Merlyn sat in the Trinity General Library, sifting through a book on the Bermuda Triangle. Her cousin had tasked her with some light reading to open up her mind, stating she had become too domesticated of late to be of any use as her apprentice. Merlyn had obeyed her cousins wishes and had been in the Library most of the day, opting not to join them on their family outing. Now here she was trying to expand her mind, to take her away from her personal frustrations.
Matt stood in the American History aisle, watching M discreetly. He had been assigned to Selena Coombs after the accident and had expected to be on shift most of the day tending to her needs; however, his boss Doctor Charlton had stopped by his office to inform him that another Doctor had been assigned his patient and he was free to leave early.
The visit from Doctor Charlton had been strange; however, he was not about to turn down the opportunity to make up for the cancelled date of the previous night and he just assumed Gail had used her influence, like she had done on certain occasions before. After he finished his duties at the hospital he came straight here as he had been given a message from one of the Nurses about M's whereabouts, presumably left by Gail. He did not have the heart to disturb M when she looked so peacefully in thought and just waited patiently for her to finish.
Merlyn sensed eyes on her and had been ignoring the feeling for half an hour, until it began to interrupt her concentration. She glanced around her immediate vicinity and did not spot the culprit; therefore, she got up from her seated position and walked slowly down the main aisle, suspecting Lucas was trying to play games with her like he used to.
'This ain't funny, I'm busy' she whispered to the air around her, as she kept alert to her surroundings.
Matt smiled when he saw her coming, muttering to herself and grabbed her playfully before she reached him, then pulled her into the American History aisle and pinned her to a bookshelf.
Merlyn was about to call out in surprise, when she saw Matt grinning at her. 'I could've had a heart attack!' she scolded quietly, remembering they were in a Library and not wanting to get thrown out for making too much noise.
'And you would've been in the right hands if you did' Matt said playfully and stroked her shoulders affectionately.
Merlyn laughed and smiled warmly at him, she had not expected him to finish work until late; therefore, this was a pleasant surprise. Before she had chance to answer his comment, Ben wandered into the aisle and Matt took a step back from her.
'Ah hell, I don't even wanna know what I've walked into here' Ben said in an exasperated tone and turned away.
Merlyn stroked Matts arm reassuringly when she saw the look of worry on his face, then turned her attention towards Ben. 'I wouldn't have suspected this to be you usual haunt Deputy' she teased and smiled warmly at Ben.
'Well it ain't, Lucas asked me to come give you folks a ride...I'm assumin' you're about done?' he asked and shot Matt a disapproving look.
Merlyn glanced towards Matt and nodded at Ben, then followed him out. She did not know what was going on, or why Lucas was interfering but she was determined to find out.
Billy sat at the large table next to Gail, in the most expensive restaurant in town. They had palmed the children off to Abraham and decided to continue with drinks, while they had the chance. His mind started to wander to Selena alone in her hospital bed and the type of partner he was for leaving her in that state, when the feel of Gail's fingers stroking his hand softly brought him back to his current location.
Lucas watched his love carefully, he did not know why she had decided to assist him in this little game or whether she knew exactly what he was up to; however, this new side of her continued to intrigue him and he was curious as to what her play was here. 'More wine Mrs Buck?' he asked reminding her of his presence, as he watched her stroke Billy's hand.
'Always Master Buck' she smiled, as she held up her glass expectantly and winked playfully at him.
Billy shook his head at their undeniable attraction for one an other, they had been together for longer than him and Selena; however, it appeared their desire had not faded at all, if anything it appeared more prominent. He wished his relationship could be as simple as that.
'I wish you'd stop wallowing in your relationship' Gail said frankly, reading his mind and taking a large sip of her wine.
Lucas caught the look of surprise on Billy's face at the fact that Gail knew exactly what he was thinking and stepped in to take the focus off of her. 'What she means is there's plenty more fresh fish in the sea, rather than putting all your energy into a battered one' he explained smugly.
'Is that what I meant?' Gail asked sarcastically and placed her hand on Lucas' knee.
'Well I'm guessing you didn't mean that hearing all about the self pity is boring. I think that might be a little insensitive love' he mocked.
'And insinuating he should leave his broken fish isn't?' Gail asked in mock scorn.
'Not when he's still in his prime and the broken fish hasn't been performin' like she should be...and now she never will' Lucas answered bluntly.
'However, at least the broken fish is familiar and he know's what he's getting. She may not be performing like she should be now, but her inability to follow through with certain life tasks may result in more effort being placed in other acts' Gail offered constructively.
'I'd rather have an unknown workin' fish than a defective familiar one' Lucas shrugged and took a sip of his drink.
'Good to know' Gail laughed and shook her head.
'Will you both stop it!' Billy snapped, then regretted his tone instantly when he saw the wounded look in Gail's eyes.
Gail could not care less about what was happening with Selena; however, this little game they were playing was giving her a welcome distraction from her homicidal thoughts of late and she was happy to be focusing on something else. When Billy snapped, she feigned upset and hid her amusement as his frustration was replaced by concern for her.
Lucas watched as Billy placed a reassuring arm around Gail and smiled at how well she could use her emotions. She was learning, he would give her that; however, he did not know how long he wanted her interfering in his plans, therefore, he had arranged for something else to take her attention. 'Well look what we have here' Lucas said, as his distraction approached them.
Gail smiled at Billy warmly, then turned her attention towards Lucas and followed his eyes. 'This is a surprise' she said, shooting Lucas a disapproving glance then getting up to greet Matt and Merlyn.
Matt gave Gail a big hug and nodded a greeting towards Billy, then looked at Lucas suspiciously as he got up and signalled for them all to sit down.
'Lucas got Ben to bring us here' Merlyn whispered to Gail when they hugged, then sat down next to Matt.
Gail slowly walked back to her seat and stared deep into Lucas' eyes curiously, before they both sat back down next to each other.
'How's Selena?' Matt asked Billy, not expecting to see him away from her bedside.
'Peachy' Gail answered for him, then offered Billy a drink of her wine.
Matt narrowed his eyes at his friends strange behaviour and went to say something, then felt M's hand squeeze his knee.
Merlyn shook her head at Matt, signalling him not to get involved and turned her attention towards Lucas who was watching them with a smug grin on his face. 'Ben said you wanted us here, why?' she asked bluntly.
Lucas smiled when Gail turned towards him curiously, then just wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. 'A little birdie informed me your date was cut short last night due to an unforeseen accident, I thought it'd be a nice treat for you both to experience a proper date' he advised, then nuzzled his nose into Gail's neck and nipped at it playfully.
Gail allowed him to be openly affectionate for a moment, knowing how much his townspeople loved to see the happy couple together and then rolled her eyes at Matt to show him her real feelings. 'It's a little harsh having a joint date when there's someone flying solo, I'm sure we can fix that though' she smiled knowingly, then placed a soft kiss on Lucas' lips and sat back in her chair.
Lucas stared at her suspiciously for a moment, then looked with wide eyes when Christie entered the restaurant and walked casually over to them. Lucas gripped Gail's arm tight and pulled her towards him, running his lips over her ear so not to alert anyone to his anger. 'I thought I told you I removed the object of certain urges you're experiencin' for your own good Darlin'' he whispered, unhappy with this unexpected appearance.
'You know better than to think you can control me that easily sweetheart' she smiled devilishly, then signalled for Christie to pull up a chair beside Billy.
Lucas inhaled deeply to hide his irritation, he did not know how Gail got to Christie in Wilmington or why she was here now; however, he would not lose his temper around a crowded table. 'Now that we all appear to be here, let's eat. I'm starvin'' he forced a smile, then picked up his menu.
Selena limped around the hospital room impatiently, waiting for anyone to acknowledge her presence. She had lay in bed for hours watching the clock on the wall; however, no Doctor had appeared after her arm and leg had been bandaged up and Billy was nowhere to be seen.
Initially she had been worried about what could have happened to her lover and thoughts had plagued her mind of Lucas eliminating him in some inhumane way; however, then she realised that Lucas punished the people who wronged him and Billy had turned towards his side, which meant he would leave him alone for now. This realisation caused her emotions to change from concern to anger, if Lucas had not done anything to Billy then where was he?
Selena had waited all day for him to check on her and she would wait no longer. Without a second thought, she found the clothes she had been brought in with and changed, then picked up her handbag. She limped slowly out of the room and towards the pay phones at the end of the corridor, then called Juniper House. She knew it was late but maybe he had decided to distract himself with work, to stop himself from worrying about her.
When Selena got through to the receptionist at the front desk, the woman informed her that Billy had not been in the office today and she did not know when he was due to return. Selena felt her anger increase and slammed the telephone down, not caring who saw her. She felt the anger flow through her veins and knew what she had to do; therefore, she limped towards the exit of the hospital, not bothering to check herself out.
Matt sat with Gail, as Merlyn had gone to the bathroom and watched Christie with Billy. He had been told that Christie had left again and now that she had returned, he was concerned about what was going to happen with Lucy.
'You think I'd let her just rock up and take her away? Have some faith Matt' Gail said reassuringly, sensing his concerns.
'She's turned up out of nowhere Gail, what's going on?' Matt asked worried.
Gail let out a long sigh and reached into her bag. 'Her presence here is nothing to do with you so just forget about it...Your beautiful date will be back at any moment and I don't need you having a breakdown in front of her, she deserves better than that' she advised and handed him the form Lucas had given her the previous week.
Matt opened the piece of paper and his mouth dropped open when he read it. 'A custody agreement...' he started.
'Givin' you soul custody of that little girl Doc', don't screw it up' Lucas interrupted, as he sat down on the other side of Gail and placed his arm possessively over her shoulders.
Matt stared at Gail with wide eyes, then handed Lucas the agreement and shook his head. 'This was you, it must've been and I want no part of it' he stated and started to get up.
'This was me' Gail lied as she pulled him back down. 'I didn't want you to get overwhelmed so was waiting for the right moment to give this to you. Now calm the hell down and behave like an adult'
Matt searched Gail's eyes to see if she was telling the truth, as her behaviour had been a little off lately; however, he saw no hint of a lie. His heart was pounding at the realisation that Lucy had been signed over to him and he did not know how he should feel.
'You feel happy Harvard and show that pretty young date of yours a good time, before I do' Lucas ordered, then winked at Gail when Matt got up and headed towards Merlyn who was on her way back.
Gail waved at them as they left quickly and focused her attention on the pair at the other side of the table. 'I don't know how you got her to sign that form' she stated curiously, as she watched Billy laughing with Christie.
'I don't know how you knew she was in Wilmington' He said suspiciously and watched as a cunning smile came over her face.
'I'm bored Master Buck' she feigned innocence as she ignored the comment, then smiled when she caught a glimpse of mischief in his eyes.
'Well, we do have that big ol' house to ourselves...let's leave these pair to it and I'll show you how to have some real fun Buck style' he smiled wickedly, then got up and held out his hand expectantly.
Gail stared up at him curiously, obediently took his hand and allowed him to lead her out of the restaurant.
Selena awoke in the drivers seat of her car, while it was still dark outside. She remembered leaving the hospital and coming home to find the place empty; however, she did not recall going back out of her property. She got out of the car carefully and stretched, not appreciating the stiffness of her neck and started to walk back towards the front door.
When Selena entered she went straight to the refrigerator to pour herself a glass of juice, then she heard voices coming from her bedroom and froze. Selena liked to think she was a strong woman; however, after being hit by a car twice, her emotions were all over the place and she was on edge.
Selena walked towards the sound of laughter, subconsciously removing a knife from her kitchen drawer as she passed and wrapped her hand around the door handle carefully. She took a deep breath, hoping the voices were just a figment of her imagination and would disappear; however, they became louder and turned into panting, causing her to push open the door quickly.
She stood for a moment in shock, at the sight of Billy having sex with Christie in her bed. With the exception of Lucas Buck, men do not step out on her and this was too much. She was the mistress and she was the one who convinced married men to come home with her and cheat on their wives, this was wrong and she would not stand for it.
When her senses returned to her, she lunged at Christie with the knife and tried to slash her throat. Before she managed to get close, she felt herself being pulled back roughly and heard Billy's confused yell at the realisation of what she was doing.
'You see this Doc'? This is why you don't try and settle down with someone's crazy ex' Lucas advised smugly, ignoring Selena's attempt to try and break free of his grasp.
'Why do they always go for the girl instead of the cheating boyfriend?' Gail asked in disbelief, as she casually leaned against the bedroom door. Lucas had promised her an interesting end to the evening if she accompanied him on this late night wander and he had not disappointed.
Lucas laughed at Gail's aloof manner and shook his head. 'Punishment I guess, why kill a person when you can make them suffer...I'm assumin' you'll be stoppin' by my office in the mornin' Doc'?' he asked Billy calmly.
Billy stood naked staring at Selena in shock and did not know what to say.
'Make sure he does the right thing Christie' Gail ordered her friend who lay frozen with fright and left with Lucas to take Selena to the Station.
-To be continued-