It was a bright morning in the cold hospital and Selena lay staring at the dull white walls in frustration. Nurses had come in to check on her throughout the night and she had been told that she was doing well; however, she was yet to hear a full diagnosis from Doctor Crower and it was beginning to concern her.
Selena knew this stunt from Lucas was just a reminder of what he could do, he was not so different than a child who liked to play with his food before he devoured it. Lucas had indicated that there were bigger things to come; therefore, she did not understand what she was still doing here and the waiting for starting to make her feel on edge.
'I hope I'm not intruding' Christie asked politely, as she entered the room quietly with a bouquet of flowers and placed them on the small table beside Selena.
Selena let out an irritated laugh and carefully sat up in the bed. 'The last person I thought I'd see in here was you' she stated and took a sip of the glass of water left by Billy.
'I know we don't know each other well, but I feel a familiarity with you and I was hoping to have a few moments of your time' Christie advised, as she started to pull up a chair.
'I'll be heading the article for the Guardian, so you can leave' Gail said abruptly, as she entered the room and took the chair out of Christie's hands before sitting down next to Selena. She had woken up in a foul mood after a night of horrific dreams and was not in the mood to deal with anyone today.
'I correct myself, you're the last person I'd ever thought of seeing here' Selena stated cattily and turned away from her nemesis.
'Oh don't be so dramatic' Gail said ignoring Christie until the woman uncomfortably left the room, then handed Selena a latte from the Cafe they both liked. 'Filled to the brim with whipped cream to top it off' she forced a smile.
Selena stared at the large cup and licked her lips, the coffee served here tasted like rocket fuel and she could not care less if her nemesis' offering was full fat. 'Figure be damned' Selena sighed, then took the latte and had a long sip.
Gail relaxed back into the uncomfortable bedside chair and shook of the dark feelings she was feeling for everybody. She did not know what was causing her the act this way, or why it was directed at her closest friends; however, this was not the time to be thinking about her situation.
'Trouble in paradise with your bestie?' Selena mocked, as she took another sip of her drink.
'My bestie is a handsome Harvard graduated Doctor and our relationship is just fine' Gail smiled, shrugging off the comment.
Selena narrowed her eyes at her nemesis for a moment, then relaxed and let out a long sigh. 'What do you want Gail? Isn't it bad enough that you're married to my ex and he put me in here? Or where you not aware of that?'
Gail stared at Selena curiously for a moment, then stood up and began pacing the room while she took out her tape recorder. 'Are you officially accusing the Sheriff of Trinity of causing your accident Miss Coombs? Speak up now so I can hear you clearly' Gail asked sweetly, not reacting to the statement.
Selena glared at the tape recorder and shook her head. 'Why our lovely considerate Sheriff would never be involved in a freak accident like this Mrs Buck. You must have your information mixed up' she said in her sweetest tone and remained calm.
Gail laughed and turned off her tape recorder. 'Why would Lucas bother hurting you? It's not as though he even cares what or who you do anymore' she said cattily.
Selena was about to mention Christie when she saw something change in Gail's eyes, her nemesis was still stood in front of her looking as pure as ever; however, she appeared different. Something inside of her warned caution and Selena thought back to how Gail had been with Christie since she returned from captivity. There had been no article or gossip on the subject, so either Gail did not know what had happened or she did not care. Selena had spent enough time with Gail to know that she was not easily swayed, so that just left the possibility that the lovely Miss Emory had turned bad.
Gail watched Selena closely and when she realised that she was analysing her she shook her head. 'Are you Freud now?' she asked sarcastically.
Selena could sense the darkness radiating off of her and decided to be careful. Before she had a chance to answer the question, the door to her room opened and Matt Crower walked in.
Matt stared at the two women for a moment, confused at Gail's presence here and moved towards the end of the bed. 'Sorry for the delay Miss Coombs, how did you sleep?' he asked warmly.
Selena let out a bitter laugh and folded her arms over her chest. 'Well this ain't really the Ritz Doctor. Can we get on with this so I can get out of here?' she asked bluntly.
Matt glanced over his shoulder at Gail and shot her a friendly smile, then turned back towards his patient. 'It may be better if we discussed your injuries in private' he advised, not wanting to do this with a third party in the room.
Gail sensed Matt's discomfort and started to leave; however, Selena held up her hand in a halting gesture, then turned back towards Matt.
'There's no secrets in this town Doctor, so just spill' she ordered, ready to take on whatever inconvenience Lucas had planned for her.
Matt looked at Gail, who just shrugged, then let out a long sigh. He had not wanted to deliver the news like this; however, Selena had made her choice and it was not for him to interfere. 'Considering the knock you took, you're doing really well...Unfortunately, there was an injury to your lower stomach, which was more intensive than we initially thought'
Selena rolled her eyes at his clinical way of speaking and laughed. 'So I'm going to have a scar...and what?' she asked amused at his concern.
Matt glanced at Gail, then looked down at the floor. He did not like this part of his job, it made it worse when he knew his patients and with his best friend being present this was unbearable.
Gail caught on to Matt's behaviour before Selena did and instinctively moved towards the door to leave; however, before she had a chance to escape, Matt gave Selena the truth.
'You can't have children Selena' he said bluntly, knowing there was no other way to make her take this seriously.
Selena held her small smile; however, the statement hit her like a hammer to the chest. She nodded slowly in acknowledgement of the statement and remained quietly in shock at the news that she had just been delivered.
Gail's mouth dropped open in disbelief and pity. She may not always get on with the woman; however, she would never wish this on even her worst enemy. Something inside of her urged her to get out of the room before Selena realised she was still there, so she quietly moved out of the room and squeezed Matt's shoulder reassuringly before she left.
Matt nodded towards his friend on her way out, then sat on the bed next to Selena and pulled her to his chest when she started to cry.
Lucas inhaled deeply and took in the fresh morning air, as he walked casually through the park whilst pushing Luke's buggy. Lucas would never have imagined himself as a domesticated husband; however, being seen in this light by his townspeople was working wonders for his reputation and he acknowledge every single person he passed, ensuring they bore witness to this new side of him.
Although he was embracing this side of himself for the time being, he had not forgotten about who he really was and his twin remained just underneath his service waiting to be called upon. In fact, he believed he was overdue on cashing in one of his deals and would have to think about which poor unsuspecting soul he wanted to call upon.
Lucas continued to stroll as he pondered over who he wished to torment; however, his attention was taken away from this line of thought when he saw Merlyn Ann sat on a blanket under a large tree with Lucy. He smiled to himself at his luck and pushed the buggy over to her, then took Luke in his arms and sat down beside her. 'Fancy seeing such a beautiful young girl all on her lonesome on a pleasant day like this' he said charmingly and secured Luke carefully on his knee.
Merlyn cursed herself for being too distracted with Lucy to notice Lucas' presence sooner and forced a pleasant smile. 'I ain't all alone Sheriff' she advised and looked over at Gideon who was perched a few yards away from them beside the tree. 'What are you doin' out here at this time of day? Ain't you got some work to do?'
Lucas glanced at Gideon with disdain, as the meddling mutt let out a low growl and crept towards them. He had hoped the dog would have disappeared by now; however, it appeared his love still had use for him. 'I'm Lucas Buck Missy, I can go anywhere I want at any time of day...If somethin' came up, I'm sure my Deputies would find a way of lettin' me know'
'As if you need anyone to inform you of anythin'' Merlyn said sarcastically.
Lucas let out a small laugh and nodded. 'I guess you've gotten to know me pretty well Merlyn Ann, who'd have predicted that? Where's Harvard today? Neglectin' you already?' he mocked.
Merlyn let out a long sigh and turned towards Gideon, who had stopped moving to focus on Rocky who had just joined them and had began nipping playfully at Gideon's ear. 'Matt's workin', a concept you clearly don't understand and I ain't bein' neglected by no-one' she snapped.
'Ah hell Missy, I do believe you're right. Being a teenage Step Mother with an older man and all, I guess you've always got someone's attention. It's a shame you ain't reapin' the benefits that type of relationship brings, it'd loosen you up to the finer things in life' he mocked, knowing Matt Crower was too noble to touch her in the way she needed.
Merlyn stared at Lucas and tried to hide her anger. She had been left looking after Lucy as Matt did not trust Christie's recent behaviour and although she did not mind helping, she was beginning to feel trapped and hated that Lucas could sense this. 'What's goin' on in my life is none of your business. Your wife stabbed her best friend and is now walkin' around town as if nothin' happened, are you really so self absorbed that you don't see a problem with that?' she asked irritated.
Lucas shifted Luke to his other knee and smiled. 'What's goin' on with my beloved is a family matter and will be dealt with accordingly. Like you said earlier Merlyn Ann, I don't need anyone to inform me of anythin'. If your cousins behaviour was so out of the ordinary then I'd step in, but as it stands my wife is performin' as she should in all departments...it's a shame we can't say the same about Harvard' he stated venomously.
Merlyn inhaled deeply and attempted to push down her anger, the last thing she needed was to lose control in public and lash out at the Sheriff of Trinity while he was taking care of his son. 'Matt Crower is performin' just fine, so you just keep your nose out you hear?' she said cattily.
Lucas laughed and shook his head, then got up and placed Luke carefully back in his buggy. 'If you need someone to pop that little cherry of yours and loosen you up, just let me know. I've got a feelin' you'll be waitin' a hell of a long time for Doctor Romeo to pluck up the courage to sort you out' he said sarcastically.
Merlyn let out a small laugh and stood up to meet him. 'I wonder how your new wife would feel about you propositionin' a member of her family?'
'I bet she'd thank me for helpin' remove the stick from your behind' he smiled devilishly.
Merlyn shook her head, then picked up Lucy and walked towards the dogs without saying another word.
Lucas watched her for a moment, admiring her stubbornness then laughed and started heading back towards his car.
-To be continued-