I do not own any American Gothic characters, this is a work of fan fiction. This story is a continuation of my previous stories and follows on from Into The Fire.

It was a quiet Friday evening in Trinity South Carolina, all the streets were deserted due to unprecedented cold spell that had hit the Town and most residents were tucked away at home with their loved ones.

Billy Peele sat with his companion Christie in a small Diner, away from the main area of Town. It had been a few weeks since Gail Buck's lifestyle article had been published and the moods of their friends did not appear to be improving. Billy had been spending more time with Lucas and the boys, while Gail had thrown herself into her work and this had been the first time he had been able to get away to see Christie in a while.

'It's all just crazy' Billy explained in an irritated tone, 'I don't know what's wrong with Gail but she needs to snap out of it soon, or I'm likely to explode along with Lucas'

Christie sat peacefully sipping her cappuccino and listened to her companions ramblings. This situation had worked out well for her as she finally had her friend back and she was quite happy for the breakup to continue, if it meant her friend was getting back to her old self. She adored Billy, regardless of Gail's warnings about his girlfriend; however, she did not see what the issue was with Gail's current behaviour and was baffled with how personally he was taking it.

'It's just not lady like, abandoning your family in such a way' Billy continued, not noticing the large intake of breath that Christie took at the comment. 'You can't just walk out for no reason and expect a man to just accept it, it's ludicrous'

'Firstly, Gail never walks out of something she's committed to for no reason. Secondly, what's ludicrous is how a man can clearly treat his wife as a possession, then spit his dummy out when she finally decides to be free. Why would I ever expect you blame a controlling man, when an innocent woman can be the scapegoat instead?' Christie interjected, becoming sick of the one sided opinion.

Billy stared at her cautiously for a moment, sensing he had overstepped some boundary and let out a long sigh. He had not intended this meal to become a discussion about their friends and was disappointed in himself for allowing it to distract him from his true intentions. 'How's your day been? Fancy heading down to Jimmy's bar to help us unwind?' he asked, sensing a change of subject was required.

Christie stared at her watch and shook her head dismissively. His outlook on her best friends situation had killed the mood for her and she was not in the right frame of mind to continue this date. 'I have a lot to do and someone that I need to check in on. Rain check?' she asked forcing a smile, then got up from the table before waiting for his answer and exited the Diner.

Billy felt a wave of disappointment as he watched her go and shook his head in irritation. He supposed he should go home and check in on Selena, considering he had been avoiding her due to his recent rendezvous's with Christie.


Ben Healy sat in the warm Study of the Buck Mansion, watching his daughter Izzy play happily with Luke. They had been lucky that both children were born at a similar time and they appeared content with each others company, unaware of what problems befell the adults around them. Ben envied their innocence and wished he would be granted oblivion.

The last two months had been uncomfortable to say the least, he had discovered from his Boss' ungroomed appearance and mood swings that there was serious problems with his personal life, which meant that some poor souls were going to suffer. If his Boss had been any other person that would have been fine; however, he happened to be Lucas Buck, their sociopath Sheriff and his oldest friend, who he planned on asking to be the Best Man at his wedding.

Ben wanted nothing more than to steer clear of all drama surrounding Lucas, knowing what the man really was; however, Gail was also one of his best friends too and he knew Rita was going to ask her to be her Maid of Honour, which would no doubt cause all sorts of hell if they were still experiencing issues at their wedding.

Lucas was a private man, Ben had been trying to determine the best way to help in this situation for the sake of his wedding and the well-being of others; however, the man kept his feelings bottled up tighter than anyone he had ever met, until he eventually cracked and lashed out at some unsuspecting bystander.

Ben had witnessed a lapse of control two weeks ago when Lucas had been talking to a low life in the back of their cruiser, who they had picked up on suspicion of theft. Lucas had been fine one minute, then he ordered Ben to pull over and dragged Bobby Mayer out of the car by his hair, threw him over the Harriot's farm fence and watched as the large pigs from the pen started chomping at his legs. The whole ordeal had been horrifying, especially seen as Ben had never witnessed pigs attack a human before; however, Lucas had shrugged off the matter and allowed Ben to take Bobby to the hospital, after a pig took a chunk out of his leg.

As Ben recalled the ordeal, he let off an involuntary shudder and tried to focus on the innocent children playing before him. It had been a while since he had witnessed Lucas' dark side and he had truly thought Gail's influence had calmed him down.

'No chance of that friend' Lucas advised nonchalantly and handed his friend a beer.

Ben turned towards Lucas with wide eyes, then relaxed and took a sip of his beer when the man appeared calm. 'How long have you got Luke for?' he asked, thinking it best to stick around as long as he could to ensure his friend kept out of trouble.

Lucas sensed his concern and smiled, who'd have thought Ben would develop a back bone and try to keep him in line? 'The boy's Mother is workin' late and I ain't leavin' him with Abe. She can try and take him when she's ready, but as far as I'm concerned my boy's back home indefinitely' he stated and attempted to keep the frustration out of his voice.

Ben sensed the anger beneath Lucas' tone and inhaled deeply, in an attempt to calm his nerves. He could see his friend was close to snapping again; however, he did not know the right thing to do to help him.

'You're a good man Ben' Lucas said, sensing his thoughts and signalled for him to leave. 'Why don't you go home to your fiance so she can settle for the night?'

Ben heard the order in the suggestion and let out a small laugh. 'You gonna settle in for the night too?' he asked, not wanting any bad act on his conscience.

'I've got a baby and a young teen, I'd say I've got enough to keep me busy at home Deputy' Lucas advised sarcastically and nodded his appreciation towards Ben when he left.

Caleb wandered in from the kitchen and sat down beside Luke, then handed him his bottle. Lucas watched his boys fondly and let out a long sigh at his love's stubbornness, which was breaking up their family. The thought caused a surge of anger to flow through him and he got up to leave the Study, with the aim of blowing off some steam.

'Sit down' Caleb ordered calmly, not taking his eyes off of Luke.

Lucas turned towards his eldest and stared down at him bemused. 'Come again?' he asked in disbelief of the order.

Caleb inhaled deeply and stroked Luke's head affectionately, admiring his brothers thick caramel blond hair. 'You go doin' somethin' silly and she'll never come home, so sit down and look after us like a father should' he ordered in irritation at the situation.

Lucas regarded Caleb angrily for a moment, ready to insert his dominance, then returned to his seat and picked up his beer. 'None of this is your fault you know?' he advised, annoyed at himself for allowing his boys to be affected by this.

Caleb let out a small laugh and shook his head in disbelief. 'I ain't done anythin' wrong, neither has Luke. Gail still likes us so whatever you did you need undo it, as this ain't fair on us' he snapped, then picked up Luke carefully and headed towards his bedroom.

Lucas took another sip of beer as he watched his boys leave the room, then stood up and inhaled deeply before throwing the bottle of beer at the wall in frustration.


Gail sat in her large office, staring at the lifestyle article she had written with disgust. Although the powers that be had retracted their ban on her investigating real news, they had insisted that she still remain the lifestyle columnist due to her popularity with the locals; therefore, she had been stuck writing about mundane things that were of no interest to her.

She glanced at the tattoo on her wrist and it made her smile. Lucas had been very careful not to interfere with her career after she allowed herself to be permanently scarred and the thought of his face when he realised what she had done amused her. If a few tattoos were all it took to get him off of her case, she would have done this a lot sooner.

Inner peace, that was what the symbol on her wrist stood for. She ran her finger over it carefully and shook her head at how far removed her life was from peace. Things had not gotten easier and her feelings of betrayal had only magnified since she left her home with Luke. She was trying her best to keep up appearances, to not alert the gossiping biddies of their current issues; however, she suspected there were whispers around Town of her staying with her Uncle Abe and it would not take long for people to notice their beloved Sheriff's family had been torn apart.

The thought of people interjecting themselves into her business caused a wave of rage to flood her brain and she felt the need to scream. All she wanted was to have some normality in her life but she was stuck in this limbo, due to her husbands lack of control or care for her. She had a sudden urge to throw her mug of coffee at the wall in frustration; however, a small knock on the office door interrupted that thought and she just called for the person to enter.

Christie opened the door slowly, peering around the office to ensure she was not interrupting and then entered quickly, closing the door behind her. 'So, you're clearly in a crappy mood. Care to share?' she asked, knowing her best friends tells by now.

Gail stared at Christie suspiciously for a moment, then let out a small laugh and shook her head. The one good thing that came out of her separation was that she had managed to repair the damage to her friendship with Christie and her crazy urge to hurt her had subsided, leaving the only normal thing in her life. 'You don't want to hear about my problems, you want to discuss your guilt' she stated knowingly, then waited patiently for her friend to open up.

Christie sat on the desk in front of Gail, then let out a long sigh. 'I do care about what's bothering you...'

'But you care about off loading your affair with a taken man more' Gail interrupted, then stood up and went for her coat.

'Where are you going?' Christie asked confused, not expecting the conversation to be cut short so soon.

'We're leaving' Gail stated, then signalled for her to follow her out of the building. She was determined to get back to having a normal life and an old fashioned girls night was a good place to start.


Lucas sat in the main library of his property running his fingers over the books on witchcraft and the occult, which Gail had been so fascinated with. He tried to sense her location, wondering whether he should go to her like he had done on previous occasions; however, the last time he showed up unannounced at her work, she threatened to make their predicament public so it was better for him to steer clear of her for the moment.

When he opened up his minds eye and discovered she was completely closed off to him, he let out an exasperated breath and released his twin out of frustration. It was not often he allowed his twin to roam free since he got married; however, he had no reason to behave now and the longer his love remained parted from him, the more he felt the need to explore his freedom without the binds that being with her required.

He heard the telephone ring in the distance and shook his head in irritation, then headed towards the main area of his home and picked up the telephone before it disturbed his boys. Lucas listened carefully while Billy explained his dilemma and laughed at the mans indecisiveness. He had noticed Gail had buried the hatchet with Christie and suspected they were together tonight; therefore, he would take this opportunity to enlist a spy, even if it was an unsuspecting one.

'Go to her' Lucas ordered in a persuasive tone, interrupting Billy as he rambled on. He sensed the obedience on the other side of the telephone and smiled when the call was terminated. He may not be able to keep an eye on his love; however, he would ensure that someone did.

Lucas inhaled deeply and smiled, as he sat down on his large grandfather chair in front of the fireplace. He sensed his twin had settled on a burly looking man who was locking up a Tattoo Parlour in Goat Town and he nodded appreciatively at his twin's choice. This was almost certainly the man who had marked his love, without his permission and he had been biding his time until she was distracted before making his move.

He saw through his twins eyes for a moment, as it stalked it's prey. The man had no idea what was about to happen and Lucas closed his eyes tight when his twin pounced, then listened as the man began to scream in pain as his skin was pierced continuously by a sharp object . Lucas opened his eyes and gave a satisfied smile, then headed upstairs to check in on his boys.

-To be continued-