Matt Crower stood patiently outside Juniper House with an orderly, waiting to be picked up. It had been three weeks since Gail managed to convince the powers that be to let him out on day leave and it felt good to be outdoors. Today he was wearing a loose shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a light brown pair of cotton pants, in an attempt to look smart for his friend. He welcomed the warm summer breeze on his arms and hoped that he would be able to stay outdoors today.

Matt turned towards the red mustang heading his way and smiled when Gail got out of the car, wearing a peach dress which was much shorter than the long dresses and skirts that he was used to accustomed to seeing her wear. The orderly nodded towards Matt to indicate it was fine for him to go, so he headed towards his friend.

Gail walked up to her old friend and gave him a hug. 'I'm not late am I?' she asked.

Matt's smile grew wider when he smelled her scent, it was proving hard to get used to the natural scent of a woman when most of his days were spent in a secluded cell. 'I wouldn't care if you were late Gail, it's not like I have anywhere else to be.'

Gail laughed and signalled for him to get into the passenger side of her car. She knew Lucas and the Head Doctor disapproved of her spending time with Matt alone, as they had attempted to convince her that he was dangerous; however, she was a big girl and she did not trust anyone else to escort him on his day leave. When they were both in her car, she turned on the engine and drove away from Juniper House.

Matt rolled the window down and partially stuck his head out, to let the wind blow through his hair. Gail shook her head at this display and pulled over to the side of the road. She had kept the roof of her car on today, in an attempt to provide herself with some shade; however, it was clear Matt wanted the fresh air so she exited the car and pulled the roof down.

When she returned to the drivers side of her car, Matt was staring out into the distance. This was his third trip away from Juniper House and each time he seemed to be acting stranger. 'So, what do you want to do today?' she asked, heading towards town.

Matt shrugged, 'Are we going to see Caleb?'

Gail had noticed a slight change in Matt's behaviour recently and she did not want him around Caleb too much, until she had time to find out what was wrong. 'Maybe later, he's in school anyway. Do you want to go to my place or would you like to do something else?'

Matt missed Caleb, he always missed the boy when he was in his cell. These little day trips were the only thing keeping him sane at the present time and he had been counting down the days until he got to see Caleb and Gail again. 'Can we go somewhere quiet, just you and me? Maybe by the water?' he asked.

Gail considered his request. Even though she trusted Matt, part of her wanted to be in a public place that she was familiar with. A secluded spot by the Trinity river sounded all well and good, but she would be completely alone with him. 'How about we go somewhere for food first, then pick where we want to sit out for the rest of the day?' she suggested.

'I don't want to be around people right now Gail, just you' he said, as he continued to stare out into the distance.

Gail sighed, 'Matt you need to get used to being around other people, this dependency on me and Caleb isn't healthy'

Matt let out a small laugh, 'Gail, I'm a mental patient at Juniper House, do you think any of this is healthy?' he asked.

Gail did not want to get into this right now, apart from the earlier exchange with Lucas her day had actually been pretty good up until this point. 'Fine, we'll find somewhere quiet by the the river, just the two of us. Happy now?'

Matt smiled and gently squeezed Gail's knee affectionately, then stared out into the horizon.

Caleb Temple was sat in a secluded spot in the school playground, under a large tree. It was dinner time and the heat was nearly unbearable if you did not find shade.

He was reading 'The Drawing of the Three', the second instalment to 'The Dark Tower' series. Gail was impressed with how quickly he had read 'The Gunslinger' and had let him go straight into the next book in the series. She had made it clear that she did not want him to put reading above his homework or playing outside with his friends, as school and companionship was more important; therefore, he was only allowed to read before bed or on his lunch break.

Caleb put his book to one side and picked up the ham and cheese sandwich Gail had prepared for him. It was not often that she made him lunch for school, she usually bought him chilli dog's or burgers. Caleb inspected the sandwich warily then took a bite, he smiled when he found that the sandwich was very nice and tried to figure out what sauce his cousin had put between the ham and cheese, which added to the pleasant taste.

'I do believe that would be honey mustard, son. It's one of your cousins favourite condiments' Lucas said appearing from behind the tree and sitting next to Caleb.

Caleb was not fazed by Lucas's appearance, he had become used to these seemingly random displays. 'How would you know that?' Caleb asked, taking another bite of his sandwich.

'Your cousin's been known to make me a sandwich or two in her time' Lucas said inspecting Caleb's lunch. Gail did not normally take the time to prepare something for his boy, she usually let Miss Holt take care of the mundane tasks. It was good that she was showing a desire to look after his son, it made him want her all the more.

Caleb watched Lucas carefully, to others he was a mystery but Caleb was starting to figure some things out. He suspected that Lucas and his cousin were friends or something else, he could see the way Lucas looked at Gail and it did not take a genius to come to this conclusion. His cousin hid her feelings well when it came to Lucas; therefore, Caleb could not quite figure out the nature of their relationship and whether they were just friends or something more. Gail had been spending much more time with him and less time around Lucas, which indicated to Caleb that something had happened. Either that or she just had nothing better to do with her time.

Caleb had also noticed the control Lucas had over other people in this town, no-one seemed to want to question his actions and most people did whatever he wanted. Naturally, Caleb did not care what Lucas got up to as long as it did not impact him or Gail. Merlyn tried to tell him that he should care more; however, Gail had once told him that he was just a boy and he should cherish the time he had not having to worry about adult things, so he chose to remain oblivious to most things that did not affect him or his family.

Lucas was watching his boy closely. It was evident that the boy was becoming more like his cousin and had taken to the silent deliberations she had with herself, as Caleb was clearly contemplating something internally. It was good, he had been around Gail enough times to know how to act when she became like this; therefore, he knew the best thing to do was to wait until the boy came back to him. Lucas smiled when he saw the glimmer in Caleb's eyes, which meant he was finished with his internal pondering. 'So...I need your help son' Lucas said, picking up a slice of sandwich.

Caleb looked at Lucas and shook his head, 'I'm not to getting involved with any adult things' he said and picked up the bag of crisps Gail had packed away for him.

Lucas was shocked, 'No, just like that? Come on son, I know this place bores you and no-one will mind if you're with me' he said, knowing Caleb was always itching to get out of school these days.

Caleb considered what Lucas was offering, then remembered Gail had said he had to be good in school or she would not take him to the Cinema again. 'I can't...' he said disappointedly, '...Gail would mind'

Lucas feigned a hurt look and shook his head, 'Are you really gonna let that cousin of yours spoil our fun?' he asked. Gail had not decided what she wanted, so he did not care whether she would have his hide over this or not.

Caleb looked towards the school, then back at Lucas. Surely Gail would not mind if he was helping the Sheriff with official business, besides how could he refuse a man asking for help? Caleb smiled, 'Ok, but you sort this with Gail and Miss Coombs. I don't wanna be gettin' into trouble over this'

Lucas stood up and picked up Caleb's book. 'Oh this won't come bad on you at all son' he said with a smile and signalled for Caleb to follow him.

Caleb packed up the rest of his lunch and started to follow Lucas. When he turned back to make sure he had not forgotten anything, he saw Merlyn stood under the tree with her arms folded and shaking her head disapprovingly.

Gail had abandoned her car at the side of the road before they reached the Pier and walked through some greenery with Matt, until they found one of the quiet spots Lucas had brought her to. She had stopped off at a grocery shop before picking Matt up and grabbed some fruit out of the cooler in her trunk, to ensure they had something to eat.

Matt had forgotten how beautiful and calm the river was and the secluded spot Gail had brought him to reflected the natural beauty of the place. He had been down to another quiet spot similar to this with Caleb once before and had been taken aback by the scenery then too. He walked up to the water and went to step in, wanting to feel the water on his skin.

'Whoa there...' Gail said, trying to hide the concern in her voice '...I don't want any wet shoes in my car. If your determined to go in the water, at least take your shoes off'

Matt nodded obediently and took his shoes and socks off. He rolled the bottom of his pants up slightly, then continued to walk into the river. He felt like he was in heaven, the feeling of the water on his toes was exquisite and he had to resist the urge to run to the deeper side and submerge himself.

Gail watched her friend closely. It was like watching a child who had never seen the ocean before, he genuinely appeared to be in awe. Matt was an educated man, this type of behaviour was unusual and was not how she would ever have expected her friend to act.

She found herself thinking back to the file she had on Juniper House and felt sickened that she had let the matter go when she suspected terrible things were happening there. She had been too distracted lately, it was about time she got back to how she used to be and continued to try to find concrete evidence of what was taking place in Juniper House.

Gail was taken away from her thoughts by Matt staring at her expectantly, she glanced back at him cautiously. 'Did I miss something?' she asked.

Matt smiled, 'What are you waiting for?' he asked playfully.

Gail shook her head and backed away slightly, 'Oh no, I'm not coming in there'

'Don't make me come over there and get you Miss Emory' Matt said feigning a stern look and putting his hands on his hips.

Gail sighed and apprehensively took her sandals off, then carefully placed a bare foot into the water. The water was uncomfortably cold at first; however, when she placed her other foot in, her body got used to the cold sensation and the water felt nice on her bare skin under this sweltering sun.

Gail took a few careful steps forward and reflected on the only other time she had braved entering the river, it was when she was having a picnic with Lucas. He had chosen a secluded spot by the river for their rendezvous one evening last month, where no one could disturb them. After they had let their food settle, he had become playful and picked her up, then walked them both fully clothed into the river.

The water had been surprisingly cold even though it had been hot that day; however, Lucas's body heat had kept her warm. He had waded as far as he could before they would be completely submerged and the water had risen to his waist. He had softly kissed her while she ran her fingers through his hair to pull him closer, then dropped her into the water unexpectedly. For a moment she was furious, then she saw the playful smile on his lips and pulled him fully into the water with her.

She closed her eyes for a moment at the thought of Lucas's soft wet lips running over her neck. Between the touch of his hands on her body and the feel of the cold water on her skin, it had not taken him long to break her and he took her right there in the water. When they had finished, they lay on the bank of the river while their clothes dried and Lucas had wrapped the picnic blanket around their wet bodies, to ensure she was warm enough. In his usual style, Lucas could not leave her be when she was just in her underwear under the blanket and had began to play with her.

Matt stared at his friend curiously, she had started to follow him into the water and then stopped. He had a lot of time to think in his cell and had come to the realisation that something had happened to Gail to change her whole demeanour. When they first met they had instantly clicked, they had both shared the same distrust of Lucas Buck and they both wanted the best for Caleb. They had banded together towards a common goal, to take Lucas Buck down and Gail had become the closest friend he had ever had.

It was evident to Matt that something had changed, even before he had tried to perform the act which got him sent to Juniper House. Gail had become distant, irritated and preoccupied. She had been pleasant enough when they had seen each other in passing; however, the woman he had grown to know was changing and it appeared that she was hiding something. Matt did not previously get a chance to confront Gail as he let his mind be poisoned into turning on Lucas publicly, but he would not make that mistake again.

Gail had told him recently that Lucas's mother was not alive and she could not find any information regarding his mother or the woman who had pretended to be her, which struck Matt as strange. The Gail he knew would not stop digging until she uncovered something; however, she seemed reluctant to dig into Lucas's past. She had made excuses about being busy and having to take care of Caleb, but he was convinced something else was going on.

Matt gave a slight jump when he felt a hand on his shoulder and he lost his train of thought. Gail had succeeded in making her way to him, 'Took you long enough' he said smiling.

'I'm here aren't I?' she said and stroked Matt's arm, 'So, what is this?'

'What do you mean?' he asked.

Gail laughed, 'Come on Matt, since when do we take a stroll in the Trinity river? Are you OK?'

Matt shrugged, the truth was that he was most certainly not OK, part of him wanted to scream and never stop. He was not sleeping, he had no appetite, he had found sores on his body due to the lack of sunlight in his cell and he had began to see things. At first it was just his wife and daughter, then he seemed to have episodes where he believed Merlyn Temple was talking to him. Matt felt as though Lucas Buck had finally broken him in that dingy cell in Juniper House; however, he would not force his drama onto the one person who seemed to be trying to help him, therefore, he just smiled. 'I am' he said and stared towards the other side of the river, to hide truth showing on his face.

Gail may have been distracted recently, but she was not so preoccupied that she could not see her friend was in pain. It did not take a genius to realise Matt was suffering and she knew it would be better for him if he talked about it. She could not force him to open up, just like he could not force her to discuss everything that had happened to her that resulted in the coma months previously. She sighed and shook her head, they were both so stubborn. If he was not ready to talk then she would wait, they had a long way to go to repair their friendship and trust, luckily Gail had all the time in the world due to the joys of unemployment.

Sensing the awkwardness that had fell over them, Gail did the only thing she could think of the loosen them both up and jumped on Matt's back to push him fully into the water.

Lucas was driving away from town, with Caleb sat beside him in the passenger seat of the car. They had gone shopping for banners and badges, as well as all the equipment they would need to decorate them for the upcoming election. Lucas had no intention of colouring and making signs, which is why his boy was here. He knew Merlyn was at the school when he had convinced Caleb to help him and she disapproved of this little outing; however, he did not plan to get the boy into any trouble and it was good innocent help that he required.

'Is that Gail's car?' Caleb said, spotting the red mustang in the distance.

'It most certainly is son' Lucas said, slowing down so he could pull up behind the car. Gail's mustang was unmistakable in this town, with its large engine and blood red paint work. There was no one that was daring enough to drive a car such as this, apart from Selena with her metallic yellow sports car.

'Your cousin seems far from home' Lucas said getting out of the car.

Caleb followed Lucas, but was wary of making it known to his cousin that he was not in school. 'We should leave her be, she's probably busy' Caleb said apprehensively approaching her car.

Lucas took little notice of what Caleb had said, he recognised this spot as one in which he had taken Gail to previously when he wanted to be alone with her and began to wonder who she would need to be alone with. He began to push through the greener, trying to keep his jealousy in line, if he found her here with Billy Peele he would not be able to control himself and would likely hurt the man.

Caleb followed close behind reluctantly. He did not understand why Lucas was so interested in what his cousin was doing, as he would get in trouble for taking Caleb out of school. When they both reached the clearing past a row of trees, Caleb smiled and ran down to the water excitedly to where Gail lay with Matt.

Lucas watched carefully as he saw Gail move from a comfortable sunbathing position, to a confused upright position. At least she was not here with Billy, although Harvard was not much better in his eyes. He sighed and causally walked down to the party.

Gail was dumbfounded with Caleb's appearance. After being soaked in the river at her own doing, she had convinced Matt to come to the shore and sunbathe with her while their clothes dried. She had been so comfortable when they were rudely interrupted by an excited Caleb. Matt jumped up instantly and embraced the boy, while Gail slowly forced herself up and looked around for the cause of the intrusion. She shook her head disapprovingly when she saw Lucas walking casually towards her.

'This was you?' she asked, trying to hide the irritation in her voice. She should have known it would only be him who took Caleb out of school without permission, he knew these actions infuriated her.

Lucas stopped close to Gail and looked down at her damp dress, it clung to the top of her legs nicely. 'Where you busy Darlin? I didn't realise it was time for the lunatic's day trip just yet' he said, trying not to read too much into the fact that Gail could not bare to be with him at the moment but she was happy to frolic around with a mental patient.

Gail looked towards Matt, who was standing far enough away with Caleb not to hear the conversation. 'Once a week as agreed Sheriff...' she said trying not to be bated by his comment, '...Now, what's going on here?' she asked.

Lucas stared at a wet Matt, then turned his attention back towards Gail, 'I could ask you the same thing Darlin', did you two go for a little swim?'

Gail was getting nowhere, she could sense the venom in Lucas's voice and knew that he did not like her being close to Matt. 'In fact we did...' she started, not caring that she would be making the situation worse as he was exasperating. '...we've been having a lovely time in the water, just the two of us. We managed to stay warm by keeping our bodies close together in the river, you remember how that is right?'

Lucas inhaled sharply, trying to control his temper. He did not like the thought of anyone touching his possessions, least of all someone who had taken a shot at him. He could not understand why Gail insisted on visiting Harvard, he had put a lot of time into making it seem like the man was crazy; however, she just disregarded his efforts and continued to see him anyway. It seemed the more he did to try and convince her the man was dangerous, the more she wanted to spend time with him. This would not do, not if she was to be by his side.

Matt let Caleb go and turned his attention towards his friend. She was standing very close to Lucas and looked like she was trying to challenge him. Matt noticed that her body language had changed, she used to back away from the closeness Lucas tried to force on her but now she seemed to be embracing it. He had previously pushed down his suspicions of how Gail managed to arrange for these day trips; however, it was getting harder to look the other way when he could see the connection so clearly when these two were together.

Caleb was watching Matt carefully, then looked towards Gail and Lucas. Something was going on and he did not want Matt to get involved; therefore, he took the man by the arm and led him further away. He would use this opportunity to discuss the upcoming fourth of July celebrations and see if Matt could offer any council on how to help his cousin through it.

Gail noticed Caleb was leading Matt further down the shore and admired how smart her cousin was. It occurred to her that this would be the perfect opportunity to keep Lucas away from Matt; therefore, she took hold of his wrist and dragged him to the trees past the clearing, to give them more privacy to talk freely.

Lucas allowed himself to be led away, as being in the same vicinity of Matt Crower was making his blood boil. When they reached the trees he noticed Gail's skin had began to turn pink from laying out in the sun for too long. He gently stroked his fingers down the bare pink skin that was showing on her chest and smiled when he felt her inhale deeply.

This simple reaction made Lucas calm down considerably. He knew deep down that his love would never do anything with the men she chose to call friends, maybe being with Selena for so long had given him trust issues. Besides, no matter how much these Doctor types liked to think they could stand up to him, they would not dare do something as bold as to make a move on Gail. The repercussions of that would be fatal.

Lucas let his hand trail down Gail's chest and then placed both hands on her hips. 'You've been lay out too long Darlin', I would've thought your Doctor friend would have something to say about prolonged sun exposure'

Gail glanced down at her pink chest then back up to Lucas. 'I'm a big girl, I don't need anyone to tell me what I can and can't do Sheriff'

Lucas pulled her closer to him so their bodies were touching, then stroked his nose on her cheek affectionately and inhaled her scent. 'I won't tell you what you can and can't do Darlin', but when I take you I'd like your body to be in full health so it can withstand anything I throw at it' he said and nipped at her neck gently.

Gail shook her head at his arrogance; however, she did not pull out of his grip. 'If I decide to let you take me, it will be on my terms. I might just decide that I want a prolonged break, I'm sure I can satisfy myself when the mood strikes' she said sweetly.

Lucas let out a small laugh and let one hand trail down to the bottom of her damp dress, he pulled it up slightly and softly stroked the inside of her leg with his finger. He smiled triumphantly when he saw Gail bite her lip, 'Now Darlin', if I allow you to satisfy yourself when the mood strikes, it will be while I'm watching' he whispered in her ear.

Gail closed her eyes at the feeling of his warm breath on her ear, his relentless stroking of the inside of her leg was becoming too much to handle and she silently willed him to move his fingers higher.

As if reading her mind, Lucas let his fingers move higher up the inside of her leg and thumbed at the bottom of her thong. He stroked the fabric gently and nipped at her neck again. Gail moved her head to the side to allow him more access, momentarily forgetting where she was.

Lucas took this gesture as acceptance and moved the fabric of her thong to one side, to enable him to play with her properly. He knew the others were far enough away to have no idea what they were doing and the large trees provided the perfect amount of cover.

He could feel his pants getting tighter as he grew, it had been far too long since they had done this and he could not control his urges for much longer. As if sensing his thoughts Gail moved her hands to his groin and unzipped his pants to free him. To show his appreciation he pushed two fingers inside her and placed his lips on hers to stifle her moan.

Gail embraced the kiss and took hold of his manhood in her hands, she gently played with him while he pushed his fingers in and out of her. Part of her cursed herself for being so easily drawn to Lucas; however, the other side of her embraced it. Lucas had told her once that he believed they had an almost supernatural desire for each other; however, she had not considered this until recently. It was getting harder and harder to resist his affections, she seemed to ache for him more and more each day.

She knew doing this out in the open was wrong, but she could not stop herself from touching him. She ran her free hand through his hair, then pulled his head close and continued to kiss him forcefully. Lucas's movements inside her were relentless, when she felt herself beginning to lose control she threw her head back and bit her lips hard, to stop from yelling his name. When her time had passed, she continued to move her hand vigorously until Lucas pushed his head into the bottom of her neck to stifle his moans.

Suddenly becoming aware of her surroundings, Gail stepped back in horror with the realisation of what they had done with Caleb close by. Lucas reached out to caress her cheek, but she pulled away. 'The boy is nowhere close Gail, you've done nothin' wrong' he said reassuringly.

Gail glanced towards Caleb and Matt, who were far enough away to be oblivious of what had just occurred. She was sickened with herself for not being able to control her urges and could not believe she had just disregarded their presence. 'Get away from me...' she said angrily, '...this was not right'

Lucas took a few steps closer and raised his hand to caress her face again; however, Gail backed away further until she was out in the open where Caleb and Matt could see her. 'No...' she said shaking her head, '...I need time to think'

Lucas sighed, 'Don't take too long Darlin', I won't wait around forever'

Gail was more angry with herself than Lucas; however, it was easier for her to project the anger onto him. 'I'll take as long as I want Sheriff...you know where you can go if you get tired of waiting' she said defiantly.

Lucas shook his head, then let out a small laugh to hide his frustration. 'I'll keep that in mind when my urges rise...in the meantime, I'm taking Caleb to help with my campaign' he said and started to walk away.

'Campaign?' Gail called after him, but Lucas just continued walking to collect his son.

-To be continued-