Caleb stood outside of the Master Bedroom, quietly contemplating his next move. His leg hurt from the amount of times that he had climbed the stairs and retreated back down again; however, he pushed the pain aside and focused on the task at hand.

His Father and Step Mother had been out until the early hours of the morning, Caleb heard them come in as Abe had scolded them for their lateness and suspected his parents were in a good mood. The usual playful activity ensued after Abe had returned to the bedroom they kept spare for him, Caleb could not hear much but he knew that his parents were having fun and when they finally headed to their bedroom, the house fell quiet again.

It was not uncommon for Caleb to be up at that late hour, the darkness within him had felt more active recently and it was hard for him to ignore it's constant stirring. After an hour he had felt ready to drop off into his slumber again, then he sensed Gail was restless and heard her soft bare feet pacing the landing outside his bedroom quietly. His Father was fast asleep, as were the rest of his family and he wondered how often she got up like that while they were all oblivious to her restlessness.

Caleb suspected that Gail was not in a good mood again, going by how long she had paced around the upper part of their home earlier in the morning; however, he was not deterred and he was determined to bring her back to his side, hating the divide that was growing between them. Caleb had volunteered to come up here and retrieve his Step Mother so his Father did not have to, it was a simple task and there was no reason why he could not do this.

As Caleb stared at the thick mahogany door nervously, he felt a knot in his stomach and his mind started to wander to the choice he had made, going against Gail's wishes. Before his body had a chance to retreat back downstairs again, he quickly pushed down his unease and entered the Master Bedroom abruptly.

Gail had just finished feeding her Daughter and was enjoying the peaceful time to herself, until the door swung open and an air of unease filled the room. She glanced at Caleb disapprovingly for a moment, feeling her anger flare up instantly, then turned her attention back to her Daughter and just rocked her gently in her arms, allowing her little girl to calm her.

Caleb had expected a sever reaction to his decision to barge into the room unannounced and had braced himself for a fight; however, when Gail just turned away from him uninterested, he felt a deep rage form within him at being ignored and stared at her defiantly. 'I heard you last night' he said finally, trying to push down his anger and remain in control of his emotions.

Gail shot him a concerned look and felt her whole body tense instantly at the comment. 'Which part?' she asked worried, cursing Lucas for convincing her to continue their fun so openly when they returned home and hoping that they had not been too loud.

Caleb felt a pang of guilt for eavesdropping in their private business, sensing how worried she was about what he may have come across and not intending to cause her concern. 'You pacin'' he advised, choosing to leave out anything else that he may have heard, then moved closer to her. 'Do you get up like that often? I don't usually hear you'

Gail regarded him curiously for a moment, intrigued by his knowledge of her activity when she had not sensed anyone else awake, then patted the small space on the window ledge beside her and signalled for him to come to her. 'I've always suffered from bad dreams, they've just taken on a common disturbing theme over the past month' she shrugged and stared down at the peaceful garden below them, in an attempt to keep her composure.

Caleb watched her carefully, sensing her discomfort with him being so close and let out a small sigh. 'It's me ain't it? The disturbin' theme I mean' he asked quietly, not sure whether he really wanted to know the answer.

Gail let out a long breath and cursed herself for not staying in her bedroom last night. She knew Lucas was keeping track of her night terrors and had not wanted to disturb him; however, she had not considered Caleb being able to hear her walking off her bad dream. 'I don't want to lie to you Caleb, so let's just drop it...How come you were up? It was way past your bedtime and you don't usually suffer from bad dreams' she asked curiously.

'I wake up a lot these days, sometimes I feel restless...I guess it's down to what I chose' he admitted and shrugged, sensing her curiosity as she watched him closely.

Gail let out a small laugh and shook her head, annoyed at herself for being so self absorbed that she had not sensed him all those nights when she was awake. 'It's what we both chose, we've just got to find a way to live with it' she forced a reassuring smile, not wanting him to feel guilty about following his instincts. It was his choice after all and they all had free will.

'Can you live with me?...You avoid me whenever you can and don't even sit with us for breakfast anymore' Caleb said quietly, never wanting to hurt the one person who had given everything up for him and feeling a strong guilt over how his choice was affecting her.

Gail felt a pain in her chest at the question, then rolled her eyes at how easily he could wrap her around his finger with one little question. Her heart hurt at the thought of upsetting him and she felt demeanour soften. 'I suppose I've not been very hospitable towards my family recently-' she started, defeated by a minor and cursing herself for being so in love with this boy.

'So you'll come down for breakfast?' Caleb interrupted excitedly, sensing her mood shift instantly and feeling the connection they always shared returning.

Gail shook her head in amusement at how proud he clearly was for breaking her and ruffled his hair affectionately, seeing how well he took after his Father. 'I'll be there in a few minutes' she advised pleasantly and stood up carefully with her Daughter.

'Promise this time?' he asked cautiously, not wanting to give her any reason to change her mind; however, being fooled by her false acceptance previously

'Promise' she smiled and signalled for him to leave so she could get dressed.

Lucas opened the Trinity Guardian newspaper and scanned the pages uninterested, waiting for his love to exit their home abruptly yet again and leave him to tend to their boys. He was proud of Caleb's determination and courage, knowing the constant rejection from his Step Mother could not be easy to take; however, Gail was a temperamental and he hoped that Caleb had not spoiled her mood too much from last night.

Merlyn glanced at her watch then turned towards the door of the Study when Caleb did not return. 'Don't you think he's had long enough?' she asked Lucas impatiently, not understanding why he insisted on letting Caleb get shot down like this every morning.

'Give the boy some time Darlin', your Cousin is a complex creature' he said casually, turning the pages of the newspaper and not paying her much attention.

'And if he you've given him too much time and he's really gotten on her bad side?' Merlyn asked flatly.

'Then she's finally murdered him and buried him under the porch...although I suspect that may be her plan for me' Lucas joked and smiled when Luke laughed at the comment, proud of his smart boy.

Merlyn let out a long sigh and stood up moodily. 'I'm hungry and he ain't gonna fare well if you don't feed him soon' she advised, pointing towards Luke who was happily playing with Rocky while Gideon watched the younger playful dog disapprovingly.

'Then get your damn clothes on stop gabbin', Rosie's already waitin' in the car with Caleb' Abe snapped from the entrance to the Study and stared at them impatiently.

Lucas raised his eyes over the newspaper surprised by the comment and looked at Abe curiously. 'Oh is she is now?' he asked suspiciously and smiled when his oldest friend shot him a friendly wink.

Merlyn had not heard Abe come down the stairs and straightened herself, trying to hide how accepting she now was of Lucas' company. 'I didn't hear the door' she said in her defensive.

''Cause you're gabbin' to this fool like a longin' teenager...grab the boy, we ain't got all day' Abe scolded, then headed out to the driveway.

'You heard the man, we've been summoned' Lucas said amused as he pulled Luke away from Rocky, ignoring his moody screams for interrupting his fun, then signalled for Merlyn to follow him.

Lucas knew that his wife was still plagued by nightmares and had sensed that she wanted to be left alone to pull herself out of the discomfort they caused her to feel, hence him giving her space in the mornings. He had not actually believed Caleb could talk her around, this was more of an exercise to see how he dealt with rejection so he could push past it; however, he had clearly underestimated his eldest Son's determination.

'Silly Daddy' Luke pouted, then smiled when his Father stared at him surprised.

'I clearly underestimate you too little one' Lucas whispered in his ear, suspecting the boy had managed to sense some of his thoughts.

Merlyn glanced at them both confused, then shook her head and rushed to the blood red Mustang in the driveway, opening the passenger side door and staring disapprovingly at Caleb.

'You're with Abe and my husband, I'm sure that's fine considering how much time you've been spending with our handsome Sheriff recently' Gail advised sarcastically and signalled for Lucas to put Luke in his car seat beside her Daughter.

Merlyn glanced at Lucas and her Cousin in disbelief, then stormed to the navy blue Crown Victoria and got in the backseat moodily.

'You got a problem with our resident angel?' Lucas asked Gail sarcastically.

'I have a problem with you using her to terrorise my best friend, but that's a conversation for another day' Gail advised sweetly, choosing not to address the Matt situation right now and turned on the engine.

Lucas feigned innocence at the comment for a moment, then winked at his wife playfully when she backed out of the driveway and headed to his car, curious as to what Caleb had done to convince her to join them today.

There was little conversation as he followed the Mustang and he nodded his appreciation to his longest friend, for respecting his privacy and not talking as candidly as he usual would due to Merlyn being in the car with them. As the Mustang pulled up at his favourite Diner, he turned in slowly and carefully parked beside it. Gail did not wait for them to catch up and entered the Diner with his children, vanishing into the building and leaving him with Abe and Merlyn.

'She's in a curious mood' Abe commented, not used to being left out in such a way.

'When isn't she?' Merlyn snapped moodily, then exited the car and headed towards the Diner without waiting for them.

Lucas let out a long sigh at Merlyn's behaviour, remembering how young she actually was, then exited the car and walked slowly with Abe so not to leave the man behind. 'I hope the children weren't a bother last night' he stated casually, not having the time to catch up with Abe last night due to the state he had been in with Gail.

'That little boy is certainly yours, I'll give you that' Abe laughed and shot Lucas a mock disapproving look.

'Whatever do you mean?' Lucas asked curiously, then stopped talking when the Waitress who had served him yesterday opened the door for them.

'Your wife's already situated with the children in your usual spot...she's looking radiant and the baby is just beautiful' the Waitress smiled pleasantly and led them to the large booth by the window.

Lucas nodded his thanks charmingly at her and sat down next to Gail, placing his arm instinctively around her shoulders and being careful not to disturb his Daughter laying peacefully against her chest. 'What's goin' on?' he whispered seriously, taken off guard by this sudden change in her.

'You showed up for me last night, so it's only fair I play my part as the dutiful wife to banish all the gossip in your favourite Diner' she whispered in his ear, then pulled his face to hers and kissed him passionately in front of the Waitress.

'Get a room!' Merlyn snapped bitterly.

'Oh we will' Gail smiled sarcastically and stroked her nose on her husbands affectionately, then leaned her head on his shoulder. As she glanced out of the window she spotted the familiar intruding figure and bit her lip to hide her irritation, cursing this Town for not giving her just one simple moment. 'But before we do, I left something important in the car...I'll only be a minute' she said sweetly, then nudged her husband out of the booth gently and handed him her Daughter.

Lucas watched as she left abruptly and started to follow her, until his Daughter began to fidget in his arms at being removed from comfortable position on her Mother. He let out a long sigh and shook his head, before shrugging at Abe who was watching the scene suspiciously and sitting back down.

'See, I told you messin' with that Doctor friend of hers would cause some sort of reaction' Abe scolded knowingly.

'This ain't that ol' man, but I'll get to the bottom of it' Lucas promised and forced a charming smile for the Waitress when she brought their menu's.

Gail discreetly headed to the back of the Diner and waited impatiently, when her stalker did not appear she let out an irritated laugh and shook her head in annoyance. 'You disturb my family time and then hide from me? That's not your usual style, unless you're scared that is?' she asked openly and surveyed the area carefully.

'Scared isn't a word I'd use to describe how I feel about you Gail' Joshua advised, appearing behind her suddenly.

'And what is?' Gail asked agitated as she turned around to face him, not impressed by his sudden intrusion.

Joshua regarded her cautiously, knowing it was not the smartest move to interrupt her family time when her husband was present; however, he had not been able to find a more opportune moment to visit her and he needed to see her. 'Intriguin', infuriatin', ravenous...there's quite a few to pick from' he said finally and smiled at her pleasantly.

Gail stared at him suspiciously for a moment and then laughed at his comment. 'There certainly are a few more choice words than those, but we don't do these playful exchanges anymore so get to the point...What do you want Joshua?' she asked frankly, not entertaining his attempt to impress her.

Joshua held his chest in mock hurt for a moment, then his demeanour turned cold when he realised that she was serious. 'You didn't adhere to our deal' he stated sternly, turning his attention towards business.

'I did what you wanted' Gail said flatly, standing tall and not allowing herself to be intimidated.

'What you did wasn't the deal Gail' Joshua advised, regarding her carefully.

'But it is what you wanted, a woman's soul for your collection at my hands' Gail responded, remembering the look he gave her in the law firm garden when it was evident Janet needed assistance.

Joshua smiled devilishly, intrigued at how she could sense his desire, then shook his head and began to circle her. 'The official deal was you convince unsuspectin' females who trust your good name to trust your husband, that certainly isn't what happened last night' he scolded, having rules to follow himself.

'Last night? All I can remember about that nice evening was how my husband dragged me around a quiet corner and took me hard, with the restaurant attendee's only a few feet away' Gail responded sweetly, feigning ignorance and refusing to be told off for doing something she did not want to do in the first place.

'Enough Gail!' Joshua snapped, unimpressed by her actions and unable to contain his jealousy.

'No you back the hell off Joshua!' she warned angrily, quickly growing tired of this conversation. 'You drag me into this cursed ritual and then try to berate me for working my way? If you want someone to follow your orders blindly, I'm certainly not the candidate...have you not witnessed me around my husband?' she asked sarcastically.

'You made this deal to protect your Daughter-' Joshua started, trying to remind her of the consequences of disobedience.

'No I made this deal to stop my husband from losing all control and potentially going against everything he's been brainwashed into standing for...If I really believed that I needed assistance in protecting my Daughter from you, I would've set him on you from the start' Gail interrupted bluntly, not giving him the opportunity to threaten her.

'Then why didn't you?' Joshua asked, moving in front of her and staring down at her closely.

Gail held his gaze for a moment, trying not to show how much his body touching hers was affecting her, then took a step backwards and regarded him with disdain. 'I've never needed my husband to fight my battles and you're just a parasite with an agenda...why would I bother him with your inferior existence?' she said hurtfully.

Joshua regarded her confused for a moment, trying to hide how much the comment had hurt him and then let out a malicious laugh. 'Alright Gail, I thought you'd prefer a much softer approach but that's fine...You've aligned yourself to our cause now and there's no turnin' back. When it's time to collect on your deal, and we will collect, I look forward to watching you get your hands dirty personally' he advised coldly and vanished before she had a chance to respond.

Gail closed her eyes in frustration at how badly she had handled that situation, then gave off a slight jump when she felt a stern hand grip her shoulder.

'Care to share who your new friend is and what he was doin' here love?' Lucas asked seriously, holding down his rage at what he had walked in on and watching her reactions carefully.

Gail sensed him probing her mind and had no idea how much he had heard. If she lied to him he would know instantly and if she told him the truth, she suspected that would cause unnecessary harm to a lot of people. 'I'll share when the time is right, just trust me' she said after a moments pondering and stroked his cheek softly.

Lucas regarded her suspiciously, keeping what he had heard to himself for now and wrapped his arms possessively around her waist. 'I told you...as long as you're aware of who you truly belong to' he said quietly, running his hands up the side of her body seductively.

'You know I am, there's no question about that' Gail responded softly, moving her hands to his chest and stroking it instinctively.

Lucas stared longingly into her hazel eyes, almost getting lost in them as he usually did, then gripped her chin in his hand hard and lifted her face slightly, his eyes turning cold. 'Because there's only so much attention I can allow you to entertain and if there is any doubt or urge to falter from our true union, that wouldn't work out well for you' he warned in a soothing tone, as though unaware of the seriousness of the threat.

Gail narrowed her eyes at him, hurt at his apparent distrust of her, then gripped his neck tight and squeezed it hard. 'If there was ever any doubt soulmate, I'd take you head on at your families resting place and not behind a dingy Diner' she advised honestly, willing him to make a serious move with the mood she was in.

Lucas continued to stare deep into her eyes as the air struggled to reach his lungs, then let out an impressed laugh as his demeanour softened and placed a soft kiss on her lips. 'I'd give you the chance at a fair fight, at least as fair as it could be in my territory' he smiled devilishly, then licked his lips excitedly at the thought of a showdown with her.

'Our territory Master Buck, that place is now half mine' Gail said sarcastically, relaxing when his grip on her was removed and loosened her hold on his neck.

Lucas grabbed her hand and moved her in front of him, stroking her back affectionately as he pushed her towards the front of the Diner. 'You will tell me who this Joshua is, but for now I'll wait' he advised casually, then smiled devilishly when he heard her sharp intake of breath.

If Lucas had discovered Joshua's name from her conversation, there was no telling what else he had overheard and Gail felt herself tense. 'Right now we have more important things to concern ourselves with, like your reputation with these bored gossiping simpletons' Gail stated sweetly, changing the subject and forcing a pleasant smile for the Waitresses that were watching them closely when they entered the Diner.

If there was one thing that could distract her husband, it was a potential blow to his reputation and Gail pulled him to her for a passionate kiss, giving the women something juicy to talk about while keeping her husband in the palm of her hand, at least for the time being.

-The End-