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Jurassic Park Aftermath-Chapter 10
By Texasraptor
Thanks Yvonne!
~*~*~*~*
“Do you have an idea?” Ellie asked.
Alan glanced at the driver; the man appeared to pay them no attention, but he could not take any chances. “Maybe—I’ll tell you when we get back to the hotel.”
Ellie nodded, and they did not speak further. After a few minutes, she observed his expression change, became more uncertain. She studied him out of the corner of her eye, anxious to know his plan, and the reason for the mood change.
Their car pulled into the hotel driveway; Alan and Ellie climbed out of the car. “Have a good afternoon,” Sandoval said.
“Thanks," Alan said.
They walked into the hotel and Alan stopped, cocking his head in the direction of the bar. "Let’s go have a beer.”
"Sure," she said.
Entering the bar, they ordered two Imperials from the bartender. “Help yourselves to the Boca’s,” the bartender said, referring to a platter of food on the bar counter.
“Want some?” Alan asked. They could make it their lunch, he decided.
“Yeah, I could use a bite to eat.”
"Absolutely." Alan spotted a few pickled eggs on the platter and did a double take. It can't be... “Excuse me, are these sea turtle eggs?” he asked the bartender.
The man handed them their beers. “Yes, sir, they are.”
Alan exchanged an incredulous look with Ellie. Careful to avoid the eggs, he placed a few tortillas along with cheese and fruit on a plate.
After they carried the food and drinks to a corner table, Ellie filled a tortilla with cheese, and sprinkled a few drops of the Salsa Lizano onto the tortilla. “Can you believe they would serve those eggs in the open?”
“No, I can’t, it can't be legal to take the eggs.” With a shrug, he took a tortilla for himself and filled it with cheese.
“It can’t be. So—what’s your idea? The wheels have been turning since we left Olvera’s office.”
Alan nodded. “Yesterday, Joe said we needed leverage.”
“Right...”
“Well, we know tourism is important to the Costa Ricans, and they don’t want the world to know there might be carnivorous dinosaurs running free on the mainland. Did you see how nervous Olvera got when I mentioned the Compy x-ray? They don’t want any evidence of their existence to get out to the public. They would panic if there was even a hint the press might learn the story.”
Ellie nodded, remembering how uneasy the man appeared. "He did seem antsy. If the story got out, the bad publicity might wreck the industry," Ellie said, picking up on Alan’s reasoning. "The problem is, there's a news blackout, so how could the press find out?” Suddenly, she realized the answer and inhaled sharply. “John Tatum!”
Alan smiled and nodded. "You got it, my old college roommate. I have to believe no matter how crazy the story sounded, he’d believe me. He would have CNN all over it."
Ellie’s pulse raced at the implication of his words. "You’re right; he’s a producer, so he could get the story assigned to a reporter. If the Costa Rican's found out there was a possibility the network might learn of the story, they wouldn't have any choice but to let us go. Alan, it’s the answer we’ve been looking for!"
Alan frowned; he hated to put a damper on her excitement. “There’s only one problem with all this.”
“What problem could there be?” She could not think of a single reason they should not use whatever means they held to get their freedom.
“I don’t want anybody to know about the island, or the dinosaurs.”
“But, Alan—.”
Alan raised his hand to stop her objections. “Ellie, hear me out."
Ellie reluctantly sat back in her chair to listen.
"If we threatened to go public,” Alan said, “logic says to keep Jurassic Park a secret they would buckle under and let us go. But what if they call us on it and we have to send the information to John, and the world learns about Jurassic Park. Most people with any sense would stay away, but there would always be curious individuals who would come for the thrill of seeing, or hunting, the animals.”
Ellie realized the truth in his statement, and her heart sank in disappointment. “You’re right, people would look for the dinosaurs, and more people would die. I have to think they would never let it get that far. You said it yourself. Logically they would let us go home.”
“Maybe so, but I'm not ready to gamble on other people's lives.” Alan scowled into his beer. “There's another reason I don't want anyone to know about all this. I know I could count on John to keep our identity safe, but somebody—the Costa Ricans—or our own government would leak our names. It's inevitable. We'd never get a moment's peace from the press. I've been through the celebrity thing, and I didn't enjoy it one bit."
Ellie had not become acquainted with Alan until after he had discovered the eggs, but she knew the attention had been an irritation. She figured it would be even worse in a case such as this.
“I didn’t think of that. Still, it’s a shame there isn’t some way to make use of what we know.” She studied Alan's face while he considered their options.
After a few seconds, he looked at her and grinned. “I know something we can do right now. We can make a journal of everything we know about InGen the accident.”
“I like that idea. You know, after we finish, let's send everything to Ben and Sue.”
Alan had not considered what they would do after they finished. “Yes, we can do that." At least their story would be safe. "We'll need a notebook to write on.”
“Let’s try the Mini-Mart, they might have something suitable.”
"We can check on the way back." He laughed shortly. "It’ll be the strangest paper we’ll ever write.”
“That’s an understatement. It’s going to read like a science fiction novel. I take it you don’t want to let Joe know about our plan.”
“No, I’d rather not tell him anything. He won’t have to lie about what he knows.”
Ellie nodded her agreement. “Do you want to type it out afterwards? The hotel has a business center, so they should have a typewriter we can use.”
“It would be more professional, I suppose.” Alan pursed his lips, then shook his head. “No, let’s send it handwritten. I don’t want there to be any doubt we wrote it.”
Ellie swallowed the last of her beer. “You don’t think they would do anything to us, do you?”
“No, not really, but I’m not taking any chances. I know I’m being paranoid.”
“You’re being cautious, and I don’t blame you. Alan, if they won’t let us go in a reasonable time, will you at least think about telling the Costa Ricans who we know?”
Alan stared at his empty beer glass for a moment. Although growing more and more frustrated by the turn of events, he would have to be desperate before he would agree to do something so extreme. “I will. Ready to go?”
“Yep.”
They walked to the Mini-Mart, and approached the clerk.
“May I help you?” the woman asked.
“Yes. Do you carry spiral notebooks?” Ellie asked.
“Yes, ma’am. You’ll find them on the first aisle.”
“Thanks,” she said.
They followed the woman's directions and found a small display of office supplies. “Here we go,” Alan said. "I must've been out of it the other night. I don't remember seeing them."
“Me either. These should work, don’t you think?” she asked.
Alan thumbed through a spiral. “Yeah, these will be perfect.”
“Good. I’ll get them while you and Joe are gone. Any particular color you'd like?”
Alan laughed. "I think I’ll let you pick the color."
“Hey, guys,” Alan said, as they stepped into the suite. Engaged in a game of monopoly with Joe, Tim looked across the room and smiled. "Hi,” Tim said.
“Hey, there, Tim, have fun swimming?” Ellie asked.
“Oh, yeah.”
“Great,” Ellie said.
“Mr. Reiling fixed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and he made me one with bananas,” Tim said.
“Good, got your Elvis sandwich,” Ellie said.
“Sure did!”
“Are you two hungry?” Joe asked.
“We stopped in the bar for a beer, and we snacked on a platter of food they had,” Ellie said.
“Ah, the Boca’s.” Joe said.
“Yeah,” Alan said. “Say, what’s the deal with the sea turtle eggs? How can they get away with serving those in the open?”
“Well, by Costa Rican law they can harvest the first hatching,” Joe said. “I think it stinks. There’s too much poaching as it is."
“It’s a shame they let it go on,” Ellie said.
“How'd everything go with the meeting?” Joe asked.
"Nothing I didn’t expect," Alan said, with a shrug. "I hope it helped them." He also hoped they would realize the futility in holding them any longer.
"Are you ready to go withdraw your money?" Joe asked.
“Sure, unless you’d like to finish the game,” Alan said, with a smirk.
“No, I think I've endured enough punishment for one day. Ellie, can you take over for me?” Joe asked.
Ellie laughed. “I’ll try to salvage your empire.”
“Be careful, those two are merciless.”
"That's us,” Lex said, with enthusiasm.
“Mr. Reiling, thanks for taking us swimming,” Tim said.
“Yeah, thanks!” Lex said.
“Anytime, guys,” Joe said. "Ellie, I'll talk to you later."
"Sure, Joe," Ellie said. After the two men departed, she turned to the children. “Before we start playing, I need to run to the Mini-Mart and get a couple of spiral notebooks.”
“You're not giving us homework, are you?” Tim asked.
“No, of course not,” Ellie said with a laugh. "They’re for Alan and me. Let me go get the spirals and I'll explain what we're doing." They made the short trip to the market, where she bought two spirals and a packet of pens. After they returned to the suite, she put the spirals in a drawer.
“What are the spirals for?” Lex asked.
“Well, we may be able to use them to get home faster,” Ellie said.
“Really?” Tim said.
“Maybe so. We've decided to write a journal and explain how Alan became involved with your grandfather's company, and…everything that happened on the island. After we finish, we’re going to send the spirals to two of our friends back in Montana.” She decided to give them some background of the situation to help them understand. "See, the tourist industry is important to the Costa Rican's, so they don’t want any bad publicity to get out about the accident. As a last resort, if they don't let us go soon, we’re going to send the journals to a friend of Alan’s. John's a producer at CNN.”
“CNN… Oh, how cool!” Lex said. "So you'll be leaving soon?"
“Not so fast there… We’re not going to use the information unless we’re forced to.” She understood Alan’s reasoning, and admired him for his steadfast integrity, but those feelings warred with her wish to go home.
“But Ellie, you should tell Alan’s friend, and then they’d have to let you go,” Lex said in confusion.
“Lex, I had the same reaction you did. The problem is the Costa Ricans think all the dinosaurs are dead, but Alan’s worried if any animals have survived, people would want to go see them.”
“But—when we left, I could see them bombing the island. Aren’t the dinosaurs dead?” Tim said, his expression fearful.
Oh, crap... why did I say that? "Well nobody knows for sure." Under no circumstance, did she intend to mention anything about dinosaurs on the mainland. Alan is afraid if the existence of the park becomes known, out of curiosity, people would go to the island and they might be killed."
“Oh, I see,” Lex said. “Can’t you bluff them or something?”
“That might be an option, but Alan doesn't want to try it right now." She remembered his words in the bar, and wondered how far he would be pushed before he acted. "Lex, Tim, I need you to promise me you won’t tell Mr. Reiling about the journal. It's best if he doesn't know about it.”
“Okay, I won’t say anything, I promise,” Lex said.
“Tim, do you understand what I've been talking about?”
“Yeah, I think so. I promise too.”
“Good deal. Let’s get the game going."
“Are you all right?” Joe said. Turning into the embassy's parking garage, he observed Alan’s obvious fatigue.
“Yeah, I guess so,” Alan said. “Lex had a nightmare last night, and she woke everybody up. It took me a long time to get back to sleep. I guess I'm not as young as I used to be.” Joe did not comment; Alan hesitated before speaking further, then told Joe about Lex's nightmare. “Lex screamed like she did on the road. Let me tell you she has a whale of a scream. For a few seconds, I was back there on the road again. It scared the hell out of me."
“Is anybody else having any problems?”
“Yeah… We all seem to be affected one way or the other, except for Tim it seems. Ellie’s been jumpy as hell. The whole thing shook Tim at first, but he’s come out of it fine."
"While we were at the mall, I said something about the game store being the next stop on the tour, and Tim jumped out of his skin."
"He did?"
"He said the man on the tour said something similar."
Alan searched his memory, but could not recall that incident. His attention must have been elsewhere, he decided. "Oh yeah, I remember. Richard Kiley…"
"What?"
"During the tour, Richard Kiley narrated the audio guide in the cars.”
"The actor?"
"Yeah."
"It must've cost them a bundle."
"They spared no expense," Alan muttered.
“I’ve heard you say that before. Where’d you get it?”
“Hammond… He kept saying it. I guess it stuck with me.”
“You know, my uncle’s a career Marine. Did two tours in Vietnam," Joe said. "He told me several of his friends suffered from nightmares and flashbacks when they came home. It seems to me, you people have been through a war of sorts. Maybe the same thing’s happening to you.”
“You might be right.” He had associated that kind of reaction with combat veterans, but it would explain many of their symptoms. He reminded himself to discuss the issue with Ellie.
“It might be worthwhile to talk to a professional when you get home. A professional trained in this area might be able to help you. In the short term, I think I know a way to help. I bet you two could use a little time alone.
Alan laughed sharply. “Yeah, there’s been a little disruption in the area. What do you have in mind?”
“There’s a children’s museum in town, how about I take Lex and Tim off your hands for a few hours?”
“Joe, you are a godsend.” Although Joe did not have the same activities in mind he did, it would give them enough uninterrupted time to write.
Ellie surveyed the pathetic remains of her real estate empire; she now knew why she went into Paleobotany rather than real estate. Lex and Tim had finished her off in record time.
“Who’s winning?” Alan asked, entering the suite with Joe.
“Well, I think we have two budding Donald Trump’s among us,” Ellie said.
“I warned you,” Joe said with a smile.
Alan pulled a wad of currency out of his pocket. After repaying Joe, they possessed plenty of cash for anything they needed. “Well, we might be real estate poor, but we’re currency rich. Everybody, Joe has an idea,” he said, with a nod towards Joe.
“Yeah, I wondered if maybe Lex and Tim might want to take in a museum this afternoon,” Joe said.
“What kind of museum is it?” Lex asked.
“Oh, you’ll see, it’s supposed to be cool for kids. So how about it?”
“I'm in,” Tim said.
“Me, too,” Lex said.
“Great then.”
"Guys, before you go, let me give you some spending money." He counted out and handed each of them about $10 worth of Colons.
“Thanks!” Tim said.
"Yeah, thanks a lot," Lex said
“We’ll be back later,” Joe said.
“We’ll be here,” Alan said.
“Have fun,” Ellie said.
“Where's he taking them?” Ellie asked Alan.
“It’s a children’s museum of some kind.”
“Oh, think I know which one it is. I read about it in the guidebook. It looked like an interesting place.”
Alan leaned against the kitchen counter, a crooked grin on his face. “He said we could use some time alone.”
“How considerate of him.” With a chuckle, Ellie stood and walked to him. Putting her arms around his neck, she kissed him slowly.
He kissed her back harder, more insistent.
“What about our project?” she asked.
“What project?” he murmured. The journal did not seem so important right then.
Ellie laughed, and caressed his side. “Don’t be funny.”
“We have plenty of time.” He pulled back from her, and looked into her eyes. “To hell with the journal, we can work on it later.”
“What about your back?”
Alan shrugged, and took her hand. “We’ll improvise. Come on—let's make good use of the time.”
With a mental outline, Alan began to write his journal, a virtual repeat of his previous statements to Morris, Olvera, and Pauley. “You know, we should keep Lex and Tim’s names out of this,” Alan said.
“I think you're right, there's no reason to involve them.”
After writing for several minutes, Ellie paused. “Let's proof it and write a final draft after we eat dinner.”
Alan glanced at his watch. “Speaking of dinner, are we making the spaghetti sauce?”
Ellie nodded, as she returned to her task. "Uh-huh.”
“As Tim would say—excellent!”
They laughed and returned to writing, working in silence. With the events fresh in their memories, they made quick work of their respective journals.
His writing done, he leaned back in his chair. “Finished?”
“I’m finishing...right now. The kids should be back soon, why don’t we start the spaghetti sauce?”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Alan said. After he placed the spirals and pens in the drawer, they crossed the distance to the kitchen.
Having made the marinara sauce many times, they knew the recipe by heart. From the refrigerator, Ellie took out the vegetables she would need. Lacking the blender she normally used to purée the tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley and oregano; she began to mash the ingredients together by hand.
Alan took out a pod of garlic and an onion from the refrigerator. He separated and peeled a clove of the garlic, and then began to chop both up. "I've been thinking about something. If Lynda will let him, and assuming we have a field season, how would you feel about Tim coming out to Montana next summer," Alan said.
"Oh, I know Tim would love to come. I bet Lex would like to come, too. I guess you've seen she has a crush on you."
"Yeah, it’s hard to miss, but I can't for the life of me figure out why. I'm old enough to be her father," he scoffed.
"It's funny the way crushes happen to teenage girls. Personally, I think she shows great taste in men."
Alan rolled his eyes. "You're not jealous are you?" he asked, his expression mischievous
Ellie laughed, as she chopped a bunch of parsley. "Oh, I think I'm secure enough to deal with a 14-year-old. Speaking of jealous, I detected you were a bit jealous of Malcolm, weren't you?"
"Me? What do you mean?" he asked, his expression a mask of innocence.
"Come on, Alan, admit it."
"Well, who wouldn't be, he hit on you every chance he got, and you enjoyed it, too."
"Alan, Ian was funny and sweet, but you don't have a thing to worry about. Besides, I got the feeling he wasn't a one-woman man."
"He told me the same thing, in so many words."
"When?"
"Right before everything went to hell. I asked him if he was married, and he said he was always on the lookout for the next ex-Mrs. Malcolm."
Ellie smiled, and shook her head. It sounded like something he would say. "Did he have any children?"
"Three of them."
"How sad," she said. "I wonder what they told his family."
"Not much, probably."
Why would he talk about marriage to Malcolm, Ellie wondered. Pondering the riddle, she continued to mash the tomato mixture.
“Do we have a skillet?” Alan asked, interrupting her thoughts.
“Uh, we do somewhere. Wait... it’s in the bottom cabinet on the right.”
Locating the skillet, Alan placed it on the stove and turned on the burner. He heated some olive oil, then dumped the onions and garlic into the pan to sauté. Afterwards, he reduced the flame. “I’m ready for everything else.”
Ellie added the tomato mixture to the skillet, and sprinkled in a teaspoon of oregano and parsley. As a last step, she shook in salt and pepper, and placed a top on the skillet.
Ellie watched him open the cabinets, one after another. “What are you looking for?”
“A spaghetti strainer. It's going to be hard to cook spaghetti without one.”
Ellie realized they did not have one. "You're right." They both began to look in earnest for something suitable. “Damn,” Ellie said. “You know, the restaurant should have an extra one, let's see if we can borrow one.”
"Or we could borrow a tennis racket."
Ellie laughed while she dialed the front desk extension.
“Hi Manuel, this is Ellie Sattler in suite five. We have a small problem. We're cooking pasta, but we don’t have a strainer. Would it be possible to borrow one from the restaurant?”
“I’m sure we can arrange it, Dr. Sattler. I’ll speak to the chef and have one sent over.”
“Thanks a lot.” She hung up the phone and looked at Alan. “Done deal,” she said
“It might have been fun to try the tennis racket.” He joined her on the couch and propped his stocking feet on the table.
Ellie patted his thigh. “Today was good. We improvised pretty well, I would say.”
“I think so, too. And it was good for me, too.” Joe had been right; they needed the time alone.
"Say, we should ask Joe to dinner," she said. "We have plenty for everyone."
"Yeah, good idea. We should do something for him after everything he’s done for us." As important as the journal might prove to be, they could finish tomorrow and send it afterwards.
"I explained to Lex and Tim what we’re doing, and they promised they wouldn't tell Joe,” Ellie said. "I was thinking. When Lynda gets here, it might be a good idea to have a talk with the kids about what they should and should not say to people."
Alan nodded. “Good idea. I think they're going to be reluctant to talk about the park anyway, but it can't hurt anything to discuss it with them.”
"What's she like?"
"Lynda? I like her. She feels guilty for letting the kids come to Jurassic Park. I think, she has a lot on her plate right now with the divorce and everything."
"Lex told me what’s happening between her and her mother. It sounds a lot like what happens sometimes between a mother and a teenage daughter. Add in a divorce and a diet that Lynda doesn’t approve of and you have conflict."
"I wondered about it. Did you go through a teenage rebellion with your mother?"
Ellie nodded. "Sure. I grew up with many of the same issues Lex has. I blamed my mother for their divorce, and I took it out on her."
"Things worked out okay between the two of you. Hopefully, the same thing will happen with Lex and Lynda."
"I hope so. What about you? You're close to your parents now; did you go through a teenage rebellion?” Ellie asked.
"Well, I had my moments, but my brother was the teenage rebel in the family," Alan said with a laugh, remembering his brother's propensity to get into trouble during those years. "He grew out of it, fortunately."
Ellie joined in the laughter. "He's a sweetheart." She and Stan had talked about Alan, and she suspected even as an adult, Stan still considered his older brother to be his hero. "She said her father hasn't been around much since her parents split."
Alan’s expression darkened with anger. "I don't understand how somebody can be a part of creating a new life, and then leave without a look back."
Surprised at the anger in his voice, she glanced at him, and wondered why he would care. Another riddle…
After a few moments, they both closed their eyes, and slipped into a comfortable silence; enjoying the peace and quiet. They both jumped when the phone rang. Ellie reached for the phone. “Hello?”
“Hi... I got your message,” Abbey said.
“Oh, hi, Mom.”
“So you got the money?”
“Alan made the withdrawal this afternoon. Thanks so much for sending it.”
“I’m glad to do it. If you need more let me know.”
“I think we’re good to go for the duration.”
“Good. What have you been doing?”
“Well, we talked to the Costa Ricans today.”
“I see. Do you have any idea when you’re coming home?”
“Not yet.”
“Ellie, forgive me for being curious, but aren’t they going to a lot of trouble for an accident?”
“Well, the accident happened under unusual circumstances.”
“Oh... You know, I’m surprised I haven’t seen anything about it in the news.”
Ellie grimaced; of course, she would look for news of the accident. “How interesting. I guess since the park is in another country, and it hasn’t opened yet, the story wouldn’t be a big deal to an American news agency.” She hoped the answer would satisfy her curiosity.
“I guess you’re right,” Abbey said.
The door opened, interrupting her thoughts, and she watched Joe and the two children walk in, talking with enthusiasm.
Tim hurried to Alan, a broad smile on his face. “Alan, you should have seen the museum,” Tim said.
“Tell me about it," Alan said.
Ellie heard her mother speaking, but with all the background noise, she could not hear what she said. She raised her hand for quiet, and the suite fell silent.
"I’m sorry Mom, I couldn’t hear you.”
“I asked who was speaking," she said. “I didn’t recognize the voices.”
Ellie could tell by her tone that the unfamiliar voices had stirred her curiosity. “Uh—his name is Tim. He and his sister are staying with us while we’re here.”
“Tim and his sister? Are these children?”
“Yes, they are,” she said.
“And Alan hasn’t had them drawn and quartered yet?”
Ellie laughed; although fond of him, her mother was aware of Alan’s supposed dislike of children, she knew the conflict between them worried her.
“No, not yet, he likes them.”
“Ellie—oh, never mind, I know what you’ll say.”
“I’m sorry, Mom. Don’t worry about us, we’ll be fine.”
"Well, I’ll worry about you anyway. I'll let you go so you can talk to your young friends. If you need anything, let me know.”
“I will.”
“Good night.”
“Bye, Mom.”
“Curious?” Alan asked.
Ellie nodded. “I hate to put her off. So, tell us about the museum?”
“Ellie, I loved it!" Tim said. "We got to do all kinds of experiments and projects and stuff.”
“I had a great time, too,” Lex said. “Hey, something smells good. Are we having spaghetti?” Lex asked.
“We sure are,” Ellie said. "Joe, why don't you stay for dinner?"
"I wouldn't want to intrude."
"You're not intruding, at all," Alan said.
"Mr. Reiling, please stay," Tim said.
After a few moments, Joe smiled. "Okay, he twisted my arm enough. I'd love to stay for dinner," he said, with a smile.
"Good deal," Alan said. He heard a knock at the door, and started to rise.
"I'll get it," Ellie said. She opened the door; before her stood one of the hotel’s employees, holding a spaghetti strainer.
“Excuse me Señora, you asked for this?”
“Yes, we did, thank you,” Ellie said, taking the strainer from the man.
"Of course, Señora, have a good day."
After Ellie closed the door, she heard the low rumble of thunder outside. “Sounds like we have weather moving in.” Opening the doors, she stepped out onto the patio, followed by the others. The smell of rain hung in the air, a smell she loved.
“I saw the clouds moving in on the way back from the museum," Joe said.
Alan could see a line of thunderstorms in the distance, approaching fast. Beside him, Tim flinched at the next clap of thunder. The one after, louder than the last, sent him skittering back into the suite.
Lex followed her brother. Alan exchanged a look with Ellie. Afraid Lex would tease her brother; they went inside, where they found her sitting beside Tim, her arm around his shoulder.
“Hey, Timmy, are you all right?” Lex asked.
Tim shook his head. “I guess I don’t like storms anymore," Tim said, his eyes filled with tears. “They didn’t bother me…before last weekend.”
Ellie held her arms open in invitation. "Come here." The boy moved into her arms and placed his head against her shoulder.
Alan's anger surged and he walked over to the patio door. Running his hand through his hair, he stared out the door into the distance. After a few moments, Joe joined him.
"You know, what infuriates me the most about all of this?" Alan quietly asked. "I got myself and Ellie into this mess, but those two kids did nothing but trust the adults in their lives, and look what it got them." Ellie's jumpiness, Lex’s nightmare, and Tim's sudden fear made his insides churn in anger and anxiety. What would come next, he wondered.
"I know. It's too bad they have to suffer because of InGen’s mistakes."
Ellie watched Alan turn and gaze at the boy, his expression anguished, compassionate. They exchanged a glance and he returned to their side.
After a few moments, Tim took a deep breath. “I’m all right now.”
“Are you sure?” Ellie asked.
“Yeah.”
“Well, how about we get the spaghetti on?” Alan said, trying to lighten the mood.
"Great," Tim said, his expression brightening.
"I'll fix the spaghetti," Alan said.
"Okay then, I'll toss the salad," Ellie said.
Alan filled a large pan with water, added some salt, and put the water to boil. Lex watched him with fascination, and once again, he wondered why she found him so interesting.
“I can’t believe you cook,” Lex said.
Alan chuckled. “Well, boiling water isn’t cooking, but I can handle myself around the kitchen,” he said, with a touch of pride. With those words, he found himself in the past, back in Montana, in their lab while Hammond tried to convince them to go to the island.I can handle myself around the kitchen, Hammond had said. He was not surprised to see Ellie look at him, her expression disturbed. He knew she had made the connection. He took a deep breath, swallowed compulsively, attempting to shake it off. He wondered if Jurassic Park would forever haunt their memories.
“We have somebody cook for us," Lex said, unaware of his discomfort. "Dad sometimes grilled hamburgers, but he usually burned them."
With a small sigh, Ellie lifted the top to the skillet and sniffed. “Alan, have you sampled the sauce?”
“Nope, you be the guinea pig.”
Ellie took out a spoon, dipped it in the sauce, and blew on it for a moment. After tasting the sauce, she nodded. "It needs a little salt," she said, sprinkling a little into the skillet.
"Who wants to set the table?” Alan said.
“I think Tim and I can handle the chore," Joe said.
“Ellie, the spaghetti is terrific,” Joe said.
"Thank you," Ellie said.
“Hey, I helped, too,” Alan said.
Joe cleared his throat in a dramatic fashion. “Alan, excellent job.”
"Thank you," he said, and everyone laughed. "More wine, anyone?" he asked, pouring himself another glass.
"I'd love some," Ellie said. Despite his rough-hewn public persona, over time he revealed to her an impressive knowledge of wine.
"I could use some," Joe said.
"Why don't we retire to the living room," Ellie suggested, after Alan had refilled everyone's wine glass.
"Alan, can we go play video games?" Tim asked.
Alan exchanged glances with Ellie, and they both shrugged. "Sure," Alan said. "You'll need to get some change at the front desk."
"And be sure you take a room key," Ellie said.
"Oh, yeah," Lex said, picking up a key from the desk. "We'll be back later."
They moved into the living room; Alan and Ellie settled on the couch and Joe in one of the side chairs.
"Joe, thanks for taking them to the museum," Ellie said.
"I trust you used the time well," Joe said with a grin.
Ellie raised her eyebrows, and glancing at Alan, she smiled. "Oh yes, we did."
Lex watched helplessly as her last player collapsed and died. "Oh, man..." Lex said.
"Ha! Got you again," Tim said.
"Yeah, yeah."
While Lex wandered from machine to machine, Tim continued playing until his game was over. For a moment, he debated whether to start another game, then decided to save the rest of his money for later. "I think I'm finished." He hesitated before speaking. "Lex?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't tell anybody I started crying because of the storm, okay?" Tim said.
"I won't, if you don't tell anybody I bawled like I did the other night."
"I promise," he said, shaking hands with his sister. He did not see anything wrong with Lex crying, she was a girl after all.
"Tim, do you ever wish Alan and Ellie could be our parents?"
"Sometimes," Tim admitted. "It's like having a real family, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is. Well, we'd better get back."
"Alan, there's something I've been meaning to ask you," Joe said.
"Sure, fire away..."
“I’ve been wondering how Jurassic Park is going to change your research?"
"Hmm—good question." He gathered his thoughts, before speaking. "How much do you understand about gene splicing and genetic engineering?"
"Not much. I studied the subject a little bit in college, and I understand the basic concept of InGen's research."
Alan nodded. "Because InGen didn't get intact DNA strands from the amber, they used amphibian DNA to complete the cycle.”
"Right."
Alan nodded again. "The most important question is; did the foreign DNA affect the size and appearance, even the behavior of the animals. The raptors were enormous, much larger than any skeleton I've seen or heard about."
"Muldoon's description sounded scary as hell."
"Scary doesn't do them justice. I’ve spent a great deal of time studying the behavior of present-day predators and nothing comes close to them in terms of size, intelligence, and aggression. Nothing does..."
"My brother should be here, he would love this," Joe said. "He's been a huge dinosaur fan all his life. I think my parents expected him to grow out of it, but he never really did. To this day, he keeps track of what's happening in the field."
Alan smiled. "It happens, sometimes we become paleontologists."
"And paleobotanist’s, too," Ellie said.
Joe chuckled. "He considered it."
Alan smiled. "Even if I wanted to publish anything about Jurassic Park, as far as I'm concerned, it would be nothing more than my opinion. I would have no way to defend what I published, because I wouldn't know if a particular behavior was dinosaur or amphibian influenced."
"So we'll do what we’ve always done," Ellie said
"Dig dinosaur fossils," Alan said, nodding.
"I see," Joe said.
"How'd you do?" Joe asked, as the children returned.
"I beat Lex," Tim said.
"You can't beat me in anything else," Lex said.
"You wait till I'm bigger."
"Lex—Tim," Alan said, to halt the argument before it escalated.
"Sorry," Lex said.
"Well, I'd better get going," Joe said, chuckling at the kid’s argument. "I've got an early meeting tomorrow and I'm happy to say this one has nothing to do with Jurassic Park."
"I'm glad to hear it," Alan said.
"Thanks again for the dinner. I'm not much of a cook, and it’s been awhile since I've enjoyed a home-cooked meal."
"You're welcome any time. Have a good night," Ellie said.
"You too, Ellie."
Alan closed the door and turned to face Ellie. “You want to work on the journal tonight or wait till tomorrow?”
“I'm game if you are," she said.
"Sure, why not." They cleared the table, and Ellie took the spirals out of the drawer and handed him his. “There's a couple of points I want to add.”
“Yeah, me too,” he said. "Guys, can you amuse yourselves for a little while we finish our journal?"
"Sure, I want to read my book," Tim said.
"I can read mine, too," Lex said.
"Good," Ellie said.
Alan added a few additions to his rough draft, and then began copying the draft. Finished at last, Alan tossed his pen on the table; he noted Ellie had completed her copy a few minutes earlier. "I'm done—want to take a look at mine?”
“Yeah.”
They began to read each other’s work. He took her hand, and gave it a gentle squeeze, after he finished reading her account of the shed. “I’m so sorry you went through so much.”
“All I care about is you're all alive," Ellie said. “Alan, if any of you died because of what I did.” She stopped speaking, unable to say the words.
Alan could not help but see the terrible guilt in her eyes. “Hey, there…." he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Honey, without you, Lex wouldn’t have been able to get the computers working. You don’t have anything to feel guilty about.”
“I guess so…” After a few moments, she took a deep breath. “Do you want to send it by Fed Ex?” she asked.
Alan nodded. “We can send it to Charley's. They’ll hold it for Ben.” A favored hangout of the diggers, they used the combination restaurant and bar for UPS and Federal Express deliveries.
Alan walked over and opened the patio doors. Intent on his task, he had not realized the rain had stopped, leaving the air fresh and clean. “Say, how would you like to give the Jacuzzi a whirl?”
“I would love to,” Ellie said.
“Alan?” Tim asked.
“Yes, Tim, you can go swimming,” Alan said.
“Come on Lex, let’s go change,” Ellie said, laughing.
After Alan and the boy changed into their swimsuits, they sat on the couch to wait for the others. “What are we going to do tomorrow?” Tim asked.
“Well, we have to send the journals back to Montana, and Ellie’s been reading her guidebook so she may have some ideas.”
“Oh, okay."
Ellie and Lex came out of the bedroom; their swimsuits covered by a gauzy over shirt. “We’re ready.”
“Excellent,” Tim said.
They leisurely walked to the pool, and Ellie slipped her hand into his. “I didn’t think I was ever going to get a look at your swimsuit,” Alan said.
“You know what they say. Good things come to those who wait.”
“Easy for them to say,” he said, slipping his arm around her.
They stopped at the Jacuzzi. “Guys, we’ll be in here.” They put their towels and room key on a poolside table.
"Cool,” Lex said.
Ellie slipped the cover off her swimsuit off with measured slowness to tease him. “What do you think?”
The one-piece, solid black swimsuit fit her well, accenting her figure. “Honey, it's gorgeous,” he said.
Ellie slid into the warm churning water, and Alan sat beside her. “Why, thank you, sir. You don’t look so bad yourself,” Ellie said, putting her hand on his thigh.
“Naw… I’m an old fossil.”
The Jacuzzi massaged her thigh muscle, which remained slightly sore. “Ha… I wish all our fossils looked like you.”
“We need to get one of these,” he said.
“You think the university would pay for a portable one at the dig site?”
“Oh, I’m sure they would. I could write it up as a miscellaneous expense...”
11/3/2005 7:23:39 PM
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