When Goliath returned, he found an unfamiliar man standing over Maggie, checking a bag of IV fluids.

"Who is this?" he inquired, glaring suspiciously at him.

Isaac couldn't help it, Goliath was enormous and intimidating, and he practically trembled under the large gargoyle's scrutiny.

"He's a friend I called into help Maggie, Goliath. It's alright," Elisa said, calming him down.

A friend? A friend she trusted with their secrets but she had never told him about? That struck him as highly unusual, but he'd bring it up with her later.

For now, it appeared he was aiding Maggie. He'd packed her incision with some kind of material that was hopefully stopping the bleeding and preventing further blood loss, as well as monitoring her vital signs, but Goliath's sudden and threatening appearance had stopped him from his work. The gargoyle backed off, and allowed the man to continue aiding Maggie, though there was something about him that seemed strangely familiar to him. He just couldn't quite put his talon on it.

Isaac had even taken a look at the mercenary Talon had roughed up pretty badly. He had a pretty nasty concussion, and probably a few other broken bones, but he was lucky to be alive. They would get him medical attention later, but his situation was not as critical as Maggie's.

"Oh my god...is that—" Elisa said as she noticed the bundle in his arms.

Hearing his sister's gasp, Talon momentarily stepped away from Maggie's side and over to Goliath. His vision focused on nothing but the baby, as the rest of the room and everyone else, faded into the background.

"You saved him," Talon said with overwhelming gratitude.

"Talon, meet your son," Goliath said as he gently handed over the infant.

The baby let out a soft mewling sound as he was transferred over to his father's arms.

"Oh," Talon said, his voice awed as he cradled the tiny thing.

He pulled back the swaddling a little so he could see his son better. He examined his fingers and toes. His tiny leathery wings. He was covered in downy gray fur that was whirled with spots like a leopard or lion cub. His face was felid like his and Maggie's but more kitten-like, and he opened his eyes briefly and peered up at Talon. They were blue, like every baby's were before the color settled, but his pupils were round, more human-like than either of his parents. He yawned and then closed his eyes sleepily.

"I didn't know what to expect…what to think or feel…" Talon trailed off as tears welled in his eyes.

"He's beautiful," Elisa said, as she looked lovingly at her nephew.

"Yeah, he is," Talon replied, his voice breaking with emotion as he held his son for the first time. Goliath put a supportive hand on his shoulder.

"I just got a call from Dr. Sato. He's on his way as soon as he can get a cab," Xanatos reported.

"A cab will take too long," Goliath replied as he headed briskly towards the door. "Tell him to meet me on the roof of the hospital instead."

...

...

Dr. Sato immediately jumped in to help Maggie as soon as he arrived with Goliath. He looked a little windblown and tired since he'd just completed a ten hour surgery, was carried unexpectedly and terrifyingly through the night sky by a gargoyle, and was about to jump right back into another surgery.

Dr. Sevarius had done well stocking medical supplies for a birth that might require medical intervention like a cesarean, he just didn't have the skills to be a competent surgeon. Dr. Sato found he had all the things he needed to care for Maggie, which he would not have had access to in the Labyrinth.

Isaac stayed to assist since he was the only one with any medical knowledge, but everyone else was told to get out so he could work without distraction, and to maintain as clean of an environment as possible. Dr. Sato had never done combat surgery, but he imagined this was kind of like what that would be like.

After the clan had swept the entire building for any other mercenaries, they'd captured the remaining four and locked them in Maggie's cell along with their injured comrade. Coldstone and Coldfire offered to stand guard while the rest of the clan kept vigil for Maggie.

A nearly tangible veil of sorrow hung about the group as they huddled together, offering support to one another. At one point Elisa realized that Xanatos was still there, standing back and away from everyone else. He had his helmet off, but he still wore his battle armor.

"Don't you have companies to take over or something?" Elisa asked him sarcastically.

"I said I was here to help, and I meant it," he replied.

"Why?" Elisa asked. "You get off on watching the people whose lives you've ruined suffer even more? Haven't you done enough damage?"

Xanatos looked at her for a long time before he spoke.

"My mother died when I was eight years old," he confessed. "Cancer."

Elisa was so taken off guard by his personal admission that she said nothing in reply. She just stared at him.

"My parents were immigrants, and we were poor. Really poor. There were treatments for the kind of cancer she had, but hers was aggressive and advanced when it was discovered. Standard treatments and protocols wouldn't work. There were experimental treatments that could have potentially saved her life, but we couldn't afford them. One day my mother was strong, vibrant, and healthy, and the next, we were burying her. So I know a little of what you are all feeling, and I don't want other children to lose their mothers if I can help it."

"Do you think that somehow absolves you from the things you've done? What you've done to Derek and Maggie? To my family?!" Elisa snapped.

"No."

"Good. Glad we agree on something," Elisa said bitterly.

"I admire what Derek has done, turning a negative situation into a positive one that helps others."

"No thanks to you."

"You may not believe me, but I wish I could undo what happened to your brother," Xanatos admitted.

Elisa ground her teeth together in a flair of sudden anger. She wanted nothing more than to hit him right across his smug face.

"What happened to Derek? YOU are what happened to him!" she snapped.

Across the room, Goliath picked up on the angry conversation and Elisa's heightened emotions, and he watched them warily in case he needed to intercede.

"That's fair," Xanatos replied to Elisa's outburst. "There are some things it took having my own child to understand. The pain I inflicted on your parents, for instance. The pain I inflicted on your brother. On you."

Elisa lifted her fist like she was going to strike him, and he didn't move to block her or get out of the way. He just stood there, ready to take it, which deflated her anger. She growled and then turned on her heel and stomped over to Goliath. The gargoyle met Xanatos's gaze and glared disapprovingly at him, not at all surprised that he had riled up Elisa's anger.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

"I'm fine," she growled, and she folded her arms across her chest petulantly as she leaned against the wall. Goliath knew she needed a moment to stew and then she'd tell him what she and Xanatos had talked about that had made her so angry. He put a hand on her shoulder to let her know he was there if she needed him, but he gave her the space she needed for the time being.

On the other side of Goliath, Talon stood, cradling his son who slept peacefully, exhausted from the trial and trauma of being born.

"He's strong," Goliath said to him.

Talon nodded proudly.

"Maggie is as well," Goliath added. "I have confidence in Dr. Sato's skills, and Maggie…she won't give up without a fight."

"I just need her to live. I need her to open her eyes so she can see our son and realize that we didn't create a monster, that he's beautiful and perfect."

Talon fell silent as he was overcome with emotion. He just held his tiny sleeping son, rocking him ever so slightly.

"Sometimes the hardest battles we face are not fought on a battlefield, but in the quiet. In the waiting. When you feel absolutely helpless. One of the darkest moments of my life was when Elisa had been shot, and I could do nothing to help her. It's a feeling I wouldn't wish on an enemy let alone family."

Family, Talon thought. Goliath had called him family before, but he'd scoffed at that. Their relationship had not started off well to begin with, they'd always had some animosity towards each other to one degree or another from the get go, but he realized that was mostly on his end. Goliath had just been defending himself, defending his clan, defending Elisa...his family, and it was then he realized that Goliath was family. When he had needed him, Goliath had been there no matter how Talon felt about him or how he had treated him before in the past.

It was time to let it all go.

Everything that had happened between them before. The knock down, drag out fights they'd had, the hostility over his relationship with Elisa, the time he'd actually tried to kill him when Xanatos made him believe Goliath and Sevarius were working together, something he could never actually believe now...he let go of all of it. He should have done so long ago.

Dr. Sato emerged from the makeshift operating room, blood stained and weary. He pulled Talon aside to speak privately.

"Maggie...is she…?" he couldn't even finish the sentence.

"She's made it through so far," Jay reassured. "I've repaired the damage as best I can, but she was hemorrhaging from the botched c-section and complications from her condition, and I could not get the bleeding to stop. To save her, I had to remove her uterus," he said sympathetically.

Talon nodded understandingly, but a part of him shattered inside. He hadn't expected to have any children with Maggie at all, and their son was a miracle, but he and Maggie had already had so many choices taken away from them, and this was just one more thing to add to the already long list.

"My concerns now are infection and the blood loss she has suffered. She is in desperate need of a blood transfusion," Dr. Sato continued.

"I don't know her blood type," Talon said.

"She's A positive," Dr. Sato said. "Or the closest thing to it as far as I can figure."

"I'm B negative," Talon lemented. "or I was. I don't know anymore."

"I'm O neg," Elisa piped up. "I donate all the time because of it."

"I don't know if your blood is compatible with Maggie's due to her mutation. It's not ideal, but without it, I worry she won't pull through."

Elisa stripped out of her jacket and handed it to Goliath.

"Take what you need," she ordered.

...

...

Maggie had no reaction to Elisa's blood, and as her condition stabilized, they realized they had a problem. They couldn't stay where they were, but they couldn't move her. If Isaac used an ambulance to transport her, there would be questions that could get him in a world of trouble, but they couldn't toss her in the backseat of Elisa's car either. She needed continuous medical support for the time being.

"We have a fully functional infirmary at the castle. I can call Fox, and we can safely transport her there. It will be her best chance until she's well enough to go home," Xanatos offered.

Derek wasn't thrilled with the idea, but as he looked at his son, he knew it was what he had to do.

"I don't think I have any other choice. I'll do anything for Maggie."

And against everything inside him that said no, he agreed to let Xanatos take her back to his castle.

...

...

When Maggie came to, she was in an unfamiliar room full of medical equipment, and for a moment, she feared she had survived Sevarius's mutiliation, only to remain in his captivity. She weakly touched her stomach, and felt the absence of her baby. She cried out in dismay, her voice weak and hoarse but full of the pain and sorrow she felt. There was a void within her that was greater than just the physical absence of her son.

He'd taken him. That monster had taken her baby!

"Maggie?"

Talon's face came into view, and the relief at seeing him was nearly overwhelming.

"Derek…?" she whimpered, almost unable to believe it.

"You're safe, Maggie. You're at Castle Wyvern," he said gently, taking her hand in his.

"Our son…?" she couldn't even finish what she was going to say.

"He's alright. Look," he held up the tiny baby in his arms so that she could see him.

Relief flooded her as she gazed enraptured at the tiny furry baby in Talon's arms.

"Oh...Derek," she said as she burst into tears. "He's beautiful."

Talon helped to adjust her hospital bed so that she was propped up a little, and she winced slightly as she was moved, but she eagerly held her arms out to hold her son as Talon carefully placed him in her arms.

"How? What happened?" she said through her tears as she held her son for the first time.

"I told you I've always got you, Maggie. Me, Goliath and his clan, and even Xanatos. We got to you just in time," he said.

Maggie weakly reached out and caressed his face tenderly.

"So, what do you think? About his name, I mean?" Talon asked.

Maggie and Talon had a couple of names picked out, and they'd narrowed it down to one when they learned they were having a boy.

"Theo. Theo Maza," Maggie said, and she nuzzled the top of his fuzzy head. "Hi, Theo. It's nice to finally meet you."

The baby opened his eyes briefly, and gazed up at his mother before he fell back asleep.

"I think he approves," Derek said with a smile.

He and Maggie spent the next little while fawning over their son, until Maggie grew tired and needed rest again. Talon watched over her and Theo as they slept, refusing to leave their sides.

...

...

When dawn came, the clan retired to the battlements as they eagerly anticipated a good day's sleep. After she and Matt dealt with the mess Sevarius had created, Elisa managed to make it back to the castle by dawn and had a few moments to speak with Goliath on his tower.

"I know where I recognized Isaac from before," Goliath told her reluctantly.

Elisa looked up at him, her heart pounding with trepidation. This was a conversation she had hoped to put off for at least a day or two.

"He's the man you slept with," he said. "A few years ago."

"Yes. He is," Elisa replied honestly. She worried this could start a fight between them, but she wouldn't lie to him. "I didn't know what else to do, and he helped to save Maggie—"

"It's alright," Goliath interrupted her calmly, and then Elisa felt a warmth that spread throughout her body at the next words he said. The words that were the entire backbone of their relationship.

"I trust you."

Although Talon had tried to goad Goliath before and make him feel insecure about his relationship with Elisa, he knew she would never betray him. The love they shared eclipsed any relationships either of them had had in the past.

Elisa reached out and lovingly caressed his brow, and the chiseled line of his jaw.

"Thank you," she said softly. "You have no idea how much that means to me."

Goliath put his hand over hers and turned his face slightly to place a kiss into the palm of her hand. Then he leaned forward and kissed her.

"I hate to say this, but it's a good thing Xanatos was here tonight," Elisa said after the tender embrace.

"Hmm...I agree," Goliath rumbled begrudgingly.

"He told me information...about his mother. How she died of cancer when he was a kid."

Goliath paused.

"That is tragic," he muttered. "Was that what you were talking about earlier, when he upset you?"

"Yeah, after everything he's done to my family, I hate that I can't quite look at him the same. Now...now I feel…sympathetic." She shuddered slightly with revulsion.

"Perhaps he has changed. Perhaps not. Only time will tell," Goliath said. "We'll remain cautious for now...but maybe it is time we start treating him as an ally instead of an enemy."

"Maybe. I still think he's a bastard, though," Elisa muttered.

"Yes…he is," Goliath agreed with a chuckle.

Below on the lower battlements, Broadway discreetly pulled Lexington aside to talk.

"Tonight was pretty intense, huh?" Broadway commiserated.

"Yeah, I'm glad it looks like Maggie and the baby will be OK," Lexington replied, relief in his tone.

"Yeah…hey, uh, you know you can talk to me…about anything, right?" Broadway said gently.

"Uh, yeah…sure," Lexington said a little confused. He had no idea what had brought on this sudden announcement.

Broadway clapped him on the arm.

"Cool, I just wanted to let you know that, in case you'd forgotten," he replied.

"Why are you being weird?" Lex continued looking at him with suspicion.

"No reason, just…glad we talked."

Lexington rolled his eyes, and punched him lightly in the arm.

He wasn't sure why Broadway wanted to make sure he could talk to him, but it was always nice to know someone cared, and it warmed him more than he ever would admit out loud.

...

...

The next day, Elisa met up with Isaac for coffee to speak with him about everything that had happened the night before.

"Thank you again for your help. Maggie might have died without you," Elisa said after they engaged in small talk for a while as they sat at a table in a quaint little coffee shop.

"I'll admit I was just really excited to hear from you, Elisa," Isaac said with a laugh. "And although things last night did not go the way I hoped, I'm really glad I could help."

"When we last spoke, you seemed… sympathetic. Towards them."

"I honestly don't know how I feel about them," Isaac said. "It's a lot to process."

"You have been inducted into a world not many have the privilege to know about through baptism by fire. Congrats," she said sardonically. "You handled it pretty well, though. The first time I met Goliath, I was so frightened, I fell right off the side of the building. I'd be dead if he hadn't saved me."

"Honestly, I was in work mode the whole time. I had a job to do, so I compartmentalized it all. When I got home I completely fell apart. I think I screamed hysterically for several minutes while I stood in the shower."

"Boy, have I been there," Elisa sympathized.

"Can I ask you an honest question?"

"Yeah." She sipped her coffee.

"How do you deal with it?"

"Honestly, not always so well."

Isaac let out a short laugh.

"Part of me is half tempted to tell you to lose my number," he admitted.

"That's your call, Isaac, and I completely understand if that's what you want to do."

Isaac thought about it a little longer than Elisa had hoped, but she thought she'd pegged him right, and he ultimately didn't disappoint.

"Nah, I want to be on the right side of history here. I'm in."

Elisa nodded gratefully, and then she stood up and tossed her empty coffee cup into a nearby trash can.

"We'll be in touch," she said and left him to his thoughts as she paid for their bill, leaving a generous tip, and then left.

Isaac watched her go and drank his coffee. After half an hour had passed, he got up and left, and went for a walk. The location he was heading to was several blocks away, and it took him another thirty minutes of walking to get where he was going.

He eventually stopped at a building with a sign that had a hammer within a circle: the Quarrymen insignia. He hesitated outside, debating whether or not to go in.

"Don't be a coward," he told himself, and he walked up the couple of steps to the front door, and entered.

He asked to speak with someone in charge, and was led to an office where a blond man with a mustache sat at a desk. He stood up and extended his hand in a friendly manner.

"Come in, have a seat, Mr.—?" the blond man, John Castaway, said in a posh British accent.

"Williams. Isaac Williams," Isaac said as he stepped into the office.

"Ah, do you mind if I call you Isaac?"

Isaac shook his head before he sat down.

"Can I offer you something to drink?"

"No, uh, I've got information for you. Something you are going to want to hear."

...

...

Shari had put it off long enough.

She opened her laptop and put in a call.

"Five."

"Nine."

"What do you have to report?"

"We were unsuccessful at obtaining the mutate offspring. The gargoyles interfered."

"You were uncharacteristically careless," the shadowy figure accused.

"Not entirely. Although we are unsure of how the gargoyles found out where the mutate was being held captive, we were able to obtain some genetic material. Sevarius took a sample of the baby's umbilical cord, and he has already extracted data from it. I'm sending it to you now."

"Excellent. You have redeemed yourself. Perhaps you will make level eight after all, in another century or two."

The screen went blank, and Shari shut her laptop. Then she went to get some well earned rest.

...

...

After feeding Theo a bottle and changing his diaper with supplies Elisa brought up, Talon fell into an exhausted sleep with the baby propped up protectively on his chest, tucked up right under his chin. Dr. Sato had promised to come by later after he'd gotten some sleep to check on Maggie and help change the dressings on her incision, but for now she was resting comfortably.

As the three slumbered, a figure watched them curiously, unseen.

She was fascinated by the inhabitants of the castle, and these three were wonderfully strange and new here.

She observed them for a moment before leaving. She strolled undetected through the castle, able to hide from the humans and gargoyles that inhabited it, but she had to be wary of Puck.

She knew he could still sense her in his human form, even if he could not see her.

Her son's minions, the triplets, had shown up a few times, but they were easy to evade as well.

But Titania…

She had to be extra cautious around that one.

She appeared sometimes at the castle, and no one seemed to notice. She often checked in on the child and the woman with red hair named after the vulpine creature.

There was something…special about them.

The child especially.

Immense power radiated from him.

If only she could tap into it.

If she could take the child's power for her own, she would be able to start regaining what she had lost.

She considered leaving, but she had no idea where to go. She could not travel unless by foot. She could only change her size and veil herself from sight to protect herself. That was all that was left to her after her own son had betrayed her.

Her mouth twisted distastefully at the thought of her traitorous son.

She would bide her time, lurk, and gain more knowledge from the inhabitants of this castle. She could wait.

She'd waited several millennia, she could wait a little while longer.

And when the opportunity presented itself, she'd strike like a viper.

She'd take back her throne, her people, and punish all those who had stood in her way or cast her down to the pitiful state she was in now.

There would be many to punish.

Starting with her son.