Chapter one.

'Jane, you cannot go ballroom dancing when you don't even know the basic waltz.'

Maura sat on Jane's bed, trying for the second time that evening to convince Jane to let her teach her how to dance. Jane, who was searching through her wardrobe trying to find a suitable suit, turned around to face Maura.

'Awh, c'mon Maura! I'm not even gonna be dancing. This is an undercover operation.Not a special edition of 'Come Dancing', featuring Boston police! I'm only there to get DNA from Graham Saunders. If he even turns up... You know, he'd best turn up after me being forced to wear that stupid dress,' Jane argued, glaring repulsively at the dress that was draped across the bed.

'There's nothing wrong with that dress. And besides, I'm coming with you to make sure nothing you do collect is contaminated,' Maura explained, ignoring Jane's pretend look of hurt. 'Me being there too will give you plenty of opportunity to dance.'

'I'm not dancing. Like you said, I can't dance. And there's no way I can learn in one night. In case you hadn't noticed, we go undercover tomorrow,' Jane said with a smart look as she crossed her arms.

Maura sat looking at the dress for several moments, seemingly giving up on her argument. Then her eyes lit up again, and Jane practically read her mind. 'No,' she said, before Maura had even opened her mouth.

'But Jane, we have enough time!'

'No Maura, I'm a terrible dancer. You'd just laugh at me...'

'I would not. C'mon, it'll be fun!' Maura said eagerly, practically jumping off the bed and walking to the CD player. 'Now, what CDs do you have?'

'I don't,' Jane replied instinctively fast.

'You have a CD player but no CDs for it?' Maura asked, confusion evident in her voice as she continued to search for disks. Jane rolled her eyes and walked over to the shelf, pulling down a pile of disk cases. She tossed them lightly onto the bed. 'Here they are...'

Maura turned around and gave a goofy grin. 'You're agreeing to dance?' She asked as she looked at the selection. Without looking up for a reply she continued. 'Ooh, you like U2?'

Jane, who'd by now turned back to looking for a suit, smiled into the wardrobe and nodded her head. She then huffed as she closed the wardrobe doors and turned back around. 'I hate dresses,' she muttered.

'I know you do, but it's only one night Jane,' Maura replied rather carelessly as she turned to the CD player and put the disk in.

'Really Maura, it's eleven at night!' Jane yelled over 'Vertigo', which was now blaring across the room. As much as she tried, it was difficult to suppress a smile when she saw that Maura had started to nod her head to the music.

'Fine, fine. I'll turn it down a little. Now, what number is Beautiful Day?' Maura asked, her voice also raised.

Jane raised her eyebrows slightly. 'A little?' She repeated as she crossed the room and turned the volume down more herself. Now it was only background music. 'Maur, I don't especially want my neighbours calling the cops on me.'

'You are a cop.'

'Detective, actually.'

Maura pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at Jane. 'You didn't answer my question, detective.'

Jane smirked slightly as she picked up the U2 CD case and flipped it over to look at the song list. 'Beautiful Day is song number three, doctor,' she sarcastically replied.

'Thank you. That wasn't so hard now, was it?' Maura rhetorically asked. Jane pulled a face at her and walked back to the bed, sat down on it, and grimaced at the dress now lying next to her.

'Ah ah ah! Unless you're about to finally try that dress on, which I highly doubt you are, come back over here and learn how to dance,' Maura ordered with her arms crossed. Jane looked at her, exasperated.

'Really?' Jane asked.

'Really, really. And we can do this the easy way or the hard way,' Maura added.

Jane let out a small chuckle at how determined her friend was.

After a few moments of silence and Jane still looking down at the dress Maura spoke up. 'I meant it when I said the easy way or the hard way, Jane.'

'Oh I know you did.'

Maura gave her a blank look, waited another moment, and then walked over to stand in front of Jane. 'The hard way?'

'Ok, fine, you win! Please, teach me how to dance.' Jane sighed as she held her hands up.

Maura beamed and took Jane's hands in her own, pulling her back up from the bed. Jane sighed but went along with her friend. She stood back into the spacious area of her bedroom and looked at Maura with a stubborn frown on her face. Maura skipped the CD to the song the correct song, paused it, and turned to stand in front of Jane.

'Now the more standard and simple ballroom dance is most often referred to as the ten dances of international ballroom.'

'Of course you know that,' Jane chipped in.

Ignoring her, Maura pressed on. 'International ballroom dancing allows only closed dance positions, but as it's the most simple to learn and fairly popular, that's the one I'll teach you.'

'Closed dance positions?'

Taking one step closer, Maura lifted her left arm out and up on level to her shoulders, and wrapped her other around Jane's upper back. 'Like this.'

Jane swallowed hard and looked down at Maura. 'Couldn't we just Lindy Hop instead?' she muttered.

'I didn't know you could Lindy Hop!' Maura replied enthusiastically, her eyes shining again.

'Just, one dance at a time, ok?'

Looking only slightly put back, Maura looked from her still raised hand and then back to Jane. 'As I was saying… for a correct closed position, join your right hand with my left, and place your left around my back. Tomorrow night, just reverse everything,' Maura explained. Jane nodded and reluctantly did as Maura had directed. Although she had absolutely no intentions of dancing tomorrow night, she knew better than to try to resist Maura once she'd gotten an idea into her head.

'Now, the basic waltz doesn't really have any big stretches in it. So just try to follow my lead.'

'Maur, I'm not as fast a learner as you are,' Jane whined, but seeing the look on Maura's face she added, 'But, I guess I could give it a try...'

Maura beamed before continuing. 'Take one step back with your left foot, and then take your right back too but step to your right on it. Then bring your left foot to meet it.'

'…Is that it?'

'No, not quite. But let's try what we've got so far.'

Jane gave a small nod and put on her best concentration face.

'Ok, so it's back, side, step together,' Maura said, as she slowly started to lead Jane as she repeated the instructions. After a few rounds of repeating it, Maura's voice trailed off as she watched Jane become more confident with each step. Given the space they had they could only go around in circles, but it was still enough for them.

'You look so serious,' Maura chuckled. Jane realised and smiled a little as she stopped the routine.

'What's next then?'

'You're eager for someone who didn't want to learn,' Maura replied with light humour in her tone. 'After that it's just reversed again. So you do what I was doing and vice-versa,' she said simply.

'So it's just forwards, left, together instead of backwards, right, together?'

'Mm hmm.'

'Well that sounds easy enough.'

'Lead me then,' Maura challenged with a glint in her eye.

Jane cursed inwardly, but always being up for a challenge she slowly stepped forwards and continued the pattern.

'That's it!' Maura said encouragingly as she followed Jane's lead.

Jane started to speed up until they were dancing at what she thought was the standard pace. Her concentration face was back on as she went over the routine in her head. Back, side, together. Forward, side, together.

Jane continued to lead, now with slightly more force. Maura looked up at Jane, again smiling at both the confidence she was showing and her look of concentration. 'Jane…' she began.

'I'm dancing, Maur. I'm, I'm actually doing it. And I'm leading you!'

Maura beamed up at Jane and slowed down their dance until they'd completely stopped. Now they were simply stood together, still in the 'closed position'.

After a brief moment but what seemed more like a minute, Maura finally spoke up. 'Should we try it with the music now?'

Jane gave a hesitant nod, and Maura pulled away from her. Jane stayed where she was while Maura turned the volume of the CD player up slightly, pressed play, and then came back to stand with her.

'May I have this dance?' Maura asked with a smile playing on her lips. The smile was contagious, and Jane couldn't help but return it, even though it was accompanied with a small roll of her eyes.

'You may,' she replied, as she held her right hand up and lightly wrapped her left around Maura's back. Maura stepped into Jane's arms and brought their bodies flush together. Jane looked down at Maura and swallowed hard again, realising how close they were.

'Shall we then?' Maura asked, gently pushing forwards.

Jane let Maura lead and counted her steps carefully, as the song had a faster pace than what they'd just practiced with.

'One, two and a one, two and a…' Jane muttered to herself without realising.

Maura chuckled as she listened to Jane while leading the dance.

'Don't think. Let it be natural to you,' she almost whispered.

One, two…one… Jane's thoughts trailed off. She looked down and their eyes met.

That was when she lost her footing. Jane stumbled forwards into Maura, who quickly let go of Jane's hand and wrapped it around her neck to catch their fall.

'…Whoops…' Maura laughed once they were stable again. She still had both of her arms wrapped around Jane's neck as she looked up at her. Jane, who was now turning a deep shade of scarlet, looked down at Maura.

'My bad…' Jane whispered with an apologetic and almost nervous smile.

'It's ok, Jane. Really,' she replied with a dazzling smile.

Jane and Maura stayed like that for what seemed like minutes, with their arms wrapped around each other. Neither of them could really hear the song playing anymore, though it still wasn't quite finished. They simply looked at one another, before Jane finally glanced away and over Maura's shoulder at the digital clock.

'Maur, it's nearly midnight, and we've got a busy day tomorrow,' Jane said, her voice shaking slightly. Neither of them moved at first, though Maura nodded and looked down to the side. Then she looked back up at Jane and gave her a small smile before slowly pulling away. Jane let her arms fall down to her side as she watched Maura turn, straighten out the barely noticeable creases in her perfectly fitted skirt, and almost mechanically walk back to the CD player.

After a few moments of silence and Jane still not having moved, Maura turned back around from the CD player and looked down at the dress still lying on the bed. 'Would dancing and trying on a dress be too much for one night then?' she asked in a tone that told Jane she was only teasing.

'Don't push your luck.' Jane replied with a grin.

Maura smiled as she sat herself back down onto Jane's bed. Jane hung the dress up into the wardrobe before joining her.

'Thanks for teaching me how to waltz. Even if I don't ever need to know how to,' Jane said, trying to be stubborn.

Maura chuckled and lay down. 'You never know what could happen… I know you loved it really,' she chanced.

Jane looked at Maura, and knowing how much she liked dancing and passing on her knowledge, she nodded her head instead of replying with a sarcastic remark.

'Maybe 'loved' is a slight exaggeration, but it was a fun experience, I'll give you that.' Jane admitted as she lay down next to Maura. They lay in a comfortable silence before drifting off to some well deserved sleep.