Hello all! I am not overly familiar with the original Jurassic Park films, last time I watched them was… a large number of years ago. However, I have already seen Jurassic World twice and loved it! So here we go! This fic will include an altered timeline of events, starting pre-movie and stretching the lead up by a couple of days. It will also span beyond the events of the film, which I hope you will enjoy!
Also, fanfic seems to have disabled links on profiles, not sure if it applies to all, but just in case. The actress I had in mind for Val is Isabelle Fuhrman with straight hair.
Happy reading :)

Chapter 1: Assistant's Assistant

Gemma Vaughn: Hey! Little-Roo!

Val looked up from her computer screen when the chat box opened up, cutting her off from the document she was editing. A few desks down her friend was grinning at her over their own computer screen, and it wasn't long before Val's laptop PINGED again.

Gemma Vaughn: Stop frowning, seventeen year olds shouldn't take work more seriously than the adults around them!

Val scowled at her screen.

Valarie McKinley: I was not frowning, I was concentrating!

Gemma Vaughn: Tomayto, tomato

Valarie McKinley: It's tomato you American heathen, now stop distracting me! Zara will kill me if this is late.

Gemma Vaughn: No she won't, you will kill you if it's late. Don't stress kiddo, I thought you Aussies were all about chilling out :p You relax out of work, learn to relax during work.

Valarie McKinley: Bye now :)

She closed her chat box and cast a glance over the top of her computer in Gemma's direction. Her friend gave a thumbs up, and Val went back to her work. Once she had finished proof-reading the document, she checked it again just to make sure she was satisfied with it. Zara would never have let her anywhere near drafting a press release during her first weeks at the Park, but now she had Val writing them start to finish! With numerous check-ins of course, but still!

Just thinking about it brought a smile to Val's face, she was so damned lucky to have gotten this summer internship!

Her computer PINGED again, another message from Gemma.

Gemma Vaughn: You are the only teenager I know who looks happy about extra work, are you sure you're human?

Valarie McKinley: No, I am an alien sent down to Earth with the mission of surpassing you all and steal your jobs.

She grinned as she hit send, and was rewarded by a bark of quickly stifled laughter from Gemma.

Clicking out of chat, Valarie saved her finished document. She pulled up her email client, emailed copies of it to both Claire and Zara, along with profiles on the Verizon Wireless reps coming to the Island in a few days. Neither of the women had asked for the extra work, but Val was eager to impress in this internship. A reference from a woman like Claire Dearing would go a long way to helping her get jobs during and after university.

Emails sent, she also put two copies of the documents through to the printer. Feeling quite pleased with herself, she relaxed in her chair and let her eyes flick to the clock.

15:45

"Shit!"

Val clapped a quick hand over her mouth, but several of her colleagues were eyeing her over the top of their screens, the ones she counted as friends were grinning. Scowling around the room in general, Val quickly pushed herself away from her desk and ran towards the printer, nearly tripping in the process. How did Claire manage heels every day? Val was trying to follow that lead, but to be honest she was still begging for flats by the end of her day.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon."

She shifted from foot to foot as she waited for the printer to spit out her documents, swearing that it was churning them out slower than normal.

"Aaaaaand, thank you!"

She swept the last one up as soon as the printer had landed it in the tray. Rushing back to her desk she quickly grabbed two clear file holders out from her drawers and split the documents into their various parts. Four quick pumps of the stapler later and the papers were shoved into their respective holders.

Just as she was grabbing her bag, her computer PINGED once more.

Gemma Vaughn: Run run run as fast as you can!

Val didn't have the time to respond as she stuffed the files into her bag while making for the lift doors. She did however shoot a quick scowl at her friend, earning only a grin and a wave of encouragement in response.

She slid into the lift just before the doors swished closed, and pressed the ground floor button about ten times to make sure the lift knew what a hurry she was in.

"What's the rush Little-Roo?" Ray Tate, tourism manager on the island, chuckled as she frantically checked herself in the mirror to make sure she was presentable.

"Claire's meeting finishes in twelve minutes and I still have to get to the conference building and grab her coffee on the way." She quickly re-pinned a few loose strands of straight black hair. "And contrary to what you all seem to think, we Australians aren't all part kangaroo!"

He laughed again as the doors opened on the fifth floor where he was getting off.

"We're just trying to help you relax. You have the chance of a lifetime here on the island, get some sun, enjoy it!"

"Catch you later, Ray." She pressed the close-door button and was left alone on the remaining half of her downward journey.

Appraising herself once more in the mirror, she rubbed her arm and frowned. She still had a faint tan from the Australian spring and early summer, but it was nowhere near what it normally was at this time of year. Still, she wasn't pale, and she did get sun! It was hard not to in Central America.

Smoothing her expression as the doors swished open, she was grateful for the sheer volume of drink stands and coffee carts dotting the Park. She ran up to the closest one with the shortest line and fidgeted as she waited for the two people before her to order.

"Afternoon, Val!"

Most of the vendors knew her by now, she was grabbing stuff from them so frequently for her superiors.

"Hey, Mia. Trim vanilla latte, and a triple shot flat white with one sugar." She reeled off on auto pilot, handing over the required money before Mia even had a chance to tell her the cost.

"You running late?" Mia asked, sorting the money into the till.

Val checked her watch and winced.

"I will be in nine minutes."

"I'll make sure Tom makes yours first." Mia tipped her a wink as she handed Val the recept.

"Thank you! You lifesaver!" Val felt herself physically relax at the news, and stepped to the side so Mia could serve the next customer.

Almost every face behind a counter or desk at Jurassic World was familiar to Val. She had been working at the Park for several weeks now, and had made it her mission to befriend as many of the staff members as was humanly possible. That had been the parting advice from her parents, who swore it would make her life easier, and boy were they right!

Val had managed to worm her way into several perks by knowing the right people, and her networking skills had impressed Claire enough that she encouraged Zara to give Val more responsibility. Val hoped that she would impress Claire enough over the remaining couple of months to be offered a position in the company after her graduation, perhaps with more summer internships.

She could see it now. A future living in the tropic warmth of Central America, comfortable life on Isla Nublar, working within a highly praised organisation. Getting to do all of that while living in the only place on Earth where dinosaurs once again roamed! Not to mention the incredible health insurance working at Jurassic World provided. Could life be any cooler?

"Val! Trim latte and a flat white?"

She was jerked out of her riviere when Tom called her name.

"Thanks, Tom!"

She took the proffered holder containing two styrofome cups and was off at as fast a walk as she could manage while balancing coffee and heels. As she clacked her way across to the control building, Val vowed that tomorrow it was going to be flats, but she would master the art of heels!

Pushing her way through tourists, she made her way down one of the shop-less side streets that led to the island's conference building. The top level of the three story block was used for board, staff, and shareholders meetings; but the lower two could be rented out by guests for use during their stay in the Park.

Stepping into air conditioning after her brief dash through equatorial heat caused goosbumps to break out over her skin, but Val barely noticed it as she sped towards the lifts. Thankfully the building was mostly empty, and the doors to the left lift opened for her as soon as she pressed the button. Pressing her clearance card to the panel with her free hand, she breathed a sigh of relief as she sent the lift on its way to floor three.

Val adamantly refused to check her watch until she was stationed outside of the still closed conference room door. When she saw that the analogue hands pointed to 3:58, she allowed herself to sag against the wall in relief. Today had been exhausting, and she was looking forward to her five o'clock finish. Lounging in her room with no stupid shoes on and doing absolutely nothing sounded great right about now. Sure, she loved her work here and the opportunities, but she was only human.

At 4:02 the doors opened and people in sharp business suits began to file out. Some offered small smiles to Val, some were clearly lost in thought, but she kept a smile on her own face. This job had really trained up her cheeks in maintaining that expression in all manner of situations, she found herself smiling absently all the time now, the same fixed smile she put on for work.

When she had counted fifteen people leave the room, she stepped in. Claire and Zara were sitting at the far end of the oval table, their own fixed smiles sliding off their faces, and tired looks replacing them. Zara rubbed a hand over her temples, while Claire smoothed down her sleek bob.

"Well, thank god that's over." Zara said.

"Coffee?" Val held up the holder with a genuine grin, making her way to where the women were seated.

"You angel!" Claire exclaimed.

"One triple shot flat white." She placed the right cup in front of Claire.

"And one vanilla latte, trim." She placed the left one beside Zara.

"Valarie, you are truly a treasure." Zara took the lid off her cup and inhaled deeply. "I'm not sure we want to let you go university in March."

"How did the meeting go?" Val started clearing away the glasses scattered on the table, tipping out what water remained in some of them.

"Well." Claire took a long draw on her coffee. "They want the new attraction unveiled as soon as possible, and aren't too happy about it being pushed back for enclosure additions."

"Really, the Board can be as stubborn as pigs." Zara scoffed. "God help the Park if you weren't here to buffer them, Claire."

"Yeah, well, it's not the world's easiest job." Claire rolled her eyes with a half-smile. "You certainly came to us at a busy time Valarie, how are you coping?"

"To be honest, I'm really loving it here. The work is fun, most of the time, and the experience is amazing!" Val gushed. "I'm so happy to be here, thank you for picking me."

Claire and Zara both chuckled at her enthusiasm, and Val blushed a little.

"Well you certainly had one of the better applications. Early graduate, previous internships, place at the University of Technology Sydney studying Communications." Claire ticked off each achievement on a finger. "And you pulled of the interview without a hitch."

"And your work here is exemplary." Zara added. "Speaking of which…"

"I have the press release for Indominus right here." Val pulled out the two file holders, handing one to each woman. "Of course it can be updated closer to the unveiling if changes occur, but I hope you're happy with it. And I've emailed the document to you both as well."

Claire's eyes darted across the pages as she skimmed the release, a small smile curving her lips. Val hoped that was a smile from being impressed, and not a pity smile for sloppy work.

"This is great, Valarie." Claire said once finished. "I might make a few tweaks, but for your first release well done! Did Zara let you do the whole thing?"

"Yes." Val admitted.

"What's this other document?" Zara had pulled out the profiling pages, prompting Claire to do the same.

"It's just some information on the reps coming from Verizon Wireless, background on them and the company." Val shrugged. "I had some spare time."

"Some spare time?" Claire arched an eyebrow at her over the document. "This is a few hours at least, you work hard enough already, Valarie."

She shrugged again. "As I said, I enjoy it."

Zara shook her head. "I definitely don't want you to leave. You are the best assistant's assistant!"

"Thanks." Val grinned again.

"I'd say the time you put into this relieves you of the rest of today, would you agree, Zara?" Claire looked to her assistant.

"I absolutely would, Valarie was in as early as me today." Zara added. "Head back home and relax, there will certainly be enough to do over the coming days!"

"Thanks." Val said again, her voice heavy with relief this time.

"We'll see you tomorrow." Zara said, Claire having already bent her head to the documents spread out in front of her.

"See you tomorrow." Val replied, making her way back out to the lifts.

Able to take a much slower pace back to the staff accommodation quarters, Val took off her lightweight elbow-length blazer and let the sun soak into her skin. She really did love the feeling of that, even if most days she only made time for it walking to and from work. Perhaps she should take Ray's suggestion to heart with this afternoon off.

The familiar steady ache in her calves came into focus now that she wasn't distracted by a flurry of work. She quickened her pace back to her room as much as her feet allowed her.

But first, be rid of the heels!