Gabriel Reyes knew he probably shouldn't have taken custody of him. After all, he was a drunken one night stand child. College parties were wild. However, as soon as he looked into the eyes of little Jesse, the twenty-seven year old soldier fell in love. The lady at the foster home asked if he wanted to put his own last name for the child. Gabriel shook his head.

"My name is good for nothing. Let him have his mother's name," he said in a voice that sounded way too old for how he was. The lady nodded and handed over the adoption papers and Jesse's birth certificate. The dark skinned man took the papers and picked Jesse up. His eyes were bright seeing how cool his new dad looked, but he was also intimidated by the scars and his voice. Fatherhood might actually be kind of fun, he thought as young Jesse McCree smiled up at him and took his hand.

Jesse McCree was ten months old when his mother died from an overdose and six years when his maternal grandparents passed. That's why Gabriel was called. It was a miracle that the baby was found before he starved. The neighbors heard him crying and didn't think anything of it until a few hours later when the crying still had not ceased. Luckily his grandparents took him in after his mother's body was found and raised him. But they were old and didn't last long. So, after they passed, Jesse was introduced into the foster system. The foster system had searched high and low for his father and finally did a DNA test finding that matched with a man known by the military as Soldier 24.

Thankfully the team Gabriel was part of gave him some parental leave to take care of Jesse and set up a nanny and school. Gabriel was also thankful to have his friend and comrade, Jack Morrison to help out when he could. It wasn't just any team. Gabriel was part of a team that would become super soldiers. That's where he met Jack, also known as Soldier 76. He was about as American as you could get. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and a commendable (yet sometimes annoying) sense of justice. He was kind of like Captain America in a sense. Now, however, the Omnic Crisis was beginning. Gabriel really couldn't afford to leave Overwatch as it were, especially since he was in the Strike Force along with Jack and a few others. Ana Amari was one of them. She was what people would call the "Team Mom", but she was also a mother to the one-year old Fareeha. Then of course there was "The Dwarf". Torbjorn Lindholm. Brilliant inventor and engineer. He was exceptional. Reinhardt Wilhelm was the muscle of the team. He was huge, even when he wasn't wearing his armor. Last but not least on the Strike Force was Liao. He didn't talk much, so no one on the team knew much about him. That didn't affect their teamwork, however. But that's enough about the team. Because now, not only was he trying to fight a war, he had to raise a child.

The one problem Gabriel had immediately was that his apartment was a one bedroom. While he liked having his room to himself, he knew he couldn't just let his kid sleep on the couch. That was borderline child abuse. At least that's what he thought. So, while Gabriel was with Jesse, Jack was at his friend's apartment converting the one bedroom to a kid's room. And with the cash Gabriel had given Jack, he bought a pull out couch and got rid of the other couch in the apartment. The dark skinned soldier just hoped it would be mostly ready by the time he got home.

"Um," sounded a small voice with a heavy southern drawl. The older man looked in his rearview mirror to look at Jesse. "So are you really my dad?" Gabriel froze for a moment at the word 'Dad'. He never saw himself as the fatherly type, but now…

"Yeah," he responded. "At least according to these papers I am. But you don't have to call me Dad if you don't want to."

"Well then, if I don't call ya Dad, then what do I call ya? Mister Reyes?"

Gabriel chuckled at that. "No no, Mister Reyes is my father. You can call me Gabe. If you want that is."

"Oh, alrighty then Gabe." Jesse smiled and adjusted the red handkerchief around his neck. The boy was wearing a flannel button down shirt, stone washed blue jeans, and cowboy boots. It was pretty darn cute, Gabriel thought.

"Seems you're missing an accessory to look like a cowboy, chico. You got a hat in one of your bags?" he tried to make conversation with the child. It would be a long drive home, so he thought it would be best to get to know the kid he'd be raising.

Jesse shook his head. "No. I ain't got a hat. Grampa said he'd get me a new one for Christmas, but…" he trailed off, a sad look in his eyes.Gabriel instantly felt bad for bringing it up, but it at least gave him an idea. He pulled over to the side of the road and put on the hazard lights. The soldier took out his phone and typed in navigation directions to the nearest hat shop. An hour away. He guessed people didn't go to hat stores very often. As he put the phone in a cup holder, he felt a strange pain in his shoulder. Normally he'd get it in his leg. The doctors at his base seemed to think it was a side effect of the Super Soldier conditioning process and that he'd be over it soon. He wasn't so sure.

"Why'd we stop? Somethin' wrong?" Jesse inquired. Damn this kid is smart, Gabriel thought.

"Just getting directions. Any half decent cowboy needs a hat. It'll be about an hour until we get there, though. Think you can handle it?" He turned around to face the boy with a smirk on his face. Jesse's eyes lit up immediately.

"I can absolutely handle it! But are you sure you want to do that? We just met. Basically strangers…"

"Strangers, huh? Well I don't think we are. You are my son, after all." The word 'son' felt foreign coming from Gabriel's mouth. He knew he'd get used to it eventually, but now...well it was weird. But the smile on Jesse's face when he said it was worth everything.

"Well then thank you kindly," Jesse said, excitement evident.

"Saddle up, buckaroo," Gabriel saiad. "We've got a long journey ahead of us." Jesse giggled at that as the soldier turned his blinker on and merged back onto the highway.

Meanwhile, back at Gabriel's apartment, Jack was unpacking the pull out couch. There was way too much plastic wrap for him. It was a simple dark grey color and it was long enough without pulling the bed out for an adult to lay down. Jack was three years younger than Gabriel at twenty-four years old. However, they both entered the Super Soldier Program around the same time and had since become friends. Hearing the news that Gabriel was going to take custody of a child surprised Jack greatly, but he promised to help out however he could. So, how he helped now was preparing the apartment for a child to live in. That meant moving the small gun safe out of the bedroom and into another part of the apartment that a child would not get to. Gabriel never used the guns in that safe, but they were a set of four Hellfire Shotguns that were left to Gabriel by his father when he died.

To someone who could appreciate aesthetics of weapons, they were a beautiful sleek black with silver details along the barrel and handle. Jack had only seen them once before and was in total awe that he owned such beautiful weapons.

The blonde man took a look around the apartment to make sure it was childproof. It was. Satisfied, he took the boxes from the furniture and went downstairs to put them in the dumpster. After that he went back up to Gabriel's apartment, grabbed a beer from the fridge, and sat on the new couch to wait for him to come back with a kid.

A few hours later, Gabriel had arrived home with Jesse. A couple suitcases of clothes in hand and Jesse walking behind tipping his new hat at anything he saw. Jack stood up when he heard the door open.

"Hey, welcome back," Jack said. He turned his gaze down to the child dressed as a cowboy. "And welcome to your new home."

"The place looks great, Jack. Thanks," Gabriel said, taking a look around. "This is Jesse. Jesse, say hello to your Uncle Jack."

"Nice to meet ya Uncle Jack!" Jesse said cheerily while tipping his hat. Jack gave a look to Gabriel that seemed to ask Uncle? Nonetheless, he smiled at Jesse.

"Pleasure to meet you as well." Jack bent down and shook Jesse's hand. "I like your hat."

"Thank you kindly. Gabe got it for me on the way here!"

"Oh did he now? That certainly was nice of him."

"Mhm! He is super nice even though he looks mean and scary."

At that, both soldiers began laughing. The three spent the rest of the day unpacking Jesse's things and showing him around the apartment. They ended up ordering a pizza for dinner. After dinner, Jack left and Jesse asked if they could watch a movie. Which they did. Just Jesse and Gabe. The movie chosen was called The Warrior's Way. It was old. All the way back in 2010 did it come out. Gabriel was shocked that this little kid knew about it, but brushed it off. It was a good movie. Assassin turned cowboy. Jesse, however, fell asleep halfway through the movie. Gabriel of course carried him to the bedroom and tucked him in.

"This parenting stuff isn't half bad," he said to himself.

This was the beginning of their lives together as father and son.