In Forty-Five Days (Part 1: June) – By Princess Alexandria

A remake of In Thirty Days (originally started in 3/2002)

June 1st

Trini entered the small New York apartment and put down her luggage with a sigh. The bags had been unruly, even though she'd packed as light as possible for the trip. In spite of her efforts there was no getting around needing things when she was going to be away from home for months. If she couldn't make some progress over the summer she was going to have to go back home, and hope for enough money to fall in her lap to let her come back and get her own place to stay. New York was the only lead she had, and she wasn't going to waste it.

She looked around her stepbrother's best friend's place. She'd never even met the woman who was letting her stay here rent free while Trisha was in Australia working. The small one bedroom apartment was clean and uncluttered. The windows were large and overlooked the city. She wasn't in the penthouse, but close enough. She had a good view of the sky over Manhattan. It was a beautiful summer day. How much did a place like this cost? Trini stretched out her sore neck as she moved closer to the windows. This Trisha must have a pretty good job, the view was spectacular.

"Hello?" The voice startled Trini, and she turned to see that she had forgotten to close the door. "I heard that Trisha would be having a friend housesit." The blond mid thirties woman smiled at Trini, "I'm Margot Yale, your new neighbor. And you are?"

Trini walked over to the door, smiling, "I'm Trini Stephens. Nice to meet you." Trini felt a bit awkward with the visit. It felt like Margot was trying to size her up. This woman smile looked just a touch phony, as if she'd practiced it many times in the mirror in her attempt to seem interested and friendly. Trini was trying to think of some polite way to get rid of her visitor when a man in a business suit and short brown hair walked up.

"Brendan, you have got to meet the new neighbor, Trini." Margot called to the man.

"Nice to meet you." Brendan smiled charmingly at her, he seemed a bit more genuine. "Trini, that is an unusual name. Where are you from?"

"Oh, Trini is short for Trinity. Mom was a little odd. I'm from Washington State."

Margot perked up, "So how do you know Trisha?"

Trini mentally rolled her eyes, she had heard that she should watch out for the Yales, they were the local noisy neighbors. She would just have to keep this impromptu interview short. She had plans. "I don't. She's a friend of my brother. They went to school together. I was just lucky she had a place for me to stay."

"Really. So what are you doing in our fine city?" Margot set down her grocery bag, obviously setting in for a long conversation.

"Oh, I'm a writer," the half truth rolled off Trini's tongue with ease. She was a part time writer, but that wasn't why she was there. "I have research that I need to do. Oh, damn…that reminds me, I need to get ready to get to the library before it closes. I haven't even showered yet." It sounded very obvious that she was trying to get rid of her guest. Trini felt a little bad about that even though she didn't like Margot. Some people you just have a feeling about instantly.

Brendan spoke up, Trini had the impression that he didn't do that often. "Oh, well we don't want to keep you. Perhaps we can have dinner sometime this week and you can tell us about your current project."

"Oh, yes. You must come to dinner!" Margot leeched on to the idea quickly.



"Well, I don't know if I will have time. I have a lot to do. If I don't get it done I'm out of luck. Maybe, if I find time." Trini tried to brush them off politely.

"Yes, well we live in 1723, so come by if you can." Brendan started to guide Margot away, "nice to meet you."

Trini closed the door as soon as she could, and went to unpack. She pulled out her maps and other printouts she made before leaving home. She had detailed directions to the library and it should be open a little longer even on a Saturday.

June 2nd

Trini woke up around lunchtime the next day and rolled out of bed with a groan. The time difference was a bit painful, it would still be early morning in Seattle and it felt like it even though the daylight leaking into the room was clearly later.

Leftover Chinese food was good cold, so she stood over the sink to eat from the carton as she considered the nearly empty fridge she'd inherited for the visit. She couldn't afford to eat out all the time. Her savings was already severely depleted from the airfare. She glanced at the printouts and research she got from the library the night before and sighed. She'd much rather work, but she was going shopping first.

The trip to the grocery store was pretty short in the big city, and Trini was grateful. She didn't have a car with her, she didn't want to try and drive in New York. She pulled her directions out of her pants pocket and stared at it again. The person she asked had been really nice about giving her directions to the store. Somehow Trini hadn't even considered looking that up when she was doing her pre-travel research. His hasty scrawled words and drawing showed that she still had a block to go, so she turned down the busy sidewalk and immediately noticed the commotion.

A group of men were handing out flyers. Trini tried to walk a little closer to the buildings to avoid them. They looked tough and their eyes held some menace as they looked at the crowd and the people passing by.

"These beasts are a danger to all of us!" one of them started yelling, gaining some attention from the passersby. "These Gargoyles attack people. It isn't even safe to go out at night anymore!"

Trini, looked around the busy street. Like being out at night in New York had ever been safe. Idiots. She was startled when one of the men held out a flyer to her. "We are having a meeting this Saturday. You should really come." His voice was soft, gentle, and flirty. Trinity's eyes widened as she studied him, not taking the flyer. He mistook her stare for interest, and smiled, "I'm Mark." Trinity noticed the large print on the flyer in his hands said Quarrymen. It figures, the second day here and already she was meeting the local fanatic group.

"Trini. I…I'm just visiting. I don't live here." She started to walk away, but Mark stepped in front of her again. "Well hello Trini. You should really come by Saturday anyhow. See what we're about." He was obviously trying to be seductive. He was very attractive, well built, and shoulder length brown hair. He probably thought this act would work on all the women he met.

"No…thanks. Too busy. Gotta go, bye." Trini dismissed him and walked around him. She could feel his eyes follow her into the grocery store.

She left the small neighborhood grocery store with two bags. She really couldn't carry any more than that. Outside the store the Quarrymen demonstration had taken a bad turn. She gritted her teeth and damned the store for only having one exit. Right into the mess.

The vocal Quarryman was yelling at a woman wearing a red bomber jacket and jeans. "The Gargoyles are monsters! The people who harbor them are TRAITORS TO THERE RACE!" The woman just brushed a lock of her black hair out of her face and continued to talk with the man next to her. Looking into the enraged faces of the gathered quarrymen, Trini felt 

that something really bad was going to happen. Was that woman an idiot?! Couldn't she see that she wasn't safe here?! Trini knew that she should just get out of there before everything went to hell. She really wanted to just leave, but…something in her just couldn't ignore people in trouble. Silently cursing her altruistic tendencies yet again, she marched over to the woman and her friend. A small part of her wanted to hit them with her groceries for putting her in this position. Trini was very aware of the Quarrymen glaring at her back as she moved toward the couple ignoring the taunts.

As she got closer she could overhear the man over the ranting voice behind her "They have all the permits they need Elisa, I checked." She didn't really pay much attention, just plowed into their conversation. Her irritation with the situation came across quite clearly, she knew she sounded like a bitch and didn't really care. Damned woman didn't have any sense of danger.

"Look. I am sure that your conversation is truly fascinating, but if you hadn't noticed those assholes over there are pissed at you. This isn't a safe place to CHAT." Trini tilted her head to indicate the group of men glaring their way. Mark was just watching her, which really didn't make her any more comfortable than the glares did.

The woman just gaped at her, while the man grinned mischievously and talked with that woman, "Well, Detective Maza, it is now official. There is no good reason to stay here." He winked at Trini, who's jaw dropped when she found out she had just snipped at a police officer. Oh God! Was that against the law?!

Detective Maza noticed her shocked expression, and looked like she might almost laugh at Trini's discomfort. "Thanks for the warning." Trini could hear the amusement in her voice and started to relax.

"Oh…okay…bye." Embarrassed Trini started to walk back to the apartment with her groceries. After she put away the groceries in the apartment Trini decided to take another shower. New York was just so warm this time of year. As she took off her baggy cargo pants she sighed. It would be so nice to be able to wear comfortable short once in a while. Still wearing her t-shirt she looked into the mirror. "Clever…really clever. Should have just left it alone. I can't believe I said that to a cop!" Trini swept her hair behind her ear, and studied her reflection. Her black hair fell below her shoulder. She knew that people thought she was attractive, with her delicate frame and pronounced cheekbones. She just didn't see it. She pulled off her t-shirt and bra and stepped into the cool water.

June 3rd

The pile of work from the library didn't last long and Trini found herself walking up the library steps again on Monday. She spent hours pulling articles, making notes, and generally developing a rather sore neck from all the leaning over books she'd been doing. As she slung her bag over her shoulder she stretched her neck out and heard a satisfying pop that helped with her tension. The last article had made her blush in embarrassment as she recognized the police officers that she had so rudely talked to yesterday as being part of the Gargoyle Task Force. That was just great…

Trini was so lost in berating herself that she didn't see the child stop in front of her and plowed right into him, making him drop all the books he was carrying to the ground. At least he was still standing. "Oh, honey…I am so sorry." Trini bent down to help the kid, he must have been about three or four, not that Trini could really judge that. She didn't have much to do with kids. "Let me help you get these. You sure have a lot of books here." She grinned at him, silently grateful that he wasn't crying.

"Alexander?" Trini heard a woman's voice behind her. Good, the kid's mom. At least I don't have to try and find her. Can't leave a little kid like this alone.

"Mommy!"



Trini turned to greet the mother and explain herself. Her eyes widened. The woman was absolutely gorgeous: Beautiful red hair, pale complexion. She had some sort of tattoo on her face. Trini stared at it for a second, then noticed that the eye it surrounded was staring at her, crinkled with amusement. Trini felt her face blushing and wanted to sink into the floor. Whenever she blushed it was always very noticeable. Her skin was just about as pale as this woman's. She looked down to try and compose herself. "Hi…I accidentally ran into him. I was just trying to help him pick up all his books." She continued to assemble the books, geez, who'd have thought such a small boy could carry so many books. There must have been about fifteen of them.

"Oh, well thank you." The red head held out her hands to accept some of the books. Trini just handed them over. "My name is Fox, and this is Alexander." She indicated the child, who was trying to look very studious, clutching the books he managed to pick back up to his chest. "And you are…" Fox smiled at her. It almost sounded like a lesson in manners for the child, since most people didn't introduce themselves to strangers like this for no reason.

"Trinity…I'm Trinity" she started to hold out her hand, but realized that Fox's hands were now full. She awkwardly moved to brush her hair back out of her eyes. "Well, Alexander. Nice to meet you. Sorry about all this." She moved her attention to the boy.

"It's okay. Thank you." Trini was impressed by what a little gentleman he was being. He even offered her a hand to shake. Trini noticed Fox grin out the corner of her eye. Trini shook the little hand somewhat awkwardly. The next thing she heard floored her, "Are you a fairy princess?" Her eyebrows went up in surprise.

"No…no I'm not." She humored the question, curious as to why Fox suddenly looked so protective.

"Alexander, we better be going if we want to meet daddy for dinner." Fox addressed the boy. "Thank you for your help Trinity." The redhead and her son then moved into the check out line and Trini just watched them leave for a moment. Trini had never seen a mother quite like that one. She shook her head and smiled to herself as she moved toward the doors. Now she's checking out people in the Library? Sad, it truly was sad if this is the extent of her social life.

As Trini stepped out into the street it was about 6 pm. She started to head down the sidewalk towards the apartment. She would really rather not cook, but she needed to save her money. She didn't know what she might need later.

"Well, if it isn't the Chat police." A male voice called out to her. When she turned and saw the Detectives from last night coming towards her she just knew that she was not done with embarrassing herself for today. They both were grinning at her, which helped to ease her nerves a little. They must not hold a grudge at Trini's rude comments the day before.

She took a deep breath, "I am so sorry for that. I had no idea you were cops. I would never have…"

"Relax, it's okay." The woman, Detective Maza grinned at her. "We hadn't been introduced. I'm Elisa, and this smart alec is Matt."

Trini gave them both a little grin. "I'm Trini"

Before anything else could be said, Trini noticed that Alexander had started running in their direction, "Elisa!!" he yelled joyously. Fox, looking concerned, ran after him, her arms loaded with the books. Trini noticed that Alexander didn't even seem to notice that he was running into the path of a bicyclist on the sidewalk. Without thinking Trini rushed forward then grabbed Alexander, spinning him and herself out of the way of the bike. She stood in the grass in front of the library, holding Alexander in her arms as Fox, Elisa, and Matt walked over to them.

"That was sure some fast moves Trinity" Matt sounded awed.

As soon as Fox was close by she put Alexander on the ground. She was surprised when he didn't let go of her hand.

"Alexander" Fox sounded really mad, "don't you ever run off on me like that again!" She then turned to Trinity and Elisa. "Hello again Trinity. Thank you. Hi Elisa. Sorry I can't 

stay and chat, but we're late to meet David." She grabbed Alexander's hand and started walking off. She still seemed just a little cool towards Trinity for some reason.

"Well, what do you do for an encore eh?" Matt laughed, while Elisa stared after Fox with a curious expression on her face.

"How do you know Fox?" Eliza asked

"I just met her in the library." Trini decided to leave the embarrassing details out.

Eliza looked like she wanted to say more, but the radio in her car came to life. "Oh, well nice seeing you again. Gotta go."

"Yeah, bye." Thinking about the task force that these two were on she added, "See you around."

June 4th

Trini sprinted for her purse as her cell phone rang for the third time. "Hello?"
"Trini, how's New York?" She instantly recognized her stepbrother's voice.

"Robbie, it's great! Thank you so much for arranging this for me!" Trini walked toward the window to look out into the night sky.

"So, what are you up to?" Robbie pushed, "Shopping and sightseeing?"

Trini didn't really want to tell him that she had spent most of her time in the Library researching. He would undoubtedly ask what she was looking for. "Yeah, I plan to go see a show next week. Haven't decided which one." She decided that she really should do a few normal touristy things, just to cover up her real reasons for being in Manhattan.

"You mean you haven't yet?!" Robbie was so loud that she pulled the phone away from her ear. He was always loud, as if he needed to yell his conversation all the way from California.

"I'm not rich, I have to spread out the fun…I still have to pay all my regular bills you know. I still have my apartment at home." Trini decided to change the subject, "Speaking of apartments, your friend has a great apartment, I wish I could live here! Have you ever seen it?"

"No, I haven't been to New York, unlike some people." He was jokingly snide. "I wouldn't waste my time reading, which is probably all you've done, isn't it." He couldn't help but accuse. He'd been trying to play at the bossy older brother ever since their parents got together. Trini was 15 at the time, and he was in his senior year of High School. Remembering what a jerk he had been Trini was grateful that he moved out to go to college. He was much easier to take if you didn't live with him.

"I am still working on my novel. I've been researching local myths." Trini thought she had been vague enough. He rarely asked about her book, probably afraid she'd have him read it.

"You mean the gargoyles?! Get real, those New Yorkers are on crack and you know it." Robbie snorted, "Imagine flying beasts in Manhattan. It's crazy."

Trini's stomach clenched at the term beast. But she said nothing. She didn't really want to argue with Robbie, he never listened to her. "Well, real or not, it is fascinating, and I need a novel completed before I can get my Masters degree."

"Yeah, what were you thinking, majoring in Creative Writing? What type of job are you going to get with that? You don't need a special degree to write Trini." Robbie started his normal nagging.

"Look, I don't want to get into that right now. It is a little bit later here you know." Trini looked at the clock on the wall. It was 2 am, she was no where near tired, but he didn't know that.

"Oh, geez…I am so sorry. I forgot. I'll talk with you later." Robbie hung up, sounding a little sheepish.

Trini moved back into the living room, which had photocopies of newspaper articles laying on the coffee table, the couch, and the chair. She was busy marking all the sightings of gargoyles on the copy of a map of Manhattan she had bought at the grocery store. Even though she was only half done, it was very obvious that they spent a lot of time in the park. Trini sighed and a soft smile came to her lips as she looked at the map, the result of hours of research, and 

knew she had a place to start the search.

June 5th

Trini got off of the elevator holding all of Trish's mail. She was responsible for getting Trish's mail and watering her plants while she was away. She knew that she had a very good deal. Trish got to go to Australia for her vacation, and Trini got New York for next to nothing. The thought alone made Trini smile.

"Trini, how are you doing." Margot had opened her door, which was closer to the elevator, just as Trini passed by. Trini turned around, plastering a fake smile over the one that had been genuine.

"Oh, I'm doing fine. With all the reading I've been doing it feels like my eyes will pop out of my skull, but otherwise I'm fine." She just wanted to underline the fact that she was a very busy woman. She held up the mail, as evidence, "Well, I better put this stuff away and get back to work. See you around." She spun around to leave, but was irritated to find that Margot started to walk with her.

"How are you liking New York?" Margot pried.

"Oh, it seems fine. I haven't really seen too much of it yet, with all the work I've been doing." Trini kept up her brisk pace down the long hall to the apartment.

"Do you plan to see a Broadway show while you're here?" Margot stood outside the apartment as Trini unlocked it.

"Yeah, probably next week. Can't be in New York and not see a show. My brother would never let me live it down." She grinned at Margot as she stepped into the apartment and put the mail in the shoebox she had placed by the door for that purpose.

"Oh, my…you really are busy aren't you." Margot stared at the living room, which was still covered with articles. "What are you looking for?"

"Oh, this…" Trini hadn't really expected Margot to be rude enough to follow her in uninvited. She decided to use the same strategy she used on Robbie. "I want to find out more about that gargoyle myth. It is far more widespread than Bigfoot has ever been."

"Oh, those animals aren't myths. I wish they were. Filthy dangerous animals! Brendan and I have seen them several times." Margot's voice took on a disgusted angry tone. "They really don't belong in this city."

Trini knew that the gargoyles had enemies, but she was really getting tired of hearing these closed-minded bigots calling them beasts or animals. She took a quiet breath. "Well, as a writer it is a fascinating subject. I need to finish my research. Sorry I can't visit now, but work is calling." She brushed Margot off. Yes, she may be an eyewitness, but from looking at the newspaper articles, she was sure she could find a nicer one to talk to.

"Oh, well…" Margot obviously was surprised at the hint to leave. "If you need advice on which show to go to just drop by."

Trini was glad when she finally shut the door and was alone. She went back to the large window and watched the sun slip down below the horizon. She was going to start patrolling the park tomorrow night for gargoyles, but she had been up all night researching, and just wasn't up to it today. The park was not going to be the safest place, which is exactly why the gargoyles went there so often. Tomorrow she was going to need to get some supplies before nightfall if she didn't want to become a victim of a mugging or something.

June 6th

The sun shone through the large bedroom window onto the bed. Trini stretched lazily, kicking the covers off. Her sleeping schedule had become completely odd long before she came to New York. But the late night research wasn't really helping. She had managed to go to sleep before midnight last night, something she hadn't done in a couple of years. It was now noon. 

She still had quite a few hours before dark, and she knew that she would most likely be up all night again.

Looking through her clothes, of which there wasn't a lot, Trini noticed a distinct lack of black or dark colors. She had beige and brown pairs of cargo pants, and a pair of jeans. She figured if she blended in with the night, and moved quietly off of the main paths she could avoid the muggers and increase her chances of catching sight of the gargoyles in action.

Subways were wonderful things. Trini found Manhattan much easier to navigate than she'd ever thought possible for a city. The subway car wasn't crowded in the middle of the day and her exit was only a few blocks from her last destination after having shopped a few other places first for new clothes that would blend in to the night better. The store had the largest ad in the phone book, and that was how she picked it.

Trini walked into the weapons store around 4 pm, careful not to upset the mace display with her large shopping bag. She just had a couple more items to buy. The store was plain creepy. She expected to see a militia meeting in the back room. She'd had to climb very narrow stairs to get there and the displays were rather intimidating.

"You can't carry that bag in here!" a gruff looking man with a shaggy beard addressed Trini while she was staring at the store, not even getting four steps into the place.

"Oh, okay…" Trini handed her bags over to the man and he placed them behind the counter. She was worried that she might not see everything back, but she just walked into the store in search of a few things.

The bell over the front door rang loudly. Trini was busy looking at the selection of police officer type clubs along the back wall. She didn't know what most of the stuff in the place was, but it was sure interesting to look around.

"You are coming to the meeting tonight right?" A man addressed the man behind the counter. Trini glanced up and watched the newcomer turn to glance at a display, showing Trini his profile without realizing it. Trini's eyes widened just a little and she stepped back behind an aisle so that he wouldn't see her. After his staring at the grocery store and the creepy feeling he gave her, Trini couldn't forget Mark, the flirtatious Quarryman.

"Of course Mark. Wouldn't miss it for the world." The Shopkeeper sounded so friendly when talking to the man and Trini didn't really care for it. She wouldn't mind leaving now, not liking the company she'd found herself in, but she'd end up having to walk past them and she'd have to interrupt their conversation to get her bag back. She really didn't want to talk with any Quarrymen. Thankfully Mark had just stopped by for a second, and she could hear the door chime again as he left.

As soon as Mark was gone Trini walked up to the counter and smiled weakly as she grabbed her bag to leave, without buying anything. A weapon she didn't understand would be more dangerous than nothing wouldn't it?

The wait for nightfall was tense and Trini found herself pacing a bit hoping time would move faster. It had been dark for about an hour when she decided it was time to head out. Luckily it was a pleasant night, not too cold and it was only raining lightly, nothing a person from Seattle would even notice. She stood in front of the full-length mirror studying her reflection before she headed out.

She wore her new clothes: a pair of very black cargo pants, and a tight black long sleeved turtleneck. Her hair was pulled back through the opening in the black baseball cap. She wanted her hair out of her face, which is why she bought the cap. Her new fanny pack was black of course. All it held was her id, keys and some money. The plan had been to buy mace or something at the store, but she hadn't. It wasn't too cold, so she didn't need a jacket. She knew that she looked like some sort of cat burglar, so she planned to stay out of sight as much as possible.

The apartment wasn't really that far from the park, so she walked. She was grateful that her strange getup didn't seem to gain her any attention. New Yorkers just filed past her without 

giving her a second glance. Once she was in the park she noticed that the paths were well lit. As she slipped off the path she tried to decide how to go about this. She could spend the entire night wandering around, or she could sit still and listen for trouble. Her hearing was very good, and her brother always told her that her night vision was amazing. She decided that she could just climb up a tree and wait for a couple hours, at least until the crowd died down a little. There were still joggers hanging around. Like they wanted to get mugged. The stories Trini had heard about crime in New York made her leery, but these people didn't even seem to notice it. Trini would never be out alone like this if she weren't desperate.

After walking around for a while Trini started to feel like she'd never find anything. Her eyes traveled to the trees that lined the paths. If the gargoyles didn't like to be spotted, then they might avoid a busy path, but if they couldn't see her… Trini nodded as she moved to the largest tree close to her and glanced around a bit guiltily to make sure no one was around to see her before she started to climb.

Trini fidgeted uncomfortably in the tree. She had been sitting there for about a half hour when a couple sat down on the bench below her. That wasn't what was bothering her. The couple were now engaged in a very heavy make out session that from Trini's view looked to be just a moment away from actual sex, and had been like that for at least a half an hour. She tried to look away, but every time someone moaned she found her eyes trailing after them, and to think that she had been proud of her hearing just a little while ago.

Trini felt a deep blush cover her face as she watched the man slide his hand underneath the woman's dress. The muffled moans coming from the woman leaving no doubt about the man's skill. Trini swallowed hard. She needed to get out of here, and climbing down the tree in full view of the couple would only prove that she had been watching them this whole time. She didn't want them to know, she didn't want anyone to ever know.

She slowly, so as to not disturb the branches, moved around to the other side of the tree. She winced as she heard the woman's moans become louder. Trini climbed higher into the tree, as high as the branches would allow, and looked over to the other tree. It was probably twenty feet away, but it was just as tall. Taking a moment to look down at the couple, she could see that the man was being rewarded for his behavior, his groans reaching her ears. She was not going to stick around for an encore. Trini took a deep breath and ran along the branch, jumping into the air. Her arms spread wide as she neared the other tree, and she snagged a branch and pulled herself up, and further in towards the trunk. She looked back. The couple didn't even notice the bouncing branches. A slight chuckle escaped her as she shook her head and then glanced down at the fall she would have taken if she had missed. A monkey had nothing on her.

Trini climbed down the side away from the couple and walked away, further into the park. She felt a real need to keep moving now. The trees had been sheltering her from the light rain, but she didn't even pay any attention to it as she walked through bushes and trees. Checking her watch she saw that it was only 11pm. This was going to be a long night if she was already bored.

She heard what sounded like a large group of people up ahead, so Trini took greater care not to be seen. She didn't want to have to deal with a gang. She peeked through the bushes along the side of the path and saw a group of maybe twelve men standing under a lamp. She noticed that one was Mark, that creepy Quarryman that hit on her.

"Man, Castaway was great!" she heard an enthusiastic young man's voice carry easily to her

Mark's voice didn't carry as well, Trini had to concentrate to hear it, "I told you he would be."

A cell phone rang and one of the men fumbled around his jacket pockets looking for it. "Hello…Really," his eyes widened and he grinned and motioned to his phone. "You found a gargoyle!" He now had the entire groups attention as they listened in to the conversation. "We're 

on our way. Be there in a minute." The man with the phone put it away. "Jerry and the other guys cornered a gargoyle!"

"Where are they." Someone said. Trini strained to hear the answer. She had to beat these goons to the site. Her face became stone serious and her eyes gleamed. Her body tensed, ready to race.

"They're at the north side of the Park, near the water fountain." As soon as Trini heard this she took off running, dodging the bushes and trees. Cutting across the paths, in full view of people. She'd toured the park earlier that week and knew where they were talking about. She was currently at the South side and it was a rather large park. She didn't doubt that she could beat these men there, but who knew how many Quarrymen were already tormenting the gargoyle.

Trini heard the taunting voices and growling as she neared the water fountain. She slowed and was careful to hide in the bushes so she could see what was going on. Her heart was pounding from the exercise and her breathing sounded a bit too loud to her own ears but no one else seemed to notice her winded panting. What she saw made her cringe. She was no warrior, and there were already eight men with weird hammers circling a…What the hell was that?! It was standing on all four legs, growling at the men like some sort of dog. She guessed it was some sort of Gargoyle, but her heart sank to realize that this one really was little more than a beast. Well, dammit, beast or not it was a gargoyle. She was only minutes ahead of the rest of the Quarrymen. She could take on eight or she could wait and take on twenty. No contest. She didn't even consider walking away.

She didn't really want to be seen. Reaching around on the ground she found a few good size rocks. The grin that crossed her face in that moment was wicked. Grabbing the rocks and putting them in her fanny pack, she crept closer to the group.

Identifying the leader, who was the one doing the most yelling, she hurled the first rock. Her aim was perfect, she could hear the bones crunch in his hand. His hammer fell to the ground. She quickly moved position, just in case any of them saw where the rock came from. The group looked around nervously. She tossed another rock at one man that was a little too close to the doggy gargoyle. When he fell to the ground the gargoyle took advantage of the opening given and ran out of the circle and into the bushes opposite Trini. This caused a lot of loud cursing from the Quarrymen, who started to give chase. Trini forgot about being careful and just started tossing her rocks at as many of them as she could.

They soon turned toward the darkened corner that she was in. She reached into her pack and felt nothing. No more rocks. She turned to run rather than take valuable time trying to find more rocks.

Trini didn't get very far before she heard the siren sound and bright lights flooded the area. When she was able to see again after being hit with that light, she wished she hadn't. A large group of police officers were in front of her. She turned to look behind her and saw a larger group of Quarrymen. Mark had caught up with his friends. Shit!

Trini was standing between a group of police officers and a group of Quarrymen, wishing that she had tried to run the other way.

"Remain where you are and place your hands on the top of your heads!" it appears that at least one officer has a bullhorn. Trini slowly complied, since it looked like the orders included her. She could hear the Quarrymen behind her also moving to place their hands on their heads.

"What is this about? There is no law against meeting. This is America!" Trini just sighed as she heard Mark's voice rising to try and take charge of the situation. When she saw Detective Maza step forward to reply her heart sank. The woman stared at the group with steel in her gaze. She was beyond pissed off.

"Mr. Yamamoto's shop has been vandalized, and his family threatened. We think that you might know something about that." Detective Maza, which was how Trini had to think of 

her, because right now there was no hint of the friendly woman she talked with outside of the library, turned to face one of the officers. "Bring them all in for questioning."

Trini took a deep breath and spoke. "Detective Maza, I'm not with these guys."

The Detective turned around and looked at her for the first time. Her eyes widened once she recognized Trini. Trini had hoped that Eliza would realize the error and let her go, but when she saw her eyes get colder her heart sank. Elisa didn't believe her.

"EVERYONE is going downtown for questioning." Detective Maza replied more to the other officers than to Trini. Trini took a deep breath and tried to keep the tears from falling. She was being arrested. This was a nightmare. When was she ever going to learn to mind her own business?

June 7th

As they were waiting for the van to transport them to the precinct, since there were over twenty people being taken in, Trini scanned the sky. It was better than making eye contact with any of the Quarrymen. She could hear them muttering about "that bitch." and didn't know if they meant her or Elisa. She made sure to not look Matt or Elisa's way. Even though she knew that she really didn't do anything wrong, she felt ashamed.

She could make out the outline of something large flying away from the park towards downtown. She wanted to scream! That was a gargoyle, and she couldn't do anything about it. She clenched her fists and closed her eyes. She was so damned closed and nothing. Gargoyles were in the park and she came away empty handed.

As the police wagon drove up she could hear mutterings of "show that bitch a lesson." and "wait until we get a hold of her." She realized that they were talking about her now. She was going to be in that wagon with them. She looked at the Quarrymen now. Some were rubbing bruises, that she probably gave them. One man was holding his hand carefully, and really glaring at her. Oh shit, she can't get into that wagon. These men would kill her.

"Detective Maza!" Trini called out loudly, upset to hear the quaver in her voice.

It took a moment for Eliza to come into view. She had been talking with a group of police officers. "What?!" she growled at Trini.

"Please Detective!" Trini motioned for her to come closer, fearing that she would be ignored. She was relieved when Eliza did walk over to her.

"What?" Eliza said a little more civilly, but she crossed her arms in front of her.

Trini kept her voice down, hoping that the Quarrymen couldn't hear her. "Please, don't put me in the wagon with these guys." She couldn't help glancing over her shoulder at the men.

"What, tired of your friends?!" Eliza raised an eyebrow at Trini

Trini's face took on a pleading look, "These guys aren't my friends…Please Elisa…If you feel you need to bring me in, take me yourself, or put me in a squad car…" Trini felt a tear travel down her face. She bent her head down, using the rim on the hat to hide it from view. Jail was a dangerous place for her to be for several reasons. The Quarrymen were only one of them.

Elisa sounded a little confused, "Alright. Matt and I will bring you in. Dammit Trini…" She turned and walked back toward Matt, presumably to tell him the change in plans.

As the last of the Quarrymen were loaded into the van, a uniformed cop walked her way. Detective Maza intercepted him. "I've got this one. Meet you at the precinct."

Trini felt her stomach clenching as both Detectives walked up to her. The other police cars and the wagon drove off, leaving just the three of them. Eliza was still projecting the tough cop image, and Matt had no hint of a smile at all.

The place was much quieter as the other cops drove away, leaving Trini with Matt and Elisa. Trini sighed heavily and sat down on the bench behind her. When she saw the feet of the detective's enter the space of ground she was staring at she looked up.

"The gargoyle didn't give them all those bruises. I did." Her voice was still quiet, almost to herself. Trini was not one for getting into dangerous situations, and had never imagined 

making such powerful enemies. She hoped that now that the others were away Elisa would listen to her.

Elisa's voice rose in surprise, "Gargoyle?! What are you talking about?"

"There was a gargoyle here. Those guys were capturing it or something." Trini couldn't figure out what gender that beast had been. She didn't like calling it an it, like all those prejudiced people. "I…started throwing rocks." She looked into Elisa's surprised eyes, "I was supposed to be able to run off so that they wouldn't know it was me, but you guys stopped me. One of them could have recognized me. I've seen him before."

"Can you describe the Gargoyle?" Eliza asked, "Was he hurt?" She sounded really concerned.

"Beastly with no wings. I don't know if…he…was hurt." Trini answered quickly. "He did manage to get away."

Elisa traded a look with Matt that obviously meant something. Trini wished she knew what. Matt walked further away to make a phone call. Elisa sat down next to her on the ledge of the fountain.

Elisa's voice sounded softer "Are you hurt?" Trini looked up and saw the gentle concern on her face. She suppressed a sudden urge to hug the Detective. Her emotions were just a little too close to the surface right now.

"No, they never got close to me." She gave Elisa a very small grin.

Matt came back, and motioned for Elisa. Both Detectives talked out of Trini's range of hearing for a few seconds and then they both came back to her.

"Do you have anyone to pick you up?" Matt asked.

"No. I don't know anyone in New York." Trini felt lonely saying that. "I haven't even been here a week yet."

"Oh." Matt sounded like he really didn't expect to hear that. He looked at Elisa for more silent conversation. "I guess we could drop you off at home."

"You're not bringing me in?" Trini looked up hopefully.

"No, like you said…You're not with them." Elisa gave a small apologetic smile back.

"Thank you."

"Although… You have to admit that you look suspicious dressed like that. What were you doing, or do I want to know." Matt was the friendly joker once more.

"You really don't want to know." Trini shook her head and stood to follow them to the car.

June 8th

After the exciting early Friday morning, Trini decided to take some time off. She slept and worked on her novel that day rather than leave the safety of the apartment. She wasn't eager to be recognized. She would have laid low for longer, but she couldn't afford to. She'd just need to be more careful. She'd gotten close to a gargoyle, and knew she was on the right track with Central Park.

Saturday found her feeling anxious and ready to go out again. To have been that close… Trini stared out the window at the beautiful day and wished time would move faster. She needed it to be night. No one ever spotted gargoyles during the day, so they had to be nocturnal.

Trini got into the elevator to go get the mail before she had dinner. Seeing Margot Yale rushing to catch the elevator, she just managed to resist the urge to hit the close button and avoid her.

"Hey Trini." Margot smiled her trademark fake smile.

"Hello." Trini studied the walls of the elevator. She didn't want to talk with Margot, not after finding out what a colossal bigot she was regarding the Gargoyles. After she had heard that the Yales' had met gargoyles, she did a little more research. She double checked her articles on Gargoyles and found quite a few nasty quotes by Margot.



"Your research on those beasts going okay?" Margot said in a disinterested way. Trini's lips grew thin, her vision going red for just a second. She blinked at the strangeness of that.

"I'm doing okay." She lied. She only had that one glimpse of a gargoyle Saturday night. So, she knew that they were really there, but she hadn't doubted that. She had come so very close to getting arrested to. Yeah, she was really doing ok. Thankfully Margot wasn't as stupid as Trini suspected she was. She didn't push for more conversation.

When the doors opened into the lobby, Trini was the first out, and rushing over to the mailbox. So intent on getting the mail quickly and catching the elevator back up she didn't see the woman talking to the doorman.

Trini pulled a collection of magazines and junk mail out of the PO box and then locked it up again. She almost collided with someone as she turned to leave.

"Trini? Oh man how is that for luck. I came to see you." Trini's eyes widened. Not many people talked with her in this building. She turned and was surprised to see Elisa.

"Detective?" Trini held the mail closer to her body, waiting to see if it was the police officer or the friendly woman version of Elisa that she was seeing. Was she still in trouble?

"I'm off duty until later tonight, you can call me Elisa." The pretty detective smiled at Trini then looked around the lobby. "I really need to talk with you." Trini got the hint that Elisa meant in private.

"Oh…Okay…you want to come up with me?" Trini tilted her head to indicate the elevator.

The elevator trip was a little tensely quiet. Trini wasn't sure about small talk though, so she stayed quiet giving Elisa a few awkward smiles whenever their eyes happened to meet. The detective's answering small smile made Trini want to stare. A slight blush came to her cheeks so Trini moved her eyes to once again watch the floor readout as they got closer to the seventeenth floor.

"Nice apartment." Elisa commented as she walked in the door after Trini.

"Yeah, I thought so too, but it isn't mine." Trini grinned "I'm just staying here for the summer house-sitting." She put the mail in the shoebox. It was starting to get a little full.

"Oh…" Elisa closed the door behind her. "Where are you from?"

Trini was about to answer when her stomach growled. She didn't think Elisa could hear it, but it reminded her it was dinnertime. "Seattle…Hey, I was just about to make some spaghetti. Have you had dinner yet." Trini hadn't really spoken to many people lately. She was starting to miss that.

"Oh, I don't want to put you to any trouble…" Elisa answered politely

"It's spaghetti…I just need to cook more noodles. That is hardly any trouble." Trini looked at Elisa's face, silently willing her to stay, "So does that mean your hungry?"

Elisa appeared to debate with herself for a few seconds, and looked out the window at the still sunny day. "Sure, why not."

A smile light up Trini's face, "Great! Let me just start the water boiling. Want anything to drink? I have water, Gatorade, and a few wine coolers."

"Water is fine. Thanks."

After a nice dinner, Trini decided that asking Elisa to stay was a good choice. The woman was smart, funny, a little sarcastic, but in a good way. Trini wasn't used to making friends, but she wouldn't mind if she saw Elisa again.

"I really need to get going." Elisa looked out the window at the fading daylight. "I had a great time. Maybe I'll have you over to my place next time." She smiled genuinely. This was a dinner invitation that Trini was all to eager to accept.

"That would be great. Here, let my write down my cell phone number. Call me." Trini rushed into the kitchen to find a pen and paper. She wrote down her full name, cell number and after thinking for a second added her email address.



She handed the paper to Elisa and the Detective placed it in her coat pocket. "Good luck with your novel. It sounds pretty good."

"Thanks. I just need to clean it up a bit and I'll be done…" Trini never made this offer, but Elisa seemed really interested, "If you want I can get you a copy to read." Her voice sounded shy.

"Sure. That would be great…Oh, and Trini…maybe you should cut out the late night walks in the park. It is dangerous out there." Elisa sounded very serious, Trini just nodded in agreement that it was dangerous. She didn't want to say she wouldn't go again, because she had no intention of stopping.

After Elisa left Trini changed into her dark outfit to go out. At least now she knew that someone saw that the dog-like gargoyle was fine the next night. She did some good that night. She planned to stay in the trees and off the paths tonight, just in case any of those Quarrymen were still about. She was only here a few more weeks. She could keep her head down that long. She left the apartment just as the sun started to set.

June 9th

It was nearly dawn when Trini walked back into her apartment building, feeling like she hadn't slept for days, even though it hadn't been quite that long. She'd covered the entire park. She'd circled around it several times and found nothing even though she'd stayed until the sun was almost ready to come up. Another surprise was that she didn't see a mugging at all and she was there on Saturday night. New York wasn't quite living up to its reputation.

She slept in as much as she could and went out again once the sun went down, hoping for better luck tonight.

Trini sat back against the tree trunk and watched the people pass by on the path below her. This time she was careful not to choose a tree with a bench under it. Luckily it wasn't raining, which would make this stake out more comfortable, but it also meant that there were even more people around. She sat there for probably 45 minutes before she realized that she hadn't made a very good choice of spots. With all these people wandering through, what were the chances that a gargoyle would drop by? She felt really stupid once she realized that.

Trini quietly climbed down the tree and wandered into the bushes in search of a less well lit and crowded path. She found one that had a few burnt out lamps. It looked like a muggers Disneyland, so she decided to stay. She climbed up into another tree and settled in for a wait.

Trini sat comfortably against the tree, with her eyes closed enjoying the cool night breeze. Even though it looked like she had fallen asleep she was still very alert, and had no trouble hearing the beginnings of trouble.

"Hey, pretty lady. What you doing out so late all alone?" A male voice traveled up to Trini. She opened her eyes and stared out at the path. Two young men, wearing baggy pants, plaid shirts, and bandana's were walking along side a woman, who was trying the look down and pretend you don't see them approach. They were all heading closer to the tree that Trini was hiding in.

"Hey, sweetcheeks, I believe that we are talking to you." The other male was getting irritated with the silent treatment. Trini could tell that this was going in an ugly direction. She scanned the skies for any indication that help was on the way. She found nothing.

"P..Please just leave me alone." The woman stuttered out, obviously afraid. Trini moved into a crouching position. They were just a few feet away from her now, she had chosen the darkest part of the path to hide in, and now she had a sinking feeling. She once again scanned the sky. Dammit! Where the hell were those Gargoyles!

Trini's instincts proved to be right on, because as soon as the men reached the tree they grabbed the young woman and started to drag her into the bushes. "We're gonna teach you to be more respectful bitch!" One of them hissed. The woman started to scream and kick as they pulled her further off of the path. Trini gracefully leapt down from the tree and rolled as she hit the 

ground. Her hands brushed over a large rock which she grabbed quickly and tossed at one of the men. She was surprised when he went down quickly. Must have hit him in the head. She was still partially hidden by the bushes between her and the others. Seeing the size of the still standing man, she decided to try and scare him off, rather than get beaten. Using her most beastly and dangerous voice she growled out, "I believe that the lady is not interested." She glared at him, and was pleased when he suddenly looked frightened as he looked over in her direction. He turned tail and ran, leaving his unconscious friend in the dirt. She grinned to herself when she realized that he thought she was a gargoyle.

"Oh…thank you." The woman she had just rescued addressed the bush. Trini saw that when she tried to stand up, she winced and hopped onto one foot. Was it sprained or broken? Trini decided that she needed to help this woman get out of the park.

"No problem…but perhaps we could get out of here before Romeo here wakes up." Trini used her normal voice, and it seemed to startle the woman. She walked out of the bushes and went to support the other woman so that they could walk faster.

"I'm Andrea…" the woman was pretty, and had shoulder length blond hair, which caught the little light that was available. Her business suit was dirty and some buttons were missing from the shirt.

"Trini. You know that this place is really dangerous at night don't you." Trini cringed as the Detectives words seemed to find their way out of her mouth. Of course Andrea would know that…Now.

As they made their way out to the path she glanced at the unconscious man. She was really getting good at slinging rocks. It took at least fifteen minutes to get to a road and catch a cab, since Andrea wasn't able to move very fast even with Trini's help.

Trini didn't know why she was staying as the Doctor at the Hospital checked Andrea's foot. She obviously wasn't needed anymore. She just didn't feel comfortable leaving until Andrea's friend showed up. She wanted to make sure that Andrea would have a way home. She seemed like a nice person. The waiting room was pretty busy. Since Trini was so anxious to get out of there she stared at the entrance, waiting for the woman that Andrea had called.

She was surprised when her phone rang, and she got a lot of angry glares from the nurses. Trini stood up and started to walk outside while answering it.

"Trini, were you in the park tonight!" She instantly recognized Elisa's voice.

"Wha..What? Elisa?" Trini was a little confused. How could she know.

"You were, weren't you." Elisa was quickly becoming Detective Maza again. "We found some thug knocked out with a rock and that seemed really familiar!"

"Ah…yeah." Trini felt her face getting a little pale.

"Where are you now?" Detective Maza grilled her.

"St. Mary's Hospital. I brought a woman here." Trini was upset to hear her voice get softer, more childlike in her nervousness about being in trouble with the Detective again.

"Don't leave. We are on our way." Detective Maza hung up the phone, and Trini pulled her cell away from her head and stared at it for a second.

Trini walked back into the waiting room, making sure to turn off her cell phone. Now she saw the sign that said no cell phones in the building. She wished she had seen that earlier.

June 10th

Trini was sitting back in the waiting room chair while staring at the doors waiting for Elisa to rush in. She imagined Elisa's cold stare, the one that Elisa gave her the one night Trini almost got arrested.

"Ms. Stephens?" a middle aged thin nurse approached her from the other direction, startling Trini out of her thoughts.

"Yes." Trini looked at the nurse expectantly.



"Well, your friend, Ms. Calhoun is out of the X-ray room. She'd like you to go see her. She's in room 213." The nurse studied Trini. She knew that she looked bad. She could still feel some leaves in her ponytail, and her pants were muddy.

"Oh…Okay…thanks." Trini started down a hall, but the nurse's voice stopped her.

"Ma'am…it's down that hall." The nurse pointed in the opposite direction. Trini started to back track.

"Oh…I have some…friends…coming by. They should be here really soon." Trini envisioned Elisa driving at breakneck speeds with her siren blaring. She rubbed her forehead, and sighed. "Will they know where I am?" Trini wasn't going to risk Detective Maza's wrath if she thought that she had run.

"I'll put a note on the computer in check in so the reception desk will know what to tell them." The nurse walked away, heading for the large check in desk.

When Trini found room 213 she slowly stuck her head in, just to make sure Andrea was there. She was sitting on the bed watching some old sitcom. "Hey, Andrea…how'd you rank a single room so quickly?" She grinned at Andrea, and had to force herself to keep it on her face when she saw how slowly the young artist turned to face her. She was definitely on some pain medication.

Andrea smiled at her, looking as focused as a baby. "Trini…You're still here!"

"Yeah…I didn't want to leave you alone." She walked over to the side of the bed and sat down on the chair. "So…how far away does your friend live?" Trini wanted some idea of how long a wait they had.

A voice from the doorway answered, "Not that far away." Trini turned to see an attractive redheaded woman, wearing a red dress suit. She exuded power and confidence.

"Domi!" Andrea's eyes light up with joy. "I am so sorry to call you so late."

The redhead looked a little startled by the exuberant greeting Andrea gave her, so Trinity mouthed the word painkillers. Trini imagined for a split second that the woman's eyes actually turned red, as a hard line of anger showed momentarily. This woman could give Detective Maza a run for her money with that glare of death. Trini watched the woman look at Andrea, who was…quite honestly not up to answering any questions, before the woman turned to her.

"I'm Dominique Destine. And you are." Dominique crossed her arms in front of herself, giving Trini a feeling that she was being grilled for information.

"Um…I'm Trinity Stephens…" Trini decided not to move around the bed and try and shake hands; it was obviously not welcomed. Dominique walked closer to the bed to study Andrea, who looked like she was barely holding on to consciousness. When she made a move to sit on the bed, Trini stopped her, "Ah… her foot is hurt. Try not to move it." With this Dominique chose to just stand.

"Trinity" the door opened again, this time it was Detective Maza. "What the hell happened tonight?"

Before Trini could answer Dominique turned to look at Elisa, "Hello Detective…I was just getting ready to ask that myself." Her voice was very cold, and suddenly Trini wanted to be in that room even less than before.

"De…Ms. Destine!" Detective Maza looked shocked for a second before glaring back at the redhead. "What are you doing here?!"

"That is none of your business!" Trini could swear she heard a little bit of a growl to Dominique's words. She could see from the narrowing of Elisa's eyes that this was going to get more out of control.

"Um…maybe we could find somewhere else to talk." Trini spoke quickly, trying to stop the upcoming yelling match. Both women turned to glare at her, and she took a step back quickly. But in seeing that Andrea was just staring at them all, looking completely lost, she decided not to back down. "Andrea, honey…I need to go talk with Detective Maza, okay."



Andrea looked at the bristling women and then at Trini, she looked upset and Trini knew from experience that the pain medicine would make it hard for her to really understand what was going on. "Sure…but don't leave before seeing me again…" Andrea reached out a hand and pulled Trini closer to her, Trini could feel everyone in the room looking at her. "Thank you for saving me…" with that Andrea kissed Trini's cheek, and Trini's face flooded with a bright red blush.

"uh…sure." Trini stood up and gave Andrea an embarrassed grin. She turned to leave the room, knowing that the other women would be following her.

"Oh…and Trini?" Andrea grinned a little mischievously.

"Yeah?" Trini turned back to the bed.

"You do a great Gargoyle impersonation." Trini felt her stomach clench as she heard that.

Detective Bluestone met up with them as they left the room, and Trini could see plainly that he was also very surprised to see Dominique. He tried to cover it quickly though. The Detectives managed to get them a room nearby where they could talk privately.

"Sorry Ms. Destine. But this is police business." Elisa stood blocking the entrance to the room. The words Police Business making Trinity's heart beat faster. They were going to arrest her.

"Elisa…" the strangled words came out of Trini's mouth before the blaze of fire that Dominique was getting ready to let loose.

"What!" Elisa growled at her, but when she turned to see Trini her eyes softened a little.

"Do I need to get a lawyer?…I mean…" Trini was sitting on the bed and she looked down at her feet, she found them easier to talk to. Still it was only a loud whisper that came out next, "Am I going to jail?"

Elisa walked away from the doorway over to Trini. This gave Dominique the chance to slide inside and shut the door behind her. "Do you think you deserve to go to jail Trinity?" Elisa's voice was soft and gentle. She was completely ignoring the other two people in the room.

"I…I don't know." Trinity felt tears start sliding down her face. "But I'd rather die than be caged…rather die." Her throat felt constricted. She took a few shaky breaths, and muttered angrily to herself, "…like that would happen."

Matt and Elisa shared a confused gaze, before Elisa reached out and gently forced Trini to look up at her.

"What happened tonight Trini?" Elisa was still trying to keep her voice soothing. Trini had a stray thought that Elisa must be a really good cop.

"I went to the park again…" Trini looked up pleadingly, "I know that after dinner you said that I shouldn't. I'm sorry." Trini absently noticed that Elisa seemed uncomfortable with Dominique knowing they had dinner, and Dominique seemed very interested in that fact. Were they ex-lovers or something? Trini got caught up in looking between the two women. It would explain the hostility in the air.

"And then what happened?" Elisa started to coax her.

"Oh…well." Here is where Trini decided that they didn't need the entire truth, only the relevant information. "I saw these two guys harassing Andrea. They grabbed her and started to pull her into the bushes. I jumped down and threw a rock at one of them. He went down quickly. I scared the other one off."

Dominique's voice had a sneering quality to it, "And how, did you manage to scare off this attacker."

"De..Ms. Destine. Please be quiet." Elisa snarled through bared teeth, and then turned to Trini. "How did you scare him off?"

"Um…He couldn't really see me." Trini started to blush. Her plan had been pretty stupid. She was lucky it worked.

"So…then…" Elisa coaxed some more.

"I made my voice all growly and told him that the lady wasn't interested."



"That worked!" Dominique interrupted, her voice filled with disbelief.

Trini gave her a shy grin, her tears were drying up. "I think he thought I was a gargoyle."

"That's exactly what you wanted him to think, wasn't it?" Matt chuckled.

Elisa glared at the other two in the room and then turned to address Trini again. "You said you jumped down. Where were you?" Damn, she had hoped that Elisa wouldn't notice that slip.

"Um…I was in a tree."

"What…" Elisa looked really confused, "You go to Central Park at night to climb trees?!"

"…" Trini couldn't really think of a response to that, so her mouth hung open, making her look like more of an idiot.

"Trini," Matt started to talk, bringing Trini's attention away from the slightly reddening Maza. "Why were you climbing trees?"

"I…wanted to stay out of sight. The Quarrymen might recognize me." She didn't add that she was also trying to make sure she couldn't be seen by air.

"What? Why would they recognize you?" Dominique sounded like she was quickly getting lost in the conversation, and it was making her very grumpy.

"Nevermind that!" Elisa glared at the redhead, and then glared at Trini "If you wanted to stay out of sight you could have stayed home like I told you too. What are you after in the park?!"

"I…I…" Trini was getting flustered. She just looked back and forth between the other three people in the room.

"What are you after?" Elisa voice was a bit too cold.

"Gargoyles!" Trini answered, then her eyes widened, and she clamped her hands over her mouth, but the damage had already been done. She became very still and quiet, not to mention very pale.

Everyone in the room remained quiet for a moment, until Dominique spoke. Her voice filled with venom. "So, you fancy yourself a hunter?! Did you plan to kill one, or perhaps you wanted to catch one and keep him in a cage. This is so typical." Dominique was started to go into full rant.

"N..No. I just…" Trini was suddenly frightened of this woman, "I have questions."

"Well…"Elisa sounded thoughtful. "Whatever your reasons for being there, that man could decide to charge you with assault."

Trini was quiet for an almost uncomfortable amount of time before she spoke, "Well, whether or not he does I think Andrea should. I think they were going to rape her. I don't think she realizes that." She sounded tired, defeated.

"Unless your taking me in Elisa, I want to go say goodbye to Andrea and go home…" Trini looked up into Elisa's eyes.

Trini flinched when she saw that Elisa was going to put her hand on her left knee. She was a little upset with herself when she saw the hurt look in the Detective's eyes as she withdrew her hand. "I don't see a problem with that. I'll call you when I know something more about what is going on, okay." Elisa, her new friend had replaced the Detective again. Trini figured it must be hard for Elisa to live with two faces like that. She nodded to Dominique, who showed no signs of leaving the room just yet, and left, she didn't even notice Matt.

June 11th

Trini had fallen asleep on the couch, after she had taken off her muddy clothes. Last night after getting home she had been staring into the night sky and trying not to imagine what would happen to her if she were arrested. It was now a very distinct possibility.

The late morning sun beating down on her through the window didn't seem to disturb her deep sleep. Her cell phone, however, jolted her awake quite well. She almost fell off the couch.



It was on the fourth ring when Trini finally managed to dig it out of the bottom of the fanny pack she wore last night.

"Hello…" her voice still sounded groggy.

"Trini, I'm sorry, you were sleeping weren't you?" Elisa sounded surprised that she wouldn't be up yet, so Trini looked over at the clock on the microwave. It was 11:45.

"Yeah, well I should have gotten up earlier." Trini was worried that this was another of Elisa's business calls. That served to help her wake up more quickly.

"I was thinking I could bring over some late lunch, and we could talk." Elisa made the suggestion sound more like an order.

"Um…sure." Trini was a little hesitant, still not knowing exactly what Elisa wanted to talk about.

"I'll be there at 12:30." Elisa stated, and then Trini could hear her hang up. Looking around at the pile of muddy clothes in the corner of the bathroom, the pile of dishes in the sink, and realizing that she still needed to shower, she went into action.

She rushed through the dishes in just a few minutes and had put the clothes in the hamper. She was rushing back into the bathroom to start the shower when she noticed it. Her reflection. It stopped her cold.

Her hair was fine and straight, so her ears poked out a little on each side was a shock. Trini placing her hand over her mouth, she slowly moved closer to the mirror to inspect herself. Her normally light grey eyes were redder than a rough night would make them. Did she have pink eye? Is that what it looked like? Pink eye was far from her biggest problem, those red tinted eyes stared at her now pointed ears. She ran her hand through the new hair, pulling it back to inspect the ears she could see while her eyes widened. They looked Vulcan.

"Fuck." She whispered to herself. She tried to rearrange the hair to cover her ears, but it just wasn't working. She hurriedly removed her pajamas to see if there were any other unexpected changes.

Nothing else seemed to have changed. She ran to the bedroom to grab a handheld mirror to check her backside. She almost tripped over her pajamas in her haste.

When she returned to the bathroom she turned her back to the full-length mirror and held up the smaller mirror. The oval shaped scars on her back seemed a little more pronounced, but that could have been her imagination. She breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't see any new protuberances. She started when she heard the chimes of a nearby church start to ring. Elisa would be here in 30 minutes.

Not knowing what else to do Trini jumped into the shower and cleaned up very quickly. She felt a little odd about washing her hair; it felt strange feeling her ears so far from her head. Her fingers traced the edges experimentally before she sighed heavily and hurried to rinse. She was out of the shower and dressed in less than ten minutes. Which left her 20 minutes to figure out what she was going to do about her appearance.

After arguing with the hair for about 10 minutes, Trini realized it was a lost cause. She wasn't going to be able to cover those ears. She went and grabbed the only hat she had, the one she wore last night. She was going to need to buy more hats. She made sure that the hat covered the tops of her ears by carefully tucking them under it. She then grabbed the pajamas off the bathroom floor and went to put them in the hamper.

Trini glanced around the apartment one more time. Elisa should be here any minute. That is when inspiration struck. The balcony had a table and two chairs. It was a lovely day, so bright that she would need to wear sunglasses. She darted into the bedroom and pulled the luggage out of the closet. She rummaged for a second and pulled out a pair of sunglasses. She carefully put them on, so as not to mess up her hair or the hat. Her eyes adjusted quickly to the change. Someone knocked on the door.

Trini opened the balcony door as she pasted by it, so that it would seem that she had come from there. She then took a deep breath and opened the door.



Elisa gave Trini an odd look when she saw the hat and glasses, and Trini got the sinking feeling that she had come up with a stupid idea, but what else could she do? "New Look?"

"Oh, I was outside. I thought we could eat out there, it's a beautiful day." Trini was going to stick with her plan, regardless of how stupid it was. She smiled tentatively at the Detective, hoping that this wasn't a last free meal before being escorted to jail.

"Oh, sure…" Elisa stepped inside so that Trini could close the door.

"You need something to drink?" Trini started to head for the kitchen.

"I think I'll have water." Elisa said, her voice sounded a little weary.

"Okay." Trini went and got both of them a bottle of water. When she came back out to the living room she saw that Elisa had already gone out onto the balcony and was setting out their meals. She had also taken off that red jacket, and was wearing a tight black t-shirt that showed what good shape the woman was in. They both sat down a little awkwardly.

Elisa spoke first. "Trini, I'm not here to arrest you, so you can relax already!" she sounded a little exasperated. Trini let go off a breath that she didn't know that she was holding. Thank God. She slumped a little in the chair in relief.

"Thanks…" Trini looked down at the sandwich, "Thanks for lunch too. I am getting really sick of Top Ramen." She smiled self depreciatively.

"About last night though…" Elisa took a deep breath, "I still have a lot of questions. I'm not asking as a cop. The creep isn't pressing any charges. He probably knows he would have it a lot worse in court than you would. You won't be going to jail over that. You were just protecting someone else." Elisa paused. "Why are you really after the gargoyles?"

Trini just stared at Elisa for a second. Her brain having trouble coming up with an answer.

"Trini…talk to me." Elisa said a little quieter.

"I…I told you I have questions I think they can answer." Trini looked down at the napkin that she was currently shredding with her nervous hands.

"What kind of questions?" Trini looked up to see Elisa studying her, she looked back down at the sandwich.

"Um…." She didn't really want to lie, "just stuff about what it's like being a gargoyle." She wanted far more information than that.

Elisa studied her quietly for a moment, a contemplative look in her eye, almost like she wanted to answer that question. "Okay…and this is why you risk your life in Central park at night?" Trini could tell that Elisa was trying very hard to keep the lecture out of her voice.

Trini thought about saying that she wasn't risking her life, but decided that would only start an argument. She measured her words carefully. "I came here to find them. I haven't heard of any other gargoyles, so they are the only ones I can ask." Trini sighed. "I only have this place for the summer, then I won't have a place to stay. I'll have to go home. I don't have enough time to be patient."

"Why do you need to talk to them so badly?" Elisa sounded really puzzled.

"I just…" Trini didn't have an answer she could give her friend, "I just do."

Elisa remained quiet for a minute, nibbling at her fries. Trini took a drink of her water and unwrapped her sandwich.

Elisa tried to sound more upbeat, changing the topic. "So…How do you know Ms. Destine?"

Trini grinned, it sounded so much like her question about Fox. She didn't really know either woman. "I don't. She was there for her friend, Andrea."

Elisa's eyes went wide and she started to choke on her French fries. Trini looked at her, alarmed. "Are you OK?"

Elisa continued to cough a little, obviously doing better. "Yeah…you just surprised me." She took a few drinks of her water.

"How?" Trini was really puzzled.



"Ms. Destine is a real bitch. I didn't think she had any friends." Elisa replied

"She can't be that bad." Trini grinned at Elisa, expecting some gossip about the pretty redheaded.

"I know her, and yes…she is that bad." Elisa was not elaborating. "If she comes around, let me know. She is bad news."

"She's not going to hurt me. I haven't done anything to her." Trini brushed off the warning.

"Look, Trini…I'm serious…People just tend to get hurt around her." Elisa looked a little pleading, so Trini decided to humor her.

"Sure. Not that I expect to ever see her again." She smiled.

They both relaxed and started to eat. After they ate they stayed outside to enjoy the sun and Trini talked about her novel, since she didn't want to let the conversation go back to gargoyles, she talked a lot about her novel.

It was almost two hours later when Elisa was standing by the door getting ready to leave. "Trini, I just want you to know…The sunglasses. You didn't need those. I'm your friend."

Trini looked at Elisa, confused and nervous, "What do you mean?"

"You were up late last night crying weren't you? It's okay. I'm sorry that I had anything to do with that." Elisa sounded so caring it almost made Trini's eyes tear up right then. She wanted to tell her everything, but she knew better. She just smiled guiltily at the woman she considered a real friend. She hadn't really had one of those in a very long time.

"Hey." Elisa smiled at her. "Since you're new here maybe tomorrow I can take you around, show you Manhattan properly. I have the day off."

"That would be great!" Trini's smile grew at the idea, while a small nagging part of her reminded her that she'd need to keep those damned ears hidden. They better not go anywhere she couldn't wear a hat.

June 12th

Trini was tugging on her shirt, trying to make it lay right as she waited. Elisa was picking her up soon so they could see Times Square. It wasn't something Trini had done yet and wasn't really high on her list of things to do, but when Elisa suggested it she jumped at the chance because she wouldn't have to do it alone.

When she opened the door Elisa smirked at her. "I'm surprised you're awake. It's not even noon yet."

"I could still be up you know." Trini teased back as she stepped into the hall and closed the apartment door.

"I work nights and I still get up before you do." Elisa walked beside her as they moved towards the elevators. The teasing continued as they got in. "I was thinking lunch, then shopping, perhaps a museum and then dinner. Normally I'd take someone to Central Park, but I think you've seen enough of that." Trini wasn't sure if that was teasing or a disguised barb, so she didn't say anything about it.

Lunch was pizza. Trini had heard people rave about New York pizza, was told by co-workers she had to have some, but it was just like pizza anywhere else.

"So why Creative writing?" Elisa asked the familiar question, but it didn't come with the disgust her family used. Elisa sounded like she was just curious, and was actually interested in the answer instead of a chance to tell Trini she was stupid for picking that degree.

"I love to write. I'd rather write than anything really. My characters are like…" Trini sighed as she tried to think of a way to not sound insane to a non-writer. The other students at school understood this, but other people wouldn't. "They are alive to me. I care about them and they haunt me like ghosts if I ignore them." Trini gave Elisa a small smile, grateful to not see 

more than a hint of confusion. At least Trini's sanity wasn't being questioned. "I wanted to be a better writer. I want to write for a living, maybe teach a few classes, but mostly I'd be happy to spend hours every day in front of the computer writing."

"You artist types are different." Elisa smiled at Trini making it a teasing comment instead of an insult. "I can't stand to sit still long enough to fill out my reports after a case closes."

Trini glanced into Elisa's eyes for a moment and had this urge to do something. She couldn't quite figure out if it was smile shyly or kiss her for at least trying to understand. She went with the smile and then tilted her head just a little. "So… Police work?"

"It's in my blood." Elisa took a sip of her coke, making Trini wait for the rest of it. "My dad was a cop. I also really wanted to help people."

Trini had doubts about other cops, thinking the power and gun had more to do with it, but Elisa, Trini searched Elisa's eyes briefly and thought it was true. Elisa really was into helping. After her own experience helping Andrea, Trini wondered if it was in her blood too, because it had felt so right to do that, and she'd never done anything like that before.

After lunch they shopped for a while. Trini bought small meaningless gifts for her family, because if she didn't have something she was sure she'd hear about it, but she didn't have money to waste on anything really. She was hoping to have enough money to eat for her entire stay. Little things like Elisa paying for lunch helped with that, but Trini felt a bit bad even though Elisa just did it without even seeming to think about it.

Dinner was in Little Italy and Trini loved it. They sat in a small restaurant a little after traditional dinner time and had the place almost to themselves. Elisa was great company and when they got back to the apartment Trini felt reluctant to leave. "Do you want to come up?" she felt a bit nervous about the question, because part of her, a very large part meant it how it sounded. She wouldn't mind this being a date that didn't end, but Elisa didn't even know Trini was gay. Hard for this day to have been a date without that little bit of information.

"I can't." Elisa gave her an apologetic look. "I have some friends that are leaving town for a while in a couple of days and tonight is the only night I can visit. I promised I'd spend time with them."

"Oh." Trini felt a wave of disappointment. "Okay. Maybe another time."

"You can count on it." Elisa's smile faded a bit. "Why do you need to meet a gargoyle?" The question that Trini knew was waiting to be asked came up again, but this time Trini had time to think of an answer.

"It isn't every day a writer can ask someone what its like to not be human and actually get an answer." She sighed. "I have questions. Nothing dangerous, just… I need to know."

"So it's a writer thing?"

"Yeah." Trini gave Elisa a small smile to go with that lie. "Goodnight." Trini lingered just a moment longer, feeling herself drifting towards the woman standing next to her on the steps. With an internal sigh she pulled away and walked into the building. Days like today made her really regret what she was.

June 13th

Trini hadn't really done too much yesterday after Detective Maza left. She finished her revisions to her novel and emailed it to her faculty advisor at school. She also printed out a copy to give to Elisa next time she saw her. Using the laptops printer, that easily took a couple of hours. She played computer games on her laptop. She also puttered around the house cleaning. These things were supposed to help her forget that the changes were starting again. It didn't work.

Today, when she woke up, she decided that she was going to do something productive. She walked into the store, a little uncomfortable with the size of the crowd around on a Thursday 

afternoon. She was never really comfortable in crowds. She self-consciously checked her hat, for the third time since entering the store. Yes, it was still there. She had come to buy a large collection of hats. Baseball hats weren't too conspicuous; people wore them all the time. Not, that many women, but it would have to do.

When she walked out of the baseball cap store she had managed to buy a several different caps to go with the different outfits she wore. She couldn't find one to go with her business suit, which she had brought, just in case she needed to go to a business or got lucky enough to get an appointment with a literary agent. She decided that she had enough money to grab a bite to eat at a nearby pizza place.

Trini was walking towards the doors when she saw it happen. A teenage boy ran past a couple a few feet in front of her. He grabbed the woman's purse and started to run closer to Trini. Without even thinking about it she reached out and snatched the purse right out of his hands as he passed by. He looked shocked, and obviously debated about doing something about that. Trini glared at him and he decided to just leave.

Trini turned back and saw the couple walking up to her. "Thank you so much." The man addressed her. Her eyes widened when she recognized a beautiful redhead with a tattoo over her face. "Fox?" She handed the purse to the woman.

Fox reached out and accepted her purse. When she looked again her eyes widened. "Trinity right?"

Trini smiled shyly at the woman. "Yeah. Well, nice seeing you again." Trini was getting ready to walk away. She thought the woman was unbelievably beautiful, but the scene at the Library gave her the impression that she didn't really like Trini for some unknown reason.

The man had been looking between the two women, and decided to say something. "Well, Trinity I'm David, Fox's husband." He held out his hand to shake, so she did. "I was thinking that since you were so kind as to retrieve my wife's purse, you might like to come home with us for dinner." His voice held a lot of charm. People probably rarely told him no.

Trini blink stupidly at him, just waiting for him to get some sort of sign from his wife letting him know it wasn't a good idea. These people were just too pretty to hang out with her.

"Well, Trinity…what do you think?" Fox addressed her, smiling encouragement.

Trini really wanted to tell them thank you but no. But when she looked into Fox's eyes to politely decline she heard herself say something else entirely. "You sure it won't be any trouble?"

David beamed at the two women. "No, No trouble at all."

Trini was surprised when they walked up to a limousine. When the uptight man with blond hair walked over and opened the door she was plain shocked. David just laughed. "Owen, this is Trinity. She will be joining us for dinner tonight."

"Nice to meet you Ms…" Owen addressed her, sounding more Vulcan than human. He didn't seem like a very emotional man.

"Stephens…Trinity Stephens. Nice to meet you." Trini smiled at him. It made her a little uncomfortable when he didn't smile back.

When they drove past a large building, Trini was really in shock. The building was easily the tallest she had ever seen. When she looked up she thought she saw a castle. "Is that a…castle?" she looked at Fox, expecting that her eyes were playing tricks on her.

"Yes, it is." Fox grinned at her. Trini's heart beat a little faster at the mischievous look Fox gave her.

"Someone sure has more money than they know what to do with." Trini joked, surprised when the other two in the car burst out laughing. It wasn't that funny.

"Yes, you could say that." David smiled at her, and Trini knew that she was not getting something.



When the car pulled up in front of the building and Owen got out and opened their door, Trini had an idea of what she missed. After the three of them stepped out she finally asked, "That's your castle?"

Fox walked up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder, leaning in to whisper, "Yes. It is." Trini felt her knees get weak. Fox only meant to be teasing, but god she was sexy. Trini noticed David's eyebrow raised at the two of them. Oh no, he didn't notice her reaction…did he? Trini's face became red.

"Well, shall we ladies." He swept his arm to indicate they should go inside.

The trip up in the elevator was very unnerving. Owen just stared at the doors, waiting for them to open. He didn't even seem to move. The couple had such an air about them; she was starting to wonder if this was some sort of weird three-way date. Gorgeous people were just too used to using their looks to gain acceptance. That was what Trini kept telling herself to convince herself she wasn't being flirted with. She didn't quite believe it though. Fox whispered something in David's ear, and he looked at her strangely for a second and then nodded his head. Trini just turned back to stare at the door, like Owen was doing. The trip was entirely too long.

"We need to just check on Alexander. Owen can show you to the dining room." David smiled winningly at her. He and Fox then got out of the Elevator. Owen made no move to, so Trinity stayed where she was. "We'll be right up once we've grabbed the little tyke." Fox waved as the elevator doors closed.

"We will be in the castle momentarily." Owen told her, again sounding like a robot of some sort. Doesn't this man have any emotions?

"We're going to the Castle?" Trini was surprised. She thought it was probably just for show.

"Yes." The door opened, "Will you follow me?" Owen nodded his head in a butler like fashion and led her out into the castle.

The old stonewalls and great arched doorways were impressive, and Trini forced herself not to gawk around like a tourist. Owen seemed to have little enough patience as it was. They walked into a room with a huge dining table. I would probably accommodate over twenty people. Place settings were all laid out on one corner of the table. Apparently there were going to be five for dinner.

"If you will excuse me, I will tell the chef that we are almost ready." Owen turned and went back the way that they had both come, leaving Trini alone in the large room. She wandered over to the window and gazed out over the city. She could probably see all of the sky over Manhattan from here. She did manage to see the apartment building she was staying at. It didn't look so tall anymore.

"Alexander, do you remember Trinity. The nice lady from the Library?" Trini heard Fox's voice as she entered the Dining room. She turned to see the family entering, followed by Owen. Alexander let go of Fox's hand and ran up to her. Trinity was a little uncomfortable. Children were always so unpredictable.

"Trinity…hi." Alexander smiled like she was a brand new toy, "Thank you for the ride. Can we do it again?"

David looked confused and turned to ask Fox about it. She answered him before a word was spoken. "Trinity was the woman I told you we met in the Library. She saved Alexander from getting run over by a bicycle, when he ran away from me to see Elisa." She looked sternly at the little boy, who hadn't taken his eyes off of Trini and didn't realize that his mother was still angry with him.

Trini knelt down a little and smiled at Alexander, "I'm not really up to it today. Sorry." She paused when she saw the disappointed look in his eyes. Damn. "So…did you read all those books yet?"

"Not yet. Lex only reads me one a night." Alexander grabbed her hand and started to lead her to the dining table. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Fox flinched a little at 

the mention of Lex. So she didn't push to ask who that was, even though that reaction made her want to know even more. They all sat at the table: David at the head of the table, with Fox and Owen on one side and Trini and Alexander on the other. Trini wasn't too happy with the seating arrangement that Alexander had insisted on. He wanted to sit next to her, and that was fine, but now she was right across from his mother, and that made her self-conscious. .

Owen glared at her hat. Trini just ignored it and continued talking with Alexander and Fox about his stuffed animal collection. Finally David entered the conversation, "So Trini…what do you do for a living?" Alexander obediently went quiet and started to eat his dinner. He didn't seem the least bit upset to not have her undivided attention. She was grateful, because talking with kids wore her down.

"Well…" she grinned at him. "Right now, nothing. I was working at my college as a receptionist while going to school. They didn't need me over the summer…it's okay though, because it gave me time to come here."

Fox spoke up, "So you don't live here?"

"Uh…no I'm from Seattle. I'm in Manhattan house-sitting, or actually, apartment sitting for a friend of my brothers." Trini was really beginning to regret that. She was making friends here; she didn't have any back home.

The rest of the meal went smoothly, with David and Fox telling her a little more about themselves. She wasn't too surprised to find out that Fox had been on television at one point. She told them about her schooling, and the novel she was now ready to start trying to get published. They asked a lot of questions about her family. It made her a little uncomfortable, it felt like they were digging for something, but they soon dropped it after she told them that her mother had raised her alone, and her brother was actually a step brother. The look they shared irritated her.

The meal was easily the best she had eaten since long before she got out of school. After a light desert Owen took Alexander back to his room for tutoring. The kid was about four, what sort of tutoring could he possibly need? Maybe the Xanatos' wanted him to already be able to read when he started school. While she was glad to see Owen leave…he had been staring at her strangely all through dinner, she would miss Alexander.

"So, would you like some wine?" David asked.

Trini debated about that. She could use all the inhibitions she had right now. Her tolerance for alcohol was a joke. One drink was all it took to make her…loose. That was why she had stopped drinking after things started…changing. "No, thank you. But if you have any juice?" She didn't really want to leave just yet. She enjoyed spending time with these two. David raised his eyebrow at that a little, but made a motion that sent the chef off to the kitchen.

They got up from the table so the staff could clean up the dishes and wandered over towards the large window again. It was still daylight outside, and would be for another two hours. She had time to visit, before she went out again tonight.

The staff came out with three glasses at the same time that Elisa Maza walked into the room. She looked a little irritated. "Xanatos…we need to talk." Trini took her glass absently and wondered what Elisa was doing there, before she remembered that Alexander had known her at the library.

"I'd be glad to Detective… Have you met our guest?" David stood aside to make introductions. Elisa beat him to it.

"Trini!" she sounded really surprised, and not too pleased, "What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Elisa." Trini sounded a little sheepish to her own ears.

Fox decided to answer Elisa, "We ran into Trini at the mall. She stopped a purse-thief for me."

"Wait, let me guess. Did you knock him unconscious with a rock?" The sarcasm in Elisa's voice wasn't pleasant. Trini didn't understand what was wrong.

"No…He just didn't have a very good grip on the purse." Trini defended herself.



David and Fox just stood back and watched the conversation, clearly trying to understand. Trini was glad when the suspicious gleam in Elisa's eye died. "Sorry… you know Trini, with all the work you've been doing lately I should really just draft you into the police force." She grinned at her own joke.

David decided that he really wanted to know the story now. "Detective, what do you mean?"

"Trini here has been really busy since she got here. She prevented Alex from getting hit by a bike, took on a group of Quarrymen attacking…a gargoyle…and saved a woman from a mugging." Elisa held up a finger for each event she mentioned, then she grinned mischievously, "And she goes around telling people when they're in danger." She referred to the way that they had met. All the time that Elisa was talking Trini could feel the blush creep over her face; Fox's appraising gaze only served to intensify Trini's blush. "How long have you been here Trini?" Elisa teased, knowing the answer.

"Almost two weeks." Trini felt on display.

David smiled at her, "And you told us you weren't working."

"Yes…that sounds like work to me." Fox teased, moving closer to Trini to lay her hand on her shoulder. "You're going to put Elisa out of a job if you keep that up."

David decided to take mercy on Trini by changing the subject, "So…Detective…shall we go to my office?"

Fox turned to address Trini, "So would you like a tour…"

"No!…I mean…" Elisa seemed flustered. "Fox, if you could arrange a ride home for Trini that would be great. I am sure that she has work to do…inside…tonight, on her book." Elisa looked pointedly at Trini, emphasizing that she didn't want her going out to the park tonight. Fox looked at Elisa sharply…and stared at her for a while before agreeing.

"I think that I'll drive you home. Is that okay with you?" Fox's smile would have made Trini agree to almost anything.

"Sure." Trini followed Fox out of the room.

When they passed by Elisa, Fox spoke, "We need to talk later." Her voice was chilly. Trini guessed that she didn't appreciate being ordered around. Trini did recognize that Elisa was a little bossy.

When they drove up to the apartment building, Trini was surprised that Fox parked the car, rather than just drop her off at the door. "I brought that wine. Can I come up?" Fox's smile was absolutely wicked.

"Uh…Sure." Trini was confused. If this were another woman, one without a family, she would swear Fox was seriously flirting with her.

Trini unlocked the door to the apartment well aware that Margot Yale was watching their every move. She looked like she disapproved, and Trini had an impulse to do something outrageous just to shock her. She reined that impulse in and just let Fox in.

"Have a seat, I'll get some glasses." Trini indicated Fox should sit on the couch.

"Do you have a corkscrew? I didn't bring one." Fox held out the bottle, grinning. Trini's knees felt weak again. She was torn at being glad that she had this woman here, and afraid that she was going to do something stupid in front of her. She had better be very careful not to drink very much. Looking outside, at the fading light, she wondered how long Fox was planning to visit. She sure as hell wouldn't be kicking her out.

"Oh…sure. Give it to me, I'll get it opened." Trini took the bottle into the kitchen with her and returned a few minutes later with two glasses of wine.

Fox was sitting on the couch, with her legs curled beside her. With the one look she gave Trini, it was obvious that Fox knew what power she had over her. She was being seductive on purpose. Trini had to force her legs, which had stopped in shock to move closer to Fox. "Here." Once Fox took the drink, Trini sat on the chair across from the couch. She almost forgot herself and took a deep drink of the wine.



"Trini…" Fox took a sip of wine, "I was wondering why you never take that hat off?"

"I've been wearing it all day, my hair is probably horrid." Trini covered, her heart beating more quickly. She didn't like the turn the conversation was taking.

Fox waved her arm, dismissing that statement. "Did you get a bad haircut?"

Trini hadn't considered that. It took her so long to process it that any answer she gave would seem false. She was saved from answering with another awkward question.

"David thinks that you're attracted to me." Fox smiled conspiratorially, "Men and their fantasies…"

Trini really had no idea how to respond. Her face started to blush, and she looked down into her glass.

"Maybe not just fantasies." Fox muttered and raised an eyebrow at Trini's response. She sat up a little straighter, and changed the subject. "I was wondering if you…do you know anything about your father's side of the family?"

The blush that had started to cover Trini's face faded quickly. "I…know a little. I don't…I tried to meet some of the relatives. They weren't very welcoming." She couldn't understand why Fox was so interested in this. She couldn't possibly know. "Why do you care about that so much?"

Fox studied her carefully, and Trini squirmed under the inspection. "My mother…is a bit of a wanderer as well." Trini could tell that Fox was waiting for some form of understanding from her, but she just didn't get it. That seemed to confirm something, because Fox just dropped the topic.

"David and I were going to go see Cats again on Tuesday. Would you like to come?" The smile this time was nothing but friendly. The seduction had disappeared, and Trini was grateful. There was really nothing she could have done about it anymore, even if she decided that she wanted to.

"I…well, how much are the tickets?" Trini had told Robbie she would see at least one show.

"Silly! I will pay." When Fox saw the reluctance on Trini's face she added, "There was a lot more money in my purse than that." That made Trini relax. It was a reward, and that was normal. Nothing odd, or date like about that.

"Ok." Trini agreed, and when Fox's eye's light up she was glad that she did. She went to take another drink of her wine, and found that it was gone.

"I should really be getting back. Keep the rest of the wine." Fox stood up gracefully, "The show starts at 10pm. I was thinking we could get something to eat beforehand. We'll come get you around 6. I can lend you something to wear. I can't imagine you packed evening wear." Trini's eyes went wide in panic. She hadn't thought about that.

"What…I…I can't." Trini stuttered out.

Fox stood next to the open front door, "Of course you can. I won't let you back out on me." She then shut the door, leaving a flabbergasted Trini inside. She wore her baggy clothes and that stupid hat for a reason. How the hell was she going to manage eveningwear?

She had really wanted to go. Depressed, Trini went to check her emails before changing to go out tonight. How much would a dress set her back? If she had one that would work for her she'd still be able to go, but could she afford it? There was no way she could borrow something of Fox's.

June 14th

Trini didn't get out of the apartment until just after midnight. Elisa had called to see if she was home. Her brother called wanting to chat. She also had to do laundry because she had forgotten to wash her stalking around in the dark clothes. In spite of it already being late, she was going out. She needed to think about something other than the fact that she was alone. Fox's 

seductive nature only served to highlight the fact that she was different, undesirable, and freakish, yet again. This trip wasn't that great for her self esteem.

She started wandering through the bushes looking for a good place to wait. She chose a tree and was getting ready to climb it when she heard something. Whimpering. She backed down from the tree and tried to determine where that noise was coming from. It sounded like an injured animal. She moved quietly through the bushes towards the noise, not wanting to frighten it.

When she got to the clearing and saw what she had been tracking her eyes went wide, and her stomach clenched. The beat up form of a woman lay in the grass, whimpering to herself. Her pants hung down around her ankles, her legs curling in on her in a fetal position. She was rocking quietly and whimpering. Her t-shirt was ripped open. Her panties lay shredded a few feet away. Trini slowly crept closer, and could see that her face had become swollen and bruised.

Softly, so as not to startle the woman Trini spoke, "Hey…" She didn't know what else to say. The horror of the situation overwhelmed her.

The woman looked up at her, fear in her eyes. Trini quickly tried to calm her. "No…No…I won't hurt you." She tried to use the soothing voice that Elisa had used when Trini was upset at the hospital. It seemed to help, because the woman relaxed a little bit, even though her eyes remained very wide and fixed on her. Trini crouched down, in an unconscious attempt to seem less threatening, and moved closer. What was she supposed to do, seeing this woman like this made her want to cry, but she had to do something. She forcefully pushed her emotions under control. She made no attempt to touch the woman, because that might set her off on a crying or screaming fit. Since she was so close to the ground, she was able to notice the softly glowing cigarette bud. The monsters that did this were here not too long ago. They might still be nearby. Trini clenched her fists and turned her head away from the woman's searching gaze as she attempted to control the rage that told her that she could probably catch up to these rapists. The way she was feeling right now she would probably kill them.

The woman spoke weakly, "I want to go home." and when Trini heard the high wavering voice her heart broke just a bit more. She couldn't tell by the bruised face, but the voice gave it away. This person had a woman's body, but she was still a child. A tear fell down Trini's face.

Trini knew that the girl needed to go to a hospital, and should contact the police, but looking into her pleading eyes she decided that they could make those calls from her home. They needed to get away from here anyway. "Okay. I'll help you." With that simple statement the girl started to move. She stiffly moved to pull her pants back up, and with shaking fingers fastened them. Trini saw how hard it was for the girl to stand, so she moved closer. She stopped when the girl flinched away from her. "Do you need a hand up?"

The girl debated, but Trini could see how painful movement was for her. She finally reached out an arm and latched onto Trini. "Thank you." Trini easily pulled her up, being careful not to hurt her.

When the girl started to fumble with her shirt in a useless attempt to get it to cover her, she started to cry again.

"Here." Trini started to unbutton the shirt she was wearing. She handed the black shirt to the girl, leaving her top half clad in only her light gray sports bra. She would never, under normal circumstances wear so little around someone else, but she didn't want this girl to start crying again. She just didn't know how to handle that. The girl fumbled to put it on, but her hands were shaking too badly to button it up. "Can I help you with that?" Trini asked quietly. She was not going to touch this girl without her permission. The girl just nodded, so Trini slowly and carefully fastened her shirt onto the trembling frame.

Trini walked with the girl through the park, passing only one person on the way. When the jogger stared at them Trini gave him a hard glare and he went on his way without saying anything. The girl's movements were slow and obviously painful, Trini debated about helping to support her, but she just didn't know if that would upset the broken girl. By the time they walked 

up to an open sewer grate the girl was showing no signs of emotion. Trini recognized that she was probably going into shock.

"Where are we going?" Trini was starting to think this girl might be homeless. They weren't moving towards any street, just going deeper into the park. "Do you have any family or friends there?"

They were interrupted by a boy's voice coming from the sewers, "Kelly? Your late!" Trini watched the boy step closer and saw the dawning horror on his face once he saw the girl, Kelly. "What happened?" he whispered in shock. Kelly didn't answer him, she just started to faint. Trini rushed over to her and managed to catch her before she fell.

"Do you know where she lives?" Trini spoke with definite authority, startling the boy, who hadn't seen her before she moved to catch Kelly.

"Yes." He sounded suspicious, "What happened to her?"

"Look, I don't have time to get into it." Trini didn't want to have to tell this boy about something so horrible. "Can you lead me to her home?"

The boy seemed to read the urgency and had the brains to listen to Trini. "Yes." He turned and started to rush into the tunnels.

"Wait! The sewers? No, this girl needs medical attention!" Trini readjusted her grip on Kelly and easily picked her up.

The boy ran back towards her. "This is just the fastest way. We have medical facilities at home."

"How fast." Trini figured that if she took Kelly to the hospital she had taken Andrea it would take another half an hour.

"We can be there in 15 minutes if we hurry." She looked down at the girl. Faster was important. She followed the boy into the tunnels with no trouble, in spite of the girl that she was carrying.

They had been rushing through the tunnels for what seemed like forever, just because of the urgency of the situation. Sweat was starting to drip down Trini's forehead when the boy slowed down, obviously waiting for something. Kelly was still unconscious.

A voice from the dark called out "Sammy. What is going on?"

Trini was shocked, "Elisa?"

This seemed to startle the speaker, "No…I'm Delilah." Delilah saw the body that Trini was carrying, and spoke again, "Travis, go get Talon. Tell him we have a situation here. Also let him know we have a guest." The way she talked really reminded Trini of Elisa. Maybe she should call the detective; she would be better prepared to deal with this than she was. Travis ran off to do what Delilah asked.

"What happened?" The woman in the dark asked after Travis was out of sight. Trini didn't understand why she was staying hidden, but she had other things to think about.

"I found her in the park." Trini noticed that the tears she had fought earlier were starting to fall. "She…" Trini looked down at the unconscious Kelly, "She was raped."

The hiss that filled the tunnel at that was inhuman. "Oh, God!" They all stood in silence for a moment.

Trini decided to continue. "She was conscious until we found Travis. I think she's in shock or something. She really needs a hospital." Trini's voice caught, as she fought the urge to sob. She'd never seen anyone hurt like that, and the wave of helpless anger she held for Kelly was almost debilitating. She was upset with herself, because the shaking was probably hurting the unconscious girl she had in her arms.

When she felt someone reaching out to touch the girl, her eyes flew open and she gave a deep and threatening growl to the man. His eyes widened and he took a few steps back. She hadn't even noticed him enter.

"Please, she must be heavy. Let Chris take her to her room." Delilah called down to her. Trini eyed the man suspiciously, "He won't hurt her. He's a doctor." Delilah added.



Trini carefully handed over the girl. As Chris walked away with her, Trini used her own arms to give herself the hug that she desperately needed. She needed to be strong just a little longer.

Delilah seemed to sense that she was barely holding on. Trini heard her take a step in her direction, but she stopped. "Wh…What is your name?" Delilah asked.

"Trini…" her voice cracked, "Is she going to be okay?"

"She will get all the care that we can provide." Delilah didn't sound very convinced that it would be enough.

"Is there anything else I can do?" Trini couldn't imagine anything else, but she didn't want to miss something, anything, she could do.

"You have already done so much. There are a lot of people here that can help now."

Trini stared at the dirty walls, trying to calm her breathing.

Another voice came from the shadows, a male one. "Thank you for your help. We can take care of it from here. I'll have someone escort you out." After a brief pause he added, apparently aware of how callous he had sounded, "Thank you." This time he sounded sincere. Trini just nodded and followed another young man out of the tunnels. She didn't speak once during the trip.

Trini woke to someone pounding on her front door. She tried to ignore it, but it was insistent. She climbed out of bed and stumbled to the door. "Go Away!" she yelled at whoever was on the other side.

"Trini, it's me." She heard Elisa yell through the door. Trini took an inventory of her appearance: Her pajamas covered her well enough, her mascara ran down her face, she looked as pale as death, and her damned ears were sticking out like a fucking elf's.

"Go Away!" she repeated. She just wasn't up to dealing with anyone right now. Not even Elisa. She started to walk back to her bedroom.

"Trini, Open this God Damn door!" Elisa yelled and resumed pounding even harder than before.

Trini glared at the door, and then grabbed a red baseball cap off of the couch. She put it on backwards and walked back to the door. She opened it a crack, intending to tell Elisa that she was still tired. Why was she there anyway? Everything died on her lips as she saw that Elisa was holding the shirt she had given Kelly last night.

Trini reached out a shaky hand to take the shirt. Elisa handed it to her, "Trini…" Elisa's soft voice was all it took to break Trini. She started to sob. She turned away from the front door, not wanting Elisa to see her so weak.

She heard the door shut as Elisa let herself in, and was startled when arms circled her in a hug. She turned and burrowed herself into Elisa's embrace, hugging the Detective to her tightly. She barely took notice as Elisa guided them to the couch. Elisa put her back to the armrest and pulled Trini's body over hers so that she could hold her. Elisa was stroking Trini's back gently as she sobbed. When Elisa went to pull off the hat so that she could stroke Trini's hair, Trini stiffened, so Elisa withdrew her hand and resumed her lazy petting of her friends back. After several minutes Trini's sobs died down, but she burrowed in closer to Elisa, enjoying the closeness. She didn't want to let go. She felt safer where she was.

"Trini…" Elisa started to speak for the first time since coming inside, her voice soothing and calming. Trini loved her voice.

"I should have been there sooner." Trini whispered out, her throat sore and scratchy.

"Oh, no…" Elisa hugged Trini, "No…Trini, it wasn't your fault. Don't you dare blame yourself!" Elisa kissed Trini's forehead, tears started to run down the Detective's face, but her voice remained soothing. Trini could feel the wetness of Elisa's tears since she was resting her forehead under Elisa's chin. In the quiet of the room they mingled with her own and traveled to create a damp spot on Elisa's t-shirt after running like a stream over Trini's cheek.



It took what felt like several minutes for Trini to manage to get more words out of her tight throat. "I want to kill them… poor girl…want to kill them." She muttered, while hot tears started to fall down her face and drip onto Elisa's shirt again.

"We'll get them." Elisa whispered into Trini's baseball cap, "Don't worry, we'll get them." They sat like that for a while. Trini then leaned back and looked into Elisa's tearstained face, with an unreadable expression on her face. She leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on Elisa's lips, she then tilted her head and leaned in again, giving a more searching, needy kiss. Her breath grew shallow with her desire. She wanted this closeness. Elisa gently pushed her away. "Trini…we can't. I can't."

Just when she didn't think she could hurt anymore, a sharp jab of pain hit Trini in the chest as soon as Elisa pushed her away. Elisa was going to leave her, wasn't going to want anything to do with her. "I'm sorry…" she sobbed out.

"It's okay Trini…It's okay." Elisa hugged her again, and was making no move to leave. Elisa stayed with her for a few hours. They had a somber lunch, and the woman seemed reluctant to go to work that evening, which went a ways in making Trini believe that Elisa cared. Trini had no useful information about the rape to give Elisa and felt so useless because of it.

June 15th

Trini's walk to the grocery store took her past an Art Gallery. She would have never noticed that, if she hadn't seen a familiar face coming out of it, working to hold her bag while working her crutches. The doctor said it wasn't broken, but it was still not supposed to be walked on for a while. "Andrea?"

The artist turned and looked at her, confused for a second, before she was recognized. "Trini! Oh God, is that you?" She immediately came over to hug her. "I wanted to see you again. You never gave me your number, and I couldn't find you in the phone book."

"I'm not in the phone book." Trini smiled at Andrea.

Andrea grinned, "Well that explains why I didn't find you…I was going to meet a friend for lunch. You have to join us!"

Trini hesitated, suspicious of whom the friend might be. Elisa said to avoid Dominique. Even though she didn't understand that, Elisa was too good a friend to just ignore. She even took that slip up with the kiss well, inviting her to dinner on her night off. "Um…well I was just on my way to do my grocery shopping."

"You saved me. I have to buy you lunch, that is the least I could do." Andrea's eyes took on a very determined look.

They both walked into the restaurant a few blocks from where they had met. Andrea immediately saw her friend, and grabbed Trini's hand to guide her to the table. Trini looked around to see if anyone noticed that she was very underdressed for the place. She felt uncomfortable. She saw Margot and Brendan notice her. Margot smiled, and Trini gave her a little wave, just to be polite.

"Domi! Look who I found." Andrea greeted the woman at the table, who…Domi?…She sure didn't look like that severely dressed executive Trini met at the hospital. Her flame red hair was loose, and she was dressed in black pants and a red shirt that wasn't buttoned up high enough to avoid showing cleavage. She looked dangerous, and incredibly attractive. New York had far more than its fair share of attractive women. Trini blushed shyly and smiled. She'd managed to not notice anyone for years, and now that she's in New York she can't deny the urge to stare at the beautiful women she meets. Part of her that seemed dead was very much alive.

"Andrea! I was wondering why you were late." Dominique smiled at her, and then reached out a hand to shake Trini's. "I didn't get to thank you for saving Andrea that other night. I am sorry." Trini blinked in surprise, this didn't really seem to be the same person. Maybe the stress of the evening caused the bitchiness.



"Trini, have a seat, I just need to run to the restroom for a second." Andrea smiled and then walked away, leaving Trini alone…with her. Trini studied the menu quietly, wanting to choose something less expensive, without being too obvious about it. When she glanced up she noticed that Dominique had been studying her. "I am sorry about this. I tried to tell her no, but that…didn't work too well."

"I've noticed that she can be a little persistent." Dominique agreed. After a pause, she spoke again. "You still spending nights in Central Park?"

"Um…yeah, occasionally." Trini's expression darkened, remembering the last time. Dominique raised her eyebrow, seeing that this was a sensitive subject. A restaurant wasn't the place to go into that.

"Nice hat?" Dominique noticed.

"Oh…" Trini looked around to see that there were no people seated nearby enough to hear. Still she leaned in closer to Dominique to make an excuse for not taking it off. She hadn't needed it at the hospital and she knew it was inappropriate to wear it in a restaurant this nice. "I ran into a little trouble with some Quarrymen. I thought it was time for a new look." Changing the topic a little Trini raised an eyebrow at the redhead. "You…look really different on the weekends." Trini observed, obviously meaning Dominique looked much better, her heart started beating more quickly when that gained a mysterious smile from her lunch companion.

"I've learned to be quite…versatile, with my appearance." The smile grew.

"Sorry to leave you two alone." Andrea smiled and sat down.

"No problem." Trini replied, surprised that she meant it. Dominique seemed nice when you got her away from Elisa.

When lunch was over Trini was disappointed. Andrea was fun to be with. She just noticed the weirdest little things. Dominique had been pleasant to her and Andrea, but the waiter was probably eager to see her leave. She felt really embarrassed for him. She had one hell of a temper if anything was wrong. Trini purposely didn't mention that she had asked for no tomatoes with her pasta, and choked them down just to avoid a scene. Andrea had grinned at her. She knew what Trini was doing.

Dominique offered to give both of them a ride home. So now she was sitting in the back of yet another limousine, thinking about how disappointed Elisa was going to be in her. Maybe this was something that she could avoid mentioning. She hadn't actually intended to spend so much time with Dominique.

"Trini, do you have any plans right now?" Andrea asked, obviously hoping that she was available.

"Not unless you count buying groceries as plans." Trini grinned back.

"What about you Domi, have time to come see what I've been working on?" Andrea looked imploringly at Dominique. Trini got the impression that the answer to that question was often no.

"Sure, I could make some time." Dominique leaned up to tell the driver the destination.

Andrea's studio wasn't really that far away from the apartment Trini was staying at. When they got out to go up, Trini looked back at the driver, "What does he do when you're out doing things?" She whispered to Dominique.

Dominique grinned mischievously at her, "Eagerly wait for my return, like the dog all men are." Trini laughed.

Trini was shocked to see that Andrea's art…all of the art she had out…were night scenes. Andrea walked them over to see the mostly finished piece on her easel. Both Dominique and Trini gasped. It was a beautiful Manhattan skyline with a shapely blue female gargoyle moving across the moon, her red hair whipping across her face.



"Oh…it's beautiful." Trini was in awe. "Is she real?" She wanted to know if Andrea had actually seen this female around. The only one that she knew about was a lavender color. She had seen a few bad pictures of that one, hard to see any real details.

"Gargoyles are real." Andrea replied, as if expecting an argument.

"I know that, I've seen one. I just…is she real?" Trini was still distracted, studying the picture, trying to see the wing structure.

Andrea smiled fondly, "Yes. I saw her once, a few years ago."

"In person?" Trini turned to hear the story.

"No. I was catching a cab home." Andrea obviously wished that she had a closer look. "Domi…what do you think. You've been awfully quiet."

"It's very…nice, Andrea." Dominique seemed a little off. She was thinking about something else.

"So, Trini…you've seen a gargoyle?" Dominique glanced at Trini, and it made her nervous. It seemed a little tense.

"Remember I told you that I had trouble with the Quarrymen?" Trini waited for the nod before continuing. "Well they were attacking a dog like gargoyle. I…threw some rocks at them to distract them so he could get away."

"That's what Maza meant by rock throwing." Dominique gave her an appraising stare.

"Yeah, Domi…she's pretty good at it." Andrea smiled at her warmly and gave Trini a one armed hug.

As Dominique and Trini were leaving, Andrea poured out her purse, hunting for something. "Here is my card. Call me, we could do something while you're in town." Andrea smiled at Trini and waited until she put the card away before saying good-bye.

"So, where do you live?" Dominique asked as they both got back into the limo. Remembering the warnings that Elisa had given her, Trini dodged the question.

"Oh, I was on my way to the grocery store. Could you drop me off there?" Trini couldn't stop herself from staring at Dominique as she leaned forward to give Gregory the next destination. She was a beautiful mystery.

"Thank you for the ride, and lunch." Trini waved to Dominique and entered the grocery store. That wasn't so bad. Elisa had her expecting to be beaten and left in a ditch somewhere.

Trini didn't notice that Dominique followed her from the grocery store to her apartment building. She also didn't notice the nasty look that Dominique sent her way as she entered the building.

June 16th

The night before had been nothing, Trini had searched the entire Central Park religiously from dark till almost dawn. It was different this time because while she did look up into the sky, her eyes traveled to the ground more often. She ached to find someone being attacked so that she could stop it. To find a girl like Kelly that for once she was in time to save.

That night had nothing, but in spite of the boredom of it Trini walked out of her apartment building shortly after dark once again.

Trini kept moving this night, rather than staking out a single spot. She had been here a few nights, and knew the areas that would be good for crime. She made sure to go past them on a regular basis. She crawled through bushes, climbed trees for better views, and almost forgot to look for gargoyles at all. It wasn't really gargoyles she was looking for even though she came for them and needed to find them. She was looking for those bastards that hurt Kelly. Unfortunately she wouldn't recognize them, so she was looking for men attacking women and wanted to take out her anger on them, hoping it was the same men, but not really caring. She filled up her fanny pack with rocks, so that she wouldn't need to confront anyone personally.



Trini climbed up into a tree for a good view of a remote garden spot, so that she wouldn't have to walk all the way over there.

"So…Human. What are you doing?" Trini spun around to look at where the woman's voice came from. Two glowing red eyes stared back at her. Trini gasped softly and just stared at the glowing eyes unable to believe she'd found someone.

"I…" Trini tried to stare into the dark; she barely made out the shadow of wings, verifying her thoughts. "I'm looking for you."

At that moment a woman's scream sounded from somewhere north of their location. Trini looked over that way and then expectantly at the gargoyle. She didn't make any move to go to her aid.

"Why are you looking for me?!" the voice became threatening, dangerous. The screaming from the woman in the park became more panicked. Trini looked at the gargoyle and then back towards the screaming again. She was imagining all sorts of horrible things happening to make that woman scream.

"Aren't you going to do something?!" she pleaded.

"I'd rather you stupid humans kill each other." The gargoyle barely got that out, when Trini jumped down from the tree and started running for the screaming, tears in her eyes. She needed that gargoyle. Needed her help, but she couldn't ignore this. Someone needed help and she ran as fast as she could towards the direction the scream came from, worried that she wasn't hearing any more screams. She noticed the gargoyle take to the air as she ran. When she rounded the turn in the path she saw that police officers had a man down on the ground. She wasn't needed. She searched the skies. The gargoyle was gone.

Trini felt like screaming out her frustration. Her fists clenched as she turned away from the police to the sky. She couldn't even see an outline of the gargoyle now. She lost her.

The rest of her day was a haze as she had trouble sleeping. Her disappointment keeping her awake, she still managed to trudge through the park the next night, hoping that now that the gargoyle knew she was there she'd come. She hadn't.

June 17th

Trini woke up suddenly and inexplicably at 9 am. She couldn't get the gargoyle she met ever so briefly out of her head. She had read several articles showing that the Manhattan clan protected the city, so what was up with the bitter female she met? Was she ever going to see her again? She was already almost half way through with her visit, and that was the first contact. She kept checking the papers, but the gargoyles were busy lying low right now. It was crappy timing for them to decide to do that. Trini felt tense and flipped around on the bed. She tried to fall back to sleep, but she was horribly wide-awake. Grumbling to herself she leapt out of bed. Apparently she only needed 5 hours of sleep today.

Trini walked naked into the bathroom and looked at her reflection in defeat. The two most…disturbing…parts of her anatomy would be next to impossible to hide in a slinky dress. Shopping was on her list of things to do today. Something more normal to try and take her mind off her bad luck in the park.

She turned to the side and studied the pitch-black tail that almost reached her knees. It was the same deep black as her hair. The tail was still growing. It had started out as a discolored bump on the base of her spine a year ago. She remembered puzzling over where that bruise came from for a while, before it started to grow a few months later. Once she realized what it was Trini had considered telling her mother about it, but…Trini looked sadly at the pale oval shaped scar on her right shoulder blade. Yes, it was a tail, but it was a part of her body. She kept it to herself, and endured her family's criticism about the baggy clothes that she wore to hide it. Her mother told her that she had a terrific figure and she should use it to her advantage. She just wanted Trini to find someone, and by someone…Trini knew she meant a man. Trini gave a soundless and humorless chuckle…that was something else her mother hadn't known about. Trini had been 

waiting to find someone before going through that argument with her mother. When the tail started to grow, she realized that she couldn't be with anyone because they would talk. It was dangerous to be as different as Trinity was. When her mother died in the car accident, it spared her from ever having to bring it up.

The tail was growing down, but a black line was starting to grow up her spine. She could still cover it with her pants, but she suspected it was going to go all the way up. She sighed, and practiced wrapping the tail around her leg, to see if that would work under a dress. It was too thick, the coils of it would show, unless…she found something with a fuller skirt, ballroom dress like. It might be a little different than what the others wore, but that was what she had to do. It would still look good, and it would be long enough that she could just let her tail dangle for a change. It would feel good to not always have to keep it tense and in place. It was like walking around all the time with your stomach sucked in. Hardly comfortable. She'd tell Fox she was going to shop for a dress; Fox's clothes would hardly fit her anyhow. She didn't have such full breasts. A dress couldn't cost more that the tickets would have. Problem one solved.

Trini leaned in closer to the mirror and stared at her ears. She hated these much more than the tail. It was hard to hide. They stuck out a little on the sides of her head and came to a point at the top. It was bad enough when the tail came in. Trini had decided to find gargoyles when that started, but to see she wasn't done changing scared her. What if she just woke up some day and found that she was…green…she wouldn't be able to hide it anymore.

She'd saved up for months to see New York. She was so desperate that she was going to sell her car for a couple thousand dollars so she could take the trip. She was so happy when her stepbrother found a way save her money with this apartment. Everyone else thought this was her one big vacation to celebrate graduation, and she let them think it wasn't anything more than that.

She took the tip of one ear and held it flat to her head. She then pulled the hair around it. That just might work. There was no hat that would work for an evening dress and cover her ears. She had to find another way.

Trini walked out of the bathroom and grabbed the tape off of the desk in the bedroom. She tried taping the ear down, but the hair above it kept pulling out. A few minutes later, and she had shaved the few hairs away. The tape only held for a short amount of time, before her ear sprung back out.

"Hm…stronger tape?" Trini made plans to go shopping for tape that afternoon. This just might work.

Trini came back from the store at eleven with a bag full of adhesive products. After trying a few, and finding that her ears really preferred to stick out, she pulled out the big guns. The foamy adhesive tabs that people used to secure phones to the wall. She would probably end up soaking her head for at least an hour to get it off, but it held. Trini did a victory dance, and started to laugh.

Trini held the phone up to her now concealed ear with a smile and was waiting on hold for Fox.

"Trini? You aren't trying to back out on me are you?" Fox spoke as soon as she picked up the line.

"No…I wouldn't do that to you." Trini smiled and gazed at the Eyrie building from her balcony. "I just wanted to tell you that I was going shopping for a dress. Do you want to come?"

There was a pause; Trini could hear Fox flipping through a book. "Sure, I'd love to come. I know some wonderful shops!" Trini started to doubt herself, Fox was a millionaire, would she even understand price limits? "Let me finish up here, and I come get you in a half hour, Okay?"

Trini took a deep breath and vowed that money was no object. She didn't believe it, but she said it. Who knew how much longer she would be able to go out and have fun like this.



Fox and Trini walked into the second store that afternoon. In looking around, it appeared that all they sold was women's eveningwear.

"Trini, you would look absolutely gorgeous in this." Fox held up a tight black dress that did go really well with her hair. Trini eyed it wishfully.

"Sorry, I'm looking for something that won't show off my big butt." She smiled as Fox looked at her like she was crazy.

"Honey, you are beautiful, and your butt looks like just the right size." Fox admonished her.

Trini stepped closer, to politely look at the dress Fox liked. She looked around and whispered so that the salespeople wouldn't hear her, "Fox? This is really expensive. I…don't think I can afford to shop here. Let's go."

Fox smiled at her, "Trini, how many evening dresses have you bought?"

"None. I never really went out like that."

"They all cost a few hundred dollars at least." When Fox saw Trini balk she added, "I was planning on buying it for you."

"But…" Trini wasn't comfortable with taking Fox's money. It was taking advantage of her. It was bad enough she let Fox buy the tickets for tonight. "Fox…I can't ask…"

"You aren't asking, I'm offering. It's like you said, we have more money than we know what to do with." Fox teased. "I am buying you a dress today, and if I see you looking at price tags, rather than dresses..." Fox put a playfully stern look on her face.

It was in the third store that Trini found something that worked. It was jet black, didn't have a plunging back, and came down to the floor. It did leave her shoulders bare, which gave it a sexy touch. The skirt part was not too full, just enough to hide a few things. It was also, way more than she wanted Fox to spend, but after seeing the price tags on some of the dresses Fox wanted her to try, she knew Fox wouldn't think it was too much. Trini stepped out of the dressing room to show Fox, and really enjoyed the way Fox's eyes widened in appreciation. "Oh, that is the one." Fox stated, and then turned to the saleswoman. "Candi, please, get some hose and accessories that will go with this. We are taking it." The saleswoman rushed off to do just that, probably imagining the commission this sale would make.

"Do you have plans?" Fox asked as they stepped outside with Trini carrying her purchases. They'd killed quite a few hours with this shopping trip. More time that Trini really thought it would take, and she felt like she should be researching another way to find gargoyles.

"No." Trini felt a small blush cover her face as she noticed Fox appraising her current outfit, which wasn't dressy. It was her normal wear. Something in Fox's eyes had Trini's heart beating a little faster. This whole shopping trip was interesting. Every time Trini tried on an outfit Fox wanted to see it. The way Fox would inspect the dresses made Trini fell like Fox was caressing her with those eyes.

"Good, then you and I can have dinner. There is a cute little restaurant I want to take you to."