A/N: Sorry it's been so long. I had this written a week ago, but then I took my computer in for what I thought would be a while-you-wait fix and it took them a week. And yes, my only copy of this was on this computer. Oops…

My lovely betas were rodeomom_95 and Mcc101180. Without them this chapter would be missing commas and full of comma splices.

As usual there is a glossary at the end to help explain peculiarly British terms.

EPOV

I had imagined introducing Bella to my parents many times, and I was hoping that I'd be able to do so as my girlfriend. However, I had never imagined it would be like this.

Alice had managed to wheedle the fact that I was going to be singing out of a drunk Bella, and she felt that Mum and Dad had to come and see it. Apparently, Alice hadn't thought it necessary to inform me that they were coming, so the first I heard about it was when they knocked on my dressing room door.

I opened the door expecting it to be a runner telling us our briefing had been pushed forward. Colour me surprised to see my mother.

"Edward! How are you?" Mum gushed, pushing past me into my room.

"Mum, Dad, what're you doing here?" I asked.

"A little birdie told us that you are singing today. We couldn't miss that," Dad explained.

"Alice," I muttered.

"Of course it was Alice, but I'm disappointed that you didn't tell us. Didn't you think we'd want to be here?" Mum asked.

"The producers wanted it to be a secret," I defended.

"I'm sure that didn't include your family. Anyway, we're here now and very excited," Mum enthused.

"How are you, son? Nervous?" Dad enquired.

"When I don't think about it, I'm fine," I responded, trying to hide just how terrified I really was.

"Want a snifter to calm the nerves?" Dad reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a hip flask that was probably full of whisky.

"I'm all right, but thanks for the offer."

"Don't drink and dance!" Mum admonished. Would she ever stop mothering me?

"I wasn't going to anyway!"

Thankfully, the family reunion was interrupted by a knock on my door.

"Come in," I yelled gratefully.

Bella walked in dressed in very little and looking bloody gorgeous. I had seen her in it the previous day but with the adjustments made, it looked even better. The top was transparent except for strategically placed sequins in a slightly swirly pattern, and it was completed by a light blue feather skirt that left very little to the imagination when she stood still and would reveal even more whilst dancing. I had a feeling that I would find it difficult to concentrate on the dancing and would want to stop and gawk at Bella instead.

"Can we run over the dance one last time?" Bella asked before she noticed that I was not alone. "Sorry, I can see you're busy. I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Don't go, let me introduce you," I insisted. "Bella, these are my parents, Esme and Carlisle Cullen."

"Nice to meet you," Bella responded, shaking their hands.

"We've heard so much about you," Mum gushed.

"Pleasure to meet you," my father added.

"How are you finding Strictly, dear?" Mum asked Bella.

"I'm enjoying it, which is all thanks to Edward. I'm very lucky to have him as a partner," Bella replied, flashing me a big smile as she spoke.

"I'm so jealous of you all. I wish I could dance on TV. I used to be such a good dancer, but then I got pregnant…" Mum reminisced, "I don't regret having Edward and Alice at all, but I wish I'd had all of my fifteen minutes of fame!"

"You can have mine if you want," Bella quipped.

Dad and I laughed, but Mum looked shocked. "Enjoy it while it lasts," she advised.

"I'll do my best," Bella responded whilst rolling her eyes at me.

"You were famous, darling, you danced on the stage," my dad chipped in.

"Yes, but I never got to dance on TV!" Mum moaned.

"We had better do some last minute practising, but would you like to go out for a meal after the show?" I asked.

"We're going out with the cast and crew tonight," Bella reminded me.

"Oh yeah, are you staying in London tonight? If so, do you want to do Sunday lunch?" I amended.

"We're staying with Alice and Jasper tonight, so that would be lovely. Will you be joining us, Bella?" Mum prompted.

"I would hate to get in the way," demurred Bella.

"You wouldn't be an imposition," Dad encouraged.

"Are you inviting Jasper and Alice's partners?" Bella enquired.

"No, but you'd be my guest. Please come," I entreated, looking directly into her eyes. I was getting very fed up of being the single one at family meals. Having Bella there would stop me from feeling like a third wheel.

"Okay then," she agreed.

"Fantastic! We better be going. Good luck for the dance and the singing. I'm sure you'll do fantastically well. We'll try and catch you after the show," said Mum, "It was lovely meeting you, Bella."

"It was nice meeting you too," Bella replied, and she was enveloped in a hug by Mum.

"Good luck, son," Dad said. As he gave me a hug, he whispered into my ear, "I like this one and I think you really like her; don't let her slip through your fingers."

I was a bit dumbfounded at my dad's insight, but I was very grateful at his encouragement.

Bella got a handshake from my dad and then they left us.

"Can I have a bit more warning before I meet your parents in future?" Bella asked. "I'd like to be wearing a bit more than this!"

Lining up backstage, Bella didn't seem quite as terrified as she had the previous week. She was still clearly nervous, but she was dancing along to the theme music with everyone else.

For my part, I was more nervous than I had ever been before, and it was only made worse by the fact that we were going to be the last couple to perform. I just wanted to get it over and done with.

I went through the motions of the intro and watched the other couples dance, but I hardly noticed anything. I thought I did quite a good job of covering up my inattention, but Bella could tell I wasn't being myself and kept trying to distract me. She repeatedly commented on some of the things that were happening.

It was really nice to see how Bella was beginning to bond with some of the other celebs and was really pleased with how well they did. She went so far as to hi-five Seth when he came back after his dance.

Even watching Sir Michael actually trip over his own feet and send Charlotte and himself flying across the dance floor during their quickstep did little to distract me from what I was about to do.

I managed to pay attention to Alice and James' dance and was pleased to note that this time he kept his hands to himself. It was evident that Jasper was on tenterhooks about that one, too. I wondered if Alice had introduced him to our parents and whether that had made a difference to his behaviour. Nevertheless, I was grateful that he acted professionally. The judges noticed, too, and commented on the improvement in his hands.

Bella tried all of her tricks to snap me out of my funk and even managed at one point.

"These songs are so boring. They're all clichés. 'She's Always a Woman' is a good song but becomes so generic in this context," Bella moaned.

"I know. But we'll make up for their boredom." I smiled, "We're cool."

"We're cool? Really?" asked Bella, amazed. "I've never been cool,"

"Well, we're certainly the coolest couple here," I stated matter-of-factly.

"Awesome. Are we indie? Indie is so cool."

"We're not indie, but we could be. If you danced in a fugly vintage dress with a big visible tattoo and wearing socks with your shoes and I wore Converse, a suit without a tie and geek glasses."

"Can we do that? That sounds ace." Bella looked so enthusiastic at that prospect. She was practically jumping out of her seat with excitement.

I shook my head. "I don't think the producers would allow it."

"Damn. That sounds like so much fun." Bella sighed.

Finally everyone else had danced and it was our turn.

"And now what everybody has been waiting for, our big surprise of the evening and a Strictly first, Isabella Swan and Edward Cullen dancing the rumba to 'Just Can't Get Enough' performed live for you by Edward himself." Bruce announced, "Last week it was Bella who was in need of the Dutch courage, but this week it's Edward. He was so white I was worried he was a vampire! But the garlic on my breath didn't ward him off, so I guess he's okay! Anyway, here they are in rehearsals."

The camera cut to clips from our rehearsals and I took the chance to snap out of my funk and support Bella.

I looked at Bella and took a deep breath. She smiled and winked at me.

"I'll dance like nobody is watching, provided you sing like no one is listening. Deal?" Bella asked and held her hand out to me.

"Deal," I agreed and shook her hand vigorously before pulling her in for a big hug. "By the way, I thought you were the sexiest woman I'd ever seen before I got the chance to get to know you. Since then you've got even sexier. Dance like you know that." Bella looked at me dumbfounded.

"Can Isabella Swan and her dance partner Edward Cullen take to the stage, please," the voiceover announced.

Bella regained her senses and smiled at me whilst we walked over to our starting positions.

The music started and we began to rumba. Bella was magnificent, so sexy it was difficult to concentrate on what I was supposed to be doing.

Bella shimmied around me and it was time for me to start singing. I took a deep breath and began.

"When I'm with you, baby, I go out of my head,

I just can't get enough, I just can't get enough."

I concentrated on Bella and sang and danced just for her. It was like we were in a little bubble.

All too soon, I sang the last line, "I just can't get enough," and dipped Bella by her neck.

We held our positions for a couple of seconds and there was silence. You could have heard a pin drop. I helped Bella up and she whispered, "I thought that went really well." A whoop of applause rang out and everyone stood up and started cheering.

"We did it!" I yelled, lifting Bella up in a big hug and swung her around.

"No, you did it," she said, hugging me back.

"Alright, put her down now and come over to get judged," Bruce insisted.

We walked over hand in hand to the judges with big smiles on our faces.

"I take it you're pleased with how that went?" asked Bruce.

"I have no idea how the dance went, but I know the singing was fantastic," Bella said.

"That it was. That it was. The man can sing, the man can dance, if he were a comedian I'd fear for my job!" joked Bruce. "Bruno, I think we'll start with you."

"I thought you two were smouldering last week; this week you two are a full blown forest fire. Do you need to get a room? I don't know if it was Edward singing or what, but whatever it was, keep it up!" Bruno yelled.

Bella blushed fuchsia at the comment.

Alesha was rather less embarrassing. "Wow, Edward, your singing was amazing, and I know some people who I'm sure would love to give you a record deal. Your singing aside, you two danced so beautifully together. Bella, well done on the last move, that is a very tough one and to manage it in the second week it's astonishing."

Craig went over the technicalities. "Bella, your legs weren't quite straight enough, and you needed to sit into your hips a little bit more, but apart from that it was pretty good."

Lastly, Len gave us his verdict, "Edward, you have a fantastic voice. That was very impressive and I liked how you intertwined it with choreography. Bella, you did very well for a second week. However, you do need to improve in the ways that Craig mentioned. You portrayed a couple in love marvellously. Do you have any acting experience, Bella?"

"No."

"Well, either you're naturally talented or you're not acting…"

Bella blushed bright red.

"Stop picking on her, Len!" Bruce chided. "Why don't you two join Tess to get your scores?"

We rushed backstage and over to Tess.

"That was fantastic, and if you release that song, Edward, I'll be first in line to buy it," Tess commented.

"Thank you," I replied, feeling embarrassed.

"The results are now in. Over to the judges," said Tess.

"Craig Revel Horwood," the voiceover said.

"As it's a dance show, I'm only marking you on the dance, not the singing. Seven," Craig said.

I hugged Bella; that was a good score for week two, especially for Craig.

"Alesha Dixon."

"I would love to include the singing in it, but I'm afraid I can't. But that neck dip was awesome. Eight!"

"Len Goodman."

"Keep up the hard work. Eight!"

"Bruno Tolioni."

"I hope that all your dances are this hot. Eight!"

I hugged Bella even tighter. Thirty-one was an excellent score and we were top of the leader-board. But more importantly than that, I had conquered my fear. I had spent so long keeping my love of music secret, keeping my talent secret. Then Bella came along and forced me to embrace my fears. I was so grateful to have her as my partner. None of my previous partners had cared about me; none had tried to really get to know me or tried to help me. Bella was different and has changed my life forever.

While the people at home voted, they were kept entertained by behind the scenes footage of us practising and then had the musical stylings of Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow who were performing their deadly dull new single. Emmett and Rose were the lucky professionals to get to dance to that one.

When the cameras were not filming us, I had a very excited Alice to contend with; she would not stop telling me how proud she was of me. Thankfully, Bella kept deflecting her by talking about fashion. Eventually Jasper pulled her away from me entirely, but only after she insisted that we would be celebrating properly after the show.

The time came for the weekly torture of announcing the results. The producers insisted on making it as stressful an experience as possible. Each pair of dancers stood underneath a spotlight and in random order they announced who was through, down to the final two.

"If we call your name you are automatically through to the next round and don't have to dance again to secure your place in next week's show," Bruce informed us. As if we or the audience weren't fully aware of how it worked. "But two couples will be in the dance off."

"James Kelly and Alice Whitlock," Tess revealed.

"Leah Clearwater and Sam Uley," said Bruce.

"Jessica Stanley and Jasper Whitlock."

"Seth Clarke and Victoria Morgan."

"Peter Trelawney and Tanya Palin."

"Jacob Black and Rosalie Hale."

Shit. We hadn't been called yet and there were only three couples left. I was covered in a cold sweat and Bella was very tense. Normally I wasn't too bothered when I got kicked out of the competition, but then I didn't particularly like my partners. Now I was desperate to get more time with Bella.

They were dragging out the dramatic pause and I was very close to yelling at them to get the fuck on with it when Tess finally opened her mouth.

"The final couple safely through is Isabella Swan and Edward Cullen," she announced.

Well thank Christ for that. I gave Bella a massive hug of relief.

"I thought we were done for," she whispered.

"We'd have survived even if we were in the dance off, it was a bloody good dance," I told her.

"And an even better song," she replied.

"So that means that in the dance off we have Sir Michael Newton and Charlotte Dixie, and Kate Lewis and Laurent Perot. Kate and Laurent were the first to dance tonight so they will be dancing first again. Please take to the stage," Bruce instructed.

Kate and Laurent danced all right but hadn't really improved. Sir Michael and Charlotte, however, hugely improved because Sir Michael didn't trip them up. Ultimately that wasn't enough to keep them in and three out of four judges decided that Sir Michael and Charlotte were not good enough to stay in the competition.

I can't say I was disappointed to see Sir Michael go. I hadn't spent a lot of time talking to him and when I had, I found him to be a self-important tosser. Added to that he kept looking at Bella in ways that I did not approve of…

During their goodbye dance, we joined them on the dance floor to say farewell, but I'm not convinced that anyone was really sorry to see them go, besides Peter who would miss Charlotte. She'd be around quite frequently demonstrating professional dances, so he wouldn't miss her much.

The show ended for the week and the performers and crew went for the typical debriefing. Usually it consisted of self-congratulations on a good show and more farewells to the losers.

I was surprised when Alice stood up and started to speak.

"We all agreed to go out on the town after each show and I accepted the responsibility of organising that. This week we're going slightly further afield to somewhere that I'm really excited about," she informed everyone with a big smile on her face. "Bella's mother owns a bar in Brighton and she's organised a whole Strictly themed evening, and we're the guests of honour! There is a coach that will take us to Brighton and back if you want, and it leaves in an hour. If you could all stay in your costumes, that would be great. We'll see you in the coach!"

Bella had listened to the entire speech, turning increasingly white and her normally plump lips had become a thin line. She was not happy.

Sure enough, as soon as the briefing was over, Bella cornered Alice.

"Alice, what're you playing at?" she demanded.

"Organising a great party," Alice insisted.

"There are plenty of good bars and clubs in London. It is really not necessary to embarrass me by taking us to Scouting," Bella argued.

"I know, but Renee has organised a great night. We're getting free drinks and will be judging their very own dancing competition!"

"Why did you not tell anyone it was a gay bar?"

"I thought it would be a nice surprise," Alice claimed, not entirely convincingly. "Anyway, you're coming. Renee can't wait to see you."

"Ugh! You are so infuriating!" cried Bella as she stormed off.

I ran off after Bella.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I really don't want to be going to Scouting. Particularly not dressed in this thing," she explained.

"Why not?"

"Several reasons, firstly lots of people there remember me as an awkward twenty year old and I'm bound to get lots of comments about how I've grown up. Secondly, it's Paul's favourite club. It is quite likely he'll be there. I don't want to see him, particularly not dressed like a fairy whore."

"I'd like to remind you what you said to me earlier this week. The chance to stick two, possibly metaphorical, fingers up at your critics feels fantastic and should not be missed. Show Paul how well you're doing despite him. Failing that, you're wearing heels that could deliver a killer blow," I argued.

"Do I really have much choice in the matter? If I bail neither Mum nor Alice will let me forget it. We had better get ready, or more accurately start drinking." Bella gave me a hug and walked off to her dressing room.

I in turn went to my dressing room and found my parents there.

"We're so proud of you!" Mum cried, running at me and almost knocking me on the floor with her hug.

"Thanks, Mum," I responded sheepishly.

"You were really good, son," Dad said, slapping me on the back.

"I hadn't realised you were so good. You were always good, but that was phenomenal. Oh! We can all sing carols around the piano this Christmas!" Mum was practically jumping up and down at this prospect.

Dad tried to calm her down. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Anyway, Alice tells us that you young ones are going out tonight. We better let you get ready for it. We'll see you tomorrow at Alice's for lunch. Alice is cooking, so it should be interesting."

"It's not just for the under thirties, you know. You two can come if you want," I offered.

"I'm not sure a gay club is my scene. I'm more of a Blackpool Tower Ballroom kind of girl," Mum replied. " We'll see you tomorrow. Bring Bella with you; I want to get to know her properly."

"I'll see you tomorrow with Bella in tow. Is one p.m. okay?"

"Sounds lovely, see you then. Once again, great job today," said Mum while she gave me a hug.

"Thanks, Mum. See you, Dad." I gave Dad a hug and they both left me alone.

I sat down and let out a long sigh, suddenly feeling tired. I didn't get that much time to myself these days and it was nice to have a few minutes alone to allow everything to sink in.

My repose was interrupted by a knock on the door.

I huffed and yelled, "Come in." Why bother getting up unnecessarily?

Thankfully it was just Bella carrying a sizeable bottle and glasses filled with ice.

"I don't think I'll be able to get through this sober. Care to join me in a pre-gay club binge?" she offered. "I've got some Glenfiddich. Not my usual choice of whisky but it was all I could get at short notice."

"I would love some."

Bella poured two generous measures and handed me one.

"To another week," she toasted.

"To another week," I responded and clinked her glass.

"Is it too early to ask what we're facing this week?" Bella enquired.

"Yes. We should be enjoying ourselves tonight. No work talk," I insisted.

"We're going to a Strictly-themed night at a gay bar. It will be neither enjoyable nor will it be possible to avoid work," Bella argued.

"Fair point. Foxtrot."

"Ugh. Really? I hate the foxtrot," Bella moaned.

"Why?"

"It is so dull. It's just more romantic crap. And the music selection is always so boring," she complained.

"It doesn't have to be that dull."

"Really?"

"Really. It originated as a dance for teenagers in the 1920s. It was meant to be upbeat. But then it became elegant, and then boring," I explained.

"So we could go for a more original style of foxtrot?"

"Indeed."

"How?"

"Well, we could either do an original foxtrot or update the original meaning for today," I clarified.

"We could do it to rock music?" Bella looked very excited at the prospect.

"Yeah. But we should try and tell a story through it, preferably a love story." I tried to sound professional, but I really wanted to perform a love story with Bella.

Bella pondered this for a moment while sipping her whisky. "Could we make a statement about modern times?"

"Where are you going with this?"

"Call me jaded and cynical if you will, but romance doesn't really exist anymore. Men, and women, use it solely to get into their partners' knickers. Long-term couples don't bother at all. Romance only exists in fiction. It is archaic," Bella proposed.

"You clearly haven't been treated well. Romance is mostly just being considerate and having plain good manners. It still exists. I'm romantic," I defended.

"Alright then, how do you display romance today?"

"I am thoughtful to women, bring flowers around regularly, open doors, pay for dinner, take them dancing, listen, flatter, send love notes. That kind of thing. It varies on the girl, romance is very individual."

"Well ,the women you date are very lucky, but I think you are the exception that proves the rule. I accept that there were reasons why Paul wasn't romantic, but my female friends' blokes aren't romantic either," Bella stated, "I think we should do a dance that reflects the normal state of romance today, and I have the perfect song in mind: 'Bad Romance' by Lady Gaga."

"That is a really good song. But I'm not convinced that that is what romance is really like."

"Okay, I'll make you a deal. How about we run a mini-survey tonight about romance and you then choreograph a dance based on the results of that survey," Bella bargained.

"Alright, deal. But I'll win," I bragged.

Bella leaned in closer to me. "Whatever, prepare to have your eyes opened."

"Bring it," I whispered and leaned in towards her. Our faces were mere inches apart; I could've leaned forward so easily…

Thankfully we were interrupted by a knock on the door before we did anything we may have later regretted. We both sat bolt upright as Alice stuck her head round the door.

"You're still here! The coach is leaving in five minutes and you have to be on it. Get a bloody move on!" Alice yelled and virtually dragged us out kicking and screaming. Luckily, Bella managed to grab the bottle of whisky.

A/N:

I'd like to conduct a little survey on romance of my own. The next chapter is entirely written with the expectation of the survey section because I'm rather hoping that you'll answer help me come up with some of the opinions of the dancers. I'm way too opinionated and one-sided (for the record Bella is voicing mine and I admit to being very cynical).

Please answer these questions in a review or PM (either in your opinion or the opinions that you think the characters will likely hold):

1. What does romance mean to you?

2. Do you think romance is important in a relationship?

3. Can only men be romantic?

4. Is romance a thing of the past? Or is it alive and well?

5. Any other comments on romance would also be appreciated.

Glossary for the non-British readers

Dutch courage: Drinking alcohol to improve self-confidence.

Knickers: Ladies underpants.

Snifter: A swig/small mouthful of alcohol.

Tosser: Technically speaking it means one who masturbates. Used to mean an idiot.

Whisky: The correct British spelling. The Irish (and thus American) spelling had an extra e. No idea why…