Singing with the radio and only for his own enjoyment, Sean chopped vegetables, the knife looking like a blur under his hands. Kimber had just called to tell him she was on her way home, and he wanted to make sure dinner would be almost ready when she got here.

Sean was a good cook, even if he did not know a single specific recipe. His cooking was of the "thrown-together" variety, usually in the realm of stir-fry. Tonight he was planning on using vegetables and shrimp with a little soy sauce and putting it on angle hair pasta. He knew Kimber would love it; she loved almost anything if the vegetables were still crispy.

The telephone rang. Wiping his hands on a towel and turning down the radio, Sean picked up the cordless phone and pressed the "talk" button. "Yellow?"

"Is… is this Sean Mason?"

The voice was very familiar, but he could not quite place it with the face. "Let me check. Yep, it is."

A slight pause followed as if the person on the end did not quite know if Sean was joking or temporarily insane. "Sean, this is Hank McCoy."

"Oh, hey Hank!" Sean said, cheerfully. "You looking for Kimber? Because she's not home yet, but she should be any moment."

"No, actually, I was calling to speak with you."

"Really? Cool." He took a soda from the refrigerator and sat down at the small table. "So, how are you, Hank?"

"I am doing well, and you?"

"Doing great. I was just making dinner for Kimber and myself. Too bad you and Siku weren't here, I'd feed both of you, too."

"Speaking of Sikudhani, she is the reason I called. I understand you and her have made plans to get together often while you are here, to see the sights of New York."

"Yup," Sean confirmed. "This coming Saturday, we're going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art."

"I see, well…"

There was a pause. Sean could hear the hesitation in his voice, the Doctor was nervous. "Does this bother you?" he asked. "Siku said you wouldn't mind, but if there is a problem with this-"

Now it was Hank's turn to interrupt "I don't know if there is a problem or not. Although she acts very mature for her age, Siku is still not an adult."

"I know that." Sean frowned, his brows furrowing. He knew it all too well, actually. "What are you getting at, Hank? Maybe you'd just better spill it."

"How do you feel about my daughter?"

The ten thousand-dollar question, Sean thought. "I like her a lot, Hank. You and your teammates have raised a very sweet kid."

"Well yes, but…" Hank could not help but feel pleased at the praise. However he was not going to let that get in the way of resolving things. "I-I just want to make sure…" his voice trailed off again.

Sean could not let him keep floundering. "You want to know if I really do think Siku is a nice kid, right? You want to make sure I'm not some lecherous creep with a taste for little girls?"

"I certainly would not have put it that way," Hank protested.

"But deep down, that's exactly how you feel." Sean opened the can of soda, with a loud hiss. "Don't worry, Hank. I'm not offended. Actually, I'm glad you called."

"You are?" Hank was surprised.

"Yeah. It shows how much you love Sikudhani and I like that. I don't know what Kimber has told you about our childhood, but our father was rather… lax with us. He pretty much let us do whatever we wanted. While our friends were envious, there were times when we both wondered if he really loved us. It's nice to see a father who cares enough about his daughter to make sure she's all right."

"Well, I do try to be a good parent," Hank said. "I can't always say I succeed…."

"I'd say you were a smashing success. Siku thinks the world of you, and isn't ashamed to admit it, which is more than most parents of a seventeen-year-old daughter can say." He paused to take a sip from his soda before continuing. "As for how I feel about Siku, well, I admit I like her an awful lot. She's the kid sister I never had and always wanted."

"Kid sister?" The relief flooding Hank's voice was obvious.

Sean smiled. "Yes, kid sister. I was the baby of the family, so I used to wish I had younger siblings." He decided not to tell Hank that he only wished for little sisters, never little brothers. "If I could have hand picked a younger sister, she'd be exactly like Siku. Do you feel better now, Hank?"

"Yes, I do," Hank admitted. "I did not mean to cast any doubt upon your character, Sean. I just wanted to make sure-"

"That your daughter would be in safe hands when she is with me," Sean finished. "Don't worry, Hank. I'm not at all offended. In fact, I'm glad we could clear the air. If I thought you had any doubts about the two of us seeing New York together, I would call the whole thing off. It wouldn't be very fair to Siku, to make her feel like she was being pulled apart by her family and me. "

"I am very glad to hear this, Sean." Hank's voice sounding like his usually self. "Your sister told me you were a good person, and so far, everything you have done has proven her words to be correct."

"Does this mean Siku can be my official tour guide for New York City?"

"Yes," Hank said. "As long as it doesn't end up interfering with her school work or other school activities."

"It won't, Hank. I promise."

They spoke for a few minutes longer, mostly to speak of the details for this Saturday. Sean told Hank he would pick Siku up, since Kimber had agreed to loan him her car. He would pick her up at noon, after track practice.

Sean was hanging up the telephone when Kimber came home. "Hi, Sis, you just missed your boyfriend."

"Hank called?" Kimber said, pealing off her jacket and hanging it on the coat rack. "Is everything all right? Does he want me to call him back?"

"He didn't say anything about calling him back, but he did tell me to say hello to you for him. He actually called to speak to me." Sean got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen. Grabbing a Pepsi from the refrigerator, he brought it out and handed it to Kimber as she sat down in a chair.

"To talk to you?" Kimber looked puzzled as she accepted the can. "Why?"

"He was worried about Siku and I being friends," Sean said. "He wanted to make sure my intentions were honorable." He sat down on the couch.

"Hank worries too much." Kimber frowned. "You're my brother for peat's sake, I told him you're good people."

Sean chuckled. "Cut him some slack, Kimber. You're only bothered by this because you think I'm perfect. You're my big sister, you're suppose to think I'm fantastic. Siku is Hank's daughter, he thinks she's perfect. If I were a total stranger, you'd be cheering Hank on and calling me yourself to make sure I was on the up-and-up."

"I suppose," Kimber admitted, almost grudgingly. "I love Siku like a daughter, Hank knows that. I wouldn't let her hang with you if I thought you were bad news."

"You're judgement of me might be a little clouded," Sean reminded her.

"Nah, you've always been a great person. I'm a good judge of character." Kimber waved her hands as if dismissing the possibility that she could be at all biased when it came to Sean. "So, did you clear things up?"

"Yup."

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him that Siku was like a little sister to me. Although if you and Hank ever tie the knot, she'll be my niece, so maybe I should have told him that."

"That was sweet," Kimber said, smiling. "You always did want a younger sister."

"She's my childhood dream sister," Sean said.

"Really?" She looked at him, one brow raised.

"She's Sally-bear in human form," he explained.

Kimber's brows furrowed for a moment, then she burst out laughing. "Goodness, I haven't thought of you and Sally-bear for years, but you're right. Siku's even blue and furry."

"Yeah, but I'm hoping Siku's fur never falls out. And I must admit it's nice that she actually can talk back to me too. Sally-bear never was great at conversation, only at listening."

Kimber smiled tenderly. "Do you know I still have Sally-bear? She's under my bed in that Jordan Marsh box I caged from the neighbor's trash. When dad… passed on, I found her in storage. I couldn't bring myself to throw her out.

The muscles on Sean's face tightened and a pained expression filled his eyes. He swallowed hard and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he smiled and shook his head, looking like his normal, happy-go-lucky-self. "Sister o' mine, you are a sentimental fool. And I wouldn't change you for the world."

At exactly twelve o'clock, Sean pulled up to the X-Mansion in Kimber's car. He looked at the building before him and let out a low whistle. Kimber told me this place was big, but she didn't say it was this big. Kimber could put her factory in here, five times over and still have room for a gymnasium.

He stepped out of the car and started up the long drive. He was almost to the door, when a young woman, about Siku's age, came out. She was about Siku's height, but not quite as thin, and had long hair that was so black it was almost blue. This must be one of Siku's friends. "Hi."

"Hello." She smiled, revealing very white, even teeth.

"I'm Sean Mason, I'm here for Sikudhani McCoy. You must be a friend hers."

"You might say that," the girl said, a mischievous smile on her face. "Some would even say we're almost the same person."

"Huh? I'm afraid I don't understand." There was something very familiar about her voice.

"Sean, it's me. I'm Siku."

He stared. "You're putting me on." The voice was definitely hers, though.

She shook her head, reaching into the pocket of the skirt she was wearing and pulled out something that looked like a cross between a pocket calculator and a remote control. "This is an image inducer. I can use it to alter my appearance to look 'normal.'"

"Ah." Sean's brows furrowed and while he was not frowning, the corners of his mouth were not upturned in their usual smile. "That's… interesting."

"Does it bother you?" Siku was instantly worried. "Don't you like this image? I can change it to just about anything. This is something the computer came up with for how I would look if I wasn't a mutant."

"No, it's fine," Sean said quietly. "Well, shall we go?"

"Sure."

They got into the car and Sean drove out of the driveway, through the gates, and headed down the road. Siku buckled her seatbelt. "I'm really looking forward to this. There is a Picaso exhibit. My father is almost sorry he couldn't tag along."

"Yeah, it should be great."

Siku frowned and looked out the window. This was not going very well. "Uhm. So, how was your week?"

"Good, and yours?"

"Good." Great, our responses are getting shorter and shorter. We'll be grunting at each other before we hit the highway. She had an idea what was upsetting him, the image inducer. What she did not know was why. It was not real, it was just something she used to make it easier when she went out in public. The only reason why she did not used it last week when they went to the play, was because he already knew what she looked like, and they were going to spend most of the time in a dimly lit theater. If she knew they were going to end up singing on the sidewalk, she would have used it then.

She leaned back in her seat, wishing she knew of a clever way to bring the subject around. She wanted to ask him, flat out, if something was wrong, but she was afraid. 'Sean, is something bothering you?' made her sound like a kid imitating her father. 'Penny for your thoughts?' sounded too cliché. The best thing, I guess, is that I just ignore it and pretend everything is all right.

She pretended to be interested in the song on the radio. "Isn't this Steely Dan?" she asked, trying to sound casual.

"Yup." Sean nodded. "Do you know the name of the song?"

Her brows furrowed as she thought. Warren had the CD, it had a picture on it, and a yellow boarder if she remembered correctly. "Uhm… Reeling in the Years. The disc was called… Can't Buy A Thrill."

"Hey, that's very good, especially considering Steely Dan is way before your time." He smiled for the first time since he had seen her with her "inducer face." "If I'm ever playing the musical addition of Trivial Pursuit, I want you on my team."

She smiled. "I'd love to be on your team. But as I've told you, a lot of my older musical tastes and knowledge can be attributed to my aunts and uncles. They're into the music they grew up with, so I've heard it all my life."

"Hearing and being able to name song and album titles are two different things. You really are a very bright young woman."

"Well, I know I'm not mindless, but being able to recall those sorts of things isn't an indication of intelligence. It just means I have a good memory."

"I suppose," Sean said. He drew in a deep breath. I've been acting like an idiot. I've got to clear the air. "Siku, I'm sorry. I've been acting like a total shit."

"No, you haven't!" Siku protested then added in a more timid voice. "But you have been acting bothered since you first saw me. I-is it the image inducer?"

"Yeah," Sean admitted. "I like the way you look. It's interesting and it just suits you. Now you look like everyone else. Okay, you're prettier than the average person this way, but I think your true form is beautiful."

A sharp breath caught in her throat. "B-Beautiful?"

He nodded, looking over at her briefly before turning his attention back to the road.

Beautiful. He thinks I'm beautiful. "Sean… I'm still me, even in this form. I have the same thoughts, the same feelings. I just thought that since the museum will be crowded and well-lit, I would do this so we weren't being stared at as much."

"Siku, Iook at me. I'm a musician. I'm the guy who started an impromptu performance of Grease in the middle of the streets. Trust me, being stared at doesn't bother me."

"There are two kinds of staring," Siku said quietly. "Admiration and loathing."

"Good point." He sucked part of his lower lip into his mouth and chewed on it, thinking. "Siku, it really sucks that the world has to be such a rotten place that you have to hide what you look like just to be able to go to a museum."

"I'm used to it," Siku said, shrugging. "I don't feel sorry for myself, it's just nice, once in awhile, to blend with the crowd. Actually, I almost never use the image inducer."

"Yeah, but it still sucks wind." Sean shook his head, as if to shake off his feelings. "Aw, I'm sorry, Siku. It's wrong of me to be upset with you. You go looking however you want. If this is it, then this is it. You're right, no matter what you look like on the outside, you're still you on the inside."

Siku hesitated for only a moment, then pulled the image inducer out of her pocket and pressed a few of the buttons. The air around her shimmered for a brief moment, then she was back to her normal appearance. "I guess I can trust you to protect me, if the FOH or SCAM decide they suddenly have an itch to see Picaso."

Luck was with them. There were no members of the FOH or SCAM attending the museum that day, or if there were, they were polite enough not to cause trouble. They got their fair share of stares, but no one said anything, or tried to make trouble.

After seeing as much as they could of the museum, they went to the gift shop, where she bought a book for her father, and a set of blank greeting cards with very nice prints on them for Jean.

"You don't have to buy something for everyone do you?" Sean asked. "With all your family, and these prices, you'll go broke."

Siku smiled. "No. I learned a long time ago, that was silly. My aunts and uncles were always bringing me presents when I was younger, unless my father could talk them out of it. I could never keep up, too many of them and only one of me. So, what I do is if I see something I know one or two of them would like, I buy it for them. It evens out in the long run." She held up the cards. "For example, these are perfect for Aunt Jean. She's always writing cards or letters to people, mostly our extended family, who are scattered all over, it seems. She's sort-of the official letter writer of the family. She'll love these cards."

"Do you write a lot of letters?" Sean asked.

She shrugged. "I'm a child of my times. I do e-mail mostly." She looked at the cards again. "It's a shame, in a sense. These cards are beautiful. Although, if I were to buy them for myself, I'd hate to mail them."

Sean picked up a set of the cards too. "Kimber writes a lot of notes too. She'll like them."

They got together every Saturday, unless Siku had a track meet, in which case they would meet Sunday, after church. They went to all sorts of different places, the Haden Planetarium, the International Center of Photography, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. Most places they went alone, but occasionally they brought Kimber or a member of Siku's family. Storm went with them to the Museum of African Art, which was great, because she knew more than some of the people who worked at the museum did.

They did not just go to museums; they also went to other historical/tourist places. It seemed like ever time they got together, Sean had more things he wanted to do. Sikudhani was almost ashamed of her lack of knowledge about the state she lived in. Some of these places Sean wanted to go, she did not know existed.

"It's typical. People rarely know everything in their home turf, or they never go," Sean said, when she mentioned this to him. They were driving home from seeing The China Institute. "I grew up in Massachusetts, a hot bed of culture and history, and most of it I never saw. It wasn't until I was an adult that I ever walked the freedom trail, or went to visit the US Constitution, or even saw Walden Pond."

"Oh, I want to see Walden Pond someday," Siku said. "I like Thoreau."

"The world's largest urinal," Sean said, grinning.

"What?" Siku asked, not quite sure she had heard him correctly.

Sean laughed. "I'm not kidding, Siku. There was an article in the Boston Globe. It's a pond, and it draws a huge number of tourists. Some of those tourists use it for uh… other purposes than to admire the dwelling place of Henry David Thoreau. Because of that, it's got a much higher concentration of… urine than a body of water should."

"Well, that is a bit of Massachusetts trivia I could have lived without," Siku said, giggling, despite herself.

"Hey, you never know when it will come in handy," Sean pointed out.

"I'm sure it will. I'll be sure to mention it on my college applications."

"You'll be sure to get in then," Sean said, doing his best to look dead-serious. "Hey, where are you applying?"

"Well, I applied for early admission into Vassar. If I don't get in there, I'm going to apply to Harvard, Berkley, Yale, Empire State, Stanford, and a few others."

"Ambitious, aren't you?" Sean asked.

She shrugged. "I-I have very good grades, mostly because my father taught me how to love learning." She hoped it did not sound like she was bragging. "I also have a substantial scholarship for any college I want, waiting for me, if I graduate with high honors. It's a COMAAR scholarship, and it's good for any college I attend. My father has put away money for my education since he adopted me. I might as well go to a good college."

"Might as well. Why Vassar?"

She shrugged again. "It has an excellent reputation. Also, it's in New York and I can commute. My father promised me if I attend a college where I can commute, he'll buy me a dependable used car for graduation."

"You've got it made then," Sean said. "I'm curious though, why don't you want to live in a dorm or in off campus housing? That's part of the fun of college."

"I want to, eventually," Siku explained. "But for the first year, at least, I want to make sure I can handle the scholastic challenges. Then I'll worry about living on my own.

"Wow," Sean said obvious admiration in his voice. "You are always thinking ahead, aren't you? When I was in my senior year, the biggest reason most of the kids wanted to go to college was to get away from home and party."

Siku laughed. "Half of my friends feel that way."

"Why are you different?"

Her brows furrowed. "Well, part of it is the scholarship. COMAAR must have a lot of faith in my ability to offer it to me. I feel I owe them, my family, and myself to do the best I can. This is going to sound terribly conceited, but I don't just feel as if I'm representing myself when I go to college. I am also representing my family, the X-Men, and mutants everywhere."

"That means a lot to you, doesn't it? Being a mutant?"

"Yes, it does. Maybe someday, it won't matter, it will be accepted like hair or eye color, but until it is, I have two choices. I can either be ashamed of what I am, or I can be proud. I pick option number two." She looked over at him. "I am very proud of my family. They risk their lives every day to try to make the world safe for all of mankind. I don't think I want to work on the front lines, but I do want to make my own contributions."

"You're amazing, Siku," he said. "I've never met anyone like you, and I'm glad I have this chance to be your friend."

"Aw, I'm just me," she said, blushing.

Credits and Notes:

The song Sean was singing at the beginning of this section is called Five O'clock World. We don't know who wrote it, but it was originally performed by a group called The Vogues It is also the same song they sometimes use for the opening of the Drew Carey show. The opening where he's in the office and Mimi is in a "go-go" cage and he does that spin on his knees.

The information Sean gave Sikudhani about Walden Pond is true. It does have a much higher concentration of urine than any other body of water in the United States. Betcha always wanted to know that, huh? We believe fanfiction should be fun and educational.