Isla Sorna

[cerhadivision]

2
For bluebetabitch

When you spend a long time building something with your own two hands, it becomes difficult to wrap your mind around the idea of the work being done. Owen grew up around that kind of mindset, and knows very well how it feels to be in the same grip. But he doesn't mind. That's the thing about having a family: it expands, and the world around it needs to expand with it. Little by little, the house came up around them, and they settled into it, and he's never really stopped working this little world of his over like an ever-evolving project that he loves with his whole heart.

They're settled here. Officially. No one can deny it, and even though Owen still has dreams sometimes about InGen -- or anyone -- hunting them down to rip the girls, or even the boys, out of his hands, those fears evaporate every morning. The girls get along as well as any sisters do, and even the squabbling has died down in recent months; the boys have adapted beautifully, and although Chi and Psi still exhibit behavior that looks odd alongside the girls from time to time, they no longer struggle to meet expectations that were completely alien to them for most of their lives.

And then there's Blue and Omega.

The difference in Blue between her youth on Isla Nublar, and the young womanhood that quite clearly blossomed in the Santa Lucia Mountains of central California, is not only noticeable, but striking. Always the one he could rely on over the others, Blue has managed to develop into a creature that is both an extension of his right arm and yet still a highly independent person who no longer looks to him quite so often for cues; she still values her space and her privacy, but those withdrawals from the pack just to brood and sulk have all but disappeared. And while Blue's temper will always strike fear into the hearts of her siblings -- adopted or otherwise -- she's learned to balance it with patience, a trait that would always thwart her more than any other. Until now. Owen always wanted Blue to learn that balance between animal instinct and human rationality, and he knew she'd get there in her own way sooner or later. Now, it seems she has, and it's a beautiful thing to see.

Then, as if her own transformation wasn't enough, she'd somehow managed to turn her mate into an entirely different person.

If Blue's maturation is impressive, Omega's has been nothing short of miraculous. All right... Owen is a professional behaviorist; he knows there's no such thing as miracles, only hard work and dedication. Only this time it wasn't his. It was Blue's time, effort, and uncharacteristic affection that turned a furious, hateful killing machine into something that could be now what he might have been then, before InGen had their way. Omega lives in the house now. He eats when they do. He joins the family in their gatherings, as long as Blue is with him, and although his temper is still zero to 60 when roused, these days it's much harder to set him off than it used to be, even if that wouldn't be saying much. He prefers his mate and solitude over anything else, but his violently aggressive tendencies have been all but curbed for the sake of keeping Blue happy.

For obvious reasons, Owen has kept a close eye on them both from day one, and even from the very beginning Omega has treated Blue like the center of the universe. Owen himself has salvaged his share of abused, wild animals -- it's literally part of the job -- but he knows without question that no one could have done this but her. And her success is absolutely indisputable.

Case in point: today, Omega's dislike for interacting with unfamiliar people had outweighed his desire to be with Blue as often as possible, and instead of throwing a tantrum he simply hadn't gone with her down the mountain.

For Barry, it was supplies; Echo wanted clothes; Blue was only interested in procuring necessary parts for her nearly-restored 1979 Pontiac Phoenix Firebird, a task built upon very specific requirements and one which she would never entrust to any of her siblings. The day is very nice for a sojourn into the city, considering the length of the drive: blue skies and a mild breeze, not quite so far into spring that the air is anything more than comfortably warm. Psi is helping Delta collect chili peppers and the new experimental plums. Chi fell asleep in the grass up the hill. Charlie is giving Owen a hand with replacing some worn poles along the stone steps leading down to the boys' den, when they hear the familiar sound of the Jeep rolling up the long hill that serves as their driveway.

Only, it sounds like it's coming up fast.

Owen and Charlie look at each other, and immediately drop what they're doing to meet the car just as Barry rolls up, screeching to a stop and diving out of the driver's side to rush around to the passenger door. He looks frantic. And he's helping Echo out of the car. She looks like she's about to pitch right off her feet.

"Owen!" Barry calls out urgently, eyes widening immediately as Owen rushes to them. "Owen!" He has to wrap an arm around Echo's back to keep her standing. And then, to Owen's surprise and dread, Barry yells again. "Omega!"

Owen doesn't actually know where Omega has been this whole time. But suddenly he's there next to him, clearly as alarmed at being summoned as Owen was to hear it, and Owen can practically feel the tension in the male raptor's body triple because they both realized the same thing: that Blue is not with them.

"They took her," Barry says, breathless, and the bottom falls out of Owen's stomach.

Echo tries to rouse herself, flopping a little, mumbling in groggy frustration as she tries to shake off whatever is wrong with her and help explain. But Barry keeps his hold on her and barrels right through it.

"It was InGen. They had an entire strike force, Owen, the streets are chaos now. They used non-lethals. Tranquilizers. Echo took a direct hit, but they left her behind. All of them were focused on Blue." He looks at both of them, Owen and then Omega, panicked and desperate. "They came for her."

The weather was gorgeous a minute ago. Now the entire world is ice. Owen's heart has stopped, his breath is gone. Delta and the boys come running up, but he barely notices them. Beside him is Omega, frozen; then suddenly the raptor whirls to him, eyes wide, and the fury -- the fear -- in them is apocalyptic.

Omega doesn't say a word, but Owen immediately finds his voice. "Go get her."

The male raptor is gone like a bolt of lightning. Owen turns and strides quickly to a hidden cache beneath the porch. He pulls out two assault rifles and a hell of a lot of ammo as Charlie shrieks behind him, "Why aren't we going with him?!"

"Because we're going to follow him." Owen tosses a rifle to Barry, and gestures sharply for everyone to get into the car, including the still-dizzy Echo. "After Isla Nublar, Omega found us in less than a week on nothing but Blue's scent and pure instinct. This time he knows where he's going. We'd only slow him down." The motor is still running. Almost before every door is shut, Owen jerks the Jeep into gear. His last words are almost a growl to himself. "With any luck, all we'll have to do is clean up."

The Jeep screeches in reverse, turns, and roars off down the mountain.

Comments

[dinodoc]

She hadn't wanted to believe it herself. She'd made Mitch run the test three times before she'd even admit it was legitimate. And, staring at the printed results back in that operating room, Gwen had known right then and there what an absolute clusterfuck this was going to be.

"Owen, I'm sure." Gwen kept a firm grip on his arm, just in case he flew apart. "We ran the the tests three times, and each time was a proof-positive." She finally dropped her hand, relocating it to pinching the bridge of her nose.

"As for who--I...can't say yet with any certainty. This is an unprecedented case, in all of mankind's history. We'd never even speculated, Owen...God, just the ethics about such a thing all scream taboo. It wasn't even a possibility until you told me about Blue and Omega." She leaned her butt against the wall, bending over slightly, fingers to her temples.

"A human fetus wouldn't be in this stage of development so soon. Nor would a true velociraptor. My gut is screaming at me that they've used growth enhancement, which would make sense given her current condition, especially if she was being starved." Gwen straightened, looking back at the raptor alpha. "I have blood tests running, but I can't promise definite answers, Owen. Not while she's this incapacitated."

A thought then occurred. "Do we know if anyone there at InGen survived? Any of the medical files? Someone has to know."

[myraptors]

Owen thinks he might be sick. Or scream. Or throw something. And that is only because he can't actually rip any part of InGen to pieces with his own hands. Especially one in particular -- Hoskins, that fucking psychopath, this has his fingerprints all over it and now Owen is going to vomit blood at the sinking suspicion that it might not only be fingerprints.

Jesus Christ, he should have killed that son of a bitch when he had the chance. He should have landed that second right hook and knocked him straight off the catwalk, broken his neck. He should have thrown a torch onto the compound before he left--

Gwen bringing up ethics makes Owen feel slightly hysterical, and he very deliberately straightens his back as well, and takes a deep breath so he doesn't launch into an explosive tirade on how InGen feels about ethics. He still very much wants to throw something. If there was anything close enough at hand, he might already have done so. And instead of answering Gwen's very valid question, Owen turns and heads straight for Blue's room, only just managing not to kick the door in for the sake of his unconscious beta.

Blue doesn't look much better, her pallor ominous and grey; Omega is sitting at Blue's bedside with his mate's hand wrapped in his own and curled to his chest, their heads touching and his eyes shut. He doesn't move when Owen comes in.

The first thing out of Owen's mouth is, "Is there anything left?"

"No," Omega answers dully.

"Did anyone survive?"

"Yes." The male raptor doesn't open his eyes; he sounds like he's barely listening. "I left Hoskins tied to a tree."

Owen goes suddenly cold and burning hot. He stares at the two hybrids, breathless, for an instant longer, and then whirls around and lets the door close again behind him. He storms right past Gwen, and on his way to the door he snatches up his gun.

"Gwen, I'm not going to ask you to save her because I know you're going to do it," he says, every word as hard as steel. "Whatever it takes. I'm going back to Isla Sorna."

[dinodoc]

Unsurprised over Owen's abrupt change of pace, Gwen didn't impede him when he headed out of the medical center, rifle in hand. Gwen did, however, offer up a brief prayer for everyone in their little 'family', especially the still-comatose Beta, lying in the next room. Going back in, Gwen spied Omega just where she expected him to be, and stepped to the other side of Blue's bed, checking her vitals with old experienced habit.

No change, but then Gwen didn't really imagine there would be, not yet.

Even though these hybrids had an astronomical healing ability--much greater than a human--and were able to take much more damage before going down, they still had their limits. And InGen had done their damnedest to find poor Blue's, Gwen feared. But the Beta's heartbeat was sound, if not as strong as usual, and she was receiving as much oxygen as she could breathe; Gwen noted the purplish color had faded from her fingernails. A good sign.

She brought another bag of IV fluids from an interior room, replacing the near-empty drip with the full. Making a note on a memo book, Gwen sighed softly and looked over at Omega, unmoved from where she'd first saw him. God, the poor hybrid had to be exhausted...

"Omega...?" She didn't expect him to acknowledge her, but she tried anyway. "Would you like to sleep there in Blue's bed with her? I don't think she'd mind, and she might come around quicker if she knows you're nearby."

[myraptors]

At first, Omega remains unresponsive, as if he either hadn't heard her or intended to act like it. But then his eyes open slowly, and he tilts his head without lifting it, just enough to look toward her. Then he nods, without speaking. If it won't cause his mate any suffering to have him beside her, then that's where he'll be.



The boat roars its way back across the waves, straight toward Isla Sorna. If Owen never sees this island again in his life, it'll be too fucking soon, but right now he can't reach it fast enough. Barry and the other raptors are still there; he left them behind to sweep up, and to give the island itself a once-over, such as it is. Now he suspects he knows what the boys were so anxious about earlier.

With any luck, they haven't killed him yet.

Owen's boots hit the sand practically before the boat even stops moving. Barry is still maintaining a sentinel post on the beach, but Owen doesn't linger to explain the situation other than a few bitten words that give the other man enough information to stay back. He wishes he had the fucking Jeep, but at least he can still follow the raptors' deliberate trail through the woods, and Owen barely remembers the actual effort of getting from the beach to the deeper jungle, but finally he calls, and the girls answer him.

They rush to him, and surround him with anxious questions and muffled tears about their sister, but for once in his life Owen doesn't have it in him to stop and making them feel better. He makes the girls direct him to the boys. The boys are not far off, and they lead him down the hill.

Tied to a tree, just like Omega said, is Vic Hoskins.

Owen notes humorlessly that the man has seen better days. His eyes are crusted, his skin a ghastly pallor even worse than Blue's, with mottled spots on his cheeks and dry, cracked lips. Both the bones in his right shin have... exploded, looks like, his foot is hanging on by skin alone and the splintered bone is jutting out of nothing but red, fleshy pulp. A horrible smell wafts past Owen's nose when he draws closer. But none of it makes his stomach turn nearly as much as the man himself.

Chi and Psi prowl like wolves under the shadows of the trees. Submission to their elder brother has kept them from finishing the job he started in his absence, but they've been tormenting their former jailer all the while, just waiting for the chance to rip him to pieces. But Owen sends them both away with a sharp word, and Hoskins's eyes peel open, watery and bloodshot.

His mouth moves, but Owen doesn't hear anything at first. It takes the man a couple tries to get it out. "...Owen."

Owen tightens his jaw against the bile that rises up just from hearing that son of a bitch's voice. But he needs him to talk. He's gonna get some goddamn answers, and he steps closer until he's standing over Hoskins, eyes narrowing, expression hard as stone.

"If you want any help at all, you're gonna tell me exactly what you did to Blue."

Hoskins coughs, making a disgusting sound in the back of his throat. For a second, Owen is honestly afraid that the fucker is about to keel over dead before telling him anything. But then Hoskins looks up at him again, and -- good lord, is his lip trembling? The bastard looks like he's about to cry.

"It wasn't supposed to go like this, Owen," Hoskins pleads with him in a voice raspy and shot. "You know that, you... you know what we, what we... were trying..."

"You were trying to breed better hybrids," Owen snarls, "using those boys and my girls." His fingers flex on the strap of his rifle, still slung across his back. "Is that what you were trying now?"

Hoskins nods weakly. "We... we were taking good care of her, Owen, I swear, but... you... you know how she is. Stubborn... always fighting, we had... had to quiet her down."

"So you overdosed her on tranquilizers?"

"Didn't want... didn't want her fighting like... he did." Hoskins coughs, hacks, and makes a choked sound of pain before his head falls back against the tree. "She could've hurt herself, Owen... I didn't want that, ever..."

Owen considers stepping on that dead leg. "What did you give her?"

Hoskins wheezes. "...MORO-709."

Jesus. That's the tranquilizer they use on the actual dinosaurs. Owen is appalled. "How much?"

"...22 ccs," Hoskins answers after a brief pause, during which he was either thinking or briefly unconscious. "But Omega... used to get 25. We didn't give her that much, Owen."

"Yeah, that's great," Owen growls. "What did you do, dose her every goddamn day?"

Hoskins's silence answers that question well enough. Owen realizes he's gripping the strap so tight that his hands are shaking, and his chest feels cold and tight. He slowly crouches down, even though it puts him closer to the man he hates more than anything else on the planet, and he's so disgusted by the sight of him that it might make him retch on the spot. The question he has to ask out loud to this absolute scum of a human nearly does the trick.

"How were you trying to impregnate her?"

Hoskins answers a little more quickly this time. "We... we saved specimens from the boys. All of 'em. I wanted... you know I wanted to see her and Omega together, Owen. You know that... you know there wouldn't be a hybrid better than that..."

Owen has had just about as much as he can stand. But there is one more thing. "And is that the only thing you tried?"

That's when Hoskins goes quiet, and Owen can tell just by the look on his face that it's not because the man is confused by the question. Hoskins is already dying out here in the jungle, in too much pain to hide the way his eyes go wider, his mouth opens and shuts, he shrinks back just a little -- because he's been caught, hasn't he, the repulsive motherfucker knows his little secret is out.

"Okay." Owen straightens up and swings his rifle down from his shoulder.

Hoskins's expression falls apart. "No, Owen--"

But Owen doesn't bat an eyelash -- just puts the first bullet right in his lap.

Hoskins screams, long and raw and high-pitched; his crotch is an exploded mess, blood pouring out between his legs, staining the grass and the leaves beneath him. He screams, as Owen cocks the rifle again, and then the next gunshot leaves everything silent.

Owen collects his shell casings from the ground, swings his rifle back over his shoulder, and heads up the hill to rejoin his raptors.

"Let's go."

[dinodoc]

Gwen was in the middle of a hushed conference with Mitch when Owen returned to the medical center, and her expression suggested the news was anything but good.

"--we can't pull off a procedure like that now, not while she's hemorrhaging, Mitch, good God--"

"Gwen, I get what you're saying, but if we wait too long, it'll be impossible to remove--"

"All right, I know, but if we expect her to even have a chance of recovering from such a--"

"Yeah, it sucks." The little man's face was grave, eyes tired behind his thick glasses. "But that's how these hybrids were engineered, Gwen, you know--"

Gwen waved an exasperated hand, cutting him off and rubbing her forehead, trying to ease the headache brewing there. Glancing up as the doors hissed open, she spied Owen and spoke to Mitch, the tech nodding and stepping back a pace as the raptor's alpha approached.

"Omega's in there with her," Gwen told him, more than likely unnecessarily. "He's asleep next to her, I told him she'd probably like having him close." She gave Owen a once-over, noting the grim demeanor and placed a cool hand on his arm. "Are you all right? The girls and the boys?" She assumed he'd discovered something on that other island; the expression on his face screamed it aloud.

"What happened?"

[myraptors]

Whatever they were discussing before he interrupted them needles at his brain, but right now Owen feels like his whole head is so full that it can't hold anything else in it without bursting like a balloon. Owen passes Gwen just to stop in front of the door for a moment, glancing inside, before he turns around to face the doctor again. The look on his face can't possibly be as dark as he feels.

"They used MORO-709," he tells her straight off. "Seems like she'd get dosed with 22 ccs daily to keep her passive. Then they just followed through on their original breeding program. Apparently Hoskins kept samples from each of the boys. Just in case."

Owen clenches his jaw again, needing a minute to force the words up from his throat so he doesn't put a fist through the wall when he tries to say it.

"You were right, Gwen -- about the rest."

[dinodoc]

Before Gwen could even formulate a response, Mitch spoke up from behind her, his eyes wide and mouth moving before words formed. "...oh...shit...Gwen, we're gonna need...tetraconizole, metronodaizole and shit-shit-shit--I'll be right back--" He started dancing backwards down the hall, then whirled in a flare of coat and hurried around the corner.

Gwen watched him go, then turned back to Owen with her own eyes wide. "...Owen..." she choked, feeling bile already rising. "...they didn't..." But she'd seen with her own eyes the evidence otherwise. The doc rubbed her forehead again.

"Well, now that we know what they used, we can counter it and work on flushing it out more quickly. But...we still have a few other problems before we're in the clear." Gwen gestured to the door. "Do you want to see her first, or tackle them now?"

[myraptors]

Owen is not keen on involving another person with any part of this -- even Barry and the other hybrids hung back on a separate goddamn island for part of it -- but Gwen trusts Mitch, and he helped them get this far. Besides, if there's gonna be an extra hand on deck anywhere, the medical center is where you'd want it.

Even so, Owen is still gritting his teeth so hard it's a wonder they haven't cracked. He looks back toward the door to Blue's room again, where she is asleep with her mate and -- hopefully -- out of immediate danger, or close to it. Tranquilizers can be reversed, and in fact Jurassic World staff does so fairly frequently when they're adjusting dosages for different animals, or controlling the occasional reaction. They just need to know what they're dealing with.

After a minute, he turns to Gwen again. He can't stop moving yet, and now he's in her arena. "Let them sleep. What next?"

[dinodoc]

Gwen nodded at his answer, agreeing wholeheartedly. But her expression sobered again and she gestured Owen to follow a little ways away from the door; the doc knew just how sharp raptor hearing was.

"Owen," Gwen began, looking up at him seriously. "The fetus in Blue is nearly at week four, and in only six days." Her eyes went dark as she added, "...it already has a heartbeat. There's no way in hell I can figure out what enhancements they used, she's metabolized them already." She squinted thoughtfully, running calculations over in her head.

"I think I can use drugs to slow her hemorrhaging but other than surgery to actually repair the vein wall--which is a low chance of success even in a healthy human--that's going to have to heal itself." Then Gwen paused, running her hands over her face before looking back at Owen.

"You're going to have to decide whether or not to abort the fetus. Even with its accelerated growth rate, we weren't able to obtain a viable enough blood sample to ascertain the other parent. We would have to run DNA after it was further along, which poses its own set of problems. The longer we wait, the greater the danger might become, particularly if this is Omega's offspring." Raptor babies tended to claw their way out, regardless of their incubation medium.

Then her voice lowered to a hushed whisper, and her eyes grew fierce. "Tell me you dealt with the sonofabitch that raped her, Owen. Tell me that." In truth, Gwen really didn't want to know just which asshole had committed such an atrocity, but for medical reasons, she needed to know. "...I'm assuming he was human, are there any specific issues I should know otherwise?"

[myraptors]

The longer he listens, the more horrified he gets. How the fuck--

"You can't be serious." To say that they didn't see this coming would be a gross understatement. How could they possibly have expected this? How is he even hearing this right now? "Gwen. Gwen--" God. He's fucking speechless, and he's having some real trouble staying calm here.

It's on him. He's the Alpha. The progression of this nightmare has been exponential, and if they keep stalling even more things could go wrong. But what the hell kind of decision is this? If they really were animals, this would be a completely different situation. An easy answer (although the question wouldn't even have come up in the first place). But as of right now, Blue isn't a raptor at all, not even when her mixed blood is throwing modern science out on its ass in the cold.

"I took care of it," he informs her, clipped and tight. He doesn't share more than that. He doesn't think anyone should know more than that. "But... god damn it, Gwen, she's been tortured for a week by men deciding what happens to her body." He scrubs his hands over his face and folds his arms tightly across his chest, looking hard at Gwen with a furrowed brow.

"...Can you terminate it without her knowing about it?"

[dinodoc]

She didn't envy him these choices. Not in the least. But she was always supportive, and never questioned the answer. Gwen knew Owen would do what was right for these girls and boys; so would she. But, she wasn't their Alpha, it wasn't her place to just go ahead and take care of the problems.

This, however...this was a nightmare no one had ever seen coming. And, experienced as she was, as knowledgeable as she'd always prided herself to be, Gwen was seriously far out in left field here. But, she would do as Owen decided. When it came to these hybrids, Owen's word was the final one.

Which was also why she didn't hold anything back, didn't sugar coat anything to make it seem less than it is. Gwen had taken an oath years ago to speak the truth about her patients, regardless of how painful it might be. But that didn't mean she didn't share that pain, evident in her anguished eyes and her tight grip on Owen's hands.

"I know, Owen. I wish I wasn't, God, I wish I wasn't." She nodded fiercely to his declaration of vengeance, half-wishing she'd been present to witness it, if only for Blue's sake. But to the problem still looming...

"If we terminate it now, while she's still unconscious, yes. It's a risky operation, at best, particularly with the internal bleeding and her overall weakened state--but she could swim out of that coma at any time. And Owen, be aware, that a pregnancy terminated like this, under these conditions--there's a good chance she'll be unable to conceive again."

[myraptors]

God damn it. It was a long shot, he knew that before he asked it, but that was the only way he might have been able to sleep at night afterward. As much as he wants to respond to Gwen's gestures of support, Owen is turning to stone here, he's sure of it. He's been pissed off before. He's been furious at InGen, worried for his girls, ready to fight if he was pushed even the slightest bit more. None of that ever held a candle to this.

He manages to turn his hand enough for Gwen to clutch it, but if he closes his fingers he might accidentally crush her hand.

"Gwen... I can't make that call for her." He aims his scowl at the wall over her shoulder, just in case something bursts into flames. "She deserves to hear what you're telling me and make her own call, even if I was 100% positive on what she'd say. We can't be two more authority figures treating her like an animal."

Pausing, Owen glances briefly toward the door again. "But I think you should talk to her without Omega."

[dinodoc]

In the back of her mind, Gwen had been afraid of that answer. But she knew, even as Owen had been saying it, that it was the right one. Blue wasn't an animal. She was a young woman caught in a horrific set of circumstances, and she deserved to know what was happening to her and make her own choice about how to handle it.

Gwen just nodded, feeling just a fraction of Owen's pain herself and it cut her heart like a dull knife. She glanced down the hall as footsteps approached, seeing Mitch hurrying towards them with a box that rattled in his hands.

"I got 'em, Gwen," he panted, sweat standing on his pale forehead. "Had to diddle the files a little, but I think we'll be covered for a day or three."

Gwen exhaled a short sigh of relief. "Great, Mitch. Thanks so much. Listen, the male hybrid's in there with her, probably still asleep. He's not going to want to leave her, so just work around him as best as you can. Get the metro into her IV now, and dose it at about 45 cc's per mil. We've got to clean her system out so it can replenish itself."

She paused, looking from him to Owen and then back again. "Give me a minute or two and I'll be right there, promise." Mitch headed off, and Gwen turned back to Owen. "If Mitch and I can get her stable, I'll make some calls tonight and try to arrange a transport for all of us. Because we're not going to be able to stay here, not with the InGen facility burning to the ground over on Isla Sorna. I might, just might, be able to get us back to Los Angeles and the medical lab at UCLA. They have equipment that's almost as advanced as the stuff here."

[myraptors]

Being interrupted sends grating pressure down his spine, but as soon as he registers who it is and what he's doing, that pressure turns into a fresh thread of relief. That's the next step toward fixing Blue. They're going to combat the tranquilizers now. One thing at a time, but she's going to be okay.

Obviously. She can't not be okay.

Owen considers going in there to supervise, since there is no way all of this isn't putting a strain on Omega's self control, and the last thing they need right now is for Mitch or whatever his name is to stumble back out here missing half his face. But then again, he's probably not in the best condition to play peacekeeper right now. They'll just have to put faith in the male hybrid's ability to retain the fact that everyone here is on Blue's side. So far, Omega does seem to be clutching at that over anything else.

Still, he stops Mitch just before he goes in. "If he wakes up, you're gonna want to tell him exactly what you're doing."

After that, he looks at Gwen again. "All right. The sooner we can get here out of here, the better. What do you need from me now?"

[dinodoc]

Gwen saw Mitch swallow hard, but she reassured him with a brief smile and nodded. He went on in the room, but quietly. The door closed and Gwen turned back to Owen. She gave his fingers a brief squeeze, then pressed her hands to the bridge of her nose, thinking quickly.

"Bring the pack back here. The girls are going to be worried about Blue." Of that, Gwen had no doubt. "As soon as I get those meds in Blue's IV, I'll get on the phone and start contacting people."

She grimaced slightly. "...I know it's going to be hard to keep all of them hidden, but we'll have to, somehow." Gwen definitely didn't envy Owen that particular chore. "Just..." and she was absolutely serious about this, "...please be careful, okay?"

[myraptors]

Unless she'd given him some other explicit instructions, wrangling up the pack would have been his first action anyway. They deserve some clarification now, although Owen still isn't sure he can be especially tactful about it. And there's not much he thinks they really need to know as far as details. If any. He'll let them know what they need to do in order to help their sister recover, and after that they can work together properly.

Difficult though it may be, at least it's something to do. A task. Not an impossible question or decisions he can't possibly make with a clear conscience. He nods, at least certain that he won't let a damn thing happen to any other member of his family.

"Of course I will." And then, because all of a sudden he can catch a single breath, and he might as well do something good with it, he leans closer to Gwen and presses a kiss to the side of her head. "Thank you. I'll be back soon."

And he leaves again, one step closer to putting this hell behind them.

[dinodoc]

Gwen watched Owen's back until he turned the corner leading down to the dock, then hurried back to the room where Blue still lay comatose, quickly but gently opening the door and easing inside.

Six hours later, she was overseeing the relocation of her patient from Jurassic World's medical center up to the heliport where waited a fast track chopper to take Blue, Omega, Gwen and Owen to the mainland, to rendezvous with yet another aircraft which would have them landing in Los Angeles around three am, local time.

Barry and the rest of the pack were to follow on by more conventional means; Gwen had utilized every single favor she could think of to get Blue off that island. And thank God she didn't have to worry about Omega; a year ago, the doc knew there'd be no way in hell the male hybrid wouldn't have made things damned near impossible, but Gwen was oddly proud of him, as he deferred to her instruction regarding Blue in everything.

Once they'd boarded the medivac for California and Gwen had checked Blue's vitals again--for the fifth time since takeoff--she finally left the male hybrid with his mate and staggered to the empty seat near Owen, all but collapsing into it. She buckled her seatbelt with jerky motions, pulling out the test results she'd procured back on Isla Nublar.

Gwen tried to read, but the words kept swimming in and out of focus. Finally she gave up altogether, and leaned her head back against the seat rest. "Her vitals are good," she told Owen quietly, more than ready to share any positive progress. "Omega's sleeping back there beside her again, why don't you go sit on her other side?"

[myraptors]

Owen is wiped out. It's the escape from Isla Nublar all over again, but thank god Gwen is handling it this time. Even though Owen isn't used to turning over the reins, he had plenty to do regardless, and he's fresh out of favors that would cause people to stick their necks this far out for his confusing little family. After this, they might not have anything left.

But nothing like this will ever goddamn happen again.

He might have been asleep sitting up in the medivac, because it startles him a little when she speaks even though she's been sitting right next to him. Looking over at her for a moment or two, he finally nods, and squeezes her hand before getting out of his seat to head back and join the hybrids.

Both of them are asleep, despite the noise and lurching motion of the aircraft. Omega has adopted a protective posture around Blue even in the minimal space provided, and he doesn't stir as Owen joins them; Owen wonders distantly how healthy the male hybrid will actually be after this whole thing is over, but is damn sure that Omega will shake it off one way or the other. Both of them just want to see Blue heal. Everything else will fall into place.

Owen takes an unsteady seat on Blue's other side, and leans forward against her cot, covering his eyes with one hand and curling the other one very carefully around her wrist.

[dinodoc]

All of them needed to sleep. None of them had had any decent rest in over a week, and Gwen knew that all of their family was running dangerously close to empty. But retrieving the lost member of their pack had been a task without question--Gwen knew that all of them would move heaven, earth and hell, if necessary, to bring her home.

She watched Owen move to the back of the aircraft, taking the seat opposite Blue's stretcher, as always touched by the tender sincerity evident between Alpha and Beta. They were a team, Owen and Blue, and although Blue was growing up, becoming a strong individual in her own right, the bond she shared with her alpha--her father--would always be unbreakable.

Gwen jolted awake when she heard the copilot calling for her, saying she had a phone call. He passed her the receiver and she answered, not at all surprised to hear the voice on the other end of the line.

"Gwen! Where are you? How far out?"

"Airborne. As to how far..." She glanced up at the copilot, who held up two fingers. "...about two hours, I think. Is everything ready there?"

Debra's voice crackled over the staticy line. "I managed to get hold of everything you asked for, although just what you need this stuff for, I can't even imagine."

Gwen sighed, leaning her head back and covering her eyes. "I told you, it's emergency surgery for a very special client. An exotic. And I'd rather not have to wade through the Los Angeles Wildlife Department when we land, Debra, okay? Just...keep a lid on things, and I'll let you know when we make it."

"Right-O, Gwen, you got it. You'll have transportation from the airport to here, no lights, no siren, but quick all the same. And hey, you'll owe me big time for this, yeah? I want to know what the hell. So you better give, when it's all over."

Gwen signed off and handed back the receiver, heaving a tired sigh. Not for the first time did she wish she'd have been able to participate in a little destruction of property back on Isla Sorna, but those were just tired thoughts. She really did need to get some rest, particularly since once they landed, she'd be the only one familiar with Blue's specific medical needs. So after checking on her patient, administering another dose of the metronodiazole and adding another fluid protein bag, Gwen stepped around, placed a soft kiss on the top of Owen's head, and returned to her seat, ignoring the seat belt in favor of lying over and curling up for a little catnap.

The hum of landing gear woke her, a little over two hours later. Gwen abruptly sat up, started to rush to Blue's bedside, but the captain informed her that they were on approach and to stay put with her seat belt fastened. His hands must have been delicate, thank God, for their landing was smooth and easy, although Gwen was nevertheless a little anxious about debarking without having to go through Customs. But Debra was as good as her word; a plain unmarked van waited at the gate for them, and everyone piled in, Blue's stretcher in the cargo's middle, with everyone else huddled around her for the short ride to the University's Medical Building.

Los Angeles at three am wasn't really dark. There was more than enough ambient city light to see by as the van rolled up to the back entrance, a woman perhaps in her early thirties waiting. She greeted Gwen by name, offering hers as Debra Williamson, and gave Owen and Omega wary looks, but fell to in assisting Doctor Carruthers with her patient.

The latter brought her up to speed quickly, couching details in medical jargon as not to alarm the laymans and Dr. Williamson was wide-eyed and more than a little taken aback by the time she and Gwen had Blue set up in a private wing of the teaching center, Omega never more than an arm's width away from her, as usual. "So that's the game," Gwen was telling Debra quite pointedly when they rejoined Owen just behind the curtain. "We'll have to wait until she comes out of the coma for surgery, which shouldn't be too much longer, if I know Blue." To Owen, Gwen said, "Debra's going to run some tests, check a few things out, and let me know our options in an hour or so." She gave the other woman a nod, adding, "Just work around him, as long as he knows you're helping, he'll be all right."

Debra looked decidedly nervous, but moved off to do her chores regardless, leaving Gwen to tell Owen, "There's nothing I can do until I get those test results or she regains consciousness. There's a food court here, something's always open for the interns pulling all-nighters, and a set of showers and whatnot." She checked her watch. "Debra said it'll be about two hours, give or take fifteen minutes, before she gets anything viable, so we have a bit of a window."

[myraptors]

Owen hasn't gotten enough sleep. Neither has Gwen. Omega is alert whenever a stranger is in the room, but as soon as he's alone with his mate he goes back to sleep beside her, which makes Owen wonder deliriously if they're communicating in dreams or something. At this point, he might as well just expect the unbelievable from his hybrids and their unique physiology.

He should eat, probably, but he's still not sure he'd be able to keep it down. Gwen should also eat, and they both need sleep, especially if she's going to be operating on Blue, but Owen just... he's not useful in hospitals except to stay out of the way, and losing his momentum is putting him at serious risk of toppling over on the spot. But he's not going anywhere until he knows if Blue will be all right.

"You're the doctor," he tells Gwen, with what would be a smile if his face would make that shape right now. "And you need to rest more than I do."

[dinodoc]

Gwen's own return smile was probably just as wan, but the effort was at least sincere. "That's what I keep reminding myself," she laughed, shaking her head slightly. "And yeah, a nap or something, at least. Debra has a couch in her office, I might pop in there for a little bit, or at least start mainlining coffee before dawn." A yawn interrupted her, touche.

She plunked down on a nearby chair, elbows propped on her knees. "But I'm honestly looking for her to come around either today, or by tomorrow morning. Her vitals are good, her color's significantly improved, and she's gotten enough fluids and warmth to flush most of the tranquilizer out of her system. I'll keep giving her the metro, though, just to make sure."

Gwen then looked up at Owen again, expression tired but serious. "And we both know that there's very little chance of Omega leaving that room once she does come around. So, getting him out in order to talk to Blue is going to be...tricky."

[myraptors]

"That wouldn't surprise me," Owen says, coming over to stand beside her. "Blue is always ahead of the game, even when it comes to healing herself. Remember when she broke her arm? She was out of that cast in, what, a month?" And with nothing now to show for it, even -- although that was probably as much a testament to her doctor as it was to herself.

But at the mention of Omega, Owen sighs heavily, something he's done less and less in recent months. He sinks slowly into the chair next to Gwen. "I know," he admits, brow furrowing. "But I think he'll understand the importance of giving Blue some privacy. And I think he knows what happened to her already." Owen isn't sure how he knows that; just a hunch, really, but Omega's demeanor when they found the two of them very strongly implied as much.

"I don't think you should tell him anything specific. But if you're straightforward as Blue's doctor, he might listen." He shakes his head. "Blue has worked magic on that boy, I swear she could publish a goddamn dissertation."

[dinodoc]

Gwen remembered. Vividly. A bad break, one of the worst Gwen had seen in a good while. But the Beta had held stoic through all of the pain, and although the rehabilitation had been a trial, Gwen had never been more impressed than to see the young hybrid grit her teeth and determinedly push herself through it only by sheer willpower.

The strength of these amazing creatures--it never ceased to astound her.

"No, definitely nothing specific," Gwen agreed, just imagining the consequences of doing otherwise. It only made her headache worse. "He's been behaving admirably since we found them, it's amazing, how far she's come with him in just a short year and some months." She slipped her arm through Owen's, offering whatever comfort and support he'd take.

"I'll have to run him out in a little bit, anyway," she told him. "He can't go with us into the x-ray room, so you'll probably need to keep an eye on him then. Debra's got us covered for a few days, at least--celebrity surgery for a very important client, all hush-hush, but the University handles quite a bit of those every year."

She gave his hand a thoughtful little squeeze. "You want to come take a nap with me? There are a couple of couches in the Rec room we can push together, just for an hour or so." Power naps had saved her ass, back in vet school; Gwen had become a pro at snatching one whenever it was necessary.

[myraptors]

This time, Owen does manage to work out just a hint of a smile. Yeah, Blue has done some incredible work. And so has Gwen. All the women around him are just kicking ass all over the place, and he's goddamn thrilled to see it. Not to mention lucky.

"I remember all the strings you pulled the last time." An equally terrifying incident, if not quite as emotionally harrowing. At least they only have one comatose raptor this time. So there's that.

He starts to say for the hundredth time that he doesn't know where they would be right now if it wasn't for Gwen, but... those words just don't seem like enough, anymore. She has to know how much he means it, though.

"Yeah." He squeezes her back, lacing their fingers and ignoring how much his head swims when he stands up, tugging her with him. "That sounds really good to me right about now."

[bluebetabitch]

Her last memories were full of sharp, jagged pain. Blue's eyelids fluttered, she tried to make a noise down in her throat, but nothing responded. She did manage to blink her eyes open just a little, enough to see in the dimness and realize that she had absolutely no idea where she was!

Her first reaction was, of course, panic. Everything around her smelled sterile, white, and sharp. She didn't feel shackled, however, but she was far too weak to simply surge up and out of here...wherever here was. Thwarted of her initial instinct, Blue simply breathed, in and out, calming breaths which, shockingly enough, brought her a very familiar scent and it was so much of a relief that it brought tears to her eyes.

Omega.

He was here. Somewhere. Nearby, she hoped. A curious warmth emanated from her left side, but she was still too frail to investigate it, and even turning her head was a chore. But he was here, he was close, and she needed him. Dimly she realized that Owen's familiar scent was also present, but faint, dim. Blue inhaled again, sorting out the smells: Omega, Owen, and...yes, Dr. Gwen, she also was or had been here, not long ago.

Blue relaxed; her family was close, she was hurting, but it was bearable, nothing like the inward turning knives she'd suffered...however long ago. She wasn't able to move very much just yet, but she finally managed a small mewl, a plaintive sound to anyone who might be close enough to hear.