A lot could happen in just 24 hours, Elisa mused, watching as Skyler practically floated across the floor. She was in the kitchen, preparing the kids' favorite Mac-n-cheese for lunch, humming to herself and pausing once in a while to stare at the ring on her finger.

Elisa couldn't help but smile from where she sat, unnoticed on the stairs. She had woken twenty minutes ago, taken a quick shower, and headed downstairs for a cup of coffee.

Seeing the state of Skyler, however, made Elisa hesitate to interrupt.

Unbeknownst to Skyler, Brooklyn had been carrying that engagement ring around with him for nearly a month, trying to find the right time to ask her to marry him. He had begged Elisa to help him, and Elisa had "borrowed" one of Skyler's rings for a few hours one night to get the correct size.

For the most part, the gargoyles kept a small piece of their paychecks from the NYPD, but most of it was sent to a handful of charities around Manhattan. Brooklyn had been adamant about paying for it out of his own money, without realizing just how expensive these things were, but had managed to find a small but pretty ring for his intended.

Skyler was obviously over the moon.

Elisa smiled at the younger woman. Skyler had some rough times in her teens, when she'd been "abandoned" by her mother in Colorado and had ended up in the foster care system until she'd aged out at 18, and despite becoming a member of the extended Gargoyle family here, there was still about a two year span that she refused to speak of, leaving Elisa to draw the conclusion that it had been bad.

If anyone deserved a piece of a fairy tale, it was Skyler, and Elisa was happy, just having been a small part of it.

Elisa kept her place on the stairs, peeking out through the opened balcony doors to where her children played. Today, the kids seemed to have made their own small kites, and were running the length of the rooftop trying to get them to catch enough wind to stay afloat.

Elisa chuckled at the pair. Her sturdy son, running and encouraging his smaller sister to keep up.

Elisa sighed. Nayeli appeared to be almost three now, despite the fact that she was not quite one year old. Her rapid development was still something they were adjusting to, especially now that she was beginning to talk.

She had this adorable little lisp right now, too, that was glaringly apparent as she encouraged her brother to go "fathster" instead of faster.

There was always a breeze coming from the ocean side of the island, it seemed, but then there were days like today where it was almost still out. Probably not the best day to be trying to fly their home-made kites, but it was a good day to have Nayeli running around without fear that a strong wind would catch in her wings and potentially hurt her.

Elisa propped her chin in her hand as she looked at Nayeli. She was going to have to think of a way to help keep Nayeli's wings firmly folded to her back until she had developed those particular muscles enough on her own. If Nayeli got too excited, her wings tended to pop up off her back just enough to catch a breeze now, and Elisa was worried about that without the clan being around.

Having to worry about wing and tail injuries were a whole new level of parental paranoia that she was having to get accustomed to.

She knew that it was time to start strengthening up those wings and start her gliding lessons. Elisa hadn't asked what all was involved with this process, and the thought of someone tying a rope to her daughter and basically flying her like one of those small homemade kites her kids were playing with alternately horrified her or made her want to laugh hysterically at the image.

She had confessed that to Goliath a few nights ago, and he hadn't found it as funny.

She just had this image of Hudson, sitting with his feet dangling over the edge of one of the towers like an old fisherman, with Nayeli having the time of her life at the end of a string like a parasailer.

Elisa shook her head to clear the image.

Realistically, she knew that wasn't how it was going to happen…It was just that the image in her head would not leave her alone.

She pushed to her feet, finally making her way the rest of the way down the stairs.

"I see today was a kite making day," Elisa said as if she'd only just come down stairs.

Skyler jumped a little, looking guilty. "Sorry," she said with a grin. "I guess I was drifting off somewhere."

Elisa chuckled. "I noticed," she said, moving to the coffee pot and pouring herself a cup. "But it's expected from someone newly engaged."

Skyler blushed a deep red.

"Besides," Elisa said with a shrug. "The door is open, and the kids are fine. I have complete faith that you would snap out of it if the kids needed you."

"I am so sorry," Skyler said again.

"Hey," Elisa said, throwing an arm around the girl's shoulders. "I'm not saying that it should be a habit, but for today…I got it, okay? You," She took the cooking utensil from the flabbergasted girl's hands, "officially have the day off. Go out, have some fun. Go look for the perfect dress to wear for your ceremony, because I know you want to."

"Oh, I…" Skyler stammered, running her hands through her hair. "I wouldn't even know where to start."

"Which is why, it's lucky for you, that you have some awesome girlfriends waiting for your call," Elisa said, giving the pot a last stir before turning the heat off from the pot of boiling pasta. "I already let Beth and Margaret know that you might be calling, so they're expecting to hear from you. Fair warning," Elisa said, moving to drain the excess water, "they are shopping fiends. They will wear you out, especially when you tell them that you'll be shopping for a wedding dress."

"Oh, I don't want anything fancy," Skyler protested. "I don't have any family, so it's basically just you, the kids, Beth and Margaret on my side."

"Don't underestimate how many friends you have here," Elisa warned her. "Your side of the aisle will be full, trust me."

Skyler's face lit up. "You think so?"

"I know so," Elisa said, gathering up the cheese and cream for the sauce. "Now go, get dressed and call the girls."

Skyler hesitated. "Uhm, Elisa?"

"Yeah?"

Skyler began wringing her hands, something she only did when extremely nervous. "I know you hate shopping," Elisa almost groaned out loud. "But I would really like it if you could come with me. You're basically more of a sister to me than a friend, and I would really like it if you could come."

Elisa forced herself to not roll her eyes.

"Well," Elisa said, dishing up the fresh macaroni into two bowls for the kids, "how can I say no to that?" Oh, how she wished she could…but she actually felt a tug at her heart at Skyler's confession, and damned if she didn't see Skyler as an almost sister as well. "You go change, I'll feed the kids, and then I'll see if maybe my parents could take the kids today."

Skyler's answering smile made Elisa realize that it was going to be worth any aggravation.

Or so Elisa hoped…