New Beginnings

Part 7

The summer felt like the longest of Elisa's life. It was hot. She still went to work every day. She was still a dispatch officer. She wished she could be out busting bad guys again, but the heavier she got, the more stress it put on her back and ankles. She had to get up and walk around too.

Elisa went through everything that all pregnant women went through: cravings, cramps, back pain, swollen ankles, mood swings.

Goliath stayed on her good side as much as he could. All the males had to watch themselves. Elisa loved them all, but the stress of the pregnancy took its toll on her too. Goliath did what he could to comfort her, like just holding her in their bedroom and bringing her stuff to eat.

They would read together too and talk to the baby. They would read to her too. They wanted her to know their voices.

Goliath felt a little scared about all this but thrilled too. This time, his child was being carried longer than six months and it was going to be born alive than as an egg. He was worried for both his child and Elisa. He hated seeing the stress and pains it caused his mate/wife. But it was just natural.

.............

In the later months, it was so hard for Elisa to be comfortable to sleep. She and Fox went to Lamaze classes together. They had formed a friendship because of her pregnancy and Fox knew what she was going through.

Fox knew that at least Elisa's child wouldn't be threatened by magical fae people wanting to take her child away like Alex had been on the night of his birth. But Goliath was a target for many enemies. His child could still be a target for him. So could Elisa.

But Elisa had been doing well during the pregnancy, but the heavier the baby got, with the back cramps and swollen legs, Elisa went on maternity leave from her 34th week onward. She was tired and cranky a lot. The baby wouldn't let her sleep so much. She was always hungry too.

The Xanatos' and the gargoyles were there for Elisa as much as possible.

Fox, Diane, Beth, Maggie, Katana, Delilah, Coldfire, and Angela all threw Elisa a baby shower too. They even had Taichi, Alex, and Michael at the shower.

On the night of the shower, Brooklyn, Fu-dog, and Gnash were patrolling the city together. Lex and Broadway were together. Goliath and Hudson and Bronx were together.

Elisa felt so happy and pampered this night. She had Alex's crib, changing table, rocking chair, diapers, toys, music tapes and radio, name book, reading books, blankets, formula, baby information books, girl's clothes, a breast pump.

"Thanks for all the gifts, everyone." Elisa thanked the other girls.

"You're welcome, Elisa," they all replied happily for her.

Diane had been wondering what her new grandchild would look like, and Elisa had shown her the latest sonogram. Her new granddaughter looked human. She was thrilled.

"Have you picked a name for her yet?" Maggie asked.

"Yes, we have." Elisa replied.

"Can we know, or do we have to wait till the birth to leave something a mystery?" Beth asked.

"No. Her name is going to be Rosalita." Elisa announced.

"That's a very pretty name, Elisa." Diane said happily.

"You can call her Rose for short." Elisa stated. "Or Lita. Depending on what she likes as she gets older."

"I bet my little sister and Taichi will be good friends too." Angela smiled.

"I think they will be too." Katana smiled.

Elisa even babysat Taichi at times too while her parents went out. It gave her baby experience, aside from watching Alex too. Though a gargoyle hatchling was slightly different from a human child. But Elisa's child was half gargoyle too.

Rosalita might have been created human-like, but her father was still fully at heart a gargoyle. It had only been a magical short time of him being turned human for the honeymoon that this had happened. It was a miracle.

There were also games and snacks provided for the shower too.

The other ladies were wondering if Elisa was going to breastfeed or use formula.

"I want to breastfeed as much as possible, unless formula must be used, like if I'm away working or something." Elisa declared.

"It's understandable, Elisa." Diane said. "But it helps to have breastmilk pumped ahead too. It's far healthier for the baby than formula."

"I know, but I want the formula too just in case of backup." Elisa said.

The girls all understood.

Katana wouldn't let Taichi far from her. She believed in strict breastfeeding. She had done it with Gnash when he was little too, though all those adventures had been in the timestream years.

Later, after the shower was over, when Goliath came home from his patrol, he got to see the precious gifts that would help welcome his daughter into the world.

"We sure got a lot of supplies for Rosalita." Goliath admitted.

"Yeah, we did. It was a fun experience. They made me feel so happy. Now we just need to wait for her birth next month." Elisa smiled.

"Yes, and I still am excited but scared for you both. I know that birth carries its challenges." Goliath said.

"I know, but Dr. Sato and his team will be here. If something goes wrong, they can get her out fast." Elisa stated. "The advances of today's medical tech."

"I know. I just want everything to go smoothly." Goliath admitted.

"I really want you with me throughout the labor, Goliath." Elisa said.

"That is thoughtful of you, Elisa, but for us, the fathers always had to be waiting elsewhere. The other females looked out for each other." Goliath explained.

"That was a long time ago, Goliath. Fathers are always welcome in the delivery room with their wives. They have rights to see their children born because they helped create it too. Please, I'll need your help too." Elisa begged him.

Goliath sighed reluctantly. He knew this was his decision.

"I'll be in there for as long as I can, depending on how things go with sunrise and sunset." Goliath decided.

"Thank you. Yes, I understand." Elisa replied.

"I'll be just outside for stone sleep. I don't want to disturb anything when it comes to that." Goliath declared.

"It's okay. Yes. The doctors probably wouldn't like it either." Elisa agreed.