Progeny

Chapter 15

Time went on. Many weeks later, Brooklyn was now at his 34th week.

His stomach was huge by now. By estimation, he only had close to six more weeks of pregnancy left. He was so ready to have the child. By now, he knew it was going to be a cesarean birth. He didn't have the right exit from his body for the baby to be born like from a female. But unlike a woman, he would only be sore for a couple nights.

Yes, the surgery would carry its risks, but with his stone sleep, he would be healed in just a couple of nights.

Brooklyn tried to keep busy with how he would handle things once the baby came. He had some nesting instincts by now that demanded cleaning the whole castle, top to bottom. He just wanted a safe, clean environment for the child.

Alex might have been a little older, but he would be close enough in age range for Brooklyn's kid to play with. He hoped they would be good friends in time. They would be raised like siblings, so to speak, as close as a human and gargoyle children could be.
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Elisa was happy at seeing Brooklyn becoming a parent, even though he didn't have a mate to share his love with, even though she knew he wanted one. But she began questioning her own love for Goliath in that she wanted to have a baby with him too. To give him a chance at raising a child with her. Sure, Goliath had Angela, but he hadn't seen her grow up.

She brought it up with him one night, and he said he would love to have a baby with her, if it was really possible. When they were ready. First, they wanted to see what things happened with Brooklyn's baby. It was Brooklyn's time to be showered with attention and love and excitement for the arrival of a new life in just six weeks. At least with estimation.
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The baby just got bigger and bigger over the next five weeks, and it made Brooklyn feel so heavy. His back hurt, and he had problems with swollen ankles. He was glad that he hadn't had anymore freak encounters with humans or rogue gargoyles who would want to take his baby from him. It could stand a chance of survival if born now. It was full term that Winston had deemed it.

Fox had given Brooklyn advice all throughout his pregnancy on things to expect. And most things had worked out that way. Of course, there just wouldn't be labor pains.

Winston came over weekly at this stage to just monitor the baby. It was doing well.

When he came over to do this ultrasound, the clan was invited into the exam room to see Brooklyn's baby.

"Have you thought of any names yet?" Winston asked.

"Yes, but I'm waiting till it's born to reveal the name." Brook said.

"That's your choice. I'm sure it's a beautiful name. Names can seem to determine a lot about a person's personality first." Winston stated.

"Really?" Lex asked.

"Yep."

"Winston, I'm so uncomfortable anymore, I really need this baby out of me. I can barely get up on my own anymore. It hurts to breathe. It's kicking into my ribs. My back hurts so bad and my feet swell up. That's never happened to me before. I'm in bed constantly and I just want to do things again. Please. I think it's time for my little one to come out." Brooklyn explained why he was ready. "Sure, I'm afraid of the surgery part, and the risks that have been described, but I'll be healed in a day or two."

The veterinarian could see the gargoyle's point of view. "Well then, perhaps it is time we made you a father!" Winston smiled.

"Really? You're gonna do it?" Brook asked.

"Yes. But I need my medical team together first to make sure that we do everything right. The surgery will need more than one person. I will talk to them tomorrow and let them know, and I'll call Xanatos and let him know. In a night or two, you should be a new dad."

"That will be great for Brooklyn." Angela said.

"It'll be good for us to all take care of a hatchling again." Hudson said.

"Well, he or she technically won't be a hatchling, Hudson." Brooklyn pointed out.

"I know, lad. Just saying meaning the baby." the old one replied.

"It'll be great having some new life in the clan." Goliath smiled. It was like he was being a new dad too.

"The baby looks so cute on the computer." Broadway said.

"Yep, they do." Brook said, tears coming to his eyes. He saw the baby had his horns and beaked face already. It looked like a basic gargoyle as all the body parts were shown.

"Do you really want to wait for the birth, or do you want to know the gender now?" Winston asked. "I can see the gender."

"Really?" Brooklyn asked.

"Can we please?" Lex asked.

Brooklyn had waited nine long months for this moment. But did he want to know before birth to be sure? "Yes, I want to know." he replied.

"You have a daughter on the way." Winston stated.

Brooklyn couldn't be happier.

"Congratulations, lad." Hudson said.

Everyone went on to congratulate him proudly. He was so happy his clan was there to support him since his case of pregnancy was very out of the blue.

"Thanks, everyone." he declared. "But I'm still not revealing her name until after she's born."

"That's fine. It's your child." Goliath said.

"Do you think you'll breastfeed her? You do have a slight look of your body adjusting to your condition." Winston asked.

"I don't know." He looked at the clan. This was so personal. "It would be unusual for a male to nurse a baby, ever. It was always done by females."

"There is formula too if you're wanting too, but I would suggest at least one or two natural feedings to get much needed colostrum." Winston stated.

"What's colostrum?" Lex asked.

"The first milk that comes in. It's only around for the first day, or night. After that, with regular feeding, the real milk comes in. It has valuable antibodies for the baby to build her own immune system against diseases and such." Winston explained. "But you could combine breastfeeding with formula too, so anyone babysitting her could feed her while you're out patrolling in the future."

This sounded so strange to the males of the clan, and even to the human men. But it was the red male that was making this choice.

"Well, I... I do want her to have a good immune system." Brooklyn said. "If I do do breastfeeding, it'll only be in private though."

"That's fine. Your choice." Winston said. "But like I said, I'll talk to the team tomorrow and they'll get on board. You are at the right stage to where she can survive outside your body now."

"Thanks, Winston, for everything." Brooklyn thanked him.

"I'm happy to do it. She'll be a little treasure, at least until more baby gargoyles come along." the man said.

The ultrasound was finished up, and the heart was listened to as well. It had changed over the pregnancy, but was almost no different than a human's, if a little different. But no one had ever kept accurate records of gargoyle pregnancy over the previous years, except just maybe the humans and gargoyles of Japan had, since they were a close knit community combination over there.

But Brooklyn wasn't going to go all the way to Japan to deliver his child. He had done well here. He was so uncomfortable at this point. Goliath and Broadway had to help him get up off the table. When he laid down, he usually could only lay on his sides. The baby pressed more into his internal organs when lying flat on his back.

The clan dispersed after that. Brooklyn went to his room to read about c-sections. He wanted to be prepared.
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Goliath called Elisa on her ear phone. "Brooklyn is having the baby in a night or two." he said.

"I knew he was getting up there and more than ready to have it. I'll be happy to be there to support him." Elisa replied.

"We also found out tonight that it's a girl." he said.

"That'll be good for Angela. I'm sure she feels lonely being the only female in the clan. She'll be like a big sister for her." she expressed her thoughts.