Matt was roused from a deep sleep by the bright sun which shone on his face through the large window in Gail's bedroom, he was used to a dark cell with a small barred window and he had become unaccustomed to the warm sensation that the sun could produce through a window in the morning. Matt rubbed his eyes, rolled over and stretched across the whole kingsize bed. Gail had opted for sleeping with Caleb and allowed Matt to stay in her bed for the night, until she could figure out a more permanent solution to his living arrangements.

The smell of bacon caught his senses and he sat up, contemplating whether he wanted to stay in this comfortable bed or get some nice home-cooked food. Rocky's low moans at the door made his decision for him, so he got out of bed to change then opened the door to face the day. Rocky ran straight into the kitchen and Matt smiled at Gail's startled curse, when he peered into the kitchen he could see Gail in her pyjama's alone cooking breakfast. 'What no children yet?' he asked as he leaned against the counter.

Gail shook her head while bending down to give Rocky an affectionate stroke. 'It's after 11:00am Matt, everyone is up and out. M took Caleb to school and is probably wandering around somewhere, I thought I'd wait for you to wake up before heading into the office. I hope you're hungry, I cooked enough food to feed a horse!' she laughed.

Matt had not realised it was so late in the morning, he had been so comfortable in her bed that he had slept longer than he usually did.

'You must've needed it' Gail said subconsciously reading his mind and started putting the food out on plates. 'Whatever you don't eat Rocky will have, so don't force yourself. Now that my bedroom is unoccupied I'm going to find some appropriate clothes to wear'

Matt laughed, 'I don't know...I think you could give the pyjama look a comeback if you tried'

Gail smiled, 'I'm sure my boss would love me to waltz into the office like this' she said sarcastically and headed into her bedroom to change.

When she closed the bedroom door she let out a sigh of relief, she had ensured the children had gone out early so she could monitor Matt's behaviour without her having to worry about them. She wanted to trust that he was not dangerous; however, she needed to be sure before she allowed him unsupervised access to Caleb.

'Harvard wouldn't dare fall outta line Darlin'...' Lucas said leaning against her bedroom door, '...he know's I'd be all over that'

Gail rolled her eyes and turned towards her lover. 'You need to back off, the only time anything happens with him is when you get involved. Providing you behave around him everything will be fine'

Lucas walked towards Gail, stroked her cheek gently then pulled her face towards his and inhaled her scent. He looked at her suspiciously when her scent remained unchanged, as he was picking up on something else. He walked casually towards her bed, picked up the sheets in his hand then through them down displeased. 'Your bed reeks of him...did you cosy up to someone else while I wasn't around last night Darlin'?' he asked, trying to keep a lid on his emotions. He suddenly felt a twinge of paranoia and he did not like this feeling.

Gail sighed then continued searching for some suitable clothes to wear. 'Do I really need to account for every little thing I do when you're not around? I wasn't aware our relationship warranted that type of accountability'

Lucas inhaled deeply, he could feel his blood beginning to boil and his twin was itching to be released to deal with Matt Crower. Lucas knew the man would inevitably cause some friction in their relationship and he was attempting to deal with this in a reasonable manner; however, her blatant disregard for his feelings right now was infuriating him. He forced a laugh to hide his outrage, he would never allow a woman to know she had gotten under his skin. 'If that's how you want this Darlin' I might invite Selena to come over tonight and stay in my bed, with their being no accountability and all. I have no doubt she'd jump at the opportunity to prove how loyal and committed she is'

Gail took a deep breath to hide her irritation, she had not meant her comment to come across in the manner that it had; however, she would not be controlled by any man and would certainly not back down. 'Well if that's what you want Sheriff, I might just invite Billy to stay over with me tonight. I'm sure he would jump at the chance to spend some close personal time with me, while his other half is proving her commitment to you' she said suggestively.

Lucas shook his head slowly, he knew Billy had a thing for Gail and he doubted he would turn her down if she was to offer herself to him. It appeared her old stubbornness had returned and she was starting to mend the barrier within herself that was in place when she arrived in Trinity, if he allowed her to do that he would have to waste his time breaking her down again and he did not have the patience for that. 'What would you possibly get from that primitive ignoramus except dull pounding?...You require more than that to get off Miss Emory' he said approaching her slowly from behind.

Gail sensed him close the distance between them and inhaled deeply in anticipation. She did not know why the conversation had turned the way it had; however, it appeared he was giving her a way out which kept her ego intact. 'Maybe I'd like a simple experience Sheriff, everything doesn't have to be so complicated and well thought out all the time'

Lucas placed his hands on her hips, turned her around and gently threw her down on the bed. 'If the lady require's simple, who am I to deny her request?' he said seductively as he pulled off his shirt, unzipped his pants and pulled off her pyjama bottoms.

Gail allowed Lucas to climb on top of her and wrapped her legs around him. She moved her hands over his chest then to his back, 'You don't have a simple bone in your body Sheriff' she whispered and nipped at his neck.

Lucas moved his hand down to her sweet spot and smiled when he felt how moist she was already. 'I may not have, but I know what you like Miss Emory' he said, gently pushing his manhood inside her and nipping at her chin enticingly.

Gail bit her lip to stifle her moan as he entered her, then pulled his face to hers for a passionate kiss. His movements were slow and erotic, this was a big change from how he took her in the church and she was finding it hard to keep up with what he wanted from her. She chose to just lay back and allow him to take her softly, clawing her nails down his bare back to show her acceptance of him.

Lucas kissed her neck tenderly as he pushed in and out of her slowly. This pace was frustrating and it required a lot of his self control to maintain; however, it allowed him to feel his orgasm slowly building within him and he was beginning to enjoy the experience of taking her this way. When he felt her nails dig into his back and heard her short breaths, he picked up the pace slightly. Her moans mirrored his and it was obvious they were both reaching their peak together so he continued to quicken the pace.

Gail felt her orgasm slowly rising within her, when he chose to thrust in and out quicker it did not take her long to reach her climax and she bit down hard on his shoulder to stifle her yell. She smiled when Lucas buried his head in her neck to keep the volume of his moans to a minimum and kissed his cheek affectionately when he lay motionless on top after he erupted inside her. 'I appreciate your consideration for the person in the other room' she whispered and nipped at his ear.

Lucas raised his head to look into her eyes. 'My consideration is for you and the consequences you would have to deal with if he heard us Darlin'' he said and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

Gail smiled, 'Well thank you either way...now I need you to get off so I can get ready'

'What you mean we aren't staying like this all day?' he asked sarcastically, laughing when she shot him a warning glance and allowed her up so she could continue getting dressed.

Billy walked casually around the hospital corridors with his hands in his pockets, smiling at each person who past him. He had been in Trinity for about a year now and he could not believe this sleepy little town had kept his interest; although, if he was honest it was more certain people he had grown accustomed to rather than the town itself.

Billy had a solid career with the CDC and he loved his job as he got to travel all around the world helping people; however, that all came to a stand still when he arrived in Trinity. He had several opportunities throughout the years to settle down and take a normal well paid 'safe' position in a medical practice or hospital, but that had never interested him.

Like his friend Gail, Billy was all for the adventure and excitement of the unknown. He had taken risks that had led him into more than one dangerous situation in his time just like she had and he truly believed they were kindred spirits, which is why he valued her as his closest friend. Now here he was with his mundane existence walking the corridors of this typical hospital, just like she was with her mundane small town newspaper. He did not know how a boring town like this managed to trap two adventurous professionals like them; however, they had both fallen prisoner to it's curse.

'That's a bit melodramatic don't you think Billy-Boy?' Lucas said from behind him.

Billy rolled his eyes and turned around to witness Lucas leaning casually against a wall appearing to be reading the Trinity Guardian. He genuinely did not understand what his friend saw in this tiresome man, she was a smart woman and it was hard to believe she wasted her time someone so supercilious.

'Oh I'm truly hurt...' Lucas said reading his mind, '...for someone as important as you to hold me in such low regard makes me really want to change' he laughed sarcastically and approached Billy. He did not like how he doted over Gail and if her darkness had not made itself known he would have ended this man by now; however, he was to be on his best behaviour for his love until he understood the true extend of her darkness. 'Who Gail chooses to waste her time on is non of your concern Doc...hell she's even been throwing some of it your way, unbeknownst to you'

Billy stood tall as Lucas approached him, he did not care for the fact that the man appeared to be reading his mind or his smugness at knowing something he did not. 'If Gail wants to throw some of her time my way that's not a problem Buck. In fact, I'd happily be the centre of that woman's attention' he said suggestively, knowing this would bother the man before him.

Lucas applauded the man for trying to bate him and usually it would work; however, as he had just come from servicing his love, he had no doubt that she was not interested in Billy Peele. 'Speaking as the one who is the centre of her attention these days Doc, you couldn't handle what she has to offer' he said and smiled when Billy shifted irritated on the spot.

'What do you want Buck? I have patients to attend to' Billy asked, growing tired of this game.

Lucas shrugged, it looked like Billy-boy could not handle the banter after all. 'I thought I'd come give you a heads up as your friend may be gettin' you into somethin' that's way over your head, that's all Doc'

Billy had not spoken to Gail since she returned from her meeting late last night, he had agreed to babysit Matt while she was gone and expected she would share the details of the meeting when she had returned; however, she kept whatever was discussed to herself. 'What do you mean Buck? Just spit it out. I doubt Gail would get me into something without discussing it with me first' he said agitated with this visit.

Lucas laughed and held his hands up in a surrendering manner. 'Whoa there Doc, no need to get tetchy...' he said amused at the reaction he had gotten, '...If you believe Gail wouldn't use you to her advantage, I think you're sorely mistaken. That woman managed to climb to the top of her profession with no family and no financial assistance, you can't do that without being ruthless friend. Maybe you should get off your high horse and talk to her before you assume my warnin' is false'

Billy shook his head and watched as Lucas began to walk away. 'Why should I ever believe you would go out of your way to genuinely warn me of something?' he called.

Lucas turned around and smiled devilishly. 'Maybe after our few nights out you're growin' on me Billy-boy' he shrugged and continued to walk down the hospital corridor.

Billy watched Lucas retreat down the corridor and took a deep breath in an attempt to push down his agitation. He did not for one minute believe Lucas had his best interests at heart; however, he began to wonder what Gail could possibly have done. Billy decided to take his lunch break early and see if he could locate his friend.

Gail sat in her office at the Trinity Guardian typing up her notes on Juniper, she was going to shelve the article; however, she disregarded that option and decided she would report honestly on the institute. She never backed away from a story and she would not start now just because certain people would not appreciate what she had to say.

Whilst typing up her findings and theories, she had realised she had turned biased towards the place as all she had written was bad. She would re-evaluate Juniper before she passed the article to be published and ensure she had performed a thorough investigation, as she was concerned a lot of her negative feelings for the place were due to Matt.

She was interrupted from her train of thought by a knock on the office door. 'Miss Emory, there's a man here to see you' came the quiet voice of the office receptionist.

Gail removed her glasses and forced a warm smile, she did not like being interrupted or waited on by a receptionist; however, the girl was just doing her job. 'Do we have a name of the man?' she asked.

The receptionist looked nervously down at her hands, 'I didn't get one sorry'

'Will you stop torturing this young girl and invite me in' Billy said from behind the girl.

Gail smiled and signalled for the girl to return to whatever she had been doing, then stood up and walked around her desk to meet Billy. 'Hey Doctor, to what to I owe this unexpected visit?'

Billy nudged Gail out of the way playfully and started to survey her office, he had not been here before and she had said it was huge; however, he had not expected it to be quite this extravagant . 'Wow...you could fit a football team in here' he said as he walked to the large window and looked down at the street below.

Gail shook her head and crossed her arms, 'Don't be so dramatic...it's not that big'

Billy laughed, 'Are you kidding? It's over double the size of mine...I thought you didn't like being cooped up in an office, how come you're here? It took me ages to find you'

Gail shrugged and approached Billy at the window. 'I guess my Editor was right that I'd grow tired of the distractions at my house, this is the only quiet time I can get these days'

Billy nodded, if she wasn't surrounded by the two children it was either Matt or Lucas that were hovering around. It was understandable that she would require some alone time to be able to concentrate on her work, he didn't understand how she managed to juggle so much.

'Skill...' Gail laughed, subconsciously reading his mind and signalled for him to follow her to the coach, '...Now what can I do for you?' she asked as they both sat down.

Billy did not like games and he knew Gail didn't either, they were both professionals that had better things to do than wasting their time beating around the bush; therefore, he chose to just come out and say what was on his mind. 'I had a visit from your other half earlier, warning me about some thing you were getting me involved in'

Gail inhaled deeply in exasperation, she should have known Lucas would retaliate when the meeting last night did not go his way. She appreciated Billy's getting straight to the point; however, she had hoped she would have a bit more time before she had to discuss this with him. 'Well it's nice to see you making friends with my other half...' she said sarcastically and decided to take a lighthearted approach with this, '...I wouldn't say I'm getting you involved in anything, more trying to better your career here in Trinity'

Billy forced a laugh, he did not like being a pawn in something he was not aware of but knew if he snapped at her then her attitude would change drastically. 'Oh us men like to stick together, especially when woman appear to be scheming behind our backs' he said returning her sarcasm.

Gail was growing tired with this conversation, she had been making good progress with her article and was in mid flow of typing when he had interrupted her. She placed a hand tenderly on his knee, playing towards his affection for her and leaned closer to him. 'Do you trust me?' she asked sweetly.

Billy took a sharp intake of breath and attempted to push down his inappropriate thoughts. He knew she was aware of how he felt about her; however, she just allowed it to go unaddressed and chose to continue on with their friendship as it was. It had been a while since she had allowed them to be that close as the reactions from their partners would likely be catastrophic if they witnessed it, so this unexpected closeness was beginning to make him become unraveled. 'You know I do' he whispered, leaning his face closer to hers.

Gail smiled then leaned her head on his shoulder affectionately and allowed him to put his arm around her, she was not concerned at how this would look to Lucas's little spies in the office as he had brought this on himself by visiting her friend. 'I have your best interest at heart, that's all you need to know...just trust me' she said softly, running her hand up and down his leg.

Billy pulled her closer into his chest and inhaled her scent, her sweet fragrance was intoxicating and this closeness was affecting his ability to think rationally. 'You're the person I trust most here Gail, I know you wouldn't do anything bad...it just would've been nice not to have Lucas Buck be the first person to tell me about something'

Gail snuggled closer into Billy's chest, this was taking longer than she had hoped so she gently stroked her hand down his chest and smiled to herself when he could not hide his deep intake of breath. She knew she should not play with his affections and she would never allow it to go any further than this; however, he was a simple creature and a sucker for the attention of pretty girl, there was no harm in using that to dispel his worry. 'Lucas hasn't really told you anything though has he? He's riled you up and sent you on your way hoping you would cause a rift in our friendship, but we're too close for that aren't we?'

Billy closed his eyes at the warm sensation that rushed through his body when she stroked his chest, her words made him feel stupid for allowing Lucas to get into his head and make him doubt her. He did not know what he was thinking believing that man and coming here, he should know better than to trust Lucas Buck. 'Gail, I'm sor...' he started but she pushed herself up and touched his lips softly with her finger.

'Don't you dare finish that sentence, you've done nothing to apologise for. I'll fill you in fully later, but for now take pride in the fact that whatever is happening has bothered our lovely Sheriff so much that he's felt the need to try and turn you to his side'

Billy nodded, 'Don't you worry...I take pleasure in knowing his attempt has failed'

Gail smiled warmly at her friend, 'Good...now I need to get back to work. Can we meet up later for dinner just the two of us? or do you think Selena would have a temper tantrum?'

Billy shrugged and got off the coach, then held out a hand to assist Gail in standing up. 'She can whine all she wants, she knows the score...I'll talk mine down if you can keep a leash on yours'

Gail laughed, 'Lucas has no say in what I do or who I do it with...I'll text you later and we'll arrange it properly'

Billy smiled and stroked Gail's arm affectionately before leaving the office. Gail shook her head and ran her hand through her hair, then walked slowly back towards her desk.

'Well played' Lucas said leaning against her office door clapping.

Gail sighed and turned towards him, it appeared she was not destined to get any work done today. 'Close the door' she said as she walked over to the blinds in her office and closed them, aware that all eyes in the department would be fixed firmly on her and Lucas.

Lucas glanced at the Reporters in the large room behind him and they all turned to look in any other direction other than at him, then he closed the door to Gail's office so they had some privacy. 'That was a very cosy display Darlin', should I be concerned?'

Gail sat on her desk and smiled, 'I didn't realise jealousy was your forte Sheriff'

Lucas let out an unimpressed laugh and approached her slowly, glancing around her office as he got closer. 'I wouldn't go that far Miss Emory...although when my lover decides to cosy up with another man stroking his chest, I might be forgiven for being a little curious as to where that might lead'

'Your lover wouldn't have to cosy up to another man had you not sent him off guns blazing to her office'

Lucas shrugged and pulled her to a standing position so he could meet her eyes. 'Your lover wouldn't have to send the arrogant idiot to you if you had kept out of a matter that should not involve you'

Gail looked deep into Lucas's eyes and felt her desire beginning to rise within her, 'It appears the matter involves the whole group, which includes me Sheriff' she said defiantly.

Lucas pushed down the urge to grab her and throw her down on the desk behind her, he needed to insert his dominance here and giving in to his urges would not help achieve that goal. 'That group wouldn't know a competent man if he hit them in the face Darlin'. This town is run in a certain way...I appreciate you are new to our ways and I would've expected you to sit this one out, but you seem hell bent on interferin' with this and I'm at a loss as to why this is so important to you'

Gail stood tall and smiled, she was not intimidated by him at all and never would be. 'Aww, you're cute when you're confused Sheriff...my interest in this is for the good of your town. Whatever way this goes I will be submitting my story on Juniper, the outcome of it just depends on whether we have another Doctor Monroe running the place or someone much more competent and fair. I couldn't care less about your little group and what trivial things they may debate over, but this isn't trivial and my conscience will not let me sit back and allow you to employ another corrupt disciple of yours, when the patients in that institution need some actual help'

Lucas could not help but laugh at her statement, her moral code was amusing and she was sexy as hell when she got like this. 'Whoa there Darlin', you might wanna take it down a peg or two. Do you think anyone in this town actually cares about that institution? People ship off their relatives to Juniper when they can't be bothered lookin' after them, if it wasn't for the money I put into that place the patients would be a lot more worse off then they have been'

The one thing Gail could not stand was when a man laughed at her, it was a blatant sign of disrespect and it infuriated her. It took all her strength not react to her lover laughing in her face, but she was determined not to let him get under her skin. 'How touching Lucas, if I didn't know you better I'd say you had a soft spot for the poor souls trapped in that corrupt place'

'I have a soft spot for all the residents in my town Gail, except for you...I have a very hard spot reserved only for you' he said taking hold of her hand and placing it on his hard manhood.

Gail inhaled deeply and shook her head, she could not help but smile at the audacity of the man before her. 'I guess I should be flattered' she said licking and biting her lips teasingly.

Lucas smiled, he could sense her desire was as strong as his and he could not resist his urges any longer. 'I don't believe we've broken in this office yet have we?' he asked playfully and began to lead her towards the large window, he could take her up here whilst watching people walk by and no one would ever know.

Gail allowed herself to be led, then kissed him passionately when he pulled her to him. She should know better than to entertain this at her work place; however, the man was insatiable and she did not have the will power to deny him at this present time. Lucas pushed her gently so she was facing the window and began to lift up her skirt, she leaned back into him and allowed him to nip at her neck then pushed away from him quickly when she heard a knock at her door.

The look of anger on Lucas's face as he turned to the door was worrying, so Gail stepped in front of him and shot him a warning glance to step down. As she was fixing her skirt the knock came again and she could not hide the irritation in her voice. 'What?' she called and instantly softened when she heard the voice at the other side of the door.

'It's Caleb Temple, your only living relation...are you gonna invite me in or what?' Caleb asked impatiently.

Lucas shook his head and sighed, 'His timing's impeccable ain't it?' he said watching Gail return to her desk.

Gail rolled her eyes at him and sat down behind her desk, 'Since when do you need an invite...' she called to her cousin '...come in'

Caleb opened to office door and strolled in the room, oblivious of what he had just interrupted. He glanced from Lucas to Gail, then perched himself on his cousins desk. 'Did you talk to him?' he asked and picked up the jar of mints that were on the desk.

'Talked to me about what?' Lucas asked taking a seat on the coach and disregarding the stench of Billy Peele on it.

Gail look from Lucas, who had suddenly made himself comfortable, to Caleb who was raiding her jar of mints and stood up. The pair of them were as bad as each other for stopping her from doing her work. 'No I haven't...' she said to Caleb, '...and it's nothing important' she said to Lucas.

'It's important enough for the boy to bring up' Lucas said standing up and approaching her.

'Well it can wait...now if you don't mind Sheriff I'm at work and would appreciate it if you allowed me to continue doing my job'

Lucas glanced at Caleb who just shrugged and decided she did not appear to be in the mood for him to push the matter. 'Alright Darlin', you know where to find me when you're ready to talk...you be good for this ol' cousin of yours son' Lucas said rustling Caleb's hair as he left them together in the office

-To be continued-