Elisa was hard at work an hour later. She had changed back into her "civilian" clothes, and back into her sling. The numbers of officers in the station had been cut down dramatically, now that the memorial service was over. Elisa felt like she could finally relax a little, now that she was free of all the scrutiny from the others.

Elisa buckled down, and got to work. She hated paperwork, but so did most of the officers that she knew. The endless forms and reports that had to be made with every investigation and arrest was daunting sometimes.

There had been a small stack of paperwork that had been left in her "inbox" since the night of the shooting. She really did want to get it done before officially being back on duty. After being off for the better part of a week, she was getting itchy to get back out on her patrols. As it was, Liam was still at her parent's house and sunset was still hours away, so she had nothing else to keep her busy.

After half an hour of sitting at her desk, Elisa tore off the dreaded sling. It was serving no purpose other than to annoy her. She wasn't doing anything strenuous, and her stitches were due to come out soon anyway. She had an appointment with Dr. James to have them removed. She had gone without it earlier and been fine, after all.

She stayed at her desk and burned through the stack of forms in record time. She was just signing the last of the reports when the telephone on her desk rang.

"Maza," She answered.

"How did I know that you would be there, and not at home resting?"

Elisa smiled. "Hi, mom." She could almost picture her mother standing, fists on her hips, shaking her head in disappointment.

"Like father, like daughter," She said. Elisa heard a deep voice in the background and her mother's response, "Yes, she's at work. She's your daughter."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Elisa laughed.

"Sometimes it is," Diane admitted.

"What's going on?" Elisa frowned. There was something in her mother's voice that was making her nervous.

"I know that we said that we would keep Liam until tomorrow, but…"

"Mom," Elisa broke in. "Is he alright?"

"He's fine," She hurried to reassure her daughter. "But he is not feeling well, and is asking to come home."

"Of course," Elisa hurried to say. "Do you need me to come and get him?"

"No, of course not," Diane said. "We can bring him over. Where would you like us to drop him off? At home or the castle?"

"How sick is he?" Elisa asked.

"Probably just a stomach bug."

Elisa sighed. "Go ahead and drop him off at Dr. James' office. I'll meet you there and give Dr. James a call to see if he can take a look at him, just in case."

"Alright, honey," Diane said. "I will meet you there."

Elisa hung up the phone and turned the paperwork in to the processing desk. She went back to her desk, called Dr. James' answering service and left a message for him to call her. She grabbed her coat and was out the door in mere minutes.

Outside the station, she hailed a cab to the Aerie building and beat her mother there by only moments. She got the answering call from Dr. James on her cell phone in the cab and was reassured that he was available and waiting for them to arrive.

She was in the doctor's waiting room when Diane walked in carrying a very sick little boy.

"Hey mom," Elisa said, helping her hold the door open so that she could maneuver inside while holding Liam.

"Hey there, buddy," Elisa said softly, rubbing a hand over his back. The poor little guy was pale and looked worn out.

"Mom," he said weakly. He held his arms out to her and Elisa scooped him out of his grandmother's arms.

"He was fine last night," Diane said, worried. "Then around noon, he started saying that his stomach was upset. He got really sick in the car ride over."

"I threw up," Liam added. "In the car."

"What? I…" Diane stuttered, then sighed. "Oh, the joys of motherhood. Well, he's not the first kid to vomit in the car."

Elisa cringed. "You better go, mom, and get that cleaned up before the smell sets in."

Diane nodded. "Call me, and let me know how he is feeling later." She gave Liam a kiss on the cheek, hugged Elisa and took her leave.

Dr. James opened his door down the hall, and walked towards the mother and child. "Hey, there," He greeted them. "What's this I hear about young Mr. Liam being sick?"

"Hi," Liam greeted weakly.

"Wow, you really look rough there, little guy. Let's have a look at you and see what we can do."

After an examination… and a rush to the trashcan so that Liam could throw up again… Dr. James handed down the diagnosis.

"It's the flu," He announced. "There's a pretty nasty strain going around lately, and it seems to be bad enough that even those who have had the flu shot this year are getting it as well. Chances are that he was exposed a few days ago and is just now showing the symptoms."

Elisa stroked her son's back to comfort him. "Any suggestions?"

"Lots of fluid," He answered. "Gatorade works, too. Maybe some soup and crackers later. But for now, I have some children's doses of Pepto Bismol that may help with the nausea."

"Thanks doc."

"Anything for my favorite patients."

"I think we're your only patients at this point." Elisa said with a smile.

"Hey," He protested. "I have other patients! I do all of the physicals for Xanatos Enterprises' employees for the insurance registration, and I am on call as the Xanatos family primary physician."

"Uh, huh," Elisa said skeptically. "And how often have the Xanatos' actually taken advantage of that?"

Dr. James sighed. "A few times. That family is the healthiest and least accident prone people I know."

"Tell me about it," Elisa sighed. It probably had something to do with Fox's fae blood that kept her and the kids all healthy.

David and Fox Xanatos had their eldest son, Alexander, just in time for 'The Gathering'. Oberon, King of the Fae and best known through the works of Shakespeare, had decided that it was time for all of his "children" to return home to Avalon. All of the Fae who had been running loose amongst the world's population was suddenly finding themselves recalled to their mystical island home, and some were not happy about it.

Puck, the trickster, was one of them. He had come to like life among the humans, and did not want to return to his "boring" life on Avalon. He had enjoyed his freedom, and had dedicated his life in service to David Xanatos. He had been the last of the Fae to hold out against his "father's" orders.

As it turned out, Titania, Oberon's queen, had been a busy little bee during her time away from Avalon. She had gotten married and had a child with a human man, Halcyon Renard.

The flame-haired child from that odd union was none other than Janine "Fox" Xanatos. Titania had kept a close eye on her daughter, watching for any sign that Fox had inherited any kind of special powers. When Fox displayed none, Titania had never bothered to train her.

The night that Fox had given birth to her eldest son, Alex, was the night that Oberon had left Avalon to collect his wife and Puck. Titania had protested her return, stating that Alex needed to be taken to Avalon and trained to use any powers that he may have. Oberon gave in to his wife, taking extreme measures to try to take Alex away from his parents.

But the Xanatos family had two secret weapons: The Gargoyles and Puck.

Elisa had not been there. She had been sleeping an enchanted sleep with the aid of Oberon's spell. Actually, the rest of Manhattan Island had slept through it as well.

Puck had helped to hold Oberon and Titania off long enough for the Gargoyles to help 'convince' Oberon that Alex was better off staying with his parents.

Puck got to stay behind as well, with a few restrictions. Puck was left in Manhattan, still in David Xanatos' employ, but could only use his powers to train Alex to use his powers and see to his safety.

Titania was not completely out of the picture, however. She made a visit at least once a year to "check up" on Alex's progress. Other than that, Titania had come two extra times, both on the days that Fox gave birth.

Fox and David's second child, Christopher, was born 3 years after Alex. Their daughter, Victoria, followed four years later. All three of the children showed magical ability, however watered down with "human" genes they may be.

Puck definitely had his hands full with training now, and loved the time he got to shed his Owen persona and let Puck out to play.

One of the benefits of being part Fae, it seemed, was that neither Fox or the children got sick. Ever.

Lucky woman, Elisa thought. Her mother had always told her that it was a motherhood right of passage, having to deal with sick kids. Diane didn't truly think any woman had earned the title of "mother" until they had been vomited on at least once. All Elisa knew was that it was exhausting, sometimes disgusting and worrying work.

Dr. James gave her a small pack of the pink colored tablets for Liam to take for his stomach troubles. Rather than try to get across town in the heavy traffic that was bogging down the streets with people trying to get home, Elisa borrowed a blanket from Dr. James' clinic to bundle him up with.

She gathered Liam up and carried him up to the castle levels.