A few hectic days had passed and Gail lay in bed under the covers, attempting to get some rest. Lucas had already woken her up for his morning fun before work and she had chosen to remain in bed when he left, as Luke appeared peaceful in his cot. When Rocky bit the bottom of the quilt and began pulling it off the bed, Gail let out a loud sigh and shook her head. Who knew she would end up with such a mundane family life at Christmas?
A pounding on the door woke Luke and he began to cry, Rocky rushed to the cot and peered at the baby in an attempt to cheer him up. Gail smiled when Rocky poked his head through the bars of the crib and let Luke play with him. Usually Gideon would be the one making his protective presence known; however, he appeared glued to Caleb come nightfall these days.
The knocks became louder and Gail put on her dressing gown, picked up Luke and slowly walked down the stairs to see who was bothering them. When she opened the door, she shook her head at a smiling Merlyn and stepped out of the way when she barged in with her dog Spirit.
'It's Christmas eve!' Merlyn said excitedly and rubbed her nose on Luke's playfully.
Gail shook her head at her sickeningly happy cousin and made her way to the kitchen to make a coffee. 'I was sleeping you know?' she asked irritated, then handed Luke to Merlyn while she found them some mugs.
'You're as bad as Matt, he just wants me to leave him alone too. God forbid I wanna spend some time with my family' Merlyn sighed, then pulled a tongue at Luke and smiled when he giggled.
'It's not that I want you to leave me alone, I want everyone to leave me alone' Gail sighed, then ran her hand through her hair at how much energy both Luke and Merlyn had.
'I think you're Momma's being a scrooge...Maybe if she didn't let your Daddy tire her out so much, she'd be takin' you out to see all the festive fun' Merlyn said to Luke in a mock judgemental tone.
Gail rolled her eyes at the comment, then glanced at Gideon suspiciously when he skulked into the room and lay down at her feet. 'I'm clearly an awful Mother, how about you play Mother for the day and teach me how it's done?' Gail asked sarcastically and threw Gideon a biscuit.
'Maybe I will, it's about time this little fella shared in the Christmas joy' Merlyn smiled and lifted Luke above her head, then began spinning him around slowly.
Gail smiled, not believing she had managed to score a few hours to herself and picked up the telephone in the kitchen.
'Who you callin'?' Merlyn asked suspiciously.
'Your chauffeur, I know someone just as excited about this holiday as you are' Gail smiled, then called the number for Juniper House Reception.
Lucas sat in his office watching Caleb read the weekly report Ben produces for him. Caleb had become fascinated with his job and Lucas was beginning to suspect that his son wanted to follow in his footsteps. He was not sure his love would be as happy as he was about that fact; however, he would assist the boy in any way he required.
Caleb was surprised when Lucas offered to take him to work this morning and was happy his Father trusted him to review Ben's report. After the run in with Carl Dobson he could not stop thinking about the law and was grateful Lucas was giving him the opportunity to help out.
'Everythin' all square in there bud?' Ben asked, amused at Caleb's interest in their work.
Caleb looked at Lucas for permission to speak freely, then smiled when his Father nodded. 'All's good Deputy, it's a little worryin' that robbery is up from the previous week though'
Lucas smiled proudly at his boy and stood up to stretch his legs. 'It's Christmas son, not every Father has enough money to treat his children'
Ben nodded in agreement. 'It's not good but some people would do anythin' to make sure their family had somethin' nice at Christmas'
'That's awful' Caleb said, disappointed in himself for not realising the reason for the increase. Gage never used to get them anything, he had become accustomed to nice things since his cousin came to Town; however, he never used to have that before and it made him sad to think of all the poor families.
'It's alright son' Ben reassured him. 'Everyone gets by and it ain't for you to be concernin' yourself with another mans life'
'Well said Deputy. Those words of wisdom have gotten you an early finish, go on now' Lucas waved Ben out, then perched on the desk in front of Caleb.
'Seriously?' Ben asked in disbelief.
'You want me to change my mind on Christmas eve?' Lucas asked bluntly.
Ben shook his head and left the office quickly. 'Merry Christmas!' he called back at them, before grabbing his things and heading out before Lucas changed his mind.
Lucas smiled and turned his attention back to Caleb. 'You alright son?' he asked, sensing the boys sadness.
'It's just all those poor people...'
'Are none of your concern' Lucas interrupted and cupped his chin gently in his hand to make him look into his eyes. 'You've been there, you survived and you deserve what you have now. It's not like you've been privileged all your life'
'Were you?' Caleb asked, suspecting he was.
Lucas let out a small laugh and shook his head. 'One day you'll know the sacrifices I've had to make to get where I am. Yes our family has money, but it comes with a cost'
'Like what?' Caleb asked curiously.
'Darkness son, that's all I can tell you...a lot of it might I add' Lucas sighed.
Caleb thought for a moment, then pulled his chin out of Lucas' grasp and let out a long sigh. 'Like from my dreams?' he asked, staring nervously at his hands.
Lucas narrowed his eyes at the question and watched Caleb carefully. 'What dreams? You ain't told me about any darkness'
Caleb stood up and began pacing the office. 'They started a few nights ago, it's nothin' but my imagination and Gideon stays with me now so it's fine'
'Gideon watches over you at night by choice?' Lucas asked, trying to hide the concern from his tone. He sensed something was out of place but had just assumed it was something to do with Gail's erratic urges, Gideon's involvement in this was not good.
'He came in when it first started and just watches the corner of the room' Caleb shrugged, not sure why Lucas was making a big deal out of this.
Lucas let out a frustrated breath and shook his head at his own lack of knowledge of what was occurring in his home. 'We gotta go, come on' he ordered, then released his staff early for Christmas and tasked Floyd with locking up.
Gail wandered the long corridors of the house with Rocky and Gideon following close behind. It had been a while since she was free to explore this property and she had been sensing a strange presence recently that she wanted to investigate.
She ran her fingers across the old sturdy woodwork on the walls as she passed, this place was outstanding and it never failed to impress her when she managed to delve into the forbidden areas when Lucas was not around. Gail loved this house, she would never admit it to Lucas; however, she felt a strong connection here and she could not imagine being anywhere else.
This place was a mystery to be uncovered and the more time she spent here the more she yearned to explore the deep, dark passages that she sensed were hidden away. As if to confirm her suspicion, a wooden panel on the wall ahead of her creaked open and she stopped instinctively. Rocky bound forward excitedly; however, Gideon rushed in front of him and barked at him, causing him to rush back and cower next to his Master.
Gail shot Gideon a thankful look, then took a deep breath and slowly walked towards the opening. Lucas would not be impressed if he thought she was snooping; however, she lived here and could not help her curiosity. She was not trying to uncover anything bad about him, they were past that. This was about her own peace of mind and she could not resist the urge to explore what she had uncovered.
Gideon let out a warning bark, then remained quiet when Gail shot him an angry glance. She trusted her companion's judgement; however, she was going through the secret opening regardless of his warning and she did not want his loud bark disturbing anything.
Gail entered the opening with Rocky and signalled for Gideon to join them, her protector rushed ahead to survey the area then waited for her to reach him. This passage was dark and Gail preyed a spider did not drop on her as she would not be able to control her scream. She took a deep breath in an attempt to remain calm and walked towards a dim light that appeared at the bottom of the passage.
When Gail pushed through the fake wall, she entered a large room that she had never seen before and it was lit with candles. Who lit the candles to illuminate this untouched room was anyones guess and she shook that uneasy thought from her mind. Gail surveyed her surroundings and came to the conclusion that this was someones Study. She had seen Lucas' and his Mothers; therefore, it was a safe guess that this was Malcolm's, his Father's den.
Gail felt the excitement grow within her, she had not been told of this area and she wondered what she would find in the multitude of drawers around the room. She walked slowly towards the large green velvet curtains, close to the proper door to this room and pulled open the curtains. When the dust settled and she was able to see out into the side of the property through the large window, she let out a small scream as she saw a dark figure staring back at her.
'That's no way to welcome a guest into your home Princess' Peter Emory stated smugly, as he sat comfortably on the chair behind the desk in the middle of the office.
Gail felt herself begin to shake and pointed at him in shock. 'You're not real' she said angrily and shook her head at the cruel tricks her mind was playing on her.
'Oh he's as real as you and I, Daughter in Law' Malcolm smiled, as he walked through the window and entered his Study.
Gail's eyes grew wide as she watched their Fathers laughing together. She had experienced visions of Malcolm and how he had treated Lucas' Mother in the past; however, seeing the man up close like this, he could not hide his cruelty.
'Says you baby girl!' Peter chimed in amused, 'You allowed your tainted self to stand by while that pretty School Teachers Father was killed by his own drugs, you set your mutt on god knows how many people and you jointly murdered poor old Mayor John. You really think you can judge Malcolm here?'
Gail continued to shake her head in disbelief and backed up towards the opening she had came in through. This could not be real, her Father was just a voice in her head and she was refusing to even acknowledge Malcolm. Gail blinked and Malcolm was right in front of her face, she shoved him hard and stared confused as he tumbled to the floor like a living person would.
Without any further hesitation, she closed the opening and ran back towards the main area of the house with Gideon and Rocky following close behind. The last thing she heard was Malcolm and Peter laughing whilst singing We Wish You A Merry Christmas.
Lucas rushed home and opened his minds eye to locate Gail as soon as he entered the property. He sensed she was in the Study and went to her, concerned over what Caleb had been seeing. When he saw her sat peacefully on his Grandfather chair breastfeeding Luke, he let out a sigh of relief and knelt down beside her in front of the fireplace.
Gail had been staring into the fireplace, attempting to calm her thoughts after Luke was dropped off by Merlyn. Her cousin had sensed her unease and returned to her instantly; however, Gail convinced her that everything was fine and sent her off to find Matt. Now that her husband was home she was able to relax, knowing he would never allow anything to happen to them.
'Caleb had a bad dream...' Lucas started, then shook his head at his own paranoia and stroked her knee gently.
'You were worried so you came home early on Christmas eve, how sweet' Gail mocked, trying to keep the tremor from her tone.
Lucas glanced up at her and saw how pale she was. He knelt up and brought his face to hers, then stroked her cheek and tried to read her thoughts.
'You don't need to pry into my thoughts to see how I am husband, just ask me' Gail sighed, not having the strength to play any games right now.
Lucas did not like the aura she was giving off and took Luke from her when he finished feeding, then winded him and placed him in his highchair. He turned his attention back to his love and tried to figure out what was different.
'You want to know what's different?' Gail asked knowingly, then stood up and began to pace the room.
Lucas watched her cautiously, sensing her darkness was ready to take control and closed the distance between them. 'I wanna know what's got you so on edge' he advised and took a step back when she let out a laugh unlike her own.
'The in-laws have come up for the holidays...Happy Christmas sweetheart' she said grimly and kissed him forcefully for a moment, then picked up Luke and walked out of the Study.
Lucas stared at her confused for a moment, then heard the faint sound of laughter and singing from deeper within the property and let out an exasperated sigh. 'Happy Christmas' he said irritated to himself, then left the room to go have an in-depth conversation with his love.
-The End-