Chapter Text
Indominus Rex was gone.
That much seemed to be clear now. Owen had gone to the windows overlooking the mosasaur tank dozens of times over the course of that first sleepless night, staring out at the unbroken surface of the glassy water. The boys slept, maybe just from exhaustion, and even Claire dozed, though she slept on the edge of a knife, her senses heightened. But Owen could hardly sit down, pacing the windows, eyes piercing the dark, searching for any hint of large scaly bodies.
The next morning they were ferried to Costa Rica, where Claire had a tearful reunion with her family. Owen helped people in any way he could as they waited for their flights or boats home. Claire found Owen after returning her nephews.
She gave him a small knowing smile. "So...what do we do now?"
Owen smirked back. "We should probably stick together. For survival."
Everything seemed as if it had finally been wrapped up. It seemed logical that he and Claire would be together now. Wasn't that how it went when you survived something like this together?
Barry caught them when they were leaving the warehouse. He looked concerned. "Owen, Claire, I need to talk to you."
Owen felt a small tangle of dread coiling in the pit of his stomach. "Im listening."
"Hoskins is dead but InGen still wants its assets. After hearing about the showdown they want the Rex now too."
For a moment they stood in stunned silence.
"What?? How do you know this?" Claire asked, voice strained.
Owen felt fury building in him. Of course InGen couldn't just leave well enough alone. He had hoped that the island would be condemned and the animals could finally live in peace.
"Lowery intercepted some messages implying they are returning to Nublar in a few days."
"These are animals not weapons" Claire growled.
"But they ARE legally owned by InGen."
Owen cursed under his breath "Well what do we do?"
"I have a plan.” Barry began. “Isla Sorna is a protected, restricted Island as per John Hammonds will. InGen no longer has rights to it. The dinosaurs have maintained an ecosystem of their own there."
Owen watched him, understanding making his heart pound. "You want to move the animals."
Barry gave a grave nod. "If we can transport them to Sorna before InGen can get to them they will be safe. It will be very difficult. Very dangerous. And very illegal."
Owen sighed, pacing anxiously now.
Somewhere out on Nublar, Rexy was loose. Blue was loose. Hundreds of aerial dinos were loose. Any of the survivors from the Gallimimus Valley massacre...the Suchomimus...Baronyx...were all loose. That meant the island was a bit more than compromised. And depending on priorities, it meant all of those animals were in danger. Not from each other, but from man. The odds of at least the carnivores being tranq-ed and taken by InGen was great. The animals were InGen property now, and although it was likely that Dr. Wu had escaped with plenty of embryos, starting testing with a full grown Rex and Raptor would surely be ideal.
"Okay. Then thats what we do."
Claire looked to him in shock, then gently pulled him aside. She took a small breath before meeting his eyes. "Owen...Our plane leaves in an hour."
Owen looked to her like a worried puppy and her heart visibly sank. "Claire... I can't." he sighed.
She was quiet a moment, passing a glance to Barry before responding in a grave hiss. "I can't stay Owen. My sister came here to get the boys and we need to stay together now. My family needs me-"
"Claire. I know." Owen shook is head. "Your place is with them right now. But I still have a job here. I need to make things right."
She stared back at him hard. "Why? Haven't you done enough? Given enough to these animals? What about sticking together? For survival?"
"They're my responsibility. Blue is...Claire, Blue is my family. Or the closest thing I have to it." He took her hand gently. "I promise you, I will see you again. And next time I'll take you on a real date, cross my heart. No board shorts."
She knew by now that arguing was useless and sighed. "Just...don't get eaten."
He smirked. "Promise."
For a moment Owen thought she was going to kiss him, but she did not. Instead she gave a final curt nod before clicking away in her heels.
Owen need to be alone to think for a while. He sat on a bench at the dock. In the distance, a single pteradon had made it this far and continued flying over the crystal blue sea.
"You seem like you're thinking about something important." Lowery Cruthers was standing behind Owen suddenly, interrupting his thoughts. Owen turned to look at him. The man looked tired and anxious.
"Just wondering where we go from here" he replied, voice as tired as Lowery looked.
Lowery gave a nod and sat on the bench beside Owen heavily. "Yeah to be honest, I trust your knowledge more than anyone else right now...so I was hoping you'd know whats next."
Owen stared back out at the sea. "Well I can't leave. I've turned it around in my head...but InGen will come back for their dinosaurs."
Lowery couldn’t stop his brows from raising. "So...we're doing this?"
Owen turned to smirk and raise his brows at the other man. "We?"
"Yeah Im in this too!" Lowery seemed mildly offended to be discounted.
Owen watched him carefully. After a moment he spoke."You could have evacuated already. Why did you stay?"
Lowery felt his cheeks getting hot. "I...wanted to be useful..."
Owen nodded in understanding, smirk growing. "You wanted to be a hero."
He wasn't wrong. Lowery focused on the sea now in an attempt to lessen his embarrassment. “I didn’t- I mean...you know you’re the motorcycle riding raptor guy I Just-”
"Well its a good thing" Owen interrupted "if you hadn't stayed and opened Rexy's cage we'd probably all be dead."
There was a moment of quiet as Lowery visibly rolled the words around in his head.
"All I did was press a button..."
"You made a choice. We all make choices."
Lowery looked back to him, watched him a moment, then gave another nod. "Thanks dude. So, who else is staying?"
"I dont know. Barry at least."
“Claire?”
Owen shook his head, trying not to show the disappointment this caused him. Lowery seemed concerned about this revelation. “No Claire huh? I mean wasn’t she sort of the mvp here?”
Owen chuckled. “Claire’s the smartest of us all.”
"So you and Barry...the two of you plan to round up all the dinosaurs. Alone. With no help."
Owen sighed. "Look we don't have a plan yet."
"No I just mean...youre going to need someone there to press your buttons, aren't you?"
Owen smiled more, raising a brow. "I suppose it would be helpful to have someone in the control room..."
"Me! I'm your guy."
"Lowery this isn't a game though. It’s still dangerous-"
"I know I know but I'll be in the safe control room, no exciting Indiana Jones bullshit for me. I'm not that active." He chuckled then stared at his shoes "..and...Owen...I care about them too you know. The dinosaurs."
Owen watched him and his hard gaze softened. He remembered Lowery's desk full of figures, his childlike awe when he would make a trip out to the raptor paddock. Owen actually believed he was one of the few other people who truly saw them as animals, not assets.
"Its your choice" he smiled a bit.