A/N

I'm baaaaaaack!

And I had a great time, seriously though the vacation ended on a great note; Portuguese know how to throw parties!

Sorry I was never able to post in Cali, those hotels are possessive of their wifi; they'd give it for business reasons only.

But I appreciate your patience, so one announcement.

blackdragon21 has created another piece of artwork, and I really encourage you guys to go visit it; link is in my profile! It's titled 'Conspiracy'

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"Second Date."

"I say we watch Batman."

"No way! We should watch Walking with Dinosaurs!"

Zach rolled his eyes at his younger brother before retorting, "Dude, we are literally on an island full of dinosaurs; you can go walk with Elise after the movie."

Elise rested her head on the cement ground as the two continued to bicker in the Observatory Room. Owen and Claire had already left to go get dinner, and they promised to come back with some food. Zach had brought what he called a laptop, and a projector. They wanted to watch movies, and Elise was curious as to what they were.

Zach and Gray had worked together quite smoothly until it was time to actually start the movie. Elise had given up on trying to help reach peace with the two; they argued worse than Echo and Blue. Elise gave a small sigh, but flickered her gaze over when Gray finally said, "Elise can be the tiebreaker."

Elise did not want to be the tiebreaker when she didn't even know what a movie was. However, she was the Alpha of this pack, and Owen had left her in charge. Alpha Claire had entrusted hatchlings from her own pack to Elise's care, and that meant she had to do more than simply make sure they didn't die.

She had to keep the peace here.

Elise puffed air through her nose as she focused on the two boys glaring at each other competitively. She could see both getting ready to sell their movie in a more appealing way. Elise began to carefully tap her index on her chest when Zach grinned as he said, "Alright, I say Batman. It's awesome! It's about a rich badass who protects the city of Gotham from evil after his parents were murdered when he was little. He fights all kind of evil, especially the Joker. Batman has this awesome cape that looks like a bat's wings, and his mask looks like a bat head too. The effects are amazing."

Elise blinked as she tried to make sense of that scenario. It sounded like a child with identity crisis. Why had no other adults tried to tell this child he was not a bat? Elise wasn't sure if she would be able to follow that story, but Gray suddenly said, "Batman is an action movie, but Walking with Dinosaurs is a documentary. It's a movie that teaches you about dinosaurs. It shows what we think the world looked like when dinosaurs ruled the earth."

Elise was interested in that; she wanted to learn about others of her kind. Gray had been very helpful in his theories with what she was made of. Granted, several of the words went over her head, but it was fun to learn. Elise almost went with that, but Zach added, "Batman has explosions, and the Joker is the best villain; he totally messes with your head."

...Elise kind of like action. She wanted to see an amazing villain. Now she was torn. Damn it, Zach and Gray were both excellent salesmen. They grinned at her excitedly, and Elise puffed air through her nose before pointing to the both of them.

They would watch both movies; she wanted to see both.

Zach and Gray blinked at her before grinning widely. Elise was satisfied to smell the peace growing again, and Zach asked, "Is your movie shorter? We'll watch it first if it is."

Gray smiled as he pulled out the DVD, and said, "Okay. Sounds good."

Elise glanced down to see Echo and Delta sleeping peacefully in the ferns. Blue had left to go patrol, and to possibly hunt. She promised not to trespass into Rexy's territory.

Elise was fine with that, and she relaxed her head between the boys as they buried themselves in the pile of blankets they had brought. Zach had somehow snagged puffy, white treats he called popcorn.

Elise only liked hers super salty; she liked the really yellow pieces of popcorn.

She felt herself go soft when the two boys leaned against her large cheeks. It was hard to imagine she had once taken pleasure in instilling fear into these hatchlings.

Elise would never do that again.

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"You know Blue is going to chew my ass out now that I know about those flowers."

Claire couldn't stop her laugh as she relaxed into her chair. They had agreed to eat at a homely restaurant at the request of the boys. Both Claire and Owen were comfortable with it as neither had really changed from their work clothes. The only odd thing that stuck out was the large bouquet of flowers in a pitcher of water.

It still looked pretty, and Claire was touched by the gift.

What truly mattered was the feeling in the air, and Owen was very content with it. It was calm, warm, and had the comfortable potential to be left where it was or build this relationship. Owen rested his arms on the table before quietly asking, "How are things going on your end? Elise and I pulling our weight?"

Claire actually snorted as she shook her head in amusement, and Owen grinned widely at her. Claire answered, "The videos are exploding on the internet; parents are mush with Elise, and we are booking tickets months out. The board is really happy with that."

Owen smiled at her pleased look, and he winked as he said, "Good job, Boss."

Claire rolled her eyes playfully before she softly said, "I think I'll pat you on the back for refusing to give up on Elise. I really don't think Jurassic World would have bounced back like it did without you two."

Owen was warmed by that, but he couldn't help saying, "I think you would have pulled through for us. I have faith in you; you know your stuff."

He meant that sincerely, and said it without the intent of trying to kiss her ass. Owen did respect Claire as a leader. Maybe not before, but she had proven herself. Claire was running the park differently than before.

She somehow seemed to be more aware that she was dealing with live animals. They were finally alive to her, not just Rexy. Claire was starting to even call some of the animals by name; she knew all his girls, and Owen was sure that was what had really won him over.

Owen wasn't aware that he had a smile on his face until Claire laughed, "What are you smiling about?"

He gave a sheepish chuckle as he admired the quietness of the restaurant. It was full, but it was quiet with employees, and guests. Owen glanced at Claire as he finally said, "I never thought you would be willing to call on any dinosaur, let alone Rexy, for help."

Owen paused to think before saying, "It takes a lot of faith...and trust in an animal to ask for that kind of help. Especially one like Rexy."

"...What do you mean like Rexy?"

Owen startled at the careful question; he was on fine ice. Claire was incredibly protective of Rexy, and he grinned as he said, "I've been with my girls almost every single day of their life. I was there when they were born, we shared the same bed for the first week, Charlie slept in my pocket because she didn't want to be on the ground, but they still got too aggressive for me to give them that kind of trust. You couldn't even see Rexy, but you trusted her enough to save Elise from that Triceratops. Do you guys...I just...I'm curious about your relationship with her; that's something special."

Claire blinked at him before pressing her lips. She briefly stared at the flowers on the table before a small smile tugged at her mouth, and she softly said, "Rexy...has always kind of been a role model to me, you know? I look up to her."

"I look up to her too, did it a couple days ago; she was very good at looking down on me."

Claire playfully punched his arm, and Owen chuckled when Claire said, "Butt-head."

Owen rubbed his shoulder as he smiled at her, and he softly asked, "How is she a role model?"

Claire gave him a wary eye, looking for any signs of teasing, but she didn't find any. Claire relaxed into her chair as she said, "After all the animals had been put back into their paddocks, I met Mr. Hammond, and he gave me a tour of the park. Rexy was the first one we met, and she scared me so bad...but Mr. Hammond just said to respect her."

Claire paused, and suddenly asked, "Do you know why Mr. Hammond fought so hard to keep Rexy alive after the incident? Lawyers wanted her put down because she was so dangerous."

Owen wanted to point out that Rexy was still plenty dangerous, but he answered, "I assume she cost a lot to make, and Hammond had faith in her bringing in a crowd."

Claire smiled as she shook her head, and answered, "Because it's her job to keep the other animals in line. Who do you think is the dinosaurs' boss? It's not Blue."

Owen snorted at the truth of it; one roar had sent Blue into full panic mode. Granted he had also high tailed it when he saw Rexy, but he couldn't see Blue trying to fight Rexy without a very good reason. Claire suddenly reached out, and began to trace the scars on his hand; courtesy of Blue making it very clear she was a no touchy creature.

"It's why I look up to her; she's a fair boss who keeps everyone in line. Animals who have never even seen her, respect her roar. If I could run the park like she does; fairly and being respected at the same time, then I'm doing a good job. Mr. Hammond had said if I took care of Rexy, she would always be willing to lend me a hand when the animals got out of hand. If I ever have a problem, I just need to show her where it's at; she'll take care of it. She's a comfort to me, and my rock; she's...solid, you know? Rexy has always been here."

Owen frowned at that, but Claire was sincere about giving this amount of trust to Rexy. It made sense though, Rexy was at the top of the food chain here, but Owen couldn't help but to wonder where Elise fit in.

This was the problem with creating an entirely new species; it unbalanced the food chain.

"How do you lead her around?"

Claire smiled as she began to rummage through her purse, and she said, "Thankfully, we've never had a major problem with our animals. We can usually solve the problem with ACU, or a recording of Rexy's roar, but we keep Rexy trained."

Owen felt his jaw drop, and he leaned forward before eagerly asking, "You know how to train a Tyrannosaurus?"

Claire gave a small laugh, and she answered, "I doubt she'll listen to a command for an Oreo, but it works for us. We use this."

Owen raised an eyebrow when Claire handed him a flare, and he glanced at her questioningly. She only smiled as she said, "Why do you think we always toss a flare at the goat? She can see it just fine, and we could have used other ways besides road flares. Rexy knows to follow the flare though, and we don't want her to forget about it. It's the only training we've used but-"

"That is damn brilliant, Claire."

Claire blinked at him, but Owen added, "I would have never thought you could do anything with a Tyrannosaurus, especially one who was already an adult by the time you met her."

Owen turned the flare over in his hand; it spoke volumes to Owen that Claire had kept one in her bag just in case. He handed it back as he softly said, "I'm sorry I assumed you only saw these animals as numbers on paper. I didn't know you were tight with the Head Honcho of dinos."

Claire smiled as she tucked the flare away; it was old, but she didn't feel right walking without it. There was absolutely no need to keep flares in all the emergency kits, but Claire had always insisted.

Just in case.

"I accept your apology, and Control calls her Big Boss."

Owen snorted, but he said, "I'll remember that."

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Tim whistled cheerfully as he waited for Rexy to show up for their final show. She was always a little tired of goats by the end of the day, but she was on a roll today. Tim glanced to the side of him, and he could still see the faint, red stains on his platform. That one had been a little too close for comfort, but the guests were going absolutely crazy over it. Tim couldn't remember that last time it had been so crowded. Rexy had always drawn a crowd, but it was so packed now.

It made Tim happy, and so he had found more nimble goats to challenge Rexy. Dr. Grant was right, Rexy did look younger, there was a bounce in her step, and she didn't yawn when she parted from the trees. She didn't look bored.

The trees began to shudder, and the guests gave excited cheers. Tim gave one more whistle before tapping his mic, and saying, "Good evening, folks, I hope you've had a good day here at Jurassic World. I'm glad you're excited to see Rexy because she is feeling young today."

Tim smiled when the carnivore poked her head from the trees, and he added, "Now the Tyrannosaurus was thought to have been...Blue?!"

Tim felt his jaw drop at seeing the raptor quietly perched on the massive shoulder, like a little parrot, and Blue gave a chirp to acknowledge she heard her name. Her gold eyes focused on him with mild interest, and the guests paused in confusion. Tim had no idea what to do, he was completely caught off guard, but Rexy didn't even seem to care. She snapped her jaws to get his ass moving, but Tim asked, "Blue, what are you doing here...?"

Tim was thoroughly confused; Rexy should have hated all Velociraptors, but Blue looked perfectly comfortable perched on Rexy. The old Tyrannosaurus was eager to hunt again, and she gave a loud roar for Tim to mind his own business.

"But...where's Elise?"

Tim cringed at the dangerous look in Rexy's eyes; she was going to tell him one more time to cooperate, or she was going to lose her temper. He swallowed nervously; Mama had given her final warning.

Tim really wasn't sure what to do, but he knew it would be very bad; Claire had even given him specific orders to do absolutely anything to avoid that hellfire temper. He reached over, and pressed the button as he heard Rexy give a stern snort. The chain made a rattling sound, and he looked up.

Blue was gone.

Tim paled; he didn't want a loose Velociraptor in his paddock. He swallowed as his eyes darted around, and his radio crackled before Lowery quickly said, "She's still in there, don't worry."

All Tim could do was worry, but he blinked when things became unusually silent. Rexy had blended back into the trees, and the goat was looking around nervously. Tim was still looking for the elusive raptor, before yelping into the mic when Blue suddenly leapt from the bushes under the log, and gave a bloodcurdling shriek.

The goat nearly tripped over itself in its haste to get away from the murderous raptor, and Blue gave vicious snarls from behind. Tim blinked when Blue suddenly skidded into a halt, and he jumped when a tree knocked over as Rexy gave roar. The goat never saw the massive jaws snap around it, and Rexy gave a guttural growl as she shook the carcass.

Tim was pulled from his thoughts when he heard the loud cheers, and he cleared his throat before slowly saying, "What you just witnessed was a pack hunting together. I have no idea when Blue decided to hunt with a Tyrannosaurus when she has a pack in Elise's paddock, but..."

Tim suddenly burst out laughing; he couldn't help himself. It would just happen when something startled him terribly. It was hilarious to him that bold, Oreo loving Blue had decided to hunt with Rexy when her own pack obviously wasn't in the mood to hunt.

What a fierce, independent raptor Blue was.

Rexy didn't toss the goat this time, but instead offered some of it to the raptor respectfully waiting for her turn. Blue gave a delighted trill as she snapped her jaws into a thick leg, and she darted back under the log to enjoy her share.

Tim couldn't stop his laughing as he hung over the ledge of the railing, and Rexy glanced at him with mild interest.

Blue looked up from her kill; she knew that sound coming from the human on the platform, but she didn't understand why he was making it. She didn't give it much thought; she was simply happy to have hunted with Stern One. She had caught Stern One by the fallen gate after unsuccessfully hunting the quick, furry creatures. Stern One had watched for a few minutes before grabbing her attention. Blue hadn't understood at first, but Stern One could be very clear when she wanted to be.

She wanted to hunt with Blue.

And Blue was over the moon; she was eager to see Stern One's territory, and she was amazed at how well guarded it was. There were no threats Blue could smell, and it was clear Stern One patrolled faithfully.

Stern One would be a good edition to this pack; she was glad White One had befriended her.

Blue ignored the loud prey in the log; White One had made it very clear that Blue, and her sisters, weren't allowed to threaten or hunt them. They were not prey.

Besides, Blue had a perfectly good kill right in front of her; the meat smelled different than the pink prey. It smelled more tender, softer, and Blue was happy there was a chunk of meat as compared to simply fur on the tiny creatures in the large plain.

She lowered her jaws to take the first bite before a scent wafted into her sensitive jaws. She froze before snapping her head up to glare into the prey filled log, and gave a single bark at Rexy.

Tim didn't feel very good when Rexy immediately ignored her kill to glare into the log. Blue was right next to her, and he didn't like the dangerous feeling in the air.

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Owen chuckled for no reason as he gently held Claire's hand. They had finished their dinner, and were simply waiting for the take out order for the boys. He couldn't remember the last time he had such a mellow, inexpensive date. They had simply talked about whatever, and Owen had really enjoyed himself. He was happy.

Claire had been all smiles tonight; he loved it. The way her nose crinkled cutely, that sparkle in those blue eyes, and that warm, quiet laugh that sent the happiest a feelings right down to his toes.

He only wished this was how the first date had gone, but maybe the first date made him appreciate this one all the more.

Claire gave a small squeeze on his hand as she graced him with another smile. He grinned at her, and quietly said, "I wonder how Elise is liking the movies."

The redhead waved her phone at him as she answered, "She really liked the dinosaur documentary; Gray said she loved the creatures of the ocean. They had even gone on YouTube to show her colorful, tropical fish."

Owen gave a warm chuckle as he imagined Elise gently batting the walls as she tried to touch the fish. He quietly said, "Maybe we'll show her a video of Lilly, if she thinks Rexy is big, then I can only imagine her face when she sees Lilly."

Owen glanced around the emptying restaurant, and he didn't notice Claire's pondering face. She gently squeezed his hand to grab his attention, and she quietly said, "How about...when the park closes, and all the guests go home...we can show Elise the aquarium? Zach and Gray really haven't seen it before, and I know Lilly likes to hang around this section of the lagoon, where the lights are still on. I bet Elise can get a glimpse of her."

Owen looked very surprise, and Claire added, "But, you have to absolutely make sure the Velociraptors do not get out, I cannot justify a loose raptor."

Owen immediately broke into a huge grin as he said, "Yes, Ma'am. You're just doing everything you can to get into my heart, aren't you?"

"I thought the way to a man's heart is through his stomach."

Owen smiled as he shook a soggy, cold, French fry at her, and quietly said, "Not when he has four, wonderful girls that are his babies."

Claire blinked before a soft smile seemed to tug at her lips as she turned her blue gaze back to the rainbow of flowers in the pitcher of water. Owen was content to simply hold her hand, and she suddenly asked, "Did Elise and Blue really help you pick the flowers?"

Owen snorted at the painful truth that his girls, both different species, had agreed he needed help with romance, but he wouldn't deny that it had helped tremendously. It had set a very nice tone for the evening. He smiled at the flowers; he could tell who had picked what. Blue's flowers had a clean cut from her razor claw, Elise's had been squished from being pinched off, and his own had simply been tugged until the stem gave.

"Blue mostly gave me a dirty look for not telling her; she wasn't too happy with 'Alpha possibly courting'."

Owen sighed before chuckling, and he added, "I have never seen Blue talk so much with Elise before, I bet my last dollar that she was asking about you...I'll probably need to introduce you to the girls."

Claire raised an eyebrow, but Owen shrugged his shoulders as he said, "Hey, a pack is a very tight-knit family; if I date, then I better introduce or the girls won't be very happy."

"How many other girls have you introduced to them?"

Owen allowed a small smile to tug at his lips when he softly said, "None, because I never went past the second date here...but I'm wondering if you'll go on a third date with me."

Claire gave a quiet, warm laugh, and her blue eyes sparkled with delight as she asked, "A third? We aren't even done with the second."

Owen winked before saying, "We can have it at the paddock. I'll introduce you to the raptors; you'll stand right next to me, and you'll be holding their favorite treats. It'll be fine, I know Blue will like you."

"...How do you know?"

Owen snorted, and he said, "Because Blue likes anyone who isn't afraid to give me shit, or questions my decisions. Blue likes strong women."

Claire smiled, and tightened her soft hold on the large hand. Owen didn't want this date to end any other way, and he sighed when his radio crackled. He had thought Elise would have things under control, but Lowery was also watching. Just in case.

"Um, Owen!? Blue is right in Rexy's paddock! She decided to walk the old lady there or something, but now they're really focused on the false log! You need to call Blue off or something!"

Owen paled into a gaunt grey. Blue was with Rexy, Blue had hunted the goat with Rexy, and now Blue was hunting the people in the log.

With Rexy...

Owen startled when Claire was out the door first, her heels clicking on the floor, and he was right behind her. He forgot about the food, and was tempted to call Elise for help; he couldn't risk the other two raptors getting over there to cause even more trouble.

Deep down though, Owen would honestly admit.

He wasn't surprised bold Blue had managed to entice the old carnivore to go on a hunt with her.

Did this mean Rexy was part of the pack now? Owen really hoped not, but Blue was brave enough to extend the invitation. Blue learned a lot from watching him. How to kill cleanly, hunt, open doors, swear...

And apparently how to convince massive, forty foot long carnivores to join their pack. Blue was definitely his baby.