Author's Notes: I am really, really sorry about the long wait. I'm just going to have to have my muse sedated. Maybe then she'll be more cooperative with the creating new chapters for all of my stories. I hope.
As the last rays of the sun disappear from the sky, the sound of shattering stone and roars fills the air. The gargoyles yawn and stretch as the moon starts to peek over the horizon and Goliath glides down from his perch to join Brooklyn, Bronx, Lex and Hudson.
"I must go meet Elisa," Goliath announces. "How is your chest, Lexington?"
"It's fine," Lex answers as he pulls the bandages off to reveal smooth, unblemished hide.
"Good," Goliath states as he hops onto the ledge the others just vacated. "I should be back before dawn. Try to stay out of trouble."
With that, the clan leader leaps into the air and glides off into the night. A few moments later, Broadway and Angela land near them, both acting a bit embarrassed towards the others. Bronx runs up to greet them and happily accepts their caresses while Lex and Brooklyn hang back, neither one looking too happy.
"Hi, guys," Broadway hesitantly greets.
"Hey," Brooklyn nearly growls, slightly mantling his wings.
"Hi," Lex quietly responds as he unconsciously runs a hand over his healed chest.
"Guys, what's wrong?" Broadway asks, taking a step closer to his rookery brothers only to have them both take a step back.
"Your girlfriend was going to try and slice Gwen in two," Brooklyn snarls. "She nearly succeeded with Lex."
"I have a name, you know," Angela snaps, her eyes starting to glow red. "What was that woman doing here anyways?"
"She was checking my wing to make sure it healed right!" Brooklyn shouts as he opens his wings to their full span. "Thanks to her, I can fly again!"
"That'll be enough from the lot of ya," Hudson interrupts before Angela can open her mouth. "And before ye be sayin' anythin' you'll be regretin' later, lass, I suggest you think about who else you went after."
Angela stops and thinks for several seconds before her eyes return to their normal color, grow very wide and a look of horror passes over her face.
"I attacked Elisa," she whispers in horror and Broadway immediately goes to her side to comfort her. "She's like a sister to me and I attacked her."
Tears start to roll down her face and Broadway pulls her into his arms, wrapping his wings around her. Bronx whimpers in confusion and gently butts his massive head against the couple to offer his support and comfort. Lex and Brooklyn shift around uncomfortably as Brooklyn capes his wings over his shoulders, both of them look like they'd like to be anywhere but right there at that moment.
"She's never going to forgive me," she whispers when the tears finally dry up.
"She'll forgive, lass, don't ya be worrin' about that," Hudson assures her as he moves closer to the couple.
"Yeah, she's had other things to worry about," Lex mutters.
"Like what?" she asks.
"Like Demona nearly killed her and if it hadn't been for Gwen, she could have died," Brooklyn answers.
"Is she alright?" Broadway nearly demands.
"She is now," Brooklyn replies. "She went into something called anaphelectic shock."
"Anaphylactic shock," Lex corrects.
"What happened?" Angela inquires.
"After you tried to attack her, Goliath took her and was headin' to see the lads," Hudson explains. "Demona rose to mate the night before you did, so she attacked them. She bit Elisa on the arm and that's when she went into the anaphwhatsit shock."
"Anaphylactic," Lex repeats.
"Luckily he brought her to Gwen's place and Gwen was able to take care of her," Brooklyn adds. "Goliath was pretty upset, too. We practically had to drag him out of Gwen's bedroom so she could treat Elisa."
"But she's alright now?" Angela questions.
"Yeah, she's back at work and everything, but she'll probably have to be extra careful now," Lex replies. "I looked up anaphylactic shock in one of Gwen's textbooks and it's is an acute systemic and severe allergic reaction which happens when a person is exposed to a trigger substance."
"So, what was the trigger substance?" Angela asks.
"Don't know," Brooklyn replies with a shrug.
"I'm sure her doctor is running a bunch of tests to find out," Lex puts in.
"Where's Father now?" Angela inquires.
"He went to meet with Elisa," Hudson answers.
"I guess neither one of them wants to talk to me now," Angela quietly says as she buries her face in Broadway's shoulder.
"I'm sure there's a good reason for him leavin'," Hudson assures her.
"He did sound like it was rather urgent," Lex states.
"Well, whatever the reason, I'm sure it's a good one," Hudson puts in.
They stand around in silence for a few moments as the couple digests the news of what happened while they were busy. Angela continues to lean on Broadway for support as he runs a comforting hand up and down her back and Bronx rubs his head against them.
"So, what else did we miss while we were…," Broadway starts to ask.
"Making babies?" Lex finishes for him.
"Uh, yeah," Broadway bashfully replies.
"Well, you already know that my wing got fixed and Elisa got sent to the hospital," Brooklyn says as he takes a seat on the low wall behind him.
"Oh, Matt asked Gwen out on a date," Lex puts in.
"As in Matt Bluestone?" Angela questions.
"Yeah, I think he's sweet on her," Lex muses with a smile.
"What was your first clue, Sherlock?" Brooklyn sarcastically asks. "Him asking her out or the fact that he showed up unannounced at her apartment?"
"Ha ha, very funny," Lex grumbles. "You know, he's probably already picked her up by now."
"Yeah, I wonder how their date is going," Brooklyn says, leaning back and checking out the city below him.
"You know, I remember the name of the restaurant he's taking her to," Lex states with a crafty look on his face. "Bet I could look up on the internet where it is."
"Now, don't you two be disturbin' their date," Hudson warns. "Human matin' rituals can be very complex and extremely confusin' in the best of circumstances. They don't need you two muckin' about and interferin'."
"We won't be interfering," Lex assures the older gargoyle as he races for his computer. "We'll just be making sure everything's running smoothly."
"Right, running smoothly," Brooklyn repeats as he chases after his friend into the castle.
"You'd think those two only hatched yesterday sometimes," Hudson grumbles as he shakes his head and heads inside. "Come on, boy. Let's go see what's on the television tonight."
Bronx gladly follows his friend, leaving the two lovers alone to find comfort in each other.
"Wow, you look incredible," Matt tells her, still in shock from the transformation.
"Thank you," Gwen replies, hoping the makeup covers her quickly reddening cheeks. "You're looking very handsome yourself."
"Oh, I just put on a shirt with a few less wrinkles and a new tie," he admits, absently smoothing down his tie. "You're like Cinderella."
"So, I looked like a scullery maid before?" she asks, an amused twinkle in her eye.
"No, of course not," he hastily amends and starts to blush himself. "You know what? Why don't we get going before I make any more of a fool out of myself?"
"That sounds good," she chuckles.
A few minutes later they're stepping out into the autumn night and a shiver runs up her spine as the bitter cold bites right through her thin wrap. Luckily, he was able to find a parking spot near the front door and she's quickly seated in the still warm car. They sit in silence for the ride over to the restaurant as she's too busy praying as he zips through New York City traffic and she's sure she sees her life flash before her eyes a few times.
"You ok?" he asks once they're stopped and he's turned of the ignition.
"Fine," she squeaks.
"Why do I have a feeling you're not being completely honest with me?" he questions with a raised eyebrow.
"Why do you say that?" she asks, her voice still higher than normal.
"I don't know, possibly because you've got a death grip on my door handle," he answers, a smile threatening to emerge.
"Yes, well, I'm not really used to driving through New York," she admits as her heart finally starts to slow down and she starts trying to convince her hand to let go of the aforementioned door handle.
"Perhaps we should go inside now," he suggests while he opens his door.
"Sounds like a good idea," she replies as she convinces her fingers to release the handle.
He unlocks the doors and a second later a valet opens her door, offering his hand to help her out. She gratefully takes it as he steadies her on her heels before handing her over to Matt. She takes a good look around at the opulent setting and eyes him suspiciously.
"I thought you were taking me out to dinner," she says.
"I am," he assures her and he tucks her hand in the crook of his arm. "This hotel has an excellent restaurant on the roof."
"On the roof?" she asks as they start to make their way through the hotel lobby. "I hope it's not open air."
"Trust me," he tells her as they reach the elevators.
She looks at him a bit funny, but says nothing as the elevator doors open and they get in with a few other people. After making several stops at various floors, they get to the top and the doors open. She stands there staring at the sight before her and it's not until a hand at the small of her back gently pushes her does she get out of the lift.
"Welcome to The View," the maitre d' greets as they step up to the podium. "May I help you?"
"Yes, reservation for two, Matt Bluestone," Matt tells the man.
"Ah yes, right this way, please," the maitre d' instructs as
He grabs a couple of menus and leads them through the dinning room to a window table. Matt pulls a chair out for her and helps her take her seat; all the while she's staring at the magnificent view of New York City slowly rotating below them. Matt takes his own seat and accepts his menu from the maitre d' who assures them their server will be with them in a minute before returning to his post.
"I take it the scenery meets with your approval," he states after a couple of minutes of silence.
"I feel like such a country bumpkin," she quietly admits as she turns to look at him. "I've never seen the city from this high up before. It's so beautiful up here."
"I'm glad you like it," he replies with a smile.
"I do, thank you," she responds.
"You're welcome," he says as he looks back at his menu. "You might want to decide what you're going to have or we'll be here all evening."
"You say that like it's a bad thing," she jokes as she picks up her own menu and starts to peruse the selection. "There's something odd about my menu."
"What's that?" he asks as he narrows his choices down.
"There are no prices," she tells him.
"That's ok, you're not the one paying," he points out.
"Oh dear," she mutters.
"What's the matter?" he inquires, finally looking up.
"I've heard about restaurants like this," she answers with a worried look on her face.
"What have you heard?" he questions.
"That the meals are so expensive that they only print the price on half of the menus and only the men get to see those," she answers. "Now I'm afraid to order anything beyond a side salad."
"Gwen, don't worry about the price," he assures her as he puts a hand over hers. "Order what you want."
"You're sure?" she asks nervously.
"I'm sure," he assures her.
"Ok," she replies in a slightly strangled voice and he chuckles as he turns back to his menu.
"Are you sure that's the place?" Brooklyn asks.
"Yeah, I'm sure," Lex answers huffily. "Look, it's rotating, just like the website said it would."
"Why would people want to eat in a restaurant that's spinning?" Brooklyn wonders as the two gargoyles glide towards the building with a rotating top floor.
"Because it gives them a panoramic view of the city," Lex explains as they get ready to land.
With the utmost care not to be heard, they settle down on roof of the restaurant, having little problems since it's moving so slowly. They carefully creep to the edge and then hang over the side just enough to see in the windows. After looking for a few moments, Lex spots the couple and quietly points them out to Brooklyn. The silently move closer to where Matt and Gwen are sitting and then peek over the side once more.
"That's Gwen?" Lex asks in surprise.
"Yeah, wow," Brooklyn replies. "If I didn't know it was her, I wouldn't have recognized her."
"Fox did a great job," Lex states, taking another quick look.
"What does Fox have to do with this?" Brooklyn questions, looking over at his friend.
"I asked her to help Gwen out," Lex replies. "I gave her Lars phone number too so he could help also."
"I though men were pretty clueless when it came to shopping for women," Brooklyn points out.
"Yeah, straight guys," Lex replies with a knowing smirk. "Lars isn't straight."
"You lost me somewhere back there," Brooklyn responds, confusion clearly evident on his face.
"Lars is gay," Lex chuckles.
"What does being happy have to do with buying women's clothing?" Brooklyn inquires, completely lost.
"It means that Lars likes guys instead of women," Lex tries to explain.
"But he likes Gwen," Brooklyn responds and Lex chuckles as he shakes his head.
"He likes Gwen as a friend," Lex clarifies. "Lars likes guys like Broadway and Angela like each other."
"Oh," Brooklyn says and then realization dawns on him. "Ohhh, I get it. But why would that make them better at buying women's clothes than someone like Matt?"
"Haven't a clue," Lex answers with a shrug.
"Humans…I don't think I'll ever figure them out," Brooklyn states.
"They are a mystery," Lex agrees and then the friends turn back to spying on the dinning couple.
The View restaurant is a real place and according to the website, it's the only rotating restaurant in all of New York City. It's located on top of the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel on Times Square and you can expect to spend at least $50 per person there.