"Can we go now?" Owen asked Agent Banks as he wondered towards them. He took a step to the right, placing Maisie slightly behind him when he noticed Agent Banks focus was solely on her as he approached.
"Not quite yet, I'm afraid." Agent Banks answered and motioned towards Maisie. "I need to ask her a few questions."

"Like what?" Claire spoke up, stepping beside Owen, Maisie now tucked behind both of them.

"Mr. Mills is claiming the child should be in his care after the passing of Mr. Lockwood." Agent Banks explained.

"That's a load of shit!" Owen snapped. Claire laid her hand on his arm. Doing her best to silently warn him to keep calm.

"What Owen means is she was placed in our care after Mr. Lockwood passed. Our lawyer had Maisie's file which includes all of Mr. Lockwood's legal documents. No where in his will states who cares for Maisie after his passing." Claire's gaze zeroed in on Eli as she watched him shift uncomfortable. His eyes met hers and he narrowed his, throwing her a warning glare. "I can have all paperwork sent over to you regarding our guardianship."

With another quick call to Karen, Claire handed the phone over to one of the FBI agents where Karen confirmed Maisie was in fact under their care. Agent Banks double checked all paperwork Karen forwarded to his email. He smiled up at Claire, "You guys are free to go. Thank you for clearing that up."

Claire reached out and shook his hand before wrapping her arm around Maisie's shoulders. Her eyes swept over the chaos in front of them until they landed on Eli once again, now being approached by Agent Banks. She knew he was informing Eli that Maisie was not his to fight for. She waited, the corner of her mouth switched as she hid her smirk at the reaction she knew was coming.

"Bullshit!" Eli yelled.

Claire caught his eye and before she realized it, she was walking over to him. She could barely hear Owen and Maisie calling for her. Fingers wrapped around her wrist, but she slipped free, ignoring Owen. She stopped at Agent Banks' outstretched arm, her finger jabbing in Eli's direction. "Give it up, Mills. You lose, you son-of-a-bitch. It's your turn to be locked up! Only difference is we got out and you are going to rot in your cell. If I were you I'd take the plea because there's no way you'll survive if you ever walk free again." She watched his eyes narrow and a slow smirk forming, but before he could speak, she answered his unasked question. "Yes, Eli, that was a threat." She briefly turned towards Agent Banks, "Let it be known that I am threatening Eli Mills with his life if he comes near my daughter again."

"Did you hear her!" Eli fought against the hands holding him in place, his wrists twisting in his handcuffs. "She threatened my life. I'm pressing charges."

Claire stepped back as Agent Banks moved her away. He silently motioned for her to go and as she walked away Agent Banks answered Eli, "Hear what?" Claire couldn't hide her snicker as she walked back to a very tense Owen.

"You stopped me from going after him!" Owen hissed, grabbing Claire's hand as if he was afraid she'd walk away again. "What makes it ok for you?"

"Because I finished my battle with words and not my fists." She said and twisted her hand in his to thread their fingers together. "Let's go home."

At Claire's words, Maisie spun around and all but dove into the backseat of the car. She was more than ready to leave. Claire was surprised when Owen moved around to the passenger's side and slid in, leaving Claire to drive. The three were silent as they turned around in the driveway. Maisie glanced out her window at the estate and for the first time she no longer felt it was her home. She didn't miss being there. Relaxing against the seat she turned her attention to the two in front of her. They were her home. She finally belonged.

As they left the estate behind, Maisie felt no remorse for the nine-years she spent there. She never felt more alive than she did in this moment. Her eyes drifted to the back of Claire's head as she drove. She called her, her daughter. The mother she dreamed about her whole life was a woman that cared deeply for her. There were many moments when Maisie imagined her mother wrapping her in her arms and loving her more than she could imagine. Never did she realize that woman would end up being an absolute stranger with no blood relation. She smiled as she watched Claire drive, every once in a while glancing over her shoulder at Maisie and then towards Owen.

The night may have been full of stress, fear and worry if she was actually important enough to Owen to have him fight for her. In the end he may have done what he could, but it was Claire that kept the three of them together. Her daughter. Claire fought for her daughter.

Maisie smiled at Claire, feeling completely at ease. She curled up against the door, relaxing enough to feel exhausted. She finally felt safe enough to fall asleep. After all, her Mom would do all she could to protect her.

Claire waited until Maisie slumped over from exhaustion to speak. "You ok?" She asked, sparing a glance in Owen's direction before focusing back on the road.

"Mmhm," he hummed, his focus set out his window, face fully turned away from Claire. He couldn't get the images from the night out of his head. Twice they fought the enemy together, but this time he felt like he was her enemy. He attacked her. He almost shot her. He wanted the shadow in front of him dead and he was prepared to do whatever it took to help Claire. Which didn't matter in the end because it was her he was going to hurt.

"Owen," Claire said slowly, reaching across the car and resting her hand on his knee. He cringed away immediately. She hesitated, her hand outstretched, hovering over his leg. Glancing quickly in his direction she let her hand fall back to his thigh only to have him cringe away again. "Hey," she whispered, unable to hide the hurt in her voice as she pulled her hand away and laid it on the gear shift. "Owen, look at me."

He gave one quick shake of his head. "Not now, Claire."

Opening her mouth to protest, she glance at him once more and locked her lips together. He was hurting in more ways than one and it wasn't her touch he needed right now. Though usually that was the one thing that always calmed him down, she knew the exact reason why, this time, it wasn't.

The rest of the ride home was silent. Claire trying her best to concentrate on the dark road leading back to the city and Owen's still frame. Did he fall asleep, was he too deep in thought to even move a muscle?

Once she pulled in the carpark, she reached for Owen's shoulder, but he slid a little too quickly out of the car and had the back door open to collect Maisie. "I'll just…" Claire trailed off as she gestured towards the building. "I'll get the door."

Owen laid Maisie down on her bed, she barely stirred as he backed away, turning briefly towards Claire, but certain not to make eye contact. "Want to get her changed? I'm sure she doesn't want to sleep in her clothes."

Claire nodded once, her eyes locked on Owen as she stumbled through Maisie's dresser for pajamas. She watched Owen leave, shutting the door behind him. She desperately wanted to follow him, but Maisie shifted in bed and Claire concentrated on getting her changed and tucked in.

Owen changed quickly into sweats and a t-shirt before focusing on the bed. Their bed. Claire's bed. His mind whirled back to the flashlight that turned on in the woods as Claire ran. The flashlight that had him aiming his gun in her direction. His finger twitched as he remembered just how close he was to pulling the trigger. Then Blue, Blue saved her from him. His stomach turned as he remembered Blue wrestling with him. If she didn't stop him…

Owen's thoughts trailed off as he beelined for the bathroom, his stomach trying to expel anything he had in it. His whole body shook as he remembered the anger surging through him when he saw the shadow in the darkness. The force he used to tackle the enemy to the ground. Claire. He once again tried to hurt Claire. The only thing he was out to protect. The one person he was willing to follow any order to keep her safe… In the end it was him she needed protection from.

Claire stood silently in the doorway to the bathroom, tears streaming silently down her cheeks as she watched Owen internally beat himself up. She knew exactly what had him so worked up. It was her.

Shutting the door behind her, she pulled her shirt over her head and started the shower. Owen stayed sitting against the wall near the toilet, knees pulled up to his chest and his face buried in his hands. Claire knelt down in front of him, reaching out and wrapping her fingers around his wrists, tugging lightly. "Let's get cleaned up."

The sound of her voice had him peeking through his fingers, and finally pulling his hands away from his eyes when he noticed she was in her bra and jeans. He studied her for a moment, the way her skin slid over her ribs as she moved, the way her fingers felt on his sides as she tried to lift his shirt over his head.

Glancing up at her, he met her eyes briefly before jumping to his feet, causing Claire to fall back on her bottom. "Don't." He said flatly, his back pressing against the wall. Claire stood up, her hands returning to the hem of his shirt. "Claire…" Owen's voice shook.

"Look at me, Owen." Claire stepped back, her arms stretched out as she stood in front of him. She waited until his eyes briefly landed on her shoulders before trailing down to the bruise on her side. Bringing her left hand down, she pointed to the bruise. "This is the only thing that hurts and it's not from you." She reached behind her and unhooked her bra, leaving her top half completely bare. "You point out one other mark on me from tonight. Of all people in this world I'm pretty sure you know my body even better than I do." She hesitated as he concentrated on her shoulders and arms. "Show me one sign of your hands on me." She demanded as she reached for his wrists, bringing his hands to her shoulders. "I only know this touch. The guy who tackled me to the ground? He was desperately trying to get his family back. I'd be concerned if you just walked up to us and wanted to start a conversation." She snickered, hoping to bring a hint of a smile to his face, but he only let his hands softly drift down her arms.

"I'm sorry, Claire. If I had done anything to hurt you—" Owen started, but Claire cut him off.

"Shut up." She snapped. The tone in her voice had him snapping his mouth shut and watching her closely. Now he knew he made her angry… but he felt this was the reaction he deserved. She should be angry at him. When his eyes met hers he didn't see anger there. He's seen her stare angrily at him many times before. There was no anger there. He tilted his head slightly as he tried to understand the look she was giving him.

Bringing her hands to cup his face, she softly swept her thumbs across his cheeks and stepped closer to him. "I'm not going to let you fight whatever internal battle you're having alone. I'm not going to let you get lost in guilt." She waited a moment while Owen finally understood what she was doing. His eyes softened and she felt his jaw relax under her touch. "Yeah," she nodded, the corner of her lips twitching in a slight smile. "You spoke those exact words to me the night of Jurassic World." She looked around the bathroom briefly before continuing. "We stood in the hotel bathroom. I was killing myself in guilt of everything that happened and you spoke those words to me. Now it's my turn. Let me help you."

The look in her eyes now made sense to him. It was the look of fear and pain— the exact look he had in his when he wasn't sure if he was enough to help her. The pull in his heart came back as he remembered just how much he wanted to remove every bad emotion in her body. How much he would have gladly carried her burdens. Now here she was giving him that same look.

"Do you know how much I love you?" He whispered, bringing his hands up to rest on her hips.

"Yeah," Claire smiled and took the final step that would close the space between them. "I think I have an idea because I love you, too." She said and brushed her lips against his, giving him the chance to pull back, but his needs matched her own and he crushed his lips against hers as he swiftly removed her remaining clothes while she worked on undressing him. They stumbled lazily into the shower, taking their time until the water ran cold.