Dance With Me

by J. Ferguson a.k.a. Timeless A-Peel

Gambit takes a partner. Purdey finds her rhythm.

Disclaimer: I don't own The New Avengers, nor the characters of Steed, Gambit, and Purdey. They belong to The Avengers (Film and TV) Enterprises. This story is written for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement intended.

Timeline: Third in a series. Takes place in late February/early March, 1976, ending with the pre-credits events of the episode "Gnaws." Pre-series, with "The Eagle's Nest" taking place in April, 1976. It is recommended, but not essential, that you go back and read "Aftermath" (now updated) before reading this story.

For more information about the series, please see my profile.

Purdey sat curled up on her bed, jacket tossed casually over a chair, fiddling absently with the collar of her turtleneck that topped off her matching tan tweedy skirt. Her mind was meant to be on the file spread out before her. All about Thornton, already dubbed ‘the man who grows things’ in her mind, and his stolen ‘luminous watch’ research. But every time she read the words, about how Edward Harlow had been the man conducting surveillance security over the scientist and his stolen materials, she saw the dead man lying on the ground, and felt the chill of spring through her clothes. But mostly she saw Gambit, looking drawn and grim. “I knew him slightly.” That’s what he had said, but Purdey thought he looked too grey and drawn for someone who had only passed the man in the hall. She’d been isolated from the job’s grimmer details the past few months—the dead bodies, the chilled morgues, she wasn’t used to those. Her brief foray into the field with Steed and Gambit in December had given her a taste, but not enough to weigh against all those months of training. And besides, the bodies didn’t upset her as much as the implications. If the day came for her to stand by Gambit’s body, would she feign distance, even if her face told a different story? Would Gambit do the same for her? She wasn’t certain she could manage that level of control if Gambit met his end, certainly not after the past month. Their natural connection had been strengthened and nurtured to the point that it would be tantamount to suicide to sever it before heading out in the field, not to mention an end to their personal relationship. Besides, she didn’t particularly want to lose the strange intimacy she had with Gambit. She didn’t want to stop dancing…

But she could make certain there was that little bit of space between them, that she maintained that little step that would keep her from going over the line that she had felt herself toy with crossing on the course. She’d have to remember to keep dancing with him as a friend, not as a lover, no matter if her heart tried to convince her otherwise. Because she’d need it if something happened. She closed her eyes. Please don’t let it. Not another one. But she could remember her father all too well, and how easy it was to lose someone in this business.

And she could remember Larry.

That was another reason for the space. But then again, she’d never danced much with Larry. He hadn’t been good at it, hadn’t enjoyed it. And he certainly hadn’t been able to hold her so close without stepping over that line, as Gambit had. She could feel Mike’s body to hers, now, remembered being at ease, unafraid, because she knew that if the time was right, he would let her lead, and if she wasn’t ready, that he’d pick up the slack until she was.

Suddenly the turtleneck was too hot.

There was a knock at the door. Purdey was jerked from her reverie and only just managed to regain control over her voice to ask “Who is it?”

“It’s me.” Undeniably Gambit. Purdey swallowed hard and glanced down at herself to ensure she was still presentable, that her hands hadn’t become Gambit’s in her dream and taken on a life of their own.

“It’s not locked,” she called, not bothering to get up. She heard Gambit ease the door open, close it behind him, and she followed the rocking steps on their journey toward her. Mike appeared around the corner of her entryway, pushed the beaded curtain aside, smiled tiredly.

“Hi,” he greeted, voice rough, likely from asking questions. She knew hers was from her visit to Thornton’s office, and she’d left Gambit with Harlow’s body. He’d probably been phoning around for leads in between checks to the morgue. Either way, the earlier buoyancy earned from their successful run had been chased away by shadows.

“Hi,” she replied unimaginatively, dropping her eyes to the file when the blue-green ones became too much. Her mind was betraying her, whispering suggestions about where to seek comfort in uncertainty, ironically from the same source she was determined to refuse for the sake of her own sanity. She heard Gambit sigh, step inside—a careful step, one calculated to be as unthreatening as possible. He only needed the wall to lean against, Purdey realized when she looked back up, and she couldn’t begrudge him that support.

“I hope you had better luck than I did,” he murmured after a moment.

Purdey blinked. “Sorry, what?”

“Thornton,” Gambit elaborated, pointing his chin at the file, still open in front of her on the bed. “Any connection between his missing research and Harlow’s surveillance?”

“No,” Purdey sighed, stretching her long legs out in front of her. “Thornton doesn’t even seem particularly worried about what’s gone missing. ‘No more dangerous than the dial of a luminous watch,’ was how he put it. I’ve tried, but I can’t find a connection between Harlow and the robbery. There might not even be one.”

“No,” Gambit agreed, pushing away from the wall and strolling over to sit on the edge of her bed. “There might not.” He rubbed his face. “I didn’t find a damn thing, either. All I know is Harlow met up with someone who knew how to fight just as well or better than he did. Autopsy confirmed it was the one blow that killed him. He could’ve been after any one of their people and bitten off more than he could chew.” He ran his fingers through the dark curls, and Purdey fought to keep her breathing even.

“You sound as though you knew him better than slightly,” she prodded gently. “I mean, if you knew that he could handle himself in a fight.”

Gambit shrugged. “We weren’t best mates or anything, but we ran a few assignments together, and sometimes he was along when we went down the pub.” He contemplated the other, more significant relation, debated how much he could tell Purdey without her asking more questions than already wanted to. “And we had a bit of a shared background. Both in the army at one point.” Both assassinating people when we should have been doing something else.

“Really?” Purdey sounded interested. “I thought you were in the navy?”

“I was,” Gambit said gruffly, in a voice that invited no further discussion. He didn’t want to dwell on that chapter of his past, not now. Didn’t want to tell Purdey that he’d seen himself lying on the cold ground. Dead. Trained, capable of defending himself, killing with his bare hands, but dead nonetheless. All alone. With no one to notice until he was overdue for reporting in. Because Harlow liked to work alone. The way Gambit did. Or had. But he didn’t have to, not anymore. There was Purdey now. And where there was Purdey, there’d be Steed. And those were two people he trusted enough to come running before he joined Harlow in the earth. He glanced up at the girl now, at the bright blue eyes that would see so much more than she could even contemplate, but would somehow find a way to shine on. Suddenly, Mike Gambit knew he was very, very lucky. Even if there wasn’t another boat in his future, at least he wasn’t alone.

“Let’s go out,” he suggested, leaning in so her eyes would meet his own.

Purdey frowned. “Now?”

“It’s just gone seven,” Gambit pointed out. “If we hurry we can have dinner. And then…”

Purdey crossed her arms expectantly. “If you say ‘afters at my place,’ I think I shall scream.”

“You wound me,” Gambit emoted melodramatically. “Although it’s a good thought.”

“Gambit…”

“It was dancing I had in mind,” Mike added quickly. “We did say we were going to get around to it.”

“In December,” Purdey pointed out.

“Better late than never. We’re not making any progress on the assignment—not tonight at any rate. And we still have to celebrate our run on the course today.” His eyes were shining again, buoyed by the idea, and Purdey felt her own heart lift.

“No one’s taken me dancing in a very long time,” she said thoughtfully. “Most men aren’t interested.”

“Their loss,” Gambit said appreciatively. “I can change and be back in half an hour.”

“Twenty minutes,” Purdey clarified, looking back down at her turtleneck and wooly skirt. “I think I’ll find something a little more festive.” She was already climbing off the bed and moving to her closet. “I hope you know some good restaurants. I’m starving.”

“How does Italian sound?”

“Heavenly. As long as they don’t skimp on the breadsticks,” Purdey said from among her dresses.

“Nothing to fear on that end,” Gambit said with a smile, standing himself. “I’ll see you later.”

“I’ll be ready.”

She was, too, in a knee-length light blue number that brought out her eyes, complete with a wrap to ward off the spring chill. He couldn’t take his eyes off her all through dinner, but it wasn’t just her face, but what she did with it, the way she laughed, and chatted, and brought the evening to life. And then, when they’d moved onto the club, he felt a flash of pleasure to be the one to take her someplace that made her eyes light up the way they did. Agent or not, she would always be a ballerina, and tonight, she needed a partner.

“Dance with me, Purdey-girl.”

And she did.

End

Author’s Notes: And then we get to the show. I figure by the end, they’re literally a few weeks away from “Eagle’s Nest.” This story is meant to explain a few things. Firstly, Purdey and Gambit’s obvious close connection, while Steed still doesn’t know about Purdey’s dancer’s history. The course was a way to wangle it, and keep Steed out of the picture at the same time. Also explains why Gambit’s little wake-up call provokes annoyance, but not shock, from Purdey—she’s seen him do this before. And her threat about Mike’s bed comes to fruition later in “Last of the Cybernauts.”

Also, Purdey’s ease with the assault course (and fatigueish outfit) from “Midas Touch” get some background. And if Purdey and Gambit have just spent a few weeks doing essentially nothing but work out, it explains all their little stunts in the early eps—Gambit jumping out the window in “Eagle’s,” the speedy sprint in “Midas,” etc. And, of course, where they learned the ‘party tricks’ that will serve them so well in the future. This is where they really gel as a team—they dance together, they work together, they trust each other.

I’ve also dealt with the early bit of “Gnaws.” It’s a convenient reason for Purdey to step back from Gambit after a month of finding herself increasingly drawn to him for both their connection, and the purely physical aspect of working in very close proximity with an attractive guy who has to touch her a lot out of necessity. I doubt anyone’s been that close to Purdey in a very long time. And considering Harlow’s army background, it explains why Gambit is just so grim when he finds the body—he can see himself lying there all too well.

Also got George Radcliffe in. If Gambit was his partner in the course, it would explain why he’s a bit tighter with him than most.

Purdey’s “I’m dying. I’m coughing blood,” are actually Joanna’s own appeals to Cyd Child’s mercy during Joanna and Gareth’s infamous fitness course.

Life's poised to get pretty hectic for me, and this translates into less time for updates and fic. While I'm going to try and keep updating for as long and as regularly as I possibly can, expect a longer gap between chapters. Up 'til now I've been spacing them three or so days apart, and I don't think I'll be able to keep that up. This does not mean that there's not going to be lots of updates in ther forseeable future. Keep your eyes peeled in the next week or so for an updated and relaunched version of "The Anniversary," followed by the next fic in the arc. Just keep in mind that I'm going to be trying to post one fic, edit another, and write a third, all in whatever spare time I'm lucky enough to have. But there's still lots of the arc to come, including a long adventure piece, in the future. Happy reading!