Something to Hide **Complete**

[Ally3772]

Chapter List:

Welcome to the Island
Attack of the Gnomes
Fighting For It
Climbing the Ladder
Welcome to Parenthood
Getting a Hang of It
Walking on Shells
Making Messes
Wasn't Expecting That
New Beginnings
Adjustments
Business Trips
Come Home to Me
Numb
Finding the New Normal
Three Little Monsters
Growing Pains
Making the Team
Making Changes
Birthday Cakes and Bad Endings
No News is Good News
Worst Nightmare
Mood Swings
Gotta Start Somewhere
Thoughts of the Future
One Step Closer
Out of the Blue
When I'm Gone
Shattered
Something to Hide

[Ally3772]

Welcome to the Island

"Well this is it."

Adam placed our suitcases at the foot of the stairs. I looked around wondering what this island had to offer us. It was a nice warm day and the sun was just beginning to set leaving a nice glow over the sand. I dug the tip of my shoe into the sand leaving a small hole. Adam picked up the suitcases and headed up the stairs bringing our things inside. Walking in the first thing you saw was the open floor plan which was shockingly nice looking. Normally I liked each part of the house to be behind walls and to have it's own purpose, but it flowed nicely here. There was a small bathroom by the front door and if you walked a little bit farther in was the bedroom. There was a nice deck in the back where you could overlook the water and there was a picnic bench and a grill outside as well.

"This is nice." I told Adam once I walked inside.

"I think we'll like it here." He smiled.




I should introduce myself.

My name is Sierra Lawson and I was originally from the city. I was adopted by my mother Laura, may she rest in peace. My birth parents signed over their rights with the agreement that they wouldn't be in my life. I had no desire to find them after learning that, if they didn't want to know me then I was fine with that. My mother may have been a single mother but she was able to give me an amazing life. One thing that I loved about the idea of living on this island was being in nature and just learning more about it. I was able to land a job as a a Conservationist which was my dream! I wanted to save the planet and help others realize how they could help as well.



This is Adam Lawson, my husband of three years. We met in high school and have been together ever since then. He lived a few cities away from each other throughout high school before moving into a small apartment once we graduated. We pretty much lived off of canned soup and crossed our fingers that the power would stay on just one more day. His parents weren't in his life, but not for the lack of wanting to be. They were tragically killed in a car accident one night and Adam took it hard. We had already been living together when it happened and he turned to alcohol to numb the pain. I stuck by him until it got to be too much and I threatened to leave if he didn't pull himself out of it. I hated making him make that choice, but I couldn't sit by and watch him kill himself as well. He pulled himself together, but he still has his moments of grief but leans on me for support instead of the alcohol. He wanted to be a chef and I was not about to complain about being his guinea pig with new recipes that he wanted to try.



"How was work?" Adam asked.

"Frustrating. We grouped up and went door to door, got a lot of doors slammed in our faces, and I think all of our new neighbors hate me." I told him.

"Screw them, if they can't see that you are trying to better the world then they are blind."

I smiled.

"You'll get them next time, one of these days they will have to listen to you."

"Thanks babe."



On my days off I enjoyed just being outside.

The house was lovely and with it being almost a shack with big windows the breeze was amazing. However nothing beat the calmness of the water as you float on a pool float.

"You need to be careful!" Adam scolded from the balcony.

I opened my eyes to look at him.

"I am being careful." I told him.

"It's daylight and there's people outside."

"I'm aware that."

He sighed and walked back inside.



You see, I was hiding something.

Something that the world can't know about, something that I've been hiding ever since the beginning of high school. It was the reason we had to leave the city and move to where no one knew us. I loved this thing but I had to hide it and it killed me. Because if the world knew my secret then I had no idea what would even happen. What is this secret you ask?



I was a mermaid.

I found out I was a mermaid in high school. It was during a school field trip to the beach and Adam and I had snuck out to the beach at night. The moment I touched the water is when I fell face first into the sand and where my legs once were appeared a mermaid tail. Adam was totally spooked at first, like I fully expected him to start running down the beach screaming. He stayed though and managed to drag me far enough away from the water that my legs came back. Since I had no connection with my birth parents I had no clue how any of this was possible. Was this even hereditary? What made me into this? We found nothing on the topic at the library, and very little sightings had been made remotely close to us. So, we had to keep it to ourselves. Which meant if I went into the water fully it had to be at night where people were inside. Other than avoiding daylight swimming there was no other restrictions.



It helped a little that my hair changed to red when I was in mermaid form but Adam still didn't want to risk it. We weren't really sure what exactly we were scared of, like would I get locked away for testing? Would they somehow plan to chop my legs off? Would I end up on every single newspaper in the entire world? I loved being a mermaid after I got used to the idea of it, it was so freeing. I could go anywhere and stay underwater for as long as I wanted too. I understood where Adam was coming from though, he was just worried of losing me.

"You're pretty tan there bud, are you using the lotion?" I giggled.

"Yes mom." He grinned.

"Hey, if you want to be a crab then be my guest."



"Would you still stay with me if I'm a crab?" He asked.

"Hmm, that's a rough choice to make." I giggled.

He just rolled his eyes.

"Hey!" A kid screamed.

Adam quickly got dressed.

"Hey little man, what's up?" He asked.

"You have a mohawk like me!" The boy grinned.

"I do, but you wear it better!"

"Are you new here mister?"

"Yeah, my wife and I just moved here."

"Nice!"



"You better get going though, I'm sure your parents are looking for you." He told the boy.

"Maybe I'll see you around?" He asked.

"Sure thing bud!"

I smiled as Adam came walking back.

"Maybe I should talk to him about the environment." I giggled.

"He seemed cool."

I may have something to hide, but I sure as hell would fight to stay here. It was a neat little island that I could see us raising kids on.

So I was finally able to get Island Living and I am loving it!!! Again, thank you all for understanding about Rising Above. I am truly sorry again! I'm not 100% sure of where I want to go with this one as I had to think of it on the spot pretty much but I am excited to see where it takes me! I hope you guys enjoy it! =]

[Shewolf13]

Ooo, a mermaid! Love it. She's beautiful ^^ And that little mohawk is one of my favorite hairstyles! Looking forward to seeing how Adam and Sierra carry on.

[Ally3772]

Attack of the Gnomes

"Ummm Adam?!" I gasped.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"There are gnomes in the living room." I told him.

"Really Sierra?"

"I'm not lying!"

He giggled and shook his head, he was currently trying to fix the sink that had broken this morning.

"Adam! Seriously! They look like they are about to kidnap the TV!"

He sighed and turned around.



"What the?!" He gasped.

"I told you!!" I shrieked.

"Does that one have a vacuum?!"

"I think he does!"

He looked around before grabbing a bin.

"Put them in here and I will drop them off at the market tomorrow, maybe we can sell them for some extra cash." He told me.

So we packed them into the bin and placed it by the door.

"How is the sink going?" I asked.

"Frustrating." He groaned.

He walked back over to the sink and grabbed his wrench.



I rubbed his back, "You'll get it babe."

He smiled.

I walked over to the computer desk that Adam had bought me. Part of Adam's requirements for work was to learn mixology so we sold the picnic table and bought a bar for the deck. It made it more cozy, but that meant the laptop had to go as well. So he bought me my own desk and a new laptop! It was perfect!

"What are you going to work on?" He asked.

"I have a few articles to write for tomorrow." I told him.

"I'll trade you."

I laughed.



Later that night I decided to go for a swim while Adam slept.

"Ellie?!" I called.

I waited and looked around.

"Ellie? Are you here?"

I sighed, I guess she was off exploring tonight. Ellie was a dolphin that had hung around a lot of the time, and we had formed some kind of bond. I splashed the water while looking around the water. Suddenly a thick fog formed around the water, almost like a green mist color. I looked around but saw nothing around that could cause it so I felt best to leave the area until I could get to the bottom of this mysterious fog.



"No one saw you, right?" Adam asked when I walked back in.

"No, but something strange happened." I told him.

"What's that?"

"Some kind of green fog appeared just across the way there."

"That's strange, did you get away from it?"

"Yeah, I don't know if it's poisonous or not."

"That's good."

I decided to write up a report about it. It wasn't much of one because there wasn't much to tell other than the green misty fog, but maybe I could convince someone to come look at it tomorrow. I hadn't gotten out much to explore the Island but maybe some of the neighbors knew something about the green fog. For all I knew it was normal and harmless, but I've never seen anything like it.

...

"Smile!" I said.

"Do I have too?" Adam groaned.

"Please!"

He sighed before smiling.

SNAP!



"My husband is hot." I said staring at the picture on my phone.

"You bet I am."

I giggled.

It was such a nice day today and we both had a day off was very rare for our schedules to match up. I laid my head back on my floatie and soaked up the sun taking a deep breath.

"This was a good idea." Adam mentioned.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Yeah, I've missed just being able to relax with you."

I smiled and blew him a kiss.

Later that night we decided to build a sand castle.

"I have no idea what I am doing." I giggled.

"It's okay because I have no idea as well." He told me.




"What is it?" I asked.

Adam tilted his head, "I had no idea."

"Well, I guess it could be some kind of cow?"

"Maybe."

I looked around and noticed that everyone had retired into their homes.

"Can I go out in the water?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm going to go learn some new recipes." He said before heading in.

My favorite time of night was when my feet hit the water and I could be free. It never got old how free it felt just to swim and go anywhere the water took you.

"Ellie!" I called.

I whistled.

"Ellie?!"

SWOOSH!



"There you are!" I giggled.

She smiled at me and sank back into the water.

"What have you been up too? Huh? Staying out of trouble I hope." I told her.

She squeaked at me.

"You're such a good girl."



I remember the first time Ellie appeared, she scared the crap out of me. It took a bit for us both to warm up to each other but when we did we became best friends. Imagine telling that to my neighbors that not only was I a mermaid but my best friend was a dolphin. I would have the first trip to the loony bin that was for sure.

"Well Ellie, it's getting late." I sighed.

She made a sad squeak.

"I know, but you know I can't stay forever."

I pet her a few more times.

"I'll call again in a few days okay, stay safe out there girl."

I gave her a kiss on her beak.



She swam away and I did the same.

"How was the swim?"

Adam was on the deck working on mixing drinks, I had grabbed a plate of food on the way out.

"It was good, I saw Ellie." I told him.

"How is she?" He asked.

"She seems good."

He smiled.



I was glad to have a husband that understood me and didn't think I was crazy. I knew that he didn't like restricting me to night time swims, but both of us agreed that it was the safest for now. Maybe on day I could swim freely no matter what time of day it was, but right now I was content with my life.

Meet Ellie! I hope you guys are enjoying it so far!

[MarianT]

A mermaid, a dolphin, and a cowplant sand sculpture -- fun!

[Ally3772]

Fighting For It

"You're never here!" Adam yelled.

"Well I am so sorry! I am trying to get this promotion!" I snarled.

"I understand that, but it's embarrassing. Do you know how many times I've had to tell them you weren't home?!"

"Adam, I get that it's embarrassing, but I am not about to pass up the opportunity to get this promotion for some stupid gathering!"



"It's not stupid! They are being nice to us Sierra!" He screamed.

"I'm thankful for that! I am! But Adam they are constantly showing up!" I screamed back.

"Because it's what neighbors do! They help out!"

"We don't need more food! Half the time you cook so much that we throw some out, and that's not saying that you cook too much! I support you and your career! All I ask is that you do the same for me!"

"Sierra, you know I do! But they are working you do death!"

"Oh give me a break Adam, I am fine!"

"You come home and barely eat something before going to pass out!"



"I can't do this anymore, I can't keep going around and around again. I'm willing to try to make it to more dinners, but I'm not going to make every single one of them. It's too much for me personally. So if you can't let that go then that is on you!"

I walked away and slammed the bedroom door.

When we first moved here I was so excited to have neighbors that actually interacted. Our last neighbors wanted nothing to do with us, but this Island was the complete opposite. They were constantly here and bringing plates of food over. I tried explaining to them that Adam was working towards becoming a chef and we had plenty of food but they always insisted. I could see where Adam was coming from and I'm sure it was hard to constantly have to tell them that I wasn't here. However, I was so close to this promotion at work and I wanted it so bad. Not only would becoming and Environmental Manager help the planet, but the pay alone was better than what I am making now. I just wish Adam could understand my point of view. I decided some sun bathing would help me relax and hopefully even out my horrible tan lines. I needed to be better at this.



"Sierra?"

I sighed and turned around. Adam stood behind me in the bathroom.

"I can't fight about this anymore Adam, I literally do not have it in me." I told him.

"I don't want to fight." He said.

I just looked at him.

"Look, do I wish you were home more? Yes. However, I realize how important this promotion is to you and I was being a jerk before. I'm sorry."

"Thank you." I told him.

He grabbed my hands and squeezed them.

"I love you." He said.

"I love you too, and I will meet you in the middle."

"How so?"

"When I get this promotion, I will work it out so that I am home at 5 every night, no matter what. If I have any extra work it'll have to be something that can be worked on from home."

He smiled, "I would like that."



Marriage was hard. It was a learning experience for sure but I think we were getting the hang of it.

"Ouch, that sun burn looks great." I laughed.

We decided to spend the day outside, and lets just say that someone forgot their sun screen.

"I don't want to talk about it." Adam winced.

"Oh, but I do!" I giggled.

"What are you doing with that?"

I took my phone out.

"Sierra! No!"

"Come on! One picture!"

"NO!"

SNAP!



"I hate you." He muttered.

I laughed as he walked into the house.

I looked around and noticed that there was no one outside. I bit my lip before turning towards the water. No one appeared to be around, so what could a little swim hurt? I dove into the water and did a few laps around. I was hoping that Ellie would appear, but this wasn't our normal meeting time. The water felt great mixed with the warm sun beating down and warming it up. I was floating on my back when I suddenly heard a motor of a boat roar out of no where. I gasped and dove under water. I watched as the boat soared passed before quietly coming up to see who it was. It was Susie who lived a few houses down from us.



But the question was, did she see me? Certainly she would have reacted if she had.

"Sierra!" Adam hissed.

I quickly swam to shore and went inside.

"Are you insane?!?! What happened to the only at night rule?!" He scolded.

"No one was out there! I didn't see the harm in it!" I told him.

"Well, clearly someone was there." He said.

"I just wanted a quick swim." I whispered.

He sighed and walked over to me.

"Look, I know, and I hate it as much as you do. We just have to be careful, okay?"

I nodded as he kissed the top of my head.

...

"I GOT IT!" I screamed.

Adam came rushing out of the bed room.

"You did?!" He yelled.

"You are looking at the new Environmental Manager!"

"I knew you could do it baby!"

He picked me up and spun me around and I giggled.

"I am so proud of you." He told me.

"Thank you." I smiled.

Then it happened, my stomach started spinning again. It was the third time today that it had happened.

"Are you okay?" Adam asked.

"I don't know, I don't feel well." I told him.

"Come on."

He put his arm around me and led me to the bathroom. He got me there just in time because suddenly everything I had eaten since the last time I got sick came up again.



"Have you been sick all day?" He asked.

"Yeah, it started last night." I told him, washing my hands.

"Did you eat something bad?"

"I've ate everything you have."

He looked at me funny.

"What?" I asked.

"Could you be pregnant?"

My eyes went wide.

BUM BUM BUMMMMM! Cliffhanger! =P

Also, have this derpy picture I got of Sierra, not sure what she was doing haha

[Ally3772]

Climbing the Ladder

"Positive."

I stared at the little white stick before looking at Adam.

"Well, ready or not.." He said.

"Do you want this?" I asked.

"I mean, I know we didn't plan on it just yet but I think we can do this."

"Even with our busy schedules?"

"We'll figure it out." He smiled.

"So we're doing this?" I grinned.

"Yeah! We are!"

We both started laughing before hugging each other.

"We're having a baby." I whispered.

"I can't wait." He said.

What I couldn't wait for? The sickness to go away.



I was throwing up less and less, but the nausea and the room spinning was insane.

"Feeling any better?" Adam asked.

"A little." I groaned before sitting down on the couch.

"Can I get you anything?"

"I think I'm okay."

I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths.

"I think once I get farther along I might ask to work at home a bit more until the baby is born." I told Adam.

"I think that might be best." He agreed.

"Speaking of work, I should go get some articles written."



...

"THIS STUPID THING!" Adam screamed.

I walked out of the bathroom.

"What is going on?" I asked.

"This stupid thing is broken again." He hissed.

He had a wrench out and was cranking away at the kitchen sink. I walked over and stood by him.

"Do we need to replace it?" I asked.

"No no, I can fix it."

"Really, we can afford it."

"I got it."

I giggled at his stubbornness.



The first trimester went insanely fast.

"Are you guys excited?!" Amelia, one of the neighbors, asked.

"We are very excited!" I smiled.

"Do you think it'll be a boy or a girl?" She asked.

"I think it's going to be a boy, but Adam thinks it'll be a girl."

"Boys are so much easier, especially when they get older."

"I've heard that a few times." I giggled.

The visits from neighbors have toned down a bit, especially since I became pregnant. Adam was determined to keep my stress level down since he read that the baby could feel when I was stressed. The second trimester came faster than I ever thought it would. I was definitely getting bigger and bigger every day that went by which caused my back to hurt more and more.



I was able to finally get an answer as to what the mysterious green mist was. It was harmless, they couldn't tell me exactly what was causing it but it wasn't appearing to harm anything. Which was good because one thing that relaxed my back was being in the water. Which was bad in a way because I couldn't be in the water until night time unless it was the bath tub. But my tail couldn't be completely in the water when I was in the bathtub.

But how cute was my stomach?



"Is it kicking?!" Adam asked.

"It is!" I smiled.

He rushed over and placed his hand on my stomach.

"Whoa!"

I giggled.

"Do you think the baby will be a mermaid?" He asked.

It was a question I asked myself almost every day.

"I don't know, maybe? It at least has a 50/50 chance of being one I suppose." I told him.

"Could be cute, a little mermaid."

"Yeah, but I have mixed feelings about it. I don't want it to grow up being hidden from the world in a way."

"I know." He said, giving me a kiss.



In other news, Adam got promoted to Head Caterer!

"I'm so proud of you!" I told him.

"Climbing up that ladder!" He said.

"You are!"

I gave him a kiss.

"Look at your cute little outfit!"

"It's not cute." He huffed.

"It is."



If I thought that the second trimester went by fast, the third one came faster. I literally felt like a whale, and I spent most of my time in the water because of that.

"You aren't a whale." Adam told me.

"But I am." I argued.

He shook his head and walked back inside. I had taken some time off work, but still worked from home. Most days I would lounge on the couch while doing my research and writing my articles. That was when I wasn't munching on chips or taking spontaneous naps. Being pregnant did have its perks.




I was becoming more and more anxious about becoming a mother. Was I cut out for it? How would we balance work life, romance, and raise a kid? What if the kid was a mermaid? How do I explain to them that they can't just swim when they wanted too? So many questions and I couldn't come up with any of the answers. Adam assured me most days that I would be the most amazing mother on this planet, but I was nervous. It could happen any day now and that scared me.

Kind of a blah chapter, but is it going to be a boy or a girl?!

[Ally3772]

Welcome to Parenthood

"Looking good mama!" Adam whistled.

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah right."

"What? You do!"

I was big. Big as in if I grew anymore the baby would just explode right out of me. It had gotten to the point where I didn't even want to swim because any sudden movement would said the baby straight into my rib cage or bladder. I swear I was going to pitch a tent in the bathroom.



"It's crazy to think about that soon we will be parents." Adam said.

"I know, I'm not sure if I am ready for him or her to be outside of me yet." I giggled.

"It is probably easier having them inside you."

"I am ready to meet them though."

He smiled up at me.



...

"ADAM?!"

All I was doing was getting some work done, when suddenly sharp pains started happening.

"ADAM!!!"

I gasped.

Where was he?!



"I was outside! What's wrong?!" He gasped, out of breath.

"I think this might be happening." I groaned.

"Now?!"

"No, next week!" I hissed.

Another pain came and I groaned and grabbed my stomach.



"Okay, don't panic. Where is the bag?" He asked.

"By the door!"

He walked over to the door and slung the bag over his shoulder. He grabbed my shoes and helped me slip them on before slipping his own on. We made a plan to have the baby at the hospital since it was just down the street. That and I wasn't ready to brave having a baby at home.

"Are we ready?" He asked.

"I'm scared." I cried.

"Don't be scared, at the end of this we will have a baby." He smiled.

He grabbed my hand and we were out the door.

The hospital wasn't very big, but the staff was patient and kind during registration. Paperwork was thankfully easy to fill out, but Adam had to do that because the pain was getting worse. Before I knew it I was changed into a hospital gowns and little blue booties and we were on our way to the room.

"Will you stay with me?" I asked, looking up at Adam from the table.

"I wouldn't dream of going anywhere else." He told me.

"That was cheesy."

I heard the doctor giggle.



Hours Later

"I just signed the release forms." Adam told me, walking back in the room.

"Okay." I said softly.

He walked over and smiled as he looked down at the baby in my arms.

"A baby boy, can you believe it?" I asked, grinning.

"No, he is beautiful." He told me.

"We make pretty babies."

"What should we name him?"

I thought about it for a while, and I had a list of names in my head picked out for both genders. But once I saw his face I just knew, I knew that was the name for him as long as Adam liked it as well.

"Well, I think I have one, it's unique and not a lot of people use it." I told him.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Griffin."

He looked at me and smiled, "I love it."



We finally made it home and I was exhausted, Adam told me to go lay down for a bit and he would watch Griffin. But I didn't want too because I was afraid of missing things, I know that is silly but it was his first night home.

"Is he taking the bottle okay?" I asked.

"Like a champ." Adam giggled.

"Is he cold? Should we put some pants on?"

"He's fine babe."



Night time was a whole new ball game.

Every hour he was up crying.

Every. Single. Hour.

"He has to sleep at one point, right?" I groaned.

"I got him, go heat up a bottle." He told me.

I yawned and shuffled out of the room.

"What is wrong little man?"



"Can you die of sleep deprivation?" I asked.

We finally got him back down and crawled into bed.

"I think we are about to find out." He groaned.

"I feel like jello, my entire body just straight up jello."

"Is it too late to return him?"

I laughed, "That's horrible!"

In a matter of minuted my eyes closed slowly, but it didn't last long.

"Griffin please, please mommy needs some sleep." I cooed.

He looked up at me fussing.

"You're going to be the death of me, but I love you so much."



Motherhood was off to an interesting start, but I couldn't wait for more.

Welcome Griffin!

Sadly Griffin will probably already be a toddler in the next update because for some reason baby to toddler is SUPER fast! Hope you enjoyed!

[Ally3772]

Getting a Hang of It

There was no amount of books or articles a person could read to understand the stress it was to become a parent.

A few months have passed and Griffin had finally started to sleep through the night. I couldn't tell you how amazing it felt to sleep for more than two hours at a time. I felt like I could conquer the entire universe that first night. It was amazing though watching him grow into a little person with a personality. He quickly found out that if he became fussy enough that one of us would come to his rescue so we were trying to break him of that habit. I struggled with it most times though because I just wanted to hold and love him. Each day it got easier and easier to know what he needed and what each cry meant, when we first brought him home everything was in chaos. We weren't as prepared as we thought we were but we were finally getting a hang of it.

"How was work?" I asked.

"Fine, how Griffin doing?" He asked.

"Better, I called the doctor. She said to bring him in if it gets any higher."

Griffin had a fever and overall he just was feeling crappy. I walked into the nursery with Adam as he scooped him up.

"How are you doing buddy?" He cooed.

Griffin smiled from ear to ear.



My heart was full when I saw Adam interact with Griffin. Was it possible to love someone this much?

"I love watching you hold him." I smiled.

"Hard to believe he is going to be a toddler soon." He replied.

"I know, time for another one I guess."

He just looked at me.

I laughed, "Kidding!!"

"I wouldn't mind more, but maybe not quite yet."

I nodded.

"Okay my turn!" I said.



All the rules of not overly babying him went out the window when he was sick. I just wanted him to feel better and if holding helped even a little then that is what I would do.

...

Griffin grew up to be a toddler! To celebrate we took him to get his hair cut for the very first time and boy was he looking sharp!

"We're going to need a stick to beat the girls away." Adam shook his head.

"I mean look at him." I gushed.



"We're going to have to figure something out about a room for him." Adam told me.

"Maybe we could expand our room somehow." I mentioned.

"I'll contact someone to come out and look at it."

Thankfully between our two jobs we were living quite comfortably even after paying the bills. I had gotten a few other promotions before Griffin was born so that definitely helped.

"I'm going to go out for a bit." I told him.

"It's still light out a little bit." He told me.

"It'll be fine."

I walked outside and headed to the water. There was no one outside so I took it as everyone retired early. I took a deep breath before walking into the water, it was a bit chilly tonight but I knew it would warm up once I was used to it. It was nice to be able to swim again since I wasn't able to do it very much with Griffin needing more attention. I needed to get out more though because that small bathtub was not working anymore.

"Ellie!" I called.

I looked around.

"Ellie! Where are you girl?"

I heard her chirp before seeing her swim over.

"Hey!" I giggled.



"It's been a while, huh?" I asked.

She danced, making me giggle in return.

"I'm sorry, there's been someone stealing me away for a while. I hope one day you can meet him!"

We wouldn't know until Griffin was a child if he had the mermaid gene or not. I was nervous, and I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a small part of me hoping he wasn't. I just didn't want him to live his life in fear and secrecy. I was lucky enough to have Adam who understood and supported me, but what if he was laughed at? Or called a freak because of it?

"What have you been up too?" I asked.

Ellie just chirped, telling me in her own language about her adventures.

"I'm sure whatever it is has been amazing. What I wouldn't give to be able to swim freely all the time."

She looked at me.

"Well, I better get back and check on my little guy."

I gave her a kiss.



I watched her swim off and waved goodbye.

"MOM!"

I froze.

"Mom! come look! A mermaid!!!"

I whipped around to see a kid behind me and he was pointing right at me. His mom walked over and I knew she saw me but I quickly dived underwater. What was I going to do? How did I handle it? More importantly, how was I suppose to get home? They would follow me if I went straight home so I decided it was best to swim low, literally, for a while. After about ten minutes I came back above water making sure that I was behind a rock before peeking to see if they were still there. Thankfully they seemed to be gone so I hurried on shore and back to the house. Adam was sitting on the couch when I walked back inside. He was going to be upset.

"How was the swim?" He asked.

"Fine, where is Griffin?" I asked.

"Bed, he went down without a fight."

"That's good."

I scratched the back of my head before slowly walking over and sitting on the couch.

"So, I have something to tell you." I started.

He turned the TV off and turned to face me.

"I was spotted."

"What?!" He gasped.

"A little kid saw me, and I think his mom saw him as well."

"Sierra." He groaned.

"I know! Okay? I know, I didn't see anyone! I didn't even recognize them!"

He sighed and looked around.

"Are you mad?"

"I mean, no, but I told you to be careful!"

"I know, but what do we do now?"

"Hope that they don't know where we live, and that they don't spread it around."

I looked at the ground.

"We'll figure it out." He said, rubbing my back.

...

"Are you sure I should go to work?" I asked.

"Yes, it's best to act normal." He told me.

"Okay, do you work today?"

"Nope, I am home all day with this little man!"



"Alright, well try to keep him tamed." I giggled.

"If not I will just tie him up."

I rolled my eyes.

The hours at work went slow but thankfully no one said anything so I was hoping that it was just a tourist. We did get those a lot so it wouldn't be too far of a fetch and it would mean that I would just have to be extra careful. I was glad to come home though, but I was less glad to come into what I did.

"Griffin! What did you do?!" I gasped.

He was standing in the middle of a puddle of paint.

"How?! I literally just went to the bathroom!" Adam gasped.

I giggled.

"What are you doing you silly boy?"



He babbled a few things before pointing to the couch. I brought him over and set him down before cleaning up the mess.

"I have a surprise for you." Adam told me.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Follow me."

I followed him into the bedroom to find out that the room was expanded! Griffin had a room of his own almost!



I heard Griffin babbling behind me. When I turned around I saw him sucking on his finger, which usually meant he was tired.

"Are you sleepy?" I asked.

He just looked at me and nodded slowly. I picked him up and placed him in the bed before covering him up.

"Sleep tight baby boy." I said.

I leaned over and kissed his forehead.



Once I was done tucking him I heard someone at the door. I couldn't find Adam so I assumed that he was at the beach. I walked over and answered the door, it was some lady.

"Hi, can I help you?" I asked.

"Are you a mermaid?"

BUM BUM BUMMMMM

[Ally3772]

Walking on Shells

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Are you a mermaid? It's that simple." She asked.

"I don't know what gave you that idea." I huffed.

"My friend and her kid are visiting, and they said that they saw a mermaid."

"That's interesting, but how does that narrow it down to me?"

"Well, they think they saw you walk here."

I just looked at her.

"Are they wrong?" She asked.

"Look I don't know who you are, but I think your friend is wrong."

"Hmmm, interesting."

"What is going on here?"

Adam stood behind her.

"Babe, this woman is accusing me of being a mermaid. She just showed up out of no where." I told him.

"I see, and what evidence do you have against her?" He asked, walking up to me.

"Well you see my friend and her child saw a mermaid and the believe that they walked to this house." She told him.

"So that automatically means that she is a mermaid? What would that even mean if she had been?"

"Well, I'm sure the lab would want to know." She said.

"The lab?" I questioned.

"Yeah, they have been wanting to catch a mermaid to do some testing."

I tried to keep my eyes from bugging out.

"I'm sorry, but your friend seeing a mermaid walk to this house isn't enough evidence to accuse my wife of being a mermaid. So go collect your prize somewhere else!" Adam hissed.

He tried closing the door on her, but she stopped it with her feet.

"Tell me something though..." She said.

I just looked at her.

"Why do you never go swimming?"

The way she looked at me, so accusing, sent chills down my spine.

"I'm not a big swimmer." I told her.

"I see..." She muttered.

"If that is all, I would like you to leave now." Adam told her.

"I'll be keeping an eye out." She told us, before turning around and walking.

Adam closed the door and I turned around and covered my face. That was it, someone saw me and now it was all over.

"Hey come here." Adam said.

He took me in his arms and I cried into his chest.

"Testing Adam! Testing! If I get caught I'll be some lab rat!" I cried.

"It's not going to happen! She is off her rocker." He assured me.

"She was so close to breaking me, if you hadn't shown up I don't know what I would have done."

He rubbed my back.

...

I bounced Griffin on my knee gently as I stared at the television. Adam was at work and Griffin was having a fussy day, I was trying to be patient but my mind was elsewhere. There was some children's show on the television but I wasn't paying attention. I didn't want to be that mother that let the television baby sit their kid but that's what was happening today.

"Griffin please." I asked.

He began to get fussy again.

"Do you want a nap?" I asked.

He just nodded and I scooped him up and carried him to his room.

"Book!" He said.

"No, not right now." I said.

"BOOK!" He yelled.

"No. Go to sleep."

He began crying but I just walked away.

What are we going to do? -S

I have some ideas. -A

Like? -S

I'll tell you when I'm home -A

I groaned.

I decided to waste time by sitting down at the laptop and work on some articles. Writing articles though turned into researching this lab that the lady was telling us about. Sure enough, they had a whole page on wanting to catch mermaids. I began to read on the process of testing them which included cutting off scales, part of the tail, blood work, and so much more. My stomach twisted in knots the more I read, it sounded horrible and painful. I was a bundle of mess by the time Adam got home from work. He took care of Griffin's needs for me before sitting down with me on the couch.

"So, what are these ideas?" I asked.

"Well, we could go about our business and not change a thing." He told me.

"They're going to be watching, there is no way I can swim!" I argued.

"The second option is we go on how things are, but you can't swim anymore, even at night."

I sighed, "The third?"

"We move."

I looked at him.

"But I love the island." I told him.

"I know, I do too." He said, grabbing my hand.

"This island is big though, maybe there is a place far enough away that they wouldn't know where we were."

"It's something to think about."

I nodded.

So there were our options, and at this point the third may be our best. It would be yet another move, but maybe this way Griffin would have more room. We would have to take out a loan for a new house because we were no where close to what we would need. Thankfully my job pretty much went with me, we would just have to make sure that Adam could keep his job and position wherever we went.

...

"What did your boss say?" I asked.

A few days had passed and Adam told me he would ask his boss about relocating.

"Well, since the restaurant is basically in the middle of the entire island he said it shouldn't effect anything." He told me.

"So is that what we want to do? Just move?" I asked.

"Let's give it a few more days and see what happens."

I nodded.

"It'll be okay, we got this." He smiled.

"I'm sorry about all of this." I sighed.

"Don't be, just another bump in the road."

He grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

"Mama!" Griffin said.

"There's my little man!"

I picked him up and swung him in the air causing him to giggle.

"How are you doing?" I asked.

"Good!" He said.

We've been working with him more and more on talking. He couldn't do complete sentences just yet but he was getting there.

"Have you fed him yet?" Adam asked.

"Not yet." I told him.

"I'll get it started."

"Daddy is going to make you some food!" I told Griffin.

He danced around.

I smiled at Griffin, would moving stink? Yeah. But I was coming to terms with it because as long as I had my boys with me then everything would be alright.

Just a short little chapter! I know this one was no pictures, but there will probably be multiple today seeing as the Sims bug bit me!

[Ally3772]

Messes to Make

"Island." I said.

"Land." Griffin said.

I giggled, "No, island."

He looked at me for a moment.

"Say it baby."

I saw him struggle a bit.

"Okay, look, eye," I said pointing at my eye, "land."

"Island!" He said.

"Yes!"



"Okay, word of the day finished! Ready for your nap?" I asked.

"Yeah!"

I smiled and tucked him in.

I walked out of the room and looked around.

"Adam?" I questioned.

I walked outside to find him laying on his stomach.

"I sure hope you remembered the suntan lotion?" I said.

"Yes mom." He said.

"Get out of here." I laughed.

I sat down on the blanket next to him.



"It's nice out today." I said, closing my eyes.

"It really is." He agreed.

"I have work to do, but I don't want too."

"Where is Griffin?"

"Nap."

"Then you should go get it done while you can."

I groaned.

"I hate when you are right." I said.

I stood up and walked back into the house. I sat at the laptop and stared at the screen before beginning my research. Things have been fairly quiet but that probably was because I hadn't been out swimming. Every night around the same time that lady sits on her deck just staring at our house. We contacted the police about it, but since she was on her property there was nothing that they could do about it. It was worth a shot even though I still think it should be a form of stalker behavior. I mean, who sits on their deck and deliberately stares at someones house?



I must have been working for a while because Griffin came out of his room fussing.

"What's wrong Griff?" I asked.

"Hungy." He cried.

"You're hungry?"

I stood up from the computer and walked into the kitchen. I opened up the fridge and got a plate of spaghetti out.

"I'm going to make you spaghetti, but you can't make a mess okay?"

"Getti!"

He had became a fan of spaghetti a while back ago, Adam had made it for us one night and he had become hooked ever since.

"Alright, get up on the couch." I told him.

He climbed up and patted his legs.

"Be careful."



It was wishful thinking though because in ten minutes not only had he gotten it all over himself, but now we had a spaghetti rug to match.

"Alright, now it's bath time!" I told him.

"Yay!"

"I'm glad you're excited!" I laughed.



Adam finally came back inside and sat on the couch.

"Made a mess I see." He said.

"Yeah, we tried spaghetti." I told him.

"I will clean the floor up."

"Thank you."

I sat on the floor across from Griffin.

"Now, what are not going to do?" I asked.

"Make mess?"

"That's right."



"Good! I love you."

"Lub you!"

I watched as he toddled away.

"So, did she give you any issues today?" Adam asked.

"Nope, but she is out there now." I sighed.

"What do you think we should do?"

"Talk to the bank about a loan I suppose."

He nodded.

I guess we really had no other choice, but a bigger house wouldn't be that bad of a thing. We honestly could probably use it.

Seriously, isn't Griffin adorable?!

[Ally3772]

Wasn't Expecting That

KNOCK! KNOCK!

"I'll be right back." I told Griffin.

I left him in his room playing on the ground.

I walked over to the front door and opened it.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Well isn't that a neighborly welcome."

It was the lady that accused me of being a mermaid.

"It wasn't very neighborly what you did before, so I guess we are even."

"I never told you my name, it's Sarah."

"Okay, have a nice day Sarah."

"That's not all."

"Of course it's not."

"Have you heard anything else about this mermaid?" She asked.



"If I remember correctly you were the one who was asking." I sneered.

"Look, I'm just trying to gather information." She told me.

"Of which I thought we made it perfectly clear there was none here."

"Mama!" Griffin said.

He walked over and hugged my leg.

"Cute kid." Sarah said.

I glared at her, "He's not a mermaid either, in case you were wondering."

She just looked at me slowly.

"I think we're done here, I need to take care of my son."

"Fine, but you let me know."

"I'll make sure not to do that."

I closed the door and picked Griffin up.

That lady was here again. -S

What?! What did she want?! -A

To "ask" if we knew anything else about the mermaid. -S

Oh my god. -A

Her name is Sarah, because we were so curious about that. -S

"Alright Griffin." I said sitting on the couch.

"Watch TB?" He asked.

"Sure, but only for a little bit."



I waited for Adam to come home, and thankfully it didn't take too long.

"How was your day?" I asked.

I greeted him with a kiss at the door.

"Long and boring." He groaned.

"I hate those days, they last forever."

"Any more contact with Sarah?"

"No, but she saw Griffin."

"I don't want her anywhere near him."

"I don't either. I don't trust her at all."

The next morning we dropped Griffin off at the local daycare and went to the bank. We decided that it was best to just go a head and take the shots to moving farther up the island. Worst case scenario was that it didn't help at all and we just move to another city all together. I would do whatever it took to protect my family, even if it meant that I could never swim again. The appointment went fast and the guy at the bank seemed hopeful that the loan would go through. On the way home we stopped at a few houses and we found at least two that were in the budget and had enough room. We picked Griffin up from daycare and headed home.

"Well, I think we will get the loan." Adam said.

"Yeah I have a good feeling about it." I agreed.

"You know what I'm going to do?"

"What?"

"Bake us a pie to celebrate!"

"Can it be apple?!"

"Coming right up!"



"MAMA!"

My heart dropped and I ran into the room.

"What is wrong Griffin?!" I gasped.

"I hit my foot!" He cried.



"Do we need to cut it off?" I joked.

He didn't find it funny though and cried harder.

"Mama is joking sweet boy!"

I picked him up and carried him into the living room.

"Is he okay?" Adam asked.

"Yeah, just hit his foot." I told him.



Adam wiped his hands and came over.

"Are you okay buddy?" He asked.

"Daddy!" He cried.

"Aww come here!"

I handed him over to Adam.

"Ready for airplane?!" He asked.

"Fly!" Griffin said, half crying and half laughing now.



I watched Adam spin Griffin around and suddenly my stomach did flip flops.

"I'll be right back." I told him.

I walked to the bathroom and closed the door before rushing to the toilet.



I walked back out of the bathroom to find Adam cleaning up.

"Wow, where did I find you?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" Adam asked.

"You cook, you clean, it's every wife's dream!" I laughed.

He grinned.



"Where is the kid?"

"In his room."

A Week Later

I was in the bathroom when I heard the phone ring. Adam picked up but I couldn't hear what he was saying. I quickly washed my hands and went into the living room just as he was hanging up.

"Who was that?" I asked.

"The gentleman from the bank." He told me.

My stomach took a leap.

"What did he say?!"

"We got the loan!"

I gasped, "We did?!"

"Yeah!"

Adam rushed over to me and kissed me.

"This is great news!" He said.

I smiled and laughed nervously.

"What? Isn't it? We can move!" He said.

"Well, it is good that we can move, because I'm pregnant."

Plot twist!

[Ally3772]

New Beginnings

"Is this it?!" I gasped.

"This is it! Our new home!" Adam said.

"This is beautiful! How can we afford this though?!"

"That was what the loan was for."

I just stared at the house in complete shock.




It had so much space! It was a mansion compared to the old house. It even had a nursery all set up for the new baby. I was already in my second trimester so to know that he or she had already had a room took so much stress off. Adam showed me our room and it was beautiful! I even had a bath tub by the window where I could bathe and look out into the ocean.

"I can't believe this." I told Adam.

"Welcome to your new home baby." He said, kissing me on the forehead.

"We have everything we need here."

"I know, I wanted to give you everything."

"I love it." I smiled.

On top of the new move we celebrated Griffin's Birthday!



He was super excited to have his own room and he got to pick out how own bed. We let him decorate the room how he wanted as well, I couldn't believe how fast he was growing up. We did have to sit him down though and tell him about me being a mermaid.

"Are mermaids real?" He asked, after we told him.

"Yes, but Griffin you cannot tell anyone that your mother is one. Okay?" Adam told him.

"Why not?" He asked.

"Because, some people want to hurt mermaids and if they found out then your mother wouldn't be safe anymore."

He looked sad.

"I'm fine right now sweetie, we just can't let anyone find out." I reassured him.

"Am I a mermaid?" He asked.

"It's possible."

"How would we know?"

"Well, I thought that when you grew to be a child we would know. However after I researched it more it won't develop until you are a teenager."

He nodded.

"Do you have anymore questions?" Adam asked him.

"No, can I go outside now?" He asked.

"Sure."

I decided to join him, only I wanted to get some sun time in. I spread out my towel and laid down groaning at the thought of having to get back up.



I felt more relaxed being here and away from Sarah. Of course we couldn't guarantee that she would never show up ever again or that anyone else would catch on but it was a new beginning. I rubbed my belly thinking of who he or she would grow up to be. I secretly hoped for a little girl and how perfect that would be to have one of each, but I would love him or her no matter what.

"How was sunbathing?" Adam asked.

"Amazing." I said.

"That's good, and how is the baby today?"



"They are kicking like crazy!"

He grinned as the baby kicked his hand.

"That is so crazy to feel." He said.

"Isn't it?!" I giggled.

"Can I feel?" Griffin asked.

"Of course!"



"Whoa!" He gasped.

"Cool, right?" I asked.

"Does it hurt?" He asked.

"Sometimes, but it depends on where they kick."

"I wanted to ask you something mama." Griffin said.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Could you teach me how you back float?"

"Of course!"

He changed into his swimsuit and we headed to the water. He was a little nervous and awkward seeing me as a mermaid, but that was normal, even I was a little nervous about seeing myself. He warmed up to it after a while and soon we got the back floating thing down.

"That's great! Just like that!" I told him.

"I'm doing it!" He cheered.

"You are!"



"How was the water?" Adam asked.

He was standing at the waterline in his swim suit.

"I did it dad!" Griffin said.

"I saw! It was amazing bud!" He smiled.

"Can we build a castle?!"

"Sure bud."




While they did that I headed inside to relax a little bit.

...

The third trimester came in full swing and brought along the back pain and the swollen feet. I was so tired all the time now which made me feel guilty because Griffin wanted to do all of these things with me, but I was just tired.



"I should just push through it." I told Adam.

"No you shouldn't, you need to relax and he understands that." He told me.

"What about when this baby gets here? I won't just magically have all the time in the world. I will have to juggle work and a new baby and Griffin."

"And you will do that, but baby you aren't neglecting him."

"I feel like I am."

He rubbed my back.

Along with the third trimester, we decided to redo the back deck into an outside theater. It turned out really well too and it was peaceful at nighttime.



"It really is cool here mama." Griffin said to me that night.

"You like it?" I asked.

"Yeah! There is so much room and I love being by the ocean."

"Me too baby."

"What's your favorite part about being here mama?"

"Hmmm, how peaceful it is here compared to the old house. We constantly had neighbors in and out and that kind of bothered me. I haven't seen a single one yet."

"I don't like strangers."

"Me either."



Tomorrow he started school and he seemed nervous but excited. We gave him a few days to adjust to the new house before throwing him into school. Maybe it was the wrong choice, but I was his mother and I didn't want him to be stressed out. I was anxious to meet this new baby though, and I just hoped that it was sooner rather than later.

I LOVE this new house I found! I tweaked it a bit with decorating, but it is so gorgeous!

[Ally3772]

Adjustments

Adam's POV

"Hey dad?" Griffin asked.

"Yeah bud?" I said.

We were having some father-son time on the beach. Sun bathing because I was becoming whiter than a piece of paper.

"Are things going to change?" He asked.

"What do you mean?"

"When mom has the baby, are things going to change?"

"Well, yeah. But this kind of change is good bud, but if you are worried we won't have time for you then you would be wrong."

"Promise?"

"Of course we do."



Later that day I was cleaning up around the house when Sierra walked out.

"I thought you were resting?" I asked.

"My legs are restless, I have to move around." She told me.

"Still no sign of baby?"

"Nope, he or she is being stubborn."

She was exhausted this time around and I could just tell that she was over it.

"How was your day with Griffin?" She asked.

"He's worried that we will be too busy with the baby for him." I told her.

"It'll be hard to balance, but we will figure it out." She said.

"Yeah, now turn around."

She gladly obliged and I started to give her a massage.



Sierra's POV

Another day and still no baby.

I was getting mad at this point. I just wanted the swollen everything to be over, the constant pain, and most importantly, to meet the baby. I heard Adam walk through the back door and put something in the closet. I walked over to him and before he could say anything I nearly pushed him against the closet and kissed him.



"Well hello." He muttered.

"Hi." I said.

"What is going on?"

"Shhhh."

I smiled and kissed him again.



I heard him slide the closet door open and he gently pulled me in before shutting the door.

...

"How was school?" I asked Griffin.

"It was okay." He said, playing with his food.

"Just okay?"

"Yeah."

I knew something was wrong.

"What's going on over there in that head of yours?"

"People are laughing at me in school, because of my Mohawk."

"Why?"

"They said it looks stupid."

"Do you like it?" I asked him.

"Of course." He said.

"Then let them laugh, they are probably just jealous. Eventually they will get bored and move on with their life. Do not change yourself for anyone other than you, you got it?"

He smiled and nodded.



I decided to take a nice hot shower to relax my muscles.

"How was the shower?" Adam asked.

"It was wonderful." I smiled.

"That's good."

"Yeah, how was- OW!"

"Sierra?!"

I hissed in pain.



"Was that?" He asked.

"I-I don't think so." I said, rubbing my stomach.

I went about my day like normal, it was probably a false alarm. I decided on a piece of chocolate cake that Adam had made. The baby liked chocolate anything really so maybe this would calm him or her down a little.

"Do you like this?" I asked my stomach.

The second I said it I felt a gush of water and intense pain.

"Oh no!" I hissed.



"ADAM!" I screamed.

He rushed out.

"What?!" He asked.

"It's happening, it really is happening." I cried out.

"Okay, let's get you to the hospital."

A Month Later

"Shhh, shhhh."

I rocked back and forth, bouncing gently.

"Everything okay in here?" Adam asked.

"Everything is fine so far, just a little fussy." I told him.

I looked down at the baby in my arms. I could not believe that a month ago I gave birth to a perfect little baby girl.

"Hi miss Aria." Adam cooed.

I smiled from ear to ear.

Adam picked the name this time since I got to choose Griffin's name.

"She is so perfect." I said.



Adam cried at the hospital when we found out that she was a girl although if someone asked him he would deny it. Griffin was so excited that he wanted to share a room with her, but I told him that she needed her own space as much as he did his. He was so in love with her and it happened almost immediately. When he first was able to hold her he held her for what seemed like hours.

"Do you love your baby sister?" I asked him.

"She's pretty." He said.

"She is, it'll be interesting to see who she grows up to be."

He smiled as we looked at her in her little bassinet.

"Was I this little?" He asked.

"Yes, with cute little toes." I said pinching his cheeks.

He giggled and brushed my hands away. I kissed his head and walked out of the room. One of the things I was excited to do when we got home was to decorate her nursery.



Adam told me once it was finished that it looked like someone had just spun around and puked pink and purple everywhere. I was excited to have a little girl though, boys were fun but I was excited to be girly with someone else. It felt like I was only away for a minute before she was crying again. Adam was there before I got there and he was getting some skin on skin time in.

"Is she okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I think her tummy is upset." He told me.

"Should we get the medicine?"

"Not yet, we're going to wait it out, huh princess?"

My heart was full.



"How about you go lay down for a bit?" Adam suggested.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yeah, I got this."

I gave him a kiss before heading to the couch. In the month that she has been with us she was a pretty calm baby and at this point she was sleeping through the night. I still was feeling stretched thin though with her feeding schedule, taking care of the house, work and Griffin. I was slowly getting it together though, just had to take it one day at a time.



Rest was for the weak though because an hour later she was up.

"Griffin, where is your dad?" I asked.

"He had to go to work." He told me.

"That's right, okay. Are you doing okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, do you need help?"

"I think I god it. Thank you bud."

I walked into the nursery.

"Little girl, what is wrong now?" I asked.



I scooped her into my arms and rocked her.

I was in love with this little girl.

If something didn't make sense or it felt rushed it's because I wrote this when I was half asleep. I've been opening more at work and I am exhausted but I've been wanting to get a chapter out for a while now! I hope you guys enjoyed!

[Ally3772]

Business Trips

"Hey, can we talk?" Adam asked.

"I hate that sentence, but sure." I told him.

I finished up with Aria and headed to our bedroom. Adam shut the door and my heart skipped a beat.

"You shut the door, this cannot be good." I said.

"So, I talked to my boss today." He started.

"And?"

"They want to send me away on a trip."

"What kind of trip?"

"It's a course on improving cooking techniques, he chose me and another coworker of mine to go up there. He is paying for the entire thing himself."

"How long is it?"

"About two weeks."

I bit my lip while I thought. He came over and sat on the bed next to me and patiently waited.

"Well, I could work from home more. Then the days that I absolutely couldn't I could hire a babysitter." I told him.

"If you aren't comfortable with this, then I do not have to do it." He told me, grabbing my hand.

I hesitated for a moment. I didn't necessarily want him to leave for two weeks, but I didn't want to be that wife that kept him from his dreams.

"I think you should go." I told him.

"Really?" He asked.

I nodded, "Yeah, it's your dream and I want you to follow it."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

He gave me a kiss.

...

"Hey bud, how is she doing?" I asked.

"She's sleeping mama!" He said.

"Good, she has been restless all day."

I walked over to him, he was just looking at her and softly talking to her.



I smiled and headed downstairs.

"Mmm, something smells good!" I said.

Adam was standing at the oven, shirtless I may add, and making dinner.

"I'm making soup!" He told me.

"I can't wait!"

I grabbed a bottle of water and stood at the counter.

"Have you told Griffin?" I asked.

"Yeah, he seemed sad about it. But I told him that when I got back I would teach him how to cook." He told me.

"Isn't he a bit young?"

"No, I can have him do things that don't require the oven."



After dinner Griffin went to work on his homework. He hated school, but I hoped that he would learn to love it. He didn't fuss about homework though and his grades were decent. I walked into the nursery to find Adam already there.

"I'm going to miss you little girl." He cooed.

She smiled up at him.

"Don't you forget daddy, okay?"

I put a hand over my heart.

She was going to be a toddler tomorrow. Tomorrow. How did that happen? She grew so fast.

"Do you know when you leave?" I asked.

He jumped, but thankfully had a grasp on Aria.

"Jesus!" He gasped.

"Sorry." I told him.

"My boss just called, I leave next week."

I looked at the ground.

"I'll call, every night." He told me.

I nodded, fighting back the tears. He wiped one that escaped away before going to put Aria back in her bassinet.



We walked downstairs and Griffin stood there.

"Hey bud." Adam said.

"Hi." He whispered.

"Everything okay?" He asked.

"I heard you tell mom you leave next week."

Adam looked at him and stroked the side of his face.

"It'll only be two weeks, I'll be home before you know it."

"Okay."

Griffin started to walk away.

"Hey Griff, how about this? How about every night you and I spend time together? We can do whatever you want." He told him.

"Really?!"

"You betcha!"

"That would be awesome."

Adam bent down and hugged him.



"Can we watch a movie tonight?!" Griffin asked, excitedly.

"I would love that!" Adam said.

I giggled, "I'll make some popcorn!"

"Thanks mom!" Griffin said.

I watched my boys walk to the back of the house.



We blinked and tomorrow came. Which meant little Aria grew up to be a toddler!

"She has your hair!" Adam grinned.

"Griffin has my hair too." I pointed out.

"Time for a third one." He shrugged.

I laughed.

Adam looked at me and kissed me softly.



Griffin walked into the nursery.

"Are we having cake?!" He asked.

"The important issues." I giggled.

"We have chocolate downstairs." Adam said.

"Yummy! Hi Aria!" Griffin cooed.

She looked up at him.



"Hi Aria, I'm your big brother!" He smiled.

Aria just continued to look at him.

"I promise to be there to protect you." He told her.

My heart.

He pulled her into a hug which made my heart explode even more.



I had some amazing kids.

Aria is so cute!

[Ally3772]

Come Home to Me

"Aria! What are you doing you cutie?!" I asked.

"Fly!" She squealed.

"Yeah? Is your toy flying?"



She laughed and bounced up and down. I smiled and watched her go back and forth with her toy.

"Mommy is going to be in the other room, okay?" I said.

"Okay!"

I smiled and walked into the living room. Griffin was sitting on the couch working on homework.

"How's it going bud?" I asked.

"Fine, this is easy stuff." He said.

"That's good."

I smiled and watched him work.

"Dad leaves tomorrow." He sighed.

"I know, I'm going to miss him too." I told him.

"I'll be here for you though, and I will take over being the man of the house."

"I appreciate that, but you just need to focus on being a kid. Okay?"

"Okay."

I stroked the back of his head lightly.

Morning came and I woke up with a heavy heart. Adam and I got dressed in silence, and it was the worst kind of silence because neither one of us wanted to be apart this long. It was good for his career though and it would go by fast.

"Should we wake the kids?" I asked.

"No, it's still early. I said my goodbyes last night." He said.

I nodded.

"It's going to be okay, alright?" He said.

"I know, I just don't want to say goodbye." I said, starting to tear up.

"I know baby."

He grabbed his things and walked out of the bedroom. He set them down by the door and walked back over to me.

"I'm going to go kiss the kids." He said.

I nodded.




I was standing in the kitchen with my arms crossed trying to hold myself together.

"Okay, well. The longer we wait the harder it'll be." He sighed.

"I can't do this." I cried.

"Hey, hey."

He pulled me in his arms.



"You are the strongest person I know, okay? You are a wonderful mother and they are lucky to have you!" He told me.

"They need you too." I cried.

"They have me, I'll just be gone two weeks."

I nodded and cried into his shoulder.

"I'm a phone call away, anything happens and I'm right back here." He said, his own voice shaking.

"Promise?"

"Promise."



He looked at the clock.

"I have to go baby. I love you so much." He said.

"I love you so much too."

He kissed me once more before I grabbed his hands.



"You come home to me, you hear me?" I asked, my voice shaking.

"Always." He smiled.

With that, I watched the love of my life walk out the doors.

...

"Daddy gone?" Aria asked.

I spent most of the morning trying to keep myself together for the kids. I was currently bathing Aria because she had an accident overnight. We have been working with her on potty training but she was struggling with it.

"Yeah baby, daddy is gone. But he is coming home soon!" I told her.

"I miss him." She said.

"I do too."

She splashed the water and giggled.

"You like the bubbles?" I asked.

"Bubb!" She squealed.



"I would be lost without you princess."

Once bath time was over I relinquished her back into the wild. I watched her toddle out of the room and find her next adventure to cause mayhem. Griffin was already at school so it was just Aria and I and the quietness of the house. Griffin hardly talked before leaving for school and I could tell he was taking it hard. Adam and him had a strong bond together, you always hear the term "mama's boy" but not with Griffin. He wanted to grow up to be just like his dad and he was so proud of him.

Later that day I walked into living room. Aria wanted a pajama day so I allowed her to be in her pajamas. She was holding on to her green sippy cup which was her favorite one even though she had twenty more in the cabinet. She insisted on that one though which meant we were cleaning it a million times a day. She babbled to herself while I sat there and wondered went on in her little mind of hers.



She was something else that was for sure.

Three Days Later

RING! RING!

"I got it!" Griffin said.

I was in the kitchen making dinner. It was nothing Adam could make, but it was something. The kids didn't seem to run away yet from my cooking so I must be doing something right.

"Mama, it's for you." Griffin said.

He walked over and handed the phone to me.

"Thanks bud, go back to your room and I'll call you when dinner is ready." I told him.

He nodded before leaving the room.

"This is Sierra." I answered.

"Hello Sierra, my name is Anthony and I'm calling from Johnsonville Culinary School. We're calling to inquire about your husband, Adam's whereabouts. Do you know where he might be?" He asked.

"I-I'm sorry but you must be mistaken. He left for there three days ago." I told him.

I heard papers flipping.

"I'm sorry ma'am but my records say that he hasn't checked in."

I grabbed onto the counter.

"When was the last time you heard from him?"

"Uh- Um, I don't understand."

"I know this is alarming, but I need to know when the last time you heard from him is."

"Just a little after he left he dropped his p-phone and he said he would get another one as soon as he could. I-I just assumed that he hadn't gotten around to it."

"Don't be alarm-"

"I'm sorry but you're telling me that my husband is missing and not to be alarmed?!"

"We're going to get to the bottom of this ma'am, I'm sure he is fine we just needed to make sure he wasn't at home."

After informing me that they would notify the police and get back to me when they had more information I hung up the phone. I just stood there staring blankly at the wall feeling as if I could just puke everywhere. I ran to the bathroom and threw up everything that I had eaten that day. I sat on the floor wiping my mouth, I covered my mouth and cried into my palms.

Where was he?

Was he safe?

Bum bum bummm

[Ally3772]

Numb

Three days later I was standing in the same spot where I got the first phone call. Only this time I was sobbing in my hands as the phone laid on the floor.

"Mom?" Griffin asked.

My eyes shot open and I quickly turned around and wiped the tears from my face.

"What's up bud?" I asked.

He walked over to me.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing, nothing. I was just having a moment." I told him.

"You're lying." He said, calling me out.

I sighed, he was right. We were always upfront with him.

"Come here." I said.

I led him to the living room and sat him down. I took a deep breath to gather myself before taking one of his hands and holding it.

"Three days ago, the school your dad was going to called. They said that he wasn't there yet and were wondering where he was. I told him that he should have been there already and they looked further into it. Bud, they just called. The police found his car on the side of the road..."

I saw his face fall.

"He's gone bud. I am so sorry," I cried, "It looks as if he tried to swerve to miss a deer in the road and lost control of the car and hit a tree head on. They found the deer dead on the other side of the road."

"No! NO! You're lying!" He cried.

"I wish I was Griffin! I wish I was!"

He collapsed into my arms, his whole body shaking as the sobs echoed from his mouth.

"So, I'm going to call the school tomorrow and we're going to take some time to come to grasp with all of this, okay?"

He nodded.

...

"Hi Ellie." I greeted.

She squeaked at me.

"It's been a while. I have some bad news." I told her.

I held up a fish for her.



"Adam is gone, he got into an accident on the way to the culinary school." I said, choking up again.

She nuzzled me.

"It's just me and the kids now and I don't know how I'm going to do this all alone."

I had no family, and no friends because I could never get close enough to anyone in case they found my secret out. So it was just the kids and I and my coworkers who I never spoke too outside of work. My boss gave me a week paid time off to get everything together. Griffin was off school for a few days, I wanted him to have longer but he didn't want to get behind.

"I have to go back in now Ellie. Thank you for being here."

She made a happy noise as I softly brushed her.



"Mama!" Aria cheered.

"Hey princess!" I said.

"Wrong?" She asked, tilting her head.

"Nothing is wrong sweetie."

I bent down and hugged her.

"Daddy still gone?"

I looked at the floor as I rubbed her back and held her in my arms.

"Daddy died princess, remember? I told you he isn't coming home?"

"Yeah." She said sadly.

"I know."



"I'm going to go check on bubba okay?" I asked.

She nodded.

She insisted on caling Griffin bubba, and we had no idea where she had came up with it either. He loved the nickname and it eventually stuck.

"Griffin?" I asked.

"He didn't fix it!" He cried.

"Bud!"

I rushed over to him.

"He didn't fix it! He said he would fix it! He didn't do it!"



I rushed over to him and hugged him.

"Your castle? I can fix it." I told him.

"He said he would do it! This isn't fair!" He sobbed.

"I know, and I wish I could change what happened."

My heart was breaking, but I had to remain strong for him and Aria. They were so young and didn't understand what was going on fully.

"Can I be alone?" He asked, after a while.

"Of course, I'm here if you need me." I told him.

I kissed his forehead and left the room, closing the door behind me.

A Week Later

I felt empty.

The house was quiet and in the worst way possible. I woke up alone, I got the kids where they needed to be alone, I was just alone. He would've been back in a few days, and he would tell me about all of the things that he learned while at the school. I blamed myself a lot and it got so bad that I went to see a therapist. Of course she told me that it wasn't my fault, and that it was just his time. I ended up walking out because what an insensitive thing to say. It was his time?! Time to leave his two kids and wife?! The nerve of her. Most days I had to force myself to get out of bed, and then force myself to eat. Because of on top of everything I wasn't feeling the best.



The cake was a mistake.

I darted from my chair and ran into the bathroom. I had just made it to the toilet before everything came up.



I stood up and walked to the sink. I brushed my teeth and looked at myself in the mirror. Something in my brain clicked and my stomach sank. I went in the cabinet we had in the bathroom and pulled out a box. I stared at it like it was a bomb.

I couldn't be.

Could I?

Five minutes later I was staring at a pink plus sign.

I was pregnant.

I hope you all had your tissues </3 RIP Adam, I miss him already!

[Shewolf13]

No! Not Adam! --cries--

[Ally3772]

Finding the New Normal

"Hey mom?" Griffin asked.

"Yes bud?" I asked.

"My homework is done, is there anything you need help with?"

"Umm, I don't think so."

He nodded.

"You doing okay?"

"Yeah, I miss him still." He told me.

"That won't go away, but it'll get easier as time goes by."

"I just wish he could be here for the new baby."

"Me too bud."

"I have name ideas if you need them!"

"Hit me!"

"Andrew for a boy, we could call him Drew for short. Then for a girl Vanessa, Nessa for short!"

I thought about them for a moment.

"I actually love both of those!" I told him.

He grinned proudly.

...

"I thought you said that your homework was finished?" I asked later that night.

He was sitting on Aria's bed.

"I'm just doing some extra credit questions." He said softly.

"Ah, okay."



"Bed time is soon bud." I reminded him.

"I know! I have my alarm on my phone set!"

"Good idea."

"I just wanted to check on Aria and see if she was okay."

"That's sweet of you."

"I'm the man of the house now, I need to make sure everyone is taken care of."

I felt a twang of pain in my heart. He meant well and it was cute, but I didn't want to have to grow up this fast.

"Griffin, I appreciate you wanting to do that. But you need to be a kid to and have fun."

"I know, and I will, but dad would have wanted me to look out for things. So that is what I am going to do."

I just smiled and headed out of the room.

I walked out do the deck where there was a plate of toast sitting on the table with a note.

I know your tummy is upset still, but you need to eat!

-Griffin

I smiled and sat down.



He really was a great kid.

"I miss you Adam." I whispered.

It was hard to grasp still that he was gone, but having the kids to focus on made it a bit easier. I walked back inside and checked on Griffin, he was already asleep. I bent down and made sure his blanket was high enough.

"Goodnight sweet boy."




My stomach turned as I heard Aria's laugh as she ran down the hallway.

"Get back here little one! Why are you up?" I asked as I scooped her up.

"Play!" She said.

"No, no! Play time is tomorrow! Now it is sleep time!"

I carried her back to her room and tucked her in.

"Where is bubba?"

"Bubba is sleeping."

She fiddled around with her fingers.

"Goodnight princess."

I kissed her forehead and walked out of the room.

...

The third trimester came quickly, and work tried to give me time off for the new baby but I needed my hours. So I was going to work until I physically couldn't anymore. This one seemed a little easier for some reason and I wasn't trusting it one bit. I fully expected him or her to be a difficult child because of it.

"Can I feel?!" Griffin asked.

"Of course!"



"I think it's a girl!" He told me.

"You think so?"

He nodded and patted my belly again.

"Can I get you anything?" I asked.

"I'm okay mama." He told me.

"Good."

I went and got dressed for the day. I walked into Griffin's room to find Aria standing and looking around.

"What are you doing in bubba's room?" I asked her.

"Noffin." She said.

"She's okay mama." Griffin said, walking in with a glass of orange juice.

"Come here kids." I told them.

I sat on the floor.

"I just want you both to know how proud of you I am. I know Aria doesn't understand what that means, or probably half of what I am even saying. I know it's been rough losing your dad and that pain will stay with you forever. But he would be proud of you guys as well and I believe that he is watching you grow. I love you guys."

"We love you mama." Griffin smiled.

"Lob mama!" Aria said.

Griffin and I just laughed.



Later that night I went outside and was struck by a sudden pain. I knew this pain.

"OW!" I hissed.

I grabbed my stomach and waited patiently for the pain to go away.



A few hours later I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl.

"Welcome to the world Vanessa." I cooed.

She was so pretty.



I put her bassinet in Aria's room.

We didn't have a spare room for each kid so she would have to share with her sister.

"It'll be okay Aria." I told her.

"My room!" She cried.

"You have to share with your sister!"

She huffed.



It didn't take long for Griffin to go into protective brother mode and want to help out.

"I'm going to go make her a bottle, will you stay with her?" I asked.

"I have her!" He told me.

I smiled and watched him for a moment.

"Don't cry little one!" He cooed.



I walked into the kitchen feeling very tired, but very blessed. I was a mom of three now, and I wished Adam could be here, but I'm sure he was watching over us.

Another girl! Welcome to the world Vanessa!

[Ally3772]

Three Little Monsters

"And up!" I said.

"WEEE!" Aria laughed.

"Are you flying?!" I asked.

"I am!"

I smiled as I spun her in the air.



I laughed as I spun her once more before putting her back on the ground.

"More!" Aria cheered.

"Mommy is tired." I told her.

"Pwease!" She said.

I heard Nessa start to cry.

"Your sister is crying, I have to go see what she needs."

"But play time." Aria cried.

"Later sweetie!"

I kissed her forehead before heading to their room.



"Don't cry little one." I soothed.

I bounced her from side to side while humming.

"It's going to be okay." I told her.

She eventually calmed down after rocking her for a bit.

"That's it." I cooed.



I placed her in her bassinet before going to the back on the balcony.

"Hey bud! You okay?" I called.

Griffin was in the water practicing his back floats.

"Yeah!" He said.

"Okay, but ten more minutes and I want you inside!"

"Okay mom!"

I smiled.



I walked back inside.

The house was a complete mess. It's like three little monsters came in and tore everything off the shelves. I began to pick up toys, miscellaneous clothes, books, and whatever was lying around. I had today off so I guess I was going to spend it cleaning up. Adam would usually be the one to clean up the most because he enjoyed things like that. We were coming up to the first birthdays he would miss, first was Aria's in a few days and then after that was Griffin's almost right after. I would be an adult in a few days as well but that was nothing compared to the kids.

"How was the swim?" I asked.

Griffin was wrapped in a towel.

"The water is really nice!" He said.

"That's good."

"Why don't you swim anymore mama?"

"Just not as much time these days bud. Nothing bad about it, but I just would rather be with you guys."

"Oh." He said sadly.

"Hey, no being sad. I'm not placing the blame on you guys, okay?"

"Alright."

I kissed his forehead.

"CRY!" I heard Aria yelling.

Sure enough, Vanessa was crying.

I walked into their room and she was standing there in front of the bassinet.

"Cry mama!" She said, pointing at the bassinet.



"Thank you Aria!" I said.

She watched as I picked Nessa up.

"What's wrong now sweetie?" I asked.

I rocked her back and forth.



"I have her bottle mama!" Griffin said.

"How did you heat it?" I asked.

"The microwave! I didn't use the stove."

"Well thank you!"

I took the bottle and started to feed her.

"I'm tired." Aria whined.

"Nap time?" I questioned.

She just nodded her head and crawled into bed.

"Night Aria." Griffin said, hugging her.

"Night bubba!"




...

"Happy birthday dear Aria! Happy birthday to you!" Griffin and I sang.

We watched as she blew out her candles.

"Is it time now?!" Griffin asked.

He had been excited for the cake all day and was constantly asking me about it.

I giggled, "Yes, it is time for cake!"

"Me first! It's my birthday!" Aria demanded.

"Hey, manners birthday girl." I warned.

My baby girl was now a child!



Next on the list was Griffin and I and then Vanessa! Where was the time going?

Anyone else HATE the toddler stage only because they seem to have low EVERYTHING all at once?! Ugh.

[Ally3772]

Growing Pains

My name is Sierra, I am a single mother of three children, I am also a widow. Added to my list was at the top of the Conservation career, and now an adult. I didn't want to make a big deal about my birthday because I wasn't too excited about being older. Also who knew that getting older brought so much random pain along for the ride. My joints ached more and more along with being tired easily, but that could just be having three kids.

"This fruit salad is good mom!" Aria told me.

"That's good!" I smiled.

"Now that I'm older, can I have my own room?" She asked.

"Honey, I wish that was possible but this house only had three bedrooms."

"Oh."

She sadly played with her food.

"I can see what I can work out though."

"Okay!"



Next in line for the birthday train was Vanessa!

"She has black hair." Griffin said sadly.

"She has your hair!" Adam grinned.

"Griffin has my hair too." I pointed out.

"Time for a third one." He shrugged.

I laughed.

Adam looked at me and kissed me softly.

I looked at Vanessa, "Yeah, she does."

It was one of those bittersweet moments where I was sad that Adam wasn't here to rub it in my face that he was right about the third one having his hair, but I was happy to see her grow up.



"Come here big girl!" I said.

I scooped her up and threw her into the air. She giggled as I spun her around.

"You're beautiful!" I told her.

She giggled at me.



...

"How is the homework coming guys?" I asked.

"Fine!" They answered.

Griffin and Aria were outside working on homework.

"Hey mom! Guess what!" Griffin said.

"What?" I asked.

"My teacher is bringing cupcakes in for my birthday tomorrow!" He cheered.

"That's good!"

"You should bring me one!" Aria said.

"You aren't in my class silly."



I laughed as I walked back inside.

"How are you doing with that Vanessa?" I asked.

She was trying her first solid food which was something easy like a banana. She had it all mushed into her fingers but she seemed to be eating it okay.

"Mmm!" She said.

She held her mushy hands up.

"Yeah? I'm glad you are enjoying them baby." I said smiling.

Tomorrow came faster than I thought it would and after school had ended my little boy grew up to be a teenager.



"You look handsome!" I gushed.

"Mooooom." He groaned.

"What, are you gonna turn into a moody teen on me?"

He sighed.

I laughed at him.

"Who wants cake?!" I called.

We sat at the table and enjoyed some chocolate cake.

"Can we go swimming?!" Aria suggested.

"It is a nice night for it!" I agreed.

"Let's go!"

I put Vanessa down for the night and thankfully she went to bed right away.

"MOM!"

I snapped my head up as I realized it was Griffin yelling.

"GRIFFIN?!" I screamed back.

I darted outside and ran to the back of the house.

"What is happening?!" He cried.

He was laying half in the water and half on the sand, my eyes traveled down to his mermaid fin.

"Well, there is our answer." I sighed.

"Am I a mermaid?!" He gasped.

"You are in fact a mermaid." I told him.

"I wanna be one!" Aria gasped.



"Since both of you are old enough for this talk, come here." I said.

Both of them came out of the water and sat down by me.

"Griffin, we already touched on this subject. However, Aria you need to know this. Mommy is also a mermaid." I told them.

"You are?!" She gasped excitedly.

"Yes, and as cool as it may be, we can't tell anyone that me or your brother are mermaids, got it?"

"I got it, but why not?! It's so cool!"

"Because, the science lab wants to find mermaids and complete horribly painful tests on them. So if they were to find out then we would be taken from you."

"Oh." She said sadly.

"There is a chance that you are a mermaid too, but we won't know until apparently teen years. When you do develop your fin you also have to look completely different from your normal self to cloak your normal identity from your mermaid one."

"I understand."

"Do you understand? Even though you already knew?" I asked Griffin.

"Yes ma'am."

"Good. Now how about a swim?!"




It was weird having someone else in the family be a mermaid. I couldn't wait for him to see Ellie!

Just one more toddler stage... Just one more...

[Shewolf13]

D'awww XD I love the toddler stage lol but yeah it can be rough. Loving this ^^

[Ally3772]

Making the Team

"Griff, you've been out here working out for hours." I told him.

"I need to make the team mom." He grunted.

"You're overworking yourself, you won't be making any team if you're dead."

He laughed, "I can handle this."

I sighed.

"At least take this bottle of water."

I walked over and handed him a bottle of water.



I stood and watched him run on the treadmill. Ever since he started High School all he had talked about was the football team and how he wanted to make it. He took it hard when the couch said he was to scrawny to be on the team. He came home and went directly into his room and slammed the door. I hated seeing him so beat up, but the next day I surprised him by setting up one of the decks with a treadmill and a weight lifter machine. He was so excited and has been on them every single day since.

"Well, if you don't mind I think I will join you." I told him.

"You're going to work out?" He asked.

"No, meditate."

He chuckled.

He laughed, but it was relaxing and it helped clear my mind.



...

"What are you up too Vanessa?" I asked.

"I got her some lunch!" Aria said proudly.

"You did?"

Aria nodded.

"Cheese!" Nessa said holding up a part of a grilled cheese.



"I'm jealous!" I giggled.

"Momma?" Aria asked.

"Yeah?"

"How are we gonna explain to her about dad? She'll never meet him."

I wasn't expecting that question.

"Well, we have pictures and stories. Like how we did with you, and you can be a big help since you were only her age when dad passed." I told her.

"Yeah." She said sadly.

I brushed her cheek softly.

"He would have loved you so much, he would call you his princess." I told her.

"He did?"

"Yeah! He was so excited when you were born."

She smiled.

Griffin's POV

I was exhausted.

Between keeping up with school, trying to make the football team, and helping with the girls I was wiped. Mom told me that I didn't have to carry so much on my shoulders, but I was the man of the house now. I was thankful to that we had a library down the street but not for the reasons that one would think. Mom wouldn't be happy if she found out but I told her I was going to the library for a few hours when I was really going to work. I picked up a job at the local coffee shop to bring in some extra cash. I haven't figured out how to tell her yet so I've been keeping the money in a little box under my bed. I just didn't want her to struggle with dad being gone. It was my job to step it up.

"You know mom is going to kill you right?" I asked.

Aria jumped.

"Don't scare me like that!" She hissed.

"You're not even suppose to be in here." I scolded.

"I'm not breaking anything."

"That's not the point."

I sat down to work on my homework.




"It's just a little bit of makeup."

"Why do you even need that? You're still a kid."

"I just wanna see what the fascination it about."

"Make up is grown up stuff, and Aria trust me, you don't want to grow up too fast."

"What do you know about being a grown up?" She asked.

"Who do you think has been helping with you guys?" I asked.

"I don't need watching."

I laughed.

She got up and walked past me.

"Looks scary." I told her.

"Like your face!" She retorted.



After my homework I told Aria to wash off the disaster on her face.

"Nessa!" I said.

She was sitting on the floor in the living room.

"Bubba!" She giggled.

"I see Aria taught you my nickname." I grinned.

I picked her up and spun her around.

"How about a bath?"

"Baff!"



As much as I was not suppose to admit it, I did love my little sisters.

I would just never admit it out loud.

Kinda a blah chapter, but wanted to get one out!

[Ally3772]

Making Changes

"I got it!!" Griffin screamed as he walked into the house.

"Jesus! Griff! Got what?" I gasped, startled.

"The team! Coach picked ME!" He announced.

"That's great!"

I walked over to him and hugged him.



"I cannot believe all my hard work paid off!" He admitted.

"I'm proud of you Griffin!" I smiled.

"Thanks mom."

My heart grew twice it's size as I watched him get excited about making the football team. I struggled a lot with being a single mother and I was unsure a lot of the times if I was making the right choices. Some days I still woke up thinking that Adam was still alive, that he was just out grabbing groceries, or simply at work. I tend to let my mind drift to wondering if I had said no to the school trip if would still be alive, or would it have happened another way? It killed me that the kids were growing up and he wasn't here to see them.

"I'm home!" Aria announced.

"Good, you both are here!" I told them.

"What's going on?" Griffin asked.

"While you were gone some of my coworkers came by and helped me with a few things." I began.

"Like what?" Aria asked.

"Well, you had brought up your interest in your own room-"

"AM I GETTING MY OWN ROOM?!"

I laughed.

"Calm down and listen." Griffin told her.

"To answer your question, yes. You are getting your own room. You are now in the room Griffin was in." I told her.

"Wait, what?!" He gasped.

"Relax, I'm not throwing you to the curb just yet. You have your own little space where the hot tub used to be. I figured since no one ever used it I would turn it into a little room just for you."

"Awesome!"

"Can we see?!" Aria asked.

"Of course!"





"I got a hedgehog?!?!" She screamed.

"Yes, but if you don't take care of it then it's going to the shelter." I told her.

"Thank you! Thank you mama!"

She hugged me.

"Do you like it?" I asked.

"I love it!!!"

I walked into Griffin's room.

"I see you found the new video game system and television." I giggled.

"This really is great mom." He told me.

"I just wanted you all to have your space. That's important to have, so on bad days you can just relax by yourself."

"Thank you mom."

"I'm here for you guys kiddo."



I walked back into Aria's room.

"I see after all the hard work of getting her room set up she sleeps on your pillows." I laughed.

"She just crawled on them and fell asleep." Aria told me.

Vanessa was sleeping on the pillows next to Aria's bookshelves.



"It's crazy to think that she will be a kid soon." I told her.

"She better not touch my stuff." Aria told me.

"Now, now. She is your sister."

"I suppose."

I just giggled.

"Are you happy baby?"

"I love my new room mama!"

"Have you picked a name out for him yet?"

"Sampson!"

I smiled as she fed him a treat.



"Well, welcome to your new home Sampson!" I told him.

...

"Not too high Griffin!" I warned.

I was sun bathing in the back with the kids. Griffin was pushing Aria on the swing while Nessa played in the sand. It was a beautiful day out and the sun was just beginning to set.

"Higher! Higher!" Aria giggled.

"No!" I warned.



I closed my eyes and laid my head back down.

"Shell!" Nessa announced.

I lifted my head back up.

"Good job Nessa! Put it in your pile!" I told her.

She toddled over and carefully placed her new shell in the pile she had going by my towel.

"Thanks for pushing me on the swing." Aria said.

"Anytime sis." Griffin told me.



All was right with the world. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

I'm actually really happy with how Griffin's room turned out!!!

[Ally3772]

Birthday Cakes and Bad Endings

"Mama!" Vanessa said.

"Hey sweet girl!" I smiled.

"What doin?" She asked.

"I am making your birthday cake! Mama found a cheeseburger cake to make."

"Birfday."

"That's right."

It was Vanessa's birthday! No more toddlers and no more tantrums. I was more excited than sad to see her grow up. She was going to be a character when she grew up, but she was going places.



"STOP IT!" Aria screamed.

"Hey! What is going on?!" I scolded.

"He won't stop touching me!"

"Really guys?"

Aria ran in the kitchen with Griffin behind her.

"Griffin, must you pick on your little sister?" I asked.

"It's only for fun." He shrugged.

I sighed.

"Get cleaned up, cake is going to be ready soon."

An hour later we stood around Vanessa's birthday cake.

"It looks great mom!" Aria said.

"Thank you!" I smiled.

I lifted Vanessa up and counted to three.

"One... Two... Three!"

I helped a little, but we leaned over and blew the candles out.



From toddler to child Vanessa was now ready to take on the world!



"Is it time for the talk mama?" Aria asked.

"What talk?" I asked.

"You know, the mermaid talk?"

"Mermaid?" Nessa asked.

"Well, I tend to wait until it's a little farther down the line, but sure."

I led Vanessa to the couch and explained to her about me being a mermaid, and how Griffin was a mermaid, and how there was a chance that Aria and her would also be mermaids.

"But we can't tell anyone?" She asked.

"No, because there are bad people wanting to hurt us." I told her.

"What's the point then? If you can't enjoy it?"

"You can enjoy it, but you can't openly swim near people."

She looked sad.

"I know, but for right now this is how it has to be."

"Wanna meet Sampson?!" Aria asked.

"Sure!" Nessa said.



"Griffin?" I asked.

"In here!" He called.

I walked into my room where he was lounging in the tub.

"Where are you off to tonight? The library?" I asked.

"Yeah, and then maybe with some friends." He told me.

"Okay, well you know the rule-"

"Home by ten." He said, finishing my sentence.

I smiled and kissed the top of his head.



...

"Aria?"

I walked into her room, she was laying on her stomach reading a book.

"Yes mama?" She said.

"Have you seen Griffin?" I asked her.

"No, why?"

"Hmm, it's ten thirty and he is still not home."

"Sometimes he gets tied up at work-"

The way she cut the sentence off I knew that she was not suppose to say that.

"What do you mean, tied up at work?" I asked.

"Oops, I wasn't suppose to tell you..."

"Aria..."

"He has a job, to earn some extra cash to help out around the house."

"I told him not to do that."

"I know, but he didn't want you to get mad."

I finally convinced her to give me where he worked. So I called and he had already left a while ago, so my next step was to call his friends but they hadn't seen him for at least an hour. My next move after that? Worry.

One Hour Later

"Still no sign of him?"

I turned around to see Aria and Vanessa standing in the door.

"What are you guys doing up?" I asked.

"We're worried about Griffin." Nessa said.

"Come here."

The came and sat on my bed with me.

"I know you are scared, but we will find him."

"What if the bad men have him?" Aria asked.

"I don't know sweetie."

If I said it hadn't crossed my mind that would be a lie because that was my first thought. Had I let my guard down too much since the move here? They could have easily tracked us and watched from the sidelines. If they had him then I would never forgive myself because I should have kept on my toes. I let the girls sleep in my bed, but I stayed up by the phone.

He would call, right?

He would come home.

He had too...

Oh no! Where is Griffin?!

[Ally3772]

No News is Good News

"What do you mean you can't find him!" I screamed.

"Listen, I understand you're worried but my officers are looking around the clock." The officer told me.

"Well not hard enough!" I hissed.

"I won't stop until your son is safe."

I sighed.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry for snapping."

"No need to apologize ma'am. You go home and look after those girls and let my team do our jobs, okay?"

"Thank you."

I walked into the house and paid the nanny who sat with the kids. Aria was on the deck watching a movie, I walked over and sat down next to her.

"Did they find him?" She asked.

"Not yet." I told her.

I fought with myself on if I should be straight forward with the girls or if I should try to hid it from them. In the end I decided that they were old enough to understand the majority of the situation and if they didn't I would explain it to them. I knew Aria would take it harder because she had more time with him growing up. Of course Nessa was upset, but she hadn't had a chance to get as close to him as Aria was. I sat with Aria while we tried to watch a movie.

"Are they going to find him?" She asked.

"I hope so baby." I told her, stroking her hair.



After the movie we went inside.

"Go wash up, I'm going to order some pizza for dinner. Get your sister as well." I said.

"Yes mama." She said.

I placed an order for pizza. I walked into Aria's bedroom and checked on Sampson.

"How are you doing today Sampson?"

I was honestly shocked that Sampson had made it. There had been a few times that Griffin and I have had to feed him because she has forgotten.

"Mama, can I go swimming?" Nessa asked.

"Yes, but be careful." I told her.

"I will!"

I watched Sampson sniff around.

"Alright buddy, time to go back in." I told him.



Every time my phone would make the littlest bit of noise I would jump. But every time I would be disappointed, I think the thing that confused me the most was why. Why was this happening? He had no reason to run away and he wasn't the type to do that anyway. He also didn't have anyone that I knew of that hated him that would want to do something bad to him. So where was he? I walked out on the deck to watch Vanessa swim around. I was keeping the girls close by me in case this was some sick person that would go after them too.

"Look mama!" Nessa said.

"Yeah! You're doing well!" I told her.

She laughed and kicked as she practiced swimming.

I zoned out as I continued to come up with millions of different scenarios.



I told Nessa five more minutes as I headed inside.

"NO! No no no!"

"Aria?" I called out.

I walked into Griffin's room.

"What is going on?" I asked.

"He's going to be behind!" She yelled.

"Behind on what sweetie?"

"Homework! He's also got this paper to write and I don't know how to write papers!"

"Why are you worrying about that?"

"Mom we both know he struggles already sometimes! They'll kick him off the team!"

"No one is going to kick him off of anything baby. The school knows what is going on! They will understand."

She was at his desk flipping through a book.

"This doesn't make sense. I can't find this answer in the book!"

"Sweetie, sweetie it's okay!"

I walked over to her and she burst out crying.

"He has to come home mom! He has too!" She sobbed.

I bent down and hugged her. She cried in my shoulder for a while, I couldn't even say how long we sat there. Eventually the crying stopped and she went limp in my arms which means she had fallen asleep. I gently picked her up and carried her into her room. I laid her down and covered her up bending over and kissing her forehead.



I walked into Vanessa's room.

"Ready for bed?" I asked.

"Yeah, is Aria okay?" She asked.

"Yeah she will be fine."

She climbed into bed and laid down. I pulled the cover over her and bent down to kiss her on the forehead.

"He's coming home mama, I know it." She told me.

I smiled, "I know baby."

I walked over and shut her light off before heading into the bedroom myself.

I laid down, but it was hours before I finally was able to fall asleep. I welcomed it though because in my dreams Griffin was home and nothing bad happened.

I hope that everyone had a happy thanksgiving!! Can you believe it's December already?! Crazy.

[Ally3772]

Worst Nightmare

One Week Later

I yawned as I shuffled over to Aria's room.

"Ten minutes and you need to be up." I said.

She groaned and rolled over.

I walked over to Vanessa's room and knocked before entering.

"Ten and up Nessa!" I told her.

"Okay." She groaned.

I closed her door. Every morning started out the same, I would get up and get the girls up, go get the mail, and then start their breakfast. The police still haven't been able to find anything, but they were hopeful. I just felt numb. I've lost Adam and now Griffin was just missing. I even searched the internet for whatever lab that lady was talking about and came up with nothing after hours of looking. I opened the front door and went to step out on the deck but almost tripped.

"Oh!" I gasped.

I looked down and gasped louder.

"Griffin!"

Griffin was laying on the deck unconscious. His clothes were down and he had bruises and cuts all over. I bent down and stroked his cheek, it took a lot of energy but I was able to get him up and into his bed. The girls saw me carry him in which I was hoping to avoid but they were excited to see him.

"Is he going to be okay?!" Vanessa asked.

"I don't know sweetie. We have to see if he wakes up." I told her.

Aria stood anxiously at the door.

"Tell you what, how about a sick day? Yeah? I'll call the school."

"Okay!"

I nodded, "Go hang out in Nessa's room and I'll come let you know how he is."

They nodded and headed into her room.



It was another hour before Griffin finally came around.

"Mmmm" He groaned.

"Griffin?" I said softly.

"M-Mom?" He questioned.

"I'm here baby." I cried out.

"W-What happened? H-How did I get here?"

"I was hoping you'd be able to tell me."

He carefully sat up in bed and I handed him a glass of water I had sitting by his bed.

"I- I don't know what happened. All I remember was walking home from my friends house when someone came up behind me and the next thing I knew I woke up in this cold room. It looked like a hospital but the bed was metal and cold and I was tied down."

"Oh my god!" I gasped.

"It was the lab mom, everything you warned us about was true. It was horrible!"

"Oh baby! What did they do?"

"They tested me every day for the week, and they were painful mama. They took bits of my fin, my skin even, they tested my blood everyday. I had to run on a treadmill for hours while pumped up with some kind of steroid I think."

"I am so sorry! I never wanted any of this to happen to you!" I cried.

I hugged him close to me tightly.

"Mom, you're squishing me."

"Shhh."

I hugged him for a few more moments before breaking the hug.

"Now, you rest up okay? I'm going to go make a few calls. I need to make something up to tell the police."

I kissed his head and tucked him into his bed before going into my room. It took a while but I was able to convince the police that he was home safe and that it was just some misunderstanding. I couldn't tell them the truth for obvious reasons even though I wanted to bring down that lab for everything they had done to my son. I was furious, but he was safe and that was what I cared about.

...

"I am so glad you are home." I told Griffin.

"Me too mom." He said.



"GRIFFIN!"

Aria came running out of the house.

"Aria! I missed you!" Griffin said bending down to catch her.

She threw herself in his arms.

"Where were you?!" She asked.

"I'll tell you when you're older!"

She grumbled at the answer.



"Griffin!" Nessa yelled.

"Hi!! How are you?" He asked.

"I'm better now!"

"I missed you so much!" He told her.

"I made you something!" She said.

She pulled a present from behind her back.



We celebrated with a movie and popcorn. I sat by Griffin and held onto him like he could blow away at any moment. Later that night I walked into Aria's room and she was sitting at her desk.

"Did you feed Sampson?" I asked.

"Yes mama." She said.

I walked over to her.

"Whatcha writing?"

"Nothing, just writing in my journal about Griffin coming home."

"I didn't know you wrote in a journal."

"Yeah, I kinda like it!"

I smiled, "Maybe you could be a writer when you grow up!"

"I would like that."

I kissed the top of her head.



"I'm going to head to bed, ten more minutes okay?" I told her.

"Got it." She agreed.

I checked on Griffin, but he was already sleeping. I made sure the doors were locked when I noticed Vanessa looking at a picture on the cabinet.

"Hey, bed time in ten, okay?" I said.

"Mama? Who is that?" She asked, pointing at a picture.

I walked over and looked closer at the one she meant.

"That, is your father." I said softly.

"My dad?" She asked.

She looked up at me.

"Yes baby, come here."

I led her over to the couch and sat her down.

"Where is he?" She asked.

"Well, your dad loved cooking. So much that his job offered him further schooling for it to further his career. On his way to the school he had a car accident and he didn't make it."

"Oh."

She looked at the floor sadly. She was quiet for a few moments before looking up at me again.

"How old was I?" She asked.

"You weren't born yet baby, I didn't know I was pregnant with you until after he had passed away." I told her.

"So, he didn't even know about me?"

My heart broke in two.

"No, but I know that if he were here he would love you so much."

"What was he like?"

"A handful," I laughed, "But he was very sweet and kind, and he knew that you would have black hair!"

"He did?" She asked, perking up.

"Yep! He said the third one was bound to have his hair and he was right!"

She smiled.

"He's with you baby girl, every day."

She hugged me.

"Now, off to bed with you!"

She kissed my cheek and walked into her room.

I took a deep breath, she took it better than I thought she would.

I missed him.

Griffin is home safely!

[TheGoat]

Very interested in where this story is going! Keep it up!

[Ally3772]

Mood Swings

"CAN YOU STOP!"

"NO! I WAS HERE FIRST!"

"GOD WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS!"

I walked into Griffin's room.

"What is with all of this yelling!" I scolded.

"She wants to play my games!" Griffin hissed.

"He hogs it!" Aria screamed.

"IT'S MY ROOM!"

"Griffin, enough with the yelling!"

He grumbled.

"Aria, this is his room. You have your own room which I'm sure you would be annoyed as well if he was wanting to use your things." I told her.

She sighed and crossed her arms.

"Now, if it's that important I will buy you your own gaming console for your room."

"No it's fine."

She stormed out of his room.

I was now dealing with not one teenager, but two. Aria celebrated her birthday and it has been an array of mood swings ever since.



Along with the next teenager in the house, we also found out that she was also a mermaid as well.

"I'm so excited!" Aria said.

I smiled.

"Is it hard? Being a mermaid?" She asked.

"Not really. You honestly catch on to it pretty fast."

"Awesome!"



"Done swimming already?" I asked.

"Yeah, I wanted to get some sun time in." She said.

I sat down next to her.

"Sorry I've been so moody lately mom."

"It's fine, being a teenager is hard."

"I don't know what's wrong with me, I just feel so angry at times."

"I was like that too, so you probably got it from me."

"Hey mom?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you, I'm sure it wasn't easy to raise three kids basically on your own."

I smiled, "Thank you baby, it wasn't but you guys were worth it."



Later on that day I walked into Vanessa's room.

"What are you doing sweetie?" I asked.

"Listening to bear's heart." She said.

"Oh yeah? How's it sound?"

"Good! Mama I think I wanna be a doctor when I grow up!"

"That's a great dream to have!"



"Do you think I can do it mama?" She asked.

"Baby girl, you can do whatever you put your heart towards." I told her.

"What do you do again?"

"I work to save the environment from bad things that could harm it."

"That's pretty cool."

"An hour til dinner, okay?"

She nodded.

I walked into the kitchen where Aria was sitting at the island working on homework.

"So, one kid already knows what they want to do, what about you?" I asked.

"Do with what?" She asked.

"Their life, you enjoyed writing at one point."

She thought about it for a moment.

"I think I still want to go for that, but do you think it could be a career?"

"Of course it can, and worst comes to worst maybe you could pick up a weekend job."

"Very true."

I gathered everything for dinner.

"Griffin is going for a professional football." She said.

"I figured as much."

"What does Nessa want to do?"

"Doctor, she is in her room practicing on bear." I giggled.

She smiled.



...

"So, professional football?" I asked.

"That is the plan, coach thinks I have a chance at it too!" Griffin told me.

"That's great!"

"Apparently there are going to be scouts at a few games, so I have to be at my best."

"Just don't overwork yourself."



"I won't mom." He groaned.

"Hey, don't you get moody with me now too." I told him.

He laughed.

After I finished eating I decided to go for a night swim.

"Hey!" Aria greeted.

"Hey! I see you have a friend!" I said swimming over.

"Yeah, I named her Pearl."

"Well hello Pearl."

Pearl squealed and did a small dance.



"Do you have a dolphin?" She asked.

"Yeah! Her name is Ellie! She normally isn't around at this time though." I told her.

"What about Griffin?"

"I don't know actually, he's never mentioned it."

"Well if he doesn't then he is missing out."



Aria was beautiful, but she was especially beautiful as a mermaid. I took a deep breath and looked up at the sky wondering if Adam was looking down and seeing this.

ALL of the mermaids!

[Ally3772]

Gotta Start Somewhere

"I'm making the cake!" Aria screamed.

"Okay!" I said.

Today was a special day, why you ask? Well, my baby boy was becoming a young adult. It was crazy to think that in a blink of an eye he went from this tiny baby to an adult. This week has been an intense one because his stress level was through the roof. He played in front of several scouts and we were now waiting to see the results and if anyone wanted to sign him. He spent most of his days pacing in his room and when he wasn't doing that he was compulsively working out.

"Griffin, Aria is making the cake now." I told him.

"I can't do this mom." He said.

"Do what?" I asked.

"Grow up! I can't! No one has gotten back to me and this was my plan! My only plan mom! I can't become some person who works at the local coffee shop forever!"

"Baby, baby come here."

I took him by his shoulders and sat him on his bed.

"You're freaking out! It's understandable, growing up is scary! Especially if you are unsure about your future! But I promise you that everything is going to be okay. They're going to call you, I promise you."

He just looked at me.

"Thanks mom." He said.

I kissed the side of his head gently. I took his hand and we walked into the kitchen where Aria was mixing the cake mix together.

"How is it coming?" I asked.



"Almost ready to go in the oven!" She smiled.

"That's good."

Griffin's phone rang and he just looked up at me.

"Go! Answer it!" I gasped.

He walked out of the room while answering his phone.

"Do you think it's them?" Aria asked.

"I hope so, he is so worried."

"YES! YES!"

He came back into the kitchen screaming.

"THEY WANT ME! THE LOCAL TEAM WANTS ME!" He screamed.

Aria and I screamed and rushed over and hugged him at the same time.

"I told you!" I said.

"I'm so proud of you big brother!" Aria told him.

And with that we celebrated his birthday!



...

"I got my welcome packet!" Griffin said.

Aria, Nessa, and I were sitting outside on the deck.

"What does it say?" Nessa asked.

"Well, this should tell me where I am starting." He said.

He opened the packet and began to read it.

"What?!" He gasped.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I'm starting as... as the mascot?!"

Aria began to laugh.

"Aria!" I scolded.

"Everyone loves the mascot!" Vanessa said.

He looked so defeated.

"The mascot isn't that bad! Maybe they are just waiting for someone to leave the team!" I told him.

"I knew this wasn't going to work out." He sighed.

He got up and walked into his room.

"Aria, I know this may seem funny but to him it's a big deal." I told her.

"Sorry mom." She apologized.

I got up and walked into his room and found him lying on his bed.

"Griffin, I know this isn't what you pictured but we all gotta start somewhere, right?" I said.

"I want to be a football player mom, not some guy in a sweaty old suit." He huffed.

"What if this is the scouts way of testing you? To see how you handle getting drawn the short end of the stick?"

He looked over his shoulder and sat up.

"I didn't think about it that way." He said.

"Well, this may be their way of testing it."

He sighed, "I'll give it a shot."

So the next morning he was off to work.



I walked into Nessa's room.

"What are you up so early?" I asked.

"I couldn't sleep." She said.

I sat on the bed next to her and hugged her.

"I love you so much, you know that right?"

"I love you too mama."



I tried to give Nessa as much attention as the other two. I didn't want her to feel left out and unwanted and I hoped that I did a good job at that. Speaking of being worried about your career, I had became a little lazy with mine. I was getting better at it though, but I was having more fun being with my children. This week though I was focused on finding solutions for better water around the island and we were about sixty percent of the way to completing it.



"Nessa come on!"

I lifted my head from the screen and sat and listened.

"I just wanna know what you are doing!" She said.

"I'm trying to get some work done!" Aria groaned.

"What work do you have?"

I sighed and pushed my chair back. I walked into Aria's room and she was sitting at her desk on her laptop. When she told me of her dream to write I bought a laptop just for her.

"I'm practicing writing, okay?!"

"You wanna be a writer?"

"Yes."



"Nessa, how about you go for a swim?" I suggested.

"I don't feel like it." She said.

"Well then go play with your toys."

"Finneeee."

She sulked out of the room.

"How goes the writing?" I asked.

"Very slow." She groaned.

"Slow down baby girl, you have plenty of time."

"I know, but I figure if I can get a head start then by the time I can actually start my career I'll have my feet on the ground."

"When did my kids become so career driven?" I giggled.

She laughed.

...

"Hey Nessa?" Aria asked.

"Yeah?" She said.

"I'm sorry about snapping at you earlier."

"Aww, it's okay, I know I can be annoying."

"You aren't annoying, you are my little sister."

My heart warmed.



I was excited to see where the future took them, and I just hoped I had enough time to see it.

Everyone is aging up! Vanessa is next in line!

[Ally3772]

Thoughts of the Future

"Mom?"

I turned around to see Griffin standing at the door of my bedroom. He walked over and sat down next to me.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Huh? Nothing!" I said.

"Mom, I'm not a kid anymore." He reminded me.

"I'm just scared." I said.

"Of what?"

"Getting older. My birthday is shortly after Nessa's and I'll be an elder."

He took my hand and squeezed it.

"What's going to happen to you guys?"

"Well, I can't say much of what the future will hold. But mom, I got this. I promise you that I will look after the girls when you are gone."

"I don't tell you this enough Griff, but I am proud of you. Ever since your father passed away you have stepped up and at times I knew that was unfair to you, but he would have been proud of you."

He smiled, "Thanks mom."

I kissed his forehead.

"Are you gonna be okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm just not ready for this next part of life because that means I am one step closer to being gone."

He squeezed my hand again.

...

"Hey Vanessa, how was school?" I asked.

I walked into her room where she sat at her desk.

"It was okay, I have a lot of homework." She told me.

"Do you need help?"

"No, I think I got it."

I put my hand on her back and looked at her notebook as she wrote.

"Someone has a birthday in a few days, is there anything you want?" I asked.

"Just to be with you guys, and maybe a family movie night!"

"Well that's simple enough!"

She never was the child that wanted a whole lot, but then again non of my children really were.



I walked out of her room and into the living room. I grabbed my cell phone and dialed work.

"Hey, it's Sierra. I'm calling to check on the progress of the water pollution."

I waited for them to look up where we were with it.

"What?! That's awesome!"

I talked for a bit more before hanging up.

"What's awesome?" Aria asked.

"We completed the tests for better water!" I told her.



"That's cool!" She smiled.

"I know, it's boring to you guys." I giggled.

"Where is Griffin?" She asked.

"I think he is outside."

We walked outside together to see him swimming in the water.

"How's the water?!" Aria yelled.

"It's really nice!" He shouted back.



A Few Days Later

"Alright! Everyone outside!" I called.

We sat down around the table on the deck.

"So, we know that today is Nessa's birthday! She has requested a family movie!" I told everyone.

Nessa smiled.

"What movie?" Aria asked.

"A Tale of Two Kitties!" Nessa said.

"Again?!" Griffin groaned.

"It is your sisters birthday, it is her choice." I reminded him.

"Fine."



Shortly after the movie we had cake to celebrate and just like that Vanessa was a teenager!



And just like her siblings, she too was a mermaid!



Who would have thought that we would grow to be a family of mermaids. Adam would have hated it only because he couldn't join in on the fun. That thought of him stewing about it made me giggle and miss him all at once.

And child number three is now a teenager!

[Ally3772]

One Step Closer

"Griffin, it is five in the morning, what are you doing awake?!" I gasped.

"I have to get extra time in." He gasped.

I rubbed my arms for warmth as it was still a bit chilly out.

"How has work been going?" I asked.

"Fine, but coach wants us all to hit the weights a bit hard this week for training."



I sighed, "You know my rules."

"Don't overwork yourself." He grinned.

"That's right."

I walked back inside and checked the calendar. My birthday was tomorrow and I was not ready for this next step.

"Mom! I can't do this!" Nessa groaned.

I walked out on the deck where she was sitting on the floor.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Some stupid electric project! It's stupid!"

"It is not stupid, let me look."



"MOOOOM!" Aria screamed.

"What?!" I called.

"I need help!" She yelled.

I looked at Nessa and then over at Aria.

"I got her mom." Griffin said.

"Thank you."

It looked like both the girls were struggling with their projects.

"I wanted mom." Aria said.

"Well, you got me so deal with it."

I chocked back a laugh.



...

"Mom?" Aria asked.

"Yes dear?" I asked.

"Do you think the people from the lab are still watching us?"

The question caught me off guard.

"Why do you ask?"

"It's been a while since we've heard anything from them. What if they are just waiting?"

"Waiting for what?"

"Their next attack, what if I'm next?"

I sat down across from her and grabbed her hands.

"I know you are worried and I'd be lying if I said I hadn't had the same thoughts. But, I've come to the conclusion that we cannot let them control us. If we think about all of the 'what if' questions then we will drive ourselves crazy and wouldn't be happy. My hope is that they got what they wanted at the expense of Griffin being in pain. I still hate that they did that to your brother, but maybe that was it."

"Yeah, maybe."

I kissed her forehead.

"Thanks mom." She smiled.

"I love you." I told her.

"I love you too."

I walked out on the deck where Griffin stood looking up at the sky.

"What are you looking at and what happened to your chest?" I giggled.

"There are a bunch of birds flying in a circle." He told me.

I glanced up and sure enough, at least ten birds were flying in circles.

"Okay, and what about your chest?"

"I fell asleep in the sun in the water."

"Yikes."



"I have some lotion I'm going to put on it." He said.

"That's good."

...

Tomorrow was here.

Which meant I was now an official elder.



"Happy Birthday mom!" The kids said in unison.

I giggled, "Thank you."

They were sitting around a cake.

"Is this for me?" I asked.

"Of course!" Aria said.

"So, how does it feel?" Nessa asked.

"Like I'm one step closer to what I'm afraid of."

Griffin came over to us and hugged me.

"Who wants cake?!" I asked.

Later that night I spent some alone time in the water.

"I don't know Ellie, I know they will be fine but I am not ready." I told her.

She wiggled a little.

"Here you go!"

I gave her a fish.



"What are you gonna do without me Ellie?" I asked.

She nudged my hand.

"You're getting older too, but maybe the kids can look out for you, yeah?"

She chirped as I flipped on my back.



"Getting older is no fun Ellie." I sighed.

My days were numbered, and I just hoped I had enough time to do what I wanted to do.

I am NOT ready for Sierra to go </3

[Ally3772]

Out of the Blue

Griffin's POV

They're going to love you! -G

I don't know... -N

Trust me! -G

I'm scared. -N

Don't be! I'll text you when I've told them! -G

I walked out of my room and into the kitchen where everyone seemed to be at.

"Hey Griffin!" Nessa said.

"Hello." I said.

"What's up?" Mom asked.

"Um, well. I actually do need to tell you guys something..."

I was pretty cool, excited even, up until this point.

"Oh god, he got someone pregnant!" Aria said.

"Aria!" Mom scolded.

I chucked a bit.

"You didn't- Griffin!" Mom scolded.

"No! Of course not!" I gasped.

"Whew."

"I did meet someone though."

"WHAT?!" Nessa asked.

"Her name is Nadia and I met her at work."

"How long?!" Mom asked.

I tried to tell if she was mad or just shocked. I would have to guess both.

"A couple of months."

"You have been talking to someone for months, and you didn't tell us?" She asked.

"I didn't know if anything would come of it!"

"Are you dating?" Aria asked.

"Not officially just yet." I told them.



"So, when do we get to meet her?" Mom asked.

"Whenever you're ready." I told her.

"Now!" Nessa said.

I looked around to the others and they seemed to agree.

We're ready. -G

I don't think I am. -N

It'll be fine! -G

I waited outside for her to arrive.

"I'm so nervous." Nadia said walking up.

I giggled and gave her a hug.

"So, are you ready?" I asked.



"Can we just stay here? For a moment?" She asked.

"Of course."

She smiled.

"Were they happy? When you told them?"

"They were a little upset that I kept you from them for so long."

"Great, already have a stack against me."

"Stop it!" I laughed.



We walked into the house and I led her into the kitchen.

"Well, everyone, this is Nadia." I introduced.

"Whoa." Nessa said.

I could tell by their expressions that they were a bit shocked by her outfit.

"Hi Nadia, nice to meet you." Mom said, with a strange tone.

"Hello ma'am." Nadia smiled.

"You may call me Sierra."

Nadia nodded nervously.

"So, how did you guys meet?" Aria asked.

"Well, a few of my friends and I went to the game. I happened to bump into Griffin at the end of the game. I mean literally bump into him, my slushie went all over his jersey. I felt so bad!" She told them.

"I see, and ever since then you've been talking?" Mom asked.

"Yes ma- I mean yes, Sierra."



"Can you give us a moment?" Mom asked.

"Oh, um, of course!" Nadia said.

Mom grabbed me by my arm and took me outside.

"Mom? What is going on?" I asked.

Mom shut the door behind her and then turned to me.

"Griffin, you cannot be serious." She said.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"Do you see how she is dressed?" She gaped.

"Okay now you can't be serious mom."

"I am serious Griffin!"

"Times have changed mom. Just cause someone may be dressed one way does not mean that it is how they are as a person!"

"I don't know Griff, what would your father say?"

"Dad is dead."

Mom gaped and covered her mouth.

"I'm sorry, but he is. He isn't coming back mom, and I miss him, but I cannot keep living my life based on what dad may or may not have done or thought."

"I see."

"Look, I know your feelings on her clothing, but I think I really like her mom."

She sighed.

"I might have been a bit to quick to judge, I will give it a shot."

"Thank you."

We walked back into the kitchen and Nadia was gone.

"Where is Nadia?" I asked the girls.

"She said she needed some air." Vanessa told me.

I walked out on the deck to see her sitting on a stool.

"Nadia?" I asked.

She was crying into her hands.

"Nadia! What is wrong?!"

"They hate me!" She cried.

"What? No they don't!"

"Oh stop lying! I could tell by their faces!"



I sat down on the table in front of her.

"They were just shocked."

"I could tell they were judging me based on my clothes."

"I know, and I explained to mom that it was unfair."

"I'm not that type of girl? You know? I just feel pretty in this."

"You are beautiful." I told her.

"Thank you."

...

I sat at the table later that night.

"Can I sit here?" Aria asked.

"Sure." I said.

She sat down and I took a bite of food.

"Nadia seemed nice." She said.

I knew she knew I wasn't happy with some things about the meeting.

"She is, inside and out." I told her.



"Look, I know, okay? We judged her off of the way that she was dressed. But we were just thrown off."

"That is fine, but she just feels pretty in that."

"God! Griffin, she is pretty! Very pretty and I'm jealous!"

"Of what?"

"How pretty she is."

"Aria, you're beautiful too! Anyone who doesn't see that is insane."

"Thanks big bro."

I was glad that it was out there because keeping this from everyone has been tough. I wanted to make sure that I actually liked her first before exposing her to my family for the obvious reasons. I was excited to see where this went and I hoped that we would end up with a happy ending.

Who is this Nadia? Hmmm. I also rediscovered custom content... whoopsie.

[Ally3772]

When I'm Gone

"Hello Nadia." I smiled.

"Hello Sierra." She smiled.

She was sitting on a towel applying sun screen.

"Where is Griffin?" I asked.

"He's getting some water time in."

I looked at the water, sure enough there was Griffin, swimming freely in the ocean.

"So, um, you know?"

"Know what?"

"About his, our, secret?"

"Of you guys being mermaids? Yeah, he told me last week."

I sat down next to her.

"I know I come off a bit harsh sometimes. But you understand I'm only looking to protect my family?"

"Of course. I understand the importance of your secret."

I smiled, "Good."



"Can I ask you something though?" She asked.

"Sure." I told her.

"Have you ever thought about just opening up to people about it? I mean, they've already tested Griffin so maybe they wouldn't come after everyone."

I looked at her for a moment.

"To be honest I have thought about that. It's just scary, you know? To risk your whole family even if they might not do it."

"I understand."

I smiled and stood up, walking back into the house. We just finished celebrating Aria's birthday! She joined Griffin in becoming a young adult.

"Hey! What's going on?" I asked.

"Mom! I got a job!!" Aria gasped.

"You did?! Where?!"

"Remember that writers workshop that came to my school? Well they remembered me mom! They remembered me and offered me a job!!"

"That's great honey!"



"I can't wait to start mom!" She said.

"I'm so happy for you!" I told her.

"I'm going to go work on a starter piece they gave me!"

I giggled and gave her a hug before she rushed to her room.



Griffin walked into the room.

"Done swimming?" I asked.

"Yeah, I just came in for a drink." He told me.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a moment?" I asked.

"Sure, what's up?"

We both sat at the island in the kitchen.

"I've been thinking a lot, like normal, but after I am gone I want you guys to move out."

He looked at me strange, "What?"

"I want you guys to get out of this house. Move into a new one, something fresh so that you can make new memories without the old ones holding you back."

"But mom, we love this house." He argued.

"I know you do, but please. This will be a new chapter in your life, and you'll be sad enough, so why not add a new adventure in?"

He thought about it for a moment before agreeing.

"Now, just so you are aware I have a savings account open for you kids-"

"Mom, we don't have to have this conversation now."

"Yes we do, it's important. As I was saying, you each have your own separate savings accounts. You and Aria are free to use it as you will, but Vanessa does not get hers until she is a young adult, understand?"

He nodded.

"I love you, and I just want to make sure that you guys will be fine." I told him.

"We will mom." He smiled.

I hugged him tightly, and maybe a bit too tightly.

...

"So, what are your thoughts on Nadia?" I asked Aria.

We were having some mermaid time.

"I like her, at first she was a little quiet but I think she is just nervous." She told me.

"I have been a bit harsh on her, but I just wasn't expecting this chapter of Griffin's life just yet."

"Yeah, me either. It's weird seeing him with a girl."



"I think she'll make it. He seems happy."

"Yeah, I think so too." I agreed.

Griffin's POV

"Where did everyone go?" I called out.

"In the back!" Aria screamed.

I walked out on the deck to see Aria, Nadia, and Vanessa sitting at the table.

"What's everyone doing?" I asked.

"We're telling her all of your embarrassing moments." Nessa said.

"Oh no." I groaned.

"They're pretty funny." Nadia giggled.

"Cause that is going to make you want to date me."

Nadia blushed.

I haven't asked her to officially be my girlfriend yet. But I wanted to ask her, and I would probably do it soon I just didn't want to rush her.



"Come on Nadia." I said.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"It's a surprise."

She smiled and took my hand. I led her to the other side of the house where the swing set sat.

"A swing set? I didn't know you had one of these." She said.

"Yeah, it came with the house and we never got rid of it." I told her.

"Push me?" She asked.

"Of course."



"I think your family is warming up to me." She said after a little.

"Yeah, they seem to like you!" I smiled.

"I'm just glad your mom doesn't hate me."

"She doesn't, she is just protective of us. She has been more protective since dad passed."

"I'm sure it wasn't easy doing it alone."

I nodded.

Truth be told, I was scared to lose her. The days were numbered and I felt more and more unprepared as each of them passed.

I think I'm going to get the "it won't be long" message for Sierra soon </3

[Ally3772]

Shattered

Griffin's POV

"I got you a gift." I told Nadia.

"Ohh, you do?!" She squealed.

"Yeah!" I smiled.

I had worked on it all week and honestly my stomach was spinning. I reached behind me and pulled out a pink box with a white ribbon, it had little hearts all over it, the typical girly things. I held it in my hands as she looked at it.

"Can I open it?" She asked.

"Of course!" I said.



She opened the box, and inside it was a little note attached to a bracelet. The note read: Will you be my girlfriend? She picked up the bracelet and held it in her hands for a moment before looking at the note attached to it. She gasped and my heart stopped and my breath hitched.

"Well?" I asked.

She looked up at me and smiled.

"Of course I will!"



I was so happy and so relieved. She came into my life unexpectedly, but now that I had her in it I never wanted her to leave.

"What took you so long?" She giggled.

"I was nervous!" I admitted.

"You're so cute."

I blushed.

"Do you think everyone will be happy?"

"I only care about if we are happy, but I'm sure they will be."

She smiled and hugged me again.

"Should we go tell them?" I asked.

"Yeah let's go."



Turns out everyone was over the moon for us. Mom almost talked Nadia's ear off for an hour about how she couldn't wait for our future to unfold and how it was going to be great.

"It's going to be soon, isn't it?"

I looked to the side of me, Aria had walked up by me and was watching mom and Nadia talk.

"What is?" I asked.

"Mom dying."

I sighed and looked at mom.

"Yeah, I think it is."

Aria grabbed my arm and laid her head on my shoulder.
 
...

"So, what are you again?" Nessa asked.

"A fashion consultant." Nadia told her.

We were sitting on the couches.

"Sweet! When you guys get married I can say that my sister in law in my own fashion consultant!" She giggled.

"Okay, I literally just asked her to be my girlfriend can we calm down?" I laughed.

"Sorry." Nessa blushed.

Nadia looked over to me and smiled. She seemed unfazed by my family's over eagerness and it made me fall in love with her even more.



Later that day I walked out onto the deck where mom was looking out into the water.

"You okay mom?" I asked.

"Yeah, just tired." She replied.

I rubbed her back.

"I'm happy for you and Nadia."

I smiled, "Thank you."

"You've done wonderful things, I am so proud of you."

I smiled and nodded as I chocked back tears. She had been talking like this for a while, and I knew that she was tired, but I wasn't ready.

"I'm going to go get dinner started, okay?" I said.

"Sounds good, I love you Griffin." She said.

"I love you too mom."



After dinner we all sat around talking.

"No, I think Aria will be the first to have kids." Nessa giggled.

"Seeing as not all of are lucky in the dating department, that won't be happening anytime soon." She told her.

"Well, I already know that I want to adopt." Nessa said.

"You do?" I asked.

"Yeah, there's too many kids out there that need homes."

"That's very thoughtful honey." Mom smiled.

"I can't wait for you to look at my book mom! It's a kids book and I'm going to publish it soon." Aria told her.

"Maybe tomorrow dear." Mom said.



Aria nodded and smiled.

"I think I'm going to head to bed." Mom said.

"Okay, goodnight mom. We love you." I said.

"I love you kids too, very much." She smiled.

I saw Aria grab her plate of leftovers and head to the deck. I finished up saying goodnight to mom before sneaking outside.

"Hey, what's up kiddo?" I asked, sitting down next to her.

"What's next?" She asked.

"After mom?"

She nodded.

"Yeah, it's been on my mind a lot lately too. She wants us to move out into a new home."

"Move to a new home?! Griffin this is our childhood home!" She argued.

"I know! That's what I said, but she was persistent about it. She wants us to make new memories and not let the old ones hold us back."

She sighed and looked out into the water.

"Why did I think that she would live forever?" She asked.

"Because we don't want to think of her anywhere else but here."

I grabbed her hand and squeezed it.



The Next Morning

"It's almost done, do you wanna go wake mom up?" Aria asked.

"I'll grab the orange juice." Nadia offered.

Vanessa grabbed the plates to go set the table.

I walked into moms room and opened up the blinds to let the sun and fresh air in. I breathed it in for a moment before smiling and turning around.

"Mom, it's time to get up." I said.

I walked over to the bed.

"Nadia and Aria made breakfast! Your favorite too! Scrambled eggs and bacon!"

I glanced at the book she had been reading that was on the bedside table.

"Come on mom."

I gently placed my hand on the blankets and pulled them off of her. I gently shook her before realizing that she wasn't sleeping.

"Mom?"

I shook her some more.

You hear about shock, and how it just paralyzes you, but you never believe it. I believed it now.

She was gone.

I walked back out of the kitchen to the three girls laughing. I clenched my fists in order to keep myself together.

"Is she coming?" Nessa asked, with a big smile on my face.

I looked at Aria, and I knew that she understood.

She stopped in her tracks as the plate fell from her hands and shattered to the ground.

The broken plate lay in pieces as if a strange metaphor to how our life felt at this very moment.

RIP Sierra.

So, I've been debating with myself on what to do now. I don't necessarily want to drag this story out until everyone of the kids are elders and their kids and such. But I also don't want to start a new story either because I am hoping I get University for Christmas. So I think I'm going to keep going on this one with the kids until around Christmas and wrap it up in a way that makes sense. I even debated on making another thread for just the kids, but decided not to in the end. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter even though it was sad.

[Ally3772]

So, I know that I said that I would keep going. But Christmas things have prevented me from even playing, let alone creating chapters. So unfortunately I think I'm just going to create one more post to wrap the story up. I'll probably work on it today and hopefully get it out by tonight. I'm SUPER excited to try University and to make a story along that, so excited that I created my sim already! I hope I didn't disappoint anyone!

[Ally3772]

Something to Hide

Griffin's POV

Five Years Later

I sat on the couch reliving the last five years.

Losing mom hurt, it was honestly the worst paid I had felt my entire life. It all was a blur, but at the same time I could remember each moment vividly. We did as mom asked and moved into this nice house down the block. However, the girls didn't join us. So Nadia and I moved in the house while the girls started their own adventures. I was hurt a little at first by their decision as I didn't understand, but they just wanted to see what life had in store for them. That and I think they wanted to give Nadia and I some space to ourselves. It was never brought up that Nadia and I would move in together, it just kind of happened like that. We made it a point though to have family night at someones house every two weeks. Normally we would cook a meal, watch a movie, and then end with some games while we caught up one what was happening in each others lives.

What was happening in my life?

Nadia and I married a year after mom passed. I dived heavily into work using the field as my get away from facing my pain. Eventually it all caught up to me and I had to take some personal time off of work to deal with it all. I was the highest you could go in my career and I still loved it til this day. Nadia came to every one of my games, and she even tried to be at the practices when she could. Nadia never failed to blow my mind in more ways than one. She was head of her department as a fashion consultant, she even had a few celebrities from time to time come to her for advice. She had many late nights where it was almost morning before she came home, only to sleep for a few hours and do it all again. We were both pretty well into our careers, but something else was missing. Shortly after the wedding Nadia became pregnant. It became a huge surprise when we learned that we were having twins! Nine months later Ella and Elizabeth were born. Aria and Vanessa stayed over for a week and helped us with the girls and I would have died if they hadn't. I was nervous about becoming a father but now I had two kids for the price of one. I learned how to work sleep deprived and shower when I could, and I had mastered the art of diaper basketball. To the displeasure of Nadia though because sometimes I would miss the trash can and the diapers would come undone. Fast forward four years later to present day, and the girls were now four years old. They grew up so fast and were developing into their own little people with their own littler personalities. I loved watching them grow, and in a few months I would get the pleasure of watching the next one grow as well. Nadia was six months pregnant with our next child and thankfully it was just a single one this time. We found out last week that it is a boy and we decided to name him Adam after my dad.

Aria, where do I begin with her?

Aria dove deep into her writing. She didn't submerge herself in it like I did and took a different route. She saw a therapist for a few months after mom passed away until she felt comfortable to stop doing so. I was beyond proud of her for all that she accomplished in her life so far. It was crazy to think that I watched her go from writing on her laptop in her room, to seeing her books on the shelves at the local Sim Mart. I made her sign each of my copies of my books that I bought even though she told me she would give me the books for free. I had my own bookshelf just for her books, like a little trophy shelf. In the five years she hasn't met anyone to consider marrying. She had a few boyfriends here and there by nothing too serious ever came of it. She claimed that she was too busy, but I think she was just happy doing her own thing and I told her that there was nothing wrong with that. Her books weren't her only great achievement in her life though. She spent a lot of her down time volunteering at the local foster care helping with the children. Which is how she came about adopting a little boy named Tyler, he was around ten years old now. I was shocked that she decided to adopt but she loved Tyler more than the world itself and I understood that kind of love. It was true what everyone said, that you never knew love until you look at your child, or whatever the saying was. She made a selfless choice by adopting a child in need and she devoted her life to him. He was a pretty chill kid who enjoyed coming over on the weekends to hang out with the girls. I made sure to hang out with him, we called it "bro time" and I would take him out to games and throw around a ball.

Then there was Vanessa, who could forget about Nessa?

Growing up I was unsure what Vanessa was going to be. Aria and I had our minds set on who we wanted to be when we were teenagers, but Nessa never had that one dream. Vanessa had several dreams and it took her quite a while to pin it down to just one. Shortly after mom passed away she decided that she wanted to become a doctor and eventually open up her own practice. In between becoming a doctor though she met Victor. I wasn't too keen on him at first because I thought she was moving too fast and that he was taking advantage of her. The more we spent time together though I got to know him and saw how good off a guy he was. A year later they were married and were very happy together. Until about a month into the marriage when Nessa showed up on my doorstep crying. Victor and her had gotten into a huge fight and she packed her bags. She stayed with us for a few months after that, but I told her that she couldn't just hide from him. So they were working through their fight to make things better. Just when things were settling down they found out that Vanessa was pregnant. She moved back into their house and nine months later had a baby girl named Sarah Elizabeth. Sarah was three years old now and was the sweetest little girl. She followed Ella and Elizabeth around everywhere and they loved playing dolls and dress up. Vanessa was joining Nadia in being miserable and was also pregnant again. It was also a baby boy, but they were bouncing between Edgar and Nicholas for a name. In the midst of all this Victor helped Vanessa achieve her dream of opening up her own practice and it was going amazingly well for her. She was the only doctor around that offered affordable care for those who couldn't afford insurance so she was busy throughout the year.

So overall all of our lives were going pretty well. Not only did we have our own career paths, but we had our own little families to pass moms traditions down while starting our own. I was unsure if the mermaid trait followed throughout generations, but if they did I would explain to them as mom did to me. However, my speech to them would be a little different then what mom told us. You see, as busy as I was with everything going on I made sure to make time for something that was important to me. Mom's whole life she hid in fear of what would happen if people were to discover her mermaid side. Unfortunately we found out why she had to with me when I was kidnapped and tested out at the lab. We never were able to get them shut down, but I had a trick up my sleeve. I was sick of living in fear and I was angry that mom had too. After carefully discussing it with Aria, Vanessa, and Nadia we came down to a solution. We stop hiding. We stop living in fear. We just stop. So that's what we did, one day we all went out to the ocean in the middle of the day, with people all around, and we just swam. The news reporters had Christmas early that year and we were hot news for months upon months. We had so many people outside of our doors wanting to ask us questions, and we answered them. We ended up tracking the lab down finally and getting them shut down. They even were court ordered to reimburse me for what they did to me. Of course there were some haters and we dealt with a lot of backlash still, but it was over. We were finally free. Now we finally no longer had something to hide.

The End!

I hope you all enjoyed it and that I wrapped it up well! <3 Thank you all for reading my story!

[TheGoat]

Nice story, Ally! I've been so busy for the holidays, I haven't been on in weeks, but I think you wrapped it up great. As soon as I have enough time, I'm going to check out your new story. Good luck!