We're so close! Only the epilogue left!

Enjoy!


TW: Hospital, Amputation


Emily was tired. She'd made countless phone calls in the past day. Her dad had cried. She'd cried when she'd called Ellie. She'd managed to convince everyone not to fly out to see her; what with the escaped dinosaurs and all.

She'd spent hours talking to police and even the FBI, recalling every little detail about the events of the past few days.

They'd spoken to everyone else as well, except Lizzy and Briana. Both had been admitted to ICU, Lizzy for her injuries; Briana for the stab wounds, and lung damage from the volcanic ash, which had been made worse by past injuries she'd sustained while serving in the Navy. Emily had only seen Briana once since they'd been admitted to the hospital.

A policeman had found Sam's backpack stuffed in the corner of a truck, her satchel still inside. Sam's sister had badgered the police until they'd consented that they didn't need the backpack as evidence. Melanie had called most of Sam's family for him, insisting that he focus on recovering.

Sam's hand was encased in a cast, and his wrists wrapped in bandages. But the doctors assured them both that Sam would be okay. They were already making arrangements to transfer him to Bozeman. Emily didn't want to stay near the escaped dinosaurs any longer than she had to.

Emily sighed, dropping her head to her hand. Outside Sam's hospital room window, a small fountain trickled. Sam was curled on his side in bed, sleeping. Emily had been sleeping with him, but she'd woken up and not wanted to disturb him with her tossing and turning. He'd had a hard enough time sleeping between his various injuries and the nightmares that had set it.

She looked up as the door eased open. Owen stuck his head in, circles under his eyes. He jerked his head to the hallway.

Emily sighed again and stood. She followed Owen out into the hallway, softly shutting the door behind her.

"What is it?"

Owen ran a hand through his tousled hair. Emily had discovered in the past few days that it was something he did when he was stressed.

"They're waking Lizzy up." He ran his hand through his hair again. "I figured you'd want to be there."

"Right. Thanks." Emily glanced back at Sam's door. "We'll leave him to sleep; he needs it."

Owen nodded, starting to walk down the hallway, toward the elevator. Emily followed, sticking her hands in the pockets of the khaki pants Melanie had let her borrow.

They entered the elevator, and Emily pressed the button for floor three.

"So," Owen said, "How've you been holding up?"

Emily shrugged, "Oh, you know. Alright. The nightmares haven't started yet, but I'm sure they will." She paused. "At this point, I'm just trying to help Sam."

Owen nodded, falling silent. The elevator stopped, and he murmured, "You know, she, Lizzy, pushed me out of the way… And now she's, you know…" He trailed off.

Emily pinched the bridge of her nose. "Owen," she started as the elevator doors opened. "Don't beat yourself up over this. Blaming yourself for what happened is only going to make this whole process harder for you, and for Lizzy."

"Emily—"

"What happened, happened. You can't change that." Emily turned to look at Owen, hardening her stare. "Lizzy made her choice. I doubt she's going to regret it."

"Yeah, yeah," Owen murmured. "I know that. I think, I don't know. I'm just trying to process."

"I know the feeling. How are Claire and Maisie?"

"Claire's doing good. She'll recovered no problem. Maisie's, having a bit of a hard time adjusting. But she'll be okay."

Emily nodded, following him down the hall to Lizzy's room in the ICU area of the hospital. The doctor was waiting outside the door, hands clasped in front of him.

"We're going to take her off the sedative but leave her on the painkiller. So, she might a bit loopy. Could you two talk to her, to help her adjust?"

Owen nodded. "Of course."

"Thank you. Dr. Noble has volunteered to tell her the news. He'll be notified that we've woken her up the moment he's done with his surgery."

Emily nodded, crossing her arms.

"We'll get started then."

Within ten minutes, the doctor and nurse began to ease Lizzy off the sedative. Owen had taken the chair beside Lizzy's bed. Emily stood a bit behind him, watching Lizzy's heart monitor.

Lizzy began to stir, murmuring, "Owen?"

"Hey Lizzy." Owen smiled, gently taking Lizzy's hand.

"Where am I?" Lizzy's voice was hoarse.

"Some little hospital in Eureka, California."

Emily stepped forward, quietly asking, "How are you feeling?"

"Like the Rex used me for her chew toy…"

Emily couldn't help but smile. Owen chuckled, adding, "Good to know you've still got a few jokes in you."

The nurse deftly slipped into the conversation. "Ms. Greene, I'm going to request that you stay pretty still, alright? Can you do that for me?"

"Sure," Lizzy murmured, closing her eyes. She looked utterly exhausted.

Owen swallowed, "How much do you remember?"

"We went back to the island; Wheatley was an asshole and betrayed us—" Lizzy's brow furrowed as she thought. "We got on the boat; the island exploded; but we got caught. I punched Mills; we ran around; there was, a hybrid? Right?"

"Yes," Emily answered.

"Thanks. It chased us around… I think it was dark? Yeah, it was. We were in that exhibit… That's all I've got." Lizzy opened her eyes.

"That's not bad," Owen said. "That's pretty much what happened up until you were hurt."

"Wait, how was I hurt? What happened, Owen?"

Owen glanced at Emily, "That's, something the doctors should tell you Lizzy."

"Owen, just tell me, come on."

"Lizzy…"

Emily stepped forward so Lizzy could better see her. "The doctors will tell you soon, okay? You'll be alright."

Lizzy paused, going a little pale. "Why can't I feel my leg?" she asked.

Owen glanced at Emily again, looking at loss for words.

"What aren't you guys telling me?" Lizzy's voice rose. "What happened to my leg?!" She tried to sit up, but the nurse was quicker; gently pinning her down as Lizzy tried to look at her leg.

"What's wrong with me?! Why won't you tell me?!" Lizzy yelled.

Emily turned as the door opened behind her. Dr. Noble hurried into the room, tugging on a clean coat over his scrubs. He shut the door behind him, and within moments, had deftly slipped in to replace the nurse.

Lizzy calmed a little when she saw him, murmuring, "Eli?"

He smiled, "Hey Liz."

"What happened? Please just tell me what happened…"

"I'm really sorry," Dr. Noble swallowed, "but your leg was too damaged to save. They had to amputate it below the knee."

"No," Lizzy murmured, sounding horrified. Lizzy began to cry, shaking.

Emily swallowed, looking away for a moment. She knew the signs of a panic attack far too well.

"Hey, hey, don't panic," Eli murmured. "You're going to be okay, I promise, Lizzy."

The nurse moved over to Emily and Owen, quietly saying, "I'm going to have to ask you two to leave until Ms. Greene has calmed down."

Owen opened his mouth to protest, but Emily shot him a look. Clearly, Dr. Noble had this covered.

The nurse saw them out, shutting the door behind them. Emily caught a glimpse of Eli pulling Lizzy into a hug, her arms flying around him, grabbing fistfuls of the back of his jacket. If Emily had to guess, he absolutely had a crush on Lizzy.

Owen and Emily waited in the hallway for about ten minutes. Owen stayed silent; arms crossed. Eventually, the nurse came back, letting them into the room.

Lizzy was sitting up now, pale, with tear tracks down her cheeks. Dr. Noble was perched on the bed next to her, arm around her shoulders.

Lizzy gave them a little smile and a, "Hey."

Owen resumed his chair. "You're going to be okay, alright? I'll be there to help if you need it."

Lizzy nodded, quietly saying, "I know. Thanks Owen." She ducked her head, looking shaken. Nobody in the room would blame her.

Emily stopped at the foot of the bed and gave the only reassurance she could.

"Lizzy, speaking from experience—" Emily held up her arm, "—it's going to be pretty shitty at first. But it gets better. I promise."


Look at them. Mostly Lizzy and Eli. Look at them I love them. Big thanks to my best friend for sitting right next to me and helping me with Lizzy.

Consider leaving a review? If not for me, then for Lizzy and Eli.