"...Unto the Breach..." - Chapter Two

by Della

 

 

The Next Day...

 

Alan Grant arrived at the site. His thoughts of the lovely day he'd spent with Ellie yesterday, still vivid in his mind. If it had been raining a monsoon, he'd still be smiling with the memories. But, it was another day and Ellie wasn't going to be there to share it with him. He sighed, but still maintained a wistful smile on his face. 'If only...' he thought. Then he mentally shook that thought into oblivion with another one. 'It's not to be, Alan Grant, so leave it there...'

 

He opened the door to the trailer with his mouth open to greet Billy, but the trailer was empty. He took a brief look behind the door to the other side of the trailer, to make sure, but that also was empty. He frowned as he turned out of the trailer and started his way towards the dig.

 

He came across a young woman sitting at the edge of the site, looking on at others who were steadily trying to rise the skeleton from the ground. He recognized her immediately. "Morning, Sarah..." he greeted her with a smile.

 

The young woman was immediately standing. So quick was she to rise that Alan was startled and took a quick step away from her. Then she was beaming at him. "Morning, Dr Grant..."

 

He could not help the widening of his smile. Then he asked, "Is Billy here...?"

 

She shook her head, "He called in sick, Dr Grant. The Flu. He said he didn't know how long he was going to be laid down with it and that he really was sorry that he couldn't be here..."

 

"Damn!" Alan muttered as took off his well-worn Fedora hat and ran a hand through his hair; frowning with a mixture of concern for Billy but also with the raising of the skeleton. "Damn!" he muttered again, when no other words came to him.

 

Sarah felt the need to stand up for Billy and she said, "He did say he was really sorry, Doctor Grant."

 

Alan looked towards her, replacing his hat upon his head and said, "That he did Sarah. That he did and I'm grateful for it. Still, it would have been good to have him here today..." He sighed, then started off towards the site of where the skeleton lay.

 

Sarah watched Alan leave and nodded in agreement, but whispered to no one in particular, "Well, I hope he doesn't lose his degree because of it..." Then sat and resumed the watching of the raising of the skeleton.

 

*****

 

Alan reached the site of the skeleton, just as the first of the bones were lifted away from the ground. For him, this was the hardest part of all. He knew the bones were fragile, even though fossilized; too many years had passed for them not to be. So, whenever he'd had to watch the lifting of those bones, he'd always felt a mixture of helplessness and anxiety build within him.

 

And now was no different to any other time...

 

He wanted to be in there, helping the diggers take the bones from the ground, but he knew he'd be ham-fisted and break something of importance. And that was his greatest fear... That he would damage something beyond repair... So, as much as his feet unconsciously moved towards the skeleton, his head told him to stay; thus causing his body to tense, with the need to do something but also with the wisdom that he shouldn't.

 

"Doctor Grant...?"

 

He turned to the voice that called for him... It was Sarah...

 

"There's someone on the phone for you..."

 

"Do you know who...?" he called back, not wanting to leave the site, but knowing, if it was important enough, then he would. He sighed when Sarah shook her head, but loud enough for her to hear, he yelled back, "On my way..."

 

He briefly turned back to the site, exchanged an enquiry if all would be fine without him there, and when receiving an affirmative, he turned back to face Sarah and started to make his way to the trailer.

 

******

 

Once inside he picked up the forgotten receiver, only to receive an earful of someone yelling unintelligibly at him. He pulled the receiver from his ear and waited. When he heard the voice calm a little and enquire whether he was there or not, he replaced the receiver to his ear again and said, "Alan Grant here..."

 

"For the Love of God, Grant, how could you...?!" the voice angrily accused him. "How could you let this happen...?"

 

"Umm, I don't know what you mean... Let *what* happen, exactly...? And... and who is this...?" he asked, with a frown of puzzlement. His first thought was that it was Ellie's husband and he was ranting at him for the time they had spent together yesterday, but he didn't see that they'd done something so wrong that it would warrant such an angry response.

 

Alan's question was ignored, as the voice rose in pitch on the other end of the line, "Eric, Doctor Grant, Eric has gone back and your *friend*, *Billy*, has gone with him..."

 

'Oh Fuck!' Alan's mind supplied him. 'Oh Fuck!' Aloud though, he managed to splutter, "Is... umm... is this Paul Kirby...?"

 

The voice rose even higher in pitch and tone, as it shouted back at him, "You know damn well that it is, Grant, and I wanna know how you could let this happen...?"

 

Alan started a two-step pace, backwards and forwards; his feet playing a staccato tune on the vinyl floor beneath his feet; his whole body rigid with fear and concern 'Not again,' his mind pleaded with him, 'Please, not again...'

 

"Doctor Grant...?"

 

Alan stopped his pacing, startled for a moment, then said, "You must believe me, Mr Kirby, I had no idea. This is the first I knew about it..."

 

"I don't care when you knew about it, Grant," Kirby shouted back at him, "I don't care at all... I just want my boy back... And I want him back now..."

 

Alan tried to placate the man. The last thing he wanted was the discussion to descend into a shouting match. "Billy is very reliable, Mr Kirby..." He almost swallowed his tongue on that, because he had just let him down, but still he added, "He'll look after Eric..."

 

"Are you listening to me, Grant...? I said, I... WANT!... MY!... BOY!... BACK!... ...NOW!!!..."

 

"I understand that, Mr Kirby, but I don't know what you want me to do about it...? I'm not sure what I *can* do about it..." Alan then heard a scuffle on the other side of the line...

 

Then a female voice started to speak. It was weepy and small and trying hard to contain their sobs. "Doctor Grant...?"

 

"Yes, Mrs Kirby..."

 

"Please get my boy back for me... Please...?" she begged, her breaths coming in short bursts of repressed emotion. "Please...?"

 

He sighed with sympathy. He'd be the same if it were his own that was lost on a Dinosaur Island, but he still couldn't see what he could do about it. He whispered soothingly to her, "I'm really sorry, Mrs Kirby, you must believe me, but I don't know how I can help you..."

 

Mrs Kirby started to cry at that point. Horrible, breathy gasps of despair down the phone at Alan. He felt his heart constrict with her obvious pain of the situation; when her whispered pleas of begging, no matter how quietly whispered, reached him across the line. He wanted to help, but didn't know how he could...

 

There was another brief scuffle on the other side of the line, then Paul Kirby, his voice now calm, said, "Please, Doctor Grant, we need your help... We'll do anything to get Eric back... Anything... Please..."

 

'Oh God, I'm going back...' Alan thought with fear, 'I'm going back there...' His stomach scrunched with that fear, making him feel instantly nauseous. He started to pace again, not ready to answer the Kirby's. He knew what he had to do, but if he said so much as another word at this moment, he knew he would embarrass himself.

 

When another enquiry as to whether he was there or not came back at him, Alan stopped his pacing again, took a deep breath to calm his nerves and said, "Did Eric tell you where he was going to go on Isla Sorna...?"

 

"He hasn't gone to Isla Sorna, he and Billy have gone to the First Island, Isla Nublar." Then he added, "And no, Doctor Grant, he didn't say where, only that they were going and for us not to worry..." There was a brief pause, before Paul Kirby added in anger, "For *us* not to worry... Jesus Christ, what the hell did he think we would do...?"

 

Alan had no answer to that. But he did say, "I'll see what I can do, Mr Kirby." He then picked up a pen and added, "Give me your number so I can let you know the who, what and where..." It didn't take long for him to get that bit of information.

 

Amongst the Kirby's overtly expressed gratitude, he promised to call them and then replaced the receiver back onto it's cradle. Then he picked the whole phone up and threw it across the trailer. His anger coursed around his body, lighting every nerve end in an angry fire. "BILLY!!!!..." He yelled. "You stupid Son-Of-A-BITCH!!!..."

 

He turned away from the broken phone and started to pace again. His whole body rigid again. He really didn't want to go back. Once was enough... Twice was the limit... A third time and he thought he'd never be coming back... He wasn't a superstitious man, far from it, but he did not believe in pushing your luck too far, and he knew going back for a third time was pushing it right over the edge into oblivion.

 

He kicked out at the table, the kitchen units, anything that was kickable inside the trailer, muttering expletives and curses, in the vain hope it might alleviate the anger, fear and concern within him, but it didn't. Because he knew, no matter what he did, he was still going back...

 

Eventually he turned and left the trailer and started to make his way back to the dig. Once there, he took a man to one side. "Michael, I have to leave. Billy's gone and done something stupid and I've got to go and get him back..."

 

Michael had heard of Billy's and Alan's adventure on one of the Dinosaur islands. "He's gone back...?" he asked in a quiet, resonant voice.

 

Alan nodded, not able to express anything.

 

"Shit... Didn't he get enough the last time...?"

 

"Apparently not..." Alan replied, and quickly added, "This means you're on your own with the dig though..." He shook his head and ruefully added, "I suppose this should be your dig anyway. I've not exactly been the helping hand that I should have been..." He smiled, "And I miss that..."

 

Michael chuckled at him, "Well, yeah, Alan, I guess it's gotta be better knowing the bones ain’t gonna run straight at you and try and eat you..." He laughed a little louder, before adding, seriously, "Anyway, without you heading this, we wouldn't be here in the first place..." After a moment's pause, he finally added, "Go do what you have to... The bones'll still be here when you get back..."

 

Alan turned from Michael, nodding, then he briefly turned back and said, waggling a finger in front of him, "*If* I get back, Michael... If..." He then started away again, knowing there was only one person he could turn to.

 

Michael watched Alan's retreating back for a moment, then he yelled, "You'll be back, Alan... You always come back... These bones can't do without you..."

 

Alan chuckled at that, but did not reply. His mind consumed with how he could convince someone into letting him loan a plane for the journey back to his worst nightmare. He shook his head at that. 'My worst nightmare, and I'm going back willingly...' he thought.

 

He got into his jeep and started the trip that he knew was going to be about as far from a picnic as this skeleton discovery was to Jurassic Park...

 

********

 

Alan stood before the door in front of him and raised a fisted hand to knock on the door. This was the third time he had done this. He really did not want to involve Ellie again, but each time he had thought that, each time he'd come to the decision that he really had no other choice. He sighed heavily, then, gritting his teeth, he rapped against the door.

 

He took a step back and shuffled from one foot to the other, while waiting for the door to be answered. He was about to try again, when the door swung open and revealed a smiling Ellie, with her arms full with her youngest, Susannah.

 

"Alan..." she gasped with surprise. Then she took a closer look at his face and immediately asked, "What's wrong...?"

 

"Billy and Eric, you know the boy that got lost on Isla Sorna...?" Ellie nodded, so he added, "They've gone back to Isla Nublar... Jurassic Park..."

 

"Oh God, no..." she whispered. She stepped back into her home and indicated with her head for Alan to follow her. She turned away from him and asked, "When...?"

 

Alan shrugged, but said, "Last night, I'm guessing... Well, not really guessing because I got a call from Eric's parents this morning..." He briefly winced at the remembrance of that phone-call. It hadn't been pleasant. He then added, "So, I guess I have to go get them back..."

 

At that point Ellie looked at him. Her heart leapt into her mouth and stopped beating. "No, Alan, you can't..." she gasped, "Send someone else... Please..." she begged.

 

He shrugged, "I can't, Ellie..." he whispered, "Besides, even if I could, who could I send...? There isn't anyone else that *could* go..." He then turned away from her and started to pace again. "You gotta know the territory, the dangers..." he added, almost talking to himself; trying to convince himself that this was the only option. "You can't go in there blind..." He then stopped and turned back to Ellie with a rueful smile on his face, and finished with a shrug, "And, well, I guess I fit that category as well as any other..."

 

Ellie had started to jig Susannah up and down. The child had started to whimper. She empathized with her daughter, but for a completely different reason.

 

He was going back, back to the dangers that had nearly cost him his life the last time... and the time before that... He couldn't go... He mustn't... She then looked him in the eye, her own tearing with emotion, and said, "Please, Alan, don't go..."

 

Alan would have embraced her, there and then, if it had not been for the child in her arms. He could see the tears in her eyes, feel the quiver of concern in her voice constrict his heart, but he knew, as well as she knew, that he could not turn his back on Billy and Eric.

 

He did take a couple of steps towards her though, and he whispered, "I've got to, Ellie, you know this..."

 

Ellie turned away from him and placed Susannah on her cot. She made sure that her daughter was comfortable, before she turned back to Alan and leapt into his arms, sobbing into his neck. "I know, I know..." she whimpered, "but I don't want you too..."

 

Alan held her close to him, tightly to his chest, and ran a hand soothingly down her hair. "I know you don't want me to, Ellie," he whispered, "and Lord *knows* that *I* don't want to, but... but I *have* to..." He then murmured and whispered unintelligible words into her hair; soothing her with circular movements of his hand on her back and stroking her hair, until he felt the quivers of emotion subside from her. He then pulled her away from him and, holding her at arm's length, he said, "I *have* to..."

 

He then moved away from Ellie and resumed his pacing. "I have something to ask of you, Ellie..."

 

She whispered back at him, "You want me to ask Mark if he can organize a jet plane for you..."

 

Alan turned and nodded.

 

"You want me to get him to get you a plane to take you back to a place that nearly killed you, nearly killed all of us... *You* want me to ask Mark if he can be a party to your suicide..."

 

"C'mon, Ellie," Alan protested, "I have every intention of coming back, you know..."

 

It was as though Ellie had ignored him, because she then said, "And then I'll get a call like the last time and I'll think that you're dead and then..."

 

Alan shook his head and interrupted her, "No, Ellie, once I'm gone, you won't get another call like the last time... I couldn't do that to you again..."

 

"So you'll leave me hanging on, wondering if you will ever come back..." Alan took a step towards her, but she took a step away from him. Then she said, with determination, "You won't ever do that to me again, Alan Grant... Not this time..."

 

He frowned at Ellie with puzzlement.

 

In answer to his frown she succinctly added, "You won't this time, because I'm coming with you..."

 

It was Alan's turn to take a step back. "You can't, Ellie..." he gasped out at her. "You can't... You have a family, *here*, that loves you... You have two children that need you... For Christ's sake, Ellie..." He moved a little further away. "I won't take you away from that..."

 

Ellie took a step closer to him, her face scrunched with her determination. "If I don't go, then you don't go... Billy and Eric will have to fend for themselves then..."

 

"Oh God, Ellie, blackmail..." Alan whispered, "I'd never've thought..."

 

"Yeah, well, Doctor Grant, that's your doing..." Ellie muttered, "No me, then no plane..."

 

Alan turned from her. He couldn't believe she'd just blackmailed him. He then turned back to her and said, "You think Mark's just going to agree with that, Ellie...? You think he's gonna get that plane and wave you goodbye from the airport...? You're living in dreamland..."

 

"I don't care, Alan..." she shouted back at him, "I won't go through what I went through the last time... I won't..."

 

"Ellie, I won't have you lose everything over this... It's not worth it..."

 

Ellie nodded, "Yes, it is..." She then stuck her chin out, to emphasize her determination and said, "No me, then no plane, Alan... What's it to be...?"

 

He didn't say a word as he turned and made his way to the door. Once he got there, he then whispered, regretfully, over his shoulder at her, "I'll get one somewhere else, Ellie... Thank you for your time..."

 

Ellie strode to him and forced him to face her. "There *is* nowhere else Alan and you know that... Please Alan, I couldn't take another month, year, whatever, not knowing... Please..."

 

Alan sighed and then said, "This isn't my decision, Ellie... You talk to Mark and let me know then. But, I want you to know that I'm not happy with this... I'd never've believed it of you..."

 

Ellie hugged him tightly to her and said, "Yeah, well you better get used to it, Doctor Grant..." With that she let him go and opened the door for him.

 

Alan shook his head, trying hard to ignore the conflicting emotions of concern, anxiety; that he may have Ellie to look after once they were back in Jurassic Park; and the deep love he had for this woman that was on the verge of sacrificing all that she had, for him...

 

He should have left her home with a happiness that he was about to get what he wanted, but he didn't... He could already feel the dark cloud of anxiety building above him. And he did not like it one bit...

 

*******

 

End of Chapter Two