Outside the Institute, Marlin was freaking out. “Are you absolutely sure that’s what I said? ‘Go wait over there and forget. It’s what you do best’?”
“Yeah, Dad,” said Nemo.
“I said that?” he asked again.
“You said that, Dory swam to the surface, and then she got taken —”
“All right, I don’t need the whole story again, I was asking about one part.” Marlin was pacing back and forth as he talked. “Because look, if I said that — I’m not positive I did — but it’s actually a compliment. Because I asked her to wait. I didn’t say leave. And I said it’s what you do best.”
Nemo looked at his Dad incredulously.
“It’s my fault!” Marlin threw his fins in the air. “It’s all my fault Dory got kidnapped and taken into —  whatever this place is! What if it’s a restaurant?” he lamented.
Marlin yelled so loud that a couple of plump sea lions, Fluke and Rudder, woke up with a snort. They’d been sleeping on a nearby rock and were not happy to be disturbed.
“Oy! You two! Shut it!” Fluke shouted.
“Yeah, we’re trying to sleep,” Rudder said. “And you interrupted my favorite dream!”
“The one about you layin’ on this rock?” asked Fluke.
“Yeah.”
“Oh, that’s a good one.”
“Uh, excuse us?” said Nemo. “Hello. We’re trying —”
Marlin cut him off. “Son, son, son ...,” he whispered, trying to scoot Nemo away. “These are sea lions. They are natural predators. They could pounce at any moment!” One of the sea lions stretched open his mouth and let out a big, lazy yawn.
“They don’t look very pouncy,” said Nemo.
“That’s what they want you to think. Just get behind me and let me do the talking,” Marlin said. He cleared his throat and approached the sea lions.
“Excuse me. We’re worried about our friend. Is that a restaurant?” Marlin pointed to the large building behind the rock.
“Nah, mate, it’s not a restaurant,” said Fluke, chuckling. “Your friend is okay.”
“She is?” asked Marlin.
“It’s a fish hospital. Sigourney Weaver says she’ll be rescued, rehabilitated, and released,” said Fluke.
“Yeah, she’ll be in and out in a jiff,” said Rudder. “We should know.”
They lifted their tails to show tags that had been clipped on.
“Nasal Parasite,” said Fluke, explaining.
“Anemia,” said Rudder.
“All fixed up and sent on our way,” said Fluke.
Marlin was relieved. “Oh, thank goodness.”
“Sure, that’s right, don’t you worry about —”
Suddenly, a skinny sea lion carrying a green pail in his mouth appeared behind them, giggling and creeping up the rock.
“Gerald! Get off the rock! Off! Off! Off! Off! Off!” Fluke barked.
“Oy!” yelled Rudder. “Shove off, Gerald!”
Rudder and Fluke continued to yell, scaring Gerald away from the rock and causing him to jump back into the ocean.
Once he was gone, Fluke and Rudder turned back to Marlin.
“Don’t you worry,” Fluke continued. “That place is the Marine Life Institute: the Jewel of Morro Bay, California,” he said.
“She was right!” said Nemo. “Well, Dad, looks like Dory can do something besides forget.”
“Thank you, Nemo,” said Marlin sarcastically. “Thank you for that.”
“So how are we gonna get inside?” asked Nemo.
“Oh, wait. You want to get inside the MLI?” asked Rudder.
“Desperately! Our friend is in there, lost, alone. She’s scared. She’ll have no idea what to do,” said Marlin.
“Oh,” said Fluke with a smirk. “We know a way.”
“You do?” asked Marlin.
All of a sudden, Fluke and Rudder began cooing. “Oo-roo.Ooo-roo-rooo!”
“What are they doing?” asked Nemo.
“I don’t know,” said Marlin. “It sounds bad.”