Jurassic Park (Norminah)

Chp. 6: Carnivore Breakout

As the vehicles made their way back to the visitor center, night fell, heavy rain pouring down while the sky erupted with thunder and lightning. Michael stayed in the first truck with Chloe and Halle, while Normani and Victoria stayed in the second truck. Victoria was securing her hair in a ponytail while Normani looked out the window, lost in her thoughts.

"You got any kids?" she asked Victoria.

"A daughter," Victoria smiled. "Love her to death. I love kids. Anything at all can and does happen."

The brunette pulled down the small mirror in her visor as she primped herself.

"Same with wives," she continued.

Normani looked her way in slight shock.

"You were married?"

"For a while," Victoria chuckled, bringing the visor back up. "It didn't really work out in the end, though. Her and I wanted different things at the time. And of course, we didn't want to bring all that drama onto our little girl. So, we divorced."

"I'm sorry," Normani said. "It must've been rough for you guys. Especially your daughter."

"Thankfully, she wasn't old enough to really understand everything that was going on between me and her mother. We didn't want a messy divorce, so everything that was in her name, she kept. Same with me. And we both share custody of our kid. Last I heard, she was out in Paris. She liked to call herself a global explorer."

Normani chuckled.

"I can see you have a type. You definitely have a thing for adventurous women."

"Guilty."

The two women shared a laugh before a comfortable silence fell. The sound of the rain was soothing, though, technically, they were in the middle of a nasty tropical storm.

"So," Victoria said, "you and Dr. Hansen...are you two..."

"Married?" Normani asked. "No. At least, not yet. That's my plan, though."

"I only ask because – and correct me if I'm wrong – it seems like you don't see kids in your future."

"It's that obvious, huh?"

Victoria chuckled.

"Watching you try to avoid the twins was kind of funny," the ebony chuckled. "And it seems that Dinah is a natural with them. Do you think your stance on having kids could change?"

Normani looked away in thought. While she didn't really have a desire to have children of her own, she knew that Dinah did. If they couldn't agree on that, there was no guarantee that the possibility of a marriage between them would work. And Normani wanted so badly to have a future with Dinah.

"If it helps," Victoria said, breaking the ebony out of her thoughts, "having your own kid is different than tolerating someone else's. It's a whole new ball game when it's your own – especially when you have one with someone you love."

Normani smiled. All of a sudden, the trucks jerked to a complete stop. The lights along the road went out, along with the vehicles' headlights. Normani had her hands on the steering wheel when it happened, so she immediately retracted them.

"I didn't touch anything, did I?" she said.

"No," Victoria answered, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "you didn't. We just...stopped..."

The two women instinctively looked toward the truck in front of them. Chloe and Halle turned around to look back at them with worrisome eyes. Victoria mouthed to them to stay calm, while Normani dug out a nearby flashlight and waved it at them, telling them to locate one and keep it handy. She smiled when Halle found it and gave it to Chloe. Back in the control room, Ray stared at his terminal in confusion and slight panic. One by one, each row of colored lights began to shut off on his screen.