Sorry it's been a while. Updates will probably get farther apart because of the upcoming school year (ick) so just a heads up. Thanks to all my followers!

The Doctor rented a motor boat and he and Rose rode out to Mako Island. Rose made sure to stay far from the edge and keep covered up in a plastic poncho she bought, just to make sure she didn't turn into a fish girl while onboard.

Once they reached the island, the Doctor stopped the boat and docked the boat near the shore. Rose looked over the edge. "Doctor," she said.

He turned his head in her direction.

"Yes?" he asked.

"My feet will get wet if I step out of the boat."

"Oh, of course," he said.

A moment later the Doctor was stepping out of the boat holding Rose in his arms, bridal style. Once away from the water, he set her down on the sand.

"Maybe it's not the tail that makes you heavy, after all," he teased.

"Oi!" she exclaimed, and lightly punched his shoulder.

He just laughed. "Well, let's go check it out, shall we?"

They hiked through the trees and wilderness of the island. It'd been almost an hour already and Rose was starting to think that they'd never find the cave again, until she almost fell into the tunnel entrance for the second time.

"Doctor, I found it!" she called.

He came running over to her. "Rose Tyler, you are brilliant!"

She beamed. "Well of course I am, what with almost falling into the same hole that I fell in yesterday," she joked.

The Doctor raised his signature eyebrow. "Well, what are we waiting for? Allons-y!" And with that he jumped in the hole, sliding down to the bottom.

Rose sighed and followed. Sliding down the tunnel wasn't exactly considered fun for her. When she got to the bottom of the tunnel, she tumbled out and crashed into the Doctor, who was just getting to his feet, causing him to fall down.

They laid there in a jumbled heap, both cracking up hysterically. The Doctor got to his feet and extended a hand to help Rose up. She took it and stood up unsteadily.

"Sorry," she told him.

He smiled at her. "No harm done. Come on, off we go!"

Rose brushed the dirt off of her pants and followed him through the tunnel. As they neared the entrance to the cave, the Doctor stopped walking. He turned to Rose and put a finger to his lips, indicating for her to be silent. She nodded and he turned around.

Rose listened carefully and with a start, she realised there were voices coming from the pool cave. It sounded like a group of young girls. The Doctor poked his head around the corner just barely and then beckoned for Rose to come take a look. He moved aside so she could see and she looked around the corner.

She gasped as she saw three mermaids sitting in the pool, talking and laughing. All three of their heads turned at the sound and their eyes widened in fear. Rose stepped into the cave.

"It's okay!" she tried to tell them. "I'm Rose and-" but she got cut off as all three of the girls dove under the water and sped away with the flick of a tail.

Rose turned to the Doctor. "I have to follow them. They may be my only hope if I want to find out what happened to me," she said.

"Rose! It could be dangerous!" he exclaimed.

But it was too late, again. Rose dove into the water head first and followed the trail of bubbles the mermaids had left behind. Once she had her tail, she sped up, surprised at how powerful and incredibly fast her tail was.

Soon, she was right behind the girls. She sped up even more and got around them, stopping in front of them. The girls looked even more shocked than they had in the cave. Rose smiled and waved.

The three girls passed an uncertain look between them, but then a mermaid with light blonde hair smiled and waved back. Rose pointed to the surface and they nodded, surfacing with her.

"Well," Rose said, "now that the confusion is all settled, do you think we can go back to that cave? I need your help."

The one who had waved to her nodded, but the dark haired girl looked worried. "But, Rikki, remember what happened last time we found another mermaid?"

"Not every other mermaid we meet is going to be like Charlotte, Cleo. And this girl seems to need our help. I say we take her back to the moon pool."

The mermaid with darker blonde hair nodded. "Me too," she said.

Cleo still looked worried, but she eventually agreed. Soon, Rose was following them back to the cave. When they surfaced in the cave pool again, she saw the Doctor pacing around the edge of the pool. He sighed when he saw Rose emerge from the pool.

"Rose, please don't ever do that to me again," he scolded.

"Sorry," she muttered. "Oh, come here, you." She reached her arms up and he kneeled down and managed to give her a somewhat awkward hug. He noticed the three mermaids behind Rose as he looked over her shoulder.

"Oh, hello! Sorry if we gave you a fright earlier."

Rikki grinned. "He's kinda cute. Is he yours?" she asked.

The other blonde, whom Rose still didn't know her name, nudged Rikki with her elbow. "Rikki, you can't just call strangers cute and ask his girlfriend if he's taken," she hissed at her.

The Doctor and Rose both looked embarrassed. "Um, right, so I'm the Doctor and this is Rose. I see that you've already met."

Rikki seated herself on a ledge that circled in the pool, and the others did the same. Rose found a spot and seated herself as well. The darker blonde introduced herself. "I'm Emma, and this is Rikki," she said pointing to Rikki, "and that's Cleo," she gestured to the brunette.

The Doctor smiled at the girls and sat down on the stone floor in front of the pool. "Right. Nice to meet you."

"So," Cleo started, "Rose said she needs our help?"