It was a long time before Owen and Claire got over what had happened during their adventure traveling through time. They expected Ellie to punish them somehow, but she never did. She probably knew that they had suffered enough.

But life went on, as it often does, and the tragedy was numbed with each passing week. Claire even found herself enjoying her day-to-day activities, which now consisted of repairing the house whenever it was needed. She was healthier too, not just because she was exercising more, but also because she was allowing herself to eat. She'd often graze for an hour each morning, and she'd be lying if she said that she didn't enjoy it. There was something about moist grass that was soothing to her animal self, and she was in no state to turn down the guilty pleasure.

Speaking of guilty pleasures, Claire's love life was going steady. Well, except for when she went into heat. Then things really got interesting. About once a month, she'd become a raging ball of hormones, which was somewhat akin to being drunk and lustful and dumber than a bag of hammers. The lesson she took from this was that, in order to like herself, she needed to let go. It was hard to do so in regular situations, as her conscience kept telling her that if she started to normalize being a dinosaur, she'd be no better than the animal she feared being.

Well, whatever the case, things seemed to be going okay. But then they weren't. Owen was going into town for longer and longer spells, and when he came back, he sometimes smelled of perfume. Claire didn't want to believe her instincts, but denying the issue would only make matters worse.

One night, a night when Claire detected a trace of candy-scented chemicals on Owen, she stepped in front of him with a deep frown.

"You forgot to buy grain."

"The general store was closed."

"You've been out since three."

"I got sidetracked."

"With whom?"

"Friends."

"Which friends?"

"From the bar."

"Bar people aren't friends."

"Yes, they are."

"So, you just meet them at the bar?"

"I can't exactly bring them back here."

"Why not?"

"I'd have to hide you."

"Why don't you?"

"I don't want to put you through that."

"Are you cheating on me?"

Owen froze. He turned around very slowly.

"What?"

"Are you cheating on me?" Claire repeated.

Owen gave his 'serious face'.

"Claire, I'm not cheating on you."

"You could be lying."

"I wouldn't lie to you."

"You would if you were cheating."

Owen knelt down in front of her.

"Claire, I would never, ever, ever cheat on you. You know me better than that."

Claire snorted and tossed her head as he tried to touch her cheek.

"You're lying!"

Owen stood up and crossed his arms.

"Claire, what's wrong?"

She stomped her foot.

"Don't play dumb with me!"

"Something's up. Why are you acting this way?"

Claire felt tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I'm not acting any way! I'm just upset because you're cheating on me," she croaked.

Owen shook his head.

"I'm not cheating on you."

"YOU ARE!" she cried in frustration.

He felt her forehead.

"You're warmer than usual, but I don't think it's a fever. Do you need to lie down?"

She knocked him to the side with her horn.

"Just go away! I don't want you to be here right now!"

Owen stood up and grabbed her by the horns.

"Claire, this isn't normal. You've been acting really strange lately. Are you sick?"

She did feel sick. Nauseous, to be precise. The thought of Owen cheating was making her physically sick. Or maybe it was the smell coming off of his clothes.

"I can smell perfume on you, Owen," Claire whispered, "Who were you with?"

Owen frowned.

"First of all, you're a dinosaur, so you smell a lot of things. Second, it's possible that it just rubbed off on me by accident."

"During what?"

Owen's frown deepened.

"I'm not cheating on you, Claire."

She snorted and tossed her head.

"I'm going for a walk. Don't follow me."

Owen tried to stay behind her, but she swiped her tail at him. He backed off resentfully.

"Fine. Don't wander too far. If you get lost-"

"SHUT UP!"

***TSJWFEW***

Claire wandered very far, indeed. By the time she realized where she was headed, she was already in the other world. She didn't like to go to Isla Nublar alone, because it was populated by things that would probably enjoy eating her. Nevertheless, she marched across the island until she came to the Visitors' Centre Palace. Once there, she climbed a flight of stairs and knocked on a large double-door on the second level. When it opened, she saw Ellie rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"Claire? What the hell-"

"I need to know if Owen is cheating on me."

Ellie groaned.

"It's four forty-five."

Claire bit her lower beak.

"I need to know. Just tell me so I can leave."

Ellie sighed and looked at the clock.

"Tell you what: why don't I send you back to around three, and you can spy on him or something."

Claire frowned.

"How is a three-ton dinosaur supposed to-"

"Stop rounding it up."

"Well, I've gained a lot of weight, recently."

Ellie put her hand on her head as she leaned against the doorway, mussing her hair.

"Right. I think I know how to have you spy on him, but I have to make sure it won't interfere with your . . . biology."

Ellie waved her hand in a sloppy way. Claire wondered if she was conjuring a spell.

"Okay, it won't hurt . . . anything," Ellie muttered, "But speaking of biology, there's something I need to do."

She placed both of her hands on Claire's horns, and they began to glow white. When the light faded, Claire frowned in confusion.

"They ache."

Ellie nodded drowsily.

"Yeah. They'll do that for a while. Just deal with it."

Claire twisted her beak.

"Fine. Can you send me to spy on Owen now?"

Ellie nodded.

"You're going back in three . . . two . . . one . . ."

***TSJWFEW***

"-later. I'm going into town."

"For how long?"

"Not sure. Don't wait up."

Claire was back in her own living room, and so was her past self. Owen was just walking out the door. Nothing unusual about that. Claire, however, was about the size of a fly. Ellie had probably shrunken her down for spying purposes. Of course, if she really wanted to help her, she shouldn't have left her on top of the coffee table.

Claire grunted and set her plates to flutter-mode. To her surprise, they carried her off with ease. Part of why she didn't fly that often was because it drained her energy like crazy. Maybe being smaller somehow changed that.

In any case, there was no time for speculation. Claire perched herself on Owen's shoulder to see what exactly had happened that day.

***TSJWFEW***

Their first stop was at the grocery store. Owen bought three packs of veggie burgers, knowing Claire would eat them all. He also bought some green apple soap, which Claire had not asked for. She found herself getting all warm and fuzzy on the inside, and promptly shook her head to snap herself out of it. After that, Owen purchased the items and made his way back to the truck. Claire held onto the scruff of his shirt. He was awfully bouncy when he walked.

The next stop was the flower shop. Owen bought a dozen red roses. Claire didn't remember him giving them to her . . . probably because he was giving them to someone else. But then Owen asked the woman at the counter if she had any more edible flowers, which disproved Claire's theory. Well, unless he was having his affair with a goat.

After a very long day of snooping and spying, Claire came up with . . . nothing. Not a single scrap of evidence against him. Maybe he was telling the truth when he said that the scent had rubbed off on him . . . No, that wasn't true. Claire couldn't smell it now. She could smell the veggie burgers, though, and they were driving her crazy. She was either starving or having insane cravings.

But then everything took a turn for the worse. As the sun began to set, Owen made his way to the bar. He sat down on a stool and ordered a beer. He hadn't bought grain at the general store, but it should have been open at this hour. Claire soon realized why he had shirked his responsibility when two men came strolling over. They were clearly Owen's friends, and they all sat down to chat for a while. So that's what he was up to: he was socializing with his buddies. That meant he was telling the truth. Growing tired of balancing on Owen's neck, Claire climbed up to his coif and nestled herself in his hair. It was a miracle that he didn't feel her moving around . . . that, or magic. Owen's friends left soon after, and he decided to finish his beer.

It was then that a woman appeared. She had bleach-blonde hair, big doe eyes, and . . . well . . . there was no way those were real. Claire hated her from the moment she laid eyes upon her dopey smile. It was the kind of grin that made her look like she was constantly chewing gum. Claire hoped to god that Owen wasn't cheating with this woman. Quite honestly, of all the people she'd seen today, this ditz was the trashiest.

As she drew near, however, Claire recognized the reek of her perfume.

"Hi, Owen."

"Hello, Tammy-Lynn."

Claire felt her heart sink. Obviously, they had met each other before. Another strike.

"What's new?"

Owen gave a faint smile.

"Nothing much. I have a bunch of veggie burgers waiting in the truck, so I'll have to make this quick."

Claire cringed as Tammy-Lynn pouted in an intentionally sexy way.

"You oughta stay longer. You shouldn't drive drunk."

Owen laughed.

"I never have more than one glass. I can handle it."

Tammy-Lynn leaned closer.

"What's your hurry?"

Owen shrugged.

"Like I said, I have veggie burgers waiting in the truck."

She began fiddling with his collar, and he backed away.

"Why don't you spend the night here? You can hang out with the guys-"

Owen raised his hands.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I have to get home."

"To this mysterious wife you never talk about?"

RED FLAG! RED FLAG!

Claire felt very uncomfortable all of a sudden. She burrowed deeper into Owen's hair, hoping to make herself invisible forever.

"I've told you plenty."

"Why have we never seen her?"

"She likes to stay at home."

Tammy-Lynn's high-pitched laugh was like rusty daggers.

"You know what I think? I think she doesn't exist."

Owen snorted and looked away.

"Oh, she exists all right."

"Then why don't you ever bring her into town?"

"I'd like to . . ."

Owen shifted uneasily on his seat.

"But I can't. She's a very private person."

Tammy-Lynn arched her back so that her chest was uncomfortably close to Owen.

"You deserve someone fun."

"Claire is fun."

"Claire? Is that her name? She sounds like a stick in the mud. I'll bet she's terrible in bed."

With this, Claire charged forward like an angry bull. She flew towards Tammy-Lynn's face (and for the record, "Tammy-Lynn" was a much worse name than "Claire") and tried to stab her eyes out. The tramp heard the buzzing of her plates, and before Claire could react, she was swatted to the side by a giant hand. She fell into Owen's drink with a small splash. Claire broke the surface of the beer and started sputtering. Her eyes were stinging from the alcohol, but she quickly rubbed them and focused on the conversation.

"-shouldn't say that about my wife. It's inappropriate. And she's not a stick in the mud."

"Then why doesn't she ever come into town? Is she spit-ugly?"

Owen clenched his fists.

"She's gorgeous, and I'd appreciate it if you would stop saying bad things about her."

Claire's heart fluttered. She felt stupid for ever doubting Owen in the first place. Why had she ever believed that brave, sweet Owen was cheating on her? She was so proud of him! He was defending her, even though she had been a jerk . . . or was going to be a jerk. She'd have to apologize to him about that.

And then something terrible happened. Tammy-Lynn grabbed Owen's shirt and pulled him forward for a kiss. It didn't last long, because Owen yanked himself away. Claire gasped in shock as she trod water . . . well, as she trod beer.

"We can't see each other anymore," Owen said, wiping his mouth.

Tammy-Lynn crossed her arms.

"Why not?"

"Because you obviously have a romantic fixation on me, and I'm just not interested."

Tammy-Lynn frowned deeply.

"Am I not good enough for you?"

Owen's jaw dropped in disbelief.

"I'm married!"

She scoffed.

"Yeah, to some stick in the mud who never comes out of her house!"

Owen gave her an intimidating glare.

"Don't you dare talk about my wife that way."

It took all of Claire's willpower not to give a loud whoop. Instead, she fluttered out of the beer and shook herself off.

"You're a real piece of work, you know that?" Tammy-Lynn sneered, "You come here and socialize with people two or three times a week, then you abandon us and drag your sorry ass back to that cow!"

Claire flinched. Tammy-Lynn came waddling up to Owen like a distressed chicken.

"You should be with someone who makes you happy."

Owen caught her wrist as she tried to touch his cheek.

"I'm very happy. No one in this world can make me feel better than Claire does. If you don't believe me, that's your business, but I don't ever want to see you again."

He paid for his drink and left Tammy-Lynn behind as he stormed out of the bar.

***TSJWFEW***

Claire followed Owen back home. As he drove his truck down the dusty road, she curled up by his neck and gave him an imperceptible kiss. The ride was quiet, and Claire found it rather peaceful.

When Owen entered the cabin, Claire stayed behind. She rinsed herself off under the dripping hose and walked through the grass, which was taller than she was. As she rounded the corner, she heard two voices coming from inside the house. One was hers. Hearing her own delusional words made her realize just how paranoid she was being. Well, it wasn't all her fault. She'd been kind of moody for a while, so this was bound to happen eventually.

When her past self stormed out the front door, Claire felt herself grow back to her usual size. Without missing a beat, she dashed into the house. Owen turned around in surprise.

"That was fast."

Claire ran across the room and gave him a kiss. He was surprised, but that didn't stop him from kissing her back. When they separated, he frowned in confusion.

"Claire, don't take this the wrong way, but are you still mad at me or not?"

"Not. I was being stupid."

Owen smiled and rubbed his nose against her beak.

"You're not stupid, Claire."

As she looked down at him, she felt her eyes brimming with tears.

"Would you be happier somewhere else?"

Owen gave her a confused look.

"Claire, I-"

"I'm not asking you as a guilt thing or a rhetorical question," she interrupted, "I really want to know. If there's somewhere you'd be happier, I'd like you to be there instead."

Owen smiled and pressed his cheek against her chest.

"I'm happy here."

"But are you happy enough?"

Owen laughed.

"Claire, I'm happier than I've ever been in my entire life."

"That's an exaggeration."

"Absolutely not. This is what I've always wanted."

"To be married to a dinosaur?"

"To have a family."

Claire cocked her head.

"Can two people be considered a family?"

Owen shrugged.

"I think so. Plus, Barry comes over sometimes . . ."

Claire rolled her eyes.

"Alright. I guess we're a family."

Owen sighed happily.

"I'm glad you agree."