Chapter 7

For the next few days, Jim became a main fixture in Melody's life.

He would swing by after breakfast, spend some time with his daughter, then would go home. He didn't want to completely take her away from Ariel, but he also wanted to be a man of his word.

One day, he dropped by to visit.

"Oh... hi Jim..." Ariel began.

"Hi. Melody just finishing up breakfast?"

Ariel shook her head. "Delbert and Amelia's kids came by and they took her out for the day."

"Ah... ok. I'll head home then..."

"Jim?" Ariel began.

Jim paused and turned. "Yes?"

"Wanna come in for a cup of coffee?" Ariel asked.

Jim shrugged. "Um, Ok, I guess."

"If we're both going to be in Melody's life, we're going to have to act more civil to each other." Ariel added, putting the pot on.

Jim wordlessly sat down at the table. Ariel scurried from cupboard to cupboard, getting the right items.

Jim felt his gaze linger on her. Finally, Ariel poured two cups of coffee and handed one to Jim.

"Milk and sugar?" She asked.

"No thanks." Jim replied. "I must admit, I was surprised to see you were still working at the inn." Ariel began, taking a sip.

"Had I known you were going to walk in, I may have taken a sick day." Jim admitted.

Ariel hung her head. "I messed up, I know. I never should have run off... er... swam off like I did."

"But you did." Jim replied.

Ariel looked up, her eyes were filled with guilt.

"And I regretted every second I did." She admitted.

Jim felt something squeeze his heart.

"Just tell me..." Jim began, looking at Ariel, sadly. "What did I do to make you leave me?"

Ariel hung her head. "Nothing. You played no part in my motivation for leaving you."

Finally Jim exhaled. "I see..." and he turned to leave.

"I never found anyone else." Ariel added at his retreating back.

Jim stopped and turned. "No? I take it Mel was a huge deal breaker."

Ariel shook her head. "No, I just never found another one that I loved."

The two stood in silence, finally Jim looked up.

"Wanna go for a walk?" He asked.

Ariel looked up in surprise. "Are you sure?" She asked.

"Yes or no, quickly before I change my mind."

"Okay, just let me put the cups away."

The two of them silently headed out and walked down the path. Every now and then, they stole glances at each other, but would never admit it to each other.

Finally, they stopped. They were at a small cove.

"I remember this place..." Ariel began.

Jim nodded. "Yeah... So many memories..." Jim added.

The two of them turned to look at each other, but paused and looked away.

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"Come on, Ariel!" Jim laughed, as he raced down to the cove.

He had found the cove a day prior, and thought it would be a nice idea to invite Ariel down to the cove, there they could hang out, not be disturbed, and maybe, he could finally tell her the truth, let her know his true feelings. Finally, he reached the cove and plunked down.

After a bit, a panting Ariel swam up.

"Wow, that took a little longer than usual..." Jim began. "Is something wrong?"

"Wrong? Absolutely not. It's just... I have a little trouble moving... with these..." As she said that, Ariel slowly moved out of the water, and Jim felt his saw drop. Instead of her usual tail, a pair of human legs were attached to her.

"Legs?" Jim yelped in shock. "How?"

Ariel giggled. "I swiped my father's trident when he was yelling at Alanna for shoplifting. After a couple mishaps, including one of me becoming a merMAN, I finally became a human."

With that, she pulled out of the water completely, and sat next to Jim. Jim couldn't help but notice how pretty she looked. in her purple bikini.

"However," she added, mindlessly brushing sand off her legs, "It's a temporary thing... and I'm not sure when my tail will return... are you ok?"

Jim was staring at her legs, open mouthed. She sacrificed a huge part of herself! "Why did you do that?" He asked.

Ariel shrugged. "I always wanted to explore your world, but never had a chance. After meeting you, I finally got the motivation."

The two sat in the cove, watching the stars come out. The moment was so perfect, neither could have planned it better.

First, Jim casually put his arm around her, and she snuggled into him.

"It's beautiful..." Ariel began.

"Very..." Jim replied. The teens looked at each other, then looked away, blushing.

"Jim... I..." Ariel was about to say something else, but was cut off when Jim kissed her. Ariel yelped in surprise, and Jim pulled away.

"I... I'm sorry..." Jim apologized. "That was too forward, and..." This time he was cut off as Ariel kissed him.

After a bit, the two of them broke apart, feeling lightheaded and giddy.

"What does this mean for us?" Ariel finally asked, as the two sat in silence.

Jim looked down in surprise.

"Our relationship, are we still just friends, or...?"

"More than just friends?" Jim asked in surprise.

Ariel nodded.

"Yeah, I think we're that too." He replied.

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Jim and Ariel stared at the cove in silence. Both felt confused and slightly broken hearted.

"Things really have changed..." Ariel remarked.

Jim looked over at her and nodded. Then he frowned. He was over her! This shouldn't affect him anymore, so why was his heart still hurting?

"Anyway..." Ariel continued, "I should go... Melody will panic if I'm not home when she gets back. See you around."

With that, she turned and started to leave.

"Dinner tomorrow?" Jim asked, surprised at himself.

"Pardon?" Ariel asked.

"I was wondering if, maybe, tomorrow, you wanted to join me for dinner, we can... discuss custody and everything."

Ariel nodded. "Dinner sounds good. Shall we say... 6:00?"

"Deal." Jim replied. Ariel waved good-bye and headed home.

"Oh, Hawkins..." Jim thought to himself. "What did you get yourself into?"