Lucas drove through the quiet streets casually, wanting to escape the confines of his office. He enjoyed his private space in the Sheriff's Station, his Deputies did not dare to bother him without gaining authorisation and the dark office centred him, allowing him to function in a calm atmosphere; however, sometimes he required something different.

Today, his pleasant working conditions had been rudely interrupted by his next in command and Lucas was not impressed. He suspected his Wife would be interested in the Goat Town story after her reaction to the incident this morning; therefore, he had decided to sit that one out, opting to allow Ben the opportunity to be in charge.

It appeared that his Wife was in an even more defiant mood than she usually was with these sort of things and she had put all of her energy into undermining Ben's authority, successfully gaining access to the star witness. Gail's tactics usually amused him, providing him with an excuse to be more daring with their late night activities under the cloak of punishment; however, Ben had decided to come back to the Station and became very vocal about her lack of acknowledgement for his authority.

Lucas could only handle his friends ramblings for so long before he chose to remove himself from the equation, so not to lash out inappropriately at someone that he actually respected. He had opted to go on patrol on his own to clear his mind and this had helped him remember that he had some unfinished business, which he had put off for longer than he had intended.

'Faster Daddy!' Luke exclaimed excitedly, not understanding why their Father had collected them from Merlyn if he just intended on taking them for a boring ride.

'Patience boy, not everythin' in life has to be a race' Lucas advised calmly, glancing at his youngest Son through the rearview mirror and giving him a stern look.

'Yeah patance boy' Gail Jr tried to mimic her Father sarcastically, then opened her mouth to shout at her Brother when he pulled his tongue out rudely at her.

'And you little one, don't make me have to pull over and get in the back there with you' Lucas warned, pushing down his growing irritation at their behaviour, suddenly missing his calm office.

Gail Jr gulped and shrank down in her car seat, trying to hide from her Father's intense stare.

Luke smiled smugly, happy that his Sister had been told off too and glanced out of the window aimlessly, knowing better than to provoke their Father.

Lucas smiled to himself, sensing their obedience and continued on down the long road, nearing his desired destination.

Gail Jr felt a knot in her stomach when her Father pulled up outside of the large yellow house and considered reaching out to her Mother.

'There'll be none of that' Lucas warned in a serious tone, not entertaining any attempt to bring Gail into this business. 'Your Momma is busy with Caleb and we don't wanna interrupt her important work do we?' he asked firmly, turning towards his children and watching them closely.

'No Sir' Luke answered instinctively, then reached for his Sisters hand when she just remained silent and gave it a squeeze to rouse her.

Gail Jr stared at her Father defiantly for a moment, not liking his tone or the order to keep her Mother in the dark; however, when she felt Luke squeeze her hand she knew that this was not something that she could win and shook her head obediently in answer to her Father's question.

'Good, that's my perfect little ones. Now, you two stay here and I'm gonna see what we're dealin' with' Lucas advised, squeezing his Daughters knee reassuringly and shooting Luke a mischievous wink before exiting the car.

As Lucas walked up the Boarding House steps, he recalled memories of games that he used to play here. Hide and seek was one of his favourites, he had been the most cunning child in his group and his friends never managed to find him when he really tried to hide. It was a shame really, he held a certain fondness for this place and the strange presences that sometimes made themselves known here; however, he would not allow details of his past to be unearthed and he had put this task off for far too long.

Loris Holt stirred the large pot of boiling stew and lifted the wooden spoon to her lips, trying to decide whether more herbs were required. Matt was on a rare day shift today and she was making an effort to cook his favourite meal, in an attempt to remind him of how much she cared for him.

Her relationship with Matt had become strained recently, partly due to his inability to let go of his mourning for his lost friendship and partly as Loris did not like how bad he was taking Gail's choice to cut him out. Sure she understood that they had been close friends since Gail had returned to Trinity after the horrific incident that had landed Caleb in her care; however, Gail had moved on with her life and made a family, while Matt appeared to pine over her like a love sick puppy.

'What can I say, my Love has a way of burrowin' her way in' Lucas said smugly as he leaned against the kitchen door casually, happy that the couple were experiencing difficulties and hoping that Matt would be left alone once again.

Loris froze at the sound of Lucas' voice and dropped the wooden spoon on the floor. 'Good afternoon Sheriff, to what do I owe this unexpected visit?' she asked forcing a calm tone, attempting to keep her composure knowing that there was only her and Lucy in the house at this moment.

Lucas' smile grew wider when he sensed her trying to hide her concern and he took a few steps into the large kitchen. 'You know, I remember when your Grandmamma got that stove...you couldn't leave that thing alone' he said in a smooth tone, letting his eyes trail down her body knowing how much his attention bothered her.

Loris felt his eyes on her and began shifting on the spot, subconsciously moving her hands to the bottom of her dress and ensuring that it remained below her knees. 'You dared me to crawl in and light it when I was only 6 years old, I remember that' she responded coldly, a feeling of strong disgust coming over her.

'Oh come on, you dared me to light the hob and put my hand on it. Let's not pretend that I was the only one with a colourful sense of curiosity' Lucas laughed, unfazed by her defensive stance and sensing that her disgust was aimed at herself, not just him.

Loris closed her eyes at the recollection of their strange games and shook her head at her stupidity when she was a child.

'You ain't much brighter now Darlin', runnin' your mouth and lettin' my Wife in on our business' Lucas responded to her unspoken thought, taking a few steps closer to her.

Loris instinctively took a step back and gave off a small jump when the hot stove burned her back. 'I ain't been runnin my mouth to no-one' she said defensively, forcing herself to stand tall.

'Oh but you did let yourself slip around Gail last month and you know how inquisitive she is,...or am I wrong? Is my perception of matters not as accurate as it used to be in my old age?' Lucas asked sarcastically, towering over her and staring deep into her eyes.

Loris tried to come up with a way to change his focus; however, she knew from past experience that it was no use. She felt herself becoming flustered with his closeness and the intensity of his stare, so she let out a long sigh and shook her head in annoyance at herself. 'It was Abe who brought up the subject, but I shouldn't have engaged...You think I want that toxic part of my past dredged up? It took me years to strike it from my mind' she spat out venomously, hating that he had the audacity to come here like this and bring up the past.

Lucas inhaled her scent, allowing himself to reminisce about his childhood for a moment, then leaned down and whispered in her ear. 'You say toxic, I say fun...When did you become so damn frigid' he smirked, then took a few steps away from her when he sensed her enjoying his closeness too much and waited for her to become aware of what he had successfully distracted her from.

Loris held Lucas' stare for a moment, unable to bring herself to pull away of his hold, then recognised the smug look on his face and felt a sharp pain in her chest. 'What have you done?' she asked suspiciously, suddenly aware of how still it was.

Lucas let out a small laugh and continued to regard her amused. 'Oh I didn't do anythin', but I can't speak for my 'damned' children' he advised smugly, repeating the insult that she had made against his children in front of Abe the previous month and his smile grew wider when he saw the panic in her eyes.

Loris had been so distracted by Lucas' appearance that she had not considered he would have brought his children here. She rushed to the window to inspect the navy blue Crown Victoria parked in front of her home and felt another sharp pain in her chest when she spotted that is was empty. 'Where are your devil's? You have no right to bring this here' she asked concerned, frantically trying to figure out what she was missing. When Lucas just shrugged casually she felt her heartbeat racing and rushed out of the kitchen to inspect her home.

'3...4...5' came a sweet voice from the bottom of the stairs, causing Loris to stop in her tracks and stare at her in horror.

'8...9' Gail Jr continued, feeling a slight discomfort over what she was doing, then remained calm when she felt rough hands grab her arms and spin her around. '10' she finished and stared into the woman's eyes, unfazed by the angry look she was giving her.

'What are you doin'!' Loris yelled, shaking the young girl slightly.

'Careful now, you managed to avoid my Wife's wrath at touching our youngest Son due to her closeness to Harvard, but I can assure you that any mark on our little Princess will be addressed 10 fold' Lucas warned, pushing down his twin at the sight of her gripping his Daughter.

Gail Jr remained calm and shook her head at the woman's inability to think straight. 'Not me' she advised her, willing her to use her head and discreetly glanced at the front door, not liking this game that she had been forced into.

Loris sensed something different radiating off of this Buck and it caused her to relax slightly. She was not like the male members of the family, she realised that being so close to her now; however, she understood that the little girl did not want to let her Father know that she had given anything away. 'I'm sorry' she apologised, not wanting to hurt the young girl and chose to quickly look around the living room before heading to the front door like Gail Jr had discreetly signalled, so not to cause Lucas any suspicion.

Gail Jr held in her relief when the woman finally followed her signal and glanced at her Father, who was watching her closely. 'Mean' she said moodily, then sat down on the bottom stair and refused to let him lift her up.

Lucas shrugged off his Daughter's judgement and headed outside, sensing his Son's amusement.

Loris ran frantically around the garden, not knowing what she was looking for; however, knowing it was important. Suddenly, she realised that she had not seen Lucy in the living room where she had left her while she was cooking and her heart dropped.

'Uh oh, Harvard's little surrogate's gone missin'? I bet that's just enough to push him over the edge completely, especially when Gail get's wind of his inability to keep her dead friends child safe' Lucas advised, feigning a concerned tone and could not help but smile at how perfectly Luke could follow his bait.

Loris felt her eyes begin to well up in panic, remembering how dark Luke's eyes were when she had lost control and shook him. That boy was a Buck through and through, there was no telling what he would get up to with Lucy and knowing how trusting Lucy was the girl would not stand a chance.

'Clocks tickin', I know where I'm hedgin' my bet' Lucas laughed amused, revelling in Loris' frailty now that her confidence was stripped away.

Gail Jr crept out of the house and saw how upset the woman was. She had heard her Father refer to the older girl she had seen earlier as someone that her Mother may care for and could not bear to stick to the plan. '1...2...3' she started loudly, putting her hands over her eyes and hoping that the woman would spot her.

Loris turned her attention to Gail Jr and caught a quick flicker in Lucas' eyes, clearly unhappy with what his Daughter was doing. When Gail Jr continued to count again, Loris suddenly remembered the game Lucas used to excel at here and pushed him out of the way as she rushed to the side of the porch steps.

Gail Jr could not help but smile when the woman realised what she was doing; however, she spotted the look of venom in her Father's eyes and she made herself small in an attempt to disappear.

Luke could not hide his excitement as Lucy lay motionless and allowed herself to be buried under the crawl space beneath the porch. He did not realise that something within him was holding the older girl down, he just felt a deep urge to continue burying her until she was completely covered and the dirt began to restrict her breathing.

'Lucy!' Loris exclaimed when she saw the buried girl and pushed Luke aside roughly to pull her out of the crawl space.

Lucas watched in irritation as Loris raced into the house with Lucy and locked the door, then spotted Luke crawl out from his hiding place and cross his hands over his small chest moodily, confused as to why his game had been spoilt. 'That honour goes to your Sister Son, I think you need to teach her the correct etiquette so not to be a burden when joinin' us for our fun' he said through gritted teeth, attempting to force his rage down at his Daughters lack of loyalty.

Luke shot Gail Jr a look of disappointment, then saw how upset she was by their Fathers comment and sensed that she had just been unable to push down her loyalty to their Mother. 'Come on' he sighed, reaching for her hand lovingly and leading her back to the car, trying to shield her from their Father's anger.

Lucas watched his children walk hand in hand together, then shook his head at his inability to control his anger when he should not be putting his children against their Mother. Loris understood the warning, that was the main thing and she would not be speaking out of turn again.

-To be continued-