ADAPTATIONS

31 – What Makes a Birthday

Bold letters reading Y2K Draws Near highlighted the morning's newspaper. Derek scoffed. "Y2K this, Y2K that. It's the end of the world! Two-thousand is only five months away and people are acting like it's tomorrow! Only an imbecile would believe this shit." He folded up the paper and tossed it aside.

About that time, Billy came into Quarantine with the morning paper in his hand. "Hey guys!" He held up the paper to show the front page. "Read the latest and greatest?"

Pet stated over her working on the paper's crossword puzzle. "Yup. We were just discussing it."

The junior scientist took a seat next to the hybrid. "I sure hope the computers and stuff like that don't crash out like what's being predicted could happen." He studied the woman gnawing on the top of her pen. "You don't think it'll really be the end of the world, do you?"

Derek sat, silent and staring deadpan at Billy. "Please tell me you're joking."

Terrence helped himself to one of the hash browns sitting on a paper towel next to the stove and sat it down on his plate. A pile of scrambled eggs and two sausage links with a couple pieces of toast also filled the plate. He took a seat on the couch and began to feast away at his breakfast. "I'd hate to be in the office right about now."

Pet furrowed her brow. "Office? What would be so exciting about the game warden shack right now?"

"I'm not talking about that office. I'm talking about my old office." Terrence shoved a bite of eggs into his mouth. "I used to be a psychiatrist."

"Whaaaat?" Pet instantly forgot about the crossword puzzle and spun around in the booth like table seat to stare at her friend. "You're joking..."

"No, I'm not."

"You're not," Pet continued. "You mean to tell me you have a doctorate in psychiatry?" Terrence nodded.

Derek snorted. "That explains a lot. So, you're actually a doctor, huh?"

The hybrid ignored him and continued her questioning Terrence. "What made you want to be a game warden?"

Terrence shrugged. "Got tired of sitting in an office all day, wearing a suit and listening to people go on and on, week after week about the bullshit. No matter how I tried to help them or what advice I gave them, they still had the exact same problem every visit. I got bored of it." He shoved a bite of sausage into his mouth, wiping away the grease from his mouth with the back of his hand. "I've always been an outside type of person. Hiking, exploring, camping, hunting, fishing...stuff like that. Naturally I got interested in doing work outdoors."

Muldoon finished cooking breakfast before making him a plate and sitting down next to Derek. "Anyone seen Roland?"

Derek stretched out in the seat. "Who cares? I'm surprised he's still around. I thought he was only going to be here for a little while. How long is a little while to that guy? I've already lost track of how long he's been here. Doesn't he have a home?"

Muldoon answered. "He's been known to be gone for months at a time when on one of his long hunting trips."

"Yeah, but..." Derek shrugged. "There's no rhinos or lions, here. There's nothing really worth a damn to hunt so why is he still around?"

Pet sighed and looked over to the bounty hunter. "It's called loyalty to friends, dumb ass. If you had friends, you'd know what that's about."

Derek mockingly laughed at the hybrid. The trailer door opened to reveal a freshly showered Grant, his hair still wet and slicked back. Even after all this time, seeing the senior scientist still made Pet feel girly inside. He would always have a soft spot for her as he pretty much always had. The two met each other's stares for a brief moment before Pet looked away awkwardly. She knew he greatly loathed her unwanted attention and could only hope her occasional gawking at him wouldn't ruin any potential for more…um, unique? moments between them. From the barely noticeable touches he'd give her to the time he held her hand in the truck to even him calling her hon, it gave Pet hope she'd be his special someone; if even for a night. But then again, maybe she was thinking too much into it. Yeah, that had to be it and she returned to her crossword puzzle yet again.


Wednesday night and with it, poker night. There was question on if there should still be a poker night, seeing how Roland and Pet had the great idea of allowing Billy to accompany them on their hunting trip earlier in the day. It was extremely rare Roland ever let anyone use his treasured .600 Nitro Express. The only other people he ever let use it were Muldoon, Ajay, Pet, Dr. Grant on two hunting trips and recently, the good scientist's protégé.

It had been hard for the hybrid to keep a straight face every time she mentally imagined how Billy would handle the recoil of the double barrel rifle. For Roland, he wore a straight face all too convincingly. Neither cared if the rifle would be extreme overkill for something like a wild pig or coyote. They just wanted to see the look on the junior scientist's face. Every time he moved his right arm, if even in the least, he grimaced and reached for his shoulder. After they dropped Billy back off at the dig site, the two were gone again for a night time hunt. Muldoon knew it was more or less to let Pet run amok and satisfy her animalistic urge to hunt and kill her prey.

As for Grant, he hadn't been himself the past couple days and he knew it. He didn't mean to be short tempered or distant from anyone, especially her, but he had been under a lot of stress. At least, that was the excuse he was using. Truth be told, he was a bit stressed, but that much to let it completely change him altogether. Only one person knew what was really bothering him and was greatly relieved he had their support.

This same person studied the troubled man from over the top of their glass when taking a drink of whiskey and frowned. Seeing Grant's glass empty, Muldoon uncorked the whiskey bottle and poured a drink for the other. The scientist appreciated the act of kindness and weakly smiled.

Derek saw this and wondered what it was that was bothering the usually composed man. He cleared his throat, questioning. "What's been bothering you, there, buddy?" Grant didn't want to talk about it, least of all to Derek, and replied with a stern glare. "Is it about the dig site funding, now that Hammond has passed and his funding to the dig site cut?"

"It's none of your business," the senior scientist growled back under his breath.

Derek knew that while the scientist's lack of funding would put a hamper on his good mood, it couldn't be all that bad. Or maybe, that wasn't it at all. "Is it maybe about Pet?"

Muldoon cut in. "Shut your mouth, Derek, and stay out of this."

Derek set his cards face down and leaned back in his chair, studying the man seated to his left. "It is, isn't it. Just to reality check you, pal, I gave up my life in Cali to be here and help protect her so yeah, it is my business." His examining stare didn't break off the other man. "Look, if you're going to kick her to the curb because she's no longer your cash cow after the old man's passing then-"

"I said it's none of your business!" Grant bellowed. He realized he was losing control over his anger and clenched his jaw. "I'm not going to kick her to the curb. I'm just as concerned about her as you are."

Derek drummed his thumb on his card stack. "That's it, isn't it? You love her."

Giving up in hopes of the pressing conversation topic dropping, Grant gave in. "Nica's birthday is Sunday."

"Okay?... And the problem is what, exactly?"

Grant grumbled. "I want to do something special for her."

"But you don't know what..."

"I have an idea of what." He heaved a sigh. "Only problem is-"

"Will she like it..." Derek interrupted.

The scientist fell quiet a moment and frowned. "I'm almost certain she will."

Derek shrugged. "I'm not seeing what the big deal is, then."

Grant smiled to himself. "I'm having something special made for her. It's a necklace, a tooth, from the fossil. There's a reason behind it, too. Robert told me how she's always wanted to work alongside me at one of my excavations. Thanks to John Hammond, she's finally been able to. It's because of that, that I wanted to give her something…of her finally getting that dream come true. What would be better than a piece of a fossil she helped me dig up? Her first one, too."

Derek felt deeply touched by the man's desired gift. "But…won't the museum go all postal over a piece of the fossil missing? Isn't every piece catalogued for reconstruction?"

Grant slyly smiled. "It's not uncommon for fossils to be incomplete and replicas of the missing pieces be sculped so a 'complete' display can be assembled. What's one small tooth compared to a missing Phalange or Metatarsal?"

Derek liked the senior scientist's way of thinking. His chocolate eyes fell on his all too quiet uncle. "Did you know?" Muldoon didn't say anything, but instead took another drink of whiskey. "Of course, you knew. Why the hell am I even asking." Derek weakly smiled at the older man. "She cares about you, y'now. She always has, ever since watching that paleo series of yours in Kenya. I asked her about that, why you. There have been countless dinosaur shows on before, so why yours? Why you? Why not that Dr. Burke guy she bumped into on Site B? He's a paleontologist, too.

"The way she explained it, it was because you helped her learn more about the side of her no one at the zoo knew anything about, back then. All her life growing up to that point, she didn't understand who or what she was. She knew she was different. To what purpose did that big claw of her have?"

"The Pedal Ungual," Grant quickly replied. He didn't have to look up from his fidgeting with a game chip to see the bounty hunter's confused expression. "That sickle claw on her feet…it's called the Pedal Ungual."

Derek blinked. "Okay, yeah, that thing. Anyway, your passion and understanding for raptors helped her understand herself the more she watched your show. After a while, she grew attached to you before ever meeting you in person. It's why she didn't hesitate to risk her life to save yours the times she did."

Grant thought back on his first time ever seeing her. He remembered being too consumed by the Velociraptors being fed to notice the then young woman's starry-eyed stare on him. He smiled. Just as she looked to him for understanding on raptors, now it was his turn looking to her for that understanding. He only knew the animals based on what excavated fossils told him, whereas she had worked with and lived with them for years. Her first-hand experiences and clarifying his plethora of questions was helping him become a better scientist in fully comprehending what it was he was excavating.


Everything was almost ready to go for the monthly bond fire and bar-b-que. Grant planned the month's event as close to the hybrid's birthday as possible to act as both a dig site morale booster and birthday party. All that was left was for Derek and Billy to return from town with the beer and any other special requested alcohol. Grant checked his watch, wondering where the two were given how long they had been gone. Even Muldoon wondered the same thing as he and Terrance tossed another log into the pit.

Muldoon spoke, wiping his brow with the back of his hand. "Might as well start working on getting this thing lit up. It'll take it some time to get fully lit and I expect Derek and Boy Scout to be back any time, now." Grant couldn't help but chuckle at the nickname given to his protégé, courtesy of everyone's favorite, smartass bounty hunter. Muldoon looked around for yet another absent face. "Where's Pet?"

Terrence shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe she's in Quarantine getting girled up to be pretty for the party."

Muldoon stared at the other man questionably. "Not my Pet, she's not." He walked away and back towards the trailer. Inside, Roland was busy preparing two decent sized racks of ribs on a sheet of aluminum foil. "Where's Pet?"

Roland pointed a sauce covered basting brush at the woman's partially ajar bedroom door. Muldoon gently pushed it open, seeing the hybrid sitting in the dark on the edge of her bed, balled up and looking out through cracked window blinds at the dig site. He could barely see the features of the woman as she wiped at her eyes, sniffing back another sob.

This worried Muldoon a bit, seeing how she never really cried. "What has gotten into you?" Muldoon slowly sat down next to her, studying her solemn features. "Did that bitch of a volunteer woman say something again?"

"I would've killed her," Pet growled back.

"Derek make another pass at you?" Pet shook her head and wiped her eyes. "Then what has you all drama queen? It's your birthday for fucks sake. You should be out there," he gestured to the dig site beyond the window, "getting shit faced and making a complete idiot of yourself."

Pet re-wrapped her arms around her legs, grumbling and resting her chin on her knees. "That's just it, Rob. What makes today so damn special versus any other day? Okay, yeah, sure it's my birthday" she mocked, "but how is it my birthday?" She met the other man's gaze the best she could between the light coming in through the cracked blinds. "I wasn't conceived like a normal person. I wasn't born like a normal person. I was created in a fucking test tube and grown in a slime filled vat. How is that even considered a proper birth? It's not."

The man sighed, unsure of how to respond to her dilemma. Finally, he responded with the only explanation he knew how to give. "It's true, you weren't conceived or born like any other normal person, but then again, you're also not like anything or anyone else, either. Who's to say what a proper birth is? I imagine a birth as something being complete in creation and brought into the world to begin their own life. The moment you were taken out of that vat and your umbilical ties severed, whether artificial or not, and allowed to take your first breath for yourself... you were born."

"I was recognized as an abomination, not a child."

Muldoon was offended by the word, abomination. "Who gives a damn about Hammond's opinion?"

"In-Gen's, too."

"They can go fuck off for all I bloody care. " Both people sighed simultaneously and watched the glow of the bonfire become larger in the distance. "Despite what those bastards think, I'm extremely grateful for your creation." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, drawing her in for a hug. "And birth."

An explosion of emotion roared through the hybrid as she was unable to contain it anymore. She squeezed her eyes shut and broke down again in tears. Neither was sure how long they sat there, watching the glow of the fire becoming larger until finally, the very tips of the flicking flames could reach no higher. It wasn't long afterwards the obnoxious blaring of the Jeep's horn was heard approaching the dig, both people knowing it was Derek and Billy returning from town.

Coming into view from around a tent was a slightly concerned Grant, his stride appearing as though a man on a mission. Muldoon affectionately gripped Pet's shoulder and smiled. "I'm going to go back out and help Personality with the bond fire before he burns the whole dig site to the ground." He hoped the arriving man would brighten the hybrid's spirits. Now seemed as good a time as any, Muldoon getting up to leave just as the trailer door opened.

Both men looked to the other, Grant noticing something wrong when looking at Muldoon's tone of expression. He whispered. "Everything all right?"

Muldoon stepped past him to leave, stating in a voice low enough for only him to hear, "Now would be a good time to make my little girl happy."


Incoming all the fan rage over the drastic change from the original. I'll be hiding under a rock, somewhere.