A/N This is set after "The Job" (3x07, according to Netflix)

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"What's wrong? Why do you look so gloomy?"

Zac had just surfaced in Rita's underground pool to discover his sister leaning pensively against a nearby ledge. Usually, her face broke into a warm smile whenever she saw him approach—but today she did not even look in his direction and her eyes looked glassy and distant.

It was difficult to tell what she was thinking from the odd expression on her face, but he could instantly sense that something was wrong.

"What?" She stammered, seemingly alarmed by his presence as she snapped out of her forlorn trance. "Oh, nothing."

Unconvinced, Zac swam towards her and anchored himself next to her on the ledge. Perhaps it was because of the bond they shared, but he could instantly tell that she was lying. Sadness and despondency practically seemed to emanate off of her, and the concerned brother had no intention of leaving until he knew why.

With a small sigh, Zac tried again. "Come on, Mimmi." He started, his voice softer than before. "You can talk to me. Maybe I can help with…whatever it is."

There was a short pause but, before the boy had a chance to try to coax it out of her again, Mimmi began to speak.

"There is nothing you can do." She noted letting out a much longer sigh of her own. "I guess some things just aren't meant to be."

Zac furrowed his brow. She was being a bit cryptic, but he had a feeling that he knew where this was heading.

"Is this about a boy?" He asked, trying to ignore the strange prickle that passed through him as he spoke. He wasn't sure why, but he had suddenly begun to feel nervous, suspicious, and a tiny bit on edge. It was an odd combination of feelings and he was surprised that the mere thought of his sister with a guy had sparked that in him.

He was still getting used to this. All of this.

But, apparently, he was already more protective than he realized.

"If some guy mistreated you, then—" Zac started, his voice rising with every syllable. But Mimmi cut him off quickly.

"No, no." She assured him with a hint of exasperation in her voice. "It's not like that."

She paused again, her tail twitching a few times beneath the surface.

"It's just…I met this guy. Chris. And I thought that maybe there would be something between us." She began, speaking faster than before. Apparently, now that she had decided to share, she was going to share everything. "He's so cute—dark hair, dreamy blue eyes…well, anyway. I was really enjoying his company. And I thought maybe I'd found someone, like Ondina has." Mimmi hesitated, sending her brother a slightly uncomfortable glance before continuing. "He even kissed me yesterday. Which was amazing."

Zac nodded slowly, trying to ignore his growing annoyance. So far, everything sounded fine—but the fact remained that his sister was sad because of this mysterious "Chris" fellow. Clearly, he had done something to hurt her and Zac felt the sudden urge to track the bloke down.

He wanted to know what "Chris" had done…and, if it wasn't good, Zac knew that he would not be able to let it go easily.

"Okay." Zac started, trying his best to keep his voice steady. "Then what happened."

Mimmi looked off into the distance once more before letting out yet another wistful sigh. "For a moment, it all seemed perfect. But now he's going to San Diego to train dolphins. And I'm happy for him, because this is what he has always wanted to do…but I still hate that he has to leave." She paused. "And to make it worse, I'm the reason he got into the program in the first place. He wasn't hitting it off with the dolphins until we went swimming in the dolphin enclosure together yesterday. I showed him how to relax and communicate. Dr. Ross was so impressed with his progress that he accepted him into the program."

"Wait." Zac jumped in, his eyes widening as she spoke. It seemed like the story was missing a few elements but what he had managed to piece together was rather unsettling.

He wasn't sure why, but when Mimmi had admitted that it was a guy problem, he had assumed there was another merman in town.

Apparently, however, she had met this guy at her new job. Which probably meant…

"Chris is human?" He asked, meeting his sister's gaze.

Mimmi nodded.

"But then…you went swimming with a human!? A land boy that you just met? You told him everything already?" Zac tried to steady his breath and maintain his calm as much as he could, but the thought of his sister being so reckless made that difficult to do.

It was strange, really. The worry and anger that was currently swirling inside of him was stronger than he had anticipated and he was particularly surprised that he had said the word "human" with such fear and detachment.

It wasn't that he disliked humans, of course. His parents were human, and so were most of his friends.

But, he realized with unease, at some point during the last couple of months he had come to feel a bit of distance between "us" and "them." And he didn't count himself as one of "them" anymore.

The land people he knew and loved were all fine in his books, and he liked land people in general…but he was very uncomfortable with the thought of some stranger knowing about their secret.

He felt protective of Mimmi.

And protective of their world.

"Are you sure he isn't going to tell anyone?" He stated again, the panic and anger in his tone. "You should have waited! I mean, Sirena hasn't even told David yet, and at least we all know him. This is—"

"Spare me the lecture." Mimmi cut him off again and shot him the sort of annoyance that only a sibling could muster. "I only swam with him for a minute, and I made him keep his eyes closed. He doesn't know anything."

Zac let out a breath.

That was a relief, although it still seemed like a rather reckless thing to do.

"Good." He replied, his voice still laced with disapproval. "But you were lucky. If he hadn't kept his eyes closed, you might be locked up in a tank at the marine park right now. Or worse."

"Geez, Zac." His sister shot back, pushing herself off the ledge and allowing herself to float a few feet away. Clearly, she was not pleased with his reaction and she was not going to admit wrongdoing without a fight. "I didn't expect you to be so uptight about it. I don't know why you're assuming that the worst would happen if Chris had found out. Humans aren't all bad. You should know that better than anyone." She shot him a pointed look before continuing. "You grew up with humans. And technically, you're dating a human—even if she has a tail now. Plus you told Cam about everything as soon as you found out."

"Yeah, well, that was before."

"Before what?"

His response had slipped out before he had a chance to think about it and he paused for a moment as he mulled over what he had just said.

When he had told Cam, and Evie, about what he was things had been different. He thought he was under a spell, and he didn't know how complex and dangerous the mer-world could be.

But if he had known the truth from the beginning, he was certain that things would not have played out in the same way.

"That was before I knew who—what— I really am." He answered, his voice softer than before.

Sensing his hesitation, Mimmi's face softened as well. She knew where he was going with this, and she knew that things were still difficult for him. Despite their current disagreement, he was grateful for her compassion.

"When I told Cam, I didn't even know that there were other merpeople out there. I just thought it was a crazy, unbelievable, accident and that I was the only one." He paused, his mind drifting back to a time when things had been simpler. That period had still been scary and unnerving, but it was nothing compared to the events of the past few months. As the saying went, ignorance was bliss—and it had been much easier to think that he was under a spell than it was to realize that his entire life had been a lie.

"And I had to tell Evie, because she saw me like this." He started again, gesturing towards his muscular blue tail. "That was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. Even though I didn't know the truth back then."

"So," Mimmi began, curious. "Are you trying to say that you wouldn't have told anyone—not even Cam or Evie—if you had known that you were a real merman all along?"

Zac hesitated.

He didn't immediately know the answer, and he needed a moment to think it through. In truth, he liked the Cam and Evie knew—it was nice to be open with them and it was comforting to still be himself around people he had always known and cared for. He felt like he was hiding all the time now, and he loved that he didn't have to with them.

But, on the other hand, he knew that being aware of the truth would have made it much harder to confess. Admitting you had been enchanted was one thing, but admitting you were part of a whole other species was quite another. Everything seemed much more dangerous now that he knew and, although he did not like to admit it, he would have been more hesitant to trust anyone if he had known all along.

"I guess I would have told them. Eventually." He began slowly. "But it would have been even harder."

"Fair enough." The mermaid replied with a curt nod.

"And," Zac continued, his tail moving gently back and forth beneath him. "I worry a lot more now in general. About everything. I feel a lot more responsibility now, and I want us all to be safe. The thought of you putting yourself at risk with someone we hardly know…well, I can't say that I like that."

Mimmi bit her lip, and Zac had a feeling that (deep down, at least) she knew that she had put herself in a bit of danger.

Perhaps next time, she would be a little more careful.

"Look, Mimmi," He started again, pushing off the ledge and swimming towards her. "I'm sorry for telling you off, but I worry about you, okay? I'm your brother, and I want to protect you."

To his surprise, Mimmi let out a small chuckle before splashing him playfully with a flick of her copper tail.

"I'm touched." She said, with a lighthearted smirk. "But you don't need to worry so much. I'm tough. And—" Mimmi turned to face him, her expression growing more serious. "Looking out for me doesn't mean criticising every guy I'm interested in, okay? I might see Chris again when he gets back and, one day, I might even tell him the truth. I'll know when the time is right, and I want you to trust my judgement."

Zac opened his mouth to protest before quickly thinking better of it.

As much as he wanted to berate any guy that came close to his sister with a million questions and ensure that he was a worthy candidate for her affections, he knew that she was right.

Mimmi knew what she was doing, and it would be condescending of him not to trust her.

She didn't want to put herself, or any of them, in danger. And she was perfectly capable of making her own choices.

She didn't need her brother to fight her battles, no matter how much he might want to.

Zac ran his hand though his dark hair and looked sheepishly down at the calm water.

"Yeah. You're right." He conceded. "Sorry…I'm still not used to this whole 'having a sister' thing. I feel so…protective, all of a sudden. I guess I let that get the better of me."

Mimmi smiled.

"It's okay. That's kind of sweet, actually." She began, kicking her tail until she was facing him once more. "I'm not used to having a brother yet, either. And I know you're just trying to look out for me."

And with that, she threw her arms around him for a quick, unexpected, hug. For the first time since her had arrived, he felt like the Mimmi he knew and cared for was finally starting to re-emerge.

"I probably shouldn't judge him until I meet him- and I am sorry to hear that Chris is leaving." Zac said gently as they drew apart.

His sister nodded. "Thanks. He'll be back in three months, though. It feels like ages right now, but we'll see how things go then."

"I can show you how to stay in touch." Zac offered. "That will help."

It occurred to him that Mimmi probably didn't know about email, or any other form of online communication. She had Evie's old computer now, but she mostly used it to look up information about land items she was unfamiliar with. She had discovered Wikipedia, but not much else.

"He probably has Facebook. You can keep in touch over that."

Mimmi furrowed her brow in confusion and Zac could not hold back a small chuckle.

"Why would Chris have a book of faces?" She asked, completely confused. "Whose faces are they?"

"Let's dry off and go inside." Zac suggested with a grin. "It's a computer thing—I can show you on the laptop."

"Okay." Mimmi agreed, sending back an identical grin.

As they moved back towards the edge of the pool Zac felt a growing sense of calm. There was still a lot to get used to, and it would probably be a while before he knew how to handle all of the "sister" situations that were bound to come his way.

And yet, despite all of the chaos and uncertainty, he was grateful to have Mimmi in his life. Even though he had only known her for a few months, he realized that he already loved her and would do anything to keep her safe.

He would be there when she needed a shoulder to cry on or a friend to laugh with.

He would stand by her side through thick and thin.

And he would never allow anyone—land-boy or merman—to break her heart.