A Wish on a Full Moon

Hey, guys. Just wanted to let you know that I have a new story out called Heads or Tails: Book 1-Arin's Tale. If you like Avatar: The Last Airbender or/and Legend of Korra you should check it out. It should be in the crossover section. And although it's in that section, it's not exactly a crossover. It focuses mostly on LOK (long after the series), but it does have some references and a few characters from ATLA eventually in the Heads or Tails series. I know it doesn't sound like much but I promise it gets better. I've been working on it for a year now and am just so excited that it's finally posted :D. So yeah guys, if you like to check it out please.

Also thank you all so much for reading this story, following, reviewing and etc. We have over 100 followers now, almost 100 in favorites and almost 200 reviews! This is amazing guys, I never thought it would get this big. You guys are awesome! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter! 3

I do not own H2O: Just Add Water or any of the characters.

Chapter 51: One Case Closed, Another One Opened

Some people enjoy the silence. The quiet and peacefulness was relaxing to most. Others would find the atmosphere as the complete opposite. Rikki was one of those people.

The silence of the theater room was already a bit awkward to the young mermaid. Add in the fact that she was about to talk to her father about her boyfriend, and it upgrades to unbearably awkward. They both stood there, staring at each other with their arms crossed, as the tension only grew. Rikki bit her lip in thought, wondering who was going to address the elephant in the room first. She would so much love to get this done and over with, but with her stubborn streak, there was no way she was going to break it now. Luckily, she didn't have to wait for long, as Terry let out a sigh.

"So … Zane, huh?" Terry finally spoke. Rikki looks down, hoping that a blush wasn't showing right now. Whether from embarrassment or the mention of him, it didn't matter. "Yup. Me and Zane," she replied in an uneasy tone. "So, you two did date?" Terry asked as if he were making sure it was clear. Rikki jabs a thumb at the screen and nods. "You saw the same thing we did, dad. Yeah, we dated." "Even during the whole mermaid hunt?" "Yes, dad. Even during that," Rikki nods in confirmation.

"Rikki, that's too much of a risk to be dating him. For both you and your friends," Terry said. "I know that. I know of the risk, and I've been taking risks for months now. Emma and Cleo were okay with it eventually and we always kept him from getting any closer," Rikki mentions. For a time at least. "And besides, it was good for the secret too. To be able to keep tabs on him, and who would suspect a mermaid hunter dating a mermaid? No clues would have led to me. It's a win-win for everyone. I get to date him, and the secret stayed within our little circle," she adds.

Terry sighs. "But what about the secret, didn't he find that out?" He did recall that Zane had raised his hand at the beginning of this whole adventure. Rikki looks away for a moment. No point in lying, he knows the answer already. "Yeah, he knows."

"But what if he blurts it out again, just like he did a few minutes ago onscreen? What if he goes and tells the whole world?" Terry asks in a worried tone as he takes a step closer to her. "He didn't when he found out. And he won't," Rikki said in a reassuring matter. Terry shakes his head in disbelief and sits down in a seat on the bottom row of the theater room and puts his head in his hands. "I'm not so sure about this."

Rikki goes and sits down next to him. She knew this wasn't going to be easy, it was a challenge to ever get her dad to change his mind. "Dad, you've seen it for yourself. He is good." Terry chuckles lightly and looks at her. "Yeah, when he wants to be. But he's also trying to hunt you three down." "Hmm, technically it's only Emma he's hunting down. And even then, he doesn't know it's her due to her Ariel wanna-be phase," Rikki grinned. "You're not helping," Terry said, giving her a stern look.

Rikki sighs. "It was a mistake, okay? A big misunderstanding –." "A misunderstanding that can cost you your life if you're not careful," Terry cuts in. "He just wanted answers," Rikki countered before smiling. "He's actually really sweet and caring. And he likes me for me. When he found out our secret, all he wanted to do was help us. He kept the secret."

And that's what Rikki loved about him. Deep down, hidden inside that spoiled rich kid was a sweet and caring young man that cared for her. Because he likes her for her and nothing else.

"Are you two still together?" Terry asks, pulling the mermaid out of her thoughts. Rikki sighs and leans forward in her seat. Truth be told, she didn't want to tell him due to the risk of it getting back to Cleo and Emma. They were not ready to find out yet. But she also doesn't want to lie to her dad anymore. Not after their big reveal. Plus, with how things were going, she had a feeling everyone would be finding out soon enough.

"Yes, we are still together. Now we've had our ups and downs, but we've worked it out," Rikki finally admitted while looking him in the eyes. Terry returns the look. "And you're sure about this?"

Rikki grabs his hand and smiles. "I wouldn't be with him still if I weren't."

Terry grew quiet for a moment and Rikki began to think that maybe it was a mistake to admit this all to him. That he would make her break up with him or never see him again or something. Until she heard laughter.

She looks back up at him to see a smile on his face. "That's all I needed to hear." Rikki returns the smile; her excitement growing inside at her father's approval and hugs him. "But if he hurts you, it's game over for him," Terry says as he returns the hug. Rikki laughs. "Alright, alright." The two sit there for a moment, the silence filling the room again until Terry suggests they go to bed.

As the two get up, another thought pops into Rikki's head. "Oh, by the way, please don't tell Emma and Cleo that Zane and I are still together. I haven't exactly told them yet," Rikki winced as they walked together side by side towards the dorms. Terry laughs and shakes his head. "Goodnight, sweetheart." Rikki smiled. She didn't have to hear a yes or no answer. For she knew he wouldn't say a thing.

Inside the Gilbert's dorm, they had their own form of quietness. The only sound that could be heard was from Elliot brushing his teeth inside the closed bathroom. The silence, although not awkward, was very tense, which was mainly coming from the husband as he sat hunched over on the bed, staring at the wall opposite of him. And that tense atmosphere soon transformed into annoyance the more Neil Gilbert kept tapping his foot on the floor. This annoyance came from the wife, who was preparing the beds, as she was tired of his rapid foot tapping. He was anxious, that was clear as day. From what, she had no clue. But if she had to hear the beat of his foot a second longer, she might snap.

"Dear, will you please calm down. If you keep doing that, you're going to get a cramp," Lisa warns, hoping this will get him to stop and to open up what he's been thinking about. Neil shakes his head, still staring ahead at the wall. "How can I calm down after what we just witnessed? He's trying to hunt down our daughter!" Lisa puts a finger to her lips and shushes him. "Quiet down! We don't need to scare Elliot," she says in a lower tone.

Lisa lets out a sigh before continuing, pausing in her work on fixing the sheets. "Listen, honey, I was nervous too. And I still am. But Emma has assured us before that they had handled it; we need to trust her. Maybe they talked to him about it since he knows." "But that's the thing, Lisa. He knows!" Neil exclaims, throwing his hands up in frustration. "And we know too. There were bound to be others that found out before us. Take Lewis as an example. And besides, Emma's not even worried about it from the looks of things, maybe we shouldn't be either," Lisa mentions. "But Emma has the upper hand. After all, she's lived through that stuff, so she knows what's going on," Neil points out. Lisa gives him a look before replying.

"Even so, if Zane did find out that it was them he was hunting, I highly doubt he would do anything to them. He might act like a jerk occasionally, but he's a good kid deep down. He has a soft spot, especially for Rikki it seems like," she says. Neil sighs and lowers his head into the palm of his hand, looking downcast. "I suppose you're right." Lisa would've thought it was over, a smile almost on her face too until she notices that he was still tapping his foot nervously. She lets out a breath and tries not to roll her eyes at her husband.

"What now?" "It's just … Zane knows," Neil said, finally looking at her. "Yes, Neil, we've done been over this. Zane knows," Lisa repeats with a slight bit of sarcasm. "Exactly, he knows. But how does he know?" Neil said as he slowly stood from the bed. Lisa looks at the now finished bed before shrugging. "Like I said before, they must have told him." Neil shakes his head and paces back and forth slowly.

"No, I don't think so. They wouldn't tell someone this so easily. I mean look how long it took for them to tell us. They wouldn't just tell anybody, least of all a mermaid hunter. If they did, it would have been under drastic measures. If I had to guess, it has something to do with that scientist."

Lisa chuckles. The theories he comes up with can be so dramatic. "Don't be silly." "Think about it, Lisa!" Neil exclaims, flailing his hands around.

"Emma told us the first go around that they got involved in something big with that marine biologist and was caught. A marine biologist, honey. A scientist isn't going to go off researching from some fairy tale. They research pure facts and evidence. She had to get that information from somewhere. What if it was from Zane?"

Lisa felt a shiver down her spine at the thought before she remembers something from their talk as well. "Emma also said that him and Lewis saved them." "Then it had to be after he found out, otherwise how would he know that it was them that needed saving," Neil theorizes. Lisa shakes her head. "It still doesn't add up." Neil sighs and stands still from his pacing, looking at her. "That's because we're missing something." Lisa puts her hands on her hip, feeling a bit frustrated with this nonsense. "Like what?" Neil shrugs then rubs his chin in thought. "I don't know. Whatever it is, is a big chunk of the story. Maybe a picture or a cell sample or something. Or …," Neil adds as he looks back at her, making her even more confused.

"Or we're missing someone."

Speaking of the little marine demon, she too sat on her bed in thought. She kept wondering about the past few days. How they got there, all the magic they had discovered about the girls, the fun little adventures and lessons they learned, Mrs. Chatham, and so much more. But one thing she did ponder, was what she was going to do when the viewing caught up to her part of the story, and how it was going to objectify her. Whether it was going to view her as a villain, which no doubt in the girls view it is, or an eager scientist who heard nothing but fame and fortune calling for her. What was the difference?

She was too greedy, too eager to think about what she was doing. Too confident to think about her consequences and what it would cost her and the girls. But now she regrets it all. It cost her reputation as a scientist, it cost her friends and coworkers, and it almost took everything away from her due to her regretful choices. But it wasn't nearly as much as what the girls had lost. When they had jumped in the moonpool and lost their powers, they lost a part of themselves. It cost them their memories, their friendship, their future. It cost them their lives. They had to change themselves, who they were, because of her. She was just too blind to see it.

Leaning against her bedframe, watching the scientist scramble her thoughts, was Bev. She too had a lot on her mind. But rather than think about her old ways, she had nothing but questions for the marine scientist:

Why did she raise her hand? Why was she so nervous or guilty-looking? Why was she here? Was she in the Gold Coast when she was brought here, if so what for? Why else would she be here? There was no way she was sent here just for some cell sample mishap. Does she know Zane due to the whole mermaid hunt? Did she do something to Cleo or the girls?

That was just some of the multiple thoughts running through her head. But one that kept popping up was something that needed to be asked. So, gathering a bit of courage, she spoke up. "Hey, Dr. Denman?"

She notices that the scientist seems to flinch a bit, startled out of her thoughts, but she didn't comment about it. "I just had a question for you. I hope you don't mind me asking." Dr. Denman turns her head towards her and raises an eyebrow. "That's fine. Go right ahead," she nods and gives her a small smile. A smile which dropped once the question was out in the open.

"How do you know my daughter's secret?"