Elisa called in sick that day so she could stay and help take care of Brooklyn later. She hoped he wasn't afraid of her for any reason. She also called her brother and family that Brooklyn had finally made it home again. They were all glad he was safe and wished the best in caring for him.

Brook's loincloth was cleaned and patched up for him for when he woke up tonight. It was taken to the room.

Later, towards sunset, Dr. Sato came to the castle to see his patient. It wasn't long before there were stone fragments starting to come off the gargoyles in the room, even the one in the bed. They all roared their welcome to start the night. The others all looked at Brooklyn.

Brooklyn found it odd that he was in a bed in a white room. He felt a bit better, but that instantly made him panic. "Ah! No! Not again!" He saw figures around him, but it made him think he was back in Ray's custody. He panicked.

"Brooklyn, it's us!" Angela tried to calm him.

"Ah, please, don't hurt me!" Brooklyn begged, panting.

"Brooklyn, we won't hurt you." Lex declared.

"Don't you know us, bro?" Broadway asked.

"Bro?" Brooklyn questioned.

"Yeah, you're at home, Brooklyn." Broadway declared.

"It's me, Goliath." Goliath said. He saw his Second shake his head and hold it.

Brook's vision focused more and he now saw the rightful figures around his bed. "Guys? Where am I?" he asked.

"You're in the castle's medical ward." Hudson replied.

Brooklyn felt the stone fragments under his blankets. "What am I doing here?" he asked.

"Don't you remember?" Angela asked.

"No."

"You came in the castle after getting home from wherever you had been for the past few months and were calling for someone. Broadway and I came out of the library and saw you first. Then you fainted. We got you to the library and got you warmed up. We told the others you were home. Eventually, we all moved you here." Angela explained.

"The weather is stabilized now, Brooklyn." Elisa said. "You must have been gliding in the snowstorm pretty good last night to arrive in the condition you were in."

Dr. Sato stepped forward. "Brooklyn, if you remember me, I would like to examine you."

Just seeing the sight of a doctor was enough to make Brooklyn uncomfortable. "No, please. I'll be fine." He got defensive.

"Brooklyn, you still look under the weather. Please let the doctor take a look at you." Elisa said gently.

Brooklyn looked sadly at the others. Hudson took the young one into his arms for comfort. "Sato wishes to make sure you're alright, Lad." He said comfortingly.

"Okay." Brook agreed reluctantly, then he sneezed and coughed. He was still pretty wrung out from traveling all that way in the blizzard last night.

Dr. Sato came over and opened his medical bag. He put his stethoscope on and he listened to Brooklyn's heart and lungs. His lungs were a little raspy.

"Here, I'm going to recommend some antibiotics for your lungs. They don't sound good at all." Sato declared. "You also need to down some hot soup."

"Brooklyn, what happened to make you this sick?" Elisa asked in concern.

"Gliding in… snowstorm last night." Brooklyn replied with a sniffle. "Just wanted to get home."

"You mentioned something about Nevada last night. What was that about?" Lex asked.

"I was taken there by a man named Ray Henderson. He… 'sniffle,' "wanted to do tests on me. Treated as test subject." Brooklyn explained simply.

"Did you escape on your own?" Hudson asked.

"No. A girl, called Melina, helped me get out. I was on my own for the last few months, trying to get home."

"That would be a long flight for you." Elisa declared.

"Few stops along the way. Some few new friends found." Brook said.

"What kind of new friends?" Lex asked.

"First were a pair of boys. Brothers. Scott and Jason. I went to their farm in Utah to get out of a storm. We made friends and for a few nights, I got to even ride some four-wheelers. Reminded me of the motorcycle." Brooklyn reflected on the bike he and his bros had made.

Brooklyn's audience needed answers as to where he had been all this time and didn't interrupt or tried not to.

"Then I went to Colorado where I met Ted Baxter. He was a gambler and I tried to save him from a gang wanting to harm him and I was shot in my right thigh. He helped me. I didn't stay with him long, just long enough for my leg to heal and it was just a couple nights."

Dr. Sato knew he would want to look at Brooklyn's leg then. But it would be long healed by now.

"What did you do for food and water in all the time you were traveling?" Broadway asked. He knew if it had been him, he would have been hungry a lot.

"I had a travel bag with me that held non-cold foods and water bottles. I didn't starve. And I took a train car from Denver, Colorado to St. Louis, Missouri. The bag got taken from me on the train car. St. Louis was where I stayed the longest because of a girl there needing my help. Her name was Elaine Gettys. She was having problems with a street gang around her bank. I saved her as we met that way and stayed to help for so long and we became good friends." Brooklyn explained.

Lex and Broadway gave each other special looks. Figures he would do that even with a human. They knew he desired a mate. He might even go for a human at this point. Of course, being there alone meant he had no competition either.

"What happened with her?" Angela asked in concern.

"That gang wouldn't… give up… on hurting her…" Tears were in Brooklyn's eyes then.

The clan then saw the tears fall. "Oh, Elaine! I-I wish I could have been there to stop them!" he sobbed. He put his face in his hands and Hudson held him as he cried.

"What happened to her?" Elisa asked.

Brooklyn sobbed and sniffled. "They… raped… her… and took her to their hideout. She lived but was badly traumatized. She was beaten. She was even afraid of me touching her. She let me stay with her for two more weeks while her injuries healed. Yes, she talked to police about it. She went to go stay with her parents in Nebraska. I went there with her for Thanksgiving." Brooklyn explained. "I even invited her to come home with me, but she declined. She knew I wanted to come home to you guys too."

"You came home on Christmas night." Goliath declared. "It was the best gift you could give us from you, that you were alive. We had looked for you for so long."

"I'm still Second in Command, right?"

"Of course." Goliath replied. "We just need you to get well first before resuming duties."

"But why didn't you wait the storm out until it got better before you flew home?" Angela asked. "You didn't look well at all."

"I had been pushing myself for days to get home ever since Elaine told me to go away." Brooklyn replied. "I had followed a map. I flew through most of Pennsylvania last night and New Jersey just to get home before sunrise." He explained. "The snow didn't make it easy. The winds kept trying to stop me at times. It was so hazy you couldn't see the road either. I didn't have any food either. It was gone. Snow provided some water."

"Gargoyles don't usually get sick gliding in the snow like that." Goliath declared.

There had been another factor at work that had been making him so exhausted too. One that he had yet to find out. Brooklyn hadn't once mentioned the dizziness and nausea episodes he kept on having that had slowed his journey down too. Perhaps they would disappear now that he was home.

Dr. Sato came forward and he felt Brooklyn's forehead. He definitely had a fever. "It all comes down that you have a fever despite stone sleep too. You need a lot of rest tonight." He said.

"I feel pretty rotten too." Brook replied.

"Brooklyn, I have to ask, do you remember why you left the clan all those months ago? Why you left the castle that night before your capture?" Goliath asked him.

Brooklyn gulped. Yes, he did remember why. "I…"

"Perhaps you should tell it later, Brooklyn. You need to sleep." Elisa said.

"No, I can say." He looked at his leader in worry. "You were pushing me too hard and needed a break. I was angry. I wasn't going to run away again, I swear, just needed some quiet time for myself. I was out on a gargoyle building and that was where I got captured. Can't tell much after that." Brook explained. His head was growing foggy again from dizziness coming on. "Don't feel good." He moaned.

"Let the lad rest for now, Goliath. We'll worry about anything else later." Hudson declared.

"Yes. You can rest now, Brooklyn. But thanks for telling us what happened while you were gone, and I'm so sorry about your friend, Elaine." The leader stated in sympathy.

The clan could sum it up that Elaine had been having PTSD from what they had learned of it after what happened to her. Why would Brooklyn make up something like that? He would have no reason to. They believed his story.

Elisa would want to get back at those nasty men who hurt her like that. The clan would too. But it was so far away and the problem was dealt with now.

Brooklyn was helped to lay back down in the bed. The loincloth wasn't that important right now, but it was in the room if he wanted it back.

"Can everyone leave the room for now? I want to check him over again." Sato requested of the clan. They all left in reply.

"Wait! Please let one of them stay!" Brooklyn exclaimed in panic.

"I will stay with ya, Lad." Hudson declared.

"Thanks."

"The rest must leave." Sato said.

Brooklyn truly did not want to be alone. It was best Hudson was with him.

Sato did a full exam on Brooklyn's body. He felt feverish and all. He also wanted to look at his leg. There was no scar there. Brook admitted he had no problems walking and the bullet had been extracted by Ted. Sato also listened to his gut sounds and pressed a little in the higher region. He didn't find anything in Brooklyn's belly to be concerned about.

When Sato was done examining him, he just ruled that Brook sleep and get rest. He had to take some medication for his cold. It was just a cold. It might pass by tomorrow night. Exhaustion, being hot, dizzy, and wet had just taken a toll on Brooklyn. Sato would be back to see him tomorrow night to see how he was doing.

Brooklyn suddenly didn't feel his loincloth on his waist. "Where's my loincloth?" he asked Hudson.

Hudson chuckled. "It was taken to be cleaned during the day. It's over there, Lad. I don't think you need it right this moment."

"No, I don't. Kinda feels good to be without it." Brook admitted.

"Get some rest, Lad." Hudson tucked him in. He waited until he was asleep before he went to go see the clan.

Out in the Great Hall, the clan was talking. "Brooklyn sure had one heck of a trip getting back home to us." Broadway said.

"Yeah. When he mentioned Elaine, I thought he was going to be coming home with a mate or something." Lex stated.

"Me too." Angela added.

"He mentioned a Ray Henderson." Elisa stated. "The name sounds familiar."

Owen was getting in on the talk too. He went to go look up Ray. He found him as a scientist and geneticist, like Sevarius. He pointed him out to the clan.

"But what would Ray want with Brooklyn at all?" Angela asked.

"It's hard to say. If it was scientific curiosity, he would want the rest of you too." Owen declared.

The gargoyles knew that they could fascinate science people evidently; to study their genes and species. But they didn't like being used as lab specimens. It was one thing to volunteer that way, but Brooklyn had obviously been forced to be a test subject out west. They would talk to him more when he was feeling better.

Broadway then headed to the kitchen to make some food for the clan and some special soup for Brooklyn for when he woke up again. He would need to eat. Hudson wasn't going to stay long. He had said he would stay with the Second. He had just wanted some more of the 411 on Brooklyn and what should happen with him.

….

The food was soon ready and the clan had breakfast with Elisa and Fox and David. Alex was in bed. The couple were informed of what all went on that they knew of for right now.

Hudson had his food in the medic ward with Brooklyn. The smell wafting about ended up waking Brooklyn up. Hudson was glad that he woke up. There was some soup in the room for him. Brook was sitting up and Hudson handed the tray to him.

Brooklyn was more than happy to get something to eat. He was starving. Eating warm or hot soup would feel like heaven after being out in the cold all last night.

After breakfast, Brook went back to sleep.

The clan would take turns staying with him throughout the night while he slept. He ate soup two other times that night as well. He was hungry for it. Resting took his mind off dizziness issues and the nausea.

Angela told her father that she was going to her mother's tonight as much as he disliked that idea. She was going to go last night but Brooklyn's return had changed that. She went after her watch. She gave Brook a kiss on his beak. "Get well again, Brooklyn," she said before leaving. Broadway came in after her and he embraced her.

"Wish you could stay."

"I have to spend time with her, Broadway. I see you every night." Angela declared. She kissed him goodbye.

Broadway sulked and would miss her, but he knew he had to respect his mate's wishes. They didn't need to be together every moment.

When Angela got to Demona's house, she told her that Brook had finally gotten home last night. He was severely sick at the moment and had managed to tell them what happened to him.

When Demona heard that Brooklyn had been kidnapped by humans, it just proved another point to her that humans were evil. She would never trust them.