Something to tell you ch 5

One Month and two weeks after birth

Demona had just a half hour until sunset.  Normally they'd be working on Elisa's Latin at this hour, but Elisa said she'd be coming a little later tonight.  She went to change her clothes before the sunset and then just sat down in front of her mirror, pulling her hair out of the bun she wore at work.

            When sunset came and Elisa still wasn't there, Demona started to worry.  She'd be driving Delilah over while the hatchling was flesh.  Maybe she should call and tell Elisa not to come tonight.  Demona wanted to see her daughter, but not if she was going to have to go through the city as flesh.  What if someone in a truck was able to see into Elisa's car and noticed Delilah's eyes glowing?  Elisa may be able to disguise Delilah quite a bit, but there was no covering up the eyes that glowed whenever the little hatchling cried.

            She called the cell phone number Elisa had given her, while hating that she was going to miss out on a visit.  She looks forward to these visits so much.  When the detective answered, Demona spoke.  "It's too dangerous to drive her through the city.  If you aren't almost here, you should turn around."

            Elisa sounded a little amused.  "I'm almost on your block.  I brought a different car today, mine is in the shop."

Demona's tense shoulders started to relax.  "Oh, well good.  I'll buzz you in."

            The limo that drove up to her gate puzzled Demona, but once the driver's window lowered to show Elisa she buzzed her in.  Her heart started to beat faster, worried that someone had somehow captured Elisa to get to Demona's home.  Demona moved to where she'd locked up her guns and pulled one out.  If someone were using Delilah to force Elisa's hand, they weren't going to live much longer.  The dark windows of the limo made it impossible to see if anyone were inside.  A limo of that size would be able to fit perhaps seven or eight humans.  Her gun had far more bullets than that.  She grabbed another gun for Elisa.  The thought that Elisa would have betrayed her never even crossed her mind.  Other humans might have done that, but not Elisa. 

            Hiding the guns in her normal night clothes wouldn't be easy, but the element of surprise was important here.  She slipped one gun through her belt and held the other ready in her hand while caping her wings and letting her armed hand be covered.

            The limo pulled up to the door and Demona took a deep breath and moved to the door.  If this was an attack they weren't getting into the house.  She walked out as if nothing were wrong.  The high fences, trees, and long driveway insured that her neighbors never saw her house.  She could walk in her yard at night with little concern. 

            Her eyes took in everything in just seconds.  Elisa seemed a little too tense as she got out of the car and walked around it to the other side.  Very little really shook the detective.  Before Elisa could open the back door to let the attackers out Demona moved to intercept her.  "Elisa."  Demona whispered while she pulled the startled detective into a hug.  "How many are there?"  Demona used her body to disguise the fact that she was slipping Elisa a gun.  Elisa seemed shocked when the hilt of the gun was placed in her hand, making Demona think that perhaps she'd read this wrong.  If there were danger, Elisa wouldn't have let any surprise show on her face during this exchange.

            "Nothing's wrong."  Elisa pulled out of the hug.  They never hugged, or hardly ever did, but Demona was counting on the enemy not knowing that.  Demona barely had time to register that when she heard the back door of the car opening.  She moved her body in front of Elisa's while she turned quickly to pull the gun out and aim it at… Angela?

"Mother?"  Angela stared at the gun for a moment, until Demona got over her shock and stopped threatening her oldest child.  She let the gun fall to her side while clicking the safety on.

            "Angela?"  Demona felt Elisa reach through her wings to take the gun out of her hand.  Demona handed it over easily and moved forward to hug Angela.  "I'm sorry, I thought…"

            Elisa stared at the two guns in her hands a little too long.  "I'm sorry I worried you.  I wanted this to be a surprise.  I didn't even think about how it might look."

            When Demona pulled away from Angela she glanced in the car to see the baby car seat still strapped in.  Elisa had brought both her daughters to visit her.  "Well, let's go inside."  Demona smiled one more time at Angela, before moving to get Delilah.  Once Delilah was safely in her arms Demona started to relax.  Her imagination had done horrible things to her.  She had started to wonder if the hatchling was even still alive.  It wouldn't be the first time humans had killed hatchlings.  She led the way back inside and opened the door with one hand while holding Delilah close to her body with the other.  Angela was walking slowly as she glanced around.  While Angela was distracted staring at Demona's living room Elisa held up the guns questioningly and Demona pointed her to where they went while rocking Delilah softly in her arms. 

            "Angela, while I am thrilled to see you here, why are you visiting?  Does your father know?"  Demona could imagine that he'd be unbelievably harsh with the girl if she snuck out, and Demona also figured he'd find some way to blame her for it.

            Angela turned to face her and the look of determination on her face clued Demona into the fact that coming here hadn't been easy for her oldest daughter.  "I told him I was coming."  Once that was said it was clear that Angela didn't want to elaborate, but Demona really wanted to know more.  He was stubborn and set in his ways.  There was no way he just agreed to let Angela come here because she wanted to come.

            "Well, you can't have eaten.  I can make something."

            "Actually I thought of that."  Elisa moved up beside Demona.  "I have some dinner in the car.  I'll go get it and be right back."  Demona watched the detective slip outside and knew that she was the main reason that Angela was here, whether Elisa knew it or not.  It made sense now.  Goliath probably did agree to send Angela as protection or to find out where Demona was.  Dammit, she just wanted to be able to relax and enjoy Angela's company, but she was now thinking about all the ways that Angela could find out her address from inside the house.  Where did she leave her mail?  Were any of her magazines out?  Her eyes flashed red in irritation for a moment, hating that she even had to think this way.  Goliath was getting more devious.  She'd never thought he'd learn, but far too little and far too late.  She smiled at Angela and led her into the kitchen.  She would just have to be more careful, but she wasn't going to let this ruin her evening.

            When the front door closed Delilah squirmed a little.  "Elisa, do you have any bottles?"  Demona asked a bit loudly.  The human had started to make some of her own so that she could let Demona feed Delilah.  Knowing how much Elisa valued that time with Delilah it was very nice that she was willing to share.  It would also be less awkward for the human.  Elisa had admitted that she was still uncomfortable with breast feeding around others, and couldn't imagine how those women that would do it in public managed.  It was a natural thing, but Demona knew better than to argue that with Elisa.  She was shy about it and it would take time.  Demona grinned when she remembered the first time Elisa did that in her presence.  The detective blushed during the entire feeding and tried to pretend that there was nothing going on.

"Yeah.  I brought the bag in too."  Elisa came into the kitchen and set Delilah's bag done near Demona while giving Angela the other bag of what smelled like Chinese food.

Demona was very aware of Angela watching her as she rummaged through the baby bag and pulled out a bottle.  The small smile on Angela's lips as Demona started to feed the hatchling was making Demona feel a bit uncomfortable with the silence while Elisa pulled out some plates and silverware.  "You look so… right with her."  Angela finally spoke while indicating the hatchling in her arms.  "I'm still worried that I'll break her if I hold her, but you make it look so natural, like Elisa does."

            That simple comment brought back all that was wrong with how Angela was raised and how the Vikings destroyed their lives.  Demona sighed heavily, "When I was young I helped to take care of the rookery.  All gargoyles had responsibilities other than fighting.  There was hunting, taking care of the hatchlings, teaching.  We all rotated on those responsibilities."  Demona glanced down at Delilah.  "I also was a leader of my own clan for several years, before the humans destroyed it.  There weren't as many gargoyles but there were always a few eggs for the rookery."

            Angela spoke hesitantly, "Did you let them know which eggs were theirs?"

Demona glanced over at Elisa, surprised that the human would have told Angela that story.  Elisa just nodded and continued to work on dishing up three plates.  She turned back with a sigh, "Yes, they knew.  I didn't deny them that."

            When Elisa set out the plates, she moved to take Delilah from her.  "No, you go ahead and eat."  Demona smiled at her.  "I can wait."  While feeding Delilah she needed both hands.  They'd gotten used to taking turns for things.

            After dinner Elisa took Delilah upstairs for a nap, leaving Demona alone with Angela.  The look the detective gave Demona let her know that Elisa wasn't planning on coming back downstairs for a while.  She was giving her time with Angela alone.  Demona gave her a small smile and nod, not noticing Angela watching her with a satisfied smile on her own face.

            Once Elisa was out of hearing range Angela's grin grew.  "You love her don't you?"

            "Well, she's my daughter.  Of course I love her, just like I love you."  Demona's voice held her confusion.  Did Angela truly believe she was incapable of that kind of love?

            "No, I'm talking about Elisa."  Angela's grin grew as Demona's eyes widened in surprise.  She no longer found the human annoying.  The detective had proven to be far better than a typical human, so much so that she hadn't thought the race capable of spawning someone like Elisa, but while she could admire those rare qualities that made Elisa almost a gargoyle at heart, she didn't love her.

            "No."  Demona spoke softly as she tried to think of a way to say this without insulting the human mother of her hatchling.  "She has a gargoyle's soul, but she isn't a gargoyle."

            Angela's grin faded and she looked a bit angry.  "That's pretty much what she said."  Angela's soft angry growl was a surprise.  "Dammit mother, you have an opportunity for real love and you can't even see it.  So she isn't a gargoyle… who cares!  You didn't care on the Breeder's moon, and you know as well as I do that Gargoyles mate on that night.  There is no just breeding.  If you didn't see something in her that you wanted, you would have just gone without."

Demona started to growl.  This wasn't any of Angela's business.  She had no idea what it was like to suffer over fifty breeder's moons alone.  She saw an opportunity to not endure that pain alone this time and let the detective seduce her.  She was just using Elisa that night.  It had nothing to do with love or respect, although she did respect the human.  She always had.

            "Mother, how many eggs have you laid in your lifetime?"

            The change of topic was a bit jarring.  "One, just you."

            "How many Breeders moon season were you around other gargoyles that could have mated you?"  Angela's eyes burned.  "How many times did you refuse to be flown?  Why did you give in to a human that couldn't have caught you no matter how hard she tried?"

            "Enough!"  Demona growled while turning away.  This wasn't up for discussion.

            Angela's voice was softer.  "Elisa's been alone for years mother.  She turned father down, and yet she was with you.  She isn't the kind of female to just breed either.  Did you ever even think about that?  She loved father, but she didn't love him enough to mate with him."  Demona wanted to tell Angela to be quiet, but she found herself listening with a bit of shock at what she'd never even considered.  "She's always defended you as long as I knew her.  I always thought she'd end up being my stepmother, that father would take her as his own.  If you aren't going to be a true mate to her he may still do that.  He still wants her.  I can see it in his eyes.  I've heard him talking to her, and it is so clear that he is trying to make her his mate."

Demona's fists clenched at the thought of her ex still pursuing the human.  He'd chosen Elisa over Demona shortly after reawakening and it looked like he wasn't letting go.  Elisa slept with the clans enemy and had a child by her and he was still after the detective.

            "If you aren't Elisa's mate, perhaps she should start seeing father."  Angela added a bit coldly.  "Elisa is a wonderful female, and she deserves to be loved.  I would hate to think that she doesn't have that."

            "We aren't talking about this."  Demona growled while starting to march out of the kitchen.  She didn’t want to think about this.  The idea of Goliath and Elisa together was disgusting to her.

            They spent the rest of the night talking about less aggravating things and shortly before sunrise Elisa pulled the limo into the garage and Angela got inside to turn to stone.  Once her oldest daughter was stone Demona sighed.  She'd made it the entire night without letting Angela know where they were.  She'd managed to hide all the mail, to keep Angela's eyes off the numbers on the house.  Angela got nothing that she could give to Goliath.  It didn't appear that the female was even really trying, but Demona didn't want her daughter put in a position where she might have to betray her.  It would hurt all the way around.

            "You covered your tracks pretty well."  Elisa came out of the house after putting Delilah to bed.  "I don't think she noticed the suddenly missing mail or anything else."

            "You know why he agreed to let her come, don't you?"  Demona turned to face Elisa in a bit of irritation.  Of course Elisa would have seen through that sudden change of heart.  She was hardly stupid.

            "Yes, but I figured you would rather see her and run around hiding your mail than miss the chance."  Elisa sighed as she held the front door open.  "It wasn't all about finding out where you are.  I think he's finally starting to realize a few things.  I may have confronted him about what you told me about the eggs."

            "Didn't believe me?"  Demona's voice was cold.

            "No, I believed you."  Elisa closed the front door.  "It just wasn't something that I could ignore.  Angela over heard us talking and he was in the doghouse with her for a while.  His agreeing to let her come was partly because Angela was already upset with him.  Maybe now that he knows who his daughter is he can appreciate why you would have wanted to know that."

            "And maybe he still thinks I'll kill you, or that I'll tell you other things that will upset you and sent her to stop that."

            Elisa crossed her arms in front of her and leaned on the entry table.  "If you don't want me to bring her I won't.  If you want me to call you before she visits in the future I will."

            "No, I like having her visit."  Demona glanced out towards the garage even though the wall blocked her view.  "I don't know how I feel about having both of them in a car by day.  What happens if you are ever pulled over?  Delilah is relatively easy to hide, but Angela is obviously a gargoyle and too big to hide with a sheet."

            "The only way to have her visit and not take that risk is to let her know where you are.  I'd prefer it, it does make me nervous driving her and I don't like borrowing the limo."

Demona nodded quietly as she thought about that.  If Angela knew she'd tell the clan.  Her security system was very good, but how often would her mansion be on the patrol route after that?  While that would be irritating, it was safer for Angela to be able to glide in, or even travel in the limo at night when she could defend herself.  Elisa would die to protect Delilah or Angela, but having Angela in the car did put the detective at greater risk as well.  Elisa shouldn't get hurt because she was making an effort to help Demona see her older daughter.

            She went upstairs while Elisa headed for the shower.  It was a habit that they picked up easily.  Elisa went to sleep shortly after dawn, and on those days Demona didn't get any sleep at all.  It was tiring, but once Demona said she didn't need the sleep she wasn't about to equip the empty guest room with a bed for the detective.  She'd said it once to get Elisa to stay, not realizing that it would become the routine.  Elisa and Delilah came before dinner on visiting days, they studied Latin and ate together.  Once Delilah woke up they spent time with her and talked or Elisa would watch T.V. or read.  After the sun rose Elisa would get ready for bed and they would have lunch together before Elisa and Delilah left.

            She booted up her computer to work.  She passed time working while Elisa slept.  It helped make up for the fact that on visiting days she didn't go into the office.  The visits had been two or three times a week.  Elisa was being far more fair than that ex-husband of Carrie's.  Demona's receptionist truly had it tough.

            After reading a report Demona yawned, before noticing the detective leaning in the doorway in her pajamas.  "You aren't in bed yet?"

            "I was thinking I should apologize for not mentioning the added guest.  I just wanted to surprise you."  Elisa stared at her.  "You're tired."

            "I can survive."  Demona smiled at Elisa.

            "It's your bed.  If you want."  Elisa glanced at the computer and then back at her.  "It is a big bed.  I'm sure that we can both manage to sleep in it."

Demona stared at the ceiling of her bedroom wondering why she'd agreed to this.  Letting Elisa sleep on the couch was hardly punishment, but when Elisa had said that she wouldn't sleep in that bed if Demona didn't want to share because Demona needed to get some sleep, Demona just couldn't make the mother of her child sleep on the couch.  It wasn't quite long enough.  It was fine for sitting on, but it wasn't comfortable to lay on.  Why the hell did she care?  Making Elisa sleep on the couch would hardly qualify as torture.

            Elisa's steady breathing made it clear that at least one of them could sleep.  Demona continued to stare at the ceiling.  She'd never shared a bed before.  She turned to stone when she was with Goliath, and they didn’t even own a bed.  She had only slept for a few years, because of Puck's spell.  It was one aspect of her cursed human form that she hadn't explored, and the detective feel asleep so easily beside her while she felt tense and ready to bolt from the bed.  She wasn't ready to admit that she couldn't do it.  Having someone else in the bed was too distracting, but she'd fall asleep eventually.

  One Month Two Weeks and One Day after Birth

            Elisa stared into the mirror and turned to her side.  It would look like she had a boob job if she saw Maria.  The captain would think she took months off of work to get a boob job.  Maria had dropped by the old apartment the other day and called Elisa's cell today because she didn't know where she was.  It went to voice mail and Elisa hadn't returned that call yet.  She had no idea how she could hide these breasts.  If it wasn't one thing it was another.  Her stomach was now flat and it was her breasts that filled out her shirts too well.

            Her job on the night shift was still waiting for her, but Elisa didn't want to be away from Delilah all night.  That was the only time her baby was awake.  She could switch to the day shift, but then she wouldn't have her clan for backup, and she'd gotten to rely on them pretty heavily.  They were the reason that Elisa had such a high arrest rate.  She knew she was an above average cop, but now she had a reputation as a super cop at the station.

            She'd planned to use the leave time to give her time to figure out what she was going to do, but she still didn't know and it looked like it was time to face that.  She had assumed that she'd need to work for money, but Demona had changed that when she handed Elisa so much money.  That would also look suspicious when she came back.  Having that much cash in her account suddenly would make her look like a dirty cop.  Why hadn't she thought of that when she cashed that check?  Elisa sighed and moved into the living room.  She was thinking about a lot of things at the time and her job wasn't one of them.  Surprisingly she hadn't thought about her job in a while.

            She would have to tell Maria where she lived and that wasn't going to look good either.  She'd arrested Xanatos at one point.  He'd done time and so had Fox.  Living with them was suspicious.  Add the newly inflated bank account and it really didn't look good for her career.

            Did she want her job back?  Elisa was stunned that she was even questioning that.  She did a lot of good on the streets.  She made a difference and protected people.  Her career was where she'd wanted it.  She was a detective, had the respect of her co-workers, had her father's admiration when he was alive.  She'd followed in his footsteps and went further than he did in a lot less time, and that wasn't because of the clan.  She'd earned that on her own. 

Her job was rewarding and dangerous.  She could see why her father hadn't quit when their mother asked him to.  Elisa had been little when she woke up in the middle of the night and went downstairs to hear that conversation.  Her mother was scared that he'd get killed and leave her and the children.  Diane Maza never let her kids see how worried she was about him, but Elisa could remember a few times that late night visitors made her mother go pale before she went to answer the door.  She always told the kids to go up to their rooms at those moments so that they wouldn't see who it was.  Now Elisa knew that her mother thought she was getting the visit, the one that told you your lover and the father of your children was in the hospital or dead.

Elisa had had to give that visit before.  She had to go to a fellow officer's home to tell his wife that he was in the hospital, and it was horrible.  If Officer Morgan wasn't a friend of hers she wouldn't have done it, but she knew his wife and she really believed that sort of thing should come from someone familiar.  He had kids, and Elisa glanced at them before saying something.  When Morgan's wife didn't take that hint she smiled weakly at the children and told them she was going to talk to their mother for a moment before pulling her into the other room.  Kids shouldn't have to see this.  Elisa had tears trailing down her cheeks as she told Morgan's wife that he'd been shot and it looked serious.  Morgan's wife looked devastated as she collapsed onto a chair, and it took Elisa a long time to get enough information out of her to know who to call to help with the kids so that she could take the woman to the hospital to wait for news.  She rarely felt as helpless as she felt that night.  Morgan recovered and went back to work, but Elisa suspected that his wife got ill every time he put on his uniform and left the house. 

While Peter Maza was alive they were lucky to never get a visit like that, until the car accident.  Elisa did know that when she was shot her family had to endure that.  She knew that she had been out a while and it looked like she might die.  Again it was a stupid accident that almost killed her, not the job.  Still she couldn't say the job was safe or that it wouldn't kill her some day.

What would happen to Delilah if Elisa got seriously injured or killed?  She had no doubt that the clan would take care of her.  Her mother would offer, but the gargoyle hatchling needed more security against people like the Quarrymen than her mother could offer.  It was good to know that Delilah wouldn't be without that, the clan, Fox, Demona would all make sure that Delilah was safe, but Elisa could see another problem.  If she weren't here to defend Delilah's right to time with Demona, Angela would have hard time taking up that battle.  Angela would fight for it, knowing that was what Elisa wanted, but the visits would be horrible.  She could see the entire clan making sure that Demona didn't make a wrong move while playing with her daughter.  How long until Goliath either realized that Elisa was right or Demona snapped and proved Elisa wrong under all that pressure?  Goliath and the clan brought out the worst in the immortal.  Demona became someone different when she felt threatened, and at those times she did seem like the monster the clan thought she was. 

It was Demona's duality that was making it hard for Elisa to get Goliath to see beyond the mask Demona wore into battle.  Elisa had no doubt that having access to Delilah was helping Demona.  The gargoyle was more relaxed, more content, and less violent now.  She also didn't doubt that losing Delilah to the clan would result in the clan seeing how good a warrior the immortal really was.  They had no idea that if Demona really wanted to beat the clan, and was focused on that goal, she could do it.  She was ten times the warrior that she let the clan see.  With them she fought like she did a thousand years ago, as if she hadn't learned anything in that time that the clan slept.  Elisa still didn't understand why Demona hid that.  Why she hatched plots only to not fight with everything she had to ensure they worked.

Elisa shook her head to clear these thoughts.  She could contemplate and debate about Demona forever and still not get anywhere.  She needed to make a decision about work.  Maybe making a pros and cons list would help.  Elisa got up and went to the bookshelf for a tablet of paper and something to write with.  She had too many things to consider in this decision.  Too many people that would be affected no matter what she decided.

She put the two large lists away shortly before sunset to think about later.  It was depressing to have to think about this.  When Delilah woke up Elisa forcefully pushed her worries away and focused on her little girl.  "Dammit, there is no way I can do the night shift."  She spoke quietly to herself as she fed Delilah.  She would hardly be a mother if she only saw her baby two nights a week.  If she couldn't work nights, it swayed her pros and cons list considerably.  She couldn't use her position to help the clan with patrols. 

When Angela didn't come to visit after Delilah's feeding Elisa knew the girl was being interrogated by Goliath about the evening at Demona's.  Someone else knocked at the door and Elisa felt a little bad about it but she decided to make a stand.  "Delilah and I were just going to spend a few hours by ourselves.  I'm sorry."  Theresa looked a bit surprised by that.  "We never get any alone time."  And Elisa was pretty sure that after Angela and Goliath talked he'd want to drop by to visit.  His visits were so emotionally draining that Elisa wanted time to prepare.  He obviously wanted her back, only they had never been together.  She cared about him, but she just didn't want the same things that he did, and it was so tiring to try and not hurt him while not caving in.  "Tomorrow you could drop by."  Elisa conceded a little.  Theresa was very nice about it all and left her to bond with the hatchling in peace.

            As predicted she recognized his knock on the door two hours later.  Elisa put Delilah in her bassinet and covered up the sleepy little girl before answering the door.  Goliath looked a bit tense as he came in.  "I was talking to Angela…"  What a surprise, Elisa thought sarcastically to herself.  "You really don't think she's a danger to you anymore do you?"  She'd been saying that for months, but it looked like he was finally hearing it.  He sat on the chair and stared at Elisa.  "Angela told me Demona thought it was an attack when Angela got out of the car and the first thing Demona did was protect you."  Elisa stayed quiet as he struggled to accept this.  He didn't trust Elisa's opinion and had sent Angela in for a second opinion on this.  She wasn't very happy with that, and if it had been anyone but Angela she would have fought it.

            "Demona is very good to me and Delilah."  Elisa spoke softly to verify what he seemed so confused about.  He'd thought that all that was gentle and good in Demona had died.  Maybe he regretted leaving the female now.  She'd seen that look on his face before.  He was upset the way he used to get upset after a confrontation with Demona, before he'd given up on her.  The idea that he might want Demona back didn't sit well with Elisa.  He was all wrong for Demona.  Elisa sat quietly in the uneasy silence as his depression seemed to fill the room.

            "You were right weren't you?"  Goliath spoke quietly.  "Spending time with Angela would have helped her.  Having a child would have mellowed her sooner."

            "She has a reason to live that doesn't involve vengeance."  Elisa had been trying to tell him this for years, and now he heard it.  "She still doesn't like humans, she may always hate…"  Elisa sighed as that thought hurt.  Demona may never let go of that hatred and pain, and the more Elisa heard of Demona's life she could see how hard getting Demona to do that would be.  The stories of the Archmage alone made Elisa angry.  When she'd seen him in Avalon she'd known he was bad news, but hearing Demona's stories made it more personal.  Demona hadn't deserved to be treated like that.

            "If you want her to visit here, just let me know in advance.  I won't trust her to not try and steal something, but maybe I don't need to keep her away from Angela."

            "Thanks."  Elisa smiled at him, but she didn't want to take him up on that offer.  When he got up to leave she stayed seated.  It would be less trouble to have Demona visit here.  She really should have them switch their routine.  With Goliath backing this the clan wouldn't be as hostile.  Even as Elisa thought all of this she felt a gut instinct that told her it just wasn't a good idea.  Something was happening and changing things now might ruin it.

One Month Two Weeks and Two Days after Birth

"Mom."  Elisa sighed heavily and watched her mother sit down on her couch.  Diane Maza was still a little put off by the fact that Elisa had left Delilah home alone.  The idea that a stone child didn't need a babysitter would take time for her mother to accept.  "Maria called me.  She wants me to come back."

            "And what is the problem?"  Diane obviously already knew what the problem was.

            "I can't do it.  I've worked so hard to get were I am in my career and I can't go back."  Elisa loved her daughter, but this was getting to be so hard.  She lost her home, and now her career.  She felt ashamed of herself for having such a hard time deciding when there really wasn’t a decision to be made.  She couldn't have that dangerous and time consuming job now.  She just had to tell Maria that.

            Diane sighed.  "I know it's hard.  Maybe when Delilah isn't so young you could go back if you want."

            Elisa knew that her mother didn't really want her to do that, but she wasn't pressuring her.  That was a surprise.  "Thanks."  Elisa smiled weakly, but she couldn't go back.  That life was over.  She just needed to figure out what to do from here.  She enjoyed working and helping people.  She would go crazy if she became a stay at home mom.  She needed to work.

            "What about money?  Are you going to be okay?"

            "Demona is taking care of that."  Elisa didn't notice the faint smile on her lips but Diane's eyes traveled to it.  "She's given me far more than enough to last a while."

            "How are things going with you and Demona?"  Diane's question startled Elisa.  She wanted to deny that there was a relationship, but realized that wasn't what her mother was probably asking.

            "I take Delilah to visit her three times a week.  That's working out pretty well."

            There was a strange gleam in Diane's eyes that Elisa was familiar with.  It was the matchmaker version of her mother.  She hadn't been wrong in that first impression of the question.  "So you two are getting along pretty well during those visits?"

            "You heard some of the things she's done.  Why are you suddenly trying to set me up with her?"  Diane didn't know about the times that Elisa's life may have been in danger because of Demona.  That was where Elisa had seriously drawn the line in what the clan could tell her mother, but the woman did hear about the betrayal years ago and the attempts to kill Goliath that surprisingly never really panned out either.

            "You two have a beautiful little girl together."  Diane started and Elisa was surprised her mother was so traditional as to think having a child together meant you should get married.  "And she makes you smile."

            "Elisa."  Diane started gently.  "I know what you look like when you are in love.  I've seen it before.  Her name makes you smile, and you seemed to become energized anytime she visited you while you were cooped up in the hospital wing."  Elisa's jaw dropped a bit.  "And you told me you had agreed to one visit a week, but you've up it to three pretty quickly."

            "I'm just trying to be fair."  Elisa sighed.  "She's a good mother and she doesn't have anyone else.  I just thought that she could use more time with Delilah."  She wasn't going to address the smiling issue.  Her mother was fishing and Elisa didn't like going over the fact that Demona didn't like humans repeatedly.  "And that hospital was so damned boring, any visitors made my day."

            "Elisa, I never thought I'd have to tell you this since you've always understood it better than me."  Diane looked a bit disapproving, "but life is too short.  You need to take love where you find it."

            "She doesn’t love me."  Elisa spoke wearily.  "She tolerates me, she might like me, but she doesn't love me." 

            Diane spoke gently.  "Oh Elisa."  Her voice held too much sympathy, but Elisa ignored it.  "When she brought Delilah out to see the clan that first night she said something."  Diane leaned forward just a little.  "Goliath wanted to know why the doctor hadn't reported on your health himself, and she called you her mate.  From the stunned look on the gargoyles faces I understood that it means something pretty serious."

            Elisa just stared at her mother in shock.  Demona had made a big deal of explaining to Angela that they weren't mates.  She almost believed that Demona meant the mate comment, but perhaps Demona said that to rub in the fact that she'd gotten Elisa pregnant and Goliath didn't.  That was the sort of thing she'd do.  "I'm sure she didn't mean it.  She just likes to upset Goliath."  Elisa's voice held more conviction than she really felt as she tried to squash that moment of irrational hope.  She tried to suppress these feelings, since it was so hopeless, and her mother had to go and say something like that.  This emotional roller coaster she was on wasn't any fun.  Hell, even Demona's attempt to protect Elisa from what she thought was an attack could very well be Demona looking out for her best interests.  Elisa was giving Demona access to Delilah and the gargoyle had to know that if there was no Elisa, there would be no visits.

Diane looked a little disappointed.  Elisa didn't know what to think about that.  Her mother had been a bit unpredictable since her father died.  She was determined that Derek have everything he needed to start his family and now that Elisa had a child she was determined that Elisa find love.  Beth lived too far away from home to benefit from the new very hands on and meddling mother.

    One Month Two Weeks and Four Days after Birth

            The drive to Destine Manor didn't take as long on the weekend, but it was still long enough for Elisa to get lost in her thoughts.  Mate?  Dammit, why did her mother have to tell her that?  It was hard enough to push the memory of that one night of lovemaking from her mind, she didn't need someone giving her the hope that it had actually meant something to Demona.  That she actually meant something to Demona.

            Elisa gritted her teeth while she waited to get on the freeway.  She'd gone and fallen for someone even more unavailable than Goliath had been and it was so typical of her.  She'd wanted Goliath until it looked like he returned her feelings, and then she didn't find him nearly as interesting as a potential lover.  But Demona, she felt so different from the failed relationships of Elisa's past.  Elisa turned up the radio and pushed those thoughts away for now.  If she showed up all depressed the gargoyle would ask questions that Elisa wasn’t ready to answer.

********

Demona watched Elisa carry Delilah upstairs and she had the distinct impression that something was wrong.  She grabbed the hatchling’s bag and followed quietly.  Elisa would mention it during dinner.  She normally waited until then to unload whatever was bothering her.

            Angela’s meddling comments kept repeating in her mind as she watched Elisa nibbling on the edge of her pencil while studying one of the books.  Elisa had no real desire to learn Latin and hadn’t been offered any magic lessons.  She was just putting herself through this because Demona had asked her too.  She knew that Elisa wasn’t thrilled with the idea of Delilah learning magic and she was spending several hours a week studying something she obviously didn’t enjoy anyhow.  She was supporting Demona’s desire to give their daughter that chance.  It was far more than Demona expected, far more than she’d gotten with Goliath.  Well, that wasn’t entirely fair.  He had been busy running the clan and Elisa had a lot more free time than he did, but still Elisa was supporting her decisions.

            Elisa was human.  That was the biggest and most significant strike against her.  Demona rested her head on her hand and pretended to be reading the newspaper while waiting for the dinner to be ready.  It was rare for gargoyles to get into same sex relationships, but her clan at Moray had one such couple.  She still remembered the females asking her to intervene on that shortly before a Breeders moon.  The two unmated females wanted her to declare that since gargoyles were so small in numbers that the males should attempt to breed that night, just breed… not mate.  That was the only time she’d heard of such a thing and the concept of using the Breeder’s moon to fulfill nothing but the biological need to create eggs had sickened her.  She’d always believed that night was about so much more than procreation.  She felt bad for those females that obviously wanted eggs badly enough to suggest such a human way of dealing with it, but those males loved each other dearly, and she wasn’t able to order such a thing even to increase the numbers of their clan. 

            Angela had asked how many Breeder’s moons Demona could have been flown and chose not to.  She hadn’t felt the need to answer it at the time, but last night she found herself trying to count them.  Her time at Moray wasn’t the only time she was around other gargoyles during the Breeder’s moon.  She’d stumbled upon a small group of London gargoyles a few hundred years ago during that time as well.  She’d chosen to suffer alone during the moon when she had the option not to four times, if she counted that one time that MacBeth and her were trapped together and he didn’t care to share her painful need.  He’d offered that once and only that once to help her.  She’d almost killed him for suggesting it.  If she weren’t so weak with her needs at the time she could have done it.  She wasn’t thinking clearly enough to realize the consequences of finally ridding herself of him.  She’d denied her own kind and an immortal human male, but she’d surrendered to Elisa.

She watched covertly as Elisa slowly tucked a piece of hair behind her ear while turning the page.  She was truly beautiful for a human.  Delilah was going to inherit that beauty, Demona could see that already.  She wondered how much like Elisa Delilah would look.  That one night Elisa was turned into a gargoyle she had been a very breathtakingly beautiful gargoyle as well.  But she wasn’t truly a gargoyle.  She was a human.  Granted Elisa acted more like a gargoyle than a human.  Dammit, why did she of all gargoyles let a human mate her?  She was the only gargoyle that saw that race for what they really were, and yet she had never seen another gargoyle mate a human.  Goliath’s fascination with the human was the closest to that she’d ever seen, and it was just hugs and longing looks at the time.  It had infuriated her that he’d stoop to considering such a thing, and yet she had gone so much further than that with that same human.  Was it just something about Elisa?

            Elisa attracted gargoyles.  The detective ensnared Goliath and it was so clear that Broadway did have a crush on her before Angela arrived, and might still harbor a small crush today.  Angela had bonded so quickly with Elisa, to the point that she wanted Elisa to be family pretty desperately. 

Demona got up and put the noodles in the now boiling water.  She then pulled the lettuce and other items out to make a salad to go with their spaghetti.  When Elisa made a motion to get up and help Demona just smiled and shook her head.  She had this covered.  The mindless motion was almost soothing to the disturbing turn her thoughts were taking lately.

 ********

            "I quit my job today."  Elisa spoke softly while she picked up her glass.  They had just started to eat.  "I had to say it several times in several different ways before Maria actually believed me." 

            She watched as Demona put her glass down before taking a sip.  "Are you okay?"  That simple question made Elisa smile just a little. 

            "I'm feeling pretty lost right now."  Elisa stared down at the plate.  "All I ever wanted to be was a cop like my dad.  Its strange, I hated him having that job then and worried about him all the time, but I followed his footsteps."  Elisa took a small sip and glanced over to see Demona slowly starting her dinner while listening. 

            "If you feel you need to work, I can hire you."  Demona stared into Elisa's eyes.

            "Thanks for the job offer, but I'm hardly cut out for business."  Elisa sighed as she imagined that.  She worked briefly undercover at an office once, and she didn't really care for it.  It was all paperwork and no action.

            "There are other types of positions at NightStone."  Demona smiled just a little.

            Elisa tried to explain it.  "I need to help other people.  Taking a job that doesn't give me that would eat away at me."

            "You were born wrong."  Demona reached for her fork again.  "You really should have been a gargoyle."  Demona didn't sound like that was entirely a compliment, but Elisa chose to take it that way.  Knowing Demona's views on humans, it was, even if it were demeaning and prejudiced as well.  "You can take your time to think of something you'd like to do.  I'll take care of your bills if you need me to."  Elisa couldn't help but think that Demona had already taken care of her bills. 

            "Thanks, but I should be fine."

            "I know now you didn't tell me to get to my money."  Demona was looking just a little irritated, "but take it if you need it.  I didn't have to quit my job because of our daughter.  You've sacrificed enough because of this."

            "I love her.  I don't regret having to re-arrange my life if it means I can have her."  It just isn't easy, and occasionally hurts, but Delilah is so very worth it all, Elisa added in her mind.

            The rest of dinner was pretty uneventful and a bit too quiet.  After dinner Demona worked with Elisa to try and learn the pronunciation of a few Latin words, and it was embarrassing how badly Elisa continued to botch them.  The switch to a real conversation was a bit of a surprise, since Demona tended to be pretty single minded as a teacher.

            "How are you getting along with the clan now?"

            "I've started to put my foot down on the visiting hours."  Elisa looked up and could see that wasn't the answer Demona wanted.  Unfortunately Elisa didn't know what Demona was asking about.

            "Is Goliath still being pig headed?"

            "No, he's getting better."  Elisa sighed.  Maybe Demona would want to go to the castle.  Elisa couldn't imagine that, but she should have the option.  "He said you can visit the castle.  He's not going to try and keep Angela away from you so much."

            "Well, that's good."  Demona didn't sound completely convinced in his sincerity.  "I notice you didn't call me right up and let me know."

            A slight blush covered Elisa's cheeks.  "I prefer visiting you here.  I get so sick of my own four walls, and it's just so much less stressful."  She started to work more spaghetti onto her fork and didn't notice the studying look Demona gave her.

            "I don't really want to go to the castle.  Too many bad memories." Demona spoke softly and when Elisa glanced up the soft smile aimed at her was a bit reassuring.  Elisa imagined that these extra long visits would be a thing of the past if the visiting moved to her home.  Or where she lived, it didn't really feel like her home yet.  She felt much more comfortable here.

Demona was busy changing Delilah and Elisa tried not to smile at the brief look of disgust that crossed the gargoyle's face.  Elisa was more than willing to share in this aspect of parenthood.  Once that was taken care of they went downstairs to lay on the living room floor in front of a fire. 

            "How does Goliath treat Delilah?"

            Elisa was starting to wonder what Demona was after.  Did she want Goliath back?  That was not a very pleasant thought.  She kept her concerns to herself while she answered the question.  "He coos at her and will play with her once in a while."  She didn't mention the way he'd sometimes stare at the hatchling like she held some deep answer that he didn't even know the question to, or how depressed he'd get when he did that.

            "So he visits you often to play with Delilah?"  Elisa glanced over the baby in question to see Demona trying to seem not as interested in the question as she truly was.  Elisa could read Demona a lot better than she used to, and she'd always been able to read her relatively well.  This wasn't about Delilah at all.  It was about Goliath.  Part of Elisa wanted to just snap at Demona and tell the gargoyle that she was being ridiculous if she thought Goliath would take her back after everything that had happened. 

            "He comes by every night."  Elisa's voice held a note of warning.  She wanted off this subject.

            "Is he still hounding you to be his?"  There was a definite irritation and anger that Demona managed to still keep quiet so as not to disturb Delilah.

            "How did you hear about that?"  Elisa thought for a moment before she realized Angela must have said something.  Why would Angela do that?

            "I'll take that as a yes."  Demona growled as she got up.  "I'll be right back."  Elisa raised her eyebrow but just nodded.