A/N gosh...so...finally the fight. We know some of you have been particularly interested in seeing how this goes down...hopefully the action in the ring (and ring) is written in such a way that you can visualize it well!
Co-written with dcj
Disclaimer: We don't own Rookie Blue
'Touch 'em up!'
"That's the most beautiful thing that I like about boxing: you can take a punch. The biggest thing about taking a punch is your ego reacts and there's no better spiritual lesson than trying to not pay attention to your ego's reaction." - David O. Russell
There's a roar across the crowd as the music changes; the fight bell ringing over the top of it, and Diaz, Collins and Epstein doing their own hollers of "let's get ready to rumble…"
Sam's jaw clenches straight away. He feels nervous despite the whoops and cheers of the jovial crowd.
It's Marlo that's the first to arrive on the scene; focused stare straight ahead…
Until that is, she spots Sam over the sea of heads in front of him. She raises an eyebrow, no doubt at where he's positioned. Even makes a point of tipping her chin. He thinks he might be off the hook then, as she continues her walk, climbing up to the canvas and stepping under the ropes –
He rolls his eyes when she leans across Andy's corner to give him another questioning smile.
Every person in front turns to look at him as she declares loudly:
"I thought you weren't picking sides."
Epstein and Diaz look like goldfish, the pair wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Traci and Peck, amusingly, move their bodies in front of him like some kind of shield. And Nash might be trying to look polite and friendly about it, but Peck is holding nothing back in giving Marlo a glare.
In his peripheral vision, he duly notes that Noelle is nothing short of bemused.
"No-oo," he drawls out almost a little condescendingly, "I said I didn't have my money on anyone. Didn't pick sides either…" He shifts in his seat between McNally's friends, decides to man up. "… sometimes you just know."
She shrugs her shoulders, tut-tuts him as well for God's sake. She's made of steel and persistence or something though, even smiles and winks at him before she heads to her side of the ring.
Marlo stretches her arms up high, shakes herself off. She still has no doubt that Sam will see the error of his ways; she just needs to show him more than before. He's frustrating though…which –
Well, partly the chase is a turn on, actually. Like it was first time around with him. How he was a little cautious, and reluctant at first…
But she knows, if she can get through to him, he'll see what he's missing out on if he keeps going back to McNally. Marlo does not doubt that one little bit.
And as for the girl herself? It's time she heard some home truths.
Andy emerges just as Marlo is taking a seat on her stool.
She and Oliver are in the middle of an animated conversation, big smiles on each of their faces. When they get ringside, Andy winks at her trainer, rubs a soft hand on his arm as he pulls the ropes apart for her to step in.
She ducks her head and steps through, spotting her friends in the bleachers as soon as she straightens back up. She lifts her gloved hand in greeting, the smile still bright.
"Come on McNally, get your head in the game," Gail growls out. "This isn't a freaking parade." She didn't say anything before, but Dov's not the only one who put his money where his mouth is.
She gets an elbow to the side from Traci and a knee in the back from Nick.
"What?" She barks at both of them, pointy eyebrows up near the ceiling. "She's up there waving like she's the flipping homecoming queen when she's supposed to be psyching herself up to kick Cruz' ass."
Andy just shakes her head as the tail end of Gail's sentence rings out extra loud.
She punches her two fists together, puts on her best tough guy scowl just for Gail, has to work extra hard to keep it there when she hears her friend holler out her best Woo Girl impersonation.
"Show 'em what you got, sweetheart!" She hears her dad yell, lifts her eyes up to find him, but her gaze stops before it gets anywhere near him, because right there behind Gail and Traci… in the middle of her friends… her family… is Sam.
She furrows her brow, looks over her shoulder at Marlo, and notes some empty spots in the bleachers behind her before she turns back to her camp. Traci and Gail are sporting matching grins as their bodies shift to give her a clear view, confirm she's seeing what she's really seeing.
Sam rolls his eyes, can feel those of half the house on him right now, but there's only one set that matters. 'You got this,' he mouths, then throws in a wink with a dimple chaser.
Andy trips a little on her feet when Oliver tries to tug her over to the corner. She pulls her gaze away from Sam but he can't miss the blush or the smile.
Noelle though is more interested in that extra bounce in her step.
They're sitting that close that it's impossible for Sam not to feel Noelle's shoulders shake in a silent laugh as McNally bobs around –
He knows his own grin is close to splitting his face.
McNally's something else up there, that bounce she's got going and the look in her eye. Sam puts a hand up to his face and scrubs it over his cheeks and chin. It's a boxing match, damn it…not some kind of homecoming parade…
Still. The way everyone in this corner is cheering and waving, the whole atmosphere in here tonight…it might as well be.
Sam sucks in a breath as he hears the bell ring again, the referee taking his place in the middle and calling the two women in.
Andy takes the two steps into the centre, starts nodding her head immediately in order to acknowledge the ground rules being barked by their referee for tonight:
"I want a clean fight, no hitting below the belt...when I say break, I want a clean break...in the event of a knock-down, you will be directed to go to a neutral corner."
She recognizes Joe from previous years, also knows that he's great with the young people that come here; has even trained a few up-and-comers. She knows that he's fair and has the centre's best interests at heart. He wants a good fight, and a clean one at that.
"Protect yourself at all times," Joe reminds them both, his eyes scanning the face of Cruz as he ends his instructions –
Marlo looks focused and determined. Andy's pretty sure she's trying to throw her off with her stare.
Andy bites into her mouthguard, all of a sudden a little extra nervous. If she has deduced the situation correctly, Sam and Cruz are no longer an item…and not that Andy should be reading anything into that in terms of whose decision it was…but if it was Sam's…and if Marlo thinks Andy's partly to blame…although, why would that be the case…if Sam's over Andy…
She blinks a couple of times, chastising herself for over-thinking the situation. She nods, silently resolving that now that she and Sam are definitely 'friends' she can just straight out ask him about what happened. She's done with assuming and speculating. She'll pick a good time and place, make sure he knows she's asking out of concern…as a friend.
Andy tries on a small friendly smile, holds out her gloves.
Marlo looks down at the gloves of McNally, eventually raising her own. They tap out a boxer's handshake and look into one another's eyes.
Cruz is kind of impressed with the rookie - all brazen and full of enthusiasm, bouncing around on her feet. She briefly puts some thought into whether that's what Swarek likes about the girl. She was his rookie after all; maybe the guy's got more issues than she thought…maybe he likes having a lapdog, some little bimbo that he can boss about day and night…
Marlo scoffs silently. Surely not, she tells herself. He seemed fairly sure of himself when they were together, appeared to know what he wanted and when he wanted something in the relationship (which wasn't a lot) without being bossy about it. He was also generally respectful of Marlo's needs too. Well…except for the fact that he couldn't get his head around things when she wanted more.
The whole thought process only leads to a greater desire within Marlo; Sam Swarek is quite the enigma, and she wants to know more –
Andy McNally on the other hand, is an obstacle, and she just has to be gotten out of the way.
The women tap gloves one final time, and then both take steps back into their corner to wait for the next bell to ring, and the ref's arm to fall…
"You got this," Andy hears Oliver say as she gets back to her corner and waits.
The words are accompanied by a vision of Sam mouthing them just moments ago, and she smiles at the thought.
As she disposes of her robe and takes another suck at some water, she chances a final look in the direction of Sam.
She can't help but smile small when she sees him again. She'd assumed he'd still be there, but that annoying voice inside her did suggest he might've moved in this last minute or so.
She smiles bigger when he gives her another wink and the dimples. God. Do they even need to fight anymore? Can't Andy just go into the audience and sit next to him. Put Gail in here instead?
She shakes her head, clearing the thoughts. This is for charity, she has a job to do… she needs to focus on now. And then…
And then.
"C'mon, champ," Ollie commands loudly, some final slaps to her shoulders. "Be ready for anything."
Andy grunts and bounces to get herself pumped…and she actually is, is the thing. She's excited to be getting a good work-out, employing some new tactics she's learned.
It only takes some more noise and the ref's whistle to get herself firing on all cylinders. Also, in the last ten seconds she seems to have conjured up a new mantra or two to go with the 'it's for charity': 'it's for Sam' and 'it's for… us'.
Cruz moves in early and fast, catching Andy off guard with three right jabs hard into her left shoulder. They're enough to confirm that Marlo means business, and also: the petite woman has some power in her punch.
Andy swerves to miss another few of a similar style, and takes a few steps back in the process – in need of some space to figure things out.
Going into the match, Andy was convinced she could sit well in her own style; crowd Marlo when she got some momentum, but then wait out whatever might've remained of their three rounds with good defence.
But what Andy's realizing straight up, is that her natural M.O. will be hard up to do what she wants. If Cruz is on a mission, she could have Andy's number before this round is out. "Nice," she pants, without thinking – genuinely impressed with Marlo's persistence; relentless jabbing that manages to continue to connect into Andy's left and right sides.
"I know," Cruz replies, as she goes for a straight punch into Andy's stomach, smug smile on her face.
Despite her pivot, Andy managed to catch the tail-end of the thing, and it actually hurt.
"C'mon, McNally!" Sam barks at the straight she just collected. "Time that footwork of yours…"
He was out of his seat as soon as he saw the wince on her face, was ready to run into the ring. Noelle's got a grip on his arm though, is yelling out some of her own orders that Sam can barely make out above the noise of the rest of the crowd. He does hear her agree with him on that last part though; "Yeah, McNally. Use your damn feet."
Their sightlines are obstructed by the fact that everyone is standing in front of them, and many are up on their chairs. Sam blows out an exasperated breath as he pokes a finger in the direction of Collins and the other rookies to try and get them to move. He can't see McNally properly anymore, and it's making him more than anxious, especially when he starts hearing some more oohs and aahs from the crowd –
He scratches at his chest, trying to send some kind of silent message to Oliver to scream at McNally to move further out…give herself some time and space in this round.
He breathes a small sigh of relief when Nash turns to him, gives him a couple of thumbs up. "She's getting a groove with her defence, her blocking's spot on."
Sam raises his eyebrows at his partner though; he doesn't want to have to rely on a commentary –
"Glad to hear," he snaps, his jaw still feeling tight. "But I wouldn't mind seeing this for myself."
"Thatta girl, champ," Oliver yelps, fists pumping the air as he continues to follow McNally's moves with his eyes. There isn't a whole lot of time left in this round, which is a pity, because finally, finally, the rookie seems to be getting her mojo for this.
He has to scream to be heard though; wills her to stick with all defence for now. Decides their best option is to wear Cruz down; the series of punches she's throwing are being matched by McNally for now…
He's like a proud big brother, the way Andy's fending things off. If she can keep parrying and rolling like she is, surely Cruz will back off –
Marlo knows she's got this.
McNally's defence is better than she anticipated, but if she doesn't start to throw some punches herself soon, at the very least Cruz will win on points.
Also: if the rookie thinks she can wear her down, she'll be sorely disappointed. Marlo's fitness is something she's extremely proud of. She's got enough endurance to go ten rounds or more at this rate. The three rounds they're fighting are a cinch in her books.
She grins a little at McNally, tries on a hook that is evaded by her opponent managing to step back in time. Marlo goes again though –
Even manages to land a nice uppercut to the chin.
She smirks as she hears the blue corner groan, almost says out loud; "you ain't seen nothing yet." Screw the rookies and their petulance; she'll show them what experience brings.
The end of round one rings loudly, crowd booing and carrying on with words Marlo can barely make out. She's happy with her lot though, ready again already to up the ante…before she even takes a break.
She watches McNally as she walks back to her corner, a towel and hug thrown her way by Shaw.
She looks up into the bleachers and spots Sam amidst the sea of rookies, gives him a wink.
Sam bites into his lip, nauseous.
What the hell was he ever thinking? It's like Cruz is some sort of Jekyll and Hyde. The woman was friendly and down-to-earth and happy when they were dating…and now she's just…smug?
He pops some gum in his mouth, desperately wants to go and see Andy. She's taken a few hits despite the good defence she put up. He wants to tell her to mix things up a little, she's taking this too lightly. He wants to remind her of those times they trained together, how sometimes they would try to switch styles just to keep one another (and themselves) on their toes…
For the last few seconds of the round, Nick's had one eye on the fight and one eye on the clock. The break between rounds isn't long; he knows this from experience, knows he's got next to no time to tell Andy what she needs to hear. He's furiously searching his pockets for a piece of paper, snatches up Gail's purse just as the bell goes. He's already got his hand on the pen before she grapples to get it back. "Hey!"
"I needed a pen," he mutters, already scratching it furiously across the back of the receipt he found in his pocket.
The second Andy put her eye on Swarek, she hasn't really looked at anyone else. Nick figures even if she does have time, it won't be him she's looking for, even if he did tell her she should. Any other situation and he'd just text her if he needed to tell her something. Hell of a lot of good that does now though.
But she needs to know – another round like that and she won't stand a chance.
Sam's sitting back in his seat but his leg is bouncing up and down. It's taking everything he has not to just march over there and pull Oliver out of the way so he can get in her ear.
"He's got her," Noelle assures him, still has that solid grip on his arm. "They know, okay? They'll figure it out."
Sam really hopes so, but he's not so sure. Oliver's great, but he's not a fighter, never has been, talks his way out of most confrontations, has talked Sam out of more than one too. (Why the hell didn't she pick Collins or… well… Collins?)
Nick's on his feet beside him calling out to one of the young kids on the floor nearby. "Jesse!"
A ball cap covered head of dirty blonde hair turns and then smiles as he takes a few steps closer. "Hey, Officer Nick."
Nick thrusts a folded up piece of paper out to the twelve year old and then tips his chin to the blue corner. "Can you take this over to Officer McNally?"
Jesse shifts his skateboard into his other hands and grins. "Sure thing." He's had a bit of a crush on Andy since they helped him out a couple weeks back, right after they got home.
"What's that?" Sam growls out over Nick's shoulder, causing Jesse to take a step back.
Nick glares back at Sam; they really don't have time for this but he knows Swarek well enough to know that he won't back down, especially when it comes to Andy. "The points, she needs to know what she has to make up for."
Sam nods at Jesse. "Kid!" He barks out at him.
"Yeah?" Jesse stutters out, feeling more than a little intimated by the gruff tone.
"Bring that here," Sam orders, curling his outstretched fingers forward a couple of times.
"We only have a minute," Nick reminds him.
"I only need a second," Sam barks back before he grabs the paper, plucks the pen from Nick's hand, and scribbles down a note of his own.
He thrusts the paper back into Jesse's hand and nods toward McNally. "Now hurry," he orders the kid who takes off running. He's never met the officer before but is pretty sure he doesn't want to let him down.
When they sit back in their seats, Sam turns his head to Nick. "You really think she's down by five?"
Nick purses his lips together, knows he was being a little generous to Andy. "At least."
Sam scratches at his chin, the muscle in his jaw jumping at the increased tension. "Damn it."
"What'd you say?"
Sam turns away, looks over at Andy to see the young boy approach her. "Nothing she doesn't know already."
"Gotta step it up, Champ," Oliver lets her know once he's done with the hug. He rubs at her shoulders a little to try and loosen up any knots that have taken up residence, winces at a few of his own.
Andy's head's bobbing in agreement. "I know. It's not working though. I can't seem to get inside like I want to," she admits with a scowl. "I'm trying but I can't find the opening I need; I can only push so far without getting knocked back on my ass." She doesn't understand why she hasn't found that opening yet when she was trying so hard -
She scoops the water bottle up off the mat and squeezes in a mouthful before she spits it out into the bucket Oliver's holding up. She pulls her face back up, a wrinkle worrying her forehead. "How bad is it?
Oliver's shaking his head, pushes the towel at her to get her to wipe herself down. "I don't know the numbers but…"
Andy holds up a finger for Oliver to give her a second. She spins in her seat and leans around him to see if she can get a look over at Nick; he said he'd have the numbers for her. She leans on the ropes and pushes to her feet, but she can't get a clear line; there are too many people in the way.
She drops her head down when she hears her name being called softly below her. She recognizes a kid from the neighbourhood that they helped out just after she and Nick got back. "Hey Jess. What's this," she asks putting on a polite and brave face. She doesn't have a lot of time but she also knows that everything she does and says will have an effect on a kid like him.
Jesse grins wide up at her, the adoration shining in his eyes. "It's from Officer Nick," he states proudly.
Right now Andy loves both Nick and Jess, smiles brightly at the boy as she tips the beak of his ball cap down. "Thanks buddy."
The blush the kid has going would rival Andy's on a good day, but he still manages to stutter out. "You're doing great."
Andy laughs at him a little. "Nice try," she mutters, points her eyebrow up a little, "Thought we decided you were going to stick with telling the truth these days?"
The pink in Jesse's cheeks deepens about three shades and the smile starts to slide a little in worry. Andy lets him off the hook though, tips her chin over at his buddies, grins big at him again. "Stay out of trouble."
"Yes, ma'am," he agrees and jogs over to his friends.
Andy opens up the note and it's short and sweet. 'Good defence. But you need points to win. She's +5.'
Andy groans to herself, was hoping it wasn't quite that bad. She's about to fold it up when she sees some familiar scrawl on the bottom half. 'TIME and SPACE.'
Andy's mind immediately travels back to when they trained together, how sometimes they would try to switch styles just to keep each other on their toes… how he kept teasing her about time and space, two things that just didn't work for her. She grins a little to herself… until then… and now:
Time - She can't get in and press like she has been; it's not getting her anywhere. She needs to hang back, keep her distance, bide her time, look for the openings (read the signs) and then take them.
Space - She tries to remember what Sam told her, what he showed her – how he stays back, watches, learns, doesn't let himself get rocked by the big hit.
She smirks up at Oliver, gleam in her eye. He doesn't have to say it, can see it in her face. 'She's got this'. This is her fight now.
He doesn't even look at the paper she passes over to him. Doesn't matter; they're only looking forward now.
The bell rings telling her it's time to get back on her feet. She swirls one last gulp of water around in her mouth and then spits like a true champion. Grins big up at Oliver after she does, gets a pretty good chuckle back for her efforts.
Marlo doesn't waste any time. Comes in early and fast again, but this time Andy's ready. Blocks everything Cruz throws at her, even smirks a little in triumph. Except then her body's stuck on automatic pilot and she finds herself unintentionally moving in closer until Marlo lands a left hook.
"On. Your. Toes. McNally," Sam barks out, stressing every single word. She's not sure if everything just went quiet then or if it's because she's so in tuned to him and his voice, but the message gets through loud and clear.
She bounces back a step, eyes up Cruz a little more. She knows she can't just sit by and watch though… wait until it's too late. So she keeps her feet moving, throws out a couple of long punches in experimentation, uses the time and space to really study Cruz.
And then she sees it. The signs. There's a distinct rhythm to Cruz' game here. Whenever she's going with the uppercut her shoulder drops for a second first. And right before her straight punch…
As soon as Andy sees the next one coming, she's counters with a left jab square into Marlo's chest.
Andy finds the huff of air that comes out of the other woman to be very satisfying and she can't hold back the grin. "Awesome," she utters on her next breath.
They trade a few punches after that with nothing really connecting, except the dots in McNally's brain as she sticks to the outside. She watches, waits, and then weaves to the left and lands another jab into the side of Cruz.
Marlo's eyebrows jump a little; McNally's turned it up another notch and she's going to have to step up her own game if she's going to stay ahead. "Look at you, McNally, trying to play with the big girls."
Andy doesn't let her focus waver; in fact, she lets Cruz's words roll right off her back. She's too busy preparing to test another theory, this time with Cruz's left jab.
And… here it comes…
She opens herself up... and Andy's already throwing a right straight punch directly at her head.
"Nice!" Sam yells, knows now she got the message. It never did take her long…ever. He definitely lucked out when he got her as his rookie. She was always quick to catch on… only really ever had to say things once… sometimes didn't even have to say them at all… she just knew… on the job anyway. Off the job… well, off the job he wishes he would have realized just how lucky he was too… wishes maybe he might have said a few things out loud and a little more often. He shakes his head, now's not really the time…
He turns to the woman next to him, just a quick check to make sure she's not setting up shop inside his head… again. Is a little surprised when it's Traci's face that smiles back at him. Over the course of the round, he's somehow managed to make his way forward a row and is now sandwiched between Nash and Peck. It doesn't matter though as long as he can keep a good eye on Andy.
As if she could hear his thoughts, Noelle reaches out and squeezes at his shoulders. She never takes her eyes off the ring though and cheers loud when Andy lands another punch. "Hohhhh!"
Her grip on Sam's starting to edge into uncomfortable now so he shakes at his shoulders a little. When she looks down, she gives him a quick wink and promptly releases her hold. "Sorry, Sammy; got a little carried away."
Sam seriously considers bringing her down there beside them, actually wouldn't mind if she rings the neck of the guy in front of him who can't seem to stand still. Idiot's got his head in the way again, does it just about every time McNally makes a move. Sam's done more bobbing and weaving than the two women in the ring combined.
He side steps a little 'til he's got her in his sights again.
Traci side-steps along with him, leans her head right in next to his without taking her eyes off the ring. "Must have been some note."
Sam's eyes shift over to her just for a second; she's not looking at him right now but she's got some kind of smug 'I know something you don't know' kind of expression going. But what she thinks she knows…
Sam furrows his brow, swipes a hand over his mouth and rubs it against his chin. "Seems to have done the trick," he answers evasively.
Traci's eyebrows climb up a little. "Care to tell me what you might have said," she inquires keeping her gaze steadfastly glued to the bout in front of her.
"Just a couple words…" he shrugs, "hard to put much on a little piece of paper..."
Traci nods, huffs out a soft breath at the same time. She can't help but recall another little note written not all that long ago on a tiny piece of yellow paper. She knows that a couple of words can make all the difference in the world… for the right person.
"Two or three words are sometimes all that it takes… and you just know," she mutters – mostly to herself.
Oliver is practically jumping from the corner. This round is definitely going to McNally. He takes a peek over at the clock; there's not much time left at all. He's not sure if she's even yet or not, but when he looks back at Collins and sees a fresh paper in his hands, he's sure they'll know soon enough.
"One more, McNally," he hollers out. Can see Cruz is showing a little wear now, what with all those punches she's been throwing… and missing. She's had to step it up a little, try to better her odds by upping the count.
He has to give it to her though; she just does not give up. She's giving it all she's got.
It's not enough though… not right now anyway because McNally has definitely taken the upper hand. And Oliver's got a pretty good feeling about how the rest might turn out too.
Marlo's heavy breaths echo in her ears as she blocks one of McNally's shots… barely. (McNally has definitely picked up the pace, changed her tactics a little too. She's not jumping right in; she's hanging back using her head a little more.)
Marlo has to hand it to her; the girl does catch on quick – making her work a little harder, pushing her to throw more at her.
She's not ready to give up any ground though, knows she has the wherewithal to offset anything McNally throws at her. She'll be the one standing in the end… guaranteed.
Time's running out… at least for this round, and Marlo's determined to make it count - goes in for a hard right cross. She can hear the whole crowd suck in a loud breath when she misses, but she's still got one more shot at this. And she hasn't exhausted all of her tricks…
The bell rings out loud and Marlo spins on her heel and heads to her corner. She knows she's lost a little ground, but she's not out of it yet. Wants to make sure Sam knows it too, maybe see if she can get another reaction out of him – likes to get him riled up a little… feeling something.
She looks for him up in the stands again and yeah… doesn't really like the feeling she's getting right now – what with his eyes glued to McNally and his heart pretty much out there on his sleeve.
Marlo flops back on her stool, takes the water bottle from her trainer as soon as the thing is within reach. She puts her towel over her face for a second, momentarily defeated by seeing that look in Sam's eyes…
She's never had someone look at her quite the way he looks at McNally. As she peeks over the edge of her towel again she sees everything she ever wanted in a partner; this respect and adoration…and something else she can't quite put her finger on.
He's totally enamoured with the rookie, completely caught up in whatever it is that McNally has, that apparently Marlo does not. For a fleeting moment, the thought of it makes her sad, but then she feels her anger rising up again –
As her trainer barks instructions, she barely listens. She already knows what to do. Marlo refuses to let anyone get the better of her, Swarek and McNally are both going down now.
Oliver is jumping about like a chimp when Andy reaches her corner. She's ecstatic when she sees him too - this sense of elation over how things are starting to come together, how everything actually started to feel kind of…right.
Her corner-man smacks her on the back, his acknowledgment; "that's better, McNally. You got this in the bag."
Andy smiles broadly, completely pleased that her improvement has been duly noted. She shrugs a little as she takes her water and towel, knows she's not ahead yet. "Still behind on points," she puffs, even though she's not too concerned about that. She's just enjoying being out there now, and that she's using her skills in conjunction with what she's learned from Sam.
Oliver nods, his face going deadly serious all of a sudden. "But you're gonna catch up," he informs, squeezing her shoulders. "And then you're going to take the lead… and never look back."
"So…I keep doing what I'm doing," Andy wonders out loud, fairly certain that if things stay as they are, she can close the gap on any points she still has to make up. Only then she worries a little; Cruz is no dummy, she'll have been reading the changes in Andy's tactics, and will no doubt have some of her own up her sleeve.
Andy takes another sip at her water and swallows, considers just how far behind she still is. She looks over her shoulder to the faces behind her, sees Nick scribble another note…
Gail was prepared for army-boy this time; had her pen and her freshest dry-cleaning receipt at the ready for him. "Hurry up," she demands coolly, as Nick fumbles with the lid of the pen. She snatches the paper out of his hand before the ink is even dry on the '7-4 to Cruz'.
"I need to write more…" Nick whines, contemplating what else he can possibly tell Andy to get her some quick points.
"No, you don't," Gail snaps, turning her whole body away from her boyfriend so she can get to the person who does. "Shoo, kid," she instructs Jesse, the youngster looking up at her expectantly and hoping for another close encounter with his favourite officer.
She shunts her hand in the direction of Swarek, wills him to get that goofy look off his face and stop staring at Andy for at least three seconds.
"Go give this to Andy," she orders, no room for buts. "She needs to see it from you."
Gail's mouth twitches when he rolls his eyes at her, but it's possible they're both fighting a smile. "And just goddamn tell her to win already." She huffs out a breath at the end of it, exasperated with all the years she's had to stand on the sidelines and watch these two make such a…
Mess.
Clearly the two stooges are meant for one another, and this game they're playing is taking up too much space in Gail's brain.
She'll be damned if she's going to stand by in a dark spot and let these two make fools of themselves again. She'd much prefer to spend those precious moments thinking about her own heinous love life, rather than theirs.
Sam yanks the small scrap of paper from Peck's chilly fingers, gives her a bit of a glare. He refuses to be bossed about by the blonde; he doesn't care whose damn-well daughter she is…
Still. She's got a point on this occasion, he'd much rather deliver his message personally, than have some scrawny kid or Collins do it for him.
He rolls his eyes at Peck and the rest of the rookies for appearances sake. "Well," he snorts. "Get out of my way." It's a tight enough squeeze as it is to make his way down there, let alone the fact that everyone seems in the way.
As Sam looks up to the clock, he realizes he's got less than two minutes to get to her, give her the paper, and tell her his opinion on another thing that might help…
It's both the longest and shortest two minutes of Sam's life. Everything seems to be moving in fast-forward except for him. The break clock is ticking over too quickly as he tries to climb over laps and seats…even though he does seem to be crowd-surfed at one point.
Lucky for Sam, Epstein is stronger than he looks, the kid practically carts him half the way down; bemused stares from the rookies, Noelle and Tommy's eyes and grins following them as they go.
By the time Sam gets ringside, he's got a grand total of 60 seconds to do what he needs. "McNally," he pants breathless, holding his right arm in the air with the note aloft.
Andy and Oliver turn in unison, surprised looks on both their faces.
Ollie grins immediately, and throws a wink Andy's way. "Looks like your real corner-man decided to step up".
Andy blushes…again, but can't help but smile at all the connotations of that. She leans on the rope, angling her body towards Sam so she can reach for the note.
He steps in closer as she does it but doesn't release the paper even though she tries to tug it out of his hand. She frowns and bends further, her face practically right next to his. "Sam?" She's confused as to why he isn't showing her the note. Has he been covert this whole time and actually wants Marlo to win…
"Done keeping score," he whispers loud enough for Andy's ears, but nobody else.
Andy lets out a small gasp; her entire being just felt like it stepped off some ledge. It wasn't even what he said really, it was the way he said it. Warm brown eyes boring into her own, this rough edge of his voice riding over some soft.
He backs it up with the way his hand holds on to her, the paper now scrunched between both of their palms. "Quit worrying who's out in front, I know you don't really care anyway," he continues quietly, this gentle but strong voice that stirs at Andy's insides. "You're the better fighter, you've got her on the ropes. Just... Keep on your toes." He squeezes her hand gently, smiles small. "You don't need chance, McNally. Just keep fighting. We've got this. This is our bout."
Andy realizes then; if she keeps focused, keeps her footwork in order, keeps switching things up…she will fight a good fight. It's up to Cruz then to come to the party. Either the TO will give in, or keep at it…that's what fighting is about. It can be both predictable and unpredictable, you just have to keep reading the signs, roll with the punches, and throw some of your own…when the timing is right.
She smiles brightly at Sam, nodding her head. She gets it, she does. And the 'we've got this. This is our bout…" makes her heart feel like it's going to come all the way out of her chest. She will fight and keep fighting, and never give in.
Sam doesn't want to let go of her sweaty palm, but he knows he has to. Knows the fight's not quite over yet. Cruz doesn't look as though she's going to give in, so there's still work to be done.
He wonders what else a good friend might say to McNally in this situation, if there are any specific strategic hints he can give. He's pretty sure he's helped to get Andy pumped, but he also wants to get her to show Cruz exactly how good she is –
As he grips into her right hand, he rolls his eyes at himself. Smiles slowly and looks back up into hers. "Remember that day you knocked me off my feet?"
Andy giggles; they don't have time to share memories right now. Still: "which one?" she teases, only just stopping her tongue from poking out.
Sam rolls his eyes again friendly, smiles back at her with his tongue in his cheek. "The time you remembered that I'm right handed…and that you are not." He lets go of her hand then, winks up at her.
"Oh." Her own smile spreads again as the bell rings. "Ohh." Andy gets it, alright… Marlo is right handed.
(That day in the ring Sam was talking about? They kept going and going, Sam completely infuriating her by keeping his distance and being persistent with every kind of defence he could throw at her.
Andy got so frustrated with him that she ended up standing back herself for a while – let him come at her with a series of niggling, teasing right jabs…
Until eventually she snapped, her countering skills showing great potential that day. After she'd spent a quick ten seconds working out the pattern of his jabs, she threw her left cross straight down the middle and the power of it landed him right on his ass.
Of course, she dived on top of him straight after to make sure he was okay, but Sam just laid there and laughed between groans; "damn southpaws…you all should be banned.")
Sam nods, takes a single step back. Wants to say a thousand other things, but sticks with; "show me what you got."
Andy knocks her gloves together and then points them in his direction. Without even thinking, she says her newest mantra out loud:
"This one's for us."
Whatever was happening over in the blue corner has got Cruz extra stirred up. Both Oliver and Sam were giving pointers and pumping McNally up to the roof.
Clearly, Marlo is now…more than ever…just wanting to win. She will show everyone who the better woman is, even if that better woman doesn't win over Sam Swarek's heart.
Andy McNally may have clawed her way back in the second round, but Marlo has spotted some clues. The rookie was using a mix of styles, and Marlo is no slouch with doing a little of that herself.
She stands steady at the outside and decides to switch some things up. Decides to keep McNally guessing, mirroring the rookie's movements and waiting her out for a while –
Cruz putting some distance between them at the start of round 3 doesn't surprise Andy. She figured the TO would switch things up a little.
Andy respects the move too; Marlo has moved out of her comfort zone and is determined to wait this thing out.
Andy decides to go in, throw a few quick punches for points, swarm Marlo and see how she reacts. It does surprise Andy when Marlo actually lets her land a couple of hooks without much defense.
"Impressive, McNally," Marlo goads, finally bobbing and weaving to get out of Andy's reach. "Looks like someone's been giving you some good tips."
Andy furrows her brow, feels her whole headgear almost drop down. From where she's standing, it looks like Marlo has something up her sleeve…but her stance…nothing is familiar…
"Toes!" Sam and Oliver yell at her at the same time, both men noticing the over-thinking McNally was starting to do.
Andy pushes up and bounces around…remember the footwork, right. She's just got to go with this, keep her eyes on the signs…
Only then it's not her eyes that cop it, it's her ears…and the next ten seconds or so are something Andy would rather forget -
Marlo rushes into her space low, a flurry of punches aimed straight at her ribs…lower in some cases…much lower…
Andy would definitely be in some agony if they'd all connected, in fact her only saving grace in those seconds is her good defence. She manages to ward off most of what Cruz throws at her with a series of blocks to the TO's wrists. She'd say something to her about how close she's getting to the belt, but she's far to focussed on weathering the storm –
Sam is barely breathing, and hardly any sound is coming out of his mouth any more. He's been yelling at the referee for what feels like hours; demanding the guy warn Cruz about how close she's getting to being below the belt.
When Oliver takes up that cause, Sam switches his attention back to Andy. He jumps up to where Shaw is, is pretty sure whatever he is managing to say is getting drowned by the din of the crowd but still...
"McNally…" he yells, a last-ditch reminder… "the best defence…"
He doesn't finish the sentence, knows he doesn't need to. But also, he's trying to lip-read whatever Cruz is saying to her. Sam can't make it out, but from the expression of Andy's face, he figures the words landed somewhere that hurt –
It's a series of ugly sentences that Marlo throws Andy's way. The words hitting harder than punches ever could. As the TO throws her fist over and over, she insinuates: "You never loved him, how could you - you walked away, he was just one more string to your bow…"
The TO also goes on to tell Andy that "Sam is better off without you, at least that way he won't get himself killed"…amongst a host of other things that it hurts Andy to hear.
A series of flashbacks run through Andy's mind; everything that's ever happened between her and Sam - all buttoned-up. How dare this woman even profess to know what they've been through…what they mean to one another…
It's as Sam shouts from the sidelines that damn line about the 'best defence' that Andy clocks her, the same powerful left straight, right into the stomach of Cruz. Only this time the punch is about 10 times heavier and sends Marlo to the other side of the ring, landing the woman on her backside.
Sam's jaw drops open when it happens; if it wasn't a friendly fight, he would've cheered a little too loud. It was a clean punch that McNally landed on Marlo; similar to the one he was once on the receiving end of.
He stands there a little gobsmacked for a few seconds, is pretty sure the rest of the crowd is too. He can't blame McNally for the heavy-hand, Cruz herself was pulling out all stops. He is a little concerned for Marlo though, she's not looking too great. Still, it's likely to only have winded her, no long term damage in that.
Andy looks on shell-shocked as the TO tries to get to her feet, but doubles over instead. The wind is knocked out of the senior officer, and she's not getting up –
Andy jogs toward her opponent, all sorts of embarrassed and sorry that things went that far. She's still upset at all the accusations, but she's mortified that she may have hurt Marlo…
"Don't come near me," Cruz growls at her, looking up at Andy fiercely. "Just leave… get off your high horse and go."
"I just…I'm sorry," she gasps, checking first that Marlo is relatively okay before she ducks through the ropes –
And then runs.
Up Next: The mop up...