Sirena's POV

I scurry down the stairs, my hair trailing out behind me. I'm vaguely aware of Diana descending paces behind me, but I pay her no mind as I race towards the room where they're keeping Aquata. As I near the door Diana catches my arm and forces me to a halt. "Let go," I complain.

"Sirena relax," Diana orders firmly, "or you won't be allowed to go in there. Look at me." I sigh and reluctantly obey her request. "You need to stay calm in there. I'm assuming that the changes," she nods towards my legs, "that you three have undergone are going to be a surprise to your sister and possibly upsetting. Stressing her out is not a good idea, so please don't rush in there frantically. Calm yourself down so you don't overexcite her," Diana states.

I sigh and take a deep breath, realizing she's probably right. Aquata isn't going to like this. "Okay. I'm okay, I promise, I was just excited." Diana nods and releases her grip on my arm. I hesitate before reaching out a yanking the door open.

The white tiled room is incredibly bright, illuminated by the overhead light reflecting off of the shiny white surfaces of the room. Sarah stands in the middle of the room, her burgundy hair falling freely down her back, wild and unkept. From the little bit of her face I can see, from my position, I note the inky black circles under her eyes. She doesn't look as though she's slept much. She's bent over the metal table positioned beside her, staring at a thick black band that's wrapped around Aquata's wrist. My sister's head turns at the sound of us entering. Her skin is pale as bleached coral and her blond hair is pulling free from its elaborate design is soft thin wisps. Her blue eyes widen as she sees me and then narrow as they fall to the legs supporting me.

"Aquata!" I exclaim, hurrying over before she has the chance to comment. "Are you okay?" I demand. "I've been really worried about you."

Aquata smiles softly, "I'm alright," she replies. "Besides, I'm more concerned about you what happened Sirena?"

My eyes fall and I let my head hang as I avoid her gaze. "Please don't be upset," I whisper.

Aquata's eyes narrow. "My little sister has just broken some severe rules," she snaps, her head tilting to the side as though she can't figure out why. "Why wouldn't I be upset, Sirena?" I open my mouth to reply, but before I can, the door bangs open. My head turns as Nixie and Lyla file into the room, Rita close behind. Rita sits down on a bench in the corner, next to Diana. Nixie and Lyla move beside me. Aquata snorts. "The two of you as well then; I should have guessed." Her eyes fix on Nixie pointedly. "Neither of you have ever been a good influence on Sirena, I should have guessed that you two were to blame."

"We did it for the pod," Lyla snaps back, fire dancing in her eyes.

"We're here trying to fix our mistake," Nixie adds. She shakes her head, brown hair flying wildly. "I don't see why we bother, you all left us behind," her eyes fall to the floor. "We just want to go home."

"So you just thought you'd come up here and do what exactly? Other than expose yourselves, which you've clearly already done! You know nothing about this place, what were you thinking?"

"We've been learning," I protest. "Staying with Rita, she's been helping us."

"Rita?" Aquata questions. Rita places both her hands on my shoulders, giving them a soft squeeze.

"Is that a problem?" she challenges.

"Great! Now you're all associating with some… what outcast?" Aquata glares at Rita.

"I was not banished," Rita replies evenly. "I chose to leave. "but, but why?" she demands, recovering.

"Enough," Diana demands, her face stern as she walks over to us. "Whatever decisions were made in the past cannot be altered now so stop getting upset over them," she says, turning to Aquata. "You need to settle down, you're not helping yourself or your recovery by getting worked up like this. Besides," her tone softens. "You get to see your sister again, be happy about that."

Aquata's eyes lower and her shoulders slump, she chews on her lip, something I haven't seen her do since we were little. "You're right," she admits. "I'm sorry Sirena, I shouldn't have snapped at you, at any of you. I'm just concerned that's all. I want you to be able to return, but I fear the more rules you break, the less of a chance you've got."

"Its okay," I whisper. "So why are you here anyways? Has the pod returned?"

"No, I've been given special permission to return, but I can't stay, I have leave," she pauses. "Today actually."

Sarah snorts, "Umm, Aquata right?, you're not going anywhere for quite a while. Have you looked at the state of your tail? that table is your home for the next two weeks minimum. I'd say a month before you see water that's deeper than a meter or two. The ocean is a no-go for quite some time," she decides.

Aquata's eyes widen and she shakes her head. "But I have to-"

"No," Sarah interrupts. "The only thing you have to do is recover. I'm sorry, but for the time being, you're landlocked." Aquata opens her mouth to argue, but closes it soon after, shifting on the table. With a great deal of effort, she twists and manages to role onto her stomach and prop herself up. "Be careful," Sarah warns.

I ease closer to my sister, careful to avoid actually touching her. "Are you sure you're alright?" I inquire.

"I'm fine Sirena," Aquata sighs. "But we need to talk." Her gaze drifts around the room. "May I have a moment alone with my sister please." I glance around. the others nod, standing quietly and filing out.

Sarah turns to us as she leaves. "A few minutes," she agrees. "Then you need some rest Aquata." She doesn't wait for a reply as she pulls the door closed behind her.

I turn to Aquata expectantly. "This is about why you're here isn't it," I guess.

She nods. "I'm here to bring you back to the pod," she replies. "I spoke with the council and they've agreed to let you return."

My heart soars at her words. I feel my eyes widen and, if it were long enough, I'm certain my jaw would resting on the cold tiles of the floor. Excitement spins through me. "Really?" I gasp. "Oh, Lyla and Nixie will be so thrilled. Thank you Aquata."

Aquata shakes her head. "No Sirena. The council agreed after I promised I would look after you. I couldn't promise that for them. Nixie and Lyla cannot return with us."

Suddenly my excitement dies, killed by this heart-wrenching piece of news. I get my sister back, but at the price of my new pod, my family.

Diana's POV

I lean against the wall and can't help but wonder at the conversation going on back in the medical room. Sarah presses her back against the wall next to me and rubs at her eyes. "Why don't you turn in," I suggest to her. "You've been up all night."

She shakes her head. "Not yet," is her reply. "Not until I'm certain she's going to sleep and recover. I'm still expecting her to freak out and wind up making her injuries worse… Maybe I should just sedate her for now," she muses.

I don't respond and instead find my gaze drifting over to the three mermaids, they've drifted slightly farther down the hall and are speaking amongst each other.

"Dr. Evans!" I turn my head to see Alisha scurrying down the hall towards us. her hair pulled up into a tight bun and a clipboard hugged against her chest. I raise an eyebrow and hold her gaze. She blushes , her eyes glancing to the floor. "Sorry… Diana."

"Yes?" I ask.

"You have… visitors," she answers.

"Is it Janice again?" I sigh.

"Actually yes, Dr. Taylor is present, but the one who wants to see you is Dr. Hadley Peirce," she replies.

My heart jolts in my chest. I wet my lips, stunned. "The Board director? Did he say why he was here?"

Alisha shakes her head. "I didn't ask," she admits. "I was on my way upstairs when he stopped me stopped me in the hall and requested your presence. He's waiting in the main lobby."

"And Janice was with him?" I demand. Alisha nods.

"With him or just here?" Sarah asks.

:I think with him. She was following him around," Alisha replies. I curse.

"Is something wrong," Rita asks, attracted by our conversation.

"Yes, I mean no, I-" I sigh and take a deep breath. "I need you to take Lyla, Nixie, and Sirena upstairs to the dorms, pick one and stay there. Janice and my boss are here and I'd prefer they didn't know you are here," I say. Rita's expression darkens, but she doesn't comment as she turns and begins speaking with Lyla and Nixie. "Sarah, inform Aquata, then sedate her. She's probably the reason they're here and if that's the case, as far as anyone's concerned, she hasn't woken yet," I order. "And send Sirena out." I turn to Alisha. "Find anyone who worked on Aquata or the others last night, as well as Chelsey. As far as the staff are concerned, the mermaid in there has been unconscious since her arrival and the other four were never here. At most you maybe recognize a name from stories about before the center was destroyed. No one is to breath a word on the subject to our visitors. Anyone who does will find themselves unemployed faster than they could process it," I command. Alisha's eyes widen and she steps back.

"Yes, Dr. Evans," she replies. I don't bother to correct her as she hurries away. I head towards the main lobby, mentally steeling myself for the storm.

Okay, that's that. Sorry this is late guys, I'll try to be better next update. So we're finally going to see some action, because as always, Janice is going to stir up trouble. Sorry if Aquata seemed kind of a jerk in this chapter, I was trying to portray more shock and anger than the show did mainly because she wasn't told here about the legs seen, so I figured her reaction would be a tad more severe. Anyways, I'm thinking her presence might be a good way to introduce some season two characters, who might come looking for her when she doesn't return. By the way, did everyone see the ending to the first half of the season that's on Netflix? Don't worry, no spoilers if you haven't, but oh my gosh, my mind was blown. I should have seen it coming, but I didn't. It was pretty awesome. Okay, done fangirling, back to the point. As always, you're comments are inspiring so please consider leaving a few, I always love to hear from you all. Until next time.

-Mermaid