Selena Coombs walked casually down the long aisles of her local Grocery Store, after a tedious day at work. She enjoyed her job; however, sometimes her class behaved in such a way that she wanted to throttle them, especially that know it all Hannah Martin. The end of day bell could not come quick enough today and as soon as it rang, she had ushered the children out and left the School quickly to start winding down.

Selena was shopping earlier than usual and was not oblivious to the bitter stares of the bored housewives all around her, she sniggered at their judgemental stares and hitched her skirt up higher to really give them something to talk about. She took her time getting everything she required, choosing not to be pressured into rushing by the usual whispers and when she was ready, she walked casually down the last aisle and headed towards the Cashiers.

As she reached the front of the Store, she noticed all the tills were closed except the one at the farthest end. Selena let out an exasperated sigh and walked confidently to the only open till, then her heart skipped a beat when she saw the Cashier. She recognised him instantly and a knot formed in her chest when she entered the queue, she looked down at her trolley nervously and tried to drown out the whispers from the women behind her, not wanting to draw attention to herself. When it was her turn, she placed her goods on the till conveyor belt and tried not to make eye contact; however, she knew she could not go unnoticed.

'It's nice to see you again' the large sweaty man behind the till said quietly, as he began to pack her shopping for her.

Selena forced a smile and rummaged through her purse, not wanting to engage in conversation. His foul stench caught her nose and took her back to the night she had mistakenly thought she was sleeping with Lucas, the situation made her feel sick and she wanted to get as far away from this man as she possibly could.

'That's $39.95' he said, when she did not speak to him.

Selena handed the money over calmly and rushed out of the Grocery Store with her bags in her hands. She quickly located her car, threw the bags in the back seat and got in the drivers side, then let out a long relieved sigh. She looked at herself in the mirror, not believing her luck of running in to that hideous man and then laughed at herself.

As she turned the key in the ignition, her laughter faded when nothing happened and she felt a dull ache form in her head. 'You've got to be kidding me' she snapped in disbelief, as she tried again unsuccessfully to start her car.

She slammed her fist down on the steering wheel, then got out of the car and headed back towards the Grocery Store, where she noticed the Cashier she was avoiding staring at her through the large window. This was turning into a nightmare and she needed to call someone to help her with her car, before the foul smelling Cashier decided to come and assist her.

Selena picked up her pace and headed towards the pay phone outside of the Store, when she suddenly heard a loud caw and felt something warm hit her head. She reached her hand up to check what it was and stared in disgust when she brought her fingers down covered in a white liquid. Selena shook her head and let out an angry laugh, then continued on her way to the pay phone.

Suddenly her heel got stuck in a grid, snapped instantly and Selena cursed out loud as she stumbled out of control into the large open trash can at the side of the Store. She put her hands down in an attempt to push herself out of this humiliating position and felt a cold piece of pizza on her palm, causing her to grimace.

'Well, well, well, how the mighty has fallen. Need a hand Teacher?' Lucas asked smugly, as he came around the corner with Billy beside him pushing Luke's buggy.

Selena felt tears begin to form in her eyes and she wanted the ground to swallow her up. With the sudden appearance of both of her ex's, this situation could not get any worse.

'Sorry I'm late, I had a meeting which went over...' Gail started as she rushed up to Lucas to collect Luke, then stopped in her tracks when she saw Selena in the trash can and let out an involuntary laugh. She could sense the woman's shame and felt an obligation to help her; however, she saw the look of warning in Lucas' eyes, indicating she was to stay out of this.

Billy stood frozen next to Lucas in shock, with his hands gripping Luke's buggy tight. He had witnessed everything that had happened and could not regain control of himself to even form words.

Lucas saw Gail take a few steps toward Selena, sensing she was unable to resist helping her; however, he stepped between them and pulled her in close. 'Remember who you're loyal to soulmate' he whispered in her ear and watched her close, as he sensed her inner battle over what she should do.

Gail felt Selena's self loathing and indignity, which caused her to take another step forward in an attempt to help her; however, she sensed Lucas' rage beneath his surface and chose to push his hands off of her, then head straight to Luke and peeled Billy's hands off his buggy. 'Thanks for watching him' she advised, unable to hide her disgust with herself and then shot Lucas a disapproving glance, before walking back to her car with Luke.

Lucas smiled when Gail chose to remain loyal and continued staring smugly at Selena, who was unable to hold in her tears any longer. 'Don't cry Darlin', your night in shining armour has arrived' he laughed cruelly and headed back towards his car, gripping Billy's arm and dragging him with him as he passed.

Selena gulped hard, in an attempt to stifle her sobs and let out a bitter laugh when the large foul smelling Cashier came to her rescue and picked her up out of the trash can effortlessly. She allowed him to carry her to his car, knowing deep down that she was required to return this favour; however, right now she did not care about anything but getting out of here and away from Lucas Buck.

Matt walked casually with Gail down the Pier, pushing Luke in his buggy. Ever since Lucy had gone back to live with Christie, he had been spending more time with Gail and Luke in an attempt to fill the hole that was left. He was happy Christie was doing better and had regained her senses; however, it was still strange having to get used to a quiet house after he had been looking after Lucy for so long.

'You look so happy these days' Gail said, sensing his thoughts about Lucy and attempting to distract him from that sore subject.

Matt glanced at her and smiled. 'I have a gorgeous young girlfriend who I'm infatuated with, there's been no mysterious animal attacks for over a month and I'm out here with my a beautiful loyal friend and her amazing son. What else could I ask for?'

Gail laughed and linked her arm around his. 'I'm glad things are going well with you and M, she's smitten whenever anyone mentions you'

'I'm smitten when anyone mentions her! I don't know how I got so lucky' he laughed and continued pushing Luke gently, then turned to his friend curiously. 'How are you doing?'

Gail fixed her gaze forward and forced a smile, time had gone by so fast these past few weeks and although she had just enlisted Mary's help, there was only 2 days to Halloween and the clock was ticking.

She felt overworked, underappreciated and stressed, this was not even taking into account that she had taken on the task of protecting Mary from her abusive husband; however, she would not allow Matt to know any of this, as it would only dull his happy mood of late. 'I'm perfect' she lied, 'busy but plodding along as usual'

Matt heard her pleasant tone crack for a moment and chose to disregard it, knowing his friend did not like to be pushed or interrogated. 'How's the planning for the big day going?' he asked, changing the subject.

Gail let out an exasperated sigh, then looked at him and laughed. 'You mean Lucas Buck's 50th Birthday? The Godfather of this town and the biggest event on the calendar since god knows when? Even bigger than his wedding? Oh it's going swimmingly' she said sarcastically, then turned towards the river and allowed the ripples in the water to calm her.

'That bad?' Matt asked concerned.

'Oh Absolutely' she forced a laugh. 'I'm not a party planner and I hate anything that involves other people. Add to the fact that I have to take into account both M and Lucas, who both would rather ignore the day themselves and the Birthday's coincide with the biggest party of the year, which is thrown by the Mayor. It's safe to say I've not gotten very far at this present time'

Matt thought for a moment, then stopped and gently turned Gail towards him. 'So scrap it all...M doesn't care and Lucas surely doesn't want the attention about is age. Let's just go somewhere quiet for a few days and leave this town to itself' he suggested.

Gail smiled warmly at him, that would be absolutely perfect for all parties involved and she appreciated him attempting to help; however, something low key would not be sufficient due to Lucas' stature and she still wanted to get him back for the stunt he pulled on her. 'No, Lucas brought this on himself when he announced my pregnancy to the whole town without giving me warning. I have an idea what to do, I just need to figure out how to integrate it with the Mayor's party'

As if sensing her thoughts, Mayor John came walking towards them from the end of the Pier and Matt sensed Gail's demeanour turn cold when she caught site of him. 'What's wrong?' he asked, concerned at his friends sudden change.

Gail waved off his concern and forced a smile when John approached them. 'Afternoon John' she said, choosing not to address him by his title.

John forced a smile for the woman before him, he knew she had seen Mary earlier and filled her head with promises of protection, this meant he was unable to be the way he wanted to with Mary in case it offended the Sheriff's wife. John remembered the first run in that he had with this woman, when she decided to stick her nose into his family business. He did not appreciate the intrusion then or now but knew better than to not play nice. 'Afternoon Mrs Buck, how are you on this fine day?' he asked, feigning interest.

Gail sensed his dislike of her and her smile grew wider. 'Well, I'm out here on this pleasant day with my best friend and my beautiful son, so I'd say I'm pretty good. How are you John? And how's Mary? Well I hope' she asked sweetly, choosing to play along.

John's demanour changed to one of anger for a moment, then he remembered where he was and inhaled deeply. 'She's good, not performing her tasks as she should but she remains well and of good health' he smiled bitterly.

'Good, I trust it'll stay that way as we wouldn't want my husband finding me upset over something. I can assure you that he wouldn't take too kindly to that' Gail threatened in a pleasant tone.

Matt glanced at Gail suspiciously, knowing she would not use Lucas so casually and became concerned over the clear underlying subject of this conversation. He was about to comment when he felt her hand stroke his arm subtly and knew to remain silent.

John did not take his eyes off Gail, he did not take well to a woman speaking out of place and had never been a fan of this one being welcomed into their elite group in the first place. 'No one wants to upset the Sheriff, especially with it being so close to his Birthday. I trust you'll bring along the whole family to the party this year? I'm planning something special for him that he'll appreciate...You'll have to stay with the women and children this time of course, with this little one being so young' he said smugly.

Gail inhaled deeply and continued to smile pleasantly. 'I'm sure the children will love dressing up for the festivities' she replied, choosing to let his comment go for now. She nodded courteously when John was satisfied and decided to go on his way.

'Why would you want to take your family to anything organised by that man' Matt asked, staring over his shoulder suspiciously at the Mayor as he headed up the Pier.

'Who said I'm taking my family anywhere? It's Lucas Bucks Birthday, I think that takes precedence over a silly party thrown for the over privileged members of our society, don't you?' she asked sweetly and winked playfully.

Matt shook his head and laughed. 'You're going to get yourself into a world of trouble with that society'

Gail laughed and squeezed his arm affectionately. 'I'm a Buck Matt, what can they do? It's about time we shook up the order of things in this town anyway but enough of that, we need to discuss presents' she smiled and they continued walking down the Pier towards the centre of town.

-To be continued-