Save Him One More Time

Chapter 7

"So, Commander, a date?" Moira O'Deorain smiled. Reyes nodded slowly, giving her a look out of the corner of his eye. She looked very mysterious when she smiled, and not a good mysterious. She raised an eyebrow and said, "You know, Commander, I might be able to help you overcome any natural nervousness you may experience. I've been working on a piece of tech that does just that for battle, but I could easily tweak the settings for your date night." He shook his head. "I'm not nervous, Moira. The hard part's over." He ran his hands over his face. "I'm going to take a rest. If the boy scout calls, I'm busy. If anyone else calls, wake me." He ignored her, "Of course," knowing she'd wake him up no matter who called. She hated dealing with Overwatch, ever since she found out about the split. In his quarters, he sighed and pulled his shirt off. She'd said yes. He had a date, although he didn't know where or when. He'd have to send someone to find a good place to eat. Morrison wouldn't let him even speak to most of the members of his team, much less send them out on personal missions. Moira was a little too...off...to send on a restaurant hunt, and Genji didn't eat much of anything. He sighed. McCree it was. He laid on his bed and fell asleep trying to think of any places there were to eat at in town.

A sharp knock on his door woke him.
"Commander, the medic wants to talk to you." Moira sounded tense. She didn't like that he still associated with her, especially after what Morrison had done. He sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Show her into my office, Moira. I'll be right out." He yawned, and grabbed his shirt up off the floor, running through his mental to-do list while he pulled it on over his head. Stretching as he stood, he left his quarters and made his way to his office. Angela was there, looking exhausted and happy. The instant he walked through the door she stood and said, "I've finished the prosthetic. There are a few tests left to run, but I should be able to get it on Jesse by the end of the week." Gabe glanced at the calendar on the wall as he sat down behind the desk. "Angela, it's Friday." She frowned. "By the end of next week, then." She sat down, shaking her head. "I should probably rest but I just had a cup of coffee and I don't sleep well on caffeine." She looked a little closer at him. "Oh, did I wake you up? I can leave if-"
"No, it's fine," he said, blinking the last of the sleep from his eyes. "I was going to get up right about now anyways. But you look terrible, doc. You look like you haven't slept in a month." She sighed. "Not too much of an exaggeration, actually. Once the coffee wears off I'll go-" she yawned a very big yawn- "to..."
She didn't finish her sentence, and Gabe had to stifle a laugh. The medic had fallen asleep where she sat, her pose reminiscent of someone who'd been shot. He got up and slipped out, returning shortly with a blanket. He draped it over her, arranging her so she wouldn't have a stiff neck when she woke up, and locked the door from the inside before leaving. He stuck his head in Moira's lab and said, "The Overwatch medic's asleep in my office, so keep it down." Moira sniffed. "Well, I'm not the one you should be saying that to, but I'll try not to blow anything up in here." Then he went to Jesse and Genji's shared quarters and growled, "The Overwatch medic's sleeping in my office, so keep it down, you got that? You wake her up and I'll have you both on laundry duty." They nodded, eyes wide and somewhat afraid. Reyes knew they wouldn't keep very quiet for long, but hopefully she got a few hours' rest. She definitely needed it. He poked his head back in. "Actually, you know what, why don't you two go downtown and do some restaurant hunting. Genji, you can rate the service and McCree, I'd send Moira but I'm afraid she'd poison it so you have to go and test the food." He paused for a second. "And do not  make me regret setting you two loose on the town."
They nodded, a bit more eagerly this time. "You got it, Commander," Jesse said, saluting. Reyes rolled his eyes and left for the training room.

Four shots rang out in quick succession. Four bots fell immediately after, and four bells went off, indicating critical hits. The cycle continued, four shots, four clangs, four bells. Reyes found it quite soothing, and picturing Jack's face on each bot was icing on the cake. $&#%, he hated that guy. No, Reyes, you're not good enough for Overwatch. No, Reyes, stay in your  side of the base, where you belong. The shots came closer together, one missing. He spun around and shot the four bots on the other end of the room. The UN decided I was better than you, Reyes. You don't deserve to be here, Reyes. I wish you were gone, Reyes. He let loose with a war cry, blasting one bot entirely off its base, sending sparks flying. Smoke filtered up from the pile of metal. The computerised voice of Athena recommended he leave the room to avoid breathing in the smoke. He tossed his guns into his locker and left, a smoldering glare burning in his eyes.

The waiter seemed unsure of what to do, but that was forgivable. After all, it wasn't every day a one-armed cowboy and a cyborg showed up requesting "yer finest table, please!" Although that had really been a bit over the top, even for Jesse. They'd been seated at a table away from the others, near a window with a view of the mountains. Genji thought he could just see the base, barely a splash of white in the trees. He let McCree order, explaining that he wasn't very hungry and would just split the appetizer with him. To be completely truthful, he wasn't hungry at all - he had little more than lungs in his chest. But he would at least taste it.
"You were lyin', weren't you? About splittin' the appetizer?"
"No. I intend to try it. You know very well I can't eat, Jesse. But I want to see what it tastes like." McCree made a face. "Well, shoot. I guess you'll want to try everythin' then?" He sighed when Genji confirmed the question with a nod. "Aw, $&#%." Genji flicked his arm. "Jesse, there was no call for that." He shoved Genji's hand away. "'Course there was! You're gonna eat all my food!" Genji sighed, one hand on his forehead. "I can't eat, McCree. I can taste and that's about it. You know that." McCree crossed his arms defiantly. "Yeah, well, I ain't gonna let you just chew it all up and then spit it out, muchacho. You get one bite." Genji nodded. "Sounds fair. One bite of everything, and you'd better have a good supply of napkins. I expect you'll get dessert."
"And coffee," McCree added. "Hold up, partner. How are you gonna try the drinks? You can't spit that out into a napkin." Genji shook his head. "I think you can tell if the drinks are good, if your taste in coffee is any indication." Their conversation was interrupted by the server bringing the appetizer. Genji muttered something under his breath before picking one up and taking a small bite. He made a face and looked at Jesse.
"Is this how all...eggs...are supposed to taste?" Jesse nodded. "Least the deviled ones anyways. An' they're good ones, too," he said through a mouthful. "Lots of paprika on these. I like 'em." Genji shook his head, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "They taste like sulfur. And a little sweet." Jesse nodded sagely. "That's the paprika. Brings all the other flavors together. You should try the middle part." Genji spat it out as fast as he could get the napkin to his mouth.
"Why is there acid in it? Does it not burn your mouth?" McCree laughed. "No, Genji, that's mustard. Ain't hardly acid at all. In fact," he said, taking a large bite of the last one, "you think that's bad, you should try vinegar. Won't burn you but it sure tastes like $&#%." Genji furrowed his eyebrows. "I think I'm fine, thanks." He sighed. "Do you think they have soba anywhere in town?" McCree frowned. "What's soba?"
"Something I ate often as a child." Genji folded his hands in his lap. Manners had been impressed on him from a very young age, and he could not shake the feeling that someone would pinch him sharply if he went amiss. "It is a hundred times better than these eggs." Jesse shrugged. "Suit yourself. Everyone's entitled to his own opinion, I guess."
The bill paid, they returned to the base and wrote up their reports.

Waves crashed on the shore, a lovely blue contrast to the pale grey sky. She watched them coming in, each wave rising higher and higher. One fell in front of her, the spray lightly misting her face; though she couldn't feel it, she knew it was there. Letting her eyes close, she took a deep breath and tried to keep the moment. She had only been to this ocean once before, and she kept the memory close. Her eyes snapped open, though, when she heard her name.
"Angela!"
She turned. Gabe was standing there, motioning her closer. His eyes were bloodshot, and he seemed ready to collapse. He was bleeding from a gaping wound in his side. She ran to catch him before he fell, but she made no progress. The sky turned red. He called to her again.
"Angela!" He sounded demonic.
Angela stopped. Fire. Everywhere. Between her and Reyes, in the sky. The ocean had been replaced with it. She flew up, trying to escape it. The flames licked closer, brushing her legs and arms. Her suit gave way and she fell, engulfed in flame.