The next morning, Dave was pacing back and forth, waiting for Ariel to show up.
She had said that she would talk with her parents about using something for Dave to swim in until they could find a better, roomy tank for him.
"Come on, come on" he muttered himself.
At that moment, Ariel and her parents entered the room.
She was carrying a bucket, much to her father's concern.
"This should help him for the time being" said Ariel's mother.
"Wait, Abby" her father protested.
Ariel had already placed the bucket on the floor.
"Here you go, Dave" she smiled cheerfully.
Curious, Dave climbed out of the fish tank and then slid into the bucket.
As he popped his head out of the bucket, Ariel gently touched Dave's head.
The octopus slowly lowered his head, onto Ariel's tiny hand.
But then suddenly, Ariel's father grabbed the bucket and pulled it away from Ariel.
"Daddy!" whined Ariel.
"Christopher James Hara, what is wrong with you?!" shouted Ariel's mother.
Realizing that he has been moved, Dave glared at Ariel's father, hatefully.
"He's too dangerous" Ariel's father tried to explain. "You remember what happened last night, Ariel."
"No!" Ariel protested. "He's an innocent being like us."
Dave nodded in agreement, only to be thrown out of the bucket by Ariel's father.
"That octopus is not innocent, Ariel, he's not even a house pet." he said. "We should probably call animal control or call the zoo."
Hearing this, Dave blew a raspberry at Ariel's father and scattered out of the room.
Ariel quickly followed him, close behind.
"Chris, there maybe something wrong with Dave" said her mother.
"And Ariel told me that a special veterinarian will be coming here tomorrow morning while we're at work."
In the bathroom, Ariel quickly turned on the water in the tub and added a pinch of salt in.
"He's a wild animal, Abby" said Ariel's father from the other room. "We can't have him loose in the house."
"Hey, we're loose in the house at night sometimes" argued Ariel's mother. "And Ariel sleeps just fine."
Ariel turned off the water and splashed Dave in the face.
"Thanks, I needed that" Dave sighed in relief.
However, he began to rubbing his mouth in pain.
"Dave, what is it?" Ariel asked worriedly. "Are you teething?"
Dave quickly nodded and reached a tentacle for something.
"Hang on, Dave, I'll go get something!" Ariel cried.
She bolted out of the room and quickly came back with a raw marrow bone in her hands.
Anxiously, Dave took the bone from Ariel and started to bite it like a dog, accidentally splashing water out of the tub.
"Since I'm growing back, Ariel, my teeth are growing back in and it hurts!" complained Dave.
"It's gonna be okay" promised Ariel.
But then, Ariel's father came into the bathroom and saw the mess.
"Hey!"
He snatched the bone from Dave and drained the tub.
Scared, Dave desperately tried to set up the water again, only to be grabbed by Ariel's father.
"Ariel, this has gone to far" frowned her father.
He carried the struggling Dave out of the bathroom despite the octopus' attempts to grab walls and slapping the human holding him.
"Look at him. He's growing too fast and he could outgrow the house! We have to get rid of him!"
Ariel didn't like what she was hearing.
"No! He's a poor animal with no parents and I found him!" she shouted, standing her ground.
Just as her father was about to open the door, Ariel blocked his path.
"Ariel Hara, get out of the way now!" ordered her father.
"No!" shouted Ariel.
"He has to go! He's a wild animal. Now, get!"
"I said no!"
"Ariel!"
"No!"
Dave saw this as an opportunity to escape from Mr. Hara's grip. He slowly squeezed through Mr. Hara's hands and slithered away.
"Keep this up, Ariel, and you'll be grounded from TV" frowned Mr. Hara.
Then, he realized that Dave was out of his grip.
"Hey! Where did he go?"
As soon as Dave entered Ariel's bedroom, Mrs. Hara slowly picked him up and brought him back into the bathroom.
"It's okay" she cooed. "You're safe with me."
Dave was amazed as he watched Mrs. Hara turn on the water, filling it up and adding a pinch of salt in.
Suddenly, they heard a scream!
"Oh, no" gasped Mrs. Hara. "Ariel."
Worriedly, she ran out of the room, leaving Dave alone.
In the kitchen, Mr. Hara has grabbed Ariel by the arm and then made her sit in a chair.
"Now you listen to me, young lady" he said. "We can't keep him and that's final!"
But then, Mrs. Hara came into the room.
"You listen to me, Chris!" she hollered, grabbing him by the shirt collar.
She pulled him out of the kitchen and into the living room.
"Dave is what makes Ariel happy and she knows what he wants and needs. The vet will come in and check on him and figure out why he's acting like this."
"Are you crazy?!" asked Mr. Hara. "Don't tell me that Ariel pulled you into this!"
"No, but I've seen what they've been doing and if you separate them, she won't be happy and neither will that octopus!"
This made Mr. Hara furious.
"If you don't get rid of him, I'll have you on file with the HSUS!"
But Mrs. Hara wouldn't listen.
"Get out, Chris! she said, pointing at the door.
Mr. Hara huffed and walked out of the apartment with a loud slam of the door.
When Mrs. Hara came into the bathroom where Ariel and Dave were, she sighed.
"Your daddy is leaving us" she said to Ariel.
"What?" Ariel said, shockingly. "Can't he tell us that he's sorry?"
Her mother sighed sadly.
"I hope he does" she replied. "You know, Ariel, grown up problems are a bit more compilated than you think."
"Okay" Ariel nodded.
"It's completely different from children problems."
"I understand."
Ariel frowned and dipped her hand in the tub, then she felt something touching her cheek.
It was Dave's tentacle.
"Hey, it's gonna be okay, dearest" smiled Dave.
Ariel, feeling a little better now, hugged the tentacle touching her cheek.
They knew that some people may not understand, but Dave and Ariel knew one thing: they have each other and her mother to help them along the way.
To be continued...