Hey everyone!

After the craziness and adventure of the 'Taken' arc, I wanted to slow things down, while keeping the plot interesting. And that is what I plan on doing. We are slowly getting closer to the main conflict/climax of the story, and after that, it is all downhill to the final chapter. Do not worry; this story will not be over within the next seven chapters, and I only hope that you enjoy it.

NOTE: All Italicized conversations are in Sign Language unless otherwise stated

A Birthday He'll Never Forget

With Xantos' help, the Robbins house had been quickly repaired of all damages after the fight with Proteus, and the local police force had been assuaged with a story about a faulty gas pipe. Elijah and Jeffrey had to spend about a week at Macbeth's house, but they were just fortunate to be fine, and that Gilly would make a full recovery.

Of course, the first thing the adults had done after the police had left was check to make sure that the Fourth Eye of Mab was still in the house. They had found the brown bag underneath the collapsed coffee table [they could not see or touch the stone, but they could feel it through the bag's material], and Xanatos had moved it to a more secure location. If the stone fell into the wrong hands it could spell disaster, so they were all glad that they still had it. Elijah did not know this of course.

Their search for Mason Grant had come up empty. All records and known addresses of him were gone overnight, leaving nothing but a ghost in its place. Macbeth and Xanatos pooled their resources, but came up empty. The Illuminati, it appeared, was good at what they did, and they doubted they would see Mason [or whatever he now called himself] ever again. Xanatos had one of his personal drivers go work for Mr. Robbins, and had Owen add a few defense features to the Robbins house.

Meanwhile, Elijah continued to live a normal teenage life, or at least one normal for one who was friends with gargoyles. He studied, watched TV, and read, all while rolling the small marble-sized stone in his free hand like it was a lucky charm. For some reason he could not explain, he felt calmer and more in control with that marble in his hand. However, he did not tell anyone about it, not wanting any of his friends to make fun of him, and kept the small green rock to himself.

If only he had known how serious things would soon become.

[][][]

One afternoon in mid-March, Elijah realized his birthday was in five days, in the middle of Spring Break.

He was biking home from school when he realized this [he was still anxious about using his uncle's new driver], enjoying the fresh air tinged with the smell of sea salt. It was easy to pretend he was biking along the seawall of Galveston, but it was a touch too chilly and not humid enough. By now, the deaf teen liked living in New York, and felt like he had lived there for years, instead of nine months.

However, Elijah now remembered his birthday. It was not that he had forgotten his birthday, per say [he doubted anyone could forget their own birthday], but he had just realized how close he had gotten to the date. With all the craziness of the past few weeks, his own birthday had sneaked up on him; the big sixteen that was the first of many monumental birthdays.

I could get my license, he thought, peddling down the sidewalk with the sea to his left. Technically, he had no need of a car, since Weisman was within biking distance. His uncle had told him that in some cultures sixteen was the age a boy became a man, which added some anxiety to his mind.

Most of the deaf teen's current anxiety and sadness came from how he would celebrate this important birthday. This was the first birthday he was spending without his parents, extended family, or any of his friends back in Texas. Sure, he now had his uncle, Amanda, and the gargoyles to celebrate with, but the thought of not having his parents there saddened him. Would it be right to have fun on this special day without them.

Elijah stopped and got off his bike, taking the small rock from his pocket and rolling it in his hand. As he rolled the small stone around and around, he started to forget about missing his parents, and his friends, and even the fact that his birthday was coming up on March 19th. He was almost hypnotized by the little green ball as he rolled it around and around and around-

A large truck drove past, startling the teen from his zoning out. A little saddened that he was brought back to reality so rudely, he tentatively placed the marble-shaped stone back in his pocket, and continued to bike home. A few minutes later, he had put his bike in the garage, and was walking into the house.

"Uncle Jeffrey," he called upon seeing that his uncle was not sitting in the library. "Uncle Jeffrey?"

"I'm in the living room," his uncle called back. Setting his backpack on the couch, Elijah walked into the kitchen, grabbing an apple before heading towards the living room. He walked down the hallway, turned the corner to walk into the living room, and-

"SURPRISE!"

If he had been able to, Elijah would have jumped ten feet into the air, he was so surprised. He did throw his apple across the room, nearly breaking the window. Catching his breath, he gaped at the assembled group in the living room, not believing his eyes.

His Aunt Martha and three of his cousins were standing in the middle of the room, holding a giant handmade sign that read 'Happy Birthday, Elijah!' Uncle Jeffrey stood next to them, smiling as well. And next to him, with the biggest smile of them all, was his best friend June.

"ELIJAH," his cousins [Ian, Emma and Wendy] yelled happily, running forward and nearly tackling him in a group hug. All of them were talking at once, saying things like 'We missed you so much,' and 'Have you gotten taller,' and 'You look so surprised!'

"Oh my gosh," the deaf teen gasped, looking at everyone with surprise. "How are you all… Wow, I… Holy-"

"Watch that mouth of yours," his Aunt Martha said warningly, though she could not help but smile and hug him as well. "We missed you at Christmas, so we decided to spend Spring Break with you!"

"It was my idea," Uncle Jeffrey said, smiling a little. "I figured it would make the break a lot more interesting if we weren't sitting around the house all day. Plus, no one should be alone on their birthday."

"Y-Y-Yeah," Elijah stammered, looking at June, who had not moved from her spot, and whose smile had turned into a passive expression.

Since Thanksgiving, when she had confessed her feelings for him, Elijah had still kept in contact with her via email and the occasional video conference. The conversations had been awkward, with neither of them talking about Thanksgiving. He had gone a couple weeks without talking to her [that was around the time after he had been kidnapped], and throughout all of their conversations, he had not mentioned any of his adventures with the gargoyles.

And, more importantly, the fact that he was currently dating Amanda Ross.

"Hi," he signed, smiling a little. "I'm glad you came."

She hesitated a moment, then signed back. "Thank you," she said, a small smile returning to her face. "It's nice to see you in person."

"I agree." Finally, they walked towards one another, hugging one another. Elijah let go first, trying not to think about how awkward he felt hugging his best friend who happened to be a girl while he was currently dating another girl.

"I'm just surprised that all of you are here," Elijah signed for June, saying the words out loud for everyone else. "How long have you been planning this?"

"Since January," his Aunt Martha replied. "We missed you at Christmas, and Summer was too far away, so we decided to visit now!"

"You sure surprised me." Elijah turned to his cousins. "I hope the flight wasn't too boring."

"A little bit," Ian answered. "Wendy got sick."

"I did not," she retorted, glaring at her brother.

"The little ones are at home with Mrs. Williams," Emma informed Elijah, referring to her four younger siblings.

"I'm just lucky my mom said I could come," June said.

"Can we go see the Statue of Liberty now," Wendy asked excitedly. "Or the World Trade Center?"

"I wanna go see the Smithsonian," Emma said.

"That's in D.C., dummy," Ian informed her.

"It is not!"

"Is to!"

"Is not!"

"Is to!"

"Is not!"

"Enough, both of you," Aunt Martha said sharply. "We're going to see the Statue of Liberty on Monday, remember? We're spending the weekend up here; gonna spend tomorrow at the beach, won't that be fun?"

"YAY!" The three siblings then quickly ran out of the room, and soon their footsteps were heard running around upstairs, along with their excited yells.

"And I thought they'd be tired after the flight," Aunt Martha said, causing her step-brother to snicker. "Which rooms should we avoid?"

"Elijah's is the first on the right, mine is two doors down," the blind author told her. "How about I show you?" Calling Gilly to his side, the two adults left the room, leaving Elijah and June a few moments, the two stared at one another, and Elijah tried not to reach for the marble in his pocket.

"Is it just me, or do you also feel some awkward tension between us," he finally signed, no longer able to take the silence.

June laughed a little. "Thank goodness, I thought I was the only one," she replied, brushing her hair behind her ears. Her smile seemed to falter a little, though. "It's… been a couple weeks since we last talked, hasn't it?"

"... Yeah," he replied, feeling guilty. "I've been busy, these past few weeks."

"Being kidnapped would do that."

Elijah gaped at her. "How did you-"

"My mom told me after your uncle told her." June stepped closer to her. "I know you probably don't wanna talk about it; I'd be wary to talk about it so soon myself. But if you do… you can talk to me."

He nodded solemnly. "I know," he answered, shifting his weight back and forth. "It is great to see you again… really."

His friend smiled at him, the first real smile he had seen that afternoon. "It's great to see you, too." They stared at one another for a few seconds, then both turned away rather quickly.

"How's… How's Jerry," Elijah risked asking. He always asked her this, and she always responded-

"The same." Her lips tightened a little. "But, can we talk about it some other time? I kinda don't want to think about him for a while."

Elijah was surprised by this statement, but he decided not to press her. "Well, we better get upstairs before Ian tears apart my room," he signed, smiling a little. To his relief, June grinned as well.

"I'm just grateful I didn't have to hear them complaining the whole flight," she signed before walking over to the side of the room to grab her suitcase. "And I know you said your uncle's house was big, but I wasn't expecting a mansion!"

"Just call me Will Smith," he replied, fingerspelling the actor's name as the two of them laughed.

[][][]

By the time birthday arrived, Elijah was both happy and unhappy at the same time.

On one hand, seeing his cousins, aunt and friend cheered him up. After being away for so long, to suddenly have them there in Weisman was probably the best surprise he could ever receive. Getting to hang out with them and go places with them made him feel normal, which was something he thought he would [or could] ever feel again. They went to the beach, spent a couple days seeing the major tourist attractions of New York City, and even the small things with them watching cartoons in the evenings made him happy.

Then there was June. Not that she was acting in a way that brought the mood down; she had the brightest smile and the most excitement whenever the group did anything together. But underneath the surface, Elijah could sense that she was not as happy as she appeared. Maybe it was the fact he had yet to tell her how he felt about her, or maybe something at home, but she seemed… different, or something. More distant.

Also, there was Amanda. Elijah had not told his girlfriend that much about June, and as far as June knew, he was still single and Amanda was just a friend of his from school. Amanda had also never heard of June, since he had never told her. Amanda went on a trip with her family to Maine for the first half of the break, but she was planning on being there for his birthday dinner, meaning the two would finally meet face to face. That thought alone made Elijah pace his room the night before, rolling the green stone in his hands as he tried to think of ways to avoid the collision.

How would he tell Amanda: "Hey, this is my best friend since infancy! Also, she's in love with me."

Or June: "Hey, best friend who I grew up with! You remember that friend I briefly mentioned to you once? We've been dating for a month!"

All the deaf teen could think to do was introduce them as friends and hope that Amanda didn't kiss him in front of June. It was probably the wrong thing to do, but by now it was too late to come up with another plan. If only the gargoyles were able to come; he was pretty sure the sight of nocturnal flying creatures would keep his family and friend occupied.

[][][]

Waking up on his sixteenth birthday, Elijah felt no different. He still looked the same in the mirror, and even the well-wishes from his family and friend did not sink in when he came downstairs to breakfast. They had pancakes, bacon, eggs, and even French toast, which was what his parents used to make for him on his birthday.

"I thought it would be unwise to stop a time-honored tradition," his Aunt Martha told him, squeezing his hand a little as she smiled at him.

That day, they all went to the small stretch of beach in front of his uncle's house for another beach day. It was beautiful outside, though it was slightly overcast, and his younger cousins only swam in the sea for a little bit before coming back out, complaining of the cold. Elijah sat on the beach, helping June built a sand castle, like they used to do when they were little. Aunt Martha and Uncle Jeffrey had packed a picnic, and they ate outside, the wind blowing through their hair.

Around mid-afternoon, Elijah had wandered off a small distance down the beach, once again rolling the green stone in his hand. A minute or two later, like he predicted, June walked up to him.

"Are you okay," she asked, a worried expression on her face. "You've been acting kinda weird since yesterday."

"I'm fine," he replied, slipping the marble-sized rock back into his pocket. "Just thinking, is all."

She smiled a little. "That reminds me of the Elijah Robbins I know," she signed. Elijah sat down in the sand, and she sat across from him. "Wanna… talk about it?"

He sighed. "It's just… a lot of things." He picked at the sand next to him, thinking of his parents, Amanda, his gargoyle friends, nearly being mutated by Sevarius. "If you had told me a year ago about all the stuff that was gonna happen to me, I would have thought you were crazy."

June looked at him with a sad expression. "I wish I could have warned you," she signed. "You of all people didn't deserve to lose them… No one deserves to lose someone you love."

Elijah looked up at her. "Will you tell me about him now," he asked.

His oldest friend looked at him, a few tears in her eyes. The last time he had seen her cry was in that candy store in Galveston, and that conversation had not ended well for either of them, he thought.

"The cancer's spread," she signed, closing her eyes so she did not have to look at him. "The doctors say he has a few months; mom's devastated. So is dad. Jerry seems to be the only one who's taking it well, believe it or not. He's-" She started to cry, covering her face with her hands.

"June," he said out loud, automatically hugging her as a way of relieving a fraction of her pain. It was a natural response for him, since they had been friends since they were five, and because she clearly needed a hug. She buried her head in his shoulder, and they remained in that hug for nearly five minutes before she broke free, wiping her eyes.

"I… I'm sorry," she signed, sniffling a little. "First Thanksgiving and now this; I'm constantly crying all over you."

"It's fine," he replied, wishing he could be as candid with his emotions as she was. "I'm so sorry to hear about Jerry."

"Thanks." June finished wiping her eyes, and stared at him with a subdued expression. "I think you were lucky, when your parents died so suddenly; you got the news at once and could immediately grief. I have to sit on this until summer, knowing that any moment…" She sighed. "Hindsight is 20/20, I guess."

"..." Elijah could not speak, shocked that his friend would say something like that to him. He was the lucky one? At least after Jerry dies, she would have her parents. He had no one, and got sent up here to be with an uncle he barely new. Of course, he was happy now, but it still angered him that she could say he was lucky.

"I wish I had hindsight that night," he signed to her. "I would have never sneaked out that night, and my parents would still be alive."

June's eyes widened, and she realized she had upset him.

"I didn't mean it like that," she started to say.

"Like I needed a reminder of my parents today, too," he signed, looking over her shoulder so he would not have to look into her eyes. "You get to say goodbye to your brother. You get to live with your parents after he's gone. You get to stay in Galveston, and I now live over 1600 miles away from my family and friends."

"Elijah, you know I didn't mean it like that."

"I know, but can't I be upset about not having a family?"

"You have a family-"

"All I have is a blind uncle and an aunt with eight kids who lives in another state!" He glared at her. "Don't you get it? I don't have a regular family anymore!"

"There's more to family than being related," June informed him.

"You sound just like Hudson."

"Your friend here in New York?"

Elijah stopped signing for a moment, realizing how close he had come to revealing his connection with the gargoyles. However, the anger within him continued to burn, and he went back to his tirade.

"And what were you thinking, telling me that you loved me back in Galveston," he demanded.

June blinked with surprise, not expecting the sudden change in topic. "What," she signed.

"We've been friends for years, and you out-of-the-blue tell me you've loved me for a while," he asked, his hands shaking a little as he signed. "What were you thinking? How did you think I would respond?" He signed the word for 'story,' so she would know that he was about to tell a 'what if' tale. "'I love you too, June! I've loved you ever since I met you, and I want to be with you forever and ever, despite the two of us being teenagers! Too bad I live ALL THE WAY IN NEW YORK!'"

"Stop it," June signed, glaring back at him as her eyes now shone with angry tears. "Stop it! You're being mean!"

"No, you're being mean! You just said that I'm lucky my parent's died in an instant instead of it being drawn out! I'm sorry your brother's dying, I really am, but if you think I'm in the mood to hear you whine and complain about Jerry or how much you think you love me, then I'm here to tell you I don't!"

Elijah got up, starting to walk farther up the beach. He did not get far before he felt June grab his arm, trying to stop him. He pulled his arm free, continuing to walk. The next thing he knew, he was being tackled to the ground by his former best friend.

"Stop it," he yelled, forgetting that she couldn't hear him. He pushed her off of him. "Why did you even come?! Did you just want to see if I loved you back?! Did you come for a kiss?!"

"I can't hear you," she signed, pointing to her ears.

"Then READ. MY. FUCKING. LIPS," he signed and said out loud; it was a good thing his aunt and uncle were too far away to hear him. "Stop acting like a spoiled brat and just-"

June smacked him across the face, the sound almost echoing around them. The sudden pain was like jumping into a lake of freezing-cold water; all his anger dissipated at once, and his eyes widened with surprise. He looked back at her, both of them breathing heavily as they stared at one another, not saying anything.

"... Elijah?"

His heart nearly jumped to his throat, and he turned around with a sense of foreboding. Standing a few feet behind him, a present in her hand, was Amanda. It appeared that she had decided to come visit him earlier than expected, and was staring at him with a shocked expression.

"Amanda," he muttered, quickly standing up, looking between her and June. "I was just… I mean I…" He put his hands in his pockets, touching the small green rock that lay inside. "It's not what it looks like-"

"And how does it look," she asked, frowning at him. "You're yelling at a girl, talking about love and kissing; it seems pretty obvious to me!"

"Please don't start this," Elijah begged, though his anger was starting to return. "I'm not cheating on you! This is my friend June, from Galveston! She and my family came up to surprise me for my birthday!"

"I never said I thought you were cheating on me," Amanda retorted. "But is that how you treat the people you care about? Screaming at them to 'read your fucking lips?'" The anger in her voice was apparent, and her hands shook a little.

"Who's that," June signed, getting Elijah's attention. "Is she that friend you once mentioned?"

"I'm his girlfriend," Amanda signed in response, fingerspelling the word 'girlfriend.'

June's eyes widened, and she rounded on Elijah. "So that's why you never mentioned her ever again," she asked. "How long has Amanda Ross been your makeout pillow?"

"How come you never told her about me," Amanda asked, turning to Elijah as well. "And how come I can't recall you ever mentioning her to me?"

"No, no, no No NO," Elijah said loudly, bringing his hands to his ears, his right fist still clutching the marble. "This isn't how you two were supposed to meet! None of this should've happened!"

"Well it did," June signed angrily. "There's no going back and fixing what you just said!"

"I wish I could!"

The stone suddenly got very hot in his hand, and a small flash of green light illuminated the air, streaming through his fingers. Two beams hit Amanda and June respectively, knocking them to the sand. As soon as they hit the ground, the round green stone cooled down, falling from his hand.

"What the-" Elijah gasped, looking at the two girls laying motionless at his feet, both unconscious. Wondering what had just happened, he quickly went to Amanda's side, checking her pulse and sighing with relief when he felt a heartbeat.

What just happened, he thought, going over to June to check her pulse. What was that? How come they just collapsed?

June suddenly woke with a start, eyes flying open as she gasped for breath. At the same time, Amanda woke up, gasping for air as well.

"Amanda! June!" Elijah looked between the two, waiting for one of them to say something. "Are you both alright?!"

"Ow…" Amanda rubbed the side of her head, looking disoriented. Upon noticing him, she gasped. "Elijah? What… happened?" She noticed June, who was sitting up as well, looking equally disoriented. "Who's that?"

"That's June," he replied, waiting for her to remember what had just happened and resume being angry with him. "My childhood best friend."

"Your childhood friend?" Suddenly, a wide smile came over her face. "Oh my gosh! I remember you telling me about her now! Did she come all the way up here for your birthday? That is so sweet of her!"

Elijah stared at her in shock, not expecting her to suddenly turn a 180 on him after screaming at him moments before. Meanwhile, June shook her head, turning to Elijah with a dazed expression.

"Elijah… what were we just talking about," she signed. "I remember talking to you about Jerry… and then…" She noticed Amanda. "Who is she?"

"Uh…" Elijah looked between the two girls, wondering what the heck was going on. They had just met one another, and were just chewing him out; how come they were suddenly acting like nothing had happened?

"This is Amanda," he finally signed to June.

"Oh! I remember now; she's deaf," Amanda said, smiling at June as she shakily started to sign. "Hello! My name is A-M-A-N-D-A. I'm Elijah's girlfriend."

June blinked with surprise, and then smiled as well. "It's so nice to meet you," she signed slowly. "Jerry's told me SO much about you! And your sign language is very good!"

"Really," Amanda asked, turning to Elijah and taking his hand. "Aw, Eli, did you really tell her that?"

"I…" Elijah could barely speak, gaping at the two of them as if they were ghosts. "I… You two aren't… mad at each other," he asked.

"Why would we be," Amanda asked, frowning a little. "Because she's a girl and knew you long before I did? I'm not some jealous girlfriend that'll assume she's trying to steal your heart."

"And you told me back in February that you started dating her," June signed. "I was sad at first, but I completely understand; I was selfish, putting you in an awkward position by telling you that I loved you. I mean, I was probably just being emotional and stuff because of my brother."

What's going on, Elijah thought, wondering if he had hit his head when June had tackled him to the ground. A few minutes ago, they were both raging mad at each other and at him. Now, they were acting like they had been best friends for years, and both seemed to think that he was the sweetest guy. And that green flash of light right before they passed out-

Slowly, he turned to his side, spotting the green marble-sized stone laying in the sand where he had dropped it. He had been holding it when he wished that he could change their earlier conversation. And then they had passed out, and woke up with no memories of the argument they had just had, and were now acting like best friends.

I wanted them to get along, he thought. And to not be mad at me...

"Aw, your present got all sandy," Amanda said, picking up the box off the ground, brushing sand off of it. "I hope none of it got into the box. And- Elijah?"

"What," he answered, abruptly turning away from the stone to look at her.

"I forgot to ask if I surprised you," she said smiling at him. "I know I said I was gonna show up for dinner tonight, but my family got back early from Maine and I decided to come over now!"

"Well… I'm definitely in shock now-"

"Then happy birthday," she interrupted, nearly tackling him with a hug. "C'mon; I wanna meet your cousins!"

"I agree," June signed, getting the girl's attention and fingerspelling the more difficult words. "And tell me what you got him." She turned to Elijah. "And don't you dare try to eavesdrop!"

"Or watch us sign," Amanda added, the two of them laughing as they walked back towards his aunt, uncle and cousins, signing with one another.

Elijah was still shocked, slowly turning back towards the small stone tat lay in the sand. It lay there like… well, like a rock. An ordinary, green rock that should not and cannot do anything other than sit there.

Still…

He slowly picked it up, flinching at first touch, as if it would crumble into dust. It did not, and when he held it in his hand, all his confusion and worry seemed to ebb away. He looked at it so deeply, his eyes seemed to glaze over, and his blue irises seemed to turn green for an instant. Then, shaking himself from the trance, he put the rock back in his pocket, smiling as he turned to rejoin his friends and family.

This was an interesting chapter! It turns out Elijah's 'rock' has some tricks up its sleeve, and we finally see the return of his friend June. Also, there are no gargoyles in this chapter, mainly because I wanted Elijah to feel a sense of normalcy in his life, as well as focus the attention on the stone.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Have a great weekend!

-aggiefrogger