Response extra – Abby deals with stress

Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine, but belong to Impossible Pictures™.

Note: This takes place between the seventh chapter and the epilogue of the main story.

Although she was loath to admit it, Abby was not quite aware as to how she made the walk from their car to the ARC's medical wing, and if she was aware, then only dimly: in her mind's eye she still saw the bear-dogs ambush the young herbivore and bring it down using some very neat teamwork. Moreover, she saw herself as well, getting out of their car for real, trying to intervene with the original three bear-dogs and getting torn to pieces as well.

Abby was a good melee fighter by now: she had taken on the leader of the Mer-pack a long time ago, and later on she had confronted an armed and armoured knight over Dragon, their dinosaur mascot, but in these cases, as well as in any others, it was either one-on-one, or it was the full ARC team against several opponents – never nothing else, as it should be. In a straightforward fight, numbers always win, especially if the fight is five on one, whether that 'one' is a prehistoric herbivore or a modern human.

"Abby?" the young woman became aware of a gentle shaking on her arm. "Abby? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing is wrong – Jenny," the blonde managed weakly. "I was just – thinking."

"You were staring straight ahead with glazed eyes and I think you were beginning to drool," Jenny wasn't dissuaded. "The mission went wrong, hasn't it?"

"Well, nobody got hurt...but then again, it wasn't exactly a mission as we tend to see it," Abby confessed. "I mean, there weren't any people hurt and we didn't have to lift a finger to get rid of the animals – all we had to do was to watch those bear-dogs or whatever kill their prey right before us and eat it then and there before they left." To her mortification, Abby felt her face grow moist – very moist. "I know that our heroics are mostly for the people – humans, if you want to get technical – and working at the zoo made me aware of the facts of life, but-"

"But knowing and seeing are not too identical things," Jenny said softly. "Abby, I don't know what to say that will make it all right, but when I went out into the past to confront Helen, I felt certain that I knew what can be coming at me. And let me tell without getting into any greater details – I wasn't. My first time anomaly travel almost killed me – Helen had to actually rescue me from being eaten by several prehistoric dinosaurs or some creatures like that. And then-" Jenny turned red and abruptly shifted her topic. "I know that that is not the same. And we know that Lester would probably declare this occurrence to have been a good thing – you know how he could be-"

"Yeah, but we're not – we may not be heroes, but we have always been in the thick of things: if Nick was alive, or even Danny had been present, we would've done something-"

"No argument there," Jenny nodded, remembering how Danny was able to save the day first with the giganotosaurus and then with the future fungus. "Danny – and Nick – had certain qualities that we lack – all of us."

"Yeah, but Helen, at least, was observant enough to notice the flanking attackers," Abby admitted grudgingly, "and she did save my life for whatever reasons. I guess she's not all bad after all."

Jenny decided not to remind Abby that Helen had saved her life once already, even if for her own reasons – now probably was not the time, while Abby continued.

"It's just that, well, I still feel like we have failed and tried to cut our losses in a best way possible, but-"

"But nothing – we just have to figure out how to deal with prehistoric or future creatures if they come in a group."

"Well, almost straightaway after you left, we had to deal with a bunch of terror birds – different ones from the ones we've got now. Danny managed to lure them back through the time anomaly with a recording. And after that there was this herd of brontotheres – Helen actually saved the day with that time anomaly manifestation device... Yeah, we clearly need new strategies, even when Danny and others return from France," Abby smiled. "You know, Jenny, I am glad that we've had this talk – it did make me feel better."

"So you won't be going to the medics?"

"Just a check-up, just in case," Abby smiled and left.

...When some time later Abby returned, she no longer felt like smiling – once again. But that is another story.