We Will Dance

by Nubiangeek63

Joey finds the girl of his dreams.

Title: We Will Dance
Author: NubianGeek
Summary: Joey finds the girl of his dreams.
Rating: PG

It was the beginning of a new school year. The Tanner household
was busy getting ready for the first day of school. Joey was happy because he
was going to be filling in for Mrs. Miller who was going to be on maternity leave.
When he arrived at school the day before, he saw the most
beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her name was Danielle Winston. She had lovely copper
skin that was not a tan, and beautiful black curls that hung halfway down her
back. He tried not to stare, but was finding it difficult.
He found out that she was to teach fifth grade, which was
supposed to be very difficult. A new housing development that opened in the area brought
in a more violent element into the school system. Ms. Winston would definitely have her hands full.
Joey would be just next door with Michelle's fourth grade
class. As he got his room together, he kept wondering what Danielle was doing next door.
He got an idea. Joey went next door.

"Hi."

Danielle, who was on a step ladder when he came in, almost fell when she heard his voice. Joey caught her before she could fall.

"Oh, I didn't hear you come in."

"Sorry, I came to borrow some masking tape." Joey said shyly.

Danielle went over to the desk and got the tape for him. Before taking the tape, he stuck out his hand.

"My name is Joey Gladstone." Danielle smiled and shook his hand.

"Danielle Winston."

Joey was suddenly very nervous.

"Uh, thanks for the tape." He said as he left very quickly.
Danielle couldn't understand why he left so quickly. Boy, was he cute, she thought. But, as she contemplated this, she thought that if he were the only guy, he probably wouldn't go for her. She wondered why he left so quickly.
Back in his classroom, Joey felt really stupid.

"Why did I run out of there?" he thought.

He wanted to ask her out, but he didn't know how he would do it. But, the more
he thought about it, the more determined he was to do it.

As they arrived for the first day of school, Joey was both
excited and apprehensive. He stood in the teacher's lounge now, having one last
cup of coffee.
"Good morning." Danielle said.
It was Danielle. Joey almost spilled his coffee.
"Are you worried about today?" she asked. She could see that he
was a little nervous. "Remember, be firm." she smiled as did Joey. They both
recognized advice given by veterans to first-year teachers.
"Have a good day." she said as she left. Joey swallowed hard as
he watched her go.
The first thing Joey noticed was the combination of the students
in her class. He saw a lot of faces that he had never seen before. He tried very hard
to include every child in the room, but he could tell that it was going to be
difficult.
Part of the problem was that each child wanted to learn. This
was not the case. At the end of the day, Joey was exhausted. As he noticed that
Danielle was leaving as well.
"How'd it go?" she called cheerfully. How in the world could she be so
cheerful.
"Aren't you tired?" he asked.
"Of course, I'm tired. It doesn't mean that it wasn't a good day."
Joey looked back on his day and realized that there might have been some positive things that happened.
"You're going to be exhausted for the next week or so. Then, it gets better."
Joey stared deeply into her eyes barely hearing what she was saying. He forced himself to break the contact.
"I'll see you tomorrow." he said quickly and then, left.
Danielle thought for sure that he was going to ask her out. And, when he didn't, she was very disappointed.
Danielle was not the type of girl to ask a man out; she was afraid of the rejection. Besides, she didn't know how Joey would feel about going out with a Black woman. Why, oh why was the game of love so complicated.

A couple of days later, Joey was unusually quiet. No one seemed to notice because of all of the first week of school stuff that was going on. The kids had many beginning of school stories to share. When Danny asked Michelle how school was going, she said, "It sucks." All movement stopped. Everyone was silent. They were shocked at her language. She had not been brought up to talk that way.
"Michelle, we don't talk that way in this house." Danny said.
Michelle made a sound with her mouth that Joey had heard several times in the
past few days. That, along with rolling her eyes, made them think that she had gotten this from the other kids.
"Michelle, go to your room." Danny heard himself saying.
Everyone at the table was shocked.
"Whatever." Michelle said as she ran up the stairs.
"Danny, let me go talk to her." Joey said. Danny nodded. He was clearly upset by the whole incident.
Joey knocked on Michelle's door.
"Go away, I don't want to talk."
"Come on Michelle, it's me, Joey." Joey heard the lock on the door turn, and
the door opened. Joey had no idea what he was going to say. He was going to have
to play it by ear.
"Why are you talking and acting like you did at the table?" At first, Joey didn't think that she was going to answer him.
"Everybody talks that way." she said.
Joey knew that was not true, but he didn't say that to Michelle.
"So, you've made some new friends. . ."
Michelle rolled her eyes.
"They're cool."
Joey didn't know if he'd be able to get through to her or not. He'd have to talk
to Danielle to see if she could help.
"You know Michelle, we're all here for you if you ever want to talk."
He knew that this was a lame way out, but Michelle didn't yet think that what
she was doing was wrong. She paused for a moment. Joey thought that he had broken
through, but she quickly put the facade back into place.

By now, Joey had gotten used to seeing Danielle in the teacher's lounge before
school. There she was getting her morning cup of coffee.
"Hi Joey." She tried not to seem overly excited to see him, but she was. Today
he looked really down.
"Are you all right?" she asked softly. She put her hand on his
shoulder, and he almost jumped out of his skin.
"Uh, actually I wanted to talk to you about Michelle."
They had a few minutes before school started, so Joey explained
everything to her. Danielle sat and let him talk while she just listened. Joey really liked that about
her.
"We'll, it's interesting that you mention the problem with
Michelle. I'm noticing a lot of changes in my other students, too."
Joey didn't know if this made him feel better or not.
"If you don't act like you're down', you get picked on. A lot of them are
doing it just to survive. Others think that it's cool –– like they're supposed to act
that way."
Joey looked dejected.
"Hey, we can deal with this. We just need to keep our eyes open and make sure
that nothing else is going on."

Danny met Joey for lunch. It wasn't so much that he want to see Joey as much
as it was that he wanted to spy on Michelle.
"So, how are things going on between you and Ms. Winston?" Danny asked to
change the subject. Joey had been trying to put the whole thing out of his mind.
Now, everything had come crashing back.
"I want to ask her out, but we only talk about school when we're together."
Danny nodded.
"Yeah, been there." They both nodded.
Suddenly, Danielle stuck her head in the doorway.
"Joey, I need your help. There's a fight." The two men got up immediately and followed Danielle out the
door. Two boys were fighting on the playground. It only took a minute for Joey and
Danny to split the boys apart.
After this, Danielle happened to look over by the fence and saw a group of
older boys on the other side. She looked from them to one the boys who had been
fighting. The boy was making eye contact with the boys behind the fence. Danielle
immediately went over to the fence.

"You boys get out of here."
Joey looked up and saw Danielle heading for what was obviously a
gang..
"Danielle . . ."
He ran toward her. The boys were laughing at her now. Even though she had
done this very brave thing, she was absolutely scared to death.
"Don't get in our way lady. We might have to hurt you." They laughed again.
By this time, Joey was right behind Danielle. He gently put his hand on her arm.
"Get out of here, or we'll call the police." Joey said. His voice was even. It was
clear that he meant business. The boys simply laughed and slowly walked down the street.
By this time, the principal was there, and escorted the two boys to her office.
Danielle was still standing there, even though the boys had
gone. Joey could tell that she was frightened. He still had his hand on her arm. He could
feel her shaking.
"It's all right now. They're gone."
Danielle turned and looked at him. Oh, how he wanted to take her
in his arms, but he refrained, realizing that they were in the middle of the
schoolyard.
"Come on, let's go back inside."

Danny invited Danielle to dinner at the Tanner house that
evening. Joey was grateful, but he was still mad at himself for not asking her himself.
Danielle had wished that Joey had asked her but she was satisfied that she
would be there with Joey.
They all sat around the table, and Danielle missed her own family. She missed
the huge Sunday dinners. She smiled at this thought, and didn't notice that Joey
was watching her very closely. This exchange was not missed byRebecca, who
thought it was endearing.
The kids, including Michelle, had eaten earlier. The fact that one of the teachers
from school was having dinner at their house was not lost on her. She had seen
what happened at school that day, and the principal had talked to all of the fourth
and fifth graders that afternoon.
She didn't see what the big deal was, anyway. Andy had it coming to him –– the
dork.
"Why would a good kid like Michelle act the way she is?" Rebecca asked.They had gone to the living room after dinner for coffee.
"The young people today are filled with hopelessness. The word they always
use is whatever'." Danielle was saying. They had heard Michelle use that word.
"We have to let them know that there is hope." Joey said. Every adult in the Tanner household pledged to do what they could, even though no one really know how this was to be done.
When Danielle got up to leave, Joey stood and offered to walk her out to her car. Out on the porch, Joey didn't know what to do. He stuck both hands in his pockets and shifted from one foot to the other.
"Danielle, I need to talk to you." He couldn't believe that he was even saying these words.
Danielle stopped and looked at Joey. She could tell that he wanted to discuss something serious with her. Instead, Joey did a Popeye impersonation. Danielle had heard
about Joey's antics from other teachers, but had never experienced it herself. She
could tell that he was doing it because he was nervous. She smiled and put her hand
on his cheek She could tell that, whatever it was that he wanted to say, he wasn't
ready to say it.
"I don't know what it is that you want to say, but as soon as you're ready, you
just let me know." With that, she was gone.
Joey swallowed hard. It was several minutes before he could move further.

Danny and Jesse came out onto the porch when they were sure that Danielle was gone.
"Well, how'd it go?" Danny asked.
"Oh, I am such an idiot." Joey said.
He told them about his lapse into Popeye. Danny and Jesse just smiled.
"I get so nervous when I'm around her. She probably thinks I'm
a dork."
"Look, Joey. We saw the way you were looking at her, and we saw the way she
was looking at you." Joey's eyes widened at hearing this news.
"Really?" he asked.
The three had walked back inside the house where Rebecca heard them talking.
"Oh Joey, it was so obvious. She watched you as you talked, but when you
looked at her, she quickly turned away."
Could it be that she was agonizing all of this time, and that she really did like
him? He'd have to find out.

The next day, Joey arrived at school determined to ask Danielle out on a date.
He went into the teacher's lounge, but found that there were several other teachers there as well. It was payday Friday, so there was food in the lounge brought in by the teachers. He saw Danielle across the room eating a Danish with the ever-present cup of coffee.
She saw him come in and saw how awkward he looked. Danielle made
her way over to where Joey stood.
"Did you need to see me about something?" she asked softly. She
was looking at him again.
"Uh, yeah. Can you come to my room?"
Danielle followed him back to his room. She had wondered since the night before, what he had wanted to talk about.
"I, uh, wanted to ask you out on a date."
It was as if all of the air had been sucked out of the room. Joey realized that it
was only because he hadn't breathed.
"I'd love to." Danielle said with a smile.
"You can breathe now." She said as she giggled and picked up her Danish and
coffee. She headed for the door.
"Oh Joey, it's about time." She said as she left.
It took Joey a minute to realize that Danielle had said yes.

Danielle was extremely happy. She and Joey had lunch together in
her room the next day. They had a wonderful time. Joey was the funny, charming guy
that she had heard so much about.
They had made plans to have dinner that night. So, at four
o'clock, Danielle headed out to her car.
"Oh, no..." she said as she realized that her tires had been slashed.
Danielle immediately froze and began looking around to see who might have
done this. She turned and saw the same group of boys that she had scared off earlier in the week.
"Hey, that's a shame, ma'am. That's a real shame. It looks like
someone is sending you a message." They laughed and smacked hands. Danielle began to back up. She was terrified.
"Danielle, are you okay?" Joey asked as he came out of the
building. Danielle turned and ran into Joey's arms. Joey was shocked, but realized that
she was scared. By the time Joey looked up, the boys had run off.
Danielle suddenly realized that she was in Joey's arms. She
immediately felt embarrassed, and stepped back.
"I'm sorry."
Joey next saw Danielle's slashed tires.
"Oh, wow, did those boys do that?" he asked.
"I don't know. I didn't actually see them do it. But, they acted
very suspicious."
They both thought about the danger that she could have been in.
"It looks like you're going to need a ride home."
Before they left, Danielle called the Auto Club to come and fix
her tires and to drop off her car at her house.
In the meantime, Joey took her home.
"Would you like to stay for dinner?" she asked.
Joey almost answered before she even finished the question. They
both laughed nervously at this.
Joey sat in the kitchen as Danielle prepared pasta and sauce. They talked as she
did this, and Joey thought about how good this felt. Joey couldn't believe that this
beautiful woman was interested in him.
A few minutes later, Danielle placed two plates of pasta andbroccoli on the table as well as a plate of garlic bread. Joey's mouth began to water
just from looking at the food. Danielle smiled as she saw him.
Joey was not disappointed, as he began to eat. He was actually speechless for several minutes as he savored the food.
After a while, Danielle asked, "Is it good?"
Joey looked surprised that she would even ask.
"This is great."
It felt good to watch him eat. When they were finished, Joey was stuffed.
"Let's go into the living room for coffee. Are you sure you don't want
dessert?" Danielle said as she pulled out a perfectly delicious looking cherry cheese
cake.
"Whoa, that looks good."
So, they took the dessert and coffee into the living room. Joey looked around. It
was a very charming room with glowing candles and lots of pictures of family and
former students. He also saw what really pleased him.
"You're an old movie buff?"
"Yes, especially Marx Brothers and Abbott and Costello."
She had several framed movie posters in the room, and Joey looked at each
one.
They sat on the couch. Joey had noticed that Danielle had turned on some soft
Jazz. It was very nice.
Joey started to get nervous because he really wanted to kiss Danielle.
Danielle sensed that Joey really wanted to kiss her. She definitely wanted him to,
but she wondered if he actually would try to kiss her. She had guessed that maybe
he was too shy.
Finally, all joking was put aside. Joey looked at Danielle
seriously.
"Danielle. . ." Joey started. He had trouble figuring out what
to say. Danielle touched his hand to try to give him the courage that he needed. Joey
cradled her chin with his other hand. He knew that he was going to do it now. He
leaned forward and touched his lips to hers. He felt his heart beat
increase. Joey continued kissing her deeply, and Danielle kissed him back. Eventually, they broke apart.
"Wow, that was . . . awesome." Joey said. Danielle was a little embarrassed.
She was so beautiful, Joey thought. He stroked her chin lovingly. He was falling in
love with this woman.

Danny could swear that Joey was floating on cloud nine when he
got home.
"I take it you had a good time?" he asked. Joey just smiled and nodded. He had fallen hard for this girl,
but he wasn't quite ready to talk about it. He wanted to keep what that had to himself
for now.
The next day at school, Danielle watched the kids filter in. Her
eyes were drawn to Michelle as she walked into Joey's room. She and Joey had
discussed some of the things that Michelle was going through. She saw her now as she
hung around with girls that Danielle could tell was not the usual sort of girls
that Michelle hung around with.
"Michelle, can I see you for a second?" She saw Michelle roll her eyes, but she
came into Danielle's classroom.
"I just wanted to let you know that I'm here if you need to
talk." Michelle listened to what Danielle had to say for a couple of minutes, and
then said,
"You know, just cause you're dating Joey now doesn't mean that you can become my best friend." With that, she turned and went into her classroom. Truth be told, Danielle had not even been thinking about her relationship with Joey when she talked to Michelle. She, basically, saw a child in
trouble and tried to help. Now, she was afraid that this would come between she and Joey.
It was too late to ponder this further because her class was about to start.

At lunch that day, Michelle ate with the new group of girls she
had been hanging out with. She thought about what Ms. Winston had said, as she
listened to the conversations that wee going on. She was torn. On the one hand, she
wanted to be popular and, on the other hand, she wanted to do what pleased her
father. The girls were now talking about one of the girls whose family was poor. They
were making fun of her. Michelle did not want to add to this conversation.

"Joey, can I talk to you?" Danielle asked cautiously. Joey smiled. He was really
glad to see her.
"Sure, come on in."
It was lunch time, and Joey had decided to eat while he graded papers.
"Do you want half my sandwich?" he asked.
"No, that's okay. I've got my lunch." She had a thermos of soup
that she had brought.
"Okay, so what did you want to talk about?" He was afraid to ask. He thought
that maybe she had regretted kissing him.
"I tried to talk to Michelle today." Joey just looked at her and waited for her to
continue.
"Well, it was kind of awkward because you and I are dating."
He could see where things were going now.
"Did she say anything to you?" Danielle started to blurt out exactly what
Michelle had said, but instead, she said, "I think that if Michelle
is ever going to trust me to talk to her I'd better not say what we discussed."
Joey was going to push it, but decided not to.
"Okay, just promise me that if she's in any danger you'll come to us?" Danielle nodded.
At that moment, who should appear in the doorway, but Michelle.
"Umm, Ms. Winston. Can I talk to you?" Joey and Danielle smiled at each other.
"I'll take a rain check on lunch, Joey."

The next day, Danielle found not only Michelle in her room, but
also five or six other girls were there as well. They all wanted to talk.
"I can't believe it." Danielle said to Joey when they had dinner
later that night. She was really excited about the breakthrough.
"I won't get into specifics, because I promised, but, basically
they're all afraid."
This was nothing new. Adults had all suspected that the kids
were scared.
"What about the boys from middle school, you know, the ones who
slashed your tires?"
How could she forget?
"We have to do something to keep them away from the school.
They're the reason why the kids are so scared." Danielle said.
"What if we set up a No Bullying Zone at the school. We'll alert
the other teachers to be on the look out for possible bullies."
Danielle liked the sound of that. The lull in conversation
helped to change the subject. Their attention was brought back to them. Joey cleared his
throat and took Danielle's hand.
"These past few days have really been great." Joey started.
Danielle nodded in agreement. Joey leaned forward and kissed her sweetly on the lips. The electricity
was still there. It was too good to be true, Danielle thought. She thought about how
perfect she and Joey were for each other. Joey, too, had been thinking about their relationship. Even
though it had only been a short time, he found his feelings for her deepening.

The next day at the teacher's meeting, Joey and Danielle unveiled
their plan for the No Bullying Zone. The other teachers seemed to be on board and
excited about the idea. The principal would announce it to the students formally the next day.
The gang members from the middle school and high school had been swept away from the school , and the traffic guards had been told to report anyone hanging around outside the school to the police.
"Well Ms. Winston, things really seem to be turning around. You and I make a pretty good team." Joey said.
"We do make a good team." Danielle replied. Joey looked at her seriously.
"And, this is only the beginning."

We Will Dance
Stephen Curtis Chapman

I've watched the sun rise in your eyes
And I've seen the tears fall like the rainYou've seen me fight so brave and strong
You've held my hand when I'm afraid
We've watched the seasons come and go
We'll see them come and go again
But in winter's chill or summer's breeze
One thing will not be changing

Chorus:
We will dance
When the sun is shining in the pouring rain
we'll spin and we'll sway
And we will dance
When the gentle breeze becomes a hurricane
The music will play
And I'll take your hand and hold you close to me
And we will dance

Sometimes it's hard to hold you tight
Sometimes we feel so far apart
Sometimes we dance as one
And feel the beating of each other's heart
Some days the dance is slow and sweet
Some days we're bouncing off the walls
But no matter how this world may turn
Our love will keep us from falling and ...

(To Chorus)

The music will play
And I'll hold you close and I won't let go
Even when our steps grow weak and slow
Still I'll take your hand and hold you close to me
And we will dance...