Special thanks to Darth Cody for suggesting the echolocation and camouflage idea! I'm running with that shit. And for the guest with the angsty headcannon of Ripper being abused by the guards, not gonna lie, that made me cry.

Five years ago

"Charlie, come on out," Maria called out as she searched high and low in the hatchery room. Today the paddock was finished so their four little raptors were going to be transferring. They had gotten Blue and Echo easily, Delta was a little bit tricky but after dangling a piece of jerky she ran right out. But Charlie, well, Charlie was a little escape artist. She didn't like seeing her newfound sisters getting snatched up, and Maria knew that.

"Charlie, sweet baby," Maria cooed as she crawled onto the floor. She was glad that Owen and the others had already left, she'd hate for them to witness this. But Charlie wasn't anywhere to be seen, at least from under the furniture. As Maria sat up, she felt a solid weight land on her shoulders, a raspy hiss in her ear.

Maria smiled as she gently grabbed the foot tall raptor and cradled her in her arms as she stood. "Are you playing a game?" Maria asked Charlie as she walked towards the container that Owen had left for her.

Charlie cawed as if confirming Maria's suspicions before wriggling in her arms as she tried to set her into the container. "Now, now, none of that," Maria scolded when Charlie hissed. "Do you miss your sisters?" Charlie stopped and looked up at her. "I'm taking you to them, Char. Just be patient, alright?"

Charlie seemed to relax just enough for Maria to place her into the cat container, locking the entrance. The raptor hissed as she moved around, trying to figure out an exit. Maria knew she had to work quick, she doubted she'd get Charlie a second time. She quickly lifted the carrier and made her way out of the room, wincing everytime a thud came from the container as Charlie threw herself against it.

"What happened to my sweet baby?" Maria asked sternly as she walked through the main hall, stepping over the broken pieces of dinosaur bones. She pushed the doors open and smiled at the sight of a car left behind for her. She didn't have to walk with a pissy velociraptor.

Maira placed Charlie in the passenger's seat and quickly made her way into the drivers. She turned on the car and looked at Charlie, who looked back with wide golden eyes. Maria felt her heart melt as she held her finger out to the gate. She knew Owen had said that it was dangerous, that even though they were small they still packed a bite. Charlie sniffed at the digit before giving a small nip to it, her little teeth piercing the flesh easily.

"Oh, you little gremlin," Maria said without any bite as she withdrew her finger. It didn't hurt, but there was blood and she could already hear Barry freaking out about it. She glanced at Charlie as she drove, a fond smile on her face. "You're a good girl, Charlie," she said softly. "Don't ever change."

"And you're sure he's going to be okay," Maria pressed as Wu looked over Ripper. The indoraptor kept growling at every poke and prod, but Maria kept her hand on his back in a sign of comfort. She didn't like the doctors either, but she also knew that this was necessary after his little tumble this morning. Her fingernails tapped against the metal table's surface as she waited for Wu to answer. Why was he taking so long?

"I think he'll be okay," Wu finally said as he let Ripper's leg go. "The fall more than likely shocked him than anything else."

"But Golf-"

"Golf was a velociraptor, and a runt at that," Wu was quick to point out. "Velociraptors are easily prone to injury when they're younger. That's why we placed tyrannosaur DNA in the Indoraptor's genome. Their young is sturdier."

Maria nodded as she looked Ripper over and picked him up, wrapping the blanket around him as he snuggled into her chest. "I guess I have to start remembering that he's not fully raptor," she said softly.

"You were good with the raptors," Wu said in understanding. "If we hadn't have had Owen, I would have made the recommendation for you to be the alpha of that pack." Maria smiled softly as her eyes trailed to Ripper as he tucked his head into the crook of her arm. She glanced back up at Wu when he sighed. "He's going to be okay, but I do want to take blood soon."

"Why?" She asked in slight alarm.

"Well, I'm curious to know what all he's inherited from the indominus," Wu explained easily. "She could camouflage, I'd be curious to know if he can as well."

"He hasn't," Maria said with a shake of her head.

"Not yet."

Maira shook her head again. "No, it's way too early to even think about taking blood," she said as she held Ripper closer to her. "He's only two days old, Henry!"

"I know that, I wasn't talking about right now," he said evenly. "In a month, and I want updates on anything he does that's abnormal for raptors and tyrannosaurs."

She nodded as she felt her nerves calm down. She didn't like the thought of anyone drawing blood from Ripper. "I will," she promised as she took a step backwards. "I'm gonna go back to my… room. Put him down for a nap, maybe some food." She said as she nodded a farewell to the doctor.

"I'd get started on your documents," Wu suggested as he turned back to his work. "You're already making progress."

Maria nodded and turned to leave the lab. As she walked down the stairs, she was greeted with Mills running in. "Hey, Eli."

"I heard he fell," he gasped as he skidded to a halt in front of her. He saw the blanket in her arms and his eyes went wide. "Oh, god. Did he die?"

"What?" She drew her brows together before glancing down and rolling her eyes. "No, he's just hiding," she said as she drew the blanket far enough away for Mills to see in. Ripper took one look at him and growled. Maria let the blanket fall back over her baby and looked back up at him. "Wu said he's fine."

"Oh thank god," Eli said as he patted his forehead with a handkerchief. "I was scared we'd have to start over."

Maria frowned at him. He was only concerned with restarting the program? She felt disgust deep in her gut as she glanced away from him. Even Claire had more concern for the dinosaurs when they were sick or hurt. "Nope, he's safe and sound," she said as she shifted on her feet.

Eli smiled in relief. "That's good. You go ahead and take him back, I'm going to go talk to Wu." He patted her shoulders as he pushed past her and up the stairs.

Maria didn't wait, she was already halfway down the long, dark hall. She balanced Ripper in one arm as she unlocked her room and entered, sighing as she placed Ripper on the couch as she shut the door and locked it. She glanced to her left at the computer where she'd be documenting at. It was only twelve in the afternoon, she could wait till later when Ripper was down for the night.

She glanced back to the hybrid when he started squeaking, and chuckled when she saw he was trying to escape the blanket. She remembered doing this to Charlie back in the hatchery, the little raptor loved being swaddled up until Owen came in, and then it was an act of betrayal just to be in the soft pink material. She crouched in front of the couch as his six in long tail sprung free, his little foot extending as he fought hard to escape. It wasn't even like he was wrapped in it either, it was only draped over him but he seemed to think his life was in danger at this very moment in time. Finally he was free as he realized that backing up was a valid solution. He smacked his jaws as he looked around and chirped when he saw her.

Maria lifted her hand for Ripper to sniff, the tip of his nose bumped against the scar on her finger. Her heart sank a bit at the sight of it, Charlie had given that to her all those years ago. Ripper sensed her sadness and rubbed his head against her arm, his little claws digging in as he climbed her arm and settled on her shoulders. He rasped into her ear, his little teeth tickling the skin.

"I'm okay," Maria assured him softly as she stood, her hands raised to keep him steady. "I'm alright," she added with a sigh as she placed him onto the kitchen table and pulled out another container of meat and placed it on the counter. She gave Ripper a quick kiss as she pulled out a ramen cup and peeled it open. "Give me a second, baby," she said as she poured water into the cup and stuck it in the microwave for three minutes. She reached up in the cupboards and grabbed a little dish. Pouring some water into it, and grabbing the meat, she walked back to the table and placed it in front of Ripper.

She sat down in front of him, watching as he began to tear into the meat. His little body shook with the effort as he tore into the meat. He let out a bunch of little growls as he tipped his head back and scarfed it down. He licked his jaws as he looked at her, a smile on his face. Maria blinked as she processed this development. He smiled.

He smiled.

Maria jumped when the microwave dinged, and quickly stood to grab her hot cup of noodles. She grabbed a fork and came back to the table where Ripper stood drinking. She twirled some noodles around her fork as she regarded Ripper. She should probably look at the videos of the indominus again, to see what she was in store for. She still had the codes for Jurassic World to access the security videos that weren't released to the public. She'd watch everything else, except for the videos regarding her raptors.

"You're gonna be full of surprises, ain't ya?" Maria asked Ripper as he went back to his meat. "You can smile, I wonder what else you can do." Ripper didn't offer any comments as he bit off another piece of meat.

Maria ran a hand over her face as she regarded the red blinking light in front of her. She was tired, it had taken Ripper over an hour to settle down on her bed. Anytime she went to leave he'd wake up and start screaming again. Eventually, she had to swaddle him and take him with her into the living room so she could begin her video reports.

"Maria Anne, day two," she finally said. "The indoraptor has been out of the shell for two full days now, and he's already proven to be an interesting case. We had a mishap with him falling off of the bed, which thanks to the tyrannosaurus in him, he's okay." She briefly smiled down at Ripper.

"He's pretty… self aware for such a young dinosaur. Hybrid or not, he shouldn't be this aware of everything around him. He's displayed classic velociraptor behaviors, and very little Tyrannosaurus." Now she hesitated. "I'm noticing some… human behaviors in him. Placing a hand on the arm for comfort, smiling. I don't really know what this means, and to be honest, I'm scared to investigate it further." She didn't want to know what she'd find.

"I'm going through all the files Jurassic World had on the indominus, hoping for any clues for what I can expect with Ri- the Indoraptor." Personal feelings had to put aside for this. This was strictly for research and observation, not to talk about her new baby. "Hopefully there won't be any surprises."

She nodded to herself before cutting the feed, leaning back in her chair as she looked at the screen. Ripper was curled up on her lap, a nice solid weight. If she pretended hard enough, she could almost picture Charlie. Tears welled up in her eyes, when was the last time she gave her raptors a proper cry? It had been months since they left this world, and months since she lost them. She had buried herself in work after the first week of tears, she didn't think she ever really allowed herself to really mourn.

The tears fell onto her cheeks at the realization, she couldn't give Ripper everything she had if she was still in mourning over her dead babies. So she ducked her head, her arms bracing the side of Ripper, and let herself cry.

She cried for Delta, who was a beautiful girl. She was smarter than the rest of the group, thanks to the significant amount of avian DNA used. She was Barry's girl, only ever calmed by his loving touch. She still remembered the time when Delta was still small, and had climbed up Barry's leg just to bury herself in his jacket. She had gloated the rest of the day because the other girls couldn't climb good yet.

She cried for Echo, the raptor who didn't know how to pick her fights. Her jaw was permanently crooked, and she had earned the name Elvis by the rest of the handlers. She was always in the back, and that was why she loved both Barry and Maria. She was never forgotten by them, they always had a special treat for her. Maria remembered a time where Echo would run to them everytime they came into the hatchery room, little chirp echoing in the room. She was always awake at the ungodly hours of the morning, and she'd be there when Maria came to check on them, wide awake and willing to listen to her handlers woes.

She cried for Charlie, her youngest and best girl. The raptor who bounced and hopped before she ran, the raptor who loved to climb onto her everyday back when they were kept in the hatchery. The green raptor who cooed every time she saw her, who once insisted that she be near Maria when she was sick. Maria had spent three days, spending each night as well, with the baby raptor as she fought the cold. Owen was put out at first, but he admitted to her after the ordeal that he was glad it was her in there, it had made him less worried about the baby.

And Maria cried for Blue, her last living baby all alone. The eldest raptor who held tremendous respect for her handlers and her pack. The raptor who relied on her family for everything, who fought hard to be Owen's beta, who loved her sisters with everything she had. The raptor who showed her kind side as a baby, and hid it once she realized her responsibility for her pack. She cried for the raptor who lost her family, alpha, and her home.

She sniffled as she wiped her eyes, the world around her blurry as she placed her glasses on the table in front of her. She heard a concerned squawk, and looked down at the red-orange eyes looking back up at her. Ripper let out a chirp as he balanced on her legs and reached up to touch her face. Maria wrapped her arms around him and hoisted him up closer, burying her face into his side as she let herself finish her tears. She doubted this would be the last time she'd break down over her girls, but she knew that it wouldn't be as loud and ugly as this episode was.

She lifted her head and wiped her eyes again before looking down at Ripper. She ran a hand over his head and down his back gently as she controlled herself. She looked at the small, helpless baby, and fought back the feeling that she'd have to watch him die too. Her brows furrowed, she couldn't let that happen.

"I promise you," she said softly, but determined as she looked him in the eyes, "I will never let anyone, or anything, hurt you. I will keep you safe from now until the end of time. I won't fail you," she finished her vow. She didn't think he understood her, but she needed to say it. She wouldn't abandon him like she did her girls when they needed her. She was here for Ripper, and she wouldn't go anywhere.

And God save the poor bastard who tried to tear her away from him.

I'm gonna include a lot of flashbacks in the upcoming chapters, some featuring the raptors, others featuring her past. Each flashback will be important for the chapter, even in small ways like showing how she got the scar on her finger!

But, as always, let me know what you think! What did you like? What did you want to see in the upcoming chapters? I've been skimming the Jurassic World wiki, and pulling headcanons off of Tumblr, so I'm open for anything and everything :D