Chapter Text
“I would love for you to ride in the car with Alan and me.“
You looked back and forth between Ellie’s pleading face and your ex boyfriend Ian Malcolm in the backseat. He was just looking at you from inside one of the electronic cars, raising an eyebrow.
“Why can’t I go with Gennaro and the kids?”
“Because you get to see the kids all the time. You’re their aunt, after all.” Ellie smiled a little before lowering her voice and motioning toward Alan and Ian in the car. “And I really don’t want to be stuck alone with these two for hours on end. They’ll just end up arguing.”
You had to chuckle at that. Knowing Ian from your past relationship, you knew that even though he was generally a very sweet and kind man, he could get pretty annoying now and then. After a few seconds of debate, you nodded and Ellie grinned happily.
“Great!”
You felt uneasy about being in such tight quarters with Ian again and when you had first seen him in the helicopter you had been about to go off at your father for inviting him but then again John had probably not known that the mathematician that had been invited was Ian. Gennaro had invited him and he didn’t know anything about you, except that you were John’s daughter and Lex and Tim’s aunt. So, you couldn’t be angry at him, either. It was just an unfortunate coincidence.
You were about to get into the front seat next to Ellie when Alan took the space and asked you if you were alright with sitting next to Ian. Really not wanting to cause a scene and explain your history with the man, you nodded and sat next to him.
Ian seemed as uneasy as you which was a relief. He gave you an awkward smile, leaning back in his seat and resting his arm on the back of it as he eyed you. “Your hair has gotten long.”
“I cut it.”
“Oh.” He mumbled before giving you a small smile. “I like it.”
“Thanks.” You whispered and looked back out the window. “So, how have you been? Any new girlfriends or wives or the best friends of your girlfriends or wives?”
He quickly shook his head at you, lowering his voice. “I didn’t know that she was your best friend, I swear.”
“I talked about Jenna a lot.”
“There are a lot of people named Jenna out there!” He hissed back at you. “How could I have known that the girl I got with after we broke up was your best friend? Do you know how small the chances were that you knew each other?”
“You tell me, Mister Chaos Theory.” You crossed your arms, just happy that Alan and Ellie were listening to the audio track and not you. “Just drop it.”
“You brought it up.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Sorry about that.” You leaned back, looking out the window before raising your voice. “What’s the first dinosaur on the tour?”
Ian leaned against the side of the car, supporting his weight on his hand. “Dilophosaurus.”
“Really?”
“Yes, it says so in the brochure.” He moved it between his fingers, holding it out to you. “Want to take a look?”
“No, I believe you.”
“Look.” Ellie suddenly exclaimed and pointed out of the front window of the car, towards a large wooden gate that had the park’s name on it. “It’s gigantic.”
“What have they got in there? King Kong?” Ian joked.
You chuckled a little at that, leaning forward to hide your smile from him. Perhaps, your feelings for him weren’t all gone and that made you even sadder and angrier about seeing him again. Leaning forward also meant you didn’t see how Ian smiled at your laughter.
“Ian, you know if anything, they’d have Godzilla in there.” You chuckled.
Ian laughed a little at your joke. “Ah, my bad. Of course, it’s Godzilla.”
Ellie looked at the two of you laughing and smiled. “See? It’s fun to ride with us.”
“Yes, it is but I still feel a bit bad about not going with the kids and Gennaro, too.” You explained softly. “I’m sure they were happy to spend some time with their aunt and I ditched them.”
“You have the whole weekend to spend with them.” Ellie said with a smile. “Once we get back to the Visitor’s Centre you can see them again.”
“That’s true.” You nodded and then smiled. “I guess, I just felt a bit bad because I haven’t seen them in a few months. Normally, I visit them and my sister a lot.”
Ian looked back at you, a small smile tugging at his lips as he watched you talk about your niece and nephew. “You were always so happy when you got to see them.”
“What?” Alan looked up in interest. “You knew each other before?”
You nodded, a little irritated at Ian for mentioning that you two knew each other. “Yeah, we do.”
“We do.”
“How so?” Ellie smiled in interest, looking at you two in the rear-view mirror. “Were you working together on something or--”
“Ellie.” Alan interrupted her quietly but sharply, nodding his head towards you and Ian, making her turn to study your uncomfortable expressions. “I don’t think this is an appropriate conversation to have with them, considering how much they were fighting in the backseat a few minutes ago.”
“But why--” She stopped, eyeing your irritated and upset expression as understanding dawned on her. “Oh, were you two a--”
“We used to date. It’s over.” You said firmly, wanting her to drop the topic. “No need to talk about it more than necessary.”
“Sorry, of course!” Ellie shook her head and sighed softly. “I feel so bad for getting you into the car with us. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s fine. We can handle it.”
“Sure?”
“Sure.”
And with that, you all went back to watching the tour. The Dilophosaurus didn’t show up and everyone was rather disappointed. You were sure Lex and Tim must have been pretty upset about it but you were hoping that they’d get to see a dinosaur soon. After all, Tim had been so excited about this trip, calling you once he’d received the invitation and his mother had told him you’d go along with him and his sister to talk your ear off about dinosaurs. And Lex had been excited to go on a holiday this interesting with her aunt. But at the moment, you were all just watching the forest.
Ian looked up with a grin. “Well, you know what I’m wondering?”
“Who they had to lose to find out that the Dilophosaurus was poisonous?” You laughed lightly and Ian turned to you before he began laughing.
“Exactly! Did you read my mind?”
“The secret is out, I guess! I read people’s minds.” You joked, making him laugh again. “No, Ian, I just know you.”
“It’s nice to not fight.”
You had to agree with him. “Yes, you’re right.”
“Is the Tyrannosaurus coming up next?” Ellie asked from the front seat, looking at the monitor with interest. “I think it is.”
“Yes.” Alan agreed as he looked up from the flyer. “It’s pretty early on in the tour.”
“Pretty bad tour design. No suspension.” You chuckled. “I would have put it further down the road but I guess it has something to do with what part of the island is best for what dinosaur to live in.”
Ian looked at you and then smirked. “Don’t let your father hear that critique, though.”
“I’m pretty sure he can hear us.”
Alan eyed the two of you before chuckling a little. “Well, at least we won’t have to sit in anticipation for hours. I cannot wait to see the Rex.”
“Is she a juvenile or fully grown?”
“I’m not sure.” Ellie looked at you. “It didn’t say so anywhere. Maybe we can figure it out once we’ve seen her. But I’m sure she’ll be big nonetheless.”
“I am expecting nothing else.” You chuckled. “I am so excited.”
But the excitement quickly died down as the T-Rex, too, failed to show up. Everyone leaned back in their seats, hoping that they’d get to see any dinosaurs on the tour. Ian looked up at the camera and tapped it, asking John whether or not they’d get to see dinosaurs. You were sure your father was sitting at the Visitor’s Centre and cursing Ian. The thought made you chuckle which earned you a smirk from Ian.
“I hope we get to see dinosaurs.” You looked back at the landscape. “I really want to see the Tyrannosaurus.”
The tour continued in much the same fashion and eventually, Ian began explaining Chaos Theory to Ellie while Alan busied himself with looking out the window. You were listening to Ian, watching him demonstrate the water trick on Ellie. Everything was calm until, without further notice, Alan jumped out of the car.
“See? No one could have predicted that he’d jump out of a driving vehicle.” Ian said before Ellie quickly got out of her seat and followed Alan. “There, again.”
“Should we follow them?” You asked.
“In a minute.” Ian took a deep breath as he turned to you, now seeming a little nervous. “I want to talk to you about our relationship.”
You were opening the door in a fraction of a second as he began to talk about your past relationship. “Now is not the time. Let’s get them back into the car.”
“Hey, wait!” Ian called out to you. “I never got to explain myself and I’ve had time to think and I think--”
“Ian.” You looked back at him pointedly. “Not now.”
With that you got outside, following in the tracks of Allan and Ellie. Ian tried to call your name a few more times but eventually just sighed and went after you, resigning himself to his fate. He quickly caught up with you but you weren’t listening to him anymore because you were now face to face with a dinosaur. A Triceratops was lying in the grass. You felt giddy and excited all over. Had anyone told you as a kid that you would get to see one of your favourite dinosaurs in real life, you would have laughed at them but now you were running towards the animal before you could think twice. You grabbed Ian’s hand and pulled him along.
“Ian, it’s a Triceratops!” You turned to him and found him looking down at your intertwined hands in bafflement. “Ian, do you see this?”
“Huh? Oh yeah, I see the dinosaur and, uh, how adorably excited you are.” He then gestured at your hands before looking back up. “I just--”
You quickly let go of his hand and cleared your throat, willing away the heat that was rising to your cheeks as Ian called you adorable. “I’m so sorry. Let’s go get the others. I think the storm is going to start soon.”
“Good idea.”