Stories of the Valley

by Angelwriter84

Littlefoot and gang learn the stories of their loved ones and what they went through before finding the Great Valley. Hyp learns of his father's hardships and is affected by the story. Chomper's parents become the first sharpteeth in the valley, Pterano returns and finds his place in the valley, and more. But soon, old enemies arrive for revenge. Will they see a happy ending? Enjoy

13. Chapter 13: Group Therapy

Hey everyone, here is part 2 of the therapy session. I will admit it is long, but it is all comedy and almost everyone is in this chapter. And…we actually get Pterano in the water! Hope you guys enjoy and would love to hear from you.

Oh! And thank you Unknown and VONDON for all of your encouragement. ChuckyDoll, that is a very good question, glad to hear from you. But yes! Dinosaurs are cold blooded and adjust to the temperatures around them, so they have no need for sweat glands. I just went with it to convey sickness or getting tired because I wanted everyone to know a character was physically alter. Fever is in this, and come to think of it, I am unsure if fever is possible. But I do not know the symptoms of a reptile being sick. Great question. If you have suggestions, let me know because I'd be interested.

Thanks, guys!…

Chapter 13: Group Therapy

Britta

Lexie and Ella were waiting for them when they got to the river; well, sort of. Ella was sleeping on a flat rock near the edge of the water while Lexie sat on the edge of the shallower end, swooshing her feet around in the deeper water. Lexie did not see them right away. She was talking to Ducky as Littlefoot and the other children played nearby. Britta smiled as Lexie splashed back and forth with the children. Of course they wanted to play in the river on such a beautiful morning.

Hyp halted to a stop with wide eyes when he spotted Ella and Lexie. "Lexie?!" he exclaimed, looking surprised at the sight of her.

Lexie heard and waved at them. "Hi, Hyp." she said softly.

Pterano turned to her when Hyp ventured over to greet Lexie. "The river, Britta? What are we doing here?"

Britta sighed and smiled at him as she sat the mixture of herbs down. Here comes the fun part. It was very true that flyers were not good swimmers. Whatsoever. But shortly after she was attacked by the sharptooth flyers and during her practice, Britta had learned to navigate in waters as best as a flyer could. She had learned from an old swimmer that water could do wonders: wash away clots from wounds, relax the body, and so on. Water exercises were particularly effective. She had astounded many when she learned not to be intimidated by the water, and she was sure the residents of the Great Valley would be no different. Pterano, on the other hand, was a typical flyer. The closest they ever got to water was to drink and take baths, which could be done in the shallower ends. Most started panicking when their wings were submerged, and she was sure Pterano wouldn't like what she had in mind. But, first off, he needed to relax.

Pterano's eyes widened before she could find words. "Britta, dear… Please. Tell me you're-"

"Uncle Pterano!" A dark brown blur of their nephew sailed in and latched himself to Pterano's beak. Pterano hesitantly returned the hug by cupping his hands, still pleading Britta to say she was joking with his eyes. Wait. Petrie! Perfect.

"Hi, Britta." Petrie sat perched in his uncle's hands, looking up at them innocently. "Why you at river?"

"Hi, Petrie." Britta knelt in admiration of her sweet nephew a moment before deciding cruelty might be the quickest way to get Pterano in the water. "Your uncle was just going to learn how to swim during our session today."

Petrie tiled his head, then burst into laughter. "Britta, flyers no swim!"

Pterano took every opportunity. "That's absolutely right, you clever boy." He patted Petrie on the head, then turned a burning gaze on her. "He knows nonsense when he hears it."

Britta crossed her arms, pretending to ignore Pterano. "Well, it just so happens that I swim."

Petrie looked amazed, but a familiar voice from behind her said something for him. "No, you don't."

Britta turned to see that Hyp and Lexie were both looking in her direction curiously. Hyp had spoken with a mocking look in his eyes, while Lexie just looked amazed. Britta smiled at the skeptical teen with confidence. "Yes, I can. I had to learn."

Hyp pointed to the deeper end of the water. "Prove it."

Without any further coaxing, Britta walked over to the deeper end and jumped into the cool water. She stayed submerged under a moment to take in the silence, to arrange her soaking wings so that they wouldn't wrap around her, and then pushed at the bottom with her feet to come up. When she shook the water from her face and opened her eyes, Pterano was kneeling on the water's edge as if she were in danger. Petrie was sitting on his shoulder, mirroring his uncle's image in that both their beaks were slightly agape.

Britta smiled and rested her arms on the bank while letting the rest of her body float. "Did I prove myself?"

"Wow." Lexie was the first to somewhat speak. Hyp looked flustered at being proven wrong a moment before his eyes drifted to the side.

"Hey, Ella missed it." He pointed to his cousin, still sleeping peacefully on the rock.

"Well, leave her alone." Britta's gaze drifted back to Pterano, who was attempting sneak away with Petrie. "We're going to be here a while."

Pterano flinched when she called at to them, then turned around with a casual smile. "Petrie and I are going to lunch."

Petrie put his hands on his little hips. "Uncle Pterano, it not lunch time yet. Me just eat breakfast."

Britta pulled herself from the water, which was not an easy task with soaking wings. Pterano gave a silent sigh when she stopped in front of him with her arms crossed. He started resisting when she grabbed his hand and pulled him to the water.

"No..no…n-no no no no no. Britta, dear. I…"

Petrie was circling around them. "Uncle Pterano so brave to learn to swim!"

Pterano's eyes darted to Petrie because there was no going back now; he was too proud. He glared at a triumphant Britta a moment before stepping into the shallow end to get used to the water. Britta noticed that they had attracted quite the crowd. Petrie landed on Littlefoot, who was staring at them in amazement along with everyone who had been playing in the river before.

Britta smiled at them. "Do you guys mind if we borrow this end for a little while?" It was the perfect spot for this kind of thing, with the ankle deep water dropping off into the waist deep water. Just what they needed.

"Um, yeah. Sure." He and the others just stood there after he answered. Maybe they were curious.

"Thank you." Britta splashed Pterano, who shuddered. She sighed and sat down on the other side of Lexie.

Hyp leaned so that he could talk to her. "Well, what are we going to do now?"

"You are going to get used to the deeper water and see if you can get Ella to let you borrow that rock. You will be needing it."

Hyp didn't need any coaxing to plop into the water. He winced at the pain that the effort of wading brought to his ribs. Britta smiled knowingly. "Different, isn't it?"

"You're telling me." When Hyp could move, he ventured over to a still sleeping Ella.

At last, Britta got the chance to talk with Lexie. "How are you feeling?"

"Better." She offered a soft smile that told Britta she was better, but not well.

Before she could say anything else, they were interrupted by a splash and Ella's voice. "Hyp? Hyp, don't- Hyp. Hyp! HYP!"

Both Lexie and Britta winced when a large splash followed her cries. Everyone watched as Ella popped up from underwater and dove for Hyp, who was rolling with laugher on his newly claimed rock.

"Ooohhh!" Ella grabbed Hyp's feet and flipped him over the rock and back into the water with a splash. With his condition, Britta might have objected to this if he didn't deserve it. Ella waded to the bank and pulled herself ashore, shaking the water droplets from her skin. Lexie giggled sweetly as everyone watched Hyp try to pull himself back onto the rock.

Britta shook her head and turned back to Lexie. "Do you think you could do a few exercises with me today? I brought those herbs for you."

Lexie's sea blue eyes turned sad. "That's nice of you. But I'm not sure if it will help. Nothing has before."

Britta patted her knee. "Well, we are going to try."

Lexie managed a small smile as a small, sweet voice sounded form behind them, where Pterano was staring at the deeper end like it was a lava pit. The little sharptooth, Chomper, had ventured over beside Pterano without him noticing. When he saw the fear in the older flyer's eyes, he spoke up to offer sincere comfort.

"Don't worry, swimming's easy. My kind doesn't swim, either. But I learned how-"

He never got to finish his sentence. Pterano looked down to see who was addressing him, and thrust himself back when he saw what it was, causing him to scramble back into the deeper water. And like anyone who wasn't prepared to fall into deeper water, he began thrashing around, trying to get his head above water. Everyone gasped as Britta rushed to the spot nearest him and managed to grab his arms so that she could pull him back onto the shallower end. Even though this got his head above water, he still continued to thrash, making it difficult for Britta to keep her hold on him.

"Oh, Pterano. Just stand up! It's only waist deep on you."

Pterano found the edge before he found his footing and quickly hoisted himself back onto the ledge where the water was only ankle deep.

Once he could stand, he began trying to lift his soaking wings, which were probably heavier than hers were. His voice shook like he was crying when he spoke.

"Oh, stand my wings. This is almost more than I can bear! I thought I saw a talking sharptooth and…oh, look at my wings…" he wailed when he noticed them drooping hopelessly at his sides.

Britta sighed and straightened one of his arms before clasping his wing between her palms. She ran her hands down the length of his wing to show him the best way to get his wings to dry.

"This is Chomper," she stated in a matter-of-fact tone as she worked. When she finished one wing, he handed her the other with a curious expression as she continued. "He has arranged to stay in the valley so that he can learn."

"Learn?" Pterano sounded baffled, but curious all the same.

Britta looked at Chomper because she still didn't have a deep understanding of the matter herself. Chomper spoke up, friendly as ever. "I'm learning how dinosaurs can live together and get along."

"Haha, yep! He has only been eating bugs since he's been here." The cheerful little fast-runner, Ruby, Britta thought, spoke up for him.

"Well..." Pterano was still too astonished to give one of his usual sophisticated responses. "That's…uhrm….."

Ducky, the little blue eyed swimmer, swam up beside Pterano and stood up with her hands on her hips. "Petrie's Uncle, you're not supposed to fall in water before you learn to swim. Nope, nope, nope! Haha!"

Pterano smiled as she laughed cheerfully. "I'll say… It's good to see you, Ducky."

Spike, the spiketail Britta had heard Ducky call her "little" brother, came up beside his sister and nodded at Pterano before grabbing Ducky and throwing her on his back. Britta noticed that Littlefoot stayed back, looking a little uneasy, while Cera just glared at the flyer from where she was. Britta hated to see that, but who could blame them? All they knew was the flyer that Littlefoot's grandfather and Tess had just introduced her to. Pterano had a lot of proving to do even with the children. But Britta guessed the best place to start was here.

She lay a hand on Lexie's shoulder apologetically. "I'll be right back. Let me get them settled, then we'll start."

She turned back to a trembling Pterano. "Okay, Pterano. Watch me."

She sat down on the edge and slowly lowered herself down in the waist deep water (probably middle stomach deep for her) and waited for her wings to sink with the weight of the water so that they would be out of the way.

She turned to face them again, holding onto the ledge. "Okay, Pterano. Your turn."

Pterano brought one foot back behind him. "N-no."

Britta leaned on the ledge, exasperated. "Why?"

"It's…it's just not natural."

Lexie gave Pterano a warning look as Hyp snorted at the comment. Britta crossed her wings and glared up at the great flyer. "Oh, so what? Are you saying I'm not natural because I had to learn to swim?"

"N-No…" Pterano cooed softly as he turned his face away apologetically in an attempt to smooth things over.

Britta, in no mood to negotiate, gestured for him to sit down on the edge. When he finally did, she grabbed both of his hands and pushed on the bottom of the ledge, providing just enough pull to get Pterano into the deeper water, luckily on his feet this time. Pterano looked as if he were about to cry when his wings began sinking.

Britta let go of his hands so he could hold onto the ledge's edge. Pterano looked around like a timid little hatchling exploring their new world, then lifted the end of one of his wings.

Britta giggled because it was funny. "You're okay. Just get used to the water for now."

She turned to Hyp, who was watching Pterano's every move, waiting for him to slip. "Okay, Hyp…"

Just as she was about to show Hyp his exercise, Tess flew in and landed in the shallower end of the water. "Petrie, I just wanted to-"

She stopped midsentence with her beak agape when she spotted Pterano and Britta in the water. "What are you doing?"

"An attempt at group therapy," Britta answered with a knowing smile.

Petrie circled around his mother and landed in her arms excitedly. "Mom! Uncle Pterano second flyer to learn how to swim."

He stole a glance of admiration at his uncle before pointing and speaking to anyone who could hear. "That my uncle."

Tess just held onto her son and stared for a moment before she could manage a confused smile. Petrie got an idea and tugged at her wing. "Mom, you learn to swim. Then you be the third!"

"No." Tess gave the classic head shake of a mother and released her son back into the air.

Pterano offered his sister a taunting smile as soon as he stopped shaking. Britta shook her head, sharing a knowing look with Lexie. "Oh come now, Tess. Why can't you take a little swim?"

Tess put her hands on her hips and glared at her brother. "Because I said so," she said with a tone of finality.

Britta giggled and smiled at her friend. "Do you want to stay and watch?"

Tess smiled in amusement when Pterano nearly slipped. "I might do that," she said. She flew off into a nearby tree and began snacking on the tree stars.

Britta smiled and positioned Hyp so that he was kicking his feet in the water as he held on to the rock. He grunted at the pain in his ribs, but kept his feet going all the same.

"Well, how's this?" he asked grouchily, still cringing.

"You're doing great, Hyp. If you keep this up, you'll be better in no time and won't need me anymore," she said with a smile.

She stood back and watched as Hyp kept going. "Good." She pushed down on his back. "Just keep your back straight. You should feel a little pain in your ribs. Try to keep going until you have to rest, then wait for me to find something different for you to do."

"Okay," Hyp huffed, still paddling.

Britta scoffed. "Are you tired already?"

"No!" Hyp said defensively, pausing to glare at her.

Britta smiled and moved on to Lexie, who was still waiting patiently. "I'm sorry, Lexie. Now, your mother told me you have been having pain in your legs?"

The light grey dinosaur rubbed the side on her thigh tentatively. "Yeah, ever since the other night."

Britta held her ankle as she straightened her leg, then let it back down when Lexie flinched. "Does this happen often?"

"Yeah, almost every time I…get sick."

Britta rested her beak on her hands, thinking. "Hmm….and it's always in the legs?"

The teenage girl shook her head. "Um um…for the first few days after I get better, it's pretty much all over my body. But after that, it kind of stays in the legs. Then it goes away."

Britta thought hard on what to do. That's just what Jen used to say.

She stopped when the water suddenly sounded very quiet. All of the children had lost interest for now and were talking amongst themselves nearby with Ella. Tess was still in the trees. When Britta turned around, both Hyp and Pterano were standing in place, staring. When she threw up her hands, Hyp began paddling again while Pterano resumed swirling his hands around in the water, trying to explore the feeling.

Britta shook her head and turned back to Lexie. "Okay, I think I know what we are going to do…"

"Do you have a cure?" Lexie asked hopefully.

Britta wanted so badly to tell her that she did, but she couldn't. From what little bit Lexie's mother had said, an illness that Lexie had as a young hatchling left her body frail long after she had recovered. Britta was surprised that Heather had even managed to save the young girl's life; she, like Jen, was very lucky. But whenever she had a relapse, like she had the other night when Britta met her for the second time, it left her body weak for a while. Britta had searched for a cure, or even a cause, in her years of practice. But ultimately came up with nothing. She wasn't even sure if this type of treatment would work. But trying to bring strength back to the body seemed to be a good place to start.

Britta crossed her wings and made honest eye contact with Lexie. "I don't."

Poor Lexie's eyes dropped to the ground sadly. Britta grabbed her hand to get her attention and squeezed. "But we are going to try to find one. Just don't give up on me, okay?"

Lexie managed a small smile, but those sea blue eyes were dull with doubt. "Okay."

"Okay." Britta grasped the bottom of Lexie's left foot with her hands, just as she did with Hyp. This was a great exercise for the legs, and also put a little pressure on the ribs. "Now, just try to straighten your leg while I push on the bottom of your foot. It's an easy exercise. Let me know when it's too much."

Lexie did as she said. Britta applied less than half the pressure she currently did with Hyp because she needed to see how much the girl could do. After a few times, Lexie sounded tired, so Britta let her left foot go and held out her hand for the other foot.

Ruby walked over and stood next to Lexie, curiously watching as Britta worked. "Britta, you seem pretty strong for a flyer. That, you do."

Britta chuckled humbly. "Years of flying and practice doing this kind of thing."

"It's amazing what you do." Ruby lay down in the shallow water, making herself comfortable.

"Hey, this has herbs in it, right?" Ella walked over and stood behind her sister, tilting the shell of herbs from side to side as she examined the contents.

Oops. She had almost forgotten about that. The pink flyer nodded. "Yeah, they are for Lexie. Only for when she needs to sleep. Can you hold on to them for me, Ella? That isn't the kind of mixture just anybody should get a hold of."

"Oh." Ella's green eyes darted to the younger children. "Go it."

"Ip! Ip Ip Ip!"

Hyp let half his body sink. "Aw, man…"

Amy's voice called out to her sister as Britta and the others stared at Hyp in confusion. "Hey! Mae! Come back here!"

Before anyone could react, Baby Mae leapt right into the deeper end of the water in an attempt to get to Hyp. Almost everyone in the water jumped to rescue her, but Hyp gasped and got to her first. Baby Mae spat out some water, then looked up and realized who had her.

"Aaahhh…" Hyp sighed in relief, then glared at the baby he held in his arms with a stern look.

Pterano had actually strayed further from the ledge, looking for a moment as if he were about to have a heart attack. Britta giggled at the silent sigh of relief he blew when Hyp caught the hatchling. He looked back at her a moment in confusion, then smiled back.

Baby Mae was apparently an expert at jumping into deep water, because she just resumed whatever it was she was saying. "Ip, Ip Ip Ip!"

"What?" Hyp waded over to Amy, who was waiting on the bank for him to bring her sister back. He turned Mae around and held her out with a begrudging stare. "Take your dumb sister."

Amy looked as if she were actually about to take Mae, then drew back and gave Hyp a stern stare when she heard this last remark. Then she simply walked away, leaving Hyp with a baby in his arms and a blank stare.

"Amy!" When Amy didn't answer, he called out again.

"Amy! Ugh!" Hyp growled in frustration, then turned Mae around to face him again. Poor Mae just looked up at him with a confused expression.

Ella took the opportunity to get back at Hyp again. "Aww…" she cooed innocently, tucking her hands behind her back.

"Shut. Up." Hyp waded over to the ledge, then placed Mae back down on the shallow ledge where she could touch. Mae looked around a moment, then turned back around and tried to walk back into the deeper end. Hyp caught her and turned her back around, looking impatient. Mae did the same again, and Hyp put her back again, making everyone laugh. At last, Baby Mae decided to move on to something else.

Britta cooed to Hyp. "Aww…she actually looks up to you."

Britta gave Pterano the "be quiet" look when he cut those black eyes to say that this wasn't a good idea.

Petrie flew around an annoyed Hyp's head. "Yeah, me no know you be so nice."

Hyp swatted his hand in an attempt to shoo Petrie away. "I'm not nice!"

Lexie smiled at him. "I thought it was sweet."

Hyp growled and stomp-waded back to his rock to resume his exercise. Britta shook her head with a giggle and began working with Lexie again. Aw… Looks like someone has a crush. Hyp would never hear the end of this.

They actually got some work done for a few seconds, with Hyp and Lexie doing their workouts while Pterano seemed to relax to the first time today. Then, out of nowhere, another tiny voice sounded behind them, followed by Mr. Threehorn's harsh call.

"Tricia, don't go in-"

Too late, Britta quickly dropped Lexie's foot when she heard the splashing of tiny feet and caught the little pink threehorn just before she got submerged in the cool water. She sighed and supported Tricia's hind end with one arm while supporting her back with another so she could talk to her.

Tricia didn't catch the stern look on her face, because she opened her eyes excitedly and wagged her tail.

Britta sighed. "Tricia, you don't need to be in the water."

Tricia just dipped her head to get Britta to check her forehead for fever, a behavior she had learned last night when Britta had to frequently check to make sure the fever was going down. Tria said she thought Tricia liked the cool touch, which Britta was sure of since her fever was dangerously high by the time she someone got her.

Britta complied anyway, and was somewhat concerned that some fever was still lingering. Tricia smiled and wagged her tail. "Bwee."

Pterano caught the nickname and smirked. "What did she say?"

Britta lifted Tricia so that even the tip of her tail was out of the water. "She said Brea….she can't say my name." Then she rubbed Tricia's back when she rested her head on her shoulder. "And it sounds like someone is still a little hoarse."

Tria ran to the water's edge, then looked relieved that Britta had kept her daughter from the water. "Thank you for keeping her dry, Britta…we didn't think we would catch her," she sighed.

Tess flew in and perched on Tria with a smile of relief, as if she had been trying to catch the little one as well.

Mr. Threehorn came in behind Tria and stepped closer to Britta. "What are you doing? Hand her over."

Tria was flustered by her mate's rude manner. "She kept your daughter from getting wet, Topsy. Britta can hand her over when she pleases."

Britta just barely kept from chortling at Tria calling Mr. Threehorn Topsy. She could tell Pterano had suppressed a snort by the way he ducked his head inconspicuously, which was probably a smart move on his part.

Topsy saw her, though, and grumbled back at Tria. "Well, Britta is in the water."

Britta waited for that one to set in. Sure enough, "Topsy's" mouth fell open with a startled grunting noise when he realized what he had just said. Britta smirked back when Topps started back at her with an angry, shocked stare. His eyes darted suspiciously to Pterano, who shrunk away uneasily. "What are you two doing?" he asked suspiciously.

"Swimming," Britta said casually, going out of her way to hand Tricia back to Tria rather than Topps. "We are in the middle of a therapy session."

"Flyers swimming? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! Cera!" Britta felt sorry for the poor little threehorn when her father demanded an explanation.

Cera stuttered. "Well, uh, Britta said she had to learn…"

Britta interjected on her behalf. "I thought it best to learn under the practice off an old swimmer. It is possible for flyers to swim, so what's the problem?"

Threehorn turned back to her and was more the happy to state… his problem.

"The problem is that I don't see how this has anything to do with your…" He cast a glare at Pterano, "'Patients.'"

Britta thrust herself out of the water so she could make direct eye contact with the threehorn, hardly thinking about the fact that he was probably ten times her size. "It has everything in the world to do with my patients. I've been a practiced healer for a long time, Topsy. And last time I checked, you asked me to come here. If you question my methods and feel you can take over, be my guest!"

All at once, a series of various protests erupted from everyone out of concern for their own health. Britta ignored them and crossed her wings, still focused on a cringing Threehorn. "One the other hand, if you would like to see the session at work, then you are welcome to observe and ask me questions, but not my patients."

Threehorn's eyes softened as he stammered out a shaky response that was still too stubborn to give up. "Well, uuuhhrrrmmm…. Alright, I will!" he retorted.

"Wonderful." Without any further adue, Britta plopped back into the water. Pterano pleaded her with his eyes to reconsider letting Threehorn stay because his entire presence made him feel uneasy, but Britta just ignored him and helped Lissie into the deeper end of the water. But when her eyes cut to the side a little, she noticed….everyone….staring with open mouths. Nicolas and Heather had frozen with an armful of leaves (their children's forgotten lunches, probably). Grandpa and Grandma Longeck had lowered their heads to stare at her and Pterano in amazement, while Ducky's mother stopped speechless with Ducky's siblings, who all searched their mother for an answer at the scene before them. Mr. Thicknose, "the oldest and wisest in the valley" is how Britta had been introduced to him, looked baffled. And…well, she wasn't sure who the few others were.

Nicolas was the first to speak for all of them. He looked up to Grandpa Longneck for confirmation, then back to Heather, who shook her head. "Okay, I think I've seen everything," he commented.

"I think I have too," Tess crossed her wings decisively, staring at her older brother.

Grandpa Longneck tore his eyes away from the two flyers long enough to speak to his wife. "In all my years, I've never seen…" He didn't finish.

Mr. Thicknose took one step closer, addressing Britta. "How is such a thing accomplished?"

Britta shrugged indifferently. "I studied under an old swimmer once and found it beneficial to learn as much as a flyer can. Water works wonders."

Ducky's mother put her hands on her hips, satisfies enough. "That it does!"

Threehorn muttered under his breath. "Nonsense, if you ask me."

Ella muttered as well, but whether she meant for others to hear or not, they did. "Well, no one did."

Heather scolded her daughter. "Ella!"

Everyone chortled at the remark, especially Hyp, who looked proud of his cousin. Britta could say it was official that she liked Ella now, though she seemed a little mischevous.

Pterano smiled at Ella. "Well said."

Ella, probably having little knowledge of Pterano's past, did a good natured fist pump to smooth things over jokingly, and then smiled at Threehorn before reporting to her mother.

Grandpa Longneck chuckled, then lay down on the ground to relax. "I think I'll stay along with Threehorn to observe the session. It's not every day you see a flyer swim, after all."

Everyone else whispers in agreement and remained nearby, thought they tried to spread out to be a little less obvious.

Britta pulled Pterano from his ledge and turned her attention back to her patients. "Okay, everyone. We are going to do something…new. Sort of like a game."

Hyp threw his arms in the air, making Lexie giggle sweetly. Britta smirked at Pterano. "Finally!" the teen boy commented, "Something fun for a change. What are we doing?"

"This." Britta waded as fast as she could to the bank, then waded back. She knew laughter was coming before it even erupted because it honestly did look funny.

Even the kids laughed. Hyp was the first to get words. "Water running, Britta?"

"Really?" Lexie pitched in with an "I really don't want to do this" tone.

Threehorn snorted. "And what does that do?"

Britta was actually glad he asked. "It is wonderful exercise. It gives strength to the middle for Hyp, helps Lexie strengthen her leg, and helps Pterano get back his own strength. It's very worthwhile." She turned back to her patients. "You could just wade back and forth, or turn it into a water race. It doesn't matter to me as long as it's done."

Threehorn growled. "That's ridiculous."

Ducky spoke up. "It is not ridiculous. My mama used to do that for us all the time. She did. She did."

She looked to her mother for confirmation, to which Mrs. Swimmer kindly nodded.

Littlefoot looked at Ruby. "It makes sense!" he said excitedly.

"That it does," Ruby agreed.

Pterano jumped when he saw that this actually might turn into a race. "What?!" He turned to Britta. "Woman, I'm old."

Despite the fact that the vast majority did not care for him, this got a quite a few chuckles.

Petrie landed on his uncle's beak and laughed. "Uncle Pterano, you not that old."

Grandpa Longneck confirmed this. "On the contrary, you are still a good age for this kind of thing. Me, on the other hand…"

Britta crossed her arms. "Yeah, Pterano. Uncle up. When you are the same age as Mr. Longneck, we can talk." She pointed to the boulder, where the unofficial "start" was.

Pterano moved on to something else. "I thought we were supposed to be talking!"

Britta spread her hands. "You haven't talked all day!"

Pterano spread his hands as well, slightly raising his own voice. "About what?"

"Whatever you want!"

Pterano sighed and growled a sarcastic answer. "The water feels nice and the ripples as lovely, can I go?"

Threehorn muttered to Tria. "Sounds like a couple to me."

Britta was just fed up now. "You know what, Pterano? Congratulations. You're dismissed if you please!"

Pterano looked sensitive to her anger, but she didn't care. The world seemed to spin with chaos.

Hyp swam up to Pterano, taunting him. "You're just afraid me or Britta will beat you out."

"I am not!" Pterano exclaimed.

"Are too."

The two argued back and forth; meanwhile, Threehorn was on a rant. "I still don't see how this is helping anyone at all! I've been at this watering hole for some time now and not a thing has been done. You're supposed to be a healer, not spend your time playing water games…."

On the other hand, Tricia and Mae, who were now on their sister backs, had sighed each other and were having a conversation with wagging tails.

Mae stood on her hind legs. "Ah! Da da da da da da da da da?"

Tricia giggled. "Bwha! Da da da da da da da da da."

It was like they were imitating what was going on around them. Their conversation continued as Grandpa Longneck and Nicolas approached Threehorn. Grandpa Longneck spoke up. "How, Threhorn, you're being unreasonable!"

Mr. Threenhorn huffed. "HUMPH!" He looked to Nicolas. "What? You think I'm being 'unreasonable," too?"

Nicolas threw down his pile of leaves. "I don't see how she can get anything done."

Littlefoot and the gang were talking amongst themselves excitedly. Littlefoot spoke up. "Hey Britta, the race sounds fun! Can we do it, too?"

Chomper hopped on his best friend's back. "I've never tried 'water racing' before."

All at once, all of the children starting pleading at once. Britta was fairly sure she was covering her eyes by now because she couldn't see.

Mutt and Nod had approached the edge, immediately distracting Hyp. Pterano, now free of Hyp, noticed her condition and spoke so only she could hear. "Dear?"

Tess saw the danger and spoke primarily to the children, shooing them. "Guys, you're crowding her. Let her alone."

Heather's voice came from somewhere far away, probably talking to Grandma Longneck. "Poor thing."

Just when Britta felt as if she were about to explode, a small innocent voice came from nearby. "Britta?"

"WHAT?!" she hesitated, breathing hard. It took a few seconds to realized she had snapped at Petrie.

Pterano scolded her gently. "Britta!"

Lexie, witnessing the entire ridiculous scenario, finally let out a small, sweet giggle toward Britta. Another guffaw from Hyp. Finally, Britta caved in and leaned her head against Tess' shoulder to recover from a giggling spell along with everyone else.

Britta reached for a frozen Petrie and cupped him in her hands. "I'm sorry, Petrie. What is it?"

Petrie's eyes stayed wide open and indifferent as he held out a Stiff Leaf in his tiny hand. "Stiff Leaf?"

Pterano's guffaw set off another round of laughter. Britta shook her head. Yes, this was the son of Tim.

Britta went along with the joke. "Yes! Put it in some water, please. To calm my nerves."

Petrie soon returned with a leaf of water with the single Stiff Leaf floating in it. Britta shook a sip and took a deep breath before setting it back on the bank. "Okay," she said, feeling a lot calmer. "Let's have the water race."

All of the children cheered, and the race began. Britta helped her patients while the children raced in the shallow end. The parents watched in amusement as their kids raced, and some even joined in themselves. Hyp and Lexie had to rest when the muscles they were targeting began to hurt, but Britta could see that they were beginning to get at least a little stronger. She and Pterano, with coaxing from the kids, raced as well and tied. Britta dunked him under the water when he claimed that he won, and had to pull him up again when he started to panic. He looked angry at first, then smiled back at her with the shining eyes that she missed as everyone laughed.

Pterano noticed Tess scolding Petrie for splashing her, and decided to hit her with bigger splashed. Tess screamed at him as a result. "PTERANO, STOP!"

Sometime during the races, Britta watched Hyp coax his father by claiming he could beat him any day. To their surprise, Nicolas jumped in and raced his son with skill, as if he had water ran many times before. Be actually lapped Hyp two out of three times, and tripped his son with an indifferent expression when Hyp nearly reached the bank. Britta smiled when Hyp shot up and tried to dunk his father, only to get dunked again. At last, Ella and Hyp jumped on him while Lexie and Heather dunked him with little effort.

Eventually, the therapy session turned into playtime. Grandpa Longneck smack his tail down in the water when the children tried splashing him, causing a wave that sent everyone tumbling. All of the children burst into cackles, and ran toward him again. Grandpa Longneck laughed and smacked his tail again. Britta lost her breath laughing when she discovered that Spike was the only one unphased. He was just eating underwater plants as the waves rolled over him, like nothing was happening.

At last, the day (and in Britta's case, the last two days and full night) took its toll. Grandpa Longneck came out the water and joined his wife, huffing. "Yes, well. I think it's time to head for the nest."

The younger children were too tried to protest, and said their goodbyes as everyone began to disperse. Britta smiled when she spotted Pterano, who had finally managed to sneak back on to land, talking with Mr. Thicknose and Grandpa Longneck with Tess. Britta smiled. Just what he needed to do. Socialize without fear of being judged.

Lexie and her mother approached Britta, who was cling to the bank because she didn't feel like getting out yet. Britta smiled at them. "How do you feel?" she asked Lexie.

The sweet girl giggled and lifted her foot. "My legs feel numb, but they feel stronger."

Britta smiled at her. "That's a good sign. I'll see you in a few days." She turned to Heather. "The herbs will help her sleep."

Heather put a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Thank you."

Nicolas and Hyp didn't approach, but Hyp called out as Nicolas waved. "Hey, Britta! Can we do this again? Like, every session. We got a lot done…"

Britta's heart stopped. Every session. No. But Hyp did have a point. They did get a lot done, and they did have fun, though it was chaotic. For a while, she feared the whole day would be in vain. All of the children cheered for her to say yes as the adults chuckled.

Britta grasped the bank, breathing hard as she tried to climb out. "I'll think about it."

Everyone took it and moved along. Britta lay halfway out of the water, feeling as if she would never be able to get out. She looked up when someone offered her a hand. Pterano smiled at her confidently with an extended hand, and she felt so out of strength. And the way the sun was shining behind him made him as handsome as ever. She took his hand and let him help her out.

Tess and the children were waiting. Tess had her hands clasped together with teary eyes. Britta smiled and held on to Pterano to steady herself as the water dripped from her heavy wings. As Pterano nuzzled her lightly, she noticed the sun was setting and turned to Pterano.

"I miss half the sunset!" she wailed.

Pterano guffawed. "Well, it looks like we will be watching the rest because I can't fly!"

Pterano and Britta said goodbye to the children, with Pterano assuring them they would see them for dinner. Britta stretched out where she was, not even bothering to get the water off her wings. Pterano sat silently beside her, letting her rest.

Britta was nearly dozing off, but felt compelled to thank him.

"Pterano?"

Pterano drew in a breath through his nose, like he was in deep thought. "Hmm?"

"Thank you…for today."

Pterano turned to make eye contact with her, then grasped on of her hands. "You're welcome."

Britta squeezed his hand back with a smile, then let the darkness swallow her.

She didn't know when it was that she felt someone trying to shake her, but she knew it was definitely past dinner time.

"Britta?" It was Tess. "Can you wake up?"

Britta mumbled something like "I want to sleep here," but was sure it would never come out that way. She was too tired to open her eyes without even thinking about moving.

"Oh, Tess. She's worn out. We have to get her home." Pterano. She felt arms strong than hers trying to lift her. She was sure he was carrying her when the world seem to rock back and forth, back and forth. Sad. Even with his strength weakened, Pterano was still stronger.

She had absolutely no idea how, but she awoke the next…sunset…in her home, lying of her bed of grass and feeling so well rested she might even try another therapy session. But the first she had to watch yet another beautiful sunset.

Aw! :D Sorry it was long, but it was a fun chapter for me. Hope you guys enjoyed reading!