to close in on him. "I..I….I’m sor…sor…sorry. Pl…pl..pl..plEASE D..DON’T LEA..LEA…LEAVE
ME!"
Vance woke with a start. Cold sweat had broken over his body and soaked the sheets. Vance knew there would be no more sleeping, so he began to get ready for the big day. Vance wished it were over already. He knew he had to testify for the sake of his family, but that didn’t mean he wanted to. Vance still refused to talk or participate in any therapy sessions. Vance didn’t speak as his family got up and prepared to leave. Vance stared out the window of the General, his thoughts lost in the nightmare from this past night.
As Vance entered the court room, he saw Cooter and Enos who had come to support the Dukes. Just like in
my dream, thought Vance. He let his mind wonder until the judge called his name.
Vance swore to tell the truth with no problem, he had no problems giving his name to the court either.
However, the opposing attorney knew of Vance’s speech problems and hoped Vance would fumble enough to be unconvincing to the judge. The attorney asked Vance to tell the courtroom what had happened prior to the accident.
Vance took a deep breath, knowing this wouldn’t be a one-word answer. Coy made eye contact and nodded his head to encourage his cousin. Vance’s eyes wondered to the back of the courtroom in time to see Bo and Luke come in and sit in the last row.
Vance closed his eyes and focused himself. This was reality and not a dream at all. Vance began his tale of what Coy and he discovered and how he had tried to save Daisy. Vance’s body shook as he began stumbling over words. When he finished, he let out a sigh of relief. But the opposing attorney wasn’t done yet.
"I’m sorry, Mr. Duke. I didn’t quite understand everything you said. Could you repeat yourself?"
Vance paled and looked at the floor before slowly lifting his gaze. Everyone in the courtroom was buzzing Probably about how dumb I sound and how I’m destroying my family word by word, thought Vance.
The judge banged his gavel for order and looked down on the attorney, who couldn’t hide his gleeful smile.
"That, sir, will be enough. Mr. Duke has answered the question." Vance looked up at the judge as if he were a guardian angel. The attorney faltered after the confrontation, asking little, and soon Vance was dismissed from the stand.
 The judge after hearing all the evidence, adjourned the court for one hour. Coy leaned over to Vance, grinning  broadly, "You did it, partner." Vance didn’t look so sure. Yeah, he had testified but that didn’t guarantee the Dukes had won.
Bo and Luke came up to greet their friends and family. "You didn’t think we’d let you hog all the excitement, did you?," Bo said, gathering his uncle in a hug. "You did real good up there, that was awfully brave," Luke said to Vance. Vance smiled but didn’t say a word. Luke shrugged and turned to greet Daisy.
Cooter, Enos, Bo, Luke, Daisy, Coy, Jesse, and Vance went outside for some air and to walk off some of their nerves. No one wanted to think how much was riding on the judge’s verdict. Soon, the time for the judge’s decision had come.
"After examining the evidence from the criminal trial and examining the testimonies given today, I find the defendants clearly at fault and liable for any and all medical expenses accrued by the Duke Family. Court is now out of session."
The Duke family and their friends gathered in a group hug. Vance was so happy that no one would lose anything due to his accident that he began to talk, though not all at once. At first he only talked to family, but he eventually ventured into town and even went to the Boar’s Nest for a beer. Vance had restarted his therapy, even asking his therapist to go with him for a picnic lunch.
It took Vance almost a week to finally talk to Coy about his nightmares and what had really been troubling him. Coy was glad to hear it. It meant Vance hadn’t changed at all. Vance’s fears had been more about hurting the family than his own embarrassment. It was Coy who finally convinced Vance to talk to his Uncle Jesse.
Vance crept into Jesse’s room one night, feeling like he did when he was young and had to admit he had done something he shouldn’t have.
"Uncle Jesse, can I ta..ta..talk to you?," Vance asked. "Of course," Jesse said, a faint smile on his lips, "what’s up, young’un?" "I’m sor..sorry. I know you just wa…wanted to h..h..help me and I kept push..pushing you aw..away." "That’s okay, and I’m sorry I hit you. No matter how strongly I felt, I had no call to hit you." Vance put out his hand, which Jesse grabbed, pulling Vance into a bear hug.
After a couple months, Vance was flirting with the waitresses at the Boar’s Nest and giving his younger cousins  grief as usual. It just goes to prove that love conquers all in Hazzard County.