Escape from Lockwood Manor

By 18lzytwner

Blue was gone. Despite his best efforts, his beta had become the alpha and decided that she would not follow him. Maisie had attached herself to him and Claire had managed to limp down the stairs to meet them. The redhead pulled him as close as she could and he looked at her. The look in her eyes told him everything he needed to know – she was glad that they were safe and they both knew that they owed the velociraptor a debt of gratitude for it.

That's when sirens sounded in the distance. The police would be on the house any minute and none of them wanted to be left behind to explain what had just gone on there.

"We have to move, now!" Owen yelled to the others.

"Should we all go together or split up?" Franklin asked.

"Depends on how many working vehicles we can find. Come on kid, you're with me. Zia, Maisie, help Claire. We'll be back as soon as we can," the orders were given and surprisingly no one objected. Right now they needed his experience in leadership and not to squabble. Their fear of being questioned by police overran any thoughts about disagreeing with the Navy veteran's decision.

"How's your leg?" Zia asked Claire once she'd gotten down to the bottom of the steps. The redhead looked at Maisie before answering, not wanting to scare the young girl.

"It'll be fine," Claire answered, which wasn't really an answer and Zia gave her a look and then shifted her eyes to Maisie who seemed very concerned. Getting the picture, the paleoveterinarian only nodded. They both knew that Claire needed real medical help and not just the quick work that had been done back inside the mansion. Their thoughts were broken by the sound of car engines.

"Looks like the boys lucked out," Zia heaved a sigh, grateful to be getting away from the mansion. Owen pulled up in the wood paneled SUV and Franklin had found a black sedan. The former got out of the SUV and went to Claire and Maisie.

"Why don't you hop in the backseat kiddo? I'll make sure Claire gets in ok," he smiled at her and Maisie smiled slightly before heading to the vehicle.

"I'll catch a ride with Franklin. Should we meet up in San Francisco?" Zia wondered.

"Probably best if we tried to act as natural as possible. Head for San Fran," Owen told her. She nodded and then quickly got into the car where Franklin was waiting. The young man quickly gunned the engine and went down the driveway to where it forked near the bottom. Owen turned his focus Claire but she'd already started for the passenger side, her limp very noticeable. He quickly went to her side and got there to open the door. The next part would be tricky as she needed to put weight on her leg to get into the vehicle. Before she could argue however, Owen scooped her up and carefully got her into the SUV. Then he shut the door before running to the other side. He climbed into the driver's seat and gunned the engine, following Franklin's lead.

The sirens were getting closer and Owen knew their time was getting short. He got down to the end of the driveway and could see the lights from the tops of the police cars in the distance. Cursing under his breath, he pulled out in the same direction as Franklin, hoping that there was a place to hide on the road or a turnoff before they interacted with the police.

"There's a spot we could hide in a little ways down. Do what you have to get us there. I'll let you know where it is," Claire spoke up as if she'd read his mind – she'd been down this road on her previous trips to the mansion. He only nodded and continued to speed down the road. It seemed like an eternity before Claire told him to turn and kill the lights. Quickly, he did as she said and not a moment too soon. Police vehicles flew passed them on their way up the mountain. Maisie had ducked down in the backseat to hide herself from view and Claire and Owen slid down as much as they could while still being able to see what was going on outside.

"You think that's all of them?" Claire asked. It had been what seemed like forever after the last car passed their hiding spot.

"That has to be the whole highway patrol," he cracked a joke. Leaving the lights off, he moved into a full seated position and put the SUV into reverse. He nudged it just out far enough for him to get the front wheels onto the road and then pulled forward a little bit before turning on the lights. Then at a normal speed they proceeded down the mountain, none of the really breathing a sigh of relief until they watched the road widen into multiple lanes and street lights appear.

"We're going to need gas to get to San Francisco," Owen just realized.

"We aren't going to be able to make the trip in one day anyway. We look like hell and that will be suspicious," Claire said, forgetting to watch her choice of words, though Owen wondered if it was because she was in a lot of pain.

"Then a stop in town is in order," he nodded. Looking up in the rearview mirror, he saw that Maisie was struggling to keep her eyes open. The adrenaline was gone and now she was crashing back down. He then looked over at Claire, with a quick glance down at her leg. The bandage was red and he worried that she was still bleeding too much.

"It looks worse than it feels," her words came out barely above a whisper.

"And pigs fly," he muttered. He took her left hand in his right hand and gave it a squeeze. The trip into town was quick and quiet after that until they reached an urgent care and Owen pulled in.

"All righty, time for a checkup. Now we were hiking and she fell, right?" He asked. Maisie seemed a little more awake, her concern overriding her body's wishes to sleep, and gave him a look.

"It's probably the only thing we can say without drawing attention to ourselves," he said. She nodded, knowing they couldn't explain about the dinosaurs. They had not seen any of the escaped ones yet and Maisie wondered where they could be hiding. Owen quickly got out of the vehicle and headed around to the passenger side, where Claire had waited for him. That made him nervous but he said nothing, not wanting to worry Maisie.

"Sweetie, would you tell them we're coming in?" Claire asked. Maisie nodded and quickly headed for the front door. Once she was out of ear shot, Claire said,

"I'm in a lot of pain."

"I kind of figured. We only had those little butterfly tapes and the other option was to sew you shut with things that weren't meant for human surgery," he admitted as he scooped her out of the SUV and then headed inside.

"Nasty fall huh?" The doctor gave them both a look when he met them at the door.

"A little more slippery than we thought once it started raining," Owen tried to roll with it. The doctor led them into one of the exam rooms while one of the nurses promised to look after Maisie. Owen gingerly set Claire down on the exam table and the doctor handed them a gown so they could cover Claire's lap. He then told them he'd be right back after Claire got her pants off. Both Claire and Owen looked at each other. Her pants were soaked and there was no way she was going to be able to take them off herself. Claire didn't want to start an argument, so she unbuttoned the pants and unzipped them. Owen helped her stand and she tried to push them down but they didn't want to budge. Owen stepped up and they both worked to carefully remove them. It did not escape his attention that Claire skin goose pimpled as he touched her. He was about to say something when there was a knock on the door. Instead he made sure that Claire's lap was covered and bade the doctor to enter. The medical man moved toward the patient and got a good look at the wound on her leg.

"This is deep. You're lucky those little butterfly bandages held. Now I need to flush this out and then we're going to glue it shut. Once that's done, you're going to have to wait at least five days before you get it wet and you shouldn't touch it for twenty four hours. Since you're dirty and probably want to get clean, I would suggest a sponge bath. Given its location, you're going to probably have to do that until you get past the five day mark. You're lucky that it is low enough that you can wear shorts. We can't have any clothes rubbing up against it," the doctor explained. Claire made a face. A hot shower was really all she wanted.

"I think we can manage that," Owen smiled slightly and she gave him a look.

"Ok now this is probably going to hurt," the doctor said. He had filled a large diameter syringe with saline and began to irrigate the wound. Claire grabbed Owen's hand and squeezed it as the warm fluid went through her open wound. Her lips were curved over her teeth and she tried not to make a sound. Owen put his arm around her shoulders and gave them a squeeze, while kissing the back of her neck. The message was clear - he was there and he wasn't going anywhere.

"It looks good. Nothing foreign in there. I'm going to give you some antibiotics though, to make sure you don't have an infection, along with some pain medication. Now the glue is going to feel a little weird," the doctor told her. Claire nodded and watched as the medical man went about sealing the wound.

"There we go. I'll get working on your discharge paperwork and what you need to know about the glue and what you can and can't do. You should put your leg up for a little while and try not to walk around on it a lot. Do you have a pair of shorts?" The doctor wondered. Claire looked at Owen and he said,

"Regrettably not. The hike wasn't supposed to take long and then we got caught in the weather…"

"There is a Target up the street. Claire can stay here until you get back," the doctor smiled; thankfully it was a slow night at the urgent care. Owen looked at Claire and she nodded her head and he leaned in and kissed her forehead, promising to be right back. Once he was gone, a nurse came in with a blanket so that Claire could at least keep her legs warm, while she waited. Lying back on the table, she wondered just how they'd gotten here.

A knock on the door, awoke Claire and she realized that she had fallen asleep. Looking at the clock, it had only been thirty minutes, and she marveled how Owen had managed to get through the Target that quickly.

"Hi," Maisie poked her head into the doorway since she didn't get a response.

"Hi. Getting lonely out there?" Claire figured the young girl had waited with the nurse when Owen left.

"No, I have some shorts for you. Owen dropped me off with them while he got gas in the car," Maisie moved all the way into the room revealing that she had a pair of plaid pajama shorts. They didn't match her top but they would be much looser than her ruined pants and easier to get on. Maisie held them out for the redhead.

"Thank you very much. You guys find something for you?" Claire wondered as she took the pants that she'd been offered.

"Yeah some pajamas and a clean outfit for tomorrow," Maisie smiled slightly.

"Good. We'll all feel better after we get cleaned up," the redhead smiled as well. She then managed to move herself so she could try to get the shorts on. Everything was stiff but she didn't want to ask Maisie for help. However, the young girl, seeming to know she needed help, took the shorts from the redhead and slipped them over her feet. Then she pulled them up to Claire's knees, where the older woman gratefully and carefully took over. Easing them up over her now sealed wound, she was able to move enough to almost get them all the way up to her waist.

"What about your boots?" Maisie asked. There was a knock on the door and Claire told the person to enter.

"Hey kiddo. Why don't you go hop in the car? I got something for you," Owen smiled and handed her the keys. Maisie blushed and quickly ran out to the vehicle.

"Need help there lady?" He asked.

"I just need to get the shorts over my butt and my boots on," Claire smiled.

"The boots might be a lost cause," Owen looked at them before helping her stand up. The boots were soaked and they had been very hard to get off, never mind getting them back on. They both quickly worked to finish getting her dressed – the boots only worked once they removed the shoelaces. Then they went out and made sure their bill was settled.

When they reached the car, they found Maisie enjoying her surprise. Owen had snagged a stuffed bear for her when she wasn't looking while they were shopping. He figured she needed one after everything they'd been through. They both got in the car and Claire couldn't hide the smile on her face.

"Luckily there is a hotel a few minutes from the Target. I think we can all get a shower and some sleep," Owen told them. That's when Maisie's stomach rumbled.

"But first a cheeseburger," he chuckled while Maisie giggle.

"Sounds delicious," Claire said. She had to get food in her stomach before taking her medicine.

"There's a drive thru around here somewhere, I know it," he winked. The car left the urgent care and headed down the road. A stop at the drive thru, complete with kids' meal, and then onto the hotel. The lady at the front desk noticed that Claire had an injury and asked if she could help in any manner. There were no handicapped rooms left that would have been useful for her sponge bath but they did have a seat that could go into a bathtub and Owen said that would be appreciated.

Owen made sure the girls got up to the room before heading back down and grabbing all the Target bags out of the trunk of the SUV. He then headed back upstairs and found that the two had finished their dinners and were sitting on the bed closest to the bathroom.

"Well now we can start to get cleaned up. You first Maisie," Owen smiled as he handed her the Target bags with the items she picked out. The young girl headed into the bathroom and that left the two adults to talking. Owen sat down at the desk and tucked into his cheeseburger and fries.

"How are we going to do this?" Claire asked.

"Well the lady at the front desk promised extra washcloths and the seat so I figure you might be able to do that part by yourself but washing your hair might be trickier," Owen said.

"Who said I wanted to sponge bathe alone? And that's not what I meant," the redhead gave him a look.

"Oh you mean parenting a little girl who has no birth certificate and technically doesn't exist, that?" Owen asked, glad the shower and fan was on in the bathroom. He collected his garbage and threw it in the garbage can before heading toward the redhead.

"Yes that," Claire gave him a look. He carefully took a seat next to her and pulled her close, kissing her temple.

"Simple. We show her that she's not alone and we do everything we can to help her move forward. Maybe get Zia to fake a birth certificate and file for a new social security number," Owen said.

"How can you be so nonchalant?" She asked.

"Are you kidding? I'm freaking out. Kids are scarier than Blue," he chuckled which caused her to laugh.

"Promise me that we're going to be ok," Claire said. This normally very strong woman seemed so fragile in this moment and it took everything in his being to not kiss her silly.

"Hey. We survived the island twice and that includes the T-Rex! We can do anything and that includes being there for this amazing little girl," Owen reminded her.

"That's not what I meant," the redhead moved her head and pulled him close, her lips went onto his. They only broke apart because the sound of the shower and bathroom fan ceased.

"Oh you meant that," there was that grin on his face, which earned him a playful smack. The door to the bathroom opened and out walked the young girl in her new pajamas.

"All clean sweetie?" Claire wanted to know.

"Much better, thanks," Maisie smiled. A knock on the door sounded along with a call that it was housekeeping and Owen went to answer it. The seat and extra washcloths had arrived.

"All right, are you all set in the bathroom kiddo? I need to help Claire get cleaned up and it might take a while," he said, walking back into the room, setting the seat and wash cloths down near the bathroom door.

"I think so. I'm pretty tired," Maisie admitted.

"Might as well get some sleep then. Don't forget this little guy," Claire smiled and reached out to the young girl holding her new bear. Maisie took the bear and gave it a squeeze before heading to the bed closest to the window. Owen then got up off the bed and helped Claire up.

"Time to tuck you in," she said. Maisie climbed into bed and snuggled down under the covers. Owen was about to handle the tucking in portion when Claire gave him a small push and managed her way over to the young girl.

"I believe it's sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite, right?" The redhead smiled.

"Bed bugs would be an improvement," Maisie cracked her own joke.

"I would agree," Claire chuckled while Owen couldn't help but smirk. The redhead leaned over and gave Maisie a kiss on the forehead before hobbling back over to Owen. He scooped her up and took her into the bathroom. Then he fetched the seat and wash cloths. Walking back into the bathroom, he found Claire sitting on the edge of the bathtub, pulling her shirt off, exposing her bra, which was obviously not entirely dry.

"Getting started without me?" He asked.

"I'm getting cold and I don't think I need to be sick on top of having my leg injured," there was practical Claire. The pain medication was helping to clear her head though for most that would have not been the case.

"Well I have just one question – do you think that seat will hold our combined weight?" The intention in his question did not go unnoticed.

"Shall we find out?" Claire had a smirk of her own. Owen chuckled and set the seat down in the bathtub. He then started to fill the bottom of the tub with warm water so Claire could at least soak her feet. When he turned around, the bra was missing and the shorts were being moved down her legs. The things you do to me woman, was the last coherent thought he had for a while.

The next morning, the little group made their way down to breakfast before checking out of the hotel and hitting the road. Maisie looked out the window while Owen steered the vehicle onto the highway. They hadn't been driving for long when Claire heard a small gasp from the back seat. The redhead turned to see what was wrong and that's when she saw the Pteranodons. Grabbing Owen's shoulder, he looked at her and then looked in the same direction she was looking. It was the first dinosaurs they'd seen since the mansion. Owen heaved a sigh and stayed focused on the road. Suddenly the park's words popped into his head "Welcome to Jurassic World". They may have left the island but it seemed the island and her inhabitants were not done with them. The only thing left to do was to look forward as they drove toward San Francisco. Everyone was getting a new beginning and the question remained if they could coexist.

THE END