A/N: I know there were plot holes in Jurassic World, but I still loved the story and the characters – especially Owen and Claire. They had chemistry but their romance was directed in a believable way that still left a lot of room for the action. Which I totally appreciated, and am excited to see what the sequel holds. In the meantime – here's a JW Clowen Christmas fic for you all. It's a day or two late, I know, but seriously, who's reading fanfiction during Christmas? Certainly not me.

Started: 12/9/15

Finished: 12/10/15

Edited: 12/24/15

Peace by Shattered Piece

Insert One:

Christmas

Claire had always believed herself unflappable. When she and Karen were younger it had always been Claire to comfort her sister. She had been steady, controlled, immovable (although stubborn was probably a more apt word) and had been able to intimidate people with nothing more than a calculated look.

Yet when her path had crossed Owen Grady's, all of her faltered. She had never met someone who could tease her mercilessly, eyes twinkling, and the next be as focused as the eye of a hurricane.

After one failed date, she hadn't wanted to be near him. Even though the date really had been fine, it was the affect his personality had on her. She would have never admitted it, but the whirlwind of his character scared her. It upset her balance, strained the tethers of her control. He was reserved, kind and polite when needed.

He was the only person she'd ever met to walk the tightrope between absolute chaos and utter self-control. And that was why she never wanted to get to know him – she had a feeling that if she did, he would shatter everything she had ever known.

Claire hadn't purposefully been prickly during their first date, but she couldn't help it. She hadn't thought much of it, but when Owen had showed up in board shorts she'd realized she had hoped the more controlled side of him would have been present. But he drank tequila, laughed loudly, and what was worse tried to get her to make an idiot of herself and dance. And even more horrible than that was she had wanted to participate.

So she simply gave the excuse that she never wanted a second date. But she knew it wasn't true. It was only a matter of control, and she didn't want to relinquish it with anything.

But as she stared at him sitting on the couch in the morning sunlight, she knew none of that mattered now. Indominus had crushed all of her previous notions of animals and life and even people. She'd been broken, and all that was left was to pick up the pieces. There were still plenty of things that she wanted to control, but it was getting easier letting things go and running their course.

It had been two years since the incident in Costa Rica, yet that whole time she had been living with Owen. Before the Indominus, she never would have dreamed of living with someone whether she was in a relationship or not. It wasn't because of any old fashioned notion – she was simply extremely particular about how she kept her place, and she did not want to have someone else leaving dishes out, crumbs on the floor and spilling food on the couches. Besides, after spending the majority of her day around people and schmoozing with the higher-ups, she wanted to kick up her feet and watch Cold Case Files.

With Indominus' escape, the reins were forcibly ripped away from her hands, leaving her adrift with nowhere to go. So when Owen had offered her a space in his apartment, she had agreed. They had entered into a relationship shortly after their return to the States.

Claire smiled as she thought of those first six months. Owen hadn't even let her sleep in the same bedroom. Something about his mom killing him in his sleep if he didn't give Claire her space. But she hadn't been offended. Because he respected her, it was his way of showing it.

As the sound of ripping wrapping paper reached her ears, Claire once again focused on the man sitting casually on his sofa. The package was thin, but not altogether light, and her apprehension grew. As more paper came off, Owen's movements slowed. Finally, the whole gift was visible.

He sat there, staring.

For a few minutes, Claire was quiet. His fingers sporadically gripped and released the picture frame in his hands.

Claire fidgeted. Did he not like it?

These two years, she could tell that Owen missed his raptors. In the center of the frame were all four of them. Someone had shot the photo from the ground up, from the raptor's perspective. The sun haloed Owen's head. Surrounding it – the largest and best quality picture – were a few others: Owen riding his motorcycle with all four raptors surrounding him. Due to the night vision cameras, the photo was green and fuzzy. Another one was snapped from the security cameras along Main Street. Just before Indominus had appeared, Owen had stepped forward and touched Blue. With that picture, that one moment was immortalized. A few more were shot of Owen and the raptors when they had been smaller. In one, they'd just hatched, and Owen leaned over the egg spinner, a look of wonder on his face as a hand stroked the head of one – the raptor he'd named Echo.

Minutes passed, and still Owen sat like a statue. Claire couldn't stand the thick silence any longer.

"The other day I had to go through all of Masrani Global's computerized files. These were a few they had. I'm sorry some of them are fuzzy; I tried to fix the resolution as best as I could…" She trailed off once she realized Owen still hadn't looked at her. But she swallowed and forged ahead. "I know you miss them, and I thought maybe you'd want something…" she cleared her throat nervously, "to help you…remember."

Still Owen didn't look at her, and her panic rose. Why had she thought this would be a good Christmas gift? Reminders of the twenty-four hours of frantic running and outsmarting Indominus were not what should be remembered on a supposedly joyous day. How callous he must think her.

And not for the first time Claire wished with all her heart she could just know what to do in these situations.

The words left her mouth before she could stop them. "I'm sorry. This was a stupid idea– "

Suddenly, with such startling speed that it seemed to swipe the words right out of her throat, Owen stood and snatched her to her feet. Before she even had time to react his arms wound around her such controlled ferocity she spent a few moments trying to reconcile the two incompatible actions. Slowly, she slid her arms around him.

Owen had never been an overly affectionate person. Whenever he touched something, it held meaning. All the moments he'd touched her in the park had been for comfort and protection alone. Except that one moment when she had saved his life and his control had snapped. Yet only a second later and he'd reined himself in. But since they'd been living together, he'd hardly touched her. Held her hand – yes. Touched her shoulder a moment –sure. But nothing more than that. She'd had to instigate more – a kiss here and there, cuddling on the couch as they flipped through Netflix, walking into his room at night and lying next to him simply to feel the comfort of another person – especially one she cared about.

She knew why he did it. He was so sure of her, but he knew she wasn't so sure of him. So he left her alone. He let her decide what was enough and when to continue. And she didn't mind – she reveled in the knowledge that he wanted her to know his attraction was not merely physical. He respected her as her own person, knew how she was and how much she'd floundered to rebuild herself. So he gave her space. No expectations. Just kindness and understanding.

So as his arms continued to hold her to him, she knew without a shadow of a doubt how much her gift meant to him.

"Thank you," he finally said, his voice gravelly and thick with unshed tears. Her lips twisted into a water smile, and she pulled back. He followed her lead but only released her partially. His hands still gripped her arms as if she were his lifeline.

"There's more. You missed the card."

He nodded, slowly removing his hands. Only when he picked up the envelope did she see his hands were shaking. He looked confused only for a moment as two slips of hard paper fell out instead of a card. As he held them, his whole body started trembling.

"These are tickets." He clenched his right hand carefully. "To Costa Rica."

"Yes," Claire whispered. "Maybe it's dangerous, but I thought that you'd like to…well…try to see if Blue's alive, I guess."

She could see him opening his mouth numerous times, but nothing came out. Finally he managed to say, "Two?"

"Yes. I'm going with you, Owen."

His eyes whipped to hers, and she saw everything he wanted to say but couldn't get out. Her smile widened, vision blurring as the sight of him tugged harder at her heart.

"Once we get to Costa Rica a private boat is willing to take us to the old ferry landing. No one would fly us and I didn't want to risk a boat with only us just in case…" She didn't finish, but she knew he understood what hadn't left her lips.

Owen nodded. "When?"

"A few days."

"Claire, I…" He shook his head, his voice collapsing.

"I know, Owen," she murmured, trying to save him from articulating what she knew he felt.

He moved towards her again, slower this time so she could prepare herself for his next hug. She realized she didn't have to. This whole time she'd been dying to touch him, to offer comfort, but unsure whether he'd want it or not. When he stepped closer, she erased the last breath of distance and leaned into him. She could feel the trembling in his chest, the fluttering of his heart as fast as hummingbird wings.

"Thank you," he whispered. If she hadn't been so close, she wouldn't have heard it. No words passed her lips – she merely held him tighter.

She felt the rumble in his chest as he cleared his throat. "The boys called me last night."

"I was there."

"No, after. They called me again – later. They couldn't sleep. They want to come and visit in a week… Just for a little while."

Claire abruptly pulled back. "They want to be here? But Karen – she… She's never going to let them. She told me she might not ever…" The words died in her throat.

"They asked her. She said yes."

Claire just stared at him. "She said…yes?" She licked her lips, and when Owen nodded, the tight knot of guilt slowly loosened. "I haven't seen them in so long," she murmured. A disbelieving smile graced her face. Before Masrani Global's failure, seeing her nephews after a year would have felt arduous and inconvenient. Now, it felt like ages.

She, Owen, Zach and Gray had all been on the phone constantly over the past two years. For the first three months, none of them had been able to sleep through the night. Owen had been a lifeline for them all. He had been the only one exposed to similar trauma, but when asked about it, he merely shrugged and mentioned he'd been in the Corps for a few years before transferring to the Navy. There was no singular solution, and only time would help, but together they'd helped each other heal.

The smile started from toes and glowed through her whole body. "Of course they can come. Why didn't they call me?"

"They weren't sure you'd really want them here. Especially since…"

She nodded. "Karen has kept them from me." She looked back at Owen. "But we've visited them… And just this past Christmas!"

"It's still different. To some people anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"When we visited, we were coming to her to see the boys. Now it might be similar to when they left to visit before." He scratched his head. "I'm not really sure how else to explain it."

"I get it," Claire sighed. "Do you think… Do you think something bad will happen this time, too?"

Owen grinned. "Nah. So long as we don't take them with us to Isla Nublar."

Claire scrunched her nose. "That wasn't funny."

"Eh, it was kinda funny," Owen chuckled. Claire just shook her head and tapped her forehead to his chest.

"Guess who else wants to see us? Well, me, really. She didn't know you."

"Hmm?"

She hadn't even noticed she'd tensed until Owen's hand traced soothing circles across her shoulder blades. "Zara's daughter," Claire whispered. She let loose a shaky sigh as she felt Owen's surprise.

"Your assistant?" At Claire's nod, he continued. "She looked awfully young to have a kid. How old is she?"

"She's almost seventeen."

"Wow. Zara did not look thirty-two."

"No…she didn't." Claire's voice hitched. "What do I do, Owen? I can't even think about Zara without – without…" She exhaled. "How am I going to face her? Zara was planning a wedding…her wedding."

"I know, Claire. I know." His hands soothed her once more.

"No. Zara sacrificed time with Gwen so she could work for me. Masrani Global paid her very well to be my assistant – she was the best, of course, but Masrani himself gave her extra to help cover costs with Gwen."

"Maybe that's why. Since you spent so much time with Zara, Gwen just wants to know her a little better."

"But I caused it all. It was my fault."

"No, Claire. It was everyone's fault: the public, InGen, Masrani Global. Maybe a little you and me."

Claire snorted despite her guilt. "Your fault? You just went to inspect the paddock."

"Then in that sense, it wasn't your fault, either." She sent him a look, but he shook his head. "Claire, you didn't make the dinosaurs. You didn't design them. You didn't give InGen the go ahead to make them. The public wanted – what did you say?"

"Bigger. Better. More teeth."

"Exactly. Documented, discovered dinosaurs weren't enough. They wanted more. So Masrani takes the concern to InGen. InGen responds." Owen let a frustrating breath out of his nose. "They never should've made that dinosaur."

"No." Claire swallowed. "I just wish…"

"I know. But we've been…"

"Over this before." She sighed and her eyes met his. "Does the guilt ever go away, Owen? Does it ever lessen?"

"Yes," he whispered. "But it depends on what happened, and who the person is. Sometimes it's quick. Sometimes it's not. And sometimes…the guilt never goes away. It lessens, but it's never completely gone."

She nodded.

For long minutes afterward, the two stayed that way, locked in an embrace, wrapping paper strewn about their feet.

"You know," Owen murmured. "I think we should make a bet."

"What?" Claire moved back but didn't let go.

"Yeah – a bet." He grinned. "How long it'll be before Zach starts flirting with Gwen."

"Owen!" Claire smacked him lightly on the shoulder as he cackled. "Besides, I think she's going to be too much for him."

"Is that a challenge?"

Her eyes twinkled as she stepped away from him. "Of course it is."

End

A/N: Well, how did it go, guys? If you like it, drop me a line/review letting me know your thoughts. It'll be a three/four shot: chapter 1 is Owen and Claire at Christmas, chapter 2 is Owen and Claire's visit to Blue, and chapter 3 is supposed to be Zach, Gray and Gwen's comedy. There might be an epilogue. It might be tear-worthy.