This starts like a year before chapter 1, I think. Just a little back story for a couple chapters with Owen and raptors and Wu. Then Zach and Gray come visit the park.

Raptor
Chapter 2: Lala

He needed a change. What, he didn't really know. He just knew he needed a change. Something far away. And something different. Just… something. Life was wearing on him and he wanted something new. Which is why he found himself stepping off the ferry onto Isla Nublar.

"Welcome to Jurassic World." The robotic voice was amplified over the crowd by speakers.

Everyone around was excited. Kids were bouncing, parents were smiling and attempting to keep hold of said bouncing kids, and he just couldn't help but smile. Their excitement was infectious and so okay, he needed a change and this was a drastic change. But he was also pretty damn excited about it! He was on the dinosaur island! He was going to work on the dinosaur island! He heaved his large duffle bag over his shoulder and headed towards the visitor center. He stepped inside, weaving through the people and turned for the information desk. "Hey. I'm Owen Grady." He said, smiling at the woman behind the desk. "I'm here to see Claire Dearing."

"Welcome to Jurassic World." Another voice parroted the robotic welcome. Funnily enough, she sounded almost as robotic. "You're late."

He turned. The redheaded woman staring at him was dressed in all white. High heels and a long skirt and did she really wear that on a tropical island? He smiled at her and adjusted his hold on his bag as he held out his hand. "Owen Grady." He introduced.

"Yes." She said, staring at his hand for a moment. She didn't shake it and looked back up at him. "We're running late."

Owen dropped his hand and shrugged slightly. "Can't make the ferry go any faster."

She eyed him for a moment, pursing her lips. "You came highly recommended for… your…" She looked him up and down, not looking impressed.

He tilted his head to the side, his smile widening. He could already tell. This was going to be fun. He was going to enjoy getting on her nerves.

She narrowed her eyes. "Just follow me." She snapped. She led him to an elevator. She started rambling on as soon as the doors closed and it started moving. "Great opportunity." And, "Dangerous but safety is vital." He watched her out of the corner of his eye. Did she ever take a breath? He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. She changed topics fluidly, moving onto employee housing and meal plans and insurance and hazard pay and just blah, blah, blah. He really didn't care. At all. He was here to train animals for possible military use. That's all he needed to know.

She finally shut up after introducing Owen to Dr. Wu. Her phone had rung seconds later and she excused herself to answer it. Wu beckoned him forward, towards a large, oval… something. It was large… and uh… round… and… were those eggs? Owen quickly realized it must be an incubator. And that was cool. He stood, staring at those eggs in the incubator before him. There were six in all, looking almost identical. One looked a bit grayer, one looked more yellow, one was a bit larger, and one was significantly smaller.

"The runt." Wu said, following his line of sight. "We don't have high hopes for that one. It probably won't hatch." The doctor said dismissively.

Owen eyed the smaller egg and fought back the urge to reach out and touch it. Because he really did, he wanted to touch the egg. "What are they?" He asked, glancing up at the doctor.

"Velociraptors." Dr. Wu answered.

"That… is so cool!" Owen's whole face spread into a wide smile. "You want me to work with raptors."

"Yes." Wu said with a nod.

"Oh that is so sick!" Owen exclaimed.

Wu cocked an eyebrow at him. "Yes. Sick." He shook his head slowly. "We haven't had any success so far. They first generation from the original park, we learned they were highly intelligent but very aggressive."

Owen laughed. "They're dinosaurs. They're like the ultimate kickassness of wild animals."

Wu watched him for a moment. "Well… we're trying to keep… the kickassness attribute." He grimaced as he used Owen's terminology. "But we need them more receptive to us. We need them to be able to listen and follow command. We've been working on…" He stopped as the largest egg began to move. "Good." He said with a smile. "This is TG10-1."

Owen looked up at him. "What does that mean?"

"Test Generation 10." Wu explained. "It's the first to hatch from this batch."

"Ten generations?" Owen asked. "Like ten sets of eggs?"

Dr. Wu nodded. "Yes."

Owen frowned for a moment. "You've killed that many?"

Dr. Wu shook his head. "We didn't kill them." He insisted. "They just died. Some right after they hatched. Some within a week. Most within a month."

"That's… sad." Owen leaned closer, watching the tiny nose peeking out from the egg.

"Stand back." Wu commanded loudly.

Owen took a step back and crossed his arms. "Just a number?"

Wu pressed in closer, watching. "Until it survives past its first year, yes."

"That's sad, too." Owen lamented. "Everyone deserves a name."

"Yes… well… don't get attached." Wu said. "Now, follow me. I'll find someone to show you to the employee housing and let you get settled in. Then I'll send someone to show you around the park and where the raptor paddock is being constructed."

Owen didn't move from the incubator. "Shouldn't I stay here?"

Wu shook his head. "If it survives, you'll get to meet it in a couple days."

"If?" Owen said slowly. "Already writing it off?"

"Just being optimistic." Wu answered.

"Pessimistic." Owen said under his breath.

"Mr. Grady…"

"Owen." He corrected.

Wu nodded. "I've been doing this a long time, Owen. I know when they're viable. These eggs, they won't last a week."

Owen smiled. "We'll see about that."

Dr. Wu smiled. "Yes. I guess we will."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Owen never got to meet that first hatchling. She died after a day. "Don't get attached." Dr. Wu repeated. The second one died as well. The third died before it even hatched.

"You're doing something wrong!" Owen yelled at Wu after a couple weeks. Hatchling four had just died after two days. There were only two eggs left. And Owen still had nothing to work with. It wasn't that he was afraid of losing the job. He'd find another one. One that wouldn't pay as much, he was sure. But he didn't really care about the money. No other job would be as kick ass! Assuming it became more kickass. Because watching these baby raptors die really sucked. Like a lot.

When egg five started hatching, Owen was there, hovering over it like an expectant father. He pushed the scientists out of the way. "Just let me try something." He snapped at them. He leaned over and got as close to it as he could. Owen wanted to be the first thing the hatchling saw.

The egg cracked and the tiny nose poked out. Owen smiled. "Hello little one." He said softly. He gently lifted the eggshell off and picked up the baby raptor.

Dr. Wu came over and looked at it. "Good size." He said, sounding genuinely interested.

Owen hovered as the scientists took weights and measurements and notes. He didn't really care about any of the numbers. He just cared that this one was the largest. And she was vocal. And she bit Dr. Wu. And that was great.

Owen left for the night, exhausted and happy and hopeful for the first time since he came to the island a month ago. But when he returned the next morning, Wu informed him that she had died as well.

"I told you." Dr. Wu said. "These weren't viable."

Owen glared at him. "Where's the last egg?" He demanded loudly.

"It's too small." Wu said, shaking his head. "It won't hatch."

"Where is it?" Owen repeated louder. It had been moved from the large incubator, to make room for a new batch of some species of eggs Owen didn't really care about. "I'm taking her."

Wu shrugged. "If you want. She's of no use to me anymore."

He glared at Wu as he gently picked up the small egg. He slipped it under his shirt, cradling it delicately. Body heat was good. Yeah. Body heat sounded good. He took the egg back to his home. Little more than a room, really. Employee housing was awesome.

But egg! What the hell was he going to do with an egg? He hadn't really thought about it, when he took the egg. He just knew he wanted to try something. He had to keep it warm, he knew. And safe. No sitting on it or dropping it. Scrambled raptor egg was bad. "Okay… uh… egg." He pulled it out and held it up. "Okay… okay…" He had no clue what to do and he was starting to feel foolish, just talking to it. "Okay." He said again to the egg, for the millionth time it seemed. "Heat, right?"

He set the egg down gently on his couch and pulled a blanket over it. Then he stripped off his shirt and grabbed a pair of scissors. He stretched the shirt, cut the sleeves, and fashioned it into a sort of sling that hung across his chest. He changed into a pair of short shorts and cranked the thermostat to 95. Yeah. This was good. He tucked the egg into the sling, positioning it against his heart.

"Okay egg..." He paused and frowned. "I can't call you egg. And Dr. Wu's a heartless ass saying you can't have a name until you're a year old. I'm gonna call you… uh… La… Lau… Lay… uh… La… la… Lala." He smiled. "I just named a raptor Lala. Like some dumb stripper name." He shrugged.

He spent the next few days cradling the egg and talking to it. Half the time, he wasn't sure what he was even talking about. His mother, his family, his life in the navy. He just kept talking. When he had to leave his room, he put on a sweater and rolled up the sleeves and peopled looked at him like he was crazy. Okay, so maybe he was a little crazy. He was wearing an egg like a piece of clothing. And talking to that piece of clothing egg. Yeah. He was a little crazy. But it would all pay off. He hoped. He prayed it would pay off!

He was walking around the perimeter of the raptor paddock. It was big. It would be fine. But would it be able to house more than one full grown raptor comfortably? Because he knew how social raptors were. That's what he thought was the root problem with the rest of Lala's batch. They had no one to really care for them. They needed a real… family. Owen was going to be part of that family. He had to be part of that family.

He felt a flutter against his chest. He stopped. He made no movements, not even daring to breathe. There was another flutter. Oh shit!

"Mr. Grady."

Shit! What was she doing here? Why now? What did she want?

"What are you…" Claire started.

"Shhh!" He hissed, holding up his hands. She frowned at him and stepped closer. He waved again and glared at her.

"What?" She stepped towards him again. There was another flutter and he thought he heard something, a crack. But Claire Dearing was doing her most favorite thing. Talking. "I came to talk to you, see how you're fitting in. Dr. Wu told me about the trouble you've been having with…"

"She's hatching!" Owen whispered.

"She… what?" Claire looked at him confused.

Owen peeled off his sweater, quite literally. It was stuck to his skin by a layer of sweat.

Her eyes widened and she turned slightly, averting her eyes. "What are you doing?"

"She's hatching." Owen repeated, turning towards her. "Sorry. I'll see you later." He turned and ran back to the employee housing. "Shit, shit, shit. Wait, wait, wait!" He didn't stop until he closed his door behind him. He leaned against it a moment and took a deep breath. He pushed off the door and took a seat on the couch.

The moment he took off, the fluttering had stopped. But the moment he relaxed against the back of the couch, it started again. He pulled the egg out of the sling gently and held it up. He cradled it delicately with both hands, smiling widely. "Okay, baby girl. Come on out." He said softly. "Come on Lala."

Tiny light brown claws slipped through the crack. They flexed and pulled at the shell. The hole grew bigger as she poked her nose through. She was beautiful. All white, with large, brilliant red brown eyes. But she was small. So small. And white. Was she an albino? Both of those facts worried Owen. He needed to talk to Dr. Wu as soon as possible.

And then there was a knock at his door. He ignored it, instead standing up and tucking the tiny raptor back against his chest. There was a second knock as he turned for his tiny, makeshift kitchen. He pulled a container out of the fridge. "Lala, this is crickets and meal worms and some other junk. It's gross and all mushed together. You should like it." He popped it in the microwave for a few seconds when there was a much louder knock on the door.

Lala let out a chirp at the sound and ducked back down into the safety of the sling, pressing against him. He turned and glared at the door. Who the hell didn't know how to fuck off? He quickly hurried to the door. He turned the knob and pulled it open. But he didn't wait to see who it was. He immediately returned to the beeping microwave.

"Mr. Grady." Claire Dearing stepped inside. "What happened earlier?" She stopped and looked around. "Why is it so hot in here?" She asked, fanning herself.

Owen ignored her as he pulled the warmed insect mash from the microwave.

"What are you doing?" Claire asked.

Lala popped her head back out, watching him. Owen smiled down at her as he dipped his finger into the mash and held it up to her.

"That smells revolting." Claire commented from behind him.

"It should." He said. Lala blinked her eyes at him. "It's really good. Come on." He licked the tip of his finger. Oh that was way worse than he thought it would be. "See? Good, Lala." He tried to keep a straight face.

A look of disgust washed over Claire's face. "Owen! What's going on?"

Owen didn't take his eyes off the raptor. "Trying to get her to eat by showing her I'll eat it."

She stepped closer to him, peering at him. Her eyes widened when she saw the tiny raptor. "What is that?"

"A newborn raptor." Owen answered.

Claire pressed a bit closer. "What are you doing with a raptor in your apartment?" She asked softly.

"I already told you." Owen said, a bit snappy. "Trying to get her to eat."

Claire stared for a moment longer before straightening up. She took a step back. "Why here?"

Owen shrugged. "Dr. Wu didn't want her. So I took her."

Claire sighed and shook her head. "Owen, you can't keep her here."

He rolled his eyes. "Well not forever. Just for a few months until she gets bigger and stronger and I can confirm that the raptor paddock is adequate."

Claire stared at him again, this time trying to gauge how serious he was. "This is crazy!" She finally said.

"The rest died." Owen said softly, glancing back at Claire. "What if this works?"

Claire breathed out and shook her head slowly. "Owen, this goes against all protocols..."

"Look at her!" Owen said, turning and holding her out towards Claire. Lala let out a tiny chirp. "She's tiny right now. What hard can she really do in a couple months?"

"She'll get bigger." Claire argued.

"But not for a while." Owen protested. "Just give me a couple months."

Claire shook her head again and turned. She stalked across the small apartment, still shaking her head. "This is ridiculous. But... fine."

Lala did grow and get bigger. She followed Owen around like a duckling following its mother. It was great! Everything was perfect!

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Owen stared blankly at his hands in his lap. He clenched and unclenched those hands, moving and flexing his fingers and staring. Trying to concentrate. He just… he couldn't… But… He just couldn't believe it. "She was fine two days ago." He said softly, his voice barely a whisper.

Dr. Wu shook his head dismissively. "I told you not to get attached." He said bluntly.

Owen jumped up without thinking. He grabbed Dr. Wu's collar and shook the man hard. "Stop talking about her like she's some sort of science experiment!" He snapped loudly. Wu pried his hands off easily and stepped back. Owen sunk back in his chair, suddenly defeated again. Four months. Four months, that tiny raptor had been the center of his universe. Four months. She was fine. She was fine.

"They are science experiments, Mr. Grady." Wu said. "This whole island is one giant experiment."

Owen shook his head sadly. "Something you're doing… it's making them weaker… something…" It was easy to blame it on Wu. He didn't want to think it had been something he'd done. Because he honestly had no clue what he was doing. But he thought... he thought he was doing a good job of it.

Dr. Wu turned away from him a moment, concealing a smile. "Well…" He started slowly, composing himself. When he turned back around, his expression was all serious face again. "I've been working on cultivating a new batch of eggs, one that more closely resembles the original Jurassic Park raptors. They'll be… hardier, but more aggressive than the ones we've been dealing with. I think I've come up with… an experimental training program to deal with them…"

Owen stared up at him blankly. he blinked, not completely following what the doctor was saying.

"A way to help you… connect with them." The doctor said softly. "For training."

"Help me train them…" Owen repeated, feeling a bit dazed.

"Help you to help them… to survive." Wu continued.

Owen nodded slowly. Yeah. Surviving sounded good. "What is it?" He asked softly, looking up at Wu.

"Do you trust me?" Wu asked slowly.

"Fuck no." Owen said loudly, shaking his head. "But I'd done anything to keep Lala alive."

Wu smiled. "I hoped you'd say that."

Owen didn't get a chance to puzzle over Wu's crooked smile. He felt a prick in the back of his neck and everything went black.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Author's Notes: I'm a little intimidated by the amount of positive responses and faves/followers/bookmarks/subscribing. Seriously intimidated. SERIOUSLY! I hope you all continue to enjoy it and stick with me.