Layla held out a cluster full of tissues and a quivering, clawed hand that struggled to stay in the air gratefully accepted the gift. Ethan blew into the tissues as hard as he can, moaned in terrible pain, and tossed the crumpled, snot ball into the trash bin.

"How are you feeling, Ethan?" Layla asked.

The dinosaur moaned again before making the effort to turn to the side of the bed to face her, only to fail halfway. His blank, nearly dead eyes stared at the ceiling. With a hoarse and slow voice, he began, "My body… feels as if the entire world *cough *cough around me is a great, searing flame that takes sadistic delight in slowly torturing my form. The heat is unbearable. And yet… it feels as if my very soul has frozen completely and radiates a freezing coldness so cold that it burns…"

"So… not good?"

Ethan wanted to laugh, but coughed instead. "No… I am not well."

He didn't have to say it to make her worry more than she could take. Ethan's snout drooled snot and his mesmerizing, red eyes had dulled and lost its gleam. The color of his scales had mutated into a sickly, dark grey color that failed to shine even under the brightest of light. And every second of breath he took was haggard and weak. There might as well be a ball stuck halfway down his throat because each attempt at breathing had resulted in a loud, obnoxious snore.

Layla sighed as she placed a new, wet towel over his muzzle while her other hand worked beneath the blankets to massage his heaving chest in soothing strokes. Ethan shifted comfortably a bit and purred weakly, but the moment was soon broken by a fit of nasty coughs that distorted his blissful expression into pain.

Slumped besides Layla, Shakespeare whined in concerned for his master. The canine-half-reptile leaned forward and poked his pleading nose on his master's shoulder, hoping for some miracle that that would be the cure to his mysterious illness. Nothing happened for the next few seconds. No coughing… no moaning… and it wasn't long before Ethan sat up from where he laid. Shakespeare's head perked up and his tail wagged in excitement, barking happily. Until, that is, his master unleashed another set of painful coughs, the worst yet that caused everyone in the room to cringe and share his suffering, before crashing and moaning back down into bed.

"Hey, at least you tried, Shakespeare," Layla comforted, petting him on the head as he whined worriedly. "Look, maybe Ginger knows what to do?"

Both Layla and Shakespeare focused their heads at the orange cat stationed at the near-end of Ethan's bed where his tail poked out of the covers limp and weak. Then both sighed when they realized the best Ginger could do was swat and nibble at her master's tail playfully like a toy.

"Mom, is Ethan gonna be all right?" she asked her mother who stood right behind her daughter.

Claire crossed her arms and stared down at the floor, sighing. "Don't worry about it, Sweetie. Dr. Malcolm and the others say Ethan is just dealing with a flu that's been infecting some of the dinosaurs here on the island. Our top researchers assured me that he'll recover in a few days."

That failed to make her feel any better, and Claire felt the same way. Seeing Ethan suffering in so much pain crushed her heart. It nearly made her want to get back into being religious so she could pray for his sake.

Claire knelt down and patted her daughter's back. "Hey, why don't you stay here and try whatever you can to help Ethan get through his flu. I need to discuss something important with Dr. Malcolm."

"Ok…" Layla mumbled as her hand slowly caressed the feathers on his chest.

The sliding door shut behind Claire. She looked to her right where Dr. Malcolm stood staring through the window that led to Ethan's room

"We're going to have to take note of this into the next experiment," Claire told him, voice devoid of any emotion.

Dr. Malcolm rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah…" he responded, sliding back into his rolling chair and typing into his computer.

Ethan released a groggy moan as he stirred from his sleep, a splitting headache threatening to tear his mind into two. Gently, he grasped the small hand that rested on his chest. "Layla, are you there…? I cannot smell your sweet scent any more…"

"It's ok, Ethan. I'm here."

The dinosaur turned his head towards the voice. Though his vision was blurred, he smiled lightly at the figure with pointy ears and a wagging tail. But what eased his worries was the one next to it who was unmistakably his love.

"Ethan, can I get you anything?" Layla asked. "Anything at all! Just say the word and I'll do it." Mixed into her concerned gaze was fiery determination dead-set in her eyes. She's absolutely serious into doing whatever he asks. If he wants her to get a grade past D in Spanish class, then you can be damn sure she's going to a grade past D in Spanish.

Ethan's mind struggled for an answer. Then, after minutes of thinking, he smiled pleasantly. "Make me chicken noodle soup…" he whispered.

Oh.

The blazing fires of determination died right there. Making chicken soup is like asking her to get a grade pass B in Spanish class! "Uh… Ethan… are you sure you want me to make you some chicken noodle soup?" she asked while scratching the back of her head. "You know I can't cook that good."

"Nonsense," he said a little too loudly and was punished with a cough. "Even a brain-dead monkey… can create something as simple as… chicken noodle soup. I believe in your abilities… Layla."

"Well, I'm not a brain-dead monkey. So I can't make it. Why do you want chicken soup anyways?"

Ethan coughed before he responded. Every pause he made was a haggard attempt for breath. "I recall… long ago in my studies… that… chicken noodle soup is a common remedy among you humans… for a sickness such as mine… While such a myth may require some research to prove its beliefs… I believe the dish is best suited in aiding my wellness…"

"How about chicken-flavored Cup Noodles?"

Layla couldn't tell if he was moaning in pain from the sickness or the thought of Cup Noodles.

"C'mon, Cup Noodles isn't that much different than chicken noddle soup if you think about it," she defended. "Cup Noodles has the chicken, the noodles, and the soup! And best of all, you just need to microwave it to cook it."

"And… that is… one reason more… I despise it so..."

Layla rubbed his chest again. "Just wait here while I make you some soup, ok?"

"My love… please…" he moaned. "Don't make me consume those foul noodles…"

She ignored him and went straight into his kitchen. Opening his cupboards, her eyes scanned for any signs of Cup Noodles. She searched and searched for minutes, only discovering sauces and spices and came up empty. "Ethan, where do you keep all your Cup Noodles?" she called as she closed the cupboards.

"As if… I would keep… such disgusting… VILE FOOD IN MY-" He was hit with another loud cough before he could finish. "Sorry to inform… you, my dear… but my kitchen holds no such substamce."

Layla took time to think about where else to search. "Hey, I think there's some back in the hotel's kitchen. I'm just gonna head there real quick and bring back some, ok?"

Ethan didn't say anything. His head was in too much pain to form a response.

"Shakespeare, wanna come with?"

The German Velociraptor barked happily and ran to Layla's side. She giggled and scratched his head before stepping up to the sliding door that slid open to her presence. But right before she could take a step out, she stopped.

How long would it take her to get to the hotel?

Walking to the hotel from here would take at least an hour. Running would take five minutes less. She knew the nearest dinosaur can take her from here to there would take ten minutes tops. But Ethan's out of commission. A car can take her there in about 30 minutes. Too bad she didn't have a car nor a driver's license. And Dr. Malcolm and her mother were nowhere to be found.

Layla looked back to check on her boyfriend. Ethan's back was turned on her, but she could hear the faint coughs and moans that shared to her his pain.

She'll just have to run for it.

The door slid open and Shakespeare rushed in with Layla in tow. The human was tired and near breathless, but she proudly held the up the Cup Noodles in her hand. "I'm back, Ethan, and I've got the thing! Just need to microwave this real quick you'll be feeling better in no-"

The Cup Noodles fell from her hand.

Layla gawked in disbelief as she witnessed Ethan, up and out of bed, wearing his blanket like cloak as he worked in the kitchen cooking what was probably chicken noodle soup. Ginger was there as well, still hanging on and nibbling his sagging tail.

Layla walked to him, unsure of what to make of this. "Ethan… are you…"

But he paid her no mind. He switched off the fire and opened the pot, unleashing a delicious aroma throughout the room. He used his hand to waft the aroma directly to his stuffed snout. A pleasant smile grew on him. With both hands, he lifted the large pot, opened wide his maw, and gulped down the entire soup. Soothing warmth rushed down his throat and eased the pain. By the time he finished, his arm wiped off the remaining soup and a bit of light returned in his dull eyes

"Ahh…" he sighed. "That was most satisfying..."

There was a sick sniffling in the room, but it didn't come from Ethan.

Ethan looked down at his side to find Layla, head down in shame, nearly in tears.

"I'm so useless…" she faintly whispered.

Her voice carried so much despair and hopelessness that Ethan wasted no time to kneel to her level and place a large hand on her shoulder. "Layla… what do you mean?"

Her arm attempted to wipe away all her tears, but failed. "I mean what I said, Ethan. For once, finally for once, I thought I could do something for you to thank you for all you've done for me… for loving me. But instead… you just showed how useless I still am to you…"

At this point, she shut her eyes from Ethan and surrounded them with pitch-black darkness. That dark and sinister voice returned from the void. Stupid, it said. Useless, it said.

Ethan smiled sadly and licked away her bitter tears. "Layla, my love, please halt your tears for me. You will never be seen as useless to me…"

"Why?" she continued to cry. "Are you gonna say it's because you love me and all that crap that you can forgive me? Because I'm telling you right now that's not gonna make me feel any better."

"If you would please just open your eyes, then will I convey to you my reason."

Layla willed her eyes open, and soon met the compassionate, loving gaze of her predator.

Ethan felt he would drown if he stared any longer mesmerized into her beautiful ocean of blue. "I can find just by getting lost in your eyes that you love me, yes?"

"I… really do…" she whimpered.

"Then that is all you need to do for me, my dear," he chuckled happily.

"W-what? I-I don't understand…"

Layla was shocked to find that his fierce eyes had dilated into predatory slits. "YOU love me, Layla, and that is more that I can ever ask of you."

Her lips began to quiver, and Ethan prepared himself to lick away any more tears, but instead, his love bursted out laughing as she jumped on him to hug his huge head. The soup had not brought Ethan back to full strength, so he was easily knocked over by his small prey. Ginger was knocked out of Ethan's tail and she meowed grumpily. But neither of them cared. Both were too busy laughing assLayla hugged his neck tighter and Ethan held her closer.

Once their laughter died down to slight giggles, Ethan suggested, "Now, would you desire a bowl of my chicken noodle soup? I assure you, it provides much better source of nourishment than your horrid, Cup Noodles."

Layla couldn't think of a much better place to sleep through the night. She was laid in bed, held and protected by Ethan's strong, scaly arms. From time to time, she would find herself nuzzling her face against his broad, muscular chest of soft feathers and giggled silently when she heard him purring in response.

Then, out of nowhere, she began to cry.

She couldn't believe how lucky she was to have met Ethan. He is the smartest, nicest, and most wonderful person she has ever met and love. Even if he isn't human, that doesn't mean a damn thing to his kind heart. And the more she thought about how amazing he is, the harder her tears leaked.

What would she be without him?

A few years ago, Layla was at her worst in life. Bullies and teachers mocked her at every turn. Homework was piled into a mountain. The upcoming, final exams inflicted great amounts of stress. Her grades fell to a point way beyond below F. Her mother pestered her and nagged just how disappointed she was in her own daughter. Then she went ahead and took all her electronics: phone to consoles to her own computer. And even her usually-laidback father was starting to get worried about her. There was just so many little things attacking her in so many different directions that she wanted to give up. Maybe take a few drugs to loosen up. Or even maybe commit suicide just to end it all on the spot.

But then she started to wonder, What would Ethan think?

She imagined how heartbroken he'd be if he knew she killed herself. And knowing him, he'll blame himself for her sudden death. In heaven or hell, she knew she wouldn't be able to stand to see him in so much pain and sadness over his loss of his greatest friend.

So, at her weakest moment, she decided if she was going to live, she'll live for him. Not for her parents' sake or for the sake of being successful in life. She'll live only for the sake of Ethan; nothing and for no one else.

As Layla continued to cry, she suddenly felt herself being lifted higher onto the bed. She felt Ethan's warm and wet tongue ridding the tears that stained her face. The strange part was that he was still sleeping, but she didn't mind. His tongue always feels so nice.

Seemingly satisfied with his work, Ethan hugged her back into his chest. "I love you always, Layla…" he mumbled pleasantly. "Never forget that…"

"I won't… Ethan," she whimpered. "I won't ever forget. I promise."

Log: Not Invincible

For so long I have thought myself as invincible. And can you blame a dinosaur who was genetically created to be the ultimate predator who's comprised of the most savage beasts that has ever roamed the Earth?

Today has made realize that I am not invincible. While it may take great physical harm to put dent on my scales that rival steel, sicknesses such as the common flu can easily penetrate my defenses and leave me crawling on the floor, sneezing up a storm.

But that is not the only truth I'm coming to realize.

I have always thought of Layla as a strong-willed human who can laugh at her problems and make them naught.

But today has me thinking otherwise.

Perhaps Layla is not as strong as I once thought. She seems to be insecure about herself. She doubts her very existence and needlessly berates herself.

Almost like me…

But no matter. It is all the more reason why I must protect my love with all my power and assure her she is not thet lower lifeform she thinks herself to be.

Sup, everybody! Reviews are always appreciated.