Chapter 1

Brian Martin watched as his partner ripped the monitor wires off the boy angrily, his arms curling around the limp body as he pressed his head to the young boy's chest. He hid the hypodermic needle quickly and ignored the chaos of the other scientists buzzing around him for a moment, glad that Thomas had managed to remove the monitor wires.

Dr. Nelson Harris was gleaming down at the boy's lower half, his hand sliding over the sleek skin. In the seconds after the restraints had been removed, little five year old Casey's body had completed its change. His lower half had melded to form his beautiful sleek blue-gray tail. Little Casey, their crowning genetic achievement in gene splicing. The decades old research had finally achieved unparalleled results--a live specimen of human and dolphin DNA splicing had been born five years ago. Casey, the only one of the mix to survive thus far. Until Harris had decided to push the experiments too far.

The boy was nothing more than a success in the Cetacean Assimilation Study to him. CAS-134 as the boy was labeled. Attempt number 134 to splice dolphin DNA with a human fetus. He was the only test subject to survive so long. Once number 134 had survived six months, one of the techs in charge of caring for him had started calling him Casey, instead of CAS-134, and it had stuck.

Little Casey, their crowning genetic achievement in gene splicing. The decades old research had finally achieved unparalleled results--a live specimen of human and dolphin DNA splicing had been born five years ago. Casey, the only one of the mix to survive thus far. Until Harris had decided to push the experiments too far.

He and his partner, Peter Thomas, had known this was coming over a year ago. They all had. Dr. Harris, lead researcher, had started pushing Casey already with more tests, more trials--like forcing him to stay underwater until he almost drowned. Casey wasn't a fish, he was still a mammal, and like other marine mammals, he needed air to breathe. He usually stayed under for ten or fifteen minutes on average, but Harris had pushed him to see just how far he could go. It was the first time Casey looked really scared, and Martin had watched as his partner's heart nearly broke. He'd stayed under for fifty-three minutes before breathing the water. They'd had to yank him out and resuscitate him. Fortunately, Casey hadn't remembered much of what had happened. But Thomas did. Peter Thomas, his long time lover and partner, had cried so long that night, and Martin knew he'd fallen in love with the boy, the hybrid, their experiment. Thomas had always been a soft-hearted man.

But nothing had prepared the boy for this. Hell, the kid still looked at them with those wide innocent gray eyes, so eager to please. He hadn't ever known what a mother or father was, just the myriad of scientists floating around him all the time. He'd been happy it seemed to spend his days playing in his rooms or swimming in the tanks.

They had watched Casey for the last few years, running, swimming, laughing, crying--changing... They had quickly discovered that, like many marine animals, the full moon affected Casey's dolphin DNA in an unusual way--on those nights he was unable to control his change. It was odd, like reading stories about werewolves who were forced to change under the full moon, Casey was affected in much the same way. They suspected that if Casey had been outside of the facility, he'd be drawn to the ocean, basking in the moon's lunar pull. Any other day, he could control it. It wasn't like those mermaid movies where if he got splashed with water he automatically changed. He could be in the water without changing, but he preferred to have his tail when he was in the water.

But Harris had started to get anxious, wanting more data, more experiments, now that Casey had survived past the infancy and toddler stage. Harris had become frustrated at not being able to repeat his success. Casey appeared to be an anomaly, and Harris wanted to know why. What had caused Casey to survive when none of the others did?

After the close call with the near-drowning, strong debate had risen up within the ranks of the attending scientists and researchers. Just how far were they willing to go in the name of science? Dr. Thomas and Dr. Martin and a few others had argued on the side of passive research--watching and learning--they had an opportunity here to learn so much just by letting Casey grow with minimal invasiveness. Martin had even tried to argue the eventual economic and scientific accolades they'd accrue when they presented him to the world. Pete hadn't been so sure about that, money didn't matter to him. He just wanted to keep the boy safe.

But Dr. Harris and his supporters had cited the need for results, for data. Of course, the age old debate of human experimentation arose, and Harris firmly argued that Casey wasn't truly human. He was a hybrid marine mammal. And of course, the private donors who supported their research were also anxious to push forward, finally being able to see the chance to earn back some of the money they'd invested.

"At least he changed first," Harris's voice caused Thomas to jerk suddenly. As he shot the man a glare, Martin was certain that his lover was about to take a swing at their boss.

"Do you even care that he's dead?" Peter snapped.

"Of course I do," Harris frowned. "Now we'll have to work doubly hard to replicate this experiment."

Peter had looked over at him, his jaw dropping open at the senior scientist's callous statement. Martin distracted him however, and gave him a curt nod, urging him to continue with their plan, as Peter gathered Casey's limp body in his arms.

"Get him on ice," Harris ordered to the room. "We'll start physiology tomorrow. Maybe when we open him up, we'll learn more."

When Peter Thomas lifted the young boy in his arms protectively, Dr. Harris gave him a narrow-eyed frown.

"Give me a fucking minute with him," Peter snapped, irritated by the senior man.

"Fine," Harris growled back, casting a quick glance around at some of the others, surreptitiously wiping at their eyes as well. "All you sentimental idiots can get it out of your systems now. Get finished up in here and be ready to come back by eleven AM tomorrow. If you can't handle it, don't bother showing up. I'm not going to listen to anymore whining over a dead fish."

When Peter opened his mouth to respond, Dr. Martin wisely cut him off. "Yes, sir. We'll get finished and be ready tomorrow."

Harris turned to Peter cradling the limp body. He ran a hand over the smooth tail again, causing Peter to jerk back, and Martin was afraid that he'd lose it right then. "Dr. Thomas, your services are not required anymore. You have until tomorrow afternoon to pack up your stuff."

Thomas stiffened, but he managed to bite back the urge to yell at the man again. "Yes, sir."

They all watched Dr. Harris disappear through the door. As Thomas turned to face him, a slight smirk appeared at the corners of the man's mouth before Martin turned to others in the room.

"You heard the man, finish up," Martin snapped. Then he came around to Peter. "I'm so sorry, man. I'll help you pack. Gina, why don't you come with us, see if you can find some boxes, and then you can help me with Casey. I think Dr. Thomas wants a few minutes alone with him to say good-bye."

The young tech nodded and followed the two men down the hall. The rest of the scientists silently finished their tasks as they left. They followed as Peter ducked into his small office.

As soon as the door was closed, Thomas snapped at Gina. "Get me that blanket."

She grabbed it up, and they wrapped the little body in it.

Martin opened the box they had procured weeks ago, and Pete moved to gently lay Casey in it. He smoothed loose locks of sandy hair from the boy's face.

"How much did you give him?"

"Enough," Martin quipped, worried about whether the neurotoxin would finish the job that Harris started or not. Peter had intentionally ripped off the monitor wires before they could detect a heartbeat, hoping that the tetradotoxin would fool the techs long enough for them to get Casey out. It was risky, but they'd had little choice. Faking his death was the best option, otherwise Harris would hunt them forever. "We need to move fast, get him out of here and give him a dose of adrenaline."

"I'll get the cart," Gina said as Martin closed the box.

"Carson is manning security at the northwest door. He'll make a good show for the cameras of checking all your boxes. You know Harris will check the security footage. Gina's gonna bring a gurney and we'll make it look like a body is on it and move it into cold storage. Now, let's get the hell out of here and get to the house."

Brian Martin allowed himself a moment of hope as Gina returned and they loaded the cart with boxes, including the one containing Casey. So far, everything was going as planned, better even, since Harris had actually dismissed Peter and he wouldn't have to suddenly resign and disappear. A year ago after the near-drowning, he and Peter had devised this plan to get Casey out of here. Peter Thomas had begged him to help save little Casey from Dr. Harris's growing risky experiments. And Martin would have done almost anything for him.

New names, new passports, new everything. A home on a small peninsula, almost an island, off the coast of Sri Lanka. There were only two houses on the small island connected to the mainland by a long land bridge with a dirt road. They had purchased the one that was up for sale and had spent quite a bit fixing it up. Crews thought their request for such a huge saltwater aquarium in the living room odd but didn't seem to care much as long as they got paid. The other home on the island was owned by an old aristocratic family from England. They'd been told no one lived there currently and hadn't for some years, so they had figured they could hide with Casey there.

After faking a 'body' being put into cold storage, he had hurried out an exit nearby. The 'body' wouldn't fool anyone of course, but they just needed it to look real enough for them to escape the lab tonight.

Martin drove his car around the building and up next to Dr. Thomas's SUV and hopped out to help him load the box.

"Any problems?" he asked as they hefted the box carefully into the SUV.

"Nope," Thomas smiled. "The guard made a good show of checking boxes for the cameras like you said. He was actually a little sad looking. Handed over my badge and got out of there."

"Good," he said, slamming the back of hatch closed.

He froze when he found Peter staring at him, gazing into his dark brown eyes.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Martin met his gaze, then leaned closer in the shadows of the SUV. He wrapped his hand around Peter's neck, threading his fingers in his dark hair, and gently kissed him. "Anything for you."

Martin would never have done this without Peter begging him to, Peter knew that. Martin didn't quite see Casey like Peter did, but Martin loved Peter and would do anything to see Peter happy. With a quick squeeze of their hands, they turned to their vehicles. Within minutes, they were headed out of the secured laboratory facility.

This was it. His heart was racing, but he kept himself calm as he drove away from his old life. Dr. Peter Thomas and Dr. Brian Martin would no longer exist. They would become Thomas and Martin Jorss, along with their nephew Casey Badar. He had chosen Casey's last name carefully. It meant 'full moon'.

Fifteen minutes later, they pulled over into the parking lot of a shopping center. Yanking the collapsible plastic box out of the SUV, Peter opened it and gathered the blanketed young boy in his arms. He slid into the back of Martin's car, and Martin slipped in the other side. He yanked a syringe out of his pocket, pulling off the cap and swiftly stabbing it into the boy's chest. Thomas winced but said nothing. It was necessary. A few seconds later, Casey's eyes flew open and he gasped, sucking in as much air as possible in one breath. While Martin jumped back out and broke down the box and shoved it into the trunk, Peter clutched the shaking body close to him.

"Shhh, Casey, it's alright now," Thomas soothed, a gentle hand caressing the boy's face as Martin slipped back into the front seat, looking back at his partner cradling the small boy.

Casey's wide gray eyes stared up at Thomas's face, and even Martin could see that the boy was not only scared but unsure of what was going on. He probably didn't remember much of what had happened. At least, Martin hoped he didn't.

"I'm c-cold," the boy's teeth chattered, his body shivering violently.

"Get the heat up," Thomas snapped at him. As the heat roared to life, he watched Thomas wrap the blanketed child tighter in his arms. "You're going to be fine, Casey. Uncle Thomas and Uncle Martin are going to take care of you."

Martin Jorss's heart melted at the light of hope that lit the boy's eyes as well as his partner's. Yes, they would be fine. They would be a family.

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Martin jerked upright at a loud splash and a splattering of salt water dampening his clothes and book, then cursed under his breath as he watched the blue-gray tail slip back underwater off to the side of the boat. Fucking kid.

He wiped at his eyes, damp with salty water not from the ocean. His memory of the night they'd smuggled a young five year old experiment out of the lab they had worked at slowly fading to the wayside. Thomas had been so happy. They all had been so happy.

For a while.