Looks who's back! It's been five (six?) months since I've updated and boy do I feel terrible about it. My life's been kind of hectic though, I mean my junior year of high school just ended today and I'll be a senior (!) in little less than three months. Also, getting this chapter down has been an ORDEAL. Because of course I locked myself out of my tablet and I had to write everything down on my ancient 2003 laptop than then refused to connect to the wifi so then I had to rewrite the whole thing on my phone, which would have been much worse if I couldn't connect it to my keyboard via bluetooth. Don't get me wrong, I'm still dead inside, but I'm just glad it's done with.


The time is currently ugh-o'clock in the morning and Adam has not had an appropriate amount of coffee. The plethora of interns, trainers, and other park personnel look like they agree with his unvoiced assessment, though there are a few who seem unaffected by the early hour and the lack of caffeine. One of those people is Lucy, whose bouncing in her hard plastic chair beside him and looking entirely too eager.

"What are you so excited about?" Adam grumbles, curling up as much as he can on his own chair. He feels like a high school student sitting on a seat meant for a preschooler.

"Don't you know what this meeting is for?" Lucy exclaims, barreling on before Adam has time to retort and ignoring the stares of reproach her raised voice garners.

"We're planning the anniversary of the original park! Lex and Tim Hammond are going to be there and I've heard that Ian Malcolm is gonna be here this year!" she explains breathlessly, stars in her eyes.

Despite the headache creeping at the edge of his temples, he smiles. Lucy had always been fascinated by the history of Jurassic World and something like this would mean the world to her. Adam thinks Lucy has a cousin actually working in the park, someone named Lowery. Or something. He doesn't even attempt to ask, Lucy's already gone off on a tangent about the preparations that need to be made, special guests, blah blah, and interrupting her would do no good. Besides, his attention is caught by the newcomers at the door.

There at the fringes of the crowded room stands Owen Grady in all his tall, graceful glory, apparently being scolded by his fellow raptor handler Barry Provaire.

Everyone had heard that Grady had been admitted to the medical wing (again) and judging from the arm in the sling and the other slung almost protectively across his stomach, he still has a bit of healing to do.

Adam stares a while longer, trying to maybe decipher their conversation (he should have taken more than one course of French in high school) until Lucy jams a sharp nail into his neck.

"Dude, you need a glass of water for that thirst?" she mocks, partly irritated, mostly exasperated.

"Sorry," he says tartly, rubbing away the sting on his neck.

Lucy rolls her eyes at him.

"You could, you know, try talking to him. It's less creepy than staring at him from a distance."

Adam balks at the idea of actually talking to Owen Grady, sweats just thinking about it.

"Ah, no. Just staring works for me."

There's a moment of silence between them. Lucy fixes her slightly disheveled hijab and takes out her phone. Adam continues to shoot (discreet) glances at Grady and Provaire. Then Lucy shoves her phone back into her pocket, hisses a frustrated fuck it, and marches over to Grady and Provaire, Adam's arm trapped in her vice-like grip.

Owen and Barry's conversation on the recognition that In the Heights deserves dies at the sight of interns striding quickly in their direction. Even without the large plastic intern badges at their breasts announcing them as Adam and Lucy Owen recognizes them from the not quite disastrous intern field trip that ended with Barry mediating between Owen and the visitors whilst Owen kept his young raptors from lashing out on the intruders to their territory. It's not a particularly stellar memory, though he can hear, in his mind, his girls chuffing at him from the other side of the park.

The woman- Lucy- has a mischievous glint in her eyes that has Owen instantly on guard.

Beside him, for whatever reason, Barry snorts.

"Hey Mr. Grady," she chirps, all too cheerful, "my friend Adam here wanted to talk to you."

She pushes her friend in front of her and Owen can't help but feel pity for him; the poor guy looks terrified. Owen subtly shoves his elbow into Barry's ribs to stop his not-so-quiet snickers and gives Adam an expectant look. Adam makes some sort of choking sound, opens his mouth without saying anything, closes it and intensifies his stare. Owen wonders if there's something on his face.

Owen is quickly beginning to feel awkward, Adam isn't talking, Barry isn't helping and Lucy has wandered off, leaving her friend to suffer in solitude. Maybe it's some kind of dare or bet, to talk to the crazy raptor handlers, he doesn't know. Luckily, before things can get more uncomfortable, Claire arrives, Masrani on her heels.

Owen is quick to grab Barry's arm and rush them to their seats. Adam dazedly makes his way to the wall where the rest of the interns are lined up. Only official park personnel get to have seats at the large table in the middle of the room and even then, there isn't enough space for all of them.

Masrani sits regally at the head of the table and Claire opts to stand tall and proud by his side. Owen shoots her a wink and receives a fond eye-roll in response. The meeting starts when Masrani issues a polite cough that somehow manages to hush the room.

He tries to concentrate on the meeting, he really does, but his arm aches, the stitches on his belly itch and he hasn't gotten as much sleep as he'd like. His park responsibilities extend beyond the raptors, and the park had been quite active the past week. Owen gives up on the smooth spiral of Masrani's speech and instead concentrates on his girls. They're relaxing in their paddock, no training exercises today. Blue's in her favorite sunning spot, a little patch of dirt on the outskirts of the jungle that she had dug up not three days after they had been moved there permanently. Owen knows she still prefers lying on his chest whilst he sleeps on the hammock, but she's too big for that now and her little ditch comes as a close second.

She's napping, content and warm under the tropical sun. Delta and Charlie are off having their usual competition with Roma and Venizia, the goal being to catch the most wayward animals that are stupid enough to enter the paddock. Birds are worth extra points. The winning pair gets to greet Owen first the next time he enters the paddock (which has, admittedly, been in a while). Currently in the lead are Roma and Venizia with three lizards and two birds. Echo is on the far side of the jungle, watching the workers working on the Indominous paddock through green foliage and reinforced fences. Her sharp eyes track their movements, tracking any and all mistakes, falters, hesitations. She chuffs absentmindedly when she feels him brush against her mind. She isn't in hunting mode, Owen notes. She's merely observing.

He thinks Echo is comparing them to him.

The Alpha never falters, she points out, watching as one of the workers stumbles over the uneven ground.

The Alpha has his pack to keep him upright, he hums in response. She croons and Owen slips into an unconscious smile, mind mingling with those of his pack, running, chasing, napping, and observing.

He's practically absorbed into the bond, where he's not just Owen Grady, but also something more, something beyond what a human could possibly hope to experience on their own. He's scrabbling for words to describe the emotion swelling in his chest, but there isn't- there's no point-

The sharp jab at his side startles him back into the meeting room. Barry's giving him a somewhat concerned look, though Owen is sure Barry knows what he was just doing. What really concerns Owen is that all eyes are pointed in his direction, expectant.

''Well, Mr. Grady?" asks Masrani, something strangely knowing in his eyes.

"Um," is the clever response that manages to slip off Owen's tongue. Masrani clears his throat.

"I said, Mr. Grady, if it would be fine to let our special guests see your pack along with the Hammond siblings and Ian Malcolm?"

"Who are the special guests?" Owen asks.

"Ah, well, that's a surprise. Your answer? It's perfectly fine if you say no, but they'll only come if you say yes", Masrani answers patiently.

Owen takes a moment to think. He's genuinely curious about who could be so important that Masrani would directly ask permission for visitors to see the paddock. However, his girls are not attractions to be ogled at by fascinated strangers. Even Roma and Venizia have a while to go before they're ready or the spotlight. Still, Owen senses that there's more to this, that the special guests have something beyond seeing the private raptors of Jurassic World on their minds. He doesn't know if that's good or bad.

His number one priority is to keep his girls safe, so he opens his mouth to say no and shuts it without saying anything when he feels Blue reassure him that it's fine. Owen is startled somewhat, last he had checked she had been lightly dozing. She and the rest of the pack pause in their activities to assure him they're fine with the visit, they too are curious about potential allies. They don't need anymore pack mates, but it never hurts to have influential allies.

With their okay in mind, Owen reels his mind back into the meeting room, meets Masrani's dark, mellow eyes, and nods. Masrani grins, claps his hands together, and dismisses the meeting with a flurry of his hand.

Desperate to escape without any questioning (or human interaction in general), Owen rushes out of the room. Thankfully, only Barry follows him.

Adam blinks as he watches Grady hurry out of the meeting room, Provaire on his heels.

It had sort of slipped from his mind that Grady is a bit odd. He remembers Grady's strange behavior from the first time he had seen the man at the intern field trip. He zones out a lot for someone who apparently needs to stay focused at all times around the raptor-plus-I. Rex pack. Adam had heard that Grady was entirely too raptor-like for comfort, he'd figured it was just the behavior of a trainer who spent a long time raising their animals, but seeing him in action confirmed what other trainers only talked about in hushed whispers.

Grady's eyes, when not looking off into the distance, are entirely too sharp and calculating. He had seemed so casual and calm talking to Provaire that Adam had completely disregarded Grady's knack for being intimidating. Alternatively, Adam is just really awkward and should never attempt to talk to anyone ever again. Lucy's by his side again, giving him a smile that's half-sheepish, half-apologetic.

"Hey, sorry for leaving you alone with the raptor wranglers. That was a bad wingman move on my part."

Adam shrugs, easily forgiving. Lucy, for all her talk and encouragement, isn't the best at romance either. They walk out of the meeting room talking about plans for an early lunch, Adam's thoughts on Grady shoved to the back of his head for later pondering.


Alice is not feeling particularly well about being back in the restricted zone. She has permission to be here, Grady knows she's coming and the raptors are inside their paddock. His bungalow is a reasonable trek from the main park. Her mind flashes memories of intelligent and cold yellow eyes and she shivers.

Grady's waiting for her on his hammock, swaying gently, eyes clouded over and soft as the smile curling on his pale pink lips. His earbuds are plugged in. He looks… peaceful. Pliant. Nothing like the man with the raptor-eyes that her memories twist into nightmares. Alice doesn't feel like disturbing him.

She doesn't particularly have a choice though, so she gathers her courage and approaches the hammock. Grady seems to sense her before she can get much closer because his eyes unfog and shoot in her direction like a pair of blue-green lasers. He slips his buds into his pocket.

"Ah, Miss Natsume, you're slightly earlier than I'd thought you'd be," he says, and it strikes her how tired he sounds, as if he hasn't had much time to rest and she had just interrupted a rare opportunity. Now that she's closer, she realizes he looks tired too.

There are deep, dark half-moon bruises under his slightly dull eyes. His face seem hollow and skin that was once sun-kissed looks pallid. Alice wonders if he's getting sick again or if she's reading too much into his appearance.

"Mr. Masrani said he wanted to see you as soon as possible."

Grady nods and rolls off the hammock. Considering how tired he appears, it's surprising that he doesn't sway or stumble, instead he is steady on his feet, like a big cat gracefully jumping to its feet rather than a man getting of a swinging hammock. He doesn't look like he's affected by any sort of vertigo.

"Let's go," he says gruffly.

They go. Alice can only really hear Grady's boots glide on the loose dirt-and-pebble road if she listens carefully over the sound of her own boot's loud crunch. It reminds her too much of the noiseless steps of a raptor on the hunt.

The distance from Grady's bungalow from the park may be a reasonable trek, but it feels entirely too long.

Owen is not exactly sure what Masrani wants to talk to him about. He figures it's about the specifics about the special visitors on the day of the original park's anniversary. They're probably going to talk about the schedule and safety regulations. It sounds logical to him, but Masrani didn't seem bothered by the details when he had brought it up in the first place.

He sighs a tired breath, rolling his shoulders forward to try to relieve some of the tension in his back. He'd actually felt relaxed, lying in his hammock, his mind with his girls in the paddock through the bond when Alice had come to get him. Barry keeps telling him he's due for a vacation.

Alice still seems wary of of him. The thought comes unbidden, but it had been bothering him. He figures she's still scared from her encounter with Echo, though he'd rather have her wary than traipsing around thinking it's fine to enter raptor territory unchecked. In his head, Echo rumbles in agreement.

The elevator comes to a stop and the doors slide open to reveal Masrani's floor. A short walk around a corner later and he's at the door of Masrani's office. Owen takes a deep breath, squares his shoulders, and enters.

"Mr. Masrani? You wanted to see me?"

Masrani looks up from a stack of papers, eyes kind and smile at the ready. It makes Own feel at ease. His office is a strange study of professional and cozy. It's not like Claire's office, pure white, meticulously organized and almost too cold to be comfortable. Claire is of the mind that an office is for work, not comfort. Owen has an office in the main building (like all official park employees, besides security), but he's only ever entered it once. The key to it is buried beneath messy piles of assorted reports and desk toys in his bungalow.

Masrani doesn't have any pictures in his office, but there's an oil painting of a busy looking village in various shades of red, orange, and yellow. There's a tiny potted cactus sitting next to his silver laptop, fushia flowers growing around the top like a flower crown. The walls are the pure white of the rest of the main building, but they seem oddly less imposing than Claire's, whose only splash of color is her red hair and intelligent blue eyes.

His desk is warm mahogany, well polished and glossy, a shiny plaque with S. Masrani engraved in silver letters sitting proudly to the front. Masrani himself is dressed in a fitted charcoal suit, a dark maroon tie to go with it.

"Welcome Mr. Grady. If you would take a seat please." Masrani says, waving a hand to the plush red chairs in front of his desk. Owen is suddenly terribly conscious of the layers of the dust that decorate his clothes as he delicately settles one none of the chairs.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I asked to meet with you," he says and continues when Owen nods in affirmation.

"How are your raptors?" The question is not Owen was expecting. He's stunned for a moment, isn't sure how to answer. Said pack has no helpful input.

"They're… fine," he finally decides on, wondering what's going on in Masrani's mind.

Masrani hums, low in his throat, eyes thoughtful. Owen has no idea where the thread of the conversation is going. Everything Masrani could ever want to know is in the biweekly reports Owen sends in.

"That's good, the health and happiness of the animals in this park of great importance to me." He pauses, meets Owen's eyes. "As is the health and happiness of the handlers. Tell me Mr. Grady, are you happy with your position as head raptor handle?"

Owen answers yes without taking even a second to think about it. He can't imagine being anywhere other than with his pack. Masrani smiles as if he knows what Owen would say.

"As I thought. Well, you're free go." Masrani waves him away, a clear dismissal.

Owen hesitates, more bewildered than anything. "Is- is that all, sir?" He hovers over his chair, arms brace on the armrests. He gets the feeling that for all his apparent good intentions, Masrani isn't being entirely truthful. Masrani gifts him a benign smile. When he doesn't say anything more, Owen nods, a quick bob of his head (only Masrani notices how raptor like it is) and stands, prepared to leave. Owen is a step away from the door, hand outstretched to twist the doorknob when Masrani calls out to him.

"I mean what I said. If you ever need help, Owen, I am here."

Owen doesn't say anything, doesn't react. He doesn't even turn around. He is quiet as he slips out of Masrani's office. He doesn't see the strange gleam in Masrani's eyes as he leaves.

The meeting leaves him with the strangest feeling that he's missing something. Owen thinks Masrani might know, suspect, something but what or how much is a complete mystery. That Owen doesn't know his intentions doesn't help his rising anxiety. His emotions must leak into the bond because Blue is suddenly there, both anchor and pillar of support in one.

Owen wants to see his pack. He can feel them through the bond like solid presences beside him, but he wants to be with them. He wants to stretch out his hand and feel warm, marbled skin beneath his fingers. once he reaches the parking lot, he hops onto his bike and speeds off into the direction of the raptor paddock.

The pack is eager to see him upon his arrival at the paddock. They stay hidden in the jungle, lurking in wait as Owen dismisses the two security guards hanging around the complex. They trust Owen's word that Barry'll come to join him soon and rush off in their jeep.

As soon as the jeep disappears into the distance, the pack rushes out of the shadows, eyes flashing and chirping in unsuppressed excitement. They sound like when they were allowed to sleep in the house when they were still young enough to be considered safe at his bungalow.

Owen enters the ready-cage, excitement thrumming in his chest, warmth in the bond. He whistles at his girls to stand back and they obey, standing in a neat line from oldest to youngest. It's not until he's inside with the door sliding shut behind him that he allows them to converge on him. They surround him almost immediately, chittering and chirping in joy at having their Alpha near again. It's not like he doesn't interact with them often, he has permission to take them out on expeditions to the restricted zone as much as he sees fit.

But he can't often be in the paddock with them, not with so many eyes that don't know about his ability and especially not with Hoskins lurking like a hungry shark on the trail of fresh blood.

He's here with them now though, they're brushing against him and careful with the still healing wounds. Venizia is especially tender, checking up on the damage she had accidentally caused. She puffs warm little breaths on his arm and her part of the bond turns dark and mournful until Owen gently brushes a hand on her snout, letting the bond color with affection. She croons.

Blue is in front of him, bright and clear as in his mind like a miniature sun, his best girl, his other girls like brilliant stars. They feel so warm, a thrum of life that shouldn't be and yet is, thriving together. Owen is part of it, he can see himself through their eyes, in their minds, the brightest, the Alpha. He doesn't have the words to describe the feeling that curls in his chest.

Stay, says Blue, though it's not words, the pack doesn't exactly speak. It's more a conveying of thought and emotion that Owen deciphers with ease. He thinks about her request.

It's been awhile since he last slept in the raptor paddock. His first week sleeping in his bungalow again had been… strange. Waking to a firm mattress, his plush duvet tangled in his legs, a pillow to cushion his head had been… different. He had grown too used to sleeping on hard-packed dirt, head cushioned by Delta's flank. He wonders if that should worry him. Owen wants to stay with his girls tonight, revel in the familiarity of the pack bond. He grins at the girls. The next set of guards don't come in till seven at the earliest and he knows that he'll be up and out before then.

Owen had long ago gotten used to waking up at the ass crack of dawn to get shit done.

"Sure," he answers.

Echo pushes him to the center of the dirt clearing, the place where the pack curls up together to sleep. Normally Echo would sleep on his legs, but the other girls have run off into the jungle to chase the remaining vestiges of sun in the sky so she takes up position behind him, allowing him to rest on her. While technically their thread of genetics meant for them to be nocturnal, they had become accustomed to Owen's sleep schedule. He curls up on her side, taking in her warmth. Charlie and Delta are off chasing dragonflies and Blue monitors a competition between Roma and Venizia.

Owen's thoughts drift off to his conversation with Masrani. Not that it was much of a conversation really. He wonders what Masrani meant and what he knows. Is it possible

Masrani knows? If he does, he hasn't mentioned it, trusts Owen's control even. Or maybe Masrani doesn't know about his abilities and he wants to make sure his employee is okay with working what everyone else considers extremely dangerous animals. Owen doesn't deny that they are extremely dangerous, they've just never been a danger to him. It is still odd though, that Masrani would call him just to check on him.

His mind wanders to they mystery guests who Masrani would allow to view the raptors. It's obvious why the Hammond siblings would be allowed to visit the raptors, he even understands why they'd let Ian Malcolm come by, but he has no idea who else would have that sort of influence. He thinks briefly- maybe- but no, there's no way they'd ever get that man on this island. Maybe the woman but. No, probably not her either.

Owen's thoughts are starting to drift again and he yawns. The sun isn't setting yet, but he's comfortable and his pack is content. He's relaxed, the tension in his shoulders having melted away like butter in the sun. It's not long until he slips into much needed sleep.

Owen wakes to the sound of screaming. He's up in seconds, alarm racing through his veins

at the piercing cry. His girls snap to attention, hissing and spitting, all eyes flying to the man on the catwalk. Owen notes that the sun has only now begun to set, a distant yellow-white disk half-hidden by the trees. He hasn't been asleep for long, then.

The man on the catwalk, upon further inspection, turns out to be Adam. He's whispering nonsense to himself, half-formed oh my gods and holy shits flowing into word vomit from his mouth. His eyes are wide and fearful, hands clutching at his dark, curly hair.

"Mr. Grady! Oh my god I thought you were dead how are you not- oh god they captured you didn't they, they were saving you for later, holy fuck can you get out, will they let you out, did they hurt you?" He keeps rambling on and Owen wonders if there's any way to salvage the situation. When he hears Adam start talking about going into the paddock himself, Owen decides he has no choice.

"Adam!" he calls, and almost immediately the intern turns to look at him, dark eyes wild.

"I am not in any danger with the pack," he says calmly, slowly, like Adam is a cornered

animal. Adam, unsurprisingly, looks unconvinced.

Owen sighs. He turns to his girls, who are staring warily at the intern, whistling at them and ignoring Adam's plea to not bring attention to himself. He turns to Blue, promising to come back when he's finished dealing with the situation. For now though he needs to her to take the pack into the trees and stay there until Adam is gone. He doesn't need him feeling uneasy while they talk. She titters in compliance and chirps at her sisters to follow her. They touch their snouts to his hand as they leave. Once they're out of sight, Owen calls for Adam to open the ready cage.

Adam does so slowly, obviously still terrified. He'd seen him sleeping in a pile of raptors and had assumed he was dead, or soon to be torn apart viciously. Owen winces. He's probably going to have to pay for therapy. Adam doesn't speak until Owen is in the ready-cage and the paddock door is closed behind him. Then:

"Are you fucking insane! You could have been killed, those aren't kittens that'll give you a little scratch at worst, those are actual murderous dinosaurs that could tear you apart at any second, god how are you even still alive?"

Owen puts up a hand to stop the tirade.

"I know they're no harmless kittens," says Owen, grim. Of course he knows, they've built their relationship on trust and respect. "But I am not in any danger with the pack."

Adam gives him an incredulous look, like Owen's already lost his mind and he doesn't know what to do about it. Owen takes a deep breath and explains. He doesn't give as many details as he gave Barry, but he gives just enough. By the time Owen's finished speaking, Adam is looking at him in admiration and skepticism.

"Don't tell anyone, please." Owen doesn't beg, but the plea is there nonetheless. Adam nods, his eyes sincere. Owen rewards him with a wan smile. Adamm hands him the reports he had come to deliver in the first place and leaves. Owen presses his lips together. The pack is out in the open, waiting for him to enter again.

He does, getting into the familiar tangle of limb and teeth and claws. His girls are so big now, in particular Roma and Venizia, and those two still have more grow. He wonders if they'll really grow as big as the rex. He wonders what kind of show Masrani'll have in mind for them when they grow up enough to start.

His thoughts flicker back to Adam. Owen trusts that he won't tell anyone and he hopes that trust isn't misguided, but he still feels uneasy that someone else knows. It was one thing that he had told Barry, whom he's known for a while and practically raised his girls with, but Adam, well meaning as he is, is a stranger to him, and strangers have a habit of being unpredictable. Owen really hopes his trust isn't misplaced.

Eventually Blue nudges at him, urging him to calm his thoughts because the rest of them are trying to sleep. Owen chuckles and allows her cool presence to lull him into a doze. There's something still niggling in the back of his head, but for now, he opts to ignore it.


Chapter title:

Ballad of Mona Lisa by Panic! at the Disco

(btw, can you guess who the special guests will be :))