Caleb entered the overly bright Hospital with Boone and Millie after Josh had been banned from staying out with them for breaking curfew too many times, then strolled down the corridor slowly. After much deliberation with himself, he had decided that no one would be interested in him no matter what he was wearing and he would continue with his plans, suspecting that his Mother was just trying to test him.
Millie walked casually beside him, attempting to not look out of place; however, all eyes were on them and she felt totally out in the open. 'Caleb, this ain't gonna work...everyone's starin'!' she exclaimed quietly, not used to being the centre of attention.
'Of course they're starin', you've got Mr Christmas standin' beside you for all to adore' Boone sighed, unsure why he had even bothered to follow his friend here.
Caleb forced a smile for all the passers by who were admiring his sweater, then when he turned the corner he began to pull it off defiantly. Suddenly he heard a low growl and Millie backed up into him, clearly not used to the large black dog who was watching them intently. 'It's alright, that's just Gideon...he don't mean nothin' he advised reassuringly, staring boldly at the dog who was watching him closely.
Gideon crawled from underneath the chair that he had been resting under and bared his sharp teeth, his growls growing louder the closer Caleb came to removing his sweater.
Caleb stood tall, unwilling to back down no matter what his Mothers pet would do and went to pull the sweater over his head; however, he felt a familiar hand on his shoulder and he quickly put the sweater back on.
'You're not spoiling Gail's plans are you?' Matt asked pleasantly, happy to see Caleb without Lucas for a change.
'What do you know about it?' Caleb snapped, annoyed that he had been caught.
Matt regarded Caleb cautiously, confused by his attitude and forced his demeaner to remain pleasant. 'All the Town are talking about the Buck's festive spirit this year, I know the Sheriff isn't that creative so I gathered Gail has gone for a theme with you all and it'd be a shame if you broke it' he advised, spotting Gideon standing outside of Bobby's room watching the group and turned his attention towards the other children.
'We were just visitin', we wanted to make sure he was alright' Caleb said when he sensed Matt's sudden suspicion of their presence here.
'Bobby told me a lot about is team mates, but he didn't mention you all being friends' Matt responded, noting that this was the second time Caleb had attempted to get in to see Bobby today.
'I thought it would make the boy feel more at ease before my interrogation if youngsters of a similar age showed their concern for him, he has been left by his care giver after all. Is that alright with you?' Gail asked, appearing behind the group and regarding Matt bluntly.
Caleb inhaled deeply at the appearance of his Mother and stared at her, confused at her apparent decision to lie for him.
'I didn't realise this was you-' Matt started.
'You asked me to check it out and I am, now leave us alone' Gail interrupted, not wanting to be here and shot Caleb a disapproving glance when she spotted his arm out of his sweater. 'You uncomfortable Darling?' she asked him sweetly as she knelt down to stroke Gideon when he rushed to her, feeling Caleb's friends confused eyes on her.
Caleb quickly put his sweater on fully and straightened himself up. 'I was a little hot is all' he shrugged, feigning coolness.
'I see, well seen as you're too hot in here why don't you join me for some outdoor tasks that I need to complete? I'm sure your friends don't mind visiting the sick boy without you' Gail advised, feigning ignorance.
Caleb narrowed his eyes at her, not impressed that she was hell bent on interfering in his fun and stormed past his friends to the exit, sensing the order in her tone.
Boone watched Caleb go and smiled pleasantly at Gail, revelling in his friends discomfort. 'He's been a bit moody lately...I like your sweaters' he said happily, enjoying Caleb being controlled.
'Why thank you Boone, my little ones want to go all out this year' Gail smiled warmly at the boy, amused at Boone's clear jealousy for his friend and happy that her Son did not have a congregation of sheep like his Father did just yet.
'Can me and Millie have a ride please? We ain't got nothin' to say to Bobby really' Boone asked, not wanting to have to walk all the way home when this had been Caleb's idea in the first place.
'Of course, I'll drop you off wherever you want to go and keep Caleb with me for the rest of the evening' she smiled smugly, sensing Caleb's irritation strongly and amused at his failed attempt to defy her.
Lucas strolled confidently through the Hospital corridors, the air of dominance radiating off of him. He had lasted as long as he could in his office, then decided to take a drive away from the incessant Christmas music for the good of his mental health. His drive had brought him here, a place that he had put many of his townspeople throughout the years due to his games and the lack of noise in this building always calmed him.
As he walked down the corridor and instinctively nodded charmingly at the people that he past, Lucas thought about how few people he had to visit here recently compared to previous years. It was true that the odd person would require an immediate lesson, like that boy Bobby's Father had the other month; however, his games had become less frequent over the years and he came to the conclusion that he was getting soft.
'Surely not me' he said quietly to himself, attempting to think of something he had done to disprove his conclusion and came up with nothing.
Lucas let out a long sigh and shook his head, Gail had done this to him and he was disappointed in himself for allowing her to impact his behaviour. Her previous purity had somehow taken hold in him, causing him to back off his usual way of being and care more about keeping things running smoothly how she wanted, not how he always had before her arrival back in Trinity. The fact that he had allowed himself to be seen in a festive vest and endure the torture of Christmas music for hours on end proved that he had pushed aside a piece of himself, just to ensure that she was not offended.
This would not do, he was Lucas Buck and he would not be controlled in such a way. His instincts had guided him well and he now knew exactly what he had to do to break the chains. Without hesitation he turned towards the Nurses Station and put on his most charming smile, as he approached the dim women who had gathered around for a boring chat.
'Good evening Sheriff, a little late for you to be patrollin' our corridors isn't it?' Nurse Stacie asked pleasantly, unable to hide how taken she was with the Adonis before her.
'My Wife prefers peace while she's slavin' over a hot stove for me and mine, whereas you lovely ladies look like you're in need of my attention...You ain't doin' nothin' untoward are you? I'd hate to have to take you all in to my protective custody on such a beautiful night' he said in his most charming southern drawl and smiled when the Nurses began to blush.
'I don't know about Santa, but I'd hate to be on your naughty list Sheriff' Nurse Jenny joked playfully and gulped when his attention turned to her, feeling a deep desire for the man before her.
'Oh I don't know, I'm sure you're able to endure more than you think on my watch' Lucas winked teasingly, amused at how easy it would be to tempt these women away from their partners and to get them to disregard their integrity.
'This isn't a playground, we have patients that require assistance. Get back to work' Matt ordered frankly as he came up to the Nurses Station and heard the inappropriate conversation.
'Uh oh, looks like Daddy's home' Lucas signalled towards Matt sarcastically and nodded at the Nurses to leave.
Matt watched as the women giggled like a bunch of teenagers at the attention they had gotten from the Sheriff, then dispersed and shot Matt an irritated look.
'You know, a little playful banter doesn't hurt anyone Harvard, in fact it can brighten a woman's day. You'd do best to remember that when you want one of those women to go out on a limb for you' Lucas advised, leaning against the deserted Nurses Station casually and regarding Matt coolly.
Matt shook his head at Lucas' disrespectful behaviour and shot him a look of disdain. 'We're professionals and they have a job to do' he responded bluntly, hating that this man had so much when he flirted so distastefully in public.
'Speakin' of jobs and such, I've come to collect that boy Bobby. His 'ol man is tied up in work and requested me to take the boy home, to ensure he get's back safely and all' Lucas said casually, disregarding Matts opinion of him.
'Is that so? I haven't released him yet and I don't see his Father here giving official permission' Matt responded suspiciously, not trusting Lucas' presence here.
'Oh I have his parental authority right here Doc' Lucas smirked smugly and held up a signed form from Bobby's Father, which had materialised in his pocket. 'You know it's a shame really, you told my Wife you weren't tryin' to pin this on me and you're already going back on your word. I suppose this will just be another mark on your character when she realises that you lied to her again'
Matt inhaled deeply in an attempt to hide his irritation, then took the piece of paper from Lucas' hand and read it thoroughly. 'I haven't accused you of anything Sheriff, I just want to make sure that an injured boy is in the right hands' he advised, cursing himself for being unable to hide his suspicions.
'There you are, I've been lookin' for you for ages!' Billy exclaimed, as he came around the corner after Lucas had requested that he meet him at the Hospital.
'You see that Harvard, he couldn't be in better hands than a highly trained medical official and the Sheriff of Trinity. Why don't you run along and complete the required paperwork, while we make sure the boy gets home safely...Have a good one with the strangers in the Boardin' House Doc' Lucas smiled triumphantly, making a mental note to ensure that Gail did not cave before Christmas and left Matt to stew in his own self pity.
Matt shook his head in frustration then stormed back towards his office, presuming that Gail had completed her investigation and seen fit to allow Bobby to return home without further supervision.
Caleb exited the Hobby Store and carefully placed the bag of decorations in his backpack, then started down the long ride home. Although he had been angry earlier at being interrupted, his mood had brightened up when he was taken home to his siblings and their festive spirit was contagious.
Part of him cursed Gail for being able to subdue his mood so easily; however, as his Father had reminded him earlier, her acceptance of this time of year had been for him and he understood how hard it must be for her, due to the tragedy she suffered as a child.
'Don't go puttin' her on that pedestal just yet Son, she ain't the one who's fixed your little accessibility problem' Lucas advised, as he leaned casually against a tree that Caleb was passing.
Caleb stopped and turned towards his Father, smiling when he saw the mischievous look in his eyes. 'What did you do?' he asked intrigued, knowing that they had both been ordered to behave by his Mother and she had been slowly torturing his Father to show that she would not accept any bad behaviour.
Lucas smiled smugly at his decision to defy his Wife and signalled for Caleb to get in his car parked a small distance away from them. 'I didn't do anythin' really, just reunited a poor boy with his home in the holiday season...You wanna wait out here all night, or do you want a lift to maximise the time you have left before curfew?' he asked sarcastically, sensing the excitement within his Son instantly.
'You don't need to ask me twice' Caleb laughed and rushed to put his bicycle in the trunk of the car, knowing that he could not be blamed for his Father's actions.
Lucas laughed at his Son's willingness not to look a gift horse in the mouth and got back into his car with Billy, knowing that his any punishment Gail attempted to enforce would be limited while he had company.
-To be continued-