Another one. Good God, this took forever. So sorry. Okay, this one is going to be a lot of jumps, and probably some exposition. And eliethekingmor, you'll get your fanservice. I expect this one to be a weaker chapter. Hope y'all are enjoying. Love y'all, stay home, stay safe.

Brooklynn laid on her bed, fast asleep. Darius was watching over her like he used to when he was up late on Nublar. He sat on the other side of the room, having a clear view. The two teens had been taken to the hospital for trauma. Whatever that meant. But Darius figured it probably happened enough that it was probably standard for hospitals.

He sighed. Brooklynn's dads sat on the other wall, fast asleep themselves. Darius had snuck into her room about two hours earlier. Surprisingly, he didn't get caught. But, this was the trauma area, so they probably aren't looking for patience to be up at this hour. One in the morning. The teen sighed and put his hands on his head. He couldn't believe everything that's happened. And he couldn't believe that he SHOT someone. He figured there was probably going to be an investigation. That's fine. He knew the truth. Darius once again sighed. He realized that he was going to have to call Brand. God, he didn't know how they were going to get through. They had lost so much already.

Darius looked up at Brooklynn. She was still sleeping, so he decided to head back to his own room. He thought he remembered hearing them say they would be released tomorrow, which meant later this morning. He got back to his bed, and fell asleep worrying about Brooklynn, and his brother. As usual, he woke up at six. Some things never change. Darius thought to himself. He saw the time on the clock. He was about to grab his phone and call Brand, but he knew there was a one hour time difference in L.A. The teen just decided to watch some cartoons that was on the local channel. About an hour and a half later, a nurse and a doctor came to check up on him.

"Good morning." she said. Darius said hi in return. "How are you feeling? You feeling okay."

"I'm tired. And my body hurts like hell." he answered.

The doc smiled and chuckled a little bit. "Before we have you released, we're going to do a quick checkup with you. We're going to ask you some questions, and check your blood pressure, your heart rate, and make sure you're doing okay." Darius nodded.

"Can I be in the room with him?" a new voice said. The three looked at him, and saw Jake standing in the doorway.

The doc said, "The patient is eighteen years old. Legally, he can decide for himself." Looking back at Darius, she said, "And since you're eighteen years old, as of December twentieth, 2016, legally, CPS cannot give you any support. It's unfair, especially since you're still in school, but unfortunately it's the law."

Darius nodded in understanding. Looking at Jake, he said, "He can come in." Jake immediately walked past the doc to the chair closest to Darius. Darius answered their questions the best he could, and Jake helped explain the questions where he could. Once everything was completed, the doctor said that Darius was going to be taken to a room to be discharged. Darius waited and waited. He asked Jake, "How's Brooklynn?"

"A little shaken up." he answered honestly. "But the doctors assured us that she was okay. She didn't have any injuries, just some trauma from the experience."

"What are we looking at?" Darius asked. "Some form of PTSD? Possible medications? What are the long term affects?"

Jake sighed. "They said to expect nightmares, constant tiredness, and a lot of moments where she's jumpy. We're just going to take it slow for a little while. Probably call her out of school next week, give her some time to recover."

Darius nodded. "Have you talked to the cops? Did they give you a rundown of what happened?"

"They said that currently, they're investigating the death of the supposed burglar. They said that they're trying to determine if he was killed out of malicious intent, or if it was an act of self defense." Darius nodded again in understanding. "They also said you shot him." Darius again nodded, confirming what he said. "How are you holding up?"

"I spent my whole life surrounded by death, it feels like. I've seen lots of people die, both in and out of my family. This is just the first time I've pulled the trigger." Darius said. After a minute of silence, he said, "I saw... dead people on Nublar. Their bodies either half eaten, or their skin still rotting off their corpses. This isn't the first time I've used a gun either. My Uncle would take me and Brand hunting. He started us off small, hunting squirls and using the pistols. And I had multiple guns at the Camp. I kept them in a separate area, away from the others. I never used them, except a pistol for defense against the dinosaurs. I fought two Hybrids with a Glock and a Rifle. I even killed them. And I shot a bunch of robots, destroying them. You would think that, after killing a human, I would feel something, anything really. Anger, sadness, confusion, regret. I feel nothing. It's as if death doesn't even faze me anymore. I don't fear it like I used to."

Jake sighed. "You're going to feel it later." he said to the teen. "You may not feel it now, today, tomorrow, next week. But you will feel it eventually. And when that comes, we're going to be here for you. Me, Tim, and Brooklynn. I know that you feel like you're going to have to deal with everything alone. But you are not alone. You still have Brandon. And we're gonna be right by your guy's sides. Okay?" Darius nodded, and mouthed a thank you to him. Jake took out the clothes that he had in the bag, and tossed them at Darius. "Tim took them home and cleaned them. Your house is still an active crime scene, so we couldn't get you anything else."

Darius looked at his uncle's suit. He once again said thank you, and got up to change. He came out with the pants on, his dress shirt unbuttoned and untucked, and his vest and jacket in hand. A little while later, the nurse came back and said he was allowed to leave. They met Tim and Brooklynn in the lobby. Brooklynn wasn't wearing her dress, just some sweatpants and a t-shirt. The teenage girl saw Darius, and quickly put her face in his chest, quietly sobbing. He rubbed her back and silently whispered shh in her ear.

The ride from the hospital was silent and quick. Most likely because the two teens drifted in and out of sleep. Once they got to the house, Darius and Brooklynn were helped in. Brooklynn was escorted to her room, but Darius headed to the couch. "I need to make a call." he said. Jake nodded, and went up the stairs to help Brooklynn, giving Darius some privacy. Taking out his phone, Darius dreaded calling his brother. But he knew he had to hear it from him instead of the five o'clock news.

The phone rang a few times before Brand finally picked up. "Hey little bro. What's happening?"

Darius quietly sighed that his brother didn't know yet. "Hey Brand. Um, something bad happened last night. And, I'm dreading telling you."

Brandon laughed. He knew his brother went to the dance with Brooklynn. "Oh God, did she say she was pregnant? Or did you two... Do the deed?"

Darius gave a sad laugh. "No. I wish I could say that's what happened. But, um... Remember that merc I told you about? The one who kidnapped Brooklynn on Nublar?"

"Yeah. Why?" Brand asked, growing more confused.

"He found out where we lived." Darius told him. "He broke into the house last night, but I wasn't there. All he found was Josh and Aunt Jamila. He killed them Brandon. Because of me." Darius shuddered and felt tears leave his eyes.

Brandon said, "Hey, don't you EVER say that again. Okay? You did nothing wrong. Whatever beef he has with you, whatever you did to that guy, you did to survive Nublar. He decided to come after you. Where is he now?"

Darius took a breath. "He's dead."

Brandon asked, "Dead? What do you mean he's dead? What happened?" Darius struggled to take a deep enough breath to talk. Brandon said, "You know what? I'm on the next flight home. Okay? You're not going to face this alone little bro. Okay?"

Darius nodded, and only managed to say, "Thank you."

"Okay, love you Darius." Then Brandon hung up. A moment later, Darius's phone dinged, alerting him of a text message. Darius read his brother's message.
I'll let you know what time my flight gets to the airport.
I'm booking the flight now and packing.

Darius responded with a thumbs up. He put his head down, and waited long enough for him to hear his brother's response. A few moments later, Jake came down the stairs and sat next to Darius on the couch. "Brandon is packing now. He's going to tell me what time his flight gets here."

The older man nodded. "I'll pick him up from the airport, save him from renting a car." Darius nodded again.

Another moment later, Brandon said, My flight gets in at about six. That's all they have.

Darius responded, Jake's going to pick you up. I would do it myself, but my jeep is at the house.

Get some rest. his brother told him.

Darius sighed, and put his phone behind him somewhere. Jake said, "You should get some sleep. I know you didn't sleep well last night."

Darius looked at him. "You came to check up on me?"

Jake smiled and shook his head. "No. I just know that you came into her room last night."

"Did you see me?" Darius asked.

Jake once again shook his head no. "It's in your nature. And besides, you love her. I would be concerned if you didn't check on her." Darius chuckled, and laid his head down on the couch. He sighed, and was out like a light. He slept for the rest of the day.

Brandon woke him up for dinner. "Hey little bro. Wake up." Darius stirred, and saw his older brother. He just put his head back down into his head, and curled his body into a ball. Brandon almost broke down in tears. It's what Darius always did whenever Mom or Josh wanted him to come down. "Come on Darius. You gotta eat something man."

Darius sighed, and looked up at his brother. "Hey."

Brandon smiled at his little brother and helped him up off the couch. They hugged for a brief moment, and then went to the table. Darius and Brandon were very thankful for all the help that the Taylors would provide for them. Darius and Brandon sat on the couch later that night, talking about anything that came up. Darius was learning all sorts of things, like what collage is like.

Inevitably, the topic soon turned to what happened. "Do you want to tell me about what happened?"

Darius sighed, and then told his brother. "Me and Brooklynn had left the dance and made it home. When we got inside, we had noticed the lights were off. I let Brooklynn go to the living room to turn on the lights while I got the desert out. When I turned around, he had her. He said he wanted the flash drive. I wouldn't give it to him. I lied and said I didn't have it. After fighting him, I ended up getting ahold of his gun and shot him. I checked Josh and Jamila, but they were dead." The two brothers hugged each other and cried. Darius sighed and wiped his face with his shirt. "I need to make another call."

"I'll stay with you." Brand said. Darius nodded, and called the person he wanted to.

"Hey kid. We need to talk." Jones said as he answered.

"Yeah. You're goddamn right we do." Darius snapped back. "I just had a visit from a merc who's employer is LOOKING for the research on the drive. You better have good news for me Jones. Because two people are dead now. My uncle and aunt are dead. Brooklynn is looking at some form of PTSD, and I'm still wrapping my head around killing a man. So your investigation with the F.B.I. had BETTER be solid, because I am done. I'm done with caring about dinosaurs and TIRED of sticking my neck out for something that has done NOTHING but cause me pain. This is the LAST time I try to save the world. So you've gotta give me something good."

"I'm reading the article now." Jones said. "I've been keeping track of you and your family for a while now. I just saw that your uncle and aunt died. I'm so sorry. They are saying it's a home invasion gone wrong. I knew there had to be some other reason though. Um, about good news Darius. I sent in the case last week. When I called them and asked if they received it, they said they never got the evidence. I told them that was impossible because I used the UPS tracking system, and it confirmed that it had reached it's destination. They said that it must have gotten lost because they never received it."

Darius shook his head. "So... what? What's the plan? Is it over? This is how it ends? You lose the vital piece of taking Wu down, I now get to bury my aunt and uncle next to my mother, and Wu just gets away with all his crimes against humanity?"

"I'm sorry kid. Truly, I am. But the best thing you can do now is find a way to move on and live your life." Jones offered. "It's what your folks would have wanted you to do." The older man sighed. "You did good kid. It's time for you to rest now. Good luck."

Darius shook his head and just hung up. Brandon watched his brother. "What happened? Where do we go from here?"

"Nowhere. It's done. It's over." Darius explained. "He said that the F.B.I. never got the files. And he couldn't make copies of the evidence either. And even if we did send another copy to Jones, will the flash drive disappear again? And how many more people need to die before I finally listen to the Universe and just stop trying to play hero again? How many more people do I have to lose before I finally stop trying to save the fucking world?"

"I'm sorry bro. I know how bad you needed a win." Brandon said.

Darius started crying softly. "And after all that, Josh and Jamila are gone. I can't ever avenge their deaths by taking down Wu!"

Another set of footsteps were heard coming down the stairs. Darius felt someone put their hand on his shoulder. "It's okay Darius. We're right here. It's your turn to rest." Brooklynn said as she wrapped her arms around him.

Darius let out all his emotions, his pain, his anger, his frustration. It's all come to a turning point. He couldn't take it anymore. He hated that after all that effort, after all the people he has lost, his mother, father, uncle, aunt, and best friend, he finally decided he didn't care anymore. I am done with Dinosaurs. Those amazing creatures have done nothing but caused me pain. Let someone else give a shit from now on.

Over the next two weeks, Darius and Brand took care of organizing the funeral, sorting through things they cold sell to pay for all of it. Apparently, Josh left his house to both of them if Jamila wasn't alive to collect. They decided that the best thing to do was sell the house. They had to pay the bill for the crime scene cleaners, pay for the service, everything else. The little money they had leftover was put into a savings account for Darius. But they chose to keep the hunting house. That was another thing they decided to keep. Everything else, aside from Darius's jeep and everything else the two brother wanted to jeep, was sold.

Tim and Jake immediately opened up their home for Darius to stay with them. He slept in the guest bedroom with the few belongings he had leftover. His brother went back to California because of school he needed to catch up on.

Darius lied awake on the bed. It had been a few days after the service. Darius was still trying to get his head straight on how he would move forward. Right now, it just didn't seem possible. The next day, he was going through his jeep. He found the flash drive that had caused him so much pain over the last few weeks. Darius glared at it, put it under the tire, and drove over it a few times. He picked up the pieces, and threw them away, hoping to never need that in his life again.

Time jump montage! June of 2017. I REALLY want to just get on with it.

Darius graduated that year with the rest of his class. He walked with his teammates who were also graduating. They were all going to their own separate collages. But that didn't stop them from enjoying their last few days with each other.

After the ceremony, Tim and Jake decided to take him and Shawn and Blake to a nice fancy restaurant to celebrate. Darius was starting to get ready and Brooklynn was taking her time. She opened up one of her drawers, looking for a potential outfit when she noticed a camera in there. It was that beat up old camera Darius had found. She had wondered where she put it. Brooklynn managed to keep it safe. It was one of the few things they didn't take on their first raft escape.

She tried turning it on, but noticed dead battery. She sighed and grabbed the right battery. NOW she could watch the tape. The first few videos she watched were when he was going through the process of rebuilding camp.

She made it to when everyone started being in the video in one form or another. She got a video with just the two of them. But it wasn't a Captain's Log from Darius.

Brooklynn crept up closer to Darius. He was currently on the couch sleeping. She had a water bottle in her hand. She had drank the contents before replacing it with the cold water from the river. One of her better plans if she did say so herself.

Brooklynn had made sure that everyone else was busy doing something. It was perfect because no one could warn Darius about her little prank. She put the bottle right over Darius, and in one swift motion, tilted the bottle, the contents spilling out all over his face.

He woke up with a jolt and fell off the couch. Brooklynn laughed at his shocked, wet, and confused figure try to figure out what happened. "I'm gonna kill you Kenji!" he called out.

"It wasn't me!" Kenji's voice could be heard faintly from the ither side of the camp.

Darius sighed and look up at Brooklynn. He was about to ask what she was doing with the camera, noticed the water bottle in her hand that she forgot to quickly toss aside, and put two and two together. "Oh, you're gonna get it." he said in a scary voice.

Brooklynn quickly bolted to the slide and went down. Darius chased after her, using his wet body to his advantage, and dove head first like a penguin. Brooklynn made it to the bottom first, but Darius was right in her heels.

Darius managed to grab into her jacket, spin her towards her, and swiftly pick her up. Brooklynn dropped the camera, but the object still kept rolling. It fell with its camera still pointed at the two teens. "Payback time" Darius said as he walked to the river. Brooklynn let out a series of pleas for mercy, but Darius still flung her into the body of water. He let out a laugh and went back to pick up the camera.

Brooklynn looked up from the camera and noticed that she was all dressed up, but she doesn't remember getting to the living room. Or when her dads decided to sit with her and watch. She continued to watch. Finally, the last video played.

Darius pointed the camera at his face. "It's day... I don't know. We ran out of chalk space a while ago. Should have drawn smaller." Darius sighs. "Camp moral is currently at an all time low. We found Ben, which should lift our spirits up. Unfortunately, the last twenty-four hours have been brutal. We had a chance to escape, and we blew it. The people we ran into were not good people. They were hunters. Hired by someone to come here and kill the dinosaurs. We stopped them, but one of them got away in their boat. For a little context, we thought that these people were here to save us. They said that they were ecotourists. Spoiler alert, they weren't. We discovered that they had a boat after they had threatened to kill us if we didn't help kill the dinosaurs. And being the idiots that we are, we resisted. The dinosaurs are safe, but again, one of them got away."

"This leads me to believe that no one is coming. They must think we are dead. Why wouldn't they think so? We're on a dinosaur island. You know, if I had listened to Brooklynn, we probably would be on that boat right now, and the hunters would be on the island, forced to survive. God, Brooklynn. There is just so much about her that I love. She drives me insane though. She is just as stubborn as me, maybe even more so. She is strong willed, and passionate about everything she does." Darius sighed.

"But at the same time, I love it. I love everything about her. The way she talks, the way she talks about her family, the way she challenges everything. It goes beyond physical attraction. She's beautiful, yes, but... No one has ever made me feel this way." Darius paused for a minute. "I really wish I could introducer her to my Mom." Darius looked at the battery life on the camera. "This thing is going to die soon. I'll probably just eat up the last few minutes here."

Darius got up, and pointed the camera to everyone. Kenji, Ben, Sammy, Yasmina, and Brooklynn. He left the camera on her for two seconds longer than the others. He sighed and pointed the camera back at himself. "No help is coming. If we want to get off this damn island, we're going to have to do it ourselves. It's going to be risky, but it will be worth it to get these guys home. They are my team. They are counting on me. I'll let them rest, and then tomorrow, we will brainstorm some ideas on how to get off the island."

Darius sighs as he sat down on the couch again. "But just in case things... Don't work out, I just want to say, I'm sorry. In the off chance that anyone finds this, and we die, I'm sorry. Kenji's dad, Ben's mom, Yasmina's parents, Sammy's family, Brooklynn's dads, I'm sorry I couldn't get your children home safe." Darius sighs. "I'm sorry, Brandon. I tried. I really tr-" *shkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk*

Brooklynn was shocked at what he said about her. "He really cares about you. Even then, he loved you." Tim said. Brooklynn nodded as she wiped a tear that fell.

Darius was heard coming down stairs a few seconds later. He came down in a pair of black jeans, a black shirt, and a yellow suit coat. Brooklynn smiled as she ran up and hugged him. "You're wearing yellow?" she asked, surprised. "You hate yellow. Why would you put yourself through such torture especially on graduation?"

"Because I know that you love it." Darius said. "And if I'm ever going to hope to make this last, I need to start wearing things I don't like even though you love them. And besides, we match now." he said, pointing put her dark jeans and yellow blouse.

After dinner, Darius and Brooklynn went for a walk around the neighborhood. It was something they've done a lot recently as Darius prepared to leave for collage and get settled with his brother. Plus, he wanted to get familiar with his new team that his brother was on. The great thing about him getting to choose where he went for collage was that he was getting a sports scholarship. As long as he kept his grades up, he wouldn't use to worry about anything except football.

"So, what are we going to do about us?" Brooklynn asked.

Darius gave her an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

She clarified, "I mean, it's going to be two years until I join you at collage. That's quite a long time to maintain a relationship over the phone. And, I would hate for you to wake up one morning and realize you don't love me anymore and feel like you're stuck in a relationship with me."

Darius interrupted her. "You know that I'm all in and want to make us work, right? And I would never lead you on if I thought or felt otherwise. I'm always going to be honest with you Brooklynn. I love you. And nothing is going to change that."

She smiled and leaned in for a kiss. "I know. I just don't want to hold you back, or stop you from doing anything you want. I trust you with my life Darius, if those months on Nublar weren't obvious."

Darius smiled and gave her another kiss. "Time flies by fast. You're going to be with me in California in no time."

The next day, Darius was all set to drive to California. Looking at the people he has stayed with for the last few months, he gave Tim and Jake a hug. "Thank you both. For everything."

"We love you kid." Tim said.

"Drive safe." Jake reminded him.

Darius nodded, then gave a hug and kiss to Brooklynn. "I love you. I'll call you when I get to the motel."

"Love you too." Brooklynn said.

Darius smiled, got in his truck, and headed to collage with his brother.

AND DONE! FINALLY! WE CAN HEAD INTO FALLEN KINGDOM. Dear GOD, I'm exhausted. It shouldn't have taken this long to- oh damn it. I guess I should write the damn cliffhanger. Sigh. give me a minute.

Four months ago...

Wu's boss walked in on him as he was on his computer. "Have you seen the news? I leave for three days, and Hawkes is dead."

Wu looked up, and said, "That's unfortunate."

The man gave him an eyebrow. "You seem very calm for a man who's not getting his research back. For a man who's about to lose everything." Wu sighed, and showed a flash drive. "Is that your research?" the man asked.

Wu explained, "I had one of your guys who went with me to Nublar to retrieve my laptop watch the FBI, CIA, anything that could alert the government to our activity here. A Mr. Wheatly. I promised him that you would be willing to pay for his service once again. He found the research and sent it to me."

"Wait a second, so the kid didn't have the research?" the boss asked.

"I don't know." Wu said. "All I know is that someone from Costa Rica was sending the research to the FBI, and Wheatly intercepted it. It doesn't matter anymore. With my research back in hand, I've made rapid progress on our new project. The egg has already been incubating for a week. In a few short months, the Indoraptor will be born."

The man smiled. "This is great Henry. Good work."

Wu asked, "What are you going to do about the DPG slowly gaining traction?"

"Well, we know that the volcano is awake. Hopefully, the government decides not to do anything. Then we can go back to Nublar on our own, keeping our business a secret." the boss explained. "You'll still get your samples. But if Nublar is going to be watched still, then we can't do anything yet. We just have to hope that the government chooses to leave the dinosaurs alone."

NOW WE'RE DONE! GODDAMN, TOO LONG ON THIS PORTION. NOW I CAN GET TO FALLEN KINGDOM. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PATIENCE. STAY HOME, STAY SAFE.