Thanks for the reviews, guys! I really appreiate it.
Make sure to R&R again! :-)
Ok, so I don't own Gargoyles... but I do own this, like the story/plot/idea/Gabrielle/Werk/old cadiologist guy.
Yup. Thanks again!
Gabrielle, after removing the bullets, grabbed a bottle of peroxide by her feet. She was kneeling, and there was a line of products, tools, and bandages that had been dumped out of a large duffel bag that she found in one of the closets of the hospital. Before she started pouring, she warned him. "This is going to sting. A lot."
The gargoyle nodded sharply and waited for the liquid to burn his skin. He didn't know what peroxide was, but before she began operating, she had explained to him everything she was going to do and how she was going to do it, and why. Even during surgery, she would narrate her actions. He supposed that she did this so he wouldn't question or protest, as well as it possibly being a tactic for making both of them less nervous.
Already he had trusted her. There was something about this woman that made him feel at ease. The only other human that he had found this quality in was Elisa. He wondered if he should openly display his trust for this human, but decided that he would worry about that when she was done working on him.
He stiffened as the liquid burned his skin even though it was unbearably cold. His eyes glowed and his hair stood on end. "Ow!"
"Relax," She cooed. "It's almost done." She poured some of the peroxide on his wings, letting in seep in the skin and drip through the holes.
He forced his body to relax and the lighting of his eyes dimmed and eventually disappeared. He stared out into the sky, pushing his thoughts elsewhere, somewhere beyond the pain his was feeling. He was glad that someone could help him, and he somehow felt stronger knowing that he was being helped and would soon return to his clan. He knew everything would turn out all right. His certainty was a liberating and comforting sensation.
She started to bandage his torso. "So, what's your name?"
"Brooklyn," He mummerred. "And yours?"
"Gabrielle. Is it just Brooklyn? Do you have a name for your…pack?"
He smirked. He enjoyed that she tried, and had apparently enough knowledge to know that gargoyles were not strictly solitary creatures. "No. Clans don't get names."
"Oh." She nodded, curious about the life of a gargoyle. "Well, families of humans have names, and mine is Garnett. My full name is Gabrielle Louise Garnett."
He wrinkled his forehead in confusion. "I thought you just said your name was 'Gabrielle' and that your family name was 'Garnett.'" He took a deep breath and doggedly exhaled. "Where did 'Louise' come from?"
As she finished wrapping him up, she grabbed balls of gauze that she placed on both sides of the holes of his wings. "Sometimes humans get two names." She smiled, grateful to have the conversation make things less nerve-wracking. "There are so many humans out there, that some share the same first names. Sometimes, people of different families share family names. Some humans get second names to make them different, so that there's less confusion."
Brooklyn groaned. "That's confusing."
Gabrielle suppressed a giggle. "I suppose so."
She finished patching him up in silence. When she was done, she tested him by asking him how many fingers she held up, seeing to it that his pupils weren't dilated, and asked him to sit up.
The bandages prevented him from doing it with speed, but he could eventually straighten. He massaged his head with his claw. "Man, what a night." He glanced at the sky. "Aw, no!"
"What? What's wrong?"
"It's almost sun-up! I'll never make it back to my clan in time!" He looked away from the sky and into her eyes. He was openly anxious and at a loss.
She tilted her head. "Well, you can stay with me for today. My apartment is three stories up. So," She craned her head backward to view the side of the building. "That third window up there leads to the inside of my home. There's a fire escape platform right by it, so you could rest there."
Brooklyn looked down at his bandages, then up at the third story window. "I don't know if I could even make it up there." He shifted his eyes back to the ground.
Gabrielle gathered her things and stood. "Don't lose heart now." She formed a toothy smile. "I didn't go through all this work for you to just mope! I'll help you up the stairs." She shook her head, feigning a scolding as well as confidence. "You just saved me, but you didn't see me gripe about anything. Come on, you need to be in a safe place while you rest." Gabrielle stuffed everything in the bag and slung it over her shoulder. She then slid an arm around Brooklyn's torso, hoping he wouldn't feel her hands shaking. "Come on, I'll help you." She gently nudged him forward.
Brooklyn stumbled not from weakness and the lack of will to her push, but out of shock. He never would have imagined a human to treat him like this. Trying to repay a favor was one thing, but it simply amazed him at how willing she was to make everything easier for him. A human genuinely wanted to help him, and this was a truth that he had started to consider a mere myth when he was back in Scotland over a thousand years ago.
They trudged up the steps quietly. It was a very strenuous process for both of them, but they managed to get to the third story fire escape platform before dawn.
Out of breath, Brooklyn's mind boggled at the entirety of Gabrielle; a human, helpful, kind, and so far, very genuine. He hoped for a new friend. He couldn't help himself from asking between pants, "Why did you do all this?...Just for me?...Why would you do something…like this?"
Her face was beat-red and sweat cascaded from her pores, but she had he biggest smile that Brooklyn had ever seen. "Why not?" She panted. "I did this because…I wanted to…Sometimes your gut tells you to do the wildest things…and sometimes…you have no choice but to listen to it."
"So you did this all…on an instinct?" He was perplexed as he looked down at her. This logic sounded strangely gargoyle-like.
She slowly took her arm from his waist and let it hang at her side. "Yeah. I have a feeling that you're not so bad. I think you would make a great friend."
Brooklyn stammered. He couldn't believe the courage this woman had. "You—you wanna be friends?"
Her eyes lit up. "Sure!" She paused, catching her breath. She was quite visibly shivering, but he couldn't decide if she was being pushed beyond her physical limits or her mental ones. "Why bother to make enemies or toss people aside when you can be friends?" She looked at Brooklyn, with tired but glimmering eyes. "Well, I guess I better go get some sleep, too." She turned to the staircase and quickly swiveled to face her new friend. "Or I'll just wait here until dawn, then I'll head inside."
Brooklyn shrugged. "Whatever works." He smiled. "You're willing to watch me safely turn to stone? Man, I can't wait to tell the guys!" His smile grew broader, displaying white sharp teeth that no longer seemed menacing. "Thanks a lot."
"Oh," She shrugged stiffly in return and stuttered. "No problem." Brooklyn hoped that her nervousness was because of the excess adrenaline in her system and not because of a mind-numbing fear of him.
He squatted, placing his hands on the metal before him for balance. "No wonder I'm second-in-command." He said proudly, grinning smugly. "I beat up some bad guys, saved someone, and I've made a friend. I can't wait to tell Elisa and the rest of my clan!"
"Oh." She said numbly, not aware of what he was talking about or whom he was referring to. She nodded and acted as if she understood.
Gabrielle looked over her shoulder to see the sky, careful to not look at the streets below to remind her of how high up she was. She saw the sun slowly coming into view. "Well, good morning, Brooklyn. Sweet dreams."
His eyes twinkled. "Thanks. You, too, Gab." His body instantly solidified, and he was a statue. If she hadn't just witnessed Brooklyn turn from flesh to stone, she would have sworn that he had always been a statue.
It finally dawned on her. "Wait… 'Gab?'"
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