Sorry these chapters have been delayed. I got stuck for a bit. Many thanks to Weeble40 and Jazminblu for helping me sort them out. Hope it was worth the wait.

Chapter 7

Devin left Emily for a few minutes to check on Vincent and Catherine. As he walked down the tunnel, he couldn't stop himself from grinning again. Despite all she'd been through, Emily had never once showed one ounce of fear at taking on the task of helping Devin keep Catherine safe. She also hadn't let him easily charm her the way so many women Devin met had. Though he wasn't aware, Devin's grin got wider as he remembered how she'd even called him a dingbat and taken him to task for his lack of a plan. She might be small, but Emily had more courage and 'spunk' than many grown men he'd met.

Devin arrived at the door to Vincent's chamber and paused, listening for any sound. When he heard nothing, he quietly drew nearer and peered cautiously in. The sight he saw brought his grin back. Catherine and Vincent were curled up in each other's arms, lying in the middle of Vincent's bed. Catherine was tucked close to Vincent who had entwined his whole body protectively around her. Catherine appeared to be asleep, but as Devin stepped closer, Vincent opened his eyes and raised his head. The smile Vincent gave his brother was almost blinding in its joy. It lit his whole face and all his canines flashed in the candlelight, a testament to the depth of his emotions. Devin smiled back and silently withdrew, leaving the couple to their happiness.

Devin hadn't been gone long when Emily heard a noise in the tunnel. "Back already?|"

But to her dismay, it wasn't Devin who stood in the doorway. It was Father, the tunnel patriarch and leader. Judging from the stern look on his face, he was none too pleased to see her either.

"I'm afraid to disappoint you, young lady, if you were expecting someone else. Mouse came to my chamber a short while ago with a rather fanciful tale of having rescued Catherine with the help of a mysterious stranger that accompanied them Below. I was hoping it was just a tale, but I came to see for myself. I now see that it wasn't."

Almost immediately, Emily had to fight the urge to fidget. She suddenly felt like a young child caught with her hand in the proverbial cookie jar. Though Roy Dotrice had a definite 'screen presence' in the series, it didn't do Father himself justice. In real life, the man was positively intimidating in spite of his minor disability. Emily found herself quite tongue tied and at a loss for words.

"Would you care to explain your presence here?" Emily's eyes widened in alarm unsure how to respond to his question. "I can answer that." A voice from the doorway interrupted. Emily sagged with relief as she saw Devin had returned.

The sight that greeted Devin when he returned to the guest chamber had instantly raised his hackles. Father was looming there, trying to browbeat poor Emily who looked like a deer caught in the glare of a car's headlights. Devin knew from experience it wasn't a pleasant place to be. Immediately, he'd realized he needed to act quickly.

"I see you've two have met." Devin commented, desperately trying to appear at ease. "I wanted to do this later after Emily had settled in, but I guess there's no reason to put it off any longer."

Summoning all his skills of deception, Devin looked his Father straight in the eye and lied shamelessly. "Father, this is Emily Trelane; my fiancée." It was a good thing Father was looking at Devin and not Emily. If he had, he might have noticed that Devin's 'fiancee' appeared as shocked by the announcement as he was.

Emily managed to recover herself and promptly closed her mouth. Putting on her best 'nurse' face, she managed to appear calm, but inwardly she was seething. If this was an example of how Devin 'winged it', they were doomed!

Devin moved over to stand next to Emily, deliberately pulling her to his side and putting his arm around her shoulder as he did. Reassuringly, he gave her shoulder an unobtrusive squeeze. "Emily, this is my Father Dr. Jacob Wells."

Though Emily's stomach was rolling with trepidation about Devin's so called 'plan', she decided it was too late to back out now. She had no choice but to go along. "I'm pleased to meet you, sir." She offered quietly.

Father recovered from his shock as well. "I must say, this is unexpected. I am … er, pleased to meet you as well, my dear." Unfortunately, his expression made it quite clear he wasn't.

"Devin, may I see you outside?" Father posed, trying vainly to sound calm.

"It's okay, Pop. You can say whatever you need to right here. Emily and I have no secrets from each other, do we honey?" Devin maintained.

"None?" Father couldn't help but challenge. He was still irritated with Devin for circumventing his authority by bringing this intruder Below without permission.

"None! I've told Emily everything about me, even my past."

"I see. And does she know that you've broken some of our most important rules by bringing her here without the council's permission?" Father went on.

"You can't blame Emily for that! Someone tried to kill Catherine today! If Emily hadn't been there, they would have! She risked her own life to save Catherine! The problem is they probably saw Emily! Now her life is in danger too. She had to come Below; she had no choice!"

"And she just happened to be there?" Father commented skeptically.

"YES!" Devin practically shouted.

"No." Emily countered softly, stunning both men silent for a moment.

At first, Emily had been intimidated into silence by Father's presence. But as the older man had begun to interrogate his son, Emily's temper had flared up again.

Come On! You've seen almost every episode at least five times, Emily! Think, damn it! There has to be something you can come up with that will sound plausible!

Taking a deep breath, Emily decided to follow Devin's lead and began to improvise.

"I was on my way to warn Catherine when I ran across her and her attackers." Behind her back, Emily crossed her fingers and sent a silent apology to the heavens for lying.

"I work at the hospital. I'm an E.R. nurse. But I wasn't on duty the night Joe Maxwell was brought in." That much of her story was at least true. Emily was a nurse and she did work in a hospital. She only hoped they didn't ask her which one since she had no idea which hospital Joe Maxwell had been taken to.

"Today as I was getting off my shift, I heard about two men who were at the hospital asking a lot of questions about the night Mr. Maxwell was brought in and offering money for the information. Someone on duty that night told them that Catherine had taken a black book from his personal effects. When I heard them mention her name, I decided to follow them." Desperately, Emily hoped she sounded convincing.

"One of them snuck into an empty offices and made a phone call. I overheard him call John Moreno, Catherine's boss and tell him that they were on their way to get her. He said the person they worked for, someone called Gabriel, wanted the book and Catherine. The man told Moreno to do whatever it took to get them. If he couldn't, their job was to make sure Catherine could never reveal what she knew." Emily didn't specifically say that they intended to kill Catherine, but the implication was clear.

Throughout her narrative, Father had remained silent, but his expression had grown increasingly more serious. Evidently, he must have believed her, because what he said next betrayed no sign that he suspected she was lying.

"My God!" He breathed softly. "I had no idea. Well, we were fortunate that you were there. Otherwise, who knows what might have happened?" His expression softened visibly as his affection for his son began to show at last. "I should have known nothing could be simple where you're concerned, Devin."

"Well, at least it's never dull." Devin quipped in reply. "Does this mean we're forgiven?"

Father sighed heavily. "I suppose under the circumstances, the usual rules can be waived." It was obviously not the first time he'd done so where Devin was concerned.

"Thanks, Pop!" Devin said enthusiastically as he hugged his parent. "You won't regret this."

Father returned the hug eagerly. It was plain to Emily that he loved his son very much.

As he drew away from the hug almost reluctantly, the older gentleman assumed his gruff demeanor one more. "I still expect a full explanation. I will see you both later in my chambers." He ordered with mock sternness.

"Sure thing. Right after Emily gets settled in." The tunnel patriarch turned to leave, but Devin intercepted him. "Listen, I think maybe you should talk to Vincent and Catherine as well. Not now, they're resting but definitely later. They have something they need to discuss with you."

"What is it?"

Devin's grin took on a wicked gleam. "Sorry, Father. That's one piece of news I wouldn't deprive my brother of delivering for the world. I just want to be there when he does."