It was a quiet ride to her place, and the only sound in the elevator was the hum of the motor that pulled them upwards.
Elisa unlocked her door, and held it open for the guys.
Matt entered first, having already been through this a few times with the handful of other humans who had met the clan. It was getting to be old hat for him.
Travis followed Matt, stopping in his tracks when he entered the main living area.
Elisa pushed past him. "Hey guys," She greeted, then looked around. "Where's Goliath?"
"He's outside," Angela said, holding Skyler's hand. "Brooklyn was… upset."
Elisa closed her eyes and silently counted to ten.
"Okay," She said. "Everyone, this is Stephen Travis. Travis, this is Angela, Broadway and Lexington. I'll be right back." With that, she was making her way out to the large rooftop patio.
"They're real," Travis stuttered. "I mean, I heard the stories and saw the news footage a few years ago, but…"
"Nothing beats seeing them in real life," Matt said with a knowing grin. "Wait until you meet Goliath and Brooklyn."
"There are five?" Travis asked.
"Actually," Angela said, getting to her feet, "There are seven of us."
"Wait," Travis said, finally taking in the copious amount of body glitter and feathered wings. "I saw you there tonight."
"Yeah," Broadway said, putting his arm around his mate's waist. He was no longer wearing his coat and hat, however. "We love Halloween."
"It's the only day we can go out and not have to worry about being seen." Lexington said with a grin.
Travis sent Matt a look.
"Come on," Matt encouraged him. "Come in, get comfortable, and I'll fill you in."
-{- -{- -{- -{- -{-
Elisa closed the door behind her.
Ahead of her were two familiar forms.
Brooklyn was sitting on one of the benches, head held in his hands.
Goliath was standing beside him, his hand laid supportively on his second's shoulder.
"Hey guys," Elisa called out as she approached.
"Elisa," Goliath responded.
Brooklyn dropped his hands, and met Elisa's gaze.
The hurt and fear in his eyes made her heart ache for him.
"She's alive," Elisa said. "I'm still not entirely sure how it happened, but she tapped into some of her fae powers and saved people tonight."
"But I thought that Oberon took her powers away, like he did the other half fae that had been left out of the gathering." Brooklyn said.
"So did we," Elisa said. "Like I said, I'm not sure how it happened, but it did. She was holding that car in the air so it wouldn't keep going and hurt more people than it already had. It was a fairly big burst of energy, so it probably just tired her out." She put her hand on Brooklyn's other shoulder. "If she doesn't wake up by the time you all need to go to the castle, then we'll all go, and take her with us, okay?"
"Okay," Brooklyn said, reluctantly.
"I know you're worried about her," Elisa said.
"I just wanted her to be safe," He muttered, looking at the ground.
"I know," Elisa said. "I'm not saying that I agree with how you did it, but I understand your wanting to protect her any way that you could."
"I just didn't want her to become a target, and have to go through anything like…" He trailed off.
"Anything Like I have," Elisa filled in. "Remember what I told you, Brooklyn. I could have walked away at any time. I chose this life, and if you want me to be completely honest," Elisa smiled gently, "I wouldn't change even a moment of it."
"Really?" Brooklyn asked, hopefully.
"Well," Elisa thought about it, "There was the whole being sent back in time where I had to deal with a whole host of unpleasant stuff, but if that meant not knowing you guys, or having even one of you guys disappear from my life, then, no. I wouldn't. Surprised?" She said at the expression that crossed his face. Elisa weighed her next words carefully. "I think, if you talk to Skyler about your feelings, and reasons for doing what you did, that you might be surprised by her answer."
"We will give you a few moments to think," Goliath said. He took Elisa by the hand and led her back inside.
In the living area, Travis was busy asking rapid questions of the clan members there. Broadway was sitting in the large wingback chair, with Angela delicately perched on the armrest beside him. Lexington was entertaining him with his observations on modern technology and everyone's reactions to them when they'd first woken up in this time period.
Goliath let go of Elisa's hand once he realized that Travis was there. Elisa wasn't offended, knowing that it was in his nature to be cautious of newcomers before allowing them to know that Goliath and Elisa were anything more than good friends.
Elisa knew that was his way of trying to protect her. She understood, since she wasn't able to shout from the rooftops about their marriage, either. Everyone that she knew and worked with who were aware that she was married, were led to believe that her husband travelled a lot for work and was rarely in town.
Travis was eagerly talking to the clan when she and Goliath entered. He looked at Goliath, and hurriedly got to his feet. Only an inch or two above Elisa's own 5'5" tall, he still had to arch his neck back to look into Goliath's eyes.
"Holy…" He said. "You are tall."
Elisa chuckled. "That's everyone's first reaction."
Goliath held out his hand and shook Travis's hand in greeting.
"It is nice to meet another detective who works with Elisa," Goliath said.
"Uh, yeah," Travis said. "Thanks." He took his hand back, and studied the group. "So… who wants to help me try to understand what happened tonight?"
Elisa raised an eyebrow. "You ever heard, 'There are more things in Heaven and Earth'?"
"Shakespeare," Travis identified.
"Well," Matt broke into the conversation, "Shakespeare knew what he was talking about."
Elisa nodded. "Once you meet the Gargoyles, and find out that they're real, everything else is a little easier to understand."
"Like magic," Matt said.
"Magic?" Travis repeated, doubtfully.
"Not the stage magician stuff," Elisa said. "Real magic."
"I'm sorry," Travis shook his head. "I know that it should make sense, but…"
"It's not easy," Matt said. "Trust me. I met the Gargoyles a few years before I was introduced into the whole Magic and Magic spells exist thing, and it was still hard for me. You're getting a crash course in the supernatural all in one night."
Elisa let Matt take over, and made her way to where Skyler lay on the couch. The time was getting away from them, and it was nearing the time to make a decision. Leave her here at home, or take her to the castle and see if either Owen, their local fae in disguise, or Doctor James could be of any help.
Elisa debated for a moment, then made the call. She was hoping that Skyler would be fine, but Elisa wanted to be sure that she had access to any care that she might need.
"I hate to break up the party, guys and girls," Elisa said, "But I need to borrow the gargoyles."
The clan, with the ease of a single unit who had worked and fought together for longer than the humans in the room had been alive, rose at the same time.
"What's up, Elisa?" Broadway asked.
When they reached her, Elisa purposely lowered her voice. "Would you guys be able to get Skyler to the castle? I'll meet you over there as soon as I can."
Broadway lifted the small female, and Lexington hurried over to open the doors for them. Elisa walked to the door, and watched as Brooklyn joined them. There was a brief discussion, then Skyler was gently placed into Brooklyn's arms for the trip.
"We will get her there safely," Goliath said softly. "We will see you soon."
"Yes," Elisa said. "I'm not sure who would be better to help her, either. Owen or Doctor James."
"We will alert them both," Goliath promised. "She will be taken care of."
"I know, Big Guy," Elisa said with a smile.
The group took to the skies, and Elisa went back inside.
Matt and Travis were still seated, so Elisa took one as well. "You probably have questions," Elisa said wearily. "Go ahead and ask, and I will answer what I can."
"Does anyone else have a connection with the Gargoyles?" Travis asked eagerly. "Other than the two of you?"
"A few other people," Elisa said, not naming names.
"How long have you known them?"
"She's known them for a few years," Matt said with a sigh. "Even after being her parner for almost a year, it still took a while for her to trust me enough to let me in on the secret."
"Yeah," Elisa said, glaring at him. "We're not going to talk about just how he got the information out of me."
"Hey, it worked!" He said with a grin.
"Next question," Elisa said.
"Are they really helpful on the job?" Travis asked.
Elisa gave him a blank look. "If you were a criminal, and in the dark were approached by a gargoyle, what would you do?"
"Drop everything and run," Travis admitted.
"That's pretty much how it happens," Matt admitted.
"Wow," Travis breathed. "Can you imagine how much of a help they would be on the force?"
Elisa raised an eyebrow.
"I meant on the street," He said, "With actual badges."
"Maybe someday," Elisa said. "For right now, if anyone asks, you don't know them. You've never seen them. As far as the outside world knows, you think they are a myth."
"An urban legend," Matt said. "Like alligators in the sewers."
"Gotcha," Travis said. "So… Now that I'm in the loop, can I still train with you guys? I have the book training down pat, but the Detective I was training with at the other house didn't let me get a whole lot of real world experience."
"Alright," Elisa said, getting to her feet. "But you freeze up again, and we're going to have an issue."