"Say dog."
"Doug."
"Dog."
"Doh- oug."
"Do—"
"Do—"
"—g"
"—g"
"Say dog."
"Doug."
Ana rubbed her hands against the face, seated on a bed. Fareeha stood in front of the holographic board, with her always curious eyes. The girl occasionaly switchted from looking at the board to looking at her mother, legs crossed in a lotus shape and a pillow on her lap. The room Jack arranged for them was not the best one, but it was fairly comfortable and warm colored in orange. Besides, Amari didn't feel like getting a 3-star room just because she killed some people there and there.
"Doooog."
"Good girl", the woman said, launching a slice of honeydew upward. Fareeha quickly acted, moving her torso so the piece could fall in right into her mouth. She chewed as the watery fruit filled her mouth with juice.
"You know we can just hire a private teacher, right?"
Jack stood in the doorway, arms crossed as he watched the scene. Particulary today, he was not wearing his outstanding blue overcoat. He almost seemed like a normal person.
"A teacher that will need to follow us everywhere? That must be more expensive than Gabriel's boxers."
"How do you know how expensive are Gabriel's— okay, nevermind. Point is..."
He signaled Ana to approach, which she reluctantly did. Fareeha observed them, curious.
"You've been trying to teach her how to say dough for the past three days."
"Dog."
"Dog", he noded.
"It's doukh, uncle Jack!"
"Douhk?"
"Dog."
"Doug."
"Are you getting her a pet or a bread? Oh, better, better: are you trying to get her a dog breed or a bread dog?"
"Die."
"I thought you were in a huff with Reyes?"
Ana pressed her lips, pushing Jack forward off the room with a faint chuckle.
"No, I'm serious Ana. We will do this as a team. Little Fareeha is part of our family."
She crossed her arms, a side smirk on her lips. It has been almost 2 weeks since Fareeha moved to the base. It was something temporary at first, as she was supposed to shift homes and go back to Sam 5 days ago, but the girl cried so loud that Ana's eye almost cracked. Her father have been in a rush too, so he was really relieved that the girl wanted to stay in the HQ; as much as he loved his daughter plenty, Sam spent most of the time busy at public service.
As for Jack, he had been always kind of a leader – Reyes was an excellent strategist; except for the fact he didn't take casualties into account. In the other hand, Jack could be a little too much of an overthinker and end up entangling the whole mission strategy. Point taken, he cared too much about endangered agents. Completely a 'dad' Morrison.
"I just don't want to spend the organization savings for Fareeha when she..."
Ana swallowed dry, looking at her feet. Jack didn't understand it, but as he always needed to establish his leadership, he pretended he did. His hand reached for the woman's shoulder. He smiled.
"We will figure something ourselves."
"AAAAHAHAHAHAH! So who is here for uncle Rein's classes?! Of course it is our little Fareeha!"
"More higher uncle Rein, more higher!"
"Reinhardt?"
He looked at Ana. She stretched her lips, pointing down. Reinhardt took the sign, pouting and putting Fareeha down.
The little girl lifted up her arms. "Maratan 'ukhraa!"
"No, no, habibti~ it's class time now!"
Ana picked up her daughter, sitting her in the bench. The girl didn't protest; she kept her large smile, pressing her chubby cheeks.
"So, kleine Faheera!", he smiled, "What can I do for you?"
She rolled her eyes over, thinking, until they stopped in her mother.
"History", Ana whispered.
"Oh, oh, I want to hear hero histories!"
"Oooh", he approached, leaning himself on the table, which tilted a little. "You zay the fights we had?"
"Yes! Please say me!"
"Tell, Faheera", Ana corrected.
"Of course! But first, let's arrange a nickname for you, shall we?"
She tilted her head. "Why?"
"Because... I will tell you a story of a very stronger soldier named—"
"Oh, Rein..." Ana mumbled. "This is supposed to be a school-thing. Don't... Make anything up, please."
He stared at her, approaching Ana and trying to lower his voice tone, but obviously failing because Reinhardt.
"All the details? Like, all of them...?"
She looked away.
"Just don't cut any gore."
The Amaris walked through the corridors alongside, with very distinct expressions from one another. Ana was clearly sulky, while Fareeha leaped like a happy frog, holdig her mother's hand.
"... And then uncle Rein just smashed the head of the robot off?"
Ana sighed, defeated. "Yes, Fareeha, uncle Rein did that to aaall the omnics."
The girl stopped, eyes widened, stiff face.
"That's just... AWESOME! When I grown up I will smash everyone just like uncle Rein!"
Her mother let her breath out again. Maybe it was probably just her age; Ana has been too paranoid since always. A kid had her right to be excited about everything. Everything...
"Habibti!" She suddenly exclaimed, as Fareeha widened her eyes. "What about doing a very veery nice thing? Way better than omnics!"
"What is it mama?! I want it!"
"Let's go there!"
"Mama."
"Yes, my love?"
"What are we doing?"
Ana kept stirring her bowl of dough while looking at Fareeha, who, on the other hand, looked very cheerless in her bun. They were in a little orange colored kitchen, a pack of ingredients in the balcony.
"Basbusa! You always loved basbusa!"
"I like it... but, you said this was more fun than playing soldier..."
"And isn't it?" she overly-smiled, "That's all the girls you age do!"
"But I don't want to cook mama! Uncle Rein don't cook!"
"He doesn't, but~", she said sweetly, kneeling over to put the batter in the cake pan Fareeha was holding, "Your uncle Gabe can make the best quesadillas anyone ever seen!"
Fareeha handed Ana the cake pan as soon as the woman got her hands free. She was not in anytime convinced. Ana sighed, putting the cake to the oven. She leaned against the balcony afterwards, frowning.
"Mama, I can't be a soldier?"
"Habibti", she smiled, "Being a soldier is not the nicest thing as it seems."
She kneeled over, taking Fareeha's hands gently.
"It's a hard, dangerous work. Sometimes, you'll be alone, and no uncle in the world, be it Gabe, Rein, Jack or Winston will be able to help you. And the same goes for your teammates."
"But", she protested curiously, tilting her head, "If they are my teammates, they will be always at my side, right?"
The woman frowns, worried sick. Her little bird is so pure, so innocent. She can't stand thinking about losing her; the mere thought makes her stomach churns. Of all things Ana could fear, Fareeha's destiny scared her the most. As she wanted her daughter to continue being her little bird forever, she also worried that her burning passion for justice would not just be a phase, but the Amari's blood acting up all again. Ana growls.
"There are times that you can't just guess what is going to happen; sometimes, you just have a job to do, withouth knowing how it will..."
She stops for a moment, caressing Fareeha's dazzling hair ornaments.
"... How it will come out."
Fareeha nods lightly, clearly touched by her mother's tone. She looks discouraged, obviously. Ana sighs.
"I am sure we can find something you like", she smilled.
Ana sits on a chair next to the counter, as she taps her laps, indicating Fareeha to sit on it. She hesitates for a moment, for the obvious reason of 'I am too grown up to those baby things mom!', but complies nonetheless.
"Have you thought of music?"
"Ohh, I like trap!", her eyes shine.
"... I don't think there's a instrument for this."
"Of course there is!"
They keep surfing through various images and videos, trying to find something Fareeha would be truly interested into. Animals, sports, shows, handicraft; they dip into the holograms as the little girl pretends to like some things so her mother's frown doesn't expand.
A faint sound whistles in the room.
"That is a beautiful forest, isn't it? I'm sure you would love to go hiking in one! Hear the birds chiping, the breeze..."
Fareeha sniffs. "This forest is firing mama?"
"What?—"
Ana stands for a moment until she clicks. She fastly put Fareeha in the ground, rushing to the oven. The basbusa is completely blackened as the toasted stink rises. She growls.
"Ugh! Whose idea was to use a manual oven in the middle of 21st century?!"
"Mama, it's catching fire!"
"Get it out!"
While Ana makes her way to find an extinguiser, a pressured Fareeha ends up trying to pick the thing with her bare hands. She cries in agony, which sends off Ana's alarm in the same time the fire preventing systems let off sprinkles of water all over the room.
"So... I'm assuming she drowned?"
The two of them were completely soaked, shivering with the lab's cold temperature.
"Oh, no, Dr. Carmalho, she..."
"Carvalho."
Ana stretch her eyes as her unamused face forms up.
"My hands!" Fareeha cries.
The doctor checks them up. Damn, that's a lotta damage.
"Hmmm, we haven't had much burns lately. I will need to check for some regenerating lotion, wait a second."
They stood as Ana tried to calm down Fareeha. Despite all her pain, the curious girl went over the doctor's lab's balcony to find a dissected frog. Fareeha sticked out her tongue.
As the doctor applied the lotion into the girl's hands, the pain ceased and she could focus in her question.
"What you are doing with that frog?"
"Oh!" The woman sparks a bit. "It's a research in instant regenerative tissues. I can't make any progress even in the most complex equipments, because the cells seem to be bursting out whenever the nano—"
Ana interrupts her before the woman can end up telling her whole dissertation. "Oh, that is really wonderful Dr. Carnalho."
"Carvalho."
"Carvalho."
"Carfalyw."
Ana coughs. "So, what are your plannings in using it?"
Carvalho rolls her eyes without even hiding her impatience. "For wounded soldiers."
Fareeha eyes widen in surprise.
"Soldiers end up like that... froggy?"
The doctor yawns, while standing against the balcony, stretching some roll of bandage. "'Ree'ry 'uch."
Ana quickly turns her eyes to the girl, a light of hope striking into her worried mother's heart. She smirks as she feels Fareeha's stomach freezing. Or not.
"I WILL HAVE ROBOT LIMBS! AWESOME!"