A/N: I just wanted to say, thanks for the reviews you guys! You guys are awesome and I hope that you guys keep reading this story! On with the show!

Battle Scars

It's Tuesday now. There are only four days left until the park reopened. Claire had told Owen that she was surprised by how many tickets sold, considering the Incident that happened nearly two weeks ago. Last Sunday, Owen and Claire had some fun telling Alice that she didn't need to worry about her love life right now and that she needed to focus more on reopening day. Alice couldn't explain the millions of things that were going on in her mind the past few days. Sunday, she thought about relationships. Monday, she had a nightmare about being experimented on and it flipped her out. It freaked her out so much, that Owen had to go in and calm her down again. Today, Alice began thinking about trust and the people around her. There was Owen, Claire, and Lowery, but she only found them to be more acceptable than trustworthy. It may seem strange for her, considering that she's been around these people for about two weeks now. But, it always takes time to build trust. So, don't expect her to trust anyone for a little while.

Alice was walking around in her home as she began to think about Red One. Red One, she was getting nicer with each passing day, and Alice was growing more fond of her with each passing day, too. She knew Red One had a name, but didn't want to call her by it yet until she fully trusted her. She had a full grown hatred against the human. It started when Alice was smaller, but Alice was growing out of her hatred now that Red One was showing her kindness. Alice wanted to make a good friend of Red One, maybe even a kind of best friend, since Red One could relate with Alice more since she was a girl as well. Alice was also confused by some of Red One's more recent actions towards Alice. Like, when Red One called Alice sweetie for the first time, Alice thought Red One was talking to someone else, or Owen, but then realized that Red One was talking about Alice. Alice felt a small, warm and happy feeling inside because of Red One's niceness. It made her feel good and sometimes made her day for some reason. Red One was growing on Alice, and it was a good thing.

"You really think that Alice could beat Rexy in a fight?" Claire asked Owen as she slouched in the hammock that she was sitting in.

Claire and Owen were at Owen's bungalow because they both had time to kill. Claire didn't have any meetings scheduled for today, and Owen had spent all of Monday with his raptors. They didn't consider this a date, more like, two friends just hanging out and killing time together.

"Yeah Claire. I'm telling you, Alice could beat Rexy in a fight," replied Owen confidently.

"Well then, why don't we put that to the test?"

"Claire, do you want another disaster? It'd be like the Godzilla movie that came out last year. We'd be caught up in the fight as it causes chaos to the environment."

"Good point."

"So then, let me ask you this. During the Incident, how did you feel during the raptor attack?"

"Well, when Echo decided to bust her head through the window of the ambulance, I nearly crapped myself. When Delta showed up in the lab and killed Hoskins, I felt happy, yet still petrified with terror."

"Yeah well, now you know how I feel everyday with them."

"Whatever Owen, when one of your raptors attacks you like they did me, then you can talk."

Owen pressed his lips and then arched an eyebrow. He gave a scoff as he began to unbutton his shirt. Claire's eyes began to widen as she saw Owen unbutton each button. She sighed a sigh of relief as she saw that he had a plain white t-shirt under the buttoned shirt, but then saw as he lifted his shirt up to his chest, revealing a few scars on his chest and abdomen.

"The ones one my chest are from when I was pinned down by Blue when she thought I was threatening her because I told her that I was the alpha of the pack. And the ones on my stomach are from Charlie and Delta when they were hunting me down in their paddock," said Owen as he pointed the scars out on his body.

Claire got up from the hammock and slowly approached Owen. She looked at each scar closely, seeing at how long they were and how wide they were. The one on his chest was the longest one. Running straight across his chest ending at just before his armpits. The ones on his abs were smaller, but they were wider than the one on his chest. Claire wanted to reach out and trace each scar with her fingers, but she shot a glance at Owen to see if he would give her permission.

"You can touch them if you want," he said.

She then stretched out her hand and gently placed her hand on his chest and traced the scar with her fingers. Owen shivered for a second because Claire's hands were really cold. She ran her fingers along the scar and then began to picture Blue on top of Owen, giving him the scar.

"How did Blue do this?" she asked as she ran her hand backwards on the scar.

"She was on top of me and then swung her foot, with her retractable claw fully out and slashed me on my chest. I was taken to Urgent Care immediately," replied Owen in a slightly dark tone.

Claire then moved her hand down and quickly traced her fingers on the scars on Owen's abdomen.

"And these?"

"They jumped at me every now and then while I was running throughout the brush, but then I finally got out and got immediate medical attention."

Claire then retracted her hand and then continued to stare at Owen's body. The defined chest, the cut abs, his big arms, his chiseled jaw, his nicely tanned skin, and his beautiful green eyes. Claire felt herself flush slightly as she continued to stare at him. She blinked a few times before Owen said, "I want you to see these as well."

Claire arched an eyebrow as Owen turned around, revealing a few more scars scattered all around his back.

"Wh-Where did you get these?" she asked him.

"In my time in the Navy. I trained a few animals in those days and some didn't cooperate with me as much as others. And, some are from drunks idiots and heartbroken recruits," replied Owen.

"Heartbroken recruits?"

"Yeah, some recruits would get really mad when they were dealing with a break up and they let out their emotions on others."

"They allow that?"

"Yeah, but, what are you gonna do?"

"Fight back."

"Back then, I wasn't that kind of guy."

"Oh? And when did you become 'that kind of guy?'"

"After I left the Navy, once I was hired here and realized what I was working with."

"Oh."

Claire and Owen then fell silent as Owen pulled his shirt back down and put the buttoned down shirt over his shoulder. The tension between the two right now could be cut with a knife. This was a side of Owen that Claire never knew about, and there was a side of her that Owen didn't know about. It wasn't anything as big as Owen's, but it was still something that impacted Claire. She decided, since Owen said something, she might as well say something, too.

"Well, let me show you this," she said as she began to remove her blouse.

Owen didn't exactly know how to react to the situation at hand, so he just froze in place and watched as Claire then revealed a scar on her side and one on the back of her shoulder.

"What happened to you?" he asked as he got closer to her.

"I may seem like a girl that had great parents and a great childhood, but looks can be deceiving. When I was a kid, my father was an abrasive drunk and would come home sometimes and, well, let's just say he would hit us, sometimes with broken bottles," she replied.

Owen then placed his hand on Claire's shoulder and traced the scar on it and saw that it was thin, but it was long. He glanced down at the scar on her side, but didn't touch it because he didn't want to make Claire feel uncomfortable. But, he saw that the scar on her side was a bit shorter and a bit wider than the one on her shoulder. He then retracted his hand and let Claire put her blouse back on. Once she was covered again, she and Owen sat in silence again.

"Say," began Claire, "you said you worked with the Navajo, right?" Claire asked playfully.

Owen rolled his eyes and then replied, "Yes, Claire, I worked with the Navajo. Why do you ask?"

"Now, this is a bit more of a big personal question, so, you don't have to answer it now, or ever, if you don't want to."

"What is it Claire?"

"While in the Navy, did you have any...re-relationships?"

"How specific do you want that answer to be?"

Claire arched an eyebrow at Owen's questions and asked, "What do you mean by that?'

"Uh, well, I can tell you that, yes, I had a few relationships while in the Navy."

'A few? How long was he in the Navy for?' thought Claire.

"How long were you in the Navy again?" she decided to ask.

"Four years. I went in when I was thirty-two," he responded.

"So, over those four years, how many relationships did you get in?"

"I never kept count."

"Give an estimate then."

"Uh, maybe, about, six."

"Six? Oh my God Owen! What were you like, the player of the ship?"

"Look, you asked and I gave an answer."

Claire couldn't argue with that, since Owen did give her the answer to the question she asked. She didn't want to go any further into the subject, so she decided to change it.

"Well, anyway, how's Alice holding up?" she asked.

"She's doing fine. She's actually really excited for reopening. She can't wait to meet so many people," replied Owen.

"Well, that's good."

"So, where are you moving her to?"

"Well, there's been a lot of discussion amongst the board and they've finally decided to simply, expand her paddock."

"Are you telling me, that people are going to come to the Restricted Area?"

"No, I'm just joking. She's going to be moved to Main Street and be near Rexy's Paddock. They're renaming the section Rex Kindgom as opposed to only T-Rex Kingdom."

"Oh, well, all right then."

"Now, I don't know how you're going to be able to work out being at Main Street for most of the day, and then go to the other side of the island to be with your raptors, but I know that you'll come up with something."

"Whoa, wait, I'm going to be the Indominus caretaker?"

"Why is that such a surprise to you?"

"Because I didn't know that I was going to be Alice's caretaker!"

"Well, what else did you expect Owen? You stopped her from causing anymore damage to Main Street and you and her have grown closer than anyone else that's been around her. To her, Lowery and I are just acquaintances. You are probably a friend to her."

"How would you know that Claire, did you interview her?"

"Look, you're going to be Alice's caretaker and that's final."

"That's final? Claire, I have to take care of my raptors!"

"Well, what if we moved the raptors closer to Main Street?"

"Oh no. There is no way in hell that I am letting you move my raptors closer to the guests."

"Why?"

"Well, unless the guests have death wishes, the raptors don't need to be moved."

Claire couldn't understand Owen most of the time. His reasons were strange, yet logical. He was hotheaded, sometimes arrogant, protective, etc. Owen was a force not to be reckoned with, yet every force in the world decided to reckon him for some reason. Claire rarely won arguments with Owen, even if she was right, and he was wrong. When Claire won an argument, Owen would get quiet and simply keep a plain stare.

"Owen, please, think about it," said Claire.

"There is nothing to think about. The raptors aren't moving to Main Street and that's final," said Owen in a partial commanding tone.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that you don't want them to see Alice again, would it?"

Owen took a deep breath before answering, "Yes, it does."

"Oh God, Owen! You need to let Alice see them again. She misses them and I'm pretty sure you know that they miss her, too. Alice wants to meet people and other dinosaurs, you're going to have to let her have her freedom, too, you know?"

"Last time we gave her a little freedom, Charlie was killed."

That was it. Claire's mouth opened slightly as she processed the words that Owen had just spoken. That was his main reason: Charlie's death.

"O-Owen, your reason for the raptors not seeing Alice again is because you fear that they'll lose their lives?" Claire asked slowly and quietly.

Owen slowly nodded his head at the question.

"Owen, I'm sorry about Charlie. I know that she was the youngest and that you cared for her a lot. They are basically like your children, and losing a child is hard, I get that. But, don't let this get in the way of something that could benefit Alice and the raptors."

Owen then shot a death and dark glare at Claire, making her take a small step back.

"Once you lose something as precious as that, then you can talk. But, right now, all you can do is keep your mouth shut."

Owen then turned around and began to walk towards his bungalow. Claire thought of something, and before she realized it, she blurted it out.

"I lost someone, too, Owen," she said loudly.

Owen stopped but didn't turn around. He waited to hear what Claire had to say.

"Zach and Gray told me what happened to Zara during the pterosaur attack on Main Street. She was tossed around by them and then she was in the action of being drowned, until the Mosasaur jumped out of water and ate her whole. Zara was my best friend, Owen. She was my assistant, yes, but she was a very close friend when it came to not being at work. She was like a sister to me, and she was killed during the Incident. So, don't think that you're the only one who can mourn since you lost something precious," she said as her voice began to break and her eyes began to water.

Owen turned around and looked at Claire, who now had a red nose, and streams of tears pouring down her cheeks. Owen now felt like an ass. He thought that he had the right, more than anyone, to mourn and use Charlie's death as an excuse for anything that he thought was a stupid idea. He got mad at Claire and now he regretted it. He hoped that this wouldn't affect their relationship greatly. Owen took a step forward and softly said, "Claire, I-"

"I'm going to head back to Main Street now," she said as she then quickly walked away and got in her car and drove off.

"Great going, Owen," he said to himself.

Alice had just woken up from a good nap. She had a peaceful dream and wished that she could remember what happened in it. She hated when she couldn't remember nice dreams, it irritated her a lot. The hybrid dinosaur went over to the viewing glass to see if Owen and Claire were inside, only to find Red One inside, with a slightly red nose and watery eyes. Alice began to worry about Red One, wondering what was going on with her. She gave a worried chirp at Red One to see if she would respond.

"I'm fine Alice, don't worry," said Red One with a shaky voice.

Alice didn't believe the lie that Red One had told her. Alice had learned from Lowery about lies and about what he called 'Brave Faces.' She gave a chitter, telling Red One that she was lying.

"Owen and I, we just had a small disagreement," she admitted.

Small disagreement? What small disagreement makes people cry? The next time Alice saw Owen, she would confront him for making Red One shed tears.

"See, the thing is, I lost my best friend when the pterosaurs, the flying dinosaurs, attacked the visitors and they dropped her in the Mosasaurus Bay and she was killed."

Alice felt terrible for Red One. It was her fault that she let out the flying dinosaurs that attacked the innocent people, including Red One's best friend. Alice was sorry about it, but couldn't fully tell Red One that she was. So, Alice gave a soft and gentle croon.

Claire gave a soft smile as Alice gave the croon. Claire felt like Alice was telling her that she was sorry for everything and that everything would be fine.

"Thanks, Alice," said Claire as she placed her hand on the glass.

Alice gave a single nod of her head as she stared deep into Red One's eyes. Part of Alice wanted to call her Claire, but Alice still thought that it wasn't the right time for it.

Owen and Claire fought, Alice told Claire that she was sorry fro everything, and Alice felt her bond with Claire grow even more. Their bond grew so much, that Alice is getting closer to finally call Claire by her name rather than Red One. At least something good came out of the situation at hand, right?

A/N: Guys! This chapter was kind of weird, right? A little serious, yet a little strange at the same time. Only a few days until the park reopens! Anyway, I hope that you guys liked this chapter and remember to come back for more of this story!

'Til Next Time!-TM341