The next day comes. "Okay Nerissa, you ready to meet your son" Akihiko asked. "Yes" Nerissa said with a happy look on her face. "You need to get dressed though" Akihiko said while trying again not to stare at Nerissa's nude form. "You need to look presentable to your son." "Plus, his adoptive mother probably taught him that's it's not okay for women to be naked in front of children" Akihiko said. "Right" Nerissa answered and got dressed. Akihiko gets Joanne's address from the Doctor and the two drive straight there. Nerissa made happy face the whole way while staring out the window at the various sights of the surface. Forty five minutes later they reached Joanne's home.
Gray was up in his room reading a marine life book on a midafternoon day. "I had that dream again last night" Gray said. "I could see the woman's appearance clearly this time." "She left the baby with a locket that looked just like mine on the beach. She also looked like the woman from the news report" Gray said. "Should I tell mom and the Doctor about it" Gray asked himself. He closed his book and heard Joanne calling for him. "Gray" Joanne yelled "someone's here to visit you!" "Coming mom" Gray yelled back. He headed downstairs and found everyone in the living room in different chairs. The Doctor, Joanne, Akihiko, and Nerissa were all there. "Hey mister, who are you" Gray asked. "My name is Akihiko and I'm a friend of the Doctor's and he's told me all about you Gray" Akihiko said. The Doctor and Joanne looked rather saddened and then Nerissa spoke. "Hello Claudius, it's been so long since I've last seen you" she said in a gentle voice and smiled at Gray while trying to fight back tears. "Claudius" Gray asked with raised eyebrows and a look of utter befuddlement upon his face. "No, my name's Gray pretty woman" as Gray said this Nerissa simply smiled and giggled at the compliment. "Mom, who is this woman and why is she calling me Claudius?" "Her name is Nerissa and she claims to be your real mother" Joanne explained. "Real mother" Gray said this with yet another befuddled look on his face "but I've already got a mom and that's you" Gray said and he pointed at Joanne "What do you mean by real mother though" Gray asked. "Let me explain" Joanne responded. "Explain, explain what, I don't understand" Gray said with hints of confusion and sadness in his voice. "I'm not your real mother Gray" Joanne said with a depressed look on her face. "What I mean by that is I'm not the woman who gave birth to you." "In short, you're adopted Gray" Joanne finished as a tear fell down her face. "W-w-w-what?! I-I-I-I'm adopted" Gray said as a single tear fell down his face. "A-a-a-and you're not my real mom" Gray asked and was close to sobbing. "I'm afraid so" Joanne said "Nine years ago I was a lonely woman. I never got married and had children of my own because I thought men were pigs and only liked me for how I looked." "I also worked a lot and didn't have time to date other men." "I always wanted a son more than anything though so I went to the orphanage and adopted you when you were only eight months old" Joanne finished and looked at Gray with a sad face as he started to cry. "Sniff, sniff, sniff" tears fell down Gray's boyish face and the tear streams looked like two rivers. "That doesn't mean I love you any less sweetheart" Joanne said and hugged Gray. Gray approached the Doctor. "Those dreams I've been having, was I right" Gray asked the doctor. "They were my memories all along?" "If so, what am I" Gray asked and looked up at the Doctor. "Yes, you were right." "Those memories were from when you were a baby." "It might be hard to believe but you're a merman but since you're so young, you're a technically a merboy" the Doctor said. "Merboy?" "Merfolk really exist" Gray asked. "Yes, they do exist." "I suspected you were one of the merfolk ever since I first met you but I wasn't sure until yesterday and today" the Doctor replied.
Gray pulls out his locket and gets close to Nerissa. "If you're really my birth mother than you know what my locket says don't you." "What's it say" Gray asked. "Your locket reads Claudius, my son and then your date of birth which is April 20th" Nerissa replied. Gray begins to sob again "Y-y-you're the woman from my dreams or should I say my memories from when I was a baby." "Yes, I am Claudius" Nerissa gets to Gray's level and coos the crying boy. "W-what happened all those years ago" Gray asked. "Was I in the way" he had a sad face on as he asked this. "No, you weren't little guppy" Nerissa replied. "Then what happened all those years ago" Gray asked. "Some humans were trying to catch me." I didn't want the two of us being in a lab tank our whole lives." "I left you with that locket and hoped for the best" Nerissa replied. "You've grown so much little one" Nerissa started to cry as well as she hugged her young son tenderly. Gray looked up at Nerissa "So you're my real mom huh, you're beautiful" Gray told her. "Thank you" Nerissa said and then blushed. "You're welcome" Gray said and he hugged her some more. "You're so big now" Nerissa said looking at her son. "Thank you mom" Gray said. "I've been eating a lot of seafood and swimming a whole lot so I'm nice and healthy." "Mom, yesterday and a few months back, some splotches of purple stuff appeared on my legs." "What are they?" Gray asked. "Why that's your tail" Nerissa replied. "My tail" Gray asked "But I still had my legs when the splotches appeared." "I need to help you complete your transformation sweetie." "That's why your legs only had scales on them when you were in the water" Nerissa responded. "You're gonna help me get my tail back" Gray asked. "Yes my little guppy" Nerissa cooed. "There's a nature path with a beach behind our house. I swam there a lot with human mom. Can we go there" Gray asked. Everyone nodded in agreement and said sure. The five of them walk along the nature path and head to the beach. "For it to work you need to take off all your clothes" Nerissa told Gray. Gray takes off all of his clothes. "Like this" Gray asked "but I'm naked" Gray said and his face turned three different shades of red. "I know, I'll take mine off as well" Nerissa said and takes off her all of clothes. Gray covers his eyes as she does this "Sorry, I'm not used to seeing naked women." "Well, you better get used to it guppy because merfolk don't wear clothes." The two sit on a part of the beach where the waves are at. "Okay I'm ready" Gray said. Nerissa puts Gray on her lap and hugs him close. A radiant flash of light surrounds his legs and in an instant, they're replaced by a violet fish tail. "Oh wow, I really am a merboy" Gray said excitedly. "That you are honey" Nerissa said and giggled. "Look at this" Gray said to Nerissa and Joanne as he flopped his new tail around. "I see that Claudius" Nerissa responded and she flopped her tail around in a similar manner to Gray.
"Amazing" the Doctor exclaimed. "I know right." "I've never seen an adult mermaid interacting with her child like this" Akihiko said. "I've never seen a mermaid period" Joanne said and looked at Gray and his real mother in awe. Nerissa and Gray swam up to Joanne. "Don't worry, we'll visit from time to time" Nerissa assured Joanne. "I won't keep Gray all to myself" Nerissa said. "I see how much you love him and it wouldn't be right to be selfish with him." "Herds of mermaids and mergirls might swarm him though because of how handsome and cute he is" Nerissa said and giggled. "They might" Akihiko said and laughed. Gray looks a bit embarrassed "mergirls and mermaids swarming me?" Gray then pictured a stampede of mermaids and mergirls swimming after him. "Yes sir sweetheart" Nerissa replied and patted Gray on the head. "They probably won't leave me alone will they" Gray said. "No they won't" Nerissa said. "Joanne thank you for taking care of my little boy for all of these years" Nerissa said and looked at Joanne. "You're welcome, it was a pleasure taking care of him' Joanne responded and then looked at Gray. "I'll keep your room nice and tidy for when you visit."
"You'll always have a home here honey and you'll always be my son" Joanne said. "Thank you mom or should I say human mom" Gray said and giggled. He then gave his adoptive mother a hug before getting in the water. "You're welcome Gray." She bids the two a tearful goodbye and watches the two swim into the ocean. "I'm gonna miss them" Joanne said as her tears dried up. "We all will" the Doctor said and Akihiko nodded in agreement.
The two swim all the way to Nerissa's grotto deep under the sea. "So little one, what do you think" Nerissa asked. "This is your second home now little guppy." "I love it" Gray said and hugs Nerissa. "It's so beautiful here under the sea and I'm such a lucky boy knowing that I have two loving mothers" Gray said and smiled. "Yes, yes you are" Nerissa replied and kissed Gray on the cheek and hugged him tenderly. "I'm going to teach you a lot of things about underwater life" Nerissa said excitedly. "How to hunt with spears, where to hunt and where not to hunt, how to read mermish, attract mermaids, how to swim fast and so much more." "This'll be so exciting" Nerissa exclaimed. "I bet it will be" Gray said. "I love you mom" Gray said. "I love you more" Nerissa responded. "Mom, I'm tired after such a long day can we nap?" "Of course Claudius" Nerissa replied lovingly. The two swam to a room with two clam shell beds and lied down on the one that was Nerissa's. The two of them quickly fall asleep. Gray sleeps on top of his mother while she holds him gently. This was the first time in years that Nerissa slept so soundly and peacefully. Her son of nine years of age was back with her at last.
Meanwhile Joanne stands in Gray's room while holding his picture and smiles. She looked at his room that had his bed, junior swimming trophies, and marine life books. "My little boy was really merboy all along" Joanne said happily. "I'm glad his mother's was alive and well" Joanne said in a relieved fashion. "We're all happy that they're back together again" Akihiko responded. The three of them stood in Gray's room and smiled knowing they will see Gray again in the near future.
Fin (Get it, because it's a story about aquatic creatures who are half fish!)
