Sitting in her dressing room, Carey leaned back in her chair and let out a satisfied sigh. Her show had just ended and the crowd had been very appreciative. She had spied her boys sitting in the audience with London and Mikayla and was interested in hearing what they thought of her performance. She didn't have to wait long to find out, as a knock on the door signaled the arrival of the four teens.

"Hey kids," Carey greeted them. "Did you like the show?"

Not surprisingly, the ever-talkative London spoke first. "Carey, you were...goooooood!"

"Yeah, Mom," Zack added. "You were fantastic! When Moseby changes your work schedule we need to talk about just how much more you're going to be paid. I think-"

"Zack," she cut him off. "We've gone through this before. You're not going to be my agent."

"You were great, Mom," Cody said in a sincere but subdued tone. "Better than great. Really."

"Thank you, honey." Carey replied.

Mikayla was the last to give her opinion. "I've never seen anything like that before," the young woman said with a note of awe in her voice.

Carey couldn't help but smile at all the praise. "Thanks guys. But it helped that I had a good crowd." She turned to Mikayla. "The audiences here are very kind. That will make it easier for you once you're ready to start."

Mikayla did not smile back, and that was when Carey noticed traces of sadness in the girl's eyes.

"The audiences here may be kind to you," the young singer said. "But I'm not half the performer you are."

Carey, along with the twins and London, immediately began trying to convince Mikayla otherwise.

"You had a number one hit," Zack pointed out.

"And a dozen other songs that couldn't crack the top forty," the girl countered. "My only hit was a fluke."

"Sweetheart, listen to me," Carey said in her best, motherly tone. "It was wrong that you were pushed into show business at such a young age, but that doesn't change the fact you landed a record deal, released a CD, and had a song go to the top of the charts. None of that could've happened if you didn't have talent."

Cody, Zack, and London were all quick to voice their agreement.

"Probably the only thing I have over you is experience," Carey continued. "I've been singing...slightly longer than you have."

"Slightly?" Zack laughed. "Don't let her kid you, Mikayla. Mom was an old pro before you were even born."

Carey gave her son a slightly annoyed look. "Honey," she told him. "Stop helping me." Then she turned her attention back to Mikayla. "You're going to be fine. Look, tomorrow after breakfast you and I can go down to the lounge during my rehearsal time. You can try a few songs, and maybe we'll come up with some ideas for your act."

Touched by Carey's kindness, Mikayla accepted the invitation.

The next day after breakfast, Carey went to the lounge to meet Mikayla while Zack headed out to the park with his skateboard. With the suite all to himself, Cody decided to indulge in some yoga practice. Unfortunately, he was unable to properly clear his mind and meditate...thoughts of two troubling matters kept drifting around his brain. Abandoning his yoga, Cody turned on the television but couldn't find any program to hold his interest.

His thoughts remained troubled.

Finally, he picked up the phone and dialed a friend's number.

"London, are you busy?"

"Come out on the balcony with me," London told Cody shortly after she'd welcomed him into her penthouse.

"You're sure this isn't a bad time?" he asked as he took note of her appearance. The heiress had her hair up and was wearing a bathrobe. Cody hoped that he hadn't disturbed London while she was in the shower.

"It's not a bad time," London answered as they made their way to the balcony. "You said you wanted to talk, so we can talk and enjoy the weather at the same time."

It was indeed a lovely summer day. As Cody took a seat he was surprised when London removed her bathrobe. Cody hadn't realized that the heiress was intending to sunbathe while they talked. And while he'd seen her in one-piece swimsuits plenty of times in the past, this was the first time he'd ever seen her in a bikini.

A very skimpy bikini.

"So what do you want to talk about?" London asked in her usual upbeat tone. She began applying sunscreen to her arms and shoulders while she waited for Cody to speak.

"I...uh...wow..." he said, and then silently cursed himself. He didn't want London to see him foolishly gawking at her. It wasn't like he'd never been aware of just how attractive she was.

But...that bikini...wow!

"What was that?" the heiress asked as she continued applying sunscreen. Luckily for Cody, she hadn't seemed to notice the effect her outfit (or lack thereof) was having on him.

Tearing his gaze away from London and focusing on the Boston skyline, Cody managed to compose himself. He then proceeded to tell the heiress about one of the matters that was bothering him...how his mother's performances had improved so much while he'd been away.

"I'm happy she's doing so well," he concluded. "But does this mean Zack and I have been holding her back?

London could tell that Cody was unhappy at that idea. She wished she had an answer to make him feel better. "Maybe you should ask Carey why she thinks her act got better," the heiress suggested. "Maybe something else is happening in her life that we don't know about, and that's the reason for the change."

"I hadn't thought of that," Cody admitted. "If there's something else going on...something nice that's making Mom happy. That would be great."

"Oooh," London said. "Maybe she's met someone special."

"I think she would have told Zack and me already if that were the case," Cody replied. "But I will talk to her."

"Great," the heiress said. "So, what should we talk about now?"

"Well, there's something else that's on my mind. It has to do with Mik-"

"Oh wait," London interrupted. "I want to turn over before we talk more."

Cody, who been looking at the skyline, turned his gaze back to London at that comment. The rich girl was turning over to lay on her stomach as she continued to soak up the sun.

"Could you put sunscreen on my back?" she asked.

"Sunscreen...me...uh," Cody stammered. If he could barely maintain his composure while looking at her in that bikini, how was he supposed to touch her?

"Come on," London implored. "I don't want to burn."

Taking a deep breath, Cody managed to keep his cool while he began to apply the sunscreen to his friend's back.

"Now, what were you starting to say before?" the heiress asked.

"Uh, we can talk about it later," he replied. It was too difficult for him to concentrate on conversation under these conditions. After finishing with the sunscreen, Cody thanked London for listening to him, made an excuse to leave, and hurried back to his suite.

Then, he took one of the longest cold showers of his life.

To be continued...

author's note: Please read and comment.