Changes In Paradise: Chapter 14 - Choosing Change free porn video

Disclaimer: If you're underage, stop reading. If you're offended by transgender or transsexual ideas, stop reading; and if you're unlikely to enjoy erotic descriptions of sex, stop reading. This story is definitely adult material. Finally, if mermaids aren't your "thing," read this story anyway; it might change your mind. Please read "Changes In Paradise, parts 1 - 13," if you haven't already, and please take a moment to post a comment to the site on which this story appeared, or send an email. For newbies, when dialogue is set off in brackets, [like this], the characters are speaking via CHEW, which is--more or less--telepathically. There is a story summary in Chapter 13, but if you haven't read 13, you'll need to. For those who like to "keep book," there is a separate document that is the "Pod-Tree" and Character List for CIP which should be available on this site. I want to thank Mare Vir and Josh for their help and encouragement on this chapter. Without those two (particularly my good friend Mare Vir), this chapter would never have been finished. I'd also like to thank Pat(rick), who has performed yeoman work on this chapter, making it seem as though I actually know how to write. When I read this now, it seems like my twin sister wrote this rather than me. Thanks too to Larry and Fran(k) for their continued help in editing. Their time and interest is much appreciated. Permission granted to re-post on any free site with attribution. Thanks for the comments, suggestions, and encouragement on the previous parts. I really appreciate it. Several characters and situations that appear in this chapter are the results of the comments from readers (finally, Debra, FINALLY), so please feel free to send suggestions. I would also like to thank the many others who have left kind and encouraging comments. Your willingness to say anything is of great value to me. So, thank you again! Changes in Paradise: Part 14 - Choosing Change By Patricia The cave was deep inside the single dormant volcano jutting up from the ocean along the western edge of a small island that lay at the intersection of 3 degrees, 23 minutes, and 51 seconds south, and 174 degrees, 40 minutes and 52 seconds west. The small island was largely overlooked by the world, being without adequate land area for an airport, even a small one. It was also a privately owned island, though few people in the world knew either the current owners or the agreements that caused the previous owners to sell their land. The cave was originally formed by a pocket of hot gas, along with many of the other caves riddling the western interior of the volcano. This one, however, had been altered by the current occupants to suit their needs. A soft white-blue glow from LEDs strung up like holiday lights filled the room, which made visible a line between the natural, gas- formed, cave walls and the more recent, acid etched walls. The floor, however, was uniformly smooth, polished clean by the near constant brush of mer-tails. The surprisingly airy cave was twenty meters wide and thirty meters deep and was filled with long, low tables, each about one meter high that were ordered in a five by six rectangular grid, each table about three meters from any other. Two tables nearest to the small pool filling one corner of the room were empty; the rest were piled high with computers and strange looking scientific apparatus. Several large pieces of equipment hulked along the back wall, including an MRI machine, a CAT scanner, and an isolation chamber. It looked like a perfect place for a mad scientist. Pat rubbed her green eyes, blinked, then pulled her long sea green tail up behind her and scratched her dorsal ridge, briskly vibrating one corner of her pink-fringed-flukes against the center of her back. As she satisfied her itch, she leaned back into the steam-punk looking apparatus set on the table before her, gently placing her chin on its padded rest. Her dark, red hair fell forward as she concentrated, shielding her eyes from the lights above, her long tail curled back out behind her, nearly hitting the table where two other mermaids were hunched over a computer screen. "Watch the tail," Galina warned without looking up. Phoebe stifled a giggle, Pat lifting her head sharply and staring daggers at her pod-mate. "It wasn't Phoebe who broke that last vial," Alexis said, winking at white-blond Nordic mermaid. Pat looked from Phoebe's laughing blue eyes down to her sister wife's long blue tail with its white fringes matching her hair, noting that it rested on the leg of Galina's and Alexis' table. She arched an eyebrow at her pod-mate and then turned all the way around to look at her own tail, and despite the teasing she had just endured, she admired, yet again, how beautiful it was. It shimmered in the soft LEDs, her wide flukes curling and twitching as she flexed her "old toes," which were now long, thin bones, making her flukes so flexible and strong. Her tail was nearly a meter longer than her legs had been, and was a brilliant wash of color reaching from the middle of her hips to the light pink fringes lining the trailing edge of her flukes. "Sorry," she said playfully, buoyed by the sight of her own tail. "I keep forgetting how long this thing actually is." She turned back to her steam-punk microscope, forcing her tired eyes to look through the small lens. There, in the tiny eyepieces, she watched hundreds of tiny, squiggling, spiraling, and squirming microorganisms come into focus. She could feel Phoebe shift over to her right side to prepare their next slide. The four of them had been working steadily for several hours through the dark of the night, returning to work shortly after the orgy that followed Kate and Ann's transition, poring through the mountain of data they had collected. She watched again, as the microscopic creatures absorbed the mineral salts, which Phoebe had dyed blue, into their bodies then began to disaggregate them. She watched amazed, until realizing she wasn't breathing and leaned back with a sigh. Incredible, she thought to herself rubbing her tired eyes again. The microorganisms in the Moon Pool were literally creating the raw materials they had used during their transition from human to mer. The siren cells could, and had, done it on their own, but it had taken weeks to build up enough mass and energy to accomplish the task. The microorganisms' activity accounted for both the increased speed of the more recent transformations and the otherwise unexplainable increases in everyone's body mass and density. The microorganisms may have been a significant factor in their unbelievable luck in achieving the genetic stability they enjoyed. Well, she reminded herself, they now knew how much their bio-electro-magnetic mer-organs affected the transformations, which was considerable. "Next," she said, flexing her tail, trying to work out the stiffness she felt as she propped herself up before the microscope. Phoebe removed the current slide and replaced it with another. Pat leaned back into the powerful apparatus and looked again. After a few minutes she began to dictate. "They are processing and breaking down minerals and salts in the water," Pat reported as Phoebe typed notes into her computer. "They disaggregate inorganic compounds into elements and, as a byproduct, gain materials for their own reproduction. Additional waste products are organic compounds that our siren cells use to rebuild tissue and bone." "They breed while creating the raw materials for our transformations?" Phoebe confirmed while typing furiously. "Yes," Pat agreed. "It looks to be both a bio-chemical and an electro- magnetic process, much like Rose does when she creates polymers. Galina, what does your data suggest?" "A few of these microorganisms are converting mass into energy on a quantum scale, a process which seems to follow fractal patterns," Galina reported, her voice tinged with awe. "It's similar to how our cells follow DNA instructions, which-like any fractal?are repeating patterns resonating across a structure. But these conversions are happening on a scale too small for our equipment to measure, and their energy traces seem to suggest a dual process, and perhaps that second one causes our non-genetic expressions, like hydrophobic skin and hair." "Possible," Pat agreed. "But we can't see them, and I would bet that even Geneva's accelerator can't see them either. So, we're not going to know the answer to that question for a while." "Maybe the second process is not quantum, but rather an unusual biological process we can't see?" Phoebe suggested. "We'd see otherwise unexplainable biological waste," Galina argued. "No biological system is completely efficient. Even though we have very efficient biological systems as mermaids, we do not use all our calories for cellular survival." "It means we still poop," Pat said. "I know what that means," Phoebe said with a pout. "And the processes don't seem to operate like biological agents," Alexis observed. "They aren't bacteria, or they aren't any longer at any rate, AND they aren't viruses. They appear to be acting very differently. Perhaps it's a radical mutation of bacteria." "Mutation?" Pat asked, salamandering over Phoebe's tail and circling around the table to their computer. "The residual radioactivity on this island has created instabilities in the DNA of some creatures," Alexis offered. "We may have been affected by this phenomenon ourselves, except in a good way. We were created by a rare combination of bio-electromagnetic forces in both our human and siren DNA. Our resultant DNA is unusually stable, thus our long life expectancy, but these micro-organisms are highly unstable." "What about those DNA packets inside those micro-organisms?" Pat asked, pointing at the computer screen. "Those viral packets?" Galina asked. Pat nodded. "It's a match," Galina said. "How much?" Pat asked, feeling her tail cramp beneath her. "Um, give me a minute," Galina said, twisting to another computer to her right. Her long, graceful fingers flew over the keyboard, typing furiously. "We should work on an interface between our tiara's and computers," Alexis said, watching her former fellow Russian scientist work. "We could really speed some things up." Galina's hands were a blur over the keyboard, and after several minutes of entering data and activating complex computations, she straightened up. "It's actually unbelievable," Galina reported. "Are you kidding?" Pat sighed. "After all we've been through already, you think you've discovered something unbelievable? A compound I distilled from painted shellfish changes me into a girl, then Danni," she said nodding at the pool where the rest of the mers were still sleeping, "then it changed all of us into mermaids, including two stranded Russian men. Now, you tell me we've found something incredible?" "The micro-organisms that carry this particular virus comprise at least fifty different species," Galina reported, lifting her head from the computer screen, her bright red hair falling back from her face, curling over her very large breasts. "We confirmed that last week," Alexis added, her blue eyes sparkling with excitement. "And they each perform very specific and very different activities during transformation," Galina continued. "Which we also knew last week," Pat reminded her. "But, what we didn't know is that they all carry the exact same, identical virus," Galina said, her hand sweeping over the data on the other computer screen. "Which is itself an exact match for our siren cells." "Exact?" Pat asked, salamandering over Alexis' bright pink tail and sidling next to Galina's dark maroon one. "Exact," Galina reported, pointing to her computer screen. "I believe you," Pat said, peering at the columns of glowing numbers. "I just don't believe the data. Over three billion possible, and probable, variations, and there are no variations." "It is exact?" Phoebe asked. "Exact," Galina repeated in the same tone. "Exact?" Alexis asked. "That was three times, it's not funny any more," Pat sighed. "So, it's exact. The micro-organisms carry the DNA for siren cells in a viral form." "Does that mean that they can actually make them," Alexis asked. "Like we do in our own bodies?" "I would think so, but only after they are inserted into human cells," Galina argued. "Remember those nasty little bugs we created for the Rous sarcoma virus a few years ago?" "Don't remind me," Alexis protested. "They almost killed us." "Well, these lipid packets are morphologically identical," Galina observed. "Except that now the result is a siren cell rather than a deadly cancer." "Or so we hope," Alexis said. "Wait," Pat said, a sudden inspiration taking her. "These microbes are performing both biological and electrochemical changes in materials around them as they infect living material in order to breed, right?" "Basically," Galina agreed. "Can we leverage those functions towards purely electrochemical ones and have the biological ones create the energy?" Pat asked. "You mean, use the biological energies that are now waste driven to power more electrochemical disaggregation?" Alexis asked. "Oh, my goodness," Galina agreed. "Maybe. We could, but what would we do with that process?" "Disaggregate sea water," Pat said. "We could do it," Alexis said, her dark blue eyes suddenly growing bright with fear. "Do what?" Phoebe asked, looking around the dim lab cave to see if everyone else was still asleep in the pool at the far end of the cavern. "Create a bio-electrical organism that can metabolize or disaggregate base molecules into elements, which would cause them procreate at exponential speeds," Galina answered. "We could turn seawater into a gas." "Oh, god," Phoebe said. "Could we?" "While it's theoretically possible," Galina said. "I'm still not sure if it is desirable." "We must," Alexis said. "We cannot allow what we have created to be lost. I lost two pod-mates once to human greed and ignorance. I have no wish to lose another. We must do this." "But these micro-organisms are inside Mac and Joy," Phoebe said. "If they are so unstable, what are we going to do for them?" "I don't know," Pat said softly. "I don't know." ***** John awoke slowly, his eyes blinking through the thick cloud of golden blond hair blocking his view. As he struggled to focus past the swirling mass of hair, he became aware of his long penis, still hard, and still buried in a mermaid. Blond hair ... long, stiff nipples pressed into his chest ... a soft, fluttery tail quivered along his own ... it must be Danni he concluded, still feeling groggy. He closed his unhelpful eyes and let the sensual brush of Danni's soft fringes along the trailing edge of her flukes wash over his tail, his own flukes and pelvic fins beginning to quiver with passion. He felt his CHEW focus on Danni's, and hers grew brighter as she stirred towards wakefulness. His long penis twitched within Danni's warm womb, and she stirred, nuzzling her face into his neck. "Ummmm," she moaned, out loud. [You're still inside me. I love waking up like this,] she sent to him via their CHEW. "Ahhhhh," he agreed, out loud. [I sometimes wish I was always last,] she thought to him softly. John jerked his head up and stole a quick look around, worried that Pat and Phoebe were still in the water, able to hear Danni's CHEW. He half- consciously knew they had left the small pool filling one corner of the Lab Cave, but he wanted to make sure. He sensed his three daughters behind him, cuddled together with Petra's daughter Michelle, Xing's daughter Bao, and Liga's daughter Mair. The six infant mermaids were curled in a small ball in the very center of the pool. He noticed that Alexis had left Eric, Sally, and Liga behind, and that Galina was missing from Gabriel's pod. He smiled to himself; the four scientists were back at work, before anyone else had stirred, and two of them were his pod-mates. The mermaid-scientists had collected a lot of data the previous evening when Kate and Ann transitioned into mermaids. Watching the data scroll down the computer screens had been amazing, seeing each step of the transformation represented in graphic shifts and jumps in the numbers as they raced by. He wondered what time it was, and he lifted his head to search for the pinhole of light from just above the cave entrance that would indicate that the sun had risen, but no spark of light was visible. The lights from the lab softly glowed, but it was still dark outside. He could barely sense Phoebe and Pat, hovering with Galina and Alexis over a computer along the back wall. They would not be able to sense Danni's words. [At least you get me to yourself when there's science to be done,] remarked John. [Pat and Phoebe are already back at work.] [Do you think they discovered anything new last night?] Danni asked as she began to move slightly against John's hips, forcing his penis to wag back and forth within her. "Uuuuaaaahhhh," John sighed out loud, responding to Danni's movements. [I think it might still be last night; I can't yet see the morning sun in the peephole. One thing that we did learn was that the compulsion to mate after transformation travels at least as far as the distance between the Moon Pool and the Lab cave. God, that was overwhelming!] [Overwhelming?] Danni asked, beginning to move her hips along the length of John's cock, her breathing quickening. [It just caught ... ahhh ... me by surprise because we weren't officially "in" on the transition,] he explained. [I didn't think it would affect ... ahhh ... us since we weren't in the pool with them.] [Yeah,] she agreed. [I can't ... ummmm ... believe that Ann's and Kate's pheromones ... oohhh ... traveled that far, that fast. God, you feel so good inside me,] Danni mentally sighed. She closed her eyes, savoring the thick fullness that John's long cock created in her belly. She could feel their tails twisted together, her flukes resting just at the joint between tail and fluke on John, and she ran her fingers along the transitional line between his nearly translucent flukes and his denser knob at the base of his tail. John shivered as she stroked him. [Actually, Pat's early hypothesis just before we tumbled into this pool ... yes ... to join you was that it wasn't pheromones because our children weren't yet affected. They only started getting sleepy after ... ahhh ... after we started. Pat thought it was our CHEW, and so I guess our CHEW is more complicated than anyone guessed,] John said, as he stroked Danni's long hair away from her face. [Not only are pods bound to one another, but all mers are some how connected with each other.] Danni wrapped her tail more tightly around John's and pressed herself tightly into her mate, her generous breasts pressed up and out as she ground herself into his darkly shimmering tail, the faint flickering of their bioluminescence now visible. [I love being connected with you,] she said as she nipped and kissed at his chin. [What's gotten into you?] John teased. "You! You've gotten into me," Danni mused out loud as she pressed herself into her mate. [Mermaids get horny all the time, even when it's not transformation.] [Right,] John said, remembering. [Like when you girls watched Phoebe with Petra and Esme with Trixi; you all got uncontrollably horny despite the fact that there was no transformation.] [But it wasn't like the transformations; it wasn't a compulsion,] Danni noted as she starting moving her hips with more vigor, savoring the feeling of John's thick penis head moving against her G-spot. [It was more ... ahhhhh ... like this.] [What is this,] asked John, grabbing her pelvic fins and helping her move back and forth along his stiff cock. [This is just regular, I love you, horny,] she gasped as her breasts began to leak milk into the water and her abdomen started twitching. [I love regular, I love you, horny,] John agreed as Danni thrashed out a morning orgasm, clutching at his cock as her womb spasmed around him. He waited until she stopped shaking, and then leveraged his own tail against hers and started to stroke strongly in and out of her. [There is nothing regular about the way you make me feel,] Danni groaned, feeling her body begin another journey towards a second orgasm. John smiled, wrapped his long tail one more loop around hers, and began to go faster. ***** Rose hung onto Tutu as the young female dolphin propelled them both through the water, not nearly as fast as Rose could go by her self, but that wasn't the point. They were playing. With MuSu and the Henderson triplets gone on the rescue mission, Snort's pod had attached themselves to the next best thing: Trevor's pod. Tutu twisted up towards the surface, and Rose matched the dolphin's strokes, adding to their combined speed and power. Together, they burst from the water, turning in the air, both of them squealing with delight. Rose slapped her black and red flukes on Tutu's gray and white ones, pushing them apart so they fell back into the water separately. They both executed another flip, Rose's long, dark hair brushing Tutu as they turned past one another just before hitting the water. Two deep and rich "kerthwoumps" resonated in the water while two perfect geysers whooshed up towards the morning sky. Rose giggled with childish satisfaction as she tumbled under the water. She had never been able to do a can-opener dive quite like that back when she was a little boy, she thought to herself. She righted herself in the water, and swam back for the surface. "It's only a 5.1," Kate said sagely. "Only a 5.1?" Rose protested. "Are you kidding? That was nearly perfect!" "I thought it was beautiful," Ann said. "Tutu especially," she said as the latter surfaced and squirted water at her face. "Such a good girl!" Ann gushed, rubbing the dolphin's proffered nose. "Tutu gets a 5.9," Kate said. "Tutu?" Rose protested. "Why do you always have to be the Russian judge?" "Because I'm the youngest, and you're the oldest," Kate answered. "Trevor?" Rose whined. "6.0," He said, calmly, one arm draped over Snort, who also looked on without much interest. "Ha!" Rose said. "Whatever," Kate said. "He'll say anything to get laid." "He always gets laid," Ann said. "It's three to one, the lucky bastard." "Are you feeling neglected?" Trevor asked, a note of seriousness creeping into his voice. "No, no," Ann said. "I was just pointing out to the young child here that you were giving an honest opinion as to Rose's skill." "I was," he said. "It was not a 6.0," Kate argued. "She didn't get further than two meters out of the water." "Let's see what you've got," Rose challenged. "Fine," Kate smiled, and then whistled with her fingers and lips. "I could never do that," Rose complained, trying again to master that essential childhood skill. She blew through her fingers at all kinds of angles, with no luck. Mumu rolled up beside Kate, waving a flipper at her newest friend. Kate reached over, gently held Mumu's dorsal fin and drifted onto her back as they both swam away from the pod. Kate loved the feeling of her new body slicing through the water. There was so much that was new, so much that was wonderful. The warmth of Mumu's body undulating next to hers, the feeling of her hair fluttering along her shoulders and back, the way her fins cut through the water, creating eddies of sensation along the sides of her tail, and the incredible feeling of power she got from her wide flukes whenever she pushed against the water with them. She kicked a strong stroke, sending both her and Mumu towards the bottom, the dolphin understanding the trick they were to perform. As they plunged downwards, Kate noticed how her larger breasts had tightened up on her chest, offering less resistance to the water. She pushed harder with her tail, urging Mumu to go faster, feeling her pelvic fins leverage each stroke of her flukes like a fulcrum. She was aware of her elbow fins constantly adjusting the flow of water, guiding both her and the dolphin along a straight trajectory. She pulled herself closer to Mumu's back, and together they twisted towards the surface. Kate reversed her grip on Mumu's dorsal fin, pulling the dolphin rather than being pulled by her. She added more power to her strokes, and pushed them both towards the surface. "Wow," Rose said without envy as she watched her sister-wife and their pet explode from the water. Kate pushed Mumu's dorsal fin to her left, causing her to spin in the opposite direction, and then?as they twisted past each other?she curled her longer tail under the dolphin's flukes, lifting Mumu higher and starting each of them on a flip away from one another. Kate's timing sent both of them spinning madly, once, twice, three, four times around, nearly out of control, and then "Ka-thawap!" The water shattered away from her as she smacked the surface with the full length of her body. Ouch, Kate thought, that stung. "Uh-oh," Rose said. "Yea, that will leave a mark," Ann said, trying not to giggle. Kate turned her now tingling body towards the surface, but let herself sink for a bit, watching the sun play on the surface of the water. How could something so pretty hurt so much, she thought. She noticed a slightly disoriented Mumu being tended to by Snort, who had rushed to her side. She wished Trevor had the sense to see if she was O.K. [Hey, you O.K.?] Trevor asked, appearing as if by magic at her side, startling her. [Mostly,] she answered after she composed herself. [Good,] he said, looking her over carefully, using his CHEW to see beyond the surface of things. [It looks like the only thing you hurt was your pride.] [That's what you think,] she said. [That belly-flop hurt.] [Everyone does it at least once,] Trevor said encouragingly. [It actually takes a while to really get used to your new tail. I mean, you're doing great, but super fine motor skills only come with practice. Come on, you can't hide down here forever. Let's get back to Rose and Ann.] [How did you sneak up on me?] she asked as they both headed for the surface. [Finely tuned motor skills,] he answered. [Don't believe him,] Rose said, her face back in the water as she listened to their CHEW. [Just like anything else, our CHEW can get rattled if we strain it or our bodies. You were just a bit scrambled. I'm glad you didn't hurt yourself.] Kate's head broke the surface and the sun seemed a little bright. She blinked several times and slowly everyone came into focus. "Wow," she said. "That was intense!" "Yea, but it was only a 3.7," Rose said. "You lost massive points on the re-entry." "My eyes hurt," Kate complained. "Let's get you out of the sun," Rose said, her mothering instincts coming out. The entire pod slowly sank, floating down until they were about five meters below the surface. The water was still bright, but the intensity of the sun was gone. Kate closed her eyes and let her pod surround her. [I'm sorry,] she sighed. [Don't even worry about it,] Ann said. [You saved me from making a complete and utter fool out of myself.] [Well, that's something good,] Kate said, blinking her eyes, trying to shake it off. [Let's try this,] Rose said as she floated up a bit, positioning her breast in front of Kate's face. [Can't hurt, right.] Kate looked at the large, beautiful breast before her, the one that had helped propel her towards mermaid hood the previous day. Rose's nipple was already leaking a bit of milk in anticipation of feeding her sister, and Kate was suddenly buoyed by this sign of her sister-wife's care for her. She leaned forward and took the nipple in her mouth. Rose closed her eyes as the now familiar and sensuous feelings of feeding emanated from her breast. She gathered Kate's long blond hair into her hands and pressed Kate's head to her chest. She felt her milk release, that wonderful rush when her glands let down, and milk began to spray from her other nipple. [Can't hurt, right?] Ann said as she moved to Rose's other breast and began to suckle. Kate literally felt her head clearing, while suckling on her sister- wife's breast. Each gush of warm, sweet milk washed away a bit more of the fog, gently easing the feelings of tightness along her belly and tail. She could feel her sister Ann's tail brush against her own as they both fed from Rose. Then she felt something that surprised her. She felt desire begin to rise from her womb, twitching its way up her belly, and filling her own breasts with milk. She moved from merely suckling Rose's breast to licking, caressing, and kissing her beautiful, life-saving breast. [Someone is feeling better,] Rose murmured. [You can go right ahead and keep doing that for as long as you like.] Kate sensed Ann floating away from Rose, sinking below her, then began working her way up Rose's impressive chest towards her neck and face, kissing, licking, and biting her as she went. [I'm feeling much better,] she said. [Who knew that mermaid milk was good for concussions.] [It was a belly-flop, not a concussion; you BooBall,] Rose teased. [You haven't called me BooBall since I was a little kid,] Kate said, her eyes shining with the memory. [You haven't acted like such a little BooBall in a very long time,] Rose said. [But now, you're mostly grown up, and very lovely. Kiss me.] Ann looked up from her embrace with Trevor, and saw Rose and Kate's tails were slowly twisting around one another's, their arms now wrapped around each other's torsos. She watched them kiss and stroke each other as the sun sparkled around them, illuminating everything with a pale, green light. Ann moaned as Trevor suckled a little harder on her breasts, earning a bit of milk for himself. She felt the mer-bonds flicker with energy among the four of them, and her heart seemed to grow larger in her chest. She was so happy ... so loved, she thought. She reached down and pulled Trevor up into a kiss, tasting her own milk on his lips. She felt his cock brush against her vent, and she rolled her hips and felt her top three tail bones, her old thighbones, she remembered, splay out from her pelvic region. It pleasantly reminded her of the feeling she had when she spread her legs when she masturbated. This feeling was very different, however, because her legs were now a mermaid's tail. Trevor's cock found its way into her now swelling vent, sighing happily as his length steadily oozed into her. She wrapped her own tail around his, and started to work her hips back and forth, feeling the gentle pull of the water as they created suction when he stroked out, and resistance when they squeezed together. The water forced them into a gentle and steady rhythm, which suited Ann just fine. She wanted to enjoy this session, and she was in no hurry to have either herself or Trevor come to an orgasm. [Harder,] Rose urged her sister-wife. [Ohhhhhh, harder.] Kate pressed her hand harder into Rose's vent, feeling the hard nub of her clitoris wiggle under her first and second fingers. She slipped the two of them into her sister-wife's vent, curling them up, searching for her G-spot. Kate could feel just the bottom of that sensitive area in mermaid wombs, and she jabbed at it with her fingers, pressing her palm into Rose's clitoris. [Oh, yes, oh yes, oh yessssssssssssss,] Rose said as an orgasm rippled through her body. She held Kate's head to her shoulder, nuzzling her own nose in her soft, blond hair. She could feel her milk squirt sideways from her breasts that were mashed into Kate's, and she savored the aftershocks of the brief but satisfying release. [Your turn,] Rose said, lowering her face to Kate's hips, kissing her sister-wife's green and gold tail, working her way down towards the now open vent. [Yesssssssss,] Kate agreed as Ann and Trevor moaned in orgasms below them. ***** Leonard Simon patted his belly while pressing it against the railing of the Johanna, a sleek Benetti Super that his partner and client, Michael Thompson, named in honor of his deceased wife. Len's belly grew steadily over the last few years, the product of overwork, a divorce, and advancing age. It was a good belly; his own special friend. He thought of a thousand different ways to lose his belly, but becoming a sea mammal certainly was one he had never considered. He listened to the hollow thump his belly made, while reviewing the circumstances leading up to this moment. It was complicated, he mused, listening to the water slap the sides of the hull below. He looked up at the evening sky, watching the stars slowly drift across the night sky. The Johanna was heading towards the sometimes sleezy port of Davao, one of the largest cities in the Philippines, but they were still days away. Days enough to consider what Michael had shared with his boat-mates, Liz, Peter, and himself. Days and perhaps even weeks away from making the most monumental decision he had ever faced; the decision to become something other than human, and perhaps, something other than male. Len sighed and turned away from the sea, feeling the warm salty sea spray against his back as he leaned back on the railing. Michael had shared a tale that could scarcely be believed: mermaids. Mermen too, he reminded himself hastily. But nothing could have prepared him for the way his heart pounded, listening to Michael's tale: his childhood fantasy had suddenly and unexpectedly come to life! He ran his fingers through his still thick brown hair, feeling the salty spray rising up from the bow as it sliced through the warm sea. Nothing in his life had prepared him for this adventure, so Len felt very much lost, adrift, or ... just simply "at sea;" he softly chuckled to himself at the pun. He turned back to face the dark sea, watching the water roil alongside the boat, the starlight glinting along the tops of the waves churned up by the Johanna's forward progress. He thought back over his life, the long journey from his relatively innocent mid-western childhood to the somewhat decadent and high-flying lifestyle in which he had landed. The only boats in Ohio were bass fishing boats, riverboats, and the crude rafts he constructed as a young boy on creeks. Now, he represented Michael Thompson's North American operations, multimillion dollar yachts and litigation, both liability and collections, though he operated mostly on the east coast. Michael's business had made him a lot of money, but it had also cost him his marriage. Leonard winced as he remembered the long, slow separation between he and his wife, Katrina. They met at Duke, where they were both undergrads, and followed her back to New Jersey where he went to law school. It was a struggle at first, but he then met Michael Thompson when he defended Thompson Marine in a product liability claim, and from that point on, his business picked up. But as he traveled more and more, his wife became convinced he was having an affair, and nothing he could do could change her mind. It was true, in a way. His work with Thompson Marine had become his mistress, and though he didn't want to separate, his wife insisted, and they were divorced a year ago. The pain still clutched within his chest when he thought about it. Michael's announcement a few weeks ago that he was going to sell the business to his sons caught Len by surprise. But that shock was nothing compared to the one he had after Michael made him an offer when he arrived to finalize the new business arrangements with his sons, Brian and Brendan. Rather than keep going with his sons, Michael urged Len sell his practice and join him on an adventure that could change his life. Len had a young partner, after all, who handled his west coast operations, and Michael hinted that Len's childhood fascination with mermaids would be satisfied. Len looked up at the stars, wondering what that meant: satisfied. Michael couldn't or wouldn't answer his specific questions about how the transformation actually took place, or if he and his fellow passengers would even be allowed to make that ultimate journey. The mystery lying ahead was both frightening and compelling, but Michael had been particularly persuasive. It was a chance to go "off the grid" and be part of building something new, a new society, perhaps, but one existing mostly in the sea. His wife had cast Len off, Michael argued, and he should think about embracing the newfound freedom. The thought of starting over, of really and radically transforming his life was both exciting and terrifying in equal measures. "Why me?" he asked the night sky softly. "Why now?" "Why not?" a voice returned softly from the bow, a few meters from where Len stood. Len cast his glance to the bow, noticing for the first time the silhouetted figure of Liz in her modified wheelchair. She too had her back to the sea, her hair fluttering in the wind as the bow lifted and fell, slicing through the sea. "Oh, Liz. Are you alright?" Len asked. "Do you need help with the chair? Um, how long have you been up here?" he finished awkwardly. Elizabeth Wainwright smiled patiently at her new boat mate. Although they had met for the first time a few days ago, she had heard much about Len from Michael over the years. She also had more knowledge about Michael's plans than did either Len or their other boat mate, Peter. Although she had initially thought to wait a few more days before playing her part in Michael's plans, this beautiful evening seemed to be a good opportunity to learn more about Len and plant the seeds of their future together. "I'm fine, Leonard," she said, letting her chair roll slowly towards him. "I actually get around the boat very well on my own." "Oh, I didn't mean anyth...." Len protested. "I know, I know," Liz answered, waving her hand dismissively. "I'm just teasing you. Now, then," she continued as she brought her chair to a stop next to him, "why don't we have a chat and get to know each other," she finished as she nodded her head towards the bulkhead that rose from the middle of the boat. Len smiled and crossed over to the bulkhead and sat down, so their faces were nearly level with one another. "What would you like to talk about?" he asked. "Oh, lots of things," Liz answered, "but we don't want to stay out here all night. Let's be frank. I already know a lot about you and how you came to work for Michael, but I don't know much about why he invited you on this adventure." "You mean the mermaids?" Len asked, blushing. "Yes," Liz answered. "I'm so glad that you got right to the point." "How much do you know?" Len asked, leaning forward. "How much do you know?" Liz returned. Len looked carefully at Liz, being familiar with this sort of information harvesting from his experience as a trial lawyer. He was pretty sure Liz knew more than he did, but he knew very little about her. He couldn't decide what her game was, but decided to trust her. Michael had at least told him that much, namely that both Peter and Liz were completely trustworthy, old friends. Len decided that honesty was going to be the best policy. "Not much," he admitted. "Michael told me that we are going on a rescue mission to save some women who were forced into prostitution, then afterwards we would head for an island where there were mermaids, and we probably wouldn't return to civilization when we finished." "What do you think that really means?" Liz asked. "What it really means?" Len asked, growing puzzled by this line of questioning. "Not returning to civilization," she answered. "Um, that we would stay on the island," he said. "Michael had said all four of us were castaways of a sort, and it would be a good place for castaways." "Are you ready to become a castaway?" Liz asked. "I already am a castaway," Len said, turning his head and blinking back an unexpected tear. "What sort of castaway are you?" Liz asked. "Oh, the usual sort," Len answered. "I woke up one day, discovering I really didn't have anyone in my life who needed me, nor I them. I had drifted away from my family, my work was just something I did to get by, and I was ... I don't know ... alone." He sat blinking for a few minutes, lost in his thoughts while Liz patiently watched him. After a few minutes, he asked. "What kind of castaway are you?" "What kind do you think I am?" she countered. "Well, I hardly know you," he protested. "Guess," she said, smiling to soften the challenge. "Well, Michael has been a sort of castaway since his wife died," Len said, trying to watch her face as he put the pieces together. "He never quite recovered from her death all those years ago, but he had two young boys to raise, and so he just soldiered forward. Peter LaMond is another widower, though he was already an old man when his wife died, and my wife left me about a year ago. So, I would guess that your husband left you ... after ... after you ... um," he stuttered as he tried not to look at her withered legs strapped into the wheelchair. "After I lost my legs?" she helped. "Did he?" Len exclaimed. "That bastard!" "Well, I hardly blamed him," Liz explained. "I wanted to die myself. Adjusting to life in a wheelchair is still something I'm fighting to do. But that's not what I want to talk about." She shifted her chair so that she was facing the sea with him. "What do you think will happen after we get to the island?" "The island?" Len asked, confused. "The one with the mermaids," she prompted. "Oh, yes, the mermaids!" Len said. "Oh, my god: mermaids." "And?" she prodded. "What does that mean for us, do you think?" "That we might become mermaids?" he offered hesitantly. Liz smiled to herself at his use of the gender Michael's secret plans called for. "How do you feel about that possibility?" "Is that what will be happening? Len asked warily. "Is it even possible?" Liz looked around the deck and seeing no one, she nodded. "Oh, my god," Len sighed, leaning back into the bulkhead behind him. "Oh. My. God." "Is that what you want?" Liz asked. "Oh, my god," Len repeated. "I don't know, but that's what Michael seemed to hint at." "Would it surprise you to know that Peter is also a lover of mermaids?" Liz asked. "So was Johanna," Len said, putting together more clues. "She was mad about them, and that's one reason why Michael trusted me with expanding his business. Did you grow up wanting to be a mermaid?" he asked. "You first," she said. "When did you first become attracted to mermaids?" "Oh, my god," Len said, searching for a beginning. "I think it was around middle school, maybe 7th or 8th grade." "What was so special about mermaids?" she prodded after a moment of silence. "A bunch of things," he began. Liz nodded encouragement, so he continued. "I guess it was the amazing transformation of a woman into a mermaid, and the freedom and seductive nature that they represented." "You saw them as an escape?" she asked. "Maybe," he answered as he carefully considered the issue. "The whole transformation thing may have been something to do with puberty, but who knows. I never shared these thoughts, except with one or two trusted friends. I used to sketch drawings in pencil during study hall of a diver removing her equipment under water and transforming into a mermaid. My friends just thought the pictures were cool, sort of sexy." "But they were something more for you, eh?" Liz asked. "Yea," he agreed. "How did it start?" she asked. "Start?" he asked. "Book, movie, Hans Christian Anderson?" she indicated. "Oh, yes. A book," he answered. "And?" she prompted patiently. "My cousin got a book for Christmas called "Lucy and the Merman," he explained. "Lucy saves a tiny merman from death, and he transforms her into a tiny mermaid and shows her his world. I snuck the book into the bathroom after Christmas dinner to read it - it was a kids book & too young for me, but I wanted to read it." "I never read that one," Liz admitted. "Well, Lucy can turn back into a human as long as she doesn't eat while she's a mermaid," Len continued, warming to the memory. "I always hoped she would have a snack, but she didn't. But there was a second character who had been rescued from a lifeboat during a storm and stayed with the mers. I can't remember her name." "What happened after puberty?" Liz asked. "Nothing much," Len continued. "Not until the internet. Then, I realized that there were lots of other people who felt this way, and I started to feel less ... less ... " "Guilty?" she prompted. "Ashamed," he countered. "I didn't felt guilty, like I was doing something immoral, it was more like a dirty pleasure. It didn't really hurt anyone, but still, it wasn't NORMAL," he said with some defensiveness. "What changed?" she asked, searching his face. "Um, probably when I started writing my own stories," he admitted. "I wrote under a pseudonym, and I only really shared my real name with a few trusted friends, but I still didn't have anyone in real life that I trusted." "Until Michael," Liz said, smiling. "Until Michael," Len agreed. "He talked about how Johanna used to dream of being a mermaid, and so I shared my childhood fantasy with him of being one too." "A mermaid?" she prodded. "Not a merman?" "I don't know," he shrugged. "Am I supposed to say merman?" "No," Liz laughed softly. "Not if you want to impress me." "Do I need to impress you?" he asked. "Maybe," she teased, looking out at the night sea. They both watched the sea pass beneath them for a few minutes, enjoying the soft, warm, salty breeze that played across their faces and arms as the boat cruised through the dark waves. The stars twinkled softly in the clear sky, and high above an airplane blinked its way across the star-speckled sky. "Your turn," Len prompted, turning to look at the attractive, elegant, but obviously handicapped lady next to him. "When did you want to become a mermaid?" "Never thought about it until a few weeks ago when Michael talked to me about this trip," she answered. "Never?" Len asked, confused. "I mean, then why are you here?" Liz waved her hand along her lap and legs, smiling sadly. "You need to ask?" "Oh, I ... well ... I mean," Len stammered. "A freak accident robbed me of my legs twenty years ago," she continued softly. "I fell off my horse, and broke my back. I was lucky to be alive, my doctors told me, and they worked really hard to help me. My husband didn't. I've been on my own, more or less, ever since." "Wow," Len said. "That must have sucked." "Well, I was rich, and it helped," she laughed. "Hong Kong was a great city for me; I had servants, a great view of harbor, and discretion from my good friends. I've survived, but the chance to be fully healed, to be alive and healthy, to move ... to swim ... to have my personal power back!" She caught herself, checking her emotions. She folded her hands across her lap and turned back to face Leonard. "I want to have my sense of self back, and even though I've got more money than Bill Gates, it can't buy me my legs back. I want to move on my own, and if it means that I move with a mermaid's tail, then I am good with that." "You have more money than Bill Gates?" Len asked, deadpan. "Well, not really, but the Institute for Marine Mammals will be very well endowed," she said with a proud smile, hinting at the pride and strength she hid beneath the blankets that covered her disabled legs. "The what?" Len asked, surprised. "Oh, you don't know about that?" she mused. "Well, now. It seems that you have some homework to do. I guess I'll have to tutor you." "Teach away," Len agreed, leaning in to listen to her, ignoring the dangerous, but beautiful, glint in her eyes. ***** "The Institute for Marine Mammals can have a mermaid as the director of operations," Janice argued. "It will have a mermaid as director of research! Or are you planning on putting someone other than Pat in charge of the science because it takes a man?" "Honey, please!" Hank pleaded with his petite but feisty wife. "Let's keep this to ourselves. Quieter." "Hank!" Janice admonished, lowering her voice slightly. "Will you please take a long hard look at how all the pods operate? There is nothing particularly special about being a merman in terms of how this new society is being organized. In fact, the mermaids are at the center of most of the decision making, and they are inventing both art and science, whereas the mermen are usually at the beck and call of the mermaids. Honey, I'm not attacking you or your maleness; I'm trying to help you see things as they really are around here." Hank glanced around the beach. A few yards away, but nearly hidden by the steep shadows cast by the evening sun, Janice's sister Julie slept next to her husband Brian, their entwined forms lightly daubed by the still glowing golden sky. Further up towards the tree line and deeper in shadow were Debra Hutchins, James Riddles, and Pat's sister, Bridget clustered in a small puddle of humanity near one of the beach huts, constructed by Alberto and his men. No one was moving. "Everyone is tired," Janice noted. "They're all asleep. Now will you please talk with me?" "Harold and Elise aren't asleep," Hank argued. "Maybe, but they are up at the mountainside huts, finally having a family reunion," she said. "That was a big surprise." "Yea," Hank sighed. He remembered the look on Elise's face when she saw her little brother the night before. No one knew that Harold Matthews was related to anyone else, and so while Ann and Kate had transitioned, everyone who was still human worked on unloading the new technical equipment, Hank and crew had brought aboard the Freedom III. Elise recognized her younger brother before he noticed that his older sister was standing on the beach, but both agreed to save the family reunion until after most of the work was accomplished, which took until late in the evening. Too tired to talk, everyone had fallen asleep on the beach or in the huts straddling the fringe between the jungle and the sandy beach. Early in the morning, everyone returned to work on setting up the new equipment. Even Dr. Riddles, who was quite elderly, helped with a variety of tasks, from repairing the mountainside huts, to running wires across the landscape for new monitors, sensors, and controls for booby traps, the naval gun, and new solar panels. Amazingly, the nine humans had been very successful, finishing most of the jobs they thought would take several days in only one. It meant that those who wished could transition sooner, rather than later. And that speeded up time table was the cause of Hank's unease. "I know you feel rushed," Janice continued. "But we really do have to make this decision. We can start transitioning tomorrow." "I just don't know how I can ... can ... submit to Brian," Hank explained. "Perhaps your son can help you," Janice said. "My son?" Hank exclaimed. "I no longer have a son." "Correct. You have another daughter," Rose said softly from her hidden position halfway up the beach. Hank turned quickly and saw his former son salamander up the beach towards the spot Janice had insisted they occupy. He turned to his wife. "You set this up," he said simply. "I only want what is best for all concerned," Janice said softly. "Really, Hank. You must believe me." "Dad," Rose interrupted as she drew closer. "What's your problem?" "What do you mean MY PROBLEM?" Hank demanded. "Um, Mom said you were afraid of becoming a mermaid," Rose said. "Afraid, huh?" Hank challenged. "Why else are you putting up such a fuss?" Janice asked. "Changing both my species AND my gender was not part of my plans," Hank protested. "Nor mine," Rose said, reaching out to her father. "But I wouldn't change that now. Not for anything." "How can you be so sure?" Hank asked, taking her soft, small hand in his own, feeling the webbing in between her fingers. Rose sighed, and then caught her mother's eye and lifted an eyebrow. "Ah," Janice said. "Wow, I've got to go to the little girl's room. I'll be back in a bit," she finished as she rose to her feet. She glanced down at her husband, still a fit man despite his age, and wondered if she was really as sure as she thought she was. Her newest daughter smiled up at her, Rose's perfectly white teeth gleaming in the dusk, her dark hair cascading over her shoulders and across her impressive breasts. Rose radiated health, happiness, and a hidden power. Janice drew strength from her daughter's presence. "Maybe I'll take a walk afterwards," Janice added. "I might not get the chance to do that very often in the future, eh?" "Mom," Rose groaned. "Go pee." "How un-ladylike," Janice teased as she walked towards the trees. "I'm still learning how to be a lady," Rose countered. Both father and daughter/mermaid laughed softly, watching Janice make her way silently into the trees, disappearing into the darkening foliage. "A lady?" Hank asked. "A mermaid is still a lady," Rose said. "Do you miss it?" Hank asked. "Being a boy?" Rose asked. "No," he added. "Walking," he gestured towards the dark hole in the woods where Janice disappeared. "Not really," Rose said after a moment's thought. "First, there is nothing that can explain the power and grace I feel when I'm in the water. It's like ... spacewalking and time travel all rolled into one. It's so amazing to be able to just ... be ... just be in and of the water." "That sounds like a mystical experience," Hank joked. "It is, I guess," Rose agreed. "But, it is strange to spend so much time on dry land basically lying on the ground. But we can still stand up, though it's not comfortable, and we can salamander faster than some people can run. I guess we just get used to it." "What about the being a man part?" Hank asked. "It didn't take any getting used to," Rose said. "It just happened." "Tell me about it," Hank urged. "Well, first of all, Mom is right," Rose declared, shifting her pelvis so she could wrap her tail behind her father, a mermaid equivalent to putting your arm around someone. "Mermaids really are in charge." "This isn't about being in charge for me," Hank argued. "It's never been about being in charge." "I know," Rose agreed. "If it wasn't for Mom, you'd never have been a successful businessman." "Hey, now," Hank said smiling at the old family joke. "Well, it's true," Rose said. "Mom gave you a backbone you don't normally possess. It's not that you're weak, it's just that you are naturally gentle, and sometimes that can get you into trouble in the business world." "Look how the undergraduate art major talks now," Hank teased. "Just because I studied art doesn't mean I don't understand people," Rose said seriously. "Sometimes, I think it helped me understand people better. But, I'm not answering your question, am I?" "No," Hank agreed, letting his left arm rest on Rose's flukes as they curled along his left leg. Her red tail still glinted against the dark sand, catching the last rays of the glowing horizon. Her black fringes were barely visible against the sand. "I'm actually not sure which is more terrifying, changing gender or changing species." "I thought you wanted this?" Rose asked, surprised. "Your mother is the reason for that," Hank said sheepishly. "I want what she wants. Really. I would do almost anything for that woman, and I don't know why this is only just now making me crazy." "Becoming a girl really isn't bad," Rose started. "No, it's not just about being a girl, really. I guess every one wonders what it would be like, you know?" Hank said. "I mean, I think every one must think about that at one time in their life." "Oh, yes," Rose agreed, giggling. "I thought about it more than once, and I don't know of anyone who didn't at least wonder what it would be like to have your own set of breasts. Remember that old joke?" "Yes," Hank agreed, relaxing. "It's a good thing men don't have breasts, otherwise they'd never leave the house." "So, what's the problem?" Rose asked. "Are you afraid of becoming a mer?" "No. It's not that I'm afraid of becoming a mer," he answered. "It's just that I'm not eagerly in favor of it. In fact, it puzzles me why everyone else seems to be so gung ho." "Well, it puzzles me why anyone who sees a mer isn't gung ho," Rose said. "And now that I am one, I can tell you that there is nothing to compare it to. I feel healthier, happier, and hornier than I have ever felt before." "Horny?" Hank asked, trying to ignore his daughter's large breasts as they bobbled beneath her dark hair. "Well, yes, horny," Rose said with finality. "But it's not like the guilt ridden, never-quite-appropriate-horny like when I was young. It's a good horny now." "What is a good horny?" Hank asked. "Is this a girl thing?" "No, it's not a girl thing," Rose said. "At least that isn't what Trevor says. He likes the way he is horny now too, but it's hard to explain. Don't you still get sexually excited with Mom?" "Robbie, er ... Rose!" Hank exclaimed. "We've never talked about such things before." "Dad," Rose said patiently. "Mers are different. We have sex all the time, and usually in front of someone else. Now answer the question. Do you still get horny?" "Yes," he answered reluctantly. "Your mother is still the love of my life. She is very successful at ... um." "Getting you horny," Rose said. "Good." "I'm not dead, you know," he protested. "I know people are supposed to lose some of their libido as they get older, but that never happened to me," Rose said. "I've been constantly horny since I was twelve, so it's good to hear that you can still get horny." "Can we use a different term?" Hank asked, shifting uncomfortably, trying to adjust his bathing suit. "Dad, relax!" Rose chided. "Horny is good. Makes you feel alive, alert." "And the world needs more alerts," Hank said, trying to deflect the topic. "Ha, ha," Rose said. "There's nothing to be afraid of, Dad. Merman or mermaid, you'll be fine." "Why does your mother think I should be a mermaid?" he asked. "She wants you to be her sister-wife," Rose explained. "Even though Trevor loves me, and I love him, there is a bond among Kate, Ann, and I that goes beyond that somehow." "What is so special about being a sister-wife?" Hank asked. "That," Rose sighed, "I can't explain. I guess that is something of a girl thing." "Did you secretly want to be a girl?" Hank asked. "No," Rose said simply. "I really just wanted to be a mer, both Trevor and I did. It was like a compulsion, almost. That's why I'm so confused as to why you are reluctant." "Well, what is it about the mers that was so compelling?" Hank asked. "You don't see anything?" Rose asked, unbelieving. "I can see that they are beautiful, powerful creatures," Hank said. "I'm not blind. But I must be missing something. What made you want to become a mermaid?" "I didn't want to be a mermaid," Rose corrected him. "I wanted to be a mer, but I wasn't afraid of becoming mermaid, and neither was Trevor. We both took the chance that we would be the one to change into a girl, but it didn't seem like it was a big danger. The point was to become a mer, and we welcomed the certainty that one of us would also change our gender; it was part of the excitement." "Tell me how it happened," Hank said, turning away from his daughter's eyes and scanning the dark sea. "Well, we first had three feedings, one from Pat and Danni, who were pregnant at the time, so their milk was strong, and then from Emma and Cleo, and last from Petra and Galina," Rose said, her breathing changing as she remembered her transition. "All in one day?" he asked. "More or less," she answered. "Go on," Hank urged, still not looking at his daughter. "They gave us a final feeding in two canteens, one that was just mermaid milk, and one that had both milk and semen," Rose continued, her breathing growing more deliberate and heavy. "Then we were left alone so one of us could physically dominate the other one. We decided on a wrestling match. It didn't last long, and once Trevor pinned me, it was over in seconds." "Over?" Hank asked. "I changed ... inside," Rose continued, searching for words. "My mind changed. My body took a bit longer, I don't really remember how long exactly, but not too long because we had done four feedings, and the time it takes for the siren cell to work depends on how many of them are in your body." "Your mind changed?" Hank asked. "The siren cell changed me, and it was actually quite pleasurable," Rose answered. "You know, I just felt different the moment I turned. That's what we call it, turning. It happened to Pat and Liga and Sandi and Danni and ..." "I get the picture," Hank interrupted. "What exactly is that like, turning?" he finished turning back to face his daughter, searching her face as she talked. "It's hard to describe," Rose said. "But it was so ... fulfilling." "Go on," Hank said. "Everything made sense," Rose continued. "Sights, smells, Trevor's body, my own body, everything just ... fit. I felt ... complete, even though I didn't feel incomplete before." "Complete?" Hank prompted. "What about Kate and Ann?" "It's strange," Rose said. "When Trevor and I changed, it felt complete. When Kate and Ann changed and joined us, it felt complete in a different way. I guess there's a sort of evolution to completeness." "Are you done, are you complete?" Hank asked. "Yes," Rose said. "I am happier and more ... I don't know ... connected, satisfied, you know, in love. But ... " Rose stopped talking and was lost in thought for several seconds. "But what?" Hank asked. "But now I can feel something else," Rose answered. "It's not like a need, I don't need this to be happy or complete. It's more like a desire. I'm happy, and so I desire it." "Desire what?" Hank asked. "To create a new life," Rose breathed. "You want to get pregnant?" Hank asked, shocked. "Isn't that amazing?" Rose answered. "But you're just a kid," Hank protested. "Heck, you've only been a girl for ... what, two and a half months?" "Actually, the mers don't feel any particular age," Rose argued. "Remember, some of us were old, some were young, but the siren cell makes it so adults change into more or less the same physical age and abilities. Even Kate and Ann can feel the difference." "They want to become pregnant too?" Hank exclaimed. "Dad, relax!" Rose gently chided him again. "They don't want to become pregnant yet, but you'll understand more when you're a mer." "If I become a mer!" Hank said, only half kidding. "Have you talked to Trevor about a child?" "No," Rose said. "But ... but ... but?" Hank sputtered. "Do you even care how Trevor feels about it? "He feels devoted," Rose giggled coyly, blushing. "Seriously," Hank admonished. "He's seriously devoted," Rose said, straightening up. "Really, this is part of the completeness I've been trying to tell you about. I can feel it ... him ... Kate and Ann ... us ... our bond ... all the time. He mig