DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own any of the chars from TLM. They belong to Disney. I do however own Melody Noelle Coralsen, along with anyone else you don't recognize.

God loves you
Enjoy!

A/N: I got inspired to write this story after reading another TLM fanfic. I hope everyone likes it!

"Never Drink and Swim"

Ariel smiled as she gazed out of the carriage window at the scenery around her.

She and Eric were heading to a friends' house for a dinner party.

The Bensons' were long time friends of Eric and his family. They had grown to like Ariel as well.

Ariel had grown especially close to Daniel's wife, Trisha.

The two would spend hours talking about anything and everything.

Trisha had taught Ariel about lots of things and the girl always had a nice time whenever they were together.

As Ariel's mind started to wander, she started thinking of Melody.

They had left their three-year-old daughter with Carlotta for the evening. They knew she would take good care of her.

"What are you thinking about?" Eric asked, breaking her out of her thoughts.

Ariel glanced over at her husband and shrugged.

"I was just thinking of Melody. I hope she's going to be okay with Carlotta."

Eric smiled at her reassuringly.

"She'll be fine. " He said. "You know how much Carlotta loves spoiling her."

Ariel giggled.

"I know. It's just we've never left her alone for this long before. She's always been with one of us."

"Melody will be fine." Eric insisted. "You'll see."

Ariel knew her husband spoke the truth.

Despite this, she couldn't help but worry a little bit. She loved Melody so much and she hated being away from her for long periods of time.

She knew her daughter felt the same way.

It was true that Melody loved both of her parents, but it was no secret that she preferred Ariel most of the time.

Everyone who knew the child always said she was definitely a Mama's girl. And they were right.

Before Ariel knew it, they were pulling up to the house.

Trisha and Daniel met them at the door the moment they rang the bell.

Ariel and Trisha embraced while Eric and Daniel exchanged firm hand shakes and pleasant greetings.

Arriving inside, Trisha whisked Ariel off to the sitting room so they could catch up on things.

Eric was used to this, so he didn't let it bother him. He knew Ariel could handle herself just fine on her own.

"How about a rousing game of chess?" Daniel suggested the minute the women were gone.

"You got it. " Eric said with a grin. With that, the two got out the game and started to play.

Meanwhile in the sitting room, Ariel and Trisha were in the middle of a conversation about anything and everything.

Trisha loved hearing about Ariel's life under the sea and the girl enjoyed telling her about it.

In the middle of one of her stories, Trisha asked her friend if she was thirsty.

"Come to think of it, I am a little." Ariel admitted.

"I'll go get us some lemonade." Trisha offered. "I made it especially for the party." With that, she was gone.

Left alone with her own thoughts, Ariel gazed around the room in wonder. She loved the sitting room because it was full of all kinds of pictures and other things to look at.

The walls were decorated with pictures of horses and different mountain scenes.

Trisha returned a few minutes later. She handed Ariel a cup almost full to the brim.

"There you go." She said. "Let me know if it's too sour. I made it in a hurry this afternoon."

Ariel nodded.

She took a sip and tried not to make a face.

Trisha caught on right away.

"It needs some more sugar, doesn't it?" She guessed.

"I think so." Ariel admitted. She frowned just then. "You don't have to make anymore. This is fine."

Trisha shook her head.

"It's not a problem." She insisted while trying her own out for herself. "You know how much I love cooking. Besides, it's fun to cook with you."

Ariel grinned as she drank some more of her lemonade.

It was only when Trisha took another sip of hers, did she realize it tasted funny.

Trying to keep her suspicions to herself, she glanced over to see that Ariel's cup was almost gone.

Thinking fast, she stood up and motioned for Ariel to follow her.

"Come on." She said. "Let's dump this stuff and make some more."

"Okay." Ariel got up and followed her friend to the kitchen.

As they entered, she suddenly felt dizzy. She felt better once she sat down, so she didn't think much of it.

As they made the new batch of lemonade, they resumed their conversation from earlier.

"So how's Melody?" Trisha asked as she poured the right amount of sugar into the mixture. "I haven't seen her in a few months."

"She's doing really well." Ariel told her. "She's talking more and more every day."

"So does she love the ocean as much as you do?"

Ariel nodded.

"Oh yes. She would stay in it all day if I let her."

"All right. I think that'll do it. " Trisha said referring to the lemonade. "Now all we have to do is stir it for a few minutes and it should be done."

"Uh-huh." Ariel said a little distractedly.

Trisha noticed immediately.

"Ariel, are you okay, sweetie?" She asked in concern.

Ariel was about to say yes, when she felt the dizziness return in earnest.

"Actually, Trisha, is it okay if I go lay down for a while? I'm feeling kind of dizzy. Maybe I'm coming down with something."

"Of course. Come with me. " With that, she led Ariel to her room and let her lay down.

Once she was sure her friend was going to be okay, she left to let her get some rest.

Deciding to clean up the kitchen, Trisha headed back in that general direction.

After she was done, she discovered that a half an hour had gone by.

Returning to her bedroom, she found Ariel fast asleep.

Making sure she was warm enough, Trisha went to find Eric. She had to tell him what was going on.

Meanwhile, Eric and Daniel were in the middle of their fourth game of chess.

Eric was having a nice time and he hoped Ariel was enjoying herself as well.

He had only had one drink so far and was now drinking some iced tea.

"Ah, I think I'm going to win this one." Daniel declared.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Eric countered.

He was about to take his turn when Trisha joined them. She looked worried, which made Eric frown.

Eric knew Trisha rarely left Ariel's side whenever the two were together.

The fact that she was alone made him even more worried.

"Trisha, what is it?" Eric asked. "Where's Ariel?"

Trisha sighed. She knew she had to explain what had happened. She also knew sooner was better than later.

"I need to talk to you. " She said urgently. "Come with me."

Eric got up and followed his long time friend out of the living room.

Trisha entered the family room and motioned for Eric to sit down.

Eric did so, albeit reluctantly. He wanted to see Ariel and make sure she was okay for himself. But as he gazed into Trisha's worried green eyes, he had a feeling his wife was far from okay.

"I think Ariel may have drunken some spiked lemonade." She began. "I made it for the party, but I didn't put anything in it."

"Then how do you know it was spiked?" Eric asked. He knew she would never do something to hurt Ariel intentionally.

"Well, Ariel said it tasted sour. At first, I just thought it needed more sugar. But after I tasted my own, I could taste the alcohol in it. I think Daniel did it as a joke and neglected to tell me."

Eric sighed.

"Where's Ariel now?" He asked.

"In my room sleeping." Trisha replied. "But I don't think she'll be asleep for long. And I have a feeling she's not going to feel too good when she wakes up."

"I better go check on her then." Eric said. "Thanks for telling me."

"Sure." Trisha said. "You know how much I love her. She's like a younger sister to me."

Eric nodded.

"I know." With that, he was gone.

Getting to Trisha's bedroom, Eric opened the door and stepped inside.

Being careful to close it as quietly as possible, Eric walked to the side of the bed.

Sitting down next to his sleeping wife, he put a hand through her red hair.

Bending down, he kissed her cheek before laying a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"I'm right here." He told her softly.

Ariel stirred when she heard her husband's familiar voice.

Opening her eyes, she quickly shut them again as a blinding pain made its way around her head.

She whimpered softly before squeezing her eyes shut again.

"Shh…" Eric soothed as he started stroking her hair again. "Ariel, it's okay."

"Too loud." She mumbled before going silent again.

Eric guessed she had a headache. He had a feeling this was one party they wouldn't forget any time soon.

Ariel slowly opened her eyes once again. She groaned as more pain shot through her head.

It was soon followed by dizziness.

Fighting the increasing nausea for as long as possible, the girl tried her best to block out the pain.

It was only then that she realized she wasn't alone.

"Eric?" She asked. Her voice was barely above a whisper, but her husband caught it all the same.

"I'm right here." He assured her. "Trisha told me what happened."

"Don't leave." She requested softly.

"I won't." He assured her. "I promise."

Trisha poked her head in the room.

"How is she? " She asked.

"She has a headache." Eric told her. "But I think she's gonna be okay."

Trisha nodded.

"I feel terrible about what happened." She said truthfully.

"Don't worry about it." Eric assured her. "It could have happened anywhere. Besides, you're not to one who spiked the lemonade."

"I brought Ariel a few things to help her through the worst of it." Trisha told him.

She placed a bucket, along with a cup of water and some pain tablets on the side of the bed.

"Thanks. " Eric said. "She just needs some more rest. I'm gonna take her home as soon as she feels a little better."

"You're welcome to stay the night. " Trisha offered. "It's the least I could do."

"Thank you. We'll see what happens in the next hour or so."

Trisha left the room a few minutes later. She wanted to give Eric and Ariel some time alone.

Once Trisha was gone, Eric resumed his vigil by Ariel's side. He was determined to help her through this any way he could.

Ariel slept for the next few hours.

Eric was grateful for this. He knew she probably wouldn't feel much better when she did awaken, but he was ready to help her endure it as best he could.

Ariel awoke some time later feeling the same.

The minute she opened her eyes, she shut them just as quickly before letting out a whimper of pain.

Her head felt worse than it had a little while ago. Not to mention her stomach felt like it was going in reverse.

As she went to sit up, a gentle hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Ariel, no." Eric said gently. "You need to lay down for now."

"Eric?" Ariel asked. Her voice was a little stronger, but Eric could still detect pain in it.

"I'm right here." He assured her. "How do you feel?"

"Terrible!" Ariel answered. "What happened? Why do I feel so…" Her voice trailed off as she felt her stomach flip unpleasantly.

She swallowed in an attempt to stop what she knew was going to happen.

Eric saw her plight and sprang into action.

He helped her sit up as best she could and placed the bucket underneath her chin.

Ariel was breathing hard now in an effort to forestall the inevitable.

"You can't fight it." Eric told her. "You'll feel better afterwards. Trust me."

"It hurts!" Ariel cried just as she heaved.

"I know it does. " Eric soothed. He pulled her hair back and tried to keep her steady as she heaved for a second and third time.

Once she was done, she was still hurting and all she wanted to do was sleep.

"That's my girl." Eric soothed as he kissed her cheek. "Just try and get some more sleep. You're gonna be fine." He posed a question to the love of his life just then. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Ariel tried to think, which made her head pound harder.

She took a deep breath and said, "Talking to Trisha in the kitchen and drinking some lemonade."

Eric nodded. He decided to tell her what had happened after she felt better. He didn't' want to scare her.

"Just try and get some more sleep. " Eric advised. "We'll go home in a little while. I love you." With that, Eric sat there and watched his wife struggle to keep her eyes open.

"I love you too. " She mumbled just before she drifted off to dreamland once again.

When the couple arrived home, Eric tucked Ariel in before going to check on Melody.

He found their daughter fast asleep.

She was holding tightly to the teddy bear Ariel had given her for her third birthday while sucking her thumb.

Eric smiled down at her with nothing but love in his eyes.

"Mommy and I love you so much, Melody." He told her. "Sweet dreams, honey." With that, he gave her a kiss before making sure her night light was on.

Once Eric made sure the little girl was warm enough, he left the room and returned to Ariel's side.

Laying down next to her, Eric was relieved when he found she was still asleep.

He knew from personal experience that sleep was the best thing for Ariel at this point. It would help her body to resolve whatever affects were left from the alcohol she had consumed that night.

Ariel awoke sometime later to find herself in her own bed. She still felt pretty bad, but at least she didn't feel dizzy anymore.

Slowly raising herself up into a sitting position, she soon found out what a big mistake that was.

As she tried to lay back down, her stomach protested greatly.

She managed to make it to the bathroom with a few seconds to spare.

Eric, who had been awoken when Ariel got up, went to check on her.

He found her throwing up in the bathroom.

Quickly getting behind her, he pulled her hair back just as she heaved again.

Panting from the effort, Ariel tried to catch her breath.

"I'm never drinking lemonade again." She declared before giving into the nausea.

Eric chuckled despite the situation.

"Honey, not all lemonade is bad." He told her. "Regular lemonade is fine to drink."

Ariel nodded as she sipped at the water Eric offered her.

"Then what was wrong with the lemonade I drank?" She asked as she leaned against Eric for support.

He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.

He made sure to stay perfectly still so as not to upset her stomach again. HE also made sure she had a clear path to the toilet in case she needed it.

"Let's just say there was something different about the lemonade you drank tonight."

"Which was?" Ariel inquired as she took a deep breath.

"It had alcohol in it." He explained. "Trisha didn't put it in there. Daniel did. She didn't' know it was spiked when she gave it to you."
Ariel closed her eyes and laid her head against Eric's shoulder.

She was exhausted from the day's events and was soon asleep in her husband's safe and loving embrace.

"I love you, Ariel." He whispered as he carried her back to bed. "Sweet dreams." With that, Eric wrapped a protective arm around his wife as sleep took over for the rest of the night.

He knew Ariel would feel better in a day or so.

Eric was happy he had been able to be there for Ariel when she needed him. He knew Ariel would do the same for him without a second thought.

And that was one of the things Eric loved about her the most.

THE END