Chapter Two: Five Years Later

Sitting in his office, I attempted to keep an open mind. What he was asking of me was completely ridiculous and he knew that I didn't want to do it. But it seemed that I didn't have much of a choice. As I waited, I looked at the aerial view of the park that was hanging on the wall. The family pictures that covered his shelves. The beautiful plants in the corners of the room. Picking up his paperweight, I looked at the small fossil inside of it. An ammonite. That is a beautiful goniatite pattern. I thought as I rolled it in my hands. Finally the door opened and the man I had been expecting finally came in. Smiling, he sat down and folded his hands in front of him. Smiling back, I leaned forward, doing the same.

"I'm going to say 'no', John." I told him.

"No, you are going to say 'yes'." He replied.

"And why would I do that?" I frowned, leaning back in the chair.

"Because he's your father." He said with much conviction.

"Yes, but we're barely on speaking terms. It's taken years for me to form any sort of relationship with him and this is just too much to ask of me right now." I told him, trying to make him see. "I'm not ready."

"Do you like your job?" He asked.

"You're not going to threaten my job are you?" I frowned at him.

"No, of course not." He smiled. "Just answer the question."

Sighing, I dropped my head before looking at him again, "Yes, John, I love my job and you know that."

"And don't you think your father would love to see what you've helped me create?" He asked.

"I've done nothing but care and manage the animals." I told him.

"You graduated first of your class. You are one of the top minds in the paleontology world. You've done a beautiful job here and I am so happy to have you a part of the team." He told me with that grin still on his face.

"Yes, John, I know." I smiled.

"After your mother died, you threw yourself into school and became obsessed with your career. You've been everywhere researching dinosaurs and their behavior and how they lived. You've been at the head of several digs that have found more full skeletons that you've already reached or surpassed your own father in the paleontology fold. You've excelled at everything you've put your mind to. You –"

"John!" I yelled getting his attention. "Enough! Why are we going down my history road? I lived it. I know what I've done. I've done more than most people my age because I gave up everything else in my life. I have no home. No friends. No life. I gave it all up so I could be the best at what I do. Please get to the point."

He eyed me for a moment before holding up his hand, pointing his finger at me. "When I first heard of you, I was intrigued but was going to just pass you by, looking for someone who needed me just as much as I needed them. But then I heard who your father was. I've known about him for years. Funding his dig and such. Then I looked into you and was intrigued by you. You are fierce yet kind and funny. You treat people with respect and lead without fear. You are a remarkable woman."

"Stop buttering me up." I shot at him.

"You are twenty-nine years young and I can see you running this place one day." He exclaimed as he stood and went to the map on the wall. "You love these animals and have done a wonderful job in helping me raise them, to prepare them for the outside world. I couldn't be more proud."

"I really hate you right now." I told him with a smile.

"Have I not given you a good home here?" He asked, stepping up to me, sitting on the edge of his desk.

"You have." I nodded at him.

"Spacious living quarters. All access to everything. Pay that even the president would be jealous of."

"John…" I said becoming impatient.

"All I'm asking you to do it to get your father here to take a look at the park." He told me gently. "I need his opinion in order to open this park. After what happened with Jophery, we need this for the insurance. We need this in order to show the world what we've done." Sighing, I looked up at him before nodding. "Good girl." He smiled and moved to the door. "Would you like to get some ice cream with me?" He asked.

Laughing, I nodded before following him from the room. I had to admit that I loved John. He was like a grandfather to me. One that I adored with all of me. He was brilliant in what he had created here. He had cloned dinosaurs and now we were on the verge of being able to open the park and show them to the world. When he had confronted me with his proposal I thought he was insane. There was no way that he could have done what he claimed he had. But then he took me to Isla Nublar and showed me. I immediately fell in love with the project and dove in head first, devoting my life to him and his dinosaurs. I spent every waking moment learning everything about their creation and how their DNA had been altered to create them. I followed and listened and learned more than I thought I could. More than I had learned over the years in school. I was in shock of the island and I couldn't see or hear enough. That was almost three years ago now. I'd spent nearly every day with him and his team since. It was a feat few took on but I did nothing but go to school, learning and doing as much as I could. I'd learned not to sleep and that coffee was my best friend. Who needed a stable home and family to have a good life? I didn't. I had a more stable life on this island then I'd had in a long time. Especially after my mother died, I no longer had ties to anyone. I still kept in touch with Sarah but it was months between conversations and even then they were short. John had become my closest friend. As well as Robert Muldoon. He was one of the few who were as obsessed as I was when it came to the dinosaurs. Though he was obsessed with Raptors. He was the dark side compared to my light side when it came to dealing with the park. I had fun and enjoyed myself. He did too but was more likely to point out what was wrong with something instead of the right.

When John finally released me from his presence, I walked through the jungle, moving down the worn paths I took every day. There were shortcuts as well as paths that led past all the exhibits. I liked to check on them as often as I could. Moving past the Gallimimus, the herd was grazing in a field. Happily snapping up insects and such. I stopped when one started to move toward the fence.

"Hello, Lilly." I smiled when she stepped up to me. Carefully putting my hand through, I stroked her along her shoulder, patting her side. "How's my girl doing today?" She made a soft noise as she looked at me with one of her large eyes. She was a beautiful animal. "You go enjoy the evening." I told her and watched her go back to the herd.

Moving on to my home, I let myself inside and turned on the lights. It was a rather large single story home. More space then I needed but I made do. It was a three bedroom home with a spacious living room and a large kitchen. It was modern and yet blended in well with its surroundings. Robert made sure it was reinforced and made safe since I insisted on living apart from the main complex. I wanted it to be quiet. Wanted to be able to hear the animal sounds of the night and not the human sounds of the complex.

Walking past all the pictures on the walls, the few things that made it feel like mine, I went to the kitchen and started to warm up a few cups of goats milk. Putting it in a bottle, I checked the temperature on my wrist before making my way to the room right across from me. I could already see light underneath the door from the heat lamp inside. Opening the door, I was immediately met with soft dino noises, turning the light on and smiling at the baby Triceratops that was waiting for me. She stood at the edge of the fence, her tail moving back and forth gently as she looked up at me. Stepping over the fence, I sat amongst the grass and leaves that made up her mini habitat, smiling wider as she clambered into my lap. She was only about a month old and needed special attention. She was born with a leg abnormality that we had to repair and now she was under my care to make sure she grew up big and strong. Not that that was a problem. She was the ninth animal I'd raised and the third Triceratops. I'd named her Katie. A good name for such an adorable creature.

"How's my girl today?" I asked as I helped her drink the bottle. "You're a hungry girl. That's good." I cooed at her.

After she ate, I cleaned up her pen and grabbed the book from the end table that sat next to a single recliner on the other side of the fence. It had become my nursery for the animals I looked after and couldn't have been happier. Who could honestly say that they hand raised a dinosaur? Very few. I counted myself lucky on a daily basis. I loved them and I'd realized that, like our domestic animals, they were known to form bonds and were capable of attaching themselves to a human. The dinosaurs I'd raised had always been more people friendly and most still approached me, treating me as one of their own. It was more than I could have ever asked for in my life and I couldn't wait to share it with the world. But first, before all that, I had to share it with just one person. My father. That in itself was going to be a challenge. We talked every once in a while but we weren't close. He never wanted a child and my mother knew that. When she got pregnant they were both eighteen. She didn't want to burden him when he went off to college so she just didn't say anything. He had no idea he had a daughter. It took her dying for him to even meet me. He tried. I know he did. But I was grieving my mother. I wasn't looking for a father. I owed him more then what I'd given. Maybe that's partially why I agreed to go get him. I owed him a chance to be a part of my life. If that's still what he wanted. It had been years. It was about time I gave him that chance.

The plane ride had been uneventful and now I was already in a rental car on my way to Alan's dig site in Montana. I had always loved Montana. The mountains, the wildlife, everything about it appealed to me. But they didn't have dinosaurs. Not the living kind anyway. Driving up to the site, I got out and immediately felt like all eyes were on me. Yes, my long hair was the same brown as my fathers. Yes, my eyes were the same shape and shade of blue as my fathers. Yes, I am just as or more stubborn then my father. Yes, even the way I talked was like my father. It seemed I may have more in common with my father then my mother. At least she gave me a lean physique. She was a beautiful woman. I'd at least gotten that from her. Plus her kindness and big heart. Something told me my father wasn't quite the one to give me that.

"I'm looking for Dr. Grant." I told the first person who stepped up to me.

"Follow me." He said and led me up a hill to a dig site. "Dr. Grant!" He called.

He turned and froze when his eyes fell on me. Ellie was next to him. She looked at me before him, nudging him when he didn't move. She was the first to come up to me. I liked Ellie. She was a wonderful woman. Alan had gotten lucky with her. I don't think he knew that though.

"Linzie." She smiled and pulled me into a hug.

"Ellie." I smiled, hugging her tightly. She had done her best to be a friend to me after my mother died. I was grateful to her. "It's nice to see you." I told her.

"It's fantastic to see you." She grinned. "You look amazing. Why didn't you tell us you were coming?"

"It was a sort of last minute decision." I replied.

"Linzie." Alan smiled at me.

"Hi, Alan." I smiled back.

"It's good to see you." He told me.

For a moment I just looked at him. "You too." I replied and moved out of my comfort zone as I wrapped my arm around his waist.

He seemed shocked but wrapped his arm around my shoulders as we moved to his trailer. Ellie followed with a happy smile on her face. I was making an effort and not just for Hammond or for Ellie. I was doing it for myself and for the father-daughter relationship I hoped to one day have with my father.

"What brings you here?" Alan asked as he washed out three glasses and filled them with water.

"Thank you." I smiled, taking a drink before answering him. "I am here to invite you to a remote island off the coast of Costa Rica." I told him.

"What's there?" He frowned.

"My job." I replied. "It's on an island owned by John Hammond."

"Hammond?" He asked now intrigued.

"Yup. It's kind of a theme park and he'd really like your opinion on it."

"My opinion?" He frowned and looked at Ellie.

"Both of you are welcome to come. It'd mean a lot to him and to me." I told him. "And he did send me with some persuasion if necessary."

"Like what?" Ellie smiled.

From my pocket, I took out a check and handed it to Alan. He opened it, both of them looking at it, before both their heads shot up at me. It was enough funding to keep them going for the next three years. I smiled and nodded at them. It was no joke. John wanted him there and he knew that I alone might not be enough to get him there.

"You're serious." Alan stated.

"Please, Alan, it would mean the world to me if you came and saw what was going on." I told him.

"What kind of park is it?" He asked.

"It's right up your alley." I grinned, knowing John would say something like that. I was told not to give it away.

"Well if you're really serious about this, when do we leave?" Ellie asked.

"You'll come?" I smiled at them.

Alan nodded before their excitement over the check won out and they shared a celebratory hug with much exclaiming of joy. Alan pulled me into their hug and we shared a moment of joy between the three of us. Now all there was to do was get them packed and then we'd be on our way to the most magical place in the world.