"CLAIRE! OH GOD, STAY AWAKE!"

I went limp as Eli approached the hospital with my body draped over his back. He lifted my head onto his, weeping with panic.

"Claire, please don't leave me . . ."

I tried to reach out with a shaky hand, but a wave of nausea made me reconsider. Eli burst through the hospital doors, dropping me onto a cot, where I was rushed to the emergency room. He sped by my side, tears streaming down his cheeks. I reached for his paw. We were separated by closing doors.

"Wait! I have to see her! This is my fault! Let me in! LET ME IN!"

"Eli . . ." I choked.

Suddenly, Moonwatcher was standing over me with a giant hose.

"Try to relax, okay?"

***TSJWFKFEW***

Let me back up for a bit.

My life with Eli was beautiful. I wasn't even that surprised, given our recent interactions, but being in an actual relationship with him was so much better. I have many fond memories, starting with that time we got caught in the rain. We screamed and ran for cover as the water poured down, laughing between shrieks. I draped my bat-wings over his head like an umbrella as we sped under a plant with heart-shaped leaves, and he licked the rainwater from my back until I was warm again. We watched the rain drench a misty field, leaning against each other happily, warm and relatively dry.

And then there was our first Christmas together. We walked through the snow, Eli adorned with a fancy scarf, me wearing a weirdly-shaped hat, and we kissed under a streetlamp crowned with holly, eyelashes speckled with snowflakes. We found mistletoe later on, and took the opportunity to kiss again. Of course, things took a turn when he got stuck in a snowdrift and stalled, but I accompanied him to the repair shop as he was towed away by the lip, then spent the remainder of the evening feeding him warm gasoline as he shivered under a blanket.

Oh, gosh, and way back on our first date, Eli showed up wearing a bowtie. He told me that he wanted to be fancy, and a wax didn't seem like enough, but now that he thought about it, a bowtie seemed kind of frivolous, but he couldn't wear a suit as a dinosaur, and a tie was way too formal, and- Well, I forget the rest of it, because I was leaning in to kiss him. I told him that it was fine, and I appreciated the effort.

Generally, the two of us got along. It was like we were made for each other, like we were meant to be . . . stuff like that. We had the same sense of humour, similar upbringings, and we were identical in many regards, as I'm sure you've noticed.

One area where we differed, however, was in our anatomy.

On a cold and misty night, as we kissed each other hungrily in our hotel room, I got a bit too feisty with Eli, and he pushed my wrist away gently.

"Wait."

My heart sunk. I was hoping to avoid The Talk for as long as possible, but my hormones did not agree with my hesitance. I would have loved to sleep with Eli- Oh, god, would I have loved it- but a voice in my head kept echoing, "meat grinder . . . meat grinder . . . meat grinder . . ."

I gulped and withdrew my paw.

"I'm sorry, Eli."

"No, it's okay, but we need to have a little talk, first."

I bowed my head with shame.

"It's about our anatomy, isn't it?"

He nodded.

"I know you're excited, and I hate to let you down, but-"

I bit my beak.

"It's okay, Eli. I knew this day was coming. I'm just sorry I'm not built to do this normally."

After a beat, he cocked his head, frowning.

"Um, we might be talking about different things."

"You're referring to my . . . lower areas, right?"

He shook his head.

"Actually, I was kind of talking about . . . mine."

Well, at least I knew the fear I smelled on him wasn't because of my screwhole.

He took a deep breath.

"Claire, you know how I'm part car? . . ."

Quick lesson in mechanics. In order to move, cars need to shift forces from one part to another. The driveshaft is a long, aluminium rod that transfers torque from the gearbox to the wheels, allowing the car to roll on its own. The Chrysler Town & Country has been designed with all-wheel drive since 2004, meaning it would require two driveshafts in its build. Eli, being part dinosaur, only had two wheels, and thus had no use for a front-wheel driveshaft.

Well, almost no use.

See, when he changed into an autosaur, his anatomy went through a radical shift, and we had only just started to understand how he worked. I mean, his design shouldn't have been possible, even, but there he was: the weirdest miracle of nature, and-

. . . Look, his dick was a driveshaft, is what I'm getting at.

My jaw dropped as Eli swallowed nervously.

"Yeah, I probably should have told you sooner, but . . . God, I didn't want to ruin this, and I wasn't even sure if you wanted-"

I shut him up with a kiss.

"Eli, whatever's down there, we can find a way. Do you still have feeling?"

"Yes," he breathed.

"Then let's try it."

And "try it", we did. Hardly took us long at all to figure it out, if I'm being honest, and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Having been starved for human touch ("human" touch) for so long, I leapt back into it at full force, and I think Eli felt the same way. It was-

Well, it was good, let's just leave it at that.

But things took a turn near the end. Eli was in the middle of . . . um . . . finishing, and all of a sudden, he looked down, eyes widening, and gasped.

"Shit . . ."

My first thought was that something was wrong with my insides, being designed to accommodate a barbed appendage, according to Moonwatcher, but suddenly, I felt something burning, and realized that hot motor oil was dripping down my legs.

Eli's pupils shrunk, and he pulled back with terror.

"Claire, oh my god, I didn't know that I'd-"

I swayed a little, falling to my elbows. Eli whimpered and helped me to my feet, draping me over the bed.

"No, please, no . . ."

He tried to wipe away the fluid with the comforter, but it was no use. One thing that I had failed to consider was the actual implication of the meat grinder thing.

Quick lesson in anatomy. The female Indoraptor is designed to hold as much seminal fluid as possible, so when male genitalia enters the female's passage, the walls will basically grab on and not let go until the uterus has been sufficiently filled, at which point it will release the genitals and close up entirely. The reason Moonwatcher warned Owen not to get intimate with me was because we'd be stuck on step two, and I do mean stuck, unless he could somehow produce a gallon in one go. Eli, on the other hand, was much larger in stature, and could offer a higher volume of fluid. This wouldn't be a problem, except for the part where he was ejecting toxic materials into a receptacle that was designed to hold it in at all cost.

And that's why we had to rush to the hospital.

Everything after that was a blur. I remember the burning and the tremors and the vomiting, and a shaking paw holding mine throughout the whole ordeal. Moonwatcher was incompetent in many ways, but somehow, she knew how to drain me, painful as it was. I'll leave out the grislier details.

You don't have to personally experience having a hose jammed up your hoo-ha to understand how unpleasant it is.

After passing out, I remember entering a troubled sleep, waking up every once in a while to seizure under Eli's sobbing gaze. He did not leave my side that night, and in fact fell asleep with his head resting on top of me later on. I stroked his snout as my dizziness cleared, and he woke with a gentle snort.

"Claire? . . ."

"It's okay, Eli, I'm doing better."

He sniffled, turning his watering eyes away from me.

"I'm so sorry, Claire . . . I had no idea that this would happen, and- and-"

I licked his cheek as he burst into tears.

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

He choked.

"I hurt you, Claire!"

"It was an accident, Eli. I'll be okay. We just need to be more careful, next time."

He laughed bitterly.

"How can there even be a next time, after this? . . ."

I lifted his chin with my claw.

"Because before things went wrong, it was pretty amazing, to be honest."

I held his head in my arms as he gave me a doubtful stare.

"I love you, Eli. Always and forever. What we have is too good to give up over something like this. We'll find a way. You'll see."

We jumped as Moonwatcher leapt out from behind the machine my arm was hooked up to.

"Well, Eli's dingdong is too solid for your ass, so that's off the table, and I wouldn't recommend using a condom, since Claire won't be able to release-"

I pecked her head.

"MOONWATCHER! THIS IS A PRIVATE CONVERSATION!"

She held up her hands.

"Sorry, sorry . . . But you're gonna need my help, sooner or later. I mean, what if Eli passes out on top of you?"

"Why would he do that?"

Eli cleared his throat.

"I, uh . . . I sometimes faint when I . . . yeah."

Okay, that was kind of cute.

Moonwatcher flipped through her papers.

"Well, I thought things would be easier without the AIDS and all, but I guess you two have a lot more going on down there. Mouths are usually a safe bet, and Claire doesn't have any front teeth, I'd like to point out, but if Eli gets in too deep, he might- Oh, how do I put this? . . . You know when you stick your tongue out in front of a vacuum cleaner, and-"

I covered her mouth.

"No need to keep going. We get the idea."

Eli scratched his neck.

"Listen, Moonwatcher, can we maybe figure this out on our own? You're not our doctor, and to be honest, I wouldn't trust a doctor with this stuff anyway."

"I'm just trying to help you two out!" she insisted, "It's a tragic thing, not being able to bump uglies."

I narrowed my eyes.

"Please leave."

She snorted.

"Okay, but sign this medical form before you run off, okay?"

I read the document in excruciating detail, just to make sure that we weren't selling our souls or anything (It was Moonwatcher's paper, after all.). After a pause, I scribbled my signature, though it looked quite different, coming from my clumsy, saurian hand. Eli grabbed the pen between his claws, struggling to see where he was writing as he leaned down awkwardly.

"Claire, is this at all legible? . . ." he grunted.

"Eli . . . James . . . Mills. Yeah, I can read it just fine."

We frowned as Moonwatcher snickered with amusement.

"I get it. That's funny."

Eli frowned.

"What's funny, exactly? . . ."

"Deep lore. Normies won't understand the reference."

Just a Moonwatcher thing, I guess.

***TSJWFKFEW***

Our trip to the hospital was extended when Moonwatcher convinced us to get vaccinations as a preventative measure, now that we were having sex. I had to endure a prick for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, tetanus . . . the usual. We walked home in a light fog, spirits low. I gulped and looked up at Eli.

"Our reproductive organs are dangerous when combined. I guess we're at an impasse."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"It was still nice."

He smiled briefly before falling into gloom once more.

"Yeah, I really enjoyed myself. But now I can't stop thinking about how much I hurt you."

"It wasn't as bad as you think."

"But I shouldn't have hurt you at all. I wasn't thinking. I was so happy to finally be . . . I should have known that I'd screw things up."

"You didn't screw up. It was beyond your control."

"But I should have prepared myself for the worst, with this nightmare of a body."

"Your body isn't a nightmare."

He tossed his head.

"Oh, come on, Claire! I'm big, heavy, bumpy from head to toe, and I don't even have decent arms! I'd give anything for the chance to hold you properly, to be the man you deserve, but-"

I wrapped my arms around his neck and rested my heels on his back, hanging from his chest like a monkey. His eyes darted around uncertainly.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting close to you."

"Why?"

"So you can hold me."

He bit his lip.

"I'm sorry it's so hard for us to be together."

I laughed.

"It's the easiest thing in the world, Eli! You're so perfect, and-"

"I'm not at all perfect, Claire."

I kissed him.

"But I love you all the same. Let's forget about the accident and focus on something else," I suggested, slipping down from his chest, "It's going to be a busy week. I'm supposed to keep tabs on the new dinosaurs, according to Moonwatcher. It's been a while since I checked up on them. Some of them, I haven't seen since the Titanosaur sunk. I'm not even sure who all survived, with the exception of Dory and the like. Should probably check up on him, too, come to think of it."

"Uh-huh."

"You don't seem too excited."

"Yeah, well, I was attacked by one of those dinosaurs- Two, I guess- and I don't really feel comfortable being around them."

"But I could use your help. There's a rex among them, and-"

"Not the one that ate me, I hope."

After a pause, his eyes went wide.

"Is it the one that ate me?"

"I don't think so. Ours was a girl."

"So where did this second rex come from?" he asked.

I shrugged.

"Don't know, don't care. This world is impossible to understand, so why even bother?"

Eli closed his eyes.

"Claire, if you need my help, I'll come with you, but you're just as Rex-ish as I am, so I wouldn't be of much use to you."

I laced my fingers between his claws.

"I'd like you to come for emotional support. I'm no good at this, and maybe you're not either, but I feel better when I have you by my side."

He nodded, sighing with defeat.

"Okay, Claire. I'll come with you."

I licked his cheek.

"Thank you. We can comb the island tomorrow."

***TSJWFKFEW***

Indeed, Claire and Eli ran into a familiar face on the northern coast the next day. A huge, scarred tyrannosaur looked up from a beach towel, revealing a head adorned with curved goat horns and a neck enshrouded by a lion's mane.

"Hey, I saw you on the Titanosaur, right?" Claire asked, "You must be from my world."

"Yeah, seems like we keep running into each other on prison ships," the tyrannosaur answered sardonically.

Claire suddenly realized where she knew this tyrannosaur from- not that it was a hard guess, since it was the only one of its kind, as far as she knew. The animal-parts had initially thrown her off, but looking past those features, she had no doubt who she was speaking to. She was about to comment on this bizarre reunion when a look of concern came over Eli's face.

"You're the rex that-"

Claire elbowed him.

"Um, the one from Lockwood's estate," Eli finished.

The tyrannosaur looked indifferent.

"Yup. Sorry for destroying your entire upper torso, but your people kept electrocuting me, so it was kind of deserved. I see you're fine now. Better, actually. Ditched those scrawny human-parts for a decent figure. You didn't make a very good meal, by the way."

Eli wasn't sure how to respond, but luckily Claire intervened.

"You're Rexy, right? We knew each other at the park . . . sort of."

The tyrannosaur snuffed.

"They called me 'Rexy?' That's disappointing. Could've come up with something better, if they'd tried. It's not like I need a name, but I ought to have been called something more dignified."

"Well- they did call the rex 'Roberta' in this world," Claire said, hoping the crotchety tyrannosaur would prefer this name instead, "Maybe that version of you is still around somewhere. I think she was nicknamed Buttercup, but legally, she was called-"

"'Roberta,' is that right? It's a bit better, anyway. I guess I can go by 'Robert' now."

Eli cocked his head.

"You're male? They told me otherwise during the, uh, the operation on Nublar. I guess the, um, the mane should've tipped me off."

Robert sighed with exasperation.

"I was presenting as female back then, but now I'm male, part goat, part lion, and who knows what else. Moonwatcher said there might've been frogs involved. Apparently, I won't be turning green because I'm too old to be making any hormones, but to be honest, I'm also too old to be giving much of a shit anymore."

"You seem . . . well, very accepting of all this change," Eli remarked, "Most old people are, uh . . ."

"The raptors and dilos did this decades ago; it's old news," Robert snapped, "Claire, could you tell your boyfriend that it's rude to assign stereotypes to the elderly? I think he has something against old men."

A pair of sinoceratops looked up from a few paces down the beach.

"Aw, are people harassing you about being old and protogynous again?"

Claire recognized that one as Perry; the other looked like her sister, or perhaps her mother. It was hard to tell age in such a wrinkly species, and it was probably rude to assume that they were related in the first place, but she distantly remembered Perry mentioning a sibling. A buff carnotaur stood next to them.

"Hey, you! Stop harassing him about being old and protogynous!"

The second sinoceratops, this one missing her front horn and standing close to the carnotaur, piped up.

"It's okay to change! I had the same thing happen to me when I became a pachyrhinosaur!"

Eli and Claire exchanged a confused look, but Robert just huffed.

"My genitals literally disintegrated and regrew as a dick, but fine."

"Yeah, that's not the same," a random segisaurus contributed without being asked, "You just had your horn cut off. It's cosmetic surgery; it doesn't change your DNA."

Claire raised a paw.

"Actually, Moonwatcher says that Elkay changed the-"

"Changing sex is a totally normal and natural thing that happens all the time, but changing species is totally different, and unnatural, and weird," the segi continued, "There are a few exceptions, but for the most part, it definitely never happens."

"That . . . happened to almost everyone, actually," Eli mumbled, "Changing DNA must be a lot easier here than in our own world, so who's to say that amputation couldn't cause-"

"Like I said: unnatural and weird."

Perry's sister frowned.

"You know, if you remove other animals' parts, their biology can change significantly, so why would I not be a pachyrhinosaur, if that's how I feel?"

"Because you look like you took a meteor to the face!"

The carnotaur growled.

"Nobody insults my girlfriend!"

Without a second thought, he swooped his head down and engulfed the segi in his toothy jaws. Blood splattered on the sand, and on the faces of those present. Robert rolled over and readjusted his sunglasses, licking his lips. Claire and Eli balked in shock as the remaining flesh slipped down the carno's throat. Claire's mouth hung open (though was it out of horror or hunger?), but Eli managed to speak after stuttering a few times.

"Whoa, WHOA, you just- you just straight-up killed him! You murdered a . . . a . . . a pointy-face-a-saurus!"

The carnotaur swallowed, and Perry's sister spoke in his stead.

"It's only murder if the person's alive."

"He was alive!" Eli shrilled.

"And now he's not," Perry reflected wisely, "Not alive, ergo, not murder."

"You didn't even tell him about how Elkay changed the way DNA works in her universes!" Claire barked, having found her voice again, "Do you just go around eating people who haven't been briefed?"

"Not knowing something that could change your worldview is no excuse for maintaining that worldview in the first place!" Perry argued, stamping her feet, "We know the truth, and that makes us arbiters of justice! Say it with me!"

"ARBITERS OF JUSTICE!" her sister and the carnotaur cheered.

"Science and logic are dead!" Perry cheered.

"SCIENCE AND LOGIC ARE DEAD!"

"Kway Vee-vah Toronto!"

"KWAY VEE-VAH TORONTO!"

The trio ran off, chanting as they went.

"Claire," Eli said, "I think we should talk about . . . all this."

"The hotel."

Still a little in shock, they retreated from the beach. Robert let out an exaggerated sigh.

"Finally. Some peace and quiet."

***TSJWFKFEW***

"So what did you want to talk about specifically?" Claire asked, passing a plant that was vaguely Moonwatcher-shaped, but definitely not occupied, if that's what you were thinking.

Eli gulped.

"About all the new dinosaurs. Don't some of them seem a bit . . . off?"

"You mean how that carnotaur just killed a guy for not knowing about Elkay's hijinks? Yeah, it was a little harsh."

"It's not just that one . . ." he replied uneasily, "Do you get the feeling that we don't belong here?"

"No."

Claire thought about it for a moment.

". . . Yes. Obviously, this world wasn't created for us specifically. It seems like Elkay had other plans for this place before we came along. Moonwatcher brought us here for her weird reality-show project, and we sometimes don't blend in. It's like orcas: they may look the same, but if they belong to different pods, it's difficult to keep them in close proximity."

"Huh. I didn't know that."

"I was going to study marine biology before I decided on a different path. Learned a bit about orcas. Nothing exciting."

"Ah. Well, I catch your drift, and I agree that we're a bit off-balance, here. I mean, the already-integrated residents seem to be happy, and some of us human-to-dinosaur folk are doing okay, but then there's these dinosaurs from our own world, and the wild ones on Sorna . . . I don't want to get eaten, Claire. It wasn't fun the first time around. And I think that being abused by humans for so long made these dinosaurs a bit . . . revolution-y, so I'm probably gonna take most of the heat. Me and other human-borns. And I know that we've done some shitty things, but I don't want to die, Claire. I don't feel safe here."

"But where else are we going to go? We can't exactly go back home. Not in this state."

"But all the other dinosaurs . . . they weren't meant to be here either."

She put her paws on her hips.

"So what, do we just send them back? Strip them of their sentience? Do what Moonwatcher planned, back on the Titanosaur?"

"That's not the whole picture, though. They were just . . . given sentience, without their consent. It'd be like performing a medical procedure on someone who didn't agree to it beforehand. We assume it's making them happier, but what if they were really happier living as normal animals?"

"What, back when they were exploited for profit?"

". . . Claire. Don't bring that up again. You know that I regret what I did, and I'm not saying that this is the right thing to do for sure, but have you considered that they'd be better off without humanoid minds?"

"Huh, and maybe you'd be better off dead, since you didn't have a say in whether or not you'd be brought back."

"To be honest, Claire, sometimes I wish I-"

"Oh, don't you start this!" she snapped, "After everything we've been through-"

"You're right. I'm sorry. And I wouldn't trade this for the world, but my past still haunts me, and I can't just forget about it. I know you care about the dinosaurs, but you have to remember that I-"

"Are you seriously making this about you right now?"

"No! I'm not the only one who exploited the dinosaurs, and you know that!"

"Oh, so it was MY fault!"

"That's not what I'm saying at all!" he protested, "I'm just concerned that people like Gunnar and Wheatley might suffer alongside me . . . Mostly Gunnar. Wheatley still sucks. But Claire, we've made amends, and-"

"Those dinosaurs don't seem to think so."

"But they're not human, Claire."

"Neither are we!"

"Okay, okay. But listen, do you really care more about animals that only became sentient a year ago than you do about actual human beings who grew up with thoughts, feelings-"

"Dinosaurs have thoughts and feelings, too, you know! And yes, I will defend them, because they have as much a right to live freely as people like you and me!"

"Claire . . . why are you doing this?"

"Doing what? You don't care about anyone but yourself, and you're just projecting it onto all these innocent dinosaurs!"

"They're not all innocent!" Eli snapped, "One of them just committed a murder literally two minutes ago, and nobody did anything to stop it!"

"Look, they're going to cave into their instincts every once in a while. They were just put through a series of unexpected changes. Give them some time, and they'll adapt. If not, they can go live on Sorna and act like animals. But we need to give them a choice in the matter."

Eli took a breath.

"All of a sudden, you're pretty quick to forgive murder."

"Well, maybe dealing with you gave me practice! And you're lucky I ever gave you a second chance, because-"

"That's not what I meant. You're more or less giving that dinosaur a free pass, Claire. He killed somebody with minimal provocation, and you're somehow willing to let it slide. Is it, what, because he was a dinosaur? Because they were both dinosaurs? Does that make it okay somehow?"

Claire glowered.

"Seriously? Just because I became a carnivorous dinosaur, suddenly I've forgotten all sense of human morality? Are you even listening to yourself?"

Eli tried to slap a palm to his face, but could not reach.

"Claire. I'm at least part carnivorous dinosaur, so by that logic, it'd be a flaw in me too. We both know my flaws came before we were all transformed, and I'm not saying it was an instinct you adopted, but for all your talk of treating the dinosaurs like people, you don't seem to realize that human beings don't exactly eat each other on sight!"

"Eli, you have NO idea how strong predatory instincts can be."

"So which is it? Are they humans or animals?"

"Both! Neither! I don't know, but you're making a big deal out of an unfortunate accident!"

"I'd like to hear you say that from inside someone else's jaws!"

"Eli, I know you have a history with saurian violence, but so do I, and it's not fair to treat them like vicious predators!"

"I SAW SOMEONE GET EATEN TODAY!"

"But he deserved it!"

"Nobody deserves to die like that!"

"Fine, but you're only saying that because of what happened to you."

"That's a lie! Do you know how many times I've woken up, wishing I had died permanently that night?"

"Well, if I make you so miserable, why-"

"Claire, this isn't about you!"

"So stop projecting this self-loathing onto everybody else!"

"I'm NOT! I have actual, serious concerns about the island! You're the one who's projecting your insecurities onto me, because you can't admit that eating people out of nowhere is fucked up!"

"If I'm so unreasonable, then why don't you take your 'concerns' up with someone else? You seem to want a version of me that's able to forget her struggles and shun her own people, all while forgiving your transgressions! If you don't believe a dinosaur can change, fine, but that just proves that your personal mistakes were unforgivable, too. And honestly, I regret giving you that second chance, if you're going to treat me and the other dinosaurs like we're beneath you. It must be so easy to act like you're above it all when I gave you a free pass, but don't you fucking forget that you didn't kill out of necessity, or out of instinct, or out of a sense of justice. You killed someone because you fucked up. So if we're going to talk about morality, how about you admit that a former animal had more integrity than you did as a natural-born human? And while you're at it, admit that you're cutting me and the other dinosaurs down to feed your own ego, because you haven't changed one fucking bit since then! I thought we were done fighting, but I guess you just can't let go of your old habits. What a con, making me believe that you were better than this! It must have taken some commitment. I'm sure Moonwatcher would like to hear all about your lies. After all, manipulating people is what you two do best."

Claire stormed off before Eli could respond. In a way, he felt just as betrayed as Claire appeared to be. He thought he could count on her trust, but realizing that those wounds hadn't fully healed was a hard pill to swallow. He didn't think he'd said anything especially out of line, but somehow, Claire had taken it as an attack regardless of that fact. Did everyone expect him to be on the offensive all the time, even after he'd shown such growth? Was it just Claire being insecure about her instincts?

He sighed to himself. No, it definitely wasn't just Claire. No matter how many absurd transformations he was forced to endure, no matter how much he and his peers changed, physically or otherwise, he'd never be able to escape his past. The things he'd done would always come back to haunt him, and if it ever seemed like he had finally regained the trust of the people he cared about, it was all a lie.

He hated himself for thinking this way, but a part of him still believed that this wasn't fair. Claire was, in part, responsible for what happened at Jurassic World. People had died because of her mismanagement, and she'd been let off the hook because she was Claire. Everybody loved her. And who was Eli Mills? Some billionaire's flunky who only became known in this world because of his crimes. He was never meant to be a good guy. To use Moonwatcher's terms, he was written to be bad, but not badly written, because he was doing exactly what he was supposed to be doing: fucking everything up and never learning his lesson, because if he did, he'd be happy, and bad people didn't deserve to be happy. He never saw himself as the villain, except in hindsight, but he had been holding out hope that he was becoming something else. He was meant to think that way, because he was Eli Mills, and besides being a fuck-up, he was an undeniably bad person.

And that, it was increasingly obvious, was all he was supposed to be.

***TSJWFKFEW***

When I returned to our hotel room, I heard a familiar sound. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door and saw Eli crouched over the carpet with a wet towel in his claws. He tried to rub away the blue liquid that stained the floor, but the tears were still running down his face, and it was a hopeless endeavour. I took the towel from his hands and nodded to the bathroom.

"Stand over the bathtub. I'll clean this up."

He swallowed, choking a little as he turned. I got to work rubbing out the stains. Many times, I wrung out the towel in the bathroom sink, side-eyeing Eli as he wept into the tub. He was standing in the corner of the room like a child who had just received a time-out. By the time I finished my work, the bathtub was streaked with blue, and Eli had not stopped leaking. I placed my paws on his shoulders and waited for him to calm down. When the tears stopped, I led him to the couch, sitting down beside him. He bit his quivering lip, still looking incredibly apprehensive.

"Eli, we-"

I winced as tears started pouring down his cheeks again. I ran into the bathroom and came back with a fresh towel. I dabbed his eyes lightly as he sobbed.

"Eli, it's been a long day for both of us. I think we need some time to cool down."

He shut his eyes tight, biting his lip so hard that a bit of gasoline began to drip from it. I held his paw and waited for him to stop shaking.

"We both said some things that we'll probably regret later, and I know we didn't mean everything we said, but right now, we're both hurting. This is normal. Couples fight, and stuff can get messy, but the important thing is that we love each other, and this is only temporary."

Slowly, he lifted his head.

"Really? . . ."

"Yeah. I mean, this is just a hiccup. A big hiccup, but a hiccup all the same."

His throat wobbled.

"Oh, god, I thought we were over."

I nuzzled his neck tenderly.

"No, we're not over, Eli. Barely even close."

He whimpered and pressed his nose against my cheek. I licked between his nostrils.

"Everything's going to be fine, Eli. We can start over tomorrow."

His voice shook uncontrollably.

"C-Claire, I love you, and I'm sorry, and I- I-"

I kissed him gently.

"Shhh . . . It's okay. We're okay. We can fix this."

He nodded rapidly.

"Of course, of course . . . Listen, Claire, if you want to help the dinosaurs, I'm with you all the way. Even Robert. Even the carnotaurus. I should have listened to you before, but I promise, we can-"

I placed a claw over his mouth.

"Eli, I know you're not comfortable around them. I don't blame you. I shouldn't have pushed you that far. I can't imagine what it was like to face the person who killed you. Must have been hard for you."

"It's probably worse, the other way around. I'm sure Robert is racked with guilt-"

"Actually, he didn't seem too bothered."

Eli shrugged.

"Okay, maybe not. But it's one of my worst nightmares, anyway."

I knocked his snout to the side gently with my paw.

"Gosh, Eli. You have a lot to feel bad about."

"Mhm."

"But it's nothing an apology won't fix."

"I'll apologize a million times, if I need to."

I ran my claw down his chin.

"Actually, I think I know a way to make us both feel better . . ."

"Do you mean . . ."

I smiled coyly.

"I'm thinking 'oil change'."

***TSJWFKFEW***

Moonwatcher gave me a sardonic look as I arrived at the hospital with Eli dragging behind me with his tail stuck between my legs.

"You should have used lube," she remarked flatly.

Eli and I shot each other a look, then spoke in unison.

"What kind?"

Moonwatcher rolled her eyes.

"Funny. Anyway, I'm glad you're here, because we need to take Claire into the lab for questioning."

My heart dropped.

"Why?"

"Seems some dinosaur got eaten on the beach the other day, and witnesses say you were nearby when it happened. No big deal, once we clear this up, but until then, we need to keep you caged in the lab for twelve hours a day. Can you handle that?"

Eli glowered.

"Claire doesn't belong in a cage!"

Moonwatcher shrugged.

"Those are the rules. I suggest you take my offer, unless you wanna be stuck like that for the next week or so."

I sighed and looked back at Eli.

"I'll be fine. It's only temporary. Plus, we have information about the killing, so we're obligated to do our part."

"Claire, no . . ."

I shook my head.

"You were right. Nothing excuses eating people. We can try to get Perry's sister's boyfriend a lighter sentence, but we also need to make sure that he doesn't do it again."

Eli nodded solemnly.

"I guess that's fair. But I don't like the idea of locking you up."

"You can come with me. Just like old times, right?"

He smiled sadly.

"I'll be there."

Moonwatcher chirped.

"Great! Now, let me just put you under for a moment."

"Wait, wh-"

***TSJWFKFEW***

I woke up in my old cage. It had been so long since I found myself in that cramped prison, but I remembered the feeling of hopelessness all too well. Thankfully, I had one beacon of hope now, that being my wonderful roommate. Eli stared at me from the other side of the bars, no longer caged as he had been before. He stood slowly, extending a paw.

"Claire, I just w- AH!"

He yelped as I grabbed his arm and pulled him forward, kissing him from behind the bars. After a moment, he relaxed, tail wagging behind him. I licked his cheek.

"Thank you for being here, Eli. It really means a lot to me."

He shrugged.

"Yeah, this place has a lot of bad memories, but if it led to the way things are now, some good must have come from it."

"I don't think so," Wu piped up from his cage.

I spun around.

"You're still here?" I asked.

He growled impatiently.

"Me and the cat. And Purple, over there."

I looked back at the nonvocal hybrid. He didn't seem to notice my presence. I turned back to Eli.

"How long do I have to stay here?"

"Twelve hours a day, like Moonwatcher said."

"And how long are you going to stay with me?"

He smiled.

"I'm never leaving your side . . . unless you want me to."

I kissed him again.

"Never."