Last chapter = short and bittersweet.

I woke up as I had fallen asleep: butt naked and tangled in a warm embrace with sand clinging to my skin. Ber was the same way, his sleeping face was relaxed and content next to mine. He looked so peaceful, so…fulfilled. It made my heart warm and lips turn up in a tiny smile. I'm the one that put that look on his face and I felt almost proud.

I also felt incredible embarrassment. I did things last night I have never done, screamed a name louder than I thought possible, said things under my breath I never dreamed of getting past my lips, felt something I am sure I haven't with any other girlfriend I'd ever had. The whole ordeal was messy and strange, especially for a first-timer like me. I got to learn fish anatomy and teach human anatomy to Ber which was purely awkward, but I couldn't call it by any other name other than amazing.

I'll spare you the disturbing details for now.

The sun was rising and a seagull made a morning call from somewhere unimportant. I attempted to sit up and stretch but Ber's hold on me was too strong. His arms were wrapped tightly around me and wouldn't budge while his heavy tail held down one of my ankles. It was like he had done his best to wrap around me, subconsciously pleading that I never leave. He yawned when he felt me moving and cracked his eyes open to see what I was doing. The way he looked when he just woke up was so different from how he normally was but I knew before long his hard gaze would be back to replace those half-lidded blue eyes soft as silk.

"Uh…g'morning, Ber…"

"Hmmm. Morn'n." Instead of releasing me he adjusted his arm and kept me locked in his loving cage.

"Ber, I need to, um, get up now…"

"Hmmm…" his hum trailed off as he stuck his nose in my hair and breathed in. I flushed bright red.

"Ber, are you listening?"

"Hm."

"I-I'm serious, I need to get up!"

"Hmmm."

I groaned. Good god, he could be so stubborn! To make my point, I elbowed him in the gut. Nothing I could do would really hurt him but it made me feel better. Finally he took the hint and eased up his grip. I had to lift his arms myself, but at least he was allowing me to wiggle away. (I saw that little smirk on his face, I knew he was enjoying messing with me.) When I was free I looked around and found my swim trunks and button up shirt tossed on the ground near the fire pit that had gone out sometime in the night. Any closer and they would have burned and I would have to go around naked. That would be difficult to explain to anyone who found me. It made me crack a smile and chuckle at the scenario while I walked a little into the surf.

By the time I was done cleaning off the clingy sand, dried sweat, and…well, you know…Ber was sitting up and stretching his arms above his head. I was buttoning the last button on my shirt when he spoke. "T'no."

"Yes?"

"What'ya want for breakf'st?"

I could almost laugh. Here we are on a deserted island, he's not even completely human and I'm dirty and tattered, yet it feels so much like we are your average couple that just woke up after a night of passionate love making and were going to discuss whether they wanted pancakes or cereal to start the day. "Whatever you catch I'm fine with."

Ber nodded and told me to come closer. I leaned down and he took me by the back of the head with one hand to give me a kiss. It was chaste and quick but it made my heart flutter all the same. "Love ya."

"I-I know," I said with a stutter not knowing what else to do or say. He let me go and I went back to what I was doing, which was…uh…what was I doing again? Oh yeah, getting the fire going. Right.

There were still some red embers under the black and white pieces of wood that I could stroke into a blaze. Ber went off into the ocean and I sat there getting the utensils ready to cook and eat with. My head may feel foggy, but that didn't stop my thoughts from running at full speed.

What was going to happen now? I just made love to my rescuer like some girl and today was the day I would leave for home. Ber was still going to be by my side until I reached land but that wasn't the point. The point is: I might have just made a huge mistake. There is no way I can leave the island with my head and heart in tact now! I…I like Ber. I really, really like that big overly protective scary-faced fish-man and I wasn't going to be in this place with him ever again. I had no idea how he felt about it, I could hardly tell what he was thinking most of the time and he was acting like nothing was happening this morning. Or maybe…maybe he didn't care. Maybe he got what he wanted and it wasn't going to be a big issue to watch me go.

Okay, I know these kinds of thoughts are silly but they were seriously scaring me. That's why I ran down the beach and hugged Ber in the crashing surf when he came back with my meal.

While the fish cooked I demanded he open up. He gazed at me as I leaned into his chest with his arm lightly around my waist, those eyes of his, so blue I could drown, watching me carefully. "Ah…ah don't know. Ah love ya, T'no, ah don't want ya tah go, but…"

Even if he confessed last night, I still felt that twinge of my heart when he said it. "But?"

"…But ah know ya can't live here with m'." Ber shook his head. "Too d'ngerous. Not 'nough food. Ya wouldn't be happy."

I knew he was right but I felt like denying it. "I…I could stay, though…I mean I can eat fish and coconuts for the rest of my life I guess and you will be here to help me, and…"

"Ya wouldn't be happy."

"I…" I bit my lip.

"T'no, ah listened tah all yer stories. Ya have a fam'ly'n a place ya belong. Don't be like m'. Ah want ya tah be safe."

"I could be…"

"T'no, please." His voice was earnest. "It hurts, but it'll hurt more if ah deny ya what ah've always longed for. Ah love ya an' always will, ah'm glad we had the ch'nce tah meet an' be t'gether, if only for a night. Wouldn't trade it for 'nything." He kissed my temple and rocked me back and forth. The tears were falling freely from my eyes and he did his best to wipe them away. "Ya gave m' someth'n ah've always wanted. Ah know what ah am, ah know a sh'rk isn't all ah can be. Ah can be hum'n. Ah can fit in with ya where ah don't with m' fam'ly."

"You don't talk much but when you do it's really sweet." I sniffed and smiled through my tears. "I hate how you can do this to me…I feel like a dumb girl. I know I'm not leaving at this moment but I just want to say this now while we're here. Ber, I'll never forget you. You've done so much for me and saved my life, you have a heart bigger than any other and I'm shocked but glad to be the one that took it. And…though it hurts my pride for me to admit, you've kind of taken mine…and even if we never see each other again I'll always remember."

It was about there that I couldn't speak any more. We stayed like that on the beach a little longer than we should have. The fish was a bit overcooked only adding to the bitterness of the moment. I wanted to delay my departure one more day, but it just so happened that the sea was relatively calm and the waves weren't as high. Leaving now would give the raft a better chance of not getting flipped over like we feared it might when the powerful waves tumbled ashore. A good sized part of me wanted it to.

But in the end, Ber was right and I couldn't stay. There were people who missed me and I missed them. I had a life that I couldn't just give up. I didn't belong on this godforsaken island no matter how much I wanted to. I had to go home.

So we set out to sea narrowly escaping the churning waters of the beach and being dragged out by the pull of high tide turning low. I watched the island grow smaller and smaller relishing how much it looked like a paradise despite its inability to harbor human life for very long. If only I had a camera I could snap a photo. Instead I had the blue and yellow shell I held in my hands and the memory.

That place is where my heart lies in Ber's safe hands who helped push the raft along with potent strokes of his gray tail while I paddled. A few shark fins, three large and one small, tagged along for awhile wondering where their merman friend was going. After awhile they turned back when we got too far away and it was truly only him and I surrounded by quiet endless blue.

We whistled the whole way.

END.

Yes. It's one of THOSE endings. Thanks for reading and reviewing!