1The Lost Moments

A fanfiction based on The Lost World by Michael Crichton

Introduction: Gambler's Ruin

It was freezing, thought the forty year old mathematician, stepping outside the front door of the University. He couldn't remember ever having to endure a winter this cold. Ah, he thought to himself, but the worst is past. And it was. It was presently Christmas Eve, and Malcolm had interesting plans for the evening. After all, it was only five days away from Sara Harding's birthday, and Malcolm knew exactly what he wanted to do.

Ian unlocked his car, in no particular hurry, and thought about the months that had passed since they had returned from the island. None of them spoke about it to others, naturally, (well, Malcolm had to admit, Levine was a handful to get to shutup...). But, on the whole at least, it was as if he and the other entities had formed a sort of private club where they discussed the various philosophies of the rescue operation, (with Levine insisting he had everything under control).

Malcolm slammed the car door behind him and was beginning to place the key in the ignition, when his reflection in the rear view mirror caught his eye. He turned the key, and the car hummed approvingly. To his reflection, Malcolm sighed. His face had light creases, but his jawline was holding out strongly and his thick mass of black hair had held as well. He was no judge of how men were handsome, but he did know that the face looking at him was not displeasing. Not quite as pleasing as Levine's face, Malcolm thought, feeling self doubt. He blew the thought away, and mashed the clutch in.

In fact, Richard Levine was just the man he was planning to spend Christmas Eve with. Though the thought did not thrill Malcolm, Levine had insisted it was urgent. Earlier that day, Dr. Richard Levine had called him at his office number, (and had been damn lucky to catch him in), stating that there was something important he had to discuss with Ian.

"Richard, I decline. This Christmas is for Sarah and I."

"Oh, Ian, stop pouting. Your fling with Dr. Harding has long since ended. Besides, I think you'll be quite intrigued with what I have to tell you. It's got to do with you know what." At that point in time, Ian wondered how Levine could be so completely oblivious to the fact that he was positively the most obnoxious person on the face of the planet. In the end, Malcolm had grudgingly given in to Levine, calling and canceling his date with Sarah. As was imaginable, she felt completely left out, and insisted that she be included. Malcolm had seen no reason why not, and invited her to share Levine's important news with him.

Levine still did not know, and that was what was bothering him now, as he reached the sparkling clean apartment building. There were no Christmas decorations, but, Malcolm knew, that was to be expected. Levine wasn't the type to put up 'frivilous decor'.

Dr. Ian Malcolm knocked on the undecorated door before him, and waited for a long moment, before the door opened. To his immediate surprise, an arm reached out for him and grabbed his shirt. He was yanked into the room quite unceremoniously and nearly shreaked when a pair of lips met his. Rough lips. Beard stubble. Levine.

In the back of his mind, he thought he heard the door close behind him. The rest of his mind was focused on getting the unwelcome lips off of his. But before he could execute any action, the kissing stopped. Malcolm, hair tossled and shirt partially untucked, stared dumbfounded at the paleontologist who called himself Richard Levine.

"Sorry, Ian," Richard commented, laughing. "Safety precaution."

Safety? Malcolm thought, the only kind of safe I need is to be safe from you! But all that came out was, "Okay..."

"I'll explain later," Levine commented briskly, pulling Ian by his arm farther into the apartment, to a computer console. "First, there's something you need to see." Malcolm was struck by how much Richard sounded like an impatient child.