I woke a few times, one time to find a piece of squid on my pillow, that I devoured. HeeHaw was slowly circling around me, though he seemed to be sleeping as well.

The moment the sun was up he bumped me a few times, clearly wanting me to wake up. I can only say that my illness seemed to be over, I hadn't felt this good since my ordeal started. Could very well be caused by a night of rough sex!

He didn't want me to hold on to me, but I had to follow him. Diving deep he showed me how to recognize squids floating around, and how to kill them before they could escape. I didn't have the jaw or teeth like him, but I had hands. And although I'd never be as quick and strong as him, I did manage to catch a squid and kill him with one bite. I offered HeeHaw half, but he twittered and caught his own. He did surface with me as we had breakfast together.

Once again he took the float away, as I swam by myself for a few hours. When he came back he wanted us to swim parallel. He clearly adapted to my speed, and my air need, but we both sped up going up and soon we both cleared the water at exactly the same time. I felt like a dolphin now, swimming as a pair.

It lasted exactly a week. A week of learning, hunting, diving and jumping. A week of living like a dolphin, a female dolphin. A week of sensing his moves, recognizing his sounds, reading his moods, feeling his needs. A week of unstoppable sex, multiple times a day, more than I ever did as a human. It was animal need, instinct, but also love.

That last day I knew we had returned near the Caribbean, as I saw little bumps on the horizon. But he hadn't come here to take me to my island, the island where Quinn lived. We had come here so that he could leave me. I finally understood it when we ran into a group of dolphins. Practically all were female, except some of the young.

I knew it, I trusted my instinct by now, and although the group was clearly nervous with HeeHaw around, he nuzzled a bit with one of the largest females. And suddenly I understood. She was his mother. They chatted perhaps for one minute before he took off. His last sound was aimed at me, and I knew what it meant. "Stay!"

So I stayed. And although the group treated me as an outcast, they offered protection. At night, the biggest females would circle the group in a half sleep style. I was always in the middle with the babies and the smaller young. During the day little groups would hunt, providing food for the rest, and although I wasn't as fast as the rest, I managed to pull my weight. HeeHaw had taught me well.

Now, I wasn't the only outcast. A small female, almost my size, missed one eye. And it affected her hunting capabilities. She would receive food from others, but it was limited. It kept her small and without confidence. She would become my best friend, my sister.

It started during a hunting party. Somehow the two of us got separated from the rest in the group. No big deal. But I realized how with one eye she kept missing her prey. I was pretty sure the dolphins had an extra sense, like some sort of sonar. But the missing eye affected her system as well.

I don't know why I did it, but I got close to her, and tapped her side when the prey was close. She reacted just a bit faster now to catch the food. Depending on where I tapped her she'd go left, right or straight. And just like that she caught up with the rest. She shared with me, especially my favorite squid, and we brought food to the group, enough to be accepted as sufficient hunters.

I named her Quintessa, after my mermaid-love Quinn, but as I was only making short sounds myself now, it soon was just Tess, or Tessa when I was angry.

It was Tess who convinced me to drop my float for sleeping. She herself had issues with sleeping as dolphins sleep with half a brain and one eye open for danger. Which she couldn't detect with her missing eye. She had me sleep on the flipper of her bad side, which kept me afloat enough to breath. Roughly every two hours, when it was the turn for her bad eye, her flipper movement would wake me, and I would watch for her, until her other eye took over again.

Not the typical way for humans to sleep but once we got used to it we became a unit. We both felt better to help with the safety of the group, and we could take trips together as well and stay safe.

The connection we made was at first physical where I compensated for her missing eye, but it became emotional as well. The continuous touching at night, but also during the day as we stayed much closer than the other dolphin pairs. I became aware of some of her thoughts before she expressed them, and we started to share our dreams and our intimate desires.

When one female in the group, whom I had nicknamed Daisy, gave birth to a beautiful daughter, we were both in awe, as we were allowed to touch the baby. I could sense Tess's desire to have her own, and she knew I could never have one and how sad I was about it. Her promise to me was that I would be just as much a mother to her offspring as she would be, and our bond became even stronger after that.

Problem was, due to her missing eye, the males that we ran into occasionally, were not interested in her. Not in me either, but I knew HeeHaw would come back for me. And so it happened, a long time later, I probably counted six full moons since I last saw him, that his mother, SheHaw as I had affectionately named her, gave me a signal to leave the group and meet him.

Tess came with me, as we were inseparable by now. HeeHaw already knew I wasn't pregnant, probably from his mom, and he did his best for a whole week to fix that. I made sure that he gave as much of his time, and his seed, to Tess, and she turned out to be a very good lover and he enjoyed her as much as me. Late in the week a friend of him came by, and although the friend was not interested in me, Tess was game for him.

It took about two months when I sensed something in her that was new. And every female in the group confirmed it, as they all touched Tess's belly, that she was pregnant. We were going to be a mother! It was absolutely clear in Tess's mind that her baby was mine just as much as hers.

After another two or three months she was clearly showing, both physically and mentally. It was like an aura of happiness around her. And I basked in it. That's when she decided she wanted to travel. This wasn't so unusual in our pod, pairs would leave and come back all the time. But first time mothers were often gone longer. Like enjoying the last bit of freedom before motherhood.

SheHaw sent us off, urging us to come back in time, as giving birth alone could be risky. She nuzzled both Tess and me, as she would do any of her daughters. We told her not to worry. And then we were off.

Clearly Tess had a plan, and she was not sharing, despite our close connection. I just enjoyed our time together away from the pod. Sometimes it could get just too busy. We took our time, playing around, hunting when we were hungry, but always roughly going north. I had stopped counting the days long time ago, the only thing that gave me a sense of time was the full moon. So I imagine it took us half a month before I saw something familiar.

We had stayed far away from any island, but always had an idea where they were, little bumps on the horizon. The bump we saw now had clearly a volcano at its north side. This could only be...

I wondered if Tess knew somehow and when she finally opened up her secret I saw it crystal clear. The dolphins have a much tighter communication amongst themselves than the bit that I'd been blessed with. And when she mated with HeeHaw many months ago, he shared with her how he had met me. The first time. And somehow also where we had met. And that's where she had taken me.

She wanted me to get closure with my past, as I would soon be a mother too. Her time away from the pod was an unselfish act to make sure her sister, her soulmate was okay. I suddenly remembered many months ago that in order to survive, I had to become an animal. An intelligent animal, who became part of a group of very intelligent animals. They had taken me in, despite being so different and treated me like one of their own.

And now, Tess's kindness, and I wouldn't be surprised if SheHaw was part of it as well, would give me a chance to see Quinn again. I had no doubt I would find her here, despite knowing she would have gone back home to finish her last year in college. But Vera lived here still, I remembered, and she would have kept in touch with Quinn. Did Tess realize that she put me in a position where I could go back to being human again?

As we swam toward the island it was clear that Tess had thought about it. But she wasn't worried about it at all. I understood it, as I couldn't see myself anywhere else but on her side, but Quinn was a lover, and we never had a chance to enjoy that more than just a few days.

By now I recognized the coral fields, the wreck, and finally mermaid beach. That's where I would find her, I knew. Tess couldn't come any further, the rocks and shallow water could kill her. I could use my hands however, dragging myself through the rocks, as she twittered for me to be careful. And when I got passed the rocks and saw the beach, I saw her. Quinn, still in her white mermaid suit.

She saw me at once, and her eyes went wide open as she recognized me. "Xandra! Oh Xandra. You're alive..."

It was good to hear my name again, Tess did not manage more than "Xsss". But before I could reply, she moved slightly and I realized she was very pregnant. I tried to say something and failed miserably. Just a soft twitter came from my mouth. I heard Tess instantly reply.

I tried again, and managed a raw "Quinn". Was it possible that I couldn't speak anymore? But Quinn slid from the beach back into the water and in seconds she handed me a bottle of water. I took a sip, and it was the most delicious thing I tasted in months. After two gulps I tried again, "Quinn", and it sounded much better. Then "You're pregnant" and I thought that sounded clear.

A smile flicked over her face. "Yes", she answered, "and I am married too." I didn't know what to say, and she took it as if I still had some voice problems. "Yes, married. With Vera. It was the only way I could stay in the mansion. So I could search for you. I knew you were still alive." And she explained how, after been missing for three months after the shark encounter, I had been declared dead.

Both Vera, whose life I had saved, and Quinn had spent a lot of time trying to find me, using the boat, covering many miles of ocean. But of course they never found me, thanks to that huge current, but neither did they find my body.

Vera, the amazing photographer, was not just a mermaid lover, she had a mermaid fetish. And as part of the wedding vows Quinn had to promise to live the rest of her life as a mermaid. Vera's vow was to always take care of Quinn and help her to find me. Apparently they had a life sized picture of me in their bedroom. A mermaid combing her hair, on our little beach.

When there was a break in her story, I finally managed to ask something again, still with trouble. "How pregnant?"

Quinn laughed now, and explained that Vera had a few more secrets. She was clearly born male, and as much as she was a true woman, her manhood worked very well still. At first, Vera would carry her inside to the bedroom, but later on they would sleep in the pool, and have wonderful sex there.

Quinn, who was the more dominant one with me at the time, was clearly the bottom in her current relationship. Everything changed however when she got pregnant. Searching for me slowed down, as they saw a lot of sharks deeper in the ocean, and with a baby coming, they had to reduce the risk for mother and child. As a matter of fact, Vera insisted that Quinn took her suit off until after the baby was born. Except.. it wouldn't come off.

The manufacturer of the suit came out. And the conclusion was devastating. Or exhilarating, depending where you were coming from. Long story short, the suit was specified at three weeks of continuous wear max. In their testing they had gone as long as six weeks. But Quinn had worn it longer than that. Between the inner lining and the outer shell a special gel was used, which was a perfect insulation against the cold, yet thin enough to have a sense of feeling still.

Quinn had used a special foam hair remover on her body that kept the skin clear for more than a month. After that time slowly hairs had started growing again, but they pierced the inner lining. Still not a problem necessarily, but while continuously underwater, the outer pressure forced the gel through the tiny holes, dissolving the hairs and filling up the pocket where the hair had been.

This happened all over the original skin, slowly dissolving the outer layer and forming an unbreakable bond. Quinn had noticed only that she had more "feeling" through the outer shell, and enjoyed it without questioning it. But when they tried to remove the suit, it was like trying to pull your own skin off.

The only solution that they could think off was surgically removing all "fake" skin and apply a skin transplant, like you see sometimes with burn victims. It was a 50% chance that she would not survive. Of course Quinn chose to remain a mermaid. Her only demand from the manufacturer was that they would provide a tail for her daughter, throughout all stages of her life. This saved an enormous lawsuit, so they were happy to comply.

There was one more problem though. The other suit they had provided contained a stronger chemical in the gel, with the chance that the human skin and even nails, would completely dissolve, under high pressure conditions, with no chance of surgery at all. And I was wearing that suit.

It didn't surprise me, as my outer skin had indeed become more sensitive, like it had become part of me. Even my fake breasts gave me a feeling, not just the nipples anymore, probably caused by a mix of gel/skin/flesh flowing around it. As a matter of fact, a surge of happiness flooded my mind, as I realized I was also a mermaid for life now. Tess made a soft sound from the other side of the rocks, joining me in my happiness.

Quinn was surprised by the sound, and I managed to say "Come, meet my best friend, my soul mate." As we worked our way through the rocks again Tess gave suddenly a warning signal. "Someone is coming", I explained to Quinn. "It must be Vera", Quinn decided, "she always checks on me when I'm gone too long."

It was Vera indeed, in a neoprene suit with a small airtank, and a harpoon gun in her hand, as she eyed Tess, who had moved away a bit. "Please", I stammered, "she's friend."

Vera was in shock. Then she yelled, "Xandra! You're alive! I knew it. We knew it." And she hugged me hard. "You saved my life", she cried, "I'm forever in your debt!"

"Thank your friend", I had forgotten his name, "if he hadn't shot a harpoon through that shark's tail, I would not have made it." Speaking went easier now. Tess made a sound again, she wanted to meet my friends. And so, the two women I loved most in the world, both pregnant, checked each other out.

There was a lot of belly touching and sniffing and kissing. I saw Quinn's smile and I could sense Tess's happiness, so things went well between the two. Quinn eventually looked at me and she said, "She's so beautiful. And so happy to be pregnant. But what happened to her eye?"

"It happened before I met her", I answered, "but I think it was caused by a stingray when she was a child. Hunting for food was very hard on her, as she couldn't estimate the distance right. But when we're together, I compensate for her, and we've never been hungry since."

Tess twittered softly, and I looked at her, stunned. "Really?", I whispered, and she gave a confirming toot. "What?", said Vera, "you speak her language?" I nodded, "It's part the sound, and part her mental messages. I'm not as good as the dolphins, but I get the gist. And they get mine."

"Then what did she say?", Quinn asked, in awe. "You're pregnant", I laughed, "with twins!" Both Vera and Quinn were stunned. Then Vera asked, "Really?" And Tess answered with a double toot. And I just nodded.

I explained how we lived in a pod, and all the females knew when the life was growing in Tess. They're very sensitive in this stuff. Vera was hugging Quinn now, saying they could handle it. Because Quinn was a permanent mermaid, they had never been able to get her checked out in the hospital. There is a midwife who knows about Quinn, and she had been checking up on her. But that did not reveal there were twins.

"Well", I said, "if you need help, you can always come to the pod. Plenty of females who'll be happy to assist." Tess agreed with a loud sniff.

I realized Tess was hungry, she needed to eat for two. As we went out to find food, Vera went back home to get her camera. She wanted some good footage of me and Tess. Quinn stayed behind, keeping an eye on us, and just enjoying how Tess and I jumped from the water in perfect harmony.

It took about an hour, I guessed, as I really didn't measure time anymore. Tess had enough, and we caught a large squid for me. Back with Quinn I shared a chunk with her. Carefully she took a bite, clearly not sure about eating raw squid. But then a big smile on her face appeared and she ripped off another chunk. Between two chunks she explained how she had been having the weirdest craving, as pregnant women tend to have. She had not been able to tell what for though, and Vera had tried every type of food from the fridge and pantry, yet nothing worked. And now, just like that, her craving was satisfied.

I explained how squid had saved my life, not only providing nutrients, but also hydration. It had become my go-to food, and always a feast. My guess is that Quinn slowly followed in my footsteps. Make that my tailslaps.

We made Vera's day, putting up a huge show, as she filmed and shot pictures. One shot particularly, with me and Tess both jumping from the water, my contours perfectly lined with Tess as my background. It was magnificent, and it would be another life-size picture in her bedroom.

Things became interesting when Vera inquired about my sex life. I explained I saw HeeHaw every three to four months, as he was determined to get me pregnant. The last time, his friend Slick, named for his extreme slippery skin, finally had his way with me as well, I think because Tess was not available in her pregnant state. Where HeeHaw was gentle and patient, Slick was rough and quick in pumping his seed in me. I enjoyed both of them for almost half a moon. Unfortunately, I still was not pregnant.

Vera was licking her lips as I told my story. I had the feeling she wanted to have her way with me, and I really didn't mind, wondering how a human would compare to a dolphin. It was like both Quinn and Tess felt it too, since both of them left together, as Tess was going to teach Quinn how to catch squid.

Vera and I worked our way back through the rocks toward the small beach. As I laid on my back on the sand, she opened her neoprene suit, and a huge dick flopped out. My body instantly started preparing for penetration, like it did with my dolphin lovers. And Vera did not disappoint. She didn't reach as deep as a dolphin, but her meat was much thicker, hitting a nice spot inside me. I went on fire right away, as she pounded me. My tail slapped the water vigorously, and from here I could sense Tess, who was enjoying the show from far away.

I came three times before Vera shot her load, while she was sucking my breasts, and indeed, I could feel all her sucking on a breast that was fake only months ago. I returned the favor on her breasts, that were spilling from her suit, and I realized that as much as I loved my male dolphins, with them they were breeding, whereas with this human female I was making love. I guess I had the best of both worlds now.

In the months after, we saw each other more often. As a matter of fact, SheHaw moved the pod much closer, which gave me a chance to show them Quinn, shortly before she'd give birth. Every female in the group was amazed and they treated her in a very special way, not like the outcast I once was. Quinn had continued her diet of squid, and she looked extremely healthy. Which was confirmed by SheHaw, both baby girls were very healthy as well.

I saw Quinn again the day after she had her twins, who were born in the pool, in an underwater birth. I had felt it from a distance and Tess, who loved Quinn as well, confirmed she'd felt it too.

It took another week, before I had the babies in my arms, both girls with the cutest pink tails, their suits covering their complete bodies. And where on land a baby could not move around until they were close to one year old, in the ocean every involuntary kick of a leg inside the tail moved them laughing through the water. We stayed close to home, but the whole pod came visiting.

It was a blast. The human babies so small, even compared to the smallest child in the pod. Yet, they were the middle point of prodding, sniffing and playing, the dolphins twittering and the babies floating around. I was surprised how easily the girls stayed underwater before floating to the surface to breath. Was this a long forgotten reflex coming back, just because your mother was a mermaid?

It took a few more months before Q was born. I was allowed to be there, giving mental support to Tess. But I had to watch as the experienced females helped her giving birth. I stored every moment in a place where I would always remember this amazing moment. The moment when the little tail came out, followed by the rest of the body. How Q latched immediately onto her mother's nipple. How minutes later she latched onto my breast, although I had nothing to give. But the connection was made, I was just as much a mother to her as Tess. Already I could sense little things in her mind, as she found herself in this vast world.

SheHaw was very pleased, recognizing Q as her own offspring. So it was HeeHaw who was the father, and not Slick. I was thrilled by that thought, so happy I was for him.

My heart leaped however when Q met Bibi and Ceecee. Quinn's girls already had so much control over their movements and it was love at first sight when they met Q. I could actually sense the mental bond forming between the three. They swam together, within the safety of the pod, from female to female, bumping into them lovingly, simply being adorable.

I think I was probably the luckiest woman on earth. Q had accepted me as her mom from day one, but so did B and C, as their names were quickly shortened. Yes, Vera was also their mother, but I looked more like Quinn, a mermaid like themselves, and they could sense my love for them, which they paid back tenfold.

As they grew up, I sometimes told them bed time stories on how I had become a mermaid, or how I had outswam a shark, or how I was whisked away by the great current, or how I was nursed back to life by Q's father. But the best story always was how I met Tess, and how two outcasts became an important pillar of the pod. And how my old and new life, land and water, came back together through these three kids, who closed this circle of life with their pretty pink tails.