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.

PART 4

Claire knocked on the door infront of her and waited. She had found herself in a rather odd situation.

After her little accident with the pretty blonde, she had gone about her business... or lack of it. She wandered the city for a couple of hours, but was bored beyond belief. What was wrong with her? Why could she not relax? Was she so dependant on her job that she had to constantly be on the go? Was Claire Dearing's life really that empty?

However, before she could brood on that any further, she had discovered something. Whilst reaching for her purse when ordering a snack, she noticed something in her handbag that was not hers. Namely, a second purse. Inspecting it, Claire saw a somewhat-familar face in the purse's ID pocket. It was the woman she quite literally bumped into.

Claire considered handing it into the local police station, but instead decided to follow the address given in the ID card, the address of one "Alexis Murphy". The name was vaguely familiar, but Claire spoke to several people everyday when at work - it was probably an amalgamation of names she had heard in the past. As for going straight to the woman's home, it was perhaps inappropriate, yes, but... she had nothing else to do. At least it would kill a couple of hours.

So here she was, standing outside the suburban house. Claire was surprised how far from the inner city the address was: it had been years since she rode public transport. The redhead began shuffling her feet, until she saw a figure from within the house approach. When the door finally opened, Claire was rather taken aback.

Without her eyes heavy from tears, the blonde was actually very pretty... beautiful, in fact. Unbelievably, Claire was momentarily speechless. "Er... can I help you?" the woman asked, smiling warmly.

"I... I'm Claire," came the response. The redhead groaned inwardly. Why the hell was her name important? "I think I... have something of yours." Before Alexis could see her blush, Claire held out the purse.

Alexis' eyes widened as she took the item. "Oh my God. I... I didn't even know I'd lost it." She looked up at Claire, frowning. "How did you... ?"

"I think it must've fell in when we, er, bumped into eachother." Claire cleared her throat. "Our bags were kind of tangled up."

The blonde's jaw dropped. "You're the one I... ? Oh... oh, I'm sorry about that! I... my mind was elsewhere. I should've been watching where I was going. Are you alright?"

Claire held up a hand. "I'm fine, don't worry. I just thought you might want it back." She said that with a smile, hoping to bring some levity to things.

"You," -she grinned - "you guessed right. I'm Lex. Won't you come in? Would you like a coffee or... ?"

"No, that's OK," answered Claire. "I don't want to bother you. And I'm sorry I've just turned up like this, but I thought it would be easier to give it straight to you rather than having to go through the police. But, er... I did have to look in it for your address." She chuckled. "Clearly, or I wouldn't be here."

"Thanks so much," Lex said, and she sounded genuine enough, Claire thought. But then the blonde frowned again. "Hang on... that coffee shop was in the business district. And I don't see a car or cab. Are you telling me you've come all the way here on the bus?"

"It's fine, really... "

"And you're just going to go? Please, it was my fault." Lex pouted somewhat... or maybe Claire just imagined it. "Unless you have somewhere to be. I don't want to wreck up your day anymore than I have."

"Oh no, I have nothing else to do," said Claire before she realised it. "I... er, I'm on vacation, but I have nothing planned." She should stop talking.

Lex's face lit up. "Well, in that case, I insist. I'm not having you come all this way just to leave. Please." Before giving Claire a chance to agree, Lex stood back, leaving the doorway clear. Knowing she had no choice - again - Claire stepped into the house... and was once more surprised at what she saw.

The walls were sparse. It looked like all the pictures and shelf adornments had been taken down. "This is a... er... lovely place."

"I'm moving house," Lex said quickly. Sure enough, as Claire walked further she saw various boxes around the hallway. Once in the lounge, Claire was again met with largely-empty trappings. Instead she only saw more boxes.

But there was one thing conspicuous by its presense. An easel. "You paint?" Claire asked.

Lex appeared embarrassed. "Oh, it's just a hobby. My job is in computers. How do you have your coffee?" Once Claire answered and Lex disappeared into the kitchen, the redhead returned her attention to the easel. Next to it were various painting tools, including brushes, paints and canvases. There were even a couple of paintings on the floor, rested up against the wall. Claire was no expert, but she thought they were pretty damn good. Hearing Lex making coffee however, made Claire turn around. She decided not to cause anymore bother by continuing to snoop through this charming woman's things. Claire entered the kitchen just as Lex finished their drinks. "Hope that's OK," the blonde said. "So you're on vacation? What do you do?"

"I work at a theme park," said Claire... then was startled at the slight jump Lex made. "Are you OK?" Lex's face appeared to fall; in fact, it was similar to when they "met" in the city.

Lex seemed to shrug it off. "I'm fine. I'm just not a big fan of theme parks." Her eyes widened. "Oh, I didn't mean to be rude. I just... I had a rather bad experience when I was a kid. I try not to think about it." She sighed. "Silly, I know."

"It's not silly at all," Claire soothed. She decided to change the subject: clearly, Lex was not going to say anymore - who was she to ask her to? Instead, they focused on Lex's work, her upcoming relocation, and Claire's so-far-uneventful holiday. Before either knew it, two hours had passed. Claire was amazed at how wonderful this woman was. Kind, warm, funny... and the more she saw her, the more Claire noticed her beauty.

Appropriately enough, eventually the subject of relationships cropped up. However, before Claire could bring up her unsuccessful time with Owen, Lex said something that caught the redhead completely offguard. "Relationships can be hard. I can't seem to make them work. My last girlfriend dumped me on my birthday."

Under different circumstances, Claire would have reacted to that appalling behaviour, but instead her mind latched onto one thing. Girlfriend? That was... interesting.

Maybe this holiday would not be so uneventful after all...

TO BE CONTINUED