Blue was having a hard time distinguishing what was real and what was a part of her imagination. She felt sick and dizzy and just not very good in general. She didn't know which direction was up and which direction was down, and they seemed to switch places when she came close to discovering their identities. There were times when she even forgot what directions were, or that words existed, or that anything existed. It was a nightmare!

But she woke up eventually.

She was in a barn. It was an old structure with a curved ceiling. When Blue looked up at the rafters, her vision doubled, so she decided to focus on closer objects. A junky heater was glowing orange on the floor, blowing warm air towards her through a rusty grate. Her wounds had been dressed. More importantly, someone was dabbing her forehead with a damp rag.

"Owen? . . ."

"No. It's Claire."

"Where's Owen?"

"Back in the house."

"When is he coming back?"

"Try to sleep, Blue."

That made sense. If she slept, time would go by faster, and Owen's return wouldn't seem to take so long. That was good. She could live with that.

Blue fell asleep again.

***TSJWFEW***

When the raptor woke, it was night. At first, she assumed that she was still dreaming, because Owen hadn't come back yet, and that was impossible. Surely, he wouldn't wait an entire day to check up on her? . . .

Her orange eyes turned to the ceiling. Moonlight was trickling through cracks in the wood. Why had they left her in the barn, when it seemed like it hadn't been used for years? Shouldn't she be in the house where it was warm and safe?

Blue gave a feeble chirp. Her throat was dry, and her tongue felt fuzzy. They wouldn't be able to hear her. She'd have to go find them, obviously.

When she tried to sit up, she found that there was a rope tied around one of her legs. She stared at it, wondering if she was imagining things. Owen would never tie her up . . . would he?

She was too weak to chew through the knot. It made her dizzy to even try. She fell back against the sacks of grain she was lying on. Until now, she hadn't noticed how scratchy they were. The dirty quilt they had covered her with was no better. And the heater was the worst part of this entire setup! Blue enjoyed sharing the warmth of her sisters, not this ugly machine!

She kicked it over with her free foot. This made it shut down. In her frustration, she hadn't realized that it was a very bad idea to remove her only source of heat. The barn was drafty, and it would remain that way throughout the night.

And it was a very long night, indeed.

***TSJWFEW***

Blue squinted in pain when Claire kicked open the barn door. She tried to tell herself that her visitor was actually Owen, but when her eyes adjusted to the dazzling light that blurred out the woman's shape, she couldn't convince herself to believe in her dream. She blinked several times to counteract the stinging brightness. Claire knelt down beside her and felt her forehead.

"What temperature are you supposed to be?"

Blue batted her eyes.

"What?"

"I need to be sure you don't have a fever. What temperature are you, usually?"

Blue tried to recall.

"I don't know," she muttered, "Can't you ask Owen? He'd be able to tell you."

Claire took a deep breath.

"Owen . . . isn't available right now."

"What about Barry?"

"He's with Delta in the other world."

Blue pulled her head back in surprise.

"The others just let her go?"

Claire nodded.

"They'll visit every now and then. I don't like going to Isla Nublar, because . . . it's a long story. But I can make an exception for my friends."

"Barry and Delta . . . Are they getting married?"

"Already did. There wasn't a ceremony or anything. Just legal papers. They didn't want to waste any time."

Blue looked down at the straw that barely covered the floor. It was a boring sight, but she'd rather look at nothing than make eye contact with Claire.

"I wish I could have been there, all the same. Is she visiting soon? Can I talk to her?"

Claire bit her lip.

"Um . . . I think we'd better wait. She has her honeymoon to worry about."

Blue gulped.

"Oh. What about the others? Where's Charlie?"

"With Lily. They're probably feeding the chickens right now. We lost two of them while we were away. They're buried near the flower garden."

"I'm sorry. Is Echo here?"

"She's in the house, yes. Now that she's sobered up, she's taken it upon herself to be Lily's aunt."

"Can I see her?"

"Not right now."

"Is it true that Foxtrot died?"

Claire nodded.

"We're working on a memorial."

Blue placed her chin on the ground.

"I guess this means we're not a pack anymore."

Claire shrugged.

"Maybe. I wouldn't worry about it."

Blue sighed.

"What do I do now?"

"Recover," Claire said, "Save your strength. Hopefully, you'll be able to walk soon."

She stood up.

"I'm going to get you some eggs, okay?"

Blue slid her neck across the floor.

"How long do I have to stay in here?"

"Not long. Be patient."

***TSJWFEW***

Claire was lying. Blue spent a week waiting for someone to invite her back into the house, but no one did. More than anything, she wanted to be with Owen. He hadn't even visited yet. Obviously, Claire was stopping him. Blue was furious, but a part of her wondered why Claire was the one bringing her food and water. Did she want to seem kind without allowing any access to the Alpha? Maybe.

She discovered just how wrong she was when Claire walked backwards into the barn with a tray of raw hamburger meat. She kicked the door closed, but it didn't shut all the way. Through the crack, Blue could see Owen watering the garden.

"OWEN! OWEN, I'M AWAKE! CRAW! CRAW! CR-"

Claire backhanded her and held her mouth shut.

"Stop it, Blue! He's going to think you're attacking me!"

The raptor squirmed around until she could free her jaws.

"Why hasn't he visited me? Why is he just standing there?"

Claire put her hands in her lap.

"Blue . . . the others don't want you here. They think you're going to sabotage us again."

Blue shook her head.

"You're lying!"

Claire looked away.

"I'm sorry, Blue."

She got to her feet slowly. Her knees were knocking.

"No . . . No . . ."

She tried to exit the barn, forgetting that her leg was tied to a peg in the wall.

"Let me go . . ." she pleaded.

Claire shook her head.

"I promised the others I would keep you tied up. They don't feel safe right now."

Blue tugged on the rope, extending her leg like a chicken.

"That's ridiculous! I'm their Beta!"

"You've been violent."

"That's what raptors are like."

"I don't think they want to be like raptors, then."

Blue stared at the floor bitterly. After a pause, she snarled and bit Claire's arm. Surprisingly, she was gentle, but it was enough to draw blood.

"You made them this way!" she hissed.

Claire grabbed her bleeding arm and backed away quickly.

"You idiot! I'm the only one here who's willing to help you, and you've left a visible wound on my arm. They're going to see it, and when they do, they'll hate you even more!"

"They don't hate me, and I certainly don't need you."

Claire's face was unreadable, but Blue didn't like the way she was looking at her. Finally, she shook her head, dropping her bleeding arm.

"You ungrateful bitch! I carry you out of a burning forest, convince Owen to let you recover here, buy you a goddamn bag of meat, which wasn't easy, by the way, since I haven't entered a civilized town for over a decade-"

Blue screeched.

"I HATE YOU! YOU STOLE OWEN!"

Claire kicked the tray over, spilling meat across the hay.

"Shut up. Owen will hear you," she said with venom.

"I want him to hear me!"

She tilted her snout upwards and began calling out as loudly as her vocal cords would allow. Claire put her hands over her ears and booted the raptor. She stumbled, because the rope was still holding her back. When she had found her footing, she called again. Owen burst through the door, his brow creased in a deep frown. Blue grinned.

"Owen! Owen, you came back!"

He ignored her and marched over to Claire, who was turned away from him. He grabbed her injured arm before she could react. Grunting in pain, she tried to pull it away, but he was too strong. Owen lifted her limb forcefully, examined the wound, and looked at Blue. She didn't say anything. In a microsecond, he whipped around and stormed out the door. Claire followed. Blue couldn't see where Owen was headed, but she heard a creaky door open and close across the field. Claire was shouting. Blue perked up when she realized that Owen was coming back. She was sure he intended to free her.

But then she heard a deep click.

Owen reentered the barn with a rifle in his hands. Claire tugged on his clothing frantically, trying to drag him backwards, or at least delay him so that they could discuss the issue before jumping into action. He shrugged her off and took aim. Blue screeched and tried to flee, but she could only move so far with her leg tied to the wall. She darted back and forth, and Owen had no trouble following her with his gun. Claire was screaming now. He still wouldn't listen. It was over.

Understanding that she could not avoid the barrel's gaze, Blue stopped running. She backed up against the bags of wheat and lowered her head with tears in her eyes. Owen was unfazed. His finger tightened around the trigger.

BAM!

Blue was shocked that she hadn't felt the bullet enter her, but when she opened her eyes, she saw Claire wrestling with Owen. She yanked the gun out of his hands and fired the remaining shots upwards, making holes in the roof. When she was sure that the rifle was empty, she tossed it to the side. Owen snatched up the weapon just as quickly with a tight jaw.

"There are more bullets in the house. This is happening."

Claire put her hands on his chest, pushing him back as he tried to walk away.

"Owen . . . Owen . . ."

"Move."

"I won't!"

"Claire, move!"

She shrieked as he elbowed her aside. When he reached for the door, she grabbed him and yanked him back. He thrashed around angrily.

"Claire-"

She slapped him. He stumbled backwards, dropping his gun. Claire stood petrified for a moment before putting her hand over her mouth.

"Oh my god . . ."

Owen touched his cheek with three fingers, then lumbered away, leaving his gun behind. Claire's eyes remained fixed on nothing in particular once he was gone. There was something dead in her gaze. Gradually, she slumped over and knelt in the hay, crying softly. When she finally crawled out of the barn, Blue felt sick to her stomach.

It was the first time she had experienced sympathy for Claire.

***TSJWFEW***

The next day, Claire entered the barn with red, puffy eyes. She dropped a bucket of meat by Blue, then marched away briskly. The raptor held out her paw.

"Wait!"

Claire stopped. She didn't turn around. Blue took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry."

Claire still didn't move.

"I've done a lot of bad things, but I'm ready to stop," she continued, "All I want is for Owen to be happy, and if he's happy with you, I'm okay with that."

Claire turned her head slightly.

"You don't mean that."

"I do, a little," Blue said quietly, "A part of me knew that I could never replace you, but I wanted to believe it was possible. Owen was the closest thing I had to . . . to a real relationship. He used to talk to me like I was a person, even though I was a pet. We liked each other. I think he was just as lonely as I was, back then. It was . . . I mean . . . He used to smile when there was no one else around. I thought it was because we were together, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was thinking of you all along. I guess I wanted him to love me because I knew that no one else would ever give me the time of day. He had higher standards than I expected, though."

Claire sighed and sat down beside her.

"I wouldn't say that. He married a stegoceratops."

Blue curled her tail towards her snout sadly.

"I was afraid of being alone. I mean, I had my sisters, but I wanted more. That's why I listened to the big raptor. I was positive that there were others like her . . . others like me. But when she told us what to do, Charlie-"

She squeezed her eyes shut.

"Charlie had an accident. The big raptor didn't care about us. She only cared about herself. And then Owen showed me that he was still my friend . . . Claire, that meant the world to me. I knew I wouldn't be his Beta forever. I knew it. But when he reached out and touched me, I wondered if he really did like me. That's when I started believing that we'd be together forever. I told myself that 'goodbye' was only temporary. I didn't realize that he would move on . . ."

Claire put her hand on Blue's neck.

"He didn't move on, really. A part of him stayed on that island with you."

"A very, very small part. A part he won't miss. He doesn't need it, because he has you."

Claire ran her thumb over Blue's scales.

"We'll find a place for you. We just need to wait for Owen to come around."

"That will never happen. He was ready to kill me, yesterday."

"But he didn't."

"Only because of you. You saved me. You . . . I mean . . . that was really . . . What did he say after that, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Nothing. We haven't spoken since I-"

She shifted.

". . . you know."

Blue sighed.

"It figures that I only started to put stress on your relationship once I stopped interfering actively."

"Don't sell yourself short. You've always put stress on our relationship."

Blue cocked her head.

"That was a joke, wasn't it?"

Claire nodded vacantly.

"Yeah."

Blue rubbed her chin.

"I'm almost healed. I could run away."

"And go where? Take it from me, it's hard for a dinosaur to stay out of sight. No, you have to live with us, or else go to Isla Nublar in the other world."

"I don't want to go to the other world."

"Me neither, but . . ."

Claire exhaled.

"Look, it's not just you. Owen and I are having difficulties because I'm human."

"Is he not attracted to you?"

"He is, but not like before. He needs the dinosaur he married. And I need my body back, too. More than anything, I want to be a stegoceratops again, but the only person who can make that happen is Ellie, and we're not on good terms right now. I mean, she saved Lily, but I'm not sure she's ready to see me again."

She hugged her knees.

"Blue, I'm scared. For years, I've been avoiding that island. After everything I went through, I ended up shunning my friends and family again. The worst part is that Lily had a chance to fit in, to be part of a community that understands what she is, and I denied her that because of my own pride. I've ruined her life."

Blue nudged Claire's shoulder with her snout.

"You haven't. I've never seen a child love and admire their mother more than she does. Considering you spent your parental years in a new body, cut off from the rest of the world, I'd say you deserve to be called an excellent mother."

Claire blinked.

"Are you serious?"

Blue nodded.

"You're just a good person in general. It's amazing, really. You saved my life, even though you had no reason to. I'll never understand how you can be so kind to me after I did what I did."

Claire smiled.

"Well, it's not so much kindness as . . . guilt. I've done a lot of bad things in my life, and now I'm trying to atone for my past mistakes."

"Is it like that with Lily, too?"

Claire shook her head.

"When I'm around Lily, I don't think of myself at all. I'd do anything to keep her safe."

"I wish someone felt that way about me."

"Maybe someone will, someday."

She stood up.

"In the meantime, we need to work on reintegrating you. One way or another, we'll make the others see your value."