Save Him One More Time: Phase 3

Chapter 16- Overstayed Welcome

"Well, Sam, I guess we're going to Moscow."
Jesse sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.
"You said we were going to Russia."
"Moscow's in Russia, silly."
Jesse plopped his hat back onto his head and ruffled Sam's hair.
"Pack your stuff, kid. We're catching the first thing outta here."
"But I don't have stuff."
"I was making a joke." He sighed again, making a mental note to teach this kid some humor.

It was a long, sleepless week of sitting still, but they eventually made it.
The Russians were just as friendly as Genji had said. One older woman insisted on taking them back to her house to spend the night, and fed them as much as they could eat, laid out several thick duvets in the floor near the fireplace, and seemed to think Sam was the sweetest little thing. In the morning she wrote a little note and pressed it into Jesse's hand.
They found Zarya's house easily enough. Jesse walked up to the door, pulling the suitcase along behind him and Sam clinging to his back like a little monkey.
He knocked. A large woman with pink hair and a scar above her eye answered.
"So many visitors. I never have this many in so little days." She noticed Sam's head over his shoulder.
"What brings you two here? Where is his mother?" she said, opening the door for them to come in.
"I was told that an angel was here," Jesse said, setting Sam down and pulling the suitcase close to him. "I've got some of her equipment and I think she'd like it back."
"Why do you bring child." Zarya motioned to Sam. "Is angel his mother?" She frowned. "Are you his father?"
"What? No, kid don't have parents and he didn't want me to leave him with Mike so I had to bring him with me." He shook his head. "Why does everyone think he's mine? I ain't ready for that kind of responsibility yet." He sighed. "You're probably wanting to know who I am, why I'm here, all that stuff." Zarya nodded.
"I'm Jesse McCree, I'm here to talk to Zarya-or Aleksandra, whichever she prefers, about the angel I mentioned when I got here."
"Good news for you. I am Aleksandra. Call me Zarya. What do you want with the angel?"
"I have her stuff. Her suit, visor, staff. She'll probably want it back, seeing as she uses it pretty regularly and didn't get to take it with her when Reaper caught her."
"Reaper caught her." Zarya frowned. "I thought she caught him."
"Well maybe she did. But last time I saw them, he had her by the arm and was fixing to leave with her." He touched his chest in memory. "Wait a minute." He furrowed his eyebrows. "He's here?" He put his hand on Peacekeeper. "Where? I gotta stop him before he does anything else!" Zarya took his arm and pushed him against the wall. "No. There will be no shooting in my house. Is a safe house for all who enter. Gabriel Reyes is changed, if the angel does not lie. You will not touch him. You will not touch the angel. Or anyone else in this house." She let him up.
"Yes ma'am." Jesse straightened his hat.
"Does he remember me?"
Zarya shrugged.
"Come. I will take you to your room. Bring your son."
"He's not my son," Jesse said, taking Sam's hand in one of his own and grabbing the suitcase with the other.

There was a knock on Ana's door.
"Ana? Is Zarya."
"Come in." Zarya opened the door but did not enter.
"Angela."
"Yes?" The medic turned around.
"Do you know a cowboy with a child?"
Angela's eyes widened and she swayed slightly. Ana stood and put her arm around Angela.
"Dark hair, red poncho? The child is about six?" Zarya nodded. A tear slipped down Angela's face. "Where is he?"
Zarya hesitated. "You are okay?" she asked.
Angela nodded, though she still leaned on Ana. "Yes. I just thought he was dead." She wiped her eyes. "Where is he?"
Zarya turned. "Follow me. Ana, if you are okay with him when Angela brings Gabriel?" She looked back for confirmation. Ana nodded. "Might as well, I'm going to have to leave afterwards anyway." Zarya nodded. "Come with me, angel."

"Jesse." Zarya knocked firmly.
He answered the door, frowning.
"I was almost asleep, this better be..." He saw Angela and stopped. He swallowed.
"Mercy, uh... I..." She slipped past Zarya and hugged him tight, then pushed him to arm's length, looking him over through her tears.
"He shot you! I saw you die!" She dashed the tears away from her eyes, but more fell. "How are you still alive?" He pointed across the room to where Sam was sleeping on the chaise.
"He managed to get your staff and pull the trigger at me before I passed out." Angela saw Sam and shook Jesse's shoulders.
"Why did you bring him all the way here?"
"He didn't want to stay at my place. Besides, I thought you wanted to keep him."
"Jesse, I left his information at an orphanage. If someone who isn't in mortal danger can take care of him, and wants to, they could have, except you-" she sighed. "Come on. You might as well carry him with us so he doesn't wake up and get scared. There's a meeting that is going to happen and you need to be there."
"Alrighty." Jesse picked Sam up and pointed to the suitcase in the corner.
"I got your suit and stuff. Figured I couldn't just leave it laying around." She shook her head. "I'll get it later."
"I left Gabriel in your old room, Angela."
"Alright. Is there anyone else in this house that knows us that needs to be in on this meeting?" Zarya shook her head.
"I don't think so."
"Anything need to be got ready for the meeting?"
"A--" she stopped herself- "there are chairs in the room."

"Gabriel?" Angela cracked the door open. He was asleep, sprawled across the bed, his head and one arm hanging off one side and his feet hanging off the other. She gently poked his shoulder. He snapped awake and nearly punched her.
"Calm down, it's me."
"Angela. What's wrong?"
"You'll see. Put your shirt on. We have a meeting we need to be in. And I need to bring you up to speed on the past eight years." She handed him his shirt off the floor. He took it and slipped it over his head. "You look like you've seen a ghost, Angel."
"I thought I did."
"Wait, really? Who?" She poked her head outside and nodded.
"Commander." Jesse McCree walked in, carrying a sleeping child.
"Jesse?" Gabriel looked from Jesse to Angela and back several times. "You said I killed him!"
"I thought you did," she explained, "but Sam is a smart boy and figured out how to use my staff."
"Sam?" Gabriel noticed the child. "Jesse has a son?" Jesse punched the air.
"No! No, I do not have a son! Why does everyone $#&% think he's my kid?" He took his cigar out of his mouth. "I found him running around in New Sacramento with a hurt foot and no parents and I took him to Angela and she patched him up and then you showed up and shot me!" He stuck the cigar back in his mouth and bit down decidedly. "He ain't mine." Angela stepped between them.
"That discussion can wait. Right now, we've got another important discussion and we need to go to the basement." She took Sam from Jesse and started walking. "Come on."

Zarya knocked on the door. "We're all here," she said. "Are you ready for us?"
"Yes," came the muffled voice from within. Zarya opened the door and motioned the others in. "I'll be outside if you need me," she said, closing the door behind them.
"Right. What's the meeting about?" Jesse sat in a chair and held his arms out for Angela to give Sam back to him. Gabriel sat a few seats over. "More importantly, who's that?" he said, nodding at the window. Ana turned around.
"Gabriel, I'd hoped you'd at least recognise me. I know it's been a very long time but honestly."
"Ana, the last time I saw you, you were in uniform and your hair was a few shades darker." He stood up. "Glad to see you're not dead. Gave the enemy what for, huh?" Ana shook her head. "Sit down, Gabriel." She saw Sam, who had just woken up and was blinking sleepily, still not aware of the others.
"Jesse, when did you-"
"He's not mine." He cut her off. "I ain't married and he ain't my son. He was supposed to be left back in America but he didn't want to stay so I took him along with me." Ana shook her head. "Glad to see nothing has changed, Jesse. You're as reckless as ever." Jesse frowned.
"Wait a minute." He pointed at her. "You died."
Ana nodded. "So they told you."
"So Commander Morrison knew you weren't dead?"
"No. They all thought I was dead. They just never found me. I suspect he's long since given up hope, though."
"Angela said Morrison died in the explosion that was supposed to have killed you," Jesse countered, turning his pointing to Reyes. Angela shook her head.
"Jesse, Morrison isn't dead, Ana isn't dead, and Gabe isn't dead. You're not dead either, remember. I told all of these people you were shot. Have a little perspective."
Ana told her to sit down.
"We've got a lot to cover and not much time. This many people coming to Zarya's house in so short a time frame will attract attention, and I'll bet Moira already knows we're here." She explained what had happened over the past eight years since Overwatch had been shut down, and then explained what Moira had to do with it, and the rise of Talon as the 'new' Overwatch.

"Tell me, faraor, have you seen either of these people?" The tall foreigner held up pictures of a blonde, a doctor by the coat and stethoscope around her shoulders, and a scarred man, in a black hoodie, his eyes piercing even through the paper. The woman nodded. "Yes, they were going to Aleksandra. You might give her a call, maybe she knows where they've gone since." She stopped, remembering something. "Did you want to see their friend too?"
The foreigner turned around so fast her hood fell off, and her short red hair waved a bit in the wind. "Their friend?" she said, pulling down her glasses.
"Had a strange accent. Don't you let this get out, now, but I suspect he had omnic augmentation done."
Moira pushed her glasses back up and pulled her hood back over her hair. "Interesting," she said, smirking. "Thank you for your help," and she walked away.

(My apologies for the late chapter, the days have started to run together and I didn't realise I was supposed to put this out on Friday until Saturday night. Hopefully this whole quarantine/social distancing thing goes away fairly soon and I can get back to what used to be normal.
Thank you guys so much for reading! I hope you've enjoyed the story so far, and I hope you'll continue to enjoy it as I continue to upload!)

faraor : Irish for "dear".