My daughter was up all night sick so you have her to thank for this chapter...she say's you're welcome.
A few weeks later I was at the raptor paddock shooting the shit with Barry while Owen took the girls through their paces. The gala was tomorrow night, and so far everything was proceeding as planned. Lowery had taken his rejection in stride, especially when I promised to put in a good word for him with Vivian, and I'd gotten the call from Zara today that Bilbo had finished my "revolutionary" creation. Whatever that meant; I was trying hard not to think about it.
"They really accept him as the Alpha, huh?" I asked Barry, handing him the Skittles bag.
"Mostly," he responded taking a handful, then giving me the side eye. "How is it you look like that when you eat like this?"
"Got lucky in the metabolism department," I shrugged. "You all set for tomorrow?"
"Yes, Owen and I will meet you there. You sure you can lift that access card? We're dead in the water without it," Barry questioned.
I popped a Skittle into my mouth, raising my eyebrows at him. Was he really questioning my mojo? He smiled, laughing at me, then returned his gaze to Owen who was just wrapping up. He called out to each of the raptors individually before tossing them a rat (yuck) as a reward for a job well done. I stood up, grabbing my candy and making my way towards the stairs.
"Nice man, they did well today," Barry told Owen.
"Good day," Owen responded modestly. "We need to get them into containment so the vet techs can check them real quick. Then we can let them out for the rest of the day."
Barry nodded, making his way down the stairs to quarantine the girls. Owen and I fell into step beside each other as we walked down the stairs. Without looking at me he held his hand and waited, I dumped a handful of Skittles out into his palm begrudgingly. There was no "we" in sharing, but somehow these two always found ways to siphon my supply of treats. I blamed it on their good looks. It's hard to think straight when you're surrounded by men who look like underwear models.
"You hanging out for a while or do you have some behavior to assess elsewhere?" Owen asked as we walked towards the containment units.
"Actually, Simon wanted a visual inspection of the raptor paddock. Can I knock it out now since the girls are in containment?" Might as well kill two birds with one stone, you know, since technically I was supposed to be working.
"Sure, go ahead around. I gotta head back upstairs, I forgot the buckets, you good by yourself?"
"Yes mom," I said winking.
He shook his head, smiling at me as he headed back up the stairs. I made my way to the first security door hitting the green button, tapping my foot as I waited on the door to rise. Once inside I hit the red button closing it, and repeated the process at the next door. Lord help us if we were ever in a hurry.
I stepped into the raptor paddock, making my way around the enclosure slowly inspecting the walls and security. I made mental notes of any changes I could recall or any evidence the raptors were investigating one area more than another. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Owen speaking with one of the new hires at the top of the catwalk.
I was almost in the middle of the paddock when I heard a bell ring out at the opposite end of the enclosure. I froze looking towards the sound trying to process what I was hearing. Time seemed to stand still as every thought blurred in my head somehow moving agonizingly slow and ridiculously fast all at once. That ringing was a signal the containment units had been opened. I shook my head, that couldn't be right because that would mean the raptors were now in the paddock with me.
All at once everything jumped into fast forward as I spun around on my heel sprinting towards the gate just as Owen yelled my name in a panic. I heard a chirp followed closely by a snarl and knew the raptors had caught my scent. I saw Barry appear on the other end of the gate, pressing the green button briefly creating a small opening at the bottom. There was just enough room for me to dive under. If I could get there before I got eaten.
The gate was only 30 feet away, but I could feel the raptors bearing down on me. I pumped my legs as hard as I could, trying to put some distance between myself and them, but wasn't sure I could make it. I was fast, but I wasn't superhuman. They needed to close the gate. My life wasn't worth one of the raptors getting out.
I saw Owen barrel into the small unit next to Barry, his face white, terror the only emotion I could distinguish. I looked at him, and I can only imagine what he saw on my face in that moment. My breathing was labored as I continued my sprint, but my eyes locked with Owen's as I shook my head once, waving my hand as a signal to close the gate. I attempted to tell him 100 other things too, but it's hard to get your point across when four vicious dinosaurs were trying to eat you.
"No!" Owen thundered, "Move your ass Jo!"
The snap of a jaw from behind me broke my concentration on Owen, and I felt my heart constrict in fear. Holy shit! This was really happening. I'd been in situations before that had me imagining my final moments, but being eaten by dinosaurs was a new one. It didn't sound like a pleasant way to go. A final burst of speed shot through me, propelling me the last few feet towards the gate. As it turned out, the fear of being eaten alive was quite motivational.
I lunged for the opening of the gate with a headfirst dive, barrel rolling under it as my momentum carried me forward with several more rolls before I came to a stop on my back. The gate closed with a 'thump', the raptors slamming into the metal with a violent crash. They snapped, snarled and growled with irritation now that their dinner was now out of reach.
"Am I dead?" I asked, panting on the ground in shock, staring blankly up at the clear, blue sky.
Owen slid to a stop next to me on his knees, assessing my body for injuries with his hands. If I weren't just getting over a near death experience it would have been the highlight of my day. I figured we at least made it to second base. Convinced I was alive and relatively unharmed Owen grabbed me by my shoulders, pulling me up and half into his lap with a crushing hug. My hands automatically went around his waist as I buried my head in his neck, trying to get my breathing under control. Owen ran his hands through my hair whispering softly to me. His voice was my undoing; I clung to his shirt, pulling him closer as I burrowed even deeper into him in an effort to keep it together. His masculine scent engulfed me, a mixture of sweat and the outdoors.
"Jesus, I thought I lost you," he whispered.
I sobbed lightly against his chest, drawing strength from his massive frame. It's not often I feel small given my stature, and I forget sometimes how large Owen actually was, but as he cradled me like a child in his arms I found relief from the terror. He was like a shield I knew nothing could penetrate.
"I'm fine. I just need a minute. I don't want Barry thinking I'm going soft or anything."
Owen choked out a strangled laugh as he rubbed circles on my back, "Please stop almost dying."
"I swear I'm not doing it on purpose," I smiled against him.
He pulled back from me, holding my head in his hands, he shook his head then kissed my forehead before hauling me onto my feet. My legs wobbled a little, and Owen wrapped a hand around my waist, steadying me with a slight squeeze. I smiled up at him in thanks.
"Jo, my god, are you OK?" Barry asked, looking me over from a few feet away.
"I'm fine," I lied, trying to look better than I felt, "I appreciate you opening the gate, but you shouldn't have done it. It wasn't worth the risk."
Owen twirled me around to face him so fast it made me dizzy. "Don't say that. Don't ever say something like that!" he screamed at me. His eyes unfocused, his mind honed in on what could have been. I'd seen that look before in the mirror. It was the look of a man teetering on the edge of a very dark place.
"OK, it's OK," I told him quietly, cupping the side of his face with my hand, forcing him to look at me. He shook his head briefly and I saw his eyes clear as he finally focused on me. He let out a puff of air, sagging slightly before turning towards Barry.
"How did this happen? The girls were in containment and everyone knew Jo was in the enclosure?" he asked, a hard edge to his voice.
"I don't know. We need to check the security footage," Barry responded bitterly. This wasn't just a mistake on someone's part or a lapse in protocol. Things like this didn't just happen.
The guys decided our best bet was to start with the security feeds so we started towards their office. We were making our way out of the last gate when I heard a Jeep start, Owen and Barry not looking up, deep in discussion as they walked. I glanced towards the makeshift parking lot and saw Hoskins flash me a sly grin and a finger wave as he drove off.
I sat in Owen's chair in the office, numbly staring at the desk as I tried to come to terms with the fact that Hoskins had, in fact, tried to kill me. It was a depressing commentary on my life that this wasn't the first time someone had tried to kill me. It was, however, the first time anyone had tried to do it with a dinosaur. I cringed as I thought about how much you'd have to dislike someone to go to this kind of extreme. I mean, there was not liking someone, and then there was trying to feed them to a Velociratpor.
At least I could console myself that Hoskins would get his in the end. I was a pretty big believer in karma. I mean, what else can explain fate fucking you in all sorts of creative ways just when you thought you'd gotten away with murder. My dream job would be driving the karma bus…I'd use it to run Hoskins over. I'm not stupid, or delusional. I understood that I was a lot to handle, and left a particularly bad taste in Hoskins' mouth, but he'd upped the stakes today. I was going to destroy him.
Owen and Barry were hunched over a computer attempting to pull up the security footage from the containment area, but I already knew that would be a dead end. If Hoskins had tried to assassinate me he wouldn't be stupid enough to be caught on film.
"What do you mean it malfunctioned?" Owen hollered, slamming down the mouse. I winced at the sound, debating the merit of telling Owen and Barry my suspicion. It was a delicate subject since Hoskins was their direct supervisor, and I didn't want to risk either of them doing something rash in the name of vengeance. Mainly because if Hoskins was going to wither in pain I wanted to be directly involved.
"I'm not sure, but it recorded nothing but static from the time the girls were put into containment until right after Jo got out," Barry answered, clearly irritated.
"That seems a little too convenient to be accidental," Owen said sarcastically, turning to face me. "Any idea who might want you dead?"
"Well, I did shoot at Danny a few weeks ago, but something tells me he doesn't have the stones to sic raptors on me in retaliation."
Barry laughed, digging a bag of Twizzlers out of his desk and handing me the bag.
It was officially, I loved him.
He'd taken to stashing emergency supplies of sweets at various strategic points for times such as these. I smiled brightly at him, grabbing the bag and shoving a handful of Twizzlers into my mouth. I read on the Internet sugar is good at helping come to terms with traumatic experiences.
"I'm going to take her home. Tell control I want a list of anyone who accessed the paddock in the last 12 hours on my desk tomorrow. If they have time to cross reference that list with people Jo has shot then that would be helpful," Owen told Barry, winking at me.
"Ha, ha."
We said our goodbye's, heading to the parking lot. I was shutting my door when Owen's hand closed around it. He looked at me, debating something internally before coming to a conclusion.
"Will you please come to my house?" he asked, not looking me in the eye.
"Uh, sure. Can I change first or should I come straight there?" He was acting strange. Owen never said please.
"Change, shower, whatever, then come over," he replied, a strange look on his face. I nodded and he walked to his car and left.
Odd.
It wasn't exactly unusual for Owen and I to spend time together outside of work, but normally we just showed up at either others house and took it from there. We didn't wait for invitations or bring a bottle of wine because it's rude to show up empty handed. There was an ease to our relationship that made it appear as if we'd been friends for years when that simply wasn't the case.
This seemed different.
Owen seemed different.
I chucked it up to weird boy behavior because analyzing it anymore made my heart hurt. I made my way home, and took my time showering, letting the hot water pound on my back as I starred at the shower floor.
How many times did that make I had escaped death's call?
I couldn't recall a number, but the ballpark figure in my head said one too many times. Luck would only take me so far. Eventually I'd get sloppy or someone would get lucky and that would be it. The fact that someone was intentionally trying to kill me shifted the odds firmly out of my favor. It was a lot to take in. I thought when I'd left the military and then the F.B.I. that I'd also left behind the sinister murder plots. Guess not. I didn't know how to come to grips with the fact my life was in danger not just from the dinosaurs on the island, but the people on it as well. I opted for my tried and true solution when I had a serious problem and no solution.
I ignored it.
I got dressed in a pair of old, comfortable sweatpants, a T-shirt that had 'Classy Bitch' written in cursive across the front, left my wet hair down, and shoved my feet into flip-flops. A fashion statement it was not, but I was all out of fuck's to give at this point. As I made my way over to Owen's bungalow I saw him leaning against the railing looking out towards the ocean. He was so deep in thought he didn't hear me until I climbed the stairs.
"Your shed looks fancy," I said, gesturing to his newly built "workshop".
He laughed, "No thanks to you. Want a beer?"
"Nah, as it turns out almost dying is exhausting. I'm tired." And if I had any alcohol right now I'd probably starting crying and look even more pathetic.
"Come on inside," he nodded, grabbing my hand. I followed him into his bungalow, sitting down on the couch. It was obvious he had something on his mind he was having a hard time verbalizing so I laid my head on the back of the couch, closing my eyes to wait. I felt Owen sit down next to me. He put his arm around my shoulder pulling me towards him. I let my head roll to his shoulder, sighing.
"I've been through a lot of things, but until today I've never been truly scared," Owen confessed leaning his head against mine.
I opened my eyes, "I'm fine Owen."
"I know you are, but I saw the look on your face. You were ready to die in there, and that terrifies me."
I pulled away from his shoulder so I could look him in the eye. "There's more at stake than my life, and trust me I'm not worth the risk. If even one of those raptors got out it would be devastating. At the very least it would mean the end of your program. I don't want to be the cause of that."
"I understand that, but you have no regard for your own well-being. You're convinced your life is irrelevant, and I hate that. It keeps me up at night."
I looked down at my hands, considering his words. He wasn't wrong. I've never considered my life one of importance so what did it matter if I died in the raptor paddock or anywhere else? I was an orphan who turned into a trouble maker who then briefly morphed into a public servant.
I was no one.
I yawned, belatedly covering my mouth. My eyes felt heavy, and I desperately wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for a week. I didn't have the energy to examine my "issues" right now.
"Come on," he said, pulling me off the couch towards his bedroom.
"What…what are you doing?" Maybe I should have been more specific about whose bed I wanted to crawl in.
"We're going to bed," he stated, continuing into his bedroom. He dropped my hand, moving towards the left side of the bed, closest to the door, taking off his shirt.
I froze in the door, caught between starring at a half naked Owen, and contemplating the two of us sharing horizontal space. Owen pulled back the covers climbing into bed, only now realizing I was rooted in the doorway.
"You alright there? You're looking a little scary."
"Um…I…why exactly am I sleeping in your bungalow of love?" I stuttered, my eyes wide.
Owen chuckled, clearly amused by my anxiety. "Bungalow of love? I like it." He pulled back the covers on the other side of the bed as way of an invitation. "Relax, what I'm proposing is nothing more than sleep, come on."
What?
Just sleep?
Why couldn't we do other stuff?
My inner slut was throwing a temper tantrum in the corner in protest.
"Oh, don't worry, there will be plenty of time for the other stuff," he practically purred, his gaze darkening, "But tonight, I just want you close. I…I need to know you're safe."
I slapped my hands over my mouth, closing my eyes. I really needed to get a handle on this speaking thing. A pretty big part of me was really excited about the idea of doing "other stuff", but I firmly pushed that into a vault in the furthest recesses of my mind, slamming the door shut. I then locked it and shoved a chair under the handle for good measure. Nothing good ever came from me thinking about anything.
While the thought of extracurricular activities with Owen made my blood pressure spike to unhealthy levels it also terrified me. I was positive I wouldn't be able to handle Owen as a passing fling. Something told me "hit it and quit it" wasn't a realistic outcome when it came to Owen Grady, at least for me.
He was more of a "hit it, think about it for the rest of the day only to sneak away from work early to hit it again" kind of guy.
I moved slowly towards the other side of the bed, climbing in about as gracefully as a virgin on Prom night. I normally slept in a T-shirt or a tank top and underwear, but there was not a cold chance in hell I was removing my sweat pants within 50 miles of Owen. It was going to be absolute torture sleeping next to him. I needed as many layers of protection as possible between us.
I laid down, pulling the covers all the way up to my chin, lying stiff as a board. I was as close to the edge of the bed as I could get without falling out. Owen flipped off the light on the bedside table, getting comfortable.
"You can come a little closer. I promise I don't bite. Unless, of course, you ask nicely," he said in a teasing voice beside me.
I yelped in response, inching closer towards the edge of the bed, my mouth dry as I thought about his proposition. Half my ass was now hanging off the bed, and I knew it was going to be a long, dehydrating night.
"I'm good."
I most certainly was the opposite of good. I could feel my heart beating 100 miles an hour in my chest, and I could smell Owen's scent on the pillow, the sheets, the cover, everywhere. It was intoxicating. If I could bottle this stuff I could make a fortune selling it as an aphrodisiac.
"You know who released the raptors today, don't you?" he asked having rolled onto his side to face me.
I turned towards him, pushing my hands underneath the pillow, licking my lips. The moonlight filtering through the bedroom window illuminated his face just enough that I could see the wrinkles in his forehead caused by his frown. I reached over, rubbing my thumb across the lines in a soft caress. I hated that I was the cause of his worry, and because of that I couldn't lie to him.
"Yes."
He drew in a long breath letting it out slowly, "Hoskins."
It wasn't a question.
I nodded, letting my hand drop down to the space between us. He reached his hand out, interlacing our fingers.
"You saw him at the paddock?" I questioned.
"No, but there aren't a lot of people with the access to pull something like that off. Even less who would actually do it," he answered, rubbing circles absent-mindedly on the back of my hand.
"Plus, he's a real douchebag."
"Very true."
I yawned again. "It doesn't matter, we can't prove he did it. Promise me you won't do anything stupid. I can handle Hoskins."
He didn't answer for a long time, drawing deep steady breaths. "I promise. This time."
"Pinky promise," I pressed, holding out my pinky finger.
"What?" He seemed genuinely confused.
"You have to pinky promise," I told him, grabbing his pinky so I could wrap mine around his. "There now you can't do anything or you face the cosmic wrath of the universe."
"Oh, well in that case," he laughed.
I scoffed at him. "It's no joke. Pinky promises are serious business. You don't want to test the cosmic wrath of the universe. She can be a real bitch, trust me."
"We wouldn't want that," he smiled at me, "OK, I pinky promise."
I nodded my head, appeased that he understood the magnitude of his pinky promise oath.
"Besides, worst case scenario I can just shoot him," I joked. Or not.
Owen laughed softly, pulling on my hand. "Come over here, you're about to fall off the bed."
I shifted over, pulling my pillow with me, placing it right next to his. We were both lying right in the middle of the bed, only inches separating us. I felt my eyelids drooping with each blink. It was getting harder and harder to keep them open.
"Goodnight Josephine," he said quietly.
"G'night Grady," I sighed, snuggling down into the pillow.
As I drifted off my last lingering thought was I had never felt this safe and content in my life.
ShezzaBoo0233: Thanks so much! Hope you liked this chapter.
xxyangxx2006: I'm glad you liked Bilbo...creating her was fun. Don't worry, the "big" dress reveal is soon. Thanks for reading!
sarahmichellegellarfan1: Thanks again!
Desert Vulpes Zerda: I'm glad you liked that one...it was fun to write her. I have this hobbity creature in mind when I was writing and it refused to be denied, LOL!
Malfoy-Whitlock-21: Thanks for the great review! I agree, the gyrosphere's were ridiculous...had to sneak something in about them. Thanks for the compliment on Jo and for continuing to read.
FrostyMillenium: Thanks for reading and for the awesome review! Hope you enjoyed the latest chapter.
Storylover00: Thanks again...don't worry the dress reveal is forthcoming.
angelicedg: I loved writing that, glad you liked it. Those hamster balls in the movie just cracked me up and begged to be shot at...LOL!