It was a blur of cops and EMTs as they rushed the building trying to get Marty from the arms of his father. Once he was on the ambulance Ramon and Michael jumped in as quickly as possible into the back before the doors closed and the truck lurched into action as fast as it could. They wouldn"t take the "only room for one parent in the back" thing.

Darya had to watch while Marty was taken away and Tyler was arrested along with his stepfather which confused Darya. She didn"t think the police would believe them about the mermaid kidnapping.

"Dar, stay close to me, we"ll go to the hospital once we"re done here. Where"s your father?" Denise asked as she grabbed Darya in her arms even with her dripping wet from the tank"s water. Darya looked around and found her father kneeling on the ground, legs and all. She left her mother"s warm embrace and went straight for her father on the floor.

"Dad, how are you feeling?" She asked while reaching out for his hand in the hope that he would take it and stand up with her. When his hard hand slapped into her own she felt the weight of his pain and when he stood completely and brought her into a tight embrace she could almost feel his relief through the hug.

"You shouldn"t have come for me. That was a dangerous and dumb move." His word cut like a knife and for her to hear it while thinking the same thing only made it worse. "But, I"m glad you did. You were very brave. Very brave indeed. And that siren scream! What was that?!" Raj pushed Darya away when he asked her the sudden question. When she saw that his face was lit up with curiosity and wonder all her fear of him being mad at her forever went away.

"I don"t know, I just saw Marty getting shot and screamed for him. I didn"t realize it was anything special until I saw the gla.s.s of the tank cracking." She answered him honestly and it only made him adore her more. "That is the trait of a true mermaid. Your love for your family and friends knows no bounds. I love you so much Darya, and I can"t be mad at you for saving me. You did what you believed was best." He pulled her into another bone-crushing hug and this time she crushed him just as hard back.

Denise watched the last cop leave after giving her statement and asking that her daughter be left out of everything. She wanted their privacy to be kept intact.

"Everything has been taken care of. Tyler and Johnson have been taken to the precinct and if you hurry we can get to the hospital within the hour." She told Darya as they came apart from their tight hug. "We need to get to Marty, I want to be there when he wakes up." She stopped the tears from coming and instead sucked up the pain of seeing him shot in the center of his chest and walked towards the jeep waiting for her outside.

Denise stayed back for a moment and looked at the ragged Raj that stood just in front of her.

"Darya would probably love it if you came with us but I know you have a mess to clean up so you may not have time..." She couldn"t hide the vulnerable tone in her voice and Raj couldn"t ignore it. He could see her eyes pleading with him but she was right about one thing. There was a mess to clean up back home. It was just like before.

"I hate leaving you, every time I do it cuts me just a little bit more. One day, there won"t be a war to fight, or a family member to bury and I will be able to come up here whenever I want. Perhaps when Gemma is completely trained and ready to take over I"ll come up for a longer period of time." The promises he wanted to make made her heart swell. She waited fifteen years to see him again, maybe a few more wouldn"t kill her. "I think I can keep waiting, I have a lot of work to do up here and now that things are safer down there and up here you"ll probably have to tell Darya to come back up here because she"ll never want to stop visiting you."

Raj took her hands in his and brought their foreheads together for one last goodbye before he went back home. It would be their last goodbye because he would see her again, and he would make sure there would be no more goodbyes after that.

"Give my love to Darya and tell her I"ll see her soon. Both of you." Denise"s heart fluttered as if she was nineteen again. Before Raj left he quickly captured her lips for the first time since they met all those years ago. It was bittersweet since he was leaving her again but she knew he would keep to his word and come back so it was easier to see him go this time. The kiss broke and before he could say something again she turned and walked away from him.

Quickly making her way to the jeep she started the engine and readied herself to tell everything to Darya. Starting with why Tyler and his stepfather were arrested.

It took them about forty minutes to get to the local hospital which was about three hours from their actual hometown. Once they parked Darya spent no time in rushing through the automatic doors even while still wearing the clothes from the tank that were still drying.

"Martin Todd"s room, please," Darya asked quickly while the nurse typed away on the keyboard. "He just got out of surgery, but it"s family only." She told her while peering over the reading gla.s.ses that were attached to a beaded necklace. "She"s family," The sound of Ramon"s voice from her left made her heart lurch and when her eyes landed on the worn out father or her best friend. She rushed over to him and as he wrapped her up in his arms he whispered his thanks for her coming to see them.

Once Denise caught up with them Ramon walked them to Marty"s room. Michael was leaning back in a not very comfortable hospital chair like he had for the last hour.

"Denise, Darya, thanks for coming. He just back in they said the bullet is out and there is no other damage. He was very lucky." They heard the pain in his voice and Denise wanted to pull him out of the chair and comfort him but Ramon taking the arm of the chair and leaning down on him told her that he had enough at the moment. Darya walked over to his bed and sat gently on the edge, trying not to mess anything else up but wanting to be as close to him as possible.

"We"ll let you have a moment with him, I think Michael needs more coffee," Ramon spoke low and gingerly pulled his husband out of the chair and took Denise"s hand while walking them out of the hospital room.

Darya scooted closer to him and while trying to think of what she wanted to say she pulled his blanket up a little more to comfort him.

"I"m sorry I got you into this mess. I should have just stayed above water that summer or stayed in the house and not leave in a huff to explore on my own. Had I stayed in the house I wouldn"t have met Tyler and no one would have been in danger. I"m such a dumb child." She could no longer hold back the tears from before. Seeing him in such a state made every bone in her body hurt as if they have been broken.

"I have other news for you, something to take your mind off of all this." She gestured around the room even though he couldn"t see her right now. "My mother informed me of the other part of y"alls plan. I had no idea Tyler and his stepfather were pirates and have been in the illegal business of stealing rare artifacts and selling them on the black market. The info about them using their deep sea diving for more than just research. It"s wild to think of Tyler as "

"Pirate?" Marty"s rough voice came through and when Darya heard him finish her sentence she lit up with a bright smile. "Marty! I didn"t think you would be awake so soon!" She shouted a little too loud for him and the empty room around them. She leaned in to hug him but stopped when she realized that he was still hurt.

"I heard your apology and you don"t need to say anything. I would have followed you into h.e.l.l had you asked me to." He scooted over slightly which told her he was making room for her on the bed. She didn"t say a word and took her spot next to him and laid back as if they were on the couch together back home. "I never thought I would meet a pirate, modern day ones are so boring," Darya complained, making Marty laugh and then wince in pain from his chest injury.

"Sorry, again," She looked down at the wound on his chest and felt the pain of guilt again.

"Never be sorry for me again. This wasn"t your fault. Now, if you don"t mind, I would like to watch some t.v." Marty gently shoved her a little over in a playful way making Darya smile even more. She wiggled down slightly so she was more comfortable and while Marty turned on the t.v and found their favorite show they drifted into a comfortable silence between them.

"Oh, Marty, before I forget. Happy birthday." She turned her head to meet him and pecked him on the lips quickly. His birthday had slipped both of their minds with everything going on. "I"ll make it up to you when you feel better." She promised. "You better, this bullet wound isn"t going to keep me from one of your famous birthday parties." He nudged her once more before the two of them went silent again as the colors on the t.v dance in front of them.

When their parents returned to the room they found their kids asleep on the hospital bed and decided that camping out in the room for the night would be best for everyone. Taking a chair each they silently watched the t.v and it was nearly twenty minutes before anyone spoke again.

"I can"t believe our family has come this far. Soon we"ll be planning their college graduation party and then their wedding and then maybe grandkids." Michael turned to the others who all looked as if they were deep in thought. "I think you"re planning a little too far into the future," Ramon spoke up. "You don"t think they"ll be together for the rest of their lives?" He b.u.t.ted back.

"I think they have a long way to go but that their bond is one that will never be broken," Denise spoke up in between them. She thought of Raj or Dane as she still likes to think of him as and knew that if they had even an ounce of what she felt with Dane all those years ago then they would be fine. They"ve come this far and they would only go further with their family behind them, nothing was out of reach.