On the tower, the clan surrounded their fallen leader. Their heads bowed, tears flowing, they said their goodbyes.

After a time, Brooklyn let out a deep sigh and shook his head. "We will perform a wind ceremony tomorrow," He said, referencing the traditional Gargoyle funeral for the fallen. "But he would hate for us to abandon Elisa right now, so tonight, we will go to be with her."

One by one, the younger members peeled off to go below. Hudson was the last to go. He placed his taloned hand on his leader's chest. "Goodbye, my friend." He said softly, before turning to join his clan.

Hudson was about to leap over the edge and join the others in the courtyard below when he heard the first crackle. Sure it was just wishful thinking, he almost didn't stop.

Glancing behind him, he saw the stone skin on his leader begin to crack.

-{- -{- -{- -{- -{- -{-

Elisa floated in darkness, a blessed numbness taking over. She couldn't think. Couldn't feel.

She didn't want to feel.

She had found her soulmate, she was convinced of that, and because she couldn't seem to get a handle on her own life, she had been the cause of his death.

Just the thought of never seeing Goliath again, shot a white hot lance of pain through her chest. Elisa turned to her side and curled into a ball of misery.

"Elisa," came a familiar voice.

She began to sob.

"Oh, my Elisa," Goliath's voice echoed in her ears. "My love, please do not cry so."

Elisa felt his familiar touch on her forehead.

Elisa opened her eyes, and saw through her sedated haze, the beloved face of her husband inches from her.

"Goliath," Elisa said, raising a hand to touch his face, but dripping it before she actually made contact. "I know this is a dream, and you aren't really here," She said sadly. "I am so sorry."

Goliath frowned at her. He had been told that she'd been so upset that they had to give her something to calm down. While he could understand, as he'd been in that position himself a time or two thinking he had lost her, he hadn't expected her to not trust her own senses.

"Sorry for what?" Goliath asked her.

"For you having to be there last night," Elisa said softly. "If I wasn't such a weakling, you wouldn't have felt the need to be there to protect me, and you'd still be here."

"I am here, My Elisa," He ran a taloned finger over her brow.

"No you're not," Elisa said sadly. "But while I'm still dreaming, could you hold me, please?"

Goliath scooped her into his arms and held her tight to his chest, burying his face into her hair and breathing in her scent.

Elisa laid in his arms and began to cry again, turning her face into his chest.

Goliath felt helpless to comfort her.

When he had awoken on his tower, he had a moment of disorientation. His memories from the night before were a little hazy, but he remembered being shot clearly. From that moment, he had brief flashes and impressions, but nothing concrete in his memory.

He had given a stretch and a roar, and realized that he was on his back. He stood up, puzzled, and brushed the remaining bits of stone dust off of his shoulders. When he looked up, it was into the stunned face of his clan.

After they had all rushed forward to greet him, and his daughter had all but soaked him in tears, they had told him of his delayed awakening that evening.

He was still trying to put the pieces together when he remembered the gunman. He remembered hearing Elisa's voice after that, but he didn't know if she'd been hurt.

He began frantically looking around the crowd, searching for his love. Not seeing her, he put the question of her whereabouts to his clan.

It was then that they had hesitantly told him where she was.

And why.

He had wasted no more time, throwing himself over the edge, and gliding into the courtyard. He ran into the great hall, and all but over the Xanatos family who had been huddled just inside.

David Xanatos let out a particularly vicious round of swearing and Fox dealt with her own shock.

He didn't stop, leaving explanations to his clan. He didn't even bother with the elevators, choosing instead to run down the stairs because he could scale them faster.

He burst out onto the medical floor and began shouting for the doctor.

Doctor James had come running with Peter Maza not far behind. The two men had a job trying to get him to calm down before he started tearing into the walls.

The men had shouted at him, telling him that Elisa was fine, but sleeping. That had calmed him enough to make it possible to listen to what they were actually trying to explain about the situation.

Finally, they had allowed him to take his place by Elisa's bed. He had sat there for hours, holding her hand and running his fingers through her hair, waiting for her to wake.

Now that she had, however, she didn't believe that he was there, and he didn't know how to convince her otherwise. He had to find a way, though. his time was limited, the minutes ticking down, until he would have to retreat once more into the stone sleep for the day.

He needed to get through to her before then. He didn't want her to spend the day in this state of sadness and confusion.

"Elisa," He gave her a little shake. "Love, you need to wake up."

"If I wake up, you'll be gone," Elis said, her eyes closed tightly.

He couldn't help it. Despite the gravity of the situation, her stubbornness was adorable. He loved everything about this small female in his arms.

"My love," He said, "I am not a dream. Please open your eyes."

Elisa slowly opened her eyes, the luminous shine of unshed tears tearing at his heart.

"Oh, Elisa," He said, getting to his feet with her still in his arms. "What can I do to convince you that I am real?"

Elisa didn't even hesitate. "Take me flying."

He smiled down at her. "As you wish."

He carried her through the medical wing, up the stairs, and back through the castle.

While they passed various members of the clan as well as many shocked humans, he didn't stop. He climbed the steps to his tower and out into the cooled night air.

Without a pause, he hopped up onto the raised wall and flung them out into the night.

Elisa gasped, the familiar feeling of weightlessness and the buoyancy when Goliath opened his wings to catch the air currents finally catching her attention. She raised her face to his, and finally raised her hand to touch his face.

"Goliath," Elisa said softly. "I thought I had lost you."

"No," Goliath said firmly. "I will always fight to stay by your side, my love."

Elisa flung her arms around his neck, making him weave a little in the air.

"I am so sorry to have worried you," Goliath said, turning his body to begin the climb back up to the castle.

"You didn't wake with the others," Elisa said brokenly. "I thought…"

"I am not sure why that happened," Goliath admitted. "But I have never seen a gargoyle go into stone sleep that injured, on top of reversing a powerful spell, either."

"Let's not do it again," Elisa said into his neck. "Okay?"

"Alright," Goliath agreed. If either of them could avoid such events in the future, that would be best.

Gently, he brought them down into the courtyard. He lowered Elisa to stand on her own feet, but didn't fully release her. Instead, he caped his wings around her to shelter her from the night wind and prying eyes.

Elisa wasn't paying attention to anything except the miracle holding her.

Everything and everyone else could just wait their turn.