Title: His Parent's Brag, Chapter 5
Author: TalliW
Characters: Jenny Lewis, Nick Cutter, Abby, Connor, Sarah, Becker, Lester 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.
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Jenny couldn't help but smile as she threw a brief glance over to Cutter.
"One for me and one for you," Cutter said before he shoveled a strawberry into his mouth while he offered a fruit on his outstretched palm at the same time to the little dinosaur sitting in his lap.
With a happy "Eeek" the Hypsilophodon devoured the fruit, then looked hopefully up to Nick to see if more was forthcoming. It took four more strawberries before Cutter remembered who had bought the fruit in the first place, and that it was discourteous to eat all the strawberries without offering Jenny at least one.
"Want some?" he asked Jenny. "They’re really good."
"Perhaps later. I have to concentrate on the street."
"Wait."
Cutter grasped an especially large strawberry and pushed it against Jenny's lips. Jenny automatically opened her mouth and savoured the tasty fruit.
Cutter was right. The fruit tasted delicious.
Withstanding the impulse to close her eyes and give herself to the wonderful flavour as long as possible, Jenny quickly swallowed the strawberry down and stepped on the brakes. She almost had driven through a red light.
While waiting for the traffic light to change, she unconsciously flickered her tongue over her upper lip to catch the tiny drop of strawberry juice Cutter had smeared there.
Cutter took it as a clue that she wanted more and within a moment Jenny's mouth was filled with another strawberry.
The strawberry was as delicious as the one before. This time Jenny took the time to enjoy the taste, resulting in a honking fest from the drivers behind her because she was missing the green light because of it.
Ignoring Cutter's chuckle, she hastily started the car again, cursing the flush spreading over her cheeks.
Cutter continued feeding her strawberries until she stopped the car in front of her house. The light flush on her cheeks had turned into a full-blown red face by then.
Whilst Jenny stowed the groceries away, Cutter fed the Hypsilophodon a few leaves of corn salad, clearly enjoying how the prehistoric creature devoured the food.
"Well, tiny tot, that tastes nice, doesn't it?
The little dinosaur gave a loud "Aeeek" and snapped after the leaf Cutter dangled teasingly over its head.
When it had missed the leaf for the third time it had had enough and showed his dipleasure with a cacophony of "Eeeee eeeeee eeeees", which prompted Jenny to send Cutter a deadly glare.
Cutter quickly dropped the leaf and watched how it vanished into the snout of the ever-hungry Hypsilophodon.
After giving Jenny an apologetic smile, Cutter declared, "We should name it. Every child needs a name."
Jenny only rolled her eyes but refrained herself from pointing out that naming was a human trait and the little child he was refering to was definitely not human.
"How about Harry?" Cutter asked.
Jenny frowned and glanced at the little dinosaurs. "He doesn't look like a Harry. And how do you know its a he?"
For a moment Cutter was baffled then he answered self-confidently, "I'm sure it’s a guy. A female would be more delicately built."
He bent down and tried to beckon the Hypsilophodon closer. "Harry. Come to me, Harry."
"Eeeek," the small creature squeaked and hid behind a chair.
"Seems you're right. He doesn't like the name," Cutter sighed. "Donald?"
"Cutter, please... What will come next? Dagobert Duck?"
"Why not? That has a nice ring."
"For a comic figure perhaps but not for our child." Realising what she had just said Jenny wanted to smack herself for her faux pas.
Cutters face lifted up in glee.
"And which noble name would the proud mummy give our little one?" he teased.
Jenny huffed in annoyance and looked at the little dinosaur who peeked around the corner of the chair. They really should give it a name. Refering to him as little one, cutie, dino, crazy runner, or in Cutter's case as tiny tot or baby Hypsilophodon wasn't very useful after all. That way it would never learn to react on a call.
"William? Jeffrey? David?" she tried but the dinosaur hat vanished behind the chair again.
Cutter began to laugh. "It doesn't seem to care for your names either."
Jenny ignored him and tried again. "Hadrian?" she asked tentatively.
The Hypsilophodon's head appeared on the other side of the chair and prying dark eyes gazed up to her.
"That would make more sense if it was a hadrosaur," Cutter commented, still chuckling faintly.
"Shut up, Cutter! Your comic character names weren't working either. At least he has responded positively this time. And it's a big name."
"But he isn't really convinced yet. Try another one."
"Maybe later. I can't come up with any other suitable name right now. I was never good at naming pets."
Cutter mustered her amused as she leaned against the kitchen counter, desperate trying to stiffle a yawn. Neither of them had got much sleep last night thanks to the dinosaur baby.
"Why don't we just call him Hypsilo and be done with it. He's a Hypsilophodon after all," he suggested.
"You are a nuisance yet in spite of that your parents named you otherwise. Hypsilo sounds like a expletive not like a name for a sweet little creature. How about Andrew or James?"
"You are kidding? You want to name him after Lester?"
"What's wrong with James? It's a nice name for a boy."
Suddenly the baby dinosaur dashed forward and huddled up against Jenny's leg.
Cutter didn't know if the small creature had decided it had had enough of that nonsense and was looking for parental ministrations or if it really liked the name. But Jenny took that reaction for consent. She picked the Hypsilophodon up and put it on the kitchen counter.
"That's it. From now on your name is James. Do you understand that?"
The Hypsilophodon tilted its head and looked at Jenny with big round eyes.
"Aye, James Hypsilophodon-Lewis-Cutter," Cutter said with a smirk and patted the dinosaur's back.
"Cutter, you’re exaggerating. Little James is entirely sufficient."
"Gaeek," the Hypsilophodon chirped, affirmingly, and snuggled his head against Jenny's belly.
"Okay, that's settled then. Off to work now before Lester comes up with the idea to cut our salary."
With that Cutter lifted the baby dinosaur up from the kitchen counter and put it back into his jacket pocket.
"Right now I'm more worried about Lester's reaction when he gets wind of Little James than about the size of my salary. And he will learn of it, one way or another. At the very least when Little James gets edgy because we work in separate offices."
"Not if we visit each other in turn. I go to your office to bring you my report. You come to see me because I’ve forgotten to sign it and so on. That way Little James sees us both regularly and won't make a fuss. I'm sure we'll find enough reasons to visit each other without Lester smelling a rat."
"Or he will suspect we’re having an affair," Jenny muttered under her breath before she followed Cutter into the hallway.
"Busy night? Sarah asked after Jenny had yawned for the third time in a row.
"Little James kept me awake all night," Jenny replied absentmindly.
Sarah's eyes grew wide at that answser.
"Little James? I thought you and Cutter...." Sarah trailed off, confused.
"The dinosaur was twitchy so Cutter came over with him. But don't get me started on Cutter's demeanour. That man is impossible. He snores like a bear with a sinus condition. In the morning he used up the last of my bread and coffee without even waiting for me. And then he has the audacity to blame me for what happened with Little James. Not to mention the embarrassing episode in the supermarket," Jenny ranted, glad she could get finally vent her suppressed anger about Cutter to someone. "Then just as I was at the point of strangling him he gets all nice and feeds me strawberries. I really don't know who's more taxing, Cutter or Little James. At least Little James is cute with his little green legs and his little snoot."
"Oh, Little James is the Hypsilophodon," Sarah said, still reeling from the things Jenny had just revealed about herself and Cutter.
"Yes, of course. Cutter insisted on naming him. What did you think I was talking about? Never mind. I guess I don't want to know."
Before Sarah could say anything else, Cutter showed up in the doorway, still in his jacket even though the ARC was air-conditioned and at a reasonable temperature.
"Excuse me, Jenny, have you got a moment to take a look over my report? Just to make sure I haven’t missed something important and have to redo the whole thing."
Without any retort, Jenny marched with Cutter out of the room, followed by an odd look from Sarah.
"We have a problem," Cutter announced as soon they were out of Sarah's hearing ranch. "Little James is leaking."
"That was to be expected with the amount of water he was drinking," Jenny answered, not quite getting what the problem was about.
"He did it in my jacket pocket."
"Oh. Well, then put him in the other pocket."
"I already have. He’s soiled that too. And not just with pee. Bloody hell!" Cutter suddenly cursed and quickly opened his jacket. There in the inside breast pocket sat the somewhat bedraggled-looking Hypsilophodon who apparently had just relieved itself again. Jenny could see how the stain on the fabric of the pocket was steadily growing larger.
Cutter gave the little dinosaur a dirty look. This time his shirt had been made wet as well.
"Here! I'm running out of pockets." Cutter snatched the Hypsilophodon and shoved it unceremonially into Jenny's arms. "I'm going to get cleaned up. Hopefully I still have a spare shirt in my looker."
Jenny craddled the dinosaur gently to her chest and hurried toward her office, mentally praying that no one came along the corridor at this moment.
"Gaeek," Little James uttered as he snuggled in satisfaction into the warmth his mother's body provided. That should have taught his sire not to keep him away from his mother so long.