Title: Hunger of the Titanosaurs
Fandom: Prehistoric Park
Rating: Pg
Character/s: Nigel Marven, Bob, Titanosaurs
Pairing/s: N/a
Length: 583 words
Warnings: None
Major Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Friendship,
Author notes: Also for the Hurt/Comfort Bingo May Challenge prompt "Comfort Food or Item/Feeding Someone"
Summary: Bob was having a good day, until they showed up again...

~ + ~

Bob wipes the sweat from his brow with a sigh. Today had been good, all things considered. Terence and Matilda were quiet and well-behaved. The Terra Bird hadn't broken out again. He had managed to get through all his tasks with ease.

Now all that was left to be done was planting trees for the Titanosaurs.

Bob grabs another tree from the pallet. Firmly, but gently, he grabs it by the base of the thin trunk, and pulls the sapling free of its pot. With care, he pops it into the hole he'd dug for it and fills the hole back in.

Bob looks up as he hears the all-too-familiar rumbling bellow. The Titanosaurs had broken out again. It had been nearly a month since their last escape. He had that they were over that.

He quickly gets up "No, no, No!" Bob cries, trying to wave them away from the newly planted trees. "Stop!" But they continue, unbothered by Bob's racket.

The head of the herd reaches down and pulls one of the saplings straight from the soil, devouring it.

In a final, desperate, effort, Bob rushes over to too his wheelbarrow. There were a few rocks that he had collected for them during the day. Maybe if he could tempt them away from the samplings. He quickly drove the wheelbarrow over to the Titanosaur herd. "Look. Nice delicious rocks," he says, "That's what you're lookin' for, right?"

But the Titanosaurs pay him no mind. Apparently, today's excursion wasn't a search for rocks, like the last few times.

Bob lets out a tired grumble, admitting defeat. He walks over to the punnet of saplings and sits himself down. He folds his hands in his lap and watches as the Titanosaurs undo a week's worth of work.

He doesn't look up when he hears a Jeep pull up, or when he hears Nigel calling his name.

Nigel hops out of his Jeep and heads over. Sitting down beside Bob on the pallet.

"Look at 'em," Bob grumbles. "They don't even know how much work they've eaten just now. All that time and effort," he says. "I guess it was all for them anyway. Better this than eating the other animal's food,"

Nigel claps him on the back. "At least they're happy," the man says with a bright grin, "If they're eating here, they're at least not storming through the other animal's enclosures."

"I don't know how long we can keep this up, Nigel," he says. "The number of trees we're planting already..." Bob sighs, rubbing his temples to soothe away the headache he could feel building. "None of this is gonna do us much good if they come along at eat 'em before they're grown." Forget the estimated 2,000 trees a year, at this rate, they'd likely be looking at planting 60,000 trees a year.

"We'll come up with something, Bob," Nigel says, giving his shoulder a comforting squeeze. "I look into it."

Bob nods, looking over the trampled field.

"Come on. Let's go get some fish and chips," Nigel says. "My treat."

"I don't know, Nigel," Bob says. "The Titanosaurs need to be rounded up. I need to organize the clean-up of all this mess..."

"The others can handle it," Nigel says. "You've been working hard. I think you are overdue a break,"

Bob huffs, a small smile pulling at his lips. "Yeah. Yeah, alright," he says. "I could do with some food."

In lighter spirits, Bob follows Nigel to the Jeep.