As Lucas watched his wife lay peacefully asleep beside him in bed with the sunlight shining down on her, he began to ponder over what could have made her forgive his actions towards her oldest friend and satisfy him so willingly on the day of her funeral. Lucas was not naive and although he loved the little games they played with each other, something inside of him was calling for caution and he was suspicious of her actions, especially as the dark clouds that had been covering the Town for weeks appeared to have disappeared.

A loud sigh from his left caught his attention and he glanced over at Luke, who was standing in the cot which he was starting to outgrow and was watching him intently. His youngest Son was a credit to them both and had been displaying some promising signs to show that he was his Fathers Son, Lucas wondered whether Gail had noticed the inherent change in their Son and glanced at his love when she shifted uncomfortably on her side of the bed, as though to answer his unspoken question.

Lucas signalled for his boy the lay back down and smiled when Luke obediently followed his instruction. He watched as his youngest snuggled up to his favourite stuffed toy and closed his eyes when he realised his Father would not be freeing him from his cage any time soon. That boy was smart and it would be interesting to see how Caleb would fare when he was older, not to mention how both boys would get along with a girl being present in their family.

Lucas had not given much thought to his Daughter, truly unsure of how the dynamic would play out. He sensed the powers he had been trained to serve were not impressed with how important Gail was to him, let alone a Daughter and he suspected his own Father still had some fight left in him. Lucas instinctively reached for his wife and stroked her large stomach, then pulled her towards him gently. In these uncertain times, she was doing well to remain devoted to their family and although her moods of late were unbalanced, he knew protecting their whole family was her main concern.

Gail gave a small shiver when she felt fingers gently trailing up the outside of her thighs, then let out a shocked breath when she felt her husband enter her uninvited when she was still in a sleeping state. She was about to protest against the unexpected action; however, when his hands caressed her body affectionately to show how much he desired her, she leaned back into him and moaned softly as he began to move in and out of her slowly.

'You're normally slightly averse to this way love' Lucas whispered into her ear, as he continued to take her softly.

Gail bit her lip as a prolonged feeling of pleasure travelled through her entire body and smiled at his comment. 'I'm usually fully awake when you try it' she laughed quietly, then reached back and pulled his lips to her as she allowed him to make love to her.

Lucas kept his pace slow and steady, savouring the feel of being inside of her this way. It was a pleasant surprise that she did not attempt to prevent him from taking her so intimately and he felt her body quiver excitedly at the long bursts of pleasure he was providing her. When he sensed both of their climaxes coming, he sped up his movements and bit down hard on her shoulder as he exploded within her.

Gail buried her head in the pillow to stifle her cries, then leaned back into her husband when she felt his soft tongue licking the wound he had just created. 'It's good that you've gotten this off your chest early, you may not be so appreciative of me when our new Mayor is announced later' she teased and ran her nose over his affectionately.

Lucas laughed and shook his head in a mock scolding manner, then buried his head into her neck and nipped her playfully as he stroked her stomach protectively. 'It's good that you've accepted my advances now, as no doubt you'll be in a less welcoming mood when my horse's hand is raised Darlin'' he whispered smugly, then kissed her neck softly.

Gail exhaled deeply as he gently pulled out of her, then shook her head knowingly. 'You keep that optimism soulmate and try to remember how fond you are of me no matter what comes your way today' she advised, then pulled away from his grasp and carefully got out of bed.

Lucas watched her curiously for a moment, then felt the strong caution inside of him resurface and sat up abruptly. 'What do you mean Gail?' he asked suspiciously, as she picked up Luke who had popped his head up again and held him carefully to her chest.

Gail smiled as Luke clung to her lovingly and tried to focus her thoughts on her Son, to keep them shielded from her husband. 'I don't mean anything sweetheart...I'm just a little ol' girl with a big heart, what could I possibly do?' she asked sarcastically in her best southern accent, then reached for her robe and headed out of the bedroom to find Caleb.

Lucas inhaled deeply at the comment as he watched her leave and shook his head in exasperation. Her reaction was all the confirmation that he needed of her doing something behind his back and he was determined to find out what she had been up to.

Matt sat on the front porch reading the Trinity Guardian with disdain. He knew Gail had endorsed Adam and wanted him to win this election; however, he would never have expected her to stoop to this level, especially when the voting had already been closed. He had been worried about her anyway due to what had happened to Christie, this article only increased his concern and he decided he was going to find her to check up on her.

'And where do you think you're goin'?' Merlyn asked sweetly, as she came onto the porch wearing a silk robe and sat down carefully while holding her hot cup of coffee.

Matt stopped on the top porch step, then approached his girlfriend slowly and threw down the newspaper on the small table beside her. 'She's not fine like you said, I knew she wouldn't be and I need to see her' he said abruptly and began pacing the porch.

Merlyn watched him concerned for a moment, then glanced at the headline and shook her head in exasperation. 'It's just a story honey, she's a Reporter and will report on what she finds out'

'It's slander' Matt snapped.

'Look at the picture Matt, it not slander it's clearly the truth' Merlyn corrected him calmly, not rising to his hostility.

'It's destroying a man's life and Gail wouldn't do that just to get her preferred candidate elected. Something's wrong M, how can you not see that?' he asked in disbelief, unable to see past anything but his concern for his best friend.

Merlyn inhaled deeply and shook her head, Matt's closeness to Gail was something she had been concerned about given her cousins frequent morality changes of late and his blind need to protect her was starting to bother her. 'I see a lot more than you think and you have no idea...Do you really believe that Lucas would allow anything to hurt his perfect family life?' she asked, attempting to make him see reason.

'You're countering with Lucas Buck? The man who benefits more from Christie's death than anyone else?' Matt snapped, not liking her recent acceptance of the man.

'Is this about Christie or Gail? You think Lucas is responsible for her death?' Merlyn asked confused, having considered the possibility previously but knowing it was safer to keep her suspicions to herself.

'I think his wife displaying characteristics that she normally wouldn't indicates something has happened to cause a shift in her. I also think it's odd that no-one is asking the obvious questions' Matt sighed, then sat down beside M and ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

Merlyn regarded Matt concerned, then stroked his cheek softly. 'I think that Gail wouldn't want you concernin' yourself with this. I also think that if Lucas was involved then there would be some punishment comin' his way, don't you? Or do you believe Gail would just stand by and allow such a betrayal to go unchallenged?' she asked knowingly.

Matt thought about the question for a moment, then shook his head in exasperation. 'I know Lucas won't let that article go unchallenged' he sighed, then leaned his head on M's shoulder and kissed her lovingly as he tried to put his best friend out of his mind.

'Where is she?' Lucas demanded, unable to hide his anger.

'I dunno, she don't check in with me' Caleb snapped, not liking his Fathers current tone.

'Did you know about this?' Lucas asked accusingly, holding up the newspaper for his Son to see.

'Why would I know? I don't even know when she woulda had time to write it yesterday' Caleb answered defensively, unsure why he was getting the blame here.

Lucas let out a long exasperated sigh and stared up at the sky, this article was unsportsmanlike and Gail had indicated it would not be published. It would impact Peter's reputation as a good trusting family man considerably and he knew Adam would not have endorsed the story, which meant this was down to his wife.

Even when Peter won the election, the man would not be taken seriously and that would cause problems in his Town which Lucas would not stand for. He opened up his minds eye in an attempt to locate Gail again and came up with nothing, his rage was stirring within him and right now he had no desire to keep it caged.

Lucas spotted Caleb turn to storm off, then grabbed his arm roughly and pulled him back towards him. 'You're her kin, you aligned yourself with her. Find her!' Lucas ordered through gritted teeth, knowing they had always had a connection.

Caleb was about to respond in a hostile manner, then remembered how Gail usually dealt with his Father when his tone got to this state and took a deep breath to calm himself like she would. 'I'm aligned to you both, we're family' he told his Father calmly, then closed his eyes and willed his dark half to assist him. He did not want to spy on his Step Mom; however, he knew she would not expect him to take the blame for something she had done, so willingly tried to locate her.

Lucas sensed Caleb call upon his darkness and relaxed slightly, he did not mean to blame his Son for this; however, he knew how close they were even if Caleb was trying to hide it right now and it was his boy's bad luck that he was in the vicinity and she was not. 'Focus on her image, call her to the forefront of your mind and open yourself up fully' he advised calmly, helping move this along. Gail may have shielded herself from him; however, he doubted she would have thought to shield herself from Caleb.

Caleb let out a long breath then breathed in deeply again, he caught sight of a blurred image of the Coffee Shop in front of the Sheriff's Station that Gail frequently visited and opened his eyes slowly when he was sure it was the correct building. Before he had a chance to say anything, Lucas released his arm and ruffled his hair.

'You did good Son, now go see your Sister and reassure her that you and your Step Mom are fine. The last thing I need is Harvard sniffin' around when I'm in this mood' Lucas ordered, then turned around and headed towards his car. He had a bad feeling that this article was not the only thing his love had been up to when he left her alone with her grief yesterday and he was going to make sure she confessed everything to him.

Selena sipped her black coffee slowly, savouring the bitter taste as it travelled down her throat. After the activities of the previous day, she had found it hard to sleep as her muscles were aching all over. 'Have I told you how annoyingly refreshed you look?' she asked bitterly, as she took another sip of her drink.

Gail smiled warmly and stared up at the clear blue sky above. 'It's a beautiful day with no dark clouds in sight and I slept better than I have in months' she advised happily, taking a sip of her herbal tea and winking at Luke who sat moodily trapped in his pushchair.

'Speaking of dark clouds' Selena smirked, then nodded towards the navy blue Crown Victoria which pulled up at the curb in front of the Sheriff's Station.

Gail sensed her husbands anger instantly and smiled sweetly at her present company. 'I think I'm about to get my wrist slapped' she joked sarcastically.

'Oh I think he'll be slapping more than that' Selena said amused, watching her true love exit the car and approach them confidently. 'Care to pull up a chair Sheriff? There's always room for you' she smiled smugly at him as he neared their position.

Lucas stared at Selena with disdain and then turned towards his wife. He had not expected to see his ex and his wife together in an apparent friendly setting and the scene caused his rage to increase. 'You tryin' to replace your dead friend love?' he asked coldly, 'I thought you'd get enough menial woman talk with Rita'

Gail kept her eyes on Selena and smiled pleasantly. 'That dead friend can't be replaced and the friendship with Rita is to make your Deputy's life easier, which in turn makes your life easier. This collaboration right here is one of my choosing' she advised, amused at her husbands irritation.

'And the article you wrote ruinin' a man's family, was that of Adam's choosing like you indicated or yours?' Lucas asked forcing a calm tone, as she sat down beside his wife and completely disregarded Selena.

'That was a true depiction of what that so called family man gets up to when he believes no one is watching, it wasn't me who ruined his family life' Gail responded defensively.

'Don't try and be so justifiable, you don't think I recognise that behind love? You trapped him didn't you?' Lucas asked knowingly, then shot Selena a disapproving look.

Gail inhaled deeply at the comment, then watched as her husbands eyes travelled down Selena's body and tried not to lose her cool. 'If you're not careful you'll end up like he did' she stated calmly, then gave herself a mental shake when she heard Selena's sharp intake of breath and forced herself to remain in control.

Lucas smiled at her slip of the tongue and turned his full attention towards her. 'I knew the article wasn't the only thing you got up to, what did you do?' he asked sternly, as he took Gail's chin in his hand and turned her to face him.

Gail stared deep into his eyes and remained silent, challenging his authority. She would not allow him to dominate her like he had done to so many women before her, not so soon after Christie's funeral and not while she was in her current condition.

Lucas inhaled deeply, seeing the defiance in her eyes and shook his head slowly. 'You know I don't wanna hurt you, but I will not allow disloyalty' he advised calmly, sensing her stance.

'No disloyalty here soulmate, just an eye for an eye so to speak' Gail smiled devilishly, unable to hide her amusement at him being unable to read her fully.

Lucas stared into her eyes for a moment longer, then stood up and pulled her to her feet. He unlocked Luke's restraints in his pushchair and took his Son in his arms, before taking his wife's arm and leading them all back to his car.

'My car and the pushchair-' Gail started.

'Can be left with your new ally' Lucas interrupted, then placed Luke in his car seat in the back of his Crown Victoria before opening the front passenger door for Gail.

'If you insist Master Buck' Gail said teasingly, then got into the car and shook her head when Lucas slammed the door shut.

The drive seemed to go on for hours and the silence made to atmosphere even more tense. Lucas had opened his minds eye fully and was driving around Town aimlessly, until he sensed a slight shift in his wife and brought the car to a halt.

Gail sat quietly staring straight ahead when her husband got out of the car, walked casually to her side and opened the door for her.

'Get out' Lucas ordered, disregarding Luke's confused look.

'And leave a baby on his own in a car on a hot day...there's law's against that you know?' Gail smirked, then saw the serious look on her husbands face and got out of the car obediently.

Lucas ensured the back window was down and spotted Gideon lurking behind a nearby tree; therefore, he knew his Son would be safe enough. With that in mind, he gripped Gail's arm and dragged her through the woods roughly until they reached a clearing, which opened up to the Trinity River. Lucas surveyed the area from where he stood, then gently pulled Gail towards the riverbank where he spotted a dark stain in the grass.

Gail watched closely as her husband released his grip on her, then knelt down to inspect the dry blood which she had not been concerned about on the previous day.

'What did you do Gail?' Lucas asked curiously as he stared at the large dark stain and attempted to summon his twin to unlock whatever secret she was hiding.

'I didn't do anything, at least not at this point anyway' Gail shrugged, feeling a strange detachment from the situation she had found herself in.

Lucas shook his head in exasperation, then stood up and grabbed her shoulders. Her detachment was concerning him and he wanted her to own up to what she had done. 'You show me what happened love, right now' he ordered, trying to keep his rage under control.

Gail had no intention of lying to him, they were beyond that. Lucas had not been dishonest when she confronted him about Christie and she was happy to share her activities with her husband. Gail placed her hands on his cheeks softly and stared deep into his eyes, allowing her guard to disappear. She felt him prying into her mind instantly and closed her eyes as she felt him claw his way deeper into her memory, choosing not to block him out and opening her mind to him.

Lucas was taken to the previous evening, just before sunset. He stood at the clearing as Selena rolled Peter out of the Motel carpet they had disguised him in, then watched as he began to bleed out onto the grass.

'Go' Gail ordered Selena in a calm tone.

'I can't just leave you here-'

'Now!' Gail snapped sternly, then caressed the woman's cheek softly and smiled at her reassuringly before she obeyed the order and left. When Selena was out of sight, Gail stared coldly in the direction of the woman for a moment, then turned her attention back to Peter.

'H-he-help' Peter spluttered, as he held his bleeding gut tight and began coughing.

Gail knelt down and stared deep into his eyes, pulling away his hand from his gut to prevent him from applying pressure to the wound. 'That's what Christie asked, she begged to see her Daughter one more time before that option was taken away from her forever' she advised sadly, then stood up carefully and took a small step back.

'I-I did- didn't do anythin'!' Peter screamed when he finally found his voice, sensing he needed to get away from here now.

'Neither did she, but such is life' Gail sighed, then stared into the river curiously and allowed her darkness to seep out of her.

Lucas watched the placid demeanour of his wife, then took a step back when he saw waves begin to crash not far from the riverbank and a dark figure emerged slowly.

Rosemary walked intently towards the riverbank, her dark wet hair draped over her face so her eyes were not visible. When her foot touched the dry ground, she hesitated slightly then began to circle Gail and Peter, appearing to survey the situation.

Gail watched her past self with an almost childlike curiosity, she could not explain it but she had so much love for this thing and her presence made her feel calm. She was past doubting her dark connections and finally ready to embrace her lineage fully.

Rosemary came face to face with Gail and stared deep into her eyes for a moment fascinated, ignoring the bleeding man before them. When Peter made a large gulp Rosemary's head swung towards him, then a dark grin appeared on her lips and skulked over to him. She regarded him curiously for a moment surveying the offering from her kin, then began dragging him towards the river without saying a word.

'W-wait...W-what's happening?' Peter questioned frantically, as he felt himself being pulled roughly. He tried to grab the grass in an attempt to stop the momentum; however, it was no use and he was soon engulfed by the water.

Gail continued to watch curiously, then jumped back when Peter stood up in the water and looked at her. She stared at him for a moment, feeling a slight doubt come over her at what would happen next; however, it was too late as she saw Rosemary's sharp finger nails reach from behind and pierce his eyeballs. Gail did not turn away when the man started screaming, she watched as Rosemary ripped away his eyes and bit into the flesh of his neck with her sharp teeth, before pulling Peter down to the depths of the river never to be seen again.

'Oh Gail' Lucas sighed shocked, as he released hold of her mind and was brought back to the present.

'This is how you wanted me wasn't it?' Gail asked coldly, as she surveyed his reaction curiously and waited for his response.

Lucas considered her words carefully for a moment, she had embraced her full darkness and a sudden pride came over him; however, that was replaced by the realisation that Peter had been swallowed up by the river and the man was supposed to be elected Mayor in a few hours.

'I guess my horse has won after all' Gail smiled smugly as she read his mind, then turned back towards the woods.

Lucas watched her curiously for a moment, her lack of emotion over what she had done was concerning and she had put him in a position where he was required to clean up her mess, with Selena being a witness in part to what had transpired.

'She's no witness, she's mine to play with and you will leave her alone' Gail called back at him, before making her way back to Luke and leaving Lucas to figure out how he was going to explain Peter's sudden disappearance.

Lucas let out a long sigh and shook his head, ignoring his Father's laughter that suddenly came from all around him. He knew Malcolm was right about his lack of control over his wife and that high pitched laughter was left ringing through his ears, as he started to consider what his next move should be.

-The End-