Disclaimer: I do not own the Jurassic Park franchise or any of it's characters; I only own the characters and plots of my own mind.
10. The Girls
Owen was aware that the request toed the line of unreasonable. He had just insisted that Gwyn take one mighty leap in their pursuance of her relationship with the girls––he wanted her to get close. Not too close, but close none the less. Of course, the girls would be restrained, their faces held by muzzles, their bodies hidden in stalls of pure steel. He didn't want Gwyn to touch them, he didn't want her to stand nose-to-nose with them… he just wanted her to stand a handful of feet away, that was all. It was a big step, he knew that; in fact, it was more of a jump. A jump that would be taken over a gaping precipice, and would, likely, terrify her. But it was a jump that needed to be taken. Gwyn had begrudgingly agreed––with a frown on her lips and a frightened gleam in her eyes––and then began to pace outside the observation cage with her hands smoothing along the sides of her legs. When her hands weren't sliding along her thighs, one of them was likely bent at the elbow so her fingers could massage and scratch at the back of her neck. It was a habit of hers, Owen had realized.
There was a sharp rattling as Blue shuddered against her muzzle, pupils narrowing into thin slits. Owen returned his attention to the raptor and raised a hand, which was then placed against her leathery cheek. Blue's nostrils flared and her eyes darted about. The girls had never particularly liked being muzzled, like any other wild animal, but had grown used to it as time went on. A gentle shushing sound rushed between Owen's teeth and he bent at the waist so he could be at Blue's level. His fingers brushed across the expanse of warm flesh under her eye, which was darting about nervously.
"You think she'll be alright?" Barry asked whilst securing Delta into her muzzle. Owen nodded and softly maintained eye contact with Blue. His hand slid to rest under her jaw in a slow, sweeping motion, fingers dancing over the curve of bone.
"She's always jumpy when you first muzzle her," Owen reminded. He straightened up and placed both hands on his hips, listening to Blue exhale frustrated breaths through her nose. It would be another moment before she would be calm enough to allow Gwyn inside; but they had no reason to rush. It was likely Gwyn still needed the time to mentally prepare herself. Barry's brow puckered and he turned his attention away from Delta. He waved his hand towards the observation cage's door.
"I was talking about Dr. Grant," Barry clarified. Owen's brows jumped towards his hairline and he again turned to look at Gwyn. Her hand was placed at the back of her neck and her eyes were squinted shut. Her rosy lips were fluttering in some sort of repeated pattern––most likely a mantra of some sort. Owen's lips pulled downwards in a frown, again wondering if he'd, perhaps, asked too much.
"I'm sure she'll be fine––she's a tough lady," Owen assured out loud. He moved to make sure that Echo was properly strapped in, a pinch between his brows. Barry arched an eyebrow and extracted a bandana from his back pocket. He swept it across his forehead to rid it of sweat and then twisted it around his palm.
"It sounds like you're trying to convince yourself, Owen. I have no doubt that Dr. Grant is strong; but perhaps it's too soon to be asking her to do so much. Is there no other way to ease her into this?" Barry was clearly concerned for the woman's well being; after seeing Gwyn practically catatonic after Blue lunged at her, he wasn't so sure this would be the best thing for her. The creatures clearly frightened her in a way that couldn't easily be fixed. Barry respected and admired Owen, yes, but sometimes… sometimes he had to question what it was he was doing. The former navy man dragged his hand across Echo's jaw and felt the crease between his brows become slightly more severe.
"If she gets 'eased into it,' it gives her more of a chance to bail out on it all. I don't want her to do that. She really wants to get over this fear, Barry, and I don't want her to fail in this endeavor. If there's anyone who deserves to have their fears resolved, it's Gwyn," Owen replied. "Besides… I'm just introducing them."
He and Gwyn had shared dinner a couple of times following the day that she'd revealed what had caused her raptor related trauma. During those dinners he'd gotten a better grasp on who she was as a person, and how important it was to her that she vanquish her fears. For years following the incident, she'd felt helpless. Her physical recovery was long and arduous, consisting of countless visits to doctors and medication to stave off infection. Gwyn also sheepishly admitted that she thought her psychological recovery was still on-going; she still flinched at sounds that reminded her too much of a raptor's call or a tyrannosaurus' roar. Gwyn thought that working with the girls might help bring some sort of closure, and Owen wanted to do whatever he could to help her with that.
"Besides," Owen said as he stepped away from Echo, "if she really didn't want to do it, she would've let me know. Apparently assertiveness is a family trait." Barry arched a dubious brow and gave a minute shake of the head. Owen stepped up to the door of the observation cage, unlocked it, and opened it with a push. Gwyn stopped pacing and looked towards the raptor trainer, a hand firmly placed on the nape of her neck. He offered a smile and nodded to the cage's interior. "You ready?"
Gwyn licked her dry lips and cleared her throat nervously. "I, uh… I guess so."
"You're absolutely sure you're okay with this?" Owen had started to feel a slight nagging at the back of his head, Barry's concerns having made themselves known in his subconscious. Gwyn nodded and walked forward with steps that scuffed the gravel under her feet. "If you feel too uncomfortable at any time, just let me know and I'll get you out of there." Again, Gwyn nodded and carefully slipped past Owen so she was inside the cage.
Immediately, her eyes became fixated on the raptors. They were muzzled and restrained, but their eyes all seemed to be trained on her. Gwyn crossed one arm across her rips and curled the other so her hand was firmly pressed over her scar––it was bared to the world thanks to the way her button down slouched open at the top. She had tried to expel all of her nervousness before she'd stepped into the cage, so the creatures wouldn't be able to smell it on her. Unfortunately, she felt her heartbeat pick up and her joints go still. The only reason she'd managed to shuffle forward was because Owen had prompted her to do so by pressing a hand to her back. She stood half the width of the cage away from the first raptor, whose leathery skin was pale green in color. The raptor's nostrils flared, and her pupils narrowed as she focused in on the human woman stood in front of her.
"You need to drop your arms," Owen said quietly from behind her. "They're taking your body language as defensive."
"I am defensive," Gwyn deadpanned.
"You don't have to be. C'mon…"
Gwyn felt Owen's body heat against her back as he stepped up behind her and reached a hand around to her front. He gently grasped her right wrist and pulled her arm away from her ribs. One of the raptors down the line jostled suddenly, making Gwyn jump and try and turn away. She ducked her head to her chest and clenched her eyes shut, fighting every instinct that told her to run like a bat out of hell. Owen squeezed her wrist comfortingly as Barry said some comforting words to the dinosaur. Owen maneuvered her till it rested at her side, his fingers slow to slip off her wrist. Gwyn attempted to focus on the sound of the former navy man's breathing; it was steady and absolute. It was calming. He then reached up to pull her hand away from her chest, which was rising and falling rapidly from Gwyn's scare. His fingers were gentle and his actions slow, almost as though he was working with a skittish animal. Once her left arm hung at her side, both his hands were placed on her shoulders, which were incredibly tense. Again, his fingers gave a gentle squeeze and he pushed downwards with his palms. With her shoulders now squared and her arms at her side, Owen stepped away. Gwyn sucked in a deep breath and raised her chin, feeling a fraction more confident than before––but only a fraction.
"This is Charlie," Owen said, walking up to the raptor she stood before. He reached out and gently ran his hand along Charlie's cheek, a fond smile rising to his face. "She's more mellow than the rest of her sisters, as I mentioned before. She's a big softie once you get to know her, you'll see." Gwyn pursed her lips and managed a slight nod, honestly fighting to keep her arms at her sides. In lieu of being able to cross her arms over her chest defensively, she had folded her fingers into fists, which were trembling with the force she was keeping them curled.
She watched as Owen practically cooed over the velociraptor. He was fondly stroking Charlie's face and talking gently as though he were speaking to a child. Gwyn cocked her head to the side curiously, watching the interaction that was borderline… sweet. She made a mental note of the moment and hoped she would remember to write it down later. Owen looked back in her direction and noticed her clenched fists. He began to walk away from Charlie and towards the next dinosaur. He held out a hand to the paleontologist in a placating manner.
"It's okay, you're fine. Just stretch out your fingers and take a deep breath."
Gwyn scoffed a laugh and flexed her fingers so they were fanned out in the air. "I'm not a raptor, Owen." She had noticed his tone of voice matched that of which he used with the dinosaurs when he was trying to calm them down. The comment had flown from her mouth before she even had a chance to process the words. She was unsure whether or not she'd said it in attempt to defuse the situation with her sense of––dry––humor, or if she was legitimately. Owen's lips twitched at the comment, but seemed quietly pleased she was no longer balling her fingers up. She followed his movements and sidled a couple of steps to the left so she could stand in front of the next raptor. A thickness was still gathered in her throat, but her heart rate had calmed somewhat. Her nerves were still raw and shaking like an autumn leaf, but she thought––hoped––that she wasn't as visibly frightened as she had been before.
"This is Blue. I'd say you could come over and see the stripe that gives her her name, but I think that would be moving a bit fast," Owen mentioned. Gwyn stared at Blue for a fleeting moment, well aware that the raptor was watching her intently. A staring match could be taken as a challenge, so the paleontologist swiftly moved her gaze to the handler beside the creature.
"She's the beta, right?" Gwyn asked in a quiet, albeit shaky, voice. Owen nodded in confirmation, a crease forming between his brows. Gwyn was dutifully avoiding looking at Blue while Blue's gaze remained relentlessly trained on the human woman. "So––so she is the second most powerful in the pack, making her second to… you… but she's… aggressive. Able to assert dominance over the others."
"More or less, yeah. We can, uh, discuss the details of it later. Again, she's kinder than you're probably making her out to be; of course, instinct will always push her to be more, uh… aggressive, but you can't stop nature," Owen said while scratching at his chin. Gwyn nervously glanced at Blue's head and found that her eyes were still trained on her with a sharp, predatory gaze. A vague clicking sound emanated from the beta's throat, which sent Gwyn skittering back half a step. A shiver slipped down Gwyn's back as a flash of a memory shot to the forefront of her mind; she remembered a mottled golden eye glaring at her from behind a door that wouldn't close. There was a flash of teeth and claw and a numbness were pain had once been. Gwyn's turned her head away sharply, her fingers twitching and shaking as they curled back into fists.
"Can we… we move on, please?" Without waiting for a reply, Gwyn moved another couple steps to the left and stared down at her shoes as she moved. Of the four raptors, Gwyn felt the most bothered by Blue. Maybe it was because Blue had attempted to attack her, and maybe it was simply the fact that if Owen wasn't the alpha, Blue would be. That there would be nothing stopping her from sicking the other three raptors on the frightened paleontologist. When she looked up from her shoes, Gwyn made eye contact with the next raptor down the line. This one had skin with a sandier brown hue, and she could just make out a scar on the right half of her face. A name popped into her head, recalling their previous conversation about the girls. Just as Owen opened his mouth to introduce the next of his precious girls, Gwyn spoke. "This is… Echo?" One of her hands was raised up by her hip, limply pointing a finger in the raptor's direction. Owen's brows jumped upward and he nodded.
"Uh, yeah––yeah she is. Echo's got a bit of a rebellious streak in her, likes to pick fights when she wants…" Owen trailed off, scratching the back of his head. He was looking between Gwyn and Echo as he'd done with her and Blue, noticing a vast difference.
There was something different about Echo's gaze. It was cautious, but it was also on the offensive. Her gaze was just as sharp as her sisters' but she wasn't prepared to immediately attack. It was––dare Owen think––curious. And it would seem that Gwyn had taken notice of the change, too; subconsciously, at least. Her shoulders relaxed some and she seemed a little more willing to look at Echo head on. Owen wasn't keeping a notebook of Gwyn's progress, but if he was, he would've jotted this moment down as a point of interest.
"So that makes her…" Gwyn took a vaguely more confident step to the left, towards the paddock gate and the last raptor, "... Delta?"
"Correct," Barry said with a smile directed at the velociraptor. Owen chuckled and ran a hand along the underside of Echo's jaw.
"Barry and Delta have a special bond," Owen commented. Like you and Blue do, Gwyn thought to herself. Barry laughed fondly and stroked Delta's leathery cheek with a practiced gentleness. Gwyn's fingers twitched against the side of her leg, briefly wondering what it was a raptor's skin felt like.
"She's quite something," Barry informed. "She's very intelligent, very tuned-in to her surroundings––knows a threat from a mile off. And when she hunts––"
"I can only imagine," Gwyn cut him off quickly, forcing a tense smile on her face. Barry stared at her for a moment and then nodded, having realized his mistake. He was so used to speaking about Delta and her actions with an unadulterated passion that he'd forgotten to police what is he said around Gwyn. "So… we've got…" Gwyn turned slightly to the right and pointed to the first of the raptor's she'd seen. "Charlie, the mellow one… Blue, the beta… Echo, the one who gets into fights… and Delta, who I believe you said was a bit feisty."
"That's right. Now, uh, why don't we step out for a second?" Owen gestured to the cage door and stepped forward to walk alongside Gwyn. He placed a hand in the center of her back lightly, an action that seemed to cause the girls to jostle a bit in their stalls. Gwyn jumped slightly at the sound and walked a fraction faster.
Once they passed through the door, Gwyn exhaled heavily and placed both hands on her hips. Her heart was racing. Partially in residual fear and partially in exhilaration. She'd just stood before four raptors and had made it out alive. Only one of them had seemed particularly hostile, and, still, she had made it out unscathed. Sweat had gathered in the middle of her back and across her forehead, the stress of the late afternoon and the tropical weather playing part in causing the perspiration. Some of the tightness in Gwyn's chest had loosened; she'd taken the first jump into getting this part of her life sorted out.
"You did good," Owen complimented wholeheartedly.
Gwyn laughed and dragged the back of her hand across her forehead, wicking away the sweat that had beaded there. She glanced Owen's way and let a smirk crawl up the corner of her mouth. "Not all of this sweat is because of the heat." She ducked her head then and made a face at the toes of her shoes; that was attractive thing to say… Owen chuckled at her comment, though, and crossed his arms over his chest. "But… I guess I did do okay."
"The posture could obviously use some work…" Gwyn rolled her eyes and whipped out a hand to smack his arm. It made contact with a slight thwack as skin hit skin. He chuckled and grinned her way brightly. "But, other than that, you did better than okay, Gwyn. It was impressive."
"I wouldn't go that far…"
"You seemed to loosen up a bit about the time you reached Echo." Gwyn hummed and reached up to place a hand on the back of her neck. She supposed she had… if only marginally, especially after standing directly in Blue's line of sight. Blue reminded her of the raptor that had clawed at her chest. There was a sharpness to her eyes and a wickedness to the sounds she created. It made a shiver roll down her sweaty spine. "I think she may like you."
Owen shoved his hands into his pockets with a sly look on his face, making for the office. Gwyn arched a dubious eyebrow and tried to shake off the shadowy memories that began to float to the forefront of her mind. She followed the handler a couple steps behind and suppressed the scoff that itched at the back of her throat.
"Really?" she deadpanned flatly. "The only 'like' I felt from them was the liking of the idea I would be their next meal."
"Ah, c'mon, you've just got to get to know them better. They're… intrigued by you."
"They smell my fear."
"Your apprehension."
"My fear," Gwyn reiterated as she passed through the door. "It smells enticing to them; it… makes them want to hunt. And even if I wasn't scared, I don't exactly smell like a velociraptor, so I'm fit enough to be prey." She mopped sweat off the back of her neck with her palm and then rubbed the moisture off on the fabric of her shorts. The memory that had drudged up whilst standing in front of Blue moved to the forefront of her thoughts. Prey… she had been prey before, more than once. She had left her bag on Owen's desk, which was a smidgen cleaner than it had been the last time she had seen it. The files were still splayed out in a thin layer, but stray papers were still scattered here and there amongst pens, pencils, and various other objects.
"Potential prey or not, I commend you for taking that leap," Owen complimented as he sat himself on the edge of the desk. Gwyn laughed, a sound stunted in the back of her throat, and fished her water bottle out of the bag.
"Just like learning to swim, right? Get shoved off a dock and into a lake and you're forced to learn how to keep yourself floating," she compared, screwing the bottle cap off. There was a dryness to her voice, one that often accompanied her jokes or sarcastic comments. Owen laughed and noticed that Gwyn had arched an eyebrow and took a swig of water. "I'm serious. That's how I learned how to swim." Owen's brows shot upwards and his smile grew. A hearty and throaty chuckle left his mouth and he resisted the urge to let his head loll backwards.
"Really? Who pushed you? Your dad?"
"Yup. We had a rare weekend off and I was a bit old to not know how to swim…"
"How old?"
"Like, eight."
"Huh."
"So he just… boom," Gwyn reached out and shoved Owen's shoulder, "right off the dock and into the water. He was right there in case I didn't get the hang of it––so was Ellie. She flipped her lid, actually, when he pushed me in; he claimed that was how he learned and it wasn't as traumatizing as it seemed. But, it worked, and now I love to swim," Gwyn explained, smiling fondly.
"Well," chuckled Owen, "I'm glad I could be the one to push you into, not a lake, but the path of friendship." Gwyn barked a laugh and arched her eyebrows in a 'yeah, right,' expression. Owen pointed at her with a serious look that was marred by the upward quirk of the corner of his mouth. "You will form a bond with at least one of these girls, I'll personally see to it."
"I'm sure you will, Mr. Grady, I'm sure you will. Maybe one day soon I'll be sipping on a margarita alongside Charlie while she's chowing down on some unsuspecting goat." Gwyn had her shoulders raised and her arms spread outwards, lips pulled into a comical half-grin. Owen rolled his eyes and pushed up his cuffed shirt sleeves.
"I'm no raptor, and I don't have a goat––or a margarita––but how about some beers? I got a case from the mainland at the beginning week."
Gwyn smiled and pushed her hands into her pockets, fingers scratching at balls of lint that had gathered inside. Owen had become the person she was closest to on the island, with Lowery coming in a close second––she and the technician had run into each other a handful of times at the resort and shared coffee once or twice. As appealing the idea of unwinding with Owen was, she did have a binder filled with notes she had to rifle through her bungalow for. If it turned out she hadn't brought it with her, she would need to have her dad sent it through priority air mail.
"I would love to, but… I've got to start preparing that talk…" Gwyn trailed off, hunching her shoulders into a vague shrug. "I also have to do a follow up on some stuff with the brachiosaurus in the morning, so I don't think that a hangover would necessarily help with trekking through the jungle."
"Oh, c'mon. One or two beers, that's it––you won't have so much as a headache when you wake up. I'll even drive you home."
"Such a gentleman, Mr. Grady."
Owen grinned that heart-breaking grin at her and he offered a playful wink. "Only for the best, Dr. Grant."
A quiet laugh bubbled up in Gwyn's throat and she looked towards the door; she was sure she was blushing, and she wanted to hide it as best she could. Hopefully, if he noticed the rosy tinge, he would just think it was a sunburn left by the tropical sun. She let her gaze linger on the door long enough to seem like she was contemplating the situation, which she was. Gwyn's eyes moved back to Owen before her head followed the movement. He was still beaming at her, gaze not having left her once as she contemplated the door. She shifted on her feet and arched an eyebrow in a near perfect impression of her father.
"Just one or two?" she asked flatly. Owen's grin widened, already knowing he had already won.
"Just one or two."
"Then let's do it."
OOOO
When they arrived back at Owen's bungalow, the sun was dipping low in the sky. The clouds were painted in brilliant hues of burning orange, sweet pink, and delicate yellow. The air was finally cooling off and the breeze wasn't as humid as it had been at mid-day. Gwyn slipped out of the jeep with her bag in hand; they were on the edge of a lake, which somewhat helped take the edge off the dying heat. The evening was absolutely gorgeous. It made Gwyn impossibly happy that her employee housing wasn't in the resort, crowded by buildings and noisy tourists. Nature truly showed its full glory on nights like this, and Gwyn, who had been cooped up inside writing reports for the past week or two, had started to miss it.
"You know what? We'll drink outside," Owen said, clearly having similar thoughts to the paleontologist. He spun the keyring around his finger before he pocketed them and pointed towards the bungalow. "I'll get the beers, just hang tight for a second."
"Alright," Gwyn agreed. She slowly began walking across the lush green grass, listening to the insects chirp and buzz in the dying sunlight. She passed by the Scrambler, and paused to see that there was a toolbox beside it; it must have started acting up on him, which would explain why he hadn't been riding it too often. Propped up against a nearby tree were a handful of golf clubs, the bottoms of which were crusted with dry dirt and blades of grass. Gwyn's lips quirked to the side at the idea of Owen playing golf. He just didn't seem the type to find it all that amusing. But, then again, she could be wrong––evidently, judging by the sheer amount of clubs that hinted at a full set, she was.
Gwyn set her bag down on a white plastic lawn chair, the type you found at outdoor community pools, and approached the small dock that jutted out into the lake in the shape of a 't.' The water was rippling gently and causing the floating wood to bob up and down rhythmically. A smile pulled up the corners of her mouth and she shrugged off her button down; she exhaled gratefully when the breeze kissed the exposed skin of her arms. Even the thin layer of cotton added unwanted warmth in the heat she found herself working in. The balled up fabric found a home beside her military green bag, and Gwyn straightened out the hem of her tanktop.
"Here you are, m'lady," said Owen as he stepped up behind her. Gwyn looked over her shoulder to find that Owen was proffering her an open beer bottle. He'd also taken the chance to change into a t-shirt, one that Gwyn couldn't help notice fit him quite tightly. She took it with a smile and dipped in a mock curtsy.
"Thank you, sir."
"The proper response would be 'm'lord,' I believe."
"Ph, either would work," Gwyn chuckled with a smile. Owen beamed and shook his head at her comment. "Mind if we drink on the dock?"
"Find with me. Want to grab a couple chairs?"
"Who needs chairs? Besides, I was thinking of getting my feet a bit wet…" Gwyn placed the heel of her left foot against her right one, and began to extract her foot. She wobbled a bit, balance thrown off as she wiggled her foot out without untying the laces. Owen made a sound as she nearly teetered into the water, and he reached out to grab hold of her elbow.
"Whoa, there," he chuckled as she finally pulled her right foot out of its boot. Gwyn laughed and took hold of his shoulder, now working out removing her left foot. Owen's eyes flickered to her hand and his smile widened a fraction. "You sure you didn't pregame before you left for the paddock? You know, had a couple shots of liquid courage?" Gwyn giggled as her left foot came free, exposing well-worn black socks.
"No, I promise! I'm just too lazy to undo the laces." She slid her hand off Owen's shoulder, the tips of her fingers grazing against the skin of his bicep. Bending at the waist, she removed her socks and tucked them into their respective boots. Once she stood straight, she followed Owen to the end of the dock and kept her beer steady as she seated herself on the edge. She slipped her feet into the water and hummed as the cool water began lapping at her calves.
Owen sat beside her and began working on removing his own shoes. Gwyn leaned forward on her knees and smiled across the lake. For a moment, she forgot she was at Jurassic World, forgot that she was miles away from living, breathing dinosaurs. Isla Nublar truly was beautiful, and Gwyn hoped that she could gather more pleasant memories concerning it; enough to help balance out the bad ones. She highly doubted that the bad memories could be outweighed. But each new and pleasant memory was to be cherished. The sky was starting to turn purple, and stars would soon start to dot the expanse of sky above them. Gwyn took a sip from her beer and gave a slight shake of her head.
"What?" Owen asked, cuffing his pant legs. He slipped his feet into the water and snagged a beer out of the case just behind them. Gwyn shrugged and sighed happily.
"Nothing. It's just… the view. It's gorgeous. When I'm out on digs––especially in the Badlands––the sunsets are always fantastic. I'll always take drinking outside on evenings like this over drinking in a crowded bar," Gwyn admitted fondly. "Who needs a television screen when you've got this?" She gestured to the golden rays of sun and the color gradient painted across the sky. A wistful little sigh escaped her lips as she raised the bottle up to her mouth. "God, I wish I had my camera."
Owen shifted and pulled his phone out of his back pocket. He leaned back and held the screen close to his face in order to take a landscape photograph of the sunset. Once he made sure that the photograph was quality enough to be sent to someone, he nudged Gwyn with his elbow. "What's your number? I'll send you a picture." Gwyn smirked and held out her hand for the phone, chuckling under her breath. Owen passed over the phone and watched as she tapped at the screen in order to plug in the correct numerals.
"If you wanted my phone number, all you had to do was ask."
"I thought it would be a bit smoother if I had something to send you," Owen told her with a teasing smile. Gwyn finished typing in her details and handed the phone back to the raptor handler.
"Well, it's certainly smoother than a lot of the dinosaur and paleontology pick-up lines I've picked up over the years," Gwyn informed, gently moving her legs around in the water. She became aware that Owen was staring at her with an almost incredulous look on his face. Gwyn's brows rose as she took a swig of her beer. Once she swallowed the malty liquid she rubbed a drop of it off her lip and asked, "What?"
"Paleontology pick-up lines? You can't just mention those and not go into detail."
"Oh, yes I can. You'll have to get a couple of drinks in me before I would even consider saying any of them."
"C'mon, Gwyn, just give me one."
"Nope." Gwyn laughed and took another sip of her beer. Owen leaned towards her, knocking their shoulders together in a prompting manner. He was grinning again, head ducked so he could try to catch and hold her gaze. Gwyn dutifully avoided making eye-contact by chugging a considerable amount of the beer left in her bottle.
"Just one, and I won't bother you about it again," Owen promised. A promise Gwyn was sure he would break. She twirled the bottle around in her hands for a moment and bit down on her lip as she searched through the catalogue of horrible pickup lines she had stored away. Glancing Owen's way, she quirked an eyebrow and let her lips curl into a smirk.
"You must be a fossil sample, and I must be an impatient paleontologist, because I want to date you badly," Gwyn recited. Owen stared at her with a deadpan look on his face. Sneaking a look at him, Gwyn mashed her lips together and hoped to stifle the laughter that was building in her chest. Unfortunately, she snorted and started to laugh anyway, a hand placed firmly over her mouth. Owen shook his head and joined in on the laughter.
"Really? That was… awful, Gwyn, completely awful," he informed through his chuckling. He took a sip of his beer, swallowed and put on a mock look of pity. "I feel sorry for any man you use that on."
"I'm sorry! I tried to warn you; but I didn't make it up myself, I swear!" Gwyn waved her hands through the air and then raised one to wipe at a tear that had escaped the corner of her eye. She then extended her arm and held out her beer bottle, the neck of it tilted in Owen's direction. "To really bad pickup lines?"
Owen reached out and let the neck of his own bottle tap against Gwyn's. "To really bad pickup lines."
As they drank to their toast in the last minutes of sunlight, Gwyn smiled around the lip of her bottle. Yes, this would be one of those good memories she would cling to when it came to thinking of the damnable island she found herself living on. But she had a nagging feeling she couldn't cling too tight to comfort and happiness when it came to Isla Nublar; it had proved to her once that a dream could become a nightmare. And she was sure that it wasn't afraid to prove that point again.
Afterword: I wrote a bit extra to make up for the month of radio silence. I went back home and saw family and friends and got caught up just chilling with them and didn't really find the time to update. But it gave me time to think of what I want to happen in the upcoming chapters, so that's a plus! I thought that I'd end this chapter on a more cutesy note, seeing as yesterday was Valentine's Day. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!
Review replies!
NicoleR85: Gwyn and Wu will have many more run-in encounters, and I can assure you they won't all go very smoothly. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks again!
Jessfairy88: We're starting to get into the point of time where Gwyn and Owen will start getting progressively closer. As evidenced by this chapter, they're great drinking buddies; next step is dinner and drinks and then see where it goes from there :) I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!
Kat7CA: I'm really happy Gwyn is believable; I sometimes worry that I bring up her adversity to the raptors a bit too much and that may spoil it. But she does, to some extent, have a form of PTSD, so it's something that'll plague her for the rest of her life. Shy!Owen is a blast to write. There'll be more of him soon enough… I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks again!
heroherondaletotherescue: I like dropping hints to her life prior to working at the park in little things like pictures or off-hand comments. Because that's how Owen is finding out about her life––he snoops a bit at what's in her bungalow and finds out things like how she learned to swim. Gwyn will start getting into the meat of some of the problems at Jurassic World soon, especially now that she's kind of found her place there. And, of course, the Indominus has to be introduced at some point… She and Wu will definitely get into a fight. Gwyn will likely be the one to initiate it. I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!
katy1986: I'm still toying with bringing one of the characters from the original movie to the island… don't know who… would probably make sense if it were Alan or Ellie, wouldn't it? Gwyn and Owen would be a power couple on the island––they would take no one's bullshit and shut a lot of people down. They'd be #RaptorParents. Wu does deserve a swift punch to the face, but that would likely spell the end of a career at Jurassic World. I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!
lilnightmare17: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks again!
The girl with no life: I often leave my room, look down at what I'm wearing and go 'oh. I guess I'm inadvertently dressed like Lowery today.' I wrote a good portion of this chapter in my Jurassic Park shirt––must have given me inspiration. Wu definitely wants to keep Gwyn as far away from his research and the formation of the Indominus as possible… we'll see how that pans out. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks again!
AnimeHunter411: Gwyn and Owen will only get closer from here on out. There'll be a lot of drinking nights, maybe some drunken dancing here and there, all that good stuff. I hope that you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks again!
RJNorth: I hadn't intended to get the last chapter of this story and the chapter of the prequel up in the same time, but it worked out real well! Gwyn and Wu never liked each other; and now they dislike one another even more. We'll see Lowery again soon––I've got a movie night for him and Gwyn planned. My finals weren't all that terrible, but the school work I have now is truly beating me up. I hope that you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks again!
BlackHawk98: Thank you! I hope you enjoyed the new chapter!
CarlyJo: I've never liked Wu. Not even in the first movie. There was always just… something about him. And in Jurassic World, I, too, wanted someone (primarily Owen) to just deck him and leave him knocked out cold. But, seeing as he survived and fled the island, I have a feeling we'll be seeing him again. I hope you enjoyed the new chapter! Thanks again!
Guest: The raptor scene was particularly hard to write, because it was literally the first step to her getting into a more in-depth relationship with them. It had to be introductions, so I felt like it was a bit too drawn out. But I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks again!
ShezzaBoo0233: I'm glad that you found the story, too! And I'm very happy you've enjoyed it so far. I have such plans for this story and hope that you stick around to read them; thanks again!
Manic x: Oh, Gwyn would have definitely made adults cower with the passion she protects the bones/site with. I have a plan for the talk that Gwyn will do that may harken back to the manner in which Alan spoke to that little kid… it's gonna be real fun. Messy little kid Gwyn is really fun to think about (and write), which is why I adore writing the prequel. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks again!
dancindonna: I'm glad you love the story thus far! I hope you enjoyed the new chapter as well; thanks again!
Feint Illusion: I'm very happy that you saw Jurassic World, and even happier that you enjoy this story for it! I love writing Gwyn, she's a bit more deadpan and dry and sarcastic than other characters I write; it's also really fun to fit her into the world of Jurassic World and its many, many secrets and adversaries (dinosaur and human alike). I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks again!
casper6six6: I'm glad you've enjoyed the story so far; thanks again! Hope you enjoyed!
Alaska Winters: I'm very happy that you're enjoying the story so much! Hearing you say that the story is exactly what you wanted to read makes me incredibly happy. I always feel like when I write one story or another, it's not going to appeal to a lot of people. And YOU, my friend, are amazing! Thank you very, very much! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
VR Miller: Sorry about being lax on the updating! I got caught up in life and writing took a back seat for a while. But I'm back with all my ideas in tow and I hope you stick around to read more! And finals were a pain, but they weren't too terribly tough. Thanks again; hope you enjoyed!
tangleofivy: I am back and ready to write more Owyn (is that a good ship name? I don't know, it just seems to spell out so well)! I can't wait to get to the point of the story where they're actually in a relationship, because that's when everything will get real interesting. I hope you enjoyed the new chapter! Thanks again!
CandyCoatIt: I am incredibly flattered to see that you've said this is your favorite Jurassic World story! I grinned like an idiot when I read your comment, and, in fact, am smiling right now. I felt that, with this story, the original movie NEEDED to be incorporated in order to give it a good amount of depth; I think it's a good reminder (both in the story and in terms of the movies) that Jurassic PARK and Jurassic WORLD truly are the same place, despite the obvious differences. In other words… I'm very happy that you're enjoying my incorporation of the old and new movies. I hope you enjoyed the new chapter! Thanks again!
Guest: Here's the new chapter you've been waiting for! I hope you enjoyed it; thanks again!
And thank you to all of you who added this story to follow/favorites; it means a lot to me!
That's it for now! Next chapter we get Gwyn meandering through the jungle, alone with her thoughts and memories and all that good stuff… plus some other events/things/stuff I need to work out :) I hope to update pretty soon, but I can't guarantee anything––school is to me what raptors are to Gwyn. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Thanks again!
~Mary
