This is gonna hurt…

Jamison had reached the peak of his ascension and was picking up speed once again as he came down. He held his breath at the last second like he was going in for a water dive, but unfortunately for him, that wasn't the case. He hit the ground ass-first, falling out flat as he skid into a brick wall, and just laid there for a long moment with his body throbbing in pain. After what felt like an eternity, he began to pick himself up.

"I need… healing…" he grumbled, trying to forget about the agony of his shoulder by focusing on the road rash. Noticing his mech arm on the ground, he picked it up and limped blindly down the dark street, favoring his peg leg. He hadn't traveled far when a truck came barreling around the corner past him. He turned to face it and watched as it did half a donut and screeched to a stop in front of him. With his peg hanging on by a thread, he shakily stood in the brightness flooding him from the truck's headlights.

"Jamie!" Liz jumped out of the passenger door and rushed to his side just as he collapsed. She tried to lift him, but couldn't. "Help me!" she cried pitifully to Roadhog.

The massive bodyguard jogged over to him, lifting her out of the way with one hand like she weighed nothing, and pushed a yellow can up to Junkrat's face. She heard a strong hiss as whatever was in said can was dispensed, and Junkrat began to cough. Roadhog took him and all his pieces in his arms, carrying him back to the truck. "You drive," he commanded Liz.

She jumped behind the wheel and watched helplessly as he lifted Junkrat's limp body into the back of the truck. She would have been certain he wasn't alive if she hadn't heard his coughing and wheezing with her own ears. "Is he going to be alright?"

"Yes. Drive."

"Where?"

"Just drive!"

She stomped on it and took off aimlessly into the pitch black streets. A couple miles down the road, she slammed on the brakes so hard, everyone in the vehicle was jarred forward. She heard a faint groan from Junkrat that was quickly drowned out by Roadhog's berating her. "What the hell are you doing?!"

She was stunned into silence, and Roadhog, not patient enough to wait for her to find the words, poked his head into the cab. He intended to scold her further, but once he saw the road for himself, he stopped. Droves of people were blocking the path, rioting and looting amidst the blackout. Liz imagined that under his mask, his jaw had dropped like hers.

It hadn't though. "Turn around," he directed her. "Back to the country."

She inched the truck forward, but the unrested citizens directly in front of her began banging on the front of the truck. The banging quickly turned to pushing, and she feared it wouldn't take many more volunteers to topple them over. "I-I…"

Roadhog slapped the gearshift in reverse and pushed down on her knee until the truck began to speed away backwards. Not traveling perfectly straight, the edge of a building growing closer in the rearview mirror barely caught Liz's attention. She jerked the wheel to one side and hit the brakes, putting the truck in a spin. Roadhog reached for the gear shift again and righted it. "Drive," he commanded her once more, returning to Junkrat's side.

The transition to country roads went almost completely unnoticed by her since the city was already so dark. Amidst the commotion, she had lost her sense of direction as well, and instead of taking them back to the coast, she was taking them further inland. She eventually realized it when the old familiar signs of the desert started to appear.

This is fine.

The bike was just going to have to be okay on its own back at their beach shack a while longer. "I'm going off road now," she warned Roadhog as she took an unpaved path further out into the desert.

"Keep an eye on the gas tank," he warned.

She took a hand off of the wheel to light a much needed cigarette. "How's he doing back there?"

"He's fine. Just resting." Roadhog came to the front and took a seat in the cab with her without any further explanation.

"You really don't say much."

"I don't like talkers."

"I was just making an observation."

After a length of silence that Liz thought indicated the conversation was over, he spoke again without any prompt. "That's what's wrong with you two. You think every stupid little silence needs to be filled."

"Not every silence."

"What do you think's gonna happen if you left one of your thoughts unspoken, hmm?"

"I see what you're saying. It wouldn't be the end of the world or anything."

"No, it wouldn't," he quickly agreed.

Silence again.

Liz started to speak once more without even realizing it. "How long –"

Roadhog sighed. "There you go again."

She scowled and continued. "How long is he going to rest?"

"Til he wakes up."

"Do you have him sedated?"

"Yes."

"Well, how long does that take?"

"I don't have him as doped up as I had you. His injuries aren't as bad."

"How long was I out?"

"A few days."

She was starting to get frustrated with his short answers and just wanted to stop driving. She pushed her cigarette into the cab's ashtray. "Is this far enough out?"

He glanced around at the horizon. "I would think so."

She slowed the truck to a stop. Once in park, she made a beeline to the back to check on Junkrat. Kneeling beside him, anxiety crept over her as she took in the sight of his bruises, scrapes, and the blood-soaked bandage on his shoulder. His eyes were closed tight in a restless expression, but when she ran a hand through his hair, his body relaxed some.

She sighed and cradled his face in her palm, her troubled eyes traveling over him. Both of his prosthetics were still removed. Having never seen him without them before, her fingers instinctively caressed his arm as though it were a fresh injury. A little bloody, there were severed and exposed wires sticking out from the stub, and she wondered if her arm looked the same under its mechanical replacement.

She searched for his prosthetics, feeling the need to make sure they were nearby. Once she found them, her focus zeroed in on the wooden peg. She wasn't surprised to see that it merely screwed on, but what piqued her curiosity was how deep the threaded hole was. Much deeper than it needed to be…

That's it! That's where he keeps the drive with the God AI! It's so simple, why didn't I think of it before…

A hand suddenly fell to her shoulder from behind, startling her. She looked up to find Roadhog standing over her.

"I told you, he'll be fine." He reached for her hand.

"I was just –"

His other hand slid his mask up, resting it atop his head. It was the first time she had seen his face completely unobstructed, and he wasn't the monster she had imagined. Pink skin, light scars here and there, cute up-turned nose, soft lips. What she found most surprising was his eyes, tired and sincere with an unexpected kindness underneath.

"Come sit with me for a while," he said in a gentle tone.

Mesmerized, she willingly followed. With her hand in his, he led them out the back of the truck, and they took a seat near a rock. Inherently feeling like she wasn't supposed to look at him, her eyes trailed over the desert that stretched underneath the glittering stars. "We should probably build a fire," she mused, crossing her legs.

"No, they only attract attention." He let his hand slide away from hers. "He did that, too."

"Did what? Build fires?"

"He stayed by your side when you were under."

"He did?"

"He won't admit it, but he likes you. Too much if you ask me."

"We're just friends," she assured him.

"If I had it my way, I'd keep it like that, but I realize I have no say in the matter."

She could feel him looking her way, and her curiosity got the best of her, turning to meet his stare.

"Let me tell you about Jamison Fawkes," he said, commanding eye contact. "He's a tough bugger, even tougher than he looks. These injuries right now are a scrape on the knee compared to what he's put himself through. He's selfish. Can be downright abusive in the wrong light. And he's every bit as unstable as you think. He loves watching the world burn, even more so if he set the fire. But deep down, he's a little kid. A broken little boy that needs someone to take care of him."

"That's you," she interrupted.

"Yeah."

"You're not just his bodyguard."

"I'm whatever he needs me to be."

"You really care about him…"

"I can tell you do, too, but I'm not entirely convinced you can handle him." He paused for dramatic effect. "I know you two kissed."

"It was just a peck. And he kissed me," she corrected him, intentionally omitting the one she had given him in the basement.

"I know him, and I don't trust you, so I'm convinced this can only end badly. I want nothing more but for him to be happy, and if you make him happy, so be it. But if that's not your intention, then consider this your warning."

The kindness in his eyes melted away into frightening austerity, piercing her to the core. "If you ever hurt him… I'll. Hurt. You."

"I- I won't," she croaked, quivering in his glare.

After an exceptionally long pause, he replaced his mask and turned back to the desertscape.

The natural silence between them returned, and seeing how chilling Roadhog could be when he spoke, Liz welcomed it. Collecting her thoughts, she couldn't help but wonder how much of the past day's activities had been seen by Jesse. If he had sabotaged the bomb connection after they first left the basement. If they were somehow being watched right then…

Roadhog stood up, and she turned to him. "You sleeping in the cab again?"

He stalled for a moment. "If you're asking my permission to stay with him, you don't need it." He went for the cab's door. "It's probably what he'd want, anyway."

After a few more minutes alone, she returned to the back of the truck and reclined beside the junker, stroking his patchy, charred hair. He began to purr like a kitten, and a smile crept across her face.

She mulled over Roadhog's words and began to reevaluate all of the recent contact between her and Junkrat. She had convinced herself that she had kissed him earlier to try and make him feel less awkward about the one from before, but in this new light, that was starting to look like a shallow excuse. But even so, she was just trying to earn his affection to make her double agent status easier. She didn't find him attractive, right? She couldn't have any serious feelings for the guy, making Roadhog's words seem all the more ominous.

She tore her gaze away from him to examine his detached leg again lying within arm's reach. It was right there. She could grab the treasure right then and be done with it. She looked to the cab to confirm that Roadhog wasn't watching. He was adjusting the seat, still trying to get comfortable.

Her eyes darted back to Junkrat when he let out a little whimper. She reached for him, and the pathetic little sounds disappeared with her touch. Obligated to continue petting him, she drew her body closer, planting a chaste kiss on his forehead.

I'll just lay here a bit longer. To make sure Roadhog is asleep…

But she couldn't outlast him. With her eyes falling closed, she didn't notice Roadhog repositioning the rearview mirror to see them better. Even if her eyes were open, though, she wouldn't have seen the worry behind his mask.