Seriama returned to her glade one day to find Henry crying miserably outside of their new cave. His shoulders shook as he sobbed into his paws, soaking his fingers with salty tears. Seriama dropped the prey she had been carrying and ran over to him in alarm.
'Henry? What's wrong?'
He lifted his head and gasped.
'Seriama? Is that you?'
He hugged her tightly.
'You came back . . . You came back . . . I thought you'd left . . .'
Seriama tried to wiggle out of his grasp.
'Henry, calm down! I'm here.'
He smiled through his tears.
'I know, I know. I'm glad. Thank you for coming back.'
Seriama laughed.
'Henry, it's no big deal. I brought you breakfast.'
Henry smiled and gave her a kiss. After a moment, he bit his lip.
'Sorry. I don't know if we should still-'
Seriama kissed him again to shut him up. He ran the back of his longest claw down her neck, and she did the same to him. When they separated, Henry rested his head on her shoulder.
'I love you, Seriama.'
She smiled.
'I love you, too.'
One night, Seriama returned to the den with her arms full of junk. She spread out the supplies in front of Henry. He reached forward and felt them one by one.
'Good . . . Good. This will do nicely,' he said, picking up a large blanket. He tied each end to four shoots of bamboo and stuck them into the surrounding trees. Seriama looked at the makeshift tarp in confusion.
'What's it for?'
Henry smiled.
'For shade. Only, this one won't break. I know my other roof wasn't perfect, but I think this will do fine.'
Seriama blinked.
'It's for us?'
Henry laughed.
'What else would it be for?'
Seriama bit her lip.
'I thought you might be planning something.'
Henry's smile disappeared.
'You thought I was planning something? . . . Why did you help me, if you suspected I was up to no good? . . .'
'I'd do anything for you.'
Henry's face showed guilt and anguish. After a moment, he wrapped his arms around her.
'Seriama, don't follow me blindly. If you don't trust me, you shouldn't stick around.'
He ran his hand down her side and felt her ribcage. He frowned.
'You're getting skinny . . .'
'Prey is scarce.'
Henry's lip quivered.
'You've been feeding both of us . . .'
Seriama kissed him.
'It's fine, Henry. I don't mind.'
Henry stood very still. After a moment, he started to shake.
'Seriama . . . I'm so bad for you . . .'
She touched his cheek.
'I love you, Henry. I'm happy with you.'
'You'd be happier with the others . . .'
Seriama squeezed his hand.
'I can't leave you. You need me.'
Henry unlaced his hand from hers and rested it on her snout for a very long time. Seriama was worried that he had somehow lost consciousness, but he pulled away and took a shaky breath.
'I think I need some time to . . . think things through.'
Seriama nodded worriedly.
'If you say so . . .'
Henry wandered through the jungle. Unbeknownst to him, Seriama followed. Henry had a funny way of walking now. He was slow, and he often held his hands out in front of his face to keep from bumping into anything. Seriama trailed behind him at a snail's pace, until they came to a patch of bushes. Henry felt the thorns grazing his legs and bent down. Nearby, a dilophosaurus was hopping along, minding his own business.
'Excuse me?' Henry said quietly. The dilophosaurus jumped.
'Don't eat me! I have a wife and kids!'
'I'm not going to eat you,' Henry mumbled calmly, 'I just need to know something.'
'What?' the dilophosaurus asked cautiously.
'What color are the berries on this bush?'
'Yellow. Why?'
Henry took a deep breath.
'No reason. Thank you for assisting me.'
'Alright . . . weirdo . . .'
As the dilophosaurus hopped away, Henry turned back to the bush. He stood very still, looking down at it for a long time with unseeing eyes, then plucked a sprig of berries from the shrub. As he opened his mouth, Seriama darted forward and swatted the branch out of his hand.
'HENRY!'
He stumbled backwards.
'Seriama! What are you doing here?' he gasped.
'Those are POISONOUS, Henry!' Seriama shouted, 'You could have died!'
Henry gulped.
'I . . . I didn't see what color they were . . . I can't see . . .'
Seriama stared at him with tears in her eyes.
'Henry . . .'
She gave him a hug.
'Henry, don't leave me.'
She felt his tears sliding down her back.
'I have to. You'd be better off without me.'
Seriama shook her head.
'No . . . No, that's not true. Come back to the den. We'll work things out.'
Reluctantly, Henry followed her home. He lay beside her calmly, though tears were still pouring down his face. Seriama's own tears mingled with his as she leaned against him.
'Seriama, you deserve better.'
'I'm happy with you.'
'You really shouldn't be.'
Seriama didn't mean to fall asleep. She knew that if she left Henry unsupervised, the results would be disastrous. Sure enough, he was gone the next morning. With a frightened cry, Seriama stood up and ran out of the cave.
'HENRY! HENRY! HENRY!'
To her relief, she saw him walking back towards the den. She was surprised when she noticed that he was dragging a dead stegosaurus across the grass by its neck. He grunted as he pulled it closer to her, and let it drop.
'I made breakfast.'
Seriama looked at him with disbelief. He was covered in scratches, and he had a terrible perforation wound on his knee. He noticed her worried silence.
'They aren't all from the stegosaurus,' he explained, 'I fell into thorns. Well, he pushed me, but the result was the same.'
'Henry . . .'
He found where she was and guided her towards the carcass.
'Eat. I don't want you to starve.'
'Henry, you could have been killed . . .'
He shrugged.
'It doesn't matter. I survived. He sure put up a fight, though . . .'
Suddenly, Henry fell to his knees. He tried to stand up, but barely made it off of the ground.
'I'm fine, really. I just need to rest.'
Seriama licked his bleeding knee.
'Henry, this is bad. Really bad. I've seen dinosaurs die from wounds like this.'
Henry smiled falsely.
'I'll be fine. Really, I'm feeling alright. I'm going to make it. Don't worry about me.'
Seriama looked into his eyes. Although he could not see, there was a glimmer of anxiety in his expression.
'Henry . . . You need help.'
He rumbled.
'From whom? The dinosaur ER? There are no doctors on this island.'
'What about Nublar?'
Henry's eyes went wide.
'No, Seri. No. I can't go back there. Do you know what I did to those people?'
'They're kind. They'll help us.'
Henry shook his head.
'I promised myself that I wouldn't bother them ever again. If I show up on the island, I'll draw attention to us, and you'll be in danger.'
Seriama stroked his snout.
'No, Henry. That's not true. They're good people. Let them help you.'
He shivered.
'I can't, Seriama.'
'Why not?'
'I'm afraid.'
The power of these words was particularly poignant for Seriama, who was more than familiar with Henry's demeanor and habits. He would never, NEVER admit that he was scared, so whatever he was worried about must be a huge deal. Seriama ran her hand down his neck in solace.
'I was afraid too, but once I started talking to them-'
'It's different for you. You're a good person. I'm irredeemable.'
'Henry . . .'
'It's true.'
'You're wrong.'
Henry sighed and closed his eyes.
'I'm not going to Isla Nublar. I can't face those people. Not after what I did.'
'What if we avoided them altogether? We could just see the nurse and be done with it.'
Henry shook his head.
'We can't.'
'We can and we will. We are going to Isla Nublar, whether you like it or not.'
Henry moaned weakly.
'How?'
She stood up.
'I'll get them to bring a boat. Meet me by the beach in an hour.'
'Seriama . . .'
'If you don't come on your own, I'll have to drag you. Do you want that?'
'No . . .'
'Then do as I say.'
Henry bit his lip, but nodded.
'Well, all things considered, that went surprisingly well . . .' Henry muttered as he curled up in the garage. Seriama sat down beside him and kissed his nose.
'I told you.'
'I should listen to you more often.'
Seriama smiled and pressed her forehead against his side. He sighed happily and held her hand.
'This place isn't half bad. We finally have a door, so there's no wind. I feel at home.'
Seriama frowned sadly.
'Henry . . . Would you be happier as a human?'
He blinked.
'Well . . . I don't know. I'm happy with you . . .'
'You could take the cure.'
Henry shook his head.
'I'm not going to do that. I love you too much.'
Seriama looked down.
'You'd forget about me. You wouldn't even know the difference . . .'
Henry lifted her chin with his claw.
'Seriama, I love you. I can't live without you. I want to spend the rest of my life by your side.'
Seriama took a deep breath.
'Do you mean it?'
'Absolutely.'
Seriama smiled as he rested his chin on her neck.
'Henry, I think you might be good after all . . .'
'Really?'
'Yes. There's goodness inside of you, and you can find it.'
Henry kissed her.
'I'm glad you think that, but I've done terrible things.'
'Maybe, but now you have a chance to make things right. You'll be happy.'
Henry smiled.
'As long as I'm with you, I have all the happiness I need.'
And just like that, Seriama knew what it was like to be wanted. The two of them fell asleep peacefully that night, and when the morning came, they joined the group at the base of the hill for breakfast. It was awkward, quiet, and more than a little unnerving, but even so, Seriama knew that things would get better.
As long as she had friends, being a barymimus wouldn't be so difficult.
The End