ADAPTATIONS

30 – A Lesson Maybe Learned

When Pet woke up, it was dark everywhere she tried to focus. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, groaning at the stiffness lingering in her joints. In her moving, she could feel another person's weight occupy the bed and she reached out in the dark. Her finger tips brushed across the form, her identifying the form as a shoulder. As she intently listened through the quiet stillness of the night, she could hear the person's rhythmic heartbeat and calm breathing. She knew that heartbeat as she had heard it many times before.

"Robert?" she whispered. Gently she shook the man's shoulder.

Muldoon jerked awake and almost fell off the bed in the process. "Bloody hell..." He quickly came to his senses and fumbled around with a small lamp on the nightstand, flicking it on. The explosion of bright light took both people by surprise as Pet hissed a screech and quickly covered her eyes with her hands. "Pet!" Muldoon began to feel of the woman's face and smiled to himself at finding her free of a high fever. She still felt warm, but it wasn't anything to make him concerned. A mild grade temperature was normal following an illness flare up. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit," she hoarsely laughed.

The man laughed in relief and hugged Pet. Roland, who had been asleep on the couch, shot upright and went into the room. He, too, was extremely relieved to see the hybrid awake.


By now, it was morning as the excavation residents were waking up and starting off their day. The smells of sausage frying and biscuits in the oven filled Quarantine, Pet not too keen on eating because she still felt sick to her stomach. She stuck with a glass of apple juice and gnawed on a blueberry waffle on Muldoon's insistence to which she didn't bother to argue. She knew better than that.

Come later in the morning, Pet was balled up in her heating blanket. "I hate being sick," she grumbled to herself. She was being tortured with persistent hot and cold flashes, but didn't want to tell anyone.

She wanted to be honest in how she felt, but knew doing so would worry the others. She had heard the others talk of her illness getting worse and though she had to agree, she didn't want to verbally admit it or show it. Maybe it wouldn't be advisable to tell them of that one time she passed out and remained unconscious for an uncertain amount of days on Isla Sorna. Even she wished she knew exactly how long she'd been out for. It's not like the dinosaurs on Isla Sorna kept track of the days on a calendar or anything.

A wave of nausea overcame her and she got to her feet, rushing to the bathroom. Hopefully no one was inside to hear her be sick as it'd only add more question and concern to her present being. Once she felt the moment had passed, she flushed the toilet and washed out her mouth. While she could tolerate the other symptoms, she absolutely hated this latest one that showed up. It left her horrified of her current condition.

Wearily, the hybrid trudged back to the couch and curled back under her blanket, knees drawn to her chest. She waited for that one person to show up and express their concerns about her health, but none came. Maybe she was all alone in the trailer to finally sleep.

No sooner had the thought escaped her then Quarantine's front door open to reveal Grant. His smile faltered when seeing the awfully pale hybrid stare back at him. He slid off his hat and tossed it onto the kitchenette bar. "Morning." He took a seat on the edge of Quarantine's couch and felt of her face. She still felt a bit warm. "Feeling any better?"

Pet falsely smiled and nodded her head. "Yeah. Still a bit sore. My chest hurts, head hurts...nose won't stop dripping everywhere and to hell with this coughing..." But only because it made her upset stomach hurt even more.

"Need anything? Pain meds?" Pet shook her head. She didn't like putting any kind of medication on an empty stomach and since she was still nauseous, she'd rather not put anything on it. "You sure?"

Again, the woman nodded. "Yeah. I'm just a bit sleepy is all."

Grant softly patted her blanketed shoulder and gave her a warm smile. "Robert should be back in a little while. He and your godfather went into town to pick up some more groceries."

"Okay," Pet yawned out.

"Get some rest, hon. I'll be back in a little while to check on you." With that, the scientist left the trailer unknowingly leaving the hybrid a girlish flutter after calling her hon.


The few days following passed by in a blur for Pet, seeing how she mostly slept through them. She'd wake only long enough to sit in the shower and try to eat something. She was able to keep food and drink down, now, which made her more than happy about this. Once the last of the symptoms cleared, Pet was able to rejoin her friends at the fossil and resume working. She even toyed the idea of hunting, but felt the physical exertion right after overcoming a flareup would be soon.

Other than that, it felt good to be back working again. Pet had her usual tools in her hands and was busing herself with scraping and chipping away dirt and rock. Derek cracking a usual sarcastic comment brought a smile and slap from the hybrid, the man convinced she was feeling herself.


Days gave way to weeks and before long, it was April. Everyone was surprised Roland was still residing at the dig site, except now in a heavy-duty camping tent large enough to fit a cot that was set up behind Quarantine. Though there was still the lingering concern of whether or not a military grade hunting team would come for Pet, the over active paranoia had at least subsided. Before, it was damn near impossible trying to go anywhere without Roland following around on top of Derek's constant presence. It was enough to make Pet say to hell with going to town, even on grocery runs, given the lack of personal space. Now, it wasn't so much an issue even though Derek still acted as Pet's shadow.

The woman bit into a piece of catfish smothered with ketchup and smiled to herself. It was her first time ever accompanying only Grant off the dig site for something to eat. They intently watched a news broadcast being covered on the TV mounted to the wall of a small diner. Pet wiped at her face with the thin paper napkin, eyes never leaving the screen displaying the words 'Mascom Successfully Launches Glinda Satellite' beneath a video recording of such event.

The screen then panned over to show a female news anchor questioning an all too familiar face and name to Pet, Simon Masrani. The new anchor questioned. "What purpose will Glinda serve?"

"Well," Simon began, "Mascom Network has been working hard to create what we all hope will provide weather observation teams on the ground a better understanding of storm patterns. After several successful experiments, we within my company and those as Mascom felt Glinda was ready to take its place above our Earth."

Derek snorted behind a bite of burger. "Pathetic. This guy is trying way too hard."

Grant took a drink of his water. "Either way, he still makes more money than you so it must be working."

Derek glared at the scientist and shook his head. "Only because he inherited it from his daddy."

Pet nudged her friend in the side. "Jealous your daddy didn't leave you with billions in the bank?"

"Pfft," he responded, shoving a fry into his mouth. "My father can kiss my ass."

The hybrid snickered and broke another strip of catfish in two, dipping one of the open ends into the pile of ketchup. She continued to watch the news broadcast while finishing her lunch, ignoring the continuous crude jokes Derek would occasionally make. The longer she watched the news, the more she wondered about his true intentions when it came to her. Even now, he appeared so pleasant and sincere just as she remembered him at the zoo.

Derek's talking momentarily broke Pet out of her trance. "I mean, listen to this guy! Who the hell can understand him? It's like English subtitles are needed anytime this guy opens his mouth to talk..." He shoved a handful of fries into his mouth and took a minute to chew them up. "I'd come more believing he was a tech support rep than a-" Pet fiercely punching the man in the side quickly interrupted his next words. "What the hell what that for?" He massaged the sore spot at his side and met the extremely tempered down stare from the hybrid.

The woman snorted and rolled her eyes away from him. "You can be such an asshole, you know that?"

Grant took a sip of his tea and studied the woman from the corner of his eye. Derek leaned in closer to the woman and spoke loud enough for both her and Grant to hear. "This guy is out to find you and kill you, Pet, and you're getting pissed because of what I say about him?" He scoffed.

Pet aggressively dug her sickle toe claws into the insoles of her boots. "I'm getting pissed because you're typecasting an entire race of people, versus just one person," she growled in response. "Not to mention a person's accent based on their ethnicity. Whether he's trying to kill me or not, he's still a human being and all people no matter their ethnicity deserve to be treated equally."

"Whatever." Derek shook his head and continued eating.

The hybrid sighed and stared off into space in annoyance. Eventually her gaze was pried back to the TV and her thoughts returning to their previous track. Pet frowned to herself and sighed, finishing the last bite of fish.

After the three finished their lunch, they rejoined the others at the dig site. Pet remained inside the Jeep and stretched out in the driver's seat. It wasn't often she got to drive and knew if Muldoon caught her driving, would get upset. He was constantly worried about her getting pulled over for some stupid reason and her busted for not having a real form of ID. Not to mention, her not existing once her name was ran through the system. Sometimes, he was a little too paranoid.

Derek growled at her, "Get out of the car, Pet! You know the shit I'd get in if-" He stopped in mid-sentence when sensing someone standing behind him. He shot a backwards glance over his shoulder. "Hey Uncle Rob." The try hard smile on his face wasn't enough to win him any points.

"What did I tell you?"

Derek's smile sunk to a frown. "Uh... yeah, look-"

"And you!" Muldoon aimed a finger at Pet, next. "How many times do I have to tell you to not drive?!"

Pet hissed a snort. "What's the point of having a car if I don't drive it! Come on, Robert..." She got out of the driver's seat to follow the angry man into Quarantine. Grant felt it best to stay out of it and held back with Derek. The conversing between the two could still be heard, even with them inside the trailer. "I'm super careful when I drive! I don't speed, I always slow down at yellow lights... I come to a complete stop at stop signs and look both ways before proceeding through a yield sign."

Derek sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Here we go again."

Muldoon shot back, "What about if some wanker wrecks into you, hmm? Or you get pulled over because a break light is out? There are countless scenarios to get pulled over by! It doesn't matter how careful and to the T you are with the driving rules! There's always that chance of something happening!"

Pet could be heard snorting a screech. "I guess you expect me to just sit there and watch everyone else drive the Jeep that my dad bought for me."

Grant scratched at his chin. "I think I have some work to do at the dig."

"I'll join you," Derek exclaimed and the two men left the trailer, allowing the heated conversation to be washed out amongst the volunteers chatting.


Evening time came around and Pet was hungry again. She nosed around in the fridge, pushing aside a half full gallon of milk to reach to the far back for a small, unopened bottle of grape juice. Derek strode into the trailer, whistling to himself and carrying plaster covered gloves.

He poked his head over the fridge door. "Heya Pet." The hybrid stood up and wiped at her nose, ignoring the sudden look of surprise paint the man's face. "Uh, Pet…have you been crying or something?"

The hybrid glared at the man through puffy eyes and habitually snorted at the man the best she could through nasal congestion. "No, smart ass. I'm getting sick, again."

Derek gave the woman a head to toe look over. "You seem fairly well off for getting sick. Wait are you sick, sick? Or just sick?"

Pet slimmed her gaze down on the man as she took a drink of juice. "What?"

Muldoon stepped out of the bathroom and instantly scowled at the woman. "What do you think you're doing out of bed?"

"I'm not going to vegetate in that damn bed anymore, Rob. I might be sick, but I'm not that sick. It's just a sinus attack, that's all. If it was my illness, I'd be unconscious with a raging fever." She capped the juice bottle and sat it down on the bar. "I'm fine, okay?"

"Bed. Now." The man pointed to the woman's bedroom, annoyed when she didn't oblige. Pet crossed her arms over her chest in defiance. "If I have to, I will tranquilize your ass."

Still she didn't move. Derek chuckled. "Hold that thought. Let me make some popcorn, first, because this is going to be quite the show! Pet versus Uncle Rob. It's been far too long since I've seen you two fight it out. Don't get me wrong, watching her and Cue Ball wrestle is entertaining, too."

Pet cocked her head. "Are there even any tranquilizers left? I thought they were all used on Terrence."

Derek piped up. "Not all. There were four darts. I used two on Terrence and the third..." Derek called out while shuffling through the many boxes of oatmeal, instant mashed potatoes and hamburger helpers in the pantry. "I used on Boy Scout."

"I still hate you for that." Pet hissed a growl.

The young man cheered to himself when he found the last bag of popcorn. "Ah hah!" He turned around to see a raptor eyed Pet glare at him angrily. "What does it matter to you? You two aren't seeing each other anymore."

"It's the fact of the matter."

Derek didn't let his smile drop as he ripped open the plastic bag and shoved the popcorn in the microwave, setting it to ten minutes. He never liked using the pre-set popcorn option as the kernels never cooked all the way. It was easier to just set it to ten minutes and stand there, listening to it until the bag stopped popping.

The hybrid grumbled and cur her eyes back down on Muldoon. Since Derek seemed too preoccupied with the popcorn bag, she didn't think he'd notice her. To the bunkroom she strode, Muldoon watching her in question and raised a brow. He had a feeling he knew what she was up to, but wanted to see for himself. Minutes later, sure enough out of the bunk room the hybrid came with the assembled tranquilizer gun in hand.

"Hey shit wad," Pet growled, Derek looking away from the microwave to see the tranquilizer aimed right at him.

"Oh shit!" He bolted for the trailer's front door only to fall short when a sharp pain stung him in the right part of his upper shoulder. "You bi-" but his words fell short when he hit the floor, unconscious.

Just in time, too, as Terrence opened the front door. He took one look at the unconscious man on the floor and instantly noticed the dart. "Yes!" he cheered, laughing and entering the trailer. "Karma serves you right, you little shit."

Behind him was Grant, wide eyed and startled at the scene. His blue eyes looked up to the sneering hybrid, tranquilizer gun in hand, and questioned. "Was that really necessary?"

Pet shrugged, taking a high five from Terrence. "Did you know he shot Billy with this at one point?" Grant clenched his jaw in aggravation at the memory. "But something tells me you already knew that."

Terrence opened the microwave after smelling the popcorn start to burn and was instantly went into a coughing spell at the wave of smoke billowing in his face. "Who was making the popcorn?" The wave of smoke set off the trailer's fire alarm, Pet and Grant not concerned with it.

Muldoon instantly began fanning the alarm as Terrence stepped past the two confronting people to take the bag outside. Pet stopped him, however, and slung the tranquilizer rifle over her shoulder to take the bag. She opened it and began eating it, not caring some of the pieces were a light shade of grey.

Muldoon yelled to Terrence, "Open the bloody door, will you?" Terrence did so, being mindful to step over Derek, and watched the air start to clear in the trailer.

From inside his tent, Roland heard the obnoxiously loud alarm. He pulled on his boots and ran to the trailer. He wasn't the only one to hear it. Huddled over the partially unearthed fossil was Billy, his attention quickly ripping off his work and to Quarantine spewing smoke from the front door. The fire alarm blaring away could be heard even louder from within the trailer. He a sideways smile and got up, not bothering to dust himself off when sprinting to the trailer. A wave of dust as thick as the popcorn's smoke trailed after him.

Roland was about to barge into the trailer when he saw Derek unmoving on the floor. His confused dark green eyes looked at the hybrid wearing a rather triumphant smirk on her face with tranquilizer gun hanging off a shoulder. "It's about damned time," he exclaimed.

Pet shrugged. "I would say that maybe he learned his lesson, but I know it'd take more than that."

Billy was able to see around Roland to where Derek was laying. "I would ask what's going on but I'm afraid to, now." He looked from Derek sprawled on the floor to Pet smiling over a burnt bag of popcorn.

Pet swallowed a bite of popcorn. "Let's just call it payback for shooting you with the tranq gun, whenever that was."

Billy joined the hybrid's snarky smile. "Damn right" Grant rolled his eyes off his protégé and over to the hybrid, shoving another handful of partially burnt popcorn into her mouth.