AN: I've been playing with this idea in my head for a while now and I've finally decided to go ahead with it. Please let me know what you think! This is a short chapter just because I wanted to gauge the interest and test the waters (bad pun, sorry, not sorry).


"These are the last of them?" Siobhan looks at the four strange eggs in the large incubator as Marion drops off another box of supplements for when they hatch.

"The last we could save, yes. One was unfortunately lost to the sea."

Oh, Jonathan...

"Very well." Siobhan rakes a hand through her hair, glancing back at the small boat parked on the side of the island, "I'll take them."


They're hardly three weeks old when it happens. Exhausted beyond belief, Siobhan can no longer keep her eyes on the five babies and instead decides to take a (short) rest. Sarah, Helena, Alison, Cosima, and Elizabeth.

One egg led to a set of twins somehow... She couldn't explain it, yet, but she had every intention of finding out how it was even possible when Marion stops by again.

She'd stuck with three of the names her late husband had confessed to wanting if he ever had girls and named the other two Sarah and Alison simply because.. well, they were her children, too.

Even if her husband did give birth to them... which still something that confuses her to no end; but hey, equality means different things to different people, right? Either way, the lot of them had been running her ragged.

So when someone came into her house, Siobhan didn't wake up. Why would she? The only person that had ever known about their little island was Marion.

She does wake up, however, when all five begin wailing relentlessly.

The man she spots is standing over Sarah and Helena's joint-tank, holding one of them in his arms.

She wishes with every bone in her body that she had the energy to fight him and get her back into her tank where she'd be safe; but, she's unable to in her current condition.

She does, however, follow him out to the edge of the Island, fighting with every ounce of strength that she has until he smashes a rock over her head, leaving her unconscious for several hours on the beach.

The other four are safe and sound, hungry and disgruntled, but safe.

She calls Marion, desperately, and demands that the woman come out to check up on the four she has and help her find clues or any evidence she can find that might lead to who took Helena.

She won't stop searching; not until she finds her again.


Five Years Later - Toronto

"Alright, bags, books... what are we missing?" Siobhan looks between Alison, Beth, and Sarah.

"Cosima's still asleep," Alison and Beth speak up at the same moment.

Siobhan curses under her breath, kissing each of the girls' foreheads quickly, "Go outside and wait in the car, chickens. I'll be out shortly."

...

Siobhan flicks on the light to the girls' bedroom, spotting Cosima above Sarah's bunk, sitting up with her legs hanging over the railing, "Why aren't you ready, chicken?"

She already knows the answer.

"I can't get down," Cosima's all-but sniffling, attempting to press her weight against the small ladder once more only to fight a hiss at the pain that shoots through her leg.

"Alright... There's no need for tears." Siobhan soothes, helping her down once Cosima has her arms held out for her. Setting her down on Sarah's bed, she rubs her back patiently, "This is the third time this week. I think we should go ahead with Dr. Bowles' plan."

Cosima looks up at her with puppy-dog eyes, shaking her desperately, "N-no, please, I just need ta' get stronger."

"Which is exactly why you should go to California, chicken. You'll like it there," Siobhan watches as Cosima attempts to test her weight again on the floor, "They've got a great school by the hospital and we've already found a couple that can take you in during the school year."

"I don't wanna leave the others."

"You'll see them again soon, I promise." Ever since spraining her ankle, Cosima has been out for the count. It was bad enough it was painful for her daughters to walk; with the time Cosima had been bed-ridden by Marion's orders, Cosima's ability to endure the pain and walk steadily had already greatly decreased.

If they didn't intervene now, the outcome would definitely not be an easy go around for a siren who's spent almost the entirety of her life on land.


Twenty Years Later - California

Cosima winces, reaching forward to take another step in order to fight off the almost unbearable pains in her feet. At least when they were in the air, they didn't hurt at all.

This should be easier by now, but every step and attempt to put most of her weight on her feet still felt like the bottoms of her feet were being stabbed by red-hot pins and needles.

"You're improving."

Cosima stops, looking up at her 'doctor' with a breathless chuckle and a small smile, "I suck at this."

"Yes, but you're getting better," Marion smiles as she watches Cosima's arms shake from her grip on the forearm crutches, keeping a close eye on her balance, "Your mother will be proud to hear... perhaps you could call her?"

"Mom doesn't need to worry about me." Cosima grunts, cursing under her breath when her arms momentarily begin to threaten to give out.

"Easy for you to say." Marion swallows her amusement.

She's just like her mother.

"... All parents worry about their children, Cosima. It's a fact of life."

"All parents can shove-" Cosima curses when her arms buckle, fighting the urge to scream when the full weight of her body is on both of her feet.

Marion's quick to her side, taking a firm grip on her forearms, "Easy. Breathe through it," Listening for the inevitable shudder as Cosima violently bites down on her lip to keep herself from making a noise, she waits for the younger siren's eyes to be on her before continuing, "Do you want me to get you your chair?"

"... No." Cosima closes her eyes, doing her best to take in a full breath, "I want to walk over to it."

Marion smiles, relief settling in her shoulders as she eventually lets the younger siren go, "Very well. Try your best."

Just like her mother.


"Cosima, we're gonna be late!"

"Speaking of little brothers," Cosima groans, already backing the manual wheelchair up before turning around to the door, "I gotta' go, sis. I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah. Just stay away from the shore, Cos."

Cosima fights a small smile as she pulls her dreads into a makeshift bun, keeping the phone balanced between her shoulder and ear, "And when has a little water pollution ever stopped me?"


Delphine Cormier hates boats. No, scratch that, she detests boats with every cell in her body.

Of course, she knew the yacht was unavoidable since their... avant garde coworker always adamantly refuses to meet up anywhere else... like in a coffee shop or, who knows, maybe even the DYAD laboratory where they're supposed to be working together?

If only Ethan Duncan could get with the times.

It was cute, at first, but the entire thing was becoming vastly out of hand.

Ever since the fire he experienced in the lab at DYAD years before she even joined their company, Ethan Duncan hasn't set foot on land. Anything he needs is sent out to the luxury yacht and DYAD pays for it without little more than a moment's hesitation. Doctors, food, repairs, clothing, tech... anything and everything he needed was always sent over. She supposes it beats a lawsuit, but something tells her if any lawsuit were ever brought up against DYAD, whoever was 'wrongly accusing' them would mysteriously disappear.

She can only hope that she'll be one of the lucky few that retire with a pulse and enough money to live comfortably.

If not for her repulsive boss, she'd likely be dead by now.

At least he's not entirely bad...

"Ah, Delphine!" Ethan approaches her, pulling her out of her musings as she looks over the water, arms relaxed and resting on a safety railing, "It's been so long since you've come to visit. Tell me, how are your brothers, Cedric and..?"

"Albert." Delphine offers, doing her best to force a smile, "He and his wife are very happy, and Cedric is almost finished with college."

She doesn't hate him, after all.

She just hates his boat.

...

"You want to transfer to Toronto?" Marion's brows raise, "You do realize it will be significantly colder, right?"

And Lake Ontario may be polluted like San Francisco (or worse)-

"Yeah, I've already bought new coats for the trip." Cosima offers almost weakly.

Marion wasn't buying the 'Dude, I just broke up with my girlfriend' game, either.

"What makes you think this is a good idea?"

"I need a change of scenery.. look, I just need you to clear me for travel."

Marion sighs, leaning back in her chair as she looks down at her niece. The poor girl can hardly walk... "Have you thought this through? It might not be as accessible as San Francisco has been."

"If it's not, then I'll deal with it and if it gets that bad... I'll transfer back." Cosima shifts in her chair, "I just need something different right now."

Fighting the urge to rub her eyes, Marion sighs again, "Fine, but you will check in with me twice a week," She fights back her own amusement at Cosima's visible excitement, "-and you must keep me up-to-date with your vitals. The bracelet is mandatory once you're out there."


"How'd it go?" Scott watches as Cosima catches up with him, hands gracefully gliding over the wheels of her chair.

"We're set." Cosima flashes a smile up at him, canines briefly exposed.

It makes him almost shiver, forcing a recall of the last (and only) time he saw the fangs right next to them.

"Hey, you okay?" Stopping in front of him, Cosima cocks her head to the side curiously, "Need a check-up? B'cause the doc's right over there."

Scott feels his gut relax the second Cosima nods back towards the door she just came out of.

This is still his adopted older sister.

Not whatever she was when she was in the water.

"Yeah, I'm good... Drinks?"

"That bar on the shoreline, maybe?"

"You're not gonna hunt tonight, are you?" Scott asks almost timidly, shouldering his bag as they exit the hospital.

"Nah'," Cosima stops for a moment out of slight surprise, pushing it off as casually asking before continuing down the ramp, "I haven't ever actually..." Killed anyone. Otherwise, she'd probably be walking on land without a problem.

She almost feels a little hurt that he'd ask-

"I know," Scott interjects quickly, not wanting to be mistaken, "I just.. I don't know, people change. You never know."


"Ugh, I miss red..." Cosima's fighting an almost giddy smile as Scott hands over her drink.

"You're a bit of a lush... aren't you?"

She almost wants to tease that it's genetic.

But he wouldn't understand, as she hasn't told him very much about her sisters (as adults).

"Hey, what do you think about going to Bobby's bar once we-" Cosima squints, stopping dead in her train of thought when she catches sight of a nearby yacht. She moves forward, almost tempted to stand when she's barely able to make out the sound of another siren before she hears the unmistakable sound that follows, "Holy shit!"

Someone's screaming as they fall into the water.

Her water.

Nobody hunts in San Francisco without her knowing about it.

Not good.

She doesn't want to end up in some fucking aquarium if some idiot makes the humans suspicious of them (again).

"Cosima?" Scott watches in confusion as Cosima stands up, taking off the oversized, light cardigan that she's been wearing all day.

"Spidey sense is tingling! Gotta go... watch my shit!" Cosima barely has time to strip off her skirt and top before she's in the water and off of the pier. It might be risky, but it's worth avoiding a murder.

She'd gotten away with convincing Emi not to do anything reckless up until now. If it's her...

Shit could get ugly.

"Cosima! This isn't cool!" Scott's already looking down towards where he last saw herf by the time Cosima makes it down to the bottom of the water, away from prying eyes as she manages to strip out of her underwear, forcing the air out of her lungs with practiced ease as she adjusts to the inevitable pain that follows. The water is as salty and disgustingly polluted as she remembers. The humans might not be able to sense it as well as they do, but it still manages to leave her wanting to swim further away from California as she heads out towards the unfamiliar yacht at record speed.

As long as they don't murder anyone, Marion had assured her that the police would stay away from them and even have their backs if they get into any trouble. If this was Emi acting out after their break-up, then they'd be in serious trouble... She always had trouble controlling herself when she was upset.