When Tim reached across the table to pick up a knife to cut himself a slice of cake, Lex saw the red bandanas tied around his hands and recognized them as Dr. Grant’s. The second thought that crossed her mind was “duh, he burned his hands on the wire, why didn’t you convince him to jump?” Lex put down her fork, simply staring at Tim’s hands, which were holding a fork delicately, not using his palms. Tim swallowed, and glanced up at Lex, turning his head to one side when he saw that she was looking at his hands.

“Uh, Lex? What are you staring at?” he asked, also putting his silverware down, letting it clink against the plate. Lex turned away sheepishly, not wanting Tim to know that she was so scared of what happened earlier. “Are you looking at my hands? Dr. Grant soaked his bandana in water to help the burns, you watched him do it. You remember that right?”

Lex nodded imperceptibly, now unable to take her eyes off of the rest of the electrocuting evidence: his hair was sticking up, the skin on his wrists and fingers were turned black. She remembered watching him fall through the air after receiving the electric shock, his heart…stopping. If it hadn’t been for Dr. Grant, who knows what would’ve happened to Tim. “Sorry, it’s just…” she trailed off, trying to find what she wanted to say. “You nearly died.” A tear came down her cheek.

Tim followed her eyes to the blackened flesh around her palms, which still burned slightly; only his ankles hurt now, giving him a limp. “What? I’m just a little burned, you know, like a piece of toast,” he added, recalling the nickname Dr. Grant gave him. “Anybody would after being electrocuted.”

“Tim, it was more then just being a little burned,” Lex choked out, a lump developing in her throat like she was about to cry. “You were…dead for a second, before Dr. Grant gave you CPR. Do you know terrible it was to see you in the grass, after being electrocuted, on the brink of death? I was so scared of losing you, especially after the T. Rex attack. Timmy, I really care about you. Your my brother.”  She said.

It was hard seeing his sister cry. Tim didn’t know how to console her, as Lex covered her face with her hands to weep quietly. The more he thought about, the more he realized that he really did care about his sister, even if she annoyed him sometimes. He had been terrified during the T. Rex attack, and all he had thought about was if Lex was all right. Tim didn’t remember much about being electrocuted; he only recalled feeling the shock before he fell, and seeing Lex with tears streaming down her cheeks when he woke up. “I’m scared to lose you too. You’re my sister, and I love you.”

Lex swiped at her eyes, finding that Tim was trying to smile, which, for some reason, made her want to smile too. She got out of her chair, kneeling down to hug him, pulling him close, never wanting to let him go. Maybe they could stay here forever, sharing this single moment where they loved each other like siblings should. “I love you, Timmy.”

After they broke away, Lex beamed for real, and Tim returned this bright smile. They went back to eating, and Lex scooped up a spoonful of lime green Jell-O, still smiling, momentarily forgetting where they were and what was after them. A silhouette moved on the wall behind Tim’s head, and Lex impulsively began to tremble, the Jell-O shaking in her spoon.

Oh, no, oh please no. Lex thought, the sinking feeling she got in her stomach.

It was a Velociraptor.

Lex shot up, grabbed Tim’s hand, and they ran into the kitchen, back into another life-or-death situation, leaving behind the warmth of the hug they had shared just moments ago.