"I don't believe this," Sean said, looking at his sister. "After I went to all this trouble to get these tickets, you can't go?"

"I'm sorry," Kimber said, shaking her head sadly. "I have a guest lecture at Empire State University. I can't back out, I promised them. Couldn't you exchange the tickets for another day or for the evening performance?"

"I can't do anything about the tickets," Sean grumbled. "The woman playing Sandra Dee has a hit on the pop charts so the show has suddenly become hotter than Hell in August. It was tough enough getting these tickets. Who ever heard of lectures on a Saturday?"

"Sean, this may come as a shock to you, but people in pursuit of higher education are willing to occasionally forgo a Saturday of pleasure to learn something." She picked up a celery stick and began munching on it, keeping him company as her brother prepared dinner in her kitchen. "How was I to know you'd pick a matinee performance, on this particular Saturday?"

"Well, I didn't think you'd want to go on a week night, when you have to work the next day, and I'm playing with the band every weekend night." Sean threw the mushrooms he had cut up into the sauce bubbling on the stove. "Couldn't you get your Doctor-boyfriend to give the lecture?"

"No." Kimber shook her head. "Number one, they asked me, not him. Number two; he's taking my place at the clinic that day. It was my Saturday on the rotation to work. I'm sorry, I don't want to miss this show, but I'm going to have to. I'll put some feelers out myself, and see if I can't get tickets to a later performance for the both of us. In the meantime, why don't you go with Jesus or one of the other band members?"

"Suuuure," Sean rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Be real, Sis. None of them are going to want to go. Maybe the best thing would be to try to scalp the tickets and hope your connections can get us tickets for another time."

"Aw, that doesn't seem fair," Kimber said, frowning. "There has to be someone else who'd want to go."

Sean thought for a moment, then looked over at her. "How about Sikudhani McCoy? She mentioned at the club that she liked the movie. She'd probably get a big kick out of the play."

"That's a wonderful idea!" Kimber's eyes lit up. "Since Hank will be driving down to work at the clinic, he can bring her along, and the two of you could go. She'll love it. Do you want me to call and ask her?"

Sean shook his head. "No, give me the number and I'll call, after we eat."

"Hank!" Logan called. "Telephone!"

Hank walked into the kitchen from the living room where he had been reading a book. "Who is it?" he asked, mildly curious.

"Some guy, I didn't ask." Logan handed him the telephone.

Shrugging, Hank took it and put the receiver to his ear. "Hello, Dr. McCoy here."

"Doctor McCoy? It's Sean Mason, Kimber Lee's sister. We met the other night at the Dogwood, on your daughter's birthday?"

"Yes, I remember you," Hank said, puzzled that Sean would be calling him. "How are you? Is everything all right with Kimber?"

"I'm fine, and everything is fine with Kimber. The reason why I'm calling is because I seem to be stuck with an extra ticked to Grease for the Saturday matinee. Kimber and I were supposed to go together, but she has a lecture at Empire State University. I understand you will be filling in at the clinic Saturday for her. Since Kimber can't attend, and Siku mentioned that she enjoyed the movie, I thought she might like to go with me, instead of Kimber."

"Well… uhm… I don't know," Hank said, rather surprised by this phone call. "Perhaps you should be asking her."

"I have every intention of asking her, Dr. McCoy, but I want to make sure it is all right with you, first. She is your daughter, and you don't really know me very well at all. If you say no, then we'll just let it drop right here. She'll never even know I called unless you tell her."

Hank's first instinct was to say, no, but he caught himself before he could actually act on the impulse. The fact that Sean called and spoke to him first spoke well of him. A lot of people would have just asked Siku directly. Although he had been a bit worried the other night that Siku was developing a crush on Sean Mason, she had yet to mentioned his name since, which made Hank think that his imagination had been running a little wild that night. This was Kimber's brother. He trusted Kimber implicitly; surely her brother was worth the benefit of the doubt. "Well, it is all right with myself, if Siku wants to attend the performance with you."

"Thank you, I really appreciate it, Dr. McCoy."

"Please, Sean, there is no need to be so formal. Call me Hank. Would you like me to get Siku, so you can ask her?"

"Thank you, Hank. That would be great."

"That was great!" Siku exclaimed to Sean as the two of them walked out of the darkened playhouse and into the sun-bright crowded streets. "I mean, I still love the movie, and I think John Travolta did a better job playing Danny than this guy, but I really had fun."

"I did too," Sean cheerfully admitted. "Don't get me wrong, I love movies, but there is something special about seeing a play."

"It seems more real, in a sense," Siku observed.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Probably because the actors are really there, right in front of you. It makes it seem more like you're watching something that's actually happening, not something prewritten and merely acted."

"It helped that we had such excellent seats," Siku said. "I mean, we were so close, I swear I could smell the actors sweat."

"Ah, the roar of the greasepaint, the smell of the crowd!" Sean exclaimed, holding his arms out, as if he were receiving applause.

"Huh?" Siku asked, confused.

"Never mind," Sean said. "So what do you like best about it?"

Siku thought. "Well, it certainly isn't the plot of the story. That's actually… silly. Why should Sandra Dee feel guilty about being a good girl? She should be proud, not ashamed. So I guess it's the music and the dancing. That's two things, is that all right?"

"Sure, Siku, this isn't a test. No school on Saturday." Sean grinned. "And I agree with you. From a professional standpoint, the music is mostly simple and pop-ish, but damned if it isn't catchy. I'm going to be humming certain songs for the next few days, I know it."

"What's your favorite song from Grease?" Siku asked.

"That's tough," Sean said, tipping his head to one side and thinking. "Uhm.. I've always like Greased Lightning."

"Oh Gawd!" Siku made a face. "I'd like it better if it wasn't full of all those degrading sexual expressions like-" she stopped abruptly, not willing to actually speak them aloud. She was not a prude, but she did not like using vulgar language, especially in front of Sean.

"Like 'Getting lots of… ' three letter slang term for a woman's breasts?" Sean asked, trying to spare her too much embarrassment.

"Yeah, and the one about it being - uh - another female sexual organ, wagon."

He chuckled. "Yeah. But I can forgive that. After all, I was once a teenager with overactive hormones too."

"I'm glad you outgrew it," she shyly confessed.

"Me too. I bet I know your favorite song."

"In the world, or from the play?"

"From the play, silly girl."

"Okay," Siku looked at him. "What is it, Sean, oh great mind reader?"

He stopped abruptly on the sidewalk and flipped the collar of his shirt up, his expression changing to one of a teenager trying to look tough. Unaware, or perhaps just not caring that other people were around, he started singing:

Summer lovin, had me a blast…

Siku's eyes widened into an expression of surprise. Although no one would ever ask her to consider a career in music, she had outgrown her childhood inability to sing without making people cover their ears and could actually carry a tune. Before she quite realized she was doing it, she sang the next line:

Summer lovin, happened so fast.

He grinned, continuing:

Met a girl, crazy for me!

Siku:

Met a boy, cute as could be.

Then together, they sang out,

Summer days, drifting away
Oh, but those summer nights…

Walking behind them, were a group of college students who had been to the play also. Neither Sean or Siku knew it, but all of them were members of the Empire State University Drama club. Two of the young men looked at each other, grinned and started singing the next part:

Tell me more tell me more
Did you get very far?

The remaining three girls in the group chimed in with:

Tell me more, tell me more
Like does he have a car?

Siku would never forget this as long as she lived. This was something that only happened in movies, never in real life, but here it was, actually happening! A bunch of people, just suddenly bursting into song. She looked over at Sean, who was smiling and dancing around as if he was used to this sort of thing!

She swam by me, she got a cramp

They were looking at her now, Siku decided to just go with the flow:

He swam by me, got me so damp

Sean looked at the young men, who had suddenly become his "chorus" and with an expression of mock-sincerity sang out:

I saved her life, she nearly drown!

Siku looked at the three girls, trying to look as Sandra Dee-ish as possible.

He showed off, splashing around!

Then again, Sean joined in with her:

Summer sun, something's begun
But ah, the summer nights…

The students knew their parts perfectly. People passing by stopped and looked at them, but Siku realized they were not being stared at with looks of contempt, but amusement, as if they enjoyed this impromptu performance. When I tell Cierra about this, she is going to flip out!

When they finished the song, Sean leaped on top of a mailbox, his arms outstretched and bowed with a flourish to the gathered crowd. "Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen! This show was brought to you by Sikudhani and the Westchester Street performers!"

Before Siku could even register shock at this, the crowd clapped. One of the young men, who had backed up Sean, was hit with a flash of inspiration. He snatched the hat off one of the girl's heads placed it, upside down on the sidewalk. People in the crowd began throwing money into it, as they walked away, realizing the "show" was over. Siku watched, wondering if they would get in some sort of trouble. "Isn't it illegal to perform on the streets for money unless you have a permit?" she whispered to Sean.

"I don’t think it will matter, just this once," he whispered back. "I don't see any cops around."

"That was fun!" one of the girls exclaimed, looking at Sean in open admiration. "You are really good."

"Thanks." Sean smiled, putting his arm around Siku. "It's Siku here, she's my inspiration."

Siku stiffened as his arm folded around her shoulder, then relaxed. It just felt so… right.

"Ah," the girl said, looking disappointed.

The young man, who had put the hat out, picked it up. "Hey, I'll bet we got at least twenty bucks here." He looked at Sean. "Wanna split it?"

Sean shook his head, his arm still around Siku. "We don't need the money, we were just having fun. You guys keep it. Go out and have a good time with it."

"Thanks, we will." The young man said. He turned to his friends. "Party money!"

Sean looked down at Siku. "C'mon, let's go get something to eat."

"Sean, are you a mutant?" Siku asked. They were sitting in a booth at a pizza restaurant that Kimber had told Sean was very good. The waitress had just brought their drinks, a Pepsi, and a diet Pepsi.

"No," Sean said, looking puzzled. "Why do you ask? Because my sister is one?"

"No, because of what happened a little while ago." Her head tipped to one side. "That was amazing. You started goofing, I joined in, and then some other people did too. And the people watching were… entertained."

"Well, I'd guess the kids who joined in with us are amateur actors," Sean said. "And the crowd probably thought we were street performers."

Siku shook her head. "No, Sean, there was something definitely unreal about that whole thing. Things like that don't happen every day. It was like you drew everyone into your little… act." She paused, frowning, hoping she was not explaining this wrong. "Okay, let me put it this way, if I was with anyone else, with the possible exception of my Uncle Remy, and they suddenly burst into a song and dance number, people would have ended up thinking they were insane. But they didn't, so I thought that maybe you had some sort of mutant ability, similar to your sisters and you…" her voice trailed off.

He grinned. "Influenced everyone into feeling what I was so that they either felt obligated to watch or join in?" He shook his head, answering his own question. "Nope. That was pure coincidence. Kimmy-Lee is the only mutant in the family, as far as I know."

"Then why did it happen?"

"Because I'm a flamboyant asshole," Sean said, cheerfully, then frowned. "Are you saying it upset you, Siku? Because if it did-"

"No!" Siku interrupted. "It was a blast! It's one of those things I'll always remember. When I'm old and gray, I'll probably tell my grandchildren about it. 'I remember when I was seventeen, this fellow I was with and I started performing a song from Grease in the middle of the sidewalks of New York.'"

"And they'll say, 'Gee Grandma, you knew some real lunatics when you were younger, didn't you?" He picked up his straw and pealed the end off.

"No they won't!" Siku protested. "They'll probably envy me for having such a talented friend."

"Really?" He held the straw up to his lips, and blew the wrapper off. It hit Siku on the nose. "Bulls-eye!"

She giggled, wadding up the wrapper and tossing it at him. "You are… " She paused. "I want to say, cool, but that doesn't quite fit."

"Flamboyant, colorful, wonderful or handsome?" he suggested.

"All of those and more." Siku grinned. "I've never met anyone like you in my life.

"That makes two of us," Sean said, suddenly looking serious.

"You've never met anyone like you either?"

He chuckled. "No, I mean you, silly. Most women would have been mortified when I broke into Summer Loving out there."

"It's probably because I'm still a kid," Siku suggested.

"Nope." He shook his head. "Most women your age would have been mortified. That whole hip, cool, teenage image thing."

"Well, trust me, I don't give a hoot if I'm hip or cool." Siku assured him. "It's hard to be a trendsetter, or even one of the crowd, when you're blue."

"Really?" His head tipped to one side. "I can't imagine that making all that much difference. I mean, there are more and more mutants being born every day. But even with that, you have a great personality, Siku. You're bright, you're friendly, and you have a gift for making people feel at ease. I can't see why you aren't the most popular girl in school."

"Oh, I have friends," Siku admitted. "But I have enemies too." She frowned for a moment, thinking of Bethany. Despite the fact that Siku knew Bethany was a mutant too, the girl still tried to make her life miserable.

"They're probably envious," Sean observed.

"Now you sound like my family," Siku said. "Okay, one might be envious, but most of them, I think, just need someone to pick on to make themselves feel good. Who better than the furry kid?"

Sean frowned. "Yeah, you're probably right."

Siku gulped, feeling bad for bringing the conversation into such a sad area. To hide her embarrassment, she picked up her menu. "What kind of pizza do you think we should get?"

Sean picked up his own menu. "The seafood pizza, with a couple of salads to start with. How does that sound to you?"

Her eyes widened. That was exactly what she would have ordered if it had been her choice alone. "That's absolutely perfect! Did Aunt Kimber tell you I love seafood?"

He shook his head. "No, she didn't. I suggested it because I love seafood."

While waiting for this day, Siku had been nervous, afraid that when they were alone, she would not be able to talk to Sean, or everything she said would sound dumb and juvenile. She was pleased and amazed to find that did not turn out to be the case. All through dinner they talked about many of things, from politics, to sports, to music.

"Do you like being a performer?" Siku asked as they were having after-dinner sodas.

"Yeah," Sean admitted. "I love music. Kimber and I both have that in common. Our father was a musician. He didn't perform as much, after he was married, but he was a music teacher and he composed music too. Kimber and I seemed to have inherited his talent." His brows furrowed for a moment. "Ironic, isn't it? My father was more please when I was able to support myself with music than he was when Kimber became a doctor."

"Do you ever do any original stuff?" she asked, changing the subject slightly. She sensed his father was a painful subject. "Or do you just sing other people's music?"

"I've written some original songs," Sean said. "I'd love to be able to perform my own songs, but in clubs, people want to hear songs they know. I'm not worried. Someday, if I'm lucky, we'll hit the big time and all we'll do is our own stuff. In the meantime, singing other people's music is fine. Some of the music we do is great stuff, and it's an honor to be able to sing it."

Siku smiled. Nothing seemed to bother Sean; he seemed to be one of the most upbeat people in the world. Even Uncle Remy had his brooding moments. She wondered if Sean ever brooded. She would have been shocked if she had known that he had spent a lot of time brooding over her. "I-I'd like to hear some of your music someday."

"Maybe that can be arranged," he said. "We do some of our stuff when we rehearse, it wouldn't be hard to let you sit in on a practice session."

"I would like that a lot."

"Well then, let me see what I can arrange." He grinned.

"What about the traveling and all?" she asked, wanting to know more about being a musician. "I mean, I can understand why it's great to perform, but this going from place to place must get tiring sometimes."

"I like it, for the most part," Sean said. "We're lucky though, our agent usually gets us several gigs in one area, so we're able to see the area we're in, have some fun, and not feel like we're spending our lives on a bus or a plane. Although I do admit this New York gig is going to be a long one."

"How long?"

"We're definitely booked up until well after Christmas," Sean said. "Which is great, because I love the idea of spending Christmas with my sister. It will be the first time in many years we've been able to be together."

"I think that's great," Siku said. "Uhm… Aunt Kimber usually comes up to our place for Christmas eve, sometimes even Christmas."

"Even better. I'll get to spend Christmas with my sister and you."

Siku grinned, feeling a warm glow spend through her. He likes me, she thought. Not only is he one of the most interesting people I've ever met, and handsome, but he likes me! "I would like that, myself."

"Yeah. Then I'll get the chance to meet all those wonderful aunts and uncles you've been telling me about."

She smiled. "Uhm... other than being able to spend time with your sister, how do you like New York? Are you enjoying your stay here?"

"Yes I am," he said. "But I do admit, I feel like I'm not really taking advantage of being here."

"What do you mean?" Siku asked.

"Well, New York is a hotbed of culture," Sean explained. "Not just the theater, but the museums, the symphony, the Statue of Liberty, all these wonderful places to go and things to see, but I'm not doing much of that. My sister is so busy with the clinic and *Comaar, she doesn't really have the time to show me around. And I really hate going to those places alone. Half the fun of going is to have someone there to share it with."

"What about the other members of the band?"

"They're more interested in going to all the clubs and checking out the party scene." He paused to take a sip from his drink. "Don't get me wrong, I like to party too, but not every night. If I was able to drag any of them to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, they would be bored silly, or they'd be trying to pick up every attractive woman they saw."

"I-I love the Museum of Art," Siku said, trying to keep her voice casual. "In fact, I like all the stuff you mentioned, the symphony, the Statue of Liberty. If-If you want, I would be happy to go with you to some of these places."

His eyes lit up. "You would?"

"Yes, I would."

"What about your father? Will he object to your being my tour guide?"

She shook her head. "My father thinks those things are great. He'd probably be thrilled that I was spending time going to museums and all such, rather than hanging at the mall or other 'frivolous' pastimes. The only problem is that I can't do much during the week. I have school and I have to study too."

"I usually work on weekends, but that's always at night. I would be happy to see the city with you, during the day, if you want."

"I'd love to show you New York," Siku said. "Of course, I'm no expert on New York City, but between the two of us, we should be able to figure it out."

He grinned. "Then it's all set. You have just become my official tour-guide. If you want, I'll buy you a special uniform and a hat."

"You don't have to go that far."

"But it might be kinda fun."

"You what?" Hank said, quickly looking over at his daughter, before turning his gaze back to the road.

"I told him I would go with him to see things in New York while he was here," Siku said, not understanding why her father was bothered by this plan. They were driving home from Kimber's place.

"You should have asked me if it was all right," Hank said, frowning.

"I didn't think you'd mind," Siku said, feeling puzzled. "He's talking about going to places like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Coney Island, the Statue of Liberty, and places like that. I thought those were the type of activities you wished I did more often."

"I do," Hank admitted. "But I don't understand why he has to take you with him. Can't Kimber, or one of his friends go with him?"

"Kimber is too busy with the clinic and all to really take him sight-seeing. And the band members really don't care for that sort of thing." Siku's head tipped to one side as she studied her father. "Daddy, what's wrong with me going with him? I like those things. I like him and he likes me. We had a lot of fun today."

"Sunshine, he's thirty years old!" Hank pointed out.

"Yeah, so?" Siku was puzzled. "He's thirty. He's a responsible adult." She made a flash decision not to tell her father about the singing on the street, it might cast some doubt in Dr. McCoy's mind as to how mature Sean really was, although she did not think there was anything wrong with it at all. "If anything, his age should make you feel better. Would you rather I was walking around the streets of New York City with another kid, my age? You don't let Cierra and I to go into New York City unless we have an adult with us."

"Is Cierra to be included in these 'sightseeing' trips?" Hank asked, one brow raising.

"Probably not," she admitted. "Those type of things bore her. I might ask her to go to Coney Island with us though, if Sean wants her to come along. He said the band might want to tag along for that one, so I might as well bring Cierra." Her brows furrowed. "Really, Dad, what is the problem here?"

"I-I'm not to sure about Sean Mason," Hank admitted. "Sunshine, how do you feel about him?"

"I like him," Siku said. "He's very easy to talk to, he's got a good sense of humor, and he doesn't make me feel like a dumb kid."

That was not what Hank wanted to hear. He would rather Sean made his daughter feel like a dumb kid, or at least the teenager she was. "Do you think he likes you?"

"I certainly hope so-" Siku began, then stopped. "Oh, you mean… does he like me. Err… Dad, I know I'm growing up, but I am just a kid to him. Yeah, I think he likes me, but I don’t think he wants to date me." She did not say that this rather disappointed her.

"Do you like him?" Hank asked.

Siku hesitated. She never lied to her father. There were times when she had avoided telling him things, but when he asked her a question, she always tried to be honest. "I have to admit, there is a part of me that wishes our ages wern't so far apart. He's one of the nicest men I've ever met, with the exception of my uncles. He's a lot of fun to be around. We talked for three hours when we went out for pizza, and we never ran out of things to say."

Hank sighed. "Sunshine-"

"Dad, would you please let me finish?" Siku asked. When her father stopped speaking, she continued. "I can't help how I feel. And as you taught me, I can't stop the thoughts that come into my head, but I can control how I act on them. I realize that Sean is quite a bit older than I am. He realizes it too. So, I can wish he was my age, and know that if he were my age, or closer to it, I would want a more… personal relationship with him, but that doesn't mean I'm not realistic. We get along as friends, that's fine. In a way it's even better. When you're my age, friendships last longer than love. Look at Monty and Micah. I thought both of them were 'the one', but I was wrong. I hardly even know them anymore."

"You were eight and thirteen with them," her father reminded her. "Actually, you haven't done much dating at all and I worry about you."

"I've gone out lots of times," Siku disagreed. "Cameron and I have gone out so many times I've lost count. I went to the Sophomore ring dance with Rueben, one of the Christmas dances with Art, another one with Paul. I've never missed an important school event because I've had no one to go with."

"Those were different," Hank said. "Rueben, Paul, Art, and Cameron are friends of yours. You admitted that in most cases, you went with them because none of you were involved with anyone at the time."

Siku shrugged. "That really doesn't matter, Dad. The point is that while I might find Sean Mason attractive, I'm not stupid. I am much too young for him."

Hank sighed. With every day comes a new problem. Will I ever be able to let go of my little girl when she does become an adult? "Would it upset you if I called him?"

"Why do you want to call him?" Siku asked, frowning.

"I-I just want to talk to him, to find out a bit more of what he's planning on these little… 'outings.'"

"I can't say I want you to call," Siku admitted with a rueful smile. "But I know that you won't feel right about this unless you do. So, I guess the best I can say is to go ahead."

"Thank you, Sunshine. I will do my best not to embarrass you."

She reached over and put her hand on her father's shoulder for a moment. "I know that, Dad. And I appreciate it."

*Comar = Committee On Mutant Affairs And Rights. A group started by Dr. Lee and the X-Men, to unite all mutants and give them a voice with the government. No, this is not a Marvel invention; it is a Darqstar/JF Jackson invention. They fight within the system to make sure that mutants aren't fired from jobs just because they are mutants, that they have the right to go to school, etc.

Notes and stuff:

The only song for which words were used in this story come from Summer Lovin, which is from the musical/movie Grease. (Which we also mentioned in the story, several times, but we want to cover our butts.)

Yes, the singing Summer Lovin' in the streets parts is one of the parts of this story that is practically non-fiction. It really happened to one of us, right down to the strangers joining in.

We are both very curious as to what people think of Sean at this point. One of our test readers really liked him by now, another thought he was a big goofball. (A likeable goofball, but a goofball never-the-less) We're interested in what our readers think. (If we still have any at this point!) So, if you've got the time and the energy, take a second and drop us a line letting us know if you like him or not. In return you'll get a case of zuchinni, a 1984 Escort with over a hundred thousand miles on it, and a transmission that is about to buy the farm, fifty thousand Pepsi points... Opps! Sorry, wrong prizes. In return you'll get our undying gratitude and a note back to tell you we're grateful, that you can download, print and frame. (If your walls are that bland that you would want to.)

One last thing, don't spit into the wind. Trust us on this one, if you don't already know why you shouldn't.