Disclaimer- 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 and Spirit.

It was a cool late October's evening in Trinity SC and Gail Emory was sat comfortably on the porch of Lucas Buck's extravagant mansion with a glass of wine, stroking the wild dog who had taken to her a month earlier. The dog was a black Labrador and seemed to turn up at the strangest of places all over town when Gail was alone, she had become fond of her new protector and had named him Gideon as it sounded like guardian. She loved her other dog Rocky; however, she was drawn to Gideon and did not have the heart to turn the dog away.

Lucas had been busy at the Sheriff's station over the past few days, making sure the plans for Halloween where going smoothly; therefore, as he had previously given her a key to his house in the hopes that it would ease her discomfort if she came by on her own, she had taken the opportunity to come by earlier than expected and look through some of the mysterious books he kept locked away.

Although Lucas appeared to trust her, certain sections of the house were locked. She applauded him for his intelligence as it was in her nature to dig into things and she would not be able to stop herself from snooping if she had full access to this place. Right now she was content sitting with her protector and reading through one his Occult books. Lucas always locked his specialist books away in a cabinet; however, what kind of reporter would she be if she could not pick a basic bookshelf lock.

The wind began to pick up when Gail came to a section regarding inner spirits and souls, she had become obsessed with learning more about possession and inner demons after she heard the man Gideon attacked had hanged himself in his hospital room. At first she thought it was Lucas's doing, but she could not deny what she saw in her dream and she had witnessed the man taking his own life reluctantly. She was not ready to believe the action had anything to do with her; however, she had become curious with the happenings in this town and the supernatural elements which appeared to be present.

This obsession was not healthy and it was affecting Gail's day to day life, she was supposed to have finished her expose on Juniper House by now and she had a deal with Lucas that could potentially set Matt free; however, everything was put to one side while she tried to understand more about this property and this town, as she would not allow Caleb to stay with Lucas until she had a better understanding of the forces at play here.

'You have no problem staying here with me Darlin'' Lucas said reading her mind, as he approached the porch casually with his jacket slung over his arms and ignored the low growls of his loves new dog.

Gail smiled, she had gotten used to his intrusions into her thoughts when her guard was down and did not give it a second thought. 'I'm an adult and can take care of myself. He's just a young boy' she said turning a page in the book.

Lucas walked up the porch steps and took the book out of Gail's hand. 'I told you I didn't want you concerning yourself with these things' he said, reviewing how far she had gotten through his book.

Gail stood up and stretched, 'You should know better than to think I'm just gonna drop a subject that easily' she said and took the book back.

Lucas shook his head, 'You're not ready to go down this road Darlin'...once you start there's no turning back' he warned and threw his jacket on a chair, then began unbuttoning his shirt collar.

Gail laughed, 'It's too late for that. Besides, if you parted with some of your insight on the strange behaviour in this town, I wouldn't have to go behind your back to find out for myself'

Lucas smiled devilishly, 'Oh but where's the fun in that Miss Emory? This way I get to punish you for breaking into my locked bookshelf when I trusted you with a key to my property' he said as he walked towards her, gripped her hips and pulled her roughly towards him.

Gail bit her lip teasingly, 'I can't help being a bad girl Sheriff, it's in my nature. Maybe I deserve to be handcuffed and punished'

Lucas let his hands move towards her behind and pulled her against his body, so she could feel how hard he already was. He could still sense the darkness deep down inside her; however, it was beginning to rise slowly within her and was making her behaviour more questionable of late. She had figured out how to block most of his attempts to read her mind, he assumed with the help of her darkness and he felt more drawn to her than ever.

Gail ran her hands up his chest and clawed at his shirt with her long nails. She had no control over her desire for him these days, when they were together she had to have him; therefore, she had banned Lucas from interfering with her activities in the day and always arranged to meet him in places where they could be alone, to enable them to satisfy their urges without having to hold back. Right now she could feel a part of her screaming for him to take her hard, so she began to rip his shirt open in preparation for the inevitable act.

Lucas pushed a hand under her vest top and clawed at her back, as his free hand pulled her face to his for a passionate kiss. His twin was yelling to be let out to meet with her darkness and it was getting harder to keep him caged when he was with Gail; however, Lucas was selfish and would not share the sexual experience he had with her, even with his dark half. He pulled away from the embrace, turned her around and smacked her butt cheek hard, 'Come on Miss Emory, we're going inside so I can punish you in private' he said and led her away from her protector.


Caleb sat with Rocky on the front porch of the home he shared with his cousin Gail, reading the Stephen King novel 'Christine'. He had not long finished the Dark Tower series and wanted to continue with the author to see what else he had to offer. Caleb had been spending a lot of time with Poppy at the Library as she loved to read, Merlyn had accused him of trying to impress Poppy by feigning an interest in what she liked; however, Caleb disregarded this as Gail got him into Stephen King before he knew Poppy.

The past month had been strange, Gail had been acting out of character and had allowed Merlyn to come around more often; however, she would not acknowledge her as his sister, she just referred to her as his friend or M. Lucas had told him to keep an eye on his cousin and tread lightly around her, as she was going through a tough time at the moment. Merlyn seemed to regard Gail suspiciously all the time, which confused him but he chose not to pay too much attention to that.

Caleb loved his cousin and just wanted to make sure she was alright, so he would keep an eye on her like Lucas told him to and he warned Merlyn against aggravating Gail by following her. Merlyn had agreed to his request but came around each night to check on him, as she stated there was something about Gail she no longer trusted. Caleb shrugged this off as Lucas had taught him that you had to let women go on with their own way of thinking if you wanted a hassle free life.

Caleb was taken out of his train of thought by Billy Peele walking up the path towards him. 'Hi Doc, what can I do you for?' he asked, getting up from his seated position with Rocky.

Billy smiled at how relaxed the boy seemed, he had initially been worried that Caleb would not take to living with Gail; however, he looked to be adjusting well. 'Hey Champ, I'm lookin' for that old cousin of yours, is she around?'

Caleb shook his head, 'Nah...she's not due home for another hour I reckon, she's been out since I came back from school'

Billy frowned, 'It's after 7:00pm...she's left you all alone for nearly 4 hours without feeding you?' he asked disapprovingly.

Caleb laughed, 'No sir, she had a vegetable pie cooling on the side waiting for me and will be taking me out for dinner when she comes home just after 8'

Billy relaxed a bit, his friend had been acting strange recently and he had not been sure she had been focused enough on Caleb. Selena had assured him that Gail was taking care of the boy like she should, but Billy had not been convinced and found it unusual that Selena was defending her.

The boy seemed to be OK and stated Gail had made sure he was plenty fed while she was not around, so it appeared he was worrying about nothing; however, he could not shake his feeling of concern for his friend. 'Well as long as you're fed and watered that's the main thing...do you mind if I wait here with you for her to return? Or if you're bored we can go somewhere and I'll text her to meet us when she's ready, what do you think?'

Caleb considered Billy's offer, he was a little bored and Rocky wouldn't mind being alone for a little while. 'OK Doc', let's go somewhere fun' he said smiling and went inside to grab his jacket.


Gail rested on Lucas's chest on the couch in his study, with his arms wrapped around her. She ached all over due to the punishment she had just gotten; however, she would not have it any other way and the erotic things this man could do to her while she was chained up with a pair of his handcuffs was divine. 'If this is the treatment I get, I'll have to break into more things on your property' she laughed and stroked his chest affectionately.

Lucas smiled, ran his hand through her hair and took a deep breath to slow his heart rate, all this activity after a busy day in work was beginning to tire him. 'If you continue to behave in this manner I'll have to up my cardio level to make sure I can give you the appropriate punishments'

'I'm not becoming too much for you am I Sheriff?' Gail asked sarcastically.

Lucas laughed, 'Not at all Miss Emory, I'm just not used to someone with the same sexual appetite as me...I clearly became complacent, but don't you worry I'll be in tip top shape in no time' he said and pulled her up so she was straddling him.

Gail smiled mischievously and gently clawed at his chest playfully, she had not finished with him just yet. 'I thought your little school teacher would've kept you busy, with you being together for so long. A little bird told me you got up to all sorts of things'

Lucas inhaled her scent and gripped her hips tight, he could sense her desire and instantly became hard. 'Miss Coombs had a voracious appetite and was good for a while but Darlin', you're something else and right now I'm wondering how I went so long without you' he said, letting his hands move up to her bare breasts.

Gail bit her lip seductively and closed her eyes at the pleasure of his hands squeezing her breasts. 'Now, now Sheriff. You should watch what you're saying...if you get any more soppy you'll have people thinking you're ready for a full commitment' she said sarcastically.

Lucas let his fingers play with her nipples for a moment, then moved his hands down to her behind and pulled her up slightly so she could place him inside her. 'I've already asked you to move in with me...' he panted, '...if that's not a sign that I'm ready for whatever you want, I don't know what is'

Gail moaned softly at the pleasurable sensation of him being inside her once more. She did not need commitment, she just needed this. 'What makes you think I want anything from you?...' she panted as she began to move up and down, '...You want me to move in with you so you can have Caleb, but all I want is this'

'Maybe I want you both, have you ever considered that?' he asked as he thrust his hips higher to push himself deeper inside her.

Gail gripped Lucas's shoulders, then clawed at his back with her nails. 'You can't have us both. I'm not so blind or naive that I don't see how screwed up this is...The way you take me taps right into my fucked up issues and it's what I need right now, but it's not healthy and it's not an appropriate environment for a young boy'

Lucas bit the bottom of her neck hard at her foul language, she only ever swore when the pleasure began to get too intense and it turned him on even more. He grabbed her tight an spun her around so he was on top, then began to thrust in and out of her. 'We all have issues Darlin'...' he whispered through gritted teeth, '...you should be thankful you have a way to work through yours'

This intensity was becoming too much and she could feel something deep within her bursting to be let out. 'You'll have to share your issues with me some other time, now shut up and fuck me Sheriff' she said in a tone unlike her own and nipped at his neck.

Lucas sensed her darkness just beneath the surface and could not push his twin down any longer, when he let go he could sense her darkness clawing it's way out and he gripped her tighter then began pounding in and out of her ferociously. Gail yelled out in pleasure and pain, then clawed harder at his back and smiled when she drew blood.

They both called out in ecstasy when their climax hit together; however, Lucas did not slow and just picked her up, carried her into the kitchen and placed her roughly onto the table as he wanted something more sturdy to hold them, then began pounding in and out of her again.

'Harder!' Gail called out as she gave control to the presence within her.

Lucas let his twin fully take over and took her hard. He had previously worried that he would hurt her, but they were past that and they had a shared need for this intensity. This pace was beginning to take it's toll on him and his legs began to ache; however, his twin was relentless and kept up the excruciating pace until their orgasm erupted within them and they both yelled out together.

As his twin and her darkness retreated back inside, he lay over Gail and placed a soft kiss on her lips then gently pulled his manhood out of her. He offered his hand to assist her up, then walked to the fridge to get them a cold drink.

Gail winced in pain as he removed himself from her and accepted his supportive hand to pull her up to a seated position. She inhaled deeply and tried to catch her breath, as her lungs felt as though they were starved for air and her body ached even more than before. She shook her head at the unnatural way they had just behaved and tried to hide her concern by standing up and stretching out her muscles.

Lucas walked over to her and handed her a glass of pure orange juice. 'Are you OK?' he asked noticing her concerned look at the realisation of what just happened.

Gail forced a laugh, 'I'm younger than you, don't worry about me not being able to handle this pace...you should be more concerned about yourself old man' she said sarcastically, trying to make light of their situation.

Lucas smiled, she was still not fully ready to embrace her darkness like he had and he was happy to play along with this charade until she accepted what she was. 'I may be older Darlin', but that just means I have more experience. You don't need to worry about my heart givin' out just yet' he laughed and placed an arm around her to lead her back to his study.

When they returned to the study Gail found her clothes and began to dress, she could not handle another round right now and she was due to go home to Caleb. Lucas followed her lead and put on his boxer shorts, then came behind her and tenderly stroked her back. 'If this gets too rough, you need to let me know' he said and kissed her right shoulder softly.

Gail smiled and leaned back into him, 'I will, but I'm a big girl and not as fragile as you may think'

Lucas nipped at her neck and let his lips move slowly up to her ear, 'You've just proven that Darlin'' he whispered and bit her gently.

Gail could feel the familiar stir between her legs and went to turn around to kiss him; however, the sound of her phone receiving a message brought her back to her senses. She pulled away from his grasp and rooted in her bag for the mobile phone. 'Damn it' she cursed.

Lucas looked at her confused, 'What's wrong'?'

Gail exhaled deeply in exasperation. 'It looks like the quiet relaxing night that I planned with my cousin has been cancelled, I have to go meet him and Billy in the Pool Hall then head out for a meal'

Lucas smiled, 'Well hurry up and get dressed Darlin', I'm starvin'' he said, inviting himself along.


Billy stood in Albert's Pool Hall watching Caleb contemplate his next move, he had enjoyed his time here with Lucas a month ago and had decided it would be a fun place to take Caleb. He watched the boy as he considered his position then gave a small clap when he potted the correct ball. 'Wow, if you keep playing like this you'll put me to shame' Billy said laughing.

'That's not all that hard if I recall correctly' Lucas said as he approached the pair and smiled at his boy.

Caleb waved at Lucas and continued on with his next shot, he had a sudden urge to impress his real father and he believed beating Doctor Peele would do that. He pulled the pool queue back after carefully positioning his shot, then went to hit the ball; however, he felt a soft hand over his and Gail leaned close to his ear. 'Not yet Caleb, a little more to the left and you've got it' she whispered. Caleb smiled, concentrated on his new position then potted the last ball into the pocket.

Gail clapped loudly, 'Well done! you've just beaten a grown man, I hope you're proud of yourself' she said and gave him an affectionate hug.

Billy shook his head, 'Now, now...maybe I let him win' he said sarcastically

'Don't be a sore loser Doc, I won fair and square' Caleb said smiling triumphantly with his arm around his cousin.

Lucas watched the pair intently, as they held each other and laughed together. He was determined to get them both, he just had to figure out a way to teach Gail to control her inner darkness first. 'You did good son...for winnin' you get to chose where to eat and it's my treat'

Billy looked at Gail disapprovingly, but she only shrugged back at him. 'I'm the loser here today so I'll treat Caleb and Gail to some grub, I'm sure you have some work to do somewhere Sheriff'

Lucas shook his head, this was his family and he would not allow the good Doctor to get in the way. He let his twin out for a moment then smiled when Billy's pager beeped. 'You might wanna check that Doc, it appears you're the one who's got some work to do' Lucas said smugly.

Billy checked his pager, it was an urgent message for him to return to the hospital as there had been an incident. He looked at Lucas suspiciously then turned towards his friend. 'I have to go to the hospital, will you be alright?' he asked.

Gail nodded, 'Of course. You go and call me later when you're finished, we'll have a few drinks at my place'

Billy turned towards Caleb and placed a friendly hand on his shoulder, 'I want a rematch Champ, we'll sort it out later' he said and left the group.

Lucas watched the good Doctor leave and smiled. 'Well that's settled, just the three of us for dinner'

'Four' came Merlyn's voice from behind Gail. She was not dressed in her usual white dress, she wore a pair of jeans and a peach blouse.

Gail turned towards the girl and pushed down the familiar feeling of family that was radiating off her. She was Caleb's unusual friend who had no other place to be, that was all she kept telling herself. 'Evening M...' Gail said casually, '...glad you ditched your white dress, I prefer this look'

Merlyn smiled, she liked that her cousin had accepted her, albeit not in the way that she had hoped. Gail acknowledged her, was kind and caring even, but she would not admit who she was and Merlyn could sense a darkness just below her surface which did not appear to like her. 'Thank's Gail...I was hopin' I could join you good people, with all my family bein' gone an all' she said sweetly and aimed the comment at Lucas.

Lucas shifted on the spot in frustration. He did not like Merlyn intruding on his time with Caleb and Gail, he also did not like that his love acknowledged the dead girl and had given her an affectionate name. 'Young girl, I'm sure you have somewhere else you can go' he said and focused his twins attention on her.

Merlyn felt a sudden burning in her chest and tried to fight against it. There was no use, it was a fire burning her from the inside out and she would not be able to hide the excruciating pain from her face for much longer. Suddenly she felt a cool breeze flow through her, as if the fire was being put out and felt a soft arm link around hers.

Gail pulled the girl close to her, an unusual feeling had stirred beneath her skin and she felt the urge to keep the girl close. 'M is more than welcome to join us Sheriff, in fact I'd like to have another girl around so I'm not stuck with two boring boy's' she said playfully and winked at Caleb.

Caleb smiled and wrapped his arm around his sister, although Gail was not acknowledging who she really was she seemed to like her being around.

Lucas took a few steps closer to the group and Gail protectively stepped in front of Merlyn. 'If the state isn't paying you enough to treat four people Sheriff, why don't you head on home and I'll get this with my Reporters wage' Gail said cattily.

Lucas forced a smile, he felt like he was being ganged up on and did not like it. 'I have more than enough money to pay for everyone Darlin', I just thought we could keep this as family'

Gail bit her lip at the implications of his words, she would not acknowledge him as Caleb's father in front of the boy and she resented that Lucas was trying to force her to do so. 'I have my only living relative with me and we're the only true family here' she said defensively.

Lucas's smile grew wider, at least she was choosing to disregard Merlyn too. 'Fine, would you like me to leave you alone with your family Miss Emory?' he asked annoyed.

Caleb stood in between them both, he could sense the tension and it was causing a strange vibe to come from his cousin. 'I want to be with everyone' he said sternly, 'I won and it's my choice'

Gail's manner softened when she saw Caleb in the middle of them and she cursed herself for making this about her and Lucas. 'We're all goin', don't worry...the Sheriff has had a tiresome few hours and is just a little bit ratty, it must be his old age' she said playfully and shot Lucas an enticing glance.

Lucas shook his head knowing she was referring to their antics earlier and his anger dissolved at the thought of her touch. 'Don't mind me son...like your cousin said, I've had a very active day. Come on, let's all go get some grub' he said resigning himself to the awkward situation.


Merlyn sat next to Caleb, across from Lucas and Gail on the table at Larry's Fish Bar. Caleb had decided he wanted something with fish sticks; therefore, Lucas had introduced them to the best fish stick joint in town, which was just down from the pier. Merlyn found this fake act of Lucas's amusing, she knew what he was really like and this fun loving facade was far from the truth.

She could still feel something dark beneath Gail's surface which was concerning. It was clear Lucas had attempted to dispel her earlier and Gail had somehow stepped in to counteract his attempt, so Merlyn decided she would respect her cousins choice of allowing Lucas to be around and not do anything to cause a possible bad reaction. She was not sure what she felt about the presence within her cousin, as it was unmistakably dark; however, she was sure it protected her from Lucas's intended actions. This was all so confusing so Merlyn decided she would hold her form like she had been doing for the past month and pretend this was all normal.

Lucas watched Merlyn closely, he had not liked that he was unable to get rid of her and suspected his loves inner self had something to do with that. He was still wary of her darkness and would not give it cause to show itself around his boy, not until he fully understood what it was capable of; therefore, he would play nice and try to forget he was sitting with the girl he murdered, eating dinner.

Gail did not see the appeal of fish sticks and had ordered a jacket potato, as she cut into it she reflected on the awkwardness at the table and began to feel like there was a secret being kept from her. She felt something stir underneath her skin and it began to call for Lucas, she pushed down her desire to be taken by him again and focused on her cousin. 'So, how was school?' she asked Caleb.

Caleb swallowed half a fish stick then took a bite out of another. 'It was OK...Miss Coomb's was asking about you'

Lucas could sense Gail's desire for him and moved his hand under the table, then squeezed the top of her thigh. 'Oh? and what would Miss Coomb's want with your cousin?' he asked curiously and smiled at Gail's slight intake of breath from his touch.

Caleb shrugged and continued scoffing his food, 'She just wanted me to tell Gail to call her when she was free'

Gail shot a warning glance at Lucas and tried to move his hand from her thigh, but he only raised it higher. 'Tell Miss Coomb's I'll stop by after school tomorrow to see her, can you do that for me?'

Caleb nodded, looked towards his sister and threw a fish stick at her playfully when he saw her regarding Gail and Lucas suspiciously.

'Caleb!' Merlyn called and laughed when she saw the playful look in his eye. She had opted for the jacket potato with her cousin, but as she did not eat she was happy for an excuse to leave the food and began to tickle her brother.

Gail laughed at the affectionate display, deep down she knew the bond these two shared was more than just friendship and it was nice to see her cousin having fun so easily. 'Why don't you two take your food and go hang out on the pier, we'll join you in a while once we've finished' she said and smiled when Caleb grabbed his plate and ran off, with M chasing after him.

Lucas moved his hand to the sweet spot between her legs and began to stroke her seductively now that the children had left them. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure no-one was watching and nipped at her ear playfully. 'Should we get out of here for a while Darlin'?' he whispered.

Gail bit her lip hard to try and take her attention away from her yearning for him. This was precisely the reason why she did not want to be with him in public or around Caleb, it was becoming too hard to keep their hands off each other. Before she could find her voice to protest Lucas stood up, took her by the hand and led her out of the Fish Bar to a private spot around the back of the building. 'Lucas wait...we can't do this here' she tried to protest as he pushed her gently against the wall and began to run his hands over her body.

'Shush love...' he said nipping at her neck gently, '...are you really gonna fight this?'

Gail's hands had already trailed down to his pants and were unbuckling his belt, this protest was not even fooling herself. She trusted Lucas would never chance Caleb seeing them; therefore, this place must be private. With that in mind she unzipped his pants and leaned her head to the right to allow him full access to her neck.

Lucas smiled and began sucking her neck, he could not resist this anymore than she could. He turned her around so she could place her hands on the wall for support, then pulled out down her pants, freed his manhood and gently pushed himself inside her. He moved in and out of her softly at first, knowing she would be sore after their previous antics; however, her moans of pleasure turned him on and caused him to quicken his pace.

Gail rested her head on the wall in front of her and bit her hand to stop from calling out, this was painful but her body yearned for him to continue and the familiar pain mixed with pleasure sensation began to run through her body until she felt herself ready to explode.

Lucas picked up the pace and started pounding in and out of her, he bit down on her shoulder to stifle his moans as they both came together and was thankful that Gail managed to control her own yell. Pulling out of her slowly, he reached into his pocket for a tissue to clean her up then turned her around and kissed her passionately.

'This has to stop' she said after breaking free of the embrace and pulling her pants up.

Lucas laughed, 'You can't stop desire Darlin', you just have to roll with it'

Gail shook her head in disgust with herself, 'I'd rather not roll with the desire when my cousin is in the vicinity'

Lucas knew they would not be disturbed, if there was any chance of anyone finding them his twin would have protected them. 'Your cousin is in no danger of walkin' in on us, do you think I'd do this in front of my son?' he asked.

Gail's guard shot up when he referred to Caleb as his son. 'I don't know what you'd do in front of your son, but I'd prefer not to be a part of it either way'

Lucas sensed her defensiveness rising and exhaled in exasperation, 'Don't do this Gail...don't shut me out'

Gail inhaled deeply to calm her frustration and started to walk to the front of the Fish Bar, 'Thanks for the food, I'm going to find my cousin and his friend now. I don't want to see you again tonight so don't expect me later' she said and left Lucas alone wondering what he had done.

To be continued.