"For Whom Shall the Bell Toll For?"

Owen gave a shaky sigh as he rocked in his hammock. Burying Charlie had been a lot harder than he thought. He was glad he had already given himself permission to cry because he had cried whether or not he wanted to.

He hated funerals.

He had only managed to gently toss one pile of rich, brown earth on her wooden coffin before the first sob had just burst from him. It startled him because he thought he was fine, but all of a sudden the tears were rolling down his face, and the ache in his chest made it hard to breathe. It seemed like he was the one to break the dam, because Barry was the next one to start crying softly. It was a sad, watery chain reaction after that.

He was almost ashamed of himself for having to hand the shovel over to a sniffling Scott, and Owen had simply leaned on Barry for a little comfort. Owen appreciated how Scott had tenderly placed each pile of dirt over the coffin, never rushing nor throwing the soft earth. He knew someone precious was in the coffin. Others had even gone out of their way to bring large, smooth stones from the river to line her grave so even visitors knew something special was there; the stones would sit there for a very long time.

It was almost late afternoon now, and he knew he needed to go see Elise pretty soon or she'd get worried. He just needed a little longer to get his bearings about himself before going up there; she couldn't see a weak leader.

Lowery had been keeping tabs on her, and it seemed she had simply slept the day away in her little clearing. She hadn't moved at all, not even to eat the dangling steer. Owen wondered if it was because she was upset or exhausted. Regardless it had given him to time to refresh himself on his sign language. He would teach her the basics first, maybe even how to spell. That would be incredibly helpful in case she was ever around people who didn't know sign.

Owen turned in his hammock again as his thoughts wandered over to what Elise could possibly be hiding in that little cave. Lowery had given a small description of it, and it was clearly too small for Elise. She wouldn't stray from it though, and had almost curled up as close as possible with her nose touching it.

She had to have a something in there, not a someone. Lowery hadn't been able to detect any heat signatures aside from Elise's. He had even gone through the security camera footage, and nothing ever left that little cave.

What could be in there that was so precious to Elise that she willingly went back into her paddock? Granted she had jammed the door first, but she was back in there. She had even gone out of her way to make sure no one else touched it.

Owen probably could have handled that situation differently, but she needed to know there were lines that couldn't be crossed. This was only the second day with each other, and Owen was actually amazed by how wonderful she had been with them. He knew it had helped tremendously to have her away from people, but she had still been fantastic around him.

He just needed to make up with her tonight, and things would go more smoothly.

Content with his decision, Owen relaxed into his hammock. His girls had been lazy today, sad about the fourth, empty nest, but he was sure they would get restless for another run soon. He wondered if he could somehow get them their own attraction. He didn't want people's attention, but he could convince Claire that it would be amazing to see Velociraptors running at full speed. Maybe some kind of racetrack, and people could make bets on it.

He wasn't sure how to fit Elise into that equation though. He didn't know what to do with her. She was just as smart as he was, but she was humongous. What could he do with a giant like her? People wanted something to press their faces against the glass at, not be uncomfortable with seeing something as intelligent as Elise.

Owen grew sad as he realized that even on a park for dinosaurs, Elise had no place in it. She had too much dinosaur in her to leave the island, but she was far too human to ever be a simple attraction sitting in a paddock.

Her creators had been very cruel.

A flash of lights went over Owen's head, and he looked up to see the small, white car pulling into his driveway. He really didn't expect to see Claire here so soon, but the little flip of his stomach made him roll out of his hammock.

He hoped he didn't smell too badly.

She stepped out of the car, and Owen was amazed by how well she had cleaned up considering the hectic night. She had worn her white attire again, and that fiery red hair was perfect. Her makeup wasn't smeared, and she didn't even look tired.

How the hell was that possible?

Owen didn't care, and he hoped he didn't look too eager as he walked over to her with a bounce in his step. There was just something even more incredible about her after she had saved him.

Claire was sexy when she shot a gun.

He couldn't help the slightly crooked smile on his face when she clasped her hands in front of her, and she had startled at seeing him still gross and sweaty. He stopped in front of her before suddenly teasing, "I think you thrive in the field of bloodthirsty lawyers. How do you do it?"

A small, half-smile pulled at her lips, but she bit them to stop it from growing. Owen could never figure out why she wouldn't smile around him, she had a stunning smile. Claire finally replied, "We had better lawyers actually, and Mr. Hammond had saved us with his Terms and Conditions contract."

"Yah, that's what I hear. So, what happened? Is the park going to reopen?"

Claire nodded, and Owen felt hopeful. He was glad he wouldn't have to say goodbye to his girls. He smiled as Claire said, "In about a week, to get the damage cleaned up, and to round up all the scientists. Our head geneticist has disappeared with several embryos, and I pointed the finger at him since he was responsible for creating the Indominus. Lawyers are going after him, and they're searching InGen first. We have a few, good scientists with us still, and I think our labs will be fine with them."

Owen let out a sigh of relief as he smiled, and said, "Good. I want to know exactly what he put in Elise, and why."

Claire frowned at him in confusion, her nose crinkling with eyebrows furrowed in an adorable way, before she asked, "Who?"

Owen gave a sheepish smile as he rubbed the back of his neck. He finally shrugged his shoulders as he said, "Well, we named the Indominus, Elise. She needs a name, Claire; she's smart enough to have one."

The redhead furrowed her brows more deeply as her expression changed from confusion to disbelief. Owen shrugged again as he asked, "What? No one named her, and she wanted a name. I have to call her something, Claire."

Claire continued to stare at him before she let her eyes fall to the ground. Owen didn't like having avoided eye contact, and she let out a small sigh before quietly saying, "The lawyers and the board want the Indominus to be euthanized."

Owen felt his jaw drop, and a heavy ball of fear in his stomach formed when Claire added, "They saw her turn the raptors against you, and they don't like how intelligent she is. They're afraid she'll figure out how to get out again, and more people will get hurt."

Claire slowly looked at him before wincing as she quietly said, "I'm sorry."

Owen immediately shook his head, and pointed at her while he sternly said, "You can't do that to her, Claire. She has human in her! She understands us, she feels like us, and she never asked to be created like that!"

Claire narrowed her eyes as she immediately retorted, "She ate her own sister! She killed several people, Owen. She slaughtered our herd of Apatosaurus. We have dead dinosaurs, and people scattered all over this park! We can't risk her getting out of containment again!"

Owen slowly pointed in the direction of Elise's paddock as he quietly said, "Her door has been open all day because a tree is in the way, Claire. I told her not to leave that paddock, and she's listened to me. She just doesn't want to be alone. How could she have known any better about how this world works when no one even bothers to clean her paddock?"

Owen really hated when Claire wouldn't consider anything, and she would ignore what he had to say. She swallowed before replying, "She wouldn't let anyone in her paddock, she is too aggressive, and I have already scheduled for her to be euthanized by tomorrow night."

"Who gave you the authority to do that?!"

Claire startled at him suddenly raising his voice, but she immediately said, "The Jurassic World Board. I've been made CEO of this company after all the assets were put back into containment."

Owen felt his jaw drop before he bitterly said, "You mean after I put Elise and the raptors back into their paddock."

Claire didn't respond to that, and Owen was growing angrier. He threw up his hands as he snapped, "What about the Tyrannosaurus? She's killed people before! Why wasn't she put down?"

Claire's blue eyes immediately hardened as she coolly replied, "Rexy is a different story entirely. She only killed one person, and she's the only reason why this park even succeeded."

Owen looked her up and down once, startled that she had actually called an asset by name. Claire was actually defending a dinosaur, and Owen slowly said, "I know Hammond spent a lot of money fighting to keep Rexy alive. Why won't you even try to do the same with Elise? She's deserves a chance."

"She is not a real dinosaur, Owen. I don't know what she is, but she will not be part of my company."

"Just talk to her for five minutes, Claire! She has a personality! She loves Beethoven and Bach! Elise is practically a puddle for Barry!"

Claire raised her own voice as she stomped on the ground, and yelled, "I will not go talk to that thing! She is not normal, and never should have been created!"

Owen immediately darkened, and took a step forward. Claire refused to give any ground when he almost towered over her, and quietly snarled, "That's your response then? You have the authority to clean up the labs' mistakes, but you're so afraid of something you don't understand that your knee jerk reaction is to kill it. You won't even take the time to try to understand exactly what you have in that paddock."

Owen finally backed away, and began to walk towards his motorcycle. He glanced over his shoulder, and added, "Simon Masrani wouldn't have done that. He would have at least taken the time to understand Elise...but I am talking to the lady who doesn't even know how old her own nephews are."

Claire opened her mouth as he swung his leg over his bike, but he cut her off by saying, "I better see you there tomorrow, Claire. If you're so eager to have Elise killed, then you better have the balls to watch her die. I will not let anyone do anything to Elise unless you're standing right there."

The motorcycle roared into life, and Owen bitterly added, "Congrats on your promotion. I hope you don't go down in flames like Simon."

He was sure Claire yelled something at him, but Owen couldn't hear much over the loud engine. He probably wouldn't have acknowledged her anyways as he sped away.

Owen intended to drive straight for the Raptor Paddock; he needed to get Barry to help him, but he looked down when the radio on his hip crackled.

"Owen? Hey, Owen! You really need to pick up!"

The bike skidded through the dirt, leaving torn grass behind him, and Owen replied, "What now, Lowery?"

He frowned when the radio gave a startled yelp right before Lowery said in a panicky voice, "Elise! S-She's going crazy! The workers managed to shut the doors! You have to calm her down!"

Owen didn't respond; he wasn't sure how he could face Elise again. He didn't even want to calm her down, not if she wasn't going to be rewarded for it. Why should he risk himself when Elise would die tomorrow? He was pulled from his thoughts when Lowery pleaded, "Please, Owen! There might still be a chance for her if you can calm her down!"

"I'm not goi-"

"Quit being a little bitch and go calm down Elise! This isn't about you! We can't let the only American dinosaur in the world dig a deeper hole for herself!"

Owen almost gaped at the radio in his hand, and Lowery paused before quietly adding, "Please."

Owen could feel himself paling as his bike slid in the gravel. He could hardly hear anything over Elise's furious roars, and he had no idea how he was going to calm her down. The workers were looking around nervously, and Owen could see that they had sawed the tree before shutting the doors.

Elise's roars were actually shaking the leaves on the fallen tree, and he wasn't sure how he was going to calm her down. Owen looked from the doors when the construction manager almost ran him over in a panic of flurried words, "She's gonna kill us all! You have to stop her! Please don't let her eat us!"

Owen didn't respond to him as he dismounted his bike, but walked over to the entrance for people instead as he replied, "Don't ever shut that door without telling me. I have a sensitive animal who is absolutely terrified of being locked in a small space for the rest of her life."

"S-She's just an animal…"

Owen was about to punch the man, simply for the sake of punching something, but his attention was grabbed by the phone being waved around in the gloved hand. He slowly turned his attention back to the shuttering door as the idea began to form in his mind.

Consumers ran this park; whatever they wanted, Jurassic World delivered.

Everyone loved seeing animals do cute or awesome things on the internet.

Claire only said Lowery couldn't post the video of the plaza on YouTube, but she never said anything about other videos.

"I want you to go wait in the control room for this paddock."

The dark haired man flickered his gaze to the building before asking, "Why?"

Owen swiped the keycard from the man's vest, and began to walk towards the entrance as he replied, "Because I think people need to see this."

Owen was pretty sure he had lost his mind, and he was even surer of it when he came to the man sized door. He had left Elise on a bad note, and now she probably assumed he had ordered this. She probably thought she did something wrong, and was being punished for it. Owen could hear the panicked yells from the workers as they tried to call him away from the door when it slid open.

He didn't pay them any mind, and hoped he would be able to walk out alive. For his, and Elise's sake.

Owen only had to follow the sound of the enraged roars, and loud, shrill scrapes against the cement. He passed several fallen, broken trees, and disturbed boulders. The destruction was incredible, and the sinking feeling in his stomach only grew heavier.

He found the white scales focused on the strong, steel doors, and winced when Elise tried to bite a chunk off. Her nose looked rubbed raw, and he thought one of her talons looked broken. He internally grimaced before a shuffle of movement caught his eye, and he saw several construction workers fearing for him behind the observatory glass.

Owen took a deep breath, and squared his shoulders once more before letting out a sharp, quick whistle. Elise immediately froze before whirling around with her teeth bared in a livid manner. Owen slightly winced when the large, clawed hand swiped near him, and a large tree went sailing over the paddock walls.

But she hadn't hit him.

And considering what was coming tomorrow, Owen almost wished she had.

Instead he stood his ground firmly, and raised his hands. The furious, crimson orbs weren't tempted by the knowledge, but Owen made like he was patting the air with his hands as he said, "Calm down, Elise. I didn't know they were going to shut those doors on you. I didn't tell them to do that, but you are scaring them."

Elise let out a furious roar to make it perfectly clear that she could not care less if full grown men were currently cowering in the furthest corner of the room. She even raised her head to glare into the Observatory Room, but Owen immediately said, "Elise, eyes on me."

She turned her head to him sharply, and Owen raised his right hand, splayed palm facing him, before quickly turning it to face Elise as he firmly said, "Stop it."

Owen could practically hear the workers holding their breaths as Elise glared at the hands. She finally turned to face him fully before pointing at him with a bloodied index finger. Owen gave her the eye contact as she raised her own right hand before mirroring the sign he just made.

'You stop it.'

The retort hardly made sense, but considering just how little her vocabulary was, it was all Elise could use for a retort.

And it was much better than a snap of her teeth.

Owen let out a deep sigh before he sat down on an overturned boulder. He stared at the Indominus quietly, and she shifted on her feet for a minute or so before Owen raised his hand. She watched him point to himself before curling his hand into a gentle fist. He made a circular motion on his chest as he said, "I am sorry, Elise. I really am. I am doing everything I can to make sure you're safe, but other people don't see you like I do…not yet."

Elise seemed to be pulled from her rage at the serious, somber tone. She glanced at the baffled workers for a second before lowering herself onto the ground with a low rumble. Elise looked at Owen when he quietly added, "I know you are terrified of being in here alone, and I never want to hurt you."

Owen stuck his hand out, and she seemed confused by it until he gently placed his hand over her talon; his hand was so small compared to her. He squeezed it gently, though she probably didn't feel it, as he said, "You are just as important to me as my other girls, Elise. You're my baby too, and Barry's."

Elise made a small, loving croon at Barry's name, and Owen couldn't help a sad, small smile at it. He pulled his hand back before he took his index finger, and pressed it against his lips; like he was telling her to be quiet. Then he splayed that hand to cover his other fist, like paper beating rock, as he said, "I promise, that I will never abandon you, Elise. I will never leave you alone, and I will always do everything I can to make sure you are happy. Do you understand that? I promise, and I never break a promise."

The white Indominus pondered his words, as she finally began to memorize the motions he signed before she finally crooned at him. He smiled when she puffed air in his face, and his gaze followed hers as she sat on her back legs. She seemed to wrinkle her snout in thought before raising her left, clawed hand, and making a circular motion on her broad chest.

'I am sorry.'

Owen smiled as he took his own hand, splayed his palm, before using the tips of his other fingers to brush it twice as he replied, "I forgive you."

Elise seemed to smile at the motion before pointing at herself, mirroring the motion, then pointing at him.

'I forgive you.'

Owen immediately laughed, and stood before splaying his arms as he said, "Get over here, Baby Girl."

Elise tilted her head in confusion but lowered herself to his level. Owen immediately hugged her nose fiercely, almost half hanging off the top of her snout, and Elise puffed air through her nostrils. Owen smiled at her as he said, "It's called a hug. People do this to others they care about, like good friends or family."

He chuckled at her before risking a slight glance at the workers in the observatory, and was pleased to see five of them had whipped out their phones as they gaped in shock at him.

This was good.

But he really needed to prepare Elise for tomorrow.

Owen slid off her nose before sitting back onto his rock. Elise seemed much happier now that she had company, she didn't look so alone. Owen wondered what would have happened if she had had a companion to grow up with.

Owen stared at her for a few seconds, trying to figure out how to break the news without upsetting her. She had finally relaxed enough into resting her head on her front legs, and Owen hated himself for seeing her look so peaceful. It hurt to know how little time she had, and yet he couldn't just leave her alone.

It was selfish to not make her last hours happier simply because it hurt him.

But he had no idea how to tell this creature that she could very well be dead by the next sunset. Was there even a way to tell someone that? He didn't know the words, and he didn't have the courage to say it.

"Elise…"

The crimson eyes fluttered open, and she let out a deep, relaxed breath as she gazed at him. Owen couldn't believe how much intelligent emotion was in those eyes. He slid off the boulder before he scooted over to where he could sit next to her scaled cheek. He gently ran a calloused hand down the white scales as he softly said, "You do know I will do everything I can to protect you, right?"

She blinked at him before raising her hand to knock on the invisible door.

'Yes.'

Do you understand that there are a lot of people out there with power? That you scare them with what you might do?"

Owen swallowed when she answered yes, and he struggled not to lower his voice any more as he said, "Sometimes…people become really afraid of what they don't understand. It scares them even more when they realize how powerful it can be."

He paused when the confusion filled her crimson eyes, and he said, "People are really afraid of you because they know they won't be able to control you if you go on another rampage. The people who own this island are in charge of making sure visitors remain safe, and have fun here."

Owen was getting off track, he was avoiding the big news because he didn't have it in himself to say the words. How was he supposed to say, 'Elise, tomorrow you are going to die because of ignorant people who don't even know what you look like.'?

He sighed, and began to pull at some grass on the ground before Elise made a soft noise to grab his attention. She was becoming confused, and she didn't like it. Owen pressed his lips before finally saying, "Elise, tomorrow…tomorrow there are going to be people showing up here to…I am doing everything I can to makes sure it won't…."

Owen finally huffed before asking, "Elise, will you please just trust me to handle things tomorrow? No matter what happens tomorrow, I don't want you to get violent. If I say to hide, I want you to hide. If I say run then run. If I say stay calm then you need to stay calm, alright? It is really important that you can prove you can restrain yourself from getting violent. Will you do that for me?"

Owen could see he had really confused her, but he felt himself go soft when she replied, 'Yes.'

He rested his forehead on her cheek before pulling back as he said, "Thank you. I just…I'll explain it after tomorrow, okay? Because-"

Owen swallowed when his throat went thick, and he finished, "Because there are some times when I'm not very brave, and I just don't have the courage that I normally have, Baby Girl."

Elise tilted her head at him as the pondering filled the crimson orbs. She seemed to be thinking about something, probably confused as to why her leader had just admitted to lacking bravery, but she didn't seem to hold it against him. Owen smiled when Elise instead curled around him tightly before letting out a content sigh. Her eyes slowly slid shut, and Owen quietly said, "Baby Girl, I am going to have to leave tonight. I need to go take care of things, but I'll be back tomorrow, okay?"

Elise opened her eye to give him a dirty look, and Owen smiled at it as he quietly added, "Please don't scare those workers anymore; they just build what they're told to build."

She huffed at him, and Owen crawled over her tail; it was quite the jump for him. He swore she lifted her tail some to make it more difficult, but he only chuckled at her. Owen patted her tail before he softly said, "Goodnight, Baby Girl. I'll see you tomorrow."

Owen turned to walk away, but startled when Elise suddenly grabbed him in her large hand. He felt like a doll, and before he could say anything, she plopped him back into the little circle she had made. Owen raised an eyebrow at her, and she wasn't moved by him.

"Am I not allowed to leave?"

'Yes.'

Owen snorted, and realized he probably should have expected as much from her. He didn't have it in him to leave, and he finally sat down as he said, "I'll stay until you fall asleep, okay?"

She huffed at him, and responded by refusing to close her eyes. Owen only smiled at her; he felt like he was putting a toddler to bed. Elise was stubborn like his own niece was; Owen couldn't remember the last time he saw her, but he did know she was turning seven in a month.

Owen scooched closer to Elise's face before he began to rub soothing circles along the white scales. She gave an irritated growl, and Owen smiled because he knew it was putting her to sleep.

She was a fighter, and Owen had almost begun to think it wouldn't work until she began to blink a little more slowly. Then she started to go cross-eyes, and Owen had to work really hard not to laugh at that. Eventually, Elise allowed her eyes to slide shut, and her breathing turned deep and slow. He waited a few more minutes, just to be sure she was out, before he carefully wriggled out of the circle. She briefly stirred, but didn't wake up. Owen quietly tip toed out of the paddock, and was ecstatic the sliding door was practically silent.

The construction workers had already scrambled to the door to meet them, and he pressed his fingers to his lips. They nodded in agreement, but all gave pats on his back for doing an amazing job, and being the craziest person they had ever seen. Owen made sure to push his bike down the road a little ways before starting it; he didn't want to risk waking Elise up.

Owen intended to ride straight for the Raptor Paddock, and Lowery's admiring voice suddenly broke through the radio.

"Wow. That was amazing, Owen, and everyone here saw everything."

Owen slowed his bike to a stop before he replied, "Everything?"

"Right down to the little massage on Elise's nose."

Owen paused as he grew even more hopeful before asking, "What are the chances you can…leak that video?"

He waited for a response, and frowned when he didn't get one. Owen pressed the button again before asking, "Lowery?"

He startled when Claire's voice suddenly came on. Owen knew she had to be pissed, but she coolly answered, "Any and all videos that have anything to do with that Indominus will be deleted. I already have security guards going to check those workers' phones. Owen, you are not in charge here. The Indominus will be euthanized tomorrow, and that is final. Just because she is good for you, doesn't mean she will behave for this park. You will go home right now-"

"The hell I will!"

"-Or you will be fired, and sent back to mainland on the next ship."

Owen gaped at the radio in his hand as he tried to keep his temper in check. He knew he was toeing on a very fine line with Claire. He didn't want to get fired; he would never see his pack again. Owen felt his vision going red when Claire sternly asked, "Do you understand?"

Somehow, he felt like she was mocking him, and Owen couldn't help flipping off the radio in his hands before snapping, "Sure."

He made to put it back on his hip before Claire suddenly said, "I saw that, Owen, and I didn't appreciate it."

Owen looked at the radio sharply; he knew it didn't have a camera in it. He heard Lowery quietly mutter, "Camera on the fake bird to your left…"

He snapped his gaze up, and blinked at the stone still bird sitting on the branch. He had to admit he would have never looked at it twice, but he could see the camera lenses in the shining eye. Owen really just wanted to smash the bird, but instead he walked over before cracking his knuckles. He then raised his hands before flipping both his middle fingers up in the most perfect form he had ever done in his life. He was quite proud of how straight his fingers stood, and he retorted, "I don't appreciate you using my girls against me."

He went back to his bike, and switched the radio off when it began to crackle. He then turned his gaze back to the bird as he said, "Sorry, can't hear you."

Owen knew he was going to regret that, but there was just something about Claire that made him feel the need to have the last say. It was an annoying thing between them, and he really wished it wasn't like that.

Owen figured his best bet would be to go home; there was no need to provoke Claire any more than he already had. He needed a shower as well, and he had to think of a new way to save Elise.

Why was Claire fighting him so hard on this? He needed her on his side, he wanted her on his side. She was so smart and strong. He needed a woman like her.

He suddenly wished Elise had eaten him.