I will be working the next 12 days in a row due to some emergency at another store. So I get to work my full hours at my store and then part time hours at the other store. 8D Soooo probably not gonna keep up this update every other day thing for very long.
Also, let me reiterate that this is a Owen/Zach story. That means they are gay (bisexual, whatever). And Zach is still underage. No sex, but there will be kissing. So very much still underage. Maybe I haven't stated that enough? I'll go back and edit that in more in the description.
Anyways... enough whining. HAVE MOVIE PLOT! Lots of dialogue taken right out of the movie. And some not. 8D BUT OH WELL!
Raptor
Chapter 17: Control
She hadn't meant to neglect her family and miss out on so much over the years. It just... happened. It made life easier for her, made everything less painful if she just concentrated on her career and ignored that other part of her life. Claire was 4 years younger than her older sister, Karen. They got on well enough, growing up. They bickered like normal siblings. Karen clung to their mother more and Claire was an obvious daddy's girl. And a bit of a Tomboy. She wasn't into make-up and dresses growing up. She hung out with her dad every chance she got. Most of the time, in his garage, fixing up old cars. He was teaching her everything he knew about cars, business, and life. Claire loved every moment of it!
Karen fell in love in high school and got married almost as soon as they graduated, against their parents' wishes. Her husband, Scott, seemed like a good guy at the time. And they had been so much in love then! They moved to live with Scott's parents for a while, as Scott went to work for his dad. Karen got pregnant and they moved out, into a tiny shabby apartment that was theirs. Karen gave birth to Zach and Claire had come to stay with them that summer for a few weeks, to help. Claire had still been in high school then. And she loved playing with her little nephew.
When she graduated high school, Claire chose a different path than her sister. She loved her nephew and one day, she liked the ideas of kids and a family. But she didn't want that now. She wanted a life! She went off to college. She was intent on getting her bachelor's in business. It would take a few years, she knew. She spent as much time as she could at home. Holiday, spring, and summer breaks, she was at home with her dad, in his garage fixing stuff. A few times, Karen would be there, with Zach and tow. And those were some of Claire's best memories.
"But auuuuunty!" Zach strung out.
Claire turned and smiled warmly at the 5 year old, trying to follow her into the garage. She scooped him up and held her against her hip. "You're getting big!"
Zach giggled and nodded as he grabbed onto her shirt. "Big enough for cars!"
Claire sighed and went back to the house. She opened the door. "Karen, Zach's out here with me." She called loudly.
It took a few long minutes, but Karen finally ambled into the kitchen. She leaned against the counter and stared out the open back door. She was 8 months pregnant and looked it. But she was smiling. "Zach..." She started in a warning tone. "You're too little for the cars. I told you no."
Claire smiled and hugged her nephew closer against her. "I thought maybe, if Zach can stay out of the way, he could sit on grandpa's old couch and watch."
Zach's eyes lit up and he nodded. "I can watch!" He looked at Karen. "Can I watch, mommy?"
Karen crossed her arms and tilted her head, like she was in deep consideration. But she smiled and nodded. "Alright. You listen to your aunt Claire and grandpa, okay? Be a good boy!"
They shut the door and the two headed out to the garage. Claire set Zach down on the couch and her dad laughed. He reached over and handed the kid a wrench. "Who's this little guy?"
Zach giggled as he grabbed the wrench. He waved it in the air for a moment. "It's me, grandpa! Zach! Imma help with cars! Mom said I'm old enough."
Claire smiled, thinking it some game, and went along with it. But twice more that visit, her dad forgot Zach's name. And the family started worrying. But he brushed it off, said it was nothing. It wasn't until they were in the hospital a few months later, visiting Karen and little baby Gray, that their dad finally admitted something might have been wrong. When he'd wandered off, getting lost and telling people he was there because his wife had given birth to their second daughter, Claire.
He was only 46 when he got diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's. And suddenly, Claire's perfect life fell apart. The disease ravaged her father's brain fast over the next few years. It got to the point where he could only remember the cars. He'd spend all his time in his garage, with his cars. Claire would show up and she'd have to remind him, have to introduce herself again. His eyes would sparkle for a moment and it would be like it was when she was in high school, laughing and fixing up old cars again. She'd leave, feeling happy. But by the next visit, he'd forgotten again and she'd have to introduce herself all over again.
She couldn't handle it anymore. She couldn't handle watching her dad slip farther and farther away. So she delved even harder into college. Took more classes, got more advanced degrees in everything she could related to her field. Accounting, finance, law, logistics, economics, management, marketing, communications. She never went back home anymore. All her breaks, she spent studying.
The last time she went home, the last time she saw her father and her family, was at his 50th birthday party. She was 24 then. Zach was 9 and he hardly remembered her. Gray was 4 and he didn't know her at all. Her father didn't have any idea who she was. She sat back, in the corner, watching everyone. And her heart hurt. Her dad had been her whole life once. Now he was no one, not really. And all she had was memories. And those memories hurt. Claire never went home again. She went back to college and graduated at the top of her class. She got a low-level entry job in the Masrani corporation.
She got the news of her father's brain cancer diagnosis. But she had her new job. She listened to Karen sob on the phone, begging her to come help, just for a few weeks. But Claire said she couldn't leave her new job. The phone calls became shorter and fewer and Claire tried to forget it all. She devoted all her time, all her energy to her job. Her career was her new love, her new family. She moved up the ranks, impressing everyone. She missed the phone call about her father's death less than a year after his diagnosis. But at that point, it had been over 2 years since she'd been home. So once again, she devoted all her time and energy to her work.
She missed the funeral. She missed her nephews growing up. She missed her mother's bout with ovarian cancer that she survived. She missed her sister's troubles with her husband. She missed everything. But that meant she was available when Stephen Masrani, the head of the Masrani corporation, needed someone new to replace the current head of a project. Claire didn't even hesitate when she agreed. She didn't even know what she agreed to until after. But at 28, she was put in charge of Jurassic World. Park operations manager. She might have been a bit in over her head as she stepped into that control room for the first time. But she never looked back, never showed feared, never conveyed anything other than confidence. That was one of the lessons her father taught her.
And 4 years later, she was still displaying that same confidence. She might still be in a bit over her head, but it was working for her. Stephen Masrani was gone, having stepped down a couple years ago and let his son, Simon, take over fully. But Simon seemed happy having her in charge of John Hammond's legacy.
Claire shook her head, shaking the brief moments of memories away, and breathed out. She was a few minutes late. Not enough to cause a problem. But enough to put her on edge. She hated being late. "Zara." She sighed into the phone. She leaned back against the wall of the elevator and watched the numbers change as it moved. "We can talk about it later. I promised my nephews I'd spend the day with them again, showing them control and some of the interworking of the park and I just got a call from Mr. Masrani."
"Oh." Zara's voice changed instantly, growing serious. "Is there a problem?"
Claire leaned her head back and breathed in deeply. "His assistant had the wrong time. I thought I was..."
"Meeting him at 6." Zara finished for her.
Claire smiled and breathed out. "Changed. 11 this morning." The elevator stopped.
There was a fluttering sound over the line, like flipping pages. "Do you need me to call and reschedule?"
"No." Claire said with a sigh, stepping off the elevator. She turned down the hall towards the boy's room. "I'll call Owen and see if he'll come get them for an hour. Or maybe I'll just take them with me. I don't know. I'm on their floor. I have to go."
"Call me if there's anything I can do for you."
"Thank you." She let out a soft sigh as she stopped in front of the door. She lifted her hand to knock. "You're already doing everything." She said with a smile. Then the door opened suddenly and Gray was standing in the doorway. "Gray!" Claire squeaked and pulled the phone from her ear quickly. "I was about to knock."
Gray pulled the door open more and leaned against it slightly. "I heard you out here talking."
"My assistant." She said, slipping her phone in her pocket. She stepped inside and turned to look at Gray. "You ready to go?"
Gray nodded. "I am."
Claire smiled down at him and looked over at Zach. The older brother was still in bed, under the blanket. "Zach?"
Zach pulled his gaze from the TV and looked over at her slowly. "Do you mind if I skip the control room today?"
"Oh." She took a step closer to him. "Why?"
Zach shifted a bit, pulling himself up in a sitting position. He flinched and sucked in a breath. "I think I over did it yesterday."
Her eyes widened a bit. "The tour?" She'd tired her hardest to plan everything with Zach in mind. She tried to give them ample breaks and still get through everything. Maybe she still rushed them.
Zach nodded. "Yeah, just a bit. Just thought maybe... I should stay in bed a few more hours?"
Claire's face softened. "Are you sure?"
Zach nodded his head again.
"Well... we can do the control room another day." She glanced back at Gray. "Gray and I can stay with you and..."
"No!" Zach said way too quickly.
Claire looked back at him and tilted her head.
"I mean.." Zach continued quickly. "I know Gray's really excited about the control room stuff. I'll just probably watch TV. Or go down to the pool later if I feel up to it."
Claire nodded her head. That sounded reasonable. "There's a hot tub down there." She pointed out. "That might help."
Zach nodded again. "I'll try that."
"Alright. We'll call later. If you feel up to joining us at any point, call and we can stop whatever we're doing and come get you."
Zach nodded. "Thanks."
Claire smiled at him for a moment before she turned to Gray. "You ready to go?"
Gray smiled and nodded and waved at Zach. "See you later. Hope you feel better." Gray ran out the door.
"Good luck." Zach called after her.
Claire let out a sigh and hurried after the kid. They climbed into the elevator together and Gray started talking. He was asking questions a mile a minute and hardly sparing time for breathing let alone for her to answer. After several long minutes, Claire reached out and grabbed his shoulder. "Gray. Take a breath." She smiled at him. "You'll just have to wait until we get there."
They stepped off the elevator and walked across the lobby. Claire grabbed his shoulder again as they reached the parking lot. "But Gray. There's something I have to tell you. There's been a slight change in plans."
Gray's face fell as he looked up at her. "We're not going, are we? You have to work."
"Oh! Oh no." She shook her head quickly. "It's just.. that meeting I told you I have this evening. There was this problem and it's at 11."
Gray looked down at the ground. "So I have to go back in a couple hours?"
"No. I was thinking..." She said with a smile and Gray looked back up at her. "If you can keep quiet and out of the way, I can bring you with me. I'm introducing the owner of the park to our newest asset."
Gray tilted his head. "Asset?"
"Attraction." She explained. "A new dinosaur."
Gray's eyes widened. "A new dinosaur?" He repeated.
Claire nodded. "Brand new."
"What kind is it?"
She smiled at his excitement. "You'll just have to wait and see. If you think you can handle it. It's top secret."
"I can do that! I promise!" He said with a smile.
"Great." She turned and headed towards her car. "Then let's get going." They arrived at the control center a few minutes later. Claire smiled and ushered them inside. "Introductions in a minute." She said, moving towards the center of the room. "What's the live count?" She asked, looking up at the screens.
"3,241." A woman, Vivian, in the front answered.
Claire frowned and crossed her arms. "A bit over expected with the closing today."
"One of the ferries broke down before the morning exit." Vivian answered.
Beside Vivian, a man spoke. "We got another one coming in but it'll be another hour before it gets here."
Claire turned to stare at Lowery. "Why wasn't I alerted of this prior to now?" She asked sternly.
"Uh..." He stared at her blankly for a moment. "So... I can tell you now?" He answered awkwardly.
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Keep me updated. I want to know when it docks and when boarding starts."
"Will do." Lowery said, leaning back in his chair.
Claire let out a sigh turned for Gray. The kid had been quiet, standing right behind her with wide eyes as he looked at everything. She turned around the room, pointing people out and telling Gray their names. Lastly, she stopped on the two she'd spoken to. "This is Lowery and Vivian. This is one of my nephews."
Vivian smiled at him and waved. Lowery turned and held out his hand to Gray. "Lowery Cruthers. Nice to put a name to the voice."
"Likewise." Gray smiled. "Gray Mitchell."
"It's nice to meet you, Gray Mitchell." Lowery smiled at him. "This is awesome!" He said, rather animatedly. "Is your brother here? Or Owen?"
Gray laughed and shook his head. "Zach stayed back at the hotel and Owen is busy, I think. Zach said he had some meetings or something."
Lowery nodded his head for a moment. "The four of us should hang out." He said.
Gray laughed again.
"Can you put in a good word for me with Owen?"
Claire rolled her eyes. She left Gray and Lowery to talking. The kid seemed to be having fun. She turned and checked her phone. A message from Zara, that everything was still going as planned. Another message from Mr. Masrani's assistant. He'd arrived as scheduled and was being checked into the hotel. Then he'd be arriving at the control room in a helicopter. And he wanted to take that to see the new asset. Fantastic.
She turned and looked over at Gray. He was watching as Lowery and Vivian talked about a stray pachycephalosaurus. "The pachys short out their implants when they butt head. They do it all the time" She explained. "He's sedated and ready for relocation."
"He's very stoned." Lowery said with a smile. "Have some sympathy."
Claire shook her head. "They're animals."
Gray was smiling at Lowery. "I like your shirt."
Claire glanced over, for the first time noting the old, vintage Jurassic Park t-shit the man wore. She raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms. "Where did you get that?"
"Oh this?" Lowery glanced down, smiling. "I got it on eBay. Yeah, it's pretty amazing." He said, sounding a bit smug. "I got it for $150 but the..."
She shook her head. "Did it ever occur to you that it's in poor taste?"
"The shirt? Uh yeah, it did." Lowery stuttered a bit. "I understand people died. It was terrible, but that park was legit, man. Mad respect for it. They didn't need genetic hybrids. They just needed dinosaurs."
Gray tilted his head. "Hybrids?"
Claire shook her head, looking at Lowery. "Don't wear it here again."
"Yeah, okay. Good idea." Lowery said with a nod. "I was just thinking that."
Claire sighed and shook her head. "Just show Gray what you do here." Gray moved closer to Lowery's workstation, being careful of all the toys he had on it.
After about a half hour of Lowery droning on and on and showing Gray some videos, a voice came over the intercom. "Inbound chopper, Jurassic 1. Eta 5 minutes."
Claire walked up behind Gray and put her hands on his shoulders. "That's us. Come on."
Gray looked up at her. "He's arriving in a helicopter?"
She smiled and shook her head. "He's picking us up in a chopper. Very cool, huh?"
Gray nodded his head. "Yeah!"
Claire laughed and turned. Gray followed close behind her and they headed up to the roof. The large H pad was lit up and they both craned their necks and lifted their eyes to watch the blue helicopter land. "Follow me." Claire walked up to the helicopter. She stepped aside and helped Gray into the seat. Then she climbed in beside him. Her eyes widened as she looked at the front seat. "Mr. Masrani!" She gasped. "You're flying!"
The man laughed. "I got my license."
"Two more." The pilot beside him corrected quickly.
"Right, right." Simon said, nodding his head. "Two more days."
"This is my nephew, Gray." Claire said. "I hope you don't mind but I was showing him around some of the inner workings of the park. I had cleared the morning to do so and then found out the time I had for our meeting was wrong."
"That's fine, that's fine." He turned around and smiled at Gray. "You been enjoying my park?"
Gray smiled brightly at the man. "Yes, sir." He nodded.
Simon laughed and turned back around. "So Miss Dearing. How's my park doing?"
Claire breathed out and smiled. "We're up 2.5% over last year. It's a bit lower than..."
"No, no, no." Simon interrupted her with a smile. "How's the park doing?" He repeated his question. "Are the guests having fun? Are the animals enjoying life?"
Claire frowned a bit and opened her mouth. "Uh... well, guest satisfaction remains steady in the low 90s." She paused a moment. "We don't have a way to measure the animals' emotional experience."
Simon turned around in his seat. "Sure you do. You can see in it in their eyes." He looked over at Gray and winked. "Right?"
Gray smiled and nodded.
"Yes, of course." Claire said slowly.
"Good." He turned back around. "Now, show me my new dinosaur." Simon pulled back on the controls and the helicopter lifted off the ground. It wavered and swayed for a moment before Simon pulled it under control. "Got it, got it."
Gray smiled and leaned over to peer out the window as they moved through the air. "Cool."
"Very cool." Simon said with a laugh.
Claire tried to talk business as they flew. That's what she was good at. Numbers and statistics and plans. But Simon shot her down at every turn. He wanted to talk about life and happiness and how she needed a day at the beach. She was grateful when she leaned over and saw they were approaching the new asset.
Simon landed the helicopter a bit shakily. The pilot jumped out and dashed off into the bushes, doubling over. "He's just being dramatic!" Simon said with a laugh.
Claire brushed herself off and straightened her skirt after getting out. She glanced at Gray and the kid was smiling. She wished Zach was there, too.
Simon turned and clapped his hands together. "Shall we?"
Claire looked to Gray and nodded. "We hit a few speed bumps." She said, walking up the steps. "It's bigger than expected. We're building the walls higher." The place was lined with equipment and building supplies. Workers buzzed around them. Simon nodded, looking up as they walked inside. Claire walked inside the door and waved the man inside away. She moved to the control panel and turned as Simon and Gray came in. "It began anticipating where and when the food would come from."
"She's intelligent then?" Simon asked.
Claire tilted her head. "For a dinosaur."
Gray stepped closer to the glass. He pointed to a visible crack and glanced back at Claire. "What happened?"
Claire took a breath. "It tried to break the glass." She said slowly.
Simon laughed and moved to stand beside Gray. He patted the kid on the shoulder. "I like her spirit." Something moved and they all stilled. They all could hear the growling.
"There!" Gray's eyes widened and he pointed.
"She's white..." Simon said slowly, the joy suddenly out of his voice. "You never told me she was white?"
"Do you... think it will scare the kids?" Claire asked slowly.
"The kids?" Simon glanced down at Gray. "This will give their parents nightmares."
Claire glanced sideways at Simon. She couldn't really read him. "Is that good?" She asked a tad awkwardly.
The smile returned to Simon's face. "It's fantastic."
Gray pressed closer to the glass. "Can she see us through the glass?" Gray asked.
Claire stepped closer to them slowly. "They say it can sense thermal radiation."
Gray stood up on his toes, trying to see better. "Like snakes?"
She smiled and nodded.
Simon stepped closer to the glass. "I thought there was two of them."
Claire swallowed and nodded. "There was a sibling. It ate it."
Gray's eyes widened. "So you really created a dinosaur?"
Claire nodded. "Yes. A genetically engineered hybrid."
Simon's gaze shifted from the animal as it moved through the trees. He scanned the outer fences. "The paddock is safe?" He asked after a moment.
Claire nodded again. "We have the best structural engineers in the world." She moved back to the control panel and checked the scans."
"So did Hammond." Simon breathed out, shaking his head. He turned and took a few steps away, patting Gray on the shoulder as he moved. "There's a Navy man here, part of a research program." He glanced back at Claire. "Owen Grady."
Claire rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Yes, I know who he is." She said a tad sourly.
Simon smiled. "His animals often try to escape. They are smart. He has to be smarter."
Claire shook her head. "He only thinks he's smarter." She mumbled.
Simon smiled again. "I want him to inspect the paddock, see what he thinks. See if he sees something all your engineers missed."
Claire nodded and forced a smile. She was still recovering from the last favor she'd asked him. "Alright. I will ask him."
"Good. Now... I'm hungry." Simon turned for the door. "Let's see if my pilot has recovered from his drama and go get something to eat."
Claire turned and opened her mouth. "Well I had plans to take Gray to..."
Simon ignored her and turned to Gray. "Shall we go?"
Gray nodded and hurried after Simon. "My brother and I have been hanging out with Owen for the past few days."
Simon glanced down at him and smiled. "You have?"
Gray nodded. "His raptors are awesome. There's one, Echo, and she's obsessed with the movie Finding Nemo."
Simon slowed a bit as they walked down the steps. "Is that the cartoon with orange fish who gets separated from his father?"
Gray nodded. "Yeah. If you watch it with her, she'll like you."
Claire let out a sigh and followed after them. Simon and Gray were still talking about the amazing Owen and his awesome raptors when they climbed into the helicopter. Overall, she'd have to say the meeting went well. Just as long as she could convince Owen to do her another favor.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
Author's Notes: MUHAHAHA! Ya'll wanted to see Zach and Owen, huh? But noooo. I gave you a Claire chapter. 8D Will probably be the only one of those. But up next is Zach and Owen. I swear. 8D
