A/N Sorry this is so late, it took me a while to get all my thoughts together and I had a lot going on the past couple of weeks. I still think this chapter could be better, I just don't know how. I figured you guys deserve something and I want to get this story moving along so here it is! And a special thanks to all you readers who followed, favorited, and reviewed this story, especially those who reviewed last chapter: Drunalove, aleesha, chinaluv, and Princess! It really means a lot to me :))) So onto the story!

Chapter 7: The Importance of Family

Emma's P.O.V.

It's the morning of the second day since I last saw Mr. Hennings, and tomorrow I will tell him about my decision. I am not going to hand over whatever claim I have to this foreign throne to him. Plain and simple. What could he do to me for just saying no? Maybe he'll just leave me alone and I can get on with my life. Then again, I will still have some claim to rule an island I've never even heard of before. Maybe I could ask to meet my parents before I make my decision. If he is honest, there would be no reason to keep me from them, but if he is lying he won't take me and I will definitely know that he is a bad guy.

"Emma! Elliot! Come down here!" My adoptive mother called upstairs. I left my room and found Elliot already bounding down the stairs and followed him. Both of our, well his, parents were in the living room waiting for us. I took a seat next to Elliot on the couch, across from my parents.

"Look you two, I have realized it's been a while since we've been able to all hang out together as a family," she started, "Since your dad has the day off we decided we should do something together, like go for a picnic out on Mako Island. Doesn't that sound fun?"

"Yeah that sounds awesome!" Elliot said, getting excited. He has never been to the mysterious Mako island. However, I have been there more times than I would ever admit to my family, it's almost like a sacred place, the island where I first gained my mermaid powers.

"How about you Emma," My dad - adoptive dad - asked.

I almost said no, out of habit. Picnic on a beach meant water and getting to Mako meant boat, and besides I usually have plans with the girls. However when I thought about it, I had nothing better to do. I don't have work until later, near the closing time of the Juicenet. Rikki was hanging out with Zane today, and Lewis was coming home, so I knew Cleo would want to spend every minute of today with him. We were all meeting up though later, at the Juicenet during my shift. Plus, it might be good to spend some time with Elliot and my parents, even if they aren't my biological parents.

"Sure," I replied, "What have I got to lose?"

"This is going to be so great! I'll go change into my swim trunks," Elliot said, about to run up the stairs. My heart began to race at the thought of another outing when I would have to lie and make up excuses for not going into the water.

"Not so fast," his mum said stopping him, "No swimming while we are at Mako, there are shark breeding grounds too close by."

"Aww," Elliot whined, but I was very much relieved.

"Don't worry Elliot, there is still a lot of beach and sand, plus a forest you can explore," I said to cheer him up.

"You can bring some of your toys to play with," mum added.

"Yeah, I'll go get my soccer ball," Elliot said running up the stairs.

I helped my mum and dad pack some sandwiches, fruit, and drinks for the picnic while Elliot gathered anything he could find that might provide entertainment on a beach, including a soccer ball, a volleyball, a beach ball, and even some sand-castle building buckets and shovels.

Once we were packed we headed down to the marina to rent a boat. We got one slightly bigger than Lewis' fishing boat, a pretty good size, but the whole way to Mako I had to sit in the middle of the boat and focus on not getting wet. Still, I felt that this might turn out to be a good day.

Cleo's P.O.V.

What happened yesterday morning during my skype with Lewis was beyond weird, and definitely caused by some magic, today I was going to find out what. Normally when something this big happens, I would tell the girls right away and we would figure it out, together. This time was different though, Emma surely has enough on her plate already, she doesn't need more stress, and it's Lewis we're talking about, he isn't dangerous. Since he is coming home today, and I was supposed to meet up with him anyway, I was determined to find out what had happened.

I arrived at the airport just about right when his plane landed, and it wasn't long before I spotted him and his family. I ran to him first giving him a big hug and kiss, the first in what seemed like forever, and then I spent some time talking with him and his family, they had some very interesting stories about their trip. I waited patiently for them to pick up their bags and things and helped them walk everything to their car, but from there Lewis and I broke off. We had a date at the Juicenet Cafe.

When we got to the Juicenet there wasn't many people there, and the only familiar face was Ash and he is always here. I guess that's good though. I already knew that Rikki was spending the day, and though I tried texting Emma, I got no response. I believe I have some time alone with Lewis.

So once we settled down, and Lewis kindly ordered and paid for what he knew was my favorite juice, I decided to bring up what had happened.

"Lewis we need to talk about something," I said seriously.

"Yeah? Like what?" He asked, concerned.

"Well yesterday, during out skype session, something weird happened. Everything behind you began levitating, can you explain that?" I asked earnestly.

"I'm sorry Cleo," He stated with a sad look on his face and one hand in his pocket.

"For what?" I asked, confused, then I sneezed.

"I know you don't like it when I crowd you, I should have let you order your own drink, I don't even know if this is still your favorite," He replied.

"No that's fine, it is," I said confused. That wasn't it, what were we talking about? Guess it wasn't that important ...

"That's good," He said looking relieved, "Things don't really seemed to have changed much since I was gone."

"Nope, it hasn't been that long," I replied, "Though it did feel like forever, those few weeks. I missed you."

"I missed you too," He said giving me a small kiss.

"Why do you keep leaving?" I pouted, "What are you looking for?

He looked surprised for a second, before replying, "My family just wants to see the world is all, we've been to many places ever since I was little."

"That's true, but I didn't notice it as much when we were little, but now we're older and dating. Maybe I could go with you next time," I said happily.

"Yeah maybe,"He replied, "So how have things been with you girls and the secret? I'm glad I came back just in time for the full moon this weekend."

I knew he wouldn't be able to resist getting back into mermaid things, that's just who Lewis is. Though he did understand we could never extensively talk about this stuff through technology, too risky. We were usually careful when it came to that, so he has been out of the loop for a while.

"Don't worry, we're all fine. No incidents that brought us close to exposure. Well, no more than usual. And we've already planned for this full moon, we're just going to have a movie night at my place," I said trying to think of all that has happened in the past few weeks, "Nothing really big has happened. Well, I guess something has happened with Emma, but it's not necessarily mermaid related and she will probably tell you herself when you see her."

"Yeah, where are Emma and Rikki," He asked.

"Rikki's out with Zane today and Emma, well I haven't heard from all day," I replied, thinking it was odd, but nothing to worry about. Besides, we had already planned to meet later.

"They didn't want to see me?" He asked, sounding a little bit hurt.

"No that's not it, they did, but they knew that I wanted to have some alone time with you," I said grabbing his hand across the table, "I took today off from work. We have the whole rest of the day to do whatever you want. Oh, and we bought you this."

I handed him the gift we had picked out for him at the mall, I had just spotted it in my bag. It wasn't much, just a new tackle box I knew he wanted. He was always complaining about his because it was old and worn from all the years he's been using it.

"Aw thanks Cleo! This is great," Lewis said happily examining it's interior.

"Really? Now that I think about it, it seems like a stupid gift," I said disappointed. Who gets their boyfriend a tackle box?

"Don't be crazy, I love it," He said looking at me seriously, "You knew I needed one. I know I can always count on you to know what I need. I love you."

After he finished he gave me another long, sweet kiss.

"I love you too," I replied, staring into his kind blue eyes.

We sat in quiet bliss for a few minutes, just staring into each other's eyes. Then afterwards our conversation was very light-hearted and I swear we talked for hours. However, at some point or another a man came into the Juicenet. I didn't recognize him, but Lewis suddenly got very anxious and made up some excuse about having to unpack and left, though we did make plans to meet up later at the Juicenet with the girls. Still, I have no idea what came over him.

Emma's P.O.V.

The picnic was great. It was so much fun with my family, we spent the whole time reminiscing in past events and mishaps. We talked about our old vacations, the water polo tournaments we used to enter and how much fun they were. I felt a bit bad because I was the reason it had to end, but we also talked about the good time we had in the outback that summer. We had so many stories to share together. All in all it was a great time, and really helped me remember that I do belong in this family, even if I entered it at three.

After eating we played a bunch of games together, with all the toys Elliot insisted on bringing. It was fun until we all got too hot and tired to play anymore. Then we lounged around on the beach drinking water to cool down.

"I want to go exploring," Elliot said looking towards the vast forest that covered Mako, "Emma, come with me. It will be fun."

I was about to say no, but then I noticed my parents looking at me, telling me with their eyes to go exploring with him and keep an eye on him. They knew and I knew he could be very persistent. Plus, I was the one who told him he could explore, and no way could I let him do it alone.

"Fine," I got up and went with him into the trees.

We walked for about ten minutes silent, the only sounds being that of nature itself. I watched happily as Elliot stared in awe at all the life that was around him. I also made sure we kept on a path not leading towards the moon pool's land entrance. It was nice and peaceful. A few vague memories troubled me, but didn't make me black out like before. I recalled running through these very woods, I guess I must have, to get from the site of the crash to where I was found. I even recalled falling, tripping, and hitting my head on some rock, it must have been how I got the amnesia in the first place.

"I know you're adopted," Elliot surprised me by saying. We had stopped a bit in a sort of clearing and he was observing a lizard on a rock. This statement seemed to come out of nowhere.

"What? Who told you?" I asked, no use denying it.

"I have ears Emma, I can hear," He said giving me a pointed look with a half smile before turning back to the lizard, "I overheard mom and dad talking about it. I'm surprised no one told me directly."

"Elliot, I am so sorry," I said feeling bad, "I only learned a few days ago and I didn't know how to tell you."

"It's okay, I'm not mad," He said getting up and walking toward me, I'm guessing the lizard had scampered off, "I just wanted you to know that no matter what I will always see you as my older sister, as my family, even if you decide to leave us. I love you Em."

Then he once again surprised me by pulling me into a hug. After a few shocked moments I hugged him back reassuringly.

"Oh Elliot, I love you too," I replied after a time, "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."

"Don't you want to find your real family?" He asked sadly.

"You are my real family," I said, now realizing it was true, "I do want to find my biological family, but that doesn't mean you're are anything less than my brother. I won't ever leave you."

"Promise?" He asked, looking up at me with hopeful eyes.

"Yes, I promise," I replied.

"Good," He said looking extremely relieved, "Then we better be heading back, mom and dad will be looking for us."

He turned and began to walk off in the same direction which we came from. I let him lead while making sure we stayed on the right path. We even got to talking more, reminiscing in memories just between the two of us. He even brought up more recent events such as when Kim convinced him I was a mermaid and his past riding lessons, he said he would like to do more and he was glad Ash and I were getting along now. He even apologized for saying that Rikki was a better sister than me that time she slept over while our parents were away. For a while he got to the point of gloating over his winning goal at the soccer game I attended; it was not one of my finer moments when I made a patch of ice to slip Ben and give Elliot the chance to make the shot, but I still think it was worth it. All these memories though made me feel pretty guilty, I felt really bad for keeping this mermaid secret from him so long when we used to share everything. I'm starting to wonder if it really is for the best ...

It wasn't long before we reached the beach again, and I was a little surprised to find that everything had already been packed into the boat.

"There you two are, we were just about to go in searching for you," dad said upon seeing us.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"Almost 4 o'clock, you did say you had work later didn't you?" Mom replied.

"Yeah, at 5:00," I said, "Yeah, I guess we should start heading back."

We all got into the boat, and again I sat in the middle and worried over every drop of water for the seemingly endless boat ride. Really, it is a lot faster and easier to get to Mako with a tail, I don't know how Lewis stands this all the time.

After we came into shore and returned the boat I helped unpack everything and then decided it best to head off for work. I would be early, but I usually am anyway.

However, on my way there I spotted Cleo sitting on a rock near the beach, apparently deep in thought. I first thought that I should leave her be, but that seemed dishonest, so I walked up to her quietly.

"Hey Cleo," I said as I sat beside her.

"Oh hey Em," she replied with a small smile, "How was your day?"

"Just went for a picnic on Mako with my family, it was actually pretty fun," I answered honestly, "But what's got you all down. Lewis is back, shouldn't you be out having fun with him right now?"

"I don't know," she said sadly, "He's been acting really weird lately. I was so happy that he was back and he seemed happy to see me too. But then this one guy walks into the cafe and suddenly he has to go and unpack. I think he's hiding something from me."

"Well we all are experts at that by now," I said half joking, "But even if he is hiding something it must be important, and when the time is right I know he'll tell you. Who was this guy anyway?"

"No one I recognized, just an older kind of creepy looking man, but it got Lewis all riled up," She explained. It struck me for a moment that this man could have been Hennings, but I dismissed that thought immediately, what would Lewis have to do with Hennings?

"Is he still going to meet us?" I asked remembering our arrangement.

"Yeah, he said he was," Cleo replied.

"Then we should start heading over there, my shift will start soon," I told her standing up.

"Okay," she said standing up and stretching.

"Who knows, maybe Lewis just wanted to wait until we were all there for him to tell his secret," I said and she smiled hopefully.

"You might be right," she stated as we began heading over to the Juicenet.

By the time we got there it was early for my shift but I started anyway, giving Ash a hello kiss and quickly changing into uniform. Cleo took a seat at the counter and I made her favorite juice for her. Since business was slow I spent most of the time talking with her. Rikki came a bit late, as per usual, and seemed very happy with the events of her date, though she immediately noted Cleo's solemn mood. We couldn't help but fill her in on the situation with Lewis, and she promised Cleo that whatever it was she would get it out of him. Still, I noted that Lewis was late, and that was unusual.

I continued to talk to them, diligently attending to customers as needed. As time passed and Lewis did not show we all did our best to avoid the subject of him, though it was clear Cleo noted his absence.

It was about fifteen minutes until closing, the place nearly empty, when the beads jangled, signaling the entrance of someone; that's when I saw him. The boy from my memory, dream, whatever. He was older now, but it was definitely him, I am sure of it. I could see it in his eyes. It was my brother.

A/N Sorry I just had to end with a cliff hanger ;) Hope you liked it though, and please review!