Welcome to the Jungle

Chapter 22: Interview with the Dinosaur Trainer

Kara greeted Mike and Winn at the National City Airport with a radiant smile, a bouquet of flowers and cups of coffees. Her once again rosy cheeks and bright sapphire eyes made Mike's heart flutter. She was okay.

"What a gentleman!" Mike said cheekily and pulled her into his arms to kiss her grinning lips lovingly like he had wanted to for the whole two weeks. The way Kara kissed him back, made Mike think that the feeling was mutual.

He lingered in their embrace after the kiss, nuzzling into her neck and reeling in her scent as if he had known it all his life. She felt like the home he had been searching for. It should have been strange to feel this close to someone so soon after meeting them, but it felt right. It felt safe, thus he didn't dwell on it any longer. Logic played no role in this.

The entire next two weeks, Kara spent all her spare time showing the city to Mike. They were practically dating every day and neither mined it the slightest. Kara even insisted that he was welcome to stay at her loft instead of the hotel, but Mike feared it was a step too soon.

As expected, the FBI approached each of the group who had been on Isla Nublar and called them in for questioning on separate days. It wasn't that grueling, but they had to answer lots of questions, mainly about the Luthors. Despite their death, the investigation was ongoing and they were working with Interpol to conduct it overseas. Mike and Winn, in particular, had to go in for an extra day since they were the first witnesses on the scene. In the end they all had been given a card with contact information so to let them know if anything new came to their mind and Kara had to swear not to publish any of the sensitive material used in the case until the court had decided to release them to the public.

Mike was with Kara when she got her very last antivenom injection. Eliza was very optimistic and said that Kara should be fine from then on since according to Kara's blood test, her system was cleansed completely. Nevertheless, he couldn't suffocate the pessimistic voice in his head reminding him constantly of the deal he had made with his mother. It was looming over him like a dark cloud and he didn't know when and how it would return to bite him in the back. He assumed Rhea would be calling any day now.

He gave the interview he owed Kara on the same day he got rid of his cast and could walk normally again. They celebrated by going to their now favorite Café called Noonan's near the Catco building. Kara finally managed to ask him all the questions she needed for the article without any interruptions while enjoying their ice Lattes.

They hung out at Kara's place for the rest of that day, watched some of the musicals she so dearly loved and gushed about, cuddled under a blanket on the couch with lots of popcorns. Mike couldn't remember the last time he had felt this cozy with someone in his life.

Kara ordered their favorite Hawaiian pizza and as they ate in front of the TV, Mike asked Kara if he could use her laptop to check his emails. He was waiting after an important work-related email. Instead, he found an email from Amy Wilson in his inbox. There were two videos attached with a text from her, explaining how things were going well on Isla Nublar. The first video was of Amy herself playing with the baby dinosaurs who had grown so much in the span of just a few weeks. Two of the boys were perched on her shoulders and one climbing her leg, while she tried to entice them with treats so they would stop biting and plucking out her hair. The little girl dinosaur called Perdie unlike her brothers was acting very civilized, quietly playing with a yellow ball on her own. Kara squealed at the video, sitting next to Mike on the couch, thoroughly charmed by the mean little things pestering the poor Vet.

The second video though was an old one Amy had found on her laptop of Mike and the Lost Boys. The moment Mike played it, his heart sank at seeing the six tiny Raptors circling him, and all eyes fixated on the prized dead mouse he was holding up in the air. He remembered that day clearly. The hatchlings were less than a month old and this was their very first training day. They had to complete a simple task to earn the treat he was holding. The task was the most basic one. Move and stop when he whistled. Mike glanced at Kara who was watching him in the video with eyes filled with wonder as he explained what was happening in the video. Her hands were clasped over her chest as she adored the small Raptors each in turn and was absolutely immersed in the short documentary.