Back by popular demand… the reviews were unanimous…so another chapter it is… this will be one of two last chapter as there will be an epilogue to follow this. I am glad that you all are enjoying this. When this is done, I will be doing a third story, but not soon, I have so much on my plate right now that my time is limited. Thank you for all your reviews I hope that you will stay with me and revisit when I get going again!
Thanks
Darwin
Chapter Ten: Forgive and Forget
Goliath stood silhouetted against a tall stained glass window staring out through one semi clear pane to look at the night sky. He was stone still, his wings tightly encasing his large frame and his arms crossed over his chest. His jaw was set in a heavy brooding frown and his eyes were flinty and cold. He had done exactly this every night for the past three weeks, since the night of his son's birth. Goliath stood watch over Elisa's still form, wondering when and if she would join the land of the living again.
Goliath's gaze moved back over his shoulder seeing the curtained bed where Elisa still lay. The steady whir of the respirator filled the room with a soft buzzing sound and the heart monitor beeped steadily to show that she was still alive. The sounds had come to be irritating since he had begun this watch. Elisa was still comatose, though her condition had stabilized and her body was healing. It was thus even after three weeks of closely monitored care by the doctor and his group of physicians, nurses, and specialists.
Goliath sighed, turning away from the window, and finally walking with heavy feet and a heavier heart toward the bed. Slowly he pulled back the curtain to look on her peaceful face again, the lines of pain had eased. They had been there so long that he had thought that they were permanently etched into her features. Her color had returned, as her body healed itself, but the dark cascade of hair wreathed her face and made it starkly pale in contrast. He could almost ignore the tubes that were umbilical to her body in a valiant effort to keep her alive. She had begun breathing on her own just two days before and the doctor had been able to remove the endotracheal tube. It was more comforting to see her without it, it told him that she was a step closer to recovery.
It had been a long arduous ordeal for him these past weeks. It was an emotional roller coaster from the word "go", and he was feeling the strain. The whole first week he had been crazy with worry. He had lashed out at anyone who addressed him, the doctor, his clan mates, Matt, and it didn't matter whom. The behavior had nearly gotten him banned from the infirmary altogether. He forced himself to remain civil after that, but still hovered over the doctors and nurses as they came to tend to her, making more than a few of them nervous with his massive presence shadowing over them.
Goliath did not eat and did not want to sleep, though unlike humans he could not choose when to sleep, the sun always forced it upon him. He had waken every night fearful of finding that she had died while he slept, running to her side immediately to prove to himself that reality was different from the nightmare visions that danced through his head every day.
The second week he resigned to accepting whatever fate might befall his love, telling himself that if she was meant to die that there was nothing that he could do to stop it. He had begun mourning her even though she was not yet dead. Goliath was depressed and moody, hardly stirring from his post at the stained glass window, as the nurses and the doctor moved about their daily routines. He was unable to make himself move to face her lifeless form to look upon her peaceful face. The sight tore his insides apart when he had convinced himself that she would lose her battle. Elisa had been given the best of care and they had done all they could to repair her body, now her spirit needed to follow. He had still watched and waited, expecting her death as inevitability. He had seriously considered stopping her life support on several occasions, not wanting to endure her suffering any longer. Thankfully he had not followed through on those thoughts. That thought had been even more unbearable than seeing her comatose day after day. He had finally decided that as long as she was still living, breathing, and showing signs, no matter how slight, of improvement he would continue to wait.
This week he was just watchful, detached from the whole thing, he felt ready for anything really, numb inside and out, and knowing nothing would shock him. He was cautiously hopeful that she would pull through, and heartened somewhat by her continued strong vital signs, but he still expected her to die. He was more than a little afraid to hope at this point, knowing that it would only be worse to hope and then lose her.
He reached down slowly and ran his hand against the skin on her cheek, it was warm against his fingers, and hope surged through him again. He tamped it back down again; knowing that she was still comatose, and though she was the picture of health outwardly that she had not healed enough to return to consciousness. Goliath leaned down to kiss her on the forehead again repeating what he said every night before this one, "Come back to us." But still she still did not responded to his voice, and again his hope faded and his gaze lost focus.
He had temporarily given over the organization of the nightly patrols of the city to Brooklyn, while he was detained with Elisa. Brooklyn was doing very well at it, utilizing Hudson to the fullest for advice, and it again confirmed Goliath's decision to put him in as second.
Goliath sighed softly, thinking about the disagreements they had about Elisa's pregnancy, and the animosity he still saw in the younger gargoyle's eyes. Goliath hoped that Brooklyn would look past that, would concentrate on the good of the Clan and not what he saw as a mistake made on his leader's part. Since Tanner had been born he had seen the emotion fade a little but it still lingered, promising trouble at some future point if Brooklyn did not keep his head about the matter. Goliath knew without a doubt, that if Elisa did not survive this Brooklyn would never be able to forgive his leader. Yet Goliath would certainly never forgive himself if that were to come to pass.
Angela, upon meeting her half brother, had insisted on taking over his care until such time that Elisa was well. His daughter's maternal instinct was strong, he saw that immediately as he had watched her tend to the tiny form in her arms. She practically doted over the boy. He shook his head a little, her hybrid upbringing showed as well, she veered from the standoffish parenting that was typical of Gargoyles. She had adopted a more human, more emotionally attached demeanor. Beyond his first contact with his son, he had seen little of the boy. For him it was harder to go against his upbringing, hard for him to spend as much time with Tanner as Angela was doing. He did make it a point to visit Tanner at least twice a night and every time it was the same. Tanner looked on him with awareness beyond his years, he knew his father well, and would reach for him longingly as he entered the room. The boy seemed to hear him coming and anticipated Goliath's visits. The boy never cried when he left either, seeming to understand that his father was worried about something else. He would only frown a little and draw his small arms close to his body, looking on his father with round sad eyes. Then he would reach up and hug his half sister with arms and wings.
Tanner had nearly doubled in size in the three weeks since his birth, his wings expanding like a butterfly until they were of the right proportion for his small frame. He was already moving about on his own in sort of a crawling shuffle, he had begun climbing and attempted unsuccessfully to glide across one of the larger rooms in the Castle. It amazed him, though others had commented that the boy was a slow developer. Gargoyle children were able to walk within two days of their hatching, climb in a week, and glide between two and three. Goliath considered it a miracle considering he was half-human, and he had assumed would develop more in accordance with his mother's traits than Goliath's.
Goliath glanced toward the hall beyond the infirmary, hearing the nearly constant murmur of his son's vocalizations. He was healthy, Goliath smiled, and more than that he was in every manner the perfect looking gargoyle. He turned to stone just as they did, his appetites were the same, and his demeanor was typical. That would dull the objections of the others, as it was the only complaint they could find in him was his small size. The others in the Clan overlooked even the fifth digits that were so apparent to him. It was a good thing that Gargoyles came with so many different appearances and decorations of horns and spikes. To the clan it was just one more variation of appearance. They did not seem to notice the movement that those little nubs had, nor the way in which he deftly used them to anchor himself while his more articulate fingers manipulated items.
Goliath focused his eyes again on Elisa, then with a sigh he turned away and slowly moved back toward his perch by the window.
She heard the soft clicking sound of nails on stone, and the slight sound of something dragging. The sound grew louder and then stopped somewhere near her. There was a whisper of fabric being drawn back and the slight metallic scraping sound above her. After that it was silent for long moments beyond the sound of the machine next to her counting out her heartbeat and the soft hiss of the oxygen feeding to her mask. Could it be that he was here? She thought suddenly, feeling her heart beat faster at the prospect. She heard someone shift slightly next to her the wings whispering as the tips dragged against the stone, and she knew without a doubt that it was him. She knew that he would never leave her alone. Her insides jumped as something touched her face, though she was still unable to move. It was warm and leathery soft against her cheek, she felt the warmth of that touch course through her with half-remembered images of similar caresses, caresses of love, of longing, and of passion. All to soon the hand left her face, leaving her with a baritone whisper of, "Come back to us."
Again all was still, and her heart sank, wondering if he had left her alone again, if somehow she had missed that leaving. Sounds of clawed feet and dragging wings on the floor began to fade from her again. She wanted to shout out, "I'm here! I'm alive! Please, don't leave me!" but her body failed her not a muscle stirring as she attempted it. That warmth in her continued to spread, her senses becoming more alert as the moment wore on. She felt muscles in her fingers and toes twitch violently as the nerves sporadically fired signals to the muscles. With the movement there came her first sensations of pain. Another kind of warmth started to spread from her abdomen, the aching and burning pain that reminded her suddenly of her last conscious memory. She remembered a blur of corridors as Goliath sprinted with her to the infirmary, the heavy jolt as he missed the turn and slid into the wall. She could remember Goliath's last words to the doctor, "He tears his way free, you must stop him. Don't let Elisa die."
She had remembered sudden fear at that statement, realizing clearly what that statement meant. After that all had been pain, blind agony, as the doctors worked fervently to stop her son from killing her. After that there was nothing to remember.
Elisa felt her eyes tighten and then tentatively open only to close again at the bright lights that surrounded her. She blinked furiously trying to get her eyes used to the glare cracking them open again to get a look around her. She saw in her limited vision a dark circle directly above her, barely making out the details of carved stones in the high vaulted ceiling. About here there was a white curtain looking unearthly in the bright glow of the lights staged all around her bed. A surge of fear went through here as for a moment she thought that she had in fact died. Then the medical equipment came into focus denying that explanation. She let out a breath slowly finding that she was not ready to move on.
She turned her head slightly to one side, looking for him, knowing he had to be nearby, but not seeing him. The curtain was slightly gapped and she slowly reached for it with one leaden hand, the burning sensation intensified in her gut as she did. She almost gave up on that effort, but found that she couldn't she had to know, was all she heard just a dream, or was he really there? Unfortunately the curtain was elusively out of her reach, try as she might she was unable to lay finger on the elusive white fabric that blocked her view. Leaning over further only caused her unbearable pain and she rolled back onto her back. She lay still for long moments waiting for the burning pain to subside.
Elisa opened her mouth trying to form the word, it came out as a wheezy sigh. She closed her eyes and licked her lips then tried again, she had to know, "Goliath?" The word was barely audible, sounding as if it would not carry two inches from her lips much less across the expanse of the room. The reaction to her voice was instantaneous however. There was a sound like a cape being whipped through the air somewhere off to her left and steps slow at first but quicker as he neared her bed. The sound stopped just outside her curtained area, as if he was second-guessing what he had heard. She watched as slowly a large clawed hand penetrated the split in the curtain and slowly drew it back. She smiled small as his stern features leaned into her view. His dark eyes widened as he caught sight of her and he quickly was inside kneeling next to her bed.
"Elisa?" He asked in a throaty voice, as if he believed his eyes were now deceiving him.
She smiled again, "H..hi…big guy," She whispered blinking slowly.
Slowly Goliath reached cupped her face in both large warm hands. His eyes were glassy and wet with tears and his smile faltered as his emotions roiled, "You're awake," He said.
"I…I couldn't sleep anymore," She said softly.
A bark of a laugh escaped Goliath and suddenly he had buried his head into her shoulder hugging her tightly. Elisa raised one arm and rested it against one firm muscular arm, gripping it as tightly as her weak body would allow. She though she had felt his body shake with a silent sob, but made no mention of it as he straightened again. He shook his head side to side, looking pained, "I am so sorry, Elisa."
Her brows furrowed, "For what?"
"For…for allowing you to put yourself through this," He moaned softly.
Her hand moved to his face and he leaned down into her touch as she moved her hand up his cheek and brow and into his dark hair. She smiled, "Not your fault," She muttered, her words starting to slur as her energy waned, "'m a big girl…wanted it." Her eyes slid shut and her hand slid slowly back down his face. Her eyes opened abruptly and slid shut again as she fought to remain conscious. Her eyes opened again, wide, and she was suddenly alert again, "The baby?" She demanded.
Goliath smiled and nodded, "He lives."
Her eyes slid shut again and she nodded slowly, "Want to see him…"
"Yes of course," Goliath agreed, "But perhaps another night?"
Her eyes cracked open a bit and she nodded imperceptibly, agreeing, "Sounds good."
Her eyes slid shut and her breathing slowed considerably as she fell asleep. Her hand slid off his arm and thudded dully against the mattress.
Goliath did not move for long moments his head hanging low between his shoulders as he held her hand. He exhaled forcibly nodding to himself, and then he looked up at the ceiling blinking back tears again, tears of joy and guilt. Then he slowly rose, heading for the castle beyond to break the news to the others.