Title: Shut Up and Dance
Rating: K
Category: gen, het
Pairings: Davenport/Goddard Relationshippy if you squint, friendshippy if you don't.
Note: Takes place as a sort of tag to "Who Goes Where?" See the end for one more note.
Disclaimer: I don't own Space Cases. This is fluff that I previously posted elsewhere a long long time ago, heavily edited, and reposted here.
Shut Up and Dance
Davenport couldn't help but smile as she watched the students dance together in the command post. It was nice to see them enjoying themselves after a stressful few days aboard the ship. Getting acclimated to their new home was difficult enough without added worries, and certainly without ones like those experienced earlier that day: germ warfare and a young crewmember driven to insanity. T.J. shuddered. Goodness knew what other dreadful things they would encounter during their voyage, and she was in no hurry to find out.
For the moment, all was well. As by-the-book as she was, T.J. also believed the crew needed to have a little fun every now and then. And currently, the students were having fun while also experiencing the traditions of another culture. Could it be possible that they actually enjoyed learning? That was every teacher's dream!
The ship's lights pulsed to the rhythm of the music, and T.J. briefly wondered if this was the Christa's way of dancing. She was content with watching for now, not wanting to embarrass herself in front of the students. Besides, she was not there to have fun; she was there to teach.
T.J. almost imperceptivity tapped her foot to the beat of the music as she glanced in the commander's direction and found him watching her. He approached with a mischievous gleam in his eyes, and T.J. quickly found herself disoriented from spinning around and crashing into Goddard with a shocked "oof!" and very little grace. Before she could regain her bearings, she found herself leaning backward in his arms and gripping his shoulders as he dipped her to the floor. He was grinning properly now, and she couldn't help but laugh as she relaxed in his embrace. "Goodness," she managed to say through a girlish chuckle.
He quickly pulled her upright but didn't let go. She blushed as she realized that her hands were still resting on his arms as they shuffled in place in an awkward slow dance, unsure of who should let go first or of what to do next.
T.J. decided to take the lead, and she couldn't remember the last time she had so much fun. It was not lost on her how many times Seth pulled her close to him during their rendition of the Jitterbug, but she decided it was best to enjoy the dance and not to overthink things just yet.
The music faded out and the dancing came to an end, save for Thelma. The android continued her awkward mechanical jig as the Gizbot zipped around her and inspired a fit of laughter from the young crew.
"Hey, where's Bova?" Rosie wondered through a giggle.
"Dunno. He left pretty early on. It was probably too upbeat for him to have any fun," Catalina guessed, making a face.
"Well it's his loss. Zabagabee!" Rosie offered. "Did I say it right?"
Cat nodded and pumped a fist in the air. "Zabagabee!"
Harlan laughed. "You're so weird, Ring Head."
"Never thought you'd be one to shrug off an excuse for a party," the Saturnian countered with a cheeky grin.
"Me? Nah. I'm a party animal!" Harlan turned to the adults with a sly grin on his face. "Speaking of... Commander, you've got some smooth moves there. And Miss D actually knows how to have fun."
Davenport blushed furiously and attempted to direct everyone's attention elsewhere. "All right, everyone. Time to report to your bunkrooms and get ready for lights out."
The students groaned but obeyed when Goddard offered a pointed look. Rosie made sure Radu took the teddy bear with him with a gleeful reminder that he still needed to name it. Harlan grabbed Catalina's hat and placed it atop his head, jokingly asking the young engineer if he could pull off the look as they exited to the corridor. Davenport and Goddard looked on and shared a smile and a sense of pride at the students' willingness to get along, at least for the time being.
Seth turned to address T.J. "I'll get some rest after I handle...whatever's going on here." He gestured vaguely to the still-dancing android and quirked an eyebrow. "It's possible something went wrong when we were repairing her earlier."
T.J. spared a glance in Thelma's direction and cleared her throat in an effort to prevent herself from laughing at the scene. "Well, hopefully you are able to resolve that fairly quickly. Goodnight, Commander. Thank you for the dance."
He smiled at her. "My pleasure. Goodnight, Miss Davenport."
T.J. ducked her head in an attempt to hide a girlish smile as she entered the code to her quarters and slid down the jumptubes. She had not yet adapted to this way of traveling through the ship, and she shut her eyes to ward off the feeling of vertigo.
When she landed, she found that the ship had taken her to the galley by mistake. Now it was her turn to groan. She suspected the students had reprogrammed the tubes to choose a destination at random whenever she used her access codes. Either that or the ship was being spiteful for some reason.
T.J. carefully entered the commands to take her to her quarters a second time, but she found herself landing back in the galley moments after she slipped into the jumptubes. She grumbled under her breath and tried again, but the third time wasn't a charm.
"Right, then," she addressed the ship. "Perhaps if I wait a few moments you won't be so temperamental?"
She briefly wondered if she was starting to go a little stir crazy. For all the times she'd admonished Catalina, now she was the one talking to the wall. She decided to prepare herself a cup of tea and enjoy the peace while it lasted. Quiet was a rare thing on a ship with five rambunctious teenagers, after all.
After T.J. felt as though she'd had enough time to decompress, she addressed the wall panel with a, "Shall we try this again?" before slowly keying in the code to her quarters, taking a deep breath and sliding down the tubes. This time, she'd landed in the hallway outside her rooms.
"Thank goodness. Well that wasn't so difficult, was it?"
T.J. approached her door and reached to touch the access crystal, pausing when she found a small data disc resting on the controls. Her curiosity was piqued, and she quickly palmed the chip and took it into her room with her. She walked over to her bed, reached for her compupad, and inserted the disc. There were two files—a text file and an audio file—and the text document opened automatically:
T.J.,
Thank you again for the dance. You seemed so relaxed earlier, and I thought maybe you could listen to this to help you unwind a little more often.
Seth
She accessed the audio file, and the joyous sound of Catalina's Saturnian music filled the room: the same song she had danced to with the commander. Davenport chuckled, surprised and touched by the kind gesture.
"Goodness."
T.J. didn't think she would ever fully understand the commander. He could be so stern and—although she would never admit it aloud—he could be quite intimidating at times. But there was another side of him she had been waiting to see: a sensitive side. He had finally shown it to her, and she could only hope he would do so more often. And now it seemed he wanted them to be on a first-name basis (though she supposed it would be awkward if he'd signed the note with his title). All things considered, T.J. deemed it a step in the right direction.
She lowered the volume slightly and set the song to repeat as she prepared for bed. The melody continued as her head hit the pillow and she nodded off to pleasant dreams.
Trivia: Apparently, it's spelled "zabagabee" according to Bill Mumy's old band Barnes & Barnes (and Jewel Staite who sometimes signs autographs this way). Who knew?