Chapter 38: Homeward Bound

"You ready?" Tracer asked gesturing with her hands to make sure her meaning was understood. Sky still looked terrified and kept reaching up to the earmuffs on her head. Finally she nodded, reaching out to Rose who took her hand and squeezed it tightly. The plan was to take Sky back to her own world then return here and help Widowmaker and Lena get back to theirs. That's where they would rest up for a bit before Tracer came back here to Emily and Rose went back to her home.

"Oh! One second!" Lena hurried over and handed Sky a photo. They had taken it this morning with the four of them. Tracer, Lena, Sky and Rose all together smiling as Winston took the shot and then went to print out a copy for all of them. "Can't forget this!" Lena added with a smile that Sky nervously returned. Sky fumbled a bit before putting the photo away in a bag of supplies and mementos they had all pitched into give her. All of their attempts to try and help keep her calm had failed. Sky clearly wouldn't be able to relax until this jump was over and done with.

Lena scurried back out of the way to stand next to Widowmaker whose expression was as inscrutable as ever. However, the way she continued to hover next to Lena with her eyes constantly darting over to quietly check on her said plenty. It wasn't a pairing Tracer ever would have imagined but it seemed to be working out for them.

"Ready!" Rose proclaimed. Tracer put an arm around Sky's shoulders making sure she was secure between them. Sky for her part already had her eyes squeezed tightly shut, her hands trembling.

Tracer would take the lead with Rose supplementing her power as they jumped. She saw the world they needed to go to and focused on it, letting the darkness and cold swarm in around her. She could feel Sky's panic skyrocket nearly suffocating them. Rose quickly moved to comfort her even as she backed up Tracer's power with her own. Keeping them both stable as they jumped through void space to Sky's home world.

It only took about ten seconds but it was just long enough for doubt and worry to creep in before light exploded around them once again. The smell of the water slowly drifted back along with the cry of gulls circling overhead.

Tracer could feel Sky shaking violently and gently squeezed her to get her attention. Sky peeled one eye open and then the other staring and twisting her head around to make sure of where they were. Tracer let go of her and took a step back but still remained close by in case she needed help. Sky could still stand on her own technically but her balance had badly deteriorated so she leaned on Rose for support.

"Maybe I should go on ahead and find them..." Tracer hesitantly suggested but Sky was already taking a few shaky steps forward.

Rose nudged Sky and pointed to a bench in the distance silently asking her if she wanted to sit down instead. Sky shook her head no and took another shaky but determined step forward.

"Guess we'll go find them. Although I'm sure Athena has spotted us in one of the security cameras already," Tracer pointed out. "Lets head towards the medical wing. The Angela here will probably want her to go there anyway," she added pulling out her mobile and typing a quick note to Sky who read it and nodded quietly.

It was a very slow process until they got about halfway to the medical wing of the Gibraltar base and Athena directed them to a wheelchair tucked in a hallway closet. Sky gratefully sank down into it with a relieved sigh.

"The others have been notified and are on their way. You should encounter them in precisely three minutes," Athena informed them.

"Thanks love!" Tracer told her. They made it the rest of the way to the medical wing and into the closest room. Sky tried to hide the way her hands continued to shake as Rose and Tracer helped her onto the bed. Once there she leaned back and closed her eyes, clearly exhausted emotionally from the jump here.

"Right this way. First room on the left," Athena said from the hallway. Tracer could hear the urgent pace of footsteps approaching before a frantic woman rounded the corner into the room. It took a moment for her to recognize that it was this world's Widowmaker just without the blue skin.

"Is she..." Widowmaker stopped unable to finish her sentence. Angela nearly crashed into her from behind she ran up so quickly with Winston right behind her. Sky opened her eyes and rubbed them tiredly. When her eyes landed on Widowmaker though she immediately scrambled to sit up straighter. Widowmaker took a cautious step forward as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Its me Widow... I'm really back," Sky said her voice cracked and her words slurred from disuse. Widowmaker burst into tears as she ran over to Sky's bedside throwing her arms around her and kissing her deeply before breaking apart and sobbing uncontrollably. Now everyone was crying. Angela was hugging Rose and Winston's glasses were steaming up as he shook Tracer's hand. Sky was crying too in Widowmaker's arms.

"How... how did you find her?" Winston finally managed to choke out.

"It wasn't easy. Took both of us combined to search for it and it we were fortunate to come across her. Pulling her back here was... a lot rougher and more traumatic then we would have liked honestly but we got her back," Tracer explained.

"Whatever you did... thank you. Thank you so much," Winston said appreciatively.

"Getting her back was just the first step. She's... she's been gone a long time. Not as long as she feared but still long enough. Her hearing is extremely sensitive and she has trouble processing what sounds she does hear. She's strong enough to stand but doesn't have a good sense of balance or coordination anymore. She's going to need someone around to help her out a lot while she recovers," Tracer explained.

"I'll help," Widowmaker said quickly. "I'll do whatever she needs me too I just... thank you. Thank you so much for bringing her back to me," she said. Both of them were holding onto each other as if they were never going to let go again. Sky didn't say anything, but the tears of gratitude in her eyes as she looked back at them said more then enough.

Tracer cleared her throat and tried to maintain her composure. Someone around here had to with Rose blubbering away as well while hugging Angela and Winston in turn.

"None of us would ever leave another Lena trapped somewhere like that. Really, we had to do whatever we could to help," Tracer said honestly as Angela hugged her tightly, wetting her shoulder with tears. angela pulled away wiping ineffectually at her eyes.

"We'll make sure she gets the care she needs. Its so good to have her back again. I'd started to think that..." Angela stopped and shook her head but Tracer knew what she meant. They had started losing hope that they would ever see their Lena again.

"She's back now. Its not going to be an easy recovery but she's back with the people who love and care for her. That's what matters most," Rose sniffled out.

Tracer glanced back over at Sky and then just as quickly looked away her cheeks turning pink when she saw them kissing again. Only this time Widowmaker was apparently letting Sky know just how deeply she had missed her, regardless of the other people in the room. As happy as Tracer was for them some things she just didn't need to see. Angela laughed at the look on her face and Tracer blushed harder.

"We should um... we've got other people to get back to their homes so uh..." Tracer said awkwardly.

"We understand. Go on and know that we'll never forget you or what you've done to help us," Winston said enveloping her in another hug. He did the same with Rose and Angela followed up as well. Tracer was then surprised by another embrace that nearly smothered her more then Winston's had and that was saying something.

"Thank you. Thank you both. We'll never forget this," Widowmaker said gratefully. Tracer didn't mind attention usually but at the moment she was feeling more then a little overwhelmed by all the thanks and gratitude. Thankfully Rose noticed and slid up beside her tugging Tracer towards the door.

"We're just glad we could give you all a happy ending. Now though I think we'll leave you to catch up. I'm sure there's a lot to cover since she's been gone," Rose said offering one more round of goodbyes and your welcomes before they escaped the room.

"Now that we've been smothered in gratitude and hugs you ready to go back and make another jump? Or did you want to bask in the warm glow of helping someone for a bit? Because the thank you from the Widowmaker back in that room seems like it might be the only one you ever hear in your lifetime," Rose said before adding teasingly, "Although if you asked I'm sure she'd be happy to give you a kiss on the..."

"Please do not finish that sentence," Tracer said with a grimace. Rose cackled gleefully and grabbed her hand before initiating a jump back to Tracer's home world.

"Can't I have just one..." Lena asked reaching for a cinnamon roll only to have Widowmaker smack her hand away from the plate.

"For the seventh time no. Aren't you the one who told me not to let you have any food no matter how badly you wanted it because jumping makes you feel nauseous sometimes?" Widowmaker demanded her voice simmering with irritation. Waiting around with nothing to do was driving her patience to its final resting place and Lena's restlessness on top of that certainly wasn't helping either.

"But we've been waiting for almost two hours," Lena whined. Widowmaker rolled her eyes up to the heavens and prayed for strength. Realistically Lena's metabolism meant that she was going to need something to snack on pretty soon regardless of the consequences after they jumped back home.

"Two and that's it," Widowmaker said handing her a few of the huge cinnamon rolls Emily had baked earlier. The fact that they actually looked extremely good only added to her intense dislike of the redhead. Lena's eyes lit up and she dug into them eagerly.

"Mmm these are so delicious," Lena mumbled in appreciation. Widowmaker immediately scowled at that. "Although I'm sure yours are way better," Lena added quickly.

"Don't coddle me," Widowmaker snapped at her.

"I wouldn't have to if you weren't being so moody," Lena retorted evenly. Widowmaker opened her mouth to respond and then shut it. Lena had a fair point and they both knew it. Instead she let out a frustrated breath and crossed her arms.

"I'm just ready to go already. We're so close to leaving and instead we have to wait for Tracer and Rose to take their sweet time getting back," Widowmaker complained.

"Its always best to give yourself plenty of time on the return trip. Doubling up doesn't have any immediate effects but within a few hours it can make us really sick. Better safe then sorry," Lena explained.

"I'll show them sorry if they take much longer getting here," Widowmaker muttered earning a nudge in the side from Lena.

"Be nice. Think happy thoughts. Tracer will be gone soon, you'll be reunited with Amélie, you'll never have to see Emily's face again, the Widowmaker here will get help, and Rose gets to have her date with the Amélie in her world, and you'll have other people to practice fighting with instead of making Tracer miserable all the time! Everyone's happy!" Lena pointed out helpfully.

Widowmaker smirked as a particularly delicious memory of shooting Tracer in the thigh with a paintball for failing to watch her back again popped into her mind. Tracer had walked around with a limp all day after that one.

"You're thinking about shooting Tracer aren't you?" Lena said suspiciously.

"To be fair you did tell me to think happy thoughts," Widowmaker said coyly.

"Don't know why I even bothered," Lena muttered under her breath. "Here at least try one before we go," she offered ripping part of her cinnamon roll off. She even waved it around under Widowmaker's nose to try and entice her further. "Come on, quit staring like it personally offended you somehow. Emily isn't that bad," she tried again. Widowmaker's eyes snapped up to glare at Lena for daring to even think such heinous words much less say them.

"Although she certainly can't compare to you," Lena said sweetly. Widowmaker ignored that and snatched the food out of Lena's fingers to try it. Her scowl deepened as she chewed it. It really was unfairly delicious.

"Is there anything Emily could do that wouldn't make you dislike her?" Lena asked curiously. Widowmaker grinned wickedly at her. "You know what? On second thought please don't answer that," she quickly amended.

"Well you're no fun," Widowmaker sniffed. Emily just made her too uncomfortable. Being around her was a nagging reminder that Lena deserved and could easily find someone far better then herself.

"Not long now and then you'll have me all to yourself... mostly," Lena reminded her.

"Careful now, I could get used to hearing that," Widowmaker teased mildly. As expected Lena smiled shyly and immediately started blushing. There was far more Widowmaker could say but she had already dialed back her words from the first thing that came to mind.

Widowmaker's first instinct was still to use whatever means she could in a situation, within reason of course, to maintain the upper hand and to keep her opponent off balance. She hadn't hesitated to do it before when she wanted answers about what Lena had said during her drunken escapades in France but things had changed. Lena certainly wasn't her enemy anymore but she was extremely vulnerable both physically and emotionally. Part of Widowmaker's mind was continually urging her to take advantage of that, to pull on Lena until she was wrapped around her fingers.

Breaking the habits Talon had instilled in her wouldn't be easy but it would be vital if she wanted this relationship to last beyond the current crisis. Besides, Widowmaker was starting to realize now that Lena's constant shyness didn't come about just from her apparent inexperience with romance but from deep seated insecurities and body issues as well. No need to go stomping all over her personal boundaries before she even figured out what they were. Even she wasn't that oblivious to social norms. Not to mention she didn't want Lena getting the wrong impression and feel like Widowmaker was expecting something she wasn't or had little interest in.

Lena's eyes brightened suddenly as the lights around them flickered.

"Tracer and Rose are back!" Lena said excitedly. Sure enough just a few seconds later twin flashes of light zipped into the room.

"Sorry for the delay!" Rose apologized. "But everything went great! Sky was reunited, tears were shed, hugs were given it was all so sweet," she said with a happy sigh.

"You don't look as cheerful," Widowmaker pointed out and Tracer blanched.

"No, no I'm fine. Like Rose said everything went great," Tracer said quickly. Too quickly.

"Sky and the Widowmaker over there started kissing and Tracer got really weirded out by it," Rose said far more bluntly. Widowmaker's eyebrows shot straight up at that declaration as Tracer slapped a hand over her face.

"Rose!" Tracer groaned.

"Well you did!" she said defensively.

"Are you all ready to go?" Emily asked as she peeked her head around the corner.

"Yes we're coming!" Lena said shooting Widowmaker a stern "be nice" warning look that she returned with a self-satisfied smirk. Tracer's discomfort was a rather nice balm to her very irritated soul.

The room they would be leaving from was just down the hallway and Rose chattered the whole way with Lena and Emily telling them about Sky's reunion with her friends. That left Widowmaker walking beside an increasingly uncomfortable Tracer. The best part was that she didn't even have to say anything. Tracer looked ready to burst all on her own.

"Its not like I have a problem with you two or anything," Tracer suddenly blurted out to her, "Its just weird seeing another version of myself with... well someone other then Emily," she admitted.

"Really? My, I can't possibly imagine what that feeling must be like," Widowmaker said dryly. Tracer squirmed again and scratched her head uncomfortably.

"Fine, I guess I walked right into that hole didn't I? I guess I can't blame you for not wanting to be around Emily very much although I probably haven't been the biggest help myself. Still we didn't kill each other so that's something right?" Tracer offered.

"It is a small victory yes. Just be sure not to let your impatience get the better of you with your own fight here. I didn't spend time teaching you just for it to all go to waste," Widowmaker reminded her.

"I won't forget and thanks for taking the time to train me. I know I'm not your uh... favorite person here," Tracer pointed out then added, "But whatever you have going on back home I hope everything works out." Widowmaker hummed in acknowledgement but otherwise didn't bother to respond to that.

"And... I can't believe I'm saying this... but um," Tracer began, "I'm glad Lena has you. Whatever differences we may have I can see now that you do honestly care about her. We spend almost all of our time trying to protect and help others so...its nice to have someone do the same for us or just remind us that its okay to be a little selfish sometimes. Just... take care of her okay?" she asked hesitantly.

Widowmaker looked at her with surprise before instinctively glancing over at Lena. Now that her accelerator was fixed and she had been getting plenty of proper rest and food her physical injuries were healing nicely. But some scars would always be there no matter what Angela did, whether it was the one here or back home. Not to mention the lingering emotional trauma added to what Lena already had to deal with everyday.

Anger welled up in her chest as Widowmaker saw the way Lena shuffled along slowly, leaning on a cane with Rose close by for support now that she was cleared to be up from a wheelchair. Lena still reflexively tried hide her mangled hands from view whenever someone looked at her and she only wore long sleeved shirts and loose pants that made her small frame stand out even more. Widowmaker had seen her injuries, she had been the one sitting there each night since Lena arrived, rubbing Angela's special nanogel over her scarred hands, arms and legs to help them heal and to help her deal with the pain.

Because of me, Widowmaker thought letting the rage flow through her.

"I will. Lena will be safe with me," Widowmaker swore. Going back didn't just mean happy reunions it meant finally getting back to her purpose. It meant going back after Xiulan and the rest of Talon for what they had done to her and to those she cared about.

"We're here!" Emily called out. Winston was already there retuning the equipment and sensors. No reason not to try and grab some valuable data if they were going to be doing this anyway.

"Almost ready. Just one more thing to reset before you get the all clear," Winston explained.

At first Widowmaker stood apart letting Lena take care of all the hugs, goodbyes, farewells, thank you's. Then she thought better of it and gave a brief thanks to Angela for helping her with her ongoing emotional instability and Winston for not only believing her story but for talking Tracer and Angela down out of attack mode when she initially got dropped here.

Tracer and Rose would be going with them but Emily made sure to give both of them a warm farewell because of course she did. Widowmaker managed to remain civil very grudgingly commenting on how it was nice of them to let her stay. She was pretty sure her voice was dripping with disdain the whole time but if so Emily ignored it.

"Winston's machines are recalibrated so he can get some data from all this and everyone has said their goodbyes except for me and Rose since we're going along too. Is everyone all set?" Tracer asked. She reached for Widowmaker's hand but stopped and quickly yanked it back when she received a glare so hot it it was a wonder she didn't immediately burst into flames.

"Right. No touching. My bad," Tracer said hastily as she backed away. "So um...I'll uh... let Rose and Lena stand on each side of you and I'll take the far end," she offered instead.

Angela didn't really feel comfortable letting with the idea of Lena jumping back with another person in tow. Not in her current mental condition and especially not after their encounter with Sky. Better to let Tracer and Rose handle the burden instead. They had to be in physical contact in order for it to work but that didn't mean Widowmaker had to be touching Tracer specifically.

It's only for a moment. It'll be over soon enough, Widowmaker told herself but feeling Rose's hand pressing against hers made her skin itch and the weight of everyone's eyes on her, real or imagined, was making her increasingly twitchy. This was just like when she was carrying Lena after the team rescued her from the Talon base in the desert. Too many people, too many eyes, too much attention. The physical contact she could force herself to deal with, but the attention was what got to her the most. Widowmaker forced herself to take a deep breath and breathe out slowly. She could do this, she had to if she wanted to get home to Amélie.

However it was the increasingly tight grip on her left hand that pulled Widowmaker out of her thoughts. She looked beside her and could clearly see the tension in Lena's face and body.

"Hey," Widowmaker said gently, or as gently as she could which honestly wasn't very well at all, "We'll be fine. Tracer and Rose aren't going to let anything happen to us. I'm right here," she added. Lena nodded and squeezed her eyes shut but Widowmaker didn't miss the way Lena also shifted closer to her side. Widowmaker also couldn't help but notice the warmth that spread through her own body at the reminder that Lena not only felt comfortable around her but safer in her presence. She was used to people always being scared or intimidated around her. This... this was new, but not unwelcome.

"Remember to relax and don't let go of each other. This will seem longer then it really is," Rose said cheerfully.

Blue and white power crackled around them growing brighter until the world went dark and deep cold and blackness rushed in around them. They were finally heading home.

Amélie was thinking about Nightshade. Thinking really, really hard. As hard as she could. She didn't like thinking about her but Angela's questions made her worry. What if the bad people tried to use her to get to Nightshade? To make Widowmaker weaker so that she would come out again? Then they would have someone who listened to them. Someone who followed orders and didn't question why.

Widowmaker was the strongest person Amélie knew but she still worried a lot. Widowmaker worried about keeping Amélie safe and being there to protect her. Being apart like this must be hurting her just like Sombra and Adriana said. She tried so hard but the bad people were still there. What if Widowmaker started to think she couldn't do it? Couldn't keep her safe like she always had before? Is that why Sombra told her to remind Widowmaker about how special she was and how much Amélie loved her?

Amélie chewed on her fingernail and hugged her saturn plushie tighter to her chest. It was bedtime and Adriana had tucked her in for the night but she couldn't sleep. She was scared. Scared of Nightshade coming back and hurting her and making Widowmaker go away like she made Nightshade go away.

"I don't want Widowmaker to leave me," Amélie whispered to herself.

Widowmaker had asked once about inte... inter... integration. About Amélie becoming whole again and if she would like that. Said it would make her better, make her stronger like before. Then they would be together forever. Amélie remembered saying no. No not ever. Not if it meant she would never get to hear Widowmaker sing to her at night or point out the stars to her when she couldn't sleep. She didn't care if she was weak or if her mind workd differently from other people just as long as she had Widowmaker to talk to.

But...

What if she could integrate with Widowmaker instead? What if Widowmaker could be whole like she wanted Amélie to be whole? What if Widowmaker could be stronger then she was now?

But...

Amélie knew that integration meant someone had to disappear. Had to become a part of the other one. Amélie wanted so desperately to disappear. To leave this world and all the bad that happened to her behind forever. But what if Widowmaker didn't want her to go? Didn't want her to leave? Amélie remembered how sad she was when Widowmaker suggested leaving. What if Widowmaker got sad too? She didn't want her to be sad.

But if it made Widowmaker stronger... strong enough to fight the bad people then it was the right decision wasn't it? Widowmaker wanted to fight the bad people, wanted to make them go away so Amélie would be safe and not have to worry anymore. She had made a promise to do it and Widowmaker wasn't going to go back on her promise.

Amélie hated being here. Hated waking up everyday in this place. It hurt so much and she just wanted all the hurt to finally stop. Sombra and Adriana and Reaper and Razor and Satya all tried to help but they only made it hurt a little less. They couldn't make it go away. Nothing would make it all go away. Integrating with Widowmaker could make it go away. Amélie could finally rest the way she wanted to and help Widowmaker become stronger at the same time. That way they would be together forever and no one would ever separate them.

Sombra and Adriana and the others were nice but Amélie didn't have anyone else besides Widowmaker, not really, but Widowmaker did. She had other people now. Sombra, Adriana, Reaper, Razor, Satya, even Lena was back and Widowmaker really liked seeing Lena. Even Angela and the other Overwatch team wanted Widowmaker back safely. So even if Amélie couldn't be there to talk to her Widowmaker still wouldn't be alone. Not anymore.

Widowmaker would understand. She just wanted Amélie to be happy and safe and protected. This would help do that and still keep them together and help Widowmaker stay strong against the bad people and keep Nightshade away so nothing could bring her back out again no matter what the bad people did.

Amélie nodded to herself with great satisfaction and scooted back underneath the covers hugging her plushie tightly as she closed her eyes.

She liked this idea. It was a really good idea.

AN: I apologize deeply for the long wait but I hope you enjoyed this chapter all the same! Everyone is finally getting back to their respective worlds, Widowmaker and Lena will have to go back to the rest of Overwatch who will be very... surprised to see how things between them have changed. Not to mention Xiulan's plotting and Reaper's collusion with Sombra and Adriana. So many exciting things to cover! Thank you for reading everyone!