To and Fro

The swing—which was a pain in the ass to setup—rocks gently to and fro. The little raptor in it has long dozed off. Little gasps of breath which are probably baby snores come from her. Her little stomach is bulging again, and he's wondered if he's feeding her too much.

Owen sits in his chair, feet up, playing a few rounds of Call of Duty. He can hear the teens cursing in his headset as he dominates the round. Perhaps if he was playing with older people it would be a challenge. However, he doesn't have that Prestige skull with wings on his icon for nothing. The other option would be to switch to Black Ops 2, but he doesn't care much for that one. He's not-so-patiently waiting for Ghosts.

Hopefully, that will be better.

As the round ends, he casts a glance over to the little raptor. She's been sleeping for longer than her normal two hours which he chalks up to the fact she had a long day in the park. When InGen comes and talks to him about it will be another thing. He's expecting them at any moment. There's no way they would allow him to take her out without some sort of punishment.

As if hearing his thoughts, his phone starts vibrating causing him to jolt. He takes a breath and shuts off the X-Box. This will probably be a long conversation.

Checking the caller idea, he heaves a sigh. The person calling is much worse than InGen could ever be.

"Hello, sir."

"This has gone on long enough!"

With a grimace, Owen closes his eyes. His muscles tighten in his neck and shoulders. He winces when the next screech comes through.

"Your mother and I have allowed this nonsense to go on long enough! You should be out on tour, not taking care of zoo animals!"

This has been allowed just under four days now.

It's not surprising the man is screaming at him. It's nothing new. Owen's used to this type of behavior when things don't go according to plan. Any time he was in trouble as a child, this was the pattern. As a teen, if he missed curfew this was the response. When he broke off his engagement with Jessica…well, this treatment has been going on ever since.

"I expect to hear a response from you."

Owen doesn't know how to respond. He doesn't know how to make it right. He knows no matter what he says he's going to face the wrath. He's only managed twice in his life to be something in his father's eyes. The first, when he enlisted in the Navy. The second, when he proposed.

"Sir, this isn't entirely a zoo—"

"I've seen the news. I know what they say."

"The division I'm working with is military. They're supposed to be trained like dogs and seals."

"Then why is your mother sending you those absurd care packages?"

Owen shrugs. "You'd have to ask her."

"You have her believing this thing is a grandchild of some sort! Do you realize how asinine you sound? Why are you brainwashing her with this idea?"

"I'm not brainwashing her," he growls and looks to the little raptor snug in the swing. He's exhausted after the past few days. As he looks at her, though, he has mixed opinions. He isn't quite sure how he feels. "And it's not a thing. It's a raptor."

"I don't care what kind of monster—"

"She's a raptor!" he snaps. Blue jolts awake, and her yellow eyes meet his gaze. He takes a deep breath. "She's not a monster. She's a velociraptor, and she's the last leg of my tour."

"Playing with fossils is not a tour, young man. And despite your mother sending you those packages, she doesn't sleep at night because she's afraid one of them will eat you. She doesn't want to bury an empty casket."

His chest tightens. Of course, his father would be calling on his mother's behalf. If his mother wasn't alive, Owen wouldn't hear from the old man. His father wouldn't care if he was dead or not. However, he doesn't want to worry his mother. "Blue's not going to hurt me. She's the size of a baby. I can send you a picture if you'd like."

"That thing will grow into a man-eater!" his father snarls. "You give up this stupid dream and report home!"

Home…

What would ever make him want to return to that farmhouse?

The house where he was born and raised, did his homework, got good grades. Learned to slide down banisters, how to grow crops, and found out the meaning of heartache when his chocolate lab Scruffy died.

His sister lives there now with her husband and their newborn boy. They've inherited the property. His parents live in one of two smaller homes on the property. They all work together to keep the barn and animals in healthy order.

Honestly, he's surprised his brother and his wife don't live there with their two kids as well. However, they only live about ten minutes away.

So, no, he can't think of a good reason why he wants to move back there. As far as he's concerned, he's more a nomad at this point. A lone wolf. He isn't even entirely sure what home means.

"Did you hang up on me? Did you hear me? I said leave that beast and come home right now."

Owen rises from the chair and walks to the raptor, his mind whirling. He doesn't like what his father is saying, but is this the out he's been looking for? He doesn't want to raise a child. He likes living the single life. Maybe this is an answer to his prayer for freedom.

The tiny raptor chirps and raises her arms. Her little claws flex and she coos.

"Sir, I have a mission to do."

"There is no mission there."

"I have two years left and they'll let me fully retire—early. Because this is a hazardous job, and I'm putting my neck on the line. I'll get full benefits and full retirement earlier than twenty years."

"That's because they know you won't have to pay."

"Then so be it, but I'm willing to take the risk because the reward is definitely worth it. Besides," Owen adds. "You know full well that servicemen die every day in service to their country. If I die, then I'm no different than them, except, this is probably the easier way out."

"Is that O-wee?" he hears in the background. "What are you saying to my son? Give me that phone!"

There's a scuffle causing Owen to pull the phone away from his ear and wince. He's probably bleeding out the ear now. When the noise stops, he puts the phone back to his ear.

"Is your father giving you a hard time?" his mother asks.

Owen shakes his head. "No, Ma. No more than usual."

"Good. I hope he's not convincing you to abandon my granddaughter."

"It's a raptor, Mom. Not a child."

"That's irrelevant, dear. Now, did you check the package I sent you? There's something special for you and her."

Owen rises from his spot and walks to the recent care package. He never finished opening it, since he was too caught up in discovering the swing and putting that together.

He opens it to see a vintage Canadiens jersey with a white lace tie. Unwrapping it, he finds a much smaller jersey. He does his best to swallow the smile on his face and unwraps the jersey to find several children's books. There's a collection of Beatrice Potter books that he recognizes from his childhood, a book with a bat on it, another with a bird and a dog on the cover, and the last one consists of two rabbits on the cover.

He shakes his head. "Mom, I'm not reading these to her."

"We'll see," she says softly. "I have to go, O-wee. It's getting late here, and your sister needs help making dinner. I'll call you in the morning. Love you."

"Love you, too."

He hangs up and shakes his head.

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