A Family that Strays Together
Claire couldn't help putiing a wide smile on her face at seeing her nephews again. Last time she saw them was when she was keeping them safe during the Indominus Incident. At least it had only been three weeks since then, rather than seven years like last time. Claire was surprised at seeing her sister, Karen, and her husband, Scott, with them. Claire knew why her sister sent the boys to Jurassic World the first time, it was because they were finalizing a divorce, but, from the looks of it, it seemed like they didn't end up separating.
"Zach, Gray! What are you guys doing here?" asked Claire as she wrapped her arms around both her nephews.
"We're on a family vacation!" replied Gray with the utmost enthusiasm.
"Family vacation? But, shouldn't you guys be in school? It's the middle of January right now."
"Yeah, but, our parents worked out a way for us to come here and stay in school," said Zach.
"And, that is?"
"We do our homework here and keep up with the work at school. Apparently, we can turn in our work online and we never knew about it."
"Ah, well, that's great!"
Gray turned and looked at Owen and beamed immediately. Gray then ran over to Owen and wrapped his arms around him.
"Owen!" said the boy.
Owen let out a small chuckle and then said, "Gray, what's up buddy?"
"I'm mostly here to learn about the Indominus. And, I'm here to have the full Jurassic World experience."
Owen looked at Zach, who put a smile on his face after hearing his brother's words. Maybe it was some kind of inside joke or something.
"Zach, how are you doing?" asked Owen as he grabbed the teenager's hand and pulled him into a quick hug.
"I'm doing fine. I'm just here to watch over Gray, as usual."
Owen smiled at Zach's words and then turned his attention to the boys' parents. Claire walked over to them and hugged them both tightly.
"Karen, I can't believe that you came out all this way to see me," said Claire.
"It wasn't just to visit you, silly. It was so that the boys could enjoy the park without any of the attractions trying to kill them," said Karen in a slightly sarcastic tone.
Claire rolled her eyes at her sister and then looked at Scott, who said, "What she said."
Owen walked over to the adults and then Claire said, "Karen, Scott, I'm pretty sure the boys have talked to you about this man, but this is Owen Grady."
"Oh, so you're Claire's mystery man, huh?" asked Karen.
The question made Claire blush a deep red, and she turned away from the others and walked over to the viewing glass as she said, "Oh God."
Owen smirked at Claire's action and then said, "Yeah, I am Claire's mystery man. It's nice to meet you two."
"Same here. Also, I just wanted to say, thank you for keeping my boys safe from the dinosaurs during the Incident."
"No problem. It was actually fun keeping them safe."
Karen smiled at Owen's words and then looked at Scott, who had a small smile planted on his face. Owen turned around to see Zach and Gray looking through the glass, trying to see Alice.
"Hey boys, you guys trying to find Alice?" he asked them.
"Who's Alice?" asked Zach.
"The Indominus here at the park."
"You named her?"
"Yeah."
"It's a nice name," said Gray.
"Yeah, we are trying to find Alice then."
"Yeah well, be careful, she might open the window and run around the paddock with you in her hand, said a voice from the side.
Gray and Zach turned and saw a man that they had never seen before. Zach arched an eyebrow and turned to Owen for an answer.
"Zach, Gray, this is Lowery Cruthers. He's a tech geek and a worker here at Jurassic World. He works in the Control room," said Owen as he walked over to Lowery and placed a hand on his shoulder.
Lowery nodded his head at the boys and then stretched out his hand and shook their hands.
"Sorry if I smell a little. Alice ran around with me in her hand and she shook me around, a lot, making me a little noxious."
Gray frowned a bit and then turned his attention back to the glass, while Zach looked at his hand and made a disgusted face and then wiped his hand on the glass.
"Hey guys, Alice's last show already happened, so you probably won't be seeing her until tomorrow," said Owen.
Those words made Gray a little sad, but at least he would be able to see Alice tomorrow.
"Well if that's the case," began Karen, "Claire, what do you and Owen say to a family dinner tonight?"
"Oh, I don't think I should be in the midst of a family dinner," said Owen.
"Oh come on. You're dating Claire, so you get to come to all the family dinners."
Claire sighed and hid her face in her right palm. She couldn't believe that this was happening right now. At least their parents weren't at the park or else Claire would die.
"We'll be there sis. Thanks for stopping by," said Claire quickly as she began to rush her family out of the room.
"Wait! Where do you want to eat?" asked Karen.
"Why don't you guys decide and then call me so that Owen and I can meet you there."
"Okay, see you later Claire. It was nice meeting you Owen!"
Owen waved at the family as they exited the room and Claire shut the door. She didn't have any sign of excitement on her face whatsoever.
"They seem like a fun family," said Lowery.
Claire shot a death glare at Lowery, who then quickly added, "That shouldn't be hanging around here! Especially not if they're embarrassing you like that!"
Lowery then quickly stepped out of the viewing room, leaving Claire and Owen alone.
"Claire, breathe," said Owen as he stepped closer to Claire.
Claire began to take slow, deep breaths and relaxed her muscles.
"Claire, what was that all about?" he asked her.
"Oh, I'm sorry, was it your family that was embarrassing you right now?" responded Claire.
"Uh, well, I don't exactly see the reason for embarrassment."
Claire stared deep into Owen's green eyes, down into his soul.
"Owen, don't start with me."
"Look, Claire, I'm sorry, but I just don't see why you're-"
Claire arched an eyebrow when Owen trailed off and didn't finish his sentence.
"Owen?" she asked him as she waved her hand in front of his face.
"Claire, tell me if I'm wrong, okay?"
"What?"
"Are you embarrassed about our relationship?"
"What? No! Owen, why would you say such a thing?"
"Then tell me I'm wrong. Look at me straight into my eyes and tell me that you're not the tiniest bit embarrassed by our relationship."
Claire shifted her eyes, but couldn't bring herself to look Owen dead in the eyes and tell him what he wanted to hear. Owen then let out a scoff and then walked out of the viewing room. Claire needed to fix this before dinner, and fast.
Owen went off and walked around Main Street in Jurassic World and stopped by a small center where guests were at liberty to make free calls via cell phone, skype, etc. Owen wasn't really one to handle a cellphone around all the time, all he had for communication was a radio. Owen decided that he needed to talk to his sister about a few things, so he tried calling her on skype. To his luck, she actually picked up. The screen revealed a woman, who was his sister. She had long, straight, dark brown hair, blue-gray eyes, and cherry red lips. That's all that was visible on the screen, and Owen smiled when he saw his little sister.
"Oh my God. Owen Grady!" she said as she put a big smile on her face.
"Hey sis," he said as he smiled back.
"How've ya been?"
"Oh you know, training velociraptors here, taking care of a genetically modified hybrid there. The usual stuff, you know?"
Owen's sister laughed at Owen's words and then said, "That's great. I'm glad to hear that you're still holding up after all these years."
"Yeah well, gotta stay strong for survival."
"Right. Well, changing the subject for a few seconds, have you heard from Ryan?"
"No, why?"
"Well, I haven't seen or heard from him in two years and it worries me."
"I'm pretty sure he's fine. He's probably busy with work. You know, being a P.I. isn't super easy."
"Yeah, 'cause you know so much about it, right?"
"Okay, I get your point. So, how's Ian?"
"He's doing fine. He misses you a lot and wishes that you could visit."
"You know that you guys could just come and visit here, right?"
"Yeah, well, money doesn't grow on trees, you know?"
"Hey mom, who are you talking to?" said a voice that wasn't on the screen.
"Well, speak of the devil himself. Ian, I'm talking to an old friend of mine, come look."
After a few seconds, a boy with lightly tanned skin, electric blue eyes, short, brown hair, and salmon colored lips appeared on the screen. Owen couldn't believe it. It had been a long time since he had seen this person.
"Uncle Owen?" the boy asked.
"Ian Grady. What's up little man?" Owen asked his nephew.
"I'm not little anymore Owen. I'm eighteen, you know?"
"Yeah, I know. Wow, you've gotten big."
"Thanks, I've been working out a lot lately."
Owen smiled at his nephew before saying, "You're mom and I were talking about your uncle Ryan. Have you heard anything from him or where he is?"
"Uncle Ryan? Yeah, he said that he would be flying in from New York tonight and should arrive tomorrow morning. Then again, that was two years ago."
Ian was always sarcastic, especially when it came to questions which he thought were stupid to ask. Owen rolled his eyes at his nephew's words before asking him, "So, how are you doing buddy?"
"Well, I've already gotten through my first semester in college. I'm in my second semester now."
"Great! What do you want to study?"
"Something in the realm of medicine."
"Really? You don't want to study animal behavior so that you can come down and work here at Jurassic World?"
"There's a thought."
"You just focus on your studies, honey," said Ian's mom.
Ian nodded at his mom and then looked at Owen and said, "Dude, you really need to take some time off and visit for like, a weekend, or a week or something."
"I'd like to Ian, but I'm really busy down here now that I have to take care of Alice."
"Who's Alice?"
"The Indominus Rex."
"Oh. Okay. Say, maybe we can visit you down there!"
"Well, there's a thought."
Ian scoffed at Owen's sarcastic remark and then told Owen that he had to get back to studying. Ian waved goodbye and Owen waved back. Once Owen's sister was sure that Ian was gone, she got closer to the screen and said quietly, "Okay, listen closely Owen. I don't want Ian to know about his."
"What?"
"Ryan is going directly down to the park, where Ian and I will meet up with him and then visit you."
"Wait, so you are coming down here?"
"Yeah. I just didn't want Ian to know."
"Why are you coming down here? Ian's birthday isn't until April. It would be pretty late for a graduation gift. I doubt it's for Vince, considering he left you and Ian like, what, seven, eight years ago?"
"I don't think I'm ready to tell Ian this, but...I got a job at Jurassic World."
"What? That's great!"
"No, Owen, listen to me for a second. I got a job at Jurassic World."
"What!? Why?"
"Well, for starters, it's a good reason to go down and visit you. That's all that I could think of."
"What about Ian?"
"He does all his work online anyway! He can just do it down there."
"Sarah, it doesn't matter. Don't you think that he'll be upset when he hears that he's going to have to leave his life behind to live on an island full of dinosaurs?"
"Ian loves dinosaurs Owen. Maybe, he might like it and might want to get a job there."
Owen couldn't believe what his sister was saying. Sarah was normally a reasonable person. She always thought about the pros and cons of every decision she made. Apparently, she didn't make a list of it for getting a job at Jurassic World.
"Sarah, listen to yourself right now. You need to think about what, or how this is going to affect Ian's life," he said slowly.
"I've been thinking about it over the past few months," responded Sarah.
"Sarah..."
"Owen, I know what I am doing, okay?"
"Do you Sarah?"
"Look, why did you call in the first place?"
"Oh, right. I need help with something?"
"What?"
"How do I deal with a girlfriend, who is embarrassed about being in a relationship with me?"
"Ooh, the embarrassed type."
"What?"
"Well, there are various types of girlfriends Owen. You were stuck with an embarrassed one."
"Well, how do I get her to not be embarrassed?"
"I don't know. I'm not the embarrassed type. But, maybe try just keeping your cool, or embarrass yourself so that your girlfriend sees that she shouldn't be embarrassed by your relationship at all."
"Okay, I guess I could try that. Thanks a lot sis."
"Anytime big bro."
"So, how long until you guys get here?"
"Well, Ryan is doing down there straight from New York, or wherever he is. He said he would try to meet us there, but if we couldn't find him, then Ian and I would simply go off and find you. We'll be there in a few days. I know for sure that we'll be there next week."
"Ian's going to hate everyone on the planet once he hears your plan, you know that right?"
"We'll just see how it goes."
"Right. See you soon Sarah."
"Right. Bye Owen."
The call was cut off and the screen turned white for a few seconds and then returned to the simple Skype menu. Owen took a deep breath as he thought about Sarah's words. Owen would have to do something to show Claire that she didn't have to be embarrassed by their relationship.
It was now evening time and it was time for the Mitchells and Claire and Owen to have dinner together. They decided to eat at the same sit down restaurant that Owen and Claire had their second date. Owen decided to wear a black, long sleeve button down shirt, which he rolled the sleeves up to his elbows and tuck into his pants. he also wore blue jeans, and black boots. Claire went with a simple white sleeveless shirt and put on a jean sweater over it and also wore dark blue skinny jeans, and black flats. Claire and Owen arrived at eh restaurant and saw the family already sitting down at a table, with two empty chairs; one next to Karen, and one next to Gray, but both were facing each other. Zach and Gray were sitting across from their parents, with Gray sitting in front of Karen, and Zach sitting in front of Scott. Claire and Owen walked over to the table and were greeted by everyone. Gray pulled Owen down to the chair next to him, leaving Claire to sit next to Karen. Claire and Owen did all they could to avoid looking at each other, all while keeping big smiles on their faces. Claire picked up her menu and put in directly in front of her face. When Owen wasn't in her sight, she dropped her smile, and took a deep breath. Karen looked at her sister and then arched her eyebrow. She moved her head closer to Claire and said, "Everything okay?"
Claire put her finger over her mouth and whispered, "Keep it down."
"What's going on?"
"Well, see, the thing is. I'm a little...embarrassed by my relationship with Owen."
"Why?"
"I don't know. I guess it's because I'm this highly sophisticated, organized woman and I'm dating a man who is my total opposite."
"Opposites attract, you know?"
Claire made a face at her sister that meant to say, 'Gee, you're so helpful.'
"That's not the point Karen."
"Well, you're going to have to learn that you're with a man that doesn't meet your...uh, well-"
"Standards?"
"No, not my standards, just my-"
"Standards."
"You're a real great help sis."
Karen smiled at her sister as they continued to whisper to each other. Owen wondered what Claire and her sister were talking about, but was soon distracted by Gray.
"Hey Owen, when I'm older, I want to work here at a caretaker or a geneticist," said the small boy happily.
"Really? That sounds awesome. What about you, Zach?" asked Owen.
"Uh, well, I was thinking about working with the raptors," replied the older Mitchell brother.
Owen's eyes widened a little and he fell silent for a few seconds. Why on Earth would someone other than Owen and Barry, want to work with the raptors?
"Uh, well, let's see about that."
"If I don't get to work with them, then I'd like to work with Rexy, or maybe even Alice."
That sounded better to Owen than Zach wanting to work with the raptors.
Claire then put her menu down and Karen sat back in her original position. Claire and Owen didn't know what they were about to do. Claire was about to act like Owen, and Owen was about to act like Claire. This was going to be interesting.
"So, I hear that Claire might be getting the chance to become the CEO of InGen," said Owen in a gentle voice.
"That's great!" exclaimed Karen.
Claire put a small smile on her face as she said, "Yeah well, I think that that job is for more organized and sophisticated people, which I am not," Claire said as she stupidly chuckled and then took a sip of water.
Owen looked at Claire and then said, "But, your are an organized person. I believe that your are the perfect homo sapien for the job."
Claire choked on the water she was drinking and then began to couch, startling everyone at the table. Owen looked at Claire and arched an eyebrow, and then Claire, after being done with coughing, looked at Owen with an arched eyebrow. Why the hell did Owen just say that? Was he trying to sound...smart?
"Uh, well, I don't know. I think that it might be a stupid job," said Claire.
"But, I thought you said that somebody needed to fill in that position, and that you would love to do it because then you work help the park skyrocket back into business."
Claire thought about the words Owen had just spoken and then realized what was happening, and said, "Oh my God."
"What?"
"I know what you're trying to do, Owen."
"What are you talking about?"
Karen looked at the two and then said, "Okay, I see what's going on here. Claire's slightly embarrassed by her relationship with Owen, and Owen decided then to try and meet Claire's standards. Basically, you guys were doing the same thing for one another."
Owen and Claire looked at Karen and then knew that what she said made sense. Both were acting for their own right reasons. Claire knew that Owen really cared for her and that he wasn't embarrassed by their relationship. And, Owen saw that Claire was trying to show Owen that she was no longer embarrassed by their relationship and that she hoped that they would have a fun time in each other's company. Claire let out a soft chuckle and shook her head lightly before saying, "I'm sorry Owen. I'm not embarrassed about being with you, anymore at least. I'll do my best to fully enjoy this thing we have."
Owen smiled and then said, "It's okay, Claire. I'll try to act a bit more smart every so often so that you don't feel like you're dating a complete idiot," said Owen.
Claire laughed at Owen's words and then looked deep into his eyes. They were going to be fine.
Claire and Owen cleared the air and Claire is now going to work on fully enjoying her relationship with Owen. Sarah, Owen's sister got a job at Jurassic World and hasn't told her eighteen year old son about it yet, because it's a decision that will greatly impact his life. Did you realize that Alice wasn't in this chapter at all? It's weird, right?
A/N: Turtles! How are you guys doing? Good? Well, glad to hear it! I hope that you guys liked this chapter! And, I hope that you can forgive me for not putting Alice into this one at all. After all, the story is, or should be, roughly centered around her. Anyway, she will be the next chapter, and this time, she's going to meet Felix and Silas. Also, just wanted to say, there isn't going to be any kind of romantic situations going on between the dinosaurs, I'll explain why in the next chapter. Review, if you'd like and remember to stay tuned for more!
'Til Next Time!-TM341
