Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Jurassic Park or Supernatural.

...

Dean liked this job when he first got started. He got paid more than enough, and these creatures were kind of magnificent when he wasn't watching people being eaten by them.

But he wasn't gonna let that happen, not today. He had worked too friggin' hard to keep these people safe, and just because some idiot millionaire decided he was better than safety rules did not mean people got to die on his watch.

He gripped the tranquilizer gun tighter and wished Hammond would have let him keep his automatic. This thing needed way more than darts. It needed to be put down. Way too smart for its own good.

"Steady," he said, more out of habit than to remind the men around him. They didn't need reminding. They were all just as terrified of this thing as he was.

The raptor rammed its head up against the sides of its cage, and Dean could see the metal bending. It was gonna get out.

"You have got to be kidding me," he muttered under his breath.

But he wasn't gonna let his team know that he was worried. This was all business as usual, right? "Alright, get in there and push," he said.

The men looked at him like he was insane. He didn't blame them.

"Look, you morons, it's in a cage. Just push the cage up to the door and let it in. Do you want it to stay in the box?"

That definitely got them moving.

They pushed the cage up to the door, and the gatekeeper climbed on top of it, opened the gate—and from there, it was supposed to be smooth sailing.

It wasn't.

That thing was friggin' smart, and he'd been telling Hammond that since the beginning. He'd been telling the moron that the raptors were just too dangerous to keep hatching more of them. The first chance it got, the thing knocked against the wall. A gap opened up, and the gatekeeper fell right through.

Dean dropped everything. This was not happening. In two long strides, he was at the man's side, grabbed his hand, but he could feel the pull on the other side.

"No one is dying today," Dean whispered in the man's ear, more as a sort of unheard prayer than a statement of truth. The guy was a goner. This big raptor was the worst of them all.

The men came around to try to push the crate back into place, but Dean could feel his grip weakening. "Just shoot it!" he shouted through clenched teeth. He was done with this raptor, with them all, actually. Better to put them down than risk this.

They stayed with the tasers and the tranquilizer guns instead, and Dean felt his man's hand slip through his fingers.

Sam crouched down even closer to the sand, blowing carefully, meticulously as the particles pulled away from the newly revealed bone. Masterpiece.

He could feel the heat from the sun pouring over his shoulder, but it didn't really bother him. He'd become used to it.

He held out his hand to his partner, Jess, and without even looking or asking, she knew what he wanted. The trowel was in his hand seconds later, and he started to dig carefully, painstakingly, agonizingly slowly around the bones.

Thwump thwump thwump thwump.

At first, Sam didn't pay much attention to the noise. But when the noise grew louder and more insistent, something did catch his attention—the shifting sand now moving to cover his masterpiece.

"Jess!" Sam shouted. They'd been together so long that he didn't have to say much of anything else. Wordlessly, they both moved as quickly as they could to cover the bones with any tarps, anything they could find. It was a perfectly formed raptor skeleton, and they were not losing this find for some ridiculous tourists.

Sam run up to the helicopter as closer as he dared, waving his arms frantically, trying to catch the driver's attention and tell him to land somewhere else, but nothing worked. Finally, he gave up on the whole endeavor and rushed back to the trailer for some shelter from the pelting sand and the grit in his eyes.

And he would have found some peace and quiet, too, if it weren't for the strange old man standing in his trailer.

"Who are you?" Sam asked, blinking through the sand and wondering if inhaling enough of it could cause indoor mirages.

The old man turned, holding a bottle of Sam's best wine. With a wordless grin, he popped it open, held up a hand to stop Sam's objection, and said, "Probably the best thing that's ever happened to you, if you'll hear me out. My name's John Hammond."

Sam stared at him blankly. "Look, we're kind of in the middle of—"

"What do you think of lawyers?" Hammond asked suddenly.

Jess stepped through the door just in time to hear the question, and she smiled the smile that made Sam fall for her in the first place. "Don't know any," she said as she pulled her hair over her shoulder and started the long and arduous process of trying to get all the sand out of it in the presence of a newcomer.

"Can't stand them myself," Hammond said. "I've got a particularly nasty pebble in my shoe representing my investors, and he tells me they're going to shut me down unless I get the opinion of three experts."

"Look, Mister Hammond," Sam started to say.

But Hammond didn't seem to want to let Sam finish any sentences today. "And, if you'll pardon my saying so, Mister Winchester, you're exactly the expert I need. Your brother said—"

"My brother?" Sam sighed. Of course. He should have known Dean was behind this. It was probably Dean's idea of a joke, sending in a crazed old rich guy to mess up his site and push him around some before he pulled the punchline. "Look, tell Dean I miss him, too, but if he doesn't fork out the money to fly down here himself, I'm not feeling the love."

Hammond laughed. "Dean said you'd say that, too. But you're not listening. You're exactly the expert I need. Your brother says you're the best in the field, and he doesn't give compliments very often, so you must be." He laughed. "Why don't you both come down for the weekend and give my park a once-over?"

"Look, we're very busy here—"

"I'll fund your dig."

Sam flushed, but really, it wasn't worth a little money to stop the dig, not when they were so close.

"For three years."

Sam almost dropped the glass of wine Hammond had handed him.

….

Cas didn't get along very well with technology. He liked it well enough, but he didn't quite understand how to use it all, and technology seemed to reward him by doing everything in its power to get in his way.

Seatbelts, for starters.

He'd finally found the other end of his seatbelt when the rest of their group got in the helicopter, and he smiled triumphantly. (He just let them keep on thinking that he had smiled to greet them; no sense letting them know he was struggling with something as simple as seatbelts. Other scientists took him less seriously when that happened.)

"And who are you?" asked Doctor Winchester. (Cas recognized him from his books. As soon as he learned Doctor Winchester was coming, he'd done his research. Thorough, that was his middle name.)

"Castiel Novak, head scientist of the biological sciences research department in Stanford," he said, extending his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Doctors Winchester."

"Oh, no," said the blonde beside Doctor Winchester. "We're not married. Not yet."

Cas frowned. "But your ring."

Doctor Winchester laughed. "Engaged, Mister Novak. I'm Sam, by the way. I don't much care for titles. And this is Jess."

"This is Cas, and I'm your host, Dean," said a familiar voice as one last figure stepped into the helicopter.

Cas smiled. "Dean Winchester. Long time."

Dean grinned right back at him and slapped him on the back. "Not since that ridiculous safari you made me head up."

"Dean?"

Dean turned toward the sound of his brother's voice, and his grin got even wider. "Sammy!" he declared. "How ya been?"

Sam frowned. "Sammy is a little girl's name."

"Yeah, whatever." Dean just kept grinning as he turned to face Jess. "And who might you be?"

"Jess," she said, extending her hand to take his.

"Can I just say you're completely out of my brother's league," Dean said. And Cas recognized the charming smile and the head tilt; he'd seen it a hundred times.

This was going to be a long helicopter ride.

…..

Okay, so Dean didn't really like the park. But even he had to admit to being swept up in the excitement as the Jeep pulled up into the free-range part of the island. He kept glancing over at his brother to see what his reaction would be. His brother loved dinosaurs. This was so gonna be good.

And Sam didn't disappoint.

Hammond saw the look on Sam's face, too, and he stopped the Jeep to let Sam get out after the brontosaurus.

"What the—" And Sam just kept walking, kept heading right for the dinosaur.

Cas was similarly entranced, and he was next out of the car. And Dean couldn't help but smile. This was what he'd signed up for. The safer kind of dinosaurs. It really wasn't so bad, not when he could see the look of amazement and wonder and Cas's and Sam's faces.

"Dinosaurs," Cas said with his jaw wide open. "Real, live dinosaurs."

Sam had doubled over with his head between his knees, and Dean couldn't help but laugh at his reaction. "You're such a little girl," he said, but only just loud enough for Castiel to hear it.

Cas grinned. "You didn't tell me your new job was so amazing!"

"Sworn to secrecy, Cas," Dean said. And then his face darkened, and he pulled Cas aside. "Look, Cas, buddy, I woulda told you about this earlier. I really wanted to." He glanced over his shoulder to see if Hammond was listening before he dropped his voice even lower. "You can't sign off on this place, Cas."

Cas just laughed. "You always were paranoid. This is amazing, Dean. I thought you were a wildlife specialist!"

"He's a glorified hunter is what he is," Sam said once he'd got his voice back.

Dean glared at Sam.

Hammond just laughed—he seemed to particularly delight in anyone taking Dean down a peg, probably because Dean had fought him every step of the way, and Hammond didn't like dissenting opinions. "Just wait until you see the rest of the park!"

…..

Sam had never seen anything like it before.

He looked down at the dinosaur egg, hardly able to contain his excitement. Frog DNA, imagine that! And mosquitos! It was so much to take in.

At least he didn't feel like fainting. Dean had teased him about it all the way up to the visitors' center before he had to leave and go take care of his actual duties. (Hammond had only agreed to let him go pick up the experts, but for Dean, the job always came first, and he was out as soon as the "hokey amusement park stuff" was over.)

And then a pink face emerged from inside the egg, and Sam grinned like a lunatic. Baby dinosaurs.

But Cas didn't seem to share his enthusiasm. Ever since Dean had pulled him aside, Cas looked a little more distressed, a little more preoccupied. He just kept staring at the egg, frowning, like something was nagging at the back of his mind.

"I'm always present at every hatching," Hammond was saying. "They imprint on the first living being they come in contact with. It helps them to trust me. Safety precaution."

"But what about the ones that are born in the wild?" Cas asked suddenly.

"There aren't any," said the scientist nearest Cas. "Our breeding controls are too good."

"So you politely ask the dinosaurs not to breed?" Cas asked. He stared at the baby dinosaur emerging from its egg. "Life will out, Hammond. Life will always find a way."

"All our dinosaurs are female," said that same scientist.

Cas frowned, but Sam thought that was a good enough answer. Cas was probably just paranoid because of Dean.

But then Sam looked down, and something started nagging at the back of his mind, too, as the baby dinosaur in his hands wiggled and croaked. "What species is this?"

"That?" The scientist grinned proudly. "Velociraptor."

Sam frowned again. He was starting to see why Dean was so nervous about this place.

….

Dean grinned at Cas and his little brother. Right on time. He couldn't have planned it better if he tried.

"What are they doing?" Sam asked Dean over the clamor of the raptors.

"Feeding time," Dean shrugged, enjoying the look of alarm on his brother's face as the machine lifted the cow up and over the raptor fences.

"How many of them do you have?"

"We had more, but then they bred the big one," Dean said grimly, now trying to speak over the sound of raptors tearing apart a cow. "She came in and killed all but two of them and basically took over. By her first night in there, she had them banging up against the fence, systematically checking it for weaknesses. These things are fast and smart and killers. They remember everything."

Sam frowned. And there it was. That healthy serving of doubt. That was exactly what Dean wanted to see. None of that starry-eyed crap.

"My opinion? I'd just shoot all of 'em," Dean finished.

"Is the fence electrified?"

Dean nodded.

But then Hammond joined them, and he was all smile and reassurances, and while Sam and Jess were still skeptical, it looked like they were gonna take the friggin' tour. Awesome.

Dean gave the signal, and they raised the cow carcass up. Well, there wasn't really a carcass. More of an empty holster and some blood. That was just about it.

Cas glanced at Dean, and Dean gave an imperceptible nod. That was all the two of them needed to know they were on the same side. This park should never be opened. The problem was just convincing Hammond of that.

….

"I don't think you realize the power you're playing with, Mister Hammond," Cas said, more insistent this time. "You're trying to play God, and that's not meant to happen."

"We've taken every precaution, spared no expense—"

"Doesn't matter," Cas said. "It doesn't matter what you've done; nature will always win out in the end. We're not talking about some animals that went extinct because man came in and blundered his way all over them. We're talking about creatures that had their chance and God killed them instead."

"I'm surprised at you, Doctor Novak, bringing religion into this."

Cas smiled. "Most people are."

"He's got a point, though," Sam said. "I mean, you're playing with powers you can't understand. You can't possibly have controlled for every variable."

Hammond stretched his arms out like he was going to embrace everyone at the table. "I thought you were supposed to protect me from people like him," he said, nodding to Zachariah, the lawyer sitting just across from Cas. "But he's the only one on my side, apparently!"

Zachariah nodded. "We could make a fortune!"

"Or you could engineer your very own disaster," Cas said quietly, staring down at his food.

"Should have known better than to let Dean Winchester pick the scientists," Hammond said quietly. "He's been against this project from the start."

"It's been my experience that when Dean Winchester says something is a bad idea, it probably is," Cas said, still speaking quietly and to his food. He was thinking about the last safari, the one he'd asked Dean to help him with. He'd nearly gotten himself killed, and it had taken some time before Dean was willing to go on any more research trips.

Hammond just frowned. "Listen, before you pass judgment, why don't you take the tour? You can spend some time with our target audience."

"Who's that?"

"My grandkids. Ben and Krissy. I think you'll all get along swimmingly."

Cas frowned. Bringing kids into this? No wonder Dean was so desperate to get this place closed.

…..

"Grandpa!"

Sam laughed as the two little kids attached Hammond, and he looked much more like the cooky old grandfather who had stepped in Sam's trailer just yesterday than the dangerous old man who wouldn't shut down a deadly theme park.

"Hey, Ben. Hey, Krissy." That was Dean's voice. Sam hadn't noticed him come in, but there he was, his gun strapped around his back and his hat in his hands.

"Dean!" There was no stopping the kids as they rushed forward and tackled Dean. No surprises there. Dean had always been good with kids; Sam wished he had that talent.

"Hey, Ben, did you get to read that book I got you?" Dean asked, ruffling Ben's hair.

"It was so cool! You didn't tell me your brother knew so much about dinosaurs!"

"You should ride with him during the tour and tell him what you thought. I'm sure he'd love to hear all about it," Dean said, grinning at Sam with a twinkle in his eye.

Sam was going to kill his brother later.

"Hey, Krissy," Dean said. "Your grandpa says you aced your finals this year. Way to be!"

Krissy just grinned and looked proud of herself.

"How long has Dean known your family?" Sam asked Hammond as they left the visitors' center.

"Oh, they met briefly before we got everything moved into the island. He stayed in our gust home for a few days."

Yep, that sounded about right. Dean could bond with just about anyone in just two days, and that was all anyone got with him. He was always moving around.

"Alright, everyone. Into the cars," said a new voice—an older voice. Bobby Singer, chief of security and head of operations. "Let's get this show on the road."

Dean waved to the kids and then winked at Sam. "Have fun on your field trip, there, Sammy boy," he said.

"I'm not twelve anymore, Dean."

"Yeah, whatever."

…..

Cas really didn't like this place. It just felt wrong, like everything went against the Plan, against what God had intended. What was dead should have stayed dead.

"God creates dinosaurs, God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man, man destroys God, man creates dinosaurs," he muttered. He hadn't meant to said it out loud.

But then Jess just winked at him cheekily. "Dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the earth," she finished for him.

They pulled up to the first stop, dilaphosaurus. Poisonous, dangerous, and roaming free. Definitely not a good combination. And it really didn't help ease Cas's worries when the dilaphosaurus didn't show—and when the T-Rex didn't show, either.

Why even breed creatures like that? And then invite children to come see? They couldn't even see the raptors, for heaven's sake; they were so insulated by the fences and so roped off by the concrete that there was no point having them. He had to agree with Dean. This place was a ticking time bomb.

But then he saw the triceratops, and he dropped everything.

"Oh, you're beautiful," he whispered, kneeling down next to the triceratops and stroking its head gently. "What's wrong with you?"

Sam and the kids were at his side in an instant, with Jess close behind. "I think she's sick."

The doctor—whose nametag said "Meg"—smiled at Cas. "She gets this way about once every six weeks. We've thought of just about everything, but we just can't figure it out."

"Every six weeks?" Cas repeated, bending down to get a closer look. He took the gloves that Meg offered him and set to work. "Look. Its pupils are dilated."

Meg came around and looked with him. "So they are."

"You've been breeding extinct plant life too, right?" Jess asked, bending down to examine the nearest plants. "You know this is toxic, don't you? Or did you just pick it because it looks good?"

Meg looked mortally offended at the slight on her intelligence. "We're quite aware of its toxicity, thanks. The animals don't eat it, though."

"Are you sure?"

Cas and Meg set to work examining the triceratops, while Jess and Sam went to look at the droppings for signs of toxic plants. Zachariah opted to stay behind, for some reason.

Cas knelt down and pet the triceratops's neck affectionately. "Hey there, girl. Are you doing okay?" he purred. He didn't like this. If he hadn't known better, he'd say that she was showing symptoms of pregnancy, but if that was true, things could get very bad very fast.

Cas must have lost track of time, because when he looked up again, the sky was getting darker, and the first signs of a tropical storm flickered overhead. He glanced over at Sam, who had just flipped his cell phone closed. "Cas, we gotta go. Dean says there's a big storm headed our way, and we need to get somewhere safe and dry in case it interferes with the power."

Cas groaned. Just what he needed. More technology problems. "I think I'll just head back with Meg," he said. "I'd like to take a longer look at the triceratops, if you don't mind."

…..

Sam leaned back in the car, closing his eyes. Well, at least he'd had the chance to see the triceratops.

The more he saw of this place, the more he realized that he loved it. And hated it. He loved that he could see dinosaurs in their natural habitat, actual, living specimens. There were dinosaurs, for crying out loud!

But this was also so wrong on so many levels. These were majestic creatures, locked up in cages in the wrong century, thrown into an ecosystem managed by people who had no idea how they would interact. Carnivores and hunters being hand-fed were sure to bite the hands the fed them. You couldn't suppress 65 million years of natural instincts.

The car rolled to a stop, but at first, Sam didn't notice. He had been too busy leaning back with his eyes closed and listening to the sound of the rain on the roof of the car.

"We've stopped," he said.

"Very good, Sam," Jess said, smiling.

"Where are we?"

The bleating of the goat answered back. Sam leaned back and puffed the air out of his cheeks. "Oh. Great. We've broken down right in front of the T-Rex. That seems totally safe."

"You worry too much," Jess said, but Sam could see that she was just as concerned as he was. "I'm sure Bobby and his team will get us back up and running in no time flat."

…..

Dean practically tripped over himself trying to make it back to the main control room. The power was going out everywhere, and he wasn't going to rest until he was sure. His little brother was out there, and so was his best friend and two kids.

He burst through the doors. "Are the raptor fences still online?" he asked.

"What?"

"The raptor fences. Tell me they're still working."

Bobby's entire face drained of all color, and he whirled around in his chair to check the computer monitor. Dean could see Bobby's entire frame relax as he whispered, "Yes. They're still online."

Dean heaved a sigh of relief. Good. If those suckers ever got loose, everyone on this whole island was dead. It was bad enough the T-Rex fences were down, but at least there was only one of it, and at least it was big enough to see it coming.

Didn't make Dean feel any better about his friends being out there, of course, but it was a shred of hope to work with.

"Where's Cas? Where's Sam?" Dean demanded.

"Cas came back with Meg. He wanted to run some tests in the lab," Bobby said. "Sam and the rest of the tour group are out near the T-Rex paddock.

Dean swore under his breath. "Of course they are." He grabbed the nearest gun—and a couple extras for Sam. He hoped his brother still remembered how to use those. "Listen, I'm going after them. Me and Cas. Meg can come, too, if she wants."

….

Sam watched as Zachariah ran out of the car and grimaced. Why would he leave the kids behind, alone, in the middle of a storm?

Jess grabbed his arm and pointed at the fence. "Sam," she whispered, "what's happening?"

Sam could feel the deep rumblings shaking the ground—footsteps, like when his idiot brother thought it was a good idea to take him on an elephant safari. Only these footsteps were much bigger, and they were definitely more dangerous.

"Keep very still," he muttered to Jess. "It can't see you if you don't move."

Of course that was when the children decided it would be a good time to pull out their flashlights.

It really would have been an amazing sight if he hadn't been so concerned about the T-Rex killing everything and everyone on this island. The dinosaur was huge, and it was just exactly like he had always imagined it. She was strong and tall and fast, an amazing predator. Unfortunately, all that evolution was turned toward the kids.

Sam knew what he had to do. It was terrifying, but he'd seen Dean through worse safaris.

Okay, maybe not worse. Those were just lions, after all.

He grabbed the flairs and jumped out of the car. "Hey, ugly!" he shouted, waving the flair around. The T-Rex spotted the movement and lumbered toward it, following the flair even after Sam threw it.

But he hadn't thrown it far enough, and it probably wouldn't buy him enough time to dig the kids out of the car before the T-Rex came back.

That's when Jess decided to get involved. She grabbed a flair as well and grabbed the T-Rex's attention. "Hey you!" she shouted, then took off running.

"Jess!" he shouted. He stood in between the two cars, watching as Jess led the T-Rex away and knowing that he had to go and get the kids, but Jess was in trouble now, too.

"Get the kids!" she shouted.

He ran for the car and grabbed Krissy's hand, helping her out. He turned back to see that Jess still hadn't let go of the flair, still hadn't thrown it aside. The T-Rex burst through the porta-potty on its rampage after Jess, and Sam lost track of her after that.

Krissy stood up, and Sam risked one last look over his shoulder—just in time to see the T-Rex chomp down.

Sam felt his heart stop.

"Jess!"

Krissy screamed next to him, reminding him of their situation, and he reached for Ben, but his foot was stuck in the seats. And now the T-Rex had finished its snack and came back to the car, pushing at it, trying to tip it over the side.

Sam stumbled to the edge of the paddock, Krissy's arms wound tightly around his neck, and grabbed hold of the nearest wires. He heard Ben's screams as the car went over the edge, but the triumphant roar of the T-Rex drowned him out.

"What are we gonna do, Sam?" Krissy asked, surprisingly calm for everything that had happened.

"You stay right here. I'm gonna get your brother," Sam said.

…..

Dean pulled to a stop when he saw the Jeep by the T-Rex paddock. He felt his heart drop into his stomach when he saw that the electric fence was broken in places, and then he lost track of it completely when he saw the demolished building and the pieces of the Jeep that was missing.

"What happened here?" Meg asked, stepping out of the car.

Dean could feel the panic rising. "Sammy?" he shouted. Then, more insistently, "Sammy!"

"Dean!" Cas shouted, motioning his friend over. "I think this used to be Zachariah."

"And this used to be Jess," Meg said from the other side of the porta-potty remains.

Dean swore and vaulted over the side of the T-Rex paddock. "I found the other car!" he announced. He let himself down by the attached wires, but when he found the car, there was no one inside it.

"Do you think the T-Rex got them?" Meg asked.

Dean nearly swallowed his tongue, but then he noticed the footprints leading away. He checked the sign. Brachiosaurus paddock. Herbivores. His brother would be relatively safe here, assuming the T-Rex didn't come back.

"We'll come back in the morning when the storm has passed," Cas said quietly, grabbing Dean by the shoulder to try and pull him aside.

Dean pulled out his cell phone. The storm had knocked out reception, but that wasn't going to stop him from trying. "Sammy?" he whispered into his phone.

Static.

Then, rumbling.

"Son of a . . . ." He looked up at the shaking trees. This was definitely not good. "Get in the car!" he shouted, vaulting the side of the paddock and jumping into the front seat. It wasn't his Impala, but he could still drive this baby better than anyone else on this island. "Get in the car now!"

Meg and Cas didn't need telling twice. He had barely started the engine when the T-Rex burst through the trees, and Dean floored it.

"They clocked this thing at 32 miles an hour," he said to Cas. "If this thing had a better pickup, we'd be out of its range by now."

"Don't blame the car. Just drive!" Meg shouted in his ear, scrambling backwards and knocking Dean's hand away from the stick shift.

"Hey!"

The T-Rex took advantage of the Jeep's slower speed to ram its head against the side. It was trying to knock them over.

Dean gritted his teeth. "No way," he muttered to himself. "No way is some stupid dinosaur going to outrun my driving."

As soon as Meg was out of the way, he floored it.

Sam hadn't been to sleep at all that night. Every time he closed his eyes, he could see Jess, and the one time he'd managed to fall asleep, he woke up minutes later screaming. He'd had to lie to the kids and tell them that he had just been scratched up by the tree when he turned in his sleep. Krissy said he'd been calling out for Jess. Ben told her to shut up.

He would've killed for a cup of coffee.

"Sam? Are we ever going to get out of here?" Ben asked.

Sam ruffled Ben's hair the way he'd seen Dean do, then laughed, "Of course we're getting out. If we just keep going that way," he said, pointing east, "for about two miles, we'll hit the other side of the fence. We can hop it from there, assuming the power's still off."

"And if they turned the power back on?"

"Dean'll turn it off for us," Sam said. Honestly, he wasn't even sure how many people were still alive on this island, not if the T-Rex was loose and if the raptors' fences had also lost power, but the kids knew Dean, and they knew that he was always going to take care of them. That was his job.

That had been nearly two hours ago, and since that time, they had seen three different types of dinosaurs, plus the T-Rex again. Sam had tried to keep them calm by pointing out how it ate, by showing how similar it was to a bird, by pointing out everything that made these creatures majestic.

But it was hard to appreciate the beauty of nature when it was trying to eat you.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, they reached the fence. Sam tested it. The power was still off.

….

"How did this happen, anyway?" Cas asked, doubled over and taking deep breaths. Then, angrily, he turned to Hammond. "You and your safety precautions. I told you not to mess with the powers of creation, and you did it anyway. How mankind could be so arrogant as to think that we could ever handle the cosmos . . . ." He shook his head. "Playing God. Idiots."

Meg gritted her teeth and turned to Dean. "Where's Azazel?"

"The technician?" Dean spit on the ground in front of Hammond's feet. "We figure he's the one who started this whole thing. Left some kind of code so he could get out but turned off all the power on the way out."

"Perfect," Meg muttered. "Now what do we do?"

Dean shrugged and glanced at Bobby, who shrugged right back. "The only thing I can think to try is to reboot the system. Shut it all down and then get the factory reset going."

Dean frowned. "Won't that turn off everything? The fences too?"

"We'll turn it right back on."

"The raptor fences are still on. You really want those things running loose around here?"

"Have you got any better ideas?" Bobby shot right back. "Because if you do, I'm open to suggestions."

Dean fell silent, and Cas couldn't help but smile despite the severity of their situation. Bobby Singer was one of the only people Cas had ever met that could handle Dean.

"I guess we'll have to try it," Meg said. "A few seconds can't hurt, right?"

Bobby nodded, then flipped the switch. Everything went dark. "Well," he said, "here goes nothing."

Cas waited, but nothing happened. "I'm not very good with computers," he said slowly, "but aren't the lights supposed to come back on?"

Bobby frowned and slid over in his chair, then pounded the table with his fist. "We've got power, but we must have flipped the breaker."

Beside Cas, Dean was nervously loading and reloading his shotgun. "Every second we waste is a second those raptors are gonna try to get out. Shoulda killed those monsters when we had the chance."

"No use crying over spilled milk," Bobby said. "I'll just run over to the other side of the compound and flip the breakers. It'll only take a few minutes. Three, four maybe."

Dean frowned, reached over, and clasped Bobby by the arm. "You be careful, Bobby." He handed Bobby one of the four guns he was wearing. "Take this."

…..

Dean was getting nervous. Bobby said he'd be back by now, and they didn't have the luxury of waiting. He knew the raptors were definitely out by now, and his little brother was still out there somewhere, if he wasn't dead already. Why had he ever thought it was a good idea to get Sam involved in this?

He knew the answer to that, of course. He missed his brother. But it wasn't worth this.

"That's it," Dean said at last. "I'm going after Bobby. And once the power's on, we're finding Sam and the kids. This is taking way too long."

"I'm coming with you," Cas said.

"Me too," Meg said.

"No way am I letting some—"

"We can talk about sexism in survival situations when I get back," Meg said, snatching the gun from Dean's hands.

Dean opened his mouth to protest; it wasn't that she was a girl. It was that she was one more person that the raptors were going to want to eat. But he knew better than to argue with her. They'd worked together before, and they hadn't exactly been on the best of terms.

They left John Hammond to stew in his own juices, sit there and worry about how his grandkids were in danger because he wouldn't listen to Dean, before they packed everything up and headed out.

They weren't very far from the compound before they reached the friggin' raptor cage—which was of course torn wide open. Dean had warned them, but since when did anyone listen to him? Especially when people's lives were in danger?

"It's not very far to the breakers, is it?" Cas asked.

"Might be too far," Dean muttered.

"What makes you say that?" Meg asked.

Dean pointed. "We're being hunted."

Meg and Cas both stood up suddenly straighter and stiffer. "Can we make it?" Cas asked.

"I'll stay here," Dean said. "You two go ahead."

"You sure?" Meg asked.

Dean nodded.

"I'll cover you, Clarence," Meg said to Cas.

"I told you, my name's Castiel."

Dean rolled his eyes. When this was all over, he was going to teach Cas to recognize the signs of women flirting with him. The guy spent too much time with his head buried in a book.

Cas could hear the sound of raptors behind him, but he slammed the door closed. Meg leaned up against it, breathing hard. "Well," she said at last, "that was fun."

"Something's wrong," Cas said. "Bobby should have been down here."

"I don't know if you've noticed the killer dinosaurs out there," Meg said, "but he might have been a little bit delayed. Let's just get this place up and running so we can call in the cavalry, shall we?"

Cas nodded. "You got any idea how to get around down here?"

Meg squinted at him, tilted her head, then said, "No idea. But I bet if we follow all the cables along the ceiling it'll lead us to the main port."

Cas shrugged. He didn't know much about technology.

…..

"Come on, Krissy. I bet you I can climb faster than you," Ben said as they started their climb up the fence.

"My arms are longer."

"Doesn't matter. All you do is sit around at your computer. Nerd."

"I'm not a nerd!"

Sam couldn't help smiling as he climbed alongside the brother and sister. They reminded him a little bit of him and Dean.

….

"I think I found the breakers!" Cas called out over his shoulder.

"You've gotta prime it first."

"What?"

"See that gray thing?" Meg asked, sounding tired and annoyed.

"Yeah."

"Move it up and down until you hear the click. That's how you know it's ready."

Cas did so, then heard the click and broke out into a huge grin. "We're ready!"

…..

"You okay up there, Ben?"

"I'm stuck!"

Sam blew out all his breath in annoyance. He could hear the T-Rex footsteps now, and it wouldn't be long before they could see it.

"Just let go!" Krissy shouted. "Sam will catch you!"

"Are you crazy?" Ben and Sam asked at the same time. But when the light went off on the gate, Sam knew better than to argue.

The electricity was coming back on.

Cas made sure to press every single button, just to be safe. All the cages were back online, not that it would do much good. Probably keep the dinosaurs out of their habitats, at this point. Safest place would be inside the raptor cage.

"Okay. Let's get out of here," Cas said, turning to grin at Meg.

That's when the raptor burst through the wires.

Meg gasped in surprise, and Cas accidentally let out a cry, though he managed to keep it quiet. But when the raptor charged, they both abandoned their pretenses and made a run for the door. Cas was a little bit faster than Meg, but Meg knew how to handle herself, and she made sure to close all the gates and doors behind them.

They thought they had trapped the thing behind the mesh gate, and Meg leaned up against the wall. A hairy arm, wearing a familiar watch, draped over her shoulder, and she laughed, "So now you decide to show up, Bobby?"

But the arm wasn't attached to anything.

"Let's get out of here," Cas said, grabbing Meg's hand. They were only just able to stay ahead of the raptor; it broke through the mesh just seconds after they made it to the stairs.

Cas heard the thud of the raptor hitting the metal door as it closed.

But there wasn't much time to lose. There were still two more raptors, and Dean was with at least one of them. And if Sam's book was right, they hunted in groups. He just hoped Dean remembered that.

"Come on, Ben. Wake up," Sam said through gritted teeth. One, two, three . . . . . He kept pumping, kept breathing air into the boy's lungs.

Suddenly, Ben sat up with a gasp. He coughed and spluttered, wrapping his little fists in the plaid of Sam's dirty shirt, before, at last, he said, "Well, at least the T-Rex is gone."

Sam grinned and picked Ben up, wrapping his legs around his middle in a piggyback ride. "Let's get you two some breakfast, huh?"

…..

Dean could see one, unblinking eye, but he was listening for any movement around him. Sam thought he was an idiot, but he'd done his research. He knew more about these dinosaurs than anyone else on this island—except Sam, but that didn't count, since Sam spent his whole life studying them. He knew to listen for the other one.

He heard something to his right and turned, but the dinosaur had the advantage of speed and surprise. It barreled Dean over, and he couldn't raise his gun in time. He closed his eyes and braced himself.

Bang.

The raptor stumbled back just long enough for Dean to scramble to his feet, and then he saw Meg standing there with his shotgun, smiling smugly. "Told you I could handle myself."

"I never said you couldn't," Dean said, but he didn't have time to say much more. The other raptor was moving in.

"Casper, you get the crocodile hunter out of here," Meg said, stepping forward. "I'll give you cover."

"Hey, wait a minute—" Dean was going to argue more than that, but when he tried to step forward, he could feel his leg buckling underneath him. He groaned and almost sank to the ground, but Cas caught him. How embarrassing.

"Are you going to be okay?" Cas asked.

"I'll be right behind you," Meg assured them.

Dean knew she wouldn't be.

…..

Sam left the kids in the dining hall and ran out into the main field, hoping to reach the main bunker. If the power was back on, maybe communications were up. And Sam wasn't sure who else was alive, so it might be up to him to send the distress call.

He could have cried for joy, though, when he saw two wonderfully familiar figures climbing over the hill. Dean didn't look too good, even with the shirt tied around his leg to stop the bleeding, and Cas looked pale.

"Sam?" Cas called out.

"Sammy?" Dean was slung over Cas's shoulder, so he couldn't see his brother, but when he heard Sam's name, he immediately started to wiggle and worm his way down.

"Dean? What happened to you?"

"Oh, you know, just another day at work. Been to hell and back. Cas carried me part of the way," Dean said as if he didn't have claw marks down his sides.

"You don't look so good, Dean," Sam said.

"Yeah, I figure I'm probably gonna die," Dean said. "Cas says not to talk like that, but those friggin' raptors are still out there, so . . . ." Dean shrugged.

Sam frowned. "Let's get inside the vistors' center, huh? Ben and Krissy are in there, and—"

"And you left them in there alone?" Dean bellowed. "Sam, these things are smart. They've got problem-solving intelligence, and you think they can't figure out a way into the main building with a big friggin' arch inviting anyone to come in?"

Sam felt his stomach plummet and took off running. "Ben? Krissy?"

Cas was relieved to see that the kids were okay, but he was more impressed when they got to telling Dean their story.

"And Krissy distracted it with her reflection, and then I locked the other one in the freezer!" Ben finished.

"I'm not surprised. I always knew you two had it in you," Dean said, smiling weakly. He was only staying conscious by sheer will, and Cas kept walking even more urgently toward the command center.

But Cas was more worried about what Ben said about the raptor opening doors. "You said they were intelligent, Dean," he said, "but I never imagined . . . ." He shook his head.

Cas lead the way into the room so he could set Dean down, and the kids followed close behind. Sam was the last one through the door, but just as he was about to close the door, something hit it. Something big.

Raptor.

"Cas! Turn the locks on!" Sam shouted, bracing himself up against the door with his shoulders.

Cas frowned at the computer. "Right."

But then the raptor kept ramming up against the door, and Cas could see the door handle moving. Sam was right. These things were smart.

"What are you doing?" Sam shouted as Cas rushed to help him prop the door open.

"Helping you," Cas shot back. "That's apparently what I'm good for around here. Save the Winchesters, that's me."

"Dean! The locks!"

But Dean was losing ground fast, so Krissy was the one to step up to the plate.

"I remember this," she said quietly, looking first at the computer and then at the raptor banging on the door. "Okay. I got this."

"You can do it, Krissy," Dean said, He was busily tearing his only good shirt to shreds, tying the straps around his leg and waist.

"Hurry!" Cas shouted. He hadn't meant to shout at her; she was so young, but it was hard to keep his cool when there was a raptor clawing its way inside.

"Got it!" Krissy shouted triumphantly.

The locks bolted shut with a thud.

….

"That's my girl," Dean said. He leaned up against the wall and smiled.

"Hello, Hammond?" Sam said into the phone. "This is Sam. We've got power, and we've got phones. Now get a chopper here for us before we all get killed!"

Sam paused.

"Yes, the kids are fine. We'll be . . . ." He trailed off.

Dean heard it, too. The pounding. The shaking. "It's going to come through the glass," he said. He reached for his gun and pulled it closer.

Bang.

One more time, the glass was cracking. Dean pulled himself up to his feet. "Get the kids up in the air shafts. I'll hold it off."

Cas put a hand on Dean's shoulder. "I didn't carry you halfway across the compound just to have you throw your life away!"

Dean shrugged him off. "I'll slow you down."

"You can't save everyone, my friend. Most of the people in this park are dead. Can't you see that?"

"Yeah. No sense in letting any more people die," Dean said grimly.

Bang.

The glass was not going to hold up much more. "What are you waiting for?" Dean grunted, pulling the shotgun up to aim it. "Get out of here!"

And then Dean fired—three shots in rapid succession. It didn't kill the raptor, but it was enough.

Sam and the others were up the ladder by the time the raptor broke through, and Dean gritted his teeth. "Come and get me, you son of a—"

He didn't get to finish the sentence.

Cas could tell Sam wasn't holding up very well. He hadn't asked yet about the pretty Jess and where she had disappeared to, but he could pretty well guess. And they could both still hear Dean down below them.

Krissy and Ben were both sobbing now, but Cas urged them forward. He had to keep pushing Sam forward, too, because Sam didn't seem to be thinking anymore, just acting automatically. Finally, Sam stopped altogether. "We have to go back," he said blankly.

Cas had a pretty good argument against that—mostly starting with the million different ways that they could most definitely be killed and ending with the fact that they had two kids with them—but he didn't have to use any of them. The raptor did the arguing for them when it burst through the ceiling tiles and nearly got Krissy.

That was what broke Sam out of his stupor. "No one else is dying today," he said through gritted teeth, and he took the gun from Cas and blasted the raptor.

Sam probably would have killed the thing if the raptor hadn't dropped out of the ceiling at the last second.

"Now where do we go?" Ben hiccoughed. He was almost hysterical, relying entirely on his own adrenaline to get him through. Krissy wasn't holding up much better. But at least they were holding up.

When they broke through the other side, they opened up into the main room, complete with a T-Rex skeleton. Cas smirked, glad that it was just a skeleton and not the real thing, before he urged the kids forward.

Almost as soon as their feet hit the platform, the raptor burst through the other side.

Cas guided the kids—and Sam, who was still trying to overcome his shock—down to the floor through the bones, and he could see the front door.

But of course there were two of them.

Cas gritted his teeth, glancing around, trying to find the best way out. But there wasn't a way out. Not really. There were two raptors, one on each side, and the only thing he could do was throw his arms protectively in front of the kids. At least Sam had enough sense to do the same.

Cas was ready to die with his arms over Krissy, but something stopped the raptor right as it lunged.

He'd never been so happy to see a T-Rex in his life.

….

Sam jumped in the Jeep and helped Ben and Krissy inside after him. He felt dead inside, hollow, even as he heard himself saying, "I'm definitely not endorsing this moronic park of yours."

He didn't register much of what was happening, didn't hear Ben thanking Cas for being his guardian angel, didn't hear Hammond thanking him for taking care of the kids.

The only thing he could hear was Dean. Dean and the raptor.

"Let's get out of here," he said quietly. He wanted to put as much distance between him and Jurassic Park as possible.

He hated this place.