Author's Note: I'm back with another chappie! Go me! Oh, and expect longer update times. School is back in session, and my backpack is heavy! Plus, we've got uniforms where I am and at the school I go to, they're all strict about the uniforms.

Insane Pirate Dragon- He's startin' to act like his pop, only he's still got some innocence. You sure are gonna get a surprise… a BIG one.

The Crouching Tiger Shark- VIOLENCE! AHHH! (Runs around in circles) I'm done now… Oscar and Lenny might cross paths, but then again, they might not. Yup, Lenny got too close… and hey, Ricky didn't kill him yet, did he? You'll see Lino in this chappie, and all your other questions will be answered too. But, there will be many more unanswered questions.

Lav'O'Dolphin- Hey, maybe Lenny did kill Markie! (Looks around) And it was either use the faucet, or try and kiss it off again. Maybe Ronnie is okay… maybe not. Thanx for the tip about Jason Statham. Go over-the-top action movies!

On wit da story!

Chapter Thirteen: Hospital Bills and Unwelcome Visitors

Lenny swam into the emergency room. Ricky was waiting outside, because the nurse had said that only one person could come in at a time. Just as he was about to swim to Ronnie's room, he bumped into her doctor, Dr. Monty. He had startled Dr. Monty, causing him to drop his papers, and began apologizing.

"Oh!" Lenny apologized, picking up the papers and handing them to Dr. Monty. "Sorry doc. I guess I should've watched where I was going."

"You sure should have!" Dr. Monty said in an annoyed tone, trying to regain his composure. "Next time watch where you're going…" He looked up and saw that Lenny was staring at him, and his face and tone softened. "Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't know it was you. But, since you're here… I've got something to tell you."

"It's about Ronnie, isn't it?" Lenny said in a sad tone.

"Yes it is." Dr. Monty said. "It's about her condition."

Lenny sighed. "So, what's her condition?"

"Well, I think I can explain it by saying this," Dr. Monty said with a smile. "Congratulations Lenny."

"Huh?" Lenny said, scratching his head. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Ronnie is pregnant." Dr. Monty said. "And the DNA test we took proves the baby to be yours."

"WHAT?"

Sea creatures in the city all stuck their heads out the windows. Above the water, a group of divers looked down into the sea, and looked at each other.

"You guys… I don't think we should go down there." A frightened diver said.

The other divers nodded their heads in agreement and continued to look down into the ocean below.

Scene Change

The sound of laughter. The feeling of joy. That warm feeling you get when your family visits you. Those were three feelings that Oscar wasn't feeling at all. All he could do is glance out his window and sigh. Across the street from the hospital was a park, and there seemed to be a family reunion going on in there. The adult members of that family all greeted each other and hugged while the children got down to playing. The elderly family members sat around and reminisced about how Holly had a baby, while the teens basically just hung out and chatted. Oscar laughed as he saw a three year old whining over how his cousins were cheating, and how his cousins told him that he was too young. After watching for a few moments, he turned to his bed in a sigh.

'I wish I could see my whole family…'

Oscar could never see his whole family together. You see, his mother had died when he was five of cancer, leaving him with his father. After his mother's death, Oscar's father was thrown into a depression. Though he still took care of Oscar, it wasn't good enough, and Oscar was taken in by his grandmother. She took care of him until he was thirteen; when he turned thirteen, his father was able to take care of Oscar. Unfortunately, three years later, Oscar's father died when a piece of equipment fell on him at the Whale Wash. Oscar lied down on his bed. He could still remember seeing his father lying on his hospital bed. And even though his eyes were blurred with tears, he could still remember his father's last words; "Make a good life for yourself son."

Tears began to well up in Oscar's eyes. That memory had always made him cry.

'My dad told me to make a good life for myself.' He thought. 'And I'm not doing that. I mean, look at my life now! I live in a penthouse, have lots of fame, and all the money I could ever think of; but that's not a good life. I used to have a good life; it was back when I was living in an apartment and working at the Whale Wash. Sure, I was poor and always in trouble, but I still had my friends to back me up. That was my good life.'

Oscar buried himself beneath his covers, on the verge of tears. He missed Angie, he missed Rueben, he missed Ernie and Bernie, heck! He even missed working inside a whale's mouth! But most of all, he missed Lenny.

'Gee, I miss that big guy.' Oscar thought. 'He was so nice… had a big heart. And then… he had to leave the city… and it's all my fault.'

Oscar's head turned to the window as he heard a baby's cry. The cry was followed by a mother's shushing, trying to comfort it. After a while, the crying died down, and the sound of laughter was heard. Oscar smiled a weak smile, but his mood was still sad.

'I wish I could be comforted.' Oscar thought. 'I can't remember being comforted by my mom, and my friends won't visit me in this hospital to comfort me; I've hurt them too much. But then again, I guess I don't deserve any visitors…'

Oscar's trails of thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Oscar, we've got a visitor for you." The high voice of the nurse said, peeking her head in the door. "Is it okay if she comes in?"

Oscar nodded his head, and the nurse went to go get the visitor.

'Who'd want to visit me?' Oscar thought. 'The nurse said it was a 'she'… maybe it's Angie! But then again, she'd never visit me. She's probably getting ready to move.'

Angie was still moving; it seemed like no form of persuasion would stop her. She had two weeks until moving day. It would've been five months, but she got off the waiting list earlier than expected and was able to get the moving service to come early.

'She's gonna move…' Oscar thought. 'And there's nothing I can do about it…'

'That's not true.' His conscious said. 'There is something you can do about it, and you know what it is.'

Oscar's thoughts were interrupted once again when he heard someone swim into the room. He turned to face the door, and his eyes grew wide. There, in the doorway, was the last fish he ever expected to see.

Scene Change

Don Lino sat at his desk, trying to complete important paperwork. He seemed troubled; he was troubled, but was able to hide it. Luca swam into his study and hesitated for a moment, but decided to give him the message.

"Erm… boss?" Luca said in an uneasy voice.

"Yes?" Lino answered.

"Erm, well, I've got a message for you, but I've gotta tell ya a story before I give you the message."

"As long as it's not a long story, I'll listen." Lino said in a nonchalant voice.

"Okay." Luca said uneasily. He began to twiddle his tentacles. "You see, when da boys and I all went to dat talent show, we met one of da sharks that competed in da show, and da guy we met after the show had a message for you."

"Well what's his name?" Lino said in his casual voice, still working on his paperwork. "I don't know him."

"Actually, you do know him." Luca said. "You've known him since he was born; in fact, you were there!"

"And who would that be?" Lino asked.

"It was Lenny."

As soon as Luca said that, Lino dropped his pencil. All his attention turned to Luca, and he had a surprised expression on his face. "What?"

"I said it was Lenny." Luca said. "He told us to tell you that he said hi."

"Well, is that it?" Lino asked. "What else do you know about him?"

"That he's got some friends, so he should be okay." Luca said. "And this guy named Markie's been givin' him some trouble. But I don't think you should worry. I think he's gotten rid of that problem; he asked for styrofoam shoes."

"Lenny asked for styrofoam shoes?" Lino said unbelievingly. "But… he doesn't even talk about that!"

"That's what he did." Luca said. "And that's all so… I guess I'll be going now." With those words, Luca swam out the door, leaving Lino alone to his thoughts.

'At least he's got some friends.' Lino thought. 'But… styrofoam shoes? He's never even tried to learn about those before! And if he didn't put them on the right way… then that Markie guy might come back!' Lino sighed. 'Man… why'd I have to say that he couldn't come back home! I miss him! But maybe he'll come back…'

Lino's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of shattering glass and various shouts of "Jimmy!" Jimmy had broken something; again! Lino rubbed his head in frustration.

"Oi vey."

Scene Change

"Shhh!" Dr. Monty said. "Not so loud! And you heard what I said."

Lenny had just heard from Dr. Monty that Ronnie was pregnant, and he was shocked.

"But… but… how?" Lenny stuttered.

"You know how." Dr. Monty said.

"But… I'm not even married to her!" Lenny said in disbelief. "And I don't know how to take care of a pup!"

"You should've thought about that before you got her pregnant." Dr. Monty said with a shrug.

"But I didn't even do anything to her!" Lenny said in doubt.

"Uh-huh, that's what they all say." Dr. Monty. "It's your pup, Lenny."

Lenny tried to grasp everything that was going on. 'Great, I've really messed this time! Ricky is gonna kill me!' "So, how long until they're born?"

"Six and a half months." Dr. Monty answered.

'At least that gives me some time to get some money.' Lenny thought. 'Wait… I've already got money! I've got the million clam reward! This gives me a chance!'

"Oh, and there's another thing I've got to tell you about the baby." Dr. Monty said. "It won't only be one baby… they're going to be twins."

"WHAT?"

The city residents all stuck their heads out their windows again.

"What is with all that shouting?" An elderly lionfish said.

The group of divers had just jumped into the water, but rushed out when they heard the shout.

"I told you that we shouldn't go down there!" The frightened diver said.

"Shut up Jones." Another diver said.

Scene Change

Oscar stared at his visitor in surprise. There, in the doorway, was Lola.

"Hey there shark slayer." Lola said in her sensual voice. "Remember me?"

Oscar watched as Lola floated in his room, flipping her hair to get it out of her face. The light seemed to shine on her, making her even more beautiful.

'Wow, she's pretty…'

Oscar's brain had finally clicked in. His face turned into a frown. "Go away."

"What?" Lola said, swimming closer to Oscar. "Can't an old friend come to visit her friend?"

"Friend?" Oscar said. "You turned me and my friend into the sharks!"

"Yeah, well, you broke up with me." Lola said. "But, that's no reason. I'm sorry for that. But still, you have to admit, you leaving me for that Angie girl was pretty stupid."

"Stupid?" Oscar asked. "What d'you mean?"

"Oh c'mon!" Lola scoffed. "You can't actually say that leaving me for her wasn't stupid! I mean, look at me! I'm pretty and rich! Everybody wants me! And now, look at her. She's just a plain Jane and she's poor! Nobody wants her!"

"That's not true!" Oscar said. "I wanted her!"

"Wanted?" Lola said. "What happened to 'I want her?'"

Oscar's eyes went down. "She hates me now." He said.

"Mmm, hmm." Lola said, sitting on Oscar's bed. "She hates you. Well you know what? I don't hate you. So, you wanna get back together?"

Oscar looked up at Lola. Surprisingly, her beauty had no effect on him. "No." He said. "Now get out."

Lola frowned. "You're gonna regret this, Oscar." She said. She got off Oscar's bed and swam out the door and slammed it.

Oscar watched as Lola swam out the door. He flinched slightly.

'Well, at least I didn't get beat against a window.' He thought. 'And yeah right! 'I'm gonna regret this.' What's she gonna do?'

But deep down inside, Oscar knew that Lola might mean what she said. The last time he had made her mad, she had Angie kidnapped and taken to the sharks! But, dismissing the thought, he took a long nap and told himself not to worry. Lola wouldn't live up to her threat… would she?

Scene Change

"What did I tell you about that shouting?" Dr. Monty scolded. "And yes, they're going to be twins."

"Great!" Lenny said. "Now what am I supposed to do? I can't take care of no pup!"

"Well, you can listen to what I'm about to say, though you might be mad at me." Dr. Monty suggested.

"What?" Lenny said sarcastically. "Are you gonna say that they might be two sets of twins?"

"No, though they might be." Dr. Monty said. "But that's not what I was going to say. What I was going to say was this…"

Dr. Monty went over to Lenny, as if he was going to whisper in his ear. But, he didn't whisper. Instead, he shouted,

"YOU JUST GOT PUNK'D!"

Lenny stared in shock. After his brain was able to work, he realized what had just happened. "What?" He said angrily.

"I said, YOU JUST GOT PUNK'D!" Dr. Monty said. "Please don't be mad."

After hearing that, Lenny's face softened. "I guess I can forgive you, after all, I'm on punk'd! So," He paused, looking around. "Where's Ashton Kutcher?"

"Uhh… Ashton Kutcher isn't here." Dr. Monty said.

"Oh, okay." Lenny said. "So where are the cameras?"

"There are no cameras." Dr. Monty said nervously. "This isn't on TV."

"So you mean… you tricked me, and this isn't a TV show?" Lenny asked angrily.

Dr. Monty nodded his head. Trying to hide from the glares he was getting from Lenny, he said quickly, "Hey, you can go in and see Ronnie now! The door's open!" Then he swam off.

"Thanks a lot." Lenny mumbled, opening the door to Ronnie's room.

Ronnie was sitting up in her bed, watching TV and eating jello. She noticed Lenny when he came into the room.

"Hi Lenny!" She said cheerfully. "Nice to see ya!"

"It's great to see you too." Lenny said. "But why are you so happy?"

"The doctor was able to stitch up my wound, and said that I would be able to go home on my birthday!" Ronnie said. "But, there is one downside."

"What?" Lenny asked.

"The hospital bill." Ronnie said. "They had to use special stitches for me, and they need two thousand clams. I don't have that much, Lenny!"

"But I do." Lenny said.

"Huh?" Ronnie said in a confused voice.

"You don't have two thousand clams, but I do." Lenny explains. "I can give you the two thousand clams so you can pay off your bill! And since you're a friend, you don't have to pay me back!"

"Wow. Thanks Lenny!" Ronnie said. "And I'll pay you back. One way or the other."

Lenny blushed and continued. "You're welcome. Besides, you won the money too."

"I guess so." Ronnie said.

"Hello?" A voice said from behind them.

The two turned to see Dr. Monty in the doorway. "I see that everything's all right."

"Yeah." Lenny said quickly.

"Why'd you say it like that Lenny?" Ronnie asked.

"Oh, he's probably mad because I played a trick on him." Dr. Monty said. "And while he's explaining what the trick was, I'll be checking up on other patients." Dr. Monty swam out the door as quickly as he had came in.

"So?" Ronnie asked. "What was the trick that he played on you?"

Lenny stuttered for a moment before saying, "Uh, what was that Dr. Monty? Yeah, I'll be there!" He began to swim out the door but he said, "Bye Ronnie!" before he left, leaving a very confused Ronnie to try and figure out what happened.

Scene Change

Dr. Monty swam into the waiting room where Ricky was floating.

"Hey doc! How's it goin'?" Ricky greeted.

"Fine." Dr. Monty said. "The patients are recovering, as well as Ronnie, and I'll be getting my paycheck soon."

"That's great." Ricky said. He looked around to see if anyone could hear him, and when he saw that no one was near, he added in a businesslike tone, "So… did you play that prank on Lenny?"

Dr. Monty laughed. "You bet I did! You should've seen Lenny's face when I told him Ronnie was pregnant! I thought he was gonna faint!"

"Probably thinking about what I was gonna do to him." Ricky chuckled. "Thanks for the help Dr. Monty."

"Aw, it was no problem." Dr. Monty said. "After all, it was the least I could do after you helped me sort out those papers. I guess I'll see you later." And with those words, Dr. Monty swam off to another patient's visitor.

At that same time, Lenny had swum out the door to where Ricky was. He was going to keep swimming by until Ricky said,

"So, I heard that Doc. Monty played a trick on you. Would you like to tell me what it was about?"

Lenny began to stutter and when he couldn't say anything, he swam off. Ricky was amused at his reaction and laughed quietly to himself.

'That'll teach him to mess with my sister.'

Scene Change

Rueben punched out his card. His work shift was over and he planned on going home and getting a good night's rest. He was leaving the wash when Ernie and Bernie came up and stopped him.

"Hey Rueben," Ernie said, "Did you hear about Osca'?"

Rueben's face fell into a frown. "Yeah, I did." He tried to keep swimming, but Bernie blocked the way.

"Well then, how come you won't visit him in the hospital?" Bernie said.

"Can I just go?" Rueben said, trying to find a way around the two brothers.

"Not until you give us an answer mon." Ernie said. "We've never known you to act like this."

"Yeah," Bernie said, "you and Osca' have been best friends since forever! So what's wrong now?"

"Nothing, okay!" Rueben shouted.

"Yeah right." Bernie said. "We know that something is wrong…"

"Fine! You wanna know what's wrong!" Rueben shouted. "I just found out that my best friend is a fake and has lied to me! There, you happy now? Leave me alone, okay?" Rueben swam off, leaving Ernie and Bernie to float with shocked expressions on their faces.

"Wow." Ernie said. "He's never blown up like that before."

"Yeah." Bernie said. He turned to Ernie. "Looks like Angie isn't the only one who has a problem with Osca'."

"Yeah… but what did he mean when he said that Osca' was a fake?" Ernie questioned.

"I don't know mon… but we're gonna find out, one way or the other." Bernie said determinedly.

TBC…

Lola threatened Oscar? Lenny got punk'd? Ernie and Bernie want to know about what happened? Lino now knows about Lenny? Gasp! Will Lola live up to her threat? Will Angie move so that Oscar can never see her again? Will Ernie and Bernie find out about Oscar's lie? Will Lenny ever go home? Arrgh! Unanswered questions! There's only one way to find out, and that's to stick around for that next chappie!

R&R pleez!