Disclaimer- I do not own any American Gothic characters, this is a work of fan fiction. Events take place after season finale.
It was a cold January's day in Trinity South Carolina, white frost could be seen on all rooftops throughout the town and an ice cold wind blew about the place, rattling the windows of the hospital.
Gail Emory lay silently in her hospital bed, trying to sort through the multitude of emotions that she was experiencing. After being in a coma for almost two months she had recently awoken to see her dead ex-boyfriend standing over her hospital bed displaying a look of concern.
At first she was confused, seeing Lucas Buck alive and kicking was more than a shock when she remembered attended his funeral, in addition to his burial. Lucas had explained that he had only appeared to be dead after some drug had been given to him to stop his heart rate and he had been buried alive; however, his Deputy had come to the rescue with the help of Dr Billy Peele and he was nursed back to good health while she was in a coma.
Gail could not decide whether she was relieved or upset, after all she had made peace with the fact that she would be raising their child as a single mother and it would be hard coming to terms with his sudden appearance. Then Lucas informed her that she had taken a tumble down a set of stairs in his home, which had resulted in her losing their baby. For the first time in her life Gail was speechless. After many discussions with Billy previously, she had considered not having the baby; however, after much consideration she had decided that she could not punish their child for her mistake.
After a moment of silence and contemplation, Gail shouted several insults at Lucas and ordered him to leave. Upon reflection, Gail believed that she could have handled the situation better, Lucas had lost a child too and it was not fair to put all the blame on him. Billy had informed her later that day that Lucas had made sure he was by her side as much as possible when she had been in the coma, to ensure he was present when she woke up.
Several hours had passed since Lucas had broken the news to her and she had been visited by several people including Deputy Ben Healy, Nurse Rita and her cousin Caleb. Caleb had seemed distant and wary of her when he approached her bed which was strange. He had said that he was happy to see she had finally woken up; however, there was something hidden behind his eyes that she did not care for. She could not quite put her finger on what it was, but she knew he was hiding something.
When Caleb and all her visitors had left it had been a relief. Gail had portrayed a welcoming manner and greeted her visitors with a warm smile, but the truth of the matter was that she was screaming inside and she just wanted to be left alone.
Now Gail just felt numb and she tried desperately to remember what had happened to cause the fall in the first place. Gail remembered being concerned about Caleb, as Selena Coombs had found her and informed her that Caleb had ran away. After losing her parents Gail had ran away several times and had been placed in foster care because of her actions. She would not allow anything like that to happen to her cousin and she was obligated to find him.
Gail remembered searching for Caleb at his friends house, the park and his favourite spot by the river, all to no avail. In the end Selena had driven to Lucas's house, as they had searched everywhere else. Upon reflection, Selena had behaved in a strange manner, she had been far too nice for Gail's liking and she would not enter Lucas's house. She was not sure what that meant, but she would ponder on it at a later time.
After Gail had entered Lucas's house everything was a hazy, she remembered thinking Caleb had changed somehow as he was acting very different; however, she could not remember what he had done to make her think this way and in what way he had changed.
Gail had grown very close to Caleb in her time spent in Trinity and they had formed a loving bond that only close family could do. She had been alone for so many years and it was nice to have family again, it was a shame that it had taken a tragedy to bring them together. Gail would not allow herself to think that Caleb had anything to do with her accident and quickly moved on with her train of thought, but her memory failed her and she hit a block.
Gail was becoming frustrated and agitated, she did not want to lie around in a hospital bed and allow people to mistake her for vulnerable. Gail got up and went to the wardrobe at the far end of the room and found a bag with her clothes in, she was very thankful that someone had thought ahead and made sure she had clean clothes. She forced herself into a faded pair of jeans, a loose grey T-Shirt and a thick blue cardigan, it appeared to her that she had gained some weight since her pregnancy; however, she managed to get the clothes on. She dug out her boots and a clip to tie her hair up, then she was on her way out of the hospital room.
Looking around the dull lit hospital corridor, Gail realised that it was later than she had originally thought and the place was deserted, apart from a nurse on the main desk further down the hall. Gail casually walked in the direction of the exit which led her past the main desk and hoped she would not be noticed. The nurse who was on shift was not one she recognised, so she picked up her pace and headed out of the door before someone realised who she was.
The sun had started to set outside and it was bitterly cold. Gail wrapped her arms around her chest for some warmth and continued down the steps. Now that she was outside she began to see the flaw in her plan, she had no car, no money and no way of getting home. This was just brilliant, she thought and could feel herself becoming upset. It was evident that her emotions had taken a beating with what had happened, as she was usually stronger than this and she could feel the tears beginning to form in her eyes.
Looking around the area Gail noticed a familiar yellow sports car, but was she that desperate to get away from here? Selena Coombs and Gail had never gotten on since Selena sabotaged Gail's chances of getting custody of Caleb; although, Gail could not blame her, as she clearly did it out of love for Lucas. Gail glanced to the left and right before deciding she had no other choice and approached the sports car.
Selena was sat in her car contemplating what her next move should be. She wanted to go into the hospital and find Billy, to see if she could convince him to stop avoiding her; however, part of her was scared of the rejection which might come. Selena was used to having any man she wanted, it was a strange new feeling being worried about rejection.
Just as Selena was about to turn on the engine of her car and drive away from the hospital, she saw an unexpected visitor approaching her vehicle. Selena could not believe her own bad luck when she saw Gail Emory walking towards her and she got out of her car to greet her nemesis. 'Well, no one told me Sleeping Beauty had finally awoken from her slumber' Selena said with a smirk.
'It's good to see you too Selena' Gail said sarcastically.
'So, when did you decide to come back to the land of the living?' Selena asked.
'This morning…look, I really need to get out of here Selena, how about a ride?'
'If you only woke up this morning I think it's safe to say that you haven't been officially discharged from the hospital yet, am I right?'
Gail glanced away from Selena's knowing gaze in a guilty way.
'Now, I'd hate to get the blame for being a bad influence and letting the lovely Miss Emory leave the hospital premises before she had properly healed'
Gail was beginning to get impatient. She was freezing, Billy or a nurse that recognised her could come out of the hospital at any moment and she just had to get away. 'Come on Selena, since when do you care what people think of you. Besides, all I want is a ride home and I won't tell anyone that it was you who drove me'
Although Selena did not much like Gail, she felt inclined to help. In another life they could have been friends, if it was not for Lucas Buck and Selena had been part of the reason why Gail had ended up in hospital. Besides, Selena did not know many women that she could talk to, it would be nice to have a women owe her a favour for a change.
'I know I'm going to regret this…' Selena said with an exasperated sigh and opened her car door '…come on, get in.'
Gail let out a long sigh of relief, smiled and got into the car. She would not let Selena know but she appreciated the help. Selena started up the yellow sports car and drove away.
There was not much conversation on the way to Gail's house, just a few pleasantries. When Selena pulled up at the curb in front of the house, it was dark and Gail almost jumped out of the car. She thanked Selena politely for the lift and headed inside her empty house.
Her place was empty and cold, once she was alone in the living room Gail collapsed onto the couch and began to cry. She was so overwhelmed with emotion and Selena helping her only confused matters. She curled up on the couch with her arms wrapped around her, while her thoughts danced around her mind and fell asleep.
Morning came and Gail awoke in her bed dressed in an old white shirt and her hair was loose, draped over her pillow. The curtains were open and the sun shone bright through the bedroom window. Gail yawned, gave a big stretch and sat up to find Lucas Buck sitting in the corner of the room.
'Well, look who finally decided to wake up. Do you wanna tell me what you're doing here and why you're not in your hospital bed?' Lucas asked with a serious look on his face, 'Dr Peele was going crazy last night trying to figure out where you got to Darlin' and how you got out of the hospital without him dischargin' you'
'You all should know better than to think I'm going to lie about in some hospital bed' Gail said with another yawn. 'How did you get in here? And did you change my clothes?'
Lucas smirked, 'Well, you should know better than to think I didn't know what you were doin' Gail; although, I was surprised that you managed to convince Selena to be an accessory to your escape.'
'You didn't answer my questions Lucas'
'You didn't answer mine Gail'
Gail grew tired of the conversation and got up out of bed. Had she realised that she was wearing nothing under the white shirt she would have taken more care to cover herself up with her blanket. Lucas looked her up and down from head to toe and smiled. 'I've missed that view' he said with a teasing look.
Gail blushed slightly, she did not yet know how she felt about him being alive or how he always managed to make her forget how angry she was and make her ache for him. She forgot herself for a moment and began to wonder if it would be so bad if she just to unbuttoned his shirt and caressed his chest, maybe ran her fingers through his caramel blond hair and kissed his neck softly. Gail could feel herself becoming hot under his seductive gaze and took a long intake of breath.
Lucas, sensing the conflicting feelings she was having, got up out of the chair and walked behind her. He could usually tell when it was safe to make his move or when she would push him away, he sensed an opening now and decided to take it. He gently stroked the nape of Gail's neck and let his fingers slowly move down her back to below the shirt, he blew softly on her neck then began to tenderly kiss and suck it. Lucas was pleased to feel Gail's acceptance as she leaned back into him, turning her head slightly to allow him more access to her neck and he felt himself become hard.
Gail took in a deep breath, trying not to lose her composure and pounce on him. She could not believe what she was allowing him to do, but it felt so good…so right. She took a sharp intake of breath when Lucas's hand moved from the bottom of her back to her stomach, then up to her bare breasts. He squeezed her breast lightly and a burst of pleasure ran through her from her feet to the pit of her stomach.
As Lucas's hand travelled back down past her stomach and to between her legs, Gail let out a small cry. Lucas continued to kiss her and tell her how much he had missed this, whilst his hand continued to play with her. The movement became faster and more vigorous, which caused Gail to lean back further into him and she let out a small moan when she felt his fingers enter her.
Gail reached behind her back and found her way into Lucas's pants, she could feel how hard and excited he was. She took hold of his manhood and began playing herself, it took all of her concentration to keep up the movement while he was pleasuring her but she was determined to cause him to unravel like he was causing her to.
Lucas began to groan and kiss her neck more forcefully, his free hand was clutching at her breasts and pulling her as close to him as possible. Both of their hands began to move faster and with more intensity, until it was all too much and they came together.
Lucas sat back on her bed and pulled her onto his knee, tenderly kissing the back of her neck. Gail instantly regretted what she had just done, then became angry with herself. She did not understand what had happened to her and she should have stopped this act.
Lucas, sensing how annoyed she was, stroked her arm. 'Are you ok Darlin'?' he asked concerned.
Gail brushed his hand away and got up. 'I'm fine…..I need a shower'
'Gail….' Lucas stood up, took off his boxer shorts and pulled his pants up. '…one of these days you'll realise that there's no point in fighting this' and with that he walked out of her house.
Gail stood silent for a moment contemplating his words, before heading to the shower to wash to feel of him off her body.
To Be Continued...
