Welcome to chapter 3! I hope you all like this story so far. Let's go a bit ahead, shall we? Oh, and I think I forgot to mention that this book is part of my In Our World series and before this story, make sure to read the others in the timeline I have set up, as I will be referencing them. Let's get started with today's chapter, shall we?

CHAPTER 3 - Goodbyes

(P to Diana) I woke up, excited. Today was the day Sebastien would be fully medically cleared and we would be able to head south. Once we were at the aquarium, we could officially start a life of dating and a relationship. I couldn't wait for that.

I looked at him over in his bunk. * He looked peaceful, supposedly all healed up. Despite being such small creatures, we Otters were very hardy. Maybe that was one of the reasons we made for such a good species to save the world. Other new recruits would eventually take our place, freeing us.

We had all exchanged contact information as everyone had left. It was hard to separate from everyone after our years of friendship, but hopefully we would all remain in contact with each other for years to come.

Suddenly Sebastien started to stir so I walked over to his bunk and kissed him. He kissed me back and it was glorious! Before he opened his eyes, I was back in my bed, looking like I was sleeping, pulling a ruse. The idea randomly popped into my head and I didn't know why. But it was all in good fun.

(P to Sebastien) As I started to stir, I felt someone's lips touch mine. I knew instantly they belonged to Diana, so I kissed her back. She then proceeded to her bunk, as she was probably playing a ruse. Sure enough, when I looked over at her, she was indeed faking that she was asleep. But I wouldn't let her know I knew that.

I walked over to her and she pretended to stir from her slumber. I gave her a kiss to welcome her back and she began to kiss me as well. We were going to be a nutty couple, I could feel it. Instead of scurrying away, since I knew she was pulling a ruse, I let her open her eyes. When our pairs met, it was magical.

(P to Diana) "I love you," we said happily to each other, kissing again. "Do you feel completely healed?" I asked Sebastien. "I think so. I certainly feel better than a few weeks ago," he said. "Oh good! I can't wait to go see our new home," I said. "Me too. It's going to be interesting," he said.

"Tell me about it. The question I have is… well, uh, never mind," I said, blushing. "What?" Sebastien asked, continuing to make me blush. "I just wonder what our living quarters will be like," I said. "I think I know what you mean," he said, making me blush more.

"No mating until after we're married OK?" I asked him. "Of course. What do you think I am, a human?" Sebastien asked me, making us laugh. "How they don't even see what we've up to for the last decade really astounds me," I said, chuckling. "I know. They're too busy with their own stuff to see that we've also helped," he said.

"Totally. Humans are weird. But if we could talk to them, I wonder how it would go," I said, making us think. "They would probably go nuts, creating a whole new set of problems for us and them," Sebastien said. "You're probably right. Eventually someone will communicate back and forth between us and them, but I hope it's not us," I said, making us chuckle.

As we were chatting, the General walked in, along with a nurse for Sebastien. I moved to the floor and we both saluted him. "At ease," he said, letting us return to normal standing. "So are you ready to see if you're all healed Sebastien?" the General asked him. "Yes sir," he said, sitting down on a chair.

The nurse walked over and began to check where Sebastien had been injured. For the first few days, he had still been in pain. But since then, it had decreased. And it seemed to be gone now. No matter where Sebastien was poked with the instruments, he was silent.

"Well I'd say you healed fast, in spite of your injuries," the nurse said. "Well I had someone who helped a lot," Sebastien said, looking at me. "I didn't do anything Sebastien, I just made sure you were ok," I said, blushing. "That helped more than you'll ever know," he said to me, making me love him even more.

"General, if we get married, will you do the honors?" I asked him. He chuckled. "Of course. I've noted everyone's requests down," he said. "Are you keeping track of everyone?" Sebastien asked him. "Of course. We may all be retired, but it doesn't mean I don't still have contacts out there," he said, making us chuckle.

"Do you have any advice for aquarium life from any experience?" I asked the General. "I was undercover in one for two months, trying to find a rogue Otter. It's funny to tell my kids that story," he said, chuckling. "What do you mean?" Sebastien and I asked him.

"You're both pretty bright. I'm sure you can figure it out," he said, smirking. We both thought for a minute before realizing what he meant. "Ah, you met your wife during that mission," Sebastien said, thinking he had it. "Actually, it turned out that she was the rogue Otter, also undercover," the General revealed.

"What a way to fall in love," I said happily to him. "Absolutely. And it's been wonderful seeing all of you falling in love all these years," the General replied. "It sure is," Sebastien said, kissing me. I kissed him back, feeling such love.

"So what's some good advice about aquariums?" I asked the General. "Well many of them have certain times they feed you at and only certain types of food, so be prepared to possibly change your diet," he said. "What about medicine or things like that?" Sebastien asked him.

"Well they'll have tags for you to indicate which Otter you are, depending on how many there are. Make sure to pass yourselves off as mates, or they might try to pair you up with someone you don't know," he warned us. "They would do that?" I asked, worried.

"They think of us as an endangered species, since not all of our numbers are accounted for. That's due to a variety of reasons, including our missions. So always try to be near each other when they're around," he said. "We'll keep that in mind," Sebastien said.

"Now, how do we get out and around if we want to?" I asked the General. "Ah, I'm afraid that will be hard. They'll be watching you closely with security cameras. But they always use bad passwords, so you'll easily be able to shut them down. Just try not to take anyone born in captivity outside," he said. **

"Why?" Sebastien asked him. "Well they're not used to the outside world. They may appear calm at first, but they eventually revert to their primal instincts. If you ever take anyone outside, make sure to do it gradually. A feral animal can cause a lot of damage and possibly be put down," the General said, making us shudder.

"If we have a child, we'll make sure to take them outside gradually," Sebastien said. "Good. Now do you have any final questions?" he asked. "What do we do if we spot a villain in our midst?" I asked. "Take them down and ship them here. We'll retrain them to be a good citizen," the General said.

"Thanks. Boy, I'm going to miss everyone," I said, tearing up. "I'll miss you kids too. You know, you're the youngest soldiers I ever had. Until you came along, I was getting Otters close to retiring. Thanks for remaining loyal soldiers," he said. "Thank you for being such a great leader," Sebastien said, before we all shook paws.

Eventually, we loaded ourselves into a crate, ready to ship out. We shared one last hug with the General before climbing in. We were then taken to the San Francisco Zoo nearby and then rerouted from there down to Monterey.

"Whoa," I said, being tossed a bit from the bumps in the road. "I know. They need to repave this," Sebastien agreed. "Hopefully the aquarium is in better shape than the road," I said, making us laugh. Suddenly we went over a large bump and crashed into each other.

"Sorry," we apologized, blushing. "So do you think we'll gain friends?" I asked Sebastien. "I'm sure we will Diana. You have a very friendly personality," he said to me. "So do you," I said happily, almost sharing a kiss with him. A bump in the road split us apart. We grumbled at the state of road before actually kissing.

After the few hours, we finally felt the truck slowing down. It was time for Sebastien and I to begin our new lives as aquarium Otters. It would be interesting, to say the least.

That's the end of today's chapter! How did you like it? I think it's better than the other two so far. I hope you leave a review. I have just two notes before you go.

* Yep, like the Penguins, this group of Otters sleeps in bunks.

** Yep, Sebastien and Diana were born outside of captivity.