CHAPTER 2

"Ben, what do you mean that this is it? What kind of detective are you anyway?"

Lucas snapped at his deputy for, what seemed like, the hundredth time in the past few days. Raising his hand, he began ticking off his complaints regarding his deputy's investigation skills.

"First, you tell me that you can't seem to track where she came from originally. Then, you say that you found it, but that there isn't much information there. Finally, we find out that she took a lot of time off from work, but not why or where. So tell me this Sherlock, does she have a husband or kids, you know, anything that I REALLY need to know about?"

Ben sighed in frustration; there was nothing he dreaded more than being on the receiving end of one of Lucas' bad moods. Taking a deep breath is explained;

"Look, Lucas, it's like told you before, she majored in Psychology and her first REAL counseling position was in North Carolina. Everybody that I talked to swears by her and says that she's one of the best; one of her coworkers that I spoke with said that whenever they had someone who no one else could seem to get through to she was able to work wonders with them. But apparently, something serious happened in her family but nobody knows exactly what that 'something' was, all anybody seems to know was that it happened shortly after her grandmother's death and it isn't public knowledge."

Flipping the page in his notebook he offered;

"Oh, and one other thing, I found out that she is not an only child. She has two sisters and a brother, she's the youngest and there are a number of years between her and her siblings."

Glancing up from his notes, Ben quipped;

"No husband or kids, just a brother and two sisters."

Seeing the unamused look on Lucas' face, Ben quickly lowered his head as he consulted his notes once more;

"By the way, there's something funny about her brother, it seems that he's been in and out of trouble here and there. Apparently, he's the type who likes to bully women, especially his sisters. There wasn't anything of note that ever really took place with the older two sisters though."

Ben, noticing the look in Lucas' eyes quickly realized that the next piece of information about Seth Chambers wasn't something that he particularly wanted to divulge. If what was happening to Lucas was what Ben thought it was then he could actually feel sorry for the poor bastard if Lucas ever got a hold of him after finding out this bit of information out. He wasn't surprised when Lucas began drumming his fingers on his desk top before demanding;

"OK, Ben, I'm waiting. What are you holding back about, something disillusioning about our girl?"

Ben chose his words carefully as he studied Lucas before sighing in resignation as he explained;

"Well, it seems that our favored son here has a little problem with his hands. He likes to show people whose boss, that sort of thing. Anyway, with the two older sisters it wasn't really a big issue, they were older than him and they had husbands. He wasn't too anxious to have his brothers in law give him plastic surgery the hard way."

Lucas began drumming his fingers on his desk with one hand while resting his chin on the other as he pinned Ben with his eyes;

"But I get the feeling that our girl here is a different story, or am I wrong?"

Ben, knowing that the quicker a storm comes the quicker it goes, took a deep breath as he dove in;

"Lucas, she's younger than he is and, unfortunately, a lot smaller than he is too and, maybe, worse yet, she's apparently a very stubborn woman. There have been some trips to the emergency room. Luckily, he seems to be the kind to keep moving along, but her trips to the ER coincide his visits. According to one person that I talked with, who knows both sides, they said that the brother is something of a vulture when it comes to death and money. One trip was because she caught him trying to ransack their grandfather's wall safe. Like I said, she's stubborn, but apparently he had to have some stitches thanks to her, so she's tough too."

Ben studied Lucas' reaction very carefully; it was there alright, the signs of the storm that Ben knew would come. Lucas had stopped drumming his fingers and was now crossing his arms over his chest as his eyes took on a chilling darkness, almost as chilling as his tone of voice;

"So our guy likes to beat up on, not only a woman half his size but, his own sister too, Ben? Tell you what, if anyone even so much as sees someone who even resembles this guy I want to know and I want him brought in. Do you understand me, Ben?"

Choosing to simply nod his agreement, Ben turned to leave as Lucas stopped him;

"By the way, what time is it, Ben?"

Glancing at his watch, Ben offered;

"It's 2:45, why?"

Shrugging, Lucas explained;

"Just wondering, Caleb has an appointment after school and I told him to meet me here."

Ben nodded his understanding as he pulled the door to Lucas' private office closed behind him. At that moment, Caleb opened the door to the outer office. Ben couldn't help but shake his head sadly as he realized how sad and forlorn the poor boy looked, as if he didn't have a friend in the world. If there was ever one person in the entire world that Ben thought looked so lonely or lost it was definitely Caleb Temple.

Motioning to Lucas' office door, Ben advised;

"Hey, Caleb, Lucas is waiting for you in his office."

The boy turned and offered a sad, silent nod as he opened the door and walked into the inner private office. Lucas looked up from his paperwork to find his son standing in the doorway, offering a slight smile he asked;

"Hi, son, how was class today?"

Lucas couldn't help but feel bad for the boy. He knew that Caleb felt alone but he had to learn to accept that Lucas was the only family that he had now and was all the family that he would eve need. Still, seeing the boy looking so sad and lonely was definitely depressing, especially when he offered a slight shrug as he replied;

"Fine, I guess, the same thing as yesterday and the day before. So what did you want me here for, huh?"

Lucas couldn't help but wonder how to approach the subject as he heard the dejected tone in the boy's voice. As with most things, when he wasn't sure how to approach them he simply jumped in.

"Son, I know that you've had a rough time with not having a mama, losing who, you thought was, your daddy, then your sister and then what happened to your cousin, Gail. I think that you need to talk to someone who could help you work through this. What do you think?"

Staring at his father in suspicion, Caleb demanded;

"Are you sending me to one of those head shrinkin' people or to the nut house, like Dr. Matt?"

Lucas shook his head vehemently;

"No, son. I'm going to let you talk to someone who's just going to let you talk. She's just going to listen to you and help you work through this in your own time, but she will make it easier for you."

Caleb considered his father's suggestion for a moment before casting his eyes to the carpet, as if studying it's pattern, as he began scuffing his sneakers on the floor before venturing;

"Well, I guess that it couldn't hurt nothing to at least talk to her. When do you want me to go?"

Lucas let a sigh of relief escape as he rose from his desk chair and motioned to the door;

"Well, come on and we'll take a walk and see about now."

He didn't doubt that he could get the boy to go, he just wasn't sure how stubborn he was going to be about it. Ben turned from the file cabinet as he noticed Lucas and Caleb heading for the door.

"Where you heading, Lucas?"

Placing his hand on Caleb's shoulder, Lucas explained;

"Caleb here has an appointment with Ms. Chambers, I wouldn't want him to be late."

Ben watched as father and son walked out the door and couldn't help but shake his head as he speculated aloud;

"You know something Lucas Buck? I think that you may have finally met your match in that lady."

After Lucas and Caleb had crossed the street and made their way to the, now, occupied office, Caleb couldn't help but ask;

"What are we coming here for? This place is empty, ain't it?"

Shaking his head Lucas explained;

"Nope, I helped the lady move some of her things in myself."

Placing his hand on the boy's shoulder to halt him as well as turning him to look at him, he ventured;

"Give it a chance, son,, I think that you'll find that you like her. She seems really easy to talk to."

'Not to mention end up falling in love with.' Lucas couldn't help but feel shock as he pondered where that particular thought had originated, Buck men didn't fall in love. Oh, they eventually married, but they never loved their women. They used them to get themselves some heirs to keep the old family traditions going, but women were property and that was it. Still, with this one, there just seemed to be something about her that he couldn't shake. The fact that he told Ben to run her brother in for just showing up in his town, that wasn't like him. Why should he care if some woman's brother got a little too 'hands on' with his sister? But care he did, the mere idea of someone abusing her infuriated Lucas to no end.

Seeing the unfamiliar look on his father's face, Caleb demanded;

"What are you looking like that for?"

Shaking himself from his thoughts, Lucas stammered;

"Sorry, son, I was just thinking. Anyway, like I said, I think that you'll like this lady."

Considering his father's statement for a moment, Caleb asked;

"Is she pretty?"

Despite his attempts to hide the distant look that came into his eyes, Lucas found himself losing his battle as he answered his son;

"Caleb, she's beautiful, inside and out."

Caleb couldn't help but grin broadly, something that was rare these days, as he exclaimed;

"I sure never heard you talk like that before, she must really be something."

Reaching out and turning the doorknob, Caleb walked into the office, followed by Lucas. Both stopped short as they glanced around the space as Lucas, impressed, whistled low at the surroundings. He had thought that her taste would be light and airy, which it definitely was, but she utilized it in such a way that it brought forth the brightness in even the darkest of colors. Caleb turned to his father as he speculated;

"Boy, if she can fix this old place up this nice, she really must be something special."

Both found themselves taken totally by surprise as they heard a light, female voice;

"Why, thank you. I'll take that as a compliment, I do try."

Lucas and Caleb, both turned in shock, Lucas especially was quite unsettled. He had been so intent on gleaning a glimpse into her through her taste that he had failed to notice her approach. No one had ever taken him by surprise before; usually it was the other way around.

As for Caleb, he found himself in awe of her as well, although not to the extent that his father was, but she had struck him nonetheless, especially her eyes. He couldn't help but see a lot of compassion and caring reflected in their depths, as well as a bright liveliness, but he couldn't help but also notice a sadness that he couldn't understand.

While Caleb was intent on studying her, Lucas was mentally kicking himself. 'Damn,' Lucas thought, 'I have to quit letting her effect me like this. She is just another woman; nothing more, nothing less.' But the entire time that he was trying to convince himself of it he knew that he was wrong. She was a lot more than just another woman, and that was what bothered him. His whole life he had scoffed at the illusion of free will and here he we was, willing to give it up for this lady.

Dara moved towards Caleb as she offered him a sincere smile and asked brightly;

"You, I take it, are Caleb."

Caleb couldn't help but grin as he responded to her brightness as he nodded;

"Yes, ma'am, I am, but I'm sorry, I don't know your name."

Glad to have something to interrupt the thread of the thoughts in his head, Lucas stepped forward;

"I'm sorry, son. Caleb, this is Ms...'

Lucas had started a formal introduction, but a slight shake of her head and something in her eyes told him that formality wasn't something necessary here. Nodding his understanding he continued;

"I mean, this is Dara, she's the lady that I told you about."

Caleb stuck his hand out and accepted hers in return as he pumped it up and down enthusiastically;

"Glad to meet you, ma'am."

Dara couldn't help but smile tenderly at the boy as she though; 'My, but he does pull at your heartstrings.' Deciding that it was important she set the ground rules immediately.

"Well, Caleb, did your father tell you anything about what we're going to be doing?"

Caleb's face took on a solemn look as he lowered his head and nodded;

"Yes, ma'am. He said that you were going to try and help me feel better about all of the people in my family that died."

Offering the boy a tender smile she nodded; "That's right, so first, let's drop the formality. You don't have to call me 'ma'am' unless you want to, that's for your teachers or someone else important. You call me 'Dara', okay?"

Lucas couldn't help but be amazed as he witnessed the interchange, he had truly hoped that she would be able to help Caleb, but he never thought that she would get through to him THIS quickly. Caleb had never taken to another living soul, outside of his sister, Merlyn, as fast as he seemed to Dara. His belief that she was truly something special was only reaffirmed after witnessing the interchange. 'Damn, there I am again, not paying attention.' Caleb and Dara had just asked him a question.

"Lucas, I asked if you would mind that since I've finished unpacking the office if Caleb and I go for a walk around the town? I need someone to show me where all the fun stuff can be found."

Caleb couldn't help but smile as she winked at him. Considering for a moment, Lucas shook his head;

"Well, I don't mind if Caleb doesn't."

Seeing Caleb's eager nod of agreement Lucas suggested;

"But would you two mind if I went with you? I need a stretch of the legs too?"

Smiling openly at the idea, Dara shook her head as she shrugged;

"I have no objections, Caleb, do you?"

Shaking his head, Caleb piped up;

"Nope, it's fine by me. Let's go."

With that Dara grabbed her keys and wallet as she motioned to the door;

"Alright then, let's go."

Following Caleb and Lucas as they headed toward the center of town, Dara paid attention as they pointed out the things along the way that they thought might interest her. When Caleb pointed out the flower garden that the school sponsored and had the students tend for their civic pride project, Lucas couldn't help but be amazed by the fact that she seemed to find beauty in even the simplest things. He had never really had an appreciation for the small things in life, or truth be told, the larger ones either, but he was starting to see through her eyes the beauty that could be found in even the smallest aspects of life.

It wasn't hard to see how much Caleb was enjoying the outing as he ran alongside them and was eagerly chattering away with Dara, who was listening intently to everything and anything that he had to say. Suddenly, he became excited and began waving as he explained;

"There's my friend, Boone."

Lucas realized that the boy was motioning for his son to join him in the park, but he could also sense that Caleb was reluctant to join his friend for fear of causing injury to Dara's feelings. He was trying to fathom a tactful way to broach the subject when Dara solved the problem for him.

"You know, Caleb, I think that I could really use a cool drink and a rest. If you'd like you can go play with your friend and give your father and I a chance to sit down for a few, if that's okay with you."

Brightening immediately, Caleb asked;

"Are you sure?"

Dara couldn't help but laugh by the fact that he was off and gone before she could even nod her affirmation. Lucas couldn't help but take it all in, especially the sound of her laughter. She had a sweet, infectious laugh that reminded him of the tinkling sound of wind chimes. 'Now I know I'm nuts. I should have checked myself instead of Harvard into Juniper House.' But even that thought couldn't seem to intrude on his enjoyment of her company. Seeking to veer his thoughts, he asked;

"Did you mean what you said about that cold drink?"

Offering him a sincere smile, she nodded;

"I said it, didn't I?"

Shaking his head, unable to help himself from laughing, he suggested;

"Why don't you find us a place to sit in the shade and I'll go get us something to drink."

Returning a few minutes later, he offered her a bottle of soda as he lowered himself to sit on the ground under a huge oak, where she had chosen to sit. After he took a sip of his own soda he motioned to where Caleb was engaged in conversation with Boone as he ventured;

"You know, you must be a miracle worker of some kind. I have never seen that boy take to another living soul the way he has to you. What's your secret?"

Turning to face him as she shrugged her shoulders, she explained;

"It's not really a secret, I just let him know that I'm prepared to be open and honest and listen to him. When he feels the time is right, he'll start discussing his feelings about his losses, until then, he and I are creating a bond that I hope let's him see that he isn't alone, that he has someone else who cared about him."

Lucas sat a moment, mulling over her statement; she made perfect sense in what she was saying. However, he was more than willing to bet that she didn't know that in the process of bonding herself to Caleb, she was also inadvertently bonding herself to him. He wondered absently if she were to become aware of it if she would run in the opposite direction. He didn't have a lot of time to contemplate his thoughts on the matter as they heard the distinct sound of gunshots being fired at the bank across the street.

Both stood to see what was happening as Caleb ran over and demanded;

"Lucas, what's happening? I heard shooting."

Casting his son a glance, Lucas quipped; "Looks like somebody decided to withdraw their Christmas club a little early."

The look in his eyes turning deadly serious, Lucas ordered;

"You two stay WELL out of the way, I mean it."

Bringing his gaze up to lock eyes with Dara he demanded;

"Do you understand me?"

Both nodded their agreement of his dictate as they watched him hurrying to reach the bank. Dara couldn't stop her thoughts as she wondered; 'What in the world is he going to do? He doesn't even have a gun on him.' Silently she began praying that he would use his better judgment, although she couldn't help but chastise herself; 'Now why am I so worried about that man?' Dara didn't have very long to ponder her thoughts as she noticed the two men that were leaving the bank and heading straight in her and Caleb's direction. Softly, she swore;

"Now where the hell did Lucas go?"

Realizing that she didn't really have time to think on the matter she quickly grabbed Caleb by his shoulders as she spun him around and whispered;

"Caleb, I want you to go and hide under those bushes or somewhere that you can't be seen. HURRY!"

Momentarily standing his ground, Caleb narrowed his gaze as he shook his head;

"But I can't leave you here alone, they might hurt you or something."

Hissing in his ear as she gave him a little push, Dara ordered;

"Do as I say, Caleb! I mean it, hurry up and go!"

With that Dara shoved him into a run, sending him to duck under the nearest set of shrubbery as he faded out of sight. Caleb hugged himself to the ground and turned so that he could see what was taking place, when he did he wasn't at all happy with what he saw. The two men made a straight line for Dara, everyone else having scattered when they heard the gunshots. The man with the gun had grabbed her arm and roughly shoved her into the other man's arms where she was being held captive. He wasn't certain as to exactly what happened, but the next thing that he knew the man with the gun had turned around and backhanded Dara so hard that Caleb thought her neck would break off of her shoulders from the force of it.

Infuriated at the man's gall, Caleb clutched his fists to his sides as he seethed;

"Lucas, where are you? They ain't got no right to do that!"

At that moment, as if on cue, Lucas stepped into plain view and although he couldn't be sure from this distance, Caleb didn't think that he could ever recall seeing such a look of deadly seriousness before on his father's face. Furrowing his brow in contemplation, Caleb couldn't help but think that this wasn't like Lucas at all. Sure, he made things happen and usually he made the bad guys pay, in his own way, but Caleb thought that, at that moment, if those men weren't holding Dara, Lucas would have killed them with his bare hands, gun or no gun.

Assessing the scene in front of him, Lucas realized that, whatever she had said to him, the tough guy with the gun must have taken extreme exception to it considering that he had hit her with enough force to, not only cause the immediate bruise that Lucas saw staring on her face, but to also knock her unconscious. The fact of which was obvious as Mr. Sawed-off's partner was having to hold her limp body upright for insurance. Narrowing his eyes, he demanded;

"Would you mind telling me what it was that the little lady said to upset you so much, or do you just have a thing for hitting women?"

Lucas knew that the man holding the gun was a repeat criminal who had seen more than his fair share of room and board that the state's expense as he served out time in prison. Although he could guess the man was in his early to mid thirties, given his quickly receding hair line that still attested to the fact that he had once possessed a full head of wavy, blond hair, the haggard lines that gave his face that look of granite, not to mention the variety of amateur tattoos that ran the length of both arms and the physical build that often comes from too much time and little else to occupy the time but lifting weights and other physically challenging activities, Lucas didn't doubt the man could easily pass for at least a forty something. Lucas had no doubts that, just as he was making his assessment, so too was he being assessed as well, something that solidified his suspicions that these two good old boys were most definitely strangers to

Trinity. No one who knew or knew of Lucas Buck would dare be so brazen as to try and pull off a bank robbery in broad daylight in his town.

Scanning his eyes up and down as he made a quick assessment, the hood snickered as he demanded;

"And just who the hell are you and what business is it of yours, mister? Or do you just have some kind of a death wish?"

Lucas could see the cold chill of apprehension in both men's eyes as his face took on an, almost, malicious grin as he offered;

"I happen to be the Sheriff, Lucas Buck is the name. And just who might you two fine, upstanding citizens be."

Turning to the man who was holding Dara, Lucas noticed the close resemblance that he bore to, who he determined to be, the mastermind of their caper. The only difference being a slighter build, younger appearance and full head of hair. He quickly realized that this was the man's first foray into crime, especially given the fact that he had visibly flinched when Lucas identified himself as the sheriff of Trinity, any doubts he may have had to that effect disappeared as the man's eyes took on a look of sheer panic as he plead;

"Geez, Joe, I told you that this was a stupid idea but you didn't want to listen to me. Now look what we're into."

Seeing this his control of the situation was swiftly evaporating, Joe swung viciously on his brother;

"Jess, I told you to shut the hell up and do what you're told. I make the decisions here, not you."

Hoping that what he was planning would work, Lucas took the initiative;

"Looks as if big brother here wants you two fellas to take a long vacation, Jess. I would say about five to ten for armed robbery, of course you need to add another ten to twenty, at least, for shooting the guard at the bank and now of course there would be another twenty at least for kidnapping and judging by the shape of your hostage there you can figure in another few years for assault and I'm guessing that if you two were to get away now with her that we'd probably be adding some more time for rape and murder. That of course depends on how long it takes us to find you, AND I can promise you boys, I will find you."

The fright at the prospect of spending the rest of his life behind a prison wall evident in his eyes, Jess turned to his brother and began begging in a whining tone;

"Come on, Joe, let's just give up and surrender, that way they'll go easier on us."

Shooting his brother a look that promised pure murderous intent, Joe's jaw tightened as he remained silent. With both men's attention diverted, Ben was silently able to slip up behind the pair and conceal his presence behind the large tree at their backs as he drew his gun, ready to spring at the appropriate time. Having noticed Ben's approach, Lucas took his cue to continue as he continued his prodding, provoking the pair even further;

"You see, Jess, I have the feeling that your big brother doesn't care too much about surrendering, especially considering that he's probably done some pretty hard time. I'm guessing that he's not too anxious to do any more time, so I'm guessing that he has it figured that no guts, no glory. That about right, Joe?"

Snickering as a snide grin came to his features, Joe nodded;

"Yeah, you're right, Sheriff, that's about the size of it."

Turning to the younger man, Lucas ventured;

"You, on the other hand, don't have a record so you could probably get off fairly light and not have to do too much time behind bars. But, Big Brother, on the other hand, well, I'm guessing that, with the time he's already done behind bars, they would throw away the key on his ass."

Lucas knew that, judging by the fear and realization in Jess' eyes, the man was doing as he had hoped, especially as he began shaking his head vehemently;

"Joe, I'm sorry brother, but I'm not going to fall with you. Man, you're on your own."

The rage evident in Joe's eyes as he glared daggers at his brother, Lucas, knowing what was coming, readied himself to spring into action as Joe snarled and began his tirade;

"YOU LOUSY BASTARD! YOU NEVER HAVE HAD ANY GUTS, ABOUT ANYTHING! SO YOU WON'T MISS THEM WHEN I BLOW THEM AWAY!"

At that, Joe aimed gun at Jess' midsection, which was unfortunately covered by Dara's still limp body and began to pull the trigger. His eyes widening in the fear that he might fail, Lucas leapt towards him, knocking Joe off balance which raised the gun's barrel as he pulled the trigger, sending a bullet into his brother's shoulder. Jess screamed as the bullet pierced and seared his flesh, causing him to lose his grip on Dara. Lucas made a desperate grab for her and managed to catch her before she could even hit the ground. Ben quickly leapt from behind the tree to aim his pistol at Joe's head as he ordered;

"HOLD IT, OR I SWEAR, I'LL BLOW YOU TO HELL AND BACK!"

Ben cast a brief glance over at Lucas, who was now cradling Dara on the ground, as he demanded;

"Lucas, is she alright? Do we need to get her to the hospital?"

It was at the moment that Floyd hurried from the bank to join them as he quickly began cuffing the thugs. Lucas shook his head in exasperation as he sarcastically quipped;

"Nice of you to finally decide to join us, Floyd, I mean it wasn't as if we needed any extra help or anything."

Turning red in embarrassment as he looked sheepishly at his boss, Floyd stammered;

"I'm sorry, Lucas. I was getting the ambulance over to the bank, they shot the guard up pretty bad and I have another ambulance coming."

Motioning to Dara, Floyd asked;

"Is she going to be okay?"

Glancing down at Dara, Lucas pushed her hair away from her face and could see just how severe the abuse she had suffered truly was by the black bruise marring her cheek and the blood that had trickled from her split lip. Lucas couldn't contain the fury that was quickly making its way to the surface at the gall that the man had possessed to abuse her in such a way. Noticing a blanket that someone had provided, Lucas gently laid her on it as he turned and, slowly, rose as he approached Joe.

Ben braced himself for what he knew was about to come. He knew that Lucas had feelings for the girl, but after the look that he had just seen in his eyes as he assessed the injuries that had been inflicted on her, Ben knew that Joe wasn't about to get off lightly, something that quickly became evident as Lucas bent and retrieved the shotgun that had been dropped during the earlier scuffle and approached him. If there had been any doubts about the intensity of Lucas' anger, they were quickly quelled as Joe's fear became palpable as he looked into Lucas' ominously dark eyes as he stated in a dangerously calm voice;

"You know, it takes a really big man to hit a woman, not only, half his size but that has a gun pointed to her head as well."

With that, Lucas used all of his might to bring the butt end of the gun up to Joe's jaw, effectively smashing it. Blood started pouring from Joe's mouth as he hit the ground from the force of Lucas' blow as he swore;

"You son -ov-a-bitss, you brote my jah."

Lucas abruptly threw the gun to the ground before turning to Ben;

"Our friend here broke his jaw when he hit the ground. Got it, Ben?"

Noting the still murderous look in Lucas' eyes, Ben swallowed as he nodded;

"Sure, Lucas, I'll put it in the report."

Motioning to where Dara way lying on the blanket, he suggested;

"Do you want me to get an ambulance here to take her to the hospital?"

He couldn't swear that he had seen it, but Ben thought that a look of, what could only be described as, infinite tenderness cross Lucas' face as he glanced at the, still, unconscious girl before he shook his head;

"No, I'll take her myself, Ben."

With that Lucas returned to where he had placed Dara before kneeling down and, once again, cradling her to him. Glancing about he absently wondered; 'Now where did Caleb get to?' As if by magic, Caleb suddenly appeared, holding a damp cloth as he suggested;

"Here, wipe her face and mouth with this and see if that don't help her come around."

Lucas took the cloth and nodded his gratefulness to his son for his thoughtfulness before demanding;

"Where were you hiding during all of this?"

Watching as his father began to tenderly administer the damp cloth to Dara's bruised and swollen cheek as well as her split lip, Caleb couldn't shake the feeling that, somehow, this lady wasn't going to be like all of the other ones that his father had shown an interest in. Bringing his thoughts back to the present, he explained;

"Well, when she saw that they were heading over here she told me to go and hide where they couldn't see me. I think that she distracted them so that they wouldn't find me."

Motioning to her, he demanded;

"Is she going to be okay?"

Continuing to apply the cloth to her face, Lucas was beginning to feel serious concern for her lack of response, then, she started moaning as she slowly moved her hand to her now swollen mouth. Finally, she opened her eyes to look up into Lucas';

"Please tell me that you at least gave the Mac truck that did this a speeding ticket."

Glancing over his shoulder to Caleb, Lucas couldn't help but notice the wide grin of relief that the boy was wearing as he turned back to Dara and, despite himself, offered her a relieved smile as he sighed in relief;

"In a manner of speaking, yeah, I gave him a ticket."

Piping up, Caleb guffawed as he stared at his father in disbelief;

"Ticket, my foot, he broke his jaw for him."

Dara looked questioningly into his eyes as she asked quietly;

"You broke the man's jaw? Why?"

Sparing a moment to give his son a withering look before giving thought to the best way to explain his actions, Lucas quickly realized when his eyes met hers that any attempts he tried to make to brush off his actions weren't going to work with her. Making his mind up, Lucas chose to simply fall back on the truth as he shrugged;

"The man was twice your size and considering the force that he had to use to do this,"

Gently, he touched her tender mouth and swollen cheek as he continued;

"It made me mad as hell, especially because you were knocked out for so long."

Dara couldn't help but feel flattered as she offered a sincere smile as she she shook her head;

"My knight in shining armor, huh, well, I'm okay now, just a little dizzy still. Why don't you help me up and we'll call it a day."

Rising, Lucas offered her his hand to help her stand. He couldn't help but notice that, as she stood, she began swaying slightly until he helped steady her on her feet. The concern he had was evident as he ventured;

"You don't really seem to be too steady, are you sure that you're okay? Maybe we should take you to the hospital and let them check you out, just to make sure."

Although she was touched by his concern, Dara knew that a trip to the ER was out of the question. Turning to face him she shook her head slightly;

"No, I really am okay, just still a little dizzy, that's all."

Despite her assurances, Lucas and Caleb couldn't help but look at each other doubtfully as they began walking, however, they found their progress suddenly halted as she turned towards Lucas to plead;

"Can we please stop a second? I can't seem to get my bearin..."

With that last effort, she went limp as her knees buckled, she would have hit the ground, but Lucas, suspecting what was about to happen when she stopped, caught her before she could fall. The fear evident in his eyes, Caleb demanded;

"Is she okay? She doesn't look so good."

Nodding as he swept her up in his arms, Lucas considered;

"I think so, son, I think she may have just fainted from the dizziness. Go run over to the bank and tell Floyd that I'm taking his car and then get the door open for me, I'm taking her to the hospital to have her checked out."

Understanding the seriousness of the situation, Caleb ran across the street to the bank and delivered Lucas' message. Lucas followed behind at a careful and much slower pace. Glancing down at Dara's relaxed face Lucas couldn't fathom why, but he couldn't stop himself from thinking that she definitely felt as if she belonged in his arms. It was as that moment that Lucas realized just exactly what it was that he had been fighting since having first met her. In the short time that he had known her, he realized that she had managed to wind her way into that area of himself that he didn't think even existed; his heart, and apparently the soul that he thought he had given up, all without the slightest bit of effort on her part.

Reaching the car just as Caleb opened the door, Lucas carefully placed her in the passenger seat before hurrying to the driver's side. Turning the key to bring the engine to life he switched on the blue light as he rushed in the direction of Fulton County General. Glancing over to Dara to make sure that she was all right he flipped the volume on the CB and grabbed the mic;

"Ben, can you hear me?"

When he received no reply, Lucas found his ire rising considerably as he roared;

"Ben, if you value your ass I suggest that you answer me."

After a moment the radio came to life.

"Sorry, Lucas, I'm still here at the hospital with our boy, getting his jaw taken care of. What's the problem?"

Lucas began, immediately, firing out his orders;

"Ben, tell the ER to get the best doctor on duty ready, I'm bringing in a patient for them."

After another second of static, Ben asked;

"Is it Ms. Chambers, is she okay?"

Irritation at, what he considered, an idiotic question given the situation rose stronger than ever in Lucas as he replied sarcastically;

"No, Ben, she's just fine. But I thought that she might like a tour of the town at ninety miles an hour and then finish it up with a visit to the emergency room. No, Ben, she's not fine, she's unconscious. She came to for a few minutes and then passed out again. Just do as you're told. OUT!"

Throwing the mic to the floor Lucas glanced at Dara, who was still unconscious, and realized that he was beginning to feel something that he had never known before; worry for the welfare of another person.