Fic: The Witness: Ch. 10 Flashback Sneak Peek
Summary: This is a portion of the flashback for Ch. 10 of The Witness. Having some trouble getting the next chapter out, so here's something to tide you over. Eventually, this flashback will be released in its entirety in two versions (a PG version, and a slightly less PG version).
Pairing: Sam/Andy
A/N: Again, not too concerned with technicalities at this point. All in good fun. And as this is simply a sneak peek, I reserve the right to actually edit the final draft :)
“Son of a bitch!” Andy held her target up alongside Sam’s and shook her head slowly in frustration. Hers was covered in holes, spread randomly around the middle, but Sam’s shots were densely packed in the middle of the head and chest. She swore again, her voice echoing throughout the empty firing range.
He laughed. “I told you. You’re not gonna beat me. I was number one in my rookie class, and I guess…” he paused for dramatic effect. “I guess I’m number one in your rookie class too.” She gave him a shove and then crumpled up the target and tossed it over her shoulder in the direction of the garbage. It fell alongside three others. She ran a finger around the collar of her shirt, flipped the top button open. She should have changed into civvies before agreeing to this. Oh well. Too late now.
“We’re going again.”
Sam checked his watch. “Are you sure? We’ve been off shift an hour already, we haven’t even cleaned up yet, and I’m starving.”
“Again.”
Sam inhaled deeply through his nose and then gave a nod. “Fine. Let’s load ‘em up.” He went back to his stall and Andy hung a new target, then reloaded her weapon.
When she saw his target fly down-range, she replaced her ear protection, dropping her red-lensed safety glasses down over her eyes. She flipped up the pass-through and took up her shooting stance. She heard a muffled pounding on the divider separating their stalls; Sam counting down from three. She took up her position, supporting her gun hand with her free hand. He got to three, and she opened it up, emptying her clip into the target.
When they were finished, she hit the button with her fist and dropped down the pass-through, tossing her safety glasses on it. She pulled the earmuffs off one ear and blew out an exasperated breath.
Andy shook her head as the target flew up. “Fuck,” she muttered, tearing it down.
“Here.” She jumped, startled as Sam spoke from behind her and when she turned, he was holding his target up to the divider. She rolled her eyes and held hers up for half a second to compare before dropping it on the floor. Sam raised his eyebrows. “You’re a horrible loser.”
She made a face. “I can’t help it. I like to win. I’m gonna do it one more time.” Sam opened his mouth to protest again and she held up a hand to stop him. “We can clean ‘em at my place, okay?”
Sam put up his hands. “Fine. Last one though, right?”
She inhaled deeply and then nodded with a defeated smile. “Yeah. We can leave after this.”
“Okay, I’m gonna wash up quick.” He walked away and as Andy loaded up the last target, she heard the water running as Sam washed the powder residue from his hands. She refilled the magazine and loaded it into her gun. Then, she poked her ear plugs back in and dropped her earmuffs into place, rolling her shoulders. Just a little stiff.
She’d just raised her gun when she felt a strong arm wrap around her middle. She instantly lowered the weapon, and glanced over her shoulder at him, then pushed the earmuffs forward a little.
“What’re you doing?”
He laughed low and quiet and then he reached down and grabbed her wrist, straightening her arm along the length of his. “I’m showing you something.”
“Sure you are,” she mumbled, but let him manipulate the limb.
His palm moved back until it rested against her shoulder. “The rotator cuff stabilizes your shoulder.” He rubbed at it with his fingers, massaging it, moving up until his thumb was dug deep into the muscle near her neck. She stiffened her legs when she felt her knees buckle the tiniest amount. “It’s also important in grip strength, trigger pull strength. Your shoulders are…fine, obviously,” he said quietly, dropping a kiss onto one. Andy could hear the smile in his voice and she sank her teeth into her lower lip as she started to see where this lesson was headed.
Once her arm was straight, he moved his hand down her side over her hip to her thigh, dragged it back a little to better support her weight. “Arm up,” he reminded her and she lifted it a touch. He slowly moved his hand along the muscle, under her arm; the light touch making her squirm against him, but his hand circled her wrist, holding it straighter.
“I know how to shoot, you know,” she argued with a grin.
“Yeah, I’ve seen,” he joked with a short laugh. “Show me how you breathe.”
“What?” She twisted to look at him, undoing all the positioning he’d just put her through.
He rolled his eyes and moved her back, foot braced behind her, hip thrust back against his. “Put your gun up, like you’re going to shoot and show me how you breathe.” Again, her supporting hand came up and she breathed normally.
“Now show me a shot.”
“This is stupid.”
“Do it anyway.” He replaced her ear muffs and she fired once. He squinted a little as he looked down-range, checking the result. “A little high. Blowing a hole in his neck might not be the best thing.”
“If he’s coming at me, does it really matter where I hit him?” she asked glibly.
He smirked. “Kind of. Try this.’ He stepped up behind her again and ran his hand up under her vest. He flattened his palm against her stomach and held it there. “Breathe for me,” he said quietly. So, she breathed, trying to ignore the way her heart was suddenly jack-hammering at feel of his lips in her hair and the slight pressure of the tips of his fingers as they drummed lightly against her midsection.
“Okay, put up the weapon. Now, before you take the first shot, take a breath.” He pressed his hand more firmly against her abs, and she felt him warm and strong against the full expanse of her back. “Take a breath, and then blow out half of it and fire. Exhale after.” When she hesitated, he put his face down next to hers. “C’mon. Do it.”
“Fine.” She took a deep breath, feeling it catch a little in her chest as his hand moved against her stomach, fingers sliding down, tips tucked between her shirt and waistband. She closed her eyes briefly against the heat that suddenly flooded her and then opened them. She straightened her arm again, took another breath, exhaled part of it and squeezed the trigger.
“Better,” Sam said, leaning over her shoulder to look at the target. “That’s a heart shot.” His hands were still on her, still on her hip and up under her vest.
For a second, she just stood there, feeling his fingers flex against her and then, testing a theory, she pressed her shoulders against his chest, head falling back until it hit his shoulder. She felt his laugh vibrating through his chest as he tipped his head down and ran his mouth over her neck. His hands moved up, over her vest to the Velcro fastenings at her side and shoulders. He ripped them open quickly and let the whole thing fall to the floor.
Fumbling a little, Andy clicked on the safety and set her gun on the pass-through, letting him drag the earmuffs from her head. She reached up, pinched out the earplugs, then snatched off her safety glasses and tossed them down on top of her vest. Then his arms were around her again, his chest hard against her back as his hands flattened and slid into the gaps of her shirt, between the buttons. They clutched at the cotton of her undershirt, stroking over the hard lines of her ribs hidden beneath the fabric. She made a soft noise of encouragement as he nuzzled at the hair at the nape of her neck and her eyes fell shut as his hands slid around under her shirt. And then, as the ridiculousness of the situation hit her, the smile spread wide across her face and she laughed a little.
“This seriously turns you on?” she asked, unable to help the giggle that bubbled out with the words. “Girls with guns?"
“Just you,” he said against her skin as he stepped up even closer, pulling her hips back, tight against his, letting her feel just how worked up he was.
Her eyebrows nearly met her hairline. “God,” she said quietly, mouth gone dry.
“Like this is doing nothing for you,” he said quietly in her ear.
She let out another shaky breath and pressed her butt back against him. “I didn’t say that."
And when his hands moved under her uniform and cupped her breasts, she let her head fall back again, against his shoulder and his mouth worked familiarly below her ear. She leaned back into him, laughing in her throat at the scrape of his teeth against her skin. But when he pulled his hands out of her shirt and ran them down, yanking both shirts up and out of her waistband, and she stiffened, grabbing his wrists.
“Hey, the guy is like right there,” she hissed, craning her neck, trying to look around the wall. But he held her in place.
“Who? The safety officer?” he hummed against her shoulder. “I paid him twenty bucks to take an early break.” Again, his hands tugged at her shirt and she twisted away.
“What about the cameras?” She backed up until she hit the divider, holding up a hand when he advanced a step.
“They’re down for the day.” Sam’s grin widened. “C’mon, McNally. Where’s your sense of adventure?”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re like sixteen, you know that?”
He chuckled and rubbed his hand over his jaw. “Hey, you’re the one that said we should make this last week worth it.”
“This wasn’t what I meant, and you know it.” She put her hand up again. This time it landed on his chest; he was closing in. “What if someone hears?”
He shook his head and raised his eyebrows, circling his index finger in the air. “Sound-proofing.” He checked his watch. “You’re out of excuses, McNally. And we have exactly twenty minutes left of Luda’s break.” He stepped up close to her again, getting a knee in between her legs. He bumped his nose against hers, skimming her lips with his. “So, you in?”
Andy stared at him, chewing on her lip, and after a long moment, when she lightly scratched her nails against his chest, his smile spread and he kissed her hard. Instantly, she opened under him, moaning loudly when he thrust his tongue in against hers, and moved his thigh up and pressed it into her. His hands were on her shirt again, had completely freed it from her pants and were now rapidly unbuttoning it, fingers flowing over the placket like water.
His thigh was riding higher between her legs, and she’d be lying if she said it wasn’t getting to her; if she said it wasn’t making her break into a hot sweat, making her breath come short and shallow against his face. But when his hands moved to her belt, she grabbed them and looked at him seriously. “The pants are staying on, buddy.”
He grinned wolfishly. “I can work with that."
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I cannot believe I’m doing this,” Andy muttered, but the corners of her mouth were curling. She released his hands and found herself holding her breath as he unbuckled her belt, unbuttoned her pants, and lowered the zipper. As his fingers skimmed the elastic of her underwear, his mouth covered hers again, and she nipped at his lip, gripping his arms when he growled into her mouth. When she tipped her head away to take a breath, she narrowed her eyes playfully.
“You are gonna owe me so huge after this.”
Sam laughed as he poked his fingers down into her pants, tracing over the front of her underwear. As he watched her eyes darken, when he heard the quiet, involuntary begging noise she made in her throat, and he smirked and leaned in. “If this goes the way I imagined it, I think you’ll probably owe me,” he murmured against her ear.
She let her head fall back against the divider, and inhaled right before he took her mouth again. When his warm fingers first grazed the skin of her stomach, she took a shuddery breath. And when he flattened his palm against it, and very slowly, slid it down under the waistband of her underwear, she gasped into his mouth.
He’d barely touched her, only had time to register the feeling of her hot against his palm when they heard the noise....