A Wish on a Full Moon

I do not own H2O: Just Add Water or any of the characters.

Chapter 63: Grief, Acceptance, & Forgiveness

The rest of the theater group remains in awkward silence, unsure of what to do next as the families enter the dorms. The group looks around at one another in uncomfortable silence. Luckily, someone decides to break it.

"Soooo, should we get lunch?" Will asked, relieving the thick tension in the room. "Why not?" Ash shrugs then stands up. "They probably won't be out of there any time soon," Bella sighs as she too stood from her seat, and the rest follow. Everyone makes their way toward the buffet area, except for the two doctors, Max and Zane. Harrison and Denman go to stand, when Max stops them, gesturing for them to sit back down. "Uh, it's probably best that you two stay here." The two slump back in their seats in defeat, knowing that Max has a point. "I'll grab you something, dad," Zane tells Harrison, as he and Max head out of the room, leaving the two to look at the dorm door in worry, wondering what could possibly be going on back there.

Meanwhile in the girl's dorm, since it is the biggest, the group of families and close friends had just entered through the door when Cleo is bombarded into a massive hug from Bev, her shoulder covering her mother's muffled sobs. Still feeling uneasy about her mother's sudden return of love for her daughters, she couldn't accept it so easily. Her actions from earlier might be one thing, but she never knows when she'll leave them again. Cleo decides to return her hug with a gentle pat on the back. "There, there," Cleo inwardly cringed.

When Bev calms down slightly and lets her eldest go, Kim and Don pull her into a hug next which she happily accepts. Bev takes a few steps back and lets out a breath as she watches them in this happy moment, a bit saddened that she couldn't join them. The tension between them was still thick. Not as bad as before after the previous episode, but still there.

On the other side of the room, the Gilbert family snags Emma into a group hug, alltogether unlike the Sertori's. And Emma eagerly accepts her family's shower of hugs, showing how much they love and care for one another.

On the farthest side of the room where one of the bunk beds were, Rikki leans against the bedpost with Lewis and Mrs. Chatham sitting on the bed beside her as they watch the heartwarming scene in front of them. Terry stands next to her, refusing to ever leave her side again. Rikki frankly couldn't blame him after everything they had seen. If things had gone worst for her and the girls, she would have never wanted to leave her father's side; afraid that she might never be able to see him again. She couldn't blame the Sertori's and Gilbert's for what they were doing either. Crying, hugging, so happy that their daughters were okay, that they were still there with them. It was a touching sight …

And it was a little sickening for Rikki to see.

"Is it going to be like this the whole time or…?" Rikki announces, cutting through the touching moment. Emma and Cleo give her a stern look as their families finally separate from their group hug. "Rikki," Terry warns, gently nudging her. He would've given her a hug too, but he knows how Rikki feels about the touchy-feeling stuff. So, he simply went with just being there for her if she needs it. If Rikki wanted a hug, she would initiate it herself. "Sorry, sorry," Lisa says as she wipes her cheeks, getting rid of the remaining tears.

It grew quiet again, this time instead of a loving one, it became awkward, ironically just like the one happening in another room full of people. "So, what do we do now?" Cleo rubs her arm in comfort.

Neil steps forward, deciding to speak up first. "Well, first of all, I think we all owe a big thank you to Mrs. Chatham." Everyone smiles in agreement and claps for her. "Thank you, thank you so much for protecting our daughters," Lisa nods in appreciation, beaming with happiness. "Anything for a fellow secret keeper," Mrs. Chatham smiles at the girls, which they return. "Ahem," Lewis coughs, causing a few chuckles to go around the room. "And thank you too, Lewis, for saving them," Bev says. "Your welcome," Lewis grins.

"Secondly, I think you all owe us an explanation," Neil points to his daughter and friends. Cleo and Emma grimace; they believe they know what this was about. "An explanation?! How about an apology for nearly giving us a heart attack!" Terry exclaims, clutching a hand to his chest. Although it was over and everything turned out alright, even he had to admit it was a terrifying ride for all of them, especially the parents. Rikki rolls her eyes at her dad's exaggeration. "Relax, dad. You're fine." Terry gave his daughter a stern look before the latter turned to Mr. Gilbert. "And what's there to explain? We got discovered, captured, and lost our powers only to find out it was a trick, and boom. We're mermaids again. Simple as that." She snaps her fingers. Lewis, who was still crisscrossed on the bed, shook his head as did the others. "It's not as simple as it sounds, Rikki."

"What I think Neil means is that you girls had a second chance to tell us, to explain everything to us about the secret. But you didn't," Don informs. "Thank you, Don," Neil nods in acknowledgment before turning back to the girls. "If the timeline is correct and this happened several months ago, then why didn't you tell us?" "We didn't mean for it to be that way," Cleo spoke up.

"Then why? Why keep us out again?" Bev asked, her arms crossed. She knew she had no right to ask that; she didn't need to see the glare coming from Cleo to know she was a hypocrite for asking. But she needed to know. She at least needed to know why her daughter would keep such a huge secret from them again.

The girls glance at one another, wondering who would be brave enough to admit the truth first. After a few seconds go by, Don begins to get impatient. "Well?" he asked, throwing his arms out to the side. Emma sighs, deciding to break the silence. "Because we were still afraid," Emma admits, looking down at the floor to avoid her parents' and everyone else's gaze. "Even though the worst part was over and having lived through our worst fear, with us still being mermaids there was a chance that it could happen to us again."

"You all saw what they did when it was someone that actually knew us. We didn't want the same thing to happen with another person we knew, perhaps even closer," Rikki opens up, voicing her own opinion.

The parents look at them in slight shock and disbelief that they admitted to their own fears. Their fear was if anyone ever found out again, that it would happen all over again. But did they really think that?

"You were afraid we would try and expose you?" Terry asked his daughter. When she didn't answer, he looks at her friends and gets the same result. Lisa looks around at them and gestures to herself and everyone else. "We're your family. You're our daughters. We love you girls and would never do that to you." Everyone but them nods in agreement.

"You never know when someone close to you will stab you in the back," Rikki sighs. After all, Zane might've been a mermaid hunter, but she never thought he would turn on her. She didn't even suspect Harrison of being the cause of their downfall.

"Is this about the dairy again? Because we've already apologized like a hundred times," Elliot asked Emma, causing laughter to go around the room. "No, El. It's not," Emma smiles down at him.

"But you girls know that we wouldn't do that, right? No matter what, family is before fame. Family is above anything else," Don says, glancing at his ex-wife. She too had to look down as she felt a pang of guilt. "And friends," Lewis holds his hand up. "Yeah, we know that now," Cleo nods. "If it weren't for the viewing, I don't know if we ever would have," Emma chuckles slightly. "Which is why this viewing is such a good thing," Mrs. Chatham spoke up, and everyone jumps a little, forgetting that the elder woman was in there with them once again. "You all get to understand the experience of the magic and can understand it and them. And you girls can finally know how they feel about you and your secret."

"If you had this when you were a mermaid, Mrs. Chatham, would you be the same way?" Cleo asked. Mrs. Chatham thought about it for a moment before speaking up again, with a smile still on her face. "I don't know. Our adventures were similar, but still different. We are two very different generations with only one connection. Magic. But, if me and my friends had this same opportunity with our families, I could only hope that they would still love us the same, just like they do with you." "As we do," Neil agrees.

"We know, dad. And I'm sorry we didn't tell you the second time. After everything that happened …" Emma trails off, unsure of what else to say. "It's okay, sweetheart," Neil pats her back and puts an arm over her shoulder. "None of you knew what was going to happen after all, all because of –."

"Because of us?"

A familiar voice fills the room, one that no one wanted to hear. Everyone whips around toward the open door and finds two people that should not be in the room; standing in the doorway was Denman and Harrison. "I thought there was a draft in here," Kim scowls, narrowing her eyes at the doctors. The parents stand in front of their kids, including the two younger ones, in a protective stance, prepared to fight for them in order to protect them. With their stances came a deadly glare pointed directly at them. Kim and Elliot stand by their sisters, arms crossed with a menacing look on their faces; except Elliot is still too adorable even when trying to look angry or mean. Lewis stood from his spot on the bed next to Mrs. Chatham, who remains in her same position, knowing that the girls could take care of themselves, this time. He was simply backup.

"What are you doing here?" Lisa asked. "Come for our daughters?" Bev raises an eyebrow, shooting daggers at them, especially at Denman, someone who she once trusted. But never again. "We come in peace," Denman held her hands out in defense as she took a step forward. "Well, that's good because I don't," Kim counters and tries to march toward her but Don holds a hand out in front of her to keep from going any further.

"How'd you get in?" Lewis asked. Harrison points to the open door behind him that was apparently left open when they had rushed in since they never heard the door open in the first place. "You left it wide open." "What's with us forgetting to shut doors all the time?" Elliot says, his voice filled with annoyance.

"You've got some nerve being here," Neil continues to glare at them, just like the rest. "Who do you think you are?" Bev fumes. "I got a lot of nerves to just be talking to you right now. And I'm the person who nearly ruined their lives," Denman mentions. "And …," Harrison speaks up as he too steps forward next to Denman. "We're also the ones who need to apologize, for everything that we've done."

The room goes quiet, the majority of them beyond speechless after hearing what they had just said. No one had expected them to apologize. Not on their own, or when there was no fear, or at all really; at least not so soon. It was Lisa who broke the silence this time.

"What were you planning to do with them? Our girls?" she nods her head to the ones mentioned behind her. Denman glances down then back up. "You saw what was on the screen, what we were doing, what we were planning, how far we were willing to go. Poking, prodding, experiments, attempted exposure. All so that we could have fame and fortune. I was so caught up in what it could bring me, that I didn't think about what it would bring them. I didn't think about how they felt. And not only did I go so far that I didn't realize what I was doing to them, but I also lost myself in the experience."

"Since when did you care how people felt?" Terry scoffs, making sure she doesn't get a peek at her daughter. "Since that night," Denman continues to explain. "When I saw them lose their powers, a part of themselves, all because of me and what I did, it made me realize what I did was wrong. I went too far. Ever since that night, I've been overwhelmed with nothing but regret, sorrow, and incredible guilt for ruining those girls' lives, thinking and believing that they were never going to be themselves again, the trauma, the nightmares they must have been having." Denman took in a deep breath, everyone remaining quiet as they saw she still had more to say. "I never did get a chance to apologize to them. I regret everything. Finding out that they are still mermaids is such a huge breath of relief. And for that, for everything I've done, I truly am sorry girls."

Everyone took in what the blonde doctor said, as they listened to everything she had to say. Laughter came from the youngest Sertori. "Touching story, how about saving that for your own kids one day?" Bev had to agree with her youngest daughter, even if she could've said it in a better way. Doesn't matter, she doesn't deserve better. She deserves the cold-heart truth, just like her own cold heart. "You're out of your mind if you think they'll ever forgive you for what you've done to them." Everyone nods.

"We forgive you."

Neil looks back at his daughter in shock, with many others joining him. It was Emma who had said it. "What?!" echoes through the room, coming from everywhere except for the girls, Lewis and Mrs. Chatham, who knew it was coming. Even Denman and Harrison couldn't believe it.

Emma, Cleo, and Rikki share a glance at one another before walking forward and past their protective parents, who were still in too much shock to try and hold them back. It didn't matter, they knew they could protect themselves since they still had their powers. But they're still parents and will do what all parents do, be as protective as they can be of their growing children. "We've been talking about it for a while now, about trying to move on. We couldn't keep living in the past and our worst memories, we needed to move forward with our lives. We have to learn to accept what happened to us in order to do so," Emma nods as she, Cleo, and Rikki hold hands, facing the two doctors: their ex-enemies.

"Are you girls sure about this?" Lisa asked skeptically. She was finding it hard to believe that they were forgiving her so easily after everything they did to them. "Yeah, she's crazy," Kim states, jabbing her thumb at the marine biologist. "Maybe I'm the one going crazy," Don shakes his head in disbelief.

"We're sure. I mean, we can't forget about it, it's a part of our story now," Cleo says giving her dad a small smile. "Literally," Lewis chuckles. "But we can forgive them," Cleo adds after getting interrupted by Lewis. "As long as you don't go it again," Rikki gives the two doctors a small grin. Denman and Harrison let out a small laugh, a huge relief to them that they were forgiven for their terrible actions. The former wipes away a tear from her cheek.

"I still think you're bonkers for forgiving them, but you are right about one thing: you need to move on," Lewis tells them. "We all have to move on from our past eventually, we can't linger there forever," Mrs. Chatham sighs, as she thought about her old friends. She grabs where her locket used to be, a phantom feeling of what was left.

It was the parents' turn to speak. The Gilbert and Sertori family glance at one another, trying to decide on what they should do, till Neil speaks up for them. "We shouldn't forgive you for what you did to our daughters," Neil begins to say as he glares at them. Harrison and Denman look down at the floor. However, the man before them softens his gaze. "… but if they can forgive you, then I guess we can try to consider it."

"Everyone deserves second chances," Don said, once again sneaking a glance at Bev when she wasn't looking. But Cleo saw it. "Including psychotic –." "Kim," Don warns. "Sorry," Kim bites her lip.

They all then look toward the lone Bennett. "And you, Harrison?" Lisa asked. Harrison turns to the girls before speaking. "I should've stopped this madness the moment I knew who you were. And for that, I apologize. I went too far and forgot who I was long before that. But, if it weren't for that, I would've never had the opportunity to rekindle my relationship with my son. That's one good thing that came out of this, and one that I can't forget." Harrison smiles, then lets it dim once he turns back to his friends, or what they used to be called. "And maybe one day we could rekindle ours as well." "One day," Don mumbles, but loud enough for him to hear. "It'll take time, especially after everything we've seen, but maybe we can make something of it," Neil agrees, returning the small smile that once graced Harrison's face.

The awkward silence returns. Now that everything seemed out of the way, and everything that was said felt like it had been said, they were unsure of what to do next. "So, what do we do now?" Cleo asked, not liking the awkward tension that was growing. "Can we get something to eat, I'm hungry," Elliot asked, rubbing his rumbling belly. "Your always hungry," Emma giggles and rubs his head. Everyone laughs along with her and smile and began to make their way back to the main area, together. It was still a little tense between them, but it was a lot better than it was before they had entered the room.

As they return to the main room, they notice that everyone else must've already gotten their food, as they were still in their seats, this time plates and drinks in hand. The ones who did have their food were glad to see that everyone was alive, and no one had bashed their heads in. For now.

Max hands a plate to Denman as she comes back. "What part of 'stay here' did you not understand?" Denman chuckles and accepts her plate with a quick thank you.

"How'd it go? Considering you're still alive I'm guessing it went well?" Zane asked as Harrison sits down and hands his plate to him. "Better than I thought it would be," Harrison admits as he digs into his plate with a fork. He had to admit, he was a little surprised that he came out of there unscathed.

The rest of the group who had been in the dorms quickly go grab their food and comes back to their seats. "I take it there's more to these little adventures since we're still here?" Bella asked. She was curious as to what more (trouble) they had gone through. The girls and Lewis nod.

So much more.

"Ok then. Are we ready?" Don asked everyone and he gets a bunch of nods and hums in agreement. Zane hands the remote to Lewis. "Alright. Here. We. Go." Lewis lets out a breath and presses the play button.