I couldn't bring myself to turn around or question what he had just said... because that was impossible. He had only been here for one day, and I had only said his name a handful of times. Stepping inside, I quickly slid the door shut and flicked off the outside light. I just needed to think about something else, but Jayson was the only other thing that came to mind.

Crap.

Noticing Jay sitting on the beige love seat, I licked my lips and hesitantly joined him, dropping down onto the cushion to his left. He'd brought over my share of food and set it on the coffee table with a fork.

"Thanks," I said as I grabbed the big plate of spaghetti and leaned back to relax and eat. He gave me a blank nod before I looked up at the television.

Of course. He can never focus on anything when Law and Order is on.

Well, at least that was good. That meant I got to enjoy my meal without him questioning me about what had just happened. I'd honestly hoped he hadn't even seen me freeze, but when he set down his plate about fifteen minutes later and turned to eye me, I knew a 'talk' was coming.

"So... what happened out there?"

"Um... well..."

"I heard him speak."

Guess that at least is out of the closet. Haha... but not me! At least not to Jay.

"Okay... I just gave him water. He used it to flush his gills out and probably drank some as well."

Jay nodded as he looked outside into the darkness. The outline of the mer was just barely visible, but it seemed like it was sleeping already.

"I really think he needs to go to the lab."

"No."

Jayson looked back at me and sighed. He wasn't meeting my eyes, staring a bit below them actually.

He's looking at my bruised cheek...

It had a bandage pressed on it, along with one on my ribs, and now, my hand. When he leaned over a little, I leaned back into the couch. Not that I wasn't crushing on the guy and enjoying being close to him on this rare occasion, but I didn't want to freak him out by acting all mushy.

"Wh-What?"

"What can I do to get you to call the research center?"

My face immediately closed off as I turned to 'watch' the television. "I will not do that."

He reached around in front of me, pressing his right palm to my left cheek, forcing me to face him whether I wanted to or not.

"You almost died last night, Park."

I glanced away, looking at our reflection in the glass since he wasn't letting me turn my head at all.

"...but I didn't."

He grunted, telling me that he was about to yell. Except, when he opened his mouth Jay just shook his head and lowered his hand before speaking quietly.

"Park, I had to do CPR on you for nearly five minutes to get you back. I'm honestly surprised you came back, and without any kind of brain damage."

I knew better than to turn away now, even though he wasn't making me face him any longer. Jayson was being serious for once, and I knew it would crush him if I tried to just ignore this conversation.

"Jay, I-I know I almost died, b-but it was my fault, not his."

"That's just it, Parker. You are so excited to have him here, which I completely understand, but you're letting it affect your judgment. He's already bitten you twice, slammed you into rocks, and drowned you. I really, really don't want him staying here any longer. It's just not safe."

He was right, but I wasn't going to say it. I didn't want to bring Callem to that torturous place. The lab's current animals were well cared for and all, but they were mainly just fish. You didn't have to keep fish occupied or make sure they weren't upset or bored. Not to mention the other scientists would be insistent on running all sorts of experiments on him, which would cause some serious stress to his healing body.

"It'll kill him," I mumbled as my shoulders sagged, head following as I looked down at the slim piece of sofa between us. If we took him to the lab, he'd die, and I couldn't let that happen.

"I'd rather release him than bring him there."

"Parker..."

I glared up at him, suddenly feeling annoyed by his badgering.

"I am your senior at the lab."

"Oh, don't go pulling that shit on me."

"Dammit, Jayson. You know he's not going to do well there."

"And you know you could get some serious recognition and probably a damn good amount of money by turning him in."

I jumped up, just about ready to smack the asshole right across his face.

"How dare you think that I would trade him for such things."

He jumped up too, which was a surprise considering neither of us usually let ourselves get this bad. One usually walked away by now.

"Dude, you know if they find out that you have a mer here and didn't turn it in, they will fire you. Besides, if you take action first, you could at least be part of his research team and keep the invasive crap to a minimum."

My mouth opened, but there was nothing to say. He was right. I would lose my job in a heartbeat if they knew I had let Callem go. Hell, I'd probably not be able to get another job in oceanic biology. When I didn't reply, Jayson gradually calmed down.

"Call them tomorrow, please. Make yourself head of the research team and protect him that way."

We were silent for another minute before I finally whispered out a depressed "okay..."

His face immediately looked relieved, shoulders relaxing as he tugged me into a gentle hug. I rested my forehead on his shoulder and closed my eyes, trying to relax but failing miserably.

"He'll be okay with you looking after him. It's just too dangerous to leave him here, and keeping him tied to a pole all day?"

I knew he was right, again, but I couldn't do anything but give a faint nod as my pathetic attempt at agreeing. He would be okay if we could just heal his injuries and let him go. But I suppose that wasn't going to happen now.

"'I'm tired."

"Alright, go get some rest. I'll watch him tonight since Oliver let me get some sleep before you woke up."

I nodded with a yawn and sauntered off to bed.

~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~~~ ~ ~

What was that sound...?

~~~ ~~ ~~~~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

Sounds like... a song... whistled softly...

~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~ ~~~~ ~

I can feel it... in my head...

~~ ~~~~~ ~~ ~ ~~~ ~~

Such a haunting song...

~~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~

Want... to know...

~ ~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~

Who is singing...

~~ ~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~~ ~~

"Park?"

~~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~

"P-Parker?"

A rough slam jarred my damaged ribs and sent me flying into the concrete, hard. My breath was pushed from my lungs, but I was now awake, and definitely confused.

What the hell am I doing outside on the patio?

"God dammit, idiot. What the hell were you thinking?"

Jayson was dragging me backward as he cursed, finally stopping when we were close to the pool and away from the mer.

"You walked right past me and began to fucking lick his face."

What the...?

"I-I-I..."

My head felt cloudy, and that sound I had heard before was beginning to start up again.

"I-I can hear something. I-it's messing with my head."

Jayson looked over at the mer, and I quickly followed his gaze.

I-It's whistling?

No. Not whistling... or at least not the human version of it. His lips were formed into the correct shape to do so, but what was coming out was a hauntingly quiet melody that you had to focus on to hear... but I didn't.

"It's in my head. I can hear him."

Jay looked back at me with wide eyes, but I found myself unable to meet them. Instead, I slowly began crawling forward, back toward Callem.

"Parker?"

I got a few feet before my legs were abruptly yanked out from under me and I was dragged backward for a second time. Jayson got up and quickly tossed me over his shoulder before running inside and slamming the door. The song was still in my head, but it was much quieter now, letting me regain control of my actions.

"J-J-Jayson?"

He carried me straight to his room and threw me onto the bed, then went back to flip the light on. Standing in the doorway, he fished out his phone and dialed. I knew what he was doing, who he was calling.

"Hello? Yes, sorry for calling so late, but I have something very important that needs to be taken care of immediately."

The voice of our boss didn't sound very happy on the other end, but at least he didn't hang up.

"This is extremely important, but I need you to promise that Parker will be in charge of all research on the specimen he caught. Can I get that?"

"Alright, good. We need people here, now. He caught a wounded merman on the beach that needs medical attention."

"...yes, I said merman."

"Yes, I know they are extinct, he decided to find one anyways."

"No, we have him tied up out of the water because we had to treat his injuries. He's extremely strong, though, and dangerous."

"Uh, not that I know of, but again, tied up. Not quite curious enough to let him try to walk on his own..."

"Parker!"

"Holy..."

My eyes widened in fear as they looked toward the window in Jayson's room. It didn't let us see the mer directly, but it was definitely close enough to hear the shout it had just made. Dead silence took over besides the gibberish mumbling from the other end of the phone, which we both momentarily ignored.

...

...

...

"Parker!"

I jumped, frightened gaze darting up to Jay. That seemed to snap him out of his shock and he quickly stuttered to our boss.

"Look, you know where I live. We need someone here, now. Hell, we need a lot of people here. He's really strong and fucking smart. He already knows Park's name and how to ask for things."

"Yeah, I know."

"Okay, good. Tell Oliver to have his dart gun ready."

"Okay, bye."

He hung up and glanced down at me, a worried look on his face.

"I'm sorry, Park."

"Parker!"

We both flinched, and being the strong guy that I was, I yanked Jayson's blanket up over myself and let my head fall back onto his pillow. I normally wasn't this weak, but after being battered and bitten, and now that song in my head controlling my actions?

"Parker!!"

A gentle hand pressed against my shoulder from atop the blanket, giving me security that I desperately needed.

"It's okay. They are coming. And don't worry, you will be in charge of him."

I slowly lowered the blanket so that I could sneak a glance up at Jayson.

Hnn? Why is he grinning?

"R-Really...?"

He nodded before getting up, taking his security with him as he began walking toward the front door. Not wanting to be alone, I jumped up and quickly ran after him, limping a bit as my ankle began to hurt. Jayson had the door open by the time I managed to catch up and was already letting people in who lived close to us. My stomach twisted into knots when I saw the nets and guns they carried. God, some even had cattle prods and catch poles.

"Y-You can't use those."

The three men turned around, eyeing me in confusion.

"He's already tied up, you should just be able to dart him for travel."

Oliver walked inside right as I finished speaking, and I sighed with relief.

"Can you please dart him, Olive?"

My friend smiled sleepily and nodded as he walked out onto the patio. I began to follow but was pulled back into Jay's arms again.

Gah!

"Let me go."

"No."

"B-But I'm in charge."

"They are just catching him up for transport. Oliver can handle it. You, need to go to sleep."

"What?"

He carried me back to his room right as I heard a loud hiss from the patio and another shout of my name from Callem. The second Jay dropped me onto his bed, I jumped up, only to be pinned down atop his navy blue comforter.

"You are going to sleep."

"No, I'm not."

He sighed, shaking his head as I squirmed in his grasp. Darn bastard was only an inch or two taller than me, but he definitely had me beat in muscle.

"Listen, Park, if you don't get some rest, then you won't heal. If you don't heal, you won't be able to go to work and you know how that's going to end."

Callem will suffer.

Resigned, I stopped struggling and just lay there as Jay stared down at me, both of us listening to the commotion going on just outside. Eventually the noise dwindled, then quieted, letting us know that everyone had left and they had taken Callem with them.

"Don't cry, Park. We'll go see him tomorrow, and you can take care of him."

I hadn't realized I had been crying and quickly blinked the extra tears away before Jay's finger ran beneath my sore right eye, wiping away several that had managed to escape.

"Get some sleep. I'll wake you up early so we can head over and check on Callem, okay?"

"Okay."

I didn't want to go to sleep, but he was right. So, after turning a bit and getting comfortable, I slowly let myself drift off in Jayson's warm bed.