Chapter 37: Almost Home

Perhaps the most surprising thing to come out of the past few hours was not the fact that the missing Lena Oxton had been recovered, but rather how helpful Widowmaker was being. She had actually offered to assist and Angela was taking full advantage of that. So far she had followed directions with more grace then most of Angela's past assistants and with far less complaints as well.

"Temperature?"

"Holding steady at 102.5," Widowmaker responded. Angela hummed and recorded that on her tablet. "Isn't that high?" she added after a few seconds of silence. Angela looked up at Widowmaker but she was still staring down at the medical bed and the Lena buried under the blankets on it.

"For a normal human body yes, but for the various Lena Oxton's I've examined I've found that average body temperatures for them range from 102.5 to as high as 104.8. This is a sideeffect of the accident they've had. Most of them feel cold very easily despite their body temperature itself being higher then normal. Their resistance to high temperatures tends to be much stronger then ours. That's not to say they can't get into trouble or overheat because they certainly can. It just takes longer," Angela explained. She finished taking some notes and went to check the IV levels.

"I want to check her fluid levels in another hour to see how well her body is absorbing them. Only light foods to start with until her stomach can readjust. Preferably soups and maybe some breads. We'll see how she handles them first when she wakes up again," she continued. She made a note of that and set an alarm to remind herself just in case.

"Is someone going to stay with her? Until she wakes up I mean?"

Angela looked up in surprise but Widowmaker was still staring down at Lena. She glanced between them and looked back at her tablet to try and hide her staring.

"Of course. Winston and I will be taking shifts to monitor her condition. Once I'm sure she'll remain stable Emily will also sit in with her. There is something you can do to help though," Angela offered. Now Widowmaker finally tore her eyes away and looked at her curiously.

"Winston said that Tracer and Rose should start feeling very lethargic, very soon as a side effect of using their powers the way they did. I'm happy to let both of them sleep and recover from what must have been a traumatic event but within the next hour or so their metabolism is going to keep getting faster. Its a delayed reaction and will happen regardless of whether they're sleeping or awake. Any calories they haven't already spent are going to be rapidly consumed. If they don't have anything in their system before then it will make them both incredibly sick," she warned. Widowmaker's expression shifted to one of concentration as she thought about that.

"I think I have some ideas. Anything else I should look out for?" Widowmaker asked.

"Keep an eye on Lena, your Lena. Something like this is bound to trigger bad memories for all of them but I'm particularly worried about her considering her current frame of mind. Even if there's nothing you can do, just stay there with her and let her know you care. That's still a big help," Angela offered.

Widowmaker thanked her and cast one more long look at the sleeping Lena before leaving with a hint of reluctance in her step. It was hard to tell what she was thinking but she had obviously been deeply affected by this as well.

"At least we got you back," Angela murmured to the sleeping woman, "Now we can work on getting you back home as well."

"Do we have to? I'm exhausted and I just want to go to bed already," Tracer complained as she stared at the spaghetti piled up on her plate. Lena didn't blame her. Even by their usual standards it was a lot of food.

"Yes, now quit whining and eat," Widowmaker said. She dumped a large amount of shaved cheese on top as well as a few pieces of sausage.

"That's way too much! I just said I'm not hungry!" Tracer objected. Rose had made faces at first but after the first few bites she had started digging in. Even Lena was starting to feel hungry now after nibbling on a few pieces of garlic bread.

"I gotta say Widowmaker if being part of Overwatch doesn't work for you then you should totally open up a restaurant. This is amazing!" Rose praised her. Widowmaker shot Tracer a smug look and she glowered and finally started eating. Lena silently agreed. She had eaten better in the past few days then she had for most of her life and her body was clearly appreciating the change. Widowmaker hid it well but Lena could see that she appreciated being needed for something other then just killing people.

"Angela said to make sure you ate something before you passed out or it could make you sick and believe me if someone gets sick I am not helping. My gracious attitude only extends so far," Widowmaker warned. Tracer muttered about her "so called graciousness" under her breath and got a not so subtle elbow to the back of her head in retaliation as Widowmaker walked by.

"Well I'm grateful for it. This is way better then takeout or delivery!" Rose said happily.

"Here."

Lena perked up as Widowmaker slid a bowl in front of her. It was the last remaining bit of the cassoulet Tracer had made a few days ago.

"Hey! You told me we didn't have any more of that left! I totally wanted some!" Tracer objected.

"Did I? Hmm I don't recall ever saying that. Perhaps you should try making more if you like it so much," Widowmaker said primly as she slid into place beside Lena. Rose snorted with laughter and shoved more food in her mouth to try and cover it when Tracer shot her a glare.

"Attacked on all sides I tell you," Tracer huffed before adding, "At least you look like you're enjoying yourself Lena."

She blushed at the sudden attention on her and shrugged awkwardly.

"Its just... I never realized until now just how uncomfortable and self conscious I usually am when I eat. Its strange not having the weird looks people give me when I order two or three portions for myself. I can't really do anything about it but it feels good to be around people who deal with the same thing," Lena confessed.

"Totally agree," Rose said as she snatched an entire basket of garlic bread for herself. "Lets not forget the 'why are you snacking already? We just ate' comments or the 'she's always hungry' and 'don't worry she'll eat anything' jokes that some people think are just hilarious," she added with a roll of her eyes.

"Oh lord... please don't even get me started on that. I got so bloody pissed once in a pub because I finally had enough. Of course no one else but Emily got why I was so angry which only made me feel worse. Of course then it was 'can't you take a joke' and 'I was just kidding' so I'm the one who's made out to be the bad guy for being to 'sensitive'. Seriously, I deal with enough already at least let me eat in peace!" Tracer vehemently agreed. She tried to sneak her hand over toward the bottle of wine sitting in front of Widowmaker but got slapped away for her effort.

They continued for a while swapping stories and sharing similar experiences before Rose changed the subject.

"So how is our new arrival?" Rose asked.

"Stable for now and not in any immediate danger. Angela won't really know more until she wakes up but Winston is staying with her for a while," Widowmaker explained.

"At least she's not alone. I can't imagine what she's been through. I mean I can actually but I would rather not. I'm finally able to sleep without nightmares and I would like it to stay that way," Rose said quickly. Tracer grimaced and Lena shivered. Widowmaker looked as if she wanted to say something but then pursed her lips and took a sip of wine instead. Of course Tracer noticed it.

"What was that look for?" Tracer asked her tone both curious and a bit suspicious. Widowmaker's eyes flickered with annoyance for a moment before she sighed grudgingly.

"I've known of Lena's abilities for a while but its always been abstract. Merely cold facts. Seeing what I did today... its put some things in perspective for me that's all," Widowmaker replied.

There was certainly more to it then that and Tracer clearly wanted to ask more but Lena stopped her with a warning look. Tracer sighed reluctantly and let it go. The rest of the meal passed with Tracer recounting some of her favorite Overwatch stories and Rose going on explaining how the Omnic government she lived under worked and operated.

Throughout the meal Lena couldn't help but notice the way Widowmaker kept looking at her, staring at her really. She wasn't exactly trying to be subtle about it either. Something in her expression had changed but Lena couldn't place what it was. It wasn't until Tracer and Rose had gone off to sleep that Widowmaker spoke up again.

"I never really considered what you must have to deal with until I saw you at that Talon base. Until I saw you scared and disoriented from a nightmare," Widowmaker said quietly. "I never had much of a reason to care about it before, not beyond knowing how to use such knowledge to my advantage. But now... now things are different," she paused and sipped her wine. Finally Widowmaker turned to looked at her with the same strange expression she'd had the entire meal.

"Now I've seen firsthand what it can do to you and I have the ability to actually feel something when I think about it. You're truly an incredible person Lena and I'm sorry for the way I targeted you the night Mondatta died. I'm sorry for the way I've treated you so many times before. You don't deserve to be caught up in any of this," Widowmaker apologized softly.

"I've been thinking a lot about you... about us. I've been worrying that maybe I'm just here because you remind me so strongly of Amélie and how hurt she is from that Talon did and how much I want to protect her. I keep wondering if maybe I've been substituting you for her," Widowmaker admitted.

"But I felt this way when I saw the other prisoners Talon had been experimenting on as well and when I saw the missing Lena that Tracer and Rose brought back. Feeling sympathy over something is easy for most people but actually taking steps to correct things or try to help out is another matter entirely. Maybe this is just because of Amélie's influence on me, maybe its just because I can feel again, but whatever it is I don't want to see other people suffer if I can help do something," Widowmaker said.

"I..." she paused and grimaced as if in pain before adding, "I want work with Overwatch to stop Talon's experiments. All of them, human and animal. I want the people they've hurt to get help. Just like you've tried to help me. Just like you were ready to risk yourself to try and find that missing Lena if you had to."

Lena's heart had soared so high it was a wonder she wasn't floating off the chair. Widowmaker gave her a strong side eye.

"What no wisecracks? No jokes?" Widowmaker asked testily.

"You'll forgive me if I'm a little preoccupied with not trying not to squeal with joy. Although to be fair you did look like you swallowed something sour when you said that last bit," Lena said as a grin burst across her face. Widowmaker scowled almost immediately and looked away in disgust.

"Don't remind me, I'm already dreading this mistake. I can't believe you've corrupted me so easily," Widowmaker complained.

"Oh come on it'll be great! We'll kick butt and fight evil together!" Lena assured her.

"Aren't I evil?" Widowmaker asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No! Not anymore anyway. You're... slowly being rehabilitated by the good guys?" Lena offered hesitantly. Widowmaker stared at her for several long seconds before narrowing her eyes to thin slits.

"You know what? Forget it. I take back everything I just said about working together this is a terrible idea," Widowmaker stated coldly.

"Don't be like that love! It'll totally work! You'll help people, we'll help people, Talon gets taken down a few pegs, everyone's happy!" Lena insisted. Widowmaker was clearly unmoved and unconvinced. "Or you know... you could just say how incredible I am again cause that was really nice to hear," she suggested.

"I'm going to go clean up now," Widowmaker said with a scoff. Although she make sure to roll her eyes as well before grabbing some plates.

"Just a suggestion!" Lena said cheerily as Widowmaker walked away.

It was the middle of the night and Widowmaker knew there were plenty of things she could be doing besides creeping around but her curiosity was getting the better of her. Sleep was never something that came easily to her both because of her altered biology and because of Amélie's issues. That hadn't changed now. If anything she was even more restless with Amélie gone and that was driving away what little sleep she might otherwise have been capable of. Nighttime gave Widowmaker far too much time alone with her thoughts.

It was no surprise that Widowmaker found herself heading back through the hallways to check on the new Lena once again. What she didn't expect was to run into Angela coming out of her office. She was looking down at her tablet and holding a pair of the red noise reducing earmuffs from the training field in her other hand.

"Oh! Widowmaker? What are you doing up? Its..." Angela paused to look at her watch. "A little past three in the morning," she asked.

"I don't sleep much. Talon felt that a sniper who could be awake and alert at a moment's notice would be more effective and my current issues aren't exactly helping either," Widowmaker said flatly. Angela grimaced at that response and quickly apologized.

"Well since you're here would you mind helping me? Our new visitor is awake and I discovered that she has a problem with her hearing. I was hoping to find a way to help her deal with it as well as to communicate with her," Angela explained waving the earmuffs in her hand around.

"What kind of problem?" Widowmaker asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Our new Lena was stuck in that place for... a year and half wasn't it? Aside from the absolute cold it seems like there is no other sensory information for those caught there. She can still hear but her ability to process auditory information has severely deteriorated. She can't recognize some words, emotional changes in tone, and determining where a sound is coming from is nearly impossible for her. After spending so much time with no sound everything here feels incredibly loud. Even her own voice and the hum of the lights overhead was too much to bear," Angela said. Her voice was filled with sympathy and concern. That explained the ear muffs. They walked the rest of the way to the room in silence before Angela stopped outside the door.

"I'm actually hoping to get her back to her home world as soon as Tracer and Rose have recovered and feel up to making the trip," Angela admitted. Widowmaker frowned slightly and considered that.

"She's likely going to be too afraid to use any of her abilities for a long time after what she's been through," Widowmaker said thinking aloud, "And jumping across worlds to get home so quickly is going to be especially traumatic. But the longer she stays here the more that fear is going to sink in until she's too afraid to leave at all. Trying to drag her away in that kind of panicked state would only put her and those with her in danger of being lost like she was before."

"Exactly. So much as I would love to keep her longer she needs to get home as fast as possible. She'll recover better if the people she knows and loves are around to support her," Angela stated. She put her hand on the door and paused again.

"When we go inside keep in mind that even soft noises are going to be too loud for her. So try to keep any movement or sound to a minimum until she has the earmuffs on. We'll communicate using my tablet's note taking program so I can ask or answer any questions. Feel free to speak up if something comes to mind," Angela told her.

They entered the room and Widowmaker made sure to catch the door and close it silently behind her. The new Lena was awake and wincing painfully as she rubbed at her ears. Angela handed over the earmuffs and Lena gave her a grateful look before putting them on her head.

"How is it? Can you hear me?" Angela asked. Lena shook her head. She seemed a lot more relaxed now.

"Good. Now we'll see if we can come up with something in the meantime to make things less complicated," Angela added and typed away at her table. "We have a few other Lena's here as well. Do you have a nickname you would like us to use instead?" she flipped the tablet around and handed it to her so she could see the question.

A second later Lena tapped out a reply and gave it back.

"You can call me Sky. I got that name during flight training because I was always daydreaming or staring up the clouds instead of working," Angela read off. "Sky it is then. That will make things easier to keep track of. Now do you remember what happened?" she asked typing in the question. Sky read it and thought for a bit with a look of intense concentration. She typed out a few sentences and flipped it back around for both of them to see.

I was fighting with my team against Talon. One of them damaged my accelerator and tried to grab me. I used recall without thinking and got trapped. I would assume I'm in another world. What happened? How long have I been gone? Sky looked at them questioningly.

"I'll answer this," Widowmaker said snatching the tablet out of Angela's hands. She ignored the look she got for that and wrote her answer.

"Short story another Lena was searching for me when she came across your world. She heard about what happened and promised to help. After coming here she made plans with a couple others to try and find you. You've been missing for a year and a half," Widowmaker said and handed it back.

"Nice and succinct," Angela complimented.

"No need to get into all the details and I doubt she cares much," Widowmaker responded as Sky stared at the reply. When she started typing again her hands were shaking.

A year and six months? Are you absolutely sure? That's all its been? Sky demanded frantically shoving the tablet back at them. Angela grabbed it and nodded but Sky angrily pointed to the screen.

"The Lena that Widowmaker knows and the Tracer I know both spoke to your friends back home to confirm it," Angela said typing out the reply and then emphasizing the words by pointing to the screen emphatically. Sky took the tablet and stared at it as her eyes started to well up. She covered her face as she burst into tears.

Widowmaker flinched and leaned away but Angela merely clicked her tongue and moved to Sky's side to embrace her. Sky's sobs intensified as Angela comforted her. Widowmaker could only stand by uncomfortably. Was that what you were supposed to do to try and comfort someone? She didn't really see how it helped.

Finally Sky pulled away and wiped at her face. She hesitantly typed out an explanation on the tablet, pausing several times throughout it before handing it over to Angela.

"Its impossible to tell how much time has passed when you're caught between space like that. Every time I see a book or story with someone getting lost in time or going into cryo sleep it ends with them waking up decades later. When I realized I wasn't in my home world I started thinking the worst," Angela read out.

"Now might be a good time to mention wanting to send her home as soon as possible," Widowmaker pointed out. Angela nodded in agreement and typed out a quick reply.

"Your friends really miss you and I would like to send you home as soon as possible. As early as tomorrow sometime. I hate making you jump again so soon but keeping you here longer would likely do more harm then good. The same ones who rescued you will also make sure you get back safely," Angela explained. Sky read the message and shivered visibly. Her hands opened and closed several times before she accepted the tablet and made her reply. She flipped it around to show them.

You promise it will be them? The same ones who brought me back, no one else? Sky demanded.

"I promise. You can meet and talk with them tomorrow when they wake up," Angela assured her on the tablet. Sky stared at it and hugged it close to her body.

"Do you want to eat something?" Angela asked making an eating motion with her hands. Sky just shrugged but then thought for a moment and nodded.

Just a little. I'm not sure my stomach will be able to take much, Sky typed out. Angela typed out a reply and then pointed a finger up to the ceiling speakers.

"I'll be back soon okay? If you need something call Athena," she said. Sky nodded and settled back against the bed. She didn't seem eager to hand the tablet back and Angela didn't ask for it. As they left Widowmaker saw Sky staring at the words on the screen and running her fingers back and forth over the words.

When they got out to the hallway Widowmaker was surprised to see her Lena standing there.

"Sorry I didn't mean to be nosy or anything. I couldn't sleep and thought I'd come by to see if there were any changes. Sounds like she's awake," Lena said with a forced smile. Immediately Widowmaker started to frown. There was something wrong and it was obvious in the way Lena held herself. She had spent the past few days too depressed not to recognize it in someone else.

"She is and her name, or nickname rather is Sky. Unfortunately her time lost in void space has affected her hearing. Everything seems incredibly loud and its difficult for Sky to understand people clearly. But aside from her auditory problems, which can improve in time, she's awake, coherent, and doesn't seem to be suffering from severe dissociation at the moment. Those are all good signs and her condition has been stable for the past several hours. No overheating, no low temperature, no other side effects aside from what I would expect. Some dizziness, doesn't like bright lights and so on. But I think it best to get her home and let her be taken care of there. She'll do much better when she's back with the people who know and love her," Angela explained. Lena let out a sigh of relief at that.

"So she's really doing okay? I mean mostly?" Lena pressed.

"Seems so for now. Well enough that I don't have major concerns about sending her back home tomorrow. Any concerns I have would require far more monitoring and the sooner she can be back on familiar ground the better. The longer she goes without jumping the worse it will be on her when she does," Angela pointed out.

"Thanks for your help. For everything while we've been here," Lena said gratefully. Widowmaker felt a strong nudge in her side and sighed heavily before muttering her thanks as well. Angela coughed and looked away, a poor effort at trying to hide her smile.

"I'm going to get something for Sky. You two have a nice night," Angela said and left down the hallway towards the kitchen. Widowmaker turned back to Lena who was quietly fidgeting.

"What's wrong?" Widowmaker asked. Lena kept her head down and played with one of the straps of her accelerator.

"I just started thinking about leaving here soon and got really lonely. I was hoping you would still be up," Lena admitted softly. "Are you busy?" she asked hopefully.

"No I'm free. Come on, we might as well get some fresh air if both of us are going to be awake in the dead of night," Widowmaker finally said.

Lena was quiet. Unusually quiet in fact. Widowmaker gave her a sidelong glance as they sat outside by the water. Even she could tell that Lena was feeling more depressed then usual. Everything in her posture said that something was getting to her.

"What's wrong?" Widowmaker asked again this time hoping for a more thorough explanation. Lena sighed and seemed to slump on the bench even more.

"I was just thinking about earlier when Tracer, Rose and us just were hanging out and talking. The only time I get to be around others like me is when something bad happens and its generally never for very long. Being together with them earlier... being around others like me who really understand what I live with every day... that isn't something I get to enjoy. As much as I want to go home I can't stop thinking about it. Chances are low that we'll ever see each other again. I'm... I'm really going to miss them," Lena said her voice growing increasingly emotional as she spoke.

Don't cry, don't cry, don't... Widowmaker grimaced as Lena sniffled and started to wipe tears away. Now what was she supposed to do? She hated feeling lost like this. Not knowing the right way to respond in such a common emotional situation. However, when Sky was upset earlier Angela had hugged her and held her while she cried and it had certainly seemed to do something. Maybe that would work here?

Carefully, slowly Widowmaker reached her arms over and put them around Lena, tense and ready to pull back if her attention wasn't wanted. Instead to her surprise Lena almost immediately shifted closer and pressed against her.

"I'm sorry, I just got so emotional and I couldn't sleep because it was bothering me and I was worried about leaving and it all just starting overwhelming me at once," Lena apologized. "I want to go home. I want to see my friends again but knowing I'm leaving Tracer and Rose behind is just..." she stopped and sniffled again. "I'm sorry I know I shouldn't be getting so upset over this," she said again.

"Don't start that," Widowmaker lightly chastised. "I've seen how much happier you've been around them these past few days. This is obviously something that's incredibly important to you so don't apologize for it," she said firmly. She felt Lena smile briefly against her shoulder before she sniffed and wiped more tears away.

"Thanks Widow, that was really sweet," Lena said appreciatively.

"Just don't expect me to get all sappy when other people are around," Widowmaker muttered. The way Lena hummed doubtfully clearly said how much faith she put in that statement.

"Wouldn't dream of it love," Lena stated simply as she relaxed.

What was it Angela had said earlier? Even if there's nothing you can do, just stay there with her and let her know you care. That's still a big help. It certainly seemed to be helping at least from what Widowmaker could tell. Even she could tell that Lena clearly wanted some comfort and reassurance but she hadn't gone to Angela who was still up, nor had she gone to Winston who Widowmaker knew for a fact was awake in his lab working on something.

"Widow?" Lena said suddenly.

"Hmm?"

"Could you just... hold me for awhile? I don't want to go back yet," Lena asked softly.

"This helps?" Widowmaker said curiously.

"It does. It really, really does," Lena murmured into her shoulder.

"Then I will," Widowmaker responded. To be perfectly honest she still wasn't sure how all of this worked. There had to be people far better equipped to deal with this but Lena didn't want them, she wanted her.

Widowmaker wasn't used to anyone other then Amélie needing or even wanting her around. Seeing Lena enjoy having her around and enjoy sharing moments with her was... strange. It was certainly going to take a lot of getting used to. But if being here made Lena feel better then she would stay.

Widowmaker looked down at Lena who was relaxed and had shifted so that she could look out over the water as she leaned against her. Despite what they had been through before Lena trusted her. Trusted her with her secrets, with her feelings, with herself. She was incredibly vulnerable right now and she trusted Widowmaker maybe not to make things better or to understand but try at least and to be there with her as she dealt with it.

Maybe she didn't get it and maybe she didn't understand how all of this worked but she wasn't going to betray Lena's trust. Not now. Not ever again.

AN: Yes next chapter they will finally be going home! Its taken long enough but everyone will be getting back to where they belong! Thanks for reading and for your patience as I worked on this chapter!