Lucas sat on the bonnet of his car overlooking the large empty field with his Daughter on his lap, watching as Luke ran around the parking lot happily with the area all to himself. His Wife had chosen to take herself out of the equation to deal with her unstable emotions over Caleb's first day in High School; however, that was not Lucas' style and he preferred to make his presence known.
When out on patrol with his youngest children earlier, Lucas had sensed something was happening. Truth be told, they all had sensed the disturbance and his children had been on edge ever since. Lucas had been able to calm the children; however, he suspected that his Wife had also sensed what they had and would be regretting her decision of getting stuck in a secluded spot, making it hard for her to return as quickly as she would have liked to check on things.
Although he was happy about being proven right about her unwise choice to distance herself from them today and enjoyed it when she suffered as a result of her poor judgement, a part of him would never allow her to be distressed for long and he had instructed Ben to bring them all here. Lucas smiled as Luke spotted Ben returning and bound towards him, growling much like Gail's dog Gideon did in an attempt to come across as scary. Ben feigned fear for a moment and turned to run, then grabbed Luke playfully and spun him around in the air. 'Anythin' to report Deputy?' Lucas asked in a cool tone.
Gail Jr sensed her Father's attempt to hide his amusement to remain professional and reached up high, tangling her hands in his hair and messing it playfully.
Lucas glanced down at his Daughter confused, then rolled his eyes as she began to giggle at his dishevelled look.
'Everythin' seems fine, he's just in Biology and has English next' Ben responded casually, attempting not to laugh at Lucas' appearance.
'Did he spot you?' Lucas asked curiously.
'Nah, I hung back far enough just to catch a quick glimpse of him...I don't envy him with that witch Mrs Denton, I thought she'd retire years ago' Ben said, throwing Luke over his shoulder and returning to the car.
Lucas nodded his thanks and headed to the front passenger seat, attempting to smooth down his hair while holding his wriggling Daughter. 'That ol' girl never did like you, what did you do to her again?' he asked, thinking back to his own experiences in the building before them.
'You convinced me that it would be a good idea to put Ernie the Biology Teachers snake on her chair, thinkin' she'd just get a small fright and amuse the class. How was I to know she had a phobia of snakes and would run straight into the wall and smack her head...she was unconscious for 2 hours!' Ben exclaimed, recalling the horror of his youth.
'You earned the respect of the football team that day and they did make you Captain after that...you weren't complainin' then now were you?' Lucas pointed out amused, reminding Ben of the benefit he had reaped from listening to him.
Ben rolled his eyes and let out a small laugh, it suddenly occurred to him that he had been following Lucas' guidance for most of his life and had not even realised it.
'It's good to have friends Benji, you remember that when you decide to let your conscious rear it's head' Lucas advised, sensing his thoughts.
'Yeah, yeah, I know Lucas...Where to now?' Ben asked, handing Luke the controls to the siren knowing how much the boy loved it.
Lucas thought for a moment and smiled to himself. 'Just keep on past Bakersfield farm but take your time, we're in no rush to put out any fires' Lucas said casually, leaning back in his seat and ignoring the disapproving way that his Daughter was staring at him.
Gail paced the area anxiously, disregarding Kyle's clear concern for her and focussing on the vastness of the Trinity River in an attempt to calm her nerves. A sudden intrusive feeling regarding Caleb had surged through her an hour earlier and caused her emotions to spiral. She had attempted to call her family; however, they were too deep in the wilderness for a signal on her mobile phone and they had drifted further than she had intended, meaning that her car was too far away for a quick exit.
The realisation of her poor decision to be out of bounds had hit her and Gail could not shake her concern. Her anger had started to direct itself at Matt and Selena, who appeared oblivious to her current erratic feelings and she had been pushing down the strong urge to release her darkness, to work off some of her pent up frustration.
Rosemary reached out from the centre of the river, remaining close as she had been following the path of her past self. They had a unconventional relationship at this time, as Gail had removed the object of her obsession which had started to give her closure over her untimely murder; however, she did appreciate the peace offering that her past self had previously given to ensure that she was no longer alone and no matter how much she sometimes wanted to hurt her, Rosemary could not stand to see her truly suffer.
Gail sensed Rosemary reach out in an attempt to sooth her and let out a long sigh, she must really be starting to lose control if her past self felt the need to step in. Her darkness crept closer to her surface as her concern continued to grow and a wave of malice flooded through her. Gail envisioned herself on top of Selena, slowly peeling off the woman's skin while her best friend watched helpless as Rosemary kept him bound. They were lying to her, she was not stupid and deceit by either of these two was unacceptable, not after how much she had done for them both in the past.
Suddenly strong hands gripped her hips tight and forced her to mind to pause. Before she had a chance to speak, she felt familiar lips on her neck and the soothing motion allowed her to relax.
'Calm now Love, we don't need you makin' a scene in front of your precious Harvard...How would you ever forgive yourself?' Lucas whispered in her ear sarcastically, then continued to kiss her neck tenderly.
Gail inhaled deeply as he wrapped his hands around her stomach and she lay back into him, unable to hide her relief at his presence. 'If what I suspect is true, that man has a lot of explaining to do if he wants to remain as important to me as he is, but that's none of your business. What's wrong?' she asked concerned, knowing that he would not come to her like this without a reason.
'I said calm now Love' Lucas ordered more sternly this time, feeling her begin to tense in his arms.
'Lucas-' Gail started unimpressed by his dominance.
Lucas turned her around and forced his lips on hers before she could finish her sentence, then began kissing her passionately. He sensed all eyes were on them and moved his hands to her behind, happy that she had not pulled out of the embrace even though both Kyle and Matt were watching unimpressed.
Gail allowed Lucas to control her, feeling her darkness fall back as her desire for him overtook her anxiety and she did not care who was watching. She was his and he was hers, she had no desire to hide that fact these days and she sensed his unexpected need to ensure that she was alright. 'You came to me?' she asked when they finally broke free of the kiss for air.
'There's no signal out here and the last thing we need is anythin' untoward happenin' in the presence of that boy, considerin' how linked our family has been to his parents' Lucas advised, placing a soft kiss on her forehead.
Gail smiled and kissed the tip of his nose gently, knowing that he really came out of concern for her, then turned around and leaned back into him as she stared into the water. 'What happened?' she asked, suspecting he knew more than she did.
'An altercation' Lucas shrugged, aware of exactly what had caused the strange feeling that their family sensed and confident Caleb would have dealt with the matter appropriately. 'Everythin' is fine and he's unscathed sat in class as we speak' he reassured her.
Gail turned her head up to face him and stared deep into his eyes, searching them closely. When she was sure that he was not lying to her, she rested her hand over his on her stomach and let out a relieved sigh. 'How have the bin lids been?' she asked, suddenly aware that she had not spared her other children a thought.
Lucas smiled and brushed her hair over her shoulder to allow him more access to her neck. 'You tell me' he whispered, then rolled his eyes at Luke's loud scream as he came running out of the clearing behind them and pushed his way in between them.
Gail could not contain her laughter at the dramatic entrance of her Son and lifted Luke up, placing a loving kiss on his lips as he wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged her tight. 'You'd think I'd been gone for years' she laughed.
'Momma!' Gail Jr exclaimed as Ben finally reached the group and struggled to get out of his arms.
Ben was out of breath from rushing after Luke and could not stand the young girls sharp nails scratching at his face any longer; therefore, he placed her carefully on the ground and shook his head as she walked unsteadily to her parents.
'You couldn't handle your children on your own for a few hours?' Matt asked judgementally.
'You couldn't keep it in your pants like the respectable man I thought you were?' Gail answered for her Husband, unimpressed by his tone.
Lucas squeezed Gail's shoulder affectionately at her instinct to defend him, then picked up his Daughter and allowed her to hug her Mother. It appeared that his Wife had finally become aware of a flaw in Mr Perfect's character and he was more than happy to allow her to respond in this instance, if only to watch the good Doctor crumble at her judgement.
Matt narrowed his eyes at his best friend confused for a moment, then noticed Selena take a step back away from him and realised what she was referring to. He had not been as discreet as he thought he had, that was now clear and it had been unwise to drop his guard when he thought that his best friend had been distracted with Kyle.
'Well that's the understatement of the century' Lucas laughed amused, sensing Gail concentrating all of her focus on Matt and not envying the man's position, especially knowing how much his Wife hated being lied to.
'When was it I wonder? We had a great relationship from when I first came back to Trinity and I know she'd been trying to get her claws into you since the custody hearing, obviously wanting to gain some brownie points...It wouldn't have been after I got you out of Juniper, so when?' Gail asked curiously, taking a few steps closer to Matt and feeling his guard waiver as her full attention remained solely on him.
'This isn't the place Gail-' Matt started.
'-And frankly it's none of your business' Selena added in defence of Matt, then retreated further back when she spotted the look of venom in her friends eyes.
Gail felt Luke's hand caress her cheek and she smiled down at him reassuringly, sensing his confusion over her sudden turn and talked to him directly. 'You know little man, most men aren't complex creatures, not like us women who's second nature is to live our lives through different personalities depending on who we're with...Ben there is like an open book and as straight as they come, your Daddy is a little more colourful but doesn't claim to be anything different when it comes down to it. Doctor Matt, now he indicated that he was full of morals and very trustworthy. He projected transparency and due to his goodness, held himself in a higher regard than your Daddy. It's such a shame that he's just as gullible as most of the dim witted men in this Town...how very disappointing' she said coolly, then glanced at Matt judgementally and shook her head in disgust.
'That a pretty sweeping generality Gail, I never claimed to be so noble' Matt responded flatly, not appreciating being held on a pedestal.
'Oh but you inferred it on more than one occasion, let's not pretend that we don't both remember the conversations we used have on the Boarding House porch early in the morning when no-one was around' Gail rebuked, moving closer to Matt and staring deep into his eyes. 'This wouldn't be a problem had you not slammed me for the deal I made and made me feel inadequate. Now I learn you couldn't help but get your end wet with the town tramp, probably just to get one over on the man you despise so much and you expect me not to question the trust I put in you? At least I know what Lucas is' she whispered through gritted teeth, unable to shake off her feeling of stupidity for believing this man more pure than them all.
Lucas watched the confrontation closely and his smile grew wider when he sensed Selena's words before they were revealed.
'Look, this crucifixion of Matt's character is unwarranted. I wasn't with Lucas at the time and you were busy publicly running around with him so we were free to do whatever we wanted' Selena advised, unable to hold her tongue any longer while Matt was getting ridiculed.
Gail was hit by a sudden flash back from years earlier of being met by Matt after she walked into the road in a haze and nearly got hit by a car, upon learning the truth about her abusive Father. She remembered being taken to Matt's office where she openly broke down in front of him, only to be interrupted by an unexpected appearance of Selena.
The sudden realisation of why Selena had visited Matt that day hit Gail and she took a step back from her best friend, shaking her head at her own naivety. 'I bore my soul to you every step of the way on that horrific day, but you saw fit to take advantage of her jealousy over Lucas assisting me so you could get laid?' Gail asked in disbelief.
Matt stared at her wide eyed, his mind becoming chaotic and unable to find the right words to make this better.
'I do believe that the jealousy went both ways Love, he couldn't bare the thought of me gettin' further than he could after all the time that he'd spent with you' Lucas advised knowingly, remembering how Matt had looked when he came to pick up Gail from the Boarding House porch the morning after their deal was agreed and the man's resentment that she had come to Lucas for help, rather than him.
'Gail I-' Matt started, then realised he had no counter for the accusation and just let out a long exasperated sigh.
'Momma?' Gail Jr asked softly when she sensed the deep disappointment and sadness radiating off of her Mother, wanting to distract her from the object of her sadness.
Gail continued to stare at Matt for a moment, then turned around and placed a soft kiss on her Daughters small hand. 'Have you got room to drop me off at my car? I think I'm well and truly done here' she asked Ben calmly, changing her focus for the sake of her children.
Ben had been hoping not to be noticed, wanting to keep out of whatever this was; however, when Gail turned the focus to him he nodded and rushed back into the woods, thankful for an acceptable excuse to leave.
'Gail don't do this, let's hash this out' Matt requested, knowing how stubborn his best friend was especially when she closed off.
When Gail closed her eyes in silent deliberation, Lucas stroked her back and started to lead her towards the woods. 'Come on Love, it's time you got back to civilisation in preparation for the end of school bell. Ain't nothin' here that you need to waste your time on anymore' he advised soothingly, shooting Matt a triumphant look over his shoulder as Gail obediently allowed him to lead her.
'You coming?' Gail asked, reaching her hand out to Kyle who had remained still throughout the conversation, clearly unsure of what to do.
Kyle rushed towards her and held her hand tight, happy not to be left behind.
Lucas shook his head at her decision to keep this stray with her; however, he was content with the fact that her trust in Matt Crower had finally started to waiver.
-To be continued-
