Jurassic Island

Chapter 3 – Visitor Center

Castle grinned with pure excitement. How could he not? Jurassic Park was a little boy's dream come true. And if Kate's assertion that he was a nine-year-old on a sugar rush, then this was most definitely one of his boyhood dreams come true—well, this… and having drinks with the Indestructible. But in all honesty, both of those paled in comparison to the boyhood dream—Kate Beckett would be any young boy's fantasy—walking beside him. She was dressed in a loose purple blouse and relaxed-fit blue jeans that still managed to hug her amazingly perfect ass just right.

He had gotten in trouble during the train ride, earning a glare and a hard punch to the shoulder from his beautiful wife. It wasn't his fault. How could it be? Especially when she was the one who had practically crawled into his lap to gaze out the window as the train swept around the dinosaurs drinking along the lake. So he let his hands wander a bit. So what? They were married, and it was too tempting not to touch when her… assets were in such close proximity to his idle hands.

His shoulder still smarted from the punch, and Kate looked up at him with an unsympathetic gaze. "Next time save the grabby hands for bed, Writer Boy," she said, softening just a bit as she stretched up on her toes and pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek.

Castle grinned mischievously and tugged her hand, pulling her out of the current of people that flowed back and forth along the long central pathway. She raised her eyebrows at him, curious. He gripped her hips and nudged her off to the side, ducking them back behind the vending machines selling official Jurassic Park key chains (which he made a note to buy later) and a claw machine game packed with plush stuffed dinosaurs (which he would also find the time for later). She tensed, confused and uncertain what he was doing. She opened her mouth, but he silenced her protest by dipping his head down and pressing a hurried kiss to her lips. Kate sighed and relaxed, easing into his touch. She smiled into his mouth as he teasingly rubbed the pads of his thumbs along her jawline.

Pulling back, Castle winked at her. "I can't wait for later," he spoke low, in a husky voice. "We're gonna make that trailer rock." Kate pursed her lips, but her eyes darkened enough that he knew she approved of the idea. Castle sealed the deal with another kiss, before he turned back to look out at Jurassic Boulevard.

After disembarking from the monorail, they had followed the flow of people through another gate, similar to the monolithic one they'd passed through on the ferry, but smaller. It brought them to a large boulevard of shops, information kiosks, and family restaurants, all leading to an impressive building at the end of the road surrounded by tall palm trees and tropical flora, the central Visitor Center. It stood tall, with three curved walls facing the boulevard. The roofs were peaked in a circular fashion, thatched, in a safari-style. A large double door stood open in the center building, flanked on either side by a relief of dinosaur bones honed out of stone to resemble fossils found in the ground. It was all very impressive.

"So, babe, where do you want to go first?" Kate asked, reaching up to rub a thumb along his bottom lip, smudging off the pink lip-gloss that had transferred over during their kisses.

"I… don't know," Castle said with a shrug, too overwhelmed to make any real decisions yet. "There seems to be so much to see." He slipped his arm around her waist and led her back into the throng of people. They maneuvered their way through the other visitors until they arrived at the large board detailing the many attractions. He glanced at the various rides and attractions listed, as well as shows and tours.

Kate rested against his side, also examining the schedules. "Well, I'm assuming you'll want to do the main park tour," she said, pointing at one of the listed attractions, displayed with a picture of two customized green and yellow camouflaged SUVs, situated along a track, parked in front of an electrified fence.

Castle bobbed his head. "Oh, most definitely," he agreed. "Is there anything you're interested in?"

Kate bit her lower lip and stared back up at the board. "The Avian Observatory looks interesting," she said. "I read in the brochure that they also were able to genetically engineer some prehistoric birds."

"Of course they did," Castle chuckled. "Even though it means terrible lizard, most dinosaurs actually have more in common with modern day birds than they do with reptiles."

"Why am I not surprised you know that?" she rolled her eyes and gave him a pointed look. "And anyways, you know what I meant, Castle."

After discussing the options available for a little while longer, they decided to grab a quick lunch at one of the bistros along the boulevard before heading up to the Visitor Center and signing up for the attractions they were interested in. They sat down on one of the outside tables and a waiter handed them menus. Castle glanced at his and let out a little squeal of delight. He flicked his eyes up at a confused Kate, her nose wrinkled adorably.

"They've got chicken nuggets shaped like dinosaurs!" he exclaimed, grinning wider. "Oh… I so know what I'm ordering."

"You're such a little kid," Kate murmured, rolling her eyes.

XXX

The door hissed open, and John Hammond stepped into the control room, using his faux bamboo cane for support. His arthritic fingers curled around the amber top. He walked down the small ramp and into the central hub, greeting his chief control officer, Ray Arnold, with a nod and slap on the back. Arnold was a tall balding African-American man, sporting a thin mustache, and constantly had an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips.

"How are things today, Ray?" he asked.

"Park's running smoothly, Mr. Hammond," Arnold said, bending down to rap his knuckles against the table—knocking on wood. "The morning ferries delivered just under a hundred more visitors."

Hammond smiled, delighted with the news. They had had some minor setbacks in getting the park operational, and now all that work was finally starting to pay off. "What did I tell you? This park was going to amaze the world!"

"You remind me of that everyday, sir," Arnold said with a dry smile, adjusting his glasses as he sat back down in his chair to glance at the computer monitor. "I prefer not to tempt fate."

"Dr. Ian Malcolm had the same concerns you did, Ray, in the beginning," Hammond pointed out. "But after that little inspection with Dr. Grant and Dr. Sattler, even he had to admit that he'd been wrong."

"We got lucky," Arnold said. "It could have been worse. A lot worse."

Hammond shook his head in disagreement. "Ray, Ray, Ray… always the pessimist!" he laughed. "Even after all these years… if you're not careful, my friend, you'll worry yourself into an early grave."

"Better safe than sorry," boomed out another voice, and Hammond turned to see his Head Game Warden, Robert Muldoon, closing the security door behind him as he entered the control room, locking his trusty SPAS-12 shotgun into the gun rack by the door.

"Ah, Robert, how did the recent transfer go?" Hammond asked, anxious for news.

"Can we just stop making the beasts?"

"Come now, Mr. Muldoon, you know better," Hammond wagged a disapproving finger at him. "That is not an option. The world has seen what we have to offer, and they are amazed!"

Muldoon pursed his lips and gave a gruff nod, stalking down the ramp to join Hammond and Arnold on the central platform.

"So, the transfer?"

"She would only accept two out of the six newcomers," Muldoon told him. "Killed the smaller ones. She's smart, you know. She only wants the strong ones."

"Damn… do you know how much money and time it takes to engineer a single specimen? Wu won't be happy."

Muldoon smirked, amused. "I'm not the one who keeps telling everyone to 'spare no expense'," he said. "After all, I still say we should kill them all."

Hammond growled and clutched his cane tighter as he plopped down in a chair besides Arnold, who was kind enough to give him a sympathetic look. He and Muldoon had been having this same argument for over two years, ever since that incident during the big female's transfer.

"Bloody bitch," he grumbled under his breath. "She's too damn aggressive."

"She's a predator," Muldoon shook his head. "What did you expect?"

Hammond shrugged and leaned back in his chair, casting his eyes over the rest of the control room. Every station was filled, except one. He narrowed his eyes, groaning internally when he realized who was absent.

"Where's Dennis?"

"Nedry?" Arnold looked up, furrowing his brow. "Oh… um… He took the day, went to the mainland for some R&R."

Muldoon let out a derisive snort at that, and shook his head. "I'm going off to patrol the perimeter. When that fat ass gets back, remind him he needs to run the security fence diagnostics. He's been stalling for two weeks."

"I'll remind him," Arnold assured.

Muldoon adjusted his hat. "I'll be back in three hours."

Hammond watched as the man retrieved his SPAS-12 shotgun and stalked out of the control room. He pursed his lips and frowned. Turning to Arnold, he asked, "I didn't know we were having problems with the security fences."

"We're not," Arnold said. "Muldoon just wants to play it safe."

"Ah," Hammond nodded in understanding, touching a finger to his nose. "Better safe than sorry, eh?"

"Exactly."

XXX

Castle arched his neck and gazed up at the two dinosaur fossils the Park had on display in the lobby of the Visitor Center. It was a Tyrannosaurus Rex posed in mid-action of attacking an Apatosaurus. He cocked his head, tilting his neck further around as he absently walked underneath the two giant skeletons. He had seen the dinosaurs on display at the American Museum of Natural History enough times with Alexis when she was growing up that he was amazed at how awe inspiring seeing such things still was for him.

"Rick."

He squinted up at the large T-Rex skull, staring at the impressive jaw, imagining what it would have looked like to see those dagger-like teeth sinking into the flesh of the helpless Apatosaurus. It was like seeing a prehistoric struggle frozen in time.

"Rick."

He craned his neck around and followed the vertebrae along the arching back of the Apatosaurus, marveling at its undeniable behemoth size. Surely it must have been a wonder that such giants had roamed the Earth.

"CASTLE!"

He blinked, snapping out of his awestruck wanderings, dropping his head back down to see Kate waving at him from across the lobby. He flashed her an apologetic look, and weaved through the sea of people to meet her by the sign-in desk.

"Sorry, I got a little distracted," he gave her a contrite smile, but she merely shrugged it off, and reached up to brush back the strands of hair that had flopped down over his forehead.

"It's alright, babe," she assured him. "I just wanted to double-check the schedule with you."

"For what?"

"The main tour," she said. "They have some slots open for tomorrow afternoon."

"Hmm," he hummed, bobbing his head. "That sounds good."

Kate turned back around to the sign-in desk, leaning an elbow on the flat surface of the raised counter to speak to the young woman sitting behind it. "The two o'clock tour, then."

The clerk nodded, and typed something in on her keyboard. "Mr. and Mrs. Castle, right?"

"Yes, that's correct," Kate nodded, and Castle slipped his arm around her waist, curling his fingers into her hipbone, grinning happily. He still found it absolutely amazing that she—Katherine Houghton Beckett—was his wife. She turned and smiled at him, before focusing back on the attendant.

"And you still want to do the Botanical Walk in the morning, followed by lunch in the Tree Top Café?" the young woman asked.

"Castle?" Kate raised an eyebrow at him in question, and he nodded. "Yes, that's good for now."

"Okay," the clerk pressed some more buttons on her keyboard, and then swiveled around on her stool to snatch a paper out of a tray behind her. She turned back around, handing a printout to Kate. "Here's your schedule for tomorrow. Lunch and dinner will be provided. You are on your own for breakfast. Most of the restaurants along Jurassic Boulevard serve breakfast specials, but you are also welcomed to the Visitor Center cafeteria, where a complimentary breakfast buffet is served until 10:30 everyday."

"Um… how do we get to our trailer?" Kate asked after glancing over the schedule.

"Oh, um…," the attendant looked back down at her computer screen. "You're in trailer four," she said. "When you exit the Visitor Center, go to your right and you'll see a line of jeeps. Just show your park visitor badge to one of the drivers, and he'll take you up to the ridge."

"And our luggage should already be there?"

"Yes," the young woman smiled, hopping off her stool, and walking around the counter to join them. "Now, if you'll just follow me, we'll fix you two up with those visitor badges and lanyards."

Kate nodded, folding up the printout of their schedule, and placed it, along with some brochures and other forms the attendant had given her, into her purse. She turned to Castle and looped her arm around his, giving him a smile. "Okay, Castle… I'll admit it, this is exciting."

"This way," the young attendant said.

Castle smiled at Kate and winked, before squeezing her hand and following the young woman towards what looked like a photo booth.