Didn't I say that my update would be quick? Well, here you all go!

Joe couldn't believe it, he had a real mermaid right in front of him! With public around, he wasn't sure on what to do. What would one do with a mermaid?

~Meanwhile~

"She's not back yet, I'm really worried." Nixie anxiously waited at the door for her fellow mermaid, checking out the window every once in a while.

"Nixie, I'm afraid you don't understand relationships." Lyla replied, "When land people are out together, they'll talk for hours!"

"That's true. Harry and I spent long dates at the Ocean Cafe. It's been around for quite some time." Rita joined the conversation, stroking Posiden.

"Maybe I should look there for them. If they're not there, I could ask Carly or Evie." Nixie suggested her thought. Lyla nodded.

"I don't see the harm. I'll go with you if you like."

~At the Ocean Cafe~

"So, do you know where they might be?" Nixie asked the blonde behind the counter.

"I'm afraid not. The last I heard, they were at the beach..." Carly took a box of prawns to the cool room, "...so I recommend you check there." She came back to finish her sentence.

"Thanks. If you get any word, could you let us know?" Lyla questioned.

"Sure." Carly took a few more boxes of seafood, and retreated to the cool room once again. The two mermaids walked to the beach, and continued on to the spot where Sirena said they would be. Thankfully, they saw David.

"Hey, have you seen Sirena anywhere?" Lyla asked, "we can't find her anywhere."

"I know just as much as you do." David responded, "the last I saw of her, she- this will sound a bit strange- she ran to the waves, and was just gone!" Nixie and Lyla looked at each other in horror.

"Well, maybe she..." for once, Nixie couldn't come up with a decent excuse, "um, I-I don't know."

"I'm not sure what happened, so I'll just head back to the cafe, and see if she's there." David packed up his things and left.

"Great, I knew this would happen!" Nixie kicked up some sand in frustration.

"Well at least we know where she is. All we can do is go find her." Lyla gestured to the waves crashing on the shore. The blonde and brunette mermaids quickly made their way to the water, and started looking for her.

~Meanwhile with Joe~

Dragging Sirena inside of his boat shed with the net, Joe closed the door, and started cutting the net until he could take it off of her. Seeing her pale face, Joe almost felt sympathetic towards the mermaid. He checked her pulse and heartbeat, and Sirena seemed to be in good condition. He started to look at her face, and she seemed vaguely familiar. Who could this be? Not knowing what to do with her, Joe quickly called David.

"David, I've got a huge problem here." Joe spoke quickly, looking at the creature before his eyes, "I think I found a-"

"If this is about your boat, I don't want to hear it. Sirena's missing, and I'm looking for her." David ended the phone call, and hung up.

"Great...my own brother won't even help me in a time like this." Joe sighed. Eyeing an old aquarium tank in his boat shed, he got an idea.

~Meanwhile with Lyla and Nixie~

"She's not anywhere, I'm worried that something's happened to her!" Nixie said after the two surfaced.

"I think she might've went home. If not, we can look for her tomorrow. The sun's setting, and Rita told us to be home by then." Lyla dove back down into the water, and sped back to Rita's secret entrance connected to her house.

~Back with Joe~

Joe had filled up the tank with water, and placed Sirena inside. Still passed out, she simply floated at the top of the tank, her tail slightly weighing her down.

"This'll do for now. I'll come and check on her tomorrow, and I'll call David." Joe locked the door to his boat shed, and headed home.

Did you like this chapter? Do you think that Sirena could actually trust Joe if he figures out who "the mermaid" really is?

~Periwinkle Starfish