The clan knew that the Xanatos' and Brooklyn were coming home tonight. They hoped the time away had been doing Brooklyn some good. They should be home soon. The clan had missed him while he had been away for two weeks.
By midnight, the copter finally arrived.
Owen greeted his bosses. The clan was also out there because they wanted to see Brooklyn and how he was doing.
"Hi, Brooklyn. How are you doing?" Goliath greeted his second with a smile.
"I'm doing better. The time away did me some good." Brooklyn replied with a smile. He was happy to see them all again.
"Did ya have a good time, lad?" Hudson asked.
"Yeah. Much more peaceful out there when you aren't being attacked by bad guys." Brook stated.
Bronx came up and greeted him too. He smelled Brooklyn and noticed something different about his scent, but he wagged his tail and licked him anyway.
"Hi, boy. I missed you too." Brooklyn petted him.
"Do you think you feel like going on a welcome back glide with us later?" Lex asked.
"Sure, why not. My wings could use a good glide after being cooped in the copter for three hours." Brook replied.
"I'm fixing us dinner. Then we can go on that glide." Broadway declared happily.
The mention of food made the red one's smile turn into a frown for a moment. He didn't know how much he could tolerate food.
"What's wrong?" Angela asked.
"Oh, nothing. Just surprised me, but yeah, I would assume that would be part of the welcome back party too." Brooklyn tried to put on an act. He knew he would have to hide his stomach problem.
They all went inside to talk some more about what went on up there.
"How was Brooklyn really, Mr. Xanatos?" Owen asked as he watched the retreating gargoyles.
"He stopped being mad all the time, but I still have a feeling that he's hiding something. He had to go to the bathroom before we left." David said suspiciously.
"And gargoyles don't need to use the bathroom." Owen stated.
"Keep an eye on him. We know he went through a traumatizing time with Demona and Sevarius. I hope they don't plan on using him against us." David explained.
"If that's the case, I don't want him near Alex." Fox warned her husband.
"We'll keep an eye on him, Fox." David said.
…
At dinner later on, there was a big assembly of food on the table and it was all for Brooklyn. Broadway and Owen had gone out of their way to make sure the dinner was spectacular.
Brooklyn had one glimpse of it and he liked the trimmings of all the food. It was like Thanksgiving. But he still worried if he would be able to keep it all down. He did feel his belly grumbling at the moment. Perhaps it would be best to eat lightly.
Everyone gathered as much food as their plates would hold. Brooklyn got smaller portions of the food. It all smelled good.
Brooklyn felt happy to be back with his clan, but was he really alright?
There were delightful conversations and such all around him. Even Elisa had shown up for the party to welcome him back. He was glad that they were all willing to show him a good time.
…
Brooklyn had managed to eat all his dinner, but could he keep it down? When he was at these glorious parties and invited to join, he would usually eat a good portion, but tonight, he only had his first plate and that was it.
He tried to stay at the table for as long as possible, but within an hour, he started feeling that urge again. The nausea had returned.
"You ready for the glide?" Broadway asked.
"Huh?" Brooklyn asked.
"Did you hear me? I asked if you were ready to go?" his turquoise brother asked him.
"Uh, great party, everyone. It'll be just a little bit yet before I'm ready. Let my food settle a bit more. Excuse me, I'm finished and have something to do." Brooklyn excused himself.
He got up from the table and walked as fast as possible out of the dining room and once he was out in the hall, he picked up the pace and ran for a bathroom. He slammed the door shut fast and threw himself onto the toilet. He felt like he had to barf his guts out.
The clan had heard Brooklyn's footfalls pick up speed and soon, a slam. What was going on with him?
He was obviously still disturbed.
Brooklyn had thrown up most of his dinner. His stomach felt like it was squeezing the life out of him. When he was done, his belly ached tremendously. He tried hard to regain his breathing. He flushed the toilet and sat back against the wall, rubbing his belly.
"What is wrong with me?" Brooklyn asked himself.
He had heard of ulcers of the digestive tract before. Could that be it? He had been under a lot of stress lately. But he had never had stomach issues like this before. Every once in a while, yes, but not like this. He was also starting to feel dizzy.
He went to find something in the medicine cabinet. He found all sorts of sleeping aids, toothpaste, heartburn, headache stuff, and some nausea pills.
Brooklyn popped some headache pills and some of the nausea medicine. He hoped he could keep them down.
When he finally came out of the bathroom, he saw his brothers and Angela coming down the hall.
"Brooklyn, we're ready if you are!" Lex declared happily.
"Oh, I'm sorry, guys. It might need to wait till tomorrow. I just don't feel good right now." Brooklyn said sadly. He turned and walked down the hall to his room.
The others were left mystified. He had seemed thrilled about it not long ago, and now a change of heart. Usually, gliding was one of his favorite things too.
"Brooklyn would never turn down a gliding venture." Angela said.
"Something's really got to be wrong with him." Lex stated. "And I got to find out what."
"I noticed he barely ate anything at dinner." Broadway declared. "He normally dives right in when there's a big dinner party."
"At least he ate some of the food. It was just smaller portions." Angela stated.
"Well, the two of us can still go on that glide if you want." Broadway invited his love.
"Sure, why not? Lex, take care of Brooklyn." Angela said.
"I will." Lex replied.
The two mates left to go on a lovely glide, just the two of them.
Goliath and Elisa were in the library talking. They were still greatly concerned.
Hudson and Bronx had gone to the TV room.
…
Even taking the pills wasn't helping to settle his rebellious stomach. Brooklyn found himself throwing those up too.
"Why won't this stop?" Brook asked himself. He needed some help. He wanted to hide this from his clan, but he didn't know what to do to stop this problem.
He would try to go on for a few more nights, and if not, he would need to have a doctor examine him. They had told him of the vet examining him while he had been unconscious after his rescue.
…
The clan grew ever more suspicious of the red male eluding them as much as possible. He didn't want to eat much over the next few days either, but he still threw up some acid anyway if he didn't eat.
He had gotten a book out of the library too to read about health issues to look up possibilities of what could be wrong with him. He looked up ulcers.
Taking antacids, ginger, honey, colorful fruits, turmeric, chamomile tea, probiotics, and garlic were all good things. So was peppermint tea or water. Toast, crackers, and bananas were also good ones to try. Surely, they had those things in the kitchen.
Brooklyn made a list and went to go track down some. He needed to be able to get some sort of nutrition into his body. He was losing weight that didn't need to be lost. He was already one of the skinniest ones in the clan, for a male. But right now, he felt so bloated.
He got to the kitchen and spied some bananas and apples on the table in there. He took one of each. He hoped he could keep them down. He also found some peppermint tea. He began to get some ready when Owen found him.
"Brooklyn."
"Agh! Oh, Owen. I didn't see you there." he said.
"What are you doing?" Owen asked.
"Just making myself some tea." Brooklyn replied.
Owen looked at the label. Peppermint. He knew what that could be for. "Are you having some stomach problems? That's usually good for that." he explained.
"Yeah. I got nauseated after the dinner party." Brooklyn stated, rubbing his belly. "It should pass before tomorrow night. I had to pass on going out the rest of tonight."
"I see. Well, take care, Brooklyn. Just don't mess around with anything." Owen said.
"I'm not."
"Or do you need help making the tea?"
"I could use some help." Brook replied.
Owen helped to make the tea.
Brooklyn sat down to eat the banana and apple. He had to get something into himself. When the tea was done, Owen poured him a cup and gave him some.
"Thanks." he thanked the man. Owen nodded.
Brooklyn blew on it some and sipped the tea. Why did it smell so good? He found it tasted just delicious. "Hmm. This is heaven right now." he said lowly.
The tea went down pretty smoothly. It seemed to take away the nausea. He would be drinking this more often.
…
The next night, Brooklyn had woken out on his parapet with the others. He stretched.
"Do you feel like patrolling with us tonight, Brooklyn?" Goliath asked.
"I could use a good gliding. But if it could wait a little bit?" Brooklyn declared.
"Of course."
"We also have our glide to do yet." Angela said.
Brooklyn smiled. "Sure." He swallowed hard to keep the acid down. He was feeling it. "Excuse me." he said and left for the nearest bathroom. He glided down from the tower. He had to hurry.
His family was still concerned about him. Lex followed him.
Once on the ground, Brooklyn took off at a run. He made it to the nearest bathroom and closed the door. He ran for the toilet and puked. This was happening every night. Why wouldn't it stop?
Lexington found Brooklyn in the bathroom and he heard his brother throwing up. That was odd. Something must be wrong, but what? He knocked on the door.
Brooklyn jumped. "Uh, who is it?" he managed.
"It's Lex. You alright in there?" Lex asked.
"Uh, yeah, I'm fine, Lex." Brooklyn replied, trying to keep his stomach under control.
Lex couldn't believe it. He was lying to him!
Brooklyn flushed the toilet. He opened the door to see his olive green little brother.
"Are you okay? I heard you throwing up in there." Lex asked gently.
He should bring Lex up to par anyway.
"It's true. I was. Lex, while I was up at Xanadu, something started up there. My stomach started acting up on a nightly basis. I can't really keep anything down anymore. I get headaches and dizziness. I feel cramped and bloated more than anything. That's why I am feeling so down lately." Brooklyn explained.
"And it has nothing to do with what happened before?" Lex asked.
"Not now. I hope not." Brooklyn said, wincing as he felt a jolt of nausea.
Lex noticed. "Is it really that bad, the nausea? You look so thin, more than you already do."
"Yes. I just can't keep anything down." Brooklyn declared. "I'm not trying to starve myself, Lex. I looked up some stuff in a book last night. I might have an ulcer."
"You need to be seen by that doctor again." Lex decreed.
"I think I agree with you because I can't take much more of this. Man, it hurts!" he groaned. He held his belly.
"Come with me." Lex said, helping his brother along. He took him to his room to lie down. "I'll be back soon." Brook nodded.
Lex went to Xanatos and talked to him about Brooklyn's strange behavior. It was time the doctor was brought back over.
"If what you say is true, yes, he should be looked at." David agreed.
He called Dr. Trowsky and had a talk with him that it was about the same red gargoyle from before. He was showing tremendous signs of being sick and not knowing why. Being poisoned would have been out of his system within one day. There was something else at work here.
"I'm on my way, Mr. Xanatos." Dr. Trowsky said.
"He'll be here soon."
"Good. We need answers." Lex said.
….
Lex went back and told Brooklyn the doc was on his way. They should head on over to the infirmary so they would be ready when he got there. Lex helped Brooklyn up. The nausea was just bothering him tenfold at the moment.
"Looks like you won't be patrolling after all." Lex said.
"I don't think so. But I want to." Brooklyn replied.
He had to sit down by the time they got the to the infirmary. "Lex, if it's something that can be fixed tonight, don't tell the clan, please. I know they're all worried enough about me." Brooklyn pleaded.
"Brooklyn, they need to know too." Lex said.
"I know, but only if it's something that's really serious." Brooklyn stated.
"Alright."
It took Dr. Trowsky long enough to get there. The nausea was intensifying. Brooklyn had come down with a bad stomachache by then and just wanted to lie down.
"It's good you got here, Doc. Brooklyn's in bad shape." Lex exclaimed in worry.
David was showing him in. "There's no time to lose. Come on, Brooklyn. Let's get a look at you." Dr. Trowsky coaxed Brooklyn off the couch.
Brooklyn grunted and groaned as he got up. He was helped to walk into the infirmary. He laid on the bed in there.
"He's afraid he has an ulcer." Lex stated.
"I can have a look at your blood real quick and decide that." Trowsky decreed.
Trowsky took some of Brooklyn's blood and ran a slide under the microscope. Lex tried to keep Brook calm while waiting. David kept a watchful eye.
As the doc was looking at Brook's blood under the microscope, he noticed something odd. Something that wasn't right, but it was there. There was some enhanced female hormones in the blood, but one was the pregnancy one.
He looked away, shocked. It accounted for some of Brooklyn's symptoms alright. Nausea, morning sickness, headaches, dizziness, a need for extra sleep. It all fit. He did look slightly swollen too, from his perspective.
Trowsky got up and walked over to the two gargoyles with a worried look.
Brooklyn lay there, wincing. Lex looked at his face. "What's wrong?" Lex asked.
"I'm going to need to do an ultrasound on him. There was something that I saw that shouldn't be there." Trowsky said.
"What… was it?" Brooklyn asked. He was so afraid of what was causing it.
"I have to see it to be sure." Trowsky said. As he stepped to get the machine, David stepped into him. "What is it?" he demanded.
Trowsky whispered, "Unless he's part female, his blood showed that… he's pregnant."
That even surprised David. Yes. This required more proof.
Brooklyn had to undo his belt and pushed his loincloth down a bit, revealing his lower belly. He had no idea why that mattered, but he had been told to do it. He flinched when the cold gel was put onto his stomach, and then, the wand. He and Lex watched suspiciously. Brooklyn was also suspicious of this because it had been used on him when he had been in Sevarius' custody.
"What are you doing?" Brooklyn asked.
"I'm going to see what's inside your belly here." Trowsky replied. "I'll let you know what I find when I find it."
"But if he has an ulcer, shouldn't it be done up higher?" Lex asked.
"Trying down here first. One thing at a time, Lexington." Trowsky replied.
Brooklyn wasn't too crazy for the slimy feeling on his stomach. What had the doc found? He was pressing the wand into some sore spots too.
Trowsky was seeing what he was looking for; something that shouldn't be found in a male gargoyle, a uterus! And within it, there were two small grainy images.
"I believe I found the source of your problems, Brooklyn." Trowsky stated.
"What?" Brook asked in concern.
The doc turned the computer to him and his brother. They both looked carefully, but not understanding.
"You see this here?" Trowsky said.
They nodded. "That is unusual to find in a male creature." Trowsky said.
"What is it?" Lex asked.
"It's a uterus, Lexington. Males don't have this organ. But what's more surprising, is what's inside it." the man went on.
This had the two gargoyles alarmed now. Trowsky moved the wand up some. "Here, inside this womb, it was quite a surprise, but there are these two little images." He showed them.
There were two little dots in two different black holes on the screen. "What… what are they?" Brooklyn asked hesitantly.
"Your babies." Trowsky stated.
Brooklyn and Lex's eyes widened.
"It can't be!" Brooklyn shook his head. His breathing quickened.
"Calm down, Brooklyn. Take slow breaths. Stressing is not good for your condition." Trowsky explained.
"How could this have happened?" Lex asked.
Brooklyn was in shock too, but then he thought back to his capture. He had received the shot in the stomach, and it had been down low. And he remembered what Demona had said, "I want you to give me life."
"Demona did this! Her, and Sevarius!" Brooklyn growled.
"Why would they want to do this to you?" David asked.
Brooklyn tried to sit up, but he was pushed back down. "Almost done." Trowsky said. The red one looked at the dots again. This was scaring him.
Shortly after, his stomach was cleaned off and he was allowed up. He buckled his belt again.
"Demona said she wanted me to give her life." Brooklyn said as he rubbed his belly. "I didn't think she meant something like this."
"At least she didn't take your life." Lex stated.
"True. But why me? I'm not able to carry a baby." Brooklyn said.
"Well, according to this, you are. I would say congratulations are in order." Trowsky said. "But you don't have to go through with it either. If you decide you don't want to, I can help."
"Thanks, Doctor, but I think we'll take it from here." David said.
"You will have to take care of yourself, Brooklyn. For something that can help settle your stomach, eat more crackers. Fruits, toast, and bananas are good food choices too. No caffeine or fish either. I have an anti-nausea medicine that will help with nausea and can help keep more of the morning sickness at bay. You also need to take some prenatal vitamins as well." Trowsky explained.
"There were two embryos in there." Lex stated.
"Babies?" Brooklyn stiffened.
Two babies was a scary thought. One was scary enough. Brooklyn couldn't help but hold his belly at the thought. He had at last found out what was going on with him, but he was still in shock about it.
"We'll do the best we can to help him out. Thank you, Dr. Trowsky." David said as he showed him out. The doc gave David a bottle of anti-nausea medicine before leaving.
"So it's not an ulcer. I'm… pregnant?" Brooklyn was in shock.
"Yes, Brooklyn. Congratulations. You will have to take it easy in this condition." David said. He helped to get him off the bed and helped him to his room. "And I'll make sure you get the prenatal vitamins too."
"I can't believe this is happening." Brook said. Tears were starting to fall.
Just as one thing ended, another issue was beginning.
"How do I tell the clan?" he asked himself.
"I can be there with you when you tell them." Lex said.
"That might help me a lot." Brooklyn said.
"I'll get you some crackers to help with the nausea." David said as he helped him into his bed.
Brooklyn had momentarily forgotten about the nausea, but he could feel it now. "Thanks."
David went to go get him some crackers. He also ran into Owen and told him about it. Owen told him that Brooklyn had made some peppermint tea last night. Peppermint tea should be fine for him to have.
Lex stayed in Brooklyn's room with him. "You want me to stay or go?" he asked.
"Don't tell the clan yet. Please, Lex. I need to get over the shock first. Maybe in a few nights. I need to come to terms with it first." Brooklyn said. "I need to do some thinking. Can you tell Goliath that I got sick again?"
"Sure. I'll be here for ya if you need anything." Lex stated before departing his bro's room.
Brooklyn then looked down. He couldn't believe this was happening. He had two little lives inside his belly. No wonder he had been feeling sick. It was still such a shock that he didn't know what he wanted to do yet.
Their clan was so few in numbers, the two babies would add on to the clan. It would be great to get some new blood into the clan. But then, there were their enemies out there that would seek to use the babies against them. And these babies were obviously Demona's. They would be Angela's baby brothers or sisters. Half siblings anyway.
He tried to think of why she would do this to him when males were not meant to carry their children. Was Demona that desperate to be a new mother? And she had chosen him to be the father, or just a carrier and kill him when it was over. If he killed the babies, it would make him a coward and a murderer of his own kind. Brooklyn never wanted to take lives unless it was for self defense only, or defending his clan. And these embryos were helpless.
He still needed time to think this all over. He had been lonely for a long time. He didn't think he would be having a family by himself. He still longed for that female love out there, somewhere. By now, he would even willingly let a human be his girl too, if it was the right one. He wanted nothing to do with Demona.
These babies would be very valuable to the clan. It would bring life to the clan. There needed to be some happiness around here again. Everyone had been too concerned for him lately, and with good reason. Now there was more reason for it.
David came back with the crackers for him to eat to help calm his aching stomach. He also gave him the anti-nausea pills. "Take these when you start to feel nausea." he instructed. "Take with a glass of water."
Brooklyn wanted to start by giving the embryos some food.
"Are you alright, Brooklyn?" David asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need some time, Xanatos, before I tell the clan." Brook said.
"Alright. Holler if you need anything." the man said and left the room.
Lex told Goliath that Brooklyn was ill again. Goliath really wanted his second back on the team soon. This couldn't go on much longer.