The battle had been waging on for what seemed like an eternity and only just now had it begun to die down. The city had been all but leveled in their latest assault on Talon. The dust was clearing and agents were regrouping, a sigh of relief slipped through the lips of Doctor Angela Ziegler. She glanced at the battle hardened agents of Overwatch, cataloging injuries that would need patching up later, but something was off. Where was he? Her moment of relief had now surged into a wave of panic.

"What's wrong, love?" Tracer cheerily inquired as the doctor strode past her in search of their comrade. "Where is Reyes?", Mercy's words hung in the air as Tracer surveyed her fellow agents and realized their commanding officer was nowhere to be found. She couldn't waste time rallying a search party, she needed to find him, she needed to help him. The wings on her Valkyrie suit sputtered to life with a yellow glow as she took to the air for her search. 'How could I be so naive? It's never this easy.' Her thoughts raced as she desperately scoured through the collapsed buildings and rubble.

Her pleas for him to reveal himself went unanswered and her heart stayed unmoving in her throat, 'I let this happen, this is my fault. He was my patient, I should have been watching over him.' Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps, could it be him? The sound was emanating from a nearby toppled church, a shadowy figure passed through the doorway, but from this distance her vision could not decipher who or what it was. Her wings hummed to life once again and she flew forward to the entrance of the once grand sanctuary. Beams of light licked through the cracks in the ceiling and shattered stained glass windows, pews sat overturned and crushed, while pages of religious scripture littered the floor. One thing was certain, this had once been a holy place, but there was no god here now.

"Gabriel? Are you in here?" Her voice was soft and warm yet full of worry. Click, click, click. The sound of heels connecting with the ground echoed behind the angel. "Hello, Doctor." Widowmaker hissed from a balcony above, "Did you enjoy the show?" Her chest swelled and burned with anger, "Amélie, where is he?" she spit. The assassin noted her worried tone, "Wouldn't you like to know? One of my bullets barely missed his heart last I saw him." The spider was playing her but she needed answers, "It doesn't have to be this way, tell me where he is."

She let out a seductive cackle, "I will destroy you and all of Overwatch, bullet by bullet, starting with Gabriel Reyes." Gunfire rang out as she shot the nearest window and grappled away through its remains. "As long as I am alive, you won't lay a finger on him." Mercy vowed. An ear shattering explosion followed her declaration, the force of the blast cracked through the air and the world began to fade away as the ceiling fell to the earth.

Light peaked through the fallen boards and roof tiles that laid above her limp body, is this what her patients had seen when she charged to their rescue? "You let her go alone?!" A muffled but familiar voice called from above, "If she sustained anything major I will deal with you, personally." Could it be? The light was now blinding as Winston removed the ceiling beam and debris that had trapped her. Though she was conscious and aware of her surroundings her limbs were like those of a rag doll.

"Doc, you alright?" One hand snaked around her waist, the other cupped her head. "Angela, say something." His tone is rough and demanding but his genuine concern was evident. Her glimmering blue eyes fluttered open though her once white uniform was now blackened from ash and stained with blood that she wasn't entirely sure belonged to her. A gash was visible through a tear in her uniform, he eyed it careful as it wept crimson down her rib cage. A radio is dispensed from a pocket on his belt, "I need an evac, stat!" he demanded into the device. His head cocks to the group of onlooking agents and soldiers. "Who let her go alone?" He barked at them.

Before anyone could answer Tracer zipped front and center. "She asked me where you were and took off before we could devise a plan." Her normally upbeat accent had taken a serious tone. Gabriel Reyes was a rugged man but his touch was gentle, he scooped the doctor's body into his arms as she let out a gasp of pain. He pushes her into the arms of Winston who cradled her with the same soft embrace. Reyes turned on his heel and strode up to Tracer, he towered above her but she stood unmoving, she knew what was coming next.

"I should kill you for this." His glare was full of disdain and his hand rested on the shotgun that was clinging to his belt. Her eyes narrowed as their gaze met, "It was an accident.", remarked the girl. If he was going to kill her he would have done it already, she began to devise a getaway strategy if he decided to act rashly. His hand slipped to the handle of his gun, a finger rested instinctively on the trigger, no one challenged the commander of Overwatch. "Gabriel stop…" Mercy's cry was a mixture of pain and unrest. He turned to face her, Tracer darted away the moment his back was turned.

"You could have died. This is not okay, someone needs to take responsibility." She applied pressure to her wound and pleaded, "This is not her fault, it was Widowmaker. She caused the blast." His glare was immobile, "Why were you alone?". Mercy's eyes fell, she could barely stand to look at him when he was this tense, "You were gone, I had to find you. What if you were hurt? You're my patient I wasn't going to sit back and do nothing!" She could feel her wound become damp again as his words cut her deep, "Angela, I'm not some rookie with a gun, I can take care of myself." Before she could speak Jack Morrison appeared and put a hand on Gabriel's shoulder, "She's losing too much blood, she needs medical attention ASAP." The blonde man swiveled around and addressed the group, "Meeting when we reach Headquarters. Let's move out!" That was the last thing she heard before her vision faded to black once more.

The Overwatch Medical Bay wreaked of a potent sterile scent that the doctor knew all too well. The boom of his voice stretched all the way across headquarters and the quiet rebuttal of several agents followed. She sat up in bed, dressed in a short orange robe that adorned the overwatch symbol, it undoubtedly belonged to Tracer. She shifted her legs to the side, her wound burned but she would not let it hinder her. Her legs wobbled and swayed but she pressed on down the hallway towards the meeting room. "This sort of thing should not have happened, we all know how important it is to keep each other safe. Where would we be without her?", Morrison questioned his team.

"Probably dead." She gave everyone a smug look and took her seat next to Reyes. The room was full of windows overlooking the alps of Switzerland, a long boardroom table sat in the center, several Overwatch confidants littered the brim. They looked as though this lecture had been going on for hours, it probably had. Morrison continued his discourse much to the dismay of the group. Reyes nudged her shoulder but his gaze remained fixed on Morrison as he spoke, "I'm glad you're alright." She had never seen him genuinely concerned for her well-being like this, what was he up to?

"Meeting adjourned." Gabriel slipped from his seat and headed for the door as everyone boasted of their skills in recent combat. Mercy couldn't help but feel as though something was up, she steadied her legs and followed him into the corridor. Light billowed down in plumes from the ceiling, yet he strode through the shadows to the entrance of his quarters. Her curiosity had bested her and she calmly trailed behind him but when she reached the doorway he was nowhere in sight. "You should know by now that you can't sneak up on me.", he whispered into her ear from behind.

She let out a sharp yelp that caused her wound to ache, "You know I don't like being snuck up on!". He couldn't contain his laughter, "You're not exactly the quiet type, are you Doc?". Her arms folded as he closed the door behind them, he then turned and gave her a look. This look was not of anger, or frustration, it was hopeful and irenic. "What happened earlier?" she inquired as she took a seat at a small table in the center of the room. The place was in disarray, maps were strewn haphazardly on the wall, plans sat incomplete all over the place, and an unfinished card game lay waiting on the table.

He pulled up a chair and twisted it in a way so that he could rest his hands on the back with it between his legs. His mouth opened as if to say something but he could not find the words, could the commander of Overwatch really be tongue tied over something like this? "There's something I need to tell you", he stated, his tone was that of which she had never heard from him before; he was nervous. "I uhm…" his face began to glow a deep shade of rouge. He had been in life and death situations, traveled around the globe, yet these few words had him stumped.

The doctors' anticipation grew, she had never admitted it to anyone but she had grown quite fond of him. Since the day she was recruited they had shared a common goal; peace. "I think I have… feelings for you." Her thoughts were suspended and the words left her numb. His deep brown eyes were no longer filled with hesitation, it had since been replaced by desire. "You… like me?" She hadn't felt this timid and delighted since medical school. "Don't get too cocky, it's not like I planned for this to happen." Jack had always toyed about him having a one night stand in every country they visited, yet, in all his life he never found time to have a meaningful relationship. "I really don't know what to say, other than I feel the same." Angela had never thought about finding someone either, most of her time was spent saving lives so the thought of settling down had never crossed her mind.

He sat back and admired her for a moment, he had rarely seen her hair out of it's usual high ponytail; it cascaded down her shoulders and curled slightly at the bottom. Her skin was pale, radiant, and rosy around her cheeks, his thoughts tangled the more he examined her. A warm sensation washed over her and then she realized that his lips were pressed against hers. The kiss was passionate and forced at first but they soon melted into each other's embrace. She could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he gathered her from the chair and set her on the bed in the corner of the room.

He took a seat next to her and began to confess, "Earlier today, I thought I lost you. When McCree came to me and explained what had happened… I didn't know what to do with myself. When we got back I decided that I needed to come clean." She rested her hand on his cheek and turned his head to meet her gaze, "When I couldn't find you I started to panic. I thought if something bad had happened to you it would be all my fault."

They embraced again and shared another kiss. Passion and lust burned inside them but their moment was cut short by the roar of an alarm and Morrison's voice through the loudspeaker, "Omnic invasion, Hanamura, we need all units!" They let out an annoyed sigh, Mercy gathered herself and began to stand but Gabriel sat her back down. "You stay here, you're too injured to be out on the field. I promise I'll be back soon." He kissed her forehead and gave her a smirk before stomping away through the door to meet up with the rest of the team. She laid back in his bed; exhausted and delighted. Her vision began to blur as she embraced sleep and awaited his return.