To start off with, thanks for all of the favs and follows for this fanfiction!
Just a note, this takes place just after Ep 19 of Season 2.
Obligatory Disclaimer: I do not own Gargoyles, I'm just writing a fanfiction out of enjoyment for the enjoyment of others.
Elisa couldn't stop laughing as she worked through the pile of paperwork that followed her night shift. Matt, with bags under his eyes twice the size of hers, kept giving her looks that equally conveyed curiosity and annoyance. Once he managed to ask, "What's so funny?"
"Nothing." Elisa had replied, still smiling.
The undercover assignment to put Tony Dracon behind bars was successful but also completely draining. But Elisa knew she was going to go to sleep with a smile on her face: firstly for a job well done, secondly Goliath's reaction to eating a jalapeño was brilliant, and thirdly having Goliath's reaction frozen in stone was priceless.
Elisa contemplated going back to the clock tower and taking a picture but decided against it when she felt her eye lids drooping more frequently as the morning wore on. She had a few days of paperwork ahead of her yet, but just wanted to write down as many notes as she could before she left the station. She looked up at Matt to see him asleep with his head on a pile of his own paperwork.
"Matt." Elisa said, "Matt!"
"No thanks, I'm on a diet." Matt said, jerking upright and looking groggy.
"You going to be alright going home by yourself?"
Matt nodded his head and wearily got up to make his exit and Elisa followed suit minutes later. It had taken all of her concentration to make sure she didn't fall asleep at the wheel and crash her car, but when she got home instead of winding down and getting ready for bed, Elisa let her thoughts drift back to the Dracon assignment, and naturally, to Goliath.
Secretly, Elisa was so pleased that Goliath (and Broadway) recognized that she wasn't herself and hadn't abandoned her. It had been so difficult to shout and be cold towards them, but wasn't nearly as terrible as Tony Dracon leering at her, sliding his fingertips across her shoulders and up her legs. Elisa shuddered at the memory of Dracon having been so physically close to her, followed by a feeling of mild nausea. It had taken every inch of control not to punch Dracon in the face and pretend like she was interested in that vile man.
Oscar worthy performance, Elisa thought wryly, but definitely time for a long, hot shower.
Sighing, she pulled her clothes off, leaving a trail of her laundry behind her as she made her way to the bathroom. Determined to finish the day with good thoughts, Elisa began to recall Goliath's stone face again, expression of surprise. Seconds before Broadway interrupted, Goliath's hand on her arm and sincere words made her feel like they had been brought one step closer together. She laughed again and mused that if Goliath's reaction had been anything less she would have been annoyed at Broadway's interference.
Elisa always considered herself to be an independent, capable, and resourceful woman, and in no need of help or protection from another person, much less a man.
Goliath is not a man, Elisa reminded herself, He is a gargoyle.
That fact was never more apparent when he said, "I will protect you and you will protect me."
No man Elisa knew would have said that, implying that there would be situation where a woman's help would be required. Even Matt would take the lead in dangerous situations where he was less experienced than allow Elisa to be in the line of danger. With Goliath, he could protect her from their enemies who had obvious advantages, but he knew that she had her own set of skills and could hold her own.
And that's what I like about Goliath, Elisa decided as she let the hot water run over her head, He knows how to bring out the best in everybody.