Chapter Text
Music quietly drifted through the empty halls, despite the late hour. The room it emanated from held most of the sound, only becoming silent when the tune faded out. Regardless, another quickly took its place, the only other noise being the scratching of a pencil between each dip in the melody.
Judy knew it was late, but she couldn't help feeling restless. Whether it was anxiety or just the overall predicament her family was in, her adrenaline continued to pump. Exercising didn't help, she had tried walking around the ship, she had also tried the treadmill; It was dark out, which meant she couldn't go for a proper run. Still, her body refused to shut down, creating the decision to instead tackle the psychological. Doing work got her mind busy and distracted, most importantly distracted. It didn't stop her from tapping her pencil every time she lost her train of thought, but it did help her feel a little less helpless.
Her sister probably would have teased her for quizzing herself at...12 o'clock. But with the life or death situations she could feel coming in their foreseeable future, she wanted to increase her efficiency. She was the only doctor they had, a lot of responsibility was on her shoulders—and she quickly realized she was stressing herself out again. With a shake of her head, she dismissed the thoughts, putting her pencil down and sitting back in her chair. Huffing quietly, she decided to focus on the music as the song changed to another one.
Beginning to hum, she returned to writing. Unconsciously bobbing her head and swaying to the song. The distraction didn't last however, as she felt like she was being watched. Instantly looking up, she spotted the robot who seemed to be staring at her. Staring back, they stayed like that for a moment before she went back to her work, briefly glancing up every once in a while. He didn't leave.
Finally, she put her pencil down and stood up, now seeing him closer than before. It was really off putting, especially since she was alone. Only the two of them were awake at this hour. "Is the music too loud?" She hesitantly asked, not quite expecting an answer, but at least hoping to fill the social silence. Without receiving a reply, she made her way over to the stereo anyway and turned the song down despite the fact it was one of her favourites.
Turning, she nearly jumped seeing him standing so close to her, seemingly looking curiously at the system. Reaching out, he pressed the opposite button, cranking the music back up. She wasn't quite sure what to make of that. "Are you asking me to dance?" The joke didn't receive a response. "You know what dancing is, right?" Bobbing her head along to the sound, she was surprised to see him copy her. It would seem that was a yes to both questions then.
"Alright, try this then." Her shoulders shifted from side to side, her partner mirroring her as she began to roll them back individually, taking a step with each one. He was much more stiff, understandably, but he kept up just fine. Gaining confidence, she approached him herself, taking one of his servos and showing him how to spin her around. He complied, twirling her around in tandem with the music before pulling her closer, her back pressed to his front as they swayed together.
The chorus kicked in and she was spun out, before just as quickly being brought back in. The height difference was unmistakable, as they began to move around the room. Facing him, she stood on his feet to avoid getting her own stepped on and to make the movement easier as they danced in circles in time to the music. Looking into the orb in his face, her own smile reflected back at her, surrounded by the millions of beautiful, intelligent light. It almost seemed as if he was smiling back, but she didn't allow the thought to develop, focusing back on the song as the chorus ended.
With her own feet back on the ground, she began to sway as she backed up, motioning him closer. Then she lifted her arms, rotating her hips as she gyrated in a circle. He swiveled around her, before taking her hand again and twirling her, in then out, before the music swelled again. The chorus picking up and she once again stood on him, placing her one hand as far up on his shoulder as she could reach. The table which she had been previously working at was revolved around as they moved together, before she was suddenly dipped, impressed her partner knew the motion.
Her breathing was heavy and fogged against his face due to their proximity. She should have felt intimidated, but she felt good, free. Then she was pulled upright once again. The chorus returned for a final time, so she took his servo and lead him over to the table. Full of giddy energy, she hopped onto one of the chairs, but she still wasn't tall enough. Standing on the table instead, she held the servo and spun her much taller partner around. Aided by his compliance as he turned. Letting his hand go, they instead went to her hips, lifting her up and placing her back onto the ground. Laughter spilled from her lips and they finished the song with one final dip.
The racing of her heart didn't cease, even as they separated. This had not been what she was expecting, but it had been exactly what she needed. "Thank you." She said, still receiving no verbal response, but she wasn't bothered. Walking over to her music player, she checked the time. Not that she truly cared. "I have more songs." She offered, seeing him looking over her shoulder. He only pointed at the back button. "Same one? Okay." Restarting the previous song, the dance started all over again.
John yawned and rubbed his eyes as he spotted his ex-wife standing in the hall. "Maureen?" He questioned, hearing music as he approached her. Then he saw what she was staring at through the window. His daughter and that robot were dancing together. He couldn't help watching, even if he wanted to reprimand her for being up so late. Not that that would fix anything between them.
"What is going on?" Maureen finally spoke, the question wasn't really directed towards him.
"It looks like they're dancing."
"I can see that," She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose before rubbing it. "This thing just shows up, saves our son. Now they're friends and I'm supposed to be okay with that. Maybe I could be. But it saved my daughter and now they're," she gestured into the room. "We know nothing about this thing, I just don't know what to think anymore."
"It looks like they are having fun. I think you should go to bed." He patted her sympathetically on the shoulder. Being out of the loop was his thing, he was used to it, but clearly she wasn't. "We'll talk about it in the morning."