Gail Emory was working out her frustrations in her back garden on this fresh spring afternoon. A week had passed since the exchange with Lucas at Jimmy's bar and he had managed to thwart almost every attempt she had made to dig up some dirt on Juniper House. Instead of chasing up another pointless dead end, she had decided to enjoy the sunny weather and pull out the weeds in her back garden, if only it was so easy to pull out the weeds in her life. The chore was therapeutic and Gail could feel her tensions fading away with every weed she yanked from the ground.

Gail began to doubt whether she should have told Lucas her intentions, although she knew he would have found out sooner or later so why hide. She had gone back to her previous avoidance methods after their encounter and Lucas seemed to be giving her some space for the time being. Gail had taken the opportunity to spend some more time with Billy, after he was so obviously feeling lonely. Billy was a harmless creature, she knew what to expect from him and he didn't seem to complicate matters, although he liked to make his feelings about Lucas Buck very clear, which became tiresome. She felt sorry for Ben who had to try to please both his new friend and his old, neither seemed to take into account how hard things were for him; therefore, Gail decided to step in with Billy and take on some of the late night drinking sessions to give Ben a break. It was not often she let her hair down, so she might as well while she seemed to have a bit more freedom from her ex lover.

A cool breeze blew through her hair and Gail felt an eerie feeling, as though she was being watched. She had been feeling this way more often over the last week and had expected to see Lucas invading her space, but he had been nowhere to be found.

Having surveyed her surroundings, Gail put the feeling down to unnecessary paranoia and continued to remove the weeds that were trying to take root in her garden. She found herself thinking about Caleb and what he was up to, she had hardly seen him since their outing to the Court House a week earlier. When Gail had gone to the Boarding House to take him to school at the beginning of the week, Loris had told her that Caleb had already left. The news was surprising seen as she knew he had previously wanted to spend more time with her, but she had just shrugged it off an gone about her business.

Gail made a mental note to visit Caleb once she had reassessed her options about Juniper House and continued on with her chore.

Caleb sat impatiently tapping his feet on the floor at his desk, in the overly bright classroom. He stole a glance at the clock and waited for the bell to ring to signal the end of his school day. Caleb had tried to make an effort to hand his recent homework assignments in on time, after Lucas had told him that he needed to do his school work and he had quickly found that doing this menial task meant the woman in his life remained happy with him.

Miss Coombs was stood at the front of the class giving a lecture on the importance of being punctual, as some of his class mates had began to arrive to class late after their lunch break. Caleb did not see what impact being a few minutes late could have, but he had learnt from Lucas that girls seemed to focus on trivial things and when he had observed the women in his life, this had been confirmed.

Caleb was beginning to get irritated, he wanted to go as Lucas had promised to take him patrolling again after school had finished. He had been out with Lucas and Ben three times this week, but Lucas had promised that it would just be the two of them today and he was excited.

Caleb was fully aware that Miss Holt and Gail would not approve of the time he was spending with Lucas, but Lucas had taught him that what they did not know wouldn't hurt them; therefore, he kept his outings with Lucas a secret. If Ben told Gail, well he would deal with that at a later date. Besides, he thought Gail was too busy with her own personal things to worry about what he was doing with his time.

The school bell rang and Caleb was up like a rocket. He grabbed his back pack and rushed out of the room, calling bye to Boone on his way out of the door. When Caleb got outside, he saw Lucas sat on the boot of his navy blue Crown Victoria car. Caleb had hoped they would be in a patrol car, but Lucas's car was comfortable enough and had a portable siren, so he didn't mind.

When Caleb approached the car, Lucas hopped down and ruffled his hair. 'That Teacher of yours can't half gab until the home time bell son'

'Tell me about it' Caleb said with a roll of his eyes and headed towards the passenger side of the car.

Lucas smiled and headed towards the drivers side door. If Gail or Selena knew the behaviour he brought out of his boy, they would both hit the roof. Luckily his little outings with the boy remained a secret and Caleb didn't seem in any rush to confess any time soon.

Lucas had enjoyed the time he was getting to spend with his son. He had thought that the actions Gail was trying to take with Juniper House would get in his way of keeping his promise to the boy today but surprisingly she had backed down, at least for the time being. He was having fun with this cat and dog game they were playing, he could imagine Gail seething with the blocks he had put in her way. She would give in to him in the end, he thought.

Getting into the car Lucas turned on the engine and drove away from the school, starting the afternoons patrol.

Gail sat swinging slowly on her porch swing and sipping from a glass of white wine, admiring her peaceful surroundings. She had not long finished her gardening chores and was waiting for Billy to come around, so they could decide what activities they wanted to partake in this evening. Gail was secretly hoping he would decide to give it a rest tonight, as she did not have the motivation to get dressed up for a night out.

Gail was taken out of her reverie by the sound of an engine pulling up, the sound was too loud to be Billy's old truck. She lifted her head and glanced in the direction of the sound, just in time to see Selena close the door of her extravagant yellow sports car and turn towards her direction.

Gail sighed in exasperation, she could do without this visitor. Standing up from her comfortable position, she headed down her porch steps and met Selena at the bottom. 'Well this is a surprise' Gail said, 'What can I do you for Selena?'

Selena greeted Gail with the fake smile that she reserved for her students parents. 'I thought you'd like an update on your cousin's behaviour, seen as you haven't been to school to check on his progress since our last chat'

Selena knew that Gail did not take her seriously as a Teacher and truth be told, she did not care about Caleb right now, she just wanted an excuse to find out why her ex was spending so many of his evenings with this woman recently and Caleb seemed to be the only acceptable reason she could think of to enter into conversation.

Gail returned Selena's fake smile and signalled for her to follow her back up to the porch. She did not care much about Caleb's school work at the moment; however, she felt obliged to keep up appearances like a good guardian should do. 'Can I get you a drink?' Gail asked, hoping the answer would be no.

Eyeing the bottle of fine white wine that was on the table in front of the porch swing, Selena decided one glass would not do her any harm. 'I'll have a glass of that if your offering, please'

Gail nodded disappointedly and headed indoors to find an extra glass. Selena took a seat on the big porch swing and crossed her legs comfortably. She admired the garden in front of her and noted that Gail must have put a lot of time into the up keep of it. She found herself wondering what the inside of Gail's house looked like and decided to follow her in to have a nosy around.

Selena crept through the open front door and was taken aback by the coldness of the place. The walls were a sterile white colour, there were a few pieces of furniture in the living room where Selena had ventured to; however, the decorations were very basic. Selena was surprised, she had taken Gail as the type of person who would have a lot of trinkets or sentimental items dotted around the place, but apart from a few pictures of Caleb and her parents Gail did not seem to have anything of sentimental value on show. The place reminded Selena of Billy and how he had always told her that he would be ready to leave in a moments notice, with very few belongings that would delay him. She supposed Gail would not have much to pack if a story tempted her away from this town.

Selena was still pondering over the surroundings when she noticed Gail standing in an open doorway holding a wine glass, glaring at her suspiciously. 'I was just coming to see if you needed any help' Selena lied and headed back towards the porch, with Gail following closely behind.

When both woman were comfortably seated on the porch, Gail poured Selena a glass of wine and topped up her own glass. 'So, how is Caleb doing? Have there been any other incidents?'

'Quite the opposite-' Selena said taking and apprehensive sip of her drink, '-Caleb's gone full circle, whatever you said has worked. All his homework assignments have been handed in on time this week and he's playing nice with the other children in class'

Gail felt a sudden surge of concern flow through her. She knew she had not had enough time to talk about the importance of school with Caleb, before Lucas had whisked him away from the Courthouse and what little she had said would not have resulted in such a sudden improvement. She had not seen Caleb since the Courthouse, as he was either not at the Boarding House when she came to pick him up or he was in bed. Gail had spoken to her cousin on the telephone; however, you could not get an accurate reading of someone over the telephone.

She began to wonder what had happened with Lucas and Caleb after the Courthouse and her concern grew. How could she have been so stupid and selfish to leave him in the hands of Lucas Buck? Lucas would never hurt Caleb, for god's sake it was his son; however, he was always trying to impose his will on the boy and that would not end well. Gail took a large gulp of her wine and tried to calm her thoughts.

Selena was watching Gail carefully, she had noticed the sudden change in her posture and was trying to figure out what had caused all the colour to drain out of her nemesis's face. When Gail took a large gulp of her wine, Selena knew something was amiss and refilled Gail's glass of wine to see what affect this would have. When Gail just automatically drank another half of the liquid, Selena figured this might be the time to get the answers she had actually come here for. 'So, you've been quite the socialite these days Gail' Selena said, trying to sound casual.

'What?' Gail asked distracted and refilled Selena's glass without thinking.

Selena shrugged and picked up the glass, one more would not cause a problem. 'I've noticed you out most evenings this week, I didn't think an all nighter in a bar was your scene'

Gail gave herself a little shake and tried to get control of her wandering thoughts. 'What do you think is my scene, Selena?'

Selena took a large sip of her wine, 'Oh I don't know...knitting and bed by 10pm maybe'

Gail laughed and narrowed her eyes at the jealous woman in front of her, 'Knitting and 10pm might be a little tame for Lucas Buck, don't you think?'

Selena smiled knowingly, 'Oh wow, it all comes down to Lucas doesn't it? That man does have a way of sticking in the mind. How is your relationship with my ex going?'

'Which one?' Gail asked sarcastically and drank the remainder of the wine in her glass.

Selena laughed, downed the rest of her wine and split the last of the bottle between both glasses. 'Well done, Miss Emory. There may be hope for you yet'

Gail frowned at the pitiful amount that was in both glasses and shook her head. 'This won't do' she signalled towards the empty bottle and disappeared for a few minutes. Upon her return, Selena was impressed to see she had two more bottles of wine and a radio. After refilling the glasses and finding a traditional country radio station, Gail re-joined Selena in her original seat.

'I underestimated you it would seem, although this particular vintage of wine seems a little posh for a country girl' Selena said, recognising Lucas' taste.

Gail picked up the bottle and turned it over in her hands. 'Well-' she shrugged, '-no point in throwing away a good drink, even if it was from a conniving ass'

Selena smiled, it looked like her nemesis was becoming a little tipsy. This might turn out to be an interesting night after all, she thought and topped up her glass.

Lucas Buck pulled up approximately 5 houses away from the Boarding House to let Caleb out, he did not want the boy to get into trouble and he knew there would be hell to pay if Loris Holt spotted him dropping Caleb off. It had been an uneventful evening patrolling; however, he had explained to Caleb that this was how it should be. Even though there was not any excitement, Caleb had seemed to be enjoying himself so Lucas remained happy.

With the boy safely home before his curfew, he turned the car around and headed towards his home. Dusk had fallen and the streets seemed quiet, as they should be. Lucas was having a casual drive, preparing himself for an uneventful night when he noticed the yellow sports car in from of Gail's house and cursed. Both his ex's together would not end well. As he pulled up behind Selena's car and got out of his car, he saw Billy Peele walking up to Gail's front door.

Heading quickly up the path, he grabbed hold of Billy's arm and swung him around, ready to challenge the man's reasoning for being at Gail's house late on in the evening; however, the faint sound of Elvis's '(You're The) Devil In Disguise' interrupted his train of thought. Looking quizzically at Billy, who just shrugged, he followed the sound of the music to the back of the house.

'Oh hell no.' Billy said with a shocked expression, when both men spotted Gail and Selena sat on a blanket with a bottle of wine between them, talking as though they were old friends.

Lucas looked on at both of his ex girlfriends anxiously and turned towards Billy. 'What part of this affects you?' he said, more sharply then he had intended. He took a deep breath to regain his control and continued, 'At least only one of them is your ex, god only knows what they've been discussing about me'

Billy shook his head. 'I don't envy you man...so what should we do, just leave them?'

Lucas smiled, regaining his confidence after the initial shock. 'Watch and learn' he said with a wink and headed towards the two women.

Sitting himself down between Gail and Selena, he reached for the bottle of wine and pulled a new wine glass from behind his back, seemingly out of thin air. Ignoring the confused looks he could feel on him, he poured himself a glass of wine. 'Mind if I join you two lovely ladies?' he asked and without waiting for a reply he took a sip.

Billy could not believe what he had just seen, the nerve of the man before him was beyond belief; although, so far the woman had not told him to take a hike. Billy headed over to the group and tried to ignore the uninviting stare he was getting from Selena. 'Gail, did I get our night mixed up?' he asked, trying to temp his friend away from the ex's.

Gail was glaring at Lucas, his sudden presence had completely thrown her. There was so much she wanted to say to him and ask about Caleb; however, this was not the time. How could the arrogant bastard just intrude on her night like this? He was certainly sure of himself, she would give him that. Gail chose not to acknowledge Lucas and turned her attention towards Billy, she knew it would bother him more if she ignored him and focused on her friend. Standing up, she realised she was a little unsteady on her feet but managed to fake control and headed towards Billy. 'Sorry, I was expecting you earlier. I thought you decided to work late. How has your day been?'

Lucas was watching Gail carefully, she usually reacted to his presence by now and he did not like that she was ignoring him. Spotting that Selena's eyes were following the good Doctor like a hawk, he chose to stay casual and see how things played out.

Billy felt the eyes on him and tried to ignore the awkwardness of the situation. From the evenings he had spent with Gail he could sense that she was barely able to stand on her own and put his hand on her arm to prop her up. 'Same crap different day...what are you doing?'

Gail shrugged and leaned in closer 'Selena stopped by while I was waiting for you to finish up, she had a few drinks and didn't seem to want to leave so here we are'

Billy glanced over his friends shoulder disapprovingly at his ex, who he noticed was watching him intently. Lucas was surprisingly quiet, he had expected some sort of reaction when he had grabbed Gail's arm. 'You should stop drinking and open you eye's Gail,' Billy whispered, 'If you were of a sound mind you'd realise this isn't company that you want to keep'

Gail stepped back defiantly and laughed, 'Your going to try and give me advice, when your out drinking every night? Come on friend, you should know better than that. Your only mad because I started without you'

Billy shook his head, he knew there was no talking sense into Gail when she got defensive, the woman was ridiculously stubborn. He at least decided to help his friend by removing his ex from the equation, Gail had seemed unimpressed by Lucas for the past month so he thought she would be able to handle him. 'Come on Selena, it's a school night and I know you don't want to be teaching your class hungover tomorrow'

Selena obeyed, stood up and sauntered her way towards him. This evening was becoming more eventful than she had expected. Billy placed his hand around the top of her arm and led her around front to his car.

Gail watched the two of them leave and looked up at the darkening sky ahead in exasperation. Turning her attention towards Lucas, she shook her head and sighed when she saw he had two freshly poured glasses of wine in his hand. She headed towards her original spot on the grass, took the glass from Lucas and sat down with her legs crossed.

'Well that was interesting' Lucas smiled.

'Shut up' Gail said playfully and took a sip of her drink.

Lucas' smile grew wider. It turns out he had not had to lift a finger to get Billy boy and Selena out of the way, the good Doctor had taken care of that for him. This day had turned out better than he had initially thought, not only had he got to spend more time with his boy but he also had a shot of getting Gail on his side. 'So, are you enjoying my wine Darlin'? I thought you didn't want anything that I sent you.'

Gail took a deep breath and tried to force her head clear. 'There was no point wasting a good drink...So, what are you doing here Lucas? Surely you have better things to be doing with your evening than harassing me.'

'Harassing is a strong term Darlin', I saw Miss Coomb's car out front and thought I'd drop in to make sure you two women weren't gettin' into any trouble, seen as your not exactly friends. Imagine my surprise when I see you two hiding out back drinkin' like a pair of school girls'

Gail smiled and looked out into her garden, 'What's wrong Lucas, did you think Selena might spill some dirt on you if I got her drunk enough? Don't worry, we have more things to talk about than our mutual ex'

'Darlin', I hate to burst your bubble but Selena wouldn't discuss anything about me, no matter how drunk you got her. If that's what you've got planned for the future, I wouldn't want you to waste your time.'

Gail placed her glass on the ground and stood up. Lucas watched carefully as she paced from flower to flower examining her previous work. He knew something was coming; however, he could not place his finger on it. He stood up and slowly headed towards her, standing behind her he placed his hands on her shoulders and inhaled her scent. Surprisingly Gail did not pull away instantly, she let him take in her scent for a moment before turning around.

'What are you doing with Caleb?' she asked.

'Nothing I shouldn't be Darlin'. He's been patrollin' with me some evenings after school, he gets back to the Boarding House well before his curfew' Lucas thought the best approach was the truth, at least for now.

Gail nodded slowly, considering his answer. 'If it's nothing that you shouldn't be doing, why hide it?' she asked calmly.

Lucas, still within inches of her, was trying to establish why Gail was being so calm. He decided to play it safe until she showed her cards. 'I'm not hidin' anythin' Darlin', no one seemed to care where the boy was going after school and I've told you as soon as you asked'

Gail was disappointed in herself, Lucas was completely right. She had not thought too much about Caleb and had been too caught up in trying to outsmart this man when she should have made more of an effort to check up on her only living relative. She knew she had been selfish; however, she was finding it hard forgetting what Caleb had done. Gail had accepted what he had done and said she did not blame Caleb, so she had lost all rights to hold on to what had happened or to punish him. Her actions, or lack of, had pushed him to the man she had tried so hard to keep him from. She needed to make more of an effort, that was clear to her now.

Lucas, reading her mind, raised his hand and caressed her cheek tenderly. 'You've been makin' an effort since you came to Trinity Darlin', don't be so hard on yourself. The boy needs his Father, it's time you realised that'

Gail pulled away defiantly, his words had felt like slap across her face. 'The only Father Caleb has ever known is dead Lucas, what he needs is a stable family and you can't give him that'

Lucas laughed, 'And you think you can? Come on Gail, your 'story' is more important than Caleb, so what stability do you think you can you give? Together we could provide the boy with what he needs'

Gail shook her head in disbelief, 'Is that so? And what do you expect us to do together Lucas?' she asked forcing her tone to remain calm.

Lucas stepped forward and placed his hands tenderly on her hips. 'A united front gives out a better message than a separate one Darlin''

Gail leaned towards Lucas and pulled his head close to hers, so her lips brushed against his ear. Lucas moved his hands slowly from her hips to her behind and Gail inhaled deeply. 'Lucas?' she whispered softly.

'Yes Love' he responded smoothly.

Leaning even closer and pressing her body against him, she whispered, 'Get off of my property' and pulled away abruptly.

Lucas stared at her bemused and Gail smiled, turned around, then headed back to her house to ponder on what had happened. She had no intentions of allowing him to control any of her family and she needed to re-evaluate her priorities far away from his distracting presence.

-To be continued-