Dalea had fallen asleep again, but the wind seemed to cradle her as she did. It didn't stop making soft noises through the rocks and the soft laps of the waves were her lulliby. She wouldn't wake this time, she hardly ever did when she ran so low on energy.

Jasper had dozed off himself, resting on the floor of the shallows. The waves made the water seem to sway back and forth, and that was always a surefire way to lull him to sleep. The sky had cleared after the storm, and the stars were bright enough even to see under the water's surface, but Jasper was fast asleep.

Dalea woke in the middle of the night from the chill. She rubbed her bare arms and looked around for something to burn to make fire. She looked towards the cottage and wondered if Jasper was there. She walked over and peaked in the window. It didn't look like anyone was there. She didn't go in though. Fairies learned at a young age not to trespass. You could get your wings ripped off.

Jasper wasn't sure what woke him, but it was still the middle of the night when he woke. He stretched a bit and got up from the sand. He was comfortable, but he did need to go inside and take care of a few things. Quietly, he surfaced and pulled himself up onto the rock so he could change form.

Dalea had moved to sit to the side on his door. She had no place else to go. She wouldn't go out among the humans looking this way. They might take her to the hospital or worse...they would take her to the prison.

Jasper only noticed her sitting at the door when he'd switched forms and wrapped his towel around his waist. He could see that she was clearly cold, and still wet, which meant that she must have been miserable. He held out a hand to her.

"Come on," he said. "I've got some blankets inside, you can take a hot shower and warm up and then crash on the couch with a dry blanket."

Dalea looked up at him wearily. She sneezed softly and gently took his offered hand. She'd let him help her up, then follow him anywhere really. Though she wasn't sure she could get through a shower.

Jasper led her inside. The main lights were off, but the fish tank was lit and it threw an ethereal watery light throughout the room. Jasper reached over to a switch on the wall and turned on the overhead light. He took her to the bathroom and handed her a fresh towel from under the sink. Never had he been so glad to have one human parent. He knew more about how humans lived than any other merperson, and it worked to his favor.

"You'll feel better after a hot shower or a hot bath," he said. "Trust me."

Dalea just let him lead her, then nodded slightly and gripped the towel. She then looked at him, exhaustion written on her face. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Jasper asked. She hadn't done anything wrong. Sure, she seemed to be a bit helpless, but honestly, she was a fairy. The word didn't exactly scream 'brawn.'

Dalea just looked at him, ashamed and depressed. "...being a burden."

Jasper waved a hand.

"I don't mind helping," he said. "So don't worry about it. Go on and warm up."

Dalea nodded shyly and moved a little towards the shower. She touched the shower and frowned. "How do I turn it on?"

Reaching over, Jasper tapped on the knob for the water.

"Turn it to the right," he said. "It ranges from cold to hot, so set it in between where it's comfortable." He gestured to the faucet down lower. "Pull this tab here up, it'll switch it to the shower instead of the tap."

Dalea looked at him, then the shower. He nodded and sighed. "Ok. Thank you." She stood there, clutching the towel and waited for him to leave.

Jasper left the bathroom, giving her privacy. He wandered into his bedroom and turned on a special light sitting at the foot of the bed. It glowed softly, throwing light on the ceiling in such a way that it looked like it was being reflected off of the water. He left the main light in room off, letting the watery light illuminate the room softly. He flopped onto his bed.

Dalea smiled a little to herself and turned on the water like she was told. She messed with the knob before she slowly got undressed. She looked at herself and sighed. She was such a tiny person and so helpless in the human world. She'd have to learn how to swim, because she couldn't fly here. She got in the shower and smiled as the warm water flowed over her.

Jasper lay on his bed quietly, dozing off again. The sound of the water, even if it was water moving through the pipes, was soothing, and it lulled him to sleep.

When Dalea was finished, she stepped out and dried off. She realized suddenly that she had no clothes to put on. She sighed. In the fairy world, nudity wasn't that big a deal. With strangers, it wasn't unheard of. But, she had never been nude in front of anyone but her maid since she was five years old. She peaked out of the bathroom, then tiptoed through the hall with just a towel on. She went looking for Jasper and found him sleeping. She cursed softly, then looked around for something to wear.

It hadn't occurred to Jasper to give her spare clothes. He lived alone, aside from his pet fish, so he wasn't used to having other people around. He wasn't used to needing to have such things as spare clothes for anyone other than himself.

Besides, it was the middle of the night. He couldn't help but fall back to sleep.

Dalea was cursing to high heaven when she was searching. It was cold with no clothes. She let her wings out since she was inside. Her wings were almost as big as her whole body, maybe about 4 inches shorter. She never found and clothes. She sighed and took a blanket and curled up in it on the couch. She soon fell asleep.

Jasper, in spite of getting so little sleep the night before, was awake early. He listened, but didn't hear any movement in the cottage. That told him that Dalea was either asleep, or had left. Quietly, he padded out into the main room, and stopped. She was asleep on the couch, wrapped in a blanket. Her clothes were draped over a nearby chair, and he could tell they were still damp. Mentally, he cursed himself for forgetting to give her something dry to wear. Going back into his room, he grabbed some of his old things. They would be too big for her, but it was the best he had at the moment. Taking them back out into the main room, he left them on the back of the couch, and then headed out the door. He wanted breakfast, and the reef was teeming this time of the morning. He'd be able to get something to eat out there, without disturbing his guest.

About a minute after he left, Dalea stirred slightly. She opened her eyes and looked around. She'd forgotten what happened until it all came rushing back to her. She was saddened by her stupidness. She'd almost gotten killed because she didn't think. She stood, the blanket sliding off of her and went into a heap on the floor. She stretched, her wings fluttering as if they were stretching. She looked around and saw the dry clothes and knew they were not hers, but were there for her. She smiled a little and walked over to them. After picking them up, she went to change, even though they were too big for her.

A little while later, Jasper meandered into the shallows again, a couple of small fish clutched in his hands. He settled down on the bottom, leaning against a rock to enjoy the last of his breakfast. The water was still cool, since it wouldn't warm up until later in the day once the sun had a chance to really work on it, but he didn't mind. He was a Child of the Sea, the cold water didn't bother him.

Well, really he was only half, but it only took one parent to be a Child of the Sea to make him one as well. And he made sure to take a trip out every summer to visit his mother, so he didn't mind leading a double-life.

After Dalea had dressed, she looked at herself. She looked like a kid playing dressup in her fathers too-big clothes. She sighed and took a piece of cord to keep the pants on. She had to fold her wings back in and walked outside to find Jasper. She found him sitting on the rock eating. She was instantly hungry, but was sort of nauseas from what he was eating.