Claire Dearing came back to the park a few days after Alan Grant's arrival, once more in charge of Jurassic World, and Owen found himself relax a little more. After everything they had gone through together he knew he could trust her.
"Good to have you back," he told her.
Claire, standing in front of the bottom to ceiling window of her new old office, dressed once again in white, turned her head and smiled at him. She had the same haircut, the same discrete make-up, the same pale skin.
What had changed was the expression in her blue eyes. There was something there, a knowledge, a memory, and a new kind of understanding.
"I have to thank you for that."
"Me? How come?"
"I think Mr. Masrani was quite impressed with you. He said that one of your conditions for working at the park as you have was that I would come back."
Owen frowned. "I recommended that he reinstate you as park manager. I never pushed or put a gun to his head with my conditions. He knows that I'd stay here no matter what."
"Because of the pack, yes, but Simon wants your cooperation, not your opposition. You have a very unique position, Owen, never forget that."
"Alpha raptor?"
She nodded with a fine smile. "You're a very strong preternatural and Masrani has no idea how far your reach goes."
His frown deepened, then he shrugged. "I'm glad you're back."
"As am I, believe it or not."
"How are Zach and Gray?"
"Better than many adults. They know it wasn't a gas attack or terrorists, but they also know they can't talk about it. We talked a lot. I spent a lot of time with my sister and brother-in-law, with Zach and Gray." Her expression was wistful. "Now I'm back."
He nodded.
She was back and it felt like normalcy.
x XX JW XX x
Everyone had come together to welcome their park manager and Claire had been visibly touched. The cake was delicious, the muffins and cookies from the bakery didn't last long, and by the end of the day everyone was full and almost in a sugar coma.
Alan was there, keeping to sodas and other non-alcoholic drinks, just like Owen. Grady had no idea what would happen to the pack bond should he get drunk.
He met Claire's eyes and raised his glass. "Welcome home."
x XX JW XX xx XX JW XX xx XX JW XX xx XX JW XX xx XX JW XX xx XX JW XX xx XX JW XX xx XX JW XX x
Alan stood outside the raptor enclosure, trying to fight against the tension in his whole body as he watched Owen work with his pack. All four raptors were without their muzzles, standing around Owen, watching him curiously as he was strapping something to Delta's back.
He had been on Isla Nublar for ten days now and he had gotten to know the pack a little better. Alan had learned to tell apart the individual raptors, though it wasn't too complicated because of the different color markings. Still, they also had different personalities.
Owen's place in the pack was undisputed and unchallenged. Grant would have thought that Blue might want to take over from a human alpha, but she kept the other three in line and stood solidly next to Owen. The alpha could touch them all without a problem and even with his back turned to the lethal predators there was never any danger.
Now Owen was crawling around Delta's belly and adjusting the harness, ignoring sharp claws and teeth.
"I want them to record where they go," Owen had told Alan. "It's a good way to see other sides of the restricted area."
He had cobbled together a harness that didn't hinder the raptors in their movement and wouldn't catch in the branches of a low tree or a bush. There were two cameras attached to the shoulder harness, left and right, just in case one was torn off or malfunctioned.
Delta craned her neck and watched her alpha work. Owen pushed against her curious nose and Alan felt his hands clench around the metal bars.
Blue looked away from Delta and Owen, meeting Alan's eyes. Her expression was not human and hard to read, but despite that she had no real facial movement, her exasperation was almost clear to see.
It was one thing Alan had learned quite quickly: there was a lot more to the pack beta than he had ever thought possible. She was more than a raptor. Her connection to Owen had expanded her mind... and whatever else Dr. Wu had done to her DNA.
If Alan was talented, he suspected he would be able to feel her attempt to communicate. But that razor-sharp expression was more than enough.
Owen had repeatedly told him that Blue couldn't talk and the communication was not in words. Owen's brain simply translated it. Still, the raptors were so much more than animals. While Charlie, Delta and Echo didn't interact with their alpha the way Blue did, they weren't different. They simply accepted their lower ranks.
Blue snorted, shaking her head. Her fingers twitched, almost impatiently.
Alan forced himself to breathe, though he couldn't get used to such dangerous predators moving unrestrained around a human being.
One bite.
Just one swipe of a claw.
Blue's nostrils blew open wide and she shook her head again. Her eyes were fixed on Alan, the intensity frightening. She looked like she was scowling at him, berating him for his negative thoughts. There was a touch of exasperation and a lot of disgust.
Yes, Owen was the alpha and the pack respected him, but still... the past was hard to shake off.
"Done," Owen announced, straightened from where he had secured the harness under Delta's belly.
Blue turned her attention back on her alpha and Alan found himself breathing easier once more.
"And it looks good." Owen patted Delta's neck. "Fashionable, too. For being stitched together from scrap."
Delta blinked and shifted her a weight a little, like testing the new addition to her body.
"She doesn't even really feel it," Owen told the professor as he walked over to the fence. "I did my best to soften it up. It's an old horse harness, for pulling wagons, and I had to take out some parts to make it smaller and more flexible for them. Shouldn't bother her scars. She knows what it's for, too."
"Why Delta and not Blue?"
"Blue's keeping an eye on things when they're out there. Delta is regular pack, so she can run wherever she wants. If this works I'll add more harnesses. The cameras have GPS, so it helps in mapping the island, too."
Alan nodded. Blue had silently come closer, stopping behind her alpha, regarding Alan like she was trying to bring something across. Grant wouldn't trust her even if she could talk and swore she was a harmless, fluffy bunny.
He knew velociraptors were anything but harmless. They were killing machines, created to bring down prey bigger than them.
And Hammond had given them the little extra the general public expected when they heard 'velociraptor'. Masrani had simply continued the work.
"I'll take them to the restricted area and see how it all works out." Owen raised his eyebrows, offering silently.
Alan shook his head. "Thanks, but no. Really no. I've an appointment with some of the guys down at the Labs. They agreed to show me the i-rex skeleton. Ms. Dearing mentioned that they're going to mount it behind the scenes; for research purposes."
Owen scowled. "I had hoped they would just pack it all up and store it somewhere it wouldn't be seen ever again."
Alan nodded. He understood the feeling. His own concerning certain dinosaurs were the same.
Blue snorted softly and Owen rested a hand against her neck like it was the most natural thing in the world. And for him it was.
Natural.
Normal.
Alan would never get used to it, but looking at the warm, relaxed expression in Owen's eyes and the attentive way Blue looked at him, this was what their relationship was all about.
In the background, Charlie and Echo were sniffing and nosing at the harness Delta wore. Delta herself looked almost proud with her new addition. She shouldered Charlie away and snapped at Echo when the other raptors wanted to nibble at the leathers.
"I'll see you later then," Owen said, grinning at his pack's antics.
"You can find me in the Labs."
Grady waved and started to prepare for the ride into the restricted area.
x XX JW XX x
The camera survey worked like a charm. Delta was the proud camera girl and she chirped, head held high, aware that she had done a really good job.
Owen chuckled as he freed her of the harness, which he would clean and stow for the next time.
"Yeah, you were great, Delta."
She whuffled, shooting pointed looks at her pack mates. Blue watched with silent amusement, then snapped playfully at the lower-ranked raptor as Delta pranced around her.
"Go and play or whatever," Owen laughed.
He would download the camera feed and study it tonight. He also had an idea for a head-mounted camera already.
x XX JW XX xx XX JW XX xx XX JW XX xx XX JW XX xx XX JW XX xx XX JW XX xx XX JW XX xx XX JW XX x
Alan stayed for almost a month.
At the end of that time he almost reluctantly left again.
"Masrani offered me a consultant position," Alan told Owen over breakfast on his last day.
Owen looked up, surprised. "And?"
"Thinking about it."
"You are? I'm surprised."
Alan chuckled. "I haven't hit my head somewhere, if you are thinking that. I believe things have changed. More than I would have thought. Some are still the same, though, and the old mistakes are repeated in new ways."
"You want to be the voice of reason?"
"Since Mr. Masrani offered to listen, which is rare enough, I believe I should give it a try."
Owen grinned. "Well, yeah. You should."
"It doesn't mean I'm going to move here," Alan cautioned him. "I'll just be here from time to time."
"And you'll always be welcome."
"I have to confess the hotel is comfortable."
Owen chuckled and raised his coffee. "Cheers."
x XX JW XX x
He watched the helicopter take off a few hours later. Alan waved and Owen grinned briefly as he saluted him.
He knew Alan would be back.
The man was way too invested and too fascinated by the dinosaurs, especially the velociraptors.
When the helicopter was only a spec in the distance, Owen walked slowly back toward the hotel. He took the garden path to the front, then decided to go into the still closed theme park. He ran into Laurel and Reggie, who were chatting animatedly, and Laurel gave him a bright smile.
"Hey. You want to come over for movie night? Fatih and Luis got the theater up and running. We also have a direct line into one of the best movie systems."
"What's showing?"
"You can still vote for Indiana Jones, Breakfast at Tiffany's or Star Wars."
"Which Indiana Jones and which Star Wars movie?"
Reggie chuckled. "You just vote. Then Luis hits the shuffle key and the system decides."
Owen grimaced. "Breakfast at Tiffany's it is then."
"You have no sense for adventure," Laurel teased.
"I've got plenty, but there is a line I draw," he replied.
She laughed. "We've got popcorn. Movie starts at six. Barbecue is planned afterwards if you want to stay."
Owen shrugged. "Sure."
"What about your girls?"
"They'll be fine."
And they would be.
"See you at six then."
x XX JW XX x
The pack awaited him when he was back and he smoothly opened the bond to welcome them.
"Okay, ladies. Time to train."
Excitement rippled through the bond, a buzzing hum accompanied by the yips from the raptors in Owen's mind. He opened the door and the pack joined him. Blue was her regal self as she stood next to the alpha, quietly and without complaint accepting the muzzle. Delta seemed a little put-upon, Echo was too bouncy to bother with telling her alpha she didn't like the muzzle, and Charlie was mirroring Blue's behavior.
"Let's go then."
x XX JW XX x
They headed over to Gallimimus Valley, rounding up the herd and corralling the nervously bleating dinosaurs into one spot. Owen whistled, directing his pack to where he wanted each one of them, and he used the bond to envision his plan.
Like sheep dogs the raptors handled the nervous herbivores without so much as scratching them. Their jaws snapped closed just inches from their prey, directing them, but they all listened to Owen not to take one down.
"Good!" he lauded, proud of them all. "You did really good!"
Blue's expression spoke of the same pride.
"Now let's get them to their stables."
The gallimimus keepers had been severely thinned out. Miguel Valdez, the team leader, had been gravely injured by the i-rex. Two of his team had quit. The remaining two, Charlie McDowell and Rico Juan, were severely overwhelmed by what had to be done, so Owen pitched in. Getting the gallimimus into the stables to receive their annual shots.
Using the Raptor Squad.
It was their territory. All of the island. They understood the necessity to keep things in order, to help, because Owen had told them.
And because Blue truly understood. She was most directly connected to their alpha and her way of thinking had meshed with Owens, like his own understood a raptor mind.
The gallimimus moved nervously, but none tried to break out. The pack watched them with sharp eyes and coiled muscles, ready to intercept a possible break-out attempt.
Blue looked at him and Owen made the gesture to get going, to bring the herd home.
x XX JW XX x
They milled around outside the stables, pleased, deeply satisfied with a job well-done, drawing looks of unease and fascination from the other keepers.
Blue nosed at his shoulder, drawing a wide-eyed look from the vet's assistant. He had come in a few days ago to replace the still hospitalized Marcus.
He rested his hand on her muscular neck.
Home.
"Go," Owen agreed.
Later. You have somewhere to be.
He chuckled, rubbing his palm over her cheek. Yeah, he had a movie date.
"See you then."
The muzzles were still off and he didn't put them on again. It would be cruel to send the pack home and leave them bound like that.
Owen trusted them.
Absolutely.
Blue sent her reassurance that nothing would happen. Maybe a bird would end up as a snack, but they wouldn't hurt the humans.
The pack sauntered off, trotting toward the valley, heading home. The long way.
"Have fun," he murmured, the bond transmitting it clearly.
And they would.
Owen himself got on his bike, securing the muzzles in his saddle bag, and headed the other way, toward the theater.
It would be good to relax with the others, have dinner with people who understood what he had done, who shared a similar talent.
Good for you.
Owen blinked, then smiled a little. Blue and the others were still close by, trailing him, and only now did they truly veer off to go into the restricted area.
Good for him. To be human for a while. To be his other self.
He wasn't a raptor and never would be, but he was the alpha of the pack.
Laurel and Nancy were already there, waving. Reggie held a bag of popcorn with the bright image of a stegosaurus on the side. He had a beer in his other hand.
"Finally!" he called. "C'mon, Grady! Film's about to start."
He laughed and accepted a beer, then followed his friends into the theater.
tbc...