Hello all! First, I wanna say I'm sorry it took so long to get this out. This was supposed to be one of the smaller things I could get out more frequently, but you know how life is. XP Anyhow, better late than never, yes? Here is the next chapter of Current!

Found

Linda could not say how long she had been watching this scene before her: Phineas talking while the merman regarded him as if he understood every word. The merman certainly had a natural talent with kids. They looked perfectly like a father and son, something that caused her own heart to ache.

But now she had to wonder if the merman had a family of his own. Maybe he had a wife or even children who he missed and who also missed him. It would explain why he kept trying to leave the tub, though he seemed docile now that Phineas brought home that shining green thing. What was it? Linda tried to get a closer look, but the merman had covered it completely with his hands. Seeing him take off his own scale for it must mean it was important.

As if he'd read her mind, Phineas exclaimed: "Mom, look! We traded scales!"

And it gave her pause. "Traded… scales?"

He innocently held the scale out for her to see. "Yeah! I brought home a green one. Ferb gave it to me!"

"Wait, who's Ferb?"

"A merman, but he's a kid like me," her son continued and pointed to the merman in the tub. "He looks like him, but Ferb is really green."

Linda couldn't keep track of her son's words after that, though she did try. But she was a mother, and it hurt to hear about a child possibly living on his own. If this Ferb and the merman were related, then what she had done was accidentally separate a family. Good intentions or not, she had taken from a child his guardian or parent. At worst, she had left him to fend for himself. These things tugged at her heart.

Water splashed and she turned to see the merman now watching them with a kind of sad envy in his eyes.

So she shushed Phineas. "Sweetie, can you draw him for me?"

"Okay!" He rushed out and came back moments later with his little notebook and crayons. He doodled his new friend with all the accuracy of any child his age, but the shape of the drawing's head still bore a striking resemblance to their guest. The vibrant greens and purples complicated things a bit, but unless all mermen had long heads and big noses the resemblance spoke for itself. At least she could explain the colors with genetics.

The merman let out a soft rumbling sound. He had peered as best he could over the rim of the tub to see what Phineas was doing and must have recognized the drawing. Linda did not have to understand him to know a parent's longing. If she hadn't felt bad for his situation before, she did now.

Then she remembered the storm, she decided she wanted to see the child and make sure he wasn't injured. For the merman's sake, she could take a picture for him to at least see his son. She could figure out how to explain photos later. She couldn't imagine being separated from her own children, not knowing what happened to them. Add in the storm and all the damage it caused and escaping, broken limbs and all, to reunite with them would have been a no-brainer.

"Sweetie," Linda gently took her son's face in her hands, "tomorrow, can you show me where you found Ferb?"

Phineas nodded eagerly. "Can we bring sub sandwiches? He likes those."

"Of course. I'll make sure he gets enough to eat," she promised him. If Ferb needed any other help, she would help him, too.

It was morning again, a whole day passed without Father.

The merfry curled up in the seaweed bed he made for himself. After the human boy left, Ferb found a small cave close to the beach and decided to stay there. He liked it better here. It was pretty with lots of coral and fish to look at. Though he didn't like the blood smell, Father's scent was still in the water. At least he knew where Father used to be.

But where was he now? All Ferb really got was that Phineas saw him and knew what he looked like. Whether or not he knew where he was, the merfry never found out. He hoped Phineas would come back today and tell him somehow. He could teach him new words so they can talk, maybe with no one to pull him away. They could talk for longer.

It would be even better if his friend brought more human food, he thought when he heard and felt growling. Hungry. He would have to get breakfast by himself again. It was lonely and he couldn't get a lot, but he did not have anyone else to help him. Sadly, he swam away from the cave and looked at the rocks and sand. Clams and snails would be easy since they couldn't swim fast like fish. He just needed to be careful with the shells before eating.

He'd found and grabbed three snails when a familiar smell hit his nose. Happily, he followed the trail. The blood scent got stronger too, which meant he was going back to the beach where Father was. He stopped a little far from the shore and peeked out of the water to see if anyone was there.

"Ferb!" Phineas waved at him. "Hiiii!"

Ferb waved back, smiling, and swam up to him. He showed him the snails and even moved one closer to him.

Phineas took the snail and looked all over it. "Wooow!" But he didn't try to break its shell.

Oh, he didn't have a rock. Ferb went underwater and grabbed two rocks, coming back to give him one. Even then, the human boy still didn't do anything. Did he not know how to eat snails? Maybe snails weren't normal human food.

So he showed him how to eat one.

"Ah!"

Ferb put his rock away and picked the broken shell pieces off his snail. He waited for Phineas to smash his snail too, but he just covered it with his hands like he wanted to protect it. Did humans not eat snails? Now Ferb felt bad for not giving his friend something he could eat.

Suddenly he heard something else: another human voice and a sound they make when they move fast. He tried to grab Phineas so they could swim away and be safe.

But he was too late. An adult human picked Phineas up. Ferb showed his teeth and looked up to try to scare the big human away, but he became very afraid once he saw who it was.

He saw orange hair, but this was not the girl from yesterday. This one was a lady.

She smelled a lot like Father, too.

I'm also sorry this is short. The next chapter should be interesting, though!