Breathe and Squeeze

MacTavish checked his gear to make sure that he had everything before going out to the shooting range to practice long range. It was technically a day off but he liked to keep busy and he was going to adhere to the rule that he and his friend Nicolette agreed to when she brought him to this place. The rule was that they worked together on the weaknesses and strengths on their own time. He was agreeable to that though he never thought he'd get the bossiest nag in creation.

Nicolette wasted no words on hounding him about how slow he was or taunting him about his reflexes. He gave it right back but he always felt like he was getting the short end of the stick. He still had a few sore injuries and when they were aggravated, he groused and she called him a big baby and other names. He said a few choice names in reply and she would just smile and egg him on. It was as she said in Russia; she was not going to give him pity. And he appreciated it.

MacTavish headed towards the shooting range and kept an eye out for his friend. He was hoping to tease her a little and maybe make her fall and force her to work through it again. One of her quirks was that if she messed up, she stopped and did it over again. Once she did the same thing for the better part of an hour until she got through the routine without a mistake. He called it being OCD and she just said 'look who's talking'.

He made it to the range without seeing her and figured she was probably being an annoying Yank to the staff there. He pulled out his favorite sniper rifle and loaded it before slipping on the goggles to protect his eyes and the earplugs. He aimed down the sights and looked for the target he was in front of and aimed… breathed… and squeezed.

The round hit and by all accounts the tango was down. It was a good shot but it could be better. It had MacTavish wish that it was a moving target. People didn't stand still if they were acting normally. They moved around and if they were a patrol that needed to be taken out… That was the only downside with a shooting range and it wasn't like they could get someone to be a target and pretend even if they used nonlethals.

The sound of a rifle going off caught his attention as he checked his ammo for another round. Peering out of his stall, MacTavish took a look to see who was shooting. Occasionally the staff practiced too and there was one bloke that was fairly decent. As it turned out, it was none other than Nicolette aiming through the scope of a sniper rifle and firing at a target. MacTavish was curious about her aim and peered down his scope to see her hit ratio. She was a fairly good shot no matter what she said and she saved his arse a couple of times. He noted her hits and they were accurate but it looked like she was going for precision.

"Bloody hell," she exclaimed.

MacTavish had to suppress a chuckle. He personally found it funny when she used expressions like that. It sounded very out of place with her American accent but it was used in the correct context. He shouldered his rifle and walked down to her stall and paused while she took another shot. When she lowered her rifle he said, "You might have shot him in the arse with that one."

"I said I could shoot. I never said I could shoot well," Nicolette replied as she raised her sniper rifle and took aim. She fired and tried not to get too frustrated. She had technically downed the target but it was not to her satisfaction. As it stood the guy would die from blood loss.

"Ya did say that… twice," MacTavish grinned at her as he emphasized with two fingers. "And you're just terrible."

"Eat me."

"Why would you do that?"

Nicolette narrowed her eyes as she lowered her rifle. "Don't be a stupid pillock, Soap. Go do that on your own time." She then added with a slight grin, "Cheeky bastard."

"I am on me own time, Nico… and yer breaking rules… again," MacTavish teased.

"Not really. I declared I needed all the time I could get to work with this. Check the schedule." Nicolette emphasized the last word as a Brit would and smiled sweetly to emphasize her intention.

MacTavish didn't say anything since he really hadn't checked it since… "Fine you win. There is no pleasing ya isn't there?"

"Hey you agreed to this." She pointed at him.

"After ya broke into my room and hit me and then kidnapped me." MacTavish crossed his arms over his chest trying to be smug about it.

"You know another way to reason with an ass?"

MacTavish looked at Nico and shook his head. It was difficult to win in their verbal spats but it was fun and he felt better than he had since he woke up in that Russian hospital. "Is this your way of warning me I'm in trouble?"

"You're always in trouble," Nicolette replied as she went back to practice. She raised her rifle. "Because you can't keep up." She popped off a round.

MacTavish grinned at her before clicking his tongue on his teeth after he saw her make a frustrated frown. "You're too stiff."

"I know how to hold a rifle."

MacTavish decided to go with it and approached Nicolette while she was holding up the rifle. He put his arms around her shoulders and made slight adjustments to where her hands were positioned. "You need to relax, loosen your muscles," he said close to her ear while looking down range to make sure the rifle was where it was supposed to be.

Nicolette followed his instructions, letting him move her hands and then forcing her to lower or raise her shoulders. "Trying to make a contortionist act?"

MacTavish glanced at her before moving the rifle slightly to the left. "Just trying to get you to relax a bit."

"Thought it was to stay frosty."

"It is but in this case, you need to be comfortable." MacTavish stood back and took a look at his handiwork. "Good. Nice and loose." She had caught on quick and he was impressed. "Now aim through the scope. The scope is your friend."

"Funny. I thought it was a Scottish bastard," Nicolette muttered as she aimed. The positioning did feel much better than previously. She had the target in sight and her finger adjusted on the trigger.

"Easy now," MacTavish said as he stepped closer. He put his hand on her abdomen and when she jerked he said, "Just helping ya out. You need to breath from your diaphragm." He had removed his hand to let her decide what she wanted to do. When she reassumed her position as before he took it as a cue and put his hand back on her abdomen and put slight pressure to indicate what he wanted her to do. "Just breathe, lass."

"I am breathing." Nicolette said trying not to get too jumpy at the fact that MacTavish was touching her on the stomach and it had nothing to do with sparring. She focused on the fact that he was trying to teach her something and let him finish.

"Then show me," MacTavish taunted letting his Scottish accent thicken slightly as he spoke into her ear. He grinned as she adjusted her breathing and he felt the change in her abdomen. "Nice," he said with a nod. "Now look through the scope."

Nicolette looked through the scope as she was told. She listened as MacTavish got in close and said low in her ear, "Look through the scope, relax. Get him in your sights."

She made slight adjustments to get the headshot that would mean a permanent downing of the target. She heard MacTavish's murmurs of approval in her ear and studied her body position to make the connections. It was like her preference with sharp instruments; you become comfortable with your weapon so it was like an extension of you.

MacTavish was nodding and murmuring his approval. She had picked up on what he was doing to help her and making the connections. He said, "Take your time, aim, watch for wind." He paused to let her make adjustments and then continued, "Breathe and when you feel it… squeeze."

Nicolette aimed and waited until she was sure. Her finger was on the trigger. It tapped it before slowly wrapping around it. Her finger curled and the round popped off. It took a moment for her to realize that she had hit her target and it was down for the count. She took a breath and lowered the rifle and nodded.

"Very good, Nico," MacTavish said taking a step back. He crossed his arms over his chest and grinned a bit smugly and added, "And you said you couldn't shoot."

"Not well," Nicolette replied as she looked down range and then at MacTavish. "Thanks Soap."

"Keep at it lass."

"You're asking to get a bullet up your ass?" Nicolette let a teasing gleam enter her eyes. Her mouth broke into a grin. "Or is the stick enough?"

MacTavish grinned back, "I've got nothing to worry about. You can't shoot for shite."

"Really?"

MacTavish shrugged his shoulders. He knew that he was asking for trouble with this but it was part of the fun. It was a challenge presented in his goal to become better at being a soldier. Now he was giving her one and looking at her he could tell that she was accepting his challenge. He nodded, "Yeah but if you want I can help you out. Then maybe we can see who is the best."

Nicolette thought about it a bit. She had been trying to improve her aim since it was something that she was not overly good at and she wanted to be better. There was always room for improvement. And MacTavish presented it as a challenge and she liked those. "And what do I get if I win?"

MacTavish grinned since that meant she was going for it. He replied, "I'll tell ya how I got the name Soap but what do I get if I win?"

Nicolette gave a sweet smile and replied, "The satisfaction that you might get something other than army slop for dinner."

MacTavish grinned since he knew that was a fairly good trade though he much would have preferred an embarrassing story about herself. Still he would have been stupid to pass on a really good meal. "Alright lass. Deal."

"Excellent."

They spent the rest of the day practicing their shooting with MacTavish in the stall next to hers. They popped off rounds taking out the targets that were placed in front of them. Occasionally MacTavish would point out suggestions or what she did wrong and she would make corrections for the next volley. It lasted until night fall with both remembering the most important thing when firing: aim, breath and squeeze.

A/N: Another reference from the larger work Outbreak in which MacTavish teaches Nico how to be better at sniping. Some fluff but mostly the start of how they become closer as friends. Enjoy.