Chapter Text
The motorcycle ride to the park had been relaxing now that the Indominus was gone but Sansa felt a heaviness too. Everything had changed—her life, Theon's life, some of the people who lost their lives or got hurt today and, of course, the animals who died. She watched as the raptors wove in and out of the path of the motorcycle, graceful and deadly. That was the one true silver lining. They, and all the other animals, would be free to live the way they were supposed to.
Sansa could see the glow of the park's bright lights just over the treetops. They would be at the gate soon and then Sansa would open the pens and that would be that. She took a deep breath and held Theon a little tighter. She slid her hand over his heart. It thudded against her palm—strong and steady.
A roar rose up from the park and Sansa stiffened. It took a moment for the logical side of her brain to catch up with the animal side—the Indominus was gone and this roar was different, deeper and familiar. Sansa smiled against Theon's shoulder.
Lady.
Another roar—announcing she was hungry and she hadn't been fed yet. Soon, Lady would have to fend for herself and Sansa suspected she would be just fine with that.
The raptors clicked their jaws, glancing around skittishly then, without warning, they bolted away into the surrounding trees. Sansa blinked. They were gone.
Theon glanced around and whistled.
“What happened?” Sansa asked, loud enough to be heard over the motorcycle engine. “Did they get scared?”
“Could be. The sound of another large predator,” he answered. “After their tussle with the Indominus, it makes sense they'd be more cautious.”
Sansa stared at his profile. He looked somber. “Should we go look for them?”
He shook his head. “No, they're free now.”
Sansa squinted into the trees as they drove on, hoping the raptors would rejoin them but they nowhere in sight.
They reached the security wall. It was deserted, which wasn't surprising. Sansa used her access codes to open the enormous shipping gate and, for the first time since the park opened, that gate would remain open.
They drove through the park slowly. Sansa stared at the empty streets and walkways—all the storefronts were open, the lights spilling out into the main street. Empty soda cups and dinosaur toys littered the ground. The sight was jarring. They parked in front of the Innovation Center and climbed off. Taking a deep breath, Sansa grasped Theon's hand and they entered the center.
Inside the center, the bright dinosaur displays flickered under the shadowy overhead lighting. Sansa led them down a dark hallway with a security door at the end of it. She punched in her access code and the door opened with a click. She walked in first and froze. The lab looked like a tornado whipped through it—papers and broken glass cluttered the hallway.
Sansa peeked into one of the lab rooms. No one was in there but the room was even more of a mess than the hallway.
“It looks ransacked,” Theon said, staring down at a centrifuge that lay broken on the floor.
Sansa's stomach twisted uneasily. “Let's get that thumbdrive and get the hell out of here.”
“Meera said it was in room five.”
They walked quickly to the room at the end of the hall. Theon went straight to the desk and crouched down next to it, running his hand under the tabletop. Sansa's eyes locked onto an image displayed on one of the large computer screens. It was a 3D image of the Indominus. Next to the image were the Indominus's specifications, all stamped over with a glowing, red CLASSIFIED.
Sansa swallowed hard. The Indominus was gone but the scientists who created it weren't.
Theon made a noise and she turned her attention to him. He smiled at her and raised his hand, grasping the thumbdrive.
He stood up. “Let's go.”
“You're not going anywhere,” said a voice.
Sansa jumped. Then Baelish sauntered into the room, followed by a heavily armed man—another mercenary. Theon pocketed the thumbdrive, his other hand reaching back to his shoulder for a rifle that wasn't there.
Baelish smiled. “I didn't think I'd be seeing you both so soon.”
A hot, fiery sensation spread through Sansa's chest, rising up through her neck then up to the top of her head. She clenched her jaw and glared at him.
“Oh, really,” she answered, surprised that her voice sounded so cool and steady. “Is that because you left us to die?”
Baelish almost looked contrite. “Oh, Sansa, I never wanted to hurt you.”
Sansa rolled her eyes so hard, she was sure she would've made her thirteen year old self proud. “Oh, do shut the fuck up, Baelish.”
His mouth dropped open with a half smile.
“You never wanted to hurt me? Please, stop. You're embarrassing yourself,” she snapped. “You pointed a gun at my head, okay. You were going to shoot me if you didn't get your way. Let's just stop pretending you're not a vile piece of shit!”
Baelish stared at her, stunned, but he didn't look angry. In fact, he looked the very opposite.
He shook his head slowly and let out a breath. “You are an incredible woman, Sansa. In another lifetime we would have made quite the pair, I think.” His eyes skimmed over her, not even trying to hide his admiration.
“There is not another lifetime or universe or anything where I would've been dumb enough to be even remotely attached to you,” she sneered.
His smile widened. “Oh, I don't know about that.”
Sansa's arms tingled, the telltale sign of her fight or flight response kicking in. She squeezed her right hand into a fist and stepped toward Baelish.
Theon gently grasped her arm, whispering, “Sansa...”
She let him pull her back, maneuvering her to stand behind him.
Baelish's eyes narrowed. His mouth tightened. “Oh, I see...” he said slowly.
“How is this going to end, Baelish?” Theon asked.
Baelish raised his eyebrows. “Well, first, you're going to hand me whatever you just put in your pocket,” he said. “Then, you're going to tell me about your raptors. Are they still in their pen? Are any alive?”
Theon's shoulders stiffened but he stayed silent.
“Fine,” Baelish said softly. “I can find them with their trackers. Those animals will—”
Theon moved so fast, Sansa almost missed it. His fist struck Bealish hard in the face. Baelish staggered backwards and almost fell. The mercenary drew his gun and pointed it at Theon.
Theon started forward but Sansa grabbed the back of his shirt. He was breathing hard, looking murderous.
“You're right, Sansa,” he said, staring down at Baelish. “It does feel good.”
Baelish straightened up slowly. He dabbed his lip with his thumb and glanced down at it, his expression cold.
“You always had a temper, Greyjoy,” he said with a half-smile. “I always knew it would get the better of you.”
“Like Sansa said, you should probably shut the fuck up,” Theon ground out.
The atmosphere seemed to shift—tension rising. Sansa eyes darted around uneasily. Next to her, on a table, sat a large glass beaker. She stared at it.
Baelish drew his gun, holding it lightly in his hand. “Hand over what's in your pocket,” he said.
“What about Sansa?” Theon asked. “Will you let her go?”
“What?” she hissed.
Baelish's smile widened. “I would've never thought of you as the noble type, Greyjoy.”
“Stop playing your stupid games, Baelish, and answer the damn question!” Theon snapped.
Baelish was silent—considering—his expression shrewd as always. “It depends,” he said carefully.
Sansa eyed the glass beaker again. Then she heard a noise—a faint, huffing sound. Recognizable. Then three soft taps. Her skin tingled. Theon tensed, his head quirking just slightly to the side.
Sansa's hand crept toward the beaker, her eyes glued to the open doorway. Then she saw it—a raptor foot, silently stepping into view, the talon rising slowly before striking the white linoleum floor. One tap.
Baelish's head turned toward the doorway but from his angle he couldn't see anything.
Next to him, the mercenary raised his gun toward the door.
Sansa reached for the beaker, her fingers wrapping around it slowly.
Then Ghost swept through the doorway. Theon lunged, smacking Baelish's gun out of his hand. At the same time, Sansa threw the beaker. It was meant for Baelish but it hit the mercenary on the side of the head instead, smashing into pieces. He stumbled back. Blood ran down his face.
Ghost crouched as the other two raptors burst into the room, their heads bobbing wickedly. They stared at Baelish and the other man.
Theon reached behind himself, wrapping his arms around Sansa and backing them up slowly.
Baelish held up his hands, his face panicked stricken. “Call them off,” he ordered. “Call them off, Theon!”
The other mercenary tried to blink the blood out of his eyes. He swung his gun and pointed it at Ghost. The darker raptor pounced on him, jaws wrapping around his neck. Sansa squeezed her eyes shut. The man screamed and there was an awful gurgling sound then silence. Theon's arms tightened around her.
“Theon,” Baelish pleaded.
Sansa blinked her eyes open, careful to avoid the body in the corner of the room. The raptors surrounded Baelish, arms widening, claws contracting.
Baelish now had his hands in front of him. His eyes flickered to the gun on the ground. Ghost hissed.
Baelish licked his lips. “Please,” he said. His voice was shaking. “They'll listen to you.”
“I don't think they will,” Theon said.
Baelish looked really panicked now. “What?”
“Isn't it obvious by now,” Theon answered. “I'm not the alpha anymore. I don't think I ever was.”
“I...I don't understand.”
“You don't?” Theon said. “You made them—designed them to be this way.”
Baelish was visibly shaking now as the raptors inched closer, a soft growl rising from their throats.
“You wanted the raptors for their intelligence and their pack instincts. But it wasn't enough, was it? You tweaked something inside them—increased those features to the millionth degree,” Theon explained calmly. “And you got what you wanted. They're different now. They're more. They understand concepts that are so clearly foreign to you. Loyalty. Respect.” He paused. “Love.”
Baelish paled.
“And right now, they see you as a threat to them and me.” Theon's head tilted to Sansa behind him. “To us. And I'm sorry...” He shook his head. “But there is nothing I can do to change their minds.”
Baelish's eyes snapped to Sansa. “Please, Sansa,” he whispered.
She stared at him and stayed silent. Despite herself, she felt pity for him.
Theon turned toward the door. He wrapped his arm around Sansa's shoulder and led them out of the room. They were halfway down the hall when the screaming started. Sansa shuddered but kept walking, sliding her arm around Theon's waist and squeezing it tight.
Several seconds later, the screaming stopped. Sansa turned to look behind them. The raptors filed out of the doorway and into the hall, trailing behind them and looking very pleased with themselves. Theon glanced back and whistled softly. They answered him with a round of flittering chirps.
The raptors had just killed two men and Sansa and Theon had helped. Her stomach churned unpleasantly. There would be a time to process and there would be a time for guilt but, the fact of the matter was, she and Theon were alive, and the man who threatened to kill them wasn't. And maybe that was the point Mother Nature was trying to make. It was survival, plain and simple.
Sansa smiled as she listened to the soft chittering of the raptors behind her.
Maybe it was more than just survival though. Maybe Theon was right. Maybe it really was about love and loyalty too.
The raptors raced beside them as they rode up into the hills, their legs moving in a blur, their scaly skin gleaming under the soft moonlight, sleek and beautiful. The darker raptor seemed to take a liking to Sansa, staying close to her right, watching her carefully with her glowing, amber eye.
Out of the trees, the flat-top building of the Control Room came into view. Theon drove all the way up to the building's helicopter pad. He parked the motorcycle and Sansa climbed off. She was almost to the metal gangplank that led to the helicopter pad when she heard a soft, low whistle. She stopped and turned to see Theon walking toward the raptors with his hand raised. Ghost drifted toward him, chirping softly then she rubbed her nose into his palm. He smiled and dragged his hand down her neck, scratching her shoulder. She purred loudly. The other two raptors joined Ghost, surrounding him, rubbing their noses against his head and neck, rumbling in that pleased way of theirs. He laughed softly but there was hitch to it.
Sansa's chest tightened when she realized what was happening. They were saying goodbye.
She stepped closer to them, watching closely. Theon was murmuring to them, words of praise, his voice soft but broken. Sansa swallowed hard. The darker raptor turned her head and stared at Sansa, then the raptor walked right up to her, brushing her snout against Sansa's ear, snuffling softly, warm breath ruffling her hair. Sansa stiffened then relaxed. Tentatively, Sansa reached out, gently petting the raptor on the neck. Her skin was warm and bumpy and the raptor rumbled happily.
“What's her name?” Sansa asked.
Theon glanced at her, smiling. “Shaggy.”
“Shaggy,” Sansa repeated slowly. “Oh, you pretty girl, I'm so sorry Theon gave you such a dumb name.”
Theon laughed—a surprised sound.
Shaggy leaned into Sansa, purring quietly as Sansa scratched her jaw. “You will no longer be called Shaggy,” Sansa announced. “From this day hence, you shall be called Queen of the North.” She shrugged. “Or Sansa Jr., whichever you prefer.”
The raptor huffed, rubbing her nose against Sansa's head one more time before stepping away to join her sisters.
Slowly, the raptors backed away, staring at Theon and Sansa, chittering softly. The raptor who's name Sansa didn't know left first, melting into the darkness of the trees. The darker raptor nodded her head and chirped once, then dashed into the jungle. That left Ghost, who gazed at Theon with her golden eyes.
She quirked her head and barked.
“Thank you,” Theon said softly. “For everything.”
He whistled low and steady.
Ghost seemed to hesitate, then slowly, she turned and ambled into the jungle.
Theon stood there, staring after them. Sansa couldn't see his face but she could see his shoulders shaking. She walked over to him and threaded her fingers through his, waiting.
He took a shaky breath and turned to her. “I'm ready.”
They made their way onto the helicopter pad toward a door that jutted out from the roof—all the while glancing back behind them into the trees.
Sansa was relieved that Jeyne had kept her promise. The Control Room was empty. The park map flickered bright on the large, main screen. She phoned Jeyne who was waiting for her call on an airbase in Costa Rica. Jeyne—bless her—had a helicopter ready to pick her and Theon up in a few hours time.
Sansa hung up the phone and glanced at Theon, who was staring up at the park, his expression tense. She wanted to reach for him, hug him, but she sensed he needed space instead. She tapped on one of the control panels and dozens of blinking dots sprang up on the map.
“Those dots are all the animals on the island,” Sansa said quietly. Near the Control Room's building, three little dots lingered close by. Theon inhaled sharply, his eyes glued to the three, blinking dots.
She cleared her throat. “I'll grab us something to drink.” She made her way to the elevator, leaving Theon gazing up at the map.
Miraculously, there were still a half a dozen donuts left in the break room. Her stomach growled as her eyes took in the assortment of chocolate sprinkles and maple bars like they were the rarest of delicacies. She grabbed the box and several bottles of water and made her way back to the Control Room.
“I bring gifts,” Sansa announced as the elevator doors opened.
Theon swiveled in the chair he was sitting in and smiled. He raised his eyebrows. “Donuts?”
Sansa nodded and dropped the box on the table in front of him. She handed him a bottle of water and sat down next to him, swiveling her own chair to tangle her legs with his. His smile widened as she brushed her foot along his calf.
She glanced up at the park map. The three little dots had moved farther away from the building but still lingered.
“How do you think we should do this?” she asked.
“What?”
“Release the dinosaurs,” she said. “I was thinking about opening up Lady's paddock first.”
“Lady?” Theon eyebrows furrowed. “Oh, the T-Rex.”
Sansa nodded. “I was thinking she would walk out into the park right away. Go exploring as soon as she could. We could do the electric fences next. Then we open up the baby dinosaurs corral last. They may take time to leave their pens.”
“That sounds about right. Lady would push the predators away from the center of the park. And the baby dinosaurs will have a better chance surviving.”
Sansa stared up at the map. Those three dots were still close to the building. Soon all the animals would be released, including all the big predators. Sansa took a deep breath. The raptors would be fine. They would be more than fine. Out of all the animals on the island, they were most likely to thrive.
Sansa and Theon took their time as they ate donuts, then Sansa typed in her access code and opened Lady's paddock. Sansa was right. Lady left as soon as the massive doors to her pen opened. They watched the aging T-Rex on the security cams, wandering around main street, taking in her surroundings. Sansa smiled. Soon, Lady was stomping into the jungle, roaring loudly and spooking waves of birds into flight from the treetops.
As Lady made her way into the jungle, the three little dots started migrating east. Sansa glanced at Theon. His hands gripped the armrests of his chair as he stared up at the map. Sansa got up from her seat and sat on his lap. He startled a little but he wrapped his arms around her, his eyes glistening.
She brushed his hair away from his forehead. “They'll be happy.”
He gave her a sad smile. “I know.”
“I wish...” His hands squeezed her waist. “I wish it wasn't just the three of them.”
She kissed him on the forehead. “Me too.”
She smiled down at him and ran her fingers down his cheek, brushing a thumb along his earlobe. Then she lowered her head and kissed him lightly—a soft graze of her lips. She pulled away and he gazed up at her. His eyes were so soft it took her breath away.
She got up and went back to her monitor and—slowly, methodically—they released all the dinosaurs. Sansa held her breath as she stared at the last baby triceratops on the webcam, toddling out of its pen and trailing after its pen-mates into the woods.
They were done, now there was nothing more to do but wait for their transport. Sansa checked the time, it could be awhile. She turned to Theon, who looked dead tired. She felt the same suddenly—her muscles heavy and achy, her mind fuzzy. A few minutes later, Sansa was slouched down in her chair and fast asleep.
The sharp sound of a phone ringing woke her up. It was the pilot of their helicopter letting her know they would touchdown in 10 minutes. She hung up the phone, still feeling exhausted and looked over at Theon who was slowly waking up.
“The helicopter?” he asked, rubbing his eyes.
She nodded and stood up, wincing as she did so. Her body felt like it had been thrown down a flight of stairs.
There was a soft touch on her arm. Theon stood next to her, his hand lingering inside the crook of her elbow, his thumb rubbing soothing circles against her skin. “Sore?” Theon asked.
Sansa leaned into his touch. “Yeah.”
“Me too,” he said. “Should we head up to the helicopter pad?”
“I have a couple more things I need to do first,” Sansa said.
She gazed up at the map. The little dots of all the dinosaurs blinked back, many in parts of the island that were closed off to them before.
Taking a deep breath, she entered her access code one more time.
“I'm wiping the system,” she said. She turned her head and met Theon's eyes. “It'll make it difficult for anyone to track the animals.”
“You'd think they'd come back for them?” Theon asked.
“Yes. Definitely. They'll try again. But without a way to track them, some animals—mainly your raptors—will be impossible to find.” She gazed up at the map again, her eyes drifting toward the east side of the island. She smiled as she saw three little dots hovering around the raptor compound.
She could hear Theon breathing softly next to her. “Good,” he said.
A couple minutes later, Sansa had successfully wiped the system. The giant map flickered off and only the tiny lights lining the walls illuminated the darkness. Sansa reached for Theon's hand and led him to the elevator.
“Just one more thing I need to do,” she said, as they entered the elevator.
She led them down to her office, her heart thudding heavily in her chest. She let go of Theon's hand and headed straight for her desk, rifling through her drawers to find a couple of photos—one with her and her team and another with her grinning as she held a baby triceratops. She blinked a few times and slipped the photos in her skirt pocket.
She took one last look at her office, committing all the little details to memory: her sad jade plant, her beautiful glass desk, the lovely view of the dark jungle swaying lazily underneath a brightening sky.
Then, with a deep breath, she went over and grabbed her jade plant. It was heavy and droopy but she hitched it up hip and carried it back to the elevator. Theon trailed next to her, his presence soothing.
The moment they entered the elevator Theon took the jade plant from her. Sansa almost protested but Theon smiled softly at her and her heart melted.
She brushed her fingertips against trunk of the plant. “It's not looking so good,” she said. “I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.”
Theon shifted the pot and brought a hand up to the plant, squeezing one of the fat leaves. “You're watering it too much. See how it's wilting a little?”
Sansa made a soft noise. “I thought it was wilting because it was thirsty.”
“No, it just needs to dry out a little. Wait until the leaves shrink a bit then water.”
She bumped her hip against his. “You can train dangerous animals and you know how to take care of plants. What can't you do, Theon Greyjoy?”
Theon laughed softly. “I also make excellent enchiladas.”
“Enchiladas too?” She wrapped an arm around his waist. “I might have to keep you around.”
“That's probably for the best,” he said, smiling widely. “For your plant's sake, of course.”
“And access to your enchiladas.”
He leaned down and kissed the corner of her mouth. “That goes without saying.”
They stared into each others eyes until the elevator doors opened. Sansa tightened her arm around him as they walked up to the door to the helicopter pad. They gazed out the narrow window of the door, waiting for helicopter to come in sight.
They heard helicopter before they saw it. When it finally touched down, they were through the door quickly—their hair whipping around their faces as they hurried toward it. A National Guardsman grabbed Sansa's hand and hauled her up first, guiding her to a window seat and strapping her in. Theon pressed in next to her, her plant cradled carefully in his arms.
She jerked when the helicopter lifted up, swaying in that unsettling way, but she forgot all about the swooping sensation when the helicopter was high enough to see the expanse of the park, now golden underneath the rising sunlight. They weren't too high though. Sansa could see a herd of triceratops grazing alongside the park wall. She grinned when she saw several small triceratops calves in the middle of the group.
The helicopter drifted across the island, over the sprawling valleys. A flock of gallimimus darted across the fields, moving and twisting in perfect unison. Several groups of stegosauruses and brontosauruses loitered around a small, glittering lake.
The helicopter sped east toward the old raptor compound. Theon pressed up against her, peering around her shoulder for a better look. They both squinted down into the jungle but Sansa couldn't see anything except for treetops and the jungle floor. Her heart sank a little. She knew seeing the raptors was unlikely.
Suddenly, like a flash, she saw movement—something fast. Sansa held her breath. There was a dark, fleeting tail. Theon made a sound next to her. Her eyes strained, hoping for another glimpse. Then, in a perfect moment, a streak of white. Sansa gasped a laugh. Theon did the same.
Seconds later, the island was gone and there was only the wide expanse of the sea but Sansa didn't notice. She leaned back into her seat, unsure of how she felt in that moment. There was a heaviness knowing she just left a life she loved, but relief she was alive after such a harrowing experience.
And there was gratitude too—gratitude she had experienced such incredible things, gratitude that the people in her life were safe and gratitude she had seen the raptors one last time. There was another feeling too. She looked at Theon who was smiling at her softly, looking exactly how she felt. She slid her hand into his.
It was hope—hope for a promising beginning to a new life.