"Hey, Kami? Can I…ask a little favour?"
Kamilah cocked her head, eyeing the video feed of Safiya onscreen. Her sister had sounded hesitant, and even looked the part as she waited for an answer. "Of course."
"I'm thinking of sending Zahra over to Cairo for…rehabilitation. And I was wondering if she could stay with you."
"Wait, what? 'Rehabilitation'?"
Safiya bit on her lip, eyes darting to some point beyond her vidcam, then reached for her holopad on the table. The feed on Kamilah's screen swayed as Safiya moved to another point in her room, before holding the holopad level, granting Kamilah a view of Safiya standing by the window. The darkness of the night outside somehow made Kamilah dread what Safiya was about to say.
"She was caught in an accident three months ago–"
"Three months?" Kamilah burst out in surprise, then fell silent when Safiya raised a hand.
"She didn't want anyone to know. Long story short, her VTOL crashed, her leg got trapped under the burning wreckage. She was stuck there so long that she passed out. By the time rescue arrived…" Safiya shook her head slowly. "They had to amputate her leg."
"Oh god…"
"Yeah."
"How is she?"
"She's trying to be brave and everything, but…" Safiya shrugged, the pain clear on her face. "Honestly, I don't think she's doing good. Still losing sleep, crying, spacing out… God, I just don't know." She covered her mouth, frowning to the side of the screen before looking back at Kamilah. "She's a little better after she got the prosthetic – we got her one of those complex bionic legs. You know, the ones that look almost human except for the joints, and the metal and all that–?"
"Yes," Kamilah said simply, refocusing Safiya's attention before she could start rambling in her unease.
"Yeah. Look, I've been keeping myself in base since she came back, but I'm getting pressured to get back out there soon. I'm thinking of sending Zahra over to Cairo for her rehabilitation, and maybe she could stay with you? I know you might be busy enough with your work and Fareeha and everything, but can you please help me watch over Zahra too? At least I know you can spend more time with her than me…"
"Of course, Safiya," Kamilah said with a soft, incredulous laugh. "Just bring her over. I'll take care of her."
Safiya breathed a sigh. "Thanks, Kami."
"Mama. Mama!" Fareeha ran down from the study, holding her octopus plush in one hand. She reached Kamilah, who waited for her by the kitchen's doorway, and grabbed onto her mother's track pants. "There's a car outside!"
"Guess who is it?" Kamilah said, swinging the keys on her fingers as she made for the front door, with her daughter in tow.
"Auntie…Safiya. Auntie Zahra."
"That's right." Kamilah paused before the door, bending down to ruffle Fareeha's hair as the doorbell rang. "Now, you be good, alright?"
"I am good," Fareeha declared, though her voice got a little smaller as she hugged at Kamilah's leg.
The moment the door was opened, Kamilah got pulled into a hug by Safiya as usual, getting sound kisses on her cheeks before she was free to greet Zahra as well. The pilot was quieter, her smile nervous and a little forced, though it did grow brighter when Zahra lowered her gaze to look at Fareeha.
Fareeha was still hugging Kamilah's leg, partially hidden behind her mother as she stared up uncertainly at the two strangers who gazed down at her.
"Look at you!" Safiya cooed, kneeling before the child. "You're so big and tall now! When I last saw you, you were just an itty-bitty little bean." She patted the top of Fareeha's head playfully, coaxing a small giggle from the girl.
"You look like ami," Fareeha said shyly.
"Ami?" Safiya glanced up at Kamilah and mouthed 'Ana?', getting an affirmative nod in return. "Ah, I look prettier than your ami, I hope." She grinned, and when she spread her arms, Fareeha went in for a hug willingly, giggling even more when Safiya squeezed the girl, lifting Fareeha briefly from the ground in the embrace.
Having been warmed up by her aunt's greeting, Fareeha then flew over to Zahra, hugging at the woman's leg like she did with her mother. But Kamilah stiffened, noticing the minute jerk in Zahra's right leg, as if she'd wanted to pull away instinctively from the child.
"Hello," Fareeha said, though her gaze up at Zahra was quickly lowered, as her hands grasped at the hard surface beneath the denim of Zahra's jeans. "Your leg is medal!"
Kamilah and Safiya exchanged worried glances behind the child's back, when Zahra stared wordlessly down at Fareeha, but the girl continued, "That's so cool!"
Her simple exclamation seemed to flick a switch in Zahra, a soft chuckle leaving the woman's lips as she bent down and tweaked Fareeha's nose. "That's right. It's metal," she said slowly, nodding when Fareeha repeated the word, pronouncing it properly the second time. When Safiya swooped in to lift Fareeha high into the air, Kamilah noted how quickly the smile fell from Zahra's lips, then returned when she noticed Kamilah's scrutiny.
"Seems the both of you are doing well," Zahra said, letting Kamilah circle an arm around her shoulders as they followed Safiya and Fareeha farther into the house.
Kamilah just smiled, not knowing what to say. Thankfully, the pair walking ahead of them were more than capable of filling the empty space with their easy chatter.
"How old are you now, Fareeha?"
"I'm 3!"
"There's still two more months to your birthday, my dear," Kamilah reminded her.
"Yup! And I'm 3!" Fareeha proclaimed, sticking three fingers proudly up in the air for all to see.
"Of course you are, honey," Safiya crooned, bouncing the girl in her arms. "Do you want anything for your birthday? Oh! And do you know who got this octopus for you?" She pointed at the plush that Fareeha held by its rainbow tentacles. "Me, Auntie Safiya. Best aunt forever."
"Bestest aunt forever," Fareeha said with a bright smile, clinging onto her aunt as if the woman was indeed the best thing that happened to her for the whole week.
Unfortunately for Fareeha, her 'bestest' aunt had to leave after staying with them for just two days. But that small amount of time was apparently enough for Fareeha to get attached, because the child wore a mighty pout the day that Safiya was saying her goodbyes. Fareeha only cheered up when her aunt promised to come back to see her, with the puppy toy that she had promised to the girl for her birthday. Then she returned to Kamilah's side, allowing her aunts to embrace each other tightly, Safiya murmuring reassurances into Zahra's ear.
It was clearly difficult for Zahra to be parted from her wife, who had been her sole source of emotional support since the accident, as far as Kamilah could tell. Zahra was adamant at keeping her situation secret, even from her own family; the only reason Kamilah knew, was due to Safiya's insistence that she moved to Cairo for her rehabilitation.
Still, Kamilah appreciated the frankness with which Zahra tried to discuss the accident and her leg, even if she was purposefully clinical and stoic about the whole thing. Fareeha did help in her own little way, fawning over how 'cool' the black-plated leg was when she showed it to them for the first time. But as much as Zahra was comfortable with their acceptance of the leg, Kamilah knew that she hadn't fully come to terms with it herself. Zahra always hid her leg from plain view, standing with the bionic limb slightly drawn to the back, even when she wore pants that covered her legs completely. She was self-conscious, and Kamilah'd had to remind Fareeha in quiet to not keep bothering the woman about her 'cool leg'.
Fareeha, of course, always gave her a petulant pout after each reminder, but desisted as instructed…for as long as she remembered her mother's words, at least. Kamilah sighed every time Fareeha asked about the bionic leg, and was once jolted into a reflexive 'No!' in concert with Zahra, when the girl asked if she could have a bionic leg herself. Fareeha blew a loud raspberry then, but giggled along with her aunt when Zahra laughed quietly, and hugged the girl sitting in her lap.
Despite warnings about nightmares from Safiya, Kamilah never once heard a loud awakening from Zahra. No yells, no screams. No sharp gasps like Ana, when her wife jerked awake from a bad dream. Just silence, that was sometimes broken by the muted padding of feet down the hallway, which Kamilah had taken to following down into the kitchen, where Zahra would sit and hold a warm cup of water between weak hands. Times like these, it was best to just stay by her side and keep her company, without prodding for information; the memories and nightmares were still fresh, kept secret behind lips pressed into a thin line.
She opened up best in a more stable and homely environment that made her feel safe, with methods of distracting herself close at hand. Normally, that usually meant that Fareeha was around to play with, so Kamilah was surprised when Zahra started talking while they nursed steaming cups of tea after dinner, with Fareeha playing by herself upstairs.
"It's still sinking in. Like I can't believe that it really happened to me." Zahra traced a fingertip around the rim of her cup. "I mean, the bionic leg is good, even if I can't feel a thing. It fits well and it works well, but…" She scratched at a spot above her knee, worrying at the seam where metal met flesh. "I can still feel the empty space where my leg was. I just…" Zahra exhaled sharply. "I can't believe it's gone."
Her hand curled tightly into a fist, shaking her leg in agitation, then forced herself to stop when Kamilah held onto her shoulder, squeezing lightly. "I'm fine," Zahra said with a smile. "I'm fine, I know. The anger. Yeah."
"It takes a while, Zahra. Don't push yourself."
"I know it takes time. Not going to rush it." She sighed, running a hand down her face. "Sometimes I just wish that it's all done with – that I can be in the future, when everything is fine, and I'm adjusted to my leg, and not walking so awkwardly. Fuck, Milah." She brought a fist down onto the tabletop lightly. "I just want to be out there again. Like normal. Damn it, I need to get back out there. They need me."
"Hey." Kamilah smiled, grasping her chin to turn Zahra's face towards her, tilting her head in mock scrutiny. "You're one of those Amari, are you?"
Zahra burst out in laughter, slapping her hand away. "You're one of them too, remember?"
"Yes," Kamilah drawled. "But I'm the only one not hankering to get back in the field, it seems."
"Listen, Safiya's Lieutenant-Colonel now. I've gotta catch up to her, or her head's going to swell until it's too big for her own shoulders." Zahra shot her a bemused glance, rapping her knuckles on Kamilah's forehead. "Guess I should be grateful Safiya's not out there, saving the world and getting famous."
Kamilah heaved a sigh. "Don't remind me."
"How is she, by the way? Have you been able to contact her?"
"She hasn't called back in more than a week. Should be on some mission in America." Kamilah shrugged. "She should be fine. Probably getting a few new injuries as we speak, but she'll be fine." She frowned to herself, then blinked when Zahra grasped her wrist gently.
"And you?"
"I'm fine. I just get worried sometimes, especially when she goes dark for weeks at a time." Kamilah let out another sigh and leant against the table, brows furrowing deeper the longer she spoke. "I feel so helpless here. Stuck at home while she's out there…doing who knows what. Getting herself into trouble, that's for sure."
"You're looking after Fareeha, Milah. You're helping to keep this worry off her shoulders, at least. She knows that Fareeha has you."
"I know. And it's selfish, but sometimes I wish that someone else was chosen instead of her–" Kamilah looked up at the ceiling when the lights flickered, hand reaching instinctively for her phone on the table. This wasn't an uncommon occurrence, not for the past few months…
"Blackout–?" Zahra asked, just as they were plunged into darkness.
"Yup." They activated the flashlights on their phones, as Fareeha's cry reached them. "Oh no. Could you go to my study and get the holo-lamp on my desk?"
Kamilah flew up the stairs when Zahra nodded, motherly instincts pushing her legs into a sprint until she reached the master bedroom, casting her light around until she found Fareeha sitting on the bed, clutching her toy caterpillar in one hand.
"Mama!" Fareeha cried, turning to her mother with hands outstretched, as Kamilah climbed into bed with her.
"There there, darling. Mama's here now." Kamilah gathered the girl into her arms and set Fareeha in her lap, cradling and swaying the child gently. She looked around the bed until she spotted the blue bird plush and took it, holding it before Fareeha's eyes. Kamilah gave it a squeeze, and the light inside the bird's stomach lit up, accompanied by a short melody interspersed with sing-song chirps. It caught Fareeha's attention, though the girl still continued to cry for a while, hugging the bird until her cries faded into sobs.
Kissing the top of Fareeha's head, Kamilah hugged the girl a little tighter as Fareeha squeezed the bird again, and the toy broke out into another song. She chuckled to herself, watching the lighted bird with Fareeha, who snuggled closer to her mother and started humming along through her hitched breaths.
Leave it to Ana to buy the best toys for her child.
"Really, Ana!"
"I had to! That stupid thing had shields–"
"And you couldn't have disabled it in some other way?"
"Things were messy, alright? And it was gaining on my team, so I just jumped out and–"
"Of course you jumped right onto the huge omnic that your entire team was shooting at. Oh, you goddamned hero," Kamilah groaned, face falling into her palm.
Ana smiled – both in amusement and guilt – and she took the chance to adjust the oversized jacket's lapels more snugly about her neck, before Kamilah looked up again.
"Ana…"
"Milah, I'm sorry, but I had to do it."
"I know. It's war, right?"
Her heart clenched at the tightness in Kamilah's voice. She pulled her lips up in a small smile, and spoke softly, "Milah. I know you're worried, but I have to…"
"Ana," Kamilah said, nearly pleading. "I know that you will do what you have to do. I just–, I just want you to come back to me in one piece. I don't want you to come back with something…I can't fix."
Swallowing thickly, Ana replied, "Of course, Milah." She watched Kamilah fidget with the sleeve of her t-shirt, then smiled again when her wife looked back at her. "How are you, dear? Other than worrying yourself sick over me, the gorgeous sniper who is your wife."
Kamilah rolled her eyes, but Ana's ploy worked, cracking a smile on her wife's face. "I'm fine. Fareeha's been more well-behaved lately. But that only means she's going to act up again soon…"
Ana looked on fondly as Kamilah recounted the past weeks with the family, telling how Fareeha's stubbornness was starting to rear its head, and how Zahra was recovering from her accident nicely, already angling for a way back into the combat zone where Safiya was. She listened, feeling a slight ache in her chest when reminded of the fact that she hadn't been home for over a year now.
"Any idea when you're coming back to save your own country?" Kamilah asked, drawing a smirk from Ana with the light sarcasm.
"Well, Germany's our next target after we're done here in America. And after that, we're mostly likely heading to Egypt. So if things go well, maybe within a year."
If the estimate bothered Kamilah, she hid it as well as Ana, and nodded slowly. "I can deal."
"Of course you can," Ana crooned, and went on to bait more sighs and groans and laughs from her wife, until Kamilah threw her hands up and declared it was time to take a break from Ana's nonsense. "Milah?" Ana said quickly, even though Kamilah hadn't moved to turn off her vidcam. "I love you."
"I love you too," Kamilah said, a soft smile on her lips. "And you'd better come back so I can kiss the hell out of you."
"You swore–!"
"No, I didn't. Bye." Her smirk was the last thing Ana saw, before the video feed blinked off.
Ana laughed to herself, and held the holopad to her chest, before letting out a long sigh. With a groan, Ana rose from the chair in the break room, feeling the pull of numerous injuries on her body. She strode back into the hospital ward, mildly amused when the entire team's eyes fell upon her the instant she walked through the doors.
"Were you all waiting for me?" Ana asked incredulously.
"There's nothing much to do when you're stuck in a ward," Gabriel replied, sitting on the side on Jack's bed as he watched Ana trudge over to the one beside them.
"You need to get a hobby." She slipped off the big jacket hanging on her body, tossing it back to Jack with her thanks. She had borrowed it for the vidcall, so that Kamilah couldn't see the bandage on her neck and the bruises above her collarbone.
Ana had been caught in a very close call with an omnic in the last mission – technically, the entire mission had been a close call. They had very nearly failed in their siege on the omnium in Detroit, where they met stiff resistance in the assault, fighting tooth-and-nail against omnics as large as tanks, and a new model of omnic bombardiers. By the time they reached the omnium, Liao discovered that the omnics' objective had only been to slow them down…so that when they reached the factory proper, they'd discover that the self-destruct countdown had already begun, giving them little time to escape.
The team beat a frantic retreat from the omnium, and were a handful of paces away from the edge of the blast radius when the timer ticked to zero on their mission timers. Reinhardt spun around and brought up his shield, while the rest huddled behind him and threw out whatever portable energy shields they were carrying, just as a wave of searing heat engulfed them. The shockwave pushed them backwards over the ground, before throwing them off their feet when the Crusader's shield shattered.
They had all been unconscious when the medics found them, and thankfully, there were no severe injuries. Reinhardt was the most beaten, having taken most of the blast on behalf of his team, though his bodily injuries seemed to hurt his pride much less than the singed tips of his rich blonde hair.
"So, how's the family doing?"
"Better than us, that's for sure." Ana sighed in contentment as she lay in bed, feeling every muscle in her body unwind against the soft mattress.
Jack chuckled along with Gabriel's smooth laugh. "Did you really have to hide your injuries, though? You'd think your wife would understand."
"Oh, my sweet innocent boy. Trust me, it was necessary." Ana winked impishly at Jack. "Besides, I don't want her to worry about me. She has enough on her mind."
"Understandable."
Ana turned her head to the other side, where Liao had finally sat up, and was listening to their conversation. "Hey, Liao. Didn't take too much of a beating, did you?"
"No, I'm fine. Just a little…in shock." She huffed the last words, as if in disbelief. "I've never been wounded like this before."
"I'd suppose the first time's always kind of a rude surprise," Gabriel mused. "Hope it hasn't turned you off field work."
"Are you kidding?" Liao said with such a sudden rush of energy, that Ana was a little taken aback. "It felt incredible. I know that we could've all very well died then, but…wow. That rush when your life is on the line…"
Reinhardt laughed from where he lay in his bed opposite Liao's, his voice a little softer than usual. "It is amazing, isn't it? To feel the rush in your veins, the pounding in your chest. It makes you feel alive."
Ana snickered to herself, closing her eyes with a smile as Reinhardt and Liao continued to chatter on.
Kamilah would have an aneurysm if she met the team, that's for sure.
With aid from the super soldiers of the SEP, the Strike Team were able to move onto the God Program facility and shut the A.I. down in one short month – due to the sheer strength of the SEP's soldiers, and the diminished numbers of omnics within the US. The A.I. had made a grave mistake, sacrificing too many bodies in its failed attempt to take the Strike Team down with the omnium, thereby sealing its fate.
They took a week for some mandatory R&R, as they had been carrying old wounds from the omnium assault, which hadn't been given time to properly heal. At the week's end, they were flown straight to Army Command in Strausberg, Germany. Much like Jack and Gabriel when they had been in America, Reinhardt was thoroughly invigorated with his feet on home soil once more, and spared no time in briefing the team on the Crusaders' tactics, sharing ideas for how they could work with his old comrades.
Ana suspected that the God Programs either had a method of communication with one another, or kept themselves abreast of current news, at the very least. With each country they fought in, the omnics' tactics seemed to take a sharper focus on the Strike Team. The American A.I. had tried to lure them into a death trap, aware of the team's existence after their victory in Russia. Here in Germany, the team's movements through the country were plagued with countless skirmishes, and Ana could feel themselves losing speed with each battle. The sniper herself was finding trouble staying hidden for long, what with airborne devices hovering in the air, specifically waiting for Ana's shots to pinpoint her position and flush her out.
The omnics were treating the battles as opportunities to learn about the Strike Team's capabilities, and their progress was nearly stalled until Liao presented a solution – a focused jamming signal that could isolate the combat zone that the team fought in, preventing any information from being transmitted back to the A.I. Most of the team had tried listening to Liao's explanation of bouncing the boosted signal over a large area to mimic the effect of a Faraday shield, before Gabriel cut in and gave her the go-ahead to implement it. Ana – understanding that Liao might've just invented something groundbreaking – gave the woman a thumbs-up and wink, and Liao shot her a smile as they left the war room together.
Her solution did work, it seemed – the omnics were no longer privy to the new tactics that Gabriel dreamt up, falling to the same tricks without fail, battle after battle. From there, their war in Germany was rather straightforward. Fighting with the Crusaders by their sides, the Strike Team was able to disable the omnium and A.I. facility, without incurring drastic losses among the stalwart knights and the German army.
And finally, 19 months after joining the Strike Team, Ana would return to the war at home.
For the first time, Ana felt anxious returning to her family. They were waiting for her, of course, and she knew they would be thrilled at her appearance. But she couldn't help but wonder how much had changed. Kamilah was more or less the same – Ana could tell from their vidcalls together. But surely Fareeha would've changed – growing taller, much taller, that's for sure. Would she still treat Ana the same? Show that unabashed affection for her mother? Did she still recognise Ana as her mother?
Ana nearly slammed her head into the door out of exasperation, but settled for simply swinging it open instead. The TV was on, playing the jingle from a kids' show. Ana set her duffle bag down and took off her boots, wondering how she should approach Fareeha. Carefully? Warmly–?
She froze when Fareeha's head poked out from the living room's doorway, and the ecstatic grin on the girl's face washed away her anxiety in an instant.
She's so tall now.
"Ami!" Fareeha yelled and ran towards Ana, who lifted her from the ground and squeezed her in a tight embrace.
"Fareeha," Ana said, feeling breathless all of a sudden. She squeezed her eyes tight, pressing her face into Fareeha's shoulder, before kissing her head. "Ami missed you so much, Fareeha."
"I missed you, ami. You were gone so long!"
Already talking so well, too.
"Ami was busy, little one," Ana explained, carrying the girl back into the living room, where she was given pause.
"Mama! Ami's back!" Fareeha called out to her mother, as she was lowered onto the sofa.
A grin spread slowly across Ana's face, as she beckoned at her wife with both hands. Kamilah took the invitation to heart, practically lunging into Ana's embrace, wrapping her arms tightly around her wife.
"Now, now," Ana murmured beside her ear. "You promised me kisses–"
Her reminder was cut short when Kamilah leaned back to shoot her an incredulous look, before threading her fingers through Ana's hair and yanking her in, their lips crashing together in a desperate kiss. Ana hummed against Kamilah's mouth, smiles growing on their faces with each kiss, until she could feel the laughter in the gentle press of Kamilah's lips to hers.
"God, I've missed you," Ana purred, giving her wife one last kiss, Kamilah's low chuckle the sweetest music to her ears. She smiled, then turned her gaze down towards Fareeha, who was tugging on her sleeve.
"I want kissies too."
And many kisses Fareeha did get from Ana, who made sure to shower her affection over Kamilah as well, during their lamentably short time together. In the four days that the Strike Team spent in Cairo pulling their battle plan together, Ana managed to get reacquainted with Fareeha on the play mat, received full body examinations from Kamilah in the sheets, and baked a decent batch of cupcakes to make up for the important milestones she had missed with the family.
The last was definitely the highlight of Ana's return for Fareeha, who inhaled the three cupcakes that Ana had placed candles on. She watched in amusement with Kamilah as they let the girl indulge in her sweet tooth, and listened to her stories while they ate their own cakes as well.
The downer was, unsurprisingly, Ana's departure from home once more. This time, Ana didn't disappear from the house overnight without Fareeha's knowledge, and made sure to hug her daughter, leaving her with a promise to come soon. Kamilah didn't need the prolonged attention, and was satisfied with just an embrace from her wife.
Since the team was on her home turf, Gabriel handed Ana the reins as she coordinated between the army, Sa'ka, and God Eye – working closely with Jaida, Safiya, and Khalid to bolster the Strike Team's efforts in the country. Ana's greatest fears had come true in her absence; God Eye was being fought to a standstill by the omnics, who had managed to create countermeasures for the dedicated sniper support teams. But she took comfort in the fact that their methods here were different than in Germany, which meant that Liao's signal blocks had worked.
They took the same precaution here, jamming the omnics' frequencies at every Strike Team battle, never allowing Anubis to get a clear grasp of their tactics. In contrast to the solid, but predictable maneuvers that the army had utlised before the Strike Team's arrival, Ana took a gamble and spread their soldiers out a little more – with much help from Safiya's Sa'ka troops and Khalid's God Eye.
Together, they staged an agile but delicate performance – always switching their tactics from battle to battle, bombarding omnics with airstrikes in one engagement, then blasting them to bits with tanks and artillery in the next, before hitting another omnic battalion with precise sniper shots followed by a wide-area hack by drones. And so the cycle continued, until they managed to shut the omnium down, cutting off their supply of troops.
With the omnics kept off-balance and shorthanded, unable to rustle up the proper countermeasures when they truly needed it, Ana went for one last showdown. They orchestrated dozens of skirmishes all over the country at once, keeping Anubis distracted while the Strike Team slipped into the A.I. facility, remaining undetected until the very last moment when they were reaching the core chambers. By then, it was over for the A.I. Despite going into red alert and throwing every omnic within the facility at the team, forcing them to give ground and retreat farther into the chambers, Liao managed to shut Anubis down before it could overwhelm them.
And the war in Egypt…was over.
Ana kept her eyes fixed on the horizon as they were driven back to base, with she, Gabriel, and Jack sitting on top of the APC in direct violation of regulations. She gazed quietly over the damaged and crumbling buildings, the blackened rubble strewn on the dusty ground, the fires dying along with the sunlight as the day came to an end. Ana bit down on her lip, squinting against the moisture gathering in her eyes. And it seemed her companions heard her soft sniff over the rumble of engines, because two arms hugged about her shoulders from either side.
"I know the feel," Gabriel said gently, ruffling her hair under the beret.
Again, they had little time to rest before they would be flown elsewhere – India, this time – and they were kept busy between trying to grab some downtime and being pulled in front of cameras for the few interviews they were cleared to give. The team let Jack handle most of the questions – his straight-backed, stoic soldier's demeanour was a good face for the team, and a convenient decoy for the cameras to focus on, while the rest kept to themselves off-camera.
But even so, they were given their share of exposure with a press conference, followed by a celebration to commemorate their achievement. Ana held her shoulders straight under the attention, but the distinct blue beret on her head felt heavier as she stood before the cameras, noting how local reporters kept their lenses trained on her much longer than the others.
She didn't like it, truth be told, and didn't relish the thought of how her image would be used in the hands of strangers. Nevertheless, she kept the devilish smile on her lips, and adopted a casual, confident mien while under the limelight, bearing the scrutiny with practiced ease. The trouble was worth it, Ana knew – whenever she returned home to her family, assured in the fact that they were free from the constant threat of danger, that they were finally safe.
All worth it.
It was only a matter of time before Ana had to leave again, and Kamilah was calm despite her anxiety bubbling beneath the surface, as she saw Ana off. She waited by the jet, and managed to shake hands with Gabriel and Jack, then wore an abashed smile while Reinhardt fawned over her, before he was finally dragged away by Liao.
Kamilah turned to Ana when her wife walked over, and took Fareeha into her own arms, noting how the girl seemed on the verge of breaking into a pout. But Ana soothed over the little tantrum before it even surfaced, making a pinky promise with Fareeha to bake more cakes when she returned, if the girl behaved well for Kamilah. Ana chuckled when Kamilah commented about the 'bribe', then kissed her wife goodbye, before boarding the plane herself.
Fareeha didn't cry when they watched the jet take off this time, and had taken her promise with Ana to heart, even clinging close to Kamilah throughout the day. At night, she went to bed without a fuss, choosing her bird plushie to sleep with, and hugged the toy close as Kamilah tucked her in.
"Mama?"
"Yes, dear?" Kamilah smiled down at her, running her fingers gently through Fareeha's hair.
"Where's ami?"
She paused. "Ami is working."
Fareeha played with the tip of her plushie's wing. "When's she coming back?"
"I…don't know, darling. But she might take a while." Kamilah felt a little twinge when Fareeha's pout appeared, as she fidgeted with her toy. "Do you miss ami?"
Fareeha nodded.
"Mama misses her too. But you know that ami is a hero, right?" She gave another smile when Fareeha nodded again. "Well, when she's done saving all those people, she'll come back. Then she can stay longer. All we have to do now is wait for her."
"Okay." Fareeha shifted against her pillow, wiggling under the covers. "I can wait."
"Good girl," Kamilah crooned, kissing her forehead. "And while we wait, mama can make you some cupcakes too."
She chuckled when Fareeha's eyes brightened immeasurably, her daughter's grin relieving the weight in her chest.
A/N: Omnic Crisis? Actual legit science? Don't know them BYE