Welcome to Jurassic World

Chapter 46

(A/N: It's my birthday so please enjoy this gift of another chapter. Hope you enjoy. XxD)

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Owen had driven as Anya had slept – it was his turn to drive anyway – her hand in his as his thumb ran across the tattoo on her finger. At least until he'd gently shaken her awake as they'd pulled up at their little snow-covered cabin.

It was a little different from the cabin on the lake that they'd originally planned for, but they were happy. It was enough for the three of them.

Four at least, when Anya had woken to see not just Maisie but Claire waiting for them too.

"Anya!" Maisie grinned as she came to hug her, Owen grabbing their bags from the backseat as she wrapped Maisie in a hug.

"Hi, sweetie," she smiled back. "Gods, stop growing! Or you'll be taller than me soon."

"And better looking," Maisie fired back as Anya narrowed her eyes.

"Impossible."

"I disagree," Maisie smirked before Anya brought her in for another hug.

"I can get in on that action?" Owen asked as he dropped their bags and he and Maisie busted out their handshake. "Hey kid, sorry we're late," he said as she hugged him.

"Ok, how is it that you reek of horses and Anya doesn't?" she questioned as she pulled away, waving her hand in front of her nose.

"Oh, another one of his superpowers. Since the day I met him, he's always reeked of something and usually that something is never good," Anya answered, and Owen glared at her as he jerked her to him by her waist.

"And yet, you still married me, so clearly, you like the smell," he retorted as she looked up at him, one hand covering his.

"No, I think I like the sex," she said with a faux-puzzled expression on her face as Owen pecked her lips and Maisie turned away in disgust.

"Ok, I'm going to go and make dinner," she announced as she headed inside, and the redhead finally made her way over to them.

"Hi Claire," Anya smiled as she hugged the woman.

"Hi. Hey, Owen," she greeted as she pulled him in for a brief hug too.

"Hey. Everything ok?" he asked as he gestured to the way Maisie left with his head.

"She went into town again," Claire explained with a sigh and Owen sighed as he shook his head while Anya only grimaced in anticipation.

"This kid. Did you talk to her?" Owen continued questioning.

"I tried. Didn't get very far."

"I'll talk to her," Owen volunteered as his wife turned to him.

"And when that fails, I will talk to her," she said as she took her bag from him and proceeded to head inside.

"Rani, please. If you just tell her to stay out of town then –"

"Owen, we've had this debate and you know why I'm not going to do that. And I don't want to fight with you so stop trying to make me."

And with that, she finished her trek up the stairs and into the cabin.

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They'd finished up dinner and while Owen was teaching Maisie how to whittle outside by the fire, Anya was watching as she did the dishes and Claire approached the two whilst wrapped in a blanket.

Clearly, whatever was said, Maisie didn't agree with as she threw down the piece of wood she was carving and stormed towards her room.

Anya was dressed in jeans, socks and a shirt with Owen's sweater on top, her hair in a braid down her back as she dried up her hands.

Maisie was sitting at her vanity table that was scattered with comic books and the newest trinket Anya had brought back – a boot spur with Sierra Nevada engraved on it – as she flipped through a photo album of Charlotte Lockwood.

The married woman leaned on the doorframe before she knocked on it.

"Is 14 too old for me to still do your hair?" she asked, and Maisie gave her a small smile.

"No. The last one fell out too much, so I just undid it."

Anya angled her head as she smiled before walking into the room.

"Then I guess this braid will have to not fall out," she said as she picked up Maisie's hairbrush and began gently working the knots from her hair.

One.

Two.

Three pages she'd flipped in the photo album as Anya started the braid before Maisie finally spoke.

"Anya, can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

Maisie looked up at her in the reflection in the mirror.

"Why don't you tell me not to go into town like Owen and Claire do?"

Anya exhaled slowly as she continued the half-up fishtail braid she was doing.

"You know, believe it or not, but there was a time when my father tried to control where I would go and who I would see," she answered, and Maisie's eyes widened.

"But you always made Simon sound so good?"

"Oh, he was," she said with a nostalgic smile. It had been almost a decade since his passing, and she had finally healed enough to be able to talk about her father without bursting into tears. Flying, however, was an entirely different matter. "Even when he was trying to control me, I eventually learned that it was because he was trying to protect me. And Papa eventually learned that he couldn't control me. Rather, he could let me go out and make my own decisions and be there for me in the event that one of them went wrong."

Anya tied off the braid as she met Maisie's eyes in the mirror.

"Sweetie, I know your situation is vastly different to mine but just know that we're not trying to keep you here to rob you of your freedom. We're just trying to keep you safe. And in the event one of your decisions to go into town does go wrong, just know that we will always come after you."

Maisie gave her a grateful smile in the mirror.

"Thank you," she muttered.

"Anytime, kid," she replied as she leaned down to kiss Maisie's head. "How about I pop some popcorn for dessert huh?"

"Buttered?" Maisie asked hopeful and Anya gave her a dumbfounded look.

"Is there any other way?"

And Anya felt a little better as she left with the sound of Maisie's laugh in her wake.