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 and To Beat The Devil.

It was a calm Spring evening in Trinity SC, the leaves on the trees were still and the streets were quiet. Merlyn Ann Temple wandered around aimlessly with Rocky wearing a short floral cream dress and a white pair of pumps that she had bought with her wages. She needed some time alone with her thoughts to contemplate how best to deal with the members of her family who had been corrupted by Lucas Buck and she found no-one ever challenged her when she requested to take Rocky out for a walk.

Merlyn had been worried about both Caleb and Gail, ever since she had witnessed the change in their behaviors. Caleb had been looking for a fight ever since he had done something to Earl the previous week and Gail was just something else. She still felt like she had a strong bond with her cousin and could sense the darkness within her. Gail was being more bold recently and outwardly challenging Lucas, which was dangerous and very stupid in her opinion.

Ever since Gail wrote an article about four staff members of Juniper House willing to testify to Billy Peele's innocence, Lucas had been unusually tolerable. Merlyn knew what the man was capable of more than most and she was not fooled by his apparent acceptance of the way his game with Billy was playing out. The fact that he was not outwardly rising to Gail's disobedience was concerning and this put Merlyn on edge.

Lucas had not yet released Billy and he was still incarcerated at the Sheriff's Station, she knew Gail would push the matter and Lucas did not play well when he lost control of the pawns on the board. With all that was going on Merlyn had chosen to try to remain neutral, at least until she understood more about the powers that were at play here; however, it was proving difficult with Lucas not being the only one that she had to watch out for these days.

She sighed to herself and knelt down to give Rocky an affectionate stroke. 'At least I know what I can expect from you boy' she said aloud and smiled when the dog licked her cheek.

'I should think you'd know what you can expect from me by now' Gail said as she approached her cousin, with Gideon walking by her side.

Rocky let out a low growl at the other dog then moved his nose closer to inspect Gideon when he just walked past, unfazed by Rocky.

Merlyn stood up and brushed some dirt off her knees. 'I'd like to think I can expect the cousin who has a connection with me, rather than the dark one who parades around with this inhuman mutt'

Gail shook her head at Merlyns judgmental comment, then leaned down to stroke Gideon and Rocky. 'I'd love to parade around with my original mutt if someone else wasn't hogging him all the time...Do you even remember how I initially got that dog?'

Merlyn inhaled deeply to hide her irritation, she had ignored the fact that Rocky was a present from Lucas and chose to look at him as her ray of light in this dark town. 'Sometimes good things can come from a questionable act' Merlyn shrugged.

Gail laughed and regarded her cousin carefully. 'That act was sentimental, not questionable and you'll do well to remember who Rocky truly belongs to...Now why are you out here all alone?'

Merlyn sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. 'I need some peace and quiet to think is all'

Gail nodded and looked at her suspiciously. 'You're a teenage girl, you shouldn't be spending so much time alone. Besides, we're not your problem to solve' she said knowingly.

Merlyn pulled Rocky's lead lightly and began to walk past her cousin. 'I don't know what you're talkin' about Gail' she lied and continued walking down the road, ignoring Gail's irritated glance.

'It appears that girl is as stubborn as the rest of the women in her family' Lucas said as he came out from behind a tree close by.

Gail let out a long sigh and watched Merlyn carry on down the street. 'That girl is no concern of yours and you better leave her alone' she ordered, then started to walk past him with Gideon.

Lucas ignored Gideon's growls and chose to walk with his Love. 'I'm not interested in that girl, you've made damn sure that all my attention is on you Darlin''

Gail forced a smile to hide her irritation, he had ensured she was well watched ever since the Juniper staff visited the Sheriff's Station and it was making it hard for her to uncover any further evidence for Billy's case. 'As the object of your affection Sheriff, I would politely suggest that your attention be awarded to a different target' she said sweetly and turned into the park.

Lucas continued to follow her into the quiet park, he could sense a few people deeper in the area; however, they were alone for the time being. 'Unfortunately, I have nothing more interestin' to focus my attention on Love...You brought this treatment on yourself'

Gail stopped and turned to face him fully. 'Oh please, so I do one little thing and this warrants you monitoring my every move?' she asked irritated.

'That's how it works in my town Miss Emory...' he said closing the distance between them, '...If you choose to outwardly defy me, then there are goin' to be consequences'

Gail stared at him defiantly, she could not experiment with her darkness or try to find more information with him monitoring her so closely; however, he was right and she had brought this on herself with the action she had taken to help Billy, especially when she knew her true self intrigued him so much. 'You know what? Bring it on Sheriff...Let's see how long your surveillance can keep up' she challenged, then walked off with Gideon following close beside her.

Lucas watched her go and shook his head. Between Merlyns quiet contemplation and Gail's open defiance, he had his hands full with the women in this family.

Caleb sat on the front porch waiting for his family to return, Gail had chosen to look for Merlyn after she had been gone for over an hour with Rocky and he was enjoying some time alone to catch up on his reading. He had continued delving into the horrors of Nazi Germany after he had initially been given a book from Abe to read and he found himself getting agitated when people tried to take his attention away from his research.

'Well prepare yourself for the interruptions son...' Lucas said as he leaned against the porch rail, '...I do believe the girls are on their way home as we speak'

Caleb sighed, he loved his family; however, they always seemed to be around lately. He would not mind if they were doing anything interesting but they were just there, existing for the sake of existing.

'You know there wouldn't be any interruptions at my place don't you?' Lucas asked casually. He had not been allowed to spend as much time with Caleb over the past month, due to his stunt with Billy Peele. Gail had been performing her usual duties, albeit not as often; however, she had ensured Caleb was always minded by either Merlyn, Harvard, or his oldest friend Abraham these days.

Lucas had been disappointed with his old friend, especially as Abe knew better than to get involved with his business; however, he would not let his anger show and it was about time things got back to normal.

Caleb looked up from his book and glanced at Lucas suspiciously, his actions with Doctor Peele had caused Gail to stop allowing him to stay over at Lucas' place so this conversation was a surprise. Before he discovered his new found interest, he was going to attempt to convince Gail to let the visits continue more frequently; however, he got way laid with his current research. 'I doubt Gail would be happy if I stayed at your place, especially with Doctor Peele still locked up' he said disappointingly.

Lucas had been stalling Billy-boys case until he could figure out a way to get the Juniper House employees to retract their statements. He was not ready to lay down arms just yet as the battle may still be won; however, the delay tactics were infuriating his Love, which resulted in her refusing to stay at his place with Caleb. 'That ol' cousin of yours is stubborn, but I don't believe she would ever intentionally pull you into our little game son...I'm sure if you really wanna stay somewhere she couldn't hold it against you, you are only a child who may want to spend time with his father after all' Lucas suggested cunningly.

Caleb nodded to show his understanding, Gail had never outright refused his request she had just made excuses as to why she could not honor them at that time. He closed his book and stood up, then approached his father. 'Do I still have clothes at your place?'

'Yes you do' Lucas smiled.

'And you'll give me some time alone?' Caleb asked.

'That house of mine was built for privacy son' he agreed.

Caleb smiled and picked up his keys from the porch table. 'Alright, let's go then...but you have to inform the girls'

Lucas nodded and signaled for Caleb to go to his car. He would take pleasure in informing his Love that the boy had chosen him once again.

Billy stood pacing in his cell, attempting to ascertain the best way to move forward. No visitors had been allowed since Selena's unexpected visit the previous week and Lucas had been tight lipped about what was happening with his trial.

Selena had told him that Gail would be visiting him and that he needed to be ready to follow her instructions; however, it had been just over a week and he had not seen her. Billy was sick of people not listening to his wishes and did not want his friend interfering with the course he had chosen to take.

'Too late for that' Gail said approaching the cell and forced a smile to hide her anger at being brought into this situation.

Billy smiled back at his friend, he could see through her false exterior and could not hold in his laugh. 'You're mad at me when you keep going against my wishes?' he asked in disbelief.

Gail regarded him carefully, she would have to try harder next time to hide her true feelings. 'I'm mad at you because you stupidly entered a guilty plea when you know full well this situation is anything but conventional...I mean what the hell were you thinking Billy? You can't be this stupid'

Billy walked to the front bars of the cell and shook his head. 'This is none of your business Gail...The actions I took resulted in people dying' he yelled in frustration.

'Yeah well the actions I took on your behalf will probably do the same' she snapped and ran her hand through her long brown hair in exasperation.

Billy regarded his friend suspiciously, 'What did you do Gail?' he asked concerned.

Gail laughed and shook her head. 'Nothing that you need to concern yourself with Billy...' she replied irritably, '...My actions are my own and whatever happens now, well I'll just have to live with it won't I?'

'I didn't ask you to...'

'No you didn't, but I had no choice seen as you basically handed Lucas the noose to hang you with' Gail interjected angrily. Her feelings on the matter were precisely the reason why she had not visited him sooner.

Her anger towards her friend was beginning to grow, she had not wanted to show her cards to Lucas and had tried so hard to hide the true extent of her darkness; however, Billy's lapse of intelligence had forced her hand. She could not stand by and allow Lucas to damn another one of her friends like she had done with Matt Crower, so she was forced to step in.

Gail watched Billy turn away from her to hide his anger at the situation. They were now linked in this together so she took a deep breath to calm herself, acting emotionally would not help the matter and she needed to regain control of herself. 'Look, what's done is done. You can't change the course in which this is playing out, so you need to get over this self loathing and help me figure out the best way forward here' she tried to reason.

Billy let out a long sigh and turned towards his friend, no-one was telling him anything about what was going on and he hated being in the dark; however, Gail had done something to help him and judging by his lack of visits to the Courthouse, whatever she had done had slowed down the trial process. 'I wanna know what you did Gail, I can't think straight until you tell me' he sighed.

Gail rolled her eyes and shook her head. 'I just convinced some of your staff to be honest about your patients, that's all'

Billy narrowed his eyes at her and laughed. 'That's all? Lucas had several air tight statements to convict me Gail, that's clearly not all'

Gail stepped closer to the bars and took his hand in hers, she had been careful not to get too close to him since his misguided feelings a few months earlier; however, his defiance was going on too long and she was getting bored of this. She allowed her darkness to come to the surface momentarily, to give her some clarity into the matter at hand. 'Do you trust me?' she asked sweetly.

Billy felt a warmth flow through him when their hands touched, her presence was suddenly calming to him and he took a deep breath to push down his desire for her. 'You know I do...Gail I nee...' he started, then ceased talking when her finger touched his lips gently.

'You don't need anything from me Billy, strike the thoughts from your mind and focus...If you trust me, you'll stop asking questions and allow me to help you' she said in a soft tone, sensing his acceptance of her.

Billy stared deeply into her eyes, he could feel his control diminishing and being replaced by her. He opened himself up to the intrusion and allowed her in, taking comfort in the calmness that flowed threw his body.

Gail smiled and closed her eyes, her darkness was in full control and she could not stop it now even if she wanted to. She took away all his doubts and guilt, then replaced it with unwavering trust. When she opened her eyes, she felt his resolve soften and released his hands. 'I'm going to go now...I want you to think long and hard about how the incident in question went down'

Billy nodded obediently and stepped back until he sensed he was close to his bed, then sat down and continued to watch her with unwavering loyalty.

Gail pushed her darkness back down and regarded her friend curiously. Lucas would not be happy at her continued interference; however, she had chosen to step into the game and she could not turn back now.

-To Be Continued-