When Words Run Dry

Chapter Two

A Bird in a Cage

Cretacia couldn't fathom what was unfolding in front of her. How could it be possible for the souls of dinosaurs to be preserved in stones, pleading to be saved from extinction? Sounds like the plot for a B-movie. However, despite her disbelief and inability to think of how this phenomenon could be possible, her husband and his assistant had been storming away the past few days after their initial discovery trying to make sense of the mysterious preservation.

As she entered the lab on a warm August day, she saw the two men at separate tables busily working away, Ancient closest to her and Seth sitting in the far back of the room. Before seeing his wife, Ancient had a frustrated expression, his hands running through his short hair and dandruff flying everywhere. A small fan sat in front of him and sweat dripped off his brow. Seth on the other hand was his normal quiet, collective self flipping through a book leisurely.

"Quark, I wish you would take a break. If you don't stop, you're liable to pass out from exhaustion." Cretacia pleaded.

This caught the attention of her husband who looked up at her with groggy eyes. He hardly had any sleep the past few days. The only things keeping him going were the drive to come up with a reasonable hypothesis, and very strong coffee. His eyes lit up though at the sight of his wife.

"Oh! Cretacia! I didn't even notice you come in!" exclaimed Ancient who began hurriedly straightening his workspace as if he was hiding something.

"Yes, well I know you're working very hard. However, I think it's time for you to take a little break." She paused for a moment and then proposed, "Why don't you and Seth come with me to the Farmer's Market? I know how much you love to look at all the amber jewelry and the trilobite fossils that Mr. Jura brings."

The heavily built man sighed deeply not really wanting to leave his research. He did need a break though and what if Seth wanted to go with Cretacia? That surely was trouble. He also did like to look for any unusual finds to add to his ongoing collection. He replied, "I'd love to Cretacia. You're right. I could use a quick break. Who knows? Maybe I'll think of something while I'm out."

Seth looked up from his book to scan Cretacia's beautiful face. The blonde woman's smile beamed with joy. A scowl spread across his face with displeasure for his employer. How could Cretacia stand being with that man?!

Grabbing her husband's hand, Cretacia encouraged him off his chair and pulled him close to her body. They hadn't been affectionate with each other for quite a while and she really just wanted to give her husband a kiss. She was very lonely while her husband was busily working away, as he often was. More often than not, Ancient preferred to work by himself and Cretacia was often left to her own devices. No one quite knows why that was the case. This didn't give the couple a lot of time to be with one another so every minute was greatly treasured. He looked down at her and smiled sheepishly, his arms going towards her tiny waist. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she slowly tilted her head up to kiss him. Just before their lips could meet, Johnathan approached from behind making the couple turn to face him.

"I apologize for interrupting. I retrieved your purse for you Dr. Cretacia."

The android handed Cretacia her purse and she gently took it out of his grasp, flinging it over her shoulder with great zeal. "Thank you Johnathan!" She grabbed her husband by the hand and the two briskly walked out of the lab.


In the moments that followed, Seth decided to accompany the Ancients as well. He wasn't going to miss out on the opportunity to get out of that stuffy old lab. It reeked of Ancient's lack of deodorant and was hotter than sticking one's head in the oven. Plus, it was nice to see Cretacia in better spirits and he had a secret mission to attend to.

The farmer's market of the future was a remarkable and vibrant place. It was a market that would even rival Charles Dickens portrayal in his beloved world renowned story. There was actually a designated place for the event rather than past methods of sectioning off streets and there were vendors as far as the eye can see. In the year 2126, man has realized the errors of their ways and have decided to go completely eco-friendly. Solar panel and electric energy have taken the place of fossils fuels and all produce, milk, and meat are produced in an organic fashion; no pesticides or added hormones. Past attempts with these added variants spelled nothing but health complications, disease, and early deaths. So not too far off from this point, it was decided to ban these practices in treating food and go back to the holistic ways of end result could be seen in this very market.

Cretacia clasped her hands and stretched her arms behind her back. She let in a deep breath and exhaled dramatically. "Ah! Just smell that fresh air! Isn't it great to get out of the lab, Quark!? The sun is shining, the air is crisp, what could be better than this!?"

Ancient was not near as enthusiastic since he wanted to be back in his lab. He unsteadily replied, "He-he yeah, Honey. It's great."

The blue haired man rolled his eyes at Ancient's babble and in comprehensive attitude. Then his attention went into a more favored direction; to Cretacia. She had decided to get out of her usual jumpsuit and vest ensemble and had on a flattering pair of dark jeans, a pink blouse, and simple white tennis shoes. Her short, golden locks moved effervescently in the breeze and her usual pink lips never looked more radiant! How could Ancient not enjoy the company of such a beautiful creature?

As usual though, Ancient wasn't interested in his wife. Rather, he was gravitated towards the one thing that made him bonkers and possibly aroused. At the sight of his "precious" he gasped and exclaimed, "Oh! A fossil!" There, right where Ancient was heading was a short old man with some fish fossils for sale.

His wife sighed heavily as she, Seth, and Johnathan walked past him. Then she murmured to the assistant and the android, "That Quark. He acts like a kid at Christmas the way he gets around fossils. You'd think in his line of work, he'd get tired of them. Yet, even the simplest trilobite fossil sends him into his "happy place"."

Seth growled in irritation of his employer and of Cretacia's tolerance. How could she be so patient with a man who was so self-absorbed and equally oblivious of his wife? "Let's just hope he doesn't get too enthralled. We have other things to do than to look at fossils all day."

Suddenly, Seth felt a warm hand wrap around his waist. Looking down to his left, he saw Cretacia had given him a small embrace in reassurance. She knew well that Seth never had complete patience with her husband and whether she admitted it or not, she too had her difficulties with the paleontologist. Cretacia looked up to him with warm eyes and replied, "Don't worry Seth, the rutabagas will still be there when we get to the booth."

The assistant was perplexed. "Uh- rutabagas, Dr. Cretacia?"

The blonde woman nodded excitedly. As it turned out, Cretacia not only had an adoration for old bones, but she had a remarkable passion for the culinary arts. Seth knew well that she loved to bake; her chocolate chip cookies were sublime. However, in the past few months, Cretacia began stepping to the plate in the realm of cooking meals. While some choices were a bit outlandish, the assistant had to admit that her cooking was one hundred times better than anything her husband and he had to eat back in Ancient's bachelor days. Ancient's cooking was the equivalent of half cooked instant rice and American fast food. Still, he was a bit reluctant to try any dish with rutabagas. After all, rutabagas weren't exactly the most appetizing root vegetable. Cretacia was thrilled about the dish though as she shared the origin of the recipe with the blue haired man. "My mother gave me a recipe for a lovely cold rutabaga salad many years ago and it is an excellent recipe to have on days like this!"

Seth felt sweat perspire off of him and sheepishly replied, "I bet we're in for a real treat tonight."

Before Cretacia could elaborate the glory of her root vegetable delight any further, her heavily built husband started waving his hands trying to get the attention of their party. "Cretacia! Come over here!"

Ancient had moved to another booth on the other side of the block and for some unknown reason, it made him giddier than a horse about to receive an apple.

The threesome walked towards him as Cretacia called, "What is it?"

Pointing at the object like a five year old in a toy store, Ancient cried, "Look!"

What Ancient was pointing at was in no relation to the small, aquatic vertebrate remains he was oogling about only a few moment ago. Now his attention lay on some scrap part of metal that look like they were from a space station.

"Doctor, I thought you were looking at fossils? This is just a pile of junk!" barked his assistant. Why would Ancient hold interest on some scrap metal?

Unless...

Ancient furrowed his eyebrows and rebutted, "Don't you see?! This is just the piece I've been looking for! It'll be the perfect component for the transmission for the time machine!"

Cretacia was taken aback. She and Dr. Ancient were planning on building a time machine indeed. After all, how were they able to save those dinosaurs from the catastrophic demise of the Cretaceous extinction? A time machine would have to be built. But, what about the decision they had made about working on the time machine together? Both parties wanted to be a part of this massive undertaking and with the massive scale of the adventure they were aiming for, they would have to work together and perhaps partner up with a group of physicists north of them. After all, what paleontologist is also an expert in particle acceleration and thus time travel? Yet, despite that common understanding, Ancient seemed to have started on the project without her. So this was no surprise that Cretacia was annoyed not to mention angered by this new discovery.

"Time machine?! Quark, we weren't supposed to start that project until we knew for certain how to harness the energy and ability to go back in time!"

Her husband, trying to cover his mistake by using sheer curiosity and determination as a guide tried to explain himself. "I know, I know. I've just been brainstorming a lot lately and I figured I'd start on some of the structural work for the machine. I did get a minor in mechanics and with a little assistance from the local space center, we could be ahead of schedule! Why are you so bothered by this?"

Flustered, Cretacia cried, "Quark, it doesn't bother me that you want to get ahead on the construction. What bothers me is that you do all this behind my back without telling me." She then turned to Seth vigorously and countered with a question. "Did you know anything about this?"

Seth didn't know what to say. Yes, he had known about Dr. Ancient's plans to start ahead on the time machine, as he was growing impatient with his theories of harnessing the energy of the stones. However, he was strongly against his employer doing this not only because of the issue of not having a clear way to harness the energy the machine needed, but it would make Cretacia upset. This was a project that both husband and wife wanted to work on and it was cruel for Ancient to go off and leave her in the dust. In the end though, he all he could say was "Uh...". If he said yes, than Cretacia would be mad at him for going along with her husband. If he said no, she would still be mad at him because he wasn't insistent on stopping his employer. Not to mention, Ancient would be livid due to his over-protectiveness of his wife.

Ancient interrupted the two's brief conversation, trying his best to persuade his wife to let his deceptive actions slide. "But this advance could further our research and accelerate our process of building."

Cretacia tried to explain herself calmly but as her recant continued, the anger in her voice rose to the point where she was hollering. "I hear you Quark, but we're supposed to be a team. You can't just hog all of the work for yourself. We both are a part of this project and whether you realize this or not, I should be entitled to research too. I don't like being on the outside looking in! If you really wanted to start working on the time machine, you should have just told me. Seth and I could have worked on a way to harness the energy and since none of us are physicists, we should just outsource. You're not Superman and you don't know everything!"

"You- you know I can't outsource! That's like suicide to a scientist!"

"No! It's not suicide for a scientist! Scientists of different fields collaborate all the time! It's suicide for you! Always wanting to be number one! Top dog! There's no room for anyone else but you!"

At this point, people at the market began looking in the direction of the bickering couple. Some were concerned and stood by in case something violent happened, others slowly walked away in order to avoid being possibly injured if one of the spouses became savage, and there were even some screaming and cursing at Ancient specifically to leave and threatening to call the authorities.

Fortunately, Johnathan was there to stand by his master's side and quickly was able to get most of the people out of the way.

"There's nothing to see everyone!" the android proclaimed. "Things should blow over soon. Haven't you seen married people argue before?" And the expositions kept flying out of his robotic mouth.

Back to the Ancients, things were not really going as Johnathan theorized.

"That's not true!"

"Then, why don't you let me help you?! Why can't I discover new findings as well?! Why do you always have to be in the head chain of command?!"

"Because I AM! You always try to think things through, and you take forever to make up your mind! Then you don't want to do things because you think they're too hazardous! I say that we just experiment until we get it right! Who cares if we waste some money that could have gone to potential digs, as you always mention!? This is the opportunity of a lifetime! Who wants to look at skeletons when you could have the real flesh and blood in front of you!? I will go down in history for this!"

"Doctor, please! You're making a scene-" hissed his assistant.

"Sorry I don't want to wait around to start work on the journey that will put me in the history books! For the record, your ideas, when you have any, are half-baked, and bring nothing to the table! Your "namby pamby" views of dinosaurs are full of sheer fantasy! Arrgh! I also hate you always wanting to outsource!"

Cretacia stammered, holding back tears, "Quark, I-"

"Don't you "Quark" me!" Ancient interrupted furiously and waiving his finger as if she was kid being disciplined. "Don't you believe in me!? I don't want to consult with anyone else! This is MY project, do you hear me!? My mind is all this endeavor needs and I will not be subjected to being partnered with someone who must always outsource on every little thing!"

In a powerful roar, Seth brought an end to the onslaught. "Doctor, that's enough!"

That was the straw that had broken the camel's back. Ancient was being cruel and whether he meant it or not, was it any wonder that Cretacia didn't jump onto her husband and beat him to a pulp? How dare he say all those horrible things in her good name. She too was a person of science; her ideas on dinosaurs were revolutionary and were spawned from the brilliance of those paleontologists before her; Robert Bakker, Jack Horner, and Phillip Currie to name few. In fact, some may argue that her ideas were more compelling to that of her hot-headed husband's. Cretacia saw dinosaurs as dynamic animals with complex social interactions. Animals that devotedly cared for their young, had strong family values, and fought for survival in a brutal, primeval world.

Yet, despite the tarnishing of her scientific status, that's not ultimately what upset Cretacia. What ultimately left her distraught was her husband's treatment of her as an incompetent subordinate. Someone who slowed down, if not ruined every chance he had at recognition and glory. This wasn't a new thing though. Many tiradres like this happened before. Yet there was one that was far worse. It was the mother of all fights and was the one that started this spiral of verbal abuse.


The Ancients had not been married for long and their honeymoon in Transylvania was coming to a close. In the three weeks they were there, the couple and their small team of fellow dinosaur enthusiasts uncovered a great quantity of dwarf dinosaur remains. Five skeletons were discovered and ranged from fifty to eighty percent completion. Two might have even been new species. Yet, despite all their good fortune, there was soon to be trouble in paradise.

A couple of nights before they were to depart and head back to Japan, Cretacia was up late in the cabin they stationed above the quarry. She was working on one of the skeletons they had uncovered a couple of weeks back. Chipping at the rock, bit by bit, the skeleton began to come to light. It was a medium sized find and only marginal toe and tail bones and a couple major arm bones were missing making it around seventy percent complete. Looking at the remarkably well-preserved skull, Cretacia noted the tiny sharp teeth protruded out of the sealed jaws. This animal bore a strong resemblance to the dinosaur Compsognathus, but she would have to consult with Seth and her husband to verify its correct identity.

It wasn't long before, Cretacia heard a loud thud and the frantic hollering of her husband who was in a nearby room. She sprang from her work and dashed in to see if he was alright.

"Quark!" she cried. "What's wrong?"

Her husband was in the room where they were storing their finds and he was hunched over the fossils. This was also the room where they slept together in a queen sized bed, accompanied by a dresser that they were able to store their clothes on the right hand side with the fossils. Plus a closet near the door for their jackets and heavier clothing, and to the left was a blank wall with a door leading to the small bathroom. As Cretacia stared at her husband with great concern, part of him was supported by the dresser with his left hand propping him up, the other hand clutching his knee. He looked as if he had the wind knocked out of him.

Suddenly, he spiraled around to face her, his eyes frenzied as if he were possessed by the Devil, and screeched, "You are!" Like lightening, he swung an open hand at his wife hitting her on her temple and sending her flying to the ground.

Regaining her footing, Cretacia fumbled getting up. Her injured head covered with one hand she whimpered, "Wh-What did I do?" She had never known her beloved Quark to act like this and was dumbfounded by his brutality.

Charging her like a mad dog succumbed to rabies, Ancient lunged at his wife hitting and kicking her repeatedly. He caused physical damage from her head to her feet verbally abusing her as well. He threw several curse words at her, regretting their marriage, and adding how incompetent she was and how she was going to pay for her insolence. Cretacia's heart broke into millions of shards. She had thought she had married a big teddy bear. Sure he was a bit of a baby when it came to his pride, but she never would have expected him to be capable of such suffering. As it turned out, her little teddy bear had apparently evolved into a grizzly bear! Or was he one all along, and was his love for her all a mere facade?

Fortunately, the attack didn't last long as Ancient's massive girth and gut tired him out quickly, and soon he slumped to the ground next to his beaten spouse.

Cretacia was in a fetal position by this point. Her body was adorned with bruises, her glasses broken, causing shards of glass to pierce her face, and her nose was bloodied. She was shaking like a leaf from shock, but despite the anguish she felt, her mind readied her to stabilize in order to escape from her attacker. As soon as she felt safe enough to get up, she slowly stood up and moved to face her husband, panting and limping like an injured animal. Her husband remained on the floor sweating profusely, his tongue hanging out like a wild man and salivating as if he were one of Pavlov's dogs.

With all the energy she felt she had left, she used her remaining good leg and kicked her husband in the groin. This caused severe pain in her injured leg, but it felt good to throw a direct blow at her attacker. Ancient roared in pain and tried to grab her leg to pull her down, but Cretacia was too fast. Turns out she had plenty of energy and she let Ancient have it. With cat-like reflexes, but going through excruciating pain from rapid movements, Cretacia went for his jugular with her left hand, slamming his head back on the floor tightening the grip on his neck and pinning down his hands with her good knee and her other hand. He underestimated his victim. She was not a delicate flower; she was a scrapper. And the grizzly that just attacked her, was no more than a turtle on its back.

"Why the hell did you attack me?!" she screamed trying to still regain her breath. "What did I do to make you hurt me?!"

Ancient's eyes were still wild and they gravitated in the direction of the fossils. After a final deserved jab in the face, Cretacia abandoned her husband and limped over to survey the fossils and find the cause for his madness. She found it. A small specimen had been pulverized.

Then came a pathetic sound from the floor.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." Ancient bawled with a never ending stream of tears, his face smeared into the clean green carpet, disgusted with his random vile act. He apparently was able to gain sanity back and was left repulsed with himself. He was truly a Dr. Jekyll at this point. Cretacia refused to look back at him though. His voice was nothing but muffled words and lacked a true sense of compassion, and the smell of his perspiration was permeated in the air she breathed, making her nauseous. She was distraught to rebuttal back and by the shakiness of her hands and her lack of breath she wished for it all to have been a bad dream.

It was in fact the skeleton of what was believed to have been a bird and Ancient was enthralled with the discovery. No prehistoric bird had been found in that region of Europe before and it may have been a new species. Surely he would have received a lot of publicity and praise from his colleagues and that was the type of attention. The thought of it being ruined would have been a nightmare.

The nightmare apparently was reality.

Yet, let it be known that it was not Cretacia who broke the specimen. It was Ancient who had bumped into the dresser that the specimen was sitting which caused the rare find to fall. Despite being wrapped in a plaster jacket, the sheer force of hitting the floor cracked the protective seal (not to mention it was still not hardened internally) and Ancient's cumbersome foot stepped on the piece, ultimately causing its demise.

So if it was Ancient and not Cretacia who caused this tragedy to occur, then why was Ancient beating on Cretacia? Due to the knowledge that he knew that he hadn't placed the fossil on the dresser, Ancient assumed that Cretacia did and instead of simply blaming himself for his clumsy mishap, she had to pay. Insignificant happenings occurred following this horrific event. As it turned out, it was not Cretacia who placed the rare specimen up on the dresser. It was a volunteer, who was just trying to help by putting the find somewhere a little safer and where no one could accidentally harm it. Also, the specimen that Ancient assumed was demolished actually was repaired. Thanks to the repair jobs of Cretacia and Seth, the specimen was put back together and someone outside the project would never had thought it was crushed.

In an effort to save his marriage and protect his reputation, Ancient signed up for anger management classes and he and his wife attended marriage counseling. For a brief while, they were like the happy newlyweds prior to that night. However, this state of bliss was short lived. After only six months, Ancient ceased going to both the classes and the counselor. Especially since he was being told repeatedly that he wasn't doing enough to better his relationship. He was still stuck on himself and didn't ever fully embrace his wife's thoughts on anything. He was back to believing that he was not at fault and that everything was due to Cretacia's doing.

Cretacia never told anyone about what happened that night. Doing so she believed would just re-enforce what her husband told her repeatedly. About how incompetent she was and how she ruined everything. His verbal abuse never ended while his physical abuse did. He learned quickly that what upset Cretacia was mental torture rather than physical. She could prevent a blow to the head, but she couldn't prevent a blow to the heart. No matter how hard she tried, he always made a direct hit.


Tears began to cascade down Cretacia's cheeks. She turned her back to her husband and cried, "Go on then! If you're really that great, then you don't need me! You can have everything your way! Hope you can harness the unknown energy of stones from sixty five million years ago without any repercussions!" She couldn't handle it anymore and at this point, she didn't care if people saw him argue with her. Perhaps someone would have the courage to help her out of this spiraling relationship.

"Alright! I will and I'll go a lot further than if I had you! Seth, let's go back to the lab. At least your ideas are adequate."

As Cretacia's husband stomped off indignantly from his wife, Seth stood his ground and remained with the distraught woman. She looked up at him with a look that seemed to be of disbelief, but in her secret thoughts, this was no surprise.

"Sir, I think I should go with Dr. Cretacia until we at least get the rutabagas-" his assistant argued holding back the urge to punch his employer in the face. Insulting the woman who he cared deeply about was more painful than himself being victimized. That, it was against his moral fiber to see a spouse be abusive to the other.

"You're choosing a root vegetable over the scientific exploration of a life time?" screeched Ancient. Absorbed in the sheer rage he had for his wife's "lack of support", he now began an onslaught on his assistant. It was as if the whole world was turning against him.

His assistant snarled, "No, I'm choosing to follow through with a promise I made to someone and support her. Something that you don't know too well. Aren't I right, Doctor?"

Normally, Ancient would harass Seth in his paranoia of losing his wife to his assistant. At this time though, he didn't care what those two did. He was too angry at his wife to even care about an adulterous situation. His pride was tarnished and he needed to go lick his mental wounds.

Turning away from his assistant and spouse, the pudgy man motioned for his loyal by default android to follow him. "Well then, Johnathan?"

The android looked at his master with his plastered vacant, animatronic expression. "I cannot re-program myself to delete the function of getting rutabagas. It is vitally important to our well-being, including yours Master Ancient."

Gritting his teeth in frustration, Ancient clenched his fists turned around to the seller of the part, bought it and whined. "Fine... Fine- whatever! See you back at the lab!"

The remaining spectators began to disperse, whispering as they exited. Seth's eyes were full of rage, his face in a sneer. Then he reminded himself that it was Cretacia that needed his time and energy, and not that oaf.

Cretacia was turning beet red, running her fingers through her hair, tears still falling and her nose was beginning to run. Her husband had gone too far, deceiving her, making her feel inadequate. Yet again. "Oh that Quark! He's just so- uggh! I could just scream!"

Seth put his hand lightly on her shoulder, the body heat exchange between the two seemed to soothe her a bit and the blue locked man didn't dislike it either. He kept his composure though and handed the woman a facial tissue that he conveniently found in her purse. He assumed she went through a lot of tissues and after seeing that ordeal, he wasn't surprised to find one. "He doesn't have behave in an impish manner. Anyone who can't pull himself out of his ass and realize he is hurting the one that loves him the most is a fool."

His female companion sniffled for a moment as she regained her composure. "You are terribly kind Seth. You always understand where I'm coming from and support my ideas. You're a good friend."

The man chuckled half-heartedly and replied."I suppose I do."


After picking up the rutabagas and other necessary produce, Cretacia encouraged Johnathan to go back to the lab. She was still appalled with her husband though and decided to not return to him until she had a clearer frame of mind. There was still no clear cut decision for her. Should she just walk out on him and not put up with his abuse, or would she do what she always did; suck it up and hope the next day was better? So with Seth in tow, Cretacia continued to go through the expansive market trying to deduce what to do.

Looking around with vigor and continuing to clear her mind Cretacia spoke to Seth, "It's incredible to actually take the time to look at all the vendors. Normally when I go with Qua-..." It all started flooding back to her. All the pain, all the anguish. She did her best though and simply finished, "Well, let's just say that I normally only look at a handful of booths and we're not here that long."

Seth trying to remain in a positive light for Cretacia's sake responded,"Well, this must be a refreshing change of pace for you, Cretacia."

He froze for a moment. He had just called her "Cretacia". Not referring to her as "Dr. Cretacia" or "Mrs. Ancient" (it killed him to say that last one), but simply as "Cretacia". Now he was concerned. Was she going to be offended? He didn't mean to address her so informally. Although he will admit, it felt pretty good.

Surprisingly, Cretacia seemed fine with the assistant calling her simply by her name.

"Yes, it is." she replied warmly. Then her voice turned shaky once more.

"I just wish-"

He knew that she was upset and that she was bottling her emotions up, trying to put on a brave face. She needed to take a break and just let all her frustration out. The man gestured for her to take a break. He referred to her by her beautiful name only as if it were ecstasy coursing through his veins. "Cretacia, why don't we stop for a moment? There's a bench over there and I think you just need to work some things out." His voice was oddly warm and almost entrancing.

The blonde woman reciprocated his suggestion and before long, the pair sat on a bench near the middle of the expansive market. She looked at Seth uncertain of what to do or say. Seth's face was softened though, a rare occurrence, and his expression was enough for her to let her guard down.

"I don't know what to do anymore Seth." she began, her words taking his full attention. "Quark just isn't being the man I knew before we married. He used to be so kind and debonair, opening doors for me, pulling out my chair at dinner, giving me a kiss every night. I mean I could go on about how courteous and tender he was." She paused for a moment, her gaze now falling to the pavement. "It's almost as if he was a wolf in sheep's clothing."

Seth was rather concerned about Cretacia in regard to her relationship with her husband. He wasn't stupid, he knew something was wrong all along but after seeing the spectacle in the market, that concern only deepened. The only question was how severe was it? He didn't wish to pry too much as it could be too raw for Cretacia to discuss and he didn't want to be nosy. Despite those apprehensions though, he had to ask.

"Has he ever hurt you?"

Cretacia shuddered at that question. Yes, he had hurt her physically and psychologically but she dared not to share this with anyone. Not even Seth.

She responded, "Well, not really. I mean we've had our spats, but they've never lead to anything damaging."

He didn't buy it for a moment.

Rather than prying the truth out of her, Seth decided to go for a different tactic to convey his message.

"It was really brave of you to do what you did earlier, Cretacia. Standing up for yourself was a smart move. Others can stand up for you as well, but only when you stand up for yourself do you ever gain a full sense of security."

The woman said nothing and continued to stare at the ground.

"You are incredibly smart Cretacia and you have more enthusiasm for life than any other person I've met. Now you just need to learn how to apply that assertion to when people hurt you."

She smiled weakly at her companion. "I appreciate your words Seth. Your friendship means a great deal to me. I will admit though that sometimes I feel like I can't fight for myself."

Seth rose from the bench and offered his hand to Cretacia. "Come with me. I have something to show you."


After backtracking a bit, the two finally reached Mr. Jura's booth. They had crossed paths with the amber enthusiast earlier, but due to conflict of interest, they had to abandon their original destination.

"Mr. Jura!" Seth called to the seller.

The man behind the booth looked towards the call of his name to find two of his favorite customers standing a few feet away from him. He waved over to them and replied jokingly. "Hello strangers! Come on over!"

He was a middle aged man with black hair that was beginning to have silver streaks. He had a well groomed face, his facial hair trimmed to perfection and his complexion was a bright peach color, most likely due to all the exposure he received constantly searching for amber in the steamy and sunny jungles of the Dominican Republic. He was wearing a simple pair of sunglasses, a thin dress shirt and a medium wash pair of denim jeans. A simple man in dress, he was as smart as whip and had a heart that loved to give rather than take.

The two journeyed to his stand, as he spoke, "I thought I saw you all earlier but no one stopped by. Glad to see two of you made it!"

Cretacia smiled warmly masking her grief with her husband and responded cheerfully, "We wouldn't miss you for the world Mr. Jura. You have such wonderful items and I swear every time I come to your stand I leave with something."

It was at that moment that Cretacia eyed a beautiful necklace tucked behind Mr. Jura's cash register. "Oh, my! What a beautiful find!" While Mr. Jura was famous for his handcrafted amber jewelry, this particular necklace was something special. Inside the resin was a perfectly preserved dragonfly. None of the wings and legs were folded over and it was frozen in time as if it were in a kid's bug collection.

"Yep! Already reserved it for someone. I told them they had excellent taste." answered the dark haired man.

The blonde woman would have been lying if she said she wasn't disappointed. Before she could say anything though, she heard the unbelievable come from Seth's mouth. "I thank you again for your kind words Mr. Jura."

Cretacia was flabbergasted. "You-you bought this Seth?"

Seth replied earnestly, "Yes, for you. I had told Mr. Jura that if he ever were to come across such a find, to let me know."

The woman was still taken aback though. "B-but why for me?"

Her male companion smiled softly and uttered, "You deserve it."

Right before Mr. Jura was about to wrap the beautiful jewelry, Seth stopped him and explained that he wanted to put it on Cretacia's neck. The clerk gave a big smile and answered, "I don't blame you one bit."

As he took the necklace and handed Mr. Jura the amount they had agreed upon, the amber hunter retracted his hand and put it back in his pocket. Seth was a bit confused, but the clerk assured him that all was fine. "Please, take it as a gift from me. You all have been great customers to me these past few years. Call it my way of giving you a proper thank you."

Not wanting to make a big scene of it, but still greatly appreciating the man's generosity and big heart, Seth nodded in agreement and thanked him quietly.

In front of Mr. Jura, Seth faced Cretacia's back. She was still beside herself by Seth's secret gift and his thoughtful soul. His face crept behind her and he whispered, "May I?"

Cretacia reciprocated his advances and pulled her hair back. The blue haired man's hands delicately went around her neck, clasping the two ends of the necklace together. He then leaned into her neck and laid his lips near her ear whispering, "Let this be a reminder for you to spread your wings. Let no one weigh you down and whenever you feel like you can't do anything, look at that necklace as a sign of reassurance. You can do anything that you set your mind to and you will soar."

Shivers ran up and down her spine. Who knew that Seth could make her feel so empowered. He truly believed in her and would always be in her corner. How was she not able to recognize this devotion before?

Or better yet, why was he so willing to make her feel so... good?


Author's Note: I am terribly sorry for not updating this fanfic sooner. Life has been very chaotic as of late and I do hope those who are reading this fanfic currently can forgive me. I will do better in the future to update more frequently.

DISCLAIMER:Please do not get too upset with my portrayal of Dr. Ancient in this chapter and through the course of this fanfic. As I have mentioned in the previous author's note, there is so little substance to his character that can be defined as canon. Which makes portrayals of him an open book. This is how I envision him and if one does not like it, I am sorry but please no flaming. Thank you.

For those who have kept tally or are just curious to know how I came up with some of the names for some of the minor characters featured in this fanfic, (Dr. Strata and Mr. Jura) these are all names that are inspired by geologic formations. I am a bit of paleontology nerd and considering this anime features some of the most beloved of paleontological creatures, I decided to come up with names that go with the subject matter. Strata is defined as the plural form of stratum which are horizontal layers of rock. Jura is in reference to the Jura mountain range located north of the Western Alps. This is where the Jurassic period gets its name. So there's some paleontological factoids for the day!

I do hope people enjoy this fanfic. I know that the subject matter is a bit crazy, but I find it fun to speculate the unknown. Feedback is greatly appreciated, but please no flaming!