When 4:30 am came around, Brooklyn was awoken by his urge to just be awake. He was ready to be up again. He wanted to do something. He felt refreshed after his nap. It wasn't time yet for Elaine to be up. Still early for that. Dawn wouldn't be for a while yet.

Brooklyn found the blanket over him and he pushed onto the couch. He wanted to go outside. He unlocked the back door in the kitchen and quietly went outside. He wanted to get a little view of her neighborhood.

He climbed a tree and took to the air. He wouldn't be gone long and he made a mental note of her house. His wings had just been aching to glide again. He explored her neighborhood more to just get a lay on the land, so to speak.

Elaine was up at 5:30 am. She just liked to be up this early so she could have a little time to get ready to go to work and have a little time for herself. She went to check on Brooklyn and found he was not on the couch. She went to the kitchen and found the back door wide open.

Brooklyn had given his word that he wouldn't leave! Elaine panicked and ran outside, looking for him.

"Brooklyn! Where are you?!" Elaine called out.

He didn't answer her call. He must have been a long way away. She sadly went back indoors and shut the door.

Brooklyn returned a while later and found the door locked. He saw the lights were on. He knocked. Elaine answered the door.

"Where were you? I looked for you. I thought you left me." She complained to him.

"I didn't leave. I just wanted to explore the neighborhood and know where your house was before dawn. It's just a gargoyle's nature to have to take a glide nearly every night." Brooklyn explained.

"Ok." She wasn't satisfied with his answer totally.

"I'm sorry I worried you. If there was trouble around here, I would go and help them too. That's a gargoyle's purpose." Brook stated. He was being honest with her.

"Alright. It just scared me that my savior had taken off when he said he wasn't going to leave me alone yet." Elaine declared. "Can you at least leave me a note?"

"Sure." He replied. Then a wave of nausea hit him. "Oh!" Brook moaned and had to sit down.

"What's wrong?"

"My stomach. Nausea. It happens on a nightly basis but at different times of the night." Brooklyn stated, holding his belly.

"You really should get a doctor to look at you if you've been having those episodes for so long."

"Later, I promise. My sleep will help it get better too," he said.

Elaine knew that she would need to get him some anti-nausea medicine and anti-dizziness medicine. It might help.

The two of them spent the rest of the morning together until Elaine had to go to work. "Go down to the basement when you're going into the stone sleep. I really don't want a mess in my living room or for folks to see you. I open my curtains in the daytime to let light in." she explained.

"I understand. I'll be there after sunset tonight. I kept track of how to get there from your car and traveling back to the bank where we met." Brooklyn stated.

He went to the basement while she headed out the door to her job. In the basement, Brooklyn knew that he would turn to stone anytime now. The effects might be delayed being down here but he had to be ready. It took effect soon enough. He felt it coming on and quickly took his pose.

For Elaine, it was going to be an anxious day. She knew that she might be questioned at work about what happened and that police would likely be there this morning after what happened last night. She was right.

When she got there, there were a few cops there, wanting to know what happened. All the men that had been arrested last night for harassing and attempting to rape her were questioned and they all mentioned something about a 'monster' stopping them was how they had been able to be arrested at all because Elaine was no blackbelt ninja or anything.

Her coworkers were all curious about what creature would have been around here that would have stopped them. Elaine said nothing. She knew that she had to keep Brooklyn's secret. She just said that he ran away.

Security had a look at the cameras and indeed, there was a creature on the footage, but it didn't show that it ran off. Elaine had helped it to her car and drove off with it after the police took her statement. Something was up.

This officer, Officer Stacy Quincy, went to question Elaine in her office.

"Elaine Gettys, why did you lie about the creature?" she demanded.

"What about it?"

"You said it ran off. I saw opposite on the video footage."

"Ok, that was for the public. I took it away from the scene and let it go. That's all." Elaine replied.

"So, you're saying that this creature doesn't come here all the time?" Stacy demanded.

"No. I had never seen it before last night. But I am grateful to it. It saved me. I wouldn't have been able to fight those men off myself." Elaine declared. "Please, don't go after it. It was obviously just passing through."

"Any creature like that that is dangerous needs to be found and contained, if not put down." Stacy exclaimed. She was letting out of control fear take over.

"Hey, it didn't hurt me. That creature was hurt by those men, who were the real monsters! You have them all but one! Their gang have been terrorizing our bank members and other banks around town for a long time! And likely, more of their members will come and do so again! Concentrate on them, Officer!" Elaine tried to make her understand that a gargoyle was no threat. "And we had never seen the creature before. Likely it won't come back after I set it free." She would have to talk to Brooklyn and make sure that he didn't get seen on cameras again like that for his own good.

Stacy was still disappointed in the answer that was given to her. She would want to know more about what this 'dangerous' looking creature was. She left Elaine to her job. But it might be more beneficial now that there was some security at this bank there every night until the last employee was safely out of the office and to their cars. She told that to the head boss of the bank.

The boss agreed to that.

Elaine just worked the rest of the day at her job, giving money and counting money. Being the bank teller that she was.

…..

When the sun went down later, Brooklyn awoke in Elaine's basement. He looked around and didn't know where he was, then remembered about the woman that had let him stay with her and he was in her basement. He left the lights off and went upstairs. He remembered to go to the bank to make sure that she was safe, and others like her. He would keep out of sight.

Brooklyn took off the bandage on his arm and then went outside and made sure the coast was clear before he got to the air from a tree. Then he flew down to the bank to just keep an eye on things. He was on a different building this time. There was a big clock outside the bank and it was getting time for them to get off.

Elaine was the last to leave like usual. She just had more responsibilities with her job as a teller. She hoped Brooklyn was out there.

The only reason that it was getting dark so early was because they had lost Daylight Savings Time for the winter months. It was now the middle of November. There were still some nice days, but they were getting colder out. Elaine wondered how Brooklyn was staying warm right now.

When she finally went outside to leave, there was now a guard with her. Brooklyn was glad there was. At least he would have a gun with him, but Brooklyn was still being watchful for any more of those punks from last night. Even they could have guns on them. But a guard was better than nothing.

Elaine looked around for the red gargoyle. She didn't see him anywhere. If he was there, he was sure hiding good. But if he wasn't there, he must have forgotten. She drove in disappointment to have not seen him.

When she got home, Elaine went inside and called for him. He wasn't there and checked the basement. He was gone. Maybe he had moved on already? Then there was a knock at the door.

She answered it and it was Brooklyn. "Where were you?" she demanded.

"I was watching the bank like I said I would. I saw the guard escorting you out to your car." Brooklyn replied. "Can I come in?"

"Yes." She said and let him in. He folded his wings and walked inside.

"Aren't you cold out there?" Elaine asked.

"Gargoyles don't feel the cold quite so much. I'm fine, thanks." Brooklyn stated.

"That's nice. Well, I'm gonna change clothes and get dinner started." Elaine said. She went to her room to change while Brook went to the living room to wait. He turned on the tv.

Some lousy news channels on and a wrestling match. But the news did catch Brooklyn's attention. He wanted to see what was happening here in St. Louis.

When Elaine came out of her room, she saw that the news was on. "Brooklyn." "Hm?" "You can't be caught on camera again at the bank. There were cops there today questioning me. I told them I let you go elsewhere because the camera filmed me helping you to the car. I tried to tell one officer to not go after you and that you were just passing through."

"I'll be glad to help keep the gang at bay if they are being a problem. It's what I do. Gargoyles are protectors, Elaine." Brooklyn declared.

"Okay, but just try to stay out of sight until I get out of there, unless there's a reason to attack the street gangs." She said.

He could agree with that. It might be boring but it was a job he could do, at least for now. He wasn't going to stay here permanently. He still had to get home to his clan.