I'm so sorry for the long wait, guys. I was so busy with school, my laptop didn't even get turned on for three weeks. Well, I suddenly got back on the Finding Nemo trip (for some reason, these pass by ever summer) and got right back to writing. I can't believe MKA is as old as it is! Turned a whole year old yesterday! Anyway, I need to write two more chapters and then, BOOM! All done! Thanks to all my reviewers and readers!

Just keep swimming!

~Cel

Chapter Fourteen: Decisions, Decisions

The day was certainly interesting enough, spending it with Dory. The Regal tang, as Gill soon found out, was filled with an inexhaustible energy and countless questions. She talked every minute of every hour and only stopped when she prompted Gill to answer one of her many questions.

"Why are your teeth so sharp?"

"How old are you?"

"Where did you used to live?"

"What's your favorite color?"

"How old are yo – wait, sorry, I already asked that."

"How can you swim so good?"

"How did you get your scar?"

Some questions Gill answered willingly, some even with a smile. However, a few he completely refused to answer, having to gently remind Dory that each fish had his own little bubble. In truth, the answers were far too painful to give. Dory wasn't one to pry, so she let it be and kept on jabbering. The female fish led the Idol all throughout the reef, giving him a grand tour. He didn't tell her that he really didn't need one – he had known this reef most of his life. Instead, he just swam beside her, listening to her constant dialogue, nodding in appropriate places, answering her when needed. However, the whole time, his mind was elsewhere. Gill was deep in thought about what was really going on here.

How could he allow himself to stay? Did he really allow himself to believe that the reef was still his home? Fifteen years changes a lot of things and his heart was no exception. Merely being in this place was bringing back the familiar, wrenching pain and unwanted memories. For most of the day, Gill contemplated leaving the reef in search of a different home – become a nomad, perhaps. The Gang was perfectly fine now. As expected, Bloat had charmed his way to the heart of a dainty female pufferfish named Swell. Bubbles had all the bubbles he could possibly hope for. Peach enjoyed her days looking over a business clearing. He had come, met the famous Marlin and Dory and reunited with Nemo. His business was through.

"…C'mon, it's time to go pick up Kilo…Nemo." Dory said excitedly, beckoning Gill towards the pick-up clearing. Gill blinked and shook his head, jolted back to the present. Dory was already swimming ahead of him, still waving him forward.

"Okay, okay…I'm comin'," Gill said tiredly. He felt laden down and, surprisingly, not even Dory's cheerful demeanor could lift his spirits as she'd done earlier. The prospect of leaving the only true home he'd know forever was painful to even contemplate. Now he would have to think of some excuse for Nemo. Poor kid. Gill was well aware of how attached Nemo was to him and how that bond was going to make this goodbye even more heartbreaking. Gill was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't realize they'd made it into the clearing. He nearly bumped into Dory, who was watching Mr. Ray glide over a rocky outcropping to drop off the children on his back.

"Okay kids, have a good day. Remember, tomorrow we are going to learn all about the types, ooooh the types of mega-mega-megafauuuunnnaaa! And our Show-and-Tell is after lunch, so bring something that you'd like us to seeeee!" Mr. Ray cheerfully sang out the last sentence before gliding away. Dory darted forward right towards Nemo. Marlin appeared then, rubbing his son's head and asking how his day was. Bright-eyed Nemo rushed into how cool the new lesson was and how Mr. Ray let them touch the sea sponges or something of that sort. Gill held back, the corners of his mouth turning down and his claret eyes resting on the blissful, near-perfect family before him.

The yearning tugged inexhaustibly at his heart and Gill nearly snarled at himself, angry at this irrational feeling. Why did he keep feeling this? He had told himself repeatedly that he had forsaken his chance at family. He couldn't risk doing it again. Besides, who was he to ruin a picture-perfect moment like this with his looming presence and dark demeanor? That thought saddened him. He wasn't always hardhearted and callous. There was once a time when he was vigorous, kindly, and much less fierce. However, what had happened over these long years had changed him, hardened him…and he couldn't escape it. So he'd embraced it and allowed it to shield his broken heart.

"Gill!" The young boy's voice called out to him. Gill looked up to see Nemo darting towards him, throwing himself joyfully at the Idol. Nemo happily embraced Gill and the Idol instructively hugged him back. He'd had little hugs every day for eight years before being captured and it was like a preprogrammed action in his mind. However, he quickly let go, knowing that he had to break the news quickly so he could get out of there as soon as possible. He couldn't bear to perpetuate trying to stay. After all, clean breaks heal faster. "Kid…"

"Gill, guess what! Okay, so Mr. Ray is letting us have a Show-and-Tell tomorrow after lunch. I want you to be my Show-and-Tell! I bet'cha none of the others have such a cool friend like you are! Oh please? Please?" Nemo asked excitedly, bouncing around Gill's snout and grinning widely. The Moorish idol blinked, then sighed deeply, closing his eyes. Perfect, just what he needed. The kid was trying to hold onto him even tighter when he was trying to let go.

"Kid, I gotta tell yah…" Gill began, but trailed off as Nemo looked up at him with big, pleading orange eyes and a wide smile. That look of eight-year old begging, pleading, and longing was just too familiar to Gill and it broke his shields straightaway. Slightly annoyed, he sighed and managed a small smile.

"Alright, alright. I will." He agreed and little Nemo's grin couldn't be wider. His eyes shone and he darted forward to hug Gill once again. Gill grimaced slightly, then patted Nemo's back and pulled away. He smiled again, pushing away the need to escape for a moment. He'd leave right after Nemo's little school thing. He couldn't bear disappointing the child.

"Alright Nemo," Marlin said, approaching cautiously. He gave a sort of nervous, lopsided grin of Gill, obviously telling him that he still had no business being around his son. "It's time to go."

"Oh, uh – okay! Bye Gill, see you tomorrow!" Nemo called over his shoulder, giving a wave before Marlin took his fin tenderly in his own. Gill waved back, then turned and began to swim off towards his cavern. He needed someplace quiet and secluded to think about his next move and how to best approach this delicate situation? Wait, delicate? No, he was just making it out to be. He could leave anytime he wanted. Nemo was just a kid, for heaven's sake! Kid's attention spans are about that of a clam's. Gill was sure that after he left, it wouldn't take Nemo a week or two to find something that caught his interest and he would completely forget about the old veteran.

"Alright, Nemo, are you okay with staying by yourself while I go and get the sea grass seeds and our dinner?" Marlin asked and the child rolled his eyes.

"Da-a-ad, come on! I'll be fine." Nemo said and Marlin chuckled, playfully ruffling his son's dorsal fin. "Of course you will."

"Hey, if he needs some company, we will be happy to oblige." A familiar voice carried across the currents to Marlin and Nemo. The two clownfish as well as Gill turned to see Gurgle, Bloat, and Bubbles swimming across the clearing and heading for them. Marlin grimaced slightly. So, it was these guys again. Wonderful.

"If you've got somethin' to do, we can take him off your fins." Bloat offered, reaching forward and scooping Nemo up with one large, wide fin. The little clownfish giggled as Bloat bounced him around in his fin. Bubbles giggled, his tongue slightly sticking out the side of his mouth. Marlin looked skeptical for a moment, then sighed. Although he didn't really favor these fish and was wary of his son's attachment to them, he did prefer him being with someone rather than being alone.

"Alright. You can find me at our anemone in about an hour." Marlin said warily, turning away with one last glance at his son.

"Will do!" Gurgle called after him, waving one long violet fin. Nemo continued to giggle as Bloat playfully tickled his plump orange belly. "Buh…bye, Dad!" He managed to call out after his father through his giggles. Soon, Marlin and Dory had disappeared into the reef to go and collect food. Nemo was catching a ride on Bloat's back as they swam through the clearing, laughing and joking.

"Oh yeah, Sharkbait, they'll be tellin' our story for years to come." Bloat joked, making an exaggerated gesture with his fins. "We had the journey of a lifetime." Nemo giggled at the pufferfish's obvious sarcasm. It even got a grin out of Gurgle.

"Well, it's still so cool that you guys made it here! I'm really glad I got to see you again." Nemo said, giving each of his tankmates a smile. He had really and truly missed them. The reef must be full of miracles, as Marlin had once described it. Indeed it was. Suddenly, as Nemo surveyed his surroundings, he saw the familiar form of Gill slowly swimming away. His head was down and he looked distraught. Nemo frowned, worried about his friend. Thinking back to just a few minutes before, he realized that Gill had been quiet and looked quite dejected. Something was wrong.

"Hey, Bloat," Nemo asked softly, watching Gill from across the clearing. The old Idol stopped swimming and was examining a piece of red coral – that, or he was very deep in thought. Bloat stopped swimming as well and tilted his head up towards Nemo.

"What's up, Sharkbait?" He questioned cheerfully. The other two fish looked down at the child in question, tilting their heads. Nemo swam down from Bloat's back and faced his friends.

"What's wrong with Gill? He looks really sad. Has something happened?" Nemo asked, looking at each face, trying to read them and get some sort of an answer. The three grimaced slightly and looked at one another, expecting one or the other to answer the young clownfish child. Finally, Bloat spoke up, keeping his deep voice low as not to alert Gill that they were speaking about him.

"We…really don't know, Sharkbait. He's been acting strange ever since we escaped. He's been angry, he's been quiet – well, more than usual. We thought he'd be happy as a clam to be back in the ocean! But…" Bloat trailed off, biting his lower lip and trying to think of how to continue. Instead, Gurgle continued the sentence for him.

"But he's been mopey the whole time. Not to say that he hasn't been mopey practically his entire life, but he's been acting like something has really been bothering him. We can't figure out what it is." The Gramma admitted, rubbing his fins together nervously and casting a glance up at his former leader. Bubbles looked thoughtful for a moment, then muttered a single word.

"Milo."

"Huh? Who's Milo?" Nemo asked, not understanding. However, Bloat and Gurgle immediately did.

"That's right. During the trip, Nigel said Gill actually had a nightmare. He was muttering in his sleep and groaning, like it was real bad." Bloat said, recalling the discussion with the worried pelican. Gurgle nodded in affirmation.

"Nigel said that he kept saying the name Milo. He's never mentioned anyone like that before. To tell you the truth, Sharkbait…we really don't know anything about him. He was the first there, and he kinda took it upon himself to be our leader, our protector." Gurgle said with a shrug. Nemo's brows furrowed as he turned to see the Moorish idol turning a corner of yellow plate coral and disappearing. As he thought more and more about it, Nemo realized that he really didn't know anything about Gill. What he knew is what he saw – the only tidbit of the mysterious fish's past that he knew of was when Gill told him of his first escape and how he crippled his fin. He didn't know why Gill was so surly, or why he had taken it upon himself to take care and protect Nemo while he was trapped in Sydney.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that Gill had been acting strange – cold, in a way. It was like he was separating himself from everyone else. He had been hesitant to take and hold Nemo's fin. Whenever Marlin started talking, Gill stop speaking and remain silent unless Marlin was addressing him. Dory had even mentioned how Gill seemed a little quiet while on their walk today. Nemo suddenly felt very determined. If Gill wasn't feeling at home here, then by darn, he was going to help him! After all, Nemo had only been in the fish tank for about a week. Gill had been trapped in there, longing to return to the ocean for fifteen whole years. It wasn't fair to him that he wasn't settling in properly. Nemo felt that it was his job to help his friend, for he had helped him when he needed it most.

Nemo began to swim away from Bloat, Gurgle, and Bubbles towards where Gill had disappeared.

"Hey – Sharkbait, where yah goin'?" Bloat immediately protested as he and his friends darted in front of Nemo and blocked his path. The annoyed eight-year old looked up at them stonily. After all, his mission was extremely important.

"I have to talk to Gill. It's very important." Nemo insisted, trying to get past his friends.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. We promised your dad that we'd look after you until he got back. We can't just let you wander off!" Gurgle insisted, holding out his fins and stopping Nemo's advances once more.

"Getting dark," Bubbles added, looking up to the surface where the late afternoon sky, streaked with pink and gold and just a hint of blue, showed through the rippling water. Nemo huffed in frustration.

"I'll be with Gill. He's pretty good at protecting me." Nemo insisted, looking intensely up at the three fish. They all paused and looked at one another. Finally, Bloat sighed and removed his fin from Nemo's path. He knew that if there was anyone that could finally get to the Idol, it was Nemo. Everyone in the Gang had noticed that, once Nemo had entered their tankhood, Gill had fallen into the practice of being the boy's protector, acting almost like a father…almost as if he'd done it before.

"Hurry thought, alright? We don't want your dad noticing that we let you wander off." Gurgle insisted as Nemo hurried away after Gill.

"You guys are the best!" The little clownfish boy called over his shoulder as he swam as fast as his little fins could carry him to catch up with his mentor. He caught sight of Gill's bright, elegant dorsal fin, weaving through the coral as he swam away. Panting, Nemo pushed against the current as hard and as fast as he possibly could. His heart was pounding, not only from the extraneous exercise, but also from the anticipation of how he was finally going to confront the fearsome fish.

What Nemo didn't notice was that he swam directly past Marlin. His father cocked a brow as he saw his son hurry unknowingly past him, unaccompanied. He was about to call out to his son and strictly rebuke him when he noticed that Nemo was following Gill and struggling to catch up to him. Marlin's brow furrowed, wondering whatever was going on. He turned to Dory and extended his fins, which were full of food and seeds.

"Dory, couldn't you take this back to the anemone? Just place it at the front door." Marlin quickly asked the Regal tang, who was also foraging around for food. She happily held out her fins to take the flakes and other items from Marlin.

"Sure, Mar! Is everything alright?" She asked curiously as Marlin hurried away to follow his son. He answered her over his shoulder right before disappearing into the vast coral expanse.

"Yeah, I've just got…some other business that I need to take care of."