So, I am new to the SVM world. This is my first all human fic. Any constructive criticism is appreciated. I hope you all enjoy!

Eric POV

"Eric, this is a wonderful opportunity. Promise me you will think about it." My agent and sister Pam said as she left my house. I was on hiatus from my show, Blood Call, and Pam wanted to find a way to bring me into the public eye even more than the exposure the show provided, since it was on cable. She had suggested I accept the offer from Just Dance, a wildly popular mainstream TV show. That had been last week, and I had ultimately agreed, mainly to shut Pam the hell up, but also because I thought the idea sounded like it had the potential to be fun. Today, however, is my first day of training, and to be quite honest, I am nervous as hell. Not that I will ever let on that this makes me want to barf up my Fruit Loops, because I am not the kind of guy who lets a little challenge get to me. I am meeting my new partner at the downtown Los Angeles dance studio that the network had provided. I am a little concerned about meeting my partner, as I have had no dance training, and I'm really not sure how well my 6'4 frame will handle this new experience.

"I can do this, I am a descendent from Vikings," I whisper to no one in particular, as I entered the studio and set eyes on the most gorgeous woman I have ever laid eyes on. "If that is my partner, I am in deep, deep shit." I think as she glanced up and the cameras started taping. Plastering on a smile I hoped wasn't too goofy or cheesy, I closed the door and turned to face her. "Hi, I am Eric Northman," I say extending my hand to my beautiful new partner. "Hi, I am Susannah, but everyone around here just calls me Sookie." She says with a beautiful smile, and I feel my gracious plenty stir to life. "I am dead. How in the hell am I going to make it in this competition with this goddess distracting me?" I think to myself as I released her hand. "If you are ready, I think we had better get started, because we have a lot of material to cover in a very short time!" She said with a genuine grin. "I am as ready as I will ever be!" I say with a laugh.

The course of the next few weeks was slightly brutal. Not only on my new dancing skills, but on my mind as well. I learned so much about her in the few weeks that they had been training it was unreal. I discovered that she was from a little town in Louisiana, called Bon Temps. She was orphaned when she was 7, when a flash flood killed her parents, leaving her and her brother Jason to be raised by her Grandmother, whom she affectionately called Gran. She had started dancing as a way to cope with her parents' deaths, and when her dance instructor saw her natural talent, that was all it took. She progressed through the ranks and was one of the youngest professional dancers on the show. I identified with her, mainly because I lost my parents when I was 10 and had to leave my home in Sweden to live with my aunt in Virginia. I used acting as a way to cope, even back then.

On the day of the final practice before the first show, I decided to go in early and practice on my own. I had gone through the routine twice before Sookie got there. "You are here early! What on earth are you doing here already?" she said smiling. "I wanted to run through the routine a few more times and make sure that I don't make any mistakes." She smiled and walked toward me. "Well, Eric, let's see if all that practice has paid off."

It was finally here. Showtime, and I was about to go out and dance before millions of people on live television. To say I was nervous was a huge understatement. Sookie could tell by my stiffness during warm-up that I was nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof. "Relax Eric! Just imagine it is you and I back at the studio and forget all of the rest." I smirked at her. Easy for her to say. She wasn't about to go out there and possibly make a giant ass out of herself. She was a pro. I was just an actor with lots of free time and an adventurous streak a mile wide. I decided to concentrate on what she said and imagine it was just the two of us in her studio. By the time our names were called, I was about as relaxed as I would ever be.

Sookie POV

I knew I was dead the day the producers told me I would be partnered with Eric Northman. Eric freakin' Northman. Star of the immensely popular cable show Blood Call. I so couldn't be a fan girl right now. I wanted to win this competition this season and not let that dufus Bill Compton win. I swear he seems to get all the good, naturally talented partners and all I ever get are the old codgers who can't pick their feet up enough to dance. I tried to ignore the sparks I felt the day I met him and shook his hand. This was going to be a long season with this kind of chemistry and sexual tension that I knew we were going to have.

I knew Eric had natural talent the moment I started working with him. Even though he was a very tall man, he was the perfect partner for me this season. We slowly started getting to know each other better as the weeks progressed. I told him all about myself, but it was like pulling teeth to get him to even tell me a little about himself. I knew his sister Pam was also his agent and that they were both originally from Sweden. He didn't say much about his parents, other than they told him from an early age to always follow his dreams and to never give up even when he felt it was a hopeless cause. A little Googling one night after I got home from practice told me why he always avoided the subject. His parents, like mine, had passed away when he was young. He was raised by his Aunt Sophie Ann in Manassas, Virginia.

As the weeks went by, his techniques were improving greatly. I was so proud of him taking the initiative the day before our first practice to come in and work on his own. I smiled knowing that he wasn't just some cocky actor who didn't really give a crap about this competition. He was in it to win, and not to get more fans for his show. His practicing had certainly paid off because he was doing even better than the previous day, and at that time he was nearly perfect.

I was a little worried about his nerves getting the better of him on show day, but by the time we hit the floor for our big moment, I knew he was going to do great. I smiled up at him while the host, Sam Merlott, introduced us and had the audience watch a clip package of our meeting. "You are going to do great. Just breathe and it will all be over in a minute and a half." I gave him a little reassuring hug and we took our stance to begin the dance.

Our dance was the cha cha and our song was "Save the Last Dance". The music started and I could tell Eric wasn't missing a step and was doing an amazing job with musicality. When the song was finished and Eric and I walked to the judges table, I was pleasantly surprised, but not at all shocked, to see that we were being given a standing ovation. I held my breath as the judges began their critiquing.

The first judge, an easily excited woman named Tara Thornton, looked like she was going to bounce right out of her seat. "Eric, if you had asked me a month ago who I thought the front runner for this season would be, I would have said I thought it was John Quinn, but after that impressive number you just put on, I have changed my mind. You, my friend, are the one to beat this season!" The thunderous applause of the audience almost made my eardrums burst, but I didn't care. I was too proud of Eric in that moment to care if I heard anything for the rest of the night.

The second judge, a flamboyant man named Lafayette Reynolds, about came across the table and molested Eric as he praised him. "Eric, you are sex on a stick! I have never seen another contestant more with such grace and elegance as you did tonight on the dance floor. I agree with Tara, you are the one to beat this season!" More thunderous applause. I looked up to see Eric beaming down at me. "It was all Sookie here. She is a wonderful teacher. I am just the clay she has to put up with this season and mold into somewhat of a dancer!" he said and I felt my face flame in what I knew was a bright red blush.

I was a little worried about the third judge, a bit of a stiff neck named Russell Edgington, but he too loved our dance and praised Eric's natural abilities. "Mr. Northman, I don't believe I have ever seen someone come out onto this dance floor and perform at the level you just did after only being in training for a few weeks. Ms. Stackhouse must really have got you off and running in the right direction. I commend you on your work Sookie. Very well done both of you!" I smiled and Eric grabbed my hand as Sam announced we would get our scores after the break. I felt a jolt at the joining of our hands, but I was just going to chalk it up to adrenaline. I was too excited and proud of Eric to really consider what else it could be.

As we ran off to the side of the stage to await our judges scores, I gave Eric a giant hug and a kiss on the cheek, causing us both a bit of shock and surprise. "Stupid Sookie, stupid stupid stupid!" I thought to myself. "It is never good to get involved with your partner, even if they are a 6'4 dreamboat. I am just going to have to learn impulse control where he is concerned!" After talking to the annoying co-host of the show, a washed up reality show host named Arlene Fowler, about how proud of Eric I was, and Eric telling her how new all of this was to him, we received our judges scores. Straight 9's! That was the highest ever for week one and we were well ahead of Bill and his partner, a washed up 80's singer named Selah. I looked over at my friend and roommate Amelia and her partner, a well known motorcross driver named Tray Dawson, and saw her beaming with pride. "Great job Sookie!" she mouthed, "I think your partner extraordinaire there wants some of your attention!" I cast a nervous glance upward and saw that trademark smirk that Eric possessed when he was about to be highhanded or say something to me he knew was going to get him a good smack in the arm. Eric just kept on smirking at me, as he said "Feel free to kiss me anytime you want Sookie." Oh boy, this is most definitely going to be a very, very long season. I was so dead.