set between the end of 3x10 and the beginning of 3x11. More to come for 3x11. Let me know what you think. Comments and criticism are greatly appreciated and feed me.

"Captain, there's an incoming transmission from Ava," Gideon said cheerfully, bringing a smile to Sara's face despite her exhaustion.

Sara looked herself over quickly, in a faded Grateful Dead t-shirt, surrounded by crumpled bedsheets that made apparent her sleepless night. She rolled her eyes at her self-consciousness and focused instead on the fact that these morning phone calls seemed to be becoming a trend.

"Put her on, Gideon," Sara said, smile audible.

"Would you like a moment to make yourself more presentable, Captain?" Gideon asked, humor in her voice, and Sara narrowed her eyes.

"I SAID put her on, Gideon."

"As you wish, Captain."

"Damn right, as I wish…"

"Ooh, did I just interrupt an argument between you and your AI? Because that would be…weird," Ava said, nose crinkling in amusement and confusion, having overheard Sara's irritated grumble.

"Nothing new for the Waverider, Aves," Sara said lightly, leaning back into her bed and pulling the sheet up slightly. "If you spent more time here you'd see that Gideon is a smart ass just like the rest of us."

She didn't mean anything by it, subconsciously or otherwise. It wasn't supposed to be a dig at Ava turning down- now twice- an invitation to the ship. Sara didn't even realise what her semantics had implied until she saw the agent's light expression falter.

"That's…actually what I'm calling about. Well, kind of," Ava said, brow furrowing as she scratched at her temple timidly. "I wanted to apologize for the state I was in last night. There was just… a lot going on, and with Rip escaping and having so much on my plate—"

"Ava," Sara said softly, drawing the woman's gaze back to her. She found herself wishing that she could reach out to the agent, run a hand through her hair, anything to stop her anxious fidgeting. "You don't need to apologize to me," she smiled slightly, closing her eyes briefly as she watched some of the tension leave Ava. "Rip escaping is a pretty big deal, especially for you. I can't imagine the pressure you must be under," she admitted, sitting up in bed and watching as Ava watched her.

"I know but it's just work, you know? Nothing I'm not used to. And I shouldn't let my stress affect—"

"Aves—" Sara interrupted the self-conscious ramble again, only to immediately worry that the woman might think it was because she didn't care what she had to say. That was certainly not the case. Sara didn't have to worry that the intent was misunderstood for long, as a slow smile crept upon Ava's face.

"Aves, huh?" the once-serious agent asked with a grin, clearly teasing as she called Sara out on the nickname. "That's new," she noted, looking through the transmission straight into Sara's suddenly flustered blue eyes. "I ignored it the first time, but twice…" she trailed off, leaning a bit nearer to the camera upon detecting the hint of a blush on the captain's cheeks.

"I didn't even notice," Sara told her bluntly, too caught off guard to even offer a quip in return. "I'm sorry," she said, not wanting to offend the agent by acting as though they were closer than they were. Their relationship may have been shifting but it certainly wasn't at pet name status, contrary to that very conversation.

"It's okay," Ava admitted reluctantly, wishing to keep up the teasing. The fact that Sara didn't even have a playful remark back worried her for a moment. "I like it."

Ava's eyes widened, surprised by her own admission. She had intended to tell Sara that it was okay that she had a nickname. She had NOT intended to tell the captain that she liked it. Even though she did. Even though her breath caught at the sound of the word escaping Sara's lips so freely, making her imagine it being emitted under much more personal circumstances.

"Oh, you LIKE it, do you?"

Great. Now teasing Sara was back with a vengeance and Ava was the one left feeling flushed. THAT was definitely not the plan.

"Oh, shut up, Captain," Ava said sternly, rolling her eyes and fiddling with the hem of her sleeve, keeping her gaze from the bright eyes sparkling at her.

"What? No comeback?" Sara flirted, watching as Ava shifted in her chair, lifting her eyes only for a moment.

When their gazes met, something changed. For the first time in the months of their transitioning acquaintance, there were no blinds up between them. The looked at each other without trying to act like they weren't. Any feigned disinterest or distaste for the other was gone. Sara refused to break the eye contact for fear that the walls between them would return.

"Have I left you speechless, Agent Sharpe?" Sara asked softly, voice tinted with the intensity of the look they shared.

"You wish," Ava teased back, raising an eyebrow and effectively letting Sara know that the innuendo was deliberate.

"Yeah, I do," Sara told her, any hint of joking absent from her tone.

They looked into each other's eyes over the transmission, lost there for only a moment before Sara could hear Gary's lilting tone from the other end. Ava's expression changed so quickly that it looked physically painful and Sara couldn't help but chuckle.

"Agent Sharpe?"

"Gary, what do you do when a door's shut?" Ava asked him so sternly that it made Sara wonder if she'd missed her calling as a Sunday School teacher.

"But Director Bennett is asking about you. And he left it up to me to find you," Gary said, panicked, and Sara wished she could see his nervous weasel face.

"When the door is shut, it means I'm busy. And then you knock, Gary. You don't just walk in and—"

"But you weren't busy. You're just sitting in here talking to Captain Lance," he said as though it was not the dumbest thing he could have ever thrown at her.

"Uh oh," Sara said out loud, drawing Ava (and her anger-filled wild eyes) back to her for a moment. Ava's unbridled rage was super hot and Sara wondered if it was fucked up that she thought so.

"Sara, it looks like I have business to deal with here at the Bureau," Ava told her, suddenly back to her stuffy self.

"Looks like," Sara smirked, watching as Ava's gaze lightened for a moment "Don't kill him too hard, Agent Sharpe," she chuckled.

Ava smiled, momentarily forgetting the Bureau, forgetting dumb-ass Gary.

"I'll talk to you later, Captain," she nodded softly.

"I'm counting on it."