Chapter Text
Chapter One
San Diego, California
Hotel del Coronado
The symposium had been going on for four interminable days. Ross’s presentation debunking myths in popular dinosaur media would be on day six, and then he planned to join Rachel and Emma for some “good old-fashioned family fun” (his words). Meanwhile, Emma was going stir-crazy and driving Rachel insane in the process. Every other sentence was a variation of “I’m bored” and “I’m so bored”.
Rachel had run out of ways to entertain her twelve-year-old daughter. Beach trips caused freckles and since Emma wanted to be a model (not anytime soon in Rachel’s mind and not at all in Ross’s), having blemish-free skin was important to her. The Birch aquarium was out too because apparently if you’d seen one fish, you’d seen them all. Shopping was pointless since her dad still treated her like she was five. (A few days before, Ross presented Emma with a custom-made pink tee-shirt that depicted a dinosaur wearing an obnoxiously large cowboy hat, with the words “Tyrannosaurus Tex” printed on it. Enough said.)
“Can we start the vacation part of the vacation already?” Emma whined. Her complaining had ratcheted up in intensity this afternoon.
Rachel sighed. “Remember the deal we made with your dad when we tagged along for the ride. We would hang out while he did his dino thing, and then we'd do family stuff.”
“I won’t survive two more days!” The way things were going, two more hours, seemed like a stretch. Rachel would have real chaos on her hands if she didn’t do something soon.
“Fine, Emma. You win. I’ll call your dad and ask him to come back to the hotel early today.”
“Can you also convince him to take the last two days off? I want to go to Sea World. I heard the rollercoasters there are amazing! I don’t want to wait anymore to have fun.”
“I’ll call him right now.” Rachel withdrew her phone from the pocket of her denim overalls and wandered into the adjoining room as she dialed.
There was no answer at first after three rings. She was about to hang up when Ross’s voice suddenly came over the line. “Hey, Rachel,” he said. “You should be here! The last presentation on theropod mating habits blew my mind. I mean, ka-boom!”
“Wow, that sounds … fun.”
“You have no idea. Did you know theropods had a lekking system?”
“I don’t even know what a lekking system is.”
“This stuff isn’t like Jurassic Park, Rachel. It’s so much better!” It sounded like he was bursting at the seams with excitement. She couldn’t remember the last time he was this animated about anything.
Rachel coughed. “I know you’re having a bangin’ time at the conference, Ross, but the natives are restless back here at the hotel. I can’t seem to keep Emma entertained. Could you please come back here now and do it for me?”
“I can’t leave now. There’s a lecture on the advancements in taphonomy, and I don’t want to miss it.”
“Okay, I understand that, but our daughter misses you.”
“I know. And I miss her too. There’s only two days left. After I present on Saturday, we can all go to Sea World, like we planned.”
“Honestly, I don’t think Emma will last that long. Neither will my sanity, she added silently.
“Take her to the beach again. She likes the water. You used to call her your little water baby.”
“Freckling, remember? She has your pale man DNA. She doesn’t tan, she just gets freckles, which are ‘the worst thing ever’.”
“There’s got to be something else you two can do together.”
“So, that’s a ‘no’ on playing hooky for the rest of the event.” It wasn’t a question.
“Come on, don’t worry. Two days will fly right by.”
She sighed. “Okay, we’ll just have to find something to do.”
“You could take her on a ride along the coast, top up, of course, so she won’t get sunburned.”
Rachel thought it over. “That might work…”
“You two will have a blast. Hey, I’ve got to go now. The lecture is starting in fifteen minutes, and I want to get a front row seat to the action. You can see the diagrams better up there.”
“Oh... have buckets of fun."
They said their goodbyes and disconnected. They didn't say, “I love you”. They rarely did anymore.
Emma bounced into the room the minute Rachel pocketed her phone. “What did Dad say? Is he coming back early tonight?”
Rachel shook her head. “”Fraid not, kiddo.”
“Ugh, I knew it. Now I can officially die of boredom!” She flopped down onto the bed with a dramatic sigh.
“You’re not going to die.” Rachel smiled in spite of herself. “Your aunt Monica is right. Pre-teens can be so dramatic.”
“I am not being dramatic, Mom. Oh, and I’m practically thirteen. Which means I’m technically a teenager. And that means I am almost a grown up.”
“Don’t remind me.”
Before Emma could really get fired up, Rachel spoke. “How would you like to go for a drive?”
Emma looked vaguely interested. “Depends. Are we going somewhere fun?”
“Of course, we are. Fun is our middle name.”
“Oh, Mom,” Emma sighed. “So, where are we going?”
“We’re going to see your uncle Joey.” The answer surprised her almost as much as it did Emma. She hadn't seen Joey in a long time, and they barely talked over the phone either. She didn't know why she pulled Joey's name out of the air like that, but it felt right somehow.
Emma’s eyes danced. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“So, Hollywood?"
Rachel nodded. "Hollywood."
"I’m going to Hollywood!” Emma squealed. “I know I went there a few times when I was a little kid, but I barely remember it. This is so awesome! I can’t wait to tell Misty Rogers. She thinks she's so hot because she has big boobs, but I get to go meet celebrities. She is going to be so jealous, her face will crack! When can we leave?”
“Depends. How fast can you pack?”
“Really fast!”
Emma galloped from the room. Rachel called after her, “I’ll text your dad and tell him where we’re going. He would freak out if he returned to an empty suite.”
“Okay, Mom, whatever you say,” Emma called back to her. Rachel could hear her humming in the other room.
Rachel picked up her suitcase, which she’d never managed to actually finish unpacking.
It was time to go to Hollywood and see Joey again.