Author's Note at the End
Chapter 12
A small, tinkling beep roused Chris. She was amazed she heard the sound in the first place, but once it broke through her sleeping-haze, it was hard to ignore. With her brows pulled tightly together, Chris slowly opened her eyes.
The first thing that met her gaze was Owen sleeping just beside her. He was on his stomach and beneath his pillow which made her smile to herself. Evidently, he was a burrower.
Now awake, Chris heard the chirping even more than before and was able to recognize it. It was the sound of her computer. Sorer than she'd ever been in her life, Chris did her best to get out of bed without waking the man beside her. Without the use of her left arm and with a body that felt like it had been thrown from a plane without a parachute, it was difficult.
As silently as she could, Chris 'jogged' towards her laptop on a far-off surface. The silver object wasn't entirely closed which meant alerts were still able to be heard and she knew she had to stop it before Owen woke, too.
Chris grabbed her laptop and slid into her seating area with her back to her bedroom before opening the screen. It was the video-chat ring and someone was trying to get through. Surprised by the sudden call, Chris didn't bother glancing to the screen name before answering it.
An older woman in her early fifties exploded onto the screen when the window was opened. She looked panicked and borderline terrified before seeing Chris, at which point her emotions quickly shifted to anger.
"Mum?" Chris' tired brain seemed to be more shocked than she rightfully should have been that her mother was calling her.
"Where have you been?!" she demanded in a voice that went particularly shrill when she emphasized 'have'. Chris had a flashback of Mrs. Weasley from the Harry Potter movies. It was the same thing. "I've been ringing for hours!"
"Mum," Chris said calmly and marginally hushed.
"You haven't called me," she continued as though she hadn't heard Chris.
"Mum,"
"The news has been goin' on and on-"
"Mum,"
"I'm sittin' here, half-way 'round the world, losing my bloody mind-"
"Mum," Chris hissed. Her mother snapped her mouth shut, but continue to glower into the camera. "Look," Chris' voice was low and near a whisper. "I am sorry I haven't phoned, all right? But-" she suddenly paused. Chris' eyes narrowed and she tilted her head curiously to the side. "What was that bit about the news?"
The woman on the computer sighed heavily and borderline obnoxiously to show her disapproval with her daughter's ignorance.
"Everyone's coverin' it." She went on to say. "They say the park's been breached, that those beasts have escaped and there are thousands of people dead."
Chris rolled her eyes at the news' exaggeration.
"That's not true," she sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair and turned her attention back to the screen. It was then she noticed the time. It was passed eight am, the day following the breach. Taking into account the time zones, Chris was a bit shocked, "Mum, it's passed one in the morning in Melbourne. The hell are you still awake?"
Her mother glowered again with the power only a mom can muster. It made Chris waver slightly. It didn't matter how old she was, she was still frightened of the woman on the screen. She couldn't help it.
"Sorry," Chris mumbled in response.
"I've been worried sick, tryin' to get a hold of you for hours." Her voice was starting to rise again which made Chris panic and do her best to shush the woman who could kill her with a stare. "Why are you shushing me?" she snapped.
"Because someone's sleeping," Chris replied, "and your voice travels."
Her mother perked just a bit, but still seemed annoyed.
"Here I am, worryin' myself into an early grave, and you've a boyfriend over? Honestly, Christiana."
"He's not my bloody boyfriend." She hissed through her teeth. "And I'd have called you when I woke." Chris relaxed and sighed heavily before propping and elbow on the tabletop and resting her head in her palm. "Sorry to worry you, mum, really, but it's been a bit hectic."
The woman on the screen sighed again, but the agitation was gone. Instead, it was replaced with some form of slightly panicked relief. She was still concerned about her daughter, but felt better speaking to her.
"What happened?"
Chris groaned and this time buried her face in both hands before taking a deep breath and looking to her mother once more.
"One of the assets got loose." Chris admitted, "Caused havoc. It's not as bad as the news is making it seem." She openly lied.
"So, everyone's all right then?"
Chris winced slightly and shook her head.
"No, no they're not."
"What's going to happen?"
"Haven't the foggiest. It'll take awhile to figure out the damages I'd imagine, then they'll likely tell us what's goin' on, but until then," Chris took a deep breath and shrugged. The action caused her to wince and bite back some pain. Her mother noticed.
"You alright?"
"Fine," she said as she cradled her shoulder, "just a few stitches, nothin' to be worried 'bout."
Her mother didn't seem to believe her, but knew there was nothing she could do about it from the other side of the world and simply pursed her lips disappointedly.
"All right, well-" her words suddenly cut short and her face dropped. Chris eyed her mother curiously, even more so when the older woman began to smirk seductively. "Well, hello."
Chris opened her mouth to speak, but was silenced quickly.
"Hey," Owen chuckled from behind.
Chris' face dropped and when she looked at the screen, she could see him. In the small box in the corner where Chris could see herself, she saw Owen standing behind her with his bare chest completely on display and still wearing his boxers.
"Oh god," Chris mumbled as she buried her face in her hands again.
"And who are you then?"
Chris was mortified that her mother was openly flirting with Owen, while he couldn't fight the grin.
"Owen Grady." He replied as he stepped a bit closer. "You must be Mrs. Pratt?"
"Angela, please," she continued to swoon, "And it's Miss. Her father's gone."
Chris' eyes went wide.
"Aren't you just a… strapping young man."
"Oh my god!" Chris snapped in shock. Owen was laughing heartily at Angela's brazen attitude, while her daughter was stunned. "I'll call you later mum, love you." She said briskly before slamming the laptop shut.
"So," Owen said with a light laugh as he stepped around her and slid into the dinning area across from her. He was still smiling. "Your mom seems nice."
Chris openly glared at him which only made him laugh again. While she wanted to be mad that he was playing along with her mother, honestly she just didn't care. Chris was still a bit tired, and she knew her mom well enough to know she'd flirt with any attractive young man, and Owen was an attractive young man.
"What time is it?" he asked with a groan as he stretched.
"Nearly eight-thirty," she told him. Owen nodded slightly as he looked around, "Tuesday morning."
That seemed to get his attention and he couldn't hide his surprise when he looked at her again.
"Seriously?"
Chris nodded slowly.
"We've been asleep for nearly twenty-four hours."
"Holy shit," he mumbled.
"Yeah," she sighed.
"The hell are we supposed to do now?"
"No clue." She told him honestly. "Claire'll call us when somethin' happens, but I've no idea how long that'll take. Ya know?"
He felt himself nodding again. They were –for lack of a better term- stuck in Limbo. They knew where they were, but there was nothing there, nothing to occupy their time or give them direction.
Owen scratched the back of his head and caught a brief whiff of himself in the process. He groaned internally, but did his best to keep from scowling outwardly. He needed a shower, badly.
"I should probably head home." He said. Owen pushed himself to his feet and approached the narrow couch where he'd set his clothes the day before. "Shower, check on Blue, all that jazz."
"Right," Chris sighed the word softly, "She's on her own now, isn't she?"
Owen nodded as he pulled on his jeans. They were both well aware that the young Raptor had always been apart of a group and now her three sisters were dead. The following weeks were going to be… interesting to say the least, especially since the pack animal now had to deal with being alone.
Chris had been lost in her thoughts for so long, she didn't realize Owen had dressed completely. Him approaching her with his vest in his hands, but wearing everything else caught her attention.
"You gonna stop by and check on her?"
"Yeah," she nodded as she pushed herself upright. Chris didn't realize she'd taken to lying on her tabletop as she thought. "Yeah, I'll be 'round later, I suspect. I should head to the office, see how many of us are left."
Owen nodded. To her surprise, he knelt down just enough to kiss her. It lasted only a moment before he pulled back, smiled and said his farewell. Chris was smirking to herself and blushing like a teenager, but she couldn't help it. She liked Owen, a lot.
~!~
Isla Nublar was… quiet.
It was unsettling, actually. The island had once been a hub of activity. Dinosaurs roamed around the majority of the island and where they didn't, people did. Thousands of tourists, thousands of employees, tens of thousand of dinos and now there was a mere fraction of that left. It was amazing how much the overall volume of the island dipped.
No more tourists took care of any traffic around the control center because there was no one blocking you from getting into the massive visitor's building in the middle of the park. It looked like a ghost town and that was only added to by the fact that the majority of the park had been destroyed.
Roughly half of the dinosaur population was gone. It seemed a staggering number, but it was true. The Indominous had made its way through a fair amount of the valley before reaching the park and in that time killed brachiosaurs, triceratops, and every other breed people didn't know by name off the top of their heads. The numbers were still being calculated.
And roughly half of the employees were gone, too. Some had died, others were on medical leave (both physical and mental) and some simply weren't needed. As it was, InGen had blacklisted the island to anyone who wasn't vital to the company. Those they needed however, included Owen, Barry, Chris and Claire along with a few random others. They were basically working with a skeleton crew because there was no need to man the kiosks, restaurants, hotel, petting zoo, or tour guides to give tours. At this point, it seemed that anyone who didn't have to maintain an animal's health or wasn't responsible for controlling the assets' containment and habitats, weren't allowed on the island.
Again, Isla Nublar had gone deathly silent. It was beyond eerie.
Chris rode down the familiar dirt roads towards the raptor paddock to check on Blue. It had been a week since the incident and evidently, Blue was beginning to realize her sisters weren't going to come out of hiding.
When she made it to the paddock, Chris saw evidence remaining of the InGen soldiers and it made her stomach sink. She was instantly annoyed at nothing more than their memory. Idiots, all of them.
Owen stood over the Raptor paddock and felt his heart break the longer he did. Three of his girls were gone and Blue was alone. That didn't bode well for her mental health and it scared the handler.
They still didn't know what was going on, either. The higher-ups hadn't divulged their plans for Jurassic World. Every time he asked Claire what was happening, she always replied with I don't know. They won't tell me anything. Perhaps he should have been surprised, but part of him wasn't. By keeping it ambiguous, they almost guaranteed some of their labor. People who had actual patients like him, and Chris, couldn't leave. There was literally no one else in the world to take care of the animals if they did quit. So, InGen did their best to keep from telling anyone whether or not they were fired, just to be sure no one left prematurely.
It had been days since the Indominous attack and things were slowly starting to come into view. With the shock of it gone, the death and destruction could be seen with a clear head. It was substantial.
Owen and Barry heard the sound of an approaching vehicle and headed towards the parking lot. Still on edge, they felt compelled to investigate to see if some of the higher-ups had finally decided to close them down. Both were relieved to see Chris.
"Hey." Owen smiled.
"Hi." She said in return.
Without bothering to hide the fact, Owen laced an arm around her back when they were close and kissed her cheek without a second thought to Barry being near. Truth was, he didn't care. On the one hand, Barry was his friend and on the other, after everything, who gives a damn if he and Chris have a thing? Honestly.
"So, how is she?" she asked when she parted from the hug she gave Barry. They'd all been through so much together, it instantly bonded them as friends.
"Lonely." Barry replied. "She's beginning to realize the others are gone."
Chris' heart sank for the Raptor. Alongside her hosts, she headed for the upper catwalk to have a look for herself.
"Are they goin' to breed new siblings for her?" she asked Owen.
"I doubt it." He said with a sigh. "She'd probably turn on them, anyway."
"Right," Chris mumbled.
He was right to be worried about them introducing anything else to Blue. This was her paddock, her home and territory and no one was allowed inside. The only reason she got on so well with her siblings was because they'd been raised together from egg to adulthood. Even if they waited until the new raptors were roughly the same size as Blue, there was a distinct possibility she'd sense something off about them, and turn anyway.
Chris watched down below, but she never caught sight of Blue. A few of the bushes ruffled and she could hear the heavy footfalls, but the raptor was nowhere near as curious as she once was, flanked by her sisters. It was sad, and Chris didn't know how she was meant to help the animal.
"You stopping by later?" Owen asked after a lengthy silence.
Chris shifted enough to look at the man beside her and noticed his smirk as he leaned against the catwalk railing.
"S'pose I can, why?"
His smile broadened and a deep chuckle left his lips. Chris rolled her eyes in response.
"I need to head out." She said as she headed once again towards the Jeep, "I still have to check on the Rex and a few other beasties, but I'll be back day after tomorrow to take her vitals."
With the vets whittled down and the injuries most of the living animals had experienced, Chris was busier than normal. She felt bad she couldn't stay and actually devote time to Blue, but the Raptor's physical health wasn't in question. She was strong, her cuts healed and she was healthy. It was only her mind that may weaken, but there was nothing Chris could do for that. And as she told Owen, Chris had to tend to animals with actual physical injuries.
Owen walked her to her car, said goodbye and continued to smirk as she drove off. When she had vanished from sight, his smile faded and he turned back to the paddock. He didn't know what to do about Blue and her behavior –or lack there of- worried him.
~!~
Later that night, Chris and Owen found themselves sitting on his dock overlooking the water. The sun was gone, the stars had finally come out and the pair of them was so thoroughly tired, it was impressive. Chris couldn't remember the last time she felt so exhausted. The last week had taken nearly everything out of her.
With a sigh, Chris fell onto her back. Her feet stayed in the water as she lay on the dock and stared blankly into the sky above. There were so many stars. They were beautiful, almost beautiful enough for her to forget everything.
"The hell are we meant to do now?" she asked with a sigh.
Owen said nothing at first and instead lay down beside her. Despite knowing the meaning behind her statement, something else immediately came to mind. He couldn't help it. Sarcasm and flirtation were his defaults.
"I can think of a few things." He said leadingly.
The tone wasn't lost on Chris. She slowly turned her head to look at the man beside her just as Owen did the same. He bore a wide smirk. Chris couldn't help the laugh that left her lips at his ridiculousness. The sound only made his smile grow.
"Perv." She mused.
Owen shrugged a single shoulder.
"It'd be a good way to pass a few hours."
Her brows rose and she snorted another laugh.
"Hours?" she giggled, "Really?"
Chris didn't bother hiding her sarcastic derision with his obvious boasting and while he knew she was teasing him, Owen didn't bother hiding his mock offense. Instead, he shoved himself up onto his elbows to look down at her. Chris met his eye and didn't bother removing her smile.
"What was that?" he asked, despite knowing exactly what she meant.
"I'm jus' sayin'… hours seemed a bit ambitious for you, no?" she continued to tease.
"Ambi… I'll show you."
He immediately lunged for her. Chris couldn't fight the laughter as he fell on top of her clumsily. Owen buried his face in the nape of her neck as he smothered her beneath his massive frame. He growled, made ridiculous noises and acted like a complete fool which only encouraged Chris' laughter.
She squirmed beneath him and shoved uselessly at his barrel chest.
"Get off me, ya idiot." She laughed.
Owen pulled back, but remained over her. He grinned down at the young woman less than a foot from him.
As they stared at one another -still wearing their smirks- the same feelings that had been growing between them the majority of their time knowing one another resurfaced. Without bothering to ask or give her any indication to what he planned, Owen leaned forward and kissed her. Chris reciprocated without a second thought.
Just like before, passions between them grew quickly and soon they were pawing at one another. Before he could be swept away in the moment, Owen pulled away. Chris didn't have a chance to ask why before he acted.
Owen shot to his feet and dipped down. In one swift action, he grabbed Chris by the wrist, pulled her to her feet, and -to her shock- threw her over his shoulder. She couldn't fight the surprised squeak that left her lips, but she didn't stop him.
"Where are we going?" she finally managed to ask as she was taken away from the water.
"We're taking this party inside."
Heat filled her face and her body began to tingle.
"Finally," Was all she could think.
AN: I am so, so, so, soooo sorry it took forever for me to actually write a chapter. Seriously. So sorry, but writer's block is a bitch. I mean, really. I was stumped, totally and completely. Now, before anybody gets their pitchforks because of where I ended it, I did that on purpose. I wanted to know how far or "in depth" you wanted the next chapter with them to get? Everyone's taste is different, yes, but I use you guys as a guide for my ideas. So, just let me know and I'll hopefully have the final chapter up in about a week. Thanks for reading and sticking with it! Let me know about the next chapter. Thanks!
