Jeremy was a little uncertain about dating Heather. He hasn't had a lot of success with women, though a large part of that was due to his obsessive dedication to his work. And while he knew Heather from college reasonably well, it just never occurred to Jeremy that Heather had any actual feelings towards him. Compared to that, the fact that Heather was now a dinosaur seemed like small potatoes.
Jeremy wasn't sure he was ready for a real romantic date, but at the very least, he and Heather could spend some time together. However, their first outing would not just be the two of them. Jeremy promised his little sister, Polly, that they would go to the Halloween Carnival and it was high time he did something with her. Heather would just have to tag along with them. But first, she needed to make amends.
"Ok, your first impression was rough, but you can still make up for it," said Jeremy, "Just remember to be polite and apologize."
"Ok, ok, it's not like I'm meeting your parents," said Heather jokingly. She winced and said, "And I'm already putting foot in my mouth."
"Just...think through what you're about to say before you say it," said Jeremy. They had reached Marcy's house where Polly was staying. He knocked on the door and waited for an answer.
The door flew open and Jeremy was nearly crushed by a wall of white fur. It took him a moment to realize it was Polly, about the same time that his ribs started creaking. "Jeremy, you're here!" said Polly excitedly, "I was hoping that you'd come to visit."
"I'm keeping...my promise..." Jeremy wheezed, his bones under too much pressure from her hug.
Heather cleared her throat and said, "Polly, you're squeezing him too tight."
Polly released her grip before saying, "Oh, sorry." Then she looked at Heather and asked, "Why are you here?" It didn't sound accusatory, but it didn't sound friendly either.
"That's a good question." Marcy was at the door now and her tone was definitely accusatory.
"I, well, I came to apologize," said Heather, "I should haven't snapped at you two, especially Polly. I've been under a lot of pressure lately and it seemed like you were ganging up on Jeremy. I had no right to be acting like a bi-" She paused when she remembered Polly was there. "Like a big jerk. I'm really sorry about that."
"Do you care about Jeremy?" asked Polly.
Heather blinked at that. Polly was a little sharper than she looked. "Yes, I do care about him. If you don't mind, I'd like to join you and Jeremy for Halloween," she said.
"Out of the question," said Marcy sharply.
"Marcy, please. I would not even entertain this notion if I weren't personally sure that Heather poses no danger to Polly," said Jeremy.
"How could you think about being around her?" asked Marcy.
Jeremy gave her a stern look and said, "I think you of all people should know the value of inner beauty over appearances."
Marcy opened her mouth then closed it. She couldn't argue with that. Before the outbreak, she was only a 9 year-old girl, even if she was much, much smarter than average. She was very out of place in the grade she had skipped forward to. But then the Outbreak not only changed her, but aged her up to be a matching mate for Chilly. Chilly could see Marcy's inner beauty even before she was transformed. She should really try to see further beyond Heather's monstrous appearance. Perhaps she was just protective of Polly because they were closer in age than they appeared.
"Marcy, what's all the hubbub?" asked a voice behind her. Marci turned to see her mother there. Her mother looked past her and said, "Oh, Dr. Green. You're finally here." To Jeremy and Heather, Marci and her mother looked a lot alike. They could almost be sister. But the Animalian Virus did close the age gap between a lot of people.
"Nice to meet you, Mrs..." started Jeremy before glancing at the name beside the door above the bear decal. "White? I'm sorry, but is that really-"
"Yes, it's our family name. And yes, it was already 'White' before Marcy got converted. I guess we're lucky she didn't become a black bear," said Mrs. White.
"Mom..." grumbled Marcy.
"Perhaps we should go inside," suggested Mrs. White.
"I'm not sure I would be able to fit," said Heather a little dubiously.
"We've had the house remodeled after we converted. You're not that much taller," said Mrs. White.
"Mom, we can't let her in the house," said Marcy.
"Marceline, I've raised you better than to make presumptions of people," said Mrs. White. She looked at Heather asked, "You will behave yourself, right?"
"I'd sooner eat my own arm than harm a hair on Polly," said Heather solemnly.
"Ok, come in. Watch your head," said Mrs. White. As Jeremy walked in, he could feel the drop in temperature. It only made sense. Polar bears needed colder environments, though not desperately so. Heather felt the drop in temperature as she walked in. She shivered a bit, her scaly skin being more sensitive to cold.
"Watcha got there?" asked Polly, looking at the bag Heather was holding.
"Oh, a little something for us," said Heather, pulling out a few coloring books. While most of them were obviously for younger kids, one of them was an adult coloring book that was more scaled to Heather's size. "I thought we could do some coloring together," said Heather she brought out some colored pencils.
"You do coloring books too?" asked Polly with surprise.
"Well, more than I used to be," said Heather, "I'm still getting used to my new hands and these coloring books help me get better." She held out her four-fingered hand for Polly to see. Polly put her hand inside it. While her bear paw was larger than a human's hand, it was still smaller than Heather's, though that may be because Polly wasn't fully grown.
"You'll get better," said Polly, "Anyone who likes Jeremy can't be all bad."
"Polly, you mind if I speak with Mrs. White for a while?" asked Jeremy.
"Ok, we're gonna be coloring," said Polly, leading Heather to another room, the Dinotopian having to crouch a bit to follow.
Jeremy, Marcy, and Mrs. White went to the dining room and sat down. "Would you like some coffee?" asked Mrs. White.
"I might in a little bit," said Jeremy, rubbing his hands for warmth, "First of all, I want to thank you for taking such good care of Polly."
"It would have been better if you had visited her yourself," said Marcy coolly.
"Yes, but I've been very busy with my work," said Jeremy.
"We tried to call you several times, to ask if Polly needed anything in particular," said Marcy accusingly.
"And...I ignored those calls. Because I thought you were calling to taunt me about being better family to Polly than I was," said Jeremy.
"Dr. Green, I'm surprised at you," said Mrs. White, "Why would you think such a thing?"
"Because I've been...very small-minded about Animalians," admitted Jeremy, "I didn't despise them, but I thought that they had a very narrow position in society and I was worried that Polly would have no real future as one. And I've only recently started to see there is more to Animalia than the marginalized area I thought they were confined to."
"Does that have to do with Heather?" asked Mrs. White.
"She...actually came after that," said Jeremy, "She just told me she's attracted to me and...I'm still sorting out my feelings."
"She tried to eat two kids," said Marcy accusingly.
"I know, I know. But she sincerely regrets it now. Her instincts were clouding her judgment," said Jeremy, "I'm not trying to shoehorn her into your family. I'm just saying she's not the threat she used to be."
"And you're taking her and Polly out for Halloween," said Mrs. White.
"Until Polly gets tired and wants to come back home," said Jeremy, "Heather's not going to scare her." He paused before adding, "Well, unless there will be kids wanting to be scared by her. You know how kids are on Halloween."
"I do," said Mrs. White, "Well, there is something else I'd like to discuss. Greg and I have been talking and we're considering officially adopting Polly." Jeremy gave her a look of shock. Marcy looked just as surprised at that. "Now before you get into an uproar, we're not trying to steal Polly from you. We just feel that with your career, you're not always going to be around for Polly. And if Heather is going to be around, that could possibly mean even less time. Polly has shown to be a perfectly reasonable child so you haven't raised her badly so far. But I think she needs a more structured environment to grow up in. I'm not forbidding you to come here, but I think it might be best for Polly to stay with us."
"Mom, I think we're asking a bit too much," said Marcy, dropping her ice queen act, "Jeremy misses her a lot and he's still very sore about, well, us fostering her."
"Nothing's set in stone yet," said Mrs. White, "Besides, it's Polly's decision more than anyone's." Then she turned back to Jeremy and said, "And you can't be burdened with Polly all your life. You are taking care of her, but you're not taking as much care of yourself. I'm not asking you to become a polar bear or a... a..." She paused and gave an uncertain look towards where Polly and Heather went.
"Syntixisaurus rex. It's not a real dinosaur's name, but it's easier to say," said Jeremy.
"Well, don't feel pressured to do one thing or another," said Mrs. White, "There is not real rush to do this and we're happy to keep fostering Polly without adopting her if that's what you wish. But I would at least like us to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas together. Just consider what might be best for Polly."
Jeremy nodded. Perhaps was better off with her own kind. It wasn't as such a closed door as Jeremy had thought. But it did make him think of the vial of Polly's blood back at Horizon. He didn't feel a strong urge to quaff it, but he wasn't yet sure if it was stronger than his feelings for Heather, whatever they are.
"But for right now, you're getting ready to go trick-or-treating," said Mrs. White, "I think you'll like Polly's costume."
"What is it?" asked Jeremy.
"Elsa from Frozen," said Marcy. She gave an apologetic shrug and said, " Cliche, I know, but it's still extremely popular."
"Yes, Polly is fixated with that movie," said Jeremy dryly, "I would have hoped she'd at least gone with Anna for variety's sake."
"I'm sure you'll see plenty of both," said Mrs White with a wry smile. After that, she got Jeremy his coffee.