Whee! Another chapter.The creative juices are certainly flowing at the moment.Anyways, a fluffy chapter, that just rounds up Tooti's fate and celebrates little Bambi's 1st birthday :D I know this is been a long story, but I think its safe to say that there are only a few more chapters left now.

Shining Scales Spa was made of the finest beige coral materials, and embellished with salvaged precious metals and art deco stylistic florals. Large glass panes allowed a gold-fish-bowl view of the reception and the lovely lionfish receptionist. Normally full of waiting customers, mainly middle-aged fish wanting a special uplift or seaweed wrap treatment, the reception was bare. Only the lovely lionfish was there, ticking off the known guests on Saffron's list as they swam past. Every treatment room was locked and bathed in darkness, for the safety of young guests who might feel the need to wander. Saffron couldn't do with a baby shark tumbling into the seaweed vat, now could she?

The function room was nestled right at the back of the building, and doubled as the aquarobics hall. Tonight, it was filled with two buffet tables, two families of sharks, plus all their friends, and an octopus DJ. Regina hovered over her buffet table, quite proud of the spread she and her daughter Minerva had managed to whip up, and occasionally rearranged things to make it all look neat. Vincenzio's mother, Vera, had brought the other table. However, the most noticeable problem was the fact there were two birthday cakes for Bambi. Vera had baked one, but so had Regina.

Vincenzio glided through the streets of inner Gilami Reef, keeping Frankie close, and Bambi even closer. It was not a notoriously bad reef, particularly the inner city part, but the heavy shark had to be wary of drunken revellers after such a big fight night. Many of the bars were still open, but nearly everything else had closed, and even the Shining Scales Spa looked desolate as the trio approached it. Completely black in the front, Vincenzio would have thought Saffron had changed the venue at the last minute if it weren't for the lights and music coming from the back of the building.

He gently pushed open the glass door, holding it for the youngsters to go in first. The receptionist watched in delight as she saw Bambi for the first time, escorted by Frankie, to the front desk.

"Hey Vinnie," the lionfish said cheerfully, dwarfed by Frankie, let alone Vincenzio.

"Hey Carla. The party's in full swing, I hear," Vincenzio smiled down to her.

"Well, you will make a fashionably late entrance," Carla mocked.

"You know me Carla, anything to make an impression," Vincenzio chuckled.

"Hehe. Just go straight through," Carla pointed her pen down the left hallway, then ticked his name off the list.

The elegant auburn lionfish watched her friend's brother-in-law disappear down the hallway, her interest particularly fixed on Frankie, and his closeness to the birthday girl.

Just before they reached the double-doors of the function room, Vincenzio scooped Bambi up into his fins. He pushed the doors open.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY BAMBI!"

Family and friends burst into cheers as Vincenzio entered, Bambi cradled in his vast fins. She giggled and fidgeted, although the sound had scared her at first. She looked around at the numerous faces, many of them unfamiliar. In fact, for a majority of the family, this was the first time they'd seen Bambi. Saffron was the first to sail over.

"Glad you could finally make it, Vinnie," Saffron teased, placing her fin on his shoulder. Right on a beluga bruise.

"Well, I had…some last things to sort out before I left the stadium," Vincenzio tried to hide his wince.

Saffron nodded, then leaned in to coo at her niece, tickling her gently just under the chin. Her own pup, Julian, was busy pinching some of the food from the buffet table, sticking his fins into everything and just generally making a mess. As Saffron gently lifted Bambi from her father's fins, Regina quickly swam over and took her, leaving an astonished Vincenzio and Saffron to watch as the old sharkess took Bambi over to her distinguished relatives. Frankie then peeked from behind Vincenzio, unsure of so many new faces.

"Well, who is this?" Saffron asked, smiling.

"Oh, this is Frankie, a friend of Bambi. Frankie, this is Bambi's aunt, Saffron," Vincenzio introduced the two.

Frankie waved sheepishly at the adult shark, barely mumbling his greeting. Saffron just chuckled and pointed over to Julian.

"I have a pup your age, if you're a little bored. He's right over there. We'll be getting the bouncy-reef out soon too," Saffron leaned down to Frankie, gently placing a fin on his shoulder and turning him to face the corner where Julian was scoffing the mini fish-bites.

Frankie was reluctant, but swam over anyway, seeing as the food was much closer to this Julian kid than it was to the adults. Julian saw Frankie approaching, and got very defensive over his little hoard, glaring at the newcomer. When Frankie returned a fiercer glare, Julian backed down and just resumed filling his mouth. Frankie rolled his eyes and sighed. Until Bambi was free from the clutches of her socialite relatives, he would be quite bored. Although, it did give him some time to find a present for Bambi.

He peeked over the top of the table to where he had just come from. Vincenzio was busy chatting with Saffron, and a sweep of the rest of the room showed no attentive adults. With a smirk, Frankie sunk underneath the table and swam right to the end. Julian watched him go without a single word, now crunching through some shrimp. Frankie lifted the tablecloth and scanned around for another exit. A smaller, single-door a short swim away. He waited for a clear shot of the door, then bolted from underneath the table.

Frankie tumbled into the dark hallway. He'd braced himself for a stiff door, but flew through it as it swinged on its hinges. Rubbing his head, he looked back at the swinging door and glared at it, as if that would make a difference. The hallway ahead of him was very dark, save for a few shafts of moonlight that filtered through some windows and into the blackness. So that's where he went first.

Tooti lost track of how long they'd been travelling. He could barely tell one shark apart from the other in his blurry vision, slowly slipping into unconsciousness from lack of oxygen. All he could comprehend was the incessant pain in his shoulder, and the numb feeling in his flipper. The two sharks holding him were practically dragging him through the water as they entered deep open ocean away from Gilami Reef. Even the sharks' voices were blurry and sounded distant to the de-throned dolphin.

They stopped. Don Lino smirked as they had finally come upon what they were looking for. Rocking on the water's surface were two long boats, their white keels glowing in the murky water and their propellers silenced and still. He beckoned the two sharks to bring the ailing dolphin over, relieving them of their duty.

Don Lino held onto Tooti only lightly, knowing the half-dead dolphin couldn't put up a fight, and led him closer to the surface. And to the boats. He pushed him further and further until the dolphin broke the surface. He immediately took in deep breaths but would not regain his strength for hours. Bobbing in the current, and with nothing left in him, the sharks left Tooti there.

Right in the path of the propellers.

Frankie stretched up, trying to reach one of the latches that kept the window closed. The moonlight was filtering through some large-pane windows that stretched from the floor to the ceiling of the hallway. Just beyond the windows was a beautiful Zen garden, filled with large swaying fronds of kelp and flowers that glowed and shimmered in the light. Frankie had seen something that was perfect for Bambi, but all he had to do now was get to it.

"Hah! Done it," he smiled in triumph as he heard the latch click, and he opened the window.

He slipped past the gap and into the secluded little garden, looking at all the curious little rocks and shapes and trinkets. There was a strange hut to his left, with coloured mats on the floor and the walls, with all manner of current-chimes hanging above the entrance. He swam past without a second glance, his mind focused now.

Bambi tried to wriggle free from the high chair with all her might, but it was no good. She was stuck, and stuck tight. She had to endure the dress-up session her grandmother was putting her through, pouting at every ribbon or frilly thing that was attached to her. Vincenzio could only look on in horror as his little girl was dolled up and paraded around all of Regina's rich relatives. Even Saffron had to wince.

Finally, Regina was distracted and Vera saw a moment to seize her granddaughter. She fiddled with the high chair until it came open, and lifted the relieved pup into her fins. Vera sighed and began removing all the frilly things and ribbons, except one. A modest little white ribbon attached to her dorsal fin. It was cute and certainly made Bambi look even cuter.

"There now, isn't that better?" Vera asked the pup.

Bambi squealed and nodded her head, thankful to be rid of so many attachments.

A bouncy-reef had been blown up in one corner, with an assortment of pups all bouncing and flopping on it. Julian, however, looked a little sick, and put his half-eaten plate of jellyfish jelly sandwiches back onto the buffet table. Vera picked off some small mackerel rolls from her own buffet table and gave them to Bambi, who munched them happily.

Vincenzio swam over to his mother, grabbing a plate as he reached the buffet table.

"Hey ma," he said, leaning in to kiss his mother's cheek.

"Hi honey," she replied, kissing his cheek in return. "Congratulations on your win, sweetie. Your father is so proud. As soon as he saw you knock out that whale, he was on the phone to all his friends. Its not often you have a champion for a son."

Vincenzio rolled his eyes, not failing to notice his diminutive father over in one corner, bragging to relatives and friends alike. He idly picked out items from the large spread, making a mountain of food on his plate. His mother chuckled, glad to see he hadn't lost his appetite.

"So, is it true what you said?" she asked, eyes focused on Bambi.

"About what, ma?" he replied, mouth stuffed full of food.

"About retiring from boxing. Do you really want to quit?" she asked him solemnly. She knew how passionate he was for the sport, he had been since he was a teenager, and it was such a big thing for him to give up.

Vincenzio was silent for a moment as he chewed his food. His mother was a stickler for manners. "Well…yeah…pretty much," he finally managed to say. "Bambi's more important right now. Maybe in a few years when Bambi starts school, I could get back into it. Who knows?"

Vera wasn't exactly satisfied. She could sense the gloom in her son's tone of voice, and how he quickly ended the subject to resume eating. But before she could raise the matter, Saffron glided over.

"Its time for Bambi to open her presents," Saffron said cheerfully, reaching for the pup. She was a little shocked when Vera pulled her back, so she left her alone. Saffron watched as Vincenzio's mother sailed over to the mini-mountain of presents stacked in one corner, surrounded by family and little cousins who were all prodding the wrapped parcels in curiosity.

"Well…what's her problem?" Saffron asked Vincenzio.

"She's just a possessive grandmother. Remind you of someone?" Vincenzio smirked, inclining his head over to Regina, who had a face like thunder seeing Vera carrying Bambi.

Saffron playfully hit him and then dragged him over to see his daughter open presents.

Bambi tore through present after present, throwing the coloured paper everywhere. In some cases, she had more fun looking at the wrapping paper, watching it sparkle and shimmer. Teething rings, soft toys, playmats, rattles. Bambi got it all. Some of the more unusual, and certainly more expensive, gifts were little golden clips for her dorsal fin, and a pearl necklace. Of course, it wasn't hard to guess which side of the family they had come from.

Frankie hovered near the buffet tables, holding something behind his back. He didn't want to give Bambi his present with all those sharks looking. So he waited for them to disperse a little, and then swam in close. Bambi was squeezing a noisy soft toy to hear the jingle it emitted when Frankie sat himself beside her.

"Umm…I didn't know it was your birfday, but I tried to get you something," Frankie said, a little sheepish.

Bambi looked at him with big eyes, which grew even bigger as she saw his present. A perfectly trimmed white sea rose. Frankie had endured the rotten taste of its root when he snapped it off in his mouth, spitting it out immediately. Bambi grabbed the rose gently about its stem, which was thorn less, and admired it. It hadn't bloomed yet, but was pearly white and had a gentle glisten to it. She turned to Frankie and smiled, leaning in for a cuddle, keeping the rose safe.

There was an almost silent click in the background as a photo was taken of the oblivious pair.

The night drew on. Carla was just packing up her things and putting her pens and documents away as several dark figures loomed at the salon entrance. She jumped a mile in her scales when she turned around to see a smiling mouth full of sharp teeth.

"Err…I'm with Vinnie," Don Lino said, cocking an eyebrow at the lionfish's reaction.

Shaking, she pointed her fin at the hallway, and tried to smile as the shark gave his thanks. She'd seen every shape and size of shark come through those doors tonight - but he was scary.

Don Lino pushed open the double doors slowly, not wanting to draw attention to himself. Thankfully, many of the guests were busy dancing, or eating, or chatting. He spotted Vincenzio instantly, not only for his sheer size, but also because of the ridiculous amount of silly string he'd been squirted with. He shook his head, smile curled to one side, and swam over.

"That's a good look for you, Vinnie," Don Lino joked, patting the champion on the shoulder.

"Hehe, well…the kids got carried away…" Vincenzio blushed, trying to wipe some of it away. "You've come for Frankie, right?"

Don Lino nodded, wondering where his pup was. Vincenzio pointed to the present corner, where Frankie and Bambi had constructed a castle out of coloured blocks and then fallen asleep inside it, one pup propped against the other. The mob boss swam over, reluctant to break the two apart. But eventually, he had to lean down and retrieve Frankie. There was a long trip home ahead of them, and Connie would be worried. Frankie stirred a little, opening his eyes enough to recognise his father, then fell back to sleep.

With his pup cradled over his shoulder, Don Lino said his last farewells to Vincenzio, and left as quietly as he came.