I do not own Gargoyles. No copyright infringement is intended with this work. These events take place shortly after those of The Hunter's Moon. This story loosely follows the timeline and character descriptions laid out by Greg Weisman on Station 8.
Reviews are welcome.
Winds of Change
Chapter 1
A Gargoyles Fanfic
Elisa sat rolling the small urn back and forth in her hands miserably. The image of a cat was elaborately engraved on one side. The artist had outdone herself with exquisite detail. One word was etched beneath the image: Cagney. The contents of this urn was all that remained of her cat. She sighed and placed the urn in the center of the coffee table. She wouldn't leave it there indefinitely, but it was as good a place as any for the time being. First the gargoyles. No one to blame but herself on that one, she snorted in disgust. Now her cat. Was she being punished for a series of bad choices? She resisted the urge to ask who or what she would lose next as she got to her feet. It was time for a shower, a long hot one. At least that couldn't elude her like she knew sleep would.
As she had expected, sleep did not come easily or peacefully. Cold showers were not conducive to sleep. Maintenance was going to hear about that for sure. She burrowed deeper into the blankets and buried her face into the top of a body pillow. Tears slowly soaked into it as she drifted off into a restless sleep.
/
Three long miserably exhausting and lonely months; that was how long it had been since Elisa had walked out of Goliath's life. She had walked out of all their lives truthfully. The hunter's moon had brought such grief followed by such joy he had thought his heart would burst. The certainty that she was dead, due in part to his own failure. It was his duty to protect her. When she fell, it had been his purpose to catch her, he had missed. He was sure she had drown and that certainty had driven him to the brink of sanity. When she had returned to him that fateful night of the hunter's defeat, he had not been able to contain his joy. She had kissed him in the pre-dawn light that morning. Even now, he could still feel it tingling across his lips. The passions of his former life paled in comparison to the fire that one brief contact had ignited in his soul. Alas, it was not to be...
/
It was a dream,...but it had been real. Elisa's mind relentlessly replayed the events following the clock tower's destruction. Oh how her heart had soared that morning high up on the castle's tallest tower. Goliath had looked so regal, so noble and the fires of passion in his eyes were for her alone. What she felt for him was beyond anything she had ever felt for anyone else. It was overwhelming to realize he felt the connection as well. She had dismissed his lingering touches, the odd glances and faint smiles as mere curiosity or even just tolerance of her differences. That was why it had been so hard at first to maintain eye-contact on his lofty daytime perch.
"You know how I feel about you, right?" It was surreal. She was as an observer for that brief moment as the words slipped softly from her lips.
"How...we both feel. Yes.." The tenderness in his expression as he ran a talon oh so delicately through her hair was breathtaking.
"Good..." and before she lost her nerve, she had hopped up and hooked her arms around his neck. The kiss was brief, little more than a peck, but the promise it hinted at seemed to take on an eternal quality.
When sunrise claimed him for the day, she looked at that beautiful winged form. So alien in it's grace and nobility. What was she doing? They were so different, not like her parents, but so much more so. Were they physically compatible? Could they even risk pursuing a relationship knowing that eventually it would lead them down that path? There were so many questions and she had no answers. It wasn't like she could go to the library and look up gargoyle anatomy. The elation she had felt only moments ago turned to something akin to fear as she all but ran for the elevator.
/
The heavy thump on the balcony was masked by distant thunder. He lingered there for a moment making sure his presence had not been noticed. In the human world, their laws would have labeled him a stalker this night. It was fortunate he did not trouble himself with many of their more trivial laws. No matter how troubled she might be, how lost or even angry, Elisa was still the one human he had vowed to protect above all others. He could no more stop protecting her than breathing the air. To him, she was his castle, his home, his very life. Even if all he would ever be was her friend, he would take it as if it were life-sustaining nourishment.
Quietly opening the sliding glass door, a door that was never locked to his clan, Goliath slipped inside. He was amazingly silent considering his great size and weight. The small gray purring bundle of fur that was Elisa's cat did not greet him as normal. He glanced around for the delightful animal and noticed something odd after a moment. On the coffee table was a small vase with a sealed lid. There were such things in the Eyrie building. Xanatos had once told him that his mother was represented by one of them. Now Goliath knelt before the coffee table and gingerly turned the object around on its resting place. The shadows deepened over the etched image of a cat and one word. He drew his hand back from the object as if burned with a sharp intake of breath.
"Oh, my Elisa, I am so very sorry," he whispered to the emptiness of the room.
He wandered when the cat had passed. Had Elisa been so cold, so cruel to him all those nights ago out of grief? Had she seen him as a pet? No! He would not accept even the hint of that idea. The thought was pushed aside brutally. He had seen how her face seemed to glow when she looked at him. There was a passion in her eyes, a passion that he suspected Demona had never felt for him. Perhaps, he thought, she had pushed him away because she feared she would lose him as she had her closest companion. His was not a life of peace, after all. There were many who sought to destroy him and his kind. Death was, in reality, the most indiscriminate force in all the world.
Standing to his full height, he thought to leave before she sensed his presence. They were drawn to each other like moths to flame. To his mind, she might very well have pushed him away due to the compulsion they both felt. The need to be close, to touch each other seemed as powerful as the tides. Perhaps it frightened her. There were questions he knew he might never know the answers to, he realized as he drew up short of her bedroom door. What was he doing? He had meant to return to the balcony and leave. Instead he found himself hesitating before the thing slab of wood that separated him from the slumbering sight of his love. He must check on her, assure himself that she was well. Something deep within prodded him onward to do so.
With a sigh and a silent pray to whatever gods might be listening, he carefully opened the door. The hinges creaked faintly in protest and he held his breath. The form on the bed mumbled something incoherently and rolled over. He stood there watching her for a time. It was clear by the way she fought at the bedding that her dreams were troubling. He longed to wrap her in his arms and protect her even from this, but he knew he could not. She might never allow herself to be swept up in his arms again, he realized sadly.
Goliath turned to go. He had lingered far too long as it was, should never have come by her apartment in the first place. What had he hoped to achieve? Being here, surrounded by her maddeningly sweet scent only added to his heartache. He could hear her tossing fitfully, thrashing at the bedding. She was sobbing in her sleep. Glancing back, he knew he needed to leave. He was sure his scent was whipping her dreams into a tempest. Her sense of smell was nowhere near as acute as his own, but he knew she could pick up his unique leather and earth scent. If nothing else, she could sense his presence. She had always had an uncanny knack for knowing when he was near.
/
The dream was ruthless, more like a fever dream in its intensity. It forced her to relive every single cutting word she had said to him...
"This can't work, Goliath. We are just too different." she had raged at him.
"It is merely difficult, Elisa..." he would have added more, but she stopped in her pacing and overrode whatever he had been about to say.
"This..." she gestured wildly, "this isn't supposed to be difficult!"
Elisa continued her pacing. She felt like a caged animal under the scrutiny of his smoldering eyes. There was hurt in those eyes and she had caused it. She would cause more, but she had to. It was for the best, something that needed to be done for both of them. He would see the logic in her actions sooner or later. The clan needed him. They needed their leader. They needed his DNA.
Ceasing her pacing once more to glare at him with an anger she did not feel, Elisa changed the course of her argument. "What about kids, Goliath? I'd like to have couple of those. We both know that you and I can't have children together. What about the clan and the coming breeding season you've mentioned?"
"There are no suitable female gargoyles in Manhattan." Goliath began a little more defensively than he meant to. He softened his tone as he added, "Even if there were, I would not choose her solely to bare my offspring. There is more to gargoyle mating than that."
"You're wrong. There are others," she was about to mention Demona and caught his eyes narrowing dangerously. Instead, she changed the momentum of her words. "De... Delilah comes to mind. She's beautiful, intelligent..."
"Submissive, weak-minded, and a pale reflection of you." Goliath finished.
"But she's a gargoyle or close enough. She's one of your kind. Let's face it, Goliath. We both need to be with our own kind. It's as simple as that. Your clan needs hatchlings. I need someone who doesn't turn to stone during the day." Each word was like an ice pick through her heart and from the pinched look on his face, she knew he felt the same. She continued forward anyway. "Xanatos is throwing a Halloween party this year. Invite Delilah, show her you're not like Thailog. Who knows, you might even have fun."
Goliath was about to object when the sound of a phone ringing interrupted him. Elisa fished around in her pocket and produced a small device that looked for all the world like a cordless phone. She held up a hand and stepped toward one of the many walls that surrounded the courtyard. From the tone of her voice, she was not terribly pleased with the person on the other end of the device. The conversation was heated and when it ended she very deliberately tossed the phone into the fountain. It made a small splash and sank to the bottom.
"Look, that was Chavez, I should go." Elisa grumbled.
"Yes, perhaps you should..." Goliath said in a low, sad sounding sigh as he turned to look out over the city.
So that's it then, she thought miserably. It was done. She had set him free, set them both free, to find happiness with one of their own kind. It was supposed to be a good thing. If it was so good, why did she feel so horrible? She was not aware of walking away from him until she found herself at street level. There she stood as rain burst from the sky. She glanced back at the building, the castle above was shrouded in dark clouds, but she knew he would be standing up there. For an instant she thought she heard the sound an angel might give utterance to as it plummeted to its death.
"That went well...," she whispered to no one in particular as she drew her red leather bomber jacket closer against the chill of the rain. Her gaze lingered a moment longer on the building. Turning away, she walked toward her car. The rain hid the tears that slid down her cheeks.
/
"Goliath...," it was such a heart-wrenching sob that he turned back to her.
His gaze was locked on her still sleeping form as he padded to the side of her bed. He risked much by being so close to her now. His eyes traced the shape or her fondly. She had fought her bed so fiercely that the blankets were draped over the edge, half of them on the floor. One long, lean, tan leg gleamed softly in the moonlight that spilled through the window as it dangled over the edge of the mattress. Her shirt was hiked up offering him a tantalizing view of the bottom curve of one breast. The scant scrap of cloth that covered her most intimate area left little to his wildly soaring imagination in its sheerness. By the dragon, but she was beautiful. It did not matter that she lacked wing, tail, claw or spur. In his eyes, she was a goddess made flesh. His eyes lingered on the scars of gunshot and surgery that had nearly taken her from him.
Elisa cried his name again in her sleep softly. Her dreams apparently deteriorating more and more into nightmare. Her sobbing grew violent. He knelt beside her bed fearing that she would awaken and become angry at his presence, angry that he had witnessed her weakness. Throwing caution to the wind he reached for her hair, then hesitated. She curled into a tight ball sobbing into her pillow, his name on her lips several times. It nearly undid him to see her in such turmoil, such pain. Clearly her decision to walk away from him had caused her as much pain as it did him. He understood the reasoning behind the choice, but that did not make it any easier to accept.
Gently, Goliath ran a talon through her silken hair. It seemed to ease her suffering and the sobs subsided slowly. Unconsciously, she snuggled closer to his large hand. Her own hand sought his out and gripped it as her eyes slowly rolled open, her mind still clouded with sleep.
"You're not 'sposed to be 'ere," she whispered barely coherent.
"I'm not here. 'Tis but a dream, my love. You are still sleeping." Goliath whispered and was pleased to see her nod and snuggle back into her pillow.
Elisa breathed out a sigh that seemed much more contented. He watched her breathing change and take on the steadiness of deep sleep. After several more moments taking in the beauty of her relaxed features, he disentangled his hand from hers. Dawn was coming, he could feel the familiar stirrings in his core that heralded his coming sleep. Glancing out the window, he knew there was time enough to make it back to the castle. The sky was only just taking on the purple before sunrise would turn it to glorious streaks of reds, pinks and oranges. A sight he longed to see again without the menacing burden of ensorcellment.
Goliath carefully placed a feather-lite kiss on her forehead then stood to his full height. A faint smile crossed her tear-stained face as the behemoth picked his way through her tangled blankets back to the door. He quietly closed the door, but did not latch it. The wood seemed oddly swollen and threatened thunderous noise should he attempt to close it completely. Water squished between his toes as he let himself out onto the balcony. The thunder he had heard early had brought the promised rain sometime in the last hour. Clearly her window was leaking. The platter-sized footprint he left in the wet carpet near the glass door did not cross his mind until he was more than half way to the Eyrie building. By then, it was too late to turn back to do anything about it. She would know he had been there.
/
Halloween...Sunset...
"Your guest is here, Goliath," the blasé tone reminded Goliath of plain oatmeal. The Puck's bland alter ego Owen Burnette stood ramrod straight several feet behind him as the last of his stone skin crumbled to the floor. "Mr. Xanatos took the liberty of having her transported here early this afternoon. He thought it best with the increasing indications that Thailog may yet live."
For his part, Goliath thanked the pale, annoying little man and glided down to the courtyard. He would do his duty and make Delilah feel as welcome as possible. She had so little acceptance in her short existence, a good deal of that was his fault, to be sure. He did not wish to hurt her further. That was why he would be gentle with her feelings, but it would be clear that he was not interested in pursuing anything more than friendship with her.
The party was just getting started, guests still arriving as Goliath and the others entered Wyvern's great hall. Xanatos had outdone himself. There was music, food and drinks laid out in banquet style, and people everywhere. All were dressed in a variety of costumes in celebration of the occasion. None spared the gargoyles more than a passing glance as they entered. Broadway, of course, headed straight for the buffet table. Brooklyn gave Angela a sad, lonely glance before splitting off to join some of the party-goers on a makeshift dance floor near the far end of the giant room. Lexington veered off in the direction of the large dj booth that had been erected not far from the dance floor.
Hudson had been right, it was loud. Goliath wandered again if he had had the right of it. The old warrior had opted to 'stay in' tonight. He and Bronx were holed up in the media room watching their 'programs'. Goliath suspected it was more like napping in front of the television. These past months, the elder had been napping quite a bit more than was strictly normal for a gargoyle his age. He begged the dragon that it was just the medication to control his glaucoma and not something more sinister. It had been a shock to hear that even a gargoyle could be afflicted by anything their stone hibernation could not throw off. Something they had always believed was a condition reserved for humanity alone.
Goliath missed a step and bumped into the huge door frame as he saw two things: Delilah dressed as the Greek goddess Aphrodite and Elisa exiting the elevator dressed as Jasmine. In that moment, he believed that if he were stricken blind he would happily walk in the darkness for the rest of his life with that one image forever etched into his mind's eye. Then he saw Elisa's 'date' step out behind her. Officer Morgan looked ridiculous. He had expected the man might have dressed up like Aladdin from the same Disney movie Elisa represented. He had, of course taken his costume from the movie; however, it was not Aladdin. He had dressed as Jafar. The giant oddly shaped hat was bad enough on its own, but the stuffed parrot on his shoulder caused Goliath to snort in an unbecoming way. The flowing robes were nothing new to him. He had seen plenty of that sort of fanfare in the 10th century. That parrot simply had to go.
The clan leader was about to take a step toward them, intending to mention the stuffed parrot when Delilah stepped into his path. Upon seeing Elisa, he had all but forgotten Delilah was meant to be his 'date' for the evening. He dropped his gaze to the gargess wishing that she were Elisa. She looked so much like her and yet there was a hint of Demona in her face. The brow ridges were decidedly Demona's. Elegant and beautiful though they were on Delilah's face, they still reminded him of his former mate. In a way they seemed to tarnish Elisa's beauty, which was dominant in that face. Her hair was snow white, but that only added to her beauty. In another time and place, he might have swooned for the creature before him. There was nothing about her that did not scream of sex appeal. He suspected her outfit must have been Fox's idea. Her attempt to ease his break with Elisa. In reality it only made the break harder. There was something about Delilah's eyes, the intelligence behind them that made him long for his lost love. He could not play at mates as he had in his youth. It would not be fair to this gorgeous creature before him.
/
The Masquerade
Elisa felt ridiculous and Morgan looked even worse than she felt. She hadn't wanted to come to this silly party in the first place. Goliath would be here. She wasn't ready to face him or the rest of the clan just yet. She knew he had been in her apartment a few nights before. The telltale signs were there. A giant three-taloned footprint in the wet carpet, Cagney's urn turned so that it was facing the balcony, her bedroom door left slightly ajar and the dream that was not a dream of him stroking her hair to sooth her nightmare. When she had realized he had been there she was furious at first. She had gone through several emotions, anger, resentment, outrage, guilt and most of all anguish. Elisa was heartbroken and it was her own fault. She had raged at him about wanting a 'normal' life and so here she was, with ridiculous Morgan 'Jafar' Morgan. Who gave their kid the same first name as their last name anyway? It was so weird.
Heart almost stopping when she saw him across the room, Elisa met Goliath's eyes for a split second. Then Delilah took his attention and the moment was gone. He smiled at the 'girl', but the smile did not seem to reach his eyes as he took her hand. Elisa's heart sank at the sight. Maybe she was kidding herself. He was a gargoyle, after all. What did she know of the workings of gargoyle emotions? Stone sleep might throw off emotional hurts the same as it did physical hurts as far as she knew. Of course, she was kidding herself and she knew it. Goliath had proven that was a false assumption years ago when he had tried in vain to reclaim what he had lost with Demona. That 'woman' was a viper. She had played Goliath like a harp from hell to achieve her own ends. It had left him heartbroken and cautious of anything involving the heart for a long time. And now, Elisa had effectively broken his heart as well after he had only just begun to trust it again. She felt like a heel and she was jealous.
Morgan, a good ten years Elisa's senior, was nobody's fool. He knew he was a 'rebound guy'. That would have bothered him if he had really been interested in dating her. At one time, he had been. Now he was just in it as a friend trying to get another friend out of a deep funk. The gargoyles were old news, he had seen them in the night skies. He had even come face to face with the big one once right after the clock tower was blown to hell. He took it all in stride, he was a New York cop, after all. It was not hard to piece together the bigger picture here. The detective spent a good deal of her time at the Eyrie building, had since the night a good many boulders had fallen to the street from its top. She had refused a promotion that would have put her on day shift. And somehow she always managed to bag the biggest, meanest douchebags out there...by her self. It was obvious that she was getting help from some serious muscle to do that. What he had not expected was the intelligence behind the eyes of the creature helping her. The night they put the hunters behind bars, he saw the big one embrace Elisa as if she were made of glass. Clearly there was a deep love in the voice that had come forth when the girl had come into his line of sight. If not for her, those hunters would have so much hamburger in the morgue. The gargoyle had seemed intent on tearing them apart for what he perceived as Elisa's untimely death.
No, Morgan had no intention of pursuing romance with Eliza Maza. He wanted to keep his intestines in their indigenous location; inside. Tonight, in the most ridiculous costume he could find from a movie theme she had suggested, he was here as a friend. He hoped to get a moment alone with the giant gargoyle and have a man-to-man or a man-to-beast as it were. Sitting back and watching her spiral deeper into depression was not on his bucket list. He was going to do something about it if at all possible. If that meant facing down a 'man' that reminded him, for all the world of a dragon, he would do so.
"Hey, look...maybe this wasn't such a great idea..," Elisa began, her attention still half on the big gargoyle moving off to one of the side doors across the room.
"Yeah," Morgan sighed. "maybe you're right. I feel ridiculous in this outfit anyway. What do you say, I get us some drinks and we head for one of those balconies, get some fresh air?"
"I think I'm gonna go.. I don't feel right being here, not now...," she said and turned toward the elevator.
Morgan reached up and slid his hat off revealing a smattering of gray in his short-cropped hair. He glanced at the silly side-ways-leaning parrot on his shoulder and stifled a half disgusted snicker. "Let's have that drink. C'mon. We just got here. You may never get another chance to hit Xanatos with a bill for the most expensive drink you can find."
Elisa shuffled her feet uncomfortably for a moment and looked back at Morgan. His smile was infectious and she soon found herself smiling back. Xanatos did owe her quite a bit. It would be nice to collect, even in a small way, on that bill. "Alright, but on one condition."
"What's that?" Morgan asked still wearing his smile.
"Lose that stupid parrot," Elisa waggled one of her high heels at his shoulder. She had slipped them off in the elevator, something about balance and weird lift movement not mixing.
"You got it," Morgan laughed and proceeded to rip the bird off its velcro perch. He tossed it and the big hat onto a chair that sat close to the elevator and went in search of those drinks.
/
Elisa made her way out one of the many doors that lead to a balcony. She wasn't sure if this was the joined balcony that wrapped around to the courtyard or not. If it was, Goliath could be in the dark anywhere. She realized he could just as easily be gliding through the night with Delilah and a pang of jealousy hit her like a hot-flash. She leaned against the cool stone half-wall and looked out across the twinkling lights of the city; her city.
/
Morgan found the big gargoyle on the adjacent balcony. Hang onto your butt, Morgan, he thought as he cleared his throat.
Goliath glanced over his shoulder from his deep contemplation of the city. He was alone. Of Delilah, there was no trace. He wore a bitter expression that could easily have curdled milk. Morgan was wandering if this was such a good idea as he stepped forward and leaned on the stone railing.
"Quite a night, isn't it," Morgan sighed into the breeze.
"Yes...," Goliath answered, drawing out the word in a deep, almost mournful tone.
Morgan twisted around, leaning one elbow on the railing and peered at the gargoyle for several minutes. He could see the man behind the beastly facade. It was not hard. He could also see the deep sadness that seemed to wreath his brow like a heavy crown. A sadness his fellow cop shared in buckets.
"Is there something I can do for you, Officer Morgan?" Goliath asked feeling a little uncomfortable with the human male's deep scrutiny. He felt as if this human were trying to gauge him in some way.
"Actually...there is," Morgan began, running a hand over his short-cropped hair.
"And that is...?" Goliath prodded.
"Talk to her..," Morgan sighed. He was unsure of how to broach the subject. Keeping it simple at first might be the best way around it.
Before he could catch himself, Goliath said in a forbidding tone, "I have already spoken with Delilah. Neither of us wishes to pursue anything more than friendship..."
"Well, that's good news, but she's not who I meant." Morgan was beginning to think Goliath was a little thick in the head when it came to women. Maybe he was, he thought. Half the men on the planet could not claim to know what a woman truly wanted.
"Then who...?" Goliath looked Morgan squarely in the eyes then and it struck him like a bolt of lightning. He even seemed to twitch before he recovered himself. "Elisa has made her intentions abundantly clear. I do not fit into her picture of 'normalcy'."
"Yeah, whatever, Romeo. Your Juliette has been miserable for months now. She barely eats, doesn't sleep, won't socialize with anybody in the precinct and mopes around like somebody killed her cat." Morgan held up his hand at the horrified look that crossed Goliath's face and continued, "Which, by the way, somebody did. Some little punk playing with a bb gun took a lucky potshot at it."
"I had wandered...," Goliath mumbled, the reference to Shakespeare not lost on him even as he realized Morgan wasn't finished.
"The point is, she needs you and from what I've seen of how you're moping around this party, you need her too, even if you're both too chick-shit to admit it. Whatever happened between you two can't possibly justify crippling your souls with silence and avoidance." Morgan was afraid he had gone too far, but he swallowed hard at the scowl and kept right on talking. "She's here tonight wishing she was anyplace else. I think after she saw you and that female gargoyle together, she would have happily walked into hell to get away. She's barefoot, by the way and my guess is she wouldn't even notice the burning inferno if it swallowed her up. Her face just crumpled in like so much tissue paper. I have never seen her so hurt. She wanted to leave as soon as she saw the other girl. Can't blame her, really. Wings and all, that girl was stunning."
"She is lovely, but...she is not Elisa...,"Goliath seemed to sigh wistfully.
"And that's what I'm getting at. Suck it up, be a man and go tell your woman how you really feel. Life is too short to be so damn miserable." Morgan could not believe he was talking to this gigantic winged behemoth as if he were a 20-something lovesick kid, but he was.
"I am not a man...," Goliath protested weakly.
"And I'm tuna salad. Who cares what you are on the outside. You're a man on the inside or you wouldn't understand a damn thing I'm trying to tell you. Be a man, be a gargoyle, be a dragon, be a damn rainbow crappin' unicorn for all I care, but please save that woman from herself before it's too late. It's not rocket science." Morgan blasted him.
Goliath scowled at Morgan and the cop thought he was about to become a greasy spot on the stone floor. The giant gargoyle straightened and put the foot that had been on the railing back down on the floor. His expression softened, but only just. "Perhaps," he said with a bitter smile for Morgan, "you are right."
"Damn right I am. Now go talk to her before you lose your nerve. I just hope she hasn't left the party yet." Morgan grumbled. As the big guy moved past him, the cop let out a breath. Moments later, he found a nice cushy chair and practically fell into it. His knees felt like jello. What the hell was he thinking?! Goliath could have turned him into a meat pie with those boulders he called hands. He decided he should think things through a little better next time he wanted to confront a gargoyle. The thought struck him then that petite little Elisa Maza and that mountainous temper of hers had probably blasted the gargoyle straight to the stratosphere on more than one occasion. He shook his head and laughed. Brave woman! That would have been worth gold to see given their extreme differences in height and mass.
/
Elisa heard the door to the balcony open and turned thinking it was Morgan back from his long search for drinks. "I thought you got lost..."
Goliath stood silently in the doorway as if he were deciding how to approach her. Finally he stepped fully into the moonlight and allowed the door to close behind him. "Morgan said you were here.."
"That's just great! Leave it to me to find the one cop on the whole force brave enough to hunt you down and send you after me!" she snapped and pushed herself away from the half-wall intending to push past him and leave.
"I wish to talk," Goliath began, seeing his chance to speak to her rapidly evaporating in the face of her anger.
"Well I don't want to talk to you!" she growled and stopped directly in front of him. He was still blocking the door.
"We have much to discuss." He grumbled at her in a tone sharper than he had intended.
"I think we discussed everything there is to discuss months ago. Now move!" there was fire in her eyes at the last.
"We cannot leave it this way, Elisa." Goliath was pleading, actually pleading. It stopped her in her tracks as she made her way around him to the door.
"Oh...This is priceless!" came a voice so much like Goliath's that it sent chills down Elisa's spine. She whirled around to see Thailog gracefully drop onto the balcony.
"Thailog! What do you want?!" Goliath growled at the other male, so much like himself and yet so very different.
"I've come to collect my property. Where is Delilah?" he asked in a silken tone.
"No one is the property of another, human or gargoyle. I thought you had learned that lesson!" Goliath roared and rushed the other male.
Elisa saw the flash of steel in the moonlight too late. Thailog thrust the blade into Goliath's gut, grabbed his shoulder and pushed him down, forcing the bladed deeper. He whispered in his ear as he held him firmly on the blade, "I grow tired of our little games, Father."
With a jerk of his arm, Thailog tore the knife from Goliath's gut forcing a grunt from the other male's lips. He pushed him away roughly and turned toward Elisa. He bellowed at her,"Where is Delilah?"
"Go to hell!" Elisa snarled at him.
"Been there, done that, my dear." he made a grab for her with one hand, talons tangling in her costume and slashed the other at her with something that looked like Freddie Kueger's glove combined with a pickle jar. It grazed her arm drawing a thin stripe of blood as she slipped beyond his reach toward Goliath.
Thailog was not finished with his 'father', however and he charged at them. Elisa, torn between going to Goliath and getting help dove out of the way. She glanced back at Goliath, there was so much blood, more than she had ever seen pour out of him at one time. He looked weak, almost frail slumped against the wall as he was. He struggled to rise, slipped once in his own blood and managed to gain his feet. Putting himself between her and Thailog, he glanced back at her briefly.
"Go, Elisa...!" his voice was barely more than a whisper as he gently pushed her with one large hand toward the door behind them. He was losing an increasing amount of blood with every triplicate beat of his heart. He knew he would not last until sunrise, but at least he would see her safe.
Elisa burst through the door just as the two giant gargoyles clashed. Claws gouged into the stone floor as Goliath slid into the great hall among the party-goers, Thailog's hands locked with his own. The music and chatting stopped abruptly, people screamed and scattered.
Goliath struggled for control, but he was rapidly losing this battle. Weakness from blood loss was taking its toll on his body. He caught a glimpse of Elisa running toward the hallway that lead to the media room and beyond, of the others, he saw no sign. Willing her onward, he knew she would find Hudson and Bronx before the others.
Thailog must have noticed Goliath was weakening. He doubled his efforts to take the other down. Unlike his 'father' he was not above fighting dirty to get what he wanted. He jabbed a fist into Goliath's wound and gained a great deal of satisfaction at the groaning scream it tore from the lavender male's lungs. Again and again he pounded his fist into the wound. He had no intention of allowing Goliath to survive the night. One of the clones, one he had taken back into his fold, had told him Goliath was making moves on his 'mate'. In his eyes, that was a death sentence, but he would not kill him right away. No, Goliath was too strong to die so quickly. Thailog thought he might subdue him and then have some fun with the little human whore that so tantalized his 'father'. Of course, Goliath would have to live long enough to watch. Once he grew tired of her, he would kill them both. Perhaps, he thought with rare bit of sentimentality, they might find in the afterlife what they could not achieve in life.
/
Goliath's roaring cries of pain chased her down the hallway. She winced with each one and realized they were becoming weaker with every passing moment. The walls of the castle were not completely soundproof and just as she came within sight of the media room, Hudson stepped out, Bronx hot on his heels to escape.
"What's this then?" the old soldier asked as he saw her coming and caught the scent of blood. "You be bleedin'! What's happened?"
"Thailog...," Elisa panted and did not need to say more as that single word was punctuated by Goliath's weakening cry of pain.
Hudson's eyes widened and flashed pure white even as Bronx took off down the hall in a headlong dash. "By the dragon! Where be the others?"
"Patrol..," Elisa tried to catch her breath.
"Damn, then it be on us, lass." Hudson growled as he unsheathed his sword and barreled down the hallway after Bronx. Elisa followed at a safe distance from his thrashing tail.
/
The ceiling above him shook with a mini-quake and Xanatos looked up from his place at Fox's side. They had not meant to leave their guests on their own for so long, but Fox was a master at seduction. The outfit she had worn had only served to make matters worse. David soon found himself stripped nude in a tangle of fine sheets and long legs. The quake came again accompanied by a faint gargoyle roar and plaster dust raining down on them. It sounded like Goliath, but it was much too faint.
"Looks like the party's over." David said with a sigh as he leaned in to kiss Fox before climbing out of bed. As he gathered up his scattered clothes, he touched a panel on the wall near the closet. "Owen, how are our guests doing?"
The reply was not as immediate as he would have liked given the circumstance, but it did come. "Not well, Sir. Most of our human guests have fled the fighting. It seems your suspicion that Thailog still lived was correct, after all."
"Then I win the bet. Prep the Epsilon suit and ready the remainder of the steel clan. This is going to get ugly." David said as if he were ordering dinner.
"It already is, Sir." Owen muttered before the intercom was reduced to sizzling static.
Meanwhile, Fox had apparently fished around for her discarded clothing and dressed much faster than her husband. He was delighted to see that she had dawned some of the more important pieces of her Pack armor as well.
"It must be really bad up there if the fight is interfering with the intercom." she noted as she headed for the door.
"I can't wait to find out," David said in an annoyed tone as he followed her out.
The elevator opened up on a scene of chaos and carnage. Everything was broken, absolutely everything in the great hall including the intercom system. Then there was the blood, it smeared the walls, the floor, the broken objects. David Xanatos had never seen so much blood. At least he was not one to faint at the sight of it, he thought as he scanned the room both with his own eyes and the HUD system of the Epsilon. He caught a glimpse of Thailog racing out onto one of the balconies with Delilah struggling against him. The clan gave chase, most of them anyway. Goliath was slumped against a greatly blood smeared wall, his breathing shallow and ragged. The detective at his side crying great big cow tears, a feat for which Xanatos had thought her incapable. She supported the gargoyle's limp head. It was then that he saw the source of the blood. Goliath, his greatest enemy, his greatest friend was bleeding out from a horrible gash in his gut. He thought for a moment that he glimpsed a loop of intestine peaking out from the wound. Sunset was still hours off. He doubted the gargoyle would survive that long.
Fox gasped beside him when the sight laid itself out before her eyes. Without so much as a word, she stepped back into the elevator. David glance back at her and she said two simple words before the door closed. "Dr. Sato."
/
Brendon Quarters noticed the party had gone particularly quiet. He had thought all the roaring was due to some of the 'gargoyle' guests messing around. Now he wandered as he stepped through one of many doors. He had been chatting it up with Dr. Jay Sato for the better part of an hour. The doctor was a lightweight, having all but passed out before the roaring had started. Now that things were quiet Brendon thought he would venture out and find something to eat. Food; however, was the last thing he wanted after the carnage met his eyes. He saw the gargoyle slumped over on the floor pouring rivers of crimson from a gut wound. The human could easily have sunk both fists into it with room to spare. That, he decided, is not a costume. In that moment, it didn't matter if it really was a gargoyle or just a very big man in a suit, the guy needed help. He turned around and stepped back out the door he had come from. It was time the good doctor had some coffee. Ok, a lot of coffee and maybe some speed as a chaser, he thought as his eyes feel on the decidedly drunk doctor.
/
Elisa cradled his head in her lap and smoothed his hair away from his sweat soaked brow, a brow that was so different from her own. The brow spikes were not as sharp as she had thought they would be. She had often dreamed of touching his hair, exploring its texture at her leisure. Now she had the chance to do just that, but it was not the pleasure she longed for. Goliath lay near death. His pulse was sluggish, his breathing shallow and the flush of lavender across his skin growing paler by the second. He barely had the strength to keep his eyes open, but somehow he did and his gaze never left her face.
Goliath mustered the strength to reach up and run a weak talon through her hair, making sure he had her attention. His voice, when it came, was the roughened whisper of dry leaves skittering over pavement. "You cannot stop me...I will...say it...this once...," he had to take a breath, he was dying and he was at peace with it so long as she knew the deepest secret of his heart. "I love you..."
The tears flowed freely now and her breath hitched, "I love you too." The words felt so natural, so normal. She bent down and kissed his lips tenderly. When she drew back there was a faint smile on his lips. It faded away when his eyes rolled back and slid shut.
Goliath's body went limp in her arms and he slid further down the wall. She had manhandled him before, but he was dead weight now. She allowed his head to lull to his chest and spread her hands over that powerful expanse, searching for the steady triple beat of his heart. Several long second, an eternity, passed and then she felt it, there just to the left of his breastbone. It was slow, weak and fading away just as his life force was.
"No," she pleaded with his still form. "Don't you dare die on me! Not now! Not when I finally understand what you mean to me!"
"I hear someone needs a doc...Oh My God, what is that?!" Dr. Sato interrupted himself when his eyes found his patient. Brendon had warned him the 'man' in need was unusual. What he had failed to mention was that his patient might very well need a veterinarian instead of a medical doctor. His mind was still wrapping around the obvious differences when he noted all the blood and the gravity of the wound. His professional side taking over, he knelt down beside his rather large patient. Human, animal or whatever his basic anatomy was all very similar.
"What do you need, Doctor? Name it and I will make it happen." Xanatos said coming up along side Dr. Sato. He had not gone far, but he had failed to track Thailog down. They all had, but the steel clan was still out there...searching. David had been the first one back, but the others were not far behind him.
"Hot water, antiseptic,...a surgical bay...," Sato began the list in a tone that said he was likely to get none of those things.
"Done. There's clinic a few floors down. It's stocked with everything you'll need and more." Xanatos said and ignored the odd looks he received for it.
"Does it at least include a surgical kit. I'm going to need instruments to clean up the edges of that wound." Sato asked as he gingerly probed the puncture.
"It does...," Xanatos said cautiously.
"We need to move him to this clinic of yours. Any ideas how we do that? This is one very big man or whatever he is." Sato took in the whole of Goliath even as his professional mind was taking on the task of treating him.
"I will carry him and he be a gargoyle, lad." Hudson said as he took in the sight. He had seen wounds such as the one that marred Goliath's abdomen on the battlefields of Scotland. They never ended well. He had hoped to never see the likes of such a wound again, especially not on one of his clan. He gauged Goliath's condition from the shallow rise and fall of his chest and the sheer amount of blood that was smeared everywhere. If he was right, the lad was near his end.
Sato moved aside for yet another large gargoyle. Elisa could only watch as Hudson strained and lifted his larger clan leader. She had effectively been pinned under part of his weight. The feeling began to painfully return to her feet as his weight was slowly lifted.
"Och, ye weigh a ton, lad." Hudson heaved as he motioned for Broadway to grab the unconscious male's feet. "Come on then, we 'aven't much time."
/
Somehow, Elisa still was not sure how, they had managed to carry him to Xanatos' clinic. She had had to jog to keep up with their pace. Xanatos suggested she take the time to clean up in one of the bathrooms, but she had refused. She wanted to be there if something happened, if he didn't make it to dawn. Surprisingly, Xanatos left the offer open, saying that she was welcome to stay the day no matter the outcome. That offer she had accepted. She knew some wounds took more than a single day of stone sleep to heal and she suspected that this would be one of them.
Pacing around the luxurious waiting room, she had time to wander why Xanatos had a clinic in his building. It made a certain kind of sense. He had such a vast employee base. Keep the workers healthy and they will work until they drop. She was sure that must be his way of thinking on the matter. Right now, she didn't care if he had an entire hospital and an army of doctors at his disposal. All she wanted was to hear that Goliath would be survive until sunrise. It was close. She stopped before one of the large windows and looked out over the eastern sky. That sky was growing lighter by the second. She pulled her hands through her hair wearily, it had escaped the bands and tiara of her costume. Looking down, she realized distantly that she would not be getting the deposit back on the rental. Goliath's blood was drying into it making it feel like stiffened cardboard. Goliath's blood, her heart sank with the thought that she might never see his face again. Hudson had reluctantly told her what happened when a Gargoyle died. He would turn to stone and then crumble to dust at the moment the sun broke over the horizon. The clan would collect the dust for the wind ceremony and say their final goodbyes on the following night. Those were the thoughts making her eyes mist over when she heard the door leading to the exam rooms and surgical bay open.
"Is he alive? Will he make it to sunrise?" Elisa rushed forward bombarding the obviously tired doctor with her most vital questions.
"Thanks to the blood Angela donated, he pulled through surgery. He's resting until this miraculous event you mentioned at sunrise." the doctor announced, making special note of Angela's contribution to her father's survival. "Only time will tell if he makes it until then. I've done everything I can for him. Now it's up to him."
Elisa let out a slow breath she had not known she was holding and smiled wanly at the doctor. It was all she could ask for, he still lived. "Can we see him?"
"I would say it's best to let him rest, but given the circumstances and the nature of his...clan was it?..." the doctor paused, taking in their wings, tails, claws and bone spurs. "...only for a few minutes and just one or two at a time."
"Go on, Elisa. We'll see him when the sun sets...one way or another," Brooklyn said, motioning her to follow the doctor.
"Are you sure?" she asked numbly.
"Yeah, he needs you now more than he needs us." the brick red gargoyle shrugged and tilted his beak toward the door beyond the doctor. Brooklyn had just entered the great hall from his fruitless search for Thailog when he overheard Goliath confess his love for the human female. He wasn't sure what to think of the revelation, but now was not the time to pick it apart.
Elisa hugged him briefly and turned to follow the doctor. Dr. Sato lead her to the recovery room. The bed Goliath was propped up in was huge and she could see why the doctor had not attempted to move it into a more private room. The gargoyle's weight plus that of the bed would have given the doctor the hernia of hernias for sure.
Though still very pale, Goliath looked as if he were no longer on death's doorstep. Some of the color was slowly returning to his face. Elisa wandered how much of that was due to the bag of blood that hung from the I.V. pole near his bed. Would the blood turn to stone as well with the rising of the sun?, the thought swirled lazily around in her mind as she drew nearer the bed. It was gargoyle blood, after all. Her heart skipped a beat when her eyes flowed down over the large swatch of bandages that wrapped around his midsection. It was then that she realized she had been such a fool. She had thrown away everything, she had thrown him away along with the security he had offered her. So what if he was not human. He was far better than most of the human men she had dated. Noble, chivalrous, protective, almost doting in his generosity with her. She had thrown it back in his face with questions and demands of 'normalcy'.
Elisa didn't know how he could even look at her after the cold things she had said to him, let alone still love her. Right now, in this moment, she accepted that love and took his large hand in both of hers as she sat in the lone chair near the bed. Live or die, she would be there with him every step of the way.
/
Just before dawn, Goliath's eyes slowly fluttered open. He was aware of many things all at once. His middle hurt abominably, there was the thick, metallic scent of blood and dawn was coming. He moved his hand slightly and found the gentle pressure of a pair of human hands lightly gripping it. There was a slight weight on his forearm as well. The weakness of blood loss had sapped his great strength to that of a newly born kitten. Even a hatchling would be stronger than he felt just then. Only his eyes moved to trace the form that pinned his arm to the soft surface beneath him. Black hair fanned out in a tangled mass around the head that was pillowed on his arm. Her hands reflexively squeezed his larger hand in her sleep. A faint smile touched his lips as he flexed a single finger beneath her hands.
Gasping, Elisa sat up and pushed a mass of hair out of her face. She looked around in sleepy confusion for a moment. Her eyes locked on his completely alert an instant later. His gaze was half-lidded, but his eyes followed her every movement. She still wore the costume with a sizable stain of his blood dried into it. He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. It had not been a dream then, he thought, it was real. Death had nearly claimed him as a trophy while defending her against his clone. She knew what truly lay in his heart of hearts for her. As the humans often said, 'the ball was in her court'.
Elisa smiled at him and brushed a stray strand of hair from his face, "Hey, big guy..."
He wanted to speak, but found that he could not. She pressed her fingers to his lips ever so gently with a frown of concern on her face and a decided shushing sound on her lips. In other circumstances, he might have been irritated by the 'shush'. Now, he thought the action was endearing. He frowned slightly when she stepped back out of his reach until he noticed the stirring in his belly, the signal that dawn was only moments away.
"The sun's coming up. Rest easy, big guy. I'll be here when you wake up." Elisa said softly with a smile on her tired face.
The first rays of the sun drifted in through a window he had not noticed. Stone sleep slithered over him like a ravenous lover and he welcomed it.
/
Elisa waited several long minutes after sunrise chewing her lip nervously. She had to know for sure that he wasn't going to crumble away to dust, that he had not lost his fight for life just as the sun took him. Five minutes passed, then ten and his stone form remained as solid as it had been the first time she had seen it. She let out a sigh and rubbed the back of her aching neck. He would wake at sunset and if she intended to be here, she needed some sleep. She made her way out into the waiting room to find the others frozen in stone there. They had waited all night. In reality it had only been three or four hours. True to their collective word, they allowed her to stay with their leader during what could have been his final hours.
It took some time, but she made her way to Xanatos' office hoping that his offer of a place to clean up and rest had not been in vain. She could use a shower in the worst way. Tapping on the door, she was surprised when it opened so suddenly. Owen stood on the other side. There was a faint smile on his face and for once, Elisa did not feel that it hid any malice.
"Mr. Xanatos mentioned you might be in need of a place to rest after your...shall we say...exhaustive night." the majordomo said in something that was not quite his normal oatmeal tone.
"Yeah, he didn't mention I might be needing a change of clothes, did he?" Elisa asked with just a hint of tired sarcasm.
"He did at that. Fox insisted she was a good judge of sizes and retrieved something tasteful. I've taken the liberty of placing the packages in the room that was prepared for you. If you'll follow me, detective." Owen said with a gestured back down the hall she had come from.
"Yeah, I just bet she did...," Elisa mumbled under her breath. She didn't like his use of the word tasteful in regards to Fox or her clothing. That woman was known to show a bit too much skin on a regular basis. Elisa's costume was too revealing for her own taste and it only exposed a small section of her midriff. She hated to think what Fox might view as 'tasteful'.
"What was that?" Owen asked a little too casually. The smile on his face reminded Elisa too much of the Puck that hid within him.
"Nothing, never mind. I'm just really tired and could use a shower. Your employer's hospitality is greatly appreciated at the moment." Elisa said in a slightly defensive tone.
"The clan would do anything for you, Miss Maza," Owen seemed to want to make small talk as he guided her to the room Xanatos had promised. He glanced back at her and continued, "None more than Goliath, as he no doubt proved last night. Anything that is good for the clan is good for Mr. Xanatos. They are the guardians of his son, after all."
Elisa made no comment. She was too tired to indulge Owen in his need for chatter. The other must have realized she was fairly a walking zombie as he guided her into a large room on the castle level. She prowled the room in curiosity despite her tiredness. A large wooden four poster bed dominated the room. It was draped in lush burgundy bedding. A fireplace, lit and blazing warmth into the room resided several feet from the foot of the bed. Between the two was an overstuffed love seat. Night stands accented the bedroom with lamps that gave off a warm and inviting light in the early dawn hours. The room was the size of her entire apartment and easily accommodated the rest of the furniture she would expect to see in a bedroom without seeming crowded.
"The bathroom is in here, Miss Maza. It is stocked with towels and other necessities. Your packages are on the vanity." he paused as he handed her a key to the room's massive door. "Rest well and enjoy your stay, Miss Maza."
Elisa turned the key over in her hands as the majordomo left the room. He closed the door firmly behind him. She turned and looked longingly at the bed. It had been a long night. Sighing, she blew a loose strand of hair out of her face and headed for the bathroom. She had expected something the size of a walk-in closet, but this... This was easily as big as the livingroom of her apartment. Dozens of packages spilled across the length of the double-wide vanity. Apparently Fox had gone on a small shopping spree in her honor. The towels were easy to find, an open-faced linen closet was set into the wall behind the door. There were a variety of soaps, body washes and shampoos available as well. She grabbed a big white bath sheet and caroused the selection of body wash.
In minutes she had found something she liked and stepped into a shower that would have been big enough for both her and Goliath to move around in. The jets that burst from the wall were startling at first and then turned into a relaxing bliss. She realized she could become spoiled by this very quickly as she let the water wash away the bloody reminder of the night before.
Clean and drying, dressed in a skimpy white camisole and lacy white underwear to match, she flopped onto the bed, and sank in two inches. It felt like expensive memory foam and she slithered over it into the middle of the giant bed. She dropped her head on the pillow and in a matter of seconds she was sound asleep.
/
Sunset...
Goliath roared awake and the room spun briefly around him. Wincing at the pulling sensation in his midsection, he levered himself into a sitting position and attempted to clear as much of his stone skin away as he could. He was about to pull at the bandages when the doctor who had treated Elisa's gunshot wound made an appearance.
"I see you made it through the day," he paused, crossing the room. "Let me take a look at that. Your friends suggested that stone hibernation might not repair the damage in one day."
Dr. Sato made a few snips and clips at strategic points in the dressing and gently pulled it aside. Beneath, the wound was closed and looked several days old. It was not yet ready for the stitches to be removed. If he had to guess, he would say another day in stone would just about do it. "I've never seen anything like it. Your stone sleep is remarkable."
"Sleep regenerates us...," Goliath said and felt a moment of deja vu. He had once told Elisa the same thing.
"Well, I don't see any reason to keep you here tonight," the doctor forestalled the gargoyle when he opened his mouth to speak by holding up a hand. "but absolutely no gliding tonight. Take it easy, I wouldn't recommend any strenuous activity until tomorrow night. I've done some hang-gliding, I understand the dynamics of the stresses you would be putting on that wound."
A ghost of a smile slid across Goliath's face. This doctor would be a worthy intellectual match with his sharp wit. "I shall take it easy, as you say, Doctor..."
"Oh, pardon my bedside manor, I'm Dr. Jay Sato." he said and extended his hand. Goliath hesitated over that hand for a moment and the doctor waggled it at him expectantly. "I promise you, I'm way past any weirdness in regards to your unique physique. After all, I was elbow deep in your intestines last night trying to keep them inside rather than all over the floor."
Goliath grimaced faintly at the thought and took the proffered hand shaking it gingerly. "I am Goliath, leader of the clan of gargoyles you no doubt met last night."
"So I've heard. Your daughter is a lovely girl with quite the temper. If not for the blood she donated, you wouldn't have made it through surgery."
Goliath nodded. He had no words for the gift Angela had given him. Blood was the vessel of life and he had spilled much of his across the great hall. He looked around the room with a mixture of curiosity and disappointment as the doctor continued to speak.
"You're quite lucky to be alive, honestly. When I first laid eyes on you, I was sure you needed a veterinarian. After I got a good look at that wound, I was convinced you were going to die anyway so I had to try my hand at saving your life. Besides, that sharp-tongued she-demon of yours would have had my innards as a necklace if I hadn't. Luckily your inner anatomy is virtually identical to human anatomy. Once past your outward form, everything else is...well, human..." Sato finished, his hands spread wide with a smile on his face.
Human, the word struck home and Goliath's attention snapped back to the doctor. A passing thought wandered across his mind; what would Demona think about them being mostly human on the inside? The thought enticed a chuckle from him and promptly a wince as the stitches pulled. "I apologize for Angela's behavior...," he began.
"No, no, it wasn't Angela who nearly snapped my head off when the others hauled you into the clinic. Your detective tried to follow us into surgery. When I told her she'd have to wait with the others, she...well, she made it clear I wouldn't like it if something happened to you at my hands." the doctor smiled, it was a pinched smile.
"Elisa...," the name was a wistful sigh.
"Yes, that's her name. Had her as a patient once. I can tell you, she was stubborn then as well. I think that's the only reason she pulled through from that gunshot." Sato shrugged, "Well, the others will be clawing the door down if they don't hear from you soon. I'd greatly enjoy gaining an understanding of your...people...sometime. I think you could use a friend in the medical field as well."
"Yes, I suspect we could. I would be honored to count you as a friend."
/
When Elisa awoke, the room was black as pitch and unfamiliar. There was a soft purring sound coming from the pillow near her head and she turned to find the lamp. It popped on brightly at a touch and she heard a soft meow. Her eyes adjusted slowly to the light and she saw a young cat perhaps a year old perched on the pillow. It looked so much like Cagney that her heart skipped a beat. The animal stood and stretched luxuriously, all the while still purring. That was when she saw the black tail that looked like a lace stocking had been pulled over it. This must be one of the litter of kittens Cagney had while she had been touring the world on the skiff. It seemed like years ago.
Elisa rooted around the packages that had been left for her. There was a decent variety of sensible clothing in them. True to Fox's more spirited tastes, there was also an interesting selection of underwear in them as well. Fortunately, the other woman had judged Elisa's sizes quite accurately. She tossed a pair of black jeans on the bed along with a deep purple blouse and a barely-there matching set of cream lace under-clothes. Apparently, Fox was heavy into lace, go figure.
Getting dressed, her mind turned to Goliath and his ordeal last night. She knew he must be awake by now. How was his wound? Had sleep healed it completely or was he still in danger as Hudson had suggested? She hoped it was healed enough to ensure he would be able to return to his normal activities in the next night or two.
As she headed down the hall toward the tower, Elisa thought of the moment when she was sure Goliath was going to die in her arms. He had poured his heart out to her. He knew he could say anything to her in that moment and she would listen. They had both known those could have been his last words to her. Thailog had almost taken him from her before she had reconciled with herself what he truly meant to her. She was not about to lose him again.
/
Once the others had reassured themselves that he was, in fact, alive and not about to break like a china doll, Goliath made his way to his tower. It was nice to take in the sights of the city, to taste the air and feel it against his skin. He had taken much for granted of late. Her scent wafted around him even as his keen ears picked up the sound of her footsteps. There was an edge of fear to the smile that crossed his face in that moment. True, she had told him she loved him last night, but he could not be sure she truly knew the implications of those words. As he lay dying, she might well have offered him the moon if she thought it would stave off the reaper. Now that he was regaining his strength, she could still reject him for her 'normal' life.
He did not turn from his view of the city when she stepped up beside him. Instead he rubbed a taloned hand over his tender middle and steeled his resolve. At last he spoke, "I will not hold you to words spoken in the face of death. I cannot give you the normal life you desire, nor can I give you... children. All I have to offer is my friendship, my love, if you will have it..."
"Yeah, well," she sighed as she scooted herself up onto the wall to sit with her back to the city. A dangerous thing for a human to do if they had not had a winged guardian to prevent death from a fall of such a staggering height. "normalcy is so overrated anyway."
Now he turned his gaze on her. There was an easy smile on her face. She seemed untroubled by the worries that had creased her face so many nights before. Still uncertain he asked, "What are you saying?"
Putting a hand on his arm she rubbed her fingers over the massive muscles. The skin was leathery, but not rough, more like taut suede. Her smile deepened as her eyes locked with his. He could see the love in them, the longing, the hope, but he feared to acknowledge it. He waited for her answer instead. It came several agonizing moments later.
"I'm saying I can't deny what you mean to me anymore. I was an idiot, can you forgive me?" she glanced over her shoulder at the city below then met his eyes again.
"There is nothing to forgive, my Elisa. You must follow your heart." Goliath didn't trust his voice not to quaver so he kept it very low, but he knew she heard him.
"Good, I'd hoped you'd feel that way," she said as she scooted over in front of him. The stone wall put her at a level to more easily reach him. Her kiss, as unexpected as the first, was returned this time.
Hesitantly he allowed her to deepen the kiss. He thought he could get used to her human kisses. This was something gargoyles rarely practiced themselves, but he had seen Angela and Broadway share such tender moments. His arms, seemingly of their own accord, snaked around her. In the back of his mind, he told himself it was because she could fall and he could not glide down to catch her this night. His heart knew it was from a desire to be near her. He would hungrily take anything she was willing to give of herself. She stirred a passion within him he thought long dead.
Elisa broke the kiss breathlessly and leaned her head against his broad chest. Her voice was soft and husky when she asked, "So, where do we go from here?"
"Anywhere you wish, my love," Goliath rumbled, still not sure of his voice. He hesitated only a moment, "but can it wait until tomorrow night? The doctor does not wish me to glide until he is sure the wound has properly healed."
"I didn't mean to literally go anywhere...," she started to say, glancing down at the healing wound. When she looked back up at his face, there was a sly kind of smile on it. He was developing quite the sense of humor even though it was clear he was in pain.
As the pair affirmed their love and talked of happier times to come, they were unaware of the blazing red eyes that watched them from the darkness...