2

Claire surveyed Karen's drawn face. "Why don't we make some tea?" she suggested gently.

Once they were seated in the kitchen, Karen fixed her younger sister with a stern look. "Okay. How the hell did you end up back on that island?"

Claire folded her hands on the table. "Well, it started with a phone call…"

She dutifully related the events that led up to her presence at the Lockwood Estate, including a brief recap of what had happened there. She explained that Maisie was Benjamin Lockwood's granddaughter, intentionally leaving out the little girl's true origins. That wasn't her story to tell. Even though she abbreviated her description of the Indoraptor and the chase through the manor, her sister's face paled dramatically.

"God." Karen looked down at her tea. "I think I need something stronger."

Claire watched with concern as Karen got up and pulled a bottle of whiskey out of the cabinet, pouring a shot in her cup.

"Karen…are you okay?"

Her sister frowned. "Of course, I'm fine."

Claire looked pointedly at the bottle of alcohol. "Really?"

Karen huffed out a breath. "Oh, come on. That doesn't mean anything. Look, I'm putting it away."

"It isn't just the dinosaurs, is it? There's something else." Claire tilted her head. "How's Scott?"

Karen smiled tightly. "Oh, he's fine. He just got engaged to his trophy girlfriend and they're living in California." She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. "I'm sorry. I'm not usually like this. I promised myself I wouldn't be bitter anymore, it's just…"

"Things are hard," Claire supplied.

Karen nodded tearfully. "Things are hard, and it would be kind of nice to have him around right now." Her voice escalated. "I mean, I'm taking care of Zach and Gray pretty much by myself, and I'm doing everything I can, but now there's this crisis and I'm so scared…"

Claire stood and wrapped her arms around the other woman. "Shh, it's okay."

Karen pulled away slightly and met Claire's eyes. "I just feel so much better with you here. You know what you're doing; you've been through this before. You and Owen."

Claire shifted uncomfortably. "You make it sound like we're experts or something. We just got lucky. Twice."

"You did a blood transfusion from a T-rex!"

"A heavily sedated T-rex. And dealing with dinosaurs roaming around North America is a little different than handling them on an island. This is a completely unpredictable situation."

Karen laughed shakily. "My favorite kind."

"Besides, Owen's the one with all the real knowledge."

"Speaking of Owen, are you two…?" Karen trailed off with an expectant look.

Claire's cheeks flushed. "I don't know," she admitted. "I think so, but we haven't exactly had time to talk about it."

"He's a good guy," Karen said. "I mean, I only met him a couple times when you were together before, but…I think he's the kind of guy to hold on to."

Claire smiled. "I think so, too."

"What are you going to do about Maisie?"

"That's another thing we need to discuss," Claire sighed. "I think the only reason they let her stay with us was they figured she was traumatized and we'd be the most equipped to deal with it. Otherwise, I'm sure she would have been put in the system."

After a pause, Karen blew her nose. "I lied," she admitted.

Claire frowned. "About what?"

"Scott's girlfriend—fiancee—isn't a tramp. She's actually pretty nice."

Claire's lips twitched, and she pulled her sister in for another hug.

:

Gray led Maisie into his room, which was suspiciously clean for belonging to a teenage boy.

"I tried to put things away," he said earnestly. "Mom changed the sheets and everything, and you're right next door to the bathroom."

Silently, Maisie put her bag down. Lucy immediately set about sniffing it, and Maisie dropped onto the floor to pet her.

"She can sleep with you if you want," Gray offered. He looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. "I mean…I had trouble sleeping for a while after…that's actually why we got a dog. I couldn't sleep alone in my room."

Maisie stroked Lucy's fur and didn't answer.

"I still have nightmares sometimes," Gray said quietly, rocking back and forth on his heels.

Finally, Maisie sighed. "I'm sorry. It's just, the past two weeks have been…hard."

"It's okay," Gray said. "I can leave you alone if you want?"

"I don't think I want to be alone," she whispered.

Gray bit his lip and lowered himself onto the carpet. Lucy eagerly wormed her way between the two humans for maximum ear scratches.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

Maisie plucked at the hairband on her wrist. "Mr. Mills told Grandpa he was going to save the dinosaurs. Instead, he tried to sell them. And there was a new one - the Indoraptor. It got loose and came after us." She paused. "I think I still like them. Dinosaurs, I mean. Even after what happened. Is that strange?"

Gray shook his head. "We almost got killed by the Indominus Rex three years ago, but I still like them, too. I guess there's some things you just can't get scared away from." He paused. "Can I ask you a question?"

She shrugged. "All right."

"Why are you with Aunt Claire and Owen?"

Maisie slumped. "My grandpa died," she whispered. "He was the only family I had. When the Indoraptor got loose, Owen and Claire saved me."

"So, like, are they gonna adopt you now?"

Maisie's face fell. "I don't know," she said quietly.

"Sorry," Gray winced. "I probably shouldn't have asked that." He tugged at a hole in his jeans. "So…did you bring any toys or anything with you?"

Maisie shook her head. "No. Just some clothes. I wanted to get out of that place. And then we couldn't go back because of the police."

Gray crawled the few feet to his closet and pulled it open, reaching into the back corner and lifting out an old pillowcase.

"Don't tell Zach I've been hiding this in here," he said. He passed the makeshift bag to Maisie and she pulled out a stuffed dog. "That's Ralph. He was my favorite stuffed animal when I was little."

Maisie peered inside the sack and her eyes widened. She slowly withdrew a plastic velociraptor model.

They both stared at it.

"I didn't know that was in there," Gray said finally. "I packed away all my dinosaur stuff after what happened. I thought I got it all, but…"

Maisie ran a finger along the model's tail. "Is it okay if I hold onto her?" she asked shyly.

"Her?"

"Blue. I know I should be scared of her," Maisie said slowly, turning the toy over in her hands, "but I'm not. She saved me."

"She saved us, too."

Maisie smiled at him for the first time. "Thanks, Gray."

:

Zach and Owen sat on the front porch.

"So how's college?" Owen asked. "University of Michigan, right? Just finished your freshman year?"

"Yeah. It was pretty cool."

"You got a girlfriend?"

Zach shook his head. "Not right now. Do you?" he asked pointedly.

Owen grinned ruefully. "Well, I hope so, but I don't really know yet."

Zach nodded, accepting the non-answer for now. "What have you been up to since we last saw you?"

"Mostly working hard at not building a house." They both laughed. "So…summer plans?"

Zach snorted. "Well, mom was gonna make me get a job, but now…"

"Yeah, maybe not a top priority anymore."

They shared a smile that slowly faded.

"So what happened?" Zach asked abruptly. "I mean, we watched the news, but you were there. Why were you there?"

Owen recounted the events of the past weeks, from when Claire had recruited him to escaping the Indoraptor and the exhausting questioning that followed.

Zach shook his head in disbelief. "How messed up do you have to be to sell dinosaurs as weapons?"

"Well, that's the scary thing. You don't have to be messed up at all. You just have to care more about money than people."

"Like I said, messed up."

Owen noticed the teenager's pensive expression. "Something else on your mind?"

Zach shifted. "I don't know if you want to talk about it…"

Owen chuckled dryly. "Kid, I've been through so much the past few weeks, no topic is off-limits. Hit me."

"Okay…do you…do you ever think about Blue?" Zach asked, getting the words out quickly like he was afraid Owen might interrupt. "I mean, obviously now with everything going on—but I mean, did you think about her the past few years?"

Owen rolled a twig between his palms and gazed out into the distance.

"I tried not to," he admitted. "But it wasn't easy. Those raptors, they grew on me."

"I guess they were kind of like your kids."

Owen smiled wistfully and nodded. "Kids who might've eaten me if I ever gave them the chance. But yeah. I raised them all from birth. We bonded. Then I lost three in one night and had to leave the fourth behind. Honestly didn't think I'd ever see her again."

"Gray said velociraptors are pack hunters."

"That's right."

"So what does that mean for Blue?"

Owen scratched his chin, considering. "Well, raptors are like people. They need company. Can you imagine life without Gray?"

Zach frowned. "I was five when he was born, but I don't really remember those years. I guess I can't."

"Blue grew up with three sisters. They were a team. She's been surviving without them for three years, and now she's alone in a world she doesn't know." He snapped the twig in half. "And I don't think I can help her this time."