Merlyn sat outside the Elementary School watching Caleb playing in the playground with Boone. Her brother was old beyond his years; however, whenever she witnessed him playing with his friends, it reminded her how much of a child he still was.

Caleb had wanted to stay with her when he saw her, he thought Miss Coombs would be mad at him for missing class and showing up after school to find his friends; however, Merlyn assured him everything would be fine and sent him off when Boone rushed out after the finishing bell.

She sat patiently trying to determine the best way to go about this, then when she saw Selena coming out of the main entrance all of her plans went out of her head and she felt anger build inside of her. 'What were you doin' with TJ last night?' she asked accusingly.

Selena looked at the young woman in front of her and laughed, then continued on to her car. She knew better than to insult the girl, as she was close to Gail; therefore, she thought just ignoring her would do the trick.

Merlyn watched as Selena looked down her nose at her, then just walked away. The anger inside of her began to rise and she felt herself losing control. 'Look, we all know you're a whore, but I happen to know you're usually just followin' orders from your Master...Why did he want you there last night?' she snapped.

Selena threw her handbag onto her front passenger seat and slammed the door hard. She would not stand her and be insulted by a child, no matter who she knew. 'Listen here little girl, I get that you want to play with the big girls but don't mess with me' she warned, then turned back towards her car.

Before Merlyn could stop herself, she grabbed her arm and spun her back around to face her. 'I don't know who you think I am, but I'm not some child who you can brush off...I know you were with TJ, that fact wasn't in the paper so I'm guessin' it ain't public knowledge. I wonder why that is, did Lucas put you up to it?'

Selena let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head. She glanced around to make sure no-one was watching them, then took a few steps closer to the girl. 'I don't know where you're getting your information from, but as far as I'm concerned I was home all night grading papers and the lovely Mrs Buck will verify that' she smiled smugly, then got into her car.

Merlyn stared at her confused, why would Gail verify her lie? Her cousin did not like Selena at the best of times and Lucas surely would not have asked her to confirm his ex's story.

'One last thing little girl' Selena called through her open window as she pulled the car out of her parking space, 'Lucas Buck and I are over, I have no loyalty to him and never will again...You might want to rethink your take on this'

Merlyn shook her gead as a catty smile came over Selena's lips and felt a knot form in her stomach as she watched her drive away.

Lucas reached into the cooler for a Beer and tossed one to Billy, who was sat beside him on his side porch. He had returned home to contemplate his next move; however, he had gotten side tracked by his forgotten house guest and now he just sat staring into his extravagant garden, welcoming the peacefulness it brought him.

This insubordination was beginning to cause a problem, his rage festered inside of him and his twin was restless due to his constant need to insert his dominance; however, he had a family now and was required to show a little restraint. It was getting harder for him to try and work through these things, when he was required to behave in a certain civilised way and it was starting to frustrate him.

Had this have been two years ago, he would have put Gail in her place without a second thought and smoked out the betrayer on his property that was clearly helping her; however, things had changed since he convinced her to give herself over to him and it appeared the powers here, which had been loyal to him all of his life, had divided and some were backing a different horse.

He had initially been impressed that she had been welcomed in so easily, it had reaffirmed his belief that they were meant to be together and it made a change for a Buck not to end up here alone. Lucas had always known it was an unwritten rule that he would finish here alone, inevitably waiting to be taken down by the next in line.

Women had come and gone throughout his family history, none of them survived long enough to make an impact on anything and his Mother had lasted longer than most; however, the dynamic had changed with Gail here and that could provide him with a fighting chance in the end, if he could only control her apparent need to defy him at every turn.

The sound of his Fathers laughter caused him to let out a long sigh and he took a large sip of his Beer. Malcolm Buck was Bastard, he deserved everything he got and Lucas was proud that he dragged his Fathers suffering out as long as possible. He had made the decision to run this town differently when he had overthrown his old man, so not to fall prey to Malcolm's fate and he believed he was doing a pretty damn good job, disregarding what he had done to Judith and Merlyn. At least he had not made them suffer, that had been Malcolm's ultimate mistake in the end.

Lucas respected his Mother, the woman surrounded herself with witchcraft and talisman in preparation for her inevitable death at the hand of his Father. She also ensured Lucas was well versed in certain practices, to ensure he had a fighting chance of overthrowing Malcolm well before the old man was ready to stand down. He admired her for that and Gail's strength reminded him of her.

A large gust of wind suddenly blew through the garden and brought him out of his thoughts, he glanced at Billy who appeared happy to sit quietly drinking his Beer and let out a small laugh. He had been going about this all wrong, he had been so focused on his own anger that he had forgotten what he himself had been taught. He knew what he had to do now and the clarity caused a wave of ease to flow through him.

Lucas smiled to himself then relaxed back into his chair and allowed himself to enjoy the warm afternoon sun with his friend.

Gail exited the Sheriff's Station after Ben's press conference and headed towards the Coffee Shop across the street, where Rita was waiting for her. She had not wanted to waste her time going to the press conference, considering she knew more than what Ben had confirmed; however, she was required to behave in a certain way and if the lead Reporter of the Trinity Guardian did not attend, it would result in questions that she did not want to be asked.

Rita smiled at Gail warmly and pushed Luke's buggy close to her friends seat, the boy had been pining over his Mother and it was nice to see him relax when she got close. 'How'd he do?' she asked curiously.

'Ben did fine, he's a natural' Gail said then took Luke from the buggy and sat him down on her knee, before nodding her thanks to Rita for getting her a latte.

'He was worried about speakin' to the press without the Sheriff bein' around, it was awful what happened to that poor girl and he hates not being able to catch whatever did this' Rita sighed, then reached for Izzy and placed her bottle securely in her mouth.

Gail smiled down at Luke lovingly, he was the one constant goodness in her life and just looking at him put her at ease. 'Well Ben can't hide behind Lucas forever, he's good at what he does and he just needs the confidence to take it all the way'

'You mean for when Lucas Buck retires to be with his family, like a good God fearing southern gentleman would?' Selena asked sarcastically, as she she dragged a chair from another table and sat between them.

'I mean when I murder him and bury him in the basement' Gail shrugged, then rubbed her nose gently on Luke's and laughed when he tried to grab it.

'Have you been down to that basement Gail?' Selena asked curiously, wanting to know how much her nemesis actually knew. 'I wouldn't be caught dead anywhere but the main area of that damned house'

'Well that's why you're where you are and I'm where I am...The things that go bump in the night don't scare me that easily' Gail advised, unsure where this was going.

'I guess you don't have much to be afraid of with that mutt of yours watching over you' Selena stated knowingly, then reached for Gail's latte and took a long sip.

Gail tensed for a moment, then shot Selena a look of warning.

'Rocky ain't no mutt and he's as harmless as a teddy bear' Rita said, not liking Selena's casual intrusion.

'She means Gideon and yes, he follows me wherever I go' Gail nodded towards the Sheriff's Station and smiled proudly when she saw Gideon lying in the alleyway beside the building, ready to join her if required.

Both Rita and Selena looked in that direction, then turned back towards Gail uncomfortably. 'That dog is a little strange, where did you find him again?' Rita asked curiously.

'He found me, he'd been rummaging behind Lucas' property for food I suppose...that make you uneasy?' Gail asked.

Rita glanced at the dog curiously again, for a moment she could have sworn his eyes turned yellow then she shook off the thought and turned back towards her friend. 'It's nice that you took a stray in like that'

'Well she'd already taken in one, what was another one to add to the collection' Selena said cattily.

Gail felt her rage increase within her and stared down at Luke, attempting to hold on to the calmness he gave her. 'I'd watch how you refer to my cousin Miss Coombs, someone may take offence' she warned.

Rita glanced at both women beside her and shook her head, if Gail was not going to tell their intruder to leave then she would take herself out of the equation here. She had enough drama with Ben's stress at the current situation he was in charge of to be dealing with the awkwardness of these two. 'Well, I'm just gonna head on home and leave you to it...Call me later Gail' she advised, then placed Izzy in her buggy and stroked Luke's cheek affectionately before leaving.

Gail watched Rita go and let out a long sigh. 'You really don't understand the concept of a private gathering do you?'

'And your darling little M doesn't understand the concept of not poking her nose where it doesn't belong, or I wouldn't be here' Selena advised and continued to drink Gail's latte.

Gail narrowed her eyes at her for a moment, feeling a sudden wave of unease come over her then felt Luke struggle uncomfortably on her lap and held him up playfully on the table.

Selena watched with resentment as Gail continued to play with her annoyingly perfect child. That child should have been hers and having him paraded in front of her face was not helping her current predicament.

'What fantasy world are you living in?' Gail asked amused, reading her mind. 'This child would never have been yours, you lack the social standing and the ability to handle what I have...You were a tool Selena, nothing more and nothing less, which I why I'm having to protect you now'

'And who's going to protect you when that sweet little girl of yours puts together why I was with TJ last night? She's got an annoying feel of you about her and I doubt she's going to drop her curiosity over the subject any time soon'

Gail thought for a moment, then placed Luke comfortably in his buggy. 'What did you tell her?' she asked, when she could give her full attention to the matter.

'That I was at home grading papers and you could confirm that' Selena shrugged.

Gail let out a long sigh and ran her hand through her hair in exasperation. She had known she would have Lucas to content with over Poppy; however, she had not considered Merlyn and her cousin knew better than to believe she was with Selena last night. 'Next time a young girl comes digging for dirt, keep your mouth shut Selena...For God's sake you're an adult and she's a child, use your brain' Gail snapped, then got up and started to push Luke's buggy.

'Where are you going?' Selena asked, resenting the insinuation that she was stupid.

'To visit my husband, he's on vacation haven't you heard?' Gail mocked sweetly, then headed towards her car with Luke.

-To be continued-