Triton nodded, "I got him, go on, help your wife.", and Eric smiled in relief before diving back down to join Ariel who's wringing in pain, "Is Tazio okay?!".
"He's fine. It's your father. He's got Tazio safely, and they're waiting up there.", Eric reassured her, and Ariel sobbed in relief before crying out in pain from another contraction, and then she gasped, feeling the instinctive urge to push as her vent is visibly open, and she grunted, pushing, her tail twitching furiously, thrusting as Eric held her hand.
This repeated for several minutes before Eric called out, "I see hair! That's it, Ariel! You got it, my love!", and Ariel screamed out in pain as she pushed again, and Eric immediately moved to catch the head as it then slipped out, crying out as Eric saw a spot of scales appear for a moment before it receded back.
Eric laughed heartily, "It's a boy, Ariel!", holding him in his arms, cleaning the scraps of blood off him, and Ariel smiled happily, "A second son...Tazio will be so glad...Go up, Eric, he needs to get his human lungs open as well.".
Eric nodded, swimming up quickly, breaking the surface as the newborn boy then wailed, freeing his human lungs at once, and in the sunlight, their son is having light black hair, not quite ebony or inky black, healthy pale tan skin, having his mama's nose, and remarkably, an exact alike of his grandmother's tail, and his eyes are ice blue.
Triton exhaled in happiness and shock as Tazio cheered, "Tazio got brother!", and Eric smiled at them before softly lowering his new son down under the sea, and yep, he's now attuned to both worlds as Eric swam back to Ariel, "I think your father was a bit surprised by his tail, and Tazio, he's over the moon.", with a chuckle.
Ariel smiled, "I figured.", taking him from Eric as he cried hungrily, and she then fed him, with Eric murmuring softly, "He's so perfect just like his older siblings...", with a smile of love and pride. "He is...Eric, I...I want to name him after Sebastian...I was thinking Bascus...", Ariel whispered.
"Ariel... you can name him after whomever you want.", Eric chuckled. "Bascus is perfect, I'm sure Sebastian would've loved it.". Ariel smiled as she took a few deep breaths. "Is it any worse than Tazio or Melody?", Eric asked her.
Ariel giggled, "No, you're right. And it's not much worse than the times before. Tazio and Melody bear their names with pride, and so this one will do as well...Is that right, Bascus?", and Bascus cooed as he kept suckling.
Eric chuckled warmly, "And to think he got your mother's tail. Genes sure are strong in this family.", and Ariel smiled happily, watching Bascus feed for a bit longer thankfully unlike the first time with Melody and Tazio before Ariel felt the contractions again.
Eric kissed her cheek, "I'll be right back.", taking Bascus in his arms, and Ariel nodded, taking deep breaths as Eric then headed up, swimming, breaking the surface, with a smile as he swam up to Triton, "The second one is coming soon. Here's your grandson, Triton, and sire, Ariel named him after Sebastian...His name is Bascus.".
Triton widened his eyes in awe and surprise as he held his newest grandson in his arms, with Tazio peeking over his arm with wide eyes, and Triton then smiled, "That's perfect...Sebastian would be so honored with it. Thank you for telling me.".
Eric nodded and was about to dive back under when he heard a voice, "Dad, Daddy!", and he looked over to see Melody, in her mermaid form, launching over the rocks with a jump, and collided with Eric, hugging him as he and Melody went underwater.
"Whoa, easy, princess!", Eric laughed as he hugged her. "Nearly broke my back there with that tackle of yours.", with a teasing smile.
"I'm sorry!", Melody was sniffling, obviously filled with so many tears as she buried her face in his chest. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...!".
"It's okay, Melody... we're okay now...", Eric hugged her, kissing her forehead. She obviously was apologizing for the day with Cetus' quick rise and fall.
Melody sniffled, "I nearly thought I lost you and Mom.", looking up at him with tearful eyes, and Eric wiped them away, "But you didn't, and we're all here-", before a cry of pain came, and Eric gasped, "Ariel!", swimming down fast to Ariel, with Melody following.
Ariel panted heavily as she looked at Eric when he approached her, "This one really wants out hard.", before widening her eyes, "Melody!", reaching out to her, and Melody hugged her gently as best as she could yet so firm with the hug, "I'm so sorry, Mom! I didn't mean to go to Cetus!".
"Oh, sweetie, it isn't your fault for wishing so hard for us to be a family again, and Tazio, he's so happy and growing so big, and now, this family is getting bigger with your siblings.", Ariel reassured her with a kiss on her forehead, and Melody smiled weakly, "I can't believe you traveled like this, Mom.".
Ariel smiled, "Well, I had your father to help me, and of course, Tazio kept us company-", before crying out in pain, and Eric urged Melody, "Go up and join your grandfather and brothers.".
"But-", Melody protested, and Eric smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry, Ariel went through this three times already, now go. You may be 12, almost 13, but you're not old enough for things like this.".
Melody nodded with a sigh, and swam up to join the others, with Triton introducing her to Bascus, as Eric then focused on Ariel, "Okay, breathe, Ariel, this is it.", and Ariel took deep breaths before feeling another contraction, feeling the urge to push.
She grunted, pushing as her tail thrusted, flicked furiously and repeatedly for the next several minutes before shouting in pain as Eric called out, "I see the head, it's peeking! You can do this, Ariel!".
Ariel took a huge deep breath, and pushed, screaming out in pain as the head and shoulders came through, with Eric catching the baby as it slipped out, and he saw a small vent appear and disappear, announcing, "We got a daughter, Ariel! It's a baby girl!", with a wide smile as the merbaby cried out.
Ariel sobbed happily, taking deep breaths as she pushed out the afterbirths, and she nodded at Eric, "Go on, take her up.", and Eric smiled, swimming up, breaking the surface as the newborn baby girl wailed, taking in the fresh air in her human lungs, and in the sunlight, she got strawberry blonde hair, tan skin, Eric's nose and dimples, and her eyes are ocean blue. Her tail is lavender purple.
"What an angel you are...", Eric chuckled as he took a deep breath and waited a few moments before bringing him and her under the waters again and swimming over to Ariel. "Take a look, Ariel... she's beautiful.".
Ariel smiled happily as she now sat against a rock, "She is...", as Eric put her in Ariel's arms, their newborn daughter snuggling into her as she latched into her first meal, suckling.
Eric chuckled as he sat next to her, "You alright now?", and Ariel nodded, "More than ever...Oh, Eric, we are going to be busy...but I wouldn't regret a moment of this...I am so happy again...Having Tazio with us on the journey was the start of healing my heart...and now...", giving out a happy sob, kissing Eric on the cheek.
"It's okay, Ariel... it's all alright...", Eric assured her as he brushed her cheek. "We're back home now, we're safe... and clearly Cetus has been defeated...".
"I hope that's it... I don't want to keep looking over my shoulder for the next monster that wants us destroyed because of our love.", Ariel replied hopefully.
"Grandfather is absolutely sure of it. And Cetus is dead, along with his minions.", a firm voice spoke as they looked up to see Melody swimming down to join them, a smile on her face as she held Bascus, with Tazio at her side.
"I certainly hope so...", Eric nodded as he took a deep breath. "But let's not think of all that right now... let's focus on the now... we're parents once more... and we're all reunited.". Melody quickly swam up to Ariel and took her in a hard hug. "Easy, Melody, she's only just given birth still...".
Melody blushed, "Sorry!", and Ariel smiled warmly, "It's okay. You know, I think you have your turn to name your sister.", as she took Bascus from her, feeding him as well.
"Are you sure?", Melody asked as her parents nodded. "Okay, well, part of me thought maybe it was to be similar to my own name? Melody, Harmony and then I was thinking maybe the Italian form of it, Armonia.", Melody suggested. "I'm sure you two have come up with way better ones these past few months than me...", Melody glanced away and blushed.
Eric smiled softly as Ariel looked at their newborn daughter, "She's a part of harmony...Arcadia...I remember Menelaos telling me that it means 'harmony with nature', which is perfect as she is part of land and sea...", smiling tenderly with love as she kissed the little curls of her baby's strawberry blonde hair.
"So, I was right.", Melody smirked as Eric rubbed her head. "You picked a wonderful name, Melody. Truly wonderful.", Eric assured her as Ariel took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Tired?", Eric asked.
"Very much... the long journey while carrying and birthing the twins... I think I'm going to sleep straight for a week when we get back home.", Ariel gave a light chuckle.
Tazio spoke, "Basi, Ada?", and Melody giggled, "It's Arcadia for our new sister, but nice try.".
Eric chuckled, "Don't worry, Tazio, I think your nicknames for them is perfect. Basi for Bascus and Ada for Arcadia. Soon, you will say their names properly in time, my little tyke.", ruffling Tazio's hair as he smiled widely.
Ariel giggled softly before asking, "Where's Daddy?", and Melody replied, "Grandfather is heading back to Tirulia to tell Attina...I saw him leaving from Atlantica when I was visiting for a bit. Attina has been lots of help, being temporarily regent of Tirulia...I really tried to take care of the kingdom, Daddy...but it's so hard!".
"I did warn you about it.", Eric said. "It's a heavy burden to take, especially in our position with our kingdom. Not as large where many eye us suspiciously and plan against us... but not big enough to the point where if someone wants to conquer us; we'd have the odds greatly against us."
"I know.", Melody nodded. "I'm glad I had Attina, I couldn't do this on my own... at least maybe not as I am right now.".
Ariel smiled, "Well, don't worry, you'll be back to your princess status shortly enough...After all, we have three other children who would see their paths to decide in doing what they want to do...", and Melody smiled happily, relieved to hear that.
Eric chuckled warmly, "Still, it will be a while to see what you have done so far and resume my status back as it should be...I may be almost 33, but I still got plenty of fire in myself to take care of my kingdom until the others are old enough to decide if one of them wants to take over from me...".
"You wouldn't be mad if I wanted to be a mermaid almost all the time?", Melody asked hesitantly, and Ariel smiled reassuringly at her, "Melody, sweetheart, you can be a mermaid anytime you want. Cetus's gone now, and somehow, I am not worried anymore as I feel like I'm content now with all of you, all this remarkable family...", gazing upon her family with happiness, love.
Eric chuckled, "Your mother's right. Human or mermaid, you'll always be our wonderful, brave daughter.", and Melody grinned happily. And so, the newfound, reunited family rested and ate before they heard a muffled bell sound, and Eric swam up to check it out before dunking his head back down, "Triton brought my ship! Come on!".
The family swam up, breaking the surface, and sure enough, one of Eric's sailing ships came near, but not too near, and Triton smiled, using his trident to use a wave to help the family over the rocks without lugging their tails up and shuffling over, and once Ariel, Eric, and Melody got into the lifeboat at the side of the ship, they turned back to human, thanks to their bracelets, with Triton using the trident to turn Tazio and the twins to human, and with careful climbing on the ladder, the family got into the deck where Attina is instantly hugging Ariel with joy as Grimsby and Carlotta reunited with Eric happily, with Max barking excitedly between the couple, sniffling the new arrivals of the family with no trouble.
"You're still alive, you old mutt?", Eric shook his head. "I swear, you're gonna outlast this whole family at this rate.", Eric teased as he rubbed the old dog's head.
"Max really was sad with you guys missing... he would tend to be on the balcony and lay down, watching any ships come and go. I honestly thought a few times he... passed on in the night with how little he moved sometimes.", Melody explained.
Grimsby couldn't help letting a few tears go as he smiled at Eric, squeezing his shoulder, "I really have missed you, Eric. And you're a father again! Goodness gracious, it makes me feel like a grandfather!", with a watery laugh.
Carlotta blubbered and sobbed as she wringed her apron to wipe her tears, "We have missed you so much, Eric! And oh, Queen Ariel, they look so beautiful and so healthy!", falling in love over the sight of the new prince and princess.
Ariel smiled warmly, "We missed you too, Carlotta. This one is Bascus and our girl here, her name is Arcadia. And Tazio is growing big already.", as she saw Tazio trying to walk and wobble on the deck, with Melody watching him.
"Oh, what perfect names, Ariel! And I can't believe you all made it in one piece!", Attina sobbed happily, and Ariel smiled, "Thanks, Attina, and thank you for helping Melody...We have been proud of her, but I think it's time to let her go be happy, and for you to head back to Atlantica.".
Attina chuckled warmly, "Indeed...Don't get me wrong, Tirulia is amazing, and being human is quite more similar than I originally thought, yet I kept getting surprised...I learned so much...I now am confident to be queen of Atlantica...".
Eric squeezed her shoulder warmly, "And we appreciate it, Attina. We probably will try to see to visiting Atlantica for the ceremony and all, but this will be quite some busy time to take care of things first.", and Attina nodded, "I understand. We will have a huge family reunion sometime, but I agree with you...Ariel sure looks quite tired, is that right, sis?".
Ariel nodded, "Yeah. I sure am. I am so ready to sleep in our old bed...Poseidon, we don't have a nursery for the twins!", with a gasp, and Carlotta reassured her, "Oh, don't worry, Ariel, when we heard the news that you were pregnant, we had suspicions that it might be twins...Sure, it would have been one, but we tend to do more than we need to. So, the old nursery next to the master bedroom is all cleaned up and already...Of course, I honestly thought you'd give birth in the lagoon or something...".
"Instincts, Carlotta...The lagoon would have been too late and too far, and this was the safest place I ever held to memory and stories.", Ariel replied softly with a smile, and Grimsby nodded, "Ah, that makes sense. And we have a little prince's room reserved for Tazio as well.", with a chuckle as he glanced at Tazio being licked by Max.
Eric exhaled in relief, "Thanks, Grim, and thanks, Carlotta. Captain, let's go home!", and the captain saluted happily, "Aye, King Eric!", and the ship sailed away from the islet cove, heading home to Tirulia.
"Almost untouched.", Eric said as he and Ariel walked into their bedroom; after certainly the whirlwind of events of returning to the kingdom, much to the joy of their subjects. Melody and Attina certainly kept things fairly well in order thankfully though there would be quite a bit of time to be taken up to reorganize and catch up on what the couple had missed after many long months.
Ariel smiled happily, "Indeed. Almost like we had never left, yet we did...and now we're back with a bigger family...", kissing his cheek.
Eric laughed warmly, "I think our lives has changed for the better, my love, and now, with a few feet running in the palace in due time, the palace will be filled with laughter and love...And like you said, I'd never regret a moment of it all, especially with you, Ariel...", kissing her on the lips.
"Oh, Eric...Crazy to think what we have come so far...Yet it's not finished yet.", Ariel chuckled, and Eric smiled tenderly, "Yes, we have a long time to live our lives...", before blinking in confusion and surprise, "What are you doing?", seeing Ariel remove her dress.