Pythagoras sat complacently, fiddling with the phone. A part of him itched and yearned to call emergency services with the phone, but the island was so secret and so private, no one would believe him; no one would bother to listen. Everyone except this alleged friend of Icarus's.

"Say, Icarus, do you think we could call your friend in the National Guard right now?" Py asked the driver.

"We can try if it'll make you feel better." Icarus answered, taking his phone out of the other's hands and punching in a number. "She always said she didn't know what we were doing here, but I always thought she knew a little bit more than she claimed. But you know until we have proof for her to show she can't do anything for us." He was more serious on the last sentence then he had been before. He knew Pythagoras was scared, and just wanted to be home, but he wouldn't give him hope where there was none. Pythagoras nodded in understanding.

"I just think it'll be easier if she knows we're coming. She can sort out some of the details for us before we get there." Before we get home. Before we leave this awful place. Icarus side-nodded in agreement and handed the phone to Pythagoras.

"Wait, no, I can't talk to her!" Py said, raising his hands away from the phone in the way one does when something is infected.

"Well, I can't. I'm driving."

"But I'm no good on the phone! I wouldn't know what to say-"

"It's ringing!"

"Hercules, talk to her!" Pythagoras grabbed the phone from Icarus and tossed it to his lounging companion who somehow managed to catch it in time to hear a pleasant "Hello," from the other end.

"Hello!" Hercules said back before covering the phone to mouth: "What am I supposed to say!?"

"Just say you're a friend of mine!" Icarus told him. "Tell her what happened here and what we'd like her to do when we get back." Icarus gave Pythagoras the universal 'this isn't difficult' look before returning his vision to the road.

"Hello?" The woman on the other end asked politely.

"Hello there. This is Professor Hercules. I'm a friend of Icarus's."

"A friend of- Oh, okay. I'm Sergeant Major Medusa. Something I can help you with?"

"Medusa? Really, that's a beautiful name. One of my personal favourite names, as a matter a fact!"

"Hercules!" Pythagoras spun around in his chair to watch Hercules sit up a little in order to achieve maximum flirtation mode, apparently. Hercules waved a hand to shush Pythagoras as he continued piling on the pleasantries. Medusa seemed to either not notice, or not care, responding to his long wave of flattery with:

"Right. So, is there any particular reason you called me?" Icarus disguised his laugh as a cough while Py shot his older friend a look of scorn.

"Yes," Hercules cleared his throat as he readjusted himself for the upcoming conversation. Then for the second time that day Pythagoras heard a re-telling of the events that had past. In the short while they had been lost in the amusement of playing hot-potato with the phone and listening to Hercules embarrass himself in conversation, Pythagoras had forgotten what had happened. It felt so false when Hercules described it, so fictional. The words were that of a storybook or a cinematic experience, not a legitimate occurrence. How odd it felt to be laughing after so much had happened. Not a bad odd, really, it just made believing what was happening so much harder. Medusa wasn't silent while she listened, asking questions frequently and starting small discussions about what the island was and how it operated. Still, Py could see what Icarus meant. She was appalled by the events that had passed, but not shocked about the islands true purpose. If she didn't know everything about Jurassic Park, she at least knew enough to believe Hercules was telling the truth.

"Right now there isn't anything I can do," she said. "I believe you, but the Chief isn't. I'm gonna need proof."

"We have a flash drive with… lab work and such. Would that work?" Hercules bumbled, not really knowing what was or wasn't on the flash drive since he hadn't even looked at the file.

"That's perfect!" She shouted through the phone "That's all they need to send some of us over to investigate. They see dinosaurs there they'll send the whole army to handle it." Icarus seemed pleased to hear this, smiling over at Pythagoras.

"See. Everything's gonna be fine." He said as his hand reached out to Pythagoras's face. Icarus's hand ran from Py's cheek to his hair, resting at the base of his neck. His touch was familiar now, and comfortable. Was he this affectionate with everyone? Pythagoras hoped not as he allowed himself to relax against the slightly calloused hand that was running its fingers through his hair.

They stayed like this for a while, Icarus and Pythagoras. Icarus moved his hand sometimes, from Py's neck to his shoulder to his hair, everything feeling sensitive to the touch. Hercules might have noticed if he wasn't deep in conversation with Medusa, casually trying to change the subject from the island to his admirable qualities and family lineage. But Hercules didn't notice, and Pythagoras didn't tell Icarus to stop, so everything remained the same.

Pythagoras was lost in emotions and sensations and thought when he felt a rumble beneath the ground. He ignored it at first, but it happened again. And again. And again, getting louder and closer each time until Pythagoras was finally able to recognize it for what it was.

"Pull over!" The engine screamed to a halt with Pythagoras's words. Py jumped out of the car and told everyone to do the same. Ariadne and Jason followed suit, the ground trembling with each step the tyrannosaurus took towards them.

"It's the sound! She can hear us. It's the noise from vehicals! We have to be quiet, and stay still! Just hide!" Pythagoras shouted in as small a voice as he could as the group rushed for the trees that were their only option for shelter where they were. The group of five spread out, each finding a different place to hide, staying silent and still. Somewhere in this mess Pythagoras spent so much time making sure everyone else was safe that he momentarily forgot about himself. It was the moment he thought he should find a spot that the tyrannosaurus came into view, towering over the trees.

Before anything could happen a hand reached out and grabbed Pythagoras, dragging his back up against a warm body, pressing a mouth to his ear whispering:

"Do not move." Icarus held Pythagoras as close to himself as possible, leaning against the tree he had previously been hiding behind, his hands wrapped around the paleontologist's waist tight enough to hold him up if Py were to lift his feet. The dinosaur noticed the slight movement by Icarus, but couldn't seem to place what it was that moved. Her head lowered until it her eyes were at the same level as Pythagoras's. A shiver ran up the paleontologist and Icarus just held him tighter, placing one hand across Pythagoras's body to rest on the opposite shoulder, and one over Py's lungs in an attempt to remind him to keep his breathing quiet. Py got the message, but didn't stop hyperventilating as the t-rex turned her gaze to directly face himself and Icarus.

She moved closer, straining her neck to get as close as possible to whatever was in front of the tree. A scream built at the base of Pythagoras's throat but he kept it down while the man holding him kept him from running or moving in general. The dinosaur got even closer, her breathe blowing deeply onto Pythagoras, her teeth, blood stained and dripping, inches from his face. He could have reached out and touched any part of her mouth.

A low growl came out of the t-rex as she parted her teeth slightly, coming closer. Pythagoras shut his eyes as tight as possible, slowly turning his head to the left so it rested on Icarus's shoulder. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't think, he couldn't move, he could only stand and hope and hope and hope. Hot tears rushed down his face while he could feel, even without looking, that the dinosaur was opening her jaw further. Icarus's heartbeat was pounding into Pythagoras's back, thumping through his shirt.

Teeth skimmed Pythagoras's shirt, traveling in opposite directions as the jaw widened and hot breath engulfed both men. In the moment, just as he felt teeth preparing to clamp down on him, Py let out a small weak whimper. In that same moment, something else across the forest made a noise as well. Bushes somewhere far off rustled, like something was moving.

Pythagoras let his eyes open as the heat around his body disappeared and the low growl of breath ceased in his ears. The game warden was still holding him tight as the tyrannosaurus lifted her head to face the direction of the disturbance. She casually extended herself to her normal height, avoiding branches and leaves as her head swayed to locate what was moving in the distance. A pounding shook the trees as she stormed off, deeper into the wood and down a sloping hill until she was completely out of sight.

It wasn't until Icarus turned him around that Pythagoras could feel how badly he was shaking. It was a million tremors running through him as Icarus pulled him closer again, this time for comfort rather than protection.

"You're fine. Look at you, you're fine." A hand ran through Py's hair while lips touched his forehead.

"Icarus," Pythagoras said softly. Icarus leaned down so their foreheads touched.

"Yes?"

"I think…" he paused. "Maybe this is all just a little bit bigger than I am." Icarus let out a long breath.

"Where's the man who snuck into my Jeep to spy?" Icarus whispered. "Where's the man who came to an island to prove they were more than just a museum worker? Where's the man who just wanted to be useful?" In the end Pythagoras supposed he had wanted this. He wanted a chance to prove himself; he wanted a moment, just one moment, where he could be more than what he was. Maybe he'd wanted Jurassic Park. Maybe more than any of them had. He came because he wanted to come. He wanted to come because he could. But just because you can doesn't mean you should.

"I was on a cliff," Pythagoras answered. "And I threw myself off because I didn't know any better, and I thought I did." Icarus smiled something small and thought of the night before. He thought of hushed conversations about morality. He thought of could's, and should's, and perfect numbers. He thought of being selfish and feeling better.

"But was it worth it?" Icarus pressed his nose against Pythagoras, and Pythagoras pressed back.

"Well, I haven't hit the bottom yet," he replied, breathing deeper as Icarus got closer and closer. "I think I'm stuck falling." There was one last peculiar pause that steadied the air while the two just stood and pressed and processed. One more breath was taken, and the gap was closed.

Icarus's hand raked through Pythagoras's hair in order to pull the paleontologist's mouth to his, but he needn't have as Pythagoras leaned in of his own accord. Pythagoras sucked in a deep breath when his lips touched Icarus's, moving his hands from where they were to the side of Icarus's face. The only thing that mattered in the entire universe to the two of them was getting as close as possible to one another. They came apart and reconnected twice before their lips locked entirely, pulling each other's body slightly closer each time until there wasn't any space left at all. Pythagoras's hands remained comfortably on either side of Icarus's face while the game wardens hands had taken separate routes, one firm on the small of Pythagoras's back, the other still tangled in a mess of blond hair.

There was heat spreading in Pythagoras's lower back and stomach as he was shifted in order to be pressed up against the tree. It got warmer as Icarus's hands moved places, both leaving their positions to rest firm of Pythagoras's hips, his legs now spread just slightly wider for the pressure and Icarus finding new space to invade and get closer with to the point where Pythagoras just couldn't breath and-

"Pythagoras!" There was a shout from somewhere and the two broke the kiss, searching for the source of the interruption. "Icarus!" Another shout from the same direction. Whoever was shouting couldn't be seen from where they were standing, which meant more importantly that the person shouting couldn't see the two of them. Icarus's lungs couldn't get quite enough air, but breathing heavy was going to be expected anyways, so he shouted back.

"We're over here! Is everyone alright?" The other's seemed to have figured out that the T-Rex had smashed off elsewhere and were re-emerging from their chosen hiding places. All were, thankfully, out of eyesight, and earshot, of Icarus and Pythagoras.

"No. I've been crouching in a bush for several minutes. My back certainly isn't going to like this!" Hercules complained as he stumbled up to the pair, aggressively rubbing his spine. Jason and Ariadne followed shortly afterwards, all hands offering to help one another and giggling quietly when the other tripped.

"Well, that's everyone accounted for." Jason said when everyone had met up. "Why did she leave though?" Icarus and Pythagoras proceeded with a brief, detail-spared, account of what had occurred, emphasizing the noise that drew the tyrannosaurus away.

"A rustling?" Ariadne asked. "But were not in an area with other dinosaurs right now. Other than the raptors that are loose, but she wouldn't go after the raptors for making a noise if she knew they were here. The only thing that could make that noise is-"

"A person," Pythagoras cut her off. "Someone else is alive on this island."