Ice Hearts 2: Drifted

2

It was two years later, and now Manny and Ellie having a baby. A baby they knew of, and were preparing whole heartedly for. Especially Manny. While him and the boys hung out, the ladies were by themselves.

"Are you sure you don't mind... all of this?" Ellie asked her friend, who'd lost her baby.

"What? Are you crazy? No!..." Kiara was excited for her friend, but Ellie didn't buy it. "Ookay well, a little bit. But I've gotten over it, promise. I wouldn't like to rain on your parade."

"Well, thank you. For being with me. I have no idea what I'm doing."

"Yeah... first ones are always tough. When Dia came along, I didn't even KNOW I was pregnant until I gave birth."

"I'm sure Diego would have been just as obsessively protective as Manny's being right now," Kiara giggled, but internally, couldn't help but think if Diego had been protective when Dia was three. She looked at her friend and shook off her sad thoughts.

"I miss how Diego adored our little girl. The way those two bonded together. It was... precious. I bet Manny'll be head over heels if he has a girl."

"Ellie!" Manny came up to them, catching his breath. "It's... It's Crash! Or, Eddie. They won't listen to me! And, and..."

"Alright, alright. I'm coming," Ellie laughed and followed him, coming up to a new place she hadn't seen before. "Oh, Manny! This is..."

Ellie and Kiera walked into the icy playground, amazed at what Manny had created. As the girls explored the place, Manny watched Diego walk by. Ellie noticed, and sent her mate to go talk to the saber.

"I'm sorry if all that stuff bothered you," Manny said as he approached Diego where he was sitting all alone.

"A little. But you've got the whole protective daddy down already! I'm sure you're gonna do great! I'm happy for you, Manny. Being a dad, is the best thing in the world. But I've had my adventure. Actually, I've been thinking, that soon, it might be time for me to head out."

"Wh? What do you mean?" Manny was surprised at the revelation.

"Look, who are we kidding, Manny? I'm losing my edge. I'm not really built for chaperoning playdates. Having a family, that's huge. And I'm happy for you, but... It's your adventure, not mine."

"So you don't want to be around my kid?"

"No, no, no, that's... you're taking this the wrong way."

"No go, go find some adventure. Mr. Adventure guy! Don't let my boring domestic life hit you in the butt on your way out!" Manny left, hurt, and stormed back to the playground.

"So?" Ellie asked while Kiera was on the seesaw with the possums.

"That's why guys don't talk to guys!" Manny replied annoyed.

"Why, what happened?" Ellie was shocked and Kiera came beside her, interested in the conversation.

"Diego's leaving," Manny informed them, and the girls stared at each other in shock.

Diego's leaving. The words repeated in her head as she strolled out by herself. Why was this such a predicament. Fine, it was hard for her to be with him, but she didn't want to make him leave the herd. Heck, she was the newcomer. If anyone, she should be the one leaving. Anyway, she'd been on her own for a lot longer. Herds weren't her thing.

She'd do fine all by herself, she thought, just as an egg fell on her head. Kiera reached after it and managed to save it from cracking on the floor. She looked up expecting to find a bird, but to her surprise, found Sid fainting.

By the time Sid came down, Ellie and Manny had come over inspecting the noise.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Sid thanked as he took the egg from Kiera. "Bad eggs, rotten eggs! A heart attack you almost gave me. Oh, I'm sorry, darling! It's just that I love you so much."

"Now, I want you to meet your aunts Kiera and Ellie, and uncle Manny.

"Hello!" The girls happily obliged.

"I'd like to present, Eggbert, Shelly and Yoko."

"Sid, whatever you're doing. It's a bad idea!" Diego said as he walked by.

"Shh!" Sid scolded. "My kids will hear you."

"They're not your kids, Sid. Take them back," Manny reminded him. "You're not meant to be a parent."

"Why not?" Sid argued.

"First sign: stealing someone else's eggs," Diego knocked a paw on one of them. He'd meant his words at Sid's current situation, but Kiera felt them. Someone had stolen her egg, so to speak, and two years later, she still hadn't recovered from that loss.

"Second sign: one of them almost became an omelet."

"Sid, someone must be worried sick looking for them," Ellie reminded him.

"No, they were underground, in ice. If it wasn't for me they'd be... egg-sickles," Sid hugged his unborn.

"Sid, I know what you're going through," Manny began, "You're gonna have a family too someday. You gonna meet a nice girl, with... with low standards, no real options, or sense of smell..."

Ellie knocked him. "What Manny means to say is..."

"No, I get it," Sid sighed. "I'll take them back. You have your family and I'm better off alone. By myself. A fortress of solitude. In the ice, forever! Alone, lonely loner.."

"That's a lot of alone-ness!" Diego commented after him.

"Precisely!"

"Sid, wait!" Ellie called after their friend.

"No, no, it's ok," Manny said as he walked away. "He'll bounce back, it's one of the advantages of being Sid."

Kiara stood standing between the parties, and decided to go with Sid.

The plan was to return the eggs, but by the end of the week, they returned from their underworld adventure with an extra mammoth and a tiger short. While Diego discovered he had his most adventures with the herd, Kiara decided to stay have her adventure in the dinosaurland, a fact the gang didn't discover until the bridge had been broken.

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there wasn't much of a story in Dawn of Dinosaurs for Diego, so here's a quick cut to set up the book.