Author's Note:

At the moment I am doing the dance of joy.

Why?

Because the wonderful BrooksBabe has agreed to be my test vict- beta reader! So, everyone be extra nice to her, because I'm going to make her as crazy as I am before I'm done.

Also, I am overjoyed because… Kimberly Towle likes my story:dies of happiness:

So, here's chapter 6, which definitively answers the question of if Marian and Brooklyn will be getting together.

Generally speaking, Brooklyn was considered a reasonably intelligent biped. Most everyone who knew him agreed on this fact. They also agreed that he could be considered pretty damn stupid when it came to his urge to protect females. Elisa had termed it 'Knight in Shining Armor Syndrome'.

He was suffering from a rather nasty case of it right now.

In spite of the fact that she had threatened to shoot him, Brooklyn was perched on the ledge outside Marian Drakon's apartment once again.

Clearly, it had been a bad day for the woman. She sat on her couch, clutching one of the teddy bears tightly and sobbing. His heart ached with the need to go in there and comfort her. However, Brooklyn's woman-related stupidity only went so far. He had no desire to end up full of holes.

Marian was so immersed on her misery -- and Brooklyn so intent on Marian – that someone knocking on the door startled them both into jumping. The gargoyle might have found Marian's startlement funny if he hadn't had to scrabble to keep from falling off the building.

Brooklyn was still regaining his balance as Marian opened the door, admitting a soberly dressed woman with dishwater blond hair. "I came as soon as I heard. God, Mari, how could you be so stupid?" The blond said, talking into the apartment. "What where you thinking!"

Brooklyn watched Marian stare at the blond, letting the door swing shut on its own. She looked like she was going to burst into tears again.

"Oh Mari…" the woman sighed. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here." She gathered the dark haired woman into a hug, stroking her hair. Brooklyn couldn't hear what else she said to Marian, but in a strange way, it gave him some comfort.

There was someone else watching out for Marian. She wasn't alone.

Brooklyn was considering leaving when Marian kissed the blond.

Gargoyles, as a general rule, didn't kiss. Not with so many like Brooklyn who was, frankly, not equipped to do so. So Brooklyn would have been the first to admit that he didn't know much about it.

But he did knot that that was not how friends kiss.

The gargoyle abandoned his perch, giving the women their privacy and feeling faintly embarrassed.

He didn't see the light reflecting off the lenses in their black plastic frames.

"Astrid's back in town, so its not just the gargoyle watching her now."

"Good. She needs someone around all the time. Mari's always been… fragile.

"Still…"

"She's a good girl. She'll be better off this way."

"Yes, boss."