Everything I Am - Orm Marius/Ocean Master

Chapter Nine - Changes

"I'm afraid I won't be home anytime soon," Orm updated when they spoke next. "I don't have a timeline. It's really bad out here, Aurelia." 

"Well Opal, it looks like it's just you and me - again. We're going to have some serious girl's time..." That's right, girl's night! "What should we do?"

Sleep, it would seem. Both mother and child had a good long, and certainly much needed in Aurelia's case, snooze.

Then it was feeding time, and changing time, and bath time. Aurelia entertained Opal by using her hydrokinesis to make animals and other shapes appear in the water and spray around her - it made a big mess, but was totally worth it. And then, at last, it was Opal's bedtime. They settled down in the rocking chair for a bedtime story.

"'Roar says the scary grey shark. Blub blub says the little orange fish. Waaaaaa says the big blue whale'," Aurelia read aloud. "Huh, whoever wrote this book definitely can't talk to fish - not like we can, huh Baby Girl?"

But Opal wasn't listening - she was asleep. She was asleep!

"Holy shit-" As carefully - and quietly as she could - Aurelia carried the little bundle that was her daughter to the crib and tucked her in. As soon as she exited the room and shut the door behind her with no mishaps, she did a little victory dance in the middle of the hall - quietly of course. 

"Guess who's asleep?" she announced in a whisper, continuing her little dance when she entered the kitchen to join her father.

Tom chuckled. "Ah, not bad. It used to take me twice as long to get you to sleep."

"I believe it. I had a lot to say - ugh-" In her fuzzy-brain state she had reached into the fridge and instead of grabbing her juice, she grabbed a bottle of her own breast milk. She quickly swapped it for the desired juice and joined Tom at the table, where he was drinking, you guessed it, a beer. 

"You certainly did."

"I don't know how you did it, Pops. I mean Orm and I have you guys and a whole Kingdom helping us and the kid is still kicking our asses every day. And you, taking care of me, raising me on your own..." She raised her glass. "You're the real superhero, that's for sure. To single parents."

They touched glasses in a toast. 

"Sometimes I don't know how I did it either. Don't worry kiddo, first time parents have no idea what they're doing. We certainly didn't."

"Thanks Dad. Were you scared?"

"Oh, terrified. Especially after your mother had to leave. I wasn't sure how I was going to do it, but I did." He took a gulp of beer. "And my job was a little less stressful than yours."

"And you actually like your job. I just plain suck at mine. Vulko and Aria wanted me to bring the land and the sea together, but the problem is half of Atlantis still wants to destroy the Surface. They won't listen. I can't bring shit together." She heaved a sigh, a heavy one.  "I sure do miss them."

Tom patted her arm. "Hey, we can't save them all, Kiddo. You really wanna know how I raised you here all by myself?"

"Sure do."

"You just keep going. You celebrate your wins and mourn your losses. Then you get up and do it all again the next day. Sometimes not giving up is the most heroic thing you can do, and the strongest thing you can do is keep going."

"Wow, wise words, Pops." She reached across the table and squeezed his hand. He squeezed her hand back. "Cheers to that."  They gave another little toast. Tom took a drink and then spoke some encouraging words in Māori.