Attracted by the smell of appetizing food, Dino wandered into the kitchen and was excited when he saw Wilma and Betty working on a large rack of ribs. He grew even more excited when he saw the large bowls and plates of food on the table, but Wilma immediately noticed his excited look and chuckled.

"Sorry Dino, this is a catering order," Wilma said in a gentle voice. "I'll make you something later."

Dino whimpered and, letting out a sigh, Wilma picked up a Mastodon meatball from the plate on the table and tossed it to him, "Dino, go on now," she said in a gentle voice. "Betty and I have work to do and you need to wait by the door for Daddy and Stoney to get home from work, okay?"

Suddenly looking eager, as Stoney or Fred usually brought him a treat every day, Dino nodded and hurried out of the kitchen to wait for their homecoming. Wilma giggled and looked at Betty.

"Dino's excited because Stoney always talks Fred into stopping at the pet store to get dog treats for Dino even though they've both had a long day," Wilma commented in an amused voice. "I'm worried about Stoney, Betty, I really am. He goes to school, goes to work, and comes home; he doesn't really socialize."

Betty sighed and added another few meatballs to the tray, "Stoney's a good kid and you shouldn't worry about him socializing," she replied in a gentle voice. "Anyway, I think that's enough meatballs for now."

"I think we can finish this later," Wilma replied in a tired voice. "The order's not needed for two days."

Before Betty could reply, the wall phone rang. Wilma hurried over to the phone and picked it up.

"Hello?" Wilma asked in a cheerful voice. "Oh, Barney, what is it? There was an accident at the quarry?"

At the mention of an accident, Betty frowned and moved closer to the phone, "…Okay, Betty and I will come to the hospital right away," Wilma said in a worried voice. "….See you soon, bye bye."

"Stoney was in an accident at the quarry," Wilma said in a worried voice as she hung up the phone and looked at Betty. "Barney just called from the hospital and he said that we should hurry and get there."

Betty nodded, but looked very concerned, "We should call Pebbles and let her know," she replied in a worried voice. "Stoney's her brother and I'm sure he'd want to know that she cares about him."

"We can call from the hospital once we know more," Wilma said, anxious to know whether or not her only son was going to be okay. "Betty, I'm too nervous to drive. Can we take your car to the hospital?"

Giving Wilma a reassuring smile, Betty put an arm around her and led her outside, "Sure," she replied.

"I can't believe we were able to get a flight out this evening," Pebbles said in an energized tone as she walked out of the gate holding a small turtle-shell sized bag. "Roxy, Chip, are you coming or not?"

Unable to bolt back on to the plane because their father was right on their heels, Roxy and Chip came out of the gate each carrying a large business-like suitcase that contained their clothes and whatever personal items they could fit into them. After being dragged out of their school, they had been taken home and told to pack immediately; they were going to Bedrock that evening to visit their family.

Roxy had changed out of her uniform into a pink dress with frilly sleeves before whining that she didn't want to go to a smaller town and be seen as a freak because of her super strength. Pebbles had overruled her and basically had given her a choice; either be packed by the time they had booked a flight or be packed for and possibly miss out on bringing something she liked. Roxy had chosen to pack.

Pebbles had phoned her agency, moved her meeting up, and while she was gone, Bamm Bamm had helped Chip to pack and had then explained to both of his children why they were doing this; it was better to take them out to Bedrock now to see if they could arrange everything in person right away rather than keep the tense agreement with Palmstone going and possibly bring about more trouble.

When Pebbles had finally gotten home, she was pleased to find that Bamm Bamm had booked a flight for four, packed their bags, and was keeping Roxy and Chip from running away. Determined to get them away from an environment that was doing more harm than good, they had then left for the airport.

"Mom, I'm hungry," Chip whined as he smoothed down his black tunic with the hand that wasn't carrying his suitcase. "That flight took way too long, the plane was cold, and it was boring!"

Pebbles sighed and walked over to a pay phone, "Once I phone your grandparents and see if they can pick us up, we'll talk about dinner," she replied in a no-nonsense voice. "Bammer, watch them."

"Okay Pebs," Bamm Bamm replied with a sigh in his voice as he kept an eye on his wayward children.

"I called Wilma and she says that she and Betty will come as soon as they can," Barney said as he walked into the hospital waiting room where Fred was sitting on the couch holding Stoney's backpack and work hat. "We should have waited for the police to finish with Skip before we came to the hospital."

Fred shook his head, "Three hours was my limit," he replied in a tired voice. "Mister Slate was so busy fielding calls from reporters and trying to keep the other workers from going after Skip that I don't think he cared whether or not we stuck around. I grabbed Stoney's stuff from his locker in case he needs it."

"I'm sure Stoney's not going to feel like doing any homework," Barney commented in a concerned voice as he walked over and sat down next to Fred. "That accident was pretty serious, you know."

Fred sighed and set the backpack down on the floor. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a photo of him and a younger Stoney wearing fishing hats and vests over their normal clothes and holding poles.

"Wilma took this when we took Stoney camping the summer after we adopted him," Fred explained as he showed the photo to Barney. "He was having a little trouble fitting in and tried to run away…"

Barney nodded; he and Betty had gone with them and still remembered that trip well, "That was when Stoney sprained his ankle in that cave, right?" Barney asked. "It took both of us to get him out of there."

"I wish we had gotten him out of this mess," Fred replied bitterly. "I can't believe Skip wasn't fired."

Barney sighed, "Maybe he will be after all this is over," he replied. "There's gonna be an investigation."

"Stoney doesn't need this right now," Fred replied, deeply annoyed. "He's got finals coming up."

Before Barney, who hated how Fred was beating himself up, could reply, Wilma and Betty rushed into the waiting room, "We came as fast as we could," Wilma said as she hugged Fred. "Any news yet?"

"No and we couldn't even get here right away," Fred replied in a distressed voice. "Mister Slate made Barney and I wait at the quarry for three hours to talk to us and the rest of the guys about what happened. The quarry's gonna be closed for a few days so things can be sorted out and I'm worried."

Wilma nodded and gently rubbed Fred's shoulder as a doctor came into the room holding a clipboard in one hand and a shell helmet in the other, "Are you all here about Stoney Flintstone?" he asked in a concerned voice. "I'm Doctor Moonstone, the one in charge of Stoney's medical care. Stoney's going to be fine, but he did sustain some serious injuries that will require him to stay in the hospital for a few days before he can go home because he had major surgery…"

"Can we see Stoney?" Wilma asked anxiously, hoping that her only son was truly all right. "Please?"

Dr. Moonstone nodded, "Just be aware that Stoney's still coming out of the anesthesia and might not be fully aware of his surroundings for a while yet," he replied gently. "If you want, I'll take you to his room."

Suddenly, Fred's portable phone went off in his pocket and Fred quickly took it out and answered it with a sigh, "Hello?" he asked in a tired voice. "Oh, hi Pebbles. What do you mean you're at the airport?"

Fred was silent as Pebbles explained the situation and was relieved when Wilma quickly took the phone from him and held it to her ear, "Hello Pebbles, Betty and I will come to the airport as fast as we can," she said in a calm voice, nodding at Fred to follow Dr. Moonstone. "Yes, Pebbles, I understand…"

Fred sighed deeply and followed Dr. Moonstone out of the room, relieved when Barney tagged along.

The rest of the well cared for land was bare, or at least as far as Skip saw it as he pulled his Rocks Royce up to the curb in front of the old castle-like house that had been abandoned for many years. He could see his son, Boulder, who was a tall, skinny 13 year old with a dark pelt on and slicked hair, lingering outside the front left window.

"Boulder, why do you waste your time looking at this rundown shack?" Skip said as he got out of the car and walked over to where his son was standing. "I've told you time and time again that it's not…"

A loud groan suddenly filtered out the window and Boulder whimpered, "Dad, it's haunted!" he whispered in a horrified voice as he backed away and moved towards the car. "Let's go home!"

Skip scoffed, but before he could reply, the front door opened and a large man that looked like a stone-age Frankenstein came outside holding a large black bag in one hand and looked at them quizzically. Both Skip and Boulder screamed loudly, bolted back to their car, and drove off into the night as the big man yawned loudly.

'Frank, after you get the trash out, a Nate Slate's on the phone," a feminine voice spilled out into the night. "He wants to talk to you about the upcoming meeting."

Frank sighed, put the bag in a gray bin beside the house and sighed, "Coming Hidea, dear," he replied in a calmer voice as he turned and went back inside the house. A moment later, the door slammed, making the night quiet once more.

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