Best Birthday Ever
It was now Saturday meaning one thing: it's Ian's birthday today. Today Ian would be treated better by everyone for the next twenty-four hours. Afterwards, it was back to being normal with him. Let's just watch how the day unfolds shall we?
Ian was sound asleep in his room. Not a sound could be heard except for his light breathing. It was around 7 in the morning and, standing at the feet of his bed, were two very astute and happy parents. They didn't want to surprise him because he seemed super peaceful in his sleep. They simply decided to let Ian wake up on his own. The party wasn't until later anyway. He could sleep all day if he wanted to. Just as Sarah opened the door to leave, Olivia and Alexis ran in and belly flopped on Ian, making him wake up and groan in slight pain.
"Happy Birthday Ian!" yelled both girls excitedly.
Ian simply grunted and then adjusted himself to the weight of the two girls that were on top of him. Once adjusted, Ian asked, "Don't you girls know that it's a Saturday?"
"No," said Olivia, "We realized that it's your birthday today."
Ian put a small smile on his face and then pinched the bridge of his nose.
"God, it's so early," he said in a gruff tone.
"It's only seven in the morning Ian," responded Alexis, "You've been up at earlier times."
"That is...true."
Sarah then stepped in front of the bed, with Vince by her side and said, "Happy Birthday sweetheart."
"Thanks Mom."
"Feliz cumpleaƱos Ian," said Vince.
"Thanks Dad."
"You know Spanish Ian?" Olivia asked.
"Well, considering that my Dad is Hispanic and I learned a bit from James, yes I do."
"Wow, that's hot."
"Really?"
"Definitely."
Olivia then planted a quick kiss on Ian's lips before the girls got off of him and Ian finally got out of bed and stretched his body.
"We've got a whole day planned out for you Ian!" said Alexis.
"How? We live here. There's nothing new to do here," said Ian.
"All right, let's not a be a negative Nancy now."
"Negative Nancy? Alexis you have never said that in your life before."
"Well, it's your birthday, so, we've all agreed that being a bit nicer to you counts as making your day just a bit more special."
Ian looked at the girls with an arched eyebrow and then said, "Right. Well, I'm gonna clean myself up and then we can head out I guess."
The girls gave a single nod and then stepped out of the room with Sarah and Vince.
"What are you girls going to do with him all day?" Sarah asked.
"We don't know. Owen and Ryan just told us to say that," replied Olivia.
"Wait, Owen and Ryan? Oh no..."
"What?"
"Nothing, I just wonder what they are going to do with Ian today. I sure hope he's ready to get injured or something with those two."
Olivia and Alexis looked at each other and then Alexis asked, "Uh, Miss Grady, how weird can it get when he's with them on his birthday?"
"You'll see for yourselves in a few, won't you?"
"I guess we will."
After a few minutes, Ian came out and he and the girls headed off to start celebrating Ian's birthday.
Owen and Ryan were looking through the glass in the viewing room of Alice's paddock. The two watched Dom as he tried to snatch a seemingly unsuspecting bird, only for it to quickly fly away. Dom let out a upset warble and then spotted another bird and wriggled his hips to pounce on it. Again, his prey quickly flew away and Dom just plopped down on the ground and began to groom his claws.
"Maybe you should teach him how to hunt Owen," Ryan said.
"Nah, I think Alice will teach him better than I would," responded the older Grady brother.
"Yeah you're right. If Dom were to learn anything from you, it'd be how to be stupid around everyone."
Owen punched Ryan in the shoulder and then both of them turned when they heard the door open and saw Ian and the girls walking in.
"There's the man of the hour," said Owen, "Happy Birthday Little Man."
"Thanks Uncle Owen," said Ian.
"I hope you're happy being one year closer to death Dynamo," said Ryan.
"Uh, thanks Uncle Ryan I guess."
Ian then hugged both his uncles and then Ian asked, "So, what trouble are we going to get into today?"
Before anyone could answer, the window opened and a hand with black talons came in a snagged Ian making him yelp in surprise. Ian then gave a chuckle when Alice nuzzled the birthday boy.
"Thanks Alice," he said as he patted her snout.
Alice crooned at Ian and then set him down on the ground of the paddock and Ian asked, "Why'd you set me down here Alice?"
Then a white flash flew past Alice and Ian didn't have enough time to react to what was happening. Ian got hold of what was going on when he was already on the ground with Dom standing on top of him and nuzzling his human's face.
"Thank you, too Dom," Ian said as he rubbed the hatchling's snout.
Dom then rested his haunches on Ian and simply sat and began to groom his claws.
Owen, Ryan, and the girls looked out the window and saw Ian on the floor with Dom on top of him.
"Aw that is adorable," said Alexis as she pulled out her phone and took a picture.
"Ian, you okay?" Olivia asked.
"Yeah, I'm good," replied Ian.
"Alice, you think you could get Dom off of Ian now?" Owen asked nicely.
Alice nodded her head and then nudged Dom off of Ian and then grabbed him in her hand and set him down inside the viewing room.
"So, what the plan for today?" Ian asked.
"Nothing Ian, we just wanted to hang out all day today," replied Ryan.
Ian looked at both Ryan, then Owen and then asked, "Is there something I'm missing here?"
"No, why?"
"You two never just hang out when it comes to birthdays, even mine. There's something big going on isn't there?"
"Not big, but it is something."
"What is it?"
"Well, what say you about meeting my girls up close?" Owen asked.
"Owen, that sounds crazy. Wouldn't they see me as food?"
"No, I've trained my girls well enough to know that humans are off limits."
"Fine. But, I swear Owen if they bite me and kill me, I will come back to haunt you."
"Duly noted."
Owen and the others then left the viewing room and went off to the raptor paddock.
Lowery typed furiously as minutes flew by. He then turned to look at Claire when she walked in.
"How's everything going in the park?" she asked.
"Uh, a few kids in the Lost and Found, there was a couple who decided to have fun while being super wasted, one of the Security guys got into a fight with a Pachy, and Owen and the others are headed to the raptor paddock," he replied.
"Wait, why?"
"Because Owen wants him to see them up close."
"I think Ian would be happier seeing the Carnotaurs up close."
"You want me to call Alex and see if we could do anything for that?"
"Yeah, sure, let him know and ask him."
Lowery gave a single nod of his head and then picked up the phone and dialed for Alex. Claire looked over at Vivian and the stepped up to her and quietly asked, "How are you doing Viv?"
Vivian turned to look at Claire and said, "Still a little sad."
"Why don't you take the day off Vivian? I think it'll be good for you."
"Thanks Claire, but I'm fine here."
"You sure?"
"Yes."
"Okay. If you need anything at all, let me know, okay?"
Vivian nodded her head and got back to work. Claire then looked at the center large screen in the room and just stared at everything that was being displayed on it.
"Owen, I'm not so sure about this," Ian said as he took a small step back from the cage door.
The raptors were all standing near the door, staring at the stranger who was standing next to Alpha.
"Girls, you listen to me. This here is not food okay? This is my nephew Ian and I want him to be able to meet you up close and personal. Blue, is it okay if he could come in?" Owen asked.
Blue normally wasn't one for strangers stepping into her territory, but, since this stranger was related to Alpha or was good friend of his, she would respect his wishes in being calm around the stranger. She chittered in response, telling Alpha that it was fine if Stranger could come in.
"What does that mean?" Ian asked.
"I'm taking it as you can come in," replied Owen.
"Uncle Owen I don't-"
"Shut up Ian and go inside."
"But-"
"For the love of everything that is good Ian Michael Grady, you get your ass in there."
The caged door opened slowly and Owen and Ian stepped in and the girls surrounded him and began to sniff him. Stranger had Alpha's scent on him. He was clean and could be considered as a friend, like Barry. Blue gave a welcoming bark and the other two just trilled in excitement.
"I think they like you," Owen said as he patted Ian on the back.
Echo stepped up to Ian and simply scanned him. She smelled something specific on him. Something that smelled like...popcorn.
"Uh, what is she doing Owen?" Ian asked.
"Have you eaten popcorn recently?"
"Uh, before getting to Alice's paddock this morning, why?"
"Echo loves popcorn."
"Your raptors like normal snack foods?"
"Yeah. Blue likes marshmallows, Echo loves popcorn, any kind to be exact, and Delta loves anything gelatinous."
"Your raptors are weird Uncle Owen."
"Yeah, but they're my raptors remember?"
"Right."
Echo then pressed her snout against Ian's hands and began to lick them.
"This is really weird Owen," Ian said.
"Eh, she'll just clean your hand and we can move on," responded Owen.
"Best birthday ever," said Ian in a slightly sarcastic manner.
"Aw come on Ian, you have to admit, it's a little cool that you are standing in the presence of one of the most intelligent predators ever."
"Sure, I can say that much, but not much else."
Owen gave a chuckle and then ran a hand down Blue's neck playfully thwacked Owen on the head with her tail.
"Hey! Blue!" Owen said as he rubbed his head.
"Now I can say that it's even cooler," said Ian as he stretched out his hand and placed it on Echo's snout.
Echo responded kindly and Ian was a little surprised.
"I think she likes you," said Owen.
"Really?"
"Yeah, Echo normally doesn't keep an open self around other humans."
"Maybe she knows it's my birthday so she knows to be nicer to me today."
Owen lightly scoffed and then nearly fell to the ground when Delta thrust her head into his shoulder, but he quickly caught his balance before falling to the ground.
Claire and Sarah were walking into the Control room and stood behind Lowery and Vivian. It had been a couple hours since Claire last visited the Control room.
"Status report Lowery," said Claire.
"Uh, a few more kids in the Lost and Found, we had a Dilophasaurus escape it's cage, but ACU already contained it, there's also a couple that decided to have a big fight in line at Gyrosphere Valley and were removed by Security, and also, Owen took Ian inside of the raptor paddock," replied Lowery.
"What?!" asked Sarah.
"Oh no, don't worry. They were nice to him surprisingly. They actually seemed to like him."
Sarah let out a small sigh of relief.
"So, did you get anything from Alex?" Claire asked.
"Yeah actually, he said that it would be fun to see his dinosaurs interact with another human up close," Lowery replied.
"Uh, what dinosaurs is this Alex guy in charge of?"
"Carnotaurus."
Sarah slightly paled, but Claire tried to reassure her by saying, "But, they are normally calm creatures, at least Alex's are. You can trust that Ian will be safe the whole time."
"Yeah, that's reassuring," said Sarah sarcastically.
"Don't worry Sarah. Alex will make sure that Ian is super safe."
"If you're wrong, I'm going to bring the park down with my wrath."
"Duly noted."
Sarah then gave a single nod of her head and then looked at the center screen of the room, which displayed ACU retrieving the escaped Dilophasaurus.
Owen and the others arrived at the Carnotaur paddock and were greeted by Alex.
"Before we move onto anything else," he began, "I'd like to say Happy Birthday Ian."
"Thanks," Ian said with a small smile.
"Right well, I got called by Lowery and well, Ian, my present to you, is that you get to see the Carnotaurs up close."
Ian's eyes lit up and he had a very wide smile on his face.
"Are you serious?!" Ian asked excitedly.
"Yep."
"Oh God, I could faint right now."
"Well, don't. You have Carnotaurs to see my friend."
"Right."
"Good. Well, if the rest of you could head up that way to the catwalk. I'll take Ian to the main gate so that he can enter the paddock."
"Will you be with him?" Owen asked.
"Of course. I'll keep him safe Owen, trust me."
Owen gave a nod of his head and then followed the others up to the catwalk. Alex led Ian to the main gate and then opened the gate.
"Ian, a few things. One, I get that these are some of your favorite dinosaurs, but you should calm down a little bit, you might startle my boys. Second, don't do anything that might make them perceive it as a threat. Third, keep in mind to have fun," said Alex as he and Ian then stepped into the paddock.
Ian and Alex looked around the paddock and Ian had to admit, the paddock was really big for just two Carnotaurs. The tall trees, thick bushes, small streams, rich, soft soil were really nice. The songs of birds could be heard in the distance and a few bugs chirping resonated throughout the habitat.
"This place is really nice Alex," said Ian.
"Thanks. I made sure they made it super nice and comfortable for them," said Alex.
Then, pounding footsteps could be heard. They were faint, but close at the same time.
"Are they trying to scare us?" Ian asked.
"Probably. They enjoy doing it to other workers all the time," said Alex.
"Fun."
Then, silence fell upon the paddock and Ian stuck close to Alex.
Then, Tauro stepped out and then let out a loud roar, making Ian jump.
"Tauro!" yelled Alex, "Don't you see that you have a guest? Is that anyway to treat a guest?"
Tauro then rumbled at his human and watched at Aries stepped out and bumped his snout into Ian. The smaller Carnotaur then warbled at Ian, and Alex stepped up to Aries and said, "Aries and Tauro, this here is a friend of mine, his name is Ian. I want you two to welcome him into your home and be nice to him while he's here."
The two Carnotaurs rumbled at each other and then stared at the other human standing next to Alex. Tauro began to sniff Ian while Aries inspected him.
"Uh, Alex?" Ian asked.
"They're just making sure that you are safe and an ally," said Alex.
"What? Carnotaurs aren't known for doing that at all. Dr. Grant says that Carnotaurs normally just accepted those who they saw as allies."
"Well, I guess my Carnotaurs are a little special."
"Special or not, they are awesome!"
Alex gave a light chuckle and then watched as Aries stared at Ian and then lightly snapped his jaws at him.
"Does he want to eat me?" Ian asked.
"No, it's his way of saying hi."
"Oh, well, hi Aries."
The Carnotaur then garbled at Ian and let out a small growl at Tauro.
"I wish that these two were my pets," said Ian.
"Everyone does," said Alex proudly.
Nighttime came quickly upon the park and it was soon time for Ian's party. It was going to be held in the viewing room of Alice's paddock because Sarah thought that it would be nice for Dom to be with Ian while he celebrated another year of his life. Ian was the last to arrive to the party and was greeted by everyone. Alexis then stepped up to Ian and handed him two gifts.
"Alexis, you really didn't have to get me anything," Ian said.
"Just shut up and open them Ian," she said.
Ian then opened one of them and saw that it was a shirt with the first park's original logo.
"Wow Alexis, this is awesome," said Ian as he held out the shirt.
"I know. Now, open the other one," she said.
Ian opened it and then stared at what was in his hands. He couldn't believe it, it seemed nearly impossible.
"Alexis...how did you get this?" Ian asked.
"My cousin works with Dr. Grant and sent me this. So, I decided to give it to you."
It was a small velociraptor chamber with a leather necklace.
Ian then went in and hugged Alexis and said, "You are like the sister I've always wanted. Thank you so much."
"Anytime Ian. Maybe next year I can have Billy send over Dr. Grant."
"Wait, Billy Brennan?"
"Yeah."
"Holy Christmas crap Alexis, I didn't know you had your connections like that," said Ian.
"Psh, dude, you obviously don't know me then."
"Right. Well, you bring Dr. Grant over here and I will kiss you, in front of Olivia and Zach."
"Maybe I will have Dr. Grant come by."
Ian laughed at that and then walked over with Alexis to talk with Olivia and Casey. To Ian, this was the best birthday ever...
A/N: Turtles! How's life going? I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and I hope that you come back for more! Review and stay tuned for more to come!
'Til Next Time!-TM341
