+1. The one time he didn't hesitate.

Stephen Hart was beginning to see the difficulty of their situation. Sure there was about to be a whole lot of wild, prehistoric, dangerous, man-eating animals on the loose, and sure he just meet up with his ex-best friend? And their ex-team, who he was almost positive still wanted to see him dead, after the whole, 'I slept with your wife before we meet, I became your assistant, and befriended you, and then you found out, and... I'm sorry?' thing.

That wasn't even the worst part. The worst part was how hell bent, Nick Cutter was on sacrificing his own life, for a plan that wasn't even sure to work. Where was the military when you needed them?

Situations were becoming difficult. Since leaving the team, to get along by his own devices, Stephen had sunk into a deep depression. It didn't help that every once in a while Helen Cutter would be there to manipulate him, and Nick Cutter would be there to give him that look that said, ' I don't trust you, and you're pretty much dead to me now'.

Depression was a tricky thing. It makes you do crazy stuff.

Maybe that's why he did what he did. Maybe that's why he punched Nick in the face, maybe that's why he ran into the room full o' dinosaurs and pressed that button, maybe that's why he didn't hesitate.

Stephen didn't know if he was making up for the mistakes he made with what he was doing, but he did know that the look was finally gone. Nick was only looking at him with concern and sadness now, but not the kind of 'dead to me' sadness, but the kind of 'don't do this, I forgive you' sadness.

Stephen supposed on some level that, looking back, what he was doing, what he did was probably climbing the crazy scale, but he didn't care.

He was finally forgiven.

All he wanted was for the pain to stop, and if he had to save his friends, save the world, and run headlong into a cage full of man-eating monsters to do it, well then that was just his luck.

It wasn't easy being pals.

As Stephen Hart smiled a sad, heart breaking farewell to his best friend Nick Cutter, one thought came to his mind:

' I should do this. I must do this. I can do this... and I will.'

-fini-