Disclaimer:
I do not own Gargoyles, or any of the characters which appeared in the cartoon. All original characters seen here were created by me, but everyone else is not. This writing is for pleasure, not for profit...Please don't sue.

The Nightmares Saga The Final Chapter (8): "Certainties"

Goliath stepped into the jet and was greeted by the relieved faces of his clan and Fox and David Xanatos. Goliath looked over the faces until he saw, at the back of the interior of the jet, a curtained-off section of the plane. He suspected she was behind the velvety blue curtain, since she was not found among the rest of his clan.

"I want to see Elisa." He said to Xanatos, motioning to the curtain. "I know she is still unconscious, but I want to ensure she is alright."

Wordlessly, Xanatos walked over to the curtain and pulled it back. Goliath walked beyond the curtain and he saw her lying on a small bed that was a part of the left side of the plane. Goliath saw that, while he was occupied with Dracon, the others had taken the time to tidy her up somewhat; her hair was less dishevelled and her cuts on her face were cleaned and had stopped bleeding as they were before. An antiseptic smell hung in the air. There were black and blue handprints forming on her neck. She was covered with a grey blanket and was no longer wearing the nightgown she was wearing when they were reunited; she now wore what looked like a white tank top, most likely donated by Fox. She looked peaceful to Goliath as she lay there in front of him. He reached down and touched her face, still somehow radiant with beauty and strength, though it was covered with cuts and bruises. He crouched down to her level, and held her left hand, which was still burdened with the thick golden wedding band that had been forced onto her slender ring finger. If he had stayed a minute longer, he would not have been able to stop himself from crying at the sight of his human love, as her appearance was proof of how he could not have protected her from this. He silently walked out of the small curtained-off room and took his seat as the plane was preparing to take off.

Of the 7 gargoyles on board, 6 were hurt in one way or another, though the injuries were nothing a little stone sleep couldn't cure. These injuries varied from bruised or sore arms and legs, to a bullet wound sustained by Brooklyn on his wingspan while he was battling with Glasses. He ended up throwing Glasses into the lake. As he glided away from him, he saw Glasses struggling in the water, but decided to let him swim back to shore all by himself. Lexington had a bump on his olive-coloured head, but all he had was a headache and nothing more, thanks to Broadway sneaking up on Lexington's attacker just in time. Angela almost received a concussion but she managed at the last minute to swerve away from the butt of a shotgun, and instead, was able to render her attacker unconscious long enough to escape to the plane that awaited her and the others. Bronx and Hudson each had a few scrapes, but were otherwise well. Broadway had an uncomfortable injury to his wing likened to that which Brooklyn had received, but his injury was sustained right before the plane landed to take them away, so it didn't hinder their success against Dracon's goons. All in all, the clan had had a successful fight against Elisa's captors, and when they saw that Goliath came back from his confrontation with Dracon, they knew that he had as well been successful.

Goliath was uninjured, but held a different kind of pain within him: he had killed a man who should have been sent to prison for the rest of his miserable life, or at the very least, would have never set foot in Manhattan again. He robbed Elisa of the only kind of revenge she would have been willing to dish out. The justice system was Elisa's livelihood as well as her trusted ally, but it would not extend its' reach to her captor this night. Goliath had killed Dracon, and with him went any sort of payback Elisa could have had. Goliath felt nearly ashamed for killing Dracon as he did.

As the plane took off from the Dracon compound, the gargoyles remained in their seats, quiet and thoughtful. Once the plane regained its steadiness and began flying straight through the sky, everyone minus Fox huddled around Goliath to ask how he was, as his face displayed a melancholic sentiment.

"Goliath, are you alright?" David Xanatos asked as he walked towards him.

Goliath nodded slightly.

"I am fine, though I know that I will forever regret having killed Dracon in anger." He closed his eyes, shutting out the worried faces surrounding him.

"Father, what do you mean?" Angela asked, worriedly.

"Lad, you have ne'er killed in cold blood. I canna believe you would start now."

Hudson confirmed. Goliath shook his head.

"I was going to spare his life—leave him alone on a dark and lonely vista and glide off—but he charged at me with a knife and—"

"That was an act of self-defence, then, Goliath. You had no choice!" Brooklyn interrupted.

"He's right. By law, self-defence is the right to protect yourself against violence or threatened violence with whatever force or means are reasonably necessary."Broadway quoted nearly word for word from a law book he had read.

"Yes, but I would have been able to defend myself from his attack, knife or no knife. My thoughts immediately went to killing him. I did not block him or attempt to dislodge the knife from his hand." Goliath looked to the floor of the plane. Angela put a comforting hand on his noble shoulder.

"Father, we all know that you did what you had to do. And besides, I think I speak for all of us when I say that we all would have done the same, if given the same set of circumstances."

Her words caused a series of nods to come from the clan.

"…and we can't forget that he was the one who kidnapped Elisa and kept her there for a month…" Lexington added cautiously. They all looked at Goliath, awaiting a look of reproach to be shot at Lexington, but instead, Goliath got up and turned towards where Elisa was lying behind the curtain.

"Yes, you are right. She nearly died at his hands, and was forced to become his wife. The wedding band still sits on her finger." Goliath's fists balled at his sides, though he remained calm. "He deserved much more pain than what he received at my hands. I robbed Elisa of her vengeance."

"Goliath, she will be relieved at the very least that he is gone. I have no doubt of that." Xanatos replied. "But there is no reason for you to beat yourself up over this. It's been a long night for all of us. Let's just relax, watch a few movies, and wait until Fox gets us home." Xanatos motioned to the two televisions overhead. Goliath bowed his head in resignation.

At around 3am Portugal time, which was half-way through their flight home, the gargoyles became slightly restless. After watching the in-flight movie, Angela and Broadway were napping, with their heads together. Hudson, Bronx and Lexington were also napping after their battle, but Brooklyn was wide awake, looking out the cabin window. Goliath had rested his eyes for a short while, in a very light sleep, when he sensed that someone was moving about the plane. He peeked through partially shut eyelids and saw a red figure walking slowly towards the blue curtain dividing Elisa from the rest of the passengers onboard. Brooklyn seemed hesitant to go beyond the curtain, however. He seemed nervous and fidgety. Seeing this, Goliath rose from his seat and walked toward the curtain to meet Brooklyn.

"It is alright, Brooklyn. Why do you look nervous to see her?" Goliath asked.

"I am a little. I just didn't see her when they brought her on the plane, and to be honest, I am scared of how she will look." Brooklyn said. "Fox and Angela were the ones who cleaned her wounds and changed her clothing and they said they were worried for her. And the others were the ones who helped get her here, but I didn't want to see her. I was told that she looked terrible. Dracon really beat her up."

Goliath exhaled deeply, nodding.

"Despite that, she is still our Elisa. Superficial wounds will heal. I will go in with you, if you wish." Goliath offered. Brooklyn looked relieved when he mentioned this.

"Please."

Elisa was lying in the same exact position Goliath had left her in; she had not changed or shifted in her drug-induced slumber. Brooklyn stepped closer towards her and kneeled down beside the bed, shaking his head as the injuries most apparent on her face and throat screamed out at him instantly.

"If you hadn't killed him, Goliath, I probably would have." Brooklyn said through clenched teeth, as he surveyed her face. He motioned to her face. "These are more than just a few days worth of bruises and cuts here. The sick bastard."

Goliath nodded solemnly.

"She was a plaything in his hands. I saw the way he spoke to her while I was in a room filled with televisions. He spoke with arrogance with her, as if he held something over her."

Goliath's mind raced back to the events that led them all to this moment, and he felt as if he wanted to throw something, but restrained himself for Elisa's sake.

"Let's allow Elisa to get some much deserved rest. We'll discuss this out of her earshot." Goliath suggested. They walked away from Elisa's still body and let the curtain fall, dividing her peaceful sleep from their conversation.

On their way back to their seats, Xanatos greeted them.

"I was thinking of a way to bring Elisa back to the castle without drawing too much attention to yourselves. Would you like to hear it?" Xanatos said, to everyone who was paying attention or was awake.

Goliath nodded.

Xanatos relayed his plan of calling the NYPD when they were closer to New York City, and explaining to them that Elisa's communicator, which Xanatos had given her a few months prior to her kidnapping, had suddenly come back online, and Xanatos and Fox had decided to investigate for themselves. Once in Portugal, they found Elisa, and everyone was already dead or injured when they got there. Of course they would be asked questions, but Elisa would confirm that story days afterwards, when she would be feeling up to it (though that just meant that the clan had time to tell her how the events were told to the police to have her side of things match up.). The clan agreed that it was the best option.

"But the only way that is going to work is if we drop you all off somewhere else in the city before we get back to the castle. That way, if reporters get wind that we are bringing the Detective back after she was thought to be dead and decide to meet us there, you will be no where in sight."

Hudson raised his hand in opposition.

"I think that we should call her parents and Talon before landin' then. We dunna want her family to find out Elisa is alright on the morning news."

They all agreed.

It was nearly 1am in New York City when the private jet arrived back at the Eyrie building. Xanatos had dropped the gargoyles off a few miles from the Eyrie building before returning home. As Xanatos had suspected, there were reporters and news cameras there, and Owen Burnett attempting to hold them off. Minutes after the plane landed on the rooftop of the Eyrie building, Fox and David carried a stretcher out of the plane, carrying Elisa on it. The reporters and camera crews surrounded them quickly and began taking snapshots and videos of the miraculous rescue mission that resulted in bringing home someone the police feared was dead. Xanatos ordered Owen to dispatch the cameras, and let Elisa rest. Owen let the reporters know that once Elisa was well, they would let them know.

Within minutes, there were breaking news reports on all the local channels, and even CNN had a decent segment on her homecoming, since her return was so miraculous. Pictures and video of the homecoming were splashed across television screens throughout the state of New York.

Xanatos had made arrangements earlier that evening to have a medical ward room fixed for Elisa's stay, and had doctors awaiting their return. Upon bringing Elisa to the medical ward, the doctors quickly got to work inspecting her, and running tests to be certain that she wasn't injured in ways that were not visible to the naked eye. They ran blood tests and did x-rays, and with Xanatos' high budget, the tests would yield results in about an hour afterwards.

About a half hour after the chaos of the reporters and cameras, the gargoyles returned to their home and awaited clearance from Xanatos to see her.

It was nearly 4am when the doctors had finished their tests and had all but one been sent home. Xanatos informed the gargoyles that one may see her at a time. They all knew who the first one would be to see her.

Goliath walked slowly into the room, careful not to make too much noise. She was still sedated, but only lightly. She was almost in a normal sleep cycle. He pulled a chair from the corner of the room towards the side of the bed and sat down. He reached over and held her limp hand. He lowered his brow to her hand. He felt all the emotions that had been bottled up within him for over a month spilling out like a dam uncontrollable. Though she could not hear him, or so he thought, he had to word his feelings for her.

"Elisa, I have been so afraid to tell you how I truly felt about you for far too long, and when I thought you were gone forever, I was not able to forgive myself. I was a coward for not acting upon my feelings for you because of our differences, but I no longer care what anyone will say. This month without you was torture for the entire clan, but I was nothing without you."

As these words escaped his lips, Elisa stirred from her sleep, and her eyes opened to see the face of the one she loved as he poured his heart out to her, still ignorant of her consciousness.

Should I let him continue this, or should I stop him , Elisa thought. Nah, let me hear this a few seconds longer at least. I want to hear all that's in his heart without his damned shyness…

"I should have told you before…but how do I tell you that I love you more than any other being has loved another? How do I tell you that our friendship has blossomed into a love that completes me and makes me whole?"

Wow Elisa thought. I better stop him now. I want to add to that…

He felt a tug at his hand. He looked up from her hand to see Elisa's stunning eyes looking back at him.

"Just tell me…"She said in a sleepy but playful voice. Her tone had instantly lightened the mood in the room. He wanted to hug her eternally, but instead, settled for planting endless kisses upon the hand that rested within his own.

"Elisa…" He said between kisses.

"God, I missed you." Elisa said with a slightly stronger and clearer voice. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes. Goliath's eyes, too, became misty. Elisa tried to sit up in the bed, but was too shaky to gain her balance. Goliath put a tender hand on her shoulder, easing her back down to the pillow.

"Don't try to get up, please. You need to relax."

"I still can't believe you found me…how?" Elisa asked, her voice now drained of its grogginess, but now hinted with emotion.

"Your communicator came back online and we tracked it to Portugal…but that is not important right now. I do not wish to burden you with these minor details. I wanted to tell you—"

Elisa interrupted his words with a few of her own.

"Goliath, before another word is spoken, I need to tell you how much I...I love you." She nearly hesitated in her words, but once they were said, her heart was unburdened and she felt the greatest relief. Goliath's eyes were alive with happiness at these words. He squeezed her hand, which he still held onto.

"I have been afraid of my feelings for you, but I realised through this ordeal that every second counts, and if I hadn't lived through this, you would have never known how much I really loved you, so I can't be afraid anymore. I need you, and I love you." Elisa paused. "And I heard what you were saying just now." She smiled, almost bashful that she had been in a sense eavesdropping on his private conversation. "But if you care to repeat those words, please feel free." Elisa looked down at Goliath's hands holding her own, and stroked his hand. She then looked into his eyes, awaiting his reply to her confession of love. Goliath smiled, then looked deeply into Elisa's rich brown eyes and began.

"I will more than repeat my words, Elisa. We have known each other for nearly three years, and I would be lying to myself if I said that I didn't love you for two of those years. At first, I admired your strength and loyalty, but over our time as the best of friends, I realised that my affection for you was deeper than friendship. I, too, have been plagued with the fear of what the clan would say, but now that I know you are safe, damn what the others will say. Elisa…without you, I was empty. My Elisa, I love you."

He bent down, and touched her bee-stung lips with his for the first time since the clan's return to the castle, more than a month ago. Elisa sighed at the kiss, because it was the sweetest and gentlest of kisses—it was the kind of kiss that would make a person tingle from their fingertips to their toes. Slowly, as their mouths touched, Elisa's hands linked around Goliath's neck and she leaned towards him to experience the full feeling of his mouth pressed to hers. The kiss made Goliath's misty eyes release a few tears. Finally, after years of repressing his feelings and believing that he would never love again, here he was, kissing Elisa with the certainty of emotion that he thought had long since died. He had found love with his most loyal and true human friend. Even as their lips met and rejoined, Goliath thanked fate for this moment, despite how it came about.

After a few minutes, there was a knock at the door. The two pairs of lips separated from one another, as did the intertwined hands.

"Detective Maza, this is Dr. Alban. May I come in for a moment? Uh…I know that Goliath is in there as well. It is alright…Mr. Xanatos informed me of…"

Elisa shot Goliath a puzzled look. Goliath returned the puzzled look, but nodded.

"Come in, doctor." Elisa called.

The door opened, and revealed a man in his mid-fifties with thinning white hair and moustache. He had thick-framed bifocal glasses on his narrow nose and wore a long, white lab coat. He also carried a clip board. Elisa shuddered at this allusion to the last doctor she had been in contact with—that doctor in Portugal that had helped Dracon impregnate her had looked similar to this doctor, and carried a clip board such as this one. Frankly, just the fact that he was a doctor wearing a white lab coat and a clipboard made Elisa nervous.

Dr. Alban walked into the room and extended his free hand to Elisa and then to Goliath to shake their hands.

"Amazing. I have heard of your kind, but was never privileged enough to have met any of you. Fascinating…" He said, staring at Goliath in awe. He trailed off, seemingly lost in thought. As if he had just remembered where his train of thought had last taken him, his head snapped towards Elisa again.

"Detective, we have conducted some tests to ensure everything is alright with you after your tribulations. We will not have the results for an hour or so, but I felt compelled to tell you that everything seems normal so far. You are lucky that you didn't sustain any permanent damage as a result of your kidnapping."

Elisa scoffed internally. If you only knew Elisa thought. I'd say a child is pretty permanent…

"And I must say that you are quite lucky to be so close with Mr. Xanatos. He has spared no expense to care for you. And I think I overheard him discussing plans to get you another apartment just now. He was talking with that uptight gentleman who never smiles…odd fellow…" Dr. Alban again became entrenched in his thoughts. Elisa was shocked by this latest bit of news, but decided that her outrage at Xanatos for attempting to relocate her would have to wait for a better time.

"Thank you for the update, doctor, but do you know when I can get out of here?"

Elisa asked with the strength in her voice fully restored by this time.

"Dear, I won't know that for sure until all the tests are in. Again, that will be at the very least, an hour from now. I will be sure to tell you once all the results are in. Now, I'm sure you want to rest. I will take my leave of you both. It was an honour meeting you, Goliath." He nodded at Goliath and left, closing the door behind him. Elisa reached for Goliath's hand again, but yawned at the same time, so she instead covered her opening mouth.

"Man, he really did a number on me, huh?" Elisa said, referring to Dracon using the tranquilizer dart on her that still had some effect on her, even now. Goliath understood the reference and bowed his head.

"I am sorry that I was unable to protect you from him, or find you sooner."

"It isn't your fault at all, Goliath. Can't you see? You had no idea that this would happen, or that I would be taken to Europe. I'm just thankful that the communicator came online when it did. Otherwise…" Elisa's look became contemplative, and her eyes focused on a distant spot on the ceiling of the room. Goliath would have none of that talk.

"Do not talk in this manner, Elisa. We are together, and you are home. The 'what ifs' are unimportant now. The important thing is that you get some rest." He looked to the side, to see the sun was menacing to rise over the horizon, ending their visit. "I will see you tonight…my love." He smiled as these words left his mouth. She, too, smiled at these words.

"Ok, if you put it that way, Big Guy. I love you. See you tonight." Goliath leaned over and kissed her forehead one last time before leaving her to get some rest.

Goliath exited the room, quietly closing the door behind him, when he saw Dr. Alban standing a few feet away, holding a piece of paper. He looked somewhat troubled. He withdrew his thick glasses from his nose and looked up at Goliath. He seemed as if he had been waiting for Goliath.

"Is there something wrong, doctor?" Goliath asked, hoping those weren't Elisa's test results he was scowling at. The doctor re-read a few lines of the paper in his hand and shook his head.

"Uh…how long was the Detective taken for?" Dr. Alban asked.

"A few days over a month. Why? Is there something the matter?" Goliath asked in a grave tone.

"What? Oh, nothing, Goliath. I have to make an important phone call. Good evening." He turned in the opposite direction and began walking away from Goliath. Dr. Alban then said something to himself, intending Goliath not to hear him, but because of gargoyle heightened hearing, Goliath heard every word.

"She wasn't raped, so how can she be pregnant?"

Goliath stood in place for a few seconds, as if trying to confirm that he had actually heard that. Was it possible? Could Elisa really be pregnant? And with whose child?

"No…" Goliath said quietly to himself. He then remembered how early in the morning it was, and he needed to take his place with the clan on the parapets above the building. He walked towards the elevator, still contemplating this latest bit of news over in his head.

As he turned to stone that day, his thoughts were of Elisa's unborn child.

During the day, Elisa was greeted by Dr. Alban again.

"Detective, I have the results back from your tests. They have been in for a while now, but I didn't have the heart to wake you up just to tell you everything is alright, however…"

A shadow of doubt crept over his face, and Elisa knew what he was going to tell her. Instead of letting him continue, she decided that it was best he knew that she knew of her own pregnancy.

"Doctor, I know what you are about to discuss. Dracon wanted me to know that I was pregnant."

"But we examined you. You weren't raped…unless…" He trailed off again.

"We did not have sex, consensual or non, doctor. He had his doctor inject me with something. I have been having morning sickness for a few days now. I can't keep any food down for more than a few hours. I'm actually surprised I haven't yet thrown up since being home."

The doctor shrugged.

"Consider it a blessing and a curse, my dear. The tranquilizer he pumped you with must have calmed your stomach. But the question now is what you want to do with this fetus now that Dracon is dead and gone…"

Elisa looked up at the doctor decisively.
"I am keeping my child. He or she is a part of me now. End of discussion." She said, instinctively placing a hand on her still flat stomach as a protective gesture, though she was in no danger from this doctor. Understanding that it was indeed the end of the discussion, he turned slightly towards the door to leave.
"Of course, Detective. As you wish." He was about to leave when Elisa was reminded of one last thing to tell him before he left.

"Doctor, please don't tell anyone of my pregnancy. I will tell them in due time"
Dr. Alban nodded and exited the room.

The rest of the day, Elisa fell in and out of restless sleep, and never alone for more than an hour.

One of the hours she was left alone was used for contemplating the use of the enforced wedding band still upon her left ring finger. After many different options, she decided that, for now, it would fit upon her right ring finger. Later on, she would sell it, since it was definitely 14 karat gold or higher.

She was visited by Matt, her parents, and Maria Chavez. Though their visits were very much welcomed, she did feel well enough to entertain them and wished them to leave as soon as they entered her room and sat down. Her morning sickness was beginning again, and knowing that she did not want to tell them she was pregnant just yet, she didn't want to have them suspecting by seeing her sick to her stomach. She was still terrified at what they would say of her and her decision to keep this child and raise him or her as a Maza.

Night fell over Manhattan again, bringing to life the stone protectors of the weak, helpless and fallen.

Goliath awoke to the sounds of his clan talking excitedly amongst themselves. He greeted them with a smile that they had not seen in many weeks, and walked into the castle towards the elevator, intent on asking Elisa about what he had heard Dr. Alban saying the night before.

He knocked on Elisa's private room's door. When she did not answer, he opened it slowly, peeking within and seeing that Elisa was asleep. He decided to watch her sleeping for a while until she awoke.

Taking his seat beside her, he got comfortable in his chair and studied her face like a map to his heart, memorizing every curve and minute imperfection he saw. His eyes then travelled lower, to her upper body, her graceful neckline and shoulders, her ample bosom, and then his eyes were brought upon her stomach. He watched as it rose and fell with each breath she inhaled and exhaled, trying to envision it growing round with the shape of a baby within it. What would happen if she really was pregnant? Goliath searched his heart for a few minutes, then realised that any child of Elisa's, whether the father was Tony Dracon or not, would still be her child, and with that title the child would carry the privilege of inheriting some of her best attributes and qualities.

I would help her care for her child if this is true, he said aloud. I would be a father to the child, if she would allow me to be…if this is true, he decided quietly to himself.

As he was milling these ideas in his head, his attention was caught by Elisa's head shaking side to side slowly, and her eyelids were shut tightly. Her features were stressed and tortured as she tossed. She was saying something.

"…my baby will not act like a Dracon…nothing like you…no…nothing like you…"

Elisa tossed and turned in her sleep. She was in the middle of a new nightmare. No scenes were shown to her. Only her sense of hearing seemed to be functioning within this dream. She heard familiar voices:

…Sir, let me be the first to congratulate you. You are going to be a father…

then the voice of her father…
…what! You are pregnant? You carry that swine's child in your womb? You are a disgrace to our family…you go against all that our family represents…
…then she heard a voice that made her stomach turn…

…you fucking bitch…you're lucky that you're pregnant, because otherwise I would have kicked your stomach until you were coughing blood. I'm going to have to teach you a lesson in manners…

…that's MY child…

…I own you, so I can do whatever I want to you, whenever I want to do it…

And finally, she heard the repulsive voice say something new from beyond the grave…

…this child is a Dracon through and through…there will be no denying it…every time you look at that child, you will think of me…he or she will be EXACTLY like me…tough luck, Wifey…

…she shook her head, trying to erase the sounds from her memory, still half in the sleep world.

"No, shut up…my baby will be nothing like you…my baby will not act like a Dracon…nothing like you…no…nothing like you…" Elisa cried in her sleep. Goliath grew worried and reached for her hand, coaxing her gently to wake up. As he did this, he realised her words were confirmation that she was pregnant…but why hadn't she told him about it last night?

"Elisa, my love, wake up. You are having a nightmare." He said. He shook her mildly until her rant stopped, and her eyelids fluttered open. Once awake, she glanced at Goliath, and thought to what she had just experienced.

"God…what was I saying in my sleep?" She asked honestly.

"You said that your baby would be nothing like Dracon…what does this mean, Elisa?" He asked, allowing her some leeway to explain her reasons behind keeping her pregnancy a secret from him. She instantly blushed and turned her eyes away from his gaze in shame. He understood, and used a talon to turn her face towards him again. "Please tell me, Elisa. Whatever you tell me, I will still love you." She pondered his words for a quick second, and then began.

"I…I am pregnant, Goliath. Dracon kept me alive long enough to impregnate me. But not by ordinary means; he had a doctor inject me with something, and then I felt very sick to my stomach. They told me I was pregnant the day before you came for me, and I have felt sick all day today. I didn't know how you would react. I'm sorry I kept this from you but—"

"Elisa, how do you feel about this child?"

"I have decided to keep this baby. I know he or she is a product of hate, but I feel connected with this child already. I already love this child." She searched his eyes for any sign of his feelings. His hand went to her stomach.

"Then I, too, will love this child."

Elisa felt great relief at his words. Her worst fear was just put to rest, and she could feel at ease at least with him.

Her hand went to his face, and caressed it lovingly.

"Thank you, Goliath. I was so afraid that you would reject me and this child."

"Elisa, you went through something terrible, and the torment you endured at Dracon's hands was inconceivable, but perhaps some good can come from this. This child will be a blessing. Your eyes told me how happy you are, despite the fact that Dracon is this child's father."

Elisa's hand went from his face to his hand that rested upon her stomach under the covers of the bed.

"But this child will never know that. I won't allow this child to know his or her father is a criminal."

Meanwhile, in Lisbon, Portugal…

A tall, thin man sat at a mahogany desk, turned towards a television to the side of the desk, and had a cell phone to his ear, listening attentively. On the screen were images of the homecoming of a certain NYPD detective high atop the Eyrie building. He was extremely interested in these.

"Yes, I am watching CNN right now…Yes, I see that she is fine. But she was successfully impregnated, wasn't she? Ah. That's a Dracon she carries. The child must be carried to term. Once she delivers, I will give you the word to strike. Do nothing until I give the word. Understand, Glasses?"

The man pressed END on the phone, and turned back to the computer on his desk. He began typing furiously.

E l i s a M a z a D r a c o n is e x p e c t e d to d e l i v e r t h e n e x t D r a c o n h e i r in 7 ½ m o n t h s.

W h e n t h e c h i l d is b o r n , t h e mo t h e r w i l l b e d i s p o s e d of , a n d t h e c h i l d

w i l l re t u r n to P o r t u g a l to be r a i s e d a t r u e D r a c o n by me ,

h i s g r a n d f a t h e r …

END