The flight had gone by faster than Leah had anticipated. She figured it was probably because she'd slept towards the end of it, but she had no complaints about it. She stifled a yawn as she collected her luggage, and flipped through her phone contacts to find her uncle's number, selecting it and bringing it to her ear while she walked and searched for him. She had thought he'd be right there when she got out, but when she that he wasn't she assumed he was running a little late. No problem for her.

'Hey, Leahsaurus!'

Leah smiled brightly at the nickname, looking around to see if she could find him. "Uncle Owen, I just landed. I've got my luggage and everything so we don't have to go hunting for it like we did last time! Are you running late?"

'You're already here? Ah, shit.' Her smile dropped and she frowned. 'Listen, I got caught up with work so I missed the ferry out to the mainland. I'm so sorry, kiddo.'

"Oh, it's fine!" Leah smiled, anxious that she was stuck in this huge airport surrounded by hundreds if not thousands of people.

'You remember where the ferry is? It's not far from the airport, about a ten minute drive. Just take the bus like we usually do. I'll be at the front entrance of the park when you get off of the train.'

"Can't meet me when at the dock?"

'Sorry kiddo.' She told him it was alright, and he sighed. 'Work is being a real bitch today."Leah nodded and said a quick yes, and she heard someone say something to Owen. 'Alright, is that okay sweetheart? Want me to stay on the phone until you get on the bus?'

Leah thought for a moment, looking around for the area that led to the buses. She nearly dropped her phone when someone bumped into her to get by, rather harshly. She looked up and glared at a young man that looked to be her age, headphones on and the hood to his gray jacket up on his head. She thought about yelling at him, but her anger diminished. He probably was too absorbed with his music to really be focused, so it might have been an accident. Trailing behind him was a little boy that looked no older than eleven with curly, dirty blonde hair and blue eyes that studied her for a moment. Leah thought that perhaps he was the young man's brother based on how he gripped at the older boys backpack while pulling his suitcase along. The older boy shooed him away a bit, muttering something to him and Leah frowned at how the younger ones shoulders slumped a bit, as though he had just be scolded. She watched them for a moment and noticed that they were heading in the direction the buses were.

'Leah?' Oh, right. She was on the phone still.

"I'll be okay!" She hummed, smiling a bit. "I can see the bus from here! I'll see you soon!" She hung up and quickly moved in the direction the bus was at, hoping it wasn't full yet and she could get a good seat. She clambered in behind several people and smiled when she found a free spot by the window after having her luggage put away for her. The trip to the dock wasn't far, so the trip was quite short. All the traveling was making her sleepy, but it was almost over and she would be able to take it easy soon enough.

Once on the ferry, she found a nice spot to stand where she could watch the water as they moved, humming to herself. Everyone was chattering excitedly, talking about random things, laughing, smiling. A few children ran past her on deck, giggling and expressing how excited they were to see the dinosaurs, which one they were the most excited to see. A little redheaded boy ran with, holding a Triceratops plush in his arms. Leah smiled at him as he ran by her and happened to look up at her. "Hi." She greeted.

He giggled. "Your hair is pink! Mama, look at her hair!"

A woman came rushing over, trying to hush him and murmuring how it was 'rude to point'. Leah smiled and knelt down to his level. "It's alright. Hey, do you like stickers?"

The little boy looked at his mother for a moment, as though asking for permission to say yes. She sighed, smiling gently and nodding at him before he looked back at her. "Mhm!"

Grinning, Leah pulled her backpack off of her shoulder and unzipped it, digging through it and finding a pack of dinosaur stickers she had inside. She handed him a whole page and smiled. "Here. I think you might like these."

"Oh! Mama, look!" He looked up at her and showed her the page eagerly, waving it a bit. "It's got a triceratops on it too!"

The woman smiled and thanked Leah, holding her son's hand. "What do you say?"

"Thank you, lady!" He called, walking away with his mother and clutching his triceratops plush and sticker page close.

Leah turned to look around, and she noticed the two boy's from the airport. The older boy noticed her almost immediately when she looked their way, their eyes locking for a moment until Leah averted her gaze elsewhere, but not before she caught the tiny smile he sent her way. The younger one was excitedly talking about something, and he seemed ecstatic about being able to go to the park. However, when he noticed the older one wasn't paying attention to a thing he was saying, he looked away and sighed. She felt sorry for the younger boy, turning away finally to look back at the ocean as they made their way closer to the island. From there, she would get off and get on the Monorail that went to the park where she would meet up with her uncle.

She stretched her limbs as they docked, hurrying towards to the monorail so she could board and head to the park. She ended up being seated next to a woman who was dressed nicely, not like she was here for vacation. In her had was a magazine full of wedding dresses, and Leah gathered that she was planning her wedding. Plus the nice diamond ring on her finger gave her the impression as well. Seated in front of her were the two boys from before, yet again. The younger one still trying to get his older brothers attention by gently elbowing him. Ignored once more, the boy seemed to perk up when the driver came on over the PA to announce that they were close.

"Okay, those of you in the front of the train should be able to see our main gates. Those gates were part of the original park twenty years ago."

Leah watched the little boy hurry out of his seat and run to the front, smiling a bit. Must be his first time here, she figured, smiling more as the gates opened up and let them in, children chattering excitedly as they went through them and finally entered the park.

The train ride lasted a few more minutes before they all got off. Pulling her suitcase behind her, Leah stepped out and looked around, squinting as the sun hit her face. "Ah..." She grumbled, using her hand as a visor, looking around while the sea of people went around her or bumped into her. She wasn't one for big crowds, but she liked amusement parks for the attractions. She moved over to an empty bench and stood on it, looking around to see if she could spot her uncle amongst the thousands of people flooding into the park.

And then...

"Leahsaurus!"

She turned and grinned when she heard the nickname her uncle called her by, smiling more when she saw him making his way over to her. Leah hopped down from the bench and raced towards him, colliding with him in a tight embrace, giggling as he lifted her up a bit and spun her.

"Uncle Owen!"

Owen Grady was a tall man in his early thirties with russet brown hair and a nice tan to his skin. Currently, he was sporting a light blue button down with a brown vest, brown pants and combat boots. He was built, as was expected of someone who had served in the Navy for several years. Even after leaving he still stayed fit, especially since his job sort of required it. Before working at Jurassic World, he worked as a Dolphin trainer under the United States Navy Marine Program. Of course he had combat training, but working with animals had been his passion, and would be until the day he died. Most people thought he was serious, but Leah assumed it was just the way his face was. Plenty of women often stared at him, admiring him from afar, but to her knowledge Owen was far more interested in his work and animals.

That didn't mean he didn't try dating, oh no. It was just hard to find someone that accepted you worked with dangerous animals everyday.

"Your hair looks like cotton candy." He joked, setting her down to get a good look at her face. "Looks good on ya!"

Leah grinned. "Thanks. Mom freaked when I did it but she got used to it really fast." She explained, following him as he led her to his jeep. Owen took her suitcase from her and put it in the back seat while Leah got in the front seat and buckled up, digging through her backpack to find her sunglasses. Owen hurried to the drivers side and climbed in, noticing the book his niece had put on the dash in search of her shades while he put the key in the ignition and turned it, starting the car.

"Alan Grant's book?" He looked at her in surprise, taking the book off the dash to look at it for a moment.

"I found it at the bookstore recently. Thought it would be a good read."

"He's an interesting person."

"You've met him?" Leah looked at him in surprise, taking the book back as it was handed to her.

Owen nodded, smiling slightly as he put the jeep into drive. "I've mostly spoken to him over the phone. His studies about Velociraptor's are interesting. Plus he's interested in how my girls behave and all that." He explained, keeping his eyes on the road as he drove. "I've offered to let him come in and see for himself, but he refuses."

"He was involved with the original park, right?"

"Mhm. Even ended up on Sorna a few years back with some couple looking for their son. To him, bones are the way to study them, not up close and personal."

Leah nodded in understanding. It wasn't unreasonable of the good doctor. After all he'd gone through all those years ago, not once but twice, she knew if she'd been in his shoes she'd feel the same. "It's a shame though. The park is much safer now, in a way. A lot of people have found some sort of appreciation from it."

Owen smiled, letting his arm rest against the door as he changed the subject. "How's school?"

"It's alright."

"Passing classes?"

"Mhm."

"Got any new boyfriends I should know about?"He teased.

Leah snorted, giggling a bit. "Nope."

Owen reached over and rubbed the back of her neck, massaging it slightly. "I'm glad you're here. I actually," he paused, opening the glove compartment and pulling out an envelop, "got a favor cashed in and scored you something pretty sweet."

She looked at the envelop curiously before she took it, opening and pulling the contents out. "What?"

"A VIP pass." He grinned. "Allison owed me a favor, and I know how impatient you can be."

Leah grinned, slipping the blue wristband on. "How cool!"

"And she's offered to take you behind the scenes with some of our herbivores." He added in, smiling at how the teen grinned ear to ear. "She's supposed to come by in a bit and she'll give you the run down. I don't think you've ever actually met her before." He glanced at the clock and sighed. "Ah shit." He grumbled, leaning back in his seat slightly. "Head of security is coming out to watch the raptors in a few hours."

"Vic Hoskins?" Leah looked at him, fiddling with the wristband a bit. Owen looked at her, surprised she knew who he was talking about.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"He's always around. So is his name." She added, sighing softly. She'd never spoken to him, but he was always hanging around the raptor enclosure, watching Owen work. He never seemed very impressed and never stayed long enough for anyone to really converse with him. To Leah, he seemed like the kind of guy that had something to hide from the world, and for that she wasn't particularly fond of him. She knew that Owen didn't like him very much either. They didn't exactly see eye to eye, but they kept everything super professional. "Why does he want to watch them? He's watched them before, so why should this time be any different?"

"It's more of an 'evaluation'." Owen explained. "Kinda like a behavioral test. How well the raptors take commands and respond, stuff like that."

"He's never seemed this interested before."

"Yeah, well, things change I guess." He grumbled.

Owen parked the jeep just outside of his bungalow, turning the car off and climbing out with Leah. Grabbing her suitcase for her, he walked her to the door, unlocking it and stepping inside with her, sighing as the cool air hit him. "Got the room set up for you and everything. Closet is cleared out this time so you can put your clothes inside."

Leah nodded, setting her backpack down on the love-seat and humming. "You've gotten cleaner."

"You saying I was dirty before?" He asked, feigning hurt.

She snorted. "No, but this place was so cluttered last time."

"Yeah, well..." He trailed off, wandering into the kitchen area to grab a bottle of water. "I was still trying to finish unpacking."

Her brows rose. "After four years?"

Owen looked at her. "Hey, sometimes it takes a while for a guy to settle into a new place." He watched as she wandered down the hall and into the spare room to put her stuff in and probably change. Her clothes looked way too warm for this sort of humid and hot climate. "So, are you ready to have the best winter vacation you have ever had in your entire life?"

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't ready!"

If only they knew about the storm to come.

A/N: Oh, the foreshadowingggg, ah~! So next chapter, things will start to pick up. We'll finally be properly introduced to the Mitchell boys. And shenanigans will ensue.