A/N: This is a sequel to my story of Tim as a selkie called On My Journey Home. So, yes, this is a supernatural story. In On My Journey Home, Tim is a selkie trapped on land because his seal skin was stolen. By the end of that story, he finds it but makes the decision to destroy it so that he can remain with his human friends and family. This story starts about two months after those events.

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or its characters, but I'll claim my OCs and this story idea. In any case, I'm not making any money from it.

Not a Wave of Trouble Roll
by Enthusiastic Fish

Prologue

Long ago...

She had taken the name of Shona, rejecting the name she'd had. It fit who she wanted to be.

The problem was that she wasn't becoming who she wanted to be. Her life had fallen apart as she fought to do and be more.

One day, she walked down to the beach and stared out at the wild ocean. It was a stormy day, just perfect for her current mood. If nothing improved anytime soon, she would be forced to sacrifice the person she knew she could be for simply surviving.

She felt a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, and a wave of despair washed over her. She started to cry. Tears fell from her eyes into the waves.

If only there were truth to the stories that had so captured her spirit as a child.

Seven tears cried into the sea.

Where's the selkie to heal my pain? Shona thought to herself.

More tears as her loneliness threatened to overwhelm her.

"Hello."

The deep voice surprised her and she looked up.

A man was standing there. He had dark hair, dark eyes and he was smiling at her.

"Hello," she said.

"You seem to need company."

"I guess I do," she said. "How did you know?"

He knelt down but made no move toward her.

"You are sad, lonely...questioning your life. No one should be alone if they do not wish to be."

He spoke with a strange cadence. It was almost like the sea was speaking to her. An impossible thought came to her mind. It wasn't possible. It couldn't be.

"I don't want be alone."

"I am here. Therefore, you are no longer alone."

She smiled. "I'm not sure I understand this. Where did you come from?"

"The sea. I heard you."

"This isn't possible."

"What is not possible?"

"Are you...are you a selkie?"

She thought she might have surprised him. He didn't answer her. She leaned forward, painful hope clenching her heart.

"All my life I wanted the stories to be real. The worst thing was finding out that they weren't. Are they real?"

He looked at her silently for a long time and then, he reached out and gently wiped away a tear from her cheek.

"They are real."

"You heard my tears."

"Yes."

She smiled, feeling something inside that she hadn't felt for so long. No matter what else came of this, she had found a confirmation that she could believe.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

A time later...

"I'm afraid," she said.

"Of what?" he asked.

She rubbed her hands gently over her rounded belly.

"What will happen?" she asked.

"You will have a child. That is how it works."

She smiled, but only briefly.

"But this won't be normal."

"It could be. We cannot know until he is born."

"He?"

"Yes."

He reached out and placed his hand over hers.

"You are not happy."

"I'm afraid. I'm afraid that I'll lose him. I'm afraid that I won't be able to care for him. My life is...not what I expected it to be, what I wanted it to be. This time with you has been better than years that came before, but I know you can't stay."

"No."

"And I'm afraid of the future."

"Do not fear the future. It will come, and it does not have to be fearful. You will have a son. You are bringing life to the world. That is a good thing. That is not something to fear."

"Will you be there? When he's born?"

"I should not be."

"I can't do this alone. I don't have anyone else."

"Then, I will be there if you need me to be."

"I do."

He nodded and stayed beside her until she relaxed again. As her due date came closer and closer, the reality of what had happened hit her harder than ever.

She was having the child of a selkie.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

A time later...

She held her son, seeing what he was. The birth had been normal, as far as that had gone. He had been there with her but had left very quickly. For a few blissful weeks, she'd had her son and had seen that it wasn't fear she needed to feel. It was love, and she had that.

Then, just that morning, she had seen it.

Her son was a selkie. He was growing a seal skin, and that meant she couldn't keep him. She knew what would happen to him if anyone found out. She knew what could happen to the selkies if her son was seen for what he was: the offspring of a human and a selkie.

Even though it broke her heart, she knew that she had to return the gift that she had been given. Her son had changed her, had changed her life. She made a life out of her situation because he had needed it. Now, he didn't. He needed something else.

Crying tears of a different sort, she bundled him up, as much to hide his skin as to keep him warm, and carried him to the sea. Then, she sat with him on the sand.

"I love you," she whispered to him. "I hope you can know that as you grow up where I can't see you. I love you. You saved me, and now, I'm going to save you by sending you away."

"You are here."

She looked up from her son. The beach was empty. It was winter and it was stormy...much like the first time she had met him.

He knelt down in the sand and saw her tears. She removed the blanket and showed the selkie her son. He nodded.

"He is a selkie."

"Yes."

"That means he must come to the sea."

"I know. That's why I'm here. To give him to you."

He was stoic as always, but she could see that he was sympathetic.

"Not all are so understanding."

"I want what is best for my son, and I know that he can't be in the human world. Please, take him. Watch him and protect him."

"We will. All will take care of him."

"You need to take care of him."

"Of course. All of us will. That includes me."

She looked at her son once more. Then, crying, she kissed him and hugged him to her one last time.

"I love you," she whispered to him again.

Then, she handed him to the selkie. He took the baby gently but skillfully.

"He will grow and thrive with us," he said. "Do not fear for him."

She tried to smile, but it wouldn't come.

"I'm not afraid for him."

One last time, he reached out and wiped away her tears.

"Do not fear the future. It will be good."

Then, he walked away from her. She couldn't bear to watch him go into the sea, to take her son into that other world. Instead, she turned and walked away from the beach, knowing she had to go on with her life, to make a new life that would give her meaning. She should have known how this would end. She knew all the stories.

...but she had forgotten that selkie tales always ended tragically.

There was no happy ending, but at least, she had seen that the tales were true. She had a son and he would live.

That would have to be enough.

She would make it be enough.