Chapter 5

Jim headed upstairs to Melody's room. He glanced down at the pink blob every now and then, then turned to the closed door, a faint sobbing coming from the room. Gulping, Jim knocked on the door.

"Go away." Melody cried.

"Melody? It's me..." He began.

"I said go away!" Melody replied.

"Please let me in?" Jim asked. He jiggled on the door, but to his surprise, the door was locked.

"Melody..." He began, "I know the pain you're feeling... I was in the same situation as you, my dad abandoned me when I was a child too... But I don't want to be my dad. I won't abandon you again." The sniffles stopped.

"Also," Jim continued, "If you don't unlock this door right now, you won't get your present."

The sound of feet scurried across the floor and there was a click. Jim opened the door to see Melody staring up at him, her eyes were red and swollen.

"May I come in?" he asked.

Melody shrugged. Jim followed her inside, he couldn't help noticing how... pink her room was.

"You have thirty minutes to explain." Melody growled.

"Wow... you really are my kid." Jim began.

"First," He began, "I'm really sorry for not being there for you... I didn't even know you existed."

Melody looked at him skeptically.

"Your mother and I broke up before you were born, and we had lost all contact by that time. Had I known about you, I would have been there for you every chance I got. I'm so sorry... do you think you could ever forgive me?"

Melody stared at him before bursting into tears again. Jim awkwardly held her close as she cried into his shoulder. "It's ok Melody..." He whispered, a small tear of his own sliding out.

Once she calmed down, she turned to her father.

"Now, what's this about a present?" she asked.

Jim laughed and pulled the pink blob out of his pocket. Melody looked at him in confusion.

"What's that?" She asked.

"One second..." Jim began, before turning to the blob. "You can stop playing dead now."

At that, the blob began to levitate before revealing it had a face. Melody jumped back and shrieked in alarm.

"Don't worry." Jim began, "This is my friend, Morph. And, now, he's your friend."

Morph flew over to Melody.

"Friend, friend, friend." He chattered. Melody watched him in surprise.

"It gets better." Jim continued.

At that, Morph quickly morphed into a miniature Melody. Melody laughed and clapped as Morph shifted into different creatures and things.

Meanwhile, Ariel couldn't help but wonder what the two were up to. As she slowly trudged up the stairs, she peeked into her daughter's room. Jim and Melody were playing with Morph, and laughing.

"Were you a merman?" Melody asked.

"Nope." Jim replied. "I've always been a human. How about you? Were you a mermaid?"

Melody nodded. "Yeah, I had a red tail... but Mommy was the most beautiful mermaid ever, her green tail sparkled so beautifully in the sun..."

Ariel pulled away. She knew Melody was probably going to bring up mermaids, so she was glad Jim knew in advance.

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"Won't you ever come out of the water?" Jim asked. "If you're not careful, you'll get sick, or wrinkled."

Ariel shook her head. "No way, the water is too nice to leave."

She could never reveal the truth to Jim, he would freak out.

"Too nice, you say?" Jim asked. "Well then..."

Before Ariel knew what was happening, Jim was slowly removing his shirt.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"If the water is as nice as you say, I'm joining you."

Ariel gasped in shock as Jim dove in after her. She tried to swim away, but Jim caught her, laughing. Ariel laughed back.

The two of them had so much fun laughing and splashing each other, Ariel got careless. Next thing she knew, Jim had gone underwater. Once he resurfaced, Ariel bit her lip in terror. Jim was sure to notice and leave her alone.

"A... Ariel?" He asked in surprise.

Ariel hung her head, biting her lip.

"You're a mermaid?" He continued.

"I couldn't let you know." Ariel replied before starting to swim away. Suddenly, she felt a sharp tug on her fin.

"Hey!" She yelped.

"And where do you think you're going?" Jim asked.

"Well, now that you know I'm not normal, I'm sure you'll stop wasting time with me and just go home."

Jim raised an eyebrow.

"Not normal?" He asked. Ariel shrugged. "Look, my family friend is half dog, his wife is half cat, I've fought a spider-crab thing and my best friend is a floating piece of space goo. Being friends with a mermaid is nothing to be ashamed of."

Ariel looked up and smiled at him. Before either of them knew what was happening, Ariel pulled him into a hug.

"Ari...?" He asked.

"Shh..." She whispered.

Jim waited, then hesitantly hugged her back.

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"Night, Daddy." Melody began, kissing Jim's cheek.

"Goodnight, sweetheart." Jim replied, kissing his daughter on the forehead in response.

Once he left her room, he found Ariel cooking.

He had gone home after giving Melody Morph, but after a bit, he came back to tuck her in, small steps to being a good father.

"Ariel?" Jim began.

Ariel looked up from the stove.

"It's tomorrow's dinner." She explained. "Melody wasn't too much trouble, was she?"

"No." Jim replied. "I was wondering, can I spend the day with her tomorrow?"

Ariel paused. "Yeah." She replied. "Just have her home by sunset."