A/N: *six more months go by* my bad
It was dark. Ellie was walking in the dark with purpose. She could hear the sounds of her boots on a metal floor. And then she heard the piercing screech that could mean only one thing. She ran. She tried to scream, but no sound came out. She tried to find a door, somewhere to hide, some kind of escape. The hard footfalls behind her were getting closer. The call came again, and she tripped, falling to her doom as the velociraptors caught up to her.
She bolted upright, shaking and sweating and gasping for air. Jesus, she hadn't had one of those dreams in a long time. Even after Biosyn, she hadn't had the old Jurassic Park flashbacks. In the last year or so, life here in California with Alan had been a bastion of peace and joy, and the trauma that had dogged her steps for thirty years was so often a distant memory. Even the nightmares had been kept at bay. What on earth had caused this one?
And then a sound ripped through the silence of the night. A shiver of terror went down her spine as her half-asleep mind was reminded of the cry of the velociraptors at Jurassic Park, but Ellie quickly realized that wasn't true. There were no raptors here in their house, but there was a baby whose cries were eerily similar to her in this state.
Ellie glanced over at Alan, who was sound asleep beside her. His mouth was open as he snored softly. Ellie smiled affectionately, but she did not disturb him. As quietly and gently as she could, she slipped out of bed and put on her robe to protect from the cold December chill.
Funny, after years of living in various snowy climates, the cold in California somehow got to her more than a snowstorm. Maybe it was because the Bay Area was always so mild and so dry that when it did get close to freezing temperature, it stung a little more. Maybe she'd gone soft. But oh, it didn't matter. She absolutely loved it here, and now that she had gotten out of the habit of shoveling a drive or defrosting her car in the morning, she was absolutely never going back.
Two doors down, the baby was still crying in her little nursery. Ellie went in and scooped Maddie up from her bassinet. "Shh, shh sweet girl," Ellie cooed. "Whatsa matter, hmm? What do you need? Are you hungry?"
With her infant granddaughter cradled in her arms, Ellie went to check the small refrigerator they had installed beside the changing table. Sure enough, the last bottle of formula that had been prepared for the day was still there. Ethan usually got up to feed her right on time, but he hadn't tonight, and now little Maddie was cranky. It was an hour past when Ethan usually gave her the last feed before morning.
"Okay, sweetie, here we go," Ellie murmured. She got the bottle and prepared everything one-handed as she gently rocked Maddie in her other arm. She hadn't done this in twenty years, not since Ethan was a baby and she was getting up for feedings in the middle of the night with him. The muscle memory returned. She was twenty years older and two thousand miles away from where she'd raised her own babies, but it all felt very familiar.
It didn't take more than a moment for Ellie to settle into the rocking chair with Maddie to feed her. The baby had already settled into soft gurgles and was now happily eating. And oh, it was wonderful. There was nothing more magical and wonderful in the world than feeding a baby.
Now that all was silent but for Maddie's gentle suckling, Ellie's mind drifted back to her nightmare. She realized now that the crying baby had tricked her mind into those awful memories. The very worst days of her life. Though Ellie would never admit it out loud, those two days in Jurassic Park were the worst of her life but they were also two of the best. Those two days had changed the entire world. Dr. Ellie Sattler and Dr. Alan Grant had gotten to see dinosaurs. Real life dinosaurs. Born and living and existing in the modern world. It was more than a dream come true. It was a dream she never, ever believe could ever come true. And she and Alan got to experience it together. Before everything had turned to horror and death and destruction, she had visions of going to bed with Alan that night and talking excitedly about all that they'd seen, going to tour every little bit of the facilities and the island and seeing all the majesty of the plants she'd devoted her life to studying and the animals whose might had inspired Alan and herself and all the world.
Even today, even after all they'd seen and done, after all the horrific trauma that dinosaurs had caused to her, a part of Ellie still felt the same way. Some dinosaurs were as ubiquitous as pigeons now, but she felt her heart jump with joy whenever she saw a pterosaur or a compy or even one of the few remaining hadrosaurs that roamed the open plains. They were truly magnificent, and she still loved them.
And yet she was still plagued with the memories of literally running for her life. The raptors and the T. Rex and the giganotosaurus had threatened her life and the lives of people she loved. She still recalled with painful clarity the moment she'd escaped the velociraptors in the utilities building and sprinted while limping to Alan and leapt into his arms. She had never been so relieved or so afraid in all her life. He'd been there to hold her and comfort her. And then even more threat came to them and to Tim and Lex. It was all too much.
After thirty years, she still hadn't gotten over it, it seemed. Her sweet granddaughter's cries had reminded her.
"Oh!"
Ellie turned at the voice and saw Ethan in the doorway, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "I've got her," Ellie said softly.
"I had an alarm set and I slept through it, I'm sorry. Was she crying?" he asked groggily.
"She was, but it's alright. I was up already." That wasn't exactly true, but close enough.
"Thanks. I can't believe I slept through the alarm. I haven't done that. I guess I'm just so tired…but I shouldn't have dropped the ball for you to have to jump in," Ethan rambled.
"It's okay, Ethan. You're tired. Of course you are. You're taking care of a three-week-old baby almost all by yourself. Alan and I are here to help out for things like this, but you've really been taking on so much, sweetie," Ellie pointed out.
"She's my daughter. I wanna do everything for her," he replied.
Ellie felt something in her chest at her son's words. "I know. And you do. You're doing an amazing job. But it's okay to need a break. Maybe we can work out a schedule while I'm off school until January. Maybe for a couple hours here and there you can take a nap or have some time to yourself. It's really hard with a newborn."
Ethan sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah. It really is."
Maddie finished her bottle, and Ellie stood up. "You go back to bed, I'll get her back to sleep," Ellie offered.
"No, I'm up now. You go back to bed. I can burp her and make sure she sleeps. But if you're offering…maybe I could use a nap some days," Ethan conceded.
Ellie passed the baby to her father and kissed her son's forehead. "Absolutely. We'll talk about it in the morning." She then bent down and pressed a kiss to her granddaughter's pudgy little cheek. "Night-night Maddie," she whispered.
Ethan thanked her again, and Ellie left the nursery, closing the door behind her. She returned to her bedroom to find Alan sitting up.
"Hey," she said softly. "What are you doing up?"
"You weren't here," he replied simply.
Ellie took off her robe and quickly got back in bed and under the warm covers. "I'm here now."
"Where were you?" he asked, settling back down with her. They were lying side by side, facing each other. Alan put his arm around her waist and absently rubbed her through her pajamas with his thumb.
"I woke up and Maddie was crying, so I gave her the feed. Ethan came in and took over," she explained.
"Her crying woke you up?"
Ellie hesitated. "Something like that," she answered. She wasn't really in the mood to talk about it now. Maybe it was just a one-time thing. Maybe she wouldn't have to deal with it. If it did happen again, however, she knew she would have to talk to Alan. But for now, she wanted to just let it lie. "Go to sleep, babe," she said.
Alan tilted his head a little so he could brush his lips against hers in a soft kiss. "Go to sleep," he repeated.
It didn't take long for them both to fall asleep again. Ellie didn't have any other dreams that night.
