They hadn't spoken of Browning since their argument a couple of weeks ago. Owen was still a little agitated, but that was waning as the time passed and they spent more wonderfully sexy nights together. She'd been going down on him a lot more lately - apologizing, he thought. He wasn't complaining; nor did she when he returned the favor.

it wasn't all about sex, though. In fact, there had been quite the steep decrease in the number of times per week they fucked. On the one hand, it was an it upsetting, but on the other, he knew that meant they were moving beyond that "honeymoon phase" and turning into something more. And he was very anxious to get to more with her.

...

On one such sexless night, she was staying at his place. They had shared a meal and conversation and he showed her the large, full moon rising over the lagoon. They lounged together in his hammock, talking about the raptors and InGen's new threat of legal action against Masrani Global. Mr. Masrani had sided with Owen, despite all the pressure, and agreed they shouldn't add more raptors to the island. They then discussed what little progress that had been made regarding bringing in chickens to farm as they readied for bed. Soon, he had kissed her goodnight and they were drifting off, his arm tucked under her neck, holding one of her hands as she slept with her back to him.

He had a strange dream. Something about buzzing noises and machines beeping. There was a phone ringing that he couldn't find to answer. When he stirred awake, he realized it was his phone buzzing across the nightstand, and hers, ringing in her purse on the dresser, that had caused the frustrating dream.

"Yeah?" he answered groggily. It was still dark out. What time was it? Claire rolled over in her sleep, groaning quietly. She was waking up, too.

"Owen," Barry said, his voice strained. "Why haven't you been answering your phone? The raptors got out. They're loose!"

"What?" he said, his sleep logged brain registering the panic but not able to respond fast enough. "They're out?" He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "How?"

"Is that my phone?" Claire asked, her voice higher than usual.

"Get up," he told her, holding the phone away from him as he stood, looking around for a pair of pants. "Claire!" he called urgently.

"Are you home?" he heard Barry ask.

"Yeah," he answered, fumbling with his pant legs.

Claire stumbled out of the bed and grabbed her cell. "Lowery?" she asked as she answered. "What's wrong? What happened?" Even in the near darkness, Owen could see her face pale. "Close the gates. Get ACU out there. Get all the guests in Zone A then seal it," she said, her composure and wits rapidly coming back. "Are you tracking them? Where are they?"

"Owen," Barry said. "We're trying to follow them. They've picked up a scent."

"They're hunting?" Owen asked incredulously. Shit!

"Or tracking," Barry said uneasily. "They're heading your way."

"We have to go," Claire hissed at him, apparently having just received the same information he had.

"How close?" he asked Barry.

"We'll be there," Barry assured him, though his words only proved to be disconcerting. That meant they were too close. "We're right behind them, Owen. I've got our ACU team with me."

He hung up the phone tossing it somewhere in his haste. He reached under his bed and pulled out the long rifle box. He opened it and pulled his nightstand drawer open as well, searching for the handgun he kept there. He grabbed both firearms and held his hand out to Claire. "Get off the phone," he told her quietly, trying to sound calm.

Her eyes were wide. He could hear Lowery's phone still coming through the earpiece before being cut off by her ending the call.

"Come with me," he said softly, still holding his hand out to her. She took it and he immediately pulled her to the bathroom. He moved her to crouch down in the shower. "Have you ever shot one of these?" he asked, showing her the hand gun. She nodded. "Okay. Good," he breathed. "Safety's off," he said as he flicked the small switch and handed it to her. "Shoot anything that comes through that door. Unless it's me," he added, only half joking.

"No, no, no," she said quickly, grabbing his arm. "Where are you going? You can't go."

"Claire-" he started.

"Owen, you can't-"

"Sh!" he said suddenly. He held a hand over her mouth and a finger to his lips as he listened.

He heard a faint sound, something between a clicking and a tapping noise. Silently, he turned, pulling the rifle off his shoulder and slowly edged toward the door of the bathroom. Once outside the room he closed the door after a quick glance and nod at Claire. A noise outside drew his attention. It sounded like something leaning against the railing of his shack and fallen. His fishing poles, maybe?

He crouched low as he passed the window over his sink. Lights flashed momentarily through the window as a car pulled into the clearing his trailer sat on. There was some shouting and then, suddenly, shots. There was a loud thump over his head - one of them was on the roof.

"Delta!" He heard Barry's voice call out. "No!"

Owen hurried to his door and looked out the small window. He took a quick breath then pushed outside, shutting the door quickly behind him, his rifle raised as he aimed at the top of his trailer. Echo was there, her eyes trained on him and her tail twitching behind her. Before anything could happen, a bolt hit her and she fell, sliding off the backside of the trailer.

"Owen!" Barry yelled. "Get out of there!"

He walked backwards as quickly as he could towards the ACU vehicle, his rifle sweeping through his line of sight, trusting the guys behind him to cover his back.

"Come on," Barry urged at which point Owen turned around and had to step over another fallen raptor - Delta, he realized - to reach the vehicle. "Take one of these," he said, handing over a nonlethal rifle, charged with tasers.

"How did they get out?" Owen demanded.

"Must have climbed the walls," he said. "The gates never opened."

"And they want to add more," Owen scoffed.

Another vehicle pulled up, more ACU. The driver got out and from no where, Charlie was suddenly on him. The man cried out in shock and pain. Acting quickly, Charlie was stunned by multiple troopers.

"Where are you, Blue?" Barry muttered.

Many of guards had night vision goggles on and were looking around in the trees surrounding them. It was silent save for the agonizing cries of the guard who Charlie attacked coming from inside the car were others had stashed him for the time being.

"I need to get back to the trailer," Owen said. He felt so uneasy about the quiet he thought he might be sick. Claire was in there alone with only a handgun to protect herself. He prayed she was quick with it if she needed to be.

"Why?" Barry hissed.

Owen didn't answer, and when his friend looked back at him, bewildered, he shifted uneasily.

"Is someone in there?" Barry asked. Owen nodded, his jaw clenching. "Dearing?" he asked incredulously. "Jesus, Owen," he griped. "Hell of a time."

"Can't they tell us where she is?" someone behind Owen whispered.

"Control," another trooper hailed softly into his earpiece. "We need the location of the fourth asset."

After a short pause, the trooper whistled quietly to draw their attention. He made a few hand signals and a small group split off, Owen and Barry following. They headed around the perimeter of the small clearing until they could see the back of the trailer. The trooper held up his hand so everyone stopped. Those with night vision must have spotted her in the trees. They aimed and shot off the tasers but missed. Owen caught a brief look at her blue stripes as she ran to the back of his shack. They continued firing. Owen and Barry tried calling out for her to stop, not that they expected her to listen but maybe she'd slow down a little.

Following after her, the small team rounded the corner of trailer. There was an angry cry from over there heads and Blue jumped off the roof of the shack, landing on two troopers before attacking a third. Owen fired and caught her in the neck just as she was about to chomp down on the guard's head.

The other members of ACU swarmed around them and came to the aid of their fallen comrades. Owen was breathing heavily, his eyes fixed on Blue, unable to fully comprehend the madness that the night had become. He shoved the rifle into Barry's chest and jogged around his trailer to the door.

"Claire!" he called out. He paused at the bathroom door, not wanting to spook her while she had a gun. "It's over. I'm coming in." He opened the door and she met him half way, leaving the gun on the floor of the shower. She threw her arms around him and he hugged her tightly.

"I heard screaming," she breathed.

He nodded against her. "Yeah, I know. But it's done."

"Are they...?"

"They're knocked out," he said, not knowing if she'd have preferred the raptors be spared or killed at that moment.

She nodded and hugged him tighter before pulling back an hitting his shoulder. "Never do that again!" she warned. "You do not get to leave me in here like I'm a child!"

"Come on," he said, not willing to argue with her. "I'll take you home."

"Owen," she said, still angry. "You can't do that." He heard her voice crack. "I go where you go."

He nodded. "Okay." He grabbed her hand. "I'm going to your place, so that means you're coming with me."

"You don't have to stay?"

"I have to be with you," he said. His tone was hard but he wasn't upset with her. He was angry that the girl's had escaped somehow. In the morning he'd have to comb the entire paddock himself. He didn't trust anyone else's eyes at the moment.

He grabbed her purse off the dresser, tossing it to her, and grabbed his phone off his bed. She collected some of her clothes and hurriedly pulled her skirt up her bare legs and threw her jacket on over his shirt she had put on before going to bed. She stuffed her blouse into her purse and took his hand again as he lead her out.

There were curious glances as they walked to Claire's car, but the only person to say anything about her being there was the one trooper who came to talk to Owen about transporting the raptors to the Ark.

"We'll keep them sedated. We have to know what the problem was at the paddock before we let them back in," he said. "The vets will want to look over them anyway. That one," he gestured to Charlie, "got hit pretty bad." Owen nodded and then the man looked to Claire. "They didn't tell us you would be here, Miss Dearing. I'm happy to see you're safe."

She cleared her throat. "Thank you."

"I'll check in with Gilles in the morning," Owen told him. "Make sure Barry stays with the girls."

The man nodded and Owen opened the door to the driver's seat to Claire. But she declined, shaking her head. "I can't. You drive." She handed him the keys from her purse and walked to the other side of the car.

...

Later, when they were laying down in her bed after he'd showered again and she had made the sad comment that people would know about them now, she turned to him, wrapping one arm around his chest.

"I'm mad at you for leaving me there."

He kissed the top of her head. "Yeah, I know."

"If something had happened..."

"I'm okay," he assure her.

"What if one had gotten inside?" she asked softly, her voice full of concern. "What if I had to...?" She turned her face into his side but she wasn't crying. "You would hate me," she said sadly.

"No, I wouldn't," he said with a soft sigh.

"You'd never forgive me," she insisted.

He rolled over to look at her, mad that she would ever think such a thing. "No," he said firmly. He placed his hand on her cheek. "I wouldn't have given you the gun if I didn't want you to protect yourself."

"I know you care about them."

"You're more important," he admitted without shame or hesitation. "By a lot, Claire. If I have to choose between you and the raptors, I choose you. Every time, okay?"

She shifted closer and kissed him gently.

"I love you," he said when she pulled back. It felt like as good a time as any. A fright like the one they had that night did wonders for putting things in perspective. He didn't want to live this life with her and never say it. She had to know. He needed her to hear it.

She didn't say it back but she also didn't pull away or run. Instead, she kissed him again and then snuggled into his chest. Her hands drew small circles on his back as they fell asleep.