The moment she heard the ambulance siren close by, Katie knew that something was terribly wrong.
Rushing outside, Katie struggled to catch a glimpse of the unconscious person being carried away in a gurney through the group of neighbours gathering around the ambulance.
This neighbourhood was primarily occupied by families wishing to raise their children there; healthy people you wouldn't expect to need an ambulance. Making the ambulance's sudden appearance a cause for concern for the community.
As the paramedics loaded the gurney into the ambulance, Katie spotted what she had feared. The familiar spiky, white hair of her neighbour Jack Morrison. And all she could do is watch as they took him away to an hospital she would not know where to reach.
Katie's mother arrived home shortly after, her work day having finished a little earlier than usual. This would usually be cause for celebration, but that night all Katie could think about was Jack. Not even her favourite dinner of angel hair pasta with garlic sauce cooked by her mother could cheer her up.
"Sweetheart, is something wrong? You've barely touched your food." Katie's mother asked, wondering why her daughter was being so quiet at the dinner table and poking her food with a fork. Katie was usually so eager to share stories about her day. with her. She wondered what could have happened to change all that.
"Something bad happened today. I got into an argument with someone. I think it hurt them." Katie confessed.
Her eyes welling with tears, just thinking about Jack being so hurt that he was sent to the hospital because of her.
"Did you apologize to them?"
"I couldn't. They were… from another classroom and recess was over. I feel so bad, mom." Katie tried to explain, wiping the tears from her eyes. Her voice choking between words.
"I'm sorry you're feeling bad, Katie. Tomorrow you can apologize to them and I'm sure they'll appreciate that you tried to set things right." Katie's mother reassured her and gave her hug. Things had been stressful for the past week for Katie and her mother. With boxes to unpack, school and work routes to memorize and first days of school and work, respectively. And for the first time that week, Katie knew that things were going to be OK.
It was most fortunate that Katie had art as one of her school subjects that day. Because she knew exactly how she could she could make amends with Jack. She would make a drawing for him on the side to express how sorry she was. Luckily, it would not be a side project, since an important date on the calendar was arriving.
"Class, as you know it's going to be Father's Day in one week. So today we're going to be making some cards to show how much we care for them." The teacher announced, holding up a blank card in his hand to show the class.
Hovering around the room to check the student's progress, the teacher noticed that Katie was not writing anything resembling Father's Day wishes.
"What are you working on, Katie?" He inquired with interest, making some of the student's heads turn in his direction.
"My dad left us when I was very young, he doesn't deserve a card. I'm making a card for my neighbour who's in the hospital." Katie told him upfront. A birthday card and some money sent at Christmas was not enough to earn Katie's father her good favour. Mr. Morrison on the other hand had done more than enough to earn her loyalty.
"That's very thoughtful of you, Katie." Her teacher remarked. Never one to discourage creativity, even if it wasn't the task he had assigned.
Other than earning her teacher's admiration, it would seem that Katie's honesty had attracted the attention of one her school mates, who pulled up a chair and sat next to her.
"When neighbours get sick, you don't usually make them a card, instead of your dad." He remarked on Katie's unconventional card.
"He's a special neighbour."
"What's so special about him?" The boy asked, as Katie kept her eyes on her card and picked up a marker.
"He was a soldier in Overwatch, so I'm making him a card with Overwatch drawings." Katie explained, colouring in the Overwatch symbol she had drawn with an orange marker, as she spoke.
"Do you think I could sign it too?" He asked quietly. Showing that his intentions were kind when he wanted to know more about Katie's card.
"Yes! I bet he'd love that!" Katie exclaimed, sliding the card over to the boy across the table.
"I'm Daniel, by the way." Daniel introduced himself and wrote down a greeting on the card.
"Thanks for signing the card, Daniel." Katie smiled at Daniel; the one person in this classroom who had reached out and helped her decorate her card. But Daniel was not the only well intentioned student in the classroom. Overhearing the cruel abandonment at the hands of Katie's father, two girls who had finished their cards also wanted to sign Katie's card to show their support. Creating a ripple effect of students joining in, until nearly everyone in the classroom had signed Katie's card.
Her classmate's overwhelming acts of kindness left Katie's heart filled with joy for the rest of day and it was that same joy that gave Katie the courage to ask what needed to be done from her mother.
"Mom, can you please drive me to the hospital, today? It's really important."
"Why? Is something wrong? Are you sick?" Her mother's voice rose as she jumped to the wrong conclusions, worried for her daughter's wellbeing.
"It's not me, mom! It's my friend. He's in the hospital and I've got to see him!" Katie reassured her well-meaning mother.
"What's the name of the hospital?"
"I don't know mom! The ambulance took him away so fast, I didn't get a chance to ask." Katie answered with frustration, wishing she could have run a little faster.
"OK. I'll drive us to the closest one from our house." Katie's mother quickly came up with a solution.
The car ride to the hospital was a quiet one, for the most part. Besides the drone of the radio, Katie did not say a single word. She was too busy thinking about what it would be like to be Jack, lying alone in a hospital bed.
Once they arrived at the hospital after a 30 minute drive, Katie dashed out of the car to make it to the reception area before her mother. The identity of the person she was visiting, her little secret.
"Can I help you?" The hospital receptionist asked, wary of the unsupervised child that had just run in here.
"Is there a Jack Morrison in this hospital?" Katie asked, looking back over her shoulder to see when her mother would arrive.
"Let me check that for you." The receptionist turned to the computer at her desk and entered his name.
"Yes. He came in yesterday. Are you a relative of his?" The receptionist asked about Katie's relation with Jack.
"No, he's my neighbour, but—" Katie tried to explain, suddenly feeling worried by the possibility that she would be denied the opportunity to see Jack.
"I'm sorry, but only close relatives are allowed to see him right now." The receptionist interjected within the earshot of Katie's mother as she entered the reception area.
"Please, my daughter just wants to see if her friend is OK. We wouldn't take very long." Katie's mother stepped in. Acting the role of a hero in Katie's eyes, making her smile.
"Very well. He's in room 176." The receptionist informed them.
Standing by the door of Jack's room with a card in her hand, Katie turned to her mother before they could walk in together.
"I need to do this alone, mom."
"OK, sweetie. I'll be waiting for you outside." Katie's mother placed a hand on her shoulder and went to take a seat in the waiting area as Katie entered the room. Inside the room, Jack lay in a hospital bed, unconscious. An IV drip inserted into his pale arm. Pale from the coat he was always wearing that covered his arms when he went on his daily walks.
It made Katie sad to see him this way; weak and unmoving. Jack seemed like the kind of man who would always keep moving. With his walks, making his logs, telling her off for peeking over the fence and now he was confined to a bed.
"I don't know if you can hear me Mr. Morrison, but I'm sorry I got mad at you. My dad left us when I was very young, but before that mom and dad were always arguing. I was sad that someone died because of an argument. They ruin everything."
"They do." Jack opened his eyes and murmured, making Katie jump with fright.
"Mr. Morrison! I thought you were asleep!" Katie exclaimed, picking up the card she had dropped, after being startled by Jack's sudden awakening.
"I was, but then I heard your voice," Jack admitted. "But I didn't tell you the whole story, Katie. Gabriel didn't die that day. A dear friend of mine tried to revive him, but when he came back he was nothing more than a wraith."
"A ghost?"
"Yes, only this ghost could hold guns and he now went by the name of Reaper. Blaming us for what happened to him, his only mission now was to eliminate Overwatch agents and to find me, so he could finish what he started." Jack finished on a grim note, leaving Katie with an uneasy expression on her face. The entire time, Katie had been under the impression that Officer Reyes had perished in the struggle between he and Jack. The thought that he had returned to haunt Jack, left her feeling unsettled.
"Katie? Is it alright if I come in… here?" Katie's mother peeked her head in, as she opened the door to the room.
"I thought…" She began. Surprised that Katie's 'friend' was not someone from her school.
"Mom. This is our neighbour Mr. Morrison." Katie introduced Jack to her mother.
"Neighbour?! I'm so sorry! We were meaning to come visit, but I've been so busy with work… I had no idea you were sick!" Katie's mother apologized, breaking Jack's impression of the serious mother he had imagined her to be from Katie's account of her.
"Me neither." Jack told her with a smile. His reply making Katie giggle, even though it was a lie.
"I'm Dinah Mason, by the way." Dinah offered her hand for Jack to shake.
"Jack Morrison. It's a pleasure to meet you." Jack shook her hand firmly. Like mother, like daughter, Dinah had a sweet demeanour, with the same blonde hair as Katie that she kept tied in a ponytail. He was happy to finally make her acquaintance.
"I have something for you," Katie handed Jack her card. "It's a card I made in art class. I was only going to write in it, but then my friend signed it and then nearly everyone wanted to!"
Opening the card, Jack observed that the first page of the card was covered in wishes for good health. 'Get well soon' 'Hope you're feeling better' and 'Speedy recovery' were some of the many messages written on there. Including a lone 'Don't die.' That particular greeting making Jack smile.
The second page read: "Get well soon Soldier. That's an order" and was surrounded by Katie's drawings, consisting of Winston's head, the Overwatch symbol and 's rabbit logo.
"Thank you, Katie. I love it." Jack turned to Katie and gave her his thanks.
"You have a good daughter there, Mrs Mason. You're lucky to have her." Jack complimented Katie, making her turn her head away bashfully.
"Oh! We promised the receptionist we'd be out of here soon. We have to go now, but when you get better you can give me a call and I'll pick you up from the hospital." Dinah searched through her purse and gave Jack a business card with her phone number.
"I look forward to it." He told her, making her smile as she began leaving the room.
Leaning across the bed, Katie gave Jack a hug and the grateful former soldier embraced her in return. Waving goodbye to the young girl as she hurried over to join her mother.