Flicker of Life - Chapter 10

Summary:

Alise and Owen go to San Diego to meet with Masrani Global lawyers and run into Claire. They catch up over lunch when Claire tells them she plans on using the settlement money to start the Dinosaur Protection Group. After that, they go to Northern California to meet up with Owen's friend from the Navy and they realize they love it there, perhaps a little more than they like Colorado.

The flight to San Diego wasn't bad and it was only about 3 hours. It was a little uncomfortable with the cast, but I ditched the sling because it was just getting in the way of my belly. I did have to get up every 30 minutes to pee, but I purposefully got an aisle seat close to the bathroom. Owen made fun of me every time I got up, but he's not pregnant so he can suck it.

We got to the hotel around 9pm, but pregnancy already makes me so tired, add the fact that I was traveling on top of that and I was falling asleep in the car. Traveling makes Owen tired, too, so we were both ready for bed the second we walked into the room. Well, I had to pee first, but then I collapsed on the bed and fell asleep almost immediately after. Of course, that didn't last long. I was tossing and turning most of the night, but that's not really anything new since I got pregnant.

We had our appointment the next day with Masrani lawyers at 10am, then we were going to stay in San Diego for the night because the day after that we're going to visit Owen's friend from the Navy, Tim Walker, who lives in Concord, California, which is about an hour away from San Francisco. It was about a 7 and a half hour drive and Owen wanted to do it in one shot, but of course, we would have to stop for food and bathroom breaks. We were going to be staying with them for a couple of days before flying back to the Denver airport. He hasn't seen Tim (or as he calls him, "Walker") since he got out of the Navy, which was a long time ago.

The next morning, I got woken up by Owen around 8am when he walked into the room with a brown paper bag and two to go cups in his hands.

"One of those better be hot chocolate or I'm gonna punch you in the dick." I said, rubbing the drool off my face.

"So fiesty this morning," he chuckled and smirked, handing me one of the cups and opening up the paper bag. "You're not coming anywhere near my dick."

"Even if I want some sausage for breakfast?" I winked, blowing on the hot chocolate and taking a sip. Owen chuckled and handed me the breakfast sandwich when I nearly spit out the drink. "It's tea!" I coughed at the unexpected taste. It wasn't bad and I could deal with tea, I was just expecting hot chocolate.

"Doctor said you need to have less sugar, remember? Tea is better for you. I got extra honey, just the way you like it." He said. I groaned as I unwrapped the egg sandwich.

"First coffee, now hot chocolate. This is fucked." I said.

"It's all for Charlie." he reminded me.

"Yeah, yeah. This little girl is already high maintenance and she's not even born yet." I scoffed, taking a bite of the sandwich.

"Just like her mama." He laughed, sitting down at the table.

"I am not high maintenance…" I said, a little shocked that he'd even say that as I'm not.

"Whatever you say baby." he said with a mouthful of whatever sandwich he had.

I rolled my eyes, "Dick," I mumbled. Then it hit me all of a sudden. "I have to pee!" I exclaimed, realizing just now how much I had to. Owen chuckled and shook his head, refraining from making a comment like I could tell he wanted to. It was good that he didn't, because I'm sure whatever he said really would earn him a punch in the dick.

x x x

I was surprised that we ran into Claire on our way into our appointment and she said she was just on her way out of her meeting with the lawyers. The first thing she did was ask if I was okay and what happened to my arm, then once that was all cleared up, she said she had a flight back home later today, but that we should definitely get lunch if we have time, and we did, so after our meeting with Masrani lawyers, we were going to meet up with her for lunch.

The meeting went the way our lawyer said it would - we talked to their lawyers, told them the story of what happened and how it's affected us, did some paperwork and then we left. Our lawyer said we'll know how much money we're getting by the end of the week. He said these things take time and there's usually a lot of meetings to reach a settlement. He's still firm on the fact that we could get a million each, so we're still hoping that's true.

We went to the cafe to meet Claire and we saw her on line waiting to order her food. We greeted her and got our food before finding a table. It was a little awkward at first, seeing as we've never really hung out outside of work before, but her and Owen obviously talked outside of work and they were together during the incident, so I tried to look past it. We made small talk at first, which I know Owen hated, but he'd have to get over it.

"So, I see congratulations are in order..." Claire said, pointing to the ring in my finger.

I smiled and nodded, chewing on my turkey, swiss and spinach sandwich, swallowing before I answered. "Yeah, we got eloped the day after what happened, it just felt like the right time..."

Claire smiled, putting a fork into her salad. "Well, that's great, I'm really happy for you two."

I smiled, "Thank you."

"So, what have you two been up to? How's the baby?" she asked, filling up the pending silence.

"Charlie's good,' Owen said with a mouthful of his roast beef sandwich. I glanced at him and he swallowed, I didn't even need to say anything for him to realize how rude that was. I was happy he was involving himself in the conversation instead of just ignoring us though.

"Oh, that's her name? Charlie is such a wonderful name. I'm assuming it's after Charlie? You were all pretty close. Like family even." Claire said.

I could tell Owen tense up a little bit when she said that, but he nodded his head and replied with a "Yeah."

"That's exactly why we're naming her Charlie. It fits perfectly." I said, picking up the slack for Owen. He hates small talk and would prefer to avoid it all around. Claire nodded and smiled, taking another bite of her salad. "So, what have you been up to?"

"I've just been living in Madison with my sister for the time being while I figure everything out. The situation was just so… jolting and off-putting. Once the settlement money comes in, I know what I'm doing."

"And what's that?" Owen asked, this time after he swallowed his food.

"I'm going to start a group called the Dinosaur Protection Group, DPG for short. I've been working out all the details with a friend while I wait, but it's basically about fighting for their rights. What about you two? What are you going to do with the settlement money?" she asked.

"We're thinking of buying a house and we're putting a lot into savings for Charlie." I answered, taking another bite of my sandwich and washing it down with water. I'm gonna miss the hot chocolate (I can have it on occasion, but I've been drinking way too much as of late so I needed a break), but the last thing I want is gestational diabetes and the doctor is closely monitoring me for that, so no more hot cocoa for me. That, and I need to keep my amniotic fluids up because it's lower than it should be.

"Where would you get a house?" Claire asked curiously. I paused, looking over at Owen. We hadn't really talked about that yet.

"We're not really sure yet." He answered.

"Hell, maybe we'll buy two houses if our lawyer can work his magic like he says he can." I joked, laughing.

Claire laughed. "Yeah, hopefully, they will."

I smiled, taking another bite of my sandwich as I thought more about the dinosaurs. I wondered what they're doing with them now and I figure if anyone knows, it's probably Claire. "So do you know what they're doing with the dinosaurs now?"

"I don't know for sure, but I have a few ideas of what they will do." she said.

"I think they should just release them and let them live on their own without fences and just let them be." I thought out loud. Claire gave me a big nod.

"That's exactly what I was thinking, that's what I'm going to propose once the DPG gets off the ground." she said.

"That's such a great idea. I've kept up with some groups on Twitter and Facebook that talk about their rights, but I feel like there's no one that's actually fighting for them, you know?" I said.

Claire nodded again. "Exactly. They have a voice and I'm going to make sure they're heard."

"Well, I'd love to help in any way that I can, should you need any help." I offered with a smile.

"Thank you. I'll definitely take you up on that offer, I'll need all the help I can get." she smiled back.

"I'm sure Owen would love to help too," I said, glancing over at him. He looked over and gave me a confused look and just by that look I could tell he was totally spacing out. Like he always does whenever Lowery and I are talking about the dinosaurs. "I said you'd love to help with the DPG when it gets off the ground." I repeated.

Owen nodded. "Yeah, sure." he said, but I could tell it was somewhat forced.

"Lowery would love to as well, he's always talked about what's best for them." I said, looking back at Claire, not dwelling on how detached Owen seemed at the moment.

"Oh, I remember that very well," she laughed. "I've come around quite a bit. The event really put things into perspective for me. It really helped me connect back to my roots and I remembered why I started working at Jurassic World in the first place."

"And why was that?" Owen asked. I could tell he was a little shocked by her admission.

"To appreciate them as a gift and treat them with the respect they deserve. I didn't do that for such a long time and I lost myself. They deserve so much better than what I gave them." Claire said, looking down a little as she said the last sentence.

"Glad you see it my way." Owen said. I glared at him because it was a little rude to say, but I think it's just the way it came across. He's unintentionally rude sometimes, even to me, so I knew it was nothing against Claire.

"You did the best that you could. You had a lot riding on you, Claire..." I reassured her. I never once blamed her for what happened and I don't think anyone should just because of her job title. There were things that were done that were out of her hands.

"It's okay, Alise. I've come to terms with it. This is a new start, a new chapter. I'm excited to see what's on the next page." she said confidently.

I smiled. "That's a good way to think of it."

Claire smiled and nodded, looking at her phone when it lit up. "Oh my gosh, is that really the time? I've got a 5 o'clock flight…"

"I'll get your number from Owen and text you so you have mine." I said.

"Great, it was really nice to see you two again and catch up. I'll keep you posted about the DPG." she smiled.

"Great! It was so nice to see you too, have a safe flight!" I said, getting up to give her a hug.

She did save my husbands life twice as well as everyone on the island after letting the T-Rex out to fight the Indominus. I've kind of wanted to give her a hug since then, to be honest, to thank her for everything, as well as to comfort her, I mean, she went through a lot. If I suffered trauma from the event, I could only imagine what she'd be going through.

"Oh, thank you," she said, sounding a little surprised. I smiled and pulled away, right as Owen got up.

"Bye Claire." he said, giving her a hug of his own, which surprised me. I was expecting a handshake, and she probably was too, because the shock was written all over her face.

"We'll talk soon!" Claire said after Owen pulled away.

"Bye!" I smiled and waved as she walked away and Owen sat back down next to me. "Well that was nice, you actually hugged her too." I smirked, taking the last bite of my sandwich and washing it down with water.

"She saved my life, it's the least I could do. Plus, you hugged her and I would have felt like a dick if I didn't." he shrugged.

I laughed. "So, what do you think of the DPG?" I asked, opening my bag of chips. I was wondering since his reaction when I offered his help earlier and he seemed detached.

Owen paused and thought. "It's an idea." he said almost reluctantly.

"So you'd help out with it?" I asked, my brows raised.

"I don't know about that."

"Owen," I sighed.

"What?" He asked defensively. "It'd be a lot of stuff to deal with, especially with Charlie..." he trailed off, looking over at me. I just looked at him with my brows raised and he sighed. "I'll help if I can."

I smiled. "That's the spirit! Let's get out of here, baby wants some ice cream." I said, taking one last sip of my water before standing up.

Owen chuckled and shook his head, standing up. "Whatever Charlie wants."

x x x

The next morning we got up at 7, stopped for breakfast and were on the road by 8:30. We stopped for lunch in Los Angeles around 11 and spent a few hours there, so we got to Concord around 7pm, just in time for dinner.

"Walker, how ya been man?" Owen asked as he greeted his friend when we made it onto his front porch.

"I've been pretty good, Grady," Tim said as they shook hands in a firm handshake and patted each other on the back. "Long time no see, bro. You must be Alise," he said, looking at me as I walked up the steps. "Tim Walker."

"Nice to finally meet you, Tim. I've heard quite a bit about you." I couldn't help but laugh a little. I know I shouldn't have, but Owen told me a few stories about him and he was the rebel of the group in the Navy, always doing something he shouldn't be. It's why he and Owen got along so much, they got into trouble together for the most part.

"What kind of lies is this asshole tellin' you? I've got a few stories of Owen I'm sure you'll love to hear."

"No, she doesn't wanna hear any of those stories." Owen shook his head as we followed Tim inside.

"Fuck you, Grady. Your wife and I are gonna have plenty to talk about after dinner and you can't do jack shit about it," Tim said with amusement in his voice. Owen just scoffed and rolled his eyes and I looked at the two of them with a smirk. I think I like this guy. "Want anything to drink? I've got some tequila."

"Tim, are you really offering a pregnant woman tequila?" a woman's voice came from the kitchen as Tim headed for the bar in the living area. She followed us into the living area.

"I hadn't even noticed," Tim said as he took two glasses and put them on the counter, pouring the tequila into them. He said it in a semi-joking way. You could obviously tell I was pregnant, unless if he was insinuating he thought I looked fat, then maybe I don't like him as much as I thought.

The woman, who I'm assuming is his wife Aaliyah, just shook her head and rolled her eyes. "He's not calling you fat if that's what you're thinking. He's just trying to be funny and failing at it. I'm Aaliyah by the way," she said, wiping her hands on the apron and just then I smelt the food that was cooking and it smelled delicious.

"Alise, it's nice to meet you." I smiled.

"Come into the kitchen, we'll leave the boys and get something non-alcoholic to drink." Aaliyah smiled, nodding her head towards the kitchen. I smiled and followed along.

They were both very welcoming and we had dinner with their two children, Maia, who was 2 and Timmy, who was 1. They had their hands full with the two of them, especially because Timmy was going through a phase where he didn't want to eat anything besides Mac and cheese and chocolate milk and had no interest in the chicken parm Aaliyah cooked for us.

Owen was great with Maia and Timmy through our time there and that made me have a good feeling about the future with Charlie.

On our last night there, we went to Aaliyah and Tim's lake house, which was only about a 40-minute drive from their house, because Tim mentioned the sunset was great there because it's right at the top of the mountain. Of course, Owen couldn't turn that down, with his soft spot for sunsets and sunrises. I've grown to love them too and appreciate their beauty, just like Owen does.

My mom had texted me a long string of texts throughout the day that I finally opened when I was sitting on the front porch, waiting for Owen to bring out some hot chocolate because I've been good with my sugar intake, so a little hot chocolate is deserved.

The texts started at 10 this morning and none of the texts related to each other, but that's not surprising when it comes to my mother. One was about the shop and a rude customer, the other asking how our time in California has been, another about how Carl's mother was coming for dinner and she was asking if it was okay to poison the food (his mother is a nightmare). She reasoned that poisoning the food was probably not the smartest idea in the following text, and the last one was telling me her and Carl have talked about it and I should use the office for Charlie's nursery, should Owen and I choose to stay after Charlie is born.

"Hey, I said no phones." Owen scolded, holding the mug out for me.

"Hold on, I just have to share this picture I took of your dick on Facebook and Instagram…" my voice trailed off as I was texting my mom back, telling her I was with Owen and I'd call her in the morning.

"You have a picture of my dick?" he asked, his brows raised as he sat next to me on the porch swing.

I looked at him with a smirk, putting my phone into my lap. "Maybe." I shrugged, taking a sip of hot chocolate.

"At least let me see so I know you took it at the right angle," he said. I raised my brows at him. "What? From some angles, it looks small. Same thing with your stomach." he shrugged as he took a sip of his hot chocolate nonchalantly.

"I seriously can't believe you just said that you dick," I said, punching his arm. "You're lucky I love you or I'd pour my hot chocolate on your balls." I said, blowing on the hot chocolate with a smirk.

"Are you sure it's because you love me or you love the hot chocolate?" he asked.

"Mmm, the hot chocolate is pretty good," I mused, taking a sip. Owen just raised his brows at me curiously as if he were waiting for the real answer. "Of course I love you more, what do you take me for? But you just called my stomach big."

"I was just statin' a fact," he defended. I just squinted my eyes at him and rolled my eyes, to which he chuckled and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me close to him.

A shiver went down my spine as the cool breeze blew, giving me goosebumps on my arms, even though I was wearing a cardigan. It was colder up in northern California, especially towards the mountains, which was where we were now.

"It's beautiful here," I let out a sigh of contentment as we both watched the sun setting.

"It is," Owen nodded in agreement. "Seems like a nice place to retire. Build a cabin." he said with a shrug, taking a sip of hot chocolate.

I looked up at him and smiled. "It seems like a great place to build a cabin." I said, resting my head on his shoulder as he pulled me closer to him. I could get used to sunsets like this in northern California and it seems like he can too.