"You look ridiculous!" Emma chuckled as she opened the door for her boyfriend, not even trying to stifle her laugh.

Ash looked down at his ensemble made up of muck boots, long poncho, hat and umbrella. "I wasn't sure if the rain would pick up again on my way over here! I'd rather explain why I'm dressed for a typhoon during a light drizzle than why I'm flashing my tail for the whole street." He said as he put down the umbrella and began to remove his hat.

"Fair enough," she giggled.

"And the last thing I'd want to do is cancel on Gilbert family dinner night."

"Oh! Today's Tuesday isn't it?"

"Did you forget? That's not really like you Em." He paused in removing the poncho.

"I know. The last few days have just been a lot to take in."

"Oh Emma, is that Ash?" They heard a female voice from the kitchen. Lisa turned the corner drying her hands on a dish towel. "Welcome in. Make yourself at home. I hope you're hungry I've made a special Chicken Parmigiana."

"Mum, he's here every week. You don't have to keep trying to impress him."

"It's called manners Emma. He's still a guest and he deserves proper hospitality."

"Speaking of hospitality…" He reached into the bag he was carrying and pulled out a large seashell. "I know how you love collecting, Mrs. Gilbert. I thought you might like this for your home."

"Oh Ash, it's beautiful! You must have paid a fortune for this!"

"It was really no trouble; you can get them for a fair price if you know where to look." Ash winked at Emma as she looked down stifling a smile.

"Well I have the perfect place to put this. Dinner will be ready once Neil gets back from picking up Elliot."

With that Mrs. Gilbert took the shell upstairs while He and Emma took a seat on the couch.

"So where did you get that shell?"

"I found it out near the drop-off this morning."

"What were you doing all the way out there?"

"Thinking. I love going over the reef, its beautiful. But you go out far enough though and see the vastness of the ocean and you start to feel really small in the world. At the same time, you realize that the world is yours. You realize the world is ours Em? We could probably swim wherever we wanted to: Singapore, India. I bet we could even make it to America."

"You really are taking these changes well." She sighed and turned away from him.

"Hey what's up? What's with that face?"

"I can't help but feel guilty for everything that's happened. Now you have to keep secrets all the time, and lie. You can't even walk out in a drizzle without taking extreme precautions. You're at risk every day!"

"And so are you!" He chuckled endeared by her concern.

"If you hadn't met me, maybe you would still have a normal life…"

"Emma if I hadn't met you, I would be missing out on the greatest thing that has ever happened to me in my life. And I'm not talking about my tail." He smiled at her and he was pleased to see hints of a smile creep onto her face.

"We could still find a way for you to change back."

"And why would I do that? Emma, are you happy being a mermaid?"

She sighed again. "There's a lot I've had to give up. There're risks, and dangers, but yeah, I'm happy. I love being a mermaid."

"Then can you believe that I'm happy too, that I love being a merman?" He took a moment to hold her arms willing her to look at him. "Emma, I have no regrets. I know it wasn't really my choice, but I wouldn't change a thing."

She smiled at him then, a real full smile, and all Ash could feel was the thrumming of his heart as she closed her eyes and leaned in toward him. The kiss was soft and slow, but it was filled with love and trust, laced with the silent promise that he would stand with her no matter what, human or mer.

They pulled apart, but he still couldn't take his eyes off her. "So glad I met you." He mumbled loud enough for her to hear and watching again as her face lit up in genuine joy.

His face changed slightly as he segued, "Actually I've been thinking about that, about us meeting."

She quirked her head a little, visibly curious to see where this was going.

"When we met, I felt… It's hard to describe, but it was like this… energy, pulling or I guess, leading me. I'd never felt anything like it before. You'd leave and it would dim away. Then I'd see you again and I'd feel it strong again."

"What do you think it was?"

"I thought maybe it was because I liked you, but looking back I think there was more too it."

"Why?"

"For one thing, I was so upset after what you did to Rebel. In that moment I had no good feelings for you, but I still felt the energy." He sighed. "I could probably explain it away, but I realize now that it wasn't just around you. I felt it while filling out the application for the JuiceNet before I knew that you worked there."

"That is a little weird."

"Do you know how many places I interviewed for? It was a lot. Most could pay more, offer better training in management, and were closer to school for me, but for whatever reason I was drawn to the JuiceNet."

"You were drawn to me…"

"Em… I think I was drawn to magic." He began to speak quickly as little things started falling into place. "As I got closer to Rikki and Cleo, I felt it on them too. And after you told me everything and you showed me your powers, there was this tingle in my brain, like everything was coming into place. Then then the feeling stopped for a while."

"It stopped… once you knew the secret."

Ash nodded now aware that he was on the cusp of something important.

"Whatever this is, it has to be how you sensed the temple." Emma commented. He could see her coming to a similar conclusion to his own: there was something bigger going on with him.

"Emma... the night we turned..." Ash felt himself pale as the final piece slammed into place. "I was the one who suggested we spend the night by the Moon Pool."

"You mean..."

He could only bring himself to nod.

The two stared at each other for a minute unable to speak. Ash afraid to admit even to himself that the accident that had brought him closer to the girl he loved was probably less of an accident than he had originally thought. He had just told Emma he was happy with the direction his life had taken. Did that change now that he knew someone or something had wanted this to happen?

He didn't have time to think too long over this, because at that moment the front door opened and Mr. Gilbert and Elliot walked in. The interruption quickly reminding them that they now had to sit through dinner pretending everything was normal. 'Then again,' Ash asked himself, 'what was normal anymore?'

The five of them sat down to dinner with Elliot enthusiastically recounting how fun football practice was because of all the mud on the field. (Thankfully Elliot had cleaned himself up before sitting down at the table). Lisa showed Neil the beautiful conch that Ash had given them. And Neil went into a funny anecdote from a client he had that day. Up to this point both he and Emma had remained largely quiet eating the delicious food, still reeling from their discovery.

"So Ash," Neil now directing the conversation toward him. "How are the business classes going?"

"Uh, great sir." Ash spoke unsure of what else to say. He had gone to classes that afternoon, but he hadn't paid much attention at all. Emma was right earlier: this week had been a lot.

"Are you enjoying statistics? I found the real-world math applications to be very interesting."

"Statistics is good, it can be a bit dry at times, but I know that it'll be worth it in the long run." Neil nodded seemingly satisfied with the answer.

Just as Ash began to relax again Lisa chimed in: "So Ash are you intending to stay local for school? Emma's shown interest in Melbourne. We'll support her choice of course, but maybe you can convince her to stay close?"

"Mum!" Emma blushed.

"Truthfully, I don't have much of a set plan. I'm interested in business, but I'd say I'm open to change should the right opportunity arise." He began to feel ease in being able to speak the truth, "I would like to travel at some point, see the world, but I also know that I have responsibilities here right now. It's really about timing." He sighed as he thought about this new truth he was facing: maybe this was all destiny. "I guess I believe that as long as you're being true to yourself whatever ends up happening will be for your best."

Lisa nodded, "That was well said Ash. I like that. Emma maybe it is okay you dating a college boy." she teased.

"Mum!" Emma blushed harder.

Dinner ended pretty quickly after that. Emma walked Ash to the door as the rest of the family began cleaning up. They stepped outside to be greeted with nothing but clear starry skies.

"I'm sorry about that. They like you a lot and I think they're hoping you stick around." Emma apologized.

"You should tell them they don't have to try so hard. I'm in this for the long term."

"Really?" She asked clearly afraid his answer had changed with their discovery.

"Really Em." He sighed, "Maybe someone out there knows more than we do. These last few months with you have been the best of my life, and being mer has only made it better."

He made a point to look her in the eye, "Destiny or not, I choose you, because I love you Emma."

Her lips were on his before he could even resister what was happening. He held her close, his palm to her cheek as the waxing moon shone down from above.

Ash thought then that perhaps it was the great mysteries of life and our place in them that made living all the better.

A/N: Hey Friends!

I'm sorry for the wait, but anyone who's watched the show knows that Ash got very little screen time. Because of this, his perspective is the hardest to write from. I was so sad that neither he nor Emma were a part of the third series. But hopefully this re-imagining makes up for it a bit. :)

In addition, something BIG happens to our crew in a few chapters, but trying to figure out how to fill in the space has been a challenge for me. Don't think we're close to the end, there's a lot more to this story yet to come!

I hope you all are staying safe and healthy right now. See you in the next chapter!

Much Love,

Odd Lady :)