It was nearing six o'clock that evening when they reached the final tape recording. Goliath, Angela and the boys were worn out from the emotional roller coaster that they had been on.

For some reason, the final tape had been blank.

"Maybe they just hadn't recorded it yet?" Angela suggested with a shrug.

"It is possible," Goliath mused. But then again, it had been labeled like the others…

"Uh, guys?" Brooklyn said, pointing to the windows.

Goliath looked at the rapidly darkening sky, realizing that Elisa was about to wake up, and they still had not figured out a safe way to have her wake indoors.

"Everyone in the hallway," Goliath said, hurrying to his feet. He waved the kids ahead of him, and followed behind them. The boys shuffled around so that Angela was the farthest down the hall, and therefore the most protected. Goliath was last, providing as much blockage as he could, shielding them all from the flying stone bits with his own body.

There was the sound of stone cracking, and a growling roar as Elisa burst free from the confines of her stone skin. Small bits of the broken rock flew, but luckily caused no major damage, although a fine dusting of grey dust hung in the air and settled on any flat surface available.

Goliath whirled in time to watch Elisa stagger and almost fall. He hurried forward and managed to catch her in his arms just before she hit the ground, rolling so that he hit the ground first and cushioned her fall with his body.

Both landed with an audible release of air from the sudden stop.

Elisa raised her head from where it had landed against his chest and blinked at him, startled.

"Oh," Elisa said, trying to push herself up and away, only to discover what had caused her mishap to begin with. She glanced down and was reminded about the measures and care that Goliath had shown her last night when she saw that her leg was still trapped to the two wooden pieces, leaving her unable to bend her leg.

She brought her gaze back up to Goliath and for a moment, they gazed into each other's eyes.

"Are you hurt?" Goliath asked, sounding slightly out of breath.

"No," Elisa said softly, embarrassment beginning to creep in over the situation. "I am sorry, but… my leg…"

Goliath help shift her to a sitting position beside him, then sat up himself. He ran his hands over the brace to make sure that it was still firmly in place. "Is it still causing you pain?"

Elisa gave a soft laugh. "No. I just can't bend it and lost my balance." She reached down, and started to remove the bindings to free her leg.

"Here," Goliath said, brushing her hands away. "I will help you."

Elisa sat back, feeling a little awkward at having someone else offer to help her with anything. She was so used to having to do things on her own, but ever since she had awakened here, she felt as though she had been nothing but a burden on these humans that she now thought of as friends.

Once her leg was freed, Goliath helped her to her feet once more, then proceeded to unwrap her wing.

Other than being a little stiff, probably from being forcibly held immobile, she was fine. Both her wing and her leg had healed completely as she had known they would, but seemed to mystify the humans.

"You really can heal overnight," Angela breathed from the doorway.

Elisa gave a one shouldered shrug. "Yeah. We call it the Concrete Cure-All."

"Awesome," Angela said with a grin. "I broke my arm a few years ago, and I was in a cast for months!"

"It does come in handy at times," Elisa said with a shrug. She looked at everyone and frowned. "Why are you all here? Don't you have somewhere else to be tonight?"

The kids just blinked at her, and Elisa gave them an expectant look. "Your dance."

Angela gasped. "The Homecoming dance," She frantically looked towards the clock. "I forgot."

"We all forgot," Lexington pointed out.

"There is still time," Goliath said. "Angela, go get dressed, and you boys," he pointed at the group, "Go home and change. I will drop Angela off at the dance as soon as she is ready, and you can all meet up there."

"I completely missed my hair appointment," Angela fussed.

Elisa grabbed her friend by the hand. "I will help."

Together, the two females ran off down the hallway and disappeared inside Angela's room.

The boys left a few moments later. Lexington left the computer there with the isolated voice on the recording pulled up for Goliath's use.

Goliath took a moment to clean up the kitchen area while he waited on Angela and Elisa to finish… whatever it was they were doing. In all honestly, females were a puzzle to him for the most part, and it did not matter what species, apparently.

Once he was completed with that task, he went ahead and got dressed for work as he would go straight to the station for his shift after he dropped Angela off at the dance venue. He would be a little early, but he wanted to spend some time looking into Marble Labs and would have more resources to use there.

Not to mention more legal. He still was not sur what Lexington had been doing his investigation with on the computer, but if the kids said that if was better that he not know, perhaps that was for the best. He got the information and now had a good idea of where to start.

Forty-five minutes later, Angela and Elisa emerged from the hallway. Angela had slipped into the dress that she and Goliath had bought on a shopping excursion a few months ago. It was a very oriental inspired style design, with the high neck and gold toggles down the front. It was a deep maroon with black designs woven through it, sleeveless and had a slit up one leg to just above one knee.

Yes, he had cringed a little seeing his daughter in a dress like that, but he had wanted her to have a gown she felt comfortable in … and one that was decently cut enough that he could live with it.

Her makeup had been done with a slightly heavier hand than normal, but the effect was striking.

Angela's hair had been swept up and away from her face, held there by a series of intricate braids that made her seem more warrior than princess.

Goliath felt the breath catch in his chest as it almost burst from pride.

"What do you think?" Angela asked, making a complete turn to show off.

"I think," Goliath said, moving forward to give her a quick hug, "That I may have a need to take the night off and play bodyguard."

Angela laughed, and slapped his shoulder. "Ha, Ha. Very funny."

"I was not joking," Goliath deadpanned.

Angela looked at him, a slow transformation from laughing to abject horror. "Father… You wouldn't."

"I might," Goliath growled.

"Elisa," Angela whirled to her friend. "Help me."

Elisa blinked at her. She was unfamiliar with the dynamics of human families, and wasn't even sure that her opinion should be considered…

"Goliath," Elisa said, putting her hand on his arm. "She will be fine. She will have the boys to watch over her, and they won't let anything happen to her."

Goliath let out a sigh. He knew he was being unreasonable. "Very well," He said with reluctance. "But you are not to leave their side tonight, and you are to come straight home after the dance."

Angela smiled. "Of course," She said. "I will come right home after."