Zia first started to wipe away all the blood and clean the wound, which stung quite a lot, but Claire knew that there was more pain to come, worse still. Both the wounds on her leg had stopped bleeding for now, for which Zia and Owen were grateful for.
'Sorry Claire, I need to clean it before the site becomes infected.' Zia said, as a way of an apology.
Unfortunately, Zia had very basic supplies to work with, nothing to numb the area and she had not found any painkillers either. Claire would certainly be needing something to fight infection and ease the pain, so she would have to go searching the house after she was done. She imagined Lockwood's nurse kept them locked up, away from anyone who might abuse them. If not, they'd have to go to the local drug store to find what they needed. It was not an ideal situation, but it was the best they could.
'Ok Claire, this bit is going to hurt. I need you to try and stay still. It'll go faster that way. Owen, you'll have to hold her down, especially her leg, just in case she moves.'
Owen did not want to be the one to restrain her, to keep her in place while Zia sewed her up, causing her pain. Owen also knew that if she involuntarily moved while Zia was sewing her up, that would be even worse.
Zia paused and exhaled, trying to mentally prepare herself, before bringing the needle to Claire's first wound on her thigh, and began to sew.
Claire's eyes widened and she let out a pain staking noise, crossed between a gasped and a sob. She squeezed Owen's hand so tight that he grimaced, though he did not complain. He would take a bullet for her if it meant she would not be in pain for a single second.
Owen was brushing hair out of her face in an effort to sooth her, and normally this would work, but all Claire could think about was the pain. He hated to see her like this. She was normally so put together, calm, focused and in charge, but now she just looked so vulnerable.
'You're doing good, Claire.' Owen soothed, when Claire screwed her eyes shut.
'If you feel the need to pass out, don't fight it, ok?' Zia advised. She was hoping that Claire would indeed do this. It would be a lot easier for them, and for Claire, not having to go through this while she was awake.
Zia continued to stitch up her wounds, and was now halfway through the second one. Claire's face was quite ashen by this point, she was sweating, her skin was burning up, and she was breathing quite heavily. Not once did Claire complain though. Owen thought she would be begging Zia to stop, screaming and crying that she just couldn't take it anymore. Most of the time though, she just held onto his hand, squeezed her eyes shut and occasionally let out a cry of pain.
Owen tried to keep Claire's mind off of the pain by reminiscing about old times, before and after the park tragedy.
'I remember after I left you,' Claire let out a shaky laugh at this, still not agreeing with who left who. 'I instantly regretted it, Claire. We were such a good fit. I mean, we shouldn't be, we're both equally as stubborn, we never agree on anything, you always have to be in control, and I've always been trained to lead. But we both share the same passion, the same drive, which is how we first met. From the first moment I met you, I was amazed by how successful you were. And even after we left the island, you didn't sit back and drown in guilt. You tried to fix your mistakes and you came out a better person.
I was watching T.V. one day, a few months after we broke up, and I saw your ad come on. Both you and Zia were trying to promote DPG, and I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. It was the first time I'd seen you, heard your voice for months and I was just amazed by how beautiful you were. I was so proud of you that day. You used to be so detached from these animals, and now you're doing an amazing job at trying to protect them. I realised I missed you after that, but I was too proud to pick up the phone and admit that.'
Owen waited for her to digest all this. Since their kiss just after she got her injuries, they obviously had not talked about what this would mean for them. He knew it was not the time to discuss their future, but he wanted her to know he still cared for her more than she'd ever know. Maybe sometime soon, they'd be able to talk about what went wrong in their relationship, and move forward.
Zia was trying to concentrate on the task at hand, feeling like she was intruding on a private moment. She knew only what little Claire had shared, that her and Owen met on the island, had a date that didn't go well, survived the tragedy that was Jurassic World, stuck together, then split up.
'You're more stubborn than me.' Claire panted out, clenching her teeth together in pain.
Owen laughed, 'That's all you took away from that?'
'You're just trying to distract me.'
Owen was about to agree, and also point out that everything he said was true, when Claire suddenly loosened her grip on his hand and her eyes closed.
'Claire?'
'It's ok, her body has just given into the pain. It'll be easier to finish this way.'
Owen knew she was right, but it didn't make him feel any better.
Zia soon finished her work, and was now cleaning up.
'I'll go find some medication for when she wakes up.'
Owen gently picked Claire up, loving how well she fit in his arms, and laid her on the couch nearby.
Taking her hand and gently rubbing circles on it, Owen stared at her face.
'When you wake up and feel up to it, we're talking about us. And it won't be because I need to distract you.'
There you go! I decided not to leave you a cliffhanger this time! I'm the type of writer that doesn't plan out her stories, I just write what comes to me, so I have really no idea how long this story will be or where it will go. But thank you to everyone who has so far read, reviewed, favourited or followed my story!
By the way, there is actually a video on youtube with Claire and Zia talking about DPG. That somewhat inspired Owen's talk, wondering what he would think if he'd seen that after they broke up.
