Love Lost and Found

Part One

Written by Donald E. Fleming II

Story concept by Donald E. Fleming II

Disclaimer: All Gargoyles characters are the property of Disney and Buena Vista Studios and are being used without their consent or permission. Other Gargoyle characters are the property of The Gargoyle Saga (TGS) writing staff and also are being used without their permission. The character of Don Michael Taylor is my creation. I am receiving no reward for this story other than the satisfaction of being able to share it with others as it is intended solely for my own entertainment and the entertainment of Gargoyle fandom everywhere.

June 30, 1999

"Can I look now?" Elisa asked.

"Not yet," Goliath said. "It's just a little farther."

Elisa Maza sighed and adjusted her grip on the picnic basket she held in her lap as Goliath soared through the night sky, carrying her to what he had said was a perfect spot for a moonlight feast. And from the smells wafting up from the wicker basket, she was in for a real treat. She laid her head against Goliath's shoulder and tried to sneak an eye open.

"Ah, ah," Goliath warned, seeing the lashes of her eyes start to flutter. "You promised…"

"Just curious," she giggled. They had been in the sky for at least an hour and a half, maybe two, and now she was anxious to see where they were going. She was almost certain that they were heading east, but she couldn't be sure. If they had been driving, she would have been able to guess where they were, but her sense of direction was more or less skewed once Goliath took wing. For all she knew, they were even now circling the Eyrie Building, or even worse taking the scenic route straight to Destine Manor. But they had left the smell of exhaust and the persistent honking of horns some time ago, so she guessed that they were no longer in Manhattan. Long Island then, she thought. Were they going to Jeffrey Robbins' home? No, Goliath was in the mood for a quiet night for just the two of them. She sighed again and felt Goliath shift slightly as he turned his head to make sure she wasn't trying to sneak her eyes open again.

Eventually, she felt the familiar sensation of descent and knew that they had arrived wherever it was they were going. She almost said "Finally" but held it back, not wanting to give Goliath the impression that she had become impatient. Far from it. After every-thing that had happened over the past couple of years, from the Quarrymen to Phoenix Rising to the Unseelie War and her own near-death, it was nice to be able to get away to spend some time alone with the Gargoyle she loved, the Gargoyle that she was engaged to be married to.

She felt the light 'thud' as Goliath touched down, and then felt him set her down on her feet as he took the basket from her. The ground shifted beneath her feet as gravity took hold of her and she realized that they were on a beach. That, plus the sound of waves on the shore and the smell of seawater confirmed her earlier guess of Long Island. But where…

"Can I open my eyes now?" she asked.

"Yes, my Elisa," Goliath said softly. "You can open your eyes."

Elisa slowly opened her eyes, took a look around, and felt her heart sink.

"Isn't it beautiful, Elisa?" Goliath said, bending down to remove the blanket from the picnic basket and spread it on the sand. "Hudson told me about it after he visited Robbins last month and…" His voice trailed off as he caught the expression on Elisa's face.

Not here, she thought. Please, anyplace else but here.

"Elisa, what is wrong?" Goliath stood up and returned to her, concerned.

Elisa looked up at him and saw the worry on his face. "Goliath, can we go someplace else?"

"Of course," he replied. "But why…"

"Please!"

Goliath decided not to pursue the matter, seeing the pain on her face. Something about this place apparently held painful memories for her and he didn't want to cause her further distress. He quickly retrieved the blanket and the basket. Then, with Elisa in his arms and the basket firmly in her grasp, Goliath launched himself into the sky, leaving Jones Beach State Park behind them.

The Eyrie Building

Broadway and Angela had just returned from Demona's when they saw Goliath land on the battlements, with a dismal look on his face.

"Back already," Broadway said, missing the look for a moment until his mate jabbed him in the ribs. "Oh," he quickly added.

"Father, what is wrong?" Angela asked as Goliath set the basket down.

"Elisa's not sick, is she?" Broadway worried. He had spent a long time preparing that meal, and was now afraid that something had gone bad, or even worse, that he had inadvertently poisoned her.

"Elisa is well," Goliath said, seeing the look of abject terror flash across Broadway's face and realizing why. "The fault is mine."

"What did you do this time, Goliath?" a new voice called out. The three gargoyles turned to see Talon winging towards them. The mutate leader, Elisa's brother, landed on the battlement and stalked over to Goliath.

"I am unsure," Goliath said. "Elisa was in high spirits until we reached the beach."

"Which beach?"

"A place on Long Island called Jones Beach."

Talon's eyes went wide. "Goliath, you didn't!"

"I did nothing," Goliath replied, guessing what Talon must be thinking he had done. "We left almost immediately at her request."

"Easy, Goliath," Talon quickly said. "I'm not suggesting you did anything deliberate to upset my sister. But you could have checked with someone before taking Elisa to one of her old haunts."

"I don't understand…" Goliath started.

"Then you don't know," Talon said, looking around and catching sight of one of the numerous security cameras mounted on the castle walls.

"Know what?" Angela asked. "What's this all about?"

Talon looked at her before focusing on Goliath again. "Listen, I'll tell you all about it, but not here. Xanatos may be helping to fund the Sanctuary, but I still don't trust him. And this is something I'd rather keep in the family." With that, Talon spread his wings and leapt off the battlement.

"You do not have to come," Goliath said to Angela and Broadway.

"I want to, Father," Angela replied. "Elisa is my friend and I want to help if I can."

"And where Angela goes," Broadway stated. "I go."

Goliath smiled as he turned to launch himself after Talon, his daughter and her mate following close behind.

Talon didn't head back to the Labyrinth like Goliath thought he would. Instead he headed for the Maza home. After several minutes, Talon landed in his parents' back yard and entered through the kitchen door. Goliath, Angela and Broadway followed him in.

"Derek, you're back," Diane Maza said, hearing her son come in. "Good. Did you bring the cook book?"

"Oops," Talon said. After what Goliath had told him, he had completely forgotten why he had gone to the castle in the first place. "Sorry, Mom."

"Don't worry, Mrs. Maza," Broadway quickly chimed in. "I'll bring it back tomorrow night. I promise."

"Besides, the fault was not Talon's," Goliath stated. "It was mine."

"Why?" Peter Maza asked, coming into the kitchen to see what was going on. "What happened?"

"Goliath took Elisa to Jones Beach." Talon said.

"I don't get it," Broadway said, seeing the look of resignation on Diane and Peter Maza's faces. "What's so special about that place?"

"It was something that happened a long time ago, Broadway," Diane said. "Let's all go into the living room and I'll tell you all about it."

Elisa's apartment

Elisa Maza reached into the closet and pulled down the shoebox from the top shelf, then went to her desk and grabbed a pair of scissors. The box was taped shut with what seemed to be an excessive amount of packaging tape, almost as if it were a Pandora's box that she dare not open, lest the contents inside surge out and flood her with painful memories she had believed long since forgotten.

Goliath had tried to be understanding when she said she didn't want to talk about why that particular place upset her so. She wasn't even sure why herself, she had told him. No, that wasn't true. She did know, but she wasn't ready to share that part of her life with him, even though they were ready to pledge their lives to each other as mates.

She had watched as Goliath headed back for the castle before heading back into her apartment to have herself a good cry.

Why? she had asked herself. After all this time, why does it still hurt so much?

She fought down fresh tears as she took the scissors to the tape holding the box closed.

Maza Home

"It all started back in 1989," Diane said. "Thanksgiving Day, as a matter of fact. Elisa and I had stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few last minute items…"

Thanksgiving Day, 1989

4:30 PM

"I told you we weren't going to have enough for stuffing," Diane Maza said.

"I'm sure that Maria won't mind," Elisa said. "She said that she really doesn't care for stuffing, anyway."

"Mm, hmm," Diane said. "And she said the same thing last year. And who was it who ended up having seconds and thirds?"

"Okay, Mom," Elisa conceded as she drove her car into the grocery store parking lot. "We'd better hurry," she added. "It looks like they're going to be closing pretty soon."

Elisa shut off the ignition and grimaced, as the engine seemed intent on running-on for the next ten seconds before finally sputtering.

"You really need to get that checked, Elisa," Diane commented.

"What I really need is a new car, Mom." As they walked away from her car, she could have sworn she heard it grumble. "I really hate that Datsun," she muttered. Then something else in the parking lot caught her eye. "Now that's something I could definitely go for."

Diane Maza followed her daughter's gaze and her eyes settled on the classic red and white Ford Fairlane parked nearby.

"Now that is a car," Elisa sighed.

"That is a car that you would never be able to afford," Diane told her daughter. "At least not on a rookie's salary."

"I know," Elisa sighed. "But it never hurts to dream."

Diane laughed. "Maybe if you're good, Santa will give you one for Christmas."

They walked into the grocery store, Elisa still mooning over the Ford.

They were at the checkout counter when it happened. A shot thundered through the store and Elisa caught the sight of a masked hoodlum coming towards them, a shotgun in his hand.

"All right, everybody," he shouted. "You know the drill. All the money goes in the bag. And nobody tries anything funny." He turned slightly and caught sight of Elisa, still in uniform, and trying very hard to get to her service revolver without being seen. "That means you too, sweetheart," he added, pointing the shotgun at her. "Up with the hands!"

Elisa complied, raising her arms and placing her hands on top of her head. The gunman walked over to her and took her revolver out of her holster, stuffing it into his belt, then grabbed her arm and pulled her away from Diane.

"Elisa!" Diane cried out, taking one step before the gunman turned towards her.

"No one moves," he shouted. "Or the chick cop gets it."

"Don't worry, Mom," Elisa said over her shoulder, trying to relay a confidence she didn't even feel. "Everything's going to be all right."

"That's right," the gunman said. "Just do as I say and nobody gets hurt." He pulled her back several feet, then took her handcuffs off her belt and cuffed her wrists behind her back. Then he forced her down to her knees and stood behind her. "Now start filling a bag with money.

"Wi…will that be paper or plastic?" a nervous bagboy asked.

"What are you, a funny man?" he shouted as Elisa grimaced at the thought of being wasted over an ecological standpoint. "Plastic!"

The cashiers began slowly putting money into the bag that the bagboy held when there was a sudden sound from one of the aisles. The gunman turned around to see a man holding a whiskey bottle staggering towards him.

"Eshcuse me," he said, drunkenly. "Shorry to inter…inter…interr'pt, but cin you tell me where the liq…(hick!)…liq…(hick!)…liquor department ish."

"Get out of here, you dumb drunk!" the gunman said.

"Hey, I'm offffended by that!" the drunk replied. "I'm not drunk, I'm ineb…ineb…"

He gave up trying to say 'inebriated'. "Okay, I'm drunk." Then he strolled up to the gunman and poked him on the shoulder. "But I don't need to hear it from you!"

Elisa began to see her life flash before her eyes.

She heard a crash and turned slightly to see the drunk looking down at the broken whiskey bottle.

"Hey," the drunk said. "You broke my booze!" He looked to be on the verge of crying. "And he was so young!" Then he seemed to pull himself back. "Oh, well. He's

got plenty of friends over here." The drunk turned and headed back up the aisle.

"Hey, come back here," the gunman shouted. He started after him.

Elisa turned just in time to see the gunman come flying out of the aisle and land right into a pyramid of canned corn. The drunk…No, she realized. Not a drunk. She looked at the broken whiskey bottle. The cap was still on it. He…came out of the aisle with the gunman's weapon in his hands.

Whoever it was, he rushed towards the crook as he tried to stand back up, and smacked him across the jaw with the butt of the shotgun. The crook spun around and fell face first back into the pile of canned corn.

"That'll teach you to knock a good bottle of whiskey out of someone's hand," he said.

He reached down, flipped the crook over and pulled Elisa's revolver from his belt, then dragged the unconscious bandit over to her.

"I think this is your collar, officer," he said with a winning smile. Elisa couldn't do anything but look up at him and gape. She wasn't even aware that he helped her to her feet until she felt him groping for something on her belt. She quickly pulled back from him, giving him a glaring look.

"Watch the hands, pal," she warned.

"Take it easy, officer," he said, holding up his hands, the shotgun in one and her cuff keys in the other. "I just thought you'd like to get out of those cuffs."

Elisa snorted at herself, realizing that he was just trying to help and turned her back towards him to give him better access to her wrists. When the cuffs were off, she turned back to see him handing her her service revolver.

"I believe this is yours, officer…"

"Maza," Elisa said as Diane rushed forward, wrapping her arms around her daughter's neck.

"Elisa!" she cried out. "You're all right!"

That seemed to take him aback. He lowered the shotgun, then took a closer look at her.

"Elisa?" he asked. "My God, Elisa Maza, is that really you?"

Elisa couldn't figure out why this unknown person was looking at her so strange, and she backed up slightly. "Do I know you?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but Diane somehow beat him to it. It seemed to take only one look at him before Diane's eyes went wide in recognition. "Don Michael Taylor! What are you doing back in New York?"

Present Day

"So you knew this person from…" Goliath started.

"Oh, years before," Diane said. "He and his mom lived across the hall from us while we were still living in the city."

"Of course, Lillian was no real saint," Peter said, which earned him a dark look from his wife, but he continued. "She didn't approve of mixed marriages. As a matter of fact, she moved out the day she learned that her husband had been killed during an offensive in Viet Nam. I think Don was 7 or 8 at the time."

Diane quickly picked up where Peter left off. "That was back in '74. And my God, Elisa had the biggest crush on him at the time." She smiled as she remembered, then her face saddened a little. "She was so upset when Lillian hauled Don to Chicago. He didn't want to go. He wanted to stay here, with his friends, but she wouldn't have any of that. Wanted him to be raised right." Diane practically spat out that last word.

"Prejudiced, in other words," Goliath said.

"Yes," Talon said, then brightened. "But she didn't realize what a stubborn kid she was raising."

"Why do you say that?" Angela asked.

"Don made it a point to call every week for two years after they moved," Peter said. "Drove Lillian nuts, trying to cover the long distance charges. And when she cut off his phone privileges, he used the mail. But after a while, even that stopped coming."

"Adolescent rebellion," Talon said.

"And you never heard from him again until that night," Angela asked.

"And that's when things really began to take off…" Diane continued.

Thanksgiving Day, 1989

5:00PM

"So how have you been?" Diane asked as Don walked both her and Elisa back to her car. Several on-duty officers had responded to the robbery call and had already taken the gunman into custody. They had almost arrested Don as well, but Elisa was able to smooth things over with them.

"I've been doing okay," he said.

"And what's with the severe cut?" Diane asked, reaching up to rub at the crew cut he wore. "Last I heard, you were going to let it grow out long."

"The Army kind of frowns on that," he said.

"You joined the Army?" Diane asked, and Elisa chimed in, "Doing what?"

"Chopper pilot," he said.

"You fly helicopters?" Elisa asked.

"Among other things." They reached Elisa's car, and Don took a long look at it.

"Hey, it's paid for," Elisa said when he saw the look in his eyes, strangely springing to the defense of the car she had said she hated not a half hour ago. "And it runs."

"Barely," Diane said under her breath, eliciting a glare from Elisa.

"I didn't say a word," Don said. Elisa opened the trunk and Don set the grocery bag he had been carrying inside.

"Do you need a lift?" Elisa asked as she closed the trunk.

"No, I've got my own transportation," he said.

"Okay," she said as she got in, turned the key and jumped as something went "Clunk!" under the hood. This was almost immediately followed by a loud "Bang!" "Oh, no!" she groaned as she reluctantly pulled the hood release.

Don opened the hood as Elisa got out of the car and moved to stand next to him.

"Is there anything you can do?" she asked, praying that somehow Don could fix it.

"Giving it Last Rites comes to mind," he said, shaking his head and then closing the hood. "I guess that should have been my question."

"What?" Diane asked.

"Do you need a lift?" he asked.

"Yes, please," Elisa said.

He took a set of keys out of his pocket and spun them on his fingers. "Be back in a minute," he said as he took off across the parking lot.

Elisa went back to the trunk to get the groceries while Diane quickly gathered a few essential items from the front seat of the car.

"Do you think it'll be okay leaving it here?" Diane asked.

Elisa closed the trunk and looked at her mother. "It's a Datsun, Mom. If we're lucky, it'll disintegrate by morning." She looked around and sighed when she realized that the Fairlane was gone.

Then jumped when it pulled up behind her!

No way! she thought in disbelief, which was shattered when Don stepped out of the car.

"Hop in, ladies," he said.

Elisa jaw dropped

Maza Home

Later that night

"So Don," Diane Maza asked as she started clearing the dishes. "You never answered my question. What are you doing back in New York." "Looking up old friends, actually," he admitted. "Couldn't find most of them, but Tom is still living in Greenwich with his aunt." Elisa smiled. Tom Mathers certainly did seem destined to live out his life in that beautiful brownstone that had been his family's home for ages. "Is he still around?" Diane asked. "I haven't seen him in ages. Not since…" She trailed off, not wanting to spoil the joyous mood the reunion with Don had created. "I know," Don said. "It was a tragedy." Tom Mathers' parents had been on board Flight 191 out of O'Hare when it literally lost an engine on take-off and then crashed, killing everyone on-board.

The somber mood lasted for a full minute before Derek broke in.

"So what are you up to now?" he asked.

"And how is Lillian?" Diane asked. She had never gotten along with Don's mother, but she still wanted to know how she was.

Don's expression told her everything she wanted to know.

"I'm sorry," Diane said before Don had to tell everyone that his mom had passed away. "When did it happen?"

"A couple of months ago," he said somberly. He stood up and walked away from the table. "The funny thing is, we all saw it coming. She just idn't want to admit it to herself, though. She was so certain that her faith would heal her."

"What happened?" Maria Chavez asked.

"Breast cancer," Don said. "Like I said, we all saw it coming. When she told Aunt Susan she'd found a lump, she just waved it off, like it would go away on its own. Wouldn't go to the doctor, wouldn't seek treatment, didn't want to be butchered, even though there were other forms of treatment available. Just wouldn't listen. Even to me. And I begged her to go. Pleaded with her. I mean, I know she was no saint, but still…"

Diane Maza rested her hand on his shoulder. "I know. It's hard to lose a mother that way. Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah," he said. "I said my good-byes a long time ago."

"So what are you going to do now?" Peter asked. "What are your plans? Are you going back to Chicago?"

"No, there's nothing for me back there," he said. "After the funeral, I sold the house and divided up what was left to the relatives and tax collectors. I'm never going back there. Besides, I've still got six months left on active duty, so I'm not making any short-term plans right now."

"Well, you could always join the NYPD," Maria Chavez said. "Diane said you fly helicopters. We could use another good pilot."

"Apaches right now," he said. "And I'm not just good, I'm superb. There's a reason why my buddies nicknamed me Archangel. Some of the things I can do with a chopper are downright scary."

"Maybe you can give me a few pointers," Derek said. "I'm entering the Academy soon. Maybe I could train as a chopper pilot."

"Why not?" he said.

Present Day

Talon handed Goliath a picture that Diane had taken out of the family photo album.

"That's Don on the left," he said.

Goliath looked at the picture. It was a photo of Derek when he was still human along with another human with his arm up on Derek's shoulder. They were both wearing combat gear, Derek's looking a little loose as if it belonged to someone else, and they were standing in front of an Apache Attack Helicopter.

"I still don't know how he managed to get authorization for me to go up in that thing,"

Talon said. "But it was fun."

Goliath considered the human. As human males go, he wasn't bad looking. He stood just slightly taller than Derek in the picture and his skin was considerably lighter. His hair, what there was of it considering the military cut, was dark brown, almost black. But what caught Goliath's attention were the eyes. They appeared ordinary, but there was something about them. They had almost a mystical quality to them. He handed the picture back to Talon.

"After Thanksgiving," Diane continued. "Don went back to Kentucky…"

"Why so far?" Angela asked, interrupting her. "If he was going to stay in touch…"

"That's where he was stationed, Angela," Diane said. "At Fort Knox. And he did stay in touch. Round about Christmas, he began making inquiries about apartments in Manhattan. Since he had six months to go on active duty, he was looking for a place to live once he went Reservist. And he started spending more time with Elisa."

Goliath looked up at this bit of news. "In other words…" he started.

"They were dating," Diane said. Then she smiled. "Of course, it wasn't until Valentine's Day that they made it official, and they flatly denied it before then, but I could tell." She looked at Angela and Broadway, then back to Goliath. "A mother knows these things."

"Were they serious?" Angela asked.

"Oh, yeah," Talon said. "Once April came around, Don made a permanent move to Manhattan and asked Elisa to move into an apartment with him. We were certain that within a year they were going to be married."

"What changed all that?" Goliath asked.

"Desert Storm."

Elisa's apartment

Elisa slowly opened the box and looked inside. There were only a few items inside. A 'Star Trek' comm-badge that Don had picked up at a sci-fi convention that year. His Army service ring. His class ring. And a set of dog tags that he had bought for her. She picked up the tags and remembered the day he had given them to her.

August 22, 1990

Jones Beach State Park, Long Island

Elisa laughed as Don came sputtering up out of the water. She'd been wading when he came up behind her and lifted her in his arms, but then an unexpected wave caught him from behind and knocked him over. Elisa had quickly squirmed out of his grasp to keep from going under with him.

"Oh, you think that's funny, huh?" he challenged, then splashed her with water.

The rest of the Maza family watched the antics of their oldest daughter and her boyfriend from the safety of the shore.

"Ah, to be young and in love," Beth sighed.

Peter opened the picnic basket to try to sneak a snack, but was caught by his wife. "Now, now, Peter. We said we'd wait for Don to make his big announcement."

"What big announcement?" Beth asked.

Peter and Diane just looked at each other knowingly.

Beth realized what was going on. She looked back to her sister and Don, smiling as he caught her around the waist and pulled her close before hitting her with a very passionate kiss. They broke off the kiss after a minute and turned to head back towards the family.

"At least we won't have to douse them with cold water," Derek said.

Elisa accepted a towel from her mom before sitting down on the blanket to dry her hair.

"Well?" Beth asked.

"What?" Elisa responded.

"When is the big day?" she asked, rather pointedly.

"Beth!" Diane yelped.

"Real subtle, sis," Derek said, popping her on the back of her head with his hand.

Elisa didn't seem to be shocked by her sister's question. "Beth, it's Mom and Dad's job to try and marry me off, not yours. I swear, every time you call, that's the first thing out of your mouth." She turned to look up at Don, who was kneeling next to her, and just missed the look of panic on his face, as if Beth had spoiled a surprise.

"Not every time," Beth pouted. "And besides…"

"Beth," Peter quickly cut in. He took his key out of his pocket and tossed them to her.

"Can you do me a favor and get the radio out of the car?"

"But…"

"Go," Diane ordered.

Beth got up and headed for the car, grumbling. Diane and Peter both breathed a sigh of relief, which fortunately masked Don's own sigh.

"So who's hungry?" Peter asked. "Elisa?"

Elisa had look of suspicion on her face. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Diane said innocently.

Elisa looked at Don. "Don?" she said.

He looked at Diane and Peter and realized that he wasn't going to be able to put it off any longer. "A surprise," he admitted.

"What…surprise?" she wondered.

"You'll see," he said. Going over to the picnic basket, which Diane had ordered Elisa to keep away from because she and Peter both knew what was going to happen, he pulled out a small box and gave it to Elisa. "Open it," he said.

Elisa hesitantly opened the box and looked inside, half expecting there to be a ring inside, but looked up in confusion and disappointment. "Dog tags?"

"Dog tags?" Peter Maza repeated. "You gave her dog tags!"

Derek rolled his eyes. "Nice going, Don. I know where you're going to be sleeping tonight."

Don ignored him and gave Diane a sidelong glance. "Read them," he said.

Elisa did, then gave Don a pitying glance. "It looks like they made a mistake, Don."

"On what?" he asked as his hand went to his back pocket.

"The name," she said. "It reads "Elisa Maza…" her voice trailed off as she suddenly realized what was going on. "Taylor," she whispered.

As Don knelt down in front of her, took her hand, and placed a diamond engagement ring on her finger.

"Elisa Maza," he said tenderly. "Will you be my wife?"

She sat there stunned for all of thirty seconds before crying out happily, surged forward and tackled him before giving him a passionate kiss.

"Darn it," Beth said in disappointment as she returned with the radio. "I missed it!"

Elisa broke off the kiss and looked up at her sister, giving Don a chance to breathe.

"I take it that means Yes," he said.

"Yes," Elisa said.

They spent the rest of the afternoon celebrating. Diane had packed a wonderful lunch and after the food was gone, they sat back listening to the radio.

"So when is the big day?" Beth asked again. This time, she felt she was well within her rights to ask since Don had just asked Elisa to marry him. But that didn't stop Elisa from criticizing.

"Beth, we just got engaged a little while ago!" Elisa said.

"Yeah, Beth," Don said. "It's a little early to be talking wedding cakes and guest lists. Unless you've been conspiring with your Mom a lot longer than I have."

"No," Beth admitted. "I just want to make sure I don't have any plans that day."

Elisa was about to say something, but Derek came running up to them.

"Don, you better come listen to this," he said urgently.

"What?" he asked. "Something going on in the Persian Gulf?" He was on active reserve now, and his commander had informed everyone to keep abreast of what was going on with Operation: Desert Shield. They ran over to where Diane and Peter were sitting listening to the newscast.

"…And we just learned a few moments ago that earlier today, President Bush has signed orders authorizing the call up of the reserves for possible deployment in the Persian Gulf," the announcer said. "As you may recall, earlier this month, Iraq invaded the neighboring country of Kuwait after accusing that country of overproduction and theft of oil from the Romailia Oil Field. The UN has called for Iraq to withdraw from the area. We now go to the White House for a word from…"

Elisa cut off the rest of the broadcast. "You're not going," she said pointedly.

"What?" everyone said in surprise.

"You heard me," she said. "Don's not going. Even if I have to go over there and kicked Saddam Hussein's butt out of Kuwait myself!"

"Elisa!" Diane gasped.

"Listen," she said stubbornly. "We just got engaged, we're going to get married and no Middle Eastern yo-yo is going to mess that up for me!"

Don quickly put his hands on Elisa's shoulders. "I appreciate the sentiment, Elisa," he said. "But Bush has called up the reserves for a possible deployment. I might not even have to go."

Elisa couldn't keep the worried look off her face. "I don't want to lose you."

"You couldn't even if you tried," he said. He wrapped his arms around her and drew her close. "I'll always find my way back to you."

"I think we'd better head back," Peter said. "Your commander might be trying to get in touch with you."

The Maza family, plus one, quickly gathered up their belongings and piled into the cars to head back to Manhattan.

Two weeks later, he was gone.

On the night he left, Elisa found a single white rose on the pillow next to her, tied up in a handkerchief, with the keys to the Fairlane caught in the knot.

Present Day

Maza Home

Diane Maza pulled a single rose wrapped up in a desert camouflage handkerchief out of the back of the photo album. She carefully unwrapped the fragile flower and showed it to the gargoyles.

"Don left this on Elisa's pillow the night he left," she said before wrapping it back up again and replacing it.

"That is so sweet," Angela sobbed. Diane's story had moved her, and now the young female was close to tears. Broadway quickly retrieved a Kleenex and gave it to his mate.

"And that was the last you heard from him?" Goliath asked.

"No," Peter said. "He called either here or the apartment at least once a week. Just to talk to Elisa, ask how she was doing, saying that he would be home as soon as possible. He tried to call at the same time every week to make sure he was able to talk to Elisa."

"And as soon as she hung up," Diane continued. "She wrote him a letter. Saying how much she loved him, telling him something that she had told him on the phone but was certain that she had forgotten to tell him."

"At first, we hoped that the troops would be home by Thanksgiving," Talon said. "Then it was Christmas. Then, on January 12th, Congress voted to allow for U.S. troops to be used in offensive operations."

"Five days later," Diane said. "The air war started." She sat back, recalling the images. "It was the first time that the U.S. was able to witness a battle as it actually happened. Elisa was here practically every night, pacing the floor while CNN brought in front line coverage."

"Of course, she'd relax when Don called, telling her he was okay," Talon said. "But then, fragments of a SCUD missile hit a barracks in Saudi Arabia. Elisa was a wreck that entire day. I don't think she even slept. Then, when Don missed calling her that night, she was certain that something had happened."

"Oh, no!" Angela gasped. "Was he…"

"No," Talon said. "He was lucky, but 27 others weren't. The reason he didn't call was that he was helping with rescue efforts, and lost track of time. He called the next day to reassure us that he was fine and that he was going out on a seek and destroy mission to try to track down the crew that fired that missile." Talon hung his head. "He never came back."

This time, Angela couldn't hold back the tears. "How terrible!"

"Now I understand why that place is so special to Elisa," Goliath said. "I had not thought that there may have been someone in her life before I came along. To lose a loved one is a terrible thing, but to be separated by such a great distance must make the pain even worse."

"Are you sure he was killed?" Broadway asked. "If he flew a helicopter, maybe he was just shot down and hasn't been released yet."

"Elisa had hoped that too, Broadway," Diane said. "Especially after the first 10 POW's were released. But after hearing the reports from the one crew that came back from that patrol, we all knew that he was never coming back."

Elisa's apartment

Elisa held up the dog tags, looking at the ring that dangled from the chain. Her engagement ring. After waiting two years for word about her fiancé's fate, she had placed the ring on the chain and put it and the tags away because the weight of it was a painful reminder of what she had lost.

Two years, she thought. For two years, she held out the hope that somehow, someway, he would find his way back to her. He had said he would. But still, even after eight years now, there was no word. Nothing, not even a body to grieve over, since there had been no sign of wreckage in the area where his helicopter had disappeared. Three helicopters had gone out that night. One returned. They found the wreckage of one not too far away, but it hadn't been his.

Elisa felt the sense of loss begin to well up inside her again. She had tried to put it behind her. Thrown herself into her work. Made detective. Tried to put up a front. But she had never grieved for him. Never gave up the hope of finding him someday. That maybe one day, she would open her door and find him standing there, with that wonderful smile on his face and say, "Honey, I'm home!" But it never happened. Maybe that was why it took her so long to admit her feelings for Goliath. She had never let go of Don.

"Maybe it's time I did," she said regretfully. "Maybe it's time I finally said good-bye to him." She considered putting the dog tags and the ring back in the shoebox, but decided not to. Instead, she put the chain around her neck and left it hanging outside her shirt. Then she carefully closed the box and returned it to the top shelf of the closet. She stepped out of the closet for a moment before going back in and opening a footlocker. His footlocker. Her little piece of him that she never had the heart to get rid of. Inside were a few article of clothing. Shirts. Jeans. Boots. A black leather jacket that seemed to be a quarter size too small for him, but was two sizes too big for her. She put it on anyway after taking off her own jacket, and then closed the footlocker. She had other things that had been his; most of it was still in storage or at her parents' house. She would go through most of it later, find out what she had and try to rationalize getting rid of most of it. It wouldn't be to forget him, "God, no!" she told herself, but to help lessen the pain of his loss, and perhaps to help her finally let him go.

As she left the apartment, she took one more item as she grabbed her keys to the car.

It was time to say good-bye.

It took her less time to drive to Long Island than it took for Goliath to glide there. Or maybe it just seemed to take less time because she knew where she was going instead of being carried along with her eyes closed.

When she reached Jones Beach, she parked the car and slowly headed out onto the beach. She listened to the waves for a while before looking down at what she held in her lap.

She had retrieved one more item before leaving the apartment. A photo album she had put together of Don and herself. It was lighter than she would have liked. She had divided it into several sections. The first one was of pictures taken almost two decades ago. Pictures from when Don was still living in New York with his mother. Birthday parties. Halloween. Christmas. Memories she barely remembered herself, but she had asked her mom for those pictures. The next section was filled with pictures from that wonderful time when she and Don were dating. It seemed that she had been putting pictures in it every week.

The next section was blank, as were the next two. Elisa knew why. One was to be their wedding pictures, the next their honeymoon, and the final one would always have been a work in progress, their life together.

She closed the album and looked up at the night sky. A new star seemed to appear in the heavens. She smiled, imagining that it was Don looking down at her.

"It's me, Don," she said. "I just came to tell you…"

Her voice trailed off and she frowned as she looked at the star. Was it getting bigger?

February 26, 1991

Saudi Arabia

Don Taylor walked across the tarmac towards his helicopter, carrying his flight helmet and gear. His co-pilot/gunner Jim 'Reverend Jim' Rueben was already in the middle of the preflight check when Don tossed his stuff into the rear tandem seat before walking around the helicopter to do a quick visual inspection.

"Everything okay, boss?" the young co-pilot asked.

"Everything checks, Rev," Don said. Jim was not really a reverend, but he was a big fan of Christopher Lloyd's character on "Taxi" and had adopted the name. Don finished up his inspection and started to climb up into the helicopter.

"Hey, Don!" someone called out. "Wait a minute!"

Don jumped down as he caught sight of Doug 'Tango' Starr running towards him, waving something in his hand.

"What's up?" he asked. "New orders?"

"No, late mail," he replied. "These just came for you guys." He handed one envelope to Jim, but ran the other under his nose before handing it to Don. "Smells like a woman," he said, smiling.

"Give me that," Don said, snatching the letter away from Doug's grasp. "Before you suck it up into that huge nose of yours and I have to go digging for it."

Jim had already opened his letter and quickly scanned it before letting out a joyous "Yahoo!"

"Good news?" Don asked, already guessing what Jim was cheering about.

"I'm a father!" he shouted and then jumped into the air.

"Hey, congratulations," Doug said. "What was it, a boy or a girl?"

Jim scanned the letter again as the rest of the patrol gathered around to hear the big news, then suddenly sagged against the helicopter. "Both," he said with a stunned look on his face.

"Boy, when you said she wanted a big family, I didn't know you were going to start out so soon," Don said, beginning to tear open his envelope before shooting a suspicious glance at Doug. "You guys didn't steam this open, did you?" he asked. He could feel the edges of a picture inside.

"No boss, honest," Steve 'Cash' McCall, Doug's co-pilot said innocently.

"Mm hmm," Don muttered as he ripped the envelope open. He read the letter, which was, of course from Elisa, telling him about what was going on at home and how much she missed him and how much she loved him. Then he looked at the postscript at the very bottom, which read "In the meantime, here's something to look forward to…"

He removed the picture, which was held to the back of the letter with a paper clip, and looked at it.

He could practically hear the eyes of the other pilots popping out of their skulls.

The picture was of Elisa, wearing a sheer black teddy, leaning against the doorway to the bedroom. She had one arm stretched up the frame and was dangling a pair of handcuffs from her thumb and forefinger. The thumb of her other hand was hooked into the gunbelt she wore low on her hip. She was smiling seductively and there was a come hither look in her eyes that were just barely concealed by her raven tresses and her NYPD cap.

"Whoa!" Jim said. He seemed to be the only one not dragging his tongue on the ground.

Don quickly pressed the picture against his chest to hide the image. "Okay, guys," he said, looking over his shoulder. "Roll your tongues back into your mouths."

"Are those cuffs for real?" one of the other pilots, nicknamed 'Popeye' asked.

"She's a cop," Don said. "Of course they're real."

'Popeye's' co-pilot, 'Bluto', chimed in. "She gonna read you your rights?" he laughed.

"Shut up, Bluto," Don said as he stuffed the picture into his pocket. "And everyone get to your ships. We got a Scud site to find and wipe out."

As the other pilots quickly ran to their own helicopters, Don climbed into his and closed the hatch. He looked over the console in front of him as much as it allowed and watched as Jim reopened the letter to read it more carefully.

"You okay up there?" he asked, even though, technically, the rear tandem seat of the Apache sat higher than the front.

Jim finished the letter and quickly folded it before stuffing it into his pocket and then turning his head in the direction of the rear seat. "Yeah," he said. "It just kind of took me by surprise, is all."

"Weren't expecting twins. huh?"

"I wasn't," Jim admitted. "Although, I guess I should have, seeing as Jenna has a twin sister."

"No ultrasound?" Don asked as he started the main engines of the helicopter.

"She didn't want one. Wanted it to be a surprise for the whole family. Herself included."

"I guess she got her wish," Don said.

"I just hope I get to see them," Jim said.

"Bad feeling again?" Don asked. Jim had a knack for it. He called it his 'sixth sense', which gave him an uneasy feeling every now and then, as if to warn him of danger. It was never definite, though. Most of the time, it was more miss than hit, but sometimes…

Don didn't want to dismiss it, even though his last 'hit' had ended up being the Scud launch that claimed the lives of 27 fellow soldiers, but they had a mission to do.

"Don't worry, Jim," he said. "I'll get you home." He pulled out the picture of Elisa and looked at it. "Don't forget. I've got something to look forward to, also."

Present day Jones Beach State Park, Long Island

Elisa watched as the 'star' continued to grow in size, then stood up as she realized it wasn't a star at all.

It was a fireball.

A very familiar fireball.

She gasped as she realized what it was.

"The Phoenix Gate," she said.

February 26, 1991

Kuwait

Don scanned the area around him, the Apache's night vision equipment giving him a good image of the surrounding territory. As he continued his appraisal of the area, he saw one of the two Apaches flying with him break formation.

"Bluto, what's up?" he asked over the radio.

"Thought I picked up something," 'Bluto' responded. "I'm going to check it out."

"Negative, Bluto," Don said. "Return to formation. I don't want you hot-dogging on this patrol."

'Bluto's' Apache stopped and hovered in mid-air as Don maneuvered alongside. "I wasn't hot-dogging, Archangel," he responded. "I thought I picked up a lock-on signal."

Don quickly checked his instruments. A lock-on signal meant that a hostile was tracking them, either a jet or a soldier on the ground with a rocket launcher, and was lining up a shot. But he couldn't hear the telltale "beep-beep-beep" that at this point would be filling his ears if they were being targeted.

"I'm not detecting anything, Bluto," he said. "Are you sure?"

"I picked it up for just a second," 'Bluto' said. "Then it was gone." There was a momentary pause. "I haven't picked it up again."

"Could have been a glitch in the monitoring system," Don said. He looked to his right as the second Apache, 'Tango' and 'Cash's' paused. He could almost see 'Cash' shake his head, indicating that he wasn't picking up anything, either. "But just to be on the safe side…" he started as he turned to look back at 'Popeye' and 'Bluto's' Apache.

'Bluto' never heard the rest of the order. His Apache suddenly erupted in a brilliant ball of flame. Don shoved hard on the stick to avoid the debris, but felt a sickening lurch as something, he couldn't tell what, struck the tail. Too close, Don berated himself. He'd been too close to the other Apache and he'd hovered too long. Now he could hear it, the telltale "beep-beep-beep" that meant that he was being targeted.

"Tango! Cash!" he shouted as the second Apache swung around. "Did you see what happened?" He was fighting the stick to keep from spinning out of control.

"I think part of 'Bluto's' bird hit you when it exploded!" 'Tango' responded. "You've got smoke coming out of your tail section!"

Don could see one of the gauges slowly creeping towards zero.

"Yeah, and I'm losing my hydraulics, too," Don said, grimacing. "Get out of here," he ordered. "No sense in losing the entire patrol."

"But, Archangel," he could hear 'Cash' begin to object. "We can't abandon you."

"Go, dammit!" Don shouted. "Or I'll shoot you down myself!"

He watched as the other Apache sped away. As he turned his attention back to maintaining control of the rapidly failing helicopter, he could hear Jim praying in Latin over the "beep-beep-beep" of the lock-on.

"I thought you were Agnostic," Don said.

Jim finished praying and crossed himself. "I am, but Mom and Dad are Catholic. They were really upset when I converted."

"So what was that?" Don asked. "A last-minute confession?"

"Something like that."

"As long as it wasn't Last Rites," Don said. "We ain't dead, yet."

Suddenly, a fireball erupted in front of them. Don yanked the control of the already badly unstable Apache to one side to avoid it. Luckily, he managed to somehow maintain control. Had there been another aircraft in the air that he hadn't seen? he wondered. There was word about a new kind of Stealth aircraft from some company called Xanatos Enterprises, but he pushed that thought aside as being unlikely. Still, he could have sworn he had seen something inside the fireball.

Suddenly, his attention was diverted to a more immediate concern. The 'beep-beep-beep' had changed into the long 'beeeeep' of target lock.

"Oh, cr…" he started as another fireball erupted in front of him.

Present Day

Elisa watched in disbelief as the fireball quickly grew in size. It couldn't be the Phoenix Gate, she thought at first. It had been destroyed years before when Brooklyn returned with Sata and the twins along with their pet Nudnik. Then she realized that this would be one of the aftereffects of their TimeDancing. Brooklyn and his family would probably continue to pop up every so often as Time itself moved forward to catch up with them.

She took a step to greet the TimeDancers,

But then jumped back and dived for cover as an out of control Apache came tearing out of the Gate.

…ap!"

Don pulled back on the stick, trying to regain control, and cursing as he saw that whatever instrumentation had been working was rendered useless by the phenomenon the helicopter had passed through. Worse still, he was losing what little control he still had.

"Don, what the hell was that?" Jim yelled back to him.

"I don't know," he replied. "A last minute reprieve, maybe." He could no longer hear the long 'beeeeeeeeeep that meant that he was about to be blown to oblivion, but that could have also been taken out by the fireball they had passed through. "Hang on," he added. "I'm going to see if I can find a place to set down." He looked to one side then the other before spotting the beach below him. He blinked, then looked again.

"Don, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" he heard Jim asked.

"It can't be," Don said. "We're too far inland!"

But it was there. He could clearly see the breakers.

Then he heard something clip the underside of the Apache. "What was that?" he shouted.

"I'm not sure," Jim said. "But I think it was a street lamp."

"A…what," Don started, but then he heard a sickening crunch from behind him. "Ah, hell!" he swore as he saw the oil pressure gauge, one of the few pieces of instrumentation still working, begin to plummet.

"What was that?"

"We just lost oil pressure!" Don said. "Hold on to your lunch, Jim. This is not going to be pretty!"

Elisa watched as the Apache clipped a street light, then tried to climb before beginning to belch black smoke from the engine, which joined the trail of smoke that was already coming from the tail section. It turned slightly then headed out across the water before turning back towards the beach. She realized that the pilot was in trouble, she could see the damage to the tail section and knew that the pilot would be fighting to keep the Apache from spinning in an auto-rotation. She turned to run towards her car, but then paused to take another look at the approaching helicopter.

No, she thought. It couldn't be.

Don knew that he was not going to keep the Apache in the air much longer. He had to set it down, but the question was could he do it and keep it in all in one piece. He was less worried about fuel tank going up than he was the ordinance he carried on the Apache's wings. If the explosives were to go off on impact...

He began easing the stricken craft earthward, hoping that he could keep the Apache level as he brought it in for a landing. He swore as suddenly the Apache began spinning in an auto-rotation. He tried to get the helicopter to climb into the air again while it spun out of control, but he wasn't getting any response from the collective. He had to set it down now. He finally brought the Apache under control when he heard Jim shout.

"Don!"

His gaze shifted at the sound of Jim's panicked voice. Right in front of them was a refreshment stand.

Elisa watched as the Apache slammed into the wooden structure, shattering it, but by some miracle, it brought the helicopter to a stop. She ran to her car and retrieved her cell phone to call for assistance.

"9-1-1 emergency," came the voice on the other end.

"This is Detective Elisa Maza," she said before giving the operator her badge number. "I'd like to report a helicopter down at Jones Beach State Park, Long Island. I need emergency crews dispatched as soon as possible."

There was a momentary pause before the operator responded to her request. "What is your exact location, detective?" Elisa told her where she was. "I'm dispatching emergency crews to your location now. Do you know what kind of helicopter it is?"

"Apache attack helicopter," Elisa said. Even as she said it, she couldn't believe she dared hope. "And you better give a call to the Air National Guard. Have them dispatch an ordinance recovery team. I think it was fully armed when it crashed."

She broke the connection as she slowly walked towards the wreckage. She paused, waiting for the fireball that would destroy the helicopter if the missiles went off, but eventually she screwed up enough courage to look inside.

The front of the Apache was sticking out through the back wall of what was left of the refreshment stand, creating a large hole in the wall and Elisa carefully crawled through it. Luckily, the structure had been mostly wood. If it had instead hit one of the concrete bath houses...

She reached the cockpit and grabbed the handle on the side of the canopy, giving it a pull. It refused to budge. She pulled again, this time harder and then it opened. When it was up and out of the way she leaned in and touched the occupant. She carefully rested her hand against his throat and found a steady pulse. He's alive, she thought as she lightly touched his chin and turned his head to face her. She felt her heart sink as she saw his face. It's not him, she thought as she sighed.

There was a groan from the back seat. Elisa turned her head to try to look over the rear console when the realization struck her. The Apache was a tandem seat aircraft, she remembered, and the pilot...She looked at the person she had examined, realized it was the co-pilot, and eased over the debris to the rear canopy hatch. The pilot sits in the rear seat! She yanked hard on the hatch release and opened it. She leaned in and touched the arm of the pilot.

He turned his head wearily and looked at her.

It was him, she thought as she felt tears start to stream down her face. Oh God, it's him!

He seemed to focus on her for a moment and a smile seemed to cross his face. "Hey, Elis'," he said. "Any walking you can land away from, right?" he said, just before he lapsed into unconsciousness.

Elisa watched as the emergency crew carefully pulled Don and his co-pilot from the wreckage of the Apache. It had taken them at least a half an hour to get there, and then almost that long to make certain it was safe to approach. The helicopter was still loaded with explosive ordinance and they had wanted to make sure that nothing was going to go off while they made rescue efforts. After what seemed to be an eternity, they finally got them out.

"Is that all, Mike?" she asked the Long Island cop who had been questioning her about the crash. Detective Mike James had been a friend for a long time and he had tried to keep the questioning to a minimum, but there were still some questions that needed to be asked. Questions he knew he wasn't going to like the answers to.

"I guess," he said. "If there's anything else, I'll give you a call." He closed his notebook and headed for his car.

Elisa turned around and picked up the photo album from the hood of her car. Mike had found it on the beach, she had completely forgotten about it in the mad scramble to get out of the way of the Apache, and had returned it to her. She looked out towards the beach. Now she could see men in camouflage swarming over the wreck. No doubt they were an Army ordinance disposal team, sent to recover the missiles and rockets from the Apache.

She turned and watched as the paramedics loaded Don and the co-pilot into a waiting ambulance. As it pulled away, she got into her car and followed it while she took out her cell phone and placed another call.

Maza Home

Diane Maza waved goodbye to Goliath and the other gargoyles. She liked Goliath and knew that Elisa would understand her telling the lavender gargoyle about Don. She closed the door as the phone rang.

"Hello," she said as she answered it.

"Mom, it's Elisa."

Diane looked to the door. Goliath would be out of earshot by now. "You just missed Goliath," she said. "If you had called a couple of minutes earlier...

"Mom, I need you and Dad to meet me at New York Community Hospital," she said. "Do you know where that is?"

Diane was suddenly worried. She shot a glance at Peter and Talon. "It's in Brooklyn, isn't it? Why, what's wrong? You're okay, aren't you?"

Peter and Talon got up and hurried to Diane's side. "Has something happened to Elisa?" Talon asked.

"I'm fine, Mom," Elisa said. "But I do need your help. Something's happened."

"What's happened?" Diane asked. Elisa told her.

Peter caught the phone as it slipped from Diane's fingers. "Elisa, it's your father," he said. "What's going on?"

"I'll tell you when you get here, Dad," she said. "But I need the two of you here."

"Where are you?"

"New York Community Hospital, in Brooklyn," Elisa said. "Please get here as soon as you can."

"But Elisa..." Peter said as he heard her hang up. He put the phone down. "Diane, what is it? What's going on?"

Diane Maza turned to look at her husband and son. "She said she's found Don."

New York Community Hospital

Brooklyn, New York

Elisa was in the hospital waiting room when Peter and Diane entered the hospital.

"Elisa, what's this all about?" her father asked. "What do you mean you found Don?"

She looked around to make sure no one would be listening. "Goliath and I..."

"Went to Jones Beach. We know that," Diane said. When Elisa gave her a confused look, she continued. "He and Talon came over with Broadway and Angela. He was wondering about why you were upset."

Elisa sighed. "I guess I should have told him."

"He knows now," Diane said. "We told him all about what happened between you two." She gave her daughter a look. "But I still don't understand..."

"I went back," Elisa said. "I guess I wanted to put it all behind me. To have one last moment with the memory of him before I made my commitment to Goliath." She sighed again. "Maybe that had something to do with what happened."

"What?" Peter asked.

"The Phoenix Gate."

Diane and Peter looked at each other. "I don't understand," Diane said.

"The Phoenix Gate was an magical talisman," she said. "It enabled the person who held it to travel through time."

"But what does that have to do..." Diane started to say, but then she realized what Elisa was saying. "You mean that Don..."

"Came through the Gate," Elisa said. "I don't know why, but I think I know how. Don must have gone through the Gate during his patrol. Brooklyn and Sata must have appeared in the air over Kuwait just long enough to snatch up Don, helicopter and all, and drop him off here."

"Helicopter?" Peter said.

"His Apache," Elisa said. "The one he was flying when he vanished. He crashed it at Jones Beach tonight."

"Elisa, are you sure?" Peter asked. "Are you sure it's him? I mean it's been eight years."

"I'm sure," she said. She pulled out the picture she had retrieved from the cockpit of the Apache. "He had this." She handed it to her mother.

Diane Maza's eyes went wide as she looked at the risqué picture of her daughter. "Elisa Maza!" she said in shock. She covered the picture as Peter tried to get a look at it.

"I sent him that picture as a Valentine's Day gift," she said shyly. "He must have gotten it just before he went on the patrol because he still had the envelope the picture and the letter came in." She looked at her mom. "I had Beth take the picture."

Diane quickly gave the picture back to Elisa, still keeping the image out of Peter's sight. No need for him to see that, she thought.

"Is he okay?" Peter asked. "I mean. was he..."

"He's alive," Elisa said. "But he did suffer some injuries. He's lucky."

"What about the co-pilot?" Peter asked. When both Diane and Elisa looked at him oddly, he added, "The Apache holds two; the pilot and co-pilot/gunner. I was wondering if he survived the crash."

"He was alive when I checked them immediately after the crash," Elisa said. "I didn't bother to ask after that."

"Detective Maza," a doctor said as he came over.

"Yes?" she said.

"I'm Doctor Burr," he said. "You wanted to be notified about the condition of the pilot that was brought in?"

"Yes," she said. "How is he?"

The doctor looked at Peter and Diane. "Are these..."

"These are my parents," she said. "His died a long time ago."

"I see," he said. He looked as though he was not going to tell her what Don's condition was.

"Please, Dr. Burr," Elisa said. "We're all the family he has now."

"You'll be happy to know that he's going to be fine," he said. "He suffered some bruised ribs and some hairline fractures to his left arm and leg, but that's all."

"What about his co-pilot?" Elisa asked.

"Excuse me?"

"His co-pilot," Elisa said. "There were two in that Apache, doctor."

"You know I can't release that..."

"Dr. Burr, please," Peter said. "At least so we can tell Don. He'd want to know either way."

Dr. Burr looked at Peter Maza. "You don't have to tell me," he said. "I know how close these pilots can get. I served on a hospital ship during Viet Nam, and I saw quite a few flyers who were more concerned about the condition of their co-pilots than themselves. You can tell him that he'll be okay."

"Can we see him?" Elisa said.

"Not today," he said. "He's in the recovery room right now. If you come back later tonight, I'll see what I can do." He turned and left.

Today? Elisa thought. She looked out the window and saw the sky begin to brighten. She couldn't believe that it was almost dawn. How long had she been here? She quickly looked around and found a pay phone. She had to tell him, she thought as she picked up the handpiece. Had to tell Goliath...

What? she thought. What could she tell him? That her long dead lover was suddenly alive and well? That after all this time, she still had feelings for him. She couldn't tell Goliath. Not now, not yet. She didn't even realize that she had actually dialed the number until she heard Goliath's voice on the other end.

"Hello?" she heard him say. "Hello?"

She slowly hung up the phone as she felt tears well up in her eyes.

To be continued…