Chapter 9: Return

I just want to say, I look at your requests, and I try my best to work them into the story if it doesn't effect my original plan too much. Your request may not show up in the immediate next chapter, but it will show up eventually.

Two weeks later

Owen had been through fourteen interviews since the last with no problems what-so-ever. He answered the same questions over and over, and Gray hadn't been asked to answer any. Gray had been doing a lot better especially because he knew the harassing interviews had stopped. Owen on the other hand was getting worse.

Owen had thought it was important that no one saw him break before, but now it was even more imperative. Gray was more broken than before. Between the running away, Ana, and Zach, it was all too much for him. Owen knew that it takes ten times longer to put yourself back together after you fall apart, but Owen fear that for Gray, this was going to be impossible.

He's only ten years old. He is a genius, but being a genius doesn't help with your emotional state. It makes it worse. The fact that he can comprehend and he is aware of everything that's going on with him makes it worse. Any normal ten year old you can tell them they have PTSD, but they will just assume it's bad dreams. Gray knew every little thing there was to know about the disorder. And even though you're aware of it, doesn't make it any easier.

Every night at the hotel, Owen would sit in his chair, watching TV. He had stopped watching the news a while ago, and he would just watch whatever was on. Gray would lay on the bed, and read. Everywhere they went, Owen would go to a nearby convenient store, and pick Gray up the fattest books he could find, regardless of what they were about. Owen and Gray had figured out that was Gray needed to get his mind off things. He needed to read useless facts about useless things to keep him from seeing dinosaurs during the day.

Owen couldn't shield him at night though. Almost every night, Gray would wake up, and crawl into the chair with Owen. Owen always told himself he was awake when Gray came in next to him, but he almost never was. Owen had gotten better with actually going to sleep, but he would always wake up from nightmares.

Sometimes he woke up before Gray joined him in the chair, sometimes after. Either way, he couldn't make a big deal over his nightmares. Gray needed to know that Owen was strong enough to fight off the dinosaurs in his head, even though he was weakening by the day.

He knew exactly what he needed. He needed Claire. He talked to her on the phone almost every night, but that wasn't enough. He needed to be with her, feel her presence. It comforted him, gave him motivation to be strong for the boys. Zach would want Owen to be strong for Gray, especially when he couldn't be.

Zach hadn't gotten better in the last two weeks. He had had two seizures which meant he was having dreams while in the coma. This meant he was getting worse. This was all the more reason for Owen to be there when he woke up. If he ever woke up at all.

Zach and Gray were at the top of Owen's list of worries, but there was a longer list. Claire had finally told him what had happened between Scott and Karen. Scott hadn't come back. He hadn't answered any of Karen's calls or texts. Both Owen and Claire had tried with no results. He was just gone. He had left his wife and both of his sons in the time they needed him the most.

Owen's own problems were at the bottom of his worries list, but they deserved a spot at the top. He was losing substantial amounts of sleep for two main reasons. His nightmares were getting worse, and he spent more and more time each night falling to sleep after waking up from one. He was also no closer to being able to lie down on a bed without seeing his moment of true terror. He had tried a few times on the trip while Gray was in the shower, but he always saw it, and he always pulled himself together before Gray got out. So he was stuck sleeping on a chair. He had gotten better at making the chair more comfortable, but that only made it a little easier. When Gray would join him in the chair, it got even harder for him to fall asleep.

Owen thought that Gray didn't know, but he did. It had taken him some time, but he had figured it out just this morning. They were in Chicago now, and Owen was to finish up the news interviews here before they moved on to magazines which were stationed in odd places all over the country. Keeping up his promise, Owen had bought him so fat books at a nearby CVS. One of the ones Owen had gotten him was on the human mind. What Owen didn't realize when he bought it that there was an entire section on mental disorders, and inside was a section on PTSD.

Gray had read it, and everything he read he either saw in Claire, Zach, Owen, or himself. He had then thought back to the Owen who had found him in New York. That was a different Owen. Owen had been getting worse and worse, and Gray knew it. He needed to talk to Claire.

Gray didn't want Owen to know that he knew. So many different things could happen, according to the book. The possibilities were endless ranging from just breaking down and crying, something Gray wasn't sure he could handle, to leaving and never coming back. That Gray knew he couldn't handle. He figured out what he needed to do. He needed to put Owen first. He knew Owen had been putting Gray's well being before his own, but now Gray needed to return the favor. He needed to ignore his own fear. He needed to talk to Claire.


Claire and Karen sat in Zach's room with Karen's laptop resting on her lap. They were watching a livestream of Owen's daytime talk show interview. Claire always got butterflies whenever Owen mentioned her in his interviews. The way he said her name made her wish the two of them were just back in their hotel room, curled under a blanket on the chair.

Claire's phone began ringing. Karen gave her a look then began to turn the volume down on the laptop. She stood and walked to the other end of the room. She removed her phone from her pocket and looked at the screen. There was no caller ID, but she picked it up anyway.

"Hello?" Claire said.

"Cl-Claire," Gray said shakily.

"Gray!" Claire cried happily. Karen placed the laptop on Claire's chair and jumped out of her own. She ran over to Claire, and got her ear as close to the phone as she could.

"Owen needs your help," Gray said quickly and quietly. He still only wanted to talked to Owen so he was keeping this talking to a minimum, "he's doing worse. He needs you. You need to get him to come home,"

"Okay. Okay, I can do that sweetie," Claire said. Karen was practically begging for her to hand the phone over. After Claire was certain Gray had nothing else to say, she handed the phone to Karen.

"Gray, sweetheart it's mommy," Karen said quickly. Then she paused. There was a tone on the other end of the line. Gray had hung up. He was gone, "no, no, no,"

Karen immediately went and called the number back. She waited and waited but Gray didn't pick up. She tried again and again until she had broken down to tears. Claire pulled her sister into her arms, as she cried into her shoulder. A tear fell from Claire's eye as well. Then they both heard a bouncing. They looked back at Zach and saw him bouncing on the bed. They heard the heart monitor speeding up. Karen screamed as Claire began moving them out of the room. Doctors and nurses ran in, pushing past them to get to Zach's bed. Karen stood sobbing in the hallway while clinging tightly to Claire. Then the two of them heard a scream. Not just any scream; the scream of a teenage boy.

Karen immediately ran back into the room, and Claire followed close behind. She pushed past the nurses to see her son sitting up on the bed. There were tears streaming down his still pale face, and he was hyperventilating. He was curled up in a ball trying to push himself against the wall; trying to get away from the people.

"MOVE!" Karen said, pushing nurses out of the way, climbing onto the bed with her son. She reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. He screamed. Karen began crying again when she saw how Zach looked at her. The look was something she wouldn't be able to shake from her mind. Zach looked at Karen like he didn't even know her.

"Claire," Karen said softly, sliding off the bed. Zach perked up a little at the sound of that name. Claire moved closer to Zach. Zach recognized her. Claire placed her hand on Zach's shoulder, and he calmed down slightly, but it wasn't enough.

"You have got to calm him down," one of the doctors said to Karen. She looked at her son. He was shaking as Claire softly talked to him. His breathing had calmed slightly, but his heart rate and tears were still going strong. If he recognized Claire, then he would recognize Owen, and he had been so comfortable with Owen before, maybe he would be again. She needed Owen.


Owen sat in the green room of a daytime talk show in Chicago. As the time had wore on, he had been doing more and more daytime stuff. Of course he did daytime stuff in the big cities as well, but if he was in one of the smaller big cities, like Chicago, he would do more daytime stuff. He had also shared his story with a bunch of nighttime news people, and they were bored of him.

His phone was across the room, and he was munching on a cupcake. Multiple cupcakes if he were to tell the truth. There were fruits on the table, but the cupcakes looked more appealing. They were decorated with the shows logo, and tasted delicious. Then Owen's phone rang. He shoved the last of the cupcake in his hand into his mouth and walked over to where he left it. He picked it up and answered the phone.

"Karen?" Owen said, his mouth still full of cupcake. He was desperately trying to swallow it.

"You and Gray need to come back!" Karen was crying.

"Why?! What happened?!" Owen asked, panicking. He had swallowed the cupcake and he was now collecting his things to leave.

"Zach woke up," Karen said, "but he doesn't...he doesn't remember me. He seems to recognize Claire and find some comfort in her, but I think he would do better with you. So please please come back,"

"I will be there in no more than five hours," Owen said.

"Thank you!" Karen cried. Owen hung up the phone and walked out of the green room. He was stopped before he made it ten feet by the supervisor.

"Mr. Grady," she said, "where are you going? You still have more of your interview to do"

"I'm sorry I have to go," Owen said, "you can say the Owen Grady press tour is officially cancelled," he began walking away.

"Until further notice?" she called after him.

"Don't know yet," Owen called back, heading for the exit. This was the third interview he's bailed on, but it didn't matter. The media could hate on him all they wanted, Claire and the boys were his number one priority. He marched out of the studio and hailed a cab.

Ten minutes later, he burst into the hotel room. Gray looked up from his book. There was something about the way Owen walked that made him curious. It was like he had a new sense of purpose. Maybe Claire had called him.

"Gray pack up your stuff. Quickly," Owen said, going for his suitcase, "we're going home,"

"Claire called you?" Gray asked hopefully.

"No, your mom did," Owen said, "Zach's up,"

Gray froze. Was that a lie? Had Claire told Karen to call Owen and lie to him, say that Zach was awake? No, even if Claire asked her to do that, his mom would never agree to it. Not with something as serious as Zach waking up. Gray quickly began packing his books into the suitcase Owen had bought him to hold his books.

In twenty minutes, they were ready to leave. They went, checked out of the hotel, and went outside for a cab. Thankfully, this was one of the hotels Owen didn't have to pay for. They got in a cab and would be at the airport in twenty minutes. That's when Owen looked for a flight.

"You haven't gotten a flight?" Gray asked nervously.

"I found out we were leaving a half hour ago," Owen replied, "I told your mom five hours, and if we can get a flight within the next four hours, we're good, otherwise, we're driving,"

"Driving?" Gray seemed outraged. Then he crunched some quick numbers in his head, and found out it was only about a three hour drive from where they were to where they lived, or the hospital Zach was at.

"Yes, driving," Owen said, "but we won't have to. We're cutting it close, but we've got two open seats on the next flight to Wisconsin, which is in an hour and a half,"

"Okay," Gray calmed a little.

"Gray, I want to say I'm really proud of you for calling Claire," Owen said, "and I'm sorry you found out. I was trying to shield you from the truth. I know it's not the right thing to do, but I tried,"

"How do you know?" Gray asked softly.

"I studied human and animalistic behavior in college. I knew when you knew about me," Owen said, "and as for Claire, she just texted me, telling me that you called, and to tell you that this is no joke. That Zach is really up,"

All the doubt in Gray's mind went away, and he was happy it was true. He had a good feeling it was, but there was always that doubt in his mind. Owen was going to be back with Claire. Besides the fact that his brother was awake after two weeks, that was the most important thing. Claire would help Owen be strong again so he could help him and Zach. Both the brothers desperately needed that right now.


Owen and Gray barely made their flight, but they made it. They sat on the plane for an hour, and got on the road to the hospital with two hours to spare. They would be at the hospital in less than a half hour.

"Gray," Owen said, "I know you're not comfortable with talking to anyone other than me, but when we get to the hospital, at least give your mother a hug, maybe try to talk to her. One of her sons doesn't remember her, and she hasn't seen the other in two weeks,"

"Okay," Gray said, not even looking at Owen. He had been staring out the window since they got on the plane.

"Again, I am really really proud of you for calling Claire for me," Owen said.

"I know you've been putting my well being before yours since we got back," Gray said, "I thought it was time to return the favor,"

"Whatever the reason, I'm really proud of you," Owen said. Gray nodded and retreated back into his mind.

They arrived at the hospital, and Owen ran inside. Gray was on his heels. He took the stairs because he felt they were faster than an elevator. He didn't even bother to knock. He burst into the room.

Zach hadn't gotten better within the last few hours. He hadn't stopped crying; his breathing had slowly, but it was still borderline hyperventilation. He still shook and he hadn't said a word. He had stayed in the little ball in the corner of the bed with Claire's hand resting firmly on his shoulder, and her whispering softly to him.

Everyone looked up when Owen burst into the room. Immediately everyone's eyes went to him. Owen scanned the room. He saw Karen's relief, Zach's fear, turning to calm, and Claire's gratefulness. When their eyes met, they both felt something. They really needed each other.

Then everyone's eyes went to Gray who had followed Owen into the room. Gray did what Owen had told him, and went to give his mother a hug. Seconds later, the eyes were back on Owen. Owen moved slowly into the room, and next to Claire. He had noticed Zach's breathing had slowly down when he had seen Owen. Owen slipped a hand through the top of Claire's shirt, and over her bare back. His touch sent shivers down her spine. She loved it.

Owen looked at Zach. The boy's heart monitor had been going down since Owen had entered the room. His breathing had calmed down and the shaking had stopped along with the tears. For the first time in the past two weeks, Zach felt truly safe.

Zach pulled Owen into a hug, and he returned it gratefully. Zach didn't want to let go. In his nightmares, he was almost always saved after he had been truly terrified. There were only three times he wasn't, and those were the three times that had caused the seizures. Every time it was this man who saved him, and the redheaded woman was always with him. Normally, it was him and little boy who were in danger of being eaten by a dinosaur, and they were always saved by the man and the redhead. Sometimes though, the little boy would die, and he would be devastated. Those were the only four people he recognized, but he couldn't name any of them.

"Who are you?" Zach asked so softly only Owen could hear it.

"My name is Owen Grady," Owen said, "how do you know me?"

Owen knew exactly what was going on. It was amnesia. Owen also knew how Zach knew him, Claire, and probably Gray as well. They had all been in his dreams he had in his coma. Owen had probably always saved him in the dreams, and Claire had probably always been with him.

"This is your aunt, Claire Dearing," Owen said, introducing the boy to the redhead, "and over there is your little brother Gray, and…"

"Why is his name Gray?" Zach asked.

"I-I don't know," Owen said, "but you can ask your mother, Karen, who's standing right next to him,"

"Can't you tell me? Aren't you my father?" Zach asked. That hurt. He was going to be in for a rough story, and so was Gray. That was something else Owen had kept from the boy.

"No I'm not your father," Owen said, almost regretfully.

"So you're my uncle?" Zach asked. Owen shook his head. Zach looked at him, confused.

"I'm…" Owen hesitated, "I'm your protector,"

"Really?" Zach asked.

"Yes. That's how we met. I was protecting you, and your brother," Owen thought, "now again, how do you know me?"

"You saved me, in my nightmares," Zach said softly.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Owen said. Zach nodded.

Zach's dreams were variations of all the times they were chased by dinosaurs. In the gyrosphere, through the field, in the water, on the main street both during the pteranodon attack and the dinosaur battle, and in the back of the truck with the velociraptors. He was doing a pretty good job recounting the nightmares that ended well. He was trying not to think of the others that ended badly. He was doing well until he was handled a glass of water.

He screamed when the liquid touched his lips. He dropped the glass and jumped out of the bed as it was soaked up by the sheets. He crashed into the IV stand. He looked up and saw the liquid. He backed away then saw the little plastic tube running from the bag of fluid to his arm. He screamed and tried to pull the IV out. His heart monitor was beeping fast as the boy began to shake and cry and hyperventilate. Owen pulled the IV out of Zach's arm, and pulled the boy into a hug.

"Sir, you have to leave," the doctor said. Owen shook his head.

"Good luck keeping him calm without me," Owen replied.

"We're going to give him a light sedative, so he can sleep," the doctor said, "visiting hours are over. You must leave,"

"Fine," Owen said, "but the second he wakes up, you take that IV out of him, understand?"

"I don't take orders from you," the doctor said.

"You will when I'm the only one who can keep him calm," Owen said, and reached out a hand for Claire's. Claire stood and took it. They watched as doctors and nurses held Zach down to get the needle into the boy's arm. They wouldn't let Owen help, as much of a help as he would be. He finally went limb, and Owen and Claire turned to go. They stopped to say goodbye to Karen and Gray, and then they were on their way.


Claire and Owen walked back into the hotel together. Claire had her fingers intertwined with Owen's and her head rested on his shoulder. His suitcase wheeled behind him. They walked past the front desk when they were stopped.

"Mr. Grady, Ms. Dearing," the man said. He produced an envelope from below the desk, "this came for you today,"

"Thank you," Claire said, taking it since she was the only one with a free hand. They began heading for the elevator.

"It's great to have you back, Mr. Grady," the man called.

"Great to be back," Owen replied as he pressed the elevator button. The paparazzi had long cleared out of the lobby. They didn't care about Claire alone, but now that Owen was back, he assumed the paparazzi would be back as well.

Claire pulled him into the hotel room by the collar of his shirt. She dropped the letter on the floor as her hands travelled his body, then slipping under his shirt and pulling it over his head.

"I missed you," she whispered.

"I missed you too," Owen replied, "but we got mail. At a hotel. Don't you think we should open it?"

"Not until we're done," she said, and kissed him once again. She always had a way of reminding him why he stayed.

When they were done, Owen went to pick the letter up off the floor. They sat cuddling in the chair. Owen opened it and Claire read over his shoulder.

From the desk of the Secretary of Homeland Security

Dear Ms. Dearing and Mr. Grady,

It has been nearly three weeks since the incident on Isla Nublar, and all that has been done to address the issue are some interviews. You are both recognized and praised for your bravery in saving the lives of twenty thousand people, but nearly fifty people lost their lives before that happened. The theme park was not evacuated at the first sign of danger, which could be considered a felony. Ms. Dearing, as the highest ranking officer left of Jurassic World, you were expected to do something within the last three weeks, but nothing has happened. This cabinet has decided we should step in. There are still living, breathing dinosaurs on Isla Nublar, and it is not safe that they are there unsupervised. Someone has to go to the island, and make sure everything stays status quo, and Ms. Dearing, as the highest ranking Jurassic World officer still alive, you will be the one to go. Mr. Grady, you are one of the leading dinosaur handlers at the park, so you will be joining her on the island. You will be transferred to the island and it will become your primary place of residence. More information will be given to you as the time of your relocation approaches.

Sincerely,

Jeh Johnson

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security

Owen and Claire looked at each other after finishing the letter. There were already tears pooling in Claire's eyes, and Owen's were to come. Both of them were horrified. They would be spending the rest of their lives, alone, in Jurassic World.

Sorry for jumping ahead two weeks, I just didn't want to keep writing the same thing over and over and over. I wanted to get to...well everything that happened in this chapter.

-Croc9400