His Parent's Brag, Part 4

Jan 16, 2010 02:10

Title: His Parent's Brag, Part 4
Author: TalliW
Characters: Jenny Lewis, Nick Cutter and a Hypsilophodon
Rating: K
Disclaimer: Primeval is the property of Impossible Pictures. I write just for fun.
Acknowledgments: Thanks to Fredbassett for beta-reading. I couldn't have done it without you.

AN: Happy Birthday, reggietate. I wish you all the very best.

Part 1 is here

Part 2 is here

Part 3 is here

In the morning Jenny woke up alone in bed and assumed Cutter had left to clean up and get a change of clothes. She  took a short trip to the loo and then tapped sleepily into the kitchen.

She nearly had a heart attack as a "Good morning' and the twitter of a baby dinosaur welcomed her. Cutter was sitting at her kitchen table and was helping himself to toast and coffee, and the Hypsilophodon was busy with a bowl of salad.

Jenny threw Cutter a dirty look. She was annoyed by how easily he’d taken possession of her flat. He was only a guest and yet he behaved like he was at home.

She snatched the toast Cutter was just spreading and sat down on a chair.

"Hey, that was my buttered toast," Cutter complained.

"And it was my toast and butter. I’d expected you to at least wait for me."

Cutter shrugged his shoulders. "Junior was hungry. Should I have let him starve?"

"Junior is happy with some lettuce and water. He has no need for coffee and toast."

"Good gracious. I’ll replace everything I’ve eaten. Happy now?"

"That's beside the point, Cutter. I can afford your little breakfast. But it's still my flat. I don't like to passed by. And furthermore you have used up the last of my bread and coffee cream without thinking of me."

Cutter looked at her ruefully and it made Jenny self-conscious about the fact she'd forgone her dressing gown and was sitting there in only her nighty.

"Sorry. I didn't want to wake you up so early. And thanks for your hospitality. I really appreciate the fact that you let me stay last  night."

Cutter's apology seemed to be meant sincerely.

"You are welcome!" Jenny mumbled and bit heartily into the toast whilst she watched Cutter surreptitiously.

She was very grateful that his blue eyes stayed directed at her face. Not once had he strayed down below her neck to the  flimsy nighty this time.

The man really had the ability to throw her into a loop. Every time she had thought she had figured him out he suddenly showed a completely other side. Until now she didn't even know he was capable of apologising.

Considering everything that had happened in the last 24 hours he had even kept up very well. He must feel out of his depth with the dinosaur baby, just like her, but nevertheless he tried taking care of the little creature to the best of his ability.

Ten minutes later her sympathy for Nick Cutter flew right out the window and she wanted to kick the arrogant prick. How dared he lay the blame on her?

"You self-righteous bastard."

"Oh language, Jenny. Should a lady use such words?"

"You can stick your lady up your arse. It was an accident and you know it. Besides if you hadn't followed your impulse to poke your nose in everything instead of doing the sensible thing and waiting for the anomaly to reopen we wouldn't be in this predicament at all."

Jenny stalked away from him angrily and vanished into her bedroom.

When the Hypsilophodon stopped eating and started to cry for its mother, Cutter regretted his behaviour. He probably shouldn't have pointed out that it was her fault that the Hypsilophodon baby had imprinted on them to persuade her to help with taking care of the little creature. This time he had apparently over-stepped the line.

Nick Cutter was still pondering if he should try to apologise again as Jenny re-emerged, wearing one of her lady's suits.

"I'm going to get some shopping. And you should consider going home and changing before you turn up at the ARC."

"I believe you have forgotten something."

"I will call Abby and ask her to look after the dinosaur."

"You want to give our child to strangers? Callous mother!"

"Cutter, once again, that dino isn't my child and Abby isn't a stranger. At least she is more equipped to deal with lizards."

"Abby hasn't got any more of a clue how to deal with that Hypsilophodon than we have. And the tiny tot is afraid of her. It will cry all day."

"My cousin's baby girl cried herself hoarse the first time she had to stay alone with her nanny but after a while she calmed down. I'm sure the little one will get used to Abby in no time too."

"You just want to escape your responsibility and get rid of the poor baby. But as you helped it out of the egg you have interfered with nature and now you have to finish what you started."

"Not again, Cutter! I'm really not in the mood to continue our previous conversation. I will not take the blame for everything. You are just as responsible as I am."

"No, Jenny, that's not what I mean. But I hope you realise that if you hadn't nudged the egg shells with a stick the little Hypsylophodon might be dead by now. Animals who are too weak to get out of the egg all by themselves usually don't live long. It would have found its end by a predator or have died of starvation."

"Would you have preferred standing by and watching the way it was struggling to get out until it had finally died from exhaustion?" Jenny asked, upset.

"That's the way of the world. Only the strong survive. In my opinion we have no right to interfere in the natural order."

Jenny suppressed the urge to slap Cutter. Taking a deep breath she said in a dangerously quiet voice, "So if that is your strongly held view why don't you straighten out what I've done wrong? Go ahead. Kill the poor creature."

"That's not funny," Cutter growled.

"It wasn't meant to be funny. I'm deadly serious."

Cutter gulped and looked down at the Hypsylophodon who was once again clinging to his right trouser leg.

Jenny had mercilessly used his own arguments against him. She knew perfectly well that he wasn't be able to kill an innocent animal.

"All right. Let’s forget that argument," he declared, defeated. "We don't know what might have happened. Perhaps its real parents might have helped it out of the egg too. Go on, call Abby, if you think it’s for the best."

After throwing a glance at the Hypsilophodon Jenny picked up her mobile from the coffee table.She was ready to dial Abby's number when the Hypsilophodon fixed its eyes on her.

Suddenly she felt guilty for trying to pass it on to Abby. The little animal trusted her and she only had her own welfare in mind. Resigned, she put her mobile away again.

"Very well then. You can stay for now. But behave. That applies to you too, Cutter."

Cutter grinned, pleased, and bent down to the little dinosaur.

'Well done, little one," he mumbled under his breath and snatched up the Hypsilophodon. "Come on, tiny tot, we go shopping."

"Tell me again why I agreed to this?" Jenny said as Cutter shoveled three different sorts of cereals into her shopping trolley.

Against her better judgement, she had allowed Cuter to accompany her to the next supermarket, already knowing that it couldn't end well. She had learned relatively early in her life that shopping with men was a veritable disaster and usually a very nerve-racking experience for women.

Cutter apparently wanted to prove this thesis once again.

On top of her fears that someone could discover the little dinosaur in Cutter's jacket Cutter had also appointed himself as her nutritionist as soon they had stepped into the shop.
Although she wasn't sure he wasn’t just buying things he liked. The Jelly Beans he had smuggled into her trolley a moment ago certainly wouldn't count as healthy.

Jenny kept a steady eye on Cutter and his tiny companion and the Hypsilophodon was checking every few minutes to see if Jenny was still within sight. It made for a very awkward shopping trip.

Every time the small head peeked out of the pocket Cutter pushed it quickly back into the safety of the woolen material. Even so, Jenny expected that someone would suddenly see the strange little creature and scream the alarm.

Fortunately the supermarket wasn't very busy at that time of day. That was the reason why she always chose to go shopping in the morning before work. But now she wished she hadn’t bothered. She would have survived a day without  toast and creamed coffee.

Jenny had just put two heads of iceberg lettuce and a box of corn salad into her basket when the Hypsilophodon decided it was time to go on an excursion. Cutter was leaning down over the fruit display and the tasty fragrance of strawberries wafted into the jacket pocket to the hungry dinosaur.

Before Cutter could react, the Hyphsilophodon leaped on the display and started to devour the strawberries. The hatchling dodged Cutter's hand and moved on to the blueberries when a blood-curdling scream sounded through the supermarket.

"Rats! There’s a rat in the fruit," a young woman yelled and pointed with her finger at the startled Hypsilophodon. The little girl at her side started to cry and an older lady tried to to get to safety by climbing on her shopping trolley.

"Ever seen a green rat? You should check your eyesight," Cutter hissed and finally managed to grasp the little dinosaur.

"Cutter! Get out of here!"

Nick Cutter took one look at Jenny's angry face and hurried towards the exit, leaving Jenny behind with the  mess.

"I'm very sorry for the behaviour of my acquaintance. Since his wife vanished without a trace some years ago he has lost his marbles. I will of course pay for the damage he has caused," Jenny declared to the manager.

"But that green thing...." the young woman started.

"Was just his toy dinosaur, a present from his wife. He now carries it around all the time. I'm so sorry he frightened you with it."

"Oh, the poor man," the older lady said and Jenny knew she had won.

Adding the baskets of strawberries and blueberries the dinosaur had snacked on to her shopping trolley, Jenny moved to the checkout counter, relieved.

Cutter was waiting in the car with a whining dinosaur and very glad to see her.
The Hypsilophodon calmed instantly down when it heard Jenny's voice and Cutter got out of the car to help her tuck away the purchases.

"I assume everything is in order. What sort of tall tale did you tell them?"

"I only told the truth, Cutter. That you are stone-cold crazy."

nick cutter, primeval, jenny lewis, author:talliw

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