Rifiuto: Non Miriena

She tied the frayed pink ribbons on her pointe shoes, humming softly to Arabian.

"Ready?" She looked up, giving Mike her brightest smile. He reached out to her, and she took his hand, allowing him to help her up. But instead of him helping her to her feet, he hoisted her until she was leaning heavily against his hip, his arm wrapped around her.

"Are you?" She asked, glancing sideways at him. He smirked at her, before setting her down. The music floated around the apartment, and the two fell into the easy rhythm of the dance they'd been working so hard on.

Their bodies slid together easily, he hoisted her up before letting her go, their hands slid together as she slid down into the splits. He knelt down, wrapping his arms lightly around her waist and pulling her up, spinning quickly before setting her back on her feet. They lost themselves in the dance, letting their chemistry take over. As they finally finished the dance, they heard applause, and turned to the desk. The webcam was on, and Zoe was sitting at her desk, applauding the duo's practice. Jo pulled away from her partner, going to the desk and leaning over the desk.

"Zoe, you saw that?"

"Um... yeah and it was hot." The teen replied. "Who's the hunk?" Jo glanced over her shoulder at Mike.

"He's my... partner in the pas de deux."

"Is he more than just a dance partner?" Zoe teased, and Jo blushed. "He is! Oh, Jo you have a boyfriend!"

"I'm gonna log off now and go take a quick shower. I'll talk to you later, Zoe." And before the girl could respond, she'd turned the webcam off. "Sorry Mike. She's my... penpal." He held up his hands.

"Don't worry about it."

Back in Eureka, Zoe reluctantly signed off from her webcam and turned up her music. When Carter knocked on the door, she just cranked the music louder.

"Zoe? Zoe! Can you turn the music down?" She rolled her eyes, doing as told before turning to him. "What's with the Christmas music?"

"It's not Christmas music, dad. It's Arabian Coffee from The Nutcracker. Jo sent me the whole show on mp3."

"You're still talking to her?" He asked.

"Why wouldn't I? She's my penpal and she's like... the coolest person in the world."

"Really? Well, did you know that she's toured all over the U.S with several different ballet companies?"

"No. But how would you-" She turned to him as he sat on her bed. "You looked her up? How could you do that?"

"Now, Zoe, I was just checking to make sure she's who she says she is." Carter replied, defending himself.

"Dad, that's an invasion of privacy! You should be arrested-"

"No, I should be thanked for doing that! I want to make sure my daughter isn't talking to any sexual deviants or predators online."

"And what did you find, Sheriff Carter?" SARAH asked; the house was admittedly on Zoe's side.

"I found... absolutely nothing." Carter muttered. "Never had a DUI, never busted for a felony, never done anything illegal, the girl's squeaky clean. So clean she comes with a lemon scent." He looked slightly upset that he'd been proven wrong.

"So, since you found nothing, does that mean that you'll buy me that plane ticket to New York?" Zoe asked hopefully. Carter glared at her. But after several minutes of silence, he nodded.

"Yes, you can spend your week in New York with your penpal."

"Yes! Thank you, Dad!" She threw her arms around him in a hug, before rushing to the computer and pulling up her webcam. She dialed Jo's number, waiting anxiously. "Jo!" The ballerina was sitting on the floor, her feet in a bucket of ice. "Jo, Dad said I could come visit!"

"That's great, Zo." Jo replied, standing and slowly pulling her feet out of the bucket. She whimpered.

"Are you okay?" Jo nodded.

"Yeah, just... a minor sprain during my practice session with Mike. The waterfall didn't exactly go as choreographed and I landed on my ankle."

"Mike? Who's this Mike?" Carter asked, popping into the frame. Jo rolled her eyes.

"Good to see you again, Sheriff Carter. And Mike is my dance partner for the Arabian pas de deux. We were practicing earlier, and a trick didn't go as planned." Jo replied, taking a seat at her desk. She slowly pulled her feet up underneath her and hissed as she pulled a sock on.

"Do you always have random men in your apartment, Ms. Lupo?" Carter asked.

"Mike is my dance partner, Sheriff. There's nothing going on between us, on or off the stage."

"Then what was the chemistry earlier?" Zoe cut in.

"Chemistry?" Carter cried.

"Zoe watched us practice." Jo clarified. "And I already told you, nothing is going on. I'm not that kind of girl. No boyfriends, no lovers, no fiances. I'm married strictly to my dance. Nothing more, nothing less." She slowly lowered her foot. "Besides, we open Friday and we need all the extra practice we can get." She yawned. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed. I'm exhausted and I have class tomorrow morning."

"What... class?" Carter asked as she got up. Jo turned back to the webcam.

"Oh, I'm taking um... psychological anatomy at NYU. My older brother Davie's just got back from Afgan and... he's going through a tough time. I... I want to be able to understand what he's going through. And help him." She gave them both a small smile, tears in her eyes. "'Night."

And without another word, she shut the computer off.