This has been in my head for the past WEEK. Bear with me please.

Maria Anne was more than likely at the prime of her life at this very moment. Well, technically that was a lie. She was at her prime years ago when Jurassic World had taken her in to help train the raptors. She never really had too much interaction with them, but she did watch them with Barry when Owen did his training. She was at her best in life during those years, truly. And then, of course, the indominus had gotten out and her dream job was over. She was lucky that she had the day off that day and had decided to spend it in the parks plaza, she was one of the first brought into the safe zone.

Maria hadn't seen Owen since, but she kept in contact with Barry. The two of them often got lunch together to talk about their lives now. He was getting married soon, had a kid on the way. He was working with a zoo, mainly taking care of the large carnivores. Maria was still single and living in a one bedroom apartment where she worked with an aquarium studying alligators. She wasn't living her best life now, she was living half of it.

Which is why, after three months after the park closed for good, she was suddenly excited to get a call from Lockwood, or rather Eli Mills. She vaguely remembered the mention of the Lockwoods when she had first applied at Jurassic World. He was one of the founders for the original park, he'd help make the first dinosaur. So needless to say, she were over the moon with the possibilities that had opened up for her.

She was so excited that she showed up an hour early for her interview at the Lockwood estates, her hair pinned up and her best dress suit on. She thought she looked fairly good, the suit was from one of the best plus size designers that she had found yet, and it hugged her curves in the best way. Nothing suggestive, but it didn't make her look like a potato either.

"Ms. Brennan," the maid said as she opened the door, surprise written all over her face. "You're here early."

Maria smiled hesitantly. "Yeah, I was already up in my hotel room and figured that I might as well get here early," she said as she rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

The maid smiled and stepped aside. "Mr. Mills appreciates those who arrive early than those who arrive late," she assured the younger woman. "Please, come in."

Maria smiled gratefully as she stepped in, her eyes roaming the mass of paintings on the walls. She stopped halfway in the room, her hands clasped together in her front as she stood. She glanced at the maid as she walked by her.

"You can go into the diorama room," she said as she gestured to the room to Maria's right. "I'll go summon Mr. Mills, and he can meet you in there."

Maria smiled and nodded, making her way over before stopping. "Uh, ma'am?" The maid stopped and turned. "I was just wondering if you happened to know what the job I'm applying for is? He was pretty vague in the call."

The maid shook her head regretfully. "No, I'm afraid I do not," she said before turning and going back up the stairs.

Maria nodded as she continued on her way into the room, stopping dead in her tracks at the sight of the large triceratops skull mounted in the very middle of the room. Her eyes, wide with a childlike awe, tracked the rest of the room. Dinosaur exhibits stood behind glass cases on the walls, and smaller skeletons littered the sides. Hope swelled inside her at the sight, was she finally going to be working with dinosaurs again?

"Well, if it isn't the infamous Maria Anne Brennan!" A man's voice cut into her train of thought, causing her to turn as he entered the room behind her. He approached her with a smile on his face and shook her hand. "Eli Mills," he introduced.

"Maria," she said. "But, of course, you knew that," she joked weakly but Eli found it funny as he laughed.

"I'm glad you came here," he said sincerely as he began to lead her to the elevator at the end of the room. "You are just what we need here."

"And what am I needed for?" Maria asked as she watched him key in a code into the elevator before it opened up. The two of them walked in, and turned to face the doors as they closed.

"Well, I have a feeling you're going to accept," Eli said after a few seconds of thought. "I've hired the best geneticists the world has to offer, and they've designed a new breed of dinosaurs. A new era."

Maria nodded as she thought this over. "Maybe Owen or Barry would have been a better choice," she said softly.

"No, you know both the velociraptor and the tyrannosaur," Eli said shaking his head. "You helped out in both pens, you know the species like the back of your hand."

Maria nodded, eyes widening when the elevator doors re-opened to reveal a sterile lab. She was led off of the elevator and onto a catwalk, taking strides to the lab at the far end. She could see several geneticists look up and smile as she walked by before going back to their work.

"Ah, Dr. Wu!" Eli suddenly exclaimed, his words halting an older asian man at the far end. The man turned and waited as they drew near before shaking Mills hand and Maria's. "This is my lead candidate for the indoraptor."

Dr. Wu smiled at her. "Ah, I remember you from Jurassic World," he said as he let her hand go.

"I remember you too," she said with a smile. "So I see you're working here now."

He nodded before looking at Mills. "Did you explain it to her?"

"Partly. I was waiting till you were here to explain it in a further detail," Mills admitted. "You know all of the specifics."

Dr. Wu nodded and lead Maria further into the lab. "You remember the Indominus Rex, correct?"

"Of course, I watched all the videos that were released after the park closed," Maria answered.

"This is a more refined version of the indominus," Wu said. "We scaled back on the dinosaurs used. Where the Indominus had velociraptor, tyrannosaur, carnotarus, giganotosaurus, and a rugops just to name a few." Maria looked at him with slight shock. They used that much in the indominus? No wonder she went crazy. "Well, the indoraptor is only made up of tyrannosaur and velociraptor."

"Which is why you wanted me," Maria realized as she looked up at Mills.

"Indeed."

Dr. Wu stopped them in front of a large egg. "This is the indoraptor," he said. "He has another week or two before hatching. And when he does, we need his handler to be there. The imprintation is important, you, if you accept, will be there with him twenty four seven, every day for the next few years as we train him."

"And where would I be staying?" She had a feeling that her one bedroom apartment was going to be put on lease soon.

"We have a living quarters downstairs," Mills said now. "Its closed off, completely private," he added. "We want the trainer to be as close to the indoraptor as possible. We want the bond to be present always."

Maria nodded and looked back to the egg. "The pay?"

"A thousand per day to start off. If the indoraptor becomes as dangerous as we're anticipating, then we'll give you a raise accordingly," Mills said.

That was way more than what Jurassic World had given her. "I'll take the job," she said.

Mills and Dr. Wu smiled in relief. "I'm glad," Eli said. "I'll arrange to help the move, it'd be good to have you settled before this little guy comes into the world."

Maria nodded. That made sense. "Can I see the living quarters first? I want to see how much needs to go into storage."

Mills nodded. "Of course, follow me," he said as he lead her down the spiral staircase. Off to the left was a long and wide hallway with a cage at the very end. About halfway on the right was a door. Eli pulled out a key and unlocked it, opening it up for her to go in and investigate.

The rooms were fairly large considering, far larger than her apartment now. She walked from the living area to the kitchen, and from the kitchen to the bedroom. "What's with the door?" She asked as she eyed the steel door in the left wall of the bedroom.

"To leads to the cage where the indoraptor will eventually be kept," Eli said. "It's important that you're close to him as much as possible in the first few months."

"Am I able to leave? Like shopping or meeting up with friends?"

"Yes, but I will ask you wait till he's a few months old, and not for very long,' Eli said as he walked with her back out. "We estimate the first three to four months he needs to be with his caretaker constantly. After that, he should me able to function without you for an hour or two."

Maria nodded. "Alright, so I just give my shopping list to someone else then?"

"We'll even pay for your groceries," Eli offered.

She shook her head. "Oh no, I can pay," she assured him. "Do I need to sign anything?"

"Yes, I have the paperwork up in the lab,' Mills said as they walked back up the staircase. "Once you sign, you can't get out of this," he warned. "You can't talk to anyone about the Indoraptor, or tell them who you work for.'

"This is secret?"

"We're cloning a dinosaur hybrid underneath a mansion," he pointed out. "The indoraptor is designed for combat, he'll be used by the military."

"That's what they said about the raptors and the indominus," Maria pointed out. "What makes you so confident about this one?"

"If you'll recall, the raptors were excellent on the field until they communicated with the indominus," Mills countered. "And the indominus was a mistake, too much in her to make her functional. The indoraptor is different, he'll have someone to teach him. Someone to bond to."

Maria looked back to the long hallway and nodded. If they could pull it off, they could potentially make a successful hybrid. "I see," she said softly as she looked back at Mills. "And you think you'll get it right this time?"

"Between you and me? No, this current indoraptor is more than likely a prototype," Eli whispered to her. "He's going to work out the kinks before we make the final product. But I still want to treat him like he's the final product regardless, hence why you're here."

"And what happens to him if he is a prototype?"

That faltered Eli. "Well, I guess we'll have to cross that bridge when we get to it," he mused as he lead her into a small office and walked behind the desk. He pulled out several papers and slid them over to here with a pen. "These are your employment papers, your insurance wavers, and your agreement to discretion."

Maria nodded as she bent over and read them over, signing on the X's. After several moments of reading and signing, she stood and handed them to Eli. "I guess that means I call you boss," she said with a smile.

Eli returned it. "I guess you do," he said as he took them and placed them in a file cabinet. "I'll escort you back out," he said as he lead her back out of the office. "I'll give you a few days to get your things in order, call when you're ready to move. I'll send a team out with a moving truck, and we'll get you settled in."

"Thank you for all of this," she said softly as they entered the elevator. "You have no idea what this means to me."

"I think I do," Eli said as he glanced at her. "I watched all of Owen's videos regarding the raptors, and he mentioned that you were a key element in unlocking the raptors trust. You helped him figure out the kinks in his training."

She looked away as she thought about that. Owen was a good friend to her, he was always there having her back or just hanging out most nights. There was a time when she fantasized about being with him, but that was before she realized that she just really liked their friendship. And he said that she was the key to the raptors? It made her heart fuzzy. "I just pointed out a few things," she said.

"Well, those few things worked," Mills said as they stepped out of the elevator. "It's unlocking a new era, a new world. And you, you are our leading member."

Maria looked at him and smiled, she liked that. She looked ahead as they walked through the diorama room and into the foyer. She turned as they stopped at the door and shook his hand again. "I'll call in a few days, maybe less," she promised. "The hardest part is dropping my lease on the apartment," she explained.

"I understand, I'll have a team ready any time of the day," Eli promised as he clasped her hand warmly in his. "I'll see you soon," he said with a voice like honey before opening the door and watching her as she walked to her car.

She waved goodbye as she drove off down the long stretch of road, a grin on her face as she realized she was truly living her best life now. All she ever wanted, since she was a little girl, was to see one in the flesh. Sure her best friend who had actually seen them herself said that it was overrated and not as glamorous as others made it seem. But Kelly Malcolm was a drama queen just like her dad. And of course after her brother got off of Isla Sorna back in 2001, she was sure to stay far, far away from the pteranodons.

After the park fell, they had tried to tell her that this was inevitable. That it was a miracle it took this long for something to happen. But you didn't see it like that. You saw it as your dream coming crashing down. But now? She smiled as she drove. Now this was a job of a lifetime.

I just wanna say, this story is probably going to take my attention for a little bit. For those who have read my previous Jurassic Park fics, I just wanna say that 1) it's not abandoned. I'm just tired of working on it right now. and 2) these are not connected.

Please, though, let me know what you think! I'm trying a different approach when writing, so I hope it flows good. :)

((I edited this because stupid autocorrect messed up some words in the first half.))