Riley grunted as Dr. Auldon tugged the restraint tighter. Her breathing was puffing from her lips in soft gasps that made Sophie grit her teeth. Riley was lying on her front on a gurney too small for her – it was meant for smaller aquatic mammals and her tail drooped freely over the edge – while the scientist strapped her down firmly.

“Does it have to be so tight?” the girl complained.

“If you move even a fraction of an inch, the needle could break in your back and paralyze you,” Dr. Auldon responded. He moved to tighten the strap curved over the butt of her tail next. There were only the two belts, the other over her shoulders, but it was tight enough that Riley’s skin was beginning to roll over the top of the leather, and she didn’t have much excess body fat to begin with. The only thing keeping Sophie from loosening the strap herself was that Dr. Auldon was right; if Riley wiggled and jarred the needle, she very well could find herself drastically injured.

“Paralyzed…like a stunned fish smacked with a tail?” Riley inquired. Her brows had dipped together in confusion.

“Not exactly, Riley. He means that if you move when he puts the needle in, you could damage your spinal cord and be unable to move most of your body; permanently,” Sophie explained.

“Tighten it,” Riley agreed. She lowered her head until her cheek was resting on the table, but there was a wild look in her eyes. Her pupils had shrunk, and she was glancing around as if unable to settle on anything.

Sophie stepped forward and took her hand. She laced their fingers and squeezed gently. “Just breathe,” she whispered. “You’re being very brave.” When Riley didn’t answer, Sophie glanced up at the scientist. “Just get it over with.”

The scientist adjusted both straps once more and then set to work soaking a cotton wad with rubbing alcohol. Sophie’s nose wrinkled at the strong smell, but Riley didn’t seem to notice. Her breathing was growing ragged again, and Sophie hoped it wouldn’t lead to a panic attack.

“Hang in there, Riley,” she encouraged as Dr. Auldon swiped the cotton swab over her spine between her shoulder blades. He then reached a hand into his briefcase once more and returned with a thick, tan colored piece of rubber that had straps on either side.

Sophie fumbled to catch it as he tossed it to her with no warning. “You’re going to want that,” he advised.

Sophie grimaced, but she knew he was probably right. She knelt down to get closer to eye level with Riley, and held the rubber chunk up to her lips.

“What is that?” Riley whispered with a panicked hitch in her voice.

“You’re going to want something to bite,” Sophie explained. “It’s going to hurt.”

Riley grimaced and pressed her lips. She didn’t look keen on the idea, but opened her mouth and bit down on it regardless. She was pale, and her one hand was quivering as it hung down over the gurney.

Sophie smoothed down her hair and then reclaimed her grip on Riley’s shaking hand. “Deep breaths,” she soothed. “We’ll have you up soon, okay? Try to stay calm. Dr. Auldon, I know this needs to be done carefully, but Riley is claustrophobic, so the sooner we get these restraints off, the better.” She fixed the scientist with a pointed look as she reminded him.

To her surprise, instead of challenging her, he nodded. He picked up a rather odd, thick looking needle with no syringe basin. Sophie frowned. “That doesn’t look like it’s for a spinal extraction.”

“I’m putting a faucet in. Consider it like an IV tube. It will make the extraction easier and I’ll only have to prick her once so long as she’s still and it goes in the first time,” he explained. He laid a hand on the small of Riley’s back. “Relax your muscles,” he instructed.

Riley had squeezed her eyes shut, but it didn’t seem like she’d heard the scientist, and she was anything but relaxed. Sophie shifted her grip on Riley’s hand to slide along her arm until she found the pocket for Riley’s fin. The Mer had her spines tucked away at the moment, but it seemed to be the skin that itched rather than the fin itself, so Sophie began to massage at it and gently scratch her nails over the skin.

It only took a few seconds for Riley to relax – albeit only slightly – and a weak hum resonated in her throat. Though she loathed to be on the same page as the man who hurt her daughter, Sophie nodded at Dr. Auldon once Riley had slumped a little more.

The man returned the gesture and leaned forward to press the tip of the thick needle into Riley’s spine, between two of the vertebrae just beneath her shoulder blades. Riley’s initial grunt quickly became a whine of pain that slipped through her gritted teeth. Her fingers curled around Sophie’s wrist until she could feel the Mer’s nails beginning to break skin.

Ignoring the pricks, Sophie continued to rub Riley’s arm. “It’s okay,” she whispered. “Hang in there.”

She watched Dr. Auldon screw a thin tube into the tap, and then he pulled the needle back through and away. At first, nothing happened, and Sophie grew concerned that it wasn’t working. Dr. Auldon didn’t seem concerned, however. He picked up a small hand pump and squished the gray ball between his fingers. It certainly had an effect, because Riley jerked in the restraints and hissed loudly.

Knowing better than to be too close, Sophie stepped back as she studied the Mer’s narrowed pupils. The girl’s lips had parted to show the tips of her fangs and her nostrils were flaring wildly.

There was a yellowed fluid beginning to run down the tube now and it made Sophie frown. “I thought spinal fluid was supposed to be clear,” she stated. “Should we be concerned about that?”

The scientist shook his head. “We were concerned the first time we did a spinal tap on the blue mermaid, but we screened her thoroughly. It’s just the color for the species.”

Sophie nodded. She was relieved it didn’t bode ill for Riley – she wasn’t sure she could handle both of them being dangerously sick – but now that she was reassured, she was no longer interested in the scientist. She leaned down to pet Riley’s soft blonde tresses. She ran her fingers through the hairs over and over, and then gently squeezed the Mer’s shoulder. “Do you want to sit up, Riley?” she inquired. She glanced at Dr. Auldon as she spoke as a silent confirmation that the girl could. He pressed his lips and nodded, though the motion seemed reluctant.

Sophie wasted no time in unbuckling the tight leather straps holding Riley down, and then carefully helped the girl upright. “Are you okay?” she pressed.

Riley’s face had scrunched into an obvious mask of pain. Her brows were furrowed over deflated eyes, her nose wrinkled up, and blood was beading up around one fang where she was biting into her lip.

“Hey,” Sophie whispered as she squeezed Riley’s shoulder again. “Riley?”

The girl took a breath, and – on the exhale – she forced a half smile. “I am okay,” she agreed in a quiet, strained voice. “It feels weird; it hurts, but I am okay.”

There was a small wooden stool in the room they were in, so Sophie pulled it over and took a seat. “Thank you,” she said as she folded one of Riley’s hands into her own.

Riley’s false smile lifted into something Sophie would almost consider a real one and she dipped her head. “I wanted to help,” she reminded.

“I know,” Sophie agreed. “But still, this is not a minor thing you’re doing. It’s appreciated.”

Riley’s pale gaze twinkled brightly, but whatever thought process was going through her mind, she didn’t share.

They sat in silence for a moment more, but Riley was beginning to look incredibly pale and it pulled a frown onto Sophie’s face. “Riley?” she spoke the girl’s name again.

Riley shook her head as if trying to clear it and frowned too. “I-I do…not…I do not feel very well,” she admitted, stumbling over her words and shaking her head once more. Her voice sounded hoarse, and she coughed moments before her eyes rolled back in her head. She shuddered and then collapsed, and Sophie barely lurched off the stool in time to catch her to keep her from toppling off the table.

“Riley!” she exclaimed.

“Relax,” Dr. Auldon sighed with a worn expression and an unamused roll of his eyes. He stepped forward and began fiddling with the IV in Riley’s back. “She’s fine. Her body is experiencing a minor crash due to the sudden loss of nutrients.”

“How is that fine?” Sophie hissed as she held the mostly limp Mer in her arms. Riley’s eyes were still rolled back and her jaw was slack, a thin trail of drool leaking from her lips.

Instead of answering, Dr. Auldon ignored the question and remained focused on disconnecting the hose from the faucet in Riley’s back. He capped it off and sterilized the area with an alcohol wipe before beginning to wrap up the tubing and secure the half-full bag of spinal fluid.

Sophie forced herself to remain patient as he worked, though every fiber of her being urged her to wring his neck until he took this seriously. After a moment, he reached back into his briefcase and pulled out a fat, rounded equivalent of a bottle. He tossed it to her, and Sophie fumbled and barely caught it. It was filled with a viscous purple fluid.

“Give that to her,” he instructed.

“She’s practically unconscious,” Sophie protested. “What even is this?”

“It’ll rebalance what she’s lost. She’ll drink it,” he stated with a wave of his hand.

Sophie pursed her lips. She wanted to argue, and she certainly wasn’t keen on the idea of giving Riley something when she didn’t know what it was, but with the girl a dead weight in her arms, she didn’t see much of another choice.

With a reluctant sigh, she pressed the tip of the container into Riley’s mouth and gave it a gentle squeeze. Whatever the concoction was, it worked like a charm because Riley reanimated instantly and began fervently guzzling at the fluid. Her hands rose and clung to Sophie’s wrist to hold the bottle closer until she’d drained the last drop.

Then her eyes opened, and she pulled away with a gasp. Her chest was heaving, and she swayed a little as she sat back on the table. “What was that stuff?” she inquired. Sophie’s watched her lick her lips. “And is there more?”

“Uhh…” Sophie glanced at the scientist for confirmation.

He shook his head. “Not for at least an hour. Too much isn’t good for them. She can have one once an hour.”

“Should she be having it that often if it’s not good for her?”

“It won’t hurt her,” Dr. Auldon replied. “But it’s a high concentration, so too much at once will overwhelm her system. When she no longer needs it, she’ll stop wanting it.”

Riley pulled the bottle out of Sophie’s hands and proceeded to pull the top off it so she could tip it back in search of any lingering drops. Sophie frowned at the odd behavior, but let the girl be for now. “What exactly is in that?” she inquired.

“It’s nothing more than a high concentrate of the primary nutrients contained within their diet. We can’t quite replicate the omega fluid – it seems only their bodies can generate that – but we’ve figured out how to synthetize the ingredients they require.”

Sophie’s frown deepened. “Should Katie be on that then?”

“To what end? She cannot produce the omega fluid and we’re not extracting anything from her. She doesn’t need it.”

“Maybe it’s not that she can’t produce it,” Sophie argued. “I never really understood what you meant earlier, but have you considered that a consequence of screwing with her genetic code is that she has a malabsorption?”

“I suppose it’s possible,” Dr. Auldon relented. He removed his glasses from his nose and wiped them with a small cloth from his pocket. When he readjusted them on his face, he regarded her with a new expression.

It looked like he was seeing her for the first time. For once, he didn’t seem bored or smug, rather intrigued. She lifted her chin and met his gaze intently. Thus far, he’d treated her like a fool and a mouse caught between a cat’s paws. And while she still felt cornered like the latter, she certainly wasn’t the former.

“It’s something to look into,” he conceded finally. “But there’s work to be done and little time to do it. I’m going back to your lab to process this.”

Sophie nodded. She wanted to supervise him, but she needed to get Riley settled and she wanted to check on Katie again more. She gently took the bottle off Riley and set it aside. “Are you okay?” she inquired.

Riley brought a hand to her head and nodded. “Yes,” she agreed. “I am sorry. I lost myself for a moment. I feel very dizzy…and hungry.”

Sophie pushed some hair out of Riley’s face. “That’s understandable. You need to rest, Riley. Let your body recover. Dr. Auldon left the shunt in and I think he probably means to take more spinal fluid. I don’t know if we should let him, but you’re definitely going to need to recuperate.”

Riley nodded. She shifted her tail and leaned forward until their foreheads were pressed together. “You are worrying too much,” Riley whispered. “Your stress scent is almost overwhelming. You are going to hurt yourself. You need to rest too.”

Sophie sighed. While she adored the Mer being in her life, their heightened senses were really becoming problematic. She couldn’t seem to hide anything properly anymore, especially from Riley, who knew how to use her senses. Despite her mild annoyance, Sophie couldn’t think of anything to say to explain or defend herself.

“Let us go to Katie,” Riley suggested after a moment of silence. “You cannot be in two places at once and I would prefer knowing what is going on.”

The Mer’s fins flicked and Sophie’s heart melted as she held her gaze. Despite her bravado and wild nature, Riley could be incredibly sweet and intuitive. “Alright,” she agreed. She wasn’t sure she should move Riley after everything that had happened, but Riley was stubborn and she had acted incredibly self-sacrificing. Previously, she would have insisted the girl take care of herself and rest, but Riley was not acting recklessly this time, and Sophie would be a hypocrite to insist upon it now.

“Alright,” she agreed. She turned her back and ducked down a bit. “I don’t want to risk jarring your back, so you’ll have to hold on.”

Riley was silent, but a moment later, Sophie felt her hands slide over her shoulders and clasp together around her collarbone. She heard Riley’s scales grate against the metal table, and a moment later, the long limb was curling around her waist. Sophie suppressed a shudder. She adored Riley and trusted her, but the motion felt a bit too much like a constrictor snake encircling its prey for her to feel entirely comfortable.

“Are you alright?” Riley inquired. Her voice was incredibly close now that she was hugging Sophie’s back.

“Yeah. Sorry hon,” she apologized. Her cheeks flushed and she shook the ridiculous fears aside. Standing back up properly, she wrapped her arms around Riley’s tail to help support her better. “Hang tight, okay?”

“Mhmm,” Riley hummed.

Despite the urge to rush back to Katie, Sophie forced herself to keep her steps slow. She didn’t want to cause Riley any additional discomfort. Thankfully the girl didn’t seem to be in too much pain as they made their way down the hall.

Back in the room, Sophie averted her gaze. Katie was as pale and shaky as before, and it broke her heart. Behind her, Riley hugged tighter and another deep purr rumbled against her back. It was just as soothing as the last time.

“How do you do that?” Sophie inquired as she carefully lowered Riley back into the wheelchair still perched in the corner of the room.

“Your heartbeat got erratic again,” Riley whispered. “I did not want you to collapse.”

The ‘again’ went unsaid as Sophie got her settled into the chair. “You’re sweet, but you should try to get a little rest. I know a wheelchair isn’t the most comfortable place to nap, but-”

She was cut off as the door behind her opened and she turned to watch the scientist come back in. He didn’t say anything as he walked around the far side of Katie’s bed and hung the IV bag on a hook. The liquid inside was now clearer, and almost had a bluish tinge to it.

“This will help?” Sophie clarified. She was ignored again as the man took Katie’s free hand and lodged a fresh IV connection into her. After adjusting the drip, he finally turned to her. “We’ll find out. Why did you bring that one back in here?”

“This one has a name,” Riley growled.

“I wasn’t leaving her unattended,” Sophie answered. She understood Riley’s anger, but an argument was going to get them nowhere.

The scientist grunted his acknowledgement, though Sophie suspected he didn’t truly care either way. He turned to the computer running the life support and typed in a few keystrokes. “This is a fool’s errand,” he grumbled. “Trying to administer an entirely new DNA strand into a compromised host bordering on organ failure, and doing it without a proper lab…I hope you’re prepared for a mess, Miss Brooks, because this is not going to go well.”