cerhadivision | Isla Sorna

Isla Sorna

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bluebetabitch

When you spend a long time building something with your own two hands, it becomes difficult to wrap your mind around the idea of the work being done. Owen grew up around that kind of mindset, and knows very well how it feels to be in the same grip. But he doesn't mind. That's the thing about having a family: it expands, and the world around it needs to expand with it. Little by little, the house came up around them, and they settled into it, and he's never really stopped working this little world of his over like an ever-evolving project that he loves with his whole heart.

They're settled here. Officially. No one can deny it, and even though Owen still has dreams sometimes about InGen -- or anyone -- hunting them down to rip the girls, or even the boys, out of his hands, those fears evaporate every morning. The girls get along as well as any sisters do, and even the squabbling has died down in recent months; the boys have adapted beautifully, and although Chi and Psi still exhibit behavior that looks odd alongside the girls from time to time, they no longer struggle to meet expectations that were completely alien to them for most of their lives.

And then there's Blue and Omega.

The difference in Blue between her youth on Isla Nublar, and the young womanhood that quite clearly blossomed in the Santa Lucia Mountains of central California, is not only noticeable, but striking. Always the one he could rely on over the others, Blue has managed to develop into a creature that is both an extension of his right arm and yet still a highly independent person who no longer looks to him quite so often for cues; she still values her space and her privacy, but those withdrawals from the pack just to brood and sulk have all but disappeared. And while Blue's temper will always strike fear into the hearts of her siblings -- adopted or otherwise -- she's learned to balance it with patience, a trait that would always thwart her more than any other. Until now. Owen always wanted Blue to learn that balance between animal instinct and human rationality, and he knew she'd get there in her own way sooner or later. Now, it seems she has, and it's a beautiful thing to see.

Then, as if her own transformation wasn't enough, she'd somehow managed to turn her mate into an entirely different person.

If Blue's maturation is impressive, Omega's has been nothing short of miraculous. All right... Owen is a professional behaviorist; he knows there's no such thing as miracles, only hard work and dedication. Only this time it wasn't his. It was Blue's time, effort, and uncharacteristic affection that turned a furious, hateful killing machine into something that could be now what he might have been then, before InGen had their way. Omega lives in the house now. He eats when they do. He joins the family in their gatherings, as long as Blue is with him, and although his temper is still zero to 60 when roused, these days it's much harder to set him off than it used to be, even if that wouldn't be saying much. He prefers his mate and solitude over anything else, but his violently aggressive tendencies have been all but curbed for the sake of keeping Blue happy.

For obvious reasons, Owen has kept a close eye on them both from day one, and even from the very beginning Omega has treated Blue like the center of the universe. Owen himself has salvaged his share of abused, wild animals -- it's literally part of the job -- but he knows without question that no one could have done this but her. And her success is absolutely indisputable.

Case in point: today, Omega's dislike for interacting with unfamiliar people had outweighed his desire to be with Blue as often as possible, and instead of throwing a tantrum he simply hadn't gone with her down the mountain.

For Barry, it was supplies; Echo wanted clothes; Blue was only interested in procuring necessary parts for her nearly-restored 1979 Pontiac Phoenix Firebird, a task built upon very specific requirements and one which she would never entrust to any of her siblings. The day is very nice for a sojourn into the city, considering the length of the drive: blue skies and a mild breeze, not quite so far into spring that the air is anything more than comfortably warm. Psi is helping Delta collect chili peppers and the new experimental plums. Chi fell asleep in the grass up the hill. Charlie is giving Owen a hand with replacing some worn poles along the stone steps leading down to the boys' den, when they hear the familiar sound of the Jeep rolling up the long hill that serves as their driveway.

Only, it sounds like it's coming up fast.

Owen and Charlie look at each other, and immediately drop what they're doing to meet the car just as Barry rolls up, screeching to a stop and diving out of the driver's side to rush around to the passenger door. He looks frantic. And he's helping Echo out of the car. She looks like she's about to pitch right off her feet.

"Owen!" Barry calls out urgently, eyes widening immediately as Owen rushes to them. "Owen!" He has to wrap an arm around Echo's back to keep her standing. And then, to Owen's surprise and dread, Barry yells again. "Omega!"

Owen doesn't actually know where Omega has been this whole time. But suddenly he's there next to him, clearly as alarmed at being summoned as Owen was to hear it, and Owen can practically feel the tension in the male raptor's body triple because they both realized the same thing: that Blue is not with them.

"They took her," Barry says, breathless, and the bottom falls out of Owen's stomach.

Echo tries to rouse herself, flopping a little, mumbling in groggy frustration as she tries to shake off whatever is wrong with her and help explain. But Barry keeps his hold on her and barrels right through it.

"It was InGen. They had an entire strike force, Owen, the streets are chaos now. They used non-lethals. Tranquilizers. Echo took a direct hit, but they left her behind. All of them were focused on Blue." He looks at both of them, Owen and then Omega, panicked and desperate. "They came for her."

The weather was gorgeous a minute ago. Now the entire world is ice. Owen's heart has stopped, his breath is gone. Delta and the boys come running up, but he barely notices them. Beside him is Omega, frozen; then suddenly the raptor whirls to him, eyes wide, and the fury -- the fear -- in them is apocalyptic.

Omega doesn't say a word, but Owen immediately finds his voice. "Go get her."

The male raptor is gone like a bolt of lightning. Owen turns and strides quickly to a hidden cache beneath the porch. He pulls out two assault rifles and a hell of a lot of ammo as Charlie shrieks behind him, "Why aren't we going with him?!"

"Because we're going to follow him." Owen tosses a rifle to Barry, and gestures sharply for everyone to get into the car, including the still-dizzy Echo. "After Isla Nublar, Omega found us in less than a week on nothing but Blue's scent and pure instinct. This time he knows where he's going. We'd only slow him down." The motor is still running. Almost before every door is shut, Owen jerks the Jeep into gear. His last words are almost a growl to himself. "With any luck, all we'll have to do is clean up."

The Jeep screeches in reverse, turns, and roars off down the mountain.

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Her last memories were full of sharp, jagged pain. Blue's eyelids fluttered, she tried to make a noise down in her throat, but nothing responded. She did manage to blink her eyes open just a little, enough to see in the dimness and realize that she had absolutely no idea where she was!

Her first reaction was, of course, panic. Everything around her smelled sterile, white, and sharp. She didn't feel shackled, however, but she was far too weak to simply surge up and out of here...wherever here was. Thwarted of her initial instinct, Blue simply breathed, in and out, calming breaths which, shockingly enough, brought her a very familiar scent and it was so much of a relief that it brought tears to her eyes.

Omega.

He was here. Somewhere. Nearby, she hoped. A curious warmth emanated from her left side, but she was still too frail to investigate it, and even turning her head was a chore. But he was here, he was close, and she needed him. Dimly she realized that Owen's familiar scent was also present, but faint, dim. Blue inhaled again, sorting out the smells: Omega, Owen, and...yes, Dr. Gwen, she also was or had been here, not long ago.

Blue relaxed; her family was close, she was hurting, but it was bearable, nothing like the inward turning knives she'd suffered...however long ago. She wasn't able to move very much just yet, but she finally managed a small mewl, a plaintive sound to anyone who might be close enough to hear.

Owen had wondered if Omega was suffering any adverse effects from all this, and in truth Omega wouldn't have been able to answer that question even if it was posed to him. Blue's safety, the danger she'd been in -- and still is -- has utterly wiped away everything else.

He let the medical team work around him without interference because they were doing what he couldn't. They couldn't make him move, but they could touch his mate, examine her with gentle hands and stick careful needles in her skin, putting fluids in her that were supposed to flush everything toxic out of her system. And he only believes that because Dr. Gwen told him so, and is supervising everything, and Blue's Alpha is always close by... except for that time when he asked about Hoskins, and disappeared.

Omega hopes that Hoskins died badly.

In any case, after Dr. Gwen had suggested that he sleep at Blue's side, he hasn't been able to do anything else. He did wake up from time to time, when medical staff came and went, just to be sure they were being careful, but after that it was lights out again, focused on his mate's heartbeat and the wonderful scent of her, finally beside him again. Even when he isn't awake, Omega is attuned to her completely. That's always been the case, ever since he first met her. So when Blue makes even that tiny little sound, his eyes open.

He lifts his head, immediately alert to the concern that Blue's pain is becoming intense again, only to find his mate stirring and clearly awake. Relief dizzies him in an instant, and he touches his head to hers, nuzzling her a little harder than he means to in lieu of pulling her fiercely into his arms. His voice is hoarse. "Blue."

Ah, there he was. All the tension melted away when she both felt and heard Omega beside her, the curious warmth identified. Her hand twitched, groping weakly and blindly for him, still unable to keep control over her limbs, but she was getting there.

She still felt dizzy, sick and weak, but nowhere near as acute as she had before she'd lost consciousness. Thoughts of InGen and Hoskins were nowhere close; she knew she was safe. Her mate was nearby, and her human parents, so she could rest easy.

Omega nuzzled her, a rough but welcome caress, and Blue tried to return it as best as she could, accomplishing only just a small nudge in return. She was so thirsty, her mouth and throat parched and dry, but had no way to ask for it. Perhaps later, when she had a bit more strength.

Blue finally managed to pull her arm up at the elbow, back of her hand thunking against Omega's shoulder and her fingers clumsily grasped at his shirt. Licking her lips, she forced her eyes to flutter open again, and tried. "...O...Omeg...a..." And heaved a deep breath, exhausted even with those simple efforts.

It's the first thing she's said since he found her, and it could have been a random type of bird or something completely ridiculous but it would still be the most beautiful thing he's heard in a week. But she doesn't sound good. Omega would take her snarling at him and slamming a door in his face over this breathless weakness, the way she can barely keep her eyes open to look at him.

"I'm here." He nuzzles her again, throat catching. "You're safe."

He catches her hand, and traps it between them when he finally does wrap both arms around her and clutch her tightly against him, trying through sheer willpower alone to pass some of his strength over to her, whatever she needs to claw her way out of this. Because he knows she can. InGen isn't strong enough to break her. (They never would have gotten the chance if he'd just been there in the first place.)

Even right now, Omega is good for nothing at first, because he's too busy trying to emphasize right-here-ness, the fact that he has her and he's not going anywhere now. He runs careful fingers through her hair, tucking her head beneath his chin; he'll fetch her water, and he'll summon Dr. Gwen, but for this very second even an earthquake wouldn't separate them.

Even though her body still throbbed like a sore tooth all over, it was nevertheless good to just rest, lying there beside her attentive mate. Omega's scent filled her nose, covering her in his tender affection, a thing he'd never even realized existed only a few short months ago.

Blue sighed, tilting her head closer beneath his, her instinctive nuzzle so light it was almost a whisper, and she did manage to close her fingers around his, nothing like her customary grip, but reciprocated, regardless.

She woke again when she heard the door open, eyes focused just enough to make out the familiar visage of Dr. Gwen and right behind her, Owen! Blue stifled a sob, for now she knew--she knew--she was going to be all right; her family had come for her; everything was right, at long last.

"Hey, Blue," she heard Dr. Gwen's voice speaking to her, her familiar smile drifting close, and a soft hand settled on her forehead, felt of her cheek. "Welcome back, sweetheart." Blue dropped her lashes to half-mast, basking in the doctor's maternal tenderness. She felt more than saw Omega at her other side, but Owen was right behind Dr. Gwen, and Blue's right hand twitched, trying to reach for him.

Dr. Gwen moved out of her sight and Owen took her place in Blue's vision, and for the second time since she'd been ripped away from her family, tears filled her eyes and one escaped to trail down her pale cheek. Blue's lip trembled, she swallowed thickly, trying to push the words out.

"...O-Owen...'m sor-sorry..."

She clutched for him, fighting against her body's lethargic pull.

They hadn't gotten much sleep, but it was good enough. And it was gonna have to last them a little longer, for that matter. Gwen and Owen are both used to this sort of erratic sleep schedule, for different reasons, but it's been a lot longer since Owen's had to deal with it. Especially like this. He's lucky as hell that Gwen is here, and that there are other people helping him to deal with this right now.

But all of his exhaustion evaporates, all of it, just disappears as if he never noticed it in the first place when he walks into Blue's room behind Gwen. God, that's the most beautiful thing in the world right now: Blue awake and looking at him, even if she's still a mess, barely moving under her own steam. It's a win he's gonna take; from this point on, he's damn certain her condition won't do anything but improve.

And then her eyes fill with tears, doing something to Owen's heart that's so much worse then any of the anger he's felt over the past week.

"Hey... hey..." He crouches down enough by her bedside that he can wrap her up in a tight hug, not quite pulling her out of Omega's grasp -- he's got Blue's left hand locked in his own -- but surrounding her just for a minute like she's just a little thing all over again. Owen's physical affection, though by no means absent, rarely extends this far with his girls. But if there's ever a time to break tradition, good lord, this is it.

"It's okay. Easy. You have nothing to be sorry about, Blue. Do you understand?"

Gwen stepped back to let Owen get close to Blue's bedside, her own heart breaking to see Blue's tears. But Owen was with her, holding her close and would soothe those raw fears as he always had, and Gwen had to turn away to hide her own tears, sliding unchecked down her cheeks.

Damn Ingen--and Hoskins!!--for this!

Wiping her face with her hand, Gwen looked up just as Debra came in the other door, emerging with a sheaf of papers; test results. She motioned Gwen over and handed her the top papers, looking grave.

Scanning the print, Gwen blinked. "She's stopped hemorrhaging. Oh, thank God." Debra nodded. "For the moment, anyway. But there are still some very weak spots in a couple other veins, so we can't discount the possibility that increased blood pressure won't rupture one."

Gwen grimaced. "Damnit. Well, we'll just have to be very careful from this point on, and I want to try giving her rivaroxaban--hopefully that will keep her blood pressure stabilized while she heals."

Debra blinked, nonplussed. "Gwen," the other doctor said seriously, "what...are they? Really? The blood tests--I've never seen anything like that, not ever."

Stifling a sigh, and wishing she didn't have to do it, but Debra was putting a lot out on a limb here, Gwen took a dee breath and recounted a swift summary of her work for the past eight or so years, leaving out the classified details, but making Debra understand that despite all the genetic tinkering, the girl in the hospital bed and the young man unwilling to be more than six inches away from here were, despite their appearances, very vulnerable victims of mankind's overwhelming hubris.

"...and to put it succinctly," she added, handing the papers back to Debra, "the two of them and the rest of their siblings are as important to me as if they were my own kids. So thank you, Deb, from the absolute depths of my heart. But would you give us a few minutes, please? Thanks."

After the other doctor departed again, the door closing behind her, Gwen stepped back over to Blue's bedside, resting a hand gently on Owen's shoulder. The brief squeeze said more than words that she needed to talk to him, outside.

Edited 2017-05-21 21:52 (UTC)

Blue doesn't say anything else, and neither does Owen, but he holds her and rubs her back without feeling any urgent need to pull away. Omega doesn't interfere or speak, his palpable tension to be expected, but none of them are panicking anymore. They can't quite relax, but they can breathe a little easier. That's huge.

Only when Gwen touches him does he look up, and finally draw away, letting Blue carefully out of his embrace to settle back against the pillows and her mate. Omega immediately curls around her again.

"We're gonna be right outside. Okay?" He exchanges a glance with Omega; Blue might not be able to call if she needs something, but her mate can and should. Then Owen follows Gwen from the hospital room and closes the door carefully behind him.

"How are we looking?"

"Well, the internal bleeding has all but stopped," Gwen reported with a brief, relieved smile. "But Debra did notice a few other weaknesses in a few of her vein walls, so we'll have to be careful with her blood pressure. I'm going to put her on a blood thinner, just for the duration, which..." she paused, relief sobering into seriousness, "...which will make surgery--if she opts for it--a chancy thing, Owen."

Gwen ran a hand through her lopsided ponytail, but forged on. "Her vitals are very good. Her heartbeat's regular, her pulse sounds good, and she's oxygenated back to normal. I doubt she'll be able to eat much yet, so I'll keep her on the protein IV; her system's going to need all the nourishment it can get, to keep healing itself."

She glanced back at the door, then leaned against the wall beside it, crossing her arms tiredly. "Time, that's the crucial thing here. They've been engineered with accelerated healing, but the metabolic cost is necessarily exponential. So if we're going to remove the fetus, we're going to have to move fast. As in, tomorrow morning, at the latest. Because Owen, as long as it's still growing inside her, it's hampering her ability to heal herself."

Gwen stared at him seriously. "The question is, do you believe her rational to make such a decision right now? And it'll have to be now, the medications she'll have to receive in order for surgery will take at least eight hours to be effective."

So. Good news, and... uncertain news. Owen purses his lips as he listens, because here they are back at the biggest issue they're still facing, and it's not one that's provided any new or easier answers since the last time it came up. Arms folding again, Owen looks down at the floor between them instead of back at the door with the raptors beyond it, as if doing so might alert them to the conversation taking place outside.

This has got to be as contained a situation as they can possibly make it.

"Listen," he says eventually, lifting a frown back to Gwen. "You know what my choice would be. Blue deserves the chance to make one herself, even if this is the only one we get. But if she starts getting worked up or doesn't know what to do, you tell her what I said, okay?"

Owen pauses to take an unsteady breath, and run a hand over his face. He can't get Blue's tears out of his mind. "And, please... make sure she knows that I'll support her no matter what she decides."

"All right." Gwen nodded, knowing none of them were quite out of the woods yet. Least of all Blue. "I'll try and have Omega give us a little alone time. If you can, try and get him to at least eat something. A long shot, I know, but he's got to be starving." A small kiss to Owen's cheek and Gwen slipped back into the room, closing the door gently behind her.

Omega was, again, curled up in the bed with his mate, Gwen smiled to see. She hated having to separate them, for any reason, but this was Blue's choice and only Blue's. So she went around to the other side and took the beta hybrid's thin hand.

"Hey, honey, it's me, it's Gwen." Checking her vitals, smoothing dark hair away from her forehead, Gwen smiled down at her patient. "I'm so glad you're back with us, sweetheart." She saw Blue's eyelashes flutter and those still-fuzzy eyes trying to focus on her, a good sign.

"I know, baby, I know it hurts, but we're going to have you up and around again very soon, okay?" A bare glance at Omega, and then Gwen said, "But right now, I need to talk about some things with you, just me and you, if that's all right?" Gwen felt more than saw Omega tense; she knew he'd bristle at the idea of being away from his mate for any reason.

"Blue," Gwen said to her clearly, urging her to focus again. "It's important, honey. Owen's right outside, no one's going to leave you alone again, all right? The boys will be right outside of that door, and after you and I talk, everyone can come right back in, okay?"

Gwen watched her struggle with it, trying to understand. She sent up a silent prayer that Blue would, because the time was now. They couldn't afford to wait any longer. She felt the hand in hers tighten, gripping her fingers firmly, and Gwen hid a sigh of relief--she was definitely getting stronger.

Then, finally, Blue emitted a low purring trill, turning her head toward Omega and nudging her head against his. Gwen watched as Blue deliberately released her fingers from his, but gave another, more significant purring vocalization, her eyes meeting his then shifting towards the door.

Omega is being extremely careful to handle Blue with care, but his fingers flex around hers as if he has to stop them from going tight. His eyes narrow at the doctor, because he is growing extremely tired of being shoved sideways while his mate still needs him, and if they're only going to talk then he can't imagine why he's not allowed to stay with Blue for it--

But then his mate turns to him, and in no words at all encourages him to go. Omega frowns at her, wanting to argue, but if this is what she wants, then... she's going to get her way. Even if he does not like it. Briefly closing his eyes for one more firm nuzzle against the side of her head, Omega finally slides off the bed, glaring at Gwen just once before he leaves them alone in the room.

Owen is outside waiting for him, pleased to see that there wasn't any fuss about it even though Omega clearly dragged a thundercloud out with him. Immediately the male hybrid sets to prowling outside the door, restless even though Owen can't imagine he's not running on the barest fumes by now. Protective dozing alongside his mate only counts for so much.

"Omega," he says. The raptor ignores him. This is familiar, and not in a good way; all of Omega's admirable progress won't count for shit if he's under too much stress for long. "Omega, she's not doing anything to her. When was the last time you ate something?"

"It doesn't matter," the raptor growls at him, still pacing.

"Yes it does. We already have one hybrid in the hospital, we don't need another one landing himself there for being stubborn. Come on, the cafe is right down the hall, let's find you something to eat."

"No."

Owen sighs and tries not to rub his head. He would just go himself and bring something back and try to work from there, but honestly he's reluctant to leave Omega here alone, just in case the male hybrid snaps and just barges his way back in. Damn it. Well, if he can flag down a nurse or something and ask her very politely to bring them something that used to moo, that's what he'll have to work with for now.

Edited 2017-05-22 00:14 (UTC)

Debra had been kind enough to bring Owen a large sack of hamburgers, two double stacked and dressed with everything and two orders of crispy french fries, and five plain, with meat and bread only. As well as as two liter bottles of water, already cold.

"Gwen said you guys were probably hungry," she told him, handing over the bag with a tentative smile. "Don't worry, it's on the house. If you need anything else, just let me know." She appeared as if she wanted to say more, but Omega paced close by just then and Debra hurriedly excused herself, telling Owen that Gwen should be back out in a few minutes.

In fact, it was more than hour, with the sun well over the eastern horizon but not yet above the mountains, when Dr. Carruthers emerged from Blue's room, pulling it behind her and looking haggard. She wasn't surprised in the least when Omega zeroed right to attention and she moved aside before he bowled her right over, but she closed the door behind him, coming over to Owen and dropping right down across his lap, tiredly resting her head on his shoulder.

She just...needed a minute, to collect her emotions and get her frazzled thoughts in order. And Owen's arms were always the best place to do that, she'd discovered. Her sniffles she hid in his neck, endeavoring to keep her professional demeanor regardless of the circumstance. Gwen could have remained there for the rest of the week or so, but it actually wasn't too long before she lifted her head and gazed at the raptor's alpha with tired, sad eyes.

"We're going to do surgery," was all she said, unable to help biting at her lip, trying to still its trembling.

Edited 2017-05-22 01:17 (UTC)

The fact that Gwen says nothing to Omega is telling. Not that the raptor gave her much chance, but Gwen has been able to show a firmer hand from time to time when necessary, and might have caught him for a quick warning if she felt the need. But she doesn't. Omega immediately disappears as the door closes behind her, and Owen's posture opens up to accept the doctor in it.

He puts his arms around her as she leans into him, and says nothing while she composes herself; he just rubs her arm and keeps her tucked against his shoulder. And when she finally lifts her head again, the answer she gives him is the one he was expecting. Yet somehow that doesn't stop him from sinking into his stomach like a stone, leaden and cold, no relief at all. Owen nods, and pulls her back again, leaving a kiss in her hair.

"Okay."

Dr. Carruthers and Dr. Whittington emerged from the O.R. after a five hour surgery, both ladies looking tired. And for good reason. Customarily, a procedure such as this one involved at least ten to fifteen people, but Gwen and Debra had been completely on their own.

All of Gwen's expertise with genetic hybrids had been called into play, and Debra had been unable to assist very much in keeping Blue's vitals under strict control. But, professionals as both women were, the beta raptor had done just fine on the operating table, her heartbeat solid and her breathing remained regular.

After stabilizing their patient in her recovery ward, Gwen urged Debra to change out of her scrubs and take a two or three hour break, get some food and a nap, since Blue would undoubtedly sleep through the night. She herself had spent the day in her office, sketching out the procedure one step at the time. A short nap and a pre-op exam later had seen Gwen taking Blue into surgery right about sunset, and now the clock in the hallway read just after one am.

Still in her greens, she came around the corner where Owen and Omega were still waiting, the latter pacing just as forcefully as he had been five hours ago. Owen simply looked...tired. To both of them, Gwen reported, "All's well. She'll probably sleep through the night, but she's out of the woods now, thank God." Looking at Omega, she cautioned, "Be sure not to jostle her. Not even by accident."

Not that she believed he would, but the surgical incision was...tender. She'd only given the male hybrid the barest description of the surgery, informing that InGen's tranquilizers had damaged some things inside Blue and the procedure was necessary to repair them. Which wasn't entirely a fabrication, in a certain light.

Omega evaporates to rejoin Blue as soon as Gwen lets him, without a word; Owen has never seen the male raptor so tense without it resulting in a blowup of epic proportions. It stands to reason that Omega would be extremely on edge over Blue undergoing another medical procedure, at the hands of anyone in the sterile gear always worn by doctors -- and, occasionally, InGen technicians. More than once, he was afraid he'd have to stop Omega from actually trying to go in there, but each time Omega seemed to catch himself and pull sharply back, clearly struggling. Owen can't quite shake the notion that it's still only a matter of time before something breaks, but as long as Blue wakes up before then, all might be well.

Relatively speaking.

He stood up when Gwen came in and approaches her now, brow furrowing over how tired she looks. He'd been fretting in the waiting room the entire time, but... Owen has a hell of a lot of faith in Gwen. She's never failed to come through for him before, so why would this be any different? At this point, he's ready to trust that Blue is going to be fine. The doctor has taken care of everything. Now it's time for her to take care of herself, and if she can't, then Owen will.

"What do we need to do now?"

Unsurprised by Omega's teleportation from the hallway into Blue's room, Gwen simply let him go, trusting him to let her sleep. Otherwise, she'd knock him on his butt herself--she might not have any MORO with her right now, but in his frazzled and exhausted state, a healthy dose of ketamine and rohypnol would probably do the trick.

Coming over to Owen, Gwen let herself lean on his shoulder for only a moment, then straightened and gave him a tired little smile. "We wait," she told him. "The surgery went fine, given the circumstances." Gwen had to chuckle, although there was just a bit of manic edge to her voice. "I just--hope I never have to go through that again, not ever. I was terrified the entire time." She shuddered, pushing the nerves aside and trying to unscramble her tired brain.

"But it's done. The fetus...died shortly after extraction, so I doubt very seriously it would have made it all the way to term." Her brow furrowed. "Granted, I can't say that would have happened if InGen hadn't dosed her with all of that crap, because apparently it didn't occur to any of their medtechs to check if MORO crosses the placental barrier. Which, for the record, it does."

Gwen shook her head. "But I don't believe there will be any lasting physical damage. Just the surgery scar, which will fade with time. She'll still be able to conceive, as far as I can tell, but her heats might be...odd, after this. I'll just have to keep a close eye on her for a while.

"As for the rest..." Gwen pressed fingers to her eyes, blinking them tiredly open again. "She's suffering from a lot of mental trauma too, Owen. When I told her, she broke down into tears again, even though I kept insisting that it wasn't her fault, she'd done nothing wrong. I couldn't even finish talking to her about it, all I could do was hold her while she cried." Tears shimmered again in Gwen's own dark eyes, remembering that difficult moment.

"I think her emotional recovery is going to be the hardest part," she continued, sniffling softly. "Nothing like this has ever happened to any hybrid ever, and even in humans, this sort of therapy is basically hit-and-miss. It's probably best to let Omega stay close to her--he doesn't have to worry about being objective. He just loves her, and that's really all she needs to know right now."

Owen almost asks what odd means as far as heat goes -- considering the household situation, it seems prudent to be aware -- but decides that he can put that side for right now.

In any case, although he is listening, he's also watching Gwen for all those telltale signs of how much the exhaustion is getting to her. It's a lot of information to process, and since she's the one who has spent all day and night compiling it, he's about to insist that she drop everything she's doing and curl up wherever is most comfortable just to get some sleep. Unfortunately, real sleep is a luxury that might not be coming to either one of them very soon, and the reasons why are exactly what she's talking about right now.

God damn InGen for this. He wonders if Omega could figure out a way to burn the whole corporation down.

"We'll figure out what she needs," he says quietly, "and get it for her, whatever it is. Omega will stick by her, but he's already pushing himself way over the line and the last thing we need is him taking it out on the rest of the house because Blue isn't there to calm him down." He rubs his face. What a weird priority of concern is in his head right now... it's like his brain only sometimes remembers that there are other factors at work here.

"Look... right now, what I really want to know is when we'll be able to get her home."

"Either when she starts eating on her own or I can find a supplier who will ship protein fluid IV's all the way out to Big Sur. That stuff is liquid gold, and just as difficult to find. But, until she's ready to eat food again, I need to keep her as close to the supply as possible."

Another thought ran across her haphazard brain, and Gwen's eyebrows went up as it computed. "If you want to move her out of here--and not before tomorrow--I mean, later on today, whatever day it is--we can always take her to my mother's place out in Claremont. It has an upstairs, which will suffice for a recovery ward, and we can get off our feet for a while and not have to worry about nosy interns peeking around every corner."

And Gwen knew it was a miracle they hadn't seen many of those, over the past two days.

"I can make a few calls too," he says, "if it helps. I might know somebody. I don't want to rush her and I don't want to hamper her recovery. But being in familiar surroundings is going to be helpful to her."

That is Owen's professional opinion, in fact. There were very few issues back while Blue was growing up that didn't eventually sort themselves out after she'd been able to get home and have some peace and quiet. And something to eat. Things were so much simpler back then.

He arches an eyebrow at her in return, and... hesitates. "Your mother's place?" He frowns, looking toward Blue's room again and then back at her. "Is that a good idea?"

"It's an option," Gwen shrugged. "My mother knows what I worked on and with in Costa Rica, so she won't be surprised. And her house is in a very quiet neighborhood, mostly retirees who tend to keep to themselves or travel a lot."

She ran hands through her disheveled hair and swirled it back into a messy ponytail. "Unless we want to keep her here, that's the only other option I have, Owen. I'm...hesitant to take her back up to our house, simply because I don't have the equipment if she relapses. If she starts hemorrhaging again, we need to be able to get her to a hospital--or here, preferably--within the hour."

Gwen looked up at him, serious. "If you absolutely want to go back up north, then we will. But I can't guarantee much, just now."

Damn it. Those are all extremely good points, obviously, while Owen is reluctant as hell to involve an outsider in all of this for several reasons. Unfortunately, none of those reasons outweigh the absolute necessity of keeping Blue as close as possible to the facilities she'll need in case of an emergency. Their little home in the mountains is miles away from any kind of civilization. Great for domestic peace, not ideal for life-or-death situations.

Owen sighs heavily. "No, you're right, and I get it. But... look, I just want to make sure that your mother can handle what we're bringing her way. That's not any kind of criticism against your mother, by the way -- but these are our least sociable raptors. She can't go near Blue or Omega might attack her."

He holds up his hands. "But I trust your judgment, Gwen, as long as you're sure about this."

She pressed the heels of her hands against her closed eyes, trying to think coherently. And it was really a chore. "I know, you're right, I know. I just...don't know what else to do, Owen." And rare it was that Dr. Gwen would ever admit to not knowing what to do.

"I'll call her here in a minute, once the sun's up, at least." A small snort. "I know she won't mind, but you're still right--it's going to be touch and go here, at least while Blue's still hovering on the edge of the woods. I'll--talk with Omega, too, and let him know what's going on. They can stay in my brother's old room; it has a queen-sized bed and is upstairs at the back of the house. Which is as private as it's going to get, at least while we're here in the city."

Gwen swayed slightly, blinking and catching herself before she toppled over on her nose. "Just...let me take a few minutes, get some coffee or something, then we'll figure something out. I have to clean up our mess back in the O.R., too, destroy all the evidence and clear the monitoring devices, delete the test results from the computers and everything.."

The more he listens to this, the deeper his frown becomes, and it's not just because of his reluctance to involve Gwen's mother in hybrid raptor complications. Gwen is starting to buckle under all this strain, and that is not an easy thing; the woman is practically unstoppable when she has a job to do.

Even a hot second after she tilts the slightest bit, Owen catches her by the arm with that concern clear on his face.

"Gwen. Hey." He makes sure that her eyes are focused on him, "What part of that can I do? Let me handle Omega, let me get you that coffee, and if I need to start aggressively hitting the delete button or something, I can do that too. You need to take a break now. Better than coffee, you need to get some sleep."

Sleep, what a wonderful idea. But she didn't have time for that now, she had work to do. There was still so much left to take care of... Gwen blinked up at Owen, forcing her eyes to focus on his face. "...all right, okay." She gave in just enough to cuddle into his arms for a minute, sighing in soft contentment at the covert strength of the man.

Leaning back to look up at him, a touch less bleary than before, she plotted out a brief plan of action. "Let me go check on Blue and Omega, then you and I will take another nap in my office--I have a couch--and I'll text Debra and ask her to start covering our tracks."

Then she frowned a little. "But before all of that, we need to destroy the fetus and all of its remaining tissue. If you will do that while I check on the kids, that'd be wonderful. There's an incinerator unit not far from the Operating Room--just follow the arrows that lead to the morgue. It's an automated assembly, my pass key will get you in." She plucked it off her blouse, under her surgical smock.

"The chamber is right inside the door, you can't miss it. Open the hatch, put the entire tube inside, pressurize it closed, and press the red button. You'll hear a loud whoosh and see a flash of fire through the glass, and that's it." Gwen squinted up at him. "Think ya can handle that?"

She knew he could, of course, but a little teasing sometimes helped to stave off absolute exhaustion.

Edited 2017-05-22 23:10 (UTC)

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