Immediate Fallout - Chapter 3

Of all the tasks Owen had been assigned, this, he decided, was definitely the worst. It's not that the other tasks were all that much better – he didn't enjoy dealing with the remains at the raptor paddock. But there was always something about injured baby animals that got to him and the gentle giants at the petting zoo had not fared well in the aftermath. There were a couple who had escaped relatively unscathed. But the majority had either been killed or had received injuries that left them on the brink of death.

At first, he had thought that their task with the vets was going to be saving them. To patch them up and make them whole again. He wasn't ready for what their real task was. The entire situation just felt wrong. The weather wasn't cooperating – the sun was high in the bright blue sky, with just a few wispy clouds around. Where was rain when you needed it? Or at least a dark, gray sky? Something more befitting of their actions.

During a pause in their task, Owen retrieved his phone, wanting the lifeline it brought him. The link and reminder that there were happy times ahead. He couldn't bring himself to share what he was doing, though, and he settled on a different message. Hey, need any t-shirts? He followed it up with two more in quick succession: Or sweatshirts?, Or stuffed animals?

He didn't manage to check his phone until after the next baby triceratops had been euthanized, its cries petering out along with its life.

What are you talking about? Claire had responded.

This place is riddled with souvenirs. I keep tripping over random crap. What's going to happen to it all?

Left to rot, I guess.

Claire's response made him pause. Huh, maybe this wasn't actually a happier conversation topic.

Really? Thought HQ would be worried about choking dinosaurs.

Are they really that stupid? Owen hated that he didn't actually know how to take that comment. Was she joking, or was she actually concerned and needing an earnest response? Just another reminder that while this incident was bringing them closer, there was still so much he didn't know about her.

Nah, they'll be fine. :) Owen looked around at the dead and dying dinosaurs surrounding him and let out a long sigh. Well, some of them would be fine. The rest...

"Hey Owen, we need you over here?" A vet called out, waving him over. Owen stuffed his phone back into his vest pocket. Time to get back to work.

x x x

"Again, let me say how sorry I am for your loss." Claire hung up the phone on her desk, before letting her head fall forward, forehead resting on her arms that were crossed on her desk. Did this ever get easier? Twenty-seven people had died either during the incident or as a direct result of injuries sustained from it. Twenty of them were employed by either Masrani Global or InGen. Thankfully, only seven were guests.

As one of the highest ranking on-island employees left, Claire had been tasked with making condolence calls to the twenty employees. There was a part of her that had hoped she wouldn't have to do both the Masrani and InGen employees, but, really, everyone was Masrani at the end of the day, with InGen just being a subsidiary. So far, she'd completed 9 of the calls.

Each one had been brutal. And while the general context was the same, they were somehow startlingly unique, branding themselves into her memory to haunt her over the nights to come. Pushing up from the desk, she reached for the stack of papers she'd pushed to the side during the call. On the top sheet, she used a pen to cross off the name of the latest family. She knew she should move on to the next one – try to get them all over and done with, so she could put the task behind her.

She couldn't do it. Not now. Not without a distraction first. Something to recenter her. Help her find some balance in all the chaos swirling around her. Reaching for her phone to text Owen felt like a natural instinct now. Claire could still barely believe how much her life had changed over the past 10 days. While she had fond memories (combined with many frustrating ones) of her interactions with Owen pre and post their first date, over the past few days, as they had reconnected through phone calls and text messages, she had come to realize that he was helping her maintain her tenuous grasp on her sanity. That he provided a feeling of safety she'd never expected she'd want or get from another person, having always relied on herself first and foremost.

Hey. She felt a little silly sending her message, but she just wanted a connection without any of the heavy emotional drama of her day weighing in.

Hey. I was just thinking about you.

Yeah?

Just walked by what's left of the Starbucks. Could really go for a Americano. Never would've thought I'd miss overpriced coffee.

I actually think today I could go for tequila.

Really? Would you be willing to eat the worm? Owen's response included the little worm emoji, which made Claire crack a smile, her first of the day.

"Definitely didn't expect to see you smiling," Lowery commented, sticking his head into her office and causing Claire to look up at him in surprise.

"Not much to smile about," Claire shrugged, and Lowery nodded in agreement, entering her office and sinking into one of the guest chairs opposite her desk.

"What have you been up to?" Lowery asked, picking at the armrest on the chair, not meeting her gaze.

"Condolence calls," Claire sighed, and Lowery looked up at her in shock.

"Really?"

"Yep," Claire said as she lifted the stack of paper in front of her and tilted it slightly so Lowery could just see it. "I've made it through nine."

"Sorry."

"What about you?" Claire asked, as her phone vibrated with a new text message. She resisted the urge to look.

"Reports," Lowery said simply. "Lots and lots of reports. They've been sending back information from Nublar and, apparently, my new job is to just synthesize the information into reports."

"Want to trade?" Claire gestured to the pile of papers on her desk.

"No way," Lowery shook his head frantically. "Not unless you want another round of lawsuits."

"Ugh, don't make me think of those." Claire rubbed at her temples, feeling the headache that seemed to always persist these days growing stronger.

Lowery glanced down at his watch, before pushing up from the chair. "I've got a meeting I need to get to. Just needed…"

"Yeah," Claire nodded, understanding the connection Lowery craved. She craved it, too.

Lowery hesitated for a moment, before asking. "Hey, have you seen Vivian? I'm surprised she's not here."

"She gave her deposition and then went back to the States," Claire filled in. "She left after the field test and didn't have much to add. She wasn't keen to stick around."

Lowery nodded slowly, and Claire felt a pang of sympathy for him. She'd known he had a crush on his colleague, but she'd also known (via the gossip grapevine where Zara had always seemed to be a central hub) that Vivian had a long distance, but very strong, relationship.

She watched Lowery leave, before she picked up her phone to see Owen's latest text – Come on, would you really eat it?

Depends. What do I get if I do? Claire sent back.

What do you want? Owen's reply was almost immediate.

Now that was a loaded question. Claire considered her answer carefully, before texting back A second date?, followed by a winking emoji.

Setting down her phone, she turned back to the stack of paper, flipping to the information about the next person on her list. Time to make another call.

x x x

They had been back on Nublar for almost two weeks. In that time, all of their missions seemed to suggest the same thing: no one was coming back after they left. Everything they'd been doing – from moving the penned animals to the open areas of the island to shipping lab equipment back to San Diego to finishing the mosasaur canal – suggested that the park was not reopening. That the humans were going to leave the dinosaurs to fend for themselves. Owen and Barry hadn't discussed it openly, but there was plenty of nonverbal communication to this effect. As they made preparations to ensure the self-sufficiency of yet another species, Mac was cursing into his phone several yards away.

Owen gritted his teeth, frustrated by being kept in the dark and not able to think about the future. Not that he was one to plan too far ahead. Finding solace in the good memories on Nublar had become his primary coping mechanism. He'd focused on the joyful times raising and training the raptors while building his working relationship with Barry into a strong friendship. Thinking about his interactions with Claire gave him mixed emotions. Although there were definitely good times, she confused him – he told her as much during the disagreement that had ended… whatever it was they were before the Indominus escaped. The ending that had come by way of her denying that she was attracted to him. Definitely not a good memory.

On the other hand, Barry talked openly about his future. He looked forward to returning to his longtime girlfriend, Nicole, back on Martinique. They'd previously discussed not wanting to get married, but (in the aftermath), Barry had changed his tune. Trapped in a tree trunk with Blue clawing her way to him, all he could think about was never seeing Nicole again. It left him with a sobering clarity of mind. He told Owen that he'd be eternally grateful for his drawing the raptor away. Owen stopped short of revealing his evolving thoughts about Claire, but Barry could tell that something had shifted between his friend and the former Senior Assets Manager.

By the time Mac made his way over to where they were standing, Owen suspected that Claire's title was firmly in the past. "Well, boys," the surly contractor began, "it's official. The insurance company for the park just filed for bankruptcy." Barry and Owen exchanged an unsurprised, sideways glance. "I guess the astronomical rates they were charging Masrani were mismanaged." Mac echoed something Hoskins had said about Simon Masrani being detached from his holdings and then speculated that InGen would likely fracture since the the park wasn't reopening. Owen zoned out, not wanting to hear conspiracy theories now that the outcome he anticipated had been confirmed. He needed a distraction and turned to his other coping mechanism.

Unlocking his phone, he texted Claire: Today's "big predator day." While waiting for her response, he admitted to himself that his earlier behaviors had probably confused her as much as her behaviors had confused him.

Mac had already motioned for them to follow him when Claire's reply finally appeared, What does that mean? Owen was practically skipping at this, and Barry just rolled his eyes as they walked.

Checking on the T. rex.

Checking… what do you mean by checking?

We don't actually know how injured she was by the Indominus. Need to confirm her condition.

Be careful.

Based on the speed of her reply, Owen wondered if he'd worried her. In all honesty, he was nervous about this particular mission. He crafted a light-hearted retort intended to soothe them both: I've got a flare.

That'll bring her *to* you. Send her the other way.

Wincing at the joke that didn't land and concerned he'd worried her further, Owen countered, How can we check her if we can't see her? He waited for what felt like an eternity then looked up to a sharp glare from Mac. Swallowing hard, he quickly typed, I'll be fine, before putting his phone back in a vest pocket. To avoid any further confusion, Owen decided that he'd call her immediately upon his safe return.

x x x

It took about ten minutes into the high-level staff meeting being held by the board before Claire really clued into what was going on. And the moment she did, she felt stupid for not realizing it before. She could feel the blood draining out of her face as it sunk in, and she directed her gaze down to the table in front of her, trying to buy herself a few moments to get it together.

"... and so, it has become clear over the course of the debriefings, that Simon Masrani made some critical errors…"

Claire couldn't stay focused long enough to actually absorb what they were saying. Instead, she just caught fragments. But it was more than enough. And she knew how this would play out. She didn't need to hear all the details. Those weren't for her, anyway, and what difference would it make? It was all going to be thrust on Simon. Her boss. Her mentor. Her friend.

And there was nothing he could do to defend himself. He was dead. One of the 27 casualties of that fateful day. And sure, she understood their reasoning. He did make mistakes. But so did she. And Owen. And Lowery. And the board themselves, for letting Hoskins and his idiotic plan take over. Not that she would ever say that. No matter how much she wanted to.

She slid her phone across the table, before hiding it discreetly in her lap, pulling up her message history with Owen. She quickly sent a request: Tell me something happy.

While she waited for a response, she tried to look engaged in the meeting. Modelling the reactions of those around her to nod and smile at the right moments.

Why? What happened?

She was halfway through typing out that they're going to try to pin it all on Masrani when she stopped herself, deleting the message. She couldn't say that. Couldn't have a record of her saying anything about this plan. She settled for I just need to hear something happy.

I got a glimpse of Blue today. No contact, but she's alive.

"... of course, we understand that this is going to be difficult. We all liked and respected Mr. Masrani. He was our friend. Our colleague. We'll start disseminating this message at the press conference tomorrow. Claire …" Claire didn't actually catch what they wanted her to do, but she nodded along, a fake smile pasted across her face. She could see Kevin diligently writing notes. She would figure out what she agreed to later.

Claire?

Looking back at her phone, she realized that she had never responded to Owen. Thanks.

Seriously, you okay?

Just… another long day.

You know you can tell me, right? Anything.

The sound of chairs being pushed back and papers rustling made Claire look up again. The meeting was obviously over, everyone gathering their stuff and filing out the door. She tapped out a final message of I know, before storing her phone back in her pocket. She could feel it buzz almost immediately, but she'd have to look later. She had to figure out what she just agreed to, first.

x x x

The on-island tasks were coming to an end. Owen had known that for a while, as the number of personnel around had dropped steadily over the last couple of days. He had known it was just a matter of time before he was told that his job was done, too. And now it had come. He'd be heading to San Diego tomorrow. InGen wanted all of their employees to go through an internal debriefing process aside from all of the official Masrani Global and other legal processes.

Hey. Do you have time to talk? Owen sent the text to Claire as he left the meeting. He'd been assuming, hoping, that he was going to be heading to San Jose when he was finally let off the island. San Diego was a disappointment but not really a surprise. It was where InGen's headquarters were located, after all, and the most natural spot to gather their employees.

While he waited for a response, he headed out of the building and towards the lagoon. He wasn't sure what was drawing him there. And when he reached it, he stayed well back from the railing, not wanting to tempt the mosasaur. Maybe because the mosasaur represented both an end and a beginning, and now that he was heading off to San Diego, it felt like he was about to embark on a new chapter.

As he gazed over the lagoon, watching for ripples on the water's surface – evidence of the mosasaur swimming below – his phone rang. He paused only long enough to confirm it was Claire before answering with a drawn out "Hi."

"Hey," Claire replied, and Owen could feel the tension melting away just from the sound of her voice. "What's up?"

"Just wanted to hear your voice," Owen admitted, blushing as the words tumbled out.

"Yeah?" The slight lilt in Claire's voice made him wonder if she was blushing too. Jesus, what he wouldn't give to be having this conversation face-to-face.

"I got some news today," Owen told her. "I'm headed off-island tomorrow."

"But…?" Claire questioned. "It sounds like you're about to say 'but.'"

"But not to San Jose," Owen finished.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"San Diego?" Claire questioned.

"Yep. InGen wants all employees to go through an internal debriefing there. I don't know what else they think they're going to learn," Owen scrubbed one hand through his hair in frustration, catching a glimpse of the mosasaur as it swam by, just below the surface.

"No such thing as too much paperwork in a situation like this," Claire agreed with a heavy sigh.

"There's always a such thing as too much paperwork," Owen disagreed. "They're not even planning to re-open… shouldn't that cut down somewhat on all of this?"

"You would think," Claire hummed. "But, with the lawsuits starting to pile up, they need every t crossed and i dotted. It's going to be a long slog."

"How long are you stuck in San Jose?"

"Not sure. The board's trying to get their whole defence sorted out before they let us go stateside. They seem to think we'll be bothered less here. It's stupid and not true, but…"

"I was really hoping to see you soon," Owen confessed.

"Me, too."

"God," Owen groaned. "I have to sort out where I'm staying in San Diego. Can you believe that? They're not even setting up lodging for us."

"You should stay at my place," the words were out of Claire's mouth before she could stop them, and the line fell silent on both ends.

After a long pause, Owen tentatively asked, "Really? I mean… you don't–"

"Why not?" Claire replied. "I've got a condo there. And I keep a set of keys stored at the front desk because I never know when I'm going through there."

"You sure?" Owen asked again. "I mean… it's your place. And… won't you need somewhere to stay?"

"You saying you don't want to share a place with me?" Claire teased, and Owen was relieved that he could tell she was teasing.

"More I didn't think you'd want to share a place with me," he replied.

"We're supposed to stick together, right?" Claire's voice was a bit timid, and Owen couldn't bring himself to tease her again.

"Absolutely," he paused, before adding. "For survival."

So, writing and planning this has involved more re-watches of JW and FK then you can imagine. Although, rarely just start to finish, more jumping around and looking super closely at various scenes to try to make sure we get all our facts right. It's tough. Some of the choices in FK really don't mesh well with JW (like the mosasaur's lagoon actually being part of the ocean or Claire being both the Senior Assets Manager and Operations Manager, depending on where you look). We're trying to keep this story in canon and lining up with both movies as much as possible. But we're having to extrapolate a lot and try to justify other choices Colin and JA made. If you notice something, let us know. It's going to be impossible to line up 100%, but we're doing our best.

That said, encouragement from readers goes a long way. Trying to carve out time to write can be tough. Comments are the best motivation you can provide - even if they're critiques. We'll try our best to reply to them all.