Epilogue

Cleo had never been so sad in her life. Maybe that was a little exaggeration, she thought to herself as Lewis pressed her hand and sweetly kissed her cheek, but she was certain that it ranked at least among the top three most heartbreaking moments of her life. Because as she looked down at the squirming pink bundle in Rikki's arms, she felt with a surprising intensity that she wanted a squirming bundle of her own, and she wanted it so badly that her whole self seemed to ache with the wanting.

Guppy had a proper name, now: Sophie Bennet; and although it suited her perfectly, every one of the persons who hovered over the new arrival knew that her mum and dad would never completely do away with her first nickname. If sentimental reasons weren't enough, the presence of a shimmering, coral-coloured tail upon her birth made it impossible to give up the name. Her tail was curled up against her when first born, something Rikki was thankful for, but straightened out just a few hours after making her entrance into the world. They thought it might disappear once she was scrubbed dry, but the tail remained. She was a mermaid, through and through.

In typical male fashion, neither Zane nor Lewis had considered the problem of a mermaid birth and how it would shake the medical institution beyond recovery were they all to be discovered by Rikki delivering at hospital. It took the combined efforts of a very pregnant Rikki and a frantic Cleo to convince Lewis to learn everything he could about childbirth—and the births of many other creatures besides—before Rikki was ready to deliver her special bundle.

Now that it was over, Cleo supposed they might laugh about it someday; the ridiculous notion of bringing Rikki to the moon pool cave to be as far away from civilisation as was safe; the near hysterical sight of Lewis decked out in full scrubs and gloves as he manipulated fluids like a very frightened magician, and the intense concentration of Zane's expression as he tried using his powers of cooling to counterbalance Rikki's propensity to set the moon pool boiling whenever the labour pains grew severe.

As for Cleo, she was more than proud of the way she'd helped where the guys couldn't; in generally remaining level-headed and optimistic, and following Lewis's instructions in the more delicate matters that required closer contact with Rikki's most feminine parts.

She couldn't say how they'd managed, but they had. And the little Guppy was born as loud and pink as any normal infant—pinker, even, with her impressive little tail that Cleo found utterly adorable. Rikki was glad of the excuse to transform once her Guppy's mewling became consistently demanding. Not only was her daughter granted immediate access to her food source, but the transformation to a tail magically relieved almost all of the excruciating new pains the effort of giving birth had produced. She was too frightened to give birth in such a state, but if there was ever a next time, she thought she might try it in full mermaid form to see if it was any more comfortable.

"Are you okay?" Lewis whispered, evidently noticing the tears that had begun to trickle down Cleo's cheeks.

"Yeah, I' m okay." Cleo hastily wiped away the evidence of her emotions to prevent a sudden tail appearance should Lewis decide to kiss her cheek again. They were safe enough in the cave, but she didn't want a single thing to ruin the moment. Well, anything other than her greediness for a baby of her own.

She knew it was crazy. She and Lewis had only been dating for some months now, and though the topic of sex had been discussed in almost every situation imaginable, they had not yet breached that physical milestone. Lewis knew that because of the affect bodily fluids had on him, it would be nearly impossible to make love to Cleo in a fully human form, except in ways that sounded extremely uncomfortable to her, and that Lewis did not recommend.

They could wait for a full moon. Sometimes a full moon allowed Lewis to keep his legs, even after fully submerging in the water. It wasn't a certainty, but it happened more times than it didn't when the moon was full, although there was the additional risk of moon fever taking over and Lewis having no memory of the act—something he was most stubbornly against. Otherwise, Cleo would just have to get used to the thought of having her first time with Lewis the Fish, as he still jokingly called himself when self-disparaging language seemed called for.

She wanted to do it right, though. She didn't want a clumsy proposition on the beach where they fumbled about, wondering if it was the right time to be doing it. She wanted an official proposal, a real wedding, a wedding night, and then the little pink bundle that mewed like a kitten when Mummy's milk offering didn't reach its mouth quite fast enough.

She could picture each step perfectly; where he would choose to pop the question, how many times she would squeal "yes!" before he'd get the ring on her finger, what her wedding dress would look like, how many and what kinds of flowers Rikki would wear in her hair as her maid of honour, and the scent of the candles she'd choose for their first night.

She was still a little frightened of the ocean; of the moon, and its pull on Lewis. Happy as she was at the way things had turned out for her friends, and thrilled as she was to be Rikki's maid of honour at their simple beachside ceremony, she couldn't help sighing wistfully at the thought that they would never remember the night their Guppy was conceived due to the inexplicable powers of moon fever.

Watching Rikki kiss her downy baby's head as she slept full and content against her chest, Cleo didn't think such things bothered her now. Even the impressive diamond ring that glistened on her finger, the one that Zane had finally put in her possession as promised on their engagement, was all but forgotten in favour of her merling's pretty face.

"Lewis..." Cleo finally said in a hush, "I really wouldn't mind being like Rikki and Zane. You know, marrying young. Having babies right away."

"But I'm part fish," he reminded her, "What if we have a little mermaid, too?"

"I thought of that, and at first it was scary, but looking at baby Sophie, little mermaids are so cute! And then Guppy will have a friend! And they could have play dates!"

He answered in a way that was so typically Lewis, so extraordinarily underwhelming, that she couldn't help but kiss him, tail appearance or no.

"I guess I need to find a real job."

A/N: Well, dear readers... it is that time once more. The time for farewells and "aw, it's over!?"s. I would say this is probably the last H2O fan fiction I have in me, but I thought that The Dark Side of the Moon was the last one and here I ended up again, so I won't make sad speeches that may become untrue. :)

I hope each of you are having/have had/will continue to have a wonderful summer, and that this piece gave you some amusement. My next ventures are going to be in the Jane Austen realm, so for those of you whose tastes vary from magical mermaids to Regency romance, keep your eye out for those. :) Farewell for now!