Told you I never gave up on this! This may be a bit short but there is a big development this chapter.

Also, there's a teeny tiny Kingdom Hearts reference in this chapter in celebration of the release of KH3.

Enjoy!

Chapter 21

Telling the Parents

"Are you kidding me?!" Sam exclaimed into her shell phone. "You want to tell my parents that we are engaged and that I'm turning into a mermaid?"

"Well, if we're going to get married, I'd like to tell my future in-laws what's going on," Daniel defended.

"You do realize that we're talking about my parents, right? They're not going to be as lenient as my grandma," said Sam.

"I know, but they deserve to know," said Daniel.

"What if they go to the police? Your kind would be exposed on the eleven o'clock news," Sam argued.

"With your grandmother on our side? I'd like to see them try," said Daniel. He'd known Agnes long enough to know that she'd never let anything like that happen.

Sam ran her hand through her hair. "Ugh, I can see it now. Mom will be shrieking and crying, trying to figure out how to find a cure for me while my grandma is trying to keep my dad from strangling you."

Daniel released a nervous chuckle. "You seriously think something like that would happen?" he asked.

"Well, I'm about ninety percent sure that my mom is going to react like that if we told her," Sam replied. "My grandma told me that Dad has never been physically strong, so if he did manage to get his hands around your throat, I doubt he'd be able to do much damage to you. You can probably fight him off."

Sam didn't have to see Daniel's face to know what he was thinking.

"Uh...do we have a Plan B?" he asked nervously.

Sam thought for a moment before answering. "We can always elope," she suggested.

"But I don't think I'd last that long in the desert! And I don't want Elvis to officiate our wedding!" Daniel exclaimed.

Sam paused at what Daniel just said. "What the hell are you talking about?" she asked in exasperation.

"Doesn't eloping mean going into a city in the middle of the desert where there are bright lights and casinos everywhere and Elvis officiates people's weddings?" Daniel asked naively.

It took Sam a full minute to understand what Daniel was talking about. "Wha-? No! We're not going to Las Vegas to get married!" she exclaimed. Daniel might have learned a lot about human culture before and after coming to land, but it was clear that he was still pretty naive about a lot of things.

"Who is Elvis anyway?" Daniel asked.

Sam ran her hand through her hair again. "Oh my God! You seriously need to brush up on human culture," she muttered. "Can we get back to the issue at hand please?"

"Sorry. Maybe we should ask your grandma for help," Daniel suggested. "She'll know what to do."

Sam sighed before answering. "I guess I can ask her what to do," she said. "I know you want to be honest with my parents but I still don't think this is such a good idea."

"I know," Daniel answered, "but it will be a load off both our shoulders if we tell them."

~0~0~0~

"You seem distracted, Samantha," Clockwork noted during another magic lesson in his study. "Is there something on your mind?"

Sam gave Clockwork a deadpan look. "You're the Master of Time. I'm pretty sure you know what's on my mind," she answered.

"You are correct. I am the Master of Time, but I'm not a mind reader," Clockwork replied. "If you're not going to focus on improving your magical abilities, you might as well tell me what has you so distracted."

Sam paused before telling Clockwork everything on her mind. From how Daniel proposed marriage to the fact that he and she will inevitably have to tell Sam's family that she was getting married and she was slowly turning into a mermaid.

"So, do you have any advice?" Sam asked. "And if you say that you can't do anything to help, I swear I'll crack your skull open with your staff."

Clockwork paused for a moment before collecting his thoughts. "While there is nothing I can do to change the outcome, I can assure you that they will not go to the authorities when you tell them," he assured.

Sam rolled her eyes. "Not very reassuring," she muttered.

"If you want this marriage to work, you have to tell them," said Clockwork.

"What if they freak out?"

"They will," Clockwork simply answered. "It's no secret that they disapprove of your relationship and eventual marriage."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Again, not reassuring."

"What was that line from that song that you and Danny like so much? 'Regardless of warnings, the future doesn't scare me at all. Nothing's like before?'" Clockwork asked. "Are you now telling me that the future does scare you?"

Sam sighed. "Can I say I'm nervous about the future?" she asked.

"No, you may not," Clockwork replied bluntly. "Are you scared of the future or not?"

Sam thought for a full thirty seconds before answering. "I think you know the answer," she said.

Clockwork nodded. "It's okay to admit that the future scares you," he assured.

"But Danny doesn't seem so scared," Sam said.

"I can assure you he's just as nervous as you are," said Clockwork.

Sam sighed exasperatedly. "Do you have any advice for me?" she asked.

Clockwork looked at her squarely in the eye. "Don't think twice," he answered.

~0~0~0~

Sam sat down on a bench in the park on her way back to the boarding house. This was getting difficult. She could hardly do magic, she just got engaged, and she was slowly turning into a mermaid. Not to mention she also had finals and graduation to worry about.

She pulled out her shell phone and dialed her grandmother's number.

"Hello?"

"Hey Grandma, it's me," Sam answered into her phone.

"Well, how are you doing Sammy? Everything alright?" asked Agnes.

Sam released a sigh. "Okay, I guess."

Agnes paused before answering. "What's wrong? Is the boy giving you problems?" she asked.

Sam released a chuckle. "No. Nothing like that," she assured her grandmother. "Just a lot of things on my mind and I needed someone to lend an ear."

"Well, spill the beans! What's got you in a tizzy?"

Sam released another sigh before telling Agnes everything that had happened over the past few months.

"And to top it all off, Danny finally proposed," Sam concluded.

"Well congratulations!"

"Well, thank you, but what will I tell Mom and Dad? They hate Danny and I'm pretty sure they'll freak out when they find out he's a merman," Sam said.

"Would you feel better if I were there when you tell them?" asked Agnes.

"A little," Sam answered. "Danny could use a bodyguard when we tell them."

Agnes chuckled. "It's nice to know the boy has faith in my abilities," she joked.

~0~0~0~

"Sammy, why did you and Daniel want to meet with us at Lake Eerie? You know that the lake house will be sold soon," said Pamela. She, her husband, and mother-in-law were standing on the docks of Lake Eerie just outside of the Manson's lake house.

Sam sighed nervously as she grabbed hold of Daniel's hand. "Danny and I have something to tell you guys," Sam started.

"Whoopie!" Agnes cheered. "I'm going to be a great-grandma!"

"WHAT?!" Jeremy and Pamela shouted as they stared at the couple.

Daniel and Sam turned bright red.

"No, no!" Daniel denied, waving his hands in front of him. "Nothing like that!"

Agnes pouted at being denied a great-grandchild (or great-grandguppy in Daniel's case).

"Danny and I are engaged," Sam said, cutting to the chase.

Jeremy gasped. "No!" he cried. "This is unacceptable!"

Pamela paled. "You cannot marry him, Sammy!" she exclaimed.

Sam knew her family would be against this but she stood strong. "We're getting married, Mom, whether you like it or not!" she declared.

"I forbid it!"

"Mom!"

Jeremy stepped in. "Sammy, you're making a big mistake," he said.

Agnes interfered. "Can it, both of you!" she shouted. "I did not raise you to be so shallow that you'd refuse to give your blessing to your only child's fiance, Jerry. So what if the boy isn't rich? He makes your daughter happy. Doesn't that matter to you at all?"

"I just want Sammy to be financially stable when she gets married," Jeremy reasoned.

"She's gonna get a huge inheritance when I kick the bucket," Agnes deadpanned. "She'll be just fine."

"That's just it," Pamela pointed out. "What if Daniel is just marrying her for her money?"

"I'm not marrying Sam for money," Daniel spoke up. The parents glared at him. Daniel shrunk back. "I've been in love with your daughter for twelve years. She's the only one I can imagine spending the rest of my life with."

"Twelve years?" Pamela repeated. "You've only been dating Sammy for over a year."

Daniel walked to the edge of the dock. "That's true, but there's more to the story than you know," he said. He then jumped into the murky grey water of Lake Eerie.

"What is he doing?" Jeremy asked as he and Pamela ran towards the edge of the dock.

"You'll see," said Sam.

A young man's head surfaced from the water. His snow white hair was tied in a ponytail. Fins were sticking out of his head where his ears would have been. His glowing green eyes shone like a pair of beacons in the grey gloom of the lake.

Pamela shrieked bloody murder. "A MONSTER!" she shrieked. "GET AWAY FROM MY BABY!"

Jeremy shoved Sam behind him. "Get away!" he yelled. "Stay away from my family and away from my daughter!"

Danny flinched at the shrieks and insults. He knew that Sam's parents would react like that but the things they said were still hurtful. He slowly sank into the water and disappeared.

"STOP IT!" Sam shouted as loud as she could.

Pamela and Jeremy stared at their daughter incredulously.

"You don't give a damn about anything that's different," said Sam. "My boyfriend - no, my fiance - is different from every boy I've ever dated and you think he's the scum of the earth. You don't even accept me because I'm different."

"Of course we accept you, sweetie," Pamela assured.

"That's a lot coming from a woman who refuses to accept the fact that her daughter is an ultra-recyclo vegetarian Goth," Agnes muttered. "She wears black and you think it's a cry for help. Did it ever occur to you that she just likes to wear black?"

"Stay out of this!"

"Am I starting to make sense?" asked Agnes.

"None of this explains why she's dating a monster!" Jeremy exclaimed.

Agnes whacked her son on the head with her cane. "A monster who treats her like an equal, like a person, like a queen, like a man in love with a woman," she retorted. "Plus, the boy's afraid of my guts, so he's already a keeper."

Both parents looked at Agnes incredulously.

"How can you be so okay with this?" Jeremy exclaimed, rubbing the bump that was slowly forming on his head.

"How are you not?" Sam piped up. "Danny's been the best thing that's happened to me and you treat him like he's the worst thing."

"Well, knowing what he truly is now, I think he really is the worst thing that's ever happened to you," said Pamela.

Sam's eyes widened. Her parents had often said horrible things to Danny but this took the cake. Her eyes widened.

"And you're the dumbest parents on the planet," Sam said. She then jumped off the dock and disappeared into the water.

I'm so happy I finally finished this! If you caught on to the little reference, you get a virtual pie!

I'm really sorry I haven't been updating this as often as I should. I have been running out of ideas and motivation for this story, something I refuse to let get me down. I'm really grateful that y'all have been really patient with me.

Please review and let me know what you think!