Author's Note: Hello! Welcome to the most unoriginally-titled chapter. This chapter was originally three times as long but I decided it was best to cut it here for the sake of story pacing. That and I'm unsure of the tone for the next part. If you don't mind spoilers, I need a beta reader or two; one to focus on grammar and spelling because I waste way too much time worrying about it to the point it's taking time out of my actual writing, and secondly, I just need someone to give me feedback on initial reactions to story and tone. I know one of those jobs sounds more fun than the other but someone who can do the editing would speed things along. If you want to help, the best way to reach me is through my discord server but I'll try to reply to comments also.

Speaking of, thank you for all the comments/reviews!

Chapter 11

Chaos Theory

The men at the arena were so kind to her as they realized their guest witnessed everything. One young lady put her stun gun up to hunt for cool bottles of water for both Joanne (and Hoskins when he yelled for one while she was running across the facility) and the pig wrangler.

Joanne could have sworn she heard Barry mutter to Owen something along the lines of "should have let her eat him."

Hoskins' smugness clearly irritated the two researchers.

Owen was understandably a little rattled, but he made a concerted effort to check that she was alright before excusing himself and leaving the facility on his motorcycle. He informed Barry (along with all the rangers and other staff) that he was taking the rest of the day off. No one in their right mind was about to argue with him after what they witnessed.

The raptors sensed when Owen's smell faded and they were visibly disappointed (to her, at least) but they still didn't ask Joanne anything else. She had distractions, so a conversation wasn't likely to happen anyway.

The coddling was sweet but Joanne did eventually put her foot down when Barry offered water and some shade beside the poor boy who practically stumbled into a chair as the adrenaline from a near-death experience finally wore off.

Not much later, Aaron arrived to pick Joanne up and looked very confused as to why everyone was so tense.

"What the hell did I miss?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm sure Joanne will fill you in," Barry joked, although he was clearly a little shaken too. "Er… Madame. You can tell Aaron what happened–he's going to see the report later anyway– but—"

"I supposed that little incident falls under the non-disclosure agreement you had me sign?" she asked.

He huffed. "As soon as the press team gets the report? I'm sure of it."

"Goodness, at this rate I won't have any material left to teach my students!" She slammed her cane down pointedly, although she was still smiling. She was only half joking.

Barry looked suitably contrite. Aaron looked more concerned and confused with a growing alarm thrown in for good measure as he tried to ask for an explanation again.

Barry walked them both back to Aaron's vehicle, opening the door for Joanne and offering his hand to help her in, scolding Aaron for not offering to assist such a beautiful woman.

Aaron put on the show of groaning like a child as if it were his parents flirting.

Joanne snickered through the show. "Mr. Sembène, flattery will get you everywhere ."

"This is harassment, Barry!" Aaron complained past Joanne out the window on her side of the car.

"Oh shush, I don't mind," Joanne waved at Aaron to shush him as Barry laughed.

He leaned on the car and spoke with her through the car door while Aaron rolled his eyes but was unable to fully squash his amusement. " Mademoiselle ," Barry said, putting on all the charm. He cracked a mischievous smirk. "To make up for it, I promise I will make Owen arrange a video call with your students come next semester. Will that make up for it?" He let go as Aaron pointedly started the Jeep.

" J'aimerais vraiment ça, mon chéri ," Joanne said with a wink.

Aaron cracked up laughing as he pulled away from an absolutely stunned Barry. He could see Barry dramatically shaking his fist in the rearview mirror. He was going to get yelled at for not telling the man Ms. Moynihan spoke French.

To be fair, he hadn't known for sure if she spoke anything other than English, but with Ms. Moynihan, it might have been an easier question to ask what language she didn't speak.

"Did you get what you needed?" Aaron asked when they had been driving for a few minutes.

Joanne startled, one finger pausing as she traced the imperfections in the amber at the head of her cane. "Hm?"

Aaron nodded at her camera bag. "Your pictures. Did Barry let you keep any?"

"Oh yes. Very kind of him. I had to sign that non-disclosure form, of course. "

"They don't really want civilians to see them in a lot of detail, or at all." Aaron chuckled. "But I think Owen liked you. We bent a few rules, letting you take photos for your students. The raptors are not really… uh…exhibits. Not yet at least." He trailed off awkwardly but kept his eyes on the road.

"I suspected," Joanne said. She eyed her former student.

Eventually, she said, "They're considering those raptors for military applications, aren't they?"

Aaron looked uncomfortable. He checked that he turned his radio off and turned the air conditioner fan up as high as possible. He also rolled the windows down. It made the air conditioner pointless, but he preferred temporary heat to possibly being listened in on from some company-installed microphone he didn't know about. "That's the unspoken idea. On paper, they're just supposed to study their intelligence and eventually there will be an exhibit showcasing it, but everyone who's been around there for more than a few minutes figures something else is going on. Owen has been fighting Hoskins about it for months. He was originally on board but well…I guess Owen changed his mind sometime in the past six years."

"What an unpleasant man," Joanne commented with a hum. "This Hoskins. Not Owen. I had the misfortune of overhearing him while Barry was giving me a tour."

Aaron groaned. "Sorry about that. I know you don't really like the military."

"Not necessarily," Joanne said, her voice a little distant. "I've simply…just seen too many wars, Aaron. Nearly always for unworthy reasons."

Aaron wondered what would be a worthy reason to her but he knew better than to ask her opinions on human history.

"He's just doing his job. I suppose. But he can be very…stubborn about it." Aaron decided to change the subject. "Anything exciting happen?"

"Quite. One of the workers fell into the enclosure."

Aaron stiffened and gripped the steering wheel. "What?!"

"Watch the road, dear. He was fine," Joanne assured. "Poor boy was shaken. It could have ended…poorly." She tapped her finger again and glanced out the window. "Mr. Grady is very lucky his raptors respect him as they do, especially the eldest. I wasn't expecting that."

The awkward silence stretched between them again and Joanne patiently let Aaron squirm as he struggled to balance his curiosity with his desire not to cross into a topic too sensitive. He was sweating.

Joanne took some guilty amusement in such behavior. Her students often danced around personal questions about her in much the same way. It was sweet and considerate of them and she was perfectly fine with being a target of their curiosity. However, she took on the act of balancing the admittedly painful past with the subtle encouragement of their bravery. She really would rather they just ask. If something came up that she did not want to discuss, she would say so. They really wouldn't know what she'd say unless they approached her with an honest hunger to learn. She knew her boundaries.

"Did you…uh…" Aaron trailed off. "Did you, you know, talk to them?"

"I'm afraid not."

It was awkwardly quiet for a moment.

"Ms. Moynihan…"

"Yes, Aaron?"

Aaron further took a longer moment to decide whether he wanted to ask or not. "Why did you really want to see the Velociraptors?" He glanced at her.

"I'm not entirely sure myself, lad," Joanne admitted.

Aaron fidgeted. "Ms. Moynihan. I respect you. Probably more than anyone else on the planet, except my parents—."

"I'm flattered," Joanne chuckled.

"I think…you came all the way out here just for them ," Aaron blurted out. "But that's not all. I think you…want to befriend them." He was so anxious. He swallowed. "But…I don't know how that's going to work, Ms. Moynihan."

She didn't respond, which didn't calm him down.

"If…if you're going to ask me to help you get close to the raptors. Or…help you steal them…" he glanced at her in worry, then away before he could see whatever her expression was. "I…I don't think I can do that." He said it softly, plaintive and apologetic. "And it's not just because I'm afraid of losing my job. Or getting sued. O-or even going to jail…" He winced. "Well, maybe a little . But those…"

He paused. "Ms. M…Blue and the others are animals. They aren't like you, unless you know otherwise. They aren't made for this world. I mean, I guess they are, but…you know what I mean. Hoskins is an idiot if he thinks they can take orders like a trained dog. Owen knows that."

"Aaron," Joanne interrupted. "You don't need to worry. I would never put you at risk. I know how much you love it here. I know how much good you do. Look how far you've come." She smiled proudly. "You were very modest to my students."

Aaron internally groaned, knowing he was suddenly in for some motherly needling.

She smirked. "You didn't mention how important you are. You're responsible for planning the diets of all the dinosaurs here. Not just the carnivores. That's nothing to sneeze at."

Aaron shook his head dismissively. "Ms. Moynihan…the only reason I got the promotion was because I figured out the herbivores weren't digesting grass properly." He looked at her pointedly as he reminded her. He liked the secret joke of discussing grass with his high school teacher, especially when she brought up the subject as if the conversation never happened. It had been an important conversation. "And I only knew that because I called you and asked what your thoughts were, and you told me grass didn't exist back then. No one even considered that! Don't give me too much credit. I feel like a fraud to my bosses most days."

"Don't be ridiculous," Joanne scolded him. "You're the one who came up with the plan for more fern and conifer supplements in the feed. You used the resources available." She laughed. "One of which just so happens to be your old high school teacher."

"Who is a dinosaur. In the least metaphorical sense of the word," Aaron retorted. He glanced at his radio out of paranoia to make sure that it was off. "My point is…" He shook his head. "Are you okay?"

"Pardon?" Joanne was a little caught off guard by the question.

"You…I'm just a little worried. About you."

Ms. Moynihan suddenly stiffened, turning her head toward the open window as the trees whipped by. She inhaled sharply.

Aaron winced, regretting everything and worried he had overstepped. He didn't want to upset her, but he was worried. "Are you worried about these dinosaurs? Are you upset at seeing those raptors in cages?" He steeled himself, feeling like a twelve-year-old again as he cautiously asked. "...Don't you miss—"

"Aaron ."

"I'm just asking..."

"Aaron!"

Aaron barely saw a flash of ashy white scales before something collided with his jeep, sending them rolling down an incline off the road.

Note: Oops. I guess you and Aaron both got a little blindsided. I hope everyone is suitable worried. :)