As promised, their visits to Lockwood Manor became more frequent and Eli began to take her with him every time. Now that he was confident she wouldn't blab about her predicament, the trips were longer too, usually 4-5 days, sometimes more. They spent Christmas at the estate as well, and as she hit the 5-month mark in her pregnancy, it began to feel routine. After returning from the Manor, they would reside at Eli's for a week or so before heading back up again. The drive became more familiar, and they often stopped for lunch in the same places they had previously, including the small beachside town from their first venture northward together.

Ava's girth continued expanding and while it still pained her to concede, she began ordering some maternity clothes at Eli's behest. The rapport between them was still often frosty, but time and repetition had whittled away at her feistiness. Eli seemed to even enjoy her occasional barbs now, mostly because of their steady decrease in frequency.

While at the Manor, Ava still spent most of her days entertaining and being entertained by Maisie. Mr. Lockwood's health seemed to be requiring more of Iris's attention - he chalked it up to the colder weather - which left Maisie fending for herself more often than usual and even more eager to see Eli and Ava when they came. Her exuberance was endearing, but Ava could tell it began to grate on Eli's nerves when she talked for too long about the baby, always referring to it as him, and drawing every conversation topic somehow back to what would happen when the baby arrived.

"Do you want to take a walk today?"

"I bet the baby will love going for walks."

"Should we read a book together?"

"What kind of books do you think the baby will love?"

"Why don't we paint today?"

"I'm going to paint a picture for the baby's nursery. What do you think he would like?"

One evening after this had gone on for some time, Eli spoke to Maisie in a testy voice, after trying to change the subject multiple times, unsuccessfully, "Maisie, dear, let's talk about something else, please? I'm getting a headache."

Ava snorted mid-sip into her glass of water. If they had been alone, she would have reminded him of how assiduously he had conspired to get her into this pregnant state, so the thought of him being tired of hearing about the baby no one had wanted but him was ironic. No one seemed to notice her reaction but him, and Eli gave her a look that said to be careful. She rolled her eyes and took a long sip, looking down at her now very obviously pregnant belly. The flutters and kicks were daily now, often coming on while she slept or rested. Much as he tried, Eli never managed to catch them when they occurred. The moment he placed his hand on her belly, the kicks stopped, much to his frustration.

He worked even longer hours while at the Manor now, spending most of the day on his computer, making phone calls that seemed to last for hours. His unavailability worked in Ava's favor though, because she could spend the majority of her day in bed if she wanted, or have all the company she liked if she ventured downstairs, and this company expected nothing from her except engaging in conversation.

While she had mostly ceased actively fighting him, there were still some intimacies Ava refused. Once she had allowed him to begin holding her hand, the gesture seemed to embolden him to push further. Now, whenever he would finish ravishing her in some place or another, he would huff in her ear, breathless and spent, "I love you." Of course, he had first said it months ago, but the frequency ramped up after their trip for Thanksgiving, and now he said it every time, another concerted effort to break down whatever residual defenses Ava had left.

Thus, she never returned the sentiment. The words were empty, and hollow, and robbed her of whatever pleasure she had just managed to enjoy because they reminded her of what this situation was and was not. Before he tried to push the love issue, she had gradually been able to wrap her mind around the pleasure he wrought from her after months of wearing her down, but her chest tensed in fear that with enough time he might get her to return the phrase – and that was not something she could bear the thought of yet. What little there still was to keep from him, she wanted it to remain so as long as possible.

She did not love him. She could never love him. She hated him. She hated what he had done to her body, the things he made her feel against her will, and the pregnancy he forced her to endure. No amount of time would change that, at least, that was what she told herself.

Maisie sensed something was amiss, for all her youth and inexperience. One morning Eli caught Ava at the top of the stairs before she headed down, kissing her cheek and drawing her in for a hug. It was awkward, and Ava stood there, keenly aware of how open their surroundings were – anyone could walk in and see this display of affection, but for all that she was carrying his child, she wasn't ready to be openly affectionate with Eli in front of others. She could play her role, but only up to a point.

That morning when he pulled away from her half-hearted hug, he kissed her forehead and uttered the words again, "I love you." His smile implied he actually thought there was a chance she might say it back this time, so to drive home her point that he was delusional, she gave her most stoic face in response, then turned and headed down the stairs.

He had chuckled and trotted back down to his office, but when Ava reached the bottom of the stairs she saw Maisie behind one of the columns in the entryway and realized the poor girl had seen the whole thing.

"Morning!" she said brightly, hoping to avoid explaining to Maisie why she didn't reciprocate any amorousness shown to her by Eli, but the girl seemed in deep thought. Ava asked if she wanted to join her on a walk, and as they made their way through the atrium towards the stairwell that led toward the garden entrance, Maisie finally venture to ask: "Do you love Mr. Mills?"

Panicked, Ava fumbled for a good response, "D-Do you?"

Maisie seemed to think about it, "I do. He's been in my life as long as I can remember and has always been very kind to me. I used to think he was my father. I used to wish he was. Once, I asked my grandfather, but it made him very sad and he said 'no'. I don't know who my father is, or was. I have pictures of my mother, but she only had me, no one else."

They reached the door to the outside and Ava opened it, letting Maisie through first.

"Does your grandfather talk about your mother a lot?"

She looked sad, "Not often. It pains him to remember her. She was his only child, and I'm her only child. I want to remember her, and my father, and my grandmother, but there are only a few pictures, and he tells the same stories again and again, only from when she was a girl, none from when I was born. He never talks about my parents together, or when I was a baby. It's as if I was born from thin air."

Ava chewed her lip thoughtfully, "Well, that can't be true," she nudged Maisie's shoulder playfully, "Maybe you should ask him outright again, see what he says."

Maisie nodded silently, looking down at her feet as they crunched on the gravel walkway.

"I know I annoy Mr. Mills now, in a way I didn't use to. I'm sure once he has his own baby he won't want to be like a father to me anymore." Her small, sweet face crumpled with the words and she wrapped her arms around Ava, burying her face into the purple grandma sweater Eli had bought her that day in the boutique as she wept - not unlike Maisie right now. Her own tears then had come from a sense of loss and isolation, of not having enough details to even understand her situation, all of which seemed to apply to Maisie as well – albeit for very different reasons. Ava didn't have a ton of experience with children, but even though it felt slightly foreign to her to comfort someone Maisie's age, she wrapped her arms across her shoulders and held her firmly.

"You know. I think you will be a great friend to this baby. I'm so excited for them to meet you." It was a generous lie, considering the circumstances behind the conception and her growing anxiety about giving birth, but it made Maisie smile, and that alone made it feel worth it.

Maisie sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, "Do you think so?"

"I do," Ava reassured her, "And Eli has a lot on his mind now, but I know he thinks you'll be a wonderful friend to the baby too." She kissed the top of Maisie's head, an uncharacteristic move of affection, but the poor girl melted her head against Ava's shoulder and heaved a sigh of relief, tightening her grip around Ava's now expansive waist.

The familiar fluttering was stronger this time, a firm kick, and Maisie released Ava in shock, staring down at her belly.

"Did he…"

Ava couldn't help but laugh, "Yes, he did."

She paused, it was the first time she had referred to the baby as a he. Eli would not be pleased, but she didn't see the harm in it. Soon enough they would know for sure one way or another. Maisie's face lit up at her confirmation.

"Does he do that… often?"

"Only for me. Eli hasn't even felt him kick yet, only you and I."

The little girl's look of awe seemed to dispel all hints of sadness for the moment, and Ava wrapped her arm around Maisie's shoulders, steering her back towards the house.

"See? I told you. You and the baby are good friends already."

That night when she and Eli were alone and the rest of the house was readying for bed, she asked him about Maisie's parents. He was sitting in bed against the headboard, eyes scanning the screen of his laptop with his glasses on. Immediately after hearing her question, he glanced up and looked at her, suspicious.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Well, Maisie wants to know."

He snickered, though she wasn't sure why. She had the feeling she wouldn't enjoy hearing what he thought was so funny.

"No, she doesn't," he said dismissively, looking back at his computer.

"I can assure you, she does."

Eli sighed and closed the laptop, setting it on his nightstand and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"No, she doesn't," he muttered.

Ava was confused but she stepped closer, determined to glean some kind of information from him for this young girl's sake. Maybe it was too painful for Mr. Lockwood to talk about, but Eli should have no issue relaying hard information without attaching emotion to it.

"Who is her father?"

His eyes flicked up at her again, "He is her father."

Ava sighed, "I know he has raised her like a daughter but she had a mother, and her father must be out there somewhere."

"He is. Lockwood is her father."

She shook her head, "That doesn't make any sense."

Now it was Eli's turn to sigh, "Maisie IS Lockwood's daughter."

"What? How? With who? He had two daughters decades apart?"

"No. He lost his first daughter shortly after the death of his wife. With both of them gone, he couldn't handle the grief. The entire basement of this house is full of labs where we cloned dinosaurs long extinct. Do you really think it's more difficult to do that than replicate a human?" He looked at her like a sweet, dumb puppy.

"She's a clone?" Ava breathed, "Of Lockwood's daughter?"

He nodded like he would pat her on the head if she were closer to him, "The first of her kind. Of course, her creation was done in the name of grief instead of science, but that's why Lockwood is so secretive about her. Most don't even know she exists. If they did, the ramifications could be serious. Plenty would pay top dollar to dissect her in a lab and pick her apart."

Ava felt sick, "I-I-I need to lie down."

Eli patted the space next to him in the bed and she crawled in beside him. He slid his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in close, trailing his fingers along her forearm as though trying to arouse her in the midst of this chilling conversation. For her part, Ava couldn't even think beyond this new information to feel in any way amorous. All she could think about was what Eli told her and the consequences were it to be discovered.

"How long have you known?" she asked finally.

His eyes narrowed as he thought back, "She was an infant when I came to work for him, so I suppose I've known just about all of her life."

Ava's jaw dropped, "And you didn't think to tell me, or mention it once, during all this time?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "What's there to tell? She's a glorified science experiment, worth a fortune though, to the right buyer."

Breath whooshed from Ava's lungs at his words, "The right buyer?"

"Well, yes. I'm not going to get into the debate over whether she's technically a human or not thanks to the circumstances that brought her into being but if she were about to get hit by a bullet would I jump in front of her? Probably not. If anything, it would feel like nature correcting itself."

"How can you be so cold about this?" she asked, her voice sounding almost frantic, "She looks to you as a father and you don't even consider her on level with other humans?"

He arched his eyebrow, "Do you? You've known what she is for 5 minutes and you're already acting erratic. Many think what Hammond and Lockwood did was an abomination by cloning the dinosaurs, but they justify it because of their contributions to science. Can you justify Maisie's existence beyond the comfort she provided to a grieving man? If word were to get out, how many other grieving mothers and fathers would be beating down the door to do the same thing?"

Open-mouthed, she stared at him, feeling a rush of hatred flood her for the way he spoke about this girl she was beginning to think of like a daughter. She had known her a few months, but Eli had known her almost a decade and somehow felt no emotional connection to her.

"I-I can't believe… you talk about her like she's nothing to you."

Eli made a derisive face, "Why would she be? She's the duplicate daughter of my employer, a stunning scientific achievement, with an untold capacity for research, and worth a large amount of money, under the right circumstances."

Her chest felt tighter the more he spoke, and finally, his cold demeanor softened as he reached for her, clearly expecting to avail himself of her body immediately after dropping the biggest bombshell on her since that first night he had told her she wasn't leaving his house.

Ava swatted his hand away, "Don't touch me."

Before, he would have gotten angry, but Eli merely rolled his eyes and sat back, "What would you like me to say, Ava? That I love her? That I wish we could be the parents she never had? Sure, I'm fond of the girl, but this," he placed his hand on her belly, looking at it with such revolting intensity, "This is who I love, this baby, and you. The two of you are my family. You're my whole world. Maisie doesn't come into play at all."

Was that supposed to endear her to him? "You disgust me," she managed to say, "You only care about me and this baby, but that little girl needs love just as much as anyone else."

He scoffed, "And she gets love. From Iris, from her grandfather, and now, you. I know she's become like your little pet…"

Something about that word triggered a reaction in Ava they both thought Eli had long since fucked out of her, but before she could think twice, her hand reached out and grabbed his by the balls, twisting and tightening her grip just enough to make him wince and grab her wrist.

"What the fuck—"

"You listen here, Eli Mills. Now, I have gone along with every fucked up thing you've done to me, I have resigned myself to whatever this wretched situation is for the time being, but part of me coming to terms with this has been my attachment to that little girl. Regardless of how she came into the world, she is a human being and a child, and if I ever find out that something has happened to her which you are responsible for or could have prevented, then this," she used her free hand to gesture towards her stomach, "I can't guarantee the safety of your child if you'd be so flippant with the safety of another. Do you understand me?"

His eyes took that dangerous turn she had not seen for several weeks, but she held his ballsack firmly, staring him down lest he think she was playing. After several minutes, a slight nod was the only response she got, but it was the most she would probably get from him, so she released her hold, rolling over in bed to show her back to him. Eventually, he turned off the lamp and rolled over to face the opposite side of the bed.

The next morning Ava woke to an empty bed again and then looked at the clock, 7AM. Memories of last night's conversation crashed down over her again and she found herself wide awake, unable to fall back asleep.

She rolled out of bed. It was beginning to take more effort every week that went by. The old house was chilly in the pale January mornings. Outside the window was wet with condensation, and she threw a sweater and leggings on before she carefully opened the door to the hall and peeked towards Eli's office. His door was shut, and in relief, she tiptoed past it and quickly descended the stairs, heading towards the kitchen.

To reach it, the fastest way was through the dining room, but when she passed through she jumped at the unexpected sight of Benjamin Lockwood, seated in his usual place at the head of the table.

"Sorry to frighten you," he chuckled, looking down at a photo album spread before him, "You're up early. Eli has already come and gone, Maisie probably won't wake for another hour or so, and Iris is in the kitchen now, preparing coffee and breakfast. Would you like to join me?"

Timidly, she came closer and took the chair to his right, where Eli usually sat.

Mr. Lockwood smiled and patted her hand, his eyes veering from her face back to the album in front of him.

Ava leaned in closer, wanting to see what had captured his interest without appearing too nosy, but it seemed Mr. Lockwood was eager to talk.

"This is my wife and my daughter, we were touring Isla Nublar several years before creating the park. This is myself and John Hammond in our first laboratory on the island with Dr. Wu."

A shiver of recognition went through Ava as she saw the familiar face that had stood over her while Eli pressed him for a medical diagnosis and prescription medication. Her stomach did a flip and she was glad to already be sitting because her knees felt suddenly weak at the memory.

He flipped the page and there was an orangey-looking photo of a very young Iris, and next to her, Maisie.

Not Maisie, she reminded herself, Lockwood's daughter.

"Maisie looks a lot like her mother," Ava ventured to say, and Lockwood's eyes flashed toward her.

"She told Iris she felt your baby kick yesterday, is that true?"

Ava smiled at the memory, "She did. We were hugging and the baby kicked the hardest I've felt so far."

Mr. Lockwood chuckled, "She always did love playing with her dolls. I think the idea of a baby being here has been good for her. I hate that she is so lonely, it's not what I wished for her, and it's certainly not the childhood my daughter had, but it's what's best... for her."

Not wanting to say more than she should, Ava nodded. Of course, he kept her locked away here, far from prying eyes. If what Eli said was true, this was the safest place for her. Another glance at the photo in front of them, and Ava couldn't think of any other explanation than the one he had given her last night. Mr. Lockwood didn't seem ready to confide that particular truth to her yet, which was just as well, because Ava already wished she didn't know it. To hear the whole sordid tale confirmed would not bring her any more peace than she already had.

"Thank you for coming with Eli for this trip. I know you're young and probably have many other things you would rather be doing, but it means so much to us, to Maisie especially."

The sincerity in his voice brought tears to Ava's eyes, "O-of course," she stammered.

Mr. Lockwood smiled at her show of emotion, "It's been wonderful having you here. The house feels alive again. I know Maisie looks to you and Eli like surrogate parents. She told Iris she wishes the baby was her new sibling. You've brought a lot of hope into this house, whether you realize it or not."

He winked at her, and Ava felt her stomach roil. In many ways, it had been easier when it was just her and Eli involved in this. With the recent addition of the Lockwoods to her life, she had felt a weight off her shoulders, but now hearing about how much Maisie's happiness relied on her made it feel suddenly much harder than the months Ava had spent locked away with no one but Eli.

"I won't tell you to convince Eli to move the 3 of you up here, but you'll have to allow an old man to remind you the offer still stands from time to time."

"Of course, I would love that." The words came out of her before she could think twice, but Ava found that she meant them.

"I will work on convincing Eli," she promised, and Mr. Lockwood gave a smile with a soft sigh, leaning back in his seat.

"Thank you, Ava."

Apologies for the very late update. I had a lot going on with work and losing my job so it's been a bumpy ride emotionally but I'm in a better headspace now and hopefully will get back to updating more often. Thanks for your patience!