From lmock@gpu2.srv.ualberta.ca Thu Apr 24 13:45:03 1997 Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: NEW: Lord Of the Dance (1/1) From: lmock@gpu2.srv.ualberta.ca (Loret Mock) -------- The X-Files and the characters of Mulder and Scully are the property of the Brilliant Chris Carter, Fox Broadcasting and Ten Thirteen Productions. No Copyright infringement intended. I saw something that I wanted to share. Hope you enjoy. Lord of The Dance is copywrite Unicorn Entertainment and lets throw in PolyGram Video for good measure too. Rating: PG Relationship V Summary: A follow up to Nutcracker (no need to read it first) Scully tries to interject a little culture into Mulder's life once more. Lord of The Dance By Loret Mock LGW#6 lmock@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca Scully pushed play on her answering machine as she sorted through a week's worth of mail, absently listening to her mother's request for her to call. She had been away at a forensic conference and just returned that afternoon. "Dana, it's Gail." Scully focused on the machine. "I just happen to have two tickets to Lord of The Dance for this evening, and one of my kids have the chicken pox. If you can use them give me a call before three this afternoon, I'm sure you remember the number." The machine clicked off with Gail's parting jab at Dana's lack of communication. Scully smiled anyway, she could hear the grin in her friend's voice. She picked up the phone and punched out the number from memory, glancing at her watch as she did so. "Gail, you're an angel, that show has been sold out forever." "I'm not so sure the heaven's had anything to do with Kelly getting the pox, you should be looking lower." Dana laughed, "what do I owe you for them?" "Lunch tomorrow," Gail said immediately, "then you can tell me all about the show." Scully was about to protest, but Gail wouldn't let her. "Trust me, by tomorrow I'll be thanking you for getting me out of here for a few hours." "It's a date," Scully agreed, knowing better than to argue with a high school debate teacher. "How does Fiore's sound?" "Italian." Scully breathed a silent laugh. "Listen, I gotta go. You can pick up the tickets at the front, they'll want ID. You're FBI badge will go over real well." She dialled her mother's number as she headed for the bedroom. "Mom?" "Dana honey, I'm glad you called." "Did I wake you?" She asked puzzled at the sleepy sound of her voice. "No, I have a cold, which is why I wanted you to phone before you came over here this evening. I don't want you to catch it." "You can't be sick. Gail gave me tickets to the Lord Of The Dance show tonight." "Well, I'm sure you can find someone else to go with you." "Are you sure you're all right?" If her mother didn't sound disappointed about not seeing this show, she must be feeling terrible. "I'll be fine, chicken soup for dinner, and then an early night." "Who doesn't have plans for a Saturday night?" Scully sat dejectedly on her bed. "I'm sure Fox would love to go with you." "Mulder hated the ballet," Scully said absently. "This is nothing like the ballet," her mother reminded her, "I wish I could go with you," she said sounding a little wistful. "Thanks Mom," Scully said quickly, not wanting to make her mother feel bad, "I'll see if he can go. Call you tomorrow." Scully sat staring at the phone. She almost dropped it when it began to ring. "Hello?" "Finally, I was getting ready to try your cel phone. You been home long?" "Just got in, what's up Mulder?" "I was watching the news, and they had a strange occurrence of..." "Mulder, it's Saturday." "I know what day it is, Scully." "What are you doing tonight?" "My laundry, why?" "How would you like to see a show with me?" She asked quickly before she could change her mind or he could drag her off on some wild goose chase. "Sure, you want to catch the revamped Star Wars before it's gone again?" Scully grinned, "That's not quite what I had in mind." Mulder thought . "Romeo & Juliet isn't playing anywhere, is it?" "I was thinking something a little more formal than that," she hedged. "Romeo and Juliet isn't playing at the ballet, is it?" he sounded desperate. "Relax, it's not the ballet." "Oh," he said relieved. "Lord of the Dance is an Irish dance show." "I'm seeing the 'Highland Fling' Scully." "Do you want to go or not?" She was getting upset. "Do I have to wear a suit?" "Yes, but you can wear one of those collarless shirts that don't require a tie." "You are too kind." "I'll pick you up at eight." "What time's the show?" "Nine." "Well, why don't we get something to eat first?" "Because I won't be dressed for "Big Benny's Beef World"." "Scully! You promised never to mention that place," Mulder said, feeling green. "Come on, I'll pick you up at six thirty, and take you some place nice for dinner." "Okay," Scully was smiling again. "But you're buying," he threw in before severing the connection. Scully threw the phone at her pillow in exasperation before going for a shower. ********************** Mulder glanced at his reflection in the mirror as he buttoned his shirt. He shouldn't give Scully such a hard time, but he couldn't help trying to get a rise out of her. The always serious, Dr. Scully. She needed a little fun in her life, and he was going to see that she had a good time tonight. Even if it killed him. ********************** Scully managed to convince her hair that it looked nice in a french roll. Now she was just trying to convince herself. She attacked the pieces around her face with a curling iron, then gave them a good coating of hairspray. After applying her makeup, she returned to her bedroom to dress. Her dress was a modest wine colored one with spaghetti straps, and a side slit up to her thigh. She stood in front of her closet frowning, she couldn't decide if she should wear a jacket over top or not. She scrutinized the matching bolero jacket she held up, when the bell rang, and briefly considered asking Mulder his opinion before nixing that idea. He was hardly Mr. Fashion himself. She slipped the coat on as she went to let him in. "Hey Scully, you look nice." High praise indeed. She smiled, "Thanks. Where are we going to eat, and did you make reservations?" "Reservations?" He parroted. "*Mulder*, I'm not ordering a pizza." "I'm kidding. It's taken care of, we're going to Around the World, they have every kind of food you can imagine." Scully was impressed. The restaurant was near the theatre, so they wouldn't have to rush through their meal. It wasn't flamboyant or gaudy like one would expect from her partner. Inside it gave the impression that it was used to catering to people out for a night on the town. It was also a good thing that Mulder did make the reservations, it was very busy. They were seated right away, and ordered something to drink. Then looked through what was more like a small novel than a menu, and after ordering, sat sipping their drinks. "I'm surprised that you even wanted to go out tonight, Scully. You're usually tired after travelling." She raised her eyebrows, she didn't think he noticed. "I am, but seeing this show was something I couldn't pass up." "It's that good?" Scully nodded, and told him how she got the tickets, and why he was roped into coming with her. "Is your mom alright?" "It's just a cold." "So, give me a run down on this thing we're seeing." "They're a group of Irish step or tap dancers..." "Okay, now I'm seeing Gregory Hines." "Irish dancing is different than that. The traditional dancers have no upper body movement, it's just from the hips or knees down, but this is more modern. The lead dancer in this has won awards for his tapping speed." "Do I sense a fan?" Mulder teased. "He's a fantastic dancer," she said simply, "One thing to keep in mind though, is that their movements are bigger, and more exaggerated that what you would expect." Mulder shook his head silently communicating his confusion as Scully struggled for the words to describe what she meant. "It almost looks like they're showing off, but that's not it, they're trying to tell the story," she finished and looked at Mulder to see if he understood what she was fumbling to say. "Is there a story to it, or are they just dancing?" "I know it's an Irish folk legend, but we'll have to read the program to find out the details." ********************** Mulder and Scully stood on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. Scully glanced at the delicate gold watch on her wrist. "We have time, do you want to walk to the theatre?" "Are you packing?" Mulder grinned. "No, I left it home for a change." "We'll take the car," Mulder decided, even though he *was* 'packing'. Anything to avoid disaster that always seemed to follow them. After parking the car they had a bit of a walk anyway to get into the theatre. Scully used her driver's licence instead of her FBI ID to get the tickets. "We hope you and your gentleman enjoy the show, Miss Scully," the woman smiled as she slid the envelope containing the tickets across the counter to her. Scully smirked as she and Mulder made their way further into the theatre. "That's something I've never been called before," Mulder grinned once they were out of ear shot. Scully laughed softly, it was definitely not a word she would associate with Mulder either. "These are fabulous seats," Scully was almost gushing, "I can't imagine how Gail got them." They were on the floor, centre isle, maybe half a dozen rows back. Mulder had never seen Scully so animated. When he accompanied her to the ballet, she was happy but composed. Now she was so filled with suppressed excitement, she seemed on the verge of flying apart. They settled into their seats comfortably, and looked through their programs. Mulder looked over when he felt Scully's hand on his arm; she so rarely touched him. "I really hope you enjoy this tonight, Mulder," she said sincerely, "it's so different from the ballet." "It feels different," he nodded, "there's a charge to the atmosphere." Scully found she could barely sit still, flipping absently back and forth through her program and checking her watch every two minutes. She hadn't done something so normal in a long time. It felt good. Finally the house lights went down, and a hush came over the crowd. Scully sat, her back ramrod straight, eyes rivetted to the stage. She clutched her opera glasses in one hand and her program in the other. She was going to enjoy this. Mulder watched Scully perk up when the lights went down, and smiled. The phrase 'kid in a candy shop' came to mind. He turned his attention to the stage and watched a kid play the flute. She was called the Little Spirit, he noted from his program. He had to hand it to them on the way the show was done. It was arranged so that the dancers had time to catch their breath and/or change their shoes. (The female performers switched between soft and tap shoes). As things progressed you were introduced to the different characters in the story. The main ones being; Saoirse, the Irish Coleen, and The Lord of the Dance on the good side, and Don Dorcha, the Dark Lord on the evil side. And then there was the Temptress... Scully couldn't stop the grin that spread across her face watching Mulder perk up when Morrighan the Temptress took centre stage, and he borrowed her opera glasses. She elbowed him to give them back when he took too long. "This show just keeps getting better and better," he whispered returning the glasses. After getting a good look at the woman in the red dress, with the long curly black hair, dancing seductively; Scully silently agreed with Mulder's assessment, that she was the cutest thing she had ever seen. The high energy being put out by the cast was infecting every member of the audience, and the two women that played a rousing jig on their violins set everyone's toes tapping. Mulder grinned watching Scully keep time by tapping her hand on her thigh. All too soon act one was over and it was time for intermission. "Well," Scully smiled brilliantly at Mulder, communicating her obvious pleasure, "what do you think?" "I'm having a good time," he said grinning in return. Scully squeezed his arm. "I'm glad," she said twisting in her seat to face him. "I can't believe how fast they can move their feet," he continued, angling himself toward her. Scully nodded, "They keep such a good rhythm, you don't even notice when there isn't any music." Mulder looked genuinely surprised, "They've danced with no music?" "See?" It was nice to see Mulder enthusiastic about something other than aliens and the paranormal for a change. They exchanged comments and opinions for the remainder of the intermission, until the lights went down again. The Little Spirit played her flute until the Dark Lord and his men showed up and took it away from her, breaking it in half. Then they tormented her until the Lord of the Dance came to her rescue, and was joined by his group. Mulder leaned over and whispered in Scully's ear, "Let's get ready to rumble." Scully covered her mouth with one hand to stifle laughter. The Little Spirit broke up the rumble when it came to a stand-off, and got the Lord of the Dance to fix her broken flute. Several numbers later, they came to the final face off between good and evil, and the entire company treated the audience to a final number and a couple of encore's. Scully was flying on the way home, she felt lighter than she had in ages. "If I buy Gail lunch for a month, I won't be able to thank her enough for tonight." "It's too bad your mom had to miss it," Mulder said, "but I have to admit, this was more fun than laundry. Thanks for forcing me to go, Scully." "I didn't *force* you," she said indignantly. Mulder laughed as he pulled up in front of her apartment, "Tell Gail I said thanks when you see her tomorrow." "We'll do. Night Mulder," she said getting out and going inside. ********************** Scully entered her apartment Sunday afternoon. Lunch with Gail was nice, but Scully's pasta got cold while she told her friend all about the show last night. Gail was appropriately jealous for having missed it. She looked toward her answering machine to see if she had any messages and was surprised to find a flat, wrapped package sitting on top of it. She picked it up and flipped the plane white card open that was on it. Scully, Was out today and saw this. Knew I had to get it for you. Mulder She tore the paper open to find a video tape. Michael Flatley, Lord of the Dance. The live show they saw last night on tape. Sometimes Mulder surprised her with his consideration, and she thought that was only reserved for a crisis. She picked up the phone and dialled Mulder's number. "Mulder." "It's me. Thanks for the tape." "No problem." "I was wondering, do you want to come over and watch it?" "I'll bring a pizza." "Mulder, I just had lunch." "Well, I haven't. See you in a bit." Smiling, she tore the plastic wrap off the tape and headed for the VCR. End. ********************** Imagine if you could come back and take out five people who had caused you to suffer. Who would they be? I only get five? I remembered your birthday this year, didn't I Scully?" Mulder to Scully in The List, the best lines of the show IMHO. ********************** --