X-Men-First Class: Rise or Fall
Chapter One Hundred Seven
Author's Word: I really need to take a few moments here to express to all of you just how much this chapter almost did not get posted today. For the last three days I have dealt with everything from fevers and full bodily aches to physical weakness that makes it difficult to lift my arms. I can't tell you how glad I am that despite feeling like I've been run over and reversed on, this final chapter for the month of May saw light. Please enjoy and review!
Colors of blue and yellow overtaking the wooden space like a full sized cloth, the six sat around the table making the creation come to life. Kayla's needle seemed to glide through the pattern with absolute ease with Maya following her example. Cordelia kept it simple by only joining small patches together. Jasmine meticulously pieced together the end material to close it off. The two telepathic females suffered the most difficulty.
Becky let off a small frustrated groan. "Sewing is just like cooking. It's hard and it takes too much time."
"Yes, I am being reminded exactly why I tend to go the store bought route," said Emma, who had trouble lining together pieces of fabric.
Cordelia disagreed, "Oh it's not that dreadful."
Jasmine gave off a shake of her head without looking up. "You two are lucky this school doesn't have a home economics course."
Kayla only smiled. "You merely need to develop a knack for it. My family has done this for generations. When a new child is expected, the women gather together to design a blanket or quilt so that he may have something as unique as he is."
"Trust me," Maya glided her needle through another section, "sewing is much more fun after you get through the repeated finger pricking phase."
Raven came into the kitchen then, pushing an old baby buggy in front of her. "Check out the jackpot I found in the attic."
Emma cooed in delight, removing a teeny blue and white shirt with sailboats all over it from the inside of the buggy. "This is absolutely precious."
"Of course," Raven put on a slight smirk, "it is Charles' stuff after all."
Becky took out a small jacket. "I can't believe Uncle Charles was ever this little."
Jasmine said, "I can't believe he was ever a kid. I bet he came out in a suit and tie and corrected the doctor's grammar."
Cordelia smiled. "I never believed he was ever even born. I always imagined angels guided him down in a golden carriage that sprinkled kernels of hope all throughout the land in its path."
"Nuh uh," Becky countered. "He's a royal King-Prince from a really far away land. England."
Maya looked over at her. "How can he be a king and a prince at the same time?"
"He's my prince," the eleven-year-old informed, "but he's Auntie Em's king."
The golden haired blonde smiled at that.
"Speaking of his highness," Raven joined them at the table, "he gave the okay to use most of these old clothes for the quilt. It's really coming together, too."
Becky asked Jasmine, "How'd you get so good?"
"Out of necessity," the older girl told her. "Nobody told my grandparents the Depression is over so they can't pick out cute clothes to save their lives. Any time they buy me something, I use my sewing machine to give it real flavor."
"It amazes me just how much times have changed," Kayla noted. "It used to be that a woman made the bulk of her family's clothes."
"Our grandmother on Dad's side used to do that," Cordelia mentioned. "He still has a few of the shirts she put together for his birthdays."
"Speaking of," Raven sent a smile Maya's way, "there's a major X-Woman birthday coming up."
Maya said coyly, "You shouldn't believe those nasty rumors your hear around campus."
"Fess up already," Raven challenged. "What can we do to make this the greatest day of your existence?"
"Compared to last year," Maya made a slight face, "you won't have much to compete against. Not that it was terrible. My mom took the night off. We had lunch in the afternoon, she got me earrings, and we had cake before she had to go work her late shift. Not really my fantasized sweet sixteen, but I guess those things never really live up to your expectations."
"Says who?" Kayla spoke encouragingly. "There's always a sweet seventeen, isn't there?"
"Yes," Emma agreed wholeheartedly. "If you could do anything for your birthday, what would it be?"
Maya replied, "Honestly, I'd really love to have dinner at Trick's club. After everything he's been through, it'd be cool to go down there and show him some support."
"That's a great idea," Jasmine seconded. "You'll love it down at the club."
"This calls for a new dress," Kayla put forth. "We'll go shopping tomorrow right after school. How does that sound?"
"Incredible," Maya reacted happily, "but you really don't have to."
"But I really want to," the woman assured.
"Thanks, Kay," Maya leaned over to hug her.
Kayla placed arms around her and rubbed her back. "Anything for you, sweetheart."
IIIIIII
"Now I know rock and roll is the hottest thing today, but jazz has a true rhythm to it. Take Duke Ellington for example. His style starts deep in the soul until it unleashes itself from the tips of his fingers." Trick jogged over to the piano and played a few notes before looking at his class again. He saw four out of five pairs of fascinated eyes firmly on him. "He's able to cover such a wide range of emotion," Trick walked around one of the small tables, hands clamping down firmly on Sean's shoulders as he spoke, "that people from all walks of life stop to embrace his music wherever they may hear it." Sean put his pencil down. "That about wraps it up for now. Look at the handouts I gave you and we'll have discussion tomorrow."
While Cordelia, Frank, Cody, and Joey all filed out, a guilt faced Sean lingered in his chair.
As soon as the others left, Trick placed a dramatic hand over his chest. "You break an old man's heart, Seanie boyo. Not paying attention in class— please, please," he got down on his knees and crawled over to where the teenager sat, "tell me where I went wrong."
Sean let off a soft laugh. "I'm sorry, Trick, but this is the only class Maya and I don't have together and I wanted the chance to work on her birthday present."
"Ah yes, the big day is sneaking up on us, isn't it?" Trick hopped up to his feet. "A certain Mrs. Howlett has made it clear that this is to be the event of the season or she will personally schedule my tar and feathering."
"I'm glad Kayla's going to bat for her," said Sean. "Maya's birthday hasn't been made a big deal in a while and I want her to really enjoy this."
Trick responded, "When you have the X-Men at your side, you're basically guaranteed as much."
IIIIIII
Removing the handheld gadget from the box, Logan held it up for the other three men to see.
"Pretty slick, huh? This baby's got enough volts in it for her to fricassee a guy clear across the street." They all gave him stony faces in response and he frowned. "What?"
"Tell me for a moment, who's more insane?" Charles presented from where he sat on the sofa. "The man who purchases a taser for a seventeen-year-old girl or the man who hires him to watch over his children at night?"
"What, she'll get a kick outta this thing," Logan insisted.
"Runt, even for you this is slow," said Victor, seated near the gun cabinet. "Get that girl somethin' pretty."
Logan gave off a slight eye roll. "These feminine parties suck all the fun out of life. I'd have loved something like this as a kid."
"Sweet sixteen, sweet seventeen," Erik spoke. "Among my people, girls are believed to reach full maturity on their twelfth birthday."
Charles asked him, "And exactly when do you plan on making little Becky aware of this fact?"
Erik answered, "On her fortieth birthday."
IIIIIII
Jasmine raved, "This party is going to be too hot to trot."
"I suppose." Cordelia made the rack of dresses go on a spin. "Though this whole thing sounds too much like a tired grownup fest to me. If it were my bash, there'd be lots of pizza and pajama lounging involved."
"Is that what you did for your sweet sixteen?"
Cordelia recalled, "After I received my token happy-some-special-occasion-I-can't-make-an-appear ance-for flower bouquet from my sister Adrienne and fiftieth string of pearls so far from my style from my mother, I waited on my dad to get home. When he did, he returned with my brand new car. I couldn't stop jumping up and down."
Jasmine smiled. "What did Emma do for you?"
Cordelia's attention went to the dresses again. "She was busy. With other things."
Not needing a house to fall on her, Jasmine continued browsing as well.
Emma laughed as Becky spun about wearing the fluffy plastic tiara. "Snow White, eat your heart out."
The child turned to her and said, "I can't wait for the big girl birthdays."
Emma looked a little skeptical. "We'll see if your father feels the same way." She then noticed Kayla off to herself and walked her way. "Kay?"
The Blackfoot woman turned around at her voice, a small toddler's dress in her possession. "I still remember that first Christmas after. The toy store was a mad house as usual. I practically had to claw my way through to get to the girls section. It wasn't until I made it and start looking all over the different dolls did I realize it." She let off a choked scoff. "Kayla, you have absolutely no reason to be over here anymore. So I went straight to the boys stuff. Though naturally, anything Cody received from his father and uncle far outweighed my coolness."
Emma rubbed her shoulder. "Kayla…"
"It's a man's dream to have a son," she continued. "Having someone to throw that ball around with. Little do they know what having a daughter does for her us." She looked at Emma seriously. "I can't tell you how fortunate you are. Having your sister and practically a little sister-in-law in Raven here with you. And Rebecca… that child has so much respect and adoration for you, Emma. Don't ever take that for granted."
Emma replied honestly, "I don't think I ever could."
"Alright, ladies," Raven's voice sounded, causing all of them to look over and gather in the middle of the boutique. The mutated blonde led Maya away from the dressing room. "What do you think?"
Maya currently wore a light blue off-the-shoulder dress with a slanted hem.
She wiggled her fingers unsurely. "It's not that bad, is it?"
"Gorge!" the younger girls reacted together.
Kayla went straight to her. "You look absolutely radiant, dear."
Maya looked gratefully at her. "Thank you. Do you think you could touch it up a little here and there?"
"Oh of course," Kayla guaranteed. "Don't worry. I'll make sure it fits like a glove."
Maya turned to the full length mirror and formed a slow smile.
IIIIIII
Done with the reading, Hank pronounced, "Only a few points above normal," and started unstrapping him from the reader.
"Pretty sure that's because of Maya's birthday," Alex half-joked, getting up from the exam table. "Have I mentioned lately that I hate figuring out what to buy for chicks? Why can't they just be into action figures and model airplanes…"
"Ah, yes. The ever limiting angles of the female mind," Hank stated dryly, jotting down the college freshman's latest pressure reading. "As much as I would enjoy sharing my wisdom with you, I must be off."
"Where're you going?"
Hank removed his lab coat as he answered, "I have an elsewhere to be. I would invite you, but," he grinned slightly impishly, "cool people only."
That said, he left out, leaving behind the puzzled blonde.
IIIIIII
Once all four safely piled into the BMW, Sean started them out of the garage. They made their first stop of the evening at the drive-in for a special showing of The Birds.
Since the excess of candy and popcorn proved not completely fulfilling, they next went to the diner near the high school to order burgers.
"This place has a ton of memories," Maya said wistfully from where she and Sean sat across from the McCoys.
"Such as dining and dashing," Hank mentioned with a gleam in his eyes.
"I told you a thousand times, we were gonna pay," Sean insisted.
"No, I mean like over there." Maya pointed towards the counter. "It's where I was sitting when Sean and Alex came in." Sean's arm went around her and she leaned against his shoulder. "What's crazy is that I debated all night whether I even wanted to go to the pep rally since the people who usually go are so not my crowd."
Sean said, "What's crazy is that you noticed me with Alex sitting there."
Maya gaped at him. "Are you kidding me? Any girl would be insane to ever look over you. You stand out from every carbon copy guy there is in this town." She then grinned. "Though I still can't believe you were the two guys who I heard got pulled over for drag racing."
Sean formed an innocently serious expression. "Oh that Alex and his whacky schemes of our childhood."
When they finished eating, they returned to the car and started back towards the mansion. They left the BMW in the garage then ventured out into the woods together. Using his former boy scout skills, Sean got a fire going. The group performed a 'sacred' dance around the flames that very much resembled an off version of the Twist.
Taking time to catch their breaths, the four sat in male and female pairs on logs with the fire in between them.
Raven removed a small box from her pocket and handed it to Maya. "This is for you."
"Raven," the younger girl protested lightly, "I'm not supposed to get anything until tomorrow."
"I'm a little rich girl. I stink at patience," Raven shrugged off.
"Open it, open it," Sean incited.
Giving in, Maya took off the ribbon and lid. Inside she found a necklace with an emblem that looked like four tiny hands gripping each other at the wrists.
Raven explained, "No matter what other changes we go through, I never want any of us to let go of each other."
Maya held the necklace deftly and gave her a tight hug. "Thank you, Raven."
Raven rubbed her back through her long hair. "I love you, gorge."
Hank smiled and Sean made a show of his lips quivering.
Then an owl shot out from a tree, startling all four of them.
Hank turned to Sean and said, "Next time I pick the movie."
IIIIIII
When Kayla breezed into his studio like a purposeful whirlwind, Trick immediately ceased playing to face her.
"I know we've gone over this," she started, "but I want to be certain. Everything is on track? Her balloons, her favorite flowers, our table, the cake…"
"Yes indeed, all of it." His face darkened. "Except for one minor detail."
Kayla wanted to know, "What? What's wrong?"
Trick reported, "I couldn't book the club, but worry not, m'lady. I found a gutter for us to hold the celebration in; a nice gutter with only dignified rats and ants instead of roaches. Then for the entertainment, I put in a call to my grandmother from the old country. She's going to play her violin while the rest of us chant "Go Nanna", "Go Nanna", Go Nanna." Trick tapped his fingers in tune to the repetition.
Attempting to hide her amusement with a scowl, Kayla leaned one hand against the piano and eyed him. "At this point, you are no longer invited. But Nanna is more than welcome."
"Oh Kayla, Kayla, Kayla," Trick stood, giving her cheeks playful pinches. "Would you stop the fussing before this flawless face finally manages to break into wrinkles? Everything is all set and Maya is going to love it. More importantly, she is going to love you for the hard work you put into making this so special for her."
"I hope so," Kayla said thoughtfully. "Would it be selfish on my part to admit I'm enjoying the entire process?"
Trick scoffed and sat back on his bench. "You're talking to the bloke who voluntarily plays dollies with his daughter to this very day."
Kayla's smile weakened by a fragment. "Thank you for all of your help, Trick."
"But of course, love."
As she turned to go, Trick resumed stroking the ivories.
IIIIIII
Hands clasped together in an impermeable grip, Sean and Maya ascended the stairs an walked through the second floor hallway until they arrived outside the latter's bedroom. They faced each other, sharing a long gaze.
"So," Sean's arms went around her small body, "there's only forty five minutes left and I want to be the last guy you kiss at sixteen."
She reminded, "You're the only guy I've ever kissed period." She tilted her neck a bit, making brown hair fall behind one shoulder. "Now you're the only one I want to kiss."
Sean lowered himself to meet her height the breathed his lips over hers. Maya's hands went into his hair as he stood straight again, elevating them to his level now. Her knees bent and her ankles hovered in the air. When the kiss ended, it proved too soon for either participant.
"It's weird," he put forth.
"What?" Maya frowned uncertainly.
"We live in the same house, we eat together, go to school together," Sean's eyes twinkled, "but at night it feels like we're miles apart."
Feeling a burning in her eyes, Maya hugged him practically for dear life. "I love you… I love you so much, Sean."
"I love you, too." Sean somehow managed to put her down. "I'm leaving for the club early tomorrow so I can help Trick with final setup. I'll be waiting for you."
"I'll be looking for you," she returned.
Sean took the first step back until they could no longer hang onto the other's hand. Maya watched him go to his own quarters before entering hers with a grace she had never known before.
IIIIIII
A few minutes after final rounds ended, Frank sprung out of bed. He turned on his optical light and tipped out of his room as delicately as any growing boy could.
Becky, he called out.
Here. She headed up the hall with Scott at her side. Everybody, come on. Hurry.
But be quiet, Scott tacked on sharply.
Jasmine phased through her own door. All set here. Where are the little guys?
The door to the playroom opened and Cody and Joey waved them over. The older children quickly filed in and Frank shut the door after everybody.
Joey started counting off, "Okay, scissors, tape, paper, paint, crayons, stickers, glue…"
Cody quipped, "If we had any more stuff we'd have to strap this thing on top of the Empire State Building."
"Oh good," Becky approved. "Just remember that this one is going to be extra special."
The group then went to work on the monumental creation.
"I can't wait to be sixteen or seventeen," said Jasmine, helping staple the paperboards together. "I want a big hotel party."
Frank put forth, "I want my own car."
Cody scribbled along one corner. "I'm gettin' a motorcycle."
"That's what I want, too," Scott concurred. "Though I'd loved to learn how to fly for real… Maybe take up baseball."
Becky glanced up from unraveling ribbon. "Really?"
Scott nodded and repeated, "Maybe."
Joey piped up, "I'm gonna take my little brother to the zoo and the movies and anywhere he wants to go."
Frank told him, "You say that until he starts working your nerves."
Scott looked at him. "Oh you mean like when Alex wants to mangle you or when Sean is about ready to give you a BBS?"
Frank stuck his tongue out and Jasmine wondered, "What's a BBS?"
Frank explained, "That's something Sean came up with when he was still living with his kid brother Tommy. It's short for big brother spanking."
At Cody's sudden snicker, they all looked to him.
He then said, "I think my dad's gotten plenty of those."
IIIIIII
At nature's ever inevitable call, Maya sat up in bed with a small moan. She stepped into her slippers and headed out of the room in a near zombie state. As she rubbed her eyes, she caught a glimpse of a random spec of white that stood out from the rest of the second floor décor.
Opening her eyes in full, she practically stumbled back as she took it in. Breathing in and out for a few seconds, she could not contain herself as a scream that nearly rivaled her boyfriend's exploded from her.
Near instantly, doors opened as they all came from every direction to see what horrible nuisance had disturbed her.
"What's happened?" Charles wanted to know while Erik wielded a knife readily.
Sean and Kayla hurried to kneel at her side and the latter asked, "Honey, what is it? What's wrong?"
Completely speechless, Maya extended a finger. Only then did they all take notice the near billboard size poster taped to the wall that read 'Happy Birthday, MVP' in enormous colorful letters.
Becky grinned. "We worked really hard on it. Me and Frank, Scott, Jas, Cody, and Joey."
Joey asked somewhat timidly, "Do you like it?"
Able to speak again, Maya declared, "I love it! It's beautiful— oh my God… thank you!"
Cody zoomed into her arms. "Happy birthday, Maya."
Frank, Jasmine, Becky, Scott, and Joey went to join the embrace as well, making the entire group topple over.
"Children," Charles spoke, "this is such a wonderful- oh dear God."
Logan barreled through, pistol in one hand and bone claws extended from the other. "Alright, where are they? Where are they?"
A clearly sleepy Cordelia let off a startled shriek then clamped onto her sister to shield the child growing within.
"Geez dude," reacted Alex. "Do you just wake up senile?"
Logan observed the children. "What- what'd I miss? Why're they hugging?"
Victor threw out wryly, "Like they need a reason around here."
IIIIIII
Tray ready as always, Maya maneuvered the door open and started out across the backyard. Logan had just begun his composure breathing when he detected her scent.
He turned around. "What do you think you're doin'? You were supposed to go back to bed."
"Well, it's my birthday," she countered matter-of-factly, sitting the tray in the usual place. "So I can do whatever I want, including serve you."
"Oh yeah?" He tugged her over to hold securely. "Last I checked, seventeen ain't too old to still get spanked."
"Sorry, but X-Girls are immune to that tradition," Maya eyes glinted, arms going around his middle. "House rules."
"Pays to be pretty." Logan then turned serious "Now, you listen to me. I want you to enjoy this day, every bit of it. Don't let a thing get you down, you hear me?"
Maya nodded then requested, "Wolverine, could you please say a prosperity prayer for me? My family used to do them for every birthday, but my mom… she really isn't into it anymore."
Logan promised, "I'll make it long enough for the Big Guy to get more sick of me than He already is." At her wide smile, he kissed the top of her head. "Love you, darlin'."
"I love you, too," she said back. "Thank you."
Maya turned around and began making her way back toward the house.
Passing Kayla as she did, she greeted the older female with a kiss on the cheek. "I have to hurry up and change so I can meet my mom at the hospital. I'll see you when I get back."
"Alright, sweetheart," Kayla called after the departing girl. As she approached her husband, a frown set in on her normally tranquil countenance. "Isn't that disgraceful? The child has to start off her big day by having breakfast in a hospital cafeteria. How hard is it to take her out to a simple restaurant or am I giving Lauren Patterson too much credit for being able to think so grandly?"
"Fox," Logan's hands went to her waist while his blue eyes burrowed into her currently jagged brown, "it's Smiley's birthday, remember? As in she's happy, we're happy."
"I know," she gave in with a light sigh. "But I'll be happier when we get to hog her again."
Despite himself, Logan could not help feeling that same sentiment.
IIIIIII
Lauren placed a teeny package on Maya's tray near her plate. "I found this at home a few days ago."
Maya put her fork down and made easy work of removing the wrapping.
She held a small dark blue medal with a well-aged emblem. "What is this?"
Lauren explained, "Your dad won that when he was on the Academic Decathlon in high school. I just thought," she gave off a faint shrug, "figured you'd appreciate it more than another pair of earrings."
Maya leaned over to hug her. "Thanks, Mom. It's perfect."
Lauren nodded and resumed eating. "So yesterday I had to deal with the biggest blowhard. Coming in on that stretcher, you'd think he was being escorted inside a limousine…"
While she talked, Maya studied the medal further, holding it delicately with both hands.
IIIIIII
With a frustrated moan, Joey felt about ready to yank the silk accessory right off his neck.
"Son, be careful," Charles cautioned, coming over to the bed to help him. "You'll strangle yourself at this rate."
Joey sat still for him. "Daddy, why don't you wear a tie every day?"
Charles answered, "Because I really don't care for them."
"Then why do I have to wear them for dressing up?"
Small tie all fixed, Charles nuzzled noses with him. "Because you look positively cute." Joey giggled, making his father smile. "And if you don't fuss with it anymore, I'll let you have extra ice cream and cake at the party."
"Okay," Joey promptly complied.
IIIIIII
Watching his mother remove the odd shaped pieces of plastic from the now curly brown hair, Cody remarked, "Those things look like they hurt."
"Only if you sleep on them," Kayla informed him.
Maya gazed into the vanity mirror as she said, "This is nothing compared to perming. I've had really bad burns from those before."
Cody shook his head with folded arms. "So glad I'm a boy."
"You and me both, Cat-Cat." Logan stepped out of the bathroom in his full suit, sticking his hands in the pocket. "How's it comin' in here?"
"Just about done." Kayla finished with the curlers and fluffed out Maya's hair a bit.. "And we have gorge."
Standing slowly, Maya removed her robe, allowing her new dress to be displayed. "Is this okay?"
Cody smiled. "You look prettier than Cinderella."
Logan let off a long whistle. "Fox, you must be outta your mind. We can't let her out. She's liable to set off every smoke detector in the place."
Maya beamed.
An emerald green dress adorned Kayla put a hand on one hip and fixed Logan with a look. "After the time I spent on nails and hair alone? She's going out, even if I have to get her a booth under a spotlight in the middle of Central Park."
Maya held her necklace from Raven out to Logan. "Will you help me with this?"
"Sure, Smiley." He took it and skillfully placed it around her neck without smudging her makeup or trapping any of her hair.
"Oh that reminds me. There's one more thing." Kayla went inside the grand closet and came back out with a silk shawl the same shade of blue as Maya's dress. "I made it myself."
"Kayla…" Maya stepped forward, daring to only tap the precious material with a single finger. "You didn't have to. You've already done so much. I mean—" She shook out her hem. "Just look at this dress."
"I wanted to." Kayla draped the shawl over her shoulders. "And I have all the thanks I need. I mean, look at you. A beautiful, kind hearted, intelligent young lady. Just knowing I get to share a single moment in the credible life you're going to lead…"
Maya's smile faded at her voice cracking. "Kayla?"
Logan reached for her. "Fox."
Kayla dipped her face and whispered, "I'll be back in a minute." She left the suite hurriedly.
A taken aback Cody watched her go.
Maya shook her head disbelievingly. "What… what did I do?"
Logan quickly assured, "You didn't do a thing, darlin'." He gave her shoulders an encouraging squeeze. "You know how sentimental you women folk get. You kids stay here. I'll run her down." He went off in search of his wife.
Cody scooted down on the vanity bench to take Maya's hand. "She's too glad on account of how amazin' you look. That's all."
Maya nodded and squeezed hands with him.
With everyone up on the second floor getting ready for the night ahead, the main level proved vacant. Logan tracked Kayla into the living room. He felt an immediate constriction in his chest at the sight of her sobbing into the arm of one sofa.
"Kayla, baby." He sat down next to her, running both hands down her back. "Baby, come on now. I don't need any telepath to tell me what's goin' through your head right now because I know. I know, baby, better than anybody."
"Oh Logan," Kayla very nearly tossed herself against his chest, "oh my Logan," she clutched him as if in fear, "I am sorry." Her voice lowered, if possible. "I just miss her so much."
"I know." Me, too. Logan transferred her over onto his lap. "But you gotta keep it together on this one, okay? You put too much work into this. Smiley's never gonna forget this and that's 'cause of you, lover."
Getting her breathing together, Kayla managed to settle. "I'm just going to fix my makeup then we should be ready to go."
Logan nodded and gave her a brief kiss before she stood to get things back on track again.
IIIIIII
Under the muted lighting of the night club, the majority of the X-Men filled the special stretched table. A long light green cloth covered it and a vase of sunflowers acted as the centerpiece. An assortment of balloons had been tied together and hung in any allowable space in the room.
Though she adored the decorations, Maya still glanced about for something in particular. "Where is Sean?"
"Don't worry," Raven assured. "Wild horses teaming together with rabid elephants couldn't keep him away."
Alex suggested, "He's probably shooting a whiz."
"Alexander," the Professor chided.
The young man quickly amended, "I mean relieving himself."
Trick stepped out onto the stage, receiving a welcoming applause as he did. "Thank you, thank you." He gripped the microphone. "My family's had to combat with quite an ordeal so I must say how much of a privilege it is to be here with all of you again. However, this particular evening doesn't have a thing to do with me. Tonight is dedicated to a very special young lady; so selfless she decided to spend her own birthday in here just to remind me of how very much she is in my corner. Happy seventeenth birthday to Miss Maya Patterson."
An uproar of applause sounded with the loudest reactions coming from the table. Maya smiled and blushed faintly.
When things settled a bit, Trick went on. "Normally for a birthday I would start things off with an upbeat ballad. However tonight, I'd rather take the opportunity to feature a brand new talent, who has at last finished his first song as a dedication to the one he loves. Please allow me to introduce Mr. Sean Cassidy."
When the applause started again, most of the X-Men proved too stunned to respond at first.
Sean appeared through the curtain, guitar draped around his neck. Trick gave him a pat on the back before stepping down to join the others at the table.
Trying to hold onto his nerve with everything he had, Sean dipped his head to speak into the microphone.
He said simply, "Happy birthday, Maya," then started running his fingers over the guitar strings, slowly at first.
An astonished hand going to her chest, Maya's brown eyes stayed firmly glued to the current performer. She nearly dissolved entirely when the song began echoing from his lips.
A special place for you and me
An undying bond to guide us free
Loneliness blocking the day
Our Love lighting the way
Your gentle touch
Your smiling face
So simple, so much
I become whole in your clutch
Our passions flowing in the waves
My heart stands still
Awaiting your gaze
As if in a trance, Maya stood from the table and made the journey toward the stage. Sean saw her, never missing a lyric. Maya climbed up, stopping just short of him. With the stage lights, all present could see her and possibly every flaw she wanted to keep masked. Yet her only concern went to the one before her.
Our love, withstanding time
Diminishing doubt, in our minds
There is no place I'd rather be
Than in your heart, just you and me
The song concluded and the ensuing audience claps seemed to free Maya from her reverie, along with the humility and overdone poise that often gripped her too tightly. She shot right for him. Sean caught her, not caring whatsoever if his guitar got crushed into splinters between the two of them.
IIIIIII
"No, it's my turn," Cody protested.
"You tried it twice already," Maya brought up.
"Okay, okay. Together," he compromised.
Holding the buttons down, the taser cracked out another icy blue charge.
"Ooh," they reacted.
The Howletts, now changed for bed, came into Cody's bedroom.
Kayla shook her head. "Are you still playing with that thing?"
Cody asked, "When do I get one, Daddy?"
Logan answered, "When you're thirteen."
"Help me," Kayla requested plainly. She went over, getting a good look at the oddly bejeweled device. "Are those little rhinestones?"
"What, it's a girl blaster," Logan defended, taking a seat at the foot of the bed. "It's supposed to be pretty."
"Logan, never a day goes by that you don't make me…" Kayla bent, taking his face in her hands, "absolutely glad I married you."
"God, I love bein' stuck with you." He kissed her.
Maya smiled and Cody rolled over until he bumped into his father's back.
Kayla lowered down into Logan's lap then posed the question, "Have you heard of the woman with the missing silver coin?"
"Yeah." Maya sat up on the bed. "That's one of the parables."
"How's it go?" Cody asked.
Kayla explained, "A woman with ten silver coins accidentally loses one and she becomes so upset by it that she lights a lamp and she sweeps every inch of her home until she finds it at last. Then she calls her neighbors together to rejoice with her." Her arm went around Logan. "For the longest time after I first heard it, I did not understand the happy tone of the story. I always found the woman a little greedy and ungrateful. She had nine silver coins, more than most people could ask for, yet she could not be satisfied without the final tenth. Then I realized it. Even a person who seemingly has everything can feel so empty by a single loss."
Logan said, "One thing's for sure. Once you lose that one coin, you learn to hold onto the rest of 'em with everything ya got."
Cody flopped over onto his back as he raised, "And sometimes you get real lucky and find more money."
"Until you feel like the richest person in the world," Maya added.
Kayla nodded at that.
Maya lifted the taser again, watching another surge power through it.