Okies, another sad chapter, but I promise that things will get better ;) I'm really looking forward to writing the fight scene and bringing the young Lino and pup Frankie back in :D I think the pace is a little off in this one, especially at the end, but nevermind. Its all practice :D

It was evening by the time Vincenzio sluggishly approached the crevice of Greater Caverns. The sun had set a while ago, but the waters shielded by the underwater canyon would still keep their warmth for at least another hour yet. Most of the vibrant flowers had closed for the night, the odd flash of colour amongst the green kelp provided by rare night-blooming species. The depth of Greater Caverns meant that beyond the lowest habitable level, the water became very dark and murky, housing all manner of mysteries. There was, in fact, a string of small underwater volcanic vents, which attracted many of the canyons residents in winter. It also threw up thousands of glittering particles and organisms, usually unseen in daylight. But at night, they glowed and sparkled, giving the canyon's waters a mystical quality.

Vincenzio reached his fin for the door handle. It came as a surprise to him when he found it locked. He furrowed his brow a little, wondering why Mona would lock the door. He felt blindly for his keys in his endless duffel bag, just missing them twice. With a chuckle of triumph, he unlocked the door and swam in. He dropped the duffel bag just on the inside, and it landed with soft thud.

The apartment was dim. Vincenzio flicked the hall lights on, scratching his washboard stomach and yawning. He swam into the kitchen and scanned for any sign of a note that Mona might have left for him. Not a thing, not even a scrawled sticky note. Vincenzio progressed through the whole apartment, switching on the lights as he travelled. None of Bambi's favourite toys, not even Shiny, was missing, so Mona couldn't have taken her anywhere.

As Vincenzio stood in the middle of the sitting room, scratching his chin, the phone in the hall trilled. He lifted the receiver.

"Hello. Vincenzio speaking," he answered quite politely. His eyes still looked about the apartment for anything unusual or for any sign of his family. His frown disappeared as he heard Regis' voice.

"Oh hi Regis. Don't tell me you want me to come back and do some more training," he chuckled. The smile quickly disappeared from his face as he realised that Regis wasn't laughing. "Regis, what's wrong?" Vincenzio asked, a little bit of panic creeping into his voice. With his family missing, all sorts of thoughts started to bombard his brain, tugging at his heartstrings.

When the worst thing Vincenzio could possibly hear tumbled from Regis' mouth, it felt like his heart burst in his chest. He bit his lip, bringing his fin to his mouth in shock. He nodded as Regis gave directions to where Mona was being treated, and before Regis could say any more, he clumsily put the receiver back in its place.

He swallowed hard, and picked up his duffel bag. He emptied its contents onto the floor and filled it with a few toys for Bambi. He grabbed his keys, locking the door on the way out. Greater Caverns didn't look quite so beautiful now, the darkness below feeling quite oppressive on Vincenzio's broken heart. The fatigue that had slowed him down coming home had vanished, and with renewed vigour, he set off for the small doctor's practice where Mona was fighting for life.

All of Mona's family had gathered. Regina, sobbing into her husband's diminished chest. Bernard, Mona's father, his yellow tired eyes looking out through half moon glasses. Saffron, trying to console her younger sister Minerva. As Vincenzio entered the hallway, the whole family were seated outside Mona's room, although Regina refused to just sit down. Saffron was the first to greet him, swimming up to him and giving him a tender hug.

"I'm so sorry Vinnie," Saffron stuttered, tears stinging her eyes. Vincenzio couldn't reply, he couldn't even manage a thanking smile for her.

"Can I see her?" he asked, his voice course and strained. Saffron shook her head.

"The doctors are just in with her now, you'll have to ask them when they come out," she was saddened to tell him. She could only imagine how Vincenzio felt, but she was feeling pretty heartbroken as well. Even Regina couldn't bring herself to criticize Vincenzio, which was a sign she was truly upset.

"But Bambi – " Saffron began.

"Bambi! Is she alright?" Vincenzio interrupted, panic tinged in his normally smooth voice.

"She's fine. She wasn't hurt at all. She's a little shaken up though, and doesn't really like the doctors. They put her in the crèche just down the hall," Saffron said, pointing down the long hall to a small area with brightly coloured walls and toys strewn all over the place.

Vincenzio breathed his first sigh of relief, and although he was still battling the thought of maybe losing Mona, his heart mended a little to know that Bambi was alright. He swam down to find her, reaching for Shiny in his duffel bag. A small smile crept across his face as he saw Bambi playing with building blocks. She was determined to make the highest tower, but it always kept falling down. Her face lit up when she saw her father, and she crashed through her existing tower to get to him.

He scooped her up and hugged her tight, his heart pining. A tear squeezed past his clenched eyelids, but Bambi didn't see it.

"I've got something for you," he said, holding up Shiny. Bambi squealed happily to see her oldest friend and squeezed the little plushie with all her might. "OK bambino, I've got to go see mommy. Will you be a good girl for daddy?" he asked her, his eyes only half-open, as if sadness were weighing them down.

Bambi nodded and gave him a kiss to the nose. As he put her back in the playpen, the doctor was just coming from Mona's room. Vincenzio reluctantly turned back, leaving Bambi to watch him swim away.

She didn't want him to go. That's how she lost her mother. She squeezed Shiny again.

The doctor was a small dogfish, with a creamy white belly and coffee coloured back. A stethoscope hung from his neck and he had glasses resting over his rounded head. He scratched the barbels on his chin thoughtfully as he looked at the patient files in his left fin. As Vincenzio drifted back to the waiting area, the doctor looked up at him.

"Are you the patient's husband?" he asked.

"Yes, I am," Vincenzio nodded solemnly.

"She's been asking for you," the doctor replied.

Vincenzio smiled a little. At least she was still alive. He swallowed hard, and went in, with a caution from the doctor that Mona was extremely weak and fragile. The nurse sharks filtered out of the room to leave the couple together. Outside, the atmosphere took a very low turn, as the doctor gave the grim news that Mona wouldn't make it. Not even the basic life support that they could offer at the practice would do her any good. But Vincenzio knew nothing of this news, but if he was honest with himself, it was obvious that Mona wouldn't see the light of another day.

The door clacked shut behind him as the nurse's left. He couldn't recognise her. She was covered in bandages and patches, stitches and supports. Vincenzio stood there for only a few moments, but it felt like a lifetime, looking at what was left of his beautiful wife. He slowly crept forward to her side, so afraid of even breathing in case it should disturb her. He reached out a fin, and tenderly stroked Mona's head. She stirred into life, opening her only working eye.

"Hi honey," Vincenzio whispered, almost silent with the tears welling up inside of him. He tried to smile for her; she hated to see people sad. She smiled back, but was saving her strength for what she wanted to say.

Neither of them spoke for a while. Vincenzio was at his wit's end, and Mona hadn't the strength. He just sat by her side, his insides being torn apart as he had to just sit and watch his wife die. As strong as he was, he could do nothing to save her. He felt so helpless. Her gills were moving ever so slowly, until she decided it was time to speak. She lifted her fin, gritting her teeth and wheezing with the effort, and placed it on his cheek.

"I need you…to…look after…Bambi for me," she said slowly, stopping at intervals to get her energy back.

"Why? You'll be fine, you'll get better…" Vincenzio began, his voice extremely broken. They both knew what would happen, but he wanted to cling onto whatever hope he could. Mona shook her head.

"She'll…be a…heartbreaker…when she's…older. You'll need…to be…there…for her when I can't…" Mona continued, the life draining from her. Vincenzio's lip quivered, his eyes stinging from the tears.

"I love you," Mona whispered her last words, her eyelid starting to flicker.

"I love you, forever and always," Vincenzio choked, unable to bring a stronger voice to surface.

Mona smiled just one last time, her fin falling from his face as her eyelids closed and she faded from life. Vincenzio stared at her lifeless form, almost wishing that this was some cruel joke, and that Mona would jump up and say 'Surprise!' But it wasn't a joke. It was so very real. He felt the sorrow and grief loom over him, seeping into his body and taking a stranglehold of his insides.

"Goodbye Mona," he barely whispered, leaning in for one last kiss to her head.

Vincenzio came out of the room, the family waiting with baited breath. He couldn't look them in the eyes, and that's when they knew. Regina burst into feverish sobbing against Bernard's shoulder. Saffron and Minerva gave a collective gasp, before Minerva fainted. Vincenzio's eyes were fixed on the floor. So many things ran through his mind. Anger. Grief. Uncertainty.

Vincenzio slowly began to swim back down the hall and into the harsh darkness outside. He needed time to think, a large part of him had just died with Mona. The gut-ripping, heart-wrenching pain that he felt had suddenly disappeared, as if he'd stopped feeling. Eyes a little glazed over and bloodshot from the tears, Vincenzio made a beeline for his and Mona's favourite spot – a small kelpy plateau that overlooked Greater Caverns. He forced a smile as he rested on the plateau's edge. Carved into the floor was 'Vin + Mona 4ever' in a heart shape. He swallowed hard as he looked at it, more memories flooding in. This was where Mona found him after their first calamitous date, this was where they shared their first kiss, this was where Vincenzio proposed to Mona and talked about getting one of the best homes in the Greater Caverns. This was where they thought about baby names before Bambi was born.

But Vincenzio couldn't find any solace in the past.

Nothing appealed about the apartment anymore. Everywhere he looked, he saw ghostly memories of Mona. And in her absence, Vincenzio found it harder and harder to look at Bambi. All he saw was Mona's big expressive eyes.

Regis had told Vincenzio to take a few days off from training, to collect his thoughts and recover from the shock. As much as he hated just doing nothing, it certainly helped. For the first day or two, he just wallowed in grief. He wouldn't play with Bambi, and she had to remind him of feeding times and bath times. But one thing would change his perspective drastically.

Autumn was just starting to creep into the reef and the cavern; the kelp blooms withered slightly, the vibrant green tones melting into more subtle olive shades. The championship was traditionally held at the end of the first full month of autumn: 3 weeks from now.

Vincenzio had spent the past two weeks out of training, partly because he had Mona's funeral to organise. He attended alone; he didn't want Bambi to be there. She wouldn't understand the concept of death and a funeral. But all of Mona's family had gathered, and Bernard's eulogy was very touching, despite the odd interruption of sobbing from Regina. That was days ago, and it opened up old wounds for Vincenzio. Today felt like any other humdrum day in the wake of his wife's passing.

"OK Bambi, its nearly ready," Vincenzio said flatly, preparing some mackerel for her. Her teeth had fully come in now, but she still hated the bones.

"Da-Dadd-y," Bambi bleated in a quiet moment as her father sliced the mackerel into smaller pieces.

"Yeah, yeah, just a sec-" Vincenzio began, but stopped and whirled round, his eyes wide in surprise. Did he just hear what he thought he heard?

"Daddy!" Bambi happily repeated for her distracted father.

"Holy shells! You said your first word! I'm your first word!" Vincenzio screamed proudly, sweeping her into his arms and cuddling her. She was more than happy for the attention and said 'Daddy' in a near endless string.

Vincenzio spent the rest of the evening teaching Bambi more words. She could now name most of the items in the apartment, plus some other things that Vincenzio had shown to her in books. It was so uplifting for Vincenzio. It felt as though he had finally broken through the grief. It still hurt to think about Mona, but it would always be like that. She wouldn't have wanted him to be sad for so long.

The next morning, Vincenzio decided it was time to resume his training. He had only 3 weeks to get back into a fighting condition, and win his qualifying matches. He was more determined now than ever to win the championship. Although he hated doing it, he had to leave Bambi at home everyday. A myriad of babysitters came in to look after her, the most readily available being the next-door neighbour Mrs Crinch. She was a widow (her husband a tragic victim of a sushi-bar), with nothing to do in her spare time, and she loved children. She often baked cookies and brownies for Bambi, who wolfed them down with glee. Of course, the manic sugar rush would ensue, but Mrs Crinch was an octopus, she was more than well equipped to keep the active pup under control.

Every time Vincenzio left for the gym, Bambi would wander aimlessly around the apartment, whining and looking for him. When he got home every evening, she would literally leap into his fins to hug him, sometimes knocking his duffel bag to the floor. He seriously wished he could have taken Bambi with him everyday, but he still wanted to keep her a secret, at least until she was old enough to handle any pressure from the press. It was Bambi's secrecy that would save her life later.

It was an exciting week for Vincenzio. It was Bambi's birthday on Saturday and he had a party to plan. The championship was also on the same day, and Vincenzio had won all of his matches so far by knockout. He was certainly scaring all the bookies, who thought Vincenzio had dropped out after Mona's death. To come back with low odds of winning and then storm through his matches with such vigour, it was certainly surprising to many fish and sharks. But, his whirlwind success had drawn the attention of a much darker individual.

"See ya later Regis," Vincenzio called out as he was leaving the gym, picking up his duffel bag on his way out. Regis waved him goodbye, one fin full of paperwork and press releases ready for the championship match. There was always a press conference before the match, where the two fighters could exchange verbal blows if they wished. Regis had everything prepared, as always, so that any awkward questions could be answered as painlessly as possible. He expected questions about Mona's death, and Vincenzio was happy to leave them for Regis to answer.

Vincenzio was in good spirits. He'd used some spare time last night to get a few party decorations, and was very glad that Saffron was going to help him. They were having the party in one of Saffron's beauty parlours, using one of the function rooms. Mrs Crinch was going to bake a cake, and Regina was doing all the food. Vincenzio had been cruising the toy stores all week for the perfect present for Bambi, but he just couldn't find anything. She was so attached to Shiny, he couldn't possibly get her any more plushies. And she was too young for some of the games and electronic toys. He hated to shop at the last minute. Mona was always so much better at buying things. Maybe he could use some of the prize money from the match to get her something really special.

He left the small city reef, the buzzing of lights and foul language of Taxi-fish behind him, and the tranquillity of the kelp fields and Greater Caverns before him. The leafy fronds of the kelp brushed against his rough skin as he swam through, the silence giving him some time to think. He was mentally making a list of what else he might need for the party. He also dreaded the thought of Regina taking over and planning such games as pin the tail on the Vincenzio.

But Vincenzio wasn't alone in the kelp fields.