Chapter 9: A Thoughtful Gift

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It had been three weeks since Dory known Gill, and he had been teaching her on how to be independent and learning how to fight for herself. The young tang was so lucky to have Gill; she had a disability, and it would never be cured. The Moorish idol was glad to help out on Dory. He wished her the best of luck in her future living on her own.

The two fish were having a lovely afternoon swim. The sun's rays reflected on the beautiful crystal clear blue water, making it even more beautiful than before. It then managed to beam down on Gill's scales.

Dory looked at his scales, distracted by them.

Gill noticed. "Uh, Dory?"

The young, forgetful blue tang was still in awe of his shimmering scales, not noticing him speaking to her.

"Dory, are you okay?"

Dory got out of her trance. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm okay! Sorry, I was looking at your scales. They are pretty when the sun's rays are on them."

The Moorish idol chuckled. "I guess they are."

Dory giggled, but then frowned.

"Hey, what's wrong, Dory?" Gill asked, placing a fin on her back.

"I still miss my parents. I.. I want to keep searching for them," Dory replied.

"Aww, okay, kid. Your parents still must be worried sick about you."

"I bet they are."

"Don't worry. I'm sure we'll find your parents soon." Gill smiled.

Dory smiled back at him. Gill was a great friend, and she knew that he would never let her down.

"Hey. Let's ask some fish if they've seen your parents," Gill said.

"Okay, Gilly."

Gill saw a fish couple swimming towards them. "Excuse me, but have you seen her parents?" he asked, looking at Dory a little bit.

The wife fish looked at little Dory. "Sorry, dear. We haven't."

"I hope you'll find them soon," the husband fish said to Dory before the fish couple swam away.

Dory frowned and sighed.

"Hey, it's okay, Dory. We can't give up."

"What if we never find them?" Dory worried, starting to cry.

Gill hugged her. "Kid, listen to me. If you give up and keep thinking negative, then it's a chance that you'll never find them. But if you keep trying and think positive, then it's certain that you'll find them."

Dory wiped her tears away and sniffed. "You're right, Gilly. Oh, I'm so glad to have a friend like you!" She hugged him.

Gill blushed. "Aww, I'm glad to be your friend too, Dory." He patted her on the head.

The young blue tang smiled. She wouldn't imagine what she would do if Gill wasn't around. She would've lost hope and give up, but with him, that would most likely never happen. Dory hoped that he would stay with her as long as he lived.

"Let's keep asking for fish if they have seen my parents!" Dory said determinedly.

"Okay! Let's do it!"

Dory's small stomach growled. It had been a while of asking fish if they've seen her parents, and they hadn't eaten in a few hours.

"Gilly, I'm hungry," Dory said. Her big, magenta eyes looked at him.

"I am too. And I'm a little tired. Let's stop for a bit to eat and rest."

The two swam off to a small bunch of kelp.

Gill grabbed a piece and ate it. He gave some to Dory.

"Thanks." Dory ate.

"Mmm! So juicy! It's yummy in my tummy!" She rubbed her tummy.

Gill giggled. "I'm glad you like it. Hope that your tummy doesn't get big in the next hour." He tickled her belly.

Dory laughed. "Hey! I'm not gonna eat all of it!"

Gill chuckled. "I'm just joking, kid."

Dory ate more kelp. "Kelp is my favorite thing to eat! It's so good!"

"Kelp is good, but I'm more of an algae kind of fish. It's good in my opinion."

"Algae is... okay, but it's not as tasty as kelp!" Dory ate another small piece of kelp.

Gill chuckled a bit. Oh, I love this kid.

Dory ate a bit more until her tummy felt full. She burped.

"Excuse me! Boy, that kelp was delicious! Now, I'm..." she yawned, "tired."

Gill yawned himself. "I'm tired myself. Let's both take a nap."

Dory woke up from her nap. She yawned and stretched. She saw Gill sleeping next to her. He looked so peaceful.

Dory smiled at him before looking around the ocean. She saw something that stuck out to her: a yellow shell.

The forgetful tang, interested, swam over to it.

"Pretty.." she said.

The yellow shell looked small enough for her to carry, so she picked it up.

Meanwhile, Gill woke up. He wiped the sleep off from his eyes and yawned. "Hey, Dory. Had a nice-" He noticed her missing.

"Dory?" He looked around.

"Oh no! Dory!" he yelled, swimming out to look for her. He was worried that she wandered off somewhere and got lost.

Dory heard Gill. "Gilly! Look what I found!"

"Dory! Oh, you had me worried, kid!" He swam up to her.

Dory giggled. "I found a shell!"

"That's a beautiful shell, but Dory, don't you ever wander off from me ever again. I was scared."

She frowned. "I'm sorry, Gilly. It's just that I'm interested in the shell."

Gill sighed. "It's alright, kid. At least you're safe."

Dory smiled, looking at the shell. She thought for a moment before looking at her friend. "Gilly?"

"Yes?"

Dory gave the shell to him. "I want you to have this shell. It's a friendship gift from me. I want to say thank you for being my friend, and caring for me."

Gill was flattered. "Dory... you... you don't have to do this."

"But I want to. You deserve it. You're my special friend." She hugged him.

Gill felt warmth throughout his body. "Kid... I.. I don't know what to say. T-thank you."

Dory giggled. "You're welcome!"

Gill wiped a few tears from his eyes.

"Are you crying, Gilly?"

"No.. no.. just had to get something out of my eye."

"Sure..."

Gill blushed. "Instead of asking for fish if they have seen your parents, wanna go search for them ourselves?"

"Yeah!" Dory exclaimed.

"Alright! Lead the way, Dory!"

Dory giggled in delight, taking off.

Gill smiled and placed the yellow shell next to a rock. He would remember to find it there.

"Hey, Dory! Wait up!" he yelled out to her, swimming after her.