Sorry that this one took longer to post, but I couldn't get some of the dialogue right; I hit a snag, GASP! Either way, here it is, I hope you all continue to enjoy it.

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"Why is this happening without me!?" Karen cried into Claire's ear. It had taken her three minutes to call after Claire had sent her sister a picture of her ring. Owen had protested, but she'd taken it of their entwined hands, hers resting on top. "Will you just let me be a woman and savor this?"

"You'll be savoring it for the next 50 years." Owen had scoffed.

It was nice to know that he'd never change in any of those decades! Claire halted Karen's rant in the midst of her fifth question. "Karen, we're not making it a big thing. There's a judge in town, he's able to fit us in today, and... that's it."

"That's it!" Karen repeated, appalled.

"It's what I want." Claire specified. She looked back at the trailer. She had a panoramic view, along with the cabin and its slowly forming structure. Owen was up there measuring now... and boy did he look good while doing it! "It's what we want, Karen. No more waiting."

There was a pause, followed by a frustrated sigh. "There had better be pictures or I'm disavowing you!"

"There will be." Claire promised, eyes scouting for Maisie. She had to smile at remembering Maisie's excitement as Claire had shown her the ring.

"He already had it picked out when we went to the store." the young girl had spilled as Claire sat with her on the bed last night. Claire's eyebrows had quirked. "Really?"

"Guess that means he really loves you." Maisie went on to inspect the ring on Claire's finger. Claire had let her. "That's good. I love him too."

Maisie's enthusiasm had cooled slightly. "I hope you two make each other happy."

An odd phrase, Claire had tilted her head at the girl. "Something else on your mind?"

Maisie pushed her hair behind her ears, a flush filling her cheeks. She gave a hard swallow. "Are you... going to have me stay?"

Claire's head had jerked back in surprise.

"I've been too afraid to ask." Maisie rushed to explain. "One of you, or both. I didn't know if you agreed about keeping me or..."

"Or what?" Claire halted her ramblings, getting Maisie to look her in the eye. "I know, it's... been shoved to the back with things. But that's not fair to you, is it." She sighed, taking a long look at Maisie, at the way her eyes held hope and fear at the same time. She was carrying so much and Claire- and Owen- weren't about to let her carry it alone.

"You don't have to sugarcoat things for me." Maisie had told her. "I understand things well for my age."

Claire half-smiled at her attempt to be brave. "As far as Owen and I are concerned, you're here to stay. I know this is all new, but... part of what makes us happy is having you here."

That brightened Maisie's face a moment, before deep thought had crossed her face again. "I'm nervous about tomorrow; I've never been in a wedding before. I often pictured what my... parents' wedding was like. Grandpa never showed me pictures. Iris would say because it was too painful for him."

Claire believed that none would ever understand the pain that Benjamin Lockwood had suffered.

"... I have so many other questions that I always wanted to ask 'them'." Maisie had gone back to rambling. "Only it turns out that 'they' don't exist."

Claire had pulled her into a tight hug. Resting her chin atop Maisie's head, she looked around the small room; unable to avoid the thought that had been growing in her mind over the last week. "Parents exist in many different forms, Maisie. A lot of times they're the people who look out for you, teach you when you're wrong and treat you when you're right. They'll love you... no matter what."

Maisie's breath had caught. "Like you and Owen?"

Claire's breath caught as well. But she had nodded. "Exactly."

What had she been admitting to over the last two minutes? That she was on board with the responsibility of possibly the most valuable person on the planet? Owen had no problem with it because he had the super-male power of not thinking. He may have the integrity to not think about Maisie in terms of her cloning, but Claire couldn't stop adding it on every time she saw this little girl bursting with life. It made her feel guilty, yet it was practical... but in the end, neither mattered. Owen made her happy; so did Maisie.

"I dream still." Maisie had admitted, her arms closing around Claire's back. "I'm back in the manor and I can't find you. I can't find anyone."

"We're right here." Claire stopped her there. "And we're not going anywhere."

"Claire?" Karen commanded her attention again. "Are you at least planning on wearing white to your wedding?"

"I'm... a white shirt." Claire offered as she continued her walk about the lake, which even with her limp she enjoyed it. Owen hadn't seen any activity on the sensors, making it safe for her to at least have a private ten minutes. She informed Karen of her duty to tell their parents... Mom would start crying and guilt-tripping, Dad would be demanding a face to go with the fiancé, and Claire would be left with no choice but to agree to whatever they wanted. And like she'd said, she and Owen didn't want to wait anymore.

"Oh how I will love watching their faces morph into devastation over video chat." Karen drew out in her typical drama. Claire laughed. "Much appreciated. I will call you after and send you photos."

"They'll be the highlight of this week." Karen stated the obvious. "What is the status out there? I can't get Gray away from the TV, but I'm sure they're downplaying it. I mean... dinosaurs."

Claire blew out a long breath, spying the leaves overhead... they were starting to turn, adding to the peaceful view of the whole place. Boy, was it misleading. "A majority of the carnivores have been blazing south, and a herbivore has been grazing in our backyard. The army has been tightening their perimeter by two miles every day, but they haven't reached us yet."

"People still rushing the borders?" Karen guessed at her next exposition. Claire nodded, finally seeing Maisie down by the shoreline. "The army's having more problems with that then they are the actual-"

There was faint shouting in the background, making her pause. "Karen?"

"What?" Karen was saying. There was faint explaining, then her voice came back. "Some special announcement-"

The phone dinged then. Claire pulled it away and saw it was a notification from CNN. She got back on with Karen, making her way back toward the cabin. She stepped down on her injured leg- and the ground shook. Claire froze, phone halfway to her ear. The ground shook again, as though giving a lazy shrug of its shoulders. She looked back across the lake and, sure enough, Maisie was waving at her, pointing to her right.

Maisie's indication was backed up by a hot snort behind Claire.

"Claire," Karen came back on the line. "The meetings let out in Palo Alto. The Head of Congress, or whoever, is making an announcement."

"Oh..." Claire turned around, measuring her movements in inches. "Really?"

The sinoceratops broke out from the trees, its horns catching on the lower branches. They snapped with ease, rolled down the sino's face, and landed next to Claire. She stared at them a second, then back up at the massive reptile making its way toward her. She didn't move a muscle, even as her heart accelerated, screaming for her to run.

"...InGen and the Lockwood estate are still under investigation..." Karen read out from the newscast; undoubtedly the same one Claire had just received on her phone. Only she didn't dare take her eyes off the sinoceratops to check. They were so much bigger up close! Everything had happened so fast on Isla Nublar, there wasn't a moment to really...

"He's saying there's been much debate," Karen's updates stayed in synch with the sino's steps. Claire widened her stance, for balance and the courage not to move. If she caused the sino to panic, it might charge. She couldn't outrun it with- or even without- or leg.

"... lots of testimonies have been heard..."

"Get to the point." Claire breathed as the sino lumbered closer. Ugh... she stank!

"Co-exisitence with these animals is impossible." Karen stated the final verdict. "Neither can their significance in the field of science be ignored. Effective immediately..."

Her voice trailed off, right as the sino paused beside Claire. Claire gaped, finding their eyes level with one another. It blinked, rolled with curiosity, then stared at Claire. She could only stare back, stare at her quivering self in the large, glassy pupil. What word was there to describe the sensation of standing two feet from a dinosaur. Wonder? A worrisome wonder, perhaps.

It's almost like... a miracle.

"What Karen?" Claire managed a whisper into her phone. "What are they going to do?"

"The military is working to evacuate as many residents out of California." Karen puffed out a laugh in disbelief. "The whole freakin' state! Then they'll issue separate military to... hunt down and kill them. Before they cross over into other states."

Kill them. Claire's brain echoed, as though that made it finite. The wind picked up, blowing the scent of the lake over her and the sino. To which she let out a long sigh and strolled on past Claire until its front legs were knee deep in the water. Claire watched the sino take a drink, dunk its head down, then shake it back, so that the water sprayed in all directions. The water must've felt good because she was enjoying it.

A tear released down Claire's cheek with her first step back from the sinoceratops. She maintained a slow and steady pace, letting the dinosaur have her drink. "How... how are they going to evacuate a whole state?"

"They've posted a list of safe havens on the Palo Alto government website." Karen said, the disbelief still in her voice. "Based on people's locations, they'll head to one of them. People will be checked at the state lines, I guess."

Claire changed direction, moving in an arch behind the sinoceratops. Even the barrier of a tree made her feel a little safer. "There's already protests, aren't there."

"You bet." Karen grunted. "Why anybody thinks it's a good idea... Gray, turn it off."

The sinoceratops was all in the lake now, practically up to her eyeballs. She rocked her body, creating waves. Then she lifted her head and let a soft moan travel out, across the lake and over the ridge. It was hard to explain, but it sounded happy; content. Claire lifted her chin to see Owen standing by, watching with Maisie. Even he was captivated. Claire continued toward them, wiping at her tears. "I'll check the website, I guess. See where Owen and I are going on our honeymoon."

Karen shared a giggle with her, followed by a pause. "Be safe. And... be happy, Claire."

Claire almost forgot the sino. "What does that mean."

"It means that I've watched you pursue everything from promotion to control." Karen told her. "And I'm ready to see you go after happiness for a change."

Claire glanced over her shoulder as she distanced herself from the sinoceratops. Her mission for the last three years. Claire resumed her limp-walk that brought her closer to Owen and Maisie. It hurt, but she had a new mission now.