Gail pulled up at the Trinity Guardian and parked her Mustang in her parking space in front of the building. She had been avoiding her workplace whenever possible since she had given birth to Luke, as she knew how nosy Reporters were; however, this was the perfect front for what she required right now.

Gail had left Christie and Merlyn at Juniper House, then called Lucas and asked him to meet her. She spotted his Crown Victoria parked on the street and knew he had beaten her here; therefore, she took a deep breath and went to find her fiance.

When she entered the building, she exchanged pleasantries with the Security Guard manning the front doors today and headed to the elevator. She was not looking forward to what she had planned and cursed herself for allowing her life to get like this. When she reached her floor she exited the elevator and walked down the corridor, then through the large main room until she reached her office. She disregarded the curious looks from her colleagues and focused on her desired destination.

Gail let out a sigh of relief when she closed her office door, then shot a disapproving look at Lucas when she saw him with his feet up on her desk. 'You really think that's an appropriate way to greet me with the mood I'm in?' she asked in disbelief.

Lucas smiled cunningly, then got up from his seated position and approached her slowly. 'I can think of a much more appropriate way to greet my new fiance' he teased, then grabbed her arm and pulled her to the large window overlooking the street.

Gail felt his hard manhood press against her behind through his pants and allowed him to lift her skirt up. 'You'd think from the way you're behaving that you actually wanted to propose' she said sarcastically.

'Maybe I did' Lucas mocked, then unzipped his pants, ripped off her thong and thrust his hard manhood inside of her.

Gail let out a loud moan and was thankful that the blinds on the window overlooking the main room always remained closed these days. She pushed herself further back, to allow him to enter her deeper and smiled when he nipped at her neck playfully.

Although Lucas loved being inside of her, he realised that this had been too easy; therefore, he picked up his pace from the start and pounded in and out of her, to enable their release to come sooner.

Gail sensed his suspicion and cursed herself for not showing some restraint. She allowed him to take her roughly, then moaned loudly when she began to feel her climax rising within her.

Lucas held her hips tight and continued to pound her roughly, until he exploded within her and bit down hard on her shoulder to stifle his moans. He pulled himself out of her, then shook his head as he handed her a handkerchief to clean herself up. 'You think I'm that stupid?' he asked knowingly and began tidying his appearance.

Gail cleaned herself as she tried to slow her breathing, then smiled sweetly at him. 'I'm sure I don't know what you mean love' she said sarcastically, then opened her office door when she had smoothed down her skirt and signaled for her colleague Danielle to join them.

Lucas sat down on the couch in her office and watched her carefully. He did not know what she was up to yet; however, he would work it out. He smiled charmingly at Danielle and signaled for her to sit beside him on the couch, playing along with Gail's game. When Gail perched herself on the edge of her desk, he waited patiently for her move.

'Thanks for joining us...' Gail said to Danielle and put on her best smile, '...I'm sure you've heard the news'

Danielle smiled and tapped Lucas playfully on the shoulder. 'You sly dog you...None of us actually expected a proposal'

Lucas laughed and shrugged. 'I wouldn't be Lucas Buck if I didn't keep you all on your toes' he smiled charmingly.

Gail tried not to roll her eyes at the display and forced her smile to remain. 'Well, seen as the gossip has already started, we might as well get ahead of it and make the official announcement' Gail suggested.

'Mark would be ecstatic if he got the exclusive story of your engagement' Danielle advised.

'Don't I know it...' Gail laughed, '...Well, I can't report on it myself so who better than someone who's known Lucas for a long time?'

Lucas watched Gail carefully, she was playing her role nicely; however, he did not trust her willingness. 'If we're gonna do that, we might as well go the whole hog with family pictures and all' he suggested and smiled smugly when Gail's smile dropped to a frown.

'I don't think forcing our baby to be on the front page of a Newspaper is appropriate' Gail tried to remain calm.

'Aww hell love, a full family portrait is just what everyone wants...We'll even get that cousin of yours in there, seen as he's part of the family now' Lucas said amused, then stood up and placed his hand on Gail's shoulder.

Gail took a deep intake of breath, in an attempt to control her anger. This was not playing out like she had envisioned and Lucas was spinning this around to his favour. 'Caleb won't want to be a part of this' she advised.

'Don't be so silly, that Temple boy is lucky to have been taken in by you both and I get the feelin' he'd love to be an official part of the family' Danielle smiled and stood up from her seated position.

'Alright...' Gail gave in, '...but I want this done now'

'That can be arranged love' Lucas smiled and placed a soft kiss on her lips, before he left the office to collect Caleb from school.

Gail led an excited Danielle out of her office, then started exiting the building to pick up Luke from Abe's House. This had not gone the way she had expected; however, at least Lucas' attention was firmly fixed on her.

Merlyn stood outside of Walter Maine's room nervously, with Gideon at her feet. Gail had been correct, the dog had led her right to him and now that she was here she was at a loss of what she needed to do. Gideon moved behind her and gave her a gentle shove, which indicated he was aware of what was expected of her; therefore, she just inhaled deeply and approached the door.

It had been easy enough to get down here, even if the room was buried deep in Juniper House; however, what they had not accounted for was that the door would be inevitably locked. As if waiting for this cue, Merlyn heard a click in the lock and the handle began to turn on it's own, opening the door for her. She shot Gideon a suspicious look and backed up slightly when she saw his eyes glow yellow.

Merlyn glanced into the dark room tentatively, then stepped inside slowly with Gideon following behind her protectively. The room was like a cell, much like the one Matt had spent his time in while he was here. There were bars on the small window, which let in a inadequate amount of light and the room itself was very bare. She knew the man had killed his wife and caused the death of his son; however, part of her still pitied him.

Merlyn spotted Walter sat on the floor in the corner, with his head in his hands. He looked like a shell of a man and her nerves began to resurface.

'Who are you?' Walter asked, without lifting his head out of his hands.

'I'm a Reporter...' Merlyn stuttered, saying exactly what Gail had told her to. '...I'm here to get your side of the story'

Walter laughed hoarsely, then began to cough. He had been without water for a few hours and the dryness of his throat was beginning to bother him. 'There's only one Reporter I'll speak and there ain't no way in hell she's gettin' let down here again'

Merlyn considered his words and instantly knew he was talking about Gail. She remembered that her cousin had tricked Billy into allowing her to see Walter; however, Lucas had cut that visit short. 'Gail's the one that sent me, she wanted me to give you this and then ask my questions' Merlyn said and handed him a small piece of paper.

Walter looked up at the pretty girl and shook his head, she was too young to be getting involved in something like this and Gail Emory should have kept her out of it. Walter let out a long sigh and reached for the piece of paper, let out another hoarse breath when he read it and threw it down on the floor. 'Anna Marshall, that's the name she wants...Now hurry up with your questions and get outta here' he snapped and put his head back in his hands.

Merlyn wrote down the name on her notepad for Gail, then preceded with Christie's questions. She was surprised Walter was allowing her to interview him and she did not want to be in here for longer than she had to.

Lucas stood proudly in front of his extravagant Mansion, smiling for the camera. He had decided that the best setting for their very public portrait would be his home, this was the first time he had officially let a member of the press enter his premises and he wanted to ensure that he remained in control.

Lucas had allowed Gail to roam his property on many occasion; however, it was never openly for an article and he could always spin her activities into something that would benefit him. This was different and it would be the first official public documentation of his family.

Gail sensed Lucas' feelings of grandeur and tried to control her irritation. This performance was one of necessity and she did not want Lucas to believe he had won for any longer than she had to. Gail was on her best behaviour, like Lucas she was aware that this was the first official confirmation of their family and she did not know whether she was ready to allow this to go public.

Lucas placed his arm tenderly around her shoulders and gave a gentle squeeze of reassurance. Gail knew he sensed her discomfort and his efforts to reassure her only added to her frustration. She signaled for the photographer to wrap up and smiled sweetly one last time, before pulling Luke away from this spectacle and checking her mobile telephone for any update from Merlyn.

Lucas nodded his appreciation to the photographer for putting up with Gail's mood, then made his way to his love and took the mobile telephone out of her hand. '5 missed calls, it appears Merlyn may be in dire need of some assistance from her cousin' Lucas said sarcastically, then took Luke so she could call her.

Gail winked at Caleb on her way past him and paced slowly around the garden, waiting for Merlyn to pick up. When she finally did, Gail let out a long sigh of relief. 'Are you done?' she asked, glancing over her shoulder to see Lucas watching her suspiciously.

'I am, but there's somethin' you need to know'

'There's a lot I need to know, but not right now...Did my note get read?' Gail asked curiously.

'Yes and Anna Marshall is apparently someone you'd be interested in, but Gail we really need to talk about...'

'We can't talk now, I'm busy with my family...' she interjected, when she sensed Lucas had moved closer to her. '...Are you alright getting back?'

'Billy's shown up, he's gonna drop us off at your old place...Meet me there Gail, it's important' Merlyn said, then hung up the telephone.

'What have you got that innocent girl into?' Lucas mocked knowingly, as he rocked Luke gently in his arms.

Gail stared at the mobile telephone for a moment, then turned towards Lucas and smiled. 'I'm sure I don't know what you mean' she feigned innocence, then slapped his behind playfully as she walked back to Caleb.

Lucas watched her suspiciously, then shook his head. He knew she was up to something; however, he was confident that she could not touch him.

Merlyn paced on the porch outside Gail's old place of residence, ignoring Matt's look of concern. She had been waiting for an hour for her cousin to show and she was starting to get impatient.

'She should have been here by now' Merlyn stated and continued to pace the porch.

Matt let out a long sigh and shook his head. He understood that Gail had wanted M to have something to focus her energy on; however, he did not approve of her getting so involved in the Walter Maine story. Her behaviour of late had been questionable to say the least and now she was more on edge than usual, he was beginning to get worried. 'Gail will be here when she can, she wouldn't just abandon you when you need her' he attempted to reassure her.

'That's right...' Gail said, as she walked down the garden path with Caleb in tow. '...Now what's so important that I needed to drop everything and come over here'

'I know you were distractin' Lucas...' Merlyn started, then stopped when Gail raised a finger to silence her.

'Caleb, why don't you go inside with Matt? You haven't spent any proper time with him in ages' she suggested, then turned her attention to Merlyn when Matt rushed Caleb inside.

'I'm sorry' Merlyn said, realising she should be careful what she said around Caleb.

'It's alright, you're still learning. Now seriously, what's gotten you so worked up? Did Walter do something to you?' Gail asked concerned and sat down on the porch swing.

Merlyn shook her head and sat down beside her cousin. She had been nervous about talking to her, after she had spoken with Christie and she could feel her heart beating heavy in her chest. 'I didn't know that I should've waited for you...I thought she'd just hang fire until she addressed it with you' Merlyn said quietly.

Gail could sense Merlyn's discomfort and watched her cautously. She did not understand what she was trying to tell her and she did not have the patience to wait while she beat around the bush. 'Addressed what with me?...Merlyn spit it out, you're making me nervous' she said sweetly and placed a reassuring hand on her cousins knee.

Merlyn took a deep breath and shook her head. 'I shouldn't have told her, I was confused after speakin' to Walter and I couldn't think straight'

'Told who what?' Gail asked, beginning to get frustrated.

'Christie...' Merlyn said as she looked down at her hands nervously, '...I told her what Walter said'

Gail did not like the nervousness her cousin was displaying and felt a knot form in her stomach. 'What did he say Merlyn?' she asked sternly.

Merlyn chewed her lip and continued to play with her hands, she was trying to figure the best way to tell her cousin what had happened; however, there was no easy way to say this. 'He blamed Lucas for it all, I mean everythin' Gail!...Now Christie thinks that's all the evidence she needs and she's gonna publicise it in the Charlston post!' she spat out worried.

Gail said back in the porch swing, as if recoiling from being struck. She knew Christie did not like Lucas; however, she thought her friend would have to common courtesy to come to her with her concerns, rather than sneaking around her back to publicly accuse her Sheriff fiance of a crime.

Gail remained silent for a few minutes, attempting to push down her unease and shook her head in irritation. 'Are you positive she's running with the story?'

'She called her Editor on the way back from Juniper, advisin' him that she would have one hell of a story for him by mornin'' Merlyn sighed.

Gail contemplated her options for a moment, then nodded and placed a reassuring hand on Merlyn's knee. 'You were right to do what you did and I appreciate you coming to me with this'

Merlyn let out a relieved breath and smiled at her cousin, thankful that she was not mad at her. 'What are you gonna do?' she asked curiously.

'Well, I'm not in the habit of covering up the truth, if Walter is in fact telling the truth that is...' Gail sighed, then got up from her seated position and paced around the porch. '...Where's Christie now?'

'She went to pick up a few bits from the Store' Merlyn shrugged and watched Gail carefully.

'Good...Can you keep an eye on Caleb and make sure he gets back to the Buck Mansion later?' Gail asked.

'Of course...Where will you be?'

Gail laughed and shook her head. 'I have no idea, but I need to think' she sighed, then turned around and headed toward her Mustang.

-To be continued-