"So obviously the girls hate me now, I don't think they're even going to come visit. Like, come on. I love our parents and Nero just as much as they do, but—I mean—they were going to kill Piper! And they were selling other sirens! I couldn't let it happen anymore. You guys went and fought mister Ivey over the same thing, so you must agree with me– don't you?"

Kitty pinched the bridge of her nose, boot tapping on the deck as she listened to Georges' long explanation of how his weekend went. This explanation included little details such as what he had for dinner the other night, that he got to spend time with his friend Francesca, and of course the usual: Turning his parents into authorities, running the ship aground, and attempting to create a sanctuary for sirens.

"Son, kindly, did you think any of this out?" She said as calmly as she could manage. Her one remaining eye bored into him like a drill into steel, widening the insecurity he already felt over the situation.

He scratched his palm before making his final gesture, a shrug of his shoulders.

"So you sent your parents away; Jasper and I's friends and employers? All because you were mad at them for what they were doing with sirens? I didn't agree with what they were doing either kid, but that's your family. And now your sisters are mad at you too? Georges, you got rid of your entire family on a whim and ruined the ship which was the one remaining financial strand you had to rely on. Do you know what you're doing at all?"

Tense, Georges shrugged again. The sky was an open novel, and he was set on studying it.

Kitty had been one of the wildest people he's ever known, and she judged him for his own decisions? She could—and probably should—be in prison for some of her actions, but his perfectly legal decisions were the ones she had problems with?

Kitty's husband, Jasper, showed up on deck with them now too, holding onto their newborn son Percy in one arm.

"You look... irate." He commented bluntly upon seeing his wife's face. Catching a glimpse of Georges' wandering eyes, it was clear that he was the center of the problem.

"Well, Leandre over here just told me the whole story! Why the Gondrins are gone, and why the ship is ashore!"

Georges looked away from them, (especially worried over the use of his first name), and over the edge of the ship, to Piper. She could no longer sing, thanks to Ariane, his mother, but she did do a good job of splashing around for attention. He waved down at her and sat up on the railing, taking a couple of deep breaths as he watched her from the vantage point he had.

Piper was more of an introverted creature, keeping to herself more often than seeking out attention, but today she leaped in and out of the water like a dolphin might.

A female siren like herself grew to be huge. Having seen and sold others before, they tended to get up to 60 feet long, much bigger than the males of the group. Piper wasn't fully grown yet however, and due to some malnutrition and... other problems, he pondered if this would stunt her growth overall.

The waves she created were significant, and they drowned out the conversation of the couple on the ship with him. They shook the boat lightly, but it quickly began to move more as Piper started physically shaking it, using her tail as both leverage and a propeller.

"Georges, call her off, I'm worried that I'll drop Percy." Jasper shouted at Georges, but Piper answered on her own accord, a splash from down below reaching them on the deck like a split-second of rain.

"Leandre Georges! Would you listen to Jas, please? You'll get us killed!"

In a bit of a panic, Georges raised his hands to try and call her off, to gesture to her to stop, but she simply didn't understand what he meant. With no hands to keep him steady on the now-wet-and-slippery railing, he found himself falling off the ship and into the cold water near Piper.

Kitty rushed to the railing, and Jasper clutched their son tighter in his arms out of fear.

"Hurry, throw him something before he drowns!"

"Jasper–"

"Kitty, he can't swim!"

"Jasper, listen to me," She moved back to him and set one hand on his shoulder, the other gently on top of their son's head. "'Do the evil not sink with their sin, and do the good not float with their feather-like hearts?' He's made his choices, who are we to alter such a huge moment in the course of his life? This is his judgement, Jasper!"

"This isn't the time for judgement, Kitty! Have you lost your mind?" He knocked the side of his head three times with his fist, a habit he couldn't control in stressful situations.

"You know what he did! I love him, but we must wait and see what happens."

"What he will face, he will face, Kitty! What does it say about us to stand by and let this happen? He will face what he has coming based on his actions, but what does that say of us to be bystanders? Bystanders aren't those that stay neutral, they are those not brave enough to pick a side, so throw him the rope before he drowns, Kitty!"

She considered his words before letting him go, moving back to the railing and leaning on it casually, as if watching the sunset. In reality, she looked down to the water below for the boy who fell to his grave. "Do keep in mind, dear, that I'm no bystander. I choose to wait and see what happens. To let life happen. You've stated your feelings, but haven't acted on any of them. There's only one bystander here." She turned her head to give him a cocky smile, but quickly swiveled it back down to the murky water. "My choice. If he lives, we'll stay around and help him. If not, we'll leave and find a new place to work."

A wave of panic surged over him, but he could barely move. He was not only frozen in fear for Georges, he was frozen in fear because of his wife's words—and the fact they were absolutely right. In the end, he was the bystander. Sure, he was frozen in place, and partially because he was watching after an infant, but she was still right.

The panic set into a light-headedness, and worry was what was making his bones ache. Each passing second without hearing Georges' voice was a step closer to death, and a step closer to Jasper himself being the cause.

He knocked the side of his head again, a bit harder than he probably should have, and sat down. What else could he do?

Suddenly, a splash, and Kitty pointed out what Jasper could only guess to be Georges. If his legs would let him get up, he would have seen that he was right. Georges was fine, being paraded just slightly above the water by Piper, who seemed much calmer now that she actually had him with her.

"No one's allowed within three feet of the railing of the ship anymore," Jasper mumbled, arms growing more lax.

Thankfully, Kitty was back by his side and kneeled down by him to take Percy into her own arms. "Can't handle being in the wrong still?"

"You put me through copious amounts of stress."

Away on the waves, Georges sputtered up any water that we may have swallowed or inhaled, now staring right into the giant hazy eyes of Piper. He patted the siren's shoulder weakly, a silent thank you for pulling him out, and looked back cautiously to the shore. Sure, Piper had saved him from drowning, but that was because she just wanted to take a better look at him. Not at all that she knew he would die if under water too long.

It was odd how he grew attached to this creature; This very siren right in front of him, the one that tormented him day and night out on the open sea, singing sweet, enticing melodies that drive most men to their deaths. Two months at sea he had been boxed into a room by his family to keep him from doing anything he wouldn't do in his right mind—but Piper wasn't the blood-thirsty monster his mom had claimed her to be! She wasn't luring him to his death! She was simply interested in humans, just as he was in sirens.

Once Ariane had 'dealt with her', Georges knew it was his mission to find her and return her to safety. And well, weren't these the first few steps? He had to do this if he wanted to make right of what was happening to sirens as a species. If he could successfully work with Piper, he could successfully work with others, too.

Piper stirred him out of his thoughts, hoisting him up so they were eye to eye. What was she doing? He had no control over the situation, being in her grasp and also unable to swim. If something were to happen, he had to rely on her for help, and that wasn't the most trustworthy, he had to admit!

What was she doing though? Trying to see him better?

Practically reading his thoughts, she dove down under the water, pulling him right down with her.

Having panicked earlier after falling off the boat, he knew he had to remain calm this time. He had gotten as much air as he could have with the short notice, and he would just have to hold it until they resurfaced.

The difference between knowing something and doing something is a great one. Georges, though he knew what he should do to save air and energy, had difficulty putting it into play. His limbs tensed and moved in retaliation, and his ears grew uncomfortable at the depth they were at, the pressure build-up beginning to be too great for him.

As though he were a toy, Piper moved Georges back and forth, looking on with great interest. And the moments that he was facing the giant creature, he noted that there was some light coming from beyond his eyelids.

The excessive touching and desperate need for air finally became too much to keep at bay, and he kicked his legs a couple times and reached for the surface far above him. He almost died right there when he felt Piper's huge hand grab his ankle and bring him back down.

Being cradled against a siren's chest was a beautiful moment, and Georges knew how lucky he was to ever experience such a thing, but the drowning-part of it all made it a lot uglier. Piper's arms squeezed him tighter suddenly, and he could feel the air being wrung out from him.

Suddenly, as if God himself reached down and pulled them up, they shot upward. Up up and all the way til they were above the water, where Georges coughed and sputtered once more, leaning entirely on her shoulder because he needed the support.

To Georges, everything sounded far away. Like people were trying to talk to him through water. The commotion was loud, busy, yet a whole world away. In fact, he found it easier to ignore it and enjoy the texture of the sand underneath his body instead. Dry and warm, sticking to his clothes and wet skin.

Hands were on him, shaking him, but he didn't budge. Breathe in, breathe out...

"Man down!" Squawked Polly from on deck, hopping from left to right on the banister as she liked to do. "Man down!"

"Wake up Georges, wake up. If you throw up on me, I'll kill you though." Chanted the voice of his friend Francesca, who shook him violently. She slapped his back a couple times in hopes that it would get whatever it was out of his system, but that was just more unnecessary abuse for him to deal with. The only thing he needed was a minute to get oxygen IN his system.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Piper! You think your dad is cool with this? You know better! You know people can't breathe under water!" Another deeper voice interrupted this one with the word 'careful', but it was quickly ignored. "Wait until James knows you almost murdered the kid who kept you alive. I'm sure he'll be really fucking proud."

Oddly enough, this incited a reaction from her, a rather fast clicking noise that Georges had never heard before. And when he gained enough strength to turn his head, he looked away from Francesca leaning over him, and to Piper, who stared at him with her eyes just above the water. A stare-down with an alligator.

"Son, slow it down for a second-"

"Dad, if you tell me a variation of 'be careful' one more time, I'm going to lose my mind. I got it." It was Jack's voice, Francesca's father.

Ah, that's right. Henry had just taken back Jack and his mother and were bringing them around to the coast again.

Georges rolled himself over onto his back once he was sure he had proper control of his breathing again and looked over at the people gathered about him. If Kitty was in his position right now, maybe she'd see that he didn't get rid of all his family on a whim. Who were these people, if not family, that gathered around and worried over him?

"Boy, we're thinking of leaving June here with you. It'll help fix any behavioral problems that young pup's got, I can say so much." Henry didn't really say it in a way that allowed Georges to answer, it was more of a statement of what he was going to do disguised as politeness.

A full-grown female siren in his little sanctuary? He was sure he'd fuck something up. Or end up dead even faster than Piper could manage. In a way, this was a blessing, a start to a career in rehabilitation. On the other hand, an impulsive thought was to quit this all together and move somewhere inland.

He lifted his head and stared at Piper again, who made clicking noises at him as opposed to Jack, which he found a little odd. What appeared to be a smile crossed the siren's face before her tail slapped down, spraying water all over those occupying the shore.

A rise of voices came from those around him, and he let his own head fall back down, closing his eyes. If anyone deserved a nap, it was him. Georges sighed and smiled, the waves caused by Piper's active tail being the perfect white noise to fall asleep to.

It wouldn't be a story about Georges and Piper unless Piper almost kills him, and Georges still ends up smiling like a nut afterwards.

I feel like this doesn't do much justice as a gift, but happy anniversary to my darling. You mean the world to me!!