Epilogue:

Just before the sun rose that day, Nianzu was thrown, none too gently, into the large helicopter that would carry them to the transport plane that would carry them back to China.

Half of the Wing members went with Xuilan back to China to assist in keeping Nianzu under control. They would also be going to talk to the other Wing members, and pass along the plan on keeping the Promised child safe without removing her from her loved ones before returning to Manhattan to begin their duties.

Until they returned, Elisa swore to stay at the castle so that the half that were remaining behind wouldn't be divided so thin.

Goody.

True to her word, Demona took off as soon as the meeting broke.

Oh, she'd thrown some heated insults at Elisa on her way out, but all in all, she'd behave remarkably well.

Elisa had finally been allowed to go to her room to change out of her dirty and torn dress as soon as the gargoyles began assembling for their day time rest.

Jeans and a tee-shirt had never felt so good. And socks. And shoes.

Yes, she was only going to wear the shoes for as long as it took her to get to her room and collapse on the bed, but it felt so good to have something on her feet since she'd been barefoot all day in that airline hangar.

Skyler, bless her, had taken a VERY wide away Nayeli to the playroom so that Elisa would be able to get some much needed rest.

Before that could happen, though, she made a long overdue call to Beth and explained her reaction.

Beth was understanding, and apologized profusely for her part in the deception.

"We know how much doing nothing bothers you, Elisa," Beth had said. "And having Nayeli by C-section extended the time you'd be stuck at home. We all agreed to try to keep talk of anything work related and such down to a minimum to try to make it easier… Which I see now was a horrible idea."

"MmmmHmmm," Elisa hummed in agreement to her assessment of the situation.

"I've already gotten an earful from Stephen," Beth said, sniffing into the phone. "Please don't be mad anymore."

"Travis did what?" Elisa asked angrily. "Did he make you cry? I swear to god, when I get back to work…"

"Elisa!" Beth burst out on a laugh. "I'm just messing with you. Yes, he did let me know he was upset that I hadn't told you sooner, but he didn't yell. He didn't make me cry."

"So the sniffles were a bid for sympathy?" Elisa asked, aghast.

"Yeah," She said brightly. "Did it work?"

"You, sister dear, are an evil genius," Elisa said, admiration in her voice. "Now, I have had a hell of a night, and I'm going to get some much needed rest."

"Do you need anything?" Beth asked.

"If you could come play with Nayeli at the castle for a bit at some point today and let Skyler get some rest, I'm sure she'd appreciate it." Elisa said. "I have a feeling that Nayeli's going to be awake for a while."

"Done and done," Beth said. "I'll be there in a few hours to take over."

"Thanks," Elisa said. "Love you."

"Love you too," Beth replied. "Now go get your beauty sleep."

"Yeah, yeah," Elisa said, hanging up the phone with a smile.

She had habitually gone to the room that she'd come to think of as "hers" when she was at the castle, but couldn't even close her eyes.

It was that she'd been taken from, and despite her exhaustion, she couldn't relax there. She poked her head in and let Skyler know that she'd be in a different room nearby.

Skyler sent her an understanding look and nodded.

Elisa got to the alternate room she'd chosen and sat on the bed. Too tired to even get undressed, she laid down on top of the blankets, still fully clothed and threw an arm over her eyes to block any stray bit of light.

There was still a lot left to be dealt with.

Nayeli's sudden power burst.

The Council was now in permanent residence.

More Gargoyles needed to be trained for the NYPD, even though a few had gone through a portion of it already when they'd last been there.

The possibility that more of The Wing could still come calling.

Elisa reached out for a corner of the extremely plush comforter that probably cost more than the rent on her old apartment, and pulled it up and over her body as she rolled to one side.

Promising herself that she would take the time to really sit and concentrate on all of the new developments as soon as she woke, Elisa drifted off knowing that, for now, her family was home and safe.

With that thought, Elisa finally drifted off to sleep.