A/N: there will be a little bit of a time skip

Maddie started preschool in late January 2014. The girl was a bit nervous, clutching Cleo's hand tightly. Cleo had forewarned the teachers that her daughter wasn't allowed in the ocean, explaining it as her skin became irritated and doctors couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was that bothered her. Maddie knew by now not to talk about being a mermaid, having been told there were bad guys that could be mean. She sorta understood, mostly because she was allowed to talk to her family and the mermaids in the pod that she could talk to people she knew about it and not people she didn't really know.

"Hi!" A blonde girl greeted Maddie as they entered the preschool. Maddie shrunk behind her mother slightly. "I Grace. What's you name?"

"-ddie."

"Addie?"

"Maddie."

"See sticker." Grace held out a sheet of stickers with cartoon sea life. There was one with a mermaid on it. Maddie pointed to the mermaid. "Otay." She stuck the mermaid sticker on Maddie's shirt.

"Tanks." Maddie said softly.

"Mhm!" Grace went to share more stickers with other students.

"I think you've made a new friend." Cleo said, seeing the girl walk up to Lewis. She internally screamed, not wanting this friendship to happen, but she wasn't about to project her heartbreak onto innocent children. "That's good, you should make friends."

Maddie looked around, wondering why the other kids were so messy and loud. She shook her head. "Mako."

"After school, I promise. I'll be back after lunch."

Maddie wanted to cry. She didn't want her mom to leave. Lewis and some of the other parents had already left. Then Grace came over with an attempt at drawing the mermaid sticker, saying it was a present. Maddie took it and joined her at a table. Grace wasn't very messy at all. Cleo asked Maddie if it was okay that she leave for now. Maddie hesitated and nodded.

Cleo expected a very clingy little girl when she came to pick the toddler up later, but she saw her daughter playing games with Grace. Lewis was chatting with the teacher. Most kids had left and the others were playing independently except for the two girls. Maddie saw her mom and waved.

"Grace insisted on waiting for you." Lewis said, picking Grace up. "I want you to know, I had no idea this is where you enrolled-"

"It's okay." Cleo said.

"Did you know Maddie is a mermaid?" Grace asked.

"Oh is she now?" Lewis asked in an amused tone. "I suppose you're a mermaid too, then?"

"Yep. She said I can be a mermaid."

"That's very sweet." Cleo said. "I'm glad you two are making friends."

Cleo brought Maddie to the pod for lessons, trying to reiterate how much she had to keep the mermaids secret. Maddie insisted that because Grace is her best friend like how her mom had best friends, she can trust Grace. Cleo felt her stomach twist, remembering the precious few seconds she looked at Lewis pleadingly from a pool.

Grace invited Maddie to her birthday party in late February. It was be a small party in the backyard of Lenny's house. Cleo asked Sam to take Maddie for her. Maddie had a wonderful time and Sam noted that she kept talking about being a mermaid to which Grace listened with unusual attentiveness. Nothing could really persuade Maddie to stop talking about it because she insisted that Grace had become her sister. The usually shy dark haired girl was starting to be a bit more social, albeit somewhat reserved. Most of the social was with Grace who seemed to run on pure energy. It had become clear very quickly that the girls were not going to let go of each other anytime soon, which meant a serious talk between their parents. Kim chased the kids around the Sertori's backyard while Lewis and Cleo watched them. Don had given Lewis the stink eye, but remained assertively cordial. This was his attempt at staying out of it like Cleo had asked, but it was hard to be nice to the man who broke his daughter's heart even if he'd known Lewis just as long as Cleo had.

"Does Grace think mermaids are real?"

"Nah, she thinks Maddie's pretending." Lewis said. "I asked…but she did mention feeling like Maddie was her sister."

"Maddie said the same. I've never seen her talk so much with anyone like that." Cleo remarked. "Especially not someone she just met. I've always tried to encourage her to be social, but she was always introverted. Kinda like Rikki. I suppose part of it is because we've asked her to keep a huge secret at such a young age. A blonde and brunette, best friends at four…a year younger than we were."

"You might not have a choice in interacting with me. I'm sorry." Lewis sighed. "If I took her back to Canberra, I'd be under the scrutiny of Charlotte's father. He um-well, he didn't hate her like she feared, but he hates me. My own parents have expressed disappointment…I actually haven't spoken to my father since I told him and sparingly with my mother."

Cleo's expression softened. "I'm sorry, Lewis. If anyone should've been there for you besides Charlotte and Annette, it should've been your parents."

"My brothers are there but definitely take the mick."

"Well, you still have us. It won't be quite the same type of 'us' even as friends-agh-what I'm trying to say is, I would like us to be the parents of these two friends…if that made sense."

"A mutual relationship or truce of sorts? Or acquaintances."

"Sure. Acquaintances." She held out her hand and Lewis shook it. Neither lingered.

New York University dormitories, 5:00pm

Charlotte was packing her dorm things for the summer. She'd just had a lovely video chat with Grace who was telling her all about her mermaid best friend. Charlotte assumed this was a phase that the friend was going through and Grace was a fantasy loving four year old. Charlotte did worry that her daughter would find out that mermaids are real and subsequently what her mother had done. She didn't think she could bear it if Grace stopped talking to her. It wouldn't stop Lewis from trying as it was in the custodial agreements to have Charlotte either chat by phone call or video with Grace at least once a week. They couldn't manage daily with the distance, but once she got back to Canberra, she could talk daily or even go out to the Gold Coast. She didn't really like the second idea as it meant facing the girls again.

"Char, you reported that stalker, right?" Delilah asked.

"Hm?" Charlotte had been lost in thought when her roommate spoke.

"There's someone down in the lobby who wants to talk to you."

"Odd. Anyone else with them?"

"Doesn't seem like it."

Charlotte went downstairs. Delilah would be watching from the door with her phone at the ready if there was any sign of trouble. A difficult to place accent spoke as a man got up form is chair.

"Was hoping to speak alone. Could we go outside?"

"Fine, but try anything funny and my roommates calling the police."

"No funny business. I'm just the messenger. The person who wants to talk is outside."

"Lila!" Charlotte called. Delilah zipped out the stairwell. "They want to talk outside, so keep an eye and ear-"

"No ear, the conversation has to be private. You can have your phone ready, though you won't need it. No pictures."

The two women exchanged dubious glances and reluctantly agreed. Charlotte wanted to be barely outside and Delilah would be watching like a hawk. The man went over to a van and rapped on the window. A blonde woman in sunglasses got out and the man went into the van.

"Van. Not suspicious at all." Charlotte said sarcastically, crossing her arms as the woman approached. "Who are you?"

"FBI agent Linda Smith."

Charlotte's brow rose. "Didn't bother trying to come up with a fake name very well?"

"I'm sorry, do you not believe an agent could have the last name Smith?"

"I do, it's just that I know who you are. My ex-boyfriend mentioned a blonde marine biologist named Denman. I looked you up and I know your first name is Linda and come on, what are the odds of an Aussie coming up to another Aussie in New York after stalking her? By the way, my ex told me about you stalking minors."

Looking put out, Denman took her sunglasses off. "We know Lewis McCartney attends New York University and that you were close to him."

"He's the ex I speak of and he used to attend the University, he's gone back home."

"What was your relation to him while you were here?"

"Avoidance. We're exes for a reason."

"While you were dating, did you notice three girls acting odd?"

"You're going to need to specify."

"Water acting oddly? Running away when they get wet?"

"If I sprayed my friend with water, she'd be pissed and stalk off. I can't imagine too many scenarios where you wouldn't be upset. And water doesn't 'act odd' of its own accord."

"I mean, someone is manipulating the water, freezing or heating it."

"Sounds like a water show at the marine park. Why are you, a person of science, almost sounding as if you're talking about something fantastical?"

"Because I'm talking about mermaids."

Charlotte snorted. "Oh come off it." She laughed, then her face fell. "Have you hit your head on a dive or nearly drowned? Mermaids don't exist."

"I assure you I haven't been harmed. Mermaids live on the Gold Coast, Mako Island is their home territory. The moon pool transforms them."

"Moon…pool? You know if you're going through something, there are people you can talk to. Mako's dangerous and a protected wildlife preserve, no one goes out there for fun."

"Are you familiar with Cleo Sertori, Rikki Chadwick, and Emma Gilbert?"

"My former classmates, yes. I was briefly on the volleyball team with them for phys ed credit, but we weren't friends if that's what you wanted to know. Cleo kept being unsure if she wanted Lewis back and was being a bit jealous when I dated him. So if that's the 'odd' you speak of, that's it. Teenage romance issues. Rikki's a loner who prefers to have a few close and trusted friends and I didn't meet the requirements. Emma was respectful enough but obviously their friend and not mine. Honestly, if it weren't for Cleo being wishy-washy over Lewis, I'd say they weren't odd at all. Rikki's adventurous, but not even she would just waltz around Mako like she owned it. She's not dumb."

"Why did you leave Australia?"

"An opportunity for an overseas Uni. Why are you here?"

"Do you have problems with Lewis and these three girls?"

"I wish Cleo had a firm decision and tried to discuss things maturely regarding Lewis and the other two stayed out of that, so no. Lewis is a nice guy and doesn't really get angry, but I was upset at how our relationship ended. So I moved in with my dad until I came here."

"What caused the breakup?"

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "None of your damn business."

"My apologies. Do you know of anyone named Amihan?"

"No."

"Thank you for your time." Charlotte called Lewis as soon as Denman left.

Lewis called an emergency meeting at Emma's house. Rikki was clearly upset about having to get up and be there by eight in the morning. Lewis explained everything Charlotte had told him an hour ago.

"So we have to worry about two different enemies." Rikki groaned. "Hunters and Denman…damn, we just can't get a break."

"They could be working together." Bella said. "I mean, they are both looking for Amihan."

"If Denman's looking for Maddie's birth mother…oh god, do you think she knows about Maddie?" Cleo asked worriedly.

"If she does, we won't let them hurt her. Besides, Denman still thinks you three lost your powers." Lewis said.

"There'd be no real reason for a mermaid to bring her baby to non mermaids." Emma said.

"Exactly."

It didn't feel all better after that. There was the sense of unease that Denman was still obsessed with Mako and could be working with hunters. They told the pod who would stay on alert. They set out with the goal of warning other pods that hunters had returned.

Four Years Later

Rikki loved her job, but hated attention, which is why she let Will do interviews. The bonus came with Denman not seeing her face on the television and becoming suspicious. This would only increase the mystery of who Will's diving partner was, but he wasn't going to ever speak on it and would leave the interview if he kept being pushed to talk about it. She admitted that there were sparks between her and Zane again, but they were taking steps to ensure that they weren't falling too fast in love again. Bella was a high school music teacher and she loved every minute of it. Emma now completely managed Rikki's Cafe, keeping the name. Cleo worked in a marine biology institute, mostly in the lab, studying the reefs and how she could help preserve the ecosystem around her home. The degree Lewis had also allowed him to apply to the same place. He talked with Cleo about it and she was fine with it, she'd grown indifferent to him as they maintained their mutual acquaintanceship for the sake of their daughters.

The pods had started coming together again and new merfolk were introduced, including mermen. There weren't as many, but they were serious about defending their fellow merpeople. They were all fascinated to hear the stories of the land turned mermaid girls. Unfortunately, none of them had seen or heard of Amihan or of the Filipino pod after their destruction. The Irish pod had truly died out and no one could figure out who the traitor was. Rikki had brought up Marsha who'd been strongly opposed to a lot of things that happened to her and her friends. Marsha was offended.

"You nearly boiled us alive." Rikki pointed out.

"I was tending to my grandchildren." Marsha said, pointing to a group of very young mermaids. "My youngest was brought into and chose to stay in the Solomon Islands pod. Her mate and their children belonged to Greenland."

"This is true." Aqua confirmed.

"I do understand your logic and I apologize for unnecessary anger towards you." Marsha told Rikki. "I am very protective of my family."

"What happened to their father? Er-if I may ask." Bella said.

"Their father was simply a carrier, they were raised by their mothers. She never returned from searching for her partner."

"Sounds very Bluebottle." Emma said. "Where do you suppose she went?"

"Hawaii. I searched there and found very scared merfolk who were attacked by hunters a few years ago." Marsha said. "I brought them to South America to meet another pod. "

"She is very reluctant to share her heroics." A merperson said.

"I hardly need to, Jaci." Marsha said. She went to check on her grandson.

Jaci laughed and turned to the girls. "I've heard of the young mermaid, how is she?"

"She's doing really well, she just turned nine." Cleo answered. "She hasn't had full mastery of her powers, but she's doing a lot better than any of us did. I'm Cleo, by the way."

"And I was literally nine when I changed." Bella said.

"To be fair, Bella, you learned on your own. We at least had Lewis, though his methods are a lot different than the pod's." Rikki said. Cleo nodded. "I'm Rikki."

"Ah yes, I've heard of Lewis. Why hasn't he come today?" Jaci asked.

"His daughter and mine are having a play date." Cleo said. "Otherwise Lewis would love to ask questions. When you meet him, I must warn you that he could potentially ask offensive or weird questions, but he means the best. He just likes knowledge."

"What's your name?" Jaci asked Emma who hadn't spoken yet. She was staring at them, wide eyed. Bella and Cleo exchanged surprised looks and Rikki couldn't fight the grin growing on her face. "It's alright, I don't bite."

Emma's mouth opened and closed, then she let out a high pitched squeak. Rikki laughed and Jaci smiled at her. Emma blushed and dove underwater, causing a wave as she sped away.

"I have no idea what that was." Bella said. "Her name's Emma and she's never shy, right?"

"Nope. Not even with Byron." Rikki said. "She could at least have a conversation with him. Ash annoyed her at first, but this is…Cleo, you ever seen her like this?"

"Other than moonstruck, no." Cleo said. "Oh, poor Emma."

"Does she have a land boy she likes?" Jaci asked.

"No, Byron moved and she and Ash sorta…er-what happened again?" Rikki said.

"They couldn't do long distance and the changing timezones, then they broke up and Ash met someone." Cleo said. Jaci went to talk to others and the three girls went to search for Emma.

"The mermaid thing is getting old." Grace said, walking along the beach with Maddie. As long as they stayed within eyesight of Lewis, they were fine. "I know we're still kids, but I'm eight and I know mermaids aren't real."

"But I am one. I just have to prove it to you…come on." Maddie pulled her to a secluded area.

"Wait, my dad-"

"He can still see us by those rocks."

"Okay." They climbed the dry side of the rocks and slid into a little inlet. The sea spray splashed both of them as Maddie had been getting ready to demonstrate her powers. Grace looked around. "I don't think he can see us from-" She gasped as Maddie fell in the water.

A turquoise tail glimmered and splashed Grace. "So, what do you think?" Maddie asked nervously. Grace's mouth was open in shock. "Grace? Gracie Grace?"

Grace blinked and rubbed her eyes then exclaimed in pain. "Sand in eye…and salt…ow"

"Oh Maddie, what happened?" Emma's voice came.

Maddie laughed nervously. "Hi Auntie Emma."

Grace's eyes widened at Emma. "Okay, how many of you are mermaids?"

"Grace? Maddie?" Lewis called.

"Lewis, come alone!" Emma warned.

"Oh no, don't tell me…" Lewis saw his shocked daughter and two mermaids.

"Maddie and I will now explain to her mother what happened. You get the sand out of her eye and explain to her. Then we'll all meet later."

"Yeah."

Maddie kept stating to her mother that she had no regrets showing Grace, only that she got sand and salt in her eye, but her best friend had sounded annoyed at the mermaid thing and she didn't want to lose Grace in an eventual big argument about it. There was not much to be done about it now but to sit the girls down and talk.

Lewis had told Grace a heavily watered down version of events. Then when Lewis was talking to Cleo on the phone, Grace called her mom to ask if she knew. Charlotte sighed heavily and said yes, admitting she was once a mermaid. Her version was also lighter for the girl, but the truth. Grace told her that she was just a teenager back then and it was a long time ago and she still loves her mother. Charlotte didn't mind the jab at he age as long as her daughter didn't hate her for what she did. Cleo and Lewis sat the girls down later and the girls apologized for wandering out of sight, but Maddie refused to apologize for showing Grace the secret.

"I know you said I was little and it was okay because kids have imagination, but I trust my best friend like when you two were best friends. You trusted Lewis." Maddie said.

"I did. Yes, we were best friends and he's done a lot to help mermaids-"

"See? I wanted a best friend like Lewis who would help me if I needed."

"Okay, look…I-there was one promise I didn't keep." Lewis said. "And that was to be completely honest with Cleo. You see, um-before I knew about you, I was dating Cleo."

"I know." Grace said. "I was made on accident."

"You know?! How?" Lewis said.

"Charlotte wouldn't…would she?" Cleo asked.

"No, Grandpa did when I went to visit last holiday." Grace mumbled. "He hates Dad."

"First off, I love you. Nothing will ever make me stop loving you." Lewis said, keeling down to her level. "Grace, there are happy accidents in the world. Charlotte and I love each other as friends. She didn't make me be in your life as your dad, I wanted to. It was hard because I hurt Cleo by not telling her how it happened in the first place, but I never regretted you. I regret hurting Cleo, but not that you're in my life."

Grace sniffled. "Can I-Can I be a mermaid?" She asked.

"When you're an adult, you can ask the pod for permission." Lewis said.

"Okay." Grace said. Maddie held her hand and smiled at her. "Best friends?"

"Best friends."

Cleo and Lewis smiled at the girls, both of them happy and in pain. They ached for the feeling of innocence. For the friendship they used to have. Cleo's hand bumped Lewis's hand. He looked at her, but she was looking at her daughter. He slowly moved his pinky, touching Cleo's. She didn't pull away. He didn't want to get his hopes up too much. But he felt the spark.

"I'd like to try friendship." Cleo said softly. She'd felt the spark too.

"Let's try." Lewis tried not to be too excited. This wasn't a speeding bullet train. It was a slow boat, but it was moving.