You Really Bombed That

Shit...was hitting the fan. So was every other manner of biological matter in the vicinity. There were guns, and bullets, and all kinds of explosions and fire. It was the worst kind of nightmare a person could imagine if they were in a jacket with NYPD stamped across the back. This was the kind of situation where people got hurt, killed even, and they were right in the middle of everything.

There was plastic everywhere, other polymers too, but there was too much chaos and confusion for Quin to use it for anything useful. They weren't even wearing their vests...who needed them for a simple Q&A with a non-hostile witness? Quin was panicked, taking cover, shouting instructions that nobody was following. Ashton was too. Quick shots were fired off in succession...and then there was an explosion. A big explosion.

It was one of those moments where time slowed down to a crawl. Movements happened. One second, Ashton was in the fray with her, the next he was grabbing her, moving her, and shielding her with his own body. What. The. Hell?

The explosion had been big, and things were falling from the sky and landing with various clatters, Quin lifted her head, opened her mouth to ask Ashton if he was okay, and found her words silenced by his lips.

Adrenaline....was a hell of a thing. They were alive! Quin's ears were ringing, her body ached from various scrapes and small cuts, but she didn't feel any of it. Suddenly, she was very aware of Ashton pressed against her. He smelled good this close, she noticed that even with everything else that had happened.

She kissed him back, hands sliding up his chest.

For a moment. Then she fell back to Earth like the pieces of plaster, brick, and wood falling from the sky. The hands that had, moments before, been lightly fisted in Ashton's shirt shoved him back, and startled brown eyes stared widely at his face.

"What the hell?" she whispered, a hand going to her lips.

Whoops?

Whoops?

Ashton had just kissed her...uninvited...and all he had to say was "Whoops...." Quin's head was spinning slightly, and for a moment, she wondered if she'd bumped it in all the chaos from the explosion. The adrenaline rush was fading, her other senses were catching up, things were starting to ache...and she had kissed him back.

He was confused? SHE had a boyfriend. For a moment, she just stood, staring, and trying to sort out everything that had just happened.

They had almost died. The redhead nodded her head. They had almost died. Still...how did that translate to kissing? It didn't make sense. Suddenly, nothing made sense, and guilt was slowly weaseling its way into Quin's chest and belly, along with any uninvited butterflies that might have been lingering.

What now? Other officers were making their way into the house now, along with the fire department, and EMT's. Thank god they hadn't been a few moments earlier.

"We need to see if the witness is still alive." she said, voice slightly choked...from the dust. The burning cheeks...those were from the heat of the explosion.

The rest...she really couldn't deal with the rest right now. An EMT approached, and Quin waved him off, picking her way through the debris. There was plenty of work that needed doing, and needed doing then.

Apparently, the concept of work needing done was lost on Ashton. His hand closed around her arm and she stopped, heaving a frustrated sigh at the EMT's who were misunderstanding everything...thank god.

They thought that Ashton was concerned for his partner. That he was concerned for her wellbeing, and insisting that she got checked out before they did anything else. The other officers would check on the witness and make sure the bomber was no longer an issue. The firefighters had any lingering flames under control. Her ears were ringing, and whatever it was Ashton wanted to say...well, she just didn't know what to do about that.

"Fine. In a minute. I'll meet you at the bus. Him too." she said to the EMT, the look on her face making it clear that there would be no argument.

She watched the EMT's the whole way out of the room before looking back at Ashton, cheeks instantly pinking up as she finally made eye contact.

"What?" she said, voice tinged with suspicion. "Can I have my arm back?"

Things had gotten hairy? That was the understatement of the year...maybe ever.

What was he trying to say? There were a lot of 'we's' in what he was saying.

Quin's head hurt as she shook it slowly from side to side.

"What we need to figure out is if this case is closed." she said, looking down and to the right, avoiding eye contact again. They were in a trashed house full of their closest colleagues.

"Then I need a drink."

"Or ten."

Oh. He was going to go for the drinks with her. Was that such a good idea after what had just happened? Quin stared at Ashton for a minute, trying to figure out what she was going to do. The guilt was hitting her full-force now, and she shook her head again, like she was trying to clear it.

He'd lost a partner before? Quin's brow furrowed, what did that have to do with anything? It made sense that he'd tried to protect her...that was just the kind of guy Ashton was. The kiss though...the kiss didn't make any sense, even with the extra info. The redhead just nodded. Why was he looking at her like that, and why did it make her feel even worse?

The techs. Checked out. Yeah, she'd promised. "You too." she said.

They had both survived the blast with little more than scrapes and a few bruises and once the techs had declared them fit for duty, Quin and Ashton had made their way back to the scene of the blast and had gotten down to business. It was a relief after everything that had happened, and Quin even managed to make herself feel a little bit better about everything that had happened.

Her reaction hadn't been that outlandish. Adrenaline did incredible things to people all the time. It let mom's lift cars off of babies, and let people cut their own arms off when they were trapped under boulders. It wasn't that outlandish to think that she had kissed Ashton back...and it wasn't that outlandish that he had kissed her. This trip to the bar was proof that everything was going to be fine.

There was no way he'd have agreed to go, would have acted normal as they'd worked, gone through all the motions if there had been more to it than that...right? God she felt horrible...and was going to have to have a talk with Nate...but everything was going to be fine. Wasn't it?

Quin sighed and cast a look in Ashton's direction just as he cast one in hers. The redhead's eyes darted away first, and quickly. Finally, they reached the bar. Somehow Mike had known and had two beers sitting on the bar, even as they walked up.

The redhead plopped down on the stool and took a long drink.

"God bless you." she said to the man behind the counter, who was now surreptitiously cleaning a glass. He grunted, and walked away.

"So....?" she said, eyeing Ashton with a sideways glance.