Goliath carried Elisa back to the castle levels.
She was still wrapped in the clinic's thin gown rather than trying to fit her arms back into the sleeves of her ruined shirt.
Goliath was worried about her staying warm for the trip back to the apartment without something more substantial, so he accepted the Xanatos' offer of the warm clothing. It was a short trip by air, but it was long enough for a human to get cold.
Goliath met with Fox, and left his wife in her care. He called the clan together to update them on what had happened and what he had seen while he had been waiting for Xanatos to find Elisa at the site of the tragedy.
Goliath knew that there would be a few people coming up who were not familiar with the Clan, and explained their presence to them. They all knew that Elisa needed the help, and even though they were worried for their friend and wanted to be with her, they made themselves scarce until her needs had been taken care of.
Soon, two young women came to the castle, carrying a selection of jeans and warm tops. Elisa tried to help as much as she could, but she was forced to accept help from the two young women who had delivered the clothing. Grateful that they had chosen tops with oversized sleeves, so that they didn't interfere with her bandages.
Fox's personal hair stylist came to the castle level shortly after. She was very gentle, supportive and calm. She washed Elisa's hair, using both shampoo and conditioner three times before all of the grit was gone from the detective's hair.
Elisa was not sure what the medication was that Dr. James had given her, but she was feeling the effects. It was not wholly unpleasant, but it was a level of almost numbness that she had not experienced before. It was almost as if she were watching everything happen to someone else and not feeling anything.
By the time that she was clean and dressed again, she was feeling more than a little out of it. The ladies had all left, and Fox was leading her back to the library.
Fox was pretty much carrying her through the halls by the that time.
Fox took her to the library, where she knew that Goliath would be able to find her. It was one of the rooms in the castle that provided a measure of privacy, as well as a more… friendly atmosphere. It was not as well lit as the rest of the castle, and there was a seating area near the fireplace to aid in warmth.
Goliath had wanted to take her home, Fox mused. But judging by how out of it Elisa was, Fox was willing to bet that he would see reason and just keep her at the castle for the day.
Goliath had hated leaving her alone, even though it was only for a short time. She wasn't really alone, he reasoned with himself, because she had Fox with her.
Fox was not going to let him down. She and David had done enough damage to the clan in the past, that she had made a conscious effort to never do so again. They were, after all, one of the main protectors of the castle and her children. They would lay their lives on the line for her family.
How could she do anything else but the same?
Fox put the tranquilized, barely awake detective in one of the oversized couches arranged in a sitting area near the fireplace.
One of the modernizations to the castle that David had made was installing gas lines to the many fireplaces. Lighting a fire to warm the room now only took the flip of a switch. Once that was done, Fox gazed absently into the flames, deep in thought.
Goliath is probably still meeting with the clan, she thought. Otherwise he would be here waiting.
Fox sank onto a loveseat opposite Elisa, leaned her head back and closed her eyes. It had been a hell of a day. She had spent most of the day in fear that whoever had been flying those planes would aim one at the Aerie Building… It was one of the tallest buildings left in Manhattan now. Granted, David had made this place as safe as he could, but there were always ways to get in.
As a reformed thief and all around criminal, she knew that better than anyone.
As she watched, Elisa began sliding sideways, unconscious.
Fox hurried to the detective's side, helping to lower her gently into a comfortable sleeping position.
It was then that Fox heard the familiar sound of the steel clan suit's thrusters outside, and hurried to the main hall to meet her husband.
He almost looked as bad as Elisa had when she had arrived. He was covered head to steel toe in the white gritty dust. His armor had received its fair share of dings and scratches as well. He looked exhausted and discouraged, a look so foreign to himself that Fox was truly alarmed.
"David?" She called out quietly.
David began roughly taking off the armor right there in the main hall, practically throwing individual pieces across the hall. It was something he had never done before and Fox hurried forward to help him.
Once David's arms were free, however, he scooped his wife up and simply held her for support.
"How bad is it?" Fox asked.
"It's bad," He replied grimly. "I tried to help as much as I could… but there is simply nothing there to find. No people. No personal property for the families of the missing to have. Nothing is left."
Fox closed her eyes and lay her head on her husband's shoulders. She had expected as much. How anyone could survive that kind of destruction was nothing short of a freaking miracle. They had found a few people who had been in reinforced stairways or underground tunnels, but there were going to be a lot more lives that had been lost.
Parents, children, siblings, family and friends… just gone.
The couple stood there, holding each other in their grief.
Goliath made his way to the old throne room. They had affectionately come to call the room the "war room" in the last couple of years. With the computers, television screens and monitors, it was a place for them to better coordinate their patrol routes and keep up with any happenings around the city.
"Father!" Angela called out as Goliath entered the room. She was trying to rise to her feet. "How is Elisa?"
Goliath motioned for her to remain seated, as the rest of the clan echoed her question.
"Aye," Hudson said, once the noise had gone down. "How is the lass?"
"She will be fine," Goliath said, trying to sound confident and all the while hoping that he was right. "She has had her wounds taken care of, and is getting cleaned up and clothed. I will take her home shortly."
"What about Liam?" Brooklyn asked.
"Liam will stay here at the castle tonight, and I will come and fetch him tomorrow." Goliath stated. "I want to let Elisa have all the rest that she can get right now."
"We will help watch over Liam," Angela assured him.
"Thank you," Goliath said softly, looking from familiar face to familiar face. "Thank you all."
"Elisa and Liam are family," Broadway said firmly.
"You don't need to thank us for watching out for family," Lexington said.
Goliath bowed his head to the clan in gratitude.
"The question now is," Hudson said, calling everyone's attention back to the events at hand. "What are we to do about our city?"
Plans were discussed, dismissed and revised. It was decided that, for the next few nights, the clan would stay inside the castle unless needed. When they resumed their routes, they would then avoid the area around the World Trade Center areas until it was deemed safe.
With promises of returning the next night, Goliath moved on to his next task.
He found David and Fox in the Great Hall. Thanking them for the help with Elisa and offering to watch over Liam.
"Don't worry about that," Fox said, a genuine look of worry in her eyes. "Elisa is in the Library. Take care of her tonight, and don't worry about anyone here. We have the castle defenses on high alert, and Puck is watching over the clan and the castle as well."
"Puck?" Goliath exclaimed in surprise.
"Yeah," Fox said, crossing her arms and smiled slyly. "Puck was given permission from Oberon to use his powers in the protection and training of Alex. Then again to the training and protection of Christopher and Victoria. There is an interesting loophole that we found, in that part of the children's safety is having the Gargoyles here, and so," She shrugged, "anything that threatens the Gargoyles, threatens Alex's safety as well."
Goliath was surprised. Oberon had not been a big fan of the clan when he had retreated with his children back to Avalon. The fact that Puck was using his powers, no matter how little, in order to keep them safe would probably not go over well.
"I really wish you would reconsider staying here tonight," Fox said. "I am worried about having you and Elisa in the air and getting shot out of the sky."
Goliath nodded. "Thank you for your concern, but I think it would be best having Elisa in the familiar surroundings of our home."
The human couple nodded their heads in understanding.
"Go," David urged him. "Go take care of your wife."
Goliath nodded his thanks once more, and went into the library.
Elisa was not there.
He didn't panic right away, opting to turn on the electric lights and searching the library thoroughly. When it was clear that she was not there, he went out into the castle to resume the search.
"Goliath," Hudson called as he was on the way to the media room for the night. "I thought ye'd already left. Where is Elisa?"
"You haven't seen her?" Goliath asked.
"Nae, lad," Hudson shook his head. He frowned, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "I have not seen her since you returned with her hours ago."
"Gather the clan," Goliath said, "Find out if anyone has seen her."
"Seen who?"
Goliath turned to see his daughter, Angela, walking towards them.
"Elisa," Goliath said. "She is missing."
Angela frowned. "But I just saw her."
"Where?" Goliath asked, harsher than he had wanted, but his worry was making it difficult to hold on to his patience.
"She asked where Liam was," Angela said hesitantly. "I showed her where his room was."
"Show me as well," Goliath said, relief filling him.
Angela turned and led the way down to the family rooms. Angela quietly opened a door near the end of the hall. Stepping back, she allowed her father to go in alone.
Goliath placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, a show of support as much as apology for his tone before and entered the room.
Elisa was there, curled up on the bed asleep with their son held protectively in her arms.
Goliath felt his heart give a hard thump in relief. They were both safe and sleeping peacefully.
Rather than wake them, Goliath draped the clothing for Elisa on the lone chair in the room. He knelt beside the bed, content to watch his small family sleep.