"Goldilocks, I know your brother is sad, but I was hoping I could do something for you." Urchin said as they walked out onto the beach.
Darla sighed. "If you want to..."
"Please, have a seat..." Urchin told her.
Darla sat down on her knees as he sat down and brought out the shell necklace he made for her.
"This is for you..."
"Oh, Urchin, it's beautiful." Darla smiled.
"I thought you would like it..." Urchin smiled back.
Darla took it and wore it right away. Urchin then took out the guitar with a smooth smile.
"What's the guitar for?" Darla asked.
"What do you think?" Urchin asked back as he put the guitar in place with his hands in position.
Darla blushed. "You have a song for me?"
"Yes, I think you'll like this as much as I do..." Urchin said softly. "This song is dedicated to you from me from that King of Rock and Roll Lilo had told us about." he then began to strum the strings to make a rock and roll beat and started to sing Elvis's 'Burning Love' to proclaim his true feelings for the blonde girl he had occasionally teased, but deep down, harbored affections for her.
And where each word would touch Darla's heart. It was truly a lovely moment between the two.
"Just a hunk a hunk of burnin'..." Urchin finished the song. "Looooove!"
Darla smiled and clapped at the song.
"So, did you like-" Urchin was about to ask until Darla suddenly kissed him which made his whole face turn bright red with his eyes widening. "It...?"
"I loved it." Darla smiled.
"Wow, I guess the power of music is more powerful than I thought." Urchin smiled.
"You live in Atlantica..." Darla reminded him. "Merpeople just love music..."
"Athena sure did..." Urchin said.
Darla looked. "Did you ever know her?"
"Only heard of her..." Urchin shrugged. "I saw her here and there, but I never got to actually meet her... I heard that she risked her life to save Atticus's though when humans were invading."
"She sure did." Darla told him.
"How'd you witness it?" Urchin asked.
"Time travel..." Darla said. "Somehow, Mom has that ability..." she said, calling Emily just 'mom' know due to knowing her a while and becoming more and more official to the Fudo family than the one she had before.
"You're lucky to have such kind people take you in..." Urchin said. "Before I met Ariel, it was just me and nobody else."
"Well, now you have a loving family." Darla smiled.
"I wouldn't mind a brother though..." Urchin said with a small shrug.
"At least Uncle Triton finally has a son..." Darla said then.
"Yeah, that's true..." Urchin said, feeling pleased to make that possible. "Um... Darla... Do you like me? If you don't, that's okay..."
"Yes, Urchin, I do like you." Darla smiled.
Urchin smiled bashfully.
Darla leaned over to him, crawling slightly. "How long have you felt this way?"
"Does it matter?" Urchin grinned nervously.
"Yes." Darla said.
"I heard you sing..." Urchin admitted.
"Sing?" Darla leaned back then, back on her knees.
"Well... Yeah..." Urchin sat up then. "We merpeople just love any kind of music... You have a lovely voice... How old are you again?"
"Seven." Darla said.
"You sound more like a grown-up when you sing..." Urchin smiled to her. "No wonder you used to live in Hollywood."
"Awww!" Darla smiled. "Thanks, Urchin."
Urchin smiled back. The two then got very close together as they watched the sunset together, making this moment even more perfect and special between the two of them.
"I never want this moment to end." Urchin said.
"Neither do I..." Darla smiled.
However, there was suddenly a flash of light and both looked down as Urchin's legs disappeared and it was replaced with his green tail fin.
"Aw, come on!" Urchin groaned. "It couldn't have been three days already!"
"I'm afraid it has." Darla frowned.
Urchin sighed as he absentmindedly took Darla's hand.
"It's okay..." Darla soothed. "I'll see you again soon. I promise."
"Okay," Urchin frowned. "Well, I guess I better get back to the ocean."
Darla gave him a hug. "Thank you for being my friend... More than anything..."
Urchin hugged her back. "See ya on the West Side, Curly Q."
Darla chuckled, then let go, and gave him another kiss. Urchin smiled bashfully, then waved to her, and jumped into the ocean to get back home.
After a short while, Darla went back to her family while Lilo's house was being rebuilt. Jumba and Pleakley actually offered to help since it was their fault. The Grand Councilwoman had left them behind and they had nowhere else to go or stay, so they decided to adopt themselves into Lilo's broken family. Atticus sighed as he sat in the hotel lobby couch as Patrick and Emily were checking out of the hotel.
"It's okay, kiddo..." Drell said as he walked by, carrying a mango in his hand and bit into it, sitting next to him which made Atticus slide up, but only slightly. "Think about this though... Since you believe in angels, God, and Heaven, you're likely to see Patch when he comes down for his mission in San Francisco, that's why I'm sending you over there for him to redeem himself. I heard from the grapevines that someone is itching to steal Gabriel's Horn."
"What?!" Atticus gasped. "But if they do that, then no more dogs can't get up to Heaven."
"Not to worry, my wiccan friend..." Drell said as he bit into the mango again, rather messily which made his hair drip due to it being all over the place. "I know for a fact that this will have a happy ending... You'll see in San Francisco."
"If this is a dog mission, why should we do anything?" Cherry asked.
"Well, there's a young mortal boy interested in magic who's down on his luck..." Drell explained. "He has family problems... His step-mother is going to have a baby, so he's run away from home."
"But why would he want to run away just because his mother is having a baby?" Darla asked.
"Is she really his mom? Or is she like his step-mom? And is he feeling like his parents won't have enough love around for both him and the new baby?" Atticus asked, using his detective skills.
"I just said that it was his step-mother," Drell replied. "He feels that since his new mother is going to have a baby and replacing his biological mother already and this new baby is going to replace him, so he's living on the streets with his dog friend."
"Huh... Deja vu..." Atticus said as that made him think of how when he first met Mo.
"Yes, it is, but unlike Angel, this boy's dog goes out to perform for food to feed her human." Drell said.
"Perform?" Atticus and Darla asked.
Drell chuckled. "I guess it's time for you to go to good old 'San Fran'."
Cherry walked over. "Guess I'm going too?"
"If you do this for me, I promise I'll reward you gratefully." Drell said.
"What is it?" Cherry asked.
"What do you want?" Drell smirked.
Cherry paused to think about it, then settled on an answer. "I want you to be nice to me for two weeks."
"Very well." Drell groaned.
Cherry smirked. "I'm going to enjoy this..."
Emily came over to her family. "Well, we're all set to go... Drell, how soon until you plan to take us to San Francisco?"
"Yeah, it would be wise to let us know." Patrick said, carrying all the luggage.
"I'll let you all go home and rest for now, but when I say, you are all to be ready, no ifs, ands, or buts." Drell said.
"Yes, Drell." the Fudo family replied.
"I'm sorry for your loss, but just know that it's going to get better..." Drell then stood up and threw away his trash. "I'll see you all around later." he then took his leave and would come back for them when the time would be right as they said their goodbyes to Hawaii, but would come again to visit real soon, allowing Darla and Lilo to become pen pals.
The family and Cherry then returned home, it was very late at night and everyone slept in their clothes, but of course, Atticus prayed for Patch before he went to bed. And where Patch was going straight up to Heaven as the Heaven's Gates opened up for his arrival.
To Be Continued...