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 and Best Of All Possible Worlds.

It was a hot and humid summer's morning in Trinity SC, the birds were out early chirping to one another while the sun beat down on the sleepy little town.

Gail Emory moved a stray strand of her out of her eyes and stared at the extravagant garden before her, she watched as a few small birds flew down to the grass and smiled as they started digging with their beaks for food. Gail would not usually class watching birds hunt for worms as a particularly good pastime; however, she was enjoying the simplicity of it all, considering how messed up her life was at present.

Gail inhaled deeply and wiped away a small bead of sweat that was forming on her forehead. It was only 7:30am and the heat was already relentless, she had no doubt that come midday it would be unbearable. She sighed to herself and picked up the diary she had been putting off reading, she had finally opened it and gotten through a few pages the previous evening; however, she had been interrupted.

It was getting increasingly harder to dig into her apparent past self and Gail was becoming agitated. If it was not Caleb or Merlyn requiring her attention, it was her friends or her Editor Mark. After what had occurred the previous month, Mark had been on her back to write more articles. She did not believe he remembered Lucas throwing him over the Pier rail; however, he clearly knew something had happened when he was with her and his primal instinct was to come down on her hard professionally.

Gail never ran from a challenge and she wanted to put all her time into investigating potential stories in her past; however, she had a family to take care of and this town was awfully quiet these days, which meant it was taking more of time than she would have liked to attempt to find a subject for her articles.

She cursed herself for even entertaining the thought; however, it was evident that the only time she felt at peace these days was here with Lucas. This place had started to make her feel at ease and Lucas had been strangely well behaved when it came to leaving her to her own devices.

Although she had finally managed to open the diary yesterday evening, she had found his interruption to be a pleasant distraction and it did not take much for him to convince her to come home with him. Usually she would fight her urges, especially when she was so interested in the contents of the diary; however, she had just hidden it away in her bag and let him have his way with her.

She knew she could not continue to allow herself to be so easily controlled, when she had her dependents to think about. She had chosen to go for custody of Caleb and that meant giving up her right to do what she pleased. Gail was under no illusion that she should be acting like a true parent in order to ensure he was getting the care that he required; however, her cousin appeared to be managing fine with his sister, which meant she was able to hold onto her freedom for a little longer.

'Well I've given you the solution to that little dilemma Darlin', all you've gotta do is say yes' Lucas offered, as he came out of the door and onto the porch.

Gail subtly returned the diary to her bag, then sighed. 'And I've already told you that I have no right to damn that child just because I've damned myself'

'Don't be so dramatic' Lucas smirked, then walked casually towards her wearing only a small pair of boxer shorts and stretched before sitting on the chair beside her.

Gail let out a small laugh then shook her head. 'You don't think I'm damned?' she asked, tucking her bag under the chair and turning towards him.

Lucas smiled and stroked her cheek gently, then turned towards the birds in the garden who were fighting over a worm that had just been discovered. 'Even if you were, so what?...You couldn't handle a boring sin free life Miss Emory, it's not in your nature'

Gail pondered on his comment for a moment, then shrugged and moved from her seated position to a kneeling position between his legs. 'I suppose I would have to give up the pleasures in life to become a saint' she said and began to carefully pull down his boxer shorts.

Lucas watched her closely and lifted himself up slightly so she could remove his shorts. She had been in an oddly accepting mood recently and he was not sure he trusted it. 'Life is all about pleasure Darlin', anythin' else in between is just a waste'

Gail smiled and licked her lips seductively, then took him in her mouth and started to suck. She felt a pleasurable satisfaction when she heard his loud moan and removed him from her mouth. 'As much as I'd love to spend all day experimenting with pleasure, I have people I need to see to...The balls in your court Sheriff'

Lucas shook his head slowly, knowing she was referring to getting home to his boy and hating that their time was being cut short. 'Well in that case Miss Emory, I'd rather you up her with me to experience this together...We can make time for foreplay later' he replied suggestively and pulled her up to him.

Gail removed her silk shorts and straddled him, happy that he had taken her hint. When she took him inside of her they both let out a loud moan and she began to ride him, she would not have been permitted to leave until they had performed this act and she knew by now that any resistance would only make her late for her daily duties.

Merlyn sat at the kitchen table drumming her fingers impatiently. As Gail had chosen to stay at Lucas' last night Matt had decided to stay to ensure both her and Caleb were alright; however, it appeared she was the first one up and the boys were no where in sight.

Gail had authorized Matt to sleep in her room if he was staying over when she was not there and Merlyn had considered entering the room to check if he was awake; however, she sensed that her cousin would not appreciate them both being in her room together, although she did not understand why.

A slight creak caught Merlyns attention and she smiled when she realized it was Gail's bedroom door opening, Matt crept out quietly wearing a long T Shirt and loose pair of boxer shorts with his hair sticking up in an unkempt manner. Merlyn tried to stifle her giggle when she saw the state of him as he approached her, but failed miserably.

Matt narrowed his eyes at the girl in a fake scolding manner. 'What's your problem? I think this look is ideal for my day job' he said sarcastically.

'Of course it is...' Merlyn laughed, '...I'm sure all your patients would have no problem taking you seriously with those legs'

Matt had forgotten he was only wearing his boxer shorts and hurried to the shower. 'Point taken' he winked playfully, then disappeared into the bathroom.

Merlyn smiled to herself and began to fill the coffee pot, she had not had the heart to tell Matt how late it was getting as she did not want to spoil his happy mood; however, if they all did not hurry up they would all be late. As if sensing her concern, the front door swung open and Gail popped her head around it.

Merlyn tensed, not expecting her cousin to come home this morning and cursed herself for not making sure Caleb was ready for school.

'Come on guys...' Gail called, '...Whoever wants to be on time today better get out here quick, or I'm leaving without you'

Merlyn heard the shower turn off and went to her cousin to buy Matt some time, she sensed something different within her cousin and tried not to provoke her unusual side. 'Mornin' Gail, you look radiant today' she smiled.

Gail glanced at Merlyn, who appeared to be the only one ready and shook her head. 'Where is everyone?' she asked, unimpressed.

Merlyn looked over her shoulder and heard Gail's bedroom door close, then glanced up the empty stairs hoping her brother had arisen; however, it appeared that was too much to hope for. 'Matt's just finishin' off gettin' ready, he'll only be a minute'

Gail inhaled deeply in an attempt to control her irritation, ever since she had left Lucas' she had felt on edge and she did not understand why. The fact that only one of her dependents was ready did not help ease her irritation and she walked closer to the stairs. 'Caleb Temple, I'm going to give you to the count of 3 to get down here...' she called calmly with her arms folded over her chest, '...1...2...'

'I'm comin'' Caleb sighed and walked down the stairs in his pyjama's.

Gail stared at her cousin in disbelief and shook her head. 'I wasn't aware the school dress code had changed' she said sarcastically.

Merlyn picked up on the slight hint of anger in her cousins tone and glanced towards Matt as he came to join them. 'We're gonna wait in the car' she said and signaled for Matt to follow her.

Caleb watched as his sister rushed out of the house to avoid any confrontation, then turned towards his cousin. 'I don't feel well' he whispered, putting on his best innocent look.

Gail laughed and ran her hand through her hair. 'Is that so? And where has this suddenly come from?'

Caleb shrugged and took a step closer to her cousin. 'I dunno but I'm really not well...feel!' he said, then moved his forehead close to her and concentrated hard.

Gail rolled her eyes then placed her hand on his forehead, suddenly his forehead became very hot and clammy then he began to shiver. Caleb was much like herself in the way that they did not get sick and she sensed deceit here; however, she could not deny that he had a fever and she could not send him to school like this. 'Fine...' she relented, '...but you get back to bed and stay there until I return home'

'You don't need to come home Gail, I'll be fine' he smiled, proud of himself for pulling this off.

'Oh you don't get off that easily...' she said knowingly, '...I have a few errands to run first, but then I'll call in work myself to inform them that my dependent requires my attention today'

Caleb narrowed his eyes at her, he had expected to be left alone; however, it appeared his plan had backfired.

Gail sensed his irritation at her intruding on his plans and smiled. 'Back to bed' she ordered and headed to her bedroom to hide the diary she had wanted to read, then rushed out of the house and closed the door.

Lucas got out of his car and walked casually over the the coffee shop opposite the Sheriff's Station, where he spotted Ben sat with Billy. His stunt in arresting the man previously still amused him and Billy had appeared to be successfully avoiding him since his release. Lucas knew all parties Billy involved himself with would have warned him against crossing paths with Lucas, so the fact that he was here for the taking was all the more surprising.

As he got closer to the pair, he spotted the look of worry on Ben's face and smiled. 'Well, well, this is a pleasant surprise...how's suspended life treatin' you Doc?'

Billy saw his friends demeanor change and rolled his eyes when he realized why. 'If seeing me instills a pleasant feeling in you Buck, I'd say you need to get yourself checked out' Billy snapped and took a large sip of his black coffee.

Lucas leaned against Billy's chair and smiled smugly. 'Well I suppose your other friend riding me like a stallion earlier may have put me in a good mood and made your presence here more bearable Billy-boy...we'll have to ensure she keeps up the good work'

Ben closed his eyes and shook his head, he had not expected Billy to be here in the place he usually met Gail and hoped both men in front of him would just disappear; however, when he opened his eyes he saw Billy had gotten up to square up to Lucas and knew his day was going to go down hill from here. 'Oh come on now...' he sighed as he got up, '...you two need to stop this right now'

'I ain't doin' anythin' Deputy...' Lucas smiled, '...it appears Billy-boy here may a problem though'

'The only problem I have is you Buck' Billy said irritably and stared in anger as Lucas' smile grew.

'Aww hell, you wouldn't be the first Doc that became unraveled by my presence...you're not even the best...' Lucas laughed, '...At least Harvard presented some challenge, all you do is leech off my women and expect them to fight your battles for you'

Ben forced his way between both men and sighed. 'Look, you two can stand about here all day throwin' insults but I've got more important things to be concerned about. Why don't you both just call it quits and allow me some remnant of a normal day?'

Billy stared defiantly at Lucas, then took a step back. He tried to ignore the smug look of triumph on Lucas' face as he sat back down at the table, knowing Ben would expect him to behave in a more mature manner.

Lucas laughed to himself as he sensed Billy's hostility towards him, then patted his Deputy on the back. 'Don't you worry about anythin' Benji, he ain't got the balls to follow through anyhow'

Ben inhaled deeply and willed his friend not to react, when Billy just took a sip of his drink Ben relaxed and watched Lucas casually walk towards the Sheriff's Station.

'That man is lucky I care about your stress levels' Billy said as Ben sat back down.

'We're lucky his attention is elsewhere' Ben laughed nervously and took a sip of his coffee.

Lucas entered his office then sat down behind his desk, the confrontation with Billy had amused him; however, there was something below his surface which made him feel uneasy and he was unsure why. Lucas leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes and opened up his minds eye. He instantly located Caleb at Gail's house, which was concerning as it was a school day. He inhaled deeply and stretched his minds eye further in an attempt to locate his love, then smiled when he sensed her presence at work.

Lucas allowed his attention to remain on Gail for a moment, when he focused his vision it was clear she was slouched in her chair with her head in her hands. Suddenly a bright flash pierced through his brain, resulting in his focus being lost and him being brought back to his office.

Lucas sat upright in his chair and shook his head. It appeared he had a choice to make as to whether his attention should be aimed at his son or his love today.

-To be continued-