It was an anxious two days for Brooklyn. He really wanted answers as to why he was gaining weight and feeling this stirring in his stomach. This was really scaring him. He still remembered the dreams of some scary monsters tearing their way out of his belly.

Elisa told Brooklyn where to go for the appointment before that night.

When the night finally arrived, Brooklyn knew he would have to sneak out. As late as it was, the clan was all off doing their own thing. He made sure to grab a cloak from the castle's extra clothing area. As far as he knew, the clan would think he was in his room. He turned on his record player to make them think he was listening to music. It wasn't too loud. Then, he quietly snuck out of the castle. He jumped off the battlements, heading to Manhattan General.

Dr. Sato's office was on one of the middle floors and Brooklyn looked carefully for it. He made it on time. He saw the doctor at his desk, checking on some patient's file. He knocked on the window. Sato saw it was him and he went over to let him inside.

"Good evening, Brooklyn. What can I do for you that you needed to see me here?" Sato asked.

"I know you examined me when I got home and I'm feeling better now, Doc, but it's been over a month since I came home and there have been some strange happenings." Brook explained.

"Like what?"

"Doc, I'm gaining weight and I shouldn't be. I have really awkward mood swings. Food cravings for mixed-up foods. On my journey home, I had a lot of nausea and dizziness issues and had to get sleep just to get rid of it. I didn't gain weight then at all. But Ray had also operated on my belly at one point while I was with him too." Brooklyn explained. "I don't know what he did to me. And now, I also swear that I feel something moving inside of me." He put a hand to his stomach.

As Sato listened, he knew all that was really concerning. This stuff he had heard of before, but it was usually in women, at least some of it. Males could gain weight yes but feeling something moving inside him was not able to happen. Nausea and dizziness could happen to anyone. With it happening after a belly surgery was most concerning about it.

"All of that is concerning, Brooklyn. I would like to take a look at you. If you'll put the cloak on yourself, we'll go to an exam room." Sato instructed.

Brooklyn folded his wings and put the cloak on over himself to hide himself from the cameras. He instinctively wrapped his tail around one of his legs. The hooded part managed to cover his beak. Sato had turned the cameras off in his office.

Sato led him out of the office and to an exam room. There, Brook took the cloak off again. He kept his wings folded. Sato examined Brooklyn. He took his vitals to compare them to other ones from his sickened state over a month ago. He did it while in the chair, except for when he took his weight.

Brooklyn's weight as flesh was usually around 210 pounds, but tonight, there was a wrinkle. His weight had gone up! He was now at 221 pounds. Sato looked to make sure he wasn't imagining it. Brooklyn had gained alright!

His blood pressure was a little higher. This was concerning. It normally wasn't that high. His heartbeat was normal and breathing was normal. His lungs had definitely cleared their infection. It was still cold outside now, with it being late January. When he was done taking the vitals but had one more thing to do, he said, "Brooklyn, from what I have compared your vitals to from your usual findings, things are way off with your body."

"What's wrong?" Brook asked in concern.

"Brooklyn, your blood pressure is a little high, and you have gained over ten extra pounds." Sato replied.

Brook's eyes widened. Why was he gaining weight like this? "Why am I gaining weight now at all? Well, I have been more than extra hungry too. But why am I feeling something inside me?"

"I think a scan will take care of that for you." Sato stated.

"A scan?" Brooklyn asked nervously. He gulped.

Dr. Sato didn't always examine the patient's belly area unless there was something to be concerned about. "If you'll just hop up onto the table here and lay back for me." Sato instructed him.

The red gargoyle got up from the chair. This made him more nervous than before. He remembered back in Nevada when Ray had used one on him and he had poked a needle into his belly to get something.

Sato set up the ultrasound machine in the room. Brooklyn cringed at that thing. "Ok, Brooklyn, I need you to undo your belt because I need to examine even the lowest portion of your belly." The doc stated.

Brooklyn unbuckled his belt and pulled it down some more but he didn't reveal anything private. Sato said that was fine. At least Brook had undone it himself this time.

The nervous gargoyle watched as the man picked up a tube and he opened it, then he squirted some of the gel onto his stomach, making Brooklyn flinch instantly. It was warm though. "Ah! What is that?!" he demanded.

"Relax, it's just gel. It makes it easier to get a good scan." Sato replied. Then he pressed some buttons and a computer screen came up on the machine. Then he picked up the wand, putting gel on it too, then he put it down on top of the gel on Brooklyn's stomach.

Brooklyn instantly flinched again when he felt the wand touch his belly. It tickled a little, but the wand was pressed into his skin a bit. Sato began to look at the screen. He moved the wand back and forth on the gargoyle's belly.

Brooklyn watched what he was doing to him. His arms were up on his chest in concern if he needed to grab to protect himself. He laid there as calmly as he could. He was laying differently than his first ultrasound back in Ray's custody.

Dr. Sato was getting an image now. This was most surprising indeed. He never saw this happen to male beings. He was seeing things that normally should never be there.

"Uh, Brooklyn?" Sato said.

"Yes? Are you seeing anything?"

"Yes. I have to ask, are you any by chance, part female?" Sato asked.

"No. Why would you ask that?" Brook replied.

"Brooklyn, what I'm seeing here on this ultrasound is something you don't normally see happen to males. Take a look here." Sato said. Brook turned to look at the screen. "You see, this is most shocking." Sato went on to point out some body parts.

Brooklyn's eyes widened. He was seeing a little body inside him! He even saw the heart beating away. His breathing picked up. "What's happening to me?" he asked in a scared tone, then looking down at his belly.

"Brooklyn, it would appear that you're pregnant." Sato declared.

"No… I can't be."

"I'm afraid so." Sato said.

"No, this can't be happening…" Brook shook his head. He tried to sit up in a hurry.

"Hold on. Lay down, I'm not done yet." Sato declared. He pushed Brooklyn back down.

Brooklyn was suddenly terrified. Who would do this to him? That's right, Ray was the most likely answer.

"You think Ray did this to you, don't you?" Sato asked.

"Yes. He opened me up! He could have done anything to me! I didn't figure he was going to get me pregnant! I know my friend, Elaine was raped, and apparently, Ray had me raped too!" Brooklyn exclaimed that instant. He knew how babies were made.

"And this is a bad thing, about you being pregnant with a baby." Sato said. "Maybe you were half female all along and he discovered it. I know him forcefully doing this without your consent though was totally wrong."

"I've never known myself to be part female. I'm all male, Doctor." Brook protested.

"Well, I am also seeing an organ surrounding the baby that looks very much like a uterus."

"Dr. Sato, if I was part female, I would be carrying an egg, as babies of our kind hatch from eggs, not being carried without the egg." Brooklyn explained.

"Well, I'm not seeing any trace of an eggshell, Brooklyn. It's going to be a live birth." Sato said.

"How far along does it look to be, or can you tell?"

Sato looked at the image. "It looks to be about in the fifth month or so. It's well formed. It looks a lot like you at this stage. Its most vital development is done. Now it just needs to get bigger." The man explained.

Brooklyn laid there, staring at his rounded belly. "I still don't believe this." He said reluctantly. "It can't be happening."

Sato also checked for an exit to the uterus and found there was no exit to the womb. This was incredibly worrying. "Brooklyn, there is no natural exit to this. The birth will have to be a c-section."

"A what?"

"Open belly surgery, again." Sato replied.

This was scaring the heck out of the pregnant gargoyle.

"I know this is scary for you. The fetus looks like it's not ready to be born for a while yet." Sato stated.

"Gargoyle eggs are usually carried for six months. Are you saying it's not ready to be born by next month?" Brook asked.

"I don't think so. With no egg around it, it's going to need to be nourished inside your body for the next few months. Have you been patrolling lately?" Sato asked.

"Yes."

"Brooklyn, that's going to have to stop. Have you also been taking medications for headaches and pains? Nausea?" Sato demanded.

"I took some at times when needed."

"That's all bad. You can't take any more of that stuff. I can give you the right medications should you need them, and as for headaches, taking Tylenol is the best right now. But Brooklyn, if you've been taking all these things and not knowing what was done right off, there could be something wrong with the baby too. I'm going to have you take an amniocentesis test." Sato insisted.

"A what?"

"I will have to gently poke a needle into your stomach and get some of the fluid around the baby. I use ultrasound too to make sure I don't poke the baby." Sato explained.

Brooklyn really didn't want his stomach poked by a needle again. "Does it really have to be done?"

"I think it does. And you also need to instantly start taking some prenatal vitamins too. This is all for you and the health of your baby." Sato explained.

The gel was taken off his belly. Brooklyn rubbed it as he sat up. "So, I've really been feeling a… baby move inside me?" He looked at the man questionably.

"Yes, Brooklyn. You're pregnant." Sato declared.

All this information was so startling to take in. Brooklyn never would have expected this to happen to him, ever. He wanted to be a father someday, but with a mate at his side. He should be supporting her. Then there would be a ten year wait for an egg to hatch, the normal way. But Brooklyn hadn't even found a mate yet. How could he start off with a child?

Sure, women could be impregnated and the father take off on her, and that wasn't right. Brooklyn would never do that to a female carrying his child. But in this case, it was all backwards. He had no mate, didn't remember mating, and now he finds out he's the one having a baby! He's the one carrying a child.

Brooklyn put both hands on his belly as he stood up from the table. This couldn't be happening. He looked down at his belly. It was rounding in the lower section. Now he knew why he was looking fat and gaining weight so unexpectedly.

Sato went and got some prenatal vitamins and some Tylenol for him. Sato also put Brooklyn on a blood pressure medicine to get it stabilized as he had been really stressed lately. This was going to add more to the stress.

"You don't have to carry the pregnancy to term." Sato said. "Like you said, this isn't natural."

Brooklyn glared at the doctor. He was scared out of his wits enough about this. He needed time to take it in. "What do I tell the clan? I don't know if I can do this?" Brook said in a nervous tone.

"Like I said, I will help you in whatever you decide to do." Sato stated.

"Thank you."

Brooklyn left the hospital with very interesting and fascinating news for the clan. It was also shocking. He still needed time to take it all in. He didn't like the idea of terminating a life, but this wasn't normal. It could get dangerous.

Dr. Sato phoned Elisa and told her what was going on with Brooklyn, as it was likely he wouldn't tell her or anyone right away. He knew his patient was in deep shock over the news.

Elisa was just as shocked to find out about the pregnancy too. This was something that Brooklyn wouldn't be able to hide from the clan very long. He was already showing so there was no hiding it. But the weight gain was also a giveaway. There was no hiding it, and Brooklyn had obviously not known he was pregnant in all the time he had been traveling.

Pregnancy could account for the nausea and dizziness issues Brook had mentioned he had. The exhaustion and the food cravings. A need for extra sleep. It all fit. And for his high blood pressure.

Brooklyn would need to have the prenatal vitamins and Tylenol. He couldn't be taking stuff like he normally did. He could be carrying that baby for a few more months, not the six months like a female did with her egg. Ray had obviously planned for a live birth right from the start.

This was a miracle of all things, but also a scary event too. Anyone evil would want to take advantage of Brooklyn while he was like this. Any scientist would want the child for experiments, and him for how he was impregnated in the first place.

Brooklyn needed time to process all he had been told of his condition and decide whether he wanted to keep it going or not. But given that the gargoyle population was so low, every baby gargoyle counted. He flew back to the castle and went to his room and turned the music off.

He went and sat on his bed. He needed to think. It was getting closer to sunrise. Goliath might have him patrol again tomorrow night. He shouldn't be doing that in his condition now that he knew about it. Pregnancy was risky for both baby and mothers. In his case, father.

Brooklyn felt that he was a little too young to be becoming a father, but he couldn't abandon the child he carried. It shared his body with him. It shared his food and energy levels and moods. Moving about probably didn't hurt the baby but violent moves that included any blow to the belly would harm it. That thought made him put his hands to his stomach.

He knew his clan had been accepting of Angela when she was new here. His clan would likely accept his baby once they knew about it but would also be worried for his safety. He would be placed on limitations while he was expecting.

The clan hadn't lived here while Fox was pregnant but they had had to come here to save Alex the night he was born and the night Angela became part of their whole clan. Goliath would surely understand that the baby was not to be harmed. Goliath would likely want him to keep his baby. Brook remembered his leader's words, "It is wrong to take an innocent child from its parents." In that case, Brooklyn was that parent. There was no mother, or was there? He didn't know the details.

He laid down on his back on the bed. He raised his head so he wouldn't put any bend in his middle. He just wanted to get a good look at its shape. His belly was usually flat and rather thin. Now, it looked rounder in the lower section for sure. There was no hiding this pregnancy much longer.

He had been with the doctor for about an hour and a half. Brooklyn just wanted to be home now.

Brooklyn knew if he was going to keep the child, he would need to get familiar with how to care for a baby. And though he didn't have a mate yet, the baby would give him someone to care about here at the castle. He wouldn't be so lonely anymore, and he would want to make sure to find the 'perfect' mother and mate.

He wanted to get out of his depression. Maybe this baby could be just what he needed. He would have to have his diet monitored more. How his pregnancy would be progressing.

He decided that it would be tomorrow before he told any of the clan his secret. This was a miracle and unplanned, but it would be a joy to add a new baby to the clan. Caring for a baby human wouldn't be quite the same as caring for a baby gargoyle. They each had something different about them.

Brooklyn knew he would need to do some reading on the subject of pregnancy. Luckily, there was the library. He could go there and get some books on that. Well, it wouldn't be about gargoyle pregnancy, but likely the symptoms he had been having were similar to what human mothers went through. He had never seen the clan's females go through it yet, but he would one day when he had his mate. Surely, there was a female out there for him.

He still often thought of Elaine and how her recovery was going. He couldn't help but want to know what was happening with her. He loved her as a friend, but maybe it could have been more. It might have turned into what Goliath and Elisa had if those idiot punks hadn't hurt her like that.

Brook soon had to go out to the battlements to join his clan for stone sleep. He would try to tell the clan tomorrow night.