Epilogue:
A Few Years in the Future:
Officer Waters made her way down the hallways of the castle. It still gave her a bit of a jolt, she mused, to realize just how old the stones of this castle were. The first time she'd walked these halls had been with her predecessor as they handed the leadership of the Gargoyle Task Force off to her.
It had been one hell of a responsibility, with some pretty big shoes to fill and she'd worked hard to earn her place. She was not the first in charge of the GTF, and she would make sure that she wasn't the last. The roots were there and strong, and she would keep the organization from dying off.
She came to the closed office door and knocked.
"Come in," called a familiar voice, and Waters pushed the door open.
"Madelyn!" Nayeli called out in surprise, rising from her position and walking toward the small female officer. "You may have just saved my sanity! Please, come in."
Madelyn Waters, second generation cop and daughter of the second head of the GTF, Amanda Waters, laughed and entered the office.
"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Nayeli asked, leaning back against her desk.
"Just wanted to check in and see how you were doing," Madelyn said with a smile. "You've got that big presentation coming up, and I know you've been worried about it."
"Oh," Nayeli laughed and waved a hand in the air, "I'll be fine, but thank you for the concern."
"That wasn't my only reason for stopping in," Madelyn admitted.
"I know," Nayeli said with a sigh and laid her hands lightly on her swollen belly, "But we're fine. I promise."
"I know," Madelyn said. "You breezed through the first two, so this one should be a cinch, right?"
Nayeli rolled her eyes. "You'd think so. According to my parents, it gets rougher each time."
Madelyn chuckled. She'd heard stories of Detective Maza and her Gargoyle husband, and the story of Nayeli's birth was… well… literally something made of legends.
"How are the parents?" Madelyn asked, taking a seat and grinning.
"Mom and Dad are officially fully retired. Again." Nayeli laughed. "Let's see if it sticks this time. In the meantime, I'm not sure who's having the hardest time of it, mom or dad."
Madelyn, having been fully brought in on all of the clan's secrets, chuckled. "I'm willing to bet they'll both drive each other a special brand of crazy. Neither one was made to rest for long."
"True enough," Nayeli said with a sigh.
"Speaking of the nugget," Madelyn gestured to Nayeli's belly, "where are the other kiddos?"
"Training with Conner and the other young ones tonight, thankfully," she said. "Maybe they'll be sufficiently worn out enough to sleep."
"Ah," Madelyn said with a grin, "The prayer of mothers everywhere."
"You got it," Nayeli said, pushing herself upright. "Feel up to a walk?"
"Sure," Madelyn said with a shrug. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah," Nayeli said. "It's just to the point where it's hard to get comfortable to sleep."
"Still keeping your handsome Mister Xanatos awake at night?" Madelyn asked with a grin.
"He finally took the reins of the company five years ago, when his parents stepped down," Nayeli winced. "Just in time for the first of the surprise babies to come about. Along came Laura, and we figured I would be like my mother, a one-and-done. Then, only one year later? Along came Jack. Now this one," Nayeli blew her bangs out of her face. "This one is kicking my butt, Madelyn. It's not letting me sleep, which makes my husband not sleep, which is making us both a little extra insane."
Madelyn gave the still young-looking female a pat on her arm.
"On top of that," Nayeli grumbled, "I have to give that presentation to the UN on the positive effects of having specialized Gargoyle Task Forces, and how it could potentially translate with other countries' law enforcements."
"Did the Irish and Australian clans finally come on board?" Madelyn asked, her brows raised in surprise. They were crossing the great hall, and Madelyn hurried forward to hold the door open to the early fall evening.
"They're coming around," Nayeli admitted.
Years ago, with the deaths of both Princess Katherine and Tom only a few months later, the Avalon clan had officially "come out". With the sudden influx of additional gargoyles in the world, because the Avalon clan was larger than any other known clan, they had asked where they would be welcome.
Nayeli had invited the Emerald Isle Irish clan to meet them, and that was that. The previously disappearing clan who had been so female heavy, suddenly found mates among the Avalon clan and a few years later, the Irish clan had a full rookery again.
Now that they were no longer in danger of dying off, the Irish clan had rethought their stance on assisting in Law Enforcement. They'd been the guardians of their little slice of the sea from the cliffs of Ardmore and for a long time hadn't thought about branching out to anything else.
Now that there were so many, they were able to go a little farther afield and finding homes in larger cities that needed them.
The Australians had accepted the original offer years ago of enlisting themselves as an "endangered species", as they had no interest in joining the ranks as members of a law enforcement. Once positions opened up in other areas, thanks to years of hard work and dealings within the UN, the Red Rock clan had requested to be reclassified and were now enrolled as a branch of the Australian National Park Services protecting the park areas around their home near Ayers Rock and the surrounding areas. Since joining the service nearly ten years ago, they'd been able to keep records and recorded nearly 400 lost or injured travelers.
Who knew how many before that?
It was the successes of these programs that was the reason Nayeli was about to go before the UN council again. Hopefully between the Manhattan clan's police records, the Emerald Isle's sea rescues combined with the Red Rock Clan's search and rescue missions, they would be able to find more ways to incorporate Gargoyles.
And Nayeli? She'd become what she'd once confessed to the long ago kind man who had presided over those meetings.
She'd worked her tail off, trained in every way possible within the GTF, learned all she could from the visiting dignitaries and studied her tail off. She'd petitioned, and after a blessedly short time been granted permission to take a few college classes.
In the end, she'd become the main liaison between the clan, the gargoyle council and… well, everyone in the state of New York. They'd been called to assist in search and rescue in the surrounding states when time allowed, aiding in finding lost hikers, injured skiers and aiding accident victims.
With dignitaries in the UN occasionally bringing representatives from their own countries' clans, Nayeli had been the obvious choice to sit as the United States representative.
It was an offer she'd turned down, insisting that she had her hands full enough as it was that except for speaking occasionally before the gathering, she'd graciously passed on the offer.
There was a United Stated gargoyle within the UN however. Serenade, Lexington and Garia's daughter, sat in that honored place.
Nayeli huffed a breath as she sat on the low stone bench that still had a place in the courtyard. Nayeli looked up and gazed with affection at the stone statue that held a place of honor there. Hudson's form, held tense as if ready for battle, stood and kept silent watch over all of the clan members now. Hudson himself had passed some time ago, but his statue to honor the elder stood strong and reminded them all of the old warrior's spirit.
Madelyn looked at Nayeli in concern. "Are you sure you're up for all of this?"
"I'll be fine," Nayeli laughed.
Madelyn looked up as a shadow crossed her, and she found a few familiar forms circling above them and smiled. "Looks like everyone's enjoying the weather and a lack of emergency calls."
"That they are," Nayeli said, looking wistfully at the others. This close to the baby's birth, she was too awkward to fly. Then there was the worried looks and protection details that would suddenly form around her and force her back to the ground so that she'd be safe. Then her husband would have a go…
Nayeli sighed. It wouldn't be long, she thought, rubbing her belly and smiling at the answering thump beneath her hand. Their newest child would be there, her figure would (hopefully) return to normal and she'd be able to join the others again.
For now, it was speeches and paperwork. Nayeli grimaced.
She'd definitely inherited her distaste of paperwork from her mother. It needed to be done, she knew, but she didn't enjoy that part of her position.
"Everything alright out here?" came a familiar voice, and both women smiled at the man who approached.
"Of course," Nayeli said, smiling at her husband. "Just needed a little air, and the baby was restless."CD
"Mind if I join you?" he asked.
"And that's my cue to duck out," Madelyn said with a grin at the two of them. "Have a good night, you two, and I'll be here with the transport Friday to take you to the UN building."
"I'll see you then," Nayeli waved as the woman retreated back into the castle.
"So," he said, taking a seat beside her and reaching behind to rub the base of her spine, "This one's really active, huh? I don't remember either of the girls being this active."
"Maybe it's a boy this time," Nayeli said, tongue in cheek.
"You think?" he asked.
He loved his daughters, Nayeli knew, but she also knew that he was hoping for a boy.
"If it is," Nayeli said softly, rubbing her belly where the baby was alternately playing soccer with or bouncing on her bladder. "I know what I would like to name him."
He gave her a knowing smile, and nodded at the statue. "I think the old warrior would be pleased."
She laughed, "How did you know?"
"Just a hunch," he said, a twinkle in his eyes. "For now," he stood and helped her get to her feet, "I am declaring myself done for the night. What would you think about ordering up some food and relaxing with a good movie?"
"We'll probably just fall asleep during it," she pointed out.
"If you're beside me, it'll be the best way to end the day," He said sweetly, raising her hand to his lips.
Nayeli couldn't help it. Here they were, married twelve years and two-point-five kids later, and those small gestures still made her heart jump.
She sent one last glance up and watched as her clan circled in the skies and smiled.
"Yeah," she said threading her arm through her husband's. "That sounds like the perfect ending."