cerhadivision | Isla Sorna

Isla Sorna

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bluebetabitch

When you spend a long time building something with your own two hands, it becomes difficult to wrap your mind around the idea of the work being done. Owen grew up around that kind of mindset, and knows very well how it feels to be in the same grip. But he doesn't mind. That's the thing about having a family: it expands, and the world around it needs to expand with it. Little by little, the house came up around them, and they settled into it, and he's never really stopped working this little world of his over like an ever-evolving project that he loves with his whole heart.

They're settled here. Officially. No one can deny it, and even though Owen still has dreams sometimes about InGen -- or anyone -- hunting them down to rip the girls, or even the boys, out of his hands, those fears evaporate every morning. The girls get along as well as any sisters do, and even the squabbling has died down in recent months; the boys have adapted beautifully, and although Chi and Psi still exhibit behavior that looks odd alongside the girls from time to time, they no longer struggle to meet expectations that were completely alien to them for most of their lives.

And then there's Blue and Omega.

The difference in Blue between her youth on Isla Nublar, and the young womanhood that quite clearly blossomed in the Santa Lucia Mountains of central California, is not only noticeable, but striking. Always the one he could rely on over the others, Blue has managed to develop into a creature that is both an extension of his right arm and yet still a highly independent person who no longer looks to him quite so often for cues; she still values her space and her privacy, but those withdrawals from the pack just to brood and sulk have all but disappeared. And while Blue's temper will always strike fear into the hearts of her siblings -- adopted or otherwise -- she's learned to balance it with patience, a trait that would always thwart her more than any other. Until now. Owen always wanted Blue to learn that balance between animal instinct and human rationality, and he knew she'd get there in her own way sooner or later. Now, it seems she has, and it's a beautiful thing to see.

Then, as if her own transformation wasn't enough, she'd somehow managed to turn her mate into an entirely different person.

If Blue's maturation is impressive, Omega's has been nothing short of miraculous. All right... Owen is a professional behaviorist; he knows there's no such thing as miracles, only hard work and dedication. Only this time it wasn't his. It was Blue's time, effort, and uncharacteristic affection that turned a furious, hateful killing machine into something that could be now what he might have been then, before InGen had their way. Omega lives in the house now. He eats when they do. He joins the family in their gatherings, as long as Blue is with him, and although his temper is still zero to 60 when roused, these days it's much harder to set him off than it used to be, even if that wouldn't be saying much. He prefers his mate and solitude over anything else, but his violently aggressive tendencies have been all but curbed for the sake of keeping Blue happy.

For obvious reasons, Owen has kept a close eye on them both from day one, and even from the very beginning Omega has treated Blue like the center of the universe. Owen himself has salvaged his share of abused, wild animals -- it's literally part of the job -- but he knows without question that no one could have done this but her. And her success is absolutely indisputable.

Case in point: today, Omega's dislike for interacting with unfamiliar people had outweighed his desire to be with Blue as often as possible, and instead of throwing a tantrum he simply hadn't gone with her down the mountain.

For Barry, it was supplies; Echo wanted clothes; Blue was only interested in procuring necessary parts for her nearly-restored 1979 Pontiac Phoenix Firebird, a task built upon very specific requirements and one which she would never entrust to any of her siblings. The day is very nice for a sojourn into the city, considering the length of the drive: blue skies and a mild breeze, not quite so far into spring that the air is anything more than comfortably warm. Psi is helping Delta collect chili peppers and the new experimental plums. Chi fell asleep in the grass up the hill. Charlie is giving Owen a hand with replacing some worn poles along the stone steps leading down to the boys' den, when they hear the familiar sound of the Jeep rolling up the long hill that serves as their driveway.

Only, it sounds like it's coming up fast.

Owen and Charlie look at each other, and immediately drop what they're doing to meet the car just as Barry rolls up, screeching to a stop and diving out of the driver's side to rush around to the passenger door. He looks frantic. And he's helping Echo out of the car. She looks like she's about to pitch right off her feet.

"Owen!" Barry calls out urgently, eyes widening immediately as Owen rushes to them. "Owen!" He has to wrap an arm around Echo's back to keep her standing. And then, to Owen's surprise and dread, Barry yells again. "Omega!"

Owen doesn't actually know where Omega has been this whole time. But suddenly he's there next to him, clearly as alarmed at being summoned as Owen was to hear it, and Owen can practically feel the tension in the male raptor's body triple because they both realized the same thing: that Blue is not with them.

"They took her," Barry says, breathless, and the bottom falls out of Owen's stomach.

Echo tries to rouse herself, flopping a little, mumbling in groggy frustration as she tries to shake off whatever is wrong with her and help explain. But Barry keeps his hold on her and barrels right through it.

"It was InGen. They had an entire strike force, Owen, the streets are chaos now. They used non-lethals. Tranquilizers. Echo took a direct hit, but they left her behind. All of them were focused on Blue." He looks at both of them, Owen and then Omega, panicked and desperate. "They came for her."

The weather was gorgeous a minute ago. Now the entire world is ice. Owen's heart has stopped, his breath is gone. Delta and the boys come running up, but he barely notices them. Beside him is Omega, frozen; then suddenly the raptor whirls to him, eyes wide, and the fury -- the fear -- in them is apocalyptic.

Omega doesn't say a word, but Owen immediately finds his voice. "Go get her."

The male raptor is gone like a bolt of lightning. Owen turns and strides quickly to a hidden cache beneath the porch. He pulls out two assault rifles and a hell of a lot of ammo as Charlie shrieks behind him, "Why aren't we going with him?!"

"Because we're going to follow him." Owen tosses a rifle to Barry, and gestures sharply for everyone to get into the car, including the still-dizzy Echo. "After Isla Nublar, Omega found us in less than a week on nothing but Blue's scent and pure instinct. This time he knows where he's going. We'd only slow him down." The motor is still running. Almost before every door is shut, Owen jerks the Jeep into gear. His last words are almost a growl to himself. "With any luck, all we'll have to do is clean up."

The Jeep screeches in reverse, turns, and roars off down the mountain.

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Omega lets her go only when she sits, but doesn't immediately join her; he's found it's best, these days, to let her make herself comfortable and then gauge after that just where he'll fit best, to be a comfort but not a disturbance. It's more public out here than he'd like, even without anyone actually around, but the only reason they're even here is to give her a chance to breathe. That much seems to be working.

But finally he foregoes sitting altogether for the sake of crouching down in front of her, and he pries one of her hands away from the edge of the bench to grip it in his own, resting on her lap. His actual response comes with a trace of wryness.

"It happens," he informs her bluntly. "It's not your fault." All right, maybe it's not entirely Echo's fault either, but like hell is Omega going to waste any time on that right now. "And you had a good reason."

Blue let Omega relocate her hand to his, and she gripped him back with just as much strength as she had the bench. His hand was warm, familiar, a comforting weight in the stormy sea behind her eyes; she didn't feel so hopelessly adrift whenever he was near. ...and last week, she'd been unable to even let him within ten feet. God, what the hell was wrong with her?!

She bit her lip on a sudden sob, refusing to let it out. "W-Well," she hiccuped, scrubbing her cheek with the back of her other hand, "I hate it when it happens." Blue tugged on him a bit, wanting him to move a little closer so she might rest her forehead against his and feather fingertips over his cheek, signing softly against his lips.

"...thank you..." she murmured softly, unable to help gracing his mouth with the softest kiss, "...for catching me." Despite his insistence that he always would, she still felt it necessary to acknowledge such unwavering devotion, especially when she felt herself not quite worthy of it.

He goes where she tugs him, easily; that kiss is more intimacy than she's allowed him in a month, and it instantly makes his throat go tight. But he just swallows, and nods with their foreheads touching. "...you're welcome."

It still hurts that that's all he can do. And of course he always will, as long as there's still life in him -- no matter where she goes, he'll find her, and bring her home. Wherever home may be. And Omega should let it go at that, at the truth they both know already.

But some unreleased tension inside him prompts him to say, without lifting his head from hers, "I want you back. All of you."

Blue bit her lip. "...I know," was all she could really say, because so did she. She longed to be whole again, not this...splintered thing, so fragmented and just waiting to shatter into a thousand pieces. Swallowing another hiccuped sob, she gave him another soft, girlish kiss, breathing him and letting his familiar scent ground her back here, where she belonged.

"...I...think I'm okay," she murmured in their quiet little cocoon. "We should...probably head back, so we can get on the road." Blue eased to her feet and tugged Omega up with her, indulging herself with another brief burrow into his arms, nose pressed to the hollow of his throat, inhaling him deeply.

She knew that Owen would, of course, wait as long as she needed, but Blue absolutely didn't want to be a burden--their family had plenty as it was.

That's all they have to say about it. It's not a discussion, something they need to work through with each other out loud -- it's just honesty. Said and done. Now the action is more important. Omega just wants Blue to know he'll wait for her. She's worth waiting for.

He'd do his entire life over again if it meant that he'd still find her in it.

Once he has her in his arms again, Omega is reluctant to release her from them, especially just for the sake of piling back into the car for however many hours it'll take to get them to the next stop. Even if the destination is supposed to do wonders for her... hopefully. Omega considers suggesting that they just... walk there. Together. He's traveled greater distances on foot; this one wouldn't be too bad at all.

But instead, he just mutters "All right," into her hair, and makes the valiant effort to turn them both back in the direction they came, where her Alpha is waiting for her with tension visibly easing out him even from a distance.

Blue settled into the front passenger seat as their caravan headed up onto the freeway. Owen hadn't said anything about her "episode", thankfully, and Blue hadn't wanted to discuss it, so she simply held her silence, not at all uncommon, for her.

The itinerary was to drive northeast through San Jose, up through San Francisco, then Dr. Gwen had reserved them rooms at a hotel in Bend, Oregon, about ten hours away. Then it was another nine or so hours north to Thompson's Falls, Montana. Where her alpha had grown up.

Blue eventually came out of her silence by asking questions about their ultimate destination, growing drowsier as she listened to Owen's reminiscings. When a huge yawn nearly cracked her jaws, Blue unbuckled her seatbelt and slithered over the seat to curl up with her mate, draping her long frame between Omega and the back of the seat.

She nestled her head beneath his chin, absently wedging her fingers between the buttons of his shirt until she felt the raised scar tissue in his skin, right over his heart. Blue let her hand rest there, another yawn escaping, and she drowsed, lulled by the hum of tires on asphalt and the low rumbling purr of her mate.

It's not as bad as he thought. The idle chatter between Owen and Blue becomes white noise after a while, not grating on him as it might have a handful of months ago; their siblings don't abuse the radio privileges again, likely because Dr. Gwen is maintaining some semblance of order over in the other vehicle. And they do stop every once in a while, which Omega also thought would have annoyed him, except that he is simply too tall to stay comfortable in the back seat indefinitely, even stretched out as much as he can manage. So it helps to move around every once in a while. Cramped conditions are not so thrilling, but he'll manage.

Once his mate crawls into the back with him, though, he might as well be glued to the seat for how willing he is to disturb her by moving at all. Omega lets her settle however she pleases, and basks in the loveliness of her weight and warmth at his side. The touch of her fingertips sends out a spiderweb of tingling heat through his chest, like cracks in cooled lava.

Listening to childhood recollections that mean very little to him also hasn't left Omega with a very clear idea of what they're heading for. It's north, that's what he thinks of most, very north, where the cold is aggressive, unlike the lazy and ineffective winters on their mountain. Will it get cold while they're there? Blue doesn't do well in the cold. And the rest of this adventure is just one big question mark for someone who hates not knowing what's ahead of him.

But Omega just watches the shadows of passing trees roll across Blue's body, letting time stretch on toward Oregon.

Bend, Oregon wasn't as sparse as Blue had expected. The doc had reserved them rooms at a place called the Shiloh Inn, which she said with a smile "isn't exactly the Hilton but not a Motel 6 either". Thankfully, Blue and Omega had a room to themselves, with the doc bunking down with Echo, Delta and Charlie, and Owen taking space with Psi and Chi. Since all of their rooms sported two queen sized beds, no one would have to sleep on the floor.

Dr. Gwen suggested pizza for supper, which sparked its own debate about toppings, but eventually Meat Lovers and Supreme won out and thankfully the place delivered. Charlie and Echo immediately headed for the pool--indoors, surprisingly enough--with Chi close behind but the middle brother not quite so enthusiastic, but following along docilely enough. Owen and the doc naturally went to supervise, with Delta staying behind in the "girls' room" to wait for the pizza and unwind with a little cable tv.

Blue, despite loving the water, wasn't really in the mood for swimming. Especially not with her sisters and brothers-in-law, God. She instead opted for an early steaming shower, running a towel through her wet hair and crawling into one of the beds in the room she shared with her mate, hugging a pillow as she curled in a ball of white tank top and shorts, damp dark hair and spring-tanned skin.

The hotel smells weird as hell and there are other people living in it and Omega is just not on board with the idea of this kind of thing at all. But he and Blue get their own room -- or rather, a room to themselves, with a bed other people have slept in -- all right, he does need to take a bit of a walk to shake off the displeasure that used to trigger a very bad temper. Fortunately for the mood of the room, such as it is, Blue's shower gives him an opportunity to do so without actually abandoning her.

He might have followed her into the shower, otherwise. But there are plenty of reasons why that wouldn't have been a wise idea.

But he returns well before she emerges, tantrum averted and his dissatisfaction schooled behind whatever emergency reserves of self control he possesses that can only be accessed for Blue's sake. He lingers by the large window, but turns to watch his mate as she rubs herself down and then burrows into the pillows. It makes his chest hurt. She's so beautiful, and she's better than this, stronger than this -- stronger than them--

Without saying anything he leaves the window and joins her on the bed, stretching out alongside her, a long dark thing on white sheets beside a lovely creature much more colorful than he is. Omega doesn't quite touch her, but he watches her and waits for the chance.

Sleeping in a place like this wasn't entirely alien to Blue and her sisters; Owen used to arrange for them to have a suite at the Park's resort every once in a while, chalking it up to a different form of socialization, which made it legitimate for the behavioral program, which in turn helped keep his paycheck in his wallet, Blue didn't doubt.

But she wasn't quite as ill at ease as Omega seemed to be, although it was definitely a good thing that she found him in their room when she emerged from her shower. She turned to face him when he joined her in the bed, hugging her pillow and her expression soft, tranquil. For the moment, at least.

Blue simply gazed at him, eyes roaming over his sharp, familiar countenance, features she'd recognize by touch alone. The urge to touch him was as strong as ever--it was the bond between them, mates--but newly learned fear held her still. He would respond so eagerly, that she knew; he was always starved for her touch, her attention, her care. And it wrenched her heart, this unswerving devotion--how could she ever be worthy of it again?

She gently chewed on her lower lip. But finally broke the quiet with a gentle query of, "...are you hungry? Food should be here soon."

Is he hungry? For some reason that question strikes him as odd. Yeah, he should be hungry, or at least more hungry than he is. All that junk food that their siblings love so much is certainly not what he'd eat, given the choice, but honestly Omega's appetite just... hasn't been as pronounced since they brought Blue home from Isla Sorna. It's hard to eat when she refuses to do so.

So he just nods, not really enthusiastic but not putting up a fuss about pizza either. Being able just to lie here with her will satisfy needs a lot more pressing than hunger.

As silent moments pass and she doesn't tense or recoil, Omega reaches across the small space between them. It's an ache under his skin not to touch her the way he wants to, like brushing back the wet strands of hair clinging to one shoulder, or smoothing out the rumpled white fabric of her tank top at her waist. Yes, he's always eager for her. Miserable without her. But he's not going to be the one clinging to her now that it's his turn to be her support -- something he honestly never imagined before. Not like this.

So he just slips his hand over hers, taking it gently from the pillow, and weaves their fingers together. Drawing them in lets him breath the clean scent of her skin from the back of her wrist, and he rests his cheek against her hand, a gesture of that devotion without any words at all.

In all honesty, Blue wasn't entirely thrilled about pizza; she didn't like all the garlic in the sauce. Nor the chewiness of the dough, nor the frozen taste of the vegetables. But there wasn't much help for it, so she'd do her best to choke it down--maybe just one slice, anyway. A small one.

But other concerns lay before her now, literally. Omega stared back at her with lookalike blue eyes, brilliant mirrors which seemed determined to paint her as beautiful, a masterpiece of color in a world of black and white. Seeing herself depicted as such now made her want to squirm.

She watched as he reached out and took her head, threading their fingers together. His hand was warm and rough, as always, but familiar--she didn't pull away. Blue opened her fingers to cup his cheek, gliding the pad of her thumb across the high arch of his cheekbone, loving him in silence. A wash of sudden tenderness then guided her thumb across Omega's face, feathering lightly over his lips, a small sigh escaping her own at their remembered softness.

That gentle caress is so exquisitely painful he almost wishes she wouldn't. If it's only going to be ripped away again, he'd rather not have it -- except that's not true at all, not even a little bit. Even if he knew he'd only be starving for it again, he's completely at the mercy of those touches, the ones that remind him of why he tried so hard to be better in the first place.

Omega remembers having to learn how to touch her. It used to make his muscles itch, instinctively wanting to rend flesh but not wanting to hurt her; tenderness was a conscious effort, and clumsy, graceless. Perceiving his own inadequacy at something that meant so much for some reason had infuriated him, which in turn only sabotaged his efforts, and the vortex of his own savagery would have swallowed the whole mountain if not for her. He still doesn't know how she worked that kind of magic.

His fingers tighten between hers and he nuzzles her hand again, lips parting against her thumb, remembering the last time she kissed him -- not so terribly long ago, only a few hours. The sweetness of it leaves a burn on his skin, and he wants so badly to pull her into his arms again and curl them both up around each other the way they used to do. But this is already so much more than she's allowed him to have in weeks. He wouldn't risk it now.

There was no threat here--Blue knew Omega would never hurt her. She wanted, oh how she wanted, to fall back into his arms and disappear beneath the wave of their mutual desire, only emerging when the need for breath became too desperate to ignore. He would always keep her safe, Blue knew that.

Except--but he hadn't been with her, then.

Blue sighed and pulled away to sit up on the edge of the bed, long wet hair hiding her face as she lowered her head, hunched morosely. She'd assured him that day that she'd be fine, she'd be back in a few hours, and not to worry. Well, she'd broken those promises all to hell, hadn't she?

But she was not going to cry. Not in self-pity. No. So she bit her lip to quell its trembling, and swallowed a sniffle before it could escape. She'd tried to apologize to Owen, for what had happened. And she still owed another, didn't she.

It took her a few tries, mostly the effort to keep her voice steady, but Blue finally choked out, "I'm...so-sorry," to the floor, knowing her mate would hear and hoping he'd understand.

His eyes had drifted shut, but they snap open as soon as she moves. Omega straightens up, alarmed by the sudden shift in her mood -- damn it, maybe even so little was too much? At times like this, he still ends up frozen. He wants to provide the comfort she needs, but is it safe to approach her or not?

There's a tension in her that means something is coming, and Omega braces himself for whatever it is, if she has something to say or if she's simply going to scream or try to claw him across the face. That last one hasn't happened in a while, at least not with the active aggression it used to have behind it. But he'd much rather she hurt him than suffer in worse pain alone--

When she finally does speak, he furrows his brow, the catch in her voice turning the whole room colder around him. He's behind her then, and once again ignores the risk to wrap her up tight in his arms, his body forming a not-entirely-unconscious shield between her and the rest of the world. It's always been an instinct to do that. Now it's a necessity.

"Stop," he says, pressing his face into her neck. "Don't give them that. Any of it."

Blue stiffened in his hold, still leery of even that tactile comfort, but she didn't jerk or shove him away. The words pressed into her skin were muffled, but she understood the truth of them regardless. Yet, it was so difficult not to fall headfirst into that trap; Blue felt herself teetering on its edge all the time, now.

The arms which held her were strong, familiar--Blue found herself clutching them with trembling hands, just for the support they offered. Omega's body was a solid warmth, a barrier between her and whatever madness lurked behind them. She shook with the effort not to give in to her sobs, trying not to appear as weak as she felt.

Blue shook her head, refusing to offer any excuses or explanations, any reasoning; none of those things mattered. What did matter was how badly she wanted him to hold her, to keep her together when she felt that at any moment she might fly completely apart.

He doesn't want to know what she thinks she's apologizing for, because no matter what it is, it's complete bullshit. Nothing that happened was her fault. Neither one of them could have known, and as much as he would love to credit his own skill entirely, most of Omega's success in getting her out of InGen's clutches on Isla Sorna was owed to the element of surprise. If he gone with her, or if she had stayed with him, both of them would have been taken -- or, Omega would have gotten himself killed to prevent it.

And anything that happened on that island was all on Hoskins, that absolute fucking bastard.

She doesn't push him away, so he doesn't let go, and when she touches his arms and he feels her shiver, he tightens his hold. Omega closes his eyes again, hidden against her shoulder.

"You're still mine." There's a low ferocity in his voice, like a warning to the very air around them. "I'm still yours."

A whisper--"I know." And she did. He was all hers, to do with as she wished. Blue knew that if she whirled around and demanded Omega's heart on a plate, he would unhesitatingly shred his own flesh to offer it to her. It was terrifying knowledge, a great responsibility, but it was hers. He had given it to her without question or qualm, and Blue now struggled with herself, wanting to be worthy of such a priceless gift once again.

And she was his. His to protect, cherish, worship above all things. She'd never before, not even secure in Owen's care, felt as safe as she did when she was nestled in Omega's possessive embrace. But it had become a difficult place to find peace, lately. Because she felt--used. Dirty. Soiled. Like less of an animal, not even worth defining. And Blue knew absolutely why. But there was no way she could speak of it, lest doing so make it real all over again.

A light rap at the door brought her up from her misery, stiffening all over again, and Delta's voice floated through: "Hey, guys! Pizza's here! Better come get it before Charlie and Chi do!"

Omega tenses at the same time, more from aggravation than any internal sense of panic; one way or another, other people manage to push their way into the quiet moments he shares with his mate more often than he used to be able to stand. Right now it grates on him almost as much as it did back then, and he honestly considers how good it would feel to give in to that anger again just to get a bit of goddamn privacy with Blue--

But, he stays still, and says nothing until he is sure that his voice will come out even. "Let me bring some back for you."

That...sounded like a great plan, actually. Blue loved her family, she really did, but dealing with them right now was more of a chore than she felt she could handle. At least Omega was offering, even if she wasn't all that hungry.

Not for pizza, anyway.

But she nodded, not trusting herself to speak, giving his arm a light squeeze before gently pulling away. Maybe once he'd returned, the rest of the world would just...go away till morning.

He loathes the sensation of her drawing away from him, no matter the circumstances, but these days it's especially sharp. What is wrong with her siblings, forcing them to eat junk food (it's not like he can just go and forage for something else, can he)? Now he has to leave Blue, even if it's only for a few minutes, just to bring back something that neither of them really want. Ugh, ugh, ugh.

But before she fully withdraws, he does manage to slip in one brief nuzzle against her shoulder. Then he slides off the bed and leaves in swift silence, intending to return as fast as inhumanly possible with whatever looks the least disgusting before her sisters and his brothers absolutely ravage the lot of it.

And his snarled impatience is likely to stop any questions in their tracks.

The door closed behind him, and Blue finally gave in to her compulsion to cry, hiding her sobs in the thick pillow and shaking with their intensity. She knew it wouldn't help much, squalling into a pillow, but she simply couldn't hold it in anymore. Every time she felt--or even anticipated--a touch upon her skin, his disgusting face swam in her vision, ruining any sort of pleasure or comfort which might be taken from just a simple gesture.

It was miserable. As tactile as their relationship was, Blue hated not being able to share that closeness with her mate. Oh, sometimes it was fine, she didn't think about the bad stuff and she could handle it. But other times, when it was soft, gentle and quiet, when there weren't any other distractions to pull her memory aside, that hated countenance swam before her, mocking, leering.

Blue pressed knuckles to her abdomen, against the twinging of a brand new scar, still shiny but thankfully fully healed. It made her stomach roil, nausea threatening, to even glance at the thought that the life she'd conceived very well might have been his. She gripped the pillow tighter, tips of talons piercing the white case. It wasn't enough.

Bolting up and to the bathroom, Blue fell to her knees on the cool tile, but thankfully managed not to wretch--there wasn't enough in her stomach to lose. But she shook with sobs and spasms, finally leaning her head on the edge of the bathtub, letting its coolness seep into her heated brain. Getting back up was a chore, but she did manage to wash her face and make it back to the slightly rumpled bed by the time she heard Omega rustling at the door.

The other four returned halfway through Omega's abrupt, short-tempered process of selecting the slices of pizza he felt would offend their stomachs the least -- damn it, he thinks he'd rather go hungry, but if Blue is willing to eat it then he wants to encourage her to do so. His mate is certainly worth the not-insignificant effort of choking down some heavy oil and grease. Chi and Psi always know better than to get in his way, and Echo and Charlie back off with the right motivation. Blue isn't there to see him snarl, so it's fine. Basically never happened.

He also steals two bottles of water and one bottle of juice, and with this cargo he returns to their room. Blue's scent hasn't drifted off anywhere else, which means she hasn't left the room, which is good. Omega obviously can't say for sure what's going on inside Blue's head without her telling him, but if she runs off again that will only take it from bad to worse.

When he gets back inside, however, he closes the door behind him, takes one look at her, and immediately says-- "What happened?"

The stuff smelled decent, at least. It was the sausage, she figured. She blinked when Omega came back in, looked over at her, and barked out a worried demand; Blue frowned, hurriedly tucking a stray lock of hair behind an ear.

"--nothing," she stated flatly, crossing arms over her chest. "I'm--all right." She wasn't, but there was nothing she could do about it now, unfortunately. "Just felt a little nauseous all of a sudden." Which was the truth, she'd wanted to throw up her toenails, really.

The water and juice were wonderful, though. Blue immediately slid out of bed and made for the juice carton, swallowing several gulps before leaving the rest for her mate. The pizza slices she eyed with suspicion, but did manage to take a few bites from one of the smaller, meat-slathered slices, wrinkling her nose as she chewed and swallowed. It wasn't bad, as take-out pizza went, but lately, all food seemed to taste like dirt to her palate.

Well, that's a blatant lie, but Omega can't exactly start pressuring her about it now. She's never really all right, is she, and the best and worst of it comes and goes. But awareness doesn't keep him from watching her carefully as he lays the pizza out like an offering.

The pizza is edible and that is all Omega will say in its defense. What's important is that Blue is eating it, so Omega takes a piece for himself and stretches out on the bed with his back to the headboard so he can eat it. He takes a water bottle, but leaves the juice for now in case she decides she wants more.

"Next time, we pick the road trip menu," he grumbles underneath his breath between chewing.

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