Boundaries- A Dinosaur Train Fanfic

Chapter 10- A Friendly Chat (Written by DinosaurTrainFan)

For the past few days Ned snuck around Troodon Town, trying his hardest to avoid the train station and roundhouse whenever Laura was nearby. He had even visited the train station at the crack of dawn each day before Laura was awake and memorized the Dinosaur Train's arrival and departure schedule for that day, so that he would know what times it would be best to avoid her. He didn't like to, but he also didn't want to say or do anything that might ruin the good standing that he had with her. He was afraid that if he did, Laura would not only not want to go out with him, but she would also never want to see him again, and Ned didn't want that to happen.

On Monday, two days after his visit to Karkovice Drake's home, Ned went back on the Rocket Train for a surprise visit. Valerie and Vekkia were out again, so it was just him and Kark for a bit. They played a couple games of pool where Ned beat Kark both times (though once again Ned suspected that Kark had let him win those times) and they sat on the porch in the backyard talking about sports while drinking lemonade. Not once was there any mention of Ned's date with Laura, since plans had already been made. It was nice visiting Kark and it certainly helped Ned feel a lot less lonely.

When the visit was over, Ned took the Rocket Train for the ride home. He sat in one of the passenger seats while looking out of the window. While the trees were going by in a blur, Ned thought of Laura and wondered how she was. He felt tempted to see her again when he got back to Troodon Town, but remembered not to. Suddenly he was brought out of his thoughts by a male voice coming from his right.

"Good afternoon, sir. Is everything alright?" The voice said in a charming and sophisticated kind of tone.

Ned turned around and saw a troodon standing in the aisle next to him. The troodon looked different from him and lots of other troodons Ned had seen. His snout was a bit wider and shorter than most troodons and he had green eyes. He was also wearing a conductor's uniform that looked newer than the traditional Dinosaur Train conductor uniform, the hat looking like it was something Star commanders used from Star Wars (Kark explained what Star Wars was to Ned when they first got to know each other), and a wristwatch on his wrist. Ned realized that it had to be Thurston Troodon, the Rocket Train's conductor.

"Are you enjoying your ride on the train, sir?" Thurston asked kindly.

"Oh, why yes of course. I was just lost in my own thoughts." Ned replied. He looked around the passenger car, which was empty except for him and Thurston. "The train sure is fast, isn't it?"

"Ah, yes indeed. Maybe not as legendary and great as the Dinosaur Train, but definitely the fastest train in all of the Mesozoic." Thurston said with a very proud smile on his face. "Oh I tell you, it's an honor to be conductor of this beautiful and incredibly fast machine. No other creature could be more worthy of running it than me." A beeping sound came from Thurston's watch and he took a look. "Next stop, Troodon Town Station! Troodon Town Train Station! If you'll excuse me sir, I must get back to the locomotive!" And with that, Thurston walked off in a prideful stride.

Ned watched him disappear behind the automatic door. While he thought that Thurston did appear very nice, he also thought that he could do with a little less of that boasting attitude of his.

Later, Ned set up a little table outside with a white table cloth and pretended to be on a date with Laura. He looked up into the air like she was above him and starting saying some things about himself, what he liked and disliked, just like Kark suggested. And while he thought that he was getting a bit better at it, his little practice session made him long for a real conversation with the real female giganotosaurus. So he stopped and went for a walk through Troodon Town to keep his mind off of her for a little bit, while avoiding the train station and roundhouse as well.

The day of the date had finally arrived. Ned smiled as he opened the doors to the observation car and saw Laura squatting before a small white table. She smiled and greeted him. He smiled and greeted her back before sitting down. "You excited about our little adventure?" He asked her.

"Yes I am. I cannot wait until we get to do the things that we're going to do today." Laura replied happily.

Ned looked down on the table and saw some cups with saucers and a teapot. "Tea?" He asked. The female giganotosaurus nodded. Ned poured her a cup and held it up for her to take. Laura brought the cup up to her mouth and sipped the sweet-tasting liquid. Ned rested his chin on the back of his hands, admiring how lovely his date looked. "You are such a fascinating and charming creature."

"Why thank you, Ned." Laura took another sip of her tea.

"Seeing you sip tea is so interesting. Seems like something you wouldn't normally be doing."

"Excuse me, what wouldn't I normally be doing?" Laura's smile was gone and replaced with a frown.

Ned's smile vanished as well. "I…uh…it's just that…" He was shaking and his body felt very warm.

"What? I can't be sophisticated like you since I'm not a troodon?!" Laura was looking angry now. "Am I just some wild and stupid creature to you?"

"No, no, that's not what I meant! I was only trying to compliment…"

"GET OUT! GET OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW!" Laura screamed.

Suddenly all four walls of the observation car fell away revealing the passing landscape. Ned looked back at Laura, who was standing up with her tail up in the air. It was about to come down and smack him out of the car! "Laura, wait!" Laura's tail came down and was about to make contact with him. Ned closed his eyes and screamed. He shot up in bed and was panting loudly, his heart pounding in his chest. He took slow, deep breaths and looked all around. He saw that he was in the bedroom of his log cabin home. It had all been just a dream, just a bad dream. The date had not yet happened. He even looked at the calender on the wall behind his bed to be sure. After he was certain, he laid down on his back, looked up at the ceiling, and sighed.

He felt like he had to talk to someone, someone who would help calm him down after explaining the dream to them, and he knew just the person. He reached over for the telephone on the nightstand next to his bed and dialed in a number. It rang several times before the other end was picked up and a groggy sounding voice replied. "Hello?" Kark said.

"Oh Kark, I just had the worst dream!" Ned could hear Kark give out a big weredragon yawn and the rustling of a blanket.

"Ned buddy, you know it's like three in the morning, right? Can't this wait until later?"

"Kark please, I have to talk to someone. I had a very bad dream involving Laura. I'm sorry to be calling at this hour, but I…just gotta talk to you."

He could hear Kark sigh softly before replying, "Alright, what happened?"

So Ned told him everything that happened in the dream; it was still fresh in his mind. He talked about how Laura took something he said the wrong way and then that she was about to strike him off of the train with her tail. Ned was speaking in a hurried-sounding voice before Kark cut him off.

"Woah, woah, Ned. Laura would never do such a thing. She's not the kind of creature who would react like that. She would ask for clarification and make sure that she understood something perfectly fine before reacting to it. Also, Laura's a lot like me. She's so nice that she wouldn't hurt a fly." There was a pause and then a softer voice could be heard on the other end, a female voice. "I'm talking to Ned, dear. He had a bad dream and I'm trying to comfort him. Sorry for waking you though, Valerie."

Ned felt bad for bothering them at this hour. He also thought about what Kark had said. "Right, you're…right." He replied slowly, his heart beating normally now. "Laura would never do that. I'm sorry for waking you, Kark. I guess I'm just so nervous that I might mess things up with Laura."

"Relax, buddy. Just do what I told you, be yourself, and you should be just fine. And if you make a mistake, just apologize and clarify and Laura will understand. She's very understanding."

"Oh, right. Thanks Kark, you're a real pal, goodnight." Ned said with a smile on his face.

"Anytime, Ned. Goodnight, buddy." And Kark hung up.

Ned set the phone down and stared at his bedroom door. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Everything's going to okay. Everything's going to be okay with Laura." He said. He laid himself down and went back to sleep.

Tuesday started off bright and sunny. Ned was heading down towards the station to memorize the schedule for the day. As he was walking he wondered how long he could wait until his date with Laura arrived. It was a few days away, yet it seemed like it would be a month before he would go out with her. As he walked onto the station platform and looked at the train schedule placed on the wall, he began imagining how the date would go.

Ned smiled as he imagined him and Laura climbing up the mountains at Confuciusornis Gardens to meet Chung. In his daydream, he and Laura were having an epic adventure, climbing to not only get to Chung but to also escape a group of brown giganotosaurus' who had been chasing them. Ned and Laura were on a rocky platform, looking down at the giganotosaurus' who were climbing up towards them, when Ned noticed a pile of boulders nearby. He got an idea and pushed against the boulder pile while yelling "Prepare to be smitte, villains!" and the boulders slid down onto the giganotosaurus', knocking them down the mountain and to the ground. They got up and left in defeat. There was no way that they could get the troodon and the female giganotosaurus. Ned turned to Laura, who was smiling down at him. "Oh Ned you've saved us, you're a hero!"

Ned's hands were closed as he placed them on his hips and smiled proudly. "I guess I am, aren't I?"

"You are indeed, Ned. My brave Ned." Laura began cheering his name over and over again while Ned's eyes were closed and his proud smile became bigger. Then he could hear Laura saying his name louder and louder. "Ned, Ned, Ned!" Ned turned around, opened his eyes, and jumped with a yelp. Standing in the observation car of the train was the real Laura Giganotosaurus herself, smiling down at him. He had been so busy daydreaming that he had forgotten to memorize the train schedule and leave.

"Hello Ned, it is so good to see you again." She said pleasantly.

"Uh…Hi, Laura." Ned said staring up at her, his mouth open a little.

"Are you here to board the train?" Laura asked him. Ned cursed himself in his mind for not leaving sooner.

"Um, actually no. I was just walking by, taking in the sights and…I'm sorry Laura, but I really have to go." Ned turned to leave, but Laura spoke.

"Wait, you don't want to ride the train? But, I've been hoping to see you again. I would be very much happy if we could talk." Laura's hand rested on the metal railing of the car as she was looking at Ned.

"We can talk later, but right now I should get going." He said anxiously. Ned turned to leaveagain , but stopped once again when Laura spoke.

"Ned, wait!"

He turned around and was surprised. Laura looked down at him with a concerned expression on her face. "Last week did I…say or do anything that offended you? If so, then I'm very sorry and it was not my intention to do so."

Ned's eyes widened and he shook his hands. "What? Oh no, no, Laura! You did nothing of the sort, you never could! It's…I…" He closed his eyes and sighed. "The truth is…I've been avoiding you for the last few days, because I was afraid that I'd say or do something that'd make you not want to see me again."

"Oh Ned, how could you ever think that? You could never do such a thing that would make me not want to see you anymore."

"Really?" Ned asked.

"Really." Laura said with an honest-looking smile on her face. They both smiled at each other. "But if you really are busy today, we can talk later. I understand."

Ned looked at her for half a moment before he spoke again. "You know what? I have wanted to talk to you again for the past few days too. I've been craving for another conversation with you, Laura. I think I will ride the train with you."

"You don't have to if you don't want to…" Laura said, not wanting Ned to do something that he didn't really want to do.

"Laura, I really do. Honest."

"Really?" Ned nodded and Laura smiled. "Okay, thank you Ned. I appreciate it. The train leaves in five minutes, I'll see you then." Laura turned so that she was facing the same direction as the train, which was the direction leading out of Troodon Town.

Ned ran over to the ticket window and requested a train ticket. After paying for it by using his account info, Ned boarded the passenger car, where he saw Mr. Conductor. "Nice to see you again, Ned." Ned said likewise and thought it best not to mention that he'd been riding the Rocket Train for the past few days, not wanting to upset Mr. Conductor, knowing his mixed feelings about Thurston. "ALL ABOARDDD!" Mr. Conductor cried. The train started moving slowly before it gained speed and it was out of Troodon Town within seconds.

As the trees on both sides of the track could be seen zooming past, Mr. Conductor offered Ned another smile. "Laura's been dying to see you again, Ned. Says you're a real nice creature to have conversations with."

"Oh thanks. I'm going to go see her now." Ned was about to enter the observation car when Mr. Conductor spoke out.

"Oh, Ned. That thing you and Kark asked of me to do?" Ned turned back and saw Mr. Conductor smiling at him. "The other troodons on board have agreed to help. Kark will be joining us on Friday evening to make sure that everything will be ready for you and Laura. And I've made a schedule for your stops." Mr. Conductor showed Ned a piece of paper. "Does it look good?"

Ned looked it over, smiled, and said that it did.

"Good, Laura approves of it too. And like I said, everyone's glad to help with that thing at the end."

Ned smiled at him. "Thanks." He turned and entered the observation car. Laura greeted him with a warm and friendly smile. Ned did the same before sitting down on the carpeted floor in front of her. Both looked at each other. "How have you been?" He asked her.

"Very well, thank you for asking. So far for the past week and this week, there have been no fallen trees on the tracks, so no threats of collisions. We've been over and under the sea dozens of times so far this week. I've even got to see and make a few bird drawings since we last met, would you like to see them?"

"Sure." Ned replied. He loved to see Laura's work. Laura turned around and half a minute later she produced her sketch book. She handed it down to Ned and he opened it while holding it with both hands, due to its big size. He saw the new bird drawings and smiled. He was impressed once again by the details that Laura had put into each drawing. "I love them, Laura. There should be an exhibit for your art. I'd go see it."

"Thank you, Ned." Laura looked up and saw a bird flying overhead. "Is that…? Goodness, I wonder if it is Angela?" Then Laura looked like she was about to whistle, but instead of a whistling sound, a bird call issued from her lips. The bird responded back and flew down to the observation car before landing on Laura's nose. Laura saw that it was indeed Angela. "Hello Angela, how are you?" Laura greeted.

"Oh hello, Laura. Fine…uh," Angela Avasaurus noticed Ned. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Ned Troodon, a new friend of mine. Ned, this is Angela Avasaurus, a good friend of mine. I drew a picture of her in my sketch book once."

"Oh yeah, I remember that drawing. It was really good. Hi, Angela."

"Oh, why thank you." Angela said with an expression of timidness and happiness.

"And guess what Angela? Ned and I are going out on a date this Friday!" Laura announced to her bird friend.

"A date, really?" Angela asked and Laura nodded. "Oh, good for you, Laura. What are you two going to do on your date?"

"Well, first Ned's going to take me to see Chung Confuciusornis so I can draw him for my sketch book, and then he's going to take me to the hot springs at Geyser Gulch Station."

Ned blushed a little. He wondered why Laura said that he was taking her to those places instead of them just both going there together. He knew that he had suggested them to her, but did she have to make it sound like it was that way?

"Well, I hope you two have a pleasant time on your date. I'm sorry Laura, but I have to head off now."

"That's okay, thank for you coming down, Angela. It was nice chatting with you." Angela flew off and disappeared into the sky. Laura looked down at Ned and was surprised to see a sly smile on his face. "What is it?" She asked.

"You never told me that you could bird-whistle."

"Oh, did I forget to mention that when we first met? Being a bird watcher, it seemed like a necessary skill to have. I've been doing it since I was a little giganotosaurus"

Ned chuckled. "Yes, but it's okay. You don't always reveal everything about yourself when you first meet someone for the first time, right?"

Laura chuckled as well and agreed with him. "Yes, I guess not. Actually, that reminds me of why I wanted to see you again."

"Really, why?" Ned was also surprised to see Laura smiling slyly down at him.

"I have told you a lot about myself and a few days ago, after we made plans for our date, I realized that I hardly know anything about you, Ned. All I know is that you're nice, a bit nervous often, but you write beautifully, and you are Kark's friend. So tell me," Laura leaned down a bit, her eyes half-closed and her smile even bigger. "Tell me more about yourself, Ned Troodon. What makes you tick?"

Ned was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. He was hoping that he would tell Laura more about himself while on their date, he had even practiced. But now, he had not been expecting her to ask him that question. He was beginning to panic, but as if something in his brain sensed this, a voice replayed itself in Ned's mind, Kark's voice: "The most important thing is: DON'T be afraid to ANSWER. And most of all, always be honest. If you dislike something, don't be afraid to tell Laura about it. Girls appreciate honesty above all else, and they're quick to see if you're lying."

Ned breathed slowly and calmed himself down. Then a thought occurred to him. Maybe telling Laura a little about himself would be a good thing? It could be good practice for his date with her. And of course, he wouldn't tell Laura everything about himself. He had to save some things for their date. He began feeling confident and even wore a confident smile on his face. He looked up at Laura with that smile. "Okay, what would you like to know about me?"

"Well, how about your family and your childhood? Do you have any brothers and/or sisters?" Laura asked.

"Nope, I'm an only child. My father works as a train schematics designer at Dinosaur Train Industries, has been all my life and he loves it. When I was kid, I spent a lot of time with my mother. We'd collect things and have them organized into groups, I love organization. I'm a very neat and organized creature. My mother and I played together often, but I didn't play a lot with other kids, I was very anti-social, just like I am now."

"But I must say that you've done a good job of coming out of your shell for me. And if you don't mind me asking, why do you wear a green bowtie?" Laura asked pointing down at the bowtie.

"Oh, the reason I wear a green bowtie is because my father gave me one to wear for a party at Dinosaur Train Industries we were going to one night, and I ended up loving it. I've loved wearing green bowties ever since that party, on account that green is my favorite color."

"I am green, is that one of the reasons you have such strong feelings for me?" Laura batted her eyelashes down at him and Ned blushed.

"Well, one of the factors…" Laura closed her eyes and laughed. Ned drummed his fingers on his knees, trying to think of what else to say. "Well, I'm very organized and punctual. Oh, and I have a hard time accepting when things don't work out right, but I do try to as much as possible. And," Ned had thought of something to tell Laura, about something he didn't like, and he was nervous about saying it. "And, I…I…"

"Yes Ned, what is it?"

"I…I don't like fish…at all. I mean I've tried it a few times in my life: once when I was kid, another time when I was a teenager, and a few months ago. But I just…don't like the taste of it."

Laura looked at him and nodded a little. "That is okay, everybody has foods that they like and don't like. You are no different than anyone else that way. And don't worry if this upsets me, it doesn't. I don't eat fish much either, though meat is my favorite. Actually, meat is the only food I eat often."

Ned smiled, glad that she wasn't bothered by this information. "You like meat? Oh, of course you do. You're a carnivore."

"Oh yes , and I love meat very much. Ever since I was a little giganotosaurus." Laura said. She closed her eyes and licked her lips at the thought of it. She looked down at Ned and her face turned red. "Oh, sorry."

"That's okay, there's no shame in you being a meat-eating and meat-loving gal."

"Thank you." Laura replied.

So the two talked some more about themselves and Laura showed Ned some more new bird drawings that she had made since they last saw each other. Ned turned the pages and marveled at them. They were as good as the others. Ned thought that Laura had to be the best artist and bird-drawer in the whole world. "Wow Laura, these are really great. I'm serious about what I said earlier, you should consider holding your artwork at a museum exhibit or something." He looked up at her, but Ned's smile disappeared. Laura's face had no smiling look upon it; instead there was fear and concern as she was looking up ahead.

"Laura, what's wr-"

"Ned, cover your ears now!" She said urgently down at him.

Confused, Ned did as he was told and even though his ears were covered, he could still hear Laura's muffled roaring ringing throughout the air. Ned took his hands off as soon as he saw Laura stop. Then he could feel the train trying to stop. Ned fell against the observation car doors and held on for dear life, his heart was pounding so much that he thought it would burst out of his chest. How could such a calm moment change so drastically and quickly? He turned his head to look up at Laura and she had a serious, determined expression on her face. Finally the train stopped in what felt like an eternity to Ned. He let out a sigh of relief, his heart still beating fast.

"Ned, are you alright?" Laura leaned down to look at him.

"Y-Yeah. A little shooken up, but other than that I'm A-okay." Laura looked relived by this information and asked Ned to excuse her. She jumped up over the railing and was standing outside beside the observation car before she started walking forward, the sound of her footsteps thundering over the ground. Ned poked his head out of a side window and gasped. Lying on top of the track ahead was a dead tree that had fallen onto it. Ned knew that that had to be why Laura let off that loud roar, to let the train know that it needed to stop. And why she was so sudden to tell him to cover his ears, he realized that she had to act quickly. Wanting to see what Laura was going to do, Ned got out of the observation car and followed for a closer look.

"Thanks for the heads-up Laura, otherwise we would've crashed." Mr. Conductor said to Laura from out of a passenger car window.

"You are very welcome, Mr. Conductor." She looked at the other passengers on board and at Ned standing behind her, her hands stretched out at her sides. "Okay everyone, I am about to move this obstruction off of the tracks. All I ask for is that you be patient and stay back to give me some room." She said calmly.

Ned stayed where he was. He noticed that Laura gave those instructions with an air that indicated that she had done this many times before. Laura walked over to the fallen tree, leaned down her head, and then pressed her forehead against it. She closed her eyes and used all of her strength to push against the tree. With a few grunts, she moved it in what looked like half a rotation, like what she did with moving a rotating platform at a roundhouse, and the tree was then on the side of the track and in a ditch. The passengers cheered and Laura turned to them, smiling in satisfaction.

"Good job, Laura ! Don't know how we could've made it without you." Mr. Conductor said giving her a thumbs-up.

"Thank you, Mr. Conductor. It was nothing." Laura said with a wave of her hand.

The passengers were still cheering, and Ned was the loudest of them. "My apologies for the suddenness, Ned. When I saw the tree I knew that I had to act and-"

"Don't worry about it, you were just doing your job. You were even awesome, Laura." Ned commented while his tail was swishing from side to side in happiness.

"Thank you Ned, and now let us board the train and be on our way." Laura got into the observation car before Ned did and not a moment later the train was already moving forward again.

Ned resumed sitting on the floor while Laura was in her usual squatting position, neither of them spoke. Not for loss of words, but to enjoy the silence for a bit. Ned looked up and saw that Laura was looking up at the sky, perhaps for any birds to draw. He thought about what she had done earlier and grinned up at her. Laura looked back down and saw Ned grinning at her.

"What is it?" She asked.

Ned's grin got a little bigger. "You're a hero, you know that?"

"A hero?" Laura's eyes widened with surprise. Ned nodded up at her. Laura's face seemed to turn red as she clasped her hands together and looked all around the observation car, while avoiding Ned. She chuckled and smiled shyly. "No, I don't know about being a hero. I was just doing my job, that's all."

"Not a hero?!" Ned was surprised by how modest Laura was being. "Are you kidding me, Laura?! You saw the tree and warned the train to stop before it could crash into it. It could've been a disaster, but you prevented it. Plus, you got that tree out of the way in such an impressive manner. And I agree with Mr. Conductor, I don't know what the Dinosaur Train would do without you, but I'm awfully glad that you're always there to lend a helping hand!"

Laura smiled at him, clearly very touched by what Ned had just said. No one had ever said anything so nice about her before. "Thank you, Ned." She said warmly.

Ned smiled back. "You're very welcome, Laura."

The two friends resumed chatting and their conversation moved back to birds. They were so busy talking and having so much fun with their conversation that they lost track of time. So they were very surprised to hear the sound of Mr. Conductor's voice calling out through the passenger car and into the observation car, "Troodon Town! Next stop, Troodon Town!"

"Will you be staying for the next trip?"" Laura asked Ned, but the troodon shook his head.

"Sorry, Laura. But I've had enough of the train for today, I think I'm just gonna head home."

"Oh, that's okay." Laura said. Ned stood up and walked over to the door when Laura spoke up again. "And Ned," Ned looked back to see Laura beaming down at him. "Thank you for coming aboard and talking with me, I very much appreciate it."

Ned smiled back. "Anytime. So, okay if I come back and see you tomorrow?"

"Oh, most definitely! And the day after if you can, I love seeing and talking with you." Laura said with a big nod of her head.

"See you tomorrow and the day after then." He said, looking forward to them. Ned left the observation car and out of the train itself. He waited for the train to return to the station and sure enough saw Laura back standing in the observation car. He was a bit away from the train station when he called out to her. "Hey, Laura!"

Laura turned and saw him. Ned gave her his kindest and warmest smile, before blowing her a kiss. Laura smiled back and pretended to catch the kiss and place it on her left cheek before waving at him. He waved back and the train headed off.

Ned walked home and listened to his records while thinking about today's events. He then called Kark, telling him everything that happened today, and his dragon friend said that he was glad to hear that he saw Laura and spoke with her. "You're gonna do great on that date with her, just do what I told you to do and you'll be just fine."

"Thanks, Kark." Ned beamed. Later when it was dark, Ned went off to bed and fell asleep. He was dreaming of his upcoming date with Laura and how wonderful it would be. When Ned later woke up to use the bathroom and returned to bed, he realized that his date couldn't come sooner.

Hey guys, I've got some bad news. A while back after finishing chapter nine and while I was working on chapter's ten and eleven Karkovice, the other author of the fic, said that he wouldn't be able to write any more chapters due to how busy he was with his job. And I assume that he still is. So I will be continuing this story by myself, don't worry it will be finished.

And to Karkovice, I would like to extend a warm thank you for your help with this story. It was very much appreciated.

~DinosaurTrainFan

P.S. Sorry for taking so long, temporarily lost interest.