Disclaimer: I do not own the Jurassic Park franchise or any of it's characters; I only own the characters and plots of my own mind.
9. Trekking
Gwyn awoke to an oppressive humidity. It was heavy and thick and it clung to her skin in a thin layer of moisture. Not only was it humid, it was warm. And there was a warmth that she was braced against that, while comforting, was getting physically uncomfortable. Her eyes gently fluttered open, though her vision was blurred with sleep. She scrubbed at her eyes with the heel of her palm, which did the job of clearing up the blurriness. The world around her was covered in a haze of fog. The sky was a gentle pink-purple, with the startings of a day-time blue starting to peak in. For a moment, Gwyn was confused as to why she was outside. But when her exhausted eyes drifted to her dirty knees and scraped-up hands, she remembered everything. It all felt like it had been a nightmare, like none of it had actually happened. But her aching body and the fact she had just woken up in a tree was evidence that it had all been very real.
It didn't take long to realize that the solid warmth that Gwyn had been leaning against was her father. Alan was still dead asleep, his head reclined against the tree trunk and his arms curled around the three children that surrounded him. Unfortunately it was his arm that kept her trapped against his body, and the warmth that he gave off was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. So she shifted away as best she could without falling from the tree's natural cradle. Gwyn's shifting served to rouse her father, who inhaled deeply, rolled his head off his shoulder, and cracked his eyes open. He sleepily lifted a hand and ruffled her tangled mess of hair. Gwyn's mouth had opened in a yawn, the yawn shortly becoming a gasp as the long, leathery neck of a brachiosaurus rose from the trees disconcertingly close. It had a sleepy looking face and a mouth that almost seemed to be smiling; that mouth opened and clamped down on a cluster of branches close to their feet, pulling back to obtain its snack. An initial, instinctive thrill of fear had shot through Gwyn's body, but she was quick to remind herself that brachiosauruses were herbivores. They were her favorite dinosaur. And even the events of the previous night couldn't stop the grin from splitting across her young face.
It was then that Lex had woken up, emitting a startled gasp. She started to scramble backwards and onto a thick branch as the brachiosaurus leaned back down for another mouth full of leaves. "Go away!" she cried in a panic. In this panic, Tim had awoken, eyes going wide upon spotting the dinosaur.
"It's okay, it's okay… It's a brachiosaur," Alan attempted to placate in a gentle tone. He pushed himself into a crouch, hands braced against the tree trunk. From that crouch he rose to his feet and carefully reached for a spindly, leafy branch, snapping it off the trunk.
"It's a veggie-saurus, Lex! Veggie-saurus!" Tim tried enthusiastically, eyes alight with wonder.
"Veggie…" Lex exhaled breathlessly.
"It won't hurt you," Gwyn informed, a laugh of wonder tittering in her tone. She shifted so she was kneeling, leaned forward so she could get an up-close look of the brachiosaurus. Its eyes were large and glassy, blinking gently in the early morning light. Much unlike the breath of the t-rex, the brachiosaurus' breath smelled heavily of crushed leafs and hot moisture. It wasn't terribly pleasant, but it was loads better than the stench of rotting meat and rancid blood.
"Come on! Come on, girl!" Tim prompted brightly. He, like Gwyn, had shifted forward excitedly, eyes alight.
Alan held out his newly acquired branch and shook its verdant foliage enticingly. "C'mon, baby…"
The brachiosaurus let out a loud burst of sound, which caused everyone to jump. Instinctively, the kids covered their ears, but Alan was steadfast and continued to proffer the branch. The dinosaur swung its head forward and happily took a mouthful of the leafs. Tim, Alan, and Gwyn all grabbed hold of the branch and pulled back, laughing as they engaged in a quasi tug-of-war with the creature. Gwyn knew that if any of them let go whilst one hung on, they'd be dragged from the tree in the blink of an eye. But the brachiosaur seemed to give in and bowed its head to munch on its meal closer to the source.
Gwyn eagerly reached out to brush a hand over its snout, grinning brightly at the feel of its warm, leathery flesh beneath her hand. Tim and Alan were quick to follow her example, patting the dinosaur with gentle hands; Lex remained pressed against the tree trunk, though a smile had found its way to her dirt-smudged face.
"It looks like it has a cold," Tim pointed out, gesturing to the dinosaur's nose.
"Yeah, maybe," Alan agreed, tone contemplative.
"Can I touch it?" Lex asked. She tentatively shifted into a crouch beside Gwyn, hand poised in mid-air. Gwyn grinned and nodded at the older girl.
"Definitely," she encouraged.
"Just think of it as kind of a big cow," Alan suggested.
"I like cows…" Lex murmured. After a moment of steeling herself, she exhaled and reached out––just as the brachiosaurus pulled away. Undeterred, Lex shifted onto her knees and carefully leaned forward, arm extended. Gwyn pulled a face and reached over, fisting a hand in the back of her shirt, just in case. This seemed to form a sort of chain, as Alan caught her movement and curled an arm around Gwyn's waist. "Come on, girl… come on up here, girl…"
The brachiosaurus seemed to consider her for a moment before its eyes scrunched shut and a thunderous sneeze rocked its head forward. There was a spray of mucus and plant particulates, all of which hit Lex dead-on. Gwyn gaped and Lex blinked against the slime now covering her face. Tim, who had come to stand just behind Gwyn, braced his hands on her shoulders and leaned forward.
"God bless you!" he called out to the dinosaur. He proceeded to laugh at his sister's misery in a very brotherly manner, which prompted a very sisterly punch to his shoulder.
"Alright, let's calm it down," Alan drawled. With a sigh, he scrubbed a hand through his hair and then dragged it down his face. Gwyn realized that he looked drained, and wondered if she looked the same––she certainly felt that way. With the excitement of meeting the brachiosaurus wearing off, she was acutely aware of how exhausted she was. She didn't want to move. She just wanted to sleep. Her body protested the idea that they would, eventually, have to get out of the tree and keep moving. But her mind startled her body into compliance upon remembering that there was, in fact, a ravenous t-rex on the loose.
It wasn't too long before the descent from their sleeping place took place. Alan made the descent first so he could coach the kids on their way down, should they need it. Once they were all firmly back on the ground, they started to walk. The goal was to find the perimeter fence, then the road, follow that back to the visitor's center, and then get the hell off the island. As they walked, the sun got hotter and sweat started to soak through Gwyn's bloodied and dirtied tank top. She walked at Alan's side, eyes warily sweeping the landscape before them. The only comfort she held was that they would know if the tyrannosaurus was headed their way; the ground would shake and they would hear the roaring.
"How're you doing, kiddo?" Alan asked. He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. Gwyn was quiet for a moment before she shrugged. She felt a lot of things she couldn't put words to, or didn't know how to tell her father. There was no conceivable way to describe to him what being trapped in that car had felt like. Or how she felt like she was living in a waking nightmare. So Gwyn settled on the easiest thing.
"I'm tired," she admitted. Alan sighed quietly, like he agreed with her statement.
"When we get home, we'll sleep for a week, how does that sound?" Alan asked, voice striving for a lighter tone. Gwyn laughed a little and pushed some hair out of her eyes.
"Sounds good," she agreed.
The Grants walked in silence for a bit whilst the Murphys, walking ahead of them, bickered back and forth. Gwyn eventually felt her father smooth his fingers through her tangled hair, pushing it away from her face. "I'm sorry this turned out to be such a mess; I promised you a fun family vacation."
"S'okay. You didn't know." She decided not to mention the fact that he'd never really stated that the trip was meant to be 'a fun family vacation.' It had been, at its heart, a business trip, and she knew that. It had just been the prospect of being with her father, and with Ellie that had been exciting; an excitement killed just as quickly as the power had gone out in the storm.
This seemed to be the whole of their conversation, as neither father nor daughter knew how to keep it going. There simply wasn't much to say. They were likely still in shock as to the reality they found themselves living in. Up ahead, the Murphy kids were bickering over whether or not Lex was considered a hacker, climbing over a tree root. The root was massive, coming up to meet the height of Gwyn's shoulders. Just as she was about to awkwardly climb over it, Alan swept her up and deposited her on the other side. Just as he clammoured over, Alan froze in a crouch. Gwyn had just started to move away when she spotted what he had caused him to freeze. In a crater of freshly dug-up dirt was a smattering of broken egg shells.
Gwyn sank to her knees and picked up a fragment of shell, her fingers pinching the smooth surface. The eggs appeared to have been oblong in shape when whole, and there had to have been four or so eggs in the nest. The shell was white, smeared with dirt, and bone dry.
"Dad…" she exhaled, examining the shell closely. Her eyes had blown wide in awe. His expression matched hers, eyes wide, lips parted in shock. In Alan's hands was the most intact of the remaining shells, only a portion of it punched out and gone.
"Do you know what this is?" Alan murmured as both Lex and Tim doubled back to rejoin them. "It's a dinosaur egg. The dinosaurs are breeding." He rotated the egg this-way-and-that, making observations from every possible angle.
Gwyn saw Tim's brows pinch together in confusion, his small hand reaching for the shell. Once he had obtained it, he tilted his head in thought while he regarded it."But my grandpa said all the dinosaurs were girls."
A look of realization passed over Alan's face.
"Amphibian DNA."
"What's that?" Lex inquired.
"Well, on the tour, the film said they used frog DNA to fill in the gene-sequence gaps." Alan picked up a new piece of shell, thoughtfully turning it in his hands. "They… mutated the dinosaur genetic code and blended it with that of frogs… Now, some West African frogs have been known to spontaneously change sex from male to female in a single sex environment." Alan scoffed gently, lips quirking. "Malcolm was right."
"Life finds a way…" Gwyn murmured, setting her piece of shell down.
"Look." Alan gestured to a smattering of tiny footprints that pattered away from the nest. "Life found a way."
OOOO
Gwyn didn't know how long they'd been walking, but it certainly felt like it had been too long. The sun was beating down relentlessly, the heat of it surpassing the shade of the jungle trees. The humidity was disgustingly high. Her shirt was sticking to her sweaty skin uncomfortably. Her feet screamed in protest with every step she took. Not to mention she was starting to feel a little light headed, which she vaguely suspected was thanks to the fact that there had been no water to drink. It felt like reaching the visitor's center was an unattainable feat, like it was one of the mythical tasks given to Hercules. Gwyn suspected they were more likely to collapse from exhaustion before they reached a safe haven.
Everyone had slowed down. Their purpose filled walking had come to lethargic stride, which clearly broadcast just how much the events of the previous twenty-four hours was hitting everyone. This was only made worse when they broke out of the jungle and into an expanse of grassland. The terrain was hilly and open, which left an impressive––and beautiful––view of the surrounding jungle and mountains. Those mountains rose above them in rocky cliff faces highlighted by strips of verdant jungle. They sloped gently downwards to form the valley, which was dotted with a tree or two that swayed in the mild breeze. But it was a beauty lost on the battered group. Alan produced a beaten-up map from his pocket, dirty fingers sliding across its illustrated image to try and approximate their location. He gestured in a direction, tucked the map away, and they continued to trudge forward. The sun openly beat down on them, amplifying the heat tenfold. Gwyn could feel her skin prickling will the telltale starts of a sunburn.
"Dad?" she quietly asked. The word was breathless as they started to ascend one of the hills. The dirt was soft thanks to the rainfall the previous night, which provided an extra obstacle. The air seemed to become even more humid in the open heat of the day, smelling of dewy grass and heavy moisture. Her boot hit a particularly soft spot in the dirt and she skid a little, knees smearing into the grass and mud. Alan quickly snagged her by the elbow and helped her up, a supportive hand braced against her back. "Are we gonna make it off this island alive?"
The question had clearly thrown Alan for a loop. He seemed to trip over his own footing, head whipping around to stare down at his daughter. Gwyn was staring up at him with crumpled brows and a frown pulling at the corners of her mouth. Her father was speechless for a moment, which didn't help the slow building feeling of hopelessness.
"Of course we are," he finally said, voice hushed. He dropped down to one knee and clasped her face between his hands; the warmth of his palms was a little overwhelming, but Gwyn was too tired to shake him off. An almost panicked look had entered his eyes as he tried to keep a sobered expression. "Sweetheart, of course we're going to make it off alive. I promise that we're gonna leave this damnable island safe and sound. Alright?" Alan swept hair out of her face and arched his eyebrows promptingly.
Gwyn sniffed, like she might have been about to cry––but she was so dehydrated she didn't think she even had tears to shed. But she nodded at her father's words and let him kiss her forehead reassuringly.
"I'm tired… I'm hot…" Tim complained breathily as they started up another hill. Gwyn lagged behind just a little bit, hands braced on her knees as they climbed. Air, warm and disgusting, was quickly inhaled and then exhaled once more as she struggled to finish the climb, knees shaking tiredly.
"Looking at the map, I'd say the visitor's center is just a mile over that rise over there… Just… keep…" Alan trailed off as they crested the hill. Just ahead of them in the valley was a herd of nimble legged dinosaurs, darting about in tight formations. "What is that…?" He reached out as a smile came over his face, gently snapping in Tim's direction. "Tim, can you tell me what they are?"
"They are… galuh… uh… gal… galluh… gallimimus!" Time finally settled on.
"Are those, uh… meat eating… meat-asuruses?" Lex asked shakily. Gwyn pushed off of her knees and straightened up, mopping her sweaty forehead with the back of her hand; it only served to push the sweat around.
"No, they're herbivores. They, uh… they eat plants," Gwyn corrected, upon remembering the technical term had confused the other girl earlier. "We're fine."
Alan shuffled forward, vaguely gesturing to the gallimimus as they twisted and turned. "Look at the wheeling. Uniform direction changes just like a flock of birds evading a predator," he observed, rubbing the corner of his eye with his thumb.
The thundering of the gallimimus' feet got stronger. Louder. It wasn't hard to tell what direction they were headed in.
"They're, uh, flocking this way," Tim pointed out as he started to shuffle backwards.
Immediately, the four turned on their heels and started to run back down the hill they had just climbed. Alan snagged hold of Gwyn and Tim's hands, which prompted Gwyn to grab Lex's. Exhaustion seemingly forgotten, they sprinted towards the only cover available in the valley––a gnarled, dead tree trunk that lay overturned. Gallimimuses squealed and peeled around them, tails whipping and heads bobbing. Gwyn let out a tiny squeal of her own as they scrambled over the tree, hands scraping against the rough bark. The three children all balled up and pressed as close to it as they could, with Alan quickly curling himself around them protectively. Gwyn sat with her arms wrapped around Tim and Lex, eyes scrunched shut as they all waited for the stampede to end. When they seemed to have passed them, they all scrambled under a bend in the log and onto the other side, peering wide-eyed over the top of the tree.
Unexpectedly, there was a screeched roar and a splintering of wood as the tyrannosaurus-rex burst from the jungle. Gwyn's mouth dropped open as she watched, wide-eyed, as the apex predator sank its teeth into a scrambling gallimimus. It tossed it about in its jaws briefly before it dropped its bloody, but still living, body to the ground. The smaller creature screeched up at the tyrannosaurus, only to have the impaling and shaking process removed. Its life came to an end as the tyrannosaurus quite promptly tore its hand and neck from its body with disgusting ease. Gwyn felt her stomach churn in a threat to expel whatever was left in her stomach––and that wasn't much besides bile.
"I want to go now…" Lex exhaled.
"Just look how it eats…" Alan quietly marveled.
"Please."
"I bet you'll never look a birds the same way again."
"Dad," Gwyn pleaded, grabbing hold of his sleeve. Her fingers tightened their hold as the t-rex tore off a leg.
"Yes…" Tim agreed, tone entranced as they watched the tyrannosaurus gnaw into the dead gallimimus.
"Go now," murmured Lex, unable to tear her eyes away.
There was a pause. "Okay. Keep low and follow me," Alan instructed quietly. Almost immediately, Lex, Gwyn, and Alan all pushed away from the downed tree and started to scramble away. When they realized Tim was still marveling over the dinosaur's hunting methods, Alan turned back, scooped the young boy up, and swept him away. "C'mon, we don't want to experience its hunting methods up close and personal."
OOOO
After another solid bit of hiking, they were greeted with the most marvelous sight––the perimeter fence. Bits of plant debris blown about by the storm were stuck to its electric wiring, and a large sign bared the warning not to touch the fence, less one wished to be shocked by ten-thousand volts. Alan held out a hand to silently tell the kids to stay put. He approached the massive cement base of the fence and hopped up on it, scanning the obstacle that separated them from their potential safe haven.
"Check the lights," Gwyn suggested. "If they aren't flashing, the electricity isn't on."
They all looked to the orange and blue lights posted towards the top of the fence––they weren't flashing. Alan then picked up a sun bleached stick and tossed it at the fence. It it the cables with a rattle, but there was no zap. He turned back to the three kids standing below him and shrugged.
"I guess that means the power's off."
Gwyn fixed him with a deadpan look. As if a stick was a good enough test to see if they'd get shocked while scaling the fence. Alan turned back towards the fence and slowly raised his arms and extended his hands. He flexed and curled his fingers a couple of times in preparation. A quiet gasp of protest fled Gwyn's mouth. She felt one hand grab her right one, and another grab her left. Both Lex and Tim had snagged her hands as they all realized what Alan was about to do.
"Dad, don't!" Gwyn managed to cry out before Alan curled his fingers around the cables.
Alan started to scream, arms convulsing as they shook the cables violently. Gwyn, Tim, and Lex all screamed in response, clustering in on each other in a group huddle. Then, he stopped screaming. He turned to grin at the kids mischievously. Gwyn glared up at her father and crossed her arms over her chest, inside of which her heart was pounding.
"That's not funny," Lex stated blandly.
"That was great," giggled Tim.
"You're the worst…" grumbled Gwyn, heating the glare that she had fixed on her father. He winked at her as he turned back to the fence. He took into account that between the larger, horizontal cables, there were significantly thinner ones that created large square holes.
"Well, maybe we could…" Alan tried his hand at prizing the wires open enough to slip through, but found that one of the holes was barely big enough to fit his head through. That, and the wires simply weren't budging. Then, from behind, just down the mountain they'd climbed, there was a very familiar and spine-chilling roar.
Like runners taking off at the sound of the starter gun, Gwyn, Tim, and Lex all scrambled up onto the concrete and came face-to-face with the fence. Gwyn felt like there was a wickedly quick timer ticking at them, urging them frantically to climb. So she seized the sun heated metal cables and started to climb. The fence wobbled as all four of them started to ascend.
"Tim, I bet I could climb over to the other side before you could even get to the top," Lex challenged. Gwyn wasn't sure if it was more sibling banter or a means to get the younger of the two Murphys climbing faster.
"What would you give me?" Tim asked as they all scaled a little higher.
"Respect."
"Come on, guys, it's not a race," Alan reminded. He was staying a couple feet below the other three, reaching out to assist when needed––guiding a foot to the right foot hold, helping raise a leg if they reached a little too high.
"This is like gym class," Gwyn compared as she hoisted herself up, the coarsely woven metal cables biting into the flesh of her palm. It was just then that they all reached the top of the fence and set about precariously maneuvering their way over. Gwyn shakily grasped the very top cable, raised her torso over it and carefully swung her leg over. She wobbled wildly for a moment as her foot sought a new foot hold, and she clenched her eyes shut with the instinctive idea she might fall.
"Over the top… that's it," Alan praised as he maneuvered over the top of the fence. "Take your time. Find your footing, find your footing…" Gwyn slowly shifted her other leg over the top of the fence and, with a relieved exhale, started the descent. It was easier going down than it was going up, she realized, and before she knew it, she was at the bottom.
But the moment her feet hit the soil, a buzzing tone started to blare at them. The blue fence light started to blink. Startled, Tim slipped and fell a couple feet, but was quick to retain his hold on the cables. He tangled his arms around them for support, going stiff as he just stood there, unmoving as the blue lights started to flash faster.
"Oh no…" Gwyn muttered, staring up at the boy.
"Timmy! You're going to have to jump!" Alan instructed, rushing towards the fence. His arms were held out in preparation to catch.
"Are you crazy?! I'm not gonna jump!" he cried, voice squeaking.
"Do what Dr. Grant says!" called Lex. She had her hands cupped above her eyes to shield them from the sun, and she was bouncing on the balls of her feet anxiously.
"He'll catch you, just jump!" Gwyn prompted, nervously clamping both hands on the back of her neck.
"Let go. I'll count to three! One, two, three!" Alan backed up and held out his arms once again, but Tim didn't budge.
"Tim, you have to jump! The electricity is coming back on!" Gwyn cried, voice pitching upwards anxiously. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god…" Lex took hold of Gwyn's arm, hands tight and vice-like in their grip. Gwyn was quick to wrap her arms around Lex in a sweaty, anxious hug, the two girls clinging to each other in fear.
"I'm coming up to get you!" Alan called.
"Okay, I'm gonna count to three…" Tim murmured, untangling his arms from how they were wound around the cables. "One… two…" Before he could say 'three,' there was a spray of sparks and smoke, and Tim was propelled from the fence. He was sent flying, arms flailing, until he plummeted straight into Alan's arms. The impact sent them both spilling to the ground. The air smelled like burnt hair and charred skin, which churned Gwyn's stomach as she gaped at the spot Tim had once been.
"Timmy?! Timmy!" Lex screeched, wrenching away from Gwyn.
They tore over to where Alan lay just in time to see him shift Tim onto the dirt and scramble to hover over him. He ducked his head to hover over Tim's, listening intently. "He's not breathing…" Alan wasted no time and started to do chest compressions. Gwyn and Lex watched on tearfully, clinging to each other once more. Every second that passed felt like an hour. "Tim!" Alan cried frantically before he pinched Tim's nose, tilted his chin up, and blew a puff of breath into his mouth. Back to compressions. "No, Tim!" Back to pinching his nose. This time, Tim started to cough. Alan quickly withdrew and supported the back of the boy's neck with his hand. "Good boy…" A fatherly hand carded fingers through Tim's frazzled hair. Gwyn and Lex were quick to drop down beside the now gasping young boy, who was cradled in Alan's arms.
"Three…" he exhaled. That single word proved to make the mood surprisingly lighter, everyone smiling and laughing breathily. Gwyn wiped at her eyes and shook her head. She didn't know how much more anxiety and terror she could take.
"Gwyn, would you uh… take my bandana," Alan instructed. He lifted his chin so she would have an easier time untying it from around his neck. She shifted a little more towards him and unknotted the sweaty red bandana from around his neck. "Now, uh, tear it in half, tie it around Tim's hands; I think they're burned."
It took a moment, as her arms felt wobbly and shaky like jello, but Gwyn tore the bandana in half. She took care in wrapping Tim's smaller palms in the red fabric, noting that his skin was, indeed, burned. The process wasn't rushed. Alan did as much of a medical check as he could, ensuring that Tim was in good enough condition to be moved. When he seemed to check-out as okay as someone who had just been electrocuted could be, Alan nodded.
Alan rose to his feet, holding Tim to his chest like a koala, and sighed. "Alright, we're close. We're just gonna keep walking and follow the road back. But remember, we stick together. And if we have to run, well… we damn well better run."
Afterword: They're almost back to the visitor's center. And we know what that means… those raptors are about to make a reappearance. I'm happy to finally get this up, it was a really difficult one to write. I think it's because their jungle trekking is very… episodic, and I didn't really know how to fill the gaps between each of the scenes. So I hope it reads okay!
Review Replies!
NicoleR85: Thanks again! I hope you enjoyed the new chapter!
god of all: I have a pretty good idea that the next chapter will be up really soon. I hope you enjoyed the new chapter! Thanks again!
Evaline101: I'm very excited to write the next sequence, it's what this story has been gearing up to all along! The raptor attack is nigh… thanks again! I hope you enjoyed the new chapter!
PhAnToM 1212: When I started writing this story, the only two scenes I had planned were Alan and Gwyn's heart-to-heart in the tree and the raptor attack. I'm glad that you thought their heart-to-heart was sweet; I wanted a hint at how their relationship as father and daughter is going to change. Thanks again! I hope you enjoyed the new chapter!
singingKatelyn: Thank you so much! I hope you enjoyed the new chapter!
The girl with no life: Gwyn will always love and appreciate Alan as a father; and I thought it was important that little Gwyn tell him. I hope that you enjoyed the new chapter! Thanks again!
Dinojack20022: We are actually very close to concluding this story. I was thinking of including a couple bonus chapters about the second and third movies; because while Gwyn never sets foot in Isla Sorna, she is affected by everything that happens. Like, she probably didn't react too well to finding out there was a t-rex on the mainland. Or finding out her father was duped into going back to a dino infested island. So we'll have to see! Thanks again! I hope you enjoyed the new chapter!
WittyCreek15: When I started writing Gwyn (in her older iteration) I knew that it was very important to first establish what Alan was like as a father. Because I feel like he doesn't believe he has what it takes to be a good dad; because he is very… Alan. Very blunt, very to the point, very deadpan. So it was important that he started this journey feeling unsteady about being a dad, but clearly loving his child. And I loved writing him coming into his own as a dad, realizing that he isn't a bad father and being overprotective of his little girl. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this story! I'm very happy you've been enjoying it!
monkeybaby: Thank you! I hope you enjoyed the new chapter!
Faron Oakenshield: Thank you so much! I hope to get the next chapter up really soon, because it is gonna be a doozy. It's gonna be the real turning point for Alan and Gwyn's ever growing relationship as father and daughter. Thanks again!
supboyyyy93: The raptors appear in the next chapter, and I'm oddly excited to write them; I have been waiting to write the kitchen scene for ages. I hope you'll stick around to read it! Thanks again!
FeenyFan4ever: Thank you so, so much! I have had a blast writing Gwyn and Alan in this story––from the kind of tense father-daughter dynamic at the beginning, to the more communicative one that we're getting to now. I hope that you'll keep on reading, because the next chapter is gonna be exciting! Thanks again!
And thanks to those who have added this to their follows/favorites; it means a lot!
And that's it for now! I really do hope to get the next chapter up soon because I am READY to write the kitchen scene, which is just… so important for so many reasons. Thanks again to all! Hope to see you next time!
~Mary