John turned in the bed, sliding the indicator on his phone before sighing back into the covers. He nudged Anna next to him but she only groaned and pulled the covers over her head. "No."

"We've got the carnival today." John tried to wrestle the sheets from her and reached over her but only ended up with blankets squished between them and her back to his chest under the blanket.

"Right," She pushed the blankets back, sighing. "Ondine's over the moon about it."

"As right she should be. It's all great fun." John trailed his fingers over her skin, "We've got some time if you want to have some fun right now."

"Are you trying to tempt me from these rather comfortable blankets?" Anna teased, wrapping them tighter around herself as John snagged the bunching fabric in his fist to tug downward.

"Yes." He kissed at her neck, slipping the fabric further down with her distraction. "I promise you'll enjoy it."

"I don't doubt that." Anna wrenched the blankets back up, "But I'm going back to sleep."

"No," John surprised her and yanked the blankets and sheets away to leave her shivering a moment. "You'll never get up and then Ondine'll be crushed."

"That's true." Anna turned over on the bed, supporting her head with her hand, a move John soon copied. "Would you be?"

"Would I be what?" John trailed a finger over her skin, following the rising hairs and the subtle shudders when he dipped toward her exposed breasts.

"Would you be crushed?"

"Oh," John bent under her chin, tiny kisses dotting her skin like the gentle caresses of a butterfly. "I'd be absolutely gutted."

"What would you do about it?"

"I'd pout," John kissed down toward her breasts, grinning at the hum of her blood under her skin and the tremor of her muscles there. "And then I'd find a way to convince you to come to the next one."

"How?"

"Like this." John wrapped his mouth around the nipple nearest to his mouth and Anna moaned when he grazed his teeth over the sensitive skin.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him there while his hand kneaded the skin of her side. With a slip and a slide, he worked his hand between her legs and ran a line between her folds to draw the growing moisture there. Anna shunted her hips toward him and John leveraged her leg over his hip.

Moving to the other breast, John teased his fingers over her opening and pressed inside in time to his mouth's movements over her breasts. Her chest rose and fell with her panting, the harsh expulsion of her breath mingling with the thunder in his ears and the rise of his erection, so John moved back to her mouth. Their lips met and molded in a determined and sloppy fashion to move to the beat of John's fingers at her core.

Anna hung on at the edge, the cracked cries from her throat half strangled as she tried to speak, and John dug to bring her clit under the experienced motions of his thumb. She shrieked and John finally realized her hand snaked between them. It fluttered there as she searched for something to hold and gave John a turn to grunt when she settled on his erection.

They moved together, his fingers quivering and maneuvering at her center while she tried to grip him harder, and John slotted his leg between hers to raise her leg farther up his hip. Their eyes met a second and Anna removed her hand from his arousal to grasp the flesh of his ass. The meeting of their lips echoed the swift slide of John into Anna.

Holding there a moment, they waited. But when Anna adjusted her hips slightly to work John deeper he could only move in response. He drove forward slowly, seeking a rolling motion built for teasing and spiraling, but Anna dug her nails in at his shoulders and raked downward. Between that and the determined tug of her fingers in his hair while her tongue plundered his mouth, it was all John could do to not rock them away.

He plunged deeper, moved faster, and left gripping bruises in her skin where he held her tight to him. Even to his own ears John thought he sounded animalistic in his seizure of her but Anna's cries matched his own. The ear-splitting shriek that left her when he managed to send her over the edge again sounded like the music of angels to his earthly cry of completion.

They rested, John's head falling against Anna's shoulder while her arms wrapped him as tightly as her weakened body could manage. He slowly raised his head and kissed her cheek. Anna's smile shifted the muscles there and John drew back enough to see her face.

"I think I'm fully awake and ready for a carnival now Mr. Bates."

"I hope so." John took her hand in his, maneuvering to get them out of bed and pulling her toward the shower. "Because we've still got to get ready."

They finished as quickly as possible, given the circumstances, and soon John trundled his truck through the winding roads toward town. Anna stared out the window, seemingly lost in thought, and hummed to herself as they drove along. When they stopped the car outside the entrance to the warren of houses to get Ondine, John turned to Anna.

"What's the song you sing?"

"What?"

"That song. The one you sing when we're fishing or humming just now."

"It's just a song." Anna waved him off, "Go on or Ondine might think we've abandoned her."

John got out of the truck, smiling to himself, and the smile stayed until he reached Vera's house. She and Richard, surrounded by a few of her friends and someone else John had never seen before, shared their drinks and fags around with loud shouts and obnoxious music blaring from the colorful speaker on the table between them. He worked toward the door when one of the men barred his way.

"If I remember right, Batesy, you're not allowed in the house."

"I'm here to get Ondine, for the carnival." John tried to move but the man stopped him again. "Move out of my way Thomas or I'll move you myself."

"Oh," Thomas turned back to the group, cackling before taking another swig of his beer, "Johnny Bates thinks he can take me on does he?"

"I could take you when I was three bottles deep. Being sober I like my chances even better now." John leaned around Thomas to Vera. "Can you tell you're lush of a guard dog to get out of my way?"

"Thomas," Vera sent a stream of smoke toward the air, "Let the righteous pass. If he touches you, you might just turn to ash."

The group guffawed and John ignored them to push into the house. It stank of stale booze and the lingering effects of nicotine but it was clean. The bin needed emptying and there were some dishes stacked in the sink but everything else seemed in good order. John turned a slow circle to survey the scene before working down the narrow hall toward Ondine's room.

He knocked but there was no answer. Trying again and getting the same response he pushed the door open to see Ondine on her bed with earbuds in and her eyes closed. John smiled to himself and crept forward, tugging the cord to get one earbud clear.

Ondine's eyes flew open but her face broke into a grin the moment she saw him. "I thought you'd forgotten me."

"It's the regatta carnival, I couldn't forget that."

"Ma said you did." Ondine sat up, ending her music and gathering a few things into a small bag she tucked into the pouch on her chair before supporting her hands on the edge of the bed. "Said I should just find a friend to take me since you're not reliable."

"I guess I proved her wrong."

"I guess you did." Ondine held up her hand when John moved forward, "I can do this part myself."

"Alright," John lifted his hands up in surrender and watched as Ondine pushed herself from her bed to the chair in a smooth motion before getting comfortable. "Whatever will you do when you have to use your own legs again?"

"Sprint up and down the hall." Ondine steered the chair out the door, John following close behind her.

"Why were you buried back here?"

"It was as far away as I could get from them."

John stopped, catching her chair in the space between the sitting room and the kitchen. "Did they do anything to you?"

"No," Ondine shook her head, "I've never liked Ma's friends but they're all civil to me. It's that bloody-awful music they were playing."

"I guess you're not into the retro stage where you like 80's power ballads then?" John opened the door for her to steer out. "What a shame."

"Not when I have much better taste in music than that." Ondine raised a hand to wave at Vera. "I'll be back later Ma."

"Yes you will be." Vera stood up, sending a stream of smoke out of the corner of her mouth before stabbing the fag into an overladen ashtray. "I'm sure your Da won't be too busy to get you home on time."

"She'll be home in time." John maneuvered through the gate, a shiver going down his spine when his eyes met those of the man he did not recognize in the group. "We're just watching boat racing and she'll have fun at some carnival games. It's nothing we've never taken her to before."

"Will your little water whore be with you?" Thomas chuckled to himself and John rounded on him.

"Excuse me?"

"Vera told us all about that little thing the Coast Guard found in your boat." Thomas puffed a cloud of smoke toward John but it dissipated before it could have an effect. "She calls her your 'water baby' but she looks old enough to be more than that."

"Keep your words to yourself, Thomas, unless you want me to shove them back down your throat." John tapped Ondine's chair. "Let's go."

When he snuck a peek over his shoulder he noticed the new man still staring at him. It was not until they were halfway to the truck that John finally jerked a thumb back toward the house. "Who was that new man?"

"The one sitting near Thomas or the one near Richard?"

"I know Thomas's friend, though what James is doing with him is beyond me." John shook his head, "The other one."

"I don't know. Apparently he stopped by earlier about something or was looking for someone but I don't know. Ma sent me to my room when she and Richard talked to him so I didn't hear anything."

"Your mother's bringing strangers to the house while you're there?"

"She made sure he didn't come in and that I was safe." Ondine shrugged, "For everything I know she isn't, sometimes I think maybe she does love me."

John stopped, "Why would you say that?"

"I'm not stupid Da," Ondine grabbed his hand and forced John around the chair to look at her. "I know she uses me against you because you love me a lot. But sometimes I think that maybe she loves me too."

"Despite the ugliness between your mother and I," John put his hand to Ondine's cheek, "She does love you. In her own way, which I don't understand, but she does love you."

"It's not like how Anna loves me."

"I don't think anyone loves like Anna does." John stood, "Come on or we'll miss the regatta."

They reached the truck and John debated a moment before waving his hand to Anna. She frowned and worked herself out of the cab, "What is it?"

"We'll not get a better spot down by the harbor so we could walk instead."

"I don't know if it's fair since Ondine's on wheels." Anna pointed, "I think we should all get wheels."

"I'm sure someone's got a wheelbarrow or maybe a scooter you could borrow." Ondine steered her chair near Anna, "But, if not, we might fit on this chair together."

"Then what about your poor father?" Anna feigned a grimace, winking over at John. "He'd be all left out and he's a bit desperate as it is."

"He'll be fine."

Anna shrugged at John, "I guess we've decided."

"Then isn't it a shame I know Ondine's got no money and neither've you."

Ondine's face pulled into a gape of her mouth, "You wouldn't dare threaten regatta ice cream like that."

"I'm not," John tapped his pocket holding his wallet. "I'll enjoy it for the both of you."

Ondine turned to Anna and then sighed, "I think he's got us over a barrel."

"For now," Anna soothed and offered her hand to John. "Shall we? I've never seen a regatta before and I'm rather intrigued."

They worked toward the harbor, finding positions good enough to see the boat races that put a smile on Anna's face and had Ondine screaming with all the passion of a fan. When those ended the carnival began and John paced with them as they walked the booths and tested the treats. A feeling John could only describe as a quiet contentment reached him when he watched Anna win a stuffed animal large enough to dwarf Ondine and then forced it on the girl's lap to their delighted squeals. The two people he cared for most in the world looked perfect together.

But, as he held the stuffed animal and checked the stalls for a passible option he could claim was their dinner, John noticed Anna and Ondine missing. Scanning the crowd he caught sight of Anna's blonde hair and the space left by Ondine's chair. John hurried toward them, his quest for food forgotten in his confusion as to why they would leave him so far behind, and thought he had a chance of catching up when Ondine whizzed toward the harbor wall.

The stuffed animal hit the pavement and John's feet flew as he tried to catch the chair. But it hit the edge and John felt his heart explode in his chest when Ondine's limp body sailed out of it and into the deep harbor water. A moment later the lithe swan dive of Anna followed and John could not tell if he felt relief or increased fear that both of them were now drifting bodies in the water below.

He sprinted for the docks, shouts and calls from the crowd alerting him to two moving figures in the water, and he stumbled into the line of small rowboats that reached out from the wooden planks. John hit the last one as Anna reached it, Ondine carefully in her arms. He took Ondine and wrapped her tightly in his jacket before helping Anna into the tiny boat.

Both of them shivered from the water and the cold wind. He flailed a moment until the comforting noises of emergency teams arrived to bring out their foil blankets and wrap both girl and woman in the shiny material. John escorted them back where the paramedics checked both, deemed them fit, and then returned to keep their eyes on other revelers who might find themselves in more dire straits.

John bent to lift Ondine, carrying her close to his chest as Anna kept pace beside him, and spoke to her. "What happened?"

"My brakes went out and the slope sped my wheels." Ondine snuck a peek toward Anna. "But she was there to save me. Swam like a selkie to get me out of that water."

"You're going right home for a bath after that water." John kissed her head, hugging her close to him. "Your mother'll be mortified."

"She knows the chair's been having trouble since the batteries shorted out a few weeks ago."

John stopped, setting Ondine in a chair set up near one of the festival plastic tables. "When did the batteries short? You never told me this."

"They got wet."

"How'd they get wet?" Ondine wouldn't meet his eyes so John put an edge to his tone. "How'd they get wet Ondine?"

"A few kids from my class wanted to try it out and thought it was an ATV."

"And you let them?"

"It was the first time they didn't call me a spaz or a retard." Ondine's chin trembled and John pulled her close to him again.

"I'm sorry." He pressed his lips to her again, "I'm so sorry Ondine."

"Is she alright?" The trio turned to see Father Crawley, pushing Ondine's chair with the slightly trampled stuffed animal perched on the seat.

"I'm fine Father Crawley." Ondine pulled the stuffed animal into her lap before John replaced Ondine in her chair. "Bit of a scare but nothing too serious."

"If not for this angel here," Father Crawley nodded at Anna, who only drew herself deeper into the foil blanket. "I think we'd all be in far worse moods."

"Yes we would be." John held Anna's hand, giving her a quick smile before turning his attentions back to Father Crawley. "Thank you, Father, for retrieving the chair and the stuffed animal. Saved us time and effort."

"I was just finishing a lovely bag of barbequed squid when I noticed the tail end of the little escapade and thought I could be of assistance." His eyes darted toward Anna again, "I'm sorry, have we met? Because I've got the strangest feeling I know you."

"I'm sorry but we've never met." Anna made herself smaller. "I'm new around here."

"I'll say." Father Crawley pointed to John. "There's been talk all over town about the beautiful woman on John Bates's arm and a few people asking about that woman."

"Asking you, Father?"

"Even if they were," Father Crawley tapped the side of his nose, "I wouldn't say anything."

"I'd hope not." John put a hand on Anna's shoulder and noticed she was staring into the crowd. He followed her eyes to see the same man from Vera's little gathering. The man's eyes laser focused on Anna and she seemed almost paralyzed by his presence. "Anna?"

She shook herself back to the present and a flick of John's gaze confirmed the man was gone. "Sorry, I wasn't paying any attention."

"I was just thinking we need to get Ondine home and ourselves cleaned up. We've no idea what's in that harbor and I'm not waiting to glow with radioactivity to find out."

"Right," She extended a hand to Father Crawley. "It was a pleasure meeting your Mr. Crawley."

"And you Anna." He took John's hand next. "I do hope you'll think about Mass on Sunday… or another of our chats. I enjoy those."

"I'll have one with you soon Father." John put his hands on the handles for Ondine's chair and pushed forward. "Until then."

They worked Ondine back home, the crowd parting faster now than before. But if the surprise and interest in Ondine's case were the talk of the regatta then it had failed to reach Vera with any alacrity and the woman flew into a veritable rage when John and Anna delivered a less sopping but no less dirty Ondine to her door. She spit and railed at John when she wrapped Ondine in her arms, calling out something that sounded like: "I'm glad he's looking for her. Someone needs to get her away from us" before she slammed the door.

John sighed, walking Anna back to his truck and making the trip back to their shared house in silence. Unlike the silence of their earlier journey, the companionable silence that suggests any question asked will be answered with full honesty but no questions come to mind, this pressed on John as he steered through the dark. They did not speak until they were back in the house and John shut the door.

"The brakes didn't go out, did they?"

"No," Anna removed the foil blanket and hauled her soaked shirt over her head to drop into the washing machine. "Her brakes worked just fine."

"Then what happened?"

"She asked me if I was a selkie and if I was going to stay forever." Anna struggled out of her wet jeans but added them to the machine with her other clothes until she had wrapped the foil blanket back over her nude body. "When I told her I couldn't answer that she said she's prove that I was."

"Was what?"

"A selkie." Anna shrugged, "She wanted to prove I could breathe underwater."

"So she tossed herself off the edge of the harbor wall?"

"I tried to stop her but the crowd got in the way and it was all I could do to dive in after her." Anna walked toward the bathroom, "I'm sorry I couldn't stop her John."

"Hey," He caught up to her, a hand on her shoulder crinkling the material of the blanket. "It's not your responsibility to do that. What you did was beyond what I could've asked of anyone."

"Not beyond what you would've done."

"She's my daughter."

"And she's my…" Anna stopped, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be thinking that."

"Thinking what?" John rested his fingers gently on her face to turn to her to look at him. "What are you thinking Anna?"

"That I want to be that for her. I want to stay here with you. That I want to be involved in her life." Anna waved a hand, the foil blanket slipping slightly to expose her shoulder. "That I want to stay here forever."

"Then stay."

"You know I can't." Anna sighed, "I'm… I'm not free to stay here."

"Because of that man?"

"What man?"

"The one staring daggers at you in the crowd." John stopped, "Is he your seal husband, or whatever Ondine called it?"

"He's got a hold on me, that's for sure." Anna shook her head, "But he's not my husband, no matter how much he always wanted to be."

"But he's involved in whatever could snatch you away at any moment?"

"He's the crux of it, John."

"Then tell me what it is and we'll solve this together." John rested his over hand over where hers crumpled the foil tight over her chest to keep it from slipping further. "I want to help you solve this Anna."

She met his eyes and finally nodded. "Alright."

"Aright?"

"Yes," She put a finger to his lips to stop him. "But not tonight. Soon but not tonight."

"Okay." John nodded toward the bathroom. "We need to get you cleaned up."

"Yes, I'd hate to glow with radioactivity."

They worked into the small bathroom and once the water streamed out John stopped. Anna dropped the foil and worked her hands under his clothes to leave him as bare as she was. They stepped under the spray together and once John felt satisfied his hands over her body not only cleaned her but left her relaxed, he started leaving kisses in the trails of water.

She writhed against him, sending water splashing onto the glass walls of the cubicle. John gripped her harder, working her back against the cold tiles of the shower wall, and lifted her with a strong grip on her thighs. Anna immediately wrapped them around him and groaned as John slid his arousal over her.

Her movement caught John by surprise when she took him into her with a twitch of her hips. He gasped, risking a hand on the wall behind her and rested his head on her shoulder to breathe. But her fingers raking in his soaking hair, and the heat between the water and her silky grip on him, left John no choice but to move.

Their position meant John controlled the affair. He dragged his lips and teeth over her, sucking and nibbling at her breasts to hiss in pain-tipped pleasure at the claw marks she left over his shoulders. And when her hand worked between them to help drive them closer to the finish and brushed John, all he could do was succumb to the frenetic frenzy for release.

Breaking first left John only a few moments to work the last drives of his hips into a rolling motion. It caught her hand and drove Anna over the edge as well. They stared at one another until a spit of cold water hit John's back and he twitched. That caused them to slip a moment and the eternity long second equivalent to leaning a chair back too far hit them.

But they righted themselves and giggled before rinsing in the cooling water before John shut it off. They toweled dry and snuggled close under the blankets and sheets they had left in a sorry heap that morning. John did not care about the cold water or the sheets or even the bed they shared. What he cared about, as he stroked the damp strands of blonde hair spreading over the pillow under the head of the sleeping woman beside him, was Anna.

Anna and Ondine, the most important people in his life. Both held tantalizingly close and yet both were so far away. He wanted to keep them both near him, protected, loved, and safe but forces outside his control conspired against that. Forces he needed to fight without knowing where they were from- in Anna's case- or what they were going to do next.

As John gazed at the woman next to him, cuddled to his side like she was made to be there, he realized it did not matter. He would fight whatever, whoever, wherever, and however he needed. He would get Ondine back, he would keep Anna, and they would all be a family together.

John smiled to himself and closed his eyes, he would see that dream be reality.