Arthur Curtis couldn't sleep. Too many thoughts on his mind.
It had been a rather pleasant day at school, but then riding to Seattle with his brother to see Julie Stovall and talking to her doctors afterward...
Since the Curtis residence was only a short walk to the body of water that the town of Moon Lake named itself after, his family never bothered installing a fresh water swimming pool like most were-mers did. So Arthur grabbed a towel and walked as is (just in his pajama bottoms) along the back woods behind his house to the shore line.
Quickly stripping and leaving his stuff just far enough inland to keep from getting wet, Arthur dove into the water, instantly shifting to his Stage 2 form, with webbing between his fingers and scales running from his waist downward as his feet reformed into flippers.
Being a were-merman, the early December chill didn't bother him above or below the water. Granted, when the temperatures started getting closer to freezing, swims at any time would be out until the weather turned warmer, but for now...
How long he just floated there under the waves, Arthur neither knew or cared.
It was peaceful and relaxing. The perfect "zen" meditative moment for an aquatic were, until he heard a splash, indicating someone else had entered the lake.
He turned and saw his father swimming toward him. The only difference between the two was dad being obviously older, otherwise they looked like brothers rather than father and son.
But dad was also only in his Stage 1 were-mer form (just webbing between the fingers and toes) and was wearing a pair of swim trunks.
"Figured I'd find you here. Couldn't sleep again huh?" his father Roger Curtis asked*, concerned about his younger son.
"Yeah. A lot on my mind," admitted Arthur.
"Julie Stovall?" asked his dad.
"How did..."
"Your brother told me. By the way, other than repaying him for gas, I've talked him out of all the promises he's extracted from you for the rides to Seattle and back."
"Thanks. I really wasn't looking forward to doing his chores, let alone cleaning his room."
"Can't blame you on the last one. That place is a pig sty, which is an insult to pigs," said his father, which made Arthur laugh. "Now then, care to talk about it?"
"I think Julie Stovall's falling in love with me," admitted Arthur.
"Is that a bad thing?"
"It's complicated."
"Isn't it always? Do you like her?" asked Roger.
"Yes. In time I may even fall in love with her myself, if I haven't already," confessed Arthur.
"So what's the problem? From what I hear, Julie's supposed to make a complete recovery from that brain aneurysm she suffered."
"Eric Anderson," answered Arthur to which his father admitted total confusion.
"If it was just me and her, I'd be all for it in an instant. But she was becoming interested in Eric first and..."
"Isn't he the one who lost his father to that rogue were-vixen Yvette Smith?" asked Roger.
"Yes."
"Julie doesn't still have feelings for him, does she?"
"No, and that might be part of the problem. Since she started recovering from her brain aneurysm, it's like her mind's resetting itself. Or at least, that's what her doctor's tell me."
"And they are..." wondered his father.
"Doctor Frances Twist and Doctor Tora Tachibana from here in town, and a Doctor Mera Curry from someplace I can't recall, but is supposed to be some kind of serious expert in marine life, despite the fact she's still a normal human."
"Sounds like quite a team, but if Julie's on the road to recovery..."
"That's just it. Like I said, her mind's reset itself. She has absolutely no memories of Eric Anderson at all, let alone the fact that they were starting to form the soul mate bond between them."
"That's serious. What happened?" asked Roger.
"According to the Doctors, when William Anderson died defending his family from the rogue were-vixen, the shock was too traumatic for Eric and it broke the fledgling link between him and Julie. But it only broke on his end, not Julie's. So when Eric decided to become a werewolf so he can eventually join the police force, instead of declaring his love for Julie and becoming a were-merman, she snapped," explained Arthur.
"Leading to her breakdown and aneurysm," surmised his father, as the two of them just continued to float in the water.
"So while her love for me might be genuine, there's always going to be a part of me that will forever wonder what might have happened if the soul mate link did form between both of them**."
"Have you talked to Doctor Twist about this?"
"Yes. She's promised to schedule a conference with me about it, free of charge, after Julie's been released from the hospital and is back home recovering. She cannot swim or transform for at least the next 30 days, because the doctors want to make sure her skull completely heals from where they had to cut it open to treat her."
"Okay. I'm no doctor, but Julie sounds like she's in capable hands, and were-mers, while they do have very strong monogamous relationships, do fall in love and remarry again in time," pointed out his father.
"You haven't, and mom's been dead for almost five years now," said Arthur, painfully recalling how his mom died at the bank, shot by that would be robber just because he suspected she pushed the silent alarm button when it was actually the teller next to her.
"Just because I can move on doesn't mean I've found the right woman to do so with yet. But something tells me there's more to this that I haven't heard yet," Roger guessed.
"Yeah. Like I said, Julie has absolutely no memories of Eric Anderson. Her mind's completely normal in every other aspect, but it's like he never existed as far as she's concerned."
"So?"
"The doctors want me to help them set up a situation where Julie and Eric meet each other again under controlled conditions at the hospital. They'll observe the event and see how Julie reacts, if at all."
"And has Eric agreed to this?" asked his father.
"Don't know. Doctor Twist admitted she hasn't asked him yet, but even if Eric says yes, Twist claims the earliest we can do this will be sometime next week."
"And are you going to do it?"
"I honestly don't know," admitted Arthur. "I honestly don't know."
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*Regardless of which Earth we're on, were-mers can breathe, see, hear, and talk as well underwater as they can on dry land.
**Readers of the Moon Lake of Earth-1 thread already know the answer to this question.—tmw.