The cooling breeze of summer swept itself across the pale blue water, the sleek golden rays from the haze of Australian sunrise penetrating the surface. The gulls patrolled the clouds in search of an early morning meal, but were fortunately cowardly enough not to dive too deep for their catch. a single red and white buoy bobbed on the surface creating ripples as gentle as the light foam on the surf. Below the depths, the warmth dropped...but only in temperature. For another warmth set a cosy anemone aglow. Inside Marlin and his mate Coral waited for several eggs to hatch. The female clownfish held them close to her, a shield of tangerine scales in a world where such scales could be so easily torn off.

"Aren't they beautiful?" she whispered.

"Incredible," Marlin agreed, "I still can't believe we were able to push for more. How many of them are there this time?"

"146," she replied somewhat disappointed.

"146, Honey that's fantastic!"

Coral shook her head. "It's too low. Last time there were over 400." Marlin's heart twinged in pain, but he tried to keep smiling.

"Not every egg makes it, but I'm sure that this time we will have a family...our family."

Coral smiled and leaned in to nuzzle her mate. At that moment Nemo and another little clownfish swam in through the tendrils of the anemone.

"Ew, were you two kissing?"

Marlin looked embarrassed but Coral merely giggled. "It's what mommies and daddies do. Here, come and take a look at your new brothers and sisters."

Nemo and the little clownfish swam over to inspect the wriggling orbs that in a few days would be their siblings. "They don't look like babies," the younger clownfish said.

"They are not yet grown darling," Coral explained, "all fish look like that when they are born, you both did."

"Gross! I never looked like that," said Nemo shaking his tiny head.

Marlin laughed, "Well, when the babies do arrive looking like actual fish maybe we can give them some living space. I think you two may have to share the cavern so they can become immune to the anemone."

"Not with her," said Nemo pulling a face at his younger sibling, "she rolls over in the night."

"I do not!"

"Do too!"

"Okay you too, enough," said Marlin, annoyed but slightly amused, "Listen, when they arrive I want both of you to be the responsible ones. Nemo you're the eldest so I expect it from you the most. We're all going to help Mommy okay?"

"Cause she's swollen and fat," said the little girl clownfish.

"Not too fat for a hug, get over here!" teased Coral pulling her young ones close.

A loud rumble overhead cut their laughter short. Marlin immediately looked up scanning the surface of the water.

"What was that honey?" Coral whispered softly.

"I, I don't know."

"Should we check it out?"

Marlin stared at his mate to his children, all of whom looked terrified. The sound had been a deep throaty snarl, echoing through the water in their direction.

Marlin knew what it was. Coral knew what it was.

And they both knew if they didn't get their children to safety soon, they would all be in grave danger.

"I'll go first," Marlin told her firmly, "Nemo, stay with your sister, and whatever you do, stay hidden and don't make a sound."

"But why Dad-"

"Just do I say," said Marlin carefully. "Everything's going to be alright."

He swam upwards from the anemone and scanned the water for signs of shadows. It was crystal clear, like water droplets rolling off the sail of a boat after a storm. Marlin looked upwards, behind him, below him, all seemed clear…

...until he faced forwards and saw Coral staring at something, frozen with dread.

The barracuda faced them like a torpedo with teeth, ready to attack and devour the juicy morsels hiding in the fronds of their home. It was posturing itself ready for an attack. Marlin tried to make himself look bigger while Coral swam in front.

"Coral…!" Marlin half whispered, half screamed.

Coral ignored him completely. It was as though he hadn't spoken at all.

"Coral...don't you dare make another move out of this anemone...do you hear me?"

Still Coral didn't move. Marlin was becoming desperate now.

"Coral I'm begging you, don't do this to yourself. We have a future remember?" We're a family again."

Coral inched ever closer to the menacing beast, which Marlin could see was beginning to grow in size, swelling itself up until it looked like a miniature submarine.

"Coral...please…"

It all happened so fast. One moment, Coral had swam from the anemone, the next the barracuda sped straight towards her. Marlin hollered at Nemo and his daughter to stay put, knowing the beast couldn't get them while they were in stinging tentacles, but instead they swam. Marlin screamed for them, shouting for them to turn back, but Nemo's lame fin was weighing down him and his sister who had already begun to sink. Marlin cried out for his children until his voice was hoarse. He cried out for Coral but couldn't see her anywhere, just the dark mass of the barracuda with it's fangs bared, ready to swallow him. He could smell blood, hear the cries of his beloved son, "Daddy! Help Me…!"

Marlin awoke gasping for breath, his eyes wide with fear and his scales sticking like a fungus to the rest of his body. He came face to face with something dark and swaying, and for one terrifying moment he was certain the barracuda had swallowed him. Instead he was relieved to see that it was just the tendrils of the anemone dyed blue in the moonlight. Then something else occurred to him-Nemo! He checked beside him and sure enough, there lay his beloved son, sleeping peacefully his tiny chest heaving in and out. Marlin watched him carefully, sighing with relief every time his child's chest rose and deflated. He gazed up at the opening of the anemone to see a bright silver moon appearing staring down at him. It must have been at least eight years to this night it happened. Marlin may have woken up from his nightmare, but he could still hear the screams, the thudding of his heartbeat, the monstrous roar…

Marlin shook in discomfort and burst out of the anemone, panting heavily. He tried to acquaint himself to his natural surroundings. The reef was shrouded in darkness, the deafening silence making him feel queasy. It was not an uncommon occurrence for Marlin to experience nightmares, ever since his mate Coral and all their children had perished to the fangs of a ravenous beast. Sometimes they weren't even nightmares. Sometimes he would have dreams where Coral was still alive, and they would be together, raising Nemo and spending their days lost to anyone except each other...but then he would awake and the cold hard truth would come crashing down.

Marlin leaned his head against the violet tubed coral which stood not far from their home and tried to calm his nerves and stop his heaving stomach. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply, the only way to try and dissuade a panic attack. "Go away," he whispered to himself, "make it go away. None of it's real…" He could feel his eyes prick with tears the more he tried to convince himself that he was fine.

"Hey."

Marlin instantly stopped his grievance and wheeled round to a familiar kind face.

"Dory-! Dory," he said quietly, "I thought you were asleep."

"I was but, I heard you get up," she turned to the anemone for a moment, 'is Banjo okay?"

"Nemo is fine," replied Marlin. He felt guilty for having awoken her, and turned to face her properly, "What about you Dory, trouble falling asleep?"

"Mm-mm,"the blue tang shook her head smiling, "I just, heard a noise that's all. Hey are you okay, you look awful. Have you been crying?"

"Uh, no," said Marlin trying to stop the tears from coming again, "I just…" he wavered, seeing the concerned look in his best friend's eyes. He sighed unable to hold in the feeling which ate at him like a parasite. "I uh...I had a bad dream, that's all." He went to swm back to his anemone but the words which came from his friend made his heart cease.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

Marlin didn't turn around. 'Uh...I'd rather not Dory, if that's okay." Dory seemed taken aback at this but she agreed not to press further.

"Okay."

'Okay."

There was a long pause, causing the silence of the darkened deep to encase them once more. Dory broke it, swimming into her brain coral. "Well, night then!"

"Dory Wait…"

"Hm?" the blue tang poked her head out watching her friend as hovered outside his home.

Marlin waited a long time to respond. Finally he spoke. "Could you...could you stay for a minute?"

Dory, relieved swam straight out of her cavern to join him at his side. "Sure partner, what's the matter?"

"I-had a nightmare," he began carefully.

'Oh you poor fish, I'm sorry," said Dory taking his fin, "Was it a really bad one."

"Well…" Marlin knew there was no point in lying to her. Even though Dory was forgetful she was anything but clueless, "Yes. Yes it was a bad one."

Dory edged closer to him. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"I told you I-no, I don't, I'm sorry."

'Are you sure? You'd feel better if you did."

"You think?" Marlin asked quietly debating himself whether or not he could completely confide in her.

"Well, it always used to help me when I had a scary dream to try and get it out, just talk to myself about it. I forget most of mine the next day anyway."

Marlin envied her short term memory loss sometimes. While it may be a burden to live with it sure did make erasing the past easier.

"Well, alright. I...I was dreaming about...my wife," he said slowly.

"Huh. You never told me you had a wife," said Dory, "What's her name?"

"C-Coral," said Marlin, almost choking, "She...she was my wife."

"What happened?" Dory asked softly, "You can tell me you know? Anything." Marlin looked into her eyes and could see that she truly meant it, "And if it's personal, I'll just forget about it, so it'll be like you never told me, okay?"

Marlin smiled. "Well, Coral and I were happy. We had just found this lovely anemone that looked over the Drop Off, and we were about to become parents. Eggs, over 4000 of them. Well, we were just fooling one day, I wasn't really paying attention much I was just so excited about being a dad. But she swam out of the house and there...there was a barracuda just floating there, waiting. She went to save our children and it came after her. I tried to stop it I really did, but I just wasn't quick enough. It took everything. Except one egg...the one I called "Nemo."

The painful silence came back, stretching out for an eternity. The eeriness of it all only dispersed when Marlin realised he was sobbing. Dory had not moved from his side while he told his story, and she stared at him, devastation welling in her magenta eyes.

Marlin suddenly felt two fins pull him in close. Dory was holding him against her leaning her own head onto his. "I'm sorry," she was saying over and over again, "so so sorry…"

"Y-You don't have anything to be sorry about Dory," said Marlin, "none of it was your fault."

"Yeah," sniffed Dory, "but none of it was yours either."

Those were the words Marlin had wanted to hear for years. He embraced her back, and this time, he let the tears flow.

"There, there," Dory soothed him, "it's alright, you'll be okay."

The two stayed that way for a very long time, bathed n moonlight, until Marlin broke off the contact. "Well, I'd better get back to Nemo," he said. Dory retreated to her coral home. As he turned to go back inside the anemone, he looked back towards his blue tang friend who was busy nestling herself down for the remaining hours of the night.

"Uh, Dory?"

"Yeah?" she yawned.

"Thank you."

"For wha-oh. Any time. What are friends for right?"

"Right," smiled Marlin, "Goodnight Dory."

"Nighty-night."

The nightmares subsided that night. Instead Marlin dreamed of nothing. He pulled Nemo closer to him and buried himself into the folds of the anemone. Dory was right, he did feel better for spilling his thoughts, however horrible they may have been. He was calmed even more by the fact that nothing would be passed on to Nemo since she would forget everything in the morning.

But Dory didn't forget. She tossed and turned unable to get Marlin's story out of her head. It was unusual for her to soak up new information so easily. She made a promise then, that whenever she heard Marlin waking up in the middle of the night, she would come out to comfort him, whether he needed it or not.

After all, she knew exactly what it was like to have strange dreams about family.