A few hours later, having no word from Titania, the clan found places to sleep inside the castle for the day.
Cleanup was going to be hell for the cleaning crews, Elisa thought. When the clan broke free of their stone skin after the sun set, they literally burst free. Stone pieces and dust was going to be everywhere.
Elisa had clogged two vacuum cleaners that way and had learned her lesson.
The humans decided to go their own way for a while.
Owen was strictly in charge of the children for a few hours. Beds, cots and cribs had been moved into the large playroom, so that one person could keep track of them all at once.
Fox and David had rounded up the three halflings that had been left behind in the fight, and took them down to the specially designed iron cages in the 'dungeon'. In all actuality, it really had been the dungeon when the castle had stood on it's native land of Scotland.
Elisa went to check on Skyler.
Skyler was asleep, lying pale and still on the hospital bed. An IV in her arm was supplying her with fluids and medication. Her face was more bruised than Elisa remembered, the brilliant blues and purples standing out starkly against her pale skin.
Elisa quietly drew a chair closer, and held the young woman's hand in hers. She couldn't imagine having no family, and didn't want Skyler to wake up alone.
Elisa laid her head back, against the tall back of the chair.
A weak squeezing sensation on her hand brought her wide awake instantly.
"Skyler?" Elisa asked, quietly.
The young woman opened her good eye and gazed at Elisa. She moved her mouth as if to speak, but nothing came out.
"Do you need a drink?" Elisa asked.
"Yeah," Skyler managed to get out.
Elisa got to her feet and poured Skyler a glass of ice water from the ever present pink hospital issue pitcher. Unwrapping a straw, Elisa bent the neck so that Skyler wouldn't have to sit up and drink.
Elisa braced her hand behind Skyler's neck, and helped her sit up enough to get a drink.
"Thank you," Skyler said when she had taken her fill.
"No problem," Elisa said, helping her to lay down again. "Can I get you anything else?"
"I'm fine," Skyler said.
"You're not fine," Elisa said, a wave of sadness overcoming her. "You got pretty banged up."
"Yeah," Skyler said. "They were pretty insistent."
Elisa frowned. "'They'? Who are 'they'?"
Skyler frowned. "I was putting the kids down for naps," She recalled. "The only one left in the playroom was Liam, because he was so content in the playpen. I watched the twins go to their room, and Alexander showed me where Christopher's room was."
"You don't have to talk if it hurts," Elisa said, noticing the young woman's discomfort.
"No," Skyler said. "I need to tell you."
"Okay," Elisa said gently, taking her seat once more. "Go ahead."
"I had gotten back to the nursery, I had picked Liam up when I heard the helicopter. Mr Xanatos had told me that the air space around the Aerie was a protected air space, so it seemed odd. Something felt wrong. I grabbed a blanket and wrapped Liam up in it. I put him in the closet where he would hopefully be safe, and propped the chair in front of the door."
"You saved his life," Elisa said, giving the woman's hand a squeeze. "Thank you."
"They were after Alex," Skyler announced. "They said so."
Elisa sat upright, her attention fully focused on Skyler. "You said something similar last night. What makes you say that?"
"They tried to question me about where the kids were," Skyler said, her free hand plucking at the hospital blankets covering her legs. "When I didn't tell them, they…"
"What did they do, Skyler?" Elisa encouraged, gently.
"The oldest one, he hit me a couple of times," Skyler said, her eyes suddenly burning with a fierce protectiveness as her gaze met Elisa's. "I still wouldn't tell them. The oldest one lost control of some kind of energy, and he blew out the wall of the nursery. I don't really remember much after that until I was on my way down the stairs on the stretcher."
"You are an amazing lady," Elisa said. "The children are all safe, and the building security has been upped since the attack until further notice. We're all safe here. Your job now is to get healed up. I am sure these kids are going to run you ragged as soon as you are able to get out and around."
"Dr. James told you, right?" Skyler asked, sadly. "About my legs?"
"I know he said that it was a wait and see kind of thing," Elisa admitted. "We will know more when the swelling goes down."
"Yeah," Skyler said softly.
"Hey," Elisa said softly, but firmly. "We're going to make sure that you have the best medical care available, and when you're ready, you can come back to work. That is, if you still want to stick around after all of this."
Skyler raised her face to Elisa. "Are you serious? Even if I can't walk?"
"I am serious," Elisa insisted. "You're an amazing woman who was willing to give her life to save my son. There's no one else I would want to look after Liam."
A single tear made its way down Skyler's bruised, swollen cheek. "Thank you," she said softly.
"Hey," Elisa said, giving Skyler's hand a gentle squeeze. "None of that. Actually," Elisa mused, only half joking, "I think there may be an employment bidding war between Xanatos and I now. I think they're really regretting not hiring you first."
"I'd rather stay with you," Skyler admitted. "Too much excitement here."
"To be honest, Skyler," Elisa admitted in all seriousness, "things are never truly quiet in my life. Things aren't always as dangerous as this was, but it's not going to be an entirely peaceful place to be."
"A little excitement, I am fine with," Skyler said. "As long as this isn't an everyday thing."
"Gods, no," Elisa said.
"Okay then."
"Okay," Elisa said with a smile. "I'll get with Dr. James and see what all we need at our place to make you comfortable until you're able to get around again."
"Thanks, Elisa."
"No," Elisa said, smiling at Skyler. "Thank you. For everything." She got to her feet. "Now, I want you to get some more rest, and I'll go see if I can catch up with the doctor."
Skyler sighed, leaned back against the pillow, and just that quickly was back to sleep.
Elisa sank back into the chair, sitting with her for a little while longer.
Twenty minutes later, Elisa got to her feet.
There were things to take care of, and she'd better get started. She had to talk to the doctor, make arrangements for any special accommodations to her condo for Skyler's after care. There was a small office on the ground floor of her condo that she could make into a temporary bedroom so that the stairs wouldn't be an issue.
Then she had to deal with the 'normal' side of her life. She had to contact work, talk with the Chief, and figure out what to do about the time that she had missed.
She walked towards Dr. James' office. The door was slightly ajar, and she found the young doctor working quietly at his desk. Elisa knocked lightly on the door to get his attention.
He looked up from the papers he had been filling out. "Oh, Elisa," He said tiredly. Gently, he removed the reading glasses from their perch on his nose and placed them on top of the papers that he had been looking at.
"Hey doc," Elisa greeted. "Sorry to bother you, but I was hoping you could help me."
"Sure," He frowned, leaning back in his chair. Ever the physician, he gave her a quick once over. "What's wrong?"
"Oh, I'm fine. For once, it's not about me," Elisa said, taking a seat across the desk from him. "I wanted to talk to you about Skyler."
"I thought so," Dr. James said. He crossed his arms on top of his desk, "What do you need to know?"
"Something she said bothers me," Elisa admitted. "Her injuries… I thought is was the explosion that had caused that amount of damage, but she said that one of the guys who attacked hit her…" Elisa drifted off, for once, not knowing how to ask what she wanted to know.
"Normally I wouldn't be able to discuss a patient with you," the doctor said, slowly. "However, Skyler gave verbal authorization last night, and signed a form a short while ago to make it official that you are her emergency contact. She also signed the form that designates you her medical power of attorney, so that you can make the medical decisions should Skyler be unable to."
Elisa blinked at the doctor in shock. "Oh, wow. Okay."
"She didn't tell you," Dr James looked chagrined. "I am sorry to have sprung that on you."
"No, it's fine. It's just...," Elisa blew her hair out of her face. "It caught me by surprise, that's all."
"Well," Dr James said, back to business, "In answer to your questions, after she was stable, we gave her a thorough examination and it is my belief that most of her injuries are a result from a physical attack. The only injury that I can actually say with any certainty was a result of the explosion is her broken leg. Skyler confirmed that she was struck by a large chunk of debris, and that is what broke it."
Elisa closed her eyes and hung her head. "Damn it," She muttered.
"I know that was not what you wanted to hear."
"Doc," Elisa raised her angry gaze to the white-coated doctor. "None of this is an ideal situation. I have to focus on what comes next, or I tend to stew and obsess over things in the present that I can't do anything about."
The doctor nodded his understanding.
"Okay," Elisa said, trying to shake herself out of her current mood. "I am planning on taking her home with me. I have a small office on the ground floor of my condo, and I can set that up as a temporary bedroom. What kind of things can you recommend for me to invest in to make sure that she has what she needs to rest and recover?"
"She will need someone with her quite a bit in the beginning," He admitted. "You may need to see about hiring a nurse during the times that you will not be there."
"Alright," Elisa nodded, having no earthly idea of how to manage that. She had gotten lucky with Skyler… but finding another person to work in her home that was not only familiar with Gargoyles, but tolerant of Elisa's relationship with one of them?
She wasn't sure she was that lucky.
"Hire a Nurse. Got it," Elisa said. "What next?"
"She'll need a wheelchair for now, and an adjustable hospital bed wouldn't hurt, either."
"Maybe I should be writing this down," Elisa admitted.
Dr. James smiled, and handed her a large yellow legal pad and a pen.
Elisa hurriedly scribbled down the suggestions, and sat, pen poised to continue taking notes.
"Mr. Xanatos has already expressed their wish to pay for her therapy," Dr James said. "He contacted a rehabilitation company here in Manhattan as soon as they opened for the day, and they will be sending someone here to speak with me sometime early tomorrow morning so that we can compare notes and make a treatment plan."
Elisa was surprised. "Whoa. That was quick."
"The Xanatos family feel that they owe her for all that she has gone through to protect their children, and this is how they wish to begin."
"I'm not going to argue," Elisa said, "And honestly, it shouldn't surprise me that they're already arranging something."
"The therapist that they are sending should be here around one o'clock," Dr. James said. "So between then and now, I have cleared my schedule, so that I will be available should Skyler need anything."
"Thank you," Elisa said, getting to her feet. "Do you mind if I.."
"Come by and meet the physical therapist?" Dr. James interrupted with a knowing smile. "Of course."
"Thanks," Elisa said again.
"Go get some sleep, detective," Dr. James suggested. "You won't be any help to anyone if you are sleep deprived."
"Doc," Elisa said, tiredly. "That is one suggestion I will gladly follow."