As always, comments welcome. I worry sometimes that people are getting tired of my little blue fuzzball, so getting people's opinions matters quite a bit. I know that after awhile, stories about children can wear a bit thin...

By Darqstar

Six year old Sikudhani pushed her empty plate away from her and grinned. "All finished," she announced, looking around the dinner table at her aunts and uncles. "Every bite."

Hank looked over at his daughter's plate and nodded. Indeed, she had finished her meal to the point where the plate looked as clean as it had been when the table was set. "Very good, Sunshine." Several of her aunts and uncles nodded, pleased to see she had finished her meal. It had been pot roast, not one of Siku's favorites.

"Thanks," she grinned. "So, now can I have desert?"

Hank nodded, rising from the table with his plate and hers. "Apple or orange?"

She thought for a moment. "Apple."

He left the room for a moment, returning with a bright red apple, which he handed to his daughter before sitting down with a cup of coffee. Everyone had pretty much finished with dinner, but were lingering around the table to enjoy each others company.

Sikudhani polished her apple on the shoulder of her shirt before holding it up to her mouth for the first bite. She bit into the apple, then made a horrible face. "Ugkkkk!" she squawked, her teeth still in the apple. Immediately, everyone turned to her.

"Sunshine, what's wrong?" Hank asked.

She pulled the apple out of her mouth and threw it to the floor. "Ow!" She covered her mouth with her hands. "Owww!"

Hank moved closer. "Siku, what's wrong with your mouth? Take your hand away and show daddy, okay?"

She shook her head, turning away. "No! Hurts!"

"Sunshine, I can't find out what's wrong if you cover your mouth," Hank explained patiently.

Meanwhile, the forgotten apple had rolled under the table and bumped against Sam's foot. He leaned over and scooped it off the floor, looking at it. "Uh, Hank, Ah think Ah know what the problem is."

"What?" Hank looked over at him, impatiently.

Sam reached down and plucked something out of the apple and held it up for everyone to see. There was a flash of white in the dim light as Sam held up the object. "Siku's lost her first tooth."

"Siku!" Hank exclaimed, looking at his daughter. "Why didn't you tell me your tooth was loose?" He reached his hand out; letting Sam put it in his hand. "And one of your canines at that!"

"Congratulations!" Jean said, smiling at the young girl. "Loosing a tooth means you're getting to be a big girl."

Gambit nodded in agreement. "Means soon you be old enough t'go out at night wit' your uncle Gambit."

"Over my dead body," Hank snapped, although he knew a night out with Gambit and Siku would probably contain nothing more harmful than a bad movie.

Despite these assurances and others that loosing the tooth was a good thing, Siku still looked miserable. "Does it hurt that much?" Hank asked.

"No," she shook her head, finally moving her hands away from her mouth. "But I know why I lost it."

"Why?"

She looked down at the floor. "A week ago, I was tired one night, so I didn't brush my teeth," she admitted, ashamed of herself.

Hank had to suppress the laughter that threatened to erupt from his lips. "I see. Well, Siku, you know you should always brush your teeth."

"I know," she said, still looking at the floor, anything so she did not have to look into the faces of her family. "I meant to, but I was so tired. An' my kid's toothpaste was missin', my Kid's Sparkle Crest, an' I didn't think it would matter if I skipped it one night. But it did." A tiny tear rolled down her face. "My tooth came out. Soon they'll all come out and I'll have to gum all my food!"

Everyone at the table avoided looking at each other, for fear of breaking up laughing. "Uh, Siku, that's not true," Logan began.

Hank looked over at him with a look that said while he appreciated Logan's help, he would handle this himself. He looked back at Siku. "Sunshine, I never want you to forget to brush your teeth after every meal and before you go to bed, but that is not why your tooth fell out."

Siku looked up at him, her brow furrowed. "Why did it fall out then?"

"Because those are your baby teeth," Hank explained gently. "You have another set of teeth that are coming in, your adult teeth. They need the room, so they are pushing your baby teeth out of the way. Within a few days, you'll see another tooth drop where that one was."

"Really?" She looked at him; not quite sure if she should believe it was something this simple, this natural. "It has nothing to do with not brushing my teeth?"

"Nothing at all," Hank assured her.

"An' I'm not gonna loose all my teeth forever?"

"Just your baby teeth," Hank said. "And they won't fall out all at once either. They'll fall out little by little and others will take their place."

A long sigh of relief escaped Siku's lips. "Oh, I'm so glad." She rose from her chair, throwing her arms around her father.

Everyone looked around, smiling. Crisis solved. "Don't forget t'put that tooth under ya pillow," Rogue reminded her.

Siku looked over at her Aunt Rogue. "Why?"

"So that the tooth fairy kin find it an' leave ya some money," Rogue informed her.

Siku's eyes widened. "Someone will leave me money for teeth?" She stared at her aunt as if not quite ready to believe something this silly.

"Yes," Rogue assured her.

Siku looked around the room. Everyone looked perfectly serious. She looked at her father. "There is someone who will leave money under my pillow for a tooth?" she asked again, still finding this a hard concept to grasp.

"Not just someone," Rogue reminded her. "The tooth fairy."

Hank looked over at Rogue for a moment, eyes narrowing slightly. He had not been sure he was going to let Siku believe in the tooth fairy or not. It looked like Rogue had made the decision for him. He looked back at his daughter. "That's right, Sunshine. Before you go to bed tonight, we'll get you a tissue to wrap your tooth in. Then we'll put the tooth under your pillow and while you're asleep, the tooth fairy will come and leave you some money for the tooth."

Siku was visibly impressed. Someone leaving her money for a tooth she did not need anymore seemed like a wonderful way to enlarge her available funds. She grinned, showing off a gap in her mouth, then frowned as something else occurred to her. "What does the tooth fairy do with all the teeth?"

"Uhm…" Hank began, flustered. In his tooth loosing days, he had never questioned what might be done with the purchased teeth.

"He takes 'em to Santa Claus," Sam said quickly. "Santa uses em' for dolls teeth."

She thought about this for a moment, then nodded. It sounded like a good idea to her. "Santa recycles!"

After dinner Hank checked her mouth. The tooth had come out cleanly with very little blood. He figured her replacement would come in soon enough. He also checked her other teeth and found a couple more were a bit loose. He had her rinse her mouth out with warm water and a bit of salt, which she did not exactly like, but she did it.

They found a nice white tissue to wrap her tooth in. That night as he tucked her in, he helped her put the tooth under her pillow. "Sweet dreams, Sunshine," he said, kissing her on her forehead.

"Good night, Daddy." She returned the kiss with one on his cheek. "When is the tooth fairy gonna come?"

"Not until you're sound asleep," Hank said.

"What if I pretend to be asleep?"

Hank shook his head. "It won't work. The tooth fairy knows if you're sleeping or if you're just pretending to be asleep."

"How does the tooth fairy know this?" She was getting very curious about this teeth recycling stranger.

"She just does," Hank said. "The same way Santa knows and can't come if you're awake."

She thought about it for a moment, then nodded, accepting the answer. Curling her arm around her bamf doll, she closed her eyes.

Hank stayed in her room for a few minutes to see if she would fall asleep. He was feeling rather tired himself this evening and wanted to make sure he took care of the tooth fairy problem before going to bed.

When her breathing told him she had fallen asleep, he waited a few minutes more, then gently reached under her pillow. He found the small wad of tissue paper. Taking it out, he replaced it with a one-dollar bill, sliding it right under where her head was. He slipped the tissue wrapped tooth into his pocket and left the room, closing the door behind him.

It was ten o'clock and Rogue was heading to her room to go to bed. She passed by Hank's room, hearing a soft steady snore coming from the door. He musta been tired, she thought. Poor thing, he works so hard in that lab sometimes. It's good that he's getting some extra sleep time.

She started to pass Siku's door, then paused. Had Hank remembered to leave Siku something under her pillow from the tooth fairy?

Slowly, she opened the door and crept into the room. A soft nightlight lit up the room enough so she could see Siku sound asleep, her head on the pillow. She paused to look at her, smiling at the sweet sight of innocent slumber. Then she reached into her pocket and took out a five-dollar bill. A bit extravagant for a first tooth, she had to admit, but it was Siku's first tooth, and it was a fang. Gently, she reached under the girl's pillow, trying to find the wrapped tooth.

She could not feel it with her fingers. It must be right where her head is, she thought. Well, she'll probably see the money first thing and not even notice the tooth is still there, if she doesn't end up pushing it off the bed in her sleep. It's more important that she knows the tooth fairy didn't forget her. She gently slid the bill under the pillow then rose to her feet. She tucked the covers around Siku and quietly tiptoed out of the room.

Slowly, Sam opened the door into Siku's room and crept in, quietly as he could. He was worried that Hank would forget to leave Siku a dollar for her tooth. It was not that Sam thought Hank would deliberately forget, but sometimes Hank was the absentminded professor type.

He slid the folded dollar bill he brought will him under the pillow. He tried to see if he could find the tooth, but suddenly Siku rolled over with a soft sigh. Afraid she was waking up, he decided to just leave the money. He would slip a note under Hank's door to remind him to get the tooth. Hank usually wakes up before Siku anyway.

"Poor Siku," Jean commented to her husband. They were sitting in the living room of their own private house. Rachel was sleeping and the two of them were enjoying some time alone. "That must have been awful, thinking her teeth were falling out because she hadn't brushed."

"Yeah," Scott agreed. "We should tell Rachel that she will loose her baby teeth before she starts to loose them, so she won't worry."

"That's a good idea," Jean agreed.

"I wonder if Hank will remember to leave her some money for the tooth," Scott continued, thinking.

"Why would he forget?" Jean asked.

"Well, he was in his lab most of the day, then we put him through his paces in the danger room late afternoon," Scott reminded her. "He was pretty tired. I think he was planning on going to bed about the same time as Siku."

"Oh," Jean nodded, concentrating. "He's asleep right now. He probably forgot."

"Poor Siku, she'll be so disappointed."

"Oh, Scott, we can't let that happen." Jean looked at her husband, eyes wide. "Could you just slip over there and put a little something under her pillow?"

Scott sighed, but smiled, rising from his chair. "Well, it really is Hank's responsibility, but I know you'll worry all night if I don't." He reached into his pocket, pulling out his wallet. "The smallest I've got is a ten. Do you have a one?"

Jean shook her head. "The smallest I've got is a twenty. Aw, give her the ten. It's her first tooth. She'll be thrilled."

Scott nodded. And, it was a fang. Okay, ten it is. I'll be right back."

Jean grinned. "I never knew the tooth fairy could be so sexy."

Bobby slipped into Siku's room. He had been out with Kelsey earlier that evening and had told her about Siku's loosing her first tooth. Both he and Kelsey worried that Hank would forget to leave Siku some money. "Don't worry, Kelsey," he told her. "I'll leave her a fiver."

"Five? The kid's got expensive teeth, huh?" Kelsey said, grinning.

Bobby shrugged, turning slightly red. "I remember when I was a kid, I always got a fifty cent piece from the tooth fairy. While I thought that was nice, I always hoped that just once, I would get some real money. Five or ten bucks."

"Aw," Kelsey said, smiling at him warmly. "That's sweet. Siku will love it, I'm sure."

He walked over to Siku's bed, kneeling beside it. She seemed sound asleep, but he was still careful. It would not be good if she woke up and saw him in there. Gently, he slid the bill under her pillow. For a moment, he thought he heard something crinkle, but it might have just been the rustle of the sheets. He started to feel around for the bill, but Siku shifted slightly. He froze, afraid she would wake up.

She's got the money, that's the important thing, Bobby thought, slowly pulling his fingers out from under the pillow. If she wonders why she got the money without having the tooth disappear, I'll just tell her that she must have moved in her sleep and the tooth fairy must have thought she was waking and ran without taking the tooth. She'll believe it. Then we'll tell her we'll mail the tooth to the tooth fairy.

 Bishop frowned as he left Siku's room, one dollar poorer. He thought this tooth fairy stuff was nonsense and felt Hank was foolish for giving into the myth.

However, if Hank and everyone else was bound and determined to let Siku believe in these childish fantasies, he did not feel it was right for her to be disappointed. He knew Hank would be likely to forget to give Siku the dollar and everyone else was likely to depend entirely on Hank. Bishop knew better. If you wanted to make absolutely sure something was done, it was better that you do it yourself.

Of course, there was the small problem of being unable to find the tooth itself. The child's head had been flat in the center of the pillow, her small arms on either side of it, holding the pillow down securely. He did not want to risk waking her, so he merely slid the bill under her pillow. Siku was young and all excited about getting money. Perhaps, when she saw the dollar bill, she would be so happy the tooth fairy had not forgotten her, that she would not even notice the tooth was still there. The child's sheets were white; the tooth was wrapped in white tissue. It would be easy to overlook.

Yawning, Logan headed up the stairs. It was almost one o'clock in the morning and he was getting tired. A long work out in the gym had helped put him in this state. I'll just take a nice hot shower and get some well-deserved rest, he thought as he started down the hall, passing Hank's door. Boy, Hank sure passed out early t'night. Usually, Logan could see the lights from under the medlab door as he passed from the gym to go upstairs, but he had not tonight. The only reason why Hank would not be in his lab after Siku went to sleep would be if he had gone to bed early himself.

He started past Siku's door and stopped. I'll bet the Hankster completely fergot about the kid, he thought, frowning. Hank would never deliberately disappoint Siku, he thinks the sun rises and sets on the kid, but it was obvious at dinner he was not too happy that Rogue let it leak about the tooth fairy. Combine that with his workin' on the legacy virus every spare moment an' it ain't surprisin' he might forget about somethin' as simple as leaving the kid a couple dollars. Well, its an easy enough problem t'solve.

He opened his wallet and selected a five-dollar bill. Let's give the kid a thrill. It's her first tooth and it's a fang t'boot.

Humming some song he had heard on the jukebox earlier tonight, Remy headed up to his room. It was 2:00 a.m. and while he was not drunk he was not exactly sober either. Good thing I walked t'Harry's, he thought. I woulda hated t'leave my bike there overnight…

He started past Siku's door and stopped. Somethin' happened wit' Petite Bete tonight, he thought, hiccuping. Somet'in important. What? He scratched his head, thinking for a moment, before his brain fog cleared up enough for him to remember.

She had lost her first tooth.

Mon Deiu, dat child is growin' up so fast, he thought. Seem like only yesterday, I was bringin' her home a squallin' infant.. Now she loosing her baby teeth an' leavin' em' for de tooth fairy. He sighed, not knowing if this was such a great thing or not. Siku growing up was a wonderful thing, but if she was growing up, he, and the rest of the X-Men were just growing older and that was not such a cheerful thing to think about.

Ah, it's just de alcohol muckin' up your mind, he scolded himself. Be glad for Siku. First visit from de tooth fairy is a big deal for a kid. At least I t'ink it's a big deal. Jean-Luc was never de type to indulge in dat fairy tale, so I never got notion for my baby teeth. Wonder how much Hank left her? Knowin' him, a buck, if he even remembered. He did not know if it was him or the alcohol, but that seemed like a pitifully small amount of money for the tooth. "She deserve moren' dat," he murmured. "Why not give her a real thrill?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill. It was brand new and crinkled between his fingers. Dis oughta really make her smile, he thought. Even if it did not make her smile, it made him smile as he quietly opened the door that lead into her room.

Holding a piece of paper in his hands, Hank walked into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes with his other hand. He had slept long and hard last night and really needed some coffee. The piece of paper was a note, and from the handwriting, it looked like it had come from Sam, slipped under his door. However, until he got some coffee into his system, he did not think he could even begin to read Sam's hen scrawl.

All of the other X-Men were in the kitchen in various states of wakefulness. Hank shuffled past Remy, getting himself a cup of coffee and sitting down at the table. Several people said good morning to him, or at least made noises that sounded like good morning. He mumbled to all of them.

After drinking half the cup of coffee, he turned his attention to the note. Hank (it read) Don't forget to take the tooth from under Siku's pillow, Sam. He looked over at Sam. "Why would I forget to take the tooth from under Siku's pillow? I did it when I left the dollar from the tooth fairy."

"You left a dollar?" Sam looked surprised, along with many other members of the team. "Ah thought you'd ferget, so Ah left a dollar too."

"You both left a dollar?" Rogue asked. "Oh no, Ah thought that since Ah was the one t'tell her 'bout the tooth fairy first, Ah should leave her somethin', so Ah put a five dollar bill under her pillow. You went t'bed so early last night, Hank, Ah was sure you'd ferget!"

"An' I t'ought dat Hank would only leave a dollar, an dat was cheap, so I put a twenty under her pillow," Remy chimed in.

"I left a dollar myself," Bishop added. "I don't necessarily believe it is good for a child to believe in mythical characters, but I thought it would be worse if you forgot to give her something after telling her about the existence of this tooth fairy."

"Betsy and I were concerned you would forget, so I slipped five dollars under her pillow," Warren admitted.

"Put me down for a dollar myself," Joseph said softly.

Other X-Men were also confessing to worrying about Hank's forgetfulness and leaving money under Siku's pillow. Hank's eyes widened and he was instantly shocked into a state of complete wakefulness. "Are you saying that all of you left money for Siku?"

"Looks like pretty much all of us did," Bobby said, looking from one member to the other. "Wow, I'll bet if Storm was here, she would have left something too. Guess we all were just too worried about the kid."

"Exactly how much did everyone leave under her pillow?" Hank asked, closing his eyes and pressing his fingers to his forehead. He had an awful feeling Siku was going to start expecting way too much out of the tooth fairy based on this first experience.

Everyone started telling him what they had left. As the last person told him, a shriek came from upstairs. Less than a minute later, Siku came running into the kitchen, still in her pajamas, clutching a large handful of bills.

"Daddy, daddy, daddy!" she cried. "This tooth fairy stuff is great! Look what he left me!" She dumped the money onto the table.

Hank forced himself to smile. How am I going to explain to her this is not going to happen every time? "That is really great, Sunshine."

"Great? Daddy, there is fifty-five dollars here!" Siku exclaimed.

Hank frowned. Something was wrong with that figure, but he did not want to say anything. "Well… Sunshine, that is an awful lot of money for one tooth. You…understand that might not happen every time, don't you?"

Siku thought for a moment, then frowned. "It won't?"

"No," Hank shook his head. "I-I'm sure the tooth fairy was being… generous… perhaps too generous because that was the first tooth you lost. In the future, I would not set my hopes on much more than a dollar for future teeth."

Siku bit her lower lip for a moment, then smiled. "That's okay," she finally said. "I got this much for this one tooth, I can take less for the others." She stood up from the table, gathering up all her money. "I'm gonna go put this in my piggy bank an' get ready for school. I'll be back soon. Boy, I just love loosing my teeth!"

Before anyone, including her father could say anything else; she dashed out of the room and head up the stairs.

"Well, at least she won' be expectin' dat much in de future," Gambit said, breaking the silence that had followed Siku's departure. "An' it did make her smile…"

"Something is bothering me," Hank said, frowning.

"What's that?" Logan asked.

"I've gone over the figures you all gave me, and it adds up to fifty-four dollars. Siku said she received fifty-five dollars." He went over the figures again, and it still only added up to fifty-four dollars.

"Maybe Siku miscounted?" Bobby suggested.

Hank shook his head. "No, when she had the money spread out on the table, I took a quick count too. It was fifty-five dollars. Where did the other dollar come from?"

No one was able to tell him.

It was not until later that afternoon, that Hank opened his desk drawer where he had put Siku's tooth.

The tooth was gone.

Although he ended up searching the entire desk, and then his room from top to bottom, the tooth was never found.