a/n: hi friends! welcome to my version of season four of h2o. (insert heart emoji here)
i hope you enjoy! please let me know what you think. kiss kiss.
chapter one.
the switch up.
Cool seawater lapped against Cleo Sertori's sun-kissed skin and orange scales. Though it was already shaping up to be a scorching day on the Gold Coast, the early morning sun had yet to warm the water in the Moon Pool. A little shiver ran through her. Despite her love of hot chocolate and electric blankets and all things cozy, Cleo wasn't a fan of the cold.
"Didn't the reef look gorgeous this morning?" She asked.
If Cleo had her way, she'd spend every waking moment of her day swimming along the vibrant reef that lived in the waters just off of Mako Island. It teemed with so much life that, early in the morning, it almost seemed to glow with color in the first rays of sunlight.
Next to her, Emma nodded in agreement. "It really did. Did you see the new baby clownfish near that big anemone? There had to be fifty of them."
"I did! They were so cute. It kind of makes me want to get Hector a girlfriend."
Emma lifted a perfectly sculpted brow. "A girlfriend, Cleo?"
"Yes, Emma," Cleo retorted, playfully splashing her with her hand. "A girlfriend. I think Hector deserves a little love, don't you? I could raise his babies! I'd just have to buy him a bigger tank and a new filtration system."
"Speaking of buying things," Emma said. "Do you still want to go to Sydney next weekend? Flights are a lot cheaper during the week, especially Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so if you still want to we should probably get our tickets soon."
Sydney! With how busy university has kept her, Cleo had almost forgotten. She loved visiting the city, despite her fear of flying. It was a short flight from Brisbane to Sydney, just a little over an hour and a half, but Cleo hated it nevertheless—flying sent her anxiety through the roof.
"Yes, definitely," Cleo said. "Since Lewis and I's anniversary is coming up, I've got to get a new outfit. Something … romantic."
If she were nothing else, Cleo Sertori was a hopeless romantic.
Emma smiled. "Romantic, huh? This is going to be your guys' second year, right?"
Two years together. Cleo's heart could've burst with joy at the thought. She and Lewis had been together and in love for a full two years.
"Yup, two years."
Emma grinned coyly. "Do I hear wedding bells in the near future?"
Cleo's heart leapt in her chest. Her cheeks went pink. "I hope so! I can't wait to marry him."
She meant it with her whole heart. There was nothing in the world she wanted more than to be Mrs. Cleo McCartney.
"I know," Emma replied. "You've been saying that since we were twelve."
Cleo splashed Emma again, who splashed her in return.
"Well, I've got to get going," Emma said reluctantly. "But I'll ask Bella about Sydney when I get to work. We're both stuck waitressing on the patio today so I've got to get us extra sunscreen."
Cleo winced – Though Emma didn't complain about it too much, Bella had no problem letting everyone know how much she hated working the patio at Hurricane's Grill and Bar.
"Don't forget sunscreen on the back of your neck," Cleo said. "I'll text you later."
Emma slipped beneath the waves and swam off. With a smile, Cleo followed her out of the Moon Pool. She had time for one more swim over the reef before she had to meet up with Lewis.
...
Rikki groaned into her pillow. It was too damn early to be awake. She hadn't opened her eyes yet, but she still knew it was too early. Next to her, Zane continued to snore like an old, rusted chainsaw, deep in the throes of blissful slumber.
She yawned and stretched one of those deep, long full body stretches that make a person shudder in delight. As tired as she was, she'd slept like the dead the night before. Afterward Rikki sat up, yawned once more, then forced herself out of bed. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and glanced around, searching for her favorite robe. She spotted it on the floor at the end of the bed in a crumpled heap. Rikki grabbed it, wrapped it around her bare body, and headed to the kitchen.
Some mornings, mornings like this one, the beautiful apartment she shared with Zane didn't quite feel real. Rikki had spent so much of her life pinching every penny, always wondering where her next meal would come from, if she and her dad could make rent from month to month … To finally have financial stability, to have an apartment instead of a run-down trailed in the sketchy outskirts of town, felt surreal. And to get to live with her boyfriend? Even more surreal. Though she struggled to show it on the outside, Rikki was more grateful than words could ever express.
Rikki navigated the kitchen on autopilot. She pulled the pot out of the coffee maker and carefully filled it with water while her mind drifted to what she had to get done today, which admittedly wasn't much. The cafe was closed for minor remodeling—they were having the paint touched up and the tables upgraded—so she and Zane both had the week off. As much as she enjoyed being off work, a part of her worried about their finances. Could they afford to take a week off? Their budget said they could, and Zane reassured her three different times, but a part of Rikki still worried.
Once the pot was full, she popped open the top of the coffee maker and began to pour the water into the reservoir—but nothing came out. Frowning, she looked inside the pot. Was there a crack in the glass? Had the water leaked out?
Her stomach dropped. Cold crept up the back of her neck.
The water inside the coffee pot was frozen solid. There was even ice on the handle. Rikki nearly dropped the damn thing. She quickly set it on the counter and rubbed her eyes again, convinced she was seeing things. But no. The water remained a solid block of ice.
She'd frozen the water. Like Emma.
Rikki extended her hand and tried to heat the water. Nothing happened.
Panic began to rise within her. There wasn't a full moon last night. Nor the night before. And one wasn't coming for another couple of weeks. What the hell was happening?
Rikki rushed back to the bedroom and grabbed her phone from where it was charging on her nightstand. Zane still slept soundly, snoring away. She headed back into the kitchen and called Cleo. Hopefully her powers hadn't switched up too.
...
No matter how often Cleo brought Lewis lunch at the sprawling, beautiful Gold Coast University Hospital, she always got lost on her way to the cafeteria. It took her fifteen minutes—and the directions of two kind nurses—to find her way this time. But getting to bring Lewis a home-cooked lunch and eat with him was more than worth the trouble.
Sitting across from her, Lewis looked as handsome as ever. Maybe she was biased, but he was the only man she'd ever seen look good in a pair of dark navy scrubs. He'd be a good doctor, she thought, if his heart weren't so tethered to the sea.
"How's your day been?" She asked.
"Not too bad," He replied around a mouthful of alfredo fettuccine; Cleo knew he had to eat fast or he might not get to eat at all. "A little busier than usual. That flood over Frank Street brought in a few car wreck patients."
Not too bad was Lewis' usual answer. Cleo assumed "not too bad" was as good as it could get while working with people who were sick and injured. He was working as a nursing assistant in Gold Coast University Hospital's emergency department. His mother, Dr. McCartney, worked a handful of floors up—She'd been the one to let him know a job was opening up.
The McCartney name carried a lot of weight in the hospital. Not just in Gold Coast University Hospital, but in most of the others on the Sunshine Coast too. His mother had to be one of the most, if not the most, beloved physicians on Australia's eastern coast. She was a pediatric and neonatal surgeon. She saved babies before they were even born. Lewis seemed to be following the same track, even as a nursing assistant.
Cleo admired them both.
"Is everyone okay?" She asked.
Lewis nodded. "For the most part. Only one went up to the Critical Care Unit."
Cleo began to respond, but was cut off by the ringing of her phone.
"It's Rikki," She said. "Give me just a second."
Lewis quirked a grin and shoved another mouthful of pasta into his mouth.
Cleo answered the call. "Hey, Rikki! What's up?"
"Where are you?" Rikki asked hurriedly.
Her frantic, worried tone surged Cleo's anxiety. Rikki wasn't one to worry easily. Something bad must've happened.
"Having lunch with Lewis at the hospital," Cleo said. "Is everything okay?"
Rikki took a deep, steadying breath on the other end of the line. "I froze water this morning. I was making coffee and all the water in the pot turned to ice. I tried to melt it but my power didn't work."
What? Cleo's mind couldn't quite comprehend what Rikki was saying. It'd been almost three years since they'd had any problems with their powers and abilities.
"You … froze water? Like Emma?"
"Exactly like Emma! And my power doesn't work anymore! Something is going on, Cleo. I don't know what but … something."
Cleo's head spun. Something bad was definitely happening. "Okay, okay. Give me a few minutes and I'll meet you at your place, okay? We'll figure this out. Text Emma and Bella too."
"I'm on it," Rikki said. "Bye, Cleo."
Cleo ended the call and looked at Lewis in disbelief.
"Is everything okay?" He asked.
"I don't know," Cleo said honestly. "Rikki said her power doesn't work anymore. She accidentally froze a pot of water this morning."
Lewis frowned. "She froze it? And her power isn't working?"
Cleo shrugged. " I don't know what's going on. If you don't mind, I'm gonna head—"
The shrill beeping from Lewis' pager cut Cleo off. His frown deepened as he read it.
"Another car wreck," He said quickly. "Thanks for lunch. It was delicious— I have to go. We'll talk later, okay?" He gave her a quick kiss. "Love you!"
"Love you!" She called as she sprinted off.
In the distance, she saw a handful of nurses running in the same direction.
Cleo wasn't particularly religious, but whispered a quiet prayer for whoever the patient was anyway.
...
"I just don't understand," Cleo said for the fifth time in as many minutes. "It isn't a full moon. And if it were, it's only three in the afternoon … Not even close to moonrise."
And my problems started this morning, Rikki thought. She knew Cleo struggled with anxiety from time to time, and she knew Cleo's rambling was just her trying to make sense of things, but Rikki could feel her irritation growing. No amount of talking and questioning and ruminating would fix the issue. She loathed to admit it but … they needed Lewis. After a little research, he'd probably have a place to start, at the very least.
"Maybe this is normal," Zane, who was sitting next to Rikki at their kitchen table, suggested. "I mean … We don't know anything about mermaids aside from what's already happened to you. Maybe this is just part of being half fish."
Hm. Zane had an … okay point. As he said, they didn't know anything about mermaids aside from what had already happened to them. Maybe this was normal. Or maybe something very strange and very bad was happening. There was just no way to know.
"Have you tried your power yet?" Rikki asked.
Cleo shook her head. "No. I rushed over here so fast I didn't even think to try."
Zane pushed his glass of ice water across the table. "Do your damndest."
Rikki could tell Cleo was nervous as she watched Cleo attempt to manipulate Zane's ice water. A few seconds passed, then a full minute, then two. Nothing happened. Cleo's eyes flooded with tears. She opened her hand wider, moved her fingers a little quicker, pulled them in a little tighter.
On the kitchen counter, the small cactus Zane insisted they buy burst into flames.
Cleo gasped. As she did, the fire burned brighter and doubled in size.
Zane leapt up and raced to put out the fire. He smothered the flames with a small dish towel then set the little potted cactus in the sink. He ran water over it, just to be safe.
"Holy shit." He said. "Jesus."
Holy Shit is right.
"You've got my power." Rikki said.
She glanced away from Zane and back at Cleo. Cleo looked absolutely terrified.
"I'm sorry." Cleo all but whispered. "I'm so sorry."
"Hey, hey," Rikki said. "It's okay, Cleo. Seriously. That thing was like … eight dollars. It's no big deal."
She knew it wasn't the cactus Cleo was upset about.
"It's gonna' be okay," Zane said, returning to the table. "Look, hang out here until Lewis gets off work. I'll text him and have him meet us here. Rikki can text Emma and Bella. We'll put our heads together and figure it out, okay?"
"Okay." Cleo said quietly.
Rikki could tell Cleo was skeptical. She couldn't blame her. She was too.
next update at three reviews.
i'm really sorry to do this to you guys, but due to a lack of engagement (not just toward my stories, but toward the stories of other really amazing h2o fic writers as well) i have to bring back the old next update at... rule. i hope you guys understand. and thank you for reading! (insert heart emoji here)