AN: I don't own the Tribe or any of the following characters.

Ebony's Turn
by Hikako

Jay ran through the halls of the Mall, his muscles ached and he felt exhausted but he kept running. Lex and Pride followed closely behind Jay, Lex was having some trouble keeping up but Pride looked like he could run around the Mall again. They past the fountain in the lobby and Jay ran up the stairs skipping every two, his breathing was coming shallower now and he looked close to collapsing, but still he ran.

He soon saw most of his friends, friends of his friends, and a few other people from the hospital. They were all gathered around a door leading to a room which apparently had been conviscated by the doctor. Jay and the guys were ten feet away before an awful scream ripped from the room and a voice which seemed to come from a creature not totally human was heard yelling, "JA-AY! YOU BASTA-A-ARD!" Jay skidded to halt, much to the surprise of Lex and Pride, and after an instant or two he started to bolt in the other direction.

"Oh no you don't, lover boy!" Lex said as he and Pride grabbed Jay's arms and began to pull him towards the room. "This is all your fault, now you have to go in there and pray to god that she is blurred by the pain to notice you!" Pride said as he moved the former Techno down the hall. After two minutes or so, another scream this one much more bloody and filled with hate and anger beyond any human capacity to feel it yelled out again. "YOU DID THIS YOU ASSHO-OLE! YOUR SLEEPING ON THE ROOF FROM NOW O-O-ON!" That made everyone, even Jay, stop and shudder before going back to their activities.

As Jay was shoved through the door in a sheer white room that was more sterile than Ram's he heard Lex say to Pride, "And I thought Siva's labour was bad." That filled Jay with dread as he remember that particular event, Lex had come out with three bruised ribs and two broken fingers. As Jay turned he saw Ebony, her legs spread and a blanket covering most of her body was spread out. Ebony was holding onto two nurses' hands, and the two of them looked like they were in serious pain, Ebony's face was contorted into a look of absolute horror and pain as she let loose one last, gut-renching, pain-filled, bloody-as-hell, do-it-or-die howl.

Jay felt his knees go weak when he heard a shrill cry of a tiny baby enter the room. He felt several things at once, but the most prominent one was happiness. One which quickly faded when he heard his wife say from her bed, "What took you?" Looking over he saw tears in her eyes, tears of pain, happiness, and joy. Jay went over and hugged his wife. "Traffic was a nightmare."

That earned a laugh from Ebony followed by another bout of tears and a small slap on the arm. Soon one of the nurses, dressed in white, walked over with a small bundle in her arms. "Ebony, Jay. Meet your new daughter." the young lady said in a soft voice. Ebony took the child and cradle it in her arms as if it were a precious gem, and she peeled back the clothe and peered at her daughter.

"Have you ever seen anything more beautiful?" Ebony asked Jay in a voice choked with tears. Jay saw the spitting image of his wife staring back at him, his daughter's eyes had that same serious look her mother's did. Unlike Ebony though, the young girl had a lighter skin tone and what looked like his father's chin, but it was plain to see that this child was theirs.

"General?" a young nurse/Techno asked from behind him, "General, I'm sorry to disturb you but I will need your daughter's name for the city records." the young man couldn't have been over 13 years old, but he carried himself with an air of self-assurance and power. Jay's eyes meet Ebony's and a silent agreement was reached, Jay turned towards the nurse, "Her name is Alice. Alice Grace." The young man nodded slightly as he wrote it down and left the room to give the young family some quality time.

When the nurse closed the door he was hit with a barrage of questions. "How is Ebony?" "Boy or Girl?" "Can we go in?" "What did they name it?" "Why do you where such funny clothes?" Before he could answer any of these he was bowled over when the door opened and everyone pushed in. As he got up the nurse whispered under his breath, "Only the Mallrats..."