Work Text:
The first night sleep came easy.
It was in her bones, her muscles, her soul. The overwhelming feeling of exhaustion seeped through every pore and counteracted any other feeling.
She didn’t know how long she slept for, or if it was really that long at all. But she quickly realised that it would be the last time that ever happened. Even if it was one of a few to begin with.
The next night, sleep never came at all.
She lay in bed and she tried. She tried more than anything else. However, her body had other ideas.
Less than 24 hours of hell and her body had got accustomed to new things. This hotel room was too small, didn’t have enough exits, and why is it so silent?
On the occasions where her body was lulled to sleep, indominus rex came flashing back.
Images of teeth, claws and blood, were seared into her brain.
Eventually she gave up and turned on the TV.
‘After the events of Jurassic World-’, Claire quickly changed channel and flicked through the TV channels trying to find something good at 3 AM. She settled on Friends for all of five minutes before Ross started talking about dinosaurs and she had to switch channels again.
‘Infomercials it is then,’ she muttered to herself, deciding that the chances of anything triggering being in there were slim.
4 hours, and $449.99 dollars later, she went down to the hotel breakfast. Expecting to be the first one there, a slow smile formed on her face as she saw Owen. Seeing the moment he saw her sent shivers down her spine. He hardly had the most approachable resting face, but the moment he saw her his face warmed, a smile extending to his eyes.
‘Couldn’t sleep?’ he asked, joining her side immediately.
‘What gave it away, the being the up at 7AM or the bags under my eyes?’
‘Please, as if you’re not usually up at 7AM.’ True.
‘So it’s the eyes, thanks for that,’ she said rolling her eyes.
‘Come on, you look beautiful and you know it.’ Usually Claire was good at taking compliments, but right now all she could do is look away and tuck her hair behind her ear. ‘I mean I did see you after running from dinosaurs, covered in shit, so maybe my standards are a little low…’
She gave him her best glare, one he had become quite accustomed to, but just gave a smug grin in return.
They walked silently to a table together, in mutual agreement over their seating arrangements. They sat in silence for a long while, understanding each others need for alone time, together.
Only after they ordered did Owen finally speak.
‘I couldn’t sleep either,’ he said quietly, not meeting her eye, instead playing with the salt shaker on the table.
‘I guessed,’ she said giving a small smile.
There was a pause before Owen asked ‘What kind?’
‘Excuse me?’
‘What kind of not sleeping,’ he explained. ‘Was it nightmares, restlessness, what,’
She thought for a moment before saying ‘Mostly I just couldn’t get to sleep. My mind was whirling, on edge the entire time. But I on the rare occasions I could sleep…’
‘It was all dinosaurs, blood and death,’ he said in understanding. She slowly nodded her head. ‘I’m the same. If my previous experience is anything to go by this is the easy part. Once the adrenaline leaves your system it’s all just bad dreams, asleep or not,’
‘Thanks for the comforting words,’ she said dryly.
‘Just know it’s normal.’ Finally looking her straight in the eyes. ‘Know I’m going through the same thing,’
She reached out to lightly touch his hand, stilling under her touch. Warmth flood her body, in an odd way it comforted her. Knowing that even though she’s going through hell, at least Owen would be too.
Which sounder far more cruel than she meant it to, but it was true. They went through a lot on the island together. She knew the journey ahead was one she would be taking alone, but knowing Owen would be taking the same one. It helped her know she could do it.
Claire’s body was thick with sweat. She was never one for the heat, you’d think years on a tropical island you’d get accustomed to it. However, she always kept to the air-conditioned areas. The only time she ever outside for more than 10 minutes was when she was checking on the dinosaurs, and Owen.
But now the Costa Rican heat was doing nothing to help her fall asleep. The restlessness consumed her. Every position was wrong, no amount of water could cool her down, every item of clothing shed just seamed to add more heat.
It was four in the morning and she’d already taken three cold showers today. This must be what a teenage boy feels like, she thought to herself.
Speaking of teenage boys, her phone buzzed.
Owen : you awake?
She gave a small smile and texted back
Claire : Yes
Owen : want to be awake together?
Claire : I’m room 307
She quickly put on clothes, briefly considering if she should wear something nice, before remembering he had seen her running from dinosaurs. Anything would be better than that. Also the man wore board shorts on a date.
A knock came from her door, she opened it to reveal Owen, looking just a tired as she felt. However, he wore it well. His black shirt clung to his body in all the right ways, the plaid pyjama bottoms did things to her she was under aware plaid could ever do.
‘You’re not wearing shoes?’ she asked in disbelief
‘Said the women who spent a day running from dinosaurs in a pair of heels,’ he rebutted, walking past her surveying the room. ‘This place is way nicer than mine,’
‘Didn’t you hear, I’m the woman who saved 20,000 people from dinosaurs,’ she joked. Rationally she knew this was true, but she also knew it was her fault any people died in the first place.
‘Yeah, well I’m the guy who helped the women save 20,000 people from dinosaurs,’ he said smugly, flopping down on the bed. ‘What should we do?’
‘You’re the one that wanted to come here,’
‘Okay then, what were you going to do’
‘I was about to take a shower,’
‘We can do that,’ he said enthusiastically, with a smug grin.
Claire rolled her eyes and continued with ‘And I’m not going to do that with you, so you better decide,’
His eyes flicked around the room and lit up, before exclaiming ‘Mini bar!’
‘I have a day full of meetings tomorrow, I can’t show up hungover,’
‘Given the time you’d probably still be drunk,’ he pointed out. This only gained a pointed glare from Claire. ‘Guess the grace period is over then, I thought they’d give you more than two days,’
‘I already had my first meeting today,’ she sighed. ‘I think they wanted more, but were afraid I would have a psychotic break,’
‘Surely you’re in charge though,’
‘Everything’s up in air right now, and to be honest I don’t know whether I want to be,’
‘Really? I thought that’s all you ever wanted,’
‘It’s all damage control. Damage control because of what I did,’ she said finally breaking. She remembered the meeting today and her body ran cold. The world had buzzed around her. Everything was just background noise. She tried to pay attention she really did, she’d never been one not to pay attention. But she couldn’t do it, no matter how hard she tried, nothing went in. Words slipped past her, hours were seconds and seconds were hours, slides changed as quickly… as quickly as she had to run. Her skin felt too hot, too tight. The words caught in her throat was where the heat spread from. It moved it’s way out, taking over her body. Completely in control of her.
Owen’s hand on hers pulled her out from the memory. It was hot, and callused and everything she needed in this moment.
‘You didn’t make the dinosaur,’
‘I may not have made it, but I didn’t stop it.’ Feeling the tear running down her cheek ‘InGen and I wanted it to be bigger, better, scarier. Well, we got our wish didn’t we?’
His arms wrapped around her and she was pulled into him. He whispered in her ears ‘It’s okay Claire, it’s okay,’
They sat like this, wrapped in each others arms for a long while. Only when Claire’s throat became too dry did she finally un-plaster herself from him. She cracked open one of the abhorrently expensive bottles of water.
‘Living life of the edge there, with the mini-fridge water,’ Owen joked.
‘You think this is living on the edge? Last night I bought a robotic vacuum!’
‘I watched that infomercial too! I actually had the phone in my hand, before I remembered I don’t actually have anywhere to live. So maybe I should work that out before buying a robot,’
‘You don’t strike me as the type to care about vacuuming, Grady,’
‘That’s why I wanted a robotic one,’ the duh was implied. She rolled her eyes and joined him back on the bed.
‘You can stay with me if you want,’ she said quietly, trying to comfort him as he had her.
‘Thank you,’ he replied softly. ‘Actually, before I agree where do you live?’
‘San Diego,’
‘Really?’ he replied in shocked. ‘Gotta say that’s not what I would have guessed,’
‘InGen HQ is in San Diego,’
‘Interesting,’ he said to himself, mulling over this discovery.
‘Where did you think I lived?’ she asked out of curiosity, she wanted to know what Owen thought of her.
‘LA or New York definitely,’
‘I did live in New York, before coming to InGen. I even kept the apartment for a long time, but I never had anytime to go to it. Like I had the house in Costa Rica, until I spent all my time on the island,’
The way Owen was looking at her, was unlike anyway anybody else ever had. It made her feel self-conscious and like the most precious thing in the world at the same time. It was an odd, low-key intensity.
There was no way to describe how the look was any different from any other look. But it was, and it quickly became her favourite look in the world.
‘They have a zoo,’ she said, trying to fill the lull in the conversation.
‘Contrary to popular belief I am not eight, Claire,’ he mocked her, bringing back words she knew she had told him before.
She rolled her eyes and explained, ‘I meant you could get a job there,’
‘Who says I want to stay that long?’ he said a smile spreading across his face. He was acting coy, but she knew he would say yes.
‘I could like San Diego,’ he thought aloud. He turned to Claire and said pointedly ‘Maybe even love San Diego,’
‘Many people do,’ she replied with a smug grin. Owen bit down on his bottom lip, trying to repress a smile.
He gave a small shake of the head before saying ‘So, wanna watch infomercials?’
Sleep came easy that night. Claire didn’t know if it was the fact she hadn’t slept in two days. If it was the long, tiring day of meeting after meeting. Going over every mistake that was only obvious in retrospect, but should have been obvious at the time.
She didn’t know if it was the physical tiredness that let her finally drift off. The feeling deep within her bones, in every muscle, in every cell. She didn’t know if it was her body finally giving in.
She didn’t know if it was the mental tiredness. The agonising over every choice. The flashbacks. The inescapable fear. The paranoia. She didn’t know if it was her mind finally giving up.
She didn’t know if it was a mix of the two, but she did know it washed over her without giving her a second of relief.
Teeth.
Her legs were running as fast as her heart was beating. Her feet were bloody, raw flesh exposed. Her body ached, it couldn’t move any further as much as it couldn’t give up. She wasn’t in control, instinct took over. And her instinct was run.
More teeth.
She could hear them getting closer. The thump, thump, thump. One wrong move and she was dead. A hundred right moves and she still might be.
Need more teeth.
Everyone was gone. Zara was dead. Masrani was dead. Zach was dead. Gray was dead. Owen was dead. Everyone was dead. Everyone.
A blood curdling scream woke her up. Her throat was raw enough to realise it was her.
She wanted to move, to get out of bed, turn on the lights. To wake up. But she was stuck, the fear overwhelmed her.
Close your eyes and pretend you're okay.
As long as she lay in bed and didn’t move, everything would okay. Nothing would get her. Nothing could.
She tried telling herself it was okay, she tried telling herself she was off the island. Everyone was alive, not Zara, not Masrani.
Zach, Gray and Owen, they were all okay.
Her heart was still pounding, and wanted to cry but she couldn’t, she was paralysed.
There was a knock at her door that sent her heart racing faster. ‘Miss are you okay? We heard a scream. Miss?’
She braced herself and ran to door, if she could get to the door before anything got her she’d be fine. Right?
She shakily opened the door and lied ‘I’m sorry, I just… Saw a spider,’
‘Are you sure miss?’
‘Of course,’ she replied, well aware of how shaky her voice was.
He narrowed his eyes, clearly not believing her but said ‘Okay, but if there is anything you need, just come down stairs,’
She gave a small nod and closed the door. Deep breath in, deep breath out. She went to switch back off the lights, but the second she did fear swept over her body once again. Quickly turning the lights back on she tried to compose herself but the second she turned them back off, she was petrified.
Before she knew what she was doing, she reached for her phone.
‘Claire,’ Owen said on the other side. She couldn’t say anything, any words were stuck in her throat. What would she say anyway?
‘Claire are you okay? Do you want me to come down?’
‘Please,’ she replied her voice breaking.
‘I’ll be down in a minute. I’ll stay on the phone okay?’
‘Okay.’ As he walked down, neither of them said anything. She just listened to his breathing, the comforting sound of someone else being alive.
When he reached her room, he wrapped her in his arms the second he was through the door.
‘I’m sorry, Owen. I just thought everyone was dead,’ she cried into his shirt. She could hear his heart beat, she could hear his breath. It was tangible, it was telling her some else was here. She wasn’t alone.
‘It’s okay,’ he whispered in her ear. ‘I’m here, everyone’s alive,’ not everyone.
‘You’re off the island now.’
I’m alive. Owen’s alive. My life is no immediate danger.
She repeated these words to herself and Owen echoed them aloud in his own way.
The tears on her face start to dry, her breath became more even, the presence of another person calmed her mind.
‘You should drink some water, go to the toilet, splash some water in your face,’ Owen advised ‘I find it helps,’
She moved wordlessly to the bathroom. While she was on the toilet it briefly occurred to her all the men she’d avoid going to the bathroom around. Because somehow she thought showing signs of being an actual human being would send guys running.
Not that there were many too begin with. Most admirers fell away upon realising they would come second to work.
Taking his advice, she splashed water on her face, and again, and again.
She finally looked in the mirror to see bloodshot eyes, rimmed with dark purple. Her skin looked sallow, and her face hollow. Could all this have happened in just a few days?
As she left the bathroom he passed her some water. She gulped it down, soothing her aching throat.
‘You don’t need to do this,’ she whispered. She knew she was the one to phone him, but he didn’t need to take her baggage.
‘Doesn’t mean I don’t want to.’ This was the first time she properly took him in. He looked about as bad as her. A little less puffy than her perhaps, but he wasn’t the one just bawling his eyes out.
However he wore the matching red and purple around his eyes, and his beard had grown out longer than usual.
‘Are you gonna to try and sleep now?’
‘I think so,’ she said staring awkwardly at the bed. She wanted to sleep, she just didn’t know if she could.
‘Can you… Stay?’ she asked, was this overstepping? Was it asking too much?
Owen gave a slight nod. It was clear neither of them knew what to do. As with every situation Claire decided to take control. She walked over to her side of the bed and got under the covers.
Owen paused for a moment, assessing the situation, before joining her.
They lay in bed not saying a word for a few minutes. It didn’t feel as though either one of them was even trying to sleep.
‘Are you alright?’ Claire asked him. She hadn’t really given him much thought in all this. But she cared and wanted him to know, that she was there for him as much as he was for her.
‘Right now or in general?’
‘Either,’ Claire replied, before adding ‘or both,’
He gave a heavy sigh and said ‘In general, I’m surviving,’
‘And right now?’ she prodded.
‘I’m… more than surviving.’ Despite the cryptic words, she knew exactly what he meant.
A comfortable silence fell between them.
He fell asleep long before she did, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t overcome with fear. She was resting. Contentment filled her as she listened to his breath.
You can survive this. Those words running through her head until she finally drifted off.
Over the next week or so they developed a routine. Meeting after meeting during the day, but at night they had each other.
Nights fell into multiple categories.
There were nights when they were both too restless to sleep. They spent the entire night talking, watching TV and getting to know each other in a way you only can at 3 o’clock in the morning. Claire confided the class fish she may have accidentally killed in 3rd grade. Owen shared the story of his dinosaur tattoo which unsurprisingly involved tequila.
Other nights had Claire waking up drenched in sweat, heart racing at a thousand miles an hour, fear paralysing her. In those moments there is nothing she wants to do more than wake Owen up, but she equally doesn’t want to bother him. She doesn’t want him to know. These moments create silent tears, ones that burn the most. In the end the fear wins. She wakes Owen, he’s always kind, he always takes the weight off. In the morning Claire feels terrible, but she remembers that in the moment she needed nothing more.
Other nights have Owen slipping into bed. Clearly Owen is stronger (or more afraid), he doesn’t want to wake her, he doesn’t want to bring her in. He looks so worn and ragged, like a boy in man’s clothing. Claire wants to help him, but he doesn’t always let her. The only thing she can do is wrap her arms around him, letting him know she’s here. That knowledge helps her more than anything and she hopes it helps him too. She needs it to help him too.
As the hot water pounded against her skin, she let her mind drift off. Tomorrow she’d finally be home. She could sleep in her own bed. She could cook her own food, not that she did it that often but after weeks of eating room service a home cooked meal would be nice.
Her life could return to normal.
Or as normal as life could be when you add insomnia, PTSD and a 6 foot 2… boyfriend? Partner? Person-who-you-went-on-a-really-bad-date-with-and-now-you-have-a-habit-of-saving-each-other’s-lives?
It wasn’t the most important thing to figure out what their relationship was. They had plenty of other shit to deal with. Whether it was trying to save face from the public or managing simple tasks such as sleeping. There was a time and place for having relationship talks (or a DTR as she heard Zach call it) and this wasn’t it.
However sharing a hotel room was one thing, but he’d be living in her house come tomorrow. That’s a massive step in any relationship, one she hadn’t taken before, and they’re going to go into it blind.
She offered it before they started sharing a bed. It was a friendly thing. Somewhat. There was the promise of more, but it was a promise. Not a right here, right now.
As she got out the shower, she tried to push it out her mind. She was Claire Dearing: Woman With A Plan, and not having one was hard. But she equally didn’t want to break delicate balance that had formed between them. Not for some need for control.
Whatever will happen, will happen, she just had to accept that.
Walking through the door she was shocked to see Owen lounging on her bed,
‘I didn’t realise you were already here,’
‘Well, I for one was ready for bed and I was hoping if I came early I could see you getting changed.’
Claire rolled her eyes and said ‘Sorry, you just missed it’
‘I forgive you,’ he smiled, Claire had to repress the urge to roll her eyes yet again. She had to do that a lot around him.
‘You ready for tomorrow?’ she asked, sitting on the bed beside him.
‘Of course not,’ he replied, his brows furrowing. ‘You are?’
Claire’s eye bulged in disbelief, ‘We’re leaving at 8:15 tomorrow morning! How are you not ready?’
‘8:15!?!’ he echoed in shock.
‘I emailed you this,’
‘Oh my god,’ Owen said, in an oddly excited voice. ‘You made an itinerary!’
Claire looked away in embarrassment. ‘It’s important to have a plan. Especially when you have to catch a plane,’ she defended herself.
‘Because they’ve worked so well for us in the past,’
‘This is different, most people make plans for travel,’
‘But you admit that it was a bad idea for a date?’
‘I admit to nothing,’ she said staring him straight in the eye. Which she instantly knew was a mistake, as his boyish grin made it hard to keep her cold exterior. Years of practise made her almost immune. But when the corners of her mouth came crooking upwards, she knew it was only almost.
‘The itinerary couldn’t have put you off too much since you’re sitting on my bed,’ she pointed out to him. Determined to put up a fight.
‘What can I say, we all have our weaknesses,’ his voice dropping low. His eyes dropped to her lips, and she couldn’t help holding her breath. In the moment there was nothing more she wanted to do than lean in and kiss him.
But she wasn’t ready. She couldn’t do this now, no matter how much she wanted to.
Letting herself live in the moment a second longer, taking in every part of him. The dusting of freckles, the tan that’s starting to peel, the bloodshot eyes, the hollow cheeks.
‘Well, not all of us can be perfect,’ she said breaking the moment. His eyes broke apart from her lips, and looked back up at her.
‘What?’
‘Not all of us can be perfect,’ she shrugged. ‘But admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery,’
‘Oh, really?’ Owen said quizzically.
Claire nodded her head trying to make light of the situation. But her stomach still sank when she thought about everything she wanted to have, but knew she shouldn’t have it now.
It would be better in the long run, she told herself. She just hoped it was true.
Claire opened the door to her house, she was oddly nervous.
Owen stepped in behind her and surveyed the house. Granted he could only see the hallway and part of the living room, but she felt so exposed. It felt like an odd thing to say about someone who she’d been sharing a bed with the past few weeks, but it was true.
The Claire that owned this house, was a different Claire that Owen had seen these past few weeks. Recently Claire had been in survival mode. Doing what it takes to live another day. The Claire that owned this house, had more ambition than just surviving. She wanted to the best. She would excel at her career, and then maybe have a child. This house was built on that. The past few weeks had been her salvaging some kind of normalcy both in her personal life and career.
Which one was the real Claire, she had no clue. But she knew she wanted Owen to love both of them.
Her eyes were locked on him as he looked around the room, peering through the door.
Her house was full of whites, light blues and greens. She wanted something clean but still intimate.
‘Can I?’ he asked nodding his head through to other rooms. She gave a small nod, and followed him around.
He looked intently throughout the living room, looking at every book, DVD and ornament. He picked up a photo of Claire and Karen when she was about eleven, it was a photo she hated as a child. She remembered thinking she looked fat, that pink wasn’t her colour and her hairs a mess. But looking back, she looked so happy, she didn’t care how she looked in the moment. It also helped that now she knew actually looked fine, good even.
He picked up another photo, it was of Claire holding Zach when he was just a day old. It was before InGen, she was at her first job. Back when she had time to visit her family.
‘I should probably get a more up-to date picture,’ she said, feeling awkward over the lack of new photos of the boys.
‘No, it’s a great photo,’ he replied not looking up. His finger gently tracing her face in the photo. She felt relief wash over her. Rationally she knew she didn’t need Owen’s approval. But she didn’t think she could cope with him judging her anymore.
‘I like your house,’ he finally said. ‘It’s not exactly what I imagined. Just a white and clean. Only I was expecting more harshness,’ he said waving his arms a bit to illustrate his point. She knew exactly what she meant. ‘But it’s… cosy. It’s very, you,’
‘You imagine what my house is like a lot?’ she joked.
‘Mainly the bedroom,’ he said with a grin.
Rolling her eyes she said ‘Well I can show you your’s now.’ She decided that having separate rooms was a good idea.
She didn’t know if they’d keep to them, but boundaries were important. She needed them to gain some sort of control over the entire situation.
Claire had only been lying in bed alone for an hour before she couldn’t take it anymore. She knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep without him, whether it was psychosomatic or not it didn’t matter. She needed him.
She scampered down the hall like a child fearing the monsters under the bed. She got to the guest bedroom and poked her head around.
Owen immediately looked up to her. Giving a small smile, she slipped next to him. Arms immediately wrapped around her. She could feel her heart slowing already. She was by no means almost asleep, but right now she was okay with it.
With Owen she felt like she could survive and sometimes that was enough.
Over the next few months their routine developed. It was no longer just sharing a bed, but it was sharing a life.
Claire continued to work for InGen, it was meetings on damage control, press conferences, interviews, hours of deliberation of what to do next. It was tiring, going over every mistake made, being heralded as both a hero and villain. Especially when most days she was running on only a few hours sleep, if that.
Owen still didn’t have a job, she could tell that he felt bad about it. But she knew the stress that just job hunting put him through. As much as he hated to admit it, he wasn’t ready to go back to work.
However, this lead to Owen insisting on cooking all the meals to ‘earn his keep’ as he put it. He was surprisingly good at cooking, while Claire did have to convince him to throw in a few more salads, and less meals that Owen thought ‘needed’ margaritas, it was perfect. He was perfect.
They’d developed an odd companionship over the past few months. They’ve saved each other’s lives on the island multiple times, and they were still saving each other’s lives now. They had someone who was there for them, someone who understood completely. They both tried therapy, but the therapist had no idea what it was like, and because of that it was hard to share. But with Owen, it had become easy. He was always there, and understood what she needed. He knew when she wanted to talk about what happened and he knew when she wanted to talk about anything but. And she was the same for him.
Claire knew their relationship was a strange one, but that didn’t matter. She knew that right now what they had was all she needed.
Claire was oddly nervous coming home. She’d been abuzz the entire way home. Walking through the front door she shouted ‘I’m home,’
Carefully putting away her shoes, she moved into the living room and sat down on the sofa. A minute later Owen came in with a glass of wine for her and a beer for himself.
‘I have something to tell you,’ she said as he sat down next to her.
‘Should I be worried?’ he asked taking a sip of his beer.
‘I quit my job.’ Owen’s eyes bulged, clearly in shock. ‘Well, took a leave of absence. But I don’t know if I’m going to go back, or get a new job. But I think I’m going to wait a while before I make any firm decisions,’
Owen took a moment to take it all in. ‘I gotta say, I’m surprised I thought you loved your job,’
‘I do… I did,’ she explained. ‘I don’t love what my job has turned into. I don’t love going over all my mistakes. And most importantly I don’t think it gave me enough time to process what happened. I’m a different person to who I was before the incident, but I don’t fully know who this person is. She’s not entirely different but…’ she said drifting off.
‘But different enough,’ Owen filled in for her, in perfect understanding.
‘During the incident, my job was one the most important things to me. The entire time, the things in order that mattered most to me was, don’t die, don’t let you or the boys die, don’t let everyone on the island die and then still have a job tomorrow. But now… it no longer seems like an important thing at all’
‘I completely understand you,’ Owen said. He was looking at her, as if she was the most amazing thing in the world right now, and she had no idea why. ‘But, care to repeat that important thing?’
‘Me, you and the boys, the people on the island and my job,’ she repeated not knowing where he was going with this.
‘I was on the same level as your nephews?’ He asked. Claire’s entire body stilled, only now realising what he meant. ‘Me, the guy who you had one bad date with. Me, the guy who teased you for the better part of three years. Me, the guy you barely knew. Was on the same level of importance as your blood relatives,’
She couldn’t explain the reason why, but she could add one more thing ‘Towards the end there, you and the boys, came above my life too,’
Owen’s eyes flicked to her mouth. ‘I really want to kiss you right now,’
‘I was expecting smoother moves from you, Mr. Grady,’ she joked, but her mouth was dry. And god help her were those moves working.
‘Usually I’m far more suave than this, it’s just different with you,’ he whispered leaning in further. Claire’s heart was racing, she didn’t think she had ever been more full of anticipation.
‘You’re forgetting I’ve seen you on a date,’
‘Shut up,’ he whispered as his lips touched hers. It was slow, and soft, and entirely different from the other kiss they had shared. As their lips glided over each others, Claire’s hand moved up to cup his face. She could feel the stubble beneath her fingertips, as she sighed into him.
His warm tongue traced her lips, and she opened her mouth, deepening the kiss. Callused hands trailed her body, exploring, searching, wanting, leaving a trail of warmth everywhere they touched.
Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her over, so she was now sitting on his lap. The kiss had become more frantic now, tongues becoming hungrier, hands being greedier.
Claire pulled away slightly, eyes still closed, foreheads still touching.
‘I’m sorry but I’m not quite ready for… sex,’ she said bluntly.
‘That’s okay, we’ll take this at whatever pace we need to,’ he said going in for another small peck. ‘We can still make out though, right?’
‘Like a couple of horny teenagers,’
‘I’ll be in my element then,’
‘Shut up,’ she said, echoing his words from before as she came in for another kiss.
Claire’s hands went up into his hair, pulling him closer. Warmth filled her body, for once she was in total contentment. This wasn’t a build up to anything, it was the event. An event she’d cherish. Kissing Owen was like eating a chocolate cake. Warm, wet, delicious, something she could never get enough of.
They broke apart to the sound of a timer going off. ‘I think dinner’s ready,’ Owen said against her mouth.
‘But I’m enjoying dessert right now,’ she pouted.
‘Claire Dearing this is a side of you I’ve never seen before,’ Owen teased, a smug grin forming on his face.
‘There’s lots of sides of me you’ve never seen before,’
‘And I hope to see all of them,’
Light streamed into Claire’s bedroom finally waking her up. As she slowly woke up, her face broke out into a smile. It was 8:46 AM and she’d only just woken up. Not only that but she didn’t have any nightmares and it only took her an hour to fall asleep, which had become a miracle for Claire.
She turned over to see Owen, but he wasn’t there. He must have got up already, she thought to herself. So she got out of bed to go find him.
She looked in the bathroom, his bedroom (not that he ever actually slept in there), the kitchen, the study, the garden but he was no where to be found.
‘Owen?’ she called. A pit started to form in her stomach, where was he?
He probably just went out, she thought to herself. He’s fine, we’re not on the island anymore. He’s okay.
I’ll phone him to make sure.
She quickly dialled him but it rang, and rang, and rang. She phoned again, maybe he was busy and couldn’t pick up. But still no answer.
Her mind raced, maybe he left it at home. She quickly searched the house, but still couldn’t find his phone.
Her skin felt hot and sticky, her stomach was heavy and hot like lead, and she was on the brink of tears.
Some parts of her knew how irrational she was being, but the rest didn’t care. She couldn't find Owen and that’s all that mattered.
Exactly thirteen minutes later, Owen walked through the front door. Only when she saw his face did she finally break down and cry.
‘What’s the matter, Claire?’ he asked, a genuine look of concern on his face.
‘I couldn’t find you,’ she hiccuped, trying to wipe away her tears.
‘I just went out for a run. I’m sorry, I just didn’t want to wake you, you looked so… peaceful,’ he explained, wrapping his arms around her.
Burying her face into his neck, she let out a muffled ‘I tried to call you,’
‘You know how terrible I am with my phone, I probably just left it on silent somewhere ridiculous. I didn’t mean to get you this worked up, I’m sorry,’ he comforted her, stroking her hair.
She pulled away from his slightly and cried out ‘I didn’t want you to be dead! Not again!’
‘Again? I’ve never died?’ he replied, his eyebrows furrowing.
‘But you did. When Indominus Rex escaped… They told me everyone in the cage died. You were in the cage. You were dead.’ She remembered the cold rushing through her. She remembered the pit in the bottom of her stomach. She remembered holding back the tears.
She didn’t know she cared that much. Of course she would be sad over anyone’s death, but for some reason she just kept thinking, she’d never see Owen again. There was so much she didn’t know about him. So much she didn’t know she wanted to know.
‘Don’t do that to me! You can’t die!’
‘Don’t worry I won’t.’ Wrapping his arms around her tighter. ‘I’ll make it my life’s ambition to outlive you, from now on it’s just salads and exercise,’
She gave a small smile at his comforting words. Lifting her head off his shoulder, she looked him straight in the eye. ‘I know I’m being ridiculous,’
‘No,’ he replied brushing hair out of her. He looked at her so reverently, Claire knew she’d believe anything he was about to say. ‘The way you reacted is normal. At least for what we’ve gone through. I should have left a note, I’m sorry.’
He kissed away her tears and slowly Claire started to feel better. As much as she wished it, the island wasn’t behind her, at least not yet.
A few weeks later they were laying in bed in a haze of post-coital bliss. Owen’s arm lazily wrapped around Claire, his hands lightly tracing up and down her arm.
Her head lay on his chest so she could hear his heart beat. The constant thump that made her feel alive. It reminded her of the first time she heard his heartbeat. How it brought her back to earth. His heartbeat had become as familiar as her bed, a constant thing in her life, she couldn’t live without. She pressed her hand against his chest so she could feel it too.
‘Checking I’m alive?’ he asked, his breath tickling her skin.
‘Checking I am,’
‘Cryptic,’ he replied, the tone of amusement clear in his voice.
Claire lifted her head up to look him in eyes, her face breaking out into a smile. ‘I’m a very mysterious women, Mr. Grady,’
He took a second to take her all in before finally saying ‘Do you think we should have waited this long?’
She took a second to mull over the question. ‘After the island, yes. I think we needed some time to be alone, together before we could be together, together,’ she said ineloquently.
Owen gave a small nod. So Claire continued ‘However, I do wish that we weren’t so stubborn after our first date, so maybe we wouldn’t have needed an escaped dinosaur to finally bring us together,’
‘Well, we’re here now,’
‘We’re here now,’ she echoed.