"Father!" The sound of sliding feet and giggling came from down the hallway. Eric poked his head out of the doorway and saw his teenage daughter, Melody, heading towards him at full speed. He smiled brightly and stepped out into the hallway, catching her in his arms.

"Mel, I think you may be getting a tad old for this," he said as she choked the air out of him. Once she had been set back down, Melody grinned at her father.

"Sorry, I guess that saying good bye to you like that is kinda our thing, don't you think?" Eric laughed and nodded his head, rubbing the back of his neck

"I suppose. Where's your mother?" Melody shrugged, her thick, black bangs falling into her face. Eric laughed and played with her hair, causing Melody to go into a fit of laughter.

"Dad, cut it out!" Eric quickly ran into his room, threw on his boots, and re-entered the hallway. Upon his entrance, he saw that Melody had already sprinted down the hallway. She looked behind her, her laughter still filling the corridor, to see her father beginning to chase after her. He was catching up quick, his long strides helping him out.

Melody sped up,noticing her father was closing in rapidly. She turned a corner to fool Eric but in her turn, ended up running into her mother. They both fell to the floor with a loud crash.

"Melody, what on Earth are you doing, running about the house at full speed and not watching where you're going?" The queen picked herself up, offering her hand to Melody. "I swear, whenever we get ready to go back to Atlantica, you lose that head of yours."

The young princess sighed and accepted her mother's hand, pulling herself up. "Sorry mother," Melody mumbled. "See, I was going to say good bye to father and my bangs fell into my face and-."

Cut off by the hand of her mother, Melody's head fell to the ground.

"No need for an explanation, Melody," Ariel said, placing a reassuring hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Now go get the rest of your things and I'll meet you outside." Melody smiled at her mother's comforting grin and did as she was told. As for Ariel, she set out to find Eric.

He was looking into each and every room, hoping to find either his daughter or his wife in one of them. When he came out of the last door in the hallway, he found Ariel standing outside, staring straight at him. Her hair was a mess and her arms were crossed. If looks could kill, Eric would certainly be dead.

This can't be good, Eric thought as he gave Ariel a sheepish grin.

"Hi, honey." He approached her slowly, as if he were approaching a wild animal that could pounce at any moment.

Ariel began tapping her foot impatiently. The smile she was holding back was getting harder and harder to hide. Although playing with Eric's mind was not something that Ariel did on a regular basis, when she did do it, she liked to do it well.

Eric waved a hand in front of Ariel's face. "Ariel?" Ariel uncrossed her arms and placed her hands on her hips.

"Do you realize that your silly antics with your daughter could have easily harmed one or both of us?" she asked, her scarlet hair in her face.

Eric felt his face flush and he laughed quietly, thinking of something that could take Ariel's mind off of the situation. He made direct eye contact with her for the first time during their conversation and Ariel couldn't handle it. She burst into a giggle fest. The confused expression on Eric's face caused Ariel to laugh even harder.

"Oh, Eric, you should have seen the look on your face," she explained, wiping a tear from her eye once the hilarity had ended. Eric shook his head and chuckled a bit.

"Well, if I came out and was glaring at you like you were to me, what would you do?" Ariel shrugged her shoulders and smiled.

"I'm sorry." Eric showed that he forgave Ariel by pushing the hair that was in her face neatly behind her ear. Ariel's gaze fell to the floor and she blushed. Even after being married for nearly twenty years, she couldn't help but get nervous whenever Eric merely smiled at her.

Remembering the reason all of this had begun, Eric pulled Ariel into a tight embrace. "I'm going to miss you, Ariel," he whispered into her ear. She sighed into his chest, inhaling his usual smell of sea salt and the ocean. She loved that he smelled this way for it reminded her of her home. A home that she would be seeing very soon.

Ariel couldn't deny that she loved going back to Atlantica. Her father had finally loosened up a bit ever since his world had been ridden of Ursula and Morgana. It seemed so much safer for Melody to be down there now.

However, whenever she visited her home, she missed Eric terribly. She had become so accustomed to waking up with legs and seeing her handsome husband lying next to her. Her favorite memory of waking up next to him was the morning after their first night together, their honeymoon night.

She woke up to the feel of his arm around her waist, holding her tight and close to him. Having carefully maneuvered herself so she wouldn't wake him, she turned to face him. He had a slight smile on his face and the piece of hair that swooped along his forehead was hanging limply in his eyes. The sight of him sleeping so peacefully made her smile, and she knew it would be an image she would never forget.

"Ariel?" Eric said as he picked his head up off of hers and looked at her. "Everything alright?" Ariel nodded into his chest and slowly picked up her own head. Upon making eye contact with Eric, she smiled.

"I'm going to miss you too." Eric grinned at her and leaned in for a kiss. When their lips met, they both were reminded of the same exhilaration they had had when their lips met the first time. Ariel smiled within the kiss and Eric soon followed, deepening it just a little bit.

"Mom, hurry up! Grandfather is already outside and you know how impatient he can get!" Seeing her parents, Melody recoiled. "Uh, ew! Can't you guys do that somewhere where I won't catch you?" The couple broke apart and smiled at their daughter.

"Sorry sweetheart," Ariel said. "You all packed?" Melody nodded and picked up her bag, which contained only her shell collection and interchangeable necklaces. The golden locket from her grandfather was currently dangling around her neck.

"Meet you downstairs!" The sounds of Melody's footsteps were heard running down the stairs and Ariel turned back to Eric, quickly kissing him once more.

"I love you!" Ariel called up the stairs to Eric. He smiled back at her and waved.

Eric rushed over to the balcony of his room, the best view to watch his ladies dive off into the waves. He quickly saw King Triton, who smiled at his son-in-law and waved. Eric grinned and waved back, bowing a bit as well. Triton laughed and shook his head as his granddaughter jumped into his arms.

"Grandfather!" Eric heard Melody call, her voice making him laugh for some unknown reason. He loved seeing her so happy and it seemed that the sea was one of the few things that could bring her joy.

Ariel followed closely behind her and Eric suddenly realized he hadn't told her he loved her. He hadn't told Melody that either.

"Have fun you two!" he called, the wind carrying his voice. "I love you both!" They both looked up at him and he saw the same grin plastered on both of their faces.

Melody was the first to be changed. The king pointed his trident at his granddaughter and before, all their eyes, she was lifted into the air in a glowing golden light. A spiral wind circled her legs and once it had gone, a bright red tail was in its place. The spiraling wind soon moved up to Melody's torso and transformed her cream-colored tank top into a pair of blue shells.

The first time Melody had been given the shells she was merely thirteen years old. Ariel hadn't been very happy upon seeing them but soon noticed that, much to her displeasure, her daughter needed them. However, Melody was now eighteen years old and the family had grown accustomed to the shells taking their place.

Once the golden light faded, Melody blew her father a kiss and dove into the waves, resurfacing not much later to see her mother go through the same process as she just had. Unlike her daughter, Ariel returned to the water with her green tail and purple shells.

Before leaving, Eric waved once more to his beloved daughter and wife and bowed to his father-in-law. The three waved back and ducked into the ocean depths, disappearing to a place only merpeople and fish knew of.

And deep down, Eric could feel that tiny pang of jealousy that he always felt when he said his goodbyes.