Lucas leaned casually against a tall oak tree, enjoying the peace and quiet that this sombre place offered. The overwhelming urge to hang on to someone that was lost was never something that plagued him, Lucas had not been brought up to dwell on such eventualities; however, other peoples need to hold on to some faded existence always intrigued him.

Take the women he was watching for instance, he knew she was of sound mind and body yet here she was staring blankly at the gravestone in front of her as though it held the answer to some unspoken question. Selena never used to be like this, when she solely belonged to him she did not waste her time on such menial things as mourning the dead; however, here she now was at her Mothers grave like the honourable Daughter that she certainly was not and he could not understand what she was doing.

'You know what she's doin' boy, she's followin' orders' Malcolm advised from beside him, watching the obedient woman his Son cast aside unwisely.

Yes, that would explain it. His Wife suffered from a strange need to honour the dead, sometimes it was as though she was condemned to hold on to the past and unable to shake the responsibility etched into her brain about tending to those who have had their time. Seeing Selena here, he suspected Gail had fed her some bull about the importance of not forgetting where she had come from and sent her to her Mothers grave to gain some perspective on her life. The thought amused him and he knew that Selena had sinned far too much to be able to stand the judgement of her Mother from beyond the grave if she did decide to rear her head.

'That's my boy, you know the judgement of a woman don't mean nothin'. Can you imagine what your Momma would say if you were to pine over her grave lookin' for redemption?' Malcolm laughed, sensing his Son had not gotten as soft as he thought he may have due to the influence of his Heathen.

'Careful 'ol man, just 'cause I ain't fool enough to waste my time dwellin' on the past doesn't mean I've forgotten who really taught me...Mom would turn over in her grave laughin' at the mention of redemption, but no doubt she'd have a few words on revenge' Lucas smirked and released his twin to surround Malcolm, closing the space around him and crushing him with the invisible pressure.

Malcolm felt a pain surge through his body as his bones began to crush together and he cursed himself for believing his Son was ready to accept his presence, assuming that he was on his side due to his continuous efforts to thwart his Heathens plans.

'You really thought I was doin' that for you, havin' some pitiful need to show that I'm on your side?' Lucas asked sarcastically, unable to contain his laughter. 'I'll never accept you back and any effort to thwart my Love's plan are merely to show her who's in charge...Surely you ain't forgotten the slow way you met your end Father? Maybe you need a reminder of who you really should be concerned about, it seems to me that you've lost sight of the true threat' he advised maliciously and took a step closer to Malcolm.

'Lucas?' Selena asked confused, staring at him cautiously when she spotted the devilish look in his eyes.

Malcolm felt the pain cease momentarily as his Son's attention was shifted, and took his chance to disappear away from his Son's hostile mood.

Lucas inhaled deeply and closed his eyes, forcing himself to push down his urge to lash out at Selena for distracting him. Before he had a chance to address her poor decision, her mobile telephone rang and he could not contain his fury when she answered it instinctively rather than focussing on him.

'It's for you' Selena said quickly and held the telephone out to him, knowing the dark look in his eyes and trying not to show how worried she was.

Lucas narrowed his eyes at her and stared at her intensely for a moment, then took the mobile telephone and held it to his ear.

'I'm going to forgive the fact that you made me wait and that you're spying on your ex girlfriend just this once Soulmate, given that you had the good sense to reject the interminable fool who insists on testing us' Gail said frankly, pushing down her irritation at his current location and keeping her composure calm in front of the children.

'Such big word's from such a small thing...you know how I get when you insist on flauntin' your higher intelligence Love' Lucas responded sarcastically, shooting Selena a smug look when she rolled her eyes at his comment, then handed her the telephone before Gail could respond and headed out of the cemetery towards his car.

Lucas was proud of his family and was used to the company he shared these days; however, he had grown accustomed to his privacy and he could not abide being expected to heel, especially when his Father was lurking around and always judging.

As he drove through the quiet streets, he let his hands guide the steering wheel and allowed his mind to wander to Malcolm. The old fool continued to inject himself into lives that he had no right to. Lucas was not naïve and knew that Caleb's recent tortures of Boone were partly to impress Malcolm, he could not blame the boy for wanting to show off and he himself had paraded his skills in front of his Father on occasion when he was younger before the incident with his Mother; however, pandering to the fool had caused him to gain a new confidence, resulting in him revealing himself more openly.

Although the wretched fool was acting above his station, he was his fool and only he would decide what punishments would or would not be dished out. Gail had sensed his location and felt the need to remind him of how well she could track him, due to her unfortunate fondness of Selena and her need to protect her. There was no reason for her to monitor him, unless she needed to ensure that steered clear of something and he released his twin to reinforce his guard so not to give her any indication of his current location.

After getting lost in his thoughts and allowing his subconscious to guide him, his car came to a halt and he spotted a glimpse of the unmistakeable blood red Mustang parked adjacent to a familiar track just off the long road he had driven down. Lucas shook his head in disappointment and exited his car, feeling his rage begin to rise as he began walking down the dirt tracks and heard the faint laughter of his youngest children. 'What business could you possibly have here Love?' Lucas asked himself, increasing his pace and trying to keep his rage caged.

'I could ask you the same thing, considerin' you gifted me this plot a long time ago' Caleb responded casually, as he appeared from behind a tree and stopped his Father in his tracks.

'Oh not you too Son...See what happens when you allow a woman free reign? Why'd you think I had to teach your Momma some respect all those years ago? Loosen their leash just a little and they take the ones who're really important' Malcolm advised before Lucas could address Caleb, not believing that Gail had been stupid enough to be caught with Caleb out here when his Son would see that as an act of disloyalty.

'Disloyalty for what? It was my idea to come here' Caleb advised, not impressed by his Grandfathers unwelcome appearance after he had previously kept his presence a secret from his parents to protect him.

Lucas sensed Malcolm's judgemental eyes on him and stared at Caleb intensely for a moment, then took in a deep breath and pushed past him. For once Malcolm was right, this area was part of a past that should have been long forgotten and Gail should never have brought Caleb here. He would not be mad at his boy when he did not have the good sense to turn his Mother down.

'I said it was my idea!' Caleb snapped angrily, not appreciating being brushed aside so blatantly and unhappy that his Father was ruining the good time he had been having with his siblings.

Lucas stopped for a moment and slowly glanced over his shoulder at his eldest Son, daring him to challenge him. 'You really stickin' to that lie Son?' he asked seriously.

'Of course he isn't, but that Buck trait is ingrained in him like it is you all. It's not as though you've ever led by example by show him that lying is wrong, in fact it's one of your prominent methods to get everything running smoothly' Gail accused as she approached her Husband, taking the hit and ensuring his anger would be directed at her not Caleb, no matter how much she appreciated Caleb's attempt to protect her.

Lucas inhaled deeply at the comment and turned his full attention to his Wife, furious over this act of disloyalty. 'You claimin' Gage Temple's old farmhouse now Darlin'? I thought you'd washed your hands of the past when you realised your Mom's willingness to leave you for her piece on the side...Guess you can't help but hold onto any reminder of your perfect Mother, although clingin' to the man who screwed her behind your Father's back may be takin' it a step too far' he retorted, his rage growing while Malcolm sniggered at the insubordination of his family.

'Wait, what?!' Caleb gasped, as the realisation hit of Gage Temple being with Gail's Mother.

Gail bit down on her bottom lip and shook her head disappointedly at her Husband, feeling her younger children's eyes on her and refusing to give Malcolm the satisfaction of seeing her lose control. She did not know how Lucas had known they were here, all she had done was call Selena to ensure that he did not do anything overzealous and he had somehow been able to pin point her location when she thought she had been careful to keep herself shielded.

Lucas was surprised at Gail's lack of response, sensing her darkness clawing to be released and he stared down at her dominantly, ignoring the concern radiating off of his children and only focussing on showing Malcolm that he was able to control his Wife to wipe the smug smile off of his face. 'Now won't you look at this, you do know when the heel like your Mother. I didn't even have to break out the belt' he whispered to Gail cruelly, unable to stop himself when his rage took over and gave off an amused smirk when he heard Caleb gasp.

Gail held his gaze, remaining silent and refusing to show how much he was hurting her. She may have been blindsided by this sudden appearance and attack; however, she was not going to react how anyone expected and be perceived as the one in the wrong in front of her children.

Caleb stared disgusted at his Father and felt the tension increase. He shot Malcolm a disdainful look when he spotted him smiling at the unspoken fight that he had caused and he felt his own darkness begin to stir.

'There's no fight Sweetie, your Father is just reminding me of who I married in case I'd forgotten' Gail advised, continuing to stare deep into Lucas' eyes and not giving him the satisfaction of breaking her.

Lucas let out a small laugh and smiled. She was good, he would give her that. In the eyes of his children, he looked like the one who had attacked her and she still had managed to get out of explaining what she was doing here in the place where he had lost his first born for 10 years.

'Giving your Son closure while we carve pumpkins to surprise you later with our decorations, which I would have explained had you have asked rather than allowing yourself to be goaded by that venomous snake...And you believe my Father is toxic? At least I never allowed his crazy ramblings to turn me against you, but that didn't stop you from thinkin' you knew best and acting in my best interests did it?' she asked calmly, forcing her tone to remain unchanged. 'Enjoy the applaud you'll undoubtedly get for belittling me Soulmate, I'm going to go back to taking care of our children' she advised flatly, then turned around and went to her concerned children.

Caleb approached Lucas slowly then pointed at the condemned sign that he had placed on his old home, showing him what Gail had helped arrange in order to allow him to put his past behind him for good and focus on building something new in the future. 'Open your eyes for once, not everythin' has to be about you' he said with frustration, shooting Malcolm an irritated look before heading back to his siblings to reassure them that everything would be fine.

Lucas closed his eyes when he saw the sign and shook his head in agitation, cursing himself for being so quick to judge and for allowing himself to be goaded so easily into a bad reaction. 'If I were you I'd scatter ol' man. She may be plottin' discreetly, but my actions will be open and decisive...You're really beginnin' to outstay your welcome' he warned, feeling his rage shift to his Father and let out an exasperated breath when he disappeared and left him to deal with his own misjudgement.

-To be continued-