Jurassic World: Return to Isla Nublar – Chapter 38: Conclusions and Confirmations

A/N: As the title suggests, many of the characters in this story are going to be experiencing some major conclusions concerning their point of view on the current situation. If you love scenes between Hammond and Lester, this is the chapter for you! As you might have already noticed, despite Lester being Hammond's son-in-law, the way they behave toward each other is more akin to what you'd expect from similarly-aged brothers . . . who don't seem to agree on much! If you're really interested in scenes between Kailey and Tim, then you're also going to adore this chapter. Levine's group will also read another email containing details about DNA Project #1, among other things. But before we get to anything that deep, we'll start off by seeing if Dr. Grant's team can escape from a group of Dilophosaurus . . . again! Well, at least they haven't run into any raptors . . . yet. Oh, by the way, be sure to check out my poll where you guys an vote which character is your favorite out of this story.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Jurassic Park except the very characters I've made up.

Kailey looked at her surroundings and realized that–

"I think the forest is getting sparser," she said. The others stopped and looked in her direction.

Levine nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I think you're right. We're not constantly brushing up against foliage and the like. I think we're heading into open woodland, sort of like the one we went into when we first arrived on island, only slightly drier."

"Did you notice we haven't seen the tyrannosaurs in a while?" Tim asked.

"I'd imagine they would have a fixed territory. Unlike those monsters in a lot of Hollywood movies, dinosaurs aren't just out to get people. They've got their own lives to live."

"Well, there are exceptions. If the dinosaur was in the mood for mating – especially if it were male and larger than most of its species in the area – territory wouldn't matter. It also wouldn't matter if young were concerned. Fortunately, that's not the case."

Rob nodded. "I'm getting hungry. Levine, pass me one of those bananas please."

"Sure, I was getting hungry too." Levine obeyed and retrieved a banana out of his backpack for every member of the group; they started eating. "We shouldn't eat too many of these at one sitting," Levine said. "Eating too many bananas can cause sleepiness, and we don't need that when we need to be ready to run for our lives at any given moment."

"Speaking of sleepiness," Lex began, "can we rest for a bit? It's 10:13 a.m. and the sun's going to be getting hotter, especially if we're heading into more open area."

"You're right. Let's take a short break, then we'll walk for a bit longer, rest during the hottest part of the day and then we'll keep walking. We should be getting to the coast pretty soon."

"Look up another email!" Kailey exclaimed.

"Alright, let me just get the computer set up."

Seven Dilophosaurus continued to wade through the water in the coastal cavern. Grant moved in front of the rest of the group.

"OK," he began, "anyone have any ideas about getting past?"

Dr. Sorkin said, "I'd like to know why they're here in the first place."

As if to answer her question, one of the spitters darted its head into the water and retrieved a large slippery fish. Stabbed on the needle-sharp teeth, the fish didn't stand a chance at escaping. The carnivore shook its head from side to side to kill the fish before presuming to swallow its catch.

"I should have known," Dr. Sorkin stated. "Paleontologists had often speculated as to whether or not Dilophosaurus and its kin ate fish at all."

"Stay focused, Doc," Ryan told her. "You can study the dinosaurs once you get back to California."

"Pterosaurs aren't–"

"Enough you two," Grant ordered. "You can continue your squabbling once we get back to the mainland. Let's just slip past these guys, just like we did last time."

Not being able to think of another way around the dinosaurs, Grant and the others began walking. They tried moving quietly, but the fact that they were walking through water didn't help much.

"Ah!" Taylor exclaimed. The theropods instantly looked in the group's direction. "Something under the water hit my foot."

"It was just a fish," Dr. Sorkin told her. She and the others looked over at the carnivores nearby; the Dilophosaurus warily glared at the humans with their characteristic reptilian stare that would have struck fear into prey. One of the creatures whooped, but so far, that was the only response to the human's presence.

"What do we do?" Taylor asked quietly.

Grant explained with a whisper, "Just stay calm and back away slowly. Don't look the spitters directly in the eye. We're not nearly 20 feet away. Since they're already eating fish, they might not want us."

The rest of the group did as Grant suggested. One of the Dilophosaurus expanded its neck frill and whooped. Fortunately, the animals seemed to be content with their fishy diet . . . for now anyways.

They continued to watch as Grant and the others walked around a corner and were finally out of sight from the predators. Then the humans started running; they ran until they felt they were far enough away from the spitters and they stopped to catch their breaths.

"I'm so sorry!" Taylor apologized. "The fish that hit my foot kind of startled me a bit."

"No problem, kiddo," said Ryan. "We didn't get eaten, and that's the important thing."

Grant looked ahead of them to see that they still had quite a ways to go before they reached the mouth of the cave that would lead them to the ocean. "We'll be out of here soon enough," he said.

John Parker Hammond sat on a stool in the research team's now-empty trailer parked in front of the Visitor Center and contemplated all that had happened in the last few days. He sighed and looked out the window.

"Come on now, Lex and Tim," he said, "where are you? You're can't be dead, I know you're not! You've got to be alive!"

He removed his hat from his head and sat it on the table in front of him. He leaned his cane up against the wall and dragged his finger along the side of the table. They have to be out there, right? Well, who better to get the children through Jurassic Park than a bunch of dinosaur experts? I'm sure we'll find them and the rest of the team.

Perhaps it's rather interesting to note that Hammond had developed a strong relationship with many of the people he'd felt like he lost during the expedition that played a great role in his past. Dr. Alan Grant: he was, like Malcolm, a skeptic to Hammond's plans, ideas and concepts, but he liked him greatly. That's the whole reason why he was chosen to come to the park in the first place. Grant preferred to not exhibit his warmest feelings to Hammond at times, but deep down, he and Hammond both knew that they felt almost like family to each other, Grant being the skeptical nephew, with Hammond being the imaginative uncle.

Dr. Laura Sorkin: he hired her for the job of bringing extinct animals that hadn't seen the light of day in many millennium back to life. But from the moment InGen started making short cuts, their relationship went downhill: she couldn't stand him, and no matter what Hammond tried to do to get her back, she just kept moving farther and farther away. During the 1993 incident, he thought he'd lost her before he could make things right between the two of them, and in a last ditch effort to make something Dr. Sorkin had always wanted happened, he'd (barely) been able to stop the bombing of Isla Nublar and spearheaded the movement to keep Isla Sorna an intact nature reserve. If she was still alive, Hammond vowed to do whatever it took to restore the relationship he lost with her.

Hammond grabbed a carton of frozen yogurt and a spoon from the fridge beside him and began eating as his thoughts drifted off to Tim Murphy: now he was quite the character. He'd been greatly in love with something that just about every child in America wanted to get close to: the dinosaur. Unlike most kids though, he never grew out of it. Tim changed in appearance as time went on, but even so, he kept the same aliveness and love for the beasts of the past that he loved in his youth. It was thanks to the fascination of people like Tim that Hammond had the burning desire to bring dinosaurs back from the brink.

Alexis Murphy: Hammond loved her dearly. The girl was attracted to computers and technology at an early age. Hammond sighed as he remembered the day he watched his beloved granddaughter walk down to isle to be married to Lester James Murphy. It was memories like these that Hammond would treasure forever.

"You're just going to stand there and keep staring at the window?" a voice asked.

Hammond jumped a little when he noticed Lester standing at the door to the trailer. "Oh, hello Lester."

"Hi." Lester walked over to the table and sat down across from Hammond.

"So . . . any news?" Hammond inquired.

Lester crossed his arms and shook his head. "No, not yet. We're going to keep looking. Teams are patrolling their assigned sections of the island – several soldiers are in the Visitor Center, looking for signs of the other half of the team that didn't leave the building; the Malcolm's are searching from the air – they'll be starting near the northern part of the island and gradually make their way south; Kelly, Eric, Stanley and several soldiers are following the trail of the half of the team that did exit the Visitor Center. So far, all the evidence points to their survival."

Hammond nodded. "Good. They've got to find them soon. If they're out there, we're going to find them."

"Yes, I suppose so."

Suddenly, one of the soldiers entered the trailer. "Lester sir, we've discovered a pair of doors upstairs that were tied shut with a bandana."

Lester and Hammond looked up in surprise. "A bandana?" Lester asked. "How long do you reckon it's been there?"

"Well, the tag says Western Boys© on it," the soldier explained, "and that brand only came out last March."

"So someone's alive!" Hammond exclaimed.

"Possibly," Lester told him, "but we don't know who it belonged to. For all we know, it could be from one of Biosyn's. Did you guys go into the room and investigate?"

"Yes, we started looking for other evidences of human activity," the soldier answered. "We haven't found any yet."

Hammond inquired, "Do you happen to know what room it is?"

"There's a sign hanging in the room that says Living Fossils."

"Ah, I remember that exhibit. That was going to be one our best non-dinosaur exhibits for the park, but the park went haywire before we could even attain any living fossils for the exhibit."

The soldier went on to explain that the Living Fossils room was rather smelly with white crusty globs populating much of the floor. He also said that the skylights were broken. "The white, now-crusty globs smelled and looked sort of like guano."

"Guano?" Lester asked.

"Uh, that's animal feces," Hammond told him. "There's been animal activity up there. Let us know if you find anything else."

"Alright, I will." The soldier left.

"They're alive. They've got to be alive!"

"Let's hope so," Lester agreed.

"Here, try some yogurt."

Lester took a container of yogurt out of the carton and grabbed a spoon and placed a spoonful of yogurt into his mouth. He nodded in approval. "It's good, actually."

"Spared no expense," Hammond said quietly.

Levine clicked on the next unread email.

"'February 11, 1993

Dear Hammond,

Most of our amazing recreations for DNA Project #1 are in their eggs, slowly maturing, preparing for the day they will hatch. We've injected growth stimulator to expiate their growth; I'm glad we figured out how to make their incubation period shorter, because my research indicates that otherwise, eggs could take two to three months to incubate under normal circumstances! The eggs of our Hypsilophodon are on the verge of hatching and you'll want to be here to see them. I still find it amazing that you always seem to know when to be at the park to never miss an animal's birth. They'll be a great addition to the park for Phase B. I know they're not fully evaluated to add to the official park list yet, but since Hypsilophodon is a harmless dinosaur, I've had the geneticist on Sorna start cloning a population of them.

The Tyrannosaurus we shipped here a few weeks ago are doing fine in their enclosure. Due to all the large carnivores we now have on Nublar, I've asked our goat and cow suppliers to send double the usual supply. I'd hate to have the T. rex go on rampage. The last time Rexy went on rampage . . . well, I won't go there! The enclosure holding the four additional T. rex we brought to the island is still located near our DNA Project #1 facilities. Speaking of dinosaurs that we brought over from Sorna recently, Laura Sorkin's continuing with her work on the parasaurs undisturbed. It's great that she's now out of the way so that my assistants and I can actually work on things and don't have to be concerned about her snooping around the (non-secret) laboratories so much (though she still does so from time to time, just enough to keep updated on things happening around the park). She still hasn't stopped talking about the supposed importance of frog DNA in the recreation of the dinosaurs. She claims that the mere mixing of frog and dinosaur DNA has caused many of the dinosaurs to differ from the fossil record. Personally, I'm leaning more toward the opinion that we just don't know as much about these creatures as we thought we knew. Take the Dilophosaurus for instance: there is no evidence of the frill or venom-spitting behavior in the fossil record. But absence of evidence, isn't evidence of absence, as they say. It's also possible that a mutation occurred during the cloning of the extinct creatures, but I highly doubt it. We've checked out work over and over and over again.

In other news, the Pteranodon in the aviary are doing well. The handlers have been able to hand feed them and they'll catch fish thrown to them in mid-flight. Being much more docile than their other subspecies, we would expect to have the other river cruise ready for Phase A if it weren't for the Dilophosaurus. Yes, you guessed it! Another worker was spat at by a spitter. However, we were able to give her the anti-venom we keep all over the park and the disorientation has worn off and because she received anti-venom, she won't go into paralysis. She'll regain her sight within the next day or so . . . or even today is a possibility. But the important thing is that she's alright.

Also, Dr. Sorkin and David Banks are just about finished with their work on installing the scientific equipment to her field lab. No word yet on what species she is recreating over there, but it keeps her extra busy and that means she's has less downtime to spend at my own laboratory (the main one, not the ones we're using for DNA Project #1) trying to engage me in a conversation about the lysine contingency and the use of frog DNA in our dinosaurs. Really, if she's so fascinated with studying dinosaurs instead of helping us make progress with the park, we might want to consider moving her to Site B where most of the dinosaur research is done.

Sincerely, Dr. Henry Wu'"

"Works still plugging along like usual," Kailey observed. "They don't even know that within the next few months, when they bring the Big One from Sorna, that she'll kill a worker and start a long chain of events that will lead to the doom of the park."

"Yeah," Tim agreed. "So what's the chance of the dinosaurs perhaps suffering from some mutation during the cloning process and therefore resulting in differences from the ones in the fossil record?"

Levine winced. "Not too good. They checked their results many times, and that only leaves two options: that the dinosaurs really had those features and abilities and we can't tell that they had them based on what's in the fossil record, or it's because of DNA mixing."

"But Velociraptor couldn't have been as large as the ones we found on the island," Lex stated. "Fossil skeletons have been found and they tell us that the Velociraptor of the Cretaceous only grew about three feet tall!"

"You're right, so it must have been the frog DNA."

Suddenly, a loud bellowing call was heard. Not more than a few tens of yards away, Levine and the others spotted a small herd of dinosaurs feeding on low-growing shrubs near a stream. The dinosaurs possessed long muzzles, relatively short arms, strong back legs, thick tails and a heavily armored head covered in spikes and knobs.

"Dracorex," Tim observed. "I love these guys!"

The dinosaurs hadn't even noticed the human's presence. They were content to feed lazily on shrubs and ferns. But Levine and Tim knew very well that these creatures could possibly turn nasty if provoked. Two sub-adult individuals called to each other. They snorted fiercely and slowly approached the other.

"Are these dinosaurs dangerous?" Rob asked. "I mean, the Triceratops look dangerous, but they're pretty docile. How about these dragonex."

Levine smiled. "They're called Dracorex," he said while packing up the computer. "We don't know for sure, but if they're anything like modern buffalo, we'd better steer clear."

The two sub-adults continued to snort and grumble at the other. Then they let out a loud roar and charged forward. Their heads clashed together with a loud sound and they pushed and shoved the other competitor - head to head. Each one hoped that they would be the victor.

"Wow, now we know why they're heads are so heavily armored," Lex started, "they need to be able to withstand all that pressure of headbutting."

"Some pachycephalosaurs had skulls around nine inches thick, you know," Tim told her.

"I know."

"Someone told you that already?"

"Yeah, you."

Unlike the bare heads of their Pachycephalosaurus relatives, Dracorex's bumpy noggin is perfect for shoving and ramming heads because the bumps and knobs keep the heads of the two dinosaurs locked and stops them from slipping. Some of the other members of the herd watched the two young males duke it out under the hot morning sun of the dry open woodlands. One Dracorex watching the fight even appeared to be cheering them on, making a chorus of snorts and moans.

After much shoving, one Dracorex was able to push the other aside. The loser held his head down in shame and walked away from the fight, while the winner stood up nice and tall and hooted noises of success. He flaunted his horny head around the rest of his herd. The horns glinted in the sunlight above. Finally, the herd (especially the individual that lost) lost interest in the successful Dracorex and they went back to eating. The winning Dracorex realized showing off was now pointless (it wasn't mating season for Dracorex, so even the females weren't interested) and joined his herd in eating his lunch. He munched off some ferns with his horny beak.

"Awesome!" Kailey exclaimed. "I love when dinosaurs do that. I think that since the fight wasn't that brutal like a fight over mates would be, those two Dracorex were just play-fighting."

"You're probably right," Tim said.

"Well, we should probably get moving before they notice us," Rob stated.

"Not yet, I'm still tired," said Tim. "Why don't we rest for a while before moving on."

Rob shrugged. "Either way, I have to go to the bathroom."

Lex grinned slyly and said, "That's a grand idea, let's take bathroom breaks."

"I don't need one," Levine objected.

"Yes, you do." She got up and began pushing him toward grove of conifer trees.

"Hey!" he exclaimed.

"We don't need to stop in the middle of walking for bathroom breaks, come on." She pulled him out of the immediate area until he and Lex were out of sight.

Rob turned to Tim and Kailey and shrugged. "Well, I'll be back."

With that, he left Tim and Kailey alone with the Dracorex. Tim turned to Kailey, who smiled awkwardly in return.

"Well um . . . hi?"

"Hi," Kailey replied.

"So, uh, how are you holding up?" Tim knew he'd already asked this question before, but he was sort of out of ideas. "I mean, since the last time I asked."

Grinning, Kailey replied, "Um . . . fine I guess, considering we haven't bumped into a dinosaur that's trying to eat us since we left the T. rex territory. There were five tyrannosaurs on the island in '93, so how many do you reckon are now on the island?"

"Hard to say. Since no tyrannosaur nests have ever been uncovered, we don't know how many eggs they laid at once and can't really know how many of them would make it to maturity. With research, I'm sure we could find out just how many T. rex are on the island at this point."

"Must get kind of noisy around here during dinosaur mating season."

"Come again?"

"Well, dinosaurs probably make a lot of noise during that time of year to attract mates and deter rivals."

"Oh yeah." Tim mentally kicked himself. What was he doing? Small talk, seriously? This was the first time he had some alone time with this amazing girl and he was wasting it doing small talk. Maybe this would be a good time to talk on a more personal level. He started slowly walking and Kailey followed alongside, "So what do you think you're going to be doing once you get off the island?"

Kailey looked down at the ground as they walked. "I'll probably be going back to California with Dr. Sorkin if we make it off this island alive." She then looked up, worriedly. "Oh dear, I hope she, Dr. Grant and the others are OK."

"Relax. It's like I said: there's no better person to get trapped in Jurassic Park with than a dinosaur expert. Dr. Alan Grant knows his dinosaurs – he's not only studied them since childhood, but he's been studying them for most – if not all – of his life. He knows their behaviors and he knows the best way to survive. He's pretty good at normal survival situations too: once Ellie told me that he was once lost in the Montana badlands for two days with a minimum amount of water and a broken ankle. Some of his dig team went out looking for him, but even after searching, he made his own way back to the dig site. Grant's a tough guy. And Captain Ryan Muldoon is a military soldier, he's trained to deal with tough situations."

"Then there's also the little girl," Kailey told Tim. "I know she's with Grant, but . . ."

As Kailey continued, Tim thought, Drat, we're getting off subject. I have to get things back on topic.

"Don't worry about Taylor. She seems like a pretty tough kid. Grant's not going to loose track of anybody. He's a good leader. Anyone would hate to have anything happen to a cute little girl like Taylor."

Kailey raised her eyebrows. "Cute? She seems kind of bratty to me."

"Yeah, she's kind of bratty, but I'm sure beneath that, she's a sweet little girl who's just afraid of being eaten and in a terrifying situation, if you get what I'm saying. You just have to know how to really handle kids."

Nodding, Kailey grabbed onto Tim's arm and they stopped walking. Looking back at her, Tim's heart leaped – he was looking into the eyes of one of the most beautiful girls he'd ever met; her raven black hair blew ever so slightly with the light breeze that blew past, her gleaming eyes seemed to be ever so luring to his own. "What will you be doing when we get put of here?" she asked.

"I'll probably be going back with Dr. Grant to the dig site," he answered with a shrug. "I mean, things are going to be different when we return. We've got a lot of things to catch up on, see what new discoveries have been made . . . and maybe solve the mystery with what creature made those nests."

Levine protested again, "I don't need to go to the bathroom! I'd like to spend my time taking a break from walking and read some more emails and check out the Dracorex herd."

"Look, I don't just want to stop just because you need a bathroom break while we're walking," Lex told him. "Go!"

Rob nodded. "She's got a point."

Levine groaned and walked around a grove of large bushes. Lex turned to Rob and gave him a high-five. "Think Tim and Kailey will have enough time?" Rob whispered.

"It all depends on them," Lex answered. "I was going to give Kailey some heads up when I was going to give the two of them some time alone, but I figured it might go better if it were by surprise. It's important they do something together while we're on the island because when we escape Nublar, Tim might just go back to Montana and Kailey to California. If we can keep Levine away from them, they should have enough time."

"Hey guys!" Levine exclaimed, "I think I found a species of Bryopsid moss back here!"

Lex nodded. "Yeah, they'll have enough time."

Kailey blushed. She couldn't believe she was actually talking to this handsome guy she was starting to like. She didn't meet him that long ago, but she was already starting to feel like she knew him well.

"Um, Kailey?" Tim began.

"Yes?"

He gracefully grasped her arms in his hands. Kailey almost felt like she was about to go faint at the knees . . . literally. "Um . . . I think you're doing pretty well, considering this is your first, uh . . . time on the island, facing dinosaurs," Tim said.

Kailey sensed that Tim was stumbling over words and saying strange statements because he was nervous. "Um, OK," she responded awkwardly. "You know, it's a little off topic, but . . . can I tell you a secret?" Tim nodded. She grabbed hold of his arms and continued, "What I wanted to say was . . . you're really sweet. You're pretty courageous, especially when you saved me from that T. rex, and those raptors." That wasn't the original secret she wanted to spill, but she chickened out.

"O . . . K. Uh, thanks. But I guess I just take after Dr. Grant. He's sort of been my mentor ever since I met him at the park. But I've got a secret to tell you."

"What?"

"I know we haven't really known each other for a long time, but I feel almost like we're . . . I dunno, trying to be closer than friends. And I'm not saying that's a bad thing. What I'm really trying to say is that . . . I really like being around you."

Kailey nodded. Her heart began to take on a sense of anticipation. Come on, Tim, she thought. I'm in for it. "Well, I really like being around you, too. You kind of make me feel a way I've rarely ever felt before."

Tim grasped Kailey's sides and Kailey curled her hands under Tim's arms and grasped onto his back, pulling them closer together underneath the shadows of the trees of the open woodland. Their embrace felt as warm and welcoming as a burning ember in a fire hearth on a cold winter's night.

"Kailey," Tim whispered, "I think I like you."

"The feeling's mutual," Kailey whispered back with a smile. The two stared into each other's eyes for several seconds . . . then they drew even closer to each other and their lips touched . . . with their first kiss.

A/N: I've wanted to write this scene between Kailey and Tim for a long time . . . pretty much ever since I decided to put them together. This was also one of the most trickiest scenes to write, which is why I'm glad I gave it a lot of thought beforehand. And Tim and Kailey seem to have everything going for them too – a nice location, an absence of any other human being, a strong bond between them and a lack of carnivorous dinosaurs (for now anyways). I've been trying and trying to think of a catchy name for the Tim and Kailey coupling, and the only ones I could think of were: Kim, Tailey, Kailim and Timailey . . . none of them particularly good in my opinion. Oh well. Anyway, in this chapter, I also figured it would be a good time for Hammond to reflect on what's happened so far in this story and how he feels toward many of the main characters. I don't know about you, but I figured this chapter would be a great chance for the Dracorex to make another appearance; after all, they haven't been in the story since they chased the Dodgson's from their jeep. If you're enjoying this story, you'll definitely want to keep reading to the end, because it's hopefully only going to get better from here. R&r everyone!