Svensson set up the scan for the day after Owen had walked into her office and requested it. Grady was right on time, looking tense and apprehensive.

Annika had cleared her schedule for the day.

It was exciting, frightening and confusing in one.

Owen's brain looked like an artist's surreal landscape, colors in places where there were none in a non-preternatural, and little to none in those who had had their MRIs taken before.

Annika did a full round of scans, with whatever she had at her disposal. She knew that to interpret what she saw it would need a lifetime.

Owen Grady had already done something no one had ever come out sane before, had inherited a strong talent from his grandfather and his great-aunt, who had lost herself to that talent. Now he had stepped beyond that.

She would really need the raptors' scans to make sense of maybe one percent of what she saw.

She told him that.

Owen looked at the screen, the colors on the black and white image. He appeared thoughtful, but also a little bit relieved.

"No brain damage then?" he finally asked.

"None I can see."

He nodded.

"Owen…"

He sighed. "I know I might have received damage, non-traditional brain damage, because you can't compare my brain to anyone else's. I feel okay, Annika. Really fine. I can walk outside, in the park, and the other animals don't bother me. I was on Sorna, without a problem, could push my mind at the Sorna raptors. Nothing happened afterwards. I didn't break down."

"Because you have the pack. It's a symbiosis," she told him, realization dawning in her as well. "They protect you. They are the four corner stones of your mind shields."

Owen didn't answer. She could read it in his eyes, saw it in his stance. And she knew he didn't want to hear it, but he was the alpha of the island.

"I can only begin to interpret what I can see here. I'm not a neurologist. I can only say that whatever is going on, you have a brain that has fired up areas that don't shine so brightly in other scans I've seen, and you might have been running on all cylinders when you shot past your natural limits. You're still quieting down and your girls are your guards. It'll take a while to heal completely, I guess."

Owen was silent, looking at the screen. "I feel no different than before now."

Annika could read the little lie quite clearly. He might not be as susceptible as he was right after they had brought him in, but Owen Grady was more sensitive to the dinosaurs on Isla Nublar than he was telling.

"Should anything change, anything at all, if you experience symptoms… please call me, Owen," she only said, not calling him on his little obfuscation of the truth.

He nodded. His expression was serious. "I will."

And Annika knew he would.

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"I sometimes forget how beautiful this is."

Alan's voice was warm, wistful, filled with wonder. And Amazement.

Owen gave him an understanding smile. "Yeah. It's pretty amazing. And very, very beautiful. Especially without the tourists."

They sat at the edge of the river, on one of the platforms usually used by the keepers. On the other side the apatosaurs moved slowly, measured and graceful despite their massive size. Ankyls, stegs and trices lay or grazed among them.

Harmonious.

Owen let their presences lull him into a relaxed state, the hum almost comforting. It helped to know that his shields had recovered enough by now that he could enjoy this without fearing a crack forming again.

What had changed after he had blown his threshold to pieces was that he could now easily distinguish between the herd members. Where there had been just a unanimous mass was now a field of singular dots, intermingling, connected or singular, young and old. The pack leaders were the strongest. He had always been able to keep them apart from the rest.

Now there was also more.

Touching them would be so easy. Move a little past the old threshold, into their minds, flow with the masses. It would take no effort and the anchor to his own mind was bright and strong.

Owen wouldn't get lost.

He also wouldn't do any of it. He was very comfortable in the pack bond, with his four guardians, who were jealously and possessively hovering around him.

"They are a miracle," Alan said. "What Hammond did all those years ago, taking damaged DNA, those tiny fragments from millions of years ago, and creating those animals… it's amazing and wonderful. Crazy, but wonderful."

Owen chuckled. "Tell me about it."

"He gave the world dinosaurs. Scientifically incorrect theme park monsters, sure, but they are dinosaurs. They live, they breathe, they… connect to us. They bond. And some of them are so much more than the animals Hammond intended them to be. It's so much chaos that I might just side with Ian on that, but if you ever tell him, I'll deny it to my dying breath."

Owen raised a hand. "Holy oath."

Alan's eyes crinkled a little, the blue intense.

"And it's not just chaos, you know. There is a manner of control."

"But never enough. And you told me that you yourself, for instance, don't control anything about those four raptors in your pack."

"The key to a happy life is to accept that you're never actually in control."

Alan had to laugh out loud. "Simon Masrani, right?"

Owen just nodded, aware what the pack had already given him, that it was something completely out of control and then again not. It was a new kind of stability, a balance to his mind that he hadn't had before. And he had created this stable pack.

Maybe it was chaos, but if that was the truth, he actually enjoyed it.

x XX JW XX x

They watched the apatosaurs, the herds moving lazily as they fed. Their grunts and rumbles mixed with the huffs and grunts of the other dinosaurs. Now and then one trumpeted, announcing something or other. Becky was looking at the two human visitors, her mind alert, slightly inquisitive, but not alarmed. They were huge, but so graceful. So unique like all the others.

Owen leaned back against a tree, smiling to himself. His eyes were on the leaves above, green and healthy, with shafts of sunlight breaking through like spotlights.

Becky stretched out her neck, head lowering, eyeing them. Alan was holding his breath, a smile on his face that reflected his passion for these animals, for all things dinosaurs. Despite everything he had gone through, especially with the predators chasing him, he had never lost that passion, that love.

There was such a happiness radiating off him, such ease and relaxation, it was incredible to watch.

"Yeah, this is pretty awesome," Owen sighed, feeling the same happiness, "All in all. No other place in the world I want to live."

Alan chuckled as Becky snorted and raised her head again, returning to feeding off the trees.

"You wouldn't find a neighborhood that allowed four raptors anyway."

Owen grinned. "Well-behaved, house-broken raptors."

"There's that."

One of the stegosaurs waded along the shore line, nosing around the water. She splashed playfully. She was young, just out of the baby stage and entering teenager-dom. One of the older ones was watching her with alert tolerance.

Becky called out and some of the herd answered. She started to move further down the river, probably looking for a better feeding ground. The stegosaurs stayed, by and by joined by a few edmontosaurus and parasaurolophus.

"They look very good," Alan noted, nodding to himself. "Healthy, not overfed, enough room to run and also to rest without getting into anyone's way. No stress."

As the park's resident consultant in all matters dinosaur, Alan had a keen eye on the animals' welfare.

Owen nodded. "They are very… even-tempered and balanced."

His friend shot him a curious look. "You can feel them?"

"I always could. Now it's just… a little more."

"Huh."

"And I'm fine," he said automatically.

Alan laughed a little, pushing back his hat. "Yeah, yeah, okay. I'll try not to worry."

"Empty promises. You're worse than a mother-hen."

"Someone has to look out for you, kid. You're accident prone."

One of the edmontosaurs bleated and pushed against the one next to her, both starting to scuffle over a good grazing spot. The herd leader bellowed and both stopped with snorts and shuffles.

"Youngsters," Owen commented.

Alan grinned.

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Both men stayed for a long time, enjoying the shadowed place, the ease of the herds, the curiosity, until Reggie came by in one of the boats.

"Ahoy, mateys!" he hollered.

One of the triceratops bleated at him. He waved at her.

"Easy, girl. Just picking up the tourists."

Alan rose with a groan. "Damn old bones."

Owen gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. "All in your head, professor."

"You reach my age and then we talk about it being in your head."

Reggie had docked the boat and had climbed up. "Enjoying yourselves?"

"A lot. But I guess I should get back home. Work." Alan shrugged. "And that paper with Mick."

"Have fun."

Reggie made an inviting gesture. "First class ride waiting for you, Dr. Grant. We can take the scenic route. If we're lucky, the girls will show up for the daily routine visual inspection. They usually do. If you want to come along…?"

Alan's eyes lit up and he nodded. Both climbed into the boat and Owen waved at them, smiling. He went back to the jeep. He would make his usual rounds, check in on a few paddocks, then see if Claire wanted anything from him.

After that, pack time.

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Owen had to smile when he received the email that had been sent not only to him, but Carter and every head keeper at the park. It was a brief statement that most of the interns cycling through the paddocks had reached the end of their contracted time. Several were leaving, returning to Masrani's myriad of branch offices and affiliated companies. Some were also back to school to finish their final year or two, or to work on their doctorates.

Some would stay.

Gregory Tomasz was one of them.

Owen felt especially happy for the younger man. He was very talented, not just in a preternatural way, and metriacanthosaurs were now in good hands. He was only just a junior keeper, but he would go places. Owen was sure of it.

Patricia Fisher had applied for a place, too. At the hatchery. According to Claire's mail she would remain at the quarantine nursery to raise the Sorna babies, together with those working students and interns who still had contracts going for a few more weeks. Like Zach, who had even more time.

Zach was thriving at the nursery. Whenever Owen ran into him, the teenager looked happy, gushed enthusiastically about his work, and he never complained. May was full of praise and had been about all interns.

It had been a good plan and it had worked.

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Owen had decided to get away from the theme park, from everything. Serena had been right that he needed a vacation. That meant not just a day or two. It meant a week.

It would do him and the girls a world of good.

So Grady had piled clothes, food and whatever gear he might need into the saddle bags, a backpack and case to strap onto his bike. Carter came by and dumped a load of new equipment at his place.

"Need help?" Dan had teased.

"Nope. Got four eager helpers."

And he had.

This time Echo wasn't the only one carrying saddle bags. Owen had prepared a harness for Charlie, who was now the designated carrier for his sleeping bag and tent. Echo was more experienced with the harness and therefor the chosen one for the electronics.

It made the lower-ranked raptor insanely proud and she paraded in front of the whole pack. Owen laughed and shook his head.

"She is something."

He turned to Barry, who was outside and watching.

"She loves being special."

"Apparently. I'll see you in two weeks then. No poachers, no kidnapped raptors, no getting nearly killed."

Owen chuckled. "No promises."

Blue barked, pushing her head against his shoulder in reproach.

You won't get hurt.

Not again. The pack echoed it, one voice, one intent. They wouldn't let their alpha get hurt by human trespassers, by animals, by anything. They would stick with him, guard him fiercely.

Owen sighed theatrically and gestured at them to move away. "Yeah, yeah, okay, fine. I get it. Four watchdogs. Very vicious guards. Keeping their alpha safe."

Charlie snorted, rumbling. Even Delta was pushing forward, vigorously agreeing they wouldn't let their alpha out of their sight. Echo huffed as if there was any doubt.

Barry laughed. "Okay, I see. They are a little… high-strung, right?"

"Just a little." Owen pushed at Charlie's snout. "Okay, okay. Off, girl!"

She grumbled, but when Blue nipped at her, she moved away again. His beta stayed close by, though.

"I have my cell and the radio Carter gave me. Got the GPS trackers, a locator, and we have the cameras. There are no poachers out there or some kind of unknown monster. We'll be fine."

Owen held up his hand like swearing a holy oath. Barry smirked.

"Sure."

With that he pushed away from the bars and walked toward the stables where he had helped clean up.

Owen sighed and shook his head.

Nothing will happen, Blue stated.

Because they would patrol and look for anything or anyone not belonging there. And they would keep a very close eye on their accident-prone alpha.

"Hey!" Owen protested.

Blue tilted her head, daring him to contradict her.

"Getting held up at gun point is not accident prone," he muttered.

She nuzzled against his neck. Losing you is not an option, she just stated.

Neither was losing one of them.

Owen wrapped an arm around her head and Blue hummed softly.

tbc...