Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Jurassic World or Jurassic Park.

One

The sound of fingers on keyboards and the sweet smell of freshly brewed coffee greeted me as I pushed open the office door. Several people were already hard at work, including Katie the intern. I offered her a little wave and went to dump my stuff in my office.

First order of business was going to be coffee. I picked up the Denver Zoo mug on my desk and gave it a quick sniff. Stale, but not bad yet.

"Good morning, Ms. Marsh!" Katie greeted. The unfortunate part about being an intern was that you were in the hub of the office and also right by the coffee pot. It never seemed to faze her, though, with her unending enthusiasm and perpetually sunny demeanor.

"Morning," I replied, stifling a yawn.

"So, today, I was wondering if-"

I held up my hand to stop her then took a long sip from the mug. Ah. Sweet nectar of the Gods. "Continue."

She shook her head, nose wrinkled in disgust. "I don't know how you drink that stuff."

"You're in college. I don't know how you're, like, not living on this."

"Not my thing." She shrugged. "Anyway! I was wondering if I could go out with you today to one of the tours- I normally wouldn't ask, but you said that I should bring it up because you were likely to forget."

I blinked at her as she spoke at rapid-fire pace, not sure if I needed more coffee or if that would have gone over my head regardless. "Yes?"

"Really?" Her eyes widened. She stood up and threw her arms around me. "Thank you so much!"

"Of course." I patted her back, still unsure of what, exactly, I had agreed to.

I walked back into my office and stared at the impossible amount of paperwork that had somehow managed to pile up on my desk. But that was not important right now. What was important was that I find the notes I had put together for the presentation I was supposed to deliver to group of third graders in two hours. I tied my hair up in a lopsided bun before collapsing in my chair to begin sorting through the stacks of memos, print outs, and forms.

Eventually I gave up, forced to get on the computer and reprint them. That turned into a downward spiral of answering emails and finishing a report I had been putting off.

The phone rang, interrupting my search. I looked at the caller ID and sighed. Dale, my boss. "Marsh speaking."

"Rebecca? It's Dale."

"Hi, Dale." I didn't have the heart to point out that technology existed. "What can I do for you?"

"Sooo… I'm going to need you to do the Predator show at two."

I pinched the bridge of my nose and checked the time on my cellphone. Was it really only 10:00? "That's pushing it, Dale." I tried to keep the whine in my voice to a minimum. "I have that tour at 11:30 and then another at 12:30. Where's Steve?"

"Ah. Well, Steve called in sick." Hmph. No surprise there. "I know you've got a lot going on this morning, but you're the best with the-"

"It's fine. I'll be there."

"Thank you."

It took every ounce of self-control I possessed not to slam the phone back in its cradle. Or scream.

Not for the first time, I found myself wishing I was back in a tent in Kruger National Park with no desk, no papers, and no Dale. I loved working for the Denver Zoo, but getting to do research for my Master's, to actually see animals in their natural habitats, was- well, amazing doesn't even begin to do it justice.

I took a deep breath and went back to writing the report.

There was a knock on the door, although it was open, and Katie stuck her head in. "Ms. Marsh?"

"Yeah?"

"You have a visitor?"

I glanced away from the computer, feeling as confused as Katie looked. Panicked, I glanced down at the desk calendar. No meetings written there. "Who is it?"

"He introduced himself as Mr. Simon Masrani?"

I jumped in my seat, knees hitting the desk causing papers to shift and the liquid in my cup to slosh dangerously. The daisies I kept in a mason jar, to give the space a more homie feel, nearly met a fatal end, but Katie caught them just in time. "Are you serious?" She nodded. "Oh- oh my god. Send him in, please." Immediately, I launched into professional mode, trying to make the stacks look neat and somewhat manageable. Another knock on the door. I stood up. "Come in!"

He was the most put together looking person I'd ever seen and, between the perfectly coiffed hair and sharp attire, it was clear he was a wealthy man. "Ms. Marsh, I'm Simon Masrani." He offered his hand and I shook it.

"Oh, you can just call me Rebecca. Please," I motioned to a chair. "Have a seat." He nodded his thanks and sat down. "Can I get you anything? Coffee? Water?"

"No, thank you." He smiled and I sat back down, feeling instantly at ease. "I'm sorry I didn't make an appointment or have one of my assistants call beforehand, but I like to attend these kinds of meetings myself."

I waved his apology away and then laced my fingers together and set them on the desk, trying to appear calm, cool, and collected while internally I felt exactly the opposite. He could have broken into my apartment and I probably would have brushed it off. This was a meeting I'd been dreaming of having for years. "Oh, that's okay, really."

He shifted in the chair, leaning slightly forward. "I read your thesis and the article you wrote for National Geographic on the African Wild Dog. They were very well done." I felt my cheeks heat up.

"Thank you, sir. I put a lot of time and effort into them. Pack mentality is an interesting concept and it's rare to find closer functioning packs than the Wild Dog." Not to mention that wolf packs had been studied to death.

"Call me Simon, please. How long were you in Africa conducting the research?"

"Three years, give or take."

He offered a knowing smile and took a look around the tiny space. "I'm sure this must seem very… confining in comparison."

"It's wonderful here." I hesitated then lowered my voice conspiratorially. "But, between you and me, it's definitely not the wide, open space of the Sub-Sahara." He threw back his head with an animated, almost boy-ish laugh. I couldn't help but giggle a little myself, mostly from nerves.

"You're right about that." His focus was back on me now. "Rebecca, you do know why I'm here?"

I nodded. "I applied for a grant to study dinosaur behavior at the- your park. For my dissertation, I'd like to study-" I took a deep breath, not sure if I could even bring myself to say the word without some kind of giddiness. "Well, velociraptors, specifically."

I had applied for that grant a little over a year ago when I'd heard they were bringing velociraptors back to Isla Nublar. I'd been ten years old when they had attempted to open Jurassic Park and had been so fascinated with the concept, and dinosaurs, that I read everything I could get my grubby little mitts on. Even now, as an adult woman in her early thirties, I still read books on dinosaurs. The idea of even being in the vicinity of a dinosaur, let alone getting the chance to study them, would be a dream come true.

"As you know, we have had our raptor program up and running for some time. It's not a feature of the park that is open to the public, you understand, but the Masrani Corporation would like to offer you the grant and InGen would like to give you the chance to make your research happen."

My mouth opened, closed, opened again, and closed. Tears stung my eyes, but I blinked them furiously away. I was not about to cry, not now. "I- honored doesn't even feel like the right word. Thank you so much, Mr. Masrani- Simon," I corrected.

"It's my pleasure. Of course, there are conditions you will have to meet. Any research you do will have to be shared with the InGen team and myself. Nor will the assets be in what could be considered a standard habitat. They are being worked with by a team as part of our IBRIS project-" He paused. "I'm getting ahead of myself and I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to explain it nearly as well as the team could."

We spent the next forty five minutes discussing the finer points of what I would be doing, living arrangements, and the raptors themselves. He gave me a list of contact numbers and informed me the paperwork would be sent to me some time that week. We stood at the same time and I walked him out to the front of the building.

"Really, Simon, thank you again. I- I still can't believe this is real."

"I can see we made the right choice in giving this to you." He grinned. "Just wait until you set foot on the island."

I swear I almost fainted.

Somehow, I managed to make it back into the office without completely losing my cool. Everything suddenly seemed brighter; the world was a happier, better place.

Holy shit.

Had that really happened?

I looked down at my desk where Simon's business card lay next to my cup and my heart rate increased.

That had absolutely happened.

I was going to Jurassic World to study dinosaurs.

Me.

I had to call someone.

The first person to come to mind was my sister. I propped my phone against the keyboard knowing that, as it was a Saturday, she and her wife would be awake and at home. FaceTime rang for all of 30 seconds before Emma's face took up the whole screen. We had the same dirty blonde hair (though hers was stick straight and mine was a frizzy, wavy mess) and elfin facial features, but she had inherited my dad's crazy blue eyes and I had my mom's brown.

Emma leaned back and I could see Lauren sitting on the couch next to her. They were both in sweats and I felt a twinge of envy. "I see you're at the office, workaholic."

"Ah, you are observant, grasshopper." I nonchalantly glanced down at my finger nails. "What are you ladies up to today?"

"We're binge watching House of Cards, if you must know."

"Oh my god, you were right. It's sooooo good!" Lauren chimed in.

"Ha!" I laughed. "I told you, you'd like it."

"Yeah, yeah, you win," Emma conceded. "What's up with you? You look like you're about to explode." Leave it to my sister to cut right to the chase.

"I don't-" I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "I don't think I am- I- Remember when I applied for that research grant with InGen last year?"

Emma looked momentarily confused then snapped her fingers. "The one for Jurassic World?" I nodded. "What about it?"

The words came out in rapid fire pace. "Simon Masrani came to visit me, today, in person, like just now, and offered me the position! Holy shit, you guys, I'm going to study dinosaurs."

Several loud squeals came from the other end of the phone.

"Are you serious? Becks, that's amazing!" Lauren frowned slightly. "Wait, you're not going to be in any danger or anything, right?"

"No, it's not like I'm going to Isla Sorna." I snorted. "You think they're just going to give me free reign after what happened with Jurassic Park?" I tapped the desk, excitement beginning to take a backseat to more rational thought. "They have a bunch of containment procedures in place. Besides, it sounds like it's going to be pretty standard stuff. Observe. Write reports. Make speculations. Probably write a fabulous, award winning article. All par for the course. And the Raptor section of the park isn't open to visitors at all. At least, not yet."

"What do you mean yet?" Emma asked, putting on her Big Business voice. By day my sister was a product marketing manager for a company in Denver and considered herself an expert on all things even kind of PR related. "Aren't velociraptors supposed to be highly intelligent and dangerous? How are they planning on selling that to their investors when they decide to open that up?"

"No idea. It sounds like they're trying to train them or something. I don't know- Simon was pretty vague on the details."

"Ooh- Simon, huh?" Lauren teased. "When's the wedding?"

"Gross, Lo. He's almost fifty."

Emma rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around Lauren, giving her a visible squeeze to silence her. Lauren snuggled in and I felt that nudge of envy again. "Well, don't get roped into anything stupid, Rebecca. Don't lie on your reports if they ask you to and don't… compromise yourself."

"Me? Compromise myself? And ruin our family and all of my marriage prospects?" I fell back in my chair, head on forehead for dramatic emphasis. "The scandal of it all!"

"I'm being serious, you ass."

I sat up, snickering. "You have to be, you're the big sister. But I get where you're coming from and I won't let the big, bad corporation bully me into writing pristine reports. I will be a good little scientist, I promise."

"You're an idiot, but you're my idiot. All doubting Debbie behavior aside, I really am excited for you. I can't believe you're going to set foot in the park before we are."

Lauren looked over at the phone again. "Have you called Mom and Dad yet?" She had been a part of our family for so long that she had finally started claiming our parents as her own.

"Uh, no. Like I would let you guys miss out on that freak out. Dinner at your place tomorrow?"

Emma laughed. "You're on. We're going back to this horrible show. Love you, you gigantic nerd."

"Love you, Becks!" Lauren chirped.

"Love you guys too!"

I pressed end and stared at the black screen, the excitement surging back full force. Pinching myself seemed like a good idea. Maybe that would make it feel less like a dream?

A knock on the door brought me crashing right back to reality. Katie stuck her head in. "Ms. Marsh? It's time for the tour? And Dale stopped by to remind you about the show."

"Like I could forget," I mumbled. All I had to do was remind myself that by the end of the day I would be giving Dale my two weeks' notice. That thought alone was enough to bring a stupid grin back to my face. "Come on, Katie. Let's go teach these kids about Africa." I grabbed my notes off of the printer and slammed the office door shut behind me.