I do not own any American Gothic characters, this is a work of fan fiction. This story is a continuation of my previous stories Emotion, Old Friends, Family, Difficult Decisions, Reflection, Spirit, Acceptance, Whole Again, Homecoming, Oh Father, Birthday Surprises, Misguided Feelings, New Year, Picture Perfect, Kinship, Big River, Sunday Morning Coming Down, To Beat The Devil, Best Of All Possible Worlds, Little Girl Lost, Wicked Games, Monster Bash, It Takes Two To Tango, Nobody Wins, Down the rabbit hole and Come Together.
It was a bright late December morning in Trinity South Carolina and although the sun was shining, there was a bitter cold breeze that could be felt throughout the Buck Mansion.
Caleb Temple crept quietly down the stairs in his pajamas, so not to wake anyone up. He had heard his baby brother crying in the night and Gail arguing with Lucas; therefore, he wanted to keep out of their way for as long as possible, to ensure his cousins anger did not spread to him. When he passed through the study and headed for the kitchen to get himself a drink, he spotted Gail with the baby resting against her shoulder and knew his hopes for a peaceful morning had vanished.
Gail let out a long yawn and rubbed Luke's back gently. The little devil had kept her up most of the night and she could not stand seeing Lucas' lack of willingness to help any longer; therefore, she chose to take the boy downstairs and feed him in peace. Unfortunately, it appeared her cousin had the same irritating ability as his father to turn up when he was least wanted and her plan for a few moments of peace had gone out of the window.
'Mornin' cous', how is he?' Caleb asked and went to the refrigerator to find some pure orange juice.
Gail forced a smile in an attempt to hide her irritation and got Caleb a glass from the cupboard next to her. 'Fine now that he's managed to get me out of bed. I hope he didn't wake you up'
'Nah, I only just woke up' Caleb shrugged and poured the orange juice into the glass.
'I really don't know why you're staying here, wouldn't you prefer your nice peaceful bedroom at my place? I know I would given the chance' Gail sighed, as she pulled the baby down to her chest and began rocking him.
'Isn't that Matt's place now?' Caleb asked curiously.
Gail laughed and shook her head. 'He's just a temporary lodger until I can find my way back there'
'You don't wanna be here?' Caleb asked, sensing his cousin's irritation.
'Do you?...' Gail asked in disbelief, '...I'm here because I have no choice yet, but you do Caleb and I thought you'd at least want to be with your sister...I know I'd prefer that'
Caleb thought about Merlyn residing at Abe's house. At one time he would have given anything to be with her again; however, now that she was back in his life for good, he wanted to explore his Fathers world.
Gail sensed Caleb's thoughts and sighed. She had hoped he would get bored of being here, especially with a new born baby screaming the house down each night; however, he appeared to be content with this arrangement. 'I miss your sister and I don't intend this arrangement to be permanent, you know that right?'
'Does Lucas?' Caleb asked, guessing she had not made Lucas aware of any plans to leave.
Gail smiled tiredly and rocked the baby in her arms. 'That's none of your concern...I'm your legal guardian and I don't expect you to put up a fight if I decide our living arrangements will change, do you understand?'
Caleb regarded his cousin carefully, then nodded. He did not want to get into an argument and he had every faith in Lucas getting involved if Gail tried to take him away. 'Alright cous', I won't fight you...I just want what's best for our family, like my daddy does' he advised.
Gail caught a hint of defiance in his tone and regarded him suspiciously. She should never have agreed to allow him to stay here; however, if both father and son want to be together, she was not sure it was her place to stand in their way. 'Good...' she sighed, choosing not to continue with the conversation and turned towards the stove. '...You want me to make you breakfast?'
'I'd like you to make us both breakfast' Lucas said, as he entered the kitchen and carefully took the sleeping baby from Gail's arms.
Gail narrowed her eyes at him and bit her lip in exasperation. She had not idea how much he had heard, but of course he showed up when the baby was peacefully sleeping. 'Seen as you're up, I'm going to get my head down to make up for sleep I've lost...Make your own damn breakfast' she replied with a hint of venom in her tone, then left them alone in the kitchen.
'Well that was uncalled for' Lucas sighed and took a sip of Caleb's orange juice.
'I can't tell whether she's really unhappy being here with us, or if she's just bein' dramatic' Caleb shrugged and got up to look for some cereal.
Lucas laughed at Caleb's mature way of looking at the matter. 'She's just tired son, she'll come around...Get your face outta them cupboards. Give me 10 minutes then we'll get ready, pick up Abe and grab some breakfast at the Diner'
'What about the baby?' Caleb asked confused.
Lucas rolled his eyes and shook his head. 'Why do you think I want 10 minutes son? Your cousin will be well away as soon as her head hit's the pillow, then I'll sneak this little handsome devil back where he belongs' he smiled.
Caleb knew Gail would not be impressed with being left with the baby; however, chose to stay out of it.
Merlyn woke up in Gail's bed, with Rocky laying beside her. She jumped up when she realised where she was and noticed she was still in the clothes she was wearing the night before.
'Don't worry, all I did was put you to bed when you fell asleep and I slept on the couch' Matt said as he brought her a cup of coffee. He did not approve at her drinking coffee at her age; however, she had developed a taste for it and there were worse things she could be doing, like her staying the night when he had been warned against it by his best friend.
Merlyn relaxed when Matt handed her the hot drink and smiled. 'I didn't mean nothin', it's just I should've let Abe know I wasn't stayin' at his place'
Matt laughed and shook his head. 'You were supposed to be staying at his place, or did you come up with an elaborate scheme to trick me into letting you stay here?'
'Me?...' she laughed, then turned serious. '...It is nice wakin' up to you in the mornin''
Matt inhaled deeply at the intense look M was giving him and remembered Gail's warnings. 'Well you won't be getting used to that. Now come on, let's go get some breakfast'
Gail rolled over in the large bed and her eyes shot open when she heard Luke's cry. She let out a loud sigh when she realised Lucas had placed the baby securely between several teddies on his side of the bed, then kicked off the quilt and took her baby in her arms.
'Shhh, did that son of a bitch neglect you? Of course he did' she whispered in a soothing tone and shook her head. She could not believe he found this behaviour acceptable and got up to find him, so she could give him a piece of her mind.
Gail walked out of the bedroom and carefully went down the stairs, in search of her lover. When she could not find him in his study or in the kitchen, she glanced out of a window and cursed out loud when she noticed his car was gone. She supposed it was at least a blessing that he had taken Caleb with him, as it was Saturday and she could not bare to have to take care of both of his children all day.
Gail had not felt herself since giving birth, she had gotten over the distrust of her baby boy; however, she had started to doubt her relationship with Lucas. In one moment he wanted to be involved with everything she did with the baby and the next he would find excuses to leave her to tend to the child on her own, as though she were an expert and not a new mother.
The more she analysed their relationship, the more she felt her connection with him dwindling. She supposed their relationship had been built on a kind forbidden desire for each other, which had been present since she returned to Trinity after Merlyn's death. She knew sex did not equal love and it was possible that their strong sexual urges had fooled them both into believing this was something more. Now that the sex had been taken away, her common sense was beginning to return.
Luke continued to cry, which brought Gail out of her thoughts. This was probably a good thing as it would not be smart to allow her doubts to take control of her, as Lucas would find this as some sort of betrayal no doubt. Gail rocked Luke gently and decided to go for a stroll around the property, hoping a change of scenery would distract them and clear her head. She appeared to be stuck here, as she would not take the baby into town for all the gossiping old biddies to gawk at; therefore, she might as well get some light exercise walking around the place.
Gail strolled down the long corridors slowly and smiled when Gideon decided to join her from the old Library that she had stumbled across previously. She allowed her guardian to lead the way and admired all the old fixtures about the place. For once she was not looking for anything in particular and that made this casual exploration relaxing. She had already proven that she was not going anywhere; therefore, Lucas had nothing to worry about anymore and that showed in the lack of stalking that she usually felt when she explored his home.
A door slowly creaked open as Gideon past it and it caught Gail's eye. The baby had fallen silent for the moment, curiously looking around the place and Gail felt her own curiosity spike. She entered the room, disregarding Gideon's low moan and was taken aback by the large dining room she had stumbled across. The room itself was filled with extravagant furniture and the large dark oak table stretched the majority of the room, able to seat at least a dozen people.
There was a large fireplace at the far end of the room and Gail felt drawn to it. She approached the fireplace slowly and her eyes fixed on a large picture with a dark red velvet sheet covering it. She desperately wanted to see what was underneath the sheet, so she reached for it; however, when her fingers made contact with the velvet, she felt a sharp pain surge through her head.
Suddenly Gail was sent back to a much earlier time. There were candles all around illumining the room, indicating it was night time and when she turned around she was met with two figures sitting down at the table, waiting to eat dinner.
She glanced down to ensure she still had hold of Luke and he appeared to be looking at the man sat directly in front of her, with long caramel blonde her. Gail felt something stir in her stomach and walked closer to the table to inspect the man before her, she took a large intake of breath when she saw the resemblance he had to Lucas and took a step back.
'More wine my dear?' The man said to his companion, which caused Gail to survey the rest of the room.
Gail's mouth dropped open when she saw the blonde woman who had murdered her past self sat at the other end of the large table and backed up against the wall, holding her baby protectively. She noticed both parties were dressed in clothes that would not be out of place in the early 1800's, if her old history studies had been correct and this indicated that she was either dreaming or was experiencing some sort of flash back, which was not out of place for her these days.
The blonde haired woman, who appeared a lot younger than her previous visions, let out a laugh and Gail was brought out of her thoughts. The woman appeared to be blushing with the attention she was getting and nodded her agreement for more wine.
Gail regarded the woman with disdain, she did not know what was happening; however, she knew she hated her for killing her past self and her unborn child. Although she had read her past self's diary, the ramblings of a love sick girl did not explain fully why the woman before her would believe she deserved such a fatal end. The diary had described some bad things that were done by Rosemary due to obsession, but how could that constitute murder?
The door to the Dining room opened and a young Rosemary shyly entered, behind a dark haired older man. Gail's eyes opened wide when she spotted her and the knot in her stomach became tighter.
'Forgive me Master Buck, some of the servants have taken ill. I hope you don't mind my daughter tending to your needs until they can be replaced' The older man said.
Gail shot a suspicious look at the Master of the house and noticed he remained smiling at the blonde woman opposite him. She then glanced at Rosemary who stood silently, staring at her hands.
'Go back to the kitchen Christopher, the girl will do fine...Now fetch us the wine girl' he said without looking at her, then turned his attention back towards his plate.
Rosemary rushed to get the wine and smiled at the young blonde woman, who flashed her a friendly smile back. If she remembered correctly from the diary, they were cousins and had been close at one time before jealousy tore them apart. Rosemary walked nervously to the head of the table, then carefully refilled the wine glass in front of Master Buck. She let out a sigh of relief when she had completed her task successfully, then turned to walk away; however, she felt a strong hand grip her wrist tight.
Gail regarded the pair curiously, Master Buck had gripped Rosemary's wrist when he sensed her unease lessen and now he could not take his eyes off of her. Gail felt her own unease begin to rise and held her baby close to her chest.
'Intriguing...How old are you girl?' he asked, putting his fork down so he could focus all of his attention on her. He did not much take for young girls, as they appeared to be too much work; however, he sensed something different in this one and she had sparked his curiosity.
Rosemary was taken in by the deep green eyes that were staring up at her and she felt a lump in her throat. 'Fifteen' she stuttered and held his gaze.
Master Buck nodded slowly and continued to gaze deep into her eyes. Luke suddenly let out a loud cry, which caused Gail to take her eyes off the pair for a second and when she glanced back towards them, Master Buck had let go of Rosemary and was staring directly at her.
Gail let out a surprised yell and closed her eyes, when she opened them she was back to present day with just Luke and Gideon. Gail exhaled slowly and swallowed hard, then rushed out of the room with Gideon following close behind her. She did not know what had just happened; however, she did not want to stay in here to find out.
-To be continued-