Rob and Lauren sat at their kitchen table reading the newspaper. It was hard to focus, though; their minds were somewhere else.

Lauren set her newspaper down with a sigh. She looked over at her husband. "This is hopeless."

Not even looking up from his paper, Rob said, "What is it, dear?"

Lauren pushed down her spouse's paper. He looked up to see her irritated face. "Quit trying to act like nothing is happening when we both know that is not the case."

Rob sat down his newspaper and gave his full attention to his wife.

Lauren sat back in her chair. "What do you think they will do?"

Rob sighed. "Honestly, I don't know. It a choice they have to make for themselves. We don't have any control over this. We just have to let the twins know that we love them."

Lauren folded her arms on the table and put her chin on them. She closed her eyes. "We've had Zac since he was a year old. We watched him grow up. You taught him how to shave and I taught him how to drive. We gave him advice about Evie. We've gone to every single one of his swim competitions and traveled the country with him. Zac may not be blood, but he is our son." She paused. "And Mimmi- we've only known her for so long, but she is part of our family. She is our daughter and we love her. Sure, we weren't there when she took her first steps... er swim, but Nerissa wasn't there to help her grow up either. Mimmi barely remembered her. She grew up with stories about her mother. And now, both of our children might leave us."

Rob put a hand on his wife's shoulder. "We can fight this. We could go to court!"

Lauren scoffed and looked up. "Just imagine how that would go. We are here to fight for legal custody of our adopted son again and we just learned that he is from an ancient race of merfolk. His twin sister is a mermaid and now their magical mother is here to claim them. We would either be thrown out or put into straitjackets and thrown into a mental institution. The children would then go to Nerissa or, God forbid, they would be exposed and experimented on. No thanks. "

Rob sighed again. "You're right. And I don't think that the mermaids have a fair council."

Their thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. The two adults looked at each other. Who would be here on a Monday morning? Zac was at school and Mimmi was supposed to be collecting ingredients for her latest experiment. Zac told them that it was to take her way beyond the reef and in the middle of the ocean. She wouldn't be back for a long time.

It could be a patient of Rob's who wanted to make a house visit. Rob did tell his secretary to move his appointments for today to a later time, as he family business to attend to.

A sharp knock sounded a second time. Rob got up to open it. He was greeted by a raven-haired Nerissa. Her bright blue eyes met his.

"Hello, Rob," She greeted.

Rob took a step back in disbelief, his mouth dropping open. It took him a few moments to pull himself back to reality.

"Nerissa? What on earth are you doing here?"

Nerissa smiled. "I'm sorry to drop by unannounced, but I thought it was about time that we talked."

Rob blinked a few times. "Of course," he said, opening the door wider and stepping aside. "Come in, come in."

As she entered, Nerissa looked around the house. Her eyes gazed at the pictures of Zac on the table by the door. She bent down and picked a frame up. It showed Zac at the age of four at the beach. Rob and Lauren had their arms around him and they were all smiling widely.

"That was the day Zac decided that he wanted to start swimming," Lauren said, walking up behind Nerissa. Nerissa smiled and turned around to greet Lauren.

Lauren looked down at the photo. "He saw some young boys swimming in the water and they were going very fast. Zac turned to me and said "Mummy, I want to swim like them. I want to be as fast as a dolphin." So, we put him in classes the next week and he fell in love," She reminisced, looking up to meet Nerissa's curious eyes. "I guess swimming is in his blood."

Nerissa smiled and put the frame back on the table. The Blakely's brought her to the table and they sat down. Awkward silence filled the room.

"So," Lauren started. "Can I get you anything to drink? I can add salt to water if you want…" She stopped herself. "And I just remembered that you don't drink salt water, just swim in it." She went over and picked up a thin book. She started to leaf through it. "Mimmi brought over this mermaid cookbook that Principal Santos had and I have yet to use. I could try to make something, but…" she squinted. "I don't think we have Ecklonia radiata in the fridge and I don't think it's something I can find in the store."

Nerissa laughed. "I'm fine for the moment. Come, sit down."

Lauren obeyed and sat down next to her husband.

Nerissa inhaled deeply and began to talk. "It would seem like I have made a bad first impression, but I want you to know that I have no intention of separating you from the twins."

Rob and Lauren stared at her. "You don't?" Lauren asked.

Nerissa shook her head, her black hair flying. "Of course not. I have seen with my own eyes how much they have flourished here, and I don't want that to end. Though I didn't mean for this to be a permanent living situation, I see now they are as much your kids as mine; maybe even a bit more. I can see now that both of my… er, our children have made a life here. I know it wasn't fair of me to assume that they would come with me. I just kind of hoped they would. I see how unfair it would be to take away everything they know once again. I don't want to make Mimmi move away from her family for a second time. If they want to stay, then they have my full blessing."

Silence filled the room as the two land people processed the news. Rob spoke first.

"Wow Nerissa, I don't know what to say."

"I do," Lauren interjected. "Thank you. Thank you for not separating me from my children. But why the change of heart?"

Nerissa shrugged. "I know what it's like to have your child taken away from you. I wouldn't want to inflict that pain on another mother."

"But won't you have to feel that pain again?" questioned Rob.

Nodding, Nerissa said "At least this time, I know that I will see my children again. When I left Zac and Mimmi here the first time, it felt like I was saying goodbye. I had to keep hoping that I would see them again, but I wasn't sure. I did have to believe that they would find their way back to the Northern Pod when they were ready, and I see now that they are not."

Lauren did something that surprised Nerissa. She got out of her chair and gave her a hug. Nerissa hugged back tightly.

"You have no idea how much this means to me," Lauren whispered in the mermaid's ear.

"Just keep them safe and happy," Nerissa whispered back.

As Lauren pulled away, she brushed a tear off her own cheek. "We will. And we will come visit you and the Northern Pod. You will see the twins again soon. This time, you are not saying goodbye forever."

Nerissa nodded. "In brighter news, do you know that Mimmi has a boyfriend?"

"What?" Rob screeched, sending the two girls into laughter.

I'm back!

Yes, I did look up seaweed that was native to Australia. I had a map up and everything.

See, Nerissa was never the villain. Don't worry, I already have a villain in mind…

I'm deciding to take a break from the drama and add some fluffy stuff. So, get ready for another date with Chris and Mimmi!

Hoped you like it. Sorry for being so infrequent. I start school very soon. Let me adjust and find my rhythm and I'll be back to writing in no time.

Thanks for reading!

~Moonlight Mermaids