Chapter 3

Jim felt like someone punched him in the stomach and pulled the floor out simultaneously.

"M... Mine?" He gulped.

Ariel nodded.

"Are you sure?"

She glared angrily. "Wow, how low can you get?"

"Well... we haven't seen each other in five years, and you spring a kid on me..."

"She's yours. You're the only guy I've done anything with."

"Mine..." Jim gulped.

"She's almost five years old." Ariel continued, "And while she looks like me, she definitely has your spirit."

Jim still couldn't believe it. How could he have gone for five years not knowing he was a dad? The fact he wasn't even there for his daughter for the first bit...

"I'm worse than my old man..." He muttered.

"Anyway..." Ariel continued, she handed him an old napkin with an address scribbled on it. "I have to relieve the sitter of his duties. If you want to actually get to know your daughter, come pay us a visit."

With that, she got up and left.

Jim on the other hand felt his head spin. "Mine..." He murmured, over and over.

If only he knew what trouble that girl on the beach was going to bring five years ago.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Jim?" Sarah asked.

Jim paused and turned.

"You've been going out every night ever since your cruiser got fixed. What's the event?"

Jim shrugged. It was hard for him to explain, but that girl... he had to see her again, even if it was only one more time.

"I'll be home before dawn." Jim promised, then he hopped on his cruiser and took off.

Once he reached the sea, he dismounted the cruiser and skimmed the water with his eyes.

"She has to come back soon..." He began, then he heard the singing. It was faint, and very gentle, and for some reason, it seemed to pull him. He dashed down the beach towards the voice until he saw the girl.

She was, once again, in the water, close to shore this time and... was she combing her hair with a fork?

"Is that a fork?" He asked, before he could stop himself.

The girl turned, and as soon as she saw him, she got ready to swim off again, but Jim was fast.

"Don't go!" He cried out, and grabbed her hand.

The girl still had terror in her eyes.

"Don't worry..." Jim gently said "I won't hurt you. I just wanted to thank you."

"Thank me?" The girl exclaimed in surprise.

"Well, yeah. A few weeks ago, you saved my life. That definitely warrants a thank you."

"Well, then you're welcome." the girl replied.

Jim quietly chuckled to himself while he let go of her hand. "But, seriously... are you brushing your hair with a fork?"

Ariel glanced down at the silver object in her hand. "Fork? But Scuttle told me it was a dinglehopper."

"Dingle-what-what?" Jim blinked in surprise. This girl was probably the kookiest person he ever met.

"Um... dinglehopper... people use them... to straighten out... their hair?" She began, realizing she may have made a mistake.

Jim shook his head. "No, you're thinking of a hairbrush... or even a comb. That thing is a fork... we use it to eat."

The girl bit her lip in embarrassment.

"It's OK..." Jim began.

The girl looked up again.

"Um... My name's Jim..." he began. "You?"

The girl wriggled a bit deeper in the water. "I'm Ariel." She replied.

Jim looked confused as Ariel continued to slip into the water.

"Well, can I see you again?" he asked.

Ariel shrugged. "If you want... same time tomorrow?"

"Deal." Jim nodded.

With that, Ariel slipped into the water again and swam off. Jim watched, his eyes lingering at her retreating frame. Finally, he pulled out his cruiser, mounted it, and headed back home.

Jim, in a daze, staggered up to his room and flopped on the bed.

"Mine..." He repeated again.

How could this happen? He should have seen it coming though, the time frame fit between her birth and the time they... Jim shook his head. He was not going to let himself get dragged back into the past. Not with Ariel at least.

The next morning, Sarah came in to check on her son.

"You OK?" She asked.

Jim shrugged.

"Can you get back on with your life now?"

Jim looked up at her. Sarah noticed how lost he seemed.

"I don't think my life will ever be the same again." He admitted.