The last twelve hours Owen spent beside Claire. Her body was still as she slept, making no attempt to wake up. Owen sat patiently. Waiting. He had slept for a few hours once reunited with Claire, but he was too anxious to let himself fall into a deep sleep. He didn't want to miss the moment her green eyes opened.

Three hours from entering the room, Owen turned at the light knock on the door. "Be right back." He told Claire and moved to peek around the curtain, blocking any view of her from the doorway.

"Mr. Grady I have Mr. Spence, here." Kirk nodded at the suited man beside him.

Mr. Spence immediately reached out to shake Owen's hand. The two men knowing each other already, Mr. Spence was pretty high up on the Masrani Corp. ladder.

Hesitating for a moment, Owen glanced quickly over his shoulder and sighed heavily. He straightened up and gripped the curtain with one hand, reaching for Mr. Spence's hand with the other. "Look, I know you guys are itching for a story, but she's not even awake yet. I refuse to speak on her behalf. Hell, I refuse to speak on my behalf. She deserves privacy right now. I think we both know you have the power to do that." Owen paused as he watched Mr. Spence nod in agreement. "There is only one other person who needs to be walking through this door, Karen Mitchell. Once Claire wakes up it will be her decision when or even if she wants to speak to anyone else."

"I agree, Mr. Grady. I will be sure your word gets out. I also thought you would like to know that the shooter has pleaded guilty to all charges."

Owen nodded. "Thank you." He shut the door and turned to face Claire. The news should have made him feel better, but it only angered him more. Of course he'd plead guilty! He lost his fiancé and successfully went after his target. He's got nothing more to live for. At least he would rot in a jail cell. Though Owen would have preferred having the chance to bump into him on the street. Sure he felt bad the guy lost someone he loved, but Alec almost took the women he loved away from him and that didn't sit well with Owen. Especially since Claire has been working so hard to make things better.

Breathing in deeply to try and relax himself, he focused on Claire's face. Seeing her look peaceful helped calm him down. He reached out and ran his finger down her cheek, taking in the warmth of her skin. Owen moved his hand back up and this time using the back of his hand to softly move down her cheek. His eyes narrowed as he concentrated on her eyes. Normally this motion would have her stirring in her sleep and her eyes fluttering open. She would smile at him and lean into his touch.

"Come on, Claire." He whispered and leaned over her, this time using both his hands to move along her jawline. "Please." He sighed, letting his forehead touch hers. "I need you, you know. I don't know why that's so hard to admit to you, but I do." He pulled back to look at her face and leaned in to kiss the corner of her lips. "I love you." He whispered so low that almost he didn't hear it. His eyes widened, not expecting himself to say it out loud. Smiling at how it made his heart race to actually speak those words, he leaned down so his lips were at her ear. "I love you. You hear me?" He said again, this time more confident in his words. Disappointed when even admitting his feeling for her, she didn't respond. Maybe it was for the better. Would she hate him when she woke up? Would she not care how much he loved her? Either way he wouldn't blame her.

xxx

The hand soft on his back, rubbing soothing circles between his shoulder blades, made him squeeze his eyes shut. He knew he had to be dreaming. The hand soft and reassuring was a motion Claire did often whenever she woke up before he did. The hand stilled on his back. "Owen?" The whisper of his name had his eyes opening quickly.

Owen sat up from his slumped over position, his head on the bed beside Claire's hip. "Claire!" He gasped, his excitement quickly fading when she laid, still asleep.

"It's me." Owen jumped to his feet and spun around, alarmed at the voice behind him. Karen wrapped him in a hug before he could register that it was her hand on his back and not Claire. It was her whispering his name. Not Claire.

Clenching his teeth together to try and hold the tears in. He pulled out of her arms quicker than she wanted. She couldn't control her sobs. Owen stepped aside and Karen leaned over her sister, her hands sweeping across her face, her fingers combing through her hair. Finally she dropped into the chair Owen was sitting in and let her forehead drop to Claire's shoulder. "Hey, Claire Bear." Karen cried, wrapping her arms around her sister's shoulders.

Covering his mouth with his hand, Owen found himself failing miserably at hiding his emotions. He didn't know much about Karen, but watching Karen sob over Claire he couldn't help the guilt that ripped through him. He knew he should be trying to console Karen, but he couldn't do it. She is moments away from possibly forcing him out of the hospital room. He wouldn't blame her for making him leave. Claire was here because of him. He understood she would just be protecting her younger sister.

It was when Karen stood up and turned to face Owen, did he realize he had backed himself up to the door. She swiped her hands under her eyes to try to dry her face and walked quickly over to him. "I'm so sorry you had to do all of this on your own." She reached for him, but he flinched away.

His hand shot out, keeping her from hugging him again. He glanced over Karen's shoulder and then over his at the door. He wanted so badly to walk away and find air. He was suffocating, but he couldn't bring himself to walk away from Claire.

"Owen?" Karen took a slow step towards him. Her eyes focused on his face as she slowly reached up and wrapped her fingers around his wrist.

"Karen, don't." Owen said through clenched teeth.

Her eyes went wide and she tilted her head to the side. "Don't what?"

"This," He raised his left hand since Karen still had a hold of the other. With a shaky finger he pointed at Claire, "It's all my fault."

Karen raised an eyebrow and glanced quickly over her shoulder, following Owen's finger. "I'm confused. I thought her assistant's fiancé did it."

Owen shook his head, "No," then at Karen's wide-eyes and her grip on his wrist tightened, he quickly nodded, "I mean yes." He huffed and slumped back against the wall behind him, he dropped both his hands, but Karen still held tight to his right. "It's because of me." He said through clenched teeth.

Karen studied his face and sighed heavily, though she wasn't sure if it was from fear or frustration. "What exactly happened, Owen? Spit it out. My sister is laying in a coma right now. Shot! I need to know." Owen picked up on the frustration in her voice and looked up to meet her eyes. His heart dropped into his stomach and he couldn't hold back the tears. The look Karen was giving him was identical to Claire's when she would get mad at him. Green eyes glared at him.

"We…" Owen squeaked and quickly cleared his throat. "We got into a fight. She was getting overwhelmed by my fixation on keeping her in my sight…" He trailed off when he caught a hint of a smile on her face and she nodded slowly. "What?" He asked, wondering what he said that would have her smiling.

"That's my sister. She thinks she can handle the world on her own." Karen shrugged, dropped her grip on Owen and turned to face Claire. She leaned against the wall beside Owen.

Owen rolled his eyes and nodded in agreement. "Right, but maybe she was right. Maybe I was acting more of a body guard than a boy—" He cut himself off, not comfortable with calling himself her boyfriend right now. Not in front of Karen.

"So you argued and…" Karen thought for a moment and watched Owen look down at his hands. "She walked away." She concluded.

Owen nodded without looking up at her.

"She flipped out and walked away. Is that… is that when it happened?"

Owen shoved away from the wall and paced the floor in front of Karen. He nodded again without a single word.

"And you blame yourself because she walked away. She left your side and the asshole got his chance."

"God Dammit, Karen! Yes!" He stopped pacing, anger boiling through him. "We fought, she left and I let her go. I got the alert that he was outside seconds after she walked out the door. I tried getting to her! I can still hear the gunshot! I can't get it out of my head!" He didn't realize he was shaking until Karen pulled him into a tight hug.

Her hands did the familiar circles on his back and he dropped his forehead to her shoulder, unable to hold back anymore. Karen stood strong, holding up most of Owen's weight as he cried. She waited to speak until his body relaxed. "Can I tell you something about my sister?"

Owen lifted his head and took a deep breath.

"Claire has always been very stubborn. Even as a kid. She never played sports because she couldn't follow other's rules. She has always walked to the beat of her own drum. It's how she was able to be so successful at Jurassic World. If it's not Claire's way, it's the wrong way."

"That I know," Owen smiled, breathing in deeply to calm himself down.

"Of course Claire didn't handle being escorted around by you, but us Dearing women have a hard time communicating." Karen glanced down at her wedding band and took a deep breath before continuing. "Our paren't divorced when Claire was in college. I sent the boys off to Jurassic World to get a divorce." She looked back up at Owen and took his hands in hers. "This is not your fault. She would have found a way to get away from the secret service. I've known my sister all her life. She doesn't blame you."

Owen shook his head. "You don't know that. You weren't there."

"Maybe I wasn't there, but I know what you've done for her. She'd never admit it and she'll deny she ever told me, but you've been her rock through all of this. She has never admitted to feeling lost without relying on someone, but she feels that way with you."

"She told you all this?"

Karen winked, "I am her big sister."

They fell silent and both their gaze fell on Claire. They watched her for a few minutes. Maybe Karen was right. Maybe Claire won't blame him.

xxx

Karen and Owen took turns sitting beside Claire in the chair. The other would pace the room. Sleeping was easy to figure out. They took turns on the large lounge chair in the corner of the room. The nurses had brought blankets in when Owen first got there, but he couldn't bring himself to leave Claire's side to sleep. It was easier now with Karen there.

He could see the similarities in them. Karen immediately took the lead with handling the doctors and nurses that walked in the room to check on Claire. The way she spoke, strong and confident, even though she broke down once they were alone in the room.

"Why don't you get some sleep." Karen's voice caused Owen to jump. He was sitting in the chair beside Claire, his hand clutched tightly around hers.

"I—" He started, but she cut him off.

"I can tell by the dark circles under your eyes that you haven't had any sleep. I promise I will wake you up if anything changes."

He went to argue, but Karen folded her arms tight against her chest and the look in her eyes was daring him to argue with her. "Ok," he sighed and got up to move to the lounge chair.

Karen settled in the chair beside Claire and flipped through the channels on the TV. Owen relaxed, listening to the sitcom Karen settled on. It was nice not listening to the sound of the monitors. He wondered why he never thought to turn on the TV before.

The comedy seemed to lift the tension in the room and both Karen and Owen seemed to relax more. Owen finally able to close his eyes, the

"You know, Claire broke her arm once when she was seven."

"Oh?" Owen mumbled, half asleep, but interested in the story Karen was offering to share.

"Mmhmm…" Karen hummed and let out a snicker before continuing, "I was eleven and our parents trusted me to watch her for a few hours. They were going out to dinner and I felt I was too old for a babysitter." Karen shrugged and reached out to poke Claire's arm. "Mom and dad agreed on letting me stay home without a babysitter and Claire was mad because she was going to be dropped off at the sitter's house." Karen leaned back in the chair and relaxed as she continued her story. "She wanted to stay with me and I convinced our parents I was old enough to look after her…" Karen took a deep breath, "I told her it was time to come inside, but she decided she was going to play outside a little longer. She tried hiding from me by climbing this huge tree we had in the back yard. I climbed up after her, but the branch we were on was too weak to hold us both. I was close enough to the trunk to hold on, but she was too far out. It took me months to get the sound of her scream out of my head."

Owen opened his eyes to look at Karen when she stopped talking. She was smiling at him.

"No one is perfect, Owen. She doesn't always make the right decision, but she's got a heart of gold. My parents were so mad at me, but she was first to admit that it wasn't my fault she broke her arm. I was grounded because of it, and I remember she walked into my room with a handful of sharpie markers." Karen smiled at the memory and Owen couldn't help but smile along with her. "We turned her cast into a mural of different animals. She stayed with me the whole time I was grounded."

"Thanks, for sharing that, Karen." Owen chuckled, "Good to know at seven she couldn't be handled."

They both laughed and fell into a more comfortable silence as Owen fell asleep.