By the time the sun rose the next morning, Charlotte was already awake.

She stared out her window, looking at the water glittering in the sun. Her fingers twitched, like they would when she was able to control water. She should go swimming later, it had definitely been a while since she had last gone in.

She should also go see how Rikki was doing, too. Also, while she was at it, ask them if it was alright to take Willow to Mako.

Oh my god, Willow!

She had almost forgotten about the witch in all the commotion. Charlotte grabbed her cell phone off her nightstand and quickly dialed her number. It took a few rings, but eventually, there was a groggy voice on the other end.

"Buffy, you know you're in a whole other time zone, right?" Willow yawned.

"No, sorry, Willow, it's me, Charlotte," she clarified, running her fingers through her hair. "Look, something happened. I had to kill another vampire last night."

The phone was quiet for a minute, except for the rustling of the covers being pulled back.

"Are you okay, Charlotte?" Willow asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Rikki got bit though." A thought occurred to her, and her blood went cold. "She's not gonna turn into a vampire, is she?" Charlotte asked nervously. How stupid could she be? To run away, and not even make sure that Rikki was okay?

"No, she won't. You only turn into a vampire if you're drained of blood, and then fed theirs."

Charlotte let out a sigh of relief. "That's great to hear, Willow. I was worried. I was actually gonna see them today. Do you want to come with me?"

"Yeah, of course. Just let me get dressed, and I'll meet you at the café?"

"That sounds good, Willow, see you at noon?"

"Sounds good, see you then."

"Bye."

Charlotte hit the end call button, and set it down, about to go get in the shower. But then her phone went off again.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hey, Charlotte, it's Cleo."

Charlotte sat down nervously. This was definitely something strange.

"Hi Cleo. What's going on?"

"We were worried about you. Why did you just run off last night?"

Charlotte paused for a minute. "I'm not sure," she replied after a minute. "I guess I was just… scared, I suppose. Of what you guys thought of me."

Cleo sighed. "Well, it's hard to think badly about the person who saved Rikki from a vampire."

"Really?" Charlotte asked hopefully, smiling wide.

There was a small laughter from Cleo's end. "Yes, Charlotte, really."

"Hey, do you want to meet Willow and I at the café in a little while? There's something we need to ask you guys."

"Sure, we'd love to," Cleo said hesitantly, "What time?"

"Noon?"

"Okay, we'll be there."

The two said their goodbyes and Charlotte hung up the phone. Things could be okay.

Charlotte started her morning routine, though faster than normal. When she got out of the shower, pulling her clothes on, her eyes fell on something she hadn't thought of, or looked at, in a while. She went to the dresser and picked up the frame.

It was a picture of the four of them, taken by Lewis, on the day that they had won the volleyball match, and the same day that she learned of all her powers.

Charlotte smiled; she hadn't thought of that day in so long. The joy of being one of the gang, finding out all her powers, it all added to be one of the happiest days of her life.

Her eyes drifted to the next frame, the one of her grandma, Gracie, and herself, when she was about four, when the two of them took a trip to the beach. Charlotte smiled nostalgically, thinking back to all those days when her grandma would look after her.

"Here, Charlotte, look what I made you," Gracie handed the small gift to her granddaughter, who smiled and took it eagerly.

Charlotte opened the packaging on the gift quickly and opened the box. "Wow, Grandma, thanks!" she exclaimed, putting the necklace around her neck. It had a silver chain, and the pendant was of a small woman, with long blonde hair, and an orange mermaid tail. Charlotte threw her small arms around her grandma, who laughed along with her.

"It's beautiful, Grandma! Thank you!"

"You're welcome, darling. The other ladies at the home helped me make it."

Four-year old Charlotte gently fingered the pendant. "Grandma," she began shyly, "Are mermaids real? Mummy says they're not, but I think they are."

Gracie was silent for a moment, and she ran her fingers through her granddaughter's red hair. The little girl smiled and fiddled with the charm on her necklace.

"Charlotte, I think they are too," Gracie finally answered quietly. Charlotte looked up at her in surprise, and smiled. She gently tapped the little girl's nose. "There's magic in the world, Charlotte. If you know where to look."

"Like where, Grandma?"

"Well, the ocean's always a good start," Gracie said cryptically, with a secret smile.

Charlotte smiled as well, and Gracie began to tell her another story of the seas.

Shaking herself out of her reverie, Charlotte went to her jewelry box, where she had kept that same necklace since she was six years old, when her grandma passed away.

There, in the corner of the box, was the same silver chain, with the same small mermaid with blonde hair and an orange tail. Of course, Charlotte never would've guessed in a million years how closely the pendant mirrored reality. She picked it up and felt tears pricking her eyes.

"I would've kept your secret, Grandma," she whispered to the picture, "You could've told me."

Charlotte slipped the chain on, and the mermaid pendant rested just under her collarbone under her neck. She held it gently in her hand; it was already warm, like the mermaid was alive.

She put the frame back on the dresser, and took a deep breath, looking out again at the crystal clear waters outside her home. It was a pretty day outside, the perfect day to go swimming.