Brooklyn wondered if he should go and talk to Elisa before he returned to the clan. But then, she had seemed to agree with what the clan had said, that he should get the abortion. This left him a little angry at her. But then, he thought about Elisa's mother. What would she think?

The red gargoyle set off once again to go gliding around the city on his own, but this time, he headed to the Maza home. He was looking for Diane Maza, Elisa's mother. He just wanted to have a talk with her.

He landed on the house roof and tried looking in windows. When he didn't find her upstairs, he landed on the ground and listened. He could hear her voice indoors. His nose suddenly picked up a scent and it was obvious there was dinner going on. It made his stomach growl. He also felt a stirring inside him.

"Not now, little one. Maybe later." Brooklyn said, rubbing his belly.

Now that the Mazas knew about the gargoyles, they might be welcome here, but Brook wasn't sure who was their guest. He listened some more, and it was just Peter and Diane together. That was good. That gave him the cue to a little hesitantly knock on the door.

The voices stopped. Who would be at their door this late? Brook heard footsteps and the door opened. Peter was there.

"Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in." Peter joked. "Brooklyn, is it?"

"Yeah."

"Elisa and your clan have been looking for you." Peter then got serious. "Come in, won't you?"

"Thanks." Brooklyn wrapped his wings around his shoulders in a sign of respect and to keep them from getting hit on the doorway. He walked into the house before the door closed behind him.

"Care to join us for dinner?" Diane asked. "Since it's made."

"Sure." Brooklyn replied. He was glad to take a seat at the table with them. It was a bit unusual to be asked for dinner. He knew he would get questioned.

They prayed, then passed the food around. It was a chicken and noodle casserole with mashed potatoes. This made Brook's mouth water. He had a huge appetite right now.

Brooklyn took quite a bit of the food when it got to him. "Thanks for letting me eat with you." He smiled.

"You're welcome." Diane replied. "But what brings you by here, Brooklyn?" she asked.

"I uh, needed to talk to you, but can it wait until after dinner. I don't think it's an appropriate topic for the table. It might make you lose your appetite." Brook suggested.

"Alright."

"Where are you staying right now?" Peter asked.

"With Jeffrey Robbins, a friend of Hudson's, but if Elisa or any of the others ask, please don't tell them. My whereabouts are a complete secret right now. I just can't have them know where I am. Very personal business." Brook explained.

"Okay." Peter said.

They ate their dinner in peace with minimal conversation, but after dinner, they went to the living room to talk. "Now, the reason why I came was because I needed someone to talk to who knows what it's like to be a parent. But can I talk to Diane alone, please?" Brooklyn asked of Peter.

"Of course, if that's what you want." Peter replied. He knew what it was like to be a parent, but why wouldn't he want to talk to him? He went back to wash the dishes since Diane had cooked for him.

"So, what's going on, Brooklyn, that you want to talk to me about?" Diane asked.

"You know what it's like to be a parent and carry your children." Brooklyn said.

"It was a long time ago, but yes. Go on." Diane stated.

"Diane, a few months ago, I was involved in some kind of lab experiment. It's not normal for this to happen to a male, but somehow, the people there got me... pregnant." Brook explained to her.

"Uh huh, Brooklyn. That doesn't happen to males." Diane crossed her arms. She found his story a little doubtful.

"I'm not kidding. I've always been a skinny type, but would I look like this if I wasn't?" Brooklyn declared firmly as he pulled his wings back to expose his belly.

The African American woman saw that Brooklyn's stomach was rounded. It looked like a pregnant belly, but she also knew that males could get fat too.

"I also feel movement inside me. Here." Brook pointed out to his upper belly. "The scientists got me pregnant with twins. I had told Elisa and the clan, and I heard them talking and to me, it sounded like they wanted me to get an abortion. I wasn't going to do that, ever!" He explained.

"That isn't right." Diane stated.

"No. I will not kill my babies." Brook started to cry from the hormones. "Just because I'm not a female to carry them, doesn't mean I will let anything happen."

"It's been a while. Maybe you should go back home and have a talk with them." Diane suggested. "But yes, I agree with you. That should never happen to you without your consent. Do you mind if I feel it?" she asked.

"Okay." He replied.

Diane laid a hand on Brooklyn's swollen belly. She felt for movement. "How far along are you?"

"I think a little over eighteen weeks now. Could be nineteen." Brook said.

When he talked, it made the babies kick out and Diane felt the movement beneath her hand. This was amazing how she was feeling this happen to a male. She took her hand off. "I really think you need to go talk to your clan about this miracle."

"I wish they thought the same. I plan to return in a couple months, but don't tell you've seen me, please." Brooklyn pleaded. "I just want to get them past this most crucial time and that I've made my point. I left to protect my babies."

"And you did very well in that prospect." Diane stated.

"Elisa just saw them as something to get rid of just because it's not normal. Like a sign of rape." Brook said.

"If you didn't give your consent for this and it was all done privately, well then, it was rape. But the babies are innocent little lives that deserve a chance to live. It's great you want to keep them. Humans just often don't see a lot of the positive in keeping babies that were forced upon them." Diane explained. "Some abort, but many also choose adoption."

"Well, with us gargoyles, adoption is not an option, right now, anyway." Brook declared. "And I don't want my kids growing up without me in their lives."

"That's wonderful." Diane stated. "All kids need their parents. But you don't have a mate of your own, do you?" She asked.

"No, I don't. Not yet anyway. All my clan mothers are dead and so are my sisters. I long for a love of my own, but no female seems to be able to tolerate me." Brooklyn explained.

"You shouldn't breed your sisters at all." Diane snapped.

"I meant rookery sisters. We were never related by blood. We were all raised communally. We all had different parents but didn't know who our birth parents were. All the adults were our parents. I'll allow my kids to have that, but I still want them to be my kids." Brooklyn said.

Diane was trying hard to be understanding. She seemed more understanding than Elisa and the clan had been.

Brooklyn finished his talk with Diane, and he was pleased that she was trying to support his decision. After he left, Peter came in to talk to her. He had been listening.

"That's too bad that that experiment was forced upon him, but it's amazing he still wants the babies." Peter stated.

"Yes, it is. It's a shame he feels that he can't talk to his clan about this, and they would make him get rid of the twins. But then, they know it's a risk for him to carry them at all considering his body is not meant for it." Diane explained her thoughts.

"I agree. He needs all the support he could get." Peter said.

"I wish him all the luck he can get for this to truly be a miracle. I also hope he finds a girl to help him raise his babies." Diane declared.

...

Brooklyn flew over the city just enjoying the air and breathing it in. He closed his eyes to just feel it. It was one of the things that helped him feel better when he was stressed sometimes. He knew he was almost to the halfway point of his pregnancy, and he just wanted his twins to be a little bigger than what they were now before he went home.

He could feel his little ones being a little active inside his belly. He put a hand to it, smiling. How could his clan want him to get rid of them? To get to feel them move was beyond amazing. But he only wanted this to be a once in a lifetime experience. He hoped he would find a mate and have other children the way he was supposed to. These twins would keep him busy enough waiting for eggs to hatch, one day.

He soon got back to Robbins' house. He spent the rest of the night relaxing.

...

A few nights later, the red male was out in Little Tokyo, and he saw movement in the sky. He gasped and had to get down to a rooftop before he was spotted. His clan would still be looking for him no doubt but were likely just patrolling the area while keeping on the lookout for him.

Brooklyn landed on a rooftop with an overhang, and he hid under it, wrapping his wings around himself to hopefully not get noticed by the gargoyles that were gliding overhead. When they got there eventually, he saw it was Hudson and Angela. He frowned, feeling guilty that he had to hide from them.

"Soon, I'll return, guys, I promise." Brooklyn said aloud but lowly.

With Hudson and Angela, the lavender female said, "I miss seeing Brooklyn around the castle, Hudson."

"I know. I do too, Lass." Hudson replied. "We will find him. When we do, we will make him feel welcome back."

"I know I will too. I hope he's alright." Angela admitted.

"We all want that too. He's really good at hiding himself, wherever he is." Hudson stated. "Where are you, Brooklyn, lad?"

The two of them were soon out of sight and Brooklyn took off from the overhang in the opposite direction. "I wish I could have gone out to them, but I still don't feel comfortable meeting them yet." He declared aloud.

Brooklyn went around the city getting some hot dogs and pretzels from shut down stands. He also eventually went to Coney Island. He was just wanting to see what had become of it since the last time he had been here when the roller coaster had been destroyed by a fire by Demona and Thailog's fighting on it.

When he got there, the roller coaster had long since been redone and repaired. But he wasn't going on there. With the humans all gone for the night, he wandered around the amusement park looking for more snacks there. He was looking for special snacks.

He went around and found some funnel cakes, chocolate candies, and some smoothies. Raspberry, banana, coconut, and even some lemonade.

He was just having some major cravings right now for some sweet things. He grabbed another pretzel, a funnel cake, and made a raspberry smoothie. When he finished the raspberry one, he also made a banana and coconut mix smoothie. It was something different but tasted fabulous to him. He also finished eating his funnel cake and pretzel before he walked around to burn off those calories.

"Just wanted to introduce you kids to some foods at the carnival since we'll never get to experience it with the humans." Brooklyn said playfully, rubbing his rounded belly. He hoped they were satisfied. He knew he was. He soon left Coney Island for the night.

Brook knew he wasn't going back into that Fun House again anytime soon after he had been attacked by his clone and the other clones last time he had been there.

I know I have Brooklyn being hesitant to rejoin his clan, but he also wants as many opinions as possible about what he can consider before he goes home again. But he still only left to protect the babies.