May 24th 2019

"Well, congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Charles, it's an… it!"

Anna and Ben sat in Lewis' office as he looked at the results of the ultrasound. Ben grinned happily at Anna, who was perched on the bed with her short red hair in pigtails.

"By the looks of it, you're about 12 weeks along," Lewis continued, "And little baby here is looking very happy and healthy."

Anna and Ben breathed a joint sigh of relief.

"Do you want to see the sonogram?" Lewis asked them.

Ben went over and stood by Lewis and Anna hopped off the bed to join them.

"Ohhhh!" Anna exclaimed, "Is that it?"

"Yup," Lewis said, "There's your baby. I'll give you two a minute alone."

He left his office and closed the door behind himself.

Anna and Ben stared lovingly at the monitor for a few minutes. Then Ben nudged Anna gently.

"Honey!" he whispered sadly, "I don't see it."

"What? You mean you can't see our baby?" Anna asked indignantly.

"No…" Ben said dejectedly.

"Neither can I!" Anna wailed, "I lost track of it when Lewis left the room. Where is it?"

Ben was searching the monitor earnestly for any signs of life.

"Honey, we need to find the baby!" Anna said tragically.

They brought Lewis back in and he gladly pointed out the little dot on the monitor for them. Anna and Ben smiled with relief.

oOoOoOoOo

"Mamma, why is Auntie Bella in a wheelchair?" Jenny asked curiously.

Cleo had swum with her kids over to Phoenix Island (appropriately named so by Anna and Ben earlier that month), and they were now exploring the lush landscape of the island. Max clutched his mother's hand firmly, but determined little Jenny skipped ahead, enjoying herself immensely.

Cleo hesitated at Jenny's query. She wasn't too sure she wanted her to know that a dragon had attacked Auntie Bella.

"She had an accident when she and Auntie Anna went to Ireland. She fell on some rocks and hurt herself," Cleo said almost truthfully, "But don't worry, she won't be in a wheelchair forever."

Cleo looked at her watch. It was five o'clock, which meant that they should be heading home.

"All right troops," Cleo said officially, "Homewards."

All of a sudden, Jenny disappeared from in front of her and she heard her little shriek. Cleo screamed and ran to where he had been a second earlier.

Cleo grasped Max hand tighter as she looked down the tunnel Jenny had tumbled into. A faint blue light was shining from the end of the tunnel.

This was strangely reminiscent of the day she, Emma and Rikki first became mermaids, when she herself fell down the entrance to the moon pool. Jenny was becoming too much like her mother. Cleo rolled her eyes, realizing that she had to go down after her daughte, possibly with no chance of getting back up.

Cleo picked up Max and clutched him tight to her chest, and slid down into the shimmery semi-darkness.

oOoOoOoOo

Arianna was crying. She'd been crying for the past hour. Emma had tried everything. The 3-month was clean, dry, fed and bathed, but still she wailed.

Emma was beginning to forget what anything else sounded like than the rhythmic screech of her baby's cry. Her eardrums were thudding from the noise.

"Shhhhhh," she hushed almost frantically. Emma began pacing frustratedly. She walked determinedly from the nursery to the kitchen, rocking Arianna gently back and forth.

Suddenly she tripped over one of Eric's toys that was lying on the floor and fell forward with a sickening lurch. She felt the baby slip from her grasp, and her heart skipped a beat.

There was no sound. No wailing baby. But no smack on the ice floor either.

Emma dared not look. She swallowed nervously and opened her eye just a crack.

Arianna was levitating a few inches off the ground, hovering on a cushion of air and happily oblivious to the world.

Emma blinked.

oOoOoOoOo

Cleo landed with a thud on the hard floor of the cave. She blinked, her eyes adjusting to the dim, sparkling light.

She looked back up the shaft through which she'd just fallen, squinting at the small stream of sunlight that poured through it.

"Jenny?" Cleo called timidly.

Cleo stood up gingerly, rubbing her elbow where she bumped it on the way down, and let go of her grasp on Max, who smiled toothily at her.

"Jenny?" she called again, more frantically this time. There was no response, and Cleo's stomach dropped. She ran her fingers through her hair anxiously.

Cleo emptied the contents of her backpack onto the ground and examined them.

Packed lunches… water bottles… cell phone… extra sweaters… diapers… first aid kit… raincoats, sunscreen… sunhats… reading book…. Flashlight!

Cleo jubilantly flicked the switch on the torch and the cave light up brightly.

She gasped as she took in her surroundings.