Falling in love with Owen Grady while working with him would include:
requested by: anon
warnings: dinosaurs, mention of a car accident.
It would start off as nothing more than work colleagues
You would turn up at 7am sharp in the morning, have lunch by the paddock on your own at midday and leave around 6pm in the evening and the cycle would repeat
The conversation would be about work and work only, how much the girls had eaten, how they were socialising etc
You would be in charge of the paperwork because everyone knows how much Owen hates paperwork
He would never say thank you outloud, but he was very appreciative
It would all happen very slowly, so slow that you find that you don’t even notice
After a while, the strictly work conversation moved to home life, childhood and everything in between
Soon you found that you knew all about the infamous raptor trainer and he knew all about you
You would slip into an easy routine
The two of you would find yourselves eating lunch together outside the paddock, sitting on the ground with the girls wandering around behind you
You would begin to notice the inside jokes that filled the day, sharing laughs that nobody else could be a part of
The occasional touch that lingered a little longer than necessary
You would find yourself staring at him as he spoke to Barry, taking in the way he used to hands to express himself more, the way his lips curved into a smile whenever the girls were mentioned
Everyone else would figure out before the two of you, crazed by how oblivious you were being
It would most likely get to the point where people were shoving you into random situations where you would find yourself alone with him (it didn’t always work)
It would take some big accident to realise your feelings for one another
You would end up in some sorta of car accident
You’d have to go to the infirmary for a checkup
Owen would come bursting through the door (like the dramatic shit he is)
He’d pull you up off the edge of the bed and just kiss you
It would be this unsaid thing where you don’t outwardly admit your feelings
But you know you’re both on the same page
Your routine wouldn’t change at the paddock, there would just be added things
Owen would always greet you with a kiss in the mornings (when you hadn’t spent the night at his)
He’d stand a little closer than he did before, hand always brushing yours
Nobody would verbally acknowledge that anything had changed
Twice a year the park closes for a week for routine maintenance. Missy has no vacation planned and as it turns out, neither does Owen. But who is watching the pair, just waiting for his chance to strike?
Owen Grady/OC
Chapter 2
[The storm comes in, but luckily for Missy she’s got a friend who owes her a favour...]
"It looks like there's going to be a storm," said Owen, glancing skyward as he pulled open the door to Missy's truck.
Missy placed her metal bag on the passenger seat and hopped up into the cab.
She tried starting up the engine. Nothing.
"Stupid piece of crap," she muttered to herself, banging on the dashboard with her hand.
"You want me to take a look at it for you?" asked Owen with a frown, shutting her door and leaning against the open window. But just as he said it the engine finally spluttered into life.
"Thanks, but it looks as though it'll live to fight another day," she said with a smile. "Catch you later, Owen."
And with that Owen pulled away from the door and raised his hand, waving as she reversed away.
As she did so, Barry strolled over to Owen and gave him a small shove.
"So have you told her yet?" asked Barry with a coy smile.
Owen frowned. "Don't bug me, Barry. Haven't you got a boat to catch?"
Barry grinned. "I'm just saying…" he said, raising his hands at his friend's snappy response.
"Well don't," said Owen stalking off in the direction of the holding pen.
Barry gave a laugh and followed his friend, shaking his head as he did so.
Missy had had a few more calls to make across the park that day. It was almost 8pm by the time she was finally able to head home to her bungalow on the outskirts of the park.
The park had emptied out during the day, most of the staff heading home via the boats. Lucky for them, as Owen had been right, a storm was indeed coming.
Missy drove down the empty road towards her home, the rain coming down hard. Her wipers were barely able to keep the windshield clear for more than a second.
But Missy had driven along this track hundreds of times, she knew where each bump and pot hole seemed to be. What she wasn't expecting though was for her engine to suddenly die.
"No, no, no, don't do this," she uttered in dismay as the truck ground to a halt on the side of the muddy dirt track.
She tried starting up the engine again but nothing seemed to be working. She gave a groan and slumped back against the seat.
What a day this had turned out to be. She had no vacation to look forward to, she was positive she still smelt of dino vomit and now her truck had broken down in the pouring rain.
Missy willed herself to not cry. She needed to man up and get on with it.
She hauled open the door and flung herself out into the rain, her feet immediately sinking into wet mud.
Running over to the front of the pick-up, she lifted up the bonnet and took a look inside. But she wasn't a mechanic, she had no idea what was wrong with it.
Within less than a minute, Missy was soaked through. Her clothes clinging to her body.
She leant over to look closer at the engine and barely noticed through the sound of the fallling rain, a truck, not too dissimilar to her own, pull up beside her.
"Hey there good-lookin'" came a sudden yell at her side, causing her to jump with fright.
Missy swung around, only to come face to face with-
"Owen?" said Missy, squinting at him through the sheets of raindrops.
Owen merely grinned. "Told you you should have let me take a look at it," he said teasingly. "Get in."
He cocked his head towards his passenger seat.
Missy, hesitated for a long moment before finally running around to the side of Owen's truck and hopped inside.
Owen laughed at the sight of her, dripping wet on the seat beside him.
Missy frowned. "What the hell are you doing all the way out here?" she asked him snappily. She was feeling cold and miserable at the moment and the sight of her friend laughing at her, wasn't helping matters.
Owen lived on the far side of the island in completely the opposite direction. Missy's bungalow was part of the new development, whereas from what she had heard of Owen's, it was a ramshackle pile of-
"I come all the way out here and rescue you and that's all the thanks I get?" he retorted, slapping the steering wheel.
Missy merely scowled in response.
"Well…I was coming to say cheers…. for what you did earlier…. with that raptor serum…" said Owen, his eyes suddenly avoiding hers.
She noticed him move his foot, and kick something back under the seat below him.
Missy frowned but Owen merely coughed and started up the engine.
"I didn't even realise you knew where I lived?" she said shaking her head, causing little droplets of water of fall from her wet hair onto her lap.
"Do you mind?" said Owen in a sarcastic tone. "You're dripping water all over my seats."
He had changed the subject yet again.
"Well, soooory," said Missy with a huff, shivering slightly. Her sodden clothes were causing her whole body to freeze it the cool evening air.
Owen glanced over at her for a moment before reaching over the seat behind him and grabbing a thick woolly blanket which he handed to her. "Here."
Missy glanced up at him, taking the blanket from his grasp and, for a second, their eyes met.
"Thank you," she uttered quietly.
"No problem," said Owen, turning back to the road and moving off.
Twice a year the park closes for a week for routine maintenance. Missy has no vacation planned and as it turns out, neither does Owen. But who is watching the pair, just waiting for his chance to strike?
Owen Grady/OC
Chapter 1
(REPOSTING! :) )
For two weeks every year the park was closed for a routine cleaning and maintenance. One week during the winter month and one mid-July. It was a necessary inconvenience for visitors to the park, in which the whole place was given routine safety check and a fresh coat of paint.
During these periods most of the staff, excluding the dino-carers and the security staff were given paid vacation days. A sort of thank you from the higher-ups for dealing with the crowds during the peak-season holidays.
Usually Missy would have jumped at the chance of taking a holiday somewhere, but her sister who worked in London had cancelled on her last week. Her friends had urged her to go with them to Miami for a few days when they heard about her cancelled plans but Missy had merely shaken her head and told them to go enjoy themselves.
Instead she was going to spend the entire week relaxing in her bungalow. Perhaps giving the place a clean out while she had the time.
Missy had worked at Jurassic World for two years.
She had the very 'un-coveted' job of administering inoculations to the various dinosaurs of the park. Being genetically bred meant that there was always something new that could cause the animals to become sick. The labs regularly sent herself and a couple of others out with a new vaccine and often gave her special drugs to give to certain species, that she was told would aid them in the growth process and give them upgraded features and traits.
It was noon when Missy finally finished her work in the Gentle Giants Petting Zoo and was now on her way over to the Velociraptor paddock.
She had spent the morning chasing around the juvenile herbivores, giving them each a sharp jab to the right leg. She had been almost done when one of the baby stegosaurus had spewed up all over her blouse the moment she had given it its inoculation.
Missy grimaced as the putrid smell of the vomit rose from her shirt as she drove up towards the looming pen.
On her first day at Jurassic World she had been told with, what she always felt was a hint of glee from her manager, that she would be working with the raptors. And more importantly than that- Owen Grady.
Owen Grady had a bit of a reputation amongst the staff at Jurassic Park to say the least, but all Missy had heard about him when they first met was that he was ex-U.S. Navy and that he had trained with his raptors since they were born.
When she first entered into the velociraptor enclosure at the end of her first couple of weeks at the park, she had immediately felt eyes on the back of her head. Silhouetted against the bright sun had been Owen, stood watching her from the walkway above her head.
For months he ignored her, the most she got out of him was a curt nod as she passed him. Then one day… it happened.
She had been on her seventh month working at the park and that morning a new vaccine needed to be introduced to one of the raptors, Echo, who kept falling sick. They had tranquilised her and Missy was led into the raptor pen to give the unconscious dinosaur the jab.
Normally the raptors were leashed in holding cells while she administered the medicine but this was the first time she had been next to one in its entirety.
Barry had smiled and reassured her that Echo had been given a good enough dose and would be knocked out for hours. The same as every time, she had felt Owen Grady's gaze on the back of her head as she was led over.
But the dose had obviously not been correct, as the moment Missy knelt down beside the raptor, it had opened his eyes and leapt to its feet, knocking Barry to the ground.
Missy had let out a muffled scream and dragged herself away from the beast as she heard pounding feet and yells and shouts coming from behind her.
Echo had swayed on the spot before suddenly his head turned towards Missy.
It had leaned in towards her and given a deep sniff before a tranq dart hit it directly on its neck.
It had given the most ear piercing screech right in Missy's face before collapsing once again onto the floor.
Missy had turned to look behind her, to see Owen Grady standing there, tranquiliser gun in hand.
He gave her a look as if he was about to say something but Missy hadn't lingered long enough to find out. She had merely run past him and out of the paddock taking her supply bag with her.
Outside, up against a wall, far enough away so that no one would see her, Missy had broken down in tears. She had lifted a hand to her mouth to muffle the sobs but her whole body was shaking and tears poured down her cheeks. She had been genuinely frightened for her life.
That is when he had appeared…
Owen.
At first he didn't say anything, he merely came to stand next to her, leaning up against the wall, arms folded, his eyes at the floor.
"That was a pretty scary thing to go through," he had muttered eventually, glancing up at her.
Missy had desperately tried to wipe away tear tracks but the sobs seemed to be coming thick and fast.
"It's happened to me a couple of times. They've caught me off guard and I wasn't mentally prepared," he had uttered.
"What did you do?" Missy asked.
Owen shrugged. "I didn't cry but I came close to it a couple of times."
Missy gazed up at him, all biceps and rumpled clothes and had been shocked at this response. This big, ex-navy guy was showing her his vulnerable side. Was showing her that she shouldn't be emabrssed to cry.
"I've seen you working, I like your style," he had said with a bit of a smile.
Missy had given a sniff. "Thanks," she had mumbled.
"I'm Owen, by the way," he had said holding out his hand.
"Missy," she had replied, wiping tears from her eyes and taking his hand in hers.
And that had how they had become friends. Each and every time Missy had entered the raptor enclosure from then on Owen had come up and talked to her. Most of their conversations at first were fairly formal. Then one evening, when Missy was out at a bar with some girlfriends, Owen had caught her eye at the other end of the bar. Most of her friends had nudged her in the ribs and swooned about how handsome he was but Missy had just rolled her eyes at them. She had chatted with him for a while and he had introduced her to some of his friends. But that night Missy had had way more than she had intended to drink that night and Owen had revelled in speaking really loudly to her when she had turned up at the raptor paddock the next morning.
She hated him but at the same time loved being around him. He was a great guy to be friends with.
Just friends…. that's all they were.
It was 1pm by the time Missy pulled up outside the raptor paddock. Her blouse reeked of stegosaurus spew. She gave a sigh and began to unbutton it. She had a spare, clean shirt next to her on the seat, her bra would only be visible for ten seconds, she thought.
But the moment she peeled her dirty shirt from her skin a loud knocking filled the truck.
She turned to see Owen standing beside the driver's door with a grin plastered across his face.
"Look, I know you just want to get naked when you come near me, but we're at work, you need to control yourself," he said cockily.
Missy rolled her eyes. "Shut up," she said, pulling on a fresh, cotton shirt. "I got Stego vomit me."
He pulled open the door and Missy hopped out and eyed him irritably. "What are you so cheery about?" she asked.
Owen continued to grin and gave a shrug. "It's the day before shut down week. An entire week of vacation, why wouldn't I be cheery about that?"
"Hmm… I guess," uttered Missy, shielding her eyes from the mid-day sun.
Owen glanced at her. "I thought you were going to Europe to visit your sister?" he said narrowing his eyes at her.
Missy gave a sigh as they walked towards the paddock. "She cancelled on me, she's got emergency meetings planned at the bank she works at in London. So I'm gonna hang around here for the week instead. How about you? Have you decided on any plans. The last time I spoke to you, you were still making up your mind."
Owen ran a hand across his stubbly chin. "I'm sticking around here too, as it happens. The fencing around the pens needs some work so I volunteered to fix it."
Missy smiled. "You know that the park can just hire in someone to do that for you," she muttered, shooting him a look.
Owen smiled, his eyes falling to the ground. "I know, but its quicker and easier if I just get it done myself."
The pair of them reached the raptor enclosure where swift shadows could just been seen between the slats of concrete barriers.
"How are they doing today?" asked Missy, nodding towards the pen.
"Pretty good," said Owen folding his arms across himself. "Work with the clicker is improving…. ISNT IT, BLUE?" he yelled loudly.
Suddenly all movement inside the paddock stopped at the sound of his voice. Owen chuckled.
"So what have those geeks in the labs got for us today?" he said turning back to Missy and eyeing the metal case at her side.
Missy quickly opened the case the reveal four heavy duty syringes, all filled with a yellow liquid.
"It's apparently a serum that works to improve the raptors' velocity and power," she said matter-of-factly, gazing up at Owen. But the raptor trainer immediately frowned.
"Those girls are strong enough already, they don't need anything to make them more powerful than they already are. They're animals- not monsters," he said exasperatedly.
"Owen, I'm just doing my job," uttered Missy, staring up at him guiltily.
"I know that," he said softening, touching her gently on the arm. "It just kills me how they're trying to breed them to be weapons, when they're dangerous enough already."
Owen looked down at Missy, a frown at his brow and gazed into her eyes.
She bit her lip as her grey orbs met his green ones.
A long moment passed before she suddenly growled in frustration.
"Fine!" she said, rolling her eyes and reaching down into the bag. "But don't say I don't ever do anything for you."
Glancing this way and that, she pulled out the four syringes and emptied each one out into the bushes beside them.
When she was done she slipped the empty vials into a separate compartment of her bag.
"Happy?" she asked, through gritted teeth.
Owen beamed at her and before even saying a word he pressed a kiss to her cheek.
Missy's stomach suddenly lurched.
"You owe me one," she uttered when he pulled away, a blush creeping over her face.
"Definitely," he said grinning. "Anything you want." And with that Owen escorted Missy back over towards her beat-up truck.
What neither of them seemed to notice was that Vic Hoskins, Head of InGen security division, watching them from a walkway high above the raptor pen.
Would you like me to post more?? Also let me know if you’d like to be tagged in this fic! :)
Y/N stared into the bathroom mirror, her hand steadily drawing a thin black line across her nude shadowed eyelids.
She stepped back for a moment before adding a slick of black mascara to her lashes.
She had opted for a pair of denim shorts with a flannel shirt thrown over her black bra. Her long hair had been gently curled and hung loose about her shoulders.
Y/N bit her lip, spritzed a little perfume onto her neck and grabbed her keys, heading for the door.
Dusk had fallen and the sounds of crickets filled the warm, summer air. The evening was perfect.
……………….
Thirty minutes later Y/N pulled up outside Owen’s bungalow.
Switching off the engine, she let out a long breath before checking her reflection one last time in the rear view mirror.
She apprehensively stepped out of the truck and made her way over to the bungalow, wiping down her clammy hands on her shorts as she did so.
She knocked on the door and waited but there was no answer.
Y/N frowned and gazed around. The lights were on, but the curtains were drawn closed.
She knocked again. “Hello?” she out called gently.
Y/N’s heart pounded. He had said 8 at his place, right? Had she just dreamt that?
She stepped back and bit her lip just as a sudden figure appeared around the side of the house.
“Hey, thought I heard your voice,” uttered Owen, walking around the porch to meet her.
He had changed from the outfit he was wearing earlier, now casual in black jeans and a white tight fitted tee but that same warm smile still lingering across his tanned face.
“Am I early?” she said a little tentatively, walking around to meet him. She pushed her long hair off her shoulder and looked at him with wide eyes.
Owen shook his head, gave a grin and grasped her hand slowly in his.
“No, it’s just that I’ve set up for us around here,” he uttered, tugging her around the porch.
As they turned the corner, Y/N’s breath almost caught in her throat at the sight that met her eyes.
On the warm grass, just in front of the beautiful moonlit lake was a picnic blanket surrounded by tiny candles in various jars and tins. They flickered gently in the evening breeze.
Y/N glanced up at Owen, his fingers still entwined with hers.
“Owen-“ she said, in a what was just a whisper.
He turned to her and in that moment all she could see…. all she could think about… was him. The guy who she had known all this time…
Y/N gave a smile as Owen beamed back.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” he said, suddenly letting go of her hand and disappearing into the bungalow.
Y/N slowly wandered over to the picnic blanket. So much thought and effort had gone into this. He had seen how much she had loved the lake yesterday and now he had done this…
Glow worms danced over the placid water as Owen reappeared once again.
“These….” he uttered suddenly holding something out towards her, “….are for you.”
Y/N gazed down.
In Owen’s hand was a beautiful, if a little crumpled, bouquet of flowers... tied with fishing wire.
The same flowers, Y/N had seen the previous day under Owen’s seat.
She blushed and took them from him.
“Owen they’re-“ she couldn’t finish her sentence. She couldn’t even find the right words.
She stared up at him. Were they meant for her all along?
She didn’t know what else to do… But she knew what she wanted to.
She leaned forwards and brushed her lips gently against his cheek.
A moment suddenly passed between them as she pulled away. Their faces close, their bodies closer…
But Y/N stepped away quickly.
She didn’t want to embarrass herself. There was no way a guy like him could feel the same.
An hour later, Y/N pulled her white truck up outside the raptor enclosure. There was no sign of Hoskins but there was another vehicle there.
She recognised it instantly. Owen’s motorcycle.
His second pride and joy after Blue.
Quietly she jumped out of the car and headed over the confinement cages to see if Owen was, today, with his favourite raptor.
She searched around, noticing Blue staring at her from the slats between her cage.
“How you doin’, Blue?” she muttered, walking past.
She heard the raptor give a small bark as she did so.
“Hey,” came a sudden voice from above her.
Shielding her eyes from the glare of the sun, she saw Owen, who was stood on the walkway, a pair of wire cutters in his hand.
“Hey,” she shouted up at him, giving a half smile. She was still cautious about his mood today.
“You come to see me or Blue?” he asked in a cheery tone.
“I….er……. you,” she answered a little awkwardly. “I came to say thanks to you for fixing my car.”
She walked up the metal staircase, leading up to where Owen was standing.
“No problem,” he said with a grin.
“You should have woken me though,” she uttered as she reached the top.
He was wearing a blue shirt and a utility vest and a smile which caused her heart to catch in her throat for a second.
“Ah, well,” he muttered, picking up a length of barbed wire from the walkway beneath his feet and twisting it in his hands. “I thought I’d just let you sleep.”
He glanced up at her for a moment, a little nervously.
“Sorry for leaving so quickly last night,” he continued quietly, his tone sincere. “I was just-“
“It’s fine,” said Y/N, cutting across him. This time she didn’t want to know his reasons.
He grinned up at her as she wiped her hands down on the sides of her jeans.
“Is there anything I can do?” she asked gesturing down at the hundreds of foot of wire that seemed to be covering the full length of walkway behind him.
Owen ran a hand through his hair, in thought, looking down at it.
“You can help me twist this wire into coils,” he said, showing her the circle in his hands. “Like this.”
He passed her some gloves and she began to do just as he had said, twisting the sharp wire into neat coils.
The pair worked in silence for the thirty minutes, side by side, laughing and joking with one another.
“There,” uttered Owen after he had finished fixing the fencing to the meal piping beneath it. “Done.”
The two of them stood back and admired their handiwork.
“So is this in case the raptors ever try and get out?” she asked, removing her oversized gloves and dropping them down onto the floor beside her.
Owen, stood, hands on his hips and turned to her. “Or if anything tries to get in…” he muttered seriously.
Y/N glanced up at him and cocked her head.
“You really love them don’t you?” she asked folding her arms across herself.
Owen stared up at her for a long moment before letting out a grin and a small laugh. “I guess I do.” The way he looked at her sent a sudden shuddered through her body.
She blushed and turned away, heading down the metal staircase once again.
“Owen Grady loves his raptors,” she said in a teasing voice. “I can’t tell if that’s a good reputation to have or not.”
She shot him a cheeky grin from over her shoulder.
Owen gave a mock scowl and followed her.
Y/N reached the bottom and waited for him to catch up. When he was level with her, they walked side by side over to Blue’s cage.
She nudged him with her hip playfully. “And here’s your favourite girl,” she uttered, nodding towards the solitary pen.
Owen gave a chuckle.
Y/N approached the cage and peered inside.
She saw a flash of movement before Blue appeared at the bars, snorting and huffing out hot air in Y/N’s direction.
Y/N smiled, tentatively. “Hey, you remember me?” she asked gently, lifting up a hand just as she had the previous day. She held it a little away from the bars but close enough so that Blue could breathe in her scent.
The raptor sniffed deeply and Y/N smiled as it let out a little purr.
She glanced back at Owen who was beaming at her warmly.
She was about to turn back to the cage when all of a sudden she felt Owen’s warm hand slip into hers and he tugged her back around to face him.
“Hey,” he said, with a grin. “You wanna… come to my place tonight?.....So I can say thanks for your help…. I’ll make us some dinner”
Y/N’s butterflies were back.
She smiled, as his eyes locked onto hers.
“If we keep owing each other as thanks-yous, we’re never going to have any time on this vacation apart,” she murmured, giving his hand a gently squeeze.
He grinned at her. “I don’t think that’s such a bad thing,” he said as he pulled away. Theirs hands slipped apart. “So I’ll pick you up at 8?”
“Well, now that my car is fixed how about I drive to yours,” she uttered raising her eyebrows.
Owen’s eyes widened. “Ahhh, and what handsome guy fixed that for you?” he asked in a laughing voice.
“Just some raptor-trainer I happen to know,” she said laughing as she headed towards her car. “See you at 8, Owen.”
He smiled to himself as he watched her leave, Blue hovering in the cage beside him.
“I’m sorry Blue,” he uttered quietly to the raptor, as he saw her jump into her truck and drive away, “but I think she’s my new favourite girl.”
The raptor behind him gave a throaty purr in agreement.
Owen flung himself down onto his sofa, his head in his hands, his thoughts on Y/N and how he’d left the situation.
He knew he needed to tell her the truth.
He was a raptor trainer for God’s sake and an alpha.
And yet he couldn’t even tell his friend how he felt…
…………………………..
Y/N tossed and turned but couldn’t sleep. She kicked the covers off herself in irritation.
She had no idea what had gone wrong earlier.
Usually Owen had no issues with telling her his feelings or opinions on things.
And as she had said, she had always heard from his friends that he did ok when it came to women.
But just the thought of Owen being with another woman made her stomach churn and twist into knots.
She opened her eyes, staring up at the darkened ceiling and gave a grand sigh.
…………………………………..
Early the next morning Y/N awoke to the sound of an engine starting up outside her window.
Is that my truck? She thought to herself through a half-doze.
She heard the engine switch off and before she had time to register any more, she slipped back off to a gentle sleep.
……………………………….
Giving a great yawn, Y/N’s eyes fluttered open. She glanced over at her alarm clock.
10.07AM it read in large red letters.
She slunk down further under the sheet. She loved vacation days.
Giving a huge stretch and another yawn, she sat up and lifted the covers off herself, getting to her feet.
Did she hear someone outside this morning or was that just a dream?
She headed sleepily over to the front door, pulling it open.
There was no one there apart from her truck, sitting where Owen had towed it the day before.
She sighed, making to turn to go inside but something caught her eye.
She narrowed her eyes, noticing a piece of paper that had been stuck under her windshield-wiper, that was fluttering gently in the early morning breeze.
She hopped down her porch steps and padded across the warm grass with bare feet.
She cautiously leaned over and plucked the small scrap of paper from its holding place and stared down at it.
Written in a messy scrawl were the words. “I’m sorry – O”.
Y/N smiled to herself and moved around to her truck where her keys were sitting in the ignition. She carefully turned them and the truck stared up instantly.
She stared down at the note once again and held it to her for a long moment. Biting her lip she turned and headed inside.
She knew exactly where she was going to drive her now-working truck.
She was going to drive to the raptor cages and find Hoskins. Job or no job, she was finally going to tell him exactly where he could shove his proposition.
Y/N sat staring out of the window of Owen’s truck as they sped along the dirt path.
She had been quiet the entire ride home, her mind on other things. Other things that would mean either the end of a friendship or the end of her career.
She gave a sigh, gazing up at the darkening sky.
“You ok?” asked Owen, glancing over towards her. “You seem a little distracted.”
Y/N took in a breath and forced a smile.
“No, I’m good,” she lied, her hands clasped between her knees. She gave a small frown. “I thought you were the one that seemed distracted.”
Owen made a face. “Really?”
Y/N grinned. “Well you’re not your usual smug self today,” she goaded. “You’ve actually been nice for once.”
“Woahoah! I’m always nice!” he said defensively, the corners of his mouth turning up into a smile.
Y/N raised her eyebrows. “No you’re not, Grady. Remember when you teased me for months that time you caught me with a copy of Ian Malcolm’s autobiography?”
“You were so protective of it!” he said laughing.
“It was a signed copy, Owen,“ she said snapping at him playfully.
“Oh yeah now I remember,” he teased. “ ‘To Melissa, thanks for being such a fan, love Ian xx’. Bit forward for a book signing wasn’t it?”
Y/N gave a mock scowl. “Don’t be jealous that I had THE Ian Malcolm tell me how beautiful I am.” She tossed her hair back over her shoulder, in jest.
This time it was Owen’s turn to raise his eyebrows. He shot her a cheeky smile. “Oh so you like older guys!” he said in mock realisation, nodding his head. “That’s why you and Phil Sherman never worked out…”
Y/N rolled her eyes. “Phil Sherman and I never worked out because he’s a dick,” said Y/N, causing Owen to smile and nod in understanding.
She glanced over at him and stared for a long moment before biting her lip. “So how about you? You been on any horrendous dates lately?”
Her heart pounded in her chest as she said it. Her mind flitting to the bunch of beautiful flowers sitting under her seat. They must be meant for someone, but part of her didn’t even want to know.
Her stomach began to twist in knots before he had even opened his mouth to speak.
Owen’s smile disappeared and a frown fell across his tanned brow.
“Not lately, no,” he uttered, his eyes fixed on the road.
Y/N gave a small gulp and pushed the question, even though he didn’t want to hear the answer.
“Really?” she uttered in a light tone. “I swear when we first met, according to your friends, the notion of you being celibate for even a month would have been unheard of.”
Owen’s frowned deepened.
“I haven’t been on any dates,” he said in a firm voice.
Y/N gave a small frown, gazing over him.
She had obviously said the wrong thing, as the look of his face was cold and steely.
Y/N pursed her lips and turned back to the window as they pulled up at outside her bungalow.
But Owen didn’t switch off the engine, he merely leaned forward over the steering wheel and turned to her.
His eyes didn’t meet hers.
“Home sweet home,” he uttered.
Y/N undid her seatbelt and scratched at her tanned arm, nervously.
“Did you want to come in for dinner?” she asked giving a small smile. “I was thinking macaroni and cheese…”
But Owen turned and stared out of the windscreen ahead of him.
“I, er, need to get going,” he said quietly.
Y/N looked over at him sadly.
“Sure,” she uttered, taking that as her cue that he wanted her to leave.
Pulling open the door she hopped out and pushed it shut behind her.
Before she could o anything to stop him, Owen had reversed the truck and driven away, giving her a small nod as he did so.
Y/N stood with a confused expression across her features as she watched the truck disspareing off into the distance.
“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then…” she uttered quietly.
For two weeks every year the park was closed for a routine cleaning and maintenance. One week during the winter month and one mid-July. It was a necessary inconvenience for visitors to the park, in which the whole place was given routine safety check and a fresh coat of paint.
During these periods most of the staff, excluding the dino-carers and the security staff were given paid vacation days. A sort of thank you from the higher-ups for dealing with the crowds during the peak-season holidays.
Usually Y/N would have jumped at the chance of taking a holiday somewhere, but her sister who worked in London had cancelled on her last week. Her friends had urged her to go with them to Miami for a few days when they heard about her cancelled plans but Y/N had merely shaken her head and told them to go enjoy themselves.
Instead she was going to spend the entire week relaxing in her bungalow. Perhaps giving the place a clean out while she had the time.
Y/N had worked at Jurassic World for two years.
She had the very ‘un-coveted’ job of administering inoculations to the various dinosaurs of the park. Being genetically bred meant that there was always something new that could cause the animals to become sick. The labs regularly sent herself and a couple of others out with a new vaccine and often gave her special drugs to give to certain species, that she was told would aid them in the growth process and give them upgraded features and traits.
It was noon when Y/N finally finished her work in the Gentle Giants Petting Zoo and was now on her way over to the Velociraptor paddock.
She had spent the morning chasing around the juvenile herbivores, giving them each a sharp jab to the right leg. She had been almost done when one of the baby stegosaurus had spewed up all over her blouse the moment she had given it its inoculation.
Y/N grimaced as the putrid smell of the vomit rose from her shirt as she drove up towards the looming pen.
On her first day at Jurassic World she had been told with, what she always felt was a hint of glee from her manager, that she would be working with the raptors. And more importantly than that- Owen Grady.
Owen Grady had a bit of a reputation amongst the staff at Jurassic Park to say the least, but all Y/N had heard about him when they first met was that he was ex-U.S. Navy and that he had trained with his raptors since they were born.
When she first entered into the velociraptor enclosure at the end of her first couple of weeks at the park, she had immediately felt eyes on the back of her head. Silhouetted against the bright sun had been Owen, stood watching her from the walkway above her head.
For months he ignored her, the most she got out of him was a curt nod as she passed him. Then one day… it happened.
She had been on her seventh month working at the park and that morning a new vaccine needed to be introduced to one of the raptors, Echo, who kept falling sick. They had tranquilised her and Y/N was led into the raptor pen to give the unconscious dinosaur the jab.
Normally the raptors were leashed in holding cells while she administered the medicine but this was the first time she had been next to one in its entirety.
Barry had smiled and reassured her that Echo had been given a good enough dose and would be knocked out for hours. The same as every time, she had felt Owen Grady’s gaze on the back of her head as she was led over.
But the dose had obviously not been correct, as the moment Y/N knelt down beside the raptor, it had opened his eyes and leapt to its feet, knocking Barry to the ground.
Y/N had let out a muffled scream and dragged herself away from the beast as she heard pounding feet and yells and shouts coming from behind her.
Echo had swayed on the spot before suddenly his head turned towards Y/N.
It had leaned in towards her and given a deep sniff before a tranq dart hit it directly on its neck.
It had given the most ear piercing screech right in Y/N’s face before collapsing once again onto the floor.
Y/N had turned to look behind her, to see Owen Grady standing there, tranquiliser gun in hand.
He gave her a look as if he was about to say something but Y/N hadn’t lingered long enough to find out. She had merely run past him and out of the paddock taking her supply bag with her.
Outside, up against a wall, far enough away so that no one would see her, Y/N had broken down in tears. She had lifted a hand to her mouth to muffle the sobs but her whole body was shaking and tears poured down her cheeks. She had been genuinely frightened for her life.
That is when he had appeared…
Owen.
At first he didn’t say anything, he merely came to stand next to her, leaning up against the wall, arms folded, his eyes at the floor.
“That was a pretty scary thing to go through,” he had muttered eventually, glancing up at her.
Y/N had desperately tried to wipe away tear tracks but the sobs seemed to be coming thick and fast.
“It’s happened to me a couple of times. They’ve caught me off guard and I wasn’t mentally prepared,” he had uttered.
“What did you do?” Y/N asked.
Owen shrugged. “I didn’t cry but I came close to it a couple of times.”
Y/N gazed up at him, all biceps and rumpled clothes and had been shocked at this response. This big, ex-navy guy was showing her his vulnerable side. Was showing her that she shouldn’t be emabrssed to cry.
“I’ve seen you working, I like your style,” he had said with a bit of a smile.
Y/N had given a sniff. “Thanks,” she had mumbled.
“I’m Owen, by the way,” he had said holding out his hand.
“Y/N,” she had replied, wiping tears from her eyes and taking his hand in hers.
And that had how they had become friends. Each and every time Y/N had entered the raptor enclosure from then on Owen had come up and talked to her. Most of their conversations at first were fairly formal. Then one evening, when Y/N was out at a bar with some girlfriends, Owen had caught her eye at the other end of the bar. Most of her friends had nudged her in the ribs and swooned about how handsome he was but Y/N had just rolled her eyes at them. She had chatted with him for a while and he had introduced her to some of his friends. But that night Y/N had had way more than she had intended to drink that night and Owen had revelled in speaking really loudly to her when she had turned up at the raptor paddock the next morning.
She hated him but at the same time loved being around him. He was a great guy to be friends with.
