The next afternoon, Owen caught Maisie as she snuck out.

"Your cousins are coming tonight to live with us for a couple weeks,'' he told her. "I expect you to be polite and talk to them.''

She huffed impatiently. "What's that supposed to mean?''

"You know, polite. Well-mannered, courteous, diplomatic—''

Maisie snorted. "Did you just say 'diplomatic'? And I know what polite means. I'm very polite! I meant why do I have to talk to them?''

"They're family! They are probably really excited to see you. You barely know each other.''

"Adopted family.''

Owen sighed. He ran his hands through his hair. "Okay, fine. Adopted family. Look. Your mom is really hoping you three hit it off. She loves her nephews and she loves you. She would really appreciate it if you at least made an effort to be friends with them. I would appreciate it too, okay? Can you do this for Mom and Dad?''

"Okay.'' Maisie nodded. She smiled briefly and dashed out the door.

"What was that about?'' Claire asked. Her red hair was tied up in a tight ponytail, her face flushed from housework. All morning she had been preparing the guest-room for the boys. There was not much to do; mostly moving around boxes to make more floor space. Owen could see the excitement shining in Claire's beautiful pale-green eyes.

"I was just explaining things to Maisie?''

"Is she excited?'' Claire asked hopefully.

"You bet.'' Owen couldn't squash her sunny mood.

"We haven't seen them in so long. It's been since the wedding, hasn't it? And even then I didn't get to talk to them as much as I would have liked to.''

Owen silently agreed. It had been—what—five years since Jurassic World? He had seen Zach and Gray at the wedding, but, like Claire, hadn't really spoken with them. Owen assumed they had changed a lot. Zach was an adolescent and Gray was still a little boy last time 'round. Now Zach would almost be an adult, almost twenty. Gray would be almost fifteen. Crazy. Something told Owen they were still good kids. As usual, he was right.


The Mitchell brothers arrived a quarter-past six. Claire hugged and kissed them both. After welcoming and telling them where they could put down their bags, she seemed to analysis a double-take. She frowned slightly.

"Where's Karen?''

Gray shrugged. "On an airplane.''

Owen glanced outside the window. A small, beat-up, Malibu sat in their driveway. "Zach drove you?''

They nodded.

Owen was furious. Karen left her two sons with her little sister for three weeks. And she didn't even go to the trouble of dropping them off! Owen doubted she even said goodbye. Off with the boyfriend to Europe she went. Claire did a better job of hiding her distaste.

"Well, why don't you come sit down on the couch? We need to do some catching up. Dinner will be ready in about an hour.'' She glanced at her husband. Say hello.

"So, uh, how're you guys doing?''

"Pretty good, thanks,'' Zach said, smiling.

Owen found himself pulling both boys into a hug. Seeing them right in front of him brought back memories. A flood of memories. But they weren't bad memories. Some of them were good. Well, as good as being chased by giant dinosaur could be.

Once they were all seated, Owen examined each boy carefully.

Gray had definitely grown. He was almost as tall as his brother now. His face had thinned out and his hair had been close-cropped giving him an older appearance. But he still had the curious, excited blue eyes of his youth. He was still the little boy Owen had pulled from the Park wreckage.

Zach had changed even more than Gray. But in a different way. He looked older, yes, but Owen noticed he was paler and thinner. His eyes were dark and his face gaunt. He looked exhausted, like he was recovering from a long illness. Owen glanced at Claire. He could tell she had come to the same conclusion. Something was off.

But Zach still smiled. He still put on a brave face. Owen knew it was for Gray. After their parents had divorced, shit had gone down. Zach was trying to be the best parent he could be to his little brother. Owen did not know the details of what went on behind the closed doors of the Mitchells, but he suddenly wished he and Claire had done something. What could they have done?

The front door slammed. Maisie ran in, her face flushed. She caught her breath when she saw the boys.

"Come say hello to your cousins,'' Claire said.

Maisie gave a shy smile. "Hello.''

Zach smiled. "Hey. It's Maisie, right? I'm Zach.''

She waved awkwardly and picked a twig out of her hair.

"I'm Gray.'' Gray got awkward too.

Maisie backed towards the ladder to her loft. She scrambled up it before her parents could stop her. Claire pursed her lips. Owen sighed. They needed to work on her social skills. But she was hardly ever around people.

"She's hot,'' Gray muttered to his brother.

Owen bristled.

"She's our cousin,'' Zach reminded him.

"Not biologically. And she's British.''

"What does that have to do with anything?''

"I dunno.'' Gray went back to being awkward.

"I, uh, think she forgot you guys were coming,'' laughed Claire apologetically.

"She's fine,'' Zach reassured her.

"Yeah, fine,'' Gray echoed.

Owen was still perturbed his little girl had been referred to as "hot". She was super cute. But she was a little girl. Only twelve! "Hot" was too grown-up.

By the time Maisie had cleaned herself up and come back downstairs, dinner was being served. Everyone ate in silence for a bit. Claire was obviously dying to know more about Zach and Gray's lives.

"So,'' said she, "how is school going?''

"Pretty good,'' Gray said. "I'm going to be a sophomore in the Fall.''

"What school do you go to?'' Owen wanted to know.

"Just the local public school.''

Claire nodded. "What about you, Zach? You're in college, right?''

"I'm going to be a junior. I attend mostly night classes at a community college,'' Zach explained. "I work full-time.''

"Why?'' Owen asked before he could stop himself.

Zach shrugged. "I want to get an apartment next Fall. For me and Gray. I don't think either of us can stand another year living with our mom.''

Claire's lips tightened. Maisie stared at her hands under the table. Owen traced a scratch on the table. He knew their parents loved Zach and Gray, but that didn't make them good parents. Owen wondered what exactly had happened to tear the family apart. He wanted to make a not of it so he never made the mistake. Most of the time divorcees claimed they had "married the wrong person". Owen did not have to worry about that; every instinct told him Claire was his soulmate. Whatever the circumstances, he would always stand beside her.

Zach cleared his throat. "I'm going to go to bed. I need to find a temporary job somewhere tomorrow morning.''

Claire showed him to the guest room. When she came and sat back down at the table everyone was quiet. Owen didn't miss the look of concern on Gray's face. He didn't want to pry, but he had to know. He suddenly felt a great sense of responsibility toward the boys. "Gray, what is wrong with Zach?''

Gray shrugged. "He's fine, really. . . He just never fully recovered. . .''

Owen had a terrible feeling: guilt. He could easily tell Claire was experiencing the same feeling. He had feared this. Gray had been younger. His brain was less developed and he could easily bounce back out of shock, ready for the next adventure life held. Zach however had been at a very susceptible age. . .

"I knew we should have done more,'' Claire murmured sadly.

"You did all you could.''

Claire shook her head. "I should have stayed with you two from the beginning. I could have sheltered you, hid you from the monsters—"

Gray gave her a funny expression. "What?''

"Jurassic World—''

Gray gave her a cocky smile. "Jurassic World? Nah, that was one of the best things that ever happened to us. It really brought Zach and I close together. No, I was talking about our parents' divorce. Zach hasn't forgiven them. He doesn't really have a reason too. He remembers more than I do. Too many nights he lay awake listening to them scream at each other,'' Gray suddenly stopped, flushing slightly. He had obviously not meant to go into the details. "Anyway, I better get to bed too. Goodnight. Thank you for letting us come stay with you.''

"Don't mention it,'' Claire said faintly.

They watched him close the guest-room door behind him. Maisie excused herself and fled to her loft. Owen and Claire sat in silence. Claire dropped her head in her hands.

"Ohhhhh God.''

"Babe—''

"We should have done something, Owen. I knew things were getting shaky with my sister. Why, oh why, did we not do anything?''

"We didn't know?'' Owen offered.

"But I knew,'' Claire moaned. "I knew something was wrong. And yet I did nothing.''

"It's not so bad,'' said Owen, comfortingly stroking her hand. "They haven't been abused. They're not harmed—''

"Not harmed!'' Claire said shrilly. "Have you seen Zach? He looks like he is legitimately dying. God, Owen. . . Maybe they aren't bruised and bleeding, but they have been harmed by their parents. And I don't mean physically.''


It took Owen a long time to fall asleep that night. Thoughts were tumbling around his brain. He knew Claire was right. They should have—could have—done something a long time ago. Hell, Owen should have taken more time catching up with them at his wedding! But nothing had been done. So what, Owen thought. We're doing something now. The last couple years have been crazy. It was true. They were indeed taking action now. Something told Owen he and Claire were not going to just send the Mitchell boys back to their parents. And the last couple years were the craziest in Owen's life (which was really saying something, he having been in the Navy and all). There was the ordeal at Lockwood Manor, then the wedding, then adopting Maisie, and the job. . . Owen honestly hadn't had time for his new nephews. But now he did. It was a priority. Resolved, he rolled over and fell asleep.