A/N: So I was on my way to watch Jurassic World Dominion yesterday, and while in route I listened to an audio recording of an excerpt from The Lost World novel, a portion of which is included below. I'd been wanting to write something for Jurassic Park/World for a while, and inspiration suddenly struck for it here. I started writing almost immediately after the new film, and here it is.

I need to say here that, while I have seen Dominion, as I said the idea struck before I saw it. Consequently, this story will be spoiler free, as though I had never watched it in the first place. This does take place post-Fallen Kingdom, but any similarities that may or may not relate to Dominion are purely coincidental.


Here it was every animal for itself; the frenzied raptors hopped and ducked their heads as they tore the body to pieces; and there was plenty of nipping and fighting among themselves. One animal came up, with something brown hanging from its jaws. The animal got an odd expression on its face as it chewed. Then it turned away from the rest of the pack, and held the brown object carefully in its forearms. In the growing darkness, it took Levine a moment to recognize what it was doing: it was eating a candy bar. And it seemed to be enjoying it.

-Michael Crichton, The Lost World


Blue's Treat

Blue had always loved candy.

Owen could remember how, back when she was still practically a hatchling, she'd eat any sweet that she could find. Starburst, Snickers, Skittles…one time she got into a collection of taffy that got stuck in her teeth for the better part of a whole day. The scientists at the lab learned quickly not to leave any of their snacks lying around anywhere she frequented, or she'd find a way into them.

Of course, those same scientists had been terrified the first time he found her hopping up and down beside a collection of half-eaten candy wrappers, suddenly full of boundless energy like a hyper human child. None of them had any idea what to expect from a dinosaur eating sugar and chocolate and all sorts of things that definitely weren't part of a velociraptor diet 65 million years ago. But, aside from the sugar rush and eventual crash she always had, there was never much harm done, and so the scientists permitted her snacking, albeit reluctantly. She was never supposed to have more than one or two treats a day—if that—but she always seemed to manage to get more, either by finding them herself or coaxing them out of Owen.

Back when she was still a hatching, a few individual pieces would satisfy her. Three or four M&Ms would be enough to calm her or get her to behave. Even a single gummy bear would do the trick. But, as she got larger, it took more. From snack size to full size to, eventually, king size, Blue worked her way up higher and higher until eventually using candy bars as a regular treat just became a little too expensive for Owen, especially when it all came out of his own pay. Still, every now and then he'd get one for her, or share one he'd gotten for himself, or have one stolen while his back was turned.

Most candies were fine with her, but she liked some more than others. Chocolate seemed to be a favorite, as well as any number of fruit flavored snacks. In general, hard candy wasn't her preference, but she'd eat most of it if given the chance. Oddly enough, she disliked Tootsie Rolls, but less surprising was her dislike of most sour things. She did like sour Skittles, though; Owen never could understand that one.

When she was young, she'd eat out of his hand without a care. He never forgot the feeling of her small tongue licking his hand, cleaning off any melted sugar or chocolate. As she got older, it became more of a risk to let her continue. Around the time she began going for full-size bars, he'd had to start giving them to her by completely unwrapping the whole thing and holding by one side as she bit into the other side. She seemed to realize the delicate nature of it, and she always took it gently from him, never aggressively. Even with his fingers inches away from her sharp teeth that could sever them in a moment, she never brought them close to him.

For the smaller treats, where he couldn't hand them to her like that, they had a little game of it. He'd unwrap a piece and throw it too her, and she'd do her best to catch it in her mouth. She got good at it quite fast, seemingly able to read his eyes to know where he would try to throw it. It was an ability she used as she got older, when treats became dead mice and rats rather than sugar.

Eventually, Blue became too large for even that, and she and the pack were moved out of the laboratory nursery where they'd grown up and away to the paddock. He missed the sense of closeness with her and the rest of them; it was never quite the same with a large fence between them, and standing high above on the catwalk didn't exactly exude a feeling of inclusion among them. It was for his own safety, though, and so he bore it well. After all, going down into a pit of adult velociraptors was a horrible idea no matter how much they may respect him. He had no desire to join all the tasty treats in Blue's stomach.

Yet even in the paddock, Blue still had a way of getting candy out of him. She always had a special kind of whining bark that she'd use to tell him she wanted some, coupled with a pair of eyes that he could have sworn she stole from a puppy. From hatchling to adult, it was the same pitiful and endearing call that he never could quite refuse, and he didn't, save for when he had nothing to give. On those days, he'd empty his pockets, showing her the inside lining which only consisted of lint. She'd whine, but seemed to understand. In those first days after she'd been moved to the paddock, she gave him her cry regularly, and to calm her he acquiesced. However, when she abused his generosity, he was forced to withhold the treats for a while, and he could almost feel her disappointment when her requests went unanswered. Since then, she'd learned not to ask every day, which Owen greatly appreciated.

Most of his coworkers, he imagined, probably thought that he was a big candy junkie. They couldn't help but notice that he always had a candy bar on him while working, but what they didn't see was that he seldom ate any. Most of the time the candy stayed in his pocket from the time he arrived to the time he left. Sometimes it would go days without being eaten. But he always held onto it, for there was no better way to get Blue in line—and, by extension, the others— than by pulling it out. More effective than his clicker, more effective than shouts, more important than even the prospect of a proper meal was a glimpse of a candy wrapper. One look, and Blue would have Delta, Echo, and Charlie in formation and ready to go in the blink of an eye. He didn't have to do it often, but when he did and she responded quickly, she got her reward.

He often wondered what the other workers would think if they saw him toss three mice down into the pen followed by a candy bar for Blue. Because, interestingly enough, Blue was the only one his girls that actually cared about sweets at all. None of the others paid them any mind—in fact, he could have sworn that he saw the other girls give her disapproving looks in the past when she ate in front of them. The only exception to this was Delta, who had a bit of a thing for those sugary candy orange slices when she was younger, but that was it. When it came to candy, Blue was Owen's girl through and through.

Which was why he probably shouldn't have been surprised at all when it brought her back to him.

It happened when he was just finishing up construction on his cabin, far from everything else, hidden deep in the woods. It was liveable; in fact, he'd already pretty much mostly moved himself in. It only needed a little bit of work here and there to be truly done—that is, if he ever let himself actually be done with it. Owen was a doer, and when it came to homes there was always more that could be done.

That particular day he'd had a long and satisfying day at work, much of it spent painting both interior and exterior. He was tired, but not exhausted, and since the weather was nice outside, he got a small fire going as evening began to wane on. Soon he had a decent sized blaze as he got rid of some of the brush and limbs that he'd cleared out during construction.

Pulling up a folding chair, he sat and watched the fire as it lit up the darkening sky. It reminded him, as he looked at the flames, of the fall of Isla Nublar. He could still feel the heat of the volcano, sometimes, and taste the suffocating ash. It was unforgettable, seeing a world go up in flames like that. He'd almost died that day—and several times immediately after—and it was really a miracle he hadn't. But he didn't regret going. Not for a minute.

He had to for his girl.

He shook his head and stirred up the fire with a stick, making sure it didn't burn out, then added a bit more wood. It was best not to think too hard about what had happened. From the Navy to working with velociraptors, Owen Grady was a man used to living on the edge, death possible at any time. Yet that didn't always make it easier to cope with it when it happened. A lot of lives had been lost with both the Jurassic World Disaster and the tragic Lockwood Manor Incident, and being a part of both could mess with a man. Survivor's guilt and all that. No, it was better not to dwell on such things. The past belonged in the past.

He distracted himself by turning his attention to his stomach. He'd only had a light dinner (really, just a ham sandwich and an apple), which didn't quite equal out with the work he'd done that day. Luckily, he had a little something that could help.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a candy bar.

It was a habit he'd kept up, even so long removed from the park. He told himself that it was just for situations like this, when he found himself a bit hungry, but if he was honest it was for the memory. To remember the girl that he always kept it for. No matter where she was, if he had the snack ready for her then it was like she was already there.

The candy wrapper crinkled loudly as he began to remove it. Normally he'd only pull it halfway, but it tore worse than he'd expected and he found himself tossing the plastic into the fire and watching it burn as the treat began to get a bit mushy in his hand. It was chocolate—which he'd had to abandon back in the park due to the tropical heat always melting it—but the evening air was cool and so melting wasn't a problem now. Instead, it only stuck a little bit on his hand as he raised it up and took a bite.

Then he paused.

The fire crackled in front of him, but other than that…it was quiet. Very quiet. There was still enough light outside that the birds should be chirping in the trees, but he didn't hear them. The crickets, as well as other insects, seemed to have silenced too.

Owen frowned as he lowered the candy from his mouth and scanned the trees. He'd been around long enough to know what these signs meant. There was something out there. A predator. It just remained to be seen what.

He glanced down to his Marlin rifle, setting aside his chair. Nowadays, it was a necessity for him to keep it with him at all times, and he was suddenly glad he had. The Californian wilderness was one of the most popular locations for wild dinosaurs, and while he wasn't aware of any reports of large carnivore in his area, that wasn't a guarantee of it. There were a lot of potentially terrifying things that could be hiding just out of sight…

The shaking of a bush near the edge of the tree line caught his attention, and he slowly reached for his gun with his free hand. By the looks of it, it probably wasn't one of the largest predators, but that didn't mean it wasn't dangerous. No, he'd need to be ready for anything. And he was.

Yet still, he was completely unprepared to hear a barking sound that he knew so well, and for a very familiar raptor to emerge from the trees.

"Blue…" he spoke in a hushed whisper, more to himself than to her. He hadn't seen her since Lockwood Manor, and while he'd heard some hearsay that she'd made her way into the mountains, he hadn't actually expected her to end up here.

She took several steps forward, towards him and the fire. The glow of it reflected beautifully off the namesake blue stripe of her scales and shown a catlike gleam in her eyes. She gave a small chirp, what sounded like a greeting, as she approached.

Her claws were not barred; even so, Owen put up a hand as he stood up, his natural way of saying "keep back". She was still a predator, and she could still kill him in a moment if she chose.

She stopped, but gave a snort and a look that he could have sworn was unamused. As though asking if he really believed he could stop her if she decided not to listen.

"Easy, Blue," he said, firmly but softly, his eyes staying on hers, "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Blue gave another snort, this one seemingly in agreement, as if she could understand him. She took another step closer to him and he sharpened his gaze on her, wordlessly telling her to stop.

She did so, and he took a moment to look her over. She looked…well, not amazing. She was noticeably thinner than the last time he saw her, and even back then she had been a little malnourished from being on her own for so long on Isla Nublar. There were several scars on her that he didn't recognize, including one fairly long cut on her shoulder that looked fresh and another on her leg. Apparently, living in the wild wasn't treating her the best. It was both unsurprising due to her being raised in captivity, as well as surprising since despite that he'd taught her and her sisters to hunt quite well. Maybe it was due to her not having a pack of her own, now. Or perhaps that she had no nesting area; if she'd come all this way than she certainly didn't have a specific territory where she hunted.

He felt a little pang in his heart as he looked at his girl. After what had happened at Lockwood Manor, he'd wanted her to come with him. He hadn't known how, but he knew that he could help her, to keep her safe. But with the wide world out in front of her, she'd run off to explore it and find her own way. He thought that had been the end of it but, clearly, he was wrong. Now she'd found him again, and he wondered what she'd gone through getting here.

She stepped closer now again, only a few feet away now. Yet as he looked into her eyes, he didn't see a bloodthirsty predator preparing to eat him. She looked subdued, tired, maybe even a little scared. Once again, she was the little hatchling before him, and it was his duty to guard her, to protect her. Despite her teeth and claws that could rip him apart in seconds, she looked more the prey than he.

"Blue…" he said again, faintly. His girl was here again, and he realized just how much he'd missed her.

Then she gave him her familiar cry, that little whining bark, and her eyes seemed to grow softer and wider as she lowered herself and looked up at him. He knew what she was doing in an instant: she was asking for her treat.

Owen looked down at the candy bar still in his hand, only one bite missing. He wondered briefly if that was what had drawn her here in the first place, and he imagined it had. She was clearly already in the area—who knows how long she'd been watching him—and the candy bar was probably what finally brought her out. She'd likely come looking for him, but seeing the treat now Blue wanted it. She always wanted it.

And Owen never could refuse her.

"Here, Blue," he said, lowering one hand and raising the other that held the candy bar. He didn't know why he didn't just throw it to her like he had so often in the paddock. Perhaps part of his just wanted to see if he could trust her like he used to. Surely that old Blue was the same as this one. She would never try to take his hand with the chocolate.

Blue took a hesitant step towards him, then another until her snout was only an inch away from the treat. If she wanted to, she could have leapt on him then and there and would be no way for him to escape. But she didn't. Eyes still locked, she slowly opened her mouth, revealing her sharp teeth, and gently grabbed the candy bar from his hand. He let go of it, and she flipped her head up, just for a quick moment, throwing it whole farther back into her mouth.

Owen had expected her to retreat, but she stayed where she was, slowly chewing it. His arm was still up, and her snout was still just inches from it. If he wanted to, it would be easy for him to just reach out and touch it. In that instant, he wanted to.

He normally considered himself to be a reasonable man, not prone to stupidity. But in that moment, even as he did it, Owen knew he was doing something stupid. Ridiculously stupid. For most people, terminally stupid.

Taking a small step towards her, he closed the distance of a few inches and rested his hand on Blue's snout.

Blue froze for a moment, surprise in her eyes. Then she relaxed just as quickly, allowing his hand to remain on her. Her chewing slowed as he felt her, as though she herself didn't want to accidently jostle him and remove his hand.

It had been a long, long time now since Owen had touched her like this. Sure, he'd patted her a few times when she was secured in the pen, but not like this, not with her free to bite back should she choose. Not since she was lighter than him, at least.

He slowly moved his hand across her scales. Every one felt familiar, each little bump one that he'd gone over before. Her scales felt warm on his skin, a kind of almost comforting warmth that he'd missed. Yes, he'd missed this so much.

Daring to step even closer, he moved his hand off her snout, down her face and across her cheek. The scales here were larger, bumpier, but just as familiar as the first ones. He moved his hand again, moving behind her cheek and just under her jaw. Then he began to gently scratch it; Blue always had loved it when he scratched her there.

All through this, Blue had hardly moved save her jaw, slowly working at the candy he'd given her. But at this, she suddenly shifted. Not away from him, though, but closer. Lowering her head, she pushed her nose into his chest, pressing up against him like a large cat. She closed her eyes and gave a kind of whimper, melting into his touch.

Shocked at first, Owen gave a smile as he continued to scratch under her jaw. His girl was back where she belonged.

They stayed like that for a long time, the two of them, even as evening faded to night and the stars came out. Soon the dying fire was the only source of light, casting shadows around them. Owen gently pet her all that time, not just her jaw but the top of her head as well. It was like she was a hatchling once more, and he the Alpha that she took comfort from. In his hands, everything would be alright.

Though she seemed to be content to stay there, Blue couldn't remain forever. Off in the distance a coyote howled, and her eyes opened at last and she pulled away from him, almost reluctantly. She took a step back, looking away towards the trees, then back to him.

He put out his hand once more, gently stroking her snout again, and gave her a nod.

Turning slowly, she walked away from him, back to the trees. Her pace picked up as she did, and soon she was running back in the direction she'd first come from. Soon the only sign of her was the rustling of a few bushes.

But she'd be back. Owen knew she would be. He listened for her cries throughout the night and into the next day, and he heard them several times. And when evening fell, a rustle came in the bushes, and she was there.

The next day brought the same, and the next. Over the weeks Owen watched her day by day as she slowly filled back out, wounds healing as she grew healthy again. She'd found her home and her hunting territory; it was wherever he was. And though somedays he saw her more than others, she was always around, never too far away from her Alpha.

Not every time he saw her did she give her whining bark and ask for a treat, but he always did his best to have something for her. Sometimes it was a mouse, sometimes beef or even deer. She didn't need the extra food anymore—she'd proven capable of hunting on her own—but he was still her Alpha. It was his duty to provide for his pack, even if it was down to two now.

And he always made sure to have a candy bar on him.