Way Back into Love ↪ Owen Grady

six ↪ jurassic walk

    The most scared of them all was still Grace. I tried to reassure her several times, uselessly. "What was that?!" she frantically looked around.

    "You walking on a dead branch" Ryan, the eight-year-old, pointed out.

    "The other sound, child" she sighed.

    "Elle? Elle, do you copy?" a kind of robotic voice spoke from the radio I forgot I was carrying.

    I threw Grace an apologetic look and frowned as I picked it up. "Dyson?"

    "There are four people missing in the gyrosphere valley. Some dinosaurs blocked the way so the team can't make it until later tonight"

    Grace and the kids gasped loudly at the new information. "Okay, listen up. I'm here and there're two little kids, where are the dinosaurs blocking the way?"

    "I can't hear you properly" the sound glitched. "Where did you say you are?"

    "I'm in the valley. There're two little kids with me"

    "And a girl also!" Grace basically yelled while the kids tried to hush her.

    "You're out there?!" Dyson yelled back from the other side of the speaker. "Wait. No, Owen, you can't just-"

    With that, the signal died. I plugged the device back on my belt and eyed the kids. They were pretty calm, just tired. On the other hand, Grace was still shocked and uneasy. I sighed and looked around, trying to find a good spot where we could rest for at least a little bit after walking for so long.

    "Let's just sit down for a minute, is that okay?" I asked them, surprisingly getting a positive response from Grace too. "Good"

    I sat on the grass with little Ashton in my arms and Ryan closely beside us. Grace refused to sit instead and rested against a tree. I closed my eyes and focused on the sound of nature around us. It was pretty nice, actually. So nice it helped me brainstorm.

    "What's that?" Ashton's tiny voice caused all of us to snap our eyes open. "Good or bad dinosaur, Elle?"

    A familiar spikey head snooped from some brushes as he moved really fast. I relaxed every tense muscle and caressed the kids' hair. "That one, boys, is Pachy"

    Pachy swooshed his head frantically, before stopping in our direction. When he spotted me, he rushed towards us way too fastly. I widened my eyes and raised my hand in the air, stretching it forward so he could sniff it and hopefully recognize me.

    "Easy, little guy" I reassured him. "You did a really good job"

    The dinosaur tilted his head to the side with a small nod as he got closer. Ashton playfully touched his head, getting a small huff in return.

    "Elle! Are you all okay?" a manly voice asked a few seconds later. Owen rushed by our side in record time.

    "We're fine!" Ashton excitedly informed. "Ellie took us with her!"

    "I can see that" Owen's lips curved up into a small proud smile. "You're ready to get back? It's been quite a ride, you must be tired"

    "Thank goodness!" Grace unexpectedly jumped on the raptor trainer and wrapped her arms around him. "Our hero!"

    "Actually.." Ashton stood up and crossed his tiny arms over his chest. "Young lady, if Elle didn't help us we would still be in the hamster ball scared and you would be crying like a little baby!"

    I had to fight back a laugh at those words spoke by a five-year-old, and I saw Owen struggling at keeping a straight face as well. He looked over at me and goofily shook his head with a cute smile.

    "Whatever. Let's just go back" Grace huffed.

.

    Ashton and I briefly fell asleep during the car ride back. Grace had insisted so she could sit in the passenger seat next to Owen and the kids wanted me to sit with them, so I ended up in the backseat of the jeep. I could hear both Ryan and Grace explaining how things went, the first one excitedly and the other one complaining.

    "You hate dinosaurs, why are you even here?" Ryan accused the girl.

    "I don't hate those animals" she faked a smile in Owen's direction, making me sick to my stomach.

    "Also you have a boyfriend, stop trying to steal Elle's man!" the kid continued.

    I almost let out an involuntary sound, squeezing my eyes closed so they would think I was still sleeping. At that point I wished I was asleep for real, I definitely didn't want to hear the rest of the conversation. Surprisingly, in return, Owen just chuckled. Ryan eventually continued. — "Elle is great, also funny! She played with that dino and pushed his head back as it was a dog. A frigging dinosaur! And she wasn't scared!"

    "Yeah yeah, we get it, she's great and all" Grace huffed annoyed.

    A few moments later, the jeep came to a stop. I opened my eyes and spotted a couple of people waiting for us outside the visitors center, Dyson and Roger included. I was screwed. I had literally been told not to touch any dinosaur, and I legit led two little kids outside the safety of the gyrosphere into the wild. I was so screwed.

    I helped Ashton and Ryan jump off the vehicle but I stayed inside. They sprinted to their parents excitedly, so did Grace to her friends. Owen hopped off the jeep as well but, when he noticed I didn't, he stepped towards me and raised an eyebrow. — "What's wrong?"

    "Roger will probably fire me" I shyly informed as I looked down at my feet.

    The raptor trainer carefully studied me. "Why would he do that?"

    "He specifically told me not to touch dinosaurs or even be close to them"

    "I'm confused. What did he hire you for?" Owen looked genuinely confused.

    "Cleaning their environment" I mocked.

    "That's so not happening" he ran his fingers into his messy hair, concerned, and glanced in the boss' direction. "Let me just talk to him"

    "Okay" I almost whispered, loud enough for him to hear.

    "Elle! Come meet our mama!" Ashton's little voice echoed through the empty streets.

    "Let's go" Owen unexpectedly offered his hands for me to take so he could pull me off the jeep.

    And that's when it happened..