TITLE: Give Her Ten

AUTHOR: mmmh-Hot-Sauce

RATING: R ... May become NC-17 later

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of these characters, well, maybe one or two, but as for the rest of them, they are property of ME

SPOILERS: Completely AU

SUMMARY: Tara is the Captain of her College Crew Team and with the help of some friends, they look for new recruits.

FEEDBACK: I would be grateful for any and all comments.

CHAPTER 1

The grey fold out table positioned specifically by the main entrance of the cafeteria held a large tripode display board and two compact computers which played a slideshow on an endless loop. The three girls sitting behind the table looked less than thrilled to be sitting there as they watched an older man chase down one of their peers.

"This is pathetic," said the girl sitting in the middle, her arms crossed possessively across her chest as she leant back in her brown plastic chair. "He's screwing us over."

"Why can't he leave?" said the girl on the right. "Seeing him for three hours every afternoon should be more than enough."

"Alright girls, wane off," said the one on the left as she watched the slim girl turn down the man then storm off. "He's coming back."

"Gee, Zogg, you were so close," the snarky student sitting in the middle said with a smirk. "Maybe next time."

"I don't see you putting any effort forward Faith," the man said as he approached the table. Reaching his hand out, he pulled the open note book lying on the table towards him, turning it around in the process. "How many new recruits today?"

"Three." the girl sitting on the left spoke up. "Two girls and a guy."

"Any you think would make a good coxswain?" Zogg asked hopefully as he scanned the names on the list.

"I can't say as of yet," the woman admitted truthfully.

"Okay," he replied as he pushed the note pad back to the center of the table. "Keep me updated if you find one Tara."

"Sure thing, coach." Tara said with a nod to theirs coaches retreating form.

"Do you really think any of these girls can be a coxswain?" Faith asked optimistically as she pulled the notebook towards her.

"No. Not unless you want the stern of the boat to sink," the girl on the right said, a rhy grin plastered on her lips.

"Kate!" Tara scolded from the opposite side of the table.

"What Tara?" Kate said defensively. "It's true and Faith even agrees with me."

"T, these girls are great, and we are looking at what could possibly be a kick ass novice team here, but none of them cut it to Cox our varsity four." Faith stated, defending herself and the other captain in the process. "We need someone who's slim as fuck and weighs roughly a hundred and fifteen pounds soaking wet."

"We'll find the prefect Coxswain," Tara said reassuringly. "Don't worry."

"For our sake I sure hope so," Kate said glumly. "What with Sarah having graduated and our other two Coxswains designated to the novice and J.V teams we're S.O.L."

"S.O.L?" Tara asked confused, her eyebrows crinkling together in bewilderment.

"Shit outta luck," Faith replied helpfully, receiving a nod from Kate.

"And with Coach Hog royally screwing us over on every good possible Cox, I'm about to pull my hair out." Kate warned, her temper nearly reaching its boiling point.

"What number is that by the way?" Faith asked.

Grabbing the notebook back from the brunette, Tara flipped to the back of the pad. "That makes … eight."

"Of course it does," Faith said sarcastically. "Wake me up when this torture is over," she said fore lonely, dropping her head dramatically onto the plastic table.

"Tare, I'm gonna grab some lunch," Kate said as she slowly stood up. "You want me to bring you anything?"

Maybe an apple? Thanks Kate," Tara said with a genuine smile.

"No problem," Kate said with a smile of her own, walking around the table.

"Oh no, I'm good. But thanks for asking." Faith said mockingly, her head still buried in her folded arms.

"Sorry Faith, I thought you were sleeping." Kate said, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah," Faith waved off, lifting her head up slightly. She watched the brunette's slim form walk off into the cafeteria before another figure caught her attention. "Yo, T, look at the hottie over there." She nodded to a petite woman leaning up against the adjacent wall, typing fiercely on her flip phone.

"Nice sighting Faith," Tara said as she scooted her chair backwards, preparing to stand up.

"Whoa, whoa." Faith exclaimed, clamping her right hand around the blonde's left bicep. "Where do you think you're going Goggles Pizone?"

"Faith." Tara said in a warning tone.

"Nah-ah, T." Faith protested as she shoved the blonde back into her seat. Shuffling her own chair back so she could stand up with ease, "I spotted her so I get to talk to her."

Tara just shook her head in disbelief before throwing her hands up, giving her fellow Captain the go-ahead. She watched from her seat with a bemused smile as Faith leisurely approached the other girl, her award winning smile set in place. She stared intently for a few minutes, hoping against all odds that this un-named woman would agree to join the team, before loosing interest and casting her gaze elsewhere.

Two minutes later, the brunette returned to the fold out table, a cheesy smile plastered on her face. "Did she agree?" Tara asked excitedly.

"She sure did," Faith said with a smug smirk, kicking her leather boots up onto the table while unfolding a small sheet of paper with a number scribbled on it. "We're going out next Friday."

"Next Friday? What?" Tara asked confused, whipping her head back and forth from her friend to the spot where the girl was previously standing. "What about being our Coxswain?"

"Ah, no." Faith dismissed. "She doesn't have time. Something about Gymnastics … or Cheerleading. Some shit like that."

"Faith, you are impossible sometimes!" Tara said aggravated. "Next time I am doing the talking."

"Oh, and what makes you think you can do better?" Faith shot back, her right eyebrow raised high in question.

"Because, unlike you, I don't start out a conversation with a complete stranger with 'Hey, I bet you look great wet. Wanna join Crew?'" Tara huffed out, staring pointedly at her best friend.

"Well maybe you should," Faith snorted. "Maybe you'll finally get some digits and get a little bit of ass while you're at it."

"Faith, why are you always so crude?" Tara asked.

"Tara, why do you always have an oar up your ass?" Faith shot back as she re-read the phone number, imbedding it in her mind. "T, in all seriousness. People are going to say no to joining Crew no matter what. You'd have to be a complete whack job to want to get up at 4:30 every morning and row for three hours straight in the freezing cold. So why not have some fun with this recruiting?"

"Yeah," Tara admitted after a few seconds, a soft smile curving her lips. "I guess you're right."

"Damn right, I'm right." Faith said in triumph. "So, the next time a possible Coxswain comes along, I want you to say this…" she leant over to the blonde, whispering the statement in the head Captains ear.