Caleb sat in the back passenger seat of Ben's police cruiser, staring out of the window at the quiet streets. He had been confused as to why they were not in his Fathers car; however, when he questioned this earlier, the tension in the car rose and Caleb chose to drop the subject as he did not like to make Ben nervous. As they drove down Winchester Avenue, he spotted his Father signal for Ben to stop and Caleb sensed Ben's rise nervousness once again.
'We ain't got no business here Lucas, Waylon already paid his parkin' fine-' Ben started instinctively, hoping Lucas had just not realised that the fine had already been settled.
'Oh come now Benji, two parkin' fines in one month as well as four noise complaints...You're always on my back about takin' these kind of things more seriously' Lucas interrupted, feigning a concerned tone at the rules being broken.
'I'd hate to see how many noise complaints you and Momma got if we lived in a place like this' Caleb said nonchalantly as he stared at the small house, then spotted his Father look at him surprised and blushed when he realised that he had spoken his thought out loud.
Lucas shot Ben a playful wink at Caleb's unintentional comment, then regarded his Son seriously. 'The noise complaints here aren't of that variety Son, unfortunately some men can't stop themselves from oversteppin' with a lady-' he started to explain.
'You overstep with Mom all the time, but she just oversteps back' Caleb smiled amused, unable to help himself.
Lucas rolled his eyes at Caleb's unwillingness to allow him to teach him a lesson and let out a small laugh, unsure of whether his Son's confidence amused him or irritated him.
'It amuses you and you like people knowin' how much Mom enjoys playin' with you' Caleb answered the unspoken question knowingly, then got out of the car and waited expectantly for his Father to join in.
Lucas watched Caleb leave the car and just shrugged off Ben's shocked look, deciding to get out and join his eldest. 'You're gettin' mighty bold Son, that ain't necessarily smart' he warned sternly.
'And you said you're bored, I just assumed you didn't wanna sit in there all day waitin' for Ben to accept whatever game you wanna play' Caleb advised, not intending to cause an offence to anyone and just wanting to hurry this along, so he could brace himself for the inevitable punishment from his Mother.
'Your Mom is busy dealin' with our Luke situation and I've been pushed to the side lines. She knows better than to punish us when it's her who's riled me up and sent me on my merry way' Lucas whispered mischievously in Caleb's ear, then shot him a playful wink when Caleb realised that nothing would come back on him.
Caleb had been forcing his darkness down after Gail had made him aware of how she felt every time he lost control. He did not want to cause her upset or hurt her; however, he had been craving a release and if his Father was correct, she was too busy with Luke to be worried about them right now. 'Alright, I'm all in...what are we doin'?' he asked, happy to be spending some real quality time with his Father.
Lucas smiled at the boys acceptance of their true natures and placed his arm affectionately around his shoulder, as they leaned comfortably on car and stared up at the small house before them. 'Benji, get outta of the car' he ordered, knowing Ben was trying his best to remain unnoticed.
Ben cursed when he realised that they had not forgotten about him and exited the car, walking moodily to Lucas' side.
'You still only allowed Ben Jr on weekends? It's always been mighty harsh of your ex to keep a growin' boy from his Father' Lucas stated casually, sensing his friends discomfort increase instantly.
'Leave Barbara Joy outta this Lucas, she's a law abidin' citizen and she's only adherin' to the custody agreement' Ben advised bluntly, not wanting Lucas to put his focus on the Mother of his Son.
'Don't you wanna see him more?' Caleb asked curiously, 'I know I'd wanna see my real Daddy as much as I could'
Lucas smiled at Caleb's contribution, making Ben consider things from a young boys perspective and causing him to rethink his initial distrust of Lucas' questioning.
Ben scratched his head for a moment, then sighed. 'Of course I wanna see my boy, but Waylon had his claws in him for a long time and as a law official myself, I can't go against the custody agreement when my boy has a seemingly stable family life'
'Accept for the noise complaints' Caleb threw in, sensing they were important to his Fathers game and choosing to take the suspicion away from him.
Ben inhaled deeply and shook his head at the comment, Waylon had already been warned about hurting Barbara Joy and had been behaving appropriately for the past few years; however, it appeared that the man's bad habits were starting to take hold again. 'How do you wanna handle this Lucas?' he asked finally, feeling his anger beginning to flare at the thought of Barbara Joy being hit.
Lucas admired Ben's willingness to protect his own, even if he lacked the full ability to follow through as required. Barbara Joy was no longer a central point of his life as Ben now had Rita; however, the woman had bore him his first Son and Lucas knew that Ben would always have a certain respect for her. 'Tell you what Deputy, I'm gonna wait here with my boy and let you deal with Waylon...Go remind him of who's really boss' he smirked, signalling for Ben to take charge.
Caleb watched as Ben nodded his understanding and stood tall as he approached the workshop where Waylon was working. Caleb narrowed his eyes when he heard shouting, ready to assist Ben if required; however, he felt his Fathers calming hand squeeze his shoulder and knew that he was required to allow Ben to take charge.
After a few minutes Ben excited the workshop smiling proudly to himself and approached the group. 'All done, I told him that this was only a warnin' this time and I'd be returnin' in a more official capacity should there be any more trouble' Ben advised happily, then returned to the drivers side of his police cruiser and turned on the radio to listen to some music.
Lucas stared fixedly at the workshop, sensing Waylon's eyes on him and smiled devilishly.
'This ain't done is it?' Caleb asked knowing, following his Fathers stare.
Lucas' smile grew wider as his eyes bore in Waylon's, this man was a bully and a poor excuse for a Father. Waylon did not have it in him to give Barbara Joy another child and he insisted on trying to claim Ben's Son as his own, Lucas had to stand by while Gage Temple did the same to his Son and this oaf was a reminder of a time when he could not claim is own family. The thought caused his twin to stir and Lucas released him without further hesitation, then leaned back on the car as his twin went to work.
Waylon backed up slowly at the Sheriff's intense stare, knowing better than to make any sudden movements. He had lost control recently against Barbara Joy; however, he had believed losing his hand previously would give him a reprieve, with how harsh that first punishment had been. Seeing the man now, he knew that he was in for a world of hurt and he jumped when the electric saw started up on it's own, then caught himself before he stumbled into it and jumped out of the way.
Waylon let out a sigh of relief when he narrowly missed the electric saw with his good hand, then began to laugh at his own paranoia. The Sheriff had sent Ben in to issue the warning and Waylon had shown the idiot respect, even if it was false, as a sign of obedience to the Sheriff. That would be enough, Lucas Buck valued respect above most other things and Waylon was not stupid enough to go against that again.
He felt himself relax, spotting that the Sheriff had returned to the car with his Son and heard the engine starting up. Suddenly a strong gust of wind shoved him and his foot got caught underneath his large wooden paint cabinet. Waylon fell backwards and cursed when his back hit the concrete floor hard, then closed his eyes at the realisation of his false sense of security when the cabinet fell on him and crushed his good hand.
Lucas turned the radio up to the smooth sound of Johnny Cash's Ring Of Fire, just in time to drown out Waylon's gut wrenching pained yell and leaned back in his seat, turning towards Caleb smugly. 'Now it's done' he whispered devilishly, as his twin returned to him and Ben pulled off down the street unaware of Walyon's need for help.
Merlyn exited the large elevator holding little Gail Buck securely against her chest and made her way past the nosy Reporters, who were clearing trying to catch a glimpse of Lucas Buck's Daughter. She smiled happily when she spotted the blinds open in her Cousins large office and saw her sat behind her desk, her focus solely on the computer screen in front of her.
'Am I interruptin'?' Merlyn asked after knocking on the door, then waved pleasantly at Luke who was sitting obediently on the couch in the centre of the office eating an ice cream.
'I'd welcome any interruption to take my mind off this car crash of an article' Gail laughed irritated, running her fingers through her hair in frustration and hating having to decide what made it into the newspaper these days.
Merlyn did not envy her Cousin's position, Gail had no desire to be an Editor and craved the excitement of investigating a story. Lucas had thoroughly grounded her with this position and Gail's discomfort was hard to miss. 'That bad?' she asked, entering the office and closing the door to give them some privacy.
'Gabby could write a more riveting story than this' Gail responded sarcastically, then took her Daughter from Merlyn's arms when she visibly started struggling to get to Luke's ice cream.
Merlyn watched as Gail sat down beside Luke and the boy instinctively held up his treat to share with his Sister. Regardless of how frustrated her Cousin was, her love for her family was unwavering and her devotion was a pleasure to behold. 'She's been pinin' all day' Merlyn informed her, perching herself on Gail's desk and glancing at the documents spread messily on the surface.
'She misses her Brother I'm sure, but we can't have you with us today until we get Rosemary on a leash' Gail advised her Daughter warmly, placing a soft kiss on her forehead and moving a strand of brown hair out of her eyes to enable her to see her Brother clearly.
'Rosemary?' Merlyn gasped, tensing at the name.
Gail let out a long sigh and shook her head when Luke sat upright, staring around the room to see if his new friend had joined them. 'Someone has her attention it seems and it appears that I don't have as much control over her as I initially believed' she responded, annoyed at herself for not being able to get a handle on this situation quickly.
Merlyn saw Luke surveying the room hopefully and felt a knot in her stomach. 'Why would she even be focussed on him?' she asked concerned.
'I'll give you one guess, it starts with an L and if you add another s at the end his true personality is revealed' Gail replied sarcastically.
'ass!' Luke exclaimed excitedly, deciphering his Mother's clue effortlessly.
'Ass indeed' Gail smiled, amused at how easily her Son could read her.
Merlyn could not contain her laughter and sensed Lucas was not going to be in her Cousin's good books any time soon.
'That's the understatement of the century, but our family will not be impacted by the sins of it's parents' Gail advised, unsure of whether she was trying to reassure Merlyn or herself.
Merlyn inhaled deeply and shook her head at the her Cousin's discomfort. Regardless of how much Gail joked, her unease was strong and Merlyn could sense it radiating off of her. 'I'll tell you what, I was gonna leave little Gabby with her Brother and you for the rest of the day so I could head out to meet Billy early, but I think I'm gonna stick around here for a little while and get in some light readin'...Why don't you go see if you can get your hound on a leash while I lighten your load?' she offered, sensing her Cousin required assistance or she would most likely break.
Gail was about to protest stubbornly, not needing to be bailed out by a young woman far less experienced than she was; however, she sensed Merlyn's desire to support her and let out a long sigh at her need for assistance. 'I'll get shot if people find out I allowed a 19 year old to have control of the Trinity Guardian-' she started to deny the offer.
'Well it's a good job they ain't gonna find out and if you go by my official birthday, I'm actually 20' Merlyn interrupted sweetly, not willing to take no for an answer.
Gail smiled proudly at the strong woman her Cousin was becoming and nodded her acceptance of her help. 'Alright, I'll distract the dimwits out there from your presence and you keep those blinds closed. If Gabby starts up just give Lucas a call, no doubt she'll melt at the sight of her Daddy' she advised sarcastically, rolling her eyes when her Daughters eyes visibly lit up at the mention of her Father.
Merlyn shook her head at the affect Lucas had on his girls and just signalled for Gail to go, knowing from the mess on the desk that she had her work cut out for her.
-To be continued-