Title: The Dance Lesson Written by: Lis Dunbar Clark E-mail: Wndchimes@aol.com Rating: PG Classification: MSR Spoilers: Not really any Keywords: None Summary: The title says it all. Archive: Yes, but ask first. Disclaimer: The standard disclaimer here. We all know the routine by now. Also, I made up the charecters Darlene and Liz. And I own no rights to "Paper Cup," the song by Heather Nova (from her latest album) or "Iris," the Goo- Goo Dolls song (from the "City of Angels" soundtrack). "Sir, a dance lesson?" Scully squeeked. Skinner nodded from behind his desk. "The Bureau is making all coed partners take a social dance lesson to learn to communicate nonverbally. I leave it in your hands to inform Agent Mulder." <> She frowned, but nodded, knowing it would be no use to argue. ~~~~~~~~ She broke the news to Mulder later that day. His first reaction was to crack up. "A dance lesson?" he laughed. <> "And they call *me* weird." "We don't have a choice," she sighed, beginning to wonder how many toes of hers he would break. "Better get out those dancing shoes Scully," he grinned. "When do we start?" "Tomorrow night. Eight o'clock sharp. Don't be late." ~~~~~~~~ At eight o'clock sharp the next night, half the FBI's coed partners were standing in a large dance hall, looking a little uncomfortable. Among them, the only ones Mulder and Scully really knew were Agents Spender and Fowley. "Alrighty," a tall woman with dark hiar piled on top of her head said, getting everyone's attention. "My name is Darlene and I'll be your instructor. This is Liz, and she's my assistant. First off, lets see how comfortable you all are around eachother. I'm geoing to put on a slow song and I want to see you in closed ballroom, *swaying* to the music. Which, by the way, I picked out of my teenage daughter's collection." One of the agents called out, "What's closed ballroom position?" "Ladies, hand on the man's shoulder. Men, hand at the small of her back. Free hands clasped like this," Darlene said, demonstrating with Liz. Mulder and Scully looked at eachother, their arms in the right positions. <> Scully thought. <> She exhaled slowly, trying to loosen up. <> she told herself. <> Darlene and Liz swept around the room, making sure everyone was in the correct positions. Then she went over to a boombox and started the music. Heather Nova blasted through the speakers. *Wishful thinking I might be yours Drifting on every step* "Come on everyone! Dance!" Darlene called over the slow song. Around the room, couples began swaying a little stiffly. Mulder and Scully swayed as well, more or less to the music. *And every dream is just a dream after all And everything stands so still when you dance Everything spins so fast And the night's in a paper cup When you want it to last* "*Sway* to the music," Mulder whispered, mocking Darlene and making Scully laugh. *Wishful thinking you might be mine* Darlene swished over to them, smiling broadly. "You two are the most relaxed couple by far," she informed them, then moved to where one couple was just standing there. *And every dream is just a dream after all And everything stands so still when you dance Everything spins so fast And the night's in a paper cup When you want it to last* Suddenly, the music shut off. Darlene's voice interrupted Scully's blissful state. "That didn't seem to be working that well, so we'll just jump right in with the cha-cha!" <> Scully thought. "The cha-cha is done in open ballroom position. Men, put out your hands palms up, like so," Darlene demonstrated. "And ladies, put your hands on theirs, palms down. Try it." As soon as she and Liz had checked to make sure everyone had it, she continued. "Men, you always start by moving your left leg forward. Ladies begin just the opposite, right leg back. This is very important to remember. This is what the men will be doing." She went over the simple pattern a few times and made the baffled and somewhat annoyed male agents go through the foot pattern until all of them were kind of comfortable with it. Mulder already knew the cha-cha, having taken lessons as a child at his mother's insistance, and snoozed through the whole explaination. Scully, on the other hand, had spent her younger life as a tomboy and refused to take ballroom, listened carefully to what Darlene was chattering about. Soon, they were ready to start dancing. "Alright. Here we go," Darlene said, turning on the boom box. An upbeat song blared out. The agents all caught onto the movements with a little more enthusiasm, since they weren't so close to their partners. Darlene taught them a few simple foot variations. "Good," the instructor finally said, shutting off the music. Even after it was off, Mulder swore he heard the strong "one, two, cha cha cha" beat in his head. "Now I assume you all know the waltz, so we'll skip it. Now we'll swing dance!" Scully raised an eyebrow. <> Mulder was an okay dancer, but he certainly wasn't very coordinated. <> Darlene interrupted her thoughts. "Alrighty. This dance is also done in open ballroom position. The foot pattern is slow slow, quick quick. Men start on their left foot, and ladies on your right, but you both step forward, like this." She showed the foot steps for both genders and told them to try it. Mulder and Scully quickly caught on, but once in a while, he stopped concentrating and stepped on her toes. "Ow," she squeeked. "Sorry," Mulder said sheepishly. <> To Darlene's somewhat visible surprise, everyone caught on with ease. She taught them some of the many variation and to her delight, they seemed to be enjoying it. Despite the occassional toe stomping, Scully was having the time of her life. <> "Hey, this is fun," Mulder said as they did a dishrag turn. Darlene heard that and beamed brighter. "Look at the time!" she called out suddenly. "Almost ten. We're going to have to wrap it up. But lets try that slow dance thing again, alrighty? I'll turn on a different slow song," Darlene said, rushing to change the CD. "This is also >from my daughter's collection," she added as the Goo- Goo Dolls serenaded out of the speakers. *And I'd give up forever to touch you* As they *swayed* to the music, Mulder didn't look at Scully, but over her head to where Diana and Spender were dancing, as far apart from eachother as possible. *You are the closest to heaven that I'll ever be And I don't want to miss you right now And all I can taste is this moment And all I can breathe is your life* "You know," Mulder said quietly, "I thought tonight would be a total waste. But it actually turned out okay." "Same here," Scully replied. He continued, "And it's not from dancing, though I enjoy *swaying* with you." Scully smiled. "It's because I enjoy being with you. Being near you." Scully took that all in. "But we're near eachother almost every day, Mulder," she pointed out after a beat. *And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming Or the moment of truth in your lies* <> "No, I mean outside of work. Like tonight." She searched his face, but found nothing but earnest longing. <> "I... I feel the same way," she said hurriedly. *When everything's made to be broken I just want you to know who I am* "You do?" the surprise in his voice was unmistaken. She nodded. "Yes, but you know it's next to impossible that we start seeing eachother. It would interfere with our work." <> His face fell. "It won't. We wouldn't let it. If anything, it would make us even closer, work better," he argued. <> "How can we guarentee it wouldn't?" she countered. <> "You care more about work than me?" <> <> "Mulder, you *are* my work, in a sense. Of course I care." *I just want you to know who I am.* He was crushed at that point. "But not enough for us to be... together." "You're putting words in my mouth. I care for you more than anything in the world," she said. <> "So what's the problem?" he persisted. By that time, the music had ended and everyone was leaving, but those two agents didn't notice. She closed her eyes for a second. "I don't know. It just wouldn't seem right." "I'm going to have to say something really cheesy here. Sometimes it's right to do the wrong thing. I read it in a magazine somewhere. And it applies here. How can you know without trying?" He and her heart were teamed up against her brain, and they were winning. <> <> "What do you mean by 'trying'?" she asked cautiously, her mind not allowing her to give in completely. "Dinner? Tomorrow night. And not at some run down place liek we usually go to. A place with cloth napkins," he said, grinning. She thought for a quick second. "Okay,:" she finally said. "Dinner. Then we'll see." <> end