Chapter Text
“You are not seriously thinking of going.”
Alan sighed heavily as he continued pacing the room, hands on his hips and Ellie following him around. You sat next to Ian, feeling a little uncomfortable to be caught in the middle of your friends’ argument. When you and Ian had come over you hadn’t expected Alan to come back from work with the news that he was planning on going to Isla Sorna. And now Ellie was trying to stop him while Alan was justifying his plans.
“Their son is on that island and no one is looking for him.”
“Alan, we have a son, too. You can’t go to that island and risk your life.” Ellie asked, tears in her eyes as she hugged her body. “Alan, I feel for these people, I really do and it’s horrible that no one is helping them, but we have Charlie here and we have a baby on the way.”
You perked up in surprise because you hadn’t been aware that Ellie was pregnant again and you were sure this wasn’t how she would have wanted to tell you or Ian. Before you or Ian could congratulate her, Alan spoke up again.
“I know.” He sighed once more before shaking his head. “But they are prepared. I saw their weaponry with my own eyes.”
“We were prepared on Sorna, too.” Ian joked dryly, his hand finding its way to your knee. “Alan, shouldn’t you tell the Marines or someone like that?”
“Do you know if they tried that?” You asked with a frown. “Because I’m sure the Marines or the Navy could probably get to that island.”
“I don’t--”
“Mommy? Daddy?”
You all turned to find Charlie standing in the doorway, holding a stuffed dinosaur close to his chest before coming over. Ellie sighed softly before turning to her son with a smile and picking him up with ease. Alan quickly approached her to ask his son what was wrong. You sat on the sofa, smiling at their interaction with their son and trying to ignore that sense of longing that stirred up in you at it. For a while now you’ve wanted to bring up the topic of having children with Ian but it was hard to find the time because a lot had been going on recently.
When you had talked to Ellie about it she had told you to just breach the topic but it was easier said than done because you felt like it was never the right time. It was strange for you to feel so unsure of whether or not to bring up the topic because you knew Ian loved kids and you had casually talked about one day having your own a few times. But it was different when you weren’t just discussing it hypothetically but when you actually wanted to take this next step. None of that was important now, though. You had to concentrate on the situation at hand.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Ellie asked Charlie in a soft voice.
Alan crouched down in front of the boy. “Are you alright, buddy?”
“Are you fighting?”
“No, sweetheart. We were just talking. I’m sorry that we woke you.” Ellie said, pressing a kiss to Charlie’s face. “Let me get you back to bed. Or do you want Daddy to do it?”
“You.”
“Your wish is my command.” Ellie chuckled before turning to Alan. “I’ll be right back.”
“Take your time.”
Alan watched her leave and once she was upstairs with Charlie he turned to you. “Can you back me up here, please? You agree that I should help these people, don’t you?”
You swallowed a little but nodded, feeling a lump rise in your throat at the mere thought of a young boy on that island by himself. “Someone has to help him. And Alan, you said that they were going there by plane so that probably makes it easier to quickly leave than when we were dropped off by a boat.”
“Do you honestly agree with him, darling?”
“I do.” You said and stood up, hugging yourself as you turned to Ian. “I think of a kid being alone on that island and all I can think of is of Lex and Tim or Kelly in that situation. Wouldn’t you go to look for them or try to rally up any help that you might get? I know I would.”
Ian too stood up and looked at you for a few seconds before his shoulders dropped. “I suppose you’re right. But I understand Ellie’s point of view. They have a child and another on the way – congratulations on that by the way – so of course Ellie is not really happy about this idea.”
“I’m less than thrilled myself.” Alan said as he sat down on the sofa. “But they showed me a picture of their son and they said it’s been about eight weeks without anyone helping them. You know, I really tried to turn them down and refer them to someone else but I just keep thinking about how terrified Lex and Tim were back on Nublar and I think to myself that if that boy is still alive that he must be so terrified.”
You nodded in understanding before sitting down on the coffee table so you could be face to face with Alan. “It’s the right thing to do. But you have to be careful, Alan. And you have to insist on them bringing things like weapons, satellite phones and emergency supplies. You have to insist on them being prepared.”
“They are prepared. I did insist on that and they said they’d show me all they’d be bringing before we leave. They also said they wouldn’t land anywhere that would endanger us but rather at the coast. I think their plan is to locate the parasailing sail their son used when he ended up on Isla Sorna, then land on the coast and sent a professional they hired to get the boy.”
“That sounds a lot more comforting than you being dropped in the middle of the forest to find that boy.” You mumbled, looking at him. “They have a satellite phone right?”
“They do and they showed it to me already.”
Ian approached you, laying a hand on your shoulder. “Then you can call for help if something were to go wrong. And you still have the two of us, in case things go wrong.”
“You really should go.”
All three of you turned to find Ellie standing in the doorway, hugging her cardigan close around her boy as she approached. She stopped next to the coffee table, looking at Alan who stood up to give her a surprised look. Ellie just smiled gently, reaching out to smooth Alan’s hair back.
“You’re right. That kid needs you and if anyone can help them find him, it’s you. You’ve always had such a good heart, Alan.” She reasoned before sighing softly. “But you have to be careful and come back safely, for me, Charlie and our little one.”
“I will.”
“Congrats on that, by the way.” You stood up, giving Ellie an excited smile. “How long have you known?”
“Only a few days.” She chuckled softly. “This is not how I wanted to tell my friends I was pregnant but so be it. We’ll have another child, soon.”
Ian clapped Alan on the back with a smile. “That’s amazing. Kids are great.”
Ellie nodded before giving you a knowing look but you just shook your head once, telling her to keep quiet. You wanted to bring up the topic of children with Ian in private and when the time was right. And right now was not the right time. Ian, however, seemed to sense that something was wrong because he turned to you and put a supporting hand on your back.
“Are you alright, darling?” Ian inquired in a worried tone of voice. “Do you want to head back home? You’ve been feeling under the weather lately, so you shouldn’t overdo it.”
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?” Ellie asked with a frown, looking you up and down. “Under the weather? I hope you’re alright.”
“I’m really fine.” You assured her with a small smile. “I’ve just been feeling really exhausted lately but things have been busy lately, so that’s probably why. I mean, we got a Spinosaurus skeleton for a new exhibition at the museum which brought with it a lot of work and I had some personal things going on that--”
“Personal things?” Ian asked, leaning forward to look at your face now. “Darling, if there is something bothering you, you can tell me. I’m always there for you.”
“It has nothing to do with you, don’t worry.” You smiled at Ian, really not wanting to breach the topic of children now which had been worrying you for a while now. “I’m fine. I think now that it’s all done and I’m doing better, my body is trying to tell me that I overworked myself.”
“Which is what I’ve been telling you for months, darling.”
You laughed at that, leaning into Ian’s embrace. “You did do that. Must feel great knowing you were right.”
“Not if you not feeling well is proving me right.” Ian said before pressing a kiss to your cheek. “How about we head home? You should rest a bit.”
Ellie eyed you in worried and quickly nodded. “You should.”
“We will come over again soon, though. We should celebrate your pregnancy.”
“We will once Alan is back safe and sound.”