Beyond Friends Episode Fifty Three "I'm just Happy To Dance With You"
"Friends" Stars
David Schwimmer as Ross
Courteney Cox as Monica
Special Star
Patrick Swayze as Craig
"Rush Rush"
Rachel waved to Ross as she entered his section of the museum. Ross looked up and smiled. He waved his brush like took at her.
"Hello." Rachel said stopping by his desk. "I'm looking for someone?" She smiled. "Can you help me?"
"I'll do what I can." Ross said.
"He's this tall, got the sexiest brown eyes." She said poking her finger around a fossile. "And he just happens to be my fiancee. "Have you seen him?"
"I think hes right here." Ross said putting his hand under her chin. He pulled her face toward hers. He softly kissed her on the lips.
"That was nice, sir, but I think my fiancee' would kick your butt if he found out." Rachel said pulling back. "Are you ready for our dinner date?"
"Sure. Let me put this away first." Ross said absent mindingly throwing his brush tool aside. "Ready?"
"Yeah." Rachel said. She wrapped her arm around his.
"But first I gotta talk to you." Ross said taking her arm. "Can we talk in my office?"
"You don't have an office." Rachel pointed out.
"Yeah, its in my car, so technically we are talking in the car." Ross said opening the outside door for her. "On the way to the restaurant."
"Ross, you are hemming and hawing more than usually. Is there something on your mind?" Rachel said.
"You caught me." Ross said as they entered the parking garage. "It has to do with the wedding."
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Chandler said wrapping his arm around Monicas waist.
"I'm certain." Monica said as he drew her closer. "After all, if we dont do it right, we dont win right?"
"Yeah." Chandler said.
Chandler and Monica turned their head, their cheeks touching.
"Why are holding each other like this?" Monica said.
"I have no idea." Chandler said, as they released each other.
"Welcome to Swing Dance Lessons, beginers class. I am your instructor Craig." A voice boomed. There was feedback noise as the instructor set the microphone back on the stand. "Today we will be studying the fundamentals of swing dancing,positions and steps. Just enough to get you through a night of dancing at the carlyle." Craig said. "Do I have any volunteers?"
A stiff blonde in the back shot her hand up.
"Great." Craig said. "Whats your name?"
"Sandra." She said.
"Come on up." Craig said.
As Sandra passed Chandler and Monica she looked at them. Chandler made a weird noise as Sandra took her eyes off of him.
Monica punched him. "What the hell was that?"
"Nothing, she just looks like a chick on tv." Chandler said. "Get a load of the teacher. Can those hands be any bigger?" Chandler asked as Craig moved Sandra into a dance position.
"Ok first. Actually not first but second, Lewis?" He yelled. "Can we have some music please? Brian Setzer, ok? Thanks."
"Jump, Jive and Wail" started playing on the stereo.
"Ok." Craig said over the music. "You take the hand, and you step this way, do this twice." He did the step with Sandra. "One, two and glide this way, two three four."
Chandler and Monica looked on at the dancers.
"Oh my," Chandler said.
"I know, what have we gotten ourselves into?" Monica said looking at him.
"Now, we put our hands around the waist of our lovely partner and pick her up like this." Craig put his hands around Sandras waist and lifted her up. "While your partner is airborne, she will do a mid air split."
Sandra did the split. "Ok. Once she lands you swing her this way. Then you will kneel down while she jumps over you while you are kneeling."
The class watched as the duo executed this move. After they were done they stood in front of the class and bowed. Chandler and Monica clapped with the class but very reluctantly.
"Ok, you guys will do this after the break." Craig said.
"We're gonna lose." Chandler nodded. "Big time."
"You know." Monica turned her head as someone started talking. "I saw swing dancing on tv, and its nothing like that."
"Really?" Monica said turning to the woman who was speaking.
"Yeah." She responded. "This is like very bad cheerleading. And I have been here before, the same woman volunteers to dance with him everytime. I think its his wife." The woman walked away. Monica stole a glimpse at the instructor and Sandra over near the donut table.
Monica turned to Chandler. "I think we've been ripped off."
"What makes you say that, other than the fact we will never learn this." Chandler said.
"Remember the tape? The movie?" Monica said, Chandler nodded. "Did any of that look familiar to you?"
"No." Chandler said.
"Thats what I thought." Monica said.
"Well, Monica, you're the one with the brains. What do we do about this?" Chandler said crossing his arms.
"I think we learn how to do this ourselves." Monica said. "If we performed what those two jokers just did at the contest, we'd be laughed out of the building."
"Which is only slightly preferable to going in blind." Chandler said. "How will we do this? We only got a couple of days left."
"I think I know a way. Come on, let's go before they start to miss us." Monica grabbed his hand.
"What about the donuts?" Chandler said.
"I'll make you some, for free, at home."
"Fair enough." Chandler said as he let Monica pull him out of the building.
Parking Garage
"What do you mean? Talk about our wedding? Are you calling it off?" Rachel said fearfully.
"No, no." Ross said. "I would never do that. I have been waiting for you so long, I'm not sure I can wait till June to have the wedding."
"What do you want to do?" Rachel asked.
"What if we moved the wedding date up a little bit?" Ross asked.
"You want to have it sooner?" Rachel asked. "But we're getting wedding invitations ready."
"We can change the date on the invites. I want to marry you, and I want to marry you right now." Ross said. "Wouldnt a December wedding be the most magical thing? Pledging our love to each aother as the snow falls?"
"I don't know." Rachel said. "This is too sudden." She thought for a minute. "What date did you have in mind?"
"I knew you would see it my way."
"This is just a what if thing." Rachel said. "I just want to see whats on your mind."
"Well I was thinking of Sunday. December 6." Ross said.
"Next Sunday?" Rachel said. "How are we gonna do that?"
"Its all set. And we have a contingency plan in case something bad happens." Ross said. "The whole family knows, the people at the church, the catering company. The whole shebang.I called Monica, but I left a message on her machine."
"I'm the last to know?" Rachel asked.
"It was gonna be a surprise."
"You got that right." Rachel said. "I didn't know it was gonna be that soon."
"I'm sorry, I pictured you a lot happier when I told you the news. The movie theater in my mind must be out of date." Ross said taking her hands. "I love you Rachel, I just want to marry you now."
Rachel looked into Ross's eyes. She then looked at her engagement ring. He has waited so long for this, why make him wait any longer?
"Next week it is." Rachel smiled. "We'll get married next week."
The subway
"Okay, Monica?" Chandler said. "We're almost at your apartment, and you still haven't told me how we're gonna learn swing dancing in time for the contest."
"I had a bad feeling about this dance teacher guy. Especially since we saw his ad on the back of one of Joeys old Playboys. I had a back up plan for us."
"Shows you're thinking." Chandler nodded. "What is it?"
"If you will wait till we make it home, then I will tell you."
Monicas place
Monica opened the door to her apartment and tossed her keys on the living room table. She went over to her kitchen table.
"Ok, we're here. Now what?" Chandler said closing the door.
"Here, open that, wise ass." Monica said tossing him a box.
"He opened the box, and pulled out a video." Swing dancing in five easy lessons." He read the box. "How is this the answer to our problms?"
"This is the answer to our problems, Chandler, for many reasons. One - we learn in the privacy of my own home. Two - no one is gawking at us. And three....I can't think of a third, but its got to be three times as good as number one and two." Monica sighed. "What do you think?"
"We don't have enough room." Chandler pointed out the living room. "Not even if we put all the furniture in the hallway. Thats not a good idea in the first place, it would all be gone in two seconds."
"We'll practice in the storeroom of the restaurant." Monica said.
"You have a storeroom?" Chandler asked.
"It's called a pantry, but who cares." Monica said. "We'll hook up the tv and the vcr, its simple."
"Hmm." Chandler muttered.
Monica took back the video. "Its either this, drop out of the contest or try to get our dance style changed. Out of the three, I like this much better."
"Right, and asking to get the dance changed is like forfeiting anyway." Chandler groaned. "All right, I'm in. Whens the tournament?"
"Next Sunday." Monica said marking the calendar. "Thank god we have nothing planned for that day." Monica said. "You want to go get a drink?"
"Sure." Chandler said. "Hey you got a message on your answering machine."
"Leave it, its probably nothing." Monica said as they left the apartment.
