Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with Jurassic Park/Jurassic World. It sucks but that's the truth. I make nothing off this fic except the joy of writing. There are places and things specified here that I don't make any money off, though they are real places in the real world, I don't really have any affiliation with the places or things named.
Summary: Summer fun means lazy days in the sun... or... not... Depends on what your definition of fun perhaps is. For some fun is laying on a beach working lazily on their tan, for a dino-nut like Alathea... It's spending three months in Jurassic World. Pairing: OFC/Owen
Chapter One
This was supposed to be a family vacation, a celebration of her graduating valedictorian and earning herself a scholarship to dual major in Geoarchaeology and Paleontology at Hamilton College, where she would be heading in the fall but her father suddenly had a meeting abroad he simply couldn't get out of and her mother had been admitted to the hospital two days ago in critical condition after a drunk driver had run a red light. Alathea had not wanted to go alone but her mother insisted and honestly Alathea has zero ability to tell her mother no, plus having been a dinosaur nut since childhood really since her father had been disappointed in having a daughter instead of a son and had bought books and toys about dinosaurs.
From a young age, she voraciously consumed every book she could possibly get her hands on so really going to Jurassic World is a much-cherished fever filled dream so it didn't really take much effort from her mother. Ordering her hotel room and bracelet hadn't taken much effort, nor organizing her plane ticket but packing is making a great deal more trouble. She calls her mother in the hospital, "Hey momma! I got the trip scheduled, but I have no idea what to pack!" She pitches her voice upwards in a playful distress making her mother laugh as she had known it would, "Ali baby just pack for the Costa Rican heat, so comfortable stuff. Shorts, tank tops, pack your bathing suit and a spare. Pack a pair of sandals, your comfortable sneakers and the hiking boots you bought last year." Alathea hums softly, "So pack as if I was going on one of my explorations?"
Her mother laughs softly, "Yes Ali but pack some fun clothes too baby. I want you to have fun, just be careful alright?" Alathea gives a soft scoff, "I'm always careful momma." Her mother laughs again, "I know baby. Just humor me alright? I really wish I could go with you, so take lots of pictures and," Alathea interrupts, "Take the kit you put together for me?" "It would make me feel better sweetie." Alathea laughs softly, "Of course momma. It will go in my carry on rather than my suitcase." "That's my clever girl. You will call when you land?" "Of course momma." "Alright baby they are saying it's time for another dose of painkiller, so I will talk to you later. Love you." "I love you too momma I promise to call when I land and again when I check into the hotel." "Alright baby bye." "Bye, momma."
Alathea hangs up and frowns at her empty suitcase, "What the fuck do I take?!" she asks the empty room, the conversation with her mother hadn't really helped overly much except to reiterate that pants and long sleeve shirts were not good ideas. Finally she ends up packing most of her wardrobe into the suitcase and the kit along with a spare canteen and a couple bottles of tea, from her adventure jet-setting that airline food sucks balls so she adds a number of her snack goods and finishes it off by packing away her camera, some extra memory cards and a change of clothes just in case. Then she calls a cab to take her to the airport, practically dancing in place as she waits because honestly she just can't wait to get to Jurassic World, to see the creatures that have so captivated her since she was old enough to read up close and in person!
Her only true complaint is that from what she read her personal favorite was no an attraction though there are rumors of an attraction coming up, however it wouldn't be there while she would be there... Seeing the cab pull up she moves out of the house locking up behind her and pushes her keys into their pocket on her carry on and rolling her suitcase out to the cab putting it into the trunk and climbing in, "Sioux Falls Regional Airport please." The driver nods to her, "Vacation?" Alathea laughs, "Yea a whole summer at Jurassic World before I go off to college." The driver smiles, "Sounds like a fun time. My daughter really wants to go there. She loves Triceratops I think they are. The ones with three horns anyways." Alathea nods, "That is what they are. My favorites are Velociraptors, the slightly smaller ones not the Utahraptor which are a couple feet longer."
As the driver moves onto the high way he chuckles, "You seem well versed." Alathea lets out a laugh, "You could say that. I'm going to college for Geoarchaeology and Paleontology, I've been a dino-nut since I was a kid." He laughs, "My daughter is the same." The small talk continues and she pays him once she has her suitcase heading in to get through security which she knew given that it is the beginning of summer break and there would be tons of people traveling it would take a great deal of time. As she stands in line she pulls out her passport a faint smile on her lips as she looks over the various stamps, places she'd explored happily. Patience has always been her strong suit so even as people behind her started to grumble about the snail's pace they were moving at, she is calm. As she reaches the front of the line she lazily puts her bags on the belt and walks through the detector not setting it off only because she'd thought ahead and put a rubberized bar in her belly button piercing so it wouldn't slow her down.
Once cleared through security she moves and checks in her suitcase to go under the plane and looks at the clock, noting she was actually early by a bit she heads towards the small cafe she could see, recalling easily how good their muffins are and her stomach rumbles lightly in displeasure of being empty. She walks in and orders a couple muffins and a coffee before taking a seat near some windows that look out onto the tarmac. She takes a swallow of her coffee delighting as the bitter brew washes over her tongue and down her throat, then starts tearing the muffins into manageable size pieces. Pulling her phone out of her carry on she caresses the pattern to unlock the screen and browses the news absently as she eats her breakfast. It's only after the two muffins and the coffee were gone that she closes the phone and tucks it into her carryon again after turning on airplane mode. Glancing at the clock again she gets up throwing away her trash and heads to her gate.
She moves past a family saying goodbye to each other and hears the mother's comment about running if something was chasing them. Alathea blinks and seeing the kids come up behind her and wait she hums softly, "Jurassic World?" She asks curiously causing the younger to brighten considerably, "Yea! You?" Alathea nods with a chuckle, "Indeed, but I would take the running bit with a grain of salt, depending on the dino if they've seen you it's already too late. The Tyrannosaurus Rex, of course, can be shaken if you stop moving but there are other carnivores that once they've got you in their sights you better hope there is a fence between you and them." As the younger boy's eyes alight the older huffs lightly under his breath, Gray smiles at the pretty older teenage girl, "You know a lot about them huh?" Alathea chuckles, "I'm going away to college in the fall to study Paleontology. Dinos are sort of my thing." She gives a genuine smile and right then and there Gray couldn't help but wish he was older, and Zach while trying to act like he was bored out of his mind felt the tips of his ears go pink.
Oblivious to Zach's discomfort Gray and Alathea converse back and forth about information that honestly made most heads spin trying to keep up and when they board the plane Alathea laughs softly finding herself next to the exuberant young boy, she doesn't mind and figures it's her duty to try and help all kids keep an open and eager to learn mind. Instead of sleeping on the flight as was her norm she spends the entire four-hour flight in conversation and much of the hour-long cruise to Isla Nublar along the same vein, she waves as she gets off the boat, "I'm sure I'll see you around Gray." Not bothering to address the elder brother as he was busy making moon eyes at every half pretty girl that crosses his path.
And that's a wrap for this first chapter! I really should be working on Nature's Light but my exceedingly fickle muse has latched onto this fandom like an Indominus Rex to a gyrosphere, however, unlike the I. Rex she is showing no signs of letting go anytime soon.
tootles.