Authors Note:

Wow it sure has been a long time since I got around to this. Life has been a bit of a mess for me lately but a friend gave me some good advice.

No matter how busy or messed up things in your life get, never forget to do things that you enjoy.

I guess the point of this is balance. You need to do the good stuff you like to equal out all the other stuff. So I'm going to make time to do my writing to keep myself from going totally crazy.

Chapter 4:

Countdown: Thursday

I was dreaming. I knew because I'd had this dream before. We all had, in one form or another.

I was strapped to an operating table, in my tail, while unscrupulous scientist talked among themselves. The room was sterile white and bright lights hung overhead. I was unable to move, gagged, and not even given the courtesy of sedation.

I struggled to move, to wake up, to do anything, but I was held down too tightly. I felt my panic level rising as a one of the faceless pair of eyes drew lines on my chest and stomach with a pen. I knew what was coming next, and I desperately wanted to wake up. Right now.

I could only watch in horror as the scalpel descended towards me. Just as it touched my I jerked away. I felt something tear and I hit the floor. I scrambled backwards and took deep gasping breaths as I tried to figure out if I was now awake or still dreaming.

I felt hands grab my shoulders and I pushed them away and backed myself into the nearest corner. I don't know how long I was sitting there for when I was gathered up into someones arms and gently held. Still freaked out from the nightmare I tried to get away at first, but slowly calmed down as I recognized the voice muttering reassuring words to me.

It was Bryon. I don't know how or why he was here but I knew that if he was I was no longer trapped in my dream.

I let out a few shuddering breaths and broke down in to relieved sobs. He just held me and kept telling me that it was going to be OK now. Eventually the worst of the fear left, but I was still need to be sure that I was awake, alive, and free. I started to kiss him with a desperate need.

"Laura." He held me gently. "No. Not like this."

"Not like what." I demanded about to break down again.

"Your still in a panic."

"You don't want me?" I felt hurt that he would deny me any form of comfort right now.

"That's not it." He said. "You have no idea how hard it is to not just give in right now. But I don't want you to be in a panic."

"If I wasn't panicked?" I asked.

"We wouldn't be talking."

I laughed. I had no idea why, but it felt good. It broke through the last of the fear and relaxed me. Once I'd managed to stop I was able to focus enough to take a good look around. I was in my room, on the floor, wearing just a very transparent night gown, and being held by my boyfriend that was heroically trying to not take advantage of me. Said boyfriend was also wearing just a pair of shorts, an open shirt, and no shoes.

"Why don't you have any shoes on?" I had no idea why that was the focus of my scattered wits right now instead of my lack of modest attire, but it was.

"Bella called me and said you'd had a nightmare and was completely panicked. So I grabbed the first pair of shorts and the first shirt I saw and ran right over." He explained.

"I had a nightmare and you ran right over?" Even to me that sounded a bit odd.

"Well Bella did explain what she guessed it might be. She mentioned she's had similar nightmares."

"She's right." I said. "We've all had some variation of a nightmare where we are about to be subjected to various involuntary tests. I usually deal with mine better than this though."

"You don't have to deal with them alone you know." He said with a smile. "You have your sisters and you have me. We'll always be here to prove that they are just dreams and they can't hurt you."

"Thank you." I threw my arms around him. "That means a lot."

He responded by patting my shoulder. At first softly, then more intensely, then for no reason that I could see he poked me in the ribs.

"Hey!" I was not thrilled at such treatment and backed off to tell him as much.

As soon as I let go he sucked in a huge breath of air and started coughing. I suddenly realized that I'd been holding him so tightly he couldn't breath. His urgent pats on my shoulder had been meant to get my attention and clearly poking my ribs had been a last resort. I went from feeling angry to feeling guilty.

"Oh shoot. I'm so sorry." I stammered out.

"It's fine." He said. "Good to see you have calmed down and are back to your normal cheerful self."

Suddenly it clicked into my mind that we were sitting on the floor of my bedroom, each wearing very little, and that Bella had left me an embarrassing gift in my nightstand. I slowly kissed him while gently pushing his shirt off.

"Laura?" He asked.

"I'm calm now." I said. "And Bella made sure to plan ahead for us. If and when."

He didn't argue with me.


Bella found herself sitting on the front porch of the apartment she shared with Laura. She hadn't been able to snap Laura out of the panic she'd been in and had taken a guess at what kind of dream had caused it. She didn't know the exact details of Laura's version, none of them had shared those, but if it was anything like her own version it would be bad.

Usually it wasn't so bad that it resulted in blind panic and horrified screams that caused sheets to be torn to pieces as one tried to scramble away from things only they could see, but they were still pretty bad. Once Laura had practically attacked her, Bella had called Byron. Her hope was that he could get her to calm down, and if they finally took their relationship forward that would just be a bonus. It was that hope that had her sitting out side to give them some time alone.

Bella was glaring at a few of the neighbors that had popped out with camera phones when she heard the door creak open behind her and Laura sat down next to her. She noticed that Laura was wide awake and had a glow to her features.

"Well finally." Bella said.

"Hey." Laura looked at her. "Oh my God. You planned this."

"Right I planned for you to have the worst of our nightmares just so I could get you and Byron to sleep with each other." Bella countered. "Please."

"Well, OK. Not the first part." Laura glared at her. "But the second part is something you've been trying to convince me to do for a while now."

"You liked it, so quit complaining." Bella told her.

"We're cooking breakfast if you want to join us." Laura said as she stood and went back inside.

Bella couldn't help but grin as she followed.


Byron was in the kitchen dicing up vegetables for omelets. He was still in a bit of a daze if he was being truthful with himself. He loved Laura, that wasn't in question, but he'd known that she'd been 'inexperienced' with men before they started dating. So he'd never pressured her or anything.

At the same time he'd figured that in a panic she'd try to latch onto anything that made her know that she was alive, safe, and not in the nightmare. And so he'd braced himself for it. He'd thought about the arguments he would make to let her know that while he did desire her he also loved and respected her. It had been harder then he'd anticipated.

Once she had calmed down he'd expected her to want a shower, some coffee, and food. He figured that he'd be in the kitchen cooking like now, but that he'd be helping Bella make comfort food for Laura. He hadn't expected her to still want him. Not that he was complaining.

Byron was pulled out of his musings by Laura's return. Bella was not to far behind.

"Hey, Love." He greeted Laura.

"Hey, to you too." She replied with a kiss.

"Bella." He said respectfully to her.

"Morning, Byron. Thanks for coming to help." Bella said.

"Anything to help Laura."

Bella let out a small laugh that had him so embarrassed that he was glad he'd finished chopping or he might have cut himself. Laura just glared at her roommate.

"So. We're making omelets." He said in an attempt to change the subject. "Would you like one?"

"Sure." Bella replied. "Laura what time do you work today?"

"Eight." She answered.

Bryon turned to look at the clock. "Well it's a quarter till seven now."

"Can you two handle cooking? I need to get ready for work." Laura said as she rushed into her room.

"Sure." Bella called to the closed door. She turned to face him. "So..."

"Not having this conversation with you." Byron said before she could say more.

"How do you know what I was gonna ask?" Bella said from the other side of the counter.

"I saw the look on your face and guessed." Byron told her as he cracked eggs into a bowl. "It seems I was right."

"Well you know Laura won't tell me anything when it comes to you two." Bella said looking a bit dejected.

"That's a good thing in my book." He told her as he continued to cook. "Now don't get me wrong. I like you girls and the guys too, I consider you all good friends, but I love Laura and I won't share our personal stuff."

Bella laughed. "Can't blame a girl for trying. So what can I do to help."

"Set places. Get some drinks. I'm almost done here." He said as he folded the first omelet over.

Bella got some plates out just as Laura came back dressed for work and holding a coffee pot. Byron smiled at her not surprised about the coffee. "There enough in there for me to get a cup too?"

For answer Laura grabbed two mugs and quickly filled them. She handed one to him and the other to Bella.

"How much did you have?" Bella asked her.

"None actually. I'm feeling awake enough that I didn't want any just yet." Laura said. Bryon quickly took a sip of his coffee to hide his reaction.

'I'm really gonna need to work on my poker face.' He thought to himself.

"Oh, really." Bella said. Byron choked on his coffee.

He quickly reached over, grabbed a plate, slide the first omelet on it, and put it in front of Laura. Then he started getting eggs ready for the next one. He didn't miss the glare Laura shot at Bella. Or the fact that Bella just smirked back. He decided then an there that once Laura headed out the door for work he'd make his escape too. He did not want to get pinned down by Bella and grilled.

With that in mind he quickly went back to cooking.


Emma was working briskly through the morning rush. She was energetic and happy. She loved the pace and the needed attention to detail. She thrived on it.

Take four tables worth of orders, no problem. Serve drinks to three others, piece of cake. The challenge of not mixing it all up, thrilling.

Emma spun around to head back to the counter with the new orders and just missed bumping into one of the other servers. The drinks on the tray wobbled but the server, staring wide eyed at Emma, managed to keep them from spilling all over her boss.

"Sorry, Emma. I'll be more careful."

"No spill, no harm." Emma said and added another to her mental list. Avoiding spills, damn near impossible.

Emma went over the mental list she kept of when the other employees were supposed to take their breaks. "Sean, break time."

"No problem." The young man replied heading off the floor.

"Hey, Em. Bella's here." One of the girls said as she came behind the counter.

Emma looked up and gave a quick wave to Bella. She quickly finished up the drinks and put them on a tray to be served and carried them out.

She noted that Bella sat at the table the girls always used when they came in. Even the regulars avoided sitting there and new customers where steered clear by the regulars. None of them knew how it had come to happen but now only they used that table.

After she dropped off the orders she went over to Bella. "So what can I get you? The usual or something else?"

"Usual is fine. You have a minute?" Bella replied.

"Not right now. I'm not due for my break for another hour at least." She answered.

"Oh. Okay." Bella said.

Emma quickly went and made up Bella's order and returned. "I didn't know you had a rehearsal scheduled for today."

"We don't." Bella said. "I just needed to talk to someone. But you're all busy."

"Is it about," Emma leaned in and finished in a whisper. "Sunday?"

"No." Bella said. "Laura had the dream again last night."

"Oh." Emma said.

"I didn't say anything to her but I had it again too. Just the night before." Bella took a sip of her drink. "But Laura woke up so panicked she didn't even know it was me when I went to check on her."

Emma thought quickly. "Go into the office, I'll tell the others you need to talk about the bands schedule and join you shortly."

Bella headed to the office and Emma quickly flagged down the most senior employee on the floor and told her to take over while she hashed out stuff for the band with Bella. The girl agreed with a smile and Emma quickly made her exit.

Once in the office Emma closed and locked the door before taking a seat. "I don't have much time so fill me in as quickly as you can."

"So she woke up so scared she fought me off when I went in." Bella said. "She was so terrified she was screaming at first. I couldn't do anything for her so I called Byron."

"You called Byron?" Emma blurted out surprised.

"Yeah. He came right over. Ran really. Didn't even remember to put on shoes." Bella said. "But it worked. He got her to calm down. And then some. She didn't even have her usual coffee this morning."

Emma took a few moments to figure out what Bella meant. Then she just stared at Bella. She tried a few times to speak but all she managed to do was open and close her mouth a few times.

"I don't think we should bring that up to Rikki or Cleo though." Bella said.

"I can agree." Emma said finally finding her voice. "But for the rest of it."

"Yeah."Bella agreed. "Byron got her calm but only we know just how deep that fear runs. I think that's why you, Cleo, and Rikki still don't really trust Linda Denman."

"How do you mean?" Emma asked wondering if maybe Bella was on to something.

"She almost made those dreams a reality and I think on some level you can't let that go."

Emma let out a breath. Bella might just be right. They never talked about the dreams much. It was just something they all lived with. They were hoping now that they were public and protected that the dreams would stop. But with Denman being around it was hard for the three of them she had almost trapped.

"I can get that for Rikki, Cleo, and myself. But you and Laura don't have those memories of her." Emma mused out loud. "So why do you have them so suddenly."

"Just 'cause we were never trapped doesn't mean we didn't fear it happening. And next week has me all messed up in the head. I'm still not sure I should go for it, but I'll still have to keep an eye on you three. That's nerve wracking enough to cause this." Bella said.

"That might explain Laura then too." Emma said. "And she's supposed to make up her mind today, that's got to have her a bit off too."

"Should we call a meeting today or let her?" Bella asked.

"If she feels she needs to she will, so let her do it. But we should tell the others so they are ready. Don't mention her and Bryon beyond that he was able to calm her down though." Emma said. "I'll take care of letting Rikki know when she get's here later. Can you track down Cleo?"

"I think Cleo's at work so Laura might just tell her personally." Bella said.

"Well follow up on that." Emma said. "Just to make sure."

"Rikki's right. You really do plan for everything." Bella joked.

"It's better to work out all the what if's before hand so they don't catch you by surprise later." Emma said with a pleased smile. "Now I have to get back to work, so I'll see you later."

"Later." Bella called our from behind her as Emma went back to work.

She really hoped Laura was alright. After all, none of them had ever had that dream so bad they woke up not knowing if they were still dreaming or not.

At least they hadn't, until now.


Cleo was working with Ronnie. They were in one of the back training tanks and Cleo was running him through his routine for the shows. The only difference from the usual was that instead of being on the small pier she was in the water with him.

If she had to be honest with herself, Cleo had to admit that she was enjoying herself. So it was a bit shocking when Ronnie shot off towards the tanks gate. Cleo's surprise was short lived when she saw the flash of orange and red that was Laura arriving for work.

Cleo watched as her sister fended off Ronnie's typically enthusiastic greetings and then fell in beside her and swam with her to the pier.

"Morning, Laura." Cleo greeted her as they surfaced.

"Morning, Cleo!" Laura replied with way too much enthusiasm for this early in the morning.

"How much coffee have you had?" Cleo demanded to know.

"None actually." Laura replied in the same tone again. Cleo narrowed her eyes and stared at Laura for a moment.

"You're... you're actually telling me the truth." Cleo said half shocked and half unsure. "What happened."

"Nothing happened." Laura said too fast as her face turned a red brighter then her hair.

"I'm not buying it." Cleo said as they pulled themselves out of the water. "You are not a morning person, and you should not be this chipper at this hour unless you overdosed on coffee, which you haven't."

"Well I did have that dream again last night and Bella had to get Byron over to calm me down." Laura turned even more red at this.

Cleo wasn't stupid. She did often choose to overlook somethings to respect other people's right to privacy, but that wasn't because she was clueless or unobservant. She could read between the lines. Byron done a bit more for her then just calm her down, but it was clear that Laura didn't want to share such a personal experience. So Cleo just nodded her head and didn't press.

"So how bad was it this time?" Cleo asked instead as they stood and headed towards the break areas.

"I woke up screaming, tore the sheets as I fought free, attacked Bella, and didn't recognize Byron at first either." Laura said looking glad that Cleo had not pursued the other topic.

"Do you think it has anything to do with next week?" Cleo asked.

"I wouldn't bet against it."

Cleo just nodded as she paused to consider. Laura hadn't made up her mind yet. But just having to keep an eye on the other three would be nerve wracking enough. And then Denman, to everyone's surprise, had recommended that she also make the switch.

As Cleo really stopped to consider it all she could almost feel the pressure. She wouldn't be surprised if she ended up having her own nightmare tonight. Cleo gave herself a mental shake and put that fear out of her mind.

"So are you going to take Denman's advice and do the trade?" Cleo asked.

"I want to talk with Byron once more before I make my final choice." Laura said. "We were supposed to debate the pro's and con's of it all but neither of us have any good points. However, after last night I really am leaning towards it."

"And this morning, too." Cleo said. Laura turned bright red again. "I meant waking up screaming and all."

"Oh." Laura said and then let out a nervous laugh.

"Well we can talk more later. You need to get started and I need to help get things set up for the first show of the day." Cleo said. "You want to call a meeting after work?"

"I'll think about it. Keep your phone handy." Laura said as she went off to take care of her duties.

Cleo waved and then hurried towards the show tank to help get things set up for the morning show.


Rikki was at Sea World trying, and so far failing, to find either Cleo or Laura. Her curiosity had gotten the better of her and she wanted to see this discovery of Denman's for herself. Even if it meant dealing with the Dr.

"Where could they be?" Rikki asked herself out loud.

"Where could who be?" A hauntingly familiar voice asked from behind her.

Rikki slowly turned around to face Denman. "I was looking for Laura or Cleo so they could help me find you."

"Ah." Was the only reply.

"I want to see what you found out." Rikki said, then she paused as she realized that she was grinding her teeth. She then remembered what Cleo had asked, not that she forgive but just that she put it in the past. Rikki took a deep breath and then added a more polite 'please'.

"Sure." Denman said. "If you would follow me to the lab I can show you. Lewis is there too so you'll have some company."

Rikki followed as Denman led the way. "You know I can't forgive you."

"I know."

"But Cleo want's me to at least put it all in the past and not continue to hold it against you. I don't know if I can, but Cleo is like a sister to me so for her sake I'll at least try."

"I suppose that's fair." Denman paused. "Rikki what I did was wrong. I know I'll never fully be able to make amends for it even if I lived for centuries. But I can promise to never make the same mistakes again."

"I guess that will have to do." Rikki huffed out a breath. "Let's just drop this. It's over and done with. So we'll move on and see what happens."

Denman just nodded and they walked the rest of the way in silence. After passing through a few doors that led to areas normally off limits to the public they arrived at the lab. Lewis was indeed there, his eyes glued to the eyepiece of a microscope, and Rikki was secretly relieved to see him. For all her talk about letting bygones be bygones she really didn't want to be alone with Denman in a lab.

"Hey, Lewis." Rikki called out.

Lewis jerked up, clearly surprised that she was here. "Rikki. What are you doing here?"

"I came to see what all the fuss was about." Rikki told him.

"Well then I've got a sample right here. You can watch the reaction yourself if you like." Lewis gestured to the microscope.

"Sure." Rikki looked into the eyepiece as Lewis added something to the sample. The reaction was surprising.

"What was that?" She asked.

"That was just a cold virus." Denman said while holding out a note pad. "I translated this into layman's terms. It explains everything."

Rikki read over it. She was impressed but made sure to keep it hidden from the others. No need for them to see that. She did have an image to maintain.

"So basically we can't get sick, but we can be poisoned. I guess that's good to know." She said once done.

"It explains why Emma reacted so badly to the coral that time. I thought she was progressing too fast given that she's a full grown human." Lewis said. "After all Cleo's fish was getting sick at a slower rate and he was far smaller."

"Huh. I wondered about that too." Rikki said remembering the incident.

"You'll have to tell me about that sometime." Denman said.

"Get Emma to fill you in." Rikki said. "I agree. She needs to see this."

"Lewis. There you are." Cleo said as she came into the lab. "I heard you were here but I couldn't find you anywhere. Maybe I should have checked here first."

"Cleo." Lewis said his entire face lighting up. Rikki rolled her eyes.

"Rikki what are you doing here?" Cleo asked finally noticing her.

"She came to see me on your recommendation." Denman said.

"I can answer for myself you know." Rikki snapped. Denman held up her hands in surrender. "What she said."

Rikki watched as Cleo rolled her eyes and let out a resigned sigh. "Same as always eh?"

Rikki just crossed her arms. "Do you expect me to suddenly change?"

"No. Not really." Cleo said.

"Do we need to separate you two?" Lewis asked.

Both girls broke out into laughter.

"This is how we always are." Cleo said.

"Yup." Rikki agreed. "So why were you looking for Lewis?"

"I was wondering if he knew anything about how to prevent nightmares." Cleo said.

Rikki sobered instantly. She knew the nightmare Cleo meant. If she was worried about that then they would need some place where it was just them to talk about it. It was one of the few things Rikki couldn't act tough about, try though she might. It touched on their worst fears.

"Are you talking about a dream where you are locked up and dissected?" Denman asked.

"How do you know about that." Three voices asked her at once.

"Laura." Denman suddenly got a look on her face. "That's why you all hate me so much. I almost made those nightmares of yours real. How could I have been so stupid."

Rikki realized that there was more then just a little truth to that statement. She hadn't liked being caged, but the fear of the dreams had made the whole thing worse. She knew that for a long time the scientists in their dreams had been faceless. But while that was still true for Bella and Laura, for Emma, Cleo, and herself it was often Denman they saw.

Usually by morning the horror had faded some and certain details faded into the background. They shook off Denman's image in the dream as just a bad memory given too much credence, but now she questioned that.

What if it wasn't so simple. What if because of that even her subconscious couldn't let go. What if it was the same for Cleo and Emma.

She'd have to ask them later. For now she had a lot of deep thinking and, though she hated to admit it, some serious soul searching to be done about her resentment towards the Dr.

For now though she had other concerns. "Why this sudden interest in our dreams?"

"Laura woke up screaming this morning, attacked Bella, and then didn't recognize Byron when Bella called him to help." Cleo explained.

"Hey, even I'll admit I've had a few bad renditions," Rikki said. "But none of us have woken up screaming before."

"Well I guess that's no longer true." Cleo said. "So, Lewis, do you know anything that might help?"

"Don't eat chocolate before going to sleep." He said. "Beyond that I'll have to do some research and see if there's anything that might help."

"I'll help." Denman offered. "Laura's one of the only friends I have. If I can help her I will."

Rikki just stared at her. This was an admission that she never expected. Denman could be human enough to have a friend, more so one of her own sisters was that friend. Furthermore that she cared about her so much she'd go out of her way to help with out being asked and that it was an honest desire.

Rikki decided that she would take her leave. She had a lot to think about and would need time to go over it all. She also needed to get to the cafe to start her shift soon, in fact a look at the clock showed she only had ten minutes to get there.

"I need to go. I have to be at the cafe in ten." Rikki said heading to the door.

"You're gonna have to swim." Cleo noted. "I'll show you the quickest way to the water."

"Thanks, Cleo." Rikki turned to Denman. "I won't forgive you, I doubt any of us ever will, but I will give you a real chance to prove you've learned. Don't blow it."

"I won't." Denman said.

Rikki gave her a good stare down before hurrying out the door behind Cleo. Cleo did indeed know a fast way to the water and they got there in less than a minute. Rikki didn't waste any time and dove in. As soon as she got her tail she took off. She shot down the coast and turned into the canals. She followed them for a ways, dodging the occasional small boat or two, until she got to the small marina that the cafe overlooked.

Rikki knew she wouldn't enjoy the next part, that being the gawking that would happen once she got out of the water. But there was no help for it. She had enough time to get dry and get inside before her shift started, and it wasn't like she could hide here.

Word had spread about the girls, and how two worked at the cafe and one of them co-owned it. That pretty much shot any chance at keeping it quite. Not that they went out of their way to hide anymore but none of them would ever really be comfortable with it. But it had been their choice so she just dealt with it.

Granted not graciously but she did.

Rikki grabbed the edge of the small pier, and with a strong flick of her tail, pulled herself out of the water. As she hit the peak of her rise she twisted to the side and rolled up onto the dock. Without any delay she immediately began to dry herself off.

It only took her half a minute, but with the crowd that was starting to form that was still too long for her taste. Once dry she headed to the cafe, glaring at anyone that stared too long, and straight into the back office. She didn't have to wait long before Emma came in.

"You swam to work?" Emma stated right off.

"Hello to you to Em." Rikki replied.

"You never swim to work because it make to much of a spectacle." Emma said.

"I stopped off to see that discovery of Denman's and stayed too long." Rikki said knowing that just getting it out now would mean less digging questions from Emma.

"What are you on?" Emma scoffed. "You hate her as much as I do."

"I know. But I was curious." Rikki said. "And feelings for her aside you really do need to see what she found out. That at least is worth looking at."

"Hmm..." Emma mused. "I'll think about it."

Rikki looked at her skeptically but eventually just shrugged. Knowing Emma as she did, she figured that Emma would not just think about it but over think it. But that wasn't her concern. She quickly started to get ready to do the books so that she could take over the floor for Emma when her shift ended later..

"So Laura had the dream again last night." Emma started.

"I heard." Rikki said before Emma could repeat everything Cleo had already told her. "Not much we can do about it right now. If Laura want's help she'll ask for it."

"Alright. I guess that's good enough." Emma said. "I'll get back to work then."

Rikki waved her off and got started on the paperwork. Ten minutes later she wanted to murder the person that came up with the whole concept. But that was typical for her.


Bella had spent the morning doing some light cleaning around the apartment she shared with Laura. Byron had fled almost as soon as Laura had left for work. Clearly he hadn't wanted to risk the questions she would have asked. She didn't mind. She'd pin Laura down later and get the details from her.

But there was only so much she could do around the house before her worry about Laura's nightmare built to point where she felt the need to talk to her about it. However, knowing Laura, calling would be futile. Laura would jump to the conclusion that Bella wanted to talk about Byron and would dodge her calls. This meant that if she wanted to see how her sister and roommate was holding up she'd have to make the trip out to the park.

So she packed up the cleaning supplies, got changed into something suitable for the warm weather, and headed out. While swimming would be faster and less subject to random camera phones and drooling stares, she refused to sneak in with out paying the entrance fees. That meant walking to the front gate. However after only walking four blocks she rationalized that she could just get out of the water outside the park and avoid most of this.

Bella arrived at the edge of the park and slowly surfaced. With just her eyes above the level of the water she looked around for a secluded spot to change back. The best she found was a spot with a lot of trees all clumped together, and she decided it would half to do.

She quickly swam to shore and after one more quick look around she pulled herself out of the water. She quickly focused to get herself dry before anyone happened to wander by. All the girls knew that for some reason pictures of them in tails were even more sought after then just pictures of them walking around. So she really wanted to avoid that.

Bella got herself dry with out incident and hurried towards the public entrance. She noticed that the lines were really long and let out a sigh. This had been the norm ever since the girls had stopped hiding. Everyone wanted to get a glimpse of either Cleo or Laura while they were working. The same thing was happening at the cafe too. But Bella put that out of her mind as she got in line.

Twenty minutes later she'd only managed to move halfway up the line and so far no one had noticed who she was. At least she hoped so. Every half minute or so she would scan the crowd around her looking for camera phones pointed in her direction and so far she hadn't seen any.

In her distraction she accidentally bumped into the person in front of her. She made a quick apology and stepped back. The man she'd bumped into half turned and said it was no problem then did a double take.

"You're Bella. The mermaid."

Damn it.

With out even bothering to ask he quickly pulled out his phone and held it up.

"Really? With out even asking?" Bella snapped. A heartbeat later she realized she should have kept her mouth shut as everyone near by turned to look at her. Fingers were pointed at her as people got the attention of their friends and family. Whispers were exchanged and then everyone with a camera started taking pictures of her.

In short order there was a mob of people trying to get close to her. She was badgered with questions, hands touching her everywhere, not all in places she wanted to be touched in either, and then there were the endless cameras. Bella had never felt claustrophobic before, but with the press of bodies giving her no where to go she was beginning to.

So when people were suddenly shoved aside and a ring of park security formed around her she felt grateful for whoever had come to her rescue.

"Laurie we need to do something about this. It's hard for us to visit if we have to risk this each time." Bella looked up to find Cleo and Laurie standing inside the ring.

Bella climbed to her feet and gave Cleo a hug. "Thank you, Cleo. Am I ever glad to see you."

"Come on. Let's get you inside before this gets any worse." Cleo said.

"With two of us here that's a given." Bella said.

"Laurie were ready." Cleo told her boss and with a nod Laurie gave some instructions to security and they started moving.

"You hurt anywhere, Bella?" Laurie asked moving with them in the center of the ring of security.

"I'd kill for a bath to wash the feel of being touched off me, but otherwise I'm fine." Bella replied.

"If you want to, Ronnie would love some company for a while." Cleo said. "He's in his back tank out of view of the public. I'll even join you if you like."

"As long as you're not late for the next show, Cleo, you can take all the time you need." Laurie agreed.

"Yes please." Bella said. "Laurie how are the arrangements coming for that one press conference we agreed to do?"

"Slowly." He answered as he opened an employee only entrance security had gotten them too. "International news teams want in on this and since they only get one the want to make sure they have lists of questions ready. I'll warn you now it's going to be a mess."

"Lovely." Cleo drawled.

"Well after today I want that to be over and done with as soon as possible." Bella told him.

"I'll see what I can do." Laurie said as he quickly led them along the back paths available only to park staff.

"Set a date." Cleo said suddenly. "If they have a deadline they'll have to quit dragging their feet."

"Right." Bella said. "If they complain tell them we set it and they either are ready by then or the miss out."

"That's not a bad idea." Laurie said. "I suppose next week is out. So we'll figure it out after that. Anyways I'll leave you girls alone. I need to get some work done but I can let Laura know you're her if I see her."

"Please do." Bella said with a nod. "I came to talk to her about something anyways."

"No problem." Laurie agreed as he headed off.

"Pool. Now." Bella told Cleo. "I can still feel their hands."

With what had to be a sympathetic shudder Cleo led the way.


Laurie planned to deliberately seek out Laura, but first he went straight to the office of the park director. He was barely keeping his anger in check. The girls were special, the only ones of their kind, and highly endangered. To see one of them mobbed like that and put at risk was not something he could let sit. He'd long considered what had happened as a possible risk and had been considering ideas on how to deal with it.

With two of the girls working here he knew the others would often come and visit. And since they weren't employees they couldn't just slip in the water entrances as Cleo and Laura had taken to doing. The park staff had been pushing for them to stop doing that, but after what had happened today he was determined to get the directors approval for them to continue. He also hoped to get a solution to the other girls coming to the park for visits.

Finally arriving at the door he paused and after a deep breath to remind himself that barging in would only damage his case, he politely knocked.

"Come in." He heard in an annoyed tone.

While confused he none the less opened the door and stepped in. He saw Director Parker behind her desk as he expected, but he hadn't expected the head of security, Laura, and the visiting marine biologist Dr. Denman to be there as well.

He let out a breath. "I take it you know why I'm here."

"I think I have a reasonably good guess." Director Parker said. "And I think I have to admit I feel the same way. That mess at the entrance should not have happened."

Laurie saw that Laura looked like she was about say something, and by the look on her face it was going to be very undiplomatic, until Dr. Denman put a hand on her shoulder. Laura looked up at her and then stepped back and kept quite.

"You are right. It shouldn't have happened. However you are not responsible for the actions of the general public. You can't control them and even security can only do so much." Dr. Denman said politely.

"Thank you for putting that so kindly." Director Parker said with a smile. "But the park grounds are my responsibility and thus I will have to come up with a plan to keep that from happening again. It's worse since the girls have protected status. This would be so much easier to deal with if it had just been some kind of celebrity. Then I could just make a case that they hire personal security."

"I have a few ideas." Laurie said.

"Let's hear them." The director said.

"As you know Laura and Cleo have taken to using the sea entrances to arrive for work." He said.

"It's a security risk to keep letting them do that." The head of security said. Laurie regretted that he had to check the mans name tag to realize the mans name was Luke.

"Well you're just going to have to come up with some kind of lock system for them to use, because I'm going to officially allow them to do so." Parker said. "And the others too. We'll have to figure out some kind of system to cover the park fees."

"I can tell you the girls are very honest and as long as they know that they can pay the fee in some other way they would be more then glad too." Laurie said.

"Anyone have any ideas on that." Parker asked.

"Key pad entry." Dr. Denman said.

Even Laura looked at her strange for that.

"Put a electronic key pad at the sea entrance to control the gate. Each of the girls has her own code and for the others that don't work here it's tied to a prepaid account of some type that they can use to cover park fees." Dr. Denman explained.

"Wouldn't a key card be easier?" Luke asked.

"We'd have to keep that on us after we changed or else it would vanish with our clothing, were ever that goes too, and we'd also run the risk of losing it while we were out swimming." Laura explained.

"I swear I'll figure out where that all goes one of these days." Dr. Denman said.

"I would love to know that too." Laurie said. "But I think the idea is good. Because it is either that or we construct a new entrance in the water for them to use."

"And a key pad system would cost a lot less to install." Parker finished for him. "I'll start making arrangements for it."

"Thank you." Laurie said.

"Well I suppose that settles things for now." Parker said waving towards the door. "Now if you will excuse me I have work to do."

As they all filed out, Laurie took a moment to get Laura's attention. "Bella wanted to talk to you. She was heading over to Ronnie's tank with Cleo."

"Thanks." Laura said. "Linda I'll catch up to you later. I want to see how Bella's holding up after that."

"Actually I'll join you. If you think that is alright." Dr. Denman offered.

"I don't see why not." Laura turned to him. "Thanks Laurie. You've been such a help for us."

"Just go." Laurie said and waved them off.


After waving goodbye to Laurie I hurried through the office area's and out to the back areas. Linda followed me trying her best to keep up with me, I was practically running. I had to admit that between my nightmare and Bella getting mobbed I was starting to worry about how things were going for us all.

"Laura could you slow down a bit?" Linda called out from behind me. "I know you're worried but you don't need to run."

I knew that she was right and so I stopped and waited for her to catch up. "Sorry. I guess I more than a bit bothered by this."

"And your having that nightmare this morning has got you even more on edge, I'd assume." Linda added.

I couldn't help a blush as the mention of my nightmare reminded me of other things from this morning.

"Why are you blushing about a nightmare?" Linda asked me looking confused.

"No reason." I said slight cough to cover my nervousness. "Let's go check on Bella."

Linda spun me around and looked me right in the eyes. I knew it would be a dead give away if I couldn't hold her gaze, but even so I found myself looking at the ground, or the wall, anything but her.

"Did Bella call someone to help calm you down?" Linda asked.

She let the silence stretch. I eventually cracked and answered her. "She called Byron."

"Ah." Linda said. "Well that explains you turning red."

She let me go and hurried on ahead.

"That's it?" I asked. "You're not going to pester me for details?"

"No." She answered me with a smile. "It is none of my business. I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't do anything like that unless you wanted to and you know enough to be safe about it. Besides, I may have let my career take over my life and prevent me from finding someone to share my life with, but that's me. Not you."

She turned to me and smiled. "In a way I kind of envy you that."

"You know it is never to late to find someone." I told her as I fell into step next to her.

"I know." She said simply.

We got to the pool to find that Bella and Cleo were both still there, and that Ronnie was having the time of his life playing with them. I wasn't feeling like getting wet just now so I grabbed one of the balls that we used to entertain Ronnie with and tossed it at the water. The splash as it hit accomplished its purpose of catching Cleo's and Bella's attention and they quickly swam to the surface.

"Laura." They both greeted me.

"Denman." Cleo said politely, if not enthusiastically.

"Hey, Linda." Bella called out much more warmly.

"Hello, girls." Linda called back. "How are you holding up after everything Bella?"

"I can still feel their hands on me." Bella said with a slight shudder.

"They grabbed you?" I said getting angry.

"Everywhere." Bella said. "It's as if there was something magical about touching a mermaid, cause a lot of them got that awe struck look and muttered something about not washing that hand ever again."

"Where's Rikki when you need her." I said trying to lighten the mood with a joke.

"Oh trust me I'd have loved to let her loose on that crowd." Bella said in tone that told me that she wasn't joking.

"While I agree that what they did was extremely inappropriate, wouldn't that be over doing it a bit?" Linda asked.

Cleo blinked at her a few times then scrunched up her face. A few moments later I realized that she was trying to not laugh out loud when a muffled laugh escaped.

"Was it something I said?" Linda asked confused.

Cleo lost it. She burst out laughing.

"I never would have figured you'd have a sense of humor." Cleo said once she had calmed down some.

Linda pointed at me. "You can blame her for that."

I laughed lightly at that. "Well it's true that letting Rikki loose on them would be bad, it's really Em that you need to watch out for."

"Very true." Cleo said now having stopped laughing. "Rikki has a temper and a short fuse, but she burns out quick. Emma is the one that you worry about."

"How so?" Linda asked.

"It takes a lot to get Em angry." I said. "But when she does get angry it's a cold unforgiving type that endures."

"You know it's odd that your powers seem to reflect some part of your personalities." Linda said.

"What do you mean by that?" Cleo asked now seeming interested in what Linda had to say.

"You are like water. Mostly easy going and you tend to take things in stride, but much like a tidal wave once you get pushed you have to just ride it out. But afterward you settle back. I think it is why of you three you've been the most willing to give me a second chance." Linda started.

Cleo looked thoughtful as she listed. "That actually makes sense."

"Now you have a shifting personality." Linda said pointing at me. "But ultimately you like to be helpful to others. That's probably why you can amplify the others. Bella seems to be the most stubborn at times. Much like her power to harden water into an unmoving crystal like substance. Rikki flares up but burns out quickly as you said. It fits that her powers can heat up water or start fires."

"And Emma get's frosty when angered or pushed." I finished seeing where she was heading. "And it takes a lot to get her to warm up to you again."

"Well that explains why she and Rikki fight so much. They are literally opposites." Cleo said.

"You could say that you and Bella are opposites too." Linda commented. "With Laura stuck in the middle of all of you."

"I guess that's why we all work so well as a team." Bella said. "We all are a part of the whole. And thanks for the distraction. I'm feeling better now."

"Well I hadn't planned on trying to distract you from what happened but if you feel better that's good." Linda said.

"Well after today I just want to get away from all this." Bella said.

"Speaking of which," Linda said. "I really think all of you should go through with the trade on Sunday. If my suspicions are correct it's very important for you to do so and to pick men for the trade."

"Wait?" Bella said looking stunned. "You want us to do it?"

"Yes. I'll need to do some tests during that week to be sure, but if I'm right it will be very important. As I already said." Linda said again.

"Well after what happened I'm really considering going for it. Even if all I do for the week is stay in our apartment and never go outside." Bella said.

"I'm more inclined to after last night myself." I added. "If doing this stops the dreams for a while I'll take it. I plan to talk with Byron about that later. He's got a say in this too. Just like Lewis, Zane, and Ash did."

"I guess I should go see Will and find out what he thinks of this." Bella agreed. "I was leaning that way a bit as it was."

"Really?" Cleo said. "What got you to do that?"

"Something Rikki said to me. I asked her for some advice about if it would be worth it to be reminded of what it meant to be just a normal human girl again for a week." Bella explained. "Her answer was that sometimes you just have to do it and see for yourself the results."

"Huh. That's rather good advice coming from Rikki." Cleo said.

"Well I think you should." Linda said. "But ultimately the final choice is yours. I just hope you'll let me get some DNA samples during that week."

"I might." Cleo said. "Depends on why."

"Ask Laura. I'm sure she'll figure it out eventually." Linda said.

"I've been a bit distracted to think of it." I said. "But I haven't given up. I will figure this out."

"Well you've been a bit more distracted today them most." Bella said.

I knew what she meant but I refused to rise to her bait. "Yeah. That nightmare was rather worse then usual."

"That's not what I meant and you know it." Bella said.

"I'd drown you if I could." I said.

"Fine." Bella said. "I'll let it go for now."

I knew she meant that. She wouldn't be happy until she pinned me down and got all the details from me. But I had one last card to play.

"Well then I guess I'll just have to ask you about Will at the same time." I told her.

Bella turned bright red then glared at me. "That is not fair."

"Of course it is." I said back.

"Looks like Laura out smarted you." Cleo said.

"All right. I'll let it go." Bella said.

"Thank you." I said. "So why did you come here for me then?"

"Well Byron aside," I glared at her but she just ignored me and continued. "I wanted to see how you were holding up after the nightmare."

"I have to admit it really was worse." I said. "Usually I wake up before the point it got to this time."

"What happened?" Linda asked looking at me with a mix of interest and worry.

"You know how I've told you the basics of it." I said. She nodded. "Well the basics are the same for each of us. We all dream we are prisoner and at some point are about to be cut open to be studied. That's usually the point we tend to wake up at."

I noticed Bella and Cleo share a shudder with me.

"No offense to you, Dr. Denman, but it's usually you I see in that white coat since that day." Cleo added. "I think Rikki and Emma do too."

Linda just sank to the small dock we were standing on and looked miserable. "I will never be able to atone for that. I'll never stop trying though. I just don't think I'll live long enough to."

"Well that's not when I woke up." I continued intending to keep Linda from going on another guilt fueled apology. "I didn't wake up until the scalpel had started to cut into me."

"Wouldn't you have snapped awake when they started to put you under." Linda asked then noticed my look. "Oh hell. That's completely inhumane!"

"Well that explains why you woke up screaming." Bella said. "If my dream ever when that far I'd be screaming too."

"Yeah. Pretty much." I said.

"You should call Emma and Rikki to the moon pool later. We should talk about this. Your dreams are getting worse and we can help." Bella said.

"I might. I want to talk to Byron first. About the trade and the dream." I said. "But there is a good chance I will. I was thinking of calling you all anyways. Cleo already asked about that when I got into work this morning too."

"She said to keep my phone handy." Cleo said to Bella. "Also if you feel up to it you should go see what Denman has discovered. Rikki took a look earlier today."

"In that case I have to see this." Bella said pulling herself out of the water, and ended up splashing me. "Sorry about that Laura."

"Had to happen to me sooner or later." I said as I fell over.

Between Cleo and Bella we both got dry in short order and Bella headed off with Linda to see her research. I was almost done with my shift for the day and needed to get a few last things done and Cleo needed to get Ronnie ready for the next show so we parted ways for now. I suddenly decided that I would feel better about seeing the others at the moon pool later, but I still decided to hold off on the call until after talking to Byron.


Lisa broke into a run as she finally saw the person she'd just spent the last half hour searching the beach for. Her younger brother, Byron. She knew he always practiced his surfing during the time the tide made the shift to come in. Better waves he said.

What had taken her so long was she didn't know what spot he used. She'd never cared much. Surfing was his thing. Running was hers.

Which was why she'd come looking for him. She'd been on her usual morning run when she'd seen running down the street like a bat out of hell. Three things about that had tipped her off that something was wrong. The fist was he was never up that early with out very good reasons, the second was he was barely dressed, and the third and biggest was that he had been bare foot.

Byron had always joked that he could surf with a broken arm, a cut on his hands, or a black eye, but not with a leg or foot injury. So for him to risk getting his feet cut or blistered set off sisterly warning bells in her head. Hence the reason she'd gone out of her way to track him down.

As she approached him she noticed that he was in the middle of applying wax to his board. That probably meant he had only just arrived. She sighed as she realized that she'd started her search too early, but it explained why she'd been having a hard time finding him.

"So how are you little bro?" She asked as she dropped to the sand on the other side of the board from him.

He looked up as her and rolled his eyes. "I'm fine, Lisa. What do you want?"

He sounded annoyed, but that was usual for him around her. Not that she hadn't earned it over the years, but from her point of view as both an older sibling and as a sister it was her job to annoy the hell out of him. But when push came to shove they were family and she would look out for him no matter the cost.

"Because I saw you run off this morning wearing almost nothing, at an hour you are never awake, and barefoot." He winced at the emphasis she'd put on the last word. "What happened to cause you to do that?"

He let out a sigh and looked at her. "Can we just go back to our usual. You know where you annoy the life out of me and I stoically endure it?"

Lisa found herself stunned by his odd request. "Wait. What?"

"I know how this works. You're my big sister so you get to annoy me." Byron told her. "Shelly annoys me a lot and when I call her on it she says it's a sister's privilege to annoy her brother."

Lisa was going to have to have a talk with her younger sister. She's wasn't supposed to let Byron in on that sisterly secret. But that would have to wait for later. Right now she wanted answers from her brother.

"Well I get double rights because I'm older, but that's not the point right now." She told him. "You never risk getting your feet hurt because it would prevent you from surfing, and since you do it competitively you need to make sure you practice a lot."

"I got a call that there was trouble and so I went to help." Byron said. Lisa didn't miss the way he was being extremely vague. She wasn't about to let him off the hook that easily.

However what she planned to say next was sidelined by the sudden appearance of a rather attractive read head that plopped herself down right in her brothers lap and proceeded to kiss him, in a very possessive manner. Lisa felt a moment of elation. Even though the girl must have mistaken her for some kind of groupie that was trying to get Byron's attentions Lisa had no doubt this was the Laura she'd heard so much about.

"Well, well, well. I finally get to meet her." Lisa said.

The girl's head whipped around as she broke from Byron and stared at her.

Byron cleared his throat and looked over. "Laura I'd like you to meet Lisa. She's my older sister."

Laura's reaction was priceless. Her eyes got really wide and she turned almost as red as her hair. Lisa managed to not laugh openly and held out her hand. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"Likewise." Laura said as she took the offered hand and shook it. "I'm sorry about that."

"I'm not." Bryon said with a grin. Laura actually turned an even brighter shade of red.

"So Byron," Laura said. "I though you'd be in the water by now. The tide is really starting to come in and the waves are getting bigger."

"I was just finishing up on prepping my board when Lisa showed up." He said.

"OK." Laura said. "Should I leave you two alone to finish talking so you can get to practice?"

"Oh it's fine. You can stay." Lisa said. "Maybe you can tell me why my brother was awake so early this morning wearing almost nothing and no shoes?"

Lisa had hoped that maybe Laura would have been more willing to fill her in, but at her seemingly innocent question Laura turned even redder, if that was possible, and her brother suddenly turned red.

"Wait a second. You were the one in trouble that my brother was running like a mad man to?" Laura gave a weak nod. "What happened?"

"I had a really bad nightmare and my roommate called Byron to help when she couldn't get me to calm down." Laura said and both her and Byron went even redder.

Lisa didn't have to be told anymore. Clearly her brother had done more for her then to just calm her down. However, she chose to put that on the shelf for when she could annoy her brother alone with it. She didn't want to alienate Laura at the first meeting. Besides the longer she looked at Laura the more a nagging suspicion pulled at her thoughts.

"Um Laura. I might be wrong but is your last name Westbrook by any chance?" Lisa asked.

Laura groaned and covered her face. "Yes. Yes it is."

Lisa was speechless as she just stared. She really wanted to ask, just to be sure, but couldn't seem to get a single word out.

While she just stared Laura turned and dug around in Byron's duffel bag. In short order she found a bottle of water, opened it, and poured a bit on the back of her hand. Bryon took the bottle from her and then put his arm behind her just in time to catch her as she fell backwards as her legs and feet turned into a bright orange tail with a matching halter top made out of orange scales.

"Breath." Laura told her. "I'm pretty sure you can't hold your breath nearly as long as I can. And you're starting to tune blue anyways."

Lisa was sure she wasn't close to turning blue from lack of air, but Laura was right about the first part, she did need to breath. She sucked in a lung full of air as she realized that she wasn't hallucinating. Laura really was one of the mermaids.

Byron had pulled out his towel and handed to Laura so she could get dry while Lisa had been taking her time to wrap her mind around the fact that her brother was intending to marry a mermaid.

"You'd have found out on Saturday when I came over to visit so it's not a big deal if you find out now." Laura said as she got dry and her body shifted back to being clothed and having feet and legs.

"Laura you have succeeded in rendering my sister completely speechless. I'm impressed, I've been trying to find a way to do that since we were kids." Byron said with the snarkiest grin she'd ever seen him have.

If he'd been intending to snap her out of her shock by being annoying, he succeeded.

"I will get you for that, Byron." Lisa warned.

"Yeah. I'm sure you will." Byron agreed. "However, I need to get to practice. You two are welcome to stay and watch if you like."

"I'll be here. I need to talk to you afterward anyways." Laura told him. "Did you want to stay and talk, Lisa? I'm sure you have a lot of questions."

"Hundreds." Lisa admitted. "But I think they can wait till Saturday. I supposed you won't be needing to wear any bathers though."

"Bathers?" Laura asked looking completely confused.

"Those would be what you call a bathing suit." Byron told her as he picked up his board and walked towards the water.

"Oh. Well I probably still will so we can do some sun bathing." Laura said. "Unless you guys don't plan too."

"We can if you like." Lisa said. "I can't wait. I'll see you then."

"Sure thing. I'm looking forward to it." Laura said sounding excited now. "Wouldn't miss it."

"Great! I'll see you then." Lisa said as she stood up and headed off with a wave. She couldn't wait to get home and tell Shelly all about Laura, and her suspicions about what had happened this morning too.

It was a sister thing.


As usual I enjoyed my time watching Byron practice. I could see that he was making some improvements on that new trick he'd been working on. I'd also enjoyed meeting his sister, though I did wish I hadn't made such a fool of myself at the start.

I hadn't been too surprised when she had figured out who, or rather what, I was. I knew she would have found out at the party this weekend but I'd figured she'd need to see me change to fully accept it. Most people usually did. I was resigned to that little fact.

Didn't mean I enjoyed needing to prove it though.

I'd also hadn't missed that several other beach goers had been quick to pull out cameras when I did. That part I was really getting sick of. More so after the mobbing that had happened to Bella earlier. I didn't know what the fall out from that would be. I resolved to follow up with Linda on that next time I saw her.

For now I just enjoyed my time watching Byron practice his surfing. I noticed after a bit that I wasn't the only one watching him. Some were groups of girls sunbathing, but a lot more were other surfers that I could see were impressed with his skills.

I didn't care about the girls. Byron wasn't interested in anyone but me, I was solidly sure of that, and would ignore their advances anyways. The other surfers kinda amused me. I was sure a few of them would try and see if they could convince him to give them some pointers or even a lesson or two.

Knowing Byron as I did I'd place good money on him just telling them to attend the surf class he taught every morning. He loved teaching, he just didn't have time for it right now. After he was done he'd promised to talk with me and so he wouldn't have time to help them just now.

I'd got so caught up in watching Byron that time just flew by. Before I knew it he was done and walking back to me. I noticed a few of the groups of girls look annoyed as he sat down next to me, but I didn't care. I couldn't help but smile at him as he pulled out his towel and started to get dry.

"Want me to help with that?" I asked.

"Depends. How much of a hurry are you in to talk?" He said back with his charming half grin.

I blushed as I guessed what he thought I wanted to talk about. "Actually I wanted to talk about Sunday."

"Cove?" He asked.

"Cove." I agreed.

"Can you grab my bag for me?" He asked. "Just toss it over my shoulder."

"I can carry it for you." I offered.

"Nah. It's not that heavy. Just hard to pick it up and hold my board at the same time." He explained.

"Ah." I held the strap open as he ducked his head though and settled it into place.

We headed down the beach towards the cove that we used to keep out of public view. It wasn't a choice swimming spot, too many rocks, so it was a good place for us to be alone to talk. It didn't take us long to get down to the cove. Byron had picked a spot not to far from it for his practice today.

Once we arrived Byron took a moment to get his board stuffed into the sand so it was standing up.

"Why do surfers do that?" I asked him. I'd been curious about it ever since I'd seen it in a movie years ago.

"It's easier to grab it after we pick up all our other gear when we do this." He explained. "No other reason then that really."

"Ah." I breathed. I realized that I was stalling. Now that the time had come to talk I found I wanted to wait.

"So you wanted to talk about Sunday." Byron prompted me. "I'm sorry to say I couldn't really think of anything good for that debate you wanted."

"Me either." I admitted. "But after the morning I had I'm leaning towards going for it. The nightmare part of the morning I mean."

"Yeah. I figured you meant that part." Byron said with a smile. "Cause the second part was just amazing."

Now that it was just the two of us I allowed myself to think about that part. Amazing seemed an understatement. "That doesn't quite seem to cover it."

"True." Byron said. "But I think we should focus on Sunday first. That seems to be the most important thing on you mind."

"True enough." I agreed. "Do you think I leaning that way out of fear of a dream?"

"Possibly." He paused, looking thoughtful. "But I get the impression you were leaning that way even before that happened."

"I think you'd be right." I paused for thought myself. I realized that I'd started leaning towards it after my conversation with Linda that morning. What ever the reason was that she was for this had seemed important to her, and I'd known her long enough to know that was often reason enough. Add in that she seemed to think I should know why she was being so insistent and it just added up to me going for it.

"You are. I've been leaning that way since Linda agreed it was a good idea to."

"Linda?" Byron asked confused.

"Linda Denman. I was her assistant and intern for over a year."

"Oh her. You never told me her that her name was Linda."

I winced slightly at that. He was right I had kinda left out her first name when I'd told him about her back when we'd met.

"Well if she thinks you should, and says there is a good reason, then maybe you should consider it." Byron said.

"And you're still OK with this?" I asked.

"I'm her for you anything you need." He said.

"Anything?" I asked.

"What did you have in mind?" He asked suspicious.

"Well I know Bella was planning to visit Will and will probably not be back to the apartment till late, if at all." I said sounding very coy.

"Are you suggesting what I think you are?" He asked archly.

"Only one way for you to find out." I said.

In answer he grabbed his bag and surf board and we headed towards my place. "Think I should call the girls to the pool later?"

"How about we discuss that later." Byron said. "Besides you haven't told me if you'd made up your mind yet."

I pondered for a moment. "I think I will. I'll figure out why she seems so adamant about it. Now I'll race you back to my place."

I took off running.

"No fair I've got to carry my board." He laughed.

Some how despite the handicap he still managed to keep up with me.


Bella surfaced carefully. She kept just her eyes above the water and looked around slowly. She didn't see anyone hovering around Will's boat house. Confident that no one was watching for her she swam to the shore and pulled herself out.

Still feeling a bit paranoid she dried herself as quickly as possible and hurried around to the front door. "Will it's me."

The door opened and she hurried inside. She quickly went around the room closing the windows and the blinds.

"Something happened?" Will asked. Clearly he had picked up on her nervousness.

"You could say that." Bella said rubbing her arms. She could still feel the phantom hands.

Will came over and gently held her.

"Tell me about it." He whispered. "So I can help you."

His gentle love and acceptance of her gave her a sense of peace. And so she told him what had happened. By the end he was holding her tightly in his arms, as if to belatedly shield her from the crowd. Bella had to admit even now, hours after the fact, she felt safe.

It didn't hurt that his touch was erasing the phantoms either.

"I wish I could do something to fix this." Will said. "But it already happened and it's too late now to fix it."

"You're helping right now." Bella told him. "Being with you makes me forget their hands. Makes me feel safe again. So please just - just hold me. For a while longer."

He didn't say anything. He just held her. Like she asked.

In due time she gently pushed free and went over to the couch and sat down. Will followed her and just waited. He just put his arm around her and pulled her in close.

"I'm going to do the trade." Bella said.

"No." Will said.

She drew away from him shocked. "It's my choice."

"I understand that. But I don't want you to do this in reaction to what happened today. That's all." He explained.

Bella let out a soft hum as her annoyance evaporated. His reason was the only one she could accept for him to say no. And that's because he would be right. To go through with the trade just because of what happened would not be reason enough. Thankfully it wasn't her only reason and not the main one either.

"It's part of the reason, but only a small part." Bella told him. "Ever since our talk with Zane and Rikki the other day I've been considering what she said."

"And?"

"And I really feel that I do need to see for myself. Also Laura's friend and former teacher, Linda Denman, thinks there is a good reason for us all to do this."

"She does?" Will looked half curious and half confused. Bella didn't blame him for that. It was how she'd felt when she'd been told.

"Yup. Laura hasn't figured it out yet and I wouldn't even know where to start, but Denman seems rather adamant about this so I felt I should give it proper consideration."

"And how long have you considered it for?"

"Laura told us about her insistence the other day. So since then."

"And you're sure of this?" She glared at him. He held up his hands as if to say 'easy'. "You know you have my full support in this. Always. I just want you to be sure."

Bella gave him one last look then went over everything one last time. She mentally weighed everything, her reasons, the pro's and con's, her feelings, and her worries. "Yes. I'm sure."

"Then we need to start getting ready." Will said. "I will be staying at your place so you can watch over me. Right."

Bella blushed as she realized that she'd forgotten that little detail. "Right. I'd forgotten that part."

She turned to him. "But before that there is something I need you to do. To help me."

"Anything. You know that." Will told her.

"Being with you, in your arms, it wipes away the feeling of being grabbed by that mob of people. I want you to help me completely forget that." Bella whispered between kisses.


Emma had just finished her bath and was about to get changed for bed when her phone's text message ring tone went off. With a sigh she picked it up and saw the call from Laura to meet at the pool. It only took Emma a moment to remember that today was the day Laura had promised to tell them her choice. Though it could be because she wanted to talk about her nightmare. Or both. Either way Emma hurried down stairs.

"Where are you off to, dear?" Emma's mother asked.

"Laura want's us all to meet at the moon pool to talk about something." Emma said heading for the back door.

"The moon pool? Isn't that out at Mako?" Her mother asked. "Is it safe for you to go swimming that far in the dark?"

Emma let out a small chuckle. Her mother's worry was endearing in a way, but completely unnecessary.

"I'll be fine Mom. We do this all the time." Emma reassured her. "We just swim a little slower so we don't run into anything."

"Well try to be quiet when you come back in."

Emma was glad that her parents had lifted her curfew. It was nice to not worry about having to keep track of time when you didn't have easy access to a clock. "I will."

Emma hurried out to the water and quickly dove in. As soon as she had her tail she took off. She took the time to practice her new swimming form, the one she'd picked up from watching Bella, and was pleased to note that it was becoming easier. So much easier that she had to watch her speed so she didn't crash into anything.

Emma surfaced in the moon pool. Her brief cheer at being the first there ruined by seeing Laura sitting off to the side.

"Don't look so glum, Em." Laura held up her phone. "I sent the text after I was already here. So you are the first to arrive, in a way."

That made Emma feel better. She hadn't lost to Laura, she hadn't even been in the race. She had just started to pull herself out of the water when Rikki surfaced.

Rikki just glared at her. "We are racing back."

"Anytime, Rikki." Emma couldn't wait. She was going to prove to Rikki once and for all that she was the fastest. "Now do you mind helping me get dry?"

"Still can't dry yourself?" Rikki's tone was a mix of teasing and superiority.

Emma glared at Rikki. 'That's it. I'm going to bury her in that race.' Emma thought.

"You two never stop. I've kinda come to notice that." Laura said with a laugh. "Fire and Ice."

"What about fire and ice?" Cleo asked having arrived in time to catch the end of Laura's statement.

"Rikki and Emma." Laura clarified. "They're arguing again."

"What else is new." Cleo said as she used her power to lift herself out of the water and instantly dry herself.

Emma couldn't help but be insanely envious. Though she was surprised to see that Rikki looked almost as jealous.

"You're getting good at that." Emma commented.

"I've been practicing." Cleo admitted as with a twist of her hand she dried off Emma and Rikki.

"I can do that for myself you know." Rikki complained.

"So we're just waiting for Bella now." Laura said. Clearly trying to head off the usual banter of the three local mermaids. She should have learned by now.

"But my way is so much faster." Cleo crowed.

"I still say it's not fair that you guys can get dry on your own." Emma added.

"Ha! I could at least get myself dry from the first day. I didn't need to practice anything." Rikki gloated.

"Are they at it again?" Bella asked.

"Yes." Laura said and then she pushed all three back into the water.

As they surfaced Emma, Cleo, and Rikki all glared at her.

"What was that for?" They all demanded at once.

"Well I had to get you three to stop somehow." Laura said. "And you wouldn't listen when I tried to ask you to stop."

"You didn't ask us to stop." Emma said not remembering any question of the type.

"Actually I did. Three times. You just couldn't hear me over your one ups contest." Laura said and turned to walk back to where she'd been waiting.

Emma was glad when Cleo took the opportunity to spray her with water. Laura let out a shriek of surprise and turned around to glare at them.

"Not fair." Laura complained as she stood there dripping.

"Clock's ticking." Rikki reminded her.

Laura let out a huff and jumped into the water.

"Well now that we're all here," Bella began. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I'm going for it." Laura said.

"Me too." Bella added.

"Wait! Both of you?" Cleo asked shocked.

Emma stopped paying attention to the shocked back and forth after that. The gears were already spinning in her head. Plans and arrangements that would be necessary now coming to the fore. All five of them were in this and that meant stuff needed to be done.

"Okay so we're all in this now." Emma said cutting off the discussion of Bella's and Laura's reasons. "We need to start getting things ready for the guys to stay with us, and figure out ways to keep them from being found out."

"Us too." Laura said. "We can't let the general public know we loaned it out. Not just because it will make the guys lives hell but so we don't get constant demands for other loans."

Emma hadn't considered that, but quickly factored it into her plans. "That would be a nightmare."

Laura flinched.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to bring that up." Emma told her.

"It's okay. I'm past it for now. I'm talked out on it for today anyways."

"Well if you need to. You know we're all here for you." Rikki said in a rare moment of tenderness.

Emma didn't take the opportunity to razz her on it either. Their nightmares was the one shared experience they never took lightly.

"So then. Ash will be staying with me." Emma said going back to the original topic. If Laura didn't feel like talking then they wouldn't talk. There was plenty of other stuff to discuss anyways. "I'll have to get the guest room set up for him."

"You're engaged now. He should just stay in your room." Rikki said.

"We discussed that. We agreed the guest room was best. It is my parents house and we want to be respectful." Emma told her. "Now is Zane staying with you or are you going to his place?"

"I'm going there." Rikki said. "We're still arguing about who get's the couch."

"Huh?" Emma had to admit that was confusing.

"He's insisting that he take the couch. I think it's just fine if I do since it's his place." Rikki explained.

Emma shook that off. "Not important. You're going there. Okay."

"Will and Byron are going to be with us." Laura said. "It might be a bit crowded but we'll make it work."

"Cleo?" Emma asked.

"Lewis is going to stay with me. My Dad will have some ground rules but we can work with those."

Emma checked that off her mental list. Along with the arrangements for the cafe and Cleo and Laura having the week off there should be almost no mishaps from the work place.

"Denman would like to get some basic cheek swabs from us and the guys next week." Cleo said. "I think we should. Lewis is going to work with her on what ever it is she has in mind if that helps."

Emma had been about to say no, but the fact that Lewis would be a part of this did give her some comfort. Sure he'd geeked out over this at first but even then he'd never tried to take advantage of them. She trusted him and so long as he was part of it she'd be willing to cooperate.

"I'm fine with that so long as it's Lewis that does the collecting." Emma said.

"You can do the swabs yourself and just hand it to him you know." Laura said.

Even better in Emma's opinion. There was plenty more to work out but looking at her friends she knew that was enough for now.

"Okay that's good for now. I'll work out the smaller details with you guys later." Emma said. Judging by the look of relief on the others faces she'd guessed right. "Unless there is anything else?"

Everyone shook their heads. "Okay then. Rikki. In three. Two. One!"

They shot out of the pool and Emma flew ahead. As she had suspected what she'd learned from Bella had made it so easy to beat Rikki it was almost not fair. At least it wasn't until Rikki pulled even with her using the same technique.

Emma mentally kicked herself. The others had probably picked that up from Bella a long time ago and just kept it to themselves. Despite that, seeing Rikki keep up with her ignited her competitive spirit and she love it. More so when she noticed Bella, Cleo, and Laura all doing their best to win.

Emma didn't know why they were all taking part in this race, and she didn't care. All that mattered to her was right here, right now, and how alive she felt.