They continued on silently. Goliath knew that Elisa was not as unaffected as she was trying to appear. She worked her way through difficult and tragic events by concentrating on the "what comes next". She had been awake for almost two full days now, having probably spent the day working with her fellow officers side by side as they worked to find survivors of the tragedy that had happened. She would still be there, he knew, if it weren't for her injuries, no matter how severe they would be. He loved her guardian spirit, but cursed it sometimes too, as she would push herself to complete exhaustion in difficult situations.
Finally, Castle Wyvern came into view, and he used the updraft to lift them up and over the stone walls. Bringing them down for a soft landing, he looked up to see the rest of the clan waiting silently in the great hall. He kept Elisa in his arms, feeling her reluctance to speak to anyone right now, and carried her inside.
Elisa was thankful once again for just how intuitive Goliath could be. Rather than setting her down in the middle of the clan, all of whom were probably wanting a full accounting of the events of the day, Goliath cloaked his wings around her and carried her through the crowd.
Elisa reached up and placed her hand against his cheek. "You can put me down, Big Guy," she said softly. "I won't break."
Goliath thought that was yet to be seen. Sincerely worried about her state of being, but he set her gently on her feet.
Fox, having heard that Elisa had been found and was on her way back to the castle entered the room to offer her help. What she saw surprised her so much she actually stumbled a step.
Elisa, never really one who seemed too concerned about her outward appearance, looked as though she had been to hell and back. She probably had been, Fox admitted to herself. Coated head to toe in a fine white powder, both her hair and olive skin tone was several shades lighter. There were tracks in the grit on her face, from water, sweat or tears, it was hard to tell. Her long sleeve shirt was ripped in places, her sleeves had been hacked off unevenly and her arms were in need of medical attention.
"Dr. James should be here any minute," Fox said. "Or would you prefer to go to his office?"
Elisa sent a furtive look around the room. She was happy that the clan was all there, all alive and appeared to be well… but she truly did not want to be around them when she was getting patched up. She didn't want to talk about things just yet, and she certainly did not feel up to reliving the events of her day.
Not yet.
"I think going to his office would be better," Elisa said, quietly. "I would rather not take the chance of Liam walking in on seeing me getting sewn back together."
Fox nodded her understanding, and took her walkie-talkie off of her belt. She passed the information on to Dr. James, and was met with the response that he would be waiting in the clinic.
Goliath and Fox shared a brief concerned look, for once in complete understanding. Elisa was being too quiet, too still. She had witnessed what had previously been unimaginable, and in the coming days, she would probably be hearing the names of people that she had known who hadn't made it out.
They couldn't shield Elisa from that, but for right now they could let her have control over the little things.
"The doctor will be waiting for you," Fox assured the couple. "Don't worry about anything up here. The clan has decided that it be best they stay indoors tonight. Liam is curled up asleep in our spare room, but knows that you are okay."
Elisa nodded. She wanted to see her son, see that he was fine with her own eyes. On the other hand, she was afraid of the feelings that had been bubbling and rising to the surface ever since she had first heard Goliath's voice at the work site.
If she did break down, which she was terrified to do, she wanted as few witnesses as possible.
Elisa started putting one foot in front of the other, moving silently to the elevators that would take her down to the medical floor. She was finally starting to feel the exhaustion, now that the adrenaline of the day was wearing off. She found herself stumbling, but before she could fall, strong arms were there to catch her.
Goliath lifted her into his arms gently, and carried her into the elevator himself. He knew she could be stubborn, wanting to do everything on her own and under her own power. Her independence was a trait that he admired… and, yet, it got her into trouble sometimes.
Knowing that she would probably collapse soon if she continued on like this, he did not give her a choice.
They rode the elevator in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. When the elevator's bell signaled their arrival on the medical wing, he felt Elisa jump a little. He gave her a gentle squeeze before exiting the small metal car and walked into the sterile white waiting area outside of the examination rooms.
Dr. James was there waiting for them.
Elisa had to give him credit. He didn't cringe away as everyone else who had seen her since her return to the castle. He had truly grown in his time working with the clan, and had gained a lot of the clan's stoicism. Not much seemed to shake him anymore, which was a good thing since he never knew what was going to be coming his way next.
Elisa had first met him years ago, the night of the Hunter's moon when she had accidentally gotten in trouble during an altercation between The Hunters and the gargoyles. She had gotten in the way and been knocked off of the top of a very large dam that had resulted in a long swim in the Hudson River. The doctor had treated her during the only case of walking pneumonia that Elisa had ever had.
Along with some minor injuries here and there over the years, Dr. James had become her favorite physician.
He was friendly, even though he had developed a real no nonsense kind of air about him. He was a great person, but you did not want to mess with his medical practice. He had been helped by the gargoyles before he had gotten hired on here at Xanatos Enterprises, and had loved the chance to get to work with them as well as the human inhabitants of the building. He even had his own apartment, rent free of course, on the same floor as his offices.
Elisa didn't know how he did it. He was basically on call at all hours of the day, living literally one door down from where he worked, and he managed to stay sane. She loved her job, but she felt like she would have gone a little crazy living in the police station.
"Well, now," Dr. James said, his medical persona coming out in full force. "Miss Maza, let's see those arms."
Elisa raised her eyebrows at that. "Since when is it "Miss Maza"?
"Since you have had a really crap day, the likes of which I may never know" He said. "Now, let's have a look at your arms."
Elisa followed him to an examination room, the largest corner one, since Goliath would want to be there. Actually, she wanted him near because she felt like he was her anchor. His being near was helping her keep it together.
"Here," Dr. James motioned towards the table. "You have a seat while I go get the things I will need." He reached into a small cabinet near the door, pulling out a sleeveless medical gown and tossing it in the direction of the table. "I will need you to change into this, so that I can get to those cuts."
Goliath reached out, catching the bit of cloth in one hand as the doctor left the room.
Elisa sighed wearily. "Honestly, I am not looking forward to this." Gritting her teeth, Elisa began trying to peel the ruined sleeves of her shirt off of her arms. The bandages that she already had, combined with the blood that had dried the shirt to her, made it difficult to accomplish the simple task.
Goliath placed the clean gown on the table and reached out to help his wife. He could see the frustration, the anger and the sheer exhaustion playing across her face. Gently, he aided her efforts to free her arms and pulled the ruined garment over her head. He placed the torn and dirty shirt on a chair nearby.
Picking up the clean gown, he held it out to her. Gingerly, Elisa put her arms through the holes, and Goliath attempted to tie the strings at her back.
"It's okay, Big Guy," Elisa said, knowing that he was struggling with the ties. "They'll be fine."
Goliath grumbled, but gave up. Instead, he picked Elisa up and set her on the edge of the table.
Elisa grabbed hold of his hand, and simply held it. They waited in silence a few more minutes, but Dr. James was soon back in the room.
He gave her an injection of painkillers, a healthy dose of antibiotics, and spent a good amount of time cleaning the wounds. He visibly cringed when he got a look at the large gash that did indeed require stitches.
Elisa sat stoically through it all. The numbing agent helped her to get through the washing of the dust and debris bits from her skin. The repeated irrigation of the wounds that flushed even more out, loosening up the areas where the blood had clotted, making the wounds bleed afresh. She found herself watching the careful stitches the doctor was putting in with a kind of morbid, detached curiosity.
Two hours, twenty three stitches total and a tetanus shot later, he was finished. "Now, I know that this is not what you want to hear, Detective," He said, putting fresh gauze dressing on her arms. "But you need to take it easy. No heavy lifting and no getting your arms wet until the stitches are able to come out."
Elisa groaned. "Doc, I need a shower," she whined. When she heard herself, she cringed inwardly. She never whined, and hated females that did so. "I just need to get this off of me," She said, a little steadier, gesturing at all of the dust and ash covering her.
"You can have a bath," Dr. James conceded. "But you need to keep your arms dry so that they can heal properly. Luckily, you didn't completely re-open your gunshot wound, but the stitches tore the skin around them from the heavy physical activity. I already gave you a healthy dose of antibiotics here, but you are also going to have some pretty heavy duty antibiotics that you are going to have to take at home." Dr. James reached inside a cupboard above the room's tiny sink. "Two tablets, twice a day, for the next ten days."
Elisa, resigned now, took the foil wrapped antibiotic packets that he was holding out to her.
"Goliath," Dr. James said. "I'm counting on you to help me out on this one."
"I will do my best," Goliath answered.
"That is all I can ask," Dr. James said with a knowing smile. "Give me a moment to type up my after care instructions and get you something for pain, then you will be free to go."
Elisa nodded. "Thanks, doc."
Dr. James left the couple in the room. Walking two doors down, on the left hand side, he ducked into his office. He sat at his desk, folded his arms on the surface and laid his head on his arms. He had been following the news with the rest of the world. He had called the various medical facilities and offices in the area, offering his services. He had been told that they appreciated the offer, and they would call when his services were needed.
They had all been expecting survivors, but his phone had never rang.
He could only imagine what it had been like there. He had received his medical training in the army at the age of eighteen, and had seen his fair share of tragedy there.
Nothing on the scale of what had just happened, however.
Elisa was a strong woman, but even strong people could break.
The longer his telephone went without ringing, the more he was certain that there would be few, if any, survivors. Those towers had disintegrated into dust.
He sighed deeply. Sitting up, he decided to focus on the things that he could do. He could make sure that Elisa was taken care of. Her wounds had been sewn up and she had people to watch over her, but he was still concerned about her mental state.
For one, she wasn't fighting him. He could count on one hand over the last eight years that that had happened. Hell, he wouldn't need to use more than two or three fingers to count those special occasions.
He sat up, and continued with his duties. He typed up the instructions for the care of her injuries, knowing full well that that there was a good chance that Elisa would ignore them. While the document was printing, he went to his medicine cabinet and took out two bottles.
One of which was a pain reliever, and the other was an anxiety medication to help Elisa in case she needed help dealing with the aftereffects of the events she had been witness to.
"She won't take it," a small voice in his head said. Even knowing that it was true, he took the bottle anyway.
He did make one phone call before going back into the patient room. He called Fox, and asked for her help on Elisa's behalf.
Back in the room in the clinic, Goliath gingerly took Elisa's hands in his own. "Elisa," He said, quietly. "I was so worried."
"I'm sorry," Elisa said. She brought their joined hands up and rested her forehead there. "I tried calling over and over. First I couldn't get through, then the buildings were falling, and...then…" Elisa's voice caught. Goliath felt the warmth of her tears hitting his skin, and felt helpless to comfort her. He freed up one of his hands, and wrapped the arm around her shoulders.
Elisa cried in silence, shoulders shaking so hard Goliath thought her delicate frame would break. He gently moved her from the table to his large arms where he held her as gently as he would an injured child. He had found over the years that when Elisa had been truly hurt, she would sometimes push people away. However, he had also learned that those were the times when she most needed to be held or comforted.
This was no exception. Goliath rested his chin on the top of her head, and cursed the Gods that had allowed this to happen.
It was during this time that Dr. James returned. No matter how she was trying to hide it, there was no way to completely hide the fact that Elisa was crying. Dr. James opened the bottles, retrieving two tablets from the bottle with the pain medication in it, and one tablet of the anti anxiety medication for good measure.
He took a small bottle of water out of the mini fridge in the room and opened the top. He held both hands out to show Goliath what he had. Slowly, reluctantly, Goliath lowered an arm to expose Elisa's face.
Knowing that this was going to help her, at least for tonight, Dr James pressed the small tablets into Elisa's hand. He stayed in the room long enough to make sure she swallowed them, then he left the medicine bottles and instructions on the counter beside the door. He motioned for Goliath to follow him out, and waited in the hallway.
A few moments later, the large gargoyle entered the hallway and closed the door quietly behind him.
"I left you the instructions and medication that she needs to take." Dr James said, his no nonsense facade was firmly back in place. "Elisa needs to take the antibiotics from those blister packs I gave you earlier, or she may get an infection from all of the debris she's been digging in."
Goliath nodded.
"The two bottles I just gave you, the first is a pain medication. I know that Elisa doesn't like to take them, but she will be in quite a bit of pain once the shock wears off." He waited for Goliath's acknowledgement before continuing. "Now," Dr. James said, trying to sound firm yet sympathetic. "The second bottle is a medication called Xanax. It is for anxiety and depression. Elisa's not going to want to take that one, either, but I am going to urge you to give it to her for a day or two just to help her cope."
Goliath frowned. No, Elisa would not want the medication, and helpful or not, she probably would not thank them for it, either.
"She may have some trouble being able to sleep, but the Xanax should help with that." Dr. James continued. "I am sending her captain a fax with my personal recommendation that she has a week or two off because of her injuries. Realistically, I need her to at least take one full week off to give those stitches time to start healing before even resuming light duty. Knowing Elisa, she's not going to want to take even that much time off."
Goliath knew what the doctor was getting at. "I will try to convince her to take it easy."
"But we both know how she is," Dr. James finished. "She's not going to want to stay at home, and honestly, they may need every officer on call for a while."
Goliath nodded his understanding.
"For now, just try to keep her calm, comfortable and have her get as much rest as possible. Take her home if that is where she would like to be, so that she can be in her own place, her own bed. I don't think that she should be left alone for a few days. Give her family a call and see if someone can stay with her during the day." Dr. James patted his coat pocket, "I have my phone on me at all times, so you should call if she needs anything. And I mean anything."
Goliath nodded his understanding.
"The Xanatos' have a large amount of services at their disposal, and I would urge you to take advantage of them. One of the things is a couple of shops on the lower floors for those who work here and can't get away during the day. Fox has contacted a few of the shops who are sending their people over. They will bring up some warm, loose clothing for Elisa, since her shirt is ruined and her coat missing. There is also a hairdresser on their way to help wash the dust and debris out of Elisa's hair. I spent a lot of time cleaning those wounds, and the last thing she needs is that stuff getting into the wounds again. Plus, she will probably feel a little better when she is clean.
"In the meantime, I took a look at Liam. He had a bit of a stomach bug yesterday. He is resting, and seems to be getting over it just fine. He can stay here if you prefer, at least for tonight. I have already cleared it with Fox Xanatos, and we will all keep an eye on him for as long as you need us to."
"Thank you," Goliath said, offering his hand to the doctor.
Dr. James shook his hand, and took his leave. He did not envy the couple for what they were going to face in the next few days or weeks. The Gargoyles' protective instincts and need to ensure the safety of those within their territory would be suffering right now.
There was little, if anything they could do right now.