Chapter 2 The Reservoir

The Reservoiror source of infection where the microorganism can live and thrive. This may be a person, an animal, any object in the general environment, food or water.

Claire was anxiously waiting at the docks for her arrivals. Karen was going through a messy divorce and desperately needed some time away, so they were coming to visit the park for the first time. Scott had never wanted to come here as he felt it was a giant waste of money. That was despite the fact that she had always offered to cover everything when they were here. She knew it was because he was a workaholic who never wanted to take time off to vacation with his family.

She talked to Gray a lot on FaceTime and knew he was the most excited. He'd only been able to see the park through the lens of her phone. She knew she might have to work on Zach a little, but maybe they could find something to excite him too.

It was the middle of the afternoon and she knew the ferry would be quiet with the day half over. There wouldn't be any day-trippers so there weren't many people waiting around like her. As she scanned the few that were waiting, she noticed a familiar figure standing against one of the light posts at the edge of the dock. She couldn't help but smile and make her way over.

"Hey." she said as she approached him.

"Hey!" Owen's face lit up when he realized who had come over. Right now she was absolutely beautiful, looking more relaxed than he'd seen her in a while. He immediately pulled her in for a searing kiss, no longer fearing public displays of affection. "I think I'm gonna like this being out in the open thing a lot." he announced after releasing her. She giggled and dropped her head in his chest.

Lifting her head up to look at him, "I'm glad one of us is so confident today." she smirked.

"Why are you so nervous? It's your family." he asked, running his hand over her hair as it blew around from the ocean breeze.

"It's their first trip since I started here." she replied. "My youngest nephew is nuts for dinosaurs, so he's been waiting a while for this." They watched as the ferry docked and they laid out the ramp for passengers to disembark.

"Maybe bring him by the paddock at some point. I can have him see the girls." he smiled.

"Really? You wouldn't mind?" she asked. Claire knew Owen was very careful about interactions with the raptors and she didn't want to disrupt any of his training.

"Not for someone genuinely interested. Plus, more time I can get to know your family." he shrugged. "They're important to you, so they're important to me." Her smile widened and she wrapped her arms round his neck, pulling him into a tight hug. He picked her up as he buried his face in her hair, always unable to resist inhaling her vanilla scent. He placed her back down as she pulled her head back and pulled herself up to kiss him deeply. For a moment they forgot they were on the docks until someone called out his name from a distance, forcing him to pull away. He remained with his forehead touching hers as he caught his breath.

"You're not the only one who might get used to being out in the open." she grinned.

He smiled down at her and ran his fingers through her hair. Owen could see a bunch of his friends coming toward him in the distance, so he knew he didn't have much time before they descended and he didn't want her trapped in the middle. "You know, we have the bar tonight. You could come out and join us. Perfect time to meet everyone." he hinted. He figured he'd try to get her out with him somehow tonight. "Bring your sister and have a grown up night out."

"I'll think about it and run it by her. I can see her now." she pointed and waved at Karen and the boys. She started walking backwards toward her family, "You know I could use a dose of grown up time. In more ways than one." she winked before turning around to walk away.

Owen didn't even try to hide the fact that he was staring at her ass as she walked away. She glanced back one more time, blowing him a kiss. He just smiled a mile wide. He was completely in love with her and the thought didn't scare him at all. Before he had time to process anything, he was taken up in a bear hug and bombarded by loud, boisterous voices.

"Grady!", "Dude", "Brother!" were various calls he heard among the crowd.

His best friend Sam Brady was the one giving him the bear hug. They were Brady and Grady all through the Navy and it stuck them together through everything. "Alright, my friend, two questions." Sam asked as he wrapped his arm around Owen's neck.

"Go for it."

"One. What's the plan?"

"That's easy. That nice lady over there is the concierge provided for the group. She's got transports ready to bring the groups as they come in back to the hotel. Then we have the entire lagoon bar set aside for us tonight with an open bar. Courtesy of the park owner. And you, you smart ass, planned everything else." he grinned.

"Well I had a few on the ferry already. Guidance is helpful." he smirked.

Owen rolled his eyes. "And question two?"

"Who's the hottie with the red hair? And is she available?" He asked, looking over where Claire was standing and talking to her sister.

"Her name is Claire and no, definitely not. That's my girl." he answered smiling, patting Sam on the back.

"Damn, dude. Damn." Sam shook is head.

"She actually runs the whole park, man. It's fucking hot." Owen was usually the type to be in charge, but watching her run this place was an incredible turn on for him.

"Seriously? Your boss? Double damn."

"Not technically, no. Same company, same island, different divisions. Which is better for me. We actually disclosed to our boss today. So I can officially say she is my girlfriend out loud." he replied with a stupidly happy smile on his face.

"You, my friend, are done for." Sam said plainly.

"Oh, definitely." Owen chuckled. "I can't wait for you to meet my other girls."

"They cute?" he asked.

"Sure, in a reptilian sort of way..."

Claire had brought Karen and the boys to the hotel to settle in. They had arrived at the boys room and Gray was bouncing with anticipation. Zach was just shrugging off everything in typical teenage fashion.

"Aunt Claire! Can we go!" Gray asked excitedly. He wanted to get out and see everything immediately.

"Dude, chill out." Zach snapped at him.

Claire just gave him a look and shook her head. She'd get through to him somehow. "How about we get your mom settled first and then you guys can go out? I've got a work dinner at six, but then I'm all yours for the next four days." she grinned at Gray. "I've also got a super special surprise for you tomorrow. Something no one else gets to see." she said mysteriously. She knew Gray would love the raptors and she was so happy Owen offered for him to see them.

"Really?" he asked.

"Really." she smiled. She turned to Karen, "My assistant should be coming by soon with your bracelets. They let you cut the lines and they cover all your meals. I'm so excited you guys are here!" she said, smiling widely. She hasn't been able to share the experience at the park with anyone yet. She was most excited to share it with Gray. She was so much like him at that age. He always reminded her why she was here in the first place.

"Alright, I'm gonna go get your mom settled and you guys can figure out what you want to do next." They nodded as Claire and Karen went next door.

Claire sat on the bed as her sister unpacked her bags for the week.

"So you gonna make me drag it out of you or will you just tell me already?" Karen finally asked when she knew Claire wasn't going to spill anything willingly.

"No idea what you are referring too." Claire played dumb. For as long as she could anyway. Which with Karen, wasn't usually very long.

"Tall, dark and hot with the tight ass giving you goo goo eyes. That's what."

"You have a remarkable way of getting to the point, dear sister." Claire rolled her eyes.

"If it wasn't for the boys being here, I'd be chasing some serious ass myself. But for now I need something vicarious and if I get to watch that man chase you while I'm hear, my vacation just got a whole lot better." she smirked.

"Owen." she sighed, finally answering, "His name is Owen and he's the behaviorist here for the raptors. They brought him directly in out of the Navy."

"You realize none of that made him any less hot."

"I know." she chuckled. "Actually, we made a point to tell Simon today so we could finally be public before you got here."

"I need goddamn details now, little sister! " Karen shrieked. Claire just rolled her eyes and sighed. It was no use fighting the inevitable.

She thought back to the early days, when they first met. "We butted heads early on a lot. We're two control freaks, both used to having our way. And then one day, things changed." She smiled remembering the day that changed everything for them. Which was funny, because she probably should be frowning considering the situation.

Flashback

Claire was out in a gyrosphere with a high value investor, giving him a tour of the valley. The man had been hitting on her all day and she was tired of it.

"As you can see, our valley has expanded it's population considerably over the last five years. We hope to continue some expansion into Sector Five with newly discovered species development." she droned on. She wanted out of this fishbowl. The man kept trying to accidentally grab her thigh and she shook him off each time.

"Claire, stop playing around. We're two single, grown adults who have every right to get some pleasure. I happen to find you very attractive. I know Masrani needs another influx of cash and I'll be happy to provide for him if I'm provided for." he leered at her.

Claire was shaking in anger as he again reached for her thigh and she again shook it off. She spun the wheel around to head back as he grabbed her thigh hard, bruising her this time.

"You have a job to do, so you better do it if you know what's good for you." His hand remained gripping her tightly as tears formed a little in her eyes from the pain, but she didn't let them fall. She would not let him see her weak. She needed to hold strong and get out of there. She was alone and this man was much larger than her.

Like some sort of gift, she noticed a group gathered around a large shadow on the ground. She immediately directed the sphere in that direction, hoping to get out of this situation before she got really hurt. "I just need to see what's going on."

As soon as she could, she stopped and released the door. He grabbed her arm hard, giving her a warning look and shaking his head. She stepped out and he followed behind. She could see ACU and a few others gathered around an unconscious Triceratops. He was close on her heels as she joined the group gathered. She could see Owen was there observing as well.

"Good afternoon. We were driving by and I saw everyone, so I was curious what was happening." Claire asked, with a very slight quiver in her voice, still shaken by the encounter moments ago with the man standing at her shoulder. She hoped her face was neutral as she felt him place his hand on her back.

Owen looked up sharply when he heard Claire's voice. He saw she was there with a man. Either a date or an investor? He noticed her face didn't look quite right and the man almost looked to be trying to control her the way he was hovering near her and staying within arms reach as she moved. To anyone else, it wouldn't have raised any flags, but Owen watched Claire a lot.

"Monthly vet check-up." he replied to her. She nodded quickly and the man stepped closer.

"See, nothing to worry about. I'd like to go get some lunch." he sneered.

Owen saw Claire's eyes briefly go wide at the suggestion. His gut kept telling him something wasn't right. He thought fast, "Hey Claire, while you're here, do you have a minute?"

She looked at him and nodded quickly again. "Excuse me for just a moment, Mr. Paulson." She nodded and he gave her a dark look.

Owen could see that and the subtle shake of his head. This man was definitely threatening her somehow. "I just need to correct some things I sent in my reports." He said to the man as Claire got closer. He placed a protective arm around her waist, leading her over to one of the vehicles.

"Get in, we're leaving." He led her to the passenger's side and opened the door, helping her up.

"Hey! Don't you dare tell me..." she started.

"Please don't argue. I'm restraining myself as it is seeing as he is still over there. We both need to go."

"Grady! I can't leave him here. He's an investor." she said frantically.

As he was helping her into the Jeep, her skirt hiked up and he could clearly see the hand print shaped bruise on her milky white thigh. She was in a sleeveless shirt and he could see the mark on her arm too. He was seeing red now and she could see it in his face.

"I'll have ACU take him and the hamster ball back. Claire, you cannot be alone with him again." he said to her seriously. He reached up and caressed her face, then made sure she was in and closed the door, leaving no room for argument. He ran over and spoke to one of the unit guys. Paulson saw him and went to approach the vehicle. Owen stood in his path and pushed back on him to prevent him from getting any closer. "Ain't happening, asshole. One of these fine gentlemen will take your ass back. I will be contacting Simon directly." With that, he turned and went to the Jeep.

He came back and climbed in without saying as word and started it up. He peeled away quickly, avoiding people and staring straight ahead. Claire could see he was gripping the steering wheel so tight his knuckles were white. He was tensely quiet and she needed to break the silence.

"Owen..." she started to speak. He looked over at her, his furious face softening when they made eye contact. "I know I probably came off very ungrateful and I'm sorry. I came over there to get away from him in the first place." He seemed to notice that something was wrong without her needing to even say anything. And he protected her. Fiercely. "Thank you. For helping me." she said, looking down at her feet, unable to meet his eyes and starting to feel tears pooling in her eyes. They were far enough away to be out of sight and Owen stopped the car to really look at her.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly. "I saw the look on your face and I reacted. And the bruises he left..." He wanted to scream. He couldn't imagine hurting her ever and that asshole did it the first day he met her.

"I'm okay. It barely hurts." she said softly. "I just want to go home." She looked out the window for a moment. "I'm glad you noticed I was off. I had no idea how to speak up about it without putting myself at risk."

"Claire..." He was trying to form his thoughts, "I knew something wasn't right. You looked terrified and nothing scares you. And I didn't have a second thought, because it's you." He paused and took a deep breath, looking down and trying to calm his racing heart, "My first thought is that you were on a date and I wanted to knock him out and get him out of my way. Then I saw he was a threat to you and I wanted to tear him limb from limb and feed the remains to my girls. " He took another breath and looked up at her, "Despite outward appearances and behaviors, I really like you Claire. And the thought of someone hurting you like that..." he shrugged and looked down, unsure of himself. "I don't want to imagine what could have happened if we weren't out there on that vet check." He looked over at her, catching her eyes and he found himself lost in them. They were softer than he typically saw them. He didn't get to look at her like this often as they were usually bickering.

"It would have ended with me kicking him the balls somehow, I'm sure." she smirked, lightening the mood.

Owen laughed and shook his head at her, "Yes you would have and I would have been proud as shit of you for doing it. That man does not need to ability to reproduce."

Claire burst out laughing at that and it was the best sound Owen had ever heard. He finally started the truck back up to head to the park. They were quiet for a few moments.

"I can't believe you thought I was on a date with him. Middle of the day? Really, Owen?" she chuckled.

"How was I supposed to know? No one ever sees you out anywhere unless its work related. You could date by mail for all I know." he grinned. "How would I even ask you out? By appointment? An email to Zara?"

She shook her head laughing, hitting him in the shoulder, "Jerk."

He didn't want to say it out loud, but he was only half joking.

She smiled as a thought crossed her mind."Owen?" she asked gently. He looked over at her. "I know I can be a little hard to deal with sometimes. But if you wanted to ask me out, I wouldn't say no."

He couldn't help but smile widely at that. "Let's get you home and get you a bath to help soothe the bruised spots. Then tomorrow, after I've spoken to Simon about better choosing his investors, I'm gonna call and ask you out." He smirked.

"I can handle that I think." she chuckled.

End of Flashback

"Oh, Claire. Now I really want to meet him." Karen replied.

"Well, he'll be out at one of the bars with his Navy buddies tonight celebrating their reunion. He asked me to come out." She already knew what Karen's reaction would be.

"Oh my god, we're going. Owen and a bar full of Navy guys? Are you new? Jesus, Claire...I thought I raised you better.." Karen muttered as she began tearing through her bag looking for something to wear.

"Um, what about the boys?" Claire chuckled.

"Zach is sixteen and Gray is ten. They'll be fine on an island. We can find some way to keep them busy. I want a night out. I haven't had one in years, Claire. It's like I'm coming back to life, ready to rejoin the world!" she looked at her pleading. She was always very dramatic.

There was a knock on the door. Zara entered with a small bag. "I've got the bracelets you asked for. Sorry they took so long."

"Thanks, Zara." Claire replied, handing the bag over to Karen. "Your VIP access."

"That's nice. Thank you, Zara." she smiled at Claire's assistant. "Now, maybe you can answer a question for me."

"Karen..." Claire started.

"Hush. What can you tell me about this Owen?" Karen asked.

"Oh my god, Owen Grady? A large number of people on this island would probably drop their pants for him. But he is completely head over heels for this one. Has been since day one." Zara replied, pointing at Claire.

"Uh-huh." Karen responded, looking at her sister. Claire just shook her head laughing. "Now. What would you say if I told you that Owen invited it her out to a bar with all of his Navy buddies?"

"Are you guys going public?!" she asked Claire, who simply nodded. "Finally!" she shouted. Zara was one of the few who Claire had told. It made it easier for her to spend time with him without probing questions. "I would also say I'm spreading the word to everyone on staff about the party." she added.

Karen looked back over at Claire, "I know you've already decided you're going and you're excited about it. You are doing this to be difficult, as usual. But seriously, give me my damn night out." she said finally.

Claire just laughed, "Okay, fine. Zara, can you please help us find something to keep the boys entertained while I take my sister out later? I also have that dinner in a bit with Simon and the investors at Winston's, so I'll need the usual escape plan." After the incident with the gyrosphere, Claire had instituted a backup plan with Zara coming to get her if she felt uncomfortable with someone alone. "I'll actually have Owen with me, but just in case."

Zara smiled, "You got it."

Owen was in an all black suit with no tie. He would dress up within reason, but had to rebel somehow. He was bored out of his mind. He had been trying to follow the news playing on the bar TV, but couldn't make out what was being said. The group had been talking business crap for twenty five minutes and he only showed up for Claire's sake and the free alcohol later.

There was a blonde board member who had sat next to him after making eyes at him when they arrived. He was constantly removing her hand from his thigh, trying to pretend nothing was wrong.

The other investors finally started trickling in and sitting down. There were two open seats on one side of him. One he was keeping for Claire. Owen was getting concerned. He was about to call her when he finally got a glimpse of her hair walking through the dark restaurant. When she got to the table, all the men stood up to greet her. She moved over to where Owen had kept a seat for her.

As he stood up to greet her, he felt the blonde stuff an object in his pocket. He reached in and found a key card, likely one for the hotel. Before he could react, Claire reached her seat and removed her jacket and gave it to the hostess. He tossed the key on the table as he went to greet his girlfriend. "Dropped something." He said dismissively, eyes only for the redhead. He heard a huff come from the blonde.

Claire was in a short black v-neck halter dress and stiletto heels that clasped around her ankle.. Her hair was lightly curled. He pulled her chair out and before sitting, she placed her hand on his face and leaned to kiss him hello. Trying not to show his surprise, Owen happily accepted it and placed his hand on her waist. She released fairly quickly, smiling and winking at him.

Well, she seems playful tonight, he thought. He was not going to complain. It might even make this whole dinner thing more fun for him.

As Claire sat, the conversations around the table started again. She leaned over to Owen, "Did I miss anything important?" She had been caught up checking in with Lowery and getting the most recent updates.

"Only my death by boredom. But your arrival has raised the dead." he grinned at her. She almost snorted, laughing in response. Simon heard her and looked over at them, shaking his head and chuckling.

"Don't worry, the world could end tomorrow and then neither of us would have to deal with this crap anymore." Claire joked.

"Promise?"

"Absolutely." she smirked.

"So how long until we can escape?" he grinned. "Because I really want to get you to the bar and show you off to my friends. Then I want to get you home and get that dress off of you. But the heels are gonna stay on." he whispered hotly in her ear. She couldn't stop the shiver that flowed through her.

He grumbled, "And if I have to remove a hand from my thigh that's not yours one more time, I'm going to light the table on fire, just to get away."

Claire placed her hand on his nearby thigh and started rubbing it. Whispering in his ear, "Just get through this. And then we can go get drunk with my sister and your friends. Then I'll take you home and fuck your brains out. You just being here with me, looking like that, is turning me on in crazy ways." His eyes widened briefly at that and he tried to hide it.

"I might let you have all the control tonight." she said, finally pulling away and smirking only to join the table conversation. Owen was frozen, picturing all kinds of scenarios for later. He needed to get his libido under control or this could be very embarrassing, especially considering the woman next to him was still trying to grab his attention. Literally.

He'd finally had enough. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go wash up before food arrives. I do handle dead rats and all." he grinned at the group, but getting up quickly.

Claire knew exactly what he was doing and as soon as he was out of sight, she slid into his seat. She used the fact that it was closer to Simon to give her a reason to move. She leaned over slightly, trying to talk as if the blonde wasn't there. "Thank you for the private party later, Simon. Owen is very grateful. We both are." she said softly. She was also clearly marking her territory where the blonde could hear her.

"Well, I can only do my best to help. I like you two together." he smiled softly at her. "And I didn't really get a chance to say it earlier, but I'm happy for you in particular. You deserve someone who looks out for you." he said, winking at her. Owen held to his promise that he would call Simon about the assault from the investor. His determined protection of Claire increased Simon's respect for him ten-fold.

Owen returned to find that Claire had switched seats and created a barrier for him. He smiled wide at the sight. They really did look out for each other no matter what. He went and pulled his new seat out and sat down.

"Hi handsome." she greeted him.

"You're my hero, you know that?" He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

"Always." she grinned at him. They both turned to the table to join the conversations.

"So Owen, tell us more about your training techniques..."

Henry returned to the lab following his own dinner. He was anxious to see how things were moving along. He was receiving pressure to produce assets quickly and he needed a solution soon.

"Mark! How are we looking tonight?" He asked his head researcher and assistant.

"Interesting and concerning." he said, hesitating to give the full report. He knew Henry would not necessarily be happy.

"How so?"

"We've observed starting this afternoon that the agent has started killing the living cells it was originally helping to reproduce, taking over like a parasite. As we have continued to watch, the speed with which it was killing the cells got exponentially faster. Host cells are now dead in thirty seconds after exposure."

"That's definitely concerning. Anything else? Has it's reaction changed with the fossilized DNA structure?" Henry asked.

"That's where the interesting comes in. It is developing faster every hour in the fossilized cells. The cells it originally killed off were showing active signals again, and it was working faster while rejuvenating them, doubling every couple minutes. I'd say confidently that it was more effective in dead cells than live ones." Mark replied.

"Hmmm..." Henry pondered for a moment. "Keep it going, making some adjustments and lets see if it mutates on it's own again. See if we see any improvement on the living cells. But I would also like to see further study on the dead cell reaction. This could be an unintentional bonus discovery. The possibilities of dead cell regeneration are endless."

"Yes sir."

"I'm headed home for the night. I'll check back in the morning to find out the final results. We should also prepare to run it again if the living cells continue to die off."

"Understood, sir." And he went back to reporting the data as it came in.

Henry went to leave the lab, looking back at the number of techs rushing around trying to finish their work. He hoped it would be successful. He needed it to be to keep the bosses at InGen happy.