Lewis twisted his keys in the lock. "It's fine, Cleo." He placed a hand on the small of her back as he let her into the house before him.

"I… am going to kill her." Cleo leaning into Lewis's shoulder to whisper in his ear, nodding towards the couch in the living room before breezing into the kitchen.

Charlie and Callie were both sound asleep on the couch. Charlie was slumped over one couch arm, his open mouth drooling onto the inside of his left forearm. His legs were fully extended, draped over Callie's lap. Callie had fallen asleep sitting up, her head resting on the back of the couch as she snored loudly.

"You'd think she at least would have texted, she had to have known his parents would be wondering where he'd gone." Cleo nodded toward the sleeping pair.

"I think it's nice that they're spending time together again." Lewis grinned. "It's been years."

"Excuse me, Charlie…" Cleo clapped her hands. "Wake up, kiddo."

Charlie jerked awake, groaning as he worked his stiff joints. "Wh- Where…" He rubbed his eyes sleepily.

"You're in our house." Lewis gave an awkward wave. "On our couch. At 2am."

"Really?" Charlie sprang into motion, quickly collecting his things. "I'm really sorry, Mr. Mcartney, it's just been a really long day and I must have fallen asleep after-"

"Just get yourself home, Char." Lewis patted him on the shoulder as he walked him to the door. "Your parents have been wondering where you were."

"Right." Charlie hastily stepped into his flip flops. "Will you tell Call-" He glanced at Callie, who was still sound asleep on the couch.

"I'll tell her." Lewis couldn't help but smile to himself as he made the promise. "Now get your tail home. I mean, uh," He cleared his throat, correcting himself. "Just get home, ok?"

"You got it." Charlie gave a mock salute before darting out the door. He hoped his parents weren't too mad. Sure, they'd told him he could go out, but they'd definitely expected him home at a decent hour.


"C'mon, man…" Zane groaned as Charlie burst into the house. "Do you know what time it-"

"I know, Dad, I'm sorry." Charlie cut him off before he could finish. "I'm sorry, I lost track of time."

"Yeah, Cleo called a minute ago." Zane followed his son into the kitchen. "Your mother has been freaking out."

"Hey," Charlie grabbed an apple from the counter. "You guys kept an astronomically huge secret from me for my whole life. I've been doing a little freaking out of my own, ok?" Charlie spoke defensively as he headed for the stairs.

Rikki closed her eyes tightly, exhaling before stepping into the kitchen from where she'd been waiting in the adjoining study. "Wait to tell him." She muttered. "Great plan." She shot a fiery look at her husband before marching for the stairs and jogging up to Charlie's door.

Charlie rolled his eyes slightly as he heard his bedroom door creak open. "I really don't want to talk about this anymore tonight. It's late; I just want to get to sleep."

"Just one minute, ok?" Rikki sat next to him on the bed, waiting a few seconds before speaking. "I know this is all a shock-"

"A shock?" Charlie laughed dryly. "Mom, this is not a shock. No. I mean," He stood. "This is… I don't know what this is. This is more than a shock, mom." He looked her dead in the eyes. "This is a betrayal. You could have trusted me-"

"I always wanted to tell you-" Rikki tried to cut in.

"I know, I know." Charlie waved a hand to silence her. "Dad told me earlier. But you could have told me, Mom. You could have warned me. And you didn't. "

Rikki opened her mouth, then closed it again. What could she say? He was right.

"I understand why you're upset." Rikki's voice grew slightly more confident. "But this is something you're going to have to come to terms with, and soon." She reached out, but Charlie shrugged away from her. "I have to admit…" She continued quietly. "It's going to be really nice to finally be able to talk to you about all this-"

"Mom, please, " Charlie faced her, holding up one hand firmly. "Just stop." He took a long, steadying breath as he tried to compose his thoughts. "Look," He sighed. "I'm angry. And upset. My… whole life might be changing. Is changing. You…" He nodded awkwardly towards Rikki. "Are a…. you know…"

Rikki nodded

Charlie swallowed hard. "And, if all this is real, I might become one too."

"It is real." Rikki interjected before clapping her hand over her mouth. "Sorry."

"All I'm saying is," Charlie cracked his knuckles anxiously. "I need some space. And time. I need to be able to cope with all of this before we can start chatting about it over the dinner table, k?"

"Okay." Rikki nodded hard. "But if you have any questions…"

"I'll come straight to you." Charlie promised, meaning it.

"Okay." Rikki repeated. She patted the bed before standing. "I'll just… let you get to sleep then."

"Thanks." Charlie nodded, waiting to move until the door had closed behind her. He reached for his phone, quickly typing out a message to Callie as he stifled an exhausted yawn.

'Tonight was awesome, come over tomorrow? More swimming?'

He quickly hit 'send,' then curled up in his bed, clicking off his light, and falling immediately into a deep, deep sleep.


Charlie awoke the next morning to the smell of pancakes. "Mmmm…" He yawned as he dragged himself down the stairs. "Mom?" He heard someone moving around in the kitchen.

"Guess again." Callie called, flipping over a perfectly golden-brown pancake. "Both of your parents are at work. I've got this shift of Charlie-watch."

"Charlie-watch?" Charlie grabbed a pancake out of the pan and shoved it into his mouth. "What's that?" He tried to say, choking on unchewed pancake.

"Your dad doesn't want you to be alone. Just in case, I guess." Callie frowned. "Ew, Charlie, use a plate."

Charlie obliged, grabbing one from the cabinet. He offered it to Callie before taking out a second one for himself. "Seriously? So you're what, my babysitter?"

"Hey, you could do a lot worse." Callie raised her eyebrows at him. "And you did tell me to come over today, so stop acting like you've been all that inconvenienced. You turn into a fish yet?"

Charlie choked, coughing hard to clear his windpipe. For literally just a second, he'd forgotten. It all came slamming back to him in an instant, settling into his gut like an anvil. A shadow passed over his face as his smile faded.

"Hey, now." Callie clapped her hands loudly. "Snap out of it. Don't ruin our awesome day-where-I-get-to-be-your-babysitter, you hear me? I've got no time for gloommies."

She was right. Charlie gave himself a mental shake, telling himself to pull it together.

"So… did you want to swim some more?" Callie prompted him, leaning forward on the kitchen table as she spoke.

"Yeah." Charlie swallowed nervously. "I, uh, guess that's the best idea, right? Just keep practicing?" Suddenly, he remembered. "Shit, I'm supposed to be at work by noon."

"Call out." Callie shrugged. "Or, if you do go in, you'd better be covered from head to toe. Lotta water in that marine park, you'll have to be way careful." She rinsed the frying pan in the sink as she spoke.

"You're right."Charlie fished his phone out of his pocket and dialed it before holding it to his ear. "Hey, Laurie, I'm really sorry but I'm not going to be able to make it in today. I'm not feeling well." It wasn't a complete lie, at least. His stomach did feel queasy as he thought about the changes that were happening to his body. He said a quick goodbye to Laurie before dropping his phone onto the counter. "Back in five." He said before jogging up the steps to his room. He tossed on his swim trunks, grabbed a couple towels, and was on the pool deck before Callie had even had time to change.

Charlie paced the hot stone deck, looking out over the rippling blue water. He dropped his things and dove far out into the middle of the pool. He immediately allowed himself to sink to the bottom, enjoying the way the water grew darker as he got closer to the tiles. He stretched out, laying flat on his back as he felt his muscles relaxing.

As before, the pressure in his lungs disappeared. He felt like he could stay under the surface all day without needing to come up to breathe. Suddenly, it hit him that today might be the day. That he really was going to change. A slight tingle in his legs came and went before he could really even notice it, making him shiver.

"Charlie?"

Charlie could hear Callie's voice calling to him, though it was muffled. He exhaled, watching the bubbles float from his mouth to the surface of the water. Lazily, he pushed himself along the pool's floor, following it up to the shallow end. He surfaced a moment later, blinking the water out of his eyes before propping himself up on his elbows at the pool's edge.

"Cal, you've got to get in here. The water is perfect." Charlie flipped over to float on his back, lazily kicking himself around the shallow end. The water felt even more incredible on his skin; it was intense today. "I feel it even more than last night."

"Better enjoy swimming with those legs while ya got'm." Callie laughed as she reached for the sunscreen.

Charlie thought about that for a long moment. She was right. He would never, ever, be able to swim in public again. He couldn't, he'd be seen. He would have to be careful for the rest of his life. Maybe even during his children's lives. With a sigh, he exhaled and sank down to the bottom of the 3-feet deep pool. He couldn't bring himself to think about all that now, not when the water felt so damn amazing.

The churning feeling returned to his gut, stronger this time. Suddenly, he felt his lungs expanding, as if he were actually breathing in oxygen while under the water. His toes and hips suddenly felt tingly. Not the light, tickly kind, but the prickly, needle-sharp tingling that made him wryth slightly before stretching his legs out as far as they could go. He could feel his skin pulsing, tightening just below his navel. All at once, his legs felt like they were on fire. He instinctively clapped them together, bending his knees. The moment his legs met, a cooling sensation washed over him.

What was happening? Was this… it? Right now? Excitement built in his chest as he gave himself over to the feeling.

Callie frowned as she peered down into the blue. Charlie was squirming, rolling around in the water, but she could tell if he was in pain, she squinted… or if he was really turned on.

"Charlie? Hello?" A female voice echoed over the wall.

Callie jumped, whipping around to see where the voice had come from. "Kelli?" Her heard stopped as the brunette pushed her way through the unlocked side gate.

"Ew, where is Charlie?" Kelli flicked a wet leaf off her hand as she picked through the side bushes towards the pool.

"Shit." Callie hissed. "Hey, uh ,Charlie!" Callie dropped to her knees, on hand plunging frantically into the water as she shouted. "Charlie!" No matter what she did, she just couldn't seem to get his attention. Charlie's body was still rippling in the water, his eyes screwed shut.

"Oh, hell." Callie threw herself into the water, reaching down for him. She couldn't let Kelli see him like this, he was a mess.

Charlie jerked awake as Callie grabbed his shoulders, twisting around to reorient himself. He gasped, inhaling a mouthful of water that made him cough and choke as he clawed his way to the surface, the intense electric pulses gone in a flash.

"Charlie?" Kelli squinted into the water, a look of disgust plain on her face. "What in the world are you doing in there?" She sniffed. "And with her?" She crossed her arms over her chest, sticking out one hip as she waited for his response.

"Kelli?" Charlie rubbed water from his eyes as his feet planted firmly on the pool floor. His feet, he thought in relief.

Callie climbed out of the water, wringing water out of the t-shirt she hadn't had time to take off before jumping in.

"Laurie just called asking me to cover your shift today because you'd called in sick." Kelly clenched her jaw angrily. "You sure don't look sick to me, asshole." With that, Kelli turned on her heel, flipped her hair, and marched for the gate.

"Kell, stop!" Charlie clambered out of the water, chasing after his girlfriend. "It's not what it looks like, ok?"

"Oh, really?" Kelly whipped around, her hands flying to her hips indignantly. "Because it looks like you bailed out of work today to hang out with that freaky alt chick, who also happens to be your cousin, which is, like, so gross-"

"We aren't really related, our parents are just friends." Charlie said tiredly, though Kelly didn't so much as slow down.

"I mean, what the hell, Charlie? You know I have things to do today, it's not like I can give up my whole day to cover your shift just because you feel like splashing around with some other girl when you aren't even sick-"

"Whoa, whoa, Kelli. Stop." Charlie caught her hand, pulling her back a few inches. "Just listen ok?" He placed a firm hand on each of her shoulders, looking her dead in the eye. He could feel himself drying off more quickly than normal, but he prayed she wouldn't notice.

His prayers were answered.

"What is it, then? And it had better be good." Kelly crossed her arms over her chest, huffing as she rolled her eyes to the sky.

"Kells, I was feeling sick earlier, ok?" He tried to sound calm, though his heart was still beating hard after what had happened in the pool. "I was, ok? But… I feel all better now, and I was…uh…" He grabbed his phone off the deck table. …"Just getting ready to call Laurie and tell him I could come in after all." He cracked a lopsided smile, hoping she'd believe him. "And, I," He stammered. "I was just doing my training from home, you know, swimming a few laps, when Callie… she, uh, she-"

"My mom just asked me to bring over a movie we borrowed." Callie shrugged, seemingly disinterested as she wrung water out of her ponytail. "I got here right before you did, Super K. Chill out. I was just letting Charlie know I had dropped by when you graced us with your presence."

"You jumped in the pool." Kelly scrunched up her face, disgusted as she looked over Callie's wet clothing.

"Nah, just slipped." Callie didn't miss a beat. "Total klutz here. Tell your friends." Callie's voice was comically monotone as she turned, strolling back into the house.

"I'm calling Laurie right now, ok?" Charlie hastily dialed the number.

"Oh just stop talking." Kelli held up one hand. "I already told Laurie I'd cover, and in return he's getting my afternoon shift covered tomorrow. So I'll get to go with Brit to that party on campus. It's fine."

"It's… fine." Charlie exhaled in frustration. "So… you were mad at me because…"

Kelli ignored the question. "You know…" She stepped in closer, looking up at him with hooded eyes. "Since we both have off work… you could join me… it's been a while…"

"Uh, sorry." Charlie said too quickly. "I should probably get some rest." He finished lamely.

Kelly threw a pointed look at the pool he had just climbed out of before flipping her hair and wordlessly marching out of the pool gate and through the fence.

Charlie let his head drop forward, his chin landing on his chest with a thud. That was lame.

His eyes flew open. He had been changing in the pool a moment ago, he'd felt it. All thoughts of Kelli vanished in an instant. "Callie!" Charlie ran for the door, throwing it open to lean inside. He ran over to the couch, where Callie lounged. "Cal, something really weird was happening out there a moment ago." He almost couldn't contain himself.

"She is such an idiot, Charlie." Callie shook her head as Charlie grabbed her elbow and pulled her towards the door.

" Cal," Charlie was hardly paying attention to a word she was saying. "Shut up." He stopped at the pool edge, whipping around to grasp her wrist excitedly. "Just now, before Kelly showed up… I think I was actually starting to transform. Before I got out of the water, that's when it stopped." He was speaking quickly, lowering his voice at Callie's pointed glare. "Sorry." He whispered, glancing from side to side before continuing. "But listen… I could feel it." He swallowed. "I think this is it."

"Seriuosly? Sheesh." Callie jogged to make sure the gate around the pool was locked tightly. "No more visitors." She gave the gate a hard shake before walking back to Charlie, who was staring out at the water. "You ready for this?" She placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"I think so." Charlie's breath was shallow and quick as he turned to look at Callie.

"Well then…" Callie's breath caught in her throat suddenly as she found her face only inches from Charlie's. She was close enough to feel his hot breath on her face and, for just a moment, she couldn't move.

After a moment of indulgence, Callie forced herself to snap out of it. "C'mon then," She cleared her throat. "In with you. Fishify yourself."

Charlie smirked, running the two strides it took before launching himself out into the water. Callie watched him sinking down, her own heart fluttering. She'd known Charlie literally since she was born, and hse'd never felt anything more than friendship between them, but… there was something about seeing him this way. Vulnerable, open, trusting… She took in a long, calming breath. 'Get it together, Cal.' She told herself. 'He has a girlfriend.'

AS usual, Charlie allowed himself to sink down to the bottom. He was barely able to contain his nervousness and excitement as he watched his legs, waiting for something to happen.

Callie squinted, crouching down to try to see what was going on in the water. She jumped, startled, when Charlie came sputtering to the surface only seconds later.

He was coughing hard, working hard to catch his breath as he grabbed onto the pool's edge for stability.

"What the hell happened?" Callie crouched down in front of him. "Are you ok?"

"Nothing." Charlie panted, resting his forehead on the cool concrete. "Nothing happened." He shook his head, confused. "I mean, I ran out of breath. That hasn't happened in days now. I couldn't stay down there, and I couldn't make the water move, and I didn't feel anything. It was just like the way things used to be, before…" He sighed. "Before."

"Nothing… at all?" Callie's eyes searched Charlie's worriedly. He seemed really upset.

"No." Charlie felt lost in his thoughts as his mind raced. Every single time he'd so much as touched water over the last several days he'd had a reaction. Some, well, some pretty drastic reactions. But just now…

Taking in a deep breath, Charlie pushed off the wall and back under the surface, shutting his eyes tightly as he tried to focus. He stood angrily less than a minute later, sending water cascading over Callie.

"Hey man, watch it." Callie jumped back.

"Nothing's happening, Cal." Charlie ran his hands frantically through his dripping hair as he climbed out of the pool. "I can't stay under any longer than I ever could. The feeling isn't there…" He sat next to her on the hot pavement.

"Char… it's ok." Callie reached out hesitantly, placing her hand over his. "Just breathe, okay?" She forced a reassuring smile to her face. "So you didn't turn into a half-man half-fish creature today. Most people would see that as a good thing."

Charlie shook his head, trying to compose his words. "I just…" His voice trailed off. "I guess I was just kind of… ready for it. You know?" His voice grew quieter as his eyes met hers. "I wanted it."

"And you'll be ready when it happens for real, ok?" Callie nodded, her voice gentle. "You'll probably turn tomorrow. It'll still come."

"Sure." Preoccupied, Charlie pulled his hand from hers and made his way for the pool gate.

Callie sighed as she watched her friend disappear inside the house. She could only imagine what he was going through. She shivered at the thought. "God, I hope I never have to go through this." She whispered to herself as she jogged inside after Charlie.