It was late, most of the team lay in their bunks resting, waiting for whatever mission or crisis would call for them the following day. On any other night Pharah would be lying in bed with Mercy, doing the same, but tonight she instead walked silently over to the Mess Hall, where she could see a light on. Pharah knew who it was in there before she passed through the doorway; sitting at one of the tables, sipping tea from a personal mug, was her mother Ana Amari.

"Fareeha." Ana said when Pharah entered.

"You wanted to speak to me mother." Pharah said leaning against the wall and crossing her arms.

"I didn't call for you." Ana replied quietly, without looking up from her mug.

"No, you didn't," Pharah admitted, "but you wanted to talk all the same."

It was true, from the moment Ana turned up on the battlefield in one of Overwatch's missions; from the moment she and Pharah looked at each other, they knew this conversation was inevitable.

"Very well, Fareeha," Ana finally said after taking a large gulp of her tea. "Yes, I wanted to talk to you. There are…things I need to say. About why I am here, and how I feel about you being here."

"Alright mother," Pharah sighed as she strode over and sat across from her mother. "I've been waiting for some kind of explanation. What is it you have to say?"

"Only a few years before I was born, our country experienced a revolution and overthrew its authoritarian president. For years afterwards the government was constantly shifting, being pushed and pulled between factions; and with the later issue of a Daesh faction attempting to gain a foothold, It seemed our nation was moving from one crisis to another." Ana paused and took another drink from her mug.

"That was the world I was born into." She continued, "And though things had stabilized by the time I became an adult, my childhood was filled with constant uncertainty. I joined the army for stability; it gave me purpose, before that I was aimless."

Pharah shifted in her seat, arms crossed and leaning back into the chair. She felt slightly irritated by the history lesson but kept quiet and waited for her mother to get to the point.

"When the Omnic crisis started I did what was necessary to protect our country, and when Overwatch recruited me I did what was necessary to protect the world." Ana finished her tea then stood and walked over to the kettle and poured herself another cup. She stirred in a couple sugar cubes before making her way back to the table and taking her seat again.

"Things changed when I had you, Fareeha." Ana said after blowing on her tea and taking a sip. "Once you were born, it was no longer just the standard mission to protect the world. I needed to do whatever I could to make things safer, so that you could have a better life than I had, free from the uncertainty mine was filled with. That was my purpose, Fareeha."

"I know this mother." Pharah says, still slightly annoyed. "But this doesn't tell me why you're here now."

"I am here for you, Fareeha, the world isn't safe and there are still those that need protecting. If you are here fighting, then I have failed you." Ana finally says putting down her mug. "I never wanted this for you, all I ever dreamed was for you to have a peaceful life."

And there it was, the old problem Pharah has had with her mother since the day she joined the Egyptian army. She was tired of having this argument and having to explain it to her mother, and yet here they were again; different place, different time, same conversation.

"Mother," Pharah said with frustration, "I am here because the world needed people to step up and protect it!"

"It should have never have needed you to be one of those people." Ana said sternly.

"Mother, I am not a child!" Pharah raised her voice and shooting up from her seat. She towered above her mother as if to accentuate her point. "I am an adult and a soldier, and I made the decision to be here; I worked my entire life to be here, and I am proud of that!"

"How many times have you been shot, Fareeha?"

"What?"

"How many times have you almost died? How many of those limbs are the ones you were born with? How many times over would you be dead if Dr. Zeigler hadn't saved you?" Ana's tone was cold and harsh. She was never one to yell or excessively raise her voice at Pharah, but her steely voice was always enough to send a chill up her spine and make her feel small.

The question hung in the air and Pharah looked down at her hands, her right arm was prosthetic while the left was still organic, and both of her legs were prosthetic from just above the knee down.

"This job has taken much from you, things you should never have given, Fareeha. You should not be here."

Pharah's temper flared and her blood boiled at her mother's statement. It seemed that no matter how long it had been, no matter what she accomplished her mother would never stop treating her as a child.

"I BELONG HERE, MOTHER! I have fought for it, I have bled for it, and I HAVE EARNED IT!" Pharah had begun to yell at Ana, "THIS IS WHAT I WANT! THESE PEOPLE HAVE WELCOMED ME HERE, AND WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT, THIS IS WHERE I AM STAYING!"

Ana exhaled and stood up from her seat, even at her full height she was more than a few inches shorter than her daughter, though it did not diminish the intensity of her presence. With her one good eye she leveled an unbending look into Pharah's eyes.

"I am your mother, Fareeha, and I will never stop wanting want is best for you. You may insist on staying here, and I may be unable to stop you from doing that, but I will not be leaving either. As I said, I will protect those who still need it, even you."

Pharah, wanted to return with another angry response, but she could her someone shuffling about not far off. She looked to her mother and saw from the look on her face that she too noticed that any continuation of their discussion would no longer be private.

"Do whatever it is you want, mother. But know that I will not change my decision." Pharah began to walk off when she heard her mother speak up once more.

"Good night, Fareeha."

"Good night…Mother."

Pharah exited the Mess Hall and found Mercy standing just around the corner.

"Fareeha." Mercy said with sympathy in her voice.

"Angela…did you hear all of that?"

"Not all of it, just some of the things near the end." Mercy shuffled her feet and avoided Pharah's gaze for a bit. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop! I had only noticed that you weren't in bed and went to look for you! I noticed that there were lights on over here and decided to come check and then I heard you begin to yell and so I thought it would be best if I just waited out here instead!"

As Mercy stammered and rambled, Pharah simply walked over and took her hand.

"I'd rather not discuss it, Angela, at least not tonight. For now let's get some sleep and maybe I'll tell you about the issues I have with my mother some other time."