Asset out of Containment (A collection of One-shots)

You Said You'd Grow Old With Me

Summary: Different take on the gyrosphere scene; Claire is by herself trapped in it under water and Owen is outside helping her try get out but he is too late. Told in retrospective.

******

WARNING:
MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH.

******

The sky was cloudy, the sun still heating even if hiding. There was a deadly silence behind him, or maybe it was his head the one sank unable to process the heavy heartbreaking reality he had to face.

Isla Nublar was a curse and a gift in many ways, sometimes both at the same time. It was said that once you stepped on it your life would immediately change, but no one ever warned about how devastating it could be. He had gained the most precious thing in it, falling in love in it, and now had watched how it took the whole meaning of his life away from him.

Owen sat on the sand, feeling the waves of cold water rolling up to his knees. He could feel the breeze hitting his face and the wind reminding him that time kept passing by. Everything around him insisting that life went by, he wished everything could freeze starting with the ache coming from inside the core of his heart.

He wasn't the kind of man to cry, but at this very minute he had forgotten how to do anything else. All he could feel was how painful it was to breathe. The suffocating hurt rolling from his stomach to his throat making him want to throw up.

It was funny how life could lose its meaning and its purpose and the world still kept turning. He felt lost and completely helpless. His eyes tired of pushing thick heavy tears of pain out, he covered them with his hands and sobbed loud. He had no idea how long it had been, but he was sure this was how hell would feel like.

His mind working like a projector, playing all sorts of memories. He couldn't get out of his head the way she looked at him, the way her hand rested on that glass and her voice managed to call out his name.

If only he had been faster.

He tried pay attention to every detail while he forced himself to think about the worst moment of his life, but it didn't matter how hard he tried, all he could focus on was her green eyes, and the way she kept kicking from inside begging to be released.

Owen hoped she knew how much he loved her. He got her message when she leaned against the gyrosphere trying to be as close to him as she could. She didn't press her lips against the glass, but for a second he wished he could have one last kiss.

How was it possible to feel a second take forever to pass but time still wasn't enough? It stung deeply into his soul how close he had been to saving her life. They had only been two seconds apart, that's all he had needed her to hold. Why couldn't she hold longer, why did she give up on him?

He had gone up to the surface for some air just to come back and found her unconscious. That's when his mind went blank, all he could remember was fighting that glass with all he got.

Somehow the door finally opened, allowing him to take her in his arms. She was weightless, he knew that if he released her then her body would just sink down.

The time it took him to bring her to the surface felt like years. He took a deep breath once he made sure her head was out of the water. Her eyes were closed, his trembly fingers parted her lips to let them drop the water she was holding in.

He tried check for any signs of breathing coming from her, but he couldn't even keep her head from tilting back. Owen swam to shore and lied her by some rocks. He slipped his hand behind her head. It was until he felt warm drops falling onto her cold cheek when he realized he was crying.

"Come back." He sobbed, taking her freckled hand on his own. He brought it up to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on it. He knew each second counted and started to perform CPR on her, even if he knew she was gone.

In that moment, all he could think of was how stupid he had been. There was a moment in his life when he had everything and he let a childish fight get in the middle and ripped it apart. He had wasted time that now he would never get back.

Owen had a plan, he was ready to be everything she wanted him to and win her back. One night under the stars, back when the embrace of his body could keep her warm, she had shared with him her plans for them, how she was going to grow old with him.

They laughed about the idea of fighting over him hiding her denture. He had promise to give it back if the grumpy old lady wouldn't be mad.

Owen had let her down, but things were going to get better now. He was building her the house of her dreams, by the lake. He was done being stupid, but now it was too late.

They had plans, a lifetime ahead, and now Owen was left behind unable to think straight. His thoughts were everywhere, jumping from the first time he saw her face, the first kiss they shared to wondering how things would have been.

But all he was left with was the cruel reality that she was gone, but life kept going.