Updating here a day early since tomorrow is drinks and dinos day and I'll be busy.

Thanks to everyone who's left kudos and bookmarks :)

Happy Dominion Eve!

By the time they reached San Jose they were all exhausted. Claire had spent the entire flight organizing their arrival, while Michael and Jo were talking animatedly. Lennie had tried to get some sleep, but the conversation with Owen about her parents was still on her mind. It was hard to pinpoint what bothered her more about the conversation - Owen thinking she wanted that rich lifestyle or the reminder of what had happened.

At least Owen did not seem to be upset with her, he spent the whole flight with an arm around her. Though, admittedly, since they boarded the boat to the island, she had not even seen him.

Clasping her hands together she leaned forward on the railing and looked ahead. Isla Nublar would be coming into view pretty soon. How the hell did she even feel about that? She had meant it when she told Owen she missed the island. But now it was bound to be even more chaotic than when they were nearly eaten how many damned times in less than twelve hours?

Groaning, she leaned forward. It was tempting to bang her head against the railing as she had done in the classroom. Only this time there was no hospital for Owen to drive her to.

"You look like you want to strangle someone," Claire's voice sounded behind her.

Lennie turned to look at the woman. Claire was dressed in khakis and a casual dress shirt tied at the middle over a tank top. She looked more relaxed now than she had on land, but still looked like she could take on a boardroom full of high-powered CEOs without breaking a sweat. "I think this is the first time I've seen you not dressed business casual," she laughed.

"I've tried running from carnivores in a skirt, it wasn't an experience I'd like to repeat," Claire muttered.

"At least you weren't in heels."

Claire smiled. "I wonder if they're still in the gift shop?"

"If they are, are they in one piece or ripped to shreds by compys?"

"They were brand new too," Claire sighed. "Everything okay?"

"I have no idea," Lennie sighed. "Apart from the obvious going back to Isla Nublar thing, Owen's being weird." Claire opened her mouth, but Lennie beat her to it. "Weirder than usual."

"Important clarification," Claire laughed.

Smiling, she shook her head and said, "Not disagreeing. It's just…the last few weeks, we've been finishing up the cabin and he's been…he disappears, gets mad at the dumbest shit, runs into town for no damned reason…. Plus he was a bit pissy at Michael's place. I think he had the idea in his head that I wanted that life somehow? Can you imagine me in a damned mansion? I walked away from that already."

Claire walked up and leaned on the railing next to her, biting her lip.

"What?"

"You…you don't think he's…."

"He's what?"

Claire pushed out a breath. "Cheating?"

Lennie laughed. Owen could be an obstinate pain in the ass at times, not that she was one to talk, but he was not a cheater. "No, I don't think so. Something's just…up his ass. And, as much as I love him, Owen has the communication skills and emotional maturity of a wet sock."

"Tell me about it," Claire huffed. When Lennie arched an eyebrow at her she added, "There's a reason he and I only had one date."

"I'm surprised there was even one date," Lennie said. She had heard about it from Barry and Owen had overheard, resulting in some angry grumbling about mistakes before he stalked off.

"Not like there was a massive dating pool on Isla Nublar," Claire grumbled. "And I can admit he's definitely one of the most attractive men that worked there, dirt and fashion sense aside."

"Preaching to the choir," Lennie giggled. On the other side of the deck she saw Owen and Barry preparing some weapons and gear. "Maybe when we get back home I'll talk to him. And I should probably tell him…. He deserves to know what happened with my family. Much as I'm oh so looking forward to bringing that up ..."

"Can I ask what happened?"

Lennie shook her head. "I became a paleontologist, not a lawyer."

"You became the lead paleontologist at Jurassic World," Claire said. "Made good money, too. Don't sell yourself short."

"Thank you, I think I needed that." Turning around, she leaned back on the railing on her forearms. Up in the distance Isla Nublar was beginning to peek through the horizon. "Not entirely sure I'm ready for this."

"Me neither," Claire said.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see the other woman rubbing her hands together anxiously. Looking back toward Owen and Barry, she managed to catch Owen's eye and he tossed her a wink. The corners of her lips tugged upward involuntarily. No matter what happened, at least she had him.

Before they arrived on the island, Owen and Barry ensured Michael, Claire, and Len were armed with tranquilizer guns. Each dart in the guns had enough toxin inside to drop a t-rex before it even realized it had been shot. Joan had no experience with firearms. A dangerous liability in his eyes, but nobody was able to talk her out of coming onto the island. At least she was likely to stay close to Michael.

The rest of the ship's crew would remain on board, away from the docks, ready to go at a moment's notice, should the shit hit the fan. Being honest, it probably would go sideways very quickly.

As soon as they got their equipment unloaded at the dock - extra rounds, machetes to hack through the overgrowth, and provisions including food just in case - they made their way toward the main complex on foot while the ship pulled back to weigh anchor just off shore. Any vehicles would attract unwanted attention from the animals and the last thing they needed was to draw out Rexy and wind up dino kibble. Hell, even if it was Blue that showed up, there was no guarantee she wouldn't just attack. It had been three years after all.

The entire trip from the dock to the complex was quiet. Not a single roar, no shaking leaves, not even a damned snake. Something was wrong.

As they started down Main Street he noticed even the mosasaurus pool was still. Len walked ahead to the feeding show area and he followed her, indicating behind him for the others to stay put.

"This isn't right, Owen," she muttered as she climbed up to where the trainers used to stand for the show.

The cement structure had small fractures in it and looked worse for wear. Honestly, it was on par for a place that had been abandoned for three years. If it broke and the damned thing was still alive in there…. "Be careful, Len."

She smirked back at him over her shoulder. "I'll be fine, baby. Promise. If I fall in, you can swim, right?"

"Not funny," he grumbled.

"It's a little funny," she laughed as she reached the top. Her eyes narrowed over the water, which was eerily still. "This is wrong. No movement at all. Not that the water's remotely clean. I can't see more than a foot down in the few spaces not covered by pond scum."

Owen chewed on his lip and tapped his fingers impatiently against his leg as he watched her scanning the water. "Great, now will you get your ass down?" Len grinned at him and climbed down. When she got near the bottom he reached out to help her down, not breathing until she was safely on the ground in his arms. "Gonna give me a damned heart attack one day, the way you go charging off like that."

She pushed up on her toes and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thought you'd be used to me by now," she laughed.

"Doesn't mean I'm not worried," he muttered, sliding an arm around her waist as they walked back to the others.

"Did you see anything?" Barry asked as they approached.

Len shook her head. "Not even a ripple in the water. Either she's dead or she's not in there."

"They only just took control of InGen, they haven't had time to get here and take everything," Michael said, frowning at the pool.

Owen scanned the street leading up to the main building and control room. Off to the side he saw the remains of the souvenir shack he and Len had hid from the Indominus in. Felt like a lifetime ago now. Apart from that, the street looked pretty clear and if their experience so far was anything to go by, it was probably predator-free. Still, it would be best to make sure before heading out. "Let's head up to the control room," he muttered. "When you're safely in there, Me, Len, and Barry will head out, see if we can find any animals or any trace of Mantah."

"You expect us to just wait around while you three go gallivanting around the park?" Claire huffed.

"Not exactly the word I'd use," Owen groused.

Before he could reply further, though, Len put in, "We've got familiarity with the animals, we don't know the first thing about the control room." One step ahead of him putting his foot in his mouth. "We'd be useless in there, might as well see what we can find out on our own."

When Claire's back was turned, he gave Len a grateful smile and tossed her a wink. "Shall we?" he asked, gesturing down Main Street. With Claire and Barry in the lead, he took up the rear with Len as they made their way to the control room.

From the moment they had set foot on Isla Nublar, Jo was more than a little creeped out. Compared to last time she was there, it was pure silence. Not even a gust of wind or rustling of leaves from some animal in the brush.

Now walking down Main Street, it was worse. Even the mosasaurus tank was quiet. If Lennie was right, she might not even be in there. Were any of the dinosaurs still on the island? She grasped Michael's hand tightly as they went inside the complex. No way did Mantah Corp have enough time to clear out the island after the acquisition. Maybe poachers? Or…black market dealers? Did the black market deal in dinosaurs? She shook her head to clear it and keep herself focussed on what was in front of her. If there were any predators still on the island, things could go wrong pretty fast.

Jo was surprised half of the things inside the main complex worked, but they were able to get the elevator up to take them to the control room, and they had light the whole way without using their flashlights. All of Michael's preparation was coming in handy - he knew what switches to flip, where generators were, and everything.

Meanwhile she had no technical expertise or knowledge of the park. Hell, she did not even know how to protect herself if they were caught either by humans or dinosaurs. At least Michael had mentioned getting her access if the computers were working so she could at least try to find something in the systems. Otherwise, she was pretty much just a human decoration. Or bait.

She shuddered a little at the thought.

Michael stepped out of the elevator and found the panel, turning on the lights once again. "Let there be light!" he joked, grinning at her.

"You're a total cheeseball," she laughed, filing out into the room with the others. She grinned when she reached Michael and he put his arms around her.

"You okay?" he whispered in her ear.

"Could be in a less haunted-looking place, but other than that…," she teased, pushing up on her toes to kiss him quickly. The one truly good thing to come out of the nightmare of this park.

Michael grinned down at her, and pulled her closer.

"I think we're good here," Owen's voice pulled them back to reality.

Popping back down on her feet, she slid an arm around Michael's waist.

"Keep yourselves sealed in here, use the walkie talkies if you run into any trouble," Owen said, nodding to Lennie and Barry to join him in the elevator.

Before she followed, Lennie grabbed Jo's hand and gave a quick squeeze. "Be careful."

"Yes, dad," she laughed, leaning on Michael's shoulder.

Lennie narrowed her eyes. "Smartass."

"Rexy can't fit in the elevator, Lennie," Michael said. "We'll be safe here."

"Len?"

Biting back whatever comment she had been about to make, Lennie turned back to Owen and joined him and Barry in the elevator. She threw a quick wave as the doors closed.

Jo looked up at Michael with a grin. "Where do we start?"

He gestured at the nearest console. "Allow me to set you up, milady," he teased. From the corner of her eye she saw Claire rolling her eyes as she approached a console on the other side of the room.

Within minutes they were all deep in their tasks, searching for any evidence of what had happened.