When it had been up to a full five weeks since his capture, Brooklyn still liked to hang out outside most of the time, just staring out at the horizon, wondering how he was going to get home. He hated being held prisoner here at this facility. He missed his clan. Despite having told Irene of his important role in the clan, the woman was just not wanting to part with him. One night, he had it out with her in his room.
"Irene, I've given you a good amount of information of what I know of my kind, and I've let you examine me. When are you going to let me go?" Brooklyn demanded to know.
"Don't you get it, Brooklyn?" Irene remarked at him.
"Get what?"
"Brooklyn, you are way too good looking to just let get away. I definitely see that you are nothing of the sort of what the Quarrymen and other evil humans of New York said, you are not evil at all. And despite your role, you said it yourself, that you were tired of being like an outsider in the clan, being all alone and no one to talk to." Irene proclaimed. "No, I will NOT be letting you go anytime soon."
"Irene, I still need my clan around me. I can't live my life without them." Brook tried desperately.
"They can find a new second-in-command. You are here to stay." Irene declared. "You are my hard-fought prize."
"You can't be serious."
"Even if I never come into your cell again, I will be coexisting with you." Irene said. "But I would like us to have a friendship too. Besides, you are also doing something special for me too."
"I'm not doing anything for you." Brook retorted.
"More than you know right now." Irene grinned.
Brooklyn didn't like the look on her face. It made him uneasy.
"There will be plenty of health exams that need to be done on you and will you cooperate with my team, or will we have to sedate you every time we want to let you out?" Irene demanded. "I don't want to do that to you, Brooklyn, but I will if you pose a threat to my team or me."
"I'm not a science project, Irene." Brook got sterner.
"Oh, but you are. You are going to help reveal some more answers about gargoyles." Irene stated. "I truly hope you'll get past this affliction."
"What? Are you going to kill me and stuff me as a trophy when I no longer interest you?" Brook demanded. "Or are you going to smash me in my sleep?"
"Of course not! You are just interesting to have around here. Please stay and help with my research." Irene tried pleading with him again.
"I miss the others. Please let me go home." Brooklyn also pleaded for his release. "I need to be able to really glide over the city and protect the city from bad guys. My clan needs me to be there."
"What? You don't like what I designed for you?" Irene asked.
"Oh, it's nice alright, but it's still not my home." Brook counteracted her.
"I'm sorry, Brooklyn, but like I said, you are much too valuable to let go of." Irene declared.
Brooklyn didn't feel any extra special at the moment. But there was something special going on inside his belly. He didn't know that Irene and her team were watching out for possible symptoms of a pregnancy.
….
The next night, while Brooklyn was just sitting on a rock outside enjoying the view, shortly after having woken up, the red gargoyle suddenly began to feel a churning in his stomach. This wasn't good. The feeling began to get worse until he felt he had no choice but to just throw up on the grass that was up there.
After losing whatever was in his stomach, Brooklyn wiped his mouth off. He wondered what brought this on. He hadn't even eaten breakfast yet. He was still feeling nauseated. He put a hand on his belly and rubbed it to try to soothe it.
But it wasn't too long after that that he was called down for his food. "I really don't feel like eating." Brook moaned. But he did want to lay down. He reluctantly flew down from the rock and got on the bridge that led him inside. He took his hand off his belly to not arouse suspicion. It was probably a one-time thing, he figured.
Brooklyn decided to just go straight to his bed to lay down on it. It was pretty comfortable. He sighed as he snuggled his face on the pillow. For right now, it felt good to be inside.
It was now in September. It was still hot outside despite it being nighttime. It was hot in Florida at this time.
Brooklyn wished his clan would find him. He missed them so much. Sure, being away from the others had seemed like a good idea at first, but being kidnapped was something else. But these biologists and other scientists were nicer to him than typical scientists. He still remembered Sevarius. He was an evil geneticist. He never would have had this nice of accommodations if he had been taken by Sevarius and his clan would have found him by now.
"Good evening, Brooklyn." The man who delivered his food greeted upon putting his usual tray of food into the room. "Time to eat."
"I don't want it." Brooklyn replied back.
"You must eat."
"Leave me alone." Brook said grumpily. He just laid back down, attempting to sleep.
"The boss insists that you eat something." The man retorted.
"I'm not hungry." Brooklyn said.
"Why? Got a tummy ache or something?" The man asked.
Brook moaned in reply.
"Well, you should still eat something. There are crackers on the plate. Those are good to settle an upset belly." The man declared.
The gargoyle didn't want to move from his comfortable spot on his bed. He had turned his wings into a blanket. He was turned away from the cell bars. "I'll eat when I'm ready, not before. You can take the food with you. I don't feel like eating anytime soon."
"I'm sorry, but I have to insist on you eating something." The man, named Frank, insisted.
Brooklyn knew that Frank wasn't going to go away until he ate something. He groaned as he pushed himself off the bed to look at the food. Though it smelled good, he just wasn't hungry and felt more like he would vomit again. He ended up taking the crackers and eating them. Other than that, he just went back to bed.
"That'll work, Brooklyn. Thank you." Frank thanked him.
"Please just let me sleep." Brook pleaded. He didn't want to let on that he felt sick but claimed to be tired instead.
Frank took the food with him, and it would be saved for later. "We'll try again later." He said on his way out. He wasn't going to let the food go to waste.
On the way back to the kitchen, Irene saw that the plate was still full of food. "What's this? Brooklyn didn't eat his food?" she demanded.
"He didn't look too good, Boss. He ate the crackers I insisted on." Frank replied. "He seems to be nauseated."
Irene smiled at that. "It just might be the start of what I think is happening to him. But we'll wait a little longer before we make any decisions to examine him. If he wants to rest, then let him. His 'condition' is a very delicate time for him. I don't want him stressed. The earliest times are the hardest to guarantee that he won't lose it."
"But what are we going to do with him while he is in this condition if he can't do much?" Frank asked.
"He can still give us plenty of information." Irene said. "But if the sickness gets to be too much for him, we can always put him in a coma for the earliest term."
"Are you going to tell him what is causing his symptoms?"
"Eventually, but I don't want him told until it gets further into it." Irene assured.
"Yes, Ma'am." Frank replied.
"Try to get him to eat later." Irene insisted. "I'm going to have him start taking his prenatal vitamins. And perhaps give him something for the nausea if it gets to be too much for him. But you'll have to insist he takes the prenatal pills every night."
"Alright. Of course, he may question why he has to take them."
"Just tell him they're to help him with the nausea." Irene replied.
"Okay."
…..
Brooklyn rested through a good portion of the night. He wouldn't normally sleep out of his stone sleep without a good reason, such as a rare illness or a severe injury. Gargoyles were usually very healthy beings, thanks to their stone sleep.
Frank came in later, about 3 am with some more food. Brooklyn was just starting to stir when he came in.
"Hello, Brooklyn." He greeted. "Have a nice nap?"
Brooklyn groaned in reply.
"Do you feel like eating a little something now?" Frank asked.
Brook sighed as he sat up. His head spun a little. "I'm still rather tired." He replied.
"It'll pass, but come, you need to eat something. If at least one meal a night." Frank insisted.
Brooklyn smelled the food. He also saw what was on the tray plate. He also felt how his stomach felt. There was a little gurgle in his belly. He looked over at the tray. There was a bottle of water, crackers, four slices of toast, a banana, and some apple slices. There was also a little cup of something on the side. He saw that Frank was watching him.
The gargoyle slowly got off the bed and went over to the tray. He picked it up and took it to his table to eat it. He looked into the cup and saw that it was a couple of pills. "What are these for?" he asked.
"Those are for the nausea." Frank replied.
"Okay."
"How's your stomach feeling now?" Frank asked him.
"After my nap, it feels more up to eating." Brook replied.
"Better to eat before taking the pills. You need food in your stomach first." Frank said.
Brooklyn began eating the toast first. It just had butter on it this time. Then he ate the apple slices. Then he ate the crackers followed by the banana. Then he drank some water before taking the pills. Brooklyn just hoped he could keep the food down.
"How long has the nausea been going on?" Frank asked curiously.
"Just tonight. Just a one-night thing most likely." Brook replied. "I'll be fine."
Brooklyn was able to keep the food down the rest of the night.