A/N

Hey guys! How's life going?

Guest, I try to update every other day because of school, work, and to make the chapters longer.

OREO, I have not actually; I was told about them, and I really want to try one.

The Only Potato, thanks for the ideas :)

Guest, I have not actually been to the National Dinosaur Monument before, but it sounds pretty awesome. Ian probably will not make an cameo.

Kim K's Butt, you make me laugh a lot, and I thank you for that.

JustAnotherGuest, Sorry for the scare.

Guest who keeps asking me for the Carnotarus, I know they are in the novel; I'm sure they're roaming around the island doing their own thing. I don't add those others because I'm not familiar with them, I don't feel like spelling those names, and I don't have a purpose for adding them. In all sincerity, you truly seem passionate about them, and I encourage you to create your own story that could incorporate those dinosaurs.

Now here comes the part where I really get to see who reads the A/N. I touch up with the paintball guys in here, and I want you to know that this is NOT the last time I write about them. I do intend to have Bridges clarify his reasoning a little better later. I haven't forgotten about Blake either you guys, I promise.

I don't own the song 'O Death', or any Disney/Pixar Movies.

Most importantly, I sincerely thank you guys for your reviews and patience.

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"I Am Bad, and That's Good."

"O Death, O Death, won't you spare me over 'til another year?"

Bark flinched at the loud sound, but she tried not to startle the silver fish below her. She liked fish because it wasn't loud prey, and the river's chuckling kept her calm. A piercingly loud responding call from Anne caused Bark to move further down the river. She really didn't like loud sounds; it scared her and hurt her ears.

The quiet croon from her gentle human made Bark feel better; it was the soft call that didn't hurt her ears, but she could hear easily. She liked her little human even if her human never tried to get close to her. Bark remembered cuddling with her human when she was smaller, but Bark didn't want to be touched anymore.

Unless she was sick, then Bark liked the soft strokes along the back of her neck, but she didn't get sick very often.

The Suchomimus shivered her jaws in response before growing very still. She could see her human out of the corner of her eye; doing her own sort of fishing. Bark didn't understand it, but the humans seemed to fish just as well as them.

"Well what is this that I can't see? With ice cold hands taking hold of me."

The only good thing about Anne and her human's loud wailing was it scared all the fish down river to Bark. The navy blue dinosaur waited patiently while Ed and Anne continued to sing with one another. Kate only shook her head in amusement as she watched Bark fish. She was a good girl, Kate just wished she wasn't so skittish. Bark seemed to be a little braver at night though.

Kate cupped her hands together before blowing the low whistle. Bark flicked her tail in response, and Kate smiled. It was the only way she knew how to assure Bark everything was fine. She didn't think Suchomimus were social creatures, but Bark liked a lot of reassurance.

"O Death, come take this soul, leave this body, and leave it cold."

Kate rolled her eyes at the howling, especially when Anne threw her head back to give a long, mournful cry as a background singer. Bark glanced up from her fishing, and Kate snapped, "Hey, Ed, you wanna at least pick a nicer song? It's no wonder Bark gets so nervous."

The Suchomimus took another step further down the river to confirm this, but Ed only grinned widely as he retorted, "My Queen Anne won't sing along with any other song besides 'Drunken Whaler'. I tolerate your bird calls, you get to sit through my singing."

Kate sighed quietly, but Anne made a turn as she waited patiently for the song to continue. Ed threw his line into the waters as he finished, "O Death, O Death, won't you spare me over 'til another year?"

Queen Anne threw her head back as she gave her long, loud cry, and Kate rolled her eyes. She had no idea how neither she nor Bark had gone deaf from this. It was nice to fish though, and it tasted good. It was how they kept in touch with their animals.

The handlers wouldn't trade this for any other job in the world.

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Bridges sighed quietly as he stood near the sedated Spinosaurus. He had found a cheaper jacket to put on; appearance was everything. He knew it would calm people to see him looking normal even if the task was gruesome.

At least Sobek had the decency to leave the bodies whole. They were just kinked a little funny from where the old dinosaur had snapped his jaws.

The blonde resisted the urge to put his palm to his forehead when a sick snap was heard. The two men paled when the body simply folded at the spine before flopping onto the ground. Cleaning up was never pretty, and Bridges watched the Commander grimly growl at the two. Bridges sighed again when the blessed sound of the body bag's zipper finally pulled up, and the faces had been covered.

He glanced behind him when Sobek breathed a loud sigh before stilling. It wasn't good to keep a large animal like this sedated for very long. It was stressful, Sobek didn't like it, and it wasn't healthy for him to be down for long periods of time.

Bridges wondered if he did need to send more construction workers to speed things up. He had hoped they would work around the clock, but Rexy wasn't having any of that apparently. Bridges had to roll his eyes at that one, but he was amazed that no worker had been snatched up by a Velociraptor yet.

Bridges was actually more surprised that the Beta over there hadn't somehow used Rexy to help hunt down the workers. It sounded like the two were joined at the hip, and Bridges was curious how that came to be.

Jurassic World was odd sometimes, at least none of the animals here were making odd friendships.

Bridges was pulled from his thoughts when the Commander walked over before quietly saying, "We're done, Sir. Everyone has been picked up."

Bridges nodded as he watched the black bags wheel out before the door was half shut, and he sighed before pinching his nose as he asked, "The last of those four?"

"Yes, Sir. I...I accept full responsibility. I thought those could would have been able to handle it since they had the most experience. They had helped dig Sobek out, and...escaped Elise without a scratch."

The blonde waved it off as he snapped, "You can't be held accountable for every idiot who dives head first into death. I still have no idea why Jackson dove into the lagoon, but he's damn lucky Lilly got him before I could. I should have named them the Suicide Squad. Jackson gets eaten by the Mosasaur, Dave was swarmed by the compys, and now these two were done in by Sobek. Is it really that hard to be attentive to surroundings? Or am I not fully comprehending just how dangerous this job is?"

The Commander pressed his lips; Bridges was the most hands on CEO he had ever worked for. He really didn't know any other boss who would willingly dive into the room with the Spinosaurus in it for the sake of a vet. The Commander glanced at Sobek before offering, "I assure you I have gone through every single one of my men, and we have none that will ever make mistakes like that."

Bridges made a disgusted face as he growled, "It's called natural selection; the idiots sort themselves out."

The two paused when Sobek shifted slightly in his sleep, and Bridges snapped, "At least it's done and over with; we learned what we needed to learn from the 'Paintball Incident' as Dearing has taken to calling it. I never had a good feeling about that Jackson character; he looked like a squealer from day one, but Lilly took care of that for me. I want you to make sure there are no talkers on your team, Commander. I never want Dearing to find anything on those men, am I clear? I want records wiped, belongings destroyed, and families quieted by money, lies, or threats. As far as I am concerned, those four never existed; they already helped out by getting themselves killed."

Bridges turned to leave, but the Commander stopped him from asking, "Do you want the bodies returned home?"

The blonde shoved a hand in his pocket to twirl the lighter in thought as he stared at Sobek sleeping soundly. He was quiet for a minute or so before answering, "Jurassic World never found anything on those four. No fingerprints, no usable security footage; the only thing they found was the gun Elise snapped from Jackson. You can return them home; it'll look suspicious if we try to cover that. Besides, they died in unrelated accidents; no one will look further than Sobek's bite marks in the autopsy. Dearing is convinced those four were either extreme animal rights activists or family of Elise's victims'; she won't look here for answers."

The Commander nodded his head before leaving to finish everything. Bridges sighed when the door shut and he looked around him. The room was a mess, and he didn't even try to humor the thought of sending a cleanup crew in here while Sobek was still present. The Spinosaurus was clearly feeling well enough to cause hell, and Bridges rubbed his forehead in thought. Why was it that the little demons in his head always seemed to go quiet when he needed a good idea? They were great with warning him about danger, but they weren't always helpful.

He sighed before walking over and began to gently scratch behind the scarred jaw. Sobek cracked open his milky eye, and Bridges sighed, "I suppose I should keep up my end of the promise, no? I promised you could leave when you were ready; it would be wrong of me to force you here."

Bridges noticed the way Sobek's lip curled at his voice, and he didn't doubt the dinosaur was still furious about the flare. Bridges had no idea why the flare gun would scare Sobek, but he never tried to figure out why. Sobek was the only one who knew why.

And he couldn't talk like Iudex. Carnifex hardly spoke, but he was much less intelligent sounding and rougher. Iudex always talked intelligently if not a tad bit cruel with using dark secrets the shadows told him.

Bridges still didn't know the relationship between Mr. Growls and Iudex, but it seemed the tall shadow was always willing to be a docile shade in the corner of the room when Iudex talked.

The blonde shook himself from the thoughts as he continued to focus on the massive problem before him. His first thought was to keep Sobek here, but the living conditions were not to Bridges' liking. The blood was going to attract flies, and the wood shavings needed to be replaced. Bridges glanced at the shut doors before taking a step back to look Sobek over. The infected gash on his leg had calmed tremendously, and the scales were starting to shine again. The sail was growing colorful again, and the sapphire 'O's were coming back.

Bridges scratched his head in thought; he didn't think Sobek would struggle to defend himself provided Bridges was on top of things with security. They would probably need to reactivate the island's motion sensors and work with the ones that were still functioning. If they could prevent poachers, then Sobek would be safe. He was feeling far too fiery for the raptors to try and attack. Bridges wasn't concerned about any other carnivores on the island; their size couldn't compare.

Sobek's problem was food. The majority of his food came from the herds in the valley.

Bridges licked his lips before making his decision; they had men skilled enough with rifles to down an animal in the valley. It wouldn't kill it, but Sobek would certainly finish the job off. Bridges knew the Spinosaurus was a proud creature, but surely he wouldn't turn his nose up at a free meal.

Bridges just had to make sure the hunters would have a quick getaway. Sobek would probably investigate the shot before coming back to the kill, but he would provide silencers.

Content with his decision, Bridges walked over to the massive doors at the far end of the room before messing with the controls on the wall. He pressed the intercom button before asking, "Is everything clear?"

He waited a few seconds before the guard answered, "Yes, Sir. No sign of life; you're clear."

Bridges nodded before unlocking security. There was an emergency button that would immediately open the doors, but the alarm was loud. Too loud, and Sobek was aggravated enough as it was.

The massive doors slowly slid open, and a cool breeze graced the room with fresh air. Bridges hadn't realized how stuffy it was in here until now. They hadn't really opened the doors, but maybe Sobek would feel a little mellower now that he knew he could leave. Maybe they could give the room a quick cleaning if Sobek was willing to eat his dinner not far from here. The dinosaur didn't care much for traveling in the dark. They could clean the room, get a new bed, and Sobek could be enticed to spend another night here.

Bridges rubbed his jaw in thought; it wasn't a bad idea. He just wasn't sure how willing Sobek would be. He was usually done with people when he felt better. Bridges sighed before walking back; he would give the order for silence here. No danger would dare come here with the scent of two Spinosaurus here.

Sobek could stretch his legs little at the front lawn here in the day and sleep in the room at night. Bridges could provide the food and security until Jurassic World was ready.

Or Sobek would be his independent self, knock over some trees to show how livid he was with Bridges, and storm back to his nest to chase all the trespassers out. Bridges would have to send skilled men to help the dinosaur hunt, and it would be a very long wait on Claire's construction crew.

Bridges pressed his lips as he walked past the drugged dinosaur, and Sobek gave an angry hiss.

Sobek would be clearing the jungle before nightfall, and Bridges wouldn't be able to do a damn thing about it. He had to weigh the safety of his men in this equation, and with Romano down, there was no way he could justify this. Sobek was feeling good, and Bridges would help were he could.

It was going to be a very long few weeks, but at least he would have time to talk to Dr. Wu this afternoon.

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Owen was not comfortable in his current location, but he had promised to take Rosie wherever she wanted to go. He mentally smacked himself for not realizing where they would go first.

The Petting Zoo.

Owen was actually surprised none of the employees had tried to shank him or send one of their animals on him while he was leaning on their fence; he wasn't going inside the pen. He supposed it would be pointless to send an infant dinosaur to attack him; Owen really had been convinced these animals were adults with stunted growth genes.

He thought it was really cruel to put these babies through all that chaos, heaven knew Blue wouldn't have put up with this shenanigan for one second. Owen was pretty sure she would have been a nightmare if she had been put in here as an infant. He could just picture Blue leading all the infants out of here.

It was too loud and crowded, but Rosie was having a good time. That was all that mattered; his parents were almost as excited as Rosie had been. They had taken off to the Visitor's Center to see what knowledge Jurassic World had to offer.

Ted was intent on seeing a Stegosaurus before he left, and Charlotte wanted to see the Pachy Arena. Owen had to laugh when Rosie simply said she wanted to see all the dinosaurs. Planning vacation with his family had always been incredibly difficult, the vacation itself was always amazing. Everyone went their own separate ways before meeting at a designated spot for food. Owen had always found that funny considering all the family vacation commercials he had ever seen always portrayed the family sticking together like glue.

That was not his family.

Owen was pulled from his thoughts when Rosie gave a particularly delighted laugh. He smiled at seeing her gently stroking the face of a baby Apatosaurus who was over the moon at meeting a very gentle human. Owen had been watching the kids here; he actually hadn't seen anything concerning, but still, kids would be kids, and some just weren't as gentle as they needed to be. The babies had just grown used to it.

Rosie was really good with animals, and Owen was pretty sure she would end up working with them somehow. She bounced around from vet, zoo keeper, and even dog grooming; nothing really held her attention for very long.

But she never seemed to get tired of dinosaurs. Owen wasn't sure if that was because it was what he could talk about all day, or if Rosie was truly interested in them. She hadn't said anything about working here.

Owen couldn't help but to chuckle when Rosie trotted over to him with the Apatosaurus right behind her. The baby wasn't going to let this kid leave her so easily. Rosie had come back to him a few times before; she liked to meet a new dinosaur, learn a few things about it, and then come back to tell her uncle what she had learned.

"Uncle Owen! This one is really nice!"

Owen chuckled when the baby bumped her nose into Rosie's back, wanting more attention, and Owen said, "I can see that. What'd you learn about her?"

Rosie shrugged as she turned around to gently run her hand down the long neck before saying, "I didn't ask this time, but we can go see the adults, right? Are they really big, Uncle Owen?"

The baby Apatosaurus became interested in Owen, and he stayed still as the baby poked his hand with her nose. She was carefully sniffing his hand, and he really hoped she wasn't going to panic at the scent of the raptors. He had washed his hands and arms as best he could before coming in here. It would only be the icing on the cake if he managed to panic all the babies here into stampeding away.

Owen was just glad he hadn't seen Debra yet.

"The adults are pretty big, Booger."

"Have you seen them before?"

Owen nodded; he had seen six Apatosaurus before, but apparently those had been younger ones. He had never seen a full grown one that was standing. He just remembered how scared that one straggler had been; the one Elise had left to live alone. Traumatized and scarred.

He mentally shook himself, but couldn't stop a smile when the baby decided to see what his fingers tasted like. She was a gentle chewer, and Owen reminded himself that there was nothing he could do to change the past. Elise was remorseful for what she had done, and she was working to make sure she was a good edition to this park.

It was all Owen could expect of her.

"What do you think her name is?"

Owen shrugged as the baby continued to chew his fingers before answering, "I don't know, it's probably something cute and easy to pronounce."

Owen knew it was just easier for kids to remember, and he wondered how the keepers here actually kept track of all of them. It seemed like there were enough to keep track of everyone, and Owen applauded them for that. He felt his hands were full enough as it was with just Elise and the girls.

"Ready to go, Booger? We can go visit one more place before I have to go back to Elise. Nana and Grandpa will meet us there, and then you can go see more while I do my show."

Rosie immediately shook her head before saying, "I need to know her name first; it's polite, Uncle Owen."

Owen resisted the urge to snort at the tone. Rosie seemed almost offended that Owen was actually rude enough to visit this place without first learning the names of its inhabitants. He wiped his face before startling when a voice answered, "Her name is Love."

Rosie smiled at the curly hair keeper before she said, "That's a pretty name, I like it."

Debra smiled at the child while ignoring Owen. He was more than perfectly fine to pretend he didn't exist, and he really wished his mother had brought Rosie here instead of him.

But he had been really afraid of Rosie saying the wrong thing around Debra, and he had stepped aside with her for another talk. He hated serious talks with Rosie; it ruined things for him, but he felt like something had to be said. He had promised details later, but all she needed to know was Elise had hurt Debra and it was probably best not to mention her.

Love continued to chew Owen's fingers, and Rosie gestured to her as she asked, "Does she have a favorite food like Gizmo over there?"

Debra glanced at the Triceratops before answering, "Carrots, she loves carrots."

Rosie beamed before turning to Love as she said, "That's my favorite vegetable too! I bet you'll have really great eyesight when you get really big. You'll be able to see all the little bugs when you get really tall."

Owen glanced at Debra while Rosie continued to chat with Love like she could understand her. He honestly couldn't read anything on the woman, but she refused to look at Owen.

Owen was perfectly fine with that. They were mature adults, and they were going to act like it.

"How big is Love going to get?"

Debra was used to that question a lot, and she answered, "Love will be longer then Rexy, but a little shorter."

Debra always used Rexy for a size comparison; she was the biggest one here, and almost all the kids were familiar with her. Rosie stared at her before asking, "But like, how many feet? Rexy is forty feet long..."

Owen was very glad his niece was smart enough to use Rexy for size comparison. He knew a white dinosaur who was a few inches away from being forty-one feet long. Her most recent growth spurt had made a difference, but she was getting bigger. Owen had wondered if she would outdo Sobek, but he didn't think she would.

Debra blinked at the question, but she answered, "Well, our oldest Apatosaurus is seventy-five feet long, and she's fourteen feet tall."

Rosie was satisfied with that answer, and she turned to Love before saying, "No sharp turns for you, Love."

The dinosaur paused from her newest chew toy to give a soft cry before claiming Owen's hand again. He couldn't help his snort, but Rosie turned back to Debra as she politely said, "Thank you, Ma'am."

Debra gave a nod, but Rosie glanced at Owen as she said, "I'm gonna go say bye to Sunny before we leave, Uncle Owen."

Owen watched her disappear into the little herd, and he glanced to the side when Debra dryly asked, "Not afraid of Love taking your fingers?"

He shook his head when the baby decided to chew his thumb, and he said, "Blue is the one I have to watch my fingers around. She took the tip of my pinky once; I was lucky she decided to chew it instead of eating it. Love is fine."

"So that's your niece?"

Owen stopped himself from giving a sarcastic remark, and he answered, "Yeah, I haven't seen her for a while; she came to visit for her birthday."

Debra nodded as they stood in silence, and it was clear Rosie had every intent of saying her farewell to all the new friends she made. Debra glanced at Owen as she said, "She's good around animals. Is she interested in working here?"

Owen shook his head before answering, "I don't know; she's going to work with animals, but I don't know if she'll work here. With my luck she'll want to care for Rexy."

"You don't think she'll want to work with Elise?"

That was the dinosaur Owen was pretty sure Rosie was going to work with if she ever picked one, but he sure as hell wasn't going to mention her. He just shrugged before answering, "I'm not sure actually; she does her own little thing."

Debra nodded, and Owen changed the subject by asking, "Where'd you learn to punch like that?"

The woman suddenly laughed, and she said, "It was a good punch, wasn't it?"

Owen gave a small smile with another shrug as he said, "That was a really good hit. I wouldn't get in a bar fight with you."

Debra snorted but she answered, "I take boxing classes."

Owen raised his eyebrows while looking at her before looking at the animals in the zoo.

"Box what? There's nothing here to box. Do parents here get that rowdy?"

Debra pressed her lips, and Owen took it as a yes. He wondered if Debra actually had to beat down a parent who wouldn't take responsibility for their little kid. More than once Owen had to deal with a kid who had parent unwilling to be parental. Elise was usually the one to straighten them out, but he found it funny that Debra might get into fights with parents.

Instead the woman answered, "Sometimes I need to knock sense into people. Did I knock sense into you?"

Owen let out a short laugh before saying, "Blue knocked all the sense out of me; there's nothing to knock back in. Rick was the one who...talked some sense into me."

Debra raised her eyebrows as she stared at him; Owen really hoped he hadn't said the wrong thing. He really wanted to avoid fights with Debra because she did have legitimate excuses for being upset with Elise, and he just didn't want to get in a fight in front of Rosie. He wanted her to have happy memories here, and he just didn't want her to see his temper.

"I thought he was kidding when he said you would knock it off. Is that why you've been avoiding the Break Room?"

Owen pressed his lips before quietly saying, "I just want to avoid causing you anymore grief. I..."

Owen trailed off before lowering his voice even more as he said, "I thought you had just hated Elise because of what she was...I didn't know you raised the babies here. I thought they were genetically modified...midgets."

Debra raised her eyebrows before she glanced at Love still chewing Owen's fingers, and she quietly asked, "You thought these were...? Why would Jurassic World have these mini animals?"

Owen shrugged before saying, "I don't know; I was always in the Restricted Area. I just assume things. I've never seen any baby dinosaur besides Velociraptors. I'm so used to sticking by my girls that it didn't make sense to me to see you always cycling in new animals. I thought the adults raised their babies."

Debra shook her head as she gave Owen a look that clearly said she thought he was an idiot. Owen wouldn't get snappy with her, and he mentally sighed in relief when Rosie decided to walk back. He wanted to pinch his nose when the seven year old was distracted by another baby.

"I hear Elise is getting good at writing."

Owen blinked at the question before slowly answering, "Yes, she's doing pretty good. She can get some basic sentences out."

"Do you ever ask her what was going through her head when she decided to kill those dinosaurs?"

Owen glanced at the tight lipped woman before he quietly said, "Debra, I don't think this is the place for that conversation. We can talk later, or-"

"I just want two answers, Grady. I want to know what was going through her head when she killed those Apatosaurus, and I want to know if she's sorry for that. After that, we can go our merry ways."

Owen paused when Rosie went to another dinosaur, and he realized she was avoiding the tense adults. She knew something was off between him and Debra, and he sagged. Rosie would glance over at them every few minutes to see if it was okay to go over, and she moved to another dinosaur when she knew it wasn't. He sighed before giving Love a soft stroke on the head as he said, "I did ask Elise about it, even before she could write."

Debra crossed her arms as she leaned on the fence; waiting for the answer, and Owen paused to word his answer carefully. He and Elise had a long talk about this. He had wanted to know all her morals, her thoughts, and it had been a tense conversation at times. He wouldn't let her leave until he had his answers; they had been late to their show because of it.

She didn't remember a lot right after breaking out of her paddock, but she remembered attacking ACU by the river. She hadn't planned to ambush them, but she took the opportunity.

She wasn't sorry for winning that fight, and Owen realized that was her dinosaur side. If she was challenged to a fight, she would fight, and she wouldn't regret winning.

She remembered attacking Zach and Grey; she wanted to terrorize them because they were humans. She had intended to kill them.

She was very sorry for doing that, and she made it clear she would never hurt another child again. Owen believed that.

She was sorry for attacking the Ankylosaurs for no good reason.

Elise hadn't known the Aviary Assets were going to attack Masrani; she had just thought it was funny to scare the birds. She was sorry for that as well.

Owen remembered how hard Elise had tried to avoid the subject of her convincing the girls to try killing him; she had been terrified of Owen getting angry at her. She had been afraid of ruining their relationship, but Owen wasn't angry for her reasons.

He had been very sad.

"Grady?"

Owen snapped out of his thoughts before answering, "I don't think Elise is ever going to forgive herself for attacking those Apatosaurus. She is incredibly sorry for killing them. I know that's the first thing she'd take back if she could."

Debra blinked a few times, as if she was surprised to hear that, before asking, "What about ACU?"

Owen rubbed his forehead as he said, "She saw it as a challenge. They came armed and prepared to fight; she's not sorry for that. She's sorry for attacking animals who weren't looking for a fight."

Debra wasn't sure how to respond to that, and Owen glanced around before finally saying, "Elise was angry and hurt; she's doesn't try to excuse her actions, but that's how she was. She still can't comprehend why she and her sister were so isolated from everyone else. She never had a caregiver, she was on her own, and all she saw when she got out here is how wonderful Jurassic World treats the other dinosaurs. They get to roam in big plains, they aren't alone, and they're happy. Those Apatosaurus got to live in a huge paddock while Elise was being suffocated by the plants in her paddock."

Debra pressed her lips before quietly asking, "How big was her paddock?"

"I could run from one end to the other; it's still sitting there unoccupied, you can go see for yourself."

Debra shook her head before she asked, "So...why did she kill? She was just pissed?"

Owen could easily hear the bitterness in the tone, and he gave Debra the same answer Elise had given him.

"She wanted everyone else to be just as miserable as her. She wanted everyone to know what it was like to be completely alone."

The curly haired woman seemed to hug herself more tightly before bitterly asking, "So, what? Now that she has a family the world is sunshiny again and wonderful?"

Owen pressed his lips before saying, "Elise never tried to deny what she did, she doesn't make excuses for herself. She knows she did some really bad things, Debra; she doesn't think she's a good creature."

Debra raised an eyebrow before saying, "The kids here always say she's so happy and colorful all the time. I didn't think she'd have a guilty conscious."

Owen snorted; he had realized he and Debra shared the same audience, but he asked, "Have you ever heard that cheesy quote where it's something like the saddest people always smile the brightest? Elise is a lot like that."

Debra raised an eyebrow before correcting, "The loneliest people are the kindest, the saddest smile the brightest, and the most damaged are the wisest."

Owen blinked at her before saying, "Elise is a lot like those actually. She doesn't like seeing anyone alone or sad, and she's pretty wise beyond her six years. You should hear the things she has to say."

Debra only quietly said, "I'm not sure I'll ever try to have a conversation with her. I got my answers, and I'm glad she's sorry. It won't bring my babies back, but I feel just a little bit better."

Owen nodded as he rubbed the back of his neck before offering, "Look...I...about the laxatives and taking that stuff. I'm sorry about that; I get a little extreme sometimes."

"You think? I lost five pounds because of you."

Owen wasn't going to ask if she was happy about that or not, but he added, "And for making your anniversary shitty...no pun intended."

Debra snorted again, but she said, "We weren't going to do anything anyways. We played poker in the bathroom all night."

She caught Owen's look and dryly said, "Yes, that is what marriage is like, Grady. I'll accept your apology, but I don't know if I'll forgive Elise."

Owen nodded before finally waving Rosie over. He wanted out of here, and he awkwardly said, "So...I'll just keep to my side of the park after this, and...yeah..."

Debra raised an eyebrow as she asked, "You going to draw a line in the park? Do we get to choose what buildings belong to who to really avoid each other? Because Ben & Jerry's is mine."

Owen pressed his lips before asking, "Well...can I have it on Tuesdays? I like them..."

Debra almost laughed at the tone, but she said, "You're funny, I almost wish I liked you more because I know you're not a bad guy, and I know Elise isn't the same Indominus who rampaged through the park. Maybe I'll talk to her someday, but for now, I just don't want to see you or her. No offence."

Owen raised his hands as he said, "I get it; that's fine."

Debra watched Rosie trot over before she asked her, "Are you going to work here when you grow up?"

Rosie shrugged her shoulders like Owen was fond of doing before answering, "I haven't decided yet, but I might because I really like it here. I really like the Apatosaurus."

"You're not going to work with Elise?"

Rosie shook her head immediately before answering, "No, Grandpa says it's a really bad idea to work with family, and I'm Elise's big sister. My friend Kylie has a sister, and they annoy each other a lot. I love Elise, but I'm sure we'll annoy each other if we spend too much time together. I'll visit her a lot, but I think she likes her space too."

Debra blinked at the girl, and Owen laughed as he pulled Rosie over the fence as he said, "Alright, Booger, we need to get going because Elise's next show is pretty soon. You two haven't annoyed each other yet, and I'm sure Blue is causing trouble."

"Okay, Uncle Owen. Can we go see the Mosasaur after this?"

Debra smiled at Owen's paled color, and he said, "I think I've seen enough of Lilly for a really long time, Booger."

Rosie thought about that before saying, "Oh yeah, Nana fainted after that video on YouTube, then she lit a lot of candles, but she wouldn't let me make s'mores with them."

Owen laughed loudly before he gave a final pat on Love's head. The Apatosaurus gave an indignant cry at her favorite chew toy leaving, but Owen gave a little wave to Debra before leaving. The curly haired woman glanced at her baby for a second before calling out, "Grady!"

Owen turned around to stare at her, and she finally said, "You can have it on Tuesdays!"

The man pulled his lips into a crooked grin before giving another wave. Debra didn't wave back, but she sighed as she glanced at Love. She was pretty sure Love was smelling a familiar scent on Owen, and she was really glad that the man still didn't know about Elise meeting Love. Either the Indominus was much more private than she thought or Elise hadn't deemed that meeting very important.

Debra wondered what would happen if Love grew up around Elise. She briefly pictured the Indominus wandering around with the herd, but she didn't want to really think about it. She only gave the baby another carrot before allowing her gaze to wander the zoo. Love made no move to go anywhere else, and Debra wished her baby would pick a dinosaur to be best friends with. They always did better if they had a close companion when they were introduced to the herds, but Love was alone a lot. She did her own thing.

The loneliest was truly the kindest; Debra had never met a sweeter baby. Maybe someday she would let Love meet Elise again; if the baby hadn't picked a buddy, but that wasn't going to happen for a very long time.

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

Owen glanced down at his niece when he realized she hadn't bombarded him with questions, and she wasn't leading him somewhere else. Her brows were furrowed slightly, and Owen knew that look; it was her thinking look.

"What's wrong, Booger?"

Rosie glance up at Owen before pulling him off the sidewalk. They found a quiet, little section near a building, and he kneeled to her level before she asked, "Does Elise really think she's bad?"

Owen held his breath before breathing, "You weren't supposed to hear that."

"Well, you talk kind of loud, Uncle Owen. I didn't hear everything, but Elise thinks she's bad?"

Owen once again refused to lie to his niece simply because she was smart, and he nodded. It had broken his heart when Elise had written that, and he had grown incredibly frustrated when she wouldn't be swayed.

"She's done some bad things because her life was hard, Rosie. She knows better now, but there's some things she can't take back, and she's very sorry for that."

Rosie nodded, and Owen was always surprised by how serious his niece could be. He squeezed her arm gently as he added, "I'm helping Elise as best I can, but I don't want you asking her about this stuff. She's trying to heal as best she can, and she can be hard to read sometimes, okay? You can help by being her big sister."

Rosie nodded again as she remained serious. She grabbed Owen's hand as they began to walk through the streets, and Owen glanced down when Rosie sighed, "She's gonna have to watch Wreck-It-Ralph, Uncle Owen."

Owen blinked at his niece, and she met his gaze evenly as she added, "And a lot of other movies. Does she like any movies?"

Owen would admit he spat out his water when Elise had told him she found Joker to be a reasonable role-model. He almost fell over in his haste to correct her; he couldn't think of a worse person to look up to, but Elise wasn't swayed. She never explained why she thought Joker was incredible, but Owen would admit it scared him.

"She likes Batman."

Elise hated Batman, and Owen knew it. She rooted for the villains in those movies.

Rosie scrunched her nose before saying, "No, she needs good movies, Uncle Owen. We have a lot of work to do. We're gonna have to do a movie marathon."

Owen tugged his niece towards the Rex Kingdom as he sighed, "Yeah, I had a feeling you were going to say that."

Rosie brightened when she recognized the area, and she led the way while saying, "Oh good because I don't know where to get a TV to show Elise the movies. I got my favorites, but I don't have a TV."

"Did Grandpa bring his laptop for you to watch the movies on?"

Rosie nodded, and Owen said, "Claire has a projector we can use, and the weather isn't going to be very good tomorrow. She might let us do movies in between shows. It'll give the guests a spot to be, maybe we can let other kids decide what movies to watch."

Rosie gave Owen a look that he knew to be her debating face. She did not want other kids to decide, and she simply said, "Uncle Owen, they're gonna chose Frozen, and I don't think Elise needs to see that. There's more important ones like Lilo&Stitch, Tarzan, Lion King, Monsters Inc., Beauty and the Beast-"

Owen grinned; he loved pushing his niece's buttons, and even if he had never seen Frozen; it had gotten enough attention that he knew the gist of the story.

"But Frozen can teach Elise about family."

"So can Lilo&Stitch, Tarzan, Finding Nemo, and-"

Owen had to try really hard not to grin as he pushed, "But it's not a romantic movie like a lot of Disney movies are."

Rosie lowered her brows at Owen, and he knew he was treading thin ice when she said, "So is Brave, and Toy Story, and Mulan. Uncle Owen, Elise doesn't need to see Frozen."

"But I hear it has some really great songs, and I'm sure Elise would like to see snow."

Rosie sighed quietly, and Owen knew he was going to get her final argument. She pulled her hand from his to pat his hip as she solemnly said, "Uncle Owen, I'm tired of watching Frozen. We watch it a lot in school, and I don't want to see it anymore, okay? I don't even have the movie with me, so we can't watch it."

Owen finally started laughing as he hugged Rosie close to his side. She smiled when he said, "Ah, Booger, I'm just messing with you. Besides, Elise really gets irritated when she has to listen to songs with words in them. She likes classical music."

Rosie blinked before saying, "But...a lot of Disney movies has singing in them..."

"Yeah, you're going to be limited in what you decide to show her. I don't think she'll stick around when she realizes how much singing is in the movies."

Rosie huffed as she tried to sort through the daunting task ahead of her. Elise's preferences had just wiped out half the good movies. Owen glance down when Rosie finally said, "She's gonna have to get over it."

Owen couldn't stop his short laugh; Rosie was adorable.

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

"Dr. Wu, you look a little under the weather today."

Wu didn't even try to hide the glare he gave the blonde, and he stiffly said, "It's. Classified."

Bridges rolled his eyes as he shut the door behind him, and snapped, "I said I wouldn't ask for more records, and I'll stand by that. I need a simple yes or no answer."

"No. Get out. I'm busy."

The blonde raised an eyebrow before dangerously saying, "I sincerely hope that is the answer you'll give me when I ask my question because we might have a problem if it's a yes, but this is an easy fix, Dr. Wu."

The geneticist continued to glare over the top of his laptop, and Bridges could see he was still babying his injured hand. Bridges knew the man wasn't visiting the hospital as often as he should, and he had withdrawn from his work recently. Bridges knew Wu was toeing on the fine line between still wanting to be cooperative for the sake of staying alive, and simply not giving a damn because he was done. Wu was going to be a liability if he toed over to the latter.

But Carnifex loved liabilities almost as much as he loved pests.

Bridges relaxed his posture as he said, "I know you and I are in a rough patch, but that's fine because we have things figured out between us. I just want to know if you created additional Indominus embryos because those are not something any of us need to be caught with."

Wu seemed to lift his eyebrows briefly in agreement before lowering them again as he snapped, "The Indominus was a prototype; I had no need for creating more."

Bridges raised his eyebrows in mild surprise as he slowly said, "Dr. Wu, I want to be very clear that if there are Indominus embryos, the only thing I will do is destroy them. I just don't want to be caught with them; especially if they have human DNA like Elise."

The blonde paused before asking, "Whose DNA is in her anyway? Is it yours?"

Wu really wanted to roll his eyes as he said, "I did not create more Indominus, and that is classified."

Bridges waved his hand as he said, "Of course, that question slipped. I just don't want to be surprised by an unwilling donor coming forward-"

"I'm not that bold, Mr. Bridges. The donor was willing."

Bridges nodded quietly before saying, "If there are no more embryos-"

"No. Now, please."

Wu gestured to the door as politely as he could, and Bridges despised being told when to get out.

But Wu was on that fine line, and Bridges needed him to stay on the right side. It wouldn't do him good to have the man go off the deep end before they could find someone to replace him. He reluctantly let Wu have this battle, but paused when the geneticist said, "I had heard Sobek lose his temper; I had thought he would be leaving for Jurassic World by now."

Bridges blinked; he could have sworn Wu had made it very clear that he didn't pay attention to any of his creations once they left the lab. He couldn't see why Wu would care about Sobek, and that made him suspicious. He tucked his hand in his pocket as he said, "Miss Dearing needs to build the new paddock for Sobek, and it'll be a few more weeks before that happens. Sobek is staying her for a little while longer."

Bridges carefully watched the man for his reaction, and internally huffed when the man didn't betray himself. Wu was always the master as hiding his emotions, but it didn't mean Bridges wasn't going to watch him much more carefully now.

The geneticist nodded, and Bridges took that as his cue to leave. He shut the door behind him quietly before rubbing his chin in thought. He needed to put eyes on Wu at all times because the man had been just snappy enough to try something bold.

Bridges wasn't going to tolerate that, but he would first let Hart know that they were in the clear with the embryos. It was good to know that he wouldn't need to worry about it.

Wu let out a loud sigh when the door shut, and the shadow left. He went back to his laptop before muttering, "Arrogant idiot..."

The man took a long drink from his tasteless tea before sighing. He had really hoped Sobek would be leaving sooner, but he would power through it. He just had to have one last laugh with Bridges, and now he had an opportunity for another one.

He could right a few wrongs at least in his spare time here.

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

"Alright, Elise. Uncle Owen and I did the math; we won't be able to watch all the movies I want to because we don't have the time."

Elise blinked at the child sitting before her. Rosie was very much like Owen, and the man snorted quietly from his pile of ferns. Elise was comfortably curled up in front of her sister's box, and Owen was sure the plant was getting close to being planted. He just wanted it to sit in a sheltered spot before it would have to face the weather on its own. Elise had been slightly agitated about it, but she would have rather it grow a little stronger before being planted.

Rosie held a stick in her hand like a teacher before she said, "So I decided I would at least teach you a few important lessons from movies that we won't watch because they aren't as important."

Elise was fine with that, and she rumbled at Rosie before the girl said, "Uncle Owen said you think you're bad for some reason, and I'm not sure why you think that, but I'll respect your privacy. I just want you to know I think you're good."

Elise flicked her tail at the child as she humored her with her attention. She knew Rosie was older than her, but Elise had experience to age her. Still, it was amusing to see the small child act so serious about this subject. Apparently this Disney business was serious business.

Rosie held her hand up as she said, "This one is from the movie called Wreck-It-Ralph, and it's about a bad guy who doesn't want to be a bad guy. He wants to be good, but he can't because he is the villain in his game. He has to learn to love himself as a villain."

Elise tilted her head, and Owen smiled at her confused expression; she had no idea what video games were. Rosie didn't seem to notice, and she said, "The bad guys say this to remind themselves that it's okay to be them."

Elise glanced at Owen with a dry expression, and he rolled over in the ferns to hide his quiet laughing. Elise was very much in her adult mood, and being taught by a child was something else. The Indominus lowered her head to stare at Rosie, and the girl cleared her throat before saying, "I am bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad because there's no one else I would rather be than me."

Elise blinked at the accepting wisdom, but a little part of her said that didn't quite apply to her. It was liberating though, and she liked it.

She was bad, but that was fine. She knew she would never be good even if she did her best, and that wasn't bad. She just needed to love herself. It was something Elise wasn't aware she needed to hear, and she felt a tension in her chest dissipate the more she thought about it.

She wasn't sure why it was good to be bad, but she wondered if it had to do with the balance of things. She would be bad because Owen was good. Elise was satisfied by that, and she chittered at Rosie for being wise beyond her years. Elise felt much better; it was what she needed to hear.

She was bad, and that was good for the balance of things. She was never going to be good, but that wasn't bad because she could still do good. There was no one else she needed to be besides herself. She didn't need to be Owen, she needed to be herself because Owen was already here.

Owen smiled when Elise half rolled onto her back to expose her underbelly to Rosie as she made a low croon. He relaxed back into the ferns before sighing. Claire had thought it was a good idea to do a movie marathon tomorrow; it would give Elise and Rosie time to bond, and guests could come in if the weather wasn't kind.

Rosie really did have a large collection of movies, but Owen wasn't going to complain. He really needed to see Elise's face when she realized just how musical the movies were. She was wrapped around Rosie's finger, and there was no way the Indominus would just ditch Rosie.

Rosie wasn't going to let her do that.

He couldn't help his ornery smile as Rosie went through her list of movies to have Elise watch, and the Indominus was listening attentively as the seven year old explained the plots.

"Hey, Elise."

The Indominus lifted her head, and Owen couldn't help asking, "Do you wanna build a snowman?"

Elise tilted her head to where she almost looked like an owl, but Owen started to laugh at Rosie's deadpan look. The child sighed before assuring Elise, "You and Uncle Owen can watch that one some other time. I'll ask Nana to send it to him for his birthday; I think I can by him an Elsa tiara too. Boys can be pretty too, Elise."

Elise glanced around as she began to tap her claw on the ground; too much information at once. She didn't know what a snowman was nor did she know who Elsa was. She didn't know the word tiara, and she didn't understand why Rosie had said like it was bad for boys to feel pretty.

Owen only snorted from his ferns, but Rosie was scratching her list in the dirt. Elise quietly read the words as Rosie talked aloud, and Owen kept a sharp ear out for signs of the girls. He frowned as he glanced at his watch before the quiet thudding of feet reached his ears. He sat up before Blue suddenly burst from the brush as she raced towards Elise. The Indominus made to scoop Rosie close to her, but Blue and the girls screeched to a sharp halt when Rosie put her hand up, and firmly said, "Whoa!"

Owen blinked when Blue actually backed up; he was pretty sure she had backed up more out of surprise then anything, but he couldn't stop himself from feeling incredibly proud. Rosie had remembered what he said about training his girls.

Rosie beamed happily as she praised, "Good girls."

Elise scooted much closer to Rosie in order to hover over her protectively. Blue made a confused chirp while the other two stepped about, and Owen finally started to laugh. Blue had no idea what to do with a child barking orders at her.

A child being protected by an Indominus while barking orders at her.

But Blue knew what to do with an irritating Stupid Alpha who laughed at her. Elise snorted when the raptor tackled Owen in a playful fight, and she growled at the other two to keep their space. Elise knew the raptors would be fine so long as Rosie didn't try to touch them, but she had been around enough children to know how touchy they were.

But Elise just wouldn't give Rosie the opportunity to get touchy feely on the raptors. She glanced down when Rosie patted her as she said, "Ohana."

Elise glanced back up when Owen somehow managed to get an upper hand on the raptor, but she chittered and barked the rest of the phrase as best she could to Rosie. The child giggled when Owen yelped indignantly as Blue pinned him, but the raptor let out a startled chirp when Owen managed to flip them. The two weren't going to back down, and Elise scanned the trees for Rexy just in case. It seemed the Tyrannosaurus wasn't here at the moment, and that was fine. It was one less carnivore to watch.

Delta took a few steps closer, and Elise warned her to give them space. Owen let out a victorious laugh when he managed to pin Blue, and raptor indignantly shrieked. Rosie paused before suddenly saying, "Uncle Owen, I got a boyfriend!"

"What?!"

Blue was an opportunist, and she flipped Owen over in his shock. The man let out a grunt when he was pinned in the dirt, and Blue was almost smirking victoriously. Owen was still focused on Rosie, and she added, "I mean a stuffed pony. I thought it was really pretty."

Owen blinked before exclaiming, "You little dork, you were helping Blue!"

Elise made her sucked in laugh when the child only giggled at the accusation. Blue chirped smugly, and Owen rolled his eyes before saying, "You get to watch Frozen while Elise and I watch all the good movies."

Rosie was quick to correct, "It was a good movie, I'm just tired of watching it."

"Sure thing, Booger. Alright, Blue; off."

The raptor seemed to give a slight pause before she allowed Owen up. He grunted when she plopped next to him before leaning on him heavily. He rolled his eyes when he realized why Blue was feeling so playful and touchy.

She wanted her back scratched again.

The raptor pressed against Owen to confirm this, and he sighed before complying. Blue immediately relaxed when the calloused fingers got all the hard to reach itchy spots, and Owen only snorted at her.

Rosie remained close to Elise while she admired Echo and Delta. The two raptors were incredibly curious about meeting this hatchling, but Elise was feeling very protective. She wasn't in the mood to risk Rosie.

The duo glanced over when Owen said, "Booger, we can probably watch a movie tonight if you want. Pick a really good one, and we can watch it after dinner, right Elise?"

The Indominus nodded, and Rosie immediately said, "Lilo&Stitch! I think Elise is a lot like Stitch."

Rosie glanced at the Indominus before saying, "I think you'll like that one; Stitch is the really smart alien who crashes into Hawaii, and he's funny too..."

Owen smiled as Elise attentively listened to Rosie. Blue's leg twitched when he had hit that right spot, and he continued to lightly scratch in between her shoulders before going down her back.

Owen just wanted to see Elise's face when she would be forced to watch her first musical.