AN~ Hey you guys! So it's been awhile and this is the first fanfic I've written in quite some time. I pulled some personal OCs of mine to add, and believe me, we'll get to the nitty gritty as far as dinosaurs are concerned, but I wanted to be thorough as far as their introduction goes and what exactly they're doing on Isla Nublar. There's also a lot of human interactions and relationships as well that take awhile to build with a lot of damage to the characters in their past, so have patience with me. I'm sort of winging it, but please review! Let me know what you think! - Wendigo

Danny Strong shifted in his plane seat, wincing as he tried to stretch out the tension in his lower back, shifting his gaze out the window. Next to him his twenty-seven-year-old intern-turned-colleague, Mia, was still asleep, her head lolling off to the side of her buckwheat neck pillow. They were flying to Isla Nublar, recently hired on with animal behavior experience to assist with the care of the animals on the island and were employed by Jurassic World, the multi-million dollar park in Costa Rica.

Danny wasn't sure if he bought it. The heavily tattooed and pierced male in his forties had seen the reports on TV from a number of years back and had heard about the downfall of Jurassic Park, Jurassic World's predecessor and the park that had founded the "de-extinction" method that brought dinosaurs back in the closest manner possible, but he couldn't believe they'd be that stupid as to try it again. That being said, when he was offered the job, he couldn't turn it down. He had to see it for himself to believe it.

They landed in Panama and were ushered to the ferry that would take them to Isla Nublar. Danny was leaning against the railing when he felt a nudge to the side of his arm, looking and meeting Mia's hazel eyes and the grin on her face.

"Still skeptical?" She asked him. Danny snorted. His relationship with Mia was unique. Though she worked under him, they had both gotten extremely close. Danny looked at her like a younger sister, and though she had originally come to learn under him, the younger woman kept him on his toes. They had a great rapport and over the years developed a great friendship. Which was why Mia could be a smartass with Danny on a regular basis and harass him, and for the most part, he let her get away with it.

"Not so much skeptical, just sort of baffled," Danny responded, shaking his head. "You'd think they'd have learned by now. This is natural selection at it's finest."

"Can you try not to be a downer for like, five minutes and look at the opportunity we've gotten? Dinosaurs, Dan. These are dinosaurs. We're going to be working with dinosaurs."Mia pointed out. "Dinosaurs which have been extinct for sixty-five million years."

"Same dinosaurs that InGen has shown time and time again that they can't control within an inch of their lives," Danny said."People messing with things they should have left alone a long time ago. Hammond couldn't do it, it's a bad idea for anyone else to try."

Mia couldn't say she blamed Danny for his point of view. He wasn't alone in thinking that another disaster was inevitable. But she also knew her colleague well enough to know that he couldn't resist going over to check it out, either.

They finally reached the dock and were met by a tight-lipped Irish woman with long black hair and sunglasses holding a sign reading STRONG HARPER. They went to meet the woman who introduced herself flippantly as Zara Young. She gave brief explanations as to where they would be heading with two dossiers ready for them.

"My boss will be speaking with both of you once you get settled. You'll have a shared vehicle with navigation. All sectors of the island are already pre programmed into them." Zara said. "Once you've gotten settled in your housing, which are next door to each other, you can ring me-my number is listed on the business card in your dossier, and I'll let my boss know you'll be coming to speak to her."

Once they got off the monorail, both Danny and Mia were led to a Mercedes SUV and got in. Mia saw Zara glancing at the both of them out of the corner of her eye, her skepticism apparent. Both Mia and Danny had tattoos; Danny being sleeved up on both arms and Mia with a tattoo on the back of her shoulder and partial upper shoulder. They both had nose rings, and Danny a pierced eyebrow. He came across as the rough metal head-rocker type, not so much an animal behaviorist. Mia knew they looked a little unconventional, but seeing as Zara wasn't the person they were going to be working with much, Mia really couldn't care less what the woman's opinion was of her and her colleague. The trip to staff housing was a quiet one, but it went by quickly. They were given their keys and assigned housing. Mia was grateful that she and Danny were next door, and their bags were already in their designated living spaces. Once they got settled, Danny and Mia called Zara who came to pick them up and transport them to Hammond Creation Lab. When they got there, a woman with short, straight red hair, a white blouse and black pencil skirt greeted them.

"Hi, Danny Strong and Mia Harper?" The woman said, offering a hand. "I'm Claire Dearing. I can't tell you how happy we are to have you both on board. You're both highly respected in your field."

The woman was very well rehearsed, and Danny could tell by looking in her eyes that she was sharp as a tack. This was the type of woman Jurassic World needed running the company, but Danny wasn't sure what to make of her as a person yet. He imagined she was no pushover.

"Glad to be here," Mia said, shaking her hand after Danny did. "We're both excited."

"And maybe a little skeptical," Danny said flatly and Mia shot him a look.

"Understandable. Jurassic World has a bit of a history behind it from Jurassic Park, but I assure you that we have a great team of the world's best contractors and have taken every safety precaution to prevent another… well… incident," Claire told them as she guided them down the corridor to the genetic labs. "As John Hammond always said: we spared no expense."

"How'd that work out for you last time?" Danny muttered with a scoff. Mia elbowed him sharply and Danny shot her an exchanged look. Danny was very straight forward and to the point. Mia found that his mouth was what had gotten him into trouble in the past, but he was no bullshitter. If something bothered him, you knew about it. But it was a horrible idea showing his lack of a filter to their new employer, who had stopped and glanced over at him.

"I'm sorry-" Mia tried to cover for him, but Claire held up a hand.

"No, it's fine. I know we don't have the greatest reputation following us, but I assure you every necessary precaution has been taken. You're upfront, Mr. Strong, and I respect that. If you'd like sometime, I can sit you down with one of our Asset Containment Unit members and have him show you exactly what we've done to ensure the safety of our employees, guests, and animals." Claire offered. Mia looked in Danny's direction as he seemed to be considering it.

"Yeah, I'd like to take you up on that," Danny responded, arms crossed over his chest. Mia found herself relieved that he seemed to be coming around. He wore a hardened expression but it seemed like maybe if he knew what they were doing to ensure the animals stayed contained and on the island, it might put him a bit more at ease. Claire eyed him, nodding. Mia knew the look and had seen it many times on people who first encountered Danny. He was a hard nut to crack.

"So, I read both applications, but I'd love to hear about your experiences from you personally," Claire said as she guided them into her office on the far side of the building where they both took a seat.

"Well, school and such aside, I started off working with horses when I was a kid. Worked at a racetrack in the Bay Area, so I dealt with knuckleheaded racehorses throughout my teens. My early twenties, they had me working as a stallion manager. I went to school for animal behavioral science, got a job at zoos, worked at a couple wolf rescues. Big cat rescues, studied them, got a degree, worked with predators, and so on." Danny said.

"What about you, Mia?" Claire asked.

"Sort of similar, I had horses growing up and rode. Worked with them, then was going to school for animal science and got a job learning under Danny. I've worked with him for four years, he taught me everything I know as far as predators go." Mia replied.

Claire studied both of them for a moment and nodded slowly, seeming satisfied with the answers. "Good, you guys both have that experience. I think this is going to work out well. Danny, I'm going to have Mia still learning under you. It's been going really well thus far, you guys have a working relationship, and I think you can definitely take her farther as far as her potential goes. I'm confident with both your competence, especially with what I'd like for you to be working with."

"What're we working with?" Danny asked.

"We'll talk more about that tomorrow," Claire said. "For now, I need you both rested for then and on Costa Rica time. I'll introduce you to our other keepers then as well."

Danny and Mia both headed back out to employee housing and said their goodnights. They were both exhausted, but when Danny had changed for bed, he found that he couldn't get to sleep. After an hour of tossing and turning, he exhaled heavily and turned over onto his back, reaching over to the bedside table for the TV remote and flipped on the TV. He laid staring blankly at the TV for about thirty minutes before there was a soft knock on his door. Brows furrowing, he got up and headed toward the door tentatively.

"Just me," He heard Mia's voice on the other side. With a glance at the clock, he realized she was probably having the same issue. He opened the door and saw Mia in flannel pajama pants and an old Led Zeppelin t-shirt.

"Couldn't sleep either?" Danny asked her, opening the door for her to come in as he shuffled back toward the bed.

"Nope, and heard your TV on so I knew you were awake," She replied, looking at the TV. "What're you watching?"

"I have absolutely no idea," Danny said, patting the mattress in an invite for her to come sit. "You're welcome to hang out and watch whatever it is though."

"Sure, I'll keep you company," She said teasingly, grinning when Danny rolled his eyes good-naturedly, lying back down on the bed and Mia leaned against the pillows behind her next to him.

"What'd you think of it all?" Danny asked her, looking up at her with one arm resting behind his head, the other draped carelessly across his stomach.

"Not really sure yet," Mia said with a shrug. "I mean, it's a really cool opportunity but I guess we'll find out more tomorrow. Claire seems really intense."

"Oh yeah she does," Danny snorted in agreement, shaking his head. "I think we saw the best of her today. I'm willing to bed she only gets worse from here on out to work for."

"Well, you can't blame her really, look what she has to run," Mia said. She tucked her feet under the covers and Danny lifted the covers for her to shimmy under, lying next to him. This was nothing new. They had camped out in enclosures together for years. They had a really, really close friendship that had only deepened when Danny was going through a really nasty divorce not even a few months ago, and he was still in the process of it. Mia had made a point to try to offer him emotional support through it, and with them working so closely together, it was easier for the tough exterior Danny to confide and open up to her than anyone else. Over the years, Mia really had grown to care about him, and Danny had gotten attached and very protective of her as well. Nothing was taboo between them. "It takes a special kind of person to have what it takes to run a dinosaur park."

"Yeah, that's probably true," He agreed with a shrug. His blue eyes fixed on the TV for a moment, not really concerned with what was on as Mia shifted and settled, turning onto her side with her arm tucked under the side of her head.

"How's everything else going? Have you heard from anyone back home?" She asked.

"Like lawyers? Oh yeah," Danny muttered. "And Amanda. You should have heard her when I told her I was moving down here. She absolutely lost her shit. She told her attorney she swore it was me trying to get out of paying her any money. I already agreed to alimony, I don't know what else she wants."

"She's trying to make your life miserable," Mia said, her tone sympathetic. "You're moving on and trying to make your life better, and it's without her so she's pissed off. She wants you to suffer, but that isn't on you."

"Yeah, well, she likes to think it is, but whatever," Danny shrugged, exhaling slowly. "I just said 'fuck it'. She didn't want to be married to me anymore, she's not going to run my life. This was the best decision I could have made for my future, and she hates that. But whatever."

"You're going to do awesome," Mia told him, scooting nearer to him and lay her head against his shoulder, a silent means of offering support. "We've got this."

She saw a thin smile tug at the corners of Danny's mouth as he tilted the side of his head against hers in return, but Mia could see it still bothered him. He was trying to mask the fact his own lack of self-esteem from his divorce with a front and hide the fact that in truth, he really did feel like he failed. But this was a new chapter. He was actually making this call for himself rather than someone else, and he was grateful that Mia had come along with him-not only because of the opportunity he knew it would be for her, but it was nice to have someone there that he knew and was as close to as he was Mia. This was a whole new beginning for them, and they both knew that as Mia had fallen asleep on Danny's shoulder next to him, and he wasn't far behind her.