A/N: Hey guys! New Jurassic World Clawen fic for you all! This one is set before the events of the first movie (I'm going to say about 2 years-ish before) and therefore is going to be slightly AU.

I had originally hoped to get this finished and posted before I went to the midnight showing of JWFK here in the UK (it is awesome beyond words, don't be put off by the mixed reviews people!) but I just couldn't quite end the one shot in the way I wanted or was happy to. So now, two weeks later, I've decided to split it up and extend it out into a multi-chapter fic which will probably end up being around 10ish chapters long.

I'm going on holiday for 2 weeks so unfortunately updates will be quite slow, but I'll do my best to get it out as fast as possible! Loved the response I got for 'Falling Apart Together' and I hope you all enjoy this one too! Please please review, I appreciate each and every one and do always try to take feedback on board with my writing! x

Chapter 1

Claire couldn't sleep.

This wasn't uncommon. In fact she spent most nights unable to drift off; tossing and turning restlessly. Her sister always said it was because she worked too hard, too much. That she lacked the ability to switch off. Or she would say it was because of the Central American climate: too hot, too humid for a girl from Wisconsin. That she should just give it up and come home.

The truth was that Claire had always had this problem. Long before she ever accepted a job at Jurassic World. Over the years, she tried anything and everything to resolve the problem and, in the absence of a solution, she became highly functioning on only a few hours sleep.

For the first month after she moved to the island, her insomnia was worse than ever. She would stay up, night after night, making her way through endless budgeting spreadsheets and vacation request emails; anything that would eventually cause her to drift off as her mind numbed.

One night though, even the endless slog of emails wasn't having an effect. On a whim she slipped her silk robe over her set of short pyjamas, shoved some flip flops on her feet, grabbed her security badge and set about exploring the park.

She had been around the park before, of course. As part of her mandatory induction, Masrani had made her do every guided tour available, cover every square inch of the park open to the guests. It was so she understood the experience, the wonder. So she had pulled on a baseball cap and the most casual outfit she had brought with her and spent the week milling around the park amongst the hoards of tourists.

It hadn't quite had the effect Masrani was after. She resented every second of those 7 days and, at the end of it, she found herself contemplating whether she made a terrible mistake in accepting the job. She had been sweaty and irritable, annoyed by the endless crowds and what seemed like hours of waiting to catch only the slightest glimpse of creatures (which, if she was being honest, she had little to no interest in to start with) over the heads of parents lifting their screaming children to see.

In contrast, she loved her nighttime exploration. The air was cooler; often a soft breeze would whip through Main Street, offering a reprieve from the unbearable humidity. There were no tourists or park employees anywhere. The times she went meant even the restaurants and bars were closed and empty. The only people she ever bumped into were the park's security guards, who she greeted with a nod that they returned, and, if she ever saw them during the day, they never mentioned her nighttime antics.

The thing she loved most was the quiet. The absence of all the noise that made the park so unappealing to her during the day. At night she could hear the crickets in the grass, the roars and huffs of the various dinosaurs, even the electrical hum of the floodlights.

Claire felt like a ghost (white silk robe and all). She would silently cover all the streets, using her security card to slip into every viewing area, lingering in the ones she liked the best, the dinosaurs (she even had to admit) she found charming in their own way.

After 2 months spending a few hours exploring every night, she had covered every inch of the park. She settled into somewhat of a routine. Every night she would finish her room service and move to the desk in her hotel suite, huddling over her work laptop until 12am. The bars shut at 11pm, but, by midnight, even the stragglers had made their way off the street and back to their rooms. She then pulled on her robe and flip flops and slipped from the room.

Claire would cut through the innovation centre, walking down the huge staircase onto Main Street. Her shoes would echo loudly as she walked past the darkened shop fronts and restaurants. At the corner, she would nod to Larry (she looked up his name in the employee database after walking past him every night for 2 weeks running) as she took a sharp left. Her gaze would linger on the surface of the water of the Mosasaur tank as she walked alongside it, imagining the creature circling below the surface, the ripples on the surface almost ominous in the floodlights, reminding her of a Jaws movie.

Once she past the tank, she would do another sharp right, climb some stairs, scan her badge and slip into the viewing 'log' in the T-Rex paddock. After sampling hours spent in other dinosaur's viewing areas, not wanting to fall into the trap of 'bigger is better', she had still come to the conclusion that the Rex was her favourite. There was something majestic in the way she would move around her paddock, like she knew she was the biggest, the oldest, the Queen of the park. Claire found it oddly enthralling watching her, her huge tail swinging from side to side as she prowled the enclosure, occasionally coming up to the glass and peering in. She had got into the habit of holding her breath whenever the dinosaur did this, knowing if she stayed exactly still the T-Rex couldn't see her.

So that was how she spent her early hours every morning: her back against the wall and knees up under her chin, eyes transfixed on the window. As soon as the clock turned 3, she would stand up and head out of the room with one final glance of the dinosaur over her shoulder. Then she would retrace her steps to her suite, shutoff the lights and attempt to catch a few hours sleep before she was up to do it all again.

She followed this routine every night for 3 weeks when something changed.

Claire still ordered her usual room service, then worked until slipping out her room at midnight. She followed the same path as usual, pausing to briefly nod at Larry on the way past, feeling the usual shiver in her spine as she gazed into the murky water to where the Mosasaur was lurking. In fact every thing remained exactly the same until she climbed the steps to the T-Rex viewing room and opened the door.

Someone was already there.

Claire hadn't seen the man who was sat in front of the glass before.

She knew he must work here; it was the only way he would have access to the paddock this late at night. She did, however, pride herself at having memorised every employee's face; one of the many things she had done late at night in her first month here. That only meant one thing: he was new.

The door behind her shut with a thud and the man spun round, his gaze falling on her for the first time. All of a sudden she felt self conscious of what she was wearing: the skimpy dressing gown she had been wandering around the island in for weeks suddenly felt revealing and she tightened it further around herself nervously as her gaze ran over him.

One of the first thing she noticed about him was that he was ridiculously attractive; handsome in a rugged caveman sort of way, all broad shoulders, muscly arms and stubble across his face. The second thing she noticed was the smirk that crossed his face as her cheeks flushed a bright red at her first thought. She felt a bubble of annoyance at the cocky expression, partly due to the fact that the person it belonged to was invading her space.

"Hey." He said simply, and she felt a shiver run down her spine as the rumble of his voice filled the room. "Didn't think anyone came here this time of night."

"They don't." She replied bluntly, her back still pressed firmly against the door. At his confused frown, she gave a small shrug, her arms crossed firmly over her chest. "I'm the only one."

He gave a small nod, his attention drawn away by the Rex, who'd come to the glass, pressing her eye against it. She took a deep breath and held it, following her usual ritual as she stood frozen, staring back her. The dinosaur moved on after a moment, tail swinging behind her, knocking through the vegetation.

"She do that often?" The voice interrupted and startled her, having almost forgot the man's presence. She must have looked puzzled as he continued, nodding his head towards the enclosure. "Come up to the glass like that?"

"Oh." She replied uselessly. "Once or twice a night."

His attention had slipped back to the T-Rex as he contemplated her words and she found herself studying him. The whole point she explored the park at night was to be alone, away from all the people. The T-Rex viewing log had quickly become her sanctuary; she found herself feeling soothed as soon as she entered and she didn't like the invasion of her space. She was going to have to find somewhere else to settle at night.

She supposed she could watch the Pachys. They weren't her favourites; she found the way they constantly fought, even in the early hours of the morning, rather irritating. Still, she didn't have much choice unless she headed further out. Only the petting zoo (whose inhabitants actually seemed to sleep at night) or the Mosasaur (who inexplicably freaked her out, something she doubted she needed before trying to sleep).

"I best go." She had opened her mouth and the words fell out rushed and loud, echoing around the room. He shot her an amused look and she realised he must have been talking to her, before she had rudely interrupted, and she felt the colour return to her cheeks.

"Don't leave on my account. Not if you come here every night." He waved his hand indicating that she should sit next to him, and she glanced at the space warily. "Come on, I don't bite."

She rolled her eyes at his playful smirk, finding him charming in spite of herself. She came over and tentatively sat next to him, hugging her knees to her chest as usual.

"I'm Owen." He held a hand out for her to shake and she took it, noticing how small her hands were compared to his.

"Claire." She responded, eyes travelling across his face waiting to see if he put two and two together and realised who she was. Most employees of the park knew her by sight and all of them knew her by name and reputation. She wondered how many of them would recognise her now: her curly hair, glasses and silk robe were a far cry from the business suits, heels and pin straight hair she usually wore.

Luckily, he just squeezed her fingers lightly, his face showing no signs of recognition. "Lovely to meet you Claire." He dropped her hand and grinned at her, which she found herself returning automatically. "You come here every night?" She nodded the affirmative and his face lit up, reminding her of a kid at a theme park. "Can I ask you some questions?"

"Sure." She frowned at him, playing with the hem of her robe. "What about?"

"Rexie." He nodded his head towards the dinosaur who was now prowling in the far corner.

She let out a surprised laugh and he looked at her strangely. "Rexie?"

"What do you call her then?" He frowned.

"The T-Rex." She replied slowly, assuming it was obvious. He scoffed at that, shaking his head at her. "What? What's wrong with that?" She replied indignantly.

"You do realise these creatures are alive, right?"

"Of course." She replied pointedly. "And you do realise they aren't pets, right?"

Instead of being annoyed like she thought he would, he let out a low chuckle which she felt rumble through her. "Of course." He echoed.

"Why do you want to know about her?" She asked curiously, noticing the open notebook he had next to him.

"I'm taking a few shifts here with Rexie until my lot hatch." She smiled to herself at that. Of course he was a handler; based on his appearance and behaviour it was almost impossible to imagine him in another role. "Wanted to observe her behaviour before I worked with her."

"Oh." She said again, kicking herself at being unable to form a normal conversation. "Well, what do you want to know?"

He eagerly started asking questions and she surprised herself at how much she knew about the dinosaur and her behaviour. Clearly she'd picked up more on her night time visits than she'd first thought; her answers filling up pages of his notepad.

Her eyes drifted to the clock and she suddenly jumped to her feet, slipping her flip flops back on. He looked up alarmed at her and she tried to fight against the blush rising to her cheeks. "It's almost 3am."

"What happens if you stay up past 3?" He asked curiously, a lazy smile on his face. "You turn into a pumpkin?"

She couldn't fight her blush this time, especially as his eyes travelled to her red hair. "I just need to sleep." She responded stupidly.

Luckily he seemed to take pity on her, rising to his feet and offering his hand to her again, squeezing her fingers softly. "It was great to meet you Claire."

"You too, Owen." She replied honestly, smiling up at him. She was surprised to find the sentiment was true; she really had enjoyed her night spent talking to him.

"Will I be seeing you tomorrow night?"

"You're coming again?" She blurted out, wincing at herself as she realised how it sounded.

"If that's okay?" He sounded apprehensive for the first time that night, rubbing the back of his neck. "I can come another time. After 3?"

"No." She assured him quickly. "No, it's fine. I'll see you tomorrow Owen."

"See you tomorrow, Claire."

She headed back to her room, slipping into bed and falling asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.