Clawen • What comes next

|| CHAPTER 26 ||

Later, after the celebration was done and Maisie had gotten all her questions out in the open, Owen went to work further on the house. The windows and doors got delivered and Owen had called an old friend. Having known the guy long before he went to work at Jurassic world, even before the navy. The friend didn't know Claire, he had never met her so when he pulled up in his truck and found Owen waiting for him outside alone. He figured the poor guy was living out in the middle of nothing, all alone, building a house for no one but himself.

Owen hadn't thought of mentioning Claire or Maisie at all. They were inside the van, they might come out and meet the guy, they might not. In Owen's eyes, it didn't matter and he would just see where things went. The two of them went to unpack and place the windows and door. Fixing a few things here and there as they went around the house. Owen's friend told all about his adventures since they last saw each other. Not asking any questions in the direction of Owen's love life or why he was out there all by himself. That was until the two of them were sitting on the porch, drinking a beer and laughter suddenly erupted from the van. He hit Owen on the arm and asked jokingly. "What the hell are you packing in there?" And pointed towards the van. "I thought you were all by yourself mate" He then said and took a sip of his beer. Owen couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, you know, just a couple of birds" Owen said, wanting to take the piss on his friend, seeing as he would be completely blindsided, if the two girls decided to leave the van.

"Nah mate come on. What, you have some little hussy hiding in there?" The guy said laughing way more than he should have. "Hey, don't say that" Owen replied stone cold. His friend put his hands up in surrender. "Alright calm down there, mate. Just tell me what's going on" And right as he said it, Claire and Maisie appeared in the door. Maisie started running towards Owen without realizing there was another man present. The girl stopped dead in her tracks in the middle of the open area. Claire closed the door behind her and noticed the guy sitting next to Owen. She started nervously making her way towards Maisie, putting her arms protectively around her. Owen then stood up and gestured for the stranger to come with him.

"Mike, meet my girlfriend Claire and my daughter Maisie" Owen introduced proudly. Mike as he was apparently named, turned his head to look at Owen completely lost. "Your what and what now" He said. Owen chuckled and took a few steps to stand closer to Claire. "Guys, this is my old friend Mike" Owen said as he put a hand on Claire's back. "Oh, the guy you said was going to help you?" Claire asked, looking up at her proud looking boyfriend who nodded.

"Owen mate I got to say, that is one smoking hottie you got yourself there" Mike said. "And I mean that respectfully Ma'am" He continued, when Claire send him a glare that would make any man piss themselves. "Mike" Owen said still jokingly but making sure there was a small warning in there. "Mate don't worry. So, you eh, you got a daughter huh" He said and looked over at Maisie who quickly pressed herself further into Claire. "I do, yes" Was all Owen said. Maisie looked just as scared as when Claire and Owen first met her.

They talked some more and Owen made sure that Claire and Maisie were comfortable enough with Mike. They went back to working on the house and the girls went to sit outside to color in Maisie's coloring book.

"Mate you got to explain the situation here" Mike said as they worked on the window. "What?" Owen asked obliviously. "You've got yourself that beauty of a girlfriend but she's only your girlfriend. Side note, she looks familiar. And that's not all. You have a daughter, much older than what would be possible with what I know about you. So, Mate spill the beans" Was blurred out of Mike's mouth in a matter of a small minute. Owen couldn't help but chuckle. "She is beautiful, isn't she" He said which earned him a warning look from Mike.

"Alright I'll tell you. First of all, the reason she's only my girlfriend and nothing more is because I have no spine when it comes to that stuff and you know that better than anyone" Owen said and Mike nodded and hummed in agreement. "You are a poor little bastard" He told Owen who laughed and continued with the facts. "And the reason she looks familiar is probably because you have seen her on TV...A lot" Owen sighed wishing all that media chaos away. "On TV huh? What, she like an actress or something?" Mike asked to which Owen shook his head. "No, she was the manager of Jurassic World, you know the park I worked at...Yea she got a lot of the blame and was all over the media months after the disaster" Owen continued seeing everything click into place behind Mike's eyes. "OIH, MATE IT'S THAT BADASS REDHEAD WHO RAN FROM A T-REX INNIT?" He yelled, not thinking about the fact that Claire could probably hear every word of that. Owen couldn't help but laugh yet again. "Yea that's my girlfriend" He said proudly before continuing. "Now about Maisie...We recently got custody of her, when her grandfather and her other caretaker died" Owen finished sighing deeply, remember the hell Maisie had been through. "Oh...Man that sucks" Mike said understandingly.

Later, Mike went back to the city where he came from and promised Owen to come by the next day to help some more. Owen went over to the van where his two girls were still coloring. He sat down reaching over to give Claire a kiss. Maisie looked up in time to see it and a small smile spread across her face. She had just recently gotten used to being around Claire and Owen and all the affection they kept showing. It never seemed to stop or have any limits but Maisie had stopped caring. Not that she ever really did care, but she had to admit that in the beginning, it was quite the shocker to be living with two adults who just walked around, kissing each other 50 times a day.

Owen looked down at the coloring book, when his lips eventually left Claire's. A laugh escaping his mouth, when he saw the drawings with their new colors. "A blue T-rex huh" He said with a laugh. Maisie started giggling and Claire couldn't help but join in. "Why not" Was all Maisie said, before going back to coloring. "I guess we'll see if one of those pop up soon" He said, regretting it immediately with the looks he got from both of them but mostly Claire. Maisie quickly went back to coloring, seeming to have already forgotten about his comment. Claire was still glaring at him though. "Sorry" He said and looked at Maisie's hand, curently coloring. "Owen don't say that again" Claire said in a tone firm enough to get his attention. "Please" Was added when his eyes fell on her. He nodded. "I know, sorry. It just slipped out" He said. In his head, the conversation was over. In Claire's it was not.

"You have to think before you talk Owen" She continued, arms crossed on the table and looking straight at him. He turned to look at her, sending the same glare her way. "I do think before I talk. It just slipped out. I'm sorry, again" He said, begging whatever god was out there that, that was it. He wasn't that lucky. "Just...You know how much...that...affected me" Claire said with a knot in her throat. She could look at a drawing of a T-rex and watch, even help Maisie color it all kinds of crazy colors. But mentioning it, coming to them, appearing from behind the trees, being near one again, just making it that real. No, that was too much. Knots started forming in her throat and her eyes got blurry. Heartbeat picking up and her body making her palms bathe in sweat.

Owen reached a hand over to cover hers. Maisie wasn't really paying attention to anything but her coloring. Claire desperately grabbed his hand, wrapping her fingers around it tightly. "Deep breaths honey" Owen said slowly, looking right back at Claire trying to get her attention. Didn't work. Her breaths were getting quicker, sounding like she might pass out any second. Owen stood up, taking a step closer to her. Maisie put the pen down when she heard the noises coming from her mom.

Owen desperately tried to calm Claire down, who was clearly panicking. He couldn't catch her focus or make her listen and before he knew it, she was passed out in his arms.

Hey I did it again guys

You love me!

Also, I know 'Mike' is meh...I don't actually think there was any reason for adding him, other than me having run out of ideas for this chapter. 

EXCITING STUFF WILL FOLLOW THOUGH SO STAY TUNED BOIS