A/N: I'll admit. I really wasn't sure how to do Simon's reaction. Hopefully I captured it ok. Besides that, everything should be smooth sailing from here. Hopefully. Also, I'm sorry for sucking so bad at updating.
I added humor as a tag to this fan-fic since it seems to fit the bill. Other changes incoming.
Also, attention, I have a tumblr blog where I post stuff (ideas and questions and thoughts and more) about this account. So… Follow me? The name is "stygianhazardff"
Disclaimer: I do not own Jurassic World or anything about it. I do love dinosaurs though.
The world seemed to slow down just then. Simon stared at Owen in shock. He opened his mouth to speak, but didn't. It was almost like he didn't know what to say. In the end, he just stared at Owen speculatively. It was hard to tell whether or not he was angry at Owen.
Owen started to sweat. Out of all of the things that he could've said to his boss's boss, he had to say that. Did it sound like he was trying to blackmail him? It kind of did. It seriously did sound like that. He really should've kept his mouth shut. There was no taking it back now. Owen took a deep breath. It was time for some damage control.
"W-what I meant to say was…" Owen started to say, fidgeting slightly at the look Simon is giving him. "Is that I've been taking care of them for you, sir. Simon. Sir Simon."
"And why exactly do you have them?" Simon questioned, sounding a lot more serious than Owen had ever heard him.
That wasn't a good sign. The only time Simon seemed this serious or upset was when he was dealing with lawyers. Owen really hoped that he didn't just fall down to their level.
"I found them," Owen replied. Taking a deep breath, he continued. Best to go with a half-truth since saying he had been technically breaking in to visit them may not be the wisest thing to say right now. Or ever. "During the storm, they escaped from their area and somehow ended up in my bungalow. I'm really not sure how they managed that. Really. So I've been, you know, raising them in the meantime..." Owen trailed off, unsure of what more to say.
Part of him wanted to mention to Simon that it was better him finding them than a tourist. But the humor may not be appreciated right now.
Simon stared at Owen carefully before sighing loudly. Turning, he stared out of a window and scratched his head irritably, muttering a bit to himself.
Owen couldn't tell if it was an angry sigh or a tired sigh. It might've been both.
"Well I suppose it isn't that bad that you found out about the secret new attraction beforehand." Simon acknowledged after a moment.
'Huh?' Owen thought. "Huh?" Owen said out loud.
"To be honest, I was thinking about introducing you to them," Simon explained. He stopped and looked around suddenly. Motioning for Owen to follow, he turned and started heading towards the exit. "We can talk more away from here. So you said they're at your bungalow right now?"
"Yes." Owen nodded. He made sure to double-check his backpack before he left to ensure they wouldn't sneak out again. Now he's starting to wonder where Simon is going with this. He didn't want to ask since Simon didn't seem to be mad and he didn't want to risk changing that.
"How are they doing, Owen? I heard from the lab that they were uncooperative and hostile." Simon opened the door and held it for Owen before gesturing to a nearby jeep.
Owen took the hint and started to walk towards it. In his head, he pondered Simon's question. Saying the wrong thing wouldn't help him. He absolutely didn't want to say something like he had earlier about having the Indominus Rex without easing Simon into it.
"They're doing well enough," Owen said deliberately. He jumped into the driver's seat and started the engine. As soon as Simon got in, he took off. A few guards moved as if to try and stop him, only to back away once they saw who was in the passenger seat. Owen smirked a bit as he drove by them. "They haven't shown any hostility except for when they're hungry. Honestly, Gale is the only one who seems to like to attack. But I wouldn't say that she does it just because."
Now that was a stretch. He had to say it though because he didn't want to give Simon a reason to take her away, or worse. It would just take a bit more training than usual to fix Gale's bad habits. He wasn't overly worried though. If he had been able to manage Blue, he could manage Gale.
Many years in the future, he would think of this as the exact moment that he had jinxed himself.
"Gale?" Simon asked, not recognizing the name.
"One of the I-Rex," Owen explained, somewhat embarrassed. "I couldn't just call them Indominus Rex #1 and Indominus Rex #2, right? So yeah… I named them Frost and Gale."
"That's interesting…" Simon murmured noncommittally. Now he was looking at the passing scenery, questions seemingly forgotten.
Owen glanced at Simon a few times every couple of minutes, but Simon remained silent.
"So… crazy weather we've been having," Owen spoke up, trying to break the tension. "Am I right?"
"…" Simon didn't even look at him.
It was somewhat of an awkward drive to the bungalow after that.
Just as Owen had figured, Simon didn't say anymore for the rest of the drive. Part way there, Owen remembered and wished that he had cleaned up before he left. He hoped the Frost and Gale hadn't caused more damage while he was away. But with his luck, and their curiosity, he knew he didn't have much hope.
Once they reached the clearing, Owen slowed the jeep down and parked. Pausing, he turned to check on Simon.
"Are you sure you're ok with this place?" Simon asked suddenly, staring at the beat up bungalow.
"Hm?" Owen shrugged carelessly. It didn't matter either way to him. "It's fine. Open air, no noise, a place for my hammock. It's perfect for me. It has character." Plus, it was a bitch putting it together into something livable. There was too much effort put into this place to just leave it. Having a lake nearby where he could fish in peace is a nice bonus too.
"Of course," Simon chuckled at Owen's laidback answer. "But the dorms to have more space."
"Does Vic still live there?" Owen asked.
"Yes."
"I'm fine where I am." Owen deadpanned.
"I should've known," Simon laughed. Suddenly, he stopped and glanced around. "So they're inside then?"
"Yes." Owen answered. 'Hopefully' He thought inwardly. Considering the fact that he still didn't know how they got in his bungalow, is stood to reason that they might've gotten out the same way. Considering they weren't jumping on him, they should still be inside.
Unlocking it slowly, Owen gave the door a small push. Immediately, the sound of running footsteps and chirping filled the bungalow. Simon glanced in through the doorway to see the Indominus Rex running towards Owen. Both of them stopped at the sight of him. Frost backed away a bit while Gale stepped forward with an angry growl.
"Hey," Owen leaned down and picked Gale up. "No biting the owner of the park."
Gale squawked indignantly and started to squirm in an attempt to escape Owen's grasp. Owen held on though, not wanting Gale to attack Simon. Turning, Owen fought not to grin at the gobsmacked look on Simon's face. Despite the man's obvious Indian heritage, his face had become surprisingly pale.
"That's the Indominus Rex?" Simon eventually managed to croak out.
"Yeah, her and her sister over there." Owen said, gesturing to Frost.
By now, Frost had backed away even more. Keeping her eyes on Simon, she stood half behind the couch. Faintly, growling could be heard from her.
'Guess she's more territorial than I thought.' Owen thought, somewhat surprised. Thus far, he hadn't seen or heard her growl ever. Then again, she is a dinosaur. Some instincts took time to kick in. This was the first time they had met anyone besides him and maybe some of the scientists.
"I wasn't expecting them to be albino." Simon admitted, the shock starting to wear off. Cautiously, he took a step into the bungalow.
Gale's growling grew louder, making Simon still. Owen sighed and started to stroke Gale under her jaw. Slowly, her growls grew softer until it became something comparable to a purr. A very mean sounding purr, if one had to describe it.
"Not bad," Simon commented. "When did you learn that trick?"
"It works on the Velociraptors," Owen replied. It had taken too long to figure that out. He wasn't sure if it would work on these two. It seemed like it did. Hopefully they were more in tune with their Velociraptor side than their T-Rex side. "You said you wanted to talk though. What about, Simon?"
"Mind if I have a seat first?" Simon asked, still glancing between Frost and Gale and keeping his distance.
"Sure," Owen put Gale down and walked over to the couch. Trowing some stuff off onto a random chair, he checked for stains before looking back at Simon. "Is this ok?" For the first time since coming to the park, Owen was really regretting not cleaning up after himself.
Empty pizza boxes and beer bottles as well as other questionable trash items strewed about the place wasn't what he wanted a guest like Simon to see when they walk in. Thankfully, he never had guests so it never mattered. Now, well, it mattered a bit more. Luckily, Simon is a chill boss.
"That's fine," Simon walked over and sat down. Not even so much as blinking at the mess all over the place. "How much do you know about the Indominus Rex?"
"Not as much as I should," Owen admitted. "Part Velociraptor and part T-Rex, I'm guessing."
"And a bit more," Simon nodded. "They will be our new attraction after the Mesosaurus."
'Joy.' Owen thought glumly. Outwardly, he smiled and nodded.
"I know that look," Simon pointed out. He waved off Owen's sheepish apology. "It's fine. I get what you're thinking. Still, I feel that this will be something akin to a breath of fresh air to the park. We already know about regular dinosaurs. But a brand new one? That's something that will elevate us. No other park has done something like this, after all. There are no hints or talks about it possibly happening either."
Owen recalled. After all, dinosaur bones were all over the globe. You didn't need to be near America. Any country could gather bones and recreate them in a proper lab. And many countries have done just that. Jurassic World was still the biggest and best, no doubt. But it seemed the competitors were getting close. A lot closer than Owen had thought, if the Indominus Rex were the answer to the competition.
"The original plan was to just have it be wild and allow guests to come and see it in its natural habitat." Simon continued.
"Smart," Owen said sarcastically. "Was that Vic's idea?"
"Yes," Simon looked at Owen curiously. "How did you know?"
"Lucky guess." Owen muttered. It was a total dick thing to do. That would be just like Vic. That dick.
"I was fine with it," Simon said. Gesturing towards Frost and Gale, he smiled. "But it seems like they can be trained just like the Velociraptors. So…"
Owen was starting to see where this was going. He wasn't sure if he should laugh or cry.
"How about you become their official caretaker too?"
'Goddamnit.'
'I guess it works out,' Owen mused later after Simon had left. 'I mean, now I don't have to sneak around. Plus, bigger paycheck. Major score.'
Alas, if only that were all. Unfortunately, this also involved more paperwork. The main downside. He couldn't skip these either, since they were so important to the future of the park.
'On the other hand, this is sure to piss Vic off.' Owen couldn't keep the grin off of his face at the thought of that. At least there was a bright side.
Owen reached over and grabbed a fish. On the floor, Frost and Gale looked up at him expectantly. He waved it teasingly in front of them, smirking a bit at the sight of them following the fish with their eyes. When it seemed like they were about to pounce up to get it, he tossed it towards them.
Immediately, both of them bit onto an end and ripped it apart viciously in half. Both of them moved a bit away from the other and started to eat their piece.
"At least you're working together." Owen commented dryly.
After the day Owen's had, he's going to count that as a win. Gale is a bit more docile now. A little bit more docile. No one else would think so, but he could tell because of all of the time they had spent together. Normally, she would have growled at Frost and taken the entire fish to eat. Now though… There is a bit of teamwork. Now if he could get her to stop eyeing Frost's food like she currently is, he'd be set.
"Ok, this is it for now." Owen threw a couple more fish on the floor for them before getting up.
Since Owen hadn't shopped, he decided to go fishing in the lake. It wasn't exactly allowed, but it's not like anyone cares enough to check in and stop him. Plus, he did enjoy fishing. It saved time, money, and it is relaxing. He should have done it sooner. At least now he knew that he could always catch his own dinner if he ran out, which had never happened until he got these two gluttons.
The loud sound of chewing continued on in the living area, as if to emphasize his thoughts.
It was lucky that the fish on the island were normal and Jurassic World hadn't gone the extra mile to recreate ancient fish. It was doubtful that he would be able to cook and eat those if worst came to worst. And by that, he meant being stuck on the island with all the dinosaurs on the loose. There is a plan he's working on in case that happened. It's still a work in progress, but it paid to be prepared. Everyone in Jurassic World needed a Dinosaur Escape Plan.
Those plans would be worked out another day though.
Since there wasn't anything left to do, Owen sat down in front of his computer and checked his email. It seemed like Ellie had emailed him again. He winced at the reminder, realizing he had forgotten something.
Mr. Grady,
Any word on the ticket?
Sincerely,
Ellie Reiman
'Great…' Owen sighed. He would need to beg Zara for a favor tomorrow. And he would be doing it after the situation with Frost and Gale had been told to Claire by Simon, who would definitely tell Zara, who would realize that he kept a secret from her, which would then cause her to be mad at him.
Hitting reply, Owen was about to start typing before pausing. Thinking about it, why was Ellie being so pushy about this? Then again, she didn't want to say it and she seemed worried about something. It could just be paranoia on his part. He wasn't thinking about it before, but something definitely had to be up. It wouldn't be wise to ask about it through email.
Hopefully it didn't have anything to do with the secret attraction as Simon had called them. Owen glanced at Frost and Gale. Both of them were nearly done with the fish.
"Nah, couldn't be." Owen muttered. That was just too convenient, and worrisome if she had found out about them.
Deciding he would find out sooner or later, he started to reply.
Mrs. Reiman,
I'm working on it. I'll let you know asap.
Owen
'Hopefully that would be enough.' Owen thought tiredly. He had way too much going on now. Then a sudden thought hit him, making him pale.
He was going to have to train BOTH the Raptor Squad and the twins. Time-wise, it would be better to train them both at once. But… No. This may be a problem.
'Screw it…' Owen got up and started making his way to bed. He was just going to sleep on it and hope for the best.
Seeing Owen make his way to bed, Frost and Gale ran after him and passed him to run into the bedroom.
The sight of them both on his bed in their makeshift bed of pillows greeted Owen as he walked through the door. After the first couple of nights, they had both attacked and destroyed his pillows to make some sort of nest which took up a quarter of his bed. They chirped at him consistently while he changed his clothes up until he finally got into bed.
Reaching out, he started to pet both of them. As usual, only Frost responded positively to this. Gale, on the other hand, froze for a bit before relaxing. After a few minutes, both of their eyes slowly started to close until they eventually fell asleep.
Owen continued petting them gently, making sure they were really asleep before stopping.
It was hard not to smile at the two slumbering dinosaurs. Despite everything that they were made to be, it was impossible to think of them as anything but cute. He really didn't want to see them grow up. If they started acting like a T-Rex, he wouldn't be able to do this anymore. Even if they didn't act like one, they were likely to grow up bigger than one. That'd be problematic.
"Oh well," Owen shrugged off those thoughts and leaned back into their bed. "That's a problem for tomorrow's me."
EXTRA
"I'm sure we've all noticed a problem going on around the park." Claire said abruptly as everyone sat down for the monthly meeting.
Around the able, several people nodded in agreement. A few others just shrugged. Owen was looking down at his lap.
"Around the park, kids and parents alike are getting lost," Claire said, grimacing. "People are wandering where they shouldn't. People are getting hurt, and we're getting blamed for not taking precautions. In addition, people can no longer get a decent cell phone signal anywhere."
Claire handed out reports detailing the number of incidents. The report was longer than it ever had been before, even back when the park had first opened. It was unprecedented.
"Not to mention the fact that our own productivity has decreased dramatically…" Claire said, glaring at the members of the IT department.
They all looked down, slightly ashamed at themselves.
"Pokémon Go has ruined the park!" Claire said loudly, slamming her hand hard at the table. "We need to figure out how to get people off of their phones. Hell, the other day some idiot almost fell into the Velociraptor enclosure because he was distracted. Tell them, Mr. Grady!"
Owen didn't respond. He kept on staring at his lap purposefully.
Claire got up and walked around the table. Following Owen's line of sight, she looked down and gawked.
"A-are you playing Pokémon Go right now?!" Claire yelled at Owen.
Suddenly, Owen jumped up. Instead of responding to Claire, he started to run towards the door.
"Where are you going?!" Claire called out angrily. "We're not done here!"
"There's an Aerodactyl outside!" Owen answered before running out of the door and out of sight.
All at once, everyone else in the meeting jumped up and pulled out their phones before running outside after Owen.
Claire sat down heavily and looked after all of them, completely mystified.
"I can't believe them," Claire said. "Is that game really so important?"
Not hearing a response, Claire turned around to check on Zara.
The space where Zara is supposed to be was empty.
A/N: I love Pokémon Go. I really, really do. So I had to incorporate it into the EXTRA. I may have it go into the story too at some point. It would be interesting. But meh, it'll probably be mentioned or shown in passing. Then again, this story takes place in 2012 if I'm following canon. The I-Rex wasn't introduced until 2015 and Pokémon Go came out this month. Random question, what team do you think Owen would be on? Or Zara?
Next chapter, it's official that Owen now has to train everyone. Indominus Rex and Velociraptors combined. That'll be great.
Thanks for reading this. I'm glad so many people seem to like it. I'll endeavor to update faster. Life is making it… impossible. I'm sorry. I'll do my best to make sure this story has a satisfying conclusion. Again, I'm really sorry for being a slow updater…
For those of you who watch/read Tokyo Ghoul, I'm going to make a one-shot for it. Pairing options are in a poll on my profile for those who are interested.
Again, reminder, please feel free to follow "stygianhazardff" on tumblr for updates/thoughts about my fan-fiction stuff.
