I feel like this chapter is a mess. It only went through umpteen different iterations before my tired brain settled on this version. I apologize for any OOC-ness it may have. I didn't know what else to do it after working on it daily since posting the last chapter...

*Note* - No, I'm not dead. I've been busy with work, trying to finish a 2nd original story to get published into a book along with just life stuff. The next chapter is 1/2 way written. I keep trying to work on it but at this point, it's just forcing content I'm not in the proper mindset for and it keeps feeling terribly off...


PREPARATIONS

15 – Getting Under the Skin

A thin black straw was used by a clawed hand to stir a yellowish pink drink in a short alcohol glass. The straw was held against the rim and a swig taken. Pet smacked her lips and readjusted a headset's moveable microphone back in front of her face. She was kicked back in the yacht's comfortable office chair and working on the computer. Two of the three monitors were turned on, the far left displaying a file pertaining to a Microceratus. The middle screen had two text documents open side by side to each other.

Pet opened her mouth to continue where she left off, using a speech to text program but stopped. A helicopter could be heard approaching the yacht. She knew exactly who it was and rolled her eyes. She'd only mentally prepared herself for the awaited confrontation with Simon since she decided to stay in Costa Rica.

Terrence's form filled the office's doorway with an annoyed look on his face. "You might want to consider getting out of Masrani's office before he finds you in here, making yourself at home."

The hybrid hissed a faint screech. "Does it look like I give a shit?"

"You shouldn't even be in here in the first place! The door was locked. For. A. Reason!" Pet winced at Terrence's articulated last words. She set her glass down on the desk long enough to stir its contents, again, before taking another drink. Terrence shook his head in extreme disapproval. "Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

He knew she was testing his patience in just one of the many ways she did. If that's how she was going to be, he'd just play her little 'get under the skin' game right back at her. "You know what! Since Hoskins dropped the bomb last week, you've been pretty damn rude and inconsiderate to Masrani. He has done nothing but bend over backward to help you since before saving you off that island last year, washed up and half dead!"

A single sickle claw's tip tapped the floor. "I see. You're on Team Simon's side."

"I'm on nobody's side," Terrence curtly said. "I'll agree, he should've come forward with the truth as soon as he found out. At the same time, seeing how you're acting about it, now, I can understand why he didn't." Pet's nostrils flared, and her upper lip twitched with a threatening curl. It seemed Terrence was doing a better job at getting under one's skin than what Pet was. No sense in stopping. "It's got me wondering what your real problem is."

Pet slowly drawled, "Please, enlighten me," snorting, "Dr. Mitchell." Since he was going to act like a psychologist, she was going to address him as such.

Terrence knew the more he angered the hybrid, the more he was walking on eggshells. It was just a question of how far he could go before those shells broke. "Are you doing this because of the real reason for your creation?"

Pet cocked her head to the side. "I thought that was pretty fucking obvious."

He cocked a sideways smirk. "Or are you pissed because you weren't told sooner?" Blue-green eyes turned amber-green. Time to break those shells. "Or maybe…could it possibly be you're just trying to find any excuse possible to hate Masrani because it's easier than accepting the reasons why you care for him?" And there went the shells. The hybrid's aggression levels spiked through the roof. She screeched a growl as she slammed her hand down on the desk, still clutched around the glass. "If you're going to hate someone for your temper tantrum, then hate Jacobs! He's the one who accepted the bribe to create you!" Terrence knew if Pet wasn't in the condition she was in, she'd have leaped over that desk and disemboweled him right there on the spot. He wasn't about to stop, though. He was on a roll. "Masrani kept the secret from you for the little while that he did to protect you! Jacobs kept the secret from you since your birth to protect himself!" Terrence scoffed. "Think about that." He left the office in the direction of the stairwell going topside.

Pet listened to the helicopter land and clenched her jaw so tightly, it was a wonder how she didn't break a tooth. She stared at the small splashes of her drink on the desk's polished surface, where she slammed her glass down.

The door down the hallway that led to the outside opened, Terrence's distant voice saying, "She's in the office."

Brisk, heavy footsteps driven with a purpose neared closer to the office. Then they stopped in the doorway where Simon stood, eyes emblazoned and posture rigid with anger. "You better have a damn good explanation for why you're still here!"

The smells of his stress and anger were more prominent to the hybrid than his expensive cologne. Pet wasn't sure why this bothered her. She'd spent plenty of time around people when upset, and with her most of all. Before, she had this moment planned and a perfectly worded speech written out in her head. Then, Terrence knocked her attitude down a few pegs. The last person she would have ever imagined stepping up and calling her out on her shit was the seemingly all too happy go, lucky man.

Pet couldn't meet Simon's stare, expectant of an answer. She shook her head at the two monitors displaying her progress. "Working of all things."

Simon stepped more into the office and to the front of the desk. "You were told to go back to America! The deal is off!" He waved both hands in the air in front of him. "I no longer require your assistance!"

Pet couldn't recall ever seeing the wealthy man so out of character with rage. "You think I chose to stay for just you? You're sending the only people I've ever really known as a family to that island! Robert, Derek, Terrence, Roland…even Paul. They risked their lives to be there for me when things were at their worst! Yes, I want to go spend the rest of my days with Alan, but that can wait. Making sure my family is safe on that island is the most important thing to me right now."

He couldn't do it. He couldn't stay mad at her. For the past thousands of air miles, Simon had overstressed himself with the hybrid's thoughtlessness to his gesture of voiding their deal. All so she could be happy, not immediately aware of the compromising situation he was placing her in. Having to choose between her family's safety or enjoy her own happily ever after had to be a difficult decision. A deep breath was inhaled, and a slow one slowly breathed out. Now that he was hot under the collar from being so livid and on the verge of losing all his patience, he needed to cool off and calm down.

Simon shed his navy-blue suit coat and tossed it over the printer sitting on its desk nearby. "You could have at least had the courtesy of calling me to discuss this. I would have understood and accepted your decision."

Pet felt like absolute crap with guilt. "Yeah, I should have. I get that now, and I'm sorry I didn't. My mind was just so worked up thinking about this project I started that…that I actually didn't think to call."

The cuffs of long grey shirt sleeves were unbuttoned and rolled up to the mid-forearm. "What project is there to work on that requires you to break into my office and use my computer? Who even logged you on?"

Pet almost blurted out what could have been mistaken as an insensitive answer. Instead, she answered with, "The password wasn't difficult to figure out." After she said it, she realized that it sounded just as bad as her originally planned response. "I mean, it was kind of obvious." Still didn't sound any better, and she facepalmed herself.

Simon was even more flustered, this time for a completely different reason.

Pet took another drink from her glass to quell her jittery nerves. It was only her fourth mixed drink within the hour, not to feel a damn thing. Sometimes a high alcohol tolerance wasn't always the best.

She lazily pointed at the middle monitor. "I was doing it for you, actually, and to help educate any inexperienced newbies planning on working directly with the animals. I know InGen already had a species list in their drive's folder, but after looking it over, I felt it could use some improvements."

Simon stepped around the desk and seated woman to stand behind her. "So…" He rested one hand on his hip and the other across the tall back of the office chair. "You not only invaded my privacy by breaking into my office and used my computer without my permission, but you also took it upon yourself to abuse my security clearance to access company files, too." Pet sunk deeper into the chair, wishing she could disappear and whimpered. Was the guilt trip ever going to stop? "All so you could work on something important for the park." Simon looked down at the hybrid, faint traces of a smile, teasing one of the corners of his lips. "I commend your dedication to getting the job done, Ms. Hammond. Just not your methods of achieving it."

In all the ragging and chastising, Pet lost the motivation to even continue her project for the day. "I prefer the direct approach to things if you haven't noticed."

"Oh, I've noticed." Simon leaned over Pet's shoulder a bit more and skimmed through what was briefly written about the topic's current dinosaur. He was halfway through reading about their parental nature when Pet timidly cleared her throat.

"Thank you, by the way…for going public about the Spinosaur."

Simon paused reading midsentence to notice the hybrid's ears glowing red with blush. What he could see of her face matched her ears. "Unless I remember wrong, I agreed that I would."

"As part of the deal, yes…the same deal you null and voided when cutting me loose before going public. Which means, you didn't have to carry through with the press conference in clearing Alan's name." The two people met the other's gaze, Pet trying to smile but failing. The message she was trying to relay still reflected in her glossy eyes.

Simon carefully observed the woman running her left hand's thumb over her vacant ring finger through his peripheral vision. "Just like how you didn't have to come back to continue helping with the corralling."

The woman dropped her head and looked back at the two monitors. "Yeah, well…" her voice trailed off.

She kept fidgeting with her ring finger. To see her without the precious piece of jewelry was unusual. He was sure it felt just as unusual for her to not wear it, given how long she had it. After everything she and her fiancé had experienced together, what it meant to her probably added to its missed absence.

It was Simon's turn to feel the weight of guilt. "You must really love him to go through everything you have for him."

Pet's lips parted with an answer that never came. She bit them together and shrugged her left shoulder. "If someone had told me eleven years ago, I would get to meet the renowned Dr. Grant in real life, I wouldn't have believed them. Even standing there barely three feet from him the first time I saw him, I couldn't believe it. It was the most surreal thing that ever happened to me." Pet faintly laughed. "I remember trying to impress him with my knowledge of raptors. I'm pretty sure I looked and sounded like a shmuck, that day, he just won't tell me."

Simon smiled. "I wouldn't say that. After all, he proposed to you, did he not? You must have impressed him somehow."

Blue-green eyes traced over every claw of her left hand, her right one balling up into a weak fist within the sling at her chest. "I wouldn't say it's because of our first meeting. He used to be afraid of me. How could he not be? Hours after first meeting him, I was tearing into a T-Rex trying to distract it so he and the kids could escape. I was covered head to toe in its blood."

An amused laugh came from the billionaire at the mental image he had. "I have an idea of what was going through his mind at that moment."

"Ehhh, you already knew me and had an idea of what I was capable of when I took into that Spino. Alan didn't know a damn thing about me back then. He only knew me as the nameless junior game warden at the raptor paddock." Pet smiled, her eyes sparkling in delight. "He about lost his mind when I showed up out of nowhere at his dig site." She giggled. "It took him some time to finally warm up to me. Before then, he didn't want me talking to anyone, especially Billy."

That sparkle and girlish smile faded. Her next words sounded heavy with sadness. "Hammond used to do the same thing…hide me away like he was ashamed of me. No talking to the zoo or park guests. Always stay out of peoples' sight, just like how he did that day at the zoo you and your father came to visit. He dismissed me because too many questions were getting asked about me at the time. It took me a little while to understand he did it to protect me, just like Alan did when I first got to the dig site.

"They knew the public would never fully accept me if the masses ever found out what I really was. Don't get me wrong, being at the dig site isn't exactly the best or safest place in the world. But there, I'm almost always overlooked, and that's a good thing…perfect, really. People are more focused on Alan and not so much anyone else. I'm able to hide in plain sight as long as I play it smart."

Pet frowned. "It's why going out with you to dinners and whatnots makes me nervous. You live in the public eye. Anyone who accompanies you stands a chance of drawing curiosity from onlookers. I'm scared someone will eventually find out about my condition and run their mouth. From there, it wouldn't take long to spread like wildfire throughout the news media."

Simon's expression turned concrete. "I'd like to see someone try. You underestimate the power of my legal team, Ms. Hammond. Your condition isn't the first sensitive matter I've had to take protective measures against."

Pet blinked, pondering the man's meaning. "How many other hybrids are you trying to hide?"

He lightly laughed and shook his head. "No others. You are one of a kind. I'm referring to the advancements my company's specialists do in their respective departments. To help keep us ahead of the competition, protective measures must be taken to ensure their research isn't leaked to outside sources."

Pet felt slightly embarrassed. She should've known that and quickly nodded her head. "Right, yeah, of course."

Simon could tell the specifics of managing a diversified corporation weren't her strong suit and that following along was a bit of a blur to her. Animals and the never-ending wonders they had to offer was her specialty.

From what he not only briefly read but could see, the hybrid was pouring everything she knew into revamping the outdated material. "What is the difference between the old list and your new one?"

Pet wanted to keep her explanation simple. The billionaire had little knowledge about the animals he planned to show at his park. Any in-depth explanation might confuse him. He was a businessman, not a zoologist. Not like she was a zoologist, either, but she knew far more about the dinosaurs than he did.

A clawed finger was pointed at the list on the left screen. "InGen's is simple and doesn't go into the very specifics of these animals. Things that I feel are especially important to know. Jurassic Park's senior paleo-veterinarian, Dr. Gary Harding, made the original list based on his observations of the female animals and his hands-on experiences working with them. Stuff like their weight, height, and length from nose to tail during growth cycles and dietary habits.

"While things were still going to pot on Isla Nublar in ninety-three, it was discovered that not all the dinosaurs were female anymore. I don't remember how Alan explained it, exactly, but something about certain frogs being able to change their sex should they find themselves in a same-sex environment. I don't know, it's something like that." She waved her hand in the air to dismiss that thought process. "But anyway, over time, some of the females became males. That, of course, changed a bit of their originally perceived habits. Males and females act differently in some species, and not so much in others. I learned quite a bit of exciting things in my four years living among the animals on Isla Sorna. Things no one knew because no one had ever observed living breathing dinosaurs.

"So, I'm taking what I know and adding it with Dr. Harding's list to make the new animal species guide." Pet pointed at the side by side text documents on the middle screen. "Hopefully, it'll be enough to well educate the newbies. I'm trying to include info like their sounds of communication and their meaning. This goes for both males and females. There are also detailed notes on how to approach these animals during certain scenarios and key parts of the year. Like in the spring, for example, males should be regarded and handled way more cautiously because of mating season." Pet's face went sour. "Come to think about, you picked a hell of a time to corral the dinosaurs. This is the spring." She frowned at the wealthy man appearing a bit concerned. "The males are going to be difficult to manage, especially the Trikes, er, Triceratops."

Aside from the possible problematic issue of working with the male animals, Simon was fascinated with what the hybrid was explaining. He wanted to know everything she knew and how she came about obtaining such knowledge. Was it through life and death situations, or observations from a safe height and distance? Everything Pet said was heard, not a single thing missed. The occasional question would be asked, her answering it the best she could. In the all talking Pet was doing, her mouth was getting dry. She reached for her drink and took another hefty swig of it.

Simon had been observing her taking the occasional drink here and there and shook his head disapprovingly. "You know you're not supposed to drink alcohol while on your pain medications."

The hybrid tapped a claw against the glass. "That's because I'm not any medication. I gave it twenty-four hours after my last prescribed dose before I started drinking."

"How long ago was that?"

Pet tilted her head to the side in thought. "Sometime yesterday afternoon, I think. I wanted to have a few celebratory drinks with the others, so I said screw it. Dr. Carlyle wasn't exactly supportive of the decision, that's for sure."

Simon didn't recognize the pinkish-yellow drink, as it wasn't something the hybrid normally drank. Her preferred choices were either beer, cinnamon whiskey, or strawberry margaritas, all of which were easily identifiable. "What is it?"

"Valerie was hitting them pretty hard yesterday. It was a kamikaze before I mixed peach flavoring in it. Since making the new concoction, Derek has chosen to call it something else a bit more…inappropriate."

Dare he ask? It was probably best not to. "I can only imagine."

"I prefer to call it a peach kamikaze. Want to try it? It's pretty good."

Simon was skeptical as he accepted the glass. He wasn't really too partial to girly froo froo drinks. There was no harm in trying something new, so he sampled a taste. It wasn't bad, but it definitely wasn't his thing, and the glass was handed back to the hybrid. She knew that look and snickered.

Pet, however, wasted no time finishing the rest of it in one gulp. She removed the headset and sat it down on the desk, stating, "I'm going to go see about getting a snack. Feel free to look over what I've done, so far, with the list."

The yacht's crew had been good about leaving an assortment of snacks out for the guests. Small bags of chips, salted peanuts, fresh fruit, various types of candy, and granola bars awaited anyone interested.

Pet tightly grasped the desk and pulled herself up to stand, placing most of her weight on her right foot. The crutch was jammed under her left arm, and she exited the room.


Simon took a seat behind the desk and scrolled the document to the beginning. Line after line was thoroughly read over to absorb every bit of information about his dinosaurs. He stopped to linger on that thought process. His. Dinosaurs. A rush of adrenaline and boyish delight raced through his veins. The moment Hammond broke the news to him about Jurassic Park, he envied the old man. To create and own prehistoric creatures within his company had to be the most incredible feeling in the world. Hammond promised him a VIP tour of the island before it opened to the public.

Just three days before that was to happen, a park employee named Jophrey Brown was killed by a velociraptor. Little did anyone know that was just the start of Jurassic Park's terrible downward spiral. The VIP trip was postponed for a later date, something that would never happen. The islands were made restricted following the famed incident, and Simon left with crushed hopes of ever seeing a living dinosaur.

Simon found himself relating to the hybrid in experiencing a surreal moment. If someone had told him ten years ago, he'd not only own InGen but its bioengineered creations, too, he wouldn't have believed them. He smiled and resumed reading. It didn't last long, though.

Whistling came from down the hallway. A moment later, Derek stated, "Hey, Pet I finished drilling holes in those teeth you asked-" but seeing the billionaire halted his next words on the tip of his tongue. Both men starred at the other questionably. "Gee, Pet, what brown eyes you have." Simon sighed at the younger man. Derek looked around the office. "Where is it?"

"Where is what?"

"Pet's body. Where did you hide it? Did you throw it overboard, already? A few of us kind of had a feeling this would happen when you got back and saw her here."

Simon rubbed his hands over his face and leaned back in the chair. "Was there something important you needed?"

Derek approached the desk, holding up the two Spinosaur teeth. Neat, quarter-inch sized holes near their roots were seen. "I came to give these back to Pet. She wanted me to drill holes in them so she could make them into necklaces." They were set down on the desk beside the empty drink glass. A devious smile filled Derek's chocolate brown eyes.

The wealthy man paid no further mind to the newcomer, choosing to instead continue reading. "Ms. Hammond went to get something to eat. She'll be back shortly."

Derek flicked the side of the glass with the back of his middle finger. "So, uh, did she let you try her peach?" Silent disapproval met his grin. "The drink, I mean. I call it Pet's Peach. The name is so fitting, too. It's got a sour kick, but with just enough peachy sweetness to make it tolerable while never losing its bite."

Growing irritation scrolled through dark brown eyes. "Kya aap kabhee apriy hone par thak jaate hain?" (Do you ever get tired of being obnoxious?)

Derek laughed, shaking his head. "Nope! Logon kee pratikriyaon ko dekhakar yah isake laayak hai!" (Seeing peoples' reactions makes it so worth it!) He knew if he didn't stop, it would be his body getting thrown overboard. "I'll let you get back to whatever it was you were doing. I'm going to go find Pet."


Going to the dining room instantly became one of Pet's top five life mistakes. Situated around one of the tables were Hoskins and two of his men. Judging by the mood and strong scent of testosterone in the air, they were having a man moment by discussing some rather serious business.

Hoskins' brown eyes locked onto the hybrid's shifting amber-green ones. She snorted a bark and went to the snack table. He sneered at the unknowing hybrid and got up to join her. The hairs on the back of Pet's neck stood on end in alert and heightened aggression. "I see Masrani busted you disobeying his order."

The blood in her veins heated up. "He didn't order me."

"Uh, huh." Hoskins slowly nodded his head, sneer deepening. "Just because you think you can do whatever you want when he is or isn't around, doesn't mean you can do the same around me."

Pet's head snapped around to gawk at Hoskins in appall. "Excuse me?"

"Let's get something straight, sweetheart. I don't care what he told you about you being in charge of the corralling. You're not. I am." He pointed to himself. "Me." Hoskins watched as the hybrid's eyes completely changed to a raptor's. "And as long as you're here, you will do what I say. You," he pointed a chubby finger at her, "work for me."

"I don't work for you," was snarled in malice, teeth bared.

Hoskins dryly laughed. "Yes, actually, you do. I'm an employee of this company and the head of its security. You're just an outside consultant."

"Technically, I've been an employee with InGen since I was thirteen."

"Technically," Hoskins stressed, "your employment with InGen was terminated in ninety-three when you were left behind on that island. Don't believe me? Go look up a company employee roster. You're not there. Your pals are, but not you." The hybrid's medium-dark complexion glowed red in rage. "There's a chain of command here. I suggest you adhere to it and start respecting your superiors."

Pet hissed a screech threateningly. "Respect is earned, fat man…not given. You want my respect? Work for it!"

She snatched a bag of nacho chips out of its assortment on the table and turned to leave the room. Standing in its doorway, arms crossed over his chest, was Derek. Pet had no idea how long he'd been standing there. Hoskins' aggressive scent was too overpowering to hardly smell anything or anyone else. Pet hobbled past her close friend when exiting, his form immobile and unblinking scowl centered down on the head of security.

Once she was gone, Derek approached the pleased with himself man eagerly waiting for the confrontation. "You think you're so much better than anyone else here, huh? Just because you have a fancy title. Well, let me clarify something for you since you seemed to have missed the memo. The reason why Ms. Hammond's name isn't on an employee roster is because she works directly for Mr. Masrani. Your boss. Which means, no, she doesn't work for you. She will be working alongside you as an equal in the corralling. Don't like it? Then take it up with the big man."

Pet was already halfway down the hall, unaware of the feud between Derek and Hoskins. All she immediately knew were the angry thoughts tearing her patience into shreds.