Skylee opened her mouth to protest but Tom was already scuddling off like some strange sort of British crab with a Daisy leeched to his side. Skylee turned her eyes toward the stage with its innocuous karaoke machine and gulped. She wasn't sure if she wanted to be sick to her stomach or faint or perhaps some bizarre combination of the two.

"Hey, you okay?" Sam's deep, concerned filled voice broke her stare down with the inanimate karaoke machine. One of his large, warm hands came to rest gently on her shoulder, its weight and warmth strangely reassuring.

"I wasn't exactly planning to sing when I suggested it," Skylee said softly. "I was just listing off things that I had heard were on the ship."

"Do you not like singing? Are you no good?" Sam asked, one dark eyebrow quirked up in question.

"I love singing," Skylee admitted and before she knew it, she was spilling her fears softly to Sam who stood there listening quietly. His thumb was rubbing gentle circles over her collarbone, the touch soothing the blonde. Her baby blue eyes looked up at him, filled with fear and nerves when she finished.

"Would it help if I stood up there with you?" He asked softly. "I would offer to sing with you if I could sing," he added with a shake of his head and a wry chuckle. He grinned at Skylee's shy nod and took one of her small hands in his large one, leading her up to the scary machine.

Skylee slowly scrolled through the options on the machine before finally seeing a song that she knew well and was perfect for her deeper range. She picked it and nervously picked up the microphone as the opening notes to Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen. She felt her nerves skittering as the notes filled the bar and panic tried to wash over her. But before she could panic, Sam's strong arms wrapped around her from behind and she found herself relaxing back into his warmth as she tentatively began to sing.

Well I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
Well it goes like this:
The fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah.

Her deeper voice slowly grew in strength as she sang, drawing strength and courage from the tall, quiet man at her back. She even gained enough courage to look over to the bar at Tom and Daisy, though she was fearful of what she would see on their faces.

(Sorry, that post got long and I don't know why I felt the need to pick a song that I love and is actually perfect for my range.)