A/N:

PLEASE READ!

Okay guys, this is not a realistic representation of medicine at all, but for fictional purposes, I'm making it as such. Please, please, don't respond to someone if they're like this, okay? This is literally just for entertainment. Most of this stuff is not scientific, I made a lot of it up. (You guys are all smart, you know this, I just gotta make sure I'm not responsible for anyone dying or anything.)

Ok, you don't need to read this part - not a disclaimer anymore.

Upping the romance here a bit people, just so you know. It sort of connects to Damn, he's hot, but it's not really a continuation.

Reviews for Touching:

Guest: Thank you so much! I know, overprotective fathers are so fun to read about. I'm glad you found Will and Kaiko cute - hopefully I managed to keep them true to character!

Kiwi: I'm so happy you liked it! I agree, there really needs to be more Finntaine around- especially in the show. Thanks for reviewing so quickly, it's really inspiring! Gotta say, you provided some of the driving force behind this story. Cheers to you, mate.

When it feels so good but it's bad for you,

Can't say I don't want it cuz I know I do - Khalid and Normani, Love Lies

Fontaine sighs as she watches the last of the tagged fish swim away. Honestly, so far this has been one of the more exhausting, less exciting days. Of course, determining the population of the Butterfly Tail fish is important, it's just...not fun. First they'd had to capture the fish, then attach the tags to their wriggling little bodies. And it's not like they were big fish, but they'd had to tag a hundred. One hundred.

And the headache that had started a couple of hours ago wasn't really helping matters.

"Good work today kids, I think that's a wrap. Can you just grab the nets and bring them up? I'll get some food on, okay?" Kaiko tells them over their communicators.

"Sure thing Mom," Fontaine replies, and she and Ant get to work hauling the nets back up to the Aronnax and hooking them up so that they dry.

"I am so happy that's over," Fontaine says as she and Ant swim up into the Moon Pool with the net. "I swear, this feels like the longest day ever."

"Really? Today was so fun! And you're only tired because you were up late last night talking to Pirate Boy," Ant counters.

"I wasn't talking to him, Ant, I was talking to Jess," Fontaine snaps back, annoyed at his assumption.

"Only cuz you couldn't get through to Pirate Boy," he grumbles.

"That's not true!" she argues, although it was kind of was. But still, she had been meaning to call Jess anyway. So it wasn't the only reason she called her.

"Hmm. Anyway, what did she say?"

Fontaine grins at Ant's attempt at a casual tone, glad he dropped the subject of her and Finn, and less annoyed now that he wasn't accusing her. "Eh, same old, same old. Still doing research and that sort of stuff, y'know?"

"Yeah."

They head out of the Moon Pool room, the nets secured, towards the kitchen. Kaiko's put a lasagna in the oven, and the smell makes their mouths water as they walk in. "Ant, go get your father from the study, will you? Tell him food's ready," Kaiko says as she checks the lasagna.

"Okay! Come on, Jeffrey!" Ant races off to the study, Jeffrey swimming alongside him in the tubing of the Aronnax.

Fontaine sinks gratefully into a chair, thankful she hadn't been sent on that errand, and drops her head down onto the table."You okay, Fontaine?" Kaiko asks as she puts a salad down.

"Yeah, I've just kind of got a headache. I'm probably just tired - I slept kind of late last night."

Kaiko frowns and turns Fontaine towards her, putting a the back of her hand to Fontaine's forehead. "Well, you don't seem sick, which is good. Just have some food and water, and you can take a Panadol after dinner. Maybe you should have an early night tonight."

"Yeah," Fontaine agrees, yawning.

"Can we eat now?" Ant asks as he takes his place across from Fontaine. "I'm starving. Dad says he's coming."

"Yes, I suppose we can start," Kaiko says as she sits down as well. "I think we all need to turn in early today."

"Aww, but I was planning on working on Jeffrey's Joracelet," Ant whines.

"Jor...acelet?" Fontaine asks, baffled.

"Yeah! It's like the Jorange, but a bracelet!" Ant exclaims proudly as he holds his water bracelet up. "Then he can be with me even when there's no water!"

"I thought that's what the Jorange was for."

"Yeah, it was, but this is just easier to wear."

"But Ant," Fontaine starts hesitantly, not sure why she cares so much about it. "Won't Jeffrey be squished? That's kind of small, and I don't know if he would fit, let alone want to be in it."

Ant's face falls and his shoulders slump at the realisation. Guilt stirs within her at shooting down his idea. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I hadn't thought about that." He's falls quiet as Kaiko serves out steaming pieces of lasagna. "I know!" he says suddenly. "What if I made it bigger - like a necklace, or a cuff!"

Fontaine rolls her eyes at him. "Thanks Mom. Why don't you just make a smaller version of the Jorange? Or, like, I don't know, consult Jeffrey about it." She feels ridiculous even suggesting it, and Kaiko raises her eyebrows at her, but Ant brightens.

"Yeah, that's a good idea! Thanks Fontaine. I'll start working on it today!"

"Didn't know you cared so much about Jeffrey, Fontaine," Kaiko comments as she sits down.

"Me either," she replies. "But y'know, the little guy kind of grows on you." She looks over to Jeffrey, who swims around in a circle in acknowledgement of her. "By the way, this is really good Mom."

"Yeah!" Ant agrees. "Dad's missing out! There'll be none left if he doesn't come soon!"

Kaiko laughs. "I don't think even you could eat that much, Ant."

"Sorry I'm late," Will says as he walks in. "I got a bit carried away. Wow, Kaiko, this looks amazing."

"Thanks. You might want to hurry up and eat it, before Ant beats you to it."

Will laughs. "Is that so?"

"Yep," Ant chirps. "It's so good, I think I could eat the rest of it!"

Of course, true to Kaiko's prediction, Ant couldn't eat all of it. But he had claimed the last piece as they packed it away.

"I think it's bedtime for all of us," Kaiko says, yawning, as they finish clearing up the table.

"Aww, but Mom," Ant whines. "I'm not tired yet."

"Ant, it's late."

"It's not that late! I usually go to bed way later."

"Fine, you can stay up for half an hour. But I want you in bed by nine, is that clear?"

"Yes, Mom," he grumbles.

"I think I'm going to have a Panadol and go to sleep, Mom, if that's okay," Fontaine says as Kaiko heads out of the room.

"Of course sweetie. It's on the bottom shelf with the blue label."

"Thanks Mom," Fontaine says as Kaiko disappears around the corner. She drags herself up and to the medicine cupboard. The bottom shelf doesn't have a lot on it - it's all the stuff that's pretty harmless. There are only two bottles - the rest of the medicine in boxes or leafs - and the labels look pretty similar. She grabs the one on the left and opens it, the lack of a seal indicating that it had been opened before - so it must have been used by her Dad or someone. She tips out a tablet and half-fills a glass with water, then swallows the tablet down.

She waits a minute or so, and her headache starts to abate in its intensity a little. She sighs in relief. It'll hopefully be gone by the time she goes to bed.

But it recedes much quicker than that. In only a minute or so, it's completely gone. She's not sure how exactly what effect the medicine is supposed to have, but she's pretty sure it takes longer than this.

And in about half a minute more, she's extremely awake and jittery, despite being ready to crash only a little while ago.

And she can't quite focus on one thing. Something else always seems to catch her attention from the corner of her eye.

She peers at the bottle, trying to read what it says, but it's really long and her eyes keep slipping over letters as she looks at it. Eventually she gives up, as her attention is sidetracked for the second time by what she thinks is movement on the stove, but is really nothing.

Looks like she'll have to bother her mom.

She hurries quietly down the halls - at least, she tries to hurry. There's suddenly a hundred and one things that are super-interesting and she keeps getting distracted as she walks. Finally, she makes it to her parents' room.

Opening the door, she squints into the dim room. Her mom's in bed, and her dad's in the bathroom - she can hear the tap running. Either her mom's super-fast or she's taken, like, half an hour to walk through the hall. It looks like Kaiko's already asleep.

"Mom?" she whispers, kneeling by the bed.

"Hmm, what, sweetie?" her mother mumbles tiredly.

"I think I took the wrong medicine."

"What?" she asks sleepily.

"I think I took the wrong medicine," Fontaine repeats, slower.

"You what?" Kaiko asks, actually waking up and starting to sit up.

"Took the wrong medicine."

"Which one did you take? How did you take the wrong one? There's only Panadol in...the..." she trails off as she studies the bottle Fontaine gives her. "What is this?"

Fontaine shrugs, jiggling her leg up and down. "Dunno. It was just in the cupboard so I assumed it was the Panadol." The blue of the bottle sort of matches the bedspread, she thinks. It's a rather pretty blue. Although the blue on that necklace on the dresser is nice too.

Kaiko groans. "This is the medicine Nereus asked us to get." She suddenly grabs Fontaine's face, turning it from side to side and peering into her eyes.

"Mom? What're you doing?" Fontaine asks, her cheeks smushed together like a fish, her attention drawn away from the jewellery box she was looking at.

"How do you feel? Do you feel woozy? Tired? Are you in pain?"

Fontaine shakes her off. "No, I'm just...really awake. And it's kind of hard to focus."

Kaiko frowns. "Hard how?"

"I dunno. It's just, like...I keep getting distracted."

"That's not a good sign. WILL!" she yells.

"Yeah, Kaiko?" Will responds, appearing in the bathroom door with a toothbrush between his teeth.

"Fontaine's taken Nereus's medicine. I'm going to go check her."

Will frowns. "What did she take?"

Kaiko peers at the bottle. "She took...hydro...perca...bethyl...amine? Hydropercabethylamine?"

He snorts. "Sounds made up."

She shrugs. "For all we know, it is. Nereus asked us to get it, I've got no idea what's in it."

"I'll try calling him."

"Good idea. Hopefully he'll pick up. And hopefully it's nothing too bad."

She pulls Fontaine up from the floor, where she'd absently started drawing smiley faces in the carpet as she watches the lava lamp on the bedside table. "Come on, sweetie, lets you checked up."

Fontaine blinks as Kaiko shines a torch into her eyes for the second time. "Her pupils are responding normally," she tells Dr. Silver over the video chat. "And they don't seem to be too large now."

He nods thoughtfully. "While that would be good under normal conditions, I'd expect her pupils to be larger, as they're trying to take in more information with her state."

"That's what I was thinking." Kaiko frowns as she studies her daughter's eyes. Fontaine tries very hard to keep her gaze fixed on her mothers, but occasionally it's drawn to the side by the movement on the widescreen TV, where 's Dr. Silver's critical expression is shown in high definition.

"And you're sure you've never heard of hydropercabethylamine?" Kaiko presses for the fourth time.

Dr. Silver sighs, lifting his glasses to rub his eyes, his wavy brown hair looking disheveled from the amount of times he'd run his hand through it. "Yes, Kaiko, I haven't heard of it," he says wearily. "And neither is it in any record we've got. Whoever asked you to get it probably knows more about it than I do."

Kaiko sighs. "Sorry, I know, it's just that if we knew-"

She's cut off by Will's shout of "Kaiko!" followed by the rapid thumping of footsteps as Will runs into the hospital room. "Nereus is online," he says, holding out a tablet.

"What?" Kaiko gasps, grabbing it off him. She narrows her eyes at the serene, smiling old man with twinkling blue eyes.

"Nereus, what's in that medicine you asked us to get?" she demands.

Nereus chuckles as he replies. "Oh, a great many things, for a great many purposes."

Kaiko growls at his evasiveness. Even Dr. Silver's looking on with confusion. "This is not the time for games, Nereus. Fontaine's taken your medicine." She faces the tablet to her daughter, who's half watching them, half focusing on her comm's flashing light. She looks suspiciously at Nereus.

"Ah, I see. Yes, it makes sense that it affects her that way," he says, stroking his beard. "But rest assured," he says placatingly as he catches Kaiko's glare. "She's in no danger. In effect, it's simply a mix of sugars to encourage alertness."

"In effect?" Kaiko repeats dubiously. Nereus simply smiles and nods. Kaiko rubs her forehead tiredly. "So she's basically just hyper?"

At Nereus's nod of confirmation she sighs, dropping her hand down and casting her gaze to the ceiling. "Great, just great," she mutters. So now she has to deal with a hyperactive teenager. This day could not get any better. "So we just have to wait for it to wear off?"

Will sighs as Nereus nods again. "That could take hours," he says, watching his daughter's hyperactive state.

"If I may," Dr. Silver interjects, making Kaiko startle. She'd forgotten he was there. "You could just give her a sedative and let her sleep off the effects."

Will and Kaiko share a glance. On the one hand, they really weren't in favour of drugging their daughter. But on the other, Fontaine needed her sleep and so did they, and if they decided to wait, they could be up for hours. Kaiko nods resignedly. "I suppose it's the best option."

"Yeah," Will agrees reluctantly. "I suppose so."

He keeps Fontaine's attention on him as Kaiko prepares a syringe with a light sedative in it - enough to slow Fontaine's system down, but not knock her out immediately. Once she injects Fontaine - who only responds with a weak 'ow' as the needle goes in- Will leads her over to the couch and gives her the tablet - Nereus already having said his goodbye- to keep her occupied. Kaiko turns to the TV, addressing . "Thank you, Dr. Silver. I'm sorry to have wasted your time."

"Not at all," he smiles genially, his bright white teeth contrasting against his chocolate coloured skin. "I'm just glad Fontaine's alright. Call me if anything starts to happen, won't you?"

Kaiko smiles and agrees before she disconnects. Her attention falls back to her daughter, and she sighs as she sees how awake the girl is. Will tucks a blanket around her then comes to stand with Kaiko, sliding his arm around her shoulders and gazing at their daughter. "How long do you reckon she'll be up for?"

Kaiko pinches the bridge of her nose. "It's going to take a while for the sedative to take effect. I guess she's just going to be hyper until then."

"Well, it could've been worse," Will says, watching his daughter flick through different channels every five seconds.

"Yeah, it could be."

Will sighs and kisses the side of her head. "Time for bed then?" he asks as she leans against him, exhausted now that the fear for her daughter's no longer keeping her awake.

"Yeah," she yawns, letting Will lead her out of the room.

"MOM! DAD! Are you awake?" Ant calls as he barrels into the room, waving his tablet in the air. Kaiko groans. Doesn't look like she'll be getting to bed as soon as she'd like.

"Yeah, Ant, we're here," Will replies, giving her an amused look.

"Guess what? There was an ambush at the Black Market!" Ant says excitably, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"What?" Kaiko and Will ask in unison, alarmed.

"Yeah! It happened just a couple hours ago. It's kind of gory, though. It said the content was 18+, so I didn't watch it."

"Good call, Ant," Kaiko says, taking the tablet from him. Will ruffles Ant's hair, and Ant grins up at him.

"Yeah, good job kiddo. I know how tempting it must have been to watch it. How did you even find out?"

Ant shrugs. "I was working on plans for the Mini-Jorange, and the notification just popped up. I didn't watch it cuz you and Mom would never have let me have the tablet if I did, and the pictures were enough. Looks like those people got some pretty bad injuries. There's not much-" he says quickly, catching his Dad's half alarmed, half scolding face. "The pictures were all really dark and I didn't look too closely, but there was a lot of blood, they said."

"Do you know who it was they attacked?"

"Um, no. All it said was that there were two pirate groups involved and the ones who ambushed them were the -" he tilts the screen towards himself. Kaiko gives him an annoyed glance as he scrolls down. "-the Black Tempest pirates?"

Will and Kaiko pale. The Black Tempest pirates were notoriously ruthless, and although as not as well known as the Dark Orca pirates, they were feared much more. They weren't on the radar as much as any pirates, really, but when they struck, they struck hard and fast, and they always left with something big. Even the World's Ocean's Authority had warned the Nektons to stay away from them. What they stole wasn't worth the risk of trying to take them to justice.

So whichever pirates were attacked - their chances weren't good.

And for some reason, all the Nektons were praying it wasn't the Dark Orca ones.

Ant looks at them. "What's wrong?" he asks, catching their reaction. "Who are these guys?"

"People you don't want to know about," Kaiko shudders.

"Why?" Ant asks curiously.

Kaiko sighs. "They're just bad people, Ant. And we need to stay away from them. Like those pirates who got attacked should've." She gives a sidelong glance to her daughter, who's listening with wide eyes, although Kaiko's not sure she's taking everything that's being said. "Fontaine, are you alright, sweetie?"

"Was it the Dark Orca pirates?" she asks, worry in her eyes.

"We don't know at the moment," Kaiko says. "When they have more information, we can find out more."

"Shouldn't we go help, Mom?" Fontaine asks, a tad desperately. "What if it is them?"

To her and Ant's surprise, Kaiko shakes her head in reply to Fontaine's first question. "We don't want to get involved. We're not well liked by pirates, and this would just be inviting trouble."

"But what if they need us?"

"Then they know they can call us. When we know more we can do more, but for now we can't do anything."

Fontaine and Ant fall silent at her stern tone. "Listen, we're all just really tired right now, okay? Lets go to sleep and we can figure put what to do in the morning. Come on, Will," she says, pulling her husband with her towards the door.

"Go to sleep, kids," he calls over his shoulder as he leaves with Kaiko.

Ant and Fontaine watch their parents go out of the room, then turn to each other. "Well, that was weird," Ant comments finally.

"Yeah." Fontaine runs a hand through her hair, wincing as her fingers get tangled in knots. The sedative was already starting to work a little bit, and her fear and worry limited the effect of the medicine enough for her to be able to think semi-clearly. "You really think we shouldn't be going to help?" she asks her brother dubiously.

Ant shrugs. "Mom and Dad say no, and usually their all for it, so probably. Besides, Pirate Boy's got your communicator and number, I'm pretty sure he'd call you if he needed help."

"Yeah..." Fontaine sort of agrees. But worry drowns out Ant's argument, making them seem pitifully weak against what could be happening. What if Finn wasn't able to get through to her? What if he was lying broken and bleeding out in the Black Market, unable to find the strength to hit his communicator or get to his tablet? What if they'd taken the communicator off him?

She doesn't register Ant's voice talking through the nightmares being painted in her head, blood and gore and death and pain, and she only catches the tail end of what he's saying. "...and anyway, we'll find out tomorrow," he yawns as he turns around and waves, not waiting for her response.

But tomorrow might be too late, she thinks. She has to know now.

Fontaine dashes to her room and grabs her tablet from her bed, her heart thumping with fear and adrenaline coursing through her veins. With fumbling fingers, she manages to find Finn's contact and presses the call button.

Every second she waits feels like a lifetime, just watching the dots on the screen appear and disappear as she waits for him to pick up. He doesn't normally ignore her calls. Or he sends a message that he's busy. Usually.

She tries to control her panic as the time drags on, each second allowing her to add something new and terrifying to the nightmare in her head.

After what feels like an hour, the dots disappear, and the ringing stops as the system gives up on the call.

Maybe he didn't hear it, she thinks desperately, hoping that was the case. Maybe he missed it. She calls him again.

He's got to be okay. He would've called if he - they - needed help. Right? She tries to comfort herself as she waits an eternity for him to accept the call.

The call declines.

Now she's really starting to panic. And her hyperactive state makes her brain come up with a hundred different, terrible scenarios every second.

Third's time's a charm, she thinks, attempting positivity and failing miserably. She calls him one more time.

The endless ring-ring, ring-ring heightens her nerves every second it doesn't stop, sounding louder than thunder.

Ring-ring.

Come on, Finn. Pick up.

Ring-ring.

Please pick up.

Ring-ring.

You have to pick up.

Ring-ring.

Come ON, Finn.

Ring-ring.

Please.

He doesn't pick up.

Fontaine sits there, staring at the call button, the same few words circling round in her head.

Pirates. Ambush. Injury. Dark Orca.

She makes up her mind. She has to know he's okay. Or help if he's not. And if her family wasn't going to help her find out, she was going to do it herself.

She races back out of her room, adrenaline and fear taming the effects of any hyperactivity enough for her to be able to focus solely on her mission.

Running to the bridge, she tries to keep quiet so she doesn't disturb the rest of her family. Partly because they're tired, but mostly because they'd stop her. It only takes a couple minutes to calibrate the navigation system to her old comm and send the location to the Mimic Knight, but in this state, it feels like forever. Finally, there's a beep-beep as the system locks onto her old comm's location, and she races to the Mimic Knight. It's the best choice, as the smallest and least conspicuous one, and she's not sure where she'd have to go through. Plus, she doesn't want to bring too much attention to herself.

She makes sure the door to the Moon Pool room is shut to minimize the noise produced as she carefully uses the claw to put the Mimic Knight close to the water. The Moon Pool door is only opened a little bit, so that the clanging of metal hitting metal isn't too loud as it closes. She slides into the Mimic Knight, cringing as the metal plates collide with each other. In the silence, every noise feels deafening.

She finally breathes a sigh of relief as the Moon Pool door softly closes behind her. She's out. She did it.

The little blue dot on her screen beeps, and it takes a second for her to fully understand it. Huh. The signal from her old comm isn't that far away, actually. It's not really close to the Black Market either. That could be good or bad - either they weren't anywhere near the Black Market during the attack, or they were fleeing. She was really hoping for the first option.

Praying nobody would notice her absence and change the Mimic Knight's navigation, she sets the navigation system to autopilot and locks onto her old comm's location as the destination. Two hours, more or less. Not too bad, really, but it would still feel like forever. She starts off.

As she travels, the sedative starts to take a hold of her. She almost falls asleep several times, the gentle shifting movements of her Knight and the lullaby of the ocean lulling her to rest. It's a good thing she set the Knight to autopilot, or she would've crashed several times.

But other times she's fully alert, worrying constantly about what she'd find.

The cocktail of drugs really was not on her side at the moment.

But the sedative's winning the battle, and as time goes on she finds it harder and harder to stay awake, despite how close she's getting to the signal.

Finally, finally, the Dark Orca comes in to sight. Her heart starts a beating at a higher pace. Now she'd know for sure if he was okay.

Weirdly, the Moon Pool's open, but she doesn't give it much thought as she swims in. If it was open, all the better for her. They probably just forgot to close it.

Or they were too injured to be able to.

The thought spurs her on, and she bursts out into the Moon Pool with a little more force than she'd intended, easing her landing onto the floor and drawing the eyes of everyone in the room.

Including Finn.

Who looked unhurt.

But she had to make sure.

"Fontaine?!" he exclaims in surprise, cautiously approaching her. "What are you doing here?" he asks as she opens the top of the Mimic Knight and scrambles out. Or tries to. He rushes over and carefully helps her out of the Knight, practically lifting her out.

"Finn!" she cries, spinning around and throwing her arms around him, holding tight. He freezes for a second, then cautiously pats her back in response. She starts rambling, but her words slur together and it sounds like a bunch of gibberish as she tries to say,"You're okay? You didn't get attacked by pirates, did you? Mom and Dad were saying something about pirates attacking-"

"Woah, woah, woah," Finn interrupts as she starts patting his body, checking for injuries. He grabs her hands and detaches himself from her, catching her arm as she starts swaying without his support. "None of that." He peers into her half-glazed eyes." What's going on Fontaine?"

Relief hits her. He's okay. He's okay. They're all okay. It wasn't them it wasn't them who was attacked.

He's safe.

"What's going on, Fontaine?" Clearly something's not right. There's absolutely no way she would just jump in a Knight and decide to come see him unless there was something really wrong.

Not that he's complaining. It's always great to see her, but this really isn't the best time. And she wasn't in the best frame of mind. So what had happened?

She looks up at him with teary green eyes, and he's a bit taken aback at her sudden mood change. And her state. Something's definitely off. "Ant said there was an attack at the Black Market...and pirates got ambushed...and there was an injury...and blood...and I was so scared it was you."

Oh. The Black Tempest pirates. He could see why she was so upset now. But...there's also something else not quite right.

"Hey, it's okay," he comforts her gently as she starts sniffling. "I'm fine, see? Nothing to worry about. Now how about you tell me what happened before that? Did you get drugged? Take some medicine or something?"

She blinks hard, trying to remember. "Yeah...I had to take some medicine because...overexcitement? Or...no, I took the wrong Panadol, and too much sugar, and had to get it out, so I had medicine, but I'm fine, see?" She says, her speech clearly affected. Finn breathes out a sigh of relief.

"So you're not in danger?"

She shakes her head confidently, the movement causing her to tip sideways. He grabs her other arm to keep her upright. "They jus' said I needed...sleep," she says, her words starting to mix together again.

Finn blows out a breath, running a hand through his hair. It isn't really safe to send her out into the sea- she was practically falling asleep on her feet as the adrenaline that had fuelled her wore off. But on the other hand, they were in the middle of a raid. One they'd been planning for weeks. There was no option to make a mistake, and having Fontaine on board certainly throws a spanner in the works.

He sighs, making a decision he hopes he won't regret.

"Okay, lets get you to bed then, yeah?" he suggests, tucking her under his arm and guiding her away from the Moon Pool. "We'll just send a quick message to your family first, then you can sleep."

"FINN! Where'd ya think ya goin'?" Hammerhead demands as he takes Fontaine out of the room. Hammerhead had been watching their exchange from his peripheral vision, eyeing Fontaine suspiciously.

"Just to put Fontaine to bed, Dad. She can't get back to the Aronnax like this." He gestures to her, her eyes half-lidded and propped up against him.

Hammerhead growls, but Finn can already tell he's not going to send her back. He just has to put on a show to make himself feel better about it. "Tha' Nekton girl's none o' our concern."

"Look at her, Dad," Finn says, playing along. "It'll only take five minutes."

"Three," Hammerhead snaps. "And ya need ta be in position as soon as we start."

Finn rolls his eyes and nods, leading Fontaine to the bridge to send a message to the Nektons.

As they make their way toward it, Fontaine wraps her arm around his waist, nestling her head against his shoulder. He smiles down at her.

Danny Boy yells in surprise when he sees her, clearly expecting the rest of her family to appear too. Finn rolls his eyes again. "Relax, Danny Boy," he reassures him, lowering Fontaine into a chair. She makes a sound of protest as he moves away and grabs his wrist. "It's just her," he says, gently extricating his wrist from her grip. "I'll be back in a second," he assures her, moving away a little in order to hunt down one of the tablets.

"What's wrong with her?" Danny Boy asks, peering up at her as she drowsily watches Finn search.

"No idea," Finn snorts. "She says she's had some sort of medicine or drug or something and it made her a bit...loopy."

Danny Boy studies her. "Why's she here?"

"She heard about The Tempest pirates and thought it was us, so she wanted to come check on us, I guess."

"Us?" Danny Boy smirks. "Or you?"

Finn blushes and turns his attention fully to the cabinet he's searching. "Me, maybe. We won't know till she's back to herself." He finally finds a tablet and grabs it, putting an end to the conversation.

"What're you doing?" Danny Boy asks curiously.

"Sending a message to the Nektons so they don't worry. Or hunt us down looking for her and ruin the mission."

"Ahh. Smart."

"I like to think so." Finn flashes a grin at him as he rolls his eyes.

"Well, I'll leave ya to it," he says, walking towards the door. "Jus' be sure you're in position on time."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Finn says, opening the communication channel. He looks at Fontaine, who's practically falling asleep in her seat. "Okay," he says to her, gently shaking her awake. She blinks blearily at him as he talks, and he wonders if anything is really registering with her. "We'll just call your family and get you to bed, then they'll pick you up. Or you'll go to them, we haven't decided yet. Good?" She gives a faint nod in response. Finn sighs, hoping whatever had happened was something the Nektons knew about, otherwise they'd be in a lot of trouble.

He opens the communication channel and perches on the arm of the chair next to Fontaine. She immediately moves to lean against him. Although it's more like falling. He pauses to readjust her so she's comfortably resting against his side, his arm draped over her shoulders, before he makes contact. Unfortunately, no-one's on the bridge. It looks like the Nektons are sleeping. Hopefully they'll get the recorded message.

"Hey, Nektons," he says cheerfully. "So you're probably wondering where your daughter is - or sister, I guess, for Ant. Rest assured she's safe with us. Although she's kind of out of it, but she said you gave her some medicine, I hope you know what she's talking about. Here, you can see she's fine- or as fine as she can be." He angles the camera so Fontaine is more visible. "Say hi, Fontaine."

She waves a hand halfheartedly into the camera. "Hi..." she trails off, yawning.

"So I think she's had like some sort of sedative or something?" he says, rubbing her shoulder and gently nudging her with his side, trying to get her to confirm or deny it. She's not having any of it, just leaning against him and smiling sleepily into the camera. "Yeah. So, anyway, we'll keep her on board. She'll be safe, don't worry, but you can't pick her up for a couple hours. We're kind of in the middle of a...project." He grins into the camera. "But she'll be fine, we'll just let her sleep it off. You can come pick her up when we're done, or she can come to you. Unless it's like, life-or-death. Then you should probably pick her up as fast as you can. But if it's not, please don't get me in any more trouble than I'm already in for keeping her on the sub. We'll contact you when we're done to return her. Bye."

He puts the tablet down and pulls Fontaine up, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to keep her steady.

"Alright, Sleeping Beauty, let's get you to bed."

She turns her head to look at him and trips, almost falling. He steadies her as she stares at him. "You think I'm beautiful?"

He grins. Trust her to latch onto the most inane comment. "Yeah," he says casually. "I think you're quite beautiful." He glances at her to catch her reaction. She looks positively delighted, and he tries to stifle a snicker at what she would think of herself in her normal state.

"I think you're beautiful too," she says, looking down.

"Yeah?" She glances up at him as he attempts to hide the smirk on his face.

She goes quiet for a few seconds. He wonders if she's starting to fall asleep again even though they're moving and glances down at her to check, but she's staring up at him with wide green eyes. "You're very handsome," she says as he makes eye contact with her.

"Thank you," he says as they reach his room. He could put her in Madeline's room, but he doubts she would really be welcome there. Plus, it's not like he's going to be sleeping with her - she's just going to sleep and he's going to do the mission. Regardless, he still feels a thrill of excitement as he guides her into the room and gets her to lie down on the bed. He pulls the cover over her and is about to leave when she grabs his wrist again.

"Stay," she pleads, her wide, innocent gaze urging him to say yes. But he pries her fingers off his wrist, and shakes his head.

"Sorry, Fontaine, I can't." Fear creeps into her eyes as he pulls away, and then it strikes him. Of course she's scared, practically anything could happen on a pirate ship. But he knew she'd be safe here - he just had to convince her of it. He sits down beside her and runs his fingers through her hair, smiling a little as she closes her eyes and relaxes slightly. "It's okay. I promise nothing will happen to you. You're safe here, okay?" He waits for her sleepy nod before he disentangles himself and gets up. She already seems to be asleep by the time he reaches the door and gently clicks it shut. He locks the handle securely, then hurries down to the Moon Pool room. He'd gone way over three minutes.

Several hours later, Finn stumbles towards his room, exhausted.

He groans as he catches sight of the other occupant of the room, bundled in blankets. He'd forgotten he had a roommate for the moment.

Just a few minutes, he thinks, laying down beside her. I'll just have this for a few minutes, then I'll go help with the stuff.

Of course, it doesn't turn out that way. He's way too tired and his bed is way too soft even if it's cramped, and all it takes is a few minutes for him to fall asleep.

The light flooding the room creeps into her brain, urging her to wake up. She cracks open an eye, then immediately shuts it, groaning a little and rolling over, trying to burrow back into sleep. She collides with another warm entity and she eases open her eyes, not immediately recognizing why there was someone else there, but assuming it was Ant, like when they went to visit their grandparents and had to share a bed.

But she starts to take in the messy, almost black mop of hair and pale skin-

She freezes.

It's not Ant. It's someone else entirely.

Finn looks so peaceful sprawled on his back, his chest steadily rising and falling with each breath. She can see the aristocratic slope of his cheekbones, the smooth planes of his face as he sleeps, his dark lashes and eyebrows contrasting against his pale skin. He looks like the dashing princes in the fairy tales she used to read and watch.

Anyway, what was she doing here? Vague memories swim through her head as she tries to put the pieces together. She'd had medicine. She'd been swimming. And panicking. About...the Black Market? She kind of remembers surfacing in the Moon Pool room. And walking with Finn.

Not a lot to go on.

As she unfreezes, she tries to shift away from him, but the movement starts to wake him up. He groans and rolls onto his side, throwing his arm out. Across her.

She feels a blush heat up her face as he buries his face into the pillow and pulls her closer, still half asleep. He mumbles a little, waking up by degrees. He finally rolls back over, although his arm stays draped over her waist, his sapphire eyes blinking sleep out of them. She can see the shock in them as he registers her presence, but he gets over it quickly.

"Morning," he says, his voice gravelly from sleep. And it does funny things to her insides that she doesn't want to think too much about.

"Hi," she tries not to squeak. He lifts his arm off her and rubs his face, trying to fully wake up.

"Do you remember anything from yesterday?" He asks, sleep still evident in his voice.

"Bits and pieces," she admits. "What...what happened?" she asks, propping herself up sideways on her arm. He slowly mirrors her, yawning, and blinks sleepily at her as he process her answer, and there's suddenly a lot more space between them. She sort of misses their closeness.

No you don't, idiot. You're relieved she scolds herself.

"Well," he smirks, seeming fully awake now. "You had this truth serum thing and it made you kinda loopy and you decided you wanted to come here and confess your undying love to me."

"No," she laughs, half mortified and half disbelieving. "No way. Please tell me I didn't."

"Nah," he grins. "Though you were doing some thorough checking of me for - injuries, was it?" He quirks his eyebrows at her.

"Oh my god, no." She sits up and tries to move away a little covers her burning face with her hands in humiliation.

He laughs, prying her hands away from her face. "It wasn't that bad. I certainly didn't mind."

She groans, bowing her head and hiding behind her hair, unable to remove her wrists from Finn's grip, where he's unconsciously rubbing his thumbs back and forth over them. "Kill me now," she moans.

"It really wasn't that bad," he assures her. "Although some of the things you said you clearly would never have said in your normal state."

"Like what?" she asks timidly.

He quirks an eyebrow at her. "Like I'm beautiful, and handsome?"

"Well," she mumbles. "At least I was telling the truth."

His brows shoot up in surprise, and he doesn't seem to know what to say. He sits up and runs a hand through his hair, making it even more messy, and can't help snickering at his hair sticking up all over the place. "What?" he catches her laughter.

"Nothing," she says, trying to stifle her giggles. He raises an eyebrow at her, telling her he doesn't believe her. "It's just...your hair. It's so messy," she grins, reaching out to pat it down. "It's like you've been electrified."

He gives her an unamused look, though his lips are twitching up. "Yeah, well, I can't spend hours on it like some people."

She gasps in mock offense. "How dare you! My hair's just naturally this gorgeous." She tosses her hair back for effect, but it just ends up falling into her eyes. Curse it's shortness. Finn snickers as she shakes it out of her eyes.

"Of course, of course, we can't all be models...like...you..." he trails off, his eyes half closing. It's only then she realizes her hand is still in his hair, running through it. She snatches it back and his eyes shoot open again. "Sorry," she mutters, not looking at him. It seems that blushing is her new natural state. "Your hair's really soft."

"Yeah," he swallows thickly. "No problem."

They fall silent for a few seconds, awkwardness hanging over them and getting heavier with each heartbeat.

"So," she says, still not meeting his eyes. "Is there anything else I need to know about that I did?"

He shrugs casually. "Not really. We just sent a message to your family and then you went to sleep, and that's basically it."

She frowns. "Why did I even decide to come here in the first place?"

The grin fades from his face. "You don't remember that? You were pretty panicked about it."

"Well, yeah, I remember feeling panicked, but I don't remember about what. Why? What happened?" she asks tentatively, worried by his grim expression.

"There was an attack at the Black Market, and you thought it was us." She takes a sharp inhale of breath, the memories becoming clearer. The remembrance of the panic and fear chills her again as she recalls the feeling of wondering if she was too late.

If he was...

She can't think it.

"Hey, you okay?" Finn's voice breaks her out of her reverie. He peers concernedly into her eyes.

"Yeah," she says, trying to swallow down the lump of emotions in her throat. "Just glad you're okay," she whispers.

His eyes take on a warm look and he gives her a soft smile, pulling her gently into a hug. She hugs him back, grateful for the support and warmth, and the knowledge that he really was okay. He pulls away after a second. "Me too. I'm glad you're okay too."

"Yeah." She laughs a little. "Pretty stupid to come here all drugged up and everything. Why didn't you send me back?"

"Well, we were kind of in the middle of...something," he says hesitantly, avoiding eye contact, as if expecting her to judge him. She smiles reassuringly at him, and he relaxes a bit. "We'd been planning it for a while, so we couldn't exactly bail out. And having your family come get you would've messed it up. And I didn't want to send you back out with all that stuff in you. I'd never forgive myself if something happened. But Dad wasn't too happy."

"I can imagine," she smiles at him, touched. "And thanks for keeping me safe."

He shrugs. "Of course. You would do the same for us."

"That's true." Then she laughs. "Although, I don't actually know that you did it of your own good will. You might've decided to keep me on as a hostage or something, Pirate Boy," she teases, lightening the mood as she pokes him.

He grins. "I can't guarantee that my family didn't demand something. But I can assure you, I didn't. I wouldn't take advantage of you," he says.

"Is that so?" she asks archly. "You are a pirate, aren't you?"

"Not that kind of pirate," he says, his gaze falling to her mouth. All of a sudden the air seems charged as she realises what he could be saying.

"You sure?" she whispers, her mouth suddenly dry.

His eyes flick up to hers as she speaks, but there's something in them that wasn't there a moment ago, and excitement and nervousness fizzle in her veins. For once, she doesn't try to convince herself that it's nothing.

"Positive," he murmurs, his eyes dropping back down to her mouth. He moves closer, and she shifts little, not realizing she's bringing herself closer until her hand touches his, resting on the bed. She keeps it there, fighting the urge to withdraw it and stop the tingles sparking at the slight contact.

"Well, that's...good to know," she responds, trying to keep her breathing even. He flashes a smirk at her, drawing her attention to his pale lips. Her heart thunders as he leans in, head tilting down toward her. They're barely a centimetre apart, and her eyes flutter shut, anticipation building as he closes the gap between-

SLAM!

The door bangs open, making her jump, and Finn growls as he pulls away, glaring fiercely at the intruder. Madeline's leaning against the door frame, a self-satisfied smirk on her face.

That girl has the worst timing.

Or she's just awesome at ruining things. Fontaine wouldn't have been surprised if she'd been watching just to interrupt at the last second.

Kind of like what Ant would do. If Ant was that devious.

"What?" Finn demands angrily.

Madeline's smirk just grows. "Calm down, lover boy. The Nektons are here and they want their kid back. I thought I'd be nice and come let you know. Now you owe me a favor." She looks mightily pleased with herself.

Finn snorts. "Nice, yeah right. What do I owe you a favor for exactly? Interrupting us?"

"Ooh, interrupting what?" she asks devilishly. She laughs at Finn's speechlessness and as colour rises to Fontaine's face. She can barely look at Finn. "Got you there, didn't I? And anyway, the favor is for coming to get you. I could've let Will find you. What would he have thought of his darling daughter in a pirate's bed?" She raises her eyebrows at him. Finn pales a little.

Fontaine's face floods with even more blood at the insinuation. "That's not...it wasn't...it's not like that!" She exclaims, mortified.

Madeline rolls her eyes. "Yeah, I know that." Then her smile turns devious. "But the others don't. You totally me a favour, big brother. They think she slept in my room."

"And here I was, thinking my sister loved me," Finn says sarcastically, finally regaining his voice. "Didn't expect an ulterior motive there at all."

Madeline shrugs, grinning. "Guess I just am that good. Don't take forever or they'll suspect something. I give you five minutes."

"You don't need to. We're coming now."

"Are you?" Madeline asks, a gleam in her eye, making Fontaine feel apprehensive towards her next words. "Or are you going to lock yourselves up and have your wicked way with her?"

"MADDIE!" Finn yells in outrage as she cackles, her mad laughter echoing off the metal walls as she races down the hall.

That doesn't seem like such a bad suggestion, something whispers inside Fontaine.

Shut up, she tells it.

"Sorry about her," he mutters to Fontaine, running a hand through his hair, a blush toning his cheeks. "She's just..."

"It's fine," she says, her mouth dry again as it clicks that they're alone now. And she doesn't know what's going to happen. Or what she wants to happen. "I'm well experienced with annoying younger siblings."

There's a beat of silence, and she's not sure what she's supposed to do or say now.

He solves the problem, heaving himself up and offering her a hand. "Well, guess we better get you to your family before Maddie has me killed by your dad."

She laughs, a blush creeping up on her. "Yeah." She takes his hand and he pulls her up.

"You good?" he asks when she stands up. She gives a nod and he lets her go, walking towards the door. She follows, taking one last look at his room. It's pretty sparse, there's a few books in plastic bags and clothes over the room, with the tablet and random items like maps and pencils lying around. A small, rectangular desk is secured to the wall, and there's another door that presumably leads to a bathroom. All in all, it looks like a regular teenage boy's room. Just with a lot less it feels sort of...intimate, seeing it. She gives it a last glance, then follows him out.

They walk down towards the Moon Pool room, chatting and laughing. There's only a tiny bit of awkwardness, something she's supremely grateful for.

"Hey how did you know where to find us?" He asks abruptly, interrupting his own anecdote of when he had a favour over Madeline. "Sorry, just thought of that."

"I calibrated the navigation system to my old comm." He blushes, and she looks at him curiously. "Why?"

He runs a hand through his hair, taming it a bit. Just a bit. She bites back a giggle at its still dishevelled state. "Ugh, great," he groans, looking up at the ceiling. "Dad's not gonna be happy about that."

"Why? Isn't it good if we can contact you?"

He sighs. "In a way, yes, cuz when stuff like this happens we can find out if each other are okay. But for normal stuff? It means you can track us down anytime and find out what we're doing. And stop us."

"Oh." She hadn't really thought of it like that. "But we wouldn't. We pretty much leave you alone unless you happen to be in the same place or you've got something we need."

"I suppose. But Dad won't see it like that. Anyway, we'll see what happens." They stop as they reach the entrance to the Moon Pool room and turns to each other to continue the conversation. "I'm sure I can find a way to keep the comm. Unless you want it back," he asks hesitantly.

She shakes her head. "It's yours now, and it's better this way. I just hope your Dad sees it like that."

"Me too. Anyway," he nods at the door to the Moon Pool room. "I'll go in first and tell them you're coming so they don't get the wrong impression, y'know? Just wait a few minutes and then come in, 'kay?"

She nods and he grins at her, giving her a two-fingered salute before he turns and walks in. She waits, leaning against the wall and tipping her head back.

She closes her eyes, finally able to think for a few minutes.

Finn was going to kiss her. Or she was going to kiss him. Basically, they were going to kiss.

Until Madeline showed up.

She's not sure how she feels about the whole thing.

Did she want him to?

No.

It would...complicate things.

But did she want him to?

Yes.

She wanted him to. Very much indeed.

But she didn't trust him. She couldn't. He was a pirate.

And yet, he hadn't taken advantage of her state when she came on board. He had kept her safe. He'd not demanded a ransom from her family, and hadn't let anyone else, either. Well, as far as she knows.

He'd looked after her. And he hadn't had to.

She thumps her head against the wall. She wants to trust him, she really does, but...she can't.

Madeline suddenly appears from the doorway, making her jump. Seriously, that girl needs a bell or something. When Madeline sees her, a look of surprise crosses her face, but then she scowls and grabs Fontaine's arm, dragging her down the hall.

"Okay, we don't have much time, so listen up," she says, keeping her voice low and letting go of Fontaine. Fontaine's heart starts hammering. What if her parents had found out she hadn't slept in Madeline's room? Technically it wasn't her fault, but dread still washes over her. "My idiot brother just ruined the perfect plan I had to pull this off. Which means you have to really sell it, or you're both in trouble. So, this is the story. I didn't see you last night -which is true - and Finn put you to sleep in my room. I didn't know till I came back and you were there, then I went to sleep too. Then this morning I left and Finn came to check on you and you talked, then he left, and you stayed in my room or got lost walking around the Dark Orca or something, 'kay? Then I came and got you and now here we are. Got it?"

Fontaine nods, trying to process the information. "Good. Oh, and if Ant presses, you can tell him I've got mermaid posters in my room, 'kay?" She waits for Fontaine to nod again before she gives a nod in return, turning back to the Moon Pool room.

"Wait," she grabs Madeline's arm. Madeline looks down at her hand, the expression on her face clearly stating release me. Fontaine does, and steps back a bit, raising her hands in a gesture of surrender. "Not that I'm complaining, but why are you helping us? You hate me and the fact that Finn..." she trails off, not sure what to say.

Madeline smirks at her. "Aww, think I have some warm fuzzy feelings for you, Nekton? As entertaining as it would be to see my brother get told off by your dad, this arrangement's much better. Trust me, the favour I'm going to get from Finn is going to be legendary. So...I wouldn't trust him as much if I were you." She grins, baring her teeth.

She's not going to lie, Fontaine's a little taken aback. She genuinely hadn't realized how devious Madeline was, always just chalking her up to be some wannabe pirate.

But she'd clearly planned this - from the second she decided to get them.

Fontaine sighs. "What do you mean? He's not going to do something to make me lose more trust in him on purpose, you know."

"Guess you'll have to see, Nekton." With that, she turns on her heel and walks off. Fontaine hurries to catch up to her. She's kind of surprised by how many people there are in the Moon Pool room. Ant's in the Moon Pool, her mom on the ship with the open Rover behind her and Ant and her dad in Knights. Hammerhead stands by glaring at her family and arguing with Ant - does he really not know how childish he looks arguing with a kid? A crew mate's there too, watching them as well as he works in the corner and talks to Danny Boy. Finn's standing off to the side a little, near the controls, and being grilled by Will and Kaiko about what happened when Fontaine appeared on the sub. She catches his somewhat desperate look as he glances over to her, and Madeline goes over to help smooth over the story, presumably.

"So, Fontaine, what's in Madeline's room?" Ant jumps to ask her as soon as he notices her. Madeline shoots her a warning glance as she walks towards Finn. To her family, it would look like she was warning Fontaine not to say anything, when she was really telling her that she better play her part well.

"Um, I can't tell you, Ant, sorry," she says as she heads towards Kaiko.

"Fontaine! Sweetie, how are you feeling?" Kaiko asks as she rushes over, wrapping her daughter up in a hug. "I was so worried! You're not still sedated, are you?" She pulls back and takes Fontaine's face into her hands, peering into her eyes.

"Mom, I'm fine," she says, embarrassed, as she wriggles out of Kaiko's grip. "Finn took care of me. I'm all good."

Kaiko gives her a scrutinising look. "Well, we'll have to run some tests on you, but you look fine for now. I'm so sorry we didn't come sooner, but we didn't want to put you at any more risk."

"It's fine, Mom, don't worry about it. I was pretty much conked out the whole time anyway."

"Where?" Will asks from a few paces behind Kaiko.

"Um, sorry?" she says.

"Where did you sleep?" Will repeats, giving a suspicious look to Finn. Clearly, he'd picked up on something.

"Um, I don't know, Dad, I wasn't really focusing properly. But I'm pretty sure it was Madeline's room, right?" she says nervously, looking over the the girl in question and hoping she'd take the attention and lie from there.

Madeline snorts. "Yeah, it was my room. By the way, you take up a lot of space, I don't know if anyone's told you? Good thing you don't have to share a bed."

Fontaine gives a sigh of relief, hoping it would pass off as a sigh of exasperation. That girl really did have a talent for lying. "Good to know," she says sarcastically, but her relief takes the bite out of the words. She's acutely aware of Finn's eyes flicking between her and Madeline, putting the pieces together.

Will turns towards Hammerhead, who is now arguing with Ant over the state of the controls, and the fact that 'that junk really needs to be replaced' - at least in Ant's opinion. "Hammerhead!" Will calls. Hammerhead's attention and scowl fall on him. "Thank you for looking after our daughter. We're all incredibly grateful."

"Yes," Kaiko interjects, walking closer and smiling at him. "You've no idea how much it means to us."

Hammerhead grumbles a bit, but she can't tell if he's pleased or not. "I didn' do much. Finn was the one who took care of 'er."

Both her parents turn to Finn, and she internally cringes. "Thank you, Finn," Kaiko says, and Will nods in agreement. He looks surprised and a little caught at the attention on him.

"Yeah, thanks for taking care of her,"Ant pipes up from the Moon Pool. "But I still don't like you."

Finn laughs, and he looks a little more at ease. "Of course I'd look after her, you don't need to thank me. You'd do the same for us."

Will chuckles, and puts a hand on Finn's shoulder. "Well, thank you anyway. You're a good kid." Finn's smile starts to look a little strained.

"If you need us for anything, we're here for you," Kaiko says. Finn looks moved. He smiles warmly at Kaiko and she reciprocates before turning to his sister. "And you too, Madeline." Madeline just rolls her eyes.

"Well now Nektons," Hammerhead says. "I 'ope this means we'll be seein' less of ya when we're on business."

Will shakes his head. "We can't do that, I'm afraid. It's our job to recover sunken artefacts."

"You know those things should be shared with the world," Kaiko says. They fall into a debate about turning a blind eye to Hammerhead's activities, and Madeline and Ant get drawn in, eventually arguing with each other. Again.

She shakes her head as she watches them, and Finn reciprocates her look as he walks over to her. Her heart starts going into overdrive and her palms feel damp. She wipes them on her wet-suit, annoyed at herself."Well, I couldn't guarantee my family wouldn't ask for something in return for you." He grins.

She shrugs. "You didn't, so I don't think my parents are going to give in." He opens his mouth to respond, but Will's exasperated tone cuts through first.

"We'd better be going," he says abruptly. "We've infringed on your hospitality long enough."

"Too true," Madeline snarks as Fontaine starts towards the Mimic Knight. Kaiko gives her a look, as if to say is that really the best option?, but she ignores it.

But there's this feeling of wrongness as she steps towards her Knight. It's weird, but she doesn't want to leave like this. At all.

And she really does want to kiss Finn.

She whirls round, grabbing his shirt and pulling him toward her, but at the last second she chickens out and wraps her arms around him, giving him a hug instead.

He loses his balance when she grabs him and he flails for a second before he regains it. He wraps his arms around her in response and holds her tight.

She's surprised that she feels safe in his arms. She really shouldn't. But she does.

She presses her face between his shoulder and neck, his skin slightly rough from the salt and minerals in the sea. "Thank you," she whispers quietly, her lips brushing his skin.

He shivers a little and holds her a little tighter. She wonders if he even heard her- she had been quite quiet. But as she starts to pull away he leans down to whisper, "You're welcome, Fontaine."

She smiles at him as she pulls back completely from the hug, and he smiles back. She can feel the eyes of practically everyone in the room on them, even though they're having their own discussions. Madeline smirks at them, and she looks away, trying to fight off a blush.

"I'll call you later, yeah?" Finn says as she splashes into the water.

"Call her?!" Hammerhead says, looking wide-eyed at his son like he'd grown a second head as the pieces click into place. "Is that how she found us in the first place?"

A look of alarm crosses Finn's face. "Um...not exactly."

"What do you mean 'not exactly'?" Madeline asks, coming up behind him.

"I think that's our cue," Ant says, diving down in the Moon Pool. Will follows, and Fontaine gives Finn a sympathetic look as she dives down with Kaiko, leaving him to the interrogation of his family.

"Hey, so how'd it go?" Fontaine asks as Finn accepts her call, picking up on the first couple of rings this time. After they'd gotten back Kaiko had run something like a hundred different tests on her - or that was what it felt like - before giving her some food and ordering her to rest. And she was only too happy to escape from Ant's interrogation about Madeline's room. She really didn't get his obsession over it.

Finn grimaces over the camera. "Well...it didn't go down well. But I can still keep the comm. Dad agreed that it was best in the case of emergency. In fact...he even wanted Maddie to get one, but she point-blank refused. Not that you would've given her one."

"We might've," she says halfheartedly, not really sold on the idea. "If she really needed it. But she'd probably use it to trick us."

He grins. "Yeah, good thing she didn't think of that. Anyway, how're you feeling?"

"Fine." She rolls her eyes. "Everyone keeps asking me that, but I'm fine."

"Just checking, just checking. You know, you were really out of it. You should watch the video we sent, then you might understand why everyone's so worried for your life," he teases.

She'd forgotten he'd - well, they'd - sent a message to her family. "I should actually go see if we have that. I don't really remember what I was like."

"Oh you should totally see it," he smirks. "You looked like you were drunk or something."

"Hey!" she cries indignantly, red flushing her cheeks. "I'm sure it wasn't that bad!"

"Go see for yourself." He leans back on his chair, looking at someone she can't see. Then he nods and turns back to her. "Right, I gotta bounce. Catch you later. Go watch that video."

He ends the connection midway through her "Bye". She huffs in annoyance than leaves her room to find the video he sent.

And...kind of wishes she didn't. He was sort of right - she looked very out of it. But his concern and gentleness with her warm her, and she ends up saving it in her hidden drive.

It was proof that he really did care. She wasn't going to throw that away.

But she knew she didn't really need it. She knew he cared, anyway. Just like he knew she cared about him.

Maybe a little more than she should.

A/N: Honestly, I'm awful at ending these. Anybody catch the other ship name I slipped in there? Let me know! Hint: What started the whole thing?

Admittedly, not my best work, but I spent so long writing it that it would be a waste not to post it. So here it is. I seriously didn't mean for it to get this long. This was one of those, you know, bedtime fanfiction writings you do in your head sometimes that I thought would be nice to write out, but obviously it doesn't really make logical sense. Oh well. Hope you enjoyed anyway.

Bonus scene (I just can't help it, I love Madeline, she's my girl, so she's got to have her side- just pretend she's 13/14)':

"Looks like the Nektons'll be comin' soon. Better make sure the loot's all hidden before they try an' take it," Hammerhead mutters gruffly.

Madeline looks up at her father in surprise. "The Nektons? Why would they be coming?"

"Ah, that's right, m'darlin', you weren' there. We've got their girl."

"We've got WHAT?!" she shrieks, loud enough to make her father wince. "Fontaine's on board?!" She's taken aback by her father's grim nod. "Why?"

Hammerhead sighs. "Finn didn't want to send 'er back in 'er state, an' I suppose it was only fair after she'd come all this way to make sure 'e was alright."

Madeline scoffs. "Yeah, like she actually cares about him. And what do you mean 'in her state'?" Then she abandons her question in favour of a new idea. "Why don't we ransom her, Dad? I'm sure the Nektons'll do anything to get her back."

"No, Madeline." She gives him another surprised look, mixed in with scorn. This was a valuable opportunity, and he was wasting it! Hammerhead sighs. "Fer one thing, Finn won't let us, and fer another, we owe them, ya know?"

"I suppose," she grumbles, slumping down into her chair. Her father chuckles at her attitude.

"It's a fine idea, Maddie. Yer thinkin' just like a pirate." She grins at his praise and sits up a bit. "C'mon, we'd better help with securin' the stuff."

Something hits her. Actually, two things. "Wait," she cries as he gets up, making his way to the door. " What d'you mean about her being 'in that state'? And also, where is she now?"

"Well, she certainly wasn't 'erself - looked like she'd been drinkin' or summat, but it's probably just them fancy medicines the Nekton's 'ave got. I'm surprised they actually listened to Finn an' didn' come stormin' in 'ere to take 'er back. As fer where she is," he shrugs unconcernedly, "I presume Finn kept 'er with 'im, since she wasn't in yer room." And with that fact, he leaves the room.

A Cheshire cat grin breaks out over her face. Oh, the Nektons were going to love that. And her father was so innocently, wholly unaware of what could be done with that information.

She contemplates her options. She could either tell the Nektons when they came on board, let them find Fontaine, or cover for them and get...what? No satisfaction from their appalled faces? No smug bombshell to drop on them?

Well, Finn and Fontaine would owe her a favour. And she could call on it anytime. Plus, the other two options had a very good chance of Finn getting told off by the Nektons, and the second had the very real possibility of Finn being decked by Will.

Well...her brother may be incredibly frustrating with his reluctance to be a pirate and his do-good nature - which had only really come out after they'd met the Nektons a few times, but she didn't want him to get hurt. So that only leaves one option. But she would get something better out of it anyway, so really it was a win-win.

She leaves the control room, intending on helping hide the treasure from yesterday and then talking to Finn and Fontaine about her brilliant plan, but movement from the Moon Pool captures her attention, and she goes in to investigate. And is completely surprised by the three people bobbing about in the water with their fancy metal suits and machines. They certainly hadn't wasted any time.

"Nektons, you're here." She tries to keep the surprise from her voice.

"How was she when you saw her?" Will asks, concern for his daughter clear in his voice. Not even a thank you. Not a 'oh how are you, Madeline, it's so nice to see you. Been busy being a great pirate, have you?'

Well, no, she probably would've punched them if they said that. Or thrown something at them. But that was besides the point. They're the ones who are meant to be polite, anyway.

"I didn't. Finn took care of her. I was busy somewhere else the whole time. Don't worry, nothing happened," she says, rolling her eyes to sell it as she catches Will and Kaiko's concerned glance. That's such a lie, but she'd become a very gifted liar. "I just came to bed, and there was a person there! Finn didn't even tell me!" That's true. "She takes up a lot of space. I'll be happy to hand her over. The sooner Nektons are off the ship, the better." She crosses her fingers behind her back, hoping her words don't sound too fake.

Ant rolls his eyes, but doesn't say anything at the jibe. Will completely ignores it as he fixates on a slightly more important detail. "She slept in your room?"

Great. Now she has to really make it convincing. "Of course," she scoffs. "Where else would she sleep?" Aaaaaand the Nektons buy it, hook, line, and sinker. She can practically feel Will's sigh of relief, and relief washes through her as she smirks internally. Oh, she's going to win the biggest favour from Finn yet.

"I'll come get her," Kaiko offers, jumping out of the Rover.

Oh no.

"No, you can't come in my room," she says quickly. Think, Madeline, think she tells herself. "I've...got stuff you're not allowed to see," she blurts.

Wow.

She mock applauds herself.

Lamest. Excuse. Ever.

Thankfully, thankfully, Ant responds, giving her a little time to spin a conceivable excuse. "What, got pictures of me you don't want us to see?" he taunts.

Madeline feigns confusion. "Why would I want pictures of a worm?" He sputters at that and she grins. "I'll get her. Honestly, you spend every minute of every day with the girl, I think you can wait a few minutes. Hey Danny Boy!" she calls. "Watch them, will you? Don't want them wandering around the Dark Orca." It's not very subtle, but that's the point. The Nektons already know they were on a raid, so it just seems like she's given them a pitiful lie to prevent them from finding the stuff. Hopefully.

"Sure," Danny Boy says as he walks over. He glares at the Nekons. "No funny business from any of you." They roll their eyes and nod. It's not really like Danny Boy's a threat, to be honest.

She runs down to Finn's room, thankful the Nektons don't know the layout of the ship well enough to tell she's not going to her room. As she reaches it, she pauses to peer through the window in the door. Sure enough, Fontaine's in there, and-

No WAY.

They look like they're about to kiss!

Oh, they were so going to hate her for this. Before they loved her for saving them.

She grins, quietly easing the door open a bit. Then she shoves it with all her might, making it crash against the wall.

They jump apart, both looking guilty and blushing hard. She fights to contain her laughter, smirking instead as Finn glowers at her. "What?"

Clearly he's quite unhappy with this outcome. Her smirk widens. Serves him right for trying to make her be a do-gooder as well. "Calm down, lover boy," she drawls. "The Nektons are here and they want their kid back. I thought I'd be nice and come let you know. Now you owe me a favor."

Finn snorts derisively. "Nice, yeah right. What do I owe you a favor for exactly? "Interrupting us?"

Ooh, bad move, brother, she thinks. Just gave yourself away."Ooh, interrupting what?" she asks cunningly. Both their faces turn brighter, if possible, and Finn doesn't seem to know what to say. She snickers, unable to contain her amusement anymore. "Got you there, didn't I? And anyway, the favor is for coming to get you. I could've let Will find you. What would he have thought of his darling daughter in a pirate's bed?" She raises her eyebrows at him. Finn looks a little bit stricken, and she can practically see it dawning on him what could've happened. Maybe he'll actually be grateful now.

Fontaine looks even more embarrassed than him. But then, she was an angel, wasn't she? Apparently so, according to the way Finn saw her. "That's not...it wasn't...it's not like that!"

Madeline rolls her eyes. "Yeah, I know that." Then her smile turns devious. "But the others don't." She turns her attention back to her brother. She didn't do this for Fontaine, after all. Fontaine's just benefiting. "You totally me a favour, big brother. They think she slept in my room."

"And here I was, thinking my sister loved me," Finn says sarcastically, finally able to speak again. Back to normal, then. "Didn't expect an ulterior motive there at all."

Madeline shrugs, grinning. "Guess I just am that good. Don't take forever or they'll suspect something. I give you five minutes."

He throws her an exasperated look, for literally no reason. Clearly being around Fontaine for so long has fried his brain. Good thing she was leaving soon. "You don't need to. We're coming now."

"Are you?" Madeline asks, an idea striking her. If she couldn't embarrass them in front of the Nektons, she'd have to do it here. "Or are you going to lock yourselves up and have your wicked way with her?" On that note, she runs off before Finn can throw something at her, cackling. The look on their faces was priceless. Finn's shriek follows her down the hall as she races away. She laughs to herself. Oh, Fontaine would definitely be all over him after that girlish scream.

"Where's Fontaine?" Ant and Will demand simultaneously as she enters the Moon Pool again.

"Calm down," she rolls her eyes. "She's not jumped ship, if that's what you're worried about. She's probably just making herself look nicer for Finn or something. He said he wanted to talk to her. Honestly, I don't blame her. She probably looked like a wreck when she came here. "

Kaiko and Will bristle at the slight, but Ant gets a word in before either of them do. "Why would she want to look good for him? Fontaine doesn't care about him."

"Yeah? Well why don't you ask her why she came here?" She grins at Ant's frown. She doesn't actually believe that, but any chance to mess with him was worth it. "Clearly you know nothing about girls, Nekton. I'd hate to be the one to have to put up with you. Or be a certain blond," she smirks, referring to Jane or Jess or whatever her name was.

Ant glares at her for a second, then falls silent and looks away.

"What, no comeback?" she taunts. She's cut off from further annoying him by Finn's entrance.

"Where's Fontaine?" Will asks him immediately.

He frowns. "I don't know. I thought I'd missed her."

Fear and panic spike through her. IDIOT. She wants to simultaneously facepalm and smack him.

Finn's a terrible liar. His voice lilts up and adopts a different sort of edge to it that lets anyone spot his lie from a mile away. His only saving grace is that he lies often, and so people who don't know him assume its part of his natural voice. But she doesn't know how well the Nektons know that.

She settles for shooting daggers at him from her eyes, and his widen as he realizes what she means. She presses her lips together into a thin line, telling him to stay silent.

Will looks between them suspiciously. "Weren't you just with her?"

"Uh..." Finn tries to buy some time.

"Maybe she got lost or something!" she jumps in.

They all give her a skeptical look. It's not like the Dark Orca's big, and Fontaine's been on it before.

"Maybe the...the thing hasn't worn off yet," she hedges, hoping it's enough. It seems to be so, if Kaiko's worried glance at Will is any indication. "I'll go get her. Stay here." Hopefully she'll have enough time to find and explain to Fontaine what was going on. It was really up to Fontaine now to make this work.

And to think she thought it was coming together so well. She was an idiot.

It would be a miracle if they pulled this off.

Here's a little extra bit. I would've liked to put in but it would've made the story take a different, deeper turn and might end angsty, and I wanted to try and keep it light, so I didn't put it in the actual story:

Madeline smirks at her. "Aww, think I have some warm fuzzy feelings for you, Nekton? As entertaining as it would be to see my brother get told off by your dad, this arrangement's much better. Trust me, the favour I'm going to get from Finn is going to be legendary. So...I wouldn't trust him as much if I were you." She grins, baring her teeth.

She's not going to lie, Fontaine's a little taken aback. She genuinely hadn't realized how devious Madeline was, always just chalking her up to be some wannabe pirate.

But she was a good pirate. Much better than Finn.

"You're not being a good sister," she tells Madeline reproachfully.

"And you're a good sister?" she counters.

"I already can't trust him that much as it is, you're just making it worse."

Madeline shrugs, unconcerned. "Maybe, but that's not my problem. You don't trust him, you don't trust him, there aren't any levels to it."

Fontaine grips her hair is exasperation. "But I want to be able to trust him."

"Do you?" Madeline asks, her voice falling lower and eyes flashing dangerously. "Think what you want of me Fontaine, but I know how trust works. I'd rather you get hurt than my brother, and we both know that the likely end to this is him trying his hardest to get you to trust him and you shutting him down every time. If you're not going to trust him at all, then stay away from him. There are no levels. You either trust him or you don't. Do you?"

For the record, I disagree with Madeline. I do think there are levels of trust, but looking at it from her perspective, she's got valid reasons for telling Fontaine that.

Okay, sorry, I'm done now, that's all. Please review it!

Hopefully won't be too long until the next update or story - two weeks?