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.

Foreword: To anyone interested, I started a prequel to this story documenting Gwyn and Alan and the others at Jurassic Park. Check it out if you're interested!

4. Raptor Man

There was a wall that divided the resort half of the island from the half that was off-limits to the park goers. In that restricted half were the paddocks that were in the works, the ones that they were planning on opening at some time in the future. Somewhere beyond that wall was the raptor paddock, which sat at the end of a dirt and gravel road. It was wilder beyond that restrictive wall, it was the most familiar part of the park to Gwyn. It was thick jungle with curving, uneven, dirt roads, which Masrani and Gwyn had trundled down in a black company van. Gwyn had been distractedly staring out the window, watching as ferns whipped past them, smacking the side-view mirrors, feeling the potholes in the road that were filled with muddy water. She felt oddly at ease surrounded by dense jungle; it was strangely less overwhelming than the resort itself.

When Gwyn stepped out of the van, she tried to keep her breathing as even as possible. Her chest felt tight, like something was inside her ribcage, squeezing at all of her innards. It was the most nervous she felt since telling her father about accepting the job. She followed Masrani towards the paddock, which looked like a small fortress. Its walls were made of concrete and stood well over twenty feet. A set of stairs was pressed flush to the side of one of the walls, leading up to what appeared to be a catwalk that wrapped around the whole of the paddock. Set into one of the walls was a massive gate that led into the raptor's domain. The gate was surrounded by a cube of protective fencing, beside which Masrani had parked the van. Set into one of side of the fencing was what looked to be a metal storage crate, but was clearly made of a stronger, less cheap material. Gwyn chewed on the inside of her cheek, suddenly wishing she hadn't left her hat or sunglasses in the van. The sunglasses mostly because it was still unbelievably sunny, the hat because it would have given her something familiar to hang onto, something to grip as her heart pounded faster.

"Mr. Masrani!" exclaimed a man in sky-blue button down. Masrani smiled and raised a hand in greeting.

"Barry, it's lovely to see you again," Masrani told him. Barry returned the smile and wiped beads of sweat off his forehead with a bandana that he'd had stuffed in his pocket.

"And you as well, Mr. Masrani," Barry replied. His voice was accented with something that sounded vaguely French, an accent that Gwyn wanted to place as somewhere from the Caribbean. His eyes turned and landed on Gwyn, a curiosity coming to light in his eyes.

"Would it be too much trouble to speak with Owen?" Masrani inquired. Barry nodded, pulling his eyes away from the new face beside the park owner. He gestured up towards the catwalks with the hand that grasped the bandana.

"Of course. He's just about done with the girls for the afternoon, I'll go get him for you." Barry trotted off towards the stairs, bounding up them two at a time. Masrani clasped his hands behind his back and began to speak, passing the time till this Owen Grady decided to appear.

"Mr. Grady is a former Navy man. This makes him no stranger to discipline––"

"And the raptors willingly listen to him?" Gwyn asked doubtfully. Masrani cleared his throat, a silence following her question. A silence that was her answer. "Ah." So they didn't listen; of course they wouldn't. They were wild animals. Dangerous, clever, wild animals.

"We're making progress, I'm told," Marani said after a quiet moment.

Gwyn nodded and scratched the back of her neck, turning her head to stare off into the surrounding jungle. Her gaze was only drawn back to the paddock when footsteps began to tromp down the stairs. When Masrani had told her they'd had a raptor trainer, the first image that came into her head was Robert Muldoon, who had been Jurassic Park's gamekeeper. He had been a stern-faced man who constantly toted a gun and wore shorts that Gwyn had always thought were just a bit too short; he'd been killed in the original incident after prompting Ellie to run from, what she was sure had been, raptors. But the man coming down the stairs was far from Muldoon.

Owen Grady was a broad-shouldered, well-muscled man. Gwyn's eyes followed him as he trotted down the stairs, looking down at his feet as he went. One of his hands glided over the stair railing, which drew attention to his forearms, which were finely defined and exposed thanks to the cuffed sleeves of his dark red button-down. The man reached the first landing and took a moment to turn his head and look down at the two figures waiting for him below. He had one brow raised, having spotted the new face immediately. Gwyn pushed her hands into her pockets, meeting his gaze for a fleeting moment. He looked back down at his feet as he descended the remainder of the stairs. After setting foot on the ground, he walked towards them with a strong gait and measured steps that spoke of his military background. As he approached, he smiled. It was one of those small, genuinely charming smile that made one hope that it was meant for them.

"Mr. Masrani, it's good to see you again," Owen said, the rich tenor of his voice carrying through the air. Masrani shook his hand once he was close enough, returning the smile easily.

"Likewise, Owen. I'd like to introduce you to someone. This," Masrani gestured to Gwyn, "is Dr. Grant," Owen turned his head in order to look at her, both brows raised, "our newest employee. She is to be our consulting paleontologist; you two will likely work closely together when she comes to observe the raptors, so I thought it best you meet early on."

Owen extended a hand to Gwyn, who accepted it without hesitation. His hands were calloused here and there and his skin was warm. He smiled again, which caused her breath to hitch without her permission. His eyes were the nicest shade of blue, as though it were a color created where the blue of the sky and the blue of the ocean kissed on the horizon. Though she never consciously admitted it, she was always easily smitten by someone's smile; and, goddamn, did he have a smile.

"Owen Grady," he introduced. Gwyn looked up at him, shaking his hand firmly as she became vaguely aware of how small it seemed in his. God, he's tall… she thought to herself. She stood at an average height, but he had to have at least been an inch or two over six feet, which brought the top of her head level with his nose. Dismissing the thought with a mental wave of her hand, Gwyn returned his smile with one of her own.

"Gwyn Grant," she introduced in response. She watched his eyes narrow slightly, as though he recognized the last name, but he didn't seem like he was about to ask. It would seem he was dismissing recognition in favor of something else. If he did truly recognize her name, make the connection between her and her father, then she was glad he didn't outwardly say it. The day was already overwhelming enough. Their handshake broke and Owen hooked his thumbs into his pockets casually. "So… you work with raptors?"

"That I do. And they're the four best girls at the park, in my opinion," he told her, nodding towards the paddock. He left his head tilted to the side, eyes giving her a once-over; she could tell they lingered on the scar, which was mostly bared to the world since she'd undone most of her shirt buttons to keep herself cool. Owen opened his mouth to speak, but instead of the smooth tenor of his voice, a shrill beeping cut through the air. Masrani quietly apologized and extracted his cell phone, which had been the source of the sound. After reading whatever was on the screen, he pocketed it and smiled at the two apologetically.

"You both must forgive me, but I have a pressing matter I must attend to. I trust you two will busy yourselves with getting to know one another," Masrani said with a bright smile. He turned to Gwyn and shook her hand, clasping it between both of his own. "Dr. Grant, it's an absolute pleasure to have met you. When you turn in for the evening, simply return to the resort and give the front desk at the hotel your name. Mr. Grady, you wouldn't mind driving her back, would you?" Owen, who had been scratching at the scruff of stubble on his jaw, shook his head in confirmation.

"Just, uh, let me grab my stuff out of your car?" she asked, gesturing back to the van. She jogged back towards the black van and threw open the passenger side door; she reached inside and extracted her sunglasses and hat, which she settled atop her head once she'd gotten hold of it. As she shut the door, she found that Masrani had already shaken hands with Owen in means of goodbye and was headed towards his vehicle. "Thank you, Mr. Masrani. I hope to see you again soon."

"The feeling is mutual, Dr. Grant. Mr. Grady will take good care of you. Goodbye, Gwyn."

Gwyn walked back to Owen as Masrani pulled back onto the dirt road, disappearing into the thick of the jungle. Owen was leaned up against the side of the stairs, arms crossed, smirking at her. He nodded in her direction before moving one arm to point at her head.

"I dig the hat," Owen told her. Gwyn smiled and reached up, fondly pinching the worn brim between her fingers.

"Thanks; it was my dad's. It's survived a lot, so he thought it might act as a good luck charm," she explained. Owen quirked an eyebrow upwards, smirk growing into a smile.

"Are you an unlucky person?"

Gwyn thought the question over seriously. Could she count her experiences at Jurassic Park as her just being simply unlucky? Not much else had gone terribly wrong for her in her life beyond that. Times were tough now and again, but it was nothing egregious… and that was just life. So she shrugged and slipped her sunglasses into her pocket. "Not really. It's just, you know, a park with dinosaurs. Anyone who works or comes here needs all the luck they can get."

"That's not a good attitude to have," he teased, pushing away from the stairs. "So, uh, what's a consulting paleontologist anyway?"

"It's a brand new position, if you can believe it, but, uh, I guess I'm monitoring and documenting the behaviours of the park's dinosaurs. Make sure they're happy, healthy… help out the biologists and that sort of stuff," Gwyn said. Owen crossed his arms and shifted his weight. His face had gone a bit more serious when she mentioned 'monitoring and documenting.' He didn't see why Masrani didn't just ask him to do that for the girls; Owen knew them best. He'd been there when they'd hatched, he was their alpha… They were used to him. They didn't trust new faces; and he was wary about who came near his girls. "So, you, uh… train the raptors?"

Owen snorted and began walking towards the stairs. "C'mon I'll show you around." He nodded for her to follow, watching as she followed with some hesitance. "And is that what they told you? That I 'train' them? You can't really 'train' a raptor. They're––"

"Highly aggressive, dangerous, ruthless, intelligent wild animals. Did I miss anything?" Gwyn asked flatly. Owen paused at the bottom of the steps and stared at her over his shoulder with an unreadable look on his face. He gave her another once-over before starting up the stairs.

"Uh… amazing… beautiful… brilliant––"

"I think brilliant probably falls under the 'intelligence' category," Gwyn interjected as she followed him. Owen chuckled under his breath, looking back at her as he crossed the small landing and started up the second set of steps.

"I suppose it does." Cresting the top of the stairs, Gwyn realized the paddock was shaped like an octagon. A set of catwalks crossed over the top of the paddock, creating a 't' shape. A couple of workers dotted the walkways, including the man named Barry, who had his forearms leaned on the railings. "So, yeah, I don't really… train them. Yeah, I'm teaching them to listen to vocal commands and the like, but I'm not going to ever be able to control them, like some people think. Nor do I want to control them… I respect them. If I respect them, they'll respect me."

"That's a good philosophy," Gwyn told him. He arched an eyebrow, almost as though he doubted she believed what she'd just told him. She laughed and matched his raised brow with ease. "What? I'm just saying, that was the philosophy that could have benefitted the first park. If they'd realized their dinosaurs were real, living creatures and not just lab experiments, then it all might've ended differently. You can't suppress basic instinct."

Gwyn ran straight into Owen's back, having not realized he'd stopped walking. She made a surprised sound and backed up a step whilst he turned to face her. She stared up at him with raised eyebrows, expecting an explanation as to why he'd stopped, offering a quiet apology as she slipped her hands into her pockets. The two just stared at one another. Owen looked her over for a third time, and she had to wonder if she was splashed in mud or something. But it wasn't one of those once-overs that made her uncomfortable. It was appraising, sure, but not in a way that made her feel objectified or leered at.

"You can't give a t-rex a goat on a chain and assume it'll just eat it like a shish-ka-bob," he agreed. Gwyn raised a hand and both brows, her face saying 'right?' It was like her father said. It would want to hunt not take its meal just standing there. Owen's lips quirked into a smile and he nodded a couple of times. "I like you, newby. You've got a good head on your shoulders."

"It would seem you do, too," Gwyn agreed, not mentioning her dislike for the nickname 'newby.' They began walking again, heading for the junction of the catwalks.

"Have you met Barry?" Owen asked, pointing to his coworker.

"Not officially."

"Well, let's make it official, then. Gwyn––can I call you Gwyn? Yeah? Good. Gwyn, this is Barry, a fantastic handler and overall great guy. Barry, this is Gwyn, Jurassic World's first––and only––consulting paleontologist," Owen introduced, not halting as he made the introductions. Gwyn shook Barry's hand as she passed, laughing slightly. Barry nodded to her with a bright, toothy smile, not bothered by his friend's swift but playful introduction.

"A pleasure to meet you, Gwyn," he told her.

"Likewise!" she agreed, letting go of his hand to follow Owen.

Stopping on the junction of the two walkways, Owen spread out his arms and turned to face her.

"This is our velociraptor paddock. It makes for great accommodations, complete with a jungle habitat, a freshwater pond, and our four lovely velociraptors Blue, Echo, Charlie, and Delta," Owen said in a showman like style. Gwyn chuckled and peered over the catwalk railing. A thicket of jungle bloomed beneath them, taking up most of the paddock. There was a clearing towards the side with the gate, but even there the walls were lined with fauna. Owen stepped up beside her and pointed to one of the walls, where a narrow door was present. "That door leads to that little metal building adjacent to the viewing cage. We bring our girls in there to do regular medical check-ups and the like." He pointed straight ahead and just over the wall. "The office is just over there…" He jutted his thumb over his shoulder. "Over there is the supply shed… Is there anything else I should show you?" Owen's face lit up marginally and he gestured down to the paddock. "Wanna see the girls?"

Gwyn's mouth dropped open at the suggestion. Words caught in her throat. Her heart rate picked up, thinking about the darting eyes of the creatures that lurked somewhere below. Lifting her hand to touch her scar, she slowly began to shake her head. She couldn't possibly agree to see them. Seeing Rexy had been a big enough shock to her system for one day. Raptors would be pushing it a bit too far––she didn't exactly want to relive that fateful day memory by memory on her first day back on the island. Gwyn felt remarkably less brave than she had earlier that day.

"I, uh… maybe not… not today," Gwyn stuttered out drawing herself out of her thoughts. She didn't see that Owen had been noticed her shift in attitude, didn't see that he was watching her closely to see if he could pin-point what had caused that shift. Gwyn did notice when he started to nod, casually leaning against the metal railing.

"Understandable," he told her. "Wanna head to the office? I can get you some water, and we could talk more before I drive you back to the resort."

"Sure, yeah."

The office was endearingly messy. There were two desks––Gwyn presumed one was Owen's and one was Barry's––and both of them were covered in piles of papers and files. The filing cabinets were in a similar state, with some drawers fully open, some pushed shut, and some only halfway open but overflowing with paper. A computer occupied the right side of each desk and they were both the newest model of their brand. The air-con was on full blast, which was a welcomed contrast from the blistering heat outside. A key rack was installed by the door, and beside that, a coat rack on which hung two or so rain jackets. Gwyn found her eyes drawn to a large cabinet in the back of the room, the doors of which hung ajar. Inside were a few tranquilizer guns and a shotgun or two. Best be prepared… Owen sauntered over to a refrigerator in the back of the small room and tugged the door open, withdrawing two bottles of water. He tossed one Gwyn's way, watching with amusement as she fumbled to grab hold of it.

"Sorry 'bout that. Should've made sure you were looking. So, uh, draw up a chair, make yourself at home," he insisted, sitting himself at his desk. He shifted some papers aside and set his feet up on the cleared area. Gwyn grabbed the desk chair from the other desk and dragged it in front of Owen's desk, slumping into it with a deflated sounding sigh. She tugged her hat off and unbuttoned the rest of her shirt, shrugging it off so she was left in her white tanktop. Using the back of her hand, she moped sweat off her forehead and then cracked the water bottle open. For a moment she forgot she was sitting across from a handsome man who she'd just met, forgot she was on Isla Nublar, and forgot that she was, technically, on-duty. Gwyn simply slumped contentedly in the office chair, sipping at the ice-cold water. It was good to just… sit. Sit and not talk about business, not be affronted with herds of tourists. "So… Gwyn… what did you do before all of this?"

Gwyn chuckled and leaned her head back to stare at the ceiling. "Paleontologist."

"Ah, so they really did hire a paleontologist. They didn't just give you the title," Owen said, sounding appreciative. Gwyn outwardly laughed and then straightened up in the chair, already feeling her neck going stiff from being dangled so awkwardly. She gestured to him with her water bottle, which was dripping with condensation.

"I worked hard to be a paleontologist. All paleontologists work hard to be paleontologist. I would be personally and deeply offended if they just handed that title out willy-nilly," she told him, the flatness of her tone conveying the truth with which she spoke. Owen hummed and threw back a gulp of water.

"You must not mind getting dirty then."

Gwyn arched an eyebrow at his tone. There'd been something to it that came off as just ever-so-slightly suggestive. So, meeting his gaze, Gwyn smirked and slung one arm over the back of her chair.

"Not at all." Owen matched her smirk and slipped a hand through his dark blond hair. "Dirt was like my best friend when I was growing up. Not like you needed to know that, but now you've got that snippet of information. You're welcome."

They sat in silence for a short while, just sipping on water and listening to the residual hum of the air-conditioning. That was the awkward thing about spending time with someone you'd just met. You didn't have much to talk about and didn't know what subjects were considered taboo and which ones sparked conversations that would stretch well on into the evening. Not to mention, they were both stalling for time. Gwyn didn't want to think she wasn't grateful for meeting him, didn't want to impose on making him drive her back to the resort after only talking for ten minutes. Owen didn't want to ask her if she wanted to leave in case it came off brash or rude. Because, contrary to the belief of some, he was, in fact, a gentleman.

"So what made you decide you wanted to go from working with bones to the live thing?" he finally asked, draining what was left of the twelve ounce bottle of water. He tossed it over his shoulder, knowing it missed the recycling bin by the sound it made when it hit the floor. Gwyn snorted quietly and hid her amused smile by ducking her head.

"Oh, you know… the offer cropped up and… I couldn't exactly refuse. Besides… these creatures are beautiful. Dangerous, yeah, of course, but still beautiful. There's a beauty in creatures that are as primal as they are…" She trailed off, staring down at the toes of her boots. Shaking her head when she felt herself getting lost in her own private world again. "Besides, it's kinda… cool… to get the two different perspectives. See the old bones in action…"

"But I can't imagine how awesome it must be to make the discoveries you do," Owen told her. "You know… having been seeing nothing but dirt and rocks and suddenly, there, right before you, is the skull of some dinosaur that's been there waiting for you to find it." There was a boyish glee in his voice as he painted that picture with his words. It was a glee that Gwyn knew she had in her voice every time she'd spoken about paleontology or dinosaurs since she was very young. Beaming at the man across the desk from her, she playfully narrowed her eyes.

"Did you want to be a paleontologist when you were a kid, Mr. Grady?" she asked.

"Owen––please. And, uh, maybe, I can't really remember. I just thought dinosaurs were cool; didn't really know what I wanted to be. How 'bout you? Did you always know you wanted to be a paleontologist?"

"Yes, actually. Bit of a life-long dream." As they lapsed into silence, Gwyn caught sight of a file labeled 'Delta' in green sharpie. Under that was 'Blue' labeled in blue, 'Echo' in brown, and 'Charlie' in black. "He really must love them…" she murmured, not really intending for Owen to hear. But he had, and his brows inched back up his forehead again.

"Pardon?" he asked. Gwyn looked up, eyes widening slightly as she realized she'd been heard.

"Oh, uh, it's just… the raptors. Your 'girls'... you really must love them. Why else would you call them that? 'Your girls'... or name them, for that matter. That show real love and respect. Out of all the dinosaurs on the island, only five of them are named, and you named four of them," Gwyn pointed out. And it was true. Only five of the possible hundreds of dinosaurs that called Isla Nublar home were actually named. Respected and loved enough to have been called something. Not like anyone really called the resident t-rex 'Rexy,' but Gwyn could go about seeing what could be done about that. She watched Owen's face morph into a look of curiosity, one that made him kick his feet off the desk so he could lean forward against it.

"Which is the fifth dinosaur?" Owen asked curiously. Gwyn nodded vaguely back in the direction of the park, recalling the dinosaur she'd seen not but an hour ago.

"Rexy. The tyrannosaurus rex," Gwyn told him. Laughter filled the room. Owen fell backwards into his chair, pushing away from the desk. His eyes glimmered with amusement and his smile was impossibly big. Gwyn, beginning to laugh simply because of his reaction, splayed her hands through the air. "What?"

"Rexy? That has got to be… got to be the most unimaginative name for a t-rex ever. Who the hell named her that?" Owen chuckled. Gwyn shrugged her shoulders and drained the rest of what was in the water bottle. Fixing Owen with a playful smile and an arched eyebrow, she said,

"I'll tell you a story sometime."

Afterword: That took me forever to write. The crazy thing is, I know exactly how Owen and Gwyn will interact, but writing them meeting for the first time proved to be extremely difficult. But, I think it came out okay. Just worrying that Owen doesn't seem like Owen… but, regardless, I hope you all enjoyed!

Review Replies!

heroherondaletotherescue: I'm glad you enjoyed the scene with Rexy! It was a last minute add-on and I really hoped it turned out well. And here we have Owen and Gwyn meeting for the first time! As difficult as it was, I had fun writing it. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks again!

TwilightNewMoonEclipseMidnight: The raptors didn't make an appearance in this chapter, but we'll be seeing them very soon! I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!

lexzly: We'll get to officially meet the raptors in maybe a chapter or two. Originally, she was supposed to meet them this chapter, but I kinda stood back for a moment and figured Gwyn probably would be feeling a bit overwhelmed at this point in the day. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks again!

Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967: Thank you! I hope this chapter was as good as the last; thanks again! Hope you enjoyed!

CarlyJo: I hope you enjoyed Owen and Gwyn meeting; it was shockingly difficult to write. We'll get more of them interacting at the beginning of next chapter. Plus, Ima get to introduce one of my favorite characters from Jurassic World, so I'm super excited for next chapter. I'm glad I'm keeping the movie characters in character so far! I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!

d0 it like a dude: I realized I was following your story, and realized you were reviewing mine and was like 'oh! that's awesome!' And I'm super, super, SUPER glad you enjoyed the first chapter or so of the prequel. I'm having a lot of fun writing that one. Also, as for the Dark Knight story, I've taken a step back for a while. I realized it wasn't really the story I wanted to write and I'm trying to figure out how to get it back on track. And I do have plans for the I-Rex… we've just got to get to that point in the story, ahahah! I hope you enjoyed the story! Thanks again!

InfinityMars: Yeah, I figured Gwyn would be like 'I can totally handle all of this right now' and then, in this chapter, be like 'god, I over stepped this all.' She's gonna be taking it more slow now that she realizes she's not as ready as she initially thought she was for all of this. And I'm glad I don't over describe things! It used to be a bad habit of mine and I've been working on striking a good balance. I'm very happy you think this story has potential! I hope you stick around to read more; thanks again!

MidnightPenguin: You did help! I realized I was like, 'yeah, consulting paleontologist, that sounds good!' and then went '... shit, in the parameters of Jurassic World what the hell would that be?' Your review really helped me figure out what she'd be doing. So, thank you again for that! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks again!

Guest: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks again!

Ashnico14: Thank you! I'm very, very glad that you're enjoying the story far and that the scene with Rexy was up to par. I worked hard on that moment 'cause I knew that it was an important one for Gwyn and her reintroduction to the world of dinosaurs. Thanks again! Hope you enjoyed!

madimoo1328: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Super happy you're liking the story so far; thanks again!

Spelllesswonder29: My idea for Gwyn as a character hit me the first time I saw the movie. Then, I saw the movie a second time and the idea solidified. I'm glad that you're enjoying the story so far! If you want to see what Gwyn was up to at the first park, I'm writing a prequel and the first two chapters are up :) I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks again!

Lioness32: I'm glad you're loving it so far! Hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!

And thank you to those who added this to their favorites/follows; it means a lot!

So, I've been working on this chapter since Saturday; I went to my city's Comic Con dressed as a female version of Lowery and bought so much Jurassic Park/World merch that I probably looked a tad too obsessed. But, it inspired me to get this all written up so I could get to more fun/exciting/cute bits of what I have planned. Anyway, enough of my ramblings. I hope that you all enjoyed the chapter! Thank you for taking the time to read; you all rock!

~Mary