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 and Oh Father.
Merlyn Temple sat at the top of the stairs watching her curiously as her cousin paced in the hallway below, Gail was talking on the telephone to somebody and was twirling a strand of hair around her finger nervously. Merlyn had been spending a lot of time with her cousin over the past week and was starting to gain an understanding of what her little gestures could mean. She had been on the telephone for over 20 minutes and although her voice remained relaxed, her body language gave off a different vibe.
When Gail hung up the telephone and just stared at it silently for a moment, Merlyn chose to make her presence known and see what was going on. She was slightly concerned when her cousin did not notice her come down the stairs and approached her with caution. 'Hey Gail, whatcha doin? Is everythin' alright?'
Gail gave a little jump when she heard the unexpected voice behind her, then smiled at the young girl who had been taking up most of her time recently. 'Everything's fine...it appears we're going to have a visitor for a few days' she said irritably and started to walk into the living room where Caleb was sat watching Star Wars on her 50 inch television. She was amazed at how he had gone through life without watching the classics and was happy that he seemed to be enjoying catching up on them.
Merlyn tried not to get distracted by the movie displayed on the large television and kept her focus on Gail. 'Who's visiting us?' she asked curiously.
Gail sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. 'Well actually she's visiting me...it's my friend Christie from Charlsten, you haven't met her yet but I'm sure you'll like her. She's coming down for a few days with her little girl and she would not take no for an answer'
Caleb paused the movie at the mention of Christie's name, he had previously thought about her a lot after what had happened to her and her baby the last time she was in Trinity. He knew Merly did not want to hurt anybody when Christie was first here; however, he had been worried that his sister had gone too far at the time and was relieved when she gave the baby's spirit back. 'When's she comin'? Is she stayin' here?'
'Tomorrow is when she's arriving and I don't know about the living arrangements yet as we kind of have a full house here' Gail said becoming agitated with the constant questions being shot at her.
Caleb knelt down on the floor to give Rocky a stroke, 'I could stay with Lucas and Christie could have my room here'
'Over my dead body...' Gail said sternly, '...besides it might do you some good being around a toddler, you haven't been around a young child before have you?'
Caleb shook his head, 'No ma'am...do you think she'll let me hold her?'
'I'd be scared to hold her...' Merlyn interrupted, '...she's gonna be so small and I wouldn't wanna hurt her'
'We can hold her together Merly, that way we'll be sure to protect her' Caleb said excitedly.
Merlyn smiled and knelt down next to Rocky with her brother. 'You think? It'll be nice lookin' after a baby together'
'Oh my god!...' Gail interjected loudly and ignored how Caleb had referred to M, '...You two can calm right down. I need to figure out a few things, you two finish watching the movie and I'll be out back getting some fresh air. I'd appreciate some privacy for a little while'
Caleb went to say something but Merlyn shushed him and watched as Gail headed towards the kitchen.
Gail grabbed herself a bottle of Pinot Grigio wine out of the refrigerator and a glass, then headed out back. When she had settled herself comfortably on her porch chair she opened the wine and filled her glass, the promise of a visit from her oldest friend for her birthday had been unexpected and if she was totally honest she had actually forgotten that her birthday had come up so soon.
It was not that she did not want to see her best friend, she loved Christie and they had been through so much together; however, she had just started to get into a proper routine with Caleb and she was still dealing with where she wanted her relationship with Lucas to go. No-one knew her as well as Christie did and her friend would instantly spot the drama she was dealing with on first sight.
Gail had never been in a serious relationship with anyone but Gregory previously, as she did not believe in wasting her time and Christie knew this. If her friend suspected she had given herself over to Lucas Buck of all people, she would want to stick around to find out why. Christie had witnessed Gail's obsession with her parents deaths and knew who found the bodies, her friend would not be able to help but pry in her business and if she was in any other town that would be fine; however, she did not want her around with all the weirdness here and with Rosemary lurking inside of her.
Gail took a large sip of her wine and relaxed back into the chair, her friend was just as stubborn as she was and as hard to control. This little visit was going to be challenging and Gail needed to figure out the best way to handle it.
'You know it can be hard trying to control someone who wants to dig into your personal life...' Lucas said casually walking up the porch steps, '...I have some experience with that, would you like me to lend my expertise Miss Emory?'
Gail laughed, she should have known he would show up when she least wanted company. 'I don't need any help Sheriff, I can look after things myself...your little whore might be a different story though, how is she taking the death of her father? It's a shame such a good man had to die in such a way'
Lucas regarded her suspiciously, he knew of the Reverend's vice and the man had been injecting Morphine into his system for decades; therefore, Lucas found it hard to believe that he would overdose so carelessly one random night.
'Yeah but it wasn't so random was it?...' Gail said reading his mind and taking another large sip of her wine, '...Maybe he couldn't handle his daughter knowing the truth about him, or maybe she just pushed him to it with her whining...who knows?'
Lucas laughed and took a seat on a porch chair beside her, ignoring her warning glance. He had not been inside her for over a week now and could instantly smell her scent, it was driving him crazy so he took the wine glass from her and downed the remainder of the drink to distract himself, he then refilled the glass and handed placed it on the table in front of them. 'I normally know Darlin' and that's the problem...Enough talk about the Reverend, have you managed to find any clarity on our little situation?' he asked, hoping she had finally come to her senses over this ridiculous break she had forced on him.
Gail shook her head and picked up the refilled glass of wine, 'I think the problem is I have too much clarity...Honestly, I've been too busy to even think about us recently' she lied.
Lucas smiled devilishly, he knew her better than that. 'Oh so you've not been laying awake at night thinking about the things we've done previously? I don't believe that for a second Gail'
Gail stood up and walked into the dark garden in front of her with her glass of wine, her body was aching for him to be inside of her and she needed to make some distance between them so she could concentrate on Christie. Besides, she was still pissed at him over what happened with Selena and she would not let it go that easily.
Lucas followed Gail deep into her garden and placed his hands tenderly on her hips. Pulling her close to him, he kissed her cheek softly then nipped at the back of her neck playfully. 'I know letting it go that far with Selena was wrong and if it offended you I'm sorry...' he whispered in her ear, '...You know I want you and I always have, why continue to punish us both for something that you know wasn't going to lead anywhere?'
Gail let him hold her for a moment, then came to her senses when she heard the familiar growl from Gideon. 'It looks like someone doesn't approve of you touching me' she said and pulled away from his grasp.
Lucas shook his head and shot a warning glance at the interfering mutt. 'Come on Darlin', I've apologised about as much as I'm going to so what do you wanna do now?'
Gail laughed, 'Selena may have fallen for your empty apologies in the past but I'm not that desperate...What I wanna do now is drink the rest of that bottle of wine and brainstorm over what I'm going to do tomorrow. I don't need your company or your help, so just leave Lucas' she said and turned away from him to walk back to her porch with Gideon following closely.
Lucas watched angrily as she walked away from him, this mood of hers was getting out of hand and he needed to find a way to put an end to it soon. He decided the best thing to do would be to leave her alone for tonight and he would start afresh tomorrow.
Selena Coombs walked into the teachers lounge and placed her lunch in the refrigerator. She had come in early intentionally so she could plan her schedule for the remainder of the week, as she had been distracted with her fathers death. Most days she had felt numb and taught her class on autopilot; however, today she finally felt more herself and with the funeral being scheduled for the upcoming weekend, she needed to start getting a grip of herself.
Selena went to walk out of the room when she felt all eyes on her, which prompted her to survey her surroundings. It appeared all the other teachers were staring at her more judgmentally than usual and it was making her feel uncomfortable, she had never gotten on with the other teachers in the school; however, they respected the effort she made with her students and normally left her alone. Now it appeared they could not take their eyes off her and she was curious as to why.
Selena left the room confused over what had just happened and walked straight to the safety of her classroom, then closed the door. She tried to figure out why everyone was acting so strange and recalled some of the teachers had the Trinity Guardian newspaper in their hands, she had picked up the paper on the way to school but had not had time to read it just yet. Selena felt unease in the pit of her stomach as she dug the newspaper out of her bag and her breath caught in her chest when she saw the front page headline, she stared at the name of the Reporter who had written the article and gritted her teeth. 'That bitch!' she yelled and stormed out of the classroom angrily.
Gail chose to drop Caleb off at school early so he could meet up with Rose before the morning bell rang. As they were no longer residing at the boarding house and she was in the year below him they did not have much to talk, which was a shame as they had been good friends at one point. Gail watched Caleb rush behind the school after making him promise he would head in on time, then went to get back into her car; however, the yell of Selena from a a few yards behind her made her stop in her tracks.
Selena stormed up to Gail and threw the newspaper down on the bonnet of the car. 'How dare you speak of my father in that way' she screamed angrily.
Gail allowed Selena to yell at her for a moment and just smiled. She had chosen to wait until a week after the Reverends death to publish the truth about him, knowing Selena would just be starting to settle and this would be the perfect time to rattle her cage. Being this vindictive was not her usual style; however, she could not help but torture the woman who blatantly tried to service her partner. 'Oh I'm sorry, is my article untrue?...I know how he died Selena and I also know how he lived. It looks like your father had been hooked on morphine for a good number of years, I wonder if that was due to you screwing every man you could lay your hands on in this town and it being public knowledge?'
Selena felt the fury rise within her and raised her hand to slap Gail across the face; however, her nemesis just grabbed her wrist effortlessly, twisted it around her back and pushed her down on the car roughly. 'A word of advice teacher, it's not a smart move trying to attack a woman who had to learn to defend herself young. I could break your arm right now without even working up a sweat and look around, your Sheriff is nowhere to be found to stop me'
Selena struggled in an attempt to break free of the trap she was in but could not, the more she struggled the tighter Gail twisted her arm. 'Get off me Gail!' she yelled angrily.
Gail laughed and pulled a little tighter, part of her wanted to make this woman suffer for the doubts she had caused in her relationship; however, there were other less physical ways which would produce more satisfying results, so Gail released her grip on the woman's arm and decided to deal with her in a more psychological way later. 'My article speaks the truth Selena, I would never print a lie...you're just going to have to accept your father for what he truly was, especially now that everyone else in this town knows' she said getting into her car.
Selena lay on the bonnet of the Mustang for a moment, then quickly got up when she felt the engine roar beneath her and jumped out of the way when Gail aimed the car at her on her way out of the car park. She could not believe the audacity of the woman dragging her fathers name through the dirt when he was dead and her old hatred of her began to resurface.
Lucas sat in the archive room of the public Library waiting for a special someone, he knew she spent most of her time here these days and was confident that she would show up soon. As if by magic, he sensed footsteps coming down the stairs and stood up to greet her courteously with a smile.
Merlyn sighed loudly when she saw Lucas was clearly waiting for her in her sanctuary, she could not believe he had soiled this place with his presence when she held it in such high regard. 'What do you want Lucas?' she asked irritably placing her bag on the desk and pulling out a pad with a pen attached.
'Now why have you gotta go and take that tone with me Missy? Maybe I'm just checking up on how you're handling your new life'
Merlyn laughed and went straight to a bookshelf to locate the book she had been reading the previous day. 'Firstly, I take this tone with you as you snapped my neck Lucas...Secondly, you don't care how I'm handlin' things, you just don't like being in the dog house with Gail'
Lucas laughed, the girl was certainly learning he would give her that. He found he was beginning to develop a soft spot for Merlyn now that she could not interfere with his progress with Caleb. Merlyn Ann was the only one of his victims that had popped back up again and he could not punish her for the fact that it was his unborn child's spirit that was aiding her return to the living, as it was not her that chose to put the spirit to that particular use. 'I've told you before Missy, I did you a favor. That wasn't a life with Gage, you have so much more freedom now...and don't worry about me being in the dog house, that won't last long' he said confidently.
Merlyn rolled her eyes at his comment; however, she could not deny that she was getting much more opportunities the second time around in life and she was enjoying the way everything was going. 'Whatever benefits I have now are nothin' to do with you Lucas and I don't owe you anythin', so just spit out what you want so I can get back to work'
'Work?...' Lucas asked curiously, '...So that cousin of yours has actually found a use for you? I guess your mama would be proud with you shacking up with a big time professional, especially with your lack of education and all'
Merlyn slammed the book down on the table and turned her full attention towards him. 'Did you just come here to insult me or is there a purpose to your visit?'
Lucas casually walked around the table so he was closer to her, then smiled devilishly. 'I'm just messin' with you Merly Ann, you've done good for yourself..I'm actually here about your cousins birthday'
Merlyn regarded him suspiciously, Gail had not mentioned her birthday and it suddenly occurred to her that she did not even know when it was. 'What birthday?' she asked, giving in to him.
Lucas laughed, 'You didn't know it was her 30th birthday in a few days? Oh man, she's lucky to have you around'
'Well Caleb doesn't know either and she keeps this stuff to herself, so back off!' she said defensively.
Lucas smiled to himself, it appeared a short temper ran in the family especially with the woman. Merlyn's mother had been the same, much like Gail and her mother Christine. He never understood why the women in this family took every little comment so seriously, he supposed it was to do with being proud and when you had men such as Peter and Gage around he imagined it was hard to keep hold of your pride. 'Calm down Merly Ann, I'm just tellin' you now so you can do somethin' about it...Gail doesn't like fuss but you only turn 30 once and I thought you might wanna do somethin' special for her'
Merlyn shook her head in exasperation, he was making it sound as though she did not care about her cousin and that was not true. She did not believe Gail would react well to her teaming up with Lucas behind her back; however, if it was in fact an important birthday Merlyn should try to arrange something special. Against her better judgement she decided to hear him out, she supposed that would not do any harm. 'Fine, what were you thinkin'?' she asked.
'Firstly I was thinkin' we should get out of here and discuss things in a more comfortable surrounding. Let's go grab a bite to eat Merly Ann, you're a growin' girl and I know how much you like your food'
Merlyn sighed and began to put her notepad back into her bag, she knew she would regret this later; however, she could never turn down the offer of food these days.
Billy stood leaning against the main counter of Trinity General Hospital talking to Rita, he had been trying to get in to see Matt; however, the fiery red headed Nurse kept blocking his attempts. 'Come on Rita, I just wanna talk to the man...he's my friend' he said, trying to convince her to move his next appointment back.
Rita rolled her eyes at her old superior, she liked Billy he was always fun but with all the random accidents that had been happening for the past two weeks she did not dare mess with Matt's schedule. 'Oh please Billy, give it up. You're friends with Ben and Gail, you know Matt through them and nothin' else. Why are you hounding us? I thought you'd be busy with Juniper'
Billy feigned a hurt look at her comment, then just smiled when he realized she saw right through his act. The truth was that he had not seen much of Gail since their encounter the week earlier and he wanted to know where she stood with Lucas. He did not dare ask either her or Lucas; however, she checked in with Matt every day so the man should be aware of what was going on with her. 'I'm busy enough...' he shrugged, '...I miss it here though, we had it good for a while didn't we Rita?'
Rita smiled, he was the first Doctor that actually treated her like an equal. Matt had always been nice to her, but he did not always notice her; however, Billy made an effort in getting her on side when he took over Matt's position and she had a soft spot for him due to that. 'We had it very good, it's a shame you chose to ditch me for a higher purpose' she said jokingly.
Billy laughed, 'That wasn't my doing...besides, nothings stopping you from joining me. I'd love to have a friendly face helping me in Juniper'
Rita shook her head thinking he was joking, then saw from the look on his face that he was serious. 'Are you offering me a job Billy?' she asked shocked.
'I should hope not...' Gail said approaching them, '...I don't think Doctor Monroe would take kindly to him poaching his staff'
Billy turned his attention towards Gail and tried not to stare at her figure for too long, if he got caught there would be hell to pay. 'Well it's a good job I have a friend who has Doctor Monroe's ear, I'm sure she could smooth it over if Rita wanted to join me'
Gail rolled her eyes, yet another thing to do for someone else. She was growing tired of dealing with so many people, she needed to find a way to be left alone. 'Why not? I got you and Matt good positions, might as well do it for everyone else' she said sarcastically and started to walk towards Matt's office.
'He's asked not to be disturbed Gail' Rita called after her and took a step back when Gail shot her an agitated glance.
Billy had not stopped thinking about Gail in that red lacy underwear she wore when they nearly got intimate and the feisty look she was displaying at the moment was not helping tame his desires.
Gail shook her head at the pair of them then walked uninvited into Matt's office and closed the door. Matt was sat laid back in his chair with his hand covering his eyes, he looked as though he had experienced a hard morning and she now understood why Rita said he did not want to be disturbed. 'Am I interrupting?' she asked.
Matt smiled when he heard his friends voice and turned his attention towards her. 'Never, I'm just taking a breather from the surprising amount of patients I've had recently. I don't know what's wrong with people, if it's not kids with sprained or broken limbs it's accidents with sharp utensils...I swear these townspeople are trying to keep me overworked, I've barely had a chance to to get a coffee all morning!'
Gail laughed, although he was complaining she could tell Matt was settling into his position nicely and she was happy he was managing the stress better than he had the previous week. 'Well in that case I'd say you're long overdue a proper break, your appointments can wait 10 minutes while you come and get a coffee with me' she said signalling for him to follow her out of the office.
Matt reluctantly gave in and followed his friend, giving Billy a wave on his way past. He felt like he was finally in a good place and although he suspected the increase in accidents since he had returned to his role was somehow down to Lucas, he no longer allowed the man to get under his skin. It helped that Gail had been acting more like her old self recently, he wondered if something had happened between them; however, he did not dare bring up the subject.
'You're one of my best friends Matt...' she said reading his mind and placing some coins into the coffee machine, '...a benefit of that means you can ask me whatever you want and I can't get mad, providing you're being reasonable that is'
Matt took the cup of coffee she handed him and started walking down the corridor with her, he did not want to pry into her business but she was his friend and he wanted to make sure she was alright. 'OK, you've been around a little more than usual recently...how's things going on the relationship front?' he asked cautiously.
Gail laughed and shook her head, it appeared her change in character was everyone's favorite subject recently. If it was not M and Caleb trying to figure out why she was home more often, it was Billy and Ben trying to put their noses into her business. Now it appeared Matt had jumped on the band wagon; however, at least he had the balls to ask her outright what he wanted to know. 'I appreciate you getting straight to the point..my relationship is non existent at the moment, anything else you want to know?'
Matt could see Gail was putting on a brave front; however, he sensed she was upset over something and felt his hatred towards Lucas flare up. 'Did he do something to you? Tell me!' he asked in a protective tone and grabbed her arm.
Gail knew Matt was only trying to look out for her but she did not need this macho display. Placing her hand gently over the hand gripping her arm, she turned towards her friend and smiled reassuringly. 'You think I'd ever let him hurt me? Use your brain Matt...I don't want to talk about it and you don't need to get involved, just trust me when I tell you I'm fine. Besides, I have a bigger pain in my ass than Lucas to worry about at this moment in time'
Matt removed his hand from Gail's arm and looked at her confused. 'Who could be a bigger pain in the ass than Lucas Buck?' he asked curiously.
Gail laughed, 'Well you've met her once before and I can imagine she made a lasting impression on you. Come on, let's grab a seat and I'll fill you in on my little visitor'
-To be continued-
