Note: Any characters involved with Shark Tale, aside from Tina and her family, solely belong to…well, Shark Tale (duh).

Shark Tale: Family Tradition

By: Dramaqueen-8.0

Chapter 1

As she approached the outer regions of South Side Reef, Tina's excitement grew with each passing second. She couldn't wait to see her old friends again. But the ones she was most thrilled to see were the two she'd known since she was just a shark pup. Since they were all pups. They'd practically grown up together.Tina was on her way to see Frankie and Lenny. Two brothers, and great white sharks like her.

She hadn't seen these waters for at least five years. Her father and two brothers were back home, as they had to take care of certain 'business' related issues. She, on the other hand, had decided to take a little vacation, wanting to get away from her brothers' constant bickering over who would be the new boss when their father stepped down.

This was something that Tina didn't want any part in. She told her family that she needed some time to herself, to think about things. But she didn't even have to think twice about where she wanted to go. Seeing her friends of South Side was exactly what she needed to cheer up, as she hadn't seen them all for what feels like an eternity.

The ones she had missed the most, however, were Don Lino and his family. She'd always hated the thought of being away from them over the past few years…especially Frankie and Lenny, whom she had developed stronger feelings for.

For the longest time, she didn't know who she cared for more. She had always thought of them both as just good friends, like family. But she knew that one of them would have to ask her out eventually. Naturally, that had been Frankie. Although she had a special bond with both of them, she had developed deeper feelings for him.

Tina looked to her left, spying the reef itself. She smiled, remembering how she and Lenny used to actually play games with some of the younger fish residing there. It was nothing new though. Not to her, anyway, as she was well aware of the fact that Lenny was a vegetarian. But she never held that against him. She and Frankie were the only ones who knew about it. It was his only flaw, really. That and he was too nice to be the son of a mob boss-

Tina stopped, as she had seen something out of the corner of her eye. She turned to face it. Her mouth dropped open, not believing her eyes.

She then grins. "No way."

Instead of heading for Lino's ocean liner like she had planned, she swims toward a sight that she hasn't seen for a long time, now anxious to see a friend that isn't a shark.

"No, not that one! The blue one! Lenny, are you listening to me? Lenny?!"

Lenny shook his head, coming out of a day dream. "Huh? What?" He looks down at the fish next to him.

The aggravated fish slaps himself in the forehead, speaking through gritted teeth, slowly. "I said, the blue one, Lenny. I told you to put your fin on the switch that releases the foam." He throws his fins up above his head. "How do you expect to get these controls figured out if you can't even focus on what I'm saying?"

Lenny sighs. "Sorry, Tom. I guess I just have a lot on my mind." He tried to put a few switches back to the way they were. "I just can't focus right now. But I'll try harder."

Tom rolls his eyes. It was hard to stay mad at Lenny. "No, forget about it. We can do it later." He swims in front the control panel of the Whale Wash, pulling a few switches here and there while still talking to Lenny. "We haven't gotten much business today, so we'll have plenty of time. Why don't you go and see if Angie wants you to do anything else."

The shark smiles down at the red fish, giving him a salute. "You got it, Boss." He then turns tail and swims in the direction of the front office.

Tom sighs, watching him go. "Rookies…" He faces back around to the control panel, waiting for the next customer.

Lenny swims through all the different stations of the wash, casually making his way to the front office, saying a friendly hello to everyone he can.

Despite his lack of focus, he couldn't help but feel great about how good his life was going; his father had accepted him for the way he was, he had plenty of friends now that everyone knew about him being a vegetarian, and Lino wasn't going to retire just yet, leaving Lenny plenty of time to get the business figured out, since he had to take over it all on his own.

He didn't know how things could possibly get any better.

As he approaches the front desk, he can hear Angie's voice as she answers the phone; "Sykes and Oscar's Whale Wash? You get a whale of a wash, and the price, oh my gosh?"

Once in front of her, he waves, getting her attention, as he doesn't want to interrupt her while she's on the phone. He had a bad habit of doing that.

She smiles, waving back, while still talking on the phone. "Uh-huh. Yep, a barnacle-scraping and a turtle-wax should get that right off…Nope, no need for an appointment, we're not too busy today. Just come right on down and we'll set you up…It's not a problem…okay, you too, sir…bye-bye."

She hangs up the receiver, looking up at Lenny again. "What's up, Hun?"

"Nothin'. I'm just supposed to ask you if there's anything for me to do."

"I thought Tom was teaching you how to work the controls for the soap dispenser?" she asks, confused.

"He was, it's just that I wasn't really getting it, so he thought that it might be better if I found something else to do for now."

"Hmm," Angie thinks about this. "Well…I can't really think of anything…unless the turtles need help with-"

"I'm on it!" Lenny said, excited to have something to do. He then swims toward the turtle-waxing station.

Angie giggles, thinking, 'he is just too adorable."

She turns in her chair, facing another area of her desk, taking down notes in her appointment book. After a few minutes of writing and humming to herself, the phone rings again. She sighs, picking up the receiver and saying Sykes' slogan for what always feels like the zillionth time. Angie then listens to what the caller has to say, occasionally writing things down.

While she is still on the phone, however, a feminine voice comes from behind her, speaking to her politely through the pull up window. "Um, excuse me? Can you tell me where I can find Mr. Sykes?"

Angie, distracted with her note taking and the talkative caller, barely glances over her shoulder, not really getting a good look at the speaker. "Yeah, he's in his office. But go on in. He shouldn't be busy with anything." With that, she looks back down at her notebook, speaking to the caller again.

"Thanks," says the voice, just as polite.

But right as the speaker had said this last word, Angie had turned slightly in her chair, trying to face this new customer, only to catch a short glimpse of a tail just swimming around the corner and out of sight.

Angie raises an eyebrow, not understanding what she had seen. She had thought that she had spoken to a woman. But that looked like Lenny had just swam by, as she had just seen a shark's tale, and he was the only shark hanging out at the Whale Wash.

She shrugs, deciding to not look into it too much, instead focusing her attention on the task at hand.

As she swam up to Syke's office, Tina couldn't help but feel a little out of place here. The last time she'd actually been in the wash was when she was just a pup, that was a long time ago. Everything looked so much bigger then.

"Uh-oh." Upon reaching his office, she stops, realizing something.

Since everything was no longer large in size now that she was an adult, the door to Sykes' office was no exception. When she was younger, she could easily swim inside. But now, as she looks at the closed doorway, she doubts that she could even get her head in there.

Eventually, she just shrugs. "Oh well." She then knocks lightly on the door.

Tina listens, as Sykes' voice is heard from inside of the small room. "Yeah, who is it?"

She stays quiet, giggling to herself. She always loved to do this with him, or anyone for that matter. Especially Don Lino. It was always a real kicker to get him all wound up.

The puffer fish calls out again, agitated at the silent response. "Who is it?"

Still, she doesn't respond. Sykes is heard yet again, but this time he's speaking to someone inside of the office. "Boys, see who's out there, will ya? Tell 'em to stop wasting my time."

A few seconds later, the door opens, and two jellyfish, both a bluish-purple color, float out of the room, looking ready to pounce on whatever was waiting for them.

"Look, Mon," one of them begins in a Jamaican accent. "Da Boss ain't got time to be playin' games, so-"

Naturally, the two stop dead, not making any sudden movements, staring in sheer terror up at the large predator floating in front of them, who's now leaning coolly up against the wall with her fins folded across her chest.

She gives them a little wave. "Hey."

Tina leans toward them, now at eye level with the two. "Is Mr. Sykes available?" she asks casually.

They nod, slowly. Then, just as gradually, they back away from her, right back into the office, slamming the door shut.

She smiles, listening to the babbling jellyfish as they try to explain themselves to their employer. Deciding to have a little more fun, she positions herself up above the doorway, out of site from whoever comes out.

After what feels like an eternity of waiting, the office falls silent. Tina's attention is then drawn towards the door again, as someone begins to open it. Slowly, yet gradually, the door opened. At first, she thinks that it might have just opened on its own, but she's soon proven wrong, as a small, brown head pokes out from inside of the room, looking cautiously around.

Tina rolls her eyes as she watches him cowering in his office. She grins slyly. "You know, I don't ever remember you being this small, Spike."

Sykes let out a surprised yelp, causing him to blow up like a balloon, making him drift right out of his office and into harms way. He flaps his fins helplessly, trying to gain some sort of control, but to no avail.

Tina laughs, swimming down to his level while pointing a fin at him. "But it never ceases to amaze me just how much hot air you can fill up with!"

Eventually, Sykes manages to turn himself enough so that he can see who it is that's frightened him. His eyes widen at the sight of her. "W-what do ya want?" he asked in a high pitched voice. "I don't owe Lino anything, I swear!"

The female shark laughs again. "Relax, Spike. It's just me."

At hearing this, the puffer fish slowly deflates, still rather uneasy at her presence. "You're, not here to, uh, collect something? 'Cause I know for a fact that Lino and I are square! If you're lookin' for someone to collect something from, then go see Oscar, 'cause I don't know what-"

He stops, looking up at her quizzically. "Wait…what did you call me?"

Sykes continues to look up at her in confusion, until finally his eyes widen as a thought dawns on him. He swims closer to her, still not sure of the situation. "No one's called me Spike since,…since…"

Once he recognizes her, however, all of his confusion fades, putting a big grin on his face.

"No, it can't be…Tina? Little Tina?! Is that you, Squirt?!"

She giggles, reaching down and scooping up the smaller fish, embracing him in a hug. "The one and only!"

Despite the fact that she's crushing the life out of him, he tries to embrace her back. "I don't believe it! What're you doin' here?!" He manages to escape her grip, backing away from her so as to get a good look at her. "Holy Toledo , look at you! I barely recognized you! Yer a giant! Jeez, you must've eaten your family out of house and home to get this big!"

"Come on, Sykes, I'm not that much bigger," she lies, knowing full well of her growth spurt since she'd last been to the wash.

"No, I mean it. The last time I saw you, you were only as big as just five of me! Now it's gotta be…what, fifteen, at least!?" Sykes shakes his head, still in awe at her surprise visit. "Come to think of it, you've developed into quite the gorgeous female." He lowers his voice for only her to hear. "And that's saying a lot, especially when its coming from a guy who's not even a shark!"

She giggles again. "Ha, ha, very funny, Sykes."

"So, hey, what're you doing here? Is everything okay?" He asks, finally getting a hold of himself.

"Oh, yeah…fine," Tina answers, clearly not being totally honest. "Everything's great…couldn't be better!"

She looks at Sykes, noticing the raised eyebrow he expresses. He obviously wasn't buying her answer. It was hard to get a lie past someone who did it for a living. "Really? Just fine, huh?" he asks, suspicious.

"What, you don't believe me?" she asks, trying to sound offended. "Sykes, why is it so hard for you to believe that I just came down for no reason at all…just for a friendly visit?" She puts her fins on her hips, turning her back on him. "I am so hurt right now, I…I can't even look at you."

Sykes folds his fins over his chest, eyebrow still raised out of suspicion. "Tina…?"

She glances at him over her shoulder, seeing the look that he's giving her. She hated that look…not just from him, but from anyone. Whoever knew that she was vulnerable to 'The Guilt Trip' look, would be the only ones who could catch her in a lie. Although, she wasn't really trying very hard at the moment, despite the fact that she can be a very good actress.

She sighs, rolling her eyes, knowing it was pointless to try and hide it. She turns to face him again. "Things aren't so good back home."

"Ah…Paulie and Sal?" he asks, glad to get the truth out of her.

Tina nods. "Yep." She leans up against the wall again, crossing her fins. "Dad's ready to call it quits, wanting to retire and move up to New England. He's heard the fishing's great up there…which is fine, but, the guys just can't really agree on who's doing what."

"So, uh, I'm guessing you're not gonna take him up on his offer then…huh?"

She looks at him in silence, finally looking down at the ground. "No…I don't want it."

"Wow," he says, a bit amazed. "Are ya sure…? I mean, you've wanted to be in the business since, well, as long as I can remember, anyway. Plus, it's been quite a while since there was a female shark for a boss…not to mention one so young!" He grins at her. "You could make a real difference, Kid."

"So I've heard," she grumbles. She looks up at him again, now serious. "Look…it's not like I don't want that kind of power…who doesn't…it's just best for the family…my real family, not 'The Family'…if I just leave it all up to them."

"That's too bad," he says, a little disappointed at her news. "It would have worked out really well, what with Paulie and Sal being the muscle, and you running things."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." She rolls her eyes again. "But, anyway, I told Dad that I at least need some time to think…without anyone trying to talk me in or out of it." This last remark she says in a raised voice, glaring at Sykes.

He raises his fins in front him. "Alright, alright. You're on a vacation…I get it. I'll keep my mouth shut."

She smiles, shaking her head again, knowing full well that he would eventually say something.

Tina then remembers that she's on a tight schedule, which means that, unfortunately, she has cut this little reunion a bit short.

She grins down at him, getting up from her comfortable position on the wall. "I just thought I would stop by here first. You know, seeing as how it's on my way to Lino's, and all. I hate to leave right away, but I'm kinda short for time. " She gives him another hug, then turning to go. "I'll come back later though. It was good to see again, Spike."

"Well, okay," he says, watching her go. "I guess we'll see ya later, maybe." He then grins slyly, remembering that Lenny was working today. He turns to go back into office, while talking over his shoulder.

"But it's a shame to see ya go so soon, though…What, without saying hi to Lenny and all."

Tina froze, whirling to face the puffer fish. "What?" she asks, wondering if she had heard him right.

Sykes grins even more, turning to face her. "Oh, yeah! In fact, he'd probably be heart broken, if he found out you'd been here and hadn't said hello." He goes to turn around. "But, you're in a hurry, so, I'm sure he'll understand." He waves at her, inching toward his office. "Well, I won't keep ya…See ya, Squirt."

She raises an eyebrow at him. "Are you telling me that Lenny's here…at the Whale Wash? Now, right this second?!" She looks in all directions, now very excited. "Where? Where is he? How long has he been here? Did he just get here? Do ya think he saw me?!" She swims back over to Sykes, grabbing a hold of him, putting him eye level with her, so that he's barely touching her nose. "Where is he, Sykes?!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down!" Sykes laughs, glad that her enthusiasm hasn't changed a bit. "He's around here somewhere, he's not too hard to find. I mean besides you, he's the only other shark here."

"I can't believe he's here! I have to find him." She turns to go again, but first she turns back to Sykes, giving him another hug. "I'll be back. Don't go anywhere!" After releasing him, she starts to swim away from his office, in search of her friend.

Sykes watches her go, scratching his head. "Well…I certainly didn't see that on today's schedule."

"Hey, B-boss?"

He turns, seeing Ernie and Bernie floating in the open entrance to his office, looking as if they'd just seen a ghost.

"Who was dat?!" Bernie asked, coming out from behind Ernie.

"Yeah," said Ernie. "Since when do you hug sharks…or anyone?!"

"Boys," answered Sykes. "That wasn't just a shark." He glances over in the direction Tina had taken off in. "That was someone very special."

The two henchmen just look at their employer in confusion. Bernie then swims up to him. "Well, who is she?" he asks, fearing for his boss' sanity.

Ernie is close behind him. "It's not often dat ya get excited over a shark being here. Ya still get edgy when Lenny gets near ya!"

Sykes looks back at the jellyfish. "It's sort of a long story." He swims back into his office, Ernie and Bernie close behind. Once they're in, they close the door behind them, Ernie looking through the window, fearing she might return.

Sykes goes back behind his desk, making himself comfortable. "Ya see, boys," he begins. "There was a time when, long before you had come to work for me, I was a close friend of someone who was of great importance to the organization which, you may recall, is ran by none other than Don Lino himself."

"Uh-huh…," the two answer in unison, trying to follow along with what he's saying.

The puffer fish continues. "Well, obviously, he was a shark. He was not only a good friend of mine, but also a close acquaintance of Lino's. After a while, he began to gain quite a bit of respect, earning him the title of Dean. Since there could only be one Don in this part of the ocean, and since he wasn't willing to take that from Lino, he and his family moved on to some other area, coming to visit Lino every so often.

"Now, for business purposes, I can't really mention a whole lot about my supposed 'friend'. But what I can tell you is that he has three kids. One of whom you have just had the pleasure of meeting."

"Uh-huh…" It's Bernie's turn to glance out the window, a bit uncomfortable.

"He also has two older sons; Paulie and Sal. Now those two…" Sykes shudders, recalling what terrors the two young sharks were. "They're a different story. But Tina," he glances up at the window of his door, which both jellyfish are now looking out of. "She was, um, how can I put this…an individual."

This catches the henchmen's attention. They look back at Sykes. "Individual?" they ask.

"Yeah. Ya might say she's a lot like Lenny. She was never really a full vegetarian, though, 'cause she didn't want some sharks to know about it, but unlike Lenny, her father knew. So, she just ate fish when she had to, which is why she hung around here so much. She was friends with a lot of the fish here, including yours truly.

Sykes pauses, thinking of something. He then chuckles. "Ya know, it's funny, but even though she had so much in common with Lenny, she and him never really hooked up."

He gets up out of his chair, swimming over to a picture on the wall, admiring it. In it are three young shark pups, each making some kind of funny gesture at the camera. They have their fins over one another. They're obviously very close.

Sykes points at the photograph. "Ya see this?" he asks them. "This was taken a long time ago. The one in the middle there, that's her, Tina. The one on her left is Lenny, and the other, Frankie." He folds his fins behind his back, now talking more to himself than to them. "Back then, it didn't matter what anyone thought about them or what their fathers did for a living…all that mattered was that they had each other, 'cause what they had was real friendship."

He grins. "Those three…they were quite the hand full, let me tell ya." He heads toward the door of his office. "Especially Frankie and Tina. Boy, when those two had an idea, it happened, no matter what the consequences were. And no matter what trouble they got into, they some how managed to get out of it just as easily."

He passes the jellyfish, looking out of his window, trying to spot the female shark. "It wasn't really much of a surprise when those two decided to start dating."

Ernie and Bernie stare at Sykes in amazement, mouths hanging open. Ernie is the first to speak. "Ya mean, Frankie had…a, girlfriend?!"

Sykes, without turning to face them, nods his head. "Yep, pretty much."

Bernie is still in shock at hearing this little bit of information. "Wait a minute, mon…are we thinking of da' right Frankie? Now…you're talkin' about Don Lino's boy, right? 'Dat Frankie? 'Da cold-blooded, nasty, vicious, no sooner rip ya to shreds than look at ya, Frankie…'Dat Frankie, right?"

Sykes sighs, aggravated at what little bit of intelligence these two had. "Yes, Boys. That very same Frankie." He continues to look out the window. "But once her family moved away, they had to split up. She could barely find time to come visit anyone, what with how busy her father was, and her brothers growin' up, getting involved in the business, and she was too young to be swimming out there all by herself."

He shakes his head. "Poor kid. They were crazy about each other. It must have been hard for her to hear about him dieing like that."

"But…she didn't look too upset just now, Boss," Bernie pointed out.

"Hey, yeah," said Ernie, realizing this as well. "She was actin' like it never even happened." He turns to Bernie. "Makes ya wonder if she even knows about him yet."

Sykes faces them, raising an eyebrow. "Are you two out of your mind? Why wouldn't she know about something like that-"

The puffer fish stops, drawing in a short, quick breath. His eyes widen. "Oh no…"

Lenny picked up another sponge, so he could have one in each fin. He then continues to wax the side of the whale stationed in front of him, whistling happily. Once in a while, he glances on either side of him, watching the turtles as they do what they're best at, making sure he's doing his job right.

"I think I'm getting the hang of this," he says to the turtle closest to him.

The turtle looks over at what he's doing. "Hey, not bad," she says reassuringly. "Pretty soon, you'll be able to do this faster than all of us put together."

"Ah, go on," Lenny says, a little embarrassed. "Ya really think so?"

"Well, sure," responded the turtle on his right. "If you like you can finish up here while the rest of us start on the other side. It'll save some time."

"No problem!" said Lenny.

He continues scrubbing while the turtles make their way around to the other side of the whale, leaving him to finish up. After a few minutes of just scrubbing, he chuckles, as an amusing thought had just occurred to him.

With his left sponge, he makes a circle. He then does the same to the opposite sponge. While doing this, the shark states, in a sort of Asian accent, "wax on…wax off…wax on…wax off." Naturally, this only encourages his amusement.

"Are ya havin' fun there, Young Grasshopper?" says a voice nearby.

"Huh?" He says distractedly, dropping one of the sponges, surprised by someone laughing from behind him.

"Woops," he mumbles, bending down to pick up his cleaning accessory.

But before he could reach for it, he froze, catching a glimpse of the lower torso of a slender, female shark, floating not too far off to the side. He stays in that position for a few seconds, just staring, until finally, she clears her throat, bending down to his line of sight.

She smiles at him. "Did I scare ya?"

Almost immediately, he straitens up, dumbstruck at the sight of her. "Uh, s-sorry, Ma'am. I didn't mean to, you know, um, stare. It was an, an, accident." He could feel himself turning red. When it came to talking with girls, he usually did pretty good. But if the girl happened to be a great white, then that's a whole other ball park.

The fact that she was very attractive didn't exactly help.

She giggles, swimming a little closer to him. "Lenny, don't call me 'ma'am'. I'm younger than you." She crosses her fins. "That's like me referring to Don Lino as 'Kid'."

Lenny continues to look at her. It takes him a few seconds to realize how she knows his name.

His eyes widen, much like Sykes' had once he had figured it out. "Tina…?" He looks her up and down. "Is that…really you?!"

"Well, duh! Who else is it gonna be!" Tina laughs, bounding forward, embracing her surprised friend in a hug.

Despite his confusion, he embraces her right back. "I don't believe it! It's really you!" He too begins to laugh, as he twirls her in a circle.

He eventually stops, putting her down, but still holding on to her fins. "Wow, Tina, you,…you look really, great!" Lenny manages to stammer, looking her over again.

"Me? What about you?" She swims all around him, taking in his appearance. "You're huge! The last time I saw you, you and I were the same size! Five years later, now look at ya!" She swims in front of him again, not resisting the urge to give him another big hug, which he gladly accepts. "Lenny, it's so good to see you again."

"Yeah, you too." He holds that position for as long as he can, until finally she pulls away from him, still smiling.

"So…?" Lenny starts, trying to think of what to say. "What are you doing here? I mean, it's great to see ya and all, but, wow," he chuckles. "Talk about last notice!"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry. It is last minute. But things just aren't that, um, great, at home." Tina looks him in the eyes. "What with Dad wanting to retire and all." She shakes her head. "Paulie and Sal keep arguing about who should be the new boss. I just had to get away from it, is all." She then rolls her eyes. "They can have it!"

Lenny then remembers her two older brothers, Paulie and Sal, recalling how much larger they were compared to him. He looks around nervously, as they had always used to follow her around, under their fathers' orders, keeping an eye on their little sister.

Tina notices this, causing her to smile. She puts a fin on his shoulder, saying quietly, "Don't worry. It's just me. Everyone else is back home. I told Dad that I needed a little time for myself, and he understood."

Upon hearing this, Lenny exhales slowly, hoping she didn't notice that, too. He looks her in the eyes again. "And he was okay with that? I mean, you going off by yourself, and all?"

"Oh, sure!" She waves a fin, indicating that it wasn't a big deal. "I'm a big girl now. I can take care of myself." She winks at him.

"Why, yes you are, Ms. Tina," Lenny says, slyly, holding her fin as if he were going to kiss it, causing her to giggle. "Yes you are." He loved to make her laugh.

"Besides," she says, once she is able to stop giggling. "I told him where I was going, and that I would just be visiting you and Frankie, and that was that."

At the mention of his late brother's name, Lenny's heart sinks, remembering the relationship that she and him had shared. He lets go of her fin. "Frankie?" he croaks, beginning to pale.

"Uh-huh," she says, as she looks around the wash. "Speaking of Frankie…is he here too or back home?"

Lenny just looks on at her blankly. He felt like he was going to be sick. How could she not know?! And what's worse, he has to be the one to tell her!

Lenny swallows hard. Despite the fact that they were underwater, his mouth feels suddenly dry. "F-Frankie…?" he says again, as it's all he can say.

"Yeah," she says, still looking around. "Sykes said that you were the only shark here, but seeing as how you follow Frankie everywhere, I just thought I'd check." Tina looks back at him hopefully, waiting for an answer.

Lenny just shakes his head, opening his mouth. But no sound comes out. He looks down at the ground, not really sure how he should break this to her. "Tina," he finally says, quietly. "Oh, Tina, I'm…I'm sorry."

She raises an eyebrow at him, almost laughing again. "Sorry? What're you sorry for?"

He doesn't say anything, as it still hurts for him to just think about the accident. But trying to tell someone who didn't know that it had happened was even harder.

And she wasn't just anyone.

Her smile fades, noticing the sudden change in her friend's mood. "Lenny, what's wrong?" she asks softly.

When he doesn't respond again, she uses her fin to put his head up right, guiding his eyes to meet her light blue ones. "Lenny?" she asks again, holding her fin in place. "What are you sorry for?" Her tone now sounds worried rather than cheerful, as it had just a moment ago.

As he looks into her eyes, he finds it even harder to tell her about Frankie, who he knows that she still must care for very much, despite the fact that they hadn't been together for a few years now. But still, he didn't want to see her hurting, and this would definitely hurt. It always broke his heart to see her in pain.

He takes a deep, shaky breath, trying his hardest to prepare himself. "Tina…"

Lenny stops, looking around him, suddenly becoming aware of where they are. He looks back at her. "Come on." He takes a hold of her fin, leading her away from the wash and anyone who might be able to hear them.

"Where are we going?" she asks, somewhat aggravated, as she had promised Sykes that she would see him again.

"You'll see."

Lenny leads Tina farther away from the wash, away from the reef, so that they're almost to the ocean liner, in shark territory. But instead of actually going to the liner itself, he takes her to a large, open space about a mile away from it. There's not a fish in sight as he stops, turning to face her. He is about to say something, but she beats him to it.

"Lenny, what is going on?" she demands, taking her fin out of his grip. "What's wrong?"

"Tina…this isn't easy for me, but…"

He pauses, swallowing the lump in his throat. He takes another deep breath. It was best to get this over and done with now.

"A little while ago, Frankie and I were out swimming, 'cause Pop wanted him to show me the ropes…how to be a shark, and all. Well, anyway, we saw this fish, and, Frankie…he, uh, went for it, and, all of a sudden…out of nowhere, this, this…anchor, it…comes down and it…it…"

Lenny has to stop, as he's on the verge of tears, but doesn't want to shed them. Not now.

Throughout all this, Tina just looks on at him, eyes wide with worry and terror. She shakes her head. "I, I don't understand," she says in a frightened tone. She gets up close to him, putting her fins up onto his front, mainly for support. She looks into his eyes again, hers are also near tears.

"Lenny, what's happened…? Where's, where's Frankie…?" she asks, her voice shakier than ever, dreading what his answer will be, despite the fact that deep down, she already knows. "Where is he?!"

He looks down at the ocean floor again, unable to look her in the eyes any longer, as it pains him to see them fill with tears. But not only that, it was his words that brought them to her eyes.

Why did he have to be the one to tell her? Why him? He hated to see anything suffer. But she was different…she was special. It just isn't fair for them both to go through this. Not like this.

Then, without looking up at her, in a small voice he tells her, doing his best to fight back his own tears, causing his eyes to sting;

"Frankie's dead."

To be continued…

Wow! I'm getting all emotional, here! sniff, sniff…Okay, I'm fine…sob.

Well, what'd ya think? Please Review, and keep a look out for Chapter 2!