I didn't like being in heat.

Okay, that's a lie. I liked the feeling of it very much. What I didn't like was how it always ended in disappointment. Every month, I found myself getting incredibly horny, sometimes to the point of rolling around on the carpet making rather embarrassing noises, but these short periods never ended in intimacy. I hadn't had sex since I changed, in fact, because . . . Well, because Owen, as usual. And I know that setting boundaries is important, but this was never an issue before I was a dinosaur, so I couldn't help but marvel at how lucky I was, pre-transformation, to not be totally repulsive to my significant other, and how I didn't appreciate the fact that someone actually found me attractive back then. Now, approximately zero people were looking to form a close bond with my scaly self.

(Other than Eli.)

Shhh! No! That doesn't count. I'm not dating Eli.

(I could be.)

Ha! What a weird thought! Strange how these random, totally-not-genuine ideas pop into your head without you wanting them to. Anyway, I couldn't possibly date Eli, because I love Owen, not him.

(Except-)

NO!

No, I am NOT going there again. Shut up, brain! Shut up!

(These are my thoughts. I'm seriously thinking about-)

I'm horny, that's all. Being in heat does weird things to my mind.

(Okay, that's true.)

Of course it is. So it's only natural that I channel my bitterness into thoughts of infidelity. Totally not my fault.

(Exactly.)

This assertion didn't stop me from jumping ten feet off the ground when Owen entered the room, however.

"Owen! You're back!"

"Are you still in heat?"

". . . Yes? . . ."

"I'll take a walk, then."

Before he could leave, I blocked the door with my paw.

"Owen, please!"

"Claire, don't make me taze you."

Tears welled up in my eyes as I let my arm drop.

"Owen, I'm not trying to force you. I just want to know when we can-"

"When you're human. That's all there is to it."

"But-"

"Claire, I don't want you to end up with someone who was able to sleep with a dinosaur."

"Well, I don't want to end up with someone who's not willing to sleep with me."

"That's not what's happening here. You know very well that it's your body, and nothing else."

"Yes, my body."

He threw up his arms with frustration.

"I can't deal with your new parts, Claire. Once we get rid of those claws and spikes-"

"What if I don't want to?"

He gnashed his teeth.

". . . You're talking nonsense."

"No, I'm not, Owen. We could be perfectly happy this way, if you were open to it."

"Claire-"

I slid my tail over his shoulder and pulled him close.

"Come on. I know you're not telling me the truth. I can smell it on you. What's stopping us from-"

"Well, basic decency, for one thing!"

"I'm not an animal, Owen . . ."

"You're not exactly human, either!"

I whimpered.

"Please, Owen. Don't do this to me. It's only tearing us apart."

"Well, what if sleeping together rips the last seam?"

"It won't. I promise. Just trust m-"

"Why are you spending so much time with Eli?"

I chirped with fear.

"I . . . We're friends."

"Are you sure it's not because he's part dinosaur? You two have a lot in common."

"Owen! He doesn't think of me that way!"

He batted me away gently as I tried to hold him.

"I'm just saying, the man's a killer, and he's not exactly normal, sexually. What if he's all weird and stuff?"

I turned my head sharply.

"Because if someone's attracted to me, that means there must be something wrong with them, right? . . ."

"You know I didn't mean it like that. All I'm saying is that we've been through a lot, and none of us have come out of it . . . right. Do you think the old Claire would have wanted me to sleep with a dinosaur, even if that dinosaur was her?"

"I-"

"Do you think she would have wanted to be a dinosaur?"

(Old Claire didn't know what she wanted.)

I covered my eyes and started weeping.

"No . . . No, she wouldn't . . ."

I plopped myself down on the bed, and Owen sat beside me, running his hands over my shoulders.

"It's okay, Claire. I don't blame you for anything you say or do while you're in this body. But I know that the real Claire is somewhere inside, and she doesn't want to become a monster."

I hiccoughed and pulled my knees against my chest. Owen held me tightly.

"Claire, I promise that when you change back, things will be exactly like they were before. We'll go live in the cabin with Maisie, and we'll be healthy again."

I couldn't answer through my tears. Owen rested his hand on my knee and pressed his forehead against my shoulder.

"Hey. Once we're back to normal, we'll have sex. And it'll be the greatest, most amazing sex we've ever had, because we won't have to worry about splitting up or fighting or the meat grinder thing or you biting my head off."

I sniffled.

"Owen, I would never-"

"We can't take that chance. I trust you, Claire, but I also think you're not as strong as you think you are. If your dinosaur instincts flare up in a moment of passion . . ."

I nodded.

"You're right. I'm sorry."

He kissed my cheek.

"Don't be. I know it's not your fault . . . Have you thought about going it alone?"

I wiggled my claws.

"Oh."

I rubbed my eyes, suddenly very tired.

"Owen, is there anything about me that you find attractive?"

After a pause, he nodded.

"Your mind."

Great. Just like a man to only bring up what's inside once his partner is covered in scales. Literally, that's what it took. I must be really unappealing.

(Eli doesn't think so . . .)

SHUT UP, BRAIN!

***TSJWFKFEW***

"We are gathered here today to dedicate this giant sculpture of ice to the always nice Bryce, who following our slice of advice was quite concise in excusing our adventure set off by a magical device, and requested no price, though it might entice, and instead said that a cactus would suffice, a saguaro, to be precise, not edelweiss. She, not once, but twice, at the roll of a dice, ignored our wrongdoings, so we could live in paradise, despite our collective vice. To celebrate her sacrifice, we've decided to splice her magnificent figure with a material of the aforementioned frozen variety . . . Now let's finish the rice before we get mice! Unveiling ceremony to follow."

I'd like to say that Moonwatcher had a way with words, but that would be a lie. To be honest, I never "bought the hype", as Zia would say. And I wasn't the only one who felt that way. Eli was looking quite upset. I waddled over to him with a gentle smile.

"What's up?"

"Claire, there's no easy way to say this . . ."

I had never seen him so nervous.

"What?"

"I think . . . I think you should be extra careful about leaving your drinks unsupervised. I mean, I know you're already pretty sensible about- Look, just don't turn your head for too long, okay?"

I narrowed my eyes.

"Eli, what's going on? Is someone trying to take advantage of me?"

His throat quivered like a turkey.

"I think so. Maybe. I don't know for sure."

"Who?"

"Moonwatcher."

Whoah. I wasn't expecting that.

"Eli, are you trying to tell me that-"

"What? Oh, no. Not like that. It's . . . it's complicated."

"Eli . . ."

"I know, I know, I'll tell you. It's just embarrassing, is all . . ."

"Eli, if I'm in danger-"

"-My feelings come second, I know, I know."

"So what's Moonwatcher been up to?"

He gulped.

"Well, she's been talking about a love potion-"

"OH."

"No, there's more. She's been dropping hints and leaving the bottle nearby. I think she wants me to . . . She's trying to coerce me into . . ."

"Yes?"

"She wants me to use it. On you."

I narrowed my eyes.

"Should I be concerned?"

"No! Of course not! You know I'd never- Well, maybe you don't know, but- I mean, I hope you don't think I'd- God, but it's only my fault if you don't believe m-"

"Eli."

"I swear that I'd never, ever do it, Claire. Not in a million years."

"So what's the problem with Moonwatcher trying to tempt you?"

His paws were trembling.

"I'm afraid that if I keep withholding, she might try to frame me."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Drama? Point is, I don't trust her, and she has it out for me specifically. If she somehow manages to pin this on me, I don't want you to think that I'm-"

I put my paw on his arm as he burst into tears.

"You're my only friend, Claire! If I lost you, I- I don't even wanna think about it! With my history, no one would give me the benefit of the doubt, but if it was you-"

He started choking.

"I know that I shouldn't care what you think about me more than anyone else, but I do. You're- You're-"

He whimpered.

"I don't even know what I'm saying . . ."

I patted his arm.

"I understand."

He sniffled.

"If I went back to square one, it'd be devastating, but with you . . . I dunno. It's different. I think that's why Moonwatcher is doing this. She knows that my biggest weakness is-"

He noticed the look I was giving him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"No, it's fine. We're fine."

He let out a long breath.

"Thank you for understanding. It's hard enough worrying about messing up without having someone trying to sabotage me directly. I just hope it doesn't come to that. Please, promise me you'll be careful around her."

"I will. Thanks for warning me."

"It's the least I can do. I don't want you to get hurt, and especially not because of me."

"I won't."

He nodded, but as he turned away, he wheeled around suddenly.

"Claire, I'm not lying to you. You know that, right?"

I held his paw.

"Eli, I trust your word over hers. Always. If something happens, I won't assume it's you. I know you better than that."

He gave me a hug. I patted his back. He sniffed, then let his eyebrows wipe away his tears.

"Claire, I'm so sorry. For everything. I wish I was the kind of person you could trust, but-"

"You are. You are, Eli, and I have faith in you."

He didn't seem comforted by this revelation.

"Why?"

"Because you've proven that you're willing to change."

"Have I, though? . . ."

I slipped out of his arms.

"Eli, are you having second thoughts?"

"No. I promise, I'm not. But I got off so easy. After everything I did, I feel like I deserve a more severe punishment, and now that we've moved past that . . . I dunno. It seems like it's too soon for me to be happy, and if I allow myself to feel okay, it'd be wrong . . . Am I making any sense?"

"Yeah. I get it."

He scratched the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to burden you with all of this, but I'm kind of a mess. I haven't been getting much sleep lately, and-"

"It's okay, Eli. We're okay."

He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay. Just . . . be careful."

"I will. Promise."

He smiled sadly. I gave him an encouraging wave and wandered back into the crowd. When I caught sight of Elkay the dragon calling Moonwatcher to an isolated area, I snuck past my friends and leaned against the wall, eavesdropping on their conversation.

"-trying to convince him to slip her the potion for a few days now. I think he's picking up on my hints. Too bad the formula doesn't mix with gasoline, or I'd put a drop or two into his breakfast to ease things along."

So Eli was right! Moonwatcher was trying to get him to drug me. I hate that I wasn't surprised.

"I've also been slipping a bit of the old 'murder scenario' into his dreams, just to toy with his psyche a bit. It's almost broken him several times, since he mostly dreams about Claire."

Oh. He didn't tell me that.

"It really messed him up. He cried and cried and cried . . . He has no idea that I'm putting those thoughts in his head, so he believes that his subconscious is telling him to-"

"I want you to stop," the dragon said with a menacing calmness.

". . . Pardon? . . ."

"Stop toying with his mind. With all of their minds."

Moonwatcher scoffed.

"But we won't have a story if-"

"Forget the story. It's not worth forcing conflict, even if it results in brief flickers of ecstasy. It's not up to us to meddle in the lives of others, nor to make them prisoners of our stories."

"Since when?"

"Since I lost Claire. How many times has the narrative been the source of our misery? I know that that's the point, but we drove Karen to a state she shouldn't have been capable of achieving, through sheer carelessness. If I hadn't told Ellie to 'take care' of her pregnancy, perhaps none of this would have happened."

"Ah, yes. I remember the Loss memes. Not a golden age for anyone, I'm afraid."

"Were you even alive back then? No matter. If only I had tried to mend the tears in Jurassic World instead of attempting to make it my own, we could have taken a different path. I put my characters through so much misery that they couldn't possibly begin to despise me to the level I deserved."

"But you also helped them, right? I mean, if you hadn't-"

She snapped her beak.

"Stop it, Moonwatcher! I don't care if they believed that the end point was worth suffering for. I deliberately put them in harm's way, and regardless of the outcome, that's not something to be proud of. What kind of a person am I, to have done that? The kind of person who would create a monster like you, I suppose. But you can adopt my change of heart in your own conscience. Stop tormenting these poor souls. It's not going to end well for any of us."

I risked peeking around the corner. Moonwatcher's face was stoic, but something about her stare sent chills running down my spine.

"Very well. I will focus my efforts into cleanup, rather than storytelling. For the record, though, it was you who made me this way."

"Yes, I know. But I've changed, and grown as a person. I can't help it if you embody a time in my life when I was still devoted to a harmful endeavour."

"Well, there's no denying that I'm good at what I do."

"Indeed."

Moonwatcher nodded.

"Right. If you'll excuse me, I'll be unveiling my magnum opus."

I whipped around as she marched away from the dragon, barely avoiding her gaze. I scampered into the crowd, searching for Eli. I found him talking to Gunnar by the snack bar. On any other day, I'd be glad that they were getting along, but I had urgent news, which kind of killed the mood. I dashed up to him, out of breath.

"Eli, I need to talk to you."

"Um, sure. Can I just finish th-"

"It's urgent. Gunnar will understand. You understand, right, Gunnar?"

He blinked.

"Sure. I think I got the gist of what Eli was talking about, anyway. I didn't want to say anything, but your monologue was kind of dragging. You shouldn't apologize so much."

"Sorry, I- Aw, shit. You know what I mean."

Gunnar snorted, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, well, I'll see you around."

He disappeared into the crowd. Eli bit his lip.

"That did not go well. I thought I was doing okay, but-"

"Eli, we can talk about Gunnar later. This is important."

He lowered his head so that our eyes were at the same level.

"I'm listening."

"You were right about Moonwatcher. She's trying to trick you into using the potion."

"Shit. Why would she do this?"

"Literally, just to make us miserable. You know those nightmares you've been having?"

I didn't expect this phrase to have an impact on Eli, but in hindsight, I should have seen it coming. His scales remained red, of course, but I could tell that if he were human, he'd be as pale as a sheet. He struggled to form words.

"Y-you know about-"

I put my paw on his shoulder, and he reacted like it was made of hot coals. I let it drop.

"Relax, Eli. I know that you wouldn't do something like that."

"Then why am I-"

"She's been putting those dreams in your head. It's all Moonwatcher."

He batted his eyes.

"It . . . No, I can't let myself believe that. I'm responsible for whatever goes on in my head."

"Not this time."

". . . Well, even if that's true, better safe than sorry."

"Eli, only you know what's in your heart."

"I'd like to believe that, but- Hey, wait a minute! I'll bet she's been drugging me with the love potion, too! She's probably been slipping it into my gasoline!"

"Um, she actually said-"

He laughed.

"This explains everything! Oh, god, what a relief! I was so afraid that I was genuinely in love with you!"

I gulped.

"Eli . . ."

He sucked his lips in.

"Oh, sorry. That came out wrong. I'm not saying that I wouldn't love you, just that it'd be weird if I did love you after everything that happened between us. I know the heart wants what it wants, but wow, that would have been really awkward for the both of us, huh?"

Should I let him keep digging this hole, or speak up and make things uncomfortable immediately?

And the answer is . . . Do the very worst thing and let him keep going.

"It's good to know that I can write off these feelings and not have to worry about them. I can't tell you how this kept me up at night- Well, anyway, everything's fine now. We don't have to worry about it anymore."

Oh, no. This was going to be hard to undo.

Hey, wait! Maybe Eli was onto something, but what if it was the other way around? Maybe Moonwatcher was drugging me. That would explain all the random romantic thoughts I was having towards Eli. But when would she have had time to poison me? Did she manage to slip the drug into meals I had in private? Was it making me attracted to both Owen and Eli? How did this work, exactly? Whatever the case may be, I was relieved to know that my feelings might not be real.

(Or maybe you're just a scumbag.)

Suddenly, Maisie ran up to me, and my guilt increased by a factor of five gazillion. She glanced briefly at Eli, but made no comment.

"Mummy, there's some pteranodons who want to meet you."

"Pteranodons?"

"Mhm. They're on vacation."

I nodded slowly.

"Okay . . . Did they say anything else?"

"Not really. I think they just want to meet you because you're famous."

I turned to Eli.

"I'm gonna go meet these pteranodons. We can talk later, though."

"Okay."

Now, I know what you're thinking: "Claire, did you really just leave an important conversation so that you could meet some starstruck fans?" The answer is NO. I left the conversation because I needed to win back Maisie's trust, and the quickest way to injure our rapport was by putting Eli's needs ahead of hers. It was a reckless decision, sure, but I intended to solve the love potion conundrum later. Whether it was the best decision or not, it was the decision I made, and I soon found myself standing in front of two female pteranodons, who squawked excitedly. The one on my right reached out and shook my paw.

"Nice to meet you, Claire! We've been reading all about you, ever since we came into this world!"

I cocked my head.

"Oh, so you're . . . interdimensional beings?"

The one on the left shook her head.

"We ain't magic or nothing. Just flew through a hole in the sky during our Vegas trip. Next thing you know, we're talking just like people, and reading too, of course! We're big fans, lemme tell you. Of your charity work, also. Thank you for trying to give us a better life."

I blinked.

"Wait, you're from . . . my world?"

"Mhm."

"And you talk?"

"Yeah, but only after we flew through the hole. We were learning before then, of course, but as soon as we came here, BAM! We're just like everybody else!"

I frowned.

"Ah. That's . . . interesting. I'm not sure I understand-"

"Neither do we, but it's awfully exciting! We can't wait to hear about your adventures some more, ain't that right, Maribelle?"

"Yes, yes!"

I hummed.

"Oh, you have names, too?"

The one on the right bobbed her head.

"Sure do! I'm Ariel, and this is Maribelle."

I nodded slowly.

"So you two became sentient once you flew through this 'sky-hole', but you were already starting to change back home?"

"Mhm."

"I see."

Now, I was interrupted by the commencement of Moonwatcher's unveiling ceremony, but I didn't hear much of the buildup, because I was distracted by this newest piece in the what-the-fuck-is-going-on puzzle. I was aware that the virus I had acquired also affected dinosaurs and the like, but I was still unclear on the details. From what I could gather, whatever DNA was knocking around in my body before my temporary death had defined my current form, but as for why the dinosaur-born-dinosaurs around me were basically sapient . . . who even knows? In any case, it sounded like there was at least one bridge between my homeworld and this wacky universe, which meant that Moonwatcher had even more cleaning up to do than I originally thought.

I was so wrapped up in this mystery that I almost didn't realize that the giant ice statue of Bryce Dallas Howard had been revealed, and the only reason I did notice it was because it was completely naked. Now, I wasn't surprised that Moonwatcher had pulled a stunt like this, but the final product was stunningly accurate, and this concerned me greatly. Although the statue wasn't of me specifically, for all intents and purposes, this was no different from revealing my nude, human form to a crowd of thousands. Thank god I was dark green, or I would have turned red at the sight of it.

"Gosh, Claire, your plates are flushing!" Ariel squawked.

Fuck this body. Fuck it, fuck it, fuck it!

My heart sunk as Owen pushed through the crowd. To make matters worse, Eli wasn't far behind. I trotted up to them nervously.

"Hey . . ."

"Claire, what's going on?" Owen hissed.

"I had nothing to do with this! It's all Moonwatcher's doing!"

"Then why is it so-"

"Accurate? I don't know. It scares me."

Owen turned to Eli.

"Did you-"

"AH! I wasn't looking! What are you t-"

He cleared his throat.

"I mean . . . what a strange occurrence. Yes, indeed."

Owen crossed his arms.

"Moonwatcher's been hovering around you lately. Did you encourage this?"

Eli frowned.

"What?! Of course not! I had no idea! Why would I-"

Owen scoffed.

"Hm, I don't know. Maybe because you've been drooling over Claire ever since you two crash-landed and subsequently decided to booze things up!"

I snapped my jaws.

"Owen! What's gotten into you!"

He pointed at Eli accusatorially.

"Don't tell me you're not seeing this! He's been trying to nab you from the moment you started hanging out!"

I snarled.

"First of all, I don't belong to you. Second, he's not trying to 'nab' me, but if he was, you'd be making it very easy!"

And then something unexpected happened. Instead of getting angry, Owen withdrew, looking very guilty indeed. He took a deep breath and put his hands in his pockets.

"I'm sorry."

I chirped inquisitively. Owen lowered his voice.

"I know it's been hard for you. I shouldn't have snapped."

Finally, some progress! I wondered what had inspired this change of heart.

(He can sense that he's losing me.)

No, he can't, because he's not. I love Owen.

(But-)

And he loves me.

I smiled warmly.

"That's okay, Owen. I know you've been under a lot of stress, lately."

"Not as much as y-"

We all jumped as a microphone screeched to life. The dragon was onstage. Moonwatcher stood off to the side, pouting resentfully.

"Ladies and gentlemen, due to unforeseen . . . boobs and such . . . we'll be delaying the rest of the ceremony until further notice. We apologize for any distress this may have caused."

Moonwatcher stamped her foot.

"It's art!"

Elkay hissed, and Moonwatcher stormed away in a huff.

"Ain't nothing we haven't seen since 2005, but everyone's a critic," she babbled as she disappeared behind the giant carving.

After a pause, the dragon coughed awkwardly.

"I'll get her to put some clothes on it or something. In the meantime, please bear with us as we sort this out."

Once again, the crowd was filled with whispers and murmurs, and my name was spoken from several corners. I didn't like being put on the spot like that under normal circumstances, much less in the shadow of a three-hundred-foot-tall naked me made of ice, but for once, Owen picked up on my emotional distress. He held out his hand.

"Should we get out of here?"

I nodded.

"Let's find Maisie and go home."

As soon as I uttered these words, I realized that Maisie was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Eli. Ariel and Maribelle were also absent, not that it mattered.

"Owen, did you see where-"

"She followed Eli into the crowd. I thought you told her to."

I slapped my forehead.

"Why would I- Oh, god, she's gonna beat him up, isn't she?"

"Yup. Should we stop her?"

"YES!"

"Okay, okay. You take the left side of the crowd, and I'll take the right."

I groaned.

"That's, what, five hundred people each?"

"Then let's pull a 'Toucan Sam'."

"Huh?"

"Follow your nose wherever it goes."

You know, it was times like these that I remembered what I loved about Owen when we first got together. It was rare that we worked as a team, nowadays, but whenever we did, everything suddenly made sense.

(So I can stop thinking about Eli, now.)

SHUSH.

***TSJWFKFEW***

Eli stopped driving when he realized that Maisie wasn't giving up on the pursuit. They had already strayed far from the crowd, and he didn't want her to get lost running after him. He turned around, rubbing his head impatiently.

"Maisie, if you're going to tell me to stop seeing your mother, I-"

"Do you like her?"

He sighed with exasperation.

"Why else would I want to spend time with her?"

"Do you like her?"

Eli, jolted, then shuffled his tires awkwardly.

"Well, that's neither here nor there. Moonwatcher's been-"

"Owen says that you're trying to go after her."

Eli snuffed.

"Now that is not true. Maisie, I would never, ever try to woo someone who's already in a relationship, and especially not if that person was your mother. I respect her too much to pull something like that."

"Even if she liked you back?"

"Even then."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Maisie, I wouldn't- hang on, we're just talking about theoretical scenarios, right?"

She shrugged.

"Mum seems to be happier when you're around. Owen's been making her upset, lately."

Eli bit his lip.

"Parents fight. There's nothing unusual about that . . ."

Maisie rubbed her arm.

"But it's been so much worse, recently. She cries a lot after talking to him, and whenever he's around, she gets all droopy and sad, like a dog with a cone around its head."

Eli laughed nervously.

"Sweetheart, your mother isn't a dog. She's just going through a rough patch, and I'm not sure you should be telling me about-"

"But it goes away when she's with you. She's happy, because she knows that you like her, and Owen doesn't."

Eli's eyes went wide.

"Maisie! That's not true at all!"

"They've been growing apart. I can sense it happening. I love them both, but I don't think they can be together."

"It's probably temporary."

"I don't know. If mum stays a dinosaur, she might need another dinosaur to keep her company."

Eli shook his head.

"Maisie, I can't. You know I can't. Even if I've changed, your mother was around when I did what I did. The only thing left for me to do is to find someone who wasn't there, who wasn't directly impacted by my actions, and hope that they believe me when I say that I've changed."

"But she forgave you."

Eli sighed and sat down in the grass.

"It's not that simple, and I think you know that. In a perfect world, maybe people could let go of the past and judge others for the person they are right now, but we can't just pretend like all that stuff never happened. The reason it's so hard to forgive people is because there's always a chance that they'll repeat their mistakes, and even though I've promised never to hurt you or your mother . . . Well, I can't stop you from remembering how it was, back at the estate. And it works the other way around, too. I thought that by reminding myself of the terrible things I did, I would prevent myself from ever considering them again. Mostly, it just made me hate myself for ever being that way. And I deserve to hate myself, because after all the pain I put you through . . . I dunno. I guess I feel like I should have more taken away from me to balance it out. But another part of me knows that it won't do any good, and there's really no escaping what I did, whether it's through pain or forgiveness."

"I don't understand."

Eli squeezed his eyes shut.

"I know. You're too young to have this dumped on you. You've been forced to grow up faster over the past few months. You deserve to be far away from me and from the conflict between your parents and-"

"I'm not a baby."

He swished his tail.

"No, you're not. But you don't deserve this, still."

Maisie sat down beside him and hugged her knees.

"Maybe I do."

Eli scoffed.

"You don't, trust me. You haven't done anything worth-"

"I know what happened when I set the dinosaurs free. Ariel told me."

Eli took a deep breath.

"That's not your fault."

"Maybe it is. And maybe it's my fault that my parents are fighting."

He shook his head quickly.

"It's not. I swear, Maisie, it's not."

"I know that you're supposed to say that, but even if it's not my fault, exactly, it might still be . . . because of me."

Eli inspected the overcast sky.

"Maisie, don't blame yourself. You've done nothing wrong. You've brought your parents so much joy-"

"And so have you. To my mother, I mean. I don't like it when she's sad. You'd be good for her."

Eli shook his head.

"Maisie, you can't expect me to be a part of your family after-"

"You don't have to. You could be with my mom, and I could be with her separately. And I could be with Owen away from you two, and he could find someone like Claire, who's human."

"So we'd all just live in our own little bubbles? That doesn't sound very practical."

"I could go away, then."

Eli frowned with worry.

"Maisie, no!"

"You could be with my mom, and Owen wouldn't feel like he has to hang onto her for my benefit. I could stay with Iris. She loves me just fine."

Eli frowned.

"Maisie, Claire loves you more than anyone in the world. You're the one making her happy, not me."

"But I wonder how long it will last."

"Forever."

"Nothing's forever. Not even love. When Claire changed, Owen stopped loving her. What if I change, too?"

Eli clicked his tongue.

"Your mother will always love you, no matter what. And Owen loves your mother. He's just . . . really inept."

Maisie started sniffling.

"I don't know who loves me for real anymore . . ."

"Your parents do. I promise, they love you. You don't have to worry about a thing. You can trust them."

"But I used to trust you!"

Eli pulled his head back with surprise.

"Oh . . . Well, that doesn't matter. I think we all know that I'm a piece of shit, but your parents . . . they're great people."

After a long silence, he scratched his neck awkwardly.

"For what it's worth, I truly am sorry. I know just saying it is not enough, but I wanted you to know. Whatever you choose to do with that is up to you, but however you feel about it . . . that's valid. I completely understand if you don't want to forgive me. And no matter what anyone else says or does, you're the only person who can make that call."

"Then why am I the only one who can't move on? Mum and Iris and-"

"You're not Claire, and you're not Iris. You're Maisie Lockwood, and whatever's in your heart is true."

"Does it make me a bad person if I can't forgive you?"

He snorted.

"No! God, no! It's perfectly reasonable, and it's totally up to you. It doesn't make you good or bad. It's just the way things are. The only person who's bad in this scenario is me, because I hurt you. I- Well, you know what I did. If you want to hate me for a million years, that's perfectly fine."

"Then why ask for forgiveness?"

"I'm not asking for forgiveness. I'm just apologizing. I was hoping that it would give you closure, or something."

"How?"

". . . That's a very good question."

Maisie twisted her mouth.

"Well, I can't forgive you, but I believe you when you say that you won't hurt me anymore."

Eli smiled.

"That's great, Maisie. I'm sorry I ever gave you a reason to be afraid."

Maisie started pulling up blades of grass and rubbing them between her fingers.

"It's not you I'm afraid of. The people you hate are scary because they can hurt you, but the people you love can hurt you too, and that's even scarier."

". . . That's very profound, Maisie. But nobody's going to hurt you."

"Maybe not now, but things change. Just like what happened with Claire. Owen is hurting her, even though he doesn't mean to, and I- I worry that maybe I'm not the person she thinks I am . . . or the person I think I am."

Eli shook his head.

"She'll love you no matter what, and if you're true to your heart-"

Suddenly, Maisie stood up.

"You're lying! People don't love you no matter what! Life isn't a fairytale!"

"Maisie, I know you're probably going through a cynical phase, but-"

"You never told grandpa what you were doing with the dinosaurs, and when he found out, he hated you! He died hating you because you lied to him!"

Eli trembled like a leaf.

"That's a completely different situation. My actions were choices, and they were bad choices. It has nothing to do with your grandpa hating me on a fundamental level. It has even less to do with you and Claire."

Maisie sat down heavily, pressing her hand against her forehead.

"But that's not all there is. Iris says that you like men and women. That's not a choice. It's a part of you. And you never told grandpa about that either."

"Well, it was none of his business-"

"He told me that there's something wrong with men who like men, and women who like women."

". . . Did you believe him?"

"No. I think he's wrong."

Eli nodded.

"Yeah, he was wrong about that."

"Iris says that he's from a different time."

"That's true."

"But I don't think that makes it better."

"No, it doesn't. But nobody's perfect."

"I don't like that he thought that way."

"Neither do I, but that's life. He was still a good man in many ways."

"Maybe, but he would have hated you even more if you told him."

"Sure. But there's no need to dwell on it."

Maisie gulped and wiped her hands on her jeans.

"Are there a lot of people like that? People who think that there's something wrong with you for liking both, I mean?"

"Yes, but you don't have to worry about them."

"What if I do?"

"You don't have to concern yourself with that. They won't go after people like y-"

He noticed the look she was giving him, and suddenly understood. Maisie looked away abruptly, wiping her nose on her sleeve. Eli folded his claws together.

"Maisie, your mother loves you. You got really lucky, let me tell you. Claire is one of the kindest, most accepting people in the world. I guarantee that if you told her-"

"Please don't tell her!"

Eli held up his paws.

"I won't, I won't! I promise. And you don't have to either, but I'm telling you that you're safe under her roof."

Maisie gulped.

"It's not just that I'm afraid . . . I'm also not sure. How do I know if this is real?"

Eli lifted his wheel and let it rotate lazily.

"Well, from personal experience, I can tell you that if you've been thinking about it for a long time, odds are, you're not just making things up. I used to be scared like you are now, and I kept making excuses for the way I felt. But there comes a point when you stretch those excuses so thin that you have to admit to yourself that, yeah, you're thinking about it too much for it not to be true. And once I accepted that fact, I let the feelings in, scary as it was. With time, I started to think of myself differently. It was a hard pill to swallow, but it was worth it. Even if I couldn't be honest with anyone else, being honest with myself was so liberating. If you have to lie to someone in order to stay safe, do it, but don't ever lie to yourself, because it only ends up hurting you."

Maisie nodded, but her face morphed into a worried frown, and she flung herself against his wheel, digging her fingers into his treads.

"I'm so afraid!"

"Me too, but it's going to be okay."

She wiped her eyes.

"How can you be afraid? You're a dinosaur!"

Eli chuckled.

"Yeah, but I'm a big wimp. You're a lot braver than I am, and you're much smaller than me."

She looked up at him with glossy eyes.

"Do you really mean it?"

"Yeah, you're a pipsqueak."

She laughed. Eli smiled and patted her head.

"Don't worry, Maisie. You're going to be okay. You have a wonderful, accepting family. And if anyone tries to bring you down, I'm pretty sure either Claire or Iris will bite their heads off."

Maisie nodded.

"Thank you, Mr. Mills. I still haven't forgiven you, but I think talking about it helped."

"I'm glad, and you can just call me 'Eli'."

"Then thank you, Eli. I'm sorry you got eaten by the dinosaurs I set free."

"It wasn't your fault."

"I know, but I'm sorry it happened."

Eli smiled sadly.

"That's sweet of you to say."

She hugged his tire.

"You know, if you weren't so awful, we would probably get along alright."

"Mhm."

"It's too bad."

"Yeah. Too bad. Ready to go back?"

"Sure."

"Need a lift?"

Maisie climbed up his wheel and sat on his back.

"Do you come with seatbelts?"

"Unfortunately, no, but I promise not to let anything happen to you."

"Do you have a driver's license?"

"You sound like that cop. But yes, I do."

"Where's your horn?"

"You'll have to be more specific."

She smiled and crossed her arms.

"The car horn. Not the dinosaur-horns."

Eli smiled and honked twice. Maisie kicked his sides like a horse.

"Let's go!"

***TSJWFKFEW**

As they rejoined Claire and Owen at the beach, Eli couldn't help but feel like things were only getting better. With each passing day, he made significant progress, and mending his relationship with Maisie marked a huge step in his personal growth. He didn't expect her to forget what he'd done, of course, but he was glad that he had at least helped her in some way. It was just too bad that he was the first person she decided to come out to, appropriate though it may be. In any case, they were a little less alone, and that felt good.

BOOM!

Eli's thoughts were cut short by a massive explosion. The giant ice statue toppled forward, cracking in several places. Large chunks from the upper body drifted out to sea, but some of the lower blocks landed among the crowd, crushing innocent civilians. Moonwatcher emerged from behind the stage, holding the controls for an explosive device.

"MY ART SHALL NOT BE CENSORED! I GAVE YOU BRYCE TIDDY! I DESTROYED BRYCE TIDDY! MY ART WAS TOO PURE FOR THIS WORLD! NOW YOU SHALL BE DEPRIVED OF EVEN ITS FACSIMILE!"

The dragon swooped down and grabbed her by the hair.

"That's it! That's the last straw! I hereby revoke your right to narrate freely. From now on, you're on cleanup duty, and cleanup duty only. You are to mend Jurassic World, end of story. And I literally do mean 'end of story'."

Moonwatcher broke free, smoothing her hair back with barely-concealed rage.

"FINE . . . Fine. I'll mend Jurassic World. I'll set things right. Believe you me, I'll undo what has been done."

Claire, Owen, and Eli turned to each other simultaneously.

"That doesn't sound good . . ." Eli said.

Owen shook his head as he observed Moonwatcher's calm descent from the stage.

"She's up to something."

"She's been drugging me," Eli piped up, "I'm sure of it. She-"

"She's not drugging you!" Claire interrupted, "I'm sorry, Eli. I wasn't going to say anything, but Moonwatcher told Elkay that the love potion doesn't mix with gasoline."

Eli's face fell.

"So she wasn't-"

"No."

"Oh, god. And I-"

"Yes, but there are more important things right now."

Eli backed away, stumbling clumsily.

"I- I'm sorry. I don't know if I can- I think we need to spend some time apart."

"Eli-"

"It's- it's for the best. I'm sorry. I-"

He broke off, then whipped around and sped away. Owen frowned.

"What was that all about?"

Claire peered over her shoulder.

"I'll explain later. First, we need to deal with this Moonwatcher problem. Something's about to snap. We're at the precipice of a major disaster, and I'm not sure we want to cross that line. Moonwatcher's been pitting us against each other, and-"

"My ears are burning."

Claire arched her back and turned to face their former narrator.

"Moonwatcher-"

She curled her fingers sinisterly.

"That's my name. Don't wear it out. Listen, as long as we're airing our dirty laundry, I'd like to remind you that I have a lot on you, having access to your thoughts and whatnot. I could probably unravel your relationships in ten words or less, but I'm feeling merciful today. I'm going to invite you all on a little cruise, which will serve as the first step towards purging any canon deviancy. I strongly advise you do as I say."

Through the crowd, Claire glimpsed a flutter of wings. Ariel and Maribelle were being roped down.

"What's going on over there?"

"None of your concern. They'll be taken care of, believe you me. Them and the others."

"Others?"

"I'd stop asking questions, if I were you. Nothing good will come of it."

Owen clenched his teeth.

"And why should we listen to you?"

Moonwatcher cocked her head.

"Because if you don't, I'll kill you like I killed Serena."

Needless to say, that was the moment when things fell apart.

To be continued . . .