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The Human Fish 1 (take 2)

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Chapter 1: Milestones



  The next few weeks following my discharge from the hospital and our return to the Sutherland Express proved to be considerably less eventful, at least for Diane and me and those closest to us. We were relieved; while many of us were actually coming to enjoy our new lives as Mers and liked that they were often proving more interesting than our old lives had been, we did not want things to get TOO interesting. Certainly being kidnapped or getting shot to something akin to swiss sushi were two forms of 'excitement' we would all gladly do without!

  Many of us took the lesser frequency of particularly memorable events as another sign that we were finally settling into our new lives and were more ready than ever to consider what we might do in the future. Even with the experience some of us had already had, we continued to be amazed at the opportunities that awaited us as Mers. Indeed, the more we looked and thought, the longer the list of possibilities seemed to get. Perhaps we should not have been surprised; the shallow waters of the world's oceans alone are quite vast, and we Mers were actually quite few. While it was now clear there were far more Mers than the hundred or so Diane, Gizella, Yuki, and me had guessed soon after we had moved to North Carolina, a couple hundred or so Mers were drops in our corner of the Atlantic or compared to the human population in general.

  One reason for our lingering uncertainty how many Mers there actually were was because even at the end of January, nearly three months after the Xanadu event, the various authorities trying to account for everyone who had been at the convention still had not been able to contact all who had been registered as wearing a Mer costume. Some of us guessed most of the missing were probably pre-teen mermaids who had been taken home by their families during the chaos of the early hours following the Change. Like conventioneers such as Janice and myself, most attendees were either local residents or were staying at lodgings elsewhere in Orlando. Only the Orlando Convention Center and its hotel were ever put under lockdown and that had proved fairly easy to circumvent, particularly for those who now could fly or render themselves 'invisible' to mundanes. We ended up telling representatives from some agency with a tongue-twisting acronym of a name that herding cats might be easier than tracking down all the suspected missing mermaids, especially if they were being home-schooled. They didn't disagree with us.

  As we continued to get ever more used to being Mers (already many of us were having difficulty remembering how it felt to have legs!), we also continued to educate ourselves on the sea in general and the local plant and animal life in particular. Tara and her air-only breathing biped colleagues continued to be invaluable sources of information, but we also now made use of our new underwater communication system to look up stuff on the web. Sometimes Tara would give one or more of us a 'homework' assignment and later ask us what we had found out, but we also did a good deal of research on our own initiative, which pleased her at least as much. Sometimes all it took to get us swimming for the computers was a seemingly random idea and a dose of curiousity. Whenever we swam past the room where the computers had been set up, we could usually see a Mer or two there looking up something - or perhaps trading messages with friends or family.



  The month of February proved to be one filled with milestones in our new lives as Mers. The wedding of Fernando and Ana the first Saturday of the month was one such occasion, being the first marraige at (or should I say on the surface above?) the Sutherland Express. Originally they had intended to tie the knot in late January, but then put their plans on hold while I was recuperating in the hospital - they very much wanted me to be there! Once Diane and I returned to our home in the sea they set things in motion once more.

  The ceremony itself was both traditional and very much non traditional. After first considering having a Bahamian magistrate do the honors, they decided to have a priest perform a Catholic wedding instead, as both were members of the Church. Every Mer at the colony was cordially invited, as was the crew of the Merry Maid when Fernando and Ana learned she would be there on their big day.

  [I wonder if St Peter himself ever imagined anything like this] Diane thought to me as and many other Mers watched the Merry Maid's sails rise over the horizon and the ship herself then draw steadily nearer.

  [Maybe he did] I thought back [He was a fisherman before becoming one of Jesus' apostles, after all.]

  Shortly before the ship reached our position, men began climbing aloft to furl her sails. Being the masters at their craft that they were, it did not take all that long before the task was completed. The men at the anchor were just as proficient at their task, and the ship came to a stop right in front of where we were waiting on the surface.

  "Greetings, my fishy tailed friends!" Captain Musgrave called out via speaking trumpet. "I have brought a special guest for this special day."

  "Is he the one we are waiting for?" Ana asked, there was just a hint of nervousness in her voice.

  "Yes indeed, milady" the captain answered before turning and waving to someone behind him. Moments later a priest appeared at the railing and waved to us in the water before borrowing Musgrave's speaking trumpet.

  "Please, my friends, let all here who are Catholic join me in saying Mass...truth be told, let all here feel welcome today..."

  A couple dozen or so Mers swam as close as they could, while the rest of us stayed a bit further out, but well within listening range. Catholic masses can be lengthy, but Father Francis kept his surprisingly short, and tailored for his unique audience. When he finished, he called for Fernando and Ana to meet him on the other side of the ship. Mers being Mers, they saw no need to swim around the Merry Maid when they could go under her keel, and treated everyone to a good look at their tailfins as they dove under.

  When they returned a short time later (Ana later told us it was so Father Francis could hear their confessions, and absolve them of their sins), the priest walked down a stairway that had been deployed in their absense and spoke once more.

  "Let us all witness the joining in holy matrimony of Fernando and Ana..." That was the cue for Diane and me to swim up next to them, they had asked us to be their official witnesses. When the ceremony eventually ended with exchanges of vows and rings (neither had enough finger webbing for it to be an issue), they had a truly heartfelt embrace that had me at least on the edge of tears.

  I had regained my composure by the time I was asked to speak at the surface part of the reception, before the Merry Maid unloaded some supplies for us and we Mers went back inside the Sutherland for the night.

  "From the time I first met Fernando I could tell he deeply cared about Ana...he did not want to be separated from her as circumstances had forced them to be, and was willing to do almost anything so he could be with her again. Many, perhaps most people would think losing one's legs and the ability to walk is just about the worst thing that could possibly happen, but he saw things differently. He decided trading his legs for a tail and gills was what he needed to do so he could keep the promise he had made to her...when I told him I would not be able to change him back he told me 'Where she is is where I want to be, how she is is how I want to be'..."

  Diane next added some thoughts of her own "When they first met again here, I could not recall ever seeing two people look happier...and when we had to search for them that evening, when we finally found them sleeping in one of the rooms, the look of contentment on their faces was so amazing..."

  The ship's band next serenaded us with some music, when they finshed Captain Musgrave picked up his speaking trumpet again.

  "Before we depart, my fishy tailed friends, me and the crew would be most pleased if ye would treat us to a little dancing, starting with you sir, and you, milady" as he looked at Fernando and Ana.

  "Most gladly!" the newlyweds answered together. In a moment they raised themselves up so little but their tailfins were still below the surface, and were churning the water with their tails so they stayed upright. When they finished several other Mers including Diane, Natalie, and me put on an encore performance and were cheered as well.

  The celebration continued after we dove back down for some late afternoon foraging before we went back 'indoors' for the night. Almost everyone offered the new couple pieces of seaweed, crab, lobster, and fish. Fernando and Ana happily nibbled on many of the offering and more than once she quipped <I need to swim more. I don't want to get fat except here!> as she rubbed her almost-two-months-pregnant belly.

  After the bell was rung, everyone swam into the forward hold for an evening of dancing and story telling, including how they first met.

  <It was at a dance party to ring in the new year while we were living in Denver> Fernando said. Although barely two months had passed since his arrival at the Sutherland, he and many others were already capable signers, thanks to all the practice they had already had. Neither he nor Ana asked for telepathic help all evening.

  <My boyfriend at the time did not show up> Ana now said <and I very much wanted to dance.>

  Fernando continued <Ana came over and asked if one of us would dance with her. Some guys got nervous but I decided I would be brave and go with her.>

  <Some of my friends did not believe me at first when I later said we had never met before.>

  Ana couldn't help but smile broadly when Fernando said <I did not expect I would enjoy dancing with her so much, but I did.>

  Dancing that evening was both a fun occasion and a bit frustrating for the mermaids with so few mermen to go around. As perhaps the nearest to a best man this wedding had, I found myself doing an early dance with Ana, before Diane reclaimed me with a smile.

  As they had over the holidays, Fernando and Ana took delight in leading us in a series of conga line dances. The highlight of the evening, of course, was any time they danced with each other, their tails moving together in graceful coordination. What songs they played in their minds as they danced they never told us.



  By mid February, some three months after the Xanadu event, more Mers than ever were considering the Sutherland Express the primary (if not only) home, but the number actually in residence was dropping a bit as Mers began leaving for jobs and missions elsewhere. The Monday aftern Fernando and Ana Cervera were married, a team of four Mers led by Yuki left for Mexico. Their destination was one of the lagoons on the Baja coast, where gray whales would gather each winter to give birth and nurse their young, mate, and enjoy the sanctuary from predatory killer whales. They had long been a source of curiousity for both scientists and whale watchers. Now many marine biologists saw an opportunity to observe and study the giant cetaceans asthey never had before.

  [Tara is excited, we are excited, everyone is excited!] Dee Dee had said to Diane, Natalie, and me the evening before the quartet's departure. She was to be one of Yuki's teammates, along with Rennie and Bernie.

  [I hope the three of you don't end up fighting over him!] Diane quipped.

  [I don't think you need worry. Yuki says she is much too old for Bernie and Rennie and I are about ten years younger than him!]

  Dee Dee then told us about the underwater home and workplace that had been set up for them.

  [It's basically a series of shipping containers and large sharkproof cages all joined together. The containers will give us privacy from other divers and snorkelers, and the cages will allow us to watch things at night in safety. Some instruments will go in the containers, some will go in the cages, kind of like what we have here.]

  [How deep is it?] Diane wondered.

  [It's in one of the deeper spots in the lagoon, too deep for most recreational divers to reach us.]

  [How do Tara and the others think the whales will react to you swimming close to them?] I wondered.

  [They think they will accept us much more readily than 'normal' human divers. We will still be cautious, especially around females with calves.]

  [Do you think they might swim close to you?] Natalie now asked.

  [We think they might, They sometimes swim right up to the side of those whale watching boats and sometimes even let people touch them. We of course won't spook them with air bubbles, and we do swim more like dolphins than humans.]

  [I once read somewhere that the way humans swim can itself sometimes make marine wildlife nervous and shy away from us] I added.

  Dee Dee nodded her head in agreement as she answered [I think I heard that somewhere too.]

  [Will you keep us updated on how you are doing?]

  [We plan to. The first few days we will be busy setting things up or making sure everything works, but once everything is ready we hope to have lots of photos and video to send you...]

  [It must be awesome, seeing one of those whales up close] Natalie now said [I wish I could go there and see them someday somehow.]

  [It is awesome!] Dee Dee answered. [And we will be seeingg them direct with our own eyes, no goggles or masks to limit the view!]

  [How long will you be there?]

  [We think at least a month, maybe longer. We would like to be there when most of them start leaving for the north Pacific for the summer.]

  [Will you have visitors?]

  [Oh yes, we will! Mexican oceanographers will be visiting every few days.]

  [Are any of the Mers?] Diane asked.

  [No, but we have been told some of them already wish they could be...]

  Dee Dee's teammates arrived just then, and we spent some time discussing other possible whale watching and other trips we might go on. The shipwrecks of Truk were one possibility. Going to Hawaii or Alaska (remember, Mers are quite comfortable in water that would quickly bring on hypothermia in 'normal' humans) to observe humpback whales was another idea that kept us chattering for some time. We also wondered what it would be like to see a blue whale up close, as few if any humans, either Mer or biped, had ever been able to do before.

  [Hawaii sounds good!] Yuki said.

  [You will like it!] Diane told her.

  [Believe it or not, I have never been there!]

  [Really?!] Bernie asked Yuki.

  [Yes, really. Flights from Japan to the mainland US take the 'great circle' route over Alaska. 'Flat Earth' types may not believe it, but it is shorter that way. Just look at a globe...]



  As promised, Yuki's team started sending us photos and video by the middle of the month, on the fifteenth. We were awed at the scenes they had already captured: female whales giving birth and nursing their calves, groups of whales chasing each other around, and showing a definite curiousity in their new Mer neighbors. Needless to say, we were all thirsting for more!

  It was also on the fifteenth that I had a personal milestone of sorts. For the first time since I had first arrived at the Sutherland Express, I was not called upon to use my contact telepathy to help with communication.



  By late February Hannah was about four months pregnant and looked it. Tara was about three months along and starting to show as well. Ana was a couple weeks or so behind Tara and at that stage where we could not be sure she was starting to show herself or just getting a bit fat: like many pregnant women in their first trimesters she had had quite an appetite lately. Perhaps because her physiology was less unique than Hannah's and she had not had any significant issues thus far (not even a single bout of morning sickness, which amazed both Hannah and Tara and more than a few doctors), Ana had not yet been asked to came ashore for her pre-natal checkups. Instead a doctor or two would come out periodically on one of the visiting ships, usually the Merry Maid, the Proud Mary, or the Gulfstream Explorer. Quite often a Trek doctor would come because their tricorders allowed them to examine their water-dwelling patients much more easily. Besides Bones and T'Kring, who was easing back into semi retirement, we had also been seen by Doctors Beverly Crusher and Selar, both of TNG Trek. Selar actually enjoyed seeing us, though by unspoken mutual agreement she never shed her mask of Vulcan stoicism, while we Mers tended to be less emotional while in her presence, including me.

  On the morning of the last Monday of February, the twenty-sixth, it was the turn of the Proud Mary to drop anchor over the Sutherland. While some visiting oceanographers prepared to go over the side, Doctor Selar appeared at the rail and waved her arm to signal she was ready to see anyone who felt they needed some medical attention. Diane was one of a few who took their places in line, she was hoping she could give to a friend at her old school some eagerly awaited news.

  That story had begun shortly before this past Christmas during a previous visit by the Proud Mary. Diane had called her sister Jill to tell her how she was doing at our new home in the sea, only to be jolted by the news that her best friend at her old school had suffered the heartache of yet another miscarraige. Perhaps worse, her doctors were now telling her her condition was incurable. She could conceive without difficulty, but she simply could not carry a baby to term. The friend - her name was Sherry Thomas - and Diane had first met when Diane had gone back to college following her divorce and the two had been close friends ever since, even being hired by the same district within weeks of one another. Although she had never had children of her own, Diane felt for her friend whenever she had miscarried and would offer her another shoulder (besides her husband's) to cry on.

  The latest news clearly weighed on Diane's mind as we dove back down to forage before heading in for the night. She said very little for quite some time, which was unusual for her. As much as I wished to know what seemed to be troubling her, I refrained from asking and decided to wait until she was ready to talk.

  It was during the evening that Diane finally gave voice to what had been on her mind.

  [Harry, I really want to help her...what do you think of me being a surrogate mother...they would be the biological parents...] She gently squeezed my hand as she spoke, but there was a pleading look in her eyes too.

  I had not anticipated anything like this, but quickly recovered from the initial surprise. From past conversations I could tell Diane really cared about her friend and told her [Diane, if you really want to do that, and you are able, I will support you any way I can...]

  Despite all the hubbub on the Merry Maid's deck on Christmas Day, Diane somehow managed to find a quiet, out-of-the-way spot from which to call Sherry. To put it mildly, she was astounded by her friend's offer, but grateful as well. The two women kept in touch whenever they could after that, and by New Year's eve had been able to arrange an appointment for Diane the next time she came ashore, to determine if she would indeed be a suitable surrogate mother for Sherry.

  We ended up keeping that appointment the evening of January second, a few hours after I had transformed Natalie into a water-only breathing mermaid to spare her what she considered the far worse fate of suffocating from an incurable lung disease. Somewhat to the surprise of the doctors involved, Diane turned out to be an ideal candidate, despite her relatively advanced age for a first-time mother (surrogate or otherwise). She was in excellent health, and women in her family had a history of successful child bearing well into their forties. Indeed, years before, one of her aunts had given birth to twins at forty-seven - naturally, not by c-section, and with an ease that would have made many younger moms-to-be green with envy.

  The embryos were fertilized and temporarily frozen while Diane and I were at the Sutherland helping Natalie get settled into her new home and way of life. Sherry and her husband Ross were as moved by her story as we had been by theirs. When the hopeful parents-to-be mentioned that they had hoped to have two children, Diane all but floored them by offering to carry both at once.

  "Really?!" Sherry could not hide her astonishment.

  "Yes, really" Diane replied and mentioned her own family history of twins. "The doctors and I think having twins might be much easier for me than you."

  "Why would that be?" Ross wondered in turn.

  "As long as I am in the water, it will support my whole body, just like those whales and dolphins. Very different from most women who have to carry all that extra weight on their feet!"

 

  As much we would have preferred different circumstances, my wounding and subsequent hospitalization did provide the doctors with the opportunity to implant Diane with the twin embryos she had volunteered to grow into babies over the next nine months. The procedure was done on the Wednesday of my stay, it was seemingly one of the few time she had left my side prior to my discharge. After that, there was nothing more to do but wait a month or so before we could be sure if the implantation was successful or not...



  When Diane's turn to be seen by Doctor Selar came, she spoke quietly with the Vulcan doctor for a few minutes, then flipped onto her back so she could be scanned more easily. After a few moments Selar seemed to smile (at least by Vulcan standards), then both women waved for me to swim up as well.

  "Congratulations, Miss Collins, you're pregnant..."
For some reason(s) I cannot be sure of, the first time I posted this chapter  last month about half of it was in italics, various attempts by me to correct it were not successful. Rather than continue fighting with a possibly corrupted piece I decided to write it on a new file at Notepad and resubmit and delete the original,  sorry about any problems!

This is the first chapter of my follow-up to 'A Merman's Tale' fav.me/d80rekd
© 2015 - 2024 uglygosling
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MensjeDeZeemeermin's avatar
I enjoyed it even de-italicized!