Moonlight Fishing-A Dinosaur Train Fanfic

Must hurry, he thought. Must hurry. It was evening as he moved fast through a field of grass, with the grass blades rustling by his feet. He kept up a quick pace for a moment, but then he slowed himself down when he saw his destination. There she was, exactly where he expected her to be, his prey. A female troodon stood before the river, checking her appearance in the water's reflection. She had not yet left. A sly and sneaky grin spread across his face. This was going to be too easy.

The female troodon was fixing her head feathers when she heard a rustling noise from behind her. She turned back to see where the noise came from, but she only saw trees and big bushes and darkness among the trees and bushes. "Hello? Is someone there?"

No answer.

The female troodon stared before turning back to the river, deciding that it was probably nothing. Feeling nervous, she starting softly humming to herself. She was starting to feel calm again.

Suddenly a pair of arms wrapped themselves around the female troodon's body, pinning her arms to her sides. She screamed and then she heard a voice. "Gotcha!" Then laughter. The female troodon turned her head back and gasped. "Marco!"

It was indeed Marco Megaraptor, Mr. Pteranodon's best friend from childhood. He and Mr. Pteranodon had both been junior fish catcher scouts and rivals back in fishing camp. The two of them had even competed in a fishing contest at the Big Misty Sea with the Old Spinosaurus. And just like with his best friend, he liked to surprise and catch his girlfriend Tiffany when she was looking. Marco laughed some more. "Totally got you, Tiffany. You should have seen the look on your face, hahaha, and heard yourself scream. Hahaha!"

Tiffany groaned. "Not funny, Marco. I'm totally mad at you, and you're late for our date."

"Aw, c'mon Tiff, I was only playing." Marco released her arms and wrapped his arms around her again but in a tender manner. He started rubbing the side of his face affectionately against Tiffany's. "And I'm sorry I'm late. I tried getting here as quickly as I could."

Tiffany humphed and stared off forward in the distance.
"Tiff," Marco seemed a little worried about how she was acting. "I mean it, I'm very sorry. I shouldn't have scared you." After thirty seconds she looked back at him, her face beaming. "I know, and I'm not really mad at you."

Marco smiled. "You were playing with me too, huh? Okay, I deserved it. You still love me?"

Tiffany smiled before she turned around in Marco's arms and kissed him. "Of course I do, you incredibly handsome megaraptor you." This caused Marco to chuckle. He loved it when she said he was handsome and she loved saying that, because it was true. She thought Marco was the most gorgeous creature she ever set eyes upon, and the feeling was mutual with Marco.

"So, are you ready to go?" the megaraptor asked.

"Not yet, I gotta say goodbye to Brent before we head out, because he'll be asleep by the time we get back."

"Sure thing." Marco released Tiffany and they both headed off for Tiffany's nest. When they got there, they saw Tiffany's sister Beth playing with Brent, Tiffany's young son who was four. Brent heard them coming and smiled when he saw his mother and Marco. He got up and ran over to his mother, giving her a big hug. "Hi, Mom."

"Hello, sweetheart. I just wanted to say goodnight before Marco and I headed off. Be good and listen to your auntie Beth, okay?"

"Okay, goodnight Mom, goodnight Marco. Hey, you still gonna take me fishing with you this weekend?"

"Course, I'm really looking forward to it. We're gonna have a great time, and I'll teach you all I know about fishing."

The little troodon boy smiled and gave Marco a big hug too. Marco chuckled and hugged the kid back. "Goodnight, champ." Tiffany smiled at this. She looked at her sister. "Thanks for babysitting him tonight, I really appreciate it."

Beth waved her hand dismissively at Tiffany. "Don't mention it. Now you two go off and have some fun. Bye."

"Bye." Both Marco and Tiffany waved as they walked away. They headed through a path cutting through the woods. They walked side by side for a bit, neither saying anything.

"You know he likes you a lot, Brent does. You're so nice to him and you play with him often when you come see us. You also teach him things he finds interesting. He considers you a great friend."

"I know, I consider him a great friend too. He's great to hang out with, I like him." Marco said. "That's a really nice kid you got there, Tiff."

"I know, I love him and I feel lucky to have him in my life." She stopped walking and Marco, noticing this, stopped as well. It was a moment before she spoke up again. "I…feel lucky to have both of you in my life. My two favorite men." Marco saw Tiffany smiling at him. He smiled back and held out his open clawed hand to her. "Shall we resume our walk?" Tiffany nodded and gave Marco her hand. Together, they continued walking.

They arrived at their destination in no time, a big lake similar to the Big Pond. Trees were lined all around it with a beach on one side and canyon-like rocks on the other. Tonight the moon was full and shining its bright light down on the lake and everything. The only sounds that could be heard were the occasional sounds of crickets chirping and frogs croaking. Marco and Tiffany looked at each other; both could see the other bathed in the moons light. They nodded at each other and still holding hands, they wadded out into the water. It rose above their toes, then their feet, their ankles, their thighs, their hips, and then it was up to their chests.

They walked until they come to two rocks on either side of them poking out of the water. They went over to the one on the right. "I'll help you up onto it." Marco said. He placed one hand on Tiffany's back and she got up onto the rock with his support. "Thank you." She said. Marco nodded and walked towards the other rock. Tiffany watched him getting out of the water and on top of it. He stood and poised himself, his arms held out, his feet planted firmly on the rock. Tiffany repeated his pose and stared at the water's surface like he was doing. And then they waited.

Marco's fishing strategy was to stand perfectly still, watching the water and waiting for a fish to jump out of it. Then he would snag it in his claws and eat the fish. Tiffany's was just to grab the fish in both hands while it was still under the water and pull it out. Her claws were nowhere near as long as Marco's. She looked at him standing on his rock, focusing his attention on the water's surface. He was really good at fishing and Tiffany admired his skills. She smiled and while staring at him, she couldn't help thinking back, back to the day she had first met him.

It was sunny at the lake and Tiffany watched the water for any sigh of fish. She stood in the water, which was above her toes, as she scanned the surface. Suddenly she spied one, thrusted her hands in, and pulled the fish up and ate it. It tasted so good; this lake was definitely the best place to get fish in her opinion. She resumed staring into the water for a bit, focused on the surface so much that she was surprised when she heard a voice from behind her.

"Hello, miss."

She cried out and spun around to see another dinosaur standing on the shore behind her, a male megaraptor. He looked just as surprised and held his hands up. "Oh no, miss. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. I just…well, I was wondering if it'd be okay if I fished right here. I've been trying all around the other parts of the lake, but I just can't seem to find anything. So, is it alright if I fish on this side of the lake with you?"

Tiffany recovered herself and offered the megaraptor a friendly smile. "Sure, I don't own the lake so feel free to fish here. You can fish next to me."

"Oh, that'd be great miss…"

"Oh, my name's Tiffany, Tiffany Troodon. Pleased to meet you."

The megaraptor wadded out into the water until he was standing before her and held out his hand. "Hello, Tiffany. My name is Marco, Marco Megaraptor. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Tiffany."

Tiffany giggled and shook hands with the megaraptor. "Thank you, you can just call me Tiffany, Mr. Megaraptor."

He closed his eyes and laughed. "Please, Mr. Megeraptor is my father. You can just call me Marco."

"Alright, Marco." Tiffany said. She was beginning to like him, he was very friendly.

So the two of them stood in the water, Marco grabbing fish as they jumped up into the air and Tiffany plunging her hands into the water. Being left-handed, she grabbed the fish with her left hand some of the time. Marco stopped and looked at Tiffany catching a blue fish. "You're really good at fishing, Tiffany."

"Thanks, so are you." She ate the fish and resumed speaking. "I love fishing. It's been my favorite thing to do ever since I was a kid. You been doing it long too?"

Marco nodded. "Ever since I was a kid as well. I loved fishing so much that I went to fishing camp every year with my best friend, a pteranodon. He's a really nice guy. We were big rivals back then, one always trying to outdo the other." Marco shook his head and chuckled. He stared off into space almost as if he could see those memorable times happening again before his eyes. "In fact, he and I met up again recently. In the Big Misty Sea Fishing contest. We were competing against each other and the Old Spinosaurus."

"I've heard of him, isn't he supposed to be super grumpy and prefer to be alone?"

"Yeah, but's he really nice deep down, when you get to know him of course."

Tiffany plunged her left hand into the water and brought out a fish. "So what happened with that fishing contest? Who won?"

"Oh, I tied it with the Old Spinosaurus and my friend, Mr. Pteranodon."

"I bet it was great seeing your old friend again."

"Oh yeah it was. And I got to meet his family. His wife who I've known for years and I've met his kids for the first time, all a friendly bunch. I'm happy for him, glad that he has a family like that."

"They sound really nice." Tiffany said as Marco plunged his hand into the water and caught a fish on his big index claw.

"Yeah, maybe I could introduce them to you sometime; I bet you'd all get along great."

"Sounds good." They fished for a while before deciding to return to shore. "I better be getting back to my home. My son's waiting for me while my sister's sitting him." Tiffany was about to pick up her bag from under the tree nearby when Marco spoke up.

"Oh no Tiffany, allow me." Marco picked her bag up and held it for her.

Tiffany smiled. "My, I didn't know I was in the presence of such a gentleman. Thank you, Marco."

Marco bowed to her. "You're welcome. Say, would it be alright if I met your son? He sounds like a nice kid."

"He is, and you certainly may meet him. Follow me."

Tiffany turned and walked down the path through the woods while Marco followed her.

They arrived at Tiffany's nest in no time. There Tiffany's sister was scanning the surrounding area while Brent was nowhere in sight. When she saw Tiffany, Beth hugged her and explained that she and Brent were playing hide-and-seek. "Thanks for agreeing to look after him while I was gone. I really needed some time to myself." Tiffany said.

"Oh, no problem. I love spending time with the little guy. And speaking of guys," Beth noticed Marco standing behind her sister. "Who is this fella?"

"Oh Beth, this is Marco Megaraptor. I met him by the lake just today. Marco, this is my sister Beth."

"Nice to meet you, Beth."

"Same."

"Say Tiff, where should I leave your bag?" Marco asked.

"Oh, over in the nest should be fine. Thank you, Marco."

Beth looked from Tiffany to Marco and back to her sister before a smile spread across her face. "Well, I'd better be going now that you're here. Bye Tiff, bye Marco." Marco said good-bye before heading over to the nest. Beth walked up to where Tiffany was and Tiffany saw Beth wink at her. "My, friendly and handsome-looking. You know how to pick em, Tiffany." She said, whispering so that Marco couldn't hear. "When's the first date?"

Tiffany could feel her face reddening while an angry look appeared on her face. "Oh, Beth. I just met him today."

Beth smiled some more before she left. Tiffany shook her head and held both hands to her mouth. "Brent dear, Mommy's home and she's got someone here who she'd like you to meet!"

"Coming, Mom!" Brent popped out of a bush and ran over to hug his mother like he usually did when she got home.

"Brent, I'd like you to meet my new friend," here Tiffany saw Marco smile at that bit of info and she smiled back. "This is Marco Megaraptor."

Brent saw Marco, gave a little gasp, and hid behind his mother. He looked scared. "Oh Brent, there's nothing scary about Marco, go on and say hi to him." Brent looked up at his mother who smiled encouragingly down at her son. He gulped and walked over to Marco slowly, watching him. "H-H-hello, Mr. Megarap-raptor."

"Oh please Brent, call me Marco." He held out his hand to Brent and the little troodon stared anxiously at his claws, especially his long index claw. Marco noticed this and smiled some more. "Don't worry kid, I don't bite. I won't hurt you."

Brent hesitated and then came forward to shake Marco's hand, but only for a couple seconds before pulling his hand away. He still seemed very afraid of him. Marco thought and then spoke up. "Say, you were playing a game with your aunt just now, right? What game was it?"

"H-hide-and-seek, my favorite game." Brent answered timidly.

"Hide-and-seek!? Well, that's one of my favorite games too. I haven't been able to play it in years because there was no one else to play it with. Would you mind if we both played hide-and-seek together? You could hide first and I'll try to find you?"

Brent looked up at his mother as if for permission. Tiffany smiled and nodded at him. "It's okay, and I'll be watching."

Brent looked from his mother to Marco and nodded at him.

"Great, this is gonna be so much fun. Now I'll count to ten and you go hide, okay?"

Brent nodded and Marco closed his eyes, covered them with his hands, and began counting. "One…two…three…"

Brent turned and ran off looking for a place to hide from Marco, until he decided to leave. He hid behind a bush behind the nest. "Eight…nine…ten! Ready or not, here I come!" Marco called out. He looked around the clearing for a bit, and then he seemed to be thinking. "Hmmm, now where could Brent be?" he looked behind a tree. "Not behind this tree." He looked behind a boulder on the other side of the clearing. "Not behind this boulder either. Unless…" Marco snapped his fingers. "Unless he's invisible, yes of course! That makes perfect sense! The kid has superpowers!"

Tiffany could tell that Marco was being playful with Brent, appearing silly so that Brent wouldn't feel scared of him anymore, and when she looked over at Brent's hiding place, she could hear faint giggling coming from there. She smiled and could tell that it was working.

Marco then shook his head. "No, no, no, that can't be it. He must've shrunk himself; there can be no other explanation." Marco looked down at the ground. "In that case, I better be careful where I step. Don't wanna accidently step on the kid." Marco started taking slow, careful steps across the clearing, always looking down at the ground and looking up in the direction he was heading before looking back down. He made it to the bush where Brent was and looked around. Brent's giggling was getting louder.

Marco looked up at the bush and then at Tiffany. "Say Tiff, when did you plant these giggling bushes?" Brent was in hysteric giggling by that point.

Tiffany smiled and played along. "Oh, just recently. I find them to be quite delightful."

Marco grinned at the bush before plunging in and bringing Brent out. "Gotcha, kid! HAHAHA!"

"You found me!" Brent happily cried.

"It was no easy task; you made it really hard to find you. Say, how about I hide and you come seek me?" Marco suggested.

"Okay!"

So Marco hid while Brent covered his eyes and counted to ten. He looked around the clearing and saw Marco's tail poking out of a bush. He tiptoed silently over and stopped before Marco's tail. He looked at his mother, made a sshing gesture which Tiffany repeated playfully back to him, and Brent lunged onto Marco's tail. "I found you!"

Marco poked his head out of the bush and looked back at Brent. "Aw man, you're really good at this game, Brent. I'd better step up my game." Brent giggled.

So the two of them played for a little while before Marco said that he thought it was time for him to go.

"Really, but we were having so much fun." The little troodon looked sad.

"I know, but I must be getting back now. I have to rest before I go fishing for dinner this evening."

Brent looked up at the megaraptor. "Hey Marco, I'm sorry I was so scared of you earlier. You're really nice, and it was fun playing with you. Thanks."

"No sweat, Brent. I had a blast today too." Marco grinned.

"Could we play again sometime?"

"Sure, looking forward to it already."

Brent smiled as he shook hands with Marco, and then he ran forward and hugged the megaraptor. "Ahhh." Marco said before he closed his eyes and hugged the kid back. "See you soon, champ."

He walked over to Tiffany. "Bye, Tiff. See you soon."

"See you soon, Marco."

Tiffany and Brent stood waving good-bye to Marco as they watched him disappear into the woods.

Tiffany saw Marco again at the lake a few days later. They talked while they fished together by the shore and got to know more about each other. They talked about their childhoods, their families, their friends, and other things.

"It was my father who taught me how to catch fish, being an omnivore fish has been my favorite food to eat ever since I was a little girl. Brent likes to eat fish too, I'm fairly sure he gets that from me."

"You two are a lot alike, you must get along super easy." Marco said.

"Yeah, it's always been just him and me after…his father left." Tiffany stood still in the water, not trying to catch anything anymore. Everything was still and quiet. "He left, with another female troodon, long before Brent even hatched out of his egg. Never stuck around to see Brent grow up, never stayed to raise him and…be a father…to him…or stayed with me…" Tiffany was starting to cry again. She didn't understand why she was telling Marco about all this, but she then remembered. She had never told anyone, not even her own family, how much her husband leaving her broke her heart. It just felt too painful to talk about to anyone. Perhaps she couldn't bare holding it in anymore. "I loved him; I gave my heart to him. All the time I knew him I thought he was a wonderful creature…but…but…but…"

Suddenly Tiffany could feel Marco turn her around and wrap his arms around her. "Ssh, ssh, ssh, ssh." Marco said, stroking her back a few times, trying to comfort her. "Oh Tiff; I'm so sorry to hear that."

Tiffany closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around Marco. "I just don't understand why he would love someone else and not me anymore."

They both stood there in the water, not saying anything for a while. Then Marco said, "Personally, I think your ex was a big fool. How could he leave someone like you? You're a wonderful creature. You're super friendly, lovely, smart, a great fisher, and such a thoughtful person."

"Really?" Tiffany looked him in the eye, tears still trailing down her face.

Marco nodded. "You're such a remarkable creature too, raising Brent all by yourself."

"When he's not spending time with my sister, she has a part in raising him too." Tiffany was starting to look better.

"Tiff, uh, you know. If I were with you, I'd never leave you like that. Never. I'd stay because, well, where in the world would I find someone else like you? You're one of a kind, Tiffany Troodon."

Tiffany was now smiling up at him. "Thank you, Marco." She wiped away the tears.

Marco smiled at her. He held her in his arms for a bit before checking with Tiffany if it'd be okay to let her go. "If you're ever feeling sad like that, please do tell someone. Your family, me, and anyone you know and personally trust, okay?"

"Okay." Tiffany nodded. A little later she felt better and hey resumed fishing for a bit. Tiffany looked at Marco and watched him fish. Smiling even more at him, she was glad that she had someone like him to talk too.

Marco and Tiffany saw each other often after that. They hung out and even rode on the Dinosaur Train together to visit other places like Troodon Town and the Big Pond for some fishing.

Marco would even visit Tiffany and Brent at their home. He would sit in the nest in front of Brent and tell him stories from when he was a kid and from recent years, like one time when he visited the Jurassic time period for some fishing. "I had slipped off a rock and next thing I knew, I was on my back drifting away with the current. I thought I was doomed until a shonosaurus came up to the surface and happily gave me a ride back to shore on his back. I was very grateful to him for it. We even fished together for a bit." He even told Brent about tying with his friend Mr. Pteranodon and the Old Spinosaurus in the Big Misty Sea Fishing Contest.

"Wow Marco, your life sounds really cool." Brent said clearly fascinated.

Marco laughed. "Why thanks, Brent." They both laughed and Tiffany couldn't help looking and smiling. She liked having Marco over and him spending time with her and Brent. She liked fishing with him and talking with him. He was a great creature to hang out with. Every time she saw him she could feel her heart beat a little faster, as if him simply being there brought her nothing but joy. Then she began to wonder, was she developing feelings for him? Admittedly he was very nice and very good-looking, but did she really have a crush on him?

After Marco left and said good-bye, she didn't see him again the next day, or the next day after that, or even the next day after that. Days passed.

Before she knew it, a month had passed since the last time she had seen him. During that time whenever she was at home, Tiffany would often look at the woods and her thoughts would drift off to him. She wondered where he was now, and hoped that nothing bad had happened to him. Being with her son, sister, and the rest of her friends and family helped made her feel less sad, but she still missed Marco a lot. She went to the lake to do some fishing to get her mind off of him, but it only reminded her more of the megaraptor.

She stared at the water's surface, looking a little down. Then she heard something.

"Tiffany?"

Her heart stopped for a moment, and then it beat twice as fast. She spun around to see none other than Marco Megaraptor himself standing on shore behind her, just like on the first day she had met him. All the sadness inside her disappeared the instant she saw him. She smiled and he smiled back. Tiffany sprang out of the water and ran over to give her megaraptor friend a big hug. "Oh Marco, where were you? Why were you gone for so long? I'd thought something bad had happened to you, I thought I'd never see you again."

Marco wrapped his arms around her and sounded a bit sad. "Oh Tiffany, I'm so sorry I was gone for so long. I was on a fishing trip in another part of the world, on a huge island connected to the mainland by a bridge, when a storm hit. I was able to find safe shelter from the storm, but it cut off access to the mainland. After the storm passed, I was able to get along just fine and found plenty of food. I was finally able to get off the island yesterday after Dinosaur Train Industries were kind enough to send some dinos and other creatures down to fix the bridge. I just got back here today."

"Oh my goodness!" Tiffany's eyes widened with horror. "Thank goodness you got out of that situation okay!"

"Yeah, what also helped was, I thought of you often. I stayed strong, waiting, hoping that I'd be able to see you again soon."

Marco sounded different than he usually did, almost shy. They hugged for a bit before releasing and staring at each other. Neither knew what to say next. After a few minutes, Tiffany eventually broke the silence. "So, now that you're back here safe and sound, are you planning on heading home?"

"Home…home can wait. I actually wanted to see you first. It's…felt like such a long time since I've last seen you."

"Well, in that case, if you're feeling up to it, would you like to fish with me for a bit?"

"Uh, sure, fishing would be great, with you I mean." Marco seemed to look at the ground, at her, and back at the ground while rubbing the back of his neck. At first Tiffany was unsure of what to say next, but then she spoke up.

"Well, let's get in the water then." They both stood on rocks in the water, which were both close to shore. However, neither of them seemed to be catching anything, both were just staring at the water as if waiting for something to happen. Marco looked up at Tiffany, just standing there on the rock looking down at the water. Wanting to say something to break the now unbearable silence, he said "You look very beautiful today."

Tiffany looked up at him, as if she never in a million years thought anyone would say something like that to her. She felt herself blush.

"Oh thank you, Marco. I think you're very beautiful too, I mean, I think you're very handsome. Wait! I mean…wait, yes, I think…you…you look very handsome today, Marco."

"Oh, thanks Tiff."

"Don't mention it."

Silence fell again.

"You know, on second thought, I don't much feel like fishing today." Tiffany said.

"Yeah, me too." Marco nodded at the water. They both wadded back to shore and stood before each other.

"Well, I guess I'll see you around." Marco said.

"Yeah, I guess I'll see you around too. Glad to have you back, safe and sound. It wasn't the same without you." She was very grateful, she didn't know what she'd do if he was no longer here.

"Thanks. Good to be back. I guess I'll see you around too."

They both waved good-bye before turning and walking off in opposite directions. Tiffany wanted to stop, turn around, and catch up to Marco. Go on, she thought to herself, you can't deny it any longer. You really, really like him. Let him know how you feel. Yet she was still walking away, as if she no longer controlled the actions of her body.

"Tiffany, wait!" She heard footsteps and turned to see Marco stop behind her. Her heart beat increased a little. Marco paused for a couple seconds before resuming. "Tiffany, I…I…really like you…a lot…" he said earnestly and Tiffany found herself nodding at him. It seemed to take forever but she finally spoke.

"So do I, I really like you too." Tiffany could feel herself swelling up with happiness. She knew what Marco was going to say, and she wanted him to be the one who said it.

"Tiffany, would you…would you like to go out on a date…with me? A fishing date, we could fish by or in this lake, whichever way you want to. How's that sound?"

"Oh, Marco. That sounds absolutely wonderful. I'd love to." She smiled at him.

"This Friday sound good?"

"Perfect. I'll arrange for my sister to babysit Brent while we're gone."

"Great, I'll see you at your nest to pick you up. Later, Tiff."

"Later, Marco." She batted her eyelashes at him and saw that he liked the look she was giving him. The two waved good-bye again and smiled at each other before heading off in separate directions.

The date came really soon, and both troodon and megaraptor had a wonderful time. They fished and danced on the shore. They even rode on the Dinosaur train together and had their portrait drawn by Laura Giganotosaurus. And after Marco walked her home, he and Tiffany shared their first kiss. It was the first of many delightful dates.

Back in the present Tiffany thought about her relationship with Marco as she watched him standing atop his rock. For a few months they had been dating, for a few months they had been boyfriend and girlfriend. And both thought that the other was simply wonderful. Tiffany stared lovingly at Marco while he fished, thinking that she couldn't have ended up with a better creature. He looked up to meet her gaze and smiled. "What are you're looking at, Tiff."

"Oh nothing, it's just that…you look very handsome in the moonlight."

"Gee, thanks Tiff. Anyone ever tell you that you look very beautiful in the moonlight as well?"

Tiffany giggled. "Well no, not until tonight. Thank you, Marco."

"Don't mention it." He said.

Tiffany blushed and looked down at the water around her date and gasped. "Marco, fish at ten o'clock!" Marco turned to his left and thrusted his hand into the water, catching three fish on each claw and holding them up for Tiffany to see. He was grinning at her. "You and I make quite a fishing team." Tiffany could feel herself blush even more and looked away. "It was nothing."

Marco shook his head. "No, it's definitely not something." A bird cry's carried itself through the night air form somewhere. Marco looked back behind him, but couldn't see the bird. He did see the water's rippling surface in the moons light though. "You know, I think I'm done fishing for now. I think I'll go for a nightly swim." And then Tiffany saw him fall backward and splash into the water. He was backstroking with his eyes closed.

Tiffany was amused by this display. "Marco, have you been practicing swimming?"

"Oh yeah, I finally decided to get around to learning it, don't wanna drift out to sea again without being able to get back to shore." He backstroked some more before calling out to his lady. "Come on in Tiff, the water's fine!"

Tiffany giggled. Deciding that she was full too, she dove into the water and backstroked too. She didn't stop until she was floating on her back next to Marco. The water could be heard lapping against their bodies. They both stared up at the stars in the night sky and thought that it was such a lovely sight. "You see any troodons up in the sky?" Marco asked looking at some constellations. "Yeah, and if you look to your left, Marco, you can see a megaraptor up there as well." He made it out and saw it in the night sky. "Wow, fine looking constellations out tonight, huh?"

Tiffany agreed. The two floated for bit before deciding to head back. They made it back to shore moments later and dried themselves off using leaves as towels. Then Marco made a suggestion. "Evening's not over yet, you know what would make this night better?"

"What?" Tiffany asked looking back at him. Marco stood himself erect, held his arm out to her, and grinned goofily at her. "Shall we dance?" Tiffany giggled when she saw that grin on Marco's face, which he loved doing since it made Tiffany laugh.

"Certainly, let's dance." Tiffany wrapped one arm around Marco's waist and gave him her other hand. He did the same and they started to waltz. Marco's grin turned to a charming one that Tiffany adored. They switched from one kind of dance to another, smiling at each other often. The world seemed to spin around them as if they were both the center of the universe. After half an hour passed, the two decided that they were both done dancing and stopped. They both took long drinks from a stream pouring into the lake.

"Oh, Marco. This evening has been perfect, thank you."

"Oh, why it's not over yet m'lady, for I have a big surprise for you."

"A surprise, for me? Oh, what is it?"

Marco shook his head. "Now if I tell you, it won't be a surprise anymore. I'll cover your eyes and guide you there with the sound of my voice. Oh, and no peeking." His eyes narrowed in a sly fashion while he grinned and wagged an index claw at her.

"Oh fine." Tiffany pretended to pout and laughed as she walked over to him. She closed her eyes and could feel Marco place his hands over her eyes. "Just follow my voice, my love."

Tiffany laughed some more and they walked off. Marco told her when to go straight, turn left, and then turn right. The night felt still, there was no noise except for the sound of their footsteps treading on the dirt. Then…

"Okay, stop. Now, open your eyes." Marco said softly as he removed his hands. Tiffany opened her eyes and gasped. There in the center of a clearing, on top of a big stump, was a medium-sized wooden carving of her with her hands on her hips and a smile of determination on her face. Marco smiled proudly at his handiwork. "You like it? It's a carving of you when you decide to stick thorough with something, no matter how difficult. Like when you're trying to catch a very evasive fish. What do you think, Tiff?" Marco looked at his date with concern. "Tiff?"

There were tears in Tiffany's eyes as she smiled at him. She held her arms out toward him. "Oh Marco, come here and give me a big hug." Marco looked at her and walked over to her. He wrapped his arms across her middle and he could feel her arms wrap themselves around him. "This is the sweetest gift anyone has ever given me in living memory. You've gotten every detail about me right. Thank you, I absolutely love it. How did you ever learn to carve wood like that?"

"Oh, well, I thought of making a gift like that for you, so I found a place where I could take wood carving lessons. It took me a while to learn it, but it paid off in the end. As soon I finished it and made sure it looked perfect, I placed it here before going to meet you for our date tonight. The reason I was late was because I was searching for the perfect place near the lake to hide it. I'm glad you love it, it really does capture your character and beauty."

"It's wonderful." Tiffany wiped away her tears and smiled up at him. "I love you, Marco Megaraptor."

Marco smiled down at her, a smile that revealed his teeth and looked very charming to Tiffany. "I love you too, Tiffany Troodon."

Thirty seconds of silence passed before Marco spoke up. "Mind if I kiss you sweetie pie?"

"As if you need to ask, handsome."

Marco leaned his head forward and kissed Tiffany. Then he kissed her again and she happily kissed him back. They stared lovingly into each other's eyes before Marco kissed her again.

"Marco!" Both megaraptor and troodon laughed heartily.

Marco walked Tiffany back to her home, the wooden carving in Tiffany's arms. They said goodnight and good-bye to Beth before she left. They came over to Brent, who was lying down in the nest with his eyes closed. Tiffany sat down and gently stroked the little troodon's head while smiling lovingly at him. He opened his eyes and smiled at her.

"Oh, sorry sweetie. I didn't mean to wake you." Tiffany said.

"It's okay. Hi, Mom. Hi, Marco. You guys have a good date?"

"Oh you bet, Brent. We fished, swam, danced, and had a wonderful time. I even gave your mom a wooden carving of herself as a gift."

"Which I love very much, thanks Marco."

"You're welcome, Tiff. Any who, I just brought her home and now I'm gonna head home myself. We still on for our weekend fishing trip?"

Brent gave the megaraptor a thumbs up. "You bet, Marco."

Marco chuckled and stared fondly at the kid. "Goodnight, Brent. Pleasant dreams, kiddo."

"Same to you Marco. Thanks for coming, bye."

Tiffany and Marco walked away from the nest and stood before each other.

"Night, Tiff."

"Night, Marco."

'"See you soon."

"You bet." They shared one more kiss before Marco left. Tiffany watched him go and waved at him. Marco waved back as he disappeared into the forest. She laid herself down in the nest. She and Brent were lying beside each other with their eyes closed as the sounds of night-time were going on around them. After a moment, Tiffany spoke up.

"You enjoyed your evening with your auntie Beth?"

Brent nodded. "She and I played go fish and dinoball after we had supper."

"I thought that was our game." Tiffany playfully said while pretending to sound hurt.

"I can play that game with others." Brent smirked at her.

"I know, I'm just kidding buddy."

"I can't wait to go fishing with Marco, it's gonna be awesome."

"I'm sure it will. You know, Brent? You and Marco are my favorite men in the whole wide world. I love you both a lot."

"I think we feel the same about you, Mom."

Tiffany yawned. "Perhaps it's time we went to bed, kiddo? What do you say?"

"Sure thing, Mom." Brent yawned, closed his eyes again, and rolled over onto his other side, his back to his mother. "I can't wait to see Marco again real soon."

"I know," Tiffany closed her eyes and smiled. "I can't wait either."

Thanks for reading, let me know what you think of my pairing of Marco Megaraptor and my OC Tiffany Troodon.

~DinosaurTrainFan