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Title: B-17

Author: Arny

Character: SID 6.7

Disclaimer: The following story has been written with no intention of claiming ownership

or solicitation, nor does the author claim the movie character(s) as his/her own. The movie

character(s) have been borrowed solely out of a love of the particular movie and is not

intended for any other purpose but amusement and entertainment.

~ @ ~ @ ~ @ ~ @ ~ @ ~ @ ~

Sara stood tapping her barefoot to the music flowing from the jukebox. She was lost inthought. It was three selections for 75 cents, but she was stuck on her last choice.

She sighed in disgust. Jeff had picked the last three songs and his second was now

playing. She was running out of time and her music muses had left her high and dry.

Damning them to an excoriating hell, Sara put her money in the machine. She flippedthrough the playlist til she found her first choice. She punched it in and then her second

one. It bought her some time.

Scanning the playlist again, she began rejecting ones that wouldn't go with Stairway toHeaven or the acoustical version ofHotel California. She knew she was making this tasktoo complicated, but she dreaded returning to theSurprise and shuffling through another

stack of Jack Aubrey's paperwork.

Sid walked into the room looking to cause some mischief. He smiled at the opportunitythat Sara's preoccupation with the jukebox presented him, but erred on the side of

caution. Sara would dismantle him in a heartbeat if he scared her like he had

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unintentionally done the week before. He joined Jeff at the bar and asked, "Is shestumped again?"

"Yeah, mate," Jeff answered, looking up from the magazine he was idly flipping through.

He was waiting for Andy to relieve him since he had a date with Rick. He was amused to

see Sid dressed casually. "Where's the suit?"

"I didn't feel like wearing it," Sid admitted, surprising them both.

"Bloody hell!" Jeff breathed. He pinched himself. "Nope, not dreaming. So, what's thespecial occasion?"

"Sara's birthday."

"Crickey, that's tomorrow, isn't it?"

Sid nodded.

"Well, if you want her complete attention tonight, then you had better get over there andhelp her out," Jeff pointed out. "At this rate, she'll be there til Doomsday."

Sid smirked.

With cat-like grace, Sid slipped up behind Sara. He leaned down putting his mouth levelto her ear and purred his suggestion. "How about Stayin' Alive?"

Startled, Sara jumped and let out a tiny yip. Whirling around, she tried to smack him in

the chest, but stumbled over her feet. Sid caught her before she fell and made a fool ofherself.

"You are going to pay for that, Sidney," she growled.

Sid chuckled. With great reluctance he let her go, but caught her hand in his and broughtit to his lips. He kissed it and then let it go. "Well, how about it?"

"I wouldn't be able to keep a straight face." Sara smiled. She couldn't stay mad at Sid for

long, because his boyish charm always made her forget why she was mad at him for inthe first place.

"You've seen my movie too many times, my dear."

"Inconceivable," she murmured as she gave him a once over. She liked it when hedressed casually. It made him seem more human. "You're slumming today."

He smiled. "I thought today would be a good day to wear my birthday present."

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"Yummy," she teased. The violet silk shirt coupled with navy Dockers made for somedelicious eye candy. "You look good enough to eat."

He giggled. "Tick, tock," he told her. "Hurry up and pick something."

"Why?" she asked, curious.

"I want to take my best friend to the movies."

"What's playing?"

"It's a surprise."

"A scary surprise or a funny one?"

"Not telling."

Sara sighed which turned into a groan when she heard Jeff's last choice begin. "That

damn poofta stole my song!" She scratchedLayla off her mental song list.

Sid laughed. Putting his hands on her shoulders, he turned her to face the jukebox before

embracing her. She settled into his arms and they swayed gently to the music oblivious tothe others in the bar.

Sara didn't care what anyone else at the Point thought of her friendship with Sid. Despite

his twisted programming, he was a pretty good guy to have as a friend. He had becomeher knight in a purple suit by rescuing her from Kenny, who had decided one night to get

a little too friendly with her.

The other brothers had been amazed by this miraculous transformation in Sid's behavior.Normally, he was the instigator of pain and suffering, but Kenny had crossed a line that

even Sid didn't dare to cross.

Sara shivered at the memory and Sid gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"Kashmir?" he suggested, pulling her back to the present.

"No," she replied. "I already have Stairway to Heaven."

"500 Miles?"

"Doesn't go withHotel California."

"American Pie?"

"You want smacked into next week?"

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Sid sighed. "Now, I understand your frustration."

Jeff leaned on the bar watching Sid and Sara still amazed at the sudden change in Sid'sbehavior. Since Sara's arrival, Sid had turned from someone who was barely tolerated

into someone who was pleasant to be around. Jeff firmly believed that it had been Sara's

unconditional friendship that had done the trick.

"Kinda scary how well behaved Sid is with her," Terry commented as he joined Jeff. He

quietly noted how Sid held Sara with astonishing tenderness. It was something the oldSid would have never done. "I keep waiting for the old Sid to return."

"Yeah, mate," Jeff agreed. He popped the top on a VB and handed it to Terry. "I'm stillhaving a hard time getting over the fact that Sara isn't here looking for a connection."

"I think that still has Andy stumped," Terry remarked, nodding toward where Andy stood

transfixed by Sara and Sid. It was a known fact that Andy had developed a bit of a crush

on Sara.

"He's always looking for the deeper meaning in things." Jeff was for once giving his

younger brother the benefit of the doubt.

Terry snorted in derision. "Whatever, mate."

"Gentlemen," Max greeted as he joined them.

"Max," Terry and Jeff greeted in return. Jeff poured him a glass of wine.

Max had overheard their conversation as he had entered the room. He took a sip of winebefore contributing his thoughts. "I find it refreshing that a lady finally arrives seeking

nothing but simple friendship."

"You're still impressed that she didn't go gaga over you," Terry teased his older brother.

"Yes, there is that," Max admitted with a wry grin. Sara's matter-of-fact acceptance of thePoint and its inhabitants had come as a surprise. This had endeared her to Max

immediately. "So what kind of evil do you think they are contemplating?" he askedchanging the subject.

"It doesn't bear thinking about," Jeff remarked as he began wiping down the bar.

"What doesn't bear thinking about?" Andy asked. He had finally managed to pull himselfaway from his Sid and Sara watch.

"Your IQ," Jeff quipped.

Andy flipped Jeff off before getting himself a drink.

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"So have you decided or not?" Sid asked just as Stairway to Heaven began floating out ofthe jukebox.

"Yeah," she replied and leaned forward to punch in her last choice.

Sid saw it and groaned. "And they call me heartless!" he exclaimed.

"Yes," she soothed. "But, I wouldn't have you any other way, pal." She slipped from hisarms and strolled over to the bar.

Sid followed her.

"Two Coronas, Jeff," she ordered. She slipped onto a stool and Sid leaned against the bar

next to her.

"Coming right up, luv." He put two bottles topped with a lime wedge in front of them.

Sara smiled her thanks. With the grace of long practice she twisted the lime wedge and

slipped it into the bottle before taking a long pull. "Boy, I needed that," she said with agrin.

"Worked up a thirst choosing songs, did ya, luv?" Jeff teased.

"No, mate," she retorted with a grin. "It was the mountain of paperwork I spent the pastfive hours sorting through. I know the military is anal retentive, but the Royal Navy of

the early 1800's just takes the cake."

Jeff laughed.

Sara fell silent as she watched Sid toy with his drink while Terry explained thesignificance of the 'bustle in your hedgerow' lyric to Max. It was nice just to relax with

only a few of the Boyz around. It meant that she didn't have to be constantly on guard;watching what she said, when she said it and how she said it. That kind of personal

vigilance exhausted her and frayed her nerves to the breaking point.

"So besides the full version ofStairway to Heaven, what else did you choose?" Terry

asked, breaking into her thoughts. He was tapping his long fingers on the bar in time withthe song.

"The acoustic version ofHotel California," she answered, watching his fingers and

wishing that they were massaging the kinks out of her neck "It sorta reminds me of thePoint."

"True," Terry agreed. "But why do I get the feeling that we aren't going to like your last

choice?"

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"'cause Sid's pouting?"

"Am not," Sid was stung into retorting.

This got a chuckle from Andy, who suddenly found his drink very interesting.

"It's alright, Sid," Sara told him with a gentle pat on the arm as she imagined Andy buried

under an avalanche of paper. "He'll be getting his soon enough."

"That sounds kinky, luv," Jeff remarked with a smirk.

Sara rolled her eyes in mock disbelief. "You're such a perv, Mitchell."

Sid snickered, but refrained from uttering the pithy comment that was on the tip of his

tongue.

"And on that note," she said finishing her beer. "I'll leave you fellas to contemplate thestrangeness of the universe."

They watched her leave the room. To them, she was the perfect example of the

strangeness of the universe. Her dress was eclectic at best, and today she wore a royalgreen tank top that proclaimed herThe Queen of Mean with a pair of green flannel pants

and no shoes.

Terry whistled at her. She turned around and blew him a kiss before slipping out the door.

They immediately turned their attention to Sid, who still toyed with his beer. He had

peeled the label off the bottle and was busy shredding it into tiny pieces.

"What was her last choice, Sid?" Jeff inquired.

"B-17," Sid mumbled, hoping that his brothers wouldn't be inclined to dismantle the

messenger.

There was a collective groan.

"Bloody hell!" Andy exclaimed. "Not again!"

"That woman is the queen of subtle torture, gentlemen," Max commented with a grimace.

"Too right, mate," Terry agreed.

"I almost pulled that CD the other day," Sid said, voicing his desire. "But, I thought John

would kill me. It is the soundtrack to Tina's boat movie."

"She's got another copy in her office," Andy remarked.

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Without a word, Max walked over to the jukebox and pulled the plug before B-17 evenhad a chance to play. He opened the machine and removed the offending CD. He

returned to the bar with it. "What was that game Sara was teaching you yesterday, Sid?"he asked.

"The one with the plastic saucer?" Sid asked.

"Yes."

"She called it Frisbee," Sid replied as his eyes widen in surprise. He caught onto whatMax wanted to do with the offending CD.

"Shall we have a game of Frisbee, gentlemen?" Max inquired with feigned innocence. He

left the room and was quickly followed by the others.

At some point during their game the CD went missing. It was never replaced.

B-17 was My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion.

Jeff's songs were: The Show Must Go On by Queen,Romeo and Julietby Dire Straits andLayla by Derek and the Dominoes.