"Mom, you would not believe what happened to me!" I exclaimed the moment my mother walked in the door. She looked tired, and surprised to see me awake.

"Jackie, baby, it's 5 in the morning. What are you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep, not after last night." Mom yawned and dropped her bag on the counter in the tiny kitchen.

"What happened last night? Did you go out like I told you to?"

"Yeah, and I ran into that guy from before. The one who saw me change." My mom stopped what she'd been doing and turned to look at me.

"What? How did he find you?" I looked away nervously. I'd almost forgotten about those guys who had been coming after me.

"He… He was just out in the park. He didn't realize it was me until after he chased off some guys that had been… bothering me. He was just being polite, but he recognized me. He said his name was Steve Rogers. I don't think he had any intention of hurting me, or exposing my secret…" I trailed off. I really didn't know what to think. Sure he saved me, but even in the dark he identified me. How much of me had he seen before? He saw me get splashed on the street, and I did make a little bit of eye contact with him.

"Well, if he's that much of a gentleman, he may be able to help you out in the future," my mom said, interrupting my train of thought, "He knows what you are, and if he's that tough, then he would have been able to expose you. Mr. Rogers doesn't seem like a bad guy to me, but I would advise you to use caution when dealing with this man. If you meet him again, maybe you can try to win him over."

"Mom-"

"This is my advice, now if you'll excuse me, I've had a long night, and so did you. I think it's time for bed." I couldn't argue with that. As I curled up under my blankets, I remembered the look on the guys face after he remembered me. He'd seemed surprised, then happy. He didn't look like he might be evil or anything. When he saw me get splashed, he'd asked if I was okay, and he asked the same question after he chased off the rapists. Maybe he could be an ally. Next time I see him, because I don't think that was going to be the last time I saw him, I might apologize for being so rude…

The next morning, well, afternoon, I woke up at about the same time mom did. We both ate lunch, and while she settled down to read her new romance book, I threw on some clothes so that I could go for a swim.

Turning into the alley, I lifted the metal sheet that hid the entrance into the tunnel. I practically slid down the ladder, eager to get into the water. I followed the tunnel, relieved that it hadn't gotten damp again. It must be a storm drain… I followed the tunnel to the river entrance. Peeking out, I didn't see anyone at the railing.

Quickly, I dove into the water, making as small a splash as possible. I smiled as I felt the familiar sensation of the shift bubbling over the surface of my skin. With a flick of my fin, I was well on my way out of the river to a place I hadn't been to since I first moved here.

Gliding to a slower pace as I neared the shipwreck, I glanced around. I saw one brown fish swimming lazily around a small patch of brownish, silt-covered weeds. I smiled, it sort of reminded me of the creek near the theatre back home, the one with a stone bridge beneath it. I never swam in it, it didn't connect to the river, but I'd liked to look at the fish swimming from above. I felt like sighing.

I can't breathe underwater, no mermaid can. We are gifted with the ability to hold our breath for long periods of time. Hours if need be. I never timed myself fully, I always got too distracted to check the timer, and I'd ruin my data. Still, I never saw the point in wasting my air.

Peering through the window of the old ship, I looked at the thick layer of silt that covered the bottom. I hadn't minded it before when I was trying to get away from Steve, but now that I was in the right mind, I wanted it out. I contemplated trying a broom to sweep it out, but I would probably cloud the water with it.

Holding out my hands, I concentrated on the water around it. A small patch of silt lifted off the floor of the ship, forming a bubble shape. Pulling it toward me, I released it on the bottom of the bay. It settled almost instantly. I grinned.

About an hour later, the entire ship was free of dirt, outside and in. Several yards off to the side, there was a fairly large pile of silt, almost like a miniature mountain. Satisfied with my work, I took a look inside. Swimming up to the instruments, I looked them over.

They were rusted, and had stopped working a long time ago. I tapped the old compass. The needle shook, but didn't stop pointing north. At least that one still worked. I gripped the wheel and imagined what it would have been like to pilot this old yacht. Feeling silly, I swam out through the broken window and to the surface to breathe.

[Steve's P.O.V.]

I grinned, a crisp 10-dollar bill in my pocket. I met up with Director Fury after my latest encounter with the mermaid, who I'd discovered is named Jacqueline Thompson. There were a lot of little details in her story that were a puzzle to us. He'd wanted to speak with me in person about her, and where to go from there.

Now that we had an address, Fury had put an agent on her tail, figuratively of course, to see if she was up to anything suspicious. A big part of me doubted her being up to anything illegal, or that could endanger the human race. Her history stated that she was a good girl, with decent grades and a job, but that had changed suddenly just before her 17th birthday. There was something about that date that didn't make sense.

"So, what do you think of the girl?" Fury asked, yanking me from my thoughts.

"Jacqueline seems like a good kid, but I don't think she was born a mermaid like we originally thought. But I don't understand how she could have changed."

"I'm sending an agent to New Hope to see if there's anything, or anyone, there that could give us a clue. We also have an agent tracking her as we speak."

"Have they they checked in yet?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Yeah, she went down some ladder underground. Could be a basement, or a tunnel down there. My agent is waiting until she leaves to go down that trap door. But there is the question of personal information." Fury said, his voice turning serious with the last sentence.

"Sir?" I asked.

"You're the only one here who has spoken with her in person. She might start to trust you, especially after you saved her tail from those punks. Pretty lucky she ran into them while you were in the area. Good thing you were wearing the camera we'd given you too. I could not have timed that better myself." I frowned in response. S.H.I.E.L.D. had given me that camera to wear while I was out, so that she wouldn't suspect that she was being tracked. I hadn't expected to see her in the park, and it was sheer luck that I'd been wearing the camera and earpiece on my walk.

"My point is, you've saved her ass, and seen her twice. You know she's a mermaid. If you can get on her good side, then maybe she'll open up to you about why she's a mermaid, and what she's capable of." Then it made sense. Director Fury wanted me to befriend Jacqueline and get her to trust me. It was a good idea in theory, but it didn't feel right.

"If I may, sir, I don't agree with that method. If we try to recruit her, or she finds out that I've been giving her secrets to you, she might become violent." The last part, I wasn't certain about. I didn't want to tell Fury straight up that I disagreed with his plan because I didn't want to betray her. I wanted to befriend her, be someone she could look to for help in a bad situation. I wanted to be a hero again.

"You make a point, Rogers. We don't know what she's capable of yet. In that case, be careful not to let her find out."