DISCLAIMERS

1. I DO NOT OWN JURASSIC PARK/WORLD. This is just for fun.

2. This is a femslash story. If you don't like that sort of thing, you won't like this.

The Senior System & Software Coder paused her typing as she reached over to answer her ringing desk phone. "Hello - Alexis Murphy speaking."

There was a pause, before a female voice eventually answered. "Um... Lex?"

Alexis - or Lex when she was not at work - frowned. "Yes... ? Who is this?" The voice sounded awfully familiar, like... no. It could not be. Surely.

"It's... " the voice sounded uneasy, "... Claire."

Lex froze, her eyes widening. No. Please, no.

"Are... are you there?"

Lex blinked. "Wh... what the... Claire? What the... ? How... how did you... get my work number?!"

"That's not important," came the shaky response. "I... I just... "

"I told you to never call me again," seethed Lex. "I thought I made that perfectly clear." She could not deal with this. Not now - not ever.

"Lex, please... don't be like that."

The blonde was almost shaking with anger. The damn nerve! "What the hell do you expect? You lied to me. You... you tricked me into... "

"Don't you dare," gasped Claire. "I never tricked you into anything! Lex, please... can't we just... "

"Who the hell do you think you are?" snapped Lex. It was a good thing the blonde had her own office, or she would be getting odd stares from coworkers. "What do you want?!"

"I... " Claire's voice was almost a whine. "I... miss you."

Lex's eyes widened again. "You what? You... are you serious? It... it was just one week!" She was too angry to notice her breathing had increased... nor how cold and metaphorically untrue that statement was.

"'Just one week,'" parrotted Claire bitterly. "Is that all it was to you?" She clearly knew Lex's statement was crap.

Closing her eyes, Lex tried to rein in her emotions. "Don't ever call me again," she said, her tone just as bitter. However, before she could hang up, she heard Claire's panicked voice.

"Wait, please! I'm sorry! Look, is that what you want? I'm sorry! I should've told you!"

"No shit!" yelped Lex. "We spend a whole week together... we end up in eachother's beds - and not once do you tell me where you worked! Or that I was just a... a rebound!"

"You weren't a rebound!" shrieked Claire. A few seconds passed as Lex heard her clear her throat, and then Claire spoke again, calmly... almost defensively. "And from what I remember, you didn't want to know where I worked."

Lex's teeth were grinding. "You bi... " She stopped herself, unable to finish the insult, despite her hurt. "How dare you call me?"

Silence for a moment once more. "I... want to see you again. Please, Lex... I'm trying to make peace... "

Lex sat there, fuming. But as she stared out infront of her, her mind went back to that week. When she had met Claire Dearing. And as much as the redhead ruined it at the end, Lex could not deny their time together, despite it's brevity, was amazing. Lex always thought the concept of a "whirlwind romance" was absurd... until Claire. Of course Lex missed her - why else would it hurt so much when the week ended in disaster? "You have ten seconds before I slam this phone down," she said before realising it.

"I can't stop thinking about you," Claire said quickly. "I miss you. I miss talking to you. I miss kissing you. Dammit, I miss your painting of me. Please, Lex... can't we just meet up... ?"

What was Lex thinking? She was actually considering it. She tried to stay angry, but she could sense the pain, the hurt, the want in Claire's voice. After all, Lex herself sounded just the same when they last parted. It most definitely was more than "just one week" for her. "You hurt me, Claire," she said, still not ready to give in.

"I know," the redhead sighed. "And I'm sorry. I never meant to - that was the last thing I wanted to do. But I want to fix things. Please, just let me see you again... "

This was insane. Lex could barely believe what she was saying next. "I suppose so... "

The relief in Claire's voice was unmistakable. "That's great," she gasped. "Oh Lex, I promise, I'll make it all upto you. We can see all the sights. We'll have the best meals. I'll treat you like a princess... "

Lex felt herself blushing. "You in the area now? I... I finish at five today... "

"No, no, I'm back at work myself," Claire said excitedly. "But don't worry - I can have a chopper - no, a private jet! - come pick you up tonight and... "

"What?" choked Lex. She could not believe it. Claire was not in the city. Not even in the country. She was... there.

Lex started shaking. "Lex, what's wrong?" came Claire's concerned voice. "I'm sorry, but I have to stay here. I wish I could pick you up myself, but... "

"You... are on that... Godforsaken ISLAND?"

"I, I... of course," Claire stammered. "I work here. I don't understa... oh."

Uncontrollably, the blonde began shaking her head. "No. No no no no. There... there is no way I'm... ever... "

"Honey, calm down... "

"D... don't you DARE!" bellowed Lex. "You... you actually think I'm... I'm ever gonna step one foot on that hellhole again?!"

"Lex, I understand, but... "

"Me and my brother nearly died there!" Lex yelled. "We were nearly eaten by... !" She stopped. Her chest was heaving, her hands visibly shivering.

"I read all about what happened," said Claire softly. "It'll be fine; the park's completely safe. There's nothing to worry about, I swear. Look, just get on the plane tonight and... "

"You're insane," sneered Lex. "That... that's the last place on Earth that's fucking 'safe'. People died, Claire! How can you still work there?! It's madness!"

"We haven't had an incident in more than three years," said Claire. "And even then, it was just... "

"An incident? An incident!" Lex was incredulous. "Is that what you call it now?!"

"Lex, please, just listen to me," soothed Claire. "Everything will be alright. If you want, I can take you to see Rexy. You'll see how good she's... "

"Rexy?" Lex's eyes were like saucers. "You give them petnames?! Oh my God... oh my God... you're all... "

"Darling, please calm down," Claire pleaded. "Once you get here, you... "

"And ontop of all that, you only give me an afternoon's notice!" Lex's shakes were getting worse.

"I want us to spend as much time as possible together," explained the redhead. "And my nephews are coming to the park next week, so I'll be too... "

Her nephews? That was it - Lex could hear no more. Claire was certifiable. "You're all fucking lunatics! Your nephews? Oh my God... you're all... " Her voice calmed, belaying the rage within. "You're all insane," she said simply.

"I know it'll be hard for you," Claire tried, her tone breaking. "But once you get here, you'll see... P... please, I need to see you so much. You, you don't know... !"

"There is no way I'm ever, ever getting on that island EVER again!" Tears started trickling down Lex's cheeks. "Don't you ever speak to me again!"

"Lex PLEASE, I think I LO... "

Lex slammed the phone down.

For a full minute, Lex sat there, staring at the wall. Her body was still shaking. How... what was Claire thinking? What was she thinking? How could she have considered... ?

Lex knew why. She missed the redhead terribly. In their oh-so-short week together, Lex felt things she had not before. If it was not absolutely absurd, she would say she had fallen in... But no. Lex could not listen to her heart: not with her nightmares so... so... Lex's trembles increased yet again. It was 22 years - but the nightmares remained.

Her teeth started chattering. Lex blinked back tears as she minutely tried to calm her breathing, to no avail. She knew what was happening. Her body would not stop. Her breathing would not slow. She closed her eyes, trying to stem what was about to...

Too late.

It all came back. The screams. The shrieks. The roars...

Quickly, Lex opened her desk drawer and rumaged around desperately. She had not had to do this at work for months - her regular morning intake more than enough - so they were buried beneath various pieces of office crap. Her pace quickened, her need to find her objective growing deeper. As tears continued to stream, she felt her panic rising evenmore. "P... please... " Lex inhaled a big gulp of air as her hand gripped on her goal. Without pausing, she removed the anti-depressants and, once popping them from their blister prison, swallowed two pills in one go. Once washing them down with what seemed like a gallon of water, she closed her eyes and tried to slow her breathing.

Calm... calm... it was alright... remember the exercises... just breath slowly...

The memories quieted. They did not fade - they would never fade - but gradually, Lex began to relax. Her body stablised, her heartbeat going back to normal...

There was no way she was ever, ever going to that island again.

But the pain in Clare's voice... the want... the need...

No. Never.

Lex darted her eyes as her phone rang again...

THE END