Chapter 27: False alarms and possible solutions

At the McCartney's

Cleo's POV

Lewis and I were enjoying our Friday night in, after a long week, when I feel the need to talk about my new job in about a month.

"Lewis, what am I going to do about the marine park?"

"I thought that we decided that it was just best that we did what they wanted?"

"Well, we did, but if there's a way out of it…"

"But in reality there really isn't any other way."

"I have a feeling that there is, but I can't seem to figure it out," I say.

"You have a feeling?"

"Yah, like I'm missing something…"

"But what would you be missing?"

"I don't know, but there's just something."

"Well, did you ever tell the girls?"

"Kid of, I explained that I was fine, not in any danger at least for now. They've been a little concerned about more pressing things," I say.

"Well, maybe you should talk to them," Lewis says.

"Like now?"

"Well, you could wait to tomorrow," Lewis suggests.

"Alright, tomorrow," I say.

At Emma and Bella's apartment

Bella's POV

All night I kept having these pains, and twice I went to the hospital because of it. They told me that it's called fake labor. I don't really care, I just want a break from this pain.

I haven't talked to Will since Sophie kicked me out. I don't know if he's mad at me or her. He might not even know, but he hasn't bothered to call. I try to get some more sleep, but it evades me. The next thing I know I can smell something delicious coming from the kitchen.

I make my way there, and I see Ash cooking a big breakfast. He has Lilly-Anne on his shoulder, and Rosemary sitting in the rocker contently. Emma is nowhere in sight, but I think that was planned.

"What's all this?" I ask.

"I just thought that because you and Emma had a long night at the hospital I would help you out, and make breakfast," Ash responds.

"Really? Aren't you tired from taking care of the twins?"

"Well, yah, but Emma's worked way harder than me, and she deserves a treat," Ash says.

"That's sweet, Ash."

His whole attitude changes. "By the way, what you did was wrong, and you're lucky that she's a forgiving person," he tells me.

"Well, you're lucky, too," I say back angrily. It's not as though he has the room to talk.

"I know that, believe me. Now go wake Emma, breakfast is ready," Ash says going back to his happy self.

I make my way to Emma's room to wake her up, just as she walks out.

"Morning Bella, is that breakfast I smell?"

"It is, I was just coming to tell you," I say.

"Good," she says and then we head to the kitchen.

She takes Lilly-Anne and puts her in the second rocker we have, and then helps Ash bring the food to the table.

"Thanks Ash," Emma says.

"No problem, I thought you deserved a treat. Actually, I thought that since today's Saturday, you could go do something on your own without the girls," he says.

"Really?"

"Yah, I thought maybe you and Bella could call Rikki and Cleo, and go for a swim or something."

"Aww, that sounds great. Not that I don't love the girls, but I've been with them consistently since they were born. Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," Ash says with a smile.

"So, we are going for a swim," I ask Emma.

"Yes, after breakfast we will call them, and go," Emma says excitedly.

She finishes eating, and runs to her room to get ready.

"I think you just made her day," I say.

"Good, now it's your turn to make it a great day, and not ruin it," Ash says returning to the mean Ash he was earlier.

"Why?"

"Because you hurt her, and now you have to make it up to her," Ash says.

"Fine," I say, there was no way I was getting out of it anyways.

"By the way, Will called, he says he wants to talk to you, but I think you should wait until after your swim," Ash says.

"Why?"

"Because it'll upset Emma. She's excited because you will all be hanging out together again," Ash says.

"Okay, I get it. If he calls again, tell him I'll talk to him after our swim to Mako," I say then I go get ready.

At Rikki and Zane's place

Rikki's POV

Zane and I had a great time out last night. We came back around midnight, and the twins were fast asleep, Zane's dad said they were angels, and the rest of the night they were.

I woke up in the morning, and decided to something nice for Zane. As I start making breakfast, my phone rings.

It's Emma.

"Hey Em," I say as I answer it.

"Hey Rikki, guess what?"

"You know I'm not into guessing games."

"Okay then. Ash decided to do something nice for me."

"Okay, what did he decide to do?"

"He's taking the girls, so I can swim with you guys."

"With who?"

"You, Cleo and Bella."

"What if I can't come?"

"Why wouldn't you be able to come?" she asks, and you could practically hear the sadness in her voice.

"Well, I have kids, too. Zane took me out for a night last night, and I can't just expect him to do it today as well," I say.

"I'm sure that he'll understand," Emma replies.

"Maybe, I'll let you know," I say then hang up.

Zane comes down the stairs as the conversation ends, and I smile up at him.

"Good morning," I say.

"Good morning, who was that?"

"Emma."

"And?"

"She wants me to go for a swim with her and the girls," I say.

"So, go."

"Well, I just didn't want to take advantage of you. You know, after you were so good to me last night."

"Have fun with the girls and you can tell them about our plans for the wedding," Zane says.

"Thanks, you're the best."

At the McCartney's

Cleo's POV

I roll over to the sound of my phone going off. Lewis has been letting me sleep in later since he knows that I need it during my final month of my pregnancy. I open my eyes, and reach for my phone.

It's Emma.

"Hello?"

"Cleo! Were you sleeping?"

"Yes, Emma, I need my sleep," I say groggily.

"Well, get up. We are going for a swim."

"What if I don't want to?"

'Do it anyway, come on I haven't been for a swim for two weeks, I really need this."

"Aright, are we meeting at the beach and swimming together or meeting at Mako?"

"Let's meet at the beach," Emma says sounding like she has a smile on her face.

"Okay. Give me like a half hour. I'll be there."

"Byes!"

She hangs up and I set my phone back down, and begin to get ready. I quickly go and change. Brushing out my hair and my teeth before going downstairs.

"Looks like I'll be seeing the girls today without having to ask," I say to Lewis.

"What do you mean?"

"Emma just asked me to go for a swim with her and the girls," I say.

"That's great! Don't forget to talk to them about whatever you think is missing from your options for what's going on at the marine park and your job," Lewis says.

"I know that's why I needed to talk to them, remember?"

"Of course, have fun during your swim, I'll be here when you get back," Lewis says kissing me and then opening the door for me.

At the beach

No POV

Cleo sits next to Rikki in the sand, as they wait for Emma and Bella. Rikki looks at the water like she's just dying to run into the water. They are both quiet.

Then Emma and Bella come into view.

"Hey girls, you made it," Emma says with a smile.

"Yes, we are here, can we go swimming now?" Rikki says hurriedly.

"Yes," Emma replies.

The girls get up from the sand, and all run into the water. They don't speed swim to Mako like they usually do. They took their time. Gliding over the reefs, and going with the dolphins.

They were going so slow it felt like time was frozen for them, but their enjoyment for the moment was so great, it didn't matter. Eventually, though they did speed up, and go to Mako Island.

They reached the entrance to the moon pool, and Bella and Cleo went first. Cleo placed herself on the step in the moon pool. Bella managed to sit next to her, and when Emma and Rikki came in they reached up and held on to the sides of the moon pool.

"That was nice," Emma says.

"I know. It was awesome," Rikki says with a smile.

"Yes, so anyways, how is everyone," Bella says looking bored.

"Good, but I did want to ask Cleo to ask Lewis why James's tail is gold, but Maria's tail is red like mine," Rikki says.

"I'll ask him, but that might be better suited for someone who knows the mermaid world better," Cleo says.

"You think?" Rikki asks.

"Well, yah, after all Lewis only knows so much and now that we have more expert opinions, we should ask them," Cleo says.

"She's right, you know. We know people that have a lot more knowledge than we do about these things," Emma says.

"You're right, I'll talk to one of them," Rikki says.

"Anyways, there is something I wanted to talk to you all about," Cleo says.

"What is it?" Bella asks with concern on her face.

"Well, I'm going to have to be a part of the dolphin shows as a mermaid at least for a few of them, and take pictures and do autographs. I'm trying to find a way out of it," Cleo says.

"Well, just say no," Bella says as if it's the most obvious and easiest solution in the world.

"I tried. The owner will expose me if I do. The thing is, no one will know that I'm real…" Cleo says.

"Okay, so you can't say no, but there's got to be a way," Bella says.

"That's what I told Lewis, but honestly I can't think of anything. I just feel like I'm missing something. I just can't figure it out," Cleo says.

"Well, she threatened you, you could always go to the police," Emma says.

"And tell them what exactly? That some woman is threatening my mermaid secret?" Cleo asks.

"It's not ideal, but we did have the problems before, and the police already know us, they could help us out of this," Bella says.

"Yah, but that was when we were kidnapped, not threatened. Unless she gets attacked they won't do anything," Emma says.

"So, Cleo has to get hurt in order to get help from the police?" Bella asks.

"Well, yes. And honestly her threat isn't even going to hurt her physically. She isn't really in any danger per say," Emma says.

"Okay well then that's out," Cleo says.

"There has to be something," Bella says.

"What about me?" Rikki says.

"What do you mean?" Bella asks.

"I could wipe their memories," Rikki says.

"That's what I was missing. It was you," Cleo says happily.

"So, you want me to?" Rikki asks.

"Yes, but you realize that Lori will no longer know, and he was the one you wanted to tell in the first place," Rikki says.

"You can't just let Lori keep his memory and have her lose it," Cleo says.

"It won't work that way, he won't understand why she doesn't know, and we really can't let anyone know that I have those kinds of powers," Rikki says.

"I could always retell him," Cleo says.

"It'll probably just end up the same way and it'll just be the same situation," Bella says.

Cleo sighs. "Is it so bad that I'm not so against doing it?"

"No, it won't actually hurt us," Emma says rationally.

"And like you said, no one will know," Rikki says.

"If it turns bad, we could always rely on Rikki's power," Cleo says.

"So, only if it turns bad?" Rikki asks.

"Yes, only if it turns bad," Cleo says.

"Good, now that's settled, I have to go," Bella says.

She bids them all goodbye and the last thing they see of her is a flash of green.

The girls continue to chat, and go for a slow swim over the area around Mako. The area seemed so peaceful, and then Cleo had to leave so Rikki and Emma decided to race home.

Emma won as always, and the girls headed to the café to enjoy some time off before going back to their babies and boyfriends.

At the café

Bella's POV

I finally got a hold of Will, and asked him to come to the café to talk to me. He told me that he would meet me.

I see Rikki and Emma walk in. Great, where is he? I don't want them to come sit with me or hear this conversation between Will and I. I really need to figure things out with him without anyone overhearing.

Suddenly, Will comes in, and sits across from me.

"Hi," he says.

"Hi, I haven't heard from you," I tell him.

"I know. Sorry, my phone's been acting up, and I couldn't fix it,"
he says.

"That's a lie and you know it. Even while I was living with you, you were attempting to avoid me. You barely spent any time with me, and then you let your sister kick me out of your house, and didn't bother to call and see if I was okay," I say angrily.

"Bella, I didn't mean to avoid you, I just couldn't stand being around you."

"Why? What did I do?"

"Let's start with that hateful engagement. It wasn't about us it was about you and Rikki. You were upset that you felt the same way she did and she gave good reasons, but then she turned around and got engaged. That's up to her. Her mind changed, but yours didn't. I know you didn't really want to start planning our wedding or even be in any sort of promise to marry me. You did it out of hatred of what Rikki did. To show her up," Will says.

I have nothing to say to that. It's the truth.

"It wasn't completely bad. I do care about you, and with the baby, I figure we will end up together anyways."

"Isn't that why you didn't like me proposing in the first place. Because you feel like you were being forced into something that you don't want. If you don't want it. Don't lead me on," Will says.

"Alright. I know I was wrong. But we talked about this. Why avoid me?"

"Because I can't stand to see you right now," Will says.

"But you let me stay with you after the fight with Emma," I say.

"It wouldn't be right to let the mother of my child be homeless."

"Yet, you let Sophie kick me out, and not even call me to check up on me. You didn't bother to find me all night," I say.

"I told Sophie to kick you out so that you would make u with Emma before the baby decides to come out and forces the two of you back together," Will says.

"What?!"

"I had to, and now you are all back together, and our daughter won't be in a place with anger brewing," Will says.

"But you did this, and you didn't even care. I've been fake labor pains, and you don't care," I yell at him, and then make my way to Emma and Rikki. They watch me and Rikki quickly gets up, and grabs me looking at my pants, which are wet…. Great the perfect time for my water to break.

A/N hey guys, I plan every Wednesday until the end of the semester, I'm sorry this one was late, but I left my notebook at home, and couldn't, so sorry.

Thank you to my wonderful reviewers: chinaluv, zikki 3, magicmaker, and mermaidsarereal.

Please review and sorry for any mistakes whether it be spelling or grammar or repeating lines.

By the way, this story is far from over, but does anyone want me to do the Five Years Later story when Denman and Charlotte get out.