A/N

Hey guys!

I meant for this chapter to be a little longer, but I decided I just wanted this chapter to focus on Small One. Not sure if a warning is needed, but I suppose you can be warned to brace for the plucking of heart strings, but in a good way!

Please enjoy, and I thank each and every single one of you for your reviews and criticism!

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"A Second Chance for Small One."

Elise crooned happily at the small, wooden box with Small One inside. Elise didn't feel like hunting the goat with Rexy this time, but maybe after her next show. Dr. Grant had left with Tim to see Rexy, but they promised to come back; Dr. Grant wanted to look at Elise's teeth again when Judge Marie came back.

The large talons pushed the squeaky bone a little closer to the box, and Elise began to talk about Dr. Grant. Small One thought it was funny how he smelled like dirt, but she liked him as well. She liked the squeaky bone, and she was happy Owen could make sounds like the raptors.

Elise had decided to create a new shelter for Small One under the false log. Small One liked to hear all the people, and she liked the children too. She was happy Elise had made new friends.

They were both happy their new home wasn't silent like the old one.

Small One had even grown brave enough to sleep here without Elise because she liked hearing the nesting birds in the nearby trees, and the chirping crickets singing under the starry night. She wasn't alone in a tiny paddock; she felt better here.

She didn't even mind sleeping in a box, but Elise had learned how to take the lid off on nice days like today.

Elise turned her gaze away from Small One to glance at the sleeping raptors in the lush ferns. They were content to nap the day away after all the excitement, and Elise was happy they were here; she didn't want them to leave. She liked talking with Blue, and Delta was very friendly; Echo was more serious and quiet.

Elise could hear Owen cleaning the room with what he called a broom. It was a useful tool, and Elise wondered when humans had begun to hate dirt. She had no problem with it, and she didn't understand why it was no longer welcome in the human buildings.

She turned her gaze back to the wooden box, and began to talk about Rexy. Small One was happy she was a good mother, and Elise was learning many things from the elder dinosaur. Her roar was growing more fearsome, and Elise had been mimicking the fiery gaze when no one else was around.

Elise wanted to be like Rexy.

But a part of her was happy to be in a pack. Rexy was a terrifying dinosaur, but she didn't do a lot of talking. Elise wasn't sure if it was because of her personality or age, but Elise was happy to talk to others.

It felt more natural when she talked with the Velociraptors.

The white Indominus gave a quiet sigh; so much had happened in so little time. She couldn't believe how much her life had changed for the better; she truly thought she would die next to her sister's mossy cave one day.

She was sure no one would ever find her massive bones; they would be too afraid to come inside. Elise thought the weeds and grass would eat her away until she became stuck to the earth like Small One.

It had made her very mad because she thought the humans had left her to die alone.

She was ashamed to admit she had reacted out of anger. Owen made her realize she had been wrong. She didn't regret killing any of the humans, but she did regret all the pain she had caused other dinosaurs.

Elise was sorry for attacking the hard shells in the jungle; it was wrong to fight them without reason.

Elise deeply regretted hurting the lumbering longnecks who didn't even put up a fight when she slashed them.

Elise was remorseful that she had used Blue and her sisters; she would never be able to justify Charlie's death.

Her only reason for causing so much pain was the need to spread the misery. Elise had been tired of shouldering the burden of isolation alone. She had left a hard shell alive, and a longneck. She had wanted them to feel alone; it had hurt so much to be singled out for no reason she could see. Why were the hard shells allowed to graze together when she could no longer gather soft ferns with her sister? Why had the longnecks been given vast plains to call their own when she was caged in like something the world didn't want to see? Why had the humans been willing to work with other, dangerous, intelligent creatures, but not her?

Elise knew she could have taken the humans on herself, but she had wanted them to know terror. She wanted them to be hunted down like the prey they were. Their only strength lied in intelligence and numbers when the shiny weapons became useless.

She had wanted them to know how low on the food chain they really were.

Elise briefly glanced up when she heard Owen talking to the voice on his radio. She wondered what would have happened if Owen hadn't tried to make peace with her. Would she have killed all the humans? Would Blue and her sisters been able to overwhelm her? Elise didn't think so, but she wondered what Claire would have done to stop her.

Claire wasn't afraid to ask Rexy for help when dinosaurs got out of control. She wondered if Claire would have asked Rexy to help fight. Elise couldn't picture herself fighting Rexy; it felt wrong.

Elise didn't think she would be alive if Owen hadn't helped her. She actually hadn't had a plan for the aftermath of her rampage. Elise figured she would have gone back to her paddock to tell Small One the world wasn't very nice. Elise would have lied so Small One wouldn't have felt bad for never getting past the walls. Elise would have lied about the world so she herself wouldn't regret soaking the earth with crimson.

And Elise was sure she would have allowed herself to rot next to her small sister until, once again, they would look like one another. Amber bones with moss to blanket them on colder nights.

But Elise wouldn't have had anyone to build a cave over her remains to shelter from harsh storms.

A warm laugh from the false log lifted Elise from her depressing thoughts because now she had someone. Now the world was splashed in a dazzling array of brilliant colors. The wind was a comforting caress rather than a cold chill, the creatures were friends to be made instead of reminders of her loneliness, and the deep jungles a place to explore instead of a place to hunt.

The world was beautiful.

Elise wanted to share the beauty with everyone; especially Owen. He was her human, and every day he deserved to see nothing but the beauty of the world. She may be his sunshine, but he was her entire world.

Owen gave her a second chance; she would make him proud.

Elise slowly rose to peer into the room where Owen continued to quietly sweep. He hadn't noticed her, and he was quietly humming a tune she didn't know. Owen was good at sweeping the dirt into one spot. He was good at a lot of things.

Owen was good, and Elise loved him dearly. She didn't care what this InGen had to offer her; they would never be able to paint the world more beautifully than Owen had for her.

"I come in peace, fellow American!"

Owen snapped his head up before blinking at the hamburger box waving up and down from the tunnel exit, seemingly batting at nothing. He couldn't see the person, but he knew the voice.

"I'm not hungry, Lowery."

Owen heard the man scoff before the burger retracted, and Lowery peeked around the corner as he retorted, "I was talking to Elise. I'm not bringing food for the guy who knocked over my dinos."

Elise tilted her head; she didn't know Lowery could come out of his talking box. Was there anyone in the box on Owen's hip now? She thought she had heard the familiar crackling.

"Why did you stick an American flag in the box? Where did you even get that?"

Lowery stared at the toothpick with the red, white, and blue paper flag on top of the McDonald's box before he shrugged as he replied, "Nobody questions it when the Mexicans do the same thing with their burritos. Why can't I put an American flag on the cheeseburger?"

Owen blinked at it before asking, "Why are you here? I thought you were too afraid to come out of your little cave."

Elise tilted her head even further. How did Lowery get out of his box? Was it always dark in his little box? That made Elise sad for him. What was a cheeseburger anyways? It sounded odd. Lowery was nice for bringing food for her, but she wasn't very hungry right now. She would share with him to be polite.

Lowery didn't come any further from the corner as he said, "Control wouldn't let me do my job unless I would come meet Elise, and I thought you should know that Debra is in the bathroom across the street...I'm also on my lunch break."

Owen raised an eyebrow; he had to admit he respected Debra for actually making it this far. Too bad he had three, adult Velociraptors sleeping on the ground, and a protective Indominus Rex on his side. He didn't think Debra would be able to do much. He glanced at Elise, and she seemed confused.

Owen didn't blame her; Lowery could be weird.

"Well, Elise can't exactly come to you. So, why don't you come out of hiding if you want to give her the burger?"

Elise watched Lowery press his lips as he eyeballed her warily; she wasn't sure why he was so afraid to come forward. He was never afraid of her from the box, and all the other humans had gotten over their fear after Owen had assured them. Elise blinked when Lowery pointed at her before sternly saying, "Okay, I understand that I am probably really delicious looking, but try to resist the temptation. I promise I won't taste as good as I look."

Elise had no intent of eating humans; Owen had said that was wrong. It was wrong to eat other dinosaurs here, and it was very wrong to eat humans. She liked Lowery when he was in his box; she didn't think differently of him now.

He didn't look very appetizing either, but Elise didn't want to be rude to him.

She gave a quiet croon, and Lowery raised an eyebrow before muttering, "That's too quiet a sound for your size."

Elise only made that sound around unsure humans; it made them feel better, and it worked every time. She resisted the urge to smile when Lowery came out of hiding as he held the burger with one hand, and Owen frowned at the other object.

"...Is that a jar of dirt?"

Lowery paused mid-step as he looked legitimately offended before curtly saying, "Of course not, I'm not Jack Sparrow, Owen."

He held up the mason jar of dark, rich earth as he corrected, "This is the finest American soil I could get my hands on. I said I would bring our American dinosaur some soil from her homeland."

Elise tilted her head at how Lowery puffed his chest out as he confidently walked over. He unscrewed the lid before offering it to her as he whispered, "Can you smell the freedom?"

Elise blinked, but Owen only rolled his eyes. Elise didn't want to be rude, and she flared her nostrils before catching the aroma from the rich soil.

Freedom smelled like dirt.

Granted the soil did smell different than the earth she knew. It was muskier, sharper; it wasn't a bad smell at all, but Elise didn't understand the big deal about American soil. She liked the gift though; it was intriguing to have soil from another land she would probably never visit.

Owen tilted his head when Lowery grew quieter, and sincere, as he added, "It's from my cousin in Louisiana. He said he put an acorn in it; I don't know if you can get it to grow, but it'll be something else for you to do when you're not rainbowing out for the kids."

Elise became interested. She could help grow an acorn? What was an acorn? Was it a flower, fruit, or a tree? Did plants from America look different? She wondered what this acorn would grow to be.

Owen smiled as he walked over before taking the jar. He gently dug through the dirt, and said, "Look at that, it's already starting to grow."

Owen tilted the jar so Elise could peer inside, and she saw the small, white vine breaking free from a round, hard shell. This plant was very young indeed, and it was now her responsibility to make sure it reached maturity. Elise would protect this acorn like she had protected Small One.

"What kind of oak is it?"

Lowery scrunched his face as he tried to remember before saying, "I think he said it was a Swamp Chestnut Oak. He works in a nursery; he said it would be fine if we planted somewhere where the soil drained pretty well, but it needs lots of water."

Owen raised an eyebrow as he covered the acorn back up before asking, "Why an oak?"

Lowery scoffed again before dryly saying, "Have a little pride in your American roots. Oak is our national tree."

Owen rolled his eyes, but he was touched by the sincere gift. He wasn't sure if an oak would survive here, but Elise looked happy with it. She turned her crimson gaze to him, and he smiled as he said, "Oaks are really big, strong trees, Baby. There aren't any on this island, but they're beautiful trees. It will live a long time too, if we take care of it when it's little."

Elise crooned happily; she loved trees. She had never seen baby trees hatch before. This one was so little, but she had been little too. She wanted to see how big this tree would grow.

Elise was reminded of a small animal that had died in her old paddock. She had left it alone because it smelled bad to her, and on her patrols, she had recalled watching the plants grow over the body before a single, green plant had caught her eye. As the years passed, the fragile plant became a proud tree. From what Elise understood, the dead animal had become the tree in a sense.

Elise suddenly perked up. This could be Small One's tree! Instead of green moss growing over the wooden box, Elise would allow this tree to grow over Small One.

They were both little and fragile when they were born, but this oak could grow for both of them! Small One should have grown big like Elise, but fate had decided against it. Now Small One had a second chance! Elise could nurture this tree with the same tender love she had given to Small One, and it would grow as big as her! Small One could become something large and strong like she was supposed to; she would only have a different body, but it would be Small One!

Lowery was wonderful for giving Elise and Small One this gift!

Lowery yelped when Elise suddenly snagged him, and Owen watched her give the tech-geek multiple, slobbery kisses. Owen didn't think a jar of dirt would make her so happy, but then again, the scribbles on the wall never failed to brighten her day.

Owen grimaced when Elise showed no signs of slowing down, and he said, "Don't open your mouth, Lowery."

Lowery did his best to scramble away, but Elise was unrelenting in her affection. Owen leaned on the broom when Elise managed to herd Lowery into her palm, and she tenderly held him close to her chest as she gave delighted croons. Lowery looked very confused, and out of his element as he was pressed against the white scales.

He forgot about his panic when he heard the loud heartbeat against his ear. It was steady, slow, and incredibly powerful, like a drum. He could actually feel the beat against him, and he wondered how big her heart was.

Figuratively and literally; he was being cuddled by a massive dinosaur. Even in the worst moments, Lowery could find irony in anything. He was being hugged by an Indominus Rex; an Untamable King.

Because he gave her some foreign soil with an acorn in it.

Owen was about to tell Elise to take it easy; he was happy she appreciated all gifts sincerely, but it was dirt.

American soil.

But Owen didn't think that meant much to her. He doubted she was even aware of how large the world was. He opened his mouth, but paused when she gave a soft, almost choked sound. Owen froze when she slowly turned her crimson gaze to him, and the small, crystal drops trickled down her snowy scales.

Elise was crying.

Owen had no idea what to do, and she pulled her lip up in a soft smile. He blinked at the warm, tender gaze, and he tilted his head at the sheer gratification lighting up her watery eyes.

She was crying tears of joy.

"B-Baby....are you okay?"

Elise only wished she had the words to explain the wonderful bliss she was feeling right now. The hurt in her chest had dissipated almost entirely; the pain of her sister's death could now be put at ease. No longer would Small One be an unmoving, fragile skeleton. She would not be stuck in a box for the rest of days.

Now, Small One would become big, proud, and strong. Now she would be able to cast shadows over small creatures. She would hold her own against the winds and rains; she would make others feel little like Elise did. She would be the only of her kind on this island just like Elise.

Now, Small One had her second chance at life, and Elise gently pressed the kind human closer to her beating heart as more of the elating crystals slowly dropped from her cheeks.

Now, Elise felt peace because Small One had a place in this world again.