DISCLAIMER: WE DO NOT own any of the chars from TLM. They belong to Disney. I do however own Andrina's special name for Ariel.

Enjoy!

A/N: Since you guys waited so long for the last chapter,I decided to give everyone a treat! I hope everyone likes it!

"I Remember Music"

Chapter 6-Nightmares and Lullabies

When they arrived home, Triton instructed Andrina to put Ariel down on the couch in the living room.

Andrina obeyed. The moment she did, Ariel woke up. She sat up quickly, making her feel nauseous and dizzy. She was in another strange place and she didn't like it.

She had fallen asleep feeling safe, but now she wasn't sure where she was.

Andrina saw the fear in her sister's blue eyes and hastened to assure her.

"Ariel, it's okay, sweetheart. You're safe. You're home now. Everything's gonna be okay. I'm right here. Would you like me to stay with you?"

Ariel nodded.

Andrina grinned and went forward. She sat down next to her sister. She put a hand on Ariel's shoulder before putting a hand through her long red hair.

As she wrapped a protective arm around her younger sister, Ariel wasted no time in assuming her earlier position. She was still feeling tired and all she wanted to do right now was sleep.

Andrina gave her father a worried look, but Triton shook his head.

"It's okay." He assured his second eldest. "Our Ariel will be fine. She needs rest and you're helping her get it."

Just then, the rest of the girl's came in. Aquata grinned when she saw Ariel was home. She swam forward and was about to put a hand on her shoulder, when Andrina stopped her.

"She just fell back to sleep." Andrina explained. "She woke up scared because she didn't know where she was. It's just going to take time."

Aquata nodded. She knew this already.

"I know." She said, trying to keep her voice low. "But Ariel needs to get used to all of us again. She can't do that if you hog her."

Andrina gave her eldest sister an indignant look.

"I am not "hogging" her." She retorted. "I'm trying to help her feel better."

Aquata gave her sister a look, but decided to leave it alone for now.

Arista and Adella on the other hand were engaged in a full out war of words nearby.

"Jeremy and I are NOT going on a double date with you and Kelton!"

Arista smirked knowingly.

"Yes you are. He told me a few days ago. You can't back out now."

Before Adella could respond, Triton spoke up.

"Girls…Ariel doesn't' need you fighting about trivial things. Besides, I need to talk to all of you."

Silence fell immediately following Triton's words.

Once he was sure he had his daughters' full attention, he continued to speak.

"Now as you all know, Ariel has lost her memory for the time being. We don't know when she'll get it back, but Arainia assured me that she will eventually regain it. But in order for that to happen, she needs your help. I need you to be extra patient with her and try to help as best you can." He narrowed his eyes at Arista as he said the last few words.

"We'll do everything we can to help." Attina assured her father.

The other princesses murmured similar words of consent.

"I'm glad. I know you all love Ariel very much despite the factt that not all of you get along sometimes."

Again the princesses nodded.

"Now I've decided that until Ariel gets her memory back or at least until she is more familiar with the palace, I want her to be with one of you at all times. Also, I want one of you to stay with her each night until she regains her memory, starting tonight. Now, I need to know which one of you is going to stay with her tonight. Whoever it is needs to be…" But the rest of Triton's sentence was drowned out by six voices starting to argue.

"I'll do it." Aquata volunteered.

Attina glared at her.

"Why should you always get first watch? You're not the only one whose responsible, you know?"

Aquata gave her sister a Look.

"I know that. But I'm the eldest and Ariel will more likely trust me before she trusts you."

Attina glared at Aquata. But before she could react, Alana put her two seashells in.

"Who took her to Eel-ect-tric-city and saved her when a storm hit? Me! So don't tell me I'm not responsible enough to help her now."

"I didn't say anything like that!" Aquata defended herself. "All I meant was-"

"Don't even try to take it back now!" Alana shot back.

Just then, Ariel stirred in Andrina's arms. Her blue eyes fluttered open and Andrina felt her tense up as the voices grew louder.

"Shh," Andrina said. "It's okay, El." She asured her while using her own special name for her. "You're okay. They'll stop soon."

Ariel nodded. SHe didn't know why, but when Andrina had called her 'El, it made her feel safe and loved.

Ariel knew her name by now, so she guessed 'El was Andrina's nickname for her. She couldn't remember if she had liked it before, but she knew she did now.

"It's okay." Andrina repeated gently.

Just as Andrina said that, Arista spoke up, shocking everybody.

"I'll do it!" She volunteered, her words affectively making everyone stop mid argument. Her sisters and Sebastian turned to her with shocked expressions on their faces.

"You'll do it?" They all asked in perfect unison.

Sebastian shook his head.

"I tought it was Ariel dat hit her head." He said.

Aquata swam over to Arista and put a hand to her forehead.

"Nope." She concluded. "You're not warm."

Arista glared at her.

"Is it so strange that I want to help our sister get better? Besides, I wanted to stop you guys from arguing like a bunch of spoiled brats!"

"We were not arguing like-" Attina retorted, but she was interrupted by Triton's voice.

"Okay. That's enough. Aquata will take the first night, Andrina will have the second night. After that, each of you may have a turn."

Arista nodded. She took her father at his word. She really needed to get some things done. She did want to help Ariel, but she needed to get some stuff done as well.

After Triton was gone, Aquata approached her sister cautiously. Ariel was still tense in Andrina's arms. She had a feeling she could trust Aquata, but she felt safer with Andrina.

Ariel stared at Aquata's outstretched hand and then back to Andrina. She wasn't sure what to do.

Aquata gave her youngest sister a reassuring look.

"Ariel, it's okay. I won't hurt you. I love you. We all love you. We just want you to get better. And we're gonna help you get there." She assured her. "Now, come on. It's time to get you ready for dinner. Are you hungry?"

Ariel shook her head. She was content where she was and she really didn't' feel like moving. A part of her believed Aquata's words, but another part was still really afraid.

Doing the only thing she could think of, Ariel turned her attention to Andrina. She gave her a questioning look before glancing at Aquata once again.

"It's okay." Andrina assured her. "Aquata's really nice. You can trust her. Do you want me to stay with you until you fall asleep? Will that make you feel better?"

Ariel nodded.

"Please?" She asked, hopefully.

"Sure thing, El. Come on." With that, Andrina led the way to Ariel's bedroom.

Before they got there, Aquata went to make sure it was okay with their father. He hadn't exactly said where Ariel was to sleep until she got her memory back.

King Triton told Aquata it was fine and sent her back to be with her youngest sister.

Once Aquata returned, she helped Andrina get Ariel settled in her room.

Andrina tried to help Ariel remember certain things by showing her some of her favorite trinkets and books that she liked to read.

Ariel showed a little interest, but she was really tired. She just wanted to sleep.

"Do you want me to read to you?" Andrina asked. She knew Ariel wasn't a kid anymore, but she also knew her sister needed all the help she could get if she was ever going to remember anything.

Ariel nodded.

"Okay." With that, Andrina made sure Ariel was comfortable before starting the story. It was one of Ariel's favorite books. The book was called "The Mystery of Coral Heights."

Andrina didn't get two chapters in before Ariel was sound asleep. She had fallen asleep in Andrina's lap once again.

Once she was sure her sister was out, Andrina laid her down and tucked her in. She gave her a kiss and told her she loved her before leaving the room.

"Take care of her." She said, directing her statement at Aquata.

"I will." Aquata promised. SHE could tell Andrina was really worried about their younger sister. She could also tell Andrina was having a hard time leaving her.

After Aquata and Andrina said good night to each other, Andrina left. She had to get some rest herself. She knew she needed it for the days ahead. They all did.

Later that night, Ariel awoke with a start. She was shaking and sweat was forming on her brow. She gazed around, trying to figure out where she was. Nothing looked familiar, which only frightened her further.

Aquata woke up shortly after. When she saw the state Ariel was in, she was at her side in seconds.

"Ariel? Ariel, it's okay, sweetheart. You're okay. Aquata's here. I'm right here, sis. You're safe. Everything's okay. Did you have a bad dream?"

Ariel shook her head. She wasn't sure what had woken her. All she knew was how scared she felt.

"Do you wanna have a cuddle? Maybe it'll help you get back to sleep." Aquata suggested.

Ariel shook her head, which made Aquata's heart sink for a minute. She let Andrina hold her. Why wouldn't she let Aquata do it?

Aquata then reminded herself that it was just going to take time. She was about to get Ariel some water to drink, when an idea came to her.

"Come on," she gently coaxed. "Lay down for me. It's okay. I promise."

After a few minutes of hesitation, Ariel obeyed. She made it clear that she didn't want Aquata to cuddle her and Aquata respected her little sister's wishes.

After a minute or so, Aquata reached her hand out and put it through Ariel's hair once. Getting no resistance from her younger sister, she continued the soothing technique for the next ten minutes. She then started to sing. She prayed it would help Ariel fall back to sleep.

As Aquata continued singing their mother's lullaby, she felt Ariel's body relax slightly. She was happy the song was helping her in some way.

It wasn't long before Ariel's steady breathing could be heard once again.

Smiling down at her baby sister, Aquata gave her a soft kiss on her cheek before ruffling her hair one last time.

"Sweet dreams, Ariel. I love you. I promise, I'm going to do everything I can to help you come back to us." With that, Aquata lay down herself. She just prayed and hoped Ariel would be okay soon. Little did Aquata know what the next few days would bring as far as trouble was concerned…