Chapter Twenty-Six

“Is that the delivery person?” Simon lifted his head off the pillow, straining to hear, but he needn’t have bothered. Kolton was already up, dressed and running out of the room. There was a set of thuds as his mate ran down the stairs. “Guess I’d better get up, too,” Simon muttered, amused at Kolton’s antics.

The only delivery he was expecting was the ultrasound machine, although as he went through to the bathroom, Simon allowed himself another chuckle. He got the impression Kolton thought an ultrasound would show pictures much like they’d see on television the night before. My curious mate might be disappointed. There’s no color, for a start.

Finishing up in the bathroom, Simon shook his hair out of his eyes and went back into the bedroom, still shirtless, to see Kolton was already sitting on the bed with what looked like a suitcase on his lap.

“How does it work?” Kolton’s eyes were wide. “I’m guessing the machine’s inside, but I didn’t want to open it in case I broke it.”

“What’s all this? No good morning mate or any coffee first?” Simon was teasing.

“Morning.” Kolton flashed his teeth. “Coffee.” He waved his hand toward the nightstand. “Now. How does this work?”

Guess I won’t be getting any breakfast until this is done. “Okay. Let me look.” Simon got himself arranged so he was sitting on the bed, resting his back on the headboard. Clicking it open, he was impressed. It was a good kit and even included some gel for the wand, and the small screen would show Kolton what he was seeing as he was seeing it.

“This will need plugging in,” he said, lifting the actual machine out of the case and resting it on the nightstand on Kolton’s side of the bed. “And then we turn it on…” Simon flicked the switch after Kolton had plugged in the machine. It was good that it had a long cord because Simon was sure he didn’t have any extension cords.

“This wand here is what will transmit the pictures to the machine,” he said, shuffling his butt down so he was more lying than sitting. “Then I add some of the gel to here…” Simon got some of the gel on his fingers, his hand hovered over his belly. “Hmm, I’m not quite sure where exactly any little one would be in my body. I guess we’ll find out.” He smeared on the gel, wrinkling his nose. “I should’ve warmed it first.”

“What does the gel do?” Kolton’s eyes were riveted on Simon’s stomach.

“It helps with the scan – otherwise the wand can be uncomfortable on dry skin.” Simon inhaled slowly and then let his breath out just as slowly. “All right. You watch the screen and you’ll be able to see what I look like on the inside.”

“I imagine it will be messy.” But Kolton was looking at the screen. “I’m not seeing anything.”

“Hang on.” Simon tweaked a couple of dials, and a gray hazy picture showed up. “The screen was too dark. Now you should be able to see. By the way, if you hear anything – an ultrasound machine uses high frequency sounds that bounce off the soft tissues, organs, and blood vessels in a body. People can’t hear it, but I’m not sure about your hound. If it’s unpleasant for you, you can leave the room until I’m done.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Kolton was still fixated on the screen, so Simon pressed the wand to his belly.

“I’m not sure I should’ve peed first,” Simon said, distracted by what he could see on the screen. “In pregnant women, we ask them to have a full bladder, but without having any idea where… Ooh.”

“Ooh, what?” Kolton leaned closer to the screen, almost falling off the bed. “Is it the baby? Where? I can’t see.”

“No, not the baby yet, hang on. You see the darker areas there? They are organs. See,” Simon moved the wand to the side of his torso. “You can see the liver and kidney there. And then, if we move down farther those darker lines are part of my digestive system. If I go down even farther, those lighter patches you can see are probably gas, and then the wavy bits are fluid, and then…”

“What’s that?” Kolton said, clearly seeing the same thing Simon was. On the screen it looked like an oval shape and unlike the other images on the screen it had smooth well defined edges. It was also a pale color which surprised Simon, who imagined it would’ve presented more like a black mass under ultrasound.

He swallowed hard and then licked over his teeth as his mouth went dry. “That’s… That’s our egg, babe.” Simon had to stop as his voice caught. Blinking rapidly, he checked the screen again, but the image was still there. “It’s still really early stages, I’m guessing. It will get a lot bigger…but yep…” Simon’s hands were shaking, “We’re having an egg. I swear I didn’t believe that was physically possible.”

“Babe?” Kolton was finally looking at him. “Are you all right?” He crawled across the bed, hovering by Simon’s side. “It’s good news, isn’t it? There’s not anything wrong with it, is there?”

“There’s nothing wrong.” Simon shook his head as tears fell down his cheeks. “This is incredible, amazing, unheard of in gargoyle circles. Don’t you see, babe? I had been told my whole life the only way a gargoyle could be born was to two gargoyle parents. You said yesterday you had great genetics – you have genius genetics. This” - he pointed at the screen – “it shouldn’t be possible and yet we’re both looking at it clear as day.”

“So we’re having a gargoyle baby?” Kolton’s grin was wide. “That will be so cute.”

“I don’t know. I assume so.” Simon quickly wiped his cheeks with his free hand. “It could be a gargoyle puppy for all I know.”

“Can’t your machine thingy see inside the egg?”

“No.” Simon shook his head, realizing he was grinning like a loon. “The egg is repelling the ultrasound waves. That’s why it’s showing lighter than the areas around it. We’re having an egg!”

“How long will it be before the egg has to come out?”

Simon looked at the screen, looked at the wand, then looked back at Kolton. “Would you believe I have no idea? I think it takes a while to grow, and I know that eggs are cared for outside of the body for six months before they hatch. But it’s not like that was ever discussed back at the clan, and I never saw another gargoyle after I left the clan.” He had a thought. “Would that app Paulie know?”

“If he doesn’t, then he’ll know who to ask.” Kolton’s phone suddenly appeared in his hand. “Hi Paulie, how long do gargoyles carry their eggs before they need to leave the body?”

“Good morning, Kolton, loyal hellhound. I assume you’re asking because you and your mate have conceived. Congratulations on your new offspring.” Paulie’s voice actually sounded pleased.

“Lore on gargoyles is very sparse, but according to Lord Zeus’s database, an egg is carried by the parent for three months, and then the egg needs to be tended by both parents for six months after that. Most parents keep their eggs in a wicker basket, well covered with a warm rug to help monitor the temperature of the stone. Parents will be alerted that the birth is imminent once the egg surface becomes more translucent, however it might look like that for up to two weeks. Note is made that no one must interfere with the egg until after it starts to crack. Kolton, that means you.”

Simon sniggered. “Paulie knows you so well,” he said quietly.

Ignoring him, Kolton asked Paulie, “How will the egg be delivered?”

There was a long silence – so long, Simon and Kolton both checked the screen, but the Paulie light was still pulsing. Finally Paulie said, “Throughout history there has been no known case of a male delivering a gargoyle egg. I will notify Silvanus and his mate Artemis that their services might be required, but it is possible your shifted form will manage without assistance.”

“Simon has two shifted forms, aside from his human side,” Kolton said, glancing Simon’s way. “Do you mean the leather skinned version and not the stone?”

There was another silence, although shorter this time. “There is no lore on that at all,” Paulie said, and he sounded surprised, although Simon wasn’t. “Lord Zeus’s data team is working on searching for reputable source information as we speak, but in the meantime I would suggest that you rely on your gut instincts, and if you feel an instinctual need to shift, closer to the time, it would be prudent to do so.”

“Thank you, Paulie,” Simon said when Kolton looked like he was going to argue. “You’ve been very helpful. If it assists your researchers, we will keep you updated.”

“That would be helpful, thank you,” Paulie said. “Congratulations on your offspring. All hail the Almighty Zeus and his beloved mate, Paulie.”

The screen went dark, and Kolton tossed his phone aside. “Well, that was a fat lot of good.” He scowled.

“I don’t think so.” Simon used his free arm to tug Kolton closer. “Look at the screen. Look at what we’ve done together already. We know now we have three months before we have to worry about the birth process. But look at that egg shining there in my gut. Isn’t it incredible?”

“You’re the incredible one,” Kolton said as he settled down against Simon’s side, resting a hand on Simon’s chest. “Can you hold that wand and still eat a breakfast bun?”

“How about you take a screenshot with your phone, we’ll turn the machine off, and then I’ll have two breakfast buns and my coffee. Thank you, babe.”

Kolton grabbed his phone and took the picture, but then he hesitated, still looking at the ultrasound screen. Simon understood the feeling and said quietly, “The egg won’t disappear just because we’ve turned the screen off. It will still be there if you want to check it again tomorrow morning.” He got the impression they’d be getting a lot of use out of the ultrasound machine over the next three months.