Claire liked Vivian, really she did, but there was always an awkward atmosphere when she was around. Claire was already supersensitive to remarks about her relationship with Owen, but nothing matched the way she felt when Vivian stared her down. It was as if she had psychic abilities, only instead of communicating normal phrases, she was stuck on a constant loop of "Oh my god, you let Owen stick his thing in you, and that's super gross". Of course, Vivian was allowed to act all high and mighty, because she had never had sexual relations with Brad. Even so, it wasn't easy being judged by Vivian, so Claire tended to keep Zara around as a buffer. As much as Vivian hated the idea of dinosaur-human intercourse, the idea of Zara and Vic even holding hands was enough to make her gag.

"I mean, he used to be, like, a billion years old," she snuffed as the group met for lunch one day, "I know he's younger now, but yeesh! He's just inherently gross."

Zara's nostrils twitched ever so slightly.

"Well, I'm sorry you feel that way, Vivian, but unless you can come up with a legitimate reason why we shouldn't be together, I'm afraid I can't take your criticism seriously."

Vivian shoveled a cluster of french fries into her mouth.

"I mean, it's just creepy," she mumbled through a full mouth, "He's a weirdo. What do you even know about him?"

Zara lifted her chin.

"His favorite flowers are marigolds, he likes to paint pictures of dolphins, his favorite kind of pudding is butterscotch, he's infinitely kind, and he loves me. That's all I really need to know."

Vivian scoffed.

"Zara, you're so naïve."

"He loves me!"

Vivian jumped back as Zara slammed her wing on the table. She swallowed her french fries and frowned.

"Geez, you don't have to get so defensive. I'm only looking out for you."

As Zara scowled, Claire cleared her throat in an attempt to dissipate the tension.

"Back to business: today is a very special day."

"Why? Did your kid learn to poop indoors?"

Claire did her best to stop herself from punching Vivian in the face.

"No, Lily's been potty trained for quite some time. Today is the day the hybrids come to Isla Nublar."

Vivian blinked.

"We're already here."

Claire shook her head.

"No, the other ones. Neithhotep and Elkay have been keeping them on one of the Five Deaths before now. They didn't know how to integrate them into Nublar society, so they've been rehabilitating them bit by bit."

Vivian hummed.

"That's cool, I guess. Hey, do you think they have more fries at the restaurant?"

Claire rolled her eyes.

"Vivian, this is important to me."

"I don't see what the big deal is," she muttered, "Dinosaur-people have been coming to Isla Nublar for a long time, according to the dragons."

Claire shook her head.

"This is different. Isla Nublar is the 'carrefour' of dinosaur relations. We have Sorna for the wild dinosaurs, and the other islands for miscellaneous housing, but Isla Nublar is the crown jewel of this world, especially now that pretty much everyone is a dinosaur."

Vivian twisted her mouth.

"So?"

"So it's my job to be presentable," Claire stressed, "I can't screw this up. Especially since I'm partly responsible for . . ."

Claire shuddered. She didn't like to think about the incident at Jurassic World. There was no worse feeling than having all eyes fixed on her, knowing that everyone was waiting for her to find a way to undo her screw-ups. If she could make things right, even a little, she'd feel better about her status on Isla Nublar.

"This is my chance to redeem myself," Claire said solemnly, "That's why it's a big deal."

Zara smiled and patted Claire's head tenderly.

"I understand, Claire. Don't worry about a thing. You're going to blow those dinosaur's minds."

"They're not all dinosaurs, but thank you," Claire beamed.

"Not all dinosaurs?" Vivian echoed, "What the hell are they, then?"

"Most of them are Indominus Rexes, but since the Volatus Virus mostly affects dinosaurs with avian DNA, we'll be expecting a lot of raptors. Plus, there's some miscellaneous creatures that Neithhotep conjured up to sell off to random corporations. Those animals are hybrids of either two prehistoric reptiles or two herbivores, since the virus needs more than one non-avian creature to complete the genetic alterations."

Vivian blinked.

"Wow, you really know your stuff."

"I've been reading the Wiki," Claire said with a shrug.

Zara smiled and nudged Claire with her tail.

"Like I said, you'll do fine. I've known you for many years, and never once have you let us down . . . for the most part . . ."

Claire sighed.

"I was feeling really good until you added that last part."

Vivian punched her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Claire. Of the three of us, you're the most responsible. If this is important to you, I'm sure you'll find a way to make it work."

Claire nodded blankly.

"I hope you're right."

***TSJWFEW***

Claire did perfectly fine. She greeted the hybrids like a real professional, which she was, essentially. The dragons had contacted the families of the formerly deceased dinosaurs, and when they reunited, Claire felt her heart glowing with pride. This was the complete opposite of that sinking feeling she had experienced when she discovered that she had made a mistake. It was like her regret was an acid, and facing her problems neutralized it. She couldn't be more relieved.

"Mommy!"

Claire smiled as Lily came running up to her. She caught her in her arms and fell backwards, laughing.

"Lily! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in school?"

"We're going on a field trip!" Lily bubbled, "Everyone wanted to see the hybrids. I guess you were right about us being special."

Claire nuzzled Lily gently.

"I'm glad you think so."

Claire felt someone tapping her shoulder. She looked up and saw a blue sauropod looking down at her.

"Guess who?"

Claire's jaw dropped.

"Lowery?"

He nodded.

"Since today is kind of a celebration of hybrids, the dragons gave me the gift of being able to change back and forth. Same for Karen."

Claire blinked.

"Okay . . . Why?"

Lowery shrugged.

"No idea. I guess she wanted to make sure that everyone in our group can be a dinosaur. I'm not sure if she can change you b-"

Claire whacked his foot with her tail.

"Ow! What was-"

He saw Lily.

"Oh. Hi, there."

Lily stared up at him with confusion.

"Wait . . . Uncle Lowery is a dinosaur now?"

"Only half of the time," Lowery replied sheepishly, realizing that he had painted himself into a corner.

"Cool! Now you can be just like Auntie Zara and Uncle Vic and Aunt Vivian!" Lily beamed.

Lowery nodded evasively.

"Yeah . . ."

Lily smiled.

"My dad can be a dinosaur too, you know."

Lowery hummed.

"Is that so?"

"Mhm. He doesn't do it a lot, though, because he's a meat-eater. Zara eats meat, but she likes fish the best, and fish don't talk."

Lowery stepped backwards.

"Yeah, okay. See you later, then."

Lily frowned in puzzlement as he stumbled away awkwardly.

"Why's Uncle Lowery being so weird?" she asked.

"He's always weird," Claire huffed, "Nothing unusual about that."

Lily rubbed her chin.

"So, a human can change into a dinosaur, but if a person was born as a dinosaur, they can't change at all?"

Claire nodded.

"Something like that."

Lily twisted her mouth.

"Gosh. If humans can change, why wouldn't they want to be a dinosaur all the time?"

Claire smiled.

"I don't know, sweetie. I don't know."

"Maybe because they can't pick up small change!" Vivian interjected as she stormed towards Claire, "I just dropped all of my coins down the drain. It wouldn't be a problem, but this world only accepts the new currency. Who even came up with Parks, anyway?"

Claire shrugged.

"Elkay, I guess. I don't see a problem with having a unified currency across the dimension."

"That's because you're on the five cent coins."

Claire blushed.

"Yeah, that might be a motivator. Do you need to borrow money?"

Vivian nodded.

"Large bills only, and please don't make a comment about my face."

"Wh- Oh, right. Bill. Have people been teasing?"

Vivian nodded.

"It sucks to be me. Maybe I ought to get engaged."

"Why do you say that?"

"Cuz the dragons will give me a present, just like they did with Lowery and Karen."

Claire's jaw dropped.

"Karen's engaged?!"

"Yeah, she accepted the proposal this morning. Didn't you wonder why she was a dinosaur all of a sudden?"

Claire blinked rapidly.

"I haven't seen her! Oh my god! I have to congratulate her!"

Claire swung Lily over her shoulder and started to dash away, but froze in mid-stride.

"Shoot. I can't leave now. I'm supposed to be giving a speech."

Vivian cocked her head.

"What about?"

"It's my job to welcome the hybrids to Isla Nublar officially. I have a slideshow prepared."

"Alright. When you're done, can you lend me some money?"

Claire rumbled impatiently.

"Can't you think of anyone but yourself?"

"Says the person who made me work over Christmas."

"Let's not level," Claire snapped, "Can you make sure Lily finds her way back to her class?"

Vivian shook her head.

"No! I'm not your babysitter. Ask Zara to do it. It'll keep her away from Vic, anyway . . ."

Claire frowned.

"Vivian, I don't think it's your place to judge."

She snorted and waved her front foot limply.

"Oh, please! You're only saying that because of how Owen-"

Claire covered Vivian's mouth. Before she could protest, Claire gave her a meaningful stare, her eyes darting up to Lily and back. Vivian exhaled frustratedly.

"Fine. I'm going to find Lowery. He always lends me money."

Claire glared at her as she stormed away, her tail swinging loosely behind her. Lily peeked over her frill with a curious frown.

"Gee, Aunt Vivian is kind of grumpy today, isn't she?"

Claire rubbed her chin.

"Yes. Yes, she is . . ."

***TSJWFEW***

After her speech, Claire was greeted by several dinosaurs. They seemed thrilled to meet her, as they had heard a lot about her through the grapevine (of course, the grapevine sounded suspiciously similar to a blabbermouth dragon). It was doubly strange because most of them had known her before she had been stuck as a stegoceratops. Nobody was interested in her back then. Of course, it was rather telling how many dinosaurs said things like "Gosh, you're a lot nicer than I thought you'd be!". Claire hadn't exactly been known for her tenderness at Jurassic World.

"Claire!"

Hearing a familiar voice, Claire felt a chill run down her spine like a snake made of ice. There was only one person that voice could belong to, and that person happened to be the only Jurassic World employee who had A) requested permission to bring a crossbow to work B) demonstrated her ability to juggle flaming chainsaws on more than one occasion, and C) set her trained falcons loose on Isla Nublar to catch Owen's escaped rats. The person in question was, of course, Sarah the Mosasaur Trainer.

Claire turned around, expecting to see some sort of raptor or Indominus Rex, but instead, she saw a crocodilian reptile with a sail. She examined the strange green and yellow creature and held her beak open in confusion.

"Uh . . ."

"I'm a postosuchus-dimetrodon hybrid," Sarah chirped, "One of Neithhotep's. Elkay rescued me shortly after I was kidnapped, and I've been waiting to see you ever since."

Claire blinked.

"See me?"

She nodded so hard that Claire expected her eyeballs to fall out.

"I've been looking for a new job, recently, and I thought you might be able to help."

Claire gulped.

"Well, you certainly have an . . . interesting . . . résumé."

Sarah grinned.

"I make it my business to try everything and anything that interests me. I want to do all the things!"

Claire nodded.

"Well, okay. If you're really looking for a job, I hear the school is looking for-"

Imagining how poorly Lily might fare if her teacher was as insane as Sarah, Claire reconsidered her offer.

"Actually, if you're interested in dentistry, there might be something there . . ."

"Don't even mention dentists!" Zara squawked as she slid towards them, "You know how I feel about them. Nasty bunch."

"Someone's bitter," Claire remarked.

Zara rolled her eyes.

"Yes, well, I'll have you know that I'm not the only one. I found out why Vivian has been so cross lately. She's no longer seeing Brad."

Claire gasped.

"He dumped her?"

Zara shrugged.

"Word on the street is that they ended it mutually, but that doesn't mean a thing. I can tell that Vivian is hurting. I'll bet she realized that it was going to be hard to keep seeing him without them having s-"

Claire cleared her throat noisily.

"Zara! This is a professional zone. We're not alone."

Zara noticed Sarah standing patiently beside Claire.

"Oh. Right. Hello."

Sarah smiled.

"Hi! I used to be the mosasaur trainer at Jurassic World."

The corners of Zara's beak twitched.

"Why didn't you do your jooooooooob?"

Claire flittered her plates awkwardly.

"Zara, not now. Maybe you'd better find Vic so we can talk about Vivian's issues."

Zara sniggered.

"There's nothing I enjoy more than good gossip. See you later, then!"

Claire turned back to Sarah as Zara waddled away.

"Sorry about that. Just a little personal business."

Sarah gave a remorseful look.

"Poor thing. Vivian hasn't had it easy, you know. I heard her mother is in a coma."

Claire shook her head.

"Not anymore. She woke up recently, and boy was she surprised to discover that her daughter was a dinosaur!"

Sarah beamed.

"Oh, she's one of us? That's great! The more, the merrier!"

Claire blinked.

"You don't seem fazed by the fact that you're a hybrid reptile."

Sarah laughed merrily.

"Of course not! What kind of an moron wouldn't want to be a kickass hybrid?"

Claire hummed.

"Well, I wasn't too thrilled, at first."

Sarah cocked her head.

"Why not?"

"Well, I-"

Claire froze. That was a very good question. What was it about being a dinosaur that bothered her so much?

"I guess I wanted to fit in," Claire mumbled, "I wanted to be the girl on top, not some big, green . . . cow. It's hard to be an animal. No one really sees you for who you are. Well . . . mostly no one. I guess the people that stand by you are the ones you should have paid attention to in the first place. They're the ones who matter, because . . . they love you."

Sarah pulled her claw out of her ear and flicked away a small, sticky ball.

"Sorry, I wasn't listening. Were you saying something insightful?"

Claire exhaled.

"No. I guess not. By the way, if you're going to be staying here, you should know that my daughter thinks I've always been a stegoceratops. It would harm her self-perceived image if she were to believe otherwise."

"Know otherwise, you mean."

Claire blinked.

"Huh?"

"If you believe the truth, they call that knowing."

Another good example of why Claire didn't particularly like Sarah.

***TSJWFEW***

"I keep having this reoccurring nightmare. I'm in a big city, like New York or something, and I start growing. It's fine at first, because I think it's natural, but when I have trouble squeezing through buildings, I know I've become too large. I try to get out of the city, but I get stuck and start accidentally stepping on people. I try to apologize and run away, but nothing I do seems to help. Eventually, I grow so large that I destroy everything around me. That's when I wake up. I cry afterwards, sometimes. What does it all mean?"

Elkay peered at Vic through her very official-looking therapist glasses.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"No," he muttered, "That's why I'm asking you."

Elkay rolled her eyes.

"Oh, you non-authors are so terrible with metaphors. Obviously, you're worried about harming your friends by reverting back to your old ways. You don't want your ego to swell to the point of- Are you crying?"

Vic sniffled.

"I'm sorry. It's just so scary hearing about that kind of thing. I- I don't know what I would do if- if I-"

Elkay handed him a tissue. He blew his nose and gulped.

"Thank you."

Elkay leaned back in her rolling chair.

"It seems to me, Vic, like you're having trouble letting go of the past."

"But I want to!" Vic insisted, "I hate the man I used to be, and I wish I could make it so that he never existed."

Elkay clicked her tongue.

"But you can't. Your past will always be a part of you, and it will catch up eventually, mark my words."

Vic shivered.

"Oh god. What do I do?"

"There's nothing you can do. You just have to be honest about your history and pray that people forgive you for it. If you lie, you'll only make matters worse. Have you told Zara about your first wife yet?"

Vic shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"She knows that I was married before . . ."

"That's a no. You have to tell her the details, Vic."

His lip quivered.

"She'd dump me."

"Not if she really loves you. You have to trust that she'll accept you for who you are, and that includes who you used to be."

Vic sighed.

"Gosh, I really shouldn't be with Zara. She's too good for me. I'm doing nothing to make her life better, other than giving her presents and compliments and love. People are starting to say awful things about her, and it's all my fault."

Elkay waved her therapist pen around casually.

"You know, you sound just like Owen. He's always going on and on about how much he's ruining Claire's reputation. Honestly, it's kind of the other way around. Everyone thinks he's a pervert because he's fucking a dinosaur."

She twisted her beak.

"Admittedly, that sentence doesn't exactly help his case. I wouldn't say that he's messed up, exactly. Well, not for the most part. He said that he got turned on watching Claire try to open a door with her mouth once."

Vic's eye twitched.

"Are you supposed to be disclosing this to me?"

Elkay shrugged.

"I don't see why not. If people are dumb enough to trust me as a therapist, they deserve to have their privacy breached. Speaking of which, did you know that Lowery has Karen dress up as-"

Vic put his hands over his ears.

"Can we please get back to my problem?"

Elkay sighed.

"Vic, I know you mean well, but you're stuck in what I call a 'Wu Loop'. You love your partner unconditionally, but you feel so guilty about being with them that you can't see your own value. Ever since you started dating Zara, she's been all 'unicorns and rainbows': all because you showed her a bit of affection."

Vic bit his lip.

"But is love really enough to mend these wounds?"

"If it isn't, I don't know what is."

***TSJWFEW***

Claire was tired, but in a good way. She felt like she had just come back from a big party, which she essentially had. Raptor Valley had been decorated with colorful lanterns to celebrate the arrival of the hybrids, and the echo of music was still hanging in the air. Although Claire was walking down a road that was quite a distance from the celebration, she could make out the sound of Owen's voice. She was happy to hear him singing, because she knew that he had stage fright. She didn't remember exactly when he had told her about this, so it was very likely that it had happened during their forgotten hike up Tall Mountain.

Claire wished she could remember the events that had taken place before her memory had been wiped. She'd get flashes of it every now and then, which made it all the more frustrating when she couldn't remember specific details. Luckily, she was able to recall the most important event: her first kiss with Owen. Ever since she had rediscovered that particular memory, it had been as clear as day in her mind's eye. Thinking about it now, she felt warm inside. Although she had treated Owen rather poorly (admittedly because she had been stressed out about being part dinosaur at the time), there was no doubt that they were destined to be together. Owen had known it better than she had. Claire wanted to fling her arms around him and shout "THANK YOU FOR NOT GIVING UP ON ME!", but he probably wouldn't know what she meant by it. He might even assume that she was referring to her moments of depression when she had been recovering from her permanent transformation. She felt badly about putting him through that. The things she had said and done would forever haunt her, from trying to saw her own horns off to attempting to crush Lily's egg . . . Oh, that last one made her absolutely sick. If she were to encounter her past self by some form of magic, she'd promptly slap her several times, shouting "STUPID CLAIRE! STUPID, STUPID CLAIRE!".

But that was all in the past. Claire was a mother now, and that meant that she was also a dinosaur for Lily's sake. She didn't want to lie to her baby girl, but how was she supposed to tell Lily that she was born from someone who used to be human? Well, it wouldn't be hard to explain the metaphysical aspect, since Lily was used to magic and dragons and all sorts of things, but how would she feel if she knew that her mother was not a natural-born dinosaur? Would she question her own value? Claire didn't like to think about it. Of course, she would inevitably slip up and disclose her secret unintentionally, because it was a hard thing to keep hidden. Then again, Ellie had done a good job of altering people's memories in the past, so . . .

"Ah!"

Claire screeched to a halt as she almost collided with Vivian on the road. She stumbled backwards and landed on her rump.

"Vivian! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention. Owen thinks I need headlights . . ."

Vivian snorted.

"He just wants to claim that he drives a hybrid."

Claire smiled.

"Yeah, probably. How are you?"

"Good."

Claire narrowed her eyes. Vivian sounded . . . nervous. Looking around, Claire saw a green reptile skittering into the woods. She peeked over Vivian's shoulder nosily.

"Is that Sarah?"

Vivian gulped.

"Yes."

Claire laughed.

"What, are you two on a date or something?"

Vivian turned her head away. Slowly, Claire's eyes went wide.

"Were you on a date? . . ."

Vivian bit her lip.

"Don't tell Zara."

Claire blinked.

"Zara? What on Earth does this have to do with Zara?"

Vivian grimaced.

"Oh, I don't know. I've been really hard on her lately because of Vic, so if she finds out about this, she'll tease me as revenge."

Claire shook her head.

"No, Vivian. I don't think Zara is a homophobe. Incidentally, you shouldn't tease her about her relationship. It's just a matter of courtesy."

Vivian frowned.

"But don't you think it's weird that she's with Vic?"

"Yes, but I don't say anything to her face. She's happy, and I don't want to take that away from her."

"Says the girl who refused to let her listen to music at work."

Claire frowned.

"Vivian . . ."

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" Vivian bleated, "I just tease other people because-"

"You're insecure?"

"No!" Vivian snapped, "I tease people because I find it hard to be polite in awkward situations. I need to be brutally honest, or I feel like I'm lying."

"There's a difference between lying and not saying every little thing that's on your mind," Claire lectured.

Vivian sighed petulantly.

"I know, I know. Are you going to blab?"

Claire shook her head.

"It's none of my business. I'm only interested because I'm your friend. Do you know Sarah well?"

Vivian smiled whimsically.

"I only really got to know her today. She bought me fries, and . . . well, you know how much I like fries. Anyway, we got to talking, and we figured out that we both . . ."

Vivian waved her front foot. Claire smiled.

"I know what you mean. Continue."

"Anyway, we decided to go out for dinner. It went well, and . . . Well, I want to see Sarah again. I really like her. She's fun. And she knows a lot about skateboarding and taxidermy and all sorts of weird stuff."

Claire smiled.

"Well, that's great. I'm glad you're happy."

Vivian nodded.

"Just promise me you won't tell Zara."

"I won't!" Claire insisted, "Stop being paranoid. I'm not a jerk."

Vivian opened her mouth, but Claire placed her front foot over it.

"If you're going to make a remark about how I used to be a bitch, please reconsider."

Vivian exhaled.

"You're right. I'm terrible at holding back my opinions. I guess I shouldn't complain. You only got bad once you found out that you could change into a dinosaur, according to Elkay."

Claire gave a quiet rumble and kicked up dirt awkwardly.

"She told you about that? It's kind of personal."

Vivian snorted.

"If you think that's bad, you should hear her explanation for why Lowery owns cat ears."

Claire's eye twitched.

"If it has anything to do with Karen, I don't want to know."

***TSJWFEW***

Claire was good at keeping her promises. Well, not the vague or insignificant ones, like "I promise to be nice" or "I promise not to drop this chinchilla", but as far as Vivian's secret was concerned, she was doing just fine. Vivian, however, was not. She had become her own worst enemy.

The morning after the secret date, Claire, Karen, Lowery, Zara, Vic, and Vivian (of course) met up for brunch at the Nublar Café. Claire didn't give the impression that she was hiding something, because it wasn't really that big of a deal, but the problem was that Vivian was shooting her uncomfortable looks. Claire tried to ignore it, but everyone could tell that something was up by the way Vivian's eye twitched. Plus, she looked about ready to crack. Claire felt like slamming her foot on the table and shouting "I'm not going to give away your secret, goddamn it!", but that would be counterproductive. In any case, it wouldn't be long before Vivian gave it away on her own. Perhaps it would be best to distract everyone from her suspicious behavior.

"So, Karen, what does it feel like to be engaged?" Claire trilled pleasantly.

"Exciting. But this isn't my first time, you know," Karen sassed, "I'd say I beat you to it, even if the first marriage didn't go so well."

Claire rolled her eyes.

"It's not a race. Plus, I had my first child earlier in my marriage than you did."

Karen quirked a brow.

"First? Do you plan to have more?"

Claire smiled.

"We'll see how things go. My primary goal is for Lily to have a good life. If Owen thinks that we can handle another child, we'll go ahead and have one."

Vivian cringed.

"Oh, god. You want to put two freaky hybrids on this Earth?"

Claire tried not to let her anger show.

"Yes, Vivian. It's my choice. It's not like I'm going to lie about it."

Picking up on her not-so-subtle hint, Vivian lowered her head.

"Yeah, okay."

Karen took an awkward sip of her tea.

"Yeah, it would be nice if my future baby could have someone to play with. Lily might be a little too old for him or her by the time he or she is able to walk."

Claire smiled.

"Have you picked out a name yet?"

Karen shook her head.

"Not yet, but whatever happens, we won't let Lowery name the baby."

"Why not?"

"He suggested 'Yoda'."

Lowery huffed.

"I never said it had to be Yoda."

Vivian rolled her eyes.

"Oh my god, Lowery! You're such a nerd!"

Claire gave her a meaningful stare.

"Don't be rude, Vivian."

"That's hardly relevant!" Vivian snapped, "It has nothing to do with-"

She paused.

"-anything."

Everyone but Claire and Vivian shared looks of puzzlement.

"What do you mean, Vivian?" Lowery asked.

"Nothing!" Vivian squawked, "It's none of your business."

Zara gave her a concerned look.

"If something's wrong, you can tell us. Is something the matter?"

Vivian snorted angrily.

"Oh, wouldn't you like to know!"

Zara leaned backwards, shocked and a little hurt.

"I would. We're friends. I don't want you to be upset."

Vivian slammed both of her feet on the table.

"You do! You'd love it if I gave you a reason to tease me!"

Zara shook her head rapidly.

"Vivian, whatever it is, I won't make fun of you. Why would I joke about something that's upsetting you?"

"You're the one who's upsetting me!" Vivian snarled.

Claire pulled her back into her seat.

"Whoa, Vivian. Calm down. Zara hasn't done anything."

"She would! She would, if she knew!"

"Knew what?" Zara asked fearfully.

"I'M DATING SARAH!"

Claire slapped her forehead. Zara blinked cluelessly and rubbed her chin.

"Sarah . . ."

"The postodon," Claire said calmly.

Zara lifted her head.

"Ooooooh. The one with the blue scarf?"

Claire nodded. Zara smiled supportively.

"Well, she seems like a lot of fun. When did this happen?"

Vivian narrowed her eyes.

"Don't pretend to be all tolerant. I know you're waiting to make fun of me."

Zara frowned.

"Vivian, I'm not going to make fun of you, and why do you think I'd do it, specifically? Wouldn't you be more concerned about Lowery knowing that you're a lesbian?"

Lowery coughed.

"I totally called it."

Vivian rolled her eyes.

"Oh my god, you're so immature. I'm bisexual, genius, and I had a legitimate reason for not wanting to start a relationship with you. Asshole."

Karen frowned.

"Watch it."

Zara made eye contact with Karen and shook her head. She then turned back to Vivian, lacing her wing-fingers together.

"Vivian, I'm sorry if I ever gave the impression that I would tease you about this. I can assure you that I'd never, ever make fun of you for being yourself."

Vivian snuffed.

"Oh, that's real big of you. We're all impressed by how much of a saint you are."

Zara frowned in distress.

"Vivian, I'm not trying to-"

Claire stood up.

"Alright, that's enough. Zara, Vivian is concerned that you'll make fun of her relationship because she's been teasing you about Vic."

Zara's jaw dropped.

"What?"

After a moment, her face pulled into a bitter sneer.

"Vivian, I'm not a child. I wouldn't make fun of you in retaliation. That's just- Oh my god- I don't even- I mean-"

She curled her talons angrily.

"I'm not that petty, Vivian!"

"Oh, no?" she retorted, "Well, if you're not petty, why do you always talk about Claire behind her back?"

Claire turned to Zara with a questioning look, and she shook her head in response.

"I've never talked behind your back."

"Before she was a dinosaur," Vivian clarified.

Zara hummed.

"Okay, maybe once or twice, and I'm really sorry about it, but this has nothing to do with-"

Vivian stood up, knocking her chair over with her tail.

"Oh, shut up! Stop making me out to be the bad guy!"

Zara growled in warning.

"Vivian, I've literally done nothing wrong."

"But you were going to."

"I wouldn't. I don't like it when you tease me about being with Vic, but I wouldn't do the same for you. There's nothing wrong with either of our relationships."

Vivian made an offended noise.

"There is! You and Vic, you're both so . . . so different!"

Zara scoffed.

"And I suppose you'd argue that your relationship with Sarah is better because you're the same?"

Vivian charged forward and tossed her head.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you both have vaginas."

Everyone turned as Elkay butted into the conversation from another table. She lowered her newspaper and quirked a brow.

"Well, it does . . ."

Vivian turned back to Zara, still furious.

"You're disgusting, you know that? He was going to use you as a weapon."

Vic's eyes went wide.

"I . . . I should go."

Zara held him back.

"Stay."

She sneered at Vivian.

"That was a long time ago."

"And I suppose if he were to slap you, you'd say the same thing?"

Zara gave a screeching growl.

"He would never hit me!"

"How do you know?" Vivian retorted, "He used to be married. He isn't anymore. Doesn't that strike you as odd?"

"Vic has changed! You know nothing about him!"

"He's just pretending! People can't change!"

"They can!"

"They can't!"

Claire stamped her foot.

"Stop it!"

The two feuding parties ignored her. They were inches away from each other, but their voices were loud enough to be heard from a significant distance, making it very awkward for the miscellaneous dinosaurs at nearby tables.

"You bitch! How dare you make assumptions about my boyfriend?"

"Assumptions? He tried to kill us!"

"That was before he changed!"

Vic tugged on Zara's wing.

"Don't defend me . . ."

Vivian flipped the table with her crest.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing!" Zara shrilled.

"Liar! You're pathetic! You're only staying with Vic because you're desperate for someone to love you!"

"So what!" Zara shouted, "If you knew what it's like to be a monster, you'd forgive him too!"

Zara wheeled around suddenly and dove from the balcony. She flew towards the lagoon, sobbing miserably. Vic ran after her, moving as fast as his plump, stubby legs could take him.

"Zara! Zara, wait!"

Claire took a deep breath and turned to Vivian.

"You really outdid yourself this time. I didn't think you had it in you. You'd better pray that this damage is repairable."

Vivian gulped.

"Well, you used to-"

Claire lifted her foot.

"Don't. Nothing you say will change the fact that you did something wrong. Just because other people make mistakes doesn't give you the right to justify your own shortcomings. Goodbye, Vivian."

Claire turned to leave. Vivian watched her with a quivering lip, then ran away as well. Lowery and Karen stared down at the flipped table, still in their seats. After a moment, Karen hummed.

"Did she ever indicate that she was . . . you know . . ."

Lowery shrugged.

"I saw her eating a cantaloupe, once."

***TSJWFEW***

Apologizing wasn't an easy thing to do, especially in a situation like Vivian's. She knew for a fact that she had gone too far, and additionally, it was her fault that any of this had happened in the first place. She had just been so disgusted with Zara that she hadn't really thought things through. She was still grossed out by her relationship, but what was really important was that her friend was okay.

She journeyed to the lagoon, only to find that Zara was absent. After a lengthy search, Vivian discovered that she was backstage at the Nublar Theatre. She took a deep breath and knocked on her dressing room door.

"Who is it?" Zara called from inside the room.

"Before you say anything, please hear me out."

"Vivian?"

"Yeah, it's me," Vivian sighed, "I'm really sorry for what I said. All of it. It's not my place to judge. I guess I was just upset because . . . Well, I'm a tiny bit jealous. Vic loves you unconditionally, but Brad . . . I mean, he still loved me, don't get me wrong, but . . ."

Vivian took a shaky breath.

"He's not like Vic or Owen. When he looked at me, he didn't see just Vivian: he saw Vivian in a dinosaur's body. But that's not what I am. I'm still Vivian. I'm still me."

She sniffled.

"He just couldn't get past it. He loved me, but he didn't love me enough. You said earlier that I didn't know what it was like to feel like a monster. That's not entirely true. When I was around Brad, I felt like a stupid, simple animal. I know I said that Claire and Owen were being gross, but I kind of hoped that Brad would . . . I mean . . ."

Her lip started quivering.

"Oh, Vivian," Zara whispered.

"He was repulsed by me," she continued, "I just wanted someone to see me for who I am, not . . . oh . . ."

Vivian stated crying. She lay down on her belly and placed her front feet over her eyes. Zara opened the door and looked down at her with pity. Gently, she scooped her up and gave her a hug.

"Shhh . . . It's okay . . ."

She patted Vivian's back until she stopped crying. When she regained her ability to speak, Vivian sniffled loudly and wiped her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Zara. I've been awful."

Zara shook her head.

"No, no. Don't worry about it. To tell you the truth, Vic was more distressed about it than I was. He doesn't like to see me upset, so once I started crying, he did too. I couldn't get him to shut up for hours. He's baking guilt cookies right now."

Vivian sighed shakily.

"Forget everything I said. He's a nice man and you're lucky to have him."

Zara gave a half-smile.

"Well, you have Sarah now, so I'm sure you'll be just as happy."

Vivian gulped.

"Oh, god. She'll probably have heard about what I did. I have no chance with her now."

Zara shrugged.

"Well, if she judges you for it, I'm sure I could clear things up for you."

Vivian sniffled.

"You shouldn't be so nice to me after what I did."

Zara laughed quietly.

"We're friends. Friends forgive each other."

Vivian hugged Zara's belly.

"I don't deserve a friend like you."

Zara patted her head.

"Don't worry about it. As long as we love each other . . . erm, platonically . . . everything will be alright."