Disclaimer: I do not own the Jurassic Park franchise or any of it's characters; I only own the characters and plots of my own mind.
2. Vacation
Gwyn was licking yogurt off her spoon when someone burst through the trailer doors. She had heard the wind kick up outside and presumed that a storm was blowing in, which was unfortunate with all the work they'd done that day. She would have popped out to assist in covering the bones, but she was sure her dad would tell her to get back inside. The youngest Grant froze and watched as the man dressed in white bumbled inside, looking around with a pleased little 'oh!' He was older and on the portly side and carrying a walking stick with a small amber orb fixed on the top. White hair peeked out from under a pale straw hat, and a matching beard was neatly groomed. When his eyes landed on her and peered at her through wire-rimmed glasses, a bright, friendly smile appeared on his face.
"Why, hello!" he said, an unfamiliar lilt gracing his voice.
"Um… hi?" Gwyn asked slowly, lowering her spoon to the countertop on which she sat. She didn't recognize this man, he'd never been on site before. Her brows furrowed and she watched him warily, unsure of what to do or say. "Who… who are you?"
"Oh, of course, how silly of me," the man laughed, stepping forward and extending a hand. "John Hammond." Gwyn carefully slipped her hand into his grasp, her hand significantly smaller than his.
"Gwyn Grant…"
"Oh! You must be Dr. Grant's daughter!" His accent sounded vaguely… Scottish? He also sounded very excitable, and Gwyn wasn't entirely sure what to make of this man. All she did was nod her response and he exclaimed 'excellent!' before he made a beeline for the refrigerator. Gwyn gaped at him, her hand still hanging in mid-air. The man's name sounded vaguely familiar, though she couldn't quite tell; she was mostly confused.
"Sir?" Hammond muttered to himself as he rummaged around the refrigerator. Gwyn hopped off the counter and cautiously approached the white-haired man. "Um, sir? You–you can't be going through our stuff. Sir!"
The door burst open and Gwyn's head whipped around to see her father, looking very peeved, step inside, slamming the door shut. He was coated in a fine layer of dirt that made him look slightly grey in pallor, and made his hair look, literally, sandy blond. Gwyn gestured to the man by the refridgerator with a look of desperation on her face.
"I tried to stop him!" Gwyn exclaimed in exasperation.
"It's okay, just… just come here," Alan said, sounding out of breath. He took hold of Gwyn's wrist with a dusty palm and drew her to his side, eyes trained warily on the man who stood in front of them. "The hell do you think you're doing in here?" Hammond stood straight and turned with a champagne bottle in hand. The cork shot out of the bottle with a loud pop that caused the Grants to jump and duck out of the way as it hit the ceiling. "Hey, we were saving that!"
"For today!" Hammond said with a grin. "I guarantee it!" Alana and Gwyn fixed him with a look so similar that it made the Scotsman giggle. Their eyes were wide and disbelieving and their eyebrows rose at a sharp angle he barely thought possible. "Oh, you truly are father and daughter, aren't you?" With his fatherly instinct kicking into over-drive, Alan pushed Gwyn behind him, a heavy, upset look sitting in his eyes. He then stalked forward a few steps, pointing at the older man menacingly.
"Who in god's name do you you think you are?" he demanded in a low, rumbling voice.
"John Hammond," Hammond wrapped his hand around Alan's pointing finger, shaking it, "and I'm delighted to meet you finally in person, Dr. Grant." Alan's face when slack and the other man laughed as he drew his hand away and blew the dust out of his palm. "So, I can see my fifty-thousand a year has been well-spent!"
"Aha… yeah. This is, ahem, my daughter, Gwyn."
"Yes, we met just moments ago! Very lovely young lady, isn't she?" Hammond beamed and moved on to search through the small cupboards for cups.
"Okay, who's the jerk!?" demanded Ellie, storming inside. She whipped off her hat and allowed her blond locks to tumble around her angered face. Alan lunged for the blond paleobotanist and placed a hand on her arm with a wide-eyed look and a stiff smile.
"This here is our paleobotanist, Dr.––"
"Sattler," she finished.
"––Sattler."
"Ellie, this is, uh, Mr. Hammond."
Of course, Gwyn thought as Ellie stumbled forward with her mouth agape, Hammond––the Hammond who's funding the dig. While Hammond apologized for his 'dramatic entrance' and Ellie giggled nervously over her use of the word 'jerk,' Alan smiled down at Gwyn and ushered her towards the door.
"Why don't you step outside for a bit?"
"But that's…" Gwyn pointed at Hammond with surprise on her face. "He's…"
"John Hammond," Alan agreed, popping the door open to continue ushering her out. "Which means this is probably business."
"Right… yeah, right," Gwyn stuttered, practically tripping out of the trailer. Alan quickly snatched up her notebook and a couple pencils––unsure of which ones were actually sharpened––and handed them to his daughter with a tentative, unsure look.
"Why don't you… um… you can go…" he scratched at the back of his head, at a loss for words. The dig was on hold till Hammond left, since his helicopter had nearly recovered a quarter of their work, and there wasn't much for a child to do in the middle of, well, the Badlands. Gwyn blinked up at him, saw his struggle and offered a very small smile, one so faint Alan was convinced she might have been sad.
"It's alright, I'll find something to do." Gwyn tugged the door shut and strode out from the trailer's awning, scratching the back of her neck. She froze when she spotted the helicopter and a number of disgruntled, dirt covered paleontologist. "No way…" Well, that explained the sudden 'wind storm' that had kicked up a couple minutes ago.
Gwyn snatched her father's straw fedora off the picnic table and sat it on top of her own head, the brim of it sliding down till it sat flat just above her eyebrows. Flicking her notebook open again, she sighed and pressed her curled fist into her cheek. Most of the pages were filled with dig notes, properly labeled by date and what specimen number the notes were on. The notes were detailed, and only three quarters of them were what her father said––the other quarter were own observations. Scattered around the notes were drawings, some of them better than others, and little snippets of what she'd been thinking. It was like a patchwork journal. Most of it was work, but some of it was play; such as the sketches she'd done detailing flat grass lands and a number of grazing herbivores.
After attempting a couple sketches and writing down the strange path the day had taken, Gwyn resigned to lying flat on her stomach on the bench, using pebbles to make curling, indistinct patterns. She had become great friends with boredom. They greeted each other kindly whenever it rolled around and Gwyn had a great set of activities stored away in her head to keep herself occupied in such times. While paleontology was great fun, especially when she was allowed to actually do something, down time was like to happen. Just when she was about to give up and decided to take a nap, the trailer door opened and the three inside exited. Ellie and Alan shook Hammond's hand with grateful, bright grins, a look he enthusiastically returned. Hammond turned to make for the helicopter, waving at Gwyn as he went.
"I shall see you soon, dear girl!" he called out to her giddily. Her lips quirked into a half smile that was filled with confusion while she gave a wave. Ellie and Alan talked feverishly for a couple minutes and then shared a tight hug that ended when Ellie dashed for her tent. Everything was plunged into a whirlwind of sand for a couple of moments as the helicopter made to take off, soaring into the afternoon sky.
"Gwyn, come on," Alan said, gesturing towards himself. She sat up, grabbed her notebook and pencils, and made a beeline for her father. The first thing he did was smirk and pluck the hat off her head before it drifted into her eyes. As he settled it onto his own, the smirk turned into a frown when he saw the bright red pigment that colored the back of Gwyn's neck. Holding her shoulders, he turned her back to face him, moving her braid of messy sandy blond hair out of the way. "Oh, honey, did you not put a hat on?"
"Yeah."
"You burned pretty bad… the back of your neck looks like a lobster," he grumbled before he slipped an arm over her shoulders. He started to lead her towards their tent. "Remember what I always say?"
"Paleontologists never work in the shade," they said at the same time. Gwyn sighed and let her head loll back against Alan's forearm, wincing as her neck protested the movement with a sharp sting.
"I know…"
"They also wear sunscreen."
"Dad."
"What?" he chuckled, smiling down at her. "I'm supposed to pester you, I'm your father." Gwyn smiled and leaned into his side, causing him to diverge from a straight path, which made them both laugh. Once they approached their tent, Alan unzipped the flap and gestured her inside. "Pack up your stuff––some of it, at least. A couple changes of clothes, maybe your bathing suit. A raincoat, definitely. Your camera… notebook. But pack lightly, try to keep it to a single duffel."
"What? Why?" she asked, one foot inside the tent.
"We're leaving for the weekend," Alan announced with a smile. She gaped at him. That was the only description of the look she was giving him; her mouth was dropped open, her eyes were wide, and there was a slight pinch forming between her brows.
"Why?"
"Well, we haven't really taken a family trip anywhere in…"
"Five years."
"Right, five years. You see, Mr. Hammond has this… park on an island just off Costa Rica. He's asked Ellie and I––and you, in fact––to come be three of the first guests. He's asked me to endorse it, actually, offered to fund the dig for three more years." Gwyn's brows shot towards her hairline and her mouth dropped open again in shock. "And I also thought that… it might be fun to get away for a weekend. We don't get to spend much time together anymore and, though it technically is a business trip… it's gonna be fun."
"So… like a… vacation?" Gwyn inquired slowly, fighting to keep a smile off her face till her suspicion was confirmed. There was an excited glimmer in Alan's eyes, something she loved to see. With a smile, Alan nodded and placed both hands on his hips.
"Yeah. Like a vacation."
With an excited squeal, Gwyn launched herself forward and flung her arms around her father's chest. She hugged him tightly, face pressed into his plaid shirt that smelled like earth, sweat, and the remainders of detergent. Alan chuckled and wound his arms around her, ducking his head so he could press a kiss to the top of her head. Vacations were a foreign concept for the Grant family. Alan was almost always working, and Gwyn's school vacations were typically spent on site. Their form of vacation was more than two weeks at home or maybe popping out for an evening to go have dinner at a restaurant or see a movie. Alan regretted not being able to spend much time with his daughter and knew that it put a certain strain on their relationship; and it was hard to admit there was a strain, especially since she was so young. But to see her so excited made his heart swell.
"I will have to work for a little bit, but…"
"I don't care!" Gwyn giggled, jumping back and bouncing on the balls of her feet. "We're going on vacation! We get to spend time together! A–and Ellie'll be there, and… we need to pack!" She very nearly dove into the tent and started rummaging through her stuff, keeping in mind they were going somewhere tropical. Alan chuckled and followed her inside, rubbing her back as he knelt down beside her.
OOOO
It was decided they would be flying to Isla Nublar via helicopter once they'd hopped over to Costa Rica via plane. When Gwyn, Alan, and Ellie arrived at the airfield, they were greeted by Hammond, who ushered them into helicopter excitedly. Hammond, Alan, and Ellie took up one set of seats and that left Gwyn to sit beside someone else. He was a balding man who looked like he was dying in the Costa Rican heat, and was seated beside a tan, curly haired man dressed all in black. Gwyn looked at the man beside her and gave him a once over. He looked miserable even while wearing shorts, which was probably attributed to the fact that he was wearing a blazer and a button down done up to the neck. Gwyn settled herself in beside him and removed her black backpack and put it at her feet. She extended her hand to him as the doors shut and the pilot began a systems check. The man stared at her hand distastefully and then gave her a look that made her think she could very-well be an alien.
"I'm Gwyn," she introduced. He slowly took hold of her hand with a downturn present on his lips. If she guessed right, he wasn't very fond of kids.
"Gennaro. Mr. Gennaro," he replied stiffly, not bothering to give his first name. The man beside Gennaro snorted and leaned forward, fixing him with a look.
"She's a kid, not a wild animal." Then, with a smile that could only be described as charming, he extended his hand to Gwyn. "Dr. Ian Malcolm." Gwyn returned the smile and shook his hand.
"Gwyn Grant."
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Gwyn. I take it this is your father?" Ian turned to Alan, proffering his hand again. The helicopter shook as it took off, causing everyone to grab hold of something till it all went stable again; Ian held out his hand to Alan a second time, now that they were airborne.
"Dr. Alan Grant," he introduced, shaking the man's hand.
"I see we have two doctors in the house," Ian chuckled before turning his attentions on Ellie, smiling that charming smile again. "And you would be?" Ellie smiled and shook his hand.
"Dr. Ellie Sattler."
"Oh, three then. How exciting. Now… are you both paleontologists?" Ian flicked a finger between the two of them as he reclined in his seat. Already done with the conversation, Gennaro sighed and listed to the side, sinking his head down to rest on his fist. He tried to make himself as small as possible as not to touch the two people he sat between, much to Gwyn's silent amusement.
"I'm a paleobotanist, more specifically, but, yes," Ellie replied, crossing her legs. Ian stroked his chin and then fixed the fit of his glasses, each of his movements as languid as a moving cat.
"How 'bout you, Gwyn? Are you a, uh, paleo-something-or-other?"
"One day," Gwyn said, leaning forward so she could see Ian. He chuckled, clapped, and pointed at her, nodding slowly.
"I like the way you think, kid. Looking forward to the future."
"Oh, god…" Gennaro sighed, looking slightly ill.
Conversation lapsed into silence for a short while, which left Gwyn to peer out of the helicopter windows. They were speeding above the ocean, which glittered beneath them as they sped towards the island. Hammond had yet to actually inform them of what the park actually was––or, at least, the small group of paleontologists had no clue––and they were getting antsy to see what exactly it was. Alan, Ellie, and Gwyn were all dressed in clothes worthy of working on a dig site, which were comfortable and easy to wear on many an occasion. Alan had taken to playing with the raptor claw he'd brought with him from the site, turning it over and over in his hands, slipping his fingers over the fossilized keratin.
"So, you two dig up dinosaurs?" Ian continued on, gesturing to Alan and Ellie again. Ellie laughed gently and looked down at her hands.
"Well…" she trailed off. Alan looked up and offered a fleeting smile.
"We try to."
Ian dissolved into a small fit of laughter, chewing on some gum he'd popped into his mouth a couple of moments before. Hammond gestured to the laughing fellow.
"You'll have to get used to Dr. Malcolm. He suffers from a deplorable excess of personality. Especially for a mathematician," Hammond said with a cluck of his tongue.
"Chaotician. Chaotician. John doesn't subscribe to chaos, particularly what it has to say about his little science project," Ian corrected and informed, popping another piece of gum into his mouth before tossing one Gwyn's way with a wink. She smiled and caught it in both her hands, stretching her legs out to rest atop her father's. He arched an eyebrow and she matched the look with a brighter smile, placing the gum in between her molars.
"Codswallop, Ian!" Hammond dismissed. "You've never come close to explaining these concerns of yours about this island!"
"I certainly have. Very clearly. Because of the behaviour of the system in phase space," Ian immediately listed off, as though it were the simplest sentence in the world. Hammond waved him off and splayed a hand into the air.
"A load, if I may say so, of fashionable number crunching, that's all it is!" Ian began to poke at the older man's knee petulantly with a smirk on his lips.
"John, John, J––" His hand was swatted away.
"Don't do that!"
Alan's eyes widened as he stared at Dr. Malcolm from under the brim of his hat. He was acting more like a young child than Gwyn had ever displayed. He was acting the annoying, petulant, disruptive child that Alan detested, the kind the Gwyn never had been. Gwyn, who barely understood a work Ian said, was giggling quietly at his behavior, ducking her head to hide her smile.
"Dr. Sattler, Dr. Grant, you've heard of chaos theory?" Ian asked, turning his attention to the paleontologists again.
"No," Ellie admitted as Alan remained silent.
"No? Nonlinear equations, strange attraction?" Again, Ellie shrugged, which prompted Ian to smile again. "Dr. Sattler, I refuse to believe that you aren't familiar with the concept of attraction." Ellie smiled down at her hands and then glanced over at Alan, who was rolling his eyes and shaking his head. She subtly slipped her hand into his to give it a tight squeeze, something that Gwyn noticed and smiled about.
"I bring scientists, you bring a rock-star," Hammond said pointedly to Gennaro. Gennaro looked like he was about to protest, but Hammond, with a gleam in his eye, pointed out the window. "There it is!"
Everyone turned to look out the window on the right hand side of the helicopter, gazing out at the island they approached. Isla Nublar wasn't horribly large, but it wasn't tiny either. Waves broke against the shore and the rocks that lined it, and mist clung to the lush forests that seemed to cover the entirety of it. The helicopter banked to the right and flew them towards a divide between two mountains, taking them closer to their destination. Gwyn stared out the window in utter awe, an unerasable grin stretched across her face. Everything was lush and green and dense, and it made her wonder just what was running around beneath all that foliage and just what sort of park it was that Hammond was openning. Alan watched her with a small smile on his face, glad to see her so excited and so happy. He slipped his sunglasses on and adjusted the bandana around his neck, already feeling the humidity. They hovered in one spot for a moment, just above a gushing waterfall that splattered into a small pool at the bottom. Next to said pool was a helicopter landing pad. Suddenly, the helicopter lurched downwards slightly.
"Bad wind sheers!" Hammond announced. "We have to drop pretty fast. So hold on, this can be just a little thrilling." As if on cue, the helicopter dropped suddenly, causing everyone to jump. Ellie squeaked a little and Alan grabbed onto her knee for balance. "Yah-hoo!"
Gwyn gripped onto the edge of her seat, scrambling to put on the provided seat belt. Gennaro skittishly followed her lead, looking as though he very well may throw up. Everyone followed suit in varying degrees of calmness; Alan discovered that his seatbelt was just two clipping mechanisms, and no locking one. He sighed quietly as Hammond informed him of where the correct one was, and that, as he struggled, they would have landed before he got it right. So Alan settled with tying the two buckles into a knot around his waist, much to his daughter's amusement. He arched an eyebrow and playfully kicked her foot, which she returned with equally gentle force.
Once they'd landed, they all piled out, with Ellie donning her sunglasses, and Alan removing his hat so it wouldn't fly off. Gwyn slung her bag over one shoulder and turned around in a circle, staring at her surroundings. She had never been anywhere tropical before, and she felt as though she were in some tv show or another. The helicopter blades still spun overhead, whipping around her hair, which fell loose around her shoulders. The heat was stifling, nothing like she'd ever experienced, even in the middle of summer. Sweat was forming on her spine already, and gathering at the nape of her neck. The air smelled of foliage and dew, humidity and rain. It smelled exactly what she would have thought a jungle would smell like. After taking in her fill––for the moment––Gwyn followed her father, Ellie, and Ian to the open top jeeps that had been provided for transport. They were painted tan and red and the doors were embossed with the silhouette of a Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton and the words 'Jurassic Park.' Before Gwyn could question what on earth that meant, he was ushered into the jeep by a park attendant wearing a pink polo shirt. She was seated in the back of the vehicle between Alan and Ian, which was a bit of a squeeze, but it worked. Ellie sat in the front, unfolding a map as the jeeps roared to life and pushed them forward into the jungle laden lands before them.
Afterword: And there's chapter two! I'm very, very happy so many of you seem interested in this story; I've got a certain love for this story that I just can't explain, and am unbelievably happy/flattered so many of you are interested in it!
Review Replies!
Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967: I'm glad you've enjoyed it thus far; hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks again!
d0 it like a dude: I like writing Alan in dad mode, mostly because he doesn't really seem to realize that he's slipped into it. And it's interesting getting to write Gwyn as a younger child, you know? I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks again!
CarlyJo: Aw, thank you, so much! It means a lot that you enjoy my style of writing. I've been working writing characters, and am glad it's paying off! I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!
InfinityMars: I feel like Alan as a dad is unexpectedly cute. 'Cause he totally doesn't think he's fit to be a father, but he totally, actually is. It's all pure instinct to him, but he doesn't realize how good of a father he is yet. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks again!
jessica18971: Super happy you've enjoyed thus far! I hope you enjoyed the new chapter! Thanks again!
And thank you to those who added this to their favorites/follows; it means a lot!
And that's all for now! Next up we delve into the Park, and the excitement begins. We get more Dad!Alan moments, and I just love writing those. I hope to get the next chapter up fairly soon, since I have a good portion of the third chapter up. Anyway, thank you all for taking the time to read! You all rock!
~Mary