Chapter Five: The Telling
The night greeted the Goliath with rolling thunder and wet the city with peals of rain. The air was heavy and warm, the clouds above so thick that the stars were not visible. Lightning coursed across their face lighting the towering buildings with a ghostly glow. The city hid behind moving curtains of falling water, blurring the outlines until it was a watercolor portrait of smeared lights dotting a dark canvas. Goliath looked up closing his eyes as the rain pattered on his wide face. He drew a deep breath tasting the electricity in the air, the sheer violence of the storm that had only just begun. He let out the breath in one anxious huff, opening his eyes to stare at the sky. The gaze drifted down over the city and then lower to the ramparts below his own lofty perch. All the Gargoyles were inside already, awaiting the news that he and Elisa had gathered them together to hear. It was a night to seek shelter, only he felt that he had none to suit him in this hour.
The weather seemed to presage the storm he was about to create down below. He stood several moments longer, a part of him wanting to delay this forever. But he knew that should he let this news come out in nature's course the consequences would only be exponentially worse.
He and Elisa had talked long into the night after she had told him of the nature of the child that she was carrying. It was the first time in many weeks that they had carried on a true conversation. They had discussed what to tell the Clan and when. And Elisa had even come up with a plausible cover story for the baby, when and if it arrived. It seemed she was as unwilling for the truth to be known as he was.
She had suggested that they go on a trip to somewhere remote, perhaps back to Wyvern, and have the baby in secret. When they returned they could then claim to have found the child abandoned. He had seriously considered the proposition. That would eliminate the need for any of them, Gargoyle or Human, to know what had transpired that night between the two of them, nor the final result of their passion. The problem then became how to hide her steadily growing waistline from their attentions. Though she was only three months along it seemed that he could already see signs of weight gain on her. And if he was noticing it, surely the others would as well. None of the Clan was what he called dull of wit. He knew that would become more work than either of them wanted to deal with. Finally he had decided that the best course of action would be to tell the truth, suffer through whatever recriminations came later, and have the baby where it would be fully supported and well cared for.
That did not make telling the story easy for him, nor for Elisa. Fear of the unknown was always a powerful tool for procrastination. He drew in another breath hearing the light footsteps on the stair behind him, he let it out more slowly trying to calm a bout of nerves that he could never say that he had experienced before.
"Goliath?" He heard Elisa's soft voice, "Are you coming?" He heard the quaver in her voice as well, "Don't make me do this on my own, please."
He turned slowly to face her, only nodding and stepping nearer her side. He offered her his elbow and she laced her arm through his. She was gripping his arm tightly obviously just as nervous about the possibilities tonight.
Goliath stood with his back to the gathering of friends and family staring out a window wondering now if this was the proper course of action. They had come into a room full of curious and expectant faces and that had shaken Goliath's resolve. He had slipped off Elisa's arm and turned away toward the window trying to get a hold of his fears, knowing that this had to be done. Only he was unable to turn and face them. He felt their eyes on him, especially Elisa's, who stood to one side waiting for him to begin.
"We're all here lad," Hudson stated, "What is it you have to tell us?"
His head came up but he did not turn around to face them. That is when Elisa crossed the short space between them, laying a hand lightly on his muscular arm, "We have to tell them," She whispered. He sighed heavily then nodded, squeezing her hand. They turned to face the ensemble together looking over all of the gathered faces. He was still holding her hand when he addressed them.
"We have asked you here to inform you of some rather…interesting news," he began, but was unable to continue. The quaver in his own voice was painfully noticeable in his own ears.
Elisa jumped in before the silence was too long, "I recently found out…. Well, that I'm pregnant."
Surprised looks moved like a wave around the room, followed very shortly by congratulatory chatter. It became a din so loud that Goliath was unable to talk over them.
"Please!" Goliath bellowed to silence them, knowing that if he did not that he would allow the other half of the news to slip by them, "Let us finish," And again he faltered. He felt Elisa's grip on his hand tighten, he looked down at her with a wan smile, nodding minutely to reassure her. Then he looked back up meeting the sea of faces directly, "You may wonder why I have joined in on this announcement, instead of finding out as you are now." He looked around the room seeing expectation on their faces, all except Angela in whose face glimmered a suspicion. He nodded at her and watched it change to a look of shock. He stood taller then, stating simply, "The child is mine."
Everyone was silent, even Xanatos, usually abounding with smart remarks, was unable to make comment. Matt looked actually chagrined, more than shocked. Angela had recovered from her shock but now stood silent and grim. Lexington and Broadway looked numb and Brooklyn, standing next to Angela looked angry.
"How exactly did this happen, Lad?" Hudson asked in confusion.
"By magic, I'd wager," Xanatos piped in finally finding his charming yet irritating voice.
"Aye," Goliath confirmed. He then retold the story of Lady Titania's gift to the two of them and an edited version of more recent events. They need not know of the troubles that the news caused the couple at first.
"And what exactly will it be?" Xanatos asked in his insatiable need to know everything.
Elisa blushed heavily, "Well…" And it was her turn to falter and Goliath wrapped an arm around her shoulder to bolster her courage, "The ultrasounds are a bit early to be 100%, but all indications are that it will be…a gargoyle."
More than a few eyebrows raised at that statement.
As she finished Angela stepped up to Elisa and gave her a hug stating, "I don't know what to say."
"Neither do I Angela," She whispered back.
Matt sauntered up to Goliath, "So that was you that night," He said shaking his head, he gave Goliath an affectionate thump, "You look good as a human… Congratulations," he turned to Elisa, "I'll be sure to set up a shower for the baby…. What do you get a baby Gargoyle anyway?"
Hudson stepped up next, "Congratulations Lass," he laughed then, "You two make a right fine couple," Both Goliath and Elisa looked at each other and then Hudson smiling crookedly.
The others stepped up one by one and gave their congratulations, though some were more heart felt than others. When the last of them had moved away, Elisa looked up at her large beau, sighing heavily, "Well that went quite a bit better than I expected," She muttered up to him.
"Aye," Goliath agreed looking out over the assembled. Mostly they had broken into smaller groups discussing the news in muted whispers. Still he wondered if their words were to be believed. He shook his head suddenly, he had been around humans too long to begin to believe that his Clan would begin lying to him. If there were a problem they would speak up, either now or in the near future.
He felt Elisa as she stiffened beside him and looked up to see Xanatos taking his leave of the gathering. Elisa sighed next to him, "Well as tough as the telling was, it is about to get tougher for me," She sighed, "I hate owing anyone, especially Xanatos, and I am going to owe him big after this request."
He turned toward her and stroked her raven hair, "And yet we must, as you said we cannot have this child delivered by just any doctor."
"I know," She grumped, looking away and down, "It doesn't mean that I have to like it."
Goliath smiled wanly as Elisa moved away to talk to Xanatos about a doctor. He then turned back toward the window, his thoughts still as heavy as the storm clouds outside the castle, pattering the inside of his head just as the rain did the window. He was unaware when Brooklyn approached him again.
"What in the world were you thinking?" Brooklyn asked blatantly sidling up to the towering shadow by the window. Goliath successfully tamped down on the startlement that caused him. Slowly he turned his head to face Brooklyn, and then away at the window again.
He watched as Goliath's eyes slid shut at the question, "What was done cannot be undone, and only Elisa and I can deal with the consequences," Goliath replied quietly, not really answering his second's question and shaking his head regretfully.
"No, this is something that is going to affect the whole clan…her pregnancy, the child…if it lives," Brooklyn added in a soft voice, "We all love Elisa Goliath, perhaps not like you do, but love like a clansman. I would not see her come to harm over this, physically or mentally" Brooklyn said in what he hoped was a reasonable tone. When Goliath did not respond Brooklyn lay a hand on his leaders forearm looking up into his face, "You know what kind of danger you're putting her in allowing her to keep that baby…Humans and Gargoyles are not exactly…compatible. She may reject the child, the child may be born sickly, or even worse."
"We have discussed it," Goliath responded evenly, "She understands the dangers, and she wishes to have the child. I support her decision on the matter. I would have supported her if she had decided to end the pregnancy."
"But Goliath!" Brooklyn sputtered, "It's not right…it's not…natural."
Goliath's eyes were hard, glowing with cold fire as he regarded Brooklyn's more diminutive form. A low angry growl emanated from him and Brooklyn shrank back from his leader, knowing that look all too well. It was a look that only said that Goliath was beyond reasoning with. He continued to back away from Goliath as his leader returned to regarding the rivulets of water running down the tall window.