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.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
�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 & Elisa�s desire to be human. She & 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 & tail disappeared, claws split into five fingers & toes, bony ridges disappeared, & 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 & was ready for it. �Hold on Elisa. I�ll get you to the infirmary.� I scooped up the detective & rushed off. The scene was familiar except it wasn�t Brooklyn carrying me.
I burst into the room & 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 & 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 & bolted out of the room. The rest of the clan followed him. That left the Thundercats & 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 & me, but after a few minutes, he got up & began pacing.
Elisa�s screams could now be heard in the waiting room. Goliath stopped pacing & 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) & 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 & I gripped hands, both of us worried. I saw Broadway, on Angela�s left, grab my sister�s other hand & hold it reassuringly. Somehow, I wasn�t surprised when I felt my right hand being held. I looked to my right & 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 & saw Elisa lying in bed with her daughter in her arms. Her hair was tangled & 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 & 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 & Elisa�s, but more like her mother. She had the four claws, wings, & 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 & father�s features.�
I nodded & bid goodbye. I stepped out & sat down as Lion-O stood up & went in. Elisa�s comment about Albany having both his parents� features brought back the painful memory of Brooklyn�s timedancing & 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 & Tygra went in. I was alone with my thoughts again. And they turned to my decision. I weighed the pros & cons of Manhattan & Third Earth.
Staying in Manhattan had good points. I had many friends here & so much I can do. I was a valuable member of the clan & 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, & Albany in danger.
With Third Earth, there were friends & allies I knew well. I had Tygra to keep me busy, as well as my children & 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 & except for my clan & friends, it seemed somewhat unfriendly. I pushed away my thoughts & dove into the conversation going on around me. My decision could wait. I still had three weeks to make a choice.