A few weeks later, Claire was once again walking into work late. However, this time Zia took much more notice and Claire was aware of how swollen her eyes were, knowing that her friend had also undoubtedly noticed. She barely suppressed a groan when the other woman followed her into her office.

"You look like shit."

Claire snorted and gave Zia an exasperated look. Really? "Thank you, very much."

Zia shrugged. "It's true. When was the last time you got some sleep?"

"I slept last night," Claire argued and saw her friend her rolling her eyes. "I did!"

"Mhm. Look, I love you but you're full of shit. You need a break from this place, Claire."

"I can't just take off! We're finally starting to gain some traction, theres too much that needs to be done."

Zia sighed. "Yes, but we can handle it. Just take a few days off, we can email you if we need you. But you're exhausted, you're here like every day. It's not healthy."

Claire looked at her friend, her body tense as she fought the urge to argue. To say that she was fine, she was just a little tired, nothing she couldn't handle. But she couldn't bring herself to. Because Zia was right. She was exhausted and it was starting to affect her work. She was more short tempered. She wasn't as focused, she was slow responding to emails, her phone was filling up with voicemails. But she had to work. If she stayed home, she was just reminded of how lonely she really was, and that brought up memories of him. And that was worse than the absolute exhaustion taking over her body.

Claire sighed. She knew she couldn't keep going on like this. It was going to kill her, and while she wasn't overly concerned with herself, she knew that she had too many responsibilities to stay on top of. Her taking time off was best for everyone. She couldn't help if she was too run down to function. But she couldn't be alone.

Looking at Zia, she bit her lip, mulling an idea over in her head. Maybe...

And that's how she found herself seated at the airport gate a week and a half later. She tapped her foot against the ground, checking her watch for the tenth time in the last half hour. Thank god. It was almost 7am, which meant she'd be boarding soon.

Karen had been quite surprised when she'd called and asked if she could come visit, and Claire didn't blame her. They'd only seen each other once after the "Incident", and Claire didn't call often. Of course they'd talked much more than they had before, but she'd stopped calling as much in the last few months. She didn't know what to say anymore. She just felt so lost.

But Claire needed to get away from work, and being alone wouldn't do. And she was excited to see Karen and the boys. She missed them.

So for the last week and a half she'd busted her ass, sending emails and making calls and organizing assemblies and so much else nonstop. They were running out of time and she needed every second to count.

A loud voice interrupted her thoughts and she startled. Her hand closed around the handle of her luggage as the voice announced that her flight was now boarding. Her boarding pass in hand, she approached the gate and got in line.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°

"Aunt Claire!"

Turning her head, she grinned as she caught sight of her nephew rushing toward her.

"Gray! Hi!" She hugged him back, though a bit awkwardly.

Next to embrace her was her sister, and she sighed as she gripped her back tightly. She'd missed her sister more than she'd realized.

"I'm so glad you're here," Karen said as she pulled away.

"Me too. I've missed you guys."

Zach smiled at her and waved, not moving to hug her. Claire waved back, just fine with that. She remembered Karen mentioning how Zach had become more withdrawn since the divorce.

She smiled as Karen hooked her elbow with Claire's as they made their way through the airport toward the parking lot. They'd only made it 5 minutes into the drive when Gray began asking questions about the dinosaurs.

"Aunt Claire? What do you really do at your job? Mom said the dinosaurs are sick. What happened to them? They were fine when we were there."

"Gray!" Karen admonished but she couldn't help but chuckle. Looking over at Claire who sat in the passenger seat, she sighed. "I told him to at least wait until we were back home before bombarding you."

Claire grinned and turned in her seat to look at her nephew who at least looked a little embarrassed. "It's fine," she said. "Well, at my job we're trying to help the dinosaurs. Your mom is right, they are sick. We think we might know why but we aren't sure. So we're trying to get help from the government to do some testing." It was a very simplified version, but she wasn't sure how much her sister wanted the kids to know.

"What kind of tests? What do you think is making them sick?"

Claire glanced at Karen who nodded, so she turned back to Gray. "We think there's something in the water, contaminating it, that's making them sick. Only the ones who are near the northern river are getting sick, the ones on the west side of the island are okay, they don't get their water from the same source."

Gray frowned. "But what kind of tests?"

"Well," she hesitated. "We would need someone to collect samples from the river and test them for any kind of disease, or parasite."

"They're going to the island?" His eyes were wide and Zach was staring at her too.

She shifted nervously. "Maybe. We don't know yet, there's a lot to figure out. And we don't even know if they're going to help us."

Gray didn't respond and the rest of the ride was quiet. Claire wasnt sure what to make of his silence. But she felt the same way. As much as she wanted to save these dinosaurs, some days she wasn't sure it was worth the risk. But she'd come this far, she couldn't stop now.

The house looked the same as the last time she had visited, though it felt less empty. She assumed they'd adjusted to Scott not being here. Her room was next door to Gray's, and she tossed her suitcase onto her bed, sighing. The bed looked so inviting, and she was so tired from her lack of sleep coupled with her early morning. But Claire hadn't come all the way here to sleep. She'd come to see her family, to relax, to unwind. Sighing, she turned to make her way downstairs.

Karen was making lunch and the boys were seated in the living room, fighting over a video game. Her sister rolled her eyes as they started wrestling over a controller.

"They're driving me crazy," Karen remarked as she sipped a cup of coffee, but she was smiling.

Claire chuckled as she watched Zach hold it up high in the air, Gray just short enough he couldn't reach. She looked back at her sister, biting her lip. "How are they doing?"

Karen sighed. "As good as can be expected, I guess. They see Scott every other weekend during school, and they're free to stay wherever they want during the summer. They were both here most of it though, other than at friends' houses." She smiled sadly. "We were supposed to trade off holidays but Scott already bailed on Easter this year."

Claire shook her head in anger. "What an ass." Karen snorted and nodded her head, sliding a plate in front of Claire, a sandwich and some fruit. "Thanks."

"No problem." She looked over at her son's, smiling as they sat on the couch again, playing together amicably. "He is an ass. Don't get me we wrong, I love having the boys here. I wouldn't mind having full custody, but I wanted them to still get to see their father." She sighed. "But I think they can tell that Scott doesn't really care."

Claire smiled at her sadly. "They're lucky they have you."

Karen smiled at her and turned back to her own food. "Thanks." Popping a piece of melon in her mouth, she propped her chin on her fist. "How about you? What's been going on?"

Claire's shoulders tensed as she shrugged. "Nothing new. Just working."

With a roll of her eyes, Karen groaned. "Look, I know your job is important, but you need balance. You can't spend your whole life in an office."

It was Claire's turn to roll her eyes. She'd heard that enough times in her life. "My job is -"

"Its important, I know. But you need to take care of yourself too." Karen patted her hand. "When was the last time you got out? Went on a date?" Claire's breath hitched. "It's been a while... since —"

"Don't," Claire whispered, stating down at the food that no longer looked appetizing. "Please just... don't."

Her sister's eyes softened as she dropped that particular line of questioning. "I'm sorry. I'm just worried about you."

Trying to force a smile, Claire looked her sister in the eye. "I'm okay. Promise."

The rest of that day was spent at the house, her nephews trying to teach her how to play some of their games. She was terrible at them, but it felt nice to sit on the couch with them, laughing and joking, even if the laughing was directed at her atrocious gaming skills.

Still exhausted, she retired to bed early, hugging each of them before heading up the stairs. Barely able to keep her eyes open long enough to change into her pajamas, she was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

The sun crept through the gap in the curtains, warming her face as she slept peacefully. Her body was relaxed for the first time in months, her face not creased in discomfort as she slept, her breathing easy and even, not panicked.

As she began to awaken, Claire rolled onto her back, moaning softly as she stretched her arms above her head, feeling stiff from being asleep for so long. She blinked her eyes open, using her hand to shield her eyes from the sunlight.

'What time is it?' she wondered to herself, looking for her phone. She was glad she'd managed to plug it in before passing out.

9:00am.

She'd slept for nearly 12 hours. She blinked in surprise, sitting up in the bed. The last time she'd slept that long was after she'd left Isla Nublar, and was far beyond exhaustion. Before that, probably not since she was a teenager. On the island she was up at 5:30am every weekday, and 8am on weekends.

And ever since then, she was awake in the middle of the night, never seeming to be able to go back to sleep after her dreams. Nightmares.

She shook her head and tossed the blanket off of herself. Dressing quickly, she made the bed neatly and heading down the stairs to see what everyone else was up to. Karen was in the kitchen with Gray, who was seated on a stool at the counter, his chin in his hand. His eyes looked half closed, but he seemed to perk up when she entered the room, smiling.

"Aunt Claire!"

She smiled, still not used to how much he seemed to like being around her. "Good morning," she greeted.

Karen smiled at her over her cup of coffee. "How'd you sleep?"

"Great," she responded, and for once, it wasn't a lie. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so rested.

"Want some coffee?"

Nodding her head, Claire responded, "Oh yes, please." Karen grinned. They'd both always been coffee addicts.

Her sister poured some into a mug, adding some creamer before handing it to Claire, who immediately took a sip, sighing. "That's good."

Karen smiled, looking at her son for a moment, before pouring another cup with some extra creamer in it, sliding it over to Gray who looked at her surprised.

"Promise not to bounce off the walls like last time?"

He nodded excitedly and grabbed the cup before his mom could change his mind. Karen chuckled.

"I don't usually let him drink coffee because he's got plenty of energy as it is. But someone was so excited to see you that he woke up early and now he's tired."

Gray blushed, glaring at his mom. "Hey!"

Claire chuckled and reached over, ruffling his hair, surprising both of them. She wasn't one to initiate contact with anyone, really. But she was getting comfortable around her family, and the contact was comforting.

His cheeks still pink, he took a drink of his coffee, grinning at the two of them. Karen started breakfast, and Claire moved to help her, not wanting her sister to have to do everything.

"Gray, why don't you go wake your brother up? It's late enough and breakfast will be ready soon." The young boy grinned and hopped off the stool, running toward the staircase, nearly tripping over himself. "Do not jump on him!" Karen shouted.

There was no response and a few seconds later they heard a loud shout. Claire laughed as her sister groaned. Zach chased Gray down the stairs and they all sat down at the table for breakfast, chatting over eggs, pancakes, and bacon.

"Was there anywhere you wanted to go today? I figured we could get out of the house, do some sightseeing?"

"That sounds nice. I'm fine with anywhere, I don't know the town very well."

The four of them ended up visiting a few different places that day. The mall, then lunch, then driving around town. She got to see Zach's high school, and Gray's middle school. After a few more stops they made it back home.

Claire felt lighter than she had in a long time. It felt so good to be around her family, the people she loved. Laughing, and smiling, and joking around. It was peaceful. She pushed everything else away, letting herself live in the moment and enjoy being with them, not allowing her thoughts to shift to what it would be like when she got back home.

The boys spent some more time trying to teach her how to play one of their video games before they all settled down for a movie.

She looked over at her sister, who was smiling down at Gray who had fallen asleep on her shoulder. Catching Claire's eye as she looked up she grinned and turned to the movie. Claire smiled back, though it was strained. Seeing her sister and her nephews was great, and she wished she'd visited sooner. But as much as she tried to stay positive, it also hurt. She wished things could be like this all the time. She missed feeling close to someone, not being so alone.

And truth be told, she envied her older sister. She secretly always had. Yes, she'd had what she'd believed to be an amazing job, she did very well for herself financially. Claire was successful. But Karen was happy. She'd settled down, got married, had a family. It was something Claire had always secretly wanted. Okay, maybe not the divorce part. But she wanted a family. People she could call her own, who she could come home to. She had friends, and a fulfilling job, but something was missing. But she'd lost that chance.

Sighing quietly, she turned back to the tv, only half focused on the film.

Her sleep that night was fitful, but still miles better than normal. So she was quite annoyed when her phone rang at 8:30am, jolting her awake. Groaning, she reached for her phone, squinting at the screen. Not recognizing the number, she was tempted to let it go to voicemail.

'But what if it's important? It might be work.'

Sighing, she swiped the green button and pressed the phone to her ear, mumbling, "Claire Dearing."

She would admit that she didn't really pay attention as the man on the other line was introducing himself, but she was wide awake after hearing "speak with you about Isla Nublar."

"Yes, of course."

"Yes, well we've looked into the research you were able to send us, and we consulted with some of our wildlife conservationists as well as our environmental specialists, and we believe you may be onto something. Our security contractors flew over the island and spotted even more affected animals than you were able to with what little cameras are accessible to you now."

Claire gasped, pressing her hand to her mouth. Her heart was racing.

"After much debating, we've come to the conclusion that all endangered species deserve the same protections, the animals on Isla Nublar being no exception."

She couldn't believe her ears. "Wait, so you're saying..."

"We've been given permission. You'll receive the funding needed for your operation. We will provide the teams necessary, but we'd like to discuss the details in person. We were hoping for a meeting next week."

"Yes! Of course. Anytime is perfect."

"Great," he said.

They scheduled the meeting for next Friday morning to give the DPG plenty of time to get their reports and information together. Her hands were shaking as she entered the meeting into her calendar. Drawing in a shaky breath, she climbed out of bed and made her way downstairs still in her pajamas.

"Morning," Karen said, not looking up from the paper. When Claire didn't respond, she looked at her, eyes widening as she saw the expression on her sister's face. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"I..." Her eyes stung as she stared at her sister, not quite knowing what to say. "We did it. They're... they're gonna save them."

Karen frowned. "Who?"

"The dinosaurs, Karen. They're going to save them." A stray tear fell down her cheek and she swiped at it.

Karen gasped. "Oh my god. Claire, that's great!" She jumped up and embraced the younger woman. "Honey, that's great. I know you've been fighting so hard for this."

Claire could feel herself crying but she didn't care. All she could feel was relief. It had all been worth it. She didn't let anyone down.

They heard footsteps behind them and then a soft voice. "What's wrong? Why is Aunt Claire crying?"

Claire wiped her face on her sleeve and turned to her youngest nephew. "I got a call this morning. Guess what?"

"What?" He scrunched his face up as he looked at her.

"They're gonna help us save the dinosaurs." She watched for his reaction. She knew that despite what had happened, he still loved to learn and talk about the dinosaurs. They were still fascinating to him. But the ones that had caused him so much trauma and fear, she wasn't sure. They were real. The ones in his books weren't, his toys weren't going to try and eat him.

Gray stared at her. "Really?"

"Mhm." Biting her lip, she looked back at him. "What do you think?"

His lips curled into a smile and she was able to breathe again. "That's so cool!"

"You think so?"

"Yeah! I mean... they're scary. The park was scary. But the dinosaurs are just wild animals. It wasn't their fault."

She nodded her head, a bittersweet smile on her face. "Yeah. That's what I think too."

He opened his mouth, then closed it. Claire waited as he looked down at his hands, looking thoughtful. "Do you..." Gray looked at her. "Does this mean you have to go back to the island?"

Claire sighed. "I don't know, buddy. I don't know what's going on yet. I'll find out more next week, and I promise I'll let you and your mom know as much as I can, okay?"

He nodded, and sat down at the table. "Okay."

Zach joined them a bit later and it was another relaxed day. Her flight home was in the morning, and she decided to wait to inform everyone until she could do it in person. She did send out an email to all of her employees, notifying them of the meeting tomorrow afternoon so they would be there.

But it was her last say with her family, and she was going to enjoy it. They had a lazy day, just spending time together. Even if Zach was on his phone most of the time, and Gray was asking her question after question that she didn't have the answers to, she still was grateful to be there. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had a relaxing day. Didn't want to remember.

Claire said her goodbyes to Zach and Gray that night before bed. Her flight was early enough that she didn't want to make them get up just to drop her off at the airport.

She hugged Gray and ruffled his hair once more.

"Bye Aunt Claire. I love you."

She smiled, and gave him another squeeze before letting go. "Love you too."

Zach surprised her by giving her a hug as well, and said his goodbyes as well.

Making sure that everything was packed other than her essentials for the morning, she climbed into bed, and was able to fall asleep quickly despite the nerves running through her body