Okay, I need to take a moment, because I haven't been doing this nearly enough, to thank EliseCollier and Nadin for all their help with this fic. From brainstorming to editing to planning to moral support and more. The story is what it is because of them. And if you haven't read their works, you're really missing out.
Chapter 11
Owen just groaned under his breath when he heard Hoskins walking across the catwalk towards him. He had been hoping to get back to his office so he could see if Claire had sent an update on what she'd learned from Lowery, since it was now after lunch.
He'd seen Hoskins arrive just before he'd started his training session and was happy that Hoskins had at least held off his approach until Owen had finished. While the session hadn't been perfect, the raptors had been in a playful mood and had mostly listened to him. Days like this helped make up for the bad days.
"What's up?" Owen turned to Hoskins, noting the man's look of surprise. Did he really think that he was that sneaky? Or that Owen was that unobservant?
"They seemed to be in a good mood today," Hoskins said, bracing his hands on the railing and looking down into the paddock. Not that there was much to see, the raptors having disappeared into the jungle after Owen finished.
"Yeah, it was definitely one of our better days," Owen nodded. "It's always kind of fun when they're playful like this."
"That was playful?" Hoskins turned to look at him.
"Raptor playful, yeah," Owen said. "Sometimes they act like the three year olds they are. Wanting to show off, but also not wanting their siblings to get any special treatment. They can be little shits. It was much cuter when they were smaller." On the particularly bad days, when Owen was ready to throw in the towel on the whole project, he'd taken to rewatching some of the videos he'd made back when the raptors were young. A reminder that there were good times and a reminder of how much progress they had made.
"Aren't they fully grown now? Are you saying they're still like little kids?"
"Don't you read any of my reports?" Owen asked. Why was he spending all this time on reports if no one was ever looking at them? He could think of much better uses for his time.
"I do," Hoskins stated. "But I can't ask reports questions. Are they going to get bigger?"
"We think they've probably reached their full height," Owen looked down, scanning the edge of the jungle, wondering if any of the raptors were looking back. Occasionally he was able to pick them out when they did, but not often. They were excellent hiders. "At least, that's based on the knowledge we have from the first Jurassic Park and the ones that were recovered from Sorna." Not having a lot of definitive knowledge had made Owen's job harder. While he had been pushing boundaries on training dolphins when he was in the Navy, dolphins had at least been well studied for decades. There was a lot they already knew about them. Even though the first raptors had been brought back over 20 years ago, they still had very little knowledge on them as a whole. Owen's research had already increased it more than five fold. "It's still an open question on when they reach full maturity."
"How do you not know that? I thought the Jurassic Park ones started breeding. How old were they?"
"They did, and so did the ones on Sorna," Owen nodded. "But these girls aren't quite the same. First of all, not letting the animals breed was one of the conditions for Jurassic World. I know they had to change some of the genetic makeup to deal with that. Besides that, the goal when creating these ones was different than at Jurassic Park. These ones were bred specifically to be research subjects that would be working with humans. I know Wu tried out a few different combinations, to try to make them a bit more tame than before."
"Tame? These guys?" Hoskins looked back down into the paddock, disbelief evident in his voice.
"They're definitely not tame," Owen agreed, suppressing an eye roll. "As I've never had any actual encounters with the raptors from Sorna or Jurassic Park, all I know is what I've read from Malcolm's book and the research notes from Dr. Grant and the original Jurassic Park workers. But there are a lot of differences. And one of the big ones, is that those raptors had very little human interaction. I've been interacting with the girls from the moment they were born. At Jurassic Park, they tried to avoid that, wanting the dinosaurs to be 'natural' and 'wild.' Because of that, one of the results, from what I've read, was that the raptors viewed humans as a threat from the start. They never hesitated before attacking."
In preparation for his job, Owen had been given access to all the research and notes and data and anything else Jurassic World had about the original raptors. It hadn't amounted to all that much. A lot of research had been destroyed after Jurassic Park had initially been evacuated and before crews were, inevitably, sent back to rescue what they could. He'd wanted to reach out to Doctors Grant, Sattler and Brennan, among many others but, because of the confidential nature of IBRIS, he had not been authorized to do so.
"And these ones?" Hoskins turned to him again. "Do you think they'd think twice?"
"Yeah," Owen nodded. "I think so. I mean, they hesitated when that kid fell in." Which was an incident that Owen still couldn't quite comprehend. "But, they're not tame. Not even close. Even then, they did choose to attack. It's only because they hesitated that I'm still here." Owen turned to look at Hoskins, his eyes narrowing. "What's with all these questions?"
"I'm not allowed to ask?" Hoskins innocent tone made Owen want to laugh, but instead he settled for rolling his eyes.
"You know you are," Owen rested his hands on his hips. "You've never cared before. What's changed?"
"Your results are finally getting interesting," Hoskins tried to evade the question.
"The results have always been interesting," Owen replied. He meant it, too. When you start a project with as little information as he had, everything that happens provides so much data. He enjoyed trying to put the pieces together to create new insights and test out new hypotheses.
"They weren't close to being ready for a field test before," Hoskins shrugged.
"And they still aren't," Owen shot back. Since when had Hoskins changed his mind on this? He had bugged Owen for weeks after the tech had fallen in. "I just said they're not tame. Are you even listening? We can't release them anywhere. Especially not if you ever want to put them back in here."
"They listen to you, you've shown that," Hoskins stated. "Didn't one of your reports say that you're essentially their parent? Or what's the term you used? Alpha?"
"The alpha, as in the leader of the pack. But that was more true when I was in the cage with them. Now, I'm more like a guardian than a parent," Owen said. "An authority figure, for sure. But they know I'm not the same as them. Blue's always been the dominant one of the group. What she says, goes. And that's just becoming more true as they get older."
"So they don't need a parent…" Hoskins said so softly Owen almost didn't hear him.
"What?" Owen was confused. Why would Hoskins be wondering about a parent? "Research of some of the nesting sites that have been found for dinosaurs have suggested that many dinosaur species raised their young. They don't abandon them upon birth, like some lizards do. They were much more like mammals or birds."
"So you're saying their behaviour is a result of nurture over nature? Would they be a lot different without you? Or with a raptor parent?" Hoskins asked.
"Nature vs nurture — the age old question," Owen laughed. This was an area he'd spent a lot of time thinking about. Not that he could come to any conclusions. "Hard to say, since we don't have a control batch and there are so many variables at play. But, because they're being raised in a pack, they aren't just learning from me. They talk to each other. If you watch them, it's very clear they have actual conversations. And they spend all their time together versus just a few hours a day with me. They're biggest influencers will always be their packmates. And that's important. They need that. Developing social skills and belonging to a community is essential. They're social creatures. Just like humans."
o-o-o
Claire had continued to get bombarded with texts from Owen all afternoon, even after she told him (repeatedly) that she'd see him later. She was wondering what had happened to the Owen who never checked his phone and often took over 24 hours to respond. He trained raptors. Shouldn't he be able to be patient?
She did feel a little bad that she wasn't able to make it to his place until after 8. It wasn't her fault that her schedule was full. It always was. When she finally did pull into his lot, she found him as she had last time she'd visited — lying in his hammock drinking a beer.
"Got any more?" Claire asked, gesturing to the beer as she approached.
"Sure," Owen said, climbing out of the hammock and heading towards his "bungalow." He paused a couple of steps away, turning back to her, his eyes narrowed in suspicion, "And don't think about stealing the hammock this time."
"Who me?" Claire batted her eyelashes.
Owen laughed, pointing at her, "I know you're not innocent, Ms. Dearing."
Claire waited until he had entered his trailer before she did climb into the hammock. Hey, he'd told her that she should come over and use it to decompress. She was just taking his advice.
She heard him groan when he exited his trailer, but she watched as he just grabbed a lawn chair and pulled it over, settling onto it with his feet resting on the hammock, just like before. Claire had been holding onto the envelope from Lowery and she took the opportunity to toss it over to him, watching as he practically ripped the pages out in his haste, his eyes skimming them over quickly once, before he slowed down and read the two pages carefully.
"Raptors?" Owen growled as he finished reading. He swung his feet down, leaping up from his chair. "They used raptor DNA? What the hell, Claire?" He started pacing back and forth beside the hammock, and Claire just watched him silently, unsure what to say. She still wasn't sure what to think about it herself. She could hear him muttering something, but she couldn't make out his words. After a few minutes of frantic pacing, he finally slowed, eventually collapsing back into his chair. Claire remained silent, waiting to see what he'd say next. "How did they not realize how bad of an idea that was?" He took a long pull from his beer, and Claire continued to wait him out. Just when she thought that maybe she should say something, he bolted upright in his seat. "Fuck, Claire. They haven't learned, have they? They're still using raptor DNA in whatever they're creating now."
"We don't know that for sure," Claire reminded him.
Owen didn't appear to have heard her. "That would be just like Hoskins. He's not getting what he wants out of IBRIS. At least not fast enough. Combine him and Wu's ego… they probably think they can create the perfect trainable, military dinosaur."
"Wu's creating a dinosaur to be a Jurassic World attraction, not a… a soldier," Claire protested. "What's the benefit for Jurassic World to have a fierce dinosaur weapon?"
"The benefit is not for Jurassic World," Owen agreed. "But the possible monetary benefit for Wu or Hoskins? That's huge. Think about it, Jurassic World and InGen eat all the costs on the R&D. If Wu or Hoskins could get one out of here…"
"We track all the dinosaurs," Claire reminded him. "We'd know if one ever left the island. Trust me, these are our most valuable assets. We get updates on their locations at least twice a minute. We're tracking them even when they're still in eggs and can't move. Without them Jurassic World doesn't exist."
"Yeah, maybe." Owen deflated at her words, sinking back into his chair, swallowing the rest of his beer. "I still wouldn't put it past them. There's probably a way. We need to know what's in the new hybrid."
"I'm still working on that," Claire said. "Once the eggs are incubating, they'll no longer be able to push it aside as still being 'up in the air.'" She shifted in the hammock, trying to get it to rock slightly.
"What are you doing?" Owen asked, brow furrowed.
"Trying to get it to sway a bit," Claire said, continuing to squirm.
"Here," Owen propped his feet back up on the hammock, using them to gently rock it.
"Thanks."
They hung out mostly in silence. Claire trying to actually decompress after her day, although her mind was mostly whirling over Owen's suggestion that Hoskins and Wu might be trying to sneak animals off the island.
When she started yawning about an hour later, she decided she'd better get home before she ended up asleep in the hammock. While it didn't sound like a bad idea right now, she knew she'd regret in the morning.
"What are you doing?" Owen asked, sitting up in his chair as Claire scrambled out of the hammock.
"I gotta get home," Claire said.
"We're supposed to be stepping it up, remember?" Owen replied, following after her towards her car.
"Yeah, well," she risked a glance towards his trailer. "No offense, but…"
"Offense taken," Owen said, but his grin told Claire otherwise. "You could have my bed."
"I didn't bring anything with me," she said. "Besides, where would you sleep? Do you have a couch?"
"Um, no," he hesitated. "At least not one I can stretch out on. I guess I could probably sleep in the hammock."
"Somehow, I think we'd both regret that in the morning," Claire laughed.
"What about your place?"
"What about my place?" Claire paused, standing with her car door open.
"We should probably appear to be spending the night. If my place is out, what about yours? Do you have a guest bed?"
"No," Claire shook her head. "There's no point when the rest of the hotel is right there. I do have a couch."
"Big one?"
"Big enough," Claire nodded.
"Great, how about Friday? Date night and a sleepover?" Owen waggled his eyebrows at her.
Claire groaned, before nodding her okay.
o-o-o
For the first time ever, Owen was annoyed that Hoskins wasn't around. Everytime he heard a car or heavy footsteps on the metal paddocks stairs, he would look over hoping to see him. It was an odd and frustrating feeling, made worse because he knew it was impacting his job, as every time he got distracted in the middle of giving a command the raptors took advantage of the opportunity, rushing off into the jungle or swapping places or just losing focus.
It was probably fitting that when Hoskins finally did arrive back at the paddock, a few days after Claire had shown him the Indominus results, Owen was tucked away in his office and didn't notice immediately. It wasn't until he'd finished the report he was pecking away at, finally freeing himself to go back out to the paddock to attempt a second training session for the day, that Owen discovered Hoskins was there. Hoskins was leaning against the gated holding pen, chatting with Barry, who was inside checking over Delta strapped in her harness.
Owen tried to remain calm. Tried to rein in his emotions, but the sight of Hoskins, so close to his raptors, made his blood boil. Forgetting his training plan, Owen stormed across the lot towards the pen. "What are you doing here, Hoskins?" he asked, his voice dripping with venom, as he neared.
Hoskins turned around, obviously surprised by Owen's tone. "Owen, just the person I was looking for."
"Why? What are you trying to do now? Huh? Are you working with Wu? Are you building another hybrid? What are you doing?" The questions poured out, Owen's voice getting louder and louder with each one. He moved closer to Hoskins, backing him into the gate. "Did you know? Did you?"
Hoskins raised his hands in defense, annoyance flashing in eyes. "What are you talking about?"
Out of the corner of his eye, Owen could see Barry moving over towards them, while Delta started snarling in her harness, trying to get free. "Part raptor, Hoskins? That the Indominus was part raptor? Did you know? Were you involved in it?"
"How do you know that?" Hoskins was clearly unsettled by Owen's knowledge, his gaze darting about the area, looking for an escape or a saviour, Owen wasn't sure.
"So you did know," Owen stated. He shook his head in disbelief. "I don't get it. How do you not understand how crazy that is? How bad of an idea? As if the T. rex isn't deadly enough. Really? You needed to make something worse?"
"What are you talking about?" Barry asked, interrupting the two, although he was still inside the gated pen, so he couldn't actually get between them.
"The Indominus," Owen spat out the name, "was part raptor." Owen was distracted from Barry's surprised exclamation by the increased snarling sounds of the raptors behind Barry. Blue, Echo and Charlie had come over to see what was going on, having heard Delta's snarls (and likely Owen's shouts). Looking at them, a new horrifying thought hit Owen. Turning back to Hoskins, he grabbed Hoskin's shirt in a fist, pulling the older man closer to him. "Tell me you didn't."
"Didn't do what?" Hoskins said, trying to loosen Owen's grip.
"What raptor DNA did they use?" Owen looked passed Hoskins to the raptors, Barry's attention also turning to them too.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Hoskins insisted.
"Bullshit," Owen growled. "You knew. You've probably got your fingers all over this. No wonder you wanted to know what happened that day. Not happy with the results here, are you? Trying to find some other ways around it all."
"Now you listen." Hoskins used his size to stand up straighter, finally managing to pull back from Owen a bit, although with the gate behind him he couldn't actually move anywhere. "You think this is InGen's only concern?" Hoskins waved about, gesturing to the paddock around them. "You don't know a single thing about what you're talking about."
"So tell me," Owen said, his voice low. "Fill me in."
"That's above your paygrade," Hoskins replied, regaining his confidence. "Just because you're fucking Claire Dearing now, doesn't mean you ge-"
Hoskins never got a chance to finish what he was going to say, as Owen's fist connected solidly with his jaw. Owen wasn't sure how Barry managed it, but barely a moment later, Barry was pushing Owen away from Hoskins, getting in between the two men, the sounds of growls and snarls from the raptors increasing, as they fed off the negatively charged atmosphere.
"Owen, calm down," Barry said, the words barely penetrating the haze of anger that still wrapped itself around Owen. "He's not worth it."
"I'll fire you," Hoskins was threatening from behind Barry. "Don't think I won't."
"Don't listen to him," Barry said, pushing harder against Owen, getting him to backup a few more steps. "You need to calm down. Delta's going to injure herself."
"What?" Barry's words finally penetrated and Owen looked passed him to see Delta thrashing in her harness, the other raptors clawing at the gate.
"They're not going to calm down when you're this agitated. You need to calm down," Barry repeated.
"Right," Owen said, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "Right." He looked over Barry's shoulder at Hoskins, who was rubbing his jaw, a scowl on his face. Turning his attention back to Barry, Owen said, "Can you get rid of him? I'll deal with Delta."
"Yeah," Barry nodded.
As Owen moved towards the gate, he noticed that Barry stayed between him and Hoskins until he'd gone through and closed it behind him. Taking a couple more deep breaths, Owen tried to calm his racing heart. Barry was right. The raptors wouldn't relax while he was this worked up, and Delta was liable to injure herself. He needed to get himself under control.
o-o-o
The week dragged on and by Friday Claire had had it. When Owen texted her to ask where they should meet up for dinner, Claire asked if they could just eat in instead. The idea of having to be out and about with employees staring at them was just too much. Not after the week she'd had. Not after the new round of rumours and gossip that had spread like wildfire after Owen had punched Hoskins. She still wasn't sure what she really thought about it all. Owen had refused to explain exactly what happened, just saying that he'd confronted Hoskins about the Indominus and Claire wasn't sure how much to believe of the gossip. She thought she was probably better off not knowing.
Tonight, she just wanted to be sitting on her couch, wearing sweatpants and eating ice cream. Since they were supposed to end up back at her place anyway for a "sleepover," she was pretty sure that Owen wouldn't be against the idea of just moving up the timetable.
She was right. He simply wrote back Pizza? and she agreed, suggesting the Spicy Soppressata and the Arugula. Owen texted back a thumbs up, saying he'd grab it and meet her at her place.
By the time he'd arrived, Claire had changed out of her work clothes into an old baggy t-shirt and sweatpants. At his knock, she hurried to the door, opening it wide to let him in. He had a pizza box balanced on one hand, and a bag hanging heavily from his other.
"What'd you bring?" Claire asked, watching as Owen paused in the entryway, his gaze sweeping over her condo, before finally landing back on her.
"Whoa!" Owen exclaimed, taking a half step back.
"What?" Claire pulled self-consciously on her t-shirt. Maybe she should've stayed dressed up. They were supposed to be on a (fake) date after all.
"Just… I'm surprised you own something that… ratty," Owen chuckled.
Claire wrapped her arms across her chest defensively, "It was a long week." She looked down at her outfit, then over at Owen. He wasn't dressed up, exactly, but it was clear he'd put on a clean pair of jeans and button up shirt, having expected to be eating out. "I can go change."
"No, no, no. No need," Owen shook his head. "We're just going to sit on the couch and eat pizza. Might as well be comfortable." He passed over the pizza box, toeing off his shoes before he followed Claire over to the couch.
She put the box down on the coffee table, before turning to ask. "I've got wine, beer, soda, water…?"
"What are you having?" Owen asked.
"I just opened a bottle of red," Claire admitted.
"Sounds good," he nodded.
She hurried into the kitchen area, pulling down a second wine glass, and grabbing the bottle of wine. She brought them out, only to stop a couple feet short of the couch, looking at Owen who was crouched over at her TV.
"What are you doing?"
"I brought my Xbox," Owen said, glancing over his shoulder at her.
"Why'd you bring that?"
"I didn't want to be bored," Owen replied. Claire looked at him in surprise, but he wasn't facing her, still connecting wires.
She took a moment to grab plates and napkins, before settling on the couch. She wasn't sure how to interpret his action. He was the one who suggested he spend the night at her place. Without meaning to, she blurted out, "You think I'm boring?"
Owen stood up, grabbing one of the controllers he'd brought and settled onto the couch next to her. "No," he disagreed, clicking through the menus. "I just didn't know what you'd have to do here. I mean, I assumed you had a TV but there's no game on tonight."
Claire pulled opened the pizza box, and saw that he had got a large pizza, half and half of what she'd suggested. She pulled out a slice as she contemplated his answer. "There's always movies. I've got Netflix."
"Netflix and chill?" Owen laughed. "I mean… if you're open to it?" He raised his eyebrows suggestively, leaning closer to her. Claire just pushed him away, grabbing the other controller off the coffee table.
"What are we playing?" She turned to look at him when there wasn't an immediate reply, to see that his jaw had dropped and he was staring at her in awe. "What? You didn't expect me to play? I mean… most of my experience is with Nintendo, but I'll have you know that I was an excellent Mario Kart player. And pretty good at Goldeneye."
"You never cease to amaze me," Owen said after a moment, grabbing a slice of pizza and taking a big bite. "I kind of wish I'd brought my WiiU now."
o-o-o
Owen was still amazed that Claire, Claire Dearing, had sat on a couch and played Xbox with him for the last few hours, while eating pizza. Sure, they were drinking red wine instead of beer, and she'd brought out ice cream when they'd finished the pizza. But, it was still shocking. Even when he'd initially asked her out on a date he'd never foreseen an evening like this happening. Movie nights? Sure, he could picture that. But not game nights. She seemed too… uptight for that. He'd actually brought his Xbox because he'd thought he'd need something to do while Claire worked. He was starting to realize, now that he was spending more time with her, that he'd made a lot of assumptions about her that were, well, just plain wrong. "Never judge a book by its cover," was an old adage his mom used to say. Claire was definitely proving it right.
However, while her couch had been comfortable for their gaming marathon, he was finding it a tad short now that he was stretched out on it, trying to fall asleep. It wasn't that his feet were hanging over the edge (thankfully), but it was almost more annoying being just a few inches too short. Owen was shifting around, trying to find a position that didn't require him to curl up, but also didn't have his feet digging into the arm rest. So far, he wasn't having any luck.
"Would you stop fidgeting? I can hear you from in here." Claire's voice echoed out of her bedroom.
Owen growled, low in his throat, before calling back, "You try sleeping on a couch that's too short."
"I've slept on it many times, it's perfectly comfortable."
Of course she would say that. She wasn't 6 foot 2. She probably fit perfectly fine on it. "Well, I'm the one lying on it right now and I don't agree," Owen shouted back. He waited for a reply, but there was nothing but silence in return. He gave her another minute, before shifting again, and then calling out, "If you think this couch is so comfortable, how come I'm the one stuck out here and you get the bed?"
"It's my bed," was Claire's immediate reply.
"Yeah, well, I'm worried about my back." Owen shifted again, groaning.
"Getting old, are you?"
Owen chose to ignore that remark, even though he was pretty sure he was only a couple of years older than her. He didn't want it to get twisted that he was calling her old. That, he was sure, wouldn't go down well. Instead, he suggested, "Wanna swap?"
"No," was the immediate reply.
"Well, if you want me to be able to walk tomorrow," Owen started, before he grinned evilly, changing his tactic. "Although, you know, if I'm having trouble walking, that may give you more street cred."
There was a pause, and then he heard her sheets ruffling and a few seconds later she was standing at the foot of the couch. He grinned up at her, standing up, and gesturing to the couch gallantly, "Your bed, madam."
"Shut up." Claire snarled. "You owe me."
Owen decided, wisely, to not say anything else. Instead, he walked over and into her bedroom, coming to a halt at the end of her bed as a realization hit him. He hadn't thought this through. Sure, the bed would be more comfortable than the couch. But he'd forgotten that it was Claire's bed. And that she'd been in the bed only moments ago, the sheets still rumpled from her quick exit. He purposely walked around the bed to the side that remained tucked in. He was an adult. It'd be fine.
o-o-o
Her couch was comfortable. Claire really had slept on it many times before. Of course, usually for a quick nap and not overnight (her bed was right there, after all). But she'd never slept on it because there was a guy in her bed. In fact, the whole concept just made her feel a little insane. And she was sure if she told her sister, Karen's response would be, "Why weren't you in the bed with him?" And that thought just made her face flush.
Lying on the couch, left with the blanket that Owen had been using, Claire started to second guess her decision to swap. So what if he would end up limping. It would probably do wonders for her reputation. Well, that, or people would blame her for injuring him. And knowing Owen, he'd probably play up his injury. Yeah, she was probably better off having given him her bed. But, she probably should've grabbed her pillow. And maybe another blanket. He hadn't been out here all that long, but every time she shifted, she'd get another whiff of his aftershave and something else that was just Owen. Claire hadn't realized she'd categorized his scent in her mind, but she had. And now it was driving her crazy, making it hard for her mind to settle and just let her sleep. To make matters worse, from the sounds of the light snores that were now drifting out of her room — she wanted to be annoyed, but somehow, it was cute? What was wrong with her? — Owen had had no trouble falling asleep once they'd swapped.
Owen Grady was sleeping in her bed. Owen Grady was sleeping in her bed. Holy shit.
She was going to have to do laundry tomorrow. If the blanket was this distracting, how was she ever going to manage to sleep in her bed tomorrow night? Growling with frustration, Claire turned on her side which, of course, brought her nose closer to the pillow Owen had been using. Tugging the blanket up higher, she closed her eyes and forced herself to relax. She needed to sleep.
In the end, she did manage to sleep. Just not as long or as deep as she would've preferred. She woke up earlier than usual, well before her alarm, and lay on the couch debating what to do. Part of her wanted to just get up and start getting ready, but Owen was still in her room. Should she… Could she just walk in?
She was still debating when her alarm went off and made the decision for her. Claire entered her room, noting that the lump that appeared to be Owen was on the left side of the bed, and that her side, the right, was unoccupied, where her alarm was still beeping. She headed for it first, switching it off.
"Mrgmg," a half groan, half moan, emerged from the bed, and Claire looked over at Owen, who appeared to be burrowing further under the covers, moving the pillow to cover his head.
"Just grabbing my stuff," Claire said, moving to her dresser, pulling open the drawer. Normally she went for a run in the morning. It was part of her routine. After last night, however, she didn't have the energy to even contemplate the idea. Instead, she was focused on making it to Starbucks and getting the largest coffee she could get her hands on. She wondered if she could fit a nap into her schedule.
"Wha time izzit?" Owen slurred.
"5:30." There was a low long moan from the bed and Claire suppressed her chuckle. "This is what you get for taking my bed."
Owen shifted, uncovering his head to look over at her, blinking against the light. "Isn't it Saturday?"
"Yeah, so?" Claire tried to bite back her grin at the sight of his bedhead.
"I thought you didn't go to work until 7:30?" he finally said, shuffling up a bit in the bed, peering over at her.
"Right," she nodded, moving towards her closet and turning her back on him. It was much easier to resist the urge to run her fingers through his messy hair, or to crawl into the bed that looked so inviting after her restless night if she wasn't looking at him. And could she take a moment to point out just how unfair it was that she'd had a restless night and he looked as comfortable as could be, like this whole thing was no big deal. So not fair.
"Then why the hell is your alarm for 5:30?"
"Most mornings I go for a run. And then I have to get ready." Claire shuffled through her suits, pulling out what she wanted to wear for the day, before crouching down to pick out a pair of heels to match.
"You need two hours?"
Claire glanced over at him, surprised by his surprise. "What time is your alarm?"
"Twenty minutes before I need to be at the paddock," Owen stated matter-of-factly.
"Twenty minutes? How do you get ready in 20 minutes?" Claire gaped at him, her mouth falling open.
"What's there to do? You get up, pull on clothes, brush teeth and grab something to eat. How much time does that take?" Owen shrugged.
"More than 20 minutes!" Claire huffed. "I need to have a shower." Holding her pile of clothes, she headed for the door. The sooner she was showered, the sooner she could get to work. And the sooner she could put the image of Owen Grady in her bed out of her mind.
"Okay," Owen mumbled, having already sunk back down onto the bed, covers pulled back up to his chin. "Wake me before you leave."
And, I would also be remiss if I didn't thank all of you who are following along, especially those who have taken the time to comment. I write for myself first, but you guys are a close second. It wouldn't feel worth writing or posting without your support.
I'm so excited to share the rest of this story with you. I've working on my favourite chapter at the moment (which is generally every chapter as I write it). But this one... 😈