In Thirty Days – By Princess Alexandria

Day 24

Trini walked into the hotel, wearing her new hat that Demona got her. She liked it. She walked up to the front desk and handed the woman there her note.

"Oh..." The woman read the note. "Okay Ms. Stephens, John will take you up to your room in just a minute." Trini stood and stared at the painting above the check-in desk while the woman went to find John. She didn't pay any attention to the conversation the woman and John were having.

"John, this one's a little slow. You need to take her to the room and open the balcony door for some air. Her companion will be by in the morning, and she promised to give us a really big tip if we follow these instructions to the letter."

"You sure this isn't a joke?" John looked over at Trini, who was spellbound by the painting of the sun.

"Dominique Destine signed it. Her room is already paid for."

"Okay."

John opened the hotel room door and Trini walked right in. The room was huge. Trini's jaw opened as she stared around her. It was so pretty. John quickly moved to the balcony and opened the door. He looked really eager to leave. "Are you going to be okay in here?" He seemed compelled to ask. Trini just nodded, so he locked the door and closed it behind him.

Trini stood staring at the painting on the wall. It was ugly. Demona quietly stepped into the room and closed the balcony door behind her. "Well, that worked." She muttered as she approached Trini. "Honey, are you okay?" She was still talking like Trini was a child.

"Painting is ugly. Andrea's better." Trini turned to face Demona, glad that she was there.

"Come here, I want to check your head." Demona stepped into the bathroom and turned on the light. It was so bright. Trini followed her into the bathroom obediently. She sat on the toilet seat and watched as Demona carefully removed the hat. She studied Trini's forehead for a second, "It's looking like it closed up here. Tilt your head down for me." Trini did and Demona stare at the top of her head, carefully moving hair out of her way. "This one closed up too. Good." When Demona let go of her head Trini looked up at Demona and smiled.

The doorbell rang. Trini's turned to look at the door. Then turned back at Demona. "Blue?"

"We haven't eaten in a while. I ordered some food. Open the door and let them bring in the food, okay?" Demona studied Trini with concern as she put the hat back on her head.

Trini got up and went to the door. Before she opened it she looked over towards Demona, but the bathroom door was closed. Once the person left, looking a bit irritated when Trini didn't understand about tips, Trini closed the door. "Blue, this is lots of food." Trini's voice showed how impressed she was with the trays that were brought in.

The bathroom door opened, "I didn't know what you'd like, so I ordered a little bit of everything." Demona smiled at her. It made Trini happy to see Demona smile.

"I need to take a shower, will you be okay out here on your own?" Demona looked deep into Trini's eyes.

"Yes, I'll be fine." Trini liked the small smile that her words brought to Demona's face.

"You're sounding a little better. Maybe everything will be okay." Demona turned the TV on for Trini and walked into the bathroom. Trini could hear the door locking. It made her tense. Something about locking doors made her tense. She forced herself to focus on the TV, since that was what Demona wanted her to do.

Trini heard something. She focused harder... there it was again. She fumbled with the remote, turning the TV off so she could hear better. It was... crying. There was crying coming from the bathroom. Trini got up and walked to the bathroom door. "Blue? Are you okay?" When there was no answer Trini's face became hardened. She reached out to open the door. It was locked. She just pushed harder, breaking the lock and walked in. Steam billowed out of the bathroom. It was so thick that it was hard to see the silhouette in the shower. "Blue?" She said hesitantly, realizing that she shouldn't just barge in on the gargoyle after she'd already done it.

"Trini, get out of here. I'm fine!" Demona growled at her, and Trini could see the red glow from her eyes through the fogged glass of the shower.

"No, something's wrong!" Trini stood defiantly in the doorway.

Demona stormed out of the shower stall. "Get the hell out of here!" She marched naked over to Trini and shoved her out the doorway. Trini stood dumbfounded as the door was slammed in her face. "You broke the fucking door?!" The door opened again so Demona could glare at her, "Go to bed, and stay the hell out of here!" The door slammed again, and Trini could hear something being moved in front of it to keep it closed.

Trini slowly removed her clothes to get ready for bed. She managed to get the pants off without any trouble, and the now sleeveless button up top was easy too. It was the black t-shirt that was giving her trouble. Her arms hurt when she tried to lift it above her head. She didn't realize that it was because she was sore from carrying Domi as she ran. It also didn't occur to her that she could leave it on.

"Blue?" She called into the bathroom for help. She could hear the gargoyle shut off the water and stomp over to the door. She'd made a mistake. The door flew open to reveal a wet naked and pissed gargoyle.

"What...What now?!" She yelled at Trini.

"I... I'm sorry." Tears started to fall down Trini's face as she turned to walk away. The red faded from Demona's eyes as she stepped after her.

"No. It's okay. What do you need?"

Trini didn't turn to look at Demona. "I can't get my shirt off." She mumbled as her tail flicked about nervously.

Demona sighed and stepped into the living room. "Come here." Trini kept her head down, feeling very scolded as she approached Demona. "First, lets take off the hat." She grabbed the hat and tossed it over by the pile of Trini's other clothes. She then reached down to grab the edge of the t-shirt and slowly pulled it up. Trini raised her arms so that Demona could pull it over her head. "There." She tossed the shirt over to the pile of clothes. "All done. Get to bed."

Trini turned quietly to go. "Wait." Demona's voice sounded odd as she stared at Trini's back. Trini stopped moving and started to turn to face Demona. "Trini, hold still." Demona moved forward and Trini could feel her staring... oh, she was staring at the scars!

Trini turned suddenly and looked at Demona with pain filled eyes, "No... No, I don't want you to see." She was trying to keep Demona from being able to see her back.

"Shit. Why?" Demona looked irritated.

"Because I'm broken." Trini started to sob. "I'm a broken gargoyle." Demona's eyes widened as she reached out and pulled her closer.

"No, Trini... you aren't broken. You're a good gargoyle, you were a very good gargoyle today." She held Trini for a while, then pulled back. "You know, you could really use a shower. You stink." She made a show of sniffing Trini, "Yes, stinky." Trini giggled, tears forgotten.

Trini stayed in the shower even after all the water went very cold. She scrubbed her skin carefully, not wanting to be stinky. Her teeth were chattering when she got out. She opened the bathroom door and walked out completely naked, not thinking anything of it. When she didn't see Demona she hurried to find her. She found her in the second bedroom. She had the sheet over her body and was leaning her back on the headboard while she read a newspaper. Trini rushed over to get in bed.

"Trini, I got a two bedroom for a reason!" Demona looked shocked that Trini was trying to get into bed with her. Trini ignored her and pulled the sheets up to get in. She was cold! "No! NO! You are not sleeping in here!"

"I'm cold!" Trini whined. She moved under the covers defiantly.

Demona leapt out of bed. She was wearing her halter top and loincloth under all the covers. She marched over to the other side of the bed and grabbed Trini's arm to drag her out of the bed. "I got you your own room! Trini!" Trini pulled her arm out of Demona's grasp, resulting in three parallel cuts to her upper arm. Blood started to lightly ooze out.

"No! I want to sleep with you!" She didn't even acknowledge the cuts.

"Shit! I'll be right back." Demona marched out of the room. Trini could hear her cutting something in the bathroom. When she came back she had a makeshift bandage for Trini's arm. She was tightlipped angry as she tied the bandage on.

"I... I want to sleep with you, please Blue." Trini was quiet and subdued. In an afterthought she added, "Fox doesn't make me sleep alone."

"Oh, really?" Demona sat back and studied Trini. Trini took this as permission and scooted back under the covers, closer to Demona, who was sitting on the covers. "You've been sleeping with Fox?"

"Fox holds me. Will you hold me?" She tugged on Demona's arm, wanting her to get into bed. She didn't see the gleam in Demona's eyes at the slowly revealing comments. She got under the covers and let Trini cuddle up to her.

"Is Fox the one that touched your tail?" Demona kept her tone conversational; Trini didn't realize how much the gargoyle wanted to know. Demona started to draw gentle circles low on Trini's back, relaxing her.

"Yes... Oh she touched it so good." A small moan escaped Trini's lips at the memory. "so good."

"What else did she do Trini?" Demona's voice stayed conversational as her hand continued the relaxing caress.

"She rubbed my back." Trini arched back into the caress a little.

"I... Trini, you need to sleep in your own bed." Demona pulled away from her. "Get out and get some sleep." Trini stared into Demona's face, hurt, but she could see that the gargoyle wasn't going to change her mind. She got out of the bed and slowly lumbered out of the room, closing the bedroom door behind her.

Trini woke up to the sound of a muffled scream. She looked out and noticed that the sun had just risen... Domi. Her tired body crawled out of the bed. She dragged her sheets and blankets with her across the living room and tossed them down and curled up on them outside of the other bedroom's door.

"What are you doing?" Trini heard Demona's voice but didn't completely wake up.

"Protecting Domi." She muttered in her sleep. Domi sighed as she stared down at the naked woman sleeping on the floor outside of her bedroom.

"I really wasted my money on a two bedroom didn't I?" She muttered to herself. Louder she spoke to Trini, waking the woman up, "Just get in here. This is ridiculous."

Trini blinked a few times, trying to wake up enough to understand. "Trini? Come in, you can sleep with me." She got up and grabbed the blankets, dragging them into the bedroom and tossing them in the corner. Domi got into bed and held open the sheets on the bed so Trini could crawl in. Trini wrapped her arm around Domi and laid her head down on the woman's shoulder. Domi stiffened instantly, but slowly relaxed. They laid in silence for a few minutes before Domi spoke. "Trini, are you awake?"

"Mmm. Yes." Trini hugged Domi a little closer.

"Do you remember anything about yesterday?" Trini felt Domi tense, so she lifted her head up to look at her.

"I... I remember running. I don't know why I was running." She thought a little longer, "I remember sparring with you. That was fun. You're good at it." She paused, "I remember the train up until the sparring, then just the running." Her eyebrows drew together as she tried to piece together what she was missing.

"Trini..." Domi looked at her seriously, "Don't try too hard to remember. It isn't worth it. Just... let it go."

Trini became concerned, "Domi, is that why you were crying? What happened? Are you okay?"

"I wasn't crying." Domi denied it quickly, but Trini knew better. "Nothing happened Trini. Just let it go." Domi started to pet Trini's hair. "Let it go."

Trini allowed her body to relax, but her mind was working overtime. She recognized that she was able to think more clearly, but that hole in her memory obviously held something very important. How she got shot in the head, for one thing.

Trini woke up a few hours later when the doorbell rang. She could hear Domi answer it. She smelled breakfast. She stood up and was about to walk out into the living room when she noticed she was naked. Her blush covered her entire body once she realized that she'd been walking around naked all night. She never did that! And with Domi there to see her! She moved to the pile of blankets and sheets in the corner of the room and grabbed a sheet to wrap around her body. She needed to find her clothes. Where the hell did she leave them?

"Trini? Breakfast is here." Domi called into the room as she opened the door. She glanced at the bed, and when Trini wasn't there, around the room. "Oh, I see you finally noticed your lack of clothes." She grinned at Trini's blush.

"Umm. Do you know where my clothes are?" Trini noticed that Domi was wearing the bathrobe. "Uh, you might need some real clothes too. At least you will if we ever plan to leave this room."

"Trini, you sound a lot better." Domi grinned, "You might be on your way to a full recovery. You weren't able to talk this well last night."

"Yeah, thanks. Now about the clothes?" Trini was trying valiantly to make the sheet do a decent job of covering her.

"I sent them to be laundered. They'll be back soon." Domi stepped out of the room and returned with another robe. "This might be more comfortable until then." She grinned and left Trini to change. Through the door she called in, "I've seen it all by now." Trini started to blush again.

Domi and her ate breakfast together, but Domi was studying the business pages of the newspaper. Trini felt like she was alone. As she glanced around the room she noticed the phone. That brought up a few more issues. "Domi?"

"What Trini?" Domi gave her only a little bit of attention, since she was focused on the paper.

"Elisa and Fox are worried about me. Can I call them?" She waited tensely for permission. She was stronger than Domi, she wasn't a prisoner anymore, but she didn't want to act like that. She wanted Domi to make it a non-issue. She was willing to forgive the entire abduction if Domi just did this one thing.

Domi put the paper down and stared at her. "So... you planning to escape now?"

"Am I still a prisoner?"

"No, I guess I can't keep you here."

The knock on the door interrupted them. Trini's eyes burned red in frustration, this was important! Domi got up and retrieved Trini's laundry. She handed it to Trini, but Trini just placed it on the chair. She needed to finish talking before she changed.

"Domi, where are we..." Trini doubled up as the magic started to swirl. "Oh God!" She started panting. "Fox... Oh God... Fox" She felt Fox, she was here in the hotel. Trini fought to keep her mind. "Domi, Fox is here. She found me." Her back arched.

"This is what you meant by sexual? Shit!" Domi stood up and went to Trini's side. "Are you okay?" The magic stopped swirling. Trini knew that was because Fox knew where she was. She took a second to catch her breath.

"I'm fine, but she's probably not alone." She stared at Domi. "I can't run from her, she can find me no matter what, we're magically bonded." She had no intention of running from Fox, but she just wanted Domi to know that she wasn't abandoning her.

"So, what your telling me is that I need to get out of here?" Domi glanced around. "I'm not dressed for it."

"Take my clothes. You can give them back to me later." She watched as Domi quickly threw the clothes on over her halter-top and loincloth. "Please, I do want to see you again." Trini grinned, "but maybe we can skip the kidnapping next time. Just do something normal like lunch."

"Why am I running?" Domi stood in front of Trini for a moment wearing Trini's clothes. It was a very casual look for the business executive.

"Because you don't have any id on you, so the cops will keep you locked up a long time." That seemed to work, because Domi went to the door and left Trini alone.

Trini felt the headache now that the immediate emergency was dealt with. The magic had made her more aware of the fact that she was still recovering from the bullet. She sounded better, but she wasn't healed yet. She checked that the door was unlocked and went back to the couch to wait. Fox was probably almost there, but Trini didn't want to try any spells to check on that in case it caused more pain. The sharp pain in her head made her want to call room service for drugs, but they would come up during what was bound to be a delightful scene. The magic brushed her lightly, the gentler touch was... nice. Oh Fox, god I missed you. Trini's back arched into it, but it was gone quickly. Then she was left to the headache.

The door flew open, startling Trini, even though she'd been expecting it. Fox, Elisa, David and Owen were in the room in seconds. Elisa quickly did a run through, checking each room for Domi. Trini knew she was checking for Domi, because her gun was drawn and she nodded for Trini to be quiet. David and Owen just closed the door behind them and leaned on the wall. They knew Domi was gone because Trini rolled her eyes at Elisa's theatrics. Elisa wasn't the only one with a gun. Trini stared at Fox.

"I didn't know you had a gun." She watched as Fox put hers away and walked up to the couch.

"I have a whole collection." She smiled at Trini. There was a lot more to Fox than Trini realized.

"Where's Demona Trini?" Elisa holstered her gun and approached the couch. She didn't look happy.

"She left." Trini eyed Elisa carefully, trying to gauge where she stood with her.

Elisa sat down on a chair. Trini glanced back at David, who gave her a look that seemed to say this is your problem. "So, she kidnaps you and takes you on a vacation to Canada?"

"I'm in Canada?" Trini was surprised. She'd always wanted to go to Canada. Fox moved to sit on the other chair.

"We were looking for her. She used her credit card for this room. She's not usually that dumb." Fox stared into Trini's eyes. "What's going on Trini?"

David noticed the breakfast placements. "It looks like she was here not too long ago." Trini's headache was growing. There were too many people talking, it was hard to keep track.

Owen spoke in his clear cool voice, adding yet one more confusing element, "She left in a hurry, like she was warned we were coming."

"So Trini, what's going on?" Elisa pressed.

Trini put her hand over her eyes. "I need drugs. Call for some aspirin or something. Something really strong would be nice." She asked out loud, hoping that someone would do that for her.

"Hangover?" David's comment really didn't endear him anymore.

"No, bullet wound. Please... only one person talk to me. I can't handle more than one at a time."

"Bullet? You've been shot again?" Elisa elected herself the speaker.

"Yes." Trini turned to Owen, "Please call for something, I have a major headache."

Owen's eyes widened and he marched over to her. "Show me." Trini blinked at him dumbly. "Where were you shot?" Trini reached up and pulled her bangs away. There was only a slight discoloration from the outside, but everyone froze when they realized what Trini was saying. "You were shot in the head?"

"Yes."

"How did that happen?" David moved closer to her, obviously concerned. Maybe he wasn't such a bad guy.

"I don't know." Trini felt a wave of dizziness. 'Trini... how could you do this to me?!' She looked around frantically trying to find that voice.

"Trini... Trini." Fox had moved beside her. She hadn't noticed her do that. "What was that?"

"What?" Trini took a second to realize that she had zoned out. "I thought I heard something."

Everyone got quiet at that. "Is the bullet still inside?" Elisa asked, looking a little green.

"No, it came out." She patted the top of her head. Elisa put her hand over her mouth and ran to the bathroom.

"When did it happen?" Owen asked her. He was the only one not looking ill.

"Yesterday? Maybe yesterday."

"We should get you back to the doctor, you need a CAT scan." Owen said that and it reminded her of something.

"What is it?" Fox leaned forward when she noticed Trini concentrating.

"Give me time. It's something important." Trini's eyebrows drew together as she tried to remember something. "Demona, she said... that your Doctor talks." Pieces of the first night when she woke up on the examination table came back to her. It shouldn't be this hard to remember though.

Fox's eyes burned as she glanced at David. "He works for Demona?!"

"Yes. He's trying to find my medical records. He wants to do a full examination." The night was coming back to her more easily. "He won't find any records though, momma was very careful." Trini could hear Elisa rinsing out her mouth.

"Okay, we need to deal with that leak fast." Fox addressed David, looking over at the bathroom door to make sure that Elisa didn't hear her. "We also need a new doctor, and we need one now." She reached out and took Trini's hand.

"I missed you Fox." Trini smiled at her.

Elisa came out of the bathroom looking a little better. Trini felt a little lost when Fox let go of her hand. "Well, get dressed and lets get out of here."

"Ummm. Demona stole my clothes." Better to say that than she gave them away so Demona could escape.

"Owen?" David asked.

"I'm on my way." Owen left the room, probably in search of clothes.

David walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm glad you're okay." She smiled at him. "Can I?" David indicated the bathroom. "We were in a bit of a rush to get here."

"Oh, sure."

Trini studied Elisa, who was pacing the room. She'd never touched her, or hugged her since they got there. Even David had touched her shoulder. When David came out of the bathroom, Fox intercepted him. "We'll go help Owen with the clothes." She gave David a look and then glanced at Trini and Elisa.

"Okay. See you soon." Trini was still staring at Elisa. She heard the door close behind Fox. "Elisa?"

Elisa stopped her pacing and stood staring at Trini. "Trini, I've hardly slept since she took you. I really didn't expect that I'd find you like this." She waved her hand around the luxurious hotel room.

"We just got here last night. The other places weren't like this." Trini could tell that more than that was bothering Elisa. She placed her hand on her forehead and rubbed it. It helped a little with the headache. Elisa saw that and backed off. "I love you Elisa." Trini had to know if anything was left.

"Trini. This isn't the best time to talk about this. You're hurt." Elisa sounded exasperated.

"My mind isn't that messed up. We need to talk about this Elisa." Trini braced herself when Elisa turned angry eyes to her.

"You were willing to beg Fox for sex. You told me you begged her. The fact that she didn't give it to you doesn't change that." Trini's heart dropped.

"Elisa..." Trini's voice cracked.

"No, Trini. I can't live like that. Can you honestly tell me it wouldn't happen again, that you'd avoid her." Elisa moved to stare out the balcony door.

"I... I can't." Trini stared down at the rug. Fox was a part of her, the magic made them a part of each other.

Elisa sighed. "That's what I thought. It's over Trini."

Tears came to Trini's eyes. "You were my friend. What have I done?" She put her hand over her mouth as she remembered Elisa coming into her apartment dripping wet because her car broke down. She remembered her holding Trini as she cried about Kelly. "Oh God... Elisa I am so sorry."

"I know Trini... I know." Elisa sounded very tired. They stood in silence for a while as Trini tried to control her tears.

"Do you want me to leave?" Trini was very aware that Elisa's ties to the clan were absolute. If Elisa didn't want her near them, she wasn't going to get to be.

"What? No, you still need the clan. I told you I'd help you, I still mean that." Elisa turned to look at Trini. "It'll take time, but maybe... eventually... we can be friends again. I just need time." Trini knew that Elisa was offering her more than she deserved.

"About the clan..." Elisa sounded hesitant, "I don't want them to know about us. It would just cause unnecessary trouble."

"So, you plan to lie to your boyfriend about us?" Trini got a little angry with Elisa. It seemed so two-faced.

Elisa looked at her shocked. "Wha.. What?"

"David told me you were in love with Goliath. He's the leader of that clan, isn't he?" Trini noticed her voice getting snippy and took a deep breath.

"I... I'm not with Goliath. I never was." Trini could hear the regret in Elisa's voice. She wanted to be.

"You love him. I know you love him." Trini's anger was gone. Elisa was so messed up. "Why aren't you with him? Why were you with me when you love him?"

Elisa stared at the wall her voice very irritated "He's taking the clan all over the world to meet females. He's so focused on getting everyone mated, he wants them to all reproduce, to increase the size of the clan." Elisa rubbed her face with both hands, "I can't give him an egg. He needs to find a gargoyle, the gargoyle race is dying out. He needs to reproduce." When tears started to fall down Elisa's face Trini got up and went to her. She pulled her into a hug.

"If you love him, this shouldn't matter. Did he say he needs a gargoyle?" If he did, Trini was going to beat his ass. "One gargoyle egg isn't going to save an entire species. One person can't do that." Elisa stiffened in her arms, like she had never thought of that. Trini took a deep breath. "I won't say anything about us if you think it will hurt your relationship with him."

"I did love you Trini." Elisa hugged her. It brought more tears to Trini's eyes.

"I know." Trini couldn't believe she was giving love advice to Elisa. It hurt like hell.

They were both sitting on the couch watching TV when the others returned. They'd run out of things to say. Owen and Fox were both carrying bags. Trini raised an eyebrow at them. She only needed one outfit. Fox looked between her and Elisa, noticing that they were sitting as far apart as possible. "I found a few things that would look great on you." She smiled at Trini and walked into the bedroom to put the bags down. Owen followed her, dropped off his load quickly and left. "Come on in here and see what I got you." She called from the bedroom. Trini glanced at Elisa briefly then got up and followed Fox. Elisa was trying to ignore this and stared intently at the TV.
As soon as she was inside the bedroom Fox closed the door behind her. Trini could see the question on her face before she actually said it. "So... what's with you and Elisa?"

Trini looked away from Fox, "It's over." Her voice was a little shaky. She took a deep breath and walked toward the package covered bed. "So... what did ya get me?" She wasn't going to cry all over Fox about Elisa again. Now that Elisa had done that with her about Goliath, she knew that she'd hurt Fox by turning to her.

She could see Fox study her quietly for a second before letting it go. "Well, I just couldn't stop myself. Let me show you." Fox proceeded to pull out items of clothing from the bags one at a time and tell Trini the virtues of each piece. Trini found herself grinning at Fox, the woman was a shop a holic. Lucky for her she was rich. Fox had bought Trini more clothes than she'd brought with her to New York to begin with.

"So, what would you like to wear now?" Fox studied the piles of clothing with Trini. "Or can I do you?" Trini remembered that Fox had asked her that before.

"Fox?" Trini looked over at the woman that she hadn't realized was staring at her intently.

"Trini I was worried sick about you. I couldn't eat or sleep." Fox started to tear up as she moved to hug Trini. Trini opened her arms and pulled the red head to her. "I... I love you Trini." Fox pulled back and looked into Trini's eyes. "I know my timing is lousy, but... I love you. I was afraid I'd never get to tell you."

"I love you too." Trini reached up and pushed a piece of red hair out of Fox's eyes. Her lips looked so inviting. Trini didn't need to feel guilty about wanting her anymore. She wasn't with Elisa. Elisa wanted someone else. She tilted her head and slowly leaned in to the kiss. It was so sweet, so tender, so right. Trini felt the magic infusing her and Fox. It felt different than all the other times. It felt like they were being knitted together. Slightly out of breath from the experience Trini leaned her head on Fox's shoulder. "What was that?"

"I don't know." Fox held her tightly and kissed her forehead gently. "You need to get dressed. I want to get you checked out."

"Okay." Trini sighed as she pulled away from Fox. "Dressed. I can do that." Fox quietly left the room so she could do that.

Trini was putting on the new shoes when she heard the voice again. Don't touch me! She glanced around nervously. Hearing voices was unnerving.

Trini stared out the window of the helicopter and watched the clouds go by. She hoped that Domi was able to get home. Whenever someone tried to find out what had happened to her after Demona took her she feigned a headache. She didn't have a story ready. Something told her that she shouldn't tell the truth, some sort of weird feeling that she needed to keep it a secret that she liked Demona. She looked out the window again and saw those three weird parrots. They shouldn't be flying this high. "David? Do you see that?" She pointed out the window to show him, but they were gone. "Never mind." He gave her a concerned look and then went back to reading. Now she was seeing things as well. Great.

It was lunch time when the helicopter landed on the castle. Trini tried not to giggle, but it just seemed so wrong to think of helicopter and castle in the same sentence. "Trini... I need to go get some sleep." Elisa addressed her awkwardly.

"Sure... fine." Trini hadn't really expected Elisa to hang out with her.

"Uh. The clan is coming in today. Do you feel up to meeting them?" Trini noticed that she and Elisa had everyone's attention.

"Maybe not. I'm still a little fuzzy." Trini looked around the helicopter. "I want to do a little editing. Apparently there are some things they don't need to know." She glanced meaningfully at Elisa. "I..." she started to sound hesitant, "I don't want to tell them everything about me. I need to figure out what I can trust them with."

Elisa bristled a bit, "They are very trustworthy!"

"These are my secrets. I should get to decide." Trini spoke wearily and stood up. "I just..."

"No, it's okay Trini." Fox reached out to touch her shoulder. "You have the right to tell who you want to. If you want us to hold back a little information, I can do that." She glanced meaningfully at Elisa.

"Fine." Elisa leapt out of the helicopter. "I'll wait until you have your story together before I mention you."

Fox reluctantly left her at the apartment. She didn't want to be at the castle when the gargoyles woke up. She'd heard the movers bring the crates up, but just didn't feel up to going to see. The only gargoyle she saw at the castle was Delilah. She'd stayed the night. Trini wished she could stay and see her wake up, but that would mean seeing the others as well. Seeing Goliath as well.

The new doctor was baffled at her recovery, what a surprise. She still had some damage, but it appeared to be healing. It might take a few days at this rate, but it was healing. Fox had stayed with her the entire time the female doctor examined her. She was tense, but having a female doctor seemed to help. The doctors that had hurt her had all been men. She watched as Fox burned all the records of the exam.

Trini turned on the radio and opened the balcony door to watch the sunset. She stared at the Eyrie building and imagined that she could hear the roars of the waking clan.

She glanced at the large pile of movies on the VCR. She and Fox had stopped by the video store on the way there.

The pizza man knocked about five minutes after sunset. Trini paid for her two large pizzas and included a more generous tip than she normally did. She was glad to be back.

"Trini?" Trini smiled and set the pizzas down. She turned to look at the nervous looking white haired gargoyle on her balcony.

"Delilah." Trini held out her arms to the gargoyle, who quickly ran into them.

"Trini... Oh God, I've been looking for you everywhere! Fox said you were hurt. Are you okay?" Delilah spoke incredibly fast as she hugged Trini just a little too hard. "I was so scared that she killed you."

"Delilah? The sun just went down, how'd you get here so fast and have time to talk with Fox?" Trini pulled out of the hug.

"I... I just heard you were home and took off." Delilah noticed the pizza on the counter. "Are... you expecting someone? I could leave." She sounded crestfallen.

"I was expecting you. I owe you a movie night." The way Delilah's face lit up made all her planning worth it. When Fox told Trini how desperate Delilah had been, how she stood up to Talon and moved into the castle until Trini could be found, she knew she had to do something special for the gargoyle. Delilah had yelled at Elisa's brother, telling him that Trini was the only real clan she had. She may have burned her bridges in her grief. From what Trini could gather, clan was a stronger connection than family. Trini didn't really have any other family either. Robbie was more of an acquaintance, not even really a friend, and his father was just a jerk. Trini was really touched that Delilah considered her family. "You can stay, right?"

"Yes... I can stay." Delilah hugged her again.

Trini had ordered too much pizza. She had no idea how much a female gargoyle ate, and was making sure she had enough. After the first movie she put the leftovers in the fridge. "The clan is back. Didn't you want to see them?" Delilah studied her from her spot on the couch.

"I... I will tomorrow night." Trini still hadn't figured out how much she could trust the clan with, but as she looked into Delilah's concerned eyes she made a decision. "I want to tell you some things, secrets that I don't want you telling anyone. Can I do that?" If Delilah didn't think she could keep her secrets she'd tell Trini. It was just a feeling Trini had.

Delilah looked thoughtful. "It isn't something illegal, or something that will put someone in danger is it?" Trini grinned. Those were Delilah's limits, if she hadn't asked Trini would have thought less of her ability to keep secrets. You don't just give a blanket answer to 'will you keep my secret?'

"No. They aren't. I just don't plan to tell the clan everything about me. I'm trying to figure out what I can tell them, and after my injury... I thought it best to wait until I'm thinking more clearly."

"What was your injury?" Delilah studied Trini carefully, looking for something wrong.

"Okay." Trini took a deep breath. "This is my biggest secret." Trini stared into Delilah's concerned eyes. "Aside from iron, I'm probably immortal." Delilah's eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped. "I heal very fast. I've been shot, fallen off a building..." her eyes became distant, "and other things." Since Delilah still couldn't speak Trini continued. "I was shot in the head yesterday. The bullet went through part of my brain. I'm still recovering."

Delilah looked pale. "Oh my god, Trini." The gargoyle was looking at Trini's head. Trini moved closer on the couch and pulled up her bangs. The scar was gone, but she used her hand to rub over the place it had been.

"It was right here. I don't remember how I got it. Much of that day is completely gone." Trini stared at Delilah, afraid that she would... pull away. She pulled Trini into a comforting hug instead.

"Oh, you must have been so scared." Delilah's hug was a little awkward since they were both sitting on the couch. "Immortal? That's... Wow." They sat in silence for a while. "How old are you?"

Trini gave Delilah a small grin. She was thinking Demona kind of immortal. "twenty-four."

"Are you going to continue to age? Or are you like Demona?" That wiped the grin off Trini's face. She didn't know.

"I... Oh God, I didn't think of that. What if I don't age? What if I don't ever age, and everyone else does?" Her voice was a little panicked. She didn't want to watch her friends die.

Delilah hugged her closer and changed the subject. "Well, I know I feel better knowing that a stray bullet won't kill you."

Trini let her what if... worries go. She wouldn't know until she stopped aging, if she ever did. "They still hurt, but yeah. I don't want to tell the clan about it though. It just makes me more of a freak." She also was afraid that they wouldn't watch out for her, if they thought she wouldn't die. She might end up spending some patrols with them.

"You're not a freak Trini." Delilah caressed Trini's hair.

"I'm not a proper gargoyle Delilah. They are going to see that. You can't tell me they won't hold it against me, can you?" Trini knew that they held Delilah's being a clone against her, why would they be any better with her.

"I... if any of them give you trouble, tell me." Delilah growled like a protective older sister. Trini snuggled closer to her.

"I love you too." She felt Delilah stiffen, then hug her closer.

"I... you are my clan. I need to watch out for my clan." Delilah sounded choked up.

Trini moved to straddle the gargoyle's legs and stared into her face. "Only if that works both ways." She leaned forward and kissed Delilah's cheek.

Trini brought out some more drinks. The tears that Delilah shed when Trini adopted her as family made the gargoyle thirsty. "Elisa and I broke up. She's going to try with Goliath, but doesn't want anyone to know about..." Trini swallowed the impulse to cry. Delilah's eyes burned red.

"She's going to pretend you never happened?! That bitch!" Delilah's voice was loud enough to make Trini worry about the neighbors. "She lied to you and now that the clan is back she's just tossing you aside!"

Trini looked at Delilah a little fearfully. She had to tell her the rest of the story, and didn't want the gargoyle to think less of her. "I... I wasn't an angel either. I did some things..."

"What... What could you have possibly done to deserve that?!" Delilah's eyes burned.

"I... I fell in love with someone else. I still love her, but... I can't give Fox up." She watched Delilah's eyes fade back to normal as she stared at Trini in shock. "Fox is like a part of me. We're part of each other because of our magic." She glanced around the room nervously, "I hear it's very rare."

"Fox?! What about the fact that she's married to Xanatos?" Delilah's voice had come back down in volume.

"He... he doesn't mind. He told me he doesn't mind." Trini still felt a little odd about that. If it were any other woman, she would just walk away. She couldn't walk away from Fox.

"I'll bet that really pissed Elisa off." Trini looked up and could see Delilah trying not to grin. "She deserved it, lying to you like that." She started to chuckle.

Trini stared at Delilah in shock. "My God... you have a cruel streak." Delilah looked up sharply, but Trini was grinning. She was just relieved that Delilah wasn't mad at her.

"Yeah, it's my little secret. Don't tell anyone." Delilah grinned mock evilly at her. She became a little more serious. "You might not want the clan to know about your arrangement with Fox and Xanatos. They wouldn't take it well." When Trini gave Delilah a puzzled look the gargoyle elaborated, "Gargoyles are very monogamous. It would scandalize them. Not to mention that they don't like Fox or Xanatos too much. Too much of a bad history there."

"Bad history?" Trini hadn't heard about that.

"Ask Fox, and you better ask her before you talk with the clan, because if they think you are hanging around her they will volunteer it." For someone not in that clan, Delilah seemed to know a lot about it.

After the second movie Delilah turned to Trini with a serious expression on her face. "What happened to you when you were gone?" Trini blinked in surprise. There was no lead up to that question.

"I... " Trini didn't know what to say. Demona was not at all what everyone else expected, but she knew that she needed to keep that a secret. "What I remember wasn't too bad, but its what I don't remember that worries me." Keep it vague and she wouldn't have to lie to Delilah.

Delilah scowled at her. "The clan is going to want a better answer than that. Once they hear you've met that bitch they'll want all the details." She paused, "Why won't you tell me?"

Trini took a deep breath and stammered her reply. "I... it wasn't bad. She never hurt me."

Delilah gave her a strange look, but was willing to let it go. "The clan is going to push for details."

"Then I will have to push back. I'm not budging on this. It's between Demona and me." Trini's eyes glowed red for a moment, startling Delilah, who had never seen them do that.

Day 25

Trini woke up to screaming, her own. She had no idea why she was doing that, and stopped it as soon as she realized it. Her heart was pounding and she was in a cold sweat. She felt terrified, but nothing around her seemed to warrant it.

The sun was shining down on her bed. She'd left the shades open so that it would, hoping that it would help her heal.

After Trini's heart calmed down she got out of bed. It was almost seven, she'd only gotten three hours of sleep, but she couldn't fall back to sleep after that dream, or whatever the hell it was. She showered, listening intently for any unusual noise in the apartment. She didn't know why she felt so on edge.

Trini was reading up on the Internet about the explosion at NightStone. That was how she found out that it was Dominique's business. Impressive. She also noticed that the press was suspicious of the CEO's absence during the days after it. Poor Domi was in for a lot of work cleaning up the PR mess. It wasn't her fault either. It was just bullshit that those Quarrymen were making her life difficult. Trini did a lot of careful searches on the Internet and found the name of Dominique Destine's secretary. Hmmm.

"NightStone Unlimited. Cheryl speaking, how may I direct your call?" The phone operator was using the most phony and uninterested voice she possibly could.

"Yes, can I speak with Danielle Blaine?" Trini knew that the press would all be hounding Domi, so any request for her would be deflected. That was how the game was played. Trini had to do it when there was a scandal with one of the men in the office she worked for. The way to get to someone was to know the proper channels.

"I'm sorry Danielle Blaine doesn't work here anymore. Is there anyone else that can help you?" Shit, of course the information on the Internet was old.

"Yes, well could you put me in contact with whoever is in that position now?"

"Of course. One moment please." The operator connected her to another desk. The phone rang for a long time before it was answered.

The voice sounded frazzled and confused. "NightStone Unlimited. Debra speaking, how can I help you?"

Trini grinned. This was going to be easy. "Debra, I am so sorry to bother you. I need to reschedule my appointment from yesterday. Is it possible to schedule for today?"

"Let me see if she has any other openings today. She's very busy." Bingo, she went to work. Trini could hear Debra shuffling through papers. Not very organized.

"Oh, her office moved didn't it. What office number am I looking for?" Trini sounded like that had just occurred to her. She was proud of herself.

"We moved to the tenth floor, room 1034." Trini wrote that down on her pad of paper with a flourish. Victory. Anyone just walking in today asking to see Ms. Destine would never find out which office she was in. At least they wouldn't if everyone was doing their jobs right. Debra wasn't, she hadn't even asked who was speaking, hadn't checked to verify an appointment. Trini decided to check and see how poorly the secretary was protecting Domi.

"Well, do you have any appointments around 10 am?" She heard the shuffling of pages.

"Yes, I have a cancellation for 10:30. Will that do?"

"Sure." Trini waited to see if she would be caught.

"Name?"

"Trinity Stephens" She could hear the woman penciling her in. She didn't even check for an old appointment.

"Company?"

Trini thought for a second. "Vandellay Industries." Come on... catch me. Trini thought to herself.

"Oh, what type of company is that?" Good, double check it.

"Latex sales." Trini answered matter of factly.

"Okay, well Ms. Stephens I have you scheduled for 10:30 today. Is there anything else I can do for you?" Yes... quit you stupid cow, you don't know what you're doing!

"No, that should be everything. Thank you." Trini hung up. She'd only intended to make sure Domi was okay, that she'd gotten to work, but... that secretary wasn't doing a very good job of protecting her.

Trini got out of the cab outside of NightStone at 10 am. She had changed into one of the nice suits that Fox bought her in Canada and had taped her ears back. She looked like a business executive; Fox had good taste in clothes. The cones on the side of the building that the explosion had occurred and the tarp over the windows of the top floor convinced Trini she had the right place. Trini still didn't know why she was doing this. It seemed stupid, she should be at the apartment writing, or getting ready to meet the clan. Ugh... the thought of meeting the clan gave her a nervous stomach. Instead she was coming here to make sure that the woman that had kidnapped her was okay. She shook her head at the absurdity of it as she walked into the building.

The information the Debra had leaked enabled Trini to walk right up to Domi's new office. She walked up to the flustered looking middle aged woman behind the desk. "Debra?"

The woman looked up and gave Trini a fake smile. "How can I help you?"

"I'm early for my 10:30." Trini looked at the computer screen, which had something that looked confidential on it. The time on the screen was 10:10. She was too early. It was a test. The phone started ringing, and the woman rolled her eyes. Trini waited until the call was through.

"Well, she is with someone right now. If you want to take a seat?" Debra waved at the couch. Trini did that and picked up a magazine. She flipped through it slowly, mostly looking at the pictures. She kept covertly listening and watching the secretary. She didn't like what she saw. The woman's desk was cluttered. She would often start to look for something and then give up. She made far too many appointments without trying to see if they really needed to be made. When the phone rang with several calls she became flustered and lost track of what she was saying to people. Trini also heard her give out the new office location three times in the fifteen minutes she was waiting. When the phone started ringing off the hook and the secretary looked completely lost Trini lost her patience.

She marched over to the desk. "Let me show you how this is done." She growled at the woman and picked up the phone. Debra stared at her like she was crazy.

Trini put five calls on hold and started answering the others. She gave no information that the people didn't possess, and weeded out two reporters right away. She took messages quickly and made no appointments. As soon as she hung up on the last call she turned to Debra. "Look, with the latest problems your job has changed. The reporters are after her. You need to protect that office." Trini pointed to the now opened door without noticing the woman standing there. "You weed out the calls, sniff out the reporters, and give no new information to people over the phone." She started talking faster as she became a little angry with the incompetent fool at Domi's front desk. "Your desk needs to be organized, and you need to double check that when people call for rescheduling that they actually had an appointment to begin with!" Debra's jaw just dropped.

"Wow, Ms. Destine, your office manager carries a whip!" A man's voice brought Trini out of her rant. She stiffened up as she turned and noticed that she had an audience of two. The man walked past her grinning and left. Domi stared at her in shock.

Debra came out of her shock. "Ms. Destine!" She glared at Trini, angry that she'd been shown up.

"Trini, come in." Domi held the door open to her office.

Trini couldn't resist one last parting shot at the secretary. "I didn't have an appointment. You just let me through."

Domi closed the door and motioned for Trini to sit. Trini looked around the office. It was obviously just thrown together. Domi had just come back to work today, after all. She studied Domi as she moved to sit on her side of the desk. She was wearing her hair up, and her dress-suit was navy blue. The business executive just sat at her desk and stared at Trini for a moment. "Well, what are you doing here?"

Trini stared down at the desk. This was embarrassing. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Domi looked shocked. "I'm sorry to waste your time. I know you're very busy today."

Domi's eyes softened. "You went through all that to make sure I was okay?"

"Yes." Trini continued in a softer voice, "I had a bad dream. I just needed to see you were okay."

Domi paled a little bit, "What kind of dream?" She sounded a little tense. Trini looked into her eyes.

"I don't remember. I just felt... it was really bad." Trini took a breath and changed the subject, "Besides I needed to get out of that apartment. I'm so jittery. I'm meeting the clan tonight."

"Oh, they're back?" Domi looked out the window.

"Yeah. Delilah thinks they're going to interrogate me about my time with you. I don't know what to say. Fox and Elisa tried yesterday, I had to fake so many headaches." Trini chuckled.

"Oh. So you came to me for help?" Domi's voice got a little higher in surprise.

"I'm not as creative as I used to be... before. I tried all night to think of something I could tell them. I get the feeling that you don't want me to tell the truth, or at least what I remember of it."

"Why would you say that?" Domi looked puzzled.

"You have a bit of a reputation as a bad ass." Trini grinned at her. "I thought you might value it."

Domi smirked back, "So I wasn't scary enough for you?"

"You were truly frightening reading that newspaper during breakfast, maybe I should tell them about that. Oh, and you were plain vicious when you bandaged my feet." Trini giggled.

"Yes, I can see how this would be a problem." Domi smiled, but then became more somber. "The clan and I... don't get along. We have different views. They risk their lives trying to save those wretched humans." The sneer in her voice as she said humans sounded so much like her gargoyle self it actually was a comfort to Trini. "While I try to kill the humans." Domi stopped talking and just stared at Trini, waiting expectantly.

Okay. Trini had a problem with what Domi just said. This was the part where she should jump up and say something noble about valuing life. But when she looked at Domi's face she just knew that saying something like that would be the absolute wrong thing to do. It would drive a wedge between them. "Well. I could see how that would be a problem." She said it calmly, as if they were talking about something minor.

Domi blinked in surprise. "I'm trying to find a way to kill off the entire human population."

It just seemed so unreal. Trini kept the light conversational tone, "So, how's that going for you?"

"Uh... well, I've had a few set-backs, but I continue to research new methods." Domi was starting to grin as she maintained the light bantering tone. It was becoming a game.

"I assume the R&D boys don't know what they're working on?" Trini asked lightly.

"No, no clue that they are working on a way to kill themselves." Domi's eyes showed her delight in that irony.

"Yes, well I guess if they knew it would affect productivity." Trini decided to bring this game to an end. "You know, I'm half human."

"You're immortal. You'd survive." Domi sounded irritated that Trini brought that up.

"I'd miss Andrea. Hell, after living on a near empty planet for a few years I might even miss Debra out there." She waved her hand toward the front office. She could see from Domi's reddening face that she'd said as much as she could right now. "Anyhow, what am I going to tell the clan about the last few days?"

Domi looked thrown by the change in topics. It took her a moment to speak. "Well, you can't seem to like me. They'll just toss you out if you do."

"That's going to be hard. You're my friend, and I don't think I'm that good of an actress." Domi looked sharply at Trini when she said that.

"Don't cut your acting abilities short." Domi sounded tense. How would she know anything about Trini's acting abilities?

"Okay, but that's attitude. I need a story to tell."

Domi cancelled a few of her appointments so that they could come up with a story. It wasn't as strong as Trini had hoped, but if delivered right it would be enough. They finished around eleven thirty because Domi had an important appointment that she couldn't cancel.

"Trini?" Domi stood up to walk her to the door.

Trini stood up and looked Domi in the eyes. The woman was right in front of her. "You know... all of this is just a story so they don't think to give me shit for spending time with you." She pulled the stiff executive into a hug. "I know its weird, but I'm glad you took me, bullet-holes and all. I liked getting to know you."

Domi stared at Trini dumbfounded for a few awkward seconds. "Trini, if they find out about this..." Domi waved her hand between the two of them to indicate their relationship. "Goliath and Brooklyn with toss you out on your ass. Do you really want to continue spending time with me?"

"I'm not going to let anyone else pick my friends. If it comes to that, so be it." Trini stood defiantly in front of the door.

Domi beamed at her and opened the door to let her out. "I'll call you about lunch after things calm down here." Trini knew that meant it would be a few days.

"Sounds good, but... I'm losing my place to live soon. I'll need to get you a new number when I get one."

Domi had gotten the door partially opened. She re-shut it. "You don't have a place to live?" Her concern was really appreciated.

"I'm apartment sitting. Trish, the woman who lives there is coming back on the thirtieth." Trini sighed. "I really don't know what I'm going to do. I'm going to find some way to stay here though. I should have started to look for a job weeks ago, I don't know why I didn't." Trini felt like kicking herself for waiting until now to really realize her time was almost up.

Domi stared at the door. "So you need a job?"

Trini followed Domi's gaze and her eyes widened. "I'm not qualified." Domi raised her eyebrow at her, "How am I supposed to hide the fact that I work here? It can't be done."

"I could do it. I could get some fake paperwork in place." Domi leaned on the door to watch the thoughts flicker about Trini's face.

"No. I don't think that's a good idea." Trini gave Domi a small smile, "Thank you though."

Trini walked into the Eyrie building around 3pm. It was a strange feeling, having the security guards wave her past like she belonged. She took the elevator up alone for the first time. Someone must have called ahead, because Fox and Alexander were walking up to the elevator when the doors opened.

"Trini!" Alexander yelled as he saw her. She stepped out of the elevator and the boy ran up to her holding his arms up to be picked up. "Spin me!" Trini had to smile at the boy's enthusiasm. She did one spin and felt a little dizzy. She set him down and tried to act like nothing was wrong. There were spots in front of her eyes that slowly faded. "Spin me some more!" Alexander looked a little let down by Trini's poor performance.

"I'm sorry honey. I can't." Trini looked up from his crest-fallen face to see Fox looking at her with concern.

"Alexander, don't bother Trini. She's been hurt." Fox moved forward to look into Trini's eyes. "Trini? Are you okay?"

Trini sighed. "I shouldn't have tried to spin, but other than that I've been doing okay." Alexander took Trini's hand and looked at her with concern.

"Trini, come. You need to sit down." He pulled her into the kitchen. Trini let him. She glanced at Fox nervously as the boy motioned for her to sit down. Fox was just grinning at the scene. "I'll get you some juice." Alexander made a stay there motion with his hands at Trini and moved to start climbing up the counters. At that point Fox stopped him and got the glass out and poured some juice in it for Alexander to bring Trini. Trini blinked at the sight. Alexander was trying to take care of her. It was kind of cute.

"So Trini, I thought you were going to stay at home and rest." Fox sat down across from her. Her voice got a little quieter, "I wish you would have just stayed here."

Taking a sip of the juice to make Alexander stop staring at her, Trini looked at Fox. "I... I just didn't want to see them yet. I was fine, Delilah stayed with me almost all night."

"You didn't get a lot of sleep, did you?" Fox reached out to take Trini's hand, "You look pale. I should have the doctor look at you again."

"No, I'm fine. I just... couldn't sleep. But on the bright side it gave me time to go sign up with a temp agency." Trini had gone to a local temp agency after leaving Domi. She needed to start making some money now. She could look for more permanent work while she did that.

Fox looked a little outraged. "You were out looking for work? You should be resting!" She turned to Alexander. "Honey, Trini and I need to talk. Can you go play with Owen?"

"But I wanna..." Alexander started to protest leaving Trini's side, but the look on his mother's face stopped that. "Okay." He gave Trini a sympathetic look and left.

Fox watched him leave and waited a moment before she turned back to Trini. Her eyes held a fire of their own. "Trini, you need to take better care of yourself! I..." Fox reached out and brushed some hair out of Trini's eyes as she visibly calmed herself. "I worry about you. Please."

Trini pulled Fox's hand to her lips and kissed it. "I'm sorry. I just... I had a nightmare. I didn't want to be in that apartment." Fox got up and moved to sit in the chair beside Trini. She stared with worry into Trini's face.

"What was it?" Fox took her hand again.

Trini took a shuddering breath. "I don't remember it, but I was so scared. I just... had to get out of there."

"Why didn't you come to me?" Fox's thumb was caressing her hand.

"I just... since I was up I thought I'd get some things done. I'm almost out of money. I couldn't really wait any longer."

"Money? I could give you money. You don't need to take some crappy temp job."

"I... I don't feel comfortable taking your money Fox. I need money of my own."

"You could earn it. I could find a job for you here." Fox sounded like she'd just come up with the solution.

Trini felt weird turning down the second job offer she'd gotten today. She didn't want to work for friends. "It would feel like charity. I appreciate it, but... I need to do this on my own."

Fox was quiet for a few seconds. "I guess I can understand that."

"Thanks for the offer." Trini had to cover a yawn.

"You need a nap." Fox stood up and took the glass of juice out of Trini's hand. "Come on, I can wake you in time for a briefing before the garg's wake up." She smirked at Trini, "We all need to get our stories right."

Trini woke up with her heart beating frantically again. She took a few deep breaths and got out of bed. She wasn't going to be able to sleep anymore right now. Checking the clock on the side of Fox's bed she saw it was only 6:30. She'd only gotten three more hours.

Trini stepped into the kitchen to grab something to eat. She was starving... no, now that she knew what not eating for days was like she knew she wasn't starving. She was just hungry. She grabbed an apple and wandered out to the courtyard, forgetting for a moment that it was occupied. She just wanted to get a little bit more sun.

She started to slow when she saw them. Gargoyles. She walked up to the nearest one. He had the weird wings that one of Delilah's clan had, all attached along his arms and legs. He was shorter than Trini, and bald. It looked like he had tried to take a scary pose, but the gargoyle just looked ridiculous. He couldn't pull off scary.

Trini didn't worry about proper or polite. She wandered about looking at this clan. This was the clan she had come here to see. She wanted... she didn't know what she wanted from them anymore. She wanted something. The next gargoyle she walked up to looked scarier. He had a beak, she'd seen his clone in the Labyrinth as well. His expression seemed angry, irritated at the world. She moved on to find an older gargoyle. He had a beard, she didn't know that they could grow beards. She leaned down to absently pet Bronx. This was the one she'd saved. Elisa had called him Bronx. She hadn't ever touched a stone gargoyle before. It was disconcerting to feel stone under her hands, but know that they were alive.

She turned to the female. She was facing out, so Trini walked up to her to get a better look. Her mouth dropped when she saw her face. She... looked like Demona. Trini glanced around. This was the only female. It had to be Angela; Demona had mentioned her once. She was the reason the Demona had grabbed Trini out of the park. That seemed like a long time ago, but it had actually been less than two weeks. A lot happens in two weeks. Angela had to be related to Demona in some way, the resemblance was too strong to not be. Demona was... protective of this one. That was more than enough for Trini. This one was a friend.

Not too far from Angela was another male. He was a bit overweight. It must make gliding hard. Trini looked between Angela and the male... there was something there, in the expressions on their faces. They were a couple. Trini glanced at the male more closely. Angela could have done better. She was gorgeous, like Demona, she could definitely have done better. He better have a hell of a personality.

Trini walked slowly up to the last gargoyle. Looking at the sheer size of him she knew who he was. "Goliath." She muttered to herself. She glanced around the empty courtyard self-consciously; making sure that no one was there. She stepped closer to the large gargoyle. She didn't notice the camera on the wall focusing in on her. He was so huge... too huge for a small woman like Elisa. He towered above Trini by several feet. She barely came to his chest. She took a deep breath as she looked at the gargoyle she'd lost Elisa to. He better treat her right. "I don't care how big you are, how strong you are... if you hurt her I'll kill you." She felt a little better having said that. "Hopefully you can treat her better than I did." She looked away and gazed across the city with tears in her eyes. "You have to be able to treat her better than I did."

Fox caught up to Trini on the other side of the castle. Trini was sitting on a ledge in the sun. "Trini?" Trini opened her eyes and looked up. Fox was casting a shadow on her.

"Hey." Trini smiled at her. Fox moved to sit beside her.

"I... there are camera's all over this place, for security. I just thought you should know." Fox paused and studied Trini's face. "Are you okay? I saw you visiting the clan." She saw that? Trini sighed, she hadn't wanted anyone to see that.

"Yeah... I'm fine." Her voice was a little flat. "I forgot they were out there." She wasn't going to cry all over Fox again. She deserved better than that.

Fox moved closer. "Trini, this is me. You don't have to play it tough."

She took a shuddering breath, "Fox, you shouldn't have to pick up the pieces. You deserve better."

Fox wrapped her arms around Trini from behind. She leaned in and whispered in Trini's ear, "I like being there for you. I don't mind. I know this break up is hurting you, it's okay to hurt." Trini snuggled back into Fox's embrace and took comfort in the closeness. Fox kissed the tip of her ear and pulled her close. They sat like that in comfortable silence for a while.

"Fox?" Trini was watching the city sky absently.

"Mmm. Yes?" Fox nuzzled her hair.

"I'm going to be doing a bit of lying tonight." She sighed. There was only so much lying she was willing to do.

"I know. I'm sorry Elisa is putting you through that." Fox sounded consoling as she wrapped her arms around Trini's waist.

"Not just about that. I won't be mentioning my immortality... or my" Trini shuddered. "I don't want them to know I lost my wings. It's... they might treat me strange."

"Oh, Trini... they wouldn't hold that against you. It was something that was done to you." Fox shifted so she could try and look Trini in the face.

"I know that... but... I don't want their pity. I don't need their pity." Trini shifted so that they could see each other's faces. "I... also" She took a deep breath. "I'm going to lie to everyone about what happened with Demona, even you."

Fox stiffened and her eyes widened. "What? Why? What did that bitch do to you?!" Her voice was almost to the point of yelling.

Okay, this was going just about how Trini thought it would. "I... it's not like that. I... I don't like lying to you. I don't like lying at all, but its private. No one is going to accept that, are they? If I just go in there and say that I don't want to talk about it, no one will just let it go." Trini looked down at the floor. "I don't like lying to you. I did that with Elisa, and it felt horrible. I can't tell you what happened, hell, I don't even know everything that happened." Trini looked up into Fox's face. "If I tell you that you don't need to be upset, and ask you to trust me... can you?"

Trini watched the emotions flicker across Fox's face. Disbelief, anger, confusion, and finally a decision seemed to be reached. "Trini. I... I'll trust you on this, but I don't like being kept in the dark." She looked sharply into Trini's eyes, "Since you're being so honest about your dishonesty, I'll do the same. I will find out what happened. I won't pester you, but I will find out, and if she hurt you I will make her pay."

"You can't just drop it?" Trini asked hopefully, knowing that it was useless.

"No. I can't." Fox said flatly.

Trini sat quietly, feeling Fox's stare on her. "Don't tell anyone I'm lying, okay?"

"Okay." Fox pulled Trini back into a hug, one that seemed a little strong. Like she was trying to protect Trini after the fact.

Trini could hear someone had turned on the stereo, and it was suspiciously loud. She looked over to a window and saw David give her a little smile and walk away. He gave them the music. She got up and stretched, then reached out a hand to Fox. "Dance with me?" Fox smiled and let Trini help her to her feet. It was a slow romantic song. They held each other and gently swayed to the music. Trini held Fox close, relishing the feel of her body against her.

There was about thirty minutes until sunset. Trini had explained to everyone what she didn't want to share. When she mentioned her wings, there had been an awkward silence before everyone agreed. She'd had to argue with Elisa about the immortality, claiming that it really wasn't relevant at this time, but if it became so she might reconsider. That finally got an agreement. She didn't need to mention that Elisa and her relationship... never happened. It had already been covered quietly by Fox so she wouldn't have to deal with it. So now Owen, David, Elisa, Fox and Trini were on the same page. Delilah was still stone in the Labyrinth, but Trini had covered the immortality and Elisa with her yesterday. She never told Delilah about her wings. It would probably bother a gargoyle more than it did Elisa or Fox. Demona took it well, but... she was different.

"So, what are you planning on wearing?" Fox stood by the closet watching Trini.

"Why did you go shopping for me again?" Trini stared at a small collection of new outfits. Fox had placed them in the closet of a spare bedroom. It looked like the woman was trying to move Trini in slowly.

"I like to buy you things." Fox gave Trini a shy smile. She was so cute, Trini's heart warmed.

"Okay. Well, I have no idea what we'll do tonight, other than talk." Trini studied the assorted clothes. She was surprised to see a pair of black shorts with a place cut out for her tail. She picked it up "Fox?" She held it out waiting for an explanation.

"I thought you might like to be able to walk around with it out once in a while. The security here at night... it would be safe. Besides, it makes me hot seeing you all dressed for Fall in the middle of Summer." Fox studied the shorts thoughtfully. "You could wear them tonight. You know, show them you really are a gargoyle." Fox looked at Trini's hair, "We could pull your hair back, have you wear a short top." Fox bit her lip. Trini was surprised at what she was hearing. She hadn't thought to dress that differently around the gargoyles. "I could do your makeup."

"Why all that? I'm not trying to pick any of them up, just get them to accept me." Trini was puzzled, but the lust in Fox's eyes was making it sound like a good idea.

"Why not. You hide all of that. You don't need to here. Besides, I want to see Brooklyn's eyes pop out of his skull when he sees you." Fox grinned mischievously at Trini. "You are beautiful for any species."

Trini gave a lopsided grin to Fox, "You want other people to lust after me?" This woman was just too much... but, it could be fun. She would like to let her tail out once in a while; it got uncomfortable in her pants. Trini held the shorts up to consider them. "These shorts are kinda short."

Fox crinkle her nose adorably, "Lets just try on an outfit and see how it looks." The slow wicked grin that covered her face was incentive enough to try it.

Trini stared at the reflection in shock. The shorts were a little tight and showed off her ass. Fox's leer at that told Trini that might be a good thing. They hung low on her hips and barely went an inch down her leg. The hole had to be widened to comfortably fit her tail. It had rubbed on the base, and that was just too sensitive for that kind of irritation. Her tail now lashed nervously back and forth, out in the open, for anyone to see. The black of the shorts was a good match for the tail. Trini was reluctant to try the black half-top that Fox brought her, but she did it. She checked several times to make sure that it still covered her when she moved before she agreed to wear it. Her skin was pale against the black of the clothes and the half-top showed some of the stripe up her back. Trini stared at her reflection, "Fox, it needs something." She puzzled over what was missing.

Fox went over to the closet again. "Try this on, but don't button it." She tossed a light-weight flowing short sleeve white shirt to Trini. When Trini put it on it moved in the wind like a cape. That was it, it was perfect. "Yes... I think we've got it." The sun went down and Trini could hear the gargoyles waking. Her heart started to beat faster. They didn't need to go up until a little later, after Elisa told the gargoyles she was coming.

They still had time to do Trini's hair. Trini went into the bathroom and pulled the tape off, biting down several creative swear words at the pain. She didn't have time to do it gently. She'd heal. She then came back out and sat down at the makeup workstation. When she grinned up evilly at Fox, Fox actually blushed. Fox played around with Trini's hair and finally decided on pulling only the sides back into a ponytail. Her hair fell in such a way as to highlight her ears. Fox did a little light makeup around her eyes and kissed her gently on the lips. "You are so beautiful. Don't ever doubt that."

There was a knock at the door. "They're waiting in the Library. I hope you two are ready." David called in. Fox's eyes light up.

"Stand up, I want to see his face when he sees you." She whispered to Trini and motioned frantically for her to obey. She nervously stood and tried to calm her mind. Fox thought she looked okay, but...

"David come in here, I want you to check something out." Fox called out and winked at Trini.

The door opened and it took David a moment to notice where Trini was standing. His eyes widen in appreciation. "Oh... you are absolutely exquisite." Trini lashed her tail nervously. He noticed it and smiled gently at her. "Absolutely exquisite." Fox smiled at David from behind Trini.

"Shall we go?" Fox gently placed her hand on Trini's back to start her into motion. Trini was so nervous. "Take a few deep breaths. They don't bite, and if they do you'll let me know?" Fox joked with her.

Trini stood for a moment outside of the Library to calm her nerves. Fox and David just smiled encouragingly at her and gave her time. She could hear voices in the other room, but didn't hear what they were saying. She nodded to Fox and moved to open the door and go in. She could do this.

Trini pushed open the door and slipped in quietly. The large room had all the gargoyles that had been outside. She felt Fox brush her hand over Trini’s shoulder as she moved past her and further into the room. David gave her an encouraging smile before he followed Fox. Elisa was talking with Goliath in the corner of the room, quietly but animatedly. The other male gargoyles were focused on the Television and didn’t notice Trini come in. Angela was standing next to the bookshelf reading.

“Trini? Do you want to come here?” Fox waved for Trini to follow her into the room. When Fox spoke, everyone’s attention shifted to her and Trini. Trini could feel everyone's eyes on her she began to doubt the wisdom in meeting everyone at once. It would have been much easier to meet them one at a time. Her heart was pounding with her nervousness, but she walked over to Fox. She wanted to cling to Fox’s hand, but forced herself not to. She didn’t want to look like a wimp, not in front of this clan, and definitely not in front of Goliath.

Fox turned to address the staring gargoyles that were still speechless. Why? Did Trini look that odd? “I’d like you all to meet Trinity. She’s from Seattle.” Trini's tail lashed about nervously, brushing against Fox's legs.

“She’s a gargoyle?! Elisa you didn’t tell us that!” The red beaked gargoyle’s eyes widened as he looked at Elisa accusingly. Trini felt a lump in her throat at that one comment. He looked at her and saw a gargoyle, even without her wings. Trini's eyes grew wide as the group of males rushed to move closer to her, she stepped back, nearer to Fox.

"Don't be crowding the lass!" a thick Scottish accent filled the room. The three young male gargoyles slowed down. Trini turned her eyes to the older male in appreciation. He nodded to her and gave her a small grin.

"Hi, I'm Lexington." The small green gargoyle smiled at her and reached out to shake her hand. Trini decided to do that talons out, so the nervous looking males wouldn't cut her. No one noticed her change her hands.

"I'm Broadway." The fat gargoyle smiled gently and shook Trini's hand. Trini could see Angela watching this very carefully. She looked so much like Demona, Trini didn't notice the fond smile that came to her lips. When Broadway blushed, Trini was startled to realize he thought that she was smiling at him. She noticed Angela's eyes burn red for a second. Shit. She let go of Broadway's hand quickly.

"Hi." The red gargoyle smiled at her. The look in his eyes made Trini really uncomfortable. It was lust. "I'm Brooklyn." She shook his hand politely and tried to ignore the creepy feeling he gave her.

Angela walked over to her, "I'm Angela. Don't let these guys bother you." She indicated the assembled males surrounding Trini. Trini smiled and took Angela's hand more firmly than she had the others.

The older gargoyle moved over to the assembled group. "Trinity was it?" Trini nodded. "I'm Hudson." He looked down at the dog gargoyle at his feet, "and this is Bronx." Bronx moved closer to Trini and took a sniff. He sat down and seemed to smile up at her.

"Hi Bronx." Trini smiled at him. She felt kind of like she knew him since she'd seen him in the park. Bronx moved closer, pushing Lexington out of the way so he could rub his head on Trini's leg. She kneeled down to pet him. "You need to be more careful in the park mister." She rubbed his neck.

"That's right. You already met Bronx didn't you?" Elisa spoke, drawing Trini's attention to her. Trini felt a small wave of pain seeing Elisa standing so closely to Goliath.

"I didn't meet him, I just saw him." Trini explained, and when she saw the puzzled look on Goliath's face she continued talking to him. "I found him cornered by Quarrymen. I helped him escape."

He took a few steps in Trini's direction. "Well we certainly appreciate your assistance." He smiled and added, "I'm Goliath, the leader of this clan." He moved closer to shake Trini's hand, and Trini realized that she was going to have to do this. She was going to have to play nice with Elisa's boyfriend. His hands were so large they dwarfed Trini's.

"Nice to meet you." Trini smiled up at him. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Delilah had arrived. She was there for moral support.

"Elisa tells me that you have no clan?" He asked gently.

Delilah walked up beside Trini. "She has clan now." Goliath pulled back a little, surprised to see Delilah. Trini noticed that she made Goliath uncomfortable.

"Oh... well, that's good, but I was asking about the clan you were hatched into." Goliath clarified the question.

Hatched, there it was again. It was weird to hear people talk about hatching. "I was born. Mom was human."

"Human? I didn't think that was possible." The older gargoyle spoke.

"Well, here I am." She motioned to herself with a little bit of an attitude. She was just waiting for the unnatural comment.

"That explains why she looks so human." She could hear Lexington mutter to Brooklyn.

"She still looks fine. Too bad she can't glide, breeding season is almost here." Brooklyn whispered back. They obviously had no clue what Trini could hear. Trini gave up on listening to Elisa explain to Goliath that Trini was also part Fey and that may have had something to do with making her possible.

"Well, it will make her easier to catch won't it." Lexington grinned at Brooklyn, "Not that you'll catch her."

"Oh we'll see." Brooklyn grinned back. They were talking about her like she was some sort of prize that they could just pick up. As if she'd ever consider either one of them even if she were available. Men were the same regardless of species; Trini was glad that she was into women. She had no idea how straight women could deal with that.

Delilah lightly brushing her arm brought her attention back to the conversation she was supposed to be participating in. "So what do you think?" Goliath was asking her. Great, think about what?

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention." She felt stupid having to admit that. Elisa gave her a concerned look that pulled at her heart.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go to the briefing room and tell us about yourself, and what you're doing here. That way you can just say it once and not have everyone pestering you for details." He glanced meaningfully at the young males.

"I... I guess we could." Trini glanced around nervously for Fox. She was leaning up against the bookshelf watching her. Trini gave the red head a small smile.

They were all seated around a large table. Delilah made sure to sit next to Trini. Even though some of the gargoyles gave David and Fox a sour look when they came with them to this room Fox stayed and sat on Trini's other side. While everyone was getting water and sitting she watched them and noticed it. Delilah was right. These gargoyles didn't really like David or Fox. She'd forgotten to ask Fox why. They also seemed really nervous and uncomfortable around Delilah. They were waiting for Broadway to bring in a few snacks, since the gargoyles hadn't eaten yet.

Fox leaned in and whispered in Trini's ear. "How are you doing?" She also reached under the table and squeezed Trini's knee in a comforting gesture. It was a strange feeling being able to feel flesh on her knee. She hadn't been able to wear shorts in over a year. It felt odd to be exposed like this, but no one was acting like it was unusual, so Trini tried to ignore her discomfort.

"I'm okay... I guess." Trini glanced over at Elisa whispering into Goliath's ear. They looked so much like a couple. It felt wrong.

"So, Trini... do you have a boyfriend?" The question came so out of the blue Trini just turned and stared at Brooklyn in shock. She noticed that the entire table had gone quiet, waiting for the answer. Oh God... what does she say to that. The truth that she didn't have one wouldn't really be the whole truth, but... Delilah and Fox had agreed that the gargoyles didn't need to know about... Fox. They wouldn't handle it well. Would they have handled it okay if it were a woman they didn't know? Were there some sort of anti-gay feelings in the clan that no one told her about? Did gargoyles even have homosexuals? She felt like her mind was freezing up. If she came out and they didn't take it well, there was nowhere else for her to go.

"No." She said it quietly, feeling sick. She was looking down at the table, feeling bad about not being able to say what she wanted to say, so she didn't see the triumphant expression on Brooklyn's face. She felt a little better when Fox reached out to take her hand under the table.

Delilah gave her a concerned look and then drew attention away from her. "So, what was Oregon like?"

Goliath answered, of course. "Well, it was very interesting to see how the other clan lives. They live in a wooded area, more like we did in Scotland. Culturally it was a very interesting experience." What Trini was able to read into that is that they didn't find any females, and that was why Brooklyn and Lexington were staring at her like she was the last woman on earth. While they stared at her, they completely ignored the fact that Delilah was a female. This would have upset Trini, but in what little she'd seen of those two, they weren't good enough for her friend.

Broadway came in bearing sandwiches. Trini took one, but wasn't really hungry. It just sat on the plate in front of her.

"So, lass... what brings you all the way to Manhattan?" Okay, now it starts.

"I saw an article on gargoyles. It had a picture of Broadway on it. I could see enough similarities." Trini was having a hard time finding a way to not say it was the wings she'd recognized. "I didn't know what I was. That was the first I'd ever seen of gargoyles."

"You didn't know?" Angela sounded shocked that someone wouldn't know what they were.

"No, mom wasn't too forthcoming with information about my father." Nothing useful at least, she'd heard he was a bastard, a liar, a beast, and he'd abandoned them. "I looked human for most of my life. I started to change, become more gargoyle like about a year ago. That's when I realized that I..." Trini sighed. "I couldn't just continue to pretend I was human."

There was an awkward silence for a moment, until Goliath spoke. "So you came to us. What are you looking for?"

"I was looking for some answers. I want to know what I am. What being a gargoyle means. What being a Fey means. I had other questions, but... I didn't realize I was so unique. I thought... I don't know what I thought." Trini stared down at the table and her uneaten sandwich. She had questions about her immortality, but it wasn't something these people could answer. She had questions about the way her body was changing, but... they'd never seen someone like her before. When she really thought about why she was here, it was because she was alone. Before she came to New York, she was so alone. She swallowed her pride and just said it, "I was so tired of being alone."

Delilah reached out and took the hand that was sitting on the table. "You aren't alone anymore." Trini could feel Fox squeeze her other hand in agreement.

Trini spent some time explaining what she'd been doing in New York while the gargoyles were away. She left out the fall off the building and the fact that Demona had taken her from the park, the PIT meeting, the fact that Andrea was a friend of Domi's, and her relationship with Elisa.

"You sure have been busy." Lexington commented. He didn't know the half of it.

"Oh, but wait... there's more." Elisa commented while looking at Trini pointedly. "We just got her back from Demona." The detective obviously felt she'd waited long enough for an explanation.

"WHAT?!" Brooklyn's eyes burned white as he yelled. The others looked angry and worried as well. Angela more worried than angry. Trini felt extremely nervous. This was too potentially explosive. She took a deep breath and started to try and use the acting skills that Domi seemed to think she had. She glanced at her watch, wishing it was almost sunrise, but it was only midnight.

Day 26

Trini looked around the table at the assembled group. "She grabbed me off the balcony of the apartment." She studied the reactions around the table. Brooklyn was pissed and she hadn't even told any details yet. Goliath looked like he was sick, so did Angela. Broadway was glancing at Angela with concern in his eyes. Lexington looked worried and gave her his full attention. Elisa looked impatient, waiting for information she didn't already know. David just watched her, no real emotion on his face. Trini didn't study Delilah because that would be too obviously looking if she shifted to see her and Fox would make her feel more guilty about doing this, since she knew.

"What did that bitch want?!" Brooklyn hissed out.

"She thought I was a full Fey. She tried to make me do magic for her, but I don't know how to do that." Trini heard David move in his chair.

"She wanted another Puck, didn't she learn from the last time?" Lex muttered angrily. Yes, after what Puck did to her, why would she want anything to do with the Fey? Puck had been sadistic, making her hurt like that twice a day. Trini knew she looked upset and concerned, but since it could work for the act, she allowed it.

"Thank God you didn't know magic, who knows what she would have tried to make you do." Brooklyn was trying to look more sympathetic than angry. Trini could see that he hated Demona, really hated her.

"Lass? What did she want you to do?" Hudson spoke. He was too clever. Thankfully Domi knew someone would ask that, she had an answer.

"She wanted me to make it so that humans turned to stone during the day too." Trini looked puzzled at that, like she didn't know why Demona would ask such a thing.

"Oh God... she wanted to go smashing again." Broadway filled in the answer with horror. Angela was getting pale. Trini felt bad for her, these lies really upset her.

"So... what did she do after you told her you couldn't do magic?" Elisa was studying Trini carefully.

"She yelled and broke a lot of stuff. Then she drugged me and threw me in a cell." Trini and Domi had decided it would be simpler if Trini just pretended she had spent a great deal of time drugged. It meant she had to memorize fewer lies. "Later she noticed... I was different. My eyes, if I hadn't been so upset..." She looked like she had screwed up big. "She had a Doctor there. He took samples of my blood and she told him to get records on me, that I was probably someone's latest venture into genetics." Delilah moved uncomfortably in her seat and Trini could see everyone trying not to look at her. Trini felt bad making her friend so uncomfortable, but she kept going. "I was left alone all day, without food. The next night she came in looking pissed. She said something about it not being secure and drugged me again. I tried to stop her, but... I'm just not as strong as a real gargoyle." Trini didn't have to fake her disappointment with that.

"That must have been after the bomb at NightStone went off. I... looked for you." Delilah sounded so upset. "I tried to find you, I never saw her take you out of there, but... you had to have been there. That would be why she wanted to move you." She sounded so guilty, like it was her fault she didn't find Trini. Trini felt even worse.

"That makes sense. She would have wanted you out of there before the police came to investigate." Goliath added his opinion. With everyone else's help, Trini didn't need to work too hard on the lies. They were helping her and didn't even realize it.

Trini felt someone staring at her, she turned to see David studying her. She couldn't read the expression on his face. "So, what happened? How did you end up in Canada?"

"Canada?! Why the hell would Demona take her to Canada?" Brooklyn turned to look at David then turned intense eyes to Trini.

"I didn't know it was Canada. I woke up in a train car." She held up a talon, "These aren't so good for cutting through metal. I tried for hours to get out of that car." Peppering the lies with truth made it more realistic. That was how she wrote, basing whatever she could on real life, so that was how she lied. Here is where it got tricky. She was the one to check into the hotel, without anyone holding a gun to her or anything. It was something that anyone could find out. "I was gassed and when I came to I was in an alley... she ordered me to get the hotel room. She had cornered a woman. She told me she would kill her if I didn't get that key and open up the room for her." Trini could see the puzzled and disbelieving faces around the table. She knew this made little sense, Demona wouldn't really take a prisoner to a nice hotel. But it was a fact that they couldn't hide. It was next to impossible to explain away. They'd spent much of the time talking this morning trying to come up with a plausible story for it, but... it just couldn't be done. "She said something about trading me to someone, but... something went wrong. She had to take my clothes and leave the next day. She tied me up before she left, but I got loose just before the rescue party came up."

"That doesn't make any sense." Goliath commented on the giant hole in Trini's story. Trini kept her mouth shut, if she tried too hard someone would see through it. As the prisoner, she wouldn't know everything that was going on, it was okay if she didn't know the answers to some questions. She watched the gargoyles look at each other with confusion on their faces.

"Demona used her credit card to get the hotel." Elisa supplied more to be puzzled over.

"She would know that you would be able to track that Lass. What was she thinking?" Hudson addressed Elisa and Trini stayed out of it, wishing that she could just become invisible because she was worried someone was going to ask her something that would show that she was lying.

Lex spoke softly to her, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, just recovering from being drugged too much." Trini glanced at her watch covertly. It was still not very late. She'd been so eager to meet this clan, but... until they dropped this topic, she really didn't want to be there.

Brooklyn sounded really angry, "There's no telling what she did to Trinity while she was unconscious!" Trini flinched at that. This clan really did have a low opinion of Demona.

Angela noticed her flinch and hissed at Brooklyn. "Stop it, you're scaring her!" He had the sense to look guilty about that.

Ugh... Trini had a headache. Fox and David had gone to sleep a little while ago, leaving Delilah to look over Trini. Elisa had gone to work shortly after the meeting. Trini wasn't supposed to notice that Fox and Delilah shared a glance before Fox left. She didn't mind, it was good to have back-up in case she needed to be bailed out of a conversation. The young males were grating on her nerves, they obviously considered her available. She reached up to rub her forehead, trying to ease some of the pain. The clan had been bad-mouthing Demona for a while now, Trini had started to tune them out shortly after they started. She just didn't want to hear it. Apparently Demona had killed humans, her quest wasn't completely without success. She also used magic against the clan on occasion.

She looked up and saw that Angela hadn't been participating in the bashing. She looked sad. "Shut UP!" Trini just growled in the middle of another Demona story that she hadn't been paying attention to. "I get it... Demona bad. Drop it!" Lex shut his mouth quickly. All three males looked shocked, and Hudson and Goliath turned from where they were quietly talking to stare. Trini took a deep breath. Great, now she was insulting the clan, terrific way to start. "I'm sorry, I'm getting a little tired." She apologized; it was getting a little late. They only had a couple hours of night left.

Delilah was by her side instantly. She had been quietly watching this the whole time. "Trini, do you need a ride home?" Trini smiled gratefully at Delilah. She couldn't take any more of the male posturing. Lex and Brooklyn were so blatant in their attempts to out shine each other. It made them both look like asses.

"I could take you home." Brooklyn spoke. Lex looked like he would like to punch him. Looking at Lex's wings, Trini figured he couldn't carry a passenger.

"No, I'd rather Delilah do it." Trini was too tired and her headache was too bad to worry about being sensitive. There was no way she wanted to be in his arms.

He looked a little taken aback by that, "Oh, well... I could accompany you two... you know, in case you run into trouble. With her arms full, Delilah might not be able to handle it." He was putting as much macho into that as he could.

"WE could accompany you." Lex added glaring at Brooklyn. Oh God... she just wanted them to stop. Fox's idea about dressing up was... a big mistake. She wished that she had tried to look uglier, then maybe she wouldn't be the center of the universe to these boys.

"Actually, it would be a good idea if Delilah and you had someone else with you." Goliath spoke and Trini didn't know if she imagined it, but it sounded like he was trying to play matchmaker. Trini turned and gave him a red glare. That ass had Elisa, and now he wanted to make her spend time with the boys! His eyes widened at Trini's hostility. "Uh... maybe Angela could go with you."

"Okay, that sounds good." Delilah answered for her.

"If one more male hits on me I'm going to disembowel him!" Trini growled as Delilah glided with her over the city. Angela was being sort of quiet, but she was near enough to hear her.

"They aren't all that bad." Angela told her, but then looked thoughtful for a moment, "Okay they are pretty bad. They were like that when I got here."

"How did you stop it?" Trini wanted to be able to spend time with the clan without being constantly hit on.

"It didn't really stop until I chose one." Angela's words didn't really comfort Trini. She wouldn't be choosing, but she couldn't tell them she was taken. They might never stop. They landed on Trini's balcony easily, and Delilah gently let her down.

"You ladies want to come in?" Trini smiled at them, hoping they would. "I have ice cream."

"I wish I could, but Talon is expecting me back." Delilah looked irritated with that.

"Is everything okay?" Trini's concern about how the clan treated Delilah after her outburst about Trini came to the surface.

"Yeah... it's just... never mind." Delilah glanced at Angela subtly, so Trini knew that she didn't want to talk about it in front of the other gargoyle. Trini managed to ask with just her eyes if Delilah was okay for now. Delilah nodded. "Maybe I can visit later this week?"

"Anytime." Trini smiled at her. Delilah took off, so Trini turned to Angela, "So... ice cream?"

"No thanks." Angela looked like she was debating with herself about something. "I saw the way you looked at Broadway. I want you to know that he's mine." Trini didn't give any special look to him. Angela's eyes glowed red for a moment. "Keep your hands off of him and we should be fine."

"Ah... okay." Trini didn't know what else to say. She took a step back from Angela.

"Good. I'll see you tomorrow." Angela leapt off the balcony and Trini took a deep breath. Shit. Angela was the only one, aside from Hudson she thought she liked, and she thought that Trini wanted to steal her boyfriend.

The phone rang for the third time, but finally she picked up. "Yes?"

"I'm back home." Trini felt some of the tension of the night fading away as she heard Demona's voice. She moved to sit back on the couch, and put her bare feet up on the coffee table.

"How did it go?"

"Well, they are confused as hell about what you were planning. We expected that, but no one seemed to suspect I was lying." Trini paused, "Except Fox. I..." Trini didn't want to tell Demona that she had ruined the plan by telling Fox it was a lie. "She's planning to hunt down the truth. If you have anything to hide, you better do it, because I get the feeling that she could."

"Shit!" Demona must have kicked something, because Trini could hear something breaking. Then there was silence.

"Are you okay?" Trini felt concerned about her.

A tired resigned voice answered. "I'm fine. I'll be fine." Demona's voice got a little more upbeat, Trini could tell it was faked. "So what did you think of the clan?"

"I... those boys are a pain in the ass." Trini let her frustration out. "Lex and Brooklyn spent the entire night trying to outdo each other. They wouldn't give me a moment of peace."

Demona chuckled at Trini's dilemma then asked, "What about Angela, what did you think?"

"I... I don't think she likes me. She thinks I'm after her boyfriend." Trini felt like she was letting Demona down, because the blue gargoyle obviously cared about Angela. "I'm not though."

"Oh, well... once she gets to know you, you two will hit it off. It'll do her good to not be the only female in the clan." Demona just assumed that Trini would be in the clan.

"I... I don't know that I'll join the clan." Trini didn't want to rush into the kind of commitment a clan must be without understand it or the people she would be linking herself to. One thing she knew is that she couldn't stand to hear the anti-Demona tirade every night.

"You don't want to join the clan?" Demona sounded shocked.

"I don't know. I don't know them. As far as I can figure, Clan is like family. I... I don't want to rush into that." Trini moved her feet to curl them underneath her on the couch. "I don't want to make a mistake." If she couldn't get along with the boys... or Goliath, she didn't want to feel bound to them. Speaking of family, "Angela looks a lot like you."

Demona was quiet for a little too long, "She's my daughter." She told Trini quietly. Trini was shocked and almost dropped the phone. Demona had a daughter? She didn't look old enough to ... oh, immortal as in doesn't age.

"I... didn't expect that." Trini didn't know what to say to that. The clan had been putting down Demona right in front of Angela, without thinking once about how it made the girl feel.

"It's a long story. I might tell you sometime." Demona sounded pretty tired.

"I'd like that." Trini's face held a soft smile. She yawned.

"You need to get some sleep." Demona scolded her.

"Okay. Goodnight, take care tomorrow." Trini felt relaxed enough to sleep now.

"You too." The line went dead and Trini got up to hang the phone up.

Trini was tossing and turning in her sleep violently. When she screamed "No!" it woke her up. Her heart was pounding in fear again. She just laid there on her back until her breathing and heartbeat returned to normal. Your mother should have drowned you at birth. The voice hissed at her, Oh God... what was happening to her? She turned to look at the clock it was only 7 am. She was only able to sleep for three hours again before... she couldn't. She just got up, maybe she could take another nap later.

She tried to write, she really did. She just wasn't able to. It was the worst case of writers block she'd ever had, she couldn't even get a sentence out. She knew the story she wanted to tell, had it all outlined. It wasn't going to happen today. Looking out at the beautiful day she decided to see if Fox was available. She wasn't going to just sit in the apartment watching TV all day.

"Hello?" Fox answered the phone. She didn't sound tired, so hopefully Trini didn't wake her. It was about 9 am.

"Hi." Trini's voice softened with affection as she spoke with Fox. "I can't sleep."

Fox's concern made Trini feel good. "Oh, well Alexander and I were going to go to the zoo today. Do you want to come?"

"I don't want to intrude." Trini couldn't begrudge Alexander time with his mother.

"Honey, you are never intruding. I'd like Alexander to get to know you." Fox's voice's got softer, "Will you come?"

"Okay." Trini hadn't been to a zoo in several years. It might be fun.

Trini was double-checking her makeup. She was actually wearing some, and felt a little foolish for it. This wasn't a date, but she just wanted to look good for Fox. The knock on the door drew Trini's attention.

Trini opened the door and let the two of them in. "Hey, how you doing?" She smiled down at Alexander. She felt a little guilty for crowding in on his time.

He gave her a wide smile. "I'm fine. We're going to the zoo!"

Fox smiled at her. "Can Alexander use the bathroom? He forgot to go at home."

"Sure." She waved over to the bathroom, even though she knew the boy knew where it was. He bolted in there. Trini raised an eyebrow; he obviously didn't have a lot of time to spare.

The weather was perfect for the zoo, not too hot or cold. Trini's pants and baseball cap look didn't seem to stand out and the zoo wasn't too crowded since it was a Friday morning. Alexander's enthusiasm for every animal they saw was fun to watch.

Trini could hear some mother yelling at her little boy to not climb on the railing. When she glanced she could see that the mother had a flock of children, at least four. She glanced at Fox meaningfully. "How many are you planning to have?" In her mind she was begging Fox to keep the numbers down. The kids obviously wouldn't be hers, but... if she stayed with Fox, she'd end up with some responsibility to her kids.

Fox smiled at her mischievously, "What you don't want me to have a dozen?" Trini actually paled at that thought. She was just learning how to treat Alexander. "Don't worry, David and I won't be having any more." Her voice got a little bitter, "It's too hard to keep them out of Avalon."

Trini reached out and ran her hand down Fox's arm in support. They were in public, she would have preferred to hug her. She didn't because she didn't know what the limits were with Fox yet, if they could be affectionate in public. She was guessing not, since David and Fox were slightly famous. The reporters would have a field day.

"JIMMY!!" the mother Trini had been watching earlier screamed, drawing everyone's attention. When Trini saw the woman staring down into the lion den with horror on her face she moved, she didn't even think about it. Trini raced over to the railing and when she saw the little boy lying on the ground she leapt over it, falling the twenty feet and still remaining standing. She stood between the boy, who looked about Alexander's age, and the lions. She could hear the boy crying, so he was alive, but she couldn't take her eyes off the lions for one second. They were circling and Trini was terrified that they would attack.

"Get some rope! We need to pull him out of here!" Trini yelled loudly for some bystander to move. That startled the lions, making them more antsy. Trini crouched a little, into the battle stance that Demona had taught her, and took a deep breath. She couldn't fight these animals, they'd tear her and the boy to pieces. She needed to keep her head, she had to think of a way out of this, preferably a way that didn't expose her as not human. As the lions moved she moved to keep herself between them and the boy.

She heard the little boy try to move. "No, honey you need to stay still. Stay very still." She told him as she eyed the larger lion. She was grateful that little Jimmy finally decided to listen to someone, he stopped moving.

"Trini!" Fox yelled down to her, "I have a rope." She could hear the rope being tossed over the side behind her. How was she going to do this? She had to tie the boy so that he could be pulled out. She moved to back closer to the kid, to see if she could pull him over to the rope. The lions advanced. She felt like screaming in frustration, she couldn't move or they would get closer.

When she heard someone scaling down the wall she panicked. "God Dammit... Fox I don't want to have to protect you too!" The thought of these lions getting anywhere near Fox made her sick. She'd do anything to keep that from happening, anything.

"It's not me!" Fox called down from above. Who else would follow her into danger?

A deep male voice called from behind her, "I'll get the boy tied up. Can you keep them away?"

"Yes." Trini just glared at the lions, she could do it. She heard the boy being pulled up the wall. He started crying louder the higher he got. The lions looked more frantic. Trini tensed when she felt the man move beside her. She didn't take her eyes off the lions to look.

"I'm MacDuff." He introduced himself.

"Trinity" She still focused on the lions.

"As soon as the rope comes back you need to get over there. I can take it from here." This ridiculous comment made her glance at him. He was an older man with white hair and a white beard. He looked like he was in very good shape.

"Do you work here?" Maybe she lucked out and had the lion keeper. He would know what to do. When a lion moved closer to them she moved her attention back to the lion and growled a little. They were far too close.

"No." The man answered. Why would Trini leave an unarmed human in here with the lions?

"I'm more agile than you." Looking at the mass of the man, that was a pretty safe bet. "You get out and I can run and make it out of here before they get me." She heard the rope come down again. "Go."

"No, you go first." The man started to argue.

"Look, if you don't go right now I will toss you to these lions." Trini threatened. She had to be the last one here. She'd survive if anything went wrong. "I promise I can get out of here." She was relieved when he did as she asked.

When the rope came down again, Trini forced herself to remember to make it look normal. She backed up to where she heard it, the lions advancing on her the entire way. Spinning suddenly she grabbed the rope and started to scale the wall quickly. When she heard a lion jump for her she used her feet to push off and moved to another section of wall, trusting that the rope would hold. The lion just missed her, scratching at the wall were she'd just been. She grabbed the railing and pulled herself over it in one smooth motion. Fox and Alexander were by her side in seconds. The crowd around the lion den was much larger than it had been when she jumped in. The loud clapping at her narrow escape made Trini nervous, too many witnesses, far too many. She leaned closer to Fox, "We need to get out of here. I don't want to be on the news."

They snuck away. It was easier than Trini thought it would be, she just did what Fox told her to. She'd miss that shirt, but Fox thought that if she just wore the t-shirt people might not recognize her. It seemed to work, they walked right out the front gates without any problem. Even Alexander seemed to understand that they needed to leave even though they hadn't seen everything. She didn't get to thank that man for the help. She couldn't have done that alone.

They had lunch at Fox's and then Fox took Alexander to take his nap. Trini was beginning to feel like taking a nap too. She was willing to bet that it wouldn't last longer than three hours. That seemed to be the limit. The clock on the microwave said it was 2 pm. She had hours before the patrol tonight. Fox came back in as she stifled a yawn.

"Trini, we need to find out why you aren't sleeping. It's not healthy, it can't be helping you to heal." She took a breath, "I think you need to see the doctor again. I'm sorry, but... I want you to, please." Trini's heart sped up as her fatigue faded quickly. Fox was worried about her, she would have to see the doctor. The lack of sleep was wearing her down, she'd need to do something about it.

"You'll stay with me?" Trini felt like a baby asking that, but she just couldn't trust a doctor. Fox looked relieved that Trini was going to do this.

"Yes, I'll stay."

The doctor found that she was still healing, but had progressed remarkably. No surprise, Trini could have told her that. When Trini described how she woke up every time both Fox and the doctor looked concerned. The Doctor, she had a name but Trini just couldn't see past the lab coat, thought that maybe the traumatic incident that lead to the injury was trying to resurface, and she was waking herself up to prevent it. Fox's eyes got cold, and Trini could guess why. If that were true, then the bullet wound wasn't the worst that she endured.

Whatever she was hiding from herself was horrible. She hadn't even told them about the voices. When she thought of some of the things that the voices were saying she got sick... it couldn't be. Oh, she couldn't let Fox know what she suspected.

"If she deals with the incident, brings it to consciousness... maybe then she'll be able to sleep. Any drugs I give her won't really deal with the problem, and given her unique physiology, might not do what they were intended to do anyhow. That is my guess, but... you might consider going to a psychologist. This isn't my area of expertise." The Doctor was addressing Fox.

"No, I can't have a psychologist try to put me away. You know they wouldn't believe what happened." Trini wasn't going to trust any more doctors than she had to. She was already going to have to trust this doctor too much.

"Well then, I don't know what to tell you. There is no physical reason that you can't sleep." The Doctor looked irritated that she couldn't come up with the answer.

Fox and Trini left the doctor. "I'll go take a nap." She told Fox, who was being too quiet. They both rode up on the elevator. Fox got out to work in her office on one floor and Trini rode the elevator up to the floor the bedroom was on. When the doors opened she didn't get out. She pushed another button, she had some answers she needed.

"Doctor?" Trini nervously tucked her head into the medical facilities, not wanting to really step in. "Can I talk with you in private?" There were a few lab technicians mulling about working on things. That was a little too familiar looking. This whole facility reminded her of the place she lost her wings. The doctor was a middle aged black woman. Her hair was short and she was a little on the heavy side. Trini tried to really see the Doctor as a person, because she was going to have to be able to work with her.

"Trini? Sure." The doctor looked a little concerned about the return. "No Fox?"

Trini took a deep breath. "I don't want her to know about this. Do I have patient confidentiality?"

"Yes, of course." The doctor motioned for Trini to follow her into her office. It was private in there. They both sat down, Trini was nervously fidgeting in the chair. "You're afraid of me?" The doctor seemed surprised by that. "That's why you never see me without Fox?"

"I... I've had some very bad experiences with doctors." Trini tried to ignore the white lab coat and just see the woman underneath. The insightful doctor, who got up and removed the coat, setting it out of sight, helped that.

"Is this a little better?" The doctor asked. Trini nodded yes. "My name is Karen."

Trini gave Karen a weak smile. "Thank you."

"What did you want to talk about?" Karen asked her, Trini could feel her studying Trini's every move.

"I... didn't tell you everything." Trini took a deep breath and let it out slowly to try and calm her nerves. "I've been hearing voices. I think they're memories. Bad ones."

"When did they start?" Karen asked her while she leaned on her desk more.

"After I was shot. I..." Trini thought about how to say this. "I still had my hymen before. I think you need to check and see if it's still there." Trini felt like throwing up. She closed her eyes and turned her face away from the doctor, while she took a few shuddering breaths. She could feel the tears leaking out of her eyes. Karen moved out of her seat to the seat beside Trini.

"Trini?" Karen used a soothing voice. Trini looked up into the older woman's face. "I can take a look and see. It's not very hard. Your memory is so spotty... its too early to assume the worst."

"I don't want any records of this. No one can know that I even thought it might be that." Trini's series of lies didn't include the Quarrymen, and what they might have done to her. She just couldn't deal with it right now, and wasn't going to let anyone try to blame Demona for this one. Mark had said she was pretty, she remembered the threat in his voice when he said it.

"I can do that, but Trini... if it did happen, you need to tell someone." Karen looked at her with sympathy in her eyes.

"I'll deal with that if I have to, but I don't want you telling anyone." Karen nodded that she understood.

"Shall we go back to the exam room?" Karen stood up.

"No, then the people out there will know that we did that. They might tell her." Trini knew that Fox would push for why she was willing to be with the doctor without her.

Karen put her hand over her mouth as she thought. "Well, we could do it in here, if you don't mind lying on my desk." Trini actually preferred doing it in there, it didn't look like a medical facility, just an office.

"That would be fine." Trini swallowed her nervousness and began to remove her pants. "Karen?" Karen looked up from clearing off her desk. "You can't tell anyone about what you're going to see."

"I understand." Trini could see that she did.

Karen looked startled at seeing Trini's tail, but she didn't say anything about it. Trini felt so vulnerable and exposed as she lay on the desk waiting to hear the bad news. "Well, it's still intact." Karen looked up at her. Trini released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Oh thank God. She felt her body just go limp in relief.

Trini stood at the door to the office looking at Karen. "Thank you." She whispered as she opened the door to leave. Fox was standing there staring at Trini intently. "Fox!" Trini was startled and said that a little loudly.

"Trini, I thought you hated it down here. What are you doing here?" Fox looked like she'd been standing there waiting for the door to open. Trini's mind froze.

"Trini, here is the prescription for the sleeping medicine, but I should warn you again that it might not be the best solution." Karen handed her a slip of paper, one that Trini noticed was blank. She quickly folded it up and put it in her pocket.

"Thanks. I just need to try something." She turned to Karen and mouthed a thank you. She just nodded subtly back.

Fox escorted her back to the bedroom for her nap. She really needed it now, the emotional roller-coaster she'd been on that day exhausted her. "Trini, what were you doing down there?" Fox couldn't seem to resist asking.

"I'm sick of not being able to sleep for more than a little at a time. I thought... that she could get me some pills." Trini went with the lie that Karen gave her. "I didn't think about it until we'd left, but with the weekend here... I didn't want to have to wait until Monday." Fox nodded like she believed that.

Trini tried to sleep, but she only got a little. She'd been too busy thinking about how she'd thought she'd been raped. Why would she think that? There was something there, something important she wasn't getting. She managed to doze off for a little while, only because her body so desperately needed it. Her dreams were plagued with memories of the night she found Kelly, but in the dream Kelly was chained down to the ground, lying spread eagle. We plan to party for hours. Some voice called through the trees. Trini couldn't see who it was, but she knew she hated him... hated him with every part of her being. Kelly turned to her and spoke, with such a broken and pained look on her face, "Trini, how could you do this to me?" Trini woke up with a start, breathing heavily, her heart racing again. Fox was there in the bedroom, watching over her. She quietly moved to lie beside Trini and held her. Trini clung to her like she was drowning, because that's what it felt like.

After a while of this quiet comfort Fox spoke. "Trini, do you want to tell me about your dream?" She started to caress Trini's hair.

"I don't remember it." Trini lied, and she didn't know why she did that.

It was almost sunset, so Elisa was outside waiting for the gargoyles to wake up. Trini decided she didn't need to be there for that. She could just wait inside. She didn't want to see Elisa and Goliath together like that. She just wasn't up to it after the day she'd had. She was alone, because if she'd brought Fox, who was all too willing to come with her, it would start to look suspicious. The gargoyles couldn't know that she and Fox were together. Hanging all over Fox would be a dead give away.

Trini was dressed more normally, hoping that it would discourage the males. She looked human today, because she'd hidden her tail away and was wearing her hat. She also had her fanny packs around her waist. She was dressed all in black, like she always did when she went out on patrol. When she heard the roars of the awakening gargoyles she took a book off the bookshelf and sat down. She was trying to make it look like she wasn't just sitting around waiting for them. She wasn't really up for a patrol tonight, she was still exhausted from the day. She was going anyhow because this seemed to be some sort of bonding activity that Goliath wanted her to participate in.

After a few minutes of greetings to Elisa, which Trini could hear, the gargoyles started to wander inside. Apparently as soon as Elisa and Matt had enough evidence to convict the creep that was in charge of the Quarrymen weapons ring he had fled town.

Brooklyn and Lex were a little more controlled today. Trini suspected that Angela said something about how mad Trini was with them. That was fine with her, anything to get them off her case. Things didn't come to a head until they all started to talk about patrol groups.

"I think that I should take Trini with me to the docks." Brooklyn volunteered his opinion on the patrol roster.

Lex quickly disagreed. "No, I think that she should come with us to the park."

Trini glanced at Goliath, waiting to see how he was going to handle this. She was trying to give the guy a chance. She realized she was being unfair. He had no idea that Elisa had been hers, and that seeing them together hurt her so much.

Goliath looked at Trini thoughtfully for a moment. "I think I should take her with me tonight." Trini's eyes widened. That wasn't the solution she'd expected. She didn't want to spend too much time with him. She didn't want him to carry her, to glide with her.

"Can Angela take me?" She finally spoke up. Angela may hate her, but she didn't seem like she wanted to try and kill her. She glanced over at Angela to see that the female was surprised by that question.

"Okay, it's settled... Trini and Angela are with me tonight. We'll cover the warehouses." Goliath told the assembled group. Trini smiled when she heard the males complaining about not having any of the females with them.

"You can hear them, can't you?" Angela moved beside Trini.

"Yeah." Trini smirked at her. "Can you?"

"Yes. And they deserve it." Angela smiled at her. "Why do you want me to take you?"

"I don't feel comfortable having one of the guys do it. I'm just more comfortable with females." Females are the only ones that had taking her gliding so far: Delilah and Demona. "Is that okay with you? I could always just take a cab to the park."

"It's okay. I really think father wants to get to know you." Trini's eyes widened.

"Goliath is your father?" She noticed now that their coloring was the same. Angela was Demona's child, Demona and Goliath's? Why did that bother her so much?

"Yes, he is." Angela looked a little proud at that.

"Are you two ready?" Goliath stepped out of the castle. Not really, Trini thought. She wasn't looking forward to any conversation with him. She had to edit herself so much it was tiring. Angela picked her up gently; looking at her this closely Trini just couldn't get over her resemblance to her mother. Her mother's coloring was much prettier though.

They had been gliding for a few minutes before Goliath glided closer to Angela and Trini. "I wanted to talk with you." He told Trini. "Elisa seems to think highly of you." Trini could feel his eyes on her. She couldn't believe that Elisa would think that anymore. "She asked me if I would be willing to adopt you into the clan. What do you think about that?" That Elisa is pushing too hard and too fast.

"I... It's a little early for that isn't it? I mean, you hardly know me." Trini looked around the night sky nervously. "Clan... it sounds like a big responsibility. I just need to be sure." Trini could feel Angela's surprise that she wasn't jumping for the chance in the way her body tilted a little in the wind, like a stumble.

Goliath was quiet for a little while, so Trini looked back at him. "Well, that makes sense. Maybe after you've had time to get to know all of us, you'll feel more comfortable." He looked a little upset the Trini hadn't accepted right away. He gave a meaningful look to Angela. They arranged a patrol pattern and regrouping place while Trini, who didn't know the area just watched the stars and wondered if she was being stupid turning them down, if her problems with Elisa were coloring her decisions too much.

"Trini? Why did you turn father down?" Angela sounded truly puzzled.

"What if I don't fit in? What then?" Trini had experience with becoming a part of a new family when her mother got married. Once they become family you are stuck with them. "I don't want to tie myself to strangers and then be wrong."

"We could really use another female in the clan." Angela told her honestly, "I don't know if you know anything about Breeding season, but it's coming up." Trini didn't like the insinuation that she would be a breeding female. Trini wanted to explain how that wasn't the case. That she wasn't going to participate in that. "Lex and Brooklyn are really nice when you get to know them. I know that they are coming on too strong right now, but... give them a chance." Trini just quietly listened, biting back the urge to protest. They soared over the warehouses and Trini tried to look and see if anything was wrong on the streets below. She had to cover a yawn.

Day 27

Goliath returned to them and the three of them headed back to the castle. Trini didn't notice when she nodded off in Angela's arms.

"Father?" Angela quietly addressed Goliath. "I think she's asleep."

He flew closer to see. He looked as surprised as Angela did. "You're right. Well, lets try and land softly. I'm sure there's somewhere we can place her for the night." He paused, "Did you find out why she doesn't want to join the clan?"

"She's afraid she wont fit in." Angela studied Trini's human features. "She is very different from us. Her not being able to glide... it makes patrol difficult. I hate to say this, but maybe she shouldn't go on patrols with us."

"You wont always need to be the one to carry her." Goliath was speaking quietly so as not to wake Trini.

"No, that's it. She won't let a male carry her. She'd rather take a cab." Angela readied herself to land on the castle. Goliath followed her down.

"That will make it more difficult for her to get to know Brooklyn and Lexington. I... was hoping that she'd hit it off with one of them." They stood outside studying Trini, who snuggled closer to Angela in her sleep. "Elisa's young friend is rather shy with the males. She'll probably get over it given time." Goliath dismissed his concerns and followed his daughter quietly into the castle. “I hope she reconsiders joining the clan. Elisa spoke so highly of her.”

"Lad your back. You'll never guess what I saw on the news." Hudson started talking loudly, but once he noticed Trini was asleep he got quieter. "No doubt the lass would be tired."

"What do you mean?" Goliath motioned for Angela to set Trini on the couch.

"Trinity was up early protecting the city. She saved some lad that fell into the lion's den at the zoo. At least I'm pretty sure that it was her, the news camera only got a brief shot of her." Hudson looked at Trini fondly.

"Well." Goliath looked down at her, "I guess she's earned her sleep."

Trini's scream woke her up, again. When she opened her panic filled eyes she was startled to see several gargoyles looking down at her in concern. She fell off the couch in her attempt to get away, before she realized she wasn't in danger.

"Whoa...Whoa... everything's okay." Broadway tried to calm her. Trini was panting. She forced herself to take a few deep breaths and try to calm down. She was shaking a little. Oh God... they saw. They saw how she wakes up. How was she going to explain this? Lexington and Brooklyn stared at her wide-eyed, and Broadway leaned down to help her up. She took his hand and let him help her to her feet. She was shocked when he pulled her into what was supposed to be a comforting hug. She stiffened instantly. He let her go, looking even more concerned.

"Are you okay?" Lexington looked at her with concern. Trini looked around the room. The three young males were there and Goliath and Angela came running in the doorway. They looked ready for battle. Especially when Angela saw Broadway so close to Trini. Her eyes burned red, shit… Trini didn’t even do anything. She stepped away from Broadway quickly. When she studied his face, he didn’t seem to have any idea why she’d do that. He wasn’t trying to make a move. Too bad his girlfriend didn’t seem to understand that. Angela’s eyes were still burning.

"Yeah." Trini finally answered Lex, and felt the blush cover her face. She shouldn't have fallen asleep in front of them. She didn't even remember getting back to the castle.

"What happened?!" Goliath called out, obviously still ready to fight. Could this be any more embarrassing?

Brooklyn answered that question, "Trini had a... nightmare?" He looked at her to verify he was right.

She took a breath, "Yeah... just a nightmare."

Trini went outside to stare out at the city lights and to be away from the concerned males. She’d noticed Angela pulling Broadway away to talk as she left. That wasn’t going to be a pleasant conversation, she felt sorry for him. He wasn’t trying anything, was just trying to be a friend, but Angela was probably going to rake him over the coals.

The nightmare… was intense. She was still a little shaky. Mark was in it. He was holding a gun to her. Making her walk into a barn. She remembered feeling terrified, blood, screaming… but nothing concrete enough to tell her what happened. Something really horrible happened in that barn. She didn’t even remember getting out of the train, but she knew without a doubt that the barn was real. Maybe Mark was the one that shot her. He had a gun.

Trini was so involved in trying to analyze the dream that she didn’t notice Angela until she was right next to her. She jumped a little when she noticed she wasn’t alone. The light red glow to Angela’s eyes wasn’t comforting.

“I thought I told you to stay away from him.” Angela’s voice was quiet, almost an intimate whisper. It would be a sexy voice, if it weren’t for the fact that Trini knew it was a threat.

Trini kept her reply just as quiet. “I swear, I am not trying to take your boyfriend.” She was getting tired of this. Angela had seemed nice when they were on patrol, but whenever she felt Trini was moving in on her territory… she became more like her mother, easy to anger. Maybe that would work. “You look a lot like your mother when your eyes glow.” That shocked the red out of Angela’s eyes. Good.

“Angela, can I talk with Trini alone.” Goliath interrupted them. Trini felt like she’d prefer to keep arguing with the girl.

“Okay father.” Angela left quietly. That gargoyle was entirely too territorial. Now Trini was standing outside, alone with the huge lavender gargoyle that Elisa was dating.

“Trinity, that nightmare… what was that about?” Goliath moved next to her, studying her face for clues. “I’ve never heard anyone wake up like that.”

Trini stared down at her feet, trying to figure out what to tell him. The truth was not an option. “Nothing, it was nothing. I don’t even remember it.” The way she held her body rigid and didn’t look at him must have clued him in to the fact that she didn’t want to talk about it. He dropped it.

“Elisa has told me so much about you.” I doubt that, Trini thought to herself. “She says that you’re a writer.”

“Well, I’m trying to be. I finished my first novel, but I still need to get it published. I’ve been working on getting a literary agent to help me with that.” Trini found herself warming up to the topic. “I just haven’t had much luck yet.” She could see Goliath relaxing.

“Well, that is a noble profession.” Goliath moved to sit down for a longer conversation. Trini decided to sit as well. This might take a while. Goliath sat quietly, obviously searching for something to talk about.

Trini took pity on him and started to just talk. “I’m planning to find a job and move to New York.” Idle chit-chat wasn’t Trini’s favorite thing to do. “Seattle doesn't really have anything to hold me there." Or anyone.

"That's good. That will give you a chance to spend time with the clan." Goliath looked like he wanted to say more, but he didn't.

"Yeah... that'll be nice." Trini sighed and looked out over the lights of the city. The silence became awkward, but Trini just didn't know what she could talk about with Goliath. Somehow, asking how his relationship with Elisa was going seemed inappropriate, but that was all she really wanted to know about him. Well, that and what was the deal with him and Demona. She should ask Demona that.

"Well, I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Goliath stood up to leave.

"Thanks." Trini watched him go back into the castle. He probably didn't say any of the things he came out there to say. She really wasn't making this easy on him. He was trying, but she just didn't know how to talk with him.

Trini changed for bed in the guest room. She was going to try and sleep. She couldn't continue on what little she'd been getting. When she heard the knock on her door she got back up.

"Trini? Do you want me to sleep with you tonight?" Fox looked concerned.

"I... I'll probably wake you with the nightmares." Trini stepped back to let her into the room. "Besides, doesn't David mind?" She couldn't imagine him being okay with all the time Fox was spending with her.

Fox smiled mysteriously, "Oh, I've taken care of David."

"Okay, if you want to." She crawled into bed and waited for Fox. She was glad she didn't have to sleep alone. When Fox took off the bathrobe Trini's eyes widened in appreciation. She looked so gorgeous in her emerald green teddy, but that couldn't be comfortable to sleep in. When Fox noticed Trini's response she smiled.

"Like what you see?" Fox's eyes became a little hungry looking.

"You are a goddess. You know that." Trini smiled a little shyly.

Fox laughed. "Yes, I do... but it's nice to hear it once in a while."

Trini was sleeping on her back with Fox snuggled up to her side. The light tapping on the door didn't wake her, but Fox got up to see who it was.

"Fox? I... I was looking for Trini." Elisa's voice woke Trini up. She stayed quiet, hoping Fox could get rid of her. She was too tired to deal with the painful emotions and guilt that Elisa evoked in her.

"She's sleeping. We shouldn't wake her, she hasn't been sleeping well lately." Fox kept the door only opened a bit and used her body to block that.

"I didn't know that you would be here. Are you...?" Elisa's voice sounded so shocked.

"Am I what? Her lover?" Trini could see Fox's body getting a little tense.

"You're married!" Elisa hissed at Fox quietly.

Fox sighed. "David understands, besides... it's none of your business, now is it?" Fox closed the door. Trini could hear Elisa walking away.

"I only got you by default, didn't I?" Fox muttered quietly to herself.

"No, I love you." Trini answered her, startling the redhead. "I just had trouble understanding that I could have you."

"You were awake for all that?" Fox looked at her, the dawn light illuminating them both enough to see each other.

"Yes. You took care of that rather well." Trini grinned guiltily.

"What about Elisa?" Fox asked.

"I loved her too." Trini looked down at the bedspread. She still loved her.

"Enough of this seriousness." Fox smiled gently at her and got back into bed.

Trini woke up suddenly with her heart hammering. Fox was petting her hair. "It's okay baby... it's okay, your safe." Trini tried to get her breathing back under control. "These nightmares are really bad." Fox hugged Trini closer and began to rub her back.

"I know. I need to do something, but I don't know how to stop it." Trini felt close to tears. Waking up terrified took a lot out of her. It didn't feel like she slept at all. Fox's gentle rubbing helped to calm her. "I'm sorry I woke you."

"Don't be." Fox was quiet for a minute, "Do you know what you were dreaming?"

Trini tried to remember. It was so... unorganized... just images came to her. She remembered chains... blood... and laughing. Her eyebrows were drawn together in concentration. "I can't. I just don't know." Her frustration at her inability to remember made her want to scream. It was there, just out of reach.

"It's okay. It'll come to you, you're just not ready yet." Fox continued to rub her back soothingly.

They both decided to just get up. Trini just couldn't fall back to sleep. Fox wanted to go to the mall; she was planning on buying clothes for Alexander this time.

"You're coming with us?" Fox asked Trini as she put the breakfast dishes in the sink.

Trini knew that she should try to work, but... she really doubted that she could. "Sure." It was either that or go sit online or in front of the TV. She went back to... her room, was it really her room? She guessed that it was.

As she looked in the mirror, she worried herself. She was pale, with dark circles under her eyes. She looked completely worn out, which was how she felt. Maybe that was why Fox hadn't tried to touch her yet. Fox was willing to tell Elisa and her mother that they were lovers, but they weren't... not yet. Trini knew that Fox had been offering her more than just to hold her as she slept last night. She'd wanted to take her up on that offer, but something held her back. Fox wasn't pushing it.

Fox, Alexander and her were walking through the mall with several bags. The shopping went well, according to Fox. Trini hadn't been able to stop the woman from buying her more things. This time it was necessities for the bathroom. Apparently that room she'd stayed in last night was hers, if she wanted it. She didn't know how she felt about that. Trini thought it might be too soon for moving in, but she couldn't afford her own place and she had only a couple of days before she had to move. She was afraid that moving in would make David realize what he was giving up by letting her be with Fox. If she took too much of her time, he might change his mind about being okay with them. Trini was sure if Fox had to choose, she'd choose the father of her child.

"Trini? What are you doing here?" Andrea had snuck up behind her. Trini's eyes widened a little.

"Andrea? I'm here with Fox and Alexander." Trini indicated the two with her. "Do you remember Fox?" When Andrea nodded politely at Fox Trini re-introduced her. "Fox, this is Andrea, the artist from the PIT meeting."

"Oh, yes... the one with Dominique." Trini felt herself tense up. That was not the part that she wanted Fox to remember. She could see Fox's eyes narrow a little as she studied the artist.

Trini spoke a little quickly as she tried to steer the conversation away from that. "So, what are you doing here?" She smiled at Andrea who was admiring Alexander.

"Oh, I come here for subjects to draw. My friends aren't all as nice as you were about modeling." Andrea glanced around the semi busy mall. "I draw the people. Looking for inspiration, you know how it is." Andrea knew she was a writer. Inspiration was the lifeblood of both of them.

"Did I hear you right? Trini modeled for you?" Fox absently took Alexander's hand so he wouldn't wander off and addressed Andrea.

Andrea grinned mischievously, "Yeah, was that the longest couple of hours of your life?" She smirked at Trini, she must have known how boring it had been for her.

Trini smiled, "It actually might have been."

"I'd love to see them sometime." Fox's words got to Andrea right away. The artist loved to show people her paintings and drawings. Trini could see her perking up at the interest in her work.

"That would be great! Trini was a great model." Trini really doubted that. Andrea was being polite.

"We were just going to go get some lunch, would you like to join us?" Fox asked Andrea. This was news to Trini, Fox hadn't said anything about eating... oh... Fox was planning to try to pump Andrea for information about Domi. That's not good, not good at all.

"Sure, I haven't eaten yet." Andrea smiled at Trini. Oh man, this was going to suck. She just smiled at the two women, while wishing that Andrea hadn't walked into that trap.

Dammit, Fox knew what she was doing. The seating arrangement she'd herded everyone into put Trini next to Alexander and made her by that fact responsible for helping him with lunch. With her distracted by that, Fox was able to monopolize Andrea's attention more easily. Trini was listening intently for any time that she would need to jump in and steer the conversation into less volatile directions. Domi didn't have a lot of friends, in fact... Trini strongly suspected Andrea and her were it. She had no idea how Andrea managed to make the cut, being human and all. That was also something that Fox was curious about.

"So, how do you know Dominique?" Trini tensed as her suspicions proved true. Fox started pumping for information shortly after they all ordered.

Andrea looked a little surprised by the turn in the conversation, but she answered. "Domi stopped by my sidewalk sale one day. She really liked my work." Andrea smiled fondly at the memory. "She helped me get into a few gallery showings, and now I think my career is about to take off. I couldn't have done it without her."

Trini had to hide a smile with her hand, Domi the art lover, who'd have thought it. Of course Andrea's tendency to only do night scenes and love of painting gargoyles might have something to do with it. She could see that Fox was a little surprised by that story as well. Trini reached into the conversation to pull it away from Domi. "What kind of paintings were you doing then?" Trini knew that Andrea would take a while answering that one. She couldn't talk about her art enough. Trini felt like she was playing a game with Fox. Countering her moves as best she could by keeping the conversation away from what Fox wanted to know. It wasn't easy, Fox was obviously more skilled at it, but Trini had the advantage of knowing Andrea and what would make the artist go into long drawn out answers. Fox actually glared at Trini once after she got Andrea to talk about the type of materials she liked to work with. The answer was so boring that Trini couldn't make herself follow it, but she managed to keep that going for a while even without listening. Of course, this was when her seat next to Alexander came in handy, she could have side conversations with the child and it wouldn't look rude, just like she was trying to keep him entertained.

The ride home was pretty tense. Fox clearly wanted to yell at her, but didn't because Alexander was there. Trini realized that she'd been too obvious in trying to stonewall Fox's attempt to find out more about Domi. That hadn't been too smart, now Fox was going to wonder why she'd do that. She did it to protect Domi's reputation, and because she was afraid that something that she considered minor information would lead Fox to the truth that Domi didn't want anyone to know. Whatever that truth was.

"Why are you fighting me on this?!" Fox marched into the living room. Trini really missed Alexander at that moment. She’d been hiding behind the kid until Fox declared it naptime.

Trini shut the TV off and turned to face Fox from her seat on the couch. “Please, just drop it.” She pleaded. Fox’s investigation into what had happened really worried Demona, and that worried Trini.

“I can’t!” Fox hissed, “I can’t just let her get away with this. She shot you! Who knows what else she did!”

Trini didn’t know what to say to that. Fox knew she had lied, but she had no idea how much. “Fox… I don’t think she shot me.” She spoke quietly and turned to study the blank TV.

Fox was quiet for a moment. “How do you know that? You don’t even remember what happened!”

“Fox…” Trini turned to face her. She could see how frustrated Fox was with the lies. She couldn’t blame her. If she were in Fox’s position, she would be too. “She didn’t… she just didn’t. Please.” Trini, how could you do this to me? The voice was louder than ever. It was full of so much pain and anger. Trini tried to just ignore it.

"I know I told you I wouldn't pressure you... but I can't. Trini... talk to me." Fox pleaded with her. Trini really wanted to, she needed someone to talk with about this, but she knew that if anyone knew that she was Demona's friend she would be forced to choose.

She felt so frustrated being placed in the middle of this feud between Demona and apparently everyone else. "The nightmares aren't Demona's fault either." She sighed, "Please drop this. Stop looking for someone to blame. I'm here, and I'll be okay. I just need time." Fox left the room angrily, but Trini didn’t chase after her. She was going to lose her if she kept up this charade. She needed to talk with Demona, explain what was going on. Ask for permission to tell just one person the truth.

She went to the nearest ATM machine and took out the last of her money for cab fare. She’d tried to call Domi at home, at her office, at Andrea’s. She’d had no luck. Now she was just going to travel to NightStone on the off chance that she was there. She had so much work to do… that she might be. It was only 3:30, there was lots of daylight left.

The cab dropped her off in front of the building. There were a surprising number of people working on a Saturday. She’d put on another business suit that Fox bought so she wouldn’t stick out. She took the elevator up to the tenth floor and walked down the nearly deserted hallway to Domi’s office. She was relieved when she heard Debra talking on the phone. Domi actually might be in.

She walked into the office and Debra immediately straightened up in her chair. “Hello Ms. Stephens.” She was recognized as a friend of the boss, and that came with privileges.

“Hello Debra. Is Ms. Destine available?” She asked.

"She's with someone right now. She absolutely did not want to be disturbed." Debra was obviously quoting Domi exactly.

"Okay, well... I can wait." Trini sat down on the couch and started to read the magazine.

About a half hour later the door opened and a shifty looking man with long brown hair walked out. Great, this must be one of those less than legal things that Domi was a part of. Trini really didn't want to witness that. She sighed in disappointment, and waited for Debra to tell Domi she was there.

"You can go in now Ms. Stephens." Debra came out of Domi's office and told her.

"Trini?" Domi was seated at her desk watching Trini with... suspicion? What the hell did she do to warrant that?

"Domi, are you busy tonight? I really need to talk with you." She glanced to the front office meaningfully. She didn't want to risk anyone overhearing what she had to say.

"Well, I have... plans for later, but we could have dinner at my place." Domi looked at the clock. It was almost 4:30. "I was planning to finish up a little more work before leaving." She seemed a little uncomfortable with Trini being there.

"I could go hang out somewhere for a while. How much longer until you're off?" Trini was a little disappointed. She would need to find something to occupy herself, and the magazines out there were mostly crap.

"I need about an hour." Domi studied Trini for a moment. "I don't have anymore appointments for today. You could stay in the front office if you want." In other words, I don't want you to see what I'm doing. Domi was definitely doing something at least immoral, probably illegal.

"Sure, no problem." Trini got up and left, closing the door behind her so Domi could work. She really had to pick her battles carefully with Domi or she'd alienate her. She just hoped that whatever she was doing wasn't too bad.

Debra left work at five. Leaving Trini alone in the front office with nothing to do. She'd already read all the magazines she was willing to read. She moved to sit and stare out the window. It was a clear and beautiful day, but she just felt drained. She loved Fox, really loved her. What was she going to do if Fox couldn't accept that Demona was a part of her life? Demona needed a friend more than anyone Trini had ever seen before. She liked the woman, enjoyed spending time with her. Trusted her. She trusted the one person that everyone says is untrustworthy.

She was looking very miserable and contemplative as she stared out the window when Domi came out of her office. "Trini? What's wrong?" Domi moved to sit next to her, looking a little concerned.

"A lot." Trini whispered, "There's a lot that's wrong. Can we go now?"

Domi reached out a hand and caressed a coil of Trini's tail through her pants. It felt nice, tingly. Trini let her and just bowed her head to accept the caress. It was far enough down the tail to not be overly sexual, just extremely comforting. Domi spoke softly, "Okay, we can go now."

When Gregory drove them up to what could only be called a mansion, Trini couldn’t help but be impressed. Domi smiled at her like she could read her mind. “You have a beautiful home.”

“Thank you.” Domi seemed pleased that Trini liked it. She had Gregory drop them off at the front door. The inside of Domi’s house was unbelievable well furnished. Trini absolutely loved her taste.

“Did you decorate this yourself?” Trini glanced around the living room. This was the kind of home she’d always wanted, her dream home. It had a huge yard, lots of privacy, large rooms, and was beautifully furnished. She hadn’t even seen all of it.

“Yes.” Domi smiled at her. “Would you like something to drink?” When Trini nodded Domi started to walk down a hallway. Trini followed her into a large kitchen.

They sat at the kitchen island. “Trini, you look like hell. Are you sleeping at all?”

Trini set down her orange juice and sighed. “I’ve been having nightmares. I can’t sleep for more than a couple of hours at a time.” She suddenly felt the weight of her exhaustion now that attention had been drawn to it. “Fox is determined to find out what happened. The gargoyles witnessed one of my screaming myself awake fits last night. Everything is a mess.” Trini’s voice got quieter, “I know you said to let it go, but… it won’t let me.”

Domi was quietly staring at the counter. “Trini…” she trailed off. Trini could see that Domi was upset, so she reached out across the kitchen island to take her hand.

When Domi tried to pull her hand free Trini protested, “Please… don’t pull away from me now, I need you.” And you need me, what we went through was hell, and you’re the only one forced to remember it, Trini thought.

She could see Domi taking a deep breath and pushing her own vulnerability away. “Trini, there are drugs to take for sleep.” She thought for a moment, “There might even be some spells I could do to help you.” Spells? Trini was surprised at that.

“I… heard that you can do magic. Are you part Fey too?” Trini let Domi change the subject for now.

“No, the Fey aren’t the only ones that can do magic. It’s just a different type of magic.” Domi explained. She wasn’t trying to pull her hand away from Trini anymore.

“I… I don’t know about magic.” Trini didn’t feel comfortable with using magic to deal with her problems. Trini could see that Domi thought she didn’t trust her. “No, I trust you. You wouldn’t hurt me, I know that.” In spite of what others said, she just couldn’t shake that feeling that Domi was her friend. Domi looked surprised at the trust Trini had in her. “I just don’t trust magic. It hasn’t worked so well for you.” She referred to the pain that her transformation caused.

“Well, that’s a first. I’ve never seen a Fey that didn’t like magic.” Domi said sarcastically, pulling her hand away. Trini missed the contact.

She forced herself to grin, “Well, I told you I’m not much of a Fey. I can hardly do anything.” She took another drink from her glass.

“What… what are your dreams about?” Domi sounded a little hesitant to ask.

“I think the memories are starting to come back.” Trini thought for a moment and decided to be completely honest. “I get images that don’t make a lot of sense yet, but I get the feeling that it will. I also hear voices when I’m awake.” Trini got up to move around and sit beside Domi. “Whatever happened was hell, wasn’t it?” She said softly while slowly reaching out to take Domi’s hand. “I’m worried about you. You’re bearing this burden all by yourself…” Trini looked into Domi’s startled eyes, “I have my suspicions about what happened. I want you to know that I care about you, that I want to be there for you.” Trini thought she had figured out what she was missing during her time waiting for Domi in her office. She hoped that she was wrong, but she didn’t think so.

Domi pulled her hand away from Trini almost violently and stiffly walked over to the sink. Trini realized that she was a woman that used anger and rage to cover up her other emotions. She was seeing a slow build up that was probably going to be directed at her. Domi was getting stiffer; her hands clenched the counter until her fingers turned white. Trini mentally prepared herself for the storm. “How Dare You Presume!” Domi spoke loudly as she spun around to face Trini with a cold glare. Trini stood up nervously as Domi marched over to her. “You little half-breed freak!” The slap was loud and stung her cheek. Trini knew that it would leave a mark as she reached up her own hand to hold her injured cheek. She made no move to retaliate, just lowered her hand and waited for Domi’s next move. Her heart ached more with the nasty words than the slap. She ignored the tears falling down her face as she watched Domi. She could see that she was right in the way that Domi reacted. Those bastards hurt her, raped her.

When Domi didn’t move, but just stood staring daggers at Trini, she slowly reached out with both arms to hug the stiff, angry woman in front of her. Domi’s face showed her pain and confusion at the embrace. Trini moved closer to hug her more tightly. She was not going abandon her now, no matter how hard Domi tried to push her away. She had to make Domi see that she was here for her. Domi pushed on her, trying to make her let go, so she did. Domi screamed, the scream rivaled the one she gave when she transformed. She was in a lot of pain.

When Domi’s eyes grew angry again, Trini waited tensely. “Humans are slime, vermin… they need to be exterminated!” Trini took a hesitant step closer to Domi and wrapped her in another hug. Domi pushed, tried to escape, but this time Trini held on and rubbed her bruised cheek against Domi’s tear stained one. Eventually Domi stopped fighting the hug. Trini could feel her body shaking with silent sobs in her arms, so she tightened the hug and kissed her cheek. She felt like her heart was breaking for her friend, but she held that in. Domi needed her to be the strong one right now. She felt Domi’s arms encircle her in a hug and she was relieved that Domi was reaching out to her.

After the tears were done, Domi obviously didn’t want to talk about it. Trini stopped pushing when it became evident that she wasn’t ready. She got Domi a new glass of juice and cleaned up the one that she’d thrown against the wall. She then looked around the kitchen and started to make dinner for the two of them. Domi just watched her. “So, how are things with the clan?” Domi’s voice sounded a little raspy from her previous tears.

“Goliath asked me to join the clan.” Trini turned from the pot of boiling water to look at Domi, “He was pretty surprised when I didn’t just jump at the chance.” She could see Domi’s confusion about why she would turn that down. “Angela is probably about ready to punch me. She is convinced that I’m after Broadway.” Trini rolled her eyes, “As if he was some sort of prize. Pretty girl like that, I just don’t see it. Of course looking at the competition, the nerd and the macho man, I guess she picked the least offensive one.” She stirred the spaghetti noodles. “Goliath is under the mistaken assumption that if I spend time with the guys, I’ll decide to mate with one of them.”

“You might like one of them, it could happen.” Domi was studying her intently.

Trini felt nervous, but… “I’m gay.” Her body stiffened up as she waited to see what the ancient gargoyle was going to say about that.

Trini was concerned when Domi put her hand over her mouth and her body started shaking. Was she crying? She looked harder and was surprised to realize that Domi was laughing. She was laughing silently. “Oh… Oh… I want to be there when you tell them. Maybe you could tape it for me.” Her laughter was audible now. “Brooklyn will be devastated.”

Trini just tended to cooking until the laughter died down. She turned to study Domi with vulnerable eyes. “Oh, Trini…” Domi got up from her seat and moved to hug her, “I’m not laughing at you. Just Brooklyn’s incredibly bad luck with women.” Trini was so relieved that Domi had no problems with hugging her now that she knew. She felt a little better when Domi sat back down. She double checked that everything on the stove was fine and sat next to her, taking a drink of her juice.

“Is there such a thing as gay gargoyles? Will they be okay with me?” Her insecurity was very apparent.

Domi thought for a moment. “I’ve seen a few gargoyle same-sex matings, but… Goliath is so intent on getting eggs for the rookery, I just don’t know.” She sighed, and then growled angrily, “The humans have almost exterminated us. I could see some gargoyles thinking that it was your duty to breed.” Trini paled and Domi calmed down a bit. “Don’t worry, you can always come to me. I’ll beat some sense into them if they don’t understand.” Domi reached out to play with Trini’s hair. “So, do you have a mate?” She asked softly.

“I… yes.” Trini felt a little uncertain about it.

“That doesn’t sound too definite. Why?” Domi leaned back to study her.

“It’s complicated.” Trini sighed, “She’s married.” Domi’s eyes widened a little at that.

“Fox… you’re more than magically bound to her, aren’t you?” Trini gave a weak guilty grin to Domi.

“Oh, Trini… the clan will never accept that. No gargoyle has ever… shared a mate like that.” Domi’s voice held a little disapproval.

“That’s why we don’t tell them. Delilah figured they’d have a problem with it, that and the fact that they don’t like Fox to begin with.” Trini wanted to say something to get that disapproving look off of Domi’s face. “I love her… we’re linked magically… and she’s keeping me out of Avalon. I’ll… learn to deal with David. He doesn’t seem to have any problems sharing.”

“Avalon? That’s right.” Domi sounded a little shocked, “I forgot. They would want to take you away.” When the timer went off Trini got up to take the French bread out of the oven. She didn’t see the concerned look on Domi’s face.

“About Fox.” Trini was very nervous bringing up this subject after the recent revelations. “She’s on the war path and hunting down information. I’m afraid that if I don’t give her something…” Her voice got a little quieter, “I’ll lose her. We had lunch with Andrea today, I was a little too obvious in blocking her attempts to pump Andrea for information about you.”

“Andrea?!” Domi was obviously upset with this turn of events.

“We ran into her, and before I knew it Fox had invited her to lunch. I didn’t know what to do.” She sighed, “So I kept turning the conversation to her art. I kept her talking about art. You know how she is. Fox didn’t get anything out of her, but she’s pissed at me.”

Trini just watched Domi, who looked deep in thought. “Well, do you think your lover can keep a secret?”

Trini didn’t bother explaining that they weren’t lovers just yet. “Yes, she can.”

Domi sighed, “I don’t want anyone to know… about what happened, but if you tell her that we were captured that might stop her searching for information. If we’re lucky.”

“Domi? The men…” Trini wanted to know if they were alive, because she would really like to hunt them down.

“Dead. I don’t want to talk about this again Trini.” Domi stated flatly.

“Okay.” Trini could drop it for now, but she couldn’t resist adding, “I hope they died horribly.”

“They did.” Domi glanced at Trini with some unreadable expression that Trini knew meant something important. She just had no clue what.

It was almost eight when they were washing the dishes after eating. “Domi?” Trini turned to her.

“You know my real name and you just plain refuse to use it, don’t you?” She didn’t sound angry at all. She sounded a little amused.

Trini grinned at her, “Yeah… I know.” She felt a little shy suddenly. “We should do this more often.”

Domi studied her quietly, “Yes… I think we should.”

Domi called a cab for Trini, since Gregory never worked very late… for obvious reasons. They were pretty far from the Eyrie building, or Trini’s apartment. This was going to cost. “Trini, you don’t have enough money do you?” Domi was beginning to read her expressions alarmingly well.

“No, I’m flat broke.” She admitted with embarrassment. It was her own poor planning that put her in this mess.

Domi just went to get her purse and pulled out some money. “This should cover the cab fare and give you enough to survive for a while.” Trini’s eyes widened as Domi handed over a few hundred dollars.

“You don’t have to…” Trini started to protest. She didn’t want Domi to feel like she was using her.

“Trini.” Domi sounded a little intense, “let me do this for you.” Trini could see that it meant something to Domi to give her the money. She just nodded and accepted it.

When they saw the cab coming up the driveway they started for the front door. “Domi…” Trini stared into her friend’s eyes, “If you ever need me, call. I don’t care what time it is.” She brushed a stray hair that had fallen out of that horrible bun behind Domi’s ear. “I left my cell phone number on the kitchen table. I have a new one now, hopefully I won’t fall on it again.” She grinned.

It was dark by the time the cab stopped in front of the Eyrie building. Trini was so tired. She might just drop in and say hello to the gargoyles that hadn’t already left for patrol and check in with Fox before taking another cab to the apartment to sleep. She’d almost nodded off in the cab.

Once the doors to the elevator opened up on the castle floor Trini realized that she should have probably called to say she’d be late. Fox, David, Elisa and Owen were standing there staring at her. Perfect. She took a deep breath and walked out of the elevator. She was too tired for this.

“Trini, the clan is out looking for you. We thought you’d been abducted again.” Elisa looked like a stern mother at that moment.

“Well, you better give them a call, because I am obviously fine.” Trini was a little irritated at the attitude Elisa was giving her. She was a grown woman, not some teenager with a curfew.

“Where the hell were you?” Elisa continued.

“Out.” She glanced at the four standing there. “I was out, and now I’m back.” She tried to tell Fox with her eyes that she was sorry for scaring her. Owen and David seemed to get the hint that she didn’t appreciate feeling ganged up on.

“Well, I for one am glad that you’re okay. I have business to attend to, so I’ll see you later. I’ll send a message to the others so they can stop looking.” David excused himself and Owen followed him, that left Trini in the hall with Fox and Elisa.

“Look, I’m sorry I forgot to call.” Trini sighed, “I’m not used to having people worry like this. I’ll try and remember in the future.” Elisa backed off with the attitude and Fox stepped closer to hug her.

“Please don’t forget again. I was worried about you.” Fox kissed her gently. Trini could feel Elisa’s glare with her eyes closed.

“I’m going to the apartment tonight. I should make some attempt to stay there once in a while, since that was the agreement I made with Trish.” Trini would have rather stayed here, in Fox’s arms. She looked into Fox’s eyes, “Tomorrow, we talk.” She could see that Fox understood that she was going to tell her what she wanted to know.

“Good. I’ll see you then.” Fox smiled seductively at her. She leaned in and whispered, “Try to get some sleep baby, you look completely beat.”

“I can give you a lift to the apartment.” Elisa volunteered, surprising both Fox and Trini.

“Ah… Okay.” Trini wasn’t rude enough to turn down that offer. She did want to try and salvage her friendship with Elisa. As she and Elisa stood waiting for the elevator doors to close Trini mouthed to Fox, “love you.” and smiled softly. Fox relaxed and smiled back.

Elisa and Trini were quiet on the trip down and Trini followed Elisa to her car. Once they were on the way, Elisa started to talk. “Goliath told me you turned his offer of joining the clan down. Why?”

“I want to make sure I’ll fit in first. I don’t want to make a mistake.” Trini stared out the passenger side window.

“It doesn’t have anything to do with us, does it?” Elisa sounded tense.

Trini sighed, “I don’t know, maybe.” She wasn’t sure why she was so reluctant.

Elisa was quiet for a while as she drove. “Goliath told me he feels you’re being distant with him.”

“I have to be Elisa.” Trini sounded a little irritated, “You don’t want him to know about us, and he will eventually figure out how I feel about you if I talk with him too much. He doesn’t seem stupid.”

“Trini… you need a clan. Don’t let what happened between us ruin that for you.” Elisa sounded a little shaken. She pulled up in front of the apartment building.

“Elisa…” Trini looked over at her. She still made Trini’s heart ache. “I’m trying, but… it’s so hard.” She got out of the car and quietly spoke before closing it. “I still love you.” She quickly moved into the building, trying to race the tears that were starting to fall down her face.

She was surprised that she didn’t run into Margo. That woman was always around when she didn’t want to talk. She turned on the lights in the apartment went through the process of getting ready for bed mechanically. She should have never told Elisa she still loved her. That was stupid.

Trini fell asleep around eleven, but tossed and turned with disturbing dreams. She didn’t notice the blue gargoyle that landed on her balcony quietly. “Trini… there are just some things that are better left forgotten. If you knew what I was sparing you from, you would have agreed.” Demona whispered and pulled out a spell. The swirl of magic didn’t wake Trini up as it entered her. Her body relaxed as the dreams faded away. Demona checked the sky for other gargoyles before leaping off the balcony. “Get some real rest my friend.”