Rebecca raced down the beach towards the moo, skin blistering in the incredible heat. It was insane, as soon as she had stepped off the grass and onto the sand, the breeze had stopped, the air had turned humid, and the weather had turned from a chill into a roiling heat. But none of that mattered, because she had heard the call of an animal in pain.

The fallen shape came into focus as Rebecca neared.

It was a mermaid cow.

"WHAT?!?!" Rebecca dropped to her knees beside it, surveying the creature. It looked like a Jersey cow, with black splotches against white pelt, but it didn't have any legs, or hooves. It had a long, flippered tail. And instead of scales, or fur, or both, a soft, luxurious coat – not unlike the pelt of an otter – covered the entirety of its body.

"Mooooo" it answered morosely in reply.

And the stupid thing had gotten itself beached. It huffed gently, nostrils puffing. Then it writhed in the sand, unhappy with the situation it was now stuck in.

"Doctor? Are you-" she turned to look beside her, and stopped dead. A barren beach occupied her vision, just white sand. And to her front, the azure sea. It looks like she was abandoned with mer-cow.

"Okay, let's get you back into the sea. And then we can find the Doctor." Straightening, and rolling her neck out, she prepared herself for the Herculean effort.

"You ready, Betty?" She grinned at the mer-cow.

The mer-cow looked back at her with big, sad eyes. Fifteen feet between those big, dark eyes and the sea. Fifteen feet and what looked like a hundred and fifty kilos. Placing her hands on the pelt, she began pushing the mer-cow to the sea, feet sending up sprays of sand. Her arms trembled with the effort, but she kept going. Sweat trickled down her temples, pooling at her chin. Her sneakered feet struggled to gain traction, and after ten minutes of hoisting and huffing, she finally got the mer- cow to the water's edge. With a few more shoves, it was floating three feet above the shore, resting on the crystal-clear blue water. It still didn't even try.

"Come on, Betty! Swim to your freedom!"

Betty blubbed at her, tongue flitting out of her mouth.

"Ugh, you lazy bum!" Rebecca began pushing again, until she was up to her waist in water. It soaked through her clothes, and she groaned at the thought of wet jeans.

Betty gently fluttered her tail, and Rebecca whooped with delight.

"Yes! Swim, Betty! Swim to glor-" Her cry was cut off as Betty lunged at her with outstretched flippers, and dunked her head into the ocean with murder in her big, dark eyes.