Won't Let You Go | Owen Grady

Chapter Six

Four Years Ago

"Come on, Grady," Charlie grinned, grabbing his upper arm and tugging him forward, towards the large enclosure in front of them. "We're going to be late. And you know how Oscar and the rest of security feel about that," she rolled her eyes, still smiling. When she glanced over at him, he was grinning down at her, green eyes twinkling. It wasn't every day someone performed a medical procedure on a Tyrannosaurus Rex, nor was it every day someone got to come watch.

Charlie had been prepping for this event for the entire past month. Rexy had a tooth abscess, she was going to remove the tooth, clean the gap, and with their studies, the tooth would grow back. Granted, she was going to have to use a pretty massive pair of pliers to yank the thing out, but the T-Rex was going to be heavily sedated, and because of the damage to her gum area that the abscess had caused, and based on their studies, it wasn't going to be entirely difficult to take care of. The big danger was if she woke up, which shouldn't have really been a possibility. The Lab had worked extremely hard to make sure that wasn't a possibility, but nevertheless, Charlie wasn't letting any of her vet techs near Rexy when she made the extraction.

But Owen was allowed to watch. He wanted to see some of the things she did, and of course, he wanted to watch during the most risky operation she had performed since she arrived on Isla Nublar. Of course he needed to. He was ever protective the blonde, ever since the day he had met her. For someone who was doing the work he did, Charlie always found it a little ridiculous. She may not have found it so ridiculous if she saw the way he looked at her when she wasn't looking, the way he thought she lit up the entire theme park. So yea, he felt the need to be there. He sort of wanted to make sure she made it out alive. Not that he liked to admit it, but the rough around the edges raptor trainer was just the tiniest bit smitten. Just the tiniest bit.

"You sure this is the best idea?" Owen asked her for what seemed like it was hundredth time, letting her drag him towards the enclosure. He probably would have let her drag him anywhere in the facility if she asked enough. Enough being one time. Two at the most. One of those cheeky smiles from her would get him to do whatever.

"Yes I'm sure. Moreover, it's my job," she rolled her eyes as they approached the enclosure. The walls of the paddock were incredibly tall, tall enough to cover the tops of the trees, and made of cement and reinforced with steel beams. Attached to the side of the walls was the small viewing station, like a little bunker attached on the edge, fully fortified and ready for the veterinarian and her friend to enter. From inside, they would be able to see the inside of the paddock, focused on the small clearing where feeding took place. Theoretically, Rexy would be sound asleep, fully sedated, in that clearing. That was supposed to be taken care of before she arrived, but if she was late, it could effect the threshold of how long she had to preform the operation.

"Well if it's so safe, why not let one of the mini-you's do it?" Owen quipped back, hoping up the stairs behind her, two at a time, waiting for her reaction, a cheeky grin of his own spreading over his lips.

As if on queue, she whirled around, stray strands of her light blonde hair which had escaped her ponytail flying about her face as she did so. Her brow was furrowed, shooting him a glare, but eventually a smile cracked over her face. "Because I want them to learn by observing, not throwing them in overboard. No one has done a procedure like this yet, I want to make sure that it's done properly, so when we have to do it again, everyone knows the right and safe way." She gave him a playful pat on the cheek. "This is literally my job. It's not like you don't dance around your raptors every day. This is small fish, Owen."

He rolled his eyes but didn't argue any further. The two of them made their way into the bunker, a team of security guard, armed with stunners to the teeth, stood at attention waiting for them. Several of her Veterinarians were sitting, reclined in chairs, looking at their phones and tablets. When their boss entered, they all immediately straightened, tucking away their electronic devices and smiling or nodding at their boss. It was still odd for Charlie to think of herself as 'the boss.' Sure, she had held high positions before. She was very well regarded for her theory and practice in veterinary medicine, but she had never been in charge. Hell, some of her employees were her elder. But she smiled at all of them regardless, waving away their formalities.

And then she looked out of the glass, and there she was. Rexy. Laying there, breathing slowly, in all her magnificent, reptilian glory. Clearly, safely, sedated. "Well," Charlie smiled, looking out at Rexy, brushing her hand over the glass as if she were petting the beautiful beast. Clearly, the Lab had done their job. "Best get started then. We have limited time and lots to do." Charlie grabbed a large, industrial set of heavy pliers from one of the vets and nodded at the soldiers. "Owen, you can stand back with the others if you want to watch. Lia," she looked at one of the vets, a raven haired girl around her age, with thick rimmed, red glasses, and raised one thin eyebrow. "You keep him in line. Anything goes wrong, make sure he's out first please. No heroics today."

Owen opened his mouth to protest, but Charlie held up one singular finger. "I don't want any lip from you, Grady. You're on my turf now." She gave her crew another nod, slung the pliers over her shoulder, and indicated for the soldier crew that they were clear to open the gates.

After entering a complex pattern onto a keylock, then scanning his thumb, one of the guards nodded at her in affirmation, then pressed a large button underneath a small, glass case. A low rumbling sound was made as two large pieces of brown metal began to separate in front of them, then behind it, another sharp slab of metal slid up from the ground, and a waft of fresh air breezed into the bunker, tossing Charlie's bangs about. She nodded in affirmation at the guard, who would be watching by at the exit, stunners ready, just in case. Charlie didn't like to think about the 'just in case' scenario. It wouldn't happen. Everything would be fine.

After they got several feet into the paddock, Charlie signaled her vets to stay put, keeping Owen with them, and she continued quietly forward, tiptoeing, even though it really wasn't necessary. Rexy would be well asleep, perfectly and healthily sedated, so Charlie could do her job properly and safely, and make sure that Rexy could continue leading a healthy, happy life. It would be painless, or at least as painless as medically possible. And after her tooth was pulled and safely cleaned, it would leave plenty of space for a new tooth to grow into its place.

And when she reached the great, big, sleeping lizard, she wasn't afraid. She wasn't afraid because she trusted her teammates, and she knew what she was doing was of utmost importance. She was helping heal another creature on this planet. She was doing good work. That was always how she saw her job, as good work. As helping others in need, regardless of if they were human or animal. She got to work, skimming some of the deteriorated tissue off of the gums and placing it in a bag attached to her belt. It would be tested, for hopefully future prevention. And then she gripped the tooth in the pliers, looking at the black lines that ran through it. Rotted. She gave a mighty tug, and the gums gave way, knocking her flat on her ass as the tooth came out, leaving an empty socket behind. She placed that in the pouch as well, then got to work cleaning out the wound with antiseptic, making sure it was healthy and ready for a new tooth to grow back.

She stood up, dusting off her knees and patting Rexy softly on the cheek, turning back to her team and giving them a thumbs up. It was time to roll out. She watched them file, one by one, back inside as she walked towards the exit. It was then, that she heard the sound behind her