Chapter 5
~ Jo ~
"You're quiet," Owen said, his hand caressing the exposed skin of my back.
"Hmm?" I asked, lifting my head off his chest slightly, looking up at him.
"I said you're awfully quiet. What's wrong?"
Talk about a loaded question. What wasn't wrong?
After Owen's incredibly close call we'd left the paddock and come straight home, no one questioning our departure. As it turns out almost dying earns you some undisputed time off. I'd driven home, following behind Owen in a daze, unable to remember the journey. We hadn't taken more than a few steps through the door before we were wrapped in each others arms, slowly making our way towards the bedroom as we left a trail of clothes in our wake. The overwhelming need to reassure ourselves that everything was alright, that he was alive and unharmed the only sensation that registered.
It wasn't until later, when we were laying together, our limbs still tangled and our bodies flushed, that I let myself feel. It was a mistake. The second I lowered the barriers in my mind I was bombarded with so many emotions it sucked the air right out of my lungs. My mind refused to stop replaying the scene from the paddock over and over again.
My life was a series of horrific situations followed by tragic conclusions, all hard to process and definitely enough fuel to keep Dr. Price busy for a lifetime, but I dealt with them. Not well, mind you, but I was getting better at sharing and caring with my diary so there was that.
What I'd stood witness to today threatened to undo me.
When Owen had rushed into the paddock I'd felt true terror engulf my body like flames in a raging inferno. Watching him face down four Velociraptors with only words as his protection had been the worst kind of torture. Knowing I might be forced to watch the man I love ripped to shred before my very eyes with no way to stop it was my own personal Hell.
When I'd met Owen I never dreamed he'd become my lifeline. The mere notion of my life without him was laughable. I'd become one of those people so tangled up in a relationship that I didn't know where I ended and he began. It should horrify me, it should definitely make me nervous, but instead it brought me comfort.
Go figure.
There was no going back now; he was a permanent fixture in my soul. He'd made me believe, for the first time in my life, that I was worth it. That I mattered simply because he loved me. For most of my life I'd felt all but invisible, steeped in the firm knowledge that no one would miss me if I were gone. Owen changed that. He taught me to love, helped me heal, and gave me the thing I'd craved since I was a girl…a family.
And today I'd almost lost him.
Unable to swallow the lump in my throat or hold his eyes any longer I took the coward's way out, resting my head on his chest. There were a million things I wanted to say…needed to say, but I couldn't spit them out.
I was choking on silence, and it was killing me.
He deserved to hear me tell him all the things I felt in my heart, but old habits die hard. Before Owen I believed relationships were only good for breaking things: hearts, promises, and for those unlucky few, condoms. I was trying to leave my fears where they belonged, in my past, but I was still holding back.
The worst part was he knew it, but he didn't care. He never once demanded anything I couldn't give him. The shame of his blind acceptance was all the proof I needed that I didn't deserve him. Closing my eyes I took a deep breath. He deserved better and I would try my hardest to give it to him. I couldn't let another minute tick by without telling this man that he was my everything.
I sat up quickly, tucking my hair behind my ears, my nerves frayed. Owen raised his eyebrows, but stayed silent.
"Today, when you rushed into the paddock," I paused, licking my lips to buy some time so I could gather my erratic thoughts. "I've never been so scared."
I exhaled harshly, dropping my hands, the weight of the confession making it hard to look up. When he didn't respond right away I chanced a look at his face and immediately wanted to slap him. His eyes were trained on my chest, his mouth slightly ajar, a small amount of drool pooling in the corner of his mouth. Glancing down at my bare breasts I rolled my eyes. Boobs were scientific proof men were able to focus on two things at once, but how much cognitive brain function was left over after that was anyone's guess. Reaching towards the floor I snatched up a tank top, pulling it on hastily.
As soon as my boobs were covered Owen blinked, his eyes refocusing as he cleared his throat. "Did you say something?"
Shaking my head I asked him, "I'm honestly surprised you make it through the day sometimes. Seriously, what percentage of decisions do you make with the wrong head?"
He moved so quickly I didn't have time to mount a defense. One minute he was lying lazily in front of me, his eyes sleepy and lustful, the next he was hovering over the top of me, his body pinning me to the mattress.
"Well that depends," he whispered, pressing into me.
"On?" I was rapidly forgetting the point of this conversation. There was a direct correlation between my ability to think and Owen's proximity. Right now I was lucky I remembered how to convert oxygen to carbon dioxide.
"On whether or not your boobs are bouncing in front of my face."
"My boobs were not bouncing in front of your face," I scoffed. "I raised my arm like an inch, that would hardly create any bouncing."
Never in my life would I believe I would be having this conversation.
"They were jiggling a little," he laughed, smothering my reply in a kiss before pulling back and asking, "Seriously, what were you saying?"
Before I could open my mouth to answer him my phone rang, For the Love of Money by The O'Jays booming from the nightstand. Owen and I looked at each other then at the phone.
"I say we let voicemail handle it," I offered, unwilling to rejoin the real world just yet. I mean, who could really blame me? I currently had 6'3" inches of solid, muscled, raptor trainer on top of me. I would bet my salary that not one woman on this island would move an inch even the bungalow caught fire, and probably a few men.
"You're awfully optimistic," Owen replied as I wrapped my arms around his neck. The ringing cut off just as his tongue swept out, brushing across my lips. I moaned, opening my mouth to him as I locked my legs around his waist. Just when things were starting to get interesting my phone rang again.
"Jesus, Simon is a freaking cock blocker," I whined, my head falling back. Owen laughed, rolling off me and sitting up.
"Might as well get it over with." He was already making his way into the bathroom. My mouth got a little dry watching him walk around the room in all his naked glory. It should be illegal to look that sexy. Sighing dramatically I heaved myself up, grabbing my phone off the nightstand with irritation.
"Do you have some kind of internal sensor that lets you know when the worst possible time to call is?" I barked into the phone.
"No, its simply a gift," Simon retorted, not sounding the least bit offended.
"I hate you sometimes." Like when you interrupt sexy time.
"Shockingly you aren't the first person to tell me that." No kidding, I bet I wasn't even the first person to tell him that today. "While I normally wouldn't bother you two, especially after what happened, I thought I should let you know Claire is on her way over."
"Claire who?"
"Claire Dearing." He said it like that should explain everything.
I glanced briefly at the closed bathroom door trying to figure out why in the world Simon would send Claire to our house. Was he trying to start World War III?
"I guess you felt like one near death experience wasn't sufficient for the day?"
Claire and Owen didn't hate each other per say, it was more like they had a hard time existing around each other without physical violence. Sure, there was some dislike between them, but if they could just get their weirdness in sync I thought they had a shot at friendship.
OK, so that was pushing it.
Realistically, they had a shot at being distance acquaintances (who sometimes tried to main each other), but that would be better than the present scenario. They kinda had a brother, sister vibe going, but the fact they'd gone on a date just made that theory creepy. Last I checked this wasn't West Virginia.
"She's going to read him into the I-Rex program," he stated bluntly.
Sitting up straighter, I pressed the phone closer to my ear. "What? Why?"
My stomach tightened, and I felt a headache start building behind my eyes. Not that I wasn't thrilled Owen would "officially" be informed about the biggest mistake on the island, but the timing made no sense. Why now? A chill raced over my skin causing goose bumps to break out on my arms and legs. I had all kinds of bad feelings about this.
"I've asked Claire to bring him to the paddock. I would like his assessment of it before we move forward. We're weeks away from unveiling her to the public, and I want to make sure we have our basis covered."
I'm sorry, what?
You can't bullshit a bullshitter, and that lame ass answer made zero sense.
I could admit Owen was one of the few people on the island qualified to assess the paddock, but so was I and I'd already done that…about 1,000 times.
"Are you still there?" he asked.
"I'm sorry, did you say something?" I shot back, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "I tend to go deaf when I hear bullshit."
Simon sighed on the other end of the phone. "It isn't that I don't trust your evaluation of the paddock, but I feel it could be useful to have someone with fresh eyes take a look." Yeah, still not buying it. "Plus, we can all stop pretending like he doesn't already know," Simon finished.
The bathroom door opened, a cloud of steam following Owen as he walked towards the closet, the towel wrapped around his waist seemingly defying the laws of physics. I watched transfixed as tiny droplets of water trailed down his chest slowly, traversing every ripple of his abs before disappearing completely beneath his towel. I've never wanted to be a water droplet more in my life than I did at this very moment. I swear my brain was going to explode from sensory overload.
"I don't know…" I started, struggling to sling coherent words together in order to deny his accusation, but he cut me off.
"Jo, please don't insult my intelligence or yours," he interrupted, "I think we both know Owen has known about the I-Rex for as long as you have."
This was about the time a smart person would take the 5th to avoid self-incrimination.
No one had ever accused me of being smart.
"Why make it official now? What's changed?" While I hadn't confirmed his accusation I also hadn't denied it. I'd been on Simon for a year to bring Owen into the project once I realized he wasn't willing to drop a nuke on the hybrid. While almost everyone on the island knew "something" was being unveiled in a few weeks only a very limited group of people were privy to the actual details. Even fewer still had ever laid eyes on her.
"I went out there today," he started before pausing for so long I looked at my phone to see if we'd been disconnected. "When I saw her…" he trailed off.
I could hear the fear in his voice. I recognized it instantly because I felt the same thing each and every time I laid eyes on that monster. Everyone working on the I-Rex project was subjected to a state of perpetual fear that followed us around like our own personal rain cloud. That thing was a definite Debby Downer.
"Simon, it's not too late. You don't have to do this," I pleaded. Owen was now dressed and standing silently by the door, his eyes focused on me.
I couldn't explain it, but I felt like this was my last chance. Somehow I knew that everything I'd been fighting against was rapidly approaching like a speeding train. We were at a crossroads, and I was out of time.
"It's already done," Simon stated, reverting back to his "business voice", leaving no room for argument. "There's no going back now. I want you to go with Claire when she takes Owen to the paddock. We're missing something and I want it figured out before we expose the public to that thing."
That "thing".
Good choice of words.
Simon took one look at the I-Rex and realized it was no mere dinosaur. That "thing" was the bringer of death, plain and simple.
"Yeah, OK," I answered.
"Be careful," he told me, hanging up without another word. My hand dropped into my lap as my eyes found Owen's.
"This can't be good," he stated, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Claire's on her way over."
"Claire who?" My lips twitched at his bewildered expression. It was like déjà vu.
"Claire Dearing."
"What did I do now?" he questioned, eyeing me carefully.
I stood up, making my way towards the bathroom. If Simon sent Claire on a mission to our house the smart money said she'd be here any minute. That woman took her work seriously, even when it involved making house calls to one of her least favorite people.
"She's been given clearance to bring you onto the I-Rex project," I answered plainly, giving him a minute to absorb the implications. "Simon wants us out at the paddock, today."
Owen licked his lips, his forehead scrunched up in thought. "This isn't going to end well."
I snorted. "No shit."
After I showered and dressed I found Owen outside sitting on an old bucket fixing his motorcycle, a beer at his feet. This was his "thinking position". He didn't hear me shut the door or make my way over to him, which spoke volume about his state of mind. Owen had the ears of a bat so I knew his mind was far away when the first time he noticed me was when I dropped into a lawn chair next to him. He gave me a tight smile before returning his attention to the bike, taking a slow pull from his beer.
That feeling was back, the one that had been lingering in the back of my mind for months. It was the same feeling you get when you are sick and you knew puking was in your immediate future. Twisting my hands in my lap I looked out towards the ocean, watching the waves crash on the shore in perfect synchronization. The repetitive nature would almost be soothing if I could block out sickening feeling in my stomach.
How was it possible this place was equal parts dream and nightmare?
"Everything's going to be alright," Owen stated, interrupting my gloomy thoughts.
"I know." I didn't know that, but I didn't know what else to say. I had lobbied for months for Owen's involvement, and now that it was official I didn't want Owen within 100 miles of that paddock. Worse still, within the hour he'd be within spiting distance. Oh yeah, I was going to puke. "Promise me something?" I asked, my voice timid to my own ears.
He stopped fiddling on his bike, giving me his undivided attention. I stared at his handsome face, memorizing every detail, steeling myself for what was to come.
"No matter what happens today, promise me that if you have the chance to save yourself you'll take it."
"Jo, what…" he began, confused by my request.
Shaking my head I stopped his questions, "Just promise me. If it comes down to it, if you have to make a choice between yourself and someone else, promise me you'll choose yourself." Even if the someone else was me, I silently added in my head.
The last part came out a whisper; so quiet that if he wasn't wearing a stunned expression I would have thought he didn't hear me. Slowly, our eyes locked on each other, understanding dawning on his face. He rapidly started shaking his head, anger replacing confusion.
"No," he said simply, sheer determination the only emotion I could decipher. "Nothing is going to happen. Do you hear me? You and I will be fine. Everyone will be fine."
I didn't know who he was trying to convince with his statement, me or himself?
Unable to hold his intense gaze I dropped my eyes. "I want to believe that too, but I just…don't. I can't explain it, but I have a bad feeling about today. Promise me," I pleaded.
He sighed, running his hands through his hair. I wasn't sure he was going to answer, but then he said, "Only if you promise me the same thing. Promise me you won't take any unnecessary risks with your life."
Dragging my eyes back to his I swallowed thickly. "I promise," I told him.
He studied me carefully, looking for any indication I wasn't being truthful before nodding once, satisfied. "Me too," he replied, winking at me to lighten the mood before turning his attention back to the bike.
I tried not to feel guilty about crossing my fingers behind my back. It was juvenile to think that made the blatant lie I'd just told OK, but the truth was I'd do just about anything to ensure Owen's safety, even if it meant putting my own life on the line. As I watched him work on his bike my heart ached. I'd lied to him, and I wasn't sure he'd forgive me for it.
Owen hadn't asked for a lot from me, but the truth was something he expected. Until this moment I'd never had a problem giving it to him. I could only hope that he could find a way to understand when this was all over. It hadn't escaped my attention that if things progressed the way I feared I might not be around to deal with his wrath when it was all said and done. The thought was as sobering as it was sad.
About ten minutes later Claire's silver SUV pulled up alongside our house. She quickly got out, but stopped immediately to fix her hair in the cars tinted windows. She was dressed head to toe in white with a stylish jacket draped over her shoulders. She looked ready to take over Wall Street not escort us to an animal paddock.
How did she manage to keep that outfit clean?
Owen raised his eyebrows at me and I shrugged in response to his unspoken question, Claire's abilities were outside my wheelhouse. I had a hard time not spilling mustard on my shirt when I ate a hotdog.
She slowly made her way towards us, careful with each step as her heels sank into the soft ground.
"Mr. Grady, I need you to take a look at something," Claire started, stopping a good five feet from us. The whole thing was so uncomfortable I was tempted to pretend to text on my phone just so I would have something to do other than stew in this awkwardness.
"Why are you calling me Mr. Grady?" Owen asked, clearly confused at her approach.
"Feel free to address me as Ms. King if you want," I offered. "It's got a nice ring to it." Claire's eyes slide to mine as she pursed her lips before looking back towards Owen.
"Owen," she amended. "And I need you to come too Jo, if you aren't too busy."
She emphasized my name then looked around our house as if to insinuate we clearly should have time considering we were doing, nothing. She wasn't wrong. It was the middle of the work day and all we'd accomplished so far was Owen almost getting eaten by raptors, mid-morning sex, followed by a few beers. I mean, it was a successful day in my book, but something told me Claire set her bar a little higher.
"I'm pretty busy," Owen answered, taking a swig of beer. I adjusted my sunglasses, pinching the bridge of my nose.
"We have an attraction," Claire began before Owen cut her off.
"That's not what you said the last time I saw you." Claire's eyes widened in shock, her head swinging to me.
"Really? In front of your girlfriend?" she scolded Owen who just smirked. God he was an asshole sometimes, it made me smile. Only a fellow asshole can appreciate the true asshole in someone else.
"Alright, alright, fighters to your corners," I said, standing up. "Claire, why don't you tell us what brought you to our humble abode."
"I'm here to talk about the dinosaurs," she said plainly, pinning Owen with a scathing glare. "A new species we've made actually."
Owen considered her words then turned and walked towards his workbench. "You just went and made a new dinosaur?"
"Can we not do this?" Claire asked.
"Do what?" he asked.
"Pretend like you don't know about the I-Rex," she clarified, looking over to me. "I think it would save us all time if you just admit you know about the hybrid and get in the car."
I put my hands up, shrugging. "I would never," I told her in mock outrage. She raised her eyebrows, putting her hands on her hips. "OK, so maybe I would."
"Anyways, the exhibit opens to the public in three weeks, and Mr. Masrani wants you to consult on the paddock. We'd like you to evaluate it for vulnerabilities."
"Why me?" he called out, climbing the stairs and making his way into his shed.
Claire looked at me, "Are you going to help me with this?"
"Help you with what? Convincing him to visit the Grim Reaper? I don't think so." OK, so I was being difficult, but could she blame me? This was a pretty big ask.
She glared at me. "He doesn't listen to anyone but you. Can't you just…make him do it?"
I choked on a laugh. "Make him do it?" I repeated, my hands on my knees as I shook with laughter. "How, might I ask, would you propose I go about that?"
"You could…you know…" she stuttered, her face the picture of embarrassment.
"Claire, I'm good, but I don't have a magical vagina. I can't make him do anything."
"Oh my god," she replied, her face scrunching up in disgust. "I did not…that was just…ever heard of oversharing Jo?"
"That's not oversharing, that's a fact. Oversharing would be telling you how he does this thing with…"
"Stop!" she yelled, using her hands as earmuffs. I wasn't even trying to contain my laughter now.
"I'm kidding." I really wasn't, but I didn't think Claire was ready to hear the truth. I decided to take mercy on the poor girl. "Owen, hurry up! We gotta go see Freddy Krueger!" I called out.
He appeared from around the corner, holding tools I couldn't identify if my life depended on it. How many power tools did one man need? His shed was stocked better than a Home Depot. Too bad I wasn't allowed to touch any of them. Something about him needing to update his life insurance plan first. He was such a drama queen sometimes.
"You do realize if Jo's been to the paddock to evaluate it for vulnerabilities then there isn't much I can tell you," he told Claire. "She's the best at what she does. I suggest you take her recommendations seriously."
I barely resisted the urge to puff out my chest at his compliments. I was not able to keep my heart from swelling.
"Be that as it may, Mr. Masrani feels like your ability to control the raptors might offer some insight."
"See, it's all about control with you," he said, walking past her down the steps. Oh, shit. Here it comes. He's going to bring up the date. "It's a relationship. It's based on mutual respect."
It was also based on the fact he was the only person they wouldn't eat on sight.
"OK, can we just, focus on the asset please," Claire said, her patience wearing thin.
"The asset?" I spoke up. "The asset?"
"Jo, please," Claire almost whined.
"Why is it OK for you to call it the asset, but I get my ass handed to me when I use my name for it?" My hands were on my hips as I waited for her answer.
"Well, for starters my name for it isn't the 'biggest fucking mistake in Jurassic World history'," she started, her hands raised in exasperation as she made air quotes. I didn't know what was more amusing, listening to Claire cuss or watching her blush while doing it. "And, I didn't announce it on the intercom at headquarters for the world to hear."
"Those are both solid points," I said, turning to look at Owen who was wearing a shit eating grin.
He walked over to me, placing his hand at the small of my back. "I'll take it from here babe," he said, winking at me briefly before turning to Claire. "Look, I get it, you're in charge out here and you gotta make a lot of tough decisions. It's probably easier to pretend these animals are just numbers on a spreadsheet, but they're not. They're alive."
OK, so as far as points go he had a valid one, but for the life of me I didn't know where he was going with this one.
Apparently neither did Claire as she looked at him like he was mentally impaired.
"I'm fully aware they're alive," she responded, still unsure of his point.
"You might have made them in a test tube, but they don't know that," Owen continued, riding away on his soapbox. Claire looked at me for help and I could only shrug. I got nothing. "They're thinking, I gotta eat. I gotta hunt. I gotta…"
Owen punctuated the ending by pumping his fist in the air for effect. I snorted, shaking my head in amusement as Claire closed her eyes, breathing heavily and muttering under her breath.
"You can relate to at least one of those things, right?" Owen asked sarcastically. For a brief second I thought he was going to be able to keep a straight face, but then he busted out laughing as Claire pinned him with a look that clearly said, "I hate you", that expression would have most people running for cover. Too bad for her Owen wasn't most people.
"I'll be in the car. If you two wouldn't mind hurrying up so we can get this over with that would be great." She sauntered off, her shoulders stiff and back ramrod straight. Oh, she was pissed all right.
"That was mean," I told Owen, coming to stand next to him. He shrugged, looking at me out of the corner of his eye.
"She'll be fine," he said, walking to the table and putting all his tools down. "You ready for this?"
I looked towards him, considering his question. It was impossible to be ready for the unknown, but that was the hand we'd been dealt. No matter what we faced I knew it would require me to unleash a part of myself I'd long since tucked away. To the outside world I appeared somewhat well adjusted, especially considering my sketchy upbringing, but that couldn't be farther from the truth.
The good news was the one thing I excelled at was bringing the crazy, and if anything threatened those I'd come to love I would break out a level of crazy that would make their nightmares seem like a happy place.
The feelings swirling inside me were confusing to say the least. I hadn't felt many of them since my last deployment. The thought terrified me because I knew first hand the cost of war. It wasn't a mistress that could never be ignored. Unfortunately war was exactly what we were diving into.
"Ready as I'll ever be," I told him as I walked directly into the oncoming storm.
jahoney: Thanks! I'm trying to seamlessly weave Jo in while keeping everyone in character so I'm happy to know I pulled it off in that chapter. Thanks for reading and reviewing!
Gryffindor Rat: Thanks! I loved that scene in the movie, and really felt like seeing it through Owen's eyes would be a great opportunity to expand on it. I think you are right about Jo, she wouldn't fall down weeping, but something like that would definitely shake her up. I'm glad you think she reacted "in character" for her. To answer your question, I'm going to mainly stick with cannon. There might be slight differences here or there, but for the most part it's going to stick close with Jo woven in. I thought about making big changes, but decided against it for a few different reasons. Thanks for reading and reviewing...it makes this all worth it (especially when I should probably be working, LOL)
Momochan77: Thanks! I love them too, and I think she's fitting in pretty good. I hope she continues to be an addition to the story and not a liability. Thanks for much for reading and reviewing. Hopefully you liked this chapter :)
MidnightPenguin: I liked that part too...I think Jo would have gone from terrified, to concerned, to downright livid once she realized he was OK. I'm happy you liked her reaction, it was fun to write. Hope you liked this chapter as well, thanks for reading/reviewing!
LaurenMarie814: I'm gonna be honest...I LOVE YOUR REACTION! I have done that 1,000 times with other people's stories or books, and to have someone doing it with mine makes me do a little happy dance in my kitchen. For real, my kids are laughing about it right now. Anyways, I loved this scene too and wanted to do it justice. I'm glad you think I came through. Hearing how you like the story, the characters...it's great. It's better than great, but it's hard to put into words. Basically, thank you!
angelicedg: Welcome back friend! Thanks so much! I'm glad you liked Owen's portrayal in the chapter, and Jo's reaction to witnessing it. I thought this was a key chapter b/c it was one of our first "big" chapters that straddles the movie-verse. As always, thank you so much for being so dedicated to these stories and taking the time to review!
Reclun: Love the reaction (insert heart emoticon here). I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter, and hope this one lives up to the hype as well. The beta thing is a great idea, and actually my husband has offered a few times to review it prior to posting, but his grammar and spelling is beyond awful so I politely declined (shhh, don't tell him I said that). I appreciate the info and will look into it. Thanks for reading and reviewing, hope you like this chapter.
Aria2302: Don't feel bad for skimming, I do that ALL the time, and then I go back and slowly devour it again. Totally normal and I love how excited you were to read it. I'm glad you liked it, I worked hard on it, and kinda agonized over every little detail since it was such a pivotal scene in the movie. I'll be honest, I'm not sure Hoskins is gonna make it either ;) Thanks for reading and reviewing...hope you skim this one then come back and read again slowly, LOL!