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

Warnings: Angst, Violence, AU

Rating: FRT

// and/or italics indicate thoughts

Changes

Chapter 12

Vin had climbed out of the window, thankful to see that he was actually at ground level. The moment he was out of the building, he began to walk. Using the things he'd learned from his time living on the streets of Denver, he was careful to keep to the shadows as he moved. With no paper to write on, Vin had to store everything he saw in his mind as he mentally drew a map to lead the police back to the warehouse and Bo. Putting to use the lessons his grandfather had been giving him in tracking, he made sure to locate a landmark with each turn he took, making it easier to find his way back.

Luke ran a hand through his dark hair, his whole body tense with frustration and worry as the search continued with no luck. He'd had no trouble finding volunteers to look for Bo, every adult there was eager to help. The problem was that nobody was having any luck, it was as though he'd dropped off the face of the earth.

"Mr. Duke I think maybe it's time to call the police," Mr. Lawson, the principal of the school said.

"Yeah, guess you're right. Would you call them?"

"Actually there's a station only about four blocks from here, it'd probably be faster to go there and make the report. Come on, I'll walk you there," Mr. Lawson offered.

Angry with himself and filled with grief, Luke followed him. //How could I have let this happen? Lord please let Bo be alright, don't let anything happen to him.// Suppressing a shudder, he trudged up the steps of the police station and pushed open the door. Inside it was a madhouse, a crowd of people sat on chairs and benches around the room, while others stood at the counter talking to one of the three officers that were processing reports. "You sure this will be faster?"

"It will, come with me," Lawson assured him. Confidently he led the way over to a desk, guiding Luke to the chair sitting beside it. "Rick we need to file a missing person's report," he informed the detective whose desk they had gone to.

"One of your kids Bill?" Rick asked, as he looked up at the other man.

"Sort of, he's not a student, but he was at the Halloween party we had."

"Is he a child or an adult?"

"Both," Bill replied, knowing Rick would understand what that meant.

"Alright, and this is?" he asked, motioning to Luke.

"My name's Luke Duke, my cousin Bo's the one that's missing. We've already searched everywhere at the school and the surrounding area, but there ain't no sign of him."

Rick nodded, already taking notes. "Don't worry Mr. Duke, we'll find him," he assured. "Now can you tell me what happened and give me a description?"

Inside the captain's office, four men sat facing the captain, while a fifth stood glaring at him. Chris Larabee was angry, frustrated and worried, not a good combination. "Look captain I know normal procedure would be to call the FBI, but frankly I don't trust the feebies in Atlanta. That's why I came to you, now are you going to give me the manpower I need to find my boy or not?"

"Certainly I'll be glad to help Agent Larabee, I simply needed to understand why you hadn't gone to the FBI. As you said some of them can't be trusted, but that doesn't mean I won't get my head handed to me on a platter if they think I made an end-run around them. So what I'm going to suggest is this, we contact an agent that I personally know to be competent and trustworthy so the feds will be involved. In the meantime, we get my detectives working with their informants in an effort ot find your son."

"That would certainly be acceptable Captain," Ezra interjected before Chris could blow up again. "Would you mind if we each rode along with your detectives as they cover the city. I'm sure you can understand how much it would help us all to feel as though we were actively doing something to find Vin. Of course there's also the fact that we know the miscreants who have taken the boy, we would perhaps be better able to determine if the information your detectives gather is likely to be accurate or only so much bilge."

"I think that would work just fine Agent Standish," the captain agreed.

After what seemed like hours, Vin finally saw a police station up ahead. Breaking into a run, he hurried up the steps and into the warm building. With determination he strode up to the counter, "Excuse me officer..."

"Not now kid, go on and sit down with your mom we'll get to y'all soon," the desk seargent interrupted.

"But I'm not..."

"Look kid we're busy here okay? Just go sit down with your mom and let us do our jobs," he ordered in a rough voice.

Fuming, Vin aimed a glare at the man that would have made his father proud. Marching over to the chairs, he approached a kind looking woman. "Excuse me ma'am, would it be okay for me to borrow your chair for a minute?" he politely asked.

Smiling softly, she stood up and stepped aside.

Taking the folding chair to the counter, Vin sat it directly beside the man who was currently speaking to the seargent. Standing on the chair, he reached forward and grabbed the stunned officer's tie, pulling him forward until his face was only a couple of inches away. "Now look Seargent I got an emergency here and I ain't got no time to wait. What I need is for you to call somebody that's in charge and get them out here...now!" he yelled.

"Vin?" Chris questioned, looking towards the office door. Glancing at his men, he silently asked them if they'd heard it too? Seeing the stunned looks on their faces, he knew he wasn't losing his mind. Jerking the door open, he rushed into the bullpen just in time to see one of the desk officer's grabbing his son roughly. "Get your hands off of him," he growled, grabbing his boy away from the other man. "Vin are ya okay? Did they hurt you cowboy? How did ya get away?" He fired questions at the child as he held him close, his hands moving over him as he searched for injuries.

"Dad! You're here, you're really here," Vin cried out happily. Wrapping his arms around Chris' neck, he soaked up the love and security he so desperately needed. "We got to go back to the warehouse Dad before it's too late," he quickly told Chris.

"Too late?"

"Hey junior, are you okay?" Buck asked, running his hand over the boy's long brown hair.

"Master Tanner I trust you are well?"

"Buck! Uncle Ezra! I'm okay but we got to go back for my friend."

"Let me see him Chris," Nathan ordered, taking the boy from his father's arms with difficulty.

"I'm okay Uncle Nathan," Vin tried to tell him. "Damn it I'm okay!" he yelled when Nathan ignored him.

"Vincent Michael Tanner," Chris snapped.

"I'm sorry Dad, but y'all ain't listening. I'm not hurt but he is and we got to get back before they find out I'm gone or they'll hurt Bo worse."

"Bo? Who is that?"

"He's my friend, he helped me get away from them and I promised I'd bring back help."

"Do you have any idea where they were holding you?" the station captain asked.

"Yes sir, I can lead you right to the warehouse they had me in."

"I'm sure you can son, why don't you give this officer a description and we'll find it." He smiled down at the boy, impressed by his determination to help his friend, but doubtful that he would be able to give them enough information.

"I can do better than that, I can show you right where it is."

"Vin I'm not letting you go to the scene, you could get hurt," Chris objected. He'd only just gotten the boy back, he couldn't take the risk that he would lose him again.

"I'll stay back Dad, but Bo is afraid of the police and he's hurt. After you arrest the men that took me you might need me."

"Excuse me, did you say Bo?" Luke asked, pushing his way to the center of the small crowd.

Vin pulled back, pressing up against his father as a tall man with bright blue eyes suddenly appeared in front of him. "Yes sir."

"He's about as tall as him," he pointed at Buck, "blond hair, blue eyes and wearing a racing uniform?"

"That's him! Are you his cousin?"

"Yeah, my name's Luke Duke. You said Bo's hurt, how bad?" Luke asked, licking his lips nervously.

"I don't know, I think it's just cuts and bruises from them beating him, but I ain't sure."

"You're going back to get him ain't ya?" he asked Chris. He was impressed by the strength and intelligence he saw in the green eyes of the blond before him, making him hope the answer would be yes. Somehow he knew that if this man were involved, his cousin would have a better chance of getting out of this alive. If the answer was no though, Luke would go by himself. One way or the other he was getting his cousin away from whoever had him.

"We'll get him back. Vin, where in the warehouse is Bo and where are the kidnappers?" Chris asked.

"The men are in the main room of the warehouse, Bo and me was in a room that was underground. They took us down to it on some stairs, I didn't see but one set of stairs and there wasn't any elevator."

"Okay, did they go in through the main door, or some other way?"

"There's a window that was uncovered over by the alley, that's how they got in."

"How did you get out?"

"Bo got my hands untied and then I untied him, he boosted me up to a small window and I climbed out. He's too big to climb out the window though. They thought Bo was working for somebody, that's why they beat him up. But he wasn't, he was just trying to get away from some boys that was chasing him. He didn't know anybody was in the place. They wouldn't listen to him, they just beat him up and then they threw him into the room with me. We got to get back Dad before they find out I'm gone."

"How many men are there?"

"Four."

"What kind of guns do they have?"

"Just pistols, nothing else."

"How many men can you spare captain?"

"As many as you need."

Chris nodded, quickly telling the man what he needed. Turning back to his men, he got down to the business of mapping out the rescue operation. "Mr. Duke, you know Bo best, do you think he'll be able to help if we can get a message to him through that window?"

"Bo's just a kid Dad, he can't help ya."

"A kid? I thought you said he was as big as Buck?" Chris looked between his son and Luke, confused by Vin's statement.

"He is Agent Larabee, but mentally he's only eight years old," Luke explained.

"Okay, so no help there. First thing we need to do is get somebody to that window where Bo is, we need to confirm he's still in the room," Chris began laying out the plan. As he continued to explain what they would do, the men around him nodded in agreement, ocassionally asking a question or adding a suggestion. Finally they were ready. Keeping Vin by his side, Chris drove towards the warehouse, following his son's directions. When Vin told him they were only a couple of blocks away, he pulled over. "Alright Vin you're going to stay back here with Luke and Officer Morris. Don't you worry son, we'll get your friend out of there," he assured the boy. Glancing at Luke, he hoped the younger man would stay back and let them do their jobs.

"Don't worry I'll stay here with Vin, but you let me know the minute you've got Bo out," Luke demanded. "Your son's right, Bo is afraid of the police, he's gonna need me."

"I'll let you know as soon as it's safe, I promise."

Luke watched the police and ATF agents move out. Closing his eyes, he sent up a silent prayer for his cousin's safe return.

"It'll be okay Mr. Duke, my dad will get Bo out of there," Vin quietly assured him.

"I hope so."

They lapsed into silence, both of them anxiously waiting for the safe return of their loved ones. The sound of gunfire made them both jump and if it hadn't been for Chris Larabee's foresight they would've both been out the door of the cruiser and down the street. However, Chris hadn't become a special agent in charge of the crack ATF team by being stupid. Knowing they'd both want to join in, he'd had the two of them sit in the back seat of the cruiser, where the doors could only be opened from the outside. Man and boy let go breaths they didn't know they'd been holding when Chris' voice came over the radio.

"Officer Morris, it's safe to bring them in now. The only casualties are two of the kidnappers," he quickly added.

"Thank god," Luke whispered. The moment the back door opened, he jumped out and ran in the direction of the warehouse, Vin right on his heels.

Bo had sat in the corner since Vin had left, praying that none of the men would come in. When he'd heard the gunshots and shouts, his terror had risen, nearly choking him. Pushing himself further into the corner, his heart nearly stopped when the door suddenly flew open, banging into the wall behind it. Staring at the tall man, his eyes widened in terror. "No!" he cried out as the man moved towards him.

"It's okay Bo, I'm here to help you," Josiah soothed, his deep voice echoing in the otherwise empty room. Sweeping the room with his eyes, he searched for any threats. Once he was sure there was nobody in the room with them, he holstered his gun and squatted down so that he was at eye level with Bo. "My name's Josiah, I'm Vin's uncle."

"Rrrreally?" Bo stuttered. He wanted to believe him, but what if it was just a trick to get him to come closer.

"Really, he told us how you helped him get away from the men who kidnapped him. He told us how brave you were."

"I ain't brave," Bo denied. "My cousin Luke's real brave, he takes care of me. Do you know where Luke is?"

"As a matter of fact he's sitting in a police car right now, waiting for us to bring you to him."

"Why? You can't arrest him, he didn't do nothing wrong!" Bo yelled.

"Calm down son, he's not under arrest I promise ya."

"Liar! He wouldn't get in a police car by himself."

"He's just waiting Bo."

"Luke wouldn't do that, he'd be here to get me himself."

"We couldn't let him do that Bo, we'd get in trouble if we let anybody except the police rescue you. He wanted to help, it wasn't easy to convince him to let us do the work. I can take you to him if you want," Josiah offered, holding out his hand to the boy.

Bo watched Josiah as he spoke, reading the sincerity in his kind blue eyes. Hesitantly he reached forward, taking Josiah's hand and letting him pull him to his feet. Letting the older man support him, he slowly walked out of the room that had served as his prison.

"Bo!" Luke called as he ran up to his cousin. "Oh Bo, what did they do to you?" he whispered as he drew the boy into a comforting hug.

"I'm sorry I ran off Luke, I was so scared," Bo cried. Holding his cousin tight, he laid his head on his shoulder and let the tears fall.

"It's okay Bo, I should've kept a better eye on you," Luke soothed.

"Let me take a look at him Luke," Nathan interrupted them.

"It's okay Bo," Luke quickly assured him as his cousin tried to back away. "This is Nathan, he's Vin's uncle and he's a trained paramedic."

"What's that?"

"It's kind of like a doctor Bo," Nathan answered. "I just want to look you over, see if you need to go to the hospital."

"I don't want to go to the hospital, please Luke."

"Only if you need to Bo, will ya let Nathan check you out?"

"Okay," Bo finally agreed. Letting Luke lead him to a chair, he sat down.

Nathan checked him over as quickly as he could. "Looks like he'll be okay, just a few minor cuts, more like scratches really and some bruises. He did take a few blows to the head, so you should watch for signs of concussion but I don't see any signs of it now. He's also got a couple of bruised ribs, that means it may hurt to breathe for a while Bo."

"Okay. Is Vin okay?"

"He's fine Bo, thanks to you. Would you like to see him?"

"Can I please?"

"Ya sure can, I'll just go get him." Standing up, Nathan walked outside to find Vin.

"Is that policeman gonna arrest me?" Bo asked after Nathan left.

Luke sighed, forcing down the anger he still felt for the boy who had started this. "He wasn't a policeman Bo, he was just another kid. He was mad cause you won and he didn't so he thought he'd give you a hard time that's all."

"I ain't going to jail?"

"No Bo, I told ya they don't put little boys in jail," Luke assured him.

"I'm sorry I ran away."

"It's okay Bo, but if you're ever worried like that again please come to me first, okay?"

"Okay."

"Bo!" Vin yelled, running up to the blond, relieved to see that he wasn't hurt any worse. "Are ya okay?"

"I'm okay, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, thank you for helping me to escape."

"Did you find your dad?"

"Yep, that's him," he replied, pointing to the blond walking towards them.

"He looks scary," Bo whispered.

"I know, but he's a nice guy. He just looks that way cause of the bad guys that kidnapped me."

"Oh," Bo nodded in understanding.

"Hello," Chris greeted, sitting down in one of the other chairs. "You must be Bo, I'm Chris Larabee, Vin's dad."

"Hi," Bo shyly responded.

"Thank you for helping Vin," Chris quietly said, holding out his hand.

"You're welcome, I'm glad I could. Hey Luke, maybe it's good that I ran away," he excitedly turned to his cousin. "Cause if I hadn't done that I wouldn't have been able to help Vin and them men might have hurt him."

"That's true Bo, I guess maybe it was a good thing this time," Luke conceded.

"Can we go home now Luke?" Bo quickly switched gears, leaning his head on Luke's shoulder.

"He'll need to make a statement," Chris quietly informed Luke.

"Do ya think you can talk to the police first Bo?"

"Do I have to?"

"You don't have to Bo," Chris answered, "but it'd help us make sure they get punished if you did."

"I don't like the police."

"My dad and uncle's are kind of like police, they're good guys ain't they?" Vin asked.

"Yeah, but they ain't real policemen. They ain't even got uniforms."

"What if you could talk to a detective, do you think you could do that?" Chris asked.

"A detective?"

"Yep, they're not like the policemen you're thinking of. No uniforms and he'll just ask you what happened and show you pictures of the men we think hurt you so we know we've got the right ones. Can you do that?"

"Yes sir."

"Good boy," Chris grinned, ruffling his hair. It was surprising how easy it was to think of this young man as a child, in spite of his size.

Things from that point moved quickly as they made their way back to the police station. After giving his statement, Bo was finally on his way home with Luke. "Luke do ya think I'll ever see Vin again?"

"I don't know Bo, maybe. He's a pretty nice kid ain't he?"

"Yeah, he was real nice to me after them men threw me in that room with him. He didn't want to leave me behind, but we needed help so he did."

"He did the right thing. I'm real proud of you Bo."

"Ya are?" Bo was surprised to hear that. He couldn't figure out what he'd done to make Luke proud.

"I sure am. It takes a brave man to be left behind."

"I ain't brave Luke, I was awful scared."

"Being brave doesn't mean you're not scared Bo. Real bravery is doing what you have to, even though you're scared. You were a very brave boy and I'm proud of ya."

"Thanks Luke," Bo whispered, his face turning red even as his eyes shone with pride.

"You're welcome Bo Bear," Luke softly responded.

Two hours later they pulled into the driveway of the Duke farm. Not surprisingly the lights in the kitchen were burning brightly. Luke had been expecting that, even though he had called his uncle and told him everything, assuring him Bo was fine, he'd known the older man would need to see for himself. Glancing over at his baby cousin, he smiled softly. "Come on Bo, we're home," he called, gently shaking his shoulder to wake him.

"Home?" Bo mumbled, his voice thick with sleep.

"Home," Luke confirmed. Climbing out of the General, he hurried around to help Bo out. Letting him lean on him, Luke led the boy into the house.

Later Luke lay in his bed, keeping a close eye on his cousin as he slept. Thinking back to their reception when they'd come home, he smiled as he remembered the way Jesse and Daisy had quickly wrapped Bo in a hug. Before the boy had a chance to blink, they had him sitting at the table, a mug of hot cocoa in one hand and a chocolate chip cookie in the other. They had fussed over Bo for a good hour, neither of them ever far from his side as they reassured themselves that he was really going to be okay. Of course once he knew the boy was mostly fine, Jesse had lectured them both on the importance of staying together. Bo had shifted uncomfortably, becoming upset at one point when his uncle had laid into Luke for letting Bo get hurt. Luke had quickly shushed him, knowing that he deserved the verbal lashing he was getting. Bo had been his responsibility and he had failed. That had been bad enough, the fact that his failure had nearly gotten the boy killed had been something their uncle couldn't let pass without making sure Luke would never let it happen again. Luke understood that, even if Bo didn't. Finally the fussing and chastising had ended, the whole family helping to tuck Bo into bed. Left alone with his baby cousin, Luke found he couldn't sleep, in spite of his exhaustion. He needed to watch the younger boy, needed to reassure himself that he hadn't lost him.

"No...don't know...not lying...please," Bo whimpered, tossing and turning in his sleep.

Immediately Luke was up and climbing into the other bed. Wrapping his arms around his little cousin, he began to gently rock him. "Shhh, it's okay Bo, I've got ya, you're safe now," he soothed. He smiled, relieved when Bo almost instantly quieted down. Quietly he began to sing, "Hush little cowboy, no reason to cry, your papa will sing you a sweet lullaby..." By the time he finished the song, Bo had settled down into a peaceful sleep. Lowering his head to the pillow, Luke closed his eyes, vowing to keep his baby cousin safe and happy. As he drifted to sleep, his last thoughts were of thanksgiving for Bo's return to them.

The End.

Hope y'all liked it. Please feed the muse with reviews.

A/N: Now that this story is completed, be assured that little Bo's adventures are not at an end. For lack of a better term, this alternate universe will be known as the Little Bo universe. I'm issuing an open invitation to anybody who wants to write in this universe, you're welcome to do so. The rules aren't hard, anything I write in this universe can be referenced in your stories, as long as credit is given. If you want to reference somebody else's work in the Little Bo universe, ask first. The only other rule is this: Nobody is allowed to cure Bo except me. In this univerese Bo is a child of eight in the body of a twenty-five year old. I do intend to let him slowly mature, as any child would as they grow, though I think it'll be a little slower going than it would for an actual child. But no miracle cures. Other than that, have fun! If you have any questions feel free to send me a message.