In the coming days, it wasn't easy trying to talk to Elaine. Brooklyn tried his best to be there for her, but she was now putting him at a distance. Was it because he was a male? Because males had hurt her for no reason at all other than to just hurt her. But he hadn't been the one to hurt her at all. He had saved her from them yes, but not before they had harmed her physically and mentally.

Within two weeks, most of Elaine's physical injuries were healed, but her mentality wasn't good yet. She wanted her family.

One night, she just said to Brooklyn at dinner, "Brooklyn."

"Yes."

"I think it would be best for both of us if you left tonight." Elaine said.

"Why? I haven't done anything bad."

"I have liked having you around with me, but I need to go home to Nebraska to be with my parents. I'm not in any shape to take on relationships." Elaine explained. "Besides, you said that you need to get home to your clan. Perhaps it is best that you move on now."

Brooklyn couldn't believe this. "I understand, but why now? Couldn't I go with you and go from there?"

"No. This is a drive I need to do myself."

"Are you leaving tonight?" he asked.

"No. I'll wait till morning, but I just need you to leave tonight. I'll be glad to let you have as much food as you need for your journey. I had thought about taking you home myself, but not now."

"I'm sorry if I caused you any disturbance." He said sadly.

After dinner, he had to pack up food and water into a travel bag again. Items that at least didn't need refrigeration. At least he was leaving on a full stomach. He felt ashamed of himself for something he didn't know he did.

"Elaine, can I tell you something before I go?" he asked.

"What?"

"Elaine, I have enjoyed staying here with you. We grew quite close as friends. I… I even think that I started falling in love with you." Brooklyn told her. "I wouldn't desert you. You could even come with me to New York if you don't feel safe here."

The woman looked at him with stoic eyes. Her eyes had lost the brightness in them that they once had. "Brooklyn, I'm flattered you feel that way about me and yes, it was fun while it lasted. I grew to love you too, as a friend only though. We could never be together like that. But I really need time for myself to heal from what happened to me. I really need you to leave now." Elaine declared. "Have a safe trip."

Elaine hadn't wanted to hug or be touched ever since the incident. He thanked her for her hospitality and he left her house. He was sad that he had to go.

As for the month, it was the middle of the end of the December. The 20th. The Solstice was tomorrow. Christmas was a few days away. Brooklyn wouldn't know if he would make it in time for Christmas. He had been gone for over four and a half months now.

It wasn't long after leaving the house that he got nauseated and had to get sick. He didn't want to leave, but what choice did he have now? He went to get rid of his breakfast and he reluctantly left.

Elaine started packing that night. She packed all her clothes and some favorite things. She had taken pictures of Brooklyn too while she had been with him. Tears came to her eyes that she had to send him on his way, but it was time he was off to his clan again. She did love him in her heart though. He had saved her life and protected her. He had been a good friend. If he didn't have a clan elsewhere, she would have been his only family. But little known to her was that there would have been a baby gargoyle on the way too.

…

Brooklyn flew over parts of St. Louis, patrolling. He wasn't quite ready to leave but knew he had to. It really was time to get moving again. After this, he might still protect the innocent on his way home, but he wasn't going to stay long at someone's house again on his journey home. He had been away long enough.

He was twelve weeks into the pregnancy now. He still didn't know he had it, but he had had a few more dreams about something coming out of his stomach, or him being in a field of fireflies or something like that, and one of them would come over to his stomach and float there, then it would disappear inside him. This was very disconcerting as well as curious for him. What did it mean?

Brooklyn knew that he had to get home soon if he was going to make it anywhere close to Christmas time. He began to leave St. Louis for good.

In the morning, Elaine put her bags in her new car and set off for her parents' home in Nebraska. She would miss Brooklyn, but she wasn't going to get in his way of going home either.

…..

Had Brooklyn been foolish to think he and a human could be together? Perhaps. It had had more to do with the incident rather than him most likely. But Elaine had to get her life together before she could move on. He understood that. He would miss her. But he was moving on. But he couldn't help but let tears flow as he was gliding through the air.

Brooklyn knew what if felt like to be used and abused too, so he knew a bit about what Elaine had felt. Though he had never been raped, at least not while awake. He hadn't known he had been raped by his former captors to create what he had inside him.

…

The red gargoyle kept on gliding east, but he would need to head northeast. He was getting serious about just wanting to get home to his clan once and for all. He could feel the air was getting colder around him. He could be sensitive to the colder temperatures at times, depending on them and the wind chill factors. But he didn't feel too cold right now. If anything, he was starting to feel 'warmer.'

After dealing with the incident with Elaine and the gang, Brooklyn just wanted to try to avoid humans as much as he could for a little while. He felt like Elaine had been another female relationship failure. He had thought they were getting along so well. Maybe she did love him but just had to deal with her issues first. He wished she could have told him that she loved him anyway. But real relationships took time. She had been the woman outside his clan that he had spent the most time with, alone.

Brooklyn hadn't been trying to start a relationship with Elaine, but their friendship had been special to him. In a way, he knew how Goliath felt now with Elisa. Having his own special human friend even though he hadn't known her for too long. He wished she would have come with him on his trip home.

He was back to rationing his food and water as much as he could. He still had some dizziness and nausea attacks but not nearly as much as he did before. He was gliding as far as he could each night until he got tired or his wings were too cramped to keep going. He would always eat and drink before setting off after sunset, and at least one other time before sunrise. He just wanted to minimize his time on the ground and get home as soon as possible.

…

In New York, the clan had missed Brooklyn having Thanksgiving with them this year. Winter was in full stride and not going to be letting up anytime soon. Christmas was only a few days away and they knew they were going to miss him then too.

When the clan had celebrated Thanksgiving in November, when Malibu had come to the party with the Labyrinth Clan, he instantly reminded everyone of how much they missed the red Second in Command.

Talon talked to Elisa about if Goliath had plans for a new Second.

"He's still waiting for a time period before he even thinks he's going to replace Brooklyn as his Second. Brooklyn could still come back." Elisa said.

"I know. But by then, it might be too long." Talon stated.

"He plans to wait at least a year first. None of the others can even compare to how Brooklyn did his tactics." Elisa declared.

"Yeah, he was a fine Second and leader while you guys were gone." Talon agreed. "But has he really made any real decision if Brooklyn doesn't come back?"

"Angela he says is the most obvious choice." Elisa replied. "But like I said, he's waiting yet. We all are."

"Understood." Talon declared.

Talon was so glad that he had Maggie. She gave him a kiss. Maggie felt bad for how she had treated Brooklyn at times in the past when all he had wanted to be was her friend. But she did know that likely Brooklyn had wanted to be more than her friend as well. But her heart was taken. She and Talon watched Malibu and Delilah being together as mates. At least Malibu had scored a female.

For the clan, though they had gone on without Brooklyn the best they could, they really didn't want to think that they would have to perform a Wind Ceremony for him. Or a funeral for him in that way.

Lexington often felt the loneliest now. When he was working on his projects, it was still hard for him to concentrate. At least he had someone when he was babysitting Alex. He found himself wanting to do that more and more to just be with someone when he wasn't on patrol duty or fighting someone.

Hudson remembered how good a leader Brooklyn was while he had been. It had taken the lad a little while to step up, but he had done a good job while Goliath was gone. He knew that neither Lex nor Broadway were quite the good candidates to replace their red bro as Second. Angela was the next best choice, he knew. She had her head more together.

As the clan was preparing for Christmas despite their lost member, there were a few gifts for him under the tree anyway. His own section. Looking at it could make any one of them feel like crying for missing him, but held it in. They would be strong for him. Even if he arrived after Christmas, they would put his gifts in this room. There was just still a strong feeling that Brooklyn was out there, alive.

Indeed, he was.

….

Brooklyn was making good time on his trip home. He had crossed into the state of Ohio by now. He had been pushing himself harder and harder every night. His wings were exhausted by the time he would stop for a break. He would always make sure to land somewhere where he would be able to climb something to get back in the air again. A large rock or a tree.

It had been three days since his departure from St. Louis. He was still upset about Elaine and that was making him push himself hard. He was skipping his naps that he needed usually at night anymore. He only stopped now for mini breaks of food, water, and stone sleep.

He had passed into his 13th week and most of the nausea attacks were gone, but dizziness sometimes came on with his exhaustion. He was relying on his stone sleep to get his rest right now.

Brooklyn hadn't noticed that he was starting to get a small baby bump in his belly yet. It wasn't that noticeable yet. Of course, he didn't think anything about it. He just wanted to get home to his clan. He had been missing them long enough. That was why he was pushing himself so hard, aside from Elaine's plight.

He had flown through both small towns and cities for the past few days and he had ignored most of the sights and sounds around him. He couldn't help but picture Elaine's face in his mind. But he was really trying to picture his clan now. He was getting closer to home with every night that passed.

A gargoyle could likely get through most of a state in a night's time if they flew without stopping much. It would be at least a five- or six-hour glide, maybe less. And Brooklyn was really pushing himself hard. He found himself suddenly sweating, his wings cramping and dizziness suddenly set in. He was over the area of Youngstown.

Brooklyn wiped his brow, trying to get rid of the sweat. Why did he feel so hot? It was cold out, not hot. He tried to ignore the dizzy feeling he was getting, but it was getting to be too much. He had to stop. He was also getting nauseous. He had just gotten past the town. He was nearly into Pennsylvania. Just a couple more states to go before he got home.

He found a wooded area and slowly made his descent to the ground to rest himself. He didn't feel too good. "Oh, what is wrong with me?" He asked himself. He felt some cramping in both his wings and his stomach.

Brooklyn knew he was exhausted but he wasn't going to give up on getting home within the next few nights. It was December 23rd tonight. He had two nights to get home on Christmas. From the food that he had been rationing since he left Missouri, he had almost run out of food and water. He still had one bottle and a half of water left of the five bottles he had with him. He didn't have much food left. A couple of apples, one carrot, and one banana. And he didn't want to stop and get more food.

He looked in his bag for one of his water bottles. He opened up the last full one. He began to down it but not drinking too much too fast. He had to take a little break for a while, get himself cooled off a bit and let himself relax enough to make sure the dizziness went away before he started again. He made himself comfortable and laid down, hoping for his head to stop spinning. He wished he had some medicine. He ended up falling asleep for three hours.

When he woke up, it was after three in the morning. His belly growled and he took an apple and the banana out to eat them. But it didn't seem like enough. The embryo still demanded more. He took out the carrot and ate it too. The last apple would have to suffice next time. He also took a moment to feel like loosening his belt too. It was feeling a little tight on his belly.

Brooklyn felt a lot better after his nap. Exhaustion had just taken its toll on him tonight. But he had to get going again. He climbed the tree and got to the air again. He wanted to be in the next state by morning.

He had made it across the border soon enough. He made it to the Pittsburgh area around 5 am. It was a big city too. He had to find out where he was. His internal clock was telling him it was getting close to sunrise.

Brooklyn looked around for a newsstand for a newspaper and map. He found one in a downtown area. The city was pretty quiet but getting ready for the day too even this early.

He saw he was in Pittsburgh at the moment. He sighed. He still had a ways to go. He would still be pushing himself if he was to make it home at all by Christmas. He might be able to make it home late Christmas night if he pushed it.

Now that he had his map, he flew through the city as fast as he could. Most people would be in their homes still.

By six am, Brooklyn was ready to call it quits. He had covered quite some ground tonight. He found a tall building and sat down on the edge of it, overlooking the city. He would wait here and use this place as his resting place for the day.

He took a look at his map and if he followed Highway 76, he could get straight home faster tomorrow night. Following a highway seemed like the best option now at this point. But he would stay away from lights as much as he could. At least he was closing in on his home. He should make it tomorrow night if he pushed himself hard enough.

Brooklyn really hoped he wouldn't run into Ray again anytime soon. He hadn't felt the same since his escape. He was tired of feeling like this. But then, he hadn't done quite a journey like this before. He was just happy that he wasn't on another continent. He would have to find a way to get across the ocean to get home if he had been taken to another continent. Scotland had been his home once, but no longer. New York was his real home now. It's where his clan was.

Sunrise soon came and he took his pose for the day, making sure to keep his bag close to him too.