Bringing Back The Past

The Calm Before The Storm

"I'll stay right here, okay?"

It had been a rough day for Indiana. A few of the dinosaurs had gotten sick and he wasn't entirely sure what was wrong with them. He had worked for awhile and done a few different tests on them but the cause of their sickness still eluded him. It also didn't help Claire had been on his case about getting the dinosaurs feeling better. She always cared about profits and how the park was doing, not about how the dinosaurs were actual animals and needed time to heal before being put back on display. Indiana wasn't a fan of that and almost snapped at Claire but held himself back since he didn't want to risk losing his job.

He had stayed late to try and see what was wrong with the dinosaurs and was now dragging his feet as he entered his living space on the island. He was exhausted and feeling terrible. Most of the dinosaurs were still sick and he was at a loss for what was wrong. His dog Scout walked over to him as he fell face first into his couch and let out a long sigh. Scout nudged his hand and Indiana brought it up to pet the fuzzy dog's head.

"This job isn't easy, Scout." He muttered into the couch. The young service dog simply tilted her head at her owner as she seemed curious about what he was saying. Indiana lifted his head as he turned it so he could look at Scout. His hand dropped off of her head and down to just brush the carpeted floor below the couch.

"There's so much expected of me and the other workers, we don't get many breaks." He spoke quietly as his eyelids began to droop. Scout simply sat by Indiana as his eyes closed and he fell asleep. Once she was sure he was fully asleep she walked back over to her bed and laid down before falling asleep herself.

----

Indiana was somewhere in a dinosaur paddock, he wasn't sure how he got there or which paddock it was. He tried to move his feet but he was stuck, frozen in place.

"Hello?" He called out into the paddock. However there wasn't an answer as he only heard the wind blow through the trees surrounding him. Suddenly the ground shook below his frozen feet and he began to grow worried. He couldn't see anything through the trees but the rumbling continued and slowly grew stronger.

It slowly got harder for Indiana to breathe and he knew what was happening; panic attack. He tried to move but a T-Rex coming through the trees caused him to freeze once again. The T-Rex seemed to stare at him before letting out a low growl. It slowly stalked closer to Indiana before it's muzzle was right next to his face. Indiana let out a whimper as it seemed to be smelling him. The T-Rex then suddenly pulled it's head back and Indiana relaxed before the T-Rex suddenly opened it's mouth and chomped down on him.

Indiana woke with a start that caused him to fall off the couch he had fallen asleep on. His eyes were wide open and he was covered in a cold sweat. He still couldn't breathe and was staring at the floor below him. He shook violently as he tried to push himself up but only managed to get on his side before his arms collapsed below him.

Scout was up a few seconds later after hearing the thud and the labored breaths of Indiana. She was next to him instantly and saw he was already in the middle of a panic attack. The service dog quickly ran from the room and into the bathroom and grabbed a pill bottle off the counter. She came back and set the bottle next to Indiana so he could pick it up.

Indiana moved a shaky hand to grip the pill bottle and slowly used his other to get it open. The pills shook around in the bottle as he poured two into his hand before slowly bringing them to his mouth and taking them. However the medicine wouldn't calm his panic attack completely so he tried to get a word out to Scout.

"L-Lowery." He choked out as he attempted to push himself up again. Scout tilted her head as if she was processing the word.

"Lowery." Indiana managed to state sternly before coughing and Scout understood that time and quickly walked to the door of Indiana's living space and opened the door herself before sprinting out.

The dog ran as fast as her legs could take her to the living space of Indiana's closest friend. Once she reached the door she began to scratch at it and whine, not wanting to leave Indiana alone for too long. A few moments later a very tired Lowery was opening the door, bedhead and all. He peered down at the dog at his door and recognized her instantly.

"Scout? What are you doing here girl?" He asked while squatting down to scratch the service dog's head. However Scout just whined and looked back towards where she had come from. It took Lowery a few moments but soon the realization hit him like a train.

"It's Indiana, isn't it?" He asked, not expecting an answer from the dog as he hastily grabbed his key before shutting his door and following Scout back to Indiana's place.

Indiana had managed to sit up after Scout had ran out but beyond that he was still shaking and having trouble breathing. He had his usually bright eyes shut while his heart beat against his chest when he felt something furry against his hand and slowly opened them to see Scout putting her head in his hand. His eyes then cast upward to see Lowery entering and his eyes landing on Indiana. Lowery could see Indiana was in bad shape and was sitting by the other male's side in seconds.

"Are you okay?" Lowery asked in a calm, hushed voiced to hopefully help Indiana calm down. Indiana was slow to shake his head as he managed to take in a deep breath.

"Nope... nightmare... panic." He said in a shaking voice while looking at Lowery. Lowery took a hold of Indiana's hand and remembered what he needed to do to help Indiana.

"Okay, you're gonna be okay, I promise. Just breathe with me." Lowery said before taking a deep breath which Indiana followed suite with.

"That's good, just focus on me. Focus on right now." Lowery instructed and Indiana simply nodded while gripping Lowery's hand tighter. Lowery breathed along with Indiana for a few moments longer before Indiana was fine on his own. Indiana was slowly calming down and his shakiness had gone down.

"Please, don't go." Indiana suddenly spoke in a sad tone as his voice wavered. Lowery was taken back slightly by the question but nodded a few moments later.

"I'll stay right here, okay?" He spoke while moving his head so he could look at Indiana's face. Indiana simply nodded before he hugged Lowery in thanks. Lowery tensed for a few moments before relaxing and hugging the other male back. There was nothing else said between the two.

Everything that was needed to be said was spoken through the hug and unspoken gestures. Indiana had his face nuzzled into Lowery's shoulder soon fell asleep like that. Lowery wasn't sure what to do after Indiana fell asleep before grabbing the pillows off of the couch along with the blanket there and laying down on the floor with Indiana and putting a pillow under his head. Lowery laid down with him and pulled the blanket over himself and Indiana before he slowly drifted off as well.