Chapter 70

"I know this must be a shock," Dr Harvey began. "But…"

"A shock? A shock?" Rikki interrupted. "Understatement of the year! He does not remember me! At all. From a bar of soap! He won't recognise his own kids," she began to falter. A tear escaped which she wiped away angrily. "What on earth are they going to do?"

"I'm sorry, Mrs Bennett," he replied sadly.

"Please tell me this will wear off," Rikki said.

"We cannot be certain," the doctor replied. "But we have hope that he will remember with time is familiar aspects of his life a reintroduced. However, in order to prevent stress to your husband, we request that you do not overwhelm him with knowledge – we need you to be patient," Harvey continued.

OoOoO

Rikki felt like she could not face Zane again that day. Solemnly, the drove back to the mainland house before swimming over to Mako.

OoOoO

Zane was feeling bewildered. He had sworn he would never get married, what was the point in that level of commitment? It never worked out. Look at his parents! Now he wakes up in hospital and finds out that not only that he is married, but for over a decade! That woman was hot! Thinking about it, Zane decided that he did not mind being tied romantically to her. There was something vaguely familiar about that woman. He could not remember anything about her but he knew that face. Feeling frustrated, he lay back on his pillows and sighed loudly.

OoOoO

"Is Daddy feeling better?" Leila asked, when her mother returned.

"The doctor said he is making a quick recovery," Rikki replied, "But there is some bad news…" The hopeful faces of her kids changed into those of worry. She took a deep breath. "Daddy can't remember anything,"

"What do you mean?" Charlie asked, startled. "Do you mean he has amnesia? Like in those movies?" Rikki nodded solemnly.

"Will Daddy not remember us?" Alex asked quietly.

"I don't know, honey," his mother replied.

OoOoO

That night, after she had put the kids to bed, Rikki could not hold herself together. How could this happen? The bed felt awfully empty. She began sobbing into her pillows.

"Charlie?" Leila whispered, "Are you awake?"

"Yeah," Charlie replied. "Can't sleep either?" There was a moment's silence.

"Do you really think Dad won't recognise us?" Leila asked.

"Mum did say he didn't remember anything," Charlie replied, her voice hitching. "It doesn't seem real, does it?" she continued.

Cleo lay in bed awake, thinking over the new revelations of the day. The news had hit them all hard but she could not imagine what Rikki must be feeling at that moment. She did not know what she would do if it was Lewis in that hospital. Cleo got up, put her slippers and dressing gown on, and made her way to the Bennett residence.

"Rikki?" Cleo asked cautiously as she came into her friend's bedroom. The quite sobbing stopped momentarily.

"Yeah?" Rikki croaked a reply. "I'm fine," Her resolve crumbled and another round of tears broke free.

"Oh, Rikki," Cleo said sadly. She climbed into the bed and held her friend as she cried. She silently prayed that Zane would recover quickly.

OoOoO

Lewis had been confused to wake up to an empty space beside him. He quickly figured out where Cleo probably was. Poor Rikki. Everything tended to happen to her family. She had the worst luck. Lewis had been doing a lot of thinking about how it could have happened. He replayed the scenario in his mind as Rikki had described it. When Zane touched the water he was bathing Fi in, he had received a magnificent shock. How on earth was Fi okay? Rikki had said that it looked like she or another mermaid had cast the lightning bolt. The first option was that Rikki had unwillingly or accidently done so. The second was that when Alex and Jay had gone past the bathroom, they had played a 'prank,' by casting electricity themselves. The third idea was that it was a freak accident – somehow electricity was running into the water through the water supply. If this were the case, Fi surely would have been sizzled. The option that Lewis had been considering most thoroughly was the biological makeup of Fiona Bennett. If she was one hundred percent human, then the same electric shock that hospitalised her father probably would have killed her. However, because she was the daughter of a mermaid, then perhaps she inherited Rikki's electric and heat immunity. Perhaps she was not as human as they all had once thought. A thought at the back of Lewis' mind considered that maybe Fi had created the spark that hurt Zane. As babies all their mermaid spawn had displayed that they were not fully in control of their powers constantly. But why had Fi not displayed any signs of mermaidness earlier in her life? Lewis was baffled.

OoOoO

Jessie could not believe what had happened to Zane. She could not imagine what Rikki was going through. Jessie and Anna were talking about it. Zane's situation had hit them all hard. At least he was alive.

"What has you two ladies so intense so early in the morning?" Hunter asked as he came into their office.

"Our friend's husband has amnesia," Anna replied.

"My condolences," Hunter replied emptily. Jessie had noticed almost a feeling of resentment coming from the young man, towards her.

OoOoO

Rikki returned to the hospital the following day, bringing the children with her once they had finished school for the day.

"Okay, I want to you wait outside and I'll come get you to bring you in, is that alright?" she asked them. They nodded solemnly. Rikki gave the pram containing Fi to her twin girls to look after for a few minutes. Taking a deep breath, she entered Zane's hospital room.

"Hi, Zane," Rikki said. He looked up from the magazine he was reading.

"Oh, hi again,"

"Um, I've brought some people I hope you remember,"

"How do I know them?" he asked.

"You'll see," Rikki replied quietly, going to the door. "Come in," she said quietly.

Rikki pushed the pram in and Alex, Jay, Charlie and Leila followed.

As they came in, Zane felt a twinge of something within his heart. He could not place what it was. Could it be love? His brain quickly put two and two together. These children looked exactly like the woman and the two boys were reminiscent of himself. They were his. He did not know how to feel. He hated children, yet he was looking on this troupe with adoration.

"Daddy!" Alex exclaimed, running over to the side of the bed. When Zane looked a little startled, Rikki pulled her son back. The boy's grin turned upside down.

"Anything?" Rikki asked hopefully.

"I feel like I know them, but it's still grey, I'm sorry," Zane replied.

"Could you please at least try? Get to know us again?" Rikki pleaded.

"Alright," Zane replied. This feeling of love towards these people puzzled him. Why could he not remember?

A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry it's been a while again. I'm still loving university :D The assignments and tests though...haha It's a miracle I found time for this update! My favourite class is Linguistics - im loving finding out about languages and accents :P

Anyway, thanks to all my supporters for all my stories. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter - another coming reasonably soon - I hope. Probably about the same time lapse however... :/ I hope it was worth it!

Thanks especially to the reviewers! Indeed, you reminded me that I should update soon - that's why I pushed on and got this finished :D

Thanks to:

Quillcox, zikki 3, The Writer Es, Acgisme, Crazy Hayniac, HybridsRose, Sjolsen12, and Mermaids Forever. Each one means a lot to me - thanks so much!