This was a small scene that came to mind after watching 'Dead in the Water' and seeing the merman move around the ship, tail and all. Plus, I want to expand the Siren archive to have more works.

Enjoy.

"You got the backpack?" Maddie slammed the trunk door of the car shut with a heavy thud. "I have the blanket and towels."

"Yeah, got it right here." Ben tossed the thing in question onto his shoulder by the strap. "Should be all set."

With items in hand, the couple set out on the trail to their destination. Ben and Maddie had made this excursion countless times, although it was becoming fewer and far between nowadays. With each trip, the time between grew. Something that both were infinitely grateful for. While it was an absolute necessity, it did not make it any easier to bear.

"I can hear you worrying from here." Maddie was first into the secluded cove, as she usually was. "Relax."

"Can't help it. I worry that…" Ben trailed off, unable to finish.

"I know." Maddie offered a warm smile over her shoulder as she set the blanket out over the sand. The towels she left neatly folded but within arm reach.

"I'm being paranoid again, aren't I?" Ben deposited the backpack beside Maddie's towels.

"Just a little." Maddie admitted, smile never faltering. "But we like it, it just shows how much you care."

The pair became quiet, both taking a position closer to the water. The ebb and flowing tide would occasionally brush against their toes, but only just. Yes, this was perfect. Exactly why this location was chosen in the first place.

It was here they had to wait, but never for long. Two minutes at most this time judging by how they scheduled their arrival.

While Ben and Maddie had clocks they could use, she did not. No matter how many times she was asked about how she knew when the come at the exact same moment, she never had a real answer. She would say "I just know" every time.

It was maddening, but so were many other things about her.

It may only be two minutes, but it felt like an eternity to Ben. He took some comfort in his hand in Maddie's, the sound of the gentle crash of waves against the shore reaching his ears. Funny, it wasn't until recently when a certain someone came into his life that the sounds of the ocean had such an effect on him. Granted, it did even long ago, but not like this.

Ben had closed his eyes to revel in the sound for the last thirty seconds, but at the end of that half a minute he was stirred from his trance by an elbow from Maddie.

"Look." Maddie grip tightened on Ben's hands, her voice flooded with joy. "There she is."

Exactly on time, like clockwork.

She glided through the water swiftly, every bit as eager to reach the couple on the beach as they were to reach her. Even with her speed, she was nigh invisible to anyone not looking. At least until she reached the shallows, where she was most exposed and vulnerable.

The fin across her back was first to come into sight, followed shortly by her mane of dark hair. The mermaid herself rose from the surf like some terrible sea goddess. Her striking features now visible beneath the setting sun.

Ben and Maddie didn't move from their spot. Even if they wanted desperately to rush to their mermaid, that was not how this went. Instead, they waited for her to come to them.

The mermaid moved with the flowing tide, slithering across the wet sand on her fish-like tail to approach the two humans. Her movements stopping exactly where the tide did. This was where Ben and Maddie met the mermaid, on the exact spot where ocean met land.

Ben and Maddie moved together in perfect unison, taking that last step into the ebbing surf, into the mermaid's reach.

"Welcome home, Ryn." Maddie was first to put her hands on the mermaid's body, one hand on her hip, the other sliding up her scale covered belly. Maddie's fingertips ever so gently caressing beneath the exposed ribs of Ryn's torso.

"Welcome home, Ryn." Ben mirrored Maddie' words and movements on Ryn's opposite side. Sometime Maddie spoke first, sometimes Ben did, but the end result was always the same.

Ryn's arms moved to encircle the humans. Her hands, each finger ending in a vicious claw, pressed to Ben and Maddie's back to draw them closer. Those wicked claws digging into their bodies, but not enough to cause discomfort.

Leaning in closely, Ryn let out a muffled hiss directly into the ears of Ben and Maddie. To anyone else, the noise would have been downright terrifying, as would Ryn's monstrous appearance, but Ben and Maddie were not anyone else. The sound elicited a shiver down the spines of both, but not one of terror.

Greetings had been spoken, no more was required.

Ryn took a moment to lean over and nuzzle Ben's cheek with her own. The contrast of her scales on his skin a pleasant sensation to both, the act itself a common gesture of intimacy from the mermaid to her mates. One Ryn happily reciprocated to Maddie.

Reacting to Ryn's actions, Ben tilted his head back to expose his throat. As with their verbal greeting, Ben and Maddie took turns on who would initialize this part. With one of his most vital areas fully uncovered, Ryn shifted to drag her mouth directly above Ben's jugular. When Ryn was finished, Maddie leaned her head back for the same treatment. Neither so much as flinched at the feeling of her fangs on their skin.

It would be nothing for Ryn's razor teeth to tear into their flesh, to end and devour them like the predator she was, but Ryn never did. The act used instead to show the couple's ultimate trust in the mermaid.

While Ryn was given free access to the bodies of Ben and Maddie, the couple were allowed the same privilege. Their touch tracing invisible pathways over Ryn's smooth scales, daring fingers traveling higher to slide over raised ribs, fins, and anything else they could reach. Something Ryn not only allowed, but relished.

Mermaid and humans, all bodes lain bare for the other.

The trio would remain like this, simply basking in the feel and presence of the others, of Ryn's true form, for every precious second of this fantasy that life would allow them.

Until reality reasserted itself in true hellish fashion.

The first clue time had run out was when Ryn would make a noise different from her usual. A gasp, like the air being blown from a person's lungs. Ryn doubled over in pain, still clinging to Ben and Maddie, and the humans in turn clinging to her.

"It's okay." Maddie was on the verge of tears, the water welling up in her eyes. She never cried, but often came close. "We've got you. We've got you."

Ben joined Maddie in repeating every reassurance the two could come up with. While doing so, they guided the spasming mermaid over to the nearby blanket.

To call this part painful to watch was a gross understatement. Pain was easy, pain they could be taken and shrugged off, but this was an entirely new definition of the word. It might be Ryn experiencing it, but Ben and Maddie, it might as well have been their own.

Every fiber of Ben's being screamed for him to look away, to try and pretend this wasn't happening. But he couldn't, he wouldn't. No, Ryn brought this upon herself to be with them. Ben would not shy away from his girlfriend's suffering. If she had to endure, then so would he.

Ryn made no other sounds at first. Such was her way, trying so hard not to show weakness or anguish in front of her mates. Ryn would try, and she would fail, every single time. The cracking and changing bones brining too much torture to bear.

Ryn let out an agonized cry, Ben and Maddie holding her close but unable to do anything else.

The fins all sloughed off one by one, followed by layers of scales. The claws fell away too, but not before Ben's shirt was hopelessly torn, along with Maddie's jacket, the garments unable to hold against Ryn's near vicelike grip. Not that either human noticed their state of dress.

Ryn's tail was one of the last pieces to go. The enormous piece of muscle snapping away, along with the disturbingly familiar sounds of flesh ripping. Two humanlike legs being created from the bloodied mess Ryn's lower half had become.

The sight was nearly enough to make Ben throw up. Back when they had first come here, the first time Ryn allowed them to actually see and be with her during, Ben actually had vomited, much to his own shame. From the way Maddie's face turned green she wasn't far off but held her composure. They'd adapted some to watching this over the course of the many trips to the cove, but it was never any easier.

Once it was over, the now human Ryn was a whimpering wreck, blindingly seeking out her mates, the only thing that could offer her solace after such an experience.

The transformation was finished, but Maddie and Ben didn't dare weaken their hold of the mermaid until she calmed down. Not out of fear, but a desire to console.

"I am… okay." Ryn's voice was weak, her new form still taking a moment to adjust.

Ben and Maddie would wait a little longer, seeking their own visual reassurance. It came when Ryn's breathing returned to normal levels, her body relaxing the tiniest bit. Once they were certain, the humans began the next task.

While Ben helped lift Ryn up some, Maddie set about cleaning all the filth and blood she could from the mermaid using the towels they brought. Ryn would need a proper shower when they made it home, but for now this was adequate. The mermaid tried to help ease the process, but she hadn't fully recovered yet.

With Ryn cleansed, the humans helped her to get dressed using clothes they'd brought for her from the backpack. A shirt from Ben's closet, and shorts from Maddie's. The fragrance of her mates' scent serving to calm Ryn even further.

Next, Ben lifted Ryn clear from the blanket with an arm under her back and the other beneath her knees. Ryn had recuperated enough to walk on her own, but Ben wasn't willing to ever negotiate this. She'd eventually stopped arguing with her mate many trips back.

Ben held Ryn while Maddie finished up. The ruined blanket and towels being stuffed into a trash bag to be burned later. By the time Maddie was finished, there was no sign they had ever been there, save a few footprints and Ryn's indents in the sand.

Precious cargo in Ben's arms, the trio began the trek back to the car.

Ryn took full advantage of Ben being willing to carry her. Keeping one arm around his shoulders, she'd bury her nose into his neck, eagerly inhaling his scent. Something she longed for and missed every moment they were apart. All the while, Ryn's other hand held tightly to Maddie's.

It was only upon returning to their vehicle was Ben willing to put Ryn down. He climbed into the driver seat, Ryn and Maddie into the back. As was their unspoken custom, neither female took the passenger seat, leaving it empty. Ben made no mention of it, simply adjusting the rearview mirror so he could see his girlfriends better.

The two women were seat belted in, but Ryn was practically in Maddie's lap. The mermaid's body twisted so she could drape her leg across Maddie. Ryn's face nuzzled Maddie's chest, seeking her scent as well, having ached for it every bit as badly as she had for Ben's.

Not a single word had been uttered since their first greeting on the beach. Not a single word had been needed. Not when the three could communicate so much without such cheapness.

With a smile at the mirror, Ben shifted the car into drive, the final third of their whole having come home again at last.

I actually thought this would be hard to write out, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. The idea came from the episode I mentioned followed up with the thought of wondering how Ryn returns to land.

I have more chapters planned for the one-shot collection depending on how reviews/comments go. I'm also considering doing an M rated scene but haven't made that decision yet.