A/N: Thanks to my last reviewer, this chapter went up today! But I didn't really understand the reveiw though...I would PM but it was left by a Guest, so whoever you are, I'm a bit confuzzled, but a review is a review! :) I'm so happy with how well this story is going! I already have a title for the next part, which will be revealed in the last chap of this fic. I really hope you like this chapter. This is the downhill part; this story already reached its pinnacle a few chapters ago. Now it's got to slide back down, and then rise back up for the next part. Okay, I'm done with boring explanations, here's the next chapter of never let go.

Disclaimer: I do not own H2O just add water

Bella's POV:

(Three days after the last chapter)

I can't describe how happy I was to be back together with Will. Compared with what had almost happened three days ago, we both realized how stupid and trivial our argument had been. We were comfortable with each other once again and everything just felt perfectly right. I was actually at Will's house right now, I had spent the past few nights here since he couldn't be left alone and there wasn't really anyone else.

Will was asleep in his room at the moment and I was doing the few dishes in the sink, wearing gloves of course. They were in a prominent spot on the counter and I'm sure Will had learned to use them right away whenever he had to wash dishes or do anything in relation with water. I quickly finished the dishes and carefully slipped off the gloves. As I did so, an unseen droplet of water splashed on my arm. In ten seconds, I hit the floor with a painful "thump" and a cry of surprise.

"Darn it!" I scolded myself, reaching for a towel to wipe off my arms and hands.

"Bella, are you alright?" I heard Will call from his room.

"I'm fine!" I called back, "I just had an…umm…" I searched for the right words, "…unexpected surprise?" I finished weakly.

"Does it involve a tail?" I heard his voice right above me. I jumped in surprise and gaped at him, just woken up and wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants.

"What are you doing out of bed?" I cried, forgetting the towel momentarily. "You're supposed to be resting!"

"More like rescuing," he quipped, handing me the towel that had been just out of reach. I glared at him.

"I would have gotten to it eventually!" I protested, drying myself off quickly. My tail disappeared immediately, and my legs returned.

"But why wait until eventually when you could have had it immediately?" He countered. I frowned at him, trying to look stern, but he placed his hands on my hips, and I relented, resting my head against his bare chest.

"Hey, I'm not dying," he teased gently, "maybe I'm not 100%, but I'm getting there. Just give me a little leeway; I promise I won't fall apart."

I grinned in spite of myself and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "I'll hold you to that," I whispered softly. "Now," I began in a normal tone, "back to bed!"

He groaned and pulled away to look at me. "You mean my, 'please-I-feel-fine' speech didn't work?" He looked at me in feigned shock.

I grinned and tapped his nose. "No, it didn't. I said I'd give you leeway, not a free pass out of here." He sighed, turned, and trudged back into his bedroom. I followed close behind, keeping one hand on his arm the whole way. He crawled back under the covers, and I tucked them back around his shoulders. I was just turning to leave when he called me back.

"Bella?"

I faced him and saw that his expression had turned serious. "Yeah?" I replied.

"Why did you come back?" He asked slowly. "Why did you come after me after I saved you?" His eyes studied my face searchingly.

I sat down on the side of his bed and gave him a confused look. The suddenness of randomness of this question surprised me. "You know why I came back." I said, almost accusingly. "I was worried and I wanted to talk to you about how horrible I had been acting."

He shook his head. "I know that, and I know that we're back together now and all, but we never actually thought seriously about the problems we had had before we broke up." He looked hard into my eyes. "I don't know if it was one thing that was the issue, or if it was a bunch of things combined, but whatever it was that caused us to break up, I just want to make sure that it never happens again." He said his last three words with finality, making me realize right away how serious he was.

I thought about what he had said, and then thought back to the days before we broke up. What had triggered the explosion? It hadn't been anger; that was for sure. Now that I was thinking carefully I realized that it had been concern. I almost smiled at that thought, only because of how ridiculous it really was. I had been so worried about Will because I loved him so much – so worried that I had let my worries come out in the wrong way – and in the end they drove him away instead of bringing him closer. I looked up and realized that Will was still staring at me.

"I think I was being too overprotective." I said simply.

"No, Bella, don't – " He began to protest.

"– Just let me finish" I cut him off. He fell silent, and I took a deep breath and continued.

"I was worried that you were going to hurt yourself, or that at the very least you would expose yourself to everyone." I paused. "And I don't think I could have handled that." I finished finally.

I stopped talking, not wanting to dwell on the idea that had given me nightmares for days leading up to our argument at the café. Someone splashing Will with water, him running away, and then everything would go in slow motion as he transformed before he could make it. It was more frightening than my old nightmares about myself transforming, because at least then I knew when I woke up that I had some kind of control over what happened and what didn't. But when it was someone else, and especially someone you love, the idea is purely terrifying.

Will reached his arm out and brushed a strand of hair away from my face. "I think," he began slowly, "that we both need to learn to trust each other more."

I nodded slightly. "I'll try not to be so aggravating," I said apologetically, raising my eyes to his face. He didn't say anything, but just pulled me into his arms.

"Please don't blame yourself for this," he begged gently, his words muffled into my hair. "It was just as much my fault as it was yours. I was too stupid to realize that you were only concerned for my safety; not being unreasonable. I'm so sorry. Do you think you can forgive me?"

He sounded so sad, like he was really considering the idea that I might not forgive him, that I smiled in spite of myself.

"I don't think that there's anything to forgive," I said softly, burying my face into his shoulder. He let his breath out slowly, as if he had been holding it for a long time.

"So now we start fresh?" He asked quietly.

"From scratch," I said. He smiled happily and so did I. He leaned forward, squeezing my hand and planted a gentle kiss on my lips. I looked at him and saw for the first time how fragile he really was. Despite what he had said earlier, his brief illness had drained him of most of his strength, and it was going to take time for him to regain it. With those thoughts in mind, I helped him ease back into bed and re-tucked the blankets around him. His eyes closed after a few seconds, but his grip on my hand remained until he drifted off to sleep. I stayed with him for a few minutes more and then carefully pulled my hand away and left the room.

Back in the living room, I settled myself on the couch and pulled out my phone. I had three messages. One was from Cleo, asking how Will was, one was from my mom, asking if I was staying at Will's tonight, and the third was from Rikki.

"Need some company?"

I smiled and typed out a reply.

"Wud luv some."

She texted back almost instantly.

"b right ovr."

About ten minutes later I heard a slight knock at the door. It opened before I could even get off the couch. Rikki walked in, her phone in one hand and a bottle water in the other.

"Hey," she said, coming over to where I was on the couch.

"Hey," I replied, smiling and tucking my own phone into my pocket. She sat down beside me and looked up

"So, how's he doing?" She asked casually, but I could sense the underlying worry in her tone. Rikki was never one to be completely open about her feelings, but after knowing her all this time, I've come to be able to sense them myself – most of the time.

"He's doing a lot better; he even took it upon himself to get up and help me dry my tail off after a little incident."

She raised her eyebrows at me. "An incident?" She questioned.

"I was washing dishes and then…" I let my voice trail off, and she nodded understandingly.

"Been there, done that, only I didn't have a knight in shining pajamas to come and save me." She teased, a twinkle in her eye.

I laughed and playfully swatted her shoulder. She ducked out of my reached and wagged a finger at me.

"Oh come on, you know I'm right," she argued, pulling her legs up onto the couch and clicking on her phone.

"Maybe so," I admitted, "But things are still just in the early stages for us. We're trying to take things slow."

"Uh huh," she said. "And does this look like you're taking things slow?" She passed me her phone, and I looked at the screen. It was a picture she had taken of Will and I a day after the whole scare with the tentacle. I was curled up in his arms, and he was resting his head on top of mine.

"Oh, um…well…" I stuttered uncomfortably. Rikki burst into laughter.

"I thought so," she cried triumphantly. I laughed a little, but then I yawned. I had been up most of last night with Will. He hadn't been feeling well and I had kept him company until he had fallen asleep, but of course that meant that I got next to no sleep myself.

"You look exhausted," Rikki commented. I yawned again.

"Thank you captain obvious," I said sarcastically. She grinned.

"I suppose Will had you up all last night, now didn't he?" She grinned mischievously.

I nodded, "yeah, actually he did, but I – " Then the reality of what she had just implied hit me. My mouth dropped open, and I gaped at her in shock.

"Rikki!" I squealed, my cheeks turning bright red. She started laughing hysterically, rolling slightly off the side of the couch and easing her way to the floor. My face began to return to normal in a few seconds, and I grabbed a pillow and began smacking her with it. She raised her arms to shield herself and tried to snatch the pillow away from me.

"I take it back!" She gasped, "I take it back!" I was laughing too by this time and dropped the pillow. I flopped down on the floor beside her and we took a few seconds to calm down and get focused once again.

"Okay, now I'm being serious," Rikki said a few minutes later, pulling herself into a sitting position. "You look really tired; you need a break."

I pushed some hair out of my face. "Maybe, but who will keep an eye on Will? Sophie's not going to be back for a least another week, and actually, that's a good thing because she can't find out the details about this. By the time she gets back, Will should be almost better and we can just say he's had a cold or something. But back to the main issue, Lewis and Cleo can't tear away from each other long enough to say hello, so they're obviously out."

Rikki shrugged. "You're forgetting someone," she said, pulling her water bottle out from under a chair and taking a quick sip. "How about me? I can look after him while you go home and get some rest. Take a shower, watch TV, take a nap, just try and think about something else for a few hours."

I thought about what she said for a moment. As much as I hated to admit it, the offer was tempting. I was still worried about Will, but I knew that he had been right when he said before that he wasn't going to fall apart, and if I didn't get some sleep soon, I would be the one falling apart.

"You sure you're okay with this?" I said slowly.

She nodded, "Of course I'm sure. I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't," She got up and set her water and phone down on the coffee table. "Now go on, I'll keep a close eye on him, I promise."

I stood up rather reluctantly, but I knew she was right. As I headed for the door I turned, "I won't be gone too long, I'll have my phone with me at all times, so call me if ANYTHING happens, and I – "

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, no worries, just go before I change my mind," Rikki groaned, getting up and pushing me playfully towards the door.

I laughed and started leaving, "Okay, okay, I'm going, but seriously, please let me know what goes on," I looked at her and she nodded.

"I promise, I'll call you if he even sneezes." She said seriously. I turned to leave, satisfied.

"Thank you so much for this," I said, as I walked down the pier.

"No problem," she called. "Now just take it easy!"

Rikki's POV:

I shut the door after Bella left and plopped back down on the couch. I didn't have anything else to do this afternoon; it was slow at the café and Zane could manage by himself. I played with my phone for about a half an hour to an hour when I heard sounds of someone moving around in the next room. I got up and cracked the door open a notch. Will was up and was stretching his arms up above his head, yawning.

"Hello sleeping beauty," I teased, stepping into the room. "Feeling better?"

He grinned when he saw me. "Much better," he confirmed. "Where's Bella?"

"I sent her home to relax for a while. Until she gets back, I'm on 'Will Duty'"

He laughed at my last phrase. " 'Will Duty'?" He queried, making the hyphen marks with his fingers.

"Yup, 'Will Duty'" I said, imitating his hyphens. "What else should I call it?"

"I'm sure I don't know," he said, yawning at the end of his sentence. "Since you're here, does that mean that I can move without you freaking out?" He looked at me hopefully.

I laughed, "to some extent," I said cautiously, "but you still have to take it easy. Bella would kill me of you wore yourself out the minute she turned her back."

He shrugged. "You're right, but I feel like I'm suffocating in here!" he cried dramatically, "I'm going to go crazy if I don't get a change of scene soon."

I thought about that for a second. "I get what you mean," I said slowly. "And I think I might have a way to fix this."

LINEBREAK

I watched Will's face as I plopped the contents of my arms down in front of him.

"Monopoly…Life…Stratego…?" his voice trailed off, and he looked at me with a blank expression. "What am I supposed to do with these?"

I sighed. "Honestly Will, you say that you're not crippled, and then I have to do everything for you." I shook my head and gestured towards the games. "We'll play these to keep your mind off of being sick and all that stuff. You can stay in bed, you can keep busy, I won't die of boredom, and Bella won't get mad at us. See everyone wins, now shut up, put your shirt on, and choose your game piece." I tossed him a t-shirt, flipped the monopoly box open and dumped the contents on his bed. Will raised his eyebrows and looked like he was holding back a laugh. I grinned and started dealing out the money while Will sat up and began looking through the assortment of game pieces spread out on his blankets. After a few seconds he selected the small, silver boat out of the pile.

I looked at him curiously. "Why the boat?" I asked. "Everyone I know always picks the boot or the train. Then when I play with little kids they always fight over the dog or the horse, but nobody ever cares about the boat."

He shrugged. "I guess it's fitting. I lived practically my whole life on a boat. Then I used to dive a lot, and now I swim…sort of…" he grinned at me. "So I guess I think of boats as my lucky charm or something."

I grinned "we'll see how lucky that boat is when I beat the pants off you," I teased. He shook his head playfully at me.

"Yeah, we'll see!" He shot back, but I could see the twinkle in his eyes. I handed him the dice.

"You roll first; you're going to need all the help you can get."

LINEBREAK

Four hours later, Will and I had played through a game of monopoly, two games of life and were currently in the middle of Stratego.

"Seven," I called, placing my game piece on top of Will's.

He grinned. "Gimme," he said mischievously, reaching for my piece.

"What?!" I cried, pulling it away. "What the heck? What do you have under there anyway?!"

He chuckled, "That's for me to know, and you to find out," he said triumphantly, placing my seven back into its compartment. Right next to his rows of sixes, fives, fours, threes, twos, my spy, and two bombs.

"Aarrgh, you are so annoying!" I screamed, bouncing up and down on the bed. He looked on in amusement.

"Are you done now?" He asked patiently, "Because I would like to take my turn."

I scowled at him. "Go ahead," I grumbled, tucking my knees to my chest.

He reached for the piece I had just attacked and moved it one square. "Twelve," he said confidently.

I gaped at him and then buried my head in my hands. He flipped over the piece he had just captured and gave a cry of excitement. "Yes! I won! I got your flag!" He pumped his fist into the air and did a little victory dance, still sitting down.

I just stared at him, trying hard not to laugh.

"What's wrong?" He questioned innocently.

I couldn't take it any more and I burst into peals of laughter.

"What?" He asked, almost indignantly. "What on earth is so funny?"

I tried to answer, but I was laughing to hard. Will tried to look angry, but all that happened was that he began laughing with me. We finally calmed down a few seconds later, and I began sliding whatever pieces remained on the board into the box. Will folded up the board carefully as I jumped off the bed and crawled along the floor looking for the one three that was nowhere to be found.

"You know, I can't believe Bella and I went all that time apart just because we were too stubborn to fess up." He commented.

"I keep telling you and telling you: you're too stubborn for your own good." I grunted, stretching my arm out under the bed and feeling around frantically.

Will didn't answer. I finally felt the missing piece between my fingers and I straightened up and set it in the box, placing the lid on neatly.

"Are you okay?" I asked, looking up at him. He was staring off into the distance and didn't seem to hear me at first. I reached out and touched his shoulder. He jumped and looked at me.

"Sorry, I guess I zoned out there for a bit." He said sheepishly. "I told you I would beat you," he said, returning to an old topic and giving me a crooked smile. He was obviously trying to pretend everything was normal.

"Yeah, and I should have believed you." I said carefully. "Seeing as how you're a terrible liar."

He looked sharply at me. "What do you mean by that?" He asked quickly.

I shrugged. "It's just that I can always tell when you're lying."

"Like when?" He challenged.

"Like now," I retorted. "You're worried about something, and you're trying to pretend that you're not."

He didn't answer.

"Oh come on Will, what's wrong? Are you okay?" I scanned him over quickly, but physically he looked better than I'd seen him since the accident. His forehead was creased with worry though, and it was obvious that he had something on his mind.

"I'm just worried about me and Bella," he said finally, playing with a loose thread from his sheet. "I know we worked things out, and we both realized how ridiculous we acted, but that doesn't change the fact that we're both still mers that risk transformation and exposure every time we leave our houses. I can't help but worry about her, and I know she feels the same. We promised each other we'd be more trusting, but I'm literally terrified every time she comes within ten feet of a water bottle. I just want to protect her, but now I'm in the same situation." He looked at me, his eyes hollowed and sad. "I just feel so – so – so trapped," he said desperately.

I reached my hand out and placed it on his shoulder. "It's okay to feel like that," I said softly. "I get where you're coming from to some extent. It's hard to know that you can't really help your friends if they were to get into trouble. You could sacrifice yourself, but that would ultimately sacrifice them. With you it's even worse because Bella's more than just your friend."

He nodded. "So what do I do?" He asked hoarsely. "How do I protect her without – " he paused. "– stifling her?" He finished, looking up at me.

I thought about that for a second. Then I shrugged. "Just try and be there for her as much as you can, but also try to listen to her, and I don't just mean listen to what she says. By now, you should be able to tell when she needs space, and if you're ever in doubt just ask her. Having time to yourself in a relationship is just as important as having time together." Then I looked up to make sure he was still listening. "And, if worse comes to worse – "

He sucked in his breath sharply and looked away, but I kept on talking like I hadn't noticed.

"If worse comes to worse," I continued, "be there for her through it all and show her that you'll be with her until the end, no matter what it takes."

He nodded slowly, and looked at me. "Right," he said softly, pressing his hand to his forehead. I reached out and placed my hand on his neck and then on his upper back.

"You feel a bit warm," I said worriedly, rubbing his shoulder comfortingly. "Why don't you try and get some rest?"

He nodded soundlessly and slowly slipped off his t-shirt. I pulled the blankets back and away from him, and he crawled under them gratefully. I tucked them around him gently and then turned to leave.

"Rikki?" he called, just as I was about to shut the door.

"Yeah?" I looked back at him questioningly.

"Thanks," he said simply.

I smiled, knowing that he meant more than just the games we had played.

"Anytime."

A/N: I just need to clarify something RIGHT NOW. I'm NOT a wikki fan although I know it's a fairly popular pairing. I love them as friends, but I can't see them as anything more. ZIKKI 4 EVER! Okay, well, I hope you liked this chapter and there's more where it came from! Just review and I'll post as soon as I can. This story is coming to a close, but the sequel is all planned so don't worry! Thank you so much for reading! Love you! :) Oh and btw the same thing goes rom now on - three reviews and I update soon...five reviews and I update as soon as I get the fifth review. I can't use the computer after 10 o'clock though, but I'm trying to have all my ready chapters uploaded so that I can use my ipod. Thanks again! Please review! :)

Ella:-D