Once the sun rose, and the clan was safely in their stone sleep, Elisa collapsed into the first true sleep that she had had in… however long she'd been gone. She wasn't entirely sure how the timeline days matched up on this one. It felt like she'd been gone for months.
In Nell's time, it had been about a week, though Elisa couldn't be sure how long she'd been down with the fever. She may have missed a day or two in either direction.
She would have to remember to ask someone.
Sleep first, though.
She made her way to the guest room that she'd been offered. She'd been given a spare room in the medical wing to sleep. Elisa was happy, because she was honestly afraid to wake up in a dim room with stone walls and getting disoriented.
Doctor James was happy, because that meant that someone could keep an eye on her during the day, just in case anything happened to her.
Well, anything else, that is.
He picked up the phone and made a couple of calls.
Yes. Elisa would be watched over, he would make sure of that, but he had something he needed to take care of this afternoon.
-{- -{- -{- -{- -{-
While Elisa slept the sleep of the truly exhausted, Margaret came in to man the clinic so that someone would be there in case Elisa needed help.
Doctor James and Kiersten took the day to go to the courthouse and get married. It wasn't the glitz and glamor that Vegas had, but it was the nice and quiet ceremony that they had wanted from the beginning.
And luckily, he was a doctor, so he was able to speed up the blood tests for the occasion.
He wore his military uniform from his time as a military medic.
She wore a white tea length, 50's style dress, complete with the little hat with veil. She carried a small bouquet of loose flowers, bought from the drug store around the corner from the courthouse.
They said their vows, got their picture taken with the judge, and were on their way in less than 15 minutes.
It didn't bother them, though. They both felt like after the last week, getting to this point was a miracle, and they didn't want to waste a moment.
-{- -{- -{- -{- -{-
Elisa had been a little worried about sleeping in the clinic. Honestly, however, it wouldn't have mattered. She was asleep almost before her head hit the pillow, and slept for 13 hours straight. Judging by how stiff she felt, she obviously hadn't so much as twitched in that time.
Elisa spotted a folded note on the small table beside the bed that had her name on it. She opened it and read the contents.
"Elisa,
I was here most of the day, but I had to run home to get a power nap before work, so I'm sorry I wasn't there when you finally raise from the sleeping dead.
You should talk to Dr. Handsome here about where he and Kiersten spent their day. *wink*
I talked to Maria, A.K.A. your captain. She said that you are to take tonight off, and she's giving Matt the night off as well. I guess she told everyone that you guys are working on some kind of hush hush super secret undercover business, so that no one would question where you all have been over the last few days.
And, in case you're wondering, today is October 10th. Three weeks until your favorite holiday, so you haven't missed it.
Gotta run, but feel free to give me a call tomorrow, and I can try to fill in some time gaps for you.
Glad you're home,
Margaret"
Elisa laughed quietly. It was nice that Margaret had thought to leave her a note. After helping Elisa through months' worth of amnesia, she knew just what questions Elisa would have asked, and beat her to the punch.
Elisa checked the time.
Luckily, it was still roughly an hour before sunset.
It was just enough time.
Elisa had one more thing to see to before the clan woke up.
She made her way to the lower levels, into what had once been the dungeons. Just before the dungeons, there was the small hallway that led father back into the castle. Elisa took that turn, and walked into the alcove that had been 'hers' during her time in the past. When she'd last been in it, it had housed a cot with a thin straw filled mattress, and the small table that held the wash basin.
Now, it was just an empty room. She shouldn't be surprised. After all, there were so many rooms above that one could put things in, and this level was...well… the dungeon.
Not a place you would necessarily want to stay for long.
Elisa took a last look around the small room, then said her goodbye. To Nell, to the past, to the guilt that she still felt that she couldn't have saved the clan… at least not with any certainty.
Turning, he made her way back down the hall, and turned towards the iron cells that currently held Demona.
It was daytime, so Demona was human. She had never seen human Demona cast magic, and she had long ago theorized that had been a side effect of Puck's spell.
At least, she hoped that Demona couldn't cast magic in human form.
Elisa was about to face Demona, and she could use any advantage that she had.
Demona, or Dominique as she called herself in human guise, was laying on her cot, facing the solid rear wall.
Elisa paused for a moment, then without saying anything, she deactivated the Iron Clan Sentry that had been keeping watch on Demona through the hidden command panel. After the sentry had finished powering down, she retrieved the large iron key that would open the old lock.
Demona seemed to pay no attention to anything beyond her cell, until the heavy iron door swung open. She turned, spotted Elisa and snarled. "Come to take your revenge, human?" She got to her feet and held her arms wide. "Come and try."
Elisa did nothing in retaliation. In fact, she didn't even respond to the verbal challenge.
Instead, Elisa turned and re-hung the iron key on its peg on the stone wall.
Elisa turned back to Demona. "A favor owed," She said softly, "And a favor repaid. You helped me. Well," Elisa gave a sarcastic chuckle, "A version of me, anyway. And so I am repaying the favor now. Go," Elisa said. "Leave now, and I will deal with everyone tonight. You have that long to make a decision."
"What decision?" Demona snarled in fury.
"Let it go, Demona," Elisa said. "Let go of the hatred. I know it won't be easy," Elisa said, holding up her hands to stave off more snapping and snarling from Demona. "But at least try."
"Why?" Demona demanded. "Why are you doing this?"
"It's not for me," Elisa assured her. "I know better than to assume that you would do anything for me." She smirked, "At least in this time period, and knowing who I am."
Demona threw Elisa a look. It was not a friendly look, telling Elisa that Demona had put the pieces together, but at least she was keeping her mouth shut.
"It's for Angela," Elisa said. "Your daughter wants to get to know you. She wants a relationship with you. She was raised by humans, without the guidance of any elder gargoyles. Now, she has her father, and she found you, and she has the chance that none of the other clan children ever had, or will ever have." Elisa moved to the side, leaving the door to the cell wide open. "You have a chance to make things right with Angela, to begin repairing your place in the clan. Don't waste it."
Elisa began to walk back to the elevators that would take her back up to the main levels. She breathed a sigh of relief when the doors closed behind her, having half expected to get another spell thrown at her back.
She had not even gotten an insult.
Not even one thinly veiled threat.
Elisa hoped that was a good sign that Demona would take time to think over what she had said.
She needed to be there to greet the clan and give Demona the chance to leave. She would explain her actions to the clan as she had promised.
Hopefully they would understand.