A/N

Hey guys! I'm really sorry about not posting last night; this chapter was just longer than what I thought it would be.

Anyway, RainbowKittyRune, Double-Stuffed are Blue's favorite.

Imtomzizle, I'm glad I can make you laugh, and you read at whatever pace you like; I was just in awe of how quickly you powered through it.

Guest, thanks for the OC suggestion. He sounds cool, and the Tyrannosaurus is wandering around.

The Only Potato, you get Sobek's POV in this chapter.

SmurfTurf; it's good to hear from you!

Thank you guys much and mighty for your reviews and criticism; I go back and correct things if you see something. I sincerely thank you for taking the time to read this, for leaving a review, and just being awesome; all of you. Thank you guys!

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"Oh..."

Sobek held his head proudly while lightly dozing. He rarely fell into deep sleeps; those were when he felt comfortable enough to lay flat on his side. Those periods of sleep did not last long, but they were certainly refreshing.

He mostly napped with his head held high, out of reach of scampering scavengers dumb enough to actually hope he might have finally died.

Sobek had no intent of dying any time soon, and it had enraged him to get stuck in the mud. He had been furious with the humans for daring to trespass in his presence. It had felt good to swat the growling human-carrier onto its useless back.

He had been slightly less irritated when the thief had helped dig him out. Sobek wouldn't forgive his theft, but he would be slightly less aggressive in hunting Thief down.

Sobek still wasn't sure what Thief had exactly stolen from him, but it felt like he had lost some of his inner fire after waking up. It had been weeks of aggravating pain to the point where Sobek had considered simply dying, and then the humans had brought him here. He had fallen into a blissful sleep, and awoke.

With much less pain, but he had lost something valuable, Sobek just knew it. He could notice different behaviors in humans.

They knew they had done something wrong; it was the look the pack hunters had after being caught stealing from his territory.

His dead smelling human wouldn't look him in the eye as often, but Thief simply worked around him. Sobek was fine with that, and he knew Thief would accept dying by a snap of his jaws. Sobek actually wasn't sure who the alpha of the humans were. He was sure the dead smelling human was the leader, but Thief held much respect from Death. Sobek had named him that; it was what he reeked of. A killing deceiver was what Death was; Sobek knew that smell anywhere. It plagued most humans who had the audacity to invade his territory.

A familiar click was heard, and Sobek cracked open his good eye.

Speaking of Thief...

He was here, but keeping his distance, a smart move. Humans were smart, but did the dumbest things. Or were they dumb creatures who had brief moments of brilliance? Sobek wasn't sure; especially after the strangers had shown up. They did not carry this island's scents, they were not from here...

They were trespassers.

But the stranger male seemed to have some intelligence. He was wary, rightfully so, and never tried to invade his space. Sobek had actually been interested in that one; it was a pity Death had irritated him. The stranger smelled of pack hunters, and something else.

Something different that Sobek had never smelled before; he normally wouldn't care, but it carried a familiar, sharp scent. He was reminded of a hot tempered female he met long ago.

He was glad she was gone. She was trouble, scattered herds for no reason, and simply killed. Sobek was sure Death had taken her; it was his scent that Sobek had caught in the female's poorly guarded home.

The crunching of the ground gave away Thief's movement, and Sobek snapped his sharp gaze onto him. Sobek awaited the day Thief was dumb enough to stray far enough from his little exit.

Coward; at least the pack hunters would fight him.

Romano rubbed the back of his neck as he looked Sobek over; it was just his luck that the Spinosaurus was getting better so quickly. Romano wasn't sure if he should just let Sobek eat him now or let the dinosaur have his fun when he realized just how long he would be stuck here.

"Feeling better, Sobek?"

The Spinosaurus parted his jaws just the slightest as a malicious breath was exhaled; Romano nodded, that was his answer. He had no idea why, but Sobek easily irritated with talking. Anything loud that was human just aggravated the dinosaur.

"I'll take that as a yes then. Lactating ringer can wait I suppose."

Sobek shifted; Thief was pushing his patience. Death was allowed to chitter in his presence, but not Thief. At least Death knew when to leave, Thief would bounce around his irritating, multiple exits to the point where Sobek would consider bashing into the walls.

But he knew better; he knew what structures could be broken through, and these human shelters could not be broken by his raw power.

He eyed the exit...maybe today Thief was not on his toes...

"See you, Sobek; don't exert yourself."

Sobek huffed; a mistake on his part for moving around. He had spooked Thief, and the damned human walked out without a second glance. Death refused to turn his back to Sobek out of respect. The only time Sobek would tolerate others turning their back to him was when they ran from him.

Humans had made for grand chases, but he had grown old. He was tired more often than not, and now humans were just irritating pests compared to being a thrilling chase. Scaring his prey away, and hitting him with the shiny weapons. It stung his hide, and aggravated him beyond all reasoning.

Sobek sighed as he shifted to lean against the wall again. Thief was not coming back for a while, and that was perfectly fine. He was in need of a nap as much as he hated to admit it. It made his scales crawl at the thought of the pack hunters running in his territory, but they were easy to drive out.

He would take care of them later. All things would flee in fear of his mighty roar; none had ever challenged him. Not even the ones close to his size, the ones who could put up some fight.

But they were mostly gone now; he smelled a male once in a while, but never saw him.

And that was fine by Sobek.

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Elise thrust her snout close to the ground as she tried to pick up Barry's scent. The man had done a wonderful job of playing a difficult guest to find. Elise wasn't going to give in easy though; she was going to find Barry before he could even get bored.

She was stuck at the river again; it was a different part of the river, but she was stuck there. Water's scent muddled all the other ones, and Elise wasn't sure how to get around it. Could she learn to ignore scents? That sounded odd to her, but she kept going. She had to do better with her time today, and she was working with Derick today; Owen had to stay behind.

Elise felt more nervous with working with Derick. She wasn't nervous around him, but she wanted to work with Owen; he would help her if she needed it, and he knew how to read her. She trusted him more.

"Elise? Don't overthink it; just skim over the stuff to find Barry. Kind of like going through the county fair; you smell all the good food, but the food you want sticks out."

Elise had no idea what a county fair was, nor did she think of Barry as food. He would never be food to her; Barry was good and kind. Derick had used a dumb example, but she paused to clear her head. She took a few deep breaths before parting her jaws to taste the air. She was looking for Barry; good, kind, sweet Barry who could probably get away with kissing Rexy's nose.

Barry smelled clean, like a fresh breath of air, but he smelled sweet. Sweet meat, Oreos, and churros.

Elise paused when she caught the scent; she found it!

Derick gave a chuckle when Elise took off in the right direction. The view was incredible from up here, and he still had no idea how Owen had found the courage to stop Elise, but he wouldn't complain.

Elise was amazing, and Derick had never had so much fun in his life before. This wasn't even work; Sam was doing all the paperwork. Derick got to choose the field training, and this was amazing.

Derick missed 'training' his raptors, but at least with Elise he actually got to relish seeing his training go somewhere. He didn't have to yell at her, it was so easy to correct her, and she was willing to work.

If only the raptors could have been trainable like this. Then they might have actually worked for warfare. Derick didn't like the idea of animals fighting for them, but he didn't like his fellow man dying either.

He would have liked to avoid war altogether actually, but he knew that idea was even more farfetched than a dinosaur with human DNA.

"Stay focused, Elise, and you're going to work wonders."

Elise flicked her tail in response; Owen knew when to talk to her. He never interrupted her focus, but she wouldn't fault Derick for not knowing her as well.

It wasn't going to help Barry if she got picky about who she worked with, and she knew Sam wanted her to be flexible about it.

So she would follow the trail wherever it led.

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"I think she's going to do much better this time."

Owen nodded in agreement as he watched the camera's view move around. He was proud of Elise; she had found Barry's scent more easily, but he wasn't sure if it was because she knew him.

"We might want to pick a stranger next time, or someone Elise isn't used to smelling."

Sam raised an eyebrow as he glanced at Owen before saying, "She's not around Barry all that much. Maybe twice a week he visits her."

Owen nodded his head, but said, "Yep, but Barry is the first person to actually love on her; unless she got affection when she was hatched, but...I doubt that."

"She doesn't act abused, you know?"

Owen let out a sigh as he continued to watch his baby work her nose through everything, and he quietly replied, "You haven't seen her in the right setting. She's afraid of being alone; she spent her first night in the new paddock with Rexy. She almost destroyed her old paddock when she thought I had locked her in it again. She's never been alone after moving out of the old paddock, and she's terrified of shots."

Sam paused to ask, "She's gun shy?"

Owen shook his head; Elise hardly blinked around the weapons. They didn't do anything to her, and he sighed, "Like, needles on syringes shots. She...passes out at having her blood drawn."

"...You're kidding."

Sam raised an eyebrow when Owen shook his head again, but the two went back to watching the laptop. Jackie had been doing her best to work with Elise's fear of needles, but Owen could just see it would take a long time of heavy positive reinforcement to get her to relax around them.

He wouldn't blame her though; they had come a long way. Both of them had. Owen felt more relaxed now with Elise in his life. He didn't have worry about what Vic was doing anymore or if he would suddenly find his girls dead one day because the research had been terminated.

Now they were safe and sound with Rexy and Elise. Owen was forever grateful to the old dinosaur for the things she had done for this pack; he slept better at night. He felt more rested, he was more eager to greet the day.

Owen had never imagined he would actually be part of the park's entertainment, but he and Elise made it work, and it was never the same. He hardly did the same thing twice, and that was a relief to him.

Owen actually felt his lifespan had been extended with the way things had turned out. Who knows what would have happened if Elise hadn't decided to listen. He could have died, his girls gone, and the park ruined.

Owen didn't like to think about that, and he cracked his neck before focusing on what was before him.

His tough baby finding Barry.

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Elise worked her nose through the thick brush; Barry had really wanted to challenge her. He was doing a really good job, but she would find him. Derick remained patient.

Elise didn't recognize this area, she had never been her before, and she wanted to explore it. She wanted to see what creatures lived here, but she couldn't stop to admire everything or Barry would die. She didn't want Barry to die.

She loved Barry.

And she could smell him more easily now. She was getting close, but she had to be careful about following trails that would wind over one another; Barry seemed to be fond of doing that. She wondered if this was how they trained Blue and the girls. Elise felt like Barry would be a good trainer.

Elise almost moved around a tree before suddenly pausing. She shifted back to carefully smell around the trunk, and smiled victoriously. Barry had thought he could outsmart her by making a path passed this tree before coming back, but she was smarter. His scent stuck to the bark, and Elise lifted her head high to peer in. She expected to see Barry sitting there, but she blinked when he wasn't.

Barry had outsmarted her, and Elise had to follow the trail anyway. Derick gave a small chuckle; he had a feeling Elise would be fooled by that one. It was a little mean to pull on her second day, but it was his payback for ruining a perfectly good pair of pants.

The Indominus grumbled to herself as she continued to follow the scent; it was always a little tiring to do this. She had to really focus when it was just one scent being muddled by all the others, but it was Barry; she knew that kind smell she so adored.

She was determined to find him, and she let out an excited snort when the trail seemed to grow stronger; she was getting closer.

Elise kept her head low before she suddenly paused; her vision flickered, and she gave a wide smile at seeing Barry walking along. He hadn't seen her yet, and Elise couldn't stop her orneriness when he seemed to be looking for a tree to climb again.

Derick raised an eyebrow when Elise tossed a heavy boulder through the jungle before quickly moving around as her scales shifted color. Now Derick was sitting on the largest pile of leaves he had ever seen, and Elise was creeping along. It wasn't until Derick saw Barry scratching his head that he realized what was going to happen.

Barry was about to brown his own pants.

The man continued to stare in the direction of the loud thud he had heard, and Elise couldn't help scooting closer. The closer the better, and Barry was so focused on the sound that he never reacted to her soft sounds. She crept silently closer like the perfect predator she was, and Barry was oblivious. She would get a scream out of him, and then cuddle him for being mean. She just couldn't help herself; it was so funny to scare people.

Elise was close enough that she had to hold her breath so Barry wouldn't hear her. She paused before she slowly rose higher as the leaves faded in favor of the snow. She was going to give a roar, not a really loud one, but good enough to scare him.

Her chest puffed out with the air, and her jaws parted right behind Barry for the roar to spill out.

"Don't even think about it, Beautiful."

Elise let out a squeaky, garbled roar in her surprise. Barry turned around with his arms crossed, and an amused smile on his face. Elise blinked; how did Barry hear her? She was the perfect predator damn it! No one heard her when she wanted to be silent.

Said predator melted under the wide smile, and the rich voice said, "You are so much like Owen that sometimes I wonder if it's his DNA in you."

Elise felt herself swell with happiness at that; she always felt good when people said she was like Owen. They usually said that when she did something ornery, but she didn't care. Barry only chuckled at her expression as he said, "I hope you don't intend to scare the people you are trying to rescue, Beautiful. It won't look very good on your record if you always scare them."

Elise replied by wrapping her hand around Barry as she let out a soft trill. She pressed her face close; she adored Barry, and she hoped he knew that. He chuckled again as he hugged her back; it was always amazing how gentle Elise could be.

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Sam snorted at the affection going on, and he agreed, "Yeah, we probably do need to use people Elise isn't exactly familiar with. She gets too...unprofessional. We need to teach her to take this serious the whole way through. She does really well when she starts, but she gets playful when she actually finds her person."

Owen nodded in agreement, but he said, "I doubt she'll do that in a real case scenario."

"Are you sure?"

Owen raised an eyebrow, but Sam said, "Does she know how to act professional around strangers? Because she's really playful around guests, and those are all strangers. I don't know if she knows what to do with a scared guest."

Owen turned his gaze back to the laptop; Elise was headed back right now with Barry riding behind Derick. A scared person was much more difficult to work with, and Elise was nothing short of terrifying if one didn't know her.

He could only imagine how a terrified guest would react to suddenly meeting Elise in the middle of a jungle.

Owen sighed as he rubbed his neck, but said, "We will definitely have to do a few things to help that. Make Elise some kind of uniform, and maybe add another announcement to the guests when they arrive. It'll be good for them to know she's on search and rescue."

Sam nodded in agreement though he said, "But, we need to teach Elise what to do with scared people. I highly doubt every guest actually listens to the announcements; hardly any of them even read the release forms before coming here."

"Yeah...I get what you mean, but she's doing really well, you know? I like how enthusiastic she is about this."

"I know, I know, but she needs to learn before giving some poor sucker a heart attack."

Owen did agree with that because he was pretty sure that wasn't in the release form. He sighed while leaning against the car while Sam quietly scribbled in the notebook. Owen still wasn't sure what to expect for tonight's date.

His tie had been claimed by a very possessive spider, and Owen wasn't about to reclaim it. He normally didn't mind spiders, but that one had looked ready to jump him.

Owen drew the line at spiders who fought back.

"Does it ever bother you?"

Owen startled out of his thoughts at the question, and blinked at Sam. The bear of a man was glancing at him quietly, and Owen asked, "Does what bother me?"

Sam checked his radio, afraid of others hearing the conversation, before asking, "When people say you're related to Elise. Even her resume has your last name as hers. Do you really consider her your kid?"

Owen was caught off guard by the questions, but he had already given up on denying that he saw Elise as his own daughter. It was odd; Blue and the girls were his kids, but Elise really was a daughter to him.

There was a difference between calling the girls his kids and Elise his daughter.

Owen nodded; Elise need a rock for a base, and he was her rock. He had decided that the moment she had lowered her splayed claw, and he had simply grown into a father figure.

"She's my tough baby, Sam. Besides, she needs a dad. She's got Rexy for a mom, and I think she sees Claire as a mother as well. It doesn't bother me, why?"

Sam shrugged nonchalantly before answering, "I was just curious; I watched the video the other day, and I don't think you had signed up for all the stuff you're doing right now; thought maybe you would have preferred training your raptors."

"Nope."

Owen was serious, he wouldn't trade this new life for the world.

Sam didn't seem put off by the answer, and he continued to write silently. Owen decided to kill time by trying to whistle with his hands. He was determined to get it right.

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Bridges cracked open his eyes tiredly; his head was pounding, and he felt sluggish. His heart was beating a little too fast.

Romano had gotten the damned pills in him.

It was a side effect, and Bridges despised it. He let out a tired sigh; he just wanted to go back to sleep, but he knew he needed to get up. He had forgotten why he needed to be awake, but there was something very important he needed to do.

He slowly sat up, and was grateful his office was dark; the curtains had been shut, and the air conditioner was on. He was surprised to see the blanket on him, but he wasn't; Romano was a good doctor.

The room was spinning slightly, but Bridges ignored it; he just needed a few minutes to pull himself together. He would ignore the queasy feeling in his stomach for now and do something. He wasn't sure what. He didn't know what time it was or if it was still daylight.

Bridges froze when his door opened quietly, and he scrambled his mind to think of a legitimate excuse to explain what he probably looked like. Bridges relaxed when he recognized the boots, and Romano growled, "I didn't think you'd be up so soon."

Bridges snorted though he regretted how it hurt his head. The headache was going to be a bitch; he just knew it. However, like always, he put on his brave face, and said, "I can bounce back from it; I'm fine."

Romano never seemed to believe him when he said he was fine; Bridges had convinced himself that he was perfectly fine. He was healthy and had a long life ahead of him. He was just saw a few things others didn't; it wasn't like it seriously interfered with his life.

He was fine.

"Here, you need to eat this."

Bridges blinked at the sandwich in the Zip-Lock bag, and Romano added, "I know you skip breakfast, Daemon. It's not good to take those pills on an empty stomach."

Bridges wrinkled his nose at the offering; he didn't want to eat. The smell made him sick, and even if his stomach was hurting from hunger he didn't want to further upset it by throwing in a little sandwich. But he glanced up when Romano threatened, "Don't make me force feed you, Daemon. I still have the tube to force feed the raptors, and I'll go get it."

Bridges raised an eyebrow, but he couldn't help a small smile as he took the sandwich while purring, "You're all bark, Romano."

The vet sank onto the cushion next to him as he snapped, "All bark my ass; who do you think Jack comes running to when he sees you arguing with Carnifex?"

Bridges gave a slight pause before opening the bag, and he coolly said, "I think Jack needs to learn to mind his business."

Romano glared at the man as he retorted, "I think you need to learn to take your pills consistently. Don't you get tired of arguing with Carnifex?"

Bridges took a bite out of his sandwich, thin sliced turkey with a little bit of mayo and mustard. It tasted pretty good actually, and he simply said, "I can hold my own against Carnifex."

Romano rolled his eyes; this was such a pointless argument he had with Bridges every single time the blonde had another hallucination. It didn't happen very often, and Romano was grateful for that because he was close to bringing in some kind of psychologist.

Daemon needed help.

But the blonde would clamp up at trigger words; Romano had learned to work around them like all his other animals. It was sad to say Daemon fit in with his patients sometimes. Most of his patients were much more cooperative as well; raptors including. Trying to help Daemon was like trying to help Sobek. Both were too proud to admit they were sick, both were absolute hell to treat, and both somehow made miracle comebacks.

"Daemon..."

Bridges froze at the warning tone; they were about to have another argument, and he wasn't ready for it. His head was hurting too much for screaming, and his mouth was full of food. He glanced at the Italian, and Romano gave his hard stare that Bridges had never figured out how to read. He was sure it was just Romano's thinking face, but he wasn't absolutely positive.

Romano looked ready to kill someone when he was thinking; women complained about Resting Bitch Face, but Romano had Resting Murder Face.

Bridges wondered if Romano had ever been harassed by the police because of it, but he simply waited. He was too tired to argue, and he never cared for arguing with Romano; neither would back off.

The Italian finally sighed as he wiped his face tiredly, and said, "Claire Dearing called."

Bridges paused mid-chew before panic seized him. He all but choked on his sandwich, and made to tackle his computer. How could he forget about Sobek?! What time was it now?! What had Claire wanted to tell him?!

Romano snapped his iron grip into the back of the wrinkled, white shirt before yanking Daemon back down as he growled, "Sit down for Christ's sake before you smash your head against your damned desk again. I talked to her, and don't you dare choke on your sandwich. I'm one more stupid decision away from losing my temper, Daemon."

Bridges stared at Romano, and the Italian snapped, "You purposefully avoid taking your pills, and you run yourself into the ground. Jack is the biggest wimp you could have hired, and the next few weeks are going to be very stressful, Daemon."

Bridges put his sandwich down before carefully saying, "I think it's you who needs the nap, Romano. I'm fine."

"Che Dio mi aiuti, Daemon, I will bury you."

Bridges couldn't help his smile as he replied, "I know, but at least you'll make the grave nice and neat. You're too much of a perfectionist to do anything half-assed."

He chuckled at Romano's exasperated sigh; he loved pushing Romano's buttons, but he never pushed him too far. He just respected him too much to do that. Bridges leaned back into the couch before closing his eyes, and saying, "Alright, tell me what Claire said."

"They'll take Sobek."

Bridges immediately felt muscles he hadn't known were tense relax. A sigh of relief exhaled from him, and he gave a wide smile at the great news. He was just sad he hadn't been awake to hear it. All his effort had been worth it; it was worth it. Sobek was going to be fine, and the world tilted back to its rightful position.

He was going to be fine.

"But we have a bit of a problem."

Bridges raised an eyebrow; he didn't care what the problem was. His dinosaur was going to live out his life on soft Isla Nublar. Sobek would die of old age, and Bridges could take on any problem life decided to throw at him.

The Italian stared at him for a few seconds before simply saying, "They have to build a new paddock for him because of safety reasons. It's going to take a few weeks at the very least."

Bridges pressed his lips; he was kidding about taking on any problem life threw at him. He could work miracles, make profit out of a dying business, and even persuade Wu to yield secrets to him.

But Bridges wasn't exactly sure how to keep Sobek in one spot for weeks. The longest they had ever kept him was a little over two weeks to recover from the surgery to remove the tumors, but Sobek had left the moment he decided he felt well enough to leave.

Sobek wasn't going to tolerate weeks in that recovery room, and Bridges remained silent for a few seconds. Romano leaned back into the couch to let the full force off their situation sink it. Daemon was smart; he would grasp it quickly.

It was quiet for a few more seconds, and Romano was grateful for the peace. He wanted a nap, but work was busy.

"Oh..."

Romano couldn't stop his snort; Daemon was smart. Dangerously smart, and the vet was curious to see what Daemon would come up with to convince Sobek to move his nest here before taking him to a completely new island full of dinosaurs who never fought.

It was going to be interesting to say the least, and Bridges decided to finish his sandwich while contemplating.

Because he knew Romano was serious about force feeding him.

------------------------------

"Alright, Baby, you good to go for the night?"

Elise glanced around like she was checking to see if everything was in its rightful place before she nodded. Owen smiled at her as he worked the cricks from his neck; they had just completed their last show for the evening, and Elise was ready to head back to her nest for the night. She was tired after today, and Owen still needed to talk to his mother tonight before going to dinner with Claire.

He still didn't have his tie; Barry was unsuccessful in battling for it. The worst part was Elise had been standing right there. They had passed his place up on the way back, and he wanted to see if Barry could kiss the spider's nose.

The spider didn't appreciate kisses apparently, and Owen had asked Elise for some help. He would open the door, and she would steal the tie from the spider; she couldn't get hurt by it.

Elise had flat out told Owen that the spider got to keep the tie if he wasn't brave enough to take it back. She wouldn't disturb this creature's life for a useless article of clothing.

And Barry had laughed all the way back to the paddock after that.

"I'm proud of how well you did today, Baby. You know that, right? I'm really proud of you."

Elise beamed as she pressed her face against Owen; it meant the world to her to hear those words. She was always going to do her best to make Owen proud of her. The man chuckled as he gently scratched the snowy scales; it was odd that he got to be the good parent this time. He was so used to being the strict one with the girls while Barry got all the love.

But Sam was the stricter parent this time, and Owen was fine with that. He was content to just love on Elise, praising her when needed, and reinforcing the right behavior. It wasn't like Sam was harsh, but he didn't sugar coat things either.

Elise needed to quit messing around during training. She had been startled at that criticism, but Owen had assured her everything was fine. She just needed to correct a few things; Elise had agreed to improve next time, and that was all Sam needed to hear.

"You sleep well, Baby, okay? Keep the girls in line please."

Elise garbled at Owen before pulling back; he smiled as she moved towards the thick trees before suddenly turning around. She pointed to herself before crossing her arms over her chest, and then pointing at him.

"Love you too, Baby."

Owen shut the window when the white tail had slipped into the dark trees, and he rolled his shoulders before leaving the empty room. Things were still busy outside, but the guests had lessened; trickling back to their hotels for the night. Owen didn't blame them.

He hoped Claire would be willing to forgive his lack of tie tonight.

It was a quiet walk to the Call Center, but Owen paused at seeing blue hair across the street. He couldn't help his small smile at seeing Jackie talking to an obviously nervous Lowery who was probably done with working on the hologram for the night. The vet was gesturing to the Ben & Jerry's near them, and Lowery eventually nodded before the duo walked over. Owen could only shake his head.

Elise was a good matchmaker it seemed.

------------------------------

He sighed at seeing the Call Center a little busier than what he liked, but he found a quiet little corner for himself. He made sure to look for any stains on himself before starting the call. He couldn't do anything to change the mess, but at least he could brace for it. Owen rubbed his face in thought; he needed to ask Claire where they were actually going before he made the journey to go change.

He actually had a spare change of clothes ready to go, and Elise had already given him a bouquet to give to Claire; no Angel's Trumpet this time.

"Uncle Owen!"

Owen immediately gave a wide smile at the bouncy curls in the screen, and he said, "Booger! I missed you! What're you doing at Nana's?"

Rosie settled into the office chair before resting her arms on the too tall desk, and answering, "Nana said you were gonna call tonight! I wanted to talk to you again. Did you ride your bike with Blue and Elise?"

Owen could never keep a smile off his face around Rosie; she just made him smile all the time. It was wonderful, and he answered, "I rode my bike with Elise, but not with Blue; I might do that tomorrow."

Assuming Rexy wasn't in Elise's paddock. Owen didn't put that much faith in his motorcycle, and he had no intent of thumbing his nose at the old dinosaur. He was sure Blue would throw a fit at having him upset her newest buddy.

Owen still didn't understand the dynamics of the relationship between the two, and Elise would only do her best to give a shrug when he asked her.

She had no idea either, but it wasn't a concern.

"Oh, okay. I drew you another picture!"

Owen eagerly leaned forward as he said, "Well, let's see it, Booger!"

Rosie gave a wide smile, missing tooth giving an adorable look to her cheeky face, and she held up her masterpiece. Owen smiled as he admire her hard work; she had been improving her drawings. Now she was adding little details that brought the work to life; it still looked like an almost seven year old had drawn it, but she was getting better.

Now Blue had her iconic blue stripe on her side while the rest of her body was a lighter shade. Echo had her scar, and Delta her stripes. Elise remained her pure white though Rosie was getting better about drawing her hands.

"That's beautiful, Booger. You gonna sign it and mail it over to me?"

Rosie gave her toothy grin before shaking her head, and saying, "Nope. You have to come visit me if you want the picture."

Owen couldn't stop his laugh; Rosie had the Grady wit about herself, no DNA tested need. He ran his hand through his hair before saying, "I'll see what I can do, how's that sound?"

Rosie's eyes lit up, and she eagerly nodded. The thought of seeing her uncle again, even if it was a small chance, was always worth entertaining. Owen couldn't wait to see what her face looked like when she realized where she was really going.

She was convinced she was going to Disneyworld for her birthday, and Owen had felt himself go soft when his father told him how hard Rosie had tried to politely convince her family to bring her uncle home for a couple days instead.

Rosie had never demanded anything of her family and was always unusually polite when she tried to argue.

Until it came to the subject of what Disney movie was best; Rosie was a fierce arguer when it came to that. Owen had only pushed her buttons on that subject once; Rosie had been quick to put him in his place, and he found it hilarious.

"You excited for Disneyworld? You packed yet?"

Rosie crinkled her nose before shaking her head, curls bouncing with the movement, before she said, "Uncle Owen, I still got a week before I have to pack."

Owen smiled at the scrunched, button nose, he had a feeling Rosie would have been packed three weeks ago if she knew where she was really going, and that thought warmed him.

Rosie glanced to the side of her when she heard a door open, and she greeted, "Nana! Uncle Owen called."

Owen gave a little wave when his mother's face came onto screen. Her face held a warm smile as she shifted Rosie onto her lap. Owen's mother was quite short actually, but dynamite came in little packages also. Her silvery hair was cut short simply because she lacked the patience to mess with anymore, but she somehow retained a more pale complexion like Owen's despite all the years of digging up bones.

"There's my baby. I thought you had forgotten about calling us."

Owen let out a small laugh before saying, "I just got off work, Mom; I hustled as best I could. I'm going to have to leave soon too."

"Why?"

Owen pressed his lips before sheepishly saying, "I got a date tonight with a beautiful girl; I can't be late to that."

Owen's mother raised an eyebrow, but she asked, "Are you bringing her flowers, Owen?"

"I got the flowers, Mom. They're beautiful, trust me."

Because Elise had picked them; he only had to mention he was going on another date with Claire, and the Indominus had come prepared this time. Owen would not be late because of her. Owen was very grateful for that, and hopefully this time they could end the date on a good note.

His mother smiled gently as she said, "Good, I knew you were raised right. Your father always brought me flowers when we had gone on dates. Don't ever get lazy about bringing flowers."

Owen wondered how his mother would react if he told her the only reason he had brought flowers was because his Co-Alpha and Beta pitied him so terribly that they felt obligated to lend their help.

"I won't, Mom. I promise."

His mother nodded before gently setting Rosie off her lap as she quietly said, "How about you go start those cookies; they need chocolate chips. I'll be right behind you."

"Okay, Nana. Bye, Uncle Owen!"

Owen caught the kiss Rosie had blew to him, and she smiled before leaving. The adults were quiet until the door shut, and his mother said, "She has absolutely no idea, Owen. I hope you're ready to have her attached to your leg the entire time she's there."

"She can't be worse than Blue, Mom. My leg can handle her."

Blue had briefly gone through a lazy phase where she figured out that if she held onto Owen's leg tight enough, she would be carried everywhere. Now she just rode Elise or Rexy. Owen was glad she no longer tried to hitch a ride with him. He couldn't exactly carry three hundred pounds.

Owen's mother smiled before leaning on her arms as she asked, "How is sweet Blue doing?"

Owen couldn't help snorting before saying, "Blue is a lot of things, Mom; sweet isn't one of them. More like ornery, but she's doing good. She's taken to being Rexy's little parrot; I have no idea why. It works though."

The silver haired woman gave a light chuckle, and replied, "Animals are the strangest of creatures sometimes, aren't they? We can learn a lot from them. How is Elise doing? Is she still watching you like a hawk?"

"I'm not allowed near any water that goes past my ankles when she's around."

His mother gave a fond smile, and Owen quietly asked, "So, who's coming here with Rosie? Dad said you guys were still deciding."

"We haven't decided yet; we all want to see you, but it doesn't seem to be working out like that. Your sister can't seem to get the days off though. It will either be me or your father who goes."

Owen nodded; he wished his sister wasn't such a hard worker. She worked so hard to provide for her daughter that she sometimes forgot to spend time with her. Owen knew it made Rosie sad, but the little girl never complained about it.

"Are you sure there's not more I can do to help?"

Owen's mother shook her head gently before saying, "You just stay alive, Baby. That's your only priority, and treat your girlfriend well. I want to meet her someday. I will get grandchildren out of you, Owen."

Owen panicked at the two 'G' words, and he quickly offered, "You got Elise and Blue to spoil. Elise loves a good hug, and Blue will do anything for an Oreo."

His mother paused before saying, "Is that so? Well, I actually have some Oreo Thins I could send over."

Owen blinked a few times before asking, "Oreo what?"

"Thins, do you need your hearing checked again? I can schedule a doctor's appointment for you."

Owen would sooner go deaf then have his mother call the hospital here to schedule him an appointment, but he shook his head, and asked, "Oreo Thins? Do I even want to know what those are?"

His mother raised her eyebrows, but answered, "It's a thin Oreo, Owen. Less cookie, and less filling...why are you making that face?"

Owen could not think of a worse invention to be brought to light in this world. He could feel his eye twitching, and he seriously said, "I can, under absolutely no circumstances, never let Blue ever see an Oreo Thin. Do you know what she did when a worker tried to give her a regular Oreo? We had a job opening after that incident. Don't send those, Mom. I don't even know what Blue would do if anyone tried to give her that."

Owen went quiet as he thought of the possibilities. Blue would fall over dead from shock. She would go on a murderous rampage, refusing to be sated until the terrible creator of Oreo Thins was brought to justice, or worse...

She would think someone had the unfathomable audacity to eat some of her Oreo before handing it over to her; thinking she wouldn't notice. Blue would be offended by that; Owen just knew she would. There was nothing more dangerous than a vain raptor who had been insulted.

"Owen? Baby? You've gone a little pale....are you sure you don't want a doctor's appointment?"

Owen shook himself before shakily laughing, "It's nothing, Mom. Just keep those Oreo Thins please. Don't let Rosie near them just...just throw them out, okay?"

His mother blinked, but Owen only hid his sheer terror behind a tight smile. He needed to ask Claire if such an atrocity had snaked its way to this island. If Blue came across an Oreo Thin...

They would have to evacuate the island again.

-----------------------------------

"What? Why would I have those here?"

Owen nonchalantly shrugged though he was internally relived that there were no Oreo Thins on Isla Nublar. Only the mainland had been infested; this land was still pure.

"I was just wondering is all."

Claire raised an eyebrow, but she glanced down at her menu. Owen was happy to know she had been pulling his leg about going to the most expensive, formal restaurant here. She had decided to pick something nice, but casual. Owen was glad for that.

Because Mr. Spider was an unyielding creature when it came to possessions.

"Are you happy to see your niece again?"

Owen immediately brightened as he nodded. He rested his arms on the table as he said, "She'll be here next week, but I don't know who she's coming with."

Claire frowned as she glanced up before asking, "Your parents aren't coming?"

"It's expensive, Claire. I know they tried, but the important thing is getting Rosie here. I don't think my sister will be able to come though; work is pretty brutal with her, and she had already used up her vacation days."

Claire pressed her lips in thought before saying, "At least Rosie gets to come; I know Zach and Grey were pretty relieved to come here without their parents."

Owen nodded in agreement, but Rosie's situation wasn't the same. His sister had never married Rosie's father; she didn't even know who the father was. It was a drunk one night stand that had broken his mother's heart, and almost caused his father to go on a man-hunt. It was fine now, Rosie didn't ask questions anymore, and Owen had done his best to fill the empty spot.

"Has your Planning Team made progress with Sobek's paddock?"

Claire nodded happily before answering, "And we're currently working on the types of fish to use for him to hunt; it's challenging to say the least..."

Owen could only imagine it.

--------------------------------

Blue snorted to herself while watching her sisters hunt the fast, furry creatures scattering across the plains. She was perched next to Stern One, content to simply sit here. White One was grooming her scales, and Stern One was helping out. Blue was content with the peace here. She flexed her claws through the soft dirt before relaxing again as she half listened to White One and Stern One rumbled at one another. Blue still didn't know how to communicate with her, but they got along well enough that it worked for the both of them.

Life was good. The pack was strong, the territory large, and prey plentiful; Blue couldn't ask for more besides another Oreo, but she was happy with life.

And Stupid Alpha was recovering from his wounds he received from Swimming One. Blue was glad he didn't feel the need to go there again, and White One was intent on keeping him from all ponds.

Blue wouldn't complain.

The blue scaled raptor was content to clean her claws before glancing up when Echo gave a furious shriek; the prey had escaped again. Delta tried to calm her, but Echo threw back her head to give the cries for help. Blue would never not hunt with her sisters, and she rubbed against the forest scales before taking off.

It was a little habit Blue had started to do before she would leave Rexy. It was like reassurance that she would be back as soon as possible, and Rexy seemed content with the affection. It was better than Blue simply taking off.

Elise gave a small rumble before resuming with her scales. She leaned into Rexy's nibbling teeth while watching the raptors reign terror over the poor rabbits, but at least they ate what they killed this time.

Elise wondered if Owen had given Claire the flowers on their date; she hoped he did.

She had worked hard to pick them.

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Owen had concluded that the third date had been a complete success. Nothing chaotic happened, Claire had loved the flowers, Elise hadn't picked any poisonous ones, and Claire had even given Owen a kiss before she left.

Owen was happy with life, and the week had passed with little incident. He talked to Rosie almost every night, and had the hardest time containing himself the night before she was supposed to arrive. She had Skyped with him at the hotel near where the cruise ship would pick up guests. He had been so excited that he had forgotten to ask Rosie who had come with her.

Elise seemed to be amused by how energetic her human was, but she was making progress in her training. She had searched for Timmy, Sam, Scott, and even Claire. She was doing well, and Owen couldn't have been prouder of her. She worked hard to make sure she did the right thing, and she was an attentive learner in everything.

Blake had yet to train with Elise, and Owen was secretly glad for that. He felt like not saying anything about it would be best; it seemed to slip Claire's mind. She was focused on other things, and that was a good thing. Sam wouldn't push it because it wasn't like he could get angry with Blake for doing his legitimately hectic job.

Construction had already begun on Sobek's paddock much to Bridges' delight and utter relief. Claire knew it was going to be a long few weeks on Isla Sorna when the blonde had outright offered to bring in more construction workers to speed things up.

Claire swore she had heard a Spinosaurus roar during their calls, but Bridges poorly assured Claire that Sobek was just playing Cat Mouse with Romano.

She didn't know that Bridges demanded a text from Romano every time the old Spinosaurus gave a furious roar. If Romano died, they were doomed.

Owen was less happy about the location of Sobek's paddock, but the board had absolutely insisted on it. Sobek's paddock was located directly behind Elise's, and in the giant loop of the tall monorail. It shared some of the thick jungle, but more importantly it had a river that went through the center of it. The board had felt safer with Elise in between the Spinosaurus and the heart of Jurassic World. She would be the closest carnivore who could be right there in case Sobek decided he didn't like his home. It would also butt up against the Gyrospheres, but Claire had decided to put their strongest fence there; an incredibly solid, cemented, fence. John Hammond had always preferred something that would deteriorate over time in the event of another park incident; he wanted the animals to have a chance to live naturally in case humans weren't there to take care of them.

This time, Claire would go against the man's wishes; Sobek needed a solid fence, and she hoped the Spinosaurus would pay it little attention. The river never went near that fence, and her crew was working around the clock to provide a steady amount of large fish to keep the Spinosaurus happy.

A new stop on the monorail was being created for Sobek's attraction though Claire had decided not to advertise this new arrival with gusto like she normally did. She didn't want guests to overcrowd Sobek's area; she would let word spread by itself, and hope Elise could continue to entertain as steadily as she did. Without the powerful binoculars, guests would be able to see Sobek in the distance, and they would be on a high cliff to avoid tempting the Spinosaurus from trying to eat them.

Owen had told Claire to dig a trench of some sort below the guests as well; he had no idea if all this careful planning had gone into other paddocks; it seemed like Jurassic World would stop at good fences, but he was glad to see Sobek was being taken seriously.

It was driving Rexy and Blue up the wall with all the construction going on, but Elise did her best to keep them away. The fence Elise and Sobek would be sharing was being replaced with a much stronger fence that would stun rather than simply burn.

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Echo gave a small sigh that tickled Owen's arm before she shifted closer. Today was a quiet day, and Owen had no idea how he managed to relax enough to take a nap.

Rosie was supposed to be coming today, on the noon cruise ship. They had just finished their first show, and Rexy was feeling a little cranky today. Blue and the girls decided to give her space in favor for a quiet nap with the two Alphas.

Elise was half curled around her family while Blue had smooshed herself on the body pillow that was Owen. Delta had claimed Owen's leg, and Owen was just dozing. He had been good about keeping the girls exhausted enough to simply ignore the construction going on, and Elise had drilled it into their heads to leave that side of the fence alone. No hunting was permitted there.

Blue had been defiant at first; Elise had caught her trying to hunt down a worker a little too close to the fence, and Elise had really exerted her authority that time. Echo and Delta were afraid of her temper, and Blue had given another slash on Elise for daring to order her around.

Blue had eventually given up in favor of hunting down wild boars that were numerous in the jungle; they were more fun to hunt. Elise was fine with that, but she remained on guard with the raptors. They mostly stuck close to Rexy in her paddock, and Owen was once again grateful to the old lady for that.

Owen cracked open an eye when a flutter of plastic crackled. He sighed while staring at the wrapper; he knew he needed to pick it up. It would drive him crazy to see trash in his girls' home, but he was so comfortable right now. He wanted to fall back asleep.

But the damn crackling was irritating.

Blue glared at Owen for having the audacity to move, but he simply snorted at her. She was tired from running, and simply plopped onto the warm dirt Owen had left under him. Elise hardly shifted in her own sleep, and Owen sighed as he picked up the wrapper. He knew it wasn't his trash; he didn't eat Snickers.

Owen ran a hand through his hair, and didn't hear the window above him opening. The peaceful silence in the air was suddenly shattered by a high pitched shriek.

From an excited niece who couldn't remember the last time she saw her beloved uncle.

"Uncle Owen!"