Chapter 26

It wasn't until they were walking across the tarmac towards the Jurassic World emblazoned helicopter, that Owen finally allowed himself to believe that everything was over, at last. The week he'd spent in the hospital had been at least five days too many, in his opinion, and only that few because he'd spent the first two drifting in and out of consciousness, never really fully aware when he was awake.

Feeling Claire squeeze his hand, he realized that he'd stopped in his tracks and was just staring at the helicopter.

"I'm just–" he started, before shrugging, unable to find the right words to express what he was feeling and just giving her a weak smile instead.

"Yeah," she replied, nodding, and from the look she shared with him, he knew she understood. "C'mon. The sooner we get on, the sooner we'll be home."

"Home," Owen repeated, starting forward again. "I like the sound of that."

"Me too," Claire nodded enthusiastically. "No more hospitals, please."

"Hey, what do you have to complain about?" he argued. "You weren't the one practically tied to the bed."

"Yeah, well if you had stopped trying to escape, no one would have felt the need to do so," she laughed, gesturing for him to climb into the helicopter ahead of her.

"I never get why they think you'll heal faster in an environment where they're poking at you all hours of the day and night, and then sounding concerned that you're tired and say you aren't sleeping well. Who can sleep well when you're constantly being woken up?"

"Well, tonight you'll be back in your own bed," Claire reminded him, as she settled into her seat, accepting the two sets of headphones that the pilot passed back.

Owen was still struggling with his seatbelt after she'd put hers on, and he frowned at her when she pushed his hands away, quickly buckling it for him.

"You're supposed to keep that arm immobile, remember?" she said, passing over the headphones.

Owen struggled with getting them on, but he glared at Claire when she tried to help, and she backed off and raised her hands.

"I can do it myself," he told her as he continued to fumble with them, hating that his tone came out petulant, and that he knew he sounded like a toddler.

Eventually, he did get the headphones on, and he leaned back in his seat, shifting around, trying to get comfortable, which wasn't easy as his shoulder was throbbing.

"Here."

He looked over at Claire to see she was holding out a couple of pills and a bottle of water.

"It's not the ones that make you feel drowsy, I promise," she told him when he didn't take them right away. "Take them, Owen. You'll feel better — and probably be in a better mood — if you're not in pain."

Grumbling, he did as instructed, popping the pills into his mouth before he used the bottle of water to wash them down. After handing the bottle back, he leaned back again, closing his eyes. He felt Claire's hand reach for his and he turned his over, threading their fingers together, before pulling their hands up and pressing a kiss to the back of hers. His eyes opened again, when he felt her lean into him, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"Rest," she told him, "I'll wake you when we get there."

He didn't actually think he'd be able to sleep, but he knew he was still overestimating how well he was and that his body still needed time to heal. When Claire woke him up an hour later, he yawned and instinctively started to stretch, before his shoulder reminded him that it was a bad idea, and instead he winced.

Blinking his eyes, he turned his gaze out the window, before doing a double take at the island they were approaching. That was definitely not Nublar. He looked over at Claire, not quite sure he could believe what he was seeing.

"I know you," she told him, shrugging slightly. "You won't be able to fully rest until you see Blue again with your own eyes."

"You're amazing, did you know that?" he told her, ducking his head down to give her a quick kiss, before he turned and stared out the window again, his eyes locking on the raptor paddock, although it was still too far away for him to make out anything.

Soon, the helicopter was flying over the island, and he felt a shiver run up his spine when he saw the three raptors standing frozen in their paddock, their eyes tracking the helicopter's movements across the sky.

Landing seemed to take forever, and getting unbuckled and out of the helicopter even longer. But then he was back standing on Sorna. He breathed deeply, glad to be back to fresh island air and far from the constant smell of antiseptics and death.

He looked around for Claire, suddenly realizing she wasn't at his side anymore, and turned around to see she was saying something to the pilot. He was about to retrace his steps back to her, when he heard his name called out.

Turning back around, he saw Barry and Zia approaching, and he hurried over to them.

"It's so good to see you," Barry said, clapping him on the back.

"Thank god you're not dead," Zia exclaimed as she gave him a hug and Owen tried not to wince, reaching his one good arm around her to hug back.

"Still very much alive," he told them.

"I can't believe they shot you," Zia said, stepping back. "Idiots."

"I can't believe they shot Blue," Owen replied, his gaze darting past the two towards the raptor paddock.

"Well, no long term harm there," Zia reassured him, following his gaze. "Everything's healing nicely."

"How are Echo and Charlie?" Owen asked.

"Happy to have their sister back," Barry replied. "I don't know who was more surprised — Blue when she woke up back in the paddock, or Charlie and Echo when they first saw her."

Owen nodded absently. Barry had sent along a video of that reunion, and Owen had watched it more times than he could count. "They're all doing well now? Really? No more fighting?"

Because of Blue's injury and because of how long she'd been away (and they didn't know what she could've been exposed to), Barry and Molly and Zia had decided to initially keep her separated from Charlie and Echo. That's and they also hadn't been sure how the reunion would go.

They'd initially placed Blue in the smaller half of the paddock. But, even with the gate closed, the three raptors had been able to see and somewhat interact with each other, allowing them to start to get used to the others' presence again.

It was only yesterday that they had opened the gate, allowing the raptors to mingle. It hadn't gone well, Echo and Blue almost immediately getting into a fight. Charlie's loyalty had appeared divided, but she'd mostly sided with Echo. Owen knew that Barry and Zia had debated separating them again, but from his peek into the paddock from the helicopter, they appeared to all still be together.

"Really," Zia nodded.

"Absolument," Barry agreed. "Yesterday was a bit rough, but it got better as the day went on. And aside from the occasional small skirmish, today's been mostly action free. C'mon and come say hi. I know they'll all be delighted to see you. They keep looking around each time I show up, like they're waiting for you to appear."

Owen wasn't quite sure if Barry was just humouring him, but he didn't care. He eagerly set off in the direction of the paddock the other two at his side. They had only made it a few steps away, when he felt Claire's presence. He slowed his gait slightly, waiting for her to catch up, reaching for her hand as soon as she neared.

"Everything okay?" he asked softly, unsure what she'd been delayed by.

"Perfect," she told him. "Was just letting the pilot know we'd probably be here for a few hours."

"So, Claire," Barry interrupted. "I'm surprised you're still willing to hang around with this oaf after dealing with him in the hospital for a week."

"He is good at trying one's patience, isn't he?" Claire joked back, and while Owen wanted to be offended, what he actually was, was just relieved to see that Claire looked like she was finally relaxing. He knew that the past week hadn't been any easier on her than it had been for him, even if she hadn't been confined to a hospital bed.

"I don't remember you complaining," he said with a grin.

"That's because I saved it for when you slept," Claire shot back, a grin of her own on her face.

He was about to reply, but then he heard the raptors. He wasn't sure what had got their attention. Maybe they'd been waiting since the helicopter had landed. Or maybe they could smell him. But as they approached the outside gate, Owen could see them crowded together by the inner gate, all of them chittering excitedly, their gazes occasionally darting to each other before they looked back out at him.

Owen could tell his own grin was almost splitting his face in half. He dropped Claire's hand, moving immediately to the control panel, letting himself into the holding area and heading towards his girls. He vaguely heard Claire calling out from behind him, "Be careful, Owen."

He stopped a couple of feet back from the inner gate. As much as he wished he could just go up and, well, hug them, he also didn't have a death wish. And while he did trust them, his trust had limits, and he knew that they weren't always aware of how deadly their claws were even when they didn't mean any harm.

"Hi Blue, Echo, Charlie," he greeted them, his gaze travelling slowly from one to the next. They quieted as he spoke, although each one gave a chirp in greeting as he said their name. "I'm so happy to see all of you." He continued talking to them softly, as they occasionally interrupted him with chirps and chitters of their own.

When Blue started nosing at the gate, trying to push her snout through, Owen took a step closer, reaching out with his good hand, and rubbing it gently. Charlie and Echo, of course, immediately copied Blue's lead, and he spent some time cycling between the three of them.

He wasn't sure how long he stood there, interacting with them, before he heard the gate behind him opening again, and then Claire's voice as she approached him, although not getting as close to the inner gate as he was.

"How do they look?" she asked.

"Healthy," he told her, glancing over his shoulder at her, the smile still stretched across his face.

"Here, Barry thought you might want these."

He turned around to see she was holding a bucket of rats, her arm stretched out to keep them as far away from her as possible, her nose wrinkled.

"Thanks," he took the bucket, turning back to the raptors and doling out the treats, which they happily gobbled down.

Once the bucket was empty, the raptors slowly started to drift away from the gate, satisfied with their snack and the visit from their alpha. Owen stood there watching them, but when it became clear to the raptors that he wasn't going to call them back (nor did he have anymore treats), they wandered further away, before disappearing into the jungle within. He stared into the paddock for another minute, before turning away.

"You okay?" Claire asked, as he looked towards her. Over her shoulder he could see that Barry and Zia were still there, but had remained on the outside of the holding pen, giving him (and now Claire) some privacy.

"Yeah," he glanced back over his shoulder into the paddock, but the raptors remained out of sight. "Still can't really believe we got her back."

"Me either," Claire admitted.

Owen stepped closer to her, reaching for her, his hand lifting towards her cheek, only for Claire to dodge backwards, away from him.

"Ugh, no way Owen, you were just touching dead rats!" she said, shaking her head with disgust. He pretended to lunge towards her, and she squealed, backing up further. "Let's go find you a sink," she told him, heading for the gate and Owen stepped back to briefly grab the bucket he'd left lying on the ground before following her out of the holding pen.

"Are you able to stick around for a bit longer?" Zia asked, as the four of them walked across the field in the direction of the helicopter.

Owen was once again holding Claire's hand (he'd returned the bucket to the shed and washed his hands there), and he turned to her, puzzled and not sure what her plan was.

"Yeah, we can stay a bit longer," Claire said after a glance at her watch. "Why don't we go sit somewhere we can talk?"

o-o-o

They ended up going to Owen and Barry's office, after briefly debating the cafeteria and the lounges. But, they had seen a few other people glancing their way, and Claire knew that Owen didn't want to be the center of attention, nor did he want to have to answer a bunch of questions about what happened, especially not today. She'd suggested that they go somewhere more private, and Barry had been the one who mentioned their office.

But, as they entered the office, and as Owen and Barry both headed for the chairs behind their desk, it became clear there was something else they hadn't thought about — there were only two chairs.

Claire cleared her throat pointedly and the two guys looked up from their seats, only then cluing into the problem.

"Oh, right, chairs," Owen said, his gaze darting about the room, as if he was going to find one hidden somewhere. His expression turned sheepish. "Sorry, we've never needed more than two."

"More like we never wanted more than two," Barry clarified with a chuckle. Both Claire and Zia looked at him questiongly at that, and he added. "Only person who usually visited us here was Hoskins, and we didn't want him to get comfortable."

Claire couldn't help smiling a little at that.

"Well, at least he's not an issue anymore," Zia replied, before turning to look at Owen, her eyes growing wide. "Oh man, it's too bad you weren't here. You would've loved it."

"What happened?" Owen asked, leaning forward in his seat.

"Wait, Hoskins had an office, right?" Claire half-asked, half-stated, getting a nod from all three. "Let's grab his chair."

"On it," Barry said, hopping up and disappearing out the door, quickly returning with the chair (the building really wasn't all that big).

"You take it," Claire told Zia, waving the younger woman towards the proffered seat.

Zia hesitated, but then sat down. Claire moved around Owen's desk, coming to a stop beside him, resting her hand on his shoulder. Ever since she'd finally made it to the hospital, and then had finally been allowed in to see him, she'd found herself constantly reaching for him, wanting, needing, the contact as reassurance he was still alive.

"You can share with me," Owen offered, patting his lap.

"No, you're injured," she told him, pushing down on his good shoulder when he moved to stand. "Stay there. I'm fine." She let her arm slip around his shoulder as she perched on the arm of his chair instead. His good hand rose to rest on her knee, and she lay her other hand on top of his, squeezing it lightly, offering him a warm smile when he looked up at her.

"Are you sure?" Barry asked, and Claire saw he was still standing, offering her his chair.

"Sit, it's fine," she waved him off, gesturing him back to his desk. "Now, Hoskins?" She brought the topic back around, hoping to distract everyone and also curious as to what had happened. While she'd heard lots from her conversations with Lowery and Zara over the last few days as to what had been happening on Nublar, she hadn't heard any of the first hand stories from Sorna.

"They put him in handcuffs," Zia said excitedly. "Essentially perp walked him right across the field to the helicopter!"

"Really?" Owen asked, equally hopeful and disappointed. "Man, I wish I'd been here for that."

"And not just him," Barry added. "Dr. Wu was escorted out the same way."

"Also in cuffs," Zia said with glee. "It was great."

"Who would've expected that those two would get along enough to work together?" Barry mused. "I don't think I'd ever seen them interact before."

"We have," Claire said, nodding towards Owen. "Still, can't really believe what they were able to pull off."

"The idea guy, the maker, and the seller," Owen said, slowly. "I'd've called one the mastermind, but I don't know who would get that title, and they'd probably all think it'd apply to them."

"What's going to happen to them now?" Zia asked.

"Well," Claire answered, "it's still up in the air. The lawyers are still figuring out exactly what they can be charged with." She held up a hand, ticking off the violations she knew were being considered. "We know they'll be charged with illegal trafficking of a wild animal, for having Blue in their possession. And that'll be expanded to the rest of the animals they took, once we can prove it was them. Then there will be charges for kidnapping, for assault with a deadly weapon, for illegal experimentation on animals, for attempted murder…"

She could feel Owen tensing as she spoke, and she pulled her arm back slightly until her hand rested on the back of his neck, massaging the muscles there. They'd had a couple of conversations over the past week as to what would be the fallout, but she hadn't fully clued him in. Partly because she didn't want to stress him out more than he already was (he needed to rest so he could heal), and partly because it was all so overwhelming, and that getting to not talk about it when she was with him felt like one of her few breaks from all the chaos.

Barry let out a low whistle, startling Claire out of her thoughts. She looked over at him, to see he was shaking his head slightly in disbelief, before her gaze darted over to Zia, who also looked stunned.

"That's… a lot," Zia said.

"And that's just the starting point," Claire said. "There's still a lot of evidence to collect, and information to sift through. The lawyers are pretty sure there'll be more charges."

"I still think Hoskins is getting off easy," Owen said. "I kind of wish Delta had finished the job when she got the chance. Why couldn't he have accidentally fallen into the raptor paddock?"

"Owen!" Claire admonished, but there wasn't any real might behind her words. She kind of felt the same way, honestly.

"Hey, you're thinking the same thing," he called her out, looking up at her with a grin. "Just because you like to pretend to follow all the rules–"

"I don't pretend!" she interjected. "Unlike you, I happen to think most rules are in place for a good reason."

"Yeah, yeah," Owen's hand patted her knee, before he turned back to the others. "Did you guys get pictures? Of Wu and Hoskins leaving?"

"Non," Barry shook his head. "I was with the raptors, so I just caught a glimpse of it myself. Didn't have my phone."

"It happened really fast," Zia replied. "I don't think any of us were expecting it. But, security might have something. Was probably caught on some of the feeds." She paused, looking contemplative for a moment. "What I don't get, is what happened to the other dinosaurs that were taken? Were they sold like Fern and the others? And did I hear right that there were eggs incubating there? Were they destroyed?"

"Eggs?" Owen sat up sharply at that, and Claire had to quickly grab the back of the chair to keep from tumbling off. He frowned at her. "You didn't tell me there were eggs!"

"What did you think Henry was doing?" Claire told him, resettling onto her perch as she rolled her eyes, before turning her attention over to Zia. "We're not sure yet, on the dinos. We believe they were probably sold. Hopefully, there'll end up being a paper trail we can follow. As for the eggs… Well, we've sent Dr. Holloway and Dr. Barnes up to the lab to check on them. It appears some are only a week or so from hatching." Dr. Barnes was one of the chief scientists, only a step below Henry in the chain of command.

"Do you know what species?" Barry asked. "Not raptors, I hope," he added, sounding worried.

"No, not raptors," Claire said. "Compys, actually."

"Ugh, more of those?" Owen said with disgust. "Why let them hatch?"

"Because they're almost viable," she replied patiently. "And, well, we could use a few more."

"Are they going to be brought here?" Zia asked, surprised. "I hadn't heard that."

"Well, that depends," Claire hedged. "Dr. Holloway said it wasn't good to move them, not yet. So for now, they're going to hatch at the Estate. And then he and Dr. Barnes will evaluate them and make sure that they're…" She trailed off, not really sure how to describe what she meant.

"Not monsters?" Owen supplied helpfully.

"That there hasn't been any… extra modifications," Claire countered.

"Ugh, who would want a hybrid Compy?" Owen shuddered, before a yawn interrupted him.

Claire looked down at him, her hand drifting up to run through his hair when he looked up at her. Now that she was focusing on him, she could see that he was fading fast. And that as much as she knew he'd want to be there, to keep talking with their friends, it was time to get him home.

Standing up, she held out her hand to him. "C'mon, time to go."

"What? No, I'm fine," he disagreed immediately, although his words morphed into a yawn.

"You're still healing, Owen, you need rest. You can come back for another visit," she reminded him.

"I could rest here," he said, but he allowed her to pull him to his feet.

"No offense to Zia," Claire glanced over at her as she spoke before turning back to Owen, "But I'd feel better if you were staying in closer proximity to a doctor."

"None taken," Zia replied, smirking. "I don't want to be responsible for trying to keep him alive. I've got my hands full with the dinosaurs."

"See?" Claire told Owen, before adding, "Besides, you're the one who's been telling me constantly that there's nothing to do here. Don't you think our condo would be better?"

"Why do you have to be so reasonable?" Owen grumbled, but he followed her towards the door as Barry and Zia trailed after them.

"Enjoy the downtime while you've got it," Barry said.

"Wait," Owen stopped, looking over at Barry, and then back to Claire. "Now that Hoskins is out, what will happen to the raptors? To IBRIS?"

Claire could see the panic building as his mind supplied him with worst case scenarios. "That's to be determined," she tried to reassure him. "Parker and Masrani have been talking, figuring out the options. But–" She held up a hand, stopping Owen from interrupting her. "But, they also want to talk to you. Both of you." She looked from Owen to Barry. "Don't worry about it, not now. First up, Owen, you need to get back on your feet. And then, well... Then you'll have plenty of time to argue your case. There's no rush. Not with all the other stuff happening." She could tell Owen was unconvinced. "You know I wouldn't let anything happen to them, you know that."

"Yeah," Owen agreed after a long pause. He stifled another yawn, and Claire urged him to start walking again. "God, what a fucking disaster."

o-o-o

Owen had fallen asleep again on the helicopter, only waking after they had landed from Claire's gentle prodding. He vaguely remembered following her off the helicopter and through the building. He was pretty sure Zara had greeted them, but his mind had still been half asleep so he couldn't say for sure. In fact, he didn't really remember how they got from the helicopter to their condo.

"Home, sweet home," he said, as they crossed the threshold. He clumsily toed off his shoes, before beelining his way towards the couch.

"Whoa, no, no, no." Claire's hand latched onto his arm, keeping him standing before he could sink down. She gently pushed him past the couch, leading him towards their bedroom. "You're too heavy for me to move later. Bed."

He let her lead him into their bedroom, too tired to argue, and his mind feeling kind of loopy. As he was about to sit down on the bed, she stopped him again as she turned to face him, her hands reaching for the buttons on his shirt.

"I don't know if I have the energy," he told her, even as his own hand reached out to rest on her hip, tugging her to him, as he dipped down to kiss her. She kissed him back and he could feel a grin on her lips. When she pulled away, it was to push the shirt down his shoulders, carefully working his arm out of the sling long enough to get the shirt off, before helping him adjust it again.

"Another time," she told him, already moving to work on his belt. "But you'll sleep better if you're not in jeans."

"You're always trying to get me out of my pants," Owen joked.

"You know it," Claire replied, winking at him.

He knew she wasn't wrong about not wanting to sleep in jeans, and so he helped (as much as he was able) as she removed his pants and socks, before she backed him towards the bed and he sat down on the side.

"Join me?" he asked, looking up at her and patting the bed beside him.

"Owen…"

"You made me sleep without you for the last week."

"Because you were in a hospital bed, Owen! How can you keep brushing it aside like it wasn't serious? You were shot! You weren't the one standing in the basement, watching you bleed out, but unable to do anything to stop it. You weren't the one who no one wanted to give information to, because you're not related. You weren't–" Claire's words cut off as a sob overtook her, and Owen sat there frozen for a long second, before his brain finally kicked back into gear.

Getting off the bed, he quickly moved over to her, reaching out, but she shied away, turning her back to him, as her hands rose to cover her face, not that it did anything to muffle the sounds of her sobs.

"Claire," he said, reaching for her again, this time more insistently. He tugged her to him, wrapping his good arm around her, as she buried her face in his neck, her own arms snaking around him and holding on tightly. He could feel a pull in his shoulder, but he didn't care, this was more important. "I'm fine," he told her, running his hand up and down her back. "Really. I am."

"You're still on antibiotics and painkillers. They said you may need rehab," Claire replied, her voice muffled, and he had to stifle a laugh.

Of course she'd be focused on all those details, instead of the bigger picture. He couldn't help shaking his head. It was so Claire.

"I'm here, I'm alive, and that's what matters," he told her. "The rest… the rest we'll deal with as we need to."

"Yeah," she drew out the word, and he felt her relaxing into him, as he took on more of her weight. He really wanted to stay in that position — he'd missed being close to her most of all — but as much as he hated to admit it, he didn't have even close to his full strength. He found himself leaning equally into her, hoping between the two that they'd remain standing.

It was Claire who pulled away first. "Sorry, sorry," she said, stepping back, wiping at her eyes. "You're exhausted, we don't need to be doing this now. You need to sleep." She directed him back towards their bed.

"Just stay with me," he pleaded again as he climbed under the covers. "I'll sleep, promise. I just…"

He patted the spot next to him, holding up the covers, waiting. He could practically see the internal debate in her, before Claire finally climbed in. She lay down, but stayed about a foot away from him, and so he moved over to her, slipping his arm under her and tugging her to him. Sighing, she caved, squirming closer until she was resting her head on his good shoulder.

"That's better," he told her, as his eyes started to drift closed. He turned his head, burying his nose in her hair, breathing deep, his whole body relaxing. "Thank you."

He could feel her surprise at his words, as her body briefly tensed before relaxing more fully into him, her hand coming to rest over his heart. "For what?"

"Being you," he replied, his voice starting to slur as the exhaustion took hold. "For staying with me."

There was a long stretch of silence, and he had almost fully drifted off when he heard her reply, "Always."

Whew. The End. Sort of. There's an epilogue coming next week. And I'll give an update about what else I'm working on then too.

Hope you've enjoyed the story and thanks so much for sticking with it (and me) through all of this. See you next week!