Disclaimer: Only Ali/Albany, Rose, and Cougara are mine. Rosanna belongs to the author of Gargoyles: Clan Manhattan storyline. You can read his saga at his site. Note to the author, I know Rosanna's actual birth isn't in July, but please bear with me. I wanted Jasmine to witness this event.
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“Call them Elisa.”
“I don’t know if I’m ready.”
“You’re ready.” My voice turned soft. “Call them.”
Elisa took a deep breath. “Weird Sisters! I have a request. I would like to become human again.”
It had been five days since the Fourth of July and Elisa’s desire to be human. She and Goliath had discussed it to great length. They both knew that if Elisa became human that the baby would be born that night since it had been more than a year when Elisa learned she was expecting.
Once Elisa had finished speaking, a flash of green light engulfed her body. Her wings and tail disappeared, claws split into five fingers and toes, bony ridges disappeared, and finally Elisa was fully human, complete with a swollen belly. When the light vanished, Elisa had collapsed on the ground, moaning in pain.
I knew what was happening and was ready for it. “Hold on Elisa. I’ll get you to the infirmary.” I scooped up the detective and rushed off. The scene was familiar except it wasn’t Brooklyn carrying me.
I burst into the room and placed Elisa on one of the beds. I yelled for Dr. Wolfe, who appeared. I told him what was happening, then I went to find the others. I decided to look in the TV room first.
I found the clan and the Thundercats there. They all looked at me. I couldn’t speak because I was completely out of breath from sprinting down the hall to the room. Goliath went over to me. “Jasmine, what’s wrong?”
“Elisa...infirmary...the baby,” I panted. Goliath’s face took on a look of alarm and bolted out of the room. The rest of the clan followed him. That left the Thundercats and me to bring up the rear.
When we reached the waiting room, everyone but Goliath was there. I was about to ask about where he was, when I saw Dr. Wolfe shooing him into the room. I almost laughed, the sight was just too funny. Goliath sat down between Angela and me, but after a few minutes, he got up and began pacing.
Elisa’s screams could now be heard in the waiting room. Goliath stopped pacing and bolted into the infirmary. I waited for Goliath to be shooed back into the waiting room, but he wasn’t. My thoughts turned to Elisa. I worried about her, not knowing if she would survive. She was giving birth to a gargoyle (possible hybrid) and she was human. From what we were hearing, it sounded like it was pretty hard on Elisa. I prayed that she would make it.
Angela and I gripped hands, both of us worried. I saw Broadway, on Angela’s left, grab my sister’s other hand and hold it reassuringly. Somehow, I wasn’t surprised when I felt my right hand being held. I looked to my right and found my love beside me.
Suddenly, Elisa’s screams were replaced with a baby’s wail. All of us looked at the infirmary’s double doors, waiting for someone to come through them. At long last, Goliath came out, looking jovial.
“It’s a girl!” he announced.
“What about Elisa?” I asked.
“She’s fine.”
“Have you picked out a name yet?” Broadway questioned.
“We’re naming her Rose, but we’ll use her full name, Rosanna, to avoid confusion. Everyone can see her, but one at a time.”
My clan members went in one at a time, but didn’t stay long. At last, I walked into the infirmary and saw Elisa lying in bed with her daughter in her arms. Her hair was tangled and messy from the delivery, her skin had slight beads of sweat, but she was very proud. I knew the feeling.
I approached Elisa’s left side and sat in the chair that was next to the bed. I looked at my new sister. Her skin was like Goliath’s, her horns were smaller than her father’s, her hair was between Goliath’s and Elisa’s, but more like her mother. She had the four claws, wings, and tail of a normal gargoyle. Her facial features resembled Elisa’s.
“Oh, Elisa. She’s beautiful,” I whispered loudly.
“Thanks. She looks so much like her father.”
“She had some of your features too.”
“She’s like Albany in a way. Has some of the mother’s and father’s features.”
I nodded and bid goodbye. I stepped out and sat down as Lion-O stood up and went in. Elisa’s comment about Albany having both his parents’ features brought back the painful memory of Brooklyn’s time dancing and abandonment of his children.
“Jasmine?” a voice called. Blinking out of my thoughts, I looked in the direction of the voice. It was Tygra. “Are you okay? You’re awfully quiet.”
“I was just thinking about how much Albany looks like Brooklyn.”
“He also looks like you. And Rose seems to take after you.”
I smiled. At that moment, Lion-O walked out and Tygra went in. I was alone with my thoughts again. And they turned to my decision. I weighed the pros and cons of Manhattan and Third Earth.
Staying in Manhattan had good points. I had many friends here and so much I can do. I was a valuable member of the clan and its second-in-command. However, the Quarrymen were out there, as well as Servarius. It wasn’t the geneticist I was concerned about, it was the blue-hooded people. Though, the people of Manhattan have accepted gargoyles, the number of the Quarrymen were still large. And they are focusing on a different kind of gargoyle. A gargoyle that can be human in daylight. This situation put, not just me, but Demona, Kayla, Joyce, and Albany in danger.
With Third Earth, there were friends and allies I knew well. I had Tygra to keep me busy, as well as my children and Thundercat duties. My enemies were powerful, but easily defeated. My children would grow up happy, but well-trained. It looks like an easy decision, but it wasn’t. This world was my home and except for my clan and friends, it seemed somewhat unfriendly. I pushed away my thoughts and dove into the conversation going on around me. My decision could wait. I still had three weeks to make a choice.
